Patrick, however, he does not undertake to decide the question, as to whether it took place in Scotland, or in any other
different
country.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Patrick was not far from the western sea, and what Jocelyn writes, that it was contiguous to the Irish sea, but these relations are easily reconcilable.
See
"Archaeological Dissertation on the Birth- place of St. Patrick," pp. 43 to 45.
History of Great Britaine. " Britannia Romana. "
354 This word be may probably
Sir Samuel
"
Tabern,"
hut-plain
of 355 encampment,"
Primordia," cap. v. , p. dwfr.
The n is accounted from the for,
states, that,
Strathaven,
as identical with the Irish CAbAipne, "a notes, pp. 35, 197.
"
tavern. " 357 See the
Statistical Survey of Scot* 2G
regarded,
Ferguson's
Congal,"
find a nearly similar form,
"
"
in campo
assumption of the Ge. aon, "country," or "district," as the conjoined word tobair-aon. Eliding ao, and adding an appropriate ter- mination, the result is Tabernia, the appel- lative. This should be the present district
or the course of the upper
of
Clyde itself, which might well be so desig- nated, in reference to the Falls, presenting one of the most striking combinations of natural beauty and grandeur. Mr. Turner thinks, that the explanation of Tabernia, by the monkish writers of St. Patrick's Lives, as campus tabernaculorum, "the field of
" quiry as to the Birthplace of St. Patrick,"
tents," is a mere paragram. See his
In-
part ii. ,
likewise.
pp. 275, 270, with notes. See,
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
We are informed, that a rock in the Clyde bore the name, " St. Patrick's Stone," and that the figure of a man, said to have been St. Patrick, was to be
seenonanantiquatedtombstone,atOldKilpatrickchurchyard. 357 Ithescon- tiguous t—o Chapel Hill. 358 ^—XqzA tradition of this having been his birth-
which
place,
few at insist on could yet prevails although present it,
359
hardly have arisen, it is contended, unless the belief in his having been a native of the district had been strongly rooted, in the minds of the popula- tion. 3^° Lastly, a place, nearly resembling Enon, in etymology, has been sought for, near Dumbarton, yet, with indifferent success. 361 However, as Enon is a doubtful reading for " enim," this search, perhaps, is only a mere waste of time and labour ; but, as few very old Manuscript copies of St. Patrick's Confession remain,362 and these, for the most part, apparently not
St. David's Cathedral, Wales.
older than the eleventh century, we can hardly determine this matter, by
reference to their respective readings. Although, not attempting to identify with exactness, all those places named, as connected with St. Patrick's nativity,
we think, notwithstanding, the preponderating weight of evidence should determine that event, as occurring in Strathclyde district, and within the present kingdom of Scotland.
That he was born, in the vale of Rosina, in the country of Tibornia, or Neutria, in the village of Banava, and in the county of Pembroke, in Welsh
land," vol. v. , at Old Kilpatrick, and 276.
Garnett's " Tour," vol. i. , p. 6.
35^ See Rev. Duncan Macnab's "Archae-
ological Dissertation on the Birthplace of
3*' See Rev. Duncan Macnab's " Archs-
ological Dissertation on the Birthplace of
St. Patrick," pp. 46, 47.
3^^ The oldest known is that, in the
" Book of referred to the ninth Armagh,"
century.
3*3 See " Relationum Historicarum de
Rebus Anglicis," tomus i. , pars, ii. , p. 90. By the Welsh, our Irish Apostle was called
Padrig Maenwyn, son of Mawon, and he is
Saint Patrick," p. 39.
359 This is
mentioned, by
Mr.
John Dillon,
in a Paper on St. Patrick, which was read
to the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, on
3*° See J. II. Turner, " An Inquiry as to the Birthplace of St. Patrick," part ii. , p.
the 25th of November, 1816.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
Britain, is an opinion, held by John PittSjS^s and apparently founded on a statement, in the " Aurea Legenda," as interpreted by Caxton, who relates,
that the country of the Irish Apostle was Pendiac, or Pependiac, near the vale of Rosina, William Camden3^4 and Humphry Lluyd^^s adopt this statement.
According to one account, admitting his birth to have been in this locality, the village of Tabumia, was hard by Emptor town, now called St. David's,3^s otherwiseoldMentvia. HereyetstandsastatelyCathedralofthemiddle ages ^367 but, there is no evidence of any value to show, that St. Patrick was born in this locality. 3^^ However, such a notion may have arisen from the circumstance, recorded in some of his Acts, that before embarking for Ire- land, he stood in the beautiful vale of Rhos, or Rosina.
Touching the diversity of opinions, respecting this point, the writer of the English Martyrology3^9 considers Bristol, in England, to have been the place of his nativity. 370 This latter city, it is said, lost the name of Cser Britton soon
after St. Patrick's time, and then it appeared as Brit-stow, Brightstowe, or Bristol. 371 It is supposed, that the old denomination of this latter place being unknown to St. Fiach's Scholiast, he identified Nemthor with Alcluit, otherwise bearing the Roman-British etymon, Cser-Britton, now Dumbarton. 372
said to have been born in Cwrt-y-Carn, Glamorganshire.
Version of the " Historia Britonum" of
Nennius, we find Kser-Bristow, and again,
s^** See his
of in Pembroke,
to which the editor Thomas Gale attaches the following comment :
"
Quae Huntingdoniensi et Cambd. pag. 173. est Cair-Briston, id est, BristoUia. Melius forte Dun-Britton Alcluid olim dic-
description
"Britannia," voh ii. , col. 756. Gibson's
edition.
3*5 See his " Britannicse Descriptionis
Commentariolum," &c. , fol. 61.
