Now Colman Ela was of the race of Eremon the son of Miled of Spain, as his genealogy declares. And these were the constant followers of Colman Ela; in the first place Cuiniugán; it is to his race that the Muinter Cuiniugáin (Family of C.) belong to-day. They are of the race of Brian son of Eochaid Muigmedon.
As to Colman Ela when he came to Fir Cell, they did not welcome him, and no one was more hostile to him than Cuiniugán. And a trouble had arisen (or befallen) in the land at this time; to wit, there was a pestilent monster in Lough Ela, and (lit. for) no man or beast would venture to go near the lake for fear of it. And this was the nature (lit. description) of the monster a small pointed gaping apparition in the shape of a woman. And Cuiniugan said to them then: It would be better for us to set yon holy man called Colman Ela to fight the monster, and it would be better (still) in our opinion that neither of them should return.
Now the king of Fir Cell at that time was Donnchad son of Aed, son of Sathmainide, of the race of Fiacha son of Niall of the nine hostages. ‘Bring Colman to us,’ said the king, ‘that he may preach to us, so that we may know how many among us he can convert.’
Colman was brought to them, and he preached to them. And he sent a message to his assisting friends, and these were his friends, namely Columcille, the fair son of Feidlimid. and they were related to one another; for Mor the daughter of Feidlimid son of Fergus Cendfada (Long head), son of Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the nine hostages, was Colman's mother. Mancan of Liath also came to him with his saints, for they (he and Colman) were nearly related. And they met together, and Columcille said that he would act as Colman's crozier-deacon (i.e. carry his pastoral staff) that day. And Mancan said that he would sprinkle (holy) water on the hosts, to bring them into friendliness with Colman.
And these clerks began their preaching, and they had fair Latin books with them, and they {folio 219b} recited their reading clearly, and praised the Creator fervently. And it was recreation of mind and heart to the hosts to listen to them. And those who had never thought of God before, turned their thoughts to Him now. And one of the first to offer himself to God and Colman that day was Cuiniugán.
The above-mentioned king had three sons, namely Muad, Duinecha, and Aillean; and Muad was the eldest son. And he said that he himself loved Colman, and that with his father's permission
And when Colman heard this, he set out towards the monster to the lake. And the name of the monster was Lainn, and this was the nature of it — a small pointed gaping apparition, and short bushy hair, unwashed and unkempt, all over its head. And the monster came to land. And Colman said: If God permit, I would permit the reeds of the lake to bind thee for me, that I may slay thee. And as Colman said this, he looked up, and the Righteous One answered him, and all that he asked of Him he obtained.
And Cuiniugán was with him at that time, and also Duinecha, and they had both believed in him. And the following saints were also with him there, namely Blaan, Bishop Findcen, and Bishop Coirill; and the seven sons of Deiccell, and Bishop Eogan, and Odran, and Forgan, and Mernag, and Fachtna.
{folio 220a}Then said Colman Ela: ‘Let some saint of you attack the monster, and cut off its head.’ ‘I will go,’ said Cuineda, ‘and behead it for the love of thee.’ ‘I will go to repell it,’ said Duinecha, ‘and I desire not to receive from thee the royal honour136 due to my place, for it was by thee I wished my burial to be. And since my father has no other sons but myself and two others, I looked forward to receiving the chieftainship. Yet, all the same, it is with thee I would wish my body to be.’
And these two, Cuineda and Duinecha, went and beheaded the monster. And they brought the head to Colman. And Colman blessed them both. And Colman said then to Cuineda: ‘Thou and thy seed shall be with me till doom as stewards; and myrelics shall be with you, and I will bequeath evil to them that encroach upon you.’ ‘I will be thy servant,’ said Duinecha, ‘till thy habitation and labour be all ready’; and he (Colman) said this lay:
- 1] Stronger is the church than any king,
2] I tell it to you without disparagement;
3] A proverb is this (which holds) good till doom,
4] I think it well for all to hear it.- 5] Do ye see it yourselves,
6] O beauteous saints of Erin?
7] The one that opposed me so strongly
8] The monster, ye see that it is headless.
