Sometimes this function was
associated
with that of Scribe,248 sometimes with the condition of Anchorite,240 and in one instance, with the office of Abbot.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
, p, 315.
ao6 See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,"
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. no.
2I0 In Irish See Dr. O'Donovan's
p]\io|\.
"Annals of die Four Masters, vol. i. , at
"
June 9. ] LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. monastic occupations. The founder was much devoted to it,
397
and many Cummian, Adamnan, &c, also practised the composition of literary works. There must have been in Iona and in its subordinate monasteries, Missals, Antiphonaries,
Graduals, Hymnals and other Service Books for public use, at the Altars, and in the choirs of their respective oratories and churches. While several Manu-
of his books were
preserved.
222 His
successors,
wrapper,
shoes or
26 meals. *
very shaggy
working travelling, they
Prsefacio Secunda.
812 See lib. ii. , cap. I.
913 See lib. ii. , cap. 40.
xxxvni. , pp. 123, 124.
225 Of their ordinary Latin hand, in the
eighth century, the Rev. Dr. Reeves' Cod.
214 See lib.
lib. 21. iii. , cap.
A. of Adamnan is a fine
226 This is remarkably illustrated in the
Book of Armagh. The style is peculiar to the Irish school, and the family likeness can be traced in manuscripts, which are now found in situations very remote from one another.
227 See Adamnan's "Life of St. Co- lumba," lib. i. , cap. 35.
328 See lib. ii. , cap. 3, 44. 229 See lib. ii. , cap. 3, 44. 230 See lib. i. , cap. 37.
331 See lib. i. cap. 28.
especially
kept
monastery.
ii. , cap. 25,
215 See Venerable Bede's " Historia Ec-
clesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. 18.
2,6 Adamnan's two remaining Latin works
give proof of his classical attainments, and Cummian's Paschal Epistle is a remarkable specimen of the Irish ecclesiastical learning of his day.
217 See ibid. , lib. v. , cap. 20.
218 I'o the Saxon students, whoTrequented
Ireland in the seventh,and eighth century, the natives supplied books for study.
specimen.
3,9 Adamnan
quotes Sulpicius'
Life of St.
333 See lib.
233 See lib. iii. , cap. 12.
234 See lib. ii. , cap. 16.
235 See lib. iii. , cap. 10.
236 See lib. i. , cap. 29, lib. ii. , cap. 3,
lib. 337
Martin, and Constantine's Life of St. Ger-
manus, which were collected in a mixtion.
220
after supper, of " collationes vel vitas Pa-
ornamented and 22* others were traced in a illuminated,
were
plainer fashion. The Greek hand was in vogue, among the Irish scribes of the eighth century. 225 It was a common practice with them, to write Latin matter
highly
in the Greek letters.
scripts
226
It seems very probable, that a journal or a chronicle
St. Benedict prescribed the reading
—aut certe
trum, aliquid quod
"
tes. " Regula S. Benedicti," cap. 42.
of obits—was
of events—
Irish Annals probably derived the few particulars which they have recorded con- cerning Hy. The stated manual labour of the monks was agriculture in its
in the
various such as 228 229 230
branches, ploughing, seed-sowing, reaping, threshing,
andbringinghomethecorn,sometimesontheirbacks. 232 Thedifferentmonas-
2
tic works,233 moreover, are specified, such as milking,234 baking, 3S working in
theshop,236andthedutyofcarryingmessages,23? onsea238 andonland. 239 The
2*1
monastichabitwasofcoarsetexture atunic2*°
; being
wor—nnextthe
and a cape or h—ood being over it. * This latter garment sometimes called casidaandcapa consistedofthebodyandthehood. Whentheweather
was cold, the monks wore a warmer garment called amphibalusf^ a sort of
221 See Adamnan's "Life of St. Co- lumba," lib. ii. , cap. 29, lib. , iii, cap. 4. 5-
IS- 23-
322 See lib. ii. , cap. 9, 44.
223 Sec lib. i. , cap. 23, lib. iii. , cap. 23.
2,4 As we have alluded specimens, already
to the Book of Kells and of Durrow. Giral- dus Cambrensis' glowing description of the
Gospels at Kildare is hardly strong enough to express the artistic excellencies manifested in the Book of Kells. See his account of the former, in Giraldi Cambrensis " Opera," vol. v. Edited by James F. Dimock, M. A. , "Topographia Hibernica,'' Dist. ii. , cap.
