The influence
exercised
by the bards, and which their satirical powers had over the actions of kings and people of all classes, caused them to become so im- portunate, and even insolent, during the sixth century, that public indignation was excited against them.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
95 ; pp.
xxxii.
, 254, 269.
472 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
son ofAinmire,18 began to reign over Ireland, a. d. 568, according to the An- nals of the Four Masters. x 9 Other writers place his accession some few years later. 20 For twenty-seven years he is said to have ruled. 21 The events of his termareofgreathistoricimportance. ThemonarchAedhhadfoursons,at this time : the oldest was called Conall Cu,22 surnamed Clogach or the Deli- rious, the second was named Cumuscach,23 the third was Maelcobha,2* and the youngest of the four was Domhnall. 2* To all of these, St. Columba was nearly related. At this time, Aedh appears to have fixed his royal residence at Ailech 26 of the kings. The character of this monarch has been most dis-
set in a transaction attributed to him, and — honourably forth, violating every
2
after three years' enjoyment of it, he was slain at the battle of Belgadin or Sliabh-
Truim (now Bessy Bell), in the county of Tyrone, by Suibhne Meann, who held the sovereignty until 628, when he was slain.
(cucullus),
may
to-night,
Parliamentary
of and The— —?
of Colman principle justice humanity. King Ossory,
incorrectly of disaffection.
named Keanfoala,28 or Kinnfoelius 2Q had been suspected
On this account, he was compelled to deliver up his son 3° some state his
18 He was first cousin to St. Columba ; so that Aedh and Columba stood, in the rela- tion, offirst and second cousins.
19 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 206, 207.
20
His death is recorded in the Annals of See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia,"
Ulster, at a. d. 597. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
" Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
iv. , p. 34.
21 The legend of his death, preserved in the
Book of Lecan, states, that he made an ex- pedition into Leinster to avenge the death of hissonCumuscach. Ontheway,hesaidto
parsiii. , cap. xciii. , p. 431.
25 He became monarch of Ireland A. D.
624, living a very exemplary life, and after reigniny for sixteen years, he died A. D. 639,
his servant
:
" me Columcille's cochall Bring
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 246 to
257.
26 See an account of the an- interesting
thatI
that it may be a protection to me from the Leinstermen ;" for Columcille had promised him, that Aedh should not be killed, while he had that cochall on him. Then said the
Gazetteer 27 We find "Colmanus filius Fearaide,
haveit onme
cient fort there in "
of Ireland. " vol. i. , p. 27.
"
dux regionis Osraidhe,
ia the Life of Cainnech, as that saint's
and
St. Mochoemog, published in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise. " xiii. Martii,
According to Colgan, it was he who in-
sulted St. Columba, at the Convention of
Druim-Ceat. See "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. hi. , cap. v. ,
p. 431, and n. 5, p. 452. He was defeated
by Colman Rimidh, at the battle of Sleam-
hain, in 602, and Conall escaped by flight.
See William M. Hennessy's "Chronicum in the Manuscript, classed H, 2. 16, be- Scotorum," —pp. 66, 67. The place alluded longing to Trinity College, Dublin, at fol. to is Slewen a townland divided into two 680.
:
servant "WehaveleftitatAilech. "Aedh at
" patron, It is most likely, that I shall fall this
chapters 43, 44,
said :
night by the Leinstermen, when my cochall is not here. " This account is to be seen at
fol. 308^.
22
Vita S. Mochoeomoci Abbatis, cap. xxx. , P- 594<>,
parts, Slewenmore—, the larger, and Slewen- beg, the smaller near Mullingar, in the county of Westmeath.
"
Return Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
23 He was slain
by Brandubh,
at Dun
Bucat, now Dumboyke, in the county of
Wicklow, a. d. 597. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 160.
24 He is said to have succeeded to the
throne, A. D. 608, and after a three years' reign to have been slain in the battle of Sliabh Toadh, a. d. 610. See Dr. O'Dono- van's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 234 to 237. According to other autho- rities, he succeeded to the throne in 612, and
according to Dr. O'Donovan's
"
Annals of
47, pp. 26, 27, 29, in that edition published by the Marquis of Ormonde, as also in the Life of
2"
29 See for the statement of Kinnfaelius
being the father of Scanlan Mor the High-
land Society's Irish Life of St. Columba, at
fol. a. Also " Acta Sanctorum 12a, Colgan's
Hiberniae," xv. Februarii, Vita S. Faran- nani Confessoris, cap. vi. , p. 336.
30 According to Adamnan, an excellent authority. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adam- nan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 11, pp. 38 to 40, and nn. (a, b, c, d).
31 In nearly all the Irish Manuscripts of Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, however, Scanlan Mor is called the son of Colman. Tigheinach records the death of a Scanlann Mor, King of Ossory, at A. D. 643. See Rev.
