As a usual lurker, with no academic credentials at all in the subjects of
religion or medieval history - just a retired, motivated engineer - I
herewith delurk (for a while, anyway). I have been visiting and
photographing Ireland for several years. I try to do my research in an
engineeringly fashion. I have dozens of Irish history, archaeology, etc.,
books......plus have absorbed information from well over a hundred
interlibrary loan books, in order to be prepared for my usual 2-4 week, 2000
driving miles trips. Usually in September, but I will soon be doubling the
frequency with Spring trips, too. My main interest is photographing (B&W)
early Christian sites (together with some scenic stuff and some more recent
Romanesque, etc., material).
I know that cross-posting is frowned-on, so I am engaging in what I would
call seriatim-posting. My first request for information on the
above-mentioned church was through CELTIC-L, but have received no
bites.......on this particular subject. Here's a bit from that letter:
>>>>>>>>> Two years ago, I encountered a wonderful little church (ruin) a
couple of miles east of Leighlinbridge (Carlow), and fell in love with the
place. Now I am making this place a particular focus of my obsession.
That's part of the reason for my joining so many lists. According to Gwynn &
Hadcock, Agha had Fintan (Munnu?, probably) as its abbot in the 6th century.
The church (probably an earlier one on the site) was destroyed in a raid by
the Osraigi in 864. I've also read it was the Norse (intermingled w/ the
Osraigi?). Lewis, in his 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, says it
was the Danes in 864. Of course, he also called the place Achad-finglass,
while G&H called it Achad-urglais. G&H give references - - - Acta
Sanctorum....Hiberniae (354) compiled by John Colgan in 1645 (I haven't
checked Amazon.com) and Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae, ed. by Plummer 1910
(ii.104). I may be able to get the Plummer by interlibrary loan, but I would
like to find these on the net, if I can. I don't live near any cities, so my
access is limited. I have a lot of sites bookmarked, including the CELT
site, but haven't had any luck with any documents I'm searching for, except
the Annals of the 4M's. The website doesn't seem to encourage printing-out
of the pages, so that's a drag.
I've thought that I could get more information about Agha church from data on
the Life of Fintan Munnu, but have only gotten scraps. Kenney, in his
"Sources", mentions three Codices....Salmanticensis and Kilkenniensis
Collection, in the Acta Santorum, the Insulensis Collection.......and the
Vita Fintani original source. My high school latin from long ago
is.....that's right, long gone. One final comment from G&H - - - Connmhach,
was lector and abbot of Agha, and was slain in 1017.
My biggest problem is that I'm unable to clarify my problem. Basically, I
just want to get as much information about this site as I can. Any and all
help will be greatly appreciated (I've GOT to get more focused!). <<<<<<<<<<<
True to my American engineering background, I don't speak or read any of the
languages that might be of help to me in this matter. Spanish? So I would
need translated texts of the above documents. I don't think my high-school
Latin from the 40's would be of much help. Regarding the Plummer book
(above), I have been concerned whether that was a translation or not. The
same would apply to other documents, of course.
I have a feeling that I might end-up in an interdisciplinary black hole here.
I have discussed my obsession with an archaeologist in Ireland, and she told
me I needed to talk to historians. Historians tell me this is more of a
religious subject. My main problem seems to be that I want to assimilate
information from various sources to give me a more thorough understanding of
this magnificent ruin and its place in history/religion/etc. Does anyone
have any ideas on how I should proceed?
Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|