Saint Maelruain
Encyclopedia
Saint Máel Ruain was founder and abbot-bishop of the monastery of Tallaght (Co. Dublin
, Ireland). He is often considered to be a leading figure of the monastic 'movement' that has become known to scholarship as the Céli Dé. He is not to be confused with the later namesake Máel Ruain, bishop of Lusca
(Co. Dublin).
has been read as saying that in 774 the monk obtained the land at Tallaght from the Leinster king Cellach mac Dúnchada
(d. 776), who came from the Uí Dúnchada sept of the Uí Dúnlainge
branch of the Laigin, but there is no contemporary authority from the annals to support the statement. In the Martyrology of Tallaght and the entries for his death in the Irish annals (see below), he is styled a bishop.
or calendar commemorating the feasts of Irish and non-Irish saints, and possibly also of the earlier prose version, the Martyrology of Tallaght
. In his epilogue to the Félire Óengusso, written sometime after Máel Ruain's death, Óengus shows himself much indebted to his "tutor" (aite), whom he remembers elsewhere as "the great sun on Meath's south plain" (grían már desmaig Midi). In the early ninth century, Tallaght also seems to have produced the so-called Old Irish Penitential.
Although liturgical concerns are evident in the two martyrologies, there is no strictly contemporary evidence for Máel Ruain's own monastic principles and practices. Evidence for his teachings and their influence comes chiefly by way of a number of 9th-century writings associated with the Tallaght community known collectively as the 'Tallaght memoir'. One of the principal texts is The Monastery of Tallaght (9th century), which claims to list the precepts and habits of Máel Ruain and some of his associates, apparently as remembered by his follower Máel Díthruib of Terryglass. Much of the text survives in a 15th-century manuscript, RIA
MS 1227 (olim MS 3 B 23), and in the 17th century, an Early Modern Irish paraphrase was produced now referred to as The Teaching of Máel Ruain. Of less certain origin is the text known as the Rule of Céli Dé, which is preserved in the Leabhar Breac
(15th century) and contains various instructions for the regulation and observance of monastic life, notably in liturgical
matters. It is ascribed to both Óengus and Máel Ruain, but the text in its present form is a prose rendering from the original verse, possibly written in the 9th century by one of his community. These works of guidance appear to have been modelled on the sayings of the Desert Fathers
of Egypt, in particular the Conferences of John Cassian. Typical concerns in them include the importance of daily recitation of the Psalter, of self-restraint and forbearance from indulgences in bodily desires and of separation from worldly concerns. Against the practices of earlier Irish monastic movements, Máel Ruain is cited as forbidding his monks to go on an overseas pilgrimage, preferring instead to foster communal life in the monastery.
Máel Ruain's reputation as a teacher whose influence on the monastic world extended beyond the confines of the cloister walls is further suggested by the later tract Lucht Óentad Máele Ruain ("Folk of the Unity of Máel Ruain"), which enumerates the twelve most prominent associates who embraced his teachings. They are said to include Óengus, Máel Díthruib of Terryglass, Fedelmid mac Crimthainn
, king of Cashel, Diarmait ua hÁedo Róin of Castledermot (Co. Kildare) and Dímmán of Araid.
report under the year 792
that Máel Ruain died a peaceful death, calling him a bishop (episcopus) and soldier of Christ (miles Christi). In the Annals of the Four Masters
, however, in which he is also styled "bishop", his death is assigned, probably incorrectly, to the year 787
. His feast
in the Martyrology of Tallaght and Félire Óengusso is on July 7. He was succeeded as abbot of Tallaght by Airerán.
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland). He is often considered to be a leading figure of the monastic 'movement' that has become known to scholarship as the Céli Dé. He is not to be confused with the later namesake Máel Ruain, bishop of Lusca
Lusk, County Dublin
Lusk is a village in Ireland located north of Dublin city centre. The name "Lusk" is said to date back to St. MacCullin, who founded a church there c.450. Oral tradition suggests MacCullin may have either lived in or been buried in a cave and that the name "Lusk" derives from an old Gaelic word...
