COURSE OF STUDIES
Perhaps the question of greatest interest to the student of the history of Education of the Early Middle Ages is the character of curriculum taught in the Irish Monastic Schools during the period under investigation. Most writers have conveniently avoided all reference to this question or they have contented themselves with vague generalizations which may mean much or little in proportion to the reader’s own familiarity with the history of the period. We are told, for example, that the Irish monks were possessors of a higher culture than was found elsewhere in Europe and that they taught all the knowledge of their time. Such statements are not particularly helpful. Dr. Joyce, however, has tried to be more explicit. Utilising the materials brought to light through the publication of the Brehon Laws and availing himself of the researches of O’Curry and other Irish scholars, he has compiled[322] two Tables of Degrees and Subjects of Study. In the first he gives the courses of study for Monastic and Bardic Schools in parallel columns. This course appears to have been carefully graded and extends over a period of twelve years. The second table is quite different from the first. It is designated the “Seven Grades or Orders of Wisdom.” The former scheme would seem to have the students in view while the latter has reference mainly to the professors or teachers of whom three of the lower grades, or orders, were themselves learners. This shows that in the Irish schools the functions of teaching and learning were closely related, and it often happened that the same person was at one time under instruction of the professors in the grades above him while at another time he was employed in teaching junior scholars.
From an examination of these two schemes we feel justified in drawing the following conclusions:
1. That the scheme of education was carefully graduated and extended over a period of several years, probably from 7 to 26 years in the case of monastic students and from 7 to 30 years for lay students.
2. The lay or bardic studies were limited originally to native secular learning.
3. That the monastic course included both secular and religious studies, that both Latin and the vernacular were used as a medium of instruction, and that the study of native literature was not neglected.
4. That in the monastic school special attention was given to the study of the Sacred Scriptures—both the Old and the New Testament.
5. That there would appear to have been more rote memory work in the Bardic than in the Monastic school.
6. That there was frequent questioning and explanation in the Monastic school.
7. That the degree of Ollamh or Doctor was reserved for those whose learning was profound. That this great scholar was entitled to the highest honour: when he visited the palace he had the privilege of sitting in the banqueting-house with the king.
While we believe the above conclusions fully warranted, we confess that many of the terms used in both schemes are either so vague or so obscure that we do not feel satisfied that an adequate idea of the course of study in the Irish monastic schools can be derived from this source. We propose to supplement Dr. Joyce’s helpful but rather meagre account by many additional facts which have been gleaned from an examination of the acknowledged works of Irish writers of this period and such references as are met with in the works of other writers.
We hope to show that the curriculum was a comparatively broad one, including not only the study of the Sacred Scriptures with the commentaries of the Greek and Latin Fathers, but also the study of the pagan authors of Greece and Rome. Nor was the study of the Irish language and literature neglected. Science in the modern sense of the word was unknown, but as regards Geography, Computation, and Astronomy the Irish Monastic Schools were quite as far advanced as any in Europe and certainly far ahead of their neighbours. At least in the ninth century philosophy and dialectic were eagerly studied. We shall have a word to say about the Irish school of church music. Art too flourished, especially the illumination of manuscripts, various ornamental forms of metal work and stone-carving.
No doubt the primary aim of the Irish monastic school was the teaching and study of Christian theology, but just as Christianity itself did not mean the abolition but rather the fulfilment of Hebrew ideals and traditions, so when Christianity was introduced into Ireland where an ancient native culture was flourishing the new culture did not displace the old but rather combined with it to form a new type of culture which in course of time became at once both Irish and Christian. In the schools everything that was not absolutely opposed to the ideals of Christianity was utilised to enrich the course of study. Thus the native laws, literature, music and art became the handmaid of Christianity. The same liberal and enlightened conception of education would explain the success with which the Irish monks pursued the study of the pagan classics. The literary taste already acquired through a study of native literature was entirely favourable to the appreciation and enjoyment of the great authors of antiquity. Besides the Christianity of the Irish monk was sufficiently robust to prevent any of those scruples of conscience which were said to have haunted the continental monk who loved his Virgil.[323] Indeed the stories in the classics about gods and goddesses would be regarded by the Irish purely from a literary and artistic standpoint and could have little religious significance for them since there was little in common between the paganism of Greece and Rome and such remnants of paganism as still survived in Ireland. On the Continent the case was different, hence the suspicion with which continental ecclesiastics regarded the study of writings other than those of the Fathers and as they were ignorant of Greek they had to confine themselves solely to the Latin Fathers. Not so the Irish monks as we shall see later. Moreover, the anxiety to obtain more perfect copies of the Scriptures was an additional and perhaps more powerful incentive to the Irish monk to make himself familiar with the classical forms of Greek and Latin.
If this is a correct interpretation of the educational situation confronting the Irish monastic schools—and the evidence we shall produce is overwhelming—then we shall see how unwarranted is the statement of a recent writer[324] that the learning of the Irish was wholly psalm-singing and theology—not the classics; and that the maiora studia referred to by Bede meant the Scriptures,—not philosophy and literature.
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 807A.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 650A.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 630A.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 800A.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.
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 840–860A.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. 826A.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 860A.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.
