See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
Febiniarii
i.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
D.
540.
Now, more than twenty years must have followed, before the elevation of St.
Blaan to his ecclesiastical grade, and therefore, we should suppose St.
Catan to have lived in Scotland, some years after 560.
Taking into account, that King Aidan, according to the aforesaid Scottish historians, died A.
D.
604, in the thirty-fourth year of his reign, it is not likely he had a son more than thirty years, before he assumed the sceptre, and more than sixty-four years before his own
death, especially as no writer attributes to him an extreme old age. See Colgan's
"
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, n. 12, p. 234. This whole matter, however, is involved in great difficulties, nor is it an easy task to solve them satisfactorily.
Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect.
237, p. 138.
35 See Colgans "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Gad* dano, cap. vii. , p. 233.
son of i^dan, the son of Goran, a
3* See " Historia Ecclesiastica Dempster's
cele- brated King of Scotland, as related in the Acts of St, Laserian, whose feast occurs on the 1 8th of April. Again, St. Blaan is con- sidered to have been the brother of Gemma, daughter to the aforesaid King ^dan ; yet,
very
Boetus states, in his
lib. ix. , fol. clxix. , as also Buchannan, in
Scotorum Historise,"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 243
other " Confessiones Secretse," and a book " De suis Apparitionibus. "36 in the Life of St. Blane,37 it is stated, Cathaii was uncle to that saint, whom he ordained and consecrated bishop. 3^ According to Dempster,39 St. Catha- nusdiedintheplace,whichfromhimderiveditsnameofKillcathan. Little seems to be known regarding his career in Scotland. It is said, however,
that St. Catan resided at Stornoway. '»° There his remains were preserved,** ""
after he departed to bliss. '^ Yet, his exuviae are likewise reported to
have been in Scarinche. '»3 It is thought, by Colgan, that, although the exact
date is uncertain, his St. Catan died, after a. d. 560. 4* Our Calendarists,
Marianus O'Gorman, Charles MaguirCj-^s and the Martyrology of Donegal*^ mention, on this day, Catan, tutor to Blaan, i. e. , of Blaan of Cenn-Garadh.
TheScotch,however,seemtoplacehisfestival,atthe17thofMay. 47 This may be another feast, distinct from his Natalis ; although, it is not very cer- tain, that the present Catan might not be distinguished from him of Cenn- garadh. Bishop Forbes^^ has the festival of this latter holy Bishop Cathan, at the 1 8th of May. Altogether, it is difficult to reconcile these feasts and the facts already recorded with one and the same man. In the west of Scotland, many places were called after this bishop. Thus Kilcattan, in Kil- blane, Bute \^'^ Kilchattan, in Luing Island f° Ard-Chattan or Ballyboden f^ at Kilchattan Bay, at —Kilchattan Mill and Suidhe Chatain^^ in Kingarth parish. Island of Bute53 said to have been his chief seat ;5< at Kilchattan in Gigha,5s where a church of which he is patron had been called after him f^ at Kilchattan, deanery of Lorn;57 at Colonsay. s^ St. Cathanus of Over Ruthven,59 was given by Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn, to the Abbey of Inch- affiray. ^° In Ireland, long after his death, the memory of a St. Catan was famous, as the patron and protector of those addicted to fasting. We are surprised to learn, that so late as the seventeenth century,^^ it was quite usual
3*See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco- torum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
37 Probably, that quoted by Dempster, as written by George Newton, Archdeacon of Dunblane.
3^ According to the Breviary of Aberdeen, pars Estiva, lol. Ixxviii.
39 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
''° Afterwards, this was a cell, and its first prior came from the Abbey of Inchaffray.
*' See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. ii. , p. 381.
tica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
"
49 gee " Parochiales Origines
*=' The date strangely given is A. D. 710.
vol. ii. , pp. 210, 214.
ss Here too was a cell of the
43 See Keith's " of the Bishop- Catalogue
Holy
Bishops of Scotland," p. 393. Edinburgh, 1824, Ed. Russel.
