EsPOSiTO — Conchubrani Vita Sanctae Monennae. 203 



the Bollandists, wliicli was iiiuilc by lliu kiLu Jiishop Eccvcs. Tliis latter 

 pioce of work, bound up in a siuall quarto volume, is now preserved in tlic 

 Manuscript Room in tlic Library of Trinity College, Dublin, where it beara 

 the nimiber 1099.' This MS., along with many other of Bishop Eeeves' 

 ])apers,- was acquired by the Library in 189."rl. Jt has proved of very great 

 assistance to me. Indeed I may say that without it the present work would 

 not have been undertaken. At tiic same time, it must be clearly understood 

 that Bishop Reeves is in no way responsible for any errors into which I may 

 have fallen. 



I. 



Of Conchubranus, the author of the Vita, we kmiw absuhiLely noUiing. 

 He gives us his name in the last chapter of his work,' and it is clear that he 

 was an Irishman. He cannot have lived earlier than the eleventh century, as 

 he uses the names Scotia, Scotus or Scottus, Scoticus or Scotticus, indillerently 

 of Ireland and Scotland.' It is weU known that previous to about the 

 middle of the eleventh century, Scottia, Scotticus, &c., applied exclusively 

 to Ireland.' On the other hand, he cannot have Kved later than the first half 

 of the twelfth century, as the MS. containing his work dates from this period. 

 We may, then, assume that he flourished between the years 1050 and 1150. 

 The name Conehubran or Conchubranus does not occur in tlie Irish Annals, 

 though of course Conchobhar is very common. A certain leai'ued Irishman 

 named Cauuchobrach is mentioned in a tenth-century MS. at Bamberg," but 

 he must have lived in the ninth century, and so could not be identified with 

 our author. 



The subject of Conchubran's biograjjhy, St. Moneuna, is said to have 



invaluable for purposes of collation. For full details I may refer the reader to the following: — 

 P. Gabriel Meier, Die Photographic im Dieiiste der Paluogvaphie (Conipte Rendu du quatrieiiie congrus 

 scientifique international des catlioliques tenu a Fribourg (Suisse), Section V, pp. ■13G-4-15, 

 Fribuurg en Suisse, 1S9S) ; Die Forlscbritto dor I'aliiographic uiit Hilfe der I'hotographie 

 (Ceulrulblatt fiir Bibliothidcswosen, Leipzig, xvii, 190U, pp. 1-32, 113-130, 101-lOS, 2.55-27S) ; 

 Autes du congres international pour hi reproduction dus m.ss. tenu a Liego les 21, 22, ct 23 aout 

 I'JOS, Bi'uxuUes, I'.IO.'] ; and, above all, llio uiasturly suniiu.iry by the hito laineutud Byzantine sehohir, 

 Kari Krunitaihcr, Die Pliotograpbie iui l^icnsle der Geisteswissensebatlen (Neue Jalirljucher fill" das 

 Klassisobe Altcrtum, Geschichlc und dcutschc Literatur, xvii, UXIO, pp. 601-G.59, 727). 



' Abbott, Catalogue of Mss. in tlic Library of Trinity College, Dublin, 1900, p. 193. 



- Some of these Beeves' mss. have been utilized by Plunuucr in his admirable Vitac Sanctorum 

 llilieriiiae (cf. toniiis i, 1910, pp. xliii n., Ixi). 



■' Liber iii, cap. H huius editionis, "pro me ualdo misoio Domini seruo Conchubrano." In ii, 7, 

 pp. 221, 222, infra, ho shows minute knowledge of local topography. 



' Cf. Index Nominum I'ropriorum s.v. Scotia. 



■" CU. Zimiuer, Neuuius Vindicatiis, Berlin, 1893, p. 29 ; Kuno Meyer, Trans, of the Society of 

 Cymmrodorion, 1895-96, p. 60; Holder, Alt-Coltischer Sprachschatz, Bd. ii, 1904, cols. UOG-MIS. 



" MS. IL J. iv, II, el. Uoiberg, Oversigt over del Kongelige Dansko Videiiskaberues Selskabs 

 Forhandlinger, Copenhagen, 1889, pp. 199, 202, and Traube, Abhandluiigen dor K. B. Akudemie zu 

 Miiuchen, Philos.-Philol. Classe, 1891, Bd. 19, Abth. 2, p. 352. 



[30*] 



