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

himself to be pressed into the service of the builders, as the story in VG narrates. The tale in LA is interesting, as showing (1) the existence of a calendar of seasons lucky and unlucky for various enterprises, and (2) a spirit of kindly tolerance on the part of the pagan wizard.

The wiles of wizards were exposed by various saints, e.g. by Aed and by Cainnech. These tales are curious; the wizard in each case appeared to pass through a tree, but the saint opened the eyes of the spectators, so that they saw him actually passing round it (CS, 353, 368; VSH, i, 156). This reads like the exposure of hypnotically induced hallucinations.[24]

Diarmait mac Cerrbeil, or more properly mac Fergusa Cerrbeil, was grandson of Conall Cremthainne, son of Niall Noi-giallach, the ancestor of the royal line of Ui Neill. The reigning king, Tuathal Moel-Garb, of whom we have already heard, was grandson of Coirpre, another son of Niall. As a possible rival for the kingship, Tuathal had driven him into banishment. Mael-Moire, or Mael-Morda, who murdered Tuathal, was Diarmait's foster-brother. When Diarmait was installed on the throne, he summoned the convention of Uisnech-one of the places where from time immemorial religious Pan-Iernean assemblies, resembling in character the Pan-Hellenic Olympic gatherings, had been held. How Diarmait afterwards offended Ciaran, was cursed by him, and met his death in consequence of that curse, may be read in the tale printed in Silua Gadelica , No. vi, from which we have just quoted the version of the story of setting up of the corner-post.

There are chronological discrepancies, difficult if not impossible to reconcile, between the annalist's dates for Diarmait and those for Ciaran. The Annals of Ulster places the death of Tuathal in 543, the accession of Diarmait in 544, and the death of Ciaran in 548, seven years after founding Clonmacnois. Some MSS. of these Annals, however, omit the reference to the seven years, and place the accession of Diarmait in 548, evidently to reconcile the stories. According to the Annals of the Four Masters , Tuathal was slain in 538, Diarmait succeeded in 539, and Ciaran died in 548. The Annals of Clonmacnois is more consonant with the chronology of the Life of Ciaran. It tells the tale so picturesquely that we transcribe it here, as before modernising the spelling-

"535. Tuathal Moel-Garb began his reign, and reigned eleven years.... He caused Diarmait mac Cerrbeil to live in exile and in desert places, because he claimed to have right to the crown....

"547. King Tuathal having proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom the banishment of Diarmait mac Cerrbeil, as before is specified, with a great reward to him that would bring him his heart, the said Diarmait for fear of his life lived in the deserts of Clonmacnois, then called Ard Tiprat: and meeting with the abbot Saint Ciaran, in the place where the church of Clonmacnois now stands, who was but newly come thither to live or dwell from Inis Aingin, and having no house or place to reside or dwell in, the said Diarmait gave him his assistance to make a house there, and in thrusting down in the earth one of the pieces of the timber or wattles of the house, the said Diarmait took Saint Ciaran's hand and did put it over his own head or hand in sign of reverence to the saint: whereupon the saint humbly besought God of His great goodness that by that time to-morrow ensuing that [ sic ] the hands of Diarmait might have superiority over all Ireland. Which fell out as the saint requested, for Mael-Moire ó hArgata, foster-brother of Diarmait, seeing in what perplexity the nobleman was in [ sic ], besought him that he might be pleased to lend him his black horse, and that he would make his repair to Greallach da Phuill, where he heard King Tuathal to have a meeting with some of his nobles; and there would present him with a whelp's heart on a spear's head, instead of Diarmait's heart, and so by that means get access to the king, whom he would kill out of hand and by the help and swiftness of the horse save his own life whether they would or no. Diarmait, listing to the words of his foster-brother was amongst two extremities, loath to refuse him and far more loath to lend it him, fearing he should miscarry and be killed, but between both, he granted him his request; whereupon he prepared himself, and went as he was resolved, mounted on the said black horse, a heart besprinkled with blood on his spear, to the place where he heard the king to be; the king and his people seeing him come in that manner, supposed that it was Diarmait's heart that was to be presented by the man that rode in post-haste; the whole multitude gave him way to that king, and when he came within reach to the king as though to tender him the heart, he gave the king such a deadly blow of his spear that the king instantly fell down dead in the midst of his people, whereupon the man was beset on all sides and at last taken and killed, so as speedy news came to Diarmait, who incontinently went to Tara, and there was crowned king as Saint Ciaran prayed and prophesied before.... Diarmait was not above seven months king, when Saint Ciaran died in Clonmacnois, where he dwelt therein but seven months before, in the thirty-third year of his age, on the 9th of September."

The Stanzas in VG. -The metre is ae freslige . Literally: "I shall speak witness truly / though single is thy numerous train // thou shalt be a king pleasant, dignified / of Ireland this time to-morrow /// The slaying of chosen Tuathal / Moel-Garb, it was a crying without glory // thence is the choice saying / 'it was the deed of Moel-Moire' /// Without rout and without slaughter / he took Uisnech, it was not after an assembly // Diarmait the eminent gave / a hundred churches to God and to Ciaran."

