undertaken, and at one time it seems almost to have become a rule not to engage in battle until their opinion as to the merits of the contest had been obtained. In the story of the battle of Kilmashoge, as related by the Four Masters under the year 917, the soul friend plays much the same part as would have been taken by one of the old Hebrew prophets. The Irish leader, Neal Glunduff, was incited to attack the Danish invaders by his soul friend, who prophesied victory, accompanied the army into the field, and when the fortunes of war were going against his countrymen, refused to give Neal a horse to carry him away from the battle.
All these instances, and many more that might be quoted, show us how different the soul friend was from a confessor. The office was simply what the name implied, and was very far indeed from carrying with it the ideas of auricular confession and priestly absolution. As an example of the kind of confession that was really practised in the Irish Church, and the doctrine of absolution that was preached, we may take the story of Fechnus, as related by Adamnan: 'He (Fechnus) confessed his sins in the presence of all who were there. The saint then, shedding tears likewise, said to him, "Arise, my son, and be comforted. The sins which thou hast committed are forgiven, because, as it is written, a contrite and humble heart God does not despise."'[1]
It is a question of considerable difficulty to determine how far the ancient Irish Church succeeded in making its influence felt on the people in general. The monastic form, while in one way a source of
- ↑ Adamnan, Life of Columba, i. 30. The verse from Psalm li. 17, as here quoted, differs from the Vulgate in having spernit instead of despicies.
