Attamen ex traditione jam inolita dicitur
progenitus
ex regio Scotorum genere, cujus paler fuerit Severus,materTheoclea.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
This has been taken 1604.
additions made are so faulty in chronological accuracy, in several places, that even those Acts are rendered self-contradictory.
20Onehasfortitlethesewords "VitaS.
Magnoaldi, qui et Magnus, discipuli S. Columbani et Galli. " The second has this
"
aldi, ex Monacho Luxoviensi, abbatis monas- terii Faucium, in dicecesi Augustana, a Theodoro ejus socio primum conscripta,
deinde ab Hermenrico, Elewangensi mona- cho, recensita et aucta. " The other two properly add after the foregoing announce-
heading :
Vita Sancti Magni seu Magno-
22
festival occurs on the 4th ofJuly.
OrWaldric,BishopofAugsburg, His
23 Or Afre, Martyr at Augsburg. His feast is held on the 5th of August.
24 " Ratisbon is one of the oldest cities of centralEurope. Someofitsbuildingsdate
mentarius Praevius, sect, i. , pp. 700 to 702.
from a vellum manuscript belonging to the
Monastery of St. Magnus, near the bridge at
Ratisbon. In the year 1725, this work, re-
printed and put into greater order by James
Basnage, was published in seven folio
volumes, at Amsterdam, under the title,
''
Thesaurus Monumentorum Ecclesiasti- corum. " It contains prefaces and valuable notes by the editor.
:
Besides
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 127
likewise the Life of St. Magnus. In 1621, Martin, Abbot of Fussen, edited the Acts of St. Magnus in Latin. Mathew Rader 2 9 wrote a Life of the saint, from the same compilation in "Bavaria Pia. "3° Again, Father Ludovicus Babenstuber composed the Acts of St. Magnus, in Latin, and to these he has added the particulars of many miracles wrought through the merits of the holy abbot. Father John Colgan had intended to issue the Acts of St. Magnus at the present date, as we find from the posthumous
Magnus
of St. Columbanus, as 8 who Jonas,3
Manuscripts. 3
2
Stephen
1 Notices of him are in the work of Father
list of his
White, S. J. 3
paragraphs.
In the year 1729, a Life of St. Magnus appeared in German, and by some anonymous writer belonging to the Monastery at Fussen. In this are inscribed many miracles, ascribed to the virtues of the Patron. Notices
The Benedictines 33 have the Acts of St. in sixteen Magnus,
In the Annals of his Order, Mabillon also has allusion to him. 34
of this holy abbot are to be found in Les Petits Bollandistes,35 under the *5
name of Magne or Mang, and by R«v. S. Baring-Gould. 3 —
—e old attributed to Theodorus
According to th Acts, Campodunensis
meaning Kempten St. Magnoald, or Magnus, was born in Hibemia. 37 Such account has been followed by nearly all subsequent writers who have treatedabouthim. Wemayhereobserv—ethatMagnoalduswasthenameby which he is first introduced to our notice Magnus was a title afterwards given him to designate his eminence and virtues. That statement of his having been a native of Ireland, however, has been questioned by Father Suysken, who thinks it more probable that he was born in Germany. Not believing St. to have been a
disciple
wrote a life of him, does not introduce such a person to the reader^ and
2? In ' ' Almanicarum Rerum 31 See " Actuum Sanctorum Scriptores," Catalogus
tomus i. , Francfort, 1606. This is intro- quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et
duced with the following epigraph, which Father Suysken had not discovered in any
Dierum. ''
32 See
emendatus et distinctus. " After chapter the 34 See " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
xiii. is another heading, which indicates a tomus i. , lib. xi. , sect, xvii. , p. 309 ; lib. xii. , "
"
mitae de Vita S. Magni Confessoris, sodalis
Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. iv. ,
other copy of the life:
S. Theodori ere-
p. 44.
33 See
Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Bene- sui, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi monacho dicti," tomus ii. , sec. ii. , pp. 505 to 510.
continuation of the work: Ermenrici sect, xxix. , p. 355 ; lib. xiii. , sect, xxxiii. , pp.
Elewangensis monachi supplementum. " On comparing this with the edition of Canisius,
whole periods and even chapters are wanting in the latter, not to speak of many minor differences.
28 See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. v. , vi. Septembris, pp. 73 to 81. The
Life is comprised in thirty-three paragraphs. In the third edition of Surius, the Acts of
St. Magnus, as published by Canisius, are to be found.
29 Born in Inichingen in the Tyrol, A. P.
1 At the of he entered the 561. age twenty,
Jesuit Order. This learned man died at Munich, on the 22nd of December, a. d.
392, 393-
35 See "Les Vies des Saints," tome x. ,
See Michaud's " Univer- Biographie
1634.
selle, Ancienne et Moderne," tome xxxv. , P- 59.
30 The well-known
Sancta "appeared in three folio volumes,
"
1615-1624-1627. "Bavaria Pia supplementary volume published in 1628, and enriched by Sadeler's beautiful en-
gravings.
work,
Jour
de Septembre, p. 528.
"
"
vie
& See " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. , Sep-
tember 6, pp. 94, 95.
3? See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Septembris vi. De Sancto Magno Monasterii Faucensis Abbate Prime Fuessse in Suevia. Vita auctore, ut fertur, Theodoro monacho Campodunensi, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi aucta," et ab alio interpolata, cap. i. , p. 735.
Hibernus," was an alumnus of St. Colum-
ban, both at Luxeu and at Bobbio. Among
other he wrote " Vita S. Columbani. " works,
He flourished about A. D. 630, and he was
living in A. D. 665. See Dr. William Cave's
38 born about A. D. " Jonas, 599, gente
"Bavaria " Ecclesiasticorum Li- Scriptorum Historia
was a
teraria," volumen i. Saeculum Monothele-
ticum, p. 580.