" Scoti-Monasticon : The Ancient Church age, in the practice of good works. See of Scotland," p. 171. Also, "Origines
44 Dempster says, that he lived to an old
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
45 By this writer, he is specially charac-
terized as being devoted to abstinence and "
Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , p. 257.
s; in the diocese of Argyle. See Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott's " Scoti-Mo-
nasticon," p. 221.
58 See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae/'
fervour. See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,"
Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, vol. ii. , p. 280. It is celebrated as "lonely
cap. viii. , and nn. 10, 13, pp. 233, 234.
4^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
36, 37. In the table subjoined to this Mar-
tyrology,
Latinized, Cathandus. See pp. 370, 371, ibid.
*7 See Dempster's "Historia Ecclesias*
Colonsay," by Sir Walter Scott.
59 See lib. Insulae Missar. , vol. Tiii. , ^
the name of this saint has been
8, 18.
^° See
" of
Douglas' Peerage Scotland,"
'*^ See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. 298, 299.
Scotiag," vol. ii. , p. 9. "Old Statistical Survey of
Scotland," vol. viii,, p. 56.
so gge "Origines Parochiales Scotise,"
vol. ii. , p. 100.
51 See ibid. , p. 148.
^2 Xhjs is 520 feet in height,
53 See " New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land," vol. v. , pp. 83, 84.
54 See "Origines Parochiales Scotise,"
Trinity.
ss See Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott's
vol. ii. , p. 556.
°'
Colgan attests this fact as known tq himself.
244 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February i.
for many of the Irish, and especially for those of Ulster, to spend three whole
days in a Triduum, without partaking of any kind of food or drink. This
great austerity was intended, in imitation of this holy Bishop Caddan, to com- memorate his virtues and to secure his intercession. ^^ A character so gentle and so austere as his had been, could not, and did not, fail to win the affec- tion and esteem of the people in either Scotia. Yet, like a flower that flourishes in summer and appears bright, whilst in winter it presently withers ; even so, frail and deceitful life must pass away, and our saint saw it run to a happy close.
Article VI. —St. PRiEcoRDius, of Velia and of Corbie, in
PiCARDY, France. [Probably in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ This
^
holy servant of Christ belonged to the race of the Scots, and as, from
the wonderful accounts remaining, it seems he had left his native country, towards the close of the fifth or the commencement of the sixth century, we may deem it extremely probable that he was a native of Ireland, and born there at a time when Christianity began to make progress. The Bol-
landists,^ after Colgan,3 give a short history of St. Praecordius, a holy priest, with an account concerning the discovery and translation of his relics. Nicholas Belfortius-^ first recovered this tract, and rescued it from the manu- script of some unknown writer. 5 Colgan thought Belfort extracted this account^ from the Lessons of an Office, celebrated in the Church of Corbie, on the Festival of the Translation of St. Praecordius' Relics. 7 Little more seems to be known regarding this holy pilgrim's personal history, than his having wandered towards a place. Latinized Valliacus, Vasliacus,^ or Vig- liacus,9 said to have been distinguished among the villages of a church, known as Corbie, '° in the neighbourhood of Soissons. " Its soil was most fertile, while several inhabitants and vineyards about, rendered it a cheerful and an agreeable place for residence. The Aisne river, with its tributary
streams, flowed between beautiful plains and meadows. Here, the holy Praecordius—which seems not to have been his original Celtic name'^—ad- mired the scenery, and he desired to live among the people of Soissons, who belonged to Belgic Gaul. '3 Their city of Soissons is said to have been
'* See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioe," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, cap. —iii. , p. 233.
*
Article vi. Colgan observes, that in
the time of St. Remigius of Rheims, only a few Scottish or Irish colonists were in Great
Britain, and among these, rare could have been the instances, in which 'they had em- braced the Christian Faith ; whereas, after King Clovis of France became a Christian, several Irish Scots visited France, and set- tied there under St. Remigius.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Febiniarii i. De S.
Praecordii Translatione, n. 3, p. 232.
= See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii i. De S. Praecordio Presbytero, Corbeiae et Valliaci, in Gallia. A commentary, in three sections, precedes the Acts proper.
See tomus i. , pp. 196 to 198.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Praecordii Translatione,
pp. 230 to 233, with notes subjoined.
