mun, which is near Lochavich, has a church,
formerly
called Kildachmanan, and dedi- cated to St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
xxxi.
, p.
357, and n.
27, p.
384.
94 Colgan finds a St. Fintan, son of Aidus, venerated at the 4th of October; but, besides
him to have lived
of St. Columba. See ibid. , n. 27, p. 384.
95 The exact situation of Kailli-an-inde is not known. Colgan supposes it to be in Ireland, and he makes the name to corre- spond with Kill-aibhne, in the diocese of Clonfert. See ibid.
Peiste. This is supposed to be the abode of
a demoniacal serpent, which infested that
jiver and its neighbourhood.
I01 Ad airman has " in alno. " We find in
"
his being of Drum-noed, his genealogy Georgics, lib. i. , 1. 136, andlib. ii. , 1. 451.
proves
long
age
byAdam-
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 31, and n. (d), p. 144.
A
pp. 3S7i 359-
98 By William F. Skene.
99 Between Loch Ness and the sea.
100 The belief that certain rivers and lakes
were haunted by serpents of a demoniacal
and terrible character was current among
the Irish at a very remote period. It still
prevails in many parts of Ireland. We find
various illustrations of this belief, in the Acts
of Irish Saints. In the of many parish
Banagher, county of Londonderry, there is a river, in which is a spot called Lig-na-
I03 In O'Donnell's or Quinta Vita S. Co-
lumbse, we read " Equum in adversa ripa
after the
I02 It is called " cauballum "
nan. Caupuhts, or caupohis, occurs in Aulus Gellius, in the sense of a boat, and it
is explained in Isidore's Glossary by lembus or cymba. It is akin to the word coble, which is commonly used in the sense of a little flat- bottomed boat. See Sir Walter Scott's
96 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Antiquary," chap. xxxi.
97 In the
named from St. Fink, was there. See " Old
Statistical Survey of Scotland," vol. xix. , 423. Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
parish
of
Bendothy.
chapel,
stantem — et alii socii adducat, quoipse vecti,
Virgil
alnus cavata," meaning a boat. See
fluvium transirent. "
Lib. ii. , cap. lxxiv. , p.
From the resemblance of the word caupal-
htm to the Irish caput, "ahorse," Colgan was led to suppose, that this animal was de- noted by it. See ibid. , Quarta Vita S. Co- lumbse, lib. ii. , cap. xxvii. , n. 26, p. 383. The transcriber, who wrote Codex D, seems to have entertained the same idea. He reads caballum for canpallum.
I04 In O'Donnell's Life of St. Columba,
we have his name written " Macua Lugneus
Cumine," lib. ii. , cap. lxxiv. , p. 423. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
448 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
turbed above by the man swimming, that monster suddenly rose to the sur- face, and giving an awful roar, it darted after Lugneus, with its mouth wide open, as he swam in the middle of the stream. Observing this, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, the saint raised hisholyhand,andthenformedthesavingsignofthecrossintheair. 10* Having invoked the name of God, Columba commanded the ferocious monster, saying : " Go no further, nor dare to touch the man ; go back instantly. " At the voice of the saint, that monster was terrified, and fled back, more quickly than if it had been pulled with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugneus, there was not more than the of a
100 between them.
that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugneus returned to them in the boat 10? safe and sound, the brethren were struck with admira- tion and glorified God in his holy servant. And even the barbarous pagans, forced by this splendid miracle which they themselves had witnessed, magni- fied the God of the Christians. '08 The saint, being in Pictland, heard from general report regarding a pagan fountain, which the foolish people, blinded by the enemy of mankind, held in great veneration. 100 Whosoever tasted the water or even washed their hands or feet in it, by a sort of diabolical enchant-
length
spear-staff
Seeing
ment—God so permitting it—became blind, leprous, or weak with some in-
firmity. Intimidatedbysuchresults,thepaganspaidasortofdeprecatorywor- ship to that fountain. St. Columkille came towards it one day. The magicians, whom he hal often confounded and overcome in argument, were very much rejoiced, hoping that he should receive some mischance, owing to his proximity withthisnoxiouswater. InvokingthenameofChrist,however,ourholyAbbot therein washed his hands and feet, and then, after blessing the water, he drank
110
that which is more admirable must be recorded. By virtue of our saint's bene- diction, water taken from that fountain became a sovereign remedy for the cure of many diseases, because the saint had blessed and washed himself with it. 111 Another time, the saint sent two brothers for one of his monks, named Cail- 112 who lived in a cell, near the lake "3 on the River 11* to
From that it bred no hurt or disease to day forward,
of it.
tan,
,0S This practice of making a sign of the cross was usual and very frequent in the early Christian Church, as we learn from Tertullian. As in this case, and in many other instances, we find the usage practised, also, by the Irish ecclesiastics.
