This same
gentleman
states, that he takes Inch to be the \m\ "Oonfite of the Irish Calendars.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
ix.
, p.
377, and n.
24, p.
378.
1 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 612.
*"
See Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His-
12
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cxli. , p. 96.
,3 Thus is he called by Jocelyn.
l4 See ibid. , Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
This was a parish church, in
and regarding
52 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Jul* 4. Patrick travelled through the northern parts of Ireland. Again, Volchanus is
thought whom so
Olcan, Bishop other romantic incidents are
Bolcan, 18
I5 to bethesameas
of
Annoy,
16 or
1? about
many
River Moy. His relics remain at Kilmore, that is,
20
and, also, by the authors of the Tripartite Lives of St. Patrick. ^ After a holy life, St. Olchan or Bolcan, renowned for his miracles as well as for his virtues, rested in the Lord, and he was buried at his place, now known as Kihnore, near the
"
In the Martyrology of Donegal of July, St. Bolcan, Abbot.
2I
is entered Bolcan,
his monastery stood.
of Cill Cuile, at this date. The Circle of the Seasons 2a
registers,
at the
4th
Article II. —St. Finbarr or Fionubharr, Abbot of Inis Doimhle, County of Wexford. [Sixth Century. ] This holy man must have flourished in the early ages of the Irish Church, and on the father's side he descended through a very illustrious line, from Feidhlimidh Rechtmar, or the
of Ireland. 1 From the he was twelve Law-giver, King latter,
generations in immediate succession. 2 This brings him one generation later than his
illustrious relative St. Brigid,3 patroness of Ireland. He was son of Dalian, son to Liathan, son to Briun, son of Eoghan, son of Brechin, son of Artur Corb. 4 HewasbrothertothesonsofAedh,ofAth-cliath. Inthe"Feilire"5
of St. ^Engus, Findbarr of Inis Teimle is commemorated, on the 4th of July.
There is a gloss, likewise, which states, that he belonged to the land of LJi
Cennselaig, and that he lived among the Desi. Another gloss adds, that
Inis Teimle has been derived from darkness, because such was the Isle, until
the two sons of Aed of Ath Cliath, who were Findbarr and Barrfind, went
6
thither.
the name of Finbarr, Abbot of Innse Domle. Marianus O'Gorman commemo- rates him, at this same date. The Rev. Alban Butler 8 makes him the founder
In the Martyrology of Tallagh i at the 4th of July, we find entered
cxli. , p. 96.
J 16
Volume of this work, at the 20th of Feb- ruary, Art. ii.
naomh Innsi Fail. "
3 See her Life, in the Second Volume of
this work, at February 1st, Art. i. , chap. i.
* See Colgan's "Trias Thaunr. Uurga," Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidce, cap.
iii. , p. 613.
s in the " Leabhar Breac" copy, belong-
ing to the Royal Irish Academy, the follow- ing stanza, translated into English—by
17
Colgan supplies his Acts, at the 20th of
5By Father John Colgan.
See an account of him, in the Second
February. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xx. Februarii. Vita S. Olcani seu
Bolcani, pp. 375 to 378.
18
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. lxxxvi. , p. 85, and n. 94, p. 112, and cap. cxxxvii. , p. 95. Also nn. 143, 144, 145, pp. 114, 115, and n. 149, p. 115*
Patricii,
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , may be found
DAgon'OAr) mop TttAncAin triAr\orelUMb r-eimte
Va cec mAj\cir\ HAin^A
1,1 ,or, e Uennle. V '°hA|A]\in
" Martin's good great ordination, you have not seen its like: with a hundred wonder- ful martyrs, Findbarr of Inis Teimle. "— "Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cix.
6 Then a that Aed was follows statement,
son of Dallen, son to Liathain, son of Briun, son to Eogan, son of Brece, son to Artchorp, son of Fiacha Suigte. Here, he and Brigit meet. See ibid. , p. cxv.
7 Dr. xxviii. Edited by Rev. Kelly, p.
8 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
"'See ibid. ,
Vita S. lib. ii. , cap. cxxviii. , p. 146.
Septima
30 See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July iv.
a'
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 186, 187.
32
Article ii. "
3 He
belonged
to the same race from
See at p. 18—6.
