THE president's ADDRESS. 43 



In every place, said Q-uibert, old women canonize new saints by 

 inventing all sorts of gossiping stories about them. The 

 earliest instance of a regular canonization that can be discovered 

 is that of Ulric of Augsburg in 993, and that was done by the 

 Council then assembled at the Lateran, rather than by the Pope, 

 John XV. Already, in the Synod of Aix-la-Ohapelle, in 789, 

 the veneration of fictitious martyrs had been forbidden, — and in 

 those of Frankfort in 794, and Aix in or about 803, the 

 introduction of the cult of unauthorised saints had been con- 

 demned. Saintship among the Celts was a profession, a saint 

 — naomh — was the head of the ecclesiastical settlement, quite 

 irrespective of his moral character. Thus Peirio, abbot, who 

 tumbled into a well when drunk and died of the consequences, 

 was a saint ; so was Cairnech, although he instigated a man to 

 murder his own (Cairnech's) brother, and blessed him for the 

 deed. 



Finally, let me indicate again another feature in Celtic 

 Christianity. In addition to the ecclesiastical tribes, there grew 

 up a second institution, also based on pagan usage. 



A king or great chief of a clan had, as has already been 

 shown, his druid attached to the court to bless his undertakings 

 and to curse his enemies. This druid had his school of disciples, 

 and derived a fixed revenue from the kiug and from the court. 

 He had his separate house and establishment. When the saint 

 succeeded to the druid in the royal establishment nothing was 

 altered except the method of incantation. He blessed in the 

 name of Cod instead of in that of Crom Cruach or whatever 

 deity his predecessor had invoked ; and his imprecations were 

 but slightly tinged with the new religion. 



Thus there existed two ecclesiastical organizations in the 

 land, just as there were two political or social organizations. 

 On the one hand, there was the old Tribal system, with its sacred 

 tribe ministering to it in holy things. On the other hand was 

 the king's court with his personal adherents not under tribal 

 order at all, but creatures of the prince, and alongside of that 

 was the ecclesiastical order attached to the court. 



Mr. Willis Bund, commenting on this, and quoting from the 

 Welsh laws, says : " There was attached to the court a kind of 