< He was a Canon Regular of the House
of St. John of the Vines, at Soissons.
5 The Bollaudists claim to have given a
more correct version of it, than Colgan did. ^ It was taken from Belfort's supplement, and transmitted to Colgan, by D. Andrew
Raytin.
7 On the 5th of June,
^ **
» In Colgan's version, the statement reads:
**
Inter villas Ecclesiae Carbagiensis, Val- liacus habetur in pago Suessonico," &c. It seems evident " Corbeiensis " should be read.
'" Corbie is now a canton, commune, and townof France, in the department of Somme, andarrondissementofAmiens. Itisaplace
of some manufacturing industry ; and, at one time, it was a strongly fortified town. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. iv. , p. 671. " This lay within the ancient province of Neustria,inthetimeofCharlemagne. See
Wilkinson's " Atlas Classica," map 52. "This probably cannot now be re-
covered,
'3 See Baudrand's Ferrarius, "Novum
Lexicon Geographicum," tomus ii. , p. 222.
According to Ferrarius in Catalogo Generali. "
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 245
built, by Brenmis, Duke of Sens, a. u. c. 315. Here the holy man lived for a very considerable time, in the practice of every virtue. The place appears to be that called Velia, a town near the Aisne, in the diocese of Soissons, ac-
cording to Papirius Masson. Regarding that river, as passing through the country of the Retelii, watering the town Regiteste, then Castrum-Portian, he adds, in fine, that gliding by Velia, it washes the famous city of Soissons. ^^ While thus living in his isolated position, Prcecordius' great merits and
sanctity attracted the notice of holy Remigius,^^ the renowned Archbishop ofRheims. Bothwereattachedbyafirmbondoffamiliarintercourseand
miracles and favours were manifested after his death, towards pious clients, whocametovisithistomb. TherelicsofSt. Prsecordiusseemtohavebeen kept in a rich shrine. For about four hundred years, religiously guarded, a lamp was kept burning before it. Then this shrine, a rich object, excited the cupidity of a certain sacrilegious guardian, who stole it away by night, yet was it again miraculously recovered. Colgan observes, that a fine church, dedicated to St. Prsecordius, stood in the suburbs of Vasliacensis or Velia. ^7 It is probable, that the saint's relics originally reposed there. In the additions of Molanus to Usuard, the Natalis of St. Prsecordius is placed attheKalendsofFebruary. ^^ Canisiushasthesameaccount,andFerrarius gives one nearly similar. '^ A manuscript Martyrology, belonging to the
2°
of ^^ The life of St. Praecordius was charity.
to a
when he laid down the burden of the flesh, probably in the earlier half of the sixth century. No date for his death has been preserved. The clergy and people honourably interred him in a church at Velia. Great
church of St. Gudule, at Bruxelles, has a short notice of him.
seems most likely, that this was the day of his death, which had been observed at Velia ; the feast referring to the recovery and translation of his relics, at Corbie, being assigned to the 5th of June. ^"' At this latter date, the reader will find a continued narrative of that cultus, observed by the religious people of Picardy, manifesting a profound respect entertained by them for St. Prse- cordius, during lifetime, and preserved for several ages, after his happy death had led to the rewards of eternal life.
Article VII. —St. Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, or Foduibh. — This holy man appears to have been distinct from a bishop of Tallagh, simi- larly named. ^ The present addition, to our list of saints, entered as Airen-
**See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. ,Februarii i. De S. Prae- cordio Presbytero, &c. Commentarius Praevius, sects, i, 2, p. 196.
'S His feast occurs, on the 1st of October, although he died on the 13th of January, in the year 533, according to Rivet. Pope Leo JX. , during a council held at Rheims A. D. 1049, transferred his relics to the church of the Benedictine Abbey, bearing his name, inthatcity,ontheistofOctober. SeeRev.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni£e,"Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Prcecordii Translatione, n.
''
and Other October i.
'^ St,
Alban Butler's
Lives of the Fathers, Mar- gundy, where it is placed,
tyrs,
Principal Saints,"
was in the
vol.