In the case of the prose works which we have mentioned the more or less technical nature of the subject did not afford scope for the cultivation of a classical style. What was essential was a lucid exposition of the thought-content expressed in clear, correct, intelligible language and this they undoubtedly possessed.[353]
With poetry, however, the case was different. Here naturally enough we find clear traces of the influence of the classical poets, and even in the prose of Irish scholars this same influence is often noticeable. Virgil in particular would appear to have been a special favourite. In this connection it is significant to find Old Irish seventh century glosses on the scholia of Iunius Philargyrius on the Bucolics.[354] Adamnan (624–704A.D.) knew Virgil well. In his Vita Sancti Columbae, as Reeves has pointed out, there is clear evidence that he was familiar with the Georgics.[355] Roger has found traces of both the Georgics and the Aeneid as well as allusions to the authors Plautus and Suetonius.[356] Indeed it has been rigorously established that the extracts from Philargyrius already referred to are the work of no other than Adamnan himself.[357]
Muirchu who wrote the Memoirs of St.Patrick, in obedience to the command of Bishop Aed of Sletty (d. 698A.D.) was inspired by Virgil and perhaps by Apollonius of Rhodes.[358] Columbanus (540–615 A.D.) was in many ways the most striking figure of his time. We have referred to the success of his missionary work.[359] As a classical scholar he was no less remarkable. He did not arrive on the Continent until he was fifty[360] years old and as his life there was filled with missionary work his scholarship must be considered as representative of the Bangor school where he spent so many years of his life as a student and a teacher. Columbanus arrived in Gaul about twenty years before the death of Gregory of Tours. But, as a distinguished French author remarks, it is sufficient to glance at the writings of Columbanus to recognise immediately their marvellous superiority over those of Gregory, or of the Gallo-Romans of his time.[361] He wrote an ode in Adonic verse which abounds in apt classical allusions.[362] In his poetry he imitated or cited Horace and Virgil and he has at least one quotation from the satires of Juvenal. Gundlach who submitted both the prose writings and the poetical Epistolae of Columbanus to a careful investigation, discovered in them quotations from, or reminiscences of, Persius, Virgil, Horace, Sallust, Ovid, Juvenal, as well as of the Christian poets Juvencus, Prudentius and Ausonius.[363] The familiarity with the writings of the classical authors so noticeable in the case of Columbanus is by no means an isolated phenomenon. A period spent in a continental library in exploring the collection of mediÆval MSS. seldom fails to be rewarded by the discovery of additional writings of Irish scholars.[364] Thus in recent years Traube found in a MS. in Florence verses[365] composed by an abbot named Cellanus who has been identified with Cellach or Cellanus, the abbot of Peronne who succeeded Ultan, the brother of St.Fursey. Cellanus (d. 706 A.D.) is supposed to be the anonymous monk who wrote a letter to Aldhelm in which the educational influence of Irish scholars in England is referred to.[366] Cellanus, like his contemporary Adamnan, is familiar with Virgil;[367] while Cadoc, a student of Lismore, is said to have known Virgil by rote.[368]
We might give many more instances showing the continuity of Irish classical scholarship during the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries, but enough have been given to appreciate the tribute of Kerr when he says:[369] “The Latin education in Ireland began earlier and was better maintained than in other countries. The English and Teutonic nations received instruction from the Irish, and that not only at the beginning of their studies: Irish learning did not exhaust itself in missionary work and was not merged in the progress of its German pupils; it kept its vivifying power through many generations, and repeated in the ninth century the good works of the fifth, again contributing fresh material and a still rarer spirit of inquiry to the common erudition of the Continent.”
That the classical learning carried back into Gaul by the Irish monks did not immediately produce any very encouraging results can be largely accounted for by the disturbed social conditions. The rivalries and weakness of the Merovingian kings prolonged the period of disorder and violence. Besides, according to Jonas,[370] the negligence of the bishops consequent on the troubled situation was as culpable as the frequency of wars for the decay of religion. Hence the activities of the Irish monks were naturally directed partly at least into other channels in trying to bring about a reform in the morals of the people. To quote Roger:[371] “Tandis que saint BenoÎt trace, avec sÉrÉnitÉ, un plan complet de la vie monastique, saint Columban oppose a la violence des vices, dans une sociÉtÉ corrompue, la violence dans la penitence; il trace un plan d’attaque oÙ il met toute la fouge de son caractÈre. La vertu de la religion Était presque abolie; il s’efforce de la ranimer et de rendre À la foi l’efficacitÉ qu’elle avait perdue.”