39 Father Suysken, referring to the Pseudo-
Theoderici Vita S. Magni, remarks, that the interpolator has plagiarized that portion of
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. jSeptembkr6.
that Walafridus Strabo 4° is the mostreliable authority for making Magnoald and Theodore disciples of St. Gall, without allusion to the country of their birth; sucharethoughttobereasonssufficientfordoubtingMagnustohave been born in Ireland. In addition, Father Suysken remarks, that Notker Balbulus,41 in his Martyrology, at this day, only regards St. Magnus as a disciple of St. Gall. *2 The foregoing are but negative and very inconclusive arguments, nevertheless, to counteract what seems to have been an ancient and a prevalent tradition. In his list of saints, Convceus calls Magnus, Abbot and Brother of St. Gallus. *3 If so, both may be classed as nephews of St. Columban,44 according to the old Acts of our saint, attributed to Theodore and his continuators. However involved and confused may be the earliest records, which relate for us the Acts of St. Magnus, yet there appears to be a very general consensus that his birth took place in Ireland. 45 In what particular district is not known, and doubts regarding his family or early life may well be entertained. According to other accounts, he was of royal birth,46 his father being named Severus, and his mother Theoclea. 4?
it, referring to our saint having been a dis- ciple of St. Columban, from Jonas, by his
substituting the name of Magnoaldus for Autiernus, which is deemed to have been in
the original, and again by his changing the name of Chagnoaldus for Magnoaldus.
Then Father Suysken proceeds to show, how the Pseudo-Theoderic Life blunders in
chronology, and is contradictory to fact, in making Magnoaldus die a. d. 655, in the
seventy-fourth year of his age ; as in such case, if it be alleged, he left Ireland with
Columban, who went to France, in A. D. 568, according to Le Cointe, this latter date should reach back to thirteen or fourteen years before Magnoaldus could have been born, or if the calculation of Mabillon be adopted, that Columban parted for Gaul, a. d. 590, then St. Magnoald must have been too young to have accompanied him in a missionary enterprise. However, if we allow for very probable chronological and other mistakes, occurring in the Tract to which allusion has been made, to suppose that St. Magnus had not been an Irishman and a disciple of St. Columban, should involve Father Suysken simply in a paralogism.
40 Walafridus Strabo, or Strabus, a Ger- man by birth, and a disciple of Kaban Maur, at Fulda, was Dean over St. Gall's, a. d. 842. Me wrote many learned works,
42Thisishisnotice "NativitasS. Magni :
Confessoris, discipuli et comitis beati Galli. " « The feast of St. Gallus is held on the 16thofOctober. SeehisLifeatthatdate,
in the Tenth Volume of this work.
44 The Festival of St. Columban has been assigned to the 21st of November. His Life is given at that date, in the Eleventh
Volume of this work.
45 Henricus, Abbot of Fiissen, has left
some Manuscript Notes illustrative of monas-
"
Galli Abbatis," in two books. lie died
and among others,
Vita et Miracula Sancti
a. d. See Dr. William Cave's 849.
"Scrip- torum Ecclesiasticorum Ilistoiia Literaria,"
volamen ii. Sseculum Photianum, p. 31.
41 St. Notker, surnamed the stammerer, was born about a. d. 830, at Elgau, in
Thurgovia. At an early age he entered the Monastery of St. Gall, where he made great progress in sacred and profane litera- ture. Several elegant treatises in prose and verse were composed by him. He died on the 16th of April—the day for his feast—A. D. 912. See M. Le Dr. Hoefer's " Nouvelle BiographieGenerale,"tome xxxviii. ,col. 300.
account, in his Acts of the Saint,
lib.
i. ,
"
historicos constare, S. Magnum fuisse Sco-
tum ex provincia Hybernise oriundum : sed
quo sanguine, nobili vel ignobili, sit ortus, Legenda ejus non manifestat.
Attamen ex traditione jam inolita dicitur progenitus ex regio Scotorum genere, cujus paler fuerit Severus,materTheoclea. Hocdocuitanno MDXV, tempore abbatis Benedicti, quidam orator regis Francioe, nomine Petrus Cordier, episcopus Parisiensis, decretorum doctor, qui tunc temporis ambassiator praefati regis apud imperatorum Maximilianum aliquo tempore hie in Fuessen propter quzedam negotia moram trahebat, et erat abbati Benedicto valde familiaris et homo in historiis antiquis multum versatus. Hie ergo reliquit in scriptis abbati Benedicto, quod S. Magnus de pnefatis parentibus ex regio Scotia? sanguine sit progenitus. Quod didicisse se, ajebat, in ipsa Hybernia, quam tanquam Francorum ambastator peragraverat. "
46 This is mentioned, also, in the German Life of St. Magnus, written by a monk of the Monastery of Fussen, and in confirmation of it, the writer refers to a very old picture he had seen, in which St. Magnus is represented
in the garb —of a young prince taking leave of his parents his father sitting on a royal throne, and his mother as a queen being near him. This statement is in chap, i. , sect. 2. Father Ludovicus Babenstuber has a similar
tic and local tradition.
Notandam. quoad
cap. i.
v Whde the royal descent of St. Magnus
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 129
So far as he could form an opinion from the materials available for the
Life, Father Suysken thinks St. Magnus was born about the year 582. If he
lived not previous to that date, it does not seem probable he accompanied St. Columban, when the latter left Ireland for France, about a. d. 590. Nor do we find any record to give us an account of his early training and acts. Even his original name may have been Celtic, and different from Magnoaldus, or Magnus, which he bore in after life.
He became the disciple of St. Columbanus, according to the old Acts, but it must be allowed there are mistakes and obscurities of statement to be corrected or explained, in
8
reference to matters as related/
when the holy Abbot of Luxeu had resolved on leaving France, and had taken his voyage from Nantes for Ireland, a. d. 610, or soon after he had
been driven back by contrary winds, and then went to Clotaire II. ,49 King ot Neustria, that Magnoaldus preferred his petition to St. Gall, to be received among the company of the religious subject to so great a master of the spiritual life. For his probation as a postulant,' Columban sent St. Gall,
with another young man, named Sonarius or Soniarius, 51 and our saint, 52 into a desert place, with only a single loaf to refresh them. At the end of the third day, not a morsel of it remained, and then St. Gall despatched his companions through the wilds to search for food. —This was found most
—ally in a river called Ligno, or Lignona 53 now the Loignon or providenti
a
Lougnon in Burgundy, There they found great many fishes. These
were brought to their superior, and gratefully partaking of this most seasonable food, which had been so miraculously provided, they again returned thanks to God. Then repairing to St. Columban, our saint made
: hisvowsofobedience,andheardinreturnthesewords "Magnustefaciat
is contended for by various writers, their
arguments are examined by Father Suysken, who supposes it probable, that oUr saint had been confounded with a St. Magnus, Prince of the Orkney Islands, who is mentioned by the Scottish writers, Hector Boetius, John Lesley, and Thomas Dempster. In the Fourth Volume of this work, we have in- serted his Acts, at the 16th of April, Art. ii.
