Editing Crom Cruach (section)

== Literary references ==

According to an Irish ''[[dinsenchas]]'' ("place-lore") poem in the 12th century [[Book of Leinster]], Crom Cruach's [[cult image]], consisting of a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone figures, stood on [[Magh Slécht]] ("the plain of prostration") (pronounced Moy Shlokht)<ref name=Isaac>[https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/st-patrick-paganism-ireland Isaac, Ali. "The intersection of Saint Patrick and paganism in Ireland", Irish Central, February 16, 2020]</ref> in [[County Cavan]], and was propitiated with first-born sacrifice in exchange for good yields of milk and grain. Crom Cruach is described as a wizened god, hidden by mists,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/metricaldindsenc04royauoft/metricaldindsenc04royauoft_djvu.txt Gwynn, Edward. ''The metrical Dindsenchas'', vol. XI, Dublin, Hodges, Figgis and Co., Ltd., 1924]</ref> and  is said to have been worshipped since the time of [[Érimón]]. An early [[High King of Ireland|High King]], [[Tigernmas]], along with three quarters of his army, is said to have died while worshipping Crom on [[Samhain]] eve, but worship continued until the cult image was destroyed by St.&nbsp;Patrick with a [[sledgehammer]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=E. |editor-last=Gwynn |others=E. Gwynn (ed & trans) |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500D/text007.html |volume=4 |at=poem&nbsp;7 |postscript=;}} <br />{{cite book |title=Annals of the Four Masters |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text006.html |id=M3656 |postscript=;}}  <br />{{cite book |first=Geoffrey |last=Keating |author-link=Geoffrey Keating |title=History of Ireland |at=2.25 |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text035.html}}</ref>

This incident figures prominently in medieval legends about St.&nbsp;Patrick, although it does not appear in his own writings, nor in the two 7th&nbsp;century biographies by [[Muirchu moccu Machtheni|Muirchu]] and [[Tírechán]].<ref name=Bieler-1979>{{cite book |editor-first=Ludwig |editor-last=Bieler |others=Ludwig Bieler (ed. & trans.) |year=1979 |title=The Patrician Texts in the Book of Armagh |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies}}</ref> However [[J. B. Bury|J.B. Bury]],<ref>{{cite journal |first=J.B. |last=Bury |year=1902–1904 |title=The itinerary of Patrick in Connaught, according to Tírechán |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature |volume=24 |page=156}}</ref> infers that there is a missing passage in Tírechán about Crom Cruaich; L. Bieler, who edited the two biographies,<ref name=Bieler-1979/> is non-committal on the point.

In the 9th&nbsp;century ''[[Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii|Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick]]'' the deity is called Cenn Cruach, and his cult image consists of a central figure covered with gold and silver, surrounded by twelve bronze figures. When Patrick approaches it he raises his [[crozier]], the central figure falls face-down, with the imprint of the crozier left in it, and the surrounding figures sink into the earth. The "demon" who inhabits the image appears, but Patrick curses him and casts him to hell.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=O'Leary |others=James O'Leary (ed & trans) |year=1880 |chapter=Tripartite Life |at=Part&nbsp;II |title=The Most Ancient Lives of St.&nbsp;Patrick |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18482/18482-h/18482-h.htm#chap0402}}</ref> [[Jocelin (Bishop of Glasgow)|Jocelin's]] 12th&nbsp;century ''Life and Acts of St.&nbsp;Patrick'' tells much the same story. Here the god is called Cenncroithi, interpreted as "the head of all gods", and when his image falls the silver and gold covering it crumble to dust, with the imprint of the crozier left on bare stone.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=O'Leary |others=James O'Leary (ed & trans) |year=1880 |chapter=The Life and Acts of St.&nbsp;Patrick by Jocelin |at=Chapter&nbsp;56 |title=The Most Ancient Lives of St.&nbsp;Patrick |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18482/18482-h/18482-h.htm#chap6056}}</ref>