See also note by O'Donovan in his
Translation
of the Annals of the Four Masters.
Life and Works of St Aneguissiums Hagographicus
582.
4 M. de la Villemarque, of the French Institute, has published a most inter- resting article on the Poetry of the Celtic Cloisters. It appeared in the No
vember number of Le Correspondant for 1863.
IB
S
4 The Life and Works of
and science among the pupils of our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of numbers still remained, and his conceptions becoming spiritualised by the aspirations after perfection, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study, with manual labour, divided cloistral occupations, and through study this inspiration became fruitful. The saints of Ireland, intent only on making their disciples spiritual men, one day found to their surprise they had created poets. The genius of these poets was varied, as the crowd of strangers that thronged the schools. Their compositions may be reduced under the heads of didactic poetry, lyrical poetry, Amras or panegyrics, legends strictly so called, Felires or Festologies, visions, and navigations or voyages. All these have their special features of interest and edification. However, owing to various causes, facts were now and then changed into fictions. But M. de la Villemarque is far from agreeing with those, who consider ro mances regarding the saints as worthless. According to him,
the portraits of saints simply underwent the fate of all heroes
belonging to early ages ; and yet, between the sacred and pro fane legends there exists a great difference. In what profane legend do we ever find an express caution to the reader, that, beside the literal and historical sense, there is also a spiritual meaning to be drawn from the narrative? 1 That delicate and sound morality which marks the legends of the Breton and Irish saints, has been specially dwelt on by a modern critic. For freshness, richness of invention, and national characteristics, no church has aught to compare with them. And all Celtic scholars will acknowledge this high degree of praise to be fully
deserved.
Accounts which are given respecting the miracles and
sanctity of -<Engus, and the evidences of his learning that yet remain, are more than equalled by that profound humility which led him to form a most abject opinion regarding his own
deserts. The manner in which he renounced this world and the applause of mankind, must deserve unbounded admiration, although it may fail to induce the imitation of all professing Christians. His mind was replenished with heavenly graces, and he was favoured with celestial visions. He combined the rare gifts of profound wisdom and singular zeal, in all his
1 M. de la Villemarque shows that Dante fully realized this double nature
of the ancient legends.
" Ye of intellect,
Sound and entire, mark well the lore conccal'd
Under close texture of the mystic strain".
Inferno, IX. , 62. -- Cary's Transl.
? |f St. uffingwius Hagiographus. 5
actions and affections ; while it would be a difficult question to decide, whether his virtues were greater than his miracles in sight of God and man. One thing, however, is certain, that the nobility of his descent was more than surpassed by the lustre of his virtues.
II. --St. ^Engus retires to Dysart Enos. --His austeritits --Repu tation for sanctity. -- He visits the Church of Coolbanaghtr. -- A vision of angels TJie purpose it evoked.
Some six or seven miles from Clonenagh, JEngus had built a cell1 for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in prac tice, unknown and unnoticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. The locality of this cell hence derived its name, Dysartenos, or the desert of JEngus,2 which it yet retains. A broken range of limestone hills, of romantic and rugged outline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At the present day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect
of which must have been considerably heightened in that early
An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes between the ruins of Clonenagh's old monastery and Dysart
1 That he built a cell for himself at Dysart Enos may be inferred, not only from the expression of Colgan, ' ' coluit eremum", but also from a statement that he recited the first fifty psalms " in oratorio", and the second fifty, " sub diu juxta proceram arborem oratorio adjacentem". See Acta Sanctorum Miberniae, xi. Martii, Vita S. Aengussii, cap. iii. p. 579.
2 The anonymous scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert jEnguis : and the other . /Engus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert- Bethech. He likewise indicates that it lay very near to Clonenagh. Colgan adds, " vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. jEngussiuui esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit quod non in Cluain-edhneach), et educatum et sepultum". Wherefore, Colgan thinks the Desert in question was identical with Cluain-edneach, or at least that ^Engus perchance died and had been buried in the place first named. Our annals certainly show
that a Desertum JEngussii differed from Cluain-edhneach. These record that Conn, son of Maelpadraig, Archinnech of Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungairit, died a. d. 1033. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters, vol. ii. pp. 826, 827. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. O'Donovan fell into an error, by identifying the latter Disert-Aengusa with Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's county. I feel satisfied the Disert-Aengussa and Mungairit, already named, were both situated within the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballin- garry, and the latter near Limerick city.
3 Near the Dysart Hills, lies a beautiful demesne called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour through Ireland in 1825, he was hospitably entertained by a former proprietor, the Bight Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen, by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, chap, lxiii. What Lockhart forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and it must be allowed, few persons had truer perceptions of taste and judgment, in reference
such matters.
age. 3
6 The Life and Works of
enos. This moorland must have rendered access between both places, a matter of some difficulty to our saint. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, he was in the
habit of making three hundred genuflections each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually employed in singing the praises of God, and in
such an ascendancy over his passions, that to all save himself, jEngus seemed to be an angel concealed in human form.
Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving
St. iEngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry, in the present county of Limerick. 1 We are told also that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name from some other saint, or person, named JEngus ; for our saint is known to have settled not far from Clonenagh --in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded by ancient scholiasts on his works. 2 Other circumstances, relating to his acts and incidents of his life, confirm our conclusions, that
he lived, for some short time at least, in Dysartenos, a parish
so denominated, near the celebrated Rock of Dunamase, and a
few miles from Maryborough.
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts
of the country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversation and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of ? virtue which he could so well inculcate. Fearing the sugges
acquiring
Clonenagh,
1 See Professor Eugene O'Curry's Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History. Lect xvii. p. 364.
2 " All the country about Cluainenach for many miles, was, in the memory of men yet living, a great forest. * * * ? Desert JEngus (though the name be now lost) was some part of this great wood". --Harris' Ware, ? vol. iii.
Writers of Ireland, book i. pp. 61, 62, note D. Harris lived in the earlier part of the last century, when his principal works were published. He inti mates, likewise, that the place of his birth was at or near Brittas, where hit father, Captain Lieutenant Hopton Harris of the Militia, took part in an en gagement, during the Jacobite and Williamite wars in 1691. See Walter Harris* History of the Life and Reign of William the Third, book ix. pp. 316, 317. Hence, we may, take it for granted, this writer had a good local know ledge respecting Clonenagh and Disart Enos. But, because he did not advert to the possible identity of the later denomination with Desart TEngus, he thought this place where St. yEngus resided could not then be identified.