48 After the title of Vita Auctore, ut
iertur, Theodoro Monacho Campodunensi, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi aucta, et ab alia interpolata, the Acts open with the follow- ing sentence : "Tempore illo, cumbeatissi- mus simul cum beato Gallo nepote suo diversa loca perlustrarent, et ad diffamandum verbum Dei, et peregrinandi causa in Hiber- niam pervenirent, quidam frater, nomine Magnoaldus ex proefata patria Hibernia pro- creatus, pulsare ccepir aures beati Galli,
the tutelage of his mother, Fredegonde, who placed him under the protection ofGontran,
King of Burgundy. In 613, profiting by the dissensions of the sons of Childebert,
and by their death, he next overcame Brune- haut and the Austrasians, in 614, when he becameKingofNeustriaandAustrasia. He waged war against the Saxons, who invaded his territories, and he died A. D. 628, leaving his throne to Dagobert I.
50 Father Suysken remarks, that the phrase
It seems probable enough, about the time
52 Father Suysken supposes, that to one Autiernus, a monk of Luxeu, should be quens : &c. This passage, however, has attributed what is here related of Magnoaldus.
discipuli sanctissimi Columbani, ita allo- "
been thus emended by the anonymous monk of St. Emmeiam. Katisbon : "In tempore illo quo beatus Columbanus sanctusque Gal- lus virtutibus magnificis pollentes, in Hiber- nia clarissiini habebantur, frater quidam, nomine Magnoaldus, ex eadem Hibernia oriundus, ad beatum Galium accedans, ita eum alloquiter," &c.
4' He was born in 583, and on the death
of his father, Childeric, in 584, he was under Vol. IX. —No. 3.
Autiernus had asked permission from St.
Columban to visit Ireland, and had been
brought into the desert, that he might learn the will of God in his regard.
53 The Bollandist editor assumes, that the
interpolator of our saint's Acts had absurdly placed this river in Ireland ; whereas the proper inference to be drawn from the con- text is, that he wrote concerning the country near Luxeu.
in this narrative,
"
utrum propositum animi isbonowed from a passage
arripias, an non,
"
:'
Pergentes in eremum voluntatem Dei probemus, utrum desideratum iter arri-
in Jonas :
pias, an in ccetu Fratrum permaneas. "— Sancti Columbani. "
Vita
51 The Bollandist editor remarks, that treating about this incident, Jonas in his Vita S. Columbani calls him Soniarius.
130 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6. Dominus in sapientia et astutia, a cujus magno nomine Magnoaldus
vocaris. "54 Again he added
:
" Cognita tibi sint omnia ministeria monastica,
a quibus cognomen habes Magnoaldus. "ss Then having become a monk, he was entrusted by St. Columban with care of the monastic cellar, or in other words, he became the bursar or econome of the entire establishment at Luxeu.
Again, the accounts of St. Magnoald state, that while acting in that
capacity, his assistant, having brought a vessel,56 and tapped a cask of beer to serve for the refectory, Soniarius heard the Master's voice calling him. In
the spirit of ready obedience, he ran with the bung in his hand, forgetting to close the vent, and appeared before Columban, Gall and Magnoald. Reminded of his neglect, Soniarius ran back to the cellar, thinking that no liquor could have remained in the flowing cask. However, it was otherwise, and a miracle caused its stoppage, to reward the cellarer's and assistant's exact observance of monastic discipline. 57 On returning, Soniarius related what
8
Winigozus,* to accompany him to the cellar, both saw the wonder, and agreed that it should be reported to St. Columban, A contest of humility ensued between Soniarius and Magnoald, each seeking to ascribe the miracle to the other's merits. 59 However, it was endedby Columban declaring, that he had seen
the angel of the Lord making a sign over the vessel, and preceding Magnoald,
60
when he had called the boy Soniarius.
There are legendary accounts in his Acts, of how St. Magnoald sought
apples in the wilderness, for the refreshment of Saints Colunibanus and Gallus, and of how a bear allowed him to take a share of what had been
found. 61
Again,
food, by an order from the holy abbot, Magnoaldus procured a number of birds, which allowed themselves to be taken by him and by the monks. 62
54 Thus rendered into English: "The 59 The Bbllandist editor observes, that this Lord make you great in wisdom and pru- contest is not to be found in the account o$ dence, from whose great name you shall be Jonas, from whom he supposes it to have called Magnoaldus. " The Goldast edition been borrowed, nor does he mention Mag*
of the Acts, and another MS. has "voceris. " noald in connexion with the narrative. In
to and the latter a named happened Magnoaldus, asking priest,
it is told, that while the community had been in want of
"""
To thee be entrusted all the monastic services, from which you
have the name Magnoaldus. "
56 It is called a Typrus or a Tybrus, by
ss Thus translated
:
Fleming's lowing:
Collectanea Sacra is the fol-
Hujusmodi olim in monasterio
ancient monastic writers ; the exact form or
capacity of which does not now seem to be
we'll understood. Compare the account sua imperfecta relinquit. "
given in the text with what is related in
6o The writer of our Saint's Acts then
" Collectanea Sacra. '. ' Vita S.
continues " O magnum divinss ;
Fleming's
Columbani, Abbatis, cap. xv. , p. 227.
potential donuin, qui adhuc neophitO SUO Servo tantam
57 Thus is the event related : "At ille,
viso seraculo, recordatus negligentiae, velo- citer ad cellarium rediit, a>timans nihil in
vase, de quocerevisiadecurrebat,remansisse.