Under the enlightened policy of Charlemagne there was a distinct improvement in the social condition of the people, but the part played by the Irish monks during the seventh and eighth centuries in helping to bring about the moral regeneration of the people must not be overlooked; for even though this aspect of their work lies outside our present study, we cannot completely ignore those social factors which delayed the realization of a literary renaissance until the ninth century. Whether or not the efforts of Charlemagne “resulted in a revival of learning far more important in its consequences than that which is known as the Renaissance”[372] it can no longer be questioned that “during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate successors the chief share of the literary revival which belongs to that period and is known as the Carolingian Renaissance fell to the Irish teachers in Frankland, and if we except Alcuin, Rhabanus and Fredegis, the men who founded that educational system to which the latter Middle Ages owe everything and the modern world more than it generally acknowledges were Irishmen.”[373]
STUDY OF GREEK IN EARLY MEDIÆVAL IRELAND:
Having shown that there was an unbroken tradition of classical Latin learning in early mediÆval Ireland, having examined the scope and character of that learning and noted its influence in the history of European education, we may fittingly examine the position which Greek occupied in the curriculum of Irish monastic schools. The traditional belief that the study of Greek was pursued in these schools cannot be accepted without investigation in view of the doubts raised by such scholars as Manitius, Roger, and Esposito in recent years.[374] The most important objection raised by these writers is that the evidence is insufficient to justify the claim that the Irish schools possessed a knowledge of Greek prior to the ninth century. Even in the ninth century Esposito will allow the Irish schools no credit for Greek scholarship. According to this writer men like Johannes Scottus Eriugena learned Greek from the books which they found on the Continent, especially in Gaul. We might retort that these assertions require more proof than has been advanced on their behalf, that these conclusions derive no support from the authorities adduced by Esposito as evidence, and that the views expressed by him are contradicted by the contemporary evidence contained in the well-known passage from Eric the Auxerre.[375]
We believe, however, that the knowledge of Greek for which the Irish schools have been given credit can be established to the satisfaction of the unbiased, just as we have demonstrated the fact that classical Latin was cultivated. In attempting to prove that Greek studies were pursued we are confronted with a difficulty which we did not encounter in our investigation of the question of classical Latin. An examination of the actual writings of Irish scholars who flourished during the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries revealed numerous quotations from, and reminiscences of classical Latin authors, thus we had incontestable evidence of an intimate acquaintance with classical Latin. In studying Greek the aim was not, as in case of Latin, to acquire a new medium of expression, consequently its study would be conducted on different lines. The necessity for such a knowledge existed nevertheless. The great object of study being the Scriptures,[376] the aim of the whole course of study was to prepare men’s minds for the “Lectio Divina,” their one great science to which all the other “disciplinae” were but auxiliaries. It is therefore but reasonable to suppose that the Irish monks were impelled towards a study of Greek, a knowledge of which was so necessary in studying the Scriptures. This view is corroborated by an examination of native Irish sources. Thus Dallan Forgal in his eulogy of Colmcille (composed c. 576 A.D.) says: “Atgaill grammataig greic,” that is, “he taught Greek Grammar.”[377] The early glossaries swarm with Greek words quoted for etymological purposes.[378] The hymns in the Antiphonary of Bangor contain numerous Greek words.[379] Indeed, the charms of the Greek language had such a fascination for Irish writers that many of them had developed a pedantic turn as early as the seventh century.[380] Zimmer has pointed out the Greek of these early writers was not merely bookish learning but a living speech.[381] Meyer’s tabulation of the peculiarities in the transcription of Greek as practised by Irish writers confirms the accuracy of Zimmer’s observation.[382] We are informed that a Greek taught Mosinu MacCuimin “the art of computation.”[383] Keller gives numerous examples of Hiberno-Greek characters.[384] In an eighth century MS. of Adamnan’s Vita Sancti Columbae there are many instances which suggest that the Greek and Roman characters, as written by the Irish scribes, mutually affected each other and gave the Irish alphabet especially in the capitals that peculiar character which distinguishes it from all others.[385] In the Book of Armagh written about 807A.D. there are several Greek words and the Lord’s Prayer is written in Greek characters.[386] In the glosses on Priscian’s Grammar Greek words and phrases are explained by Irish equivalents and we note a familiarity with the rules of Greek grammar.[387] The most remarkable evidence is that of Aldhelm[388] who in a letter to Eahfrid fresh from the Irish schools finds fault with him for having gone to the “didasculi Argivi” of that country instead of staying in England where Theodore of Tarsus and Hadrian of Nisida[389] had introduced Greek studies. It is significant that this letter of Aldhelm’s abounds in Hellenisms to a greater extent than any of his other writings, his object being apparently to impress Eahfrid with the Greek learning to be obtained in England.
