,grimm ,library    ,no4 #ah    ,,an     
,,irish ,,precursor ,,of ,,dante        
,uncial3 7,fis ,adamnin7                
,the ,grimm ,library4        ,half      
buckram4 ,net prices4        ,i4        
,,georgian ,,folk-,,tales4 ,by ,m4      
,,wardrop4 ,out of print4        ,,ii41 
,,iii41 ,v4 ,,the ,,legend ,,of         
,,perseus4 ,a ,study of ,tradition and  
,story1 ,custom and ,myth4 ,by ,e4 ,s4  
,,hartland4 #c vols4 ,out of      print4
        ,,iv41 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,voyage ,,of
 ,,bran1 ,,son ,,of ,,febal1 ,,to ,,the 
,,land ,,of ,,the      ,,living4 ,an old
 ,irish ,saga1 now first edited1 with   
,translation1      ,notes1 and ,glossary
 by ,,kuno ,,meyer4 ,with an ,essay upon
 the ,irish      ,vision of the ,happy  
,otherworld1 and the ,celtic doctrine of
      ,rebirth1 by ,,alfred ,,nutt4 #b  
vols4 #a1 #as4        ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,the  
,,happy ,,otherworld4 #ahie4 xviii1 #cca
 pp4        ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,celtic 
,,doctrine ,,of ,,rebirth4 #ahig4 xii1  
#ceb pp4      #ajs4 #f;d4        ,,vii4 

,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,sir ,,gawain4     
,studies upon its ,original ,scope      
and ,significance1 ,by ,,jessie ,l4     
,,weston4 #ahig4 xvi1 #aag pp4 #ds4     
,,viii4 ,,the ,,cuchullin ,,saga ,,in   
,,irish ,,literature4 ,by ,,eleanor     
,,hull4      ,out of print4             
,,ix41 ,x4 ,,the ,,pre- ,,and           
,,proto-,,historic ,,finns4 ,by the     
,hon4 ,j4      ,,abercromby4 #b vols4   
,out of print4        ,,xi4 ,,the ,,home
 ,,of ,,the ,,eddic ,,poems4 ,by        
,,sophus ,,bugge4 ,out of      print4   
,,xii4 ,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,sir        
,,lancelot ,,du ,,lac4 ,studies upon its
      ,origin1 ,development1 and        
,position in the ,arthurian ,romantic   
,cycle4 ,by ,,jessie ,l4 ,,weston4      
#aija4 xii1 #beb pp4 #gs4 #f;d4         
,,xiii4 ,,the ,,wife ,,of ,,bath',s     
,,tale4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,,maynadier4 ,out of
      print4        ,,xiv4 ,,sohrab     
,,and ,,rustem4 ,the ,epic ,theme of a  
,combat between      ,father and ,son4  
,a ,study of its ,genesis1 ,use in      

,literature and      ,popular           
,tradition4 ,by ,,murray ,a4 ,,potter1  
,a4,m4 #aijb4 xii1 #bbd pp4      #fs4   
,,xv4 ,,the ,,three ,,days'             
,,tournament4 ,a ,study in ,romance and 
,folklore4 ,being an ,appendix to the   
,legend of ,sir ,lancelot4 ,by          
,,jessie ,l4 ,,weston4 #aijc4 xvi1 #ei  
pp4 #bs4        ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,cattle   
,,raid ,,of ,,cualnge 7,tin b           
,cuailnge74 ,by ,l4      ,,winifred     
,,faraday1 ,m4,a4 ,out of print4        
,,xvii4 ,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,sir       
,,perceval4 ,studies upon its ,origin1  
,development1 and ,position in the      
,arthurian ,cycle4 ,by ,,jessie ,l4     
,,weston4 ,vol4 ,i4 #aijf4              
,,xviii4 ,,an ,,irish ,,precursor ,,of  
,,dante4 ,by ,c4 ,s4 ,,boswell4 #aijh4  
#hs4 #f;d4                              
,an ,irish ,precursor of ,dante         
,a ,study on the ,vision of ,heaven and 
,hell ascribed to the                   
,eighth-century ,irish ,saint ,adamnn1  
with ,translation of the                

,irish ,text                            
,by                               ,c4   
,s4 ,boswell                            
,london                                 
,published by ,david ,nutt              
at the ,sign of the ,phnix              
,long ,acre                             
#aijh                                   
,,to                                ,h4 
,m4 ,h4 ,b4          ,,contents         
,,page                                  
,,part ,i        #a4 ,,introductory     
,dante's ,commedia preceded by a long   
series of ,visions of the               
,otherworld--,the ,vision a favourite   
subject with ,irish writers of      the 
,middle ,ages--,dante's originality     
#a-d        #b4 ,,the ,,seer        ,the
 ,irish ,church at the close of the     
seventh century--,its      missionary   
activity--,irish scholars and clerics on
 the      ,continent--,the authorities  
for ,adamnn's life--,his birth      and 
parentage--,meaning of his name--,enters
 the monastery of      ,iona--,becomes  

abbot--,missions to                     
,northumbria--,intercourse with      the
 ,venerable ,bede--,the ,paschal        
controversy--,adamnn adopts the         
,roman usage--,his labours in the       
cause--,wins over ,ireland except       
,iona--,his death--,his ,life of ,st4   
,colm ,cille--,his treatise      ,de    
,locis ,satutis--,miscellaneous and     
apocryphal writings--,his               
scholarship--,adamnn in the later       
annals--,anecdote of his      student   
days--,the ,boruma ,tribute--,remitted  
by rd ,r ,finnachta                     
,fledach--,adamnn's opposition          
thereto--,doubtful authenticity      of 
the record--,further dissensions with   
the rd ,r--,death      of               
,finnachta--,adamnn's legislation on    
behalf of the women      of             
,ireland--,their previous status and    
liability to military      service--,the
 ,cin ,adamnin--,character of           
,adamnn--,the ,fis      ,adamnin1 why   
associated with his name--,,mss4 and    

editions of the      ,fis ,adamnin      
#d-bh        #c4 ,,translation ,,of     
,,the ,,fis ,,adamn,,in        #a4      
,exordium--#b4 ,enumeration of previous 
revelations of the      ,otherworld--#c4
 ,adamnn's translation from the         
body--#d-f4 ,the ,land      of          
,saints--#g-h4 ,the ,throne of the      
,deity--#i4 ,the ,divine ,presence      
enthroned1 and #aj4 ,pictured as a      
mystic omnipresent face--#aa4 ,the      
,celestial ,city1 its seven walls and   
its floor2 #ab4 ,its inhabitants2       
#ac4 ,its design1 as of a ,christian    
,church--#ad4 ,limbo of the             
excluded--#ae-ah4 ,the ,soul's progress 
through the seven ,heavens2      #ae4   
,their doors and porters2 the first     
,heaven2 #af4 ,the second      ,heaven1 
,purgatorial pains2 #ag4 ,the third and 
fourth ,heavens2 #ah4      ,the fifth   
and sixth ,heavens--#ai4 ,the ,judgment 
of the ,soul--#bj4 ,the      fate of the
 damned--#ba4 ,hell1 a fiery            
glen--#bb-bc4 ,the ,bridge of           

,doom--#bd4 ,the half good1 half        
wicked--#be-bi4 ,punishments of the     
wicked described2 classification of     
crimes and punishments--#bg4      ,the  
charitable but carnal--#bi4 ,fiery wall 
reserved until after the      ,last     
,judgment--#cj4 ,description of ,hell2  
impatience of the damned      for       
,judgment2 respite on ,sundays--#ca4    
,adamnn returns to ,heaven2      is     
restored to the body1 and bidden report 
what he has seen--#cb4      ,this the   
subject of his subsequent preaching2    
consonant with the      doctrine of the 
,apostles and ,saints--#cc4 ,enoch1     
,elias1 and the      ,bird-flocks of    
,paradise--#cd4 ,peroration2            
,l',envoy--#ce4 ,rhapsodical            
description of ,heaven                  
#bh-dg                                  
,,part ,,ii        #a4 ,,the ,,classical
 ,,tradition        ,sources of the     
medival legend of the ,vision of the    
,otherworld--,the ,classical            
,tradition--,the ,otherworld in      the

 ,greek poets--,influence of the        
,mysteries--,the effect      of         
initiation on the future life--,ethical 
teaching of the                         
,mysteries--,plato's ,vision of         
,er--,plato's opinion of the            
,mysteries--,description of ,elysium in 
the ,axiochus--,the      ,frogs of      
,aristophanes2 visit to ,hades by       
,dionysos2      light thrown on the     
,greek views of the ,mysteries of the   
next world--,plutarch's ,vision of      
,thespesios--,plutarch's                
eschatology--,rebirth theory in ,plato  
and ,plutarch--,the ,vision      in     
,latin literature--,the ,somnium        
,scipionis--,virgil's      description  
of the ,otherworld--,literary character 
of his      treatment--,composite nature
 of his eschatology--,his authority     
in the ,middle ,ages                    
#dh-fg        #b4 ,,the ,,oriental      
,,tradition        ,dante's attitude    
towards ,virgil--,his scheme in the     
,commedia--,non-classical elements      

thereby necessitated--,process      of  
accretion in the later ,jewish          
,church--,the ,chaldan                  
eschatology--,visits to ,hades of ,ishtr
 and ,gisdubar--,the      ,chaldan      
,elysium--,arali1 the ,chaldan          
,hades--,aristocratic      conception of
 ,elysium--,the effect of the ,median   
conquest--,the      ,avestan            
eschatology--,the soul after death--,the
 ,chinvt      ,bridge--,judgment--,the  
,avestan ,elysium--,the ,tree of ,life  
and      the ,world-,sea--,the bird     
,karshipta--the ,vara of ,yima--,yima   
and the ,indian ,yama--,allegoric       
tendencies of the ,avesta--,its         
adoption of earlier animism--,the       
question of its influence      on       
,judaism--,darmesteter on ,neo-,platonic
 elements in the      ,avesta--,older   
elements in the ,avestan theory of the  
,otherworld2      ,achmenian1 ,indian   
and ,chaldan--,the ,amesha ,spentas and 
the      ,philonic emanations--,their   
probable connection with the            

,chaldan ,spirits of ,earth--,chaldan   
and ,persian influences      upon       
,jewish speculation--,oriental          
conceptions present in the      ,vision 
of ,adamnn3 the seven ,heavens1 the     
mystical ,bird1 the      ,tree of ,life1
 the ,world-,sea1 the ,bridge--,rebirth 
theory absent      from the ,avestan    
religion--,egypt and ,neo-,judaism--,the
 ,jewish      colony in ,alexandria2 its
 culture mainly ,hellenic2 interchange  
of ideas with the ,egyptians--,egyptian 
cults in the ,hellenic                  
world--,egyptian eschatology2 ,judgment1
 the #8,eater of the ,dead1'            
,elysium--,purgatorial and kindred      
theories of the ,rabbis and      early  
,christians--,special treatment of half 
good1 half wicked      souls--,greek and
 ,oriental influences on the ,otherworld
 conceptions      of the ,christian     
,church--,rebirth rejected by the ,jews1
 and by the      ancient ,egyptians     
#fg-id        #c4 ,,the ,,ecclesiastical
 ,,tradition        ,the ,vision of the 

,otherworld a favourite subject in the  
,jewish      apocryphal scriptures--,the
 ,book of ,enoch--,parallels to         
,christian      ,visions--,care for     
topographical details--,dissertations as
 in      ,dante--,purgatorial           
theory--,descriptions of ,hell and      
,heaven--,the      ,celestial           
,mountain--,sheol--,the ,tree of        
,life--,judgment--,the ,gospel      of  
,nicodemus--,the ,vision of ,esdras in  
the ,old ,testament                     
,apocrypha--,another ,vision of ,esdras 
in the ,christian apocryphal            
books--,the ,vision of ,isaiah--,little 
information respecting the              
,otherworld in the canonical books of   
the ,new ,testament--,details      in   
the ,epistles of ,st4 ,jude and ,st4    
,peter and the                          
,revelation--,grco-,roman speculations  
during the early ages of the            
,church--,the ,sibylline books--,the    
#8,harrowing of ,hell' legend--,spread  
of eschatological writings--,the        

,shepherd of ,hermas--,an               
anticipation of ,dante and              
,beatrice--,its scope rather anagogical 
than eschatological--,the ,apocalypse of
 ,st4 ,peter--,the ,revelation      of  
,st4 ,paul--,their influence apparent in
 the ,fis ,adamnin--,the      ,transitus
 ,mari--,blending of ,hebraic and       
,hellenic conceptions of      the       
,otherworld--,persistence of the moral  
teaching in the ,mysteries2      and of 
the popular belief in ,tartarus--,the   
,vision legend little      affected by  
,pagan cults or ,neo-,platonic          
speculation--,the ,vision      legend in
 the ,western ,church--,instances       
recorded by ,st4 ,augustine      and    
,st4 ,gregory--,minor importance of the 
legend in the ,west until      developed
 by the ,irish ,church                  
#id-aac        #d4 ,,the ,,legend ,,in  
,,ireland        ,relations of the      
,irish ,church with ,southern ,gaul and 
the      ,east--,irish ,pilgrimages to  
,egypt--,the ,egyptian ,book of ,adam   

and      ,eve preserved in ,ireland     
only--,resemblances between the ,irish  
and ,oriental monastic systems--,irish  
knowledge of ,greek writers      and    
intercourse with the ,greeks--,the      
ecclesiastical conception of      the   
,otherworld influenced by cognate ideas 
in ,irish literature      and           
mythology--,dignity of the ,irish       
literary profession2      its           
classifications--,categories of the     
,irish historical and      romantic     
tales--,tolerance of the ,irish         
clergy--,survival of      the ,imram and
 ,fis1 and their influence upon the     
literature of      medival ,europe--,the
 ,otherworld a favourite subject in     
,irish      legend--,elysian realms of  
the ,irish ,gods2 of the ,dagda and     
,oengus g1 of ,mider1 of ,manannn ,mac  
,lr--,poetic description      in the    
,voyage of ,bran--,tethra1 king of the  
dead--,his      messengers to summon    
mortals to him--,the story of           
,connla--,the      ,orpheus myth in     

,ireland--,the ,serglige                
,conchulaind--,no      ,tartarus in the 
,irish mythology--,malignant            
powers--,sinister      aspects of the   
,otherworld--,the realm of              
,scathach--,the ,bridge      of the     
,cliff--,whether of ,norse origin1 or   
ecclesiastical1 or                      
native--,parallels in the ,avesta and   
among primitive peoples--,the           
,adventures of ,nera--,the legend in the
 ,finn ,cycle--,late                    
survivals--,the legend in the ,conn     
,cormac ,cycle--,conn's visits to       
the ,tr ,tairngire--,christian          
redactions of ,pagan stories--,the      
adventures of rt in the ,tr ,tairngire1 
and the courtship      of               
,delbchaem--,the visit of ,cormac to the
 ,tr ,tairngire--,the      introduction 
of allegory--,first rudimentary ethical 
conceptions      in connection with the 
,otherworld--,whether original or due to
      clerical                          
redactors--,interpolations by the       

redactors--,increasing      prominence  
of eschatological ideas in the          
,christian ,imrama--,the      chastity  
ideal existing side by side with its    
opposite in the      ,tr                
,tairngire--,cuchulainn and the children
 of ,doel ,dermait--,the      enchanted 
castle and its ,otherworld origin--,the 
,voyage of      ,maelduin's             
,curach--,greek influences--,elysian    
islands--,infernal      elements--,the  
#8,miller of ,hell'--,picture of        
,elysium--,adaptation      of the ,phnix
 legend to old ,irish myths--,bird      
souls--,island      hermits--,the cook  
of ,torach--,the ,voyage of the ,curach 
of      the ,ui ,corra--,eschatology in 
the ascendant--,influences of           
,nature--,purgatorial theory introduced 
into the ,imram--,the ,voyage      of   
,snedgus and ,mac ,ragla--,transition   
from ,pagan to ,christian               
conceptions of the ,otherworld--,visions
 of the ,otherworld in                  
,ireland--,visions of ,st4 ,colm        

,cille--,st4 ,fursa2 his                
,vision--,vision      of ,laisrn--,the  
,scl ,li ,brtha--,the fourfold division 
of human      souls--,the ,d ,brn       
,flatha ,nime                           
#aac-agd        #e4 ,,the ,,fis         
,,adamn,,in        ,its structural and  
literary superiority to other ,visions  
before ,dante--,the general             
plan--,indications of composite         
authorship--,authorities followed by the
 writer of the ,vision--,the      guide 
to the ,otherworld--,the author's use of
 old ,irish      imagery--,his          
ecclesiastical treatment of the         
subject--,pictorial      grouping and   
imagery--,parallels to the ,imrama--,the
 ,cockayne      idea and the ascetic    
idea--,the state described to continue  
to the ,last ,judgment only--,deferred  
,judgment of certain      spirits and   
their ,limbo--,the soul's progress      
through the seven      ,heavens--,the   
,purgatorial theory--,dante             
parallels--,judgment--,the      fate of 

the reprobate--,insistence on the       
spiritual side of      their            
sufferings--,the further description of 
,hell apparently      interpolated--,the
 ,bridge incident--,fourfold division of
 the      souls--,the punishments of the
 reprobate--,increasing minuteness      
of these descriptions by successive     
,vision writers--,attempts      at      
classification--,dante                  
parallels--,temporary punishment of     
certain sinners--,the region of the     
damned after the ,last                  
,judgment--,characteristics of northern 
and southern writers                    
respectively--,the four rivers of       
,hell--,adamnn's message--,enoch        
and ,elias with the ,bird-flocks about  
the ,tree of ,life--,rhapsodical        
description of ,heaven                  
#agd-bjf        #f4 ,,later             
,,developments        ,irish influences 
upon ,continental writers--,enduring    
effect of      ,st4 ,brendan's          
legend--,the ,voyage of ,st4            

,brendan--,old ,irish      incidents    
preserved therein--,the ,paradise of    
,birds and the      rebel               
angels--,cessation of the ,imram and    
continuance of the      ,fis--,the      
,vision of ,tundale--,great development 
of ,purgatorial      incidents--,the    
,bridge episode--,hell described as the 
mouth of a      dragon--,description of 
,hell--,the half righteous--,converse   
with      persons whom ,tundale had     
known in life--,king                    
,cormac--,paradise--,the      ,tree of  
,life and ,bird-flocks--,blending in    
this vision of ,irish      and          
ecclesiastical elements--,influence of  
the result upon      ,european          
literature--,relations to the ,fis      
,adamnin and to      the ,st4 ,patrick's
 ,purgatory legend--,dante probably     
acquainted      with the ,vision of     
,tundale--,comparison between the       
,vision      and the                    
,commedia--,prevalence of the ,vision   
legend on the      ,continent--,foreign 

,visions derived from ,irish            
sources--,the      ,vision of           
,drihthelm--,st4 ,patrick's             
,purgatory--,the ,vision of             
,owen--,doubtful origin of the legend of
 ,st4 ,patrick's ,purgatory--,its       
popularity on the ,continent--,treatment
 by ,continental      writers--,the     
,vision of ,alberic--,waning influence  
of the ,irish      school--,increased   
number but diminished importance of the 
,otherworld stories--,lack of           
originality                             
#bjf-bda        #g4 ,,conclusion        
,recapitulation--,no theory propounded  
as to ,dante's indebtedness      to the 
,irish school--,his probable            
acquaintance with the later             
,visions of that school--,probable      
nature and limitations of their         
influence--,tendency of each school to  
drop the more characteristic      traits
 of its predecessors--,dante's rejection
 of many conventional                   
incidents--,the literary qualities of   

the ,fis ,adamnin--,irish               
susceptibility to the beauties of       
,nature and to music--,absence of       
dissertations from the ,fis             
,adamnin--,interruption of the ,irish   
national literature--,modern renaissance
                         #bdb-bdi       
,,index                                 
#bea          ,,an ,,irish ,,precursor  
,,of ,,dante          ,,part ,i         
#a4 ,,introductory      ,few1 if any1 of
 the great masterpieces of literature1  
even of those  which bear the most      
unmistakable imprint of an original     
mind1 are  #8original' in the vulgar    
sense of being invented #8all out of the
  head' of the author4 ,most frequently 
they are the development and  the       
sublimation of forms and subjects       
already current2 for1 as ,dumas  pre    
truly said1 it is mankind1 and not the  
individual man1 that  invents4 ,the     
wagon of ,thespis preceded the stage of 
schylus1 while  ,thespis himself had    
predecessors who did not even adopt the 

wagon4 ,the  great dramatic schools of  
all periods took the greater and better 
part  of their themes from the myth1    
history1 or fiction current in their    
day4 ,so it has been with most other    
kinds of literature1 and to this  rule  
the ,commedia of ,dante1 though one of  
the most truly original  creations of   
the human mind1 forms no exception4 ,the
 main subject of  the poem1 the visit of
 a living man1 in person or in vision1  
to the  world of the dead1 and his      
report of what he had seen and heard    
there1  belongs to a class of           
world-myths than which few are more     
widely  distributed in place or time1   
and none have been more fortunate in    
the place won for them by the masters of
 literature4 ,after occupying  an       
important place in several of the       
antique religions it afforded  subjects 
to the genius of ,homer1 ,plato1 and    
,virgil2 it was then adopted  into the  
early ,christian ,church1 and afterwards
 constituted one of the  favourite      

subjects in the popular literature of   
the ,middle ,ages1 until1  finally1     
,dante exhausted the great              
potentialities of the theme1 and        
precluded all further developments4     
,the ,commedia is like a mighty river   
formed by the confluence of  several    
great tributaries1 each of which is fed 
by innumerable springs  and streamlets1 
which have their rise in regions remote 
and most  diverse from each other1 and  
are all tinged by the soil of the lands 
through which they flow4 ,it is with one
 of these tributary streams  that the   
following pages deal1 and that not the  
least important among  them1 for to it  
the ,vision of the ,otherworld1 as      
current in the later  ,middle ,ages1    
owed much both of its popularity and its
 contents1 not1  indeed1 by way of      
direct derivation or suggestion--a view 
which several  circumstances forbid us  
to entertain--but as the result of an   
influence  which1 in an earlier stage of
 culture1 had determined the direction  

which the ,vision legend actually       
followed in its later developments4     
,the subject would appear to have       
possessed a special fascination for  the
 ,irish writers at the time when        
,ireland was the chief intellectual     
centre of ,western ,europe1 and the     
constant flux and reflux of ,irish      
teachers and foreign students           
necessarily tended to spread abroad so  
much1 at any rate1 of the compositions  
of the ,irish schools as was in  harmony
 with the tastes and beliefs of         
,christendom at large4    ,by far the   
most important of the ,apocalyptic      
writings which proceeded  from the      
,irish schools is the ,vision which     
bears the name of ,st4  ,adamnn1 of     
which a translation is given in the     
present volume4 ,it is  interesting to  
compare it with the later and greater   
work1 and to mark  the numerous points  
of resemblance which may be discerned in
 works so  widely different4 ,this and  
the like productions of a ruder1 but not

  ignorant nor uncultured1 age1 deserve 
no less attention than that which  we   
bestow upon the works of the primitive  
schools of art and letters1  before     
,giotto and his compeers had effected   
the release of painting  from the bonds 
of formalism1 and had opened out the    
ways of ,nature  and imagination1 and   
before the immediate predecessors of    
,dante had  rendered possible his dolce 
stil nuovo4    ,at the same time it may 
be seen how the legend which received   
its  apotheosis in ,dante's immortal    
verse came into being upon the misty    
heights of primitive myth1 and after    
forming the theme of poets and          
philosophers in classical antiquity1    
entered into the literature and         
teaching of the early ,christian        
,church2 how the ecclesiastical legend1 
as it had now become1 was adopted into  
the ,irish ,church at the time of  its  
greatest activity1 and there received   
the impress of the national  genius1 and
 became blended with the national       

traditions2 thence it  returned again to
 become a part of the general literature
 of ,europe1  and received yet further  
elements from the newly popular romances
 of  chivalry1 and still more from the  
revived classical tradition1 until  the 
elixir of the great magician's genius   
finally transmuted the  amalgam into    
gold to be a   4    ,to recognise these 
facts is not to disparage or limit the  
originality  of ,dante's genius2 rather 
his true originality is thrown into     
higher  relief by a comparison with all 
other labourers in the same field  who  
had gone before him4 ,nothing but the   
study of these labours  will enable us  
to give him his due place in ,european  
literature and  thought1 while such a   
study will explain and justify certain  
features  in his treatment of the theme 
which may be repugnant to modern  ways  
of thinking1 but were not only          
justified1 but necessitated1  by the    
beliefs and traditions universally      
accepted in his own day4  ,dante himself

 always loved to acknowledge his        
indebtedness to his  literary           
progenitors1 alike among the writers of 
antiquity and his  own contemporaries or
 immediate predecessors2 and it seems   
fitting to  preserve the memory of a    
school of writers to whom1 although he  
knew it  not himself1 are largely due   
the actual character and scope of the   
work  by which he achieved immortality4 
#b4 ,,the ,,seer#a      ,by the close of
 the seventh century the ,irish ,church 
had almost reached  the period of its   
greatest prosperity and of its greatest 
influence  upon the culture of ,western 
,europe4 ,the ,three ,orders of ,saints 
had  done their work1 and although in   
,ireland1 as throughout the rest of     
,europe1 ,christianity had not entirely 
prevailed over the heathenism  of the   
more sequestered populations--the       
pagani--yet1 through the  length and    
breadth of the country1 the ,national   
,church was established  in close       
conjunction with the ,state1 of which1  

indeed1 it had come to  form an integral
 part2 and wherever the ,irish clergy   
prevailed1 studies  flourished4    ,the 
missionary zeal of the ,irish clergy had
 made known the ,gospel to  the courts  
of barbarian princes1 and to the still  
pagan inhabitants of  ,north ,britain   
and ,germany1 ,gaul and ,burgundy1      
,switzerland1 ,styria1 and  ,lombardy1  
and even carried it to the ,faroe ,isles
 and ,iceland4 ,at home1  what sparks of
 antique learning yet lurked beneath the
 ashes to which  the fires of           
civilisation had smouldered down were   
gathered into a  focus in schools where 
crowds of students from the surrounding 
nations  found hospitality and          
instruction2 while abroad1 the          
foundations of  ,iona1 ,lindisfarne1 and
 ,malmesbury1 ,luxeuil1 ,st4 ,gall1 and 
,bobbio1  with many more of lesser fame1
 stood out like citadels erected to     
maintain a peaceful conquest4 ,and from 
the schools of ,ireland were to  issue  
the men who were destined1 during the   

next two centuries1 not  merely to leave
 their mark upon the ,church as         
theologians and founders  of            
monasteries1 but1 further1 to play an   
important part in moulding  the new     
civilisation of the ,frankish ,empire1  
to lay the foundations  of modern       
philosophy1 and to promote the study of 
natural science  and literature by      
lucubrations1 crude1 indeed1 as compared
 with the  productions of more favoured 
ages1 but standing out conspicuous above
  the level of their own time4#b        
,meanwhile1 though the ,three ,orders of
 the ,irish ,saints had come to an  end 
about the middle of the seventh century1
 they were succeeded by  many great     
,churchmen1 who combined with their     
ecclesiastical duties  a lively interest
 in secular politics1 in which they were
 wont to  intervene1 most commonly1 no  
doubt1 with beneficial effect1 though   
occasionally with results nothing less  
than disastrous4    ,one of the         
foremost1 if not the very foremost1     

among the ,irish clerics  of this period
 was ,st4 ,adamnn1 the reputed seer of  
the ,vision which  bears his name4 ,this
 great prelate is a striking figure both
 in the  ecclesiastical and secular     
history of his times2 but the           
information  we possess concerning him1 
though not altogether scanty1 is not all
 of  equal value4 ,it consists partly of
 the evidences furnished by his own     
writings and contemporary records1      
partly of the further particulars  which
 have been preserved in the annals      
compiled from the tenth to the  twelfth 
centuries1 though these1 no doubt1 are  
derived in great measure  from earlier  
records4    ,adamnn was of high birth1  
as were many of the leading ,irish      
,churchmen1  the constitution of the    
,national ,church being thoroughly      
aristocratic1  in accordance with the   
civil society upon which it was moulded4
 ,his  father was ,ronn1 son of ,tinne1 
a man of chiefly rank in the territory  
of ,sereth1 or ,tr ,aedha1 now the      

barony of ,tirhugh1 in south-west       
,donegal1 and the descendant of ,conall 
,gulbn1 the founder of a famous  house1 
various branches of which ruled ,tr     
,conaill from the fifth  century until  
the fall of the ,o',donnells at the     
beginning of the  seventeenth century4  
,adamnn's mother1 ,ronat by name1 was of
 the ,cinel  ,enda1 a sept of ,west     
,meath4#c ,the date of his birth is     
variously  stated1 but he appears to    
have been born between the years #fbd   
and #fbg  at ,drumhome1 in ,tr ,aedha4#d
 ,the name ,adamnn is a diminutive of   
,adam1  but through the tendency of     
,irish phonetics to elide the d and m   
in certain positions1 it came to be     
written sometimes in the confusing      
forms ,eunan and ,onan1 and has even    
been travestied into ,theunan and       
,dennan4    ,adamnn entered the great   
monastery of ,iona as a novice1 probably
  about the year #fej1 as ,segine 7ob4  
#feb7 was then abbot4 ,there he  was    
distinguished for his devotion and      

learning1 and in the year #fgi1  soon   
after the death of ,abbot ,failbhe1 was 
elected to succeed him1  being ninth in 
descent from ,st4 ,colm ,cille1 the     
founder1 to whom he  was akin4 ,indeed1 
all ,adamnn's predecessors1 and his     
successors for  several generations1    
were members of the same great family4  
,in the  government of his house and of 
the ecclesiastical establishments  in   
the neighbouring islands1 he displayed  
the qualities of an able  administrator1
 as well as those of saint and scholar2 
nor did he  confine his activities to   
matters ecclesiastical1 but1 like most  
of the  ,irish saints1 took an active   
part in public events4    ,about the    
year #fhd1 ,king ,ecgfrid of            
,northumbria made a descent upon  the   
,irish coast1 between ,magh ,breg1 the  
plain north of the ,liffey1  and ,belach
 ,dinn1 now ,castlekieran1 north-west of
 ,kells1 and carried  away many         
captives4 ,in the following year he     
invaded the ,picts of  ,scotland1 and   

was slain at ,dun ,nechtan4 ,his        
successor1 ,aldfrid 7the  son1 according
 to some accounts1 of an ,irish mother71
 had been driven  into exile in early   
youth1 and taking refuge in ,ireland was
 educated  in the schools of that       
country1 to which he paid a grateful    
tribute  in after-life4 ,he had         
sojourned for a while at ,iona1 and     
there became  acquainted with ,adamnn1  
who now took advantage of this intimacy1
 and  came to ,aldfrid's court to plead 
the cause of the captives4 ,he was      
successful in this1 and had the         
happiness to redeem from slavery sixty  
of his countrymen1 whom he brought back 
with him on his return4 ,this  visit    
produced results of great importance to 
the ,irish ,church4 ,during  his stay in
 ,northumbria1 ,adamnn contracted a     
close intimacy with the  ,venerable     
,bede--who strongly censured ,ecgfrid's 
unprovoked1 aggression  7,hist4 ,eccl4  
iv4 #bf7--upon whom he made a strong and
 favourable  impression1 as being vir   

bonus1 et sapiens1 et scientia          
scripturarum  nobilissime instructus4   
,their frequent colloquies during this1 
and1  apparently1 a second mission of   
,adamnn to ,northumbria1 about two years
  later1 turned upon the two main points
 wherein the ,irish usage differed  from
 that of ,rome3 i4e4 the form of the    
tonsure1 which1 in ,ireland1  was made  
crescent-wise across the head1 and the  
time of keeping ,easter4  ,in the latter
 respect1 ,ireland retained the older   
computation1 founded  upon the ,jewish  
method of calculating the ,passover1    
which had been  adopted by ,rome during 
the disputes on the subject with the    
,east and  with ,alexandria1 and was in 
force at the conversion of ,ireland4 ,in
  #dfc ,pope ,hilarius introduced an    
improved system of calculation1 which   
ultimately was generally adopted        
throughout the ,west1 though not        
without a struggle in those many parts  
of the ,continent where ,irish          
influence was powerful4 ,as a matter of 

course1 the reformed system was  brought
 into ,england by ,augustine1 and       
contributed to widen the gulf  between  
the ,english and ,british ,churches4    
,the south of ,ireland1 or part  of it1 
appears to have accepted the change in  
the year #fcc1 but it took  nearly      
another century to win over the rest of 
the country4 ,bede urged  upon ,adamnn  
the propriety of conforming to the      
general rule of the  ,church1 and his   
arguments wrought such conviction in his
 hearer that  ,adamnn devoted much of   
the latter portion of his life to the   
task of  inducing his countrymen to     
accept the ,roman usage4    ,indeed1 the
 remainder of ,adamnn's life appears to 
have been divided  between his abbatial 
duties and long and frequent visits to  
,ireland1  in the course of which he is 
said to have taken that part in secular 
politics to which we shall have to      
recur4 ,the greater part of this  time1 
however1 he appears to have spent in    
travelling about ,ireland1  occupied    

with his favourite scheme for bringing  
the time of the  ,easter celebration    
into conformity with the general        
practice of the  ,western ,church4 ,his 
efforts were generally successful2      
,bede1 in fact  7,hist4 ,eccl4 v4 #ae71 
asserts that he succeeded in winning    
over to  the ,catholic observance       
#8almost all those who were not subject 
to the  rule of ,iona4' ,in the year    
#gjj1 or shortly after1 he returned to  
,iona1  and attempted to introduce his  
reform into his own monastery1 but in   
spite of his abbatial authority and of  
his great personal influence1 he  found 
the conservatism of that great          
stronghold of the ,irish ,church too    
much for him1 and his monks refused to  
admit any innovation upon the  national 
practice4 ,he died on the #bcrd         
,september #gjd1 and was buried at      
,iona4 ,his relics were brought to      
,ireland in #gbg1 but are said to have  
been restored to his monastery in #gcj4 
,adamnn earned well the epithet #8,high 

,scholar of the ,western ,world1'  which
 is conferred upon him at the opening of
 his ,vision4 ,his most  celebrated work
 was the ,life of ,st4 ,colm ,cille1    
written in a ,latin  which is generally 
admitted to be far superior to that     
commonly in use  at his day4 ,the work  
suffers from the form in which it is    
cast2 it does  not relate the events of 
the ,saint's life in chronological      
sequence1  but is divided into three    
books1 the first being devoted to       
,colm's  prophetical revelations1 the   
second to his miracles1 and the third to
  his angelical visions4 ,nevertheless1 
it gives much information of great      
interest1 relating as well to the life  
and acts of ,st4 ,colm as to the        
internal life of the ,irish ,church1    
while the prefaces contain important    
biographical matter4 ,the prominence    
given to the miracles1 visions1  and the
 like1 associated with ,colm's name1 is 
merely what we find in  a large         
proportion of the hagiology of all      

periods of the ,church's  history1 while
 the narrative possesses a character of 
its own1 and a  human interest1 which   
preserve it from the monotony and       
conventionality  often prevailing in    
writings of this class1 and establish a 
certain  kinship with the ,fioretti of  
,st4 ,francis4 ,altogether1 the ,life   
is commonly accepted as the most        
important extant monument of the        
,celtic ,church1 and also one of the    
most notable pieces of biography1       
ecclesiastical or lay1 produced by the  
early ,middle ,ages4    ,another work   
proceeding from his pen was a treatise  
upon the ,holy  ,places of ,palestine4  
,this1 too1 was written in ,latin1 and  
is considered  by ,dr4 ,reeves to be    
superior1 in point of style1 to the     
,life of  ,colm ,cille4 ,he was         
instigated to undertake this task by    
,arculf1 a  bishop of ,gaul1 who had    
travelled in ,palestine1 ,syria1        
,constantinople1  ,alexandria1 and other
 parts of the ,east1 and on his return  

had been  blown out of his course1 and  
wrecked on some coast near to ,iona4    
,here  he was hospitably entertained by 
,adamnn1 and in the course of a         
prolonged sojourn through the stormy    
winter months held much learned         
converse with his host1 to their mutual 
edification4 ,arculf had studied  the   
topography and history of the places he 
visited with a thoroughness  almost     
unique at that day1 and had even        
preserved accurate  measurements and    
descriptions of buildings1 etc4 ,he     
freely imparted the  results of his     
investigations to ,adamnn1 who was      
himself possessed of  the learning which
 could be acquired from such books as   
were accessible  to him4    ,several    
ecclesiastical works--a ,rule1 eight    
,canons1 etc4--are  attributed to       
,adamnn2 there have also been preserved 
a poem and  several devout opuscula in  
,irish which have been ascribed to him1 
without foundation4    ,it would appear 
that he had some knowledge of ,greek1   

and even possessed  a certain           
acquaintance with1 at any rate1 the     
,hebrew vocabulary1  whether at first or
 second hand4    ,it now remains to be  
seen what further light is cast upon    
,adamnn's  character by the later       
annals2 and here we find a mixture of   
,dichtung  und ,wahrheit1 and no        
criterion whereby we may distinguish    
with any  certainty between the two4    
,the additional particulars derived from
  this source1 if we except a few       
legends of miracles and visions of the  
usual type1 relate for the most part to 
,adamnn's political activity  during the
 last decade of the seventh century4    
,one episode1 however1  of ,adamnn's    
schooldays gives the earliest recorded  
fact1 if a fact1  of his career4 ,it is 
a mere anecdote1 unsupported by         
evidence1 yet it  contains no inherent  
improbability1 and is worth repeating1  
if only  as an authentic picture of one 
aspect of scholastic life in ancient    
,ireland1 and also as affording the     

first glimpse1 probably1 of the         
#8beggar-student' who figured so        
conspicuously in the later ,middle      
,ages1 and in ,ireland survived as the  
#8poor scholar' almost to our own  day4 
,the students at the ,irish centres of  
learning--,universities1 as  they have  
been called1 not without reason--used to
 dwell about their  teachers in huts of 
wattle1 provision for their maintenance1
 education1  and books being made by the
 chiefs and ecclesiastical foundations4 
,so great1 however1 were the throngs of 
students1 native and foreign1  who      
flocked to these schools1 that many were
 compelled to eke out the  public       
allowance by having recourse to the     
charity of neighbours4 ,among  these was
 ,adamnn1 who was one of a company1 or  
mess1 of five students  and their tutor1
 the younger students taking it in turn 
to provide for  all4 ,one day this task 
procured ,adamnn an adventure1 which    
introduced  him to the future monarch1  
,finnachta ,fledach1 his future         

relations  with whom1 if truly related  
by the annals1 were destined to be      
fraught  with momentous consequences to 
them both and to the whole of ,ireland4 
,finnachta1 though of royal race1 had   
once been so poor that his whole        
worldly possessions consisted of a      
house1 a wife1 an ox1 and a cow4 ,at    
the time of which we speak1 he possessed
 a following1 and one day1 as  he and   
his retinue were travelling at full     
gallop1 they came across a  young       
student laden with a pitcher of milk1   
who1 in his haste to avoid  the horses1 
upset the pitcher and spilt the milk4   
,this boy was ,adamnn1  bringing home   
the day's provision for himself and his 
messmates4 ,he set  out to run by the   
side of the horsemen1 and kept up with  
them until  they reached their          
destination4 ,finnachta took notice of  
the boy1 and1  entering into            
conversation with him1 was so well      
pleased1 that he not  only made good the
 loss1 but provided the five youths and 

their tutor  with a house and           
maintenance1 receiving in return from   
the tutor a  prophecy that he1          
,finnachta1 should one day become       
monarch of ,ireland1  with ,adamnn for  
his anamchara1 or confessor4 ,it does   
not appear that  this interview was     
immediately productive of any further   
consequences  to ,adamnn1 who1 in due   
course1 entered the monastic life1 as   
before  mentioned4    ,the next incident
 of importance1 not already mentioned1  
which the  annalists relate concerning  
,adamnn1 is at once one of the most     
momentous and most obscure portions of  
his career--namely1 his action  in      
connection with the ,boruma tribute4    
,this was a heavy fine1 in  cattle and  
various precious articles1 which        
,tuathal ,techtmar1 rd-,r  of ,ireland  
about the end of the first century      
,a4,d41 had laid upon  ,leinster in     
perpetuity 7or1 according to some       
authorities1 for forty  years7 to punish
 a grave crime committed by the king of 

that province4  ,the intermittent       
exaction of this tribute was not the    
least among the  many causes of discord 
which prevented the ideal polity of     
,ireland1  viz4 a confederation of      
kingdoms and principalities--an ,empire 
we might  call it--under the            
overlordship of the rd-,r1 from ever    
becoming  realised in a permanently     
efficient form4 ,this grievance ,st4    
,moling1  with the support of several   
other leading prelates1 determined to   
remove1 and1 it is said1 induced        
,finnachta 7who had become rd-,r in     
#fgc-d1 having defeated and slain in    
battle his predecessor ,cennfaelad7  to 
issue a decree for its abolition4 ,this 
event is commonly dated in  the year    
#fic1 but ,canon ,o',hanlon1 on the     
authority of ,o',flaherty's  ,ogygia1   
thinks it must be earlier1 and is       
inclined to place it in  #fib1 the year 
of ,adamnn's visit to ,ireland4#e ,it is
 recorded in a  treatise on the ,boruma1
 printed and translated by ,mr4         

,standish ,hayes  ,o',grady in his      
,silva ,gadelica2 it is there told in   
narrative form1  with dialogues in the  
oratio recta1 and intermingled with many
  fictitious circumstances so as to make
 up a story2 however1 the main          
incidents accord with a fragment of     
,irish annals given by ,mr4 ,o',grady   
in the same work1 and with the ,irish   
poem formerly ascribed to ,adamnn4  ,the
 means by which ,st4 ,moling induced the
 king to grant his request  show all the
 symptoms of a folk-tale4 ,by the       
promise of eternal life  immediately    
after death1 he procured ,finnachta's   
promise to remit the  tribute until     
,luan1 which in ,irish properly means   
,monday1 but was  also and still is a   
frequent term for the ,day of           
,judgment--#8,black  ,monday4' ,the     
monarch1 understanding the word in its  
literal sense1  thought the terms easy1 
and gave his promise2 the saint1        
however1  insisted upon putting his own 
interpretation on it1 and ,finnachta had

  to consent to the perpetual remission 
of the tribute4 ,the measure  itself was
 most wise and statesmanlike2           
nevertheless1 pernicious as  the tribute
 was1 the abolition of it touched the   
pride of the ,ui  ,nill1 the ruling race
 of ,ireland4 ,the organisation of the  
,church was  based upon the clan system 
which prevailed in the ,state2 religious
  communities were often composed of    
fellow-tribesmen1 ecclesiastical        
dignities passed from one generation to 
another of the same chiefly  family1 and
 the head of an order was practically a 
clerical chieftain1  sharing with the   
lay princes that fatal tendency to      
prefer local  to national interests     
which has been fraught with consequences
 to  ,ireland more dire than the ,boruma
 itself4 ,adamnn is represented as      
possessing his full share of this family
 or racial pride1 and joined  with the  
clergy of his race in offering a bitter 
opposition to the new  measure4 ,the    
narrative of his dealings with          

,finnachta is more graphic  than        
authentic4 ,with an authority1 to say   
the least of it1 worthy  of a           
,hildebrand or ,innocent ,,iii41 he sent
 a clerk to ,finnachta to  summon him to
 instant conference4 ,the king was then 
playing at chess1  and declined to budge
 until his game was ended4 ,adamnn1     
informed of  this1 sent back word that  
he would chant fifty psalms while       
waiting1  the effect of which would be  
to deprive the king's whole race of the 
kingdom for ever4 ,this was announced to
 the king1 but he had begun  a second   
game1 and declined to stir until it was 
over4 ,adamnn then  sent word that he   
would chant another fifty psalms1 which 
should bring  on the king shortness of  
life2 but ,finnachta1 now engaged in a  
third  game1 sent the same answer as    
before4 ,then ,adamnn sent word that he 
would chant yet another fifty psalms1   
which should deprive ,finnachta  of the 
,lord's peace4 ,then ,finnachta hastily 
arose1 quitted his chess1  and repaired 

to ,adamnn's presence4 ,on being asked  
why he came1 after  ignoring all        
previous messages1 he explained that the
 exclusion of his  posterity from his   
kingdom troubled him but little1 neither
 did he care  for a speedy death1 seeing
 that ,moling had promised him eternal  
life1  but he could not bear to be      
excluded from the ,lord's peace4        
,however1  though ,finnachta then made  
personal submission to ,adamnn1 the     
decree  remained1 and ,god would not    
suffer ,adamnn to deprive the king of   
the  reward which ,moling had promised  
him4    ,it is obvious that this        
narrative1 in point of form1 is fiction 
pure  and simple2 as fictitious as the  
speeches in ,thucydides1 or the         
dialogues in ,herodotus or ,plutarch4   
,for this reason1 and because of  the   
discrepancy of dates1 and the           
uncertainty attending the whole         
question of the remission of the        
,boruma1 some authorities are inclined  
to call in question the entire story of 

,adamnn's relations with  ,finnachta1   
and to relegate it to the domain of     
fiction4 ,this summary  method of       
cutting the knot appears to be somewhat 
arbitrary3 if a  liberal admixture of   
fiction be sufficient absolutely to     
discredit the  chronicles into which it 
enters1 we may be called upon to        
disbelieve  that there is any historic  
basis for ,livy's ,history1 or the      
records  of ,charlemagne1 for instance4 
,in the present case it seems most      
doubtful whether any means exist for    
determining what1 if any1 basis  of fact
 underlies the narrative1 but having    
regard to the attention  paid by the    
,irish writers to the record of past and
 contemporary  events--which by no means
 implies the strict accuracy of the     
record--it  seems improbable that the   
recorded acts1 in matters of great      
public  interest1 of such notable       
characters as rd-,r ,finnachta and ,st4 
,adamnn should not represent1 in        
substance1 the parts which they         

actually played in the public life of   
their time4    ,about this time another 
cause of discord is said to have put a  
further  strain upon the relations      
subsisting between the ,saint and the   
rd-,r4  ,finnachta having excluded the  
lands belonging to the ,order of ,st4   
,colm  ,cille from the privileges       
accorded to the foundations of ,,ss4    
,patrick1  ,finian1 and ,ciaran1 ,adamnn
 again provoked1 and this time          
apparently  with better reason1 by this 
fresh infringement of the dignity of    
,ulad1  put a curse upon the king1 and  
foretold that his life should be short1 
that he should fall by a fratricidal    
stroke1 and that the kingdom  should    
pass from his race for ever2 which      
triple prophecy was fulfilled  when     
,finnachta and his son ,bresal were     
slain by a cousin in the year  #fic-d4  
,a few years after these events1        
according to the annals1 ,adamnn        
acquired a more honourable distinction  
by means of the ecclesiastical          

legislation embodied in his #8,canons1' 
and by the more famous  law1 or code of 
laws1 known as the ,cin ,adamnin4 ,each 
of these  was promulgated at a          
,mrdil--#8,great ,assembly'--the ,diet  
or  ,states-,general of ,ireland4       
,according to the more general account1 
both were passed at a ,mrdil held in    
#fig at ,tara1 or1 according to  others1
 at ,ballyshannon1 ,derry1 or ,raphoe4  
,probably ,tara was assumed             
inadvertently to have been the place of 
meeting by some chronicler  who1 bearing
 in mind the ancient custom1 had        
forgotten that ,tara had  been abandoned
 since the cursing of it by ,st4 ,ruadn4
 ,according to  the ,four ,masters and  
,tigernach1 the last ,feis of ,tara was 
held in the  year #eed ,a4,d4 ,or1      
possibly1 there is a confusion between  
the general  ,mrdil of ire and an       
ecclesiastical ,synod which appears to  
have  been held at ,tara about the time 
in question4 ,in this uncertainty as  to
 which of the several ,synods and       

,mrdla1 held towards the close of  the  
seventh century1 was the scene of       
,adamnn's legislation1 ,canon           
,o',hanlon suggests that the ,synod of  
#fid-e would be the most likely         
occasion of the enactment of the        
,canons1 if it were certain that        
,adamnn was present 7op4 cit4 ix4 #ejh  
and #eab71 and that the ,cin  was passed
 at the ,mrdil of #fif-g1 in the reign  
of rd-,r ,loingseach  mac ,oengusa1     
according to the general account2 this  
likewise agrees  with the treatise about
 to be mentioned1 which1 however1 gives 
,birr as  the place of assembly4 ,the   
most important article of the ,cin was  
the  renewal of a law passed by ,st4    
,colm ,cille at the ,mrdil of           
,druimceatt  in #eij1 but since fallen  
into desuetude1 whereby women were      
exempted  from military service4 ,the   
,cin ,adamnin is an ,old ,irish         
treatise1  probably of the tenth        
century1 according to ,professor ,kuno  
,meyer1 who  has published an edition of

 it1 with notes1 in ,anecdota           
,oxoniensia  7,medival and ,modern      
,series1 pt4 viii474 ,it is not the work
 of  ,adamnn himself1 but merely        
purports to give an account of the laws 
which he passed1 and the circumstances  
of his doing so4 ,it is clearly         
compounded of various elements1 and it  
is worked up into a complete  story by  
dint of the employment of a number of   
fictitious details4 ,it  opens with a   
melancholy picture of the status of     
women in ,ireland in  ,adamnn's day1    
their home life being depicted as a     
state of abject  slavery1 while they    
were further liable to military service4
 ,these  descriptions can only be       
accepted with very great limitations1   
for  the laws1 the ,church literature1  
and the romances of ,ireland contain    
abundant evidence to prove that the     
state of things here depicted1 if  it   
existed at all1 was not generally       
prevalent1 the picture drawn in  the    
,cin being greatly exaggerated for the  

greater honour and glory  of ,adamnn4   
,at the same time there is no need to go
 to the opposite  extreme1 and assume   
that the position accorded to women in  
ancient  ,ireland realised in practice  
the theories of chivalry4 ,it does not  
follow that the author of the ,cin      
invented the circumstances he           
describes2 indeed1 there is evidence    
that a similar state of things  existed 
in ,ireland so late as ,tudor times at  
least1 while parallels  might be found  
in the great cities of a much more      
recent date4 ,but it  is the wont of    
those who treat of social and moral     
evils1 whether as  reformers or         
satirists1 or in a less worthy          
capacity--from ,juvenal to  ,zola1 and  
from ,salvian to ,father ,bernard       
,vaughan--to represent the  sporadic and
 occasional evils of society as its     
habitual condition4  ,as regards the    
military service of women1 it appears   
certain that  women did1 and probably   
were required to1 serve in the wars to  

some  extent4 ,nevertheless1 neither the
 annals nor the romances warrant the    
conclusion that great troops of women   
swelled the ,irish armies4 ,it  seems   
probable that in the varied and         
complicated system of the ,irish  land  
tenure1 female tenants may have been    
obliged to render military  service     
ratione tenurae1 instances of which     
practice occur in other  parts of       
,europe4    ,whatever the nature or     
extent of the evil1 it was greatly taken
 to  heart by ,adamnn's mother ,ronat1  
and dutiful as her son was to her1 she  
counted his service as nought until he  
should effect the emancipation  of      
women4 ,one day1 as they were on a      
journey--,adamnn1 after his usual       
custom1 carrying his mother on his      
back--they came to a battlefield1  where
 so great had been the slaughter that   
the women lay1 the soles of  one        
touching the neck of another2 but the   
most piteous sight of all was  a woman  
with her head in one place and her body 

in another1 and her  baby lying on the  
breast of the corpse1 with a stream of  
milk on one  cheek1 and a stream of     
blood on the other4 ,at his mother's    
bidding1  ,adamnn set the woman's head  
upon the trunk1 made the sign of the    
cross with his staff1 and she arose and 
related her experiences in the  next    
world between her death and             
resuscitation4 ,ronat1 still further    
confirmed in her purpose1 imposed       
incredible austerities upon ,adamnn  in 
order to coerce him into compliance4 ,at
 the end of four years an  angel came to
 him and bade him rise1 but he refused  
to do so until  he received a promise   
that women should be emancipated4 ,he   
then came  forward with his proposals of
 reform1 which offended several of the  
lay  princes1 so that they combined to  
put ,adamnn to death4 ,at length terms  
were agreed upon1 and all parties       
pledged themselves that in future  women
 should be exempted from military       
service1 and that no women  should be   

slain by men without full legal         
penalties being exacted4 ,this  compact 
was solemnly sworn to by the contracting
 parties2 the formula  of the oath was  
founded upon that whereby the kings in  
pagan times had  been wont to bind      
themselves in matters of great moment1  
and which  survived1 with necessary     
modifications1 for some centuries after 
the  introduction of ,christianity4     
,they took to witness the sun and moon1 
and all the other elements of ,god2 the 
,apostles1 ,gregory1 the two  ,patricks1
 and other ,irish saints4 ,the terms of 
the oath explain the  form of ,st4      
,patrick's famous hymn4    ,the         
construction of the treatise is         
extremely loose2 the form1 in many      
places1 is that of the ecclesiastical   
legend1 and the present redaction  was  
evidently made in the clerical interest4
 ,as a further instance  of its         
composite character1 in c4 #cc it makes 
a fresh start with the  words ,incipit  
sententia angeli ,adamnano1 and relates 

how the angel1  after two previous      
punishments inflicted1 came to ,adamnn  
and smote him  on the side1 bidding him 
go to ,ireland and enact a law that no  
woman  should be slain with impunity4   
,it also states that ,adamnn's law was  
extended to clerical students and       
children1 and further gives sundry      
amendments of the laws relating to cases
 of assault1 rape1 slander of  chastity1
 etc4 ,women1 in turn1 were made liable 
for the crimes they  might commit2 in   
particular1 they were rendered          
punishable for poison1  arson1 or       
undermining a church by the old ,irish  
penalty of being set  adrift in a boat  
with a single paddle1 and one vessel of 
meal and one  of water4    ,the accuracy
 of this treatise in point of detail    
hardly calls for  discussion4 ,it is a  
specimen of the form in which we have   
received  much of our information       
concerning ancient ,ireland2 a form     
combining  fact and fiction in a manner 
which often renders it impossible to    

distinguish between the two without     
extraneous evidence1 which is  seldom to
 be had4 ,here we have as the substratum
 an account of  ,adamnn's actual        
legislation1 set off with an abundance  
of fictitious  detail1 in which a       
redactor has attempted to combine two   
different  accounts of the circumstances
 which brought about ,adamnn's action1  
while he has added a quantity of other  
legislative reforms1 more or  less      
connected with the subject1 but only a  
part of which1 if any1  can be due to   
,adamnn himself4 ,here1 as in the case  
of the ,boruma1 it  is left for the most
 part to our subjective views of        
probability to  determine what amount of
 reliance is to be placed upon the      
historical  facts which form the main   
subject of the treatise4 ,despite the   
crudity  of the work1 perhaps the       
evidence in favour is rather stronger in
  this case1 for not only is it natural 
to assume that the statements  of a     
legal nature would be tolerably in      

accordance with the facts1  which must  
have been known to many of the readers1 
but the ascription  of the reform to    
,adamnn--under the alternative name of  
the lex  innocentium--appears to have   
been accepted without hesitation by     
several independent authorities1        
including the ,annals of ,ulster and    
the ,fis ,adamnin4    ,the last action  
of ,adamnn recorded by the annals1 and  
one that seems  fairly well             
authenticated1 is a sentence of         
excommunication pronounced  by him at   
,tara upon one ,irgalach for murder4    
,one of the annalistic  fragments       
preserves a report that ,adamnn1 at the 
close of his life1  was expelled from   
,iona by his own monks on account of his
 action in the  ,easter controversy2    
this1 however1 appears to be without    
foundation1  for the fact of his death  
and burial at ,iona seems certain4      
,another  rumour was that grief at the  
recalcitrance of his monks1 for the same
  reason1 had brought about his death1  

for which no other explanation  seems   
needed than his seventy-seven years1    
mostly spent in strenuous  toil1 though1
 of course1 any vexation or distress of 
mind might well be  the immediate cause 
of death4    ,our available information 
concerning ,adamnn does not set a very  
vivid  picture of him before us4 ,his   
own writings are of a somewhat          
impersonal  character1 while the ,irish 
annalists seldom bring to their         
portrayal  of historical persons that   
power of characterisation and           
description  constantly apparent in the 
romances4 ,we have already seen ,bede's 
testimony to ,adamnn's learning and high
 character2 the ,four ,masters1  in     
their notice of ,adamnn's death 7which  
they place in #gjc7 refer to  that      
passage1 and add that he was #8tearful1 
penitent1 given to prayer1  diligent1   
ascetic1 temperate2 for he never used to
 eat excepting on  ,sunday and ,thursday
 only2 he made a slave of himself to    
these virtues2  and1 moreover1 he was   

wise and learned in the clear           
understanding of  the ,holy ,scriptures 
of ,god4' ,and a few scattered notices  
of the kind  appear to comprise all that
 we have in the way of direct           
description4  ,nevertheless1 the        
authentic record of his actions1        
combined with  the more doubtful        
evidence of later annalists--which1 at  
the very  least1 serve to show what     
notion of him survived1 and was         
transmitted  to posterity--may enable us
 to trace with tolerable accuracy the   
more salient outlines of his character4 
,that his was a striking and  commanding
 personality there is no doubt3 he      
appears to have been  fashioned after   
the same type as so many of the leading 
,churchmen of  the ,middle ,ages1 from  
,ambrose down2 a type which combined a  
great  proficiency in learning1 and a   
devotion to the virtues of the cloister1
  with a strenuous activity which       
asserted itself alike in the diligent   
administration of their ecclesiastical  

office1 and in the exercise of  their   
influence upon secular affairs4 ,in     
these last1 their intervention  commonly
 made for righteousness1 and aimed at   
putting a conscience into  politics1    
never a superfluous task4 ,they often   
stood forward as the  champions of the  
wronged and oppressed1 and in this      
cause1 and1 even  more1 in defence of   
the claims and immunities of the        
,church1 never  feared to encounter the 
temporal power2 rather otherwise1 in    
fact4  ,this side of ,adamnn's character
 appears in his mission to ,northumbria 
on behalf of the kidnapped ,irishmen1   
and his alleged defence against         
,finnachta of the privileges of his own 
order2 above all1 in his  amelioration  
of the lot of women--possibly1 too1 of  
students and  children--the records     
whereof1 whatever the amount of         
historical fact  which they contain1    
reveal the estimation in which ,adamnn  
was held4  ,at the same time1 if the    
incident of the ,boruma be either true  

in  fact1 or true to his character1 it  
is evident that he was as liable as  any
 of his great compeers1 foreign or      
,irish--,colm ,cille and ,ruadn1  for   
instance--to allow his zeal to be       
enlisted in the cause of party  interest
 or personal sympathies1 to the great   
public detriment4 ,he  enjoyed a        
traditional reputation for filial piety1
 and1 at least1  tribal patriotism4 ,his
 recorded asceticism1 however severe1   
does not  appear1 save in some of the   
least credible passages of the ,cin1 to 
have been carried by him to the same    
lengths of self-torture1 worthy of  a   
solitary of the ,thebaid1 or an ,indian 
yogi1 as it was by many of  the ,irish  
saints4 ,indeed1 his was mainly a life  
of action1 and even  the learning for   
which he was famous is more apparent in 
the quality of  his work than in the    
quantity of it4 ,the part of his career 
which left  the most enduring mark upon 
his ,church and his country was the     
mainly  successful struggle which he    

carried on as the leading ,irish        
champion  of ,catholicism in the long   
contest1 begun before his time1 and only
  finished by ,malachi and ,gelasius in 
the middle of the twelfth century1      
between the respective partisans of     
national and of general usages in  the  
ritual of the ,irish ,church4 ,that     
portion of his work which he left       
unfinished1 the submission of his own   
order1 was completed within a  quarter  
of a century after his death1 and the   
ties between the ,churches  of ,ireland 
and other countries of the ,west were   
drawn tighter by the  removal of the    
chief cause of separation4    ,the      
,vision which has come down to us under 
the name of ,adamnn is not  to be       
included among his own works4 ,the      
language and style1 which  belong to a  
much later period1 are conclusive as to 
this2 while several  allusions in it1 as
 that to the donation of ,constantine1  
also point  to a later date4 ,dr4       
,whitley ,stokes1 indeed1 considers that

 #8it is  not older than the eleventh   
century1' but ,professor ,windisch1 in  
the  preface to his edition1 demurs to  
this conclusion1 and holds that it  was 
written in the tenth century1 possibly  
even in the ninth 7,irische  ,texte1 i4 
#afg sqq474 ,nevertheless1 it is not to 
be classed among the  literary forgeries
 with which the ,middle ,ages teem1     
composed sometimes  animo fraudandi1    
sometimes1 in the loose views then      
prevailing  as to literary property and 
literary fame1 in order to secure the   
prestige of a great name4 ,the present  
work1 however1 never professes  to be   
,adamnn's own composition4 ,it          
invariably speaks of him in the  third  
person1 terming him the #8,high ,scholar
 of the ,western ,world1'  and refers to
 his legislation at the ,mrdil1 where he
 is said to  have first received his    
,vision1 and to his subsequent preaching
 as  matters of past history4 ,it       
remains1 then1 to be considered how this
  ,vision came to be associated with his

 name4 ,we have seen that he  had become
 the hero of a saga-cycle1 into which   
fiction had made an  entrance3 whether  
we must class the doubtful episodes as  
historical  romance merely1 or as facts 
set off by the aid of fiction4 ,this1   
however1 brings us little further1 for  
it is certain that this popular         
reputation was earned by his actual     
achievements3 again1 therefore1 we  are 
faced with the question how to          
distinguish fact from fiction4 ,it  may 
be that the true author sought for his  
own teaching the authority  of so famous
 a saint2 or he may have had before him 
an anonymous work1  and inserted the    
name of ,adamnn from a like motive1 or  
from a belief  in the fact2 or1 again1  
the work may be what it professes to be1
 and  may have for its basis a more or  
less accurate tradition of ,adamnn's    
own teaching4 ,a tradition1 ,i venture  
to think1 should be allowed a  certain  
weight where it is in conflict neither  
with ascertained fact  nor with         

probability2 and here the probabilities 
appear to be rather  favourable than    
otherwise1 which1 perhaps1 in the       
absence of further  evidence1 is the    
nearest approach to a conclusion we can 
hope to make4  ,it is not a forgery2 it 
is not a polemical work1 where the      
author might  wish to shoot forth his   
darts from under the shield of some     
,ajax of  controversy4 ,neither is it a 
mere floating legend1 ready to be tacked
  on to any name indifferently2 on the  
contrary1 it is written with great      
care1 and with a literary and           
constructive skill rare at that day4 ,it
  makes no profession1 and betrays no   
purpose1 save to give the substance  of 
the ,vision which ,adamnn related to the
 ,mrdil1 and of his  subsequent         
preaching4 ,the fashion of the day      
renders it highly probable  that        
,adamnn's teaching or preaching may have
 assumed this form4 ,then  his fame and 
authority1 at the most active period of 
,irish letters1  might avail to preserve

 a work1 thus widely published1 for a   
longer  time than the #aej or #bej years
 which intervened between his death and 
the composition of the ,vision1 even in 
its present form1 while if  the reasons 
adduced in a later place 7,part #aa4    
,sec4 #e1 post7 for  supposing it to be 
of a composite character be correct1 it 
follows that  the latest author must    
have had before him--as in any case he  
probably  had--materials of an earlier  
date4    ,thus the ,fis and the ,cin    
appear to institute an exact parallel4  
,we  have as the basis of the extant    
work1 in the one case1 a law enacted1   
in the other1 a ,vision recited1 by the 
saint1 which a later writer has  worked 
up into literary form1 while other      
details relating to the same            
subject-matter1 but entirely irrelevant1
 have been added later4    ,two versions
 of the ,fis ,adamnin exist1 in two     
medival ,,mss41 now  in the ,library of 
the ,royal ,irish ,academy4 ,of these1  
the ,lebor na  h-,udri1 or #8,book of   

the ,dun' 7sc4 #8,cow'71 is the oldest  
extant  ,irish ,,ms4 which contains a   
collection of secular literature1 being 
copied about #aajc from another ,,ms41  
probably about fifty years older1  which
 was itself compiled from various       
earlier writings4 ,the other  ,,ms41 the
 ,lebor ,brec1 #8,speckled ,book1' was  
written towards the end  of the         
fourteenth century4 ,both versions have 
been edited and printed  by ,professor  
,windisch in ,irische ,texte1 vol4 i4 ,i
 believe that no  complete translation  
of either version has been published in 
a form  generally accessible1 though    
,o',donovan made and translated extracts
  from it1 and ,dr4 ,whitley ,stokes has
 edited and translated it1 with  notes1 
but printed fifty copies only for       
private distribution 7,simla1  #ahgj74  
,i have had the advantage of referring  
to this edition1 thanks  to the courtesy
 of ,mr4 ,alfred ,nutt1 to whom ,i am   
indebted for several  valuable          
suggestions and corrections4    ,the    

following translation has been made from
 the ,l4,u4 version4 ,there  is little  
difference in substance between the two 
versions1 but the  ,l4,u4 is more       
attractive from a literary point of     
view1 the ,l4,b4 being  somewhat        
overloaded in places with ,latin        
quotations1 while it wants the          
concluding chapter1 which the ,l4,u4    
possesses4          #c4 ,,translation   
,,of ,,the ,,fis ,,adamn,,in      #a4   
,noble and wonderful is the ,lord of the
 ,elements1 and great and  marvellous   
are ,his might and ,his power4 ,for ,he 
calleth to ,himself in  ,heaven the     
charitable and merciful1 the meek and   
considerate2 but ,he  consigns and casts
 down to ,hell the impious and          
unprofitable host  of the children of   
the curse4 ,for upon the blessed ,he    
bestows the  hidden treasures and the   
manifold wages of ,heaven1 while ,he    
inflicts a  diversity of torments1 in   
many kinds1 upon the sons of death4     
#b4 ,now there are multitudes of the    

saints and righteous ones of the  ,lord 
of ,creation1 and of the apostles and   
disciples of ,jesus ,christ1  unto whom 
have been revealed the secrets and the  
mysteries of the  ,heavenly ,kingdom1   
and the golden wages of the righteous2  
likewise the  divers pains of ,hell1    
with them that are set in the midst     
thereof4 ,for  unto the ,apostle ,peter 
was shown the four-cornered vessel1 let 
down  from ,heaven1#f with four cords to
 it1 and they with sound as sweet  as   
any music4 ,also1 the ,apostle ,paul was
 caught up to ,heaven1#g and  heard the 
ineffable words of the angels1 and the  
speech of them that  dwell in ,heaven4  
,moreover1 on the day of ,mary's death1 
all the apostles  were brought to look  
upon the pains and miserable punishments
 of the  unblest2 for the ,lord         
commanded the angels of the ,west#h to  
open up  the earth before the face of   
the apostles1 that they might see and   
consider ,hell with all its torments1   
even as ,himself had told them1  long   

time before ,his ,passion4    #c4       
,finally1 to ,adamnn ua ,thinne1 the    
,high ,scholar of the ,western  ,world1 
were revealed the things which are here 
recorded2 for his  soul departed from   
out his body on the feast of ,john      
,baptist1 and  was conveyed to the      
celestial realm1 where the heavenly     
angels are1  and to ,hell1 with its     
rabble rout4 ,for no sooner had the soul
 issued  from out the body1 than there  
appeared to it the angel that had been  
its guardian while in the flesh1 and    
bore it away with him to view1  firstly1
 the ,kingdom of ,heaven4    #d4 ,now   
the first land to which they come is the
 ,land of ,saints4 ,a  bright land of   
fair weather is that country4 ,in it are
 diverse and  wondrous companies1 clad  
in cassocks of white linen1 with hoods  
of  radiant white upon their heads4 ,the
 saints of the ,eastern world form  a   
company apart in the ,east of the ,land 
of ,saints2 the saints of the  ,western 
world are to the ,west of the same land2

 the saints of the  ,northern world and 
of the ,south1 in their great concourse1
 are to the  ,south and ,north4 ,for    
every one that is in the ,land of       
,saints may freely  listen to the music1
 and may contemplate the vault1#i       
wherein are the  nine classes of        
,heaven1 after their rank and order4    
#e4 ,for one spell1 then1 the saints    
keep singing marvellous music in  praise
 of ,god2 for another1 they are         
listening to the music of the  heavenly 
host2 for the saints have no other need 
than to listen to the  music that they  
hear1 and to contemplate the radiance   
that they see1  and to sate themselves  
with the fragrance that there is in that
 land4  ,the wonderful ,lord is face to 
face with them1 in the ,south-east1#aj  
and a crystal veil between2 to the      
,south is a golden portico1 and  through
 it they discern the form and           
adumbration of the people of  ,heaven4  
,no veil1 however1 nor cloud is between 
the ,host of ,heaven and  the ,host of  

the ,saints1 but those are ever manifest
 and present unto  these1 in a place    
that is over against them4 ,a circle of 
fire surrounds  this place1 yet do they 
all pass in and out1 and it does scathe 
to  none4    #f4 ,now1 the ,twelve      
,apostles and ,mary the pure ,virgin    
form a band  apart1 about the mighty    
,lord4 ,next to the ,apostles are the   
,patriarchs  and ,prophets1 and the     
disciples of ,jesus4 ,on the other side 
are holy  ,virgins1 at ,mary's right    
hand1 and with no great space between4  
,babes  and striplings are about them on
 every side1 and the bird-choirs of the 
heavenly folk1 making their minstrelsy4 
,and amid these companies1 bands  of    
angels1 guardians of the souls1 do      
perpetual suit and service in the       
,royal presence4 ,no man is there in    
this present life who may describe      
those assemblies1 or who may tell of the
 very manner of them4 ,and the  bands   
and companies which are in the land of  
saints abide continually  in even such  

great glory as aforesaid1 until the     
great ,parliament#aa  of ,doom1 when the
 righteous ,judge1 on the ,day of       
,judgment1 shall  dispose them in their 
stations and abiding places1 where they 
shall  contemplate ,god's countenance1  
with no veil nor shadow between1 through
  ages everlasting4    #g4 ,but great   
and vast as are the splendour and the   
radiance in the  ,land of ,saints1 even 
as hath been said1 more vast1 a thousand
 times1  the splendour which is in the  
region of the ,heavenly ,host1 about the
  ,lord's own throne4 ,this throne is   
fashioned like unto a canopied          
chair1#ab and beneath it are four       
columns of precious stone4 ,though  one 
should have no minstrelsy at all1 save  
the harmonious music of  those four     
columns1 yet would he have his fill of  
melody and delight4  ,three stately     
birds are perched upon that chair1 in   
front of the ,king1  their minds intent 
upon the ,creator throughout all ages1  
for that is  their vocation4 ,they      

celebrate the eight canonical hours1    
praising  and adoring the ,lord1 and the
 ,archangels accompany them4 ,for the   
birds  and the ,archangels lead the     
music1 and then the ,heavenly ,host1    
with the  ,saints and ,virgins1 make    
response4    #h4 ,over the head of the  
,glorious ,one that sitteth upon the    
royal throne  is a great arch1 like unto
 a wrought helmet1 or a regal diadem3#ac
 and  the eye which should behold it    
would forthwith melt away4 ,three       
circles  are round about it1 separating 
it from the host1 and by no explanation 
may the nature of them be known4 ,six   
thousand thousands1 in guise of  horses 
and of birds1 surround the fiery chair1 
which still burns on1  without end or   
term4    #i4 ,now to describe the mighty
 ,lord that is upon that throne is not  
for  any1 unless ,himself should do so1 
or should so direct the heavenly        
dignitaries4 ,for none could tell of his
 vehemence and might1 ,his  glow#ad and 
splendour1 ,his brightness and          

loveliness1 ,his liberality  and        
steadfastness1 nor of the multitude of  
,his ,angels and ,archangels1  which    
chant their songs to ,him4 ,his         
messengers keep going to and from  ,him1
 ever and anon1 with brief messages to  
each assemblage1 telling  to the one    
host of ,his mildness and mercy1 and to 
the other of ,his  sternness and        
harshness4    #aj4 ,whoso should stand  
facing about him1 ,east and ,west1      
,south and  ,north1 would behold on each
 side of him a majestic countenance1    
seven  times as radiant as the sun4 ,no 
human form thereto1 with head or foot1  
may be discerned1 but a fiery mass1     
burning on for ever1 while one and  all 
are filled with awe and trembling before
 ,him4 ,heaven and earth are  filled    
full with the light of ,him1 and a      
radiance as of a royal star  encircles  
,him4#ae ,three thousand different songs
 are chanted by each  several choir     
about ,him1 and sweeter than all the    
varied music of the  world is each      

individual song of them4    #aa4        
,furthermore1 in this wise is the       
fashion of that city1 wherein that      
throne is set4 ,seven crystal walls of  
various hue surround it1 each  wall     
higher than the wall that is before     
it4#af ,the floor1 moreover1  and the   
lowest base of that city1 is of fair    
crystal1 with the sun's  countenance    
upon it7871 shot with blue1 and purple1 
and green1 and  every hue beside4       
#ab4 ,a gentle folk1 most mild1 most    
kindly1 lacking in no goodly  quality1  
are they that dwell within that city2   
for none come there1  and none abide    
there ever1 save holy youths1 and       
pilgrims zealous for  ,god4 ,but as for 
their array and ordinance1 hard is it to
 understand  how it is contrived1 for   
none turns back nor side to other1 but  
the  unspeakable power of ,god has set1 
and keeps1 them face to face1  in ranks 
and lofty coronels1 all round the       
throne1 circling it in  brightness and  
bliss1 their faces all towards ,god4    

