Columba the Jus
of
August,
in the last named
106 Adamnan was
probably
about
twenty-six
IO* of the Scottish which the Bollandist editor of our Lismore,
patronatus
Saint's Acts mistook I05 for the Irish Lismore.
of
August,
in the last named
106 Adamnan was
probably
about
twenty-six
IO* of the Scottish which the Bollandist editor of our Lismore,
patronatus
Saint's Acts mistook I05 for the Irish Lismore.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Adamnan was regarded as patron.
His parish is situated between the towns of Donegal and Ballyshannon, and it lies within the barony of Tirhugh.
For several centuries after our Saint's demise, local tradition had preserved a recollection of his former abode at Drumhome.
TherewasthewellknownastheDabhachAdamhnain,orthe washing-place of Adamnan.
8s It is said to have been a fountain, celebrated for the miracles there wrought, being situated in Tirconnel, between Donegal and Ballyshannon.
In it, our Saint was accustomed to stand during the night, according to tradition.
In his Life of St.
Columkille, Adamnan him-
86
Different statements occur as to the year ot Adamnan's birth. The Annals
self almost implies, that he lived in this neighbourhood, when a youth.
of Inisfallen are
decidedly
in error, when
8 they assign it to the year 617. ?
However,
the Annals of
Tighernach
88 and the Chronicum Scotorum8? place
Aberdonense. " Pars Estiva. Officium S. Kilmacrenan, and another the barony of
Adampnani, fol. iii. , b. a.
repre- sents the Protestant parish church of Raphoe—formerly the cathedral—and it is 75 He is called Adamnanus Nepos supposed to stand on the site of the ancient Tinnei, in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " foundation. From a photograph kindly Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. lxix. , furnished by the Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, p. 128. Again he is distinguished as " Hua P. P. , Raphoe, it has been drawn on the wood
7*Thus <V0Atnn. AnUa
"Visionof
82The illustration accompanying
fcitroe, Adamnan," in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 127 a. ,
:
Tinne," in lib. iii. , cap. xcix. , p. 167. Ussher misrepresents by Attiniensis. his Works, vol. vi. , p. 375.
129 b. b.
*6 and were Colgan Lanigan
to See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to Preface, p. xli. ,
n. (n. ;
77 Enna was son to Niall.
78 Tlonn4C irijjen Seigine nuc "OuAch
meic bAintMrroAin t>o Cneneb entxv mec neill mariAip <VoAmn<Mn meic nonam. "— " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiberniae" as found in the Book of Lecan.
confound it with Maccuthenus.
Reprint.
Tirhugh.
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
83 See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's "Fasti
Ecclesise Hibernise," vol. iii. , Diocese of
Raphoe, p. 346.
*4 This parish was anciently called onuim
chuAtnA, and it is mentioned in the Calendar
of the O'Clerys. in connection with St.
Adamnan, at the 23rd of September.
&5 Father Ward mentions the circum- stance of having seen a well dedicated to St.
disposed
This See
nomine et asylo, et mox rabiosa febre Adamnan was born in the territory of correptus, eadem nocte interiit furibundus,
79 Father Hugh Ward only states that
"
Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 6, p. 218. 80 The Rev. Alban Butler says, that our saint was born at Rathboth, now Raphoe. See u Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii. I know not his authority for such a
statement.
81 Tir-Aedha means the " land of Aedh,"
being so called from Aedh, son to Anmire, who, together with our saint, belonged to the Siol Sedna race, or descendants from Sedna,grandsontoConallGutban. Oneof the branches of this family, viz. , the Cinel
Luighdech, occupied the present barony of
exiliens manibus grabato, uti quodam
Tyrconnell. See
agitatus demone. "— "Sancti Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta &c. "
"
quodam Dabhach Adamhnain, ubi Sanctus
pernoctabat in aquis, vimina ad restem
Adamnan in this parish.
Vidi qui ex loco
nendum abstulisset, contemptis Sancti '
Rumoldi- Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. ,
sect. 6, p. 219.
86 See his Vita S. Columba;, lib. iii. ,
cap. 23, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," p. 238, and n. (o), ibid.
8? See at that date: "Nativitas Adam- nani. " —Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, p. II.
88
Seeibid. ,TigernachiAnnales,p. 187. ^See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
78, 79.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 483
it at the year 624. The Annals of Ulster record the birth of our Saint at the year 623. 9° Adamnan was born in Ireland,*" in or about the year 624,'"
according to a respectable authority. 93 Father Ward assigns his nativity to A. D. 626. 94 The Rev. Alban Butler95 also coincides with this date. It is stated, that Adamnan was in the eighty-third year of his age, at the time of his which occurred in the
death,
follow, that he was born in A. D. 621 or 622,
96 it should Consequently
Little information remains for us, concerning the early history of Adamnan.