238 See lib. i. , cap. 18, lib. ii. , cap. 3,
239 See lib. i-, cap. 15, 31, lib. ii. , cap. 39.
240 This seems to have been of a white colour. See lib. ii. , cap. 44.
sedificet audien-
hi. , cap. 15.
See lib. i. , cap. 15.
22
2** on both sides. When or wore
sandals,
2*5 which it was
customary
to remove before
down to sitting .
221 Saints Baithen,223
i. , cap. 37.
241 See lib.
242 See lib.
243 Supposed to be derived from the Greek
word dficpifxaWos, signifying "friezed on both sides. "
244 See lib. i. , cap. 3, lib. ii. , cap. 6.
245 They were called calcei and jicones.
See lib. ii. , cap. 13, and ibid. , n. (e).
246
See lib. ii. , cap. 13.
ii. , cap. 27. ii. , cap. 24.
22^ From the it,
body,
231
398 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
A member of the society is occasionally recorded, under the title of Bishop. 24?
Sometimes this function was associated with that of Scribe,248 sometimes with the condition of Anchorite,240 and in one instance, with the office of Abbot. 250 Generally, however, the office was a distinct one. 251 Expertness in writing was considered an accomplishment in the founder,252 and it was an important qualification in his successor. 255 Dorbene, the abbot elect in 713, was a writer, 254 and probably he had been scribe of the monas- tery. So honourable was such an employment, that the title is frequently added,toenhancethecelebrityofanabbotorofabishop. 255 Ata—muchlater
we meet with the offi— 250
period,ceofGreatPriest,whichmightfromthe
general application of sacredos be supposed to express the idea of Bishop. In the opinion of Rev. Dr. Reeves, it rather seems to denote that priest,
whose sanctity or other qualifications gave him precedence among the other presbyters of the society. 25 ? The abbot had a private attendant, called the minister,258 and ministrator,250 who waited on him 26° to serve. He was a
frequent companion, and an object of tender solicitude.
2-1
Certain brethren,
intelligent, active, and expert seamen, were employed as legati or messengers,
202
on particular occasions. These seem to have been specially charged with the *
care of the boats and marine The 2 2- or cella- appointments. butler, pincerna,
rius, 204 had charge of the refectory and of its appointments. In primitive t^imes his office sometimes coincided with that of the ceconomus. The baker is mentioned, in connexion with the institute at Hy, as bread must have formed a very considerable part of the food. In the Irish Life of St. Columba, notice is taken of the cook 266
belonging
tools 268 were in the 200 monastery.
21 workers in metal, such as braziers. ?
2?
Adamnan tells us of a pugio or
to his 20 ? monastery.
Several kinds of iron
There were
smiths,
and
probably
other
butcher'sknife,andofamachera,2? 2 adaggerorsword,2? 5 whichwereprobably ofhomemanufacture. Thosewhodesiredtofollowamoreasceticlife,than
247 See in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , the
"Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes O,
Annals of at Ulster,
p. 365.
ss8 Seelib.
711, p. 72.
248 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
iii. , cap. 23.
Four Masters," vol. ii. , at a. d. 961, and A. D. 978.
*« See ibid. , at A. D. 964.
250
See ibid. , at a. d. 978.
251 When, in after times, instruction in
literature was added to the practice and
teaching of penmanship, the more honour-
able name of pepteijinn or vir lectionis, or
pnelector was adopted. See the Irish
*& See lib. i. , cap. 8.
2'° See lib. i. , cap. 26.
Annals at A. D.
252 See Praefacio Secunda Adamnani Vitse
S. Columba? Abbatis, and lib. iii. , cap 23. 253 See lib. i. , cap. 23, and lib. iii. ,
cap. 23. 25«HeissaidtohaveproducedtheCodex
A, alluded to by Rev. Dr. Reeves.
255 Thus in 961, the bishop of the Isles of
** See lib. i. , cap. 31, lib. ii. , cap. 5. 263
^ See lib. i. , cap. 17.
The cellarius of the Benedictine Rule,
had considerable responsibility devolving on him, both for the care of provisions and
vessels belonging to the monastery. See cap. xxxi.
s<5s He is called and when his name pistor,
Genereus is given, in the time of St.
Columba, he was a Saxon. See Adamnan,
Vita S. Columboe, lib. iii. , cap. x.
a66
Called coic. 2t? ThemembersoftheBenedictineOrder,
who prepared the food, did duty for a week at a time, and they were styled as a—conse-
1164.
