study of the religious culture of the period, one can
only properly examine a cult artifact—be it a text or
an object—by locating it in relation to the main litur-
gical structures. Fifth, extant devotional books often
tell us more incidentally about actual devotions than
simply what devotional material they contain. For
example, a vernacular litany is a devotional artifact in
itself, but saints’ lives may indicate how they were
used, or describe how the liturgy or devotional prac-
tices were perceived. Sixth, the twelfth-century
changes in religious life marks a watershed in devo-
tion in Ireland, as elsewhere in Europe; from then,
devotion became more distinct from liturgy, and Irish
materials are simply regional variants on what is hap-
pening elsewhere.
The Range of Liturgical Books
Wecan classify the books relating to liturgy thus:
- Books needed for the Eucharist: (a) books con-
taining formularies either (i) for specific days
that include variables (e.g., collects) and invari-
ables (e.g., the eucharistic prayer)—these are
known as libelli missae—or (ii) collections of
formularies that cover the liturgical year in
whole or part: missals; and (b) lectionaries con-
taining readings for this liturgy—gospel books,
as such, may or may not be suitable for use at
the liturgy. - Books needed for the Office: (a) Psalters; (b)
Antiphonaries, which contain additional material
for the Office and collects for it; and (c) hymnals,
which may also contain other prayers (both in
Latin and Irish) and vernacular hymns. - Other formularies: (a) liturgies for visiting the
sick; (b) books of blessings; (c) texts relating to
penance, such as the penitentials; and (d) books
containing other prayers that cannot be held in
the memory, for example, litanies. Blessings,
penitential texts, and other prayers existed in
both Latin and Irish.
4.Books relating to the liturgical year: (a) calendars—
an essential text for the liturgy; (b) martyrologies,
which formed a part of the daily monastic liturgy;
and (c) works of computistics for determining the
movable feasts (concern with the paschal contro-
versy is a species of liturgical thought).
The Range of Devotional Books
The largest category of devotional books (and unlike the
core liturgical texts, these books are found in both lan-
guages) is saints’ Lives. Their primary purpose was
edification and they were read in public, often as part of
the liturgy. Next in importance are directions for monas-
tic living in the form of both “rules” and guides (e.g.,
theApgitir Crábaid[alphabet of devotion] from, possi-
bly, the eighth century). Last, there are allegories that
describe ideal Christian communities, most famously the
monastic allegory of the Navigatio sancti Brendani.
Toassess the extent of what survives from the early
medieval period one should consult Lapidge and
Sharpe’s Bibliographyfor the Latin material, and Kenney
for the Irish material, using the categories cited above.
THOMASO’LOUGHLINReferences and Further Reading
Curran, Michael. The Antiphonary of Bangor and the Early
Irish Monastic Liturgy.Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1984.
Kenney, James F. The Sources for the Early History of Ireland:
Ecclesiastical—An Introduction and Guide. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1929. Reprint, Dublin: Pádraig
Ó Táilliúir, 1979.
Lapidge, Michael, and Richard Sharpe. A Bibliography of
Celtic-Latin Literature 400–1200.Dublin: Royal Irish Acad-
emy, 1985.
O’Loughlin, Thomas. Celtic Theology: Humanity, World and
God in Early Irish Writings. London: Continuum, 2000.
O’Loughlin, Thomas. “The Praxis and Explanations of Eucha-
ristic Fraction in the Ninth Century: the Insular Evidence.”
Jahrbuch für Liturgiewissenschaft 45 (2003): 1–20.
Palazzo, Eric. A History of Liturgical Books: From the Begin-
ning to the Thirteenth Century. Collegeville, Minn.: The
Liturgical Press, 1993.
Warren, Frederick Edward. The Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic
Church. 2nd ed., with new introduction by Jane Stevenson.
Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1987.
See alsoBiblical and Church Fathers; Conversion
to Christianity; Hagiography and Martyrologies;
Languages; Metalwork; Moral and Religious
Instruction; Reliquaries; ScriptoriaDIARMAIT MAC CERBAILL
Firm historical information about Diarmait is scarce.
The available annals, which may include some near
contemporary material, but which were certainly aug-
mented in subsequent centuries, suggest that his career
was not a particularly successful one. Diarmait’s prom-
inence in Irish history derives primarily from the fact
that he was said to be the father of Colmán Már and
Áed Sláine, the putative progenitors of the Clann
Cholmáin Máir and Síl nÁedo Sláine. These were
dynastic groups that rose to prominence in the seventh
and eighth centuries, respectively, and were dominant
among the southern Uí Néill (based in the Irish mid-
lands), as well as assuming over kingship of the Uí
Néill on many occasions. In consequence of his status
as a common Uí Néill ancestral figure, Diarmait
served as a suitable emblematic figure for later myth-
makers to convey particular messages about their ownDIARMAIT MAC CERBAILL