^° It notes **Et Praecordii x. , only,
teri. "
Presby-
Remigius
year of his age, when he died, after having exercised the office of bishop for over seventy years. Yet, Baronius does not consider, he ruled for seventy-four years, in the epis- copate of Rheims.
^' See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii i. De S. Praecordii Trans-
latione, pp. 230 to 232, and nn. 3, 4, 6, ibid. —'
Article vii. See at his feast day, loth of tliis month.
ninety-fourth
prolonged
great age,
2, p. 232.
^^ "
There he writes, In Vasliaco natalis S; Pracordii Confessoris. "
'^ In "Generali Catalog© Sanctorum," Ferrarius writes his place Vigliacus, for Valliacus. Readmits, however, that some write it Vasliacus ; but, he greatly mistakes, when he called it a village, having a Bene- dictine monastery, in the country of Bur-
Therefore, it
246 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
nanh Foduibh, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,= at the ist of Feb- ruary. Again do we meet with Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, registered in theMartyrologyofDonegal,3onthisday. Thepatronymicmayaifordsome chie to his family and period.
Article VIII. —St. Mochealloc. No matter how little distinguished the servant of God may be in life, his course lies in the right direction, and must conduct him to glory. "The path of the just," writes Solomon, " is as a shining light, that goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day," This is a great truth, that admits of many interpretations ; as you turn it in different directions, it gives out, like the diamond, manifold streams of radiance. We find simply a saint, called Mochealloc,^ registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^' on this day. The enclitic " mo " or " my " was probably a prefix, the original name being Chealloc, Ceallach or Kelloch. 3 For want of further — it seems difficult to unite—but most
namesakes of the Irish Calendars, under any form of designation.
Article IX. —St. Begin or Beon, Virgin. It seems somewhat re- markable, that so many virgins are venerated in our calendars, on the festival of the greatest among Irish female saints. The feast of Beoin, or Beon, virgin, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,' and of Donegal,^ as having been celebrated on this day, to which her name is referred. This special form of name is unique in our calendars.
S>ttoxia Bap of jfeiruarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLUMBAN, ABBOT AND RECLUSE, AT GHENT, BELGIUM.
\_TENTH CEN7URY. -\
during his wanderings, the Trojan exile found the fame of his country AS extended, by the valour and toil of her chiefs, in far distant lands j^ so,
may the Irish pilgrim trace the labours of our saints, not alone on their own soil, but in the remote places of their adoption. At the 2nd of February, Colgan'' and the Bollandists3 have given St. Columban's Acts, compiled from
distinction, likely we must disassociate his festival and his person, when classed with his
=' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
= Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 36, 37.
36, 37. — Article viii.
i.
expressed
by
at December
=
23rd.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
De S. Columbano Abbate, treats about St. Columban, Inclusus, in
*
Mocelloc or Mocheal-
log, corresponding with the present name, is entered in our Irish Calendars at January
23rd, at the present date, at March 7th and
"Quse regio in terris nostri non plena la- boris. "
—^neidos, lib. i. , 1. 460.
= See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Feb-
36, 37.
3 Saints, so named, are entered in our ka-
lendar? , at April ist, at July 1 8th, and at
rnarii ii.
Gandavi Sepulto, pp. 238, 239. Sanders
October 7th. Article ix.
Kelly, p. xiv.
" **
Hagiologio FlandriiE, as also Gazoeus, In Vitis Sanctorum. " Some Belgian
—
' Edited
Rev. Dr.
likewise, allude to him.