105 The term used by Adamnan to express it is "unius contuli longitudo," the word contulus serving for contus. The Bollan- dist editor of our saint's Acts remarks, that Adamnan was fond of using diminutives, and he adds, that we need not feel surprised since his own name is but a diminutive of Adam. See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii ix. , Vita Secunda S. Columba. ', lib. ii. , cap. ii. , n. (u), pp. 319, 220.
anyone.
Aba, supposed
t0) This heathen veneration for fountains and for their tutelary deities seems to have prevailed in Ireland, also, long before St. Patrick's time, as where the Magi offered gifts and sacrifices to the fountain called Pindmaige, also called Slan, as mentioned in Tirechan's Life of St. Patrick, in Liber Armancanus, fol. l$bb. Also, see Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. Ixx. , p. 138.
"° The transmission of this feeling to suc-
ceeding generations, under Christianity, may account for the esteem in which holy wells have ever been held by the Irish ; a senti- ment not likely to have been prompted by rarity of water or by its intrinsic value in an over-irrigated country,
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan
'°7 The word in Adamnan
's text is
"
navi-
cula. " The writers who substituted a horse
for a boat, as a mode of conveyance, might
have adverted to what Adamnan says, "ad se navigando reducat," and further on he
"
m
's
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , navicula reversum. " The expression "in p. 345, and n. 76, pp. 378, 379. Likewise,
represents the messenger as
incolumem in
altera stantem ripa" helped to mislead them. see notices of St. Cailtan, at the 25th of ,o8 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's February.
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 27, and tr3 This lake does not appear to have been nn. (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h), pp. 140 to 142. clearly identified. The Rev. Dr. Smith con
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. II, and
nn. (a, b), pp. 119, 120
,I2
But,
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
be in Argyleshire. " 5 He desired Cailtan to repair in all haste to him. Cail-
tan understanding the saint's pleasure came speedily to Iona, in company with the monks, that went for him to a cell called Diunus. 116 When the
saint saw he Cailtan,
in the manner
" O
have
his benediction, Cailtan went to the guest-room and fell sick that very night. According to the saint's word, he departed on the seventh day afterwards to
11
Cailtan, you doneverywellinhasteningtomesoobediently,restyoualittle. Lovingyou as a friend, I invited you to come, that you might finish the course of your mortal life here, under my care and in true obedience. Before this week comestoanend,youshallrenderyoursoulinpeacetoGod. " ThenCail- tanus, giving thanks to the Almighty, kissed our saint with tears. Receiving
year.
1 ' 8 Our saint then
replied :
" You
may
not live with me a
year,
as
you
spoke
following :
a better life.
Often Columba foretold the future destiny, sometimes happy, and sometimes
unhappy, of many persons, even while living in this mortal flesh. On a cer- tain Sunday, some persons cried out from the further side of the sea, so often mentioned. Hearingthiscry,thesaintsaidtothebrethrentiienwithhim: " Go, in all haste, and bring the pilgrims that come from a far country. " As the saint directed they went, and brought the strangers to his presence. When
he had saluted them, Columba began to question them, concerning the object of their journey. They told him, how they came to sojourn with him for that
?
desire, unless you take the monastic vows. " When the attendants heard these
words addressed to strangers only newly arrived, they were very much sur-
prised. Theeldestamongthestrangersmadeanswer:"Truly,wehadno such intention hitherto ; notwithstanding, we will embrace your counsel, in- spired by God, as we believe. 1J 9 They then followed our saint devoutly into the oratory. There, on their knees, they obliged themselves to observe the monastic vow. 120 Then St. Columba addressed his speech to the brothers present. He said: "These two strangers, presenting themselves a living sacrifice to God, 121 and who in Christian perfection have " fulfilled a long time
iectures, it is Loch Awe. See his " Life of a brother to Cailtan. The markland of Kil-
St. Columba," p. 151. The Rev. Dr. Lani- gan accepts that identification, in his "Eccle- siastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xi. , sect, xv. , and n. 176, pp. 172 to 174.
mun, which is near Lochavich, has a church, formerly called Kildachmanan, and dedi- cated to St. Peter, the Deacon of LochAwe. The Rev. Dr. Reeves thinks, that this may have had its origin in the Cella Divini of the
114 There is a lake in the Island of Mull,
called Loch Ba, at the north-east end of text. It is now called Kilchrenan. See
which there is an old burying-ground, on
the lands of Knock. It is called Kill-Martin.