3** See the English translation, by W, P. ,
Esq. , of Father Peter Ribadeneira's " Lives
of Saints," &c. , part L, p. 156. Dublin epithets being omitted. See Historise
edition.
3<^7 The accompanying illustration of St. tores XV. ," pp. 115, . 135, 138. In the Irish
David's Cathedral was drawn on the wood, copies, one of the British cities is called
by William F. Wakeman, and it was en- Cser-Breatan, and the other Cser Brut. See
graved by Mrs. Millard.
3*^ See "Trias " Colgan's Thaumaturga.
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap.
ii. , p. 221. In this connection, it may be
permitted to remark, that Benevento in Italy
is thought to be identical with Bonaven, and p. xiv. The editors' names attached are the district around it, as corresponding with W. Neilson Hancock, and Thaddeus Tabumia, by Rev. Richard Doyle, Pastor of
St. Brigid's Church, Liverpool. This opinion, he thinks, might be deduced from an ancient Map of Italy, which he examined, and there was a mountain, in that neigh- bourhood,—to which Virgil alludes in his Georgics :
"
Juvat Ismara Baccho Conserere, atque olea magnum vestire Ta-
burnum. "
—Lib. ii,, w, 37, 38.
The fact of St. Patrick's Latin origin, on the father's side, is also mentioned, in a letter written to the author, and dated, March i8th, 1875.
369 When treating about St. Patrick, at the 17th of March.
37° It is said, that while Dumbarton in Scotland bore the name of Cser Britton, the city of Bristol, in England, had a similar name. In an Appendix, to the Latin
Cair-Brithon,
tum.
"
In the text, two of the British cities
are called Cser—the other distinguishing "
Britannicse, Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicas Scrip-
"
the Additional Notes to the Irish Version of
the Historia Britonum " of
Nennius, pp.
iii. , iv.
37' See vol. ii. of " Ancient Laws of Ire-
land. " Senchuf mo^v Part ii. Preface,
O'Mahony.
37^ The openings of the two rivers, near
Bristol, and where the Frome meets the
Avon, in the tidal part of the latter, have
some points of resemblance with the estuary,
near Dumbarton, near where the Clyde and
Leven in the tidal of the former. unite, part
Great Roman military stations were near Dumbarton, as also at Cser Baden, (Bath)
where there were wealthy Romans, as colo- nists, by whom it was called "Aquae Solis et Thermae. " At Clifden, on the Avon, at Rownham, and at Abbotsleigh, traces of Roman encampments have been found. " And so Bristol, Glastonbury, and the Tor of St. Michael or Nempthor, would be all situated in a district of encampments, which some have thought to be the meaning of the name Tabernise or Tibumiae, which occurs in the description of Bonavem or Bonaven Tabernias, the place where St. Patrick's father resided at the time of his capture. This place is also said to be near the western
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
Again, with apparent want of accuracy, others aver, that St Patrick belonged to Cornwall ; but, it is probable, he has been confounded with St. Petroc, a native of this district. 373 In the Second Volume of Ancient Laws of Ireland, the Irish editors of the Senchus Mor have considered this interesting question,374 and have arrived at the conclusion, that St. Patrick was born at or near Glastonbury,37S in Somersetshire, under the shadow of the Tor of St. Michael. 376 A traditional account refers the Christian foundation here, to St. Joseph of Arimathea, and to eleven other disciples of St. Philip. 377 Arviragus, a British king, is said to have furnished a rude and an uncultivated
Glastonbury and the Tor of St. Michael, 1 _
island, with other lands, for their purpose. 378 It was a tradition at Glaston-
bury, that before he came to Ireland, the great St. Patrick, our Apostle, had there enrolled himself among the monastic brethren. 379 Nor was he the only Irishsaintconnectedwithitsreligiouslife. 3^° Itmustbeacknowledged,this
sea, or the Atlantic ocean, a description Again, it is related, that there Joseph of which is much more applicable to the Arimathea lived, and that after death he de- position of Bristol than to that of Dum- posited
barton, and it is not unreasonable to assume,
that the place of St. Patrick's birth (Nemp- thor), and that of his father's subsequent residence, were not far distant from each
—
373 Such is the very reasonable supposition
of Very Rev. Canon Laurence Toole in his
Manuscript, "Where was St. Patrick
born? " pp. 44, 45.
37+ The theory, that St. Patrick was born
and resided with his parents, in the vicinity
of Glastonbury and Bristol, is considered by them to be consistent with the particulars
which he has given us, regarding his capture and his subsequent escape to his friends and home. See Preface, pp. xix. to xxii.
" The Cup, the Cup itself from which our Lord
Drank at the last sad supper with His own. "
37^ The accompanying illustration of Glas-
tonbury, almost buried under the surround-
ing hills, and the prominent object on the right, known as the Tor of St. Michael, are
copied from an old engraving of Hollar, and have been dra;vn on the wood, by William F. W^akeman. Our engraving is by Mrs. Millard.
377 See Johannis, "Glastonia: Historia. "
Hearne's edition, vol. i. , pp. i, 48.
378 See Collinson's " of Somerset- History
shire," vol. ii. , p. 239.
379 See Rt. Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
"Early Irish Missions," No. I, pp. 18, 19. 3^° See the interesting illustrations and
other. "
Ibid. ,
pp.
xvi. , xvii.
375 to the According
poetical legend,
" Where the winter thom Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our
Lord. "
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469
was no unfitting or unworthy birthplace for the birth of this immortal Con- fessor of the Christian faith.
Among the modern authors, who have treated Scottish ecclesiastical history,38i one writer seeks—but in vain—to assign the exact period, for the introduction of Christianity, among the Scots of North Britain. In alluding to the birth of St.