We have referred to a common practice of the Irish monks, viz., the making of marginal and interlinear glosses in which were explained Latin, Greek and even sometimes Hebrew words and expressions by Irish equivalents. They also compiled lists of Irish words which were considered difficult or obsolete at the time the glosses were written. These words were explained by giving their more modern equivalents. Frequently the meaning was given in Latin and Greek also. The most famous glosses of this class are Cormac’s[390] and O’Mulconry’s glosses.[391] Dr. Hyde describes[392] Cormac’s glossary “as by far the oldest attempt[393] at a comparative vernacular dictionary made in any language of modern Europe. The king-bishop (Cormac, d. 903A.D.) was a most remarkable man and an excellent scholar. He appears to have known Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Danish and to have been one of the finest old Gaelic scholars of his day and withal an accomplished poet.” In the library of St.Paul in Lavanthale (Steyermark) there is a MS. full of extracts written by an Irish monk. It contains Irish poems of the eighth century, Latin hymns, the commencement of a commentary on Virgil, a treatise on astronomy, Greek declensions and paradigms as well as a Greek vocabulary.[394] The Greek Creed was sung in the churches of St.Gallen.[395] Under the title Proverbia Graecorum there is a collection of sayings translated by some Irish scholar from Greek into Latin before the seventh century.[396] In the eighth century Boniface brings Clement the Irishman to task for not accepting the teaching of the Latin Fathers Jerome, Augustine and Gregory, just as a century later Scottus Eriugena was charged with being inclined too much to the Greek Fathers and with under-rating the Latin Fathers.[397] In the library of Laon there is a MS. written by an Irish scribe between the years 850–900A.D. This MS. contains two glossaries in the Greek and Latin languages with occasional passages in the Irish language. It also contains a Greek grammar.[398] It is believed that the Hermeneumata of the Pseudo-Dositheus, a text used by Roman boys in studying Greek, as well as the work of Macrobius were only saved for the afterworld because they were used by the Irish.[399] The interlinear Latin versions of Greek texts are of exclusively Irish origin.[400] In the department of Biblical study Zimmer recalls two important examples: the Gospel Codex of St. Gallen written in Greek with a Latin translation and the Codex Boernerianus, now in Dresden, which contains the Epistles of St.Paul in Greek together with an interlinear Latin version. Both belong to the ninth century.[401]
These various examples of a knowledge of Greek and of the necessary materials for teaching it, such as grammars, paradigms, vocabularies and glosses, as well as interlinear translations clearly point to the conclusion that Greek was taught in the Irish monastic schools of the seventh and eighth centuries. In our next chapter when we come to examine the scope of Irish scholarship, the knowledge of Greek will be so evident in the case of the great ninth century scholars like Sedulius of LiÈge, Dungal of Pavia, Clement the successor of Alcuin at the Palace School and Scottus Eriugena that it is unnecessary to discuss the matter further at present. The question as to where these scholars got their classical training can be answered best by saying that they got it in the monastic schools of Ireland where we have shown that the classical tradition was unbroken from at least as early as the sixth century, possibly a century or two earlier.[402]
De Jubainville declares that in the ninth century the Irish scholars were the only persons in Western Europe who knew Greek.[403] Traube claims that in the time of Charles the Bald at least the Irish were the sole representatives of Greek scholarship: “they could read and write Greek, they could transcribe it, nay, they even ventured occasionally to make Greek verses.”[404] Anyone who in the time of Charles the Bald was credited with a knowledge of Greek was, according to Traube, an Irishman, or had learned it from an Irishman, or his reputation for Greek scholarship was a fraud.[405] It is significant that the copy of the work of Dionysius the Areopagite, which Pope Paul had presented to King Pippin had to wait for an Irishman, Johannes Scottus Eriugena, to translate it for Charles the Bald.[406]
That a knowledge of Greek was indispensable for a study of the Scriptures would in itself be sufficient to account for the study of Greek in the Irish monastic schools. A further reason for the Irish love of Greek has been suggested by several writers. Michelet says: “Le gÉnie celtique, qui est celui de l’individualitÉ, sympathise profondÉment avec le gÉnie grec.”[407] As we have pointed out, the Greek views in philosophy and theology appealed in an especial manner to Irish scholars of this period. According to Healy, “the Irish mind, like the Greek, has a natural love for speculation, is quick, subtle, and far-seeing, has greater power of abstraction and generalization—that is, greater metaphysical power than the phlegmatic Anglo-Saxon.”[408] We venture no opinion as to whether this proposition will stand a critical examination but would merely record the fact that other able writers when dealing with this period have also discerned much in common between the Hellenic and the Celtic mind. Mullinger notes “a certain speculative, outlooking quality certainly not very apparent in the school of York.”[409] Cardinal Newman declares that as Rome was the centre of authority in these ages so Ireland was the native home of speculation; while contrasting the English scholars with the Irish he says: “The Englishman was hardworking, plodding, bold, determined, persevering, obedient to law and precedent, and if he cultivated his mind he was literary rather than scientific. In Ireland, on the other hand, the intellect seems to have taken the line of science and we have various instances to show how fully this was recognised. ‘Philosopher’ in these times is almost synonymous with ‘Irish Monk’.”[410] It was this characteristic of the Irish monks Renan[411] had in mind when he spoke of them as “les colonisateurs scientifiques d’Europe occidentale.”
A further resemblance, and one of a less promising character, may be traced in the predilection shown by both the Greek and the Gael for questions which admitted a display of dialectical subtlety. It was this feature which arrested the attention of Benedict of Aniane and aroused his dislike for the Irish theologians. They were distinguished, he tells us, for syllogistic mystification. “Apud modernos scholasticos maxime apud Scottos iste syllogismus delusionis.”[412] Mullinger tells us that they would sometimes amuse themselves by interrogating some stolid representative of orthodoxy, and compel him as a logical sequence of his replies, to admit the existence of three Gods or to disavow his belief in the Trinity.[413] This typically national characteristic of adding a humorous touch to a profound but dry metaphysical discussion has for us a deep human interest, though it was undoubtedly embarrassing to learned and solemn opponents who could neither understand, nor sympathise with, the rather subtle and complex Irish temperament.
