Stefan's Florilegium

Battl-o-t-Bks-art

Battl-o-t-Bks-art - 3/2/02

"The Battle of the Books" by Master Giles de Laval.

NOTE: See also the files: Celts-msg, Hst-of-Velvet-art, early-books-msg,
parchment-msg, bookbinding-msg, scrpt-develop-art, monks-msg, p-bibles-msg.

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NOTICE -

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set
of files, called Stefan's Florilegium.

These files are available on the Internet at:
http://www.florilegium.org

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be
reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first
or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris
AKA: Stefan li Rous
stefan@florilegium.org
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The Battle of the Books
by Master Giles de Laval.

Everyone who has beheld them realises that the manuscripts of the Dark and
Middle Ages are magnificent works of art, imbued with mystical reverence and
greatly treasured by their owners. Yet few people realise just how much they
were treasured - even to the point of going to war over.

In 561 AD, the abbot Columcille (whose name was later Anglicised to Columba),
paid a visit to Finian, abbot of the monastery at Moville. Unbeknownst to the
abbot, Columcille remained wakeful for many nights, secretly copying a
manuscript Finian had brought from Whithorn monastery in Scotland. Some
historians claim that Columcille copied the Bible, others believe it was the
Gospel of St Martin. Whichever it was, Finian discovered the deceit of his guest
and demanded that Columcille hand over the copy he had made. He refused, and
fled into the night before Finian's monks could seize the unauthorised copy.

Finian appealed to Diarmuit Ui Neill, high king of Ireland and kinsman to
Columcille. After considering what may have been the world's first copyright
case, the high king rendered his judgement: "to every cow belongs its calf, and
to every book its copy". He ordered Columcille to turn the copy over to Finian,
and that should have been that.

However, even though Columcille was a member of the Ui Neill clan and kinsman to
the high king, he identified with his mother's family the clan o Donnell,
according to Celtic custom. The o Donnells did not recognise the right of the
upstart Ui Neills to hold the high kingship of Ireland, so Columcille felt
justified in defying Diarmuit's order, declaring "the wrong decision of the
judge is a raven's call to battle!"

This sparked the Cul Dreimne, the Battle of the Books. (The copy Columcille made
became known as the cathac, or battler.) On one side ranged the high king and
his formidable clan and allies, fighting to enforce his royal edict; on the
other was Columcille and his clan and allies, fighting (ostensibly) for their
perceived right to disregard the law of the land when it conflicted with their
spiritual mission. The opportunity to humble the Ui Neil forces and possibly
restore the o Donnells to their royal status was also something of a bonus.
Although religious issues were at the heart of the dispute, the battling sides
were formed along family lines and political connections, the two armies were
composed of mixed pagan and Christian troops, their religious differences
momentarily set aside by political concerns. Monks and druids fought on both
sides, adding missiles of prayer and curse to the swords and spears of their
allies. When the fighting was over, the blood of the Christians soaked the
ground as much as that of the pagans.

Columcille won the day at Cul Dreimne, but did not get to enjoy his victory.
According to the Beatha Colaim Chille (Life of Columba), written by an o Donnell
in 1532 AD, Columcille felt deep remorse when he saw the slaughter caused by his
pride. He vowed to leave Ireland, to become a White Martyr and live out his days
in foreign lands. Far more likely, however, is that he was forced into exile by
the Synod of Teltown, a meeting of loyal Ui Neill clergy summoned by the high
king. Columcille was almost excommunicated for his theft by copy of Finian's
book: it was only the eloquent arguments of his friend Brendan of Birr that
convinced the Synod to impose banishment as an alternative punishment.

Whichever the reason, Columcille gathered twelve disciples to him to form the
nucleus of a new monastery, and in 565 AD embarked in coracles on the Irish Sea.
In the manner of a druid, he abandoned himself to the elements, letting the
winds and ocean currents dictate his course. Finally the frail hide boats
reached the island of Iona off the coast of northwest Scotland, and Columcille
and his monks established a monastery and scriptorium there. It was there, more
than two hundred years later, that the most famous of all insular manuscripts,
the Book of Kells, is thought to have been written, before the monastery had to
be abandoned in 807 AD in the face of increasing Viking raids on the British
isles.

Bibliography:

Peter Cherici, Celtic Sexuality, Duckworth 1994

Simon James, Exploring the World of the Celts, Thames and Hudson 1993

David M Wilson ed, The Northem World, Harry N Abrams 1980

------
Copyright 2000 by Mark Calderwood. <mark-c@acay.com.au>. Permission is granted
for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited
and receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in
the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also
appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being
reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

<the end>