Intuitu* ergo vidit, supra tiprum cerevisiam
crevisse, quatinus, qualis et quanta rotun-
ditas infra tipri inerat coronam, talis in ascribed to Chagnoaldus, and a. -, having
ahum crevisse urna videretur, et ne mini- mam stillam foras cecidisse. "
s8 Goldast's version and that of another
manuscript read Winiachus, while Canisius
" Vita
S. Columbani," he mentions a " Winnocus buit. "—"Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
has the name Winniacus. In
Jonas'
presbyter," who was a familiar of St. Columban. Perhaps he was identical with the priest mentioned in the text.
tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, xxix. , p. 355. 62 " "
"
Sancti-gallensi exemplum contigit ; cujus rei
testes usque in nunc diem remanent versus
aliqui in porta capituli, ubi turn loci cella vinaiia fuerat, appensi. I'erfecta obedientia
gratiam conferre dignatus est, ut jam Magnus inter fratres voceris. Ad hate conticuit beat us
6l
occurred near Brtgantium in Rhsetia, after St. Columban had been expelled from Luxeu in6lo. Mabillon states : '• Incautus lectores fefellit Pseudo-Theodorus in Vita Magno* aldi, cum Chagnoaldi facta Magnoaldo tri-
Magnoaldus, giatias agens Deo in corde suo de tanta miseiecordia sua. "
It has been observed that this miracle, related in the Life of St. Magnus, iias been
In the Vita S. Columbani of Jonas, he relates this miracle before the former one,
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 131 This supply was sufficient for three days ; at the end of which time, those
63 who lived in the
Columban's Monastery, through the ngency of Saints Gall and Magnoald. 6*
At one time, a thought possessed the mind of St. Columban,65 that he should open a mission among the Sclaves 66 and Veniti/7 j n order to
withdraw them from 68 and paganism
good people
adjoining
cities food to St. brought
open
the true and living God. Wherefore he consulted St. Gallus and St.
Magnoald. The former said to the latter : "Brother, what think you of this journey for our abbot? " Magnoald answered : "Master Superior, first ask for Divine direction ; and afterwards, if you deem it proper to set out, let us depart. " On hearing this, Columban ordered a fast for three days, imploring light from above on that subject. The third night, an angel appeared to all
three, and showed them a small tracing of the world's map, saying
:
" You
see, that the whole world is a void ; say ye to Columban, go to the right and
left, that you may reap the fruit of vour labours, but it is not expedient for
you to go thither. " Tin's admonition was enough for the holy abbot, that he was not to be the apostle of those nations ; and. therefore, he resolved on resting where he was, content with the services of Magnoald alone, until
6 the way was opened for his departure to Italy. 9
To the rule of St. Columban, Masnoald seems to have conformed, while he was under the protection of King Theodebert,? and engaged on
1
missionary labours near the Lake of Zurich. ?
had been declared between the brothers Theoderic ?
a time of ' famine, "cumque jam triduo jejunio fessa corpora essent. " Here, however, there is
no mention of Magnoaldus.
63
related from that in the "Vita S. Columbani" of Jonas is the account contained in the text: "Quarto deinde die quidam pontifex ex vicinis urbi- bus frumenti copiam, divina admonitus aspiratione, ad B. Cohmibanum direxit ; sed
mox
Omnipotens, qui y. enuriam patientibus aligeros prxbuerat cibos, ut farris adeps advenit, alitum phalanges imperavit abire. "
64 In Fleming's "Collectanea Sacra," Vita S. Columbani Abbatis, we find the name of Magnoaldus introduced into the text, and in the margin Chagoald is a different reading. See cap. xxvi. , p. 239.
65 Thus stated by Jonas, in his " Vita S. Columbani :" " Interea cogitatio in mentem ruit, ut Venetiorum, qui et Sclavi dicuntur, terminos adiret," &c. See ibid. , pp. 239, 240.
the other for evil. The former was known as Biel Bog, or the "white god," from whom all benefits proceeded, and the latter was
and states, that it
happened during
66
For a very complete account of the
l'Abbe Migne.
7 1 "The situation of the Lake of Zurich in
many respects resembles that of Con-tance ;
no part of it can be said to be within the
Differently
Sclaves, their origin, tribal division, and mountain zone, though the neighbourhood
history, the reader is referred to the Articles
headed Slavonia and Slavonians, in Charles
Knight's "Penny Cyclopaedia," vol. xxii. , pp. 100 to 128.
67 See Dean Millman's " History of Latin
is almost everywhere hilly, and the moun- tains are not far from its eastern end. The
Christianity," vol. ii. , 293.
book
goodly
houses and
68
According to the early Christian mis-
iv. , chap,
v. ,
p.
thriving villages. " "Picturesque Europe," vol. v. Eastern
Switzerland, pp. 87, 88.
f Known as Theoderic II. , son of the
sionaries among the Sclaves, they worshipped
various idols. It is said, that those who aforementioned Childebert, who succeeded lived on the shores of the Baltic admitted to his father's Kingdom of Burgundy, A. D.
two different principles
—one for
good
and
596.
their minds to a of knowledge
called Chemi Bog, or the
black god," who
given by Jonas, in his
"
Vita S. Columbani. '
While in Switzerland, war
2
and Theodobert, with
"
caused all sorrows, and misfortunes. How-
ever, the Sixth Synod of Constantinople (a. i). 680) enumerates Slavonians among the Christian nations.
69 The foregoing account varies from that
70 Known as Theodebert son ot II. ,
Childebert, King of Austrasia, and who succeeded to this Kingdom of Austrasia, a. d. 596, after his father's death. His brother Theoderic II. was assigned the Kingdom of Burgundy. Both were left under the
tutelage of their grandmother Brunehaut. "
See Abrege de l'Histoire de France," liv. i. CEuvres Completes de Bossuet, Eveque de Meaux, tome x. , col. 1 1 77. Edition de
scenery is diversified, bright and sunny, rather than grand. Its shores in many parts are richly cultivated, and studded wi—th
132 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6,
varied fortune j*3 and, at that very time, when the decisive battle of Tolbiac i*> was fought, both Coluniban and Magnoald had a revelation regarding its results. 75 This they communicated to each other.
additions made are so faulty in chronological accuracy, in several places, that even those Acts are rendered self-contradictory.