« tothe According
Genealogic Sanctology," chap, xiv. , as
"
quoted by Colgan in
Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidae, cap. iii. , p. 613.
which St. Brighit is descended according to
the which poem
"
Naoimhshenchus
other principal Saints,"
vol. iv. vii. , July
begins,
Trias Thaumaturga,"
related, by Jocelyn, 1
the great cell," where
:
July 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5 3
of a famous monastery in the Isle of Crimlen, and remarks, that he is not to
beconfoundedwithSt. Finbarr,thefirstbishopofCork. ? TheBollandistsIO
have noticed St. Finnbarr, Abbot of Inis-Doimhle, on the authority of Father
O'Sheerin's Irish Manuscripts ; but, they seem incapable of distinguishing him from another St. Finnbarr, venerated on the 10th or 20th of September.
He flourished probably some time during the sixth century. He was abbot in Inis Doimhle, between Ui Ceiunsealaigh and the Deisi. According to a
learned Irish 11 Inis Doimhle would topographer,
appear
called Inch, situated in the barony of Shelmaliere, and county of Wexford.
There is a parish called Inch, 12 in the south-western extremity of Shelmalier West barony, in the county of Wexford. ^ In the year 1840, some remains of the old church walls placed in this parish were visible, but they had been so entirely covered over with thorns and briars, that the length and breadth
1
of the former building could not be measured. * These ruins had an appear-
ance of great antiquity, and the walls had been altogether built with very
large stones. According to tradition, no interment had taken place there, since the middle of the last century. The present holy man is said to have
founded a monastery, in the Isle of Drumlen, between Hy Kinsellagh and
the Decies of Munster/s according to a Manuscript of John Windale.
16
Ac-
cording to another statement, the Irish Damhly of the old Irish Manuscripts
was no other than the Insula Sancta Clara, now called Cape Clear Island. 1 ?
18 at this same him as Fionn- date, registers
The of Martyrology
Donegal,
bharr, son of Aedh. In the Irish Calendar *9 belonging to the Irish Ordnance
of 20 In July.
" 22 enteredlikewise,inthe CircleoftheSeasons/' atthe4thofJuly.
ArticleIII. —FeastofSt. Martin'sOrdination. IntheearlyIrish
as we find in the "Feilire" 1 of St. and on the of Church, ^Engus, 4U1 July,
9
there is an of St. entry
at the
Survey Records,
Scotland he was venerated, on the same
Fionabar,
but written in the year 1S40, pp. 356, 357. I4OntheeasternbankofOwenduffRiver, in the townland of Kayle, and not far from Julii iv. Among the pretermitted saints, the old church, is Lady's Well. It was concealed in the middle of a shrubbery, in
Colgan's Manuscripts, at the 4th of July arequoted. Seeibid.
10 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
p . 4.
Dr. O'Donovan. See his "Annals of
to.
r5 Bibl. MSS. Sowensisis, vol.
Irish Records, vol. vi. , p. 829.
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n.
(1)), p. 380.
i. , p. 158.
12
According to Mr. O'Donovan, the name
Inch is an of or 1 which
l6 Now in the of the preserved Library
Royal Irish Academy.
I7 See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's "Ireland : its
Scenery, Character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 137,
138.
l8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
186, 187.
I9 Intituled "Common Place Book F,"
and now preserved in the Royal Irish Aca-
demy.
20 Thus : tl ponnAbViAn mac AoxAi mAC
"DaHaim x>o rhliopeocho ponn -oeanbh- nacViAn no bnAcViAfv -oo cloitin mac <Vot)h <\c! ia cIiacVi. &b Infe "O01mhie & leich imchiol na CinnreAlAch. See p. 60.
21TheKalendariumDrummondiensehas:
Anglicizing 1tiif nfe, signifies an island, or the holme of a river.
This same gentleman states, that he takes Inch to be the \m\ "Oonfite of the Irish Calendars. These remarks of Mr. O'Dono- van are included within a foregoing letter of Mr. O'Keefe, at p. 356. In the Parish and Barony Name Book for the County of Wexford, Mr. O'Donovan also renders Inch by 1nfe, a holm strath or island, at p. 50.
13 The parish of Inch is bounded on the east and west, by divided portions of Clon- geen parish ; on the north, by Newbawn ; and on the south-west, by Owenduff parish. It is situated about nine miles eastward of NewRoss. See"LetterscontainingInfor- mation relative to the Antiquities of the County Wexford, collected during the
Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840," vol. ii. Mr. O'Keefe's Letter, not dated,
" Et apud Iliber—niam Natale Sancti Con- "
day.
4th
21 The feast of this saint is
to be the now place
fessoris Finbarr. " Bishop F«rbes' Kalen-
dais of Scottish Saints," p. 17.
3a
See p. 186.