Patrick, however, he does not undertake to decide the question, as to whether it took place in Scotland, or in any other different country. Yet, it is asserted, that from St. Patrick's statements, in his Con- fession, and in his Epistle to Coroticus, it may fairly be inferred, that he was born in the Island of Britain. In the first-named tract, our Apostle speaks
of "inBritannias"5^^—thus going
the number-f"^ and,inthe plural
using
time of the Romans, these invaders distinguished the portion of that insular country, subject to them, by the name of Britannia Romana,324 while the other parts, beyond their sway, were designated Britannia Barbara. But, the Saxon conquest, which commenced in St. Patrick's Hfetime, probably oblite- rated the old Roman denominations ; and, yet, he would naturally refer to those British provinces, in the plural sense, as connected with his special
allusion, in the treatises already quoted.
CHAPTER III.
THE PARENTS AND FAMILY OF PATRICK—EXAMINATION OF THEIR RECORDED NAMES, AND OF OUR saint's GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE—DIFFERENT OPINIONS REGARD- ING THE YEAR OF HIS BIRTH—HIS BAPTISM—MIRACLES THEN WROUGHT—ST. PATRICK'S EARLY CHILDHOOD.
According to a received notion, St. Patrick was the son of a Gallic or British official, employed in the Roman service, at an extreme outpost of
history of Glastonbury, in Sir William Dug- tannia Secunda, a mode of distinguishing dale's " Monasticum Anglicanum," vol. i. , them similar to that which we have adopted pp. I to 79. London edition of 1817, in the appellations of Upper and Lower
Canada. In the course of time other pro- vinces were added: Maxima Caesariensis comprised the central parts of England ;
ment of the Christian era to the present Flavia Caesariensis lay to the north ; and
folio. "
Church History of Scotland from the commence-
38' See Rev. John Cunningham's
Century," vol. i. , chap. ii.
382 See Father Joachim Lorenzo Villa-
nueva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum Apos- toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Confessio, cap. iii. , sect. 13, p. 197.
383 Thus, too, Galliae is often written for Gallia, as Britannise for Bri—tannia. Catullus
Valentia included that portion of the ex- treme north of England and the south of Scotland, which lay between the Roman roads or walls, one of which extended from Carlisle to Newcastle, and the other from the Frith of Clyde to the Frith of Forth. From the division of the empire by the first
'
Chapter hi. According to some
writers, the Scoti and the Scuthi, or Scy-
thians, have been confounded, in reference
to the traditional accounts of their settle-
ment, in Scotland. In the opening chapters
has them both in one line """
Hunc Gallise timetis et Britannise ?
—" Carmina. " In Csesarem, xxix. , v. 21. However, no part of Great Britain could be called a Roman province, in the time of CatuUus, who wrote before its invasion by Julius Ccesar, and who died about 710, U. C.
3*4 Thus, at an early period, Britannia Ro- of
"
Vita B. Cadi^oe Abb. Valciodorensis,"
mana was divided into two provinces ; one south of the Thames and Severn, and one to the west of the Severn and Dee, which in- eluded Wales. " These provinces were called respectively Britannia Prima and Bri-
written by an anonymous author, in the eleventh century, there is a curious account of the early adventurers of Southern Europe,
who came to settle in Ireland and in Scot-
land. See Colgan's
:
emperors
down to the time of St.
Christian
Patrick, Britannia Ro—mana was divided into these five provinces. " The Ancient Laws of Ireland. " Senchu|' 1Tlo^. Part ii. , vol. ii. Preface xiv. , x—v.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hi-
470 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
their colonial dependency, in the north of Great Britain. It must be borne
in mind, that long before his time, the Scoti,^ and Picts, or Cruthenians,^ from Ireland,3 had settled in the south-western parts of Scotland. These people must have spoken some dialect of the Gaelic or Irish language,'^ and not very divergent from the mother tongue. For the reason, that British Christians and the old Scots could understand each other, without an interpreter, it has been supposed, the latter were first taught Christianity by the former. s How- ever this may be, although, perhaps, derived from distinctive races, both the parents of St. Patrick appear to have been Christians.
That our saint belonged to a very respectable family may be inferred, from those accounts, which have come down to us. ^ In the aforesaid Emp- tor, near Bonaven, Taburniae, or in Alcluaide of the Britons, lived one Cal- pum, or Calphrainn,7 Latinized Calphurnius, called a deacon, and a noble
bernise," vi, Martii, cap. ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 494. 495. and nn. 3 to 40, pp. 501, 502. —
^
The legendary account of these people derived from Thrace—may be seen, in "The Irish Version of the Historia Brito- num of Nennius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, sect. xxvii. to xxxii. , pp. 120 to 167, with accom- panpng notes. Their expedition to Ireland, and settlement there, are related, vs^ith their subsequent departure for He, or Hay, and Alba, or Scotland, where their sway was established. There is also a legendary history of the Picts and Cruithnians, taken from the " Book of Lecan," fol. 141, a, col. I, and fol. 286, b, col. 2, in the Additional
Notes, No. xviii. , pp. Ixv. to Ixxiv.
3 About A. D. 360, the Picts and Scots
began seriously to disturb the Roman settle-
ments, in North Britain. They were after-
wards joined by the Attacotti and Saxons,
in general assaults on the Roman colonists.
From A. D. 369 to 387, the Romans made re-
prisals, and drove back the Picts and Scots,
to their native fastnesses. See an interesting
account of those events, in William F.
"
Skene's
Ancient Alban," vol. i. , chap, ii. , pp. 97 to 105.