20Onehasfortitlethesewords "VitaS.
Magnoaldi, qui et Magnus, discipuli S. Columbani et Galli. " The second has this
"
aldi, ex Monacho Luxoviensi, abbatis monas- terii Faucium, in dicecesi Augustana, a Theodoro ejus socio primum conscripta,
deinde ab Hermenrico, Elewangensi mona- cho, recensita et aucta. " The other two properly add after the foregoing announce-
heading :
Vita Sancti Magni seu Magno-
22
festival occurs on the 4th ofJuly.
OrWaldric,BishopofAugsburg, His
23 Or Afre, Martyr at Augsburg. His feast is held on the 5th of August.
24 " Ratisbon is one of the oldest cities of centralEurope. Someofitsbuildingsdate
mentarius Praevius, sect, i. , pp. 700 to 702.
from a vellum manuscript belonging to the
Monastery of St. Magnus, near the bridge at
Ratisbon. In the year 1725, this work, re-
printed and put into greater order by James
Basnage, was published in seven folio
volumes, at Amsterdam, under the title,
''
Thesaurus Monumentorum Ecclesiasti- corum. " It contains prefaces and valuable notes by the editor.
:
Besides
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 127
likewise the Life of St. Magnus. In 1621, Martin, Abbot of Fussen, edited the Acts of St. Magnus in Latin. Mathew Rader 2 9 wrote a Life of the saint, from the same compilation in "Bavaria Pia. "3° Again, Father Ludovicus Babenstuber composed the Acts of St. Magnus, in Latin, and to these he has added the particulars of many miracles wrought through the merits of the holy abbot. Father John Colgan had intended to issue the Acts of St. Magnus at the present date, as we find from the posthumous
Magnus
of St. Columbanus, as 8 who Jonas,3
Manuscripts. 3
2
Stephen
1 Notices of him are in the work of Father
list of his
White, S. J. 3
paragraphs.
In the year 1729, a Life of St. Magnus appeared in German, and by some anonymous writer belonging to the Monastery at Fussen. In this are inscribed many miracles, ascribed to the virtues of the Patron. Notices
The Benedictines 33 have the Acts of St. in sixteen Magnus,
In the Annals of his Order, Mabillon also has allusion to him. 34
of this holy abbot are to be found in Les Petits Bollandistes,35 under the *5
name of Magne or Mang, and by R«v. S. Baring-Gould. 3 —
—e old attributed to Theodorus
According to th Acts, Campodunensis
meaning Kempten St. Magnoald, or Magnus, was born in Hibemia. 37 Such account has been followed by nearly all subsequent writers who have treatedabouthim. Wemayhereobserv—ethatMagnoalduswasthenameby which he is first introduced to our notice Magnus was a title afterwards given him to designate his eminence and virtues. That statement of his having been a native of Ireland, however, has been questioned by Father Suysken, who thinks it more probable that he was born in Germany. Not believing St. to have been a
disciple
wrote a life of him, does not introduce such a person to the reader^ and
2? In ' ' Almanicarum Rerum 31 See " Actuum Sanctorum Scriptores," Catalogus
tomus i. , Francfort, 1606. This is intro- quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et
duced with the following epigraph, which Father Suysken had not discovered in any
Dierum. ''
32 See
emendatus et distinctus. " After chapter the 34 See " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
xiii. is another heading, which indicates a tomus i. , lib. xi. , sect, xvii. , p. 309 ; lib. xii. , "
"
mitae de Vita S. Magni Confessoris, sodalis
Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. iv. ,
other copy of the life:
S. Theodori ere-
p. 44.
33 See
Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Bene- sui, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi monacho dicti," tomus ii. , sec. ii. , pp. 505 to 510.
continuation of the work: Ermenrici sect, xxix. , p. 355 ; lib. xiii. , sect, xxxiii. , pp.
Elewangensis monachi supplementum. " On comparing this with the edition of Canisius,
whole periods and even chapters are wanting in the latter, not to speak of many minor differences.
28 See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. v. , vi. Septembris, pp. 73 to 81. The
Life is comprised in thirty-three paragraphs. In the third edition of Surius, the Acts of
St. Magnus, as published by Canisius, are to be found.
29 Born in Inichingen in the Tyrol, A. P.
1 At the of he entered the 561. age twenty,
Jesuit Order. This learned man died at Munich, on the 22nd of December, a. d.
392, 393-
35 See "Les Vies des Saints," tome x. ,
See Michaud's " Univer- Biographie
1634.
selle, Ancienne et Moderne," tome xxxv. , P- 59.
30 The well-known
Sancta "appeared in three folio volumes,
"
1615-1624-1627. "Bavaria Pia supplementary volume published in 1628, and enriched by Sadeler's beautiful en-
gravings.
work,
Jour
de Septembre, p. 528.
"
"
vie
& See " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. , Sep-
tember 6, pp. 94, 95.
3? See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Septembris vi. De Sancto Magno Monasterii Faucensis Abbate Prime Fuessse in Suevia. Vita auctore, ut fertur, Theodoro monacho Campodunensi, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi aucta," et ab alio interpolata, cap. i. , p. 735.
Hibernus," was an alumnus of St. Colum-
ban, both at Luxeu and at Bobbio. Among
other he wrote " Vita S. Columbani. " works,
He flourished about A. D. 630, and he was
living in A. D. 665. See Dr. William Cave's
38 born about A. D. " Jonas, 599, gente
"Bavaria " Ecclesiasticorum Li- Scriptorum Historia
was a
teraria," volumen i. Saeculum Monothele-
ticum, p. 580.