#ac4 ,there is a chancel rail#ag of     
silver between each two choirs1         
cunningly wrought upon with red gold and
 silver1 and choice rows  of precious   
stones1 variegated with diverse gems1   
and against that  lattice are seats and 
canopies#ah of carbuncle4 ,between every
 two  chief companies are three precious
 stones1 softly vocal with sweet        
melody1 and the upper halves of them are
 lighted lamps4 ,seven thousand  angels1
 as it were great candles1 shine and    
illumine that city round  about2 seven  
thousand others in the midst thereof are
 aflame for ever1  throughout the royal 
city4 ,the men of all the world1 if     
gathered into  one place1 many as they  
are1 would derive sustenance enough from
 the  sweet savour of any one of those  
candles4    #ad4 ,now1 such of the      
world's inhabitants as attain not to    
that city  after their life is spent1   
and to whom a dwelling-place therein is 
allotted after the ,words of ,doom shall
 have been spoken1 find a  restless and 

unstable habitation1 until the coming of
 ,judgment1 on  heights and hill-tops1  
and in marshy places4 ,even so fare     
those hordes  and companies1 with the   
guardian angel of every soul in their   
midst1  serving and tending them4 ,in   
the main doorway of the city they are   
confronted by a veil of fire and a veil 
of ice1 smiting perpetually  one against
 the other4 ,the noise and din of these 
veils1 as they  clash together1 are     
heard throughout the world1 and the seed
 of ,adam1  should they hear that din1  
would be seized thereat with trembling  
and intolerable dismay4 ,faint and dazed
 are the wicked at that din2  howbeit1  
on the side of the ,heavenly ,host1     
nought is heard of that rude  discord1  
save a very little only1 and that       
sweeter than any music4    #ae4 ,awful  
is that city1 and wonderful to describe2
 for a little out  of much is that which
 we have told concerning its various    
orders1 and  the wonders of it4 ,seldom 
indeed may a spirit1 after its converse 

and  co-habitation with the body1 in    
slumber and repose1 in freedom and      
luxury1 win its way to the throne of the
 ,creator1 unguided of the  angels2 for 
hard of essay are the seven ,heavens1   
nor is any one of them  easier than the 
rest4 ,six guarded doors confront all   
those of mortal  race who reach the     
,kingdom4 ,there sits a porter and      
warder of the  ,heavenly ,host1 keeping 
guard over each door4 ,at the door of   
that ,heaven  which is nearest on the   
hither side sits the ,archangel         
,michael1 and  with him two youths1#ai  
with iron rods in their laps to scourge 
and  smite the sinners as they pass     
through this the first grief and torment
  of the path they have to tread4       
#af4 ,at the door of the next ,heaven1  
the ,archangel ,ariel is warder1 and    
with him two youths1#bj with fiery      
scourges in their hands1 wherewith  they
 scourge the wicked across the face and 
eyes4 ,a river of fire1 its  surface an 
ever-burning flame1 lies before that    

door4 ,abersetus is the  angel's name   
who keeps watch over that river1 and    
purges the souls of  the righteous1 and 
washes them in the stream1 according to 
the amount  of guilt that cleaves to    
them1 until they become pure and shining
 as  is the radiance of the stars4 ,hard
 by is a pleasant spring1 flowery  and  
fragrant1 to cleanse and solace the     
souls of the righteous1 though  it      
annoys and scalds the souls of the      
guilty1 and does away nought  from them1
 but it is increase of pain and torment 
that comes upon them  there4 ,sinners   
arise from out of it in grief and       
immeasurable sadness1  but the righteous
 proceed with joy and great delight to  
the door of the  third ,heaven4    #ag4 
,above this1 a fiery furnace keeps ever 
burning1 its flames reaching  a height  
of twelve thousand cubits2 through it   
the righteous pass  in the twinkling of 
an eye1 but the souls of sinners are    
baked and  scorched therein for twelve  
years1 and then their guardian angel    

conveys them to the fourth door4 ,about 
the entrance door of the fourth  ,heaven
 is a fiery stream1 like the foregoing4 
,it is surrounded by a  wall of fire1 in
 breadth twelve thousand measured       
cubits1 through which  the souls of the 
righteous pass as though it were not    
there1 while  the souls of the sinful   
tarry therein1 amid pain and            
tribulation1 for  another twelve years1 
until their guardian angel bears them to
 the door  of the fifth ,heaven4    #ah4
 ,in that place is a fiery river1 which 
is unlike all other rivers1  for in the 
midst of it is a strange kind of        
whirlpool1 wherein the  souls of the    
wicked keep turning round and round1 and
 there they abide  for the space of     
sixteen years2 the righteous1 however1  
win through it  straightway1 without any
 hindrance4 ,so soon as the due time    
cometh for  the sinners to be released  
thereout1 the angel strikes the water   
with a  rod1 hard as though it were of  
stone1 and uplifts the spirits with the 

end of that rod4 ,then ,michael bears   
them up to the door of the sixth        
,heaven2 but no pain nor torment is     
meted out to the spirits at that  door1 
but there they are illumined with the   
lustre and the brilliancy  of precious  
stones4 ,then ,michael cometh to the    
,angel of the ,trinity1  and one on     
either side they usher the soul into the
 presence of ,god4    #ai4 ,infinite and
 beyond all telling is the welcome      
wherewith the ,lord  and the ,heavenly  
,host then receive the soul1 if he be a 
pure and  righteous soul2 if1 however1  
he be an unrighteous and unprofitable   
soul1 harsh and ungentle is the         
reception of him by the ,mighty ,lord4  
,for ,he saith to the ,heavenly ,angels1
 #8,take1 ,o ,heavenly ,angels1 this    
unprofitable soul1 and deliver him into 
the hand of ,lucifer1 that he  may      
plunge him and utterly extinguish him in
 ,hell's profound1 through  ages        
everlasting4'    #bj4 ,thereupon that   
wretched soul is parted1 fearfully1     

sternly1  awfully1 from sight of the    
,heavenly ,kingdom1 and of ,god's       
countenance4  ,then utters he a groan1  
heavier than any groan1 as he comes into
 the  ,devil's presence1 after beholding
 the bliss of the ,kingdom of ,heaven4  
,he is then deprived of the guidance of 
the ,archangels1 in whose company  he   
had come unto ,heaven4 ,twelve fiery    
dragons swallow up every spirit1  one   
after the other1 until the lowest dragon
 lands him in the ,devil's  maw4 ,there 
doth he experience the consummation of  
all evil1 in the  ,devil's own presence1
 throughout all ages4    #ba4 ,after    
that his guardian angel had revealed to 
,adamnn's spirit  these visions of the  
,heavenly ,kingdom1 and of the first    
progress of  every soul after parting   
from its body1 he brought him to visit  
the  nethermost ,hell1 with all its     
pains1 and its crosses1 and its         
torments4  ,now1 the first region       
whereunto he came was a land burnt      
black1 waste  and scorched1 but with no 

punishment at all therein4 ,a glen1     
filled  with fire1 was on the further   
side of it2 huge the flame of it1       
extending beyond the margin on either   
hand4 ,black its base1 red the  middle1 
and the upper part thereof4 ,eight      
serpents were in it1 with  eyes like    
coals of fire4    #bb4 ,an enormous     
bridge spans the glen1 reaching from one
 bank to the  other2 high the middle of 
it1 but lower its two extremities4      
,three  companies seek to pass over it1 
but not all succeed4 ,one company find  
the bridge to be of ample width1 from   
beginning to end1 until they win  across
 the fiery glen1 safe and sound1        
fearless and undismayed4 ,the  second   
company1 when entering upon it1 find it 
narrow at first1 but  broad afterwards1 
until they1 in like manner1 fare across 
that same  glen1 after great peril4 ,but
 for the last company the bridge is     
broad  at first1 but strait and narrow  
thereafter1 until they fall from the    
midst of it into that same perilous     

glen1 into the throats of those  eight  
red-hot serpents1 that have their       
dwelling-place in the glen4    #bc4 ,now
 the folk to whom that path was easy    
were the chaste1 the  penitent1 the     
diligent1 they who had zealously borne a
 bloody testimony  to ,god4 ,the band   
who found the path narrow at first1 but 
afterwards  broad1 were they who had    
hardly been constrained to do ,god's    
will1 but  had afterwards converted     
their constraint into the willing       
service of  ,god4 ,they1 however1 to    
whom this way was broad at first1 but   
strait  thereafter1 were sinners who had
 listened to the precepts in ,god's     
word1 and after having heard1 fulfilled 
them not4    #bd4 ,furthermore1 vast    
multitudes abide beyond1 feeble and     
powerless1  upon the shore of perpetual 
pain1 in the land of utter darkness4    
,every  other hour the pain ebbs away   
from them1 and the next hour it returns 
upon them again4 ,now these are they in 
whom good and evil were equally         

balanced1 and on the ,day of ,doom1     
judgment shall be passed between  them1 
and their good shall quench their evil  
on that day2 and then  shall they be    
brought to the ,haven of ,life1 in      
,god's own presence1  through ages      
everlasting4    #be4 ,another great     
company is there1 near to the last-named
 group1 and  monstrous their torment4   
,and this is their plight3 they are     
fettered  to fiery columns1 a sea of    
fire about them up to their chins1 and  
about their middle fiery chains1 in the 
shape of vipers4 ,their faces  are      
aflame with agony4 ,they who are        
tormented thus are sinners1             
fratricides1#ba ravagers of ,god's      
,church1 and merciless ,erenachs1#bb    
who1 in presence of the relics of the   
,saints1 had been set over the          
,church's tithes and oblations1#bc and  
had alienated these riches to  their    
private store1 away from the ,lord's    
guests and needy ones4    #bf4 ,great   
multitudes there are1 standing in       

blackest mire up to their  girdles4     
,short cowls of ice are on them4        
,without rest or intermission1  through 
all time1 their girdles are perpetually 
scorching them with  alternate cold and 
heat4 ,demon hosts surround them1 with  
fiery  clubs#bd in their hands1 striking
 them over the head1 though they        
struggle against them continually4      
,these wretches all have their          
foreheads to the ,north1 and a rough1   
sharp wind blowing full upon their      
foreheads1 in addition to every other   
woe4 ,red showers of fire are  raining  
on them1 every night and every day1 and 
they cannot ward them  off1 but must    
needs endure them throughout all ages1  
wailing and making  moan4    #bg4 ,some 
of them have streams of fire in the     
hollows of their visages2  some1 fiery  
nails through their tongues2 others1    
through their heads1  from side to side4
 ,they who are so punished are thieves  
and liars1  and they who have practised 
treachery1 reviling robbery and rapine2 

judges of false judgment and contentious
 persons2 women who have dealt  in      
poison and spells1 reivers1#be and      
learned men who have practised  heresy4 
,another great throng is set upon       
islands1 in the midst of the  fiery sea4
 ,about them is a silver wall built of  
the raiment and the  alms which they had
 bestowed4 ,these are they who have     
practised  mercy without zeal1#bf and   
have remained in loose living1 and in   
the  bonds of their sin1 until the hour 
of their death2 but their alms are  a   
bulwark unto them1 amid the fiery sea1  
until the ,judgment1 and after          
,judgment they shall be brought into the
 ,haven of ,life4    #bh4 ,another great
 multitude is there1 clad in red and    
fiery mantles  down to their middle4#bg 
,their trembling and their outcries make
  themselves heard1 even unto the       
firmament4 ,an unspeakable throng of    
demons is throttling them1 holding in   
leash the while raw-hided1  stinking    
hounds1 which they incite to devour and 

consume them4 ,red  glowing chains#bh   
are constantly ablaze about their necks4
 ,every  alternate hour they are borne  
up to the firmament1 and the next hour  
they are dashed down into ,hell's       
profound4 ,now they that are punished   
in this wise are the regulars who have  
transgressed their rule1#bi and  become 
loathers of piety2 also1 impostors who  
have deceived and seduced  the          
multitude1 and have undertaken miracles 
and wonders which they are  not able to 
perform4 ,moreover1 the children that   
are tearing the men  in orders1 are they
 who were committed to them for         
amendment1 but they  amended them not1  
neither reproved them for their sins4   
#bi4 ,thereafter1 is another vast       
company2 ,east and ,west they go1       
unresting1 across the fiery flagstones1 
at war with demon hosts4  ,innumerable  
showers of red-hot arrows are rained    
upon them by the  demons4 ,running1 they
 go on without stop or stay1 making for 
a black  lake and a black river1 that   

they may quench those arrows therein4 ,a
  weeping and wailing1 truly miserable  
and piteous1 do the sinners make  in    
those waters1 for in them they only meet
 with augmentation of their  pain4 ,now 
they that are punished thus are cheating
 artificers1 weavers1  and merchants2   
judges that judged falsely1 both ,jews1 
and others  likewise2 impious kings1    
,erenachs of lewd and crooked ways1     
adulterous  women1 and the panders that 
destroyed them by their evil practices4 
,beyond the land of torment is a fiery  
wall2 seven times more horrible  and    
cruel is it than the land of pain       
itself4 ,howbeit1 no soul dwells        
therein till ,judgment1 but it is the   
province of the demons only1 until  the 
,day of ,judgment4    #cj4 ,at that     
time1 woe unto him that shall dwell amid
 those pains1 in  company with the      
,devil's own tribe6 ,woe unto him that  
is not ware of  that tribe6 ,woe unto   
him over whom a vile and savage demon is
 set in  dominion6 ,woe unto him that   

shall be hearkening unto the spirits1   
making moan and complaining unto the    
,lord1 for the speedy coming of  the    
,day of ,judgment1 that they may know   
whether they shall find any  remission  
of their doom2 for they get no respite  
ever1 save only for  three hours on     
every ,sunday4 ,woe unto him unto whom  
that land shall  be for a lasting       
inheritance1 even for ever and ever6    
,for this is the  nature of it3         
,mountains1 caverns1 and thorny brakes2 
plains1 bare and  parched1 with         
stagnant1 serpent-haunted lochs4 ,the   
soil is rough and  sandy1 very rugged1  
icebound4 ,broad fiery flagstones       
bestrew the plain4  ,great seas are     
there1 with horrible abysses1 wherein is
 the ,devil's  constant habitation and  
abiding-place4 ,four mighty rivers cross
 the  middle of it3 a river of fire1 a  
river of snow1 a river of poison1 a     
river of black1 murky water4 ,in these  
wallow eager hosts of demons1  after    
making their holiday and their delight  

in tormenting the souls4    #ca4 ,what  
time the holy companies of the ,heavenly
 ,host are singing the  eight hours with
 harmonious melody1 praising the ,lord  
with cheerfulness  and great gladness1  
then do the souls of the wicked utter   
piteous and  weary wailings1 as they are
 buffeted unceasingly by the demon      
hordes4    ,such then are the pains and 
torments which his guardian angel       
revealed  to the spirit of ,adamnn1     
after his journey towards the ,heavenly 
,kingdom4 ,after which he was borne in  
the twinkling of an eye through  the    
golden forecourt1#cj and through the    
crystal veil1 to the ,land of  ,saints1 
whereunto he had been brought at first1 
after his departure  from the body4 ,but
 when he bethought him to rest and tarry
 in that  land1 he heard1 through the   
veil1 the angel's voice enjoining him to
  return again into that body whence he 
had departed1 and to rehearse in  courts
 and assemblies1 and in the great       
congregations of laymen and  of clerics1

 the rewards of ,heaven and the pains of
 ,hell1 even as his  guardian angel had 
revealed them unto him4    #cb4 ,this1  
then1 was the doctrine that ,adamnn     
continually taught to  the              
congregations1 from that time forth1 so 
long as he remained in  life4 ,this1    
too1 is what he preached in the great   
assemblies of the  men of ire1#ca       
wherein the ,constitution of ,adamnn was
 imposed upon  the ,gaels1 and the women
 were emancipated by ,adamnn and by     
,finnachta  ,fledach1#cb ,king of ire1  
and the princes of ire1 of one accord4  
,such1 too1 were the tidings which      
,patrick1 son of ,calpurnius1 at the    
,gospel-dawn1 was ever wont to          
proclaim--to wit1 the rewards of ,heaven
  and the pains of ,hell--to all them   
that would believe in the ,lord1        
through his teaching1 and would accept  
his guidance of their souls4#cc  ,that1 
too1 is the doctrine most constantly    
taught by ,peter and ,paul1  and the    
other apostles likewise1 to wit1 the    

enumeration of the  rewards and pains   
which had been revealed to them in like 
manner4 ,and  so did ,silvester1 ,abbot 
of ,rome1 teach ,constantine1 son of    
,helen1 ,high  ,king of the ,world1 in  
the ,general ,synod when he offered     
,rome to ,paul  and to ,peter4#cd ,even 
so did ,fabian1 successor to ,peter1    
teach ,philip1  son of ,gordian1 the    
,king of ,rome1 whereby he believed in  
the ,lord1 and  many thousands beside   
believed in that hour4#ce ,for he was   
the first  ,king of ,rome that believed 
in the ,saviour1 ,jesus ,christ4    #cc4
 ,and these are the tidings which ,elias
 declares continually unto the  souls of
 the righteous1 under the ,tree of      
,life1 which is in ,paradise4  ,so soon 
as ,elias opens his book in order to    
instruct the spirits1  the souls of the 
righteous1 in form of bright white      
birds1 repair to  him from every side4  
,then he tells them1 first1 of the wages
 of the  righteous1 the joys and        
delights of the ,heavenly ,realm1 and   

right glad  thereat are all the throng4 
,after that he tells them of the pains  
and  torments of ,hell1 and the woes of 
,doomsday2 and easy it is to mark the   
look of sorrow that is upon his face1   
and upon the face of ,enoch2 and  these 
are the two sorrows of the ,heavenly    
,kingdom4 ,then ,elias shuts  his book1 
and thereupon the birds make exceeding  
great lamentation1  straining their     
wings against their bodies till streams 
of blood issue  from them1 in dismay of 
the woes of ,hell and of the ,day of    
,doom4    #cd4 ,now1 seeing that they   
who make this moan are the ,saints to   
whom  have been allotted everlasting    
mansions in the ,heavenly ,realm1 how   
much  more fitting were it for the men  
that are yet on earth to ponder1 even   
with tears of blood1 upon the ,judgment 
,day1 and upon the pains of ,hell4  ,for
 at that time will the ,lord render due 
recompense to every one on  earth2 that 
is to say1 rewards to the righteous1 and
 punishments to the  guilty4 ,and at    

that very time shall the guilty be set  
in the abyss of  everlasting pain1 and  
the book of the ,word of ,god shall then
 be closed1  under the curse of the     
,judge of ,doom1 for ever4 ,but the     
saints and the  righteous1 the          
charitable and the merciful1 shall be   
borne to the right  hand of ,god1 to a  
lasting habitation in the ,kingdom of   
,heaven1 there to  abide without age or 
death1 end or term1 for ever and ever4  
#ce4 ,this1 then1 is the manner of that 
,city3 ,a ,kingdom without pride1  or   
vanity1 or falsehood1 or outrage1 or    
deceit1 or pretence1#cf or  blushing1 or
 shame1 or reproach1 or insult1 or envy1
 or arrogance1  or pestilence1 or       
disease1 or poverty1 or nakedness1 or   
death1 or  extinction1 or hail1 or snow1
 or wind1 or rain1 or din1 or thunder1  
or darkness1 or cold1--a noble1         
admirable1 ethereal realm1 endowed  with
 the wisdom1#cg and radiance1 and       
fragrance of a plenteous land1  wherein 
is the enjoyment of every excellence4   

,,finit--,,amen--,,finit4               
,,part ,,ii          #a4 ,,the          
,,classical ,,tradition      ,the legend
 which forms the ground-plan of the     
,vision of ,adamnn and of  the ,commedia
 of ,dante1 can claim a pedigree of     
great antiquity that  may be traced back
 along several widely divergent lines4  
,the principal  of these may be grouped 
roughly under the heads of the          
,classical  ,tradition1 the ,eastern    
,tradition1 the ,ecclesiastical         
,tradition1  resulting from the fusion  
in the early ,christian ,church of      
,hellenic and  ,oriental schools of     
thought2 and the ,irish ,tradition1     
which last does  not so much represent  
an entirely independent growth of the   
legend1 as  a new departure1 whereby the
 ,ecclesiastical ,tradition1            
transplanted  to ,ireland1 and there    
coming into contact with certain cognate
 ideas  which were prominent in the     
native mythology and romantic           
literature1  acquired a fresh           

development1 and reappeared in several  
forms which  became the most popular    
exponents of the medival theories of the
  ,otherworld1 until the revival of     
classical learning1 in the twelfth and  
following centuries1 enabled ,dante to  
carry the leading idea1 common to  all  
forms alike1 to its culmination4    ,the
 ,classical ,tradition was preserved in 
the ,middle ,ages chiefly  through the  
sixth book of ,virgil's neid1 which     
relates the visit of  neas to ,hades2   
but this episode was itself suggested by
 the similar  adventure of ,odysseus1   
told in the eleventh book of the        
,odyssey4 ,the  fundamental conception1 
a visit paid to the ,otherworld by a    
living man1  appears in many of the     
,greek myths3 e4g4 in the journey to    
,hades of  ,demeter1 in the course of   
her search after her daughter           
,persephone1  stolen away by ,pluto2 of 
,orpheus in quest of ,eurydice2 of      
,theseus and  ,peirithoos in their      
attempt to abduct ,persephone2 of       

,herakles1 ,castor  and ,pollux1 and    
others4 ,like most of the myths that    
have contrived to  #8make their fortune'
 by virtue of their strong appeal to the
 human  imagination1 these legends1 when
 the myth-making age had long departed  
from the ,hellenic peoples1 and the age 
of creative imagination had  given place
 to one of literary culture1 passed into
 the domain of  literature pure and     
simple4 ,as such they entered upon a new
 life in the  writings of the ,latin    
authors2 for even in ,virgil the        
literary aspect  of the legend          
predominates1 though not to the         
exclusion of its more  serious elements4
 ,this merely literary character is yet 
more apparent  in the treatment of the  
legend by the tragic poets1 and by      
,lucan and  ,claudian1 while ,apuleius1 
the ,perrault of antiquity1 found in it 
a  theme for the play of his graceful   
fancy4    ,the early descriptions of the
 ,otherworld1 being originally myths  of
 spontaneous growth1 and not composed to

 be the vehicles of  instruction or     
edification1 contain little of          
eschatological or  ethical              
significance1#ch the few stock examples 
which they give  of the penalties       
attached to guilt being rather instances
 of the  private vengeance of ,zeus upon
 those who had rebelled against him1  or
 had outraged the dignity of some member
 of the divine family of  which he was  
the head4 ,in these accounts the abode  
of the departed  appears as a dreary    
region1 wherein they lead a shadowy and 
undesirable  existence2#ci and although1
 side by side with this conception1     
another  theory subsisted1 assigning to 
the happy dead a serene existence in    
the ,elysian plain1 or in the enchanted 
isle of ,leuke1 this belief did  not go 
beyond the notion1 vaguely1 however     
beautifully1 expressed1  of a bright and
 happy region of perpetual calm1 where  
death or decay  or care was unknown1 and
 the departed spirits dwelt in flowery  
and  fragrant meadows1 beneath          

blossoming trees1 beside calm seas or   
smoothly flowing streams1 while soft    
breezes were perpetually blowing4  ,the 
,greek poets1 from ,homer downwards1    
contain innumerable references  to this 
,elysium1#dj but although we sometimes  
find a hint1 as in  ,pindar and some of 
the tragic poets1 that these joys are   
reserved for  those who have deserved   
them by a righteous life on earth1 the  
later  instances show scarcely any      
advance upon the earlier in the         
direction  of a systematic eschatology1 
and consequently brought the ,vision    
legend  little1 if any1 further on its  
way4#da    ,our legend1 however1        
received fuller development in another  
school of  ,hellenic thought4           
,simultaneously with the mythology of   
the ,greeks1  and on one side distinct  
from it1 though on the other side       
closely  connected with it1 existed a   
tradition of a more essentially         
religious  character2 religion being    
distinguished from philosophical        

speculation  on the one hand1 and myth  
and legend on the other4 ,hence1        
apparently1  proceeded the              
,neo-platonising tendency in ,greek     
philosophy--to adopt  the familiar and  
convenient name1 though the thing is    
older than the  ,neo-,platonists1 or    
than ,plato himself--the tendency to    
regard the old  myths as a repository of
 the #8,wisdom of the ,ancients1' and to
 disengage  from the husk of fable the  
moral and scientific truths which it was
  supposed to contain4 ,in so doing1 the
 philosophic schools were not  merely   
attempting to read their own notions    
into the traditions of  antiquity1 but  
were also1 to some extent1 endeavouring 
to develop germs  which already existed 
in the best and most serious thought of 
their  own and earlier times4 ,this side
 of the ,hellenic religion would appear 
to have existed in its purest and most  
highly developed form in the            
,mysteries1 especially those practised  
at ,eleusis1 and at other places  in    

which the ,eleusinian rites prevailed4  
,most questions relating to the ,greek  
mysteries1 their place of origin1  the  
date of their introduction1 the relation
 of one school to another1  the rites   
practised therein1 and the nature of the
 instruction imparted  to the neophytes1
 have given rise to many debates1 and   
some of them  can hardly yet be regarded
 as entirely settled4 ,happily1 our     
subject  does not call for discussion of
 these contested points1 all that we are
  concerned with being the significance 
of the mysteries to the spiritual  life 
of ,greece at the time of their highest 
development4 ,the general  result of    
investigation would seem to make it     
probable that the ,greeks1  from a very 
early period1 practised certain rites in
 honour of ,demeter1  and that these    
rites were connected with agriculture1  
and with the  means whereby the unseen  
powers presiding over it might be       
rendered  propitious4 ,these rites1 as  
in many barbarous nations1 were held to 

confer certain privileges upon the      
participants1 who could only obtain     
access thereto by a secret initiation2  
and when the ideas of death and         
renovation1 which arose naturally out of
 the subject1 proceeded by an  easy     
transition--partly by an inherent       
principle of growth1 and partly  through
 the introduction of foreign            
elements#db--to questionings  concerning
 man's fate after death1 the same rites 
were regarded as  efficacious in        
ameliorating his condition in the unseen
 world4 ,at the  same time1 as the      
doctrine of the effect of conduct upon  
the future  life gained ground1 this    
side of the question likewise came      
within the  purview of the mystical     
schools1 and an ethical as well as a    
theurgic  efficacy was ascribed to the  
initiation rite4 ,this important step in
  advance would appear to have been     
taken in the sixth century ,b4,c4 at    
latest1 when the theories of the        
,orphic-,pythagorean school became      

widely diffused4 ,m4 ,foucart1 as we    
have seen in the last note1 holds  that 
this movement was due to the ,egyptian  
researches carried on by  the early     
,greek philosophers in the course of    
their travels2 ,rohde1 on  the other    
hand1 regards it as a strictly national 
movement1 and denies  the late adoption 
of any alien faith of a highly developed
 character4  ,in any case1 it is certain
 that the theories of which ,pythagoras 
was  the most famous exponent assumed   
great prominence at this time4 ,the     
leading principle of these was the      
doctrine of the soul's rebirth on       
earth1 in another body1 after undergoing
 a process of purification in  the      
,otherworld4 ,it was one of the primary 
objects of the mysteries to  ensure that
 the soul's progress through the        
intermediate state should  be as easy1  
and the conditions of its rebirth as    
favourable1 as could  be effected by the
 due performance of the mystical rites2 
and while the  great progress of ethics1

 which with the early philosophers went 
hand  and hand with philosophical       
speculation1 effected a fuller          
recognition  of moral conduct in this   
life as one of the means most conducive 
to the  desired end1 preference was     
still given1 even among the righteous1  
to  those who had undergone the         
initiation ceremony4#dc    ,professor   
,gardner even traces the ,hades theory  
from the mystic rites  7loc4 cit472     
probably this derivation would only     
apply to that  theory in its more fully 
developed form4 ,he holds that the      
,orphic cult  #8occupies the background 
of religious life' in ,greece2 that it  
was an  enthusiastic type of religion1  
and capable of ready association with   
the ideals of such moral and political  
revivalists as ,pythagoras and          
,empedocles4 ,according to this         
authority1 there were two foci of the   
,orphic cult3 at ,eleusis1 and in the   
rites of ,dionysos4 ,m4 ,foucart1  it   
will be remembered1 denies any          

connection between ,eleusis and the     
,orphic mysteries2 in which contention  
he would appear to be supported  by     
,plato1 who speaks slightingly of the   
latter1 while several passages  in his  
writings testify to his respect for the 
mysteries of ,eleusis4  ,certainly the  
two were respectively connected1        
originally1 with the  worship of two    
separate and widely different           
divinities1 although1  both having to do
 with the earth as the source and the   
renewer of  life1 they soon tended      
towards certain common developments4    
,perhaps we  may not greatly err if we  
assume that the ,orphic mysteries1 in   
their  most perfected form1 were more   
especially concerned with the orgiastic 
ritual and with the doctrine of         
reincarnation1 now reduced to a         
philosophical system1 while in the      
,eleusinian school ritual became more   
closely connected with personal         
morality1 thus assuming an aspect more  
strictly #8religious1' in the modern    

sense of the word4    ,m4 ,foucart1     
indeed1 holds that the instruction      
imparted in the  ,eleusinian mysteries  
was essentiellement pratique2 elle avait
 pour  objet de mettre l'homme en tat de
 se tirer d'affaire lorsqu'il  arrivait 
dans la demeure d',hades 7op4 cit41 p4  
#fc74 ,by #8practical'  ,m4 ,foucart    
would appear to refer exclusively to    
those automatic or  quasi-mechanical    
effects which are supposed1 all the     
world over1  to result from the due     
performance of certain rites4 ,however1 
the  testimony of the ,greeks           
themselves1 as appears from the examples
  about to be cited in connection with  
our own subject1 and from other         
evidences that have come down to us1    
appears to be conclusive as to the      
value attributed to the ,eleusinian     
mysteries1 at any rate1 as an agent  of 
moral reformation4 ,sir ,w4 ,m4         
,ramsay#dd distinguishes between the    
mysteries which had in view the         
proficiency and advancement of morals1  

and the mysteries which were of an      
exclusively ritual and orgiastic        
nature1 associating the former kind with
 ,eleusis1 and places where  kindred    
rites were celebrated4 ,in support of   
this contention1 he cites  a number of  
passages occurring in ,greek writers    
from the fourth century  ,b4,c4 onwards1
 whence it plainly appears that the     
,greeks regarded a  moral regeneration  
as a natural concomitant of initiation  
into the  mysteries1 and even as a      
condition of happiness in the future    
life4#de    ,it is in connection with   
the mysteries1 as representing the moral
  and spiritual side of the ,greek      
religion1 whencesoever derived1 that    
the ,vision legend becomes impressed    
with an epideictic character and        
develops those elements which had barely
 existed in germ in the popular         
mythology4    ,in the ,dialogues of     
,plato1 the legend already appears as a 
vehicle of  religious instruction4      
,plato1 indeed1 merely gives literary   

form to  theories which had existed for 
at least two centuries before his time1 
but as he is the first to employ the    
,vision legend in this connection1  and 
as it is in his hands that it first     
assumes its final type1  essentially    
identical with that of its successors in
 the ,christian  ,church1 it is         
convenient to make him a point of       
departure4    ,in the tenth book of his 
,republic 7pp4 #fad sqq47 ,plato records
  the narrative of one ,er1 an          
,armenian1 concerning his experiences in
  the world of spirits4 ,this ,er had   
been killed in battle1 and brought  away
 with the rest of the slain1 but was    
restored to life4 ,his soul1  upon      
issuing from the body1 had been conveyed
 to a certain spiritual  77 place1 where
 there were two openings leading down   
below  the earth1 and two others leading
 up into heaven1 over against one       
another4 ,between these openings judges 
were stationed1 who dismissed  the souls
 of the righteous to heaven by the upper

 and right-hand way1  having first      
impressed upon their foreheads the      
decree of absolution1  and despatched   
the wicked downward by the left-hand    
path1 branded  behind with the record of
 their misdeeds4 ,the judges commanded  
,er to  see and hear all that passed1   
that he might become the messenger of it
  all to mankind4 ,the souls of the     
departed1 after a progress lasting  a   
thousand years1 returned by the second  
openings from the celestial  and        
subterranean regions respectively4 ,the 
return of the one company  was marked by
 joy and gladness1 by reason of the     
delights which they  had enjoyed1 and   
the spectacles of inconceivable beauty  
through which  they had passed1 in the  
course of their heavenly journey2 they  
then  entered for a while into a smiling
 meadow1 there to hold converse with    
others of the just1 both those whom they
 had known while in the body1  and      
others whom they then met for the first 
time4 ,the other company  appeared all  

parched and dusty from their journey1   
weeping and dismayed  at the remembrance
 of all they had seen and suffered      
during their  passage beneath the earth1
 for there each sinner was requited     
tenfold  for all the crimes that he had 
committed4 ,among these guilty ones1    
special mention is made of homicides3 of
 those who had betrayed cities  or      
armies1 and brought them into captivity2
 of those who had committed  impiety    
towards the gods1 or inflicted violence 
upon their parents2  all of whom were   
singled out for eximious penalties4     
,some indeed1 such  as bloody tyrants1  
and certain private persons who were    
stained with  enormous crimes1 lost     
their return entirely2 these were       
dragged back  by wild-looking1          
fire-scathed men1 fettered hand and     
foot1 beaten down  and flayed1 carded   
with carding-combs1 and finally cast    
down into  ,tartarus4 ,with the         
exception1 however1 of this last and    
worst class  of criminals1 the          

punishments allotted to all were but of 
temporary  duration1 and the #8souls of 
a day' entered upon #8another period of 
mortal1 death-fraught existence' under  
conditions imposed by #8the  ,destinies1
 daughters of ,necessity4'    ,this     
account agrees in principle1 though not 
in detail1 with ,phdo1  p4 #ad4 ,in the 
,phdrus1 ,plato speaks of the           
,eleusinian mysteries as a  means of    
salvation1 and that1 apparently1 by     
means of the reformation  effected      
through a conscientious adherence to the
 instructions there  imparted to the    
initiate1 rather than by any            
thaumaturgic virtues  inherent in the   
rites themselves2 the true mystics1 in  
his eyes1 being  those whom he terms1 in
 the passage of the ,phdo cited above1  
4    ,in the ,axiochos1 a dialogue once 
ascribed to ,plato1 but written since   
his time1 ,socrates is made to describe 
the abode of the righteous  as a country
 of flowery meadows beside clear        
streams1 and full of  fruit-bearing     

trees4 ,the light is full and radiant1  
the air soft and  pleasant1 free from   
extremes of heat and cold4 ,fit places  
are provided  for philosophical         
discourse1 and there are theatres where 
poets may  recite their verses4 ,the    
most honourable place is allotted to the
  initiated1 who celebrate the sacred   
mysteries4 ,this description1  which    
exhibits a nave adaptation of the most  
primitive ,elysium to  the intellectual 
requirements of a highly civilised      
society1 is  interesting merely as      
affording additional evidence as to the 
,athenian  belief concerning the rewards
 of the righteous in a future life1  and
 the intimate connection between        
initiation into the mysteries1          
righteousness of life1 and bliss in the 
life to come4    ,in this connection1   
perhaps1 we ought not to pass over the  
,hades  journey of ,dionysos1 as        
portrayed in the ,frogs of              
,aristophanes1  for1 burlesque as it is1
 it repeatedly expresses views          

concerning the  ,otherworld coinciding  
closely1 in substance1 with the         
description  contained in ,plato's      
,vision of ,er4 ,the ,frogs being prior 
in date  to the ,republic1 this         
coincidence affords an independent      
testimony  to the representative        
character of ,plato's eschatological    
theories1  the more so as ,aristophanes1
 in his comedy1 would naturally treat   
his  subject in a form that he knew to  
be familiar to the audience4 ,in this   
play1 reference is made to a true       
,inferno for punishment of the graver   
sins4 ,in ll4 #ade-aea1 ,herakles       
affirms that they who had violated the  
laws of hospitality1 beaten their       
mother1 smitten their father on the     
cheek1 perjured themselves1 etc4 etc41  
are condemned to wallow in a  morass of 
mud and ordure1 like the wrathful1 the  
gloomy-minded1 and the  flatterers1 whom
 ,dante consigns to a similar doom in   
,cantos #g and #ah of  the ,inferno4#df 
,on the other hand1 #8happy bands of men

 and women'  inhabit myrtle groves1 #8in
 the midst of fairest light' 7ll4       
#aee-g71  in the dingles of             
well-flowering meadows 7#cdg-h71 and    
fields blooming  with roses 7#ddh-i71 in
 the enjoyment of dance and song and    
feast 7#cfi  sqq474 ,these are they who 
have been initiated into the mysteries  
7l4  #aeh72 nor does this imply a merely
 ritual initiation1 as may not only  be 
inferred from a comparison with the     
passages from ,plato1 quoted  above1 and
 with the testimonies to the like effect
 cited by ,sir ,w4 ,m4  ,ramsay1 but1   
further1 appears from the words of the  
beatified mystics  themselves3 #8,for us
 alone the sun shines1 and the light is 
cheerful2  for us1 who are initiate1 and
 have followed the way of righteousness 
in all our dealings1 alike with         
strangers and with our own folk' 7ll4   
#ded-i74    ,four centuries later1      
,plutarch takes up the tale4 ,his       
treatise #8,on the  tardy vengeance of  
,god' describes the vision of one       

,soleus1 similar in  character to that  
of ,plato's ,er1 but1 in many of its    
circumstances1  approximating far more  
closely to the ,christian visions4 ,this
 ,soleus  had led a life of extreme     
wickedness1 stained with all manner of  
vice and debauchery2 he had been        
violent1 unjust1 and fraudulent in  his 
dealings1 and had squandered his        
patrimony by his extravagance4          
,beginning1 it would seem1 to realise   
his condition1 he sent to the  oracle of
 ,amphilochus to inquire whether the    
remainder of his life  should be better 
than the earlier part3 the oracle       
replied that it  should be better with  
him after his death4 ,sometime after    
this he fell  down a precipice1 and was 
taken up for dead2 but three days later1
  having been carried out for burial1 he
 came to himself just as he  was being  
lowered into the grave1 and sat up4     
,thenceforth he became  a reformed      
character1 and the remainder of his life
 was as exemplary  for virtue as the    

earlier part had been for wickedness4   
,he explained  the reason of this       
conversion to his friends1 by the story 
of his  experiences during his temporary
 demise4 ,his first sensation was as of 
a steersman swept into the sea by a     
sudden squall4 ,upon emerging1 he  could
 discern1 at first1 nothing but stars of
 great magnitude1 and very  far apart1  
emitting radiant beams1 upon which the  
soul rode as though  in a chariot4      
,looking downward1 he descried little   
fiery bubbles rising  through the       
yielding air1 which1 bursting1 released 
aerial forms of men  and women1 some of 
which mounted straight upward1 with     
great velocity1  while others whirled   
and span rapidly about in all           
directions4 ,among  these latter he     
recognised several of his acquaintance1 
and tried  to accost them1 but they all 
avoided him4 ,he was more successful    
with those spirits who mounted upright1 
among whom he recognised a  kinsman who 
had died young4 ,this spirit saluted him

 by the name of  ,thespesios1 or        
,divine1 saying that he must have come  
thither by order  of the gods1 seeing   
that he was manifestly alive1 for the   
spirits of  the dead neither cast       
shadows nor open and shut their         
eyelids4#dg  ,under his kinsman's       
guidance1 ,thespesios noted the various 
kinds of  souls1 and observed that while
 all were of transparent substance1 some
  emitted a pure untroubled light1      
#8like the full moon in her greatest    
resplendence1' others being marked with 
long streaks1 and others1  again1       
repulsive with black splotches1 like    
those on the skins of  vipers4 ,his     
guide accounted for this diversity by   
expounding the laws  which regulate the 
condition of departed spirits4          
,adrasteia1 daughter  of ,zeus and      
,necessity1 was charged with a general  
superintendence  over the punishments   
awarded to the guilty1 and none of any  
rank or  kind might escape her          
vengeance2 but guilt is of various      

degrees1 so  ,adrasteia deputed the     
chastisement of offences1 after their   
several  kinds1 to three ,furies1 or    
avenging spirits4 ,the first of these1  
,poine1  is the minister of temporal    
penalties1 whereby minor sinners are    
purged  of their guilt by their         
sufferings in this life4 ,those whose   
guilt  is not to be purged so easily are
 delivered over1 after death1 to  ,dike1
 or avenging ,justice1 to be chastened  
in manner after described2  while the   
absolutely incurable are abandoned to   
,erinnys1 who1 after  pursuing them in  
their unavailing flight through         
countless torments1  plunges them1 at   
last1 into an abyss of unspeakable      
horror4 ,the souls  which ,dike takes in
 hand she first exposes naked to the    
gaze of their  kin1 in order1 if these  
were virtuous1 that the guilty soul may 
be  stricken with the greater shame1 or1
 if they too had been wicked1 that      
their mutual remorse may be augmented by
 the sight of one another's  disgrace   

and sufferings4 ,she then afflicts them 
with sufferings #8as  far surpassing in 
sharpness and severity all torments of  
the body1 as  reality surpasses an empty
 dream4' ,these punishments leave upon  
the  soul stripes and scars which       
correspond to the gravity of the        
offences1  and gradually disappear as   
the soul recovers its proper            
temperament2  though certain souls1     
incapable of thorough reformation1 are  
compelled  to complete their expiation  
by inhabiting the bodies of brutes for a
  term4 ,after this1 the spirit conveyed
 ,thespesios across a vast expanse  over
 which he was borne upon a ray of light1
 as easily and swiftly as  though       
upborne by an eagle1 until he came to a 
yawning1 unfathomable  chasm4 ,here the 
force which had hitherto sustained him  
failed2 his  further course was stayed1 
and he1 and several others in like case1
  were left hovering about the mouth of 
the cavern1 like birds that  desired to 
enter in1 but dared not4 ,the interior  

of the chasm was all  green with trees  
and grass1 and adorned with flowers of  
every hue1  which emitted a fragrance   
sweeter than is the fragrance of wine to
  them that love it1 and amid all these 
dwelt the souls of the blest in  the    
utmost mirth and good fellowship4 ,ere  
long1 ,thespesios was carried  hence and
 brought to the place of punishment1 and
 among the guilty he  recognised certain
 of his own kin4 ,here his kindly spirit
 guide quitted  him1 and he was taken in
 charge by several grisly sprites1 who  
thrust  him forward and made him observe
 the torments that were inflicted on    
the wicked4 ,in the enumeration of      
these1 a quite ,dantesque intention     
#8to make the punishment fit the crime' 
is apparent4 ,for instance1  certain who
 had cloaked a vicious life with fine   
professions were  turned inside out1 and
 compelled to wriggle onward in this    
guise2  hypocrites were flayed and      
gashed1 so as to reveal their inner     
nature2  deadly enemies were twined     

together1 and gnawed one another1 as    
,ugolino  gnawed the ,archbishop of     
,pisa in the ,inferno4 ,furthermore1    
there were  three lakes--one of molten  
gold1 one of lead1 exceeding cold1 and  
one  of iron2 demons armed with tongs1  
like smiths1 plunged the souls of the   
avaricious into the lake of molten gold 
until they were heated through  and     
through2 then into the leaden lake until
 they were congealed like  hail2 and1   
finally1 into the iron lake1 where they 
were broken to  pieces2 after which they
 were reintegrated1 for a repetition of 
their  punishment4 ,but most wretched   
was the case of them whose crimes had   
communicated a taint to their posterity2
 for when they deemed that the  ,divine 
justice had wrought its utmost upon     
them1 they were met by the  scarred and 
distorted souls of their descendants1   
who1 when their  parents in grief and   
shame tried to shirk away from them1    
would seize  and cling to them1         
sometimes1 even in clusters like bees or

 bats1 and  would hale them back to     
renewed torments4 ,finally1 the souls   
who were  destined to return to earth in
 other bodies were wrought and forged   
like iron to fit them for their new     
state4    ,plutarch's eschatology       
displays more system than is to be found
 in  his predecessors1 or even in many  
of the ,christian visions2 however1     
neither by ,plutarch nor by ,plato is   
the doctrine of the metempsychosis  made
 to fit in quite perfectly with that of 
a state of eternal rewards  and         
punishments which co-exists with it4    
,moreover1 the purgatorial  scheme1     
though highly elaborated1 is conceived  
entirely with reference  to the         
preparation of the soul for a renewed   
existence upon earth4    ,in following  
up the ,greek development of the ,vision
 legend to its  completest exposition in
 ,plutarch1 we have passed by the ,latin
  contributions to the subject1 earlier 
than the ,vision of ,thespesios in      
point of date1 though not in manner of  

treatment4 ,a generation before  the    
birth of ,virgil1 ,cicero1 in his       
,somnium ,scipionis1 had utilised  the  
,vision as a vehicle of instruction2 he1
 however1 took natural  philosophy for  
his theme1 not eschatology4    ,virgil1 
indeed1 alone of ,roman writers1 made   
any contribution of real  importance to 
the development of the ,vision legend in
 literature1  though that contribution  
is the flower and consummation of the   
legend  as it appears in the purely     
classical tradition4 ,for ,virgil1      
saturated  with the ,hellenic culture1  
while remaining intensely ,roman in his 
political views and national sentiment1 
remains free from any tincture  of      
,oriental ideas4 ,earlier than ,plutarch
 by more than a century1 his  treatment 
of the subject is more modern in style  
and spirit1 although1  in his pictures  
of the other world1 he repeats and      
combines the ideas  which the ancients  
had held concerning it4 ,his topography 
of the other  world and of the          

approaches thereto agrees so closely    
with the humorous  account in the ,frogs
 of ,aristophanes1 which1 evidently1 he 
has no  intention of copying1 as to make
 it clear that both poets followed1 in  
the main1 a generally accepted          
tradition4 ,so1 too1 in his descriptions
  of the ,elysian ,fields and of        
,tartarus1 ,virgil simply reproduces in 
substance the many similar descriptions 
which occur in the ,greek poets  and    
philosophers2 and although he perfects  
these with many exquisite  touches of   
his own1 such original contributions of 
his belong rather  to the domain of art 
than of eschatology4 ,to take one       
instance1 his  enumeration of those     
righteous ones who are admitted to the  
seats of  the blest1 including1 as it   
does1        ,inventas aut qui vitam    
excoluere per artes1      ,quique sui   
memores alios fecere merendo 7n4 vi4    
#ffc-d71    could only have been written
 in an age of self-conscious culture4   
,in his eschatology he is no less       

conservative than in his descriptions2  
witness the judgment of the dead by     
,minos 7#dca sqq47 and ,rhadamanthus    
7#efg-i72 the ,fate of the ,giants 7#ehj
 sqq471 and other great  offenders      
against the persons of the gods 7#fja   
sqq471 etc4 etc4  ,like ,plutarch1 he   
inflicts heavier penalties upon those   
who have  not expiated their guilt in   
this life 7#efi74 ,moreover1 he adopts1 
without being able to reconcile1 the two
 conflicting theories held  by his      
,grecian predecessors1 and succeeds no  
better than ,plato and  his followers in
 fusing into a consistent scheme the    
theory of  perpetual rewards and        
punishments1 and the collateral theory  
of the  metempsychosis4 ,in his         
treatment of the whole subject he       
betrays  the influence of several of the
 later schools of ,greek philosophy1    
and appears as a disciple of the        
,pythagoreans and ,stoics as well as  of
 ,plato4 ,at the same time1 he displays 
his modernity alike in this  eclectic   

and combining method1 and in his general
 design1 which is  mainly artistic and  
literary2 the ,vision legend is not     
introduced  with any hortatory or       
epideictic purpose1 but1 as in the      
earlier  epic1 forms merely a part of   
the general machinery of the poem1 the  
several pictures and descriptive        
incidents of the ,otherworld serving  as
 frescoes and statues and gargoyles to  
adorn the main body of the  edifice4 ,an
 instance of this occurs in the         
picturesque grouping of the  monsters   
and personified abstractions about the  
gates of ,hades 7n4  vi4 #bgc-bid71     
which is conceived in a purely artistic 
spirit1 no less  than similar           
descriptions in ,ariosto1 ,spenser1 and 
,milton--we might  almost add the ,rape 
of the ,lock4 ,the same may be said of  
the ,city of  ,dis 7#edh sqq474 ,in such
 passages as these1 ,virgil indulges the
 ,roman  love of classification which   
appears in that tendency of the national
  religion to apportion all phases of   

nature and humanity among countless     
#8departmental deities1' ridiculed by   
several of the early ,christian         
fathers1 and notably by ,st4            
,augustine4#dh    ,in short1 ,virgil    
pressed into his service ideas1 beliefs1
 and  speculations drawn alike from the 
popular creeds and traditions1 and  from
 the philosophers of his own and earlier
 times4 ,these he blended  with         
consummate art into one harmonious      
whole1 uniting antiquity of  matter with
 modernity of treatment2 and this       
completeness1 aided by  the combination 
of circumstances which led him to be    
regarded1 in after  times1 as at once   
the epitome and the consummation of the 
,wisdom of  the ,ancients1 and as1      
moreover1 the divinely inspired herald  
of the  coming transition from ,paganism
 to ,christianity1 fitted him1 at a time
  when the higher achievements of the   
human intellect had to be sought  in    
classical antiquity1 to become the duce1
 maestro1 guida1 that  ,dante found in  

him4          #b4 ,,the ,,oriental      
,,tradition      ,to ,dante1 ,virgil    
appeared as the sacer vates in every    
sense of the  term4 ,as a poet1 he      
towered above all other masters of the  
craft with  whom ,dante was acquainted2 
the testimony of ages had concurred in  
pronouncing him to be the repository and
 the exponent of the wisdom and         
learning of the ancient world1 the only 
secular wisdom and learning  to which   
the ,middle ,ages could turn for        
instruction and guidance4 ,his  fourth  
,eclogue had led the ,church to acclaim 
him as one of those pagan  seers to     
whom1 jointly with the ,sibyls1 a share 
in the preparation for  the ,gospel had 
been committed by ,divine appointment1  
while the sixth  neid directly          
associated him with the ,sibyls         
themselves2 finally1  his great poem    
expressed the very spirit of that ,roman
 ,empire1 of  which the theory at least 
constituted the basis and framework of  
the  ecclesiastical and civil polity of 

,christendom4    ,however1 the task     
which ,dante had set himself was nothing
 less1  according to his own            
affirmation1#di than to expound the     
scheme of  ,divine ,providence with     
respect to #8man1 in so far as by his   
merit  or demerit1 by virtue of         
freewill1 he is liable to remunerative  
or  punitive ,justice'2#ej and by the   
moving picture of #8the condition  of   
souls after death1'#ea #8to withdraw    
those living in the present  life from  
the state of misery1 and to conduct them
 unto the state of  bliss4'#eb ,having  
no desire to innovate upon the accepted 
beliefs1 but  rather to expound them in 
their utmost completeness1 and in       
accordance  with the fulness of         
knowledge1 he naturally1 and            
necessarily1 availed  himself of the    
materials preserved in ,christian legend
 and popular  tradition4 ,these         
materials1 in great measure1 were the   
product of a  fusion in the primitive   
,church of the speculations of the      

,hellenistic  schools with an abundant  
heritage of analogous conceptions1 which
 had  been bequeathed to it by the      
earlier dispensation4    ,long before   
the ,christian era1 a gradual process of
 accretion had been  going on within the
 ,jewish ,church4 ,in the days of their 
freedom1 the  people of ,israel had     
addicted themselves but little to       
speculations  concerning the            
,otherworld2 during the captivity1      
however1 they had  come into contact    
with the richer mythology of the        
conquering nations1  and after the      
return they fell under the influence of 
the various  schools of philosophy1     
whose teaching1 coloured with a         
theosophic tinge  of continually        
increasing depth1 permeated ,syria in   
common with all  other lands in which   
the ,hellenistic culture prevailed4     
,these various  influences combined to  
produce a more spiritual type of        
religion1 and  a more elaborate         
eschatology1 than had originally entered

 into the  national faith of ,israel4   
,the legend of a ,vision of the         
,otherworld1 in the ,east as in ,hellas1
  had gradually developed from the most 
primitive beginnings1 the first         
appearance of it occurring at a very    
early stage of popular tradition4  ,the 
sacred books of ,assyria1 which         
themselves embodied much of the         
mythology of the earlier ,accadian race1
 record the descent into  ,hades of the 
goddess ,ishtr1 in quest of the waters  
of life1 and of  the national hero      
,gisdubar1 who1 like ,odysseus and neas1
 had gone  thither seeking counsel from 
the shades of his ancestors4 ,the abodes
  of the dead are approached through    
seven successive gates1 guarded by      
monsters1 and at each sits a porter who 
strips the souls that enter of  some    
part of their raiment1 until1 after     
passing the last gate1 they  enter the  
world of shades as naked as when they   
came into the world  they have just     
left4 ,gisdubar1 who had been conveyed  

to the regions of  the dead by a ferry1 
wherein we see the prototype of         
,charon's boat1  was met on his arrival 
by monsters1 between man and scorpion in
 shape1  who directed him to the abode  
of the blest1 situate #8at the mouth of 
the rivers4' ,he accordingly reached a  
grove by the sea-shore1 at the  estuary 
of a river1 which was the ,waters of    
,death4 ,the trees in this  grove were  
laden with precious stones1 and guarded 
by two maidens1 who  shut the door      
against ,gisdubar1 because he bore the  
marks of the ,divine  wrath upon him4   
,the ,chaldean ,elysium is described as 
a mountain lying  beneath a sky of      
silver1 and bearing crops without need  
of tillage4  ,here the souls of heroes  
and great men dwell for ever1 reclining 
on couches1 and drinking the waters of  
life4#ec ,these waters are  represented 
in the story of the descent of ,ishtr as
 proceeding from  under a golden throne1
 set in the midst of ,hades1 whereon sat
 the  ,spirits of ,earth4 ,in the grove 

of ,eridu stood a ,tree of ,life1 which 
appears to have been a ,world ,tree1    
like ,yggdrasil1 and at the same time   
to have possessed the property of       
restoring life and strength to the      
individual4 ,this tree was guarded by   
cherubim1 whose heads were like  the    
heads of hawks or eagles4 ,from this    
,elysium a way led to ,arali1 the  abode
 of the dead in general4    ,that abode 
is described as #8a gloomy realm beneath
 the earth1 wherein  the spirits of the 
dead flit about in darkness1 with dust  
and mud for  their food and drink4'#ed  
,no hint is there of reward or          
punishment2  the same dreary lot awaits 
the evil and the good alike so soon as  
they  have quitted the light of day4    
,the only attempt at a differential     
treatment is found in that aristocratic 
conception of ,elysium which  provides a
 place there for heroes and great men   
alone2 a conception  which the ancient  
inhabitants of ,chalda shared with many 
races of very  different type and       

origin1 including several of the peoples
 of ,central  ,america and ,polynesia1  
and1 apparently1 the early ,aryans of   
,europe4 ,in  fact1 the whole ,chaldan  
theory of the future life is very       
rudimentary1  notwithstanding the great 
proficiency in several departments of   
culture  to which the ,accadian and     
,assyrian races had attained4    ,the   
,median conquest of ,assyria and        
,babylon introduced the ,hebrew exiles  
to the ,zoroastrian religion1 with its  
mythology richer than any which  the    
,semitic or ,pre-,semitic races had     
evolved1 and taught them an  eschatology
 more elaborate than their own4 ,the    
,avesta inculcated an  ethic of high    
morality1 and taught a very systematic  
theory of rewards  and punishments in   
the future life4 ,the experiences of the
 soul after  death are described with   
great minuteness and copiousness of     
detail4    ,for three nights after death
 the soul sits by the head of the body1 
and all this time1 if a righteous soul1 

experiences the consciousness  of a     
delight as great as any that the whole  
living world together are  capable of   
enjoying4 ,at the end of this time it   
becomes aware of a  sweet-scented wind  
blowing from the south1 and feels a     
pleasant sense  of being borne into a   
place of fragrant trees and verdure4    
,the evil  soul1 on the contrary1       
experiences a corresponding amount of   
misery  during its vigil1 at the close  
of which it is assailed by a foul wind  
from the north4 ,its vigil ended1 every 
soul1 good or bad1 had to cross  the    
narrow ,chinvt ,bridge 7cinvata         
peretush1 the #8,accountant's           
,bridge'71 where good and evil spirits  
struggled for possession of  it1 as did 
the angels and devils for the soul of   
,goethe's ,faust1 and  as ,michael and  
,satan contended for ,moses1 according  
to the tradition  referred to in the    
,book of ,jude 7ver4 #i74 ,on reaching  
the bridge head1  the soul of #8good    
thoughts1 good deeds1 good words1 and   

good religion'  was met by a lovely     
maiden1 who was his own conscience4 ,by 
her he was  conducted to the place of   
,judgment1#ee and there a book was      
opened  wherein had been kept a record  
of all the good and evil he had wrought 
in life4 ,upon his righteousness being  
admitted1 he was received with          
acclamation by the celestial powers1 and
 a place was allotted to him  among     
their golden seats4#ef ,the ,avestan    
,elysium is described as a  holy        
mountain1 its summit clothed with       
everlasting light1 whither  #8come      
neither night nor darkness1 no cold wind
 and no hot wind1 no  deathful sickness1
 no uncleanness made by the ,davas      
demons1 and the  clouds cannot reach up 
to it4' ,at the foot of the mountain was
 a vast  sea1 a mar del essere1 in the  
midst of which grew the ,white ,hama    
7,indian ,soma71 the ,tree of ,life4    
#8,the waters stand there boiling1      
boiling up in the heart of the sea      
,pitika1 and when cleansed therein  they

 run back from the sea ,pitika to the   
tree boura-kasha1 towards  the          
well-watered tree1 whereon grow the     
seeds of my plants of every  kind4'#eg  
,a godlike bird sits on that tree2 when 
he flies off a  thousand branches grow  
out of it1 and when he alights upon it  
he breaks  off a thousand branches4#eh  
,of this mystical bird1 the ,bundehesh1 
one  of the later of the sacred books1  
says1 #8,the bird ,karshipta dwells  in 
the heavens2 were he living on the      
earth1 he would be the king of  birds4  
,he brought the ,religion into the ,var 
of ,yima1 and recites the  ,avesta in   
the language of birds4'#ei ,with this we
 may compare the  angel described in    
,rev4 xiv4 #f as an angel di ,dio1      
flying #8in the  midst of ,heaven1      
bearing the everlasting ,gospel to      
preach unto them  that dwell on the     
earth4'    ,distinct from the ,elysium  
of the ,gods1 and from the abode of the 
dead1  is ,yima's ,heaven of ,light1 a  
,vara1 or hortus conclusus1 which is  a 

reduplication of the realm over which he
 presided in the ,golden  ,age1 before  
this world was created4#fj ,the ,vara   
was constructed by  #8the fair ,yima1   
the good shepherd1' at the command of   
#8the ,maker1  ,ahura ,mazda1' in view  
of the destruction that was to come upon
 the  material world1 which had become  
corrupt1 so that he might preserve      
therein the seeds of men and all other  
living beings1 of plants1 #8and  of red 
blazing fires1' in order that the earth 
might be replenished4  ,within this     
,vara ,yima made a reservoir1 the banks 
of which furnished  an unfailing supply 
of food1 and were the haunt of birds4   
,to this  happy region1 as we have seen1
 the mystical bird ,karshipta brought   
the ,avesta1 and preached it to the     
denizens1 whose life was one of         
perpetual mirth and gladness1 exempt    
from heat and cold1 sickness1 old  age1 
and death2 #8and there was no           
hump-backed1 none bulged forward1       
there2 no impotent1 no lunatic2 no one  

malicious1 no liar2 no one  spiteful1   
none jealous2 no one with decayed tooth1
 no leprous to be  pent up1 nor any of  
the brands wherewith ,angra ,mainya     
stamps the bodies  of mortals4'#fa      
,it is impossible not to be struck with 
the resemblance which this  passage     
bears to chapter #ce of the ,fis        
,adamnin4 ,this resemblance  must be    
purely accidental1 but it is none the   
less worthy to be noted2  for there is  
reason to suspect that a careful record 
of the similitudes  and coincidences    
which so frequently occur where         
imitation or direct  derivation is      
impossible1 might tend to discourage the
 arbitrary  assumption that derivation  
must needs exist1 in cases where it may 
be  possible1 but is not proved4    ,it 
will be noted that ,yima's ,vara is not 
represented in the ,venddd  as the abode
 of the dead1 or connected in any way   
with the ,otherworld2  it there appears 
rather as a ,platonic ideal world1      
containing the  forms1 types1 or ideas  

after which the material world is to be 
created1 or1 rather1 restored4 ,yima1   
too1 far from being one of the          
principal gods1 appears only as a       
subordinate ,demiourgos1 subject to     
#8the ,maker1' ,ahura ,mazda4 ,hence it 
might seem to be foreign to our         
subject2 in reality1 however1 it is not 
so4 ,however the legend may  have been  
explained by later philosophic          
speculations--probably under  ,greek    
influences1 as to which later--there is 
no doubt that in its  original form it  
was meant for a picture of the world of 
the happy  dead4 ,internal evidence of  
itself might convince us of this4 ,the  
whole  conception of a supernatural     
country1 inhabited by human beings who  
lead a happy life amid conditions which 
reproduce the present world1  but under 
a brighter and serener aspect--a        
country1 moreover1 which  reproduces a  
traditionary golden age--is entirely in 
accord with the  familiar ,elysium of   
the ,aryan peoples4 ,but more than this1

 in the  ancient ,persian mythology     
,yima is identical with the ,indian     
,yama1 the  ruler of the departed1 who  
crossed the rivers1 leading the fathers 
after him1 and now presides over the    
spirits of the dead in a land  beyond   
the sunset4 ,here1 in a land of soft    
winds and cool rains1  traversed by     
perennial streams of milk and honey1 and
 illumined by  unfailing light1 he sits 
under the ,tree of ,life1 drinking the  
,soma 7the  ,persian ,hama7 from its    
branches1 and surrounded by the souls of
 the  righteous1 all whose desires are  
there accomplished4    ,the ,persian    
religion1 in the stage at which it is   
preserved in  the ,avesta1 spiritualised
 much of the primitive ,aryan mythology1
  allegorising many of its deities into 
personifications of good and  evil      
principles and qualities4 ,this         
notwithstanding1 many of the more       
primitive elements of the older religion
 were retained1 and were  reinforced    
with a number of animistic beliefs      

derived from the ,turanian  peoples2 and
 when the ,zoroastrian religion         
experienced that process  of corruption 
which commonly affects all #8,religions 
of the ,book1' in  greater or less      
degree1 these lower and more ancient    
elements asserted  themselves1 so that  
the practical side of the religion      
consisted in  great measure of          
,shamanistic practices designed to      
propitiate an  innumerable host of good 
and evil spirits4#fb    ,the question   
how far the eschatological conceptions  
of the later  ,judaism may have been    
affected by contact with ,zoroastrianism
  obviously depends1 in great measure1  
upon the date to be assigned to  the    
first appearance in the ,persian        
religion of the foregoing theories      
concerning the future life4 ,the ,avesta
 consists of several books of  different
 character and of different dates4      
,darmesteter#fc holds that  it was      
compiled1 in its present form1 during   
the first and second  centuries of our  

era1 although a great part of the       
material embodied  was of much earlier  
date4 ,he further considers that the    
,zoroastrian  belief received its       
ultimate form under the influence of the
 schools of  ,greek philosophy1 with    
which the ,persians were in close       
contact in the  centuries following the 
conquests of ,alexander1 and more       
particularly1  that the final redaction 
of the ,avesta was indebted for its more
  spiritual and philosophic elements to 
#8,neo-,platonism1 that is to say1  that
 philosophic compound inspired by the   
spirit of ,plato1 which  permeated all  
the speculations of the centuries before
 ,christ1 and long  after1 and which    
finds its first and most influential    
exponent in ,philo  ,judus4 ,in ,philo  
is found1 as far as ,i know1 the first  
exact parallel  to the ,avestan         
doctrine1' etc4 7p4 lv474    ,the       
pronouncements of such a scholar as     
,darmesteter upon any matter of  fact   
belonging to a department of learning of

 which he was so weighty  an authority  
can only be accepted by us without      
reserve4 ,at the same  time1 it may be  
permissible to consider how far the     
above inferences  are supported by the  
author's own arguments1 or rather1 the  
extent  to which those inferences may be
 held to apply4 ,it is certain that  the
 ,hellenic1 or ,hellenistic1            
philosophies exercised great influence  
throughout the more civilised parts of  
,asia during the existence  of the      
,alexandrian ,empire1 and for long after
 its dissolution4 ,it  will be observed1
 however1 that ,darmesteter1 while      
assuming that the  ,avesta was moulded  
by those ,platonic doctrines #8which    
pervaded all  the speculations of the   
centuries before ,christ1' goes on to   
say that  this speculation #8finds its  
first ''' exponent in ,philo ,judus4'   
,now1  ,philo ,judus flourished in the  
middle of the first century of our era1 
and the other most celebrated founders1 
or rather precursors1 of the            

