O’Keeffe (ed.), Ériu 1 (1904) pp.216-224 — Irish text, unedited OCR

1. The souls of the men of Ireland are incumbent on Patrick’s ordinance: a chief bishop for every tribe, to ordain their clergy, to consecrate their churches, to give spiritual direction to princes and superiors, and to hallow and bless their children after baptism.

2. For every tribe and every kindred that has not bishops over these souls, the law of their faith and of their belief dies, so that each man goes astray in his own path, refusing obedience to his pious soul-friend; and so that no one has regard to sin, whether fratricide or murder or adultery and every other evil. Moreover, any ordained man who knows not the duty of his order and is not capable of celebrating mass and the office before kings and bishops, is not entitled to the freedom or the honour-price of an ordained man in tribe or in church.

3. Any bishop who confers high orders upon one who is not competent in their exercise, whether in piety or learning or spiritual direction or knowledge of law and rule — that bishop is an enemy of death to God and to men. For it is a reproach to Christ and to his church to confer high orders upon one who is not competent in their exercise as regards heaven and earth, so that it brings judgement upon tribes and churches; therefore the price is seven years’ penance and seven cumals as an honour-price to the Creator. For it is this that causes disease and plagues upon families, among other defects and destructions — baptism not being lawful, and not going under a bishop’s hand at the proper time; for the completeness of the Holy Spirit comes not, whatever the number of persons baptised, unless he goes under a bishop’s hand after baptism.

4. Boys to the age of seven years are only chastised for their first offences with a scourge on the palm of the hand, that is, three strokes upon them with the palm; and with a scourge of rods until the end of seven years. Now any ordained man who openly forsakes his orders for a harlot shall pay his order’s honour-fine to the church that is outraged, and his gathering is lawful for him for every advantage; and it is lawful for the laity to retain their gathering for him for the sake of live-stock and cattle, and he is not entitled to anything from the church of God after that, but penance according to the judgement of his pious soul-friend.

¹ pious MS. ² ‘and’ is superfluous: cf. LB, 1141. ³ piety MS. ⁴ For “to them and not”? ⁵ men MS. ⁶ LB. has cumala ⁷ Gloss: dead stock ⁸ Gloss: live stock

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5. For there is no dwelling in heaven for a man’s soul unless he is baptised with lawful baptism before every other thing; therefore the souls of the men of Ireland with their princes and their chiefs and their superiors are incumbent on Patrick’s ordinance, that every lawful church should have baptism and communion and intercession for its monks — for it is at the peril of the anger of Patrick and the saints of Ireland upon every prince and every monk who does not enjoin upon his own proper church baptism and communion and intercession therein.

6. Now every bishop who consecrates tribes and churches, he is the soul-friend of the clergy, and with him lawful orders are made, and it is he who gives them help so that they may obtain their due in tribe and in church, and it is he who enjoins upon every church that it have its oratory and its cemetery in holiness, and that the altar with its proper furnishings be ever ready in the appointed place.

7. And every superior who provides for the requirements — that is, who is over against this ordinance, and to whomever the church belongs — the bishop may act at his own direction or at the direction of one who is his equal in rank, so that there be the due of baptism and communion and intercession for every person whose lawful church it is, and so that there be the offering of Christ’s body upon every altar. For these are all the things of the faith; and whoever resists them shall have no expectation of the dwelling of heaven.

8. And any church where the tenants supply not baptism and communion and intercession is not entitled to tithe or cow or the third of the profit.

9. A superior is not entitled to his direction over his tenants, nor to the honour-fine of his seat in the assembly of his own church, unless the services of baptism and communion and intercession are rendered from his church; therefore the souls of the men of Ireland are incumbent on Patrick’s ordinance — that they forsake not the law of their faith and of their belief, that they deny not their Creator, and if they decline to go into the presence of God, that the church be in charge of an ordained man for baptism and communion and intercession of tenants, both living and dead; and that there be mass upon its altar on high feasts and chief festivals and Sundays, and that there be furnishings at every altar, and a portable altar and consecrated linen.

10. For any church where there are not its proper things is not entitled to the honour-fine of the church of God and is not a church, but it is a lair of wolves, and its name shall be taken with Christ.