In most of our Irish authorities, Scan- lann Mor is called the son of Cennfaeladh ; as in the Preface to the Amhra Choluimcille, in Liber Hymnorum, at fol. 64, 67a. Again, in the Leabhar na Huidhre, at fol. 8 ; also
expressly mentioned
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 473
cousins 1 —and it is said heir-apparent, Scanlan Mor, to the monarch Aedh, as a hostage for his allegiance ; the prince was to be liberated, however, at the
expiration ofa-year, provided the Ossorian Kings* sent other hostages in his place. 33 Withtheseconditions,Colman34scrupulouslycomplied; yet,instead of permitting young Scanlan 35 to return home, he was not only detained, but
iniquitously confined and treated in a manner, utterly unbecoming his posi- tion in society, and those terms on which his captivity had been secured. His prison was adjacent36 to St. Columba's monastery, known as the Dubh Regies37ofDerry. Therewasonlyonenarrowloop-holethroughwhichthe light could enter, while the prince was bound in chains, and cut off from all communicationwiththeouterworld. 38 Scanlanwasconfinedinanarrow,and in a loathsome dungeon ; his diet was but a few morsels of carrion beef, highly seasoned with salt, and administered to him without any beverage whatsoever ; consequently, it is stated, that his thirst became so insupportable and excessive, that he was necessitated to take some rock salt,39 which chanced to be in the only part of the cell that was free from filth, and to suck it occasionally. It is alleged, that one of Aedh's motives for convening the assembly at Dromceat was to procure Scanlan's formal deposition,* from
1
ruling over the principality of Ossory. *
The foregoing incidents are set forth, as among the reasons, which induced
Columba to return, after a long term of absence, to Ireland ; but, so accus- tomed were the people of his day to acts of inhumanity and abuse of power, that Scanlan's imprisonment and ill-treatment could hardly have been the chief motive for calling together the states of the realm, at that great historic convention, which had been summoned to meet at Druimcheat in Ulster. The domestic question of the Bards was in Erinn one of more public impor- tance j and, as seems probable, the political relations, then existing between the chief monarch of Ireland and Aedan King of Scottish Dalriada, were regarded as involving the danger of an internecine feud, which might lead to a fierce war between both potentates. In ancient times, the Irish Bards appear to have been closely allied with the Druids, or soothsayers, and their
Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum custom. This altar was to be seen, even so
Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 195.
32 We meet with an account of Cclman's death, as recorded by Tighernach, at A. D. 605, and by the Four Masters, at A. D. 601.
33 See Prince O'Donnell's account of this
late as the sixteenth century. See Colgan's
"
Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S. Co- lumbae, lib. i. , cap. lvii. , p. 398.
38 According to the account of his impri- sonment, as furnished by Prince O'Donnell. 39 See Rev. Dr. Jeoffrey Keating' s" Gene- ral History of Ireland," book ii. , part i. ,
transaction, in Colgan's "Trias Thauma- "°
turga, Quinta cap. ii. , p. 430.
Columbse,
iii. ,
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. ii. ,
VitaS.
lib.
4 See "Trias Colgan's
34 Cennfaedladh, father of Scanlann Mor, was first cousin it is said of this Colman.
35 Some say, that he was delivered as a
36 Irish legends state, that the place of his confinement was Ard-mac-n Dobran, near St. Columba's Dubh Regies, at Derry. See the Manuscript of Trinity College, Dublin, H, 2, 16, fol. 680.
37 To avoid cutting down a favourite grove, St. Columba placed the foundations of the church here, in an unusual position ; yet, he took care to have an altar towards the east side of it, in compliance with the ancient
p. 430, and nn. 48, p. 375, ibid.
4I "The petty principality of Osraigh, as
founded by Aenghus in the first century, and
' deas Gab- originally designated Laiyhin
hair,' consisted of the two other older pro- vincesofRaighneandFeimhin. Aenghus
Mac Nadhfrach, King of Munster, seized on the latter province and expelled the Osso- rians out of it in the fifth century, after which, and for some period, the kingdom of Osraigh did not exceed in its extent that primitive region known in the dawn —of historic life in this island as 'Raighne. '" John Hogan's " Kilkenny : The Ancient See of Ossory,
the Seat of its Kings," &c, part i. , p. 99.
his father others, that he had ;
hostage by
been put in bonds, for refusing to pay the customary tribute to the monarch.
chap, i. , p. 457. John O'Mahony's edition,
4~
During the reign of Connor Mac Nessa,
474 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
verses were employed, chiefly in recording fabulous traditions, or in extrava- gantly praising their patrons among the chiefs, or in satirizing those who had incurred their ire or 2 When their abuses
displeasure/ Christianity prevailed,
in consideration and position among the Irish had hardly decreased.
The influence exercised by the bards, and which their satirical powers had over the actions of kings and people of all classes, caused them to become so im- portunate, and even insolent, during the sixth century, that public indignation was excited against them. It was rather unfortunate, likewise, that these Poets combined the character of antiquaries too frequently, with their bardic profession, and often they sacrificed the sober facts of history to the prompt- ings of a wild imagination, to the interested cravings of avarice, and to the fulsome flatteries of their chief patrons. *3 Their number had grown to an
extraordinary degree, and it was even daily increasing, in all parts of Ireland. 44 They were the makers and masters of public opinion, as also the Record-
keepers and Registrars of those days. 45 Twice during his reign had Aedh banished them from the precincts of his palace. Extraordinary stories are related of the licenses in which they indulged. A company of them, at one time,waitedonthemonarchAedhorHugh,sonofAinmire. Theirinso- lence on the occasion exceeded all bounds of privilege. They threatened to satirize him, if he did not give them the Roth Croi 46 itself, which from the remotest times descended from monarch to monarch in Erinn. This unpre- cedented demand excited the monarch, in the highest degree ; and, in his indignation, he ordered the banishment of their whole profession out of the country. Then, they were obliged to take refuge in Ulidia,4? in the north of Ireland. 48 Towards the close of Aedh's reign, however, the monarch had resolved on the extinction of the order. Dreading his resentment, in great
46 Or the Royal Brooch, called by Keating a golden bodkin to fasten the king's robes under the neck. This is recorded to have been worn, as the chief distinctive emblem
King of Ulster, popular displeasure was
aroused against the bards, who were about
to be banished the kingdom into Scotland,
until they promised better behaviour. Again,
in the time of Fiachadh, son to Baodan, of the legitimate sovereign. Several speci-
King of Ulster, popular indignation de- manded their expulsion. Once more, during the reign of Maolchabba, son to Diomain
over that province, the people complained of their excesses. The Kings of Ulster inter- posed on their behalf, on each of those oc- casions, and saved them from banishment.