St. ^Engusius Hagiographus. 7
tions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossibility to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . flSngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his se
lected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Cool-
banagher,1 for the purpose of offering up prayers to that God, whom he so faithfully served. Whilst engaged in this exercise, a vision of angels appeared to him. These blessed spirits seemed to surround a particular tomb. Celestial songs were heard by him, at the same time, the ravishing harmony of which gave him a foretaste of canticles, entoned by the beatified
in heaven. He noted the tomb thus distinguished, and imme diately directed his steps to a priest serving the church. -3? ngus made inquiries regarding the name and character of the deceased. He soon learned that the occupant of the tomb in question had been in early life a warrior, who retired from the profession of arms and devoted himself to a life of penance. This soldier of Christ had closed a long life of holy and spiritual warfare, a few days before such event. -<Engus was still more desirous to learn the practices, devotions, and penitential exercises of the soldier.
His curiosity being gratified, he was unable to discover anything very unusual, in these his religious observances, with the ex
ception of a practice he followed each morning and night, which was that of invoking the prayers of all saints, whose names occurred to his memory. From this relation given by the priest, the idea of composing a metrical hymn, in honour of
1 The old church of Coolbanagher yet remains in a ruinous state, and its surrounding graveyard is now used as a place of burial. Tradition assigns to the building an early date of erection. There are two divisions in this church yet visible --most probably the nave and choir. A wall appears to have sepa rated both, but a large pointed doorway afforded a communication. The nave, on the outside, measures thirty-two feet in length by twenty-two feet in breadth. The outside wall of the choir measures twenty-eight feet, in length, by sixteen feet, in breadth. The inside of the building is filled with loose stones and rubbish. A narrow low door, now stopped up with masonry, appears beneath an overshadowing mass of ivy, on the western gable ; and a door seems to have been subsequently opened, on the southern side wall, probably, when the former one had been closed. A splayed window opened on either side of the nave. A splayed and ruinous east window formerly lighted the choir, the side walls of which are now nearly level with the ground. These are some descriptive particulars noticed during a visit to the spot, on the 10th of December, 1853. On that occasion, the writer took a pencil sketch of the old church ruins, as they appeared from the south-east side of the building. There are no tombs, at present, in the graveyard or church, but such as bear modern inscriptions. The old building is apparently of very great an tiquity. It adjoins the ruins of Coolbanagher Castle, near the great Heath of Maryborough. In Sir Charles Coote's Statistical Survey of the Queerit County, we are simply informed that " at Coolbanagher are the ruins of a church and also of a castle". Chap. xi. ? i. p. 136.
8 The Life and Works of
all the saints, took possession of his mind. 1 This hymn he in tended to repeat to his death, although his sincere humility deterred him from the immediate prosecution of his project. JEngus, we are told, judged himself unfitted for such a task,
and feared that the praises of the saints might be commemo rated in a manner, hardly suited to the dignity and importance of his subject.
III. --St. utEngus proceeds to the Monastery of Tallagh. --Seeks admission there in guise of a servant. -- Manual labour at agri
cultural operations. -- His humility and mortifications. -- An accident which befel him, and his miraculous cure.
At this time St. Molruan presided over a great monastery on Tallagh Hill, in the present county of Dublin. Towards this religious house, our saint proceeded. 2 He appeared at the gate
1 To this incident, allusion has been made by Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee, in that beautiful dirge, composed on the lamented death of his friend Eugene
O'Curry:--
" Let those who love and lose him most, In their great sorrow comfort find,
Remembering how heaven's mighty host Were ever present to his mind ;
Descending on his grave at even, -- May they a radiant phalanx see
Such wondrous sight as once was given In vision to the rapt Culdee". .
Instead of the buried person being called a " soldier", according to an account found in Professor O'Curry's Lectures " on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History, he is said to have been a poor old man, who formerly lived at the place. What good did he do ? said Aengus. I saw no particular good by him, said the priest, but that his customary practice was to recount and invoke the saints of the world, as far as he could remember them, at his going to bed and getting up, in accordance with the custom of the old devotees. Ah ! my God, said Aengus, he who would make a poetical composition in praise of the saints should doubtless have a high reward, when so much has been vouch safed to the efforts of this old devotee! And Aengus then commenced his poem on the spot. He subsequently continued it gradually, and finished it as we have already seen". Lect. xvii. p. 365. According to the same learned authority, our saint commenced this poem, known as the Festology, at Cuil Bennchair in Offaly, continued it at Cluain Eidhnech, and finished it during his servitude at Tallagh. Ibid. If such be the case, it is probable St. JEngus left Dysartenos, and spent some time in his alma mater at Clonenagh, before he proceeded to Tallagh.
1 In this Report of the Census Commissioners of Ireland for the year 1851, part v. vol. we find most valuable annalistic reference to diseases and pes tilences in this country from the earliest times to the present. In this able report, which does so much credit to the learning and research of Sir William Wilde, we find various accounts, which serve to furnish derivation for Tal- laght or Tamlacht. The Annals commence with the first recorded pestilence, or Tamh --namely, that which destroyed Partbalon's colony, and which referred by the Four Masters to a. m. 2820, according to the long chronology of the Septuagint. The entry by those annalists is, " Nine thousand of Partha- lon's people died in one week on Sean-Mhagh-Ealta-Edair --namely, five thou-
is
a
i. ,
a
St. ^ngusius Uagiographus. 9
of this monastery, and begged admission amongst the members
of its religious fraternity, in quality of lay brother, according to Colgan and Harris;1 although Dr. Lanigan tells us, that such a title was unknown in religious houses before the eleventh cen tury. 2 He studiously concealed both his name and that of the monastery, in which he had hitherto lived ; for iEngus was well aware, that his fame had already extended to the institute of Tallaght, which was then in its infancy. Wherefore, he assumed a habit, calculated most effectually to disguise his real condition. He concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesiastical order,
sand men and four thousand women. Whence is (named) Tamlacht Muintire Parthaloin" --"the place", adds Dr. Wilde, in his notice of the event, " now called Tallaght, near Dublin ; and the tumuli of these early colonists, who died from sudden epidemic, can still be seen upon the hills in its vicinity. This is the first recorded pestilence in Ireland. The Irish word Tamil means an epide mic pestilence ; and the term Tamhleacht (the plague monument), which fre quently enters into topographical names in Ireland, signifies a place where a number of persons cut off by pestilence were interred together. -- See Cormac's Glossary MSS.
