Manchán of Min Droichit ( Manchéne, ''Manchianus'' died c. 652) was an Irish scholar and

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Biography

Manchán was an Irish scholar and abbot of , now Mondrehid, in the barony of Upper Ossory, County Offaly. His name is also attached to Dissert Gallen, Co. Laois.Breen, "Manchán, Manchianus, Manchíne" Manchán twice makes his appearance in Latin sources as a scholar whose authority still mattered after his death. First, he is probably the Manchianus, called ''pater'' and ''sapiens'', who is named by an anonymous Irishman in his preface to the '' De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae'' ('On the miraculous things in sacred scripture'), written in 655 and so shortly after Manchán's death.Ó Cróinín, ''Early medieval Ireland'', pp. 187–8. The author, who uses the ''nom de plume'' Augustine and is for this reason known today as the Irish Pseudo-Augustine, appears to have been a pupil of Manchán as well as of one

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

. Second, Manchán may be the 'M., doctor noster' who is cited in a Hiberno-Latin commentary on the

Catholic Epistles The catholic epistles (also called the general epistles) are seven epistles of the New Testament. Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the catholic epistles are: Naming The use of the word ''catholic'' in the term catholic' ...

for his exegetical views on the

Epistle of James The Epistle of James is a Catholic epistles, general epistle and one of the 21 epistles (didactic letters) in the New Testament. It was written originally in Koine Greek. The epistle aims to reach a wide Jewish audience. It survives in manusc ...

. This anonymous work is uniquely preserved in a manuscript now held at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

(Germany), but once in the possession of Reichenau Abbey. The glosses also cite a number of 7th-century Irish scholars, including Laidcenn mac Buith Bannaig, Breccanus, Banbán and Bercanus mac Áed, who are known to have been associated with

Cumméne Fota Cumméne Fota or Fada, anglicised Cummian (''fl''. ''c''. 591 – 12 November 661 or 662), was an Irish bishop and ''fer léignid'' ( lector) of ''Cluain Ferta Brénainn'' (Clonfert). He was an important theological writer in the early to mid ...

(Cummianus). He is probably the Manchan referenced as "" in the diocese of Ossory, now St. Munchin's Church, who is claimed to be ''son of Moenacli'', according to the 'Book of Lenister'. The Manchín

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

commemorated on 2 January in probably identifies him, with this

shared by the likely identical ''Manchan of Coolcashin'', and the contemporary Mainchín of Luimnech, whose festival is otherwise recorded on 29 December.

Death

The death of Manchán falls between 648 and 652 according to the

Irish Annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

- *

Annals of Clonmacnoise The ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'' () are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from prehistory to 1408. The work is sometimes known as ''Mageoghagan's Book'', after its tr ...

"A.D. 648, Maincheni, Abbot of Meanadrochit, died". *

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

"A.D. 649, Manchinus abbot of Menadrochatt, died". *

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

"". *

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

"''A.D. 652, The falling asleep of Manchéne, abbot of Monadrehid''".

Notes

Primary sources

* Retrieved 6 February 2010. * * *

Secondary sources

* * * *

Biography

Death

See also

Notes

Primary sources

Secondary sources

Further reading