,neo-,platonic school were of later     
date2 ,plutarch of ,chronea belonging   
to the latter part of the same century1 
,numenius to the second century  ,a4,d4 
,if1 then1 #8in ,philo is found ''' the 
first exact parallel to the  ,avestan   
doctrine1' it might conceivably be      
argued with regard to  those parts1 at  
any rate1 of the ,avestan doctrine to   
which the author  ascribes a            
,neo-,platonic origin on the strength of
 their resemblance  to the system of    
,philo1 that such resemblance should be 
explained by  a quite opposite          
derivation theory4#fd ,the further      
question also  presents itself1 whether 
the views of ,philo and his school      
obtained so  rapid an acceptance in the 
,east1 beyond the bounds of the ,roman  
,empire1  as greatly to affect the      
substance of so ancient and important a 
creed  as ,zoroastrianism1 as expounded 
in a recension of the sacred books of   
that religion made almost immediately   
after ,philo's death1 if not then       

actually in progress4    ,it is enough  
to suggest these questions1 without     
attempting their  solution2 we are only 
concerned to see whether ,darmesteter's 
theory1 if  correct1 is incompatible    
with the existence in the earlier form  
of the  ,avestan religion of elements   
which may reasonably be presumed to have
  affected the development of our legend
 through ,hebrew channels4              
,darmesteter himself does not attempt to
 set up any hard and fast theory  on the
 subject4 ,in his own words3 #8,without 
pressing conclusions too  hard as to    
facts and dates1 this much can be safely
 inferred ''' that  ,platonic doctrines 
had found their way to ,persia in the   
first centuries  of the ,christian era' 
7loc4 cit474 ,in particular1 he traces  
,platonic  influences in the spiritual  
and allegorical manner in which the     
creations of the old ,aryan mythology   
are dealt with in the ,avesta1 and  in  
the prevalence of a similar tone in the 
,avestan cosmology4 ,the most  notable  

instances of this mode of thought occur 
in the ,var of ,yima1  which is         
practically a ,platonic world of        
,ideas1#fe and in the ,amesha  ,spentas1
 or ,bountiful ,immortals1 who1 we are  
told1 first assume the  character in    
which they now appear in the ,avesta    
under the influence of  ,neo-,platonic  
theories4#ff    ,at the same time1      
,darmesteter points out that the ancient
 ,achmenian  religion already possessed 
the fundamental doctrine of the conflict
  between the powers of good and evil1  
and the final triumph of the good1  and 
of those that had adhered to it4 ,the   
duration of the universe is  already    
divided into four periods of #cjjj years
 each1#fg in the last  of which ,ahriman
 was to be subdued1 and men were to     
#8live happily1  needing no food1 and   
casting no shadow4'#fh ,he further      
states1 as we  have seen1 that the      
,avesta was compiled from various works 
of different  dates2 these would        
necessarily embody much matter of older 

date than  themselves--very much older1 
we are warranted in believing1 alike  by
 the analogy of other religions1 and by 
the nature of many of the  beliefs      
preserved in the ,avesta4 ,in speaking  
of the books of which  the ,avesta is   
composed1 ,darmesteter gives it as his  
opinion that #8the  ,venddd may be taken
 as the best specimen of the text imbued
 with the  pre-,alexandrian spirit'2#fi 
and it is precisely the ,venddd that    
contains the greater part1 though not   
all1 of the doctrines concerning  the   
,otherworld1 of which an abstract has   
been given above4    ,we are thus       
warranted in assuming that the ,persians
 had developed a  tolerably complete    
theory of the ,otherworld1 and of the   
rewards and  punishments there meted out
 in recompense for man's conduct in this
  life1 at a date early enough to       
influence ,hebrew thought1 before either
  nation had come under ,hellenic       
influences4    ,in some respects1       
,darmesteter's conclusions even favour  

this  presumption1 for if we can        
attribute to ,neo-,platonic influences  
the  ideal character which ,yima's ,vara
 bears in the ,venddd1 we can           
understand at how recent a date the     
,vara came to be divested of the        
character of an ,elysium1 or abode of   
the happy dead1 such as is the  realm of
 ,yama1 of which1 in other respects1 it 
is so complete a  counterpart4    ,in   
this connection1 it should also be noted
 that the ,avestan doctrine  of the     
,otherworld gives no place to the theory
 of ,rebirth1 which is a  principal     
article of the ,platonic and            
,pythagorean schools1 and might  have   
been expected to occupy a prominent     
place in the ,zoroastrian  eschatology1 
had this been moulded to any great      
extent by ,greek  philosophy4 ,in       
holding the finality of man's lot after 
death1 the  ,persian doctrine agrees    
with that of the ,jews1 and1 apparently1
 of the  ,chaldans4    ,however much1   
moreover1 the elaborate dmonic system   

contained in  the ,avesta may be        
indebted to ,neo-,platonism for its more
 spiritual  elements1 it is neither     
certain nor probable that the substance 
of it  can be derived from the same     
source4 ,the eschatology of the ,avesta 
contains much that cannot be referred to
 ,neo-,platonic ideas1 even  if it must 
be admitted that these were widely      
enough accepted1 in  a sufficiently     
systematised form1 at the date when the 
,avesta was  completed1 while many parts
 of it exhibit both ,indian and ,chaldan
  analogies4 ,it is enough1 in this     
place1 merely to refer to the ,tree of  
,life and the ,waters of ,life1 to both 
of which ,indian1 and yet closer        
,chaldan1 parallels exist2 the mystical 
bird ,karshipta1 which is an  ,indian   
myth2 the ,elysium of the ,gods1 which  
is little more than an  improvement on  
the ,chaldan ,elysium2 ,mount ,elborz1  
as the ,persian  ,holy ,mountain1       
corresponding to the ,indian ,mount     
,meru2 the ,world ,sea1  which renews   

and purifies all created things1 and is 
akin to the  ocean out of which a new   
world was churned by the ,hindu gods4   
,the  ,var of ,yima1 as we have already 
seen1 is the same as ,yama's blissful   
realm4 ,the divine beings which appear  
in the ,avesta in the guise of          
personified abstractions1 are the       
deities of ,aryan mythology travestied  
presumably1 according to the hypothesis1
 under ,neo-,platonic influences4  ,so1 
apparently1 the ,amesha ,spentas1       
whatever tincture of philosophic        
culture they may have acquired through  
contact with ,hellenistic  thought1 were
 originally identical with the #8,seven 
,magnificent  ,deities1' who were the   
,chaldan ,gods of the ,elements4 ,we    
have already  seen that the ,seven      
,spirits of ,earth were said to have    
their seats  on golden thrones in the   
midst of the ,chaldan ,elysium1 even as 
the  ,amesha ,spentas in the ,avestan   
,heaven4 ,indeed1 it is not necessary to
  have recourse to ,neo-,platonism to   

account for the vast hierarchies of     
good and evil spirits which are found in
 the ,avesta1 and still more in  the    
books of the ,rabbis4 ,the ,chaldan     
mythology1 of which both ,jews  and     
,persians had undergone the influence   
long before their contact  with         
,hellenistic culture1 was abundantly    
supplied in this respect4  ,besides the 
seven principal deities 7to whom1       
according to ,lenormant1  seven         
malignant deities were opposed71        
,professor ,sayce#gj alludes  to #ej    
great gods1 #cjj spirits of heaven1 and 
#cjj spirits of earth1  beside countless
 minor spirits of many kinds2 while the 
later ,assyrian  authorities1 he says1  
raised the number of great gods of      
heaven and  earth to #fe1jjj4    ,now   
the district occupied by the ,jews      
during the captivity had been  a focus  
of the religion of ,chalda1 both in the 
,accado-,sumerian and  in the ,semitic  
periods1 and afterwards became an       
important part of  the ,persian empire4 

,the canonical books and the ,apocrypha 
of the ,old  ,testament alike prove that
 close relations subsisted between the  
,jews  and both their ,persian and      
,assyrian rulers1 and exhibit traces of 
the  influence exercised by the latter  
upon the ,jewish writers4 ,thus it      
appears no rash assumption1 that it is  
to these sources we must ascribe  the   
substance1 at least1 of those doctrines 
enunciated by the later  ,jewish        
writers1 for which there is no authority
 in the earlier writings  of their      
nation1 but which correspond to ideas   
already existing among  nations with    
which they lived in close and intimate  
contact4    ,we have been discoursing at
 somewhat tedious length upon points    
which  may not appear to be directly    
relevant to our subject1 seeing that the
  ,vision legend receives no development
 later than the very primitive  legends 
of ,ishtr and ,gisdubar4 ,nevertheless1 
it is in the ,chaldan and  ,persian     
religions that we find many of the      

notions and images which  furnished     
material to ,jewish and ,christian      
authors alike1 when1 under  ,hellenistic
 influences1 they took up the ,vision   
legend as a vehicle  of instruction4    
,many of these conceptions continued to 
subsist in all  subsequent versions of  
the legend1 even in its latest forms4   
,it is now  time to take stock of what  
we have gained1 and to note what        
features  of the ,vision of ,adamnn1    
though immediately derived by the       
author1 as  we shall see later on1 from 
the tradition current in the ,church    
from  the earliest days of              
,christianity1 or before it1 correspond 
to similar  conceptions which exist in  
the ,oriental tradition1 while they are 
not  represented in the classical       
tradition1 or1 if in some cases they    
may be found there1 it is in a form     
which presents fewer and fainter        
analogies to the later developments4    
,in the first place1 the earliest       
,chaldan legends already exhibit the    

rudiments of that sevenfold division of 
the ,heavens which was generally        
adopted by ,jewish and ,christian       
writers alike1 and ultimately received  
the sanction of the scholastic divines4 
,the science1 if it can be  so called1  
of numbers is one of the most fertile of
 the many fields  which a perverted     
ingenuity has devoted to the assiduous  
cultivation  of tares1 and hardly any   
number has been accredited with a       
greater  variety of significance than   
the number seven1 by reason1 doubtless1 
of the primitive astronomical theory of 
the seven planets4 ,dante1  indeed1     
raised the number of heavens to ten1 in 
accordance with the  astronomical system
 that had come to be adopted in his day1
 on the  authority of the ancient       
cosmologists1 introduced to the medival 
students through ,arab channels2 to the 
original seven planetary heavens  he    
added three others--the ,heaven of fixed
 stars1 the crystalline  ,heaven1 and   
the ,empyrean4 ,we may remark1 in       

passing1 that the ,samoan  cosmology    
agrees with ,dante in this tenfold      
division of the ,heavens4  ,in the      
,chaldan mythology this conception of a 
sevenfold division  occurs in germ only1
 but the ,seven ,magnificent            
,deities--the precursors  of the seven  
,amesha ,spentas1 and the seven         
,archangels of the ,hebrew and          
,christian divines--who preside over the
 several powers of nature1 lend         
themselves easily to the attribution of 
separate territories in the  celestial  
domain4 ,the beginning of this phase is 
apparent in the seven  portals1 each    
guarded by a porter1 through which      
,ishtr had to pass on  her way to the   
abode of the gods and of the dead1 even 
as the spirit  of ,adamnn had to pass   
through seven #8,heavens1' so-called1   
the door of  each being kept by an      
angelic warder2 while the symbolism     
embodied in  the gradual spoliation of  
,ishtr of her earthly raiment is        
analogous  to the gradual purgation of  

the soul from its earthly stains in the 
,christian legend4    ,the idea of a    
,tree of ,life growing in the spirit    
world is of wide  diffusion1 and appears
 at an early date in the mythologies of 
the  ,aryans1 ,semites1 and ,turanians  
alike1 and the ,hebrews in particular   
needed not to have recourse for it to   
the mythology of either the  ,chaldans  
or ,persians4 ,nevertheless several of  
the ,rabbinical legends1  as1 for       
instance1 that of the journey of ,seth  
to ,paradise in the  ,legend of the     
,death of ,adam1 deal with the subject1 
associating  with it the ,waters of     
,life1 in a manner less in agreement    
with the  ,scriptural account than with 
the ,chaldan myth1 which must have been 
made familiar to the ,jews during the   
captivity1 not merely by oral  and      
written tradition but through the medium
 of the pictorial art  which would meet 
their eyes on every side1 and in which  
this was a  favourite subject4 ,in      
,christian legend1 moreover1 the ,tree  

of ,life in  ,paradise is constantly    
introduced in connection with a mystical
 bird1  or birds1 as in ,adamnn's       
,vision4 ,the frequency of this         
association  may be explained in part by
 the great popularity in early          
,christian  symbolism of the ,phnix     
legend1 in connection with the palm-tree
 and  the ,tree of ,life2 nevertheless  
the birds of ,christian legend differ in
  several conspicuous respects from the 
traditional notion of the ,phnix1  and  
approach far more closely to the        
,karshipta1 the sacred bird of the      
,persians1 adopted by them from the old 
,indo-,aryan mythology4 ,this bird1  as 
we have seen1 perched upon the sacred   
tree in ,heaven1 and he brought  the    
,avesta to the ,var of ,yima and        
preached it there1 even as the birds  of
 ,adamnn and other ,christian writers   
sang the ,hours in ,paradise2  where1   
moreover1 they are constantly associated
 with the preaching  of the ,gospel by  
,enoch and ,elias1 who themselves       

exhibit some faint  analogies to ,yima4 
,the ,world ,sea at the foot of the     
,holy ,mountain in the ,avestan         
,paradise1  wherein all things defiled  
are cleansed and made new1 reminds us of
  that ,crystal ,sea which appears in   
the literature of the ,christian        
,church1 and1 in particular1 is         
introduced with such magnificent effect 
in the ,book of the ,revelation4#ga     
,the ,avestan eschatology already       
contains the idea1 unassociated with    
that doctrine of rebirth by which it is 
accompanied in the philosophies  of     
,india and ,hellas alike1 of a special  
temporary provision for the  souls of   
those mingled characters who are not yet
 fitted for an  eternity of either bliss
 or bale--an idea in accordance with the
  teaching of the later ,hebrew and the 
,christian divines1 including the       
author of the ,fis ,adamnin2 and as in  
their writings1 so in the  ,avesta1 is  
that provisional state made to last     
until the destruction  of the corrupt   

world and the final reign of the good   
principle4    ,the guardian angel which 
the ,jewish and ,christian divines agree
 in  assigning to each individual soul1 
resembles1 if it does not wholly        
coincide with1 the ,fravashi of the     
,persians1 which would seem to have     
been a kind of spiritual double of the  
man1 distinct1 apparently1 from  his own
 soul1 yet not so entirely separate from
 him as if it had been a  higher spirit 
intrusted with the charge of him4       
,thus the ,jewish writers of the        
centuries immediately preceding our era 
found ready to their hands a rich store 
of traditions relating to the  lot of   
man in the ,otherworld1 formed by the   
combination of ,oriental  dogmas with   
the classical tradition in the forms in 
which this was  preserved in the        
,hellenistic schools of ,asia4 ,before1 
however1 we  proceed to trace the manner
 in which these blended traditions      
entered  into subsequent versions of the
 legend1 it may not be superfluous to   

ask what1 if any1 contributions were    
made by the remaining great centre  of  
ancient religion and culture1 ,egypt4   
,to this question it is difficult to    
reply with certainty4 ,while one of  the
 great centres of the ,neo-,judaic      
learning was the ,school of ,babylon1   
set in the very focus of the ancient    
,oriental creeds1 minor centres  existed
 in every city of ,syria and ,asia      
,minor1 in each one of which  a thriving
 ,jewish colony applied itself eagerly  
to the absorption of  ,hellenistic ideas
 and culture2 but the centre1 par       
excellence1 of  ,jewish learning in the 
,west was the flourishing and cultured  
,jewish  community at ,alexandria4      
,however1 the intellectual life of this 
school  drew its nutriment from ,greece1
 and the whole tone and character of    
its speculative philosophy1 as of its   
literary culture1 so far as  it was not 
,hebraic1 was ,hellenistic1 not         
,egyptian1 and possibly more            
,hellenistic than ,hebraic4 ,at one time

 it was customary to refer the  mystical
 speculations of the philosophic        
schools1 ,pagan1 ,jewish1 and           
,christian alike1 of the centuries in   
question1 to the #8wisdom of the        
,egyptians1' and to regard ,alexandria  
as the mart1 so to speak1 where  ideas  
of ,egyptian growth were exchanged for  
others of kindred nature  imported from 
,greece and ,asia4 ,it has now long been
 recognised that  this theory is true to
 a very limited extent only1 and that   
,alexandria  was1 in the main1 a        
,grecian city1 and indebted to ,greece  
for the  origins of its learning and    
culture1 whatever new developments these
  assumed in the fertile soil to which  
they had been transplanted4  ,during the
 rule of the ,ptolemies1 and1           
afterwards1 of the ,romans1  the        
prevailing attitude of the ,greek       
colonists was not altogether  unlike    
that of the ,english in ,india2 they    
held themselves as a class  apart1 and  
intermixed but little with the native   

population1 for whose  religion and     
institutions they would seem to have    
often manifested  a contempt1 in which1 
doubtless1 ignorance had its share4 ,at 
the  same time1 we might err in the     
opposite direction by concluding that   
,egyptian ideas wholly failed to        
influence those who lived and wrote  in 
such close proximity to the chief       
centres of ,egyptian life4 ,even  in our
 own day1 the philosophy of the         
,upanishads1 and the teaching of  the   
,buddha1 in however distorted a form1   
have crossed the pale which  divides    
,east from ,west1 and the pale between  
,egypt and ,hellas was far  more        
pervious4 ,both nations professed a     
complex polytheism1 with so  great a    
resemblance between the two pantheons1  
that even before the  time of ,herodotus
 certain deities in the one had come to 
be regarded  as identical with their    
counterparts in the other2#gb the       
traditions  of the ,greeks claimed an   
,egyptian origin for several of the     

national  gods and heroes2 a belief that
 the ,hellenic religion was indebted for
  some of its more esoteric elements to 
the same source was expressed  by       
,plato1 and had been held by his        
successors1 and we have seen that  some 
of the most authoritative modern        
scholars accept this opinion  as well   
founded1 however much they may differ as
 to the amount of  the debt4 ,these     
circumstances would necessarily         
predispose the more  inquiring minds    
among the ,alexandrian ,greeks and      
,hellenised ,hebrews1 in  an age when   
speculation concerning the hidden things
 of life1 and of  the life after death1 
was a subject of paramount interest1 to 
examine  the theories which had been    
held on that subject by the nations1 the
  orgiastic and magical side of whose   
religions was offering just then  so    
powerful an attraction to the vulgar of 
the ,hellenic world4 ,nor  are we       
without direct evidence of contact      
between the two systems of  thought4    

,ptolemy ,i4 7abdicated #bhe ,b4,c471   
acting partly under the  inspiration of 
,timotheus1 an authority on the         
,eleusinian mysteries1  attempted to    
fuse the ,greek and ,egyptian cults into
 one eclectic  system4#gc ,the poet     
,callimachus1 who held the post of      
librarian  7c4 #bfj-bdj ,b4,c47 to      
,ptolemy ,philadelphus and his son      
,euergetes1  acquired for the           
,alexandrian library ,egyptian as well  
as ,greek and  ,hebrew books2 and his   
successor in office1 ,eratosthenes1 the 
astronomer  and geometrician1 was also  
addicted to ,egyptian studies4 ,indeed1 
the  ,plutarchian treatise #8,on ,isis  
and ,osiris' is one instance out of many
  of the interest felt by cultivated    
,greeks in ,egyptian beliefs1 which  had
 long taken their place as parts of the 
popular cult in many places  in ,greece 
and ,asia4#gd ,on the other hand1 the   
initiation of even a few  cultured      
,egyptians into ,hellenic learning would
 suffice to further an  interchange of  

ideas between the two races4    ,in any 
case1 the ,egyptian eschatology offers  
many points of resemblance  to certain  
of the later ,jewish beliefs1 and to    
,christian doctrine4  ,among these is a 
belief in the judgment to be passed on  
every soul  after death1 whereby the    
wicked were condemned to be devoured by 
the  #8,eater of the ,dead1' while the  
righteous were led through a series of  
perilous adventures to a region of      
perpetual happiness1 where1 in a  place 
surrounded by a wall of steel1 they led 
an existence which is the  reproduction 
of a happy life on earth1 conceived in  
the usual terms of  a pagan ,elysium1   
with a due allowance of even the grosser
 pleasures4#ge    ,this resemblance     
extends to several points of detail4    
,among the trials  through which the    
soul must pass are enumerated rivers and
 atmospheres  of fire1 and the assaults 
of demons and monsters2 it is even      
affirmed1  in agreement with the        
teaching of certain ,jewish ,rabbis1 and

 of the  early ,christian divines1 that 
all departed souls1 good and bad alike1 
must undergo these trials1 but the good 
passed through them speedily1  and      
without pain4 ,this1 we have seen1 is   
the teaching of the ,fis  ,adamnin1 and 
occurs1 as we shall see1 in other of the
 ,christian  ,visions4    ,indeed1 the  
,rabbinical schools developed the       
,purgatorial theory to a  considerable  
extent4 ,thus1 we find mention of seven 
lodges of ,hell1 one  below another1    
through which the soul had to pass      
successively1 being  tormented on its   
way by fire1 scourging1 showers of hail1
 exposure to  alternate heat and cold1  
etc41 until all its guilt was purged    
away4  ,this process finds its exact    
counterpart in the ,fis ,adamnin1 save  
that the ,rabbis called the seven stages
 or lodges ,hells1 instead of  ,heavens1
 with at least equal propriety4 ,the    
fundamental conception1 and  also the   
nature of the sufferings endured by the 
dead in the course of  their purgation1 

are capable of being referred either to 
an ,egyptian  or a ,hellenic origin1    
though probably the latter assumption   
would be  correct2 the seven successive 
lodges are evidently the amplification  
of  a ,rabbinical tradition borrowed    
from the ,chaldan mythology4    ,as to  
the ultimate fate of the wicked1        
opinions were divided2 some  of the     
,rabbis taught the final redemption of  
all1 after undergoing  the necessary    
,purgatorial discipline2 the school of  
,shammai held that  at the ,judgment    
mankind would be divided into three     
categories--the  good1 the bad1 and     
those of mixed character1 and that the  
last would  be cleansed by ,purgatorial 
sufferings4#gf ,the germs of this       
threefold  division are contained both  
in the ,avestan and the ,platonic       
doctrines4  ,the ,kabbalists even had an
 inkling of the ,treasury of ,merits of 
the  ,saints1 to whom they accorded the 
privilege of covering with their        
garments1 and bringing up to ,heaven    

with themselves1 those sinners who  had 
repented before death1 but too late to  
make expiation4 ,here1 too1  we have a  
conception which recurs in the ,fis     
,adamnin and elsewhere1  namely1 the    
special provision for tardy penitents1  
though in the  ,christian ,visions the  
mode of their redemption is different4  
,it is thus difficult to assign with    
certainty to the ,egyptian religion  any
 specific article of the eschatology of 
the later ,jewish and  early ,christian 
writers2 nevertheless1 it does not      
follow that their  contact with that    
religion was without effect in          
determining the shape  which their      
eschatology actually assumed4 ,it must  
be remembered that  speculations of the 
kind which characterised the ,orphic1   
,platonic1  ,pythagorean1 and           
,neo-,platonic schools were not the only
 forms in which  ,greek thought entered 
into the intellectual evolution of that 
age4 ,in  the prevailing welter of      
,eastern creeds and ,western            

philosophies1 all  the principal        
philosophic schools of ,greece were     
represented1 and1 in  particular1 the   
,stoics and ,epicureans exercised an    
influence both wide  and deep4#gg ,if1  
then1 the class of ideas to which it is 
convenient to  give the general name1   
,neo-,platonic1 obtained so complete an 
ascendency  in the evolution of ,judaic 
and ,christian eschatology1 the         
presumption  is that this result was    
largely owing to the affinity of        
,neo-,platonism  with the ,oriental     
creeds with whose doctrines and         
mythology ,neo-,judaic  speculation was 
so deeply imbued2 and if1 moreover1 this
 speculation  differed from             
,neo-,platonism in certain fundamental  
points wherein it  agreed with the      
,oriental doctrines1 the presumption is 
no less strong  that it owed its        
original trend in this direction to the 
forces by  which it was moulded in      
pre-,hellenistic times1 and that such   
trend  would be confirmed by subsequent 

contact with any school of thought  in  
which similar views were prevalent4#gh  
,the most important point  wherein the  
eschatology of the orthodox ,rabbinical 
schools differed  from that of the      
,greek mythical philosophies was the    
rejection by the  former of the doctrine
 of rebirth1 which predominated1 though 
not to  the absolute exclusion of the   
doctrine of finality1 in the teaching of
  the mystical schools from the seventh 
century ,b4,c4 at latest4    ,in this   
respect1 as we have seen1 the philosophy
 no less than the  religion of the ,jews
 was mainly in accord with the views    
held by  the ,chaldans1 both ,accadian  
and ,semitic1 and taught by the ,avesta4
  ,in this view they would be further   
confirmed if1 in the ,alexandrian       
period1 they fell under the influence of
 the native ,egyptian religion1  as     
distinguished from the later syncretism 
wherein that religion had  become       
blended with allegories and orgiastic   
rites pertaining to  ,asiatic myths and 

,greek theosophy4 ,egypt1 indeed1 was   
formerly regarded  as the very home of  
the doctrine of rebirth2 it would       
appear1 however1  that the doctrine of  
the ancient ,egyptian religion was of a 
directly  contrary import4 ,the idea of 
transformation1 indeed1 was familiar to 
it1 but this is a different thing from  
transmigration1 and ,mr4 ,le ,page      
,renouf states most emphatically that   
although the beatified spirit  received 
powers which enabled him to visit any   
part of the universe in  any form1 the  
sentence pronounced at the judgment was 
final1 and the  soul was neither purged 
nor punished by a renewed life on       
earth4#gi  ,this contradiction between  
the doctrine of rebirth which prevailed 
in  the ,greek mysteries1 and the       
,egyptian dogma of the eternity of man's
  lot after judgment1 lends support to  
the contention1 referred to in the      
previous section1 that the ethical and  
eschatological sides of ,greek  religion
 were in great part of native           

development1 however much the  mystical 
schools may have been indebted to       
foreign influences in their  origin4    
,having thus got rid of a discussion    
which1 however tedious1 appeared        
necessary in order to make us understand
 whence and of what kind  were the      
non-,hellenic and non-,scriptural       
elements which entered into  subsequent 
developments of the ,vision ,legend1 we 
now come to the  concrete forms which   
that legend assumed in the ,jewish and  
the early  ,christian ,churches4 ,in    
tracing the progress of the legend in   
these two  ,churches1 it seems          
convenient to deal with the whole       
subject together  in the following      
section1 for not only do the principal  
,jewish examples  which have reached us 
contain additions made to them in       
,christian  times1 but the versions     
belonging respectively to the two eras  
are  practically homogeneous1 alike in  
their fundamental doctrines1 and1 for   
the most part1 in their method of       

treatment4          #c4 ,,the           
,,ecclesiastical ,,tradition      ,a    
,vision of the ,otherworld was a        
favourite subject with the writers of   
the apocryphal books of the ,jews4 ,in  
the oldest of these1 the so-called      
,book of ,enoch1 which is also the      
oldest non-pagan book of this class     
that has come down to us1 the subject is
 treated at greater length and  with    
more elaborate detail than in any other 
contribution to the ,vision  legend     
prior to the ,commedia4 ,the last       
quarter of the second century  ,b4,c4   
has been assigned as the most probable  
date of the greater part  of it1 though 
in its present form it evidently        
contains post-,christian  additions4    
,quoted in the ,epistle of ,st4 ,jude   
7vv4 #ad-ae71 and known  to the early   
,christians1 it was long believed to    
have disappeared  at a subsequent date1 
and was only recovered in recent times  
in an  ,ethiopian version1 from which it
 has been repeatedly translated with    

commentaries4#hj    ,it relates1 with   
copious detail1 how the seer was caught 
up by a  vehement wind and upraised to  
,heaven1 where he was taken in charge   
by the ,archangel ,michael1 who revealed
 to him ,hell and ,paradise1 the        
mysteries of nature and of revelation1  
and the life to come4 ,in the  general  
scope of his work the author anticipates
 ,dante in several  particulars which   
are not common to the ,vision writers in
 general4 ,he  pays much attention to   
topographical detail in his descriptions
 of  ,hell1 for which he takes the      
,valley of ,hinnom1 near ,jerusalem1 as 
his  model2 but although the accuracy of
 his description has been attested  by  
several travellers who have surveyed the
 valley1 he is far from  manifesting the
 precision and visualising power of the 
,florentine4 ,like  ,dante1 moreover1 he
 discusses various points of theology1  
and delivers  long dissertations upon   
natural philosophy and the physical     
scheme of  the universe4 ,here1 too1 he 

is vague and indistinct1 as also in his 
description of the future state of the  
lost1 wherein he displays none  of      
,dante's symmetry and orderly           
arrangement4 ,we may note several points
  of detail wherein the ,vision of      
,enoch resembles the ,fis ,adamnin or   
other of the ,christian ,visions4 ,the  
,archangel ,michael already appears  as 
the guide to the other world 7c4 #ga72  
the infernal regions are swept  by      
whirlwinds and traversed by rivers of   
fire1 in one of which the  fallen       
spirits are immersed until the carnal   
lusts of all such as are  capable of    
redemption are burnt away 7c4 #fg71     
though there is also a  place wherein   
the wicked are bound and punished       
eternally 7c4 #bb74  ,heaven is         
described as a city of crystal          
surrounded by a crystal wall1  a river  
of vibrating fire flowing round about it
 7c4 #ac74    ,upon entering in1 ,enoch 
came to a spacious mansion1 built of    
crystal  and with a crystal floor1      

surrounded by a flame as hot as fire and
 as  cold as ice4#ha ,after this1 he    
came to another mansion1 resembling  the
 first1 but surpassing it in all        
respects4 ,rivers of fire issued  from  
out of it2 in the midst of it a throne  
was set1 whereon ,one sat  in glory1    
clad in a robe brighter than the sun1   
and whiter than the  snow 7c4 #ad74     
,further1 ,enoch was instructed at      
length by his guide as  to the          
significance of many parts of the ,old  
,testament record1 and  was taken to    
view the several heavens1 the heavenly  
bodies1 and the  universe in general1   
the nature and motions of which were    
explained to  him by the ,archangel4 ,he
 was conducted to ,sheol1 the temporary 
abode of  departed souls until          
,judgment1 which is situated in the     
,west 7c4 #ag71  and was shown a        
mountain which was reserved for the life
 that shall be  after ,god's coming4    
,hereon stood the ,tree of ,life1 which 
was to afford  sustenance to the        

righteous of its fruit and fragrance    
7cc4 #bd-e74 ,in a  second vision1 the  
last things and other divine mysteries  
were revealed  to him by means of       
parables4 ,in his ,vision of ,judgment  
he beheld1  first1 the spirits of the   
guilty stars condemned2 after them1 the 
unfaithful shepherds that misled the    
sheep1 and then the wicked sheep        
themselves2 after which he beheld a     
mansion greater than the former1        
supported on ivory pillars1 wherein were
 assembled the sheep that were  saved   
7c4 #hi74    ,here we find the ,vision  
legend brought to a high stage of       
development1  and containing many       
features which recur throughout the     
whole course of  the ,vision literature4
 ,in several of these traces of an      
,oriental origin  are apparent4 ,similar
 creations of the ,rabbinical           
imagination occur  in various writings  
belonging to the earlier centuries of   
our era1  which1 though composed in     
,christian times1 and in some cases     

claiming  a place among the sacred books
 of the ,christian ,church1 embody      
,jewish  traditions4 ,of such was the   
tradition current in those centuries1   
and  quoted in the apocryphal ,gospel of
 ,nicodemus 7,part ,,ii4 c4 #ai71       
relating  how ,adam1 when at the point  
of death1 despatched ,seth to the gate  
of  ,paradise in quest of the oil of the
 ,tree of ,life1 or #8,tree of ,mercy1' 
wherein1 as before noted1 we have a     
variant of ,ishtr's visit to ,hades  in 
quest of the ,waters of ,life4    ,the  
,fourth ,book of ,esdras1 as it is      
numbered in the ,vulgate1 the  ,second  
in the ,authorised ,version1 though     
included in the ,biblical ,old          
,testament ,apocrypha1 was nevertheless 
composed in ,christian times and  to    
some extent under ,christian influences1
 being written probably in  the third   
quarter of the first century ,a4,d41    
though by some it is dated  so late as  
the first quarter of the third century4 
,the ,vision of ,esdras  therein        

contained is apocalyptic in character1  
being a prophecy of  the end of the     
world1 the speedy coming of which was   
generally looked  for4 ,it is therefore 
not properly an instance of our legend1 
but it  calls for mention in this place1
 as it contains certain conceptions     
derived through ,hebrew tradition from  
,chaldan or ,persian sources1 and       
transmitted to the eschatological       
literature of the ,christian ,church4   
,the angel ,uriel#hb showed to ,esdras a
 great multitude assembled  on ,mount   
,sion1 and told him that these were     
#8they that have put off  the mortal    
clothing and have put on the immortal1  
and have confessed  the name of ,god2   
now are they crowned1 and receive       
palms4' ,several  earlier passages      
furnish good examples of ,persian or    
,babylonian myths  converted1 so to     
speak1 and since adopted into the       
conventional imagery  of ,christian     
eschatology4 #8,they shall have the     
,tree of ,life for an  ointment of sweet

 savour'2 #8,i have sanctified and      
prepared for them  twelve trees laden   
with divers fruits1 and as many         
fountains flowing  with milk and honey1 
and seven mighty mountains whereon there
 grow  roses and lilies4'#hc    ,the    
name of ,esdras is also attached to one 
of the apocryphal books  of the early   
,christian ,church1 the ,vision of      
,esdras1 which relates  how ,esdras was 
led by ,michael1 ,gabriel1 and          
thirty-four other angels  through the   
realms of darkness1 wherein the         
punishments meted out to  the wicked are
 revealed to him1 and then to ,paradise1
 where he sees  ,enoch and ,elias1      
,peter1 ,paul1 ,moses1 the ,evangelists 
and ,patriarchs1  and all the righteous1
 assembled beneath the ,tree of ,life4  
,another vision of ,christian           
composition1 but likewise fathered upon 
an ,old ,testament prophet1 is the      
,vision of ,isaiah1 the second part  of 
which1 written in the third century     
,a4,d41 relates a visit of that  prophet

 to the seven ,heavens4    ,however1 at 
an earlier date than that of the works  
just named1 the  subject had already    
formed the theme of writings professedly
 ,christian  in aim and origin4 ,the    
spread of ,christianity1 which1 of its  
very  nature1 kept men's thoughts bent  
upon the contemplation of the future    
life1 was naturally attended by an      
increased production of works           
descriptive of the other world and of   
man's lot therein4 ,no very great       
contributions to the subject are made by
 the ,canonical ,scriptures1  which     
vouchsafe us but little direct          
information concerning the future  life4
 ,st4 ,paul1 indeed1 relates how he was 
caught up to the third  ,heaven1 and    
there #8heard unspeakable words1 which  
it is not lawful  for a man to          
utter'2#hd but no intimation concerning 
his experiences  there are given us1 and
 although the passage quoted doubtless  
accounted  for his subsequent inclusion 
among those to whom the next world had  

been revealed1 all details of his vision
 are due to the legendary  narratives   
referred to hereafter4 ,st4 ,jude 7,ep4 
v4 #f7 refers to the  rebellious angels 
who are kept #8in everlasting chains    
under darkness  unto the judgment of the
 great day'2 and ,st4 ,peter 7,,ii4 iii4
 #g-ab71  speaks of a general           
purification by fire1 but neither       
reveals anything  concerning the state  
of man in the life to come4 ,even the   
,revelation of  ,st4 ,john1 while       
standing far above the level of all     
other apocalyptic  writings1 as in other
 respects1 so in the grandeur of        
conception and  beauty of execution     
wherewith the author describes the      
celestial  kingdom1 would appear to have
 made but slight impression1 save by an 
added richness of imagery1 upon the     
subsequent course of the ,vision        
legend4 ,this1 possibly1 may be because 
the author treats his subject  from the 
millennary point of view1 taking for his
 theme rather the  tribulations which   

were coming upon the world1 and the     
establishment of  a new heaven and a new
 earth in place of the old1 than the    
condition  of individual souls after    
death1 or the places of their eternal   
abode4  ,at the same time1 he makes use 
of some of that ,oriental imagery which 
had already obtained a place in the     
,hebrew writings1 canonical and         
apocryphal alike1 and thereby           
contributed to its naturalisation in the
  eschatological writings of the        
,church4#he    ,the earlier centuries of
 our era were for the ,grco-,roman world
 a  period not merely of a general      
feeling of unrest1 consequent upon the  
collapse of the older religions1 and the
 social changes resulting  from a long  
series of revolutions1 but also of      
vigorous attempts at  reconstruction1 in
 which both the ends aimed at1 and the  
methods  adopted for their              
attainment--preaching1 teaching1        
asceticism1  mystic symbolism1          
etc4--were closely akin to those of the 

,christian  propaganda2 indeed1 it was  
no uncommon thing for a seeker in       
religion1  drifting about from one sect 
or cult to another1 to take             
,christianity  in his way1 thus keeping 
open an additional channel by which     
,pagan and  ,christian ideas were       
brought to bear upon one another4       
,throughout all  these ages speculations
 were rife1 for which was claimed the   
authority  of ,orpheus1 ,pythagoras1    
,empedocles1 ,heraclitus1 or some other 
of the  ancient mystics or philosophers1
 and all of these1 conjoined with  the  
similar beliefs held by the later       
,stoics in many varying forms1  tended  
to foster the ,church's expectation of  
the approaching end of the  world4 ,this
 theory derived further support from the
 great authority  ascribed to the       
so-called ,sibylline books1 a long      
series of forgeries  extending1         
probably1 from the end of the second    
century ,b4,c4 to the  fourth century of
 our era1 if not later1 containing a    

chaotic mass of  prophecies and oracles1
 to which ,judaism1 ,christianity1 and  
,hellenic  mysticism had all added their
 quota1 and in which the proximate      
destruction of the world by fire1 and   
the renewal of things1 is a  constantly 
recurring idea4    ,another of the many 
causes which kept men's minds directed  
towards the  ,otherworld was the legend1
 current in the ,church from the        
earliest  times1 and surviving far into 
the ,middle ,ages1#hf of the            
#8,harrowing  of ,hell' by ,our ,lord in
 the interval between the ,burial and   
the  ,resurrection4 ,one of the earliest
 versions of this legend occurs in      
,part ,,ii4 of the so-called ,gospel of 
,nicodemus1 ,greek text1 which  relates 
how ,he #8raised many of the dead1 who  
appeared unto many in  ,jerusalem1' and 
then described ,christ's descent into   
,hades1 which  had been preceded by a   
visit of ,st4 ,john ,baptist1 who came  
to the  ,old ,testament prophets1 among 
whom ,enoch and ,elijah are especially  

mentioned1 and expounded to them the    
,christian ,revelation4    ,from the    
contemplation of the end of the world to
 speculation  concerning the world to   
come1 and the state of the departed     
spirits  there1 was but a step4         
,accordingly1 as is but natural1 many of
 the  teeming crop of apocryphal        
,gospels1 ,acts1 and ,revelations which 
sprang  up during the earlier ages of   
the ,church are composed with a         
distinctly  eschatological purpose4     
,midway between these apocryphal        
writings and the canonical books of  the
 ,new ,testament stands the ,shepherd of
 ,hermas1 which is commonly  placed     
among the writings of the ,apostolic    
,fathers1 and was formerly  ascribed to 
that ,hermas to whom ,st4 ,paul sends   
greeting in his ,epistle  to the ,romans
 7xvi4 #ad71 but is now regarded as a   
production of the  latter part of the   
second century1 being the work1         
possibly1 of ,hermas1  brother of ,pius1
 who occupied the see of ,rome from #adj

 to #aee ,a4,d4#hg  ,from an early date 
this work enjoyed a high repute in the  
,eastern  ,church1 being admitted by    
some writers1 including the author of   
the  ,canon of ,muratori1 to a place    
among the canonical books4 ,whether we  
regard its general plan1 or the         
machinery by which it is carried out1   
it occupies a place by itself among the 
,christian ,visions of the  ,otherworld1
 and is peculiarly interesting to the   
,dante student as  affording a          
remarkably early instance1 possibly an  
unique instance in  ecclesiastical      
literature1 of that idea1 perceived by  
,plato1 and lying  at the root of the   
,commedia--to wit1 the elevation of the 
human  spirit1 through the highest form 
of human love1 to the perception of     
,divine truth4    ,in the opening of his
 narrative1 ,hermas tells how he had    
been  acquainted1 in his earliest life1 
with a young slave girl1 the property   
of one by whom he himself had been      
brought up4 ,subsequently1 this girl    

was sold by her master in ,rome1 but    
,hermas met her again in after-life1    
and conceived for her a fraternal       
affection1 which ultimately1 as one  day
 he saw her bathing in the ,tiber1      
ripened into love1 and he desired  her  
for his wife1 #8both for her beauty and 
for her disposition4' ,some  time after1
 as he was walking in a lonely place1   
#8musing on these  thoughts1 he began to
 honour this creature of ,god1 thinking 
with  himself how noble and beautiful   
she was4'#hh ,while musing thus1 he  was
 caught up by the spirit1 and borne     
beyond a rocky place impassable  to man4
 ,falling upon his knees he began to    
confess his sins1 when he  saw the      
heavens open1 and the object of his     
desire appear therein and  greet him4   
,in reply to his questioning1 she       
explained that she had been  brought    
thither that she might accuse him before
 the ,lord on account  of the thoughts  
he had entertained concerning her1      
though these would  scarcely appear to  

have been such as to merit the          
reproaches she  bestowed on ,hermas by  
reason of them4 ,so ,hermas thought1 and
 maybe  the damsel thought so too1 for  
after hearing his reply she smiled  upon
 him as she vanished4 ,thereupon the    
heavens closed1 but1 after a  while1    
,hermas saw before him a chair of       
whitest wool1 in which an old  woman    
took her seat1 having a book in her     
hand4 ,she accosted ,hermas1  and       
imparted to him certain moral           
admonitions1 but these were mostly      
confined in their application to himself
 and to the government of his  family4  
,other visions were subsequently        
vouchsafed to ,hermas1 making four in   
all2 the third of these contained a     
revelation of the building up  of the   
,church ,triumphant1 and the fourth     
announced the tribulations  which were  
to come upon the ,church1 and the final 
salvation of those  who should endure   
unto the end4 ,the second part of the   
work consists  of #8,commands1'#hi and  

the third of #8,similitudes1' all       
imparted to  ,hermas by ,divine         
revelation4 ,certain of the similitudes 
contain visions  wherein ,hermas was    
shown the corrective punishment of      
sinners1 the  edification of the ,church
 ,triumphant1 and the various classes   
into  which the guilty and the righteous
 are divided1 together with the  diverse
 manner in which these fare             
respectively4 ,all this1 however1 is    
intended rather for an allegory of the  
soul's progress through this  world1    
than for a picture of its state in the  
world to come2 in fine1  the vision is  
more closely akin to the ,pilgrim's     
,progress than to  the ,commedia1 though
 it deserves a place in our series1     
alike as  containing a curious          
anticipation of the most highly         
developed form  to which the legend     
afterwards attained1 and as connecting  
the legend  with the familiar notion of 
the later ,jewish and the early         
,christian  ,churches1 that when the    

other oracles of paganism were silenced1
 the  ,sibyls were left to proclaim the 
advent of the ,messiah1 and the trials  
and triumph of ,his ,church4 ,for it is 
impossible not to recognise in  the old 
woman with a book in her hand1 in the   
first vision of ,hermas1  the traits of 
an ancient ,sibyl2 and for such1 indeed1
 ,hermas took  her1 until she told him  
that she was a personification of the   
,church4  ,the simple affection1 not    
wanting in elevation1 which the hero of 
the  opening story felt for the         
heroine--one at least being of the      
servile  class--is interesting as       
affording a glimpse of that kindly      
social  life of which there are many    
evidences during the first centuries of 
the ,empire1 in all grades of society1  
from the aristocratic circles of  ,pliny
 and ,thrasea down to the slave         
community itself1 however much  it is   
apt to be thrown into the background by 
the tyranny and crime1  vulgar          
ostentation and base lusts1 that        

occupied the front of the scene  during 
that period4    ,several of the         
apocryphal books show a great advance in
 the theory  of retributive justice in  
the future life4 ,the so-called         
,apocalypse  of ,st4 ,peter is known to 
have existed in ,syria and ,egypt before
 the  middle of the second century1 and 
to have been admitted by several of  the
 ,fathers into the ,canon1 side by side 
with the ,book of ,revelation4          
,paradise is here described in much the 
same manner as the ,greek  ,elysium--as 
a radiant place1 full of flowers1 fruit1
 and sweet odours1  etc4 ,the pains of  
,hell are set out with a more than      
common minuteness1  and with a greater  
attention to a kind of lex talionis1 so 
to speak1  whereby the nature of the    
punishment is analogous to that of the  
crime1  than is found in most of the    
,christian descriptions prior to ,dante4
  ,hell is represented as a place full  
of lakes of fire and burning mud1  over 
which those who had blasphemed #8the way

 of righteousness' are  suspended by    
their tongues1 and adulterers by the    
hair1 while in them  wallow the         
perverters of righteousness4            
,blasphemers gnawed their lips1  and had
 red-hot iron over their eyes2 false    
witnesses had tongues of  fire in their 
mouths1 which they kept on chewing2 rich
 misers1 in  filthy rags1 rolled upon   
red-hot pebbles1 sharper than sword or  
spit2  usurers stood up to their knees  
in pitch1 blood1 and boiling mire2      
those guilty of unnatural crimes were   
hurled from a cliff and driven up       
again1 to be again cast down4    ,a     
similar vision of the ,otherworld1      
though differing in plan and in  many   
details1 is contained in the ,revelation
 of ,st4 ,paul1 written  about the year 
#chj ,a4,d4 ,apparently the author of   
the ,fis ,adamnin had  this work in his 
mind when referring in ch4 #b to the    
,revelation that  had been vouchsafed to
 ,st4 ,paul1 for the ,apostle's own     
mention of his  ,vision of the ,third   

,heaven contains no description of the  
,otherworld4  ,moreover1 it is          
impossible not to be struck by the      
resemblance between  the ,irish author's
 description of the manner in which the 
souls were  received upon their arrival 
at the seventh ,heaven 7ch4 #ai71 and   
the  corresponding account in the       
,apocalypse of ,st4 ,paul3 #8,and the   
good  angels who had received the soul  
of the righteous man saluted it1 as     
being well known to them1' etc4#ij ,and 
so of the judgments passed upon  the    
sinners in like manner4 ,there are also 
several details given by the  apocryphal
 writer concerning the pains of ,hell1  
which are repeated in  a closely similar
 form in the ,fis ,adamnin3 e4g4 the    
immersion of  some of the wicked in a   
murky river1 the imprisonment of others 
in a  brazen wall wrapt in flames1 etc4 
,the theme was treated1 with more or    
less fulness1 by several writers  of the
 ,eastern ,church1 but our task does not
 involve the enumeration  of all the    

forms in which it appeared1 and the     
versions already  quoted would seem to  
be those which treated it most          
elaborately1 and  exercised the greatest
 influence upon later developments4     
,indeed the  two ,visions last          
mentioned1 being specially referred to  
by the author  of the ,fis ,adamnin     
among the instances of revelations      
formerly  vouchsafed to holy men1 may be
 regarded as landmarks showing the      
course  of the tradition4 ,for the same 
reason1 some mention should be made     
here of another of those instances1     
alluded to by the author in the  same   
place1 though it really belongs rather  
to the apocalyptic than  to the         
,otherworld class of writings1 namely1  
the group of apocryphal  books dealing  
with what is known as the ,transitus    
,mari4 ,the oldest  of these1 the       
,falling ,asleep of ,mary1 by ,john1    
,archbishop of  ,thessalonica at the end
 of the seventh century1 was formerly   
ascribed  to ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist1

 and ,tischendorf thinks that it was    
really  derived from a treatise bearing 
the name of ,st4 ,john1 and written  in 
the fourth century at latest1 which     
enjoyed a wide popularity in  both ,east
 and ,west1 and was translated into     
several languages4 ,the  several        
versions differ much in matters of      
detail1 but the substance is            
practically the same4#ia    ,it relates 
how it was the ,virgin's practice to    
frequent the ,holy  ,sepulchre1 there to
 pray alone1 until at length it was     
announced to  her in a vision that the  
time of her earthly life was            
accomplished4  ,thereupon the apostles  
were all caught up from the most remote 
parts of  the earth1 where they then    
were1 even those who were dead being    
raised  from their graves and brought to
 ,bethlehem1 whence they proceeded to   
the ,virgin's house in ,jerusalem in    
time to be present at her death1 and  to
 receive her benediction4 ,they laid her
 in a new tomb in ,gethsemane1  and     

witnessed her assumption1 at which time 
the ,heavenly ,host appeared  to them1  
and the ,holy ,spirit prophesied to them
 concerning the last  things4    ,in the
 descriptions of the ,otherworld        
contained in the foregoing  visions1 the
 imagery employed evinces a blending of 
,hebraic traditions  with materials     
obtained from ,hellenic sources4 ,the   
elements  attributable to the latter    
source pertain rather to the popular    
faith  and to the doctrines taught in   
the ancient mysteries--which1 most      
likely1 were fundamentally              
identical--than to the speculations of  
the  ,neo-,platonic schools1 or to the  
cults which had been adopted from the   
,east4 ,this1 indeed1 is what might have
 been looked for1 from the fact  that   
,christianity received its earliest and 
most numerous recruits  from the people 
at large1#ib among whom the old beliefs 
continued to  exist4 ,the moral teaching
 which1 as mentioned in an earlier      
section1  was an important feature of   

the ,eleusinian mysteries1 retained its 
importance long after ,greece had ceased
 to be the centre of ,hellenic  thought 
throughout the countries which had come 
under the sway of  ,hellenic            
civilisation4 ,in the last century of   
the ,roman ,republic ,cicero  lauds the 
mysteries1 which1 by their refining     
influences1 had civilised  minds        
previously rustical and savage1 had     
imparted the true principles  of life1  
and had taught the way1 not only to live
 with joy1 but to die  with better      
hope4#ic ,in the first century of the   
,empire1 ,plutarch  reminds his wife of 
the instruction they had shared at their
 initiation  into the mysteries4#id     
,indeed1 at that period1 it would seem  
to have  been looked upon as an impiety 
to withhold oneself from initiation1    
that might even be visited with a       
criminal prosecution4 ,the experiences  
of ,demonax1 as related by ,lucian1     
furnish a case in point4    ,equally    
great1 at least1 was the vitality       

retained by the popular  belief in the  
,stygian river1 and the pains of        
,tartarus that awaited  the wicked4     
,there is evidence to show that in the  
classical and  post-classical ages of   
,greece it was accepted as an article of
 the  national creed4 ,its persistence  
at a later date is attested by the      
vehemence of the onslaught which        
,lucretius made upon it1 for1 with due  
allowance for exaggeration1 he could    
scarcely regard it as an incubus1  an   
ever-present terror1 weighing down and  
darkening men's lives1 an  ,upas-tree   
which it was philosophy's noblest work  
to uproot1 unless it  had met with very 
general and very convinced acceptance in
 his day4  ,seneca1 indeed1 states that 
in his time the belief was rejected even
  by children1 and herein he is         
corroborated by other writers2 we must  
conclude1 however1 that the children in 
question were exceptionally             
enlightened--the ,roman prototypes of   
,macaulay's schoolboy--for in the  same 

century ,plutarch1 and in the following 
century ,lucian1 attests the  vigorous  
survival of the old doctrine4#ie    ,on 
the whole we may say that in the        
descriptions of ,paradise1 with the     
,tree of ,life1 the companies of ,old   
,testament worthies1 etc41 ,hebrew      
ideas generally predominated1 while the 
,greek ,tartarus furnished most  of the 
ideas of the ,christian ,hell4 ,these   
ideas1 however1 did not  include the    
doctrine of rebirth1 which was so       
prominent a feature in  the ,greek      
mystic cults4 ,indeed1 the literature of
 the ,vision of the  ,otherworld appears
 to have belonged1 in the main1 to the  
orthodox  portion of the ,church1       
avoiding1 on the one hand1 everything   
pertaining  to the popular cults of     
,isis1 ,serapis1 ,mithra1 the ,magna    
,mater1 and  other fashionable ,oriental
 deities1 and1 on the other hand1 taking
  from ,hellenic beliefs only such as   
were in harmony with the general        
character of the ,christian faith1      

little attracted by the ,neo-,platonic  
theories of emanations1 ons1 and the    
like1 which did so much to mould  the   
,gnostic and other heresies4    ,it     
would seem that the ,vision of the      
,otherworld never acquired the  same    
importance in the ,western ,church as in
 the ,east2 nevertheless1  several of   
the ,western fathers report similar     
cases1 many of which1  it is probable1  
already existed in popular tradition4   
,one of these1  related by ,st4         
,augustine1 tells how a certain ,curina1
 a native of  ,hippo1 died1 but1 as the 
condition of his body suggested that he 
was  merely in a trance1 his friends    
delayed the burial for some days4 ,at   
length1 however1 the funeral was about  
to take place1 when the corpse  returned
 to life1 and told his friends that he  
had really died1 but1 as  he was being  
brought up for judgment1 it was         
discovered that the ,angel  of ,death   
had mistaken him for another ,curina1 a 
blacksmith1 who dwelt  in the same      

neighbourhood4 ,accordingly1 after being
 favoured with a  vision of ,paradise1  
our ,curina was dismissed with a caution
 to mend his  ways1 and present himself 
to ,st4 ,augustine for baptism1 both of 
which  commands he obeyed4    ,the      
correspondence of ,st4 ,gregory the     
,great contains several instances  of a 
similar kind4 ,one of these preserves   
the experiences of a man of             
,constantinople1 ,stephen by name1 which
 were much the same as those  of        
,curina1 he having received the fatal   
summons in place of another  ,stephen1  
who too was a blacksmith4 ,stephen1 like
 ,curina1 was restored  to the body1    
after receiving a vision1 in his case1  
of ,hell4    ,a fundamental difference  
is apparent between the ,visions just   
recorded1 and those composed in the     
,eastern ,church1 these constituting  a 
specific form of composition of which   
the primary object was to  present a    
picture of the next world1 while the    
,western fathers  would appear merely to

 have introduced1 by way of apologue1 a 
current religious folk-tale4 ,if a      
folk-tale1 it was probably widely       
diffused1 for both the above stories are
 evidently versions of one              
original--the scene of the first being  
placed at ,hippo1 of the second  at     
,constantinople4 ,both have much in     
common with ,plutarch's story of        
,thespesios1 and nothing is more        
probable than that all were variants  of
 a folk-tale current in antiquity--long 
before ,plato1 as likely as  not1 for he
 too introduces the story of ,er as a   
floating tradition--and  receiving at   
the hands of ,plutarch and the          
,christian fathers  embellishments      
proper to their respective creeds4      
,moreover1 in both  stories the persons 
who ought to have died were blacksmiths1
 members of  a trade which1 by an       
obvious association of ideas1 has always
 appeared  in popular mythology in a    
somewhat sinister light4 ,the blunder of
 the  ,angel of ,death in bringing the  

wrong person up for judgment1 is one  of
 the motives which frequently recur in  
the innumerable comic tales  of ,hell   
and ,judgment which enjoyed much favour 
in the ,middle ,ages1  and some of which
 are enshrined in the ,ingoldsby        
,legends for the  delectation of        
late-born men4    ,elsewhere1 however1  
in another of his epistles1 ,st4        
,gregory records  a vision which        
conforms more closely to the literary   
type4 ,a certain  soldier fell into a   
trance1 and saw a bridge spanning a     
foul1 smoky1  stinking river1 beyond    
which fair meadows lay1 fresh and       
flowery1  and goodly companies of folk  
walking therein clad in white apparel4  
,over the bridge a procession of the    
dead were passing1 of whom the          
righteous crossed successfully1 and     
joined the companies that were  already 
in the prata beata that lay beyond2 the 
wicked fell into  the river4 ,then the  
soldier recognised the aforesaid        
,stephen1 who had  since died finally1  

and was now endeavouring to cross the   
bridge2 his  foot slipped1 and as he was
 hanging over the edge1 certain grisly  
forms seized upon him1 and endeavoured  
to drag him down1 while white  and      
radiant beings strove to bear him up4   
,the issue is left undecided4  ,the     
explanation of this incident was that   
,stephen had been liberal  in           
almsgiving1 but was addicted to sins of 
the flesh4 ,here we have a  connecting  
link1 passing on to the ,irish school   
the bridge incident1  belonging to      
,oriental myth1 having first appeared in
 ,chinvt bridge  of the ,avesta4 ,st4   
,gregory likewise perpetuates the #8tug 
of war' for  possession of the doubtful 
soul1 which also first appears in the   
,persian books4 ,like ,st4 ,gregory1    
,adamnn's chronicler shows the parlous  
state of the kindly but carnal souls1   
though his robuster charity  pronounces 
decidedly for their ultimate redemption 
7,f4 ,a41 c4 #bg74    ,in the land      
beyond the river were many fair         

mansions2 one of these was  then in     
course of construction1 being built of  
golden bricks1 which  were the good     
works of the destined occupant2 and they
 who brought the  bricks were the       
persons whom he had befriended4    ,st4 
,gregory also relates the case of one   
,peter1 a ,spanish monk1 who  had died  
and gone to ,hell1 where he saw the     
torments of the wicked1  and among them 
many who had lived in this world in     
greatness and high  repute1 and were    
then hanging in the flames4 ,peter was  
about to be  thrown in himself1 when an 
angel rescued him and sent him back to  
the  body1 with a caution4    ,it is    
certain that the earlier ,middle ,ages1 
as well as the later1  possessed many   
stories dealing with the ,otherworld1   
alike in form  of the folk-tale and of  
the religious apologue4 ,probably1 too1 
an  examination of the ecclesiastical   
writers of the period would disclose    
examples of the treatment of the legend 
as a distinct class of literary         

composition1 like the foregoing         
instances4 ,nevertheless1 no important  
contribution to the subject appears to  
have been made1 nor any new  departure  
taken1 until the legend entered upon a  
fresh course on ,irish  soil4           
#d4 ,,the ,,legend ,,in ,,ireland       
,while the ,christian ,church of        
,teutonic ,england owed its existence1  
in the main1 to the missionary          
enterprise of ,rome1 the much older     
,celtic ,churches1 and notably the      
,church of ,ireland1 were more closely  
connected with ,gaul and the ,east4 ,it 
was to ,gaul that ,ireland was  mainly  
indebted for its original conversion1   
and the intercourse  between the two    
countries remained close and unbroken4  
,but the ,church  in the south of       
,gaul--and it was the south alone that  
preserved any  considerable culture1 or 
displayed missionary activity1 in the   
earlier  ,middle ,ages--had from the    
very first been closely in touch with   
the  ,churches in the ,east4 ,the great 

monastery of ,lerins1 in which ,st4     
,patrick is said to have studied1 was   
founded from ,egypt1 and for many       
centuries the ,egyptian ,church         
continued to manifest a lively interest 
in ,gallic matters4 ,indeed1 not only   
,lerins1 but ,marseilles1 ,lyons1 and   
other parts of ,southern ,gaul          
maintained a constant intercourse with  
both ,egypt and ,syria1 with the natural
 result that many institutions of  the  
,gallic ,church1 despite its increasing 
subjection to ,rome1 dating  from the   
year #bdd1 bore the impress of ,oriental
 influences4#if ,hence  the close       
relations with ,gaul maintained by the  
,irish churchmen and  scholars          
necessarily brought them into contact   
with their ,egyptian and  ,syrian       
brethren1 and with the ideas and        
practices which prevailed in  their     
respective ,churches4    ,nor was       
,ireland's connection with the ,east    
confined to the intermediary  of ,gaul4 
,irish pilgrimages to ,egypt continued  

until the end of the  eighth century1   
and ,dicuil records a topographical     
exploration of  that country made by two
 ,irishmen1 ,fidelis and his            
companion4#ig  ,documentary evidence is 
yet extant1 proving that even           
homekeeping  ,irishmen were not debarred
 from all acquaintance with the ,east4  
,the  ,saltair na ,rann#ih contains an  
,irish version of the ,book of ,adam and
  ,eve1 a work written in ,egypt in the 
fifth or sixth century1 of which  no    
mention outside of ,ireland is known4   
,adamnn's work1 ,de ,locis  ,sanctis1   
already referred to1 contains an account
 of the monastery  on ,mount ,thabor1   
which might stand for the description of
 an ,irish  monastic community of his   
day4 ,indeed1 the whole system both of  
the  anchoretic and the cnobitic life in
 ,ireland corresponds closely to  that  
which prevailed in ,egypt and ,syria2   
the monastic communities1  consisting of
 groups of detached huts or bee-hive    
cells1 enclosed  within a general wall1 

the structure of the cells1 and of the  
other  earliest examples of ,irish      
ecclesiastical architecture1 all suggest
  a ,syrian origin2 and ,dr4 ,g4 ,t4    
,stokes holds that #8the ,irish schools 
were most probably modelled after the   
forms and rules of the ,egyptian        
,lauras4'#ii    ,but it was not only    
,egyptian and ,syrian influences to     
which ,ireland was  subjected by its    
intercourse with ,southern ,gaul4 ,the  
civilisation of  that country was       
essentially ,greek1 and so remained for 
many centuries  after the ,christian    
era2 and this circumstance no doubt     
contributed to  the well-known survival 
of ,greek learning in the ,irish        
schools1 long  after it had almost      
perished in the rest of ,western        
,europe4 ,it is not  to be supposed that
 this learning was characterised by     
accuracy of  scholarship1 or by a wide  
acquaintance with classical literature2 
but  neither was it always restricted to
 a mere smattering of the language1  or 

to passages and quotations picked up at 
second-hand4 ,johannes ,scotus  ,erigena
 translated the works of the            
pseudo-,areopagite2 ,dicuil and         
,firghil 7,virgilius1 ,bishop of        
,salzburg71 studied the ,greek books of 
science2 ,homer1 ,aristotle1 and other  
classical authors were known to  some of
 the ,irish writers2 several of the     
,irish divines were acquainted  with the
 ,greek fathers and other theological   
works4 ,nor were the ,greeks  in person 
unknown to ,ireland4 ,many ,greek       
clerics had taken refuge  there during  
the ,iconoclast persecution1 and left   
traces which were  recognisable in      
,ussher's day2 and the old poem on the  
,fair of ,carman  makes mention of the  
,greek merchants who resorted thither4  
,it is thus apparent that the ,irish    
writers possessed ample means of        
becoming acquainted with the traditions1
 both oral and written1 of the  ,greek  
and ,eastern ,churches4 ,the knowledge  
thus acquired extended to the           

