Cú Chuimne

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Cú Chuimne († 748 ) was a monk of the Iona Monastery . He is associated with two works. One of the works is the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis , the most important collection of canon law of the early Middle Ages, of which he is considered to be co-editor. The other work is the hymn Cantemus in omni die , the oldest known hymn in Latin dedicated to the Virgin Mary .

As Rudolf Thurneysen found out, Cú Chuimne is named together with Rubin von Dairinis in a colophon as the author of Hibernensis. Since he is significantly younger than Rubin and was also mentioned in second place in the colophon, it is partly assumed that he published the later version of the text. In any case, due to the similarity of the style to his hymn, the preamble of the text, written around 735, can be traced back to Cú Chuimne.

A characteristic of both his preamble and his hymn is the combination of a linguistically well-made text with various numerical codings or harmonic proportions from music theory that are neither intrusive nor artificial. The hymn consists of 26 lines with 15 syllables each, four lines with 8 syllables and a final amen. These are (with or without amen) 30 or 31 lines, one for each day of the month. Since the first 26 lines are to be sung twice, according to an attached note, there is a 15-syllable line for each week of the year. If everything is sung together, including the doubling, the hymn to be performed is 365 words, one for each day of the year. Comparable codes can be found in the preamble, which indicate the name of the author and the year in which the text was created.

In the obituaries of the contemporary annals he is honored as a sage and in some of them his somewhat unusual life is given an old Irish poem. In one version, the first stanza is attributed to his former abbot Adomnán , who died in 704. The second stanza is placed in Cú Chuimne's mouth in response:

Old Irish version: German translation:

Cu-Chuimne ro leg suthe co drumne;
alleth aile ara ta, ro leic ara chaillecha.

Cu-Chuimne ro leg suthe co drumne;
alleth aile ara ta, legfaid, leicfid caillecha

Cu-Chuimne studied wisdom to the first;
he left the other half that is left for the sake of his nuns.

Cu-Chuimne studied wisdom to the first;
the other half that is left he will study, he will leave the nuns.

The Ulster annals attribute the poem to Cú Chuimne's foster mother:

Old Irish version: German translation:

Cu Chuimne
Ro legh suithi co druimne,
A l-leth n-aill h-iaratha
Ro leici ar chaillecha.
Ando Coin Cuimne ro-mboi,
im-rualaid de conid soi,
ro leic caillecha ha faill,
ro leig al-aill a rith-m-boi.

Cu-Chuimne
studied wisdom to the first;
he left the other half that is
left for the sake of his nuns.
What was accused of Cu-Chuimne has gone
from him, so that he is a wise man;
he neglected the nuns
and studied what was left over.

Because of this way of life, it is believed, it was not included in the older martyriologies. His feast day is October 8th.

swell

literature

  • Rudolf Thurneysen: To the Irish cannon collection. In: Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie , Volume vi, 1908, pp. 1–5.
  • James F. Kenney : The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: Ecclesiastical. Columbia University Press, 1929. An expanded version was published by Four Courts Press in 1997, ISBN 1-85182-115-5 . (The origin and authors of the hibernensis are discussed here on pp. 248 and 249. The hymn is discussed on p. 269.)
  • David Howlett: Cú Chuimne's hymn Cantemus in omni die. Fourth text analysis, pp. 19-30, from: Five Experiments in Textual Reconstruction and Analysis. In: Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland. Volume 9, 1995, pp. 1-50.
  • David Howlett: The Prologue to the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis. In: Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland. Volume 17/18, 2004, pp. 144-149.

Remarks

  1. In the annals the year of death is given as 747. However, since the year numbers from the annals are subject to errors and shifts, a correction is necessary, which was carried out according to the tables by Daniel P. Mc Carthy. See The Chronology of the Irish Annals . From: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Year 1998, Volume 98C, pp. 203-255. The article and the corresponding tables on the web
  2. See Thurneysen.
  3. See p. 781 in Ann Buckley: Music in Ireland to c.1500 . From: Prehistoric and Early Ireland from the A New History of Ireland series , Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-821737-4 , pp. 744-810.
  4. See Thurneysen; Howlett 2004, p. 149.
  5. See Howlett 2004, pp. 148-149.
  6. See Howlett, 1995, p. 30: The art of Cantemus in omni die is both craftsmanly and unobtrusive.
  7. See Howlett, 2004, pp. 148-149.
  8. See U747.5, T747.6. Here he is called Cú Chuimne sapiens .
  9. See M742.7, Thurneysen.
  10. M742.7 in the transcription of Thurneysen
  11. Thurneysen, p. 3. The spelling has been carefully adjusted.
  12. First here means middle
  13. As an alternative to "Nonnen", Thurneysen also offers "Weiblein".
  14. U747.5
  15. Thurneysen, p. 3. The spelling has been carefully adjusted.
  16. See Thurneysen, p. 3. Kenney, p. 270, footnote 358. Kenney mentions October 7th.