39 Father Suysken, referring to the Pseudo-
Theoderici Vita S. Magni, remarks, that the interpolator has plagiarized that portion of
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. jSeptembkr6.
that Walafridus Strabo 4° is the mostreliable authority for making Magnoald and Theodore disciples of St. Gall, without allusion to the country of their birth; sucharethoughttobereasonssufficientfordoubtingMagnustohave been born in Ireland. In addition, Father Suysken remarks, that Notker Balbulus,41 in his Martyrology, at this day, only regards St. Magnus as a disciple of St. Gall. *2 The foregoing are but negative and very inconclusive arguments, nevertheless, to counteract what seems to have been an ancient and a prevalent tradition. In his list of saints, Convceus calls Magnus, Abbot and Brother of St. Gallus. *3 If so, both may be classed as nephews of St. Columban,44 according to the old Acts of our saint, attributed to Theodore and his continuators. However involved and confused may be the earliest records, which relate for us the Acts of St. Magnus, yet there appears to be a very general consensus that his birth took place in Ireland. 45 In what particular district is not known, and doubts regarding his family or early life may well be entertained. According to other accounts, he was of royal birth,46 his father being named Severus, and his mother Theoclea. 4?
it, referring to our saint having been a dis- ciple of St. Columban, from Jonas, by his
substituting the name of Magnoaldus for Autiernus, which is deemed to have been in
the original, and again by his changing the name of Chagnoaldus for Magnoaldus.
Then Father Suysken proceeds to show, how the Pseudo-Theoderic Life blunders in
chronology, and is contradictory to fact, in making Magnoaldus die a. d. 655, in the
seventy-fourth year of his age ; as in such case, if it be alleged, he left Ireland with
Columban, who went to France, in A. D. 568, according to Le Cointe, this latter date should reach back to thirteen or fourteen years before Magnoaldus could have been born, or if the calculation of Mabillon be adopted, that Columban parted for Gaul, a. d. 590, then St. Magnoald must have been too young to have accompanied him in a missionary enterprise. However, if we allow for very probable chronological and other mistakes, occurring in the Tract to which allusion has been made, to suppose that St. Magnus had not been an Irishman and a disciple of St. Columban, should involve Father Suysken simply in a paralogism.
40 Walafridus Strabo, or Strabus, a Ger- man by birth, and a disciple of Kaban Maur, at Fulda, was Dean over St. Gall's, a. d. 842. Me wrote many learned works,
42Thisishisnotice "NativitasS. Magni :
Confessoris, discipuli et comitis beati Galli. " « The feast of St. Gallus is held on the 16thofOctober. SeehisLifeatthatdate,
in the Tenth Volume of this work.
44 The Festival of St. Columban has been assigned to the 21st of November. His Life is given at that date, in the Eleventh
Volume of this work.
45 Henricus, Abbot of Fiissen, has left
some Manuscript Notes illustrative of monas-
"
Galli Abbatis," in two books. lie died
and among others,
Vita et Miracula Sancti
a. d. See Dr. William Cave's 849.
"Scrip- torum Ecclesiasticorum Ilistoiia Literaria,"
volamen ii. Sseculum Photianum, p. 31.
41 St. Notker, surnamed the stammerer, was born about a. d. 830, at Elgau, in
Thurgovia. At an early age he entered the Monastery of St. Gall, where he made great progress in sacred and profane litera- ture. Several elegant treatises in prose and verse were composed by him. He died on the 16th of April—the day for his feast—A. D. 912. See M. Le Dr. Hoefer's " Nouvelle BiographieGenerale,"tome xxxviii. ,col. 300.
account, in his Acts of the Saint,
lib.
i. ,
"
historicos constare, S. Magnum fuisse Sco-
tum ex provincia Hybernise oriundum : sed
quo sanguine, nobili vel ignobili, sit ortus, Legenda ejus non manifestat.
Attamen ex traditione jam inolita dicitur progenitus ex regio Scotorum genere, cujus paler fuerit Severus,materTheoclea. Hocdocuitanno MDXV, tempore abbatis Benedicti, quidam orator regis Francioe, nomine Petrus Cordier, episcopus Parisiensis, decretorum doctor, qui tunc temporis ambassiator praefati regis apud imperatorum Maximilianum aliquo tempore hie in Fuessen propter quzedam negotia moram trahebat, et erat abbati Benedicto valde familiaris et homo in historiis antiquis multum versatus. Hie ergo reliquit in scriptis abbati Benedicto, quod S. Magnus de pnefatis parentibus ex regio Scotia? sanguine sit progenitus. Quod didicisse se, ajebat, in ipsa Hybernia, quam tanquam Francorum ambastator peragraverat. "
46 This is mentioned, also, in the German Life of St. Magnus, written by a monk of the Monastery of Fussen, and in confirmation of it, the writer refers to a very old picture he had seen, in which St. Magnus is represented
in the garb —of a young prince taking leave of his parents his father sitting on a royal throne, and his mother as a queen being near him. This statement is in chap, i. , sect. 2. Father Ludovicus Babenstuber has a similar
tic and local tradition.
Notandam. quoad
cap. i.
v Whde the royal descent of St. Magnus
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 129
So far as he could form an opinion from the materials available for the
Life, Father Suysken thinks St. Magnus was born about the year 582. If he
lived not previous to that date, it does not seem probable he accompanied St. Columban, when the latter left Ireland for France, about a. d. 590. Nor do we find any record to give us an account of his early training and acts. Even his original name may have been Celtic, and different from Magnoaldus, or Magnus, which he bore in after life.
He became the disciple of St. Columbanus, according to the old Acts, but it must be allowed there are mistakes and obscurities of statement to be corrected or explained, in
8
reference to matters as related/
when the holy Abbot of Luxeu had resolved on leaving France, and had taken his voyage from Nantes for Ireland, a. d. 610, or soon after he had
been driven back by contrary winds, and then went to Clotaire II. ,49 King ot Neustria, that Magnoaldus preferred his petition to St. Gall, to be received among the company of the religious subject to so great a master of the spiritual life. For his probation as a postulant,' Columban sent St. Gall,
with another young man, named Sonarius or Soniarius, 51 and our saint, 52 into a desert place, with only a single loaf to refresh them. At the end of the third day, not a morsel of it remained, and then St. Gall despatched his companions through the wilds to search for food. —This was found most
—ally in a river called Ligno, or Lignona 53 now the Loignon or providenti
a
Lougnon in Burgundy, There they found great many fishes. These
were brought to their superior, and gratefully partaking of this most seasonable food, which had been so miraculously provided, they again returned thanks to God. Then repairing to St. Columban, our saint made
: hisvowsofobedience,andheardinreturnthesewords "Magnustefaciat
is contended for by various writers, their
arguments are examined by Father Suysken, who supposes it probable, that oUr saint had been confounded with a St. Magnus, Prince of the Orkney Islands, who is mentioned by the Scottish writers, Hector Boetius, John Lesley, and Thomas Dempster. In the Fourth Volume of this work, we have in- serted his Acts, at the 16th of April, Art. ii.
