As part of the historicizing corpus of seventh-century Irish writing, the Lives framed the narrative of the early saints as an effective weapon in contemporary political and ecclesiastical conflicts. Cogitosus's Life of Brigit, Muirch 's and T rech n's accounts of Saint Patrick, and Adomn n's Life of Columba created the understanding of the history of early Ireland that has endured to this day. How did the writers accomplish this through their...