¹ read: freed ² read: provides (?) ³ hé seems corrupt here. ⁴ his own MS. ⁵ read: of baptism ⁶ Gloss: shall come ⁷ Gloss: ministering ⁸ read probably ‘of his’ ⁹ his faith MS. ¹⁰ denying MS. ¹¹ let them decline MS. ¹² Gloss: portable altar

220 J. G. O’KEEFFE

11. Any church in which there is an ordained man from the small churches of the tribe, besides the great churches, is entitled to the maintenance of his order, that is, a house and furniture and bedding and good coverings and fitting assistance, to be rendered without trouble, without neglect, to whomever is in the communion of the church — namely, a miach with its leavings and a milch-cow in every quarter and festival food.

12. The head at hand over the tenants of every church that is under his charge is entitled to the due maintenance: the price of baptism and lawful communion and intercession for all the tenants, both living and dead, and mass every Sunday and every chief feast-day and every chief festival, and the office at every canonical hour and three fifties at every hour to be sung — unless teaching and spiritual direction, that is, unction and baptism, prevent.

13. But if the clergy of the tribes are few — though there be three churches or four — it is the duty of every ordained man: selection of communion and baptism for everyone’s soul, and mass on feast-days and festivals upon their altar.

14. These are the reciprocal dues from the tenants to the ordained man: a half-úar of plough-land every year, with its seed and its ploughing, and the half-share of clothing, whether mantle or doublet, for him alone. A four-person meal at Christmas and Easter and Pentecost.

15. But according to the dignity of the ordained man and his honour, his due and his exemption are increased over and above what we have enumerated.

16. For it is this that would be due: an ordained man to every church, since there is not the full honour-fine of the church of God save where there are ordained men and proper young clerics, and they innocent, for frequenting the church.

NOTES.

foratá, “it is (incumbent) on”; fortá would be expected here. Both fortá and foratá occur in the glossary to Meyer’s Hibernica Minora; and O’Davoren’s Glossary has forathá. O’Donovan’s Supplement has fortá = “it is due,” and forathá = “it is ordained.” For the latter he quotes H. 3. 17 (O’D. 600). The word occurs in that MS. in a small slip of parchment set in between cols. 450 and 451, where the context is: Foratha nech dogni gufiadazse in fiach doscara isé fil fair inn.

écnaire, intercession, requiem. See note at p. 206, Reeves’ Culdees. Dr. Strachan has drawn my attention to two passages in LL. — 27845 and 283238 — where the meaning is requiem. The word seems to have been applied to some special prayer or litany recited for the absent and the dead.

manach, throughout this text the meaning seems to be lay tenant of ecclesiastical lands; cf. Laws, Glossary.

eltrai, ?

lethgabol étaig. I have not been able to ascertain the precise meaning of lethgabol in the context. Several examples of the use of the word are given in the Glossary to the Laws, p. 531, but none of them suits here, where the meaning seems to be in the nature of a tribute (of clothing) from the manach tenants to the ordained.

frecra, equivalent, see Laws, Glossary.

dire a sedit na toichneda. What the precise meaning of the phrase — evidently a legal one — in this text is I cannot say. Cf., however, LB, 11°23, Laws, vol. iv., p. 362, and Laws, Glossary.

terimpetoir; glossed imaltóir, portable altar? Cf. Glossary to Stokes’ Three Middle-Irish Homilies, and to his Lismore Lives, s.v. immaltóir.

tecmail. Can this be an error for fecmaz, 3 sg. s. subj. of do-ecmaing? The passage in which it occurs is anything but clear as it stands.

in lessa doboing. Cf. Laws, v. 118, and Glossary, s.v. des and tozbgim.

cona síl a ithir. This passage is somewhat obscure to me as it stands. Assuming that there is no corruption, the meaning would appear to be that among other reciprocal duties from the manach tenant to the ordained were: (1) the grant in “conacre” of as much arable land as a man might plough in one day, (2) the actual ploughing (? and general preparation) of it, and (3) the seed for it.

dul fo láim n-epscoip, “to go under the hand of a bishop.” In Mod. Ir., to be confirmed.