^ Thus, St. Columba, in the sixth century, is represented, as freely conversing with the Pictish King Brude, with Broichan, his Magus, or Druid, and with the king's mes- sengers, without the aid of an interpreter. Again, when preaching the word of God, an interpreter was required : this seems to in- dicate some dialectic differences, between the Scottish and Pictish languages. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St.
and book "
History
lA^CA^ in beCA . 1. SAtlCCUf f)ACtl^1C1Uf. Pac|\aic •Din, '01 b]\ecnAib, •<Mtcl,UAix)e a bunA'oti]', CAt-pu|\n'o Ainm a AuhA^ . 1.
UAfAl, fACApc, pociT) Ainm A ]*enAchA^, oeochon ACAComnAic . 1. ac comAinm.
Celtic Scotland : a History of
Irish," vol. ii. , pp. 166, 167, and n. 197, we find the following curious genealogy of Saint Patrick, ascribed to Flann of the Monas-
: tery —
pAcyvAic Ab ei^xenn uibe
inAc CAlp)\Ainn, mic ITocAi'oe, mic Oei]']'e, nA|\ '0015 "oo lni'6, mic CoyvniAic mo1|^, rrnc teib^Muc, mic Oca, mic Oi^^mc mAic,
mic t11oi]MC, mic Leo in l,Ani\<Mc, mic mAximi, mAi|\5 nA fbonn, mic eneyveccA ai^xt) AbAint),
mic pitij^cif fe]\i\ A^ A15 CAC, mic i:ei\eni ^An AnfAC,
mic biMCAn, •00 b|\A mA|\A,
o UA1C b|\ecAin b|\ucmAiAA.
—
Son of — son of — Calphrainn, Fotide,
book
Columba,"
ii. , cap. 33, 34, pp. 146 to 148.
5 See, Mr. David Calderwood's
i. , cap. 33, p. 62,
of the Kirk of Scotland. " Edited by the
Rev. Thomas Thomson, vol. i. Preamble,
P-37.
' The following notice of St. Patrick is
given, in a —MS. of T. C. D. , classed, H. 3.
1n |\ui6en, in l,AffAn\, octif
18, p. 520
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [. 1. po conifoiltpg]
:
It is translated
:
" The radiance, the blaze,
and the bright gem, and the brilliant lamp
that illumined, i. e. , gave light to, the
western world, i. e. , Sanctus Patricius. Patrick now was of the Britons, Ailcluaide was his native place, Calpurn was his father's name, i. e. , a noble priest ; Fotid
was his grandfather's name Deochan his ;—
family name, i. e. , his surname. " "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. March,
1868, n. (d), pp. 283, 284. 7 In Professor O'Curry's
"
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
It is thus rendered into English
:
"
Abbot of all Patrick, Erinn,
Son of Deisse,
Son of Great Cormac, son of Lebriuth, Son of Ota, son of Orric the good.
Son of Moric, son of Leo, full of pros-
perity,
Son of Maximus, why not name him ?
Son of Encretta, the tall and comely, Son of Philisti, the best of men,
Son of Fereni, of no mean repute. Son of Brittan, otter of the sea.
not liable to
reproach,
Lectures on
March 17. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
priest. Yet, there are various renderings for the names of St. Patrick's* ancestors, not alone in different authors, but even in different copies of the same authors' writings. Thus, in Colgan's version of St. Fiach's Hymn, St. Patrick's father is called Calpuirn f in the Third Life, Calburnius f in the Fourth, Kalfurnius f° in the Fifth Life, Calpurnius Diaconus ;" in the Sixth Life, Calphumius ;'^ and in the Seventh Life, he is said to have been Cal- phurnius, who, after the birth of his son, was a noble priest. ^3 Now, accord-
to our Irish on the father's — Patrick's is thus ing Genealogies,''* side, pedigree
was the son of Fotitus —more
tus,'^ Potid,'7 or Potit, a priest'^ or deacon'9 son to Odissius,^" son of
Cornelius, son to Liberius, son of Mercutius, son to Oda, son of Oricius, son to Muricius, son of Oricius, son to Leo, son of Maximus, son to Oiracius, son of Ericius, son of Pelistus, son to Ferinus, son of Britanus, son to Fer- gussiusLethDeirg,sonofNemetus,=^^&c. Thisgenealogyhasverbalalter- ations, and even some omissions, in other accounts. The Britons are said to have derived many of the foregoing Latin names, from the Romans, to whom they were subject, and among whom they lived, for a long time before
derived
:
Calphurnius'S
correctly
called Poti-
From whom the passionate Britons de- scend. "
we find a comment, '^Alpurn, i. e. , qui fuit sacerdos. " In the Scholiast's comment, in the Franciscan copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, contained in the "Liber Hymnorum," we have the following genealogical pedigree : Patrick Mic Calpuirn, Mic Potit, Mic Odissi, Mic Gorend, Mic Mencruid, Mic Ota, Mic Muric, Mic Leo, Mic Maximi, Mic Heneriti, Mic Ferin, Mic Bruti, a quo sunt Bretani nominati.
^ See " Trias Thaumaturga. " In the
second stanza, we find CAlpui|\n, which in
the Latin is rendered Calphumius. The
Scholiast thus weaves our saint's genealogy :
Patrick was the son of Calphumius, the son
of Potitus, son to Odissius, son of Gornia,
son to Menchridius, son of Leo, son to
Maximus, son of Hencretus, ;;on to Ferinus,
son of Eritus, from whom the Britons are is Ounje, Latinized, Otidius. The same named. Hymnus, seu Vita Prima S. reading is in the copy, published in the Patricii, pp. I, 4, n. (d. ) The book of " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," and there Hymns, in Trinity College, Dublin,—a Englished, Otitus. To this is added the
— between the tenth and twelfth Manuscript
comment,
'7
presbyter. Genealogies,
similes of National Manuscripts of Ireland," Again, the letter f being aspirated, or fh, in
edited by J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A. , Irish, has no pronunciation, so that Fotid, part i. No.