In the of Rev. Dr. the opinion Reeves, style
and circumstances of this narrative indicate a nearer position to Iona than Loch Awe.
"
Multi
"Origines Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 120.
"7 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
'"
Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 31, and nn. (a, b), pp. 60, 61.
II8
year 675
entry
:
—
description
we find this
At the
Pietores dimersi sunt illaind Abes" Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses, p. 60. This may be a reference to the place mentioned in the text.
Visitors of this
in our saint's
115 There was a smaller lake, formerly
called Loch-Affy, and now known as Loch-
avich, lying to the north-west of Loch Awe.
A charter of King Robert Bruce, about A. n.
1322, grants to Roderick, son- of Alan, the
lands of Louchaly in Argyle. See " Ori- Concilii Tridentini Canones et Decreta. "
gines Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 104. This may have been the place here mentioned.
116 Adamnan says, that place was so called in his day, after a certain Diunus, who was
Vol. VI. —No. 8.
I2°
stance of admission to the monastic profes- sion, without the year of probation.
i f
are called indiscriminately Acts, hospites,
proselyli,ws\& peregrini.
"9 The period of probation varied origi-
nally, at the discretion of the founder. Pope Alexander III. ordained, that the term of a
year's probation, should always precede. At length, the Council of Trent decreed for Re-
gulars, that in cases where the year's proba- tion was omitted, the profession should be
*'
Sess. xxv. , De Regularibus et Monialibus, cap. xv.
invalid. See
Sacrosancti CEcumenici
Colgan observes, that this is an in-
45° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
shores of a called lake,
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 32, and
nn. (b, c), pp. 61, 62.
124 The use of the word Coire, and the ex-
pressions "barbari vestatores," referring pro- bably to the Picts or Saxons, seem to indicate Scotland as the scene of this narrative. The term Coire, so common in the Scotch High- lands to designate a hollow or cul de sac in the mountains, is scarcely known in Ireland.
Salchain may be Salen, on the east side of Mull, near which is a chapel called Colum- kille.
I2s According to Adamnan's account, this man had been first asked in what region he
122 shall their souls to Christ our Lord, before yield up
within a short
this present month comes to an end. " And so it happened, for both of them gave thanks to the Almighty, and then retired to the guest-room. Afterwards they fell sick, one succeeding the other. They departed to a better life within the time prophesied and defined by the saint. The elder brother died within thatweek. Theyoungerbrotherfollowedhimtothetomb,sevendaysafter the departure of his senior. ,2 3 The saint told a certain peasant that came to
him, when he was sojourning in a district, called in Irish, Coire Salchaim 124 ;
" Lo ! barbarous enemies, now sack and spoil all the province you inhabit. "125 Whether this had been in Ireland I26 or in Scotland I2? has been questioned ; but most probably, it lay within the latter country. The place was near the
1 * 8 This doleful news made the fellow poor
space,
Crogreth.
fall into pitiful lamentations for his wife and children. The saint, seeing him
depressedwithsorrowandanguish,saidtohim "Yourwifeandfamilyhave :
escaped to the mountains, but your goods and cattle the enemy hath taken away with their unjust spoils. " On going home, that man found all to be true as the saint had told him. I29 He felt somewhat comforted, however, that his misfortunes had not been greater. A certain valiant and strong man,
named Goreus,T3° who was an humble
saint, what kind of death he should encounter. This man was a native of Corcaraide. 132 It is thought to be probable, that Guaire I33 was the equiva- lent for the Latin designation I3* given to him, and that he belonged to the race of Roidhe I35 in Ireland. This clan or tribe I36 was so called from
121
See Romans xii. , 7.
122 See Wisdom iv. , 13.
123 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's he is called Coreus, and in the body of the
chapter Gereus.
131 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 47, and nn. (a, b, c, d), pp, 89, 90.
132 The word is written in Cod. A, in a different style of letter from the rest of the narrative, namely, in the semi-unicial Greek character of the Irish school. If the place belong to Ireland, as the structure of the name seems to indicate, it is clearly a form of Co|\c& TiAme, or the race of Roidhe.
133 The Irish 3«Air»e is a name, which was
called Goury, in the county of Londonderry, in the seventeenth century. See Rot. Pat.
Jac I. , p. 57^; Ulster Inquisitions, London- derry, No. 4.
134 This denomination is still preserved in Seygorry, Suit>e 5UAiyve, or Sessio Gorri. It is the name of a townland in Aghadowey parish.