,apocalyptic ,visions referred to in the
 preceding section1 as is proved  by    
internal evidence furnished by the      
,irish ,visions1 both by way of  direct 
reference1 and by the nature of their   
contents4 ,it remains to  see how far   
the predilection which the ,irish       
writers manifested for  this class of   
literature1 and the special             
characteristics which it  assumed in    
their hands1 may have been determined by
 their familiarity  with analogous ideas
 already existing in their national     
literature4    ,at the period in        
question1 the traditional literature of 
,ireland  would appear to have entered  
into the national life to no less a     
degree than in ,greece itself4 ,indeed1 
in certain respects1 it was  still more 
closely interwoven with the habits of   
the people and the  framework of society
 than in ,greece1 for the literary      
profession  was provided for by a public
 endowment1 something like that of an   
established ,national ,church1 and its  

professors constituted a body  organised
 by law1 and occupying a recognised     
position in the ,state4  ,one of the    
most marked characteristics of early    
,irish civilisation1  in its every      
branch1 was an exaggerated tendency     
towards symmetrical  classification and 
multiplicity of detail4 ,this tendency  
extended  to the social system1 and the 
earliest records of ancient ,ireland    
that have come down to us show that     
society was arranged according  to a    
very elaborate scheme of ranks and      
classes1#ajj among which  the literary  
profession was remarkable alike for the 
number of its  members1 and for the     
consideration in which they were held4  
,it was  divided into several distinct  
orders1 each of which was specially     
addicted to its own department of study1
 and of these the place of  greatest    
honour and dignity belonged to the      
,filid1 who combined with  other        
functions the special duty of preserving
 and transmitting the  national         

traditions4#aja ,the order of the ,filid
 was further subdivided  into seven     
ranks or degrees1 graduated according to
 the attainments  which their respective
 members were required to possess4 ,for 
all1  however1 a knowledge of the       
romantic literature of their country was
  an indispensable qualification--the   
rd-,ollamh1 the chief of the  order1    
being required to know two hundred and  
fifty prm-scla1  or principal stories1  
and one hundred of secondary importance2
 and  so on in a descending scale       
through the inferior degrees of the     
literary hierarchy4 ,these tales1 in    
turn1 were likewise grouped1  with all  
the precision of a scientific           
classification1 according to  their     
subject-matter4#ajb ,two lists are      
extant giving the titles of  the several
 kinds2 the elder1 preserved in the     
,book of ,leinster1 is  ascribed by ,m4 
d',arbois de ,jubainville to the seventh
 century1 or1 at  latest1 the beginning 
of the eighth century4 ,they are classed

 under the  headings of ,catha1 battles2
 ,longasa1 travels 7in exile72 ,imrama1 
voyages 7voluntary72 ,tgbla1 conquests2 
,tglasi1 destructions2  ,airgne1        
slaughters2 ,forbasa1 sieges2 ,oitti1   
tragic fates2  ,tna1 forays2 ,tochmarca1
 wooings2 ,uatha1 adventures in caves2  
,eachtra1 deeds1 adventures2            
,sluaigheadha1 hostings or expeditions2 
to which are to be added ,fessa1        
banquets2 ,aithidi1 elopements2  ,serca1
 love-stories2 ,tomadma1 irruptions or  
invasions 7of recent  date72 ,tocomlada1
 colonies2 ,fsi1 visions4 ,the subjects 
of these  tales were taken from the     
national history or mythology1 or1      
oftener  still may be1 from that        
traditionary lore which forms a         
debatable  ground between the two4 ,many
 of them were more esteemed as          
authorities  for tribal history or      
genealogy than upon their purely        
literary merit1  though in others the   
imaginative element is as frankly       
recognised as in  a historical novel by 

,scott or ,dumas4    ,the romantic      
literature of ,ireland reached its      
height about the time of  the greatest  
activity of the ,irish ,church1 and the 
sacred and secular  schools did not fail
 to exercise a mutual influence1 for the
 ,irish  clergy by no means despised    
these relics of ,paganism3 they         
possessed  a large share of that wise   
tolerance which we find in many of the  
great clerics of the ,middle ,ages1 who 
did not desire the destruction  of all  
the associations that had twined        
themselves about the lives  of the      
people1 but rather to enlist them into  
the service of the new  faith4#ajc ,two 
classes of the ,irish tales were        
specially adapted for  ecclesiastical   
treatment1 and being thus brought into  
contact with  the general literature of 
medival ,europe1 have left upon it a    
deep  and traceable impression4 ,these  
were the ,imram1 or ,voyage1 and the    
,fis1 or ,vision1 species distinct in   
kind1 but containing in practice  much  

that was common to both2 for the course 
of the ,imram lay1 for  the most part1  
among the enchanted lands of ,celtic    
mythology1 thinly  disguised1 in later  
times1 by a coating of ,christian       
eschatology2 and  the ,fis1 though more 
commonly of ,christian origin1 and often
 indited  expressly for edification1 was
 indebted to the same source for most of
  its mise-en-scne4 ,both types of      
narrative are represented among the     
legends which recount the adventures met
 with by ,cuchulainn1 ,cormac ,mac  irt1
 and other ancient heroes in a purely   
pagan ,otherworld4 ,starting  thence and
 proceeding through the travel tales1   
similar in many  respects to the        
foregoing1 but more or less imbued with 
a ,christian  tinge1 which relate the   
,voyages of ,maelduin1 of ,tadg ,mac    
,cin1 of the  ,sons of ,ua ,corra1 and  
the like1 we reach1 on the one hand1 the
 ,voyage  of ,st4 ,brendan1 one of the  
most picturesque and popular legends of 
the ,middle ,ages1 and1 on the other    

hand1 the visions of the ,irish         
,saints1 the stories of ,st4 ,patrick's 
,purgatory1 and similar legends  which  
pervaded ,western ,europe1 and passing  
into ,italy would appear  to have led up
 to the story of the wicked ,marquis of 
,brandenburg1 and  the opening of the   
,tesoretto of ,brunetto ,latini1 which  
last1 again1  suggested to ,dante the   
opening passages of the ,commedia4    ,a
 visit to the ,otherworld was one of the
 most frequent subjects of  ,irish      
legend4 ,not that the region visited is 
always so described2  sometimes it is   
termed the realm of the ,dagda1 one of  
the most  primitive culture-deities in  
the ,irish mythology1 and1 at the same  
time1 the counterpart of ,yama and      
,yima2#ajd sometimes1 the island        
paradise of ,manannn ,mac ,lr1 the      
,sea-,god2 at others1 the palace of     
,mider or of ,oengus1 both of whom      
shared with ,lug many of the attributes 
of the ,greek ,apollo4 ,very often it is
 merely the rath1 or island1 or         

subaqueous abode1 of some enchantress or
 fairy lady1 but even then some  detail 
of the story will almost always make it 
clear that the spot is  to be identified
 with the land of departed spirits1     
although1 in some  instances1 the       
authors may have been no more aware than
 ,ariosto in  describing the garden of  
,alcina1 or1 indeed1 than ,homer in his 
islands  of the ,phacians1 of ,circe and
 of ,calypso1 that all their imaginary  
scenes alike had one common origin1 the 
region where the     have their         
dwelling4#aje    ,the conception which  
the ,irish formed of their ,happy       
,otherworld  resembled in substance the 
ideas which most other nations held upon
  the subject2 but their descriptions of
 it are frequently remarkable  for a    
poetry1 a vivid sense of beauty--in     
short1 for a gusto1  which are far less 
common4 ,for all that1 however1 they do 
not always  reject the grosser--it      
would1 perhaps1 be more just to call    
them  the simpler--pleasures which would

 naturally appeal to the healthy        
imaginations of a people addicted to a  
vigorous and somewhat rude way  of life4
 ,thus in the subterranean palace of the
 ,dagda 7afterwards  usurped by his son1
 ,oengus g71 which was situate within   
the ,brug na  ,boinne1 and is described 
as a place of unceasing delight1 whither
  death or sickness never came1 the god 
sat beneath three fragrant  apple-trees1
 always laden with ripe fruit1 beside an
 inexhaustible vat  of beer2 two pigs   
were there1 one alive and the other     
ready roasted1  turn and turn about1 and
 a caldron brought by the ,d ,danann    
from ,murias  7#8,sealand'71 which was  
never empty of food1 and from which none
 ever  rose unsatisfied1 for it gave to 
each one a portion corresponding to  his
 rightful claims4 ,these gross          
enjoyments recur even in the truly      
poetic lines which ,mider sings to      
,bfind 7or ,etain71 wife of ,king       
,eochaid ,airem1 in the story of the    
,brudin ,da ,derga1#ajf tempting her  to

 follow him to his realm of ,magh ,mr4  
,this he describes as a wondrous  land1 
traversed by warm sweet streams2 the    
people thereof are handsome1  without a 
blemish1 conceived without sin or lust2 
their bodies are  like the snow1 white  
of skin and black of brow1 their hair   
like tufts  of primrose1 their cheeks   
like the foxglove1 and their eyes like  
the  blackbird's eggs4 ,but by way of   
additional attraction ,mider promises   
the lady a cap of gold for her head1    
fresh pork1 soft new milk1 wine  and    
mead of the choicest1 and ale #8headier 
than the ale of ,ireland4'  ,we learn   
elsewhere that ,mider also possessed a  
magic caldron#ajg  like that of the     
,dagda1 and three cows which never ran  
dry4 ,so1 too1  ,manannn ,mac ,lr       
possessed among other highly desirable  
chattels seven  pigs that would suffice 
to feed all the world1 and seven cows   
whose  milk would fill seven tubs1      
whence all the people of the world might
  drink their fill4 ,it is interesting  

to observe how this side of the  ,irish 
,paradise received a twofold            
development2 on the one hand1 being     
subjected to a refining process1 as we  
shall see when considering the  ,fis    
,adamnin2 on the other1 developing into 
a veritable ,cockayne1 in  such humorous
 writings as the ,vision of ,mac        
,conglinne4#ajh    ,perhaps the fullest 
and most poetic account of the ,tr      
,tairngire is  that contained in two    
poems of great beauty1 which occur in   
the ,voyage  of ,bran1 ,son of ,febal1  
before cited4#aji ,it must suffice1 in  
this  place1 to translate such portions 
as bear more immediately upon our       
subject4    ,a lovely maiden appears to 
,bran1 bearing in her hand an apple     
branch  with twigs of silver and golden 
fruit upon it2 this she places in his   
hand1 and sings3--         #8,an isle   
there is afar2 round it sea-horses are  
flashing2      a free stretch1 against  
which white-sided surges swell2 four    
pedestals sustain it4 ,a delight of the 

eye1 a glorious array1      are the     
hosts that disport them in the heroes'  
chariot strife1      in the ,southern   
plain of ,findarggat 7silver-white74 ,of
 white      bronze are the pedestals    
beneath it2 throughout the glorious     
ages1 throughout the ages of the world1 
shines the lovely land1      over-snowed
 with many blossoms4 ,there is a stately
 tree in      bloom2 the birds chant    
responsive to the canonical hours2      
at every hour they sing in harmony4     
,jewels of every hue are      gleaming  
throughout the soft-voiced plain2       
perpetuity of joy1      with linked     
melody1 is in the ,southern plain of    
,silvercloud4 ,no      wailing is known1
 nor guile1 in the land of perpetual    
tilth2      nothing rough nor harsh1 but
 only sweet music1 strikes the      ear4
 ,no sorrow1 no gloom1 no death1 no     
sickness at all1 nor                    
feebleness1--that is the token of       
,emain1 no rival to it exists4      ,the
 beauty of the wondrous land1 lovely of 

aspect1 a land fair      to look        
upon--never its like was found4         
,shouldst thou next look      on        
,airctec1 bestrewn with dragon-stones   
and crystals2 ,ocean      strews upon   
the land crystal tresses from his mane4 
,moorlands1      thickets of every hue1 
in the land of ,calm2 the beauty of     
freshness1 the hearing of music in its  
sweetness1 the drinking      of wine the
 brightest4 ,in ,magh ,rin ,plain of the
 ,sea the      golden chariots come at  
flood-tide to meet the sun2 in ,magh    
,mon      ,plain of ,games are chariots 
of silver and of bronze1 without      a 
blemish4 ,a herd of horses like yellow  
gold is there on the      strand2       
another herd1 of purple hue2 after them1
 yet another      herd1 of the hue of a 
pure grey pearl4 ,at the sun's uprising 
a fair man will come1 who illumines the 
level lands2 he rides      over the fair
 plain whereon the sea beats1 he tempers
 the ocean      till it is as blood4    
,the host will come across the pure sea2

      they show themselves1 rowing      
towards the land2 then they row      to 
a flat rock1 well in view1 whence a     
hundred songs arise4      ,it chants    
melody to the hosts1 so that sorrow is  
not therein2      the music swells from 
the choirs of hundreds1 who look not    
for return or death4 ,emain of many     
forms by the sea1 it may      be near1  
it may be far2 therein are women1 many  
thousands1 in      chequered array1 and 
the pure sea round about it4 ,when he   
has      heard the music's sound1 the   
note of the birds in ,imchiin1 a        
little band of ladies will come down    
from the height to the      field of    
games1 whereon he stands4 ,freedom with 
health shall      come to the land on   
which laughter is poured forth2 'tis on 
,imchiin1 at every season1 that length  
of life with joy shall      come4 ,a day
 of serenity unending scatters silver on
 the land2      a pure white cliff is on
 the seaboard range1 drawing the sun's  
heat from him4 ,the multitude race their

 horses along ,magh ,mon1      a        
glorious sport1 not languid2 in the     
chequered lea-land1 all      beauty     
excelling 7871 they look not for return 
nor death4'    ,we may see at a glance  
how thoroughly pagan is the conception  
of the  happy region here depicted1     
though assuredly lacking neither in     
beauty  nor refinement1 in which        
respects the ,tr ,tairngire need fear no
  comparison with the ,elysium of the   
,greek poets1 which it so strongly      
resembles4 ,it is equally evident that  
the lord of this ,island ,paradise1     
,manannn ,mac ,lr1 is the ,tuatha ,d    
,danann counterpart of the ,fomorian    
,tethra1 king of the dead1 who sends his
 messengers in the guise of  beautiful  
women-- in all literalness--to call his 
subjects unto  him in his realm beyond  
the ocean4 ,indeed1 ,tethra himself     
appears  in a legend1 exactly parallel  
to the foregoing in design1 though of   
more primitive structure1 which relates 
the passing of ,connla1 son of  the     

famous rd-,r1 ,conn of the ,hundred     
,battles4 ,connla1 like ,bran1  was     
visited by a beautiful damsel1 who      
promised to confer upon him a           
continuance of youth and beauty which   
should never fail or fade until  the    
,judgment4 ,she then gave him an apple  
and left him4 ,the virtue of  this apple
 was such that it afforded ,connla      
nutriment enough for a  month1 at the   
end of which time the damsel returned1  
and told him that  the ever-living ones 
had sent for him1 having chosen him to  
become one  of the folk of ,tethra1     
there to dwell for ever1 in the         
companies of his  forefathers1 in the   
midst of his acquaintance and           
friends4#aaj ,and  ,connla followed her 
to the sea-shore1 where a ship of glass 
awaited  them1 in which they embarked1  
while ,conn followed them to the shore1 
weeping1 and watched them until they    
were out of sight4    ,by far the       
greater number of the visits which the  
heroes and heroines  of ,irish tradition

 pay to the ,otherworld are variations  
upon the same  theme3 a supernatural    
visitant1 smitten with love for chief or
 maiden1  induces him or her1 by        
persuasion1 guile1 or force1 to follow  
to fairy  rath or oversea ,elysium2 a   
theme which has survived to our own day 
in  the common legend of the ,leanamhn  
,sidhe1 or ,fairy ,lover4 ,the story  of
 ,mider and ,etain1 or ,eithne1 above   
referred to1 is an instance of  this    
kind1 ,mider having won ,etain of her   
husband1 ,king ,eochaid ,airem1  at a   
game of chess4 ,in many cases where a   
hero's wife is thus abducted  the loss  
is but temporary1 the husband1 a more   
martial and more  successful ,orpheus1  
winning back his ,eurydice by force or  
stratagem4  ,to this also the modern    
,irish fairy tales contain many         
parallels4 ,so  numerous are the        
examples of this type1 that it is both  
impossible  and unnecessary to discuss  
them seriatim2 it is enough to select   
from each of the great tale cycles such 

instances as may best show the          
persistence of the theme1 and of the    
original ,irish notions concerning  the 
,otherworld1 some of which coloured the 
versions in which the legend  appeared  
in ,christian times4 ,the ,elysian      
abodes of the ,dagda1 of ,oengus  g1 of 
,mider1 and of ,manannn ,mac ,lr1 which 
have been described  already1 pertain to
 the mythological cycle of ,irish       
legend2 similar  visits to the abodes of
 the ,tuatha ,d ,danann are recorded in 
many  stories belonging to the greatest 
of the heroic cycles1 namely1 the       
,ultonian cycle4    ,one of the best and
 longest of these stories is the        
,serglige  ,conchulaind#aaa or ,sick-bed
 of ,cuchulainn1 the principal hero of  
the cycle in question4 ,we have room    
only for a brief abstract of this       
story1 giving the details which relate  
more particularly to our subject4       
,once1 in dream1 ,cuchulainn was visited
 by two ladies of great beauty1  who1   
without vouchsafing any explanation of  

their conduct1 kept smiting  him with   
whips as he lay until they left him     
speechless1 in which  state he remained 
for nearly a year4 ,at the end of that  
time ,emer1  ,cuchulainn's wife1 and    
those with her1 saw one day a young man 
sitting  by his bedside1 singing how he 
was ,oengus1 and the dream-ladies were  
,fand and ,liban1 his sisters1 of whom  
,fand1 wife of ,manannn ,mac ,lr1       
having been deserted by her husband1 had
 conceived a great love for             
,cuchulainn1 and promised that if he    
would visit her in the ,tr ,sorcha      
7,land of ,light71 she would make him   
whole1 and give him gold and silver  and
 wine go ler4 ,before complying with    
this message1 ,cuchulainn  sent ,loeg1  
his charioteer1 to inspect and report4  
,loeg returned with a  glowing account  
of the ,tr ,sorcha4 ,he had been        
conducted to the house  of ,labraid     
,luathlam-ar-,claideb--,quick ,hand on  
,sword--husband of ,liban1  where ,fand 
was then residing4 ,the rath was situate

 in the midst of #8a  pure lake1 whither
 companies of women resort'2 before the 
door stood  three stately trees1 pure   
purple1 and the bird-flock singing upon 
the  branches of them without ceasing1  
#8and in the eastern doorway of the     
lios a tree--not paltry the music       
thereon--of silver1 on which the  sun   
shines with exceeding radiance1 like    
gold4' ,within was the usual  good      
cheer1 including an inexhaustible vat of
 mead4 ,tempted by this  account        
,cuchulainn repaired thither himself1   
and found that all ,loeg  had said was  
true1 and more4 ,the beautiful ,fand    
consented to be his1 on  condition that 
he would aid her people in war against a
 rival god-clan2  this done1 he brought 
her back to ,ireland4 ,the upshot of it 
all was  that ,emer1 whom ,cuchulainn   
had always loved most fondly until      
,fand's  spell was on him1 became       
jealous of her rival1 and sought to kill
 her4  ,cuchulainn objected to this1 but
 ,emer's devotion revived the unquenched

  embers of his flame for her4 ,at the  
same time1 ,manannn had found that      
#8what our contempts do often hurl from 
us we wish it ours again1' and  the     
piece concludes with the return of all  
to their premiers amours4    ,the       
,otherworld of the ancient ,irish       
possessed no ,tartarus4 ,malignant      
powers1 indeed1 there were in plenty2   
not to speak of a multitude of  hags and
 witches1 giants and ogres1 goblins and 
spectres1 the divine  personages        
themselves often display a very sinister
 side of their  character1 while not    
uncommonly a brilliant chief or radiant 
lady  of the ,tuatha ,d ,danann would be
 brother or sister to a hideous and     
savage hag or giant4#aab ,in like       
manner1 the ,irish ,wonderland 7,tr  na 
n-,iongnadh7 could show1 alongside of   
its enchanted raths and  ,elysian       
pleasances1 scenes of a widely different
 kind2 seas and lakes  haunted by       
terrible monsters1 weird forests1 and   
gloomy1 perilous  glens1 although1 it is

 true1 this side of the picture is      
treated much  less fully than the other4
 ,nevertheless1 there is no strict line 
of  demarcation between the two1 which  
exist side by side1 as might the  desert
 and fertile regions of the same        
country4    ,one of the nearest         
approximations to the gloomy ,hades of  
the early  ,greeks is found in the realm
 of ,scathach 7,the ,shadowy7 whither   
,cuchulainn was sent by the wizard      
,forgall ,monach1 his prospective       
father-in-law1 in the hope of getting   
rid of him1 but on pretext  of          
completing his military education--an   
instance of the universal  article of   
primitive belief that the ultimate      
arcana of knowledge  are only to be won 
from the powers of death and            
darkness4#aac ,the  approach to         
,scathach's country lay across a plain1 
to the one half  of which the feet of   
whoso attempted to cross it would       
adhere1 while  in the other half the    
ground would rise and impale the        

passenger on  the grass blades1 like    
spear points1 which grew thereon4       
,cuchulainn  was guided across the plain
 by the familiar agency of a wheel and  
an  apple1 given him by a young man whom
 he found dwelling in a fairy rath1  at 
the outset of his journey1 and who thus 
discharged the office of  psychopompos1 
which in one form or other--,sibyl1     
,michael1 ,virgil1  hag or              
damsel--almost always appears to be     
indispensable4 ,the way  then led       
through a narrow glen1 peopled by       
monsters1 and over high  and perilous   
mountain passes4 ,finally1 to reach his 
goal1 he had to  cross the #8,bridge of 
the ,cliff1' an enchanted bridge1 low at
 the two  ends and high at the middle1  
of such kind that1 so soon as one       
stepped  upon either end1 the other     
would rise and throw him back4 ,this1   
,miss  ,hull says 7op4 cit41 p4 #bia71  
is the earliest occurrence in ,irish    
legend of the bridge episode1 which1 as 
we have seen1 had previously  been a    

prominent feature in pictures of the    
,otherworld1 and afterwards  appears    
with almost equal frequency in the      
chivalrous literature of  the ,middle   
,ages4 ,miss ,hull suggests that the    
idea1 in the present  case1 is borrowed 
from the ,norse2 this1 of course1 is    
quite possible1  having regard to the   
prominence in ,northern myth of the     
,bridge of  ,gill1 crossed by ,hermdr on
 his journey to the ,shades in quest of 
the  dead ,balder2 while the ,wonderland
 depicted in the ,erik ,saga and in the 
,story of ,gorm is likewise approached  
by a bridge4#aad ,however1 without      
entering into the difficult question of 
the epoch at which the ,balder  myth    
assumed its present shape1 or of the    
respective dates of the  ,norse and     
,irish legends in their original forms1 
the hypothesis hardly  seems necessary  
to account for the introduction of so   
obvious and so  widespread an incident  
into the ,cuchulainn legend1 where1     
moreover1 the  ,bridge of the ,cliff    

differs widely from the ,rainbow bridge 
of ,gill  and from the more commonplace 
bridges of the ,norse ,sagas4 ,as ,miss 
,hull  herself observes1 the idea recurs
 in another branch of ,celtic story1    
the ,arthurian legend1#aae and #8belongs
 to the ,hell doctrine of nearly  all   
,oriental religions' 7loc4 cit47        
,several of these we have already       
examined1 and have seen how the same    
idea passed into the eschatology  of the
 ,western ,church4 ,neither is it       
confined to the cultured races1  from   
,vedic ,india to ,iceland2 it occurs    
also among such primitive  nations as   
the ,inoits of ,aleutia and the ,bagadas
 of the ,nilghiris4 ,from  them to      
,addison's ,vision of ,mirza is a long  
step in every sense4#aaf    ,another    
story connected with the same cycle1 the
 ,echtra ,nerai1  ,adventures of ,nera1 
otherwise called the ,tin ,bo ,aingen1  
,cattle  raid of ,aingen1#aag may       
receive mention here as presenting a    
feature  which frequently recurs in the 

ecclesiastical visions1 while the main  
outlines of the story are preserved in  
modern folk-tales4 ,as ,ailill1  king of
 ,connacht1 was keeping the ,samhain    
festival in his rath of  ,cruachan1 he  
offered to give his gold-hilted sword to
 any one who  should dare to put a withe
 on the foot of a newly hanged man1 who 
was  swinging outside4 ,nera accepted   
the challenge1 and after several vain   
attempts 7the withe springing off of its
 own accord7 succeeded4 ,the  corpse    
then spoke1 and asked ,nera for a drink1
 and ,nera obligingly took  the corpse  
on his shoulders1 and offered to take   
him to a house which  appeared hard by1 
standing amid a lake of fire4 ,the      
corpse declined  this offer1 which is   
hardly to be wondered at1 and the rest  
of the  story follows the conventional  
lines of the ordinary folk-tale1 but we 
have here the moat of fire1 as in the   
,fis ,adamnin and elsewhere4    ,visits 
to the enchanted abodes of the ,tuatha  
,d ,danann--to the  ,otherworld1 that   

is--are common in the tales belonging to
 the third  great group of heroic tales1
 second in importance to the ,cuchulainn
  cycle above1 namely1 the ,finn cycle1 
in which occurs the most  celebrated of 
them all--the visit of ,osin to ,niamh  
,cinn ir1 which so  late as the         
eighteenth century inspired ,michael    
,comyn with his fine  poem1 the ,laoi   
,oisn ar d,tr na n-g4 ,still1 the tales 
of this cycle1  however ancient their   
materials1 would appear to have         
undergone a  sogmewhat modernising      
influence1 comparatively speaking1 in   
receiving  artistic shape1 in which last
 respect they betray more signs of a    
deliberately literary treatment than    
their predecessors1 while in their      
treatment of the ,otherworld they do not
 appear to have contributed  materially 
to the evolution of the legend4         
,distinct from the ,finn cycle1 though  
dealing in part with the persons  and   
events of the period to which ,finn has 
been assigned by tradition1  is a group 

of highly picturesque tales relating to 
the dynasty of ,conn  ,ced-cathach 7of  
the ,hundred ,battles7 rd ,r of         
,ireland1 according to  tradition1 in   
the second century ,a4,d4 ,in the ,conn 
cycle the ,otherworld  legend figures   
prominently1 the monarch himself1 his   
sons rt and  ,connla1 and his grandson  
,cormac1 all having journeyed thither4  
,these  tales1 moreover1 furnish certain
 links which connect the ,echtra with   
the ,imram and ,fis4    ,it is said to  
have been ,conn's daily wont to make the
 circuit of ,temair  7,tara71 in company
 of his ,druids and poets1 to see that  
none of the  ,tuatha ,d ,danann1 or     
,daoine ,sidhe1 alighted thereon4 ,one  
day1 while  so engaged1 he trod upon a  
flagstone1 which shrieked so loud as to 
be  heard all over ,temair and ,magh    
,breg4 ,conn asked his chief ,druid for 
an  explanation of this wonder1 but the 
,druid required a respite of fifty  days
 before he could give it4 ,at the end of
 that time the king and his  suite again

 repaired to the spot1 and the ,druid   
declared that the name  of the flag was 
,fl1 and that it had been brought from  
,inis ,fil by the  ,tuatha ,d ,danann to
 remain at ,temair for ever1 and any    
year the rd  ,r of ire failed to look   
upon it1 dearth would be on the         
land4#aah  ,and suddenly a mist fell    
upon them1 and from out of the mist was 
heard  the sound of a horseman1 who cast
 three darts at them4 #8,whosoever aims 
at ,conn in ,temair will be violating   
the king's majesty1' exclaimed  the     
,druid2 whereupon the horseman came     
forward and1 greeting ,conn1  invited   
him to his home4 ,conn followed1 and    
soon reached a fair plain  in which     
stood a royal rath1 and a great tree1 as
 it were of gold1 in  the doorway4#aai  
,on entering1 he saw a lovely damsel1 a 
golden diadem  on her head1 standing by 
a silver vat hooped with gold1 full of  
red  ale1 and a golden can and cup upon 
it4 ,beside it was a royal throne1      
whereon sat a ,scl 7champion7 of        

majestic stature1 and of a beauty  never
 seen at ,temair4 ,conn asked him who he
 was3 he replied1 #8,no living  champion
 am ,i1 but one of ,adam's sons returned
 from death2 ,i am ,lugh  ,mac          
,ceithlenn1#abj and ,i am come to reveal
 to thee the life of thine  own         
sovereignty1 and the sovereignty of     
every king who shall be after  thee in  
ire4'--#8,and the maiden who was present
 to them in the house  was the          
sovereignty of ire for ever4' ,then were
 revealed to ,conn the  names of all the
 kings of his race who should succeed to
 him in ire1 a  cup of ale being borne  
to the name of each4 ,the scene1 which  
suggests  the similar revelation made to
 ,macbeth in the witches' cavern1 closes
  with a prophecy of ,st4 ,patrick--whom
 ,god should honour1 and who should     
kindle a torch that would illumine ire  
from sea to sea--and of the  later races
 of kings that should rule over         
,ireland4    ,here we have another      
instance of ,christian embroidery upon a

 thoroughly  ,pagan stuff2 however1 the 
identification of the ,d ,danann ,lugh  
as a son  of ,adam returned from the    
dead was true in a fuller sense than the
  author1 probably1 was aware4          
,another visit of ,conn to the ,tr na   
n-g is related in a tale known as  the  
,echtra irt1 or ,adventures of rt4#aba  
,the ,leanamhn ,sidhe1 who  figures in  
this story1 bears a more sinister aspect
 than do most of her  order in ,irish   
legend1 and possesses affinities to the 
witch-lady or  ,lamia4 ,she was ,bcuma  
,cneisgel 7,b4 ,white-skin71 wife of the
 ,d ,danann  chief ,labrad              
,luathlam-ar-,claideb 7,swift ,hand on  
,sword71 and having been  found guilty  
of infidelity1 had been banished from   
the ,tr ,tairngire4  ,finding a curach  
on the shore1 she stepped in2 this      
#8trim skiff' of the  ,wonderland       
#8asked no aid of sail or oar1' and     
,bcuma1 #8leaving it to  the heaving of 
wind over sea1' reached ,benn ,edair1   
the ,hill of ,howth4  ,here she found   

,conn1 who had retired thither to mourn 
the recent death  of his wife1 and      
introduced herself to him as ,delbchaem 
7,fair-form71  daughter of ,morgan      
7,sea-born71 come to ,ireland from the  
,tr ,tairngire  for love of ,conn's son 
rt4 ,however1 it was ultimately settled 
that she  should marry ,conn himself1   
and she returned with him to ,temair1   
having  first obtained a pledge from the
 king1 according to the rules of ,irish 
chivalry1 that he would grant her the   
boon she might ask of him1 which  proved
 to be the banishment of rt for a year4 
,henceforth1 all went  wrong with the   
country2 the land yielded neither corn  
nor milk1 and  the ,druids1 on being    
consulted1 affirmed that by reason of   
,bcuma's  wickedness the land was under 
a curse1 which could only be removed by 
sacrificing the son of a sinless couple1
 and mingling his blood with  the soil  
of ,temair4 ,conn set forth in quest of 
such a youth2 at ,benn  ,edair he found 
a curach which bore him across the sea1 

through herds  of strange sea-monsters  
of fearsome aspect1 while the waves rose
 and  the firmament trembled1 until he  
came to a strange isle1 #8having fair   
fragrant apple-trees1 and many wells of 
wine1 most beautiful1 and a  fair bright
 wood1 adorned with clustering          
hazel-nuts1 surrounding those  wells1   
with lovely golden yellow nuts1 and     
little bees1 ever beautiful1  hovering  
over the fruits1 which were dropping    
their blossoms and their  leaves into   
the wells' 7tr4 ,best1 loc4 cit474 ,hard
 by was a goodly  house1 the dwelling of
 ,daire ,degamra2 the thatch was of     
birds' wings1  white1 and yellow1 and   
blue2 the doors were of crystal1 and the
 posts  of bronze4 ,inside was a crystal
 throne1 whereon sat ,segda ,saerlabrad1
  son of ,daire4 ,conn was made welcome2
 his feet were washed by an  invisible  
hand1 which likewise guided him to the  
hearth1 wherefrom a  flame started up of
 its own accord4 ,tables laden with     
various kinds of  meat were set before  

him by invisible attendants1 and a      
drinking horn  was set thereon4 ,there  
was a vat1 finely wrought1 of blue      
crystal1 and  three golden hoops about  
it1 wherein ,daire bade him bathe4 ,then
 he was  bidden fall to2 but it was geis
 to him to eat alone1 whereas the       
inmates told him that it was equally    
geis to them to eat save alone2         
however1 ,segda1 to oblige the guest1   
consented to eat with him4 ,next        
morning ,conn asked permission to take  
,segda back with him1 having heard  that
 he was that son of a sinless couple of 
whom he was in quest4 ,his  parents     
admitted that this was so1 for they had 
never come together  save at his        
conception1 and so it had been with     
their own parents4  ,conn did not       
divulge why he needed the youth2        
nevertheless1 his parents  refused to   
let him go1 but ,segda proving resolute 
not to deny the king1  they consented1  
putting him under the protection of     
,conn1 and rt and  ,finn1 and the #8men 

of art1' for his safe return4 ,the      
dnouement1  showing how ,segda was      
preserved from sacrifice1 is too long to
 relate  here1 having nothing to do with
 our subject4    ,the story then goes on
 to rt1 whose adventures are the        
ostensible  subject of it4 ,bcuma       
behaved like the typical stepmother of  
the  folk-tale4 ,in order to procure his
 absence from ,ireland1 she challenged  
him to chess1 and on winning--by foul   
play1 being aided by spiritual  agencies
 at her command--put a geis on him not  
to return to ,ireland  without the      
before-mentioned ,delbchaem1 daughter of
 ,morgan1 who dwelt  in an isle in the  
sea4 rt1 like his father1 set out in a  
curach1  and reached an island wherein  
was a dn similar to that of ,daire4  ,in
 it was a company of fair women1 and    
among them ,crede ,firalaind            
7,truly-beautiful74 rt was welcomed and 
feasted2 he told his tale1 and  ,crede  
told him that his coming had long been  
decreed2 she gave him a  #8variegated   

mantle1 with adornments of gold from    
,arabia1' and three  kisses1 and showed 
him a crystal bower1 wherein was an     
inexhaustible  vat1 which straightway   
became full again1 however often        
emptied4 ,here  rt stayed a fortnight1  
and upon his leaving1 ,crede instructed 
him as  to the way he had to follow4    
,this way was wild and difficult1 full  
of  the dangers and obstacles which     
commonly waylay the hero of romance1    
though they only call for mention here  
as constituting1 with the realm  of     
,scathach before described1 as near an  
approach to a ,tartarus  myth as ,irish 
legend contains4 ,the terrors which rt  
had to traverse  included stretches of  
ocean filled with sea-monsters that had 
to be  fought and overcome2 a wood1     
where it was as though spear-points of  
battle were under the feet1 like leaves 
of the forest2 a venomous icy  mountain1
 with a glen full of toads which lay in 
wait for passers-by2  an icy river1 with
 a narrow bridge over1 defended by a    

giant whom no  weapons would harm1 fire 
burn1 nor water drown4 ,of course1 all  
ended  as it should1 but the remainder  
of the story casts no light upon the    
,otherworld4    ,one of the best-known  
stories belonging to this cycle is that 
which relates the adventures of ,cormac1
 son of rt1 in the ,tr  ,tairngire4#abb 
,at the dawn of a ,may morning ,cormac  
was walking on the  ramparts of ,temair1
 when he espied a dignified1 grey-haired
 warrior  approaching him1 bearing on   
his shoulder a branch of silver and     
three  golden apples on it2 and the     
music which those apples made when      
shaken  would lull to rest sick folk1   
and wounded men1 and women in the pains 
of childbirth4 ,after the two had       
exchanged greetings1 ,cormac asked the  
stranger whence he had come4 #8,from a  
land1' he replied1 #8where there  is    
nought save truth1 and there is neither 
envy1 nor jealousy1 nor  hate1 nor      
haughtiness' 7tr4 ,w4 ,s474 ,they       
plighted their friendship1  and ,cormac 

begged for the musical branch1 which the
 other gave him1  exacting in return the
 promise of three boons which he should 
crave4  ,a year later the warrior       
returned1 and claimed his first boon1   
which  was none other than ,cormac's own
 daughter ,ailbe4 ,though loath1 ,cormac
  submitted1 bound by his promise1#abc  
and stilled the lamentations of  his    
household by shaking the branch1 and    
casting them into a profound  sleep4    
,after a month the warrior returned1 and
 demanded ,conn's son1  and1 finally1   
his wife4 ,cormac still felt himself    
bound to comply1  but he started off in 
pursuit1 followed by all his people4    
,upon their  passing beyond the walls a 
dense mist fell upon them1 and ,cormac  
found himself in the plain alone4       
,before him stood a great dn1 with  a   
stockade of bronze about it1 and within 
it a house of silver4 ,the  thatch of   
this house was the wings of white birds4
 ,it was half thatched  only1 and troops
 of fairy horsemen kept bringing other  

wings to  complete it1 but the wind was 
always carrying them away4 ,after this1 
he saw a man feeding a fire with a great
 oak-tree1 entire1 and as soon  as one  
was consumed he would replace it with   
another4 ,then he came to  an enclosure 
also ramparted with bronze1 and four    
houses therein2 one  of these was a     
great palace1 #8with its beams of       
bronze1 its wattling  of silver1 and its
 thatch the wings of white birds4 ,then 
he sees in  the garth a shining         
fountain1 with five streams flowing out 
of it1 and  the hosts in turn a-drinking
 its waters4 ,nine hazels of ,buan grow 
over  the well1 the purple hazels drop  
their nuts into the fountain1 and the   
five salmon which are in the fountain   
sever them and send their husks         
floating down the stream4 ,now the sound
 of the falling of those streams  is    
more melodious than any music that men  
sing' 7,w4 ,s4 loc4 cit474  ,in the     
house ,cormac found a warrior of        
exceeding beauty1 both in face  and     

figure1 and a maiden1 #8the loveliest of
 the world's women1' with  a helmet of  
gold on her yellow hair4 ,her feet1     
,cormac noticed1 were  washed by        
invisible hands1 and within a partition 
was a bath1 heated  without visible     
agency1 and ,cormac bathed there4 ,in   
the afternoon a man  came in1 bearing in
 one hand an axe and in the other a log 
of wood1 and  followed by a pig4 ,at the
 warrior's bidding1 the man kindled a   
fire  with the log1 killed the pig1 and 
put him in a caldron on the fire to     
boil4 ,after a while the damsel bade him
 turn the pig1 but he replied  that it  
was useless1 for that pig would never be
 done until a truth had  been told for  
every quarter4 ,thereupon each one told 
some truth2 the  man how he had obtained
 the log and the pig1 the properties of 
which  were such that after the log had 
been burnt out at night1 and the pig    
eaten1 the pig would be found alive in  
the morning1 and the log whole2  and one
 quarter of the pig was cooked4 ,the    

warrior told how there was  a field     
outside the lios1 which was found1 at   
ploughing time1 to be  ready ploughed1  
harrowed1 and sown with wheat2 at       
harvest time1 ready  stacked1 and so on1
 and they had been eating of that wheat 
ever since1  and it none the less2 and  
another quarter was done4 ,the girl said
 that  she had a herd of seven cows1    
whose milk sufficed for all the people  
of  the ,tr ,tairngire1 and seven sheep 
whose wool furnished the garments of    
them2 and the third quarter was cooked4 
,then ,cormac related the reason  of his
 coming1 and the pig was cooked         
entirely4 ,when ,cormac's portion  was  
set before him1 he said that he never   
ate unless there were fifty  men in his 
company4 ,then the warrior sang a strain
 which sent him to  sleep1 and on waking
 he beheld fifty men1 and with them his 
wife1 son1  and daughter4 ,so they set  
to upon the food and ale in all mirth   
and  gladness4 ,and a silver cup was    
placed in the warrior's hand1 who1 as   

,cormac admired the workmanship of it1  
told him that there was something  yet  
more wonderful about it1 for when three 
lies were told under it  it would break 
into three pieces1 while the utterance  
of three truths  would make it whole    
again4 ,he then told three lies1 and the
 cup broke1  even as he had said2 then1 
to restore it1 he declared that neither 
had ,cormac's wife nor daughter seen a  
man1 nor his son a woman1 since  they   
had left him1 and in proof that his     
words were true1 the cup came  together1
 perfect as before4 ,so ,cormac received
 again his wife and son  and daughter2  
and with them the cup1 that he might    
discern between  truth and falsehood in 
his judgments1 and the bell-branch for  
music and  delight4 ,and the warrior    
declared that he was ,manannn ,mac ,lr1 
who  had allured ,conn to the ,tr       
,tairngire that he might behold the     
wonder  of it4 ,and the men who had     
brought the wings to complete the thatch
 of  the house were #8the men of art in 

,ireland1 collecting cattle and wealth  
which passed away into nothing'2 the man
 burning oak-trees was a young  lord1   
paying out of his own husbandry for all 
that he consumed2 the  fountain was the 
,fountain of ,knowledge1 and the five   
streams issuing  thereout the five      
senses1 #8,and no man will have         
knowledge who drinketh  not a draught   
out of the fountain itself1 and out of  
the streams4 ,the  folk of many arts are
 those who drink of them both' 7,w4 ,s4 
loc4 cit474    ,the foregoing group of  
stories from the ,conn cycle probably   
represent  a very ancient legend1       
several of them being manifest variants 
of a  single original1 which at some    
period became connected in turn with the
  successive members of the dynasty4    
,this is apparent even in several       
minute points of detail3 e4g4 ,conn's   
first wife1 for whom he mourned1  and   
,cormac's wife1 taken from him by       
,manannn1 were both named ,ethne        
,taebfada 7,long-side74 ,the group      

represents a stage in the theory of  the
 ,otherworld in advance of previous     
conceptions2#abd and although  the ideas
 which it contains fall far short of an 
eschatology1 properly  so called1 they  
yet contain materials which later       
writers were able to  employ in that    
sense4 ,we can discern here the         
rudiments of an ethical  theory of the  
,otherworld4 ,in the story of ,connla1  
the land of ,tethra  appears as a happy 
place whither the souls of famous       
chieftains and  warriors are borne      
across the sea1 as ,achilles was rapt   
away to the  isle of ,leuke2 and even   
this aristocratic ,elysium--parallels to
 which  abound from ,polynesia to       
,greece1 and from ,greece to            
,america--contains  in germ a certain   
ethical idea4 ,the favour of the        
immortals is reserved  for chieftains   
famous for their birth and qualities1   
and thus the  process is begun which    
first designates as a #8gentleman' the  
scion of  a noble gens1 and then goes on

 to require in such an one qualities    
worthy of his origin1 and to            
#8,loke who that is most vertuous alway1
      ,priv and apert1 and most         
entendeth ay      ,to do the gentil     
dedes that he can1      ,and take him   
for the gretest gentilman4'    ,thus1 in
 the ,adventures of ,cormac1 ,manannn   
describes the ,tr  ,tairngire as #8a    
land where there is naught save truth1  
and there is  neither envy nor jealousy1
 hate nor haughtiness'2 a description   
which  is applied in a greatly amplified
 form to ,heaven1 at the close of the   
,fis ,adamnin1 and in other ,christian  
writings4 ,it reminds us of  a passage  
already cited from the ,avesta1         
descriptive of the ,var of  ,yima4      
,indeed1 in ,ireland as in ,irn1        
#8everything that maketh a lie'  is     
excluded from the ideal country1 even as
 we have seen a want of  fidelity to    
plighted faith to be the vice most      
inconsistent with the  character of a   
king4    ,in the episode of ,segda      

,saerlabrad1 and again in the           
,adventures of  ,cormac1 occurs that    
idea of chastity in connection with the 
,tr  ,tairngire to which1 in its more   
developed form in the ,voyage of  ,bran1
 we shall have to refer4 ,this group1   
moreover1 is marked by  a tendency to   
conscious allegory which is foreign to  
the previous  cycles4 ,the maiden whom  
,conn finds in the dn is a              
personification of  the sovereignty of  
ire2 and the dn visited by ,cormac is a 
veritable  #8,house of the              
,interpreter4' ,the ethical significance
 of the wonders  seen by ,cormac on the 
way thither1 and there expounded to him1
 is  entirely symbolical of the life of 
this world1 wherein the story  resembles
 not merely the ,shepherd of ,hermas and
 the ,pilgrim's  ,progress1 but the     
,tablet of ,cebes and the ,choice of    
,herakles among  the ,greeks1 and       
countless moral apologues1 ,oriental and
 medival4    ,the ,d ,danann chieftains1
 seated on their crystal thrones beside 

the  marvellous tree and the vat of ale1
 are an advance upon the ,dagda1  seated
 beside his vat of ale and apple-trees1 
and display the legend in  a stage at   
which it is ready to coalesce with1 and 
give native colour  to1 the ,hebraic    
imagery of the ,throne and its          
,occupant4    ,the pleasantly told      
little apologue of the ,fountain of     
,knowledge  and its five streams1 which 
are the five senses1 interprets a very  
primitive ,irish legend in the light of 
a simple but not shallow  philosophy4   
,the ,irish heroic tales having passed  
through the hands of ,christian         
redactors1 the question occurs whether  
we must ascribe to them any  ethical    
element that occurs therein4 ,although  
it is hard to pronounce  with certainty1
 where they contain no express reference
 to the  ,christian faith1 it would be  
rash1 and probably a mistake1 to reply  
in  the affirmative in all cases4       
,certain ethical ideas there must have  
been in pre-,christian ,ireland1 and the

 places and the mode in which we  find  
them are often those in which they might
 most naturally appear4 ,in  the        
instances referred to1 there is nothing 
inconsistent with a system  of ethics   
far more primitive than that to which   
the ancient ,irish  might conceivably   
have attained4 ,moreover1 there is      
nothing about the  passages in question 
suggestive of an interpolation2 they    
arise quite  naturally out of the       
narrative1 and in one striking instance1
 that of  ,segda ,saerlabrad1 are       
expressly bound up with the pagan idea  
of human  sacrifice in a manner that no 
,christian writer could or would have   
invented4 ,neither does it seem likely  
that an ecclesiastical writer  who      
should make such interpolations in the  
interest of the ,christian  religion    
would make no mention of that religion  
in connection with  them4 ,the very     
tales in question show in what a clumsy 
and perfunctory  manner such            
interpolations were made1 when it was   

found expedient  to bring an ancient    
legend into agreement with ,christian   
doctrine4  ,instances of this are       
furnished by the prophecies of ,manannn 
,mac ,lr  in the ,voyage of ,bran1 and  
the reference to the ,judgment in the   
,adventures of ,connla4 ,the last-named 
story further contains a prophecy  of   
the coming of the law which shall       
destroy ,druidism and its charms  #8upon
 the lips of black lying demons4'    ,as
 previously mentioned1 there exists in  
these same stories a  connection between
 the ,echtra and ,imram classes of      
tales4 ,in several of  them the hero    
departs in his curach in quest of a     
,wonderland that lies  oversea1#abe     
passing in the course of his voyage     
through the herds  of sea-monsters which
 beset the heroes of the ,imrama1 and   
beholding  marvels and visiting         
enchanted islands entirely similar to   
those which  occur in the latter4    ,in
 the ,imrama proper we may note in an   
ascending scale the gradual             

preponderance of ,christian ideas1 and  
the assimilation of the old  ,irish     
conception of the ,otherworld to a      
genuine eschatology4 ,some of  them1    
such as the ,voyage of ,bran1 and       
,cuchulainn's quest of the sons  of     
,doel ,dermait1 relate a purely pagan   
legend1 though the clerical  redactors  
have sought to dissociate them from the 
paganism which was  scarcely forgotten  
in their day by the interpolation of a  
,christian  prophecy1 or the like1 as in
 ,christian ,rome the statues of the    
,olympian  deities were converted into  
the effigies of ,christian saints by the
  apposition of a nimbus to their heads4
 ,then come a group written  from a     
,christian point of view1 and enforcing 
a lesson in ,christian  morals1 although
 the framework of the story and most of 
the episodes  are derived from the older
 literature3#abf such are the ,voyages  
of  ,maelduin1 of the sons of ,ua       
,corra1 and of ,snedgus and ,mac ,ragla4
  ,finally1 there are the purely        

ecclesiastical ,imrama1 included in the 
acts of one or other of the saints1 of  
which class the ,voyage of ,st4         
,brendan is in every way the most       
important example4    ,we have been     
induced somewhat to anticipate the      
earliest of the ,imrama1  and to give   
the greater part of the description of  
,manannn's ,elysium  contained in the   
,voyage of ,bran1 in order to present in
 a single view  the different forms in  
which the ,otherworld was conceived by  
the  ancient ,irish4 ,the story goes on 
to relate how1 the maiden's song  ended1
 the branch leapt back again into her   
hand1 and she vanished2  but the glamour
 was on ,bran1 and he set forth in his  
curach across  the sea4 ,here he meets  
,manannn ,mac ,lr1 traversing the sea in
 his  chariot like a veritable          
,poseidon4#abg ,the god accosts ,bran1  
and  sings to him a song concerning his 
,elysian realm beyond the sea4 ,his     
description adds but little to that     
contained in the maiden's song2  one    

touch1 however1 we may note1 by reason  
of its frequent occurrence  in          
subsequent writings4 ,he speaks of a    
#8charming delightful game1' at  which  
the denizens play over their wine1 #8men
 and gentle women beneath  a bush1      
without sin1 without transgression4'    
,this passage has been  accredited to   
,christian transcribers2 however1 the   
remarks previously  offered in relation 
to such interpolations in general would 
seem to  apply to the present case4 ,the
 very poetical description of the ,tr   
,tairngire contained in this tale1 while
 thoroughly in accord with the  more    
primitive legends1 though amplified and 
drawn by a more masterly  hand1 is      
marked by a refinement of imagination   
and execution more than  sufficient to  
account for the occurrence of the idea  
in question1  without any air of        
incongruity with the rest of the        
description4#abh  ,we may add that it   
seems most unlikely that a ,christian   
scribe would1  if he could1 introduce a 

touch of the kind1 when he has not found
 it  necessary1 in this and other       
legends where the old ,irish conception 
of the ,otherworld has undergone an     
euhemerising and ,christianising        
process1 to delete the episodes of      
enchanted dns and islands where the     
wayfarer is refreshed with delights akin
 to those of the ,mohammedan            
,paradise4#abi ,manannn's song in the   
present tale contains a palpable        
interpolation of the usual kind1 in the 
form of several stanzas  prophetic of   
the coming of ,christ4    ,another      
,imram belongs to the ,cuchulainn cycle1
 and in its original form  was probably 
older than any other story of this class
 that has come  down to us1 but it is   
only preserved in a later redaction4    
,cuchulainn  having overcome in battle  
the king of the ,ui ,maine1 the king put
 a  spell on him that he should know no 
peace until he had ascertained why  the 
children of ,doel ,dermait had left     
their country4 ,cuchulainn could  find  

no one to tell him this1 and became a   
prey to unrest4 ,at length  he had      
occasion to fight a duel with the king  
of ,alba's son1 whom he  vanquished and 
would have slain1 but that the prince   
begged his life1  which ,cuchulainn     
granted him on condition that he would  
solve the  riddle4 ,this the prince     
could not do himself1 but he promised to
 take  ,cuchulainn to those who could4  
,cuchulainn accepted these terms1 and   
embarked on board the prince's ship with
 his charioteer ,loeg and his  comrade  
,lugaid4 ,they first came to a fair     
island1 wherein was a dn  surrounded by 
a wall of silver and a stockade of      
bronze upon it4 ,they  received a       
cordial welcome1 but upon propounding   
their question were  directed to another
 island1 where dwelt ,achtlann1 daughter
 of ,doel  ,dermait and wife of ,condla 
,coel ,corrbacc1 a kind of marine       
,enceladus1  who used to lie all across 
his island1 and at every breath he drew 
would send a great wave along the sea   

with the wind of it4 ,achtlann  guided  
them to a third island1 where two great 
giants bore joint rule1  ,corpre        
,cundail1 a kinsman of ,doel ,dermait1  
and ,eochaid ,glas ,corpre4 ,the  former
 challenged ,cuchulainn to fight1 and1  
being overcome1 treated  him hospitably1
 and told him of ,doel ,dermait's       
children1 who were held  captive in that
 island by ,eochaid4 ,next day          
,cuchulainn attacked ,eochaid  in his   
#8,place of ,torture1' the ,glenn2 but  
the giant was so tall that  ,cuchulainn 
could only reach him by jumping on to   
the rim of his shield1  from which      
,eochaid kept blowing him off each time4
 ,cuchulainn1 however1  by dint of one  
of those gymnastic feats for which he   
was famous1 leapt  into the air over the
 giant and slew him from above4 ,he then
 released  the captives1 who straightway
 bathed in the giant's blood1 and being 
thus healed of their tortures and       
sufferings1 were enabled to return to   
their own country4 ,in this story1 which

 assuredly bears small imprint  of      
,christian influences1 we probably have 
the earliest form of that  episode of   
the release of the captives of some     
giant or wizard1 which  recurs in the   
,graal romances1 and is one of the most 
frequent incidents  of the romantic     
tales of chivalry4#acj ,its meaning is  
clear1 the  release of the dead from the
 powers of the lower world1 a feat which
  is no less frequently accomplished by 
different means1 in medival  stories1 by
 a saint or jongleur1 according as the  
scope of the work is  religious or      
comic4    ,the earliest of the          
,christian ,imrama that we possess is   
,the ,voyage of  ,maelduin's ,curach1   
the composition of which ,professor     
,zimmer refers  to the eighth century at
 latest1 though it contains             
interpolations  which ,mr4 ,nutt        
considers to have been made at the end  
of the tenth  century4#aca ,it relates a
 voyage undertaken by ,maelduin1 a young
 noble  of the ,eoghanachta1 in order to

 find the murderer of his father who    
had been slain by a marauder of ,leix4  
,the tale is a remarkably fine  one of  
its kind1 and its simple and picturesque
 prose is by no means  improved upon by 
,tennyson's poem1 the subject of which  
it suggested4  ,it is long1 and contains
 a great variety of incidents1 some of  
which1  it is very possible1 may not    
belong to the original ,celtic stock1   
but may be due to classical sources4    
,certain it is that a great part  of    
them belong to that class of #8ferlies' 
which old writers used to  place in terr
 incognit1 and have their analogues in  
the writings  of ,herodotus and ,aelian1
 and1 ,mr4 ,stokes says1 ,megasthenes1  
to whom  we may add ,lucian and ,sinbad4
 ,the majority of them1 however1 are    
variants1 and often developments1 of    
topics common in ,irish legend4 ,we     
must content ourselves with giving a    
brief summary of those episodes  which  
most illustrate the development of the  
,otherworld legend in ,irish            

ecclesiastical literature4    ,as usual1
 the narrative mainly consists of the   
visits paid by the  wanderer to a number
 of enchanted islands1 which are mostly 
of the  usual ,wonderland pattern1      
though the present description of them  
contains1 in most cases1 certain        
distinctive features of its own4 ,the   
wanderers are entertained in stately    
dns1 with walls and palisades of  the   
precious metals or of crystal2 they are 
regaled with magic food2  there is the  
usual ,calypso episode1 etc4 etc4 ,one  
island is raised  above the sea upon a  
pedestal2 in another is a river of fire2
 one is  encompassed with a wall of     
water2 over another a stream rises on   
one  side and descends on the other1    
forming an arch like a rainbow2 upon    
another is a tall column with a mystical
 veil depending from it and  enshrouding
 the island1--all of which recall       
features of the ,paradise  described in 
the ,fis ,adamnin4    ,some of the      
incidents bear a decidedly infernal     

significance4 ,on one  island the       
voyagers beheld a horse-race1 and heard 
the shouts of the  crowd2 both jockeys  
and spectators were demons4 ,it has been
 suggested  that this incident1 for     
which no parallel exists1 so far as ,i  
am aware1  in earlier narratives1 may be
 of ,norse origin2 possibly it may be   
one of those loans from classical       
literature before referred to1 and      
ecclesiastical influences may have      
depicted in ,stygian colouring the      
pagan ,elysium in which departed heroes 
continue to ply their wonted            
sports4#acb ,at the same time1 it is    
possible that the writer may have  dealt
 in a like manner with the sports of    
,magh ,mell1 in ,manannn's  ,elysium1   
described in the ,imram ,brin4 ,of      
course1 the question of  foreign        
importation turns upon the other        
question1 whether horse-races1  as well 
as chariot-races1 were known in ,ireland
 at the date when the  ,voyage of       
,maelduin was written4    ,on another   

island they saw a party of demon smiths 
forging a mass of  glowing metal1 which 
one of them threw after the curach1 as  
,polyphemus  threw the rock after       
,odysseus4#acc ,on another they came to 
a huge1  hideous mill1 and the miller1  
huge and hideous to match1 told them    
that the grist which he cast into his   
mill was all things that had  been      
begrudged on earth4 ,this demon miller  
is rather a favourite  symbol in ,irish 
legend1 and is not confined to          
professedly religious  compositions4 ,it
 occurs in the story of ,mongn in a     
slightly different  form2 in the ,voyage
 of the sons of ,ua ,corra1 who saw all 
manner of  precious things cast into the
 mill1 and the miller told them1 #8,i   
cast  into the mouth of the mill all    
things for which grudging has been made1
  and 'tis the ,miller of ,hell ,i am'2 
and it survived in local tradition  as  
the ,muilleann ,luprachn 7,pixies'      
,mill7 near ,tuam4#acd    ,there is     
something weirdly picturesque in this   

demon miller who casts  into his ,mill  
of ,vanities1 and grinds down there1 all
 the objects of  worldly covetise2 the  
conception reminds us rather curiously  
of the  mystical ,wheat-sieve in the    
carnival hymn of the ,florentine        
,piagnoni1  ,il ,trionfo del ,vaglio4   
,in striking contrast to these rude     
sketches of the infernal realm is  a    
short but vivid episode in which the    
subjects borrowed from the  primitive   
,elysium are rendered by a master's     
hand4 ,one island by which  the voyagers
 passed was surrounded by a wall of     
fire1 which revolved  about the island  
continually4 #8,there was an open       
doorway in the side of  that rampart4   
,now whenever the doorway would come 7in
 its revolution7  opposite to them1 they
 used to see 7through it7 the whole     
island and  all that was therein1 and   
all its indwellers1 even human beings1  
beautiful1 abundant1 wearing adorned    
garments1 and feasting1 with  golden    
vessels in their hands4 ,and the        

wanderers heard the ale-music4  ,and for
 a long space were they seeing the      
marvel they beheld1 and  they deemed it 
delightful' 7trans4 ,w4 ,s41 loc4       
cit474#ace ,never  perhaps in sacred or 
profane literature has a passage of     
equal brevity  portrayed with equal     
vividness that ,celestial ,feast which1 
as fact  or symbol1 enters into every   
creed2 from the gross delights of that  
#8humbler heaven' which #8kindly        
,nature' has given to the hopes of      
primitive man1 to the imagery wherewith 
higher creeds seek to picture  the      
indescribable ben dell' intelletto4     
,there is no superfluous  detail1 and   
none is needed1 but the picture flashes 
out before the  reader's eye as it did  
before ,maelduin and his crew--that     
ideal region1  cut off from the         
wanderers by a fiery wall which forbids 
their access1  but grants them a        
fleeting vision before they pass on     
their way4    ,this tale contains a     
group of incidents which are largely    

represented  in the ,acts of the ,irish 
,saints4 ,on one island an old hermit1  
fifteenth  in descent from ,st4         
,brenainn of ,birr1 dwelt beside a lake4
 ,hard by1  a great eagle1 very old1    
alighted1 bearing in his beak a branch  
and  berries on it4 ,two other eagles   
came and picked off the vermin which    
infested the plumage of the first2 they 
then ate of the berries and  cast others
 into the lake1 after which the old     
eagle plunged into the  water1 and      
washed until his youthful vigour        
returned to him1 after  which they all  
flew away4 ,one of ,maelduin's crew     
bathed in the lake  wherein the berries 
had been cast1 and lost neither tooth   
nor hair1  nor suffered from any        
infirmity until the day of his death4   
,as we have  seen1 mystical birds abound
 in ,irish descriptions of the          
,otherworld1  but in the present curious
 episode we can easily recognise the    
classical legend of the ,phnix4 ,mr4    
,nutt well develops this point in  the  

essay to which we have so often had     
occasion to refer1 and gives an         
interesting parallel in an ,anglo-,saxon
 poem on the ,phnix4 ,for this1  and the
 discussion thereon1 we must refer the  
reader to ,mr4 ,nutt's  work4 ,we may   
note the very characteristic way in     
which the ,irish writer  adapts the     
foreign incident to the accepted forms  
of the national  literature4 ,the       
rejuvenescence of the eagle is effected 
not by fire  but by water1 which owes   
its properties to certain berries       
dropped  therein1 these evidently       
belonging to the species which dropped  
from  the quicken-trees--a variant of   
the hazels of ,buan--into the wells     
where the ,salmon of ,knowledge consumed
 them1 and thereby acquired his         
supernatural virtues4    ,another island
 was covered with trees1 which were the 
resort of birds2  and here dwelt a man1 
clad with his own hair4 ,this was a     
pilgrim from  ,ireland who had been     
wrecked on the island1 and the birds    

were his  children1 with whom he was to 
abide there till ,doomsday4    ,another 
anchorite1 likewise clad with his own   
hair1 dwelt upon an  island surrounded  
with a golden rampart1 and the ground of
 the island  was white as down4#acf ,he 
was fed by a fountain1 which ran on     
,wednesdays and ,fridays with whey or   
water1 on ,sundays and the feasts of    
,martyrs with good milk1 and on ,high   
,days with ale or wine4    ,on yet      
another island dwelt a hermit covered   
with white hair1 so  that he looked like
 a white bird4 ,he had been cook at the 
monastery  of ,torach1 where he used to 
embezzle and sell the provisions of the 
community1 and hoard the proceeds1 until
 he became exceeding rich1  and waxed   
proud4 ,one day he was bidden bury a    
peasant2 on digging the  grave1 he was  
accosted by a corpse already buried on  
the spot1 who  forbade him to lay that  
sinner's corpse atop of him1 a holy man4
 ,the  cook asked the corpse what boon  
he would grant him for compliance2  the 

corpse replied1 #8,eternal life'2 and   
the cook found another  resting-place   
for the peasant4 ,some time later1 the  
cook felt a desire  to quit the island1 
so he set forth in a curach1 laden with 
all his  ill-gotten wealth4 ,at sea he  
was hailed by a man seated upon a wave1 
who told him that all the air about him 
was thick with demons1 because  of his  
pride and thefts1 and bade him fling all
 his riches into the  sea4 ,he obeyed1  
reserving to himself only a little      
wooden cup4 ,the  man gave him seven    
cakes and a cupful of whey-water1 which 
the cook  carried to a rock1 and this   
was his only food for seven years1 after
  which time he had lived on salmon     
which an otter had brought him          
periodically4#acg ,in the man sitting   
upon the wave1 it is impossible  not to 
recognise an adaptation of ,manannn ,mac
 ,lr1 who drove over the  waves in his  
chariot to meet ,bran4    ,the          
prevalence of the island-hermit incident
 in ,irish legend is  accounted for by  

the early history of the ,irish ,church4
 ,the pastoral  duties and missionary   
work of the early saints necessitated   
frequent  voyages to the ,western ,isles
 of ,scotland1 to ,britain and to ,gaul1
  while that passion for solitude and   
retirement1 which alternated in  them   
with an intense activity in their       
calling1 and even a vehement            
partizanship in public life1 found full 
gratification on the small  islands     
which fringe the western coasts of      
,ireland4 ,these islands  naturally     
became the scene of those miracles which
 in ,ireland1 as  elsewhere1 clustered  
about the names of the saints2 but here1
 as in  other things1 a strong          
nationality asserted itself1 and        
recollections  of the island ,paradise  
of antiquity entered largely into the   
legends  of the saints1 rendering easy  
the transition from the island retreat  
to the ,paradise where the saints dwelt 
with ,enoch and ,elijah1 beside  the    
,tree of ,life1 amid the songs of the   

bird-souls of the righteous4 ,no  doubt 
a certain number of these wandering     
saints would be blown out of  their     
course to strange lands1 and bring back 
tidings of the wonders  they had        
actually seen1 which would lose nothing 
in their passage from  mouth to mouth4  
,one such case is reported by ,adamnn   
himself1 that  of one ,baitan1 who set  
out with several others in quest of an  
ocean  solitude1 but returned after long
 wanderings4#ach    ,in the ,voyage of  
the ,curach of the ,ua ,corra1#aci the  
ethical and  eschatological element is  
entirely in the ascendant4 ,conall      
,dearg  ua ,conaill ,fhinn1 a rich and  
hospitable noble of ,connacht1 being    
discontented at having no children1     
entered into a compact with the  ,devil1
 who undertook that ,conall should have 
children1 on condition  that they should
 belong to himself4 ,in due time        
,conall's wife bore him  triplets1 who  
received #8heathen baptism' by the names
 of ,lochan1 ,einne1  and ,silvester4   

,these grew up to be mighty men of      
valour2 howbeit1  they considered that  
as they belonged to the ,devil1 it was  
hard if  they might not harry his       
enemies4 ,accordingly1 they set         
themselves to  plunder and burn the     
churches and monasteries of ,tuam1 and  
of half  ,connacht besides4 ,finally1   
they proposed to add the last touch to  
their  guilt by murdering the ,erenach  
of ,clogher1 their mother's father1  and
 burning his church on him4 ,the better 
to effect their purpose1  they visited  
the ,erenach and partook of his         
hospitality1 and went to  sleep1        
awaiting the coming of night4 ,then     
,lochan had a dream1 wherein  he saw    
,hell with its four rivers1 one of them 
full of toads1 another  of serpents1 the
 third running fire1 and the fourth ice4
 ,he also saw  the #8,piast of ,hell1'  
#8and abundance of heads and feet on    
it1' #8the  old ,dragon' often appears  
in ,irish sacred legend4 ,he was then   
taken  to ,heaven1 and saw #8the ,lord  

,himself on ,his throne1 and bird-flocks
  of angels making music to ,him1' the  
sweetest singer of all being  ,michael1 
in form of a bird4 ,on waking1 he       
related his vision to his  brethren1 and
 they all1 moved to repentance1 vowed   
thenceforth to serve  ,god instead of   
the ,devil4 ,accordingly1 #8they made   
staves of their  spear-shafts1' instead 
of beating their spears into            
pruning-hooks1  and betook themselves to
 ,st4 ,finden of ,clonard1 to whom they 
made  confession4 ,he instructed them in
 religion for a year and a day1 and     
then bade them go and restore the       
churches which they had destroyed4      
,this they did2 and then1 #8one day when
 they came forth over the edge  of the  
haven1 they were contemplating the sun1 
as he went past them  westwards1 and    
they marvelled much concerning his      
course4 8,and in what  direction goes   
the sun10 say they1 8when he goes under 
the sea8 ,and  what more wondrous       
thing10 say they1 8than the sea without 

ice1 and ice  on every other            
water80'#adj    ,these reflections1 so  
typical of the old ,irish attitude      
towards ,nature1  although to us they   
may seem to be more in keeping with the 
ideas of  much more recent times1 awoke 
in the ,ui ,corra that spirit of        
wandering1  than which1 perhaps1 no     
other ,leanamhn ,sidhe casts more potent
 spells  on man4 ,they got a friend1 a  
wright1 to build them a ship1 wherein   
they  embarked1 with a bishop1 a priest1
 a deacon1 a shipwright1 a buffoon1  and
 a servant1 being nine in all2 then1 at 
the bishop's bidding1 they  committed   
themselves to the guidance of the winds4
    ,the incidents of the voyage and the
 lands they visited resemble those      
described in the ,voyage of ,maelduin1  
several of the islands at which  they   
touched exhibiting the mise en scne of  
pagan legend1 adapted  in the usual     
manner to the ,christian drama4 ,thus on
 one of these  islands they found an    
orchard of fair1 fragrant apple-trees1  

and a most  beautiful river flowing     
through it2 and #8when the wind would   
move the  tree-tops of the grove1       
sweeter was their song than any music'  
7trans4  ,w4 ,stokes1 loc4 cit474 ,and  
the apples and the river1 which was of  
wine1 cured all wounds and sickness4    
,many of the adventures belong to  the  
common stock of wonder voyages2 here1 as
 in the ,voyage of ,maelduin1  mention  
is made of the island uplifted above the
 sea by a pedestal1  whence the voices  
of the islanders could be heard1 but the
 speakers not  seen2 of the watery arch1
 the pillar and net1 the demon smiths1  
etc4 ,on  one island flowers were       
growing as big as tables1 dropping      
honey1 and  about them beautiful bright 
bird-flocks were singing4 ,here dwelt a 
#8son  of the ,church1' ,dega1 a        
disciple of the ,apostle ,andrew1 who   
had gone  on a pilgrimage across the    
ocean to expiate his having forgotten   
his  nocturn one night2 he was awaiting 
,doomsday on that island1 together  with

 the birds1 who were the souls of holy  
human beings4    ,in these islands1 the 
abode of pilgrims and hermits until     
,doomsday1  we have1 in a pagan setting1
 the limbo of the boni sed non valde4 ,a
  little further on1 we come to what is 
the first incident of a purely          
,purgatorial nature occurring in this   
class of literature4 ,one island  was   
divided into two parts--the one part    
inhabited by the living1 the  other by  
the dead4 ,multitudes were lying there  
on red-hot flagstones1  with red-hot    
spits through them1 howling terribly as 
a fiery sea sent  its billows of flame  
over them4 ,these were they who had     
failed to make  expiation for their sins
 on earth1 and were tormented in this   
manner  until ,doomsday4    ,the        
voyagers also perceived flocks of birds 
rising from out of a river1  pursued by 
eels1 otters1 and black swans4 ,these   
were the spirits of the  damned1 let out
 of ,hell for a day's respite on        
,sundays1 though they  were not allowed 

to enjoy this boon in peace1 for the    
eels1 etc41 were  demons that kept      
pursuing them4 ,one of these birds had  
three beautiful  rays on its breast2    
this was a woman who had forsaken her   
husband1  but had brought him food when 
sick and in want4 ,this notion that the 
damned were periodically allowed a day's
 holiday#ada was generally  accepted by 
the early ,church in ,ireland1 as       
elsewhere4 ,sometimes1 as  here1 this   
was believed to take place so often as  
every ,sunday2 by  some1 only on the    
great festivals of the ,church1 as      
,christmas ,day and  ,easter4 ,our      
author1 like several other of the ,irish
 ,churchmen1 was  a strict ,sabbatarian1
 and gives to violations of the ,sunday 
a place  disproportionately large1      
visiting them with a severity that seems
  excessive4 ,for instance1 a solitary  
rower was rowing with a fiery spade     
upon a fiery river1 the waves of which  
kept breaking over him2 this was  a     
boatman who had plied his trade on      

