Cumianus

Cumianus (c. 641 – c.  736) was an Irish monk who became abbot of San Colombano di Bobbio around 715. He left Ireland as an old man. The intricately carved lid of his sarcophagus, containing a lengthy epitaph, was made by one Master John and commissioned by King Liutprand, King of the Lombards.

The inscription on the tomb reads as follows; it is written in rhythmic hexameters, a kind of hexameter in which word accent is taken into account rather than syllable length:


 * Hic sacra beati membra Cumiani solvuntur,
 * cuius coelum penetrans anima cum angelis gaudet.
 * iste fuit magnus dignitate, genere, forma.
 * hunc misit Scotia fines ad Italicos senem:
 * locatus Ebobio Domini constrictus amore,
 * ubi venerandi dogma Columbani servando
 * vigilans, jejunans, indefessus, sedulo orans
 * Olympiades quatuor uniusque curriculo anni
 * sic vixit feliciter, ut felix modo credatur,
 * mitis, prudens, pius, fratribus pacificus cunctis.
 * huic aetatis anni fuerunt nonies deni,
 * lustrum quoque unum mense(n)sque quatuor simul.
 * at pater egregie potens intercessor existe
 * pro gloriosissimo Luitprando rege, qui tuum
 * pretioso lapide tympum decoravit devotus,
 * sit ut manifestum, almum ubi tegitur corpus.


 * "Here lie the sacred limbs of Cumian;
 * whose soul, entering heaven, rejoices with the angels.
 * He was great in dignity, nobility, and beauty.
 * Ireland sent him as an old man to the lands of Italy:
 * located in Bobbio, constrained by love of the Lord,
 * where, by preserving the teaching of the venerable Columban,
 * keeping watch, fasting, tireless, constantly praying,
 * for four olympiads and the course of one year
 * he lived so felicitously that he is believed to be only fortunate,
 * gentle, wise, pious, peaceful to all brothers.
 * He lived for 90 years
 * and one period of five years and four months altogether.
 * But, most excellent Father, be a powerful intercessor
 * for the most glorious King Liutprand, who
 * has devotedly decorated your tomb with precious stone,
 * so that it may be manifest where your kindly body is buried."