mens of the elegantly wrought Irish brooches are still preserved. Some interesting speci-
mens, as engraved and described, may be met with, in Miss Margaret Stokes' "Early Christian Art in Ireland," chap, iv. , pp. 75 to 81.
47 Allusion is made to these historic re-
See Dermod O'Connor's
Keating's
" Gene-
— in Sir Samuel miniscences, Ferguson's
fine
ral History of Ireland," part ii. , pp. 370 to
372. Duffy's edition.
43 Prince O'Donnell, who was well ac-
quainted with the habits of Irish bards, at a
" His ex officio incum- bebat Regum, Principum, et Heroum, res gestas, bella, et triumphos describere ; fami- liarum nobilium genealogias et prerogativas studiose observare —
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. iii. , cap. ii. , p. 430.
44 They are said to have exceeded, at this
time, the number of twelve hundred. See
Rev. Jeoffry Keating's "General History of Ireland, "part ii. , p. 372, Dermod O'Con-
poem
:
later period, states
:
" Twelve hundred men, with one con- sent, from Erin's utmost ends,
We sought the hills where ruled the Bards' hereditary friends,
Thysheltering, song-preservinghills, Ultonia, cess nor dues
Crayed we but sat and touched our ;
harps beside the Strand-End Yews. "
—"
Congal,"booki. , p. 5.
48 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu- lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book i. , chap, v. , p. 33.
49 See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. , Lect. iii. , pp. 56, 57-
;
metas ac limites notare ac distinguere. '
regionum agrorumque
nor's translation.
45 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu-
lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book i. , chap, v. , p. 33.
Duffy's
edition.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 475
numbers the bards fled into Ulidia once more, where they again received a
temporary asylum. w
This contest with the bards does not seem to have been the most formi-
dable one, to which the Irish monarch had been exposed, about this period.
After Aidan's refusal to regard the threats of satire on the part of those poets,
and the consequences then supposed to follow from poetical incantations, he
happened to be involved in other important political disputes. In 574. 5° Aidan, the son of Gabhran, succeeded to the Lordship of Scotch Dalriada.
He applied to St. Columba for the religious ceremony of inauguration 51 and ;
according to Scottish tradition, his consecration as monarch took place on the
celebrated Stone of Destiny. 52 Such a proceeding sufficiently proves how excellent was his judgment, and how sound was his policy. The Scots were a well-known colony of Scotland in the fourth century ;53 and, at a still later period among the Sects were Dalriads in Ireland and in Argyle, while in each
of Dunstaffnage
it
was taken
"Trias cap. 135, p. 147.
lib. Also Jocelin's or Sexta
there was a called Dalriada. 5 * Both in Ireland and in Scot- territory
country
land, the Dalriads are said to have paid tribute to the Irish monarch, until the
sixth century. Soon after his elevation, Aidan aspired to the forming of an
independent kingdom, and to the renouncing of all subjection to the Irish monarch; nay,assomebelieve,hewentsoveryfar,astoclaimsomejurisdic- tion,overtheparentIrishDalriada. 55 Itisevenstated,56thatAidandesiredto assert his sovereignty over the Irish Dalriada, and he required, that it should be exempt from the rule of the reigning monarch, Aedh Mac Ainmire, King of Erinn. He possessed sufficient power and address, not only to secure the independence of his race, but to lay the foundation of a supremacy, which afterwards it acquired, even in Scotland. 5? When grown strong enough to throw off the yoke, the Scottish Dalriads determined to assert their indepen- dence. 58 Feeling the loss to his treasury, as well as to his prestige, arising from this policy, the Irish King Aedh resolved to fix irrevocably the law of subjectionuponthem. Wherefore,byvirtueofhisprerogative,helaidclaim to the tributes and military service of the Gaedhelic or Scotch Dalriada, as a colony, which was bound to acknowledge the supremacy of the mother country. The Irish King, Aidus,5? insisted on receiving tribute from the Albanian prince, as from the suzerain or governor of a subject province. According to
some accounts, Aedhan Mac Gabhrain's purpose was merely to determine the
50 See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. i. ,
book ii. , chap, vii. , pp. 322, 323.
51 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 9, 10, and nn. (c, d, g), pp. 35 to 37.
211 to 216.