A single anecdote which is told, and referring to his school-boy days, can hardly be considered quite authentic. We are informed in the Life of Finnachta, the Festive, a chief of the Southern Hy-Niall,97 that this tanist had beeninvitedasaguesttothehouseofhissister. Accompaniedbyanumerous cavalcade, he responded to the invitation. While riding along the road, they met Adamnan, who was then a school-boy, and who was carrying a jar of milk on his back. Travelling upon the same road, the boy turned out of the way,toavoidthehorsemen. Thenhavingknockedhisfootagainstastone, he thereupon stumbled, and the jar, falling from his back, was broken. Observing this accident, Finnachta said that the student should receive pro- tection from him, and he prayed that Adamnan would not be sorrowful.
Then Adamnan " O replied :
I have cause for for there are grief,
good man,
three goodly students in one house, and three more of us are attendants
upon them. We act in this manner : One attendant from among us goes out in his turn to collect sustenance for the other five. It was my turn to-day, but what I had gathered for them has been spilled upon the ground. What grieves me still more, the borrowed jar is broken, and I have not money to pay for it. " This story is supposed to have been the creation of a later age, and intended to introduce the intimacy of St. Adamnan with Finnachta, and to account for their subsequent relations towards each other. Although it transports the youthful St. Adamnan from Donegal to Meath, there is nothing incredible in this narrative ; for St. Columkille, before his time, studied at Clonard, in 8 and he read with Gemm in a of Leinster. 9°
Meath,9 plain
Neither was it considered inconsistent with the severity of monastic discipline, even for one nobly born, to derive his sustenance from eleemosynary sources,100 It is supposed, there can be no doubt of St.
year 704.
90 T—hus " Nativitas Adomnani abbatis dates are assigned. Placing Adamnan's
:
"
Iae. " Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni-
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 41.
91 This he acknowledges, in his " Vita S. Columbse," where he says, in the last chapter of his work, St. Columkille's fame
"
was divulged per totam nostram Scotiam. "
That he meant Ireland is clear, for he
birth at 624, and his death in 704, would make him live to the 80th year.
^ See " Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c. Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 5, p. 218.
9S See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii.
^Such is the account in Dubhaltach
Mac "Three of Firbisigh's Fragments
Annals," edited by John O' Donovan, LL. D. ,
p. 115.
97 Subsequently a monarch over Ireland. 98 See some notices of St. Finnian, Abbot
of Clonard, at the 23rd of February, in the
Second Volume of this work, Art. ix. His
Acts are reserved, however, for the 12th day of December, his chief feast.
"See Adamnan's "Vita S. Columbae," lib. ii. , cap. 25, p. 137, and n. d. (Dr. Reeves' Edition),
'°° Within our own memory similar prac-
it from " maximam Britanniam" and other countries and islands
of Europe.
distinguishes
92
statement on the authority of the Annals of Roscrea, and some other ancient accounts.
Colgan is of this opinion, resting his
Tighemach, at 624, has b^f A-oomnAm ab ""
ble, but the Chronicum Scotorum reads, 5em, nativitas, instead of bsy, mors.
93 The Rev. William Reeves. He says, that the Annalistic date is not to be hastily set aside. I am at a loss to determine whether this remark has reference to the date of our saint's birth or death. In either case, various
484 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
Adamnan having received his monastic education either in Hy, or in some other monastery belonging to the Columban institution. 101 But the Breviary of Aberdeen falls into a strange anachronism, where it states that Adamnan received the monastic habit from St. Columba. 102 It is still more inexplicable, how Baronius103 could have made both these saints contemporaries. Again, the Breviary of Aberdeen assigns very incorrectly to St.
Columba the Jus
of
August,
in the last named
106 Adamnan was
probably
about
twenty-six
IO* of the Scottish which the Bollandist editor of our Lismore,
patronatus
Saint's Acts mistook I05 for the Irish Lismore.
It is probable our saint entered upon his religious profession at Iona coenobium, under the abbot Seghine, who was the fifth in order of succes-
sion. He governed this monastery from 623 to 652, having died on the 12th
year. yearsofage,atthetimeofthisabbot'sdeath. DuringSeghine'sincumbency,
and during that of the three abbots who succeeded, there can be no doubt,
but our saint acquired such a reputation for the practice ot all virtues, and such a character for learning, as recommended him for presiding over the Columban Order.