Alba was a pcpibtii'o, or scribe. See Dr. quence "septimanarii coquina;," Cap.
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters,"
vol. ii. , pp. 182, 183. The abbot of Hy in 797
xxxv.
268 Called "ferramenta," in lib. ii. , cap.
^of Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba. " 29,
The process of fusing a piece of iron through the ferramenta of the establishment certainly indicates the existence of workers in metal.
was a
scribe. " See ibid. , vol. i. , pp. 404, 405. And, in 978 he was both a scribe and a bishop. See ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 708, 709.
256 In Irish Starve mop. See the Irish
rcrobneoip cojai-oe,
or "choice
Annals at A. D. 1
257 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
2'° In Irish 2? 1 InIrish
goba cejvo,
means " a smith. '' "abrazier. "
164.
26'
See lib. ii. , cap. 30.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
that which the society afforded to its ordinary members, withdrew to a desert, 2
or solitary place, ? * in the neighbourhood of the monastery. 275 There, they enjoyed undisturbed meditation, without breaking the fraternal bond. 2? 6 On the shore, in the low ground north of the cathedral at Iona, was the hermi- tage,277 as may be inferred from the denomination of Port-na-Diseart, the name of a little bay in that situation. 278 The individual who presided here
was "
styled Superior
at is on record. 280 Hy
ofthe
Hermitage.
2^ Thenameofsuchanofficer
The Superior of
Culdees,
281 like the Prior Colideo-
rum of Armagh, is recorded in the Annals of the order, at the year 1164. 282
The Culdee system, whatever its peculiarities may have been, was admitted
in Hy, yet, as conjectured, only late in the History of the Columban order. 283
It seems quite probable, that the Rule of Discipline prescribed for his
community at Derry and Kells was that which St. Columba adopted for his
monks,atIona; but,itmayhaveundergonesomechangesoremendations, as experience and circumstances required, during the after years of his life.
We can only form an imperfect idea respecting the constitution and spirit of St. Columba's institute there, from those incidental notices contained in his earlier acts,284 and which seem to exhibit a general coincidence with the reli- gious ideas of that period, when the Secundus Ordo of our Irish Saints flourished,285 andwhensomanyremarkablereligiousparenthouseshadbeen founded, by several holy Presbyters, who became their Abbots and Patrons. These had jurisdiction over their communities in a governmental sense, some- what commensurate with that of the bishops over the subjects of their dio- ceses. The Irish social system influenced greatly their family and kindred relations, with the parent and affiliate establishments. Every great monas- tery was a centre of tribal attraction, and it served as a school and as an asylum for the patron's or founder's kin. Such patronage was serviceable to the monas- tery, in its earlier days ; but often, it produced great abuses and excesses, when such influence was directed by a spirit of avarice and exaction, in after times. To sequester its revenues, and to usurp ecclesiastical benefices and
immunities, were frequently the objects sought by lay patrons.
In Iona, as elsewhere, monastic life was regarded as a Christian warfare. 286
Each member of a religious community was a soldier or an athlete of Christ;287
while collectively,
these monks were called soldiers or 288 fellow-soldiers,
2?
7 See lib. ii. , cap. 29.
2? 3Seelib. ii. , cap. 39.
274 The abode of such was called a
sSl He is called Cen CebeTJe.
*82
SeetheIrishAnnals.
l83 No more than the Deoradhs, or the
other developments of conventual obser- vance, the Culdees had no particular con- nexion with this order.
284 And chiefly from those written by Adamnan.
285 In connexion with this portion of our
narrative, it may be permitted us to observe, we have closely followed that admirable
general analysis—left us by Rev Dr. Reeves in his edition of Adamnan's work—which is
" averyresearchfuldissertationon Institutio
Hyensis. " See Additional Notes N, pp.
334 to 369.
from the Latin word desertum.
275 As a heremitical life was held in such honour among the Scotic churches, we fre- find the word Desert an element in
of heremitical life at the monastery of Mel- rose, in Venerable Bede's " Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xii. -'7 There was a Disert, likewise, beside themonasteryofDerry,aswehaveit men- tioned in the Annals of Ulster, at a. d. ii 22. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiberni-
carumScriptores,"tomusiv. ,p. 387.
2 ? 8 In 1101, the Four Masters record the endowmentofasimilarinstitutionatCashel,
for c]\AibT>ech or devotees.
2? 9 In Irish called the T)iret\cAc, or cenn
An 'Oirmc.