- 9] It was a reproach,137 I say (it) to you,
10] noble clerks of the world,
11] It were better for you to be at the meeting
12] On the day of deceit with its outcry.- 13] When thou recitest thy (canonical) hours,
14] And (when) thou shalt be in the womb of thy mother,138
15] Recite them thyself leisurely to the congregation,
16] If thou wilt gain the profit of them.- 17] Every verse of them that thou recitest,
18] Expound their texts minutely;
19] Speak in thine own character exactly,
20] And fix on them thine understanding;
21] Then shalt thou receive (thy request) from the King of the stars,
22] Whose protection is never-ending.- 23] The verse which the mighty recite,
{folio 220b}
24] Thou deem'st it long till it proceed from thee,
25] The man of deceit who is in the congregation,
26] No better for thee is his recitation.- 27] Recite thyself softly, sweetly, pleasantly,
28] Thy prayers and thy reading;
29] Expound their Latin truly,
30] And turn thy Pater (noster) into Gaelic.- 31] Visit early, as is right,
32] (And) approach the altar frequently;
33] Give great love to their renown,
34] Preach among the laymen.
- 35] I tell to thee without regret
36] From myself with reference to the church a noble story;
37] We will not tell you a matter without order,
38] But a story which goes to the root of things.- 39] The three things that are strongest under the sun,
40] I tell them to you in order,
41] The church, and the hot fire,
42] And the third thing is water.- 43] The fire which thou lightest thyself,
44] Though it be weak as it comes forth into the sun,
45] It is seen a long way off,
46] And its smoke is plainly visible.
- 47] The true fountain which ebbs there,
48] When the drought comes, it is weak;
49] But, when the open flood fills it,
50] It is strong through the multitude of waters.- 51] The Church, when she is there,
52] And a feeble king oppresses her;
53] Sad I deem it to be outside,
54] Weak will be the voice of the clerks.- 55] However, when they fail,
56] The feeble chiefs of Athleague,
57] Good in God's sight will be the noisy(?) offspring,
58] Which that day will be weak.- 59] Not in the sight of man will it be good,
60] When it comes to the eternal pleasure,
61] But openly in the sight of the one God
62] Some one of us will be over them in strength.
- 63] When thy soul goes out of thy body of clay,
64] Though thou wast eager towards the church,
65] Though the call, O man, shall come roughly,
66] Thou art glad to receive it.- 67] When thou art in thy single shirt of linen (shroud),
68] Thou shalt be (carried) to the gentle church;
69] It will not be good in thy sight to conceal it,
70] That for us on thee may be its strength.- 71] When there shall separate from thee there
72] Thy eight nets139 without error,
73] We will entreat for thee to the end,
74] And the clerics will entreat.
- 75] Of it I told the story,
76] Of the monster there, which was strong,
77] When we saw therefrom
78] On yon monster a human form.{folio 221a}79] We will bear it to our warm house,
80] (To) the church because of its strength.- 81] From it we deem (the place) will be called,
82] (From) the monster that was killed in its pool.
83] The place will be mine without dispute,
84] This land will be the land of Colman.
- 85] I am Colman Ela;
86] Good also in the sight of the one God
87] Are the two who were once against me;
88] I myself restrained them in one day.- 89] Cuinega answered me gently
90] After the sermon which I preached to the king;
91] For love of me openly
92] He (went) to slay the monster.- 93] From the time that the monster was slain
94] Dumb on the broad stream with its rough pools,
95] I shall have, strong without concealment,
96] Over them assuredly strength.Stronger.
After this lay Colman Ela proceeded to Land Ela, and made a fortified house therein, and blessed the cemetery in conjunction with the above-mentioned saints. And the monster was the first creature buried in Land Ela. And they constructed a great work there, to wit a causeway; and the length of the causeway was from Land Ela to Coill an Clair (the wood of the level); and swans used to come every hour to sing to them, and relieve their fatigue; so that for this reason the place was called Land Ela (Swans land).
