Conaing Ua Beigléighinn, Irish

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, died 1128. The

Annals of The Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

, ''sub anno'' 1128, state that Conaing Ua Beigléighinn,

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Ceanannus, died in this year. Ua Beigléighinn was a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

in what is now

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. At the time, the abbey possessed the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...

. He was the 43rd

Coarb A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish: , ), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval Celtic Church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears interchangeable with " erenac ...

or successor of Saint

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

, becoming abbot in 1117. Conaing Ua Beigléighinn may have been the founder of the surname Ó Beigléighinn; the surname means ''little (medical) scholar'' - the honourable title “Fer Léighinn” or “Vir lectionis” was a title of bestowed upon monks for their teaching of penmanship - denoting that he was a descendant of a little scholar of Kells Abbey, a scholar, who may have been a previous Abbot at Kells Abbey. The surname is now rendered as Beglin.

References

* http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID= * http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/ 12th-century Irish abbots 1128 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-reli-bio-stub

See also

References