,3s Tirechan renders their country by these Sallachan Bay, Sallachan-isol, Sallachan words, Regiones Roide. See Liber Arma-
resided, and he answered,
"
In the district near the shore at Lake Crograth. "
126 Colgan places it in Ireland, and he tries, but unsuccessfully, to accommodate an Irish name in Westmeath.
12
7 There is a Salachain in Upper Lome,
between Loch Creeran and Loch Appian.
Point and Sallachan-ard, are situated on the west of the entrance of Loch Eil. There is a Sallachan in Morvern, opposite Aros ; and a Glen Sallachan on the south-east of Loch Creeran, opposite Airds. Among these and other places of the same name, it is diffi- cult to fix the scene of the present inter- view.
128
it was near the border land, in the neighbourhood of the Picts or Saxons.
canus, fol. 11 a, a.
136 Their former patrimony is now said to
be known as Corkaree, a barony in the county of Westmeath, lying north of Mullin- gar, according to Mac Firbis' Genealogical
Manuscripts, p. 136. But this, the only ap- parent identification of the name, is open to the objection, that Corkaree is an inland district, whereas ware and navis are used in reference to the inhabitants of that recorded
Probably
129 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's in the text.
" Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 46, and 137 See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," nn. (a, b), pp. 88, 89. pars hi. , cap. lxix. , p. 333
peasant,
1 *1 would fain learn of the
130
In the title of Adamnan's version, as
found in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 4Si
Fiacha Raidhe, grandson of Fedhlimidh Rechtmar,^ who flourished from a. d.
111toa. d. 119. Thesainttoldhim "Youshallnotbeslaininthefield,nor :
drowned in the sea ; but the companion of your travels, whom you least dis- trust or suspect, shall be the cause of your death. Perhaps, replied Goreus :
" One of my travelling companions may murder me, or chosing another hus- band, my wife may poison me. " " Not at all," returned the saint. " Why then," said Goreus, " refuse to declare the manner of my death ? " " Because,"
:
replied Columba " I do not wish more clearly to intimate the companion
who will injure you, lest frequent remembrance should make you more unhappyuntilthehourofyourdissolutionbeaccomplished. " Someyears afterwards, the aforesaid Goreus chanced to be lying under his boat, while scraping the bark J 3 8 from a spear-handle. Seeing men fighting near him, he ran in haste to separate them. Meantime, by some chance or other, he let his knife fall carelessly, and it wounded him in the knee. Mortification set in, and after a sickness of some months, he died in great agony. So the prophecy of our saint was fulfilled, and Goreus remembered with surprise the companion who caused his death, and in a manner so unexpected.
saintcommended 539 abanished Tarainus,
Onone the occasion,
glorious
nobleman of Pictland,I4° to the care ofa certain wealthy man, named Ferada-
chus,'41 who lived in Islay 142 Island. I43 He entreated him through respect, to entertain Tarainus as a friend, for some months. 144 Notwithstanding our saint's entreaty and recommendation, that cruel man put the nobleman to
138 The Latin word used by Adamnan is
lie, the Irish name given to it, as may be
seen in edition of " His- Haliday's Keating's
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 192. 143HewasoccupiedbythePicts. asatempo-
as follows " Per Christiliam :
interpreted
intelligit christam seu cuspidem hastse. " See
" Colgan's"TriasThaumaturga, VitaQuarta
S. Colnmbse, lib. i. , cap. xxxxvi. , and n. 97, pp. 349, 380. It is adopted by the Bollan-
dists and by Ducange. But it seems objection- able, according to the Rev. Dr. Reeves,
"
rary resting-place in their migration from Ireland to subdue the north of Scotland. See the ancient poem in the teAbhar» bjxeAcVmAch Aniifo fif, or the Irish Ver- sion of the Historia Britonum of Nennius, edited by the Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 146 to 148, and n. (d), ibid. It was one of the five Ebudse or Hebrides, anciently called Epidium. It is argued, also, that the first King of Gwyddyl Fichti or the Picts of Bri- tain, called Brudi Bout, drew his
who renders
English, "rust," or "bark," in his Glossary.
Cristilia," by the words in
139 It has been conjectured, that probably, he is the subject of those following notices,
in the Annals of Ulster, at A. D. 696.
"
Tara-
cin de regno expulsus est. " Tighernach has the entry at A. D. 697. Again, we read, at
These
Hiberniampergit.
dates, however, seem fatal to the conjecture. 140 Where we read about the reputed
origin of the Cruithnians, Taram, the name of an early Pictish King, is probably an error for Tarain, in the "Historia Britonum, or Irish Version of Nennius," p. 158, and Ad- ditional Notes, No. xviii. , p. lxxv. We find the name Tarain at a later date in the cata- logue of the Pictish Kings, thus Taran filius Enfidaid iiii. [annis regnavit]. See ibid.
