Text and identities in the Synodus II S. Patricii

Abstract

The tract known as the Synodus II. S. Patricii is one of the earliest surviving canon law texts from Ireland. It has special signifiance as an early and important source of the "Romani" faction of the Irish Church. The work survives in two recensions, and like many Irish canon law texts, it has come to us in continental manuscripts only. In the past, the younger recension was considered to be the result of a confused continental scribe, not recognising the references to Irish circumstances. By exploring the relationship between the two recensions, and focusing on the meaning of the alterations, this article argues that the last recension was in fact the work of an early eighth-century Irish scholar, deliberately revising this particular sample of Irish Canon law scholarship to appeal to a new audience.