280 See the Irish Annals, at A.
ao6 See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,"
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. no.
2I0 In Irish See Dr. O'Donovan's
p]\io|\.
"Annals of die Four Masters, vol. i. , at
"
June 9. ] LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. monastic occupations. The founder was much devoted to it,
397
and many Cummian, Adamnan, &c, also practised the composition of literary works. There must have been in Iona and in its subordinate monasteries, Missals, Antiphonaries,
Graduals, Hymnals and other Service Books for public use, at the Altars, and in the choirs of their respective oratories and churches. While several Manu-
of his books were
preserved.
222 His
successors,
wrapper,
shoes or
26 meals. *
very shaggy
working travelling, they
Prsefacio Secunda.
812 See lib. ii. , cap. I.
913 See lib. ii. , cap. 40.
xxxvni. , pp. 123, 124.
225 Of their ordinary Latin hand, in the
eighth century, the Rev. Dr. Reeves' Cod.
214 See lib.
lib. 21. iii. , cap.
A. of Adamnan is a fine
226 This is remarkably illustrated in the
Book of Armagh. The style is peculiar to the Irish school, and the family likeness can be traced in manuscripts, which are now found in situations very remote from one another.
227 See Adamnan's "Life of St. Co- lumba," lib. i. , cap. 35.
328 See lib. ii. , cap. 3, 44. 229 See lib. ii. , cap. 3, 44. 230 See lib. i. , cap. 37.
331 See lib. i. cap. 28.
especially
kept
monastery.
ii. , cap. 25,
215 See Venerable Bede's " Historia Ec-
clesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. 18.
2,6 Adamnan's two remaining Latin works
give proof of his classical attainments, and Cummian's Paschal Epistle is a remarkable specimen of the Irish ecclesiastical learning of his day.
217 See ibid. , lib. v. , cap. 20.
218 I'o the Saxon students, whoTrequented
Ireland in the seventh,and eighth century, the natives supplied books for study.
specimen.
3,9 Adamnan
quotes Sulpicius'
Life of St.
333 See lib.
233 See lib. iii. , cap. 12.
234 See lib. ii. , cap. 16.
235 See lib. iii. , cap. 10.
236 See lib. i. , cap. 29, lib. ii. , cap. 3,
lib. 337
Martin, and Constantine's Life of St. Ger-
manus, which were collected in a mixtion.
220
after supper, of " collationes vel vitas Pa-
ornamented and 22* others were traced in a illuminated,
were
plainer fashion. The Greek hand was in vogue, among the Irish scribes of the eighth century. 225 It was a common practice with them, to write Latin matter
highly
in the Greek letters.
scripts
226
It seems very probable, that a journal or a chronicle
St. Benedict prescribed the reading
—aut certe
trum, aliquid quod
"
tes. " Regula S. Benedicti," cap. 42.
of obits—was
of events—
Irish Annals probably derived the few particulars which they have recorded con- cerning Hy. The stated manual labour of the monks was agriculture in its
in the
various such as 228 229 230
branches, ploughing, seed-sowing, reaping, threshing,
andbringinghomethecorn,sometimesontheirbacks. 232 Thedifferentmonas-
2
tic works,233 moreover, are specified, such as milking,234 baking, 3S working in
theshop,236andthedutyofcarryingmessages,23? onsea238 andonland. 239 The
2*1
monastichabitwasofcoarsetexture atunic2*°
; being
wor—nnextthe
and a cape or h—ood being over it. * This latter garment sometimes called casidaandcapa consistedofthebodyandthehood. Whentheweather
was cold, the monks wore a warmer garment called amphibalusf^ a sort of
221 See Adamnan's "Life of St. Co- lumba," lib. ii. , cap. 29, lib. , iii, cap. 4. 5-
IS- 23-
322 See lib. ii. , cap. 9, 44.
223 Sec lib. i. , cap. 23, lib. iii. , cap. 23.
2,4 As we have alluded specimens, already
to the Book of Kells and of Durrow. Giral- dus Cambrensis' glowing description of the
Gospels at Kildare is hardly strong enough to express the artistic excellencies manifested in the Book of Kells. See his account of the former, in Giraldi Cambrensis " Opera," vol. v. Edited by James F. Dimock, M. A. , "Topographia Hibernica,'' Dist. ii. , cap.