"Archaeological Dissertation on the Birth- place of St. Patrick," pp. 43 to 45.
History of Great Britaine. " Britannia Romana. "
354 This word be may probably
Sir Samuel
"
Tabern,"
hut-plain
of 355 encampment,"
Primordia," cap. v. , p. dwfr.
The n is accounted from the for,
states, that,
Strathaven,
as identical with the Irish CAbAipne, "a notes, pp. 35, 197.
"
tavern. " 357 See the
Statistical Survey of Scot* 2G
regarded,
Ferguson's
Congal,"
find a nearly similar form,
"
"
in campo
assumption of the Ge. aon, "country," or "district," as the conjoined word tobair-aon. Eliding ao, and adding an appropriate ter- mination, the result is Tabernia, the appel- lative. This should be the present district
or the course of the upper
of
Clyde itself, which might well be so desig- nated, in reference to the Falls, presenting one of the most striking combinations of natural beauty and grandeur. Mr. Turner thinks, that the explanation of Tabernia, by the monkish writers of St. Patrick's Lives, as campus tabernaculorum, "the field of
" quiry as to the Birthplace of St. Patrick,"
tents," is a mere paragram. See his
In-
part ii. ,
likewise.
pp. 275, 270, with notes. See,
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
We are informed, that a rock in the Clyde bore the name, " St. Patrick's Stone," and that the figure of a man, said to have been St. Patrick, was to be
seenonanantiquatedtombstone,atOldKilpatrickchurchyard. 357 Ithescon- tiguous t—o Chapel Hill. 358 ^—XqzA tradition of this having been his birth-
which
place,
few at insist on could yet prevails although present it,
359
hardly have arisen, it is contended, unless the belief in his having been a native of the district had been strongly rooted, in the minds of the popula- tion. 3^° Lastly, a place, nearly resembling Enon, in etymology, has been sought for, near Dumbarton, yet, with indifferent success. 361 However, as Enon is a doubtful reading for " enim," this search, perhaps, is only a mere waste of time and labour ; but, as few very old Manuscript copies of St. Patrick's Confession remain,362 and these, for the most part, apparently not
St. David's Cathedral, Wales.
older than the eleventh century, we can hardly determine this matter, by
reference to their respective readings. Although, not attempting to identify with exactness, all those places named, as connected with St. Patrick's nativity,
we think, notwithstanding, the preponderating weight of evidence should determine that event, as occurring in Strathclyde district, and within the present kingdom of Scotland.
That he was born, in the vale of Rosina, in the country of Tibornia, or Neutria, in the village of Banava, and in the county of Pembroke, in Welsh
land," vol. v. , at Old Kilpatrick, and 276.
Garnett's " Tour," vol. i. , p. 6.
35^ See Rev. Duncan Macnab's "Archae-
ological Dissertation on the Birthplace of
3*' See Rev. Duncan Macnab's " Archs-
ological Dissertation on the Birthplace of
St. Patrick," pp. 46, 47.
3^^ The oldest known is that, in the
" Book of referred to the ninth Armagh,"
century.
3*3 See " Relationum Historicarum de
Rebus Anglicis," tomus i. , pars, ii. , p. 90. By the Welsh, our Irish Apostle was called
Padrig Maenwyn, son of Mawon, and he is
Saint Patrick," p. 39.
359 This is
mentioned, by
Mr.
John Dillon,
in a Paper on St. Patrick, which was read
to the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, on
3*° See J. II. Turner, " An Inquiry as to the Birthplace of St. Patrick," part ii. , p.
the 25th of November, 1816.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
Britain, is an opinion, held by John PittSjS^s and apparently founded on a statement, in the " Aurea Legenda," as interpreted by Caxton, who relates,
that the country of the Irish Apostle was Pendiac, or Pependiac, near the vale of Rosina, William Camden3^4 and Humphry Lluyd^^s adopt this statement.
According to one account, admitting his birth to have been in this locality, the village of Tabumia, was hard by Emptor town, now called St. David's,3^s otherwiseoldMentvia. HereyetstandsastatelyCathedralofthemiddle ages ^367 but, there is no evidence of any value to show, that St. Patrick was born in this locality. 3^^ However, such a notion may have arisen from the circumstance, recorded in some of his Acts, that before embarking for Ire- land, he stood in the beautiful vale of Rhos, or Rosina.
Touching the diversity of opinions, respecting this point, the writer of the English Martyrology3^9 considers Bristol, in England, to have been the place of his nativity. 370 This latter city, it is said, lost the name of Cser Britton soon
after St. Patrick's time, and then it appeared as Brit-stow, Brightstowe, or Bristol. 371 It is supposed, that the old denomination of this latter place being unknown to St. Fiach's Scholiast, he identified Nemthor with Alcluit, otherwise bearing the Roman-British etymon, Cser-Britton, now Dumbarton. 372
said to have been born in Cwrt-y-Carn, Glamorganshire.
Version of the " Historia Britonum" of
Nennius, we find Kser-Bristow, and again,
s^** See his
of in Pembroke,
to which the editor Thomas Gale attaches the following comment :
"
Quae Huntingdoniensi et Cambd. pag. 173. est Cair-Briston, id est, BristoUia. Melius forte Dun-Britton Alcluid olim dic-
description
"Britannia," voh ii. , col. 756. Gibson's
edition.
3*5 See his " Britannicse Descriptionis
Commentariolum," &c. , fol. 61.
3** See the English translation, by W, P. ,
Esq. , of Father Peter Ribadeneira's " Lives
of Saints," &c. , part L, p. 156. Dublin epithets being omitted. See Historise
edition.
