of opinion that the term Céle-dé was not a distinctive name borne uniformly by any one order, but a term of most various application--now borne by hermits, now by conventuals; now regulars, now seculars; now those bound by poverty, now those free to hold property. Even when they became relaxed and corrupt, they retained their ancient name. Speaking of the Kelidei of St. Andrew's in Scotland, Dr. Reeves believes that the estate of matrimony was no disqualification for the office of a Kelideus; while Van Hecke, the Bollandist (_Acta SS._ Octobr., tom. viii. p. 166, b), from the same passage of the _Historia_ draws the very opposite conclusion. When at last Céle-dé does become a distinctive term, it is only so as contrasting the old-fashioned Scotic monks with the children of mediaeval institutions. The name Céle-dé is taken by Toland, O'Reilly, and O'Curry, to mean "spouse of God", and to contain an allusion to the celibacy, the seclusion, and the devotion of the ancient monks of Ireland. But Dr. Reeves thinks that there is an incongruity in the expression "spouse of God", and the nature of the compound does not require such an interpretation. No doubt _sponsa Dei_ does occur in ecclesiastical language for _monialis_, but he has not been able to discover an instance where _sponsus Dei_ has been used as an equivalent for _monachus_. The York Chartulary, Giraldus Cambrensis, and the Armagh records, make Céle-dé = _colideus_ and _coelicula_, as if _céle_ was equivalent to the Latin _colo_. Thus Céle-dé, would be the same as the Latin word _Deicola_. The English name _Culdee_ grew out of the form _Culdeus_, first introduced by Hector Boece, and sanctioned by the practice of George Buchanan. One of the earliest examples on record of the use of the term Céle-dé occurs in the _Life of St. Findan_, published by Goldastus (_Rer. Alamannicar. Scriptores_, vol. i. p. 318). This saint flourished in the year 800, and his life was compiled not long after.