Text and identities in the Synodus II S. Patricii

The tract known as the Synodus II S. Patricii is one of the earliest surviving canonical texts from Ireland. It has special significance as an early and important source of the Romani faction of the Irish Church. The work survives in two recognised versions, and, like many Irish canonical 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 relationships 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 canonical scholarship to appeal to a new audience.