Lawlor — TJte Cathaeh of St. Columba. 307 



But again, the battle of Ciil Dremhne was not a creditable episode in 

 Columba's career. The recognition of that fact has led some writers to 

 minimize the part which he took in it. Thus, for example, the Annals of 

 Tigernagh and the Annals of Ulster attribute the victory to Columba's 

 prayers; the Four Masters carefully avoid doing so.' Similarly in the 

 Life of St. Abban, according to the Codex Salmanticeusis, St. Columba 

 comes to St. Abban desiring him to pray "for the souls of those who were 

 slain in the battle lately fought through our persuasion," which the scribe of 

 another manuscript has altered to a request that St. Abban would assure him 

 " whether the Divine Majesty would deign to save the monks committed to 

 his care," with corresponding changes in the rest of the passage — all reference 

 to the battle of Cul Dremhne being omitted. '^ Similarly, to take a cognate 

 instance, the battle of Cul Fedha is said in the Annals of Tigernagh to have 

 been fought " by the prophecy " of Columba, which is no doubt a milder 

 version of the tradition that he was its instigator : the Four Masters , 

 and even the Annals of Ulster, strike out all allusion to his connexion 

 with it. With these instances before us we can well believe that Adamnan 

 may have omitted incidents in the life of his predecessor, not solely because 

 they lay outside his design, but because they were not altogether in harmony 

 with the impression of the character of the man which he desired to produce. 

 And we are confirmed in this belief when we remember that once, having 

 occasion to mention some pardonable deeds of St. Columba, he does not give 

 us the opportunity of judging whether his description of them is correct by 

 telling us what they were. 



The argument, therefore, that because certain allegations about St. Columba 

 are not confirmed by Adamnan they must be false, cannot be maintained. 



St. Finnian's Book. 



Hitherto 1 have been concerned to maintain the substantial truth of 

 O'Donnell's story as a whole, especially in its later incidents. But this has 

 only been preparatory to the consideration of the event from which it sets 

 out — the judgement of Diarmaid about St. Finnian's book, which is for our 

 purpose of supreme interest. It has been necessary to show that it cannot 

 be summarily dismissed as unhistorical, merely because it is part of a longer 

 narrative which is unworthy of credence. We must now give closer attention 

 to this opening section. For its historical value does not stand, nor fall, with 

 the rest of O'Donnell's narrative. The incident of the quarrel between 

 Finnian and Columba is not inconsistent with what follows ; and it has been 



' Reeves, p. 250. '^ Plummer, i. 28. 



' [44-^] 