This institute had then attained its meridian glow of celebrity and influence. We are told, that Adamnan was versed in all liberal, sacred and ascetic knowledge ; that he was acquainted with the Greek10? and Hebrew lan-
guages ;
loS andthattheliteratureofhisvernaculartonguewasquitefamiliar
to him. He knew perfectly well what had been written in it, concerning his
country's acts, laws, and histories, besides those Druidic sciences, which had
not been visited with condemnation the Church. 100 He was not a by only
proficient in the Latin language, but he was capable of fully appreciating its
tices have prevailed in tne middle and it was kept distinct from Hy. "—Adamnan's "
southern parts of Ireland, and are not, LifeofSt. Columba. " AppendixtoPre-
perhaps, altogether disused, even at the face, &c, n. (u), p. xliii.
" 105 " "
present time. The poor scholar" was a
well-known character to a late period, and
has been made the subject of an affecting
but exaggerated tale, by William Carleton.
The mode of acquiring subsistence, how- tional Notes postfixed to the Rev. Dr.
ever, differed from that related in the anecdote given ; the practice was substan- tially the same. This and many other instances, recorded in the Lives of our early Saints, tend to show the conservatism of old habits and customs in Ireland.
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. ,
sect, v. , p. 97.
loa u Natus est itaque sanctus Adampnanus
sicut beatus precinebat Columba quem a tenera infancia cunctis gratum divina reddidit
gracia. Successu vero temporis a prefato beato Columba monichalem suscepit habitum
et postea juxta abbatis sui perceptum ad Lismorensem devenit abbaciam. " Now, St.
Columba died, about the year 597 and St. Adamnan was not born at earliest date, before A. D. 623.
103 This he does, in his edition of the
Roman Martyrology, at the 9th of June. ,0<The Rev. Dr. Reeves says, that "St.
Columba had no more jurisdiction in Lis- more than in Applecross or Kingarth. Even when Lismore was made an episcopal seat,
101 See Rev. Dr.
Lanigan's
See Acta Sanctorum, tomus vi. ,
Septembris xxiii. De S. Adamnano, &c,
sec. i. , num. 10, p. 644.
I0*
Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,"
pp. 373 to 375. The Annals of Innisfallen
place his death at the year 642.
""See Father Ward's "Sancti Rumoldi
Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 5, p. 218. That he was acquainted with the Greek and Hebrew languages may be inferred, from the circumstance of his introducing Greek words into the text of his 11 Vita S. Columbse. " He discusses the meaning and orthography of some Greek
"
names in his treatise,
lib. ii. , cap. 27, and lib. iii. , cap. 2.
108 He treats about the Hebrew form of Tyre, and its Latin equivalent, and alludes to the mention of this name in historical writers, as if he were familiar with such subjects.
109 He cites a verse of Juveneus, in lib. i. ,
cap. 18, and quotes Josephus, under the title of " Tertius Judaic* Captivitatis Liber. " He also refers to the commentaries of St.
Jerome, lib. iii. , cap. 20, 29.
110
See Chronicon Hyense, in the Addi-
An improvement seems to have been
De Locis Sanctis,"
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 485
elegancies of construction and classical phrases. His writings that remain
to our time sufficiently testify to this proficiency. Our saint appears to have unitedbodilylabourwithhisstudies. Onaparticularoccasion,herepresents himself as forming one of a party engaged in procuring wood for certain monastic repairs. " They had drawn together a small fleet of those vessels
1"
in order to carry the woodtoIonafromthemainland. Thismaterialforbuildingwastakenfroma countrysituatedaboutthemouthofariver,calledSale,"2 Whilstthesailors were rowing on a tranquil sea, a western wind suddenly arose, which proved unfavourable for the point to which their course had been directed. "3 Where- fore they ran for a neighbouring island called Arthrago, in the Scottish language, and here they sought a port of refuge. But being baffled for the present in achieving the object of their voyage, the navigators became impatient and began to complain. In a certain measure they accused their patron, St. Columba, in these terms : u O Saint, doth this delay of ours please thee ? Through God's providence, we have hitherto expected from thee, that some consolatory assistance should be afforded to our labours,
because we have considered that thou wert held in an exalted degree of honourbytheAlmighty. " Havingspokenthesewords,wonderfultorelate! after a short interval, and in a single instant, the contrary west wind fell. Almost sooner than words could express it, a favourable Vulturnus"* arose. The sailors were ordered to square the sail-yards in the form of a cross, and having hauled the ropes, their sails were spread. On the same day those navigators reached Iona, with fresh and favouring breezes, and with scarcely any effort on their part, The wood was safely landed, with the men belong- ing to the different vessels. Adamnan takes occasion to say, that those slight complaints, urged against their holy patron, proved of no little benefit to their community. They proved, likewise, St. Columba's powerful inter- cession before the throne of God. This must have been very great, as ought appear from such a sudden change of the winds. "*
made, before this, on the rude system of building with wattles. St. Columba used to
"
which were called currachs, to the number of twelve,
study in a hut,
Life by Adamnan, lib. i. , cap. 25. St. Finan,
in 652, erected a church after the model of Inverness and Argyle, is excluded from Hy, " quam more Scottorum, non de lapide, identification with the name mentioned in sed de robore secto totam composuit, atque the text. A N. E. wind should be required, harundine texit ;" that is, the walls were to convey the party from it to Iona ; yet, made of wooden sheeting, which was pro-
tected from the weather outside by a coat of
rush-thatch. An improvement was again
made on this system when a succeeding
bishop,
"
ablata harandine, plumbi laminis
wind accomplished the object of their voyage, Dr. Reeves was inclined to infer, from the sequel of this narrative, that a N. E. wind was the one that favoured the navigators'
tabulis suffultum. " See his
earn hoc et tectum et — course. Sale have been totam, est, ipsos Consequently may
quoque parietes ejus co-operire curavit. "
identical with the river Shiel.