55 When the Tripartite Life relates St.
Patrick's prophecy concerning the family of Fergus mac Ere, it adds, that the prophecy was afterwards completed in ^Edan, the son
" it was removed to the old castle manu violenta
52 Its reputed history is a singular one.
of Gabhran,
ex ejus semine procedente qui
From — Iona,
regnum
Albania
occupavit. "
afterwards,
to the Abbey of Scone, near Edinburgh,
thence it was carried by Edward I. , the
cruel conqueror of Scotland, to the Abbey of Westminster. Here it is to be seen under the coronation chair of the English monarchs, so that even at the present day, the lineal descendant of this Aidan Queen Victoria has been enthroned on it as sovereign of Eng- land, Ireland and Scotland. See Le Comte de Montalembert's "Moines d'Occident," tome iii. . liv. xi. , chap, iv. , p. 197.
53 They are mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus,abouttheyear360.
54 See on this subject, John Hill Burton's
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
ii. ,
" of History
Scotland,"
vol.
i. , chap, v. , pp.
Vita S. Patricii, cap. exxxvii. , p. 95.
s6 By Prince O'Donnell.
57 The solemn charge he received, not to
molest the subjects of the Irish King, are given, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 5, p. 200.
s8 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. ii. , p. 430.
S9 See on this subject, Keating's "His- toryofIreland,"bookii. ,p. 372. Duffy's edition.
^ " It was an of the same nature assembly
;
-
of the Albanian Dalriada
his ambition
to have
476 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 9.
jurisdiction
; but,
appears
reached farther, and as an international conflict was impending, the great
-influence of St. Columba was invoked—probably by both parties—to intervene
-in the interests of justice and of peace. The Irish monarch selected Druim-
meeting, patrimonial territory,
he was surrounded by friends and faithful clansmen, and where he was more secure, than he should be at any other place. Some maintained he desired to accommodate his Scotch friends, by selecting a locality convenient for them, but, there seems to be no foundation for this surmise. According to some accounts, Aedh invited over from Iona the great patron of his race, St. Columcille, to have the benefit of his wise counsels in the discussion, not
only concerning the special subjects for which the meeting was first intended,
61
However, it should rather seem more probable, the invitation to be present did not pro- ceed from that quarter, and it is pretty certain, that Columba came as a matterof choice, because important religious and international interests were to
Ceat for the 60 because it was within his where
but regarding many others of social and political importance.
be considered and decided. 62 a Being
he took
over, when about seventy years old, from his island home at I, or Iona. 6* No doubt, too, but he had heard regarding Scanlan's inhuman treatment, and his feelings of compassion had been awakened so far, as to resolve on earnestly interceding with the monarch Aedh to effect his release from prison. But, in the interests of peace, he desired chiefly to appease the Irish king and the people, while he endeavoured to act as an arbitrator between them and the representatives of his adopted country. From the sequel, it appears the holy Abbot of Iona viewed their disputes from a high standpoint, and he resolved to remove for ever those causes of quarrel, with the sagacity of a
and Usnach, with this difference, that the Bards, who were a constituent body ofthe
O'Connor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Sciipto- res," tomus iv. , p. 27.
63 See Professor " On Eugene O'Curry,
the Manners and Customs ofthe Ancient
assemblies,
were here on their trial, and
old
t—heir places filled by the Christian clergy. "
Sir Samuel " Ferguson's
:" A Irish,"vol. Lect. iii. ,
Congal Poem, in Five Books, Note 8, p. 167.
xxxi. , p. 245.
61 See Professor
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," Lect. iv. , pp. 77, 78.
63 The Annals of Ulster altogether ante- date this great Convention of Dromcett, by
Eugene O'Curry,
" On
64 This circumstance was noted, and it has
been the Vcnera- satisfactorily explained, by
ble Bede.
6s See also Dermod O'Connor's Keating's
"General History of Ireland," book ii. , p! 574. Duffy s edition.
great patron
of
literature,
passage
wise statesman and with the instincts of a true churchman.
A great retinue of bishops, priests and deacons accompanied St. Columba on this occasion. From the description given of his entourage, we might naturally suppose, that as a considerable number set out from Scotland, so thatseveralvesselswereemployedforthepurposesoftheirvoyage. Asbe-
longing to the superior or highest grade of the priesthood, the bishops should naturally be expected to have precedence ; but, owing to the circumstance of St. Columba having first propagated Christanity among the Picts, and because he had established bishops in Scotland, deriving their jurisdiction from Iona, he was regarded as the foremost ecclesiastic, in that distinguished company. 6* No less than twenty bishops are said to have followed in the wake of the illustrious Abbot, with a docility and submission worthy of novices. 65 Forty priests, thirty deacons, and fifty clerics of lower grade, accompanied him. Besides these, Aidan, the monarch ofthe Dalriadian colony planted in Scotland, attended by some chiefs from that principality, deemed it his duty and interest to be present. Among the marvellous tales, relating to Columba, there is a remarkable description ofthe saint's voyage from Scot- landovertoIreland. 66 Whentheholyabbotandhiscompanionshadlefttheport
as the Comitia which used to be held at Tara placing it at A. n. 574. See Rev. Dr.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
of departure, we are told of a tempest, which had been excited by a ferocious and huge sea-monster. 6? This storm threatened to submerge the vessel and hercrew,whentheywerelaunchedoutintotheopensea. Thoseonboard,in terror and alarm, begged of the holy man to deliver them from this monster.