See also note by O'Donovan in his Translation of the Annals of the Four Masters. This destruction of the colony of Parthalon, which is said to have occurred in ' the old plain of the valley of the flocks', stretching between Ben Edair (Howth) and Tallaght, on which the city of Dublin now stands, is thus mentioned in the ' Book of Invasions', contained in the Book of Leinster (manuscript, Mr. Curry's translation. ) ' In Sean-Magh-Etair Partha
lon became extinct in a thousand men and four thousand women, of one week's mortality', or Tamh. This is the oldest manuscript account of that pestilence that we now possess ; and in an ancient bardic poem in the Book of Leinster, it is said : ' Parthalon's people, to the number of nine thousand, died of Tamh in one week' ". Other authorities on the same subject are then cited, and among the rest the Chronicon Scotorum MSS. , as translated by Mr. Curry, where the following entry occurs :--" In one thousand five hundred and four (400 accord ing to Eochaidh O'Flinn) from Parthalon's arrival in Ireland till the first mor tality (Duine-bhadh, ie. , human mortality) that came in Ireland after the Deluge; that is, the death by pestilence {Tamh) of Parthalon's people, which happened on Monday, in the calends of May, and continued till the Sunday fol lowing. It was from that mortality (Duine-bhadK) \pi Parthalon's people the name of the Taimleachta (the death or mortality place) of the men of Ireland is derived".
1 Colgan says, he applied for admission, "inter conversos". Acta Sanctorum Iliberniae, xi. Marin. Vila S. Mngussii, cap. v. p. 581. Harris states that he was received " by the Abbot Maelruan, as a lay brother". Harris' Ware, vol. ii.
Writers of Ireland, book i. p. 52.
2 " Harris ( Writers at Mngus) says that he was received as a lay-brother.
Colgan indeed, from whom he took his account of jEngus, seems to have thought so; for he represents him as conversus, the term by which a lay brother is usually distinguished from a clerical one. But if this was Colgan's meaning, be was certainly mistaken ; for the distinction between clerical and lay monks or brethren, as it is now understood, was net known in Ireland at that period, nor, it seems, any where until the eleventh century. (See Fleury, Discoun septieme stir tBist. Eccl. , and Instit. an Droit Eccl. , part i. ch. 25. ) In older times some monks, it is true, were raised more or less to the clerical ranks, and the number of such promotions appears to have increased with the course of
ages ; but there was not as yet any radical distinction of classes in the religious institutions, so as that one of them was perpetually debarred from any ecclesi astical promotion, and destined to toil in the fields and elsewhere as subordi nate to the other, and, in fact, as servants of the clerical or higher class". Ecclesiastical History ofIreland, vol. iii. chap. xx. ? x. n. 95, p. 247, 248.
f
10 The Life and Works of
and appeared as a serving man, seeking for service. This holy- servant of Christ was permitted to prove his vocation for a reli gious life, by engaging in the most laborious and meanest offices, connected with the monastery. These duties, however, he most cheerfully executed, and he devoted unremitting attention to their most careful performance. He was principally employed at field labour, and in the farm-yard belonging to the monastery ; for we are told, that with the sweat of his brow he was found as a reaper of corn during the harvest, that he bore the sheaves on his back to the barn, that he afterwards threshed out the grain, and winnowed chaff therefrom, placing what had been thus pre pared in sacks. Like a beast of burden, he carried those sacks on his back, sometimes to the granary, and sometimes to the mill. This mill and a kiln, he had charge of by Melruan's orders. 1 During all these labours, this devout and humble brother found time to raise his heart and thoughts towards heaven. This ark of hidden wisdom considered himself, as only fitted to discharge the mean offices, to which of choice he sub jected himself. These daily toils showed his complete self- abnegation, and his contempt for the opinion of worldlings. Dur ing his labours this humble monk was scantily clothed. His countenance was often disguised, owing to the combined effects of sweat and dust, which covered his features. But, he had neither the vanity nor inclination to appear well-looking in the presence of his brethren. Nor would he devote any time to the decoration of his person. He allowed the hair on his head to grow long, tangled and uncombed ; the chaffy dust and straws of the field and barn, he would not even remove from his clothes. Thus iEngus conceived himself, as putting into practical opera tion the virtues of his monastic profession ; for it was only by these means, he could induce worldlings to believe, that he was the most abject and vile of all creatures, having more the appearance of a monster, than of a human being. An extra ordinary love of mortification was united with extatic flames of Divine love, in the soul of this great vessel of election ; and hence, he merited the title"of Kele-De,s which he obtained, and which may be rendered, a lover of God". With an humble spirit, in a mortified body, a light radiated the interior of his soul. Yet this light was destined to escape from the close sanctuary, within which it had hitherto beamed.
1 See, Professor Eugene O'Curry's Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish Bistort/. Led. xvii. p. 365. The author of this learned work
declares, that he saw the ruins of this mill and kiln, in their primitive dimen sions, and that only a few years have passed by, since these venerable relics have yielded to " the improving hand of modern progress".
2 "Quae vox latine reddita Deicolam, seu Amadaeum designat". Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, xi. Martii. Vila S. Mnyussii, cap. v. p. 580.
St. JEngusius Hagiographus. 11
Meantime, it may be well to relate, that the Almighty was pleased to reward the virtues of his servant, and by the testi mony of a surprising miracle. For, at one time, whilst this holy monk was engaged in a neighbouring wood cutting down branches for the use of his monastery, it happened, that he held
with the left hand a branch, which he wished to separate from the trunk of a tree, and the axe, grasped in his right hand, glanced from the object against which it had been directed. This in cautious stroke resulted in severing the left hand from his body. We are told, the very birds, in the wood, by a sort of preterna tural instinct, had formed an attachment towards St. JEngus, on account of his innocent demeanour. Perhaps, the holy man had often lightened his--out-door labours, by chaunting the psalmody of the Church, probably adapted to verses of his own
Those feathered warblers, the thrushes or black birds --so often celebrated in Ossianic song1--had made the dells and brakes around Glenasmoil and Tallagh resound with dulcet melody, while spring and summer breezes loaded the air with agreeable perfume from mountain herbs and shrubs. Their strains were often stilled, when more solemn and pathetic notes, from " a son of song", agreeably called forth the natural echoes, which resounded through wooded hill-sides and hollows, surrounding
St. Melruan's monastery. Those songsters of the grove and thicket will rest with listening ear, and love to linger near any spot, where the humble field-labourer pours forth the unpreme ditated lay, with a clear and modulated voice. Ifnot disturbed, these woodland minstrels even desire human companionship and vocalism of a perfect character. We cannot doubt, the Chris tian's heart was naturally gentle and toned with refined feeling, ? while the poet's soul and senses were attuned to all the soft and sweet influences of wild scenery and its charming accessories. Sometimes, it is said, even ravens flap their wings with affright, when from a distance they scent human blood. A mysterious sympathy frequently unites irrational to rational creatures. At the moment this accident befel JEngus, birds flocked around, and by their screams and cries, seemed to bewail the pure and angelic man's misfortune. Full of confidence in the power and goodness of God, without hesitation, . /Engus took up the hand which had been lopped off, and at once set in its proper place, at the extremity of his mutilated arm. Instantly, adhered, and recovered its former power, as no accident whatever had be fallen him. Hereupon JSngus poured forth his soul, in praise and thanksgiving, to the great preserver of all creatures. '
See tAoirfie fiArimncTieAcliuA, edited by John O'Daly, n. Trans actions of the Osstanic Society for the year 1856, rol. iv.