Venerable Bede, " Historia Ecclesiastica "3 The Rev. Mr. Reeves thinks, that this
Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 25. island lay to the S. E. of Hy, but could not
111
Scottish rivers. He says, that the river Shiel, which connects the fresh-water Lake of Lough Shiel with the sea, and forms part of a boundary line between the counties of
it appears from the sequence, that a S. E.
The Rev. Dr. Reeves has collected a identify it, as he acknowledges, unless it
great number of instances in which he shows,
were Arran.
II4 This a North-east wind, or signifies
according to some, a south-east wind. It is derived a vulturis volatus, quoniam altc rtsonat, or a Vulturno fluvio. See Ellis' revised edition of Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary, ad vocem. London, 1830.
"5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 45, pp. 177, 178, with accompanying notes.
how this number the prevailed during
early
ages of Christianity, in many departments of "
religious economy. See Adamnan's Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes I. , pp.
299 to 303, with accompanying notes. He also shows how it was largely applied in secular use.
"a The Rev. Mr. Reeves has been unable to identify this Sale, with any of the modern
486 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
According to the Annals of the Four Masters,"6 Finnachta Fleadhach, or
the Festive, in a. d. 674, began his reign as monarch over Ireland. This
prince is sometimes called Finnshneachta in the same Annals, as also in those
of Ulster. He succeeded Ceannfaeladh, son of Blathmac, who was slain in a
battlefoughtatAirceltair. Thechiefincidentofhisreignappearstohavebeen
his remission of the Borumha Laigean, which had long oppressed the people
11
composition,
12
? This action greatly displeased Adamnan, who had opposed it
of Leinster.
as a matter of policy ; although, no doubt, it was done in a considerate and equitablemanner. FinnachtabelongedtotheSouthernHy-Niallrace,and he was a valiant118 and We are in an old bardic
120
hospitable prince. "9 told,
that after the accidental introduction already mentioned,
Adamnan was invited to the court of this prince. Subsequently our saint
became the monarch's anmchara or spiritual director. This is supposed to
have been a chief reason, why the saint became so distinguished during
121
Finnachta's reign.
We are 122 that Adamnan founded informed,
monasteries in Ireland, 3 before he undertook the care of Iona, and that these were under his own rule ; the chief among them being Raphoe, the Pons Adamnani, Drumhome and Screen, If this be the case, he must have been sent in a missionary capacity from the parent house, to inaugurate other branches of the institute in Ireland ; but, it seems most probable, that whatever monasteries he may have founded, these had been chiefly erected at intervals during the various visits he made as head of the Columban order. To this list of places where he was venerated, Colgan adds the Churches of Dunbo,
Aregal,Boithfheabha,andGrelleach,in the diocese of Derry, as also memorials in other localities of Ireland. 12^ Drumhome was the seat of a powerful branch of the Cinel Conaill, which was in this parish ; and in it was also preserved the reliquary called the Cathach. 12* Adamnan was especially
1,6
pp. 282 to 285.
"7 It is said their exemption from this
tribute was due to the pleading of St. Moling Luachra, a holy and celebrated bishop. He is said to have taken advantage
120
contained in a vellum M. S. , which was
See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
This composition is said to have been
of an ambiguous meaning attaching to the
term Iua«, which signifies either Monday, returned once more to his Kingdom, in
or the Day of Judgment ; thus converting the signification of a temporary respite into a perpetual surrender of the claim. The
whole of this legendary story is sufficiently told in the Life of St. Molingus, or St.
Moling Luachra of Teach-Moling, in the
Sixth Volume of this work, at the 17th of
June, the day for his feast. Art. i. , chap. iii.