3<^7 The accompanying illustration of St. tores XV. ," pp. 115, . 135, 138. In the Irish
David's Cathedral was drawn on the wood, copies, one of the British cities is called
by William F. Wakeman, and it was en- Cser-Breatan, and the other Cser Brut. See
graved by Mrs. Millard.
3*^ See "Trias " Colgan's Thaumaturga.
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap.
ii. , p. 221. In this connection, it may be
permitted to remark, that Benevento in Italy
is thought to be identical with Bonaven, and p. xiv. The editors' names attached are the district around it, as corresponding with W. Neilson Hancock, and Thaddeus Tabumia, by Rev. Richard Doyle, Pastor of
St. Brigid's Church, Liverpool. This opinion, he thinks, might be deduced from an ancient Map of Italy, which he examined, and there was a mountain, in that neigh- bourhood,—to which Virgil alludes in his Georgics :
"
Juvat Ismara Baccho Conserere, atque olea magnum vestire Ta-
burnum. "
—Lib. ii,, w, 37, 38.
The fact of St. Patrick's Latin origin, on the father's side, is also mentioned, in a letter written to the author, and dated, March i8th, 1875.
369 When treating about St. Patrick, at the 17th of March.
37° It is said, that while Dumbarton in Scotland bore the name of Cser Britton, the city of Bristol, in England, had a similar name. In an Appendix, to the Latin
Cair-Brithon,
tum.
"
In the text, two of the British cities
are called Cser—the other distinguishing "
Britannicse, Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicas Scrip-
"
the Additional Notes to the Irish Version of
the Historia Britonum " of
Nennius, pp.
iii. , iv.
37' See vol. ii. of " Ancient Laws of Ire-
land. " Senchuf mo^v Part ii. Preface,
O'Mahony.
37^ The openings of the two rivers, near
Bristol, and where the Frome meets the
Avon, in the tidal part of the latter, have
some points of resemblance with the estuary,
near Dumbarton, near where the Clyde and
Leven in the tidal of the former. unite, part
Great Roman military stations were near Dumbarton, as also at Cser Baden, (Bath)
where there were wealthy Romans, as colo- nists, by whom it was called "Aquae Solis et Thermae. " At Clifden, on the Avon, at Rownham, and at Abbotsleigh, traces of Roman encampments have been found. " And so Bristol, Glastonbury, and the Tor of St. Michael or Nempthor, would be all situated in a district of encampments, which some have thought to be the meaning of the name Tabernise or Tibumiae, which occurs in the description of Bonavem or Bonaven Tabernias, the place where St. Patrick's father resided at the time of his capture. This place is also said to be near the western
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
Again, with apparent want of accuracy, others aver, that St Patrick belonged to Cornwall ; but, it is probable, he has been confounded with St. Petroc, a native of this district. 373 In the Second Volume of Ancient Laws of Ireland, the Irish editors of the Senchus Mor have considered this interesting question,374 and have arrived at the conclusion, that St. Patrick was born at or near Glastonbury,37S in Somersetshire, under the shadow of the Tor of St. Michael. 376 A traditional account refers the Christian foundation here, to St. Joseph of Arimathea, and to eleven other disciples of St. Philip. 377 Arviragus, a British king, is said to have furnished a rude and an uncultivated
Glastonbury and the Tor of St. Michael, 1 _
island, with other lands, for their purpose. 378 It was a tradition at Glaston-
bury, that before he came to Ireland, the great St. Patrick, our Apostle, had there enrolled himself among the monastic brethren. 379 Nor was he the only Irishsaintconnectedwithitsreligiouslife. 3^° Itmustbeacknowledged,this
sea, or the Atlantic ocean, a description Again, it is related, that there Joseph of which is much more applicable to the Arimathea lived, and that after death he de- position of Bristol than to that of Dum- posited
barton, and it is not unreasonable to assume,
that the place of St. Patrick's birth (Nemp- thor), and that of his father's subsequent residence, were not far distant from each
—
373 Such is the very reasonable supposition
of Very Rev. Canon Laurence Toole in his
Manuscript, "Where was St. Patrick
born? " pp. 44, 45.
37+ The theory, that St. Patrick was born
and resided with his parents, in the vicinity
of Glastonbury and Bristol, is considered by them to be consistent with the particulars
which he has given us, regarding his capture and his subsequent escape to his friends and home. See Preface, pp. xix. to xxii.
" The Cup, the Cup itself from which our Lord
Drank at the last sad supper with His own. "
37^ The accompanying illustration of Glas-
tonbury, almost buried under the surround-
ing hills, and the prominent object on the right, known as the Tor of St. Michael, are
copied from an old engraving of Hollar, and have been dra;vn on the wood, by William F. W^akeman. Our engraving is by Mrs. Millard.
377 See Johannis, "Glastonia: Historia. "
Hearne's edition, vol. i. , pp. i, 48.
378 See Collinson's " of Somerset- History
shire," vol. ii. , p. 239.
379 See Rt. Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
"Early Irish Missions," No. I, pp. 18, 19. 3^° See the interesting illustrations and
other. "
Ibid. ,
pp.
xvi. , xvii.
375 to the According
poetical legend,
" Where the winter thom Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our
Lord. "
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469
was no unfitting or unworthy birthplace for the birth of this immortal Con- fessor of the Christian faith.
Among the modern authors, who have treated Scottish ecclesiastical history,38i one writer seeks—but in vain—to assign the exact period, for the introduction of Christianity, among the Scots of North Britain. In alluding to the birth of St.