It has also been remarked that this tendency to speculation led the Irish to admire the work of Martianus Capella whose volume was a sealed book to the school of York; while in the three great monasteries of Luxeuil, St.Gall, and Bobbio numerous MSS. in the original Irish character (Scottice scripta) of Origen and other Greek Fathers remained to attest the more inquiring spirit in which the studies of their communities were pursued. Thanks to his Greek studies and his natural mental attitude the Irish Theologian became a better astronomer as well as a better dialectician.[414]
MUSIC:
Music constituted an important element in Irish culture both in pagan and in Christian times. Hectateus, the great geographer quoted by Diodorus, is the first who mentions the name Celt and he describes the Celts of Ireland as singing songs in praise of Apollo and playing melodiously on the harp (c. 500B.C.).[415] Native Irish literature abounds in reference to music and musicians who were always spoken of in terms of the highest respect. Everywhere through these ancient records we find evidence that the Irish people both high and low were passionately fond of music. It entered into their daily lives and formed a part of their amusements and celebrations of every kind.[416] Zeuss in his Grammatica Celtica (1853) was the first to give the key to the nature of the musical instruments used in ancient Ireland. The references to music given by Zeuss were taken from glosses dating from 650A.D. to 900A.D. and written by the Irish monks of St.Gall. O’Curry,[417] Joyce,[418] and Flood[419] have followed up the work of Zeuss, so we have now a fairly clear idea of the state of musical culture during the period under investigation. Flood gives the names of twelve different instruments in use and of nine professional names of the performers.[420] It is not without significance that the harp is the national symbol. There are references to the harp in Irish literature probably as early as the fifth century.[421] O’Curry was so impressed with the many evidences he found of a high degree of musical culture that he could not restrain his enthusiasm. He says: “If ever there was a people gifted with a musical soul and sensibility in a higher degree than another I would venture to assert that the Ancient Gaedhil of Ireland were that people.”[422]
The monks were no exception to their fellow-countrymen in their love of music, consequently in Christian times music was intimately connected with public worship.[423] In the early ages of the Church many of the Irish ecclesiastics took delight in playing the harp and in order to indulge this innocent and refining taste they were wont to take with them a small portable harp when going from place to place.[424] Figures of men playing the harp are common on the stone crosses seen at Graig, Ullard, Clonmacnoise, Durrow and Monasterboice, as also on the shrines of ancient reliquaries.[425] It appears from several authorities that the practice of playing on the harp as an accompaniment to the voice was common in Ireland as early as the fifth or sixth century.[426]
During the long period when learning flourished Irish professors and teachers of music would seem to have been quite as much in request as teachers of literature and philosophy. In the middle of the seventh century Gertrude (daughter of Pepin, Mayor of the Palace) when abbess of Niville in Belgium engaged Foillan and Ultan brothers of St. Fursey to instruct her nuns in Psalmody.[427] It has been asserted that Gregorian chant coloured much of the music of Ireland from the fifth to the eighth century, but Gregorian chant dates only from 593A.D. and, as Flood pointed out, both the psalmody and the hymnody of the Irish were distinctly Celtic in the first half of the seventh century and were mainly adaptations of the old pre-Christian melodies.[428]
The musical fame of St.Gall monastery in Switzerland is known to many, but the fact is often ignored that its foundation in 612A.D. is due to the Irish saint Cellach whose name has been latinised Gallus or Gall. St.Gall was a student of the monastery of Bangor (in Co. Down, Ireland) and the friend and pupil of Columban whom he accompanied to the Continent. When St.Gall died in 645A.D. the fame of his music school had spread far and near.[429] In the year 870A.D. Moengal, another Irishman, was appointed headmaster of the Music School of St.Gall and under his rule it became “the wonder and delight of Europe.”[430] Moengal laboured for ten years on behalf of the school. It should be added that Moengal was also learned in theology and secular sciences. “Erat in divinas et humanis eruditissimus.”[431] The copying of music became such a feature of the work done at St.Gall that “the scribes of this monastery supplied all Germany with manuscript books of the Gregorian Chant, all beautifully illuminated.”[432] Moengal gave music its highest place amongst the arts and the school of St.Gall reached its highest perfection under three of Moengal’s pupils, Ratpert, Notker and Tuotilo.[433] In Zimmer’s opinions there were very few men who exercised such a beneficent influence over Germany in the ninth century as did Moengal and his successors.[434]
Moengal was succeeded in 890A.D. by Tuathal (latinised Tuotilo and sometimes Tutilo), his pupil and fellow-countryman. Tuotilo (d. 915A.D.) was even more famous than his master and was not only a skilled musician but was famed as a poet, orator, painter, goldsmith, builder and sculptor. We are told that he was a skilled performer on the cruit and psaltery. PÈre Schubiger published many of the tropes composed by Tuotilo. Flood assures us that two of these Hodie Cantandus and Omnipotens Genator betray the well-known characteristics of Irish music.[435] Tuotilo also composed the famous farced Kyrie, Fons Bonitatis, included in the Vatican collection of Kyriale.[436]
Another famous pupil of Moengal’s was Notker or Notker Balbulus the author of a valuable collection of hymns known as Liber Ymnorum Notkeri which was illuminated by an Irish artist. Notker shed undying lustre on the school of St.Gall and was one of the most celebrated musicians of the Middle Ages.[437]
St.Gall was not the only monastery of Irish origin in which the study of music was pursued with success. Indeed, the musical influence of the Irish monks was felt over the whole west of Europe wherever their monasteries were established, not only in Ireland and Scotland but also throughout a large part of England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Austria.[438]