688 or 689. See Dr. O'Conor's
118
Besides the victory obtained over
By Fleming in his "Collectanea Sacra," Dissertatio de Monastica S. Colum- bani Luxoviensis et Bobiensis Abbatis Professione. Art. iii. , sect, ii. , num. 87, p. 435.
Cennfaeladh in 673, he destroyed Ailech,
a stronghold of the Northern Hy-Niall, in A. D. 674 ; he defeated the Leinster-men at
Loughgower, near Dunshaughlin, in Meath, and he gained the battle of Tailltin over Becc Boirche, in A.
86
Different statements occur as to the year ot Adamnan's birth. The Annals
self almost implies, that he lived in this neighbourhood, when a youth.
of Inisfallen are
decidedly
in error, when
8 they assign it to the year 617. ?
However,
the Annals of
Tighernach
88 and the Chronicum Scotorum8? place
Aberdonense. " Pars Estiva. Officium S. Kilmacrenan, and another the barony of
Adampnani, fol. iii. , b. a.
repre- sents the Protestant parish church of Raphoe—formerly the cathedral—and it is 75 He is called Adamnanus Nepos supposed to stand on the site of the ancient Tinnei, in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " foundation. From a photograph kindly Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. lxix. , furnished by the Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, p. 128. Again he is distinguished as " Hua P. P. , Raphoe, it has been drawn on the wood
7*Thus <V0Atnn. AnUa
"Visionof
82The illustration accompanying
fcitroe, Adamnan," in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 127 a. ,
:
Tinne," in lib. iii. , cap. xcix. , p. 167. Ussher misrepresents by Attiniensis. his Works, vol. vi. , p. 375.
129 b. b.
*6 and were Colgan Lanigan
to See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to Preface, p. xli. ,
n. (n. ;
77 Enna was son to Niall.
78 Tlonn4C irijjen Seigine nuc "OuAch
meic bAintMrroAin t>o Cneneb entxv mec neill mariAip <VoAmn<Mn meic nonam. "— " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiberniae" as found in the Book of Lecan.
confound it with Maccuthenus.
Reprint.
Tirhugh.
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
83 See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's "Fasti
Ecclesise Hibernise," vol. iii. , Diocese of
Raphoe, p. 346.
*4 This parish was anciently called onuim
chuAtnA, and it is mentioned in the Calendar
of the O'Clerys. in connection with St.
Adamnan, at the 23rd of September.
&5 Father Ward mentions the circum- stance of having seen a well dedicated to St.
disposed
This See
nomine et asylo, et mox rabiosa febre Adamnan was born in the territory of correptus, eadem nocte interiit furibundus,
79 Father Hugh Ward only states that
"
Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 6, p. 218. 80 The Rev. Alban Butler says, that our saint was born at Rathboth, now Raphoe. See u Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii. I know not his authority for such a
statement.
81 Tir-Aedha means the " land of Aedh,"
being so called from Aedh, son to Anmire, who, together with our saint, belonged to the Siol Sedna race, or descendants from Sedna,grandsontoConallGutban. Oneof the branches of this family, viz. , the Cinel
Luighdech, occupied the present barony of
exiliens manibus grabato, uti quodam
Tyrconnell. See
agitatus demone. "— "Sancti Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta &c. "
"
quodam Dabhach Adamhnain, ubi Sanctus
pernoctabat in aquis, vimina ad restem
Adamnan in this parish.
Vidi qui ex loco
nendum abstulisset, contemptis Sancti '
Rumoldi- Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. ,
sect. 6, p. 219.
86 See his Vita S. Columba;, lib. iii. ,
cap. 23, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," p. 238, and n. (o), ibid.
8? See at that date: "Nativitas Adam- nani. " —Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, p. II.
88
Seeibid. ,TigernachiAnnales,p. 187. ^See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
78, 79.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 483
it at the year 624. The Annals of Ulster record the birth of our Saint at the year 623. 9° Adamnan was born in Ireland,*" in or about the year 624,'"
according to a respectable authority. 93 Father Ward assigns his nativity to A. D. 626. 94 The Rev. Alban Butler95 also coincides with this date. It is stated, that Adamnan was in the eighty-third year of his age, at the time of his which occurred in the
death,
follow, that he was born in A. D. 621 or 622,
96 it should Consequently
Little information remains for us, concerning the early history of Adamnan.
A single anecdote which is told, and referring to his school-boy days, can hardly be considered quite authentic. We are informed in the Life of Finnachta, the Festive, a chief of the Southern Hy-Niall,97 that this tanist had beeninvitedasaguesttothehouseofhissister. Accompaniedbyanumerous cavalcade, he responded to the invitation. While riding along the road, they met Adamnan, who was then a school-boy, and who was carrying a jar of milk on his back. Travelling upon the same road, the boy turned out of the way,toavoidthehorsemen. Thenhavingknockedhisfootagainstastone, he thereupon stumbled, and the jar, falling from his back, was broken. Observing this accident, Finnachta said that the student should receive pro- tection from him, and he prayed that Adamnan would not be sorrowful.