94 Colgan finds a St. Fintan, son of Aidus, venerated at the 4th of October; but, besides
him to have lived
of St. Columba. See ibid. , n. 27, p. 384.
95 The exact situation of Kailli-an-inde is not known. Colgan supposes it to be in Ireland, and he makes the name to corre- spond with Kill-aibhne, in the diocese of Clonfert. See ibid.
Peiste. This is supposed to be the abode of
a demoniacal serpent, which infested that
jiver and its neighbourhood.
I01 Ad airman has " in alno. " We find in
"
his being of Drum-noed, his genealogy Georgics, lib. i. , 1. 136, andlib. ii. , 1. 451.
proves
long
age
byAdam-
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 31, and n. (d), p. 144.
A
pp. 3S7i 359-
98 By William F. Skene.
99 Between Loch Ness and the sea.
100 The belief that certain rivers and lakes
were haunted by serpents of a demoniacal
and terrible character was current among
the Irish at a very remote period. It still
prevails in many parts of Ireland. We find
various illustrations of this belief, in the Acts
of Irish Saints. In the of many parish
Banagher, county of Londonderry, there is a river, in which is a spot called Lig-na-
I03 In O'Donnell's or Quinta Vita S. Co-
lumbse, we read " Equum in adversa ripa
after the
I02 It is called " cauballum "
nan. Caupuhts, or caupohis, occurs in Aulus Gellius, in the sense of a boat, and it
is explained in Isidore's Glossary by lembus or cymba. It is akin to the word coble, which is commonly used in the sense of a little flat- bottomed boat. See Sir Walter Scott's
96 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Antiquary," chap. xxxi.
97 In the
named from St. Fink, was there. See " Old
Statistical Survey of Scotland," vol. xix. , 423. Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
parish
of
Bendothy.
chapel,
stantem — et alii socii adducat, quoipse vecti,
Virgil
alnus cavata," meaning a boat. See
fluvium transirent. "
Lib. ii. , cap. lxxiv. , p.
From the resemblance of the word caupal-
htm to the Irish caput, "ahorse," Colgan was led to suppose, that this animal was de- noted by it. See ibid. , Quarta Vita S. Co- lumbse, lib. ii. , cap. xxvii. , n. 26, p. 383. The transcriber, who wrote Codex D, seems to have entertained the same idea. He reads caballum for canpallum.
I04 In O'Donnell's Life of St. Columba,
we have his name written " Macua Lugneus
Cumine," lib. ii. , cap. lxxiv. , p. 423. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
448 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
turbed above by the man swimming, that monster suddenly rose to the sur- face, and giving an awful roar, it darted after Lugneus, with its mouth wide open, as he swam in the middle of the stream. Observing this, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, the saint raised hisholyhand,andthenformedthesavingsignofthecrossintheair. 10* Having invoked the name of God, Columba commanded the ferocious monster, saying : " Go no further, nor dare to touch the man ; go back instantly. " At the voice of the saint, that monster was terrified, and fled back, more quickly than if it had been pulled with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugneus, there was not more than the of a
100 between them.
that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugneus returned to them in the boat 10? safe and sound, the brethren were struck with admira- tion and glorified God in his holy servant. And even the barbarous pagans, forced by this splendid miracle which they themselves had witnessed, magni- fied the God of the Christians. '08 The saint, being in Pictland, heard from general report regarding a pagan fountain, which the foolish people, blinded by the enemy of mankind, held in great veneration. 100 Whosoever tasted the water or even washed their hands or feet in it, by a sort of diabolical enchant-
length
spear-staff
Seeing
ment—God so permitting it—became blind, leprous, or weak with some in-
firmity. Intimidatedbysuchresults,thepaganspaidasortofdeprecatorywor- ship to that fountain. St. Columkille came towards it one day. The magicians, whom he hal often confounded and overcome in argument, were very much rejoiced, hoping that he should receive some mischance, owing to his proximity withthisnoxiouswater. InvokingthenameofChrist,however,ourholyAbbot therein washed his hands and feet, and then, after blessing the water, he drank
110
that which is more admirable must be recorded. By virtue of our saint's bene- diction, water taken from that fountain became a sovereign remedy for the cure of many diseases, because the saint had blessed and washed himself with it. 111 Another time, the saint sent two brothers for one of his monks, named Cail- 112 who lived in a cell, near the lake "3 on the River 11* to
From that it bred no hurt or disease to day forward,
of it.
tan,
,0S This practice of making a sign of the cross was usual and very frequent in the early Christian Church, as we learn from Tertullian. As in this case, and in many other instances, we find the usage practised, also, by the Irish ecclesiastics.