54 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 4.
was celebrated the feast of St. Martin's ordination. A comment explains, thatthisreferredtohisreceptionoftheepiscopateatTours,inFrance. 2 The Bollandists3refertohisfestival,likewise,atthisdate; whiletheystyleitthe feast for the Translation of his Relics, relying on an entry in the old Epter- nac Martyrology. 4 Also in the old Martyrology of Corbie, there appears to have been a triple celebration—viz. , of his episcopal Ordination, of a corpo- real Translation of his Relics, and of the Dedication of a church to him—and
all singularly enough coinciding on the 4th of July. s In the Kalendar of 6
Drummond, this triple feast of his Translation, of his Ordination, and of the Dedication of his church is to be found, at this same date. The Translation alone is commemorated in the Kalendar of Hyrdmanistoun,? in the Calendar of Culenros, 8 and in the Kalendar of Arbuthnott. 9 His feast of Translation is also entered, in that Kalendar belonging to the Breviary of Aberdeen. 10
Article IV. —Reputed Feast of St. Siluenieus at Kilreule, in
Scotland. IntheScottish ofThomas 1 thereisnotice Menology Dempster,
of a Canon Silueneius or Silveneus, at Kilrule, on this day. He is said to have received St. Regulus,* when he brought the Relics of St. Andre\v,3 the Apostle. From Dempster, Ferrarius introduced Silveneus to his General Catalogue of Saints, and, it is stated, that he lived about the year 369. The Bollandists 4 have notices to this effect, at the 4th of July, but they seem to attach little importance to the statements of Dempster.
Article V. —Reputed FeastJSt. Modwenna. In the Supplement to
his Univeral as we are informed the Bollandists, 1 Castellan Martyrology, by
has placed the feast of St. Modwenna, at the 4th of July. In the approved Kalendars, her festival has been assigned to the day following.
Article VI. —Translat—ion of the Relics of St—. Ursula. In the
1
Lubeck and Cologne edition as the Bollandists state of Greven's addi-
tions to the Martyrology of Usuard may be found the Translation of some
2
Relics of St. Ursula, virgin and queen, from the city of Cologne, to the
monastery Tuiciense, on the banks of the Rhine, and at the 4th of July.
Article hi. —1 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
"
Article iv. —x See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 204.
Scries, vol i. , part i. Oengus, p. cix.
On the Calendar of
2 His feast has been referred to the 30th of March, and to the 17th of October.
His festival occurs, on the 30th of No- vember.
3
See ibid. , p. cxv.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
the
* See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
Among
It is there entered: Translatio S.
Martini in Turnis. "
5TheBollandistsadd, "etiaminhodierno
Romano. Dempstero placuit scribere : Co- Ionise, Martini Scotorum Patroni translatio. De eadem cgimus in observatione ad Usuar- dum, omnia remittentes ad diem natalem xi. Novembris. "
iv.
pretermitted feasts, p. 4.
Julii *"
—the Among
ii. , pretermitted feasts, p. 4.
6
tish Saints,'' p. 17.
3 To this is added, another Translation of
St. Florentina or Floientia, Virgin and
Martyr, belonging to the company of the
ElevenThousand butwhosechief Virgins,
festival is more properly referable to the 2ist of October.
Article VII. — ' This was an Irish
See Bishop l-'orbes' "Kalendars of Scot-
1 Seeibid. ,
p. 42. Scr ibid. , p. 59.
1
1 See ibid. ,
10 See ibid. , p. 118.
p. 103.
iv. Article v.
ii. , Julii feasts, p. 4.
Article VI. tomus ii. , Julii iv. feasts, p. 4.
Julii
tomus
Sanctorum," Among pretermitted
iv.
the
—
'
See " Acta Sanctorum," Among the pretermitted
'
See "Acta
July 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 55
Article VII. —Reputed Feast of St. Marianus, Confessor and
Abbot, at Ratisbon. {Eleventh Century. '] At this date, July 4th, Camerarius places the festival of St. Marianus, Confessor and Abbot, in the
celebrated Scottish x of Ratisbon in He Monastery Germany. *
is said to have lived in the Caledonian province of Scotia, the chief city of which is called Dumcalidonia, or Dunkeld, and there to have presided over a com-
munityofmonks,andwithagreatreputationforsanctity. However,amore exact criticism has proved him to have been an Irishman from Donegal. 3 There is a memoir of him and of his successors composed by an Irish monk of Ratisbon. * Dempster has an imperfect account of him at this same date,* which he notes as the Feast for his Translation.
Article VIII. —Reputed Translation of St. Rumold's Relics. In the Codex of Usuard at Bruxelles and in the Florarius Sanctorum, the Bollan-
dists *
July. month.
that the Translation of St. Rumold is set down, at the 4th of His Life has been pretty fully treated already, at the 1st of this
jfiftft 2Bap of gulp,
state, 8
ARTICLE I. —ST. MODWEN, MONYNNA, MONINIA, MONENNA, MODUENNA, MODWENNA, MONYMA, MODOVENA, MOWENA, MODVENNA, OR NODWENNA, VIRGIN.
[PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY^
can scarcely be a doubt, but that the biography of the present
THEREwoman has been confused holy by
different writers. It
certainly
requires a critical examination and correction, if we are to draw any authentic
particulars, which serve to distinguish her individuality, place, and period.
The form of name has been so varied, that a probability arises of more than one pious saint having lived; and the incidents related, in such Acts as remain to us, serve to show a parachronismus in their application to one and the same person. Again, it seems pretty certain, that her Acts had been written long after the period when she nourished, and which must account for much ignorance on the part of their writers, who were even incapable of separating well known annalistic facts of Irish and English history, or of
Monastery, and founded for Irishmen. s Thus : "B Colonise Martini—Scotorum
a In the " Review " of Edinburgh
translatio. Adelbaud. " Menolo- gium Scoticum. Bishop Forbes' " Kalen-
Sancto-
rum," tomus ii. , Julii iv. Among the pre- termitted saints, p. 2.
2 See in the present volume of this work, Art. i.
Article I. —* Nothing more seems to be knownregardinghim; buthisnameandthe
January, patroni 1861, there is an interesting article on " The
Scottish Religious Houses abroad. "
3 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 391.
4 This is in the Bollandists' "Acta Sane-
torum, "tomus ii. ,Februariiix. DeB. Mariano Scoto, Abbate Ord. S. Benedicti, et B. Mur- cherato Incluso, Ratisbonse in Bavaria, pp. 365to372.
dars of Scottish S—aints," p. 204. '
Articleviii. See "Acta
56 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 5<
referring these to periods which could not have been contemporaneous with any one living person. Intrinsically, too, they abound in fables or incre- dible narratives, calculated not only to puzzle, but likewise to displease and to disappoint, the studious readers of hagiology.
Several Manuscript Lives of this holy woman are extant, and some of h—er
x
and that by an anonymous writer 3 as found in a Sala-
Acts have been published. Among the latter, are her Life by Concubran
—
an ancient writer 2
mancanManuscript/ GalfridusEdys,otherwiseknownasGeoffrey,amonk
of Burton,5 prepared a Life of St. Modwenna. 6 Among the Clarendon
Manuscripts 7 is contained a Life of St. Modwenna, Virgin. There is
another,8 written by Concubran. 9 Among other records, we find extant a
Tract intituled : S. Modvennae Vita, et Tractatus de Miraculis
ejus.
10 This
Manuscript, written in the thirteenth century, formerly belonged to the Abbey
An of of Burton exists. 11 In the Bodleian ofRevesby. abridgment Geoffrey
Library, Oxford, there is a Manuscript Life of this saint.
12
It was written in
the fifteenth In a Lambeth 1* there are Acts or century. ^ Manuscript,
notices of several saints out of the regular order at the end, and among these
1 is a lengthy Life of St. Modvenna. *
Life of St. Monenna,18 which was written in the seventeenth century. In some
1
of her Acts, she is called indifferently Monynna and Darerca. ^ John
90 at tertio Nonas
Abbess. TheEnglishMartyrologyandHenryFitzsimonhaveModwenna, Virgin, for the same feast-day. The anonymous Calendar published by
Modwenna has been and at written,
16 This : 7 contains poem
great length.
about 10,360 lines. Among the Sloane Manuscripts, there is a paper folio
Capgrave,
also mentions St. and Modwena, Virgin
Julii,
intrinsic statements in the memoir sufficiently demonstrate that he was Imh. This Life n piinted by the Bollandists.
2 He appears to have been the earliest known compiler of St. Modwenna's Life, and from it, as the ba^is, many other Lives were drawn.
"
3 This has been printed in the Acta
"
Sanctorum of the Bollandists, at the 6th
July. torn, ii. , p. 290.
4 It begins with these words: "Virgo
venerabilis nomine Darerca, cognomento
Monynnna," &c.
s Uc was at first prior of Winchester, and
afterwards he was promoted to be abbot of
Burton-upon-Trent, from A. D. 1114 to 1151. AnnalesBurtonapudFell,i. , pp. 248,249.
6 There is a copy among the Cottonian
Itisclashed, — A Manuscripts. Cleopat. ii. ,
small vellum, 4to. Th—is Life Manuscript oftheeleventhcentury properlybelongsto Conchubranus, whose name occurs at the end. There is likewise a S. Modvennoe Vita, per Galfridum Burtoniensem, described
as MS.
cum," p. 612.