Patrick, however, he does not undertake to decide the question, as to whether it took place in Scotland, or in any other different country. Yet, it is asserted, that from St. Patrick's statements, in his Con- fession, and in his Epistle to Coroticus, it may fairly be inferred, that he was born in the Island of Britain. In the first-named tract, our Apostle speaks
of "inBritannias"5^^—thus going
the number-f"^ and,inthe plural
using
time of the Romans, these invaders distinguished the portion of that insular country, subject to them, by the name of Britannia Romana,324 while the other parts, beyond their sway, were designated Britannia Barbara. But, the Saxon conquest, which commenced in St. Patrick's Hfetime, probably oblite- rated the old Roman denominations ; and, yet, he would naturally refer to those British provinces, in the plural sense, as connected with his special
allusion, in the treatises already quoted.
CHAPTER III.
THE PARENTS AND FAMILY OF PATRICK—EXAMINATION OF THEIR RECORDED NAMES, AND OF OUR saint's GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE—DIFFERENT OPINIONS REGARD- ING THE YEAR OF HIS BIRTH—HIS BAPTISM—MIRACLES THEN WROUGHT—ST. PATRICK'S EARLY CHILDHOOD.
According to a received notion, St. Patrick was the son of a Gallic or British official, employed in the Roman service, at an extreme outpost of
history of Glastonbury, in Sir William Dug- tannia Secunda, a mode of distinguishing dale's " Monasticum Anglicanum," vol. i. , them similar to that which we have adopted pp. I to 79. London edition of 1817, in the appellations of Upper and Lower
Canada. In the course of time other pro- vinces were added: Maxima Caesariensis comprised the central parts of England ;
ment of the Christian era to the present Flavia Caesariensis lay to the north ; and
folio. "
Church History of Scotland from the commence-
38' See Rev. John Cunningham's
Century," vol. i. , chap. ii.
382 See Father Joachim Lorenzo Villa-
nueva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum Apos- toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Confessio, cap. iii. , sect. 13, p. 197.
383 Thus, too, Galliae is often written for Gallia, as Britannise for Bri—tannia. Catullus
Valentia included that portion of the ex- treme north of England and the south of Scotland, which lay between the Roman roads or walls, one of which extended from Carlisle to Newcastle, and the other from the Frith of Clyde to the Frith of Forth. From the division of the empire by the first
'
Chapter hi. According to some
writers, the Scoti and the Scuthi, or Scy-
thians, have been confounded, in reference
to the traditional accounts of their settle-
ment, in Scotland. In the opening chapters
has them both in one line """
Hunc Gallise timetis et Britannise ?
—" Carmina. " In Csesarem, xxix. , v. 21. However, no part of Great Britain could be called a Roman province, in the time of CatuUus, who wrote before its invasion by Julius Ccesar, and who died about 710, U. C.
3*4 Thus, at an early period, Britannia Ro- of
"
Vita B. Cadi^oe Abb. Valciodorensis,"
mana was divided into two provinces ; one south of the Thames and Severn, and one to the west of the Severn and Dee, which in- eluded Wales. " These provinces were called respectively Britannia Prima and Bri-
written by an anonymous author, in the eleventh century, there is a curious account of the early adventurers of Southern Europe,
who came to settle in Ireland and in Scot-
land. See Colgan's
:
emperors
down to the time of St.
Christian
Patrick, Britannia Ro—mana was divided into these five provinces. " The Ancient Laws of Ireland. " Senchu|' 1Tlo^. Part ii. , vol. ii. Preface xiv. , x—v.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hi-
470 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
their colonial dependency, in the north of Great Britain. It must be borne
in mind, that long before his time, the Scoti,^ and Picts, or Cruthenians,^ from Ireland,3 had settled in the south-western parts of Scotland. These people must have spoken some dialect of the Gaelic or Irish language,'^ and not very divergent from the mother tongue. For the reason, that British Christians and the old Scots could understand each other, without an interpreter, it has been supposed, the latter were first taught Christianity by the former. s How- ever this may be, although, perhaps, derived from distinctive races, both the parents of St. Patrick appear to have been Christians.
That our saint belonged to a very respectable family may be inferred, from those accounts, which have come down to us. ^ In the aforesaid Emp- tor, near Bonaven, Taburniae, or in Alcluaide of the Britons, lived one Cal- pum, or Calphrainn,7 Latinized Calphurnius, called a deacon, and a noble
bernise," vi, Martii, cap. ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 494. 495. and nn. 3 to 40, pp. 501, 502. —
^
The legendary account of these people derived from Thrace—may be seen, in "The Irish Version of the Historia Brito- num of Nennius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, sect. xxvii. to xxxii. , pp. 120 to 167, with accom- panpng notes. Their expedition to Ireland, and settlement there, are related, vs^ith their subsequent departure for He, or Hay, and Alba, or Scotland, where their sway was established. There is also a legendary history of the Picts and Cruithnians, taken from the " Book of Lecan," fol. 141, a, col. I, and fol. 286, b, col. 2, in the Additional
Notes, No. xviii. , pp. Ixv. to Ixxiv.
3 About A. D. 360, the Picts and Scots
began seriously to disturb the Roman settle-
ments, in North Britain. They were after-
wards joined by the Attacotti and Saxons,
in general assaults on the Roman colonists.
From A. D. 369 to 387, the Romans made re-
prisals, and drove back the Picts and Scots,
to their native fastnesses. See an interesting
account of those events, in William F.
"
Skene's
Ancient Alban," vol. i. , chap, ii. , pp. 97 to 105.
^ Thus, St. Columba, in the sixth century, is represented, as freely conversing with the Pictish King Brude, with Broichan, his Magus, or Druid, and with the king's mes- sengers, without the aid of an interpreter. Again, when preaching the word of God, an interpreter was required : this seems to in- dicate some dialectic differences, between the Scottish and Pictish languages. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St.
and book "
History
lA^CA^ in beCA . 1. SAtlCCUf f)ACtl^1C1Uf. Pac|\aic •Din, '01 b]\ecnAib, •<Mtcl,UAix)e a bunA'oti]', CAt-pu|\n'o Ainm a AuhA^ . 1.