Hymnologists are more or less familiar with the hymns composed by Irish poets such as Sedulius, Dungal and Moengal, and by saints like Sechnall, Columba, Molaise, Cuchuimne, Columban, Ultan, Colman, Cummian, Aengus, Fiacc, Brodan, Sanctan and Moelisu.[439]
Thus did the Irish monks both by their teaching and by their writings promote the cultivation of music in a very practical way. Nor was the theoretical aspect of music neglected. Donnchadh, an Irish bishop of the ninth century, who died abbot of Remigius, wrote a commentary on the work of Martianus Capella, a well-known volume on the “Liberal Arts,” a section of which treats of music. The greatest of his contemporaries, Johannes Scottus Eriugena, in his famous philosophical work De Divisione Naturae, written in 867A.D. expounds organum or discant a hundred years before the appearance of Scholia Enchiriadis and Musica Enchiriadis.[440] He also wrote a commentary on Martianus Capella which is now in a Paris MS. of the ninth century.[441]
Summarising the history of Irish music prior to the close of the ninth century Flood says:[442] “The Irish were acquainted with the Ogam music tablature in pre-Christian ages; they had battle marches, dance tunes, folk songs, chants and hymns in the fifth century; they were the earliest to adopt the neums or neumatic notation for the plain chant of the Western Church; they modified and introduced Irish melodies into the Gregorian Chant; they had an intimate acquaintance with the diatonic scale long before it was perfected by Guido of Arezzo. They were the first to employ harmony and counterpoint; they had quite an array of bards and poets; they employed blank verse, elegiac rhymes, consonant, assonant, inverse, burthen, dissyllabic, trisyllabic, and quadrisyllabic rhymes, not to say anything of the caoines, laments, elegies, metrical romances, etc.; they had a world-famed school of harpers, and finally they diffused musical knowledge over Europe.”
ART:
A lengthy discussion of the subject of Irish art lies outside the scope of our present study. We shall therefore content ourselves with making a rapid survey of some of its more characteristic features and with noting the part played by the monastic schools in its development and cultivation.
In the first chapter it was pointed out that there was a native art in Ireland before the introduction of Christianity and that the pagan Irish exhibited considerable artistic skill in their bronze, silver, gold, and enamel work as the specimens still preserved in our museums go to prove. From the pagan period we have numerous torques, gorgets, lunulae and other articles of personal adornment. These show that the pagan artist possessed both skill and taste in a high degree.[443] The character of the arts introduced into Ireland with Christianity was therefore grafted upon and modified by the native arts while new variations in design were introduced from the Continent by missionaries and foreign artists that came to Ireland. Thus art as practised in early Christian Ireland was no slavish imitation of foreign art but rather a development of native art whose progress was upward from the introduction of Christianity in the fourth and fifth century until the Norman invasion in the twelfth.[444]
CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH ART:
The chief characteristics of Irish art are:
1. A symmetrical interlacement of a band or bands into a variety of patterns.
2. The graceful divergence of lines into trumpet forms.
3. The coiling of one or two very fine lines into mysterious spirals a lengthened examination of which has a weirdly fascinating effect on the eye.
4. A total disregard for the comforts of animal life, the bodies and members being twisted and distorted to suit the convenience of the artist.
5. The human figure is frequently introduced, but it is subjected to the rigidity of the curved lines noticeable in the interlacings and spirals. Herein Irish art, which is primarily ornamental, differs from classic art, which is representative. The Irish artist aimed at symmetry and hence the right side of the face is generally a reproduction of the left.
6. In nearly all the art of the period under consideration the ground is divided into panels, or geometrical compartments—an arrangement whereby the artist whether working on vellum, metal, leather or stone was free to introduce any of the foregoing characteristics without marring the harmony and uniformity of the design.[445]
Irish art attained its highest excellence in four branches, namely, writing and illumination of manuscripts, metal work and stone carving. In a previous chapter were discussed the characteristics of the Irish style of handwriting and the part played by the monastic schools in its development so we pass on to consider the other three departments of art work.
ILLUMINATION:
Shortly after the Irish monks became skilled penmen they began to illuminate their books with brilliant colours which they learned to combine into elaborate and harmonious designs. This art reached its most perfect stage of development at the close of the eighth or beginning of the ninth century. The monks were wont to lavish all the wealth of their artistic skill on books containing the whole or portions of the Holy Scriptures. As instances of this style of illuminated MSS. the Psalter of ColmCille, the Book of Dimma, the Book of Armagh, and, above all, the Book of Kells should be mentioned. While each of these books has many merits the book which has compelled the admiration yet defied the imitation of every European artist is the Book of Kells. Describing this venerable volume which was written and illuminated about the middle of the ninth century, Sir Edward O’Sullivan writes as follows:[446] “Its weird and commanding beauty; its subdued and goldless colouring; the baffling intricacy of its fearless designs; the clean unwavering sweep of rounded spiral; the creeping undulations of serpentine forms that writhe in artistic profusion throughout the mazes of its decorations; the strong and legible minuscule of the text; the quaintness of its striking portraiture; the unwearied reverence and patient labour which brought it into being, all of which combined to make the Book of Kells, have raised this ancient volume to a position of abiding pre-eminence amongst the illuminated MSS. of the world.”