*"
See Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His-
12
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cxli. , p. 96.
,3 Thus is he called by Jocelyn.
l4 See ibid. , Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
This was a parish church, in
and regarding
52 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Jul* 4. Patrick travelled through the northern parts of Ireland. Again, Volchanus is
thought whom so
Olcan, Bishop other romantic incidents are
Bolcan, 18
I5 to bethesameas
of
Annoy,
16 or
1? about
many
River Moy. His relics remain at Kilmore, that is,
20
and, also, by the authors of the Tripartite Lives of St. Patrick. ^ After a holy life, St. Olchan or Bolcan, renowned for his miracles as well as for his virtues, rested in the Lord, and he was buried at his place, now known as Kihnore, near the
"
In the Martyrology of Donegal of July, St. Bolcan, Abbot.
2I
is entered Bolcan,
his monastery stood.
of Cill Cuile, at this date. The Circle of the Seasons 2a
registers,
at the
4th
Article II. —St. Finbarr or Fionubharr, Abbot of Inis Doimhle, County of Wexford. [Sixth Century. ] This holy man must have flourished in the early ages of the Irish Church, and on the father's side he descended through a very illustrious line, from Feidhlimidh Rechtmar, or the
of Ireland. 1 From the he was twelve Law-giver, King latter,
generations in immediate succession. 2 This brings him one generation later than his
illustrious relative St. Brigid,3 patroness of Ireland. He was son of Dalian, son to Liathan, son to Briun, son of Eoghan, son of Brechin, son of Artur Corb. 4 HewasbrothertothesonsofAedh,ofAth-cliath. Inthe"Feilire"5
of St. ^Engus, Findbarr of Inis Teimle is commemorated, on the 4th of July.
There is a gloss, likewise, which states, that he belonged to the land of LJi
Cennselaig, and that he lived among the Desi. Another gloss adds, that
Inis Teimle has been derived from darkness, because such was the Isle, until
the two sons of Aed of Ath Cliath, who were Findbarr and Barrfind, went
6
thither.
the name of Finbarr, Abbot of Innse Domle. Marianus O'Gorman commemo- rates him, at this same date. The Rev. Alban Butler 8 makes him the founder
In the Martyrology of Tallagh i at the 4th of July, we find entered
cxli. , p. 96.
J 16
Volume of this work, at the 20th of Feb- ruary, Art. ii.
naomh Innsi Fail. "
3 See her Life, in the Second Volume of
this work, at February 1st, Art. i. , chap. i.
* See Colgan's "Trias Thaunr. Uurga," Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidce, cap.
iii. , p. 613.
s in the " Leabhar Breac" copy, belong-
ing to the Royal Irish Academy, the follow- ing stanza, translated into English—by
17
Colgan supplies his Acts, at the 20th of
5By Father John Colgan.
See an account of him, in the Second
February. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xx. Februarii. Vita S. Olcani seu
Bolcani, pp. 375 to 378.
18
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. lxxxvi. , p. 85, and n. 94, p. 112, and cap. cxxxvii. , p. 95. Also nn. 143, 144, 145, pp. 114, 115, and n. 149, p. 115*
Patricii,
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , may be found
DAgon'OAr) mop TttAncAin triAr\orelUMb r-eimte
Va cec mAj\cir\ HAin^A
1,1 ,or, e Uennle. V '°hA|A]\in
" Martin's good great ordination, you have not seen its like: with a hundred wonder- ful martyrs, Findbarr of Inis Teimle. "— "Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cix.
6 Then a that Aed was follows statement,
son of Dallen, son to Liathain, son of Briun, son to Eogan, son of Brece, son to Artchorp, son of Fiacha Suigte. Here, he and Brigit meet. See ibid. , p. cxv.
7 Dr. xxviii. Edited by Rev. Kelly, p.
8 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
"'See ibid. ,
Vita S. lib. ii. , cap. cxxviii. , p. 146.
Septima
30 See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July iv.
a'
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 186, 187.
32
Article ii. "
3 He
belonged
to the same race from
See at p. 18—6.
« tothe According
Genealogic Sanctology," chap, xiv. , as
"
quoted by Colgan in
Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidae, cap. iii. , p. 613.
which St. Brighit is descended according to
the which poem
"
Naoimhshenchus
other principal Saints,"
vol. iv. vii. , July
begins,
Trias Thaumaturga,"
related, by Jocelyn, 1
the great cell," where
:
July 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5 3
of a famous monastery in the Isle of Crimlen, and remarks, that he is not to
beconfoundedwithSt. Finbarr,thefirstbishopofCork. ? TheBollandistsIO
have noticed St. Finnbarr, Abbot of Inis-Doimhle, on the authority of Father
O'Sheerin's Irish Manuscripts ; but, they seem incapable of distinguishing him from another St. Finnbarr, venerated on the 10th or 20th of September.