472 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
son ofAinmire,18 began to reign over Ireland, a. d. 568, according to the An- nals of the Four Masters. x 9 Other writers place his accession some few years later. 20 For twenty-seven years he is said to have ruled. 21 The events of his termareofgreathistoricimportance. ThemonarchAedhhadfoursons,at this time : the oldest was called Conall Cu,22 surnamed Clogach or the Deli- rious, the second was named Cumuscach,23 the third was Maelcobha,2* and the youngest of the four was Domhnall. 2* To all of these, St. Columba was nearly related. At this time, Aedh appears to have fixed his royal residence at Ailech 26 of the kings. The character of this monarch has been most dis-
set in a transaction attributed to him, and — honourably forth, violating every
2
after three years' enjoyment of it, he was slain at the battle of Belgadin or Sliabh-
Truim (now Bessy Bell), in the county of Tyrone, by Suibhne Meann, who held the sovereignty until 628, when he was slain.
(cucullus),
may
to-night,
Parliamentary
of and The— —?
of Colman principle justice humanity. King Ossory,
incorrectly of disaffection.
named Keanfoala,28 or Kinnfoelius 2Q had been suspected
On this account, he was compelled to deliver up his son 3° some state his
18 He was first cousin to St. Columba ; so that Aedh and Columba stood, in the rela- tion, offirst and second cousins.
19 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 206, 207.
20
His death is recorded in the Annals of See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia,"
Ulster, at a. d. 597. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
" Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
iv. , p. 34.
21 The legend of his death, preserved in the
Book of Lecan, states, that he made an ex- pedition into Leinster to avenge the death of hissonCumuscach. Ontheway,hesaidto
parsiii. , cap. xciii. , p. 431.
25 He became monarch of Ireland A. D.
624, living a very exemplary life, and after reigniny for sixteen years, he died A. D. 639,
his servant
:
" me Columcille's cochall Bring
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 246 to
257.
26 See an account of the an- interesting
thatI
that it may be a protection to me from the Leinstermen ;" for Columcille had promised him, that Aedh should not be killed, while he had that cochall on him. Then said the
Gazetteer 27 We find "Colmanus filius Fearaide,
haveit onme
cient fort there in "
of Ireland. " vol. i. , p. 27.
"
dux regionis Osraidhe,
ia the Life of Cainnech, as that saint's
and
St. Mochoemog, published in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise. " xiii. Martii,
According to Colgan, it was he who in-
sulted St. Columba, at the Convention of
Druim-Ceat. See "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. hi. , cap. v. ,
p. 431, and n. 5, p. 452. He was defeated
by Colman Rimidh, at the battle of Sleam-
hain, in 602, and Conall escaped by flight.
See William M. Hennessy's "Chronicum in the Manuscript, classed H, 2. 16, be- Scotorum," —pp. 66, 67. The place alluded longing to Trinity College, Dublin, at fol. to is Slewen a townland divided into two 680.
:
servant "WehaveleftitatAilech. "Aedh at
" patron, It is most likely, that I shall fall this
chapters 43, 44,
said :
night by the Leinstermen, when my cochall is not here. " This account is to be seen at
fol. 308^.
22
Vita S. Mochoeomoci Abbatis, cap. xxx. , P- 594<>,
parts, Slewenmore—, the larger, and Slewen- beg, the smaller near Mullingar, in the county of Westmeath.
"
Return Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus
23 He was slain
by Brandubh,
at Dun
Bucat, now Dumboyke, in the county of
Wicklow, a. d. 597. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 160.
24 He is said to have succeeded to the
throne, A. D. 608, and after a three years' reign to have been slain in the battle of Sliabh Toadh, a. d. 610. See Dr. O'Dono- van's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 234 to 237. According to other autho- rities, he succeeded to the throne in 612, and
according to Dr. O'Donovan's
"
Annals of
47, pp. 26, 27, 29, in that edition published by the Marquis of Ormonde, as also in the Life of
2"
29 See for the statement of Kinnfaelius
being the father of Scanlan Mor the High-
land Society's Irish Life of St. Columba, at
fol. a. Also " Acta Sanctorum 12a, Colgan's
Hiberniae," xv. Februarii, Vita S. Faran- nani Confessoris, cap. vi. , p. 336.
30 According to Adamnan, an excellent authority. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adam- nan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 11, pp. 38 to 40, and nn. (a, b, c, d).
31 In nearly all the Irish Manuscripts of Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, however, Scanlan Mor is called the son of Colman. Tigheinach records the death of a Scanlann Mor, King of Ossory, at A. D. 643. See Rev.