Now Colman Ela's tutor was Gregory the golden-mouthed. And he promised that whenever he should die, he would reveal the fact to Colman. And one day when Colman was making the causeway at the western stone (and no one ever laid a stone of the church, or of the stone enclosure, or of the causeway, without Duinecha being with him (i.e. Colman), and Cuineda (also) serving him manfully) Colman fell upon his knees, and it seemed to him that he heard the passing bell of Gregory the golden-mouthed. And swoon and deadly faintness fell upon Colman at that time at the intimation that his tutor had passed away.
And his family asked him: ‘What is the reason of thy sadness, O holy clerk?’ ‘Good cause have I for sadness,’ {folio 221b} said he, ‘for I have heard the passing bell of my tutor.’ ‘O mighty God,’ said the clerks and the workpeople, ‘right marvellous is it in our eyes that any one in the world should hear the bells of Rome.’ ‘I entreat the mighty God,’ said Colman, ‘that ye yourselves, both clerks, and servants, and youths, may hear what I hear. Kneel down on your knees.’ And they knelt. And this was the number of those that were there, four thousand four hundred, four score and ten. And there was not a single man among them at that time who did not hear the bells of Rome.
And at the same time they saw (coming) towards them seven asses laden with seven sacks full of the soil of Rome. ‘Here, Colman, thou holy clerk,’ said the
Now the man who was abbot in Durrow in the absence of Columcille was Cormac Ua Liathain. And the family of Durrow committed an evil act against Colman without Cormac's leave. And this is what they did, to wit, they came to steal the earth (that came from Rome), and they came as far as the stone enclosure of the cemetery. And they only succeeded in carrying off some of the earth that was nearest to them on the outside of the stone enclosure. And this was noticed on the morrow; and Colman and his family followed the track of the earth as far as Durrow.
And Columcille came home at that very hour, and the place where he was at the time was the little seat which is now called Columcille's little seat. And Colman Ela greeted him, and he wore a sinister smile as he greeted him; and Columcille answered {folio 222a} this smilingly; and he asked: ‘What is the matter of thy complaint, O Colman?’ ‘I have great ground therefor,’ said Colman, ‘for the compassionate gift of Roman earth which my tutor sent me, thy family came to steal last night. But, glory be to God, it was not that which they got.’
‘Do not curse us, O clerk,’ said Columcille, ‘and thou shalt receive every satisfaction.’140 ‘I will not curse thee,’ said Colman, ‘for thou art not guilty towards me. But I shall curse Cormac Ua Liathain. And I beseech God that there may not be in all Erin a man of his race owning so much as a townland or a half townland; and that wolves may eat his flesh at the last.’ Then said Columcille: ‘If it be thy wish, the earth shall be restored.’ ‘I wish it not, said Colman, and I pray God that it may have for thee the virtue of the earth of Rome from henceforth.’
‘I think it right,’ said Columcille, ‘to tell thee a difficulty of our own.’ ‘What is this difficulty?’ said Colman, ‘for there is no one to whom it were more fitting for us to refer any difficulty that we may have, than to thee, for thou art three days of every week in heaven.’
‘This is the difficulty that has befallen in the matter,’ said Columcille: ‘Uanach, the sister of thy mother, and my own sister, has borne two sons to Maeluma son of Baetan, son of Fergus, son of Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the nine hostages; and I baptized them, and I named one of them Ultan, and the other Baithin. And
‘My advice is soon given,’ said Colman, ‘give them to me to nourish and to foster. And let us make a covenant respecting them, for I have two paps such as no saint ever had before, a pap with milk, and a pap with honey, and these I will give to them (to suck).’ And the children were given to Colman, and he spoke this lay there:
{folio 223a}
- 1] Two paps has Colman Ela,
2] A pap of milk, a pap of honey;
3] His right pap for fair Baithin,
4] And his other pap for Ultan.- 5] The man who had these things,
6] May my soul be in his protection;
7] And in the protection of Christ of the Clans,
8] May both my body and soul be.- 9] I myself have bequeathed to the Fir Cell
10] When they do not respond to me steadily,
11] And do not hold my fair,
12] What to themselves will be highly dangerous.- 13] If there be but one place there,
14] And it be dry around the church,
15] If there came the high king of Fir Cell,
16] And careful Duinecha,
17] Duinecha would sit, methinks,
18] First in the dry place.- 19] The help of Ui Duibhginn (is) mine;
20] Long will be their service;
21] Not more shall fall to the ground,
22] The help brought (me) by Ua Bracain.- 23] They brought two full hundreds of milch cows
24] To my great church,
25] So that it was they who served me;
26] With me they shall be of my freemen.- 27] I gave to them in return
28] A place in the choir of my church,
29] A little way from the bed (grave) of the kings,
30] Without disturbance assuredly.