He flourished probably some time during the sixth century. He was abbot in Inis Doimhle, between Ui Ceiunsealaigh and the Deisi. According to a
learned Irish 11 Inis Doimhle would topographer,
appear
called Inch, situated in the barony of Shelmaliere, and county of Wexford.
There is a parish called Inch, 12 in the south-western extremity of Shelmalier West barony, in the county of Wexford. ^ In the year 1840, some remains of the old church walls placed in this parish were visible, but they had been so entirely covered over with thorns and briars, that the length and breadth
1
of the former building could not be measured. * These ruins had an appear-
ance of great antiquity, and the walls had been altogether built with very
large stones. According to tradition, no interment had taken place there, since the middle of the last century. The present holy man is said to have
founded a monastery, in the Isle of Drumlen, between Hy Kinsellagh and
the Decies of Munster/s according to a Manuscript of John Windale.
16
Ac-
cording to another statement, the Irish Damhly of the old Irish Manuscripts
was no other than the Insula Sancta Clara, now called Cape Clear Island. 1 ?
18 at this same him as Fionn- date, registers
The of Martyrology
Donegal,
bharr, son of Aedh. In the Irish Calendar *9 belonging to the Irish Ordnance
of 20 In July.
" 22 enteredlikewise,inthe CircleoftheSeasons/' atthe4thofJuly.
ArticleIII. —FeastofSt. Martin'sOrdination. IntheearlyIrish
as we find in the "Feilire" 1 of St. and on the of Church, ^Engus, 4U1 July,
9
there is an of St. entry
at the
Survey Records,
Scotland he was venerated, on the same
Fionabar,
but written in the year 1S40, pp. 356, 357. I4OntheeasternbankofOwenduffRiver, in the townland of Kayle, and not far from Julii iv. Among the pretermitted saints, the old church, is Lady's Well. It was concealed in the middle of a shrubbery, in
Colgan's Manuscripts, at the 4th of July arequoted. Seeibid.
10 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
p . 4.
Dr. O'Donovan. See his "Annals of
to.
r5 Bibl. MSS. Sowensisis, vol.
Irish Records, vol. vi. , p. 829.
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n.
(1)), p. 380.
i. , p. 158.
12
According to Mr. O'Donovan, the name
Inch is an of or 1 which
l6 Now in the of the preserved Library
Royal Irish Academy.
I7 See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's "Ireland : its
Scenery, Character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 137,
138.
l8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
186, 187.
I9 Intituled "Common Place Book F,"
and now preserved in the Royal Irish Aca-
demy.
20 Thus : tl ponnAbViAn mac AoxAi mAC
"DaHaim x>o rhliopeocho ponn -oeanbh- nacViAn no bnAcViAfv -oo cloitin mac <Vot)h <\c! ia cIiacVi. &b Infe "O01mhie & leich imchiol na CinnreAlAch. See p. 60.
21TheKalendariumDrummondiensehas:
Anglicizing 1tiif nfe, signifies an island, or the holme of a river.
This same gentleman states, that he takes Inch to be the \m\ "Oonfite of the Irish Calendars. These remarks of Mr. O'Dono- van are included within a foregoing letter of Mr. O'Keefe, at p. 356. In the Parish and Barony Name Book for the County of Wexford, Mr. O'Donovan also renders Inch by 1nfe, a holm strath or island, at p. 50.
13 The parish of Inch is bounded on the east and west, by divided portions of Clon- geen parish ; on the north, by Newbawn ; and on the south-west, by Owenduff parish. It is situated about nine miles eastward of NewRoss. See"LetterscontainingInfor- mation relative to the Antiquities of the County Wexford, collected during the
Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840," vol. ii. Mr. O'Keefe's Letter, not dated,
" Et apud Iliber—niam Natale Sancti Con- "
day.
4th
21 The feast of this saint is
to be the now place
fessoris Finbarr. " Bishop F«rbes' Kalen-
dais of Scottish Saints," p. 17.
3a
See p. 186.