Then Adamnan " O replied :
I have cause for for there are grief,
good man,
three goodly students in one house, and three more of us are attendants
upon them. We act in this manner : One attendant from among us goes out in his turn to collect sustenance for the other five. It was my turn to-day, but what I had gathered for them has been spilled upon the ground. What grieves me still more, the borrowed jar is broken, and I have not money to pay for it. " This story is supposed to have been the creation of a later age, and intended to introduce the intimacy of St. Adamnan with Finnachta, and to account for their subsequent relations towards each other. Although it transports the youthful St. Adamnan from Donegal to Meath, there is nothing incredible in this narrative ; for St. Columkille, before his time, studied at Clonard, in 8 and he read with Gemm in a of Leinster. 9°
Meath,9 plain
Neither was it considered inconsistent with the severity of monastic discipline, even for one nobly born, to derive his sustenance from eleemosynary sources,100 It is supposed, there can be no doubt of St.
year 704.
90 T—hus " Nativitas Adomnani abbatis dates are assigned. Placing Adamnan's
:
"
Iae. " Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni-
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 41.
91 This he acknowledges, in his " Vita S. Columbse," where he says, in the last chapter of his work, St. Columkille's fame
"
was divulged per totam nostram Scotiam. "
That he meant Ireland is clear, for he
birth at 624, and his death in 704, would make him live to the 80th year.
^ See " Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c. Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 5, p. 218.
9S See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii.
^Such is the account in Dubhaltach
Mac "Three of Firbisigh's Fragments
Annals," edited by John O' Donovan, LL. D. ,
p. 115.
97 Subsequently a monarch over Ireland. 98 See some notices of St. Finnian, Abbot
of Clonard, at the 23rd of February, in the
Second Volume of this work, Art. ix. His
Acts are reserved, however, for the 12th day of December, his chief feast.
"See Adamnan's "Vita S. Columbae," lib. ii. , cap. 25, p. 137, and n. d. (Dr. Reeves' Edition),
'°° Within our own memory similar prac-
it from " maximam Britanniam" and other countries and islands
of Europe.
distinguishes
92
statement on the authority of the Annals of Roscrea, and some other ancient accounts.
Colgan is of this opinion, resting his
Tighemach, at 624, has b^f A-oomnAm ab ""
ble, but the Chronicum Scotorum reads, 5em, nativitas, instead of bsy, mors.
93 The Rev. William Reeves. He says, that the Annalistic date is not to be hastily set aside. I am at a loss to determine whether this remark has reference to the date of our saint's birth or death. In either case, various
484 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
Adamnan having received his monastic education either in Hy, or in some other monastery belonging to the Columban institution. 101 But the Breviary of Aberdeen falls into a strange anachronism, where it states that Adamnan received the monastic habit from St. Columba. 102 It is still more inexplicable, how Baronius103 could have made both these saints contemporaries. Again, the Breviary of Aberdeen assigns very incorrectly to St.
Columba the Jus
of
August,
in the last named
106 Adamnan was
probably
about
twenty-six
IO* of the Scottish which the Bollandist editor of our Lismore,
patronatus
Saint's Acts mistook I05 for the Irish Lismore.
It is probable our saint entered upon his religious profession at Iona coenobium, under the abbot Seghine, who was the fifth in order of succes-
sion. He governed this monastery from 623 to 652, having died on the 12th
year. yearsofage,atthetimeofthisabbot'sdeath. DuringSeghine'sincumbency,
and during that of the three abbots who succeeded, there can be no doubt,
but our saint acquired such a reputation for the practice ot all virtues, and such a character for learning, as recommended him for presiding over the Columban Order.
This institute had then attained its meridian glow of celebrity and influence. We are told, that Adamnan was versed in all liberal, sacred and ascetic knowledge ; that he was acquainted with the Greek10? and Hebrew lan-
guages ;
loS andthattheliteratureofhisvernaculartonguewasquitefamiliar
to him. He knew perfectly well what had been written in it, concerning his
country's acts, laws, and histories, besides those Druidic sciences, which had
not been visited with condemnation the Church. 100 He was not a by only
proficient in the Latin language, but he was capable of fully appreciating its
tices have prevailed in tne middle and it was kept distinct from Hy. "—Adamnan's "
southern parts of Ireland, and are not, LifeofSt. Columba. " AppendixtoPre-
perhaps, altogether disused, even at the face, &c, n. (u), p. xliii.