48 After the title of Vita Auctore, ut
iertur, Theodoro Monacho Campodunensi, ab Ermenrico Elewangensi aucta, et ab alia interpolata, the Acts open with the follow- ing sentence : "Tempore illo, cumbeatissi- mus simul cum beato Gallo nepote suo diversa loca perlustrarent, et ad diffamandum verbum Dei, et peregrinandi causa in Hiber- niam pervenirent, quidam frater, nomine Magnoaldus ex proefata patria Hibernia pro- creatus, pulsare ccepir aures beati Galli,
the tutelage of his mother, Fredegonde, who placed him under the protection ofGontran,
King of Burgundy. In 613, profiting by the dissensions of the sons of Childebert,
and by their death, he next overcame Brune- haut and the Austrasians, in 614, when he becameKingofNeustriaandAustrasia. He waged war against the Saxons, who invaded his territories, and he died A. D. 628, leaving his throne to Dagobert I.
50 Father Suysken remarks, that the phrase
It seems probable enough, about the time
52 Father Suysken supposes, that to one Autiernus, a monk of Luxeu, should be quens : &c. This passage, however, has attributed what is here related of Magnoaldus.
discipuli sanctissimi Columbani, ita allo- "
been thus emended by the anonymous monk of St. Emmeiam. Katisbon : "In tempore illo quo beatus Columbanus sanctusque Gal- lus virtutibus magnificis pollentes, in Hiber- nia clarissiini habebantur, frater quidam, nomine Magnoaldus, ex eadem Hibernia oriundus, ad beatum Galium accedans, ita eum alloquiter," &c.
4' He was born in 583, and on the death
of his father, Childeric, in 584, he was under Vol. IX. —No. 3.
Autiernus had asked permission from St.
Columban to visit Ireland, and had been
brought into the desert, that he might learn the will of God in his regard.
53 The Bollandist editor assumes, that the
interpolator of our saint's Acts had absurdly placed this river in Ireland ; whereas the proper inference to be drawn from the con- text is, that he wrote concerning the country near Luxeu.
in this narrative,
"
utrum propositum animi isbonowed from a passage
arripias, an non,
"
:'
Pergentes in eremum voluntatem Dei probemus, utrum desideratum iter arri-
in Jonas :
pias, an in ccetu Fratrum permaneas. "— Sancti Columbani. "
Vita
51 The Bollandist editor remarks, that treating about this incident, Jonas in his Vita S. Columbani calls him Soniarius.
130 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6. Dominus in sapientia et astutia, a cujus magno nomine Magnoaldus
vocaris. "54 Again he added
:
" Cognita tibi sint omnia ministeria monastica,
a quibus cognomen habes Magnoaldus. "ss Then having become a monk, he was entrusted by St. Columban with care of the monastic cellar, or in other words, he became the bursar or econome of the entire establishment at Luxeu.
Again, the accounts of St. Magnoald state, that while acting in that
capacity, his assistant, having brought a vessel,56 and tapped a cask of beer to serve for the refectory, Soniarius heard the Master's voice calling him. In
the spirit of ready obedience, he ran with the bung in his hand, forgetting to close the vent, and appeared before Columban, Gall and Magnoald. Reminded of his neglect, Soniarius ran back to the cellar, thinking that no liquor could have remained in the flowing cask. However, it was otherwise, and a miracle caused its stoppage, to reward the cellarer's and assistant's exact observance of monastic discipline. 57 On returning, Soniarius related what
8
Winigozus,* to accompany him to the cellar, both saw the wonder, and agreed that it should be reported to St. Columban, A contest of humility ensued between Soniarius and Magnoald, each seeking to ascribe the miracle to the other's merits. 59 However, it was endedby Columban declaring, that he had seen
the angel of the Lord making a sign over the vessel, and preceding Magnoald,
60
when he had called the boy Soniarius.
There are legendary accounts in his Acts, of how St. Magnoald sought
apples in the wilderness, for the refreshment of Saints Colunibanus and Gallus, and of how a bear allowed him to take a share of what had been
found. 61
Again,
food, by an order from the holy abbot, Magnoaldus procured a number of birds, which allowed themselves to be taken by him and by the monks. 62
54 Thus rendered into English: "The 59 The Bbllandist editor observes, that this Lord make you great in wisdom and pru- contest is not to be found in the account o$ dence, from whose great name you shall be Jonas, from whom he supposes it to have called Magnoaldus. " The Goldast edition been borrowed, nor does he mention Mag*
of the Acts, and another MS. has "voceris. " noald in connexion with the narrative. In
to and the latter a named happened Magnoaldus, asking priest,
it is told, that while the community had been in want of
"""
To thee be entrusted all the monastic services, from which you
have the name Magnoaldus. "
56 It is called a Typrus or a Tybrus, by
ss Thus translated
:
Fleming's lowing:
Collectanea Sacra is the fol-
Hujusmodi olim in monasterio
ancient monastic writers ; the exact form or
capacity of which does not now seem to be
we'll understood. Compare the account sua imperfecta relinquit. "
given in the text with what is related in
6o The writer of our Saint's Acts then
" Collectanea Sacra. '. ' Vita S.
continues " O magnum divinss ;
Fleming's
Columbani, Abbatis, cap. xv. , p. 227.
potential donuin, qui adhuc neophitO SUO Servo tantam
57 Thus is the event related : "At ille,
viso seraculo, recordatus negligentiae, velo- citer ad cellarium rediit, a>timans nihil in
vase, de quocerevisiadecurrebat,remansisse.
