Hugh Graham

“ The high degree of cultivation of Irish writing did not result from the genius of single individuals, but from the emulation of various schools of writing and the improvements of several generations. “There is not a single letter in the entire alphabet which does not give evidence both in the general form and in its minutest parts of the sound judgment and taste of the penman.” ”

“ Passing over the beginnings of civilization which are exemplified by the crude implements and other remains of the Stone Age, we note that in the Bronze Age when the art of working metals had been discovered the existing specimens of the work of these ancient craftsmen point to a relatively advanced stage of civilization. Indeed, an examination of the discoveries of this period amply justifies the statement that “in point of wealth, artistic feeling and workmanship, the Irish craftsmen of the Bronze Age surpassed those of Britain.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ The superiority of Irish classical learning has been demonstrated and is now acknowledged by practically all scholars who have made an intensive study of the early Middle Ages. [536] But as a discerning historian has remarked, “what is of greatest significance is the fact that there reigned not only among the professed scholars but among the plain missionaries (whose name was legion) a classical spirit, a love of literature for its own sake and a keen delight in poetry. They brought imagination, they brought spiritual force to a world well nigh sunk in materialism. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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. 500 B.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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ As has been stated, none of the books of pre-Christian Ireland are now extant, so evidence as to the kind of writing in use must be sought elsewhere. In the absence of books the coinage of a country has often given valuable information in this connection. In the case of Ireland, however, this source of information is lacking; for though metals were worked from very early times and gold was plentiful no trace of a native coinage has been found. Luckily there remain in the stone inscriptions the clearest proofs that the ancient Irish practised a peculiar kind of writing called Ogam. ”

“ The Irish teachers left a lasting impression on their own and succeeding generations. Not only were they the chief teachers of grammar, poetry, astronomy, music, and geography when these branches had no other, or scarcely any other, representative on the continent of Europe, but they also profoundly influenced the course of mediæval thought in matters of philosophy and theology. ”

“ Virgilius, bishop of Salzburg (766–7–784–5 A.D.) whose name is a latinised form of the Irish name Fearghal, was one of the few men who in the eighth century cultivated the profane sciences. [478] Indeed the age in which he lived was equally unfavourable to the pursuit of science or to the encouragement of speculative thought, as Virgilius found from experience. On one occasion, Boniface, the Papal Legate, denounced him for promulgating false doctrines inasmuch as he maintained that the sun and moon passed under the earth, and that there must be inhabitants on the other side. ”

“ It would seem that the scriptorium was not unlike a modern school-room in some respects. In silence the younger members of the monastic community and other students sat there writing out and multiplying books, sometimes from dictation, sometimes by copying. An invigilator sat there also to preserve silence and to act as task master. On the margins of the MSS. we sometimes find short fragmentary notes devoid of literary value, but of deep human interest as showing that unregenerate human nature had its opportunities even in a monastic scriptorium as much as in a modern school-room. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ Patrick may be admitted as genuine, it must not be assumed that the learning for which Ireland became famous during the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries could have been the result of his labours. [33] Most people who have read St. Patrick’s writings will admit that he makes no claim to be a scholar but on the contrary he has a very humble opinion of himself and reminds us frequently of his ignorance of letters. As Bury says, [34] “His Latin is as ‘rustic’ as the Greek of St. Mark and St. Matthew,” and Whitley Stokes infers from his writings that he knew no Greek. ”

“ Judging by the large number of monks in every monastery and recalling the fact that teaching was regarded as a most meritorious form of labour, we are inclined to think that there was a great deal of individual teaching, or at least teaching in small groups, especially when the weather was unfavourable for outdoor lectures. This conjecture derives some support from Bede, who informs us that of the Anglo-Saxons who went to Ireland many of them passed from one master’s cell to another for instruction. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Healy’s eloquent tribute to Irish monasticism appears to be amply justified. It is worth quoting:
“Fasting and prayer, labour and study are the daily task of the monks in every monastery. How well and unselfishly that toil was performed the history of Europe tells. The monks made roads, cleared the forests, and fertilised the desert. Their monasteries in Ireland were the sites of our cities. ... They preserved for us the literary treasures of antiquity; they multiplied copies of the best and newest books; they illumined them with loving care. They taught the children of rich and poor alike ”

“ Their earnest single pursuit of learning in the widest sense attainable, their solid hard work as scholars is no less characteristic. Ireland was once the university not only of Northern England, but of the Frankish realm and if that progress was arrested after the fatal inroads of the Norsemen after 795 A.D. the seed which the Scots had sown in other lands grew to a nobler maturity than ever it reached on its own soil. ... Wherever they went they founded schools.” [537]
Many other tributes to Irish monastic scholarship might be quoted. ”

“ Anyone acquainted with the social life of the Irish-speaking peasantry even in modern Ireland and has listened to a story told, or poem recited, by a seanchaidhe (raconteur) will realise that this was true education, a real exercise for the intellect and a refined source of enjoyment. Taking education then in the broad sense we see that the great body of the Irish people in these early times were really educated.
EDUCATION OF WOMEN:
We have ample evidence that education in ancient Ireland was not confined to men. ”

“ It is no exaggeration to say that they were the founders of scholasticism and that Ireland is the Ionia of mediæval philosophy.” [538]
Zimmer too shows that the Irish missionaries were not merely the representatives of Christianity: “they were instructors in every branch of science and learning of the time, possessors and bearers of a higher culture than was at that time to be found anywhere on the Continent, and can surely claim to have been the pioneers,—to have laid the corner stone of western culture on the Continent.” [539]
We have reached the end of our study. ”

“ 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 [Pg 139] recent years. ”