3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Feb-
by
manuscripts,
Article
—
'^
Thus
^Eneas:
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ^47
various sources and authorities. This saint, there can be little doubt, was a native of Ireland ; and the Belgian writers agree on this matter. '* Yet, Dempster,5 with his usual effrontery, tries to make him a Scotchman, and he also assumes Columban was a writer. ^ He says, that this saint always lived in Scotland, and he refers to Molanus,^ who has not a single word of what Dempster pretended to quote from him. ^ So much for the credibility of Dempster's statements. Regarding the family and origin of Columban, we have no authentic accounts. He is supposed to have been an emigrant from Ireland, either about the time when Forannan, with his twelve companions, left it for Belgium ;9 or, subsequently, in the year 946, when it has been
'° Saints Cathroe" and Maccallan" abandoned their native fortheshoresoftheContinent. ^3 Yet,itisthoughttobestillmoreprobable, thatoursainthadbeentheresponsibleleaderofamissionaryband. Colgan remarks, that as the mission of the two saints, already named, took place, about A. D. 946, as our saint was called an abbot, and as he became a recluse A. D. 957, "^ it seems probable, he was rather the leader of a new missionary band, than a member of that circle of disciples, who followed Saints Cathroe and Macallan. Columban is related to have fled away from worldly honours. ^s Neither does Colgan conceive it probable, that our saint re- mained as a private individual, under the rule of those holy men, for eleven intervening years, during which Macallan and Cathroe successively ruled
supposed,
island,
ruarii ii. Among the Proetermissi et in
alios dies rejecti, p. 269. In tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , there are four short paragraphs
referring to this saint, pp. 847, 848.
4 By them he is called abbas Hibernicus^ without telling us whether in Ireland or else- where ; but Menard understood that appel- that he had been an abbot
shut up in a cell, for two years, at Ghent, where he died. Nor is there any authority for the statement, that he composed a book of pious sentences. Again, the year of his death, or that of his entire seclusion, is not uncertain ; for, many authors agree, he be- came a recluse A. D. 957, and died A. D.
lation as — meaning
In fine, on what authority, but his own,
hold our saint was venerated on the 13th of February, when so many re- spectable writers agree in stating, that St. Columbanus became a recluse, on the 2nd day of that month, his natalis occurring on
the 15 th of February ?
9 See the Acts of St. Forannan, at the
30th of April.
'°
By Colgan.
" The Acts of St. Cathroe or Cadroe oc-
cur, at the 6th of March.
" The Life of St. Maccallan is at given,
the 2 1 St of January.
'3 Colgan endeavours to show, that their
mission took place during the year named in his Acts of both these saints, and in his notes there, to Lives published, at the 21st of January, and at the 6th of March.
death, especially as no writer attributes to him an extreme old age. See Colgan's
"
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, n. 12, p. 234. This whole matter, however, is involved in great difficulties, nor is it an easy task to solve them satisfactorily.
Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect.
237, p. 138.
35 See Colgans "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Gad* dano, cap. vii. , p. 233.
son of i^dan, the son of Goran, a
3* See " Historia Ecclesiastica Dempster's
cele- brated King of Scotland, as related in the Acts of St, Laserian, whose feast occurs on the 1 8th of April. Again, St. Blaan is con- sidered to have been the brother of Gemma, daughter to the aforesaid King ^dan ; yet,
very
Boetus states, in his
lib. ix. , fol. clxix. , as also Buchannan, in
Scotorum Historise,"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 243
other " Confessiones Secretse," and a book " De suis Apparitionibus. "36 in the Life of St. Blane,37 it is stated, Cathaii was uncle to that saint, whom he ordained and consecrated bishop. 3^ According to Dempster,39 St. Catha- nusdiedintheplace,whichfromhimderiveditsnameofKillcathan. Little seems to be known regarding his career in Scotland. It is said, however,
that St. Catan resided at Stornoway. '»° There his remains were preserved,** ""
after he departed to bliss. '^ Yet, his exuviae are likewise reported to
have been in Scarinche. '»3 It is thought, by Colgan, that, although the exact
date is uncertain, his St. Catan died, after a. d. 560. 4* Our Calendarists,
Marianus O'Gorman, Charles MaguirCj-^s and the Martyrology of Donegal*^ mention, on this day, Catan, tutor to Blaan, i. e. , of Blaan of Cenn-Garadh.