54 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 4.
was celebrated the feast of St. Martin's ordination. A comment explains, thatthisreferredtohisreceptionoftheepiscopateatTours,inFrance. 2 The Bollandists3refertohisfestival,likewise,atthisdate; whiletheystyleitthe feast for the Translation of his Relics, relying on an entry in the old Epter- nac Martyrology. 4 Also in the old Martyrology of Corbie, there appears to have been a triple celebration—viz. , of his episcopal Ordination, of a corpo- real Translation of his Relics, and of the Dedication of a church to him—and
all singularly enough coinciding on the 4th of July. s In the Kalendar of 6
Drummond, this triple feast of his Translation, of his Ordination, and of the Dedication of his church is to be found, at this same date. The Translation alone is commemorated in the Kalendar of Hyrdmanistoun,? in the Calendar of Culenros, 8 and in the Kalendar of Arbuthnott. 9 His feast of Translation is also entered, in that Kalendar belonging to the Breviary of Aberdeen. 10
Article IV. —Reputed Feast of St. Siluenieus at Kilreule, in
Scotland. IntheScottish ofThomas 1 thereisnotice Menology Dempster,
of a Canon Silueneius or Silveneus, at Kilrule, on this day. He is said to have received St. Regulus,* when he brought the Relics of St. Andre\v,3 the Apostle. From Dempster, Ferrarius introduced Silveneus to his General Catalogue of Saints, and, it is stated, that he lived about the year 369. The Bollandists 4 have notices to this effect, at the 4th of July, but they seem to attach little importance to the statements of Dempster.
Article V. —Reputed FeastJSt. Modwenna. In the Supplement to
his Univeral as we are informed the Bollandists, 1 Castellan Martyrology, by
has placed the feast of St. Modwenna, at the 4th of July. In the approved Kalendars, her festival has been assigned to the day following.
Article VI. —Translat—ion of the Relics of St—. Ursula. In the
1
Lubeck and Cologne edition as the Bollandists state of Greven's addi-
tions to the Martyrology of Usuard may be found the Translation of some
2
Relics of St. Ursula, virgin and queen, from the city of Cologne, to the
monastery Tuiciense, on the banks of the Rhine, and at the 4th of July.
Article hi. —1 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
"
Article iv. —x See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 204.
Scries, vol i. , part i. Oengus, p. cix.
On the Calendar of
2 His feast has been referred to the 30th of March, and to the 17th of October.
His festival occurs, on the 30th of No- vember.
3
See ibid. , p. cxv.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
the
* See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
Among
It is there entered: Translatio S.
Martini in Turnis. "
5TheBollandistsadd, "etiaminhodierno
Romano. Dempstero placuit scribere : Co- Ionise, Martini Scotorum Patroni translatio. De eadem cgimus in observatione ad Usuar- dum, omnia remittentes ad diem natalem xi. Novembris. "
iv.
pretermitted feasts, p. 4.
Julii *"
—the Among
ii. , pretermitted feasts, p. 4.
6
tish Saints,'' p. 17.
3 To this is added, another Translation of
St. Florentina or Floientia, Virgin and
Martyr, belonging to the company of the
ElevenThousand butwhosechief Virgins,
festival is more properly referable to the 2ist of October.
Article VII. — ' This was an Irish
See Bishop l-'orbes' "Kalendars of Scot-
1 Seeibid. ,
p. 42. Scr ibid. , p. 59.
1
1 See ibid. ,
10 See ibid. , p. 118.
p. 103.
iv. Article v.
ii. , Julii feasts, p. 4.
Article VI. tomus ii. , Julii iv. feasts, p. 4.
Julii
tomus
Sanctorum," Among pretermitted
iv.
the
—
'
See " Acta Sanctorum," Among the pretermitted
'
See "Acta
July 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 55
Article VII. —Reputed Feast of St. Marianus, Confessor and
Abbot, at Ratisbon. {Eleventh Century. '] At this date, July 4th, Camerarius places the festival of St. Marianus, Confessor and Abbot, in the
celebrated Scottish x of Ratisbon in He Monastery Germany. *
is said to have lived in the Caledonian province of Scotia, the chief city of which is called Dumcalidonia, or Dunkeld, and there to have presided over a com-
munityofmonks,andwithagreatreputationforsanctity. However,amore exact criticism has proved him to have been an Irishman from Donegal. 3 There is a memoir of him and of his successors composed by an Irish monk of Ratisbon. * Dempster has an imperfect account of him at this same date,* which he notes as the Feast for his Translation.
Article VIII. —Reputed Translation of St. Rumold's Relics. In the Codex of Usuard at Bruxelles and in the Florarius Sanctorum, the Bollan-
dists *
July. month.
that the Translation of St. Rumold is set down, at the 4th of His Life has been pretty fully treated already, at the 1st of this
jfiftft 2Bap of gulp,
state, 8
ARTICLE I. —ST. MODWEN, MONYNNA, MONINIA, MONENNA, MODUENNA, MODWENNA, MONYMA, MODOVENA, MOWENA, MODVENNA, OR NODWENNA, VIRGIN.
[PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY^
can scarcely be a doubt, but that the biography of the present
THEREwoman has been confused holy by
different writers. It
certainly
requires a critical examination and correction, if we are to draw any authentic
particulars, which serve to distinguish her individuality, place, and period.
The form of name has been so varied, that a probability arises of more than one pious saint having lived; and the incidents related, in such Acts as remain to us, serve to show a parachronismus in their application to one and the same person. Again, it seems pretty certain, that her Acts had been written long after the period when she nourished, and which must account for much ignorance on the part of their writers, who were even incapable of separating well known annalistic facts of Irish and English history, or of
Monastery, and founded for Irishmen. s Thus : "B Colonise Martini—Scotorum
a In the " Review " of Edinburgh
translatio. Adelbaud. " Menolo- gium Scoticum. Bishop Forbes' " Kalen-
Sancto-
rum," tomus ii. , Julii iv. Among the pre- termitted saints, p. 2.
2 See in the present volume of this work, Art. i.
Article I. —* Nothing more seems to be knownregardinghim; buthisnameandthe
January, patroni 1861, there is an interesting article on " The
Scottish Religious Houses abroad. "
3 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 391.
4 This is in the Bollandists' "Acta Sane-
torum, "tomus ii. ,Februariiix. DeB. Mariano Scoto, Abbate Ord. S. Benedicti, et B. Mur- cherato Incluso, Ratisbonse in Bavaria, pp. 365to372.
dars of Scottish S—aints," p. 204. '
Articleviii. See "Acta
56 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 5<
referring these to periods which could not have been contemporaneous with any one living person. Intrinsically, too, they abound in fables or incre- dible narratives, calculated not only to puzzle, but likewise to displease and to disappoint, the studious readers of hagiology.
Several Manuscript Lives of this holy woman are extant, and some of h—er
x
and that by an anonymous writer 3 as found in a Sala-
Acts have been published. Among the latter, are her Life by Concubran
—
an ancient writer 2
mancanManuscript/ GalfridusEdys,otherwiseknownasGeoffrey,amonk
of Burton,5 prepared a Life of St. Modwenna. 6 Among the Clarendon
Manuscripts 7 is contained a Life of St. Modwenna, Virgin. There is
another,8 written by Concubran. 9 Among other records, we find extant a
Tract intituled : S. Modvennae Vita, et Tractatus de Miraculis
ejus.
10 This
Manuscript, written in the thirteenth century, formerly belonged to the Abbey
An of of Burton exists. 11 In the Bodleian ofRevesby. abridgment Geoffrey
Library, Oxford, there is a Manuscript Life of this saint.
12
It was written in
the fifteenth In a Lambeth 1* there are Acts or century. ^ Manuscript,
notices of several saints out of the regular order at the end, and among these
1 is a lengthy Life of St. Modvenna. *
Life of St. Monenna,18 which was written in the seventeenth century. In some
1
of her Acts, she is called indifferently Monynna and Darerca. ^ John
90 at tertio Nonas
Abbess. TheEnglishMartyrologyandHenryFitzsimonhaveModwenna, Virgin, for the same feast-day. The anonymous Calendar published by
Modwenna has been and at written,
16 This : 7 contains poem
great length.
about 10,360 lines. Among the Sloane Manuscripts, there is a paper folio
Capgrave,
also mentions St. and Modwena, Virgin
Julii,
intrinsic statements in the memoir sufficiently demonstrate that he was Imh. This Life n piinted by the Bollandists.
2 He appears to have been the earliest known compiler of St. Modwenna's Life, and from it, as the ba^is, many other Lives were drawn.
"
3 This has been printed in the Acta
"
Sanctorum of the Bollandists, at the 6th
July. torn, ii. , p. 290.
4 It begins with these words: "Virgo
venerabilis nomine Darerca, cognomento
Monynnna," &c.
s Uc was at first prior of Winchester, and
afterwards he was promoted to be abbot of
Burton-upon-Trent, from A. D. 1114 to 1151. AnnalesBurtonapudFell,i. , pp. 248,249.
6 There is a copy among the Cottonian
Itisclashed, — A Manuscripts. Cleopat. ii. ,
small vellum, 4to. Th—is Life Manuscript oftheeleventhcentury properlybelongsto Conchubranus, whose name occurs at the end. There is likewise a S. Modvennoe Vita, per Galfridum Burtoniensem, described
as MS.