- 31] I went on a journey eastwards
32] To Cantire in Alba;
33] And I took with me
34] Without neglect Duinech and Cuined.- 35] When we reached the king
36] Of Alba of the many exploits,
37] The king of Alba related the trouble
38] To us clearly, and the destruction of his people:- 39] A poisonous monster (ranged) over the borders of the harbour,
40] From its broad deep-pooled lake-lair;
41] No fire can burn it in the fray,
42] No point or edge can take effect on it.- 43] Fifteen men, as we know,
44] Are in the place before thee,
45] Slaughtered by it without mercy;
46] And the monster (still) lives, O Colman.- 47] I will slay the monster for you,
{folio 222b}
48] Said Colman thereupon,
49] And (then) distribute ye my tribute without reproach
50] Over Scotland and England.- 51] Fifty feet are there on its belly,
52] And fifty hideous claws;
53] It slays the army of every famous land,
54] As soon as ever they come to attack it.- 55] Yonder it (comes) to us without respite,
56] To attack our land, O Colman.
57] Woe to the famous race which it oppresses,
58] For our swift destruction and our slaughter.
- 59] Colman approached the strand,
60] So did the affectionate Duinecha,
61] With two spears in his fearless hand,
62] And his long doughty sword.- 63] Colman of the churches looked on high
64] To the high King of heaven right earnestly,
65] And there was given to them (?him) from heaven above
66] All that he purposed in his mind.- 67] Duinecha discharged the fair spear
68] From the hand of the king's son, 142
69] And the monster was slain by him,
70] Dreadful, cruel, horrible.
- 71] (I adjure thee) by thy name, (give) me the spear,
72] The noble shaft of yew;
73] And let its head be curved by me;
74] Of it have I made my (pastoral) staff (bachall).
- 75] Is it thy pleasure, O noble Duinecha,
76] Now that the shaft of thine own spear
77] Has become a pastoral staff exactly,
78] That its tribute and stewardship should be thine?{folio 221a}79] Though it be not the business of a king's great son, 143
80] Said Duinecha truly,- 81] I will give my seed to thee by agreement,
82] And let them be under thy protection, O Colman.
83] Give thy (pastoral) staff to thy own steward
84] Anear and afar.- 85] The fifteen men assuredly
86] Who were in that place dead,
87] I restored to them all their souls
88] By my prayer and by my pure psalms.- 89] I received a monastery from the king,
90] From the high king of Alba in sooth,
91] And I apportioned my famed tribute
92] Between Erin and Alba.
- 93] I come then to Fir Cell
94] (With) Duinecha and Cuineda stoutly,
95] And my bachall of white gold,
96] They (the Fir Cell) are my lawful family.- 97] The house from which there were not received for me
98] (The dues of) my bachall in that land,
99] There shall not be corn nor milk therein,
100] Nor with its son thereafter.- 101] There shall not be son to succeed the father,{folio 223b}102] Nor daughter to succeed the mother,
103] Till doom, till doom, among the Fir Cell,
104] Unless the tribute of the bachalls be (paid).- 105] I bequeath to the Fir Cell themselves
106] In case they do not hold my own fair,
107] That it shall be worse144 for them than for me,
108] If this is left unperformed.
109] The sea shall not yield its tribute,
110] The land shall not yield increase;
111] Famine is to be expected in every quarter of the year,
112] Stint of food and raiment
113] Throughout the border of the Fir Cell,
114] When my bachall returns thankless.- 115] Friend, till there be numbered
116] The evil of women, or the sand of the sea
117] Not more numerous are the herbs,
118] Than these great miracles.