238 See lib. i. , cap. 18, lib. ii. , cap. 3,
239 See lib. i-, cap. 15, 31, lib. ii. , cap. 39.
240 This seems to have been of a white colour. See lib. ii. , cap. 44.
sedificet audien-
hi. , cap. 15.
See lib. i. , cap. 15.
22
2** on both sides. When or wore
sandals,
2*5 which it was
customary
to remove before
down to sitting .
221 Saints Baithen,223
i. , cap. 37.
241 See lib.
242 See lib.
243 Supposed to be derived from the Greek
word dficpifxaWos, signifying "friezed on both sides. "
244 See lib. i. , cap. 3, lib. ii. , cap. 6.
245 They were called calcei and jicones.
See lib. ii. , cap. 13, and ibid. , n. (e).
246
See lib. ii. , cap. 13.
ii. , cap. 27. ii. , cap. 24.
22^ From the it,
body,
231
398 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
A member of the society is occasionally recorded, under the title of Bishop. 24?
Sometimes this function was associated with that of Scribe,248 sometimes with the condition of Anchorite,240 and in one instance, with the office of Abbot. 250 Generally, however, the office was a distinct one. 251 Expertness in writing was considered an accomplishment in the founder,252 and it was an important qualification in his successor. 255 Dorbene, the abbot elect in 713, was a writer, 254 and probably he had been scribe of the monas- tery. So honourable was such an employment, that the title is frequently added,toenhancethecelebrityofanabbotorofabishop. 255 Ata—muchlater
we meet with the offi— 250
period,ceofGreatPriest,whichmightfromthe
general application of sacredos be supposed to express the idea of Bishop. In the opinion of Rev. Dr. Reeves, it rather seems to denote that priest,
whose sanctity or other qualifications gave him precedence among the other presbyters of the society. 25 ? The abbot had a private attendant, called the minister,258 and ministrator,250 who waited on him 26° to serve. He was a
frequent companion, and an object of tender solicitude.
2-1
Certain brethren,
intelligent, active, and expert seamen, were employed as legati or messengers,
202
on particular occasions. These seem to have been specially charged with the *
care of the boats and marine The 2 2- or cella- appointments. butler, pincerna,
rius, 204 had charge of the refectory and of its appointments. In primitive t^imes his office sometimes coincided with that of the ceconomus. The baker is mentioned, in connexion with the institute at Hy, as bread must have formed a very considerable part of the food. In the Irish Life of St. Columba, notice is taken of the cook 266
belonging
tools 268 were in the 200 monastery.
21 workers in metal, such as braziers. ?
2?
Adamnan tells us of a pugio or
to his 20 ? monastery.
Several kinds of iron
There were
smiths,
and
probably
other
butcher'sknife,andofamachera,2? 2 adaggerorsword,2? 5 whichwereprobably ofhomemanufacture. Thosewhodesiredtofollowamoreasceticlife,than
247 See in Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , the
"Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes O,
Annals of at Ulster,
p. 365.
ss8 Seelib.
711, p. 72.
248 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
iii. , cap. 23.
Four Masters," vol. ii. , at a. d. 961, and A. D. 978.
*« See ibid. , at A. D. 964.
250
See ibid. , at a. d. 978.
251 When, in after times, instruction in
literature was added to the practice and
teaching of penmanship, the more honour-
able name of pepteijinn or vir lectionis, or
pnelector was adopted. See the Irish
*& See lib. i. , cap. 8.
2'° See lib. i. , cap. 26.
Annals at A. D.
252 See Praefacio Secunda Adamnani Vitse
S. Columba? Abbatis, and lib. iii. , cap 23. 253 See lib. i. , cap. 23, and lib. iii. ,
cap. 23. 25«HeissaidtohaveproducedtheCodex
A, alluded to by Rev. Dr. Reeves.
255 Thus in 961, the bishop of the Isles of
** See lib. i. , cap. 31, lib. ii. , cap. 5. 263
^ See lib. i. , cap. 17.
The cellarius of the Benedictine Rule,
had considerable responsibility devolving on him, both for the care of provisions and
vessels belonging to the monastery. See cap. xxxi.
s<5s He is called and when his name pistor,
Genereus is given, in the time of St.
Columba, he was a Saxon. See Adamnan,
Vita S. Columboe, lib. iii. , cap. x.
a66
Called coic. 2t? ThemembersoftheBenedictineOrder,
who prepared the food, did duty for a week at a time, and they were styled as a—conse-
1164.