See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martii. Vita S. Aengussii, cap. vi. p. 580.
f
composition.
11
it 1,
p. i.
if
it,
12 TJie Life and Works of
Our popular traditions, especially referring to the saints, often savour of exaggeration. The Irish people have loved and ad mired purity and holiness, while they have implicit faith in the sovereign power of God towards and over his elect. The fore going miracle -- one of the few miracles recorded about our saint, although he is said to have wrought many -- may be classed with our Legenda Sanctorum. Probably, its rationale would accord better with the fact, that St. _33ngus had almost chopped the left hand from his arm, but that he had immediately bandaged and united these members of his body, so nearly dissevered, and yet so fortunately preserved for future use. In the case of wounds, eminent surgeons allow, that very dangerous ones are often healed by prompt attention, and by a recuperative energy found
a of flesh be in the human body itself. If piece
cut away and soon after applied to the place whence taken, both parts will
again unite. By the popular rumour, the cure of St. JEngus
has been pronounced miraculous. However it had been effected,
we cannot fail to recognize the Almighty's bounty towards a favoured servant, who was destined to effect still greater good, and acquire additional merits, before his day of deliverance from earth had arrived.
IV. --Tlie incident which first discovered St. JEngus to the Holy Abbot St. Melruan. -- Friendship thenceforth existing between them. --Literary pursuits of our Saint. --Engages on the Felire or Festology -- Presents a copy of it to Fothadius the Canonist. --Probable date, origin, and object of the Felire.
St. iEngus continued to exercise his usual austerities, and re mained unknown to the monks and to the rest of mankind, for seven whole years. At length, an unusual occurrence betrayed the secret he seemed so anxious to conceal. Whilst ^Engus was at work one day in the monastery barn, a scholar who had not thoroughly prepared his lesson, and who was in conse quence afraid to appear in school, applied for admission and con cealment, at least during that day. When _32ngus learned the cause of this boy's uneasiness, he spoke kindly and with cheer ing assurances : pressing the child to his bosom, he contrived to lull the scholar to sleep. After some time, he was awakened, and desired to repeat his lesson. 1 He proceeded in the task,
1 Dr. Lanigan undertakes to explain the circumstance of this hoy's profi ciency in his lesson, owing to the help he derived from -33ngus. See, Ecclesias tical Htstory of Ireland, vol iii. chap, xx. ? x. p. 246. At note 97 he adds : " It is thus, I think, that the anecdote related in JEngas' Acts ought to be un derstood. The boy's improvement is indeed stated as miraculous, and as a supernatural consequence of his having slept for awhile on the bosom of iEngus. But, it can be well accounted for without recurring to a miracle". Ibid. , p. 248.
totally
St. AZngusius Hagiographus. 13
repeated every word to the end, and this was done witbout hesitation or difficulty. _53ngus exacted from him a promise of silence regarding these circumstances, and recommended him
immediately to seek his teacher. The latter, on examination of his disciple, found him very well prepared on this day -- an occurrence of rare result in the boy's course of training. His master, no less a personage than the Abbot, St. Melruan him self, insisted on learning the cause of his forwardness, at this
particular juncture. Awed by the Abbot's authority and earnest manner, the boy revealed the circumstances of his case, as they had actually occurred. By a sudden inspiration, a belief in the identity of this monk with the missing jEngus of Dysartenos, rushed upon the mind of the superior over the Tallaght com munity. He ran immediately to the barn, and embraced Aengus with most tender affection, lavishing on him reproaches which love and admiration could alone dictate. He was blamed for the long-borne and humiliating, though willing, services ren
dered to the community, and for that false humility, which
deprived it of the learning and experience possessed by so great a master of the spiritual life. Aengus fell on his knees, at the feet of Abbot Melruan, and he begged and obtained pardon for those faults, which merited loving reproaches. From that time forward, they became bosom friends, and unconscious rivals in that holy ambition, by which a true saint is ever prompted. 1
The literary labours, in which St. . JSngus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but in all probability he had not then formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown. His works are of exceeding
value, not only as having been composed, at a comparatively re mote period; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts, to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that gave him birth derives no small share ofrenown from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the services of ^Engus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for
The affectionate, kind, and patient teacher was probably exemplified in the case of iEngus ; and hence, the child might have been encouraged to greater mental exercise by his instructions and the method he took in communicating
them.
1Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martiu Vita S. JEngussii, cap.
vii. , viii. , ix. , p. S80.
r
14 TJie Life and Works of
happily, in him we have found a true saint to record the actions
of his sanctified compatriots and predecessors.
No sooner had JEngus been called to fill a different sphere of
life in the monastery, from that in which he had been at first exercised, than the unforgotten vision of angels seen in Cool- banagher Church, and the purpose it evoked, came with new force upon his recollection. Inspired by devotional feeling and a poetical genius of no mean order, he took up his pen, and the result was a metrical hymn in the Irish language, known as the " Feilire", or in Latin, as the Festilogium of St ^ngus. 1 In this canticle, he enumerates some of the principal saints, whom he calls Princes of the Saints. The Festilogium is brief, although saints' festivals are assigned to each day of the week, with some allusions to characteristic virtues or actions of each holy individual therein commemorated. There is a com mentary or series of notes found in the copies of this work, yet extant. These comments relate many particulars, regarding saints named in the Festilogium. We are at a loss to discover whether these notes are attributable to the saintly author of the poem itself, or to some scholiast belonging to a later age. The latter supposition, however, is more probable. It is recorded, that iEngus, about the year 804, presented a copy of this work
to the learned lecturer, Fothadius, the Canonist, who returned this compliment by the bestowal of another work, of which he was author. This latter work is said to have been the famous Remonstrance he drew up, as addressed to King Aidus. It inveighs against the employment of ecclesiastics, in military
1 " A copy of his poem, called ' Velire', is preserved in the Leabhar Breac, in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy". --Tracts Relating to Ireland, Mmrcheartach MacNeilts Circuit ofIreland, page 32, Mr. O'Vonovan's Note 36, I. A. S. 's Publications.
a The account regarding the expedition of Aedh Oirdnidhe is thus given at the year 799, [rede 804] in 0''Donovan's Annals oj the Four Masters, vol. i. pp. 408 to 411. " Aedh Oirdnidhe assembled a very great army to proceed into Leinster, and devastated Leinster twice in one month. A full muster of the men of Ireland (except the Leinster-men), both laity and clergy, was again made by him [and he marched] until he reached Dun-Cuair, on the confines of Meath and Leinster. Thither came Connmhach, successor of Patrick, having the clergy of Leath-Chuinn along with him.