105 The term used by Adamnan to express it is "unius contuli longitudo," the word contulus serving for contus. The Bollan- dist editor of our saint's Acts remarks, that Adamnan was fond of using diminutives, and he adds, that we need not feel surprised since his own name is but a diminutive of Adam. See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii ix. , Vita Secunda S. Columba. ', lib. ii. , cap. ii. , n. (u), pp. 319, 220.
anyone.
Aba, supposed
t0) This heathen veneration for fountains and for their tutelary deities seems to have prevailed in Ireland, also, long before St. Patrick's time, as where the Magi offered gifts and sacrifices to the fountain called Pindmaige, also called Slan, as mentioned in Tirechan's Life of St. Patrick, in Liber Armancanus, fol. l$bb. Also, see Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. Ixx. , p. 138.
"° The transmission of this feeling to suc-
ceeding generations, under Christianity, may account for the esteem in which holy wells have ever been held by the Irish ; a senti- ment not likely to have been prompted by rarity of water or by its intrinsic value in an over-irrigated country,
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan
'°7 The word in Adamnan
's text is
"
navi-
cula. " The writers who substituted a horse
for a boat, as a mode of conveyance, might
have adverted to what Adamnan says, "ad se navigando reducat," and further on he
"
m
's
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , navicula reversum. " The expression "in p. 345, and n. 76, pp. 378, 379. Likewise,
represents the messenger as
incolumem in
altera stantem ripa" helped to mislead them. see notices of St. Cailtan, at the 25th of ,o8 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's February.
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 27, and tr3 This lake does not appear to have been nn. (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h), pp. 140 to 142. clearly identified. The Rev. Dr. Smith con
" Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. II, and
nn. (a, b), pp. 119, 120
,I2
But,
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
be in Argyleshire. " 5 He desired Cailtan to repair in all haste to him. Cail-
tan understanding the saint's pleasure came speedily to Iona, in company with the monks, that went for him to a cell called Diunus. 116 When the
saint saw he Cailtan,
in the manner
" O
have
his benediction, Cailtan went to the guest-room and fell sick that very night. According to the saint's word, he departed on the seventh day afterwards to
11
Cailtan, you doneverywellinhasteningtomesoobediently,restyoualittle. Lovingyou as a friend, I invited you to come, that you might finish the course of your mortal life here, under my care and in true obedience. Before this week comestoanend,youshallrenderyoursoulinpeacetoGod. " ThenCail- tanus, giving thanks to the Almighty, kissed our saint with tears. Receiving
year.
1 ' 8 Our saint then
replied :
" You
may
not live with me a
year,
as
you
spoke
following :
a better life.
Often Columba foretold the future destiny, sometimes happy, and sometimes
unhappy, of many persons, even while living in this mortal flesh. On a cer- tain Sunday, some persons cried out from the further side of the sea, so often mentioned. Hearingthiscry,thesaintsaidtothebrethrentiienwithhim: " Go, in all haste, and bring the pilgrims that come from a far country. " As the saint directed they went, and brought the strangers to his presence. When
he had saluted them, Columba began to question them, concerning the object of their journey. They told him, how they came to sojourn with him for that
?
desire, unless you take the monastic vows. " When the attendants heard these
words addressed to strangers only newly arrived, they were very much sur-
prised. Theeldestamongthestrangersmadeanswer:"Truly,wehadno such intention hitherto ; notwithstanding, we will embrace your counsel, in- spired by God, as we believe. 1J 9 They then followed our saint devoutly into the oratory. There, on their knees, they obliged themselves to observe the monastic vow. 120 Then St. Columba addressed his speech to the brothers present. He said: "These two strangers, presenting themselves a living sacrifice to God, 121 and who in Christian perfection have " fulfilled a long time
iectures, it is Loch Awe. See his " Life of a brother to Cailtan. The markland of Kil-
St. Columba," p. 151. The Rev. Dr. Lani- gan accepts that identification, in his "Eccle- siastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xi. , sect, xv. , and n. 176, pp. 172 to 174.
mun, which is near Lochavich, has a church, formerly called Kildachmanan, and dedi- cated to St. Peter, the Deacon of LochAwe. The Rev. Dr. Reeves thinks, that this may have had its origin in the Cella Divini of the
114 There is a lake in the Island of Mull,
called Loch Ba, at the north-east end of text. It is now called Kilchrenan. See
which there is an old burying-ground, on
the lands of Knock. It is called Kill-Martin.