(Co. Dublin).
The foundation of Tallaght
Little is known of his life. Máel Ruain is not his personal name bestowed at birth or baptism, but his monastic name, composed of Old Irish máel ("one who is tonsured") and Ruain ("of Rúadán"), which may mean that he was a monk of St. Rúadán's monastery in Lothra (north Co. Tipperary). Though his background and early career remain obscure, he is commonly credited with the foundation of the monastery of Tallaght, sometimes called "Máel Ruain's Tallaght", in the latter half of the 8th century. This may be supported by an entry for 10 August in the Martyrology of Tallaght, which notes that Máel Ruain came to Tallaght carrying with him "relics of the holy martyrs and virgins" (cum suis reliquiis sanctorum martirum et uirginum), apparently with an eye to founding his house. There is at any rate no evidence for a religious establishment at Tallaght prior to Máel Ruain's arrival and although Tamlachtae, the Old Irish name for Tallaght, refers to a burial ground, it was not yet the rule for cemeteries to be located adjacent to a church. Precise details of the circumstances are unknown. A line in the Book of LeinsterBook of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
has been read as saying that in 774 the monk obtained the land at Tallaght from the Leinster king Cellach mac Dúnchada
Cellach mac Dúnchada
Cellach mac Dúnchada was a King of Leinster of the Uí Dúnchada sept of the Uí Dúnlainge branch of the Laigin. He was the son of Dúnchad mac Murchado , a previous king. This sept had their royal seat at Líamhain...
(d. 776), who came from the Uí Dúnchada sept of the Uí Dúnlainge
Uí Dúnlainge
The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ancestor of the rival Uí Chennselaig....
branch of the Laigin, but there is no contemporary authority from the annals to support the statement. In the Martyrology of Tallaght and the entries for his death in the Irish annals (see below), he is styled a bishop.
Liturgy and teachings
The best known disciple of Máel Ruain's community was Óengus the Culdee, the author of the Félire Óengusso, a versified martyrologyMartyrology
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs , arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches...
or calendar commemorating the feasts of Irish and non-Irish saints, and possibly also of the earlier prose version, the Martyrology of Tallaght
Martyrology of Tallaght
The Martyrology of Tallaght, which is closely related to the Félire Oengusso or Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee, is an eighth- or ninth-century martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Máel Ruain and/or Óengus the Culdee at Tallaght Monastery, near Dublin...
. In his epilogue to the Félire Óengusso, written sometime after Máel Ruain's death, Óengus shows himself much indebted to his "tutor" (aite), whom he remembers elsewhere as "the great sun on Meath's south plain" (grían már desmaig Midi). In the early ninth century, Tallaght also seems to have produced the so-called Old Irish Penitential.
Although liturgical concerns are evident in the two martyrologies, there is no strictly contemporary evidence for Máel Ruain's own monastic principles and practices. Evidence for his teachings and their influence comes chiefly by way of a number of 9th-century writings associated with the Tallaght community known collectively as the 'Tallaght memoir'. One of the principal texts is The Monastery of Tallaght (9th century), which claims to list the precepts and habits of Máel Ruain and some of his associates, apparently as remembered by his follower Máel Díthruib of Terryglass. Much of the text survives in a 15th-century manuscript, RIA
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
MS 1227 (olim MS 3 B 23), and in the 17th century, an Early Modern Irish paraphrase was produced now referred to as The Teaching of Máel Ruain. Of less certain origin is the text known as the Rule of Céli Dé, which is preserved in the Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac is an Irish language publisher based in Indreabhán in the County Galway Gaeltacht of Cois Fharraige.Specialising in fiction, and named after the 15th century manuscript Leabhar Breac, the publishing house was founded in 1995 by Darach Ó Scolaí and Caomhán Ó Scolaí...
