Laidcenn mac Buith Bannaig or Laidcend mac Baíth Bandaig (died 661) was a monastic scholar at Cluain Ferta Mo-Lua (Clonfert-Mulloe, Co. Laois).

He is the ascribed author of the earliest surviving example of a lorica

Lorica (incantation)

In the Christian monastic tradition, a lorica is a prayer recited for protection. The Latin word lorica originally meant "armor" or "breastplate." Both meanings come together in the practice of placing verbal inscriptions on the shields or armorial trappings of knights, who might recite them before...

or breastplate, a term applied to a genre of charm-prayers, derived from the Pauline

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

 conception of life as an armed struggle. In this work, protection is asked for all 70-odd body parts by invoking the heavenly powers. The best known lorica is St. Patrick's Breastplate, which however has no connection to the saint.

Laidcend is also known for having produced an epitome of Gregory the Great's Commentary on Job

Commentary on Job

Saint Gregory's Commentary on Job, or Moralia, sive Expositio in Job, sometimes called Magna Moralia, but not to be confused with Aristotle's Great Ethics known by the same title, was written between 578 and 595, begun when Gregory was at the court of Tiberius II at Constantinople, but finished...

.

Source

• Welsh, Robert. Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature. 1996. ISBN 0-19-280080-9

Further reading

• Howlett, D. "Seven Studies in Seventh-Century Texts." Peritia
  Peritia
  Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland is an annual Irish academic journal "devoted to Irish and Insular medieval studies as seen in the context of the European middle ages and the heritage from antiquity, and to European medieval studies generally." The editors are Donnchadh Ó Corráin...
  
  10 (1996).
• Howlett, D. "Five Experiments in Textual Reconstruction and Analysis." Peritia
  Peritia
  Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland is an annual Irish academic journal "devoted to Irish and Insular medieval studies as seen in the context of the European middle ages and the heritage from antiquity, and to European medieval studies generally." The editors are Donnchadh Ó Corráin...
  
  9 (1995).