416 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



important word, but it seems to have presented a difficulty to the 

 transcribers of Ussher's mss. who were evidently unacquainted with 

 its meaning. Dr. Todd also was by no means clear on the subject ; 

 and this was probably the reason that in quoting the passage in his 

 work on St. Patrick he substitutes societatem- for it. But there is no 

 such reading in any of the iiss., and the insertion of the word was 

 due, I assume, to mere inadvertence, and may have been caused by his 

 quoting from memory. It seems to show, however, that in his view 

 the words were synonymous. But they are by no means so, for 

 societatetn is a word of wide meaning, whereas cotisortium has a special 

 technical sense. It signifies the association of a woman vowed to per- 

 petual chastity with an ecclesiastic, both occupying the same house 

 -and living together as brother and sister. In the Eastern Church 

 such women were known as crvvet'o-aKrot, ayaTrrjTaL, and ctSeAt^at ; in 

 the West, as consortes (whence consortium), muUeres subintroductce, and 

 perhaps more generally as sorores, or sisters. The custom prevailed 

 all over the Church in early times. It is alluded to in the " Shepherd 

 of Hennas," as early as the second century, and it continued down to a 

 late period. AYhen we first hear of it the Eoman Empire was stil 

 Pagan, and the Christians were a persecuted sect. It was a time 

 when martyrdom was of common occurrence, and even eagerly sought 

 for by many, and when the unseen world was more present to men's 

 thoughts than perhaps at any other period in the history of the 

 Church. Ender such circumstances we can imagine the possibility 

 of this mode of life being comparatively innocent. But when the 

 Empire became Christian, and the sun of imperial favour shone on the 

 Church, there would naturally be a reaction from this state of high 

 spiritual tension, and then danger would arise. It was in consequence 

 of this that as early as 325 the General Council of Mce passed a 

 •canon^ against the consortium, and from that time forward numerous 

 local councils gave expression to their disapproval of it. Even as late 

 as the eighth century we find Pope Zozimus once more repeating the 

 prohibition of the Mcene Council. The Fathers also energetically 

 opposed it, no one being more strenuous than St. Cyprian of Carthage, 

 who would accept no explanations; and in the West, St. Jerome who 

 denounced it with his usual vehemence. 



Such was the mulierum consortium which the Eirst Order of Irish 



2 St. Patrick, p. 88. 



^ ATr7iy6pevcTe KadoAou rj fXiyaKi) avvo'Sos iJ.T]Te iincrKOTrcp . . . yu^^re oKus Ttvl ruv 

 iv TcS KXrjpcji, e^elvai avveiffaKTov yvvaiKa e'x^"'' Can. iii. 