Other artists are equally emphatic in their praises of the work of Irish artists during the period under consideration.
Westwood writes: “Ireland may justly be proud of the Book of Kells. … At a period when the fine arts may be said to be almost extinct in Italy and other parts of the Continent, nearly from the fifth to the end of the eighth century, the art of ornamenting MSS. had a perfection almost miraculous in Ireland. … The invention and skill displayed, the neatness, precision, and delicacy far surpass all that is found in MSS. executed by Continental artists.”[447]
Referring to the interlaced style of ornament introduced in the seventh and eighth century Coffey[448] informs us that this new style with all its intricacy was brought to a marvellous perfection in the Irish monastic schools. The same writer further assures us that the Irish MSS. (with which he would class the Hiberno-Saxon MSS. in the production of which the Irish scribes took such important a part) admittedly stand in quite the first place among early MSS. for the excellence of their penmanship and illustrations.
As showing that the Irish style of art had more than a local influence the testimony of another art critic, Mr. Digby Wyatt, is worth quoting. He says: “In close connection with the Irish church existed a school of art remarkable for its sense of the graceful and grotesque, and for its superiority in point of ornamental design to any other style of the same period. That its influence extended much farther than is generally supposed would appear certain, and not only did Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the North of England and Scandinavia adopt its peculiar system of ornament, but some of the MSS. in the libraries of Europe are now discovered to have emanated from this school.”[449]
The colours of the Book of Kells are remarkably well preserved after a lapse of one thousand years. Professor Hartley[450] a few years ago submitted the pigments to a careful examination and discovered the materials of which the colours are most probably compounded. He reported as follows: “The black is lampblack, or possibly fishbone black; the bright red is realgar (arsenic disulphide As2S2) the yellow, orpiment (arsenic tersulphide As2S3); the emerald green, malachite; the deep blue possibly lapis lazuli, but owing to its transparency when overlying green more likely not so. The reddish purple is either finely ground glass obtained from a solution of gold, or a preparation which was obtained by the action of a solution of tin and was very expensive. The other colours are neutral green like burnt sienna, a pale blue, and lilac.”[451]
We have referred to the fact that the pagan Irish were skilled workmen in metal. This class of work received a new impetus with the introduction of Christianity. The pre-Christian craftsmen exercised their skill in ornamenting shields, swords, sword-hilts, chariots, brooches, bridles, etc. as we learn from the specimens that are preserved in our museums.[452] In addition to articles of this class the Christian artists, the majority of whom were ecclesiastics,[453] made crosses, croziers, chalices, shrines to hold books or relics as well as book satchels in which both metal and leather were used.[454] Specimens of these may be seen in the National Museum, Dublin.[455] For real artistic skill the most admired specimens are the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, and the Cross of Cong.[456] The designs and styles of ornament used by the metal workers were similar to those of the artists who illuminated the MSS. Artistic skill in metal work was brought to its highest degree of excellence in the tenth and eleventh centuries and continued to flourish until about the end of the twelfth century, but gradually declined after that date owing to the general disorganization of society consequent on the Norman invasion.[457]
STONE CARVING:
The skill of the Irish artists in stone carving is seen at its best in the great stone crosses of which about 55 remain in different parts of Ireland. One peculiarity of the Irish (or Celtic) Cross is the circular ring round the intersections, thus binding the arms together. This peculiar form was developed in Ireland and, once developed, remained fixed from the eighth to the twelfth century. Of the 55 great crosses 35 are richly ornamented and eight have inscriptions bearing names of persons who have been identified as living at various dates from 904 to 1150A.D.[458]
The crosses have a style of ornamentation similar to that of the manuscripts and of the metal work. In addition to the ornamentation most of the crosses have groups of figures representing various events in Sacred History, such as, The Fall of Man, Noah in the Ark, The Sacrifice of Isaac, The Fight of David and Goliath, The Arrest of Our Lord, The Crucifixion, The Crucifixion of St.Peter (head downward), Eve Presenting the Apple to Adam, The Journey to Egypt. These sculptures are iconographic, i.e. they were intended to bring to the minds of the unlettered people the facts of Sacred History by vivid illustration. No doubt the preachers in their discourses directed the attention of their hearers to these representations; and perhaps they often lectured while standing at the foot of the cross with the people ranged in front, the preacher pointing to the sculptured groups as occasion demanded. It is probable that the figures were painted in brilliant colours like those used in illuminating the MSS. so that the people might see them more distinctly.[459]
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE:
We cannot close our discussion of the curriculum of Irish monastic schools without a brief reference to its limitations which are especially noteworthy in the case of mathematics and other secular sciences. While not venturing into details some writers manage to convey the impression that the scientific knowledge of the Irish monks was as profound as their knowledge of the classics. We have not found any evidence to support this view. The most that can be said in favour of the teachers of this early period is that they willingly imparted all the mathematical and scientific knowledge of their time. But the actual amount of such knowledge possessed by Western Europe prior to the tenth century was relatively small as compared with even the later Middle Ages not to speak of modern times.