- 119] Declare from me to the Fir Cell,
120] And to (the men of) Eile without neglect,
121] When they do not respond to myself,
122] Whether near or far,
123] (It is) well known to me what will come of it,
124] There will be hell as the consequence.- 125] Every man of the Fir Cell
126] Who shall not be steadfastly at my command,
127] I entreat the one God truly
128] That they may not get the milk of my two breasts.145Two
- 129] For these are my own two breasts146;
130] The heavenly city in beauty,
131] I will not forsake it assuredly
132] For whatever hardship I may find.- 133] Three sons of Donchad whom the assembly celebrates,147
134] Duinecha, Muad, and Aillean;
135] Let not the Ui Duibhginn desert me
136] Either anear or afar.- 137] Let Ua Gallgan be in my hand
138] Till doom, and also Ua Bracain;
139] The Ui Gruccain be with me openly,
140] Let them come to my cemetery;
141] The Ui Corracain with me assuredly;
142] Let them not desert me because of disturbance.Two paps.
And after this lay the youths Baithin and Ultan were studying at Land Ela, for this was one of the three chief fairs of Erin, (the three being) the fair of Teltown, the fair of Clonmacnois, and Land Ela. And the youths had special qualities; whatever
- 1] Three fairs in Erin itself,
2] I tell them to you in order;
3] I have remembrance of them, and not scanty
4] Is the relation of them, the knowledge of their names.- 5] The fair of Cluain which is the noblest of them;
6] The fair of Teltown on the king's day;
7] The third fair is my own fair
8] Both anear and afar.- 9] I obtained from the high King of the stars,
10] As to every man who comes there,
11] The power of defending him in heaven,
12] As his reward for seeing the day of my fair.- 13] Every man who submitted to me
14] In every land beneath the sun,
15] I leave to them in return
16] That their eyes shall not see hell.- 17] From the Callraige -- which does not corrupt judgement --
18] Under my staff, to Clann Colmain,
19] A penny from every hearth (lit. smoke) to thee,
20] And the fruit of battle (i. e. spoils).- 21] Every thing that I said of old
22] I relate according to rule;
23] I will not conceal it from any one in their borders
24] That they are the three for you.Three fairs.
After this lay Colman Ela beat his pupil Baithin, and Baithin went away after the beating, and Colman followed him. And a wretched leper, stark naked, met him at the monument outside the place; and he greeted Colman, and said to him: ‘Carry me on thy back, O holy clerk, to thine own altar for the love of God.’ ‘Would not some other man do (as well) for thee, to carry thee there?’ said Colman. ‘By no means,’ said the leper, ‘for it is better in the eyes of God that thou thyself shouldest do obedience to Him.’ ‘If that is so, then I will carry thee,’ said Colman. And he took him to the altar.
And the unhappy man said to him: ‘Put my nose in thy mouth, O Colman, for the love of God, and put in the corner of thy frock and carry out of the church, what is in it (i. e. in thy nose).’ Colman did as the unhappy man said; {folio 224b} and carried the filth of the nose out of the church. And when he got outside, this is what he found in his bosom, an ingot of gold, and an inscription in letters of gold which
As to Baithin, we have told how he ran away from study, and went to hide himself in the wood above Land Ela. And he saw a man fixing a single wattle, and when a wattle was fixed, he would go to fetch another to fix it in the same way. However the house was (gradually) raised by him. Baithin saw this, and this is what he said: If I had done my learning like that, and stuck to it, methinks I should have acquired learning. Then a heavy shower fell. Baithin went to seek shelter under an oak. And he saw a drop fall on a certain spot. And Baithin made a hole with his heel at the place, and the drop filled the hole then; whereupon Baithin said: If I had done my learning like that, I should have acquired learning. And he spoke this lay:
- 1] With drops the pool is filled,
2] With wattles the round house is made;
3] The dwelling that is pleasing to God,
4] Its family increases more and more.- 5] Had I been devoted to my own learning
6] Anear and afar,
7] Though little I might do, methinks
8] I should have acquired learning enough.- 9] The one wattle which the man cuts,
10] And fixes on his house,
11] The house arises pleasantly,
12] Though little be the one wattle that he fixes.- 13] The little hole which my heel made,
14] Let it be good in the eyes of God and Colman
15] Is full at every shower with the fair drop,
16] The water in its little path.- 17] I make a renunciation, during all my time
{folio 225a}
18] I will not forsake my learning;
19] Whatever hardship I may find from it,
20] I will pursue it henceforth.- 21] Baithin himself related
22] To Colman his own tutor,
23] He made a strong vow to Colman
24] That he would not desert his reading.- 25] ‘God Himself gave for thine instruction, my son,’
26] ‘To thee the noble example,’
27] Said gentle Colman replying to him,
28] Full of nobility and true knowledge.With.