In the of Rev. Dr. the opinion Reeves, style
and circumstances of this narrative indicate a nearer position to Iona than Loch Awe.
"
Multi
"Origines Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 120.
"7 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
'"
Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 31, and nn. (a, b), pp. 60, 61.
II8
year 675
entry
:
—
description
we find this
At the
Pietores dimersi sunt illaind Abes" Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses, p. 60. This may be a reference to the place mentioned in the text.
Visitors of this
in our saint's
115 There was a smaller lake, formerly
called Loch-Affy, and now known as Loch-
avich, lying to the north-west of Loch Awe.
A charter of King Robert Bruce, about A. n.
1322, grants to Roderick, son- of Alan, the
lands of Louchaly in Argyle. See " Ori- Concilii Tridentini Canones et Decreta. "
gines Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 104. This may have been the place here mentioned.
116 Adamnan says, that place was so called in his day, after a certain Diunus, who was
Vol. VI. —No. 8.
I2°
stance of admission to the monastic profes- sion, without the year of probation.
i f
are called indiscriminately Acts, hospites,
proselyli,ws\& peregrini.
"9 The period of probation varied origi-
nally, at the discretion of the founder. Pope Alexander III. ordained, that the term of a
year's probation, should always precede. At length, the Council of Trent decreed for Re-
gulars, that in cases where the year's proba- tion was omitted, the profession should be
*'
Sess. xxv. , De Regularibus et Monialibus, cap. xv.
invalid. See
Sacrosancti CEcumenici
Colgan observes, that this is an in-
45° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
shores of a called lake,
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 32, and
nn. (b, c), pp. 61, 62.
124 The use of the word Coire, and the ex-
pressions "barbari vestatores," referring pro- bably to the Picts or Saxons, seem to indicate Scotland as the scene of this narrative. The term Coire, so common in the Scotch High- lands to designate a hollow or cul de sac in the mountains, is scarcely known in Ireland.
Salchain may be Salen, on the east side of Mull, near which is a chapel called Colum- kille.
I2s According to Adamnan's account, this man had been first asked in what region he
122 shall their souls to Christ our Lord, before yield up
within a short
this present month comes to an end. " And so it happened, for both of them gave thanks to the Almighty, and then retired to the guest-room. Afterwards they fell sick, one succeeding the other. They departed to a better life within the time prophesied and defined by the saint. The elder brother died within thatweek. Theyoungerbrotherfollowedhimtothetomb,sevendaysafter the departure of his senior. ,2 3 The saint told a certain peasant that came to
him, when he was sojourning in a district, called in Irish, Coire Salchaim 124 ;
" Lo ! barbarous enemies, now sack and spoil all the province you inhabit. "125 Whether this had been in Ireland I26 or in Scotland I2? has been questioned ; but most probably, it lay within the latter country. The place was near the
1 * 8 This doleful news made the fellow poor
space,
Crogreth.
fall into pitiful lamentations for his wife and children. The saint, seeing him
depressedwithsorrowandanguish,saidtohim "Yourwifeandfamilyhave :
escaped to the mountains, but your goods and cattle the enemy hath taken away with their unjust spoils. " On going home, that man found all to be true as the saint had told him. I29 He felt somewhat comforted, however, that his misfortunes had not been greater. A certain valiant and strong man,
named Goreus,T3° who was an humble
saint, what kind of death he should encounter. This man was a native of Corcaraide. 132 It is thought to be probable, that Guaire I33 was the equiva- lent for the Latin designation I3* given to him, and that he belonged to the race of Roidhe I35 in Ireland. This clan or tribe I36 was so called from
121
See Romans xii. , 7.
122 See Wisdom iv. , 13.
123 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's he is called Coreus, and in the body of the
chapter Gereus.
131 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 47, and nn. (a, b, c, d), pp, 89, 90.
132 The word is written in Cod. A, in a different style of letter from the rest of the narrative, namely, in the semi-unicial Greek character of the Irish school. If the place belong to Ireland, as the structure of the name seems to indicate, it is clearly a form of Co|\c& TiAme, or the race of Roidhe.
133 The Irish 3«Air»e is a name, which was
called Goury, in the county of Londonderry, in the seventeenth century. See Rot. Pat.
Jac I. , p. 57^; Ulster Inquisitions, London- derry, No. 4.
134 This denomination is still preserved in Seygorry, Suit>e 5UAiyve, or Sessio Gorri. It is the name of a townland in Aghadowey parish.
,3s Tirechan renders their country by these Sallachan Bay, Sallachan-isol, Sallachan words, Regiones Roide. See Liber Arma-
resided, and he answered,
"
In the district near the shore at Lake Crograth. "
126 Colgan places it in Ireland, and he tries, but unsuccessfully, to accommodate an Irish name in Westmeath.
12
7 There is a Salachain in Upper Lome,
between Loch Creeran and Loch Appian.
