Page:The ancient Irish church.djvu/96

 that she might be deprived of it; from which time she became remarkably plain. Probably this simply means that she was disfigured by an illness such as small-pox, and was thus led to dedicate herself to a religious life. At all events, she was one of the earliest converts, and for a time became the companion of St. Patrick, whom she accompanied in his preaching tours through the country. Eventually, she founded the monastic establishment at Kildare, which, like the others of that age, consisted of both sexes living together, and bound by the same rules. Having erected her monastery 'on the sure foundations of faith,' it soon became 'the head of nearly all the Irish churches, and the pinnacle towering above all the monasteries of the Scots, whose jurisdiction spread through the whole Hibernian land from sea to sea.'

After a time, she reflected that she ought 'to provide with prudent care regularly in all things for the souls of her people,' and came to the conclusion that 'she could not be without a high priest, to consecrate churches and to settle the ecclesiastical degrees in them." Accordingly, after a time a bishop, who was also a worker in brass, was admitted to the community; but he became subject to the abbess in the same way as in some other places the bishop was subject to the abbot. Sometimes there was more than one bishop at Kildare. As far as we can judge, the establishment resembled in most respects the ordinary monasteries around them. There was the same entertaining of distinguished strangers and the coming and going of visitors; the same ceremony of washing the feet was observed,