Uinseann  Maidin, OCR, trans. and ed. _The Celtic Monk:
Rules and Writings of Early Irish Monks_. Cistercian Studies
Series Number 162. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1996.

Reviewed by Susannah M. Chewning, Kean College of New Jersey,
 chewn@worldnet.att.net.

 _The Celtic Monk: Rules and Writings of Early Irish Monks_ is an
extremely useful collection of rules, homilies, hymns and other
devotional writings of the  medieval Irish monastic tradition. 
Maidin's brief introductions and thorough annotation make it 
very readable and welcome in the field of monastic studies. _The
Celtic Monk_ provides a  helpful introduction into both the riles
of living experienced by the medieval monks of Ireland.  These
texts span the seventh through fifteenth centuries and present a
specifically Celtic sense  of purpose and Christian identity
among the communities. 
     
Maidin's introduction briefly presents the growth and development
of Irish monasteries following the evangelism of Saint Patrick. 
One interesting point about  these writings, which perhaps
explains the absence, until recently, of thorough studies of this 
period, is, as Maidin puts it, "either the early monks did not
write anything down, or what was written  was lost at the time of
the Norse invasions" (9). Most of these texts, if they have
appeared in modern editions at all, have not been edited since
the first decade of this century.  Thus, Maidin 's text serves as
an important source for the language and customs of medieval
Irish monastic  life.

Among the texts included in the collection are the _Rules_ of
Ailbe (ca 750), Comghall (late eighth century), Ciari (late
seventh-early eighth century), Carthage (ninth century) and the
eighth century _Rule of Tallaght_, a longer and more thorough
rule than the others. _Tallaght_, written in a monastery
destroyed by the eleventh century, was founded by the abbot
Maelruain in the eighth century.  The _Rule_ indicated that it
has been established by Maelruain.  Among other practices, the
Rule indicates that the monks of Tallaght were vegetarians and
never drank alcohol, a practice apparently not maintained in
neighboring communities.

On one occasion Dubhlitir came before Maelruain urging him  to
allow  his monks to have a drink of beer on the great solemnities
. . . of the year. Maelruain replied:  As  long as they are under
my rule and keep my ordinances they will not drink in this place
anything that brings about forgetfulness of God. 'Dubhlitir
answered:  my monks drink beer, and they will enter heaven along
with yours'.  I am not certain of that,' said Maelruain,  but of
this I am sure: no monk of mine who pays heed to me and observes
my rule will have need of judgment, nor of the cleansing fire of
purgatory, because they will already be purified.  Not so with
your monks; they will have need of the cleansing fire.'  (111)

This exchange serves to reassure the reader of the _Rule_, a
member of Maelruain's community, that by following it he would
find ultimate salvation.  It also provides evidence of the claim
made by Maidi n that monasteries, like secular communities, "were
based on the clan or family unity" (8), with the abbot serving as
paternal leader and the monasteries working on a basis of family
unity.  This is very clear in the Rules presented here by Maidi
n, whose goal in part is to express the unique character of Irish
monastic life.

Besides the several Rules included in the collection, Maidin has
also included several poems and hymns which, again, serve to
define the unique nature of the Irish religious communities.  One
of these texts, the _Alphabet of Devotion_, is a treatise in
which the pursuit of holiness and unity in the love of God is
clearly set up.  It includes, for example, the virtues of the
soul, "faith, meekness, humility, patience, mortification,
obedience, charity, uprightness, mercy, generosity, forbearance,
hospitality, zeal, self-denial, almsgiving" (165), many of which
are also included in most other rules, However, there seems to be
a focus in these texts on the reality of human weakness and
failure--the author of the Alphabet, for example, argues that
truth can be obtained through an avoidance of  "illicit love and
fear, indulgence and compulsion . . . anger and mental laziness"
(164).  Perfection, in a sense, is not so important here as truth
and virtue, offering a more reasonable guide to dwelling with the
Holy spirit (as the _Alphabet_ author describes it).

Among the other poems included in this collection are litanies to
Christ and to Mary (which are both reminiscent of other
post-Conquest British poetry, such as those found in the
anchoritic tradition) and simple poems and prayers expressing the
abject nature of human life as well as the simple glory of God's
creation.  For example, Maidi n introduces a poem which
includes a monk's praise for his cat's ability to catch its prey
while he attempts to understand the word of God: "I and Pangur
BA0n my cat /  Tis a like task we are at: / Hunting mice is his
delight,/ Hunting words I sit all night . . . Oftentimes a mouse
will stray / In the hero Pangur's way; /Oftentimes my keen
thought set / Takes a meaning in its net" (lines 1-4, 13-16, p.
193).   This poem expresses well the juxtaposition of worldly
experience and spiritual devotion that characterize these texts
and, one must therefore assume, the nature of Irish monastic
devotion.
     
Maidi n's book is an excellent introduction to Celtic monastic
life.  It clearly defines the nature of Irish monasticism while
also providing the reader with a wide range of devotional texts.
In his introduction Maidin writes that his book is not meant as
an exercise in the language of Irish monastic texts.  He writes:
"the primary purpose of these translations has  been to present
early irish monastic documents to as wide a reading public as
possible in the hope that their doctrinal content will become
more widely known, understood, and used" (13).  I would  argue
that Maidin has achieved his purpose while also contributing an
important survey of  texts, themes, and unique characteristics of
the medieval Irish monastic tradition to the study of the
medieval devotional tradition.


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