4 M. de la Villemarque, of the French Institute, has published a most inter- resting article on the Poetry of the Celtic Cloisters. It appeared in the No
vember number of Le Correspondant for 1863.
IB
S
4 The Life and Works of
and science among the pupils of our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of numbers still remained, and his conceptions becoming spiritualised by the aspirations after perfection, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study, with manual labour, divided cloistral occupations, and through study this inspiration became fruitful. The saints of Ireland, intent only on making their disciples spiritual men, one day found to their surprise they had created poets. The genius of these poets was varied, as the crowd of strangers that thronged the schools. Their compositions may be reduced under the heads of didactic poetry, lyrical poetry, Amras or panegyrics, legends strictly so called, Felires or Festologies, visions, and navigations or voyages. All these have their special features of interest and edification. However, owing to various causes, facts were now and then changed into fictions. But M. de la Villemarque is far from agreeing with those, who consider ro mances regarding the saints as worthless. According to him,
the portraits of saints simply underwent the fate of all heroes
belonging to early ages ; and yet, between the sacred and pro fane legends there exists a great difference. In what profane legend do we ever find an express caution to the reader, that, beside the literal and historical sense, there is also a spiritual meaning to be drawn from the narrative? 1 That delicate and sound morality which marks the legends of the Breton and Irish saints, has been specially dwelt on by a modern critic. For freshness, richness of invention, and national characteristics, no church has aught to compare with them. And all Celtic scholars will acknowledge this high degree of praise to be fully
deserved.
Accounts which are given respecting the miracles and
sanctity of -<Engus, and the evidences of his learning that yet remain, are more than equalled by that profound humility which led him to form a most abject opinion regarding his own
deserts. The manner in which he renounced this world and the applause of mankind, must deserve unbounded admiration, although it may fail to induce the imitation of all professing Christians. His mind was replenished with heavenly graces, and he was favoured with celestial visions. He combined the rare gifts of profound wisdom and singular zeal, in all his
1 M. de la Villemarque shows that Dante fully realized this double nature
of the ancient legends.
" Ye of intellect,
Sound and entire, mark well the lore conccal'd
Under close texture of the mystic strain".
Inferno, IX. , 62. -- Cary's Transl.
? |f St. uffingwius Hagiographus. 5
actions and affections ; while it would be a difficult question to decide, whether his virtues were greater than his miracles in sight of God and man. One thing, however, is certain, that the nobility of his descent was more than surpassed by the lustre of his virtues.
II. --St. ^Engus retires to Dysart Enos. --His austeritits --Repu tation for sanctity. -- He visits the Church of Coolbanaghtr. -- A vision of angels TJie purpose it evoked.
Some six or seven miles from Clonenagh, JEngus had built a cell1 for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in prac tice, unknown and unnoticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. The locality of this cell hence derived its name, Dysartenos, or the desert of JEngus,2 which it yet retains. A broken range of limestone hills, of romantic and rugged outline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At the present day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect
of which must have been considerably heightened in that early
An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes between the ruins of Clonenagh's old monastery and Dysart
1 That he built a cell for himself at Dysart Enos may be inferred, not only from the expression of Colgan, ' ' coluit eremum", but also from a statement that he recited the first fifty psalms " in oratorio", and the second fifty, " sub diu juxta proceram arborem oratorio adjacentem". See Acta Sanctorum Miberniae, xi. Martii, Vita S. Aengussii, cap. iii. p. 579.
2 The anonymous scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert jEnguis : and the other . /Engus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert- Bethech. He likewise indicates that it lay very near to Clonenagh. Colgan adds, " vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. jEngussiuui esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit quod non in Cluain-edhneach), et educatum et sepultum". Wherefore, Colgan thinks the Desert in question was identical with Cluain-edneach, or at least that ^Engus perchance died and had been buried in the place first named. Our annals certainly show
that a Desertum JEngussii differed from Cluain-edhneach. These record that Conn, son of Maelpadraig, Archinnech of Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungairit, died a. d. 1033. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters, vol. ii. pp. 826, 827. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. O'Donovan fell into an error, by identifying the latter Disert-Aengusa with Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's county. I feel satisfied the Disert-Aengussa and Mungairit, already named, were both situated within the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballin- garry, and the latter near Limerick city.
3 Near the Dysart Hills, lies a beautiful demesne called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour through Ireland in 1825, he was hospitably entertained by a former proprietor, the Bight Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen, by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, chap, lxiii. What Lockhart forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and it must be allowed, few persons had truer perceptions of taste and judgment, in reference
such matters.
age. 3
6 The Life and Works of
enos. This moorland must have rendered access between both places, a matter of some difficulty to our saint. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, he was in the
habit of making three hundred genuflections each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually employed in singing the praises of God, and in
such an ascendancy over his passions, that to all save himself, jEngus seemed to be an angel concealed in human form.
Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving
St. iEngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry, in the present county of Limerick. 1 We are told also that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name from some other saint, or person, named JEngus ; for our saint is known to have settled not far from Clonenagh --in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded by ancient scholiasts on his works. 2 Other circumstances, relating to his acts and incidents of his life, confirm our conclusions, that
he lived, for some short time at least, in Dysartenos, a parish
so denominated, near the celebrated Rock of Dunamase, and a
few miles from Maryborough.
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts
of the country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversation and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of ? virtue which he could so well inculcate. Fearing the sugges
acquiring
Clonenagh,
1 See Professor Eugene O'Curry's Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History. Lect xvii. p. 364.
2 " All the country about Cluainenach for many miles, was, in the memory of men yet living, a great forest. * * * ? Desert JEngus (though the name be now lost) was some part of this great wood". --Harris' Ware, ? vol. iii.
Writers of Ireland, book i. pp. 61, 62, note D. Harris lived in the earlier part of the last century, when his principal works were published. He inti mates, likewise, that the place of his birth was at or near Brittas, where hit father, Captain Lieutenant Hopton Harris of the Militia, took part in an en gagement, during the Jacobite and Williamite wars in 1691. See Walter Harris* History of the Life and Reign of William the Third, book ix. pp. 316, 317. Hence, we may, take it for granted, this writer had a good local know ledge respecting Clonenagh and Disart Enos. But, because he did not advert to the possible identity of the later denomination with Desart TEngus, he thought this place where St. yEngus resided could not then be identified.