Point and Sallachan-ard, are situated on the west of the entrance of Loch Eil. There is a Sallachan in Morvern, opposite Aros ; and a Glen Sallachan on the south-east of Loch Creeran, opposite Airds. Among these and other places of the same name, it is diffi- cult to fix the scene of the present inter- view.
128
it was near the border land, in the neighbourhood of the Picts or Saxons.
canus, fol. 11 a, a.
136 Their former patrimony is now said to
be known as Corkaree, a barony in the county of Westmeath, lying north of Mullin- gar, according to Mac Firbis' Genealogical
Manuscripts, p. 136. But this, the only ap- parent identification of the name, is open to the objection, that Corkaree is an inland district, whereas ware and navis are used in reference to the inhabitants of that recorded
Probably
129 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's in the text.
" Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 46, and 137 See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," nn. (a, b), pp. 88, 89. pars hi. , cap. lxix. , p. 333
peasant,
1 *1 would fain learn of the
130
In the title of Adamnan's version, as
found in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 4Si
Fiacha Raidhe, grandson of Fedhlimidh Rechtmar,^ who flourished from a. d.
111toa. d. 119. Thesainttoldhim "Youshallnotbeslaininthefield,nor :
drowned in the sea ; but the companion of your travels, whom you least dis- trust or suspect, shall be the cause of your death. Perhaps, replied Goreus :
" One of my travelling companions may murder me, or chosing another hus- band, my wife may poison me. " " Not at all," returned the saint. " Why then," said Goreus, " refuse to declare the manner of my death ? " " Because,"
:
replied Columba " I do not wish more clearly to intimate the companion
who will injure you, lest frequent remembrance should make you more unhappyuntilthehourofyourdissolutionbeaccomplished. " Someyears afterwards, the aforesaid Goreus chanced to be lying under his boat, while scraping the bark J 3 8 from a spear-handle. Seeing men fighting near him, he ran in haste to separate them. Meantime, by some chance or other, he let his knife fall carelessly, and it wounded him in the knee. Mortification set in, and after a sickness of some months, he died in great agony. So the prophecy of our saint was fulfilled, and Goreus remembered with surprise the companion who caused his death, and in a manner so unexpected.
saintcommended 539 abanished Tarainus,
Onone the occasion,
glorious
nobleman of Pictland,I4° to the care ofa certain wealthy man, named Ferada-
chus,'41 who lived in Islay 142 Island. I43 He entreated him through respect, to entertain Tarainus as a friend, for some months. 144 Notwithstanding our saint's entreaty and recommendation, that cruel man put the nobleman to
138 The Latin word used by Adamnan is
lie, the Irish name given to it, as may be
seen in edition of " His- Haliday's Keating's
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 192. 143HewasoccupiedbythePicts. asatempo-
as follows " Per Christiliam :
interpreted
intelligit christam seu cuspidem hastse. " See
" Colgan's"TriasThaumaturga, VitaQuarta
S. Colnmbse, lib. i. , cap. xxxxvi. , and n. 97, pp. 349, 380. It is adopted by the Bollan-
dists and by Ducange. But it seems objection- able, according to the Rev. Dr. Reeves,
"
rary resting-place in their migration from Ireland to subdue the north of Scotland. See the ancient poem in the teAbhar» bjxeAcVmAch Aniifo fif, or the Irish Ver- sion of the Historia Britonum of Nennius, edited by the Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 146 to 148, and n. (d), ibid. It was one of the five Ebudse or Hebrides, anciently called Epidium. It is argued, also, that the first King of Gwyddyl Fichti or the Picts of Bri- tain, called Brudi Bout, drew his
who renders
English, "rust," or "bark," in his Glossary.
Cristilia," by the words in
139 It has been conjectured, that probably, he is the subject of those following notices,
in the Annals of Ulster, at A. D. 696.
"
Tara-
cin de regno expulsus est. " Tighernach has the entry at A. D. 697. Again, we read, at
These
Hiberniampergit.
dates, however, seem fatal to the conjecture. 140 Where we read about the reputed
origin of the Cruithnians, Taram, the name of an early Pictish King, is probably an error for Tarain, in the "Historia Britonum, or Irish Version of Nennius," p. 158, and Ad- ditional Notes, No. xviii. , p. lxxv. We find the name Tarain at a later date in the cata- logue of the Pictish Kings, thus Taran filius Enfidaid iiii. [annis regnavit]. See ibid.
