The Early Irish Monastic Schools / A study of Ireland's contribution to early medieval culture

by Hugh Graham

STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES:

We admit that the Scriptures were the great, but by no means the only, subject of study.[325] As early as the fifth century the Irish poet Sedulius wrote his Carmen Pascale in which he recounts the chief events of the Old and New Testament giving us “the first Christian epic worthy of the name.”[326] The Psalms were learned by rote.[327] The Book of Armagh written by an Irish scribe and finished in 807 A.D. contains the only complete copy of the New Testament which has come down from the days of the Celtic Church.[328] The Old Testament must have been well known judging from the many existing fragments with glosses and scholia thereon in the handwriting of Irish scribes,[329] not to speak of commentaries like that of Aileran The Wise (d. 665 A.D.)[330] and innumerable Scriptural references in the religious literature of Ireland which is written both in the Gaelic and Latin languages. Indeed so famous were the Irish monastic schools for Scriptural studies that one of the causes which drew foreigners to the Irish schools was the prospect of reading the Sacred Writings in the MSS. so abundantly furnished through the untiring industry of the Irish scribes. Among the more noteworthy visitors who came for this purpose was Agilbert, a native of Gaul, who came in 650 A.D. to Ireland where “he sojourned some time and read the Scriptures.”[331] On his return he became bishop of the West Saxons, and later occupied the episcopal see of Paris.[332] The Angle Egbert also spent some time in Ireland “as an exile for Christ that he might study the Scriptures.”[333]

The religious education of the Irish monastery was not confined to the singing of hymns and the recitation of psalms as has been asserted. Indeed such exercises formed but a minor part in the monastic scheme. The monks had advanced beyond this elementary stage long before they came to the larger schools.[334] The sacred reading consisted in the study and interpretation of the Bible.[335] Their aim was to search for the spiritual sense and message of the great Book. The higher criticism of these days was then unknown. The investigation of the question of more or less enlightening dates, the details regarding natural life and environment, as well as questions of authorship, the history of particular books, as also all discussion of linguistic and literary form were matters that were wisely left to later times. In the Interpretatio mystica progenitorum Christi[336] of Aileran we have an interesting example of a style of commentary which must have been usual in the Irish schools of the seventh century. Aileran quotes not only St. Jerome and St. Augustine but what is more remarkable he cites Origen, the great genius of the Alexandrine school as well as Philo, the Alexandrine Jew.[337] Aileran was not the only Irish monk of the seventh century who showed ability and diligence in research. We have a still more striking example in the case of Cummian Fada (d. 661). Cummian flourished during the years of the Paschal controversy. About the year 630 A.D. a National Synod was held to discuss the advisability of adopting the Roman method of calculating Easter. There was a sharp difference of opinion and owing to insufficiency of information it was necessary to suspend judgment. Cummian was requested to investigate the matter. He tells us how he retired for a whole year into the sanctuary of sacred study to examine as best he could the testimonies of the Scriptures, the facts of history, and the nature of the various cycles in use. The results of his year’s study he sums up in his Epistle.[338] He quotes St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Cyprian and St. Gregory on the unity of the Church. He then refers to the cycles of Anatolius, Theophilus, Dionysius, Cyril, Morinus, Augustine, Victorius, and Pachomius.[339] In other words his researches showed a wonderful familiarity with the whole subject. In other fields, too, an astonishing range of reading is noticeable; for example, Aengus in his Felire[340] written about 800 A.D. cites Jerome, Ambrose and Eusebius as well as “the countless hosts of the illuminated books of Erin.” These examples would at least go to show that the Irish monks had an intimate acquaintance with the writings of the Latin and Greek Fathers but it still remains to be shown that the pagan classical authors were studied.