UAfAl, fACApc, pociT) Ainm A ]*enAchA^, oeochon ACAComnAic . 1. ac comAinm.
Celtic Scotland : a History of
Irish," vol. ii. , pp. 166, 167, and n. 197, we find the following curious genealogy of Saint Patrick, ascribed to Flann of the Monas-
: tery —
pAcyvAic Ab ei^xenn uibe
inAc CAlp)\Ainn, mic ITocAi'oe, mic Oei]']'e, nA|\ '0015 "oo lni'6, mic CoyvniAic mo1|^, rrnc teib^Muc, mic Oca, mic Oi^^mc mAic,
mic t11oi]MC, mic Leo in l,Ani\<Mc, mic mAximi, mAi|\5 nA fbonn, mic eneyveccA ai^xt) AbAint),
mic pitij^cif fe]\i\ A^ A15 CAC, mic i:ei\eni ^An AnfAC,
mic biMCAn, •00 b|\A mA|\A,
o UA1C b|\ecAin b|\ucmAiAA.
—
Son of — son of — Calphrainn, Fotide,
book
Columba,"
ii. , cap. 33, 34, pp. 146 to 148.
5 See, Mr. David Calderwood's
i. , cap. 33, p. 62,
of the Kirk of Scotland. " Edited by the
Rev. Thomas Thomson, vol. i. Preamble,
P-37.
' The following notice of St. Patrick is
given, in a —MS. of T. C. D. , classed, H. 3.
1n |\ui6en, in l,AffAn\, octif
18, p. 520
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [. 1. po conifoiltpg]
:
It is translated
:
" The radiance, the blaze,
and the bright gem, and the brilliant lamp
that illumined, i. e. , gave light to, the
western world, i. e. , Sanctus Patricius. Patrick now was of the Britons, Ailcluaide was his native place, Calpurn was his father's name, i. e. , a noble priest ; Fotid
was his grandfather's name Deochan his ;—
family name, i. e. , his surname. " "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. March,
1868, n. (d), pp. 283, 284. 7 In Professor O'Curry's
"
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
It is thus rendered into English
:
"
Abbot of all Patrick, Erinn,
Son of Deisse,
Son of Great Cormac, son of Lebriuth, Son of Ota, son of Orric the good.
Son of Moric, son of Leo, full of pros-
perity,
Son of Maximus, why not name him ?
Son of Encretta, the tall and comely, Son of Philisti, the best of men,
Son of Fereni, of no mean repute. Son of Brittan, otter of the sea.
not liable to
reproach,
Lectures on
March 17. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
priest. Yet, there are various renderings for the names of St. Patrick's* ancestors, not alone in different authors, but even in different copies of the same authors' writings. Thus, in Colgan's version of St. Fiach's Hymn, St. Patrick's father is called Calpuirn f in the Third Life, Calburnius f in the Fourth, Kalfurnius f° in the Fifth Life, Calpurnius Diaconus ;" in the Sixth Life, Calphumius ;'^ and in the Seventh Life, he is said to have been Cal- phurnius, who, after the birth of his son, was a noble priest. ^3 Now, accord-
to our Irish on the father's — Patrick's is thus ing Genealogies,''* side, pedigree
was the son of Fotitus —more
tus,'^ Potid,'7 or Potit, a priest'^ or deacon'9 son to Odissius,^" son of
Cornelius, son to Liberius, son of Mercutius, son to Oda, son of Oricius, son to Muricius, son of Oricius, son to Leo, son of Maximus, son to Oiracius, son of Ericius, son of Pelistus, son to Ferinus, son of Britanus, son to Fer- gussiusLethDeirg,sonofNemetus,=^^&c. Thisgenealogyhasverbalalter- ations, and even some omissions, in other accounts. The Britons are said to have derived many of the foregoing Latin names, from the Romans, to whom they were subject, and among whom they lived, for a long time before
derived
:
Calphurnius'S
correctly
called Poti-
From whom the passionate Britons de- scend. "
we find a comment, '^Alpurn, i. e. , qui fuit sacerdos. " In the Scholiast's comment, in the Franciscan copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, contained in the "Liber Hymnorum," we have the following genealogical pedigree : Patrick Mic Calpuirn, Mic Potit, Mic Odissi, Mic Gorend, Mic Mencruid, Mic Ota, Mic Muric, Mic Leo, Mic Maximi, Mic Heneriti, Mic Ferin, Mic Bruti, a quo sunt Bretani nominati.
^ See " Trias Thaumaturga. " In the
second stanza, we find CAlpui|\n, which in
the Latin is rendered Calphumius. The
Scholiast thus weaves our saint's genealogy :
Patrick was the son of Calphumius, the son
of Potitus, son to Odissius, son of Gornia,
son to Menchridius, son of Leo, son to
Maximus, son of Hencretus, ;;on to Ferinus,
son of Eritus, from whom the Britons are is Ounje, Latinized, Otidius. The same named. Hymnus, seu Vita Prima S. reading is in the copy, published in the Patricii, pp. I, 4, n. (d. ) The book of " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," and there Hymns, in Trinity College, Dublin,—a Englished, Otitus. To this is added the
— between the tenth and twelfth Manuscript
comment,
'7
presbyter. Genealogies,
similes of National Manuscripts of Ireland," Again, the letter f being aspirated, or fh, in
edited by J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A. , Irish, has no pronunciation, so that Fotid, part i. No.
