The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1913-10-18
Third of Series of Lectures Deliver
ed Under Auspices of A. o. H.
of Mass.
Fl. Heating Discusses Ireland's place
in Litersture, Science
and Art
Historical Lectures Prove Very Pop
ular in Spreading knowledge
of Ancient Ireland

Father Heating was given a splendid
reception as he rose to speak. He said:
"One bright summer day in the lat
ter part Of the eighth century, two
learned Irish scholars, Clement and AL
binus, landing in great seaport city
of France, went through the market
place attracting the attention of the
crowds in a very novel way by calling
out loudly Hear! hear! Whoever
wants wisdom let him come to us; for
tits we that have it to sell!'
This questionably modest boast,
which the great Emperor Charlemagne
afterward found to be borne out by the
scholarly erudition of the travellers in
this particular case, might we'll have
been the advertising copy Of all the
great Irish schools in those days, had
international advertising been so we'll
established then as now, for the schools
that fourished in Erin during the pc
riod from the sixth to ninth centuries,
which we are about to consider, have
left glorious record of golden gifts
bestowed alike with open hearted Irish
generosity upon all classes of the Irish
people and upon the learned world
weary strangers who sought the scho-
lastic quiet of Ireland's sanity shore.
Well might the poet sing the praise
of those ancient schools.
81 would the great world grew like
thee
Who grewest not alone in power
And knowledge, but by year and hour
In reverence and in charity
Reverence for the laws of God and
man, reverence for all rightly consti-
tuted authority; charity for friend and
foe, these have ever been the ideals in
schools under Irish patronage.
gs-, Religion played q Leading part in
their origin and development, as nearly
all the great schools of this period were
ecclesiastical. Such, for example, were
those founded even before the seventh
century by st. Benignus at Kilbenan.
st. Mel at Ardagh, ST Claran at Clon-
macoise, st. 1bar in Ulster, st. Declan
at Ardmore, st. Ida at Killeddy and
st. Bridget in Kildare where st. Fin
men taught and preached before the
founded Clonard.
"Many of the masters are number
ed among the Irish saints, some of
whom undoubtedly received popular
rather than formal canonization. The
most learned scholars of the day ap-
piled themselves to the study and
teaching Of the gospel and their audi
tors were both clergy and laymen.
1.-THE curriculum of these early
Christian schools did not, however,
stop short with theology and scripture.
While we may point with pride to the
theological attainments of great Irish
minds of this period like Sedulius and
Donatus who taught in Italy, we must
also remember that literature and the
fine arts were not forgotten.
Music was cultivated by scholars
and people; psalmody in the schools
and traditional tunes among the lay
folk. The Irish scholars seem also to
have been in demand as teachers of
music. In the seventh century, Ger
trude, the daughter Of Pepan, engaged
Saints Feillan and Ultan. brothers of
st. Fursa Of Perron, to teach psalmody
to the religious of her convent at Nj
yeile, France.
I'm Charlemagne's time, the cloister
schools of st. Gall with their Irish
monks were famous for their teaching
of Gregorian music. In the latter half
of the ninth century, the same schools
under the direction of Maengal an
Irishman acquired high reputation
for music studies, and later produced
Eotker Balbuius, one of the most cele-
brated medieval musicians.
1.-THE classical languages were taught
In most Of the schools. The renais-
sance, says Darmesteter, began in Ire
land 700 years before it was known in
Italy,
"At a period when SO learned a man
rs Gregory the great had little or no
knowledge Of the Greekclassics,
Ireland had such men as Columbanus,
born in the year SAB. Of whom the great
French philologist, Arbois de Jubain-
VILE says: Tt is Sufficient to glance
at his writings Immediately to recog-
pize his marvellous superiority over
Gregory Of Tours and the Gallo Ro-
mans OF his time. He lived in close
converse with the classical authors.
VI