St. ^Engusius Hagiographus. 7
tions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossibility to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . flSngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his se
lected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Cool-
banagher,1 for the purpose of offering up prayers to that God, whom he so faithfully served. Whilst engaged in this exercise, a vision of angels appeared to him. These blessed spirits seemed to surround a particular tomb. Celestial songs were heard by him, at the same time, the ravishing harmony of which gave him a foretaste of canticles, entoned by the beatified
in heaven. He noted the tomb thus distinguished, and imme diately directed his steps to a priest serving the church. -3? ngus made inquiries regarding the name and character of the deceased. He soon learned that the occupant of the tomb in question had been in early life a warrior, who retired from the profession of arms and devoted himself to a life of penance. This soldier of Christ had closed a long life of holy and spiritual warfare, a few days before such event. -<Engus was still more desirous to learn the practices, devotions, and penitential exercises of the soldier.
His curiosity being gratified, he was unable to discover anything very unusual, in these his religious observances, with the ex
ception of a practice he followed each morning and night, which was that of invoking the prayers of all saints, whose names occurred to his memory. From this relation given by the priest, the idea of composing a metrical hymn, in honour of
1 The old church of Coolbanagher yet remains in a ruinous state, and its surrounding graveyard is now used as a place of burial. Tradition assigns to the building an early date of erection. There are two divisions in this church yet visible --most probably the nave and choir. A wall appears to have sepa rated both, but a large pointed doorway afforded a communication. The nave, on the outside, measures thirty-two feet in length by twenty-two feet in breadth. The outside wall of the choir measures twenty-eight feet, in length, by sixteen feet, in breadth. The inside of the building is filled with loose stones and rubbish. A narrow low door, now stopped up with masonry, appears beneath an overshadowing mass of ivy, on the western gable ; and a door seems to have been subsequently opened, on the southern side wall, probably, when the former one had been closed. A splayed window opened on either side of the nave. A splayed and ruinous east window formerly lighted the choir, the side walls of which are now nearly level with the ground. These are some descriptive particulars noticed during a visit to the spot, on the 10th of December, 1853. On that occasion, the writer took a pencil sketch of the old church ruins, as they appeared from the south-east side of the building. There are no tombs, at present, in the graveyard or church, but such as bear modern inscriptions. The old building is apparently of very great an tiquity. It adjoins the ruins of Coolbanagher Castle, near the great Heath of Maryborough. In Sir Charles Coote's Statistical Survey of the Queerit County, we are simply informed that " at Coolbanagher are the ruins of a church and also of a castle". Chap. xi. ? i. p. 136.
8 The Life and Works of
all the saints, took possession of his mind. 1 This hymn he in tended to repeat to his death, although his sincere humility deterred him from the immediate prosecution of his project. JEngus, we are told, judged himself unfitted for such a task,
and feared that the praises of the saints might be commemo rated in a manner, hardly suited to the dignity and importance of his subject.
III. --St. utEngus proceeds to the Monastery of Tallagh. --Seeks admission there in guise of a servant. -- Manual labour at agri
cultural operations. -- His humility and mortifications. -- An accident which befel him, and his miraculous cure.
At this time St. Molruan presided over a great monastery on Tallagh Hill, in the present county of Dublin. Towards this religious house, our saint proceeded. 2 He appeared at the gate
1 To this incident, allusion has been made by Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee, in that beautiful dirge, composed on the lamented death of his friend Eugene
O'Curry:--
" Let those who love and lose him most, In their great sorrow comfort find,
Remembering how heaven's mighty host Were ever present to his mind ;
Descending on his grave at even, -- May they a radiant phalanx see
Such wondrous sight as once was given In vision to the rapt Culdee". .
Instead of the buried person being called a " soldier", according to an account found in Professor O'Curry's Lectures " on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History, he is said to have been a poor old man, who formerly lived at the place. What good did he do ? said Aengus. I saw no particular good by him, said the priest, but that his customary practice was to recount and invoke the saints of the world, as far as he could remember them, at his going to bed and getting up, in accordance with the custom of the old devotees. Ah ! my God, said Aengus, he who would make a poetical composition in praise of the saints should doubtless have a high reward, when so much has been vouch safed to the efforts of this old devotee! And Aengus then commenced his poem on the spot. He subsequently continued it gradually, and finished it as we have already seen". Lect. xvii. p. 365. According to the same learned authority, our saint commenced this poem, known as the Festology, at Cuil Bennchair in Offaly, continued it at Cluain Eidhnech, and finished it during his servitude at Tallagh. Ibid. If such be the case, it is probable St. JEngus left Dysartenos, and spent some time in his alma mater at Clonenagh, before he proceeded to Tallagh.
1 In this Report of the Census Commissioners of Ireland for the year 1851, part v. vol. we find most valuable annalistic reference to diseases and pes tilences in this country from the earliest times to the present. In this able report, which does so much credit to the learning and research of Sir William Wilde, we find various accounts, which serve to furnish derivation for Tal- laght or Tamlacht. The Annals commence with the first recorded pestilence, or Tamh --namely, that which destroyed Partbalon's colony, and which referred by the Four Masters to a. m. 2820, according to the long chronology of the Septuagint. The entry by those annalists is, " Nine thousand of Partha- lon's people died in one week on Sean-Mhagh-Ealta-Edair --namely, five thou-
is
a
i. ,
a
St. ^ngusius Uagiographus. 9
of this monastery, and begged admission amongst the members
of its religious fraternity, in quality of lay brother, according to Colgan and Harris;1 although Dr. Lanigan tells us, that such a title was unknown in religious houses before the eleventh cen tury. 2 He studiously concealed both his name and that of the monastery, in which he had hitherto lived ; for iEngus was well aware, that his fame had already extended to the institute of Tallaght, which was then in its infancy. Wherefore, he assumed a habit, calculated most effectually to disguise his real condition. He concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesiastical order,
sand men and four thousand women. Whence is (named) Tamlacht Muintire Parthaloin" --"the place", adds Dr. Wilde, in his notice of the event, " now called Tallaght, near Dublin ; and the tumuli of these early colonists, who died from sudden epidemic, can still be seen upon the hills in its vicinity. This is the first recorded pestilence in Ireland. The Irish word Tamil means an epide mic pestilence ; and the term Tamhleacht (the plague monument), which fre quently enters into topographical names in Ireland, signifies a place where a number of persons cut off by pestilence were interred together. -- See Cormac's Glossary MSS.