Alba was a pcpibtii'o, or scribe. See Dr. quence "septimanarii coquina;," Cap.
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters,"
vol. ii. , pp. 182, 183. The abbot of Hy in 797
xxxv.
268 Called "ferramenta," in lib. ii. , cap.
^of Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba. " 29,
The process of fusing a piece of iron through the ferramenta of the establishment certainly indicates the existence of workers in metal.
was a
scribe. " See ibid. , vol. i. , pp. 404, 405. And, in 978 he was both a scribe and a bishop. See ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 708, 709.
256 In Irish Starve mop. See the Irish
rcrobneoip cojai-oe,
or "choice
Annals at A. D. 1
257 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
2'° In Irish 2? 1 InIrish
goba cejvo,
means " a smith. '' "abrazier. "
164.
26'
See lib. ii. , cap. 30.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
that which the society afforded to its ordinary members, withdrew to a desert, 2
or solitary place, ? * in the neighbourhood of the monastery. 275 There, they enjoyed undisturbed meditation, without breaking the fraternal bond. 2? 6 On the shore, in the low ground north of the cathedral at Iona, was the hermi- tage,277 as may be inferred from the denomination of Port-na-Diseart, the name of a little bay in that situation. 278 The individual who presided here
was "
styled Superior
at is on record. 280 Hy
ofthe
Hermitage.
2^ Thenameofsuchanofficer
The Superior of
Culdees,
281 like the Prior Colideo-
rum of Armagh, is recorded in the Annals of the order, at the year 1164. 282
The Culdee system, whatever its peculiarities may have been, was admitted
in Hy, yet, as conjectured, only late in the History of the Columban order. 283
It seems quite probable, that the Rule of Discipline prescribed for his
community at Derry and Kells was that which St. Columba adopted for his
monks,atIona; but,itmayhaveundergonesomechangesoremendations, as experience and circumstances required, during the after years of his life.
We can only form an imperfect idea respecting the constitution and spirit of St. Columba's institute there, from those incidental notices contained in his earlier acts,284 and which seem to exhibit a general coincidence with the reli- gious ideas of that period, when the Secundus Ordo of our Irish Saints flourished,285 andwhensomanyremarkablereligiousparenthouseshadbeen founded, by several holy Presbyters, who became their Abbots and Patrons. These had jurisdiction over their communities in a governmental sense, some- what commensurate with that of the bishops over the subjects of their dio- ceses. The Irish social system influenced greatly their family and kindred relations, with the parent and affiliate establishments. Every great monas- tery was a centre of tribal attraction, and it served as a school and as an asylum for the patron's or founder's kin. Such patronage was serviceable to the monas- tery, in its earlier days ; but often, it produced great abuses and excesses, when such influence was directed by a spirit of avarice and exaction, in after times. To sequester its revenues, and to usurp ecclesiastical benefices and
immunities, were frequently the objects sought by lay patrons.
In Iona, as elsewhere, monastic life was regarded as a Christian warfare. 286
Each member of a religious community was a soldier or an athlete of Christ;287
while collectively,
these monks were called soldiers or 288 fellow-soldiers,
2?
7 See lib. ii. , cap. 29.
2? 3Seelib. ii. , cap. 39.
274 The abode of such was called a
sSl He is called Cen CebeTJe.
*82
SeetheIrishAnnals.
l83 No more than the Deoradhs, or the
other developments of conventual obser- vance, the Culdees had no particular con- nexion with this order.
284 And chiefly from those written by Adamnan.
285 In connexion with this portion of our
narrative, it may be permitted us to observe, we have closely followed that admirable
general analysis—left us by Rev Dr. Reeves in his edition of Adamnan's work—which is
" averyresearchfuldissertationon Institutio
Hyensis. " See Additional Notes N, pp.
334 to 369.
from the Latin word desertum.
275 As a heremitical life was held in such honour among the Scotic churches, we fre- find the word Desert an element in
of heremitical life at the monastery of Mel- rose, in Venerable Bede's " Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xii. -'7 There was a Disert, likewise, beside themonasteryofDerry,aswehaveit men- tioned in the Annals of Ulster, at a. d. ii 22. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiberni-
carumScriptores,"tomusiv. ,p. 387.
2 ? 8 In 1101, the Four Masters record the endowmentofasimilarinstitutionatCashel,
for c]\AibT>ech or devotees.
2? 9 In Irish called the T)iret\cAc, or cenn
An 'Oirmc.
280 See the Irish Annals, at A.