In most of our Irish authorities, Scan- lann Mor is called the son of Cennfaeladh ; as in the Preface to the Amhra Choluimcille, in Liber Hymnorum, at fol. 64, 67a. Again, in the Leabhar na Huidhre, at fol. 8 ; also
expressly mentioned
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 473
cousins 1 —and it is said heir-apparent, Scanlan Mor, to the monarch Aedh, as a hostage for his allegiance ; the prince was to be liberated, however, at the
expiration ofa-year, provided the Ossorian Kings* sent other hostages in his place. 33 Withtheseconditions,Colman34scrupulouslycomplied; yet,instead of permitting young Scanlan 35 to return home, he was not only detained, but
iniquitously confined and treated in a manner, utterly unbecoming his posi- tion in society, and those terms on which his captivity had been secured. His prison was adjacent36 to St. Columba's monastery, known as the Dubh Regies37ofDerry. Therewasonlyonenarrowloop-holethroughwhichthe light could enter, while the prince was bound in chains, and cut off from all communicationwiththeouterworld. 38 Scanlanwasconfinedinanarrow,and in a loathsome dungeon ; his diet was but a few morsels of carrion beef, highly seasoned with salt, and administered to him without any beverage whatsoever ; consequently, it is stated, that his thirst became so insupportable and excessive, that he was necessitated to take some rock salt,39 which chanced to be in the only part of the cell that was free from filth, and to suck it occasionally. It is alleged, that one of Aedh's motives for convening the assembly at Dromceat was to procure Scanlan's formal deposition,* from
1
ruling over the principality of Ossory. *
The foregoing incidents are set forth, as among the reasons, which induced
Columba to return, after a long term of absence, to Ireland ; but, so accus- tomed were the people of his day to acts of inhumanity and abuse of power, that Scanlan's imprisonment and ill-treatment could hardly have been the chief motive for calling together the states of the realm, at that great historic convention, which had been summoned to meet at Druimcheat in Ulster. The domestic question of the Bards was in Erinn one of more public impor- tance j and, as seems probable, the political relations, then existing between the chief monarch of Ireland and Aedan King of Scottish Dalriada, were regarded as involving the danger of an internecine feud, which might lead to a fierce war between both potentates. In ancient times, the Irish Bards appear to have been closely allied with the Druids, or soothsayers, and their
Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum custom. This altar was to be seen, even so
Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 195.
32 We meet with an account of Cclman's death, as recorded by Tighernach, at A. D. 605, and by the Four Masters, at A. D. 601.
33 See Prince O'Donnell's account of this
late as the sixteenth century. See Colgan's
"
Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S. Co- lumbae, lib. i. , cap. lvii. , p. 398.
38 According to the account of his impri- sonment, as furnished by Prince O'Donnell. 39 See Rev. Dr. Jeoffrey Keating' s" Gene- ral History of Ireland," book ii. , part i. ,
transaction, in Colgan's "Trias Thauma- "°
turga, Quinta cap. ii. , p. 430.
Columbse,
iii. ,
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. ii. ,
VitaS.
lib.
4 See "Trias Colgan's
34 Cennfaedladh, father of Scanlann Mor, was first cousin it is said of this Colman.
35 Some say, that he was delivered as a
36 Irish legends state, that the place of his confinement was Ard-mac-n Dobran, near St. Columba's Dubh Regies, at Derry. See the Manuscript of Trinity College, Dublin, H, 2, 16, fol. 680.
37 To avoid cutting down a favourite grove, St. Columba placed the foundations of the church here, in an unusual position ; yet, he took care to have an altar towards the east side of it, in compliance with the ancient
p. 430, and nn. 48, p. 375, ibid.
4I "The petty principality of Osraigh, as
founded by Aenghus in the first century, and
' deas Gab- originally designated Laiyhin
hair,' consisted of the two other older pro- vincesofRaighneandFeimhin. Aenghus
Mac Nadhfrach, King of Munster, seized on the latter province and expelled the Osso- rians out of it in the fifth century, after which, and for some period, the kingdom of Osraigh did not exceed in its extent that primitive region known in the dawn —of historic life in this island as 'Raighne. '" John Hogan's " Kilkenny : The Ancient See of Ossory,
the Seat of its Kings," &c, part i. , p. 99.
his father others, that he had ;
hostage by
been put in bonds, for refusing to pay the customary tribute to the monarch.
chap, i. , p. 457. John O'Mahony's edition,
4~
During the reign of Connor Mac Nessa,
474 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
verses were employed, chiefly in recording fabulous traditions, or in extrava- gantly praising their patrons among the chiefs, or in satirizing those who had incurred their ire or 2 When their abuses
displeasure/ Christianity prevailed,
in consideration and position among the Irish had hardly decreased.
The influence exercised by the bards, and which their satirical powers had over the actions of kings and people of all classes, caused them to become so im- portunate, and even insolent, during the sixth century, that public indignation was excited against them. It was rather unfortunate, likewise, that these Poets combined the character of antiquaries too frequently, with their bardic profession, and often they sacrificed the sober facts of history to the prompt- ings of a wild imagination, to the interested cravings of avarice, and to the fulsome flatteries of their chief patrons. *3 Their number had grown to an
extraordinary degree, and it was even daily increasing, in all parts of Ireland. 44 They were the makers and masters of public opinion, as also the Record-
keepers and Registrars of those days. 45 Twice during his reign had Aedh banished them from the precincts of his palace. Extraordinary stories are related of the licenses in which they indulged. A company of them, at one time,waitedonthemonarchAedhorHugh,sonofAinmire. Theirinso- lence on the occasion exceeded all bounds of privilege. They threatened to satirize him, if he did not give them the Roth Croi 46 itself, which from the remotest times descended from monarch to monarch in Erinn. This unpre- cedented demand excited the monarch, in the highest degree ; and, in his indignation, he ordered the banishment of their whole profession out of the country. Then, they were obliged to take refuge in Ulidia,4? in the north of Ireland. 48 Towards the close of Aedh's reign, however, the monarch had resolved on the extinction of the order. Dreading his resentment, in great
46 Or the Royal Brooch, called by Keating a golden bodkin to fasten the king's robes under the neck. This is recorded to have been worn, as the chief distinctive emblem
King of Ulster, popular displeasure was
aroused against the bards, who were about
to be banished the kingdom into Scotland,
until they promised better behaviour. Again,
in the time of Fiachadh, son to Baodan, of the legitimate sovereign. Several speci-
King of Ulster, popular indignation de- manded their expulsion. Once more, during the reign of Maolchabba, son to Diomain
over that province, the people complained of their excesses. The Kings of Ulster inter- posed on their behalf, on each of those oc- casions, and saved them from banishment.