See also note by O'Donovan in his Translation of the Annals of the Four Masters. This destruction of the colony of Parthalon, which is said to have occurred in ' the old plain of the valley of the flocks', stretching between Ben Edair (Howth) and Tallaght, on which the city of Dublin now stands, is thus mentioned in the ' Book of Invasions', contained in the Book of Leinster (manuscript, Mr. Curry's translation. ) ' In Sean-Magh-Etair Partha
lon became extinct in a thousand men and four thousand women, of one week's mortality', or Tamh. This is the oldest manuscript account of that pestilence that we now possess ; and in an ancient bardic poem in the Book of Leinster, it is said : ' Parthalon's people, to the number of nine thousand, died of Tamh in one week' ". Other authorities on the same subject are then cited, and among the rest the Chronicon Scotorum MSS. , as translated by Mr. Curry, where the following entry occurs :--" In one thousand five hundred and four (400 accord ing to Eochaidh O'Flinn) from Parthalon's arrival in Ireland till the first mor tality (Duine-bhadh, ie. , human mortality) that came in Ireland after the Deluge; that is, the death by pestilence {Tamh) of Parthalon's people, which happened on Monday, in the calends of May, and continued till the Sunday fol lowing. It was from that mortality (Duine-bhadK) \pi Parthalon's people the name of the Taimleachta (the death or mortality place) of the men of Ireland is derived".
1 Colgan says, he applied for admission, "inter conversos". Acta Sanctorum Iliberniae, xi. Marin. Vila S. Mngussii, cap. v. p. 581. Harris states that he was received " by the Abbot Maelruan, as a lay brother". Harris' Ware, vol. ii.
Writers of Ireland, book i. p. 52.
2 " Harris ( Writers at Mngus) says that he was received as a lay-brother.
Colgan indeed, from whom he took his account of jEngus, seems to have thought so; for he represents him as conversus, the term by which a lay brother is usually distinguished from a clerical one. But if this was Colgan's meaning, be was certainly mistaken ; for the distinction between clerical and lay monks or brethren, as it is now understood, was net known in Ireland at that period, nor, it seems, any where until the eleventh century. (See Fleury, Discoun septieme stir tBist. Eccl. , and Instit. an Droit Eccl. , part i. ch. 25. ) In older times some monks, it is true, were raised more or less to the clerical ranks, and the number of such promotions appears to have increased with the course of
ages ; but there was not as yet any radical distinction of classes in the religious institutions, so as that one of them was perpetually debarred from any ecclesi astical promotion, and destined to toil in the fields and elsewhere as subordi nate to the other, and, in fact, as servants of the clerical or higher class". Ecclesiastical History ofIreland, vol. iii. chap. xx. ? x. n. 95, p. 247, 248.
f
10 The Life and Works of
and appeared as a serving man, seeking for service. This holy- servant of Christ was permitted to prove his vocation for a reli gious life, by engaging in the most laborious and meanest offices, connected with the monastery. These duties, however, he most cheerfully executed, and he devoted unremitting attention to their most careful performance. He was principally employed at field labour, and in the farm-yard belonging to the monastery ; for we are told, that with the sweat of his brow he was found as a reaper of corn during the harvest, that he bore the sheaves on his back to the barn, that he afterwards threshed out the grain, and winnowed chaff therefrom, placing what had been thus pre pared in sacks. Like a beast of burden, he carried those sacks on his back, sometimes to the granary, and sometimes to the mill. This mill and a kiln, he had charge of by Melruan's orders. 1 During all these labours, this devout and humble brother found time to raise his heart and thoughts towards heaven. This ark of hidden wisdom considered himself, as only fitted to discharge the mean offices, to which of choice he sub jected himself. These daily toils showed his complete self- abnegation, and his contempt for the opinion of worldlings. Dur ing his labours this humble monk was scantily clothed. His countenance was often disguised, owing to the combined effects of sweat and dust, which covered his features. But, he had neither the vanity nor inclination to appear well-looking in the presence of his brethren. Nor would he devote any time to the decoration of his person. He allowed the hair on his head to grow long, tangled and uncombed ; the chaffy dust and straws of the field and barn, he would not even remove from his clothes. Thus iEngus conceived himself, as putting into practical opera tion the virtues of his monastic profession ; for it was only by these means, he could induce worldlings to believe, that he was the most abject and vile of all creatures, having more the appearance of a monster, than of a human being. An extra ordinary love of mortification was united with extatic flames of Divine love, in the soul of this great vessel of election ; and hence, he merited the title"of Kele-De,s which he obtained, and which may be rendered, a lover of God". With an humble spirit, in a mortified body, a light radiated the interior of his soul. Yet this light was destined to escape from the close sanctuary, within which it had hitherto beamed.
1 See, Professor Eugene O'Curry's Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish Bistort/. Led. xvii. p. 365. The author of this learned work
declares, that he saw the ruins of this mill and kiln, in their primitive dimen sions, and that only a few years have passed by, since these venerable relics have yielded to " the improving hand of modern progress".
2 "Quae vox latine reddita Deicolam, seu Amadaeum designat". Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, xi. Martii. Vila S. Mnyussii, cap. v. p. 580.
St. JEngusius Hagiographus. 11
Meantime, it may be well to relate, that the Almighty was pleased to reward the virtues of his servant, and by the testi mony of a surprising miracle. For, at one time, whilst this holy monk was engaged in a neighbouring wood cutting down branches for the use of his monastery, it happened, that he held
with the left hand a branch, which he wished to separate from the trunk of a tree, and the axe, grasped in his right hand, glanced from the object against which it had been directed. This in cautious stroke resulted in severing the left hand from his body. We are told, the very birds, in the wood, by a sort of preterna tural instinct, had formed an attachment towards St. JEngus, on account of his innocent demeanour. Perhaps, the holy man had often lightened his--out-door labours, by chaunting the psalmody of the Church, probably adapted to verses of his own
Those feathered warblers, the thrushes or black birds --so often celebrated in Ossianic song1--had made the dells and brakes around Glenasmoil and Tallagh resound with dulcet melody, while spring and summer breezes loaded the air with agreeable perfume from mountain herbs and shrubs. Their strains were often stilled, when more solemn and pathetic notes, from " a son of song", agreeably called forth the natural echoes, which resounded through wooded hill-sides and hollows, surrounding
St. Melruan's monastery. Those songsters of the grove and thicket will rest with listening ear, and love to linger near any spot, where the humble field-labourer pours forth the unpreme ditated lay, with a clear and modulated voice. Ifnot disturbed, these woodland minstrels even desire human companionship and vocalism of a perfect character. We cannot doubt, the Chris tian's heart was naturally gentle and toned with refined feeling, ? while the poet's soul and senses were attuned to all the soft and sweet influences of wild scenery and its charming accessories. Sometimes, it is said, even ravens flap their wings with affright, when from a distance they scent human blood. A mysterious sympathy frequently unites irrational to rational creatures. At the moment this accident befel JEngus, birds flocked around, and by their screams and cries, seemed to bewail the pure and angelic man's misfortune. Full of confidence in the power and goodness of God, without hesitation, . /Engus took up the hand which had been lopped off, and at once set in its proper place, at the extremity of his mutilated arm. Instantly, adhered, and recovered its former power, as no accident whatever had be fallen him. Hereupon JSngus poured forth his soul, in praise and thanksgiving, to the great preserver of all creatures. '
See tAoirfie fiArimncTieAcliuA, edited by John O'Daly, n. Trans actions of the Osstanic Society for the year 1856, rol. iv.
