THE KING'S MIRROR 117 



there is a church dedicated to the memory of a saint 

 named Kiranus.* One Sunday while the populace was 

 at church hearing mass, it befell that an anchor was 

 dropped from the sky as if thrown from a ship; for a 

 rope was attached to it, and one of the flukes of the 

 anchor got caught in the arch above the church door. 

 The people all rushed out of the church and marveled 

 much as their eyes followed the rope upward. They saw 

 a ship with men on board floating before the anchor 

 cable; and soon they saw a man leap overboard and dive 

 down to the anchor as if to release it. The movements of 

 his hands and feet and all his actions appeared like those 

 of a man swimming in the water. When he came down 

 to the anchor, he tried to loosen it, but the people imme- 

 diately rushed up and attempted to seize him. In this 

 church where the anchor was caught, there is a bishop's 

 throne. The bishop was present when this occurred and 

 forbade his people to hold the man; for, said he, it might 

 prove fatal as when one is held under water. As soon as 

 the man was released, he hurried back up to the ship; 

 and when he was up the crew cut the rope and the ship 

 sailed away out of sight. But the anchor has remained 

 in the church since then as a testimony to this event.f 



* St. Ciaran (Kiranus) of Clonmacnois was the founder of a great monastery 

 there. The year of his death is given as 547. 



t In the Irish Nennius (211-213) the following version of this tale appears. 

 " Congalach, son of Maelmithig, was at the fair of Teltown on a certain day, 

 when he saw a ship (sailing) along in the air. One of the crew cast a dart at a 

 salmon. The dart fell down in the presence of the gathering, and a man came 

 out of the ship after it. When he seized its end from above, a man from below 

 seized it from below. Upon which the man from above said: * I am being 

 drowned,' said he. ' Let him go,' said Congalach; and he is allowed to go up, 

 and then he goes from them swimming." The translation is by Kuno Meyer: 

 riu, IV, 13. Congalach was an Irish king (944-956); Teltown is in county 



