CHAPTER XXIV.
GAEDHLIC SCHOOLS AND SCHOLARS OF ANCIENT ERIN.
| “The Gaedhlic tongue! the Gaedhlic tongue! why should its voice be still, When all its magic tones with old and golden glories thrill— When, like an aged bard, it sings departed warriors’ might— When it was heard in kingly halls, where thronged the brave and bright; When oft its glowing tales of war made dauntless hearts beat high— When oft its tales of hapless love drew tears from beauty’s eye?” —Anonymous. |
Hitherto we have spoken chiefly of the monastic schools, and the clerical scholars of ancient Erin. We are not to assume, however, that the Gaedhlic tongue was not cultivated in those schools, and that the eminent saints of ancient Erin were not excellent Gaedhlic scholars. We know for certain that the contrary was the fact. Several of them, like Columcille, were eminent Gaedhlic poets; many of them, like St. Carthach of Lismore, even wrote their monastic Rules in Gaedhlic; and, of course, even scholars, like Adamnan, who wrote learned treatises in the Latin tongue, must have preached the Gospel, and taught the people in the vernacular language. St. Patrick himself, who was a Briton, found it necessary to do so, and, as far as we can judge, he must have been an accomplished speaker in the ancient Gaedhlic tongue.
Still the monastic schools were more given to the cultivation of the classical languages than to the study of the Gaedhlic; and when their great scholars wished to deal with theological or scientific subjects, they wrote in the Latin language. Even some of our Annalists, when they wished to give special prominence to their entries, wrote in the Latin rather than in the Gaedhlic.
At the same time, we are not to suppose that during this period there were no Gaedhlic schools in the sense in which we now speak of English as opposed to Classical schools—that is, academies in which the Gaedhlic language, and literature, and history were the subjects chiefly, if not exclusively, taught. On the contrary, we have abundant evidence that there were several schools of this character, in which the vernacular language was cultivated with great success, and not merely the language, but also the history, the antiquities, the laws, and the literature of the nation.
We are even inclined to think that in Celtic Ireland the vernacular language was more carefully cultivated during this period, and that laymen generally had better opportunities of obtaining what would now be called a university education, than they had in any other country of western Europe. This statement is, in our opinion, capable of clear proof from existing monuments; but for the present we need not go beyond the admitted facts that both clerics and laymen from the Continent came to the schools of Erin in large numbers, to acquire the culture of our Celtic schools; whilst on the other hand, when our Irish scholars went abroad during the ninth and tenth centuries, they were at once entrusted with the highest offices in the Continental schools, and proved themselves to be, not only amongst the ablest theologians of the time, but also the first men of that age in Greek and Latin Literature. The history of men like Virgilius, and Dungal, and John Scotus Erigena, proves the truth of this statement beyond denial or controversy.
The Lives of the Saints furnish materials for the history of our monastic schools; but our lay scholars, having no such records of their lives and learning, are forgotten, except in so far as some treatise, or fragment of a treatise, of their composition may have survived the wreck of time.