TheScotch,however,seemtoplacehisfestival,atthe17thofMay. 47 This may be another feast, distinct from his Natalis ; although, it is not very cer- tain, that the present Catan might not be distinguished from him of Cenn- garadh. Bishop Forbes^^ has the festival of this latter holy Bishop Cathan, at the 1 8th of May. Altogether, it is difficult to reconcile these feasts and the facts already recorded with one and the same man. In the west of Scotland, many places were called after this bishop. Thus Kilcattan, in Kil- blane, Bute \^'^ Kilchattan, in Luing Island f° Ard-Chattan or Ballyboden f^ at Kilchattan Bay, at —Kilchattan Mill and Suidhe Chatain^^ in Kingarth parish. Island of Bute53 said to have been his chief seat ;5< at Kilchattan in Gigha,5s where a church of which he is patron had been called after him f^ at Kilchattan, deanery of Lorn;57 at Colonsay. s^ St. Cathanus of Over Ruthven,59 was given by Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn, to the Abbey of Inch- affiray. ^° In Ireland, long after his death, the memory of a St. Catan was famous, as the patron and protector of those addicted to fasting. We are surprised to learn, that so late as the seventeenth century,^^ it was quite usual
3*See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco- torum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
37 Probably, that quoted by Dempster, as written by George Newton, Archdeacon of Dunblane.
3^ According to the Breviary of Aberdeen, pars Estiva, lol. Ixxviii.
39 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
''° Afterwards, this was a cell, and its first prior came from the Abbey of Inchaffray.
*' See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. ii. , p. 381.
tica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
"
49 gee " Parochiales Origines
*=' The date strangely given is A. D. 710.
vol. ii. , pp. 210, 214.
ss Here too was a cell of the
43 See Keith's " of the Bishop- Catalogue
Holy
Bishops of Scotland," p. 393. Edinburgh, 1824, Ed. Russel.
" Scoti-Monasticon : The Ancient Church age, in the practice of good works. See of Scotland," p. 171. Also, "Origines
44 Dempster says, that he lived to an old
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , sect. 237, p. 138.
45 By this writer, he is specially charac-
terized as being devoted to abstinence and "
Parochiales Scotise," vol. ii. , p. 257.
s; in the diocese of Argyle. See Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott's " Scoti-Mo-
nasticon," p. 221.
58 See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae/'
fervour. See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,"
Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, vol. ii. , p. 280. It is celebrated as "lonely
cap. viii. , and nn. 10, 13, pp. 233, 234.
4^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
36, 37. In the table subjoined to this Mar-
tyrology,
Latinized, Cathandus. See pp. 370, 371, ibid.
*7 See Dempster's "Historia Ecclesias*
Colonsay," by Sir Walter Scott.
59 See lib. Insulae Missar. , vol. Tiii. , ^
the name of this saint has been
8, 18.
^° See
" of
Douglas' Peerage Scotland,"
'*^ See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. 298, 299.
Scotiag," vol. ii. , p. 9. "Old Statistical Survey of
Scotland," vol. viii,, p. 56.
so gge "Origines Parochiales Scotise,"
vol. ii. , p. 100.
51 See ibid. , p. 148.
^2 Xhjs is 520 feet in height,
53 See " New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land," vol. v. , pp. 83, 84.
54 See "Origines Parochiales Scotise,"
Trinity.
ss See Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott's
vol. ii. , p. 556.
°'
Colgan attests this fact as known tq himself.
244 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February i.
for many of the Irish, and especially for those of Ulster, to spend three whole
days in a Triduum, without partaking of any kind of food or drink. This
great austerity was intended, in imitation of this holy Bishop Caddan, to com- memorate his virtues and to secure his intercession. ^^ A character so gentle and so austere as his had been, could not, and did not, fail to win the affec- tion and esteem of the people in either Scotia. Yet, like a flower that flourishes in summer and appears bright, whilst in winter it presently withers ; even so, frail and deceitful life must pass away, and our saint saw it run to a happy close.