,sunday4 ,the lurid picturesqueness  of 
this figure1 worthy of ,dante1 is       
spoiled by the disproportion  between   
crime and punishment4 ,a horseman       
bestrode a fiery horse2 he had  stolen  
his brother's horse1 and ridden him on a
 ,sunday4 ,there was also  a black1     
smoky giant1 carrying an iron staff as  
big as a mill-shaft1  and flakes of     
fire1 as big as fleeces1 coming out of  
his throat4 ,this  was no ,typhoeus1 nor
 heresiarch1 nor conqueror1 the scourge 
of nations1  but a man who had carried  
firewood on a ,sunday2 for this he now  
bore on  his back a bundle of faggots1  
the load of six oxen1 which would blaze 
up1 ever and anon1 when he would fling  
himself into the sea1 #8but it  was     
increase of pain to him4'    ,reference 
has already been made to the demon      
miller1 grinding the  world's vain      
riches4 ,one island was peopled by men  
wailing aloud as  they were mangled by  
the fiery red beaks and talons of sable 
birds1  while their tongues were aflame 

within their heads2 these were          
dishonest smiths4    ,other islands     
which the ,ui ,corra visited were       
variants of the earthly  ,paradise1     
being inhabited by pilgrims1 solitaries1
 etc41 like those  already described4   
,the ,voyage of ,snedgus and ,mac       
,ragla#adb is equally ,christian in     
conception1 and in some respects        
approximates yet more closely to the    
eschatology of the ,fis4 ,the men of    
,ross1 unable to endure the tyranny  of 
,fiacha1 their chief1 killed him1       
thereby rendering themselves liable  to 
death4 ,at the instance of ,st4 ,colm   
,cille1 this doom was commuted  to the  
old ,irish punishment of exposure on the
 sea2 and they were  set adrift1 sixty  
couples of them1 in as many small boats1
 #8for ,god  to judge them4' ,it was    
,snedgus and ,mac ,ragla that were sent 
to bear  this sentence to them1 and     
shortly afterwards they embarked on     
their  own account to make a pilgrimage 
to the ,east4 ,after visiting several   

islands of the familiar type1 they came 
to one whereon was a great  tree1 and   
many beautiful birds perched thereon4   
,and #8melodious was the  music of those
 birds1 singing psalms and canticles1   
praising the ,lord4  ,for they were the 
birds of the plain of ,heaven1 and      
neither trunk nor  leaf of that tree    
decayed' 7trans4 ,w4 ,stokes1 loc4      
cit474 ,on the top  of the tree sat a   
great bird1 with a head of gold and     
wings of silver1  who told of the       
,creation of the ,world1 of the         
,nativity1 ,baptism1  ,passion1         
,resurrection1 etc42 #8and he tells     
tidings of ,doom2 and then  all the     
birds used to beat their sides with     
their wings1 so that  showers of blood  
dropt out of their sides1 for dread of  
the tidings of  ,doom' 7,ibid474        
,after which they came to a land where  
they found the banished men of  ,ross1  
who were to abide there until ,judgment1
 for they were guiltless  in what they  
had done2 ,fiacha having apparently     

deserved his fate4  #8,good is this     
island1' they said1 #8wherein we are1   
for in it are ,elijah  and ,enoch1 and  
noble is the dwelling wherein is        
,elijah4' ,and they  showed the voyagers
 a lake of water and a lake of fire1    
which should  long since have come over 
ire1 had not ,st4 ,patrick and ,st4     
,martin been  praying for the land4 ,the
 travellers asked to see ,enoch1 but    
were told  that he was #8in a secret    
place1 until we shall all go to battle  
on the  ,day of ,judgment4'#adc    ,we  
might have expected to find ,enoch and  
,elijah in the ,terrestrial  ,paradise1 
in company of the bird-flocks1 as in    
other writings1 but  the construction of
 the ,imram was commonly loose4 ,the    
introduction  of them shows that the    
fusion of the national traditions with  
the  teaching of the ,church was now    
complete4 ,this is equally apparent in  
the description of another island1 on   
which they landed3 #8,a great lofty     
island1 and all therein was delightful  

and hallowed4 ,good was the king  that  
abode in this island1 and he was holy   
and righteous1' etc4 7trans4  ,w4       
,stokes1 loc4 cit474 ,his dn had one    
hundred doors2 at each door  was an     
altar1 and at each altar a priest1      
celebrating the ,eucharist4  ,this king 
and his dn again remind us of the castle
 of the ,graal4    ,we have now traced1 
in outline1 the development of the      
,otherworld  theory in ,irish legend1   
from its primitive conception as a ,land
 of  ,cockayne1 presided over by the    
,dagda1 with his inexhaustible ale-vat  
and ready-roasted pigs1 to its          
identification with the ,terrestrial    
,paradise1 though without losing its    
distinctive features4 ,one step  only   
remained to be taken before the ,imram1 
thus modified1 should  pass beyond the  
country of its birth1 and assume a      
prominent place in  the literature of   
medival ,europe4 ,this step was taken in
 the group  of stories--some legendary1 
others more or less historic1 though    

intermingled with legendary             
matter--which narrated the voyages of   
the ,irish ,saints1 or1 rather1 in that 
most famous example of its  class which 
purports to give an account of the      
travels of ,st4 ,brendan  of ,clonfert1 
surnamed #8the ,voyager4' ,so entirely  
does it surpass  all others in          
popularity and influence1 and especially
 in those  circumstances which connect  
it with our subject1 that it may be     
taken  as the representative of its     
class2 as1 however1 it is later in date 
of  composition than the ,fis ,adamnin1 
and even reproduces some passages  of   
the latter1 it may be left for a later  
section4    ,the authors of the ,voyages
 of the ,ui ,corra1 and of ,snedgus and 
,mac  ,ragla1 had not only given an     
entirely ,christian tone to the ,imram1 
but1 without abandoning the imagery of  
the ,otherworld handed down by  the     
national traditions1 had blent therewith
 a number of conceptions  derived       
through the medium of the ,apocalyptic  

literature of the early  ,church from   
both classical and ,hebraistic sources4 
,further1 they  prepared the transition 
from the ,imram to the ,fis4#add    ,the
 ,visions of the ,saints figure         
prominently in the hagiology of         
,ireland as of other countries2 not all 
of them1 however1 related to the        
,otherworld1 or1 in particular1 treated 
the ,otherworld as a subject in  itself1
 and not merely as the medium for       
conveying some moral lesson1  or for    
revealing the fate of an individual4    
,adamnn1 in his ,life of  ,st4 ,colm    
,cille1 one of his authentic works1     
states that the saint  was often        
rewarded with angelic intercourse1 and  
received frequent  revelations          
concerning the fates of the good and of 
the wicked4#ade  ,however1 the most     
famous of these ,visions1 with the      
exception of that  of ,adamnn1 were     
those of ,st4 ,fursa 7c4 #egj-;c4 #fej  
,a4,d471 which  derived additional      
celebrity from the mention made of them 

by ,bede in  his ,ecclesiastical        
,history4#adf    ,the exact place of    
,st4 ,fursa's birth and race appear to  
be unknown1  though it seems that he was
 a ,munsterman4 ,the principal scene of 
his  early ministrations was the        
neighbourhood of ,loch ,orbsen          
7,corrib71  and he afterwards spent some
 time as a hermit upon an island in the 
ocean4 ,at a later date he visited      
,england1 probably about #fcc ,a4,d41   
as recorded by ,bede1 and won the favour
 and respect of ,sigebert1 ,king  of    
,east ,anglia4 ,the monastery of        
,burghcastle1 in ,suffolk1 was founded  
under his auspices1 and his labours were
 attended with many conversions  among  
the ,saxons4 ,he next passed over to    
,gaul1 where he enjoyed a  great        
reputation1 and exercised influence over
 ,king ,clovis ,,ii4 ,in ,gaul  he      
founded the monastery of ,lagny1 and a  
branch of it at ,perronne4    ,fursa's  
visions of the ,otherworld must have    
appeared to him before his  visit to    

,england1 probably during the solitude  
of his ocean retreat4  ,however1 he     
continued to see visions1 of one sort or
 other1 during the  latter part of his  
life4 ,indeed1 it is probable that in   
his case1 as in  so many others1 the    
visions were largely produced by        
physical causes--a  constitutional      
tendency1 stimulated by special         
circumstances--for we  read that the    
first of his visions came to him in a   
trance1 during an  illness1 and the rest
 after long fasting4    ,in the first   
vision1 his soul was conveyed out of the
 body1 and #8he was  graced with the    
sight and the hearing of the praises of 
the ,heavenly  ,hosts4' ,three days     
later1 he was again taken by three      
angels1 who  represented the ,trinity1  
and borne through clouds of hideous1    
misshapen  demons1 who attempted to bar 
his progress1 and cast at him showers of
  fiery arrows1 which the leading angel 
caught on his buckler4#adg ,on  their   
way they passed by ,satan1 who raised up

 his head1 like that of a  serpent1 and 
argued against ,fursa's acceptance into 
,eternal ,life1 by  reason of the sins  
to which he was prone1 and among these1 
chiefly1  a vindictive spirit2 but      
although he showed that #8the ,devil can
 cite  ,scripture for his purpose1' the 
angels answered his arguments1 and  they
 passed on4 ,then ,fursa1 like ,scipio  
in the #8,dream1' was bidden to  look   
back upon the world2 and it appeared to 
him as it were a dark  valley1 and in   
the air about it four fires were        
burning4 ,these were the  fires that    
destroy the world2 and the first fire   
was ,neglect of the  ,baptismal ,vow to 
renounce the ,devil and his works2 the  
second fire was  ,covetousness2 the     
third ,dissension1 and the fourth       
,injustice4 ,fursa  descried a fire     
approaching1 and was dismayed2 but the  
angel said to  him1 #8,what thou hast   
not kindled shall not consume thee'2 for
 the fire  tried every one according to 
his works2 and #8as the body is consumed

  by self-willed pleasure1 so shall the 
soul burn with everlasting  punishment4'
 ,the doctrine is as old as the ,rabbis1
 but the moral lesson  is here finely   
conceived and forcibly conveyed4 ,seven 
times more did as  many demons in       
succession attempt to bar ,fursa's      
progress1 contesting  his right to      
admittance with various eristic         
arguments1 supported by  texts of       
,scripture4 ,it is to be remarked that  
the obstacles which  commonly obstruct  
the hero's access to the enchanted lands
 of fable1  and often survive in        
theological adaptations of the subject1 
have  here assumed an aspect almost     
purely intellectual and spiritual4 ,all 
objections having been satisfactorily   
answered by the angels1 ,fursa  found   
himself surrounded by a great           
brightness1 and saw vast multitudes  of 
angels and saints flying with wings in  
motion4 ,among these ,fursa  recognised 
several friends1 with whom he held      
converse4 ,he then  approached a region 

of serener air1 where the angelic host1 
disposed  in four choirs1 were singing  
the ,tersanctus4 ,here he received long 
instructions in theology and morals1    
which he was bidden to announce  to the 
princes and prelates of ,ireland2 he was
 then conducted back to  his body4 ,on  
the way1 a great fire approached in a   
threatening manner2  the angels diverted
 it1 but from out of the midst of it    
demons shot  forth a sinner1 aiming him 
at ,fursa4 ,the angels cast him back1   
but not  until he had struck ,fursa's   
shoulder and burnt it4 ,this was a      
sinner  from whom ,fursa had accepted a 
cloak1 while ministering to him on his  
deathbed4#adh    ,another of the        
,visions of the ,irish saints1          
attributed to ,st4  ,laisrn1 has been   
made available for the first time by    
,professor ,kuno  ,meyer4#adi ,this     
,laisrn1 he thinks1 was probably the    
most celebrated  of the many saints     
bearing that name1 the ,abbot of        
,lethglenn 7,leighlin7  in the ,co4     

,carlow1 who died in the year #fch4     
,from the mere fragment  that survives1 
it would seem that the complete ,vision 
must have treated  the subject with     
great fulness1 though a part of         
,laisrn's visit to  ,hell is all that is
 left4 ,it is more in the style of      
,fursa's vision  than that of ,adamnn1  
though it differs from both in certain  
respects1  notably in the manner of the 
revelation to the seer of the vision4   
,laisrn had gone to ,cluain ,chin1 in   
,connacht1 to purify a church  there1   
and after nine days' fasting fell       
asleep4 ,in his sleep he heard  a voice 
say #8,arise6' and upon this command    
being repeated1 he raised  his head1    
crossing himself4 ,the church was all   
lighted up1 and between  the chancel and
 the altar stood a shining figure1 who  
said to him1  #8,come towards me6' ,at  
this ,laisrn was seized with a          
trembling1 and in  some mysterious      
manner he became aware that his own     
spirit was parted  from the body1 and   

was hovering over his head4 ,the roof of
 the church  then opened1 and two       
angels1 taking ,laisrn's soul between   
them1 bore  him aloft into the air1     
where a host of angels received him4    
,further  progress was opposed by three 
hordes of fiery demons1 armed with fiery
  spears and darts1 one of whom         
preferred against ,laisrn a long charge1
  enumerating all the sins which he had 
committed since birth1 and of  which he 
had failed to make confession2 #8and the
 demon said nothing  that was not true4'
 ,however1 #8an angel of the great host'
 succeeded in  answering all charges1   
and dismissed the demons2 he then bade  
,laisrn's  conductors take him to see   
,hell4 ,the two angels let him down into
 a  glen lying towards the north1 which 
seemed to be as long as from the  rising
 of the sun to his setting4 ,they       
entered into a pit like a cave  between 
two mountains1 and at length came to a  
lofty black mountain1  in the upper part
 of which was a glen1 broad below and   

narrow above1  and this was the porch of
 ,hell4 ,in the midst of the glen       
,laisrn saw  very many of the people of 
,ireland1 wailing2 so many that he      
thought  a pestilence must have brought 
them thither1 but the angel explained   
that #8whoever is under the displeasure 
of ,god after thee1 here do  they behold
 7their7 souls1 and this is their       
certain fate1 unless  they repent' 7tr4 
,k4 ,m41 loc4 cit474 ,laisrn would fain 
have spoken  to them1 but the angel     
forbade it1 #8lest they despair4'       
,however1 he  enjoined ,laisrn to preach
 repentance to them1 whereby they should
  escape that evil4 #8,and again1 he who
 shall live in righteousness1 he  sees  
life while he is in the body1 and he    
shall be in life if he is  steadfast in 
righteousness4 ,tell them also1' said   
the angel1 #8that he  who lives in      
righteousness be steadfast in it1 for   
there is not much  time for them to     
consider1 until death comes to them'    
7,ibid474    ,they entered into ,hell1  

and saw a wild and billowy sea of fire1 
and  the souls aflame therein1 wailing1 
their heads above the surface4 ,some    
had fiery nails through their tongues1  
others through the ears1 or the  eyes2  
others1 again1 were being driven by     
demons with fiery forks4  ,laisrn1      
asking what these different torments    
might mean1 was told  that those with   
nails through their tongues had been    
less frequent in  worship and praise    
than in blasphemy1 falsehood1 prying1   
and boasting4  ,here the fragment breaks
 off4    ,in his preface to the         
foregoing work1 ,professor ,meyer       
appears to  anticipate further          
discoveries in this field of research2  
however1  of all the ,irish ,visions yet
 brought to light1 the ,fis ,adamnin    
excels the rest in interest and         
importance even more completely than    
the ,voyage of ,st4 ,brendan excels all 
other members of its own class1  and may
 be regarded as the type of its genre1  
in its most highly  developed form4     

,before proceeding to examine the       
contents of that ,fis1 we may glance  at
 two other works by ,irish              
ecclesiastical writers which show that a
  great part of the imagery and         
incidents contained alike in the sacred 
,imram and in the ,fis belonged to a    
common stock of ideas current in  the   
,irish eschatology of that period4      
,one of these is the ,scl ,li ,brtha    
7#8,tidings of ,doomsday'71 a homily    
ascribed to #8,matthew1 son of ,alphus1'
 which is preserved in the  ,lebor na   
h-,udri1 and was therefore written in   
the eleventh century  at latest4#aej ,in
 it occurs the familiar distinction     
between the  ,mali sed non valde and the
 ,mali valde1 both of whom are condemned
  in their several degrees2 the ,boni   
sed non valde1 who are finally  saved by
 virtue of their almsgiving1 and the    
,boni valde1 who go  direct to ,heaven4 
,this classification1 though not        
expressly made in  the ,fis ,adamnin1   
lies at the root of the scheme of       

rewards and  punishments there set      
forth4 ,indeed1 ,professor ,zimmer      
points out the  frequency of this       
division in works written by ,irish     
authors or under  ,irish influences4#aea
 ,the ,limbus patrum1 the ,limbus       
infantium1  etc41 represent similar     
attempts of the medival theologians to  
provide  for cases which do not seem to 
them to be adequately dealt with by the 
broader distinctions4 ,dante1 in effect1
 adopts an analogous fourfold           
arrangement2 the infernal regions inside
 and without the ,city of ,dis  being   
allotted to sinners of greater or less  
degree of guilt1 while the  system of   
,purgatory is adapted to the respective 
cases of the ,boni  valde and the ,boni 
sed non valde respectively4    ,in its  
descriptions of both regions of the     
,otherworld1 the homily  presents       
several points of resemblance to the    
,fis ,adamnin4 #8,in no  wise pleasant  
is the path of the sinful2 they find not
 food nor drink1  but perpetual hunger1 

great thirst1 and bitter cold4 ,then    
they are  conducted to the ,devil's     
house amid the sound of despair and     
heavy1  long-drawn moaning4 ,piteous are
 the crying and wailing1 the weeping and
  sighing1 the mourning and smiting of  
hands of the sinners1 as they are       
dragged towards ,hell's torments4 ,but  
theirs is the weariness of remorse      
without avail2 for their prayer is not  
heard there1 seeing that they  had not  
hearkened aforetime while they were in  
this life1 body and soul  dwelling      
together4' ,here1 too1 we have the      
simile of the closing of the  locks1    
which are here threefold3 #8to wit1 the 
closing of ,hell upon them  through ages
 everlasting2 the closing of their eyes 
to the world upon  which they had set   
their love2 and the closing of the      
,kingdom of ,heaven  against them4' ,the
 description of the torments of ,hell is
 copious and  varied4 ,cold1 gloomy     
tracts1 abounding in dark1 ftid lakes1  
alternate  with regions of glowing      

though murky flames1#aeb where the      
sinners  stand on red-hot flagstones4   
,herein swarm monsters of various kinds3
  adders1 toads1 cats which rend the    
damned1 demons who torment them and  hew
 them with swords1 and1 above all1 the  
,piast1 the old serpent--#8a  strange   
serpent1' indeed1 for he is depicted    
with one hundred necks1  and one hundred
 heads on each1 and five hundred teeth  
in every mouth2  one hundred arms he    
has1 one hundred hands on every arm1 and
 one  hundred claws on every hand4#aec  
,there is little attempt made to        
discriminate between the penalties      
accorded to different kinds of guilt4   
,heaven is described in the same        
rhapsodical style as in the ,fis        
,adamnin1 the ,flire ,oengusa1 etc4     
,another moral treatise is the ,d ,brn  
,flatha ,nime1 #8,the ,two ,sorrows  of 
the ,kingdom of ,heaven1' i4e4 the two  
sorrows referred to ch4 #cc  of the ,fis
 ,adamnin4 ,here1 too1 ,elias is        
represented as standing in  ,paradise1  

the ,gospels in his hand1 and he        
preaching to the birds that  perch on   
the ,tree of ,life1 eating its          
berries4#aed          #e4 ,,the ,,fis   
,,adamn,,in      ,the general plan of   
the ,fis ,adamnin is distinguished from 
that  of the other similar writings that
 have come down to us by an             
architectonic character to which they   
can make no claim4 ,the structure       
proper to the ,imram was1 in great      
measure1 that of a framework into  which
 a greater or less number of incidents  
could be fitted1 according  to the      
author's taste1 without impairing the   
general effect2 the same1  in a somewhat
 less degree1 may be said of the        
,echtra1 which are more  nearly akin to 
the romance of adventure than to the    
epic4 ,the early  ,christian writers1   
again1 solely intent upon edification1  
and being for  the most part men of     
little culture--for this species of     
composition1  after all1 was but a      
by-way of ecclesiastical                

literature--were usually  content to    
repeat a few topics belonging to the    
common stock of ideas  prevalent in     
their day1 and paid but little heed to  
literary effect1  or even to the clear  
conception1 or orderly presentment1 of  
their  subject4#aee    ,thus1 in the    
,fis ,adamnin1 we have the first serious
 attempt made  between the ,vision of   
,enoch and the ,commedia of ,dante1     
either to  think the subject thoroughly 
out1 or to treat it in a literary       
spirit3  an attempt on the part of the  
author to construct in his own mind some
  distinct idea of the ,otherworld1 and 
to present his conception to his        
readers in a coherent form4 ,in some    
respects1 indeed1 the construction  of  
it is superior to that of its early     
predecessor1 for1 with due  allowance   
made for the topographical minuteness   
displayed by the  author of the ,book of
 ,enoch in his reproduction1 in the     
description of  ,hell1 of the details of
 his model1 the ,fis manifests a more   

complete  grasp of the subject as a     
whole1 while it gains by the omission of
 the  voluminous discussion of things   
celestial and sublunary1 in which the   
older writer indulges1 and which can    
only encumber a work conceived  with    
less breadth and executed with less     
power than ,dante1 and he  alone1 has   
brought to the task4    ,all the same1  
it cannot be denied that these          
architectonic qualities  are still at a 
rudimentary stage1 and the very fact    
that so moderate an  exercise of        
constructive power should suffice to set
 this work1 as a  literary achievement1 
so far above all other precursors of    
,dante1 does  but enhance our           
appreciation of the height at which the 
stately edifice  of his creation towers 
above all previous efforts4    ,the     
structural imperfections of the ,fis    
,adamnin are enhanced by the  appearance
 of composite design which the work     
bears in its present  form1 being       
apparently made up from two distinct    

versions1 or else  having been          
#8perfected' by some redactor by the    
addition of other  matter4 ,the latter  
explanation seems to us most probable4  
,the first  twenty chapters contain a   
complete and consistent account of the  
soul's progress from death to judgment1 
followed by his relegation  to the place
 which he has merited4 ,it is this part 
of the work which  displays that care   
for construction already noticed2 a     
great part of  the details1 whether of  
native or foreign origin1 which had come
 to be  accepted as conventional        
features of the ,fis or sacred ,imram1  
is  here rejected1 and the borrowings   
from the old romantic literature1       
though still abundant1 are made duly    
subservient to the general  design4     
,this part1 moreover1 together with the 
peroration in chapter  #cb1 bears       
testimony1 by way of direct reference   
and otherwise1 to the  author's         
possession of a greater erudition1 and a
 wider culture1 than  were evinced by   

most of those who had treated of the    
same subject4  ,thus1 apparently1 we are
 entitled to conjecture that chapters   
#a-bj1  chapter #ca 7probably71 and     
chapter #cb1 may represent the work     
which  originally purported1 not1       
indeed1 to have been written by ,adamnn1
 but  to contain the account of a vision
 seen and already related by him4 ,if   
this hypothesis be correct1 then the    
evidences of superior culture and       
erudition1 apparent in this part of the 
work1 and entirely consistent  with what
 we know of ,adamnn1 increase the       
probability that it is  founded upon    
some more or less accurate tradition of 
a vision actually  related by him4 ,for1
 to repeat what has been said on an     
earlier page1  there is nothing but what
 is natural and probable in the         
tradition that  ,adamnn beheld1 or      
composed for spiritual edification1 a   
vision of the  kind then so much in     
vogue1 and took the occasion of a great 
concourse  of the chief men of ,ireland 

in order to promulgate it2 while it is  
equally probable that a man of his      
culture and acquirements should have    
expended upon his task an originality   
and executive skill previously  unknown1
 and altogether improbable that a work  
of one of the foremost  and most famous 
men of his day1 after being thus        
publicly made known1  should have been  
left unrecorded save by the passing     
mention of a  chronicler4    ,to return 
to the structure of the ,fis3 at the end
 of the first  twenty chapters1 all that
 was necessary1 in order to complete the
  design1 was to bring ,adamnn back into
 ,paradise1 and to dismiss him  with the
 admonition to communicate what he had  
seen and heard1 as  in chapter #ca1     
after which the peroration in chapter   
#cb naturally  follows1 and forms a     
fitting conclusion to the whole4        
,however1 it  would seem that the       
redactor1 following the example         
frequently set by  medival compilers1   
who knew not how often the half is      

better than the  whole1 and were apt to 
look on perfection as consisting rather 
in the  abundance of matter than in the 
due disposition of it1 has attempted  to
 supplement the design of the original  
author by the introduction of           
additional details which had long ere   
then become matters of common  form in  
descriptions of the ,otherworld4 ,even  
so1 however1 it must be  admitted that  
he has managed his transitions with more
 than common  skill4 ,although the      
wording of chapter #bj suggests that it 
was the  intention of the original      
author to represent the fate of the lost
  in concise but impressive terms--a    
plan quite in keeping with the  general 
tone of restraint which pervades the    
work--it might yet have  been quite     
consistent with his design to insert the
 usual description  of the various      
torments with which the different kinds 
of sinners are  afflicted1 and such a   
description would follow on quite       
naturally in  the place where it        

actually occurs in the existing text4   
,but the author  of this part1 whether  
the original author or a later editor1  
does  not rest content with such a      
description2 he introduces what amounts 
to a structural alteration of the work1 
and that in a style wholly  inconsistent
 with the design of the earlier part4   
,for in that part the  road has been    
fully traced by which the departed      
spirits have already  reached their     
final habitations2 now1 however1 their  
pilgrimage is  resumed anew1 and the    
familiar bridge incident appears in     
chapter #ba1  where it discharges its   
usual double function of an approach to 
the  ,divine ,presence1 and of a sieve1 
or winnowing fan1 as it were1 for       
separating the wheat from the chaff4    
,wholly consistent as this is with      
medival eschatology1 it is entirely     
inconsistent with the general  plan of  
the present work1 whereby that          
separation is effected by quite  other  
means4 ,minor inconsistencies occur in  

the purgatorial nature of  several of   
the punishments described in this second
 part1 for we might  expect that all    
requirements of the kind had been       
fulfilled during  the soul's progress   
through the seven so-called ,heavens4   
,these small  inconsistencies1 of       
themselves1 would count for little1 and 
might be  regarded as faults of         
construction on the author's part1 or as
 the  result of the imperfect           
development of the purgatorial theory1  
which  leads to similar inconsistencies 
in other writings of this class1 where  
a clear distinction is not often made   
between a normal process of  purgation  
in the intermediate state1 and the      
postponement1 in special  cases1 of the 
final decision2 occurring as they do1   
they acquire a  certain significance as 
tending to accentuate the divergence of 
plan in  the two parts of the work4     
,a similar addition1 attributable to the
 same motives1 would appear to  exist in
 the last three chapters of the work4   

,as already suggested1  chapter #cb     
would bring the work to a satisfactory  
conclusion2 however1  the medival       
compiler was commonly a simple-minded   
person2 for him1  as for #8honest       
,diggory1' the #8old grouse in the      
gunroom' possessed an  infinite variety 
which age could not wither1 nor custom  
stale1 and1  like a child or peasant1 he
 objected to a familiar tale being      
omitted  in its usual place1 or being   
shorn of its proper incidents4 ,the     
picture  of ,enoch and ,elijah beside   
the ,tree of ,life in ,paradise1        
surrounded by  the bird-flocks of the   
righteous to whom ,elijah preached the  
,gospel1  had become one of the most    
familiar and picturesque features of the
  ,irish ,paradise2 therefore a place   
must be found for it4 ,the most  obvious
 place would be that part of ,heaven    
where1 as it is1 the birds  are         
described as singing the hours in the   
,divine ,presence1 and there1  we can   
hardly doubt1 the original author would 

have inserted it1 had he  chosen to make
 use of the familiar image4 ,however1 it
 must1 ,i think1  be admitted that he   
exercised a wise discretion in omitting 
it1  graceful and picturesque as it is2 
for he has constructed his scheme  of   
,heaven after what must seem to us the  
most obvious and appropriate  plan1     
though one which1 strangely enough1     
found little favour with his  compeers3 
he has made the enthroned ,deity the    
centre of all1 so that  to have         
introduced a further group about a      
subordinate centre would  have been to  
break into the design4 ,we may therefore
 be grateful to  the hypothetical       
redactor for appending the episode      
merely by way of  a coda1 without       
obtruding it into what would have been  
its proper  place1 but in which there   
was no room for it4 ,in so doing1 he may
 have  desired to give the work a devout
 and edifying termination1 and to  close
 it1 as it were1 with a sacred          
voluntary4    ,we may now proceed to    

recapitulate some of the principal      
features of  the ,fis1 even at the risk 
of a certain amount of repetition1 in   
order  to show at a glance the relation 
in which it stands to other writings  of
 the same class1 both native and        
foreign4    ,the work opens with an     
exordium in praise of the ,creator1     
regarded  chiefly in ,his capacity of   
,righteous ,judge1 and ,dispenser of    
rewards  and punishments1 the aspect of 
,him most pertinent to the subject  in  
hand4 ,already1 in this formal opening1 
we seem to recognise  the existence of a
 deliberate plan1 whereby the present   
work is  distinguished from others of   
its class1 and this impression is       
strengthened as the author goes on to   
cite1 by way of precedent or  authority1
 similar revelations that had been      
vouchsafed to holy men  of earlier date 
than ,adamnn4 ,these authorities have   
already been  considered in ,section #c 
of the present part2 apparently1        
however1 the  account of the vision     

which the ,apostles beheld upon the     
death of the  ,virgin ,mary1 to which   
the author had access1 must have been   
more ample  than in the group of        
apocryphal writings to which we have    
referred4 ,we  may note that the        
revelation in question was made by the  
,angel of the  ,west1 the conventional  
region of the departed4 ,the citation of
 ,st4 ,paul  probably refers to the     
apocryphal revelation which bears the   
,apostle's  name1 rather than to his own
 words in his ,epistles1 for these      
neither  mention a visit to ,hell1 nor  
describe the state of the dead in either
  place2 though1 indeed1 neither did    
such a revelation form part of ,st4     
,peter's vision1 as described in the    
,acts1 though our author's words  appear
 to imply that such was the case4 ,the  
mention of ,st4 ,peter's  vision affords
 a curious instance of the manner in    
which the imagery  belonging to the     
national literature was apt to give its 
own colour to  an ,irish writer's       

treatment of foreign matter4 ,the       
musical properties  with which the      
author1 apparently on his own           
responsibility1 has  endowed the cords  
which let down the four-cornered vessel 
from ,heaven1  recall the musical stones
 of the ,tr na n-g1 of which further    
mention must be made later on4    ,it is
 noteworthy that the author1 in his list
 of authorities1 makes no  mention of   
earlier ,irish visions1 or1 indeed1 of  
any source which was  attributed to     
post-,apostolic times4    ,a similar    
vision1 we are told1 was vouchsafed to  
,adamnn on the ,feast  of ,st4 ,john the
 ,baptist1 when his soul was parted from
 his body1 and  conducted by his        
guardian angel to view ,heaven and      
,hell1 with their  respective           
inhabitants4 ,even such a pilgrimage was
 set before ,dante by  his guide1#aef   
and though ,adamnn's chronicler does not
 here make  mention of a separate region
 devoted to color che son contenti1 ,nel
  fuoco1 perch speran di venire1 ,quando

 che sia1 alle beate genti1 we  have    
seen that the case of these spirits was 
dealt with by the ,irish  as by the     
,italian writer1 though the extent to   
which the purgatorial  theory was       
developed between their respective      
epochs caused them to  treat the subject
 with very different degrees of         
precision4    ,the selection of         
,adamnn's guardian angel as             
psychopompos1 rather  than ,michael1 or 
some other of the ,heavenly ,host1#aeg  
may possibly be  ascribed to the        
preference which our author occasionally
 evinces of  an ecclesiastical to a     
legendary treatment4 ,on the other hand1
 we may  note the analogy between the   
soul's guidance through the ,otherworld 
by  his guardian angel1 and the like    
function ascribed by the ,avesta to  the
 beautiful maiden #8who was his own     
conscience1' and was probably an        
allegorising development of the         
,fravashi1 or spiritual alter ego1      
which was held to belong to every man4  

,we now begin to perceive the extent1   
hitherto unexampled1 to which  conscious
 design and literary form enter into our
 author's method4  ,the celestial       
country1 indeed1 is described in general
 terms as #8a  bright land of fair      
weather1' like ,magh ,mell1 and all     
other pagan  ,elysiums2 but1 as the     
theme develops1 we perceive a wide      
divergence  alike from the material     
delights of the pagan ,otherworld1 and  
the  conventional amenities described in
 ecclesiastical legends4 ,as befits  the
 ,heaven of a creed which makes the     
summum bonum to consist in  the         
enjoyment of the ,beatific ,vision1 the 
,deity is represented as the  centre of 
the whole1 and all persons and          
accessories are grouped with  direct    
reference to ,him4 ,in the ,voyage of   
the ,sons of ,ua ,corra1 the  ,lord is  
introduced1 seated on the ,throne1 and  
bird-flocks of angels  making music to  
,him1 and the idea as there presented   
might stand for  a development of the   

,dagda myth1 where the god sits beside  
his magic  apple-trees and vat of ale1  
and the birds of the ,tr ,tairngire sing
  to him4#aeh ,in the present case1     
however1 it seems evident that the      
description contained in the ,apocalypse
 was the author's source of             
inspiration4#aei    ,here again the     
author's ecclesiastical proclivities    
appear in his  description of the abode 
of the blest in a manner recalling the  
interior of a church1 with chancel      
rails1 and choir stalls wherein  the    
righteous stand1 like monks1 in cassocks
 and hoods of white1#afj  while the     
place was illumined by seven thousand   
angels1 who stood round  about instead  
of candles4 ,the separation from the    
,throne1 by means  of a portico1 of the 
saints to whom their final seats had not
 yet  been awarded1 appears to have been
 suggested by the use in the early      
churches of the narthex as the station  
for neophytes4#afa    ,the floor of     
,heaven1 like #8fair crystal1 with the  

sun's countenance  upon it1' seems to   
have been suggested by the #8sea of     
glass1 mingled  with fire1' in ,rev4 xv4
 #b1 which1 in turn1 had been           
anticipated1 in  some sort1 by the      
,pitika sea in the ,avesta1 beside which
 the ,tree  of ,life grew4 ,the grouping
 of the saints about the ,throne would  
likewise appear to be an amplification  
of the description in the               
,revelation4#afb ,the ,apostles and the 
,blessed ,virgin1 we are told1  occupy a
 special place1 next to the ,lord       
,himself2 the ,apostles on  ,his left   
hand1 and next to them the patriarchs   
and prophets1 and on  ,his right the    
,virgin1 and next to her holy maidens1  
#8and no great  space between1' a       
graceful and kindly touch4 ,about them  
are babes and  striplings1 and          
#8bird-choirs of the heavenly folk'2    
further on1 others  of the righteous    
stand #8in ranks and lofty coronals     
about the ,throne1  circling it in      
brightness and bliss1 their faces all   

towards ,god4' ,here  we have1 in       
essentials1 the ,celestial ,rose of     
,dante's ,paradise 7canto  #ca72 the    
bird-choir1 and1 a little later1 the    
guardian angels that  keep flitting to  
and fro among the several companies of  
the righteous1  remind us of the spirits
 which flitted in and out of the petals 
of the  ,rose like bees4    ,several    
other passages are impressed with the   
author's ecclesiastical  turn of        
thought4 ,the ,throne stands in the     
south-east1 probably  because the       
direction of ,jerusalem2 reference is   
made to the nine  degrees of ,heaven1   
i4e4 the ,angels1 ,archangels1 and      
,principalities2  ,powers1 ,virtues1 and
 ,dominations2 ,thrones1 ,cherubim1 and 
,seraphim2  the geographical            
distribution of the saints in accordance
 with the  four quarters of the world--a
 distribution distinct from the fourfold
  division of mankind according to their
 merits1 to which allusion has  been    
made--is probably of the same character4

    ,the sevenfold wall surrounding     
,heaven appears to contain a reference  
to the seven ,heavens2 the different    
colours of these walls may1 as          
suggested1 be a reminiscence of the     
walls of ,ecbatana1 as described by     
,herodotus1 though it is quite possible 
that the idea may have occurred  to the 
author spontaneously4    ,in our        
author's representation of the ,court of
 ,heaven we already find1  completely   
developed1 that idea of the subject     
which was perpetuated  long afterwards  
by the masters of ,italian art4 ,his    
picture of the  enthroned ,deity1 with  
the ,virgin beside ,him1 the ,saints    
standing round  about ,him1 and the     
celestial choirs surrounding the whole1 
might well  be taken for the description
 of some painting by ,fra ,angelico2 nor
 are  the gem-like radiancy of the      
angelical painter's works1 nor the      
august  blitheness which pervades them1 
entirely absent4 ,indeed1 writings of   
this class are not without value as a   

preface to the history of sacred  art1  
as indicating the origin of the         
stereotyped fashion in which the        
masters treated certain religious       
subjects--which fashion was not  created
 by the arbitrary choice of the         
primitives1 and perpetuated  through any
 want of inventive power on the part of 
their followers1 but  represented their 
attempt to portray these subjects in    
accordance with  the traditional form   
with which legend had already invested  
them4    ,one very striking image1 and1 
so far as ,i know1 the offspring of our 
author's imagination1 is the symbol     
whereby he has endeavoured to  represent
 the ,divine ,omnipresence--#8a majestic
 countenance1 seven times  as radiant as
 the sun1' gazing from out a fiery mass1
 and facing the  spectator1 from        
whatever side he might regard ,him4 ,the
 navet of  this attempt to represent the
 ,inconceivable reminds us of the triple
  orbs of iridescent fire in canto #cc  
of the ,paradiso1 whereby ,dante        

symbolised the ,trinity4 ,for pictorial 
effect1 however1 the preference  must1  
,i think1 be awarded to the ,irish      
writer1 whose image1 at once  quaint and
 grandiose1 might be the subject of some
 design by ,blake4    ,at the same time1
 the author does not neglect the stores 
of imagery  contained in the national   
traditions1 though he does not conform  
blindly to his precedents2 for he       
differs from the great majority of  his 
predecessors and successors alike in    
selecting his materials from  whatever  
source appears preferable to him1       
instead of heaping together  a greater  
or less quantity of matter taken at     
haphazard from the common  stock4 ,the  
circle of fire which surrounds the      
midmost ,heaven is a  familiar object in
 both the celestial and the infernal    
regions1 and is  largely represented in 
,irish legends dealing with the         
,otherworld1 or  with occurrences of a  
supernatural order4 ,besides the        
striking instance  in the ,voyage of    

,maelduin1 and other cases to which     
reference has  already been made1       
legends of the ,finn cycle mention      
wizard warriors  who surrounded their   
camp every night with a rampart of      
fire4#afc    ,the crystal veil which    
partly hides the ,throne in chapter #e  
may be a  modification of the veil which
 often enshrouds a mystical island in   
the  ,imrama2 or1 again1 it may have    
been suggested by the veil hanging      
before a shrine in a ,christian church1 
or by the veil of the ,temple1  which   
curtained off the ,holy of ,holies4     
,the ,throne is supported by four       
pedestals1 as was the island ,paradise  
of ,manannn ,mac ,lr in the ,imram      
,bran1 in imitation of which an  island 
supported upon a pedestal1 or pedestals1
 is introduced into  most of the        
,christian ,imrama4 ,the pedestals      
beneath the throne are  of precious     
stone1 and from them sweet music        
proceeds1 as from the  precious stones  
which separate the several companies of 

the celestial  choir in chapter #ac4    
,vocal or musical stones are common in  
,irish  legend2 instances occur in the  
description of ,magh ,mell1 just quoted1
  and elsewhere in similar              
circumstances1 and we may compare the   
,lia  ,fil1 which would shriek when     
pressed by the foot of a lawful king4   
,parallels occur in the legends of other
 ,celtic nations3 e4g4 in the  ,breton  
story of the ,groach 7,irish ,gruagach71
 it is said that every  step leading to 
the palace of that fairy lady sang like 
a bird when  trodden on4    ,the very   
words in which the ,fis attempts to     
express the beauty of the  celestial    
music are those of the old romances3    
#8,though one should hear  no other     
minstrelsy besides1 yet should he have  
his fill of melody and  delight4'       
,the fiery arch above the ,throne       
reminds us somewhat of the watery  arch 
over the enchanted islands of the       
,imrama1 in spite of all  differences4  
,probably both were suggested by the    

rainbow1 but it  may be that the author 
of the present passage had in his mind  
the  description in ,rev4 x4 #a of the  
#8mighty angel ''' and a rainbow upon   
his  head4' ,in a note to the           
translation of this passage1 we         
suggested that  the comparison of the   
arch to #8a wrought helm1 or royal      
diadem1' may  contain a reference to the
 picturesque and chivalrous custom of   
the  ,irish rdr to wear his helmet on   
state occasions1 reserving his crown    
for the day of battle4    ,the triple   
circle surrounding the ,throne may be   
intended to symbolise  the ,trinity4#afd
 ,it is noteworthy that while the       
generality of  medival legends          
describing the ,otherworld give little  
prominence to  the ,triune nature of the
 ,deity1 the present ,vision contains   
several  references to the ,trinity1 as 
do the ,vision of ,fursa1 and several of
  the later ,visions composed by ,irish 
writers or under ,irish influences4     
,our author does not fail to include    

among the delights of ,heaven that      
bird-music which is so dear to ,irish   
writers of all ages4 ,the birds of      
,heaven are here presented in a twofold 
manner4 ,in the first place1 the        
#8bird-choirs of the heavenly folk1' who
 mingle with the multitudes who         
surround the chosen band standing about 
the ,throne1 correspond to the          
bird-souls whom the legends commonly    
place upon the ,tree of ,life1 in       
attendance on ,enoch and ,elijah4 ,there
 are also the three birds perched  upon 
the ,throne1 where they sing the hours1 
after the usual fashion of  their       
congeners1 beginning with the birds of  
,magh ,mell1 in the ,voyage  of ,bran1  
who1 by the way1 can only be made to    
discharge their pious  function at the  
cost of an anachronism4 ,the birds now  
in question would  seem to occupy a     
middle place between the bird-choirs1 of
 which we have  just been speaking1 and 
the great sacred bird which appears in  
the  mythology of every race of         

mankind4#afe ,similar birds are present 
in  the earliest and latest stages of   
,irish myth1 from the ,dagda's palace   
in the ,brug na ,boinne to the          
adaptation of the ,phnix legend which   
figures in the ,voyage of ,maelduin4    
,probably our author's choice of the    
number three conveys another reference  
to the ,trinity2 nevertheless1  three   
was the number alike of the birds of    
,oengus in the ,brug na  ,boinne1 and of
 the eagles seen by ,maelduin4          
,certain features of our author's       
description of ,paradise represent  the 
final stage in the before-mentioned     
process of refining upon that           
conception of the happy ,otherworld as a
 ,land of ,cockayne1 which is  the most 
conspicuous feature in the primitive    
,elysium of every race4  ,in the        
fragrance of the heavenly land1 upon    
which the blessed sate  themselves while
 hearkening to the music1 and in the    
sweet savour of  the candles which      
illumine the city--the candles          

themselves being  angels in that        
guise--the old materialistic idea       
appears to be refined  and spiritualised
 almost beyond recognition2 nevertheless
 every degree  in the descent--or       
ascent--from the pigs and apple-trees   
and ale-vat of  the ,dagda can be       
distinctly traced4#aff    ,the present  
condition of the blessed1 as manifested 
to the ,seer1 is  intended1 it is said1 
to last until the ,day of ,judgment     
only1 when1  and not before1 their state
 will attain to its utmost perfection   
7ch4  #f74 ,of like duration is the     
#8restless and unstable habitation1'    
#8on  hill-tops and in marshy places1'  
which is allotted1 in ch4 #ad1 to  those
 who find no place in the ,city1 #8after
 the words of ,doom4' ,by  these1       
apparently1 the damned are not intended1
 or else the present  passage would be  
in contradiction with the following     
chapters1 which  detail their progress  
to1 and the manner of1 their final doom1
 while  the abyss to which they are     

consigned answers neither in kind nor in
  situation to the description of a wild
 and desolate region adjoining  the     
celestial city2 neither can we suppose  
that the reprobate1 in their  final     
abode1 would continue to receive the    
ministrations of their  guardian        
spirits1 as do the denizens of the      
region in question4#afg ,it  would      
rather seem that they are the mixed     
characters upon whom1 at the  individual
 judgment immediately following death1  
no final sentence has  been passed4 ,the
 reservation of a temporary abode for   
suchlike occurs  in the ,avestan books1 
in certain ,hebrew speculations--as     
shown by the  reference in the ,book of 
,enoch to the mountain ,sheol in the    
west1 and  by the writings of several   
,rabbis--and in early ,christian        
tradition4  ,several instances occur in 
the ,irish legends already reported3    
e4g4  in the islands where hermits1 in  
company with the flocks of bird-souls1  
await the coming of ,judgment1 and the  

similar island inhabited by  the men of 
,ross1 who had been banished for        
justifiable homicide4 ,the  passage     
affords some confirmation of the view   
that the second part of  the work is an 
interpolation1 for in that part the     
sinners who are  capable of redemption  
are dealt with in a different manner4   
,the veil of fire and the veil of ice1  
which separate this desolate  region    
from the ,city1 resemble the flame which
 surrounds the crystal  mansion in the  
,book of ,enoch1 and is there said to be
 as hot as fire  and as cold as ice4#afh
 ,the clashing together of these veils  
in the  doorway which separates the two 
regions bears the appearance of a       
remnant of some ,symplegades myth1 but  
,i am not aware that any myth  of the   
kind exists in a form which could       
account for the image in  question4 ,the
 anguish with which the guilty are      
filled by the din of  their collision is
 in keeping with that extreme           
susceptibility to  musical sounds which 

is everywhere apparent4 ,the effect of  
pleasure to  the good and pain to the   
wicked proceeding from the same cause   
recurs  in many subsequent passages4    
,in chs4 #ae-ai is traced the course    
along which the soul proceeds on  its   
way from death to ,judgment4 ,the       
several stages of this journey  are made
 to correspond with the seven ,heavens  
through which the soul  would naturally 
have to pass1 each of those stages being
 attended with  some kind of punishment 
or suffering1 which causes intense pain 
to the  wicked1 while the good pass     
through it unharmed4    ,the theory of  
the ,purgatorial fires1 founded on #b   
,peter iii4 #g-ac1afi  was held by the  
early fathers1 though1 at first1 without
 defining the  place or manner in which 
the purgation was effected4 ,st4        
,augustine  was the first to establish  
,purgatory in the intermediate state1   
and  the doctrine was further developed 
by ,st4 ,gregory4 ,the early fathers    
held that the good and bad alike must   

pass through this stage1 and  herein our
 author agrees with them2 his theory1   
moreover1 whencesoever  derived1 agrees 
closely with that held by certain of the
 ,jewish ,rabbis1  who held that all1   
good and bad alike1 must pass through   
the seven  lodges of ,hell--at least as 
appropriate a term as that of the seven 
,heavens1 which our author applies to   
them1 though the latter is  better      
suited to cosmological                  
requirements--with the concomitants of  
fire1 scourging1 hail-showers1 the      
extremes of heat and cold1 etc41        
through all of which the righteous      
passed unharmed2#agj all of which  is   
reproduced in the present work4 ,it is  
remarkable how little advance  upon the 
early ,chaldan myth of the ,otherworld  
is displayed by this  part of the       
subject1 so far as regards the machinery
 or material  framework1 so to speak1   
although1 of course1 the ideas of sin   
and  redemption which lie at the root of
 the ,jewish and ,christian doctrines   

alike1 constitute a fundamental         
difference between the two stages of    
thought4 ,the resemblance between the   
,irish and ,chaldan narratives  extends 
even to the porter who sat at each of   
the seven doors of the  ,chaldan ,hades1
 where the passenger had to leave some  
part of his  earthly raiment2 in the    
,fis his counterpart exists in the      
person of  the angel who sits at the    
gate of each of the seven ,heavens1#aga 
and  chastises the souls as they enter4 
,the second of these ,heavens is the    
only one which appears to be  endowed   
with distinctly purgatorial functions3  
here the angel ,abersetus  #8purges the 
souls of the righteous1 and washes them 
in the fiery  river1 according to the   
amount of guilt that cleaves to them4'  
,such1  in substance1 had been the      
teaching of the ,church for some ages   
prior  to ,adamnn's day1 and such1 too1 
the teaching of some of the ,rabbinical 
,schools--that of ,shammai1 for         
instance1 which held that those in whom 

good and evil were mingled were cleansed
 by purgatorial pains2 in like  manner1 
the author of the ,book of ,enoch       
describes a fire wherein they  who are  
capable of redemption are cleansed of   
their carnal lusts4#agb    ,the flowery 
spring in which the purified souls of   
the righteous are  bathed for their     
solace1 is a prototype1 in some measure1
 of the  flowery stream of ,lethe1 in   
which1 according to ,dante1 the spirits 
whose purgation was accomplished were   
immersed in like manner4    ,most of the
 trials endured in the first five       
,heavens have their  counterparts in the
 general literature of the ,otherworld1 
down to and  including the ,commedia4   
,the fiery river or moat before the     
gateways resembles the river of fire    
which encircles ,heaven in the ,book of 
,enoch1 and the similar river  about the
 infernal city in neid vi4 #edi-ej4     
,the fiery wall1 of which many parallels
 have already been cited1 again  appears
 in this place1 where it may be         

compared1 more aptly1 with the  ,city of
 ,dis1 its iron walls and towers glowing
 red-hot1 in c4 viii4 of  the ,inferno4 
,the fiery arch also recurs1 the passage
 through which1  and through the fiery  
wall1 is analogous to the similar trial 
for  the purgation of fleshly lusts in  
c4 xxvii4 of the ,purgatorio4 ,the      
scourging of the spirits by the angelic 
warders is like the punishment          
inflicted--though there by demons--in   
,inf4 xviii4    ,the description of the 
whirlpool in the fiery river 7ch4 #ah7  
is  thoroughly ,dantesque in style1     
though none of ,dante's infernal rivers 
or whirlpools exactly corresponds to it 
in details2 equally ,dantesque  is the  
realistic touch of the angel lifting out
 the souls on the end of  his rod1      
#8hard as it were of stone4'            
,hitherto all the souls1 good and bad   
alike1 have been conducted by  their    
guardian spirits4 ,at the door of the   
sixth ,heaven ,michael  assumes his     
accustomed function of psychopompos for 

the remainder  of the way4 ,this ,heaven
 is free from pain of any kind2         
apparently the  author's intention is to
 convey the impression of a solemn      
pause1  before the soul is ushered into 
the awful presence of the ,creator4 ,the
  manner of his reception there recalls 
the corresponding scene in the  ,avestan
 account4 ,this reception1 and the      
,divine ,judgment1 are described  in the
 briefest possible terms1 but not the   
less impressively for  that4#agc ,the   
fate of the reprobate is depicted in a  
manner at once  terse and complete1     
presenting a remarkable contrast to the 
rambling  enumeration of horrors in     
which most of the vision writers        
indulge4 ,one  circumstance1 indeed1 is 
marked by the grotesque horror          
characteristic  of medival and ,oriental
 imagery2 namely1 the twelve fiery      
dragons  which swallow the guilty soul  
in succession1 until the lowest finally 
lands him in the ,devil's maw1 the      
destination reserved by ,dante for the  

worst of sinners4#agd    ,upon the      
whole1 however1 our author seems to     
dwell1 by preference1  upon the         
spiritual aspects of his subject4 ,in   
his eyes1 the essence of  the punishment
 consists in the forfeiture of the      
,beatific ,vision by  those chi hanno   
perduto il ben del intelletto1 a loss   
enhanced by the  previous glimpse of it 
which has been vouchsafed to them4      
,this1 indeed1  is a common feature of  
ecclesiastical pictures of the ,inferno1
 where  the idea1 sufficiently obvious  
in itself1 is sanctified by the parable 
of ,dives and ,lazarus1 though there it 
is introduced with a special and        
different purpose4 ,commonly1 however1  
it is used merely to intensify  the     
sufferings of the lost by a ,tantalus   
vision of the contrast between  their   
own pains and the pleasures of the      
blest4 ,our author would seem  to       
introduce it as essential for their full
 comprehension of the good1  otherwise  
inconceivable1 which they have forfeited

 by their own wilful  default4          
,evidently he understood that in this   
life and the next--,dante               
notwithstanding--there is a maggior     
dolore than the remembrance1 in  time of
 sorrow1 of past happiness1 and that is 
the comprehension of the  things that   
once might easily have been1 but never  
have been1 and never  can be4           
,finally1 the lot of the sinner--#8the  
perfection of all evil1 in  the ,devil's
 own presence1 throughout all           
ages1'--forms the exact  correlative of 
the ,beatific ,vision enjoyed by the    
elect4    ,this climax leaves nothing to
 be desired for completeness1 and it    
seems  impossible to believe that the   
next ten chapters were the work of the  
same hand4 ,nevertheless1 the author of 
this second part1 whether he be  the    
original author or a compiler1 has      
treated his materials1 trite as  these  
are1 with more than common skill4       
,the approach to the land of eternal    
pain1 to which the ,seer is now         

conveyed1 leads across a desolate1      
fire-scathed region1 on the farther     
side of which lies a glen1 filled with  
#8flame1 that extends beyond  the margin
 on either hand4' ,even this slight     
descriptive touch is an  instance of the
 imaginative1 or visualising1 faculty   
which is often  apparent throughout the 
work4 ,this glen is spanned by the      
bridge which  serves to separate the bad
 from the good1 in a manner quite       
consistent  with precedent1 but entirely
 inconsistent with the earlier part of  
the  present work4    ,the description  
of that incident1 as here given1 differs
 from other  variants in several points 
of detail1 and especially in the greater
  literary skill with which it is       
related2 but as much has been said upon 
this subject as our present purpose     
demands4 ,we have seen that the idea  of
 such a bridge existed previously in    
,irish tradition1 but the guise  in     
which it appears in the present place   
leads us to suppose that the  author's  

immediate source of inspiration was one 
of the ecclesiastical  legends1 though  
we find the usual difficulty of         
assigning any given  item to some one   
specific source4 ,it is possible that   
the author found  his immediate         
prototype in the writings of ,st4       
,gregory1 with which he  was likely to  
be acquainted2 equally possible that the
 idea was derived  from the traditions  
of the ,eastern ,church1 with which it  
is probable1  both on  priori grounds   
and from several internal indications1  
that he had come in contact2 or1 again1 
from some floating popular  tradition1  
originally emanating from either of the 
above sources4  ,however this may be1   
the present is probably the best-told   
version of  the incident that we possess
 in any language2 nevertheless1 it fits 
in  as badly with what follows as with  
what goes before4 ,the good--both the   
more and the less good--pass over in    
safety1 and the bad1 of course1  fall   
off1 but there is nothing to show how   

either sort reach their  ultimate       
habitations4 ,the justified1 in fact1   
are left to their own  devices1 and we  
hear no more of them2 the reprobate1    
indeed1 as they  fall from the bridge1  
are received in the jaws of eight fiery 
dragons1  which await them in the fiery 
gulf1 but there is nothing to show by   
what means they are subjected to the    
specific torments mentioned  further on1
 nor yet how the redeemable sinners are 
brought to their  state of temporary    
punishment4    ,the classification of   
the three companies who attempt to cross
 the  bridge is not without interest4   
,the virtues of the righteous who  pass 
with ease are the specially             
ecclesiastical virtues of martyrdom  and
 asceticism4 ,immediate access to       
,heaven had been regarded as the        
peculiar reward of martyrdom so early1  
at least1 as ,tertullian1  whose        
authority was ,revelation vii4 #ad1 #ae2
 although in the fourfold               
classification in the ,book of ,enoch   

the like precedence is awarded to  the  
martyrs4#age ,the association of the    
mortification of the flesh  with the    
pains of martyrdom is easily explicable4
    ,sinners that have been induced to  
see the errors of their ways and  to    
amend1 find the bridge narrow and       
difficult at first1 but easy            
afterwards1 while those fall off who    
have persevered in evil4 ,we thus  have 
only three of the usual four categories 
which frequently occur in  ,irish       
eschatology1 as in the ,book of ,enoch3 
the boni valde1 the boni  sed non valde1
 and the mali valde4 ,however1 the mali 
sed non valde  are represented1         
approximately1 by those spirits of      
mingled qualities1  and those sinners   
that are redeemed by their good works1  
who are dealt  with specially in the    
sequel4    ,the torments meted out to   
evildoers are of the usual description1 
though represented with that increasing 
fulness and terror which had  been      
perceptible for some time previously in 

the ,irish visions1 or  ,imrama1 the    
result1 apparently1 of increased        
familiarity with the  ,continental      
writers of this kind1 who1 so early as  
the ,apocalypses of  ,st4 ,peter and    
,st4 ,paul1 had devoted much ingenuity  
to this horrible  branch of their       
subject4 ,we may also perceive an       
attempt at a more  accurate             
classification of crimes and            
punishments2 in this respect1  too1     
those ,apocalypses display more method  
than the visions of  subsequent writers4
 ,the classification adopted by our     
author1 which  would seem to be his own1
 contains indications both of his       
nationality1  and of his acquaintance   
with foreign literature4 ,four          
categories of  evildoers are enumerated1
 in which1 although they exhibit nothing
 of  ,dante's scientific precision1 a   
certain system is apparent1 in spite  of
 the several classes overlapping to a   
certain extent4 ,in chapter  #be        
fratricides and sacrilegious persons are

 dealt with1 including  fraudulent      
,erenachs--the guardians of the         
,church's temporalities--who  had abused
 the considerable powers which the      
tribal constitution  of the ,irish      
,church had given them4 ,the class      
described in chapter  #bg comprises1 for
 the most part1 those guilty of various 
kinds of  dishonesty or violence1 though
 some of them1 such as false judges1    
sorcerers1 and teachers of heresy1 would
 seem to belong rather to  the two      
following classes1 the one of which     
comprises renegade  ecclesiastics and   
heresiarchs 7chapter #bh71 while the    
other1 and last  deals with an          
apparently heterogeneous collection of  
crimes1 all of  which1 however1 will be 
found to involve1 somehow1 a breach of  
faith on  the part of the offender4     
,the punishments described contain many 
striking points of similarity  to       
,dante1 both in their kind1 and in the  
vivid manner in which they  are         
portrayed4 ,of such are the icy cowls in

 chapter #bf1 which recall  the leaden  
copes worn by the hypocrites in ,inf4   
xxiii4 #fa sqq4 ,the  sinners stand in  
black mire1 like the beletta negra where
 stand the  gloomy-minded in ,inf4 vii4 
#abd4agf ,the scourging by demons occurs
  alike in the ,fis ,adamnin7chapter    
#bf71 and in the ,inferno 7xviii4  #ce74
 ,a cold wind from the north blows upon 
the foreheads of the damned1  as in the 
frozen regions of ,dante's              
,tolommea4#agg ,the fiery rain1 and  the
 unavailing efforts of the sufferers to 
ward it off1 anticipate  ,dante's vivid 
picture4#agh ,with the throngs of demons
 in chapter #bh1  who assail the        
heresiarchs with flights of arrows1 we  
may compare the  ,centaurs in ,inf4 xii4
 #ef4    ,the pictures of the sinners   
fettered to fiery columns by means of   
fiery  chains in the form of vipers     
7chapter #be71 and of those clad in     
fiery  mantles1 are entirely ,dantesque 
in spirit4 ,in the punishment of those  
who are alternately borne up to ,heaven1

 and then dashed down again to  the     
depth of ,hell1 our author appears to   
typify the tumultuous distress  and     
horrible restlessness which accompany   
hopeless suffering4    ,two classes of  
sinners remain1 who are dealt with in a 
manner wholly  alien from ,dante's      
scheme1 though in accord with the       
earlier teaching  of the ,church4       
,reference has been made already to     
those in whom good  and evil bear       
divided sway1 and who1 as in the        
,avesta1 are reserved in  a place apart 
until the ,day of ,doom1 when #8judgment
 shall be passed  between them1 and     
their good shall quench their evil on   
that day1 and  then shall they be set in
 the ,heaven of ,life1 in ,god's own    
presence1  through ages everlasting4'   
,this merciful solution of their case   
affords  a strong contrast to the       
loathsome doom to which ,dante consigns 
these  ,laodiceans4#agi ,one passage    
,dante himself might have been willing  
to  own1 had it not been so discordant  

with his doctrine3 the picture of  those
 charitable1 but sensual1 persons who   
are set upon islands--an  echo of the   
,imrama--in the midst of a fiery sea1   
but protected from  its waves by a      
silver bulwark1 built of their own      
almsgiving1 until  ,judgment1 when they 
shall be delivered4    ,these two       
conceptions1 though not peculiar to the 
,irish ,church1 having  been often      
promulgated1 in various forms1 by       
,jewish and ,christian  doctors alike1  
are characteristic of that leaning      
towards mercy1  which1 in one form or   
other1 often appears in ,irish          
ecclesiastical  legends4#ahj    ,our    
author declares that the state of the   
blest and of the reprobate  alike1 as   
revealed to him1 is provisional only1   
and that after the ,last  ,judgment the 
happiness of the righteous will be      
infinitely augmented1  and the          
sufferings of the evil intensified in   
proportion1#aha when  they shall be     
consigned to the fiery wall1 which until

 then is  inhabited by the demons       
only4#ahb    ,chapter #cj gives a vivid 
representation of the mental sufferings 
of the  lost in their mournful          
habitation1 their own sufferings being  
augmented  by the company of others in  
like case1 and by a restless longing for
  the coming of ,doom to end their      
suspense4 ,herein the author recognises 
a truth1 the opposite of that truth     
contained in ,hamlet's dictum1  though  
not less true2 for often it is less     
tolerable to #8bear the ills  we have1  
than fly to others that we know not of1'
 even though the  change may surely be  
for the worse4#ahc    ,then follows a   
short description of the dolorous       
country1 which is  depicted as a waste  
and desolate region of the kind         
traversed by  ,cuchulainn on his journey
 to the realm of ,scathach1 and by rt on
 his  way to the ,tr na n-g4 ,the       
general character of this description is
  rather ,miltonic than ,dantesque4#ahd 
,many instances appear to indicate      

that1 to the northern spirit1 the       
extreme of terror is suggested  rather  
by the hauntings of wide and desolate   
spaces1 than by the more  realistic--we 
might almost say                        
materialistic--imagination apparent in  
the intensive presentation of specific  
and concrete sufferings1 which  ,dante  
was led to adopt1 alike by his racial   
and personal temperament1  and by his   
theory of the ,otherworld4              
,precedents for the ,devil's abode in   
the depths of the infernal seas are     
furnished alike by the ,scriptural      
,leviathan1 and by the ,piast1 which    
haunts almost every ,irish loch of any  
depth1 as also by the lake of  fire and 
brimstone in ,rev4 xx4 #aj1 into which  
,satan is to be cast at  the end of the 
world4    ,the four rivers of ,hell1    
which likewise occur in the ,voyage of  
the  ,ui ,corra and in several          
,continental visions1 have been supposed
 by  some authorities to be intended as 
a counterpart to the four rivers  of    

,paradise in ,genesis ii4 #aj sqq42     
this1 however1 seems doubtful1  having  
regard to the absence of any mention of 
the suggested prototype1  neither does  
it appear that the ,scriptural ,paradise
 was present to the  author's mind4 ,it 
seems more probable that the number has 
reference  to the fourfold division of  
the upper world2 indeed1 in some later  
medival visions1 these rivers are placed
 in accordance with the  cardinal       
points4 ,they may possibly be due to a  
reminiscence of the  classical ,styx1   
,acheron1 ,cocytus1 and ,phlegethon1 as 
in ,milton 7,p4 ,l4  ii4 #ege sqq471 and
 ,dante 7,inf4 xiv4 #aae sqq474    ,the 
tormenting of the spirits by the eager  
hosts of demons that infest  the        
infernal lakes may be compared to the   
sportive malice of the fiends  in ,inf4 
xxii4-xxiii4    ,in chapter #ca ,adamnn 
is re-conducted1 by another skilfully   
managed  transition1 to the ,land of    
,saints4 ,he desired to tarry there1 but
 like  several of his predecessors1 from

 ,plato's ,er downwards1 he heard a     
voice which bade him return to earth and
 relate what had been revealed  to him1 
for the instruction of his countrymen3  
he was then restored to  the body4      
,chapter #cb would provide the work with
 a symmetrical conclusion4 ,as  in the  
exordium the author represents ,adamnn  
as the last in a series  of holy men to 
whom analogous revelations had been     
vouchsafed1 so in  this peroration he   
declares the identity of the doctrine   
preached by  ,adamnn1 respecting the    
world to come1 with the teaching of     
other  saints and fathers of the        
,church4 ,in designing his work with    
this  structural completeness1 the      
author stands alone1 so far as ,i am    
aware1  until ,dante comes on the scene4
    ,the episode of ,enoch and ,elijah  
standing under the ,tree of ,life1      
surrounded by the bird-flocks1 though   
well told1 adds nothing to the  form in 
which it appears in other ,irish legends
 of the period4 ,we have  already given 

reasons for supposing that it is an     
excrescence upon the  original design4  
,the reflections there made upon the    
sorrow experienced by the righteous  on 
hearing of the sorrows of ,doomsday1#ahe
 remind us of a similar  passage in     
,dante3        #8,se di l sempre ben per
 noi si dice1      ,di qu che dire e far
 per lor si puote1      ,da quei1       
ch'hanno al voler buona radice8'        
,purg4 xi4 #ca-cc4    ,the rhapsodical  
description of ,heaven1 which concludes 
the work as it  now stands1 is likewise 
a matter of #8common form4' ,it may     
possibly be  an amplification of several
 passages in the ,revelation 7e4g4 xxi4 
#d1  etc471 though we have seen that    
something of the kind existed1 in a     
rudimentary form1 in some of the        
,echtra1 when describing the ,sidhe of  
a ,d ,danann chief4 ,the curiously close
 parallel in the ,avesta has been  noted
 already4    ,this chapter1 as before   
mentioned1 does not form part of the    
version  preserved in the ,lebor ,brec1 

and although that ,,ms4 is by far the   
more recent1 it is quite possible that  
the scribe followed a version           
transcribed before the addition was     
made4#ahf          #f4 ,,later          
,,developments      ,the ,fis ,adamnin  
represents the culminating point to     
which the  ,vision of the ,otherworld   
was brought by writers of the ,irish    
school3  henceforth the achievements of 
that school are principally apparent in 
the influence which they exercised upon 
the course which the legend  took upon  
the ,continent1 and thus1 indirectly1   
upon the development of  ,european      
literature4 ,enough has been said in an 
earlier part of this  work to show that 
abundant means existed for familiarising
 ,continental  students with any branch 
of letters to which the ,irish schools  
might  be addicted1 and accordingly we  
now find the ,irish legend of the       
,otherworld disseminating itself through
 the medium as well of works  written   
upon ,irish soil1 as of the writings of 

