232 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



{uohis) ; and beyond doubt you assert nothing but things of which you have 

 most certain information. " 



This Congan was evidently personally known to St. Bernard. He is men- 

 tioned in the Life (§ 64) as " our Congan," abbot of the Cistercian monastery 

 of Inislawnaght {ilonaslerium Siiricnse). We may conclude that he was one 

 of the brothers already mentioned, who received instruction at Clairvaux. To 

 him and his friends we are indebted for the greater part of St. Bernard's nar- 

 rative. Congan had first-hand knowledge of at least one stoiy embodied in 

 the Life — the handing over to him by Malachy of the " new Zacchaeus," who 

 became the hi-st lay conccrsus of the monastery of the Suir.' But we caunot 

 be sure that he was au equally reliable witness of other events which he 

 communicated to St. Bernard. We may suspect, for example, that a good 

 many of the stories of St. Malachy *s miracles, which fill a large section of 

 the Life, cauie from him. They are said to have been worked in many 

 ditl'erent regions of Ireland, from Coleraine to Cork, and no man can have 

 been in a position to vouch for the truth of them all. But for the historian 

 these narratives of miracles, whether true or false, are the least important 

 part of St. Bernaul's treatise. Setting them aside, it may fairly be said 

 that St. Bernard drew his facts from good sourees. We have prima facie 

 reason to regard his Life of St. Malachy as an historical document of the 

 first rank. 



But we must c&rry om- investigation somewhat further. If a lai-ge part 

 of St. Bernard's material consisted of stories communicated by word of 

 uiuuih, he seems also to have luul before hiui written statements. He 

 informs us that he could, if he wished, have given us the uncouth names — 

 many of which he omits — of the places at which Malachy's miracles were 

 wrought.' It is highly improbable that these names were stored in his 

 memory. Hence I conclude that the stories bad in many cases been 

 committe^^i to writing by his iuformant-s. And among his written documents, 

 I cannot doubt, was one that took a wider scope than most of the others, 

 and gave information about the history of the Church of Armagh. It is 

 instructive to observe his manner of dealing with it. On it, if I mistake not, 

 is based the following passage : — 



" From reverence and honour for [Patrick], as the apostle of that nation, 

 who had converted the whole country to the faith, that see where he presided 

 in life and rests in death has been held in so great veneration by all from the 

 beginning, that not merely bishops and priests, and those who were of the 

 clei^y, but also all kings and princes, are subject to the metropolitan in all 



' 5 M- ' S 46. 