Article VI. —St. PRiEcoRDius, of Velia and of Corbie, in
PiCARDY, France. [Probably in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ This
^
holy servant of Christ belonged to the race of the Scots, and as, from
the wonderful accounts remaining, it seems he had left his native country, towards the close of the fifth or the commencement of the sixth century, we may deem it extremely probable that he was a native of Ireland, and born there at a time when Christianity began to make progress. The Bol-
landists,^ after Colgan,3 give a short history of St. Praecordius, a holy priest, with an account concerning the discovery and translation of his relics. Nicholas Belfortius-^ first recovered this tract, and rescued it from the manu- script of some unknown writer. 5 Colgan thought Belfort extracted this account^ from the Lessons of an Office, celebrated in the Church of Corbie, on the Festival of the Translation of St. Praecordius' Relics. 7 Little more seems to be known regarding this holy pilgrim's personal history, than his having wandered towards a place. Latinized Valliacus, Vasliacus,^ or Vig- liacus,9 said to have been distinguished among the villages of a church, known as Corbie, '° in the neighbourhood of Soissons. " Its soil was most fertile, while several inhabitants and vineyards about, rendered it a cheerful and an agreeable place for residence. The Aisne river, with its tributary
streams, flowed between beautiful plains and meadows. Here, the holy Praecordius—which seems not to have been his original Celtic name'^—ad- mired the scenery, and he desired to live among the people of Soissons, who belonged to Belgic Gaul. '3 Their city of Soissons is said to have been
'* See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioe," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, cap. —iii. , p. 233.
*
Article vi. Colgan observes, that in
the time of St. Remigius of Rheims, only a few Scottish or Irish colonists were in Great
Britain, and among these, rare could have been the instances, in which 'they had em- braced the Christian Faith ; whereas, after King Clovis of France became a Christian, several Irish Scots visited France, and set- tied there under St. Remigius.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Febiniarii i. De S.
Praecordii Translatione, n. 3, p. 232.
= See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii i. De S. Praecordio Presbytero, Corbeiae et Valliaci, in Gallia. A commentary, in three sections, precedes the Acts proper.
See tomus i. , pp. 196 to 198.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Praecordii Translatione,
pp. 230 to 233, with notes subjoined.
< He was a Canon Regular of the House
of St. John of the Vines, at Soissons.
5 The Bollaudists claim to have given a
more correct version of it, than Colgan did. ^ It was taken from Belfort's supplement, and transmitted to Colgan, by D. Andrew
Raytin.
7 On the 5th of June,
^ **
» In Colgan's version, the statement reads:
**
Inter villas Ecclesiae Carbagiensis, Val- liacus habetur in pago Suessonico," &c. It seems evident " Corbeiensis " should be read.
'" Corbie is now a canton, commune, and townof France, in the department of Somme, andarrondissementofAmiens. Itisaplace
of some manufacturing industry ; and, at one time, it was a strongly fortified town. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. iv. , p. 671. " This lay within the ancient province of Neustria,inthetimeofCharlemagne. See
Wilkinson's " Atlas Classica," map 52. "This probably cannot now be re-
covered,
'3 See Baudrand's Ferrarius, "Novum
Lexicon Geographicum," tomus ii. , p. 222.
According to Ferrarius in Catalogo Generali. "
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 245
built, by Brenmis, Duke of Sens, a. u. c. 315. Here the holy man lived for a very considerable time, in the practice of every virtue. The place appears to be that called Velia, a town near the Aisne, in the diocese of Soissons, ac-
cording to Papirius Masson. Regarding that river, as passing through the country of the Retelii, watering the town Regiteste, then Castrum-Portian, he adds, in fine, that gliding by Velia, it washes the famous city of Soissons. ^^ While thus living in his isolated position, Prcecordius' great merits and
sanctity attracted the notice of holy Remigius,^^ the renowned Archbishop ofRheims. Bothwereattachedbyafirmbondoffamiliarintercourseand
miracles and favours were manifested after his death, towards pious clients, whocametovisithistomb. TherelicsofSt. Prsecordiusseemtohavebeen kept in a rich shrine. For about four hundred years, religiously guarded, a lamp was kept burning before it. Then this shrine, a rich object, excited the cupidity of a certain sacrilegious guardian, who stole it away by night, yet was it again miraculously recovered. Colgan observes, that a fine church, dedicated to St. Prsecordius, stood in the suburbs of Vasliacensis or Velia. ^7 It is probable, that the saint's relics originally reposed there. In the additions of Molanus to Usuard, the Natalis of St. Prsecordius is placed attheKalendsofFebruary. ^^ Canisiushasthesameaccount,andFerrarius gives one nearly similar. '^ A manuscript Martyrology, belonging to the
2°
of ^^ The life of St. Praecordius was charity.
to a
when he laid down the burden of the flesh, probably in the earlier half of the sixth century. No date for his death has been preserved. The clergy and people honourably interred him in a church at Velia. Great
church of St. Gudule, at Bruxelles, has a short notice of him.
seems most likely, that this was the day of his death, which had been observed at Velia ; the feast referring to the recovery and translation of his relics, at Corbie, being assigned to the 5th of June. ^"' At this latter date, the reader will find a continued narrative of that cultus, observed by the religious people of Picardy, manifesting a profound respect entertained by them for St. Prse- cordius, during lifetime, and preserved for several ages, after his happy death had led to the rewards of eternal life.