mens of the elegantly wrought Irish brooches are still preserved. Some interesting speci-
mens, as engraved and described, may be met with, in Miss Margaret Stokes' "Early Christian Art in Ireland," chap, iv. , pp. 75 to 81.
47 Allusion is made to these historic re-
See Dermod O'Connor's
Keating's
" Gene-
— in Sir Samuel miniscences, Ferguson's
fine
ral History of Ireland," part ii. , pp. 370 to
372. Duffy's edition.
43 Prince O'Donnell, who was well ac-
quainted with the habits of Irish bards, at a
" His ex officio incum- bebat Regum, Principum, et Heroum, res gestas, bella, et triumphos describere ; fami- liarum nobilium genealogias et prerogativas studiose observare —
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. iii. , cap. ii. , p. 430.
44 They are said to have exceeded, at this
time, the number of twelve hundred. See
Rev. Jeoffry Keating's "General History of Ireland, "part ii. , p. 372, Dermod O'Con-
poem
:
later period, states
:
" Twelve hundred men, with one con- sent, from Erin's utmost ends,
We sought the hills where ruled the Bards' hereditary friends,
Thysheltering, song-preservinghills, Ultonia, cess nor dues
Crayed we but sat and touched our ;
harps beside the Strand-End Yews. "
—"
Congal,"booki. , p. 5.
48 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu- lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book i. , chap, v. , p. 33.
49 See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. , Lect. iii. , pp. 56, 57-
;
metas ac limites notare ac distinguere. '
regionum agrorumque
nor's translation.
45 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu-
lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book i. , chap, v. , p. 33.
Duffy's
edition.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 475
numbers the bards fled into Ulidia once more, where they again received a
temporary asylum. w
This contest with the bards does not seem to have been the most formi-
dable one, to which the Irish monarch had been exposed, about this period.
After Aidan's refusal to regard the threats of satire on the part of those poets,
and the consequences then supposed to follow from poetical incantations, he
happened to be involved in other important political disputes. In 574. 5° Aidan, the son of Gabhran, succeeded to the Lordship of Scotch Dalriada.
He applied to St. Columba for the religious ceremony of inauguration 51 and ;
according to Scottish tradition, his consecration as monarch took place on the
celebrated Stone of Destiny. 52 Such a proceeding sufficiently proves how excellent was his judgment, and how sound was his policy. The Scots were a well-known colony of Scotland in the fourth century ;53 and, at a still later period among the Sects were Dalriads in Ireland and in Argyle, while in each
of Dunstaffnage
it
was taken
"Trias cap. 135, p. 147.
lib. Also Jocelin's or Sexta
there was a called Dalriada. 5 * Both in Ireland and in Scot- territory
country
land, the Dalriads are said to have paid tribute to the Irish monarch, until the
sixth century. Soon after his elevation, Aidan aspired to the forming of an
independent kingdom, and to the renouncing of all subjection to the Irish monarch; nay,assomebelieve,hewentsoveryfar,astoclaimsomejurisdic- tion,overtheparentIrishDalriada. 55 Itisevenstated,56thatAidandesiredto assert his sovereignty over the Irish Dalriada, and he required, that it should be exempt from the rule of the reigning monarch, Aedh Mac Ainmire, King of Erinn. He possessed sufficient power and address, not only to secure the independence of his race, but to lay the foundation of a supremacy, which afterwards it acquired, even in Scotland. 5? When grown strong enough to throw off the yoke, the Scottish Dalriads determined to assert their indepen- dence. 58 Feeling the loss to his treasury, as well as to his prestige, arising from this policy, the Irish King Aedh resolved to fix irrevocably the law of subjectionuponthem. Wherefore,byvirtueofhisprerogative,helaidclaim to the tributes and military service of the Gaedhelic or Scotch Dalriada, as a colony, which was bound to acknowledge the supremacy of the mother country. The Irish King, Aidus,5? insisted on receiving tribute from the Albanian prince, as from the suzerain or governor of a subject province. According to
some accounts, Aedhan Mac Gabhrain's purpose was merely to determine the
50 See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. i. ,
book ii. , chap, vii. , pp. 322, 323.
51 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 9, 10, and nn. (c, d, g), pp. 35 to 37.
211 to 216.
