RAHAN MONASTIC SITE - Offaly County Council

2.0 UNDERSTANDING THE PLACEThe Rule of St Carthage or the Rule of Mo-Chuta 10This rule was edited from six medieval manuscripts and was translated by Mac Eclaise in 1910, providing one ofthe few documents that offers us an insight into the spiritual life of a ninth century monk. It is possible that thisrule was mistakenly associated with St Carthage as it dates from the ninth century. Originally known as the Ruleof Mo-Chuta, one of these manuscripts associated the rule with an ecclesiastic known as Fothad na Canóine fromthe monastery of Fathan in Donegal. 11 Whatever about its origins, the Rule of Mo-Chuta is a spiritual guide forthe conduct of the abbot, monk and king, all of whom were followers of Christ and their monastery. Below is ashort excerpt that deals with the responsibilities of the abbot of a monastery during the ninth century, and whichwould have applied to Rahan irrespective of the origins of this document.Of the Abbot of a Church:If you be the head man of a Church nobleis the power, better for you that you be justwho take the heirship of the king.If you are the head man of a Church noble isthe obligation, preservation of the rights ofthe Church from the small to the great.What Holy Church commands preach thenwith diligence; what you order to each onedo it yourself.As you love your own soul love the souls ofall. Yours the magnification of every good[and] banishment of every evil.Be not a candle under a bushel [Luke11:33]. Your learning without a cloud overit. Yours the healing of every host bothstrong and weak.Yours to judge each one according to gradeand according to deed; he will advise you atjudgement before the king.Yours to rebuke the foolish, to punishthe hosts, turning disorder into order[restraint] of the stubborn, obstinate,wretched.Plate 5. 15th century single light ogee-headed window in north wall of nave.27