Frazer — On an Irish Crozier^with Early Metal Crook. 213 
Diarmaid Mac Corbhaill, who is recorded as having, with his own 
hands, aided in building the little church of stone and rude cell 
which was situated close to it. The date ascribed to St. Ciaran 
appears too early for this crozier, although in later times it bore 
his name. The reputation which Clonmacnoise attached to itself 
was of gradual growth until the latter part of the eighth century, 
Iwhen the fame of one of its principal teachers, Colcu, was such that 
it reached even to the court of Carloman, where Alcuin at that time 
was residing with the king. The letter written by Alcuin to Colcu 
as historic ; with it he sent presents of oil and money, and also 
special gifts for the anchorites connected with the church. Colcu 
died A.D. 789, probably not far from the time when this crozier was 
Drought to Ireland. 
At all events we find the crozier of St. Ciaran enumerated as 
0ne of the treasured relics that Clonmacnoise possessed in the year 
.L.D. 930. Passing into the custody of St. Ciaran's successors, it 
vould naturally, in the course of time, become associated with the 
tame of the founder, and, as such, come to be considered an undoubted 
■elic of the saint. When the succession of Culdee bishops and ancho- 
ites disappeared, and been replaced by monks, and an abbot bore 
t"iule in the great buildings of that monastery which had risen instead 
f the primitive church and rude cell, a new crozier was required 
or processional purposes, and was accordingly made in the highest 
tyle of Irish art. This crozier, as I have endeavoured to point out, 
iorrowed certain prominent and unusual features from the older 
lattern with such modifications as the better education in art of the 
ge demanded, and the technical skill of the artist enabled him to 
litroduce. At the same time the possessors of the ancient relic 
^solved to decorate it in a similar manner to demonstrate the esteem 
id veneration in which it was held by its custodians. Such an 
nount of toil and expense would never have been expended save on 
•me object held in unusual reverence. 
I have thus endeavoured to trace the successive steps which have 
id me, in my investigations, to recognize in these croziers mutual 
idences of a similar origin by comparing the details of their Irish 
icorative twelfth-century work, and also the remarkable resemblances 
tween the older and later croziers in their ornamentation. These 
suits were unforeseen and unexpected, and it was only after they 
Sd forced themselves upon me that I took up the historic portion of 
J inquiry. Mere chance reading of Lord Dunraven's work gave me 
)lue, which I endeavoured to follow out. 
