> From: CA Muessig [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> * Kieran or Queranus or Ciaran, abbot of Clonmacnois (556?)
> - his vita contains many great anecdotes; in a practical joke that
> he played against his mother, he made it so that the blue dye she was
> using became so strong that anything touching it (including dogs and
> cats) became entirely blue
>
By some estimates there are as many as 26 early Irish saints named
Ciara/n. The founding abbot of Clonmacnois is certainly the best-known.
Ciara/n supposedly died in his early 30s. His reputation was fostered by the
monks who came after him and made Clonmacnois one of the major centers of
learning in its day. As part of his legend, Ciara/n is credited with writing
down the major epic, Ta/in Bo Cuai/lgne, and other important early Irish
tales from the mythological and Ulster cycles. As writing material, Ciara/n
was said to have used pages reputedly made, at least in in part, from the
hide of the cow he brought with him from home when he first settled at
Clonmacnois. Although not thought to be that old, this MSS., Lebor na
hUidre (LU) or "Book of the Dun Cow" is one of the oldest and most important
collections of early Irish literature. It is thought to date from slightly
before 1106 and is credited to scribes at Clonmacnois.
Francine Nicholson
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