The Episode of Tren (VG).-This story illustrates a belief in sympathetic magic. What Tren had done to deserve this punishment is unknown, nor is the site of Cluain Iochtar identified. Possibly he had endeavoured to prevent Ciaran from founding his church; compare the story of Findian and Baeth (LL, 2624). Patrick had a dispute with a certain Trian, but the details of the story are different (TT, p. 45, ch. lxxx, etc.). It is difficult for us to put ourselves into the position of people who thought to honour their saint by telling a story about him which we should consider not only silly but immoral. But such an attempt must be tried if we are to understand anything of ancient writings, in whatever language and from whatever countries they may come down to us. Even when we read so modern and so universal an author as Shakspere we must for the moment imagine ourselves sixteenth-century Elizabethans; the more we succeed in doing so, the better do we understand what we read. So, in criticising a story like this, we must rid ourselves of all our twentieth-century prejudices, and accept it in the simple faith of those to whom it was intended to be told.

On one of the great carved crosses still to be seen in Clonmacnois-that erected in memory of Flann King of Ireland (ob. 914)-there is a panel representing an ecclesiastic and a layman holding an upright post between them. It has been plausibly conjectured that this represents the erection of the corner-post of the church, as described in our text.


XLIII. HOW CIARAN SENT A CLOAK TO SENAN (LA, VG)

The "Cloak of Senan" must have been an actual relic preserved on Inis Cathaig; tradition said that it had been floated on the river to the saint of the island, though there were various opinions as to which saint had done the miracle; it is attributed to Brigit daughter of Cu Cathrach (LL, 2399) and to Diarmait (CS, 753). For parallels to the automatic transfer of objects by water, see Plummer, VSH, i, p. clxxxvi, note 2.


XLIV. CIARAN AND THE WINE (LA, LB, VG)

The choice laid before the monks is curious, and hardly consonant with the usual spirit of abjuring the world; it may be aetiological, designed to explain, and perhaps to excuse, the opulence and temporal importance of Clonmacnois at the time when it was written. A similar but not identical story appears in the life of Munnu (VSH, ii, 227).

It is quite obvious that the story as we have it is a conflation of two versions of the anecdote. In the one version the wine was brought by Frankish merchants and acquired by purchase; in the other it was provided by miracle. The composite story appears in LA and VG; LB knows the miraculous version only.

That Frankish merchants should have sailed up the Shannon and delivered a cargo of wine at a settlement in the heart of Ireland in the middle of the sixth century, is no mere extravagance. The subject of ancient Irish trade has been very fully investigated by the late Prof. Zimmer, and he has brought a large number of facts together which show that such an episode is a quite credible fragment of history.[25]

The second version, though LB calls it miraculum insolitum , is one of the commonplaces of hagiography. Water was turned to wine by a host of saints, such as Colum Cille (LL, 839), Fursa (CS, 111), Findian (CS, 205), Lugaid (CS, 283), Aed (CS, 339), and others needless to specify. Fintan (CS, 404), and Munnu (CS, 503), blessed a cup in such wise that one of their followers, while appearing, in self-abnegation, to drink nothing but water for thirty years, was in reality enjoying the best wine! Saint Brynach drew wine from a brook and fishes from its stones ( Cambro-British Saints , pp. 12, 298), Brigit (LL, 1241) and Colman Elo (CS, 441) turned water into ale; the former (LL, 1368) as well as Lugaid (CS, 269, 280) and Fintan (CS, 404) turned water into milk.

I have not found any exact parallel to the incident of the scented thumb.

There is a cognate tale in the Life of Colman, in which monks, thirsty with labour, expressed a doubt as to the reality of the heavenly reward, whereupon their eyes were opened to see a vision of the joys of the after-life (VSH, i, 265).

The Tendenz of the biographies of Ciaran is clearly marked in the hint at a parallel between the last supper of Ciaran and the Last Passover of Our Lord.


XLV. THE STORY OF CRITHIR (LA, VG)

On the consecrated Paschal fire, see Frazer, Balder the Beautiful , vol. i, p. 120 ff.

Parallels. -Coemgen carried fire in his bosom (CS, 837, VSH, i, 236). Cadoc also carried fire in his cloak without injury ( Cambro-British Saints , pp. 30, 319). Elsewhere we hear of flames which do not consume, as in the burning bush of Moses, and probably in imitation of it (Exod. iii, 2). Thus the magic fire that delivered Samthann from a forced marriage appeared to ignite a whole town, which, however, suffered no injury (VSH, ii, 253). The fall of fire from heaven in answer to prayer is most likely imitated from 1 Kings xviii, 38.

The verse extracts at the end of LB (which see) contain a form of this story incompatible with the prose narratives.

The boy slain but not torn by wolves is, of course, imitated from