(15th century) and contains various instructions for the regulation and observance of monastic life, notably in liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
matters. It is ascribed to both Óengus and Máel Ruain, but the text in its present form is a prose rendering from the original verse, possibly written in the 9th century by one of his community. These works of guidance appear to have been modelled on the sayings of the Desert Fathers
Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers were hermits, ascetics, monks, and nuns who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism...
of Egypt, in particular the Conferences of John Cassian. Typical concerns in them include the importance of daily recitation of the Psalter, of self-restraint and forbearance from indulgences in bodily desires and of separation from worldly concerns. Against the practices of earlier Irish monastic movements, Máel Ruain is cited as forbidding his monks to go on an overseas pilgrimage, preferring instead to foster communal life in the monastery.
Máel Ruain's reputation as a teacher whose influence on the monastic world extended beyond the confines of the cloister walls is further suggested by the later tract Lucht Óentad Máele Ruain ("Folk of the Unity of Máel Ruain"), which enumerates the twelve most prominent associates who embraced his teachings. They are said to include Óengus, Máel Díthruib of Terryglass, Fedelmid mac Crimthainn
Feidlimid mac Cremthanin
Fedelmid mac Crimthainn was the King of Munster between 820 and 846. He was numbered as a member of the Céli Dé, an abbot of Cork Abbey and Clonfert Abbey, and possibly a bishop...
, king of Cashel, Diarmait ua hÁedo Róin of Castledermot (Co. Kildare) and Dímmán of Araid.
Death and veneration
The Annals of UlsterAnnals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
report under the year 792
792
Year 792 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 792 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Irene is confirmed empress of the...
that Máel Ruain died a peaceful death, calling him a bishop (episcopus) and soldier of Christ (miles Christi). In the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
, however, in which he is also styled "bishop", his death is assigned, probably incorrectly, to the year 787
787
Year 787 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 787 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Conall succeeds Drest as king of the...
. His feast
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
in the Martyrology of Tallaght and Félire Óengusso is on July 7. He was succeeded as abbot of Tallaght by Airerán.
Primary sources
- Martyrology of TallaghtMartyrology of TallaghtThe Martyrology of Tallaght, which is closely related to the Félire Oengusso or Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee, is an eighth- or ninth-century martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Máel Ruain and/or Óengus the Culdee at Tallaght Monastery, near Dublin...
, ed. Richard Irvine Best and Hugh Jackson Lawlor, The Martyrology of Tallaght. From the Book of Leinster and MS. 5100–4 in the Royal Library. Brussels, 1931. - The Monastery of Tallaght, ed. E.J. Gwynn and W.J. Purton, "The Monastery of Tallaght." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 29C (1911–12): 115-80. Edition and translation available online from Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae; PDF available from the Internet Archive.
- The Teaching of Máel Ruain, ed. E.J. Gwynn, The Teaching of Mael‐ruain. Hermathena 44, 2nd Supplement. Dublin, 1927. pp. 1–63.
- The Rule of the Céli Dé, ed. and tr. E.J. Gwynn, The Rule of Tallaght. Hermathena 44, 2nd Supplement. Dublin, 1927. pp. 64–87.
- Lucht Óentad Máele Ruain ("Folk of the Unity of Máel Ruain", also abridged to Óentu Mail/Máel Ruain) in the Book of Leinster, ed. Pádraig Ó RiainPádraig Ó RiainPádraig Ó Riain is an Irish Celticist and prominent hagiologist focusing on Irish hagiography, martyrdom, mythology, onomastics and codicology....
, Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae. Dublin, 1985. Section 713. - Annals of UlsterAnnals of UlsterThe Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
, ed. and tr. Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983. Online edition at CELT.
Secondary sources
- Byrnes, Michael. "Máel-Ruain." In Medieval Ireland. Encyclopedia, ed. Seán Duffy. New York and Abingdon, 2005. pp. 308–9.
- Doherty, Charles. "Leinster, saints of (act. c.550–c.800)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 14 Dec 2008.
- Follett, Westley. Céli Dé in Ireland. Monastic Writing and Identity in the Early Middle Ages. Studies in Celtic History. London, 2006.
Further reading
- McNamara, Martin. The Psalms in the Early Irish Church. Sheffield, 2000. pp. 357–9.