See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martii. Vita S. Aengussii, cap. vi. p. 580.
f
composition.
11
it 1,
p. i.
if
it,
12 TJie Life and Works of
Our popular traditions, especially referring to the saints, often savour of exaggeration. The Irish people have loved and ad mired purity and holiness, while they have implicit faith in the sovereign power of God towards and over his elect. The fore going miracle -- one of the few miracles recorded about our saint, although he is said to have wrought many -- may be classed with our Legenda Sanctorum. Probably, its rationale would accord better with the fact, that St. _33ngus had almost chopped the left hand from his arm, but that he had immediately bandaged and united these members of his body, so nearly dissevered, and yet so fortunately preserved for future use. In the case of wounds, eminent surgeons allow, that very dangerous ones are often healed by prompt attention, and by a recuperative energy found
a of flesh be in the human body itself. If piece
cut away and soon after applied to the place whence taken, both parts will
again unite. By the popular rumour, the cure of St. JEngus
has been pronounced miraculous. However it had been effected,
we cannot fail to recognize the Almighty's bounty towards a favoured servant, who was destined to effect still greater good, and acquire additional merits, before his day of deliverance from earth had arrived.
IV. --Tlie incident which first discovered St. JEngus to the Holy Abbot St. Melruan. -- Friendship thenceforth existing between them. --Literary pursuits of our Saint. --Engages on the Felire or Festology -- Presents a copy of it to Fothadius the Canonist. --Probable date, origin, and object of the Felire.
St. iEngus continued to exercise his usual austerities, and re mained unknown to the monks and to the rest of mankind, for seven whole years. At length, an unusual occurrence betrayed the secret he seemed so anxious to conceal. Whilst ^Engus was at work one day in the monastery barn, a scholar who had not thoroughly prepared his lesson, and who was in conse quence afraid to appear in school, applied for admission and con cealment, at least during that day. When _32ngus learned the cause of this boy's uneasiness, he spoke kindly and with cheer ing assurances : pressing the child to his bosom, he contrived to lull the scholar to sleep. After some time, he was awakened, and desired to repeat his lesson. 1 He proceeded in the task,
1 Dr. Lanigan undertakes to explain the circumstance of this hoy's profi ciency in his lesson, owing to the help he derived from -33ngus. See, Ecclesias tical Htstory of Ireland, vol iii. chap, xx. ? x. p. 246. At note 97 he adds : " It is thus, I think, that the anecdote related in JEngas' Acts ought to be un derstood. The boy's improvement is indeed stated as miraculous, and as a supernatural consequence of his having slept for awhile on the bosom of iEngus. But, it can be well accounted for without recurring to a miracle". Ibid. , p. 248.
totally
St. AZngusius Hagiographus. 13
repeated every word to the end, and this was done witbout hesitation or difficulty. _53ngus exacted from him a promise of silence regarding these circumstances, and recommended him
immediately to seek his teacher. The latter, on examination of his disciple, found him very well prepared on this day -- an occurrence of rare result in the boy's course of training. His master, no less a personage than the Abbot, St. Melruan him self, insisted on learning the cause of his forwardness, at this
particular juncture. Awed by the Abbot's authority and earnest manner, the boy revealed the circumstances of his case, as they had actually occurred. By a sudden inspiration, a belief in the identity of this monk with the missing jEngus of Dysartenos, rushed upon the mind of the superior over the Tallaght com munity. He ran immediately to the barn, and embraced Aengus with most tender affection, lavishing on him reproaches which love and admiration could alone dictate. He was blamed for the long-borne and humiliating, though willing, services ren
dered to the community, and for that false humility, which
deprived it of the learning and experience possessed by so great a master of the spiritual life. Aengus fell on his knees, at the feet of Abbot Melruan, and he begged and obtained pardon for those faults, which merited loving reproaches. From that time forward, they became bosom friends, and unconscious rivals in that holy ambition, by which a true saint is ever prompted. 1
The literary labours, in which St. . JSngus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but in all probability he had not then formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown. His works are of exceeding
value, not only as having been composed, at a comparatively re mote period; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts, to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that gave him birth derives no small share ofrenown from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the services of ^Engus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for
The affectionate, kind, and patient teacher was probably exemplified in the case of iEngus ; and hence, the child might have been encouraged to greater mental exercise by his instructions and the method he took in communicating
them.
1Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, xi. Martiu Vita S. JEngussii, cap.
vii. , viii. , ix. , p. S80.
r
14 TJie Life and Works of
happily, in him we have found a true saint to record the actions
of his sanctified compatriots and predecessors.
No sooner had JEngus been called to fill a different sphere of
life in the monastery, from that in which he had been at first exercised, than the unforgotten vision of angels seen in Cool- banagher Church, and the purpose it evoked, came with new force upon his recollection. Inspired by devotional feeling and a poetical genius of no mean order, he took up his pen, and the result was a metrical hymn in the Irish language, known as the " Feilire", or in Latin, as the Festilogium of St ^ngus. 1 In this canticle, he enumerates some of the principal saints, whom he calls Princes of the Saints. The Festilogium is brief, although saints' festivals are assigned to each day of the week, with some allusions to characteristic virtues or actions of each holy individual therein commemorated. There is a com mentary or series of notes found in the copies of this work, yet extant. These comments relate many particulars, regarding saints named in the Festilogium. We are at a loss to discover whether these notes are attributable to the saintly author of the poem itself, or to some scholiast belonging to a later age. The latter supposition, however, is more probable. It is recorded, that iEngus, about the year 804, presented a copy of this work
to the learned lecturer, Fothadius, the Canonist, who returned this compliment by the bestowal of another work, of which he was author. This latter work is said to have been the famous Remonstrance he drew up, as addressed to King Aidus. It inveighs against the employment of ecclesiastics, in military
1 " A copy of his poem, called ' Velire', is preserved in the Leabhar Breac, in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy". --Tracts Relating to Ireland, Mmrcheartach MacNeilts Circuit ofIreland, page 32, Mr. O'Vonovan's Note 36, I. A. S. 's Publications.
a The account regarding the expedition of Aedh Oirdnidhe is thus given at the year 799, [rede 804] in 0''Donovan's Annals oj the Four Masters, vol. i. pp. 408 to 411. " Aedh Oirdnidhe assembled a very great army to proceed into Leinster, and devastated Leinster twice in one month. A full muster of the men of Ireland (except the Leinster-men), both laity and clergy, was again made by him [and he marched] until he reached Dun-Cuair, on the confines of Meath and Leinster. Thither came Connmhach, successor of Patrick, having the clergy of Leath-Chuinn along with him.