,irish scholars in  ,continental        
foundations1 and similar works composed 
by foreign authors  more or less under  
,irish influences4    ,the first of     
these productions is the last of the    
great ,imrama1 and  by far the most     
famous1 though not the best from a      
literary point  of view4#ahg ,not only  
did the legend of ,st4 ,brendan1 of     
,clonfert1  surnamed the ,voyager       
7#dhc-egd71 become one of the most      
widely diffused  and most popular tales 
of the ,middle ,ages1 but it even       
influenced1 in  some slight degree1 the 
course of the world's history1 for its  
account  of a land beyond the ,atlantic 
fired the imagination1 and directed the 
course1 of ,spanish and ,portuguese     
navigators many centuries after its  own
 date4#ahh    ,at one period of his     
labours1 ,st4 ,brendan appears to have  
been seized  with that taedium vitae    
which is apt1 at times1 to weigh with   
special  force upon diligent workers for
 righteousness4 ,in his case it asserted

  itself1 characteristically1 in that   
impulse which even now urges so  many of
 his countrymen to follow his course    
across the ,atlantic1 but on  a voyage  
whence there is no return1 and to       
another world which seldom  affords a   
vision of ,paradise1 at any rate4 ,in   
this frame of mind he  prayed for a     
land1 #8secret1 hidden1 secure1         
delightful1 apart from  men'2 he then   
fell asleep1 and1 in a dream1 was       
directed to repair  to ,sliabh ,daidche 
7now ,brandon ,hill1 in the ,co4        
,kerry74 ,this he did1  and there met an
 angel1 who bade him build three ships1 
and commit  himself to the ocean4 ,the  
building and manning of the ships1 and  
the  early stages of the voyage1 wherein
 the old model of the ,imrama is        
closely followed1 are interesting1 but  
cannot be given here4 ,one day  the     
voyagers landed upon the back of a      
sleeping whale1 taking it for an        
island1 until the monster1 awaking1 bore
 them off across the sea4#ahi  ,thus    

they journeyed for five years1 being    
sustained the while by food             
miraculously sent to them1 as to the    
island hermits of the earlier  ,imrama4 
,at length ,st4 ,brendan espied the     
,devil approaching them  across the     
waves4#aij ,he hailed the demon1 and    
questioned him1 who  replied that he had
 come to seek his punishment #8in the   
deep closes of  the black1 dark sea4'   
,this roused the ,saint's curiosity1 but
 the ,devil  told him that none might   
see those things and live2 he was       
prevailed  on1 however1 to guide the    
,saint to the gate of ,hell4 ,here      
,brendan saw  #8a rough1 hot prison1    
full of stench and filth and flame1' and
 #8the  camps of poisonous demons'2 here
 were wailing and #8handsmiting of the  
sinful folk2#aia and a gloomy1 mournful 
life in cores of pain1 in  prisons of   
fire1 in streams of the rows of eternal 
fire1 in the cup  of eternal sorrow and 
death' 7tr4 ,w4 ,s474 ,the land was full
 of black  swamps1 surrounding fiery    

forts1 and fiery mountains1 over which  
demons  were dragging the souls of the  
lost1 without respite4 ,then follow long
  and gruesome descriptions of the      
sufferings endured in that place2  these
 are of the usual type1 including all   
the horrors of a wild and  desolate     
region1 with inclement weather1         
combining the extremes of heat  and     
cold2 foul1 poisonous lakes2 fierce     
winds2 wild1 rough brakes1 and          
mountains haunted by monsters1 etc41    
etc4 ,proceeding on their way1 they     
visited various islands2 round one of   
them1 very lofty1 they cruised  for     
twelve days1 without finding a spot     
where they might land1 though  they saw 
a noble church in it1 and heard voices  
praising the ,lord4  ,after visiting    
several islands1 the ,saint returned to 
,ireland4#aib    ,however1 the spirit of
 wandering was not yet laid1 and ,st4   
,brendan  set forth upon a second       
voyage4 ,in this1 as on the first       
voyage1 the  ,otherworld type of the    

lands which he visited is evident4 ,in  
one  #8little1 insignificant island1'   
the harbour was #8filled with devils in 
the shape of dwarfs and pygmies1 with   
their faces as black as coal4'  ,at     
length ,brendan came to an island       
whereon was a pilgrim covered with      
white hair1 who directed him to the ,tr 
,tairngire4 ,here he found an  old man1 
who bade him enter into possession of   
the land1 for those  were #8the plains  
of ,paradise1 and the delightful fields 
of the land1  radiant1 famous1 loveable1
 profitable1' etc4 #8,a land of odorous 
flowers1 smooth1 bland4 ,a land of many 
melodies1 musical1 shouts for  joy1     
unmournful' 7tr4 ,w4 ,s474 ,there were  
#8health without sickness1  delight     
without quarrelling1 union without      
wrangling1 princedom without            
dissolution1 rest without idleness1     
freedom without labour1 luminous  unity 
of angels1 delights of ,paradise1       
service of angels1 feasting  without    
extinction1' and so on1 in the          

rhapsodical style of ch4 #ce  of the    
,fis ,adamnin4 ,the old man was covered 
with white hair1 like  a dove or        
sea-mew1#aic and had #8almost the speech
 of an angel4' ,at  the stroke of a bell
 tierce was celebrated1 when #8they sing
 thanks to  ,god1 with their minds fixed
 on ,him1' a repetition of the words of 
the  ,fis ,adamnin2 indeed1 a long      
passage at the conclusion of the voyage 
coincides almost word for word with the 
,fis1 of which1 according to  ,mr4      
,whitley ,stokes1 it is a copy1 and not 
vice versa4#aid    ,the ,latin          
narratives of ,st4 ,brendan's           
voyages#aie differ widely from  the     
,irish account2 on the whole1 the       
,otherworld element is much less        
prominent in them1 though they contain  
several details of the kind4  ,of such  
are the island standing on four         
pedestals1 and an island with  a tall   
column on it1 from which a veil or      
canopy like silver hung2 a  volcanic    
isle with demon smiths at work1         

hammering upon their anvils  the souls  
of the wicked1 who threw masses of      
glowing metal after  the ships2 hermits 
fed with salmon by a cat1 etc4 ,there is
 also a  variant of the story told in   
the ,voyage of ,maelduin about the      
,torach  gravedigger4    ,the ,paradise 
of ,birds appears with a new            
significance4 ,the birds are  those     
angels who1 upon the rebellion of       
,lucifer1 per s foro1 and  fell without 
active guilt on their part1 and were    
relegated to this  island1 there to     
dwell until the general ,resurrection1  
suffering no  pain1 and celebrating the 
canonical hours2 a happier lot than that
  which ,dante bestows upon them in     
canto iii4 of the ,inferno4    ,the     
story of ,brendan1 it will be seen1     
though somewhat later than  the ,fis    
,adamnin1 is but an ,imram of the       
ordinary type1 though  containing       
several original features1 and richer in
 incident than  most of its             
predecessors4 ,however1 its chief claim 

to consideration  rests upon the work   
which it effected in securing for ,irish
 legend a  permanent place in ,european 
literature4    ,with the ,voyage of     
,brendan the ,imram type of romance     
culminates1 and  ceases to occupy its   
former important place in ,irish        
literature4#aif  ,henceforth1 the       
,otherworld tradition1 whether in ,irish
 or foreign  hands1 is continued by     
means of the ,fis1 the form properly its
 own1  from the time of ,plato          
downwards4    ,in this form it inspired 
a work which almost rivalled the ,voyage
 of  ,brendan in the popularity it      
achieved1 and the influence it exercised
  upon later writers4 ,this was the     
,vision of ,tundale1 written at         
,ratisbon  by an ,irish monk1 a ,munster
 man1 named ,marcus1 apparently about   
the  year #aadi1 in which the vision is 
dated4 ,it was written in ,latin1 and   
immediately became widely popular1 being
 translated in the course of  its own   
century1 and several centuries          

following1 into the languages of  most  
,european countries1 from ,sweden to    
,spain and ,italy4#aig    ,this         
,tundale1 so-called--whose proper name  
,professor ,kuno ,meyer  conjectures to 
be ,tnthgal or ,tndgal 7op4 cit41 p4    
#ia7--was a knight  of ,cashel1 said by 
the author to have been #8noble of      
blood1 but bloody  of deeds2 fair as to 
body1 but careless about his soul4      
,fierce and  terrible towards the       
,church1 for he would endure none of the
 poor folk  of the ,lord in his sight4' 
,once1 when on a visit to a friend in   
,cork1  he fell into a fit while sitting
 at table2 he was taken up for dead1    
but was not buried1 as a slight warmth  
was perceptible in his left  side4 ,he  
remained in a trance from the fourth    
hour on ,wednesday until  the same time 
on ,saturday1 when he recovered slowly1 
partook of the  ,sacrament1 and gave    
thanks to ,god1 after which he gave all 
his goods to  the poor1 assumed the     
cross1 and #8turned his back on his     

former life4'  ,it was during this      
trance that he beheld the vision which  
he related to  ,marcus4    ,immediately 
after the departure of ,tundale's soul  
from his body1 his  conscience expressed
 great dread by reason of the magnitude 
of his  sins4 ,fain to re-enter his     
body1 he could not1 but flitted         
unsteadily1  swiftly1 to and fro1       
weeping and weary1 in fear and          
lamentation4 ,great  hordes of demons   
surrounded him1 who welcomed him1       
terming his soul  #8daughter of death   
and enemy of ,god1 spouse of darkness   
and foe of  light1' etc4 ,they tore his 
face with their talons1 and taunted him 
with his sins4 ,at length he saw a      
light1 like a star1 approaching2 this   
was his guardian angel who bade him     
#8welcome from ,god4'    ,tundale1      
between fear and joy1 replied1 #8,a     
sorry case1 my lord2 the  pains of ,hell
 have surrounded me1 and ,i am in the   
snare of death4'    ,the angel answered1
 #8,i have ever been with thee1 yet     

never until now  hast thou called upon  
me thus4' ,then1 pointing to the ugliest
 of  the demons1 he added1 #8,that is   
the deed and the counsel devised        
independently of me4' ,however1 he      
promised that ,tundale should receive   
mercy1 though he must suffer somewhat   
first4 ,he then bade him follow1  and   
retain firmly in his memory whatever he 
should see4    ,upon seeing ,tundale    
escape them1 the demons began to        
blaspheme ,god1 and  to smite one       
another1 and finally departed1 leaving a
 foul smell behind4    ,for long        
,tundale journeyed on in darkness1      
lighted only by the radiant  garments of
 his guide4 ,at length they came to a   
glen #8darkened with  the mist of       
death1' and filled with sparks of fire4 
,an iron covering1  six cubits thick1   
was on it1 hotter than the sparks       
themselves1 and a  stench issued forth  
that was a more grievous torment than   
,tundale had  ever known4 ,a huge       
multitude of wretched souls were sitting

 on that  lid1 burning1 #8till they were
 melted1 like garlic in a pan1 with the 
glow thereof4' ,others were strained    
through the lid1 like wax through a     
linen cloth1 and then tempered in the   
sparks below for a repetition of  the   
infliction4 ,these were parricides and  
slayers of their kin4    ,there was a   
vast and hideous mountain1 one side of  
it all sulphur and  stench1 fire and    
darkness1 the other side covered with   
snow1 and a  piercing wind blowing4     
,innumerable demons1 armed with burning 
forks and  sharp tridents1 would hale   
the souls of them that had been false   
and  treacherous from snow to fire and  
back again4 ,another glen was full of   
darkness and ftor1 and #8such was its   
depth that none could discern the       
bottom of it1 though he could hear the  
sound of streams1 and perceive  the     
stench of ordure1 and the outcry and    
wailing of the souls that  were in      
torment there1' and a mist uprose from  
it4 ,a plank stretched  across between  

the mountains that bounded the glen1 a  
thousand feet  long and a single foot in
 breadth1 and such as none would dare to
 tread  unless driven thereto by force4 
,tundale saw many souls falling from the
  bridge1 and a priest passing over it  
unscathed4 ,those who fell into the     
glen were the proud and arrogant2       
nevertheless the angel bade ,tundale    
not to fear that trial1 though he must  
bear other torments thereafter1  and he 
bore him safe across4 ,again they went  
on through dark and  tortuous ways1     
until1 weary and wretched1 ,tundale     
espied an #8uncouth1  intolerable       
monster1' greater than the mountains    
which they had  crossed2 his eyes were  
like hills of flame2 his mouth1 wide    
yawning1  might contain a legion of     
armed men4 ,two giants stood therein1   
huge as  the pillars of a church1       
reaching from the lower tooth to the    
upper4  ,flames issued from its mouth1  
into which crowds of souls were         
pressing1  driven by the scourges of    

throngs of demons4#aih ,a sound of      
wailing  could be heard proceeding from 
the monster's belly1 for many thousands 
of souls were in there already4         
,tundale1 in dismay1 asked why they     
approached so near2 the angel told  him 
that his visit was not complete unless  
he passed through the  monster1 for none
 but a chosen few escaped4 ,acheron was 
the monster's  name2 it devoured the    
covetous1 and the giants standing in its
 jaws  were they who had been false and 
without conscience4 ,after bringing     
,tundale to the monster's mouth1 the    
angel left him alone there1 when  a     
horde of demons surrounded him1 scourged
 him1 and drove him into  the monster's 
belly4 ,here he found himself in company
 of many other  souls1 who were bitten  
by hounds1 lions and vipers1 scourged by
 demons1  suffering the while from the  
extremes of heat and cold1 foul         
stenches1  etc4 ,here the soul accused  
himself of all the sins he had ever     
committed1 in grief and lamentation1    

tearing his face with his nails4    ,at 
length ,tundale found himself outside   
the monster1 and languidly  opening his 
eyes saw the angel1 who bore him to a   
broad1 stormy lake1  wherein were       
monsters innumerable1 seeking to devour 
the wretched  souls4#aii ,a bridge      
spanned the lake1 two thousand feet long
 by one  palm in width1 studded with    
iron nails4#bjj ,the beasts sought to   
swallow and chew the souls that were on 
the bridge1 each beast being  as great  
as a chariot1 and a fiery mist issuing  
from their jaws1 till  it seemed as     
though all the lake were ablaze4        
,tundale saw a man  attempting to cross 
with a burden on his back like a sheaf  
of corn4 ,he  was told that all had to  
cross that bridge who had stolen        
anything1  great or small1 bearing a    
burden proportionate to the magnitude of
 the  theft4 ,tundale had once stolen a 
cow2 he had1 indeed1 made restitution1  
but only because he had been forced to  
do so1 therefore he had to cross  the   

bridge1 carrying a wild cow on his back4
 ,on reaching the other  side1 he       
pointed out to the angel that his feet  
were all bleeding from  the spikes2 this
 was because he had been one of #8those 
whose feet are  swift to shed blood4'   
,they went on their way through rough   
and gloomy places1 till they came  to a 
house1 great as a mountain1 and round   
like an oven1 whence flames  arose to   
the height of a thousand feet1 and souls
 were burning therein4  ,on approaching1
 they saw executioners standing in the  
flames1 armed  with axes1 sharp razors1 
scythes1 sickles1 augers1 hooks1 #8and  
all  instruments beside1 which might    
serve for wounding1 flaying1 beheading1 
or cutting4' ,tundale begged hard to be 
let off1 but the angel told him  that he
 must endure it1 and handed him over to 
the demons1 who #8applied  to him the   
instruments of torment we have before   
mentioned until they  made small        
fragments of him4' #8,in that house were
 much moaning and  sighing1 shrieking   

and wailing1 weeping and gnashing of    
teeth1 sharp  fire scorching the souls4'
 ,at length ,tundale confessed that he  
had but  suffered his deserts1 after    
which he found himself standing alone in
 a  dark place free from pain4    ,upon 
being rejoined by the angel1 ,tundale   
asked him--as well he  might--what was  
the meaning of the saying1 ,misericordia
 ,domini plena  est terra4 #8,that      
sentence1' replied the angel1 #8has     
puzzled many  before you4 ,now thus is  
my ,king3 though ,he is beneficent1 yet 
is ,he  wont to do justice4' ,and he    
proceeded to expound the necessity for  
constraining man to follow his duty4    
,none were entirely free from sin1  but 
even the righteous were brought to see  
those sufferings1 in order  that they   
might see what they had escaped1 and    
give thanks2 #8so were  sinners brought 
to see the joys of ,heaven1 that they   
might grieve the  more for their        
loss4'#bja    ,another hideous monster  
there was1 with two feet and two wings1 

and  many necks1 beaks1 and talons4 ,an 
unquenchable fire issued from his       
mouth2 he sat upon a lake of ice1 and   
swallowed the wretched souls1  melting  
them1 and dipping them into the icy lake
 for a renewal of  their pains4#bjb ,the
 beast became pregnant with these souls1
 who kept  biting and tearing him like a
 brood of mountain vipers1 until the    
time for delivery came4 ,this gruesome  
conception is elaborated with a  number 
of fantastic details4 ,thus were        
punished monks1 canons1 nuns1  etc41 who
 had broken their vows1 who had tongues 
sharp as of vipers1  and refrained not  
themselves from evil speaking2 also they
 who had  defiled themselves with       
inordinate lust4 ,this punishment too   
had to be  endured by ,tundale4 ,after  
it their way led them by a dark and     
devious  glen1 descending from          
mountain-tops into deep abysses1 their  
path  lighted only by the radiance of   
the angel4 ,tundale asked whither their 
road led4 ,the angel replied1 #8,this is

 the road which leadeth unto  death4'   
,tundale expressed surprise1 for he had 
heard that that way was  broad1 and that
 many went by it2 but the angel         
explained that the text  referred to    
this life only4    ,after a weary       
journey1 they came to a valley wherein  
were several  smithies1 and a great     
weeping and wailing in them4 ,the smiths
 seized  ,tundale with their tongs1 and 
cast him into a furnace1 glowing fiery  
red2 many souls were in it already1 and 
the bellows were plied beneath  #8as    
though they were iron on the hearth1    
until they were reduced to  nought1     
until they were turned into water4'     
,they were again uplifted  with the     
tongs1 and forged into one single mass1 
their pain exceeding  all other pain1   
and they calling for death1 which they  
could not  obtain4 ,after which they    
were passed on to the other smithies in 
succession4    ,the angel explained that
 all the souls whom ,tundale had yet    
seen were  destined finally to receive  

mercy2 it still remained for them to see
  those that were in the nethermost     
,hell4 ,suddenly ,tundale was seized    
with a great trembling1 as he became    
aware of an intolerable cold  and       
stench1 dense darkness1 tribulation and 
anguish1 while he saw  the foundations  
of the earth sinking4 ,turning to       
question his guide  he found himself    
alone4 ,he heard the wailing and howling
 of wretched  souls1 and terrible       
thunderings1 but could perceive no face1
 nor  distinguish any voice4 ,at length 
he discerned a vast four-cornered       
cavern1 in the midst of which a huge    
pillar towered up2 fire and  vapour rose
 up against the pillar1 and in the midst
 of the flame many  thousands of demons 
and souls flew up like sparks1 and fell 
back4  ,tundale strove to turn away1 but
 could not1 for his feet clave to the   
floor2 whereat1 filled with frenzy1 he  
began to tear himself with his  nails4  
,demons surrounded him1 threatening and 
reviling1 but the angel  rescued him and

 brought him to the gate of ,hell4      
,here1 he told him1  was no light small 
nor great1 but he could see the         
inhabitants without  their seeing him4  
,tundale looked1 and saw the ,prince of 
,darkness1 black  as a raven from head  
to foot1 with more than a thousand hands
 on him1  each two hundred cubits long1 
and every finger one hundred palms in   
length1 with iron nails like warriors'  
spears1 and toes to match2 he  had a    
long thick tail1 covered with iron      
spikes4 ,he lay on an iron  hurdle over 
fiery gledes1 a bellows on each side of 
him1 and crowds  of demons blowing it4  
,every limb was covered with chains of  
iron and  bronze4 ,as he lay there      
roasting1 tossing from side to side1    
filled  with rage and fury1 he grasped  
the souls in his rough1 thick hands1    
bruising and crushing them1 as a man    
would crush grapes to squeeze out  the  
wine4 ,with his fiery1 stinking breath  
he scattered the souls about  ,hell1 and
 as he drew in his breath again he      

swallowed them down with  it1 and those 
whom his hands could not reach he lashed
 with his tail4  ,this1 the angel       
explained1 was ,lucifer1 whom ,god had  
created first of  all creatures1 and of 
the rest some were angels of darkness1  
and some  of the race of ,adam2 ever    
since their damnation they sought to    
lead  others to deny ,christ1 and the   
greater the power of each1 the greater  
was his punishment4    ,here ,tundale   
saw numbers of his friends and kin1 whom
 he had ever  rejoiced to see in this   
world1 but now beheld with pain4    ,on 
leaving ,hell1 they entered into a great
 light1 and came to a wall  whereon were
 multitudes of men and women4 ,rain and 
wind were beating  on them1 but abundant
 light fell on them1 and no foulness was
 there4  ,these had led a #8variegated' 
life1 in which good and evil were       
equally  commingled1 therefore they were
 exposed to wind and rain1 hunger and   
thirst1 until the end1 when they should 
enter into everlasting life4    ,they   

next came to a forest1 and passing      
through an open door therein  found     
themselves in a goodly plain1 covered   
with flowers and fragrant  herbs1 and   
the ,well of ,life in the midst of it2  
here dwelt the good who  were not yet   
permitted to join the heavenly host4    
,tundale recognised  many whom he had   
known1 including two ,irish kings1      
,donnchad and  ,concobar1 between whom a
 feud had subsisted1 but they had       
repented  and become reconciled4 ,he    
also saw a house of stone1 without door 
or  window1 yet all might enter in who  
would1 and it seemed as though  the sun 
were in every part of it4 ,it had no    
foundations1 but was all  set about with
 precious stones4 ,in it was a golden   
throne1 set with  jewels1 and covered   
with fine silk1 whereon a king sat1 calm
 and mild1  while great numbers         
approached him1 in gladness and         
rejoicing1 bearing  jewels and great    
treasures4 ,tundale drew near to see1   
for in the king  he recognised ,cormac1 

whose subject he had been4 ,great       
numbers of  priests and deacons were    
about him in rich vestments1 as though  
for  the mass4 ,the house was hung with 
choice drapery1 and tables were set     
out1 covered with vessels of gold and   
silver and ivory1 as though for  a royal
 banquet1 so that they who saw that     
house would think that even  though     
there had been no glory nor wealth      
beside1 this would suffice  for delight4
 ,all present fell on their knees and   
repeated1 ,labores  manuum tuarum       
manducabis2 beatus es1 et bene tibi     
erit4 ,tundale  wondered to see that    
none of those who were serving ,cormac  
were the  king's own people1 but the    
angel said that he was served by the    
poor and pilgrims of the ,lord whom he  
had relieved1 so that ,god had          
delivered unto him the everlasting      
kingdom by their hands4#bjc    ,even as 
they watched1 the house was suddenly    
darkened1 and all within  it were thrown
 to the ground1 and1 lifting up their   

hands1 said1  ,domine1 ,deus omnipotens1
 sicut vis1 et sicut scis1 miserere     
servi  tui6 ,then ,cormac left the      
house1 and ,tundale1 following1 saw him 
enter  into a fire up to the waist1 and 
a hair-shirt on him from the waist      
upward4 ,thus he spent three hours of   
every day2 the fire being the  expiation
 of a breach of his marriage vow1 and   
the hair-shirt1 of the  murder of a     
noble that was under the protection of  
,patrick1 and of a  false vow1 all other
 sins being freely remitted4            
,proceeding on his way1 ,tundale saw    
women1 and men1 and elders1 in  silken  
robes1 and the countenance of each one  
was like the sun at  midday4 ,their hair
 was like gold1 they wore golden crowns 
covered with  precious stones1 and they 
sang ,alleluia1 giving praise1 so that  
#8if  one heard them but once1 he would 
have no memory of the grief and care  he
 had known before4' ,these were the     
saints #8who had macerated their  bodies
 for ,god's sake1 and washed their robes

 in the blood of the  spotless ,lamb1   
and turned their backs to the world1 and
 crucified their  will in the service of
 ,god while in the body4'    ,he also   
beheld many castles1 and pavilions of   
purple and byssus1 gold  and silver1    
silk and other precious coverings1 and  
in them organs and  timpans and harps1  
and every kind of music1 were playing4  
,therein were  people of devotion1 who  
had submitted their own will to ,god1   
and had  taken upon them humility and   
lowliness1 without pride or vainglory1  
and  were submissive to their superiors1
 and found savour in spirituality1  and 
had bridled their tongues1 not only from
 evil-speaking1 but even  from good     
words4    ,a little further on they saw 
a wall1 high and thick1 all of silver1  
and no door in it4 ,choirs of saints    
were there1 clad in white raiment1  full
 of gladness and rejoicing1 perpetually 
praising the ,trinity4  ,the radiance of
 their apparel was like the snow of a   
single night  beneath the sun's         

brightness4 ,these had been faithful in 
wedlock1 had  maintained their people   
after the will of ,god1 and had         
distributed  their goods among the poor 
and the ,church2 to them will ,christ   
say1  ,venite benedicti ,patris mei1    
possidete regnum quod vobis partum est  
ab origine mundi4 ,another wall was of  
gold1 and within it golden  seats       
innumerable1 all set with precious      
stones--pearls and sapphires1  sardius  
and topaz1 etc4 ,then they saw that1 the
 like of which eye  had not seen1 nor   
ear heard1 neither had the heart of man 
conceived3  namely1 the glory which ,god
 had prepared for them that loved ,him4 
,the  nine orders of angels1 and the    
saints mingled with them1 hearkened  to 
words exceeding sweet which none might  
record4 ,in the presence of  that       
vision1 ,tundale could not only see the 
glory that was before him1  but also all
 the pain that he had left behind1 for  
#8to whomsoever  ,god giveth power to   
behold ,himself1 to him is power to see 

all other  creatures likewise4' #8,from 
that time forth ,tundale asked nothing  
of the  ,angel1 for to himself was given
 from ,god knowledge of what he desired 
to know4'    ,he saw ,st4 ,patrick and  
several bishops1 four of whom he had    
known3 viz4  ,celestine1 ,malachi 7the  
celebrated primate of ,ireland1 and     
friend of  ,st4 ,bernard71 ,nemias      
7,gilla na ,naemh ,ua ,muirchertach1    
bishop of ,cloyne  and ,ross71 and      
,christian4 ,he also saw a great tree   
laden with blossom1  and with fruit of  
every kind4 ,vast flocks of birds of    
many hues  were on the tree-tops1       
singing every kind of music1 and no     
scent of  fragrant herb is known that   
was not about that tree4 ,all round the 
tree  multitudes of men and women sat in
 chairs of gold and silver and ivory1   
with golden crowns on their heads1 and  
golden wands in their hands1  singing1  
and praising the ,king4 ,this tree was  
the prop and stay of the  ,church1 and  
the people about it were they who had   

united to support and  defend the       
,church1 turning their backs upon       
worldly things1 and leading  a devout   
life4    ,the vision over1 ,tundale     
begged to be allowed to stay1 but the   
,angel  told him that he must return to 
the body4 ,he further bade him remember 
what he had seen1 that he might deliver 
it to the people of the world4  ,he     
engaged ,tundale to eschew evil in      
future1 and promised to protect  and    
counsel him4    ,for several reasons1 it
 seemed advisable to relate ,tundale's  
vision  with some fulness of detail4 ,in
 the first place1 it can hardly be  that
 a work which so soon acquired1 and long
 maintained1 an immense  popularity     
throughout all ,western ,christendom1   
failed to exercise  great influence in  
the way of fixing1 if not of            
determining1 the views  generally held  
concerning the ,otherworld4 ,further1 as
 the work of an  ,irish author1 written 
in the centre of ,europe1 and almost    
immediately  adopted throughout the     

,west2 embodying1 moreover1 while       
continuing  and enlarging1 the ideas    
currently held by members of the        
,christian  ,church respecting the      
future life1 and1 at the same time1     
containing  many elements of distinctly 
,irish1 and even pagan1 origin1 it      
reveals  beyond dispute the existence1  
the manner1 and1 partly1 the extent of  
the contribution which the legend made  
to the development of modern            
literature1 after quitting the soil upon
 which it had matured4    ,the ,vision  
of ,tundale has many points in common   
with the ,fis  ,adamnin1 e4g4 the       
preference accorded to the martyrs and  
ascetics1  the special provision made   
for the charitable sinners1 the nine    
orders of ,heaven1 the episodes of the  
bridges and the ,tree of ,life1  etc4   
,like ,adamnn1 ,tundale expressed a     
desire to remain in ,paradise1  but was 
bidden return1 and relate what he had   
seen4 ,from a literary  point of view1  
the work is decidedly inferior to the   

,fis2 it is  retrograde1 too1 in the    
absence of a definite scheme of the     
,otherworld2  historically1 however1 it 
marks a forward step in the development 
of  the purgatorial idea1 of which1     
perhaps1 it affords the most complete   
example which religious fiction         
contains1 prior to its final perfection 
by ,dante4 ,it also prepares the way for
 the group of legends associated  with  
,st4 ,patrick's ,purgatory1 for it      
introduces the idea of the ,seer        
himself suffering the purgatorial pains1
 with a view to his own  redemption2    
,tundale's vision1 however1 contains no 
suggestion of a  local purgatory in this
 world4 ,in both these respects1 he is  
followed  by ,dante1 to some extent1    
though the comparatively slight         
annoyances  endured by the latter during
 his ascent of the purgatorial          
mount--with  the exception of the fiery 
wall1 for which there was a special     
reason--were rather1 so to speak1       
incidents of travel1 necessitated by    

the nature of the country through which 
he had to pass1 than sufferings         
inflicted on him for his purgation4 ,in 
one respect1 ,marcus merits to be       
raised to a bad eminence among his kind3
 we have marked already1 in the         
development of the ,irish idea of the   
,otherworld1 a growing tendency to      
accumulate horrors1 and to elaborate and
 multiply painful details2 but  perhaps1
 in all the repulsive literature of the 
,christian ,inferno1#bjd  there is no   
instance equal to the present of the    
length to which the  medival imagination
 could go in its conception of the      
grotesque and  horrible1 the cruel and  
obscene4 ,it displays nothing of the    
higher  qualities which the author of   
the ,fis ,adamnin possessed3 his devout 
raptures1 his sense of beauty1 his      
strong moral feeling1 and his pity  for 
the reprobate4 ,at the same time1 it    
shows how far ,dante was from  deserving
 the reproach1 so often made1 of the    
wanton accumulation of  horrors2 how    

much of the kind1 in which his          
predecessors revelled1 he  rejected1    
retaining only so much--and that1 in all
 conscience1 was no  little--as was     
necessary to enable him to represent the
 grim theory of  his day1 in all the    
completeness and vividness with which it
 presented  itself to his imagination4  
,it is difficult to avoid making some   
comparison of the present work  with the
 ,commedia1 for of all the writings of  
its class it is1  perhaps1 that which we
 have most reason to assume must have   
been known  to ,dante1 for not only does
 it seem improbable that so widely known
 a  work on his own subject should have 
escaped his notice1 but there are       
analogies between the two1 deeper than  
mere similarities in detail4  ,tundale1 
for instance1 frequently applied to his 
angelic guide for the  interpretation of
 passages of ,scripture which presented 
themselves to  his recollection1 even as
 ,dante had frequent recourse to        
,virgil1 and  afterwards to ,beatrice   

and ,matilda1 for the like purpose4 ,so1
 too1  the sentences of ,scripture which
 ,tundale heard repeated in the region  
of probation may be compared to the     
similar sentences which ,dante  heard   
floating along the air in ,purgatory4   
,tundale1 moreover1 met and  conversed  
in the world of shades not only with    
persons of his own  acquaintance and    
kin1 as ,thespesios and others had done 
before him1  but with a variety of      
historical personages of past and       
present times1  including semi-mythical 
,irish heroes like ,fergus ,mac ,rig and
 ,conall  ,cernach1 and sacred          
personages like ,st4 ,paul and ,st4     
,patrick4 ,like  ,dante1 too1 he        
introduced incidents of contemporary    
history in which  he felt an interest1  
such as the strife between the princes  
,donnchad  and ,concobar1 and passed his
 own judgment upon the actors4 ,the     
reward  bestowed upon ,king ,cormac1 in 
the shape of a little kingdom of his    
own1 is a curious instance of the same  

kind2 it was probably due to  an        
excessively literal interpretation of   
the ,scripture promises4 ,it  recalls   
the aristocratic type of the more       
primitive ,elysium4 ,the vision         
exhibits the usual agreement with ,dante
 in the provision of a special          
treatment for the #8variegated1' or     
half-and-half sinners1 and the  usual   
contrast to him in the nature of that   
treatment4 ,marcus follows  precedents  
which had become inconsistent with the  
design of his work1  which expresses the
 more complete theory of ,purgatory as a
 separate  state4 ,dante1 apparently1   
was guided in his mode of dealing with  
this  class of persons by his own sense 
of moral and artistic fitness4  ,marcus1
 in giving the name of ,acheron to the  
flaming mouth of the  beast1 betrays a  
slight tendency towards that importation
 of classical  ideas into ,christian    
eschatology which ,dante afterwards     
developed to  such an extent4    ,coming
 to similarities existing between single

 incidents1 there is1 of  course1 a     
general resemblance between the         
penalties1 etc41 enumerated  by both    
authors1 as in the lakes of fire and    
ordure1 the flames and  ice1 the        
piercing winds1 the scourging by demons1
 etc4 etc42 there is  also a more       
special likeness in the nature of the   
conception1 if not  in the details1     
between the grotesque transformations   
undergone by the  souls swallowed by    
,tundale's monster1 and the terrible    
metamorphoses  brought about by the     
serpents in cantos xxiii4 and xxiv4 of  
the  ,inferno4 ,again1 the demon on the 
ice1 in ,tundale's ,vision1 devouring   
the souls1 resembles ,dante's ,lucifer  
chewing the arch-traitors in  the icy   
centre of ,hell4 ,tundale's demon1      
indeed1 is not ,lucifer1 who  is        
described later on as being roasted on a
 gridiron4 ,we may note in  this place  
that the ,irishman and the ,italian have
 exchanged the ideas  commonly accepted 
by their respective countrymen on the   

subject3 ,dante  making the sufferings  
of the inmost core of ,hell to consist  
in cold1  ,marcus in heat4 ,there are   
various touches besides in which the one
  author reminds us of the other4       
,tundale's rescue by the angel from  the
 demons1#bje and the strife between     
these in the fury of their              
disappointment1 present a curiously     
close parallel to the similar  incidents
 in ,inferno xxii4 ,tundale and his     
guide1 after their rude  journey1       
looking down into the gulf of fire and  
ordure1 recall ,dante  and ,virgil      
pausing in like manner upon the steep   
and rugged causeways  of the ,inferno1  
to gaze into the abysses of the lower   
circles4 ,as  ,tundale was abandoned by 
his guide before entering into ,hell1 so
  was ,dante left to himself by ,virgil 
upon reaching the ,terrestrial          
,paradise4#bjf ,to ,tundale1 when in    
,heaven1 it was shown that he could     
look back1 and view the regions through 
which he had passed2 so ,dante1  in     

,paradise1 was bidden to look downward  
toward this world and its  ways4#bjg    
,other resemblances exist1 but these are
 the most striking4    ,of course it is 
not to be supposed that the continuation
 and  development of the ,vision legend 
at this period of the ,middle ,ages was 
confined to the ,irish school4 ,it was  
still1 and had been since the  earliest 
days of the ,church1 a favourite topic  
with monastic homilists  and biographers
 of the saints4#bjh ,however1 it has not
 been my object  to compile a history1  
or a summary1 of this branch of         
literature1 but  to select those        
examples of it which have either carried
 the subject  to a further stage of     
development1 or1 by reason of their     
popularity1  or of their accessibility  
to later writers1 may have served as    
links  in the chain of transmission4    
,few1 indeed1 out of the whole mass     
possess any interest either from        
originality of invention1 or variety  of
 treatment1 still less from any literary

 merit1 and it is more than  probable   
that the vast majority of them never    
passed beyond the limits  of the        
community to which their author         
belonged1 until they were  brought to   
light by the researches of modern       
antiquaries4    ,nevertheless1 of the   
,continental visions which belong to    
this epoch1  there is one which demands 
further notice1 as well by reason of the
  exceptionally elaborate manner in     
which it treats the subject1 as of  the 
recognition accorded to it by later     
writers4 ,this is the ,vision  of ,paul1
 or the ,descent of ,paul into ,hell1 a 
,latin work known in  the ,south of     
,france before the middle of the        
eleventh century1 and  translated into  
,anglo-,norman by ,adam de ,ros1 and    
soon afterwards into  several modern    
languages4 ,we have seen that the early 
,church produced  a work known as the   
,apocalypse of ,st4 ,paul1 but this1    
apparently1 was  not known to the later 
,middle ,ages1 at any rate at first     

hand1 though  the terms in which ,st4   
,paul's ,vision is mentioned at the     
opening of  the ,fis ,adamnin suggest   
that at least the tradition survived1   
and  several passages in medival visions
 bear a strong resemblance to the       
earlier work4 ,it is probably to the    
eleventh-century vision that ,dante     
refers in ,inferno ii4 #bh sqq42#bji    
evidently he does not refer to  the     
,apostle's own words exclusively1 for   
,st4 ,paul in his ,epistles makes  no   
mention of a visit to ,hell1 though it  
is also possible that ,dante  had no    
other authority for this than the       
floating tradition4    ,in this ,vision 
,st4 ,paul was conducted by ,michael to 
,hell1 on the  threshold whereof stood a
 fiery tree1 from the branches of which 
were  suspended by the tongue1 leg1     
neck1 or other peccant member1 those who
  had been guilty of rapacity1 or had   
given false judgment por confundre  la  
gente4 ,near this was a fiery furnace1  
whereof li feus est plus  neirs que     

mors1 and in it were plunged they who   
had loved not ,god4  ,they then came to 
a great and turbid river in which       
devils1 in form of  lions1 swam about   
like fishes4 ,the river was spanned by a
 bridge1 the  width of a single         
hair1#baj which had to be crossed in    
order to reach  ,god's presence4 ,the   
wicked fell off into the mouth of       
,beelzebub1 which  stood wide open1     
vomiting flame1 ready to receive them4  
,upon issuing  thence1 all black and    
charred1 they were plunged into the     
river1 where  they stood immersed to    
different depths--to the knees1 navel1  
eyes1  eyebrows1 crown1 etc4--in        
proportion to the degree of their       
guilt4#baa  ,these were hypocrites1     
adulterers1 envious persons who had     
exulted in  the sight of others'        
sorrow--por ceo sunt ore dolereux1 etc4 
,those  who had made war upon the       
,church were submerged entirely4        
,faithless  virgins who had violated    
their vow of chastity1 and had destroyed

  their children1 were clad in black    
garments smeared with pitch and         
sulphur1 and aflame1 while they endured 
the embraces of serpents and            
dragons4#bab ,corrupt judges1 who had   
abused the widow and orphan1  burnt like
 brushwood amid walls of ice4 ,priests  
who had known the law  of ,god1 but     
failed to keep it1 wore heavy collars   
about their necks4    ,st4 ,paul1 like  
,tundale1 exclaimed1 and asked why man  
should be born  for such misery2 but    
,michael replied that beneath those     
depths a still  greater depth remained4 
,this was a well1 covered1 and sealed   
with seven  seals1 whence proceeded such
 a stench that ,st4 ,paul started back4 
,here were imprisoned such as had denied
 the articles of the ,christian         
faith4#bac ,these called upon ,st4      
,paul1 ,st4 ,michael1 and the #8twelve  
peers1' to pray for them1 and that so   
loudly that their cry reached to        
,heaven2 but ,god ,himself replied that 
no pardon was possible for those  that  

had rebelled against ,him2 howbeit1 ,he 
was prevailed upon by the  prayers of   
the ,saints to grant them the usual     
,sunday respite1 which was  made to last
 from none on ,saturday to prime on     
,monday4    ,the authorship of this     
,vision is unknown1 so that there is no 
saying  whether or not it was composed  
under the influence of the ,irish       
,visions4 ,the date and other           
circumstances would admit of this1 and  
it has much in common with them2        
notably1 the manner in which the        
familiar bridge episode is treated is   
very similar to that of the ,fis        
,adamnin2 nevertheless1 the greater part
 of it might quite as well  have been   
derived from other sources1 and it bears
 at least as strong  a resemblance to   
the ,apocalypses of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4
 ,paul2 like them1  but to a greater    
extent1 it aims at the recompense of    
specific crimes  by the appropriate     
punishments4 ,however1 there is a       
considerable group  of ,visions1 the    

authors of which1 though foreigners1    
have confessedly  drawn from ,irish     
sources4 ,this series dates back at     
least as far as  the time of ,bede1 to  
whom1 likewise1 we are indebted for the 
earliest  account of the visions of ,st4
 ,fursa1 and for several particulars of 
the life of ,adamnn4 ,for ,bede has     
recorded a vision seen by ,drihthelm1  a
 ,northumbrian monk1 who related it to  
one ,haemgils1 then a hermit in         
,ireland1 from whom ,bede received      
it4#bad ,the soul of ,drihthelm1 on     
parting from the body1 was taken in     
charge by an angel1 who brought  him to 
a great valley in the north-east1 which 
was ,purgatory4 ,one side  of the valley
 was covered with flames1 the other with
 ice1 with the  usual accompaniments of 
hail and snowstorms1 filth1 evil        
spirits1 etc4  ,they afterwards came to 
a great pit and a fiery plain1 where    
they saw  globes of fire rising and     
sinking1 and in them the souls of men   
were  imprisoned4#bae ,here ,drihthelm  

was assailed by demons armed with fiery 
forks1 but the angel rescued him4 ,they 
finally reached a wall in the           
south-east1#baf wherein was no opening4 
,they were conveyed to the top  of it1  
whence they could see a wide1 flowery   
plain1 and the light on  it was brighter
 than the sun at noon4 ,people in       
shining raiment were  walking there2    
these were the boni sed non valde1 who  
were to dwell  there until ,judgment4   
,beyond this could be descried a yet    
brighter  region1 whence fragrant odours
 and the singing of the saintly choirs  
were borne to them4 ,this narrative1    
commonplace as it is1 proves the  early 
date of several features of some of the 
principal visions1 which  were composed 
at a much later period4    ,by far the  
most famous of the present group of     
visions are those  associated with ,st4 
,patrick's ,purgatory1 which attained to
 a popularity  which almost surpassed   
that of the ,vision of ,tundale or the  
,voyage of  ,st4 ,brendan4    ,it would 

seem that the earliest known version of 
this legend is the  vision seen in #aaec
 by the knight ,owen1 and written soon  
after the  middle of the twelfth century
 by ,henry of ,saltrey1 a monk in the   
,benedictine monastery of ,huntingdon1  
who received the story from  ,gilbert1  
,abbot of ,louth4 ,owen was an ,irishman
 in the service of ,king  ,stephen1 from
 whom he received knighthood4 ,like     
,tundale1 he was a brave  soldier1 but  
in the course of an ungoverned life had 
been guilty of  rapine1 lust1 sacrilege1
 and other crimes4 ,in the course of    
time he  repented1 and returned to      
,ireland1 where he heard of an old      
tradition1  to the effect that once ,st4
 ,patrick1 when his preaching had failed
 to  move a pagan audience1 wrought     
their conversion by causing a chasm to  
open1 through which the next world      
became visible to them4 ,tradition  gave
 out an island in ,loch ,derg1 in the   
,county ,donegal1 as the scene  of this 
miracle1 and there a religious house was

 established4 ,owen  presented himself  
to the ,abbot1 and prevailed on him to  
allow him to  enter the cavern1 which he
 did after being duly prepared by       
fasting  and prayer4 ,he was conducted  
by a party of monks along a dark        
passage1  and then through a brightly   
lighted cloister4 ,after this he was    
left to himself1 when he was assailed by
 a party of demons1 from  whom he       
escaped by pronouncing the name of the  
,lord4 ,like ,fursa1 he  was exposed to 
repeated attempts of the kind1 but      
always extricated  himself without need 
of angelic succour4 ,he traversed       
various plains  set apart for the       
purgation of different offences4 ,among 
other  torments1 mostly of the          
conventional kind1 which seem to        
presuppose an  acquaintance with the    
visions already related1 he beheld      
sinners of  various kinds suspended from
 trees by the members that had offended4
  ,others were plunged in molten metal  
to a depth corresponding to the  gravity

 of their offences1#bag while demons    
tore them with hooks  whenever they     
attempted to raise themselves           
therefrom4#bah ,others  were congealed  
in ice1#bai buried in fiery             
trenches1#bbj buffeted  by violent      
winds1#bba gnawed by serpents1#bbb etc4 
,although the  ,purgatory of ,owen      
resembles the ,inferno of ,dante in so  
many respects1  it differs from it1 and1
 indeed1 from most of its predecessors1 
in not  distinguishing between the      
various crimes that are chastised there4
  ,one instance of an idea common to the
 author and to ,dante is very           
suggestive3 ,owen passed several figures
 lying on the ground crucified1  like   
,dante's ,caiaphas4#bbc ,like ,dante and
 ,tundale1 ,owen recognised  several of 
his friends4    ,he came to the mouth of
 ,hell1 which here1 again1 assumes the  
form of  a demon's wide-opened mouth1   
into which1 each time he draws in his   
breath1 swarms of souls are drawn in    
with it1 to be again puffed out as  he  

respires--an image already occurring in 
the ,vision of ,esdras before  referred 
to4 ,there1 too1 was the usual bridge1  
spanning a foul flood1  wherein         
condemned spirits wallowed4 ,at the far 
end of it was a crystal  wall1 and in it
 a gate of gold and jewels1 which led to
 the ,terrestrial  ,paradise1 the       
halting-place of the spirits that were  
cleansed of sin1  and awaiting their    
final perfection2 while1 to render this 
anticipation  of ,dante yet more        
striking1 a multitude of these passed   
before ,owen1  chanting psalms4 ,two    
archbishops met him1 and conducted him  
to the  top of a mountain1 whence he    
obtained a ,pisgah view of the gate of  
,paradise1 #8like gold refining in a    
glowing furnace4' ,then1 with a flash   
of fire from ,heaven1 the vision ended4 
,nothing certain is known concerning the
 origin of this legend1 though  it      
evidently existed long before ,henry of 
,saltrey's day4 ,as we have  seen1 it   
was accounted for by a legend connecting

 it with the ,apostle  of ,ireland2 it  
is referred to by ,joscelin1 also a     
twelfth-century  writer1 in his ,life of
 ,st4 ,patrick1 but there is no mention 
of it  in any of the earlier writings   
concerning that ,saint4 ,indeed1 some   
chroniclers refer it to one ,patrick1 a 
hermit of the neighbourhood1  and this  
origin is given in the popular story of 
,fortunatus2 and it  is unlikely that   
popular tradition would have had        
recourse to some  obscure and even      
hypothetical ,saint1 if the connection  
with the ,apostle  had been generally   
recognised4 ,probably1 the island may   
have been  the scene of some local pagan
 cult1 taken over1 with the necessary   
modifications1 by the ,christian        
community established there1 in         
something the same manner as ,st4       
,brigid's fire at ,kildare4 ,from the   
resemblance which the practices there   
observed bore to those connected  with  
the ,cave of ,trophonius and the        
,eleusinian ,mysteries1 it seems  not   

unlikely that if the origin of the rites
 could be traced1 some  analogies might 
be established between the ancient      
worship of ,ireland1  and some of the   
more obscure ,greek cults4 ,however this
 may be1 the  legend of ,st4 ,patrick's 
,purgatory soon achieved an almost      
unexampled  popularity1 and was speedily
 adopted into the popular fictions of   
most ,european countries4 ,marie de     
,france1 in the early part of the       
thirteenth century1 made it the subject 
of a long poem1 and was closely         
followed by several ,anglo-,norman      
writers1 while it is recorded in the    
learned collections of ,jean de ,vitry1 
,vincent de ,beauvais1 and ,caesar  of  
,heisterbach1 and by several of the     
leading chroniclers1 such as  ,giraldus 
,cambrensis1 ,matthew ,paris1 and       
,froissart4 ,meanwhile1 the  island in  
,loch ,derg became one of the recognised
 holy places to which  pilgrims even    
from remote parts of ,europe1 such as   
,italy1 ,hungary1  etc41 resorted for   

the purpose of procuring the remission  
of past sins1  by undergoing the        
purgatorial discipline in this life1 and
 the ,english  archives still contain   
records of certificates given by ,edward
 ,,iii4 and  ,richard ,,ii4 to several  
illustrious foreigners1 testifying to   
their due  accomplishment of the        
pilgrimage and its attendant rites4#bbd 
,i do not  know to what authority it was
 intended that these certificates should
  commend the recipients4    ,the       
institution never received the formal   
sanction1 nor even the  approbation1 of 
the ,church1 and in the year #adig the  
purgatorial cavern  was closed by order 
of ,pope ,alexander vi4 ,for some time  
to come1  however1 the tradition lived  
on in various forms3 in hagiology1 as   
in the ,aurea ,legenda of ,jacobus de   
,voragine2 in such specimens of  popular
 literature as the story of ,fortunatus2
 in ,tassoni's burlesque  poem1 ,la     
,secchia ,rapita1 and in the tragedy of 
,calderon1 to which it  furnished both  

title and subject4 ,the two points in   
connection with it  that concern us1 are
 the facts that the legend continued the
 ,irish  school of the ,fis1 and that it
 achieved a popularity so widespread    
and so enduring as to render it almost  
certain that it must1 at least1  have   
come to ,dante's knowledge4    ,a few   
years before the ,vision of ,owen1 a    
somewhat similar work had  been produced
 in ,italy--the ,vision of ,alberic1 the
 son of a ,campanian  noble1 and a monk 
of the famous ,benedictine monastery of 
,monte ,cassino4  ,for the most part1   
this vision is constructed on the       
conventional  lines1 but in several of  
its details it is in such close         
agreement with  ,dante's ,inferno as to 
call for some remark4#bbe ,the          
commencement1  indeed1 appears to be    
original4 ,at the age of ten1 ,alberic  
fell into  a trance1 which lasted for   
nine days4 ,while in this state he was  
visited by a dove1 which put its bill   
within his mouth1 and carried  him to   

,st4 ,peter1 who1 in company with two   
angels1 conveyed him to  the nether     
world4 ,on his way thither he passed    
through the ,limbus  infantium1 which   
also is an unusual feature in works of  
this class4  ,among the penalties of    
,hell which bear a more or less close   
resemblance  to ,dante's ,inferno1 are a
 valley where the unchaste stood in fire
  and ice to a greater or less depth    
according to the gravity of their       
offence2 tyrants and infanticides were  
enclosed in masses of fire2  homicides  
were plunged in a lake of fire1 like    
blood2 breakers of  ecclesiastical vows 
were gnawed by serpents4 ,one           
purgatorial infliction  resembles the   
punishment of suicides in ,inferno      
xiii43 the souls in  question were      
hunted by a demon1 mounted on a dragon1 
through plains  full of thorns and      
briars1 where they left scraps of their 
clothes and  flesh upon the thorns1     
until1 being lightened of their         
superfluous  flesh1 they escaped1 and   

were thus purged4 ,several familiar     
features  reappear1 and are1 in some    
measure1 reduplicated2 thus1 besides the
  bridge1 there is a red-hot ladder1    
which the wicked have to ascend  until  
they drop off2 ,hell's mouth again      
appears as the mouth of a  serpent1     
drawing in and ejecting the souls with  
his breath1 to which  are added a dog   
and a lion1 who1 by their breath1 blow  
the souls to  their allotted stations4  
,alberic1 like several of his           
predecessors1 and  also like ,dante1 is 
assailed by demons armed with hooks4 ,he
 crossed the  bridge to the ,terrestrial
 ,paradise1 where the purified spirits  
dwell  until the ,beatific ,vision shall
 be revealed to them after ,judgment4   
,this place is a flowery plain1 from out
 of which rises the ,mountain  of       
,paradise1 surrounded by a wall1 over   
which ,alberic was permitted  to look1  
though he might neither enter1 nor      
repeat what he saw there4  ,alberic1    
too1 received ,st4 ,peter's instructions

 in cosmology--of a very  crude         
description--and as to the virtues of a 
monastic life1 etc42 he  was then bidden
 to return and relate his vision4    ,as
 the influence of the ,irish school upon
 ,european letters waned1 and  gradually
 spent itself1 a deterioration in the   
,vision literature became  apparent2 it 
lost what little method and symmetry    
that school had  introduced into it1 and
 reverted to the primitive amorphous    
type2 we  can no longer trace any       
indication of original thought or       
invention2  little1 even1 of vividness  
or picturesque description is left4 ,not
  that this deterioration of quality is 
attended by any diminution of  quantity3
 on the contrary1 several causes        
combined to render the output  greater  
than ever4 ,the rapid revival of        
ecclesiastical literature led1  as one  
of its results1 to increased activity in
 this long-worked field1  and improved  
communications enabled the inmates of   
each monastery to  study and imitate the

 works of their fellows in other        
countries and  provinces4 ,moreover1 the
 anticipation of a speedy end of this   
world1  which prevailed towards the     
close of the tenth century1 directed the
  trend of religious thought towards the
 world to come1 and even after  the     
cause had ceased to be operative1 the   
effect remained4 ,then came  the reform 
of several monastic orders1 and the     
establishment of the  friars1 resulting 
in a renewed activity in preaching and  
teaching1  which would naturally quicken
 the demand for subjects so well adapted
  to moving exhortation and edification2
 while the rise of pictorial  art1 which
 found attractive subjects in visions of
 ,judgment1 and  representations of the 
,divine ,glory1 at once fostered1 and   
was fostered  by1 the prevalence of     
those same subjects in popular          
literature4 ,at the  same time1 the rise
 of a literature in the vernacular      
tongues would  naturally co-operate with
 the development of a genuine theology  

to  diminish the importance of the      
,visions of the ,otherworld as works of 
imagination or vehicles of instruction1 
and to relegate them to the  domain of  
the homilist and fabliast4              
,accordingly1 the literature of the     
,middle ,ages teems with stories        
dealing with the ,otherworld1 and the   
lot of departed souls therein4  ,some of
 them occur in the lives of ,saints and 
,martyrs2 others describe  a visit to   
,heaven or ,hell1 made either in vision1
 or in propria  persona1 or else record 
some traveller's temporary return from  
the  bourne1 charged with a message for 
the living4 ,many were composed  with   
some particular end in view1 in order to
 convey a warning to some  notorious    
sinner1 or to instruct by the edifying  
fate of some one  remarkable for virtue 
or vice2 often1 again1 with the         
practical object  of exacting           
restitution or reparation from the      
sinner or his heirs4    ,the subject was
 equally popular in sacred and profane  

literature1  appearing in homily and    
apologue1 folk-tale and fabliau1 in     
poems  serious and comic1 tending to    
edification and otherwise4    ,in all   
this there was little enough of         
originality1 or intrinsic merit  of any 
kind1 save only when some aspect of the 
subject happened to fall  into the hands
 of a skilled raconteur4 ,nevertheless1 
it all served  to keep the subject      
present to the public mind1 and thus to 
afford  that degree of preparation1     
which always appears necessary alike for
  the production and reception of any   
great and novel work of art1 and        
likewise to amass a considerable store  
of material1 ready for any hand  capable
 of dealing with it4 ,at length1 in     
,dante1 the one poet arose  whose genius
 was sufficient to extricate from this  
heap of trivialities  the great dogmas  
of the ,christian faith which lay at the
 bottom1 and1  by his matchless         
constructive power1 to give form and    
substance to  the theme1 to illustrate  

it with all that his age could afford of
  philosophy and learning1 to animate it
 with the spirit of devotion and        
sublime human passion1 and to enrich it 
with all the resources of the  poetical 
imagination4#bbf          #g4           
,,conclusion      ,in the foregoing     
pages it has been attempted to trace1   
from its  various sources1 the progress 
of the legend which culminated in       
,dante's ,commedia4 ,it did not form a  
part of this design to collect  the     
corresponding traditions which abound in
 the folklore of many  times and        
peoples1 nor even to give an exhaustive 
account of the forms  which the legend  
assumed in the several fields which have
 come within  our purview2 rather to    
confine our examination to those        
examples  which may be regarded as its  
sources1 or may have contributed to its 
transmission1 or determined the form    
which it assumed in later stages  of its
 development4 ,we have seen that        
,dante's poem had been led up  to by a  

long series of predecessors1 like it in 
theme1 if in nothing  else1 and that it 
had already approved its fitness for a  
place in  the world's literature1 by the
 success which it had achieved1 in      
countless forms1 among peoples of widely
 diverse stages of culture4 ,we  have   
also seen how the ,irish ,church1 in its
 palmy days1 developed a  highly        
characteristic treatment of the theme1  
and while following1 in  the main1 the  
accepted traditions of the medival      
,church1 introduced  certain            
modifications of a strongly individual  
and national type4 ,of  this class the  
,vision of ,adamnn has been selected for
 a specimen1  as representing the       
highest level attained by the school to 
which it  belonged1 and as being the    
most important contribution made to the 
growth of the legend within the         
,christian ,church prior to the advent  
of  ,dante4    ,i have purposely        
abstained from offering a conjecture as 
to any  possible indebtedness on the    

part of ,dante to the ,visions of the   
,irish  school1 and to the ,fis ,adamnin
 in particular1 further than as these1  
by reviving1 transmitting1 and          
popularising the theme1 placed ready  to
 his hand the subject which was1 of all 
others1 best adapted to  his genius1    
and1 at the same time1 best calculated  
to appeal to the  public of his day4    
,the various topics into which this     
examination has  compelled the writer to
 enter--,dante literature1 ,celtic      
tradition1  folklore1 mythology--are all
 favourite subjects with that type of   
theorist who is wont to accompany a     
small modicum of the bread of fact  with
 an intolerable deal of the sack of     
hypothesis1 to the no small  detriment  
of critical sobriety1 so that one who   
approaches the subject  with no         
preconceived theory of his own to       
prove--unless1 like those  present at a 
revival meeting1 he be set a-prophesying
 by contagion--is  apt to become almost 
as sick of these shadows as was the     

,lady of  ,shalott of those in her magic
 glass4 ,i have therefore endeavoured to
  present the author of the ,fis        
,adamnin merely as a #8precursor' of    
,dante1 without attempting to prove him 
,dante's #8progenitor4' ,all the  same1 
,i do not think ,i am transgressing     
these limits by suggesting the  almost  
certainty that so omnivorous a reader as
 ,dante must have been  acquainted with 
works so generally known at and prior to
 his day as the  ,voyages of ,st4       
,brendan1 the ,vision of ,tundale1 and  
the legends of ,st4  ,patrick's         
,purgatory1 all of which were more or   
less influenced by the  ,fis ,adamnin1  
and were productions of the same school4
 ,there is no  ground to imagine that   
,dante was acquainted with the ,fis     
,adamnin1  nor can that supposition be  
entertained unless it can be shown that 
there existed in his day a translation  
of it into ,latin1 or one of the        
,romance languages1 to which he might   
have had access4 ,indeed1 pending  the  

results of future research1 it is       
impossible to put forward any  work1 or 
group of works1 as the model which      
,dante followed4 ,probably  no such     
model will ever be discovered1 for the  
simple reason that none  such ever      
existed4 ,it is true that ,dante availed
 himself freely of all  that the        
previous ,vision literature could give  
him1 just as he drew  copiously from    
every source at his command4 ,but for   
the ,latin classics1  and ,virgil in    
particular2 but for the ,latin ,fathers1
 ,augustine1 ,jerome1  and ,gregory2 the
 ,schoolmen1 from ,erigena to ,thomas   
,aquinas2 the ,romance  poets of ,france
 and ,italy1 it is certain that ,dante's
 work1 as we  have it1 could never have 
come into being4 ,so much may be claimed
  for the ,visions of the ,irish school1
 and1 apparently1 no more1 but  even    
this much is enough to entitle them to a
 place in the history of  modern        
literature4 ,indeed1 independently of   
any such relation of cause  and effect  

between the two1 the writings of the    
,irish school would  still constitute an
 interesting study1 both as the fruits  
obtained by  previous labours in the    
same field under widely different       
conditions1  and even more for the light
 which they cast upon what is still one 
of  the darkest places in the           
intellectual life of ,europe4    ,we    
have had occasion to remark before upon 
several particulars wherein  the analogy
 between the ,fis ,adamnin--and1 to a   
less extent1 others  of the ,irish      
,visions--and the ,commedia would appear
 to go deeper  than can be explained by 
their common subject1 and their use in  
common  of the same general stock of    
ideas4 ,however1 it does not appear that
  the influence exercised by the ,irish 
school mainly consisted in the          
introduction of novel ideas and         
incidents1 though even these were not   
entirely absent4 ,indeed1 throughout the
 history of the ,vision legend1  we may 
observe a continual tendency to drop any

 national or personal  characteristics  
which it may have acquired at a previous
 stage of  its evolution4 ,for instance1
 we have seen to how great an extent the
  popular ,christian eschatology was    
modelled upon the classical ,elysium    
and ,tartarus1 yet even the earlier     
,church works upon the subject  contain 
no such references to classical         
personages and traditions as  were      
employed so copiously by ,dante1 and1 in
 a slight and tentative  manner1 by     
certain of his predecessors4 ,the same  
may be said of the  ,oriental myths     
which formed part of the ,hebrew        
contributions to  the subject4 ,so1 in  
proportion as the late medival visions  
of the  ,otherworld recede in date from 
those of the ,irish school1 they tend to
  drop more and more of the structure   
and imagery which were peculiarly       
characteristic of the latter1 as owing  
great part of their form or  colour to  
the ,irish national traditions4 ,this   
process is carried still  further by    

,dante1 who rejected many of the most   
familiar incidents of  the earlier      
visions3 e4g4 the bridge1 the open mouth
 of the dragon  as symbolising ,hell1   
,enoch and ,elijah beside the ,tree of  
,life1 and the  bird-flocks about them1 
the special provisions for various kinds
 of the  half-righteous1 etc4    ,thus1 
while exercising a secondary influence  
by further enriching the  stock of      
material already in existence1 the main 
function of the ,irish  ,visions was to 
set a literary fashion1 so to speak1    
whereby the ,vision  of the ,otherworld 
came to be regarded as the most natural 
vehicle for  conveying men's thoughts   
and imaginations1 as in other ages the  
epic1  the drama1 the dialogue1 the     
pamphlet1 the novel1 and other forms of 
composition1 have been specially        
affected for the like purpose4    ,it   
remains to say a few words respecting   
the literary merits of the  ,fis        
,adamnin4 ,obviously there can be no    
rivalry1 or even comparison1  in this   

respect1 between it and the poem which  
stands high among the  supreme          
achievements of the human intellect4    
,noteworthy1 rather1 is  the degree of  
excellence to which the earlier writer  
attains1 when we  consider what was the 
state of vernacular literature in the   
,europe of  his day4 ,his style1 like   
the style of most ,irish writers of the 
best  period1 is simple1 picturesque1   
and forcible2 the language is terse  and
 pregnant1 without being bald or meagre4
 ,there are certain writings  of every  
age1 differing much in merit1 from      
which1 as we read them1 we  seem to be  
hearing the author's voice proceeding2  
where this is so1 the  style can hardly 
be other than good of its kind1 however 
simple1 and  even rude1 it may be1 and  
however little it may owe to technical  
skill4  ,this characteristic1 ,i think1 
the work in question possesses2 but this
  is an evanescent quality which must   
needs disappear in translation1         
especially such a translation as the    

present1 where the aim has chiefly  been
 at literal accuracy4    ,mention has   
been made already of the advantages     
which this ,vision  possesses over most 
others of its class1 by reason of its   
superiority  in construction1 which is  
manifested alike in the general design  
of the work1 and in the superior        
grouping and visual presentment of      
certain portions1 such as the           
description of ,heaven1 and the         
righteous  assembled about the ,throne4 
,our author1 too1 compares favourably   
with  his fellows as regards his general
 cast of thought1 as particularly in    
the stress which he lays upon the       
spiritual or emotional side of the      
sufferings of the lost1 and the grave   
pity with which the contemplation  of   
their fate repeatedly inspires him--a   
feeling wonderfully absent  from the    
generality of his class4    ,other      
characteristics are shared by him with  
the ,irish romantic  writers4 ,one      
characteristic was common to both of    

them3 there was  life in what they      
wrote2 the scene of their narrative     
became a  veritable ,tr na mbeo4 ,they  
possessed1 moreover1 that sensibility   
to natural beauty1 which is often1 but  
most erroneously1 assumed to  be the    
peculiar property of modern times4 ,they
 were keenly alive to  the amenities of 
woods and meadows1 flowers and birds1 to
 the charm  of colour1 of brightness and
 light of every kind4 ,above all1 they  
delighted in melodious sound1 whether   
the music of strings or of the  human   
voice1 the note of birds and bees1 the  
wind in the leaves1 or the  sound of    
falling water4 ,like ,byron1 they knew  
that #8there's music in  all things1 if 
men had ears4' ,nor did this delight in 
,nature consist in  sensuous pleasure   
merely4 ,they too were aware of #8a     
something yet more  deeply interfused'2 
it was #8the light of setting suns'     
across the ocean  that wooed the ,ui    
,corra to their quest of the ,unknown2  
,st4 ,brendan  yearned for that retreat1