" 105 " "
present time. The poor scholar" was a
well-known character to a late period, and
has been made the subject of an affecting
but exaggerated tale, by William Carleton.
The mode of acquiring subsistence, how- tional Notes postfixed to the Rev. Dr.
ever, differed from that related in the anecdote given ; the practice was substan- tially the same. This and many other instances, recorded in the Lives of our early Saints, tend to show the conservatism of old habits and customs in Ireland.
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. ,
sect, v. , p. 97.
loa u Natus est itaque sanctus Adampnanus
sicut beatus precinebat Columba quem a tenera infancia cunctis gratum divina reddidit
gracia. Successu vero temporis a prefato beato Columba monichalem suscepit habitum
et postea juxta abbatis sui perceptum ad Lismorensem devenit abbaciam. " Now, St.
Columba died, about the year 597 and St. Adamnan was not born at earliest date, before A. D. 623.
103 This he does, in his edition of the
Roman Martyrology, at the 9th of June. ,0<The Rev. Dr. Reeves says, that "St.
Columba had no more jurisdiction in Lis- more than in Applecross or Kingarth. Even when Lismore was made an episcopal seat,
101 See Rev. Dr.
Lanigan's
See Acta Sanctorum, tomus vi. ,
Septembris xxiii. De S. Adamnano, &c,
sec. i. , num. 10, p. 644.
I0*
Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,"
pp. 373 to 375. The Annals of Innisfallen
place his death at the year 642.
""See Father Ward's "Sancti Rumoldi
Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 5, p. 218. That he was acquainted with the Greek and Hebrew languages may be inferred, from the circumstance of his introducing Greek words into the text of his 11 Vita S. Columbse. " He discusses the meaning and orthography of some Greek
"
names in his treatise,
lib. ii. , cap. 27, and lib. iii. , cap. 2.
108 He treats about the Hebrew form of Tyre, and its Latin equivalent, and alludes to the mention of this name in historical writers, as if he were familiar with such subjects.
109 He cites a verse of Juveneus, in lib. i. ,
cap. 18, and quotes Josephus, under the title of " Tertius Judaic* Captivitatis Liber. " He also refers to the commentaries of St.
Jerome, lib. iii. , cap. 20, 29.
110
See Chronicon Hyense, in the Addi-
An improvement seems to have been
De Locis Sanctis,"
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 485
elegancies of construction and classical phrases. His writings that remain
to our time sufficiently testify to this proficiency. Our saint appears to have unitedbodilylabourwithhisstudies. Onaparticularoccasion,herepresents himself as forming one of a party engaged in procuring wood for certain monastic repairs. " They had drawn together a small fleet of those vessels
1"
in order to carry the woodtoIonafromthemainland. Thismaterialforbuildingwastakenfroma countrysituatedaboutthemouthofariver,calledSale,"2 Whilstthesailors were rowing on a tranquil sea, a western wind suddenly arose, which proved unfavourable for the point to which their course had been directed. "3 Where- fore they ran for a neighbouring island called Arthrago, in the Scottish language, and here they sought a port of refuge. But being baffled for the present in achieving the object of their voyage, the navigators became impatient and began to complain. In a certain measure they accused their patron, St. Columba, in these terms : u O Saint, doth this delay of ours please thee ? Through God's providence, we have hitherto expected from thee, that some consolatory assistance should be afforded to our labours,
because we have considered that thou wert held in an exalted degree of honourbytheAlmighty. " Havingspokenthesewords,wonderfultorelate! after a short interval, and in a single instant, the contrary west wind fell. Almost sooner than words could express it, a favourable Vulturnus"* arose. The sailors were ordered to square the sail-yards in the form of a cross, and having hauled the ropes, their sails were spread. On the same day those navigators reached Iona, with fresh and favouring breezes, and with scarcely any effort on their part, The wood was safely landed, with the men belong- ing to the different vessels. Adamnan takes occasion to say, that those slight complaints, urged against their holy patron, proved of no little benefit to their community. They proved, likewise, St. Columba's powerful inter- cession before the throne of God. This must have been very great, as ought appear from such a sudden change of the winds. "*
made, before this, on the rude system of building with wattles. St. Columba used to
"
which were called currachs, to the number of twelve,
study in a hut,
Life by Adamnan, lib. i. , cap. 25. St. Finan,
in 652, erected a church after the model of Inverness and Argyle, is excluded from Hy, " quam more Scottorum, non de lapide, identification with the name mentioned in sed de robore secto totam composuit, atque the text. A N. E. wind should be required, harundine texit ;" that is, the walls were to convey the party from it to Iona ; yet, made of wooden sheeting, which was pro-
tected from the weather outside by a coat of
rush-thatch. An improvement was again
made on this system when a succeeding
bishop,
"
ablata harandine, plumbi laminis
wind accomplished the object of their voyage, Dr. Reeves was inclined to infer, from the sequel of this narrative, that a N. E. wind was the one that favoured the navigators'
tabulis suffultum. " See his
earn hoc et tectum et — course. Sale have been totam, est, ipsos Consequently may
quoque parietes ejus co-operire curavit. "
identical with the river Shiel.
