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322 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Acudemy, 



stand thus : „ t- T' /^ . The q uestion is. what order of the Gospeli 

 3. Lion 4. Ox ^ 



assumed ? Since T.uke is the third Gospel in both the Old Latin and the 

 A'ulgate, only two routes are open to anyone who examines the page. He 

 may pass from 1 to 2, and thence to 4 and 3 ; or he may go in the direction 

 1, 3, 4, 2. But in the latter case he performs a left-hand turn, which no seventh- 

 century Irish artist can have intended him to do. The order of the Gospels 

 implied in the design is therefore 1 , 2, 4, 3 ; Man, Eagle, Ox, Lion : Matthew, 

 John, Luke, ilark. In other words, the design originated in a pre- 

 Hieronymian Gospel Book. 



But to return to our study of O'Donnell's story. It has been already 

 remarked that he does not inform us what the text was which St. Columba 

 copied. He is content to call it a book,' intimating somewhat obscurely that 

 it was a portion of the Bible. But we note that earlier authorities are more 

 explicit. The Black Book of Molaga, as quoted by Keating,^ definitely 

 informs us that it was an euangelium. So also does a note on the Amra 

 Coluim CUle, where we are told, with a curious inversion of the facts, that 

 St. Columba won the battle of Cul Dremhne " from St. Molaise, iu vengeance 

 for his wrong judgement about the Gospel, and fi-om Diarmait, son of 

 •Cerhall."^ 



In view of these statements, in the mind of anyone who has been 

 impressed by the closeness of the parallel between the facts elicited by the 

 insight of Dr. Abbott from the Colophon of the Book of Durrow and the 

 story of the transcript of Finnian's book, there shapes itself the theory that 

 the exemplar of the Book of Durrow was no other than the volume surrep- 

 titiously written by Columba. And one is even tempted to speculate as to 

 the identity of the book from which it was copied with the " evangelical 

 volume" which Finniau declined to lend to his namesake of Dun Bleisc' 



Both suggestions are suflBciently plausible to deserve mention. But both 

 are apparently contradicted by e\idenee which must now be set fortli. 

 Manns O'Donnell, when he has finished his account of the battle of Cul 

 Dremhne, proceeds thus (^ 1 78) : 



" The Cathaeh' indeed is the name of the book on account of which the 



' Peregr., 1 i.s equally, or more, vague. 



- iii, 89. 



5 " Re\Tie Celtique," xx, 435. 



* See above, p. 313. 



^That is "battler" Several other cathachs are known. Such was the crozier of 

 St. Findchua, known as hLs Cenncathach. It is said to have been carried by himself 

 before the army of the King of Munster ; but usu<tlly it was borne by a cleric (Stokes, 

 p. 240 f.). Other of his relics were used in the same way (ibid., p. 245). Other cathachs 



