Colum Cille Cecinit

In the first of three snippets from an 11th/12th century poem about the 6th-century scholar/saint Columcille Heaney renders the dignity and sacredness of daily toil and demonstrates his respect for scholarly labour. He indicated he had been loyal to the original Irish poem not reproduced here. Colum: from Latin columba “dove”. 6th C. St. Colm Cille (Columba) “dove of the church” (variously Colum Cille) is one of the most important Irish saints. Born in Donegal to a branch of the royal Ui Neill clan, Colm Cille was banished to Scotland  where he founded the monastery on Iona and converted the pagan kings of Scotland to Christianity, Cecinit: Heaney draws directly from Latin using (full title) the 3rd person singular of the Perfect indicative […]