Venerable Bede, " Historia Ecclesiastica "3 The Rev. Mr. Reeves thinks, that this
Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 25. island lay to the S. E. of Hy, but could not
111
Scottish rivers. He says, that the river Shiel, which connects the fresh-water Lake of Lough Shiel with the sea, and forms part of a boundary line between the counties of
it appears from the sequence, that a S. E.
The Rev. Dr. Reeves has collected a identify it, as he acknowledges, unless it
great number of instances in which he shows,
were Arran.
II4 This a North-east wind, or signifies
according to some, a south-east wind. It is derived a vulturis volatus, quoniam altc rtsonat, or a Vulturno fluvio. See Ellis' revised edition of Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary, ad vocem. London, 1830.
"5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 45, pp. 177, 178, with accompanying notes.
how this number the prevailed during
early
ages of Christianity, in many departments of "
religious economy. See Adamnan's Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes I. , pp.
299 to 303, with accompanying notes. He also shows how it was largely applied in secular use.
"a The Rev. Mr. Reeves has been unable to identify this Sale, with any of the modern
486 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
According to the Annals of the Four Masters,"6 Finnachta Fleadhach, or
the Festive, in a. d. 674, began his reign as monarch over Ireland. This
prince is sometimes called Finnshneachta in the same Annals, as also in those
of Ulster. He succeeded Ceannfaeladh, son of Blathmac, who was slain in a
battlefoughtatAirceltair. Thechiefincidentofhisreignappearstohavebeen
his remission of the Borumha Laigean, which had long oppressed the people
11
composition,
12
? This action greatly displeased Adamnan, who had opposed it
of Leinster.
as a matter of policy ; although, no doubt, it was done in a considerate and equitablemanner. FinnachtabelongedtotheSouthernHy-Niallrace,and he was a valiant118 and We are in an old bardic
120
hospitable prince. "9 told,
that after the accidental introduction already mentioned,
Adamnan was invited to the court of this prince. Subsequently our saint
became the monarch's anmchara or spiritual director. This is supposed to
have been a chief reason, why the saint became so distinguished during
121
Finnachta's reign.
We are 122 that Adamnan founded informed,
monasteries in Ireland, 3 before he undertook the care of Iona, and that these were under his own rule ; the chief among them being Raphoe, the Pons Adamnani, Drumhome and Screen, If this be the case, he must have been sent in a missionary capacity from the parent house, to inaugurate other branches of the institute in Ireland ; but, it seems most probable, that whatever monasteries he may have founded, these had been chiefly erected at intervals during the various visits he made as head of the Columban order. To this list of places where he was venerated, Colgan adds the Churches of Dunbo,
Aregal,Boithfheabha,andGrelleach,in the diocese of Derry, as also memorials in other localities of Ireland. 12^ Drumhome was the seat of a powerful branch of the Cinel Conaill, which was in this parish ; and in it was also preserved the reliquary called the Cathach. 12* Adamnan was especially
1,6
pp. 282 to 285.
"7 It is said their exemption from this
tribute was due to the pleading of St. Moling Luachra, a holy and celebrated bishop. He is said to have taken advantage
120
contained in a vellum M. S. , which was
See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
This composition is said to have been
of an ambiguous meaning attaching to the
term Iua«, which signifies either Monday, returned once more to his Kingdom, in
or the Day of Judgment ; thus converting the signification of a temporary respite into a perpetual surrender of the claim. The
whole of this legendary story is sufficiently told in the Life of St. Molingus, or St.
Moling Luachra of Teach-Moling, in the
Sixth Volume of this work, at the 17th of
June, the day for his feast. Art. i. , chap. iii.
688 or 689. See Dr. O'Conor's
118
Besides the victory obtained over
By Fleming in his "Collectanea Sacra," Dissertatio de Monastica S. Colum- bani Luxoviensis et Bobiensis Abbatis Professione. Art. iii. , sect, ii. , num. 87, p. 435.
Cennfaeladh in 673, he destroyed Ailech,
a stronghold of the Northern Hy-Niall, in A. D. 674 ; he defeated the Leinster-men at
Loughgower, near Dunshaughlin, in Meath, and he gained the battle of Tailltin over Becc Boirche, in A.
