No modern biography, no edition of the ancient homiletic Lives, of Ciaran could be considered complete without a history of Clonmacnois, through which being dead he yet spake to his countrymen for a thousand years. It was the editor's intention to include such a history in the present volume; and this part of the projected work was drafted. But as it progressed, and as the indispensable material increased in bulk, it became evident that it would be impossible to do justice to the subject within the narrow limits of a volume of the present series. A slight or superficial history of Clonmacnois would be worse than none, as it would block the way for the fuller treatment which the subject well deserves. The materials collected for this part of the work have therefore been reserved for the present: it is hoped that their publication will not be long delayed.
A HARMONY OF THE FOUR LIVES OF SAINT CIARAN
To the incidents of Ciaran's life VG prefixes—
| I. | The Homiletic Introduction (VG I) |
not found in any of the Latin Lives.
A. Ciaran was born A.D. 515. The first section of his life, his Childhood and Boyhood, may have covered the first ten or twelve years of his life—say in round numbers 515-530. Fifteen incidents of this period are recorded, which are found in the Lives as under—
II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. | The origin and birth of Ciaran; the wizard's prophecies How Ciaran raised the steed of Oengus from death How Ciaran turned water into honey How Ciaran was delivered from a hound How Ciaran and his instructor conversed, though distant from one another Ciaran and the fox How Ciaran spoiled his mother's dye-stuff How Ciaran restored a calf which a wolf had devoured How Ciaran was delivered from robbers How Ciaran gave a gift of cattle How Ciaran gave a gift of a plough-coulter How Ciaran gave a gift of an ox How Ciaran gave the king's cauldron to beggars and was enslaved How Ciaran reproved his mother The breaking of the carriage-axle |
LA 1 2 3 6 4 — — 5 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 |
LB 1 2 3 9 — — — 8 — — — — — — — |
LC 1 2 3 4 — — — 5 6 — — — 7 9 10 |
VG 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 — — — 11 — — |