On this day we celebrate the feast of St. Máel Ruain, Abbot and Bishop of Tallaght. He died at his monastery in 792.
Tallaght today is a south-western suburb of Dublin, and St Maelruain's Church, Church of Ireland, stands on the site of the 8th-century monastery.
For the latest scholarship on Máel Ruain, the monastery he founded, and the Céli Dé (Culdees), see Céli Dé in Ireland: Monastic Writing and Identity in the Early Middle Ages", by Westley Follett, Boydell & Brewer, 2006.
"The Céli Dé ['clients of God'], sometimes referred to as the Culdees, comprise the group of monks who first appeared in Ireland in the eighth century in association with St Máel Ruain of Tallaght. Although influential and important in the development of the monastic tradition in Ireland, they have been neglected in general histories. This book offers an investigation into the movement. Proceeding from an examination of ascetic practice and theory in early medieval Ireland, followed by a fresh look at the evidence most often cited in support of the prevailing theory of céli Dé identity, the author challenges the orthodox opinion that they were an order or movement intent upon monastic reform at a time of declining religious discipline. At the heart of the book is a manuscript-centred critical evaluation of the large corpus of putative céli Dé texts, offered as a means for establishing a more comprehensive assessment of who and what céli Dé were. Dr Follett argues that they are properly understood as the self-identified members of the personal retinue of God, in whose service they distinguished themselves from other monks and monastic communities in their personal devotion, pastoral care, Sunday observance, and other matters. A catalogue of céli Dé texts with manuscript references is provided in an appendix."
--from Boydell & Brewer's description of the book.
Click here to read "The Rule of the Céli Dé as given by Saint Maelrúain of Tallaght".
