The Cathach of St. Columba

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The Cathach of St. Columba is a late 6th century Irish Psalter which is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland and the second oldest Latin psalter in the world. It is traditionally associated with St. Colmcille (died 597) and was identified as the copy made by him of a book loaned to him by St. Finnian and which led to the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561. Palaeographic evidence dates the manuscript to 560-600 or a little later but that it was written by Colmcille is now doubted.

The 58 folios in the damaged and incomplete vellum manuscript contain the text of Psalms 30:10 to 105:13 in Latin (the Vulgate version); the complete manuscript would have contained 110 folios. Rubrics written in Old Irish appear above the text of the Psalms.

The decoration of the Cathach is limited to the initial letter of each Psalm. Each initial is in black ink and is larger than the main text. They are decorated with trumpet, spiral and guilloche patterns and are often outlined with orange dots. These patterns are not merely appended to the letters or used to fill spaces. They instead distort the shape of the letters themselves. The letters following the enlarged initials gradually reduce in size until they reach the same size as the main text. A style of writing given the musical term 'diminuendo' meaning a gradual decrease in loudness.

Cathach (kaih uch) translates as ‘battler’ and gets its name from it use by Clan Ó Domhnaill (O’Donnell Clan) to bless troops and guarantee victory in battle.

Legend of the Cathach is that St. Colmcille borrowed the psalter of Saint Finnian under the pretence of reading it but instead made a copy of it in a single night. When Finnian discovered a copy had been made he demanded both the original and the copy back. Colmcille resisted and claimed that it was made from a miraculous light. Finnian was furious and brought the matter to the High King of Ireland, Diarmait Mac Cerbhaill.

The king examined the original psalter and its clone after which he famously proclaimed, "To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy.” The book and copy was returned to St. Finnian, much to Colmcille's annoyance. The judgement is now famous as the first mention of copyright in history.

Colmcille was furious with the decision of the king and his fury resulted in the battle of Cúl Dreimhne which resulted in the death of many men.A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate him for these deaths, but St. Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf with the result that he was allowed to go into exile instead. Columba's own conscience was uneasy and on the advice of an aged hermit, Molaise, he resolved to expiate his offence by going into exile and win for Christ as many souls as had perished in the terrible battle. He left Ireland, to return only once, many years later.

The manuscript is in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, while the cumdach/reliquary is in the National Museum of Ireland.

Pronunciation guide
Cúl Dreimhne - Cool Dreiv-na
Colmcille - Colum cilla
Molaise – Mol ai sah
Birr – Burr
Cumdach – cum dach
Cathach - kaih uch