 #8secret1 hidden1 secure1 delightful1  
apart  from men1' which the ocean       
solitudes alone appeared to promise him4
    ,this national susceptibility to    
beauty constantly asserts itself in  our
 author1 in manner appropriate to his   
theme4 ,he also manifests the  no less  
national capacity for vivid and         
picturesque description1 and  this      
without being led into redundancy1 or   
straining after effect1 the  leading    
characteristic of his narrative being a 
simple earnestness  which is often very 
effective4 ,it is needless to dwell upon
 individual  descriptions1 most of which
 have been dealt with in their place4   
,it is  enough just to refer in         
particular to the description of        
,heaven1 of  the ,throne1 and the       
celestial choirs2 the nave but striking 
symbol  of ,omnipresence2 the waste and 
desolate places of ,hell in c4 #cj2 the 
various kinds of penalties in cc4       
#be-bi2 the picture of the generous  but
 carnally minded souls protected from   

the fiery sea by a rampart of  the alms 
they had bestowed4    ,in two respects  
our author differs both from ,dante and 
from several  writers of his own school4
 ,his work contains no dissertations    
upon  theology1 morals1 nor natural     
science2 neither does he hold           
intercourse  in the world of spirits    
with his own contemporaries1 or with    
historical  or mythical personages2     
hence we do not find in it even an      
anticipation  of the dramatic episodes1 
or the endless procession of lifelike   
characters which render the ,commedia a 
veritable microcosm4 ,we are  tempted to
 speculate upon the results which might 
have been obtained1  had our author     
brought to the treatment of his subject 
the dramatic  force1 the vivid          
portraiture1 and the narrative power1   
which are  displayed in the great       
romantic cycles of ,irish story4        
,soon after the time when our author    
wrote1 the development of the  national 
literature1 and1 indeed1 all other forms

 of national  development1 were brought1
 by pressure of circumstances1 to a     
stand4  ,often since then the subjects  
and characters of ,irish tradition have 
furnished themes for masterpieces of    
,european literature1 but these         
intellectual triumphs have been like the
 victories which ,irish arms  have won  
for others1 and under banners not their 
own4 ,it is only in  our own day that   
any serious and well-directed attempt   
has been made  to resume the interrupted
 work upon truly national lines4 ,even  
within  the last few years the results  
obtained1 and the promise shown1 warrant
  a belief that success may prove more  
speedy and complete than could  have    
been deemed possible a single decade    
ago2 and with success may  come--who    
knows8--an infusion into modern         
literature of a new spirit  and new     
methods1 of which it stands so          
grievously in need4     1    4          
,uncial3 ,u ro annso1 ,buieacas le ,dia4
          ,,footnotes      #a ,for      

further particulars of the life of      
,adamnn1 see ,dr4 ,reeves's             
introduction to his ,adamnn's ,life of  
,st4 ,columba1 ,dublin1 #aheg  7,irish  
,archological ,society72 ,dr4 ,healy's  
,ireland's ,ancient ,schools  and       
,scholars2 ,canon ,john ,o',hanlon's    
,lives of the ,irish ,saints1 vol4  i4  
#b ,mr4 ,alfred ,nutt has suggested that
 the above passage appears to  claim for
 the ,irish scholars and clerics a      
monopoly of the educational  and        
missionary work of the age to the       
exclusion of the eminent  ,anglo-,saxons
 who were labouring with success and    
distinction in the  same field4 ,i had  
no intention to disparage either the    
original genius  nor the learning of    
,bede and ,aldhelm1 ,caedmon and        
,cynewulf1 ,winifred  and ,alcuin1 nor  
their missionary and scholastic work1   
both at home and  in the ,frankish      
,empire2 only to point out that the     
position acquired  by the ,irish        
scholars and clerics enabled them       

speedily to disseminate  through        
,western ,europe the works of their     
compatriots4 ,by recalling the  names of
 a few of the most eminent ,irishmen who
 enjoyed a ,continental  fame during the
 ,middle ,ages1 we may perceive how wide
 was the area1 and  how long the        
duration1 of their influence4           
,clement was the chief of a group of    
,irish scholars who took a leading  part
 in the educational reforms promoted by 
,charlemagne4 ,alcuin1  ,clement's great
 ,english rival at the ,frankish ,court1
 had been educated  at ,clonmacnois4    
,joannes ,scotus ,erigena1 in the reign 
of ,charles the  ,bald1 founded the     
scholastic philosophy1 and by his       
translation of the  pseudo-,areopagite1 
and his studies of the ,neo-,platonists1
 bridged over  the chasm between ancient
 and modern thought4 ,dungal1 in the    
first  half of the ninth century1 was   
the first astronomer of his age2 at  the
 mandate of ,lothair1 ,king of          
,lombardy1 he founded a school which    

afterwards developed into the           
,university of ,pavia1 with branches  in
 several other cities1 and laboured with
 success at the task of  civilising the 
,lombards4 ,add to these ,dicuil1 a     
geographer of the same  date1 the most  
accurate topographer of the early       
,middle ,ages2 ,firghil1  or ,virgilius1
 ,archbishop of ,salzburg1 who taught   
the rotundity of the  earth and the     
existence of antipodes2 ,sedulius1 the  
ninth-century  grammarian2 ,st4         
,donatus1 ,bishop of ,fiesole 7fl4 c4   
#hdj71 traveller1  topographer1 and     
,scripture commentator2 ,marianus       
,scotus1 one of the  leading chroniclers
 of the eleventh century2 and many      
others1 who  laboured with distinction  
in ,france1 ,italy1 ,germany1 ,england1 
and  ,flanders1 down to the thirteenth  
century1 when ,frederick ,,ii41         
,emperor1  summoned ,petrus ,hibernicus 
to the ,university of ,naples1 where he 
counted among his theological pupils no 
less a personage than ,thomas  ,aquinas4

    #c ,there was also a ,tr ,enda1     
between ,l4 ,foyle and ,l4 ,swilly4     
#d ,tigernach gives the date as #fbd1   
which ,dr4 ,reeves is inclined  to      
accept1 op4 cit4 ,introduction1 xl-xli4 
,lanigan is in favour of  #fbg1 which   
agrees with the reputed age of ,adamnn1 
#gg1 at the time of  his death4         
,possibly the latter date is correct1   
the difference being  explicable by the 
different system of chronology adopted  
by ,tigernach4    #e ,lives of the      
,irish ,saints1 vi4 #gjh2 and see       
,ibid41 ix4 #eje4    #f ,acts x4 #aa4   
#g #b ,cor4 xii4 #b-d4 ,cp4 also ,galat4
 i4 #ab1 #af2 ,ephes4 i4 #c2 and the    
,apocryphal ,acts of ,paul1             
,ante-,nicene ,library1 vol4 xvi4    #h 
,with the ancient ,irish1 the abode of  
the departed was beyond the  ,atlantic1 
towards the setting sun2 so1 in the     
,hindu mythology1 ,yama1  ,king of the  
,dead1 crossed the stream towards the   
sunset1 first showing  the way by which 
all men were to follow him4 ,this       

natural idea has been  shared by many   
barbarous races4    #i ,vault2 ,uncial3 
inna luinge1 genitive of ,uncial3 long1 
ship4  ,qy4 here  #8nave'8    #aj       
,south-east1 possibly because that is   
the direction of ,jerusalem1  the ,holy 
,city4    #aa ,the word used is ,uncial3
 ,mrdil1 the name of the ,irish         
,national  ,assembly1 or                
,states-,general4 ,see ante1 ,sec4 #b4  
#ab ,or1 #8a chair highly wrought1'     
,uncial3 ,inna aair umtata4    #ac ,the 
comparison of the arch above the head of
 the ,heavenly ,king  to a wrought      
helmet or a regal diadem1 may have been 
suggested by the  picturesque and       
chivalrous custom of the ,irish kings   
recorded in the  ancient ,irish poem    
upon the ,fair of ,carman1 whence it    
appears that  their head-dress on       
ordinary state occasions was a wrought  
helmet1 the  royal crown being reserved 
for the day of battle4    #ad #8,glow1' 
,uncial3 derge1 lit4 #8redness1' which1 
,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes  suggests1        

#8symbolises divine love1 creative      
power1 royalty4' ,if so1  cp4 ,dante's  
description of a #8goodly crimson' as   
#8questo nobilissimo  colore4'    #ae   
,or1 qy4 #8comet'8    #af ,compare the  
description of the seven walls of       
,ecbatana1 of  different hue1 in        
,herodotus1 ,book ,i4    #ag ,so        
,windisch trans4 ,uncial3 ,crand        
caingil1  cancelli4    #ah #8,seats1' or
 qy4 stalls2 the author appears to have 
in mind  the construction of a          
,christian church4 ,cp4 note to ch4 #ca 
post4  #8,canopies1' lit4 #8crowns4'    
#ai ,or #8virgins1' ,w4 ,s4    #bj ,see 
last note4    #ba ,or #8parricides1'    
,uncial3 fingala1 which ,o',donovan     
translates  both as #8a fratricide1 one 
who has killed a tribesman1' and        
#8parricidal' 7,supplement to           
,o',reilly's ,dictionary74    #bb ,the  
,erenach1 or ,uncial3 aircinde1 was the 
official guardian of  ,church           
temporalities4    #bc ,uncial3 ,dnaib1  
which signifies #8gifts1' #8arts1' etc4 

#bd ,uncial3 pluic1 which ,w4 ,s4 trans1
 #8maces1' or #8clubs4'    #be          
#8,reivers1' ,uncial3 aidibergaig1 which
 ,w4 ,s4 trans4 #8men who  mark         
themselves to the ,devil1' but expresses
 doubt on the subject1 and  cites       
authorities which seem to imply the     
sense of rapine or plunder4    #bf ,or  
#8without remission1 but they1' etc4    
#bg ,uncial3 ,co lr1 which ,w4 ,s4      
trans4 #8down to the ground4'    #bh    
,uncial3 ,roa1 so ,windisch from        
,uncial3 ru2 ,w4 ,s4 trans1  #8wheels'  
from ,uncial3 ro4    #bi ,or1 #8the     
ordained who have broken their vows4'   
#cj ,uncial3 ,erdam1 which1 ,mr4        
,whitley ,stokes says1 was the name     
used by the ,irish ecclesiastical       
writers as equivalent to the ,greek     
pronaos or narthex4 ,see notes #a and #b
 to ,ch4 #ac1 ante4    #ca ,cp4 ante1   
,sec4 #b4    #cb ,the ,mrdil at which   
these laws were passed was apparently   
held  in the year #fig1 while ,finnachta
 ,fledach had been assassinated in #fie4

  ,this anachronism affords yet further 
evidence of the comparatively late      
composition of our version of the       
,vision4    #cc ,uncial3 ,anmairdine1   
#8soul-friendship'2 ,uncial3 anmara1    
#8soul-friend1' is the ,irish name for a
 father-confessor4    #cd ,professor    
,bryce considers that the first extant  
mention of the  ,donation of            
,constantine is contained in the letter 
of ,pope ,hadrian #a4  to ,charlemagne1 
dated ,a4,d4 #ggg 7,holy ,roman ,empire1
 ch4 vii4 p4 #aab  note1 #dth ed474 ,if 
so1 the allusion is couched in very     
general and  obscure terms4 ,dllinger1  
who dates the letter in question #gge1  
holds  that it refers not to what is    
commonly understood by the ,donation of 
,constantine1 but to gifts of land in   
various parts of ,italy1 afterwards     
seized by the ,lombards4 ,the forgery of
 the ,donation would appear to be  later
 than #gej1 but prior to #ggd1 as it    
refers to the state of things  existing 
before the first ,frankish settlement in

 ,italy1 which took  place in #ggd4 ,in 
any case1 it is later than the time of  
,adamnn4    #ce ,philip succeeded to    
,gordian ,,iii4 in #bbd1 but was not his
 son1  being an ,arab4 ,he favoured the 
,christians1 and corresponded with      
,origen1 whence arose a report1         
countenanced by ,eusebius1 that he had  
embraced ,christianity1 but for this    
there is no authority4    #cf ,uncial3  
,taile1 so ,w4 ,s4    #cg ,uncial3 ,sui4
 ,so ,windisch1 though ,w4 ,s4 trans4   
#8fruitfulness  7874'    #ch ,mr4       
,alfred ,nutt1 in his ,essay on the     
,irish ,vision of the ,happy            
,otherworld and the ,celtic ,doctrine of
 ,rebirth1 appended to ,prof4 ,kuno     
,meyer's ,voyage of ,bran1 ,son of      
,febal1 #ahie-g1 points out that in     
,greece and ,ireland alone of ,aryan    
nations the ,elysium legend existed     
devoid of any eschatological belief 7i4 
#cbi74    #ci ,see ,odyssey1 xi4 #cf    
sqq42 #bbb1 #cia sqq42 #dhh sqq4 ,this  
gloomy impression is little mitigated by

 mention of the #8,asphodelian  meadow' 
in which the dead reside 7,od4 xi4 #eci2
 xxiv4 #ac74    #dj ,see1 in particular1
 ,homer1 ,odyssey1 iv4 #efc2 ,hesiod1   
,works and  ,days1 #aaj1 #aff2 ,pindar1 
,olympiad1 ii4 #fh1 #abj1 which last1   
perhaps1  contains the most finished    
picture of the ,elysium drawn by the    
earlier  poets4    #da ,it would be     
possible to cull from the ,greek writers
 a great wealth  of allusions to the    
,otherworld2 not only1 however1 do      
exigencies  of space forbid this1 but   
they are hardly pertinent to the present
  subject1 for the reasons mentioned in 
the text4 ,still less need we  enter    
into the burlesque descriptions of an   
,otherworld1 conceived as a  ,land of   
,cockayne1 several of which are         
preserved in fragments of the  comic    
poets4    #db ,the ,greeks themselves   
referred to a foreign origin most of    
their  mystical rites1 and the deities  
worshipped therein4 ,no doubt it is     
often the case that peoples who observe 

in foreign nations practices  akin to   
those existing among themselves1 are apt
 to derive these from  the former2      
nevertheless it appears certain that    
while the cults which  formed the basis 
of the mysteries existed1 in a primitive
 form1 in the  indigenous ,greek        
religion1 they received a great impetus1
 at several  distinct periods1 through  
the importation of similar myths and    
rites  from abroad4 ,thus ,m4 ,paul     
,foucart 7,recherches sur l'origine et  
la  nature des ,mystres d',eleusis1 p4  
#ge7 accepts the ,greek theory of  the  
,egyptian origin of the ,demeter cult   
and the ,eleusinian rites at  a date    
prior to the eleventh century ,b4,c4    
,these rites1 he assumes1  were purely  
agricultural at first1 but at a later   
day 7seventh century  ,b4,c47 became    
associated with the doctrine of a future
 life 7pp4  #ge-i74 ,he further holds   
that this doctrine was itself brought   
from  ,egypt by the philosophers1       
,pythagoras and others1 who are reported

  by tradition to have travelled thither
 for instruction 7p4 #hc74 ,this  latter
 part of ,m4 ,foucart's theory presents 
certain difficulties4 ,the  name of     
,pythagoras is commonly associated with 
the ,orphic mysteries1  to which ,m4    
,foucart denies any connection with     
,eleusis1 while the  conception of a    
future life which prevailed both in the 
,orphic and  ,eleusinian mysteries and  
in the teaching of ,pythagoras1 differed
 in  important points from the ,egyptian
 doctrine1 as will be pointed out in  a 
later place4 ,professor ,rohde likewise 
holds that while the ,dionysiac         
mysteries existed in ,greece in         
pre-,homeric times as a minor and local 
cult1 the ,dionysos-,zagreus rites1     
which formed the basis of the ,orphic   
mysteries1 were imported from ,thrace at
 an early date2 probably1 ,mr4  ,nutt   
suggests 7op4 cit41 ii4 #ada71 during   
the period of change which  followed    
upon the ,dorian invasion4 ,thrace1     
apparently1 derived the  ,zagreus myth  

from ,phrygia4 ,prof4 ,percy ,gardner   
7,contemporary ,review1  ,march #ahie7  
is also inclined to accept the ,greek   
traditions as to the  derivation of many
 of their mystical rites and cults from 
,asiatic  sources1 differing herein from
 ,prof4 ,dieterich1 who holds that these
  were native developments4 ,for a      
discussion by ,mr4 ,alfred ,nutt of     
these  various theories see op4 cit41   
#a4 ch4 xi4    #dc ,the best authorities
 appear to be agreed that there are no  
grounds  for the views once held that   
the mysteries contained either some     
esoteric creed of a religion purer than 
that held by the multitude1 and         
jealously guarded from the latter1 or1  
according to others1 a system of  occult
 philosophy or theosophy4    #dd ,see   
his article1 #8,mysteries1' in the      
,encyclopdia ,britannica ed4  #i1 vol4  
xvii4    #de ,sir ,w4 ,m4 ,ramsay       
further mentions a ,rhodian inscription 
of the  fifth century ,b4,c41 which     
required the candidates for initiation  

at the  temple of ,lindus to bring a    
pure heart and a conscience free from   
crime  7loc4 cit474    #df ,this may    
possibly represent the conception       
originally prevailing  in the mystic    
schools concerning the future life of   
mankind in general4  7,see ,mr4 ,nutt   
hereon1 op4 cit41 i4 #bef47 ,if so1     
redemption from such  a lot would be one
 of the most important objects to be    
compassed by  the theurgic effects of   
initiation1 until the growth of moral   
ideas in  connection with the mysteries 
converted this #8place of filth and     
gloom'  into a place of punishment for  
the wicked4    #dg ,in like manner1 the 
spirits were amazed to see that ,dante's
  body cast a shadow1 as the souls of   
the dead did not 7,purg41 iii4  #hh     
sq471 and that he breathed 7ib41 ii4    
#fg-i74 ,according to the  old ,persian 
belief1 the souls of the beatified dead 
were to cast no  shadows4 ,see ,sec4 #b1
 post4    #dh ,see ,books iv4 and vi4 of
 his ,de ,civitate ,dei4    #di ,see    

,dante's ,tenth ,epistle1 addressed to  
,can ,grande della ,scala1  ,oxford     
,dante1 pp4 #dad sqq4    #ej ,op4 cit41 
p4 #daf1 ll4 #agc-e4    #ea ,ib41 l4    
#afi4    #eb ,ib41 p4 #dag1 l4 #bfh4    
#ec ,lenormant1 ,origines de            
l',histoire1 vol4 ii41 cited by         
,ragozin1  ,chalda1 p4 #bgf1 which work 
gives a compendious account of the      
subject4 ,for fuller particulars see    
,sayce1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhg1      
,lectures iv4 and v41 and his article   
#8,chalda' in the ,encyclopdia          
,britannica1 ed4 #i1 vol4 iii4    #ed   
,sayce1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhg1 p4   
#cfd4    #ee #8,she makes the soul of   
the righteous one go up above the       
,hara-berezaiti 7,mount ,elborz71 above 
the ,kinvad bridge she places it1  in   
the presence of the heavenly gods       
themselves4'--,venddd1 xix4 #cj2  in    
,darmesteter's translation1 ,sacred     
,books of the ,east1 iv4 #bai2 and  see 
,ragozin1 ,media1 c4 iv4    #ef ,in the 
,avesta we meet with an idea which is   

prominent in ,jewish  and ,christian    
examples of the ,vision legend4 ,if1 at 
the balance of any  soul's account1 when
 his good and evil deeds were weighed   
one against  the other1 the scales were 
equally poised1 he was reserved for the 
last  ,judgment in a place set apart for
 his like4    #eg ,venddd1 p4 #ee4      
#eh ,loc4 cit41 footnote4    #ei        
,venddd1 p4 #bj1 note4 ,a similar bird  
occurs frequently in the  ,hindu        
mythology4 ,the ,accadian #8divine      
storm-bird' stole the lightning  from   
heaven1 and was thereby enabled to      
impart to man the knowledge  of fire1   
and of divination by lightning          
flashes4--,sayce1 ,hibbert  ,lectures1  
#ahhg1 #bic-d4 ,the ,babylonian ,semites
 identified this bird  with their       
culture-god ,zu1 who1 in form of a bird1
 robbed the gods  of the #8tablets of   
destiny' 7op4 cit41 #bie-g74 ,all the   
world over1  the part of ,prometheus has
 been played by a supernatural bird1    
such  as ,yehl1 the crane1 of the       

,thlinkeets2 ,pundgel1 the eagle-hawk1  
of  ,australia1 etc4    #fj ,venddd1 vi4
 #ae-af4    #fa ,op4 cit41 p4 #ag4      
#fb ,speaking of the effects which the  
conquest of ,babylon by the  ,persians  
produced upon the religion of the       
latter1 ,professor ,dill  remarks3      
#8,the conquerors1 as so often happens1 
were to some extent  subdued by the     
vanquished4 ,syncretism set in2 the     
deities of the  two races were          
reconciled and identified4 ,the magical 
arts and the  astrolatry of the valley  
of the ,euphrates imposed themselves on 
the  purer ,mazdean faith and never     
released their hold1 although they      
failed  to check its development as a   
moral system4'--,roman ,society from    
,nero  to ,marcus ,aurelius1 #aijd1 p4  
#ehg1 where the author cites ,cumont1   
,monuments relatifs aux ,mystres de     
,mithra1 and ,gasquet1 ,le culte de     
,mithra4    #fc ,venddd1 ,introduction1 
sec4 v4    #fd ,the cult of ,mithra1    
which1 in the earlier ages of the       

,empire1  extended not only over the    
,mediterranean littoral1 but throughout 
all ,europe so far as the ,roman legions
 went1 even to ,yorkshire and  the      
forests of ,pannonia1 was full of       
symbolism1 the meaning and even  the    
nomenclature of which are only to be    
explained by the ,persian  religion1 in 
which the cult originated1 although it  
came to receive an  interpretation      
consonant with the ,neo-,platonic       
theories4    #fe ,he further suggests   
that the original notion of the ,var as 
a place  of refuge for the seeds of     
things from a coming destruction is     
borrowed  from the ,judaic account of   
,noah4 ,this would seem to be a very    
strained  inference from a slight       
analogy4 ,the ,biblical account finds   
much closer  parallels not only in the  
,chaldan traditions1 but in the ,vedic  
account  of ,manu and the ,rishis being 
saved from the deluge in an ark         
containing  the seeds of things1 not to 
speak of deluge myths in the ,east and  

in  the ,west1 as the ,thlinkeets1 the  
,natchez1 and other tribes of ,north    
,america2 the ,muyscas and ,orinoco     
,indians of ,south ,america2 the        
,samoans1  ,tahitans1 etc4    #ff ,he   
assumes that ,vohu ,mano 7,good         
,thought7 is the ,neo-,platonic  ,logos1
 and if so1 that the other ,amesha      
,spentas are of post-,alexandrian       
development1 and he goes on to find     
parallels for them too in the rest  of  
the seven emanations enumerated by      
,philo4 ,however1 even if the  parallels
 are so close as to compel the          
conclusion that the character  and      
functions ascribed to the ,amesha       
,spentas in their latest form  are due  
to ,neo-,platonic influences--and even  
this is not shown very  convincingly--it
 by no means follows that the very      
conception of the  seven celestial      
powers is due to the same source4    #fg
 ,we have here1 in ,persia1 an          
anticipation of the ,neo-,platonic ons  
before the time of ,plato himself--a    

conception which can hardly be  referred
 to the earlier theory of the kind      
propounded by ,hesiod4    #fh ,venddd1  
,introduction1 p4 liv1 and see p4 lxi4  
,for the dead  casting no shadow1 cp4   
,plutarch's ,vision of ,thespesios4     
#fi ,op4 cit41 p4 lxv4    #gj ,article  
#8,chalda1' in ,encyclopdia ,britannica1
 vol4 iii4    #ga ,revelation xv4 #b1   
and cf4 ,fis ,adamnin1 ch4 ,,ii4    #gb 
,herodotus1 ,euterpe1 ii4 #aef4    #gc  
,dill1 op4 cit41 p4 #efa4    #gd        
,athenian colonists were settled in the 
,nile delta in the seventh  century     
,b4,c4 at latest1 and at an even earlier
 date intercourse had  been maintained  
between ,greece and ,egypt by the medium
 of ,greek traders  to the ,nile1 and   
,greek mercenaries in the ,egyptian     
service4 ,the cult of  ,isis was        
introduced into ,attica1 at the         
,peiraios1 in the fourth century  ,b4,c4
 7,foucart1 ,associations rligieuses1   
etc41 p4 #hc71 and extended  over the   
,grecian islands and the mainlands of   

,greece and ,ionia4    #ge ,budge1 ,book
 of the ,dead1 #aija1 #a4 lxv41 and ,ib4
 lxvii4 sqq4  ,le ,page ,renouf1        
,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahgi1 pp4 #ahj-a4  
#gf ,according to one ,rabbi ,leo1 the  
wicked are tortured by fire and         
otherwise1 some without hope of         
remission1 others for a time only4--,e4 
,cowper1 ,apocryphal ,gospels1          
,introduction1 lxviii4    #gg ,at a     
somewhat later date1 the doctrine of the
 end of the world  by fire1 held by many
 of the ,stoics who1 in the first       
century of the  ,empire1 represented the
 best and most serious side of ,pagan   
thought1  would appear to have          
encouraged the bent of ,christian       
teaching in that  direction rather by   
familiarising the subject to men's minds
 than by  the contribution of any new   
matter4    #gh ,the speculative writings
 of the ,rabbis belong to a time when   
the  ,jewish schools of learning had    
fallen under the spell of ,hellenism4   
,so  preponderating was the influence of

 the latter that ,professor ,percy      
,gardner appears inclined to trace the  
entire ,hades theory to the ,orphic     
rites1 and suggests a #8great           
probability that the ,christian doctrine
 of  the ,descent into ,hades1 together 
with the imagery in which the future    
world was presented to the early        
,christian imagination1 was derived     
neither from a ,christian nor a ,jewish1
 nor even a ,hellenic source1  but from 
the mystical lore of ,dionysos and      
,orpheus4'--,contemporary  ,review1     
,march #ahie4 ,so ,mr4 ,alfred ,nutt1   
speaking of the ,elysium of the         
,christian apocryphal writers1 considers
 that the #8source must be sought  for  
not in ,jewish but in ,greek            
conceptions1' and that the ,christian   
,heaven derives immediately from the    
,hellenic one4--,voyage of ,bran1  i4   
#bef1 and see ch4 xi4 generally4 ,with  
all respect to these eminent            
authorities1 ,i would submit that it    
would be going too far absolutely  to   

exclude from those parts of late ,jewish
 and early ,christian  eschatology which
 deal with the theory of ,hades1        
including the ,descent  thither1 and    
with the description of ,elysium1 all   
indebtedness to the  ,oriental creeds   
which have contributed so much to that  
eschatology  in other respects4 ,with   
this reservation1 we may readily agree  
with  ,mr4 ,nutt that #8,christian      
eschatology1 as so much else of         
,christian  doctrine1 is emphatically a 
product of the fertilising influence of 
,hellenic philosophy and religion upon  
,eastern thought and fancy'  7op4 cit41 
p4 #bha72 only contending that ,eastern 
thought and fancy  contributed much of  
the raw material4    #gi ,le ,page      
,renouf1 op4 cit41 p4 #ahc4    #hj ,the 
,book of ,enoch1 translated from        
,dillman's text1 with notes1  by        
,charles4 ,oxford1 #ahic4 ,see also ,the
 ,book of ,enoch1 trans4  ,lawrence4    
,oxford1 #ahba4    #ha ,cp4 the veil of 
fire and veil of ice in the doorway of  

,adamnn's  celestial city4--,f4 ,a4 #ad4
    #hb #b ,esdras iv4    #hc ,l4c4 ii4 
#ab1 #ah-ai2 and cp4 ,isaiah xxv4 #f2   
,revelation xxii4 #b4    #hd #b ,cor4   
xii4 #b-d2 and cp4 ,galatians i4 #ab1   
#af2 ,ephesians i4 #c4    #he ,e4g4 in  
,revelation ii4 #g4 #8,to him that      
overcometh will ,i give to  eat of the  
,tree of ,life1 which is in ,paradise'2 
and xxii4 #b1 #8,in the  midst of the   
street of it1 and on either side of the 
river1 was there  the ,tree of ,life1   
which bare twelve manner of fruits1 and 
yielded her  fruit every month3 and the 
leaves of the tree were for the healing 
of  the nations'2 also the ,throne and  
,one seated thereon in ch4 iv41 xx4     
#aa2 the sea of glass mingled with fire 
in ch4 xv42 the city built of  precious 
stones1 etc4    #hf ,vide ,dante1       
,inferno1 canto iv4    #hg ,the fact    
that the work was most in repute in the 
,eastern ,church1  and that several of  
the leading ,western fathers wrote of it
 in  disparaging terms1 may possibly be 

held to militate to some extent  against
 this ascription4    #hh ,this passage1 
so thoroughly ,dantesque1 reminds us    
curiously of  chapters #i and #ab of the
 ,vita ,nuova4 ,indeed1 the little      
episode might  almost be termed a       
painting of ,dante and ,beatrice        
executed by one of  the primitives4 ,in 
like manner1 the passage that ensues    
recalls the  reproaches which ,beatrice 
addressed to ,dante on meeting him in   
the  ,earthly ,paradise at the close of 
the ,purgatorio4    #hi ,herein the plan
 of the work accords to some extent with
 that of  the ,book of ,enoch4    #ij   
,ante-,nicene ,christian ,library1 vol4 
xvi4 p4 #dhj4    #ia ,two ,latin        
versions1 together with the account of  
the pseudo-,john1  are translated in    
vol4 xvi4 of the ,ante-,nicene          
,christian ,library4    #ib ,using the  
word #8people' in its wider sense1 not  
as equivalent to  the popolaccio1 for   
there were persons of rank and culture  
among  the early converts1 but as       

distinguished from those who were in    
high  station1 or were remarkable for   
learning4    #ic ,de ,legibus1 ,,ii4    
xiv4 #cf4    #id ,see ,plutarch's       
,consolatory ,epistle to his ,wife4     
#ie ,plutarch3 ,on ,superstition1 ,on   
the ,tardy ,vengeance of ,god1 ,on the  
,impracticability of a ,happy ,life on  
,epicurean ,principles4 ,lucian3        
,philopseudes1 ,de ,luctu4    #if ,see  
,ireland and the ,celtic ,church1 by    
,dr4 ,g4 ,t4 ,stokes2 ed4 #e1  #aijj1   
pp4 #afi-agd4    #ig ,op4 cit41 p4 #bbi1
 and cp4 pp4 #bae-af4    #ih ,edited by 
,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes in ,anecdota      
,oxoniensia1 ,medival  and ,modern      
,series1 vol4 i41 part #c4    #ii ,g4   
,t4 ,stokes1 op4 cit41 pp4 #bbh-i4 ,for 
other points of  resemblance and        
instance of communication between the   
,irish and the  ,eastern ,churches1     
cited by the learned author1 see pp4    
#aje n41 #agc-d1  #ahf-g1 #bbi1 and     
,lecture x41 passim4    #ajj ,this      
classification1 in theory at least1     

regulated the structure  of society from
 top to bottom4 ,there were four ranks  
of kings1 from the  rd ,r1 ,high ,king1 
or ,emperor1 of all ,ireland1 to the ,r 
,tuatha1  ,king of a ,tribal ,territory4
 ,the territories themselves were       
divided  according to a descending      
scale1 analogous to the ,english        
division into  county1 hundred1 tithing1
 etc4 ,there were six grades of princes 
under  the king1 classified according to
 the extent of their lands4 ,society    
was divided into nobles1 freemen1 and   
serfs1 and each of these classes  was   
subdivided into a great number of minor 
grades4 ,the family was  traced to the  
seventeenth degree1 and was grouped into
 six classes1  whose rights and         
liabilities in matters of inheritance1  
in the receipt  or payment of fines and 
damages1 etc41 are defined with the     
utmost  minuteness4 ,the land tenure1   
and the dues to be paid in respect of   
each  kind2 the circumstances of crimes 
and civil injuries1 and the fines or    

damages to be paid for each2 in short1  
all the details of public and  private  
life1 were elaborated with similar      
minuteness4 ,for particulars1  the      
reader may be referred to the ancient   
legal and customary  treatises1 and the 
respective commentaries thereon1 printed
 in the  ,rolls ,series1 the ,lebor na  
g-,cert1 ed4 ,o',donovan1 #ahdg1 and    
,o',curry's  ,manners and ,customs of   
the ,ancient ,irish1 ed4 ,w4 ,k4        
,sullivan1 #c  vols41 #ahgc4    #aja    
,the ,filid must be distinguished from  
the ,brd1 a name often  applied to the  
poetic and literary class promiscuously1
 but really the  title pertaining to a  
rank far below the ,filid in dignity4   
,see ,dr4  ,douglas ,hyde1 ,the         
,literary ,history of ,ireland1 pp4     
#dhf1 etc4    #ajb ,it is not to be     
supposed that so elaborate a system ever
 existed1  or could exist1 in its       
entirety1 or that the population of     
,ireland was  ever sorted out into sets 
of social pigeon-holes with anything    

like  the completeness represented by   
the chroniclers4 ,the old ,irish writers
  combined two characteristics1 which   
may appear1 at first glance1            
contradictory1 though reflection may    
enable us to see how compatible  they   
are on psychologic grounds1 viz4 a      
tendency to run riot in the  exuberance 
of fancy1 and an equally excessive love 
of system and minute  detail4           
,nevertheless1 writing as they did of   
the state of society  in which they     
lived1 and for readers who were         
acquainted with the  facts which they   
described1 they cannot be supposed to   
have invented  their systems and        
classifications1 but rather to have     
idealised and  elaborated their picture 
of an existing state of things so as to 
make it accord with their conception of 
the true significance of the  social    
scheme4 ,modern writers have often done 
much the same thing in a  different way1
 in their treatment of the ,feudal      
,system1 the ,imperial  ,theory1 the    

,renaissance1 ,reformation1 and similar 
movements1 etc4    #ajc ,the ,irish     
writers are further remarkable for not  
confining their  tolerance to           
traditional practices and the like1 but 
extending it even  to the spiritual     
beings of the national faith4 ,this     
point has been well  put by ,mr4 ,nutt1 
,voyage of ,bran1 ii4 #bje3 #8,and      
whereas in every other  ,european land  
the ministers of the new faith were as  
bitterly opposed  to the fanciful as to 
the business aspect of the older creed1 
in  ,ireland it is the saint who        
protects the bard1 the monk who         
transcribes  the myth1 whilst the       
bird-flock of ,faery1 alike with the    
children of  ,adam1 yearn for and       
acclaim the advent of the ,apostle4'    
,and even when  it has seemed necessary 
to regard these beings as demons1       
several tales  show priest or saint     
feeling for them the like regretful     
kindliness as  ,origen1 ,burns1 and     
,uncle ,toby expressed for the chief of 

the demons4 ,a  very striking instance  
of the eagerness shown by the ,christian
 writers  to put the best possible      
construction upon their pagan           
predecessors1  occurs at the close of   
#8,the ,irish ,ordeals1' etc41 trans4 by
 ,mr4 ,whitley  ,stokes1 ,irische       
,texte1 ,,iii4 i4 #bba3 #8,the wise     
declare that when  any strange          
apparition was revealed of old to the   
royal lords ''' it  was a divine        
ministration that used to come in that  
wise1 and not a  demoniacal             
ministration4 ,angels1 moreover1 would  
come and help them1  for they followed  
,natural ,truth1 and they served the    
commandment of the  ,law4'    #ajd ,most
 of the principal ,irish deities include
 among their functions  that of ruler of
 the dead4 ,one of the most pronounced  
examples of the  ,yama type is ,tethra1 
who is described in the legends as      
,chief of the  ,fomorians1 whereby his  
distinctly ,chthonian character is      
asserted2 and1  after the defeat of his 

people at the battle of ,mag ,tured1 as 
ruler of  a land beyond the ocean1 like 
,varuna1 when overcome by ,indra 7and   
cp4  ,hesiod1 ,works and ,days1 #afh-i1 
and ,pindar1 ,olymp4 ii474 ,thence1     
from time to time1 he would send        
beautiful maidens to summon to him the  
chiefs and heroes of ire4    #aje ,the  
subject of the ,otherworld in ,irish    
literature has been  treated very fully 
by ,mr4 ,nutt in his ,essay on the      
,irish ,vision of  the ,happy           
,otherworld1 and the ,celtic ,doctrine  
of ,rebirth1 appended to  ,professor    
,kuno ,meyer's ,voyage of ,bran1 ,son of
 ,febal1 #b vols41 #ahie-g4    #ajf     
,extracted from the ,lebor na h-,udri1  
by ,o',curry1 ,manners and  ,customs1   
etc41 vol4 iii4    #ajg ,a similar      
caldron was a favourite property of     
supernatural beings  in the heroic tales
 of ,ireland as of ,wales2 indeed1 so   
desirable a  possession enters into the 
folklore of most nations4    #ajh       
,aislinge ,meic ,conglinne1#8,the       

,vision of ,mac ,conglinne1' edited1    
with translation1 notes1 and glossary1  
by ,prof4 ,kuno ,meyer1 #ahib4    #aji  
,ante1 note #c1 p4 #dd4 ,the work is    
edited1 with translation1  notes1 and   
glossary1 by ,prof4 ,kuno ,meyer1 who   
dates the composition of  the tale in   
its present form in the seventh century2
 ,mr4 ,nutt suggests  the eighth century
 7op4 cit41 i4 #ada74 ,fragments of the 
tale exist in  the ,l4,u4 ,prof4 ,rhys  
identifies ,bran with ,cernunnos1 the   
divine ancestor  of the ancient ,celts  
7,hibbert ,lectures1 pp4 #he-ie74 ,mr4  
,nutt further  suggests an identity with
 ,brons1 the ,fisher ,king1 and keeper  
of the  ,graal 7,studies on the ,legend 
of the ,holy ,graal1 #ahhh1 p4 #bjh74   
#aaj ,in the disputation between ,neid  
and ,fercertue which was to decide      
which of them should be rd ,ollamh      
7,chief ,doctor7 of ,ulster1 ,fercertue 
put the riddling question1 #8,what is it
 that thou traversest in haste8'  ,neid 
replied1 #8,the plain of age1 the       

mountain of youth1 the course of  the   
ages1 in pursuit of the ,king in the    
house of earth and stones1  between the 
candle and its ending1 between the      
combat and the hatred of  combat1 amid  
the brave warriors of ,tethra4'    #aaa 
,transcribed into the ,l4,u4 before     
#aajc ,a4,d4 from the earlier  ,book of 
,slane1 now lost3 edited 7without a     
translation7 by ,professor  ,windisch in
 ,irische ,texte1 vol4 i4 pp4 #aig sqq4 
,professor ,windisch1  who states that  
the tale is composed of materials from  
several distinct  sources 7op4 cit41 pp4
 #bjb-c71 calls attention to the        
thoroughly  pagan character of it1      
despite the introduction of a passing   
allusion  to ,adam on p4 #bai4 ,portions
 of the descriptions of the ,tr         
,tairngire  contained in this tale and  
in the story of ,mider have been        
rendered in  metre by ,dr4 ,douglas     
,hyde1 ,literary ,history of ,ireland1  
pp4 #bjb-c4    #aab ,as ,zeus was       
brother to ,pluto1 and as the strife    

between the  ,olympian and ,chthonian   
powers--the powers of light and         
darkness--are  typified1 in most        
mythologies1 by discord between a pair  
of divine  brothers2 a conception       
surviving in such creations of the      
popular or  the lettered imagination as 
,valentine and ,orson1 ,alcina and      
,logistilla1  etc4    #aac ,the episode 
is contained in the ,tochmarc ,emere1   
,the ,wooing of  ,emer1 dated eighth    
century1 by ,professor ,k4 ,meyer4 ,miss
 ,eleanor ,hull  translates the ,l4,u4  
version in her ,cuchullin ,saga1 pp4 #ef
 sqq4  ,professor ,meyer publishes a    
shorter version1 with translation1 in   
the  ,revue ,celtique1 xi4 #ddb sq4     
#aad ,mr4 ,nutt gives abstracts of these
 stories in the ,voyage of  ,bran1 i4   
#big sqq4    #aae ,in the ,perceval     
legend1 a bridge of glass occurs in     
,gautier's  continuation of the ,conte  
du ,graal 7,nutt1 ,studies1 etc41 p4    
#ag74    #aaf ,a similar #8obstacle     
bridge' occurs in other ,irish ,sagas4  

,in  the ,voyage of ,maelduin's ,curach 
is a bridge of glass1 on which the      
passenger kept falling backwards4 ,of   
this kind must have been the  bridge    
which the celebrated ,irish ,m4,p4--real
 or mythical--described as              
#8separating' two shores4    #aag       
,edited and translated by ,professor ,k4
 ,meyer in ,revue ,celtique1  x4 #bab   
sqq41 from the ,,mss4 in ,t4 ,c4        
,d4--,h4 #b1 #af and ,eg4 #aghb4    #aah
 ,this flagstone1 the ,lia ,fil1 was    
endowed with the property  of shrieking 
whenever pressed by the foot of a lawful
 king4 ,the  frequency of vocal stones  
in ,irish legend will be referred to    
later on4  ,popular tradition identifies
 the ,lia ,fil with the stone now inside
  the ,coronation ,chair at             
,westminster1 stolen by ,edward ,i4 from
 ,scone1  where the kings of ,alban used
 to be crowned upon it1 and whither  it 
was said to have been brought from ,tara
 by the ,dalriad ,scots4 ,i  believe1   
however1 that the identity of the stone 

so taken to ,scotland  by the ,dalriada 
with that of ,tara has been impugned4   
,the practice of  inaugurating a king or
 chief upon a certain stone survived    
into late  historical times4    #aai    
,the habitual presence of the great tree
 outside the raths of  the ,tuatha ,d   
,danann is doubtless to be ascribed to  
the custom which  prevailed in ,ireland 
of having in a similar position a public
 tree  of the tribe1 round or beside    
which assemblies were held and games    
celebrated4 ,the ,irish chronicles      
frequently report the cutting down of   
such a tree by raiders as an insult to  
the invaded tribe4 ,this practice  was  
exactly paralleled in the medival       
republics of ,italy1 where an  invading 
army would often put scorn and offence  
upon a city by cutting  down the public 
tree which stood outside the gates1 and 
was the central  point in games and     
festivals4    #abj ,cethlenn was the    
wife of ,balor of the ,mighty ,blows1 a 
,fomorian  chief1 and therefore of the  

,chthonian race of ,tethra4 ,she has    
left her  name to ,enniskillen1 ,inis   
,cethlenn1 ,cethlenn's ,island4    #aba 
,the ,adventures of rt1 son of ,conn1   
and the ,courtship of  ,delbchaem1 rin1 
iii4 #adi sqq4 ,edited and translated by
 ,mr4 ,r4 ,i4  ,best1 from the ,echtra  
irt1 one of the ,prm-scla of ,ireland1  
preserved in ,early ,modern ,irish in   
the ,book of ,fermoy1 ,r4,i4,a41 a ,,ms4
 of  the fifteenth century4    #abb     
,edited1 with translation and notes1 by 
,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes1  ,irische ,texte1
 ,,iii4 i4 #ahc sqq41 from the ,book of 
,ballymote1  ,r4,i4,a41 and the ,yellow 
,book of ,lecan1 ,t4,c4,d41 both ,,mss4 
of the  fourteenth century4    #abc     
,another instance of the sacred         
character with which the ,irish  code of
 honour invested a pledge1 and which is 
apparent in the stories1  before quoted1
 of ,mider1 ,conn1 rt1 etc4 ,so in the  
,baile ,mongin1  a story printed by     
,prof4 ,k4 ,meyer as an appendix to his 
,voyage of  ,bran1 ,mongn is obliged to 

surrender his wife ,dubhlaca to the     
,king of  ,leinster 7apparently an      
euhemerisation of ,manannn1 who figures 
in an  earlier version1 also given by   
,prof4 ,meyer 7op4 cit477 in fulfilment 
of a like promise4    #abd ,at the same 
time1 it is perceptible that incidents  
of the  mrchen type are more numerous in
 this group than in the great heroic    
cycles4    #abe ,in the story of        
,cormac1 ,manannn's ,paradise1 instead  
of lying  oversea1 is placed within a   
dn1 at which ,cormac arrives by land4   
#abf ,so the group of ,carolingian      
romances1 which long passed for the     
work of ,archbishop ,turpin1 retained   
the characteristics of a barbarous      
society in their views concerning magic1
 superstition1 morals1 etc41  though    
sanctified by the addition of           
ecclesiastical miracles1 and other      
matters of edification1 which earned for
 it the formal approval of ,pope        
,calixtus ,,ii4 in the year #aabb4      
#abg ,manannn is presented in like      

fashion in the story of ,mongn1  op4    
cit4    #abh ,so in the tale of ,mider1 
ante1 where1 as here1 it is introduced  
into the description of the pagan       
,elysium1 ,magh ,mr2 the ecclesiastical 
interpolations1 as here again1 being    
brought in in the usual  incongruous    
manner4    #abi ,as in the ,voyage of   
,maelduin's ,curach1 an ,imram of       
substantially the original type1 treated
 from a ,christian point of  view4 ,the 
trait is copied in the ,adventures of   
,tadg ,mac ,cin1 a late  medival romance
 composed in the archaic style1 where it
 receives from  ,tadg the characteristic
 comment1 #8',tis queer1 though         
charming'2 he  evidently regarded it as 
an example intended rather for          
edification  than imitation4 ,it is     
interesting to note how the idea recurs 
in modern  ,irish poetry1 as1 indeed1   
practically1 in ,irish peasant life4 ,in
 poor  ,mangan's beautiful ,love        
,ballad1 translated or imitated from the
  ,irish1 the hero--        #8,sheltered

 by the sloe-bush black1      ,sat1     
laughed1 and talked1 while thick sleet  
fell1           ,and cold rain4         
,thanks to ,god6 no guilty leaven       
,dashed our childish mirth4      ,you   
rejoice for this in ,heaven1        ,i  
not less on earth4'    #acj ,one of the 
most explicit instances occurs in the   
,graal series1  in the ,queste1 when    
,perceval is informed that the ,castle  
of ,maidens  is ,hell1 and the captives 
therein are the souls that await        
,christ's  coming2 the seven knights    
that defend the castle being the seven  
deadly  sins 7,nutt1 ,studies1 etc41 p4 
#da74    #aca ,edited and translated by 
,mr4 ,w4 ,stokes in ,rev4 ,celtique1    
ix4-x41 from a version contained in the 
,l4,u41 parts being completed  from     
later versions4 ,cf4 ,voyage of ,bran1  
i4 #afb-c4    #acb        ,pars in      
gramineis exercent membra palaestris2   
,contendunt ludo1 et fulva luctantur    
arena1 etc4                             
,,virg41 n41 vi4 #fdb-c4    #acc        

,odyssey1 ix4 #dha sqq4    #acd ,david  
,fitzgerald1 #8,popular ,tales of       
,ireland1' ,rev4 ,celtique1  iv4 #ahi   
sqq4    #ace ,the root conception       
belongs to the common stock of ,celtic  
tradition4 ,we shall see more of the    
fiery rampart later on2 for the         
revolving wall1 cp4 the castle in the   
,welsh story of ,peredur1 which  spun   
round faster than the winds4    #acf    
,probably a reminiscence of some hermit 
who had chosen a snowy  region in the   
,north for his retreat4    #acg ,a      
similar miraculous provision by the     
agency of some animal  occurs in the    
legends of several of the ,irish        
hermits4 ,in ,wolfram's  ,parzifal1 the 
,grail appears as a #8stone which yields
 all manner of  food and drink1 the     
power of which is sustained by a dove1  
who every  week lays a ,host upon       
it4'--,nutt1 ,studies1 etc41 p4 #be4    
#ach ,vita ,s4 ,columb1 ,i4 xiv4    #aci
 ,iomram ,churraig h-,ua g-,corra1 ed4  
and trans1 by ,mr4 ,w4 ,stokes1  in     

,rev4 ,celt41 xiv4 #bb sqq41 from the   
,book of ,fermoy1 a ,,ms4 of  the       
fourteenth century4 ,the tale1 in its   
present form1 is later than  that of    
,maelduin1 though ,professor ,zimmer    
considers that the original  was written
 early in the eighth century1 the       
present being probably  #8a             
thirteenth-century rifacimento1 save the
 opening portion1 which  he 7,zimmer7   
thus looks upon as being the earliest   
fragment of this  genre of              
story-telling4'--,nutt1 ,voyage of      
,bran1 i4 #afb4 ,mr4 ,stokes1  however1 
regards the extant version as a work of 
the eleventh century1  loc4 cit4    #adj
 ,here1 again1 the harp in the hands of 
a modern minstrel re-echoes  the ancient
 tune3        #8,and1 as ,i watch the   
line of light1 that plays        ,along 
the smooth wave1 tow'rd the burning     
west1      ,i long to tread that golden 
path of rays1        ,and think 'twould 
lead to some bright isle of             
rest4'--,,moore4    #ada ,a similar     

belief existed in the old ,latin        
religion4 ,outside the  city gates of   
every town there used to be a pit1 the  
#8,mundus1' which  was regarded as the  
receptacle of the souls of the dead4 ,it
 was covered  with a flagstone1 which   
was lifted on three days in the year1   
occurring  in ,august1 ,october1 and    
,november1 to give the imprisoned souls 
a  holiday4 ,cp4 the belief1 once       
prevalent all over ,europe1 and still   
existing in many parts1 that on ,all    
,souls' ,eve the spirits would go       
through their towns in procession1 and  
visit their former homes4    #adb ,imrum
 ,snedghusa agus ,mic ,ragla1 ed4 and   
trans1 by ,mr4 ,whitley  ,stokes1 ,rev4 
,celt41 ix4 #ab sqq41 from the ,yellow  
,book of ,lecan1  before mentioned2 and 
see ,o',curry1 ,,ms4 ,materials of      
,irish ,history1  pp4 #ccc sqq4 ,mr4    
,stokes ascribes the tale to the middle 
of the  seventh century2 ,mr4 ,nutt1 to 
the middle or latter part of the ninth  
century4--,voyage of ,bran1 i4 #bca4    

#adc ,the anticipation of a general     
battle immediately prior to the         
,judgment1 though an article of many    
religions 7e4g4 the ,persian1 the       
,norse1 etc471 is unusual in ,irish     
writings of the present class2 it  is   
probably suggested by the prophecies    
contained in the ,revelations1  and in  
the prophetical books of the ,old       
,testament1 more especially  the mention
 of the ,battle of ,armageddon in ,rev4 
xvi4 ,the mention of  ,enoch in         
connection with this battle is singular1
 and suggests the  legend of ,enoch in  
the ,talmud4 ,the disappearance of a    
national hero1  and his seclusion until 
he shall appear to take part in some    
great  conflict1 though common to the   
traditions of most races 7some of the   
most familiar being ,arthur1 ,dietrich  
of ,berne1 ,holger ,danske1 ,frederick  
,,ii4--not ,frederick ,i41 ,barbarossa71
 has always appealed to the ,irish      
imagination1 and recurs in the modern   
folk-tales of ,gearoid ,iarla1          

,o',sullivan1 the ,mac,mahon1 etc4 ,it  
will be remembered that on ,mr4         
,parnell's death many believed that the 
,chief was not really dead1 but  had    
only disappeared for a time4    #add    
,there is no intention to suggest that  
the ,echtra1 the ,imram1  and the ,fis1 
or the tales in each group1 succeeded   
one another in  the order in which they 
are referred to in the text1 either in  
their  present form or in their original
 composition1 least of all as regards   
the very ancient materials which are    
embodied in all of them4 ,it has  been  
attempted to present them in such order 
as may best illustrate the  development 
of the eschatological idea1 and the     
increasing fusion of  native traditions 
with the ,church legends4 ,a later      
writer1 on account  of his subject1 or  
for other reasons1 might sometimes      
employ a more  archaic form of narrative
 than some of his predecessors4    #ade 
,sanctorum quoque angelorum dulces et   
suavissimas frequentationes  luminosas  

habere meruit4 ,quorumdam justorum      
animas crebro ab  angelis ad summa      
coelorum vehi1 ,sancto revelante        
,spiritu1 videbat4  ,sed et reproborum  
alias ad inferna a demonibus ferri      
saepenumero  aspiciebat4--,vita ,s4     
,columb1 ,i4 i4 ,part ,,iii4 of the     
,life is largely  devoted to these      
visions1 which1 however1 do not throw   
light upon our  subject4    #adf ,bede1 
,hist4 ,eccl41 ,,iii4 xix41 where the   
author relates ,st4  ,fursa's arrival in
 ,england from ,ireland1 and gives an   
account of his  visions4 ,see1 too1 the 
,very ,rev4 ,canon ,o',hanlon1 ,lives of
 the ,irish  ,saints1 under #afth       
,january1 where an account is given of  
several ,acts1  ,visions1 etc41 of ,st4 
,fursa1 mostly of the usual medival     
type4    #adg ,probably suggested by    
,ephesians vi4 #af4    #adh ,this       
episode suggests the manner in which    
,virgil protected ,dante  from the onset
 of ,filippo ,argenti 7,inf4 viii4 #dj  
sqq471 though the  latter passage does  

not contain any moral1 in connection    
with ,dante's  own previous conduct1 as 
is the case in ,fursa's vision1 and in  
similar  moral legends of the ,middle   
,ages4    #adi ,the ,vision of ,laisrn1 
in ,stories and ,songs from ,irish      
,,mss41  by ,professor ,kuno ,meyer1    
,otia ,merseiana1 i4 #ahii2 ed4 and     
trans4 with  notes from ,rawlinson ,b4  
#eab1 a fifteenth-century ,,ms4 in the  
,bodleian4  ,professor ,meyer considers 
that the original was an ,o4 ,i4 work of
 the  late ninth or early tenth century 
7p4 #aab74    #aej ,edited by ,mr4      
,whitley ,stokes1 in ,a ,middle ,irish  
,homily1 ,rev4  ,celt41 iv4 #bde sq4    
#aea ,cited by ,mr4 ,nutt1 ,voyage of   
,bran1 i4 #bbe1 where it is  suggested  
that this circumstance may have arisen  
in the distinction  between the ,pagan  
,elysium and ,heaven1 a provisional     
,hell being added  for the sake of      
symmetry4 ,but it appears quite as      
probable that this  classification may  
be another instance of the acquaintance 

of the ,irish  ,church with ,eastern    
writers1 for the fourfold division      
already exists  in the ,book of ,enoch1 
c4 #bb1 the several categories being3   
7#a7 ,the  martyrs1 as in the ,fis      
,adamnin2 7#b7 ,the rest of the         
righteous2 7#c7  ,sinners who have been 
punished in this life2 7#d7 ,sinners who
 have not  made expiation4    #aeb ,cp4 
,milton1 ,paradise ,lost1 i4 #fa-c3--   
#8,a dungeon horrible on all sides      
round1      ,as one great furnace1      
flamed2 yet from those flames      ,no  
light1 but rather darkness visible4'    
#aec ,possibly this amplification of the
 usual description of the ,piast  owes  
something to the picture of ,rumour1 in 
,book iv4 of the neid4    #aed ,david   
,fitzgerald1 loc4 cit41 pp4 #aib-c1     
where he cites from  ,kuhn1 ,die        
,herabkunft des ,feuers1 a passage of   
the ,vedas3 #8,two birds  sit on the top
 of the imperishable avattha1 one eating
 its figs1 and  the other looking on4'  
,he also cites from the ,flire ,oengusa3

 #8,a  great tree that was in the       
,eastern world1 and the heathens used to
  worship it1 so that the ,christians   
fasted against all the ,saints of       
,europe that the tree might fall1 et    
statim cecidit4' ,this passage          
contrasts curiously with the terms in   
which the #8great tree' is  described in
 other ,irish writings4 ,the ,flire also
 speaks of ,elijah1  ,gospel in hand1   
preaching to the spirits under the ,tree
 of ,life in  ,paradise1 while the      
bird-flocks come to eat the berries of  
it1 which  are sweeter than honey and   
headier than wine2 just as the ale of   
the  ,tr ,tairngire is described as     
headier than the ale of ire4    ,the    
human souls in the form of birds are a  
variant of a belief of  world-wide      
extent4 ,in ,lithuania and the          
neighbouring countries the  belief still
 exists1 or existed lately1 that the    
souls of dead children  return as birds4
 ,nearer to the present instance is the 
,mohammedan  belief that the martyrs for

 ,islam feast on the fruits of ,paradise
 in  the shape of beautiful green birds4
    #aee ,cp4 hereon ,professor         
,alessandro d',ancona1 ,i ,precursori di
 ,dante  7,firenze1 #ahgd71 pp4 #bi-cj1 
#ajh1 etc4    #aef ,cp4 ,inferno1 i4    
#add sqq43 #8loco eterno ,ove udirai le 
disperate strida1 ,di quegli antichi    
spiriti dolenti1 ,ch la seconda  morte  
ciascun grida3 ,e poi vedrai1' etc4     
#aeg ,in nearly all the visions the seer
 is provided with a guide or            
instructor1 though there is a great     
variety in the persons invested  with   
this office4 ,the earliest of these is  
the ,archangel ,michael in  the ,book of
 ,enoch1 and he retains his functions in
 a large proportion  of the subsequent  
visions1 and even in the conventional   
relations of a  visit to ,hades in      
,renaissance and post-,renaissance      
literature4 ,dryden1  indeed1 in his    
,essay on ,epic ,poetry1 complains of   
the unfair share  of work in this       
department that is thrust upon him4 ,in 

the ,vision of  ,esdras he is associated
 with ,gabriel and thirty-four other    
angels4 ,in  the ,vision of ,fursa he is
 conducted by three angels who represent
 the  ,trinity4 ,in other narratives    
,st4 ,paul or ,st4 ,peter figures4 ,in  
the  later medival visions the guardian 
angel appears in this capacity with     
increasing frequency1 and in particular 
in the ,irish legends from the  time of 
,st4 ,patrick1 who received his         
revelations through the mouth  of his   
angel ,victor4 ,in the ,shepherd of     
,hermas1 the apparition of  the object  
of ,hermas's affection1 followed by that
 of the sibyl-like  personification of  
the ,church1 is a very curious          
anticipation of  ,beatrice instigating  
,virgil to undertake ,dante's guidance4 
#aeh ,cp4 the manner in which the ,d    
,danann chiefs are often  represented in
 the heroic romances1 sitting in state  
in their dns3  e4g4 ,lugh ,mac          
,cethlenn1 in the story of ,conn1 thus  
enthroned1 with a  great tree in the    

doorway of his dn1 and the birds singing
 on it4    #aei ,revelation iv41 xx41   
etc4 ,cp4 the ,book of ,enoch1 where    
,one clad  in white robes sits in glory 
in the crystal mansion1 whence a river  
of  fire issues4    #afj ,revelation iv4
 #d2 vi4 #aa1 etc4    #afa ,a conception
 similar in kind1 though different in   
form1 is  apparent in the dn with a     
hundred doors1 and at each of them an   
altar1  and a priest celebrating mass   
thereon1 in the ,voyage of ,snedgus and 
,mac ,ragla4 ,cp4 the ,castle of the    
,graal in the ,perceval romances4  ,the 
accessories of ,christian worship are   
frequently introduced into  the ,heaven 
of medival legends1 though seldom with  
such minuteness  as in our text4 ,cp4   
the seventh- or eighth-century legend of
 ,saints  ,theophilus1 ,sergius1 and    
,hyginus1 who came to a church built of 
crystal  and precious stones4--,ancona1 
op4 cit41 p4 #cb4 ,this church1 indeed1 
was not meant to symbolise ,heaven1 but 
corresponds to the churches on  the     

mystical islands of the ,irish ,imrama4 
,praise and psalmody1 as  among the joys
 of ,heaven1 of course have ,scripture  
warrant2 it remained  for ,swedenborg to
 crown the bliss of his elect1 who in   
other respects  se rjouissent moult     
tristement1 with the privilege of       
listening to  sermons through all       
eternity4    #afb ,cp4 the ,vision of   
,esdras1 where the ,apostles and        
,patriarchs and  all the righteous are  
arrayed about the ,tree of ,life4       
#afc ,acallam na ,snrach1 in ,irische   
,texte1 ,,iv4 i41 ,,ii4 #fjhi sqq4      
#afd ,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes aptly        
compares the three fiery orbs in        
,paradiso1 xxxiii4 #aad sqq4 ,however1  
these orbs represent the  visible       
manifestation of the ,trinity1 and do   
not appear as circles  encompassing the 
,divine seat4    #afe ,it is curious to 
note how ,dante employs this symbol to  
represent  the ,imperial eagle1 in      
,purg4 xxxii4 #abe sqq41 which1 in its  
onslaught upon the car of the ,church1  

reminds us how the bird ,karshipta      
breaks off the branches of the ,tree of 
,life in the ,var of ,yima4 ,surely     
this coincidence1 and also the frequency
 of the culture bird in the  myths of   
unconnected races1 afford good examples 
of the independent  origin of similar   
ideas4 ,in the branch covered with      
life-giving  berries1 brought by the    
eagles in the ,voyage of ,maelduin1 we  
may  possibly have a modification of the
 popular ,irish tradition1 further      
influenced by the ,phnix legend1 or1    
maybe1 some ,oriental tradition1        
derived through intercourse with the    
,eastern ,churches4    #aff ,in some    
,continental visions the ,cockayne idea 
assumes a form more  accordant with the 
,scriptural imagery1 the inhabitants of 
,paradise  renewing their youth by      
eating the fruit of the ,tree of ,life  
and  drinking the ,waters of ,life      
7,ancona1 op4 cit41 p4 #cb74 ,the last  
item is evidently suggested by          
,revelation xxii4 #a1 when the ,waters  

of ,life proceed from under the ,throne1
 as in the ,chaldan myth4 ,by  a certain
 meeting of extremes the ,cockayne idea 
passes over into  asceticism2 thus1 in  
order to express the abundance and      
luxury of the  mythical ,elysium1 it is 
said that a single loaf1 or the very    
scent of  the apple-trees1 or the like1 
affords sufficient sustenance2 in later 
developments we find in the ,persian    
,paradise one loaf suffices for so  many
 persons1 ,connla lives for a month on  
the apple brought him by the  ,leanamhn 
,sidhe1 the fragrance of the candles in 
,adamnn's ,heaven  yields sustenance    
enough1 and so on4    #afg ,thus1       
,tundale's guardian angel quits him     
temporarily as he enters  into ,hell4   
,see post4    #afh ,the ,irish legends  
of the ,otherworld1 and the ,fis        
,adamnin in  particular1 offer so many  
points of resemblance to the ,book of   
,enoch  as to lead us to conclude that  
that work must have been known to the   
,irish ,church4 ,this is likely enough  

in itself1 having regard to the  close  
connection maintained by that ,church   
with the ,churches of ,egypt  and       
,syria1 referred to in a previous       
section1 where a parallel case was      
pointed out1 viz4 the preservation1 in  
an ,irish translation1 of the  ,book of 
,adam and ,eve1 the original text of    
which disappeared4    #afi ,and compare 
,st4 ,paul1 #a ,corinthians iii4 #ac4   
#agj ,the close agreement of this theory
 with the ,egyptian belief has  been    
pointed out in ,section #b ante4    #aga
 ,cp4 the angel at the door of          
,purgatory 7,purg4 ix4 #ajc-d74    #agb 
,cp4 the fire through which ,dante had  
to pass in the seventh  circle of       
,purgatory 7,purg4 xxvii474    #agc ,it 
is remarkable that several of the most  
impressive incidents  in the            
,apocalyptic description of the ,last   
,judgment are omitted from  the present1
 as from most of the other medival      
visions2 a circumstance  which may cause
 us to hesitate before concluding       

positively that our  author had as      
frequent recourse to the ,book of       
,revelation as many  analogies would    
suggest4    #agd ,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes1 
in a note on this passage1 aptly        
compares the  ,egyptian demon ,apap1    
which devoured the souls of the wicked4 
,he also  cites an ,old ,english homily1
 where a dragon swallows the wicked and 
discharges them into the ,devil's maw4  
,the fertile medival literature  on the 
subject furnishes several parallels1    
more or less close1 both of  a serious  
and comic nature4    #age ,this is      
probably one of the additions made to   
the ,book of ,enoch  in ,christian      
times1 cp4 ,rev4 xx4 #d-e1 where        
precedence is given to the  martyrs1 the
 other righteous not being permitted to 
live again until  after the lapse of one
 thousand years4 ,herein we have another
 form of  the doctrine of postponed     
redemption in certain cases1 though not 
here1  to allow time for the purgation  
of sins4    #agf ,cp4 the similar fate  

of the flatterers 7,inf4 xviii4 #aac71  
and  the stinking ,stygian lake in which
 the violent are immured 7,inf4 vii4    
#aaj74    #agg ,we have seen that in    
,persia1 as in ,ireland1 the #8black    
north' was  the region whence cold winds
 and malignant beings proceeded4 ,it is 
a  well-known fact that cold no less    
than heat entered into the ,hell of  the
 ,irish1 as of the ,northern nations1   
wherein they are followed by  ,dante1   
who1 indeed1 makes the sufferings of the
 inmost circle1 devoted  to the worst of
 sinners1 to consist in intense cold4   
,cp4 ,shakespeare1  ,measure for        
,measure1 ,,iii4 i43                    
#8,the delighted spirit      ,to bathe  
in fiery floods1 or to reside      ,in  
thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice4' 
,so ,milton3 #8,in fierce heat and in   
ice4'    #agh #8,senza riposo mai era la
 tresca ,delle misere mani1 or quindi or
  quinci ,iscotendo da se l'arsura      
fresca' 7,inf4 xiv4 #dj-db72 and in     
,inf4 xvii4 #dg-dh3 #8,di qu di l       

soccorrien con le mani1 ,quando a'      
vapor1 e quando al caldo suolo4'    #agi
 ,inf4 v41 where ,dante couples with    
them the angels who abstained  from     
taking either part on ,satan's revolt1  
but per s foro4 ,in like  manner the    
,irish writers1 as in the story of ,st4 
,brendan1 extended  their more merciful 
judgment to these spirits also4 ,the    
popular  traditions of modern times     
identify them with the ,daoine ,sidhe1  
but  without agreeing as to their       
ultimate fate after the ,judgment4      
#ahj ,cp4 the devices to which          
,christian redactors of ,pagan legends  
had recourse1 in order to bring the     
national heroes within the pale  of     
salvation3 e4g4 ,cuchulainn1 ,concobar1 
,finn ,mac ,cumhal1 ,caoilte1  ,cormac  
,mac irt1 ,fintan1 ,tuan ,mac ,cairill1 
etc4 ,the early ,christian  writers     
dealt in like manner with ,seneca1      
,trajan1 ,statius1 ,lucan1 etc42  to    
whom ,dante1 apparently on his own      
responsibility1 added ,rhipeus4    #aha 

,this is the doctrine of ,st4           
,augustine1 which ,dante followed in    
,inf4 vi4 #ajf sqq4    #ahb ,cp4 the    
brazen wall wrapped in flame in the     
,revelation of ,st4  ,paul4    #ahc ,cp4
 ,revelation ix4 #f1 upon the authority 
of which text a similar  passage is     
introduced into many of the medival     
descriptions of ,hell4  ,cp4 the ,book  
of ,adam1 where the damned #8call aloud 
for the second  death1 and the second   
death is deaf to their prayer' 7,ancona1
 op4  cit4 #ajg74 ,so ,dante1 #8che la  
seconda morte ciascun gride' 7,inf4 i4  
#aae74 ,cp4 too ,dante1 ,inf4 iii4      
#abd-f1 where the guilty are eager to   
cross the river to their place of       
suffering3 #8,ch la divina giustigia    
gli sprona ,s che la tema si volge in   
disio1' when1 however1 ,dante was       
probably following ,virgil1 neid1 vi4   
#cac-ad4    #ahd ,see1 especially1      
,paradise ,lost1 ii4 #ehg sqq4    #ahe  
#8,now seeing that they who make this   
moan are the ,saints1 to whom  are      

allotted everlasting mansions in the    
heavenly ,kingdom1 how much  more meet  
were it for men that are yet on earth1' 
etc41 ch4 #cd4 ,cp4 the  similar        
passages in the ,flire ,oengusa and the 
,scla ,li ,brtha  referred to in the    
preceding section4    #ahf ,verbal      
differences between the two versions are
 frequent  throughout1 though generally 
the later copy is the fuller1 owing to  
the insertion of a certain amount of    
#8padding4' ,far wider divergences      
exist between the different versions of 
most of the medival legends1  e4g4 the  
,vision of ,paul1 the ,voyage of ,st4   
,brendan1 and the ,vision  of ,tundale4 
,this circumstance strengthens the      
internal evidence of  interpolations in 
the ,fis ,adamnin4 ,at the same time1 it
 adds to  the difficulty of determining 
the relative priority of the incidents  
contained in the several ,visions4      
#ahg ,the ,acts of ,st4 ,brendan1 and   
the accounts of his voyages1 have  often
 been translated by modern scholars4    