ARITHMETIC:
Prior to the tenth century arithmetic was essentially the art of computation. It was largely devoted to computing Easter, so the terms “Computus” and “Arithmetic” became synonymous.[460] Apart from this practical side it is possible that a theoretical treatment of numbers was not absolutely wanting. The method of reckoning was necessarily crude and little progress was possible while the cumbersome Roman system of notation made computation with large numbers well nigh impossible. It remains for further investigation to show whether the arithmetical knowledge of the Irish monks extended beyond the limits of Bede’s De Tempora Ratione,[461] or equalled that of the Liber de Computo[462] of Rabanus Maurus. Our acquaintance with source material in this field is too limited to warrant any sweeping statement, but it is significant of the nature of arithmetical knowledge of this period and of the lack of creative ability to find a scholar of such ability as Marianus Scottus in the following century basing his work on Computus[463] on that of Rabanus. Indeed it was not until the introduction of the Arabic system of notation and Hindoo methods through Arabic influence that there was much possibility of progress in Arithmetic. The introduction of the Arabic system is attributed by some to Gerbert[464] (d. 1003A.D.) but it was not until the end of the twelfth century that the Hindoo-Arabic system became generally established among mathematicians. A century later Arithmetic began to be applied to commerce.[465]
Algebra was apparently unknown to the Irish monks during the period under investigation and was probably not introduced into Europe until the twelfth century.[466]
GEOMETRY:
Up to the tenth century, the age of Gerbert, a knowledge of Geometry in our sense of the term hardly existed in Western Europe. In fact the term seems to have been used in its etymological meaning and not in the sense the Greeks understood it. We have found no evidence to warrant the assumption that Euclidean Geometry was taught in those early Irish monastic schools. But on the other hand an examination of the characteristic Irish style of ornament suggests that the Irish artist had at least a good working knowledge of practical Geometry. Possibly the amount of knowledge of theoretical Geometry did not extend beyond the narrow[467] limits of the works of Capella,[468] Cassiodorus,[469] and Isadore of Seville[470]—writers well known to Irish scholars as we have seen.
GEOGRAPHY:
If the mathematical science of Geometry was still undeveloped in the West geography, topography and cosmography made up the deficiency. It was but natural that the Irish monks, the greatest voyagers of their time, should be interested in the study of foreign lands. We have an instance of this in the case of Adamnan who wrote his De Locis Sanctis from the dictation of Arculfus, a Frankish bishop who had visited Palestine.[471] Bede based his work bearing a similar name on Adamnan’s volume. This work of Adamnan with that of Bede continued to be the only source of information of the geography, Christian antiquities, and customs of Palestine until the Crusades gave Western Europe a more acute and active interest in that distant, inhospitable region.[472] We have referred to a curious geographical poem[473] which was evidently used as a text in the monastic schools of Ireland. It contained probably all the geography that was taught prior to the tenth century. The tenth century map of the world[474] drawn in England for an Anglo-Saxon is supposed to have been the work of an Irish artist and further illustrates the state of geographical knowledge of the times. The more ambitious treatise of Dungal, De Mensura Orbis Terrarum, which will be described in the next chapter, marks a new departure in geographical texts—hitherto mere compendiums—inasmuch as it introduces new matter, is more critical, “up-to-date” and altogether a commendable attempt for a ninth century scholar.
Astronomy had a double interest for the Irish monks. Being great travellers in an age when they had no compass to direct their way the “study of the stars” was a matter of practical interest and possibly they were more observant of the courses of the heavenly bodies than the majority of us are to-day. Again, the ability to compute the date of Easter was a matter of great importance in ecclesiastical circles in those days. The controversies which centred around the Easter question caused many Irish monks to give special attention to practical methods of computing the date of Easter. They were also led to examine the history of the different cycles in use and finally they were led to inquire into the theoretical aspect of the science of Astronomy. In the present chapter we referred to the famous Paschal Epistle of Cummian Fada which showed that he was at one and the same time an accomplished classical scholar and an astronomer of no mean ability versed in all astronomical literature of his time. Other great astronomers were Virgilius, Dicuil and Dungal, of whom we shall have something to say in our next chapter when dealing with the scope of Irish monastic scholarship. Of all the secular sciences Astronomy was perhaps the most popular with Irish monastic scholars the superiority of whose scholarship in this regard is acknowledged by all writers of the early Middle Ages.[475]
We see, then, that though the actual amount of mathematical and scientific knowledge possessed by the Irish monks was small they freely taught all that was known at the time in Western Europe and, limited as was their educational equipment, we may safely conclude that it represented the maximum attainments in western scientific knowledge prior to the tenth century.
While we have no means of determining the precise way in which the curriculum was organised, we may safely conclude that it embraced the following groups of studies:
1. Vernacular Studies: The Irish language, its grammar, metrics, literature both secular and religious, prose and poetry, history, antiquities, etc.[476]
2. Christian Studies: Theology, especially the study of the Scriptures with the commentaries of the Fathers thereon, and in the ninth century at least the study of Dialectics and Philosophy was pursued with success.
3. Classical Studies: Acquaintance with several Latin and Greek authors of the classical period. Superior knowledge of Latin and a good working knowledge of Greek.
4. Aesthetic Studies: Cultivation of Art and Music.
5. Scientific Studies: All the scientific knowledge of the time, special emphasis on Computation and Astronomy.
Thus we see that the course of studies of the early Irish monastic school was much more varied in scope and fuller in content than the Trivium and Quadrivium as taught in contemporary Europe.