Intuitu* ergo vidit, supra tiprum cerevisiam
crevisse, quatinus, qualis et quanta rotun-
ditas infra tipri inerat coronam, talis in ascribed to Chagnoaldus, and a. -, having
ahum crevisse urna videretur, et ne mini- mam stillam foras cecidisse. "
s8 Goldast's version and that of another
manuscript read Winiachus, while Canisius
" Vita
S. Columbani," he mentions a " Winnocus buit. "—"Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
has the name Winniacus. In
Jonas'
presbyter," who was a familiar of St. Columban. Perhaps he was identical with the priest mentioned in the text.
tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, xxix. , p. 355. 62 " "
"
Sancti-gallensi exemplum contigit ; cujus rei
testes usque in nunc diem remanent versus
aliqui in porta capituli, ubi turn loci cella vinaiia fuerat, appensi. I'erfecta obedientia
gratiam conferre dignatus est, ut jam Magnus inter fratres voceris. Ad hate conticuit beat us
6l
occurred near Brtgantium in Rhsetia, after St. Columban had been expelled from Luxeu in6lo. Mabillon states : '• Incautus lectores fefellit Pseudo-Theodorus in Vita Magno* aldi, cum Chagnoaldi facta Magnoaldo tri-
Magnoaldus, giatias agens Deo in corde suo de tanta miseiecordia sua. "
It has been observed that this miracle, related in the Life of St. Magnus, iias been
In the Vita S. Columbani of Jonas, he relates this miracle before the former one,
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 131 This supply was sufficient for three days ; at the end of which time, those
63 who lived in the
Columban's Monastery, through the ngency of Saints Gall and Magnoald. 6*
At one time, a thought possessed the mind of St. Columban,65 that he should open a mission among the Sclaves 66 and Veniti/7 j n order to
withdraw them from 68 and paganism
good people
adjoining
cities food to St. brought
open
the true and living God. Wherefore he consulted St. Gallus and St.
Magnoald. The former said to the latter : "Brother, what think you of this journey for our abbot? " Magnoald answered : "Master Superior, first ask for Divine direction ; and afterwards, if you deem it proper to set out, let us depart. " On hearing this, Columban ordered a fast for three days, imploring light from above on that subject. The third night, an angel appeared to all
three, and showed them a small tracing of the world's map, saying
:
" You
see, that the whole world is a void ; say ye to Columban, go to the right and
left, that you may reap the fruit of vour labours, but it is not expedient for
you to go thither. " Tin's admonition was enough for the holy abbot, that he was not to be the apostle of those nations ; and. therefore, he resolved on resting where he was, content with the services of Magnoald alone, until
6 the way was opened for his departure to Italy. 9
To the rule of St. Columban, Masnoald seems to have conformed, while he was under the protection of King Theodebert,? and engaged on
1
missionary labours near the Lake of Zurich. ?
had been declared between the brothers Theoderic ?
a time of ' famine, "cumque jam triduo jejunio fessa corpora essent. " Here, however, there is
no mention of Magnoaldus.
63
related from that in the "Vita S. Columbani" of Jonas is the account contained in the text: "Quarto deinde die quidam pontifex ex vicinis urbi- bus frumenti copiam, divina admonitus aspiratione, ad B. Cohmibanum direxit ; sed
mox
Omnipotens, qui y. enuriam patientibus aligeros prxbuerat cibos, ut farris adeps advenit, alitum phalanges imperavit abire. "
64 In Fleming's "Collectanea Sacra," Vita S. Columbani Abbatis, we find the name of Magnoaldus introduced into the text, and in the margin Chagoald is a different reading. See cap. xxvi. , p. 239.
65 Thus stated by Jonas, in his " Vita S. Columbani :" " Interea cogitatio in mentem ruit, ut Venetiorum, qui et Sclavi dicuntur, terminos adiret," &c. See ibid. , pp. 239, 240.
the other for evil. The former was known as Biel Bog, or the "white god," from whom all benefits proceeded, and the latter was
and states, that it
happened during
66
For a very complete account of the
l'Abbe Migne.
7 1 "The situation of the Lake of Zurich in
many respects resembles that of Con-tance ;
no part of it can be said to be within the
Differently
Sclaves, their origin, tribal division, and mountain zone, though the neighbourhood
history, the reader is referred to the Articles
headed Slavonia and Slavonians, in Charles
Knight's "Penny Cyclopaedia," vol. xxii. , pp. 100 to 128.
67 See Dean Millman's " History of Latin
is almost everywhere hilly, and the moun- tains are not far from its eastern end. The
Christianity," vol. ii. , 293.
book
goodly
houses and
68
According to the early Christian mis-
iv. , chap,
v. ,
p.
thriving villages. " "Picturesque Europe," vol. v. Eastern
Switzerland, pp. 87, 88.
f Known as Theoderic II. , son of the
sionaries among the Sclaves, they worshipped
various idols. It is said, that those who aforementioned Childebert, who succeeded lived on the shores of the Baltic admitted to his father's Kingdom of Burgundy, A. D.
two different principles
—one for
good
and
596.
their minds to a of knowledge
called Chemi Bog, or the
black god," who
given by Jonas, in his
"
Vita S. Columbani. '
While in Switzerland, war
2
and Theodobert, with
"
caused all sorrows, and misfortunes. How-
ever, the Sixth Synod of Constantinople (a. i). 680) enumerates Slavonians among the Christian nations.
69 The foregoing account varies from that
70 Known as Theodebert son ot II. ,
Childebert, King of Austrasia, and who succeeded to this Kingdom of Austrasia, a. d. 596, after his father's death. His brother Theoderic II. was assigned the Kingdom of Burgundy. Both were left under the
tutelage of their grandmother Brunehaut. "
See Abrege de l'Histoire de France," liv. i. CEuvres Completes de Bossuet, Eveque de Meaux, tome x. , col. 1 1 77. Edition de
scenery is diversified, bright and sunny, rather than grand. Its shores in many parts are richly cultivated, and studded wi—th
132 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6,
varied fortune j*3 and, at that very time, when the decisive battle of Tolbiac i*> was fought, both Coluniban and Magnoald had a revelation regarding its results. 75 This they communicated to each other.