,besides the collections of             
hagiologists and ,church historians1    
standard works on the subject  are      
,jubinal1 ,la ,lgende latine de ,saint  
,brendaines1 ,paris1  #ahcf2 ,schrder1  
,sanct ,brandan1 ,erlangen1 #ahga2      
,moran1 ,acta  ,sancti ,brendani1       
,dublin1 #ahgb4 ,the ,irish ,life is    
edited1 with a  translation and notes1  
by ,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes1 in ,anecdota  
,oxoniensia  7,medival and ,modern      
,series1 pt4 #e74 ,in the ,rev4 ,denis  
,o',donoghue's  ,brendaniana the subject
 is treated in an interesting and       
compendious  manner4 ,the summary of the
 principal incidents of the voyages     
given in  the text1 is taken1 for the   
most part1 from ,mr4 ,stokes's edition  
of the  ,irish life4    #ahh ,the       
imaginary island of ,st4 ,brendan was   
delineated in the maps  of the ,middle  
,ages1 and even of later periods4 ,it   
was claimed by the  ,portuguese1 but    
afterwards ceded to ,spain4 ,many       
voyages were undertaken  in quest of it1

 one so late as #agba4--;,ancona1 op4   
cit41 p4 #ej4    #ahi ,father           
,o',donoghue points out that the whale  
episode appears too  early in medival   
churches to be due to an imitation of   
,sinbad4 ,it  occurs in a medival life  
of ,st4 ,machutus1 or ,malo1 which1     
however1  ,father ,o',donoghue considers
 an imitation of ,st4 ,brendan1 into    
whose  legend the incident entered at a 
very early period1 being mentioned in  a
 poem by ,st4 ,cumin1 who lived in the  
seventh century 7,brendaniana1  pp4     
#hh-ia71 where the author refers to     
parallels occurring in the  ,medival    
,bestiaries4 ,signer ,d',ancona 7op4    
cit47 says that the episode  occurs in  
the ,romance of ,alexander1 which is    
likely to be the origin  of the ,western
 variants4 ,however1 the idea is one    
which may well have  presented itself   
spontaneously in several distinct       
quarters4    #aij ,apparently a travesty
 of ,manannn ,mac ,lr as he appeared to 
,bran  in the ,imram ,brin1 but quantum 

mutatus1 or1 literally1 diablement      
chang en route4 ,already have the       
,celtic deities followed the            
,olympians1 and become converted into   
demons4    #aia ,cf4 ,virgil1 neid1 vi4 
#eeg-h1 and ,dante1 ,inferno1 iii4      
#bb-bh4    #aib ,we may note one curious
 incident which illustrates the         
sympathy1  before mentioned1 with which 
,irish ,churchmen treated the beings who
  pertained to that older faith which it
 was their mission to destroy4  ,one day
 ,st4 ,brendan came upon a maiden of    
vast stature and exceeding  beauty      
floating upon the sea1 dead1 and a spear
 through her4 ,he  restored her to life1
 and asked her who she was3 she replied 
that  she was one of the dwellers in the
 sea1 who were praying for the          
,resurrection4 ,he baptized her1 and    
gave her the choice--to die1 and  go at 
once to ,heaven1 or to return to her own
 people4 ,she chose to go  direct to    
,heaven1 so he administered to her the  
last ,sacrament1 and she  died4    #aic 

,mr4 ,whitley ,stokes suggests that     
#8his feathers may be a  reminiscence of
 some hermit's dress of bird-skins' 7op4
 cit41 p4  #ced74 ,or1 maybe1 of some   
anchorite who may have lived into       
extreme old  age1 as doubtless many did1
 in the condition of ,king              
,nebuchadnezzar  after his fall1 until  
his long white hair and beard suggested 
the  plumage of a white bird4 ,or1      
again1 it is just possible that this    
bird-like hermit1 dwelling in an island 
,paradise1 may be an attempt to         
euhemerise one of the many avatars of   
the sacred bird4    #aid ,the influence 
of the ,fis ,adamnin likewise appears in
 the  opening portion of the ,life1     
which cites precedents for the ,saint's 
devout and holy life among the worthies 
of the ,old and ,new ,testaments4       
#aie ,the principal ,latin ,life of ,st4
 ,brendan1 though later than the  ,irish
 life1 was written in the eleventh      
century4 ,both ,lives1 however1  contain
 elements which the ,lives of other     

,irish saints prove to have  been of    
much earlier date4    #aif ,imrama still
 continued to be written1 and the late  
medival  story of ,tadg ,mac ,cin       
7published1 with a translation1 in ,mr4 
,standish  ,hayes ,o',grady's ,silva    
,gadelica71 presents a very admirable   
specimen  of its class4 ,that work1     
however1 is a more purely literary      
production1  consciously imitative1 and 
deliberately archaic in style4    #aig  
,the summary in the text follows the    
,irish version contained in  ,la ,vision
 de ,tondale1 ,v4 ,h4 ,friedel and ,kuno
 ,meyer 7,paris1 #aijg71  which also    
contains two ,french versions in prose1 
and a fragment of an  ,anglo-,norman    
version in verse4 ,the ,irish           
translation was made in #aea-1  by      
,muirgheas ,mac ,pidin ui ,maoilchanaire
 7op4 cit41 ,introduction74  ,the       
original ,latin has been edited by      
,scade1 ,halle1 #ahfi1 and ,a4 ,wagner  
7with an ,o4 ,g4 version71 ,erlangen1   
#ahhb4 ,for translations into modern    

languages see op4 cit41 ,introduction1  
and ,ancona1 op4 cit41 p4 #ec  n4       
#aih ,in ,christian art1 ,hell was often
 symbolised by a picture of the         
,dragon1 his open mouth filled with     
flames1 into which the wicked were      
impelled4 ,this image survived in book  
illustrations into the eighteenth       
century at least4 ,it occurs in many of 
the medival visions2 possibly  the      
,vision of ,st4 ,paul may have been the 
immediate authority4 ,it  appears so    
early as the ,vision of ,esdras1 if not 
before4    #aii ,this lake corresponds  
to the sea haunted by strange monsters  
which swarm about the hero's curach in  
the early ,imrama and in the  modern    
romantic folk-tales4    #bjj ,signor    
,d',ancona 7op4 cit47 suggests that the 
apologue of the  bridge in the ,fioretti
 of ,st4 ,francis 7cxxvii47 is an       
imperfect  quotation from ,tundale1 as  
also a similar passage of ,joachim of   
,flora4    #bja ,see the remarks in the 
preceding section upon a similar        

conception in the ,fis ,adamnin1 and    
contrast the treatment of it by  the two
 authors4    #bjb ,the destruction of   
the guilty soul1 and its reintegration  
for a renewal of its suffering1 dates   
back to ,plutarch's ,vision of          
,thespesios4 ,see ,sect4 ,i ante4       
#bjc ,cp4 the analogous ideas in the    
,shepherd of ,hermas1 and the vision  in
 ,st4 ,gregory's ,epistle4    #bjd ,it  
is said that the ,hells of the ,oriental
 religions even surpass  those of       
medival ,christendom in the morbid      
cruelty and obscenity1 and  in the      
childish extravagance of their          
descriptions4    #bje ,the angel who    
came to ,tundale's rescue may also be   
compared to  the angel who came to the  
aid of ,dante and ,virgil when their    
entrance  into the ,city of ,dis was    
opposed by the demons 7,inf4 ix474      
,signor  ,d',ancona 7op4 cit41 p4 #ee   
n47 compares the approach of ,tundale's 
angel1 #8with a radiance as of a star1' 
to the approach of the angel  in        

,purgatorio xii4 #hi sq41 nella faccia1 
quale ,par tremolando  mattutina stella1
 citing the passage from the ,latin     
,tundale1 where the  resemblance is     
still closer--longe venientem velut     
stellam lucidam4    #bjf ,purg4 xxvii4  
#acj sqq4    #bjg ,par4 xxii4 #abi sqq4 
,dante evidently follows the            
corresponding  passage in the ,somnium  
,scipionis1 or the derivative passage in
 ,book  ix4 of ,lucan's ,pharsalia4 ,the
 manner in which the idea appears in    
,tundale is not analogous4 ,the         
doctrine--#8to whomsoever ,god giveth   
power to behold ,himself1 to him is     
power to see all other creatures        
likewise'--is precisely that of ,dante4 
,see ,paradiso ix4 #fa sq4 and  cp4     
viii4 #ij2 ix4 #gc sq42 xi4 #ai sq41    
etc4    #bjh ,for many specimens of     
these visions1 both of earlier and later
  dates1 see ,ozanam1 ,dante et la      
,philosophie catholique au treizime     
,sicle2 ,wright1 ,st4 ,patrick's        
,purgatory1 #ahdd2 ,ancona1 op4 cit4    

,the learned author of the last-named   
work has recorded several curious  and  
little-known examples1 and1 in his      
notes1 gives references to many  works  
upon special branches of the subject4   
#bji #8,andovvi poi lo ,vas d'elezione1 
,per recarne conforto a quella  fede1'  
etc4 7,inf4 ii4 #bh-i74    #baj ,for    
this extreme tenuity1 cp4 ,al ,sirt1 the
 ,muslim equivalent of  the ,chinvt     
,bridge1 narrow as a razor's edge2 also 
the souls' bridge of  the ,inoits of    
,aleutia1 which1 as in several medival  
visions1 is of the  thickness of a      
single thread4    #baa ,cp4 the fate of 
the violent in canto xii4 of the        
,inferno4  ,the traitors also stand more
 or less completely congealed in the    
ice1 according to the circumstances of  
their treachery 7,inf4  xxxii4-xxxiv474 
#bab ,it is possible that this          
circumstance was suggested by similar   
travel tales told of the serpents of    
,india1 and preserved by the  ,greek    
naturalists4 ,however1 the idea is one  

which might well occur  spontaneously1  
as one of the usual ,otherworld         
applications of the lex  talionis4      
#bac ,cp4 the fiery sepulchres in ,inf4 
canto xi41 wherein1 likewise1  infidels 
were immured4    #bad ,northumbria1 it  
will be remembered1 was ,christianised  
by ,irish  monks1 who planted           
monasteries at ,lindisfarne and         
elsewhere1 which long  maintained the   
connection between the two countries4   
#bae ,cp4 ,plutarch1 ,vision of         
,thespesios1 ante1 ,sec4 #a1 where the  
souls ascended contained in bubbles4    
#baf ,in the ,fis ,adamnin ,paradise is 
placed in the south-east4    #bag ,cp4  
,inferno xii4 and xxxii4-xxxiv4    #bah 
,inf4 xxi4-xxii42 and cp4 the ,centaurs 
in ,inf4 xii4 #ef4    #bai ,inf4        
xxxii4-xxxiv4    #bbj ,inf4 ix4    #bba 
,inf4 v4    #bbb ,inf4 xxiv4-xxv4       
#bbc ,inf4 xxiii4 #aaa sqq4    #bbd ,see
 a paper by ,m4 ,henri ,gaidoz in ,revue
 ,celtique1 ii4 #dhb4    #bbe ,signor   
d',ancona 7op4 cit41 pp4 #fb-c7 doubts  

whether this work  was ever known beyond
 its birthplace in the ,abbey of ,monte 
,cassino1  until its discovery less than
 a century ago1 where ,dante was not    
likely  to have seen it4 ,in the absence
 of direct evidence on this point1 ,i   
leave the passage in the text as it     
stands1 for the reader to form his  own 
conclusions4    #bbf ,perhaps a         
reference should be made to the ,vision 
of the  ,otherworld composed by ,dante's
 friend1 the learned ,jew ,immanuel ben 
,salamone1 as the question might occur  
whether ,dante may not1 by his  means1  
have arrived at such part of his subject
 as relates to ,old  ,testament lore and
 ,jewish tradition by a shorter cut than
 the usual  channels1 which it has been 
here attempted to trace4 ,immanuel was  
born  at ,rome in #abfe1 the year of    
,dante's birth1 and1 like his friend1   
was at once poet1 scholar1 theologian1  
philosopher1 and exile1 and1  probably1 
one of the most learned men of his day4 
,it is possible that  ,dante may have   

been indebted to him for stray pieces of
 information1  scraps of ,hebrew1 and   
the like1 but the debt can hardly go    
further  than this4 ,immanuel's vision  
of ,hell and ,paradise was not completed
  till #acbe1 and is a manifest         
imitation of the ,commedia2 it has  been
 conjectured1 even1 that by ,daniel1 who
 served as his guide1 as  ,virgil did to
 ,dante1 he signified the latter4 ,see  
,signor ,seppelli's  translation1 with  
notes and introduction--,inferno e      
,paradiso di  ,emanuele di ,salamone1   
,ancona1 #ahgd4          ,,index        
,abersetus1 #cf1 #aid4      ,acallam na 
,snrach1 #ahg4      ,accadian survivals 
in ,assyrian mythology1 #fi4            
,achmenian elements in ,avestan         
religion1 #gi4      ,acheron1 #baf4     
,achilles in ,leuke1 #adc4              
,achtlann1 #adi4      ,adam1 legend of  
death of1 #hd1 #ig2      ,book of1 #bjc 
n42      ,book of ,adam and ,eve1 #aad4 
,adam de ,ros1 #bcj4      ,adamnn1 ,st41
 authorities for life1 #d n41 #ab2      

meaning of name1 #g2      birth and     
lineage1 #g2      anecdote of student   
days1 #ab1 #ac2      at monastery of    
,iona1 #h2      ,abbot1 #h2             
missions to ,england1 #h1 #i2           
relations with ,bede1 #i2      ,paschal 
controversy1 #i1 #aj2      ,boruma      
tribute1 #ae1 #af1 #ag2      relations  
with rd-,r ,finnachta1 #ac sqq42        
emancipation of women1 #ah sqq41 #de2   
death1 #aj1 #bb-c2      character1 #i1  
#ab1 #bc-d2      his learning1 #aj1 #ab1
 #be2      his ,life of ,st4 ,colm      
,cille1 #aj2      cited1 #aeg1 #aff2    
treatise ,de ,locis ,sanctis1 #aa1 #aad2
      his canons1 #ab1 #ah2             
apocryphal writings1 #ab2      the ,cin 
,adamnin1 #ah sqq41 #bg4      ---- ,the 
,vision of1 date of1 #be2      ,,mss4   
and editions1 #bg2      reasons of      
ascription to ,adamnn1 #be sqq41 #de1   
#agg2      ,translation1 #bh sqq42      
precedents and authorities1 #bh-i1      
#ajf-g1 #ahj-a2      contents discussed1
 #be sqq41 #agd sqq42      structural   

design1 #age sqq42      composite       
character1 #agf sqq42      literary     
characteristics1 #agd-f1 #ahf1 #bdf-h2  
ecclesiastical proclivities1 #ahb-d2    
,purgatorial theory1 #aic-d2            
coincidences with ,oriental eschatology1
 #hc sqq41 #ij1 #aic2      compared with
 ,dante's ,commedia1 #aha1 #ahe1 #ahg1  
#ahh n41 #ahi1          #aic n41 #aid-e1
 #bjj-d2      relation to ,dante1       
#bdc-f2      cited1 #c1 #bb1 #if n41    
#acc1 #add1 #aeb1 #aga1 #agb1 #agd1     
#baa1 #bab1          #bah n41 #bcj1     
#bcb1 #bcc4      ,addison's ,vision of  
,mirza and ,bridge episode1 #acb4       
,aelian1 #aea4      ons1 early ,persian1
 #gi2      of ,philo ,judus1 #gi n42    
of ,hesiod1 ib4      ,ailill1 #acb4     
,alberic1 ,vision of1 #bch-i2      cp4  
with ,dante1 ib4      ,alcuin1 #e n4    
,aldfrid1 ,king of ,northumbria1 #h4    
,alexandria1 ,jewish colony in1 #hf2    
culture mainly ,hellenic1 #hf-h2        
contact with ,egyptian ideas1 #hh-i4    
,allegory1 in the ,avesta1 #gd-e1 #ahb2 

in ,virgil1 #df2      in the ,shepherd  
of ,hermas1 #ajd2      in ,irish        
legends1 #ace1 #adb1 #add-e4            
,amesha ,spentas1 the1 and ,philo's     
,emanations1 #gh-i4      ,ancona1 ,prof4
 ,a4 d'1 ,i ,precursori di ,dante1 #age 
n41 #ahd n41        #aij n41 #bjc n41   
#bjh n41 #bac n41 #baf n41 #bbh n41     
#bbi n41 #bch n4      ,angels1          
hierarchies1 #cj1 #ahe1 #bbc-d2         
guardian angels1 #bi1 #hf1 #aha-b1 #aia1
 #bad2      tending souls of dead1 #ce1 
#aia 7and see art4 #8,guide'72          
porter in ,otherworld1 #ce1 #hd1 #aic2  
fallen angels1 #bjb n41 #baa2      angel
 of death1 mistaken1 #aaj1 #aaa2        
angel giving light in ,paradise1 #cd2   
in ,hell1 #bad4      ,anglo-,saxon      
scholars and missionaries1 #e n4        
,annals1 ,irish1 see under ,ireland2    
of ,ulster1 cited1 #b n4      ,apap1    
,egyptian #8,eater of the ,dead1' #hi1  
#aif n4      ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john1 
see #8,revelations' of ,st4 ,paul1 ,st4 
,peter1 etc42      see #8,paul1'        

#8,peter1' etc4      ,apocryphal ,books1
 ,christian1 abundance of1 #aja2        
,jewish traditions in1 #ig4             
,apostles1 ,vision at death of ,b4 ,v41 
#bi1 #ajg2      in ,paradise1 #ca1 #ih1 
#aid-e4      ,apuleius1 #di4            
,aquinas1 ,thomas1 pupil of ,petrus     
,hibernicus1 #f n4      ,arali1 #gj4    
,arch1 fiery1 watery1 etc41 in legends1 
#cb1 #aeb1 #afj1 #ahh4      ,arculf1    
#aa1 #ab4      rd-,ollamh1 the1 #aag4   
rd-,r1 the ,irish1 #aaf n4      ,ariel1 
archangel1 #cf4      ,ariosto's         
enchanted gardens1 ,otherworld origin   
of1 #aha4      ,aristophanes on the     
,otherworld1 in the ,frogs1 #ei sqq42   
on the mysteries1 ib4      ,armageddon1 
#afc n4      rt mac ,cuinn1 #acc1 #acf1 
#ach-i4      ,art1 sacred1 and the      
medival legends1 #ahf1 #bae n4          
,ascetics1 priority of1 in ,paradise1   
#ci1 #aih4      ,assyrian eschatology1  
#fi1 #gj1 and see #8,chalda4'           
,augustine1 ,st41 ,vision of ,curina1   
#aaj2      purgatorial theory1 #aic2    

cited1 #bjb4      ,avesta1 eschatology1 
#ga sqq42      animistic conceptions1   
#ge2      allegorising tendency1 #gd-e2 
date and composition1 #gf2              
,neo-,platonic influences1 #gf sqq42    
early ,persian elements1 #gi2           
,oriental elements1 #ha2      influence 
on ,hebrew thought1 #gj4      ,axiochos1
 pseudo-,platonic dialogue1 #eh4        
,bagadas1 ,bridge myth among the1 #acb4 
,baitan1 #aeg4      ,ballyshannon1      
,mrdil of1 #ah4      ,balor1 the        
,fomorian champion1 #ace n4      ,bards1
 the ,irish order1 #aag n4      ,battle 
at the end of the world1 #afc4          
,bcuma ,cneisgel1 #acf1 #ach4           
,bede1 ,venerable1 and ,adamnn1 #i1 #aj1
 #bc2      account of ,st4 ,fursa's     
visions1 #aff sqq42      of ,drihthelm's
 vision1 #bcc4      ,bfind1 #abb4       
,belach ,dinn1 #h4      ,benn ,edair1   
#acf4      ,best1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,i41         
,adventures of rt1 ,son of ,conn1 and   
the ,courtship        of ,delbchaem1    
#acf n41 #acg4      ,birds1 mystical1   

#cb1 #gb1 #gc1 #aed-e1 #afc1 #ahi2      
as divine messengers1 #gb1 #gc2      as 
culture bringers1 #gb2      human souls 
in1 #df1 #afj1 #agd n41 #ahi1 #aia2     
singing the canonical hours1 #cb1 #he1  
#agi2      choirs of1 in ,paradise1 #ca1
 #aeg-h1 #afc1 #agd1 #ahe1 #ahi2      in
 island ,elysium1 #afj4      ,birr1     
,mrdil of1 #ah4      ,book of the ,dead1
 ,egyptian1 #hi n4      ,boruma         
,tribute1 instituted1 #ad2              
remitted1 #ae sqq42      treatises on1  
#ad4      ,bran1 son of ,febal1 ,voyage 
of1 #abb n41 #abc sqq41 #adf-h1 #ahi4   
,brandenburg1 ,marquis of1 legend1 #aba4
      ,brenainn of ,birr1 ,st41 #aed4   
,brendan1 ,st41 ,voyage of1 #adg sqq41  
#bjb n41 #bjg sqq42      influence on   
,european literature1 #bjb1 #bjg2       
his island1 belief in1 #bjg n4          
,bridge1 in legends of the ,otherworld1 
#ch-i1 #ga1 #aaa1 #aca1 #acb1    #aci1  
#agh1 #aig-h1 #bae-ag1 #bca1 #bci2      
cognate traditions1 #aca-b4      ,brudin
 ,da ,derga1 story of1 cited1 #ab n4    

,brug na ,boinne1 ,elysium in1 #abb1    
#ahi4      ,brunetto ,latini1 reference 
to his ,tesoretto1 #aba4      ,bryce1   
,prof41 on the ,donation of             
,constantine1 #de n4      ,buan1        
mystical hazels of1 #adj1 #aee4         
,budge1 ,dr4 ,w41 ,book of the ,dead1   
#hi n4      ,bundehesh cited1 #gb4      
,burghcastle1 monastery founded by ,st4 
,fursa1 #aff4        ,cin ,adamnin1 see 
#8,adamnn4'      ,caldron1 magic1       
#abb-c1 #ada4      ,calixtus ,,ii41     
,pope1 and ,carolingian ,romances1 #adg 
n4      ,callimachus1 #hh4      ,carman1
 poem on ,fair of1 cited1 #cb1 #aae4    
,carolingian ,romances1 #adf n4         
,castle1 enchanted1 ,otherworld origin  
of1 #aej2      revolving1 in romance of 
,peredur1 #aed4      ,castor and        
,pollux1 #di4      ,cernunnos and ,bran1
 #abc n4      ,cethlenn1 #ace n4        
,chalda1 eschatology of1 #fi1 #gj2      
,hades1 #gj2      visits thereto1 #fi2  
,elysium1 #fi2      multitudinous       
deities1 #ha-b2      no ,rebirth        

doctrine1 #hj4      ,charles1 ,rev4 ,a4 
,h41 ed4 of ,book of ,enoch1 #ie n4     
,chastity ideal in ,irish ,elysium1     
#add1 #adg-h4      ,chaucer cited1 #adc4
      ,chinvt ,bridge1 #ga1 #aab4       
,christ's descent into ,hades1 #aja4    
,christian interpolations in ,irish     
tales1 #ade-h2      ideas becoming      
predominant1 #adf-g4      ,chthonian    
side of ,irish myths1 #aba1 #abi1 #acj1 
#ace n41 #acf1 #ach-i4      ,church1    
,paradise conceived as a1 #cd1 #afd1    
#ahd4      ,cicero1 ,somnium ,scipionis1
 #fd2      approbation of the mysteries1
 #ajh4      ,cinel ,enda1 #g4           
,city1 celestial1 #cc1 #ce1 #id4        
,classical ideas in medival eschatology1
 #bbg4      ,classification of departed 
spirits1 #agb1 #aih-i2      of penalties
 in the ,otherworld1 #dj sqq41 #aje1    
#aii sqq4      ,claudian1 cited1 #di4   
,clement of ,ireland1 #f n4      ,clovis
 ,,ii41 #afg4      ,cockayne element in 
,irish ,elysium1 #abb-c1 #ace1 #acg1    
#ada1 #aij2      transition to higher   

conceptions1 #add1 #afd-e1 #aga1 #aij4  
,colm ,cille1 ,st41 #h1 #aa1 #ah1 #bd2  
visions of1 #aff2      privilege of     
order1 #ag2      ,adamnn1 ,life of1 see 
#8,adamnn4'      ,commedia1 see         
#8,dante4'      ,comyn1 ,michael1 ,laoi 
,oisn ar d,tr na n-g1 #acc4      ,conall
 ,gulbn1 #g4      ,concobar1 medival    
,irish king1 #bba4      ,condla ,coel   
,corrbacc1 #adi4      ,conn ,ced-cathach
 in ,otherworld1 #acc sqq41 #adc4       
,connla mac ,cuinn in ,otherworld1 #abf1
 #acc1 #adc4      ,constantine1         
,donation of1 #de4      ,cormac1 ,king  
of ,cashel1 #bba-b4      ,cormac mac irt
 in ,otherworld1 #abj1 #acc1 #aci sqq41 
#adf n4      ,corpre ,cundail1 #adi4    
,cuchulainn1 in ,otherworld1 #abj1 #abg 
sqq41 #acj2      and children of ,doel  
,dermait1 #adf1 #adi1 #aej4             
,curina1 ,vision of1 #aaj4        ,d    
,brn ,flatha ,nime1 #agd4      ,dagda1  
,elysium of the1 #aba-c1 #add1 #ahc1    
#aij4      ,daire ,degamra1 #acg4       
,dante1 antiquity of his theme1 #a-c2   

his true originality1 #c1 #bda2      his
 design1 #fg-h1 #aha2      ,dante and   
,virgil1 #fg2      non-classical        
sources1 #fh2      how far indebted to  
the ,irish legends1 #bdc-f2      ,dante 
and ,immanuel ben ,salamone1 #bda n42   
parallels to the ,fis ,adamnin1 #aha1   
#ahe1 #ahg1 #ahh n41 #ahi1          #aic
 n41 #aid-e1 #bjj-d2      to the ,vision
 of ,st4 ,paul1 #bcj2      to the       
,vision of ,tundale1 #bbe-i2      to    
,st4 ,patrick's ,purgatory1 #bce1 #bch2 
representation of the ,trinity1 #ahf1   
#ahh n42      mystical bird1 #ahi2      
cited1 #cb n41 #aja n41 #ajc n41 #afi   
n41 #agb1 #aha n41          #aic n41    
#aid-f1 #bji n41 #bca4                  
,darmesteter1 trans4 of ,venddd1 #ga n42
      on ,neo-,platonic ideas in the    
,avesta1 #gf sqq4      ,dead cast no    
shadows1 #fa1 #gi2      nor move        
eyelids1 #fa4      ,d ,danann1 see      
#8,tuatha ,d ,danann4'      ,delbchaem1 
#acf1 #ach4      ,demeter1 #di2      and
 see #8,mysteries4'      ,demonax and   

the ,mysteries1 #ajh4      ,demons1     
malice of1 #dc1 #bjd2      opposition to
 the seer's progress1 #afg-h1 #agj1     
#bac1 #bcc1 #bcd1 #bci4      ,derg1     
,loch1 #bcd4      ,derry1 ,mrdil at1    
#ah4      ,dicuil1 #f n41 #aad1 #aae4   
,dietrich1 ,prof41 on the ,greek        
mysteries1 #ed n4      ,dill1 ,prof41   
,roman ,society from ,nero to ,marcus   
,aurelius1 #ge n41        #hh n4        
,dionysos1 in the mysteries1 #ei2       
in the ,frogs of ,aristophanes1 #ei4    
,divinity1 the1 representation of1 in   
,paradise1 #cb1 #cc2      as a mystical 
face1 #cc4      ,doel ,dermait1 children
 of1 and ,cuchulainn1 #adf1 #adi1 #aej4 
,dllinger on the ,donation of           
,constantine1 #de n4      ,donatus1     
,st41 ,irish bishop of ,fiesole1 #f n4  
,drihthelm1 ,vision of1 #bcc4           
,druimceatt1 ,mrdil of1 #ah4            
,drumhome1 #g4      ,dumas pre1 quoted1 
#a4      ,dungal1 #f n4        ,easter1 
time of celebrating1 #i2      and see   
#8,paschal ,controversy4'      #8,eater 

of the ,dead1' ,egyptian1 #hi1 #aif n4  
,ecbatana1 walls of1 #cc n41 #ahe4      
,ecgfrid1 ,king of ,northumbria1 #h4    
,echtra1 class of ,irish romance1 #aah2 
,e4 ,nerai1 #acb2      ,e4 irt1 #acf4   
,edward ,i4 and ,lia ,fil1 #acd4        
,egypt and the ,greek mysteries1 #eb-c2 
early intercourse with ,greece1 #hh-i2  
eschatology1 #hi1 #ic2      relations to
 ,alexandrian culture1 #hg-i2      cults
 in the ,hellenic world1 #hh-i2         
intercourse with ,irish ,church1        
#aac-ae4      ,elborz1 ,mount1 #ga1 #ha4
      ,eleusis1 see #8,mysteries4'      
,elias in ,paradise1 #df1 #he1 #ih1     
#aeg1 #afc1 #agd1 #agi1 #bje4           
,elysium1 ,greek1 #di n41 #ej1 #eh1 #ei1
 #fc2      ,chaldan1 #fi2      ,avestan1
 #gb1 #he2      ,egyptian1 #hi2         
,irish1 #di n41 #aba-f1 #abh-i1 #ace1   
#acg1 #ach1 #adj-d1 #adf n41 #adg2      
aristocratic theory of1 #gj1 #adc1 #bbg4
      ,emer1 #abh-i4      ,end of world 
anticipated by early ,church1 #ajj-a4   
,enniskillen1 derivation of name1 #ace  

n4      ,enoch1 in ,paradise1 #df1 #he1 
#ih1 #aeg1 #agi1 #bje2      to reappear 
for final battle1 #afc2      ,book of1  
date1 #id2      cited by ,st4 ,jude1    
ibid42      general character1 #ie2     
summary1 #ie sqq42      purgatorial     
theory1 #aid2      whether known in     
,ireland1 #aib n42      compared with   
,dante1 #ie2      cited1 #ahc n41 #aih1 
#aii4      ,eochaid ,airem1 #abb1 #abg4 
,eochaid ,glas ,corpre1 #adi4           
,epicurean school1 influence of1 in     
first century1 #ia4      ,er1 ,vision   
of1 #ef sqq41 #ei4      ,eratosthenes1  
#hh4      ,erenach1 the ,irish1 #dj4    
,eridu1 #gj4      ,erigena1 see         
#8,joannes ,scotus ,e4'      ,erik      
,saga1 #aca4      ,esdras1 ,vision of1  
in ,o4 ,t4 ,apocrypha1 #ig1 #ahb n41    
#bae n42      in ,n4 ,t4 ,apocrypha1    
#ih4      ,etain1 #abb1 #abg4           
,ethne1 wife of ,mider1 #abg2      ,e4  
,taebfada1 #adc4        ,fabian1 ,bishop
 of ,rome1 #de4      ,failbhe1 ,abbot of
 ,iona1 #h4      ,fand1 #abh-i4         

,flire ,oengusa1 #agd1 #bje n4          
,fercertue1 #abf n4      ,fermoy1 ,book 
of1 cited1 #acf n41 #aeg n4      ,ferry 
to ,hades1 #fg4      ,fidelis1 ,irish   
traveller1 #aad4      ,fiery circles in 
,paradise1 #cj1 #ahg2      lakes1       
rivers1 etc41 of ,otherworld1 #cf1 #cg1 
#if1 #acb1 #acc1 #aid2      wall1 #dc1  
#aec1 #ahg1 #aid1 #bjb4      ,filid1    
,irish literary order1 #aag4            
,filippo ,argenti1 #afi n4              
,finnachta ,fledach1 rd-,r of ,ireland1 
accession1 #ad2      relations with     
,adamnn1 #ac sqq42      and ,boruma     
tribute1 #ad sqq42      mentioned in    
connection with emancipation of women1  
#de2      death1 #ag4      ,finn cycle1 
#acc4      ,firghil1 ,irish bishop of   
,salzburg1 #f n41 #aae4      ,fis1 class
 of ,irish romances1 #abj2      the     
,christian ,fis1 #afe1 #bab2      ,fis  
,adamnin1 etc41 see #8,adamnn1' ,etc42  
see also under #8,vision4'              
,fitzgerald1 ,david1 ,popular ,tales of 
,ireland1 #aec n41 #agd n4              

,fomorians1 the1 ,chthonian powers1     
#aba1 #ace n4      ,food1 miraculous1   
#abf1 #aee-f1 #bjh1 #baj4      ,forgall 
,monach1 #acj4      ,foucart1 ,m4 ,p41  
on the ,greek mysteries1 #eb-e2      on 
the ,isis cult1 #hi n4      ,four       
,masters1 the1 cited1 #ah4              
,fravashi1 the1 #hf1 #ahc4              
,frederick ,,ii41 ,emperor1 and ,petrus 
,hibernicus1 #f n42      legend of      
disappearance of1 #afd n4      ,friedel1
 ,dr4 ,v4 ,h41 joint editor of ,la      
,vision de ,tondale1 #bab n4            
,fursa1 ,st41 #aff2      ,visions of1   
#afg sqq4        ,gardner1 ,prof4 ,p41  
on the ,greek mysteries1 #ec n41 #ed1   
#ib n42      on ,greek sources of       
,christian eschatology1 #ib n4          
,gelasius1 #be4      ,gilbert1 ,abbot of
 ,louth1 #bcd4      ,gill1 ,bridge of1  
#aca4      ,gisdubar1 #fi4      ,good   
and evil1 souls of mingled1 fate of1    
#ci1 #gb1 #he1 #aab1 #aia1 #bja-b1      
#bbj-b4      ,gorm and ,bridge myth1    
#aca4      ,graal legend1 parallels to  

,irish legends1 #abd n41 #aca1 #aej1    
#aed1 #aef1        #ahd n4      ,greece1
 visits to ,otherworld1 #di2            
visions of ,otherworld1 #ef sqq42       
,greece and ,alexandria1 #hf sqq42      
intercourse with ,egypt1 #hi n42        
philosophic schools under early ,empire1
 #ia2      influence on early ,christian
 eschatology1 #ib n42      ,greek       
learning in ,ireland1 #aae2      ,greeks
 in ,ireland1 ibid42      traces in     
,irish tales1 #aea2      and see        
#8,elysium1' #8,tartarus1'              
#8,mysteries1' #8,hades1' #8,plato1'    
#8,plutarch1' #8,aristophanes4'         
,gregory ,i41 ,pope and ,saint2         
vision of ,stephen1 #aaj2      of a     
soldier1 #aaa2      of a ,spanish monk1 
#aab4      ,guide to ,hades1 #ahb2      
in ,book of ,enoch1 #ie2      in ,vision
 of ,esdras1 #ih2      in ,fis ,adamnin1
 #bi1 #aha-b1 #aie2      in ,irish      
legends1 #aba1 #acj1 #afg1 #agj1 #bad2  
in ,continental legends1 #bcj4          
,hades1 the ,greek1 #ej2                

,virgilian1 #ff2      ,chaldan1 #gj2    
,christian1 #ib n4      ,haemgils1 #bcc4
      ,hara-berezaiti1 ,mount1 #ga n4   
,harrowing of ,hell legend1 #aja4       
,healy1 ,dr41 ,ireland's ,ancient       
,schools and ,scholars1 #d n4           
,heaven1 described3 in the ,book of     
,enoch1 #if2      in the ,fis ,adamnin1 
#cj sqq41 #ahc sqq42      in ,irish     
legends1 #aeh1 #agd1 #bbc1 #bcd2      as
 a ,christian ,church1 #cd1 #afd1 #ahd2 
the ,seven ,heavens1 #ce1 #hc1 #hd1     
#aib2      and see #8,paradise4'        
,hebrews1 see #8,jews4'      ,hell1 in  
the ,book of ,enoch1 #ie-f2      ,greek 
ideas in ,christian1 #aji2              
,apocalypse of ,peter1 #aje2      ,paul1
 #ajf2      ,st4 ,gregory1 #aab2        
,fis ,adamnin1 #ch sqq41 #aif sqq42     
other ,irish visions1 #aeh1 #agj-a1     
#agb-c1 #bji1 #bai sqq41 #bcc1 #bce2    
,continental legends1 #bca1 #bci2       
of ,oriental religions1 #bbf n42      as
 mouth of a monster1 #bae1 #baf1 #bce1  
#bci2      ,northern and ,southern      

conception contrasted1 #bjj n41 #bjb1   
#bbh4      ,hellenism1 in ,persia1 #gf  
sqq42      ,syria1 #fh2      ,egypt1    
#hg-i2      ,jewish schools1 #fh1 #hf-g4
      ,helmet of ,irish rd-,r1 #cb n41  
#ahh4      ,henry of ,saltrey1 #bcd4    
,herakles1 visit to ,hades1 #di4        
,hermas1 ,shepherd of1 #aja sqq42       
anticipations of ,dante1 #ajc1 #ahb n4  
,hermits on islands1 #aed-g1 #afj1 #aia1
 #baj1 #baa4      ,hermdr and ,bridge   
myth1 #aca4      ,herodotus cited1 #cc  
n41 #hg1 #hh n41 #aea4      ,hesiod1    
,elysium1 #ej n42      ons1 #gi n42     
cited1 #aba n4      ,hierarchies1 nine  
celestial1 #cj1 #ahe1 #bbc-d4           
,hilarius1 ,pope1 reforms calendar1 #i4 
,homer1 ,elysium1 #ej2      island      
,paradise1 #aba2      ,odyssey cited1   
#aeb4      ,horse-races of demons1 #aeb4
      ,hull1 ,miss ,eleanor1 ,cuchullin 
,saga1 #acj1 #aca4      ,hyde1 ,dr4     
,douglas1 ,literary ,history of         
,ireland1 #aag n41 #abh n4              
,immanuel ben ,salamone1 #bda n4        

,imram1 class of ,irish romance1 #abj2  
adopts ,christian eschatology1 #adf1    
#aeg1 #afd2      ,christian ,imrama1    
#adg1 #aej2      modern ,imrama1 #bab2  
of ,bran1 ,maelduin1 the ,ui ,corra1    
,snedgus and ,mac ,ragla1 ,st4 ,brendan1
          ,tadg ,mac ,cin2 see #8,bran1'
 etc4      ,indian mythology1 parallels 
in1 #bi n4      ,inferno1 see #8,dante4'
      ,initiation1 see #8,mysteries4'   
,interpolations1 ,christian1 in ,irish  
heroic tales1 #ade-i4      ,iona1       
monastery founded by ,st4 ,colm ,cille1 
#h2      abbots of1 #h2      opposition 
to ,adamnn's reform1 #aj2               
apocryphal disputes with ,adamnn1 #bb4  
,ireland3 ,church in seventh century1   
#d2      three orders of saints1 #d2    
asceticism1 #bd2      tribal            
organisation1 #g1 #ae2      political   
activity1 #f2      learning in1 #e1     
#aae2      connections with ,gaul1 #aac2
      with the ,east1 #aac-ae2          
intercourse with ,greeks1 #aae2         
,oriental type of monasticism1 #aad2    

pilgrimages to ,egypt1 #aad2            
missionary activity1 #e2      ,irish    
scholars abroad1 #e1 #aae2      ,irish  
monastic foundations in foreign         
countries1 #e1 #aff1 #bcc n4      ----  
,social ranks and classes1 #aaf n42     
position of women1 #ah sqq4      ----   
,political constitution1 #ad1 #aaf n42  
the ,mrdil1 #ah4      ---- ,the literary
 class1 #aaf-ah2      the annals1       
authority of1 #af1 #ag4      ----       
,romantic literature3 classification of 
stories1 #aah-ai2      pagan elements1  
#aai1 #abj2      ethical ideas1 #add1   
#ade1 #adg-h2      tolerance of clergy1 
#aai1 #bji n42      clerical            
interpolations1 #ade-i2      transition 
to ,christianity1 #adf-g1 #aeg1 #afd-e2 
possible borrowings from the ,norse1    
#aca1 #aeb2      from classics1 #aea-b2 
loss of natural beauty1 #bdg2      of   
music1 #abd1 #aci1 #ada1 #aei1 #aha1    
#ahi1 #aia1 #bdg4      ---- ,interrupted
 development of ,irish literature and   
modern revival1 #bdg4      ,isaiah1     

,vision of1 #ih4      ,ishtr1 #fi1 #ig4 
,isis1 cult of1 in ,grco-,roman world1  
#hi n42      treatise on ,isis and      
,osiris1 #hh4      ,island ,paradise1   
#abc1 #aea1 #aec-d1 #aeg1 #aei1 #afj1   
#afb-c1 #ahd n41 #baj4      ,israel1 see
 #8,jews4'        ,jews1 contact with   
,oriental religions during captivity1   
#fh1 #hb2      ,persian mythology1 #gj2 
,hellenic influences1 #fh1 #hf-g2       
colonies in ,asia and ,alexandria1 #hf2 
,egyptian ideas1 #hg-i2      ,rabbinical
 legends1 #hd2      spiritism1 #ha2     
eschatology1 #hi1 #ij1 #aia2            
,purgatorial theories1 #ij2             
influence on ,christian conception of   
,paradise1 #aji4      ,joannes ,scotus  
,erigena1 #f n41 #aae4      ,john of    
,thessalonica1 #ajg4      ,jubinal1 ,la 
,lgende latine de ,st4 ,brendaines1 #bjg
 n4      ,jude1 ,st41 ,epistle of1      
cited1 #ga1 #id1 #ii4      ,judgment3 of
 individual on demise1 #cg1 #ch1 #ga1   
#ajf1 #aie2      deferred till ,last    
,judgment1 #ci1 #dj1 #da1 #aia2         

,last1 #ca1 #dg1 #gb n41 #if2           
impatience of damned for1 #dc2          
intensification of bliss and woe after1 
#bjb4        ,karshipta1 mystical bird  
of ,avesta1 #gb1 #gc1 #ha1 #he1 #ahi4   
,labraid ,luathlam-ar-,claideb1 #abh4   
,lagny1 monastery1 founded by ,st4      
,fursa1 #afg4      ,laisrn1 ,st41       
,vision of1 #afi sqq4      ,lanigan     
cited1 #g n4      ,lawrence1 ed4 of     
,book of ,enoch1 #ie n4      ,leanamhn  
,sidhe stories1 #abg1 #acf4      ,lebor 
,brec1 #bg4      ,lebor na g-,cert1 #aag
 n4      ,lebor na h-,udri1 #bg1 #abb   
n41 #abg n4      ,lenormant1 ,origines  
de l',histoire1 cited1 #fi n41 #hb4     
,lerins1 monastery of1 #aac4            
,leuke1 #ej1 #adc4      ,lex            
innocentium1 #bb4      ,lex talionis1 in
 punishments of ,otherworld1 #fc1 #aje1 
#aga1 #bca1 #bch4      ,lia ,fil1 #acd1 
#ahg4      ,liban1 #abh4      ,limbus   
infantium1 #agb1 #bch2      ,limbus     
patrum1 #agb4      ,lindus1 temple of1  
initiation at1 #ef n4      ,loeg1       

#abh-i1 #adg4      ,loingseach mac      
,oengusa1 rd-,r1 #ah4      ,lothair1    
,king of ,lombards and ,dungal1 #f n4   
,lucan cited1 #di1 #bbi n4      ,lucian 
cited1 #ajh1 #aji1 #aea4      ,lucifer1 
in ,fis ,adamnin1 #ch2      in ,vision  
of ,fursa1 #afg2      in ,vision of     
,tundale1 #bbj4      ,lucretius on      
,tartarus doctrine1 #aji4      ,lug1    
,irish god1 #aba4      ,lugh mac        
,cethlenn1 dn of1 #ace1 #ahc n4         
,lying excluded from ,otherworld1       
#ada-b1 #adc4        ,macbeth1 parallel 
in ,conn legend1 #ace4      ,machutus1  
,st41 and whale1 #bjh n4      ,mac      
,conglinne1 ,vision of1 #abc4           
,maelduin's ,curach1 ,voyage of1 #abj1  
#aej sqq4      ,magh ,breg1 #h2      ,m4
 ,mell1 #aeb1 #ahc1 #ahg1 #ahi2      ,m4
 ,mon1 #abe2      ,m4 ,mr1 #abb1 #adh   
n42      ,m4 ,rin1 #abd4      ,malachi1 
,st41 #be4      ,malignant powers in    
,irish myth1 #abi1 #acj4      ,malo1    
,st41 see #8,machutus4'      ,manannn   
mac ,lr1 #aba1 #abc1 #abh1 #adc1 #adf1  

#adg1 #aef2      converted into the     
,devil1 #bjh4      ,mangan1 ,j4 ,c1     
quoted1 #adh n4      ,marcus1 author of 
,vision of ,tundale1 #bab1 #bbe4        
,marianus ,scotus1 #f n4      ,martyrs1 
precedence of1 in ,paradise1 #ci1 #ahh4 
,mary1 ,b4 ,v41 ,vision at death of1 #i1
 #ajg1 #aha2      in ,paradise1 #ca1    
#ahe4      ,median conquests1 effects   
of1 #gj4      ,megasthenes1 possible    
borrowings from1 #aea4      ,mercy1     
leaning of ,irish divines towards1      
#bja-b4      ,meru1 ,mount1 #ha4        
,metempsychosis1 see #8,rebirth4'       
,meyer1 ,prof4 ,kuno1 ed4 of the ,cin   
,adamnin1 #ah2      of the ,voyage of   
,bran1 ,son of ,febal1 #di n41 #abb n41 
#abc n42      of the ,tochmarc ,emere1  
#acj n42      of the ,echtra ,nerai1    
#acb n42      of the ,baile ,mongin1    
#adj n42      of the ,vision of ,laisrn1
 #afi2      of ,la ,vision de ,tondale1 
#bab n42      of the ,vision of ,mac    
,conglinne1 #abc n4      ,michael1      
,archangel1 #ce1 #ie1 #ahb1 #aie1 #bcj4 

,mider1 ,irish god1 #aba1 #abb1 #abc1   
#abh1 #adh n4      ,miller1 ,demon1     
#aeb-c1 #afb4      ,milton cited1 #agc  
n41 #bja1 #bjc1 #bjd4      ,mithra cult 
in ,roman ,empire1 #ge n4      ,moling1 
,st41 and ,boruma tribute1 #ad1 #ae4    
,mongn1 #adj n41 #adg n41 #aec4         
,moore1 ,thomas1 quoted1 #aei n4        
,moran1 ,dr41 ,ada ,sancti ,brendani1   
#bjg n4      ,mrdil of ,ireland1 #ah2   
,adamnn at1 ib4      ,morgan1 #acf1     
#ach4      ,moses1 contest between      
,michael and ,satan for1 #ga4           
,muirgheas mac ,pidin ui ,maoilchanaire1
 translator of ,visio ,tundali1         
#bac n4      ,mundus of ,latin towns1   
#afa n4      ,murias1 #abb4      ,music1
 ,irish susceptibility to1 #abd1 #aci1  
#ada1 #aei1 #aha1 #ahi1 #aia1 #bdg4     
,musical cords to ,st4 ,peter's vessel1 
#bi4      ,musical stones1 #ca1 #abe1   
#aha1 #ahg4      ,mysteries1 ,greek1 #ea
 sqq42      origin1 #eb-c2              
,eleusinian1 #ea-b1 #ed-f2      ,orphic 
,pythagorean1 #eb-d2      orgiastic1    

#ee2      connected with ,demeter1 #eb2 
,dionysos1 #ei2      ,pythagoras1 #eb-c2
      benefits of initiation1 #eb1      
#eh-fj2      moral teaching1 #ea-b1     
#ed-f2      doctrine of future life1 #eb
 sqq42      of rebirth1 #ed2            
survival of1 #ajh4        ,nature1      
,irish love of1 #aeh-i1 #bdg4           
,neid1 #abf n4      ,neo-,platonism and 
the ,east1 #gf sqq42      in            
interpretation of ,greek myths1 #ea4    
,nera1 adventures of1 #acb4      ,niamh 
,cinn ir1 #acc4      ,nicodemus1 gospel 
of1 #ig1 #aja4      ,norse1 possible    
,irish loans from1 #aca1 #aeb4          
,north1 region of evil powers1 #bjj4    
,northumbria1 ,christianised from       
,ireland1 #bcc n4      ,numenius1 #gg4  
,nutt1 ,mr4 ,alfred1 ,essay on the      
,irish ,vision of the ,happy ,otherworld
        and the ,celtic ,doctrine of    
,rebirth1 #di n41 #ib n41 #aai n41      
#abb n41 #abc n41 #aca n41 #aej1 #aee1  
#afb n41 #agb n42      ,studies on the  
,legend of the ,holy ,grail1 #abd n41   

#aca n41          #aej n41 #aef n42     
on the ,greek and ,irish ,elysium1 #di  
n42      on the ,greek mysteries1 #ec   
n41 #ei n42      on the ,greek sources  
of ,christian eschatology1 #ib n42      
on the ,phnix legend1 #aee2      on the 
date of the voyage of ,snedgus and ,mac 
,ragla1 #afb n42          #e n41 #bh4   
,oath of ,irish ,kings1 #ba4            
,o',curry1 ,manners and ,customs of the 
,ancient ,irish1 #aag n41 #abb n42      
,,ms4 ,materials of ,irish ,history1    
#afb n4      ,o',donnells1 the1 of ,tr  
,conaill1 #g4      ,o',donoghue1 ,rev4  
,denis1 ,brendaniana1 #bjg n41 #bjh n4  
,oengus g1 #aba1 #abb4                  
,o',flaherty1 ,ogygia1 #ad4             
,o',grady1 ,dr4 ,standish ,hayes1 ,silva
 ,gadelica1 #ad1 #ae1 #bab n4           
,o',hanlon1 ,very ,rev4 ,canon1 ,lives  
of the ,irish ,saints1 #d n41 #ad1 #ah1 
#aff n4      ,oisn1 #acc4      ,orpheus1
 #di1 and see #8,mysteries'2            
,orpheus myth in ,ireland1 #abg4        
,otherworld1 visits to1 in ,greek myths1

 #di2      ,chalda1 #fi2      in ,irish 
traditions1 #aba1 #acc2      ,connla1   
#abf2      ,cuchulainn1 #abg sqq42      
,conn1 #acd sqq42      rt1 #ach sqq42   
,cormac1 #aci sqq42      and see        
#8,vision1' #8,imram4'      ----        
,descriptions1 ,chaldan1 #fi1 #gj1 #aic2
      ,avestan1 #ga sqq42      ,greek1  
#di sqq42      in ,book of ,enoch1 #if2 
in ,apocalypse of ,peter1 #aje2      in 
ancient ,ireland1 #abb-f1 #abh-cj1      
#acc-e1 #acg-dd2      and see           
#8,elysium1' #8,paradise1' #8,hell1'    
#8,heaven1' #8,purgatory4'      ----    
,orthodox character of the              
ecclesiastical legend1 #aji2      of    
minor importance in the ,western        
,church1 #aaj4      ,owen1 ,vision of1  
#bcd sqq42      ,dante parallels1 #bce4 
,ozanam1 ,dante et la ,philosophie      
catholique1 #bbi n4        ,paradise1   
,hebrew ideas in ,christian1 #aji2      
described in ,book of ,enoch1 #if2      
,vision of ,esdras1 #ih2                
,revelation1 #ajj n42      ,apocalypse  

of ,peter1 #aje2      by ,st4 ,gregory1 
#aaa2      in ,fis ,adamnin1 #bi1 #cj2  
in the ,irish legendary1 #aeg1 #bba1    
#bcc2      ,paradise of ,birds1 #baa2   
,terrestrial ,paradise in ,irish        
legends1 #aec-d1 #afb-c1 #baj1 #bcf2    
and see #8,elysium1' #8,heaven4'        
,paradiso1 see #8,dante4'      ,parnell1
 ,mr41 and the return myth1 #afd n4     
,paschal controversy1 #i1 #aj1 #be4     
,patrick1 ,st41 #de1 #aac1 #ahb n41     
#bbc2      pagan prophecy of his coming1
 #ace2      hymn of1 #ba4               
,patrick's ,purgatory1 ,st41 #abj1 #bbe1
 #bcd sqq42      closed1 #bcg2          
doubtful origin1 #bcf2      popularity  
of legend1 #bcd1 #bcg2      influence on
 ,european literature1 #bcg2      ,dante
 parallels1 #bce1 #bch4      ,paul1     
,st41 ,vision of1 #bi1 #ii2             
,revelation of1 #ajf1 #aha2      medival
 vision of1 #bjb n41 #bcj sqq42         
authority for ,purgatory1 #aib n42      
guide to the ,otherworld1 #ahb n4       
,pavia1 ,university founded by ,dungal1 

#f n4      ,perceval 7,peredur7         
romances1 parallels to ,irish legends1  
#aca1 #aej1 #aed1        #aef1 #ahd n4  
,persian eschatology1 see #8,avesta4'   
,peter1 ,st41 ,vision of1 #bh1 #aha2    
on purification of the world by fire1   
#ii2      ,apocalypse of1 #aje2         
authority for ,purgatory1 #aib2         
guide to the ,otherworld1 #ahb n4       
,peter1 ,spanish monk1 ,vision of1 #aaa4
      ,petrus ,hibernicus1 #f n4        
,philip1 ,roman ,emperor1 #de1 #df n4   
,philo ,judus1 #gf sqq4      ,phnix     
legend1 #he1 #aed-e1 #ahi4      ,pillar 
on enchanted island1 #aea1 #afj1 #baj4  
,pindar on ,elysium1 #ej n42      cited1
 #aba n4      ,plato and the ,otherworld
 legend1 #ef2      ,vision of ,er1 #ef  
sqq41 #aaa2      eschatology of1 #eg-h2 
on the mysteries1 #eh2      rebirth1    
#eg-h4      ,plutarch1 ,vision of       
,thespesios1 #fj sqq41 #aaa1 #aah n41   
#bcc n42      eschatology of1 #fa sqq42 
the mysteries1 #ajh2      ,tartarus1    
#aji2      early ,neo-,platonist1 #gg2  

,on ,isis and ,osiris1 #hh4      ,porter
 of ,hades1 #ce1 #fi1 #hd1 #aic4        
,promise1 sacredness of1 in ,ireland1   
#adj4      ,psychopompos1 see #8,guide  
to ,otherworld4'      ,ptolemy ,i41 #hh2
      ,philadelphia1 ib42               
,euergetes1 ib4      ,pitika sea1 #gb1  
#he1 #ahd4      ,pundgel1 ,australian   
divine bird1 #gc n4      ,punishments in
 ,otherworld1 see #8,hell1'             
#8,tartarus'2      ,purgatorial1 see    
#8,purgatory'2      temporary1 #ce1 #ci1
 #dj1 #da1 #di1 #bja-b2      classified1
 #dj sqq41 #aje1 #aga1 #agd1 #aii sqq41 
#bca2      respited periodically1 #dc1  
#afj1 #afa1 #bcb4      ,purgatory3 idea 
in ,plato1 #eg2      in ,plutarch1      
#fa-d2      theories of the ,rabbis1    
#ij1 #aic-d2      in ,book of ,enoch1   
#aid2      development in the early     
,church1 #aib-d2      in the ,fis       
,adamnin1 #cf1 #agh-i1 #aic-d2      in  
,irish legends1 #afj1 #bae sqq41 #bbe1  
#bbg1 #bcc1 #bce2      in the ,vision of
 ,alberic1 #bci2      ,st4 ,patrick's1  

see #8,patrick's ,purgatory1 ,st4'      
,pythagoras and the mysteries1 #eb-c4   
,rabbis1 see #8,jews4'      ,ragozin1   
,m4 de1 ,chalda1 cited1 #fi n42         
,media cited1 #ga n4      ,ramsay1 ,sir 
,w4 ,m41 on the ,greek mysteries1 #ee-f4
      ,raphoe1 ,mrdil at1 #ah4          
,rebirth doctrine1 in ,plato1 #ed1      
#eg-h2      ,plutarch1 #fb1 #fd2        
,virgil1 #fe2      rejected by the      
,persians1 #hj2      ,chaldans1 ib42    
,egyptians1 #ic2      ,jews1 #ib-c4     
,reeves1 ,bishop1 ed4 ,adamnn's ,life of
 ,st4 ,columba1 #d n42      cited1 #g   
n41 #aa4      ,renouf1 ,m4 ,le ,page1 on
 the ,egyptian theory of the future     
life1        #hi n41 #ic4      ,respite1
 periodical1 of the damned1 #dc1 #afj1  
#afa1 #bcb4      ,return myth of        
departed heroes1 #afc4      ,revelation1
 ,book of1 #he1 #ih n41 #ii1 #ajj n41   
#afc n41 #ahc1 #ahd1        #aij n41    
#aie1 #aih1 #bje4      ,rhapsodical     
description of ,paradise1 #dc1 #gc1     
#agd1 #bje-f1 #baj4      ,rhys1         

,professor1 on ,bran1 #abc n4           
,rivers of ,hell1 #dc1 #aea2      four1 
#dc1 #bjd4      ,rohde1 ,professor1 on  
the ,greek mysteries1 #ec4      ,ronn1  
#g4      ,ronat1 #g1 #bj4      ,ross1   
men of1 #afb-c1 #aia4      ,ruadn1 ,st41
 #ah1 #bd4        ,sabbatarianism in    
early ,irish ,church1 #afa4             
,saints1 ,land of1 in ,fis ,adamnin1    
#cj2      three orders of ,irish1 see   
#8,ireland4'      ,saltair na ,rann     
cited1 #aad4      ,samoan ten ,heavens1 
#hc4      ,satan1 in ,fis ,adamnin1 #ch2
      in ,vision of ,fursa1 #afg2       
in ,vision of ,tundale1 #bbj2      in   
,voyage of ,st4 ,brendan1 #bjh4         
,sayce1 ,professor1 on ,chaldan         
eschatology1 #gj n41 #gb n41 #hb4       
,scathach1 realm of1 #acj4      ,scl ,li
 ,brtha1 #aga1 #bje n4      ,schrder1   
,sanct ,brandan1 #bjg n4      ,scone1   
stone of1 #acd4      ,sedulius1 #f n4   
,segda ,saerlabrad1 #acg-h1 #add-e4     
,segine1 ,abbot of ,iona1 #h4           
,seneca on ,tartarus doctrine1 #aji4    

,seppelli1 ,signor1 trans4 ,immanuel ben
 ,salamone1 #bdb n4      ,sereth1 #g4   
,serglige ,conchulaind1 #abg sqq4       
,seth1 journey to ,paradise1 #hd1 #ig4  
,seven1 favourite mystic number1 #hc2   
,heavens1 #ce1 #hc1 #hd1 #aib2          
walls of ,celestial ,city1 #cc1 #ahe2   
of ,ecbatana1 #cc2      ,hells of       
,rabbis1 #ij1 #aic2      ,chaldan       
,spirits of ,earth1 #gj1 #ha2           
,persian ,magnificent ,deities1 #ha2    
,amesha ,spentas1 #gh1 #ha2             
,philonic emanations1 #ha2              
,archangels1 #hd4      ,shakespeare     
cited1 #bja4      ,shammai1 school of1  
#ij1 #aid4      ,sheol1 #if1 #aia4      
,shepherd of ,hermas1 see #8,hermas4'   
,sibylline books1 #aja4      ,sibyls1   
medium of revelation1 #fg1 #ajd4        
,silvester1 ,pope1 #de4      ,sinbad1   
#aea1 #bjh n4      ,sliabh ,daidche1    
#bjh4      ,snedgus and ,mac ,ragla1    
#adg1 #afb sqq41 #ahd n4      ,soldier1 
,st4 ,gregory's vision of a1 #aaa4      
,soleus1 see #8,thespesios4'            

,somnium ,scipionis1 #fd1 #bbi n4       
,sorrows1 two1 of ,heaven1 #df1 #agd1   
#bje4      ,stephen1 ,vision of1 #aaj4  
,stoics and early ,empire1 #ia2         
destruction of world by fire1 #ia n4    
,stones1 vocal and musical1 #ca1 #abe1  
#ace1 #aha1 #ahg-h4      ,stokes1 ,dr4  
,g4 ,t41 ,ireland and the ,celtic       
,church1 #aad n41 #aae4      ---- ,dr4  
,whitley1 editor of ,fis ,adamnin1 #be1 
#cb n41 #ce n41        #dj n41 #da n41  
#db n41 #dd n41 #dg n41 #ahh n41 #aif   
n42      on date of1 #be2      ,saltair 
na ,rann1 #aad n42      ,adventures of  
,cormac1 #aci n42      ,the ,irish      
,ordeals1 etc41 #abj n42      ,voyage of
 ,maelduin's ,curach1 #aea n42          
,voyage of the ,sons of ,ua ,corra1 #aeg
 n42      ,imrum ,snedghusa agus ,mic   
,ragla1 #afb n42      ,a ,middle ,irish 
,homily1 #agc n42      ,latin life of   
,st4 ,brendan1 #bjg n41 #baj n4         
,sunday respite of the damned1 #dc1     
#afj1 #afa1 #bca4      ,swallowing of   
guilty by demons1 #ch1 #ci1 #hi1 #aie-f1

 #aih1 #baf1 #bah1 #bbj1        #bbh1   
#bca1 #bce4      ,syria1 ,hellenism in1 
#fh2      ,jewish colonies1 #hf2        
and ,irish ,church1 #aac-ae4            
,tadg mac ,cin1 adventures of1 #abj1    
#adh n41 #bab n4      ,tin ,bo ,aingen1 
#acb4      ,tara1 ,synod of1 #ah2       
abandonment of1 ib4      ,tartarus1 in  
,plato1 #eg2      ,aristophanes1 #ei2   
,plutarch1 #fb2      ,virgil1 #fe-f2    
under ,roman ,empire1 #aji2             
contribution to ,christian ,hell1 ib42  
none in ,pagan ,ireland1 #abi2          
kindred conceptions1 #abi1 #acj1 #aci4  
,tertullian1 precedence awarded to      
martyrs1 #ahh4      ,tethra1 god of     
,irish ,underworld1 #aba1 #abf1 #adc4   
,theophilus1 ,sergius1 and ,hyginus1    
voyage of1 #ahd n4      ,theseus1 #di4  
,thespesios1 ,vision of1 #fj sqq4       
,throne of ,deity1 #ca1 #if1 #aeh1 #ahc 
sqq42      parallels in myths of        
,chalda1 #gj2      ,ireland1 #abb1 #acg1
 #ahc4      ,tigernach cited1 #g n41    
#ah4      ,timotheus of ,alexandria1    

#hh4      ,tinne1 #g1 #bi4      ,tr     
,aedha1 #g n4      ,tr na n-g1 #acc1    
#acf2      ,tr ,tairngire1 #abc sqq41   
#abf1 #acf1 #aci1 #ada1 #adb1 #add1     
#adh1 #baj4      ,tonsure1 ,irish1 #i4  
,torach1 cook of1 #aee4      ,tradition1
 historical value of ,irish1 #af1 #ag4  
,transitus ,mari1 #ajg4      ,tree of   
,life1 #df1 #gj1 #ge1 #hd1 #if1 #ih1    
#aeg1 #afc1 #agd1 #agi1 #ahd1 #ahi1     
#aij n41 #bbd2      parallels in ,irish 
myth1 #abd1 #abh1 #acd1 #acg1 #adj1     
#aed-e1 #aij4      ,tree1 public1 in    
,ireland1 #acd2      in the ,italian    
republics1 #ace n4      ,trinity1 the1  
in medival visions1 #ahh2      in ,irish
 visions1 #cg1 #afg1 #ahh4      ,trionfo
 del ,vaglio1 ,il1 cited1 #aec4         
,tuatha ,d ,danann1 #abb1 #abf1 #abg1   
#abi1 #acd1 #acf1 #ahc n4      ,tuathal 
,techtmar1 #ad4      ,tundale1 ,vision  
of1 #bab sqq42      influence on foreign
 literature1 #bbd2      compared with   
,fis ,adamnin1 #bbe2      with ,dante1  
#bbe-i4      ,turpin1 ,archbishop1 #adf 

n4        ,ua ,corra1 ,voyage of the    
sons of1 #abj1 #adg1 #aeg sqq41 #ahc4   
,ui ,nill1 the1 #ae4        ,vara of    
,yima1 #gb1 #gc1 #he1 #add1 #ahi2       
suggested derivation from ,deluge       
tradition1 #gh n4      ,varuna and      
,tethra1 #aba n4      ,veil before the  
,throne1 #cj1 #ahg2      over mystical  
islands1 #aeb1 #afj1 #ahg1 #baj4        
,venddd cited1 #ga n41 #gb n41 #gc n41  
#gd1 #gf n41 #gi n41 #hj4      ,victor1 
,st4 ,patrick's angel1 #ahb n4          
,virgil and the vision of the           
,otherworld1 #dh1 #fd sqq42             
descriptions1 #fe sqq42      follows    
received authorities1 #fe2              
agreement with ,aristophanes1 ib42      
eclecticism1 #ff2      artistic point of
 view1 #ff2      received as prophet by 
the ,church1 #fg2      influence on     
development of the legend1 ib42      on 
,dante1 ib42      cited1 #aeb1 #agc n41 
#aid1 #bjc n41 #bji n4      ,vision of  
,otherworld1 wide diffusion of the      
legend1 #a sqq42      in ,greece1 #ef   

sqq41 #fj sqq42      ,rome1 #dh1 #fd    
sqq42      lines of development1 #c1    
#dh2      popularity with post-captivity
 ,jews1 #id2      in early ,church1 #ih 
sqq42      survival in homilies1        
folk-tales1 etc41 #aaa1 #aad2           
special developments in ,ireland1 #bc1  
#aba2      ,irish acquaintance with     
earlier visions1 #aaf2      ,irish      
vision-writers on the ,continent1       
#bjf-g2      their influence on         
,european literature1 #bbd1 #bdb sqq42  
on ,dante1 #bdc-e2      tendency to     
increase in horror1 #bbe-f2             
popularity in later ,middle ,ages1 #bbi1
 #bdj2      diminished importance and   
increased number1 #bci sqq4             
,visions of ,adamnn1 ,er1 ,thespesios1  
,enoch1 ,esdras1 ,apostles1 ,hermas1    
,st4 ,peter1 ,st4 ,paul1 ,st4 ,colm     
,cille1 ,st4 ,fursa1 ,st4 ,laisrn1      
,tundale1        ,drihthelm1 ,owen1     
,alberic1 see #8,adamnn1' etc4          
,vohu ,mano and ,neo-,platonic ,logos1  
#gh n4        ,wagner1 ,a41 editor of   

,vision of ,tundale1 #bac n4            
,waters of ,life1 #fi1 #hd1 #ih1 #aij n4
      ,west1 abode of the dead1 #bi1    
#if4      ,whale taken for island1 #bjh4
      ,windisch1 ,professor1 editor of  
,fis ,adamnin1 #bg1 #cd n41 #dg n42     
date of ,f4 ,a41 #be2      ed4 ,serglige
 ,conchulaind1 #abg n4      ,women1     
status of1 in ,ireland1 #ai2            
military service1 #ah-bj2               
emancipation1 #ah1 #bj-bc2              
liability for crimes1 #ba4              
,world-,sea1 #gb1 #he4      ,wright1    
,st4 ,patrick's ,purgatory1 #bbi n4     
,yama1 ,indian god of dead1 #bi n41 #gd1
 #aba4      ,yehl1 divine bird of       
,thlinkeets1 #gc n4      ,yima1 ,persian
 god of dead1 #gb sqq41 #he1 #aba4      
,zimmer1 ,professor1 on date of the     
,voyage of ,maelduin's ,curach1 #aej1   
#aeg n4      ,zoroastrianism1 see       
#8,avesta4'      ,zu1 ,babylonian       
culture-bird1 #gc n4    ,printed by ,t4 
and ,a4 ,,constable1 ,printers to ,his  
,majesty at the  ,edinburgh ,university 

,press