STUDY OF THE LATIN CLASSICAL AUTHORS:
We have three sources of evidence that the writings of the great classical writers were not neglected as has sometimes been asserted. These sources are: 1, the numerous works of classical authors which have been copied and preserved in the Irish monastic libraries especially those of St. Gall in Switzerland and Bobbio in Italy; 2, the marginal and interlinear glosses on various MSS. earlier than the tenth century; 3, the quotations and imitations of classical writers which are revealed by study of the actual writing of early Irish mediæval writers.
In the section of Chapter V dealing with Irish libraries we discussed fully the first source of evidence and pointed out the influence of these libraries in late mediæval times. In more than one instance we had occasion to refer to the glosses as exemplifying different phases of intellectual activity in the Irish monastic school. Here we would emphasise the fact that these glosses furnish another objective proof that the Irish monks studied and taught the classics as well as the writings of the Fathers. There is considerable variety in the glosses. Generally they are in the nature of explanations written usually in Irish or Latin but occasionally in Greek. They consist mainly of explanations of obscure passages. They give various historical, mythological, and archæological details. They contain definitions, translations of individual words, free translations of idiomatic expressions, illustrations of the correct use of certain words, a summary of the observations of previous commentators and an elucidation of obscure allusions. In short they contain all that varied and supplementary matter which is essential when making an intensive study of a difficult book. These notes were at once grammatical and encyclopædic.[341]
A good example of this kind of work occurs in the Codex Sangallensis containing one of the many copies of Priscian’s Grammar which were written by Irish scribes. Traube has shown that it was written by some of the friends of Sedulius (of Liège) and supposes that it was copied in some Irish monastery and brought by wandering Irishmen to the Continent. The text is in different hands. The glosses too are in different hands from those which wrote the Latin text. At least three different hands are distinguished. The authorities relied upon by the glossators are: Origen, Isidore, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory, Hilary, Primascius, Virgilius, Ambrosius, Boethius, Cassianus, Dionysius, Thrax, Gaudentius, Baeda, Orascius, Cicero (not the orator, but an obscure grammarian), Hieronymus, Lactantius, Maximianus, Papirinus, Polibius, Medicus, and Probus.[342]
The very fact of being familiar with such an array of grammarians and authors is enough to justify Sedulius (at Liège 840–860 A.D.) in describing himself and his fellow-countrymen as docti grammatici.[343] One of them wrote a treatise on the Art of Versification, Tractus de Metrica Ratione,[344] which Zimmer styles a grammatical treatise of importance.[345] Clement (d. 826 A.D.) who succeeded Alcuin as Instructor to the Imperial Court of Charles the Great,[346] magister palatinus as he was called, wrote a grammatical work[347] which is famous for its erudition and for the wide range of reading which it shows, especially interesting is his reference to the Greeks “who are our masters in all branches of learning.”[348]
These grammatical treatises were much more than books on formal grammar. They dealt with the principles of rhetoric and the art of versification and when enriched by commentaries they must have occupied a prominent place in the educational literature of their own as well as of the succeeding centuries; for we should remember that in those days scholars were inclined to supplement existing works by adding commentaries rather than to attempt anything along original lines. However, many of the Irish monks were accomplished scholars and authors as well as commentators. In this connection many names might be cited, one of the most versatile being Sedulius who taught at Liège from 840 to 860 A.D.[349] Besides writing commentaries on the Scriptures, a grammatical treatise, and a work on the theory of government, he composed numerous poems of much merit.[350] With Sedulius we might rank Donatus (824–874 A.D.), bishop of Fiesole, who was also a poet. Among his poems there is one in which he gives a beautiful description of Ireland and shows that he has a high ideal of the mission of his race. He describes himself as Scottorum sangine creatus and tells how he united the duties of bishop to those of teacher of grammar and poetry.[351]
Such varied activities as copying and glossing the writings of classical authors, teaching poetry, and writing treatises on grammar are sufficient to suggest that the literary interests of the Irish monks extended beyond psalm-singing and a study of the writings of the Fathers. Even if their primary interest was the study of the Scriptures this very interest created a need for an abundance of correct texts. This naturally led to a careful study of orthography and the production of treatises on grammar in the broad sense in which we have defined the term. Possibly at first the rudiments of grammar were all that was necessary, but as Mr. Roger so aptly remarks,[352] “l’émulation créée par l’expansion du monachisme, la hardiesse et la curiosité naturelles des Irlandais, le désir d’approcher de plus en plus la pensée divine en pénétrant le sens d’Écriture, le goût pour l’étude qui n’était pas une nouveauté en Irlande, les entraînent au delà de ces éléments.” Thus having surmounted preliminary difficulties it was but natural that they whose literary taste had been developed by the study of their vernacular literature should not hesitate to study the classical authors. There was no fear of the return of paganism; to the Irish the Greek and Latin deities made no appeal. As they were not likely to sacrifice their faith to pagan rhetoric there was no necessity to confine themselves to rustic Latin as was the custom with the early Christians on the Continent who were daily drawing farther and farther away from correct classical forms. Hence a priori there are many reasons why we should expect to find traces of the classics in the writings of the Irish monks. This view is confirmed by an actual analysis of the existing works of writers of this period.