After this Colman Ela proceeded to meet Mochuda. And Mochuda had been expelled from Rathen; and he took his way through Fir Cell till he came to Duinecha's steading to seek food of Duinecha, and received a certain amount of food. And this was the number that was there (with Mochuda), viz. three fifties and three thousands. And this was the food which Duinecha gave them, three beeves and three tubs of milk. Mochuda said that this seemed little to him. If it be little, said Duinecha, cast thy poverty on Him (lit, on His back). And Mochuda said this lay:
{folio 225b}
- 1] Cluain da crand (the mead of the two trees)
2] Where lives Duinecha the hard and stingy;
3] Let Duinecha be without Cluain,
4] And let Cluain be without Duinecha;
5] And let the third destruction
6] Light on Fir Cell from me thrice over.- 7] Colman Ela himself
8] Was listening to them in order;
9] And it was clearly displeasing to him
10] That the Fir Cell were being cursed.- 11] I bequeath from myself to Duinecha
12] To be surly, hard, and frowning;
13] I bequeath to them therefor,
14] That their entertainment shall not be the worse for it.- 15] I leave moreover to the Fir Cell,
16] That they shall be slain there like pigs;
17] I leave to them on that account
18] That they shall grow like bracken.- 19] I leave [therefor] to themselves,
20] To the family of gentle Duinecha,
21] That every man
[gap: exemplar illegible]
side
[gap: exemplar illegible]
- 148
22] His life shall be shorter than any one's,
23] And his luck shall be scantier.- 25] I leave to their women to be lustful,
26] I leave to them to be wanton;
27] I leave to them on that account
28] Failure of prosperity and of progeny. 149
- 1] Columcille came to them,
2] A constant prince of righteousness,
3] And it was clearly unpleasant to him,
4] That his kinsmen should be cursed.
- 33] Take off that curse,
34] Said Colum boldly,
35] (Otherwise) thy many saints shall be slain
36] Either anear or at a distance.- 37] I pray the one God Himself,
38] Said Mochuda himself,
39] That God will not reverse it (the curse,)
40] And I will not, if He does not. 150- 41] If the King regards me,
42] Said Columcille truly,
43] I will reverse it indeed,151
44] And so will Colman Ela.- 45] Columcille and Colman,
46] Manchan and fair Odran,
47] And all the saints of Erin
48] (Combined) to change the curse.- 49] Mochuda almost repented
50] Of what he did to them,
51] When he saw in victorious array
52] The saints of Erin coming to Cluain.Cluain.
- 53] Mochuda himself proceeded
54] Onwards in his course that night,
55] Until the young man came
56] (to a place) In the wood where was an oak.- 57] His lepers screech at him,
58] And so do his martyrs,
59] And ask in what house
60] In what place their books should be stored.- 61] Afterwards the oak bends
62] To the saints after their conflict;
63] The wretched ones remain about it,
64] After their expulsion from Cluain.Cluain.
There were two youths in the family of Colman Ela. They grew to be big lads. Why is it, said the clerks, that no task of asceticism is ordained for those lads, for they are old enough for it. I will not ordain it, said Colman Ela. Why so? said they. For this reason, said Colman, the bed (abode) of one of them will be in hell, and whatever asceticism he may perform at that (his present)