55 When the Tripartite Life relates St.
Patrick's prophecy concerning the family of Fergus mac Ere, it adds, that the prophecy was afterwards completed in ^Edan, the son
" it was removed to the old castle manu violenta
52 Its reputed history is a singular one.
of Gabhran,
ex ejus semine procedente qui
From — Iona,
regnum
Albania
occupavit. "
afterwards,
to the Abbey of Scone, near Edinburgh,
thence it was carried by Edward I. , the
cruel conqueror of Scotland, to the Abbey of Westminster. Here it is to be seen under the coronation chair of the English monarchs, so that even at the present day, the lineal descendant of this Aidan Queen Victoria has been enthroned on it as sovereign of Eng- land, Ireland and Scotland. See Le Comte de Montalembert's "Moines d'Occident," tome iii. . liv. xi. , chap, iv. , p. 197.
53 They are mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus,abouttheyear360.
54 See on this subject, John Hill Burton's
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
ii. ,
" of History
Scotland,"
vol.
i. , chap, v. , pp.
Vita S. Patricii, cap. exxxvii. , p. 95.
s6 By Prince O'Donnell.
57 The solemn charge he received, not to
molest the subjects of the Irish King, are given, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 5, p. 200.
s8 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. ii. , p. 430.
S9 See on this subject, Keating's "His- toryofIreland,"bookii. ,p. 372. Duffy's edition.
^ " It was an of the same nature assembly
;
-
of the Albanian Dalriada
his ambition
to have
476 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 9.
jurisdiction
; but,
appears
reached farther, and as an international conflict was impending, the great
-influence of St. Columba was invoked—probably by both parties—to intervene
-in the interests of justice and of peace. The Irish monarch selected Druim-
meeting, patrimonial territory,
he was surrounded by friends and faithful clansmen, and where he was more secure, than he should be at any other place. Some maintained he desired to accommodate his Scotch friends, by selecting a locality convenient for them, but, there seems to be no foundation for this surmise. According to some accounts, Aedh invited over from Iona the great patron of his race, St. Columcille, to have the benefit of his wise counsels in the discussion, not
only concerning the special subjects for which the meeting was first intended,
61
However, it should rather seem more probable, the invitation to be present did not pro- ceed from that quarter, and it is pretty certain, that Columba came as a matterof choice, because important religious and international interests were to
Ceat for the 60 because it was within his where
but regarding many others of social and political importance.
be considered and decided. 62 a Being
he took
over, when about seventy years old, from his island home at I, or Iona. 6* No doubt, too, but he had heard regarding Scanlan's inhuman treatment, and his feelings of compassion had been awakened so far, as to resolve on earnestly interceding with the monarch Aedh to effect his release from prison. But, in the interests of peace, he desired chiefly to appease the Irish king and the people, while he endeavoured to act as an arbitrator between them and the representatives of his adopted country. From the sequel, it appears the holy Abbot of Iona viewed their disputes from a high standpoint, and he resolved to remove for ever those causes of quarrel, with the sagacity of a
and Usnach, with this difference, that the Bards, who were a constituent body ofthe
O'Connor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Sciipto- res," tomus iv. , p. 27.
63 See Professor " On Eugene O'Curry,
the Manners and Customs ofthe Ancient
assemblies,
were here on their trial, and
old
t—heir places filled by the Christian clergy. "
Sir Samuel " Ferguson's
:" A Irish,"vol. Lect. iii. ,
Congal Poem, in Five Books, Note 8, p. 167.
xxxi. , p. 245.
61 See Professor
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish," Lect. iv. , pp. 77, 78.
63 The Annals of Ulster altogether ante- date this great Convention of Dromcett, by
Eugene O'Curry,
" On
64 This circumstance was noted, and it has
been the Vcnera- satisfactorily explained, by
ble Bede.
6s See also Dermod O'Connor's Keating's
"General History of Ireland," book ii. , p! 574. Duffy s edition.
great patron
of
literature,
passage
wise statesman and with the instincts of a true churchman.
A great retinue of bishops, priests and deacons accompanied St. Columba on this occasion. From the description given of his entourage, we might naturally suppose, that as a considerable number set out from Scotland, so thatseveralvesselswereemployedforthepurposesoftheirvoyage. Asbe-
longing to the superior or highest grade of the priesthood, the bishops should naturally be expected to have precedence ; but, owing to the circumstance of St. Columba having first propagated Christanity among the Picts, and because he had established bishops in Scotland, deriving their jurisdiction from Iona, he was regarded as the foremost ecclesiastic, in that distinguished company. 6* No less than twenty bishops are said to have followed in the wake of the illustrious Abbot, with a docility and submission worthy of novices. 65 Forty priests, thirty deacons, and fifty clerics of lower grade, accompanied him. Besides these, Aidan, the monarch ofthe Dalriadian colony planted in Scotland, attended by some chiefs from that principality, deemed it his duty and interest to be present. Among the marvellous tales, relating to Columba, there is a remarkable description ofthe saint's voyage from Scot- landovertoIreland. 66 Whentheholyabbotandhiscompanionshadlefttheport
as the Comitia which used to be held at Tara placing it at A. n. 574. See Rev. Dr.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
of departure, we are told of a tempest, which had been excited by a ferocious and huge sea-monster. 6? This storm threatened to submerge the vessel and hercrew,whentheywerelaunchedoutintotheopensea. Thoseonboard,in terror and alarm, begged of the holy man to deliver them from this monster.
