THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 275
Sixty
years after the death of Saint Patrick another Irish saint, Columkill,
obtained this bell from the tomb of the former where it had ever since
lain on the Saint's breast, and by Columkill it was bestowed on Armagh
as a most precious relic. This bell is mentioned under the date 552 by
the compiler of the Annals of Ulster. A poem of a later date, though
still far back in the Dark Ages, speaks fondly of the bell, saying "
there shall be red gold round its borders," and many shall be the kings
who will treasure it, while woe is to be the portion of the person or
house or tribe that hides it away.
Armagh
suffered much and frequently from fires, as was indeed natural in a
village built entirely of wood as seems to have been the case during
the first centuries of its existence. In 1020 it was burnt to the
ground, all except the library alone. The steeple or round tower was
burned with its bells. And again in 1074, on the Tuesday after May Day,
it was burnt
