library at Iona. According to Bede’s Ecclesiastical His-
tory, it was while he was in Northumbria that Adomnán
adopted the “universal observance” of the church on the
matter of the dating of Easter, having spent some time
with Ceolfrith and the Anglian monks at Wearmouth or
Jarrow, and having accepted their guidance on the mat-
ter. However that may be, Iona did not finally accede to
the Roman Easter until 716. But it is nonetheless likely
that he was anxious to effect a reconciliation of Iona
with the English and the majority of the Irish churches.
In 697, he journeyed again to Ireland to promulgate
theCáin Adomnáinat a synod in Birr (County Offaly),
a piece of legislation intended to protect non-combatants
in times of war, by a system of fines. The guarantor
list attaching to it of ninety-one ecclesiastical and
secular potentates from every part of Ireland, includ-
ing three from Scotland, is a genuine, contemporary
document. Adomnán continued as abbot of Iona until
his death.
De locis sanctisshows a considerable knowledge
of the works of Jerome and other patristic authors and
makes reference to his consultation of libri graecitatis
(“books of Greek words”). It subsequently formed the
basis for a later work of Bede’s on the holy places.
TheCáin Adomnáin places particular proscription
upon the abuse of women in war or raids and imposes
heavy fines, payable in part to the Columban commu-
nity and in part to the kin or lord of the injured or
deceased party, upon those guilty of doing so and upon
those guilty of the murder, injury, or molestation of
women. It is a humane and innovative piece of legis-
lation that reflects Adomnán’s concerns with the pres-
ervation of peace and civil order and the protection of
women, and is a milestone in Irish law.
Adomnán’s major opus, his Vita sancti Columbae,
written about 700, was based upon both written and
oral tradition relating to the saint, some of it derived
from some written memoranda of Cumméne Ailbe,
abbot of Iona from 657 to 669, and some written notes
(paginae), and partly from contemporary recollections
of him. It displays a wide-ranging knowledge of the
Bible and of other hagiographic and patristic texts. It
is a remarkable account, written in an eloquent but not
verbose Latin style, of the sanctity, prophecies, and
uirtutesof a great Celtic saint, for whom Adomnán
had considerable veneration. His desire to elevate
Colum Cille to the status of a universal saint has given
us one of the best and earliest pieces of hagiography
to emerge from the Irish Church.
In addition, the few penitential canons ascribed to
Adomnán are quite probably his. The text is certainly
of eighth-century date at the latest, and there is an
explicit reference in Canon 16 to one of the canons of
the seventh-century text known as the Second Synod of
Patrick (c. 26), dealing with a problematic case of remar-
riage after divorce. His awareness of the Romani prov-
enance of this synod makes it very probable that the
Canones Adamnani are of seventh-century composition.
The career of Adomnán is a remarkable achieve-
ment. He was singularly successful as a churchman,
scholar, diplomat, and legislator, and his striving
towards the unification of the Irish Church may have
promoted that second flowering of scholarly and liter-
ary activity which characterizes the eighth century in
Ireland.
AIDAN BREENReferences and Further Reading
Anderson, A. O. and M. O. Anderson, eds. Adomnan’s Life of
Columba. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press, 1991.
Bieler, Ludwig, ed. The Irish Penitentials.Scriptores Latini
Hiberniae 5. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,- Reprinted 1975.
Herbert, M. and P. Ó. Riain, eds. Betha Adamnáin. (The Irish
Life of Adamnán). London: Irish Texts Society, 1988.
Herbert, M. Iona, Kells and Derry. Oxford: Clarendon, 1988.
Meehan, D., ed. De locis sanctis. (The Holy Land). Scriptores
Latini Hiberniae 5. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced
Studies,1958.
Meyer, K. Cáin Adamnáin. (The Canon of Adamnán). Oxford,
Ní Dhonnchadha, M. “The guarantor list of Cáin Adomnáin,
697.” Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland
1 (1982): 178–215.
———. “The Lex Innocentium: Adomnan’s Law for Women,
Clerics and Youths, 697 A.D.” In Chattel, Servant or Citizen,
edited by M. O’Dowd and S. Wichert. Belfast: Institute of
Irish Studies, 1994.
O’Loughlin, T., ed. Adomnán at Birr, A.D. 697: Essays in com-
memoration of the law of the innocents. Dublin: Four Courts
Press, 2001.
Picard, J.-M. “The purpose of Adomnan’s Vita Columbae.”
Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland1 (1982):
160–177.
See also Aedán mac Gabráin; Annals and
Chronicles; Biblical and Church Fathers; Brehon
Law; Canon Law; Classical Influence; Collum
Cille; Education; Hagiography and Martyrologies;
Hiberno-Latin; Kells, Book of, Languages;
Literature; Paschal Controversy; Patrick;
Prophecies; Scriptoria; Women
ÁED UA (OR MAC) CRIMTHAINN
(fl.1150–1160)
He was a descendant of an old ecclesiastical family
from County Laois, who were the hereditarycomarbai
of Colum moccu Loígse, sixth-century founder of the
monastery of Tír dá Glas (or Terryglass) in County
Tipperary, and friend of Colum Cille. Áed was one of
the principal compilers and scribes of the greatADOMNÁN MAC RÓNÁIN (c. 624–704)