Article VII. —St. Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, or Foduibh. — This holy man appears to have been distinct from a bishop of Tallagh, simi- larly named. ^ The present addition, to our list of saints, entered as Airen-
**See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. ,Februarii i. De S. Prae- cordio Presbytero, &c. Commentarius Praevius, sects, i, 2, p. 196.
'S His feast occurs, on the 1st of October, although he died on the 13th of January, in the year 533, according to Rivet. Pope Leo JX. , during a council held at Rheims A. D. 1049, transferred his relics to the church of the Benedictine Abbey, bearing his name, inthatcity,ontheistofOctober. SeeRev.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni£e,"Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Prcecordii Translatione, n.
''
and Other October i.
'^ St,
Alban Butler's
Lives of the Fathers, Mar- gundy, where it is placed,
tyrs,
Principal Saints,"
was in the
vol.
^° It notes **Et Praecordii x. , only,
teri. "
Presby-
Remigius
year of his age, when he died, after having exercised the office of bishop for over seventy years. Yet, Baronius does not consider, he ruled for seventy-four years, in the epis- copate of Rheims.
^' See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii i. De S. Praecordii Trans-
latione, pp. 230 to 232, and nn. 3, 4, 6, ibid. —'
Article vii. See at his feast day, loth of tliis month.
ninety-fourth
prolonged
great age,
2, p. 232.
^^ "
There he writes, In Vasliaco natalis S; Pracordii Confessoris. "
'^ In "Generali Catalog© Sanctorum," Ferrarius writes his place Vigliacus, for Valliacus. Readmits, however, that some write it Vasliacus ; but, he greatly mistakes, when he called it a village, having a Bene- dictine monastery, in the country of Bur-
Therefore, it
246 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
nanh Foduibh, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,= at the ist of Feb- ruary. Again do we meet with Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, registered in theMartyrologyofDonegal,3onthisday. Thepatronymicmayaifordsome chie to his family and period.
Article VIII. —St. Mochealloc. No matter how little distinguished the servant of God may be in life, his course lies in the right direction, and must conduct him to glory. "The path of the just," writes Solomon, " is as a shining light, that goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day," This is a great truth, that admits of many interpretations ; as you turn it in different directions, it gives out, like the diamond, manifold streams of radiance. We find simply a saint, called Mochealloc,^ registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^' on this day. The enclitic " mo " or " my " was probably a prefix, the original name being Chealloc, Ceallach or Kelloch. 3 For want of further — it seems difficult to unite—but most
namesakes of the Irish Calendars, under any form of designation.
Article IX. —St. Begin or Beon, Virgin. It seems somewhat re- markable, that so many virgins are venerated in our calendars, on the festival of the greatest among Irish female saints. The feast of Beoin, or Beon, virgin, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,' and of Donegal,^ as having been celebrated on this day, to which her name is referred. This special form of name is unique in our calendars.
S>ttoxia Bap of jfeiruarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLUMBAN, ABBOT AND RECLUSE, AT GHENT, BELGIUM.
\_TENTH CEN7URY. -\
during his wanderings, the Trojan exile found the fame of his country AS extended, by the valour and toil of her chiefs, in far distant lands j^ so,
may the Irish pilgrim trace the labours of our saints, not alone on their own soil, but in the remote places of their adoption. At the 2nd of February, Colgan'' and the Bollandists3 have given St. Columban's Acts, compiled from
distinction, likely we must disassociate his festival and his person, when classed with his
=' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
= Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 36, 37.
36, 37. — Article viii.
i.
expressed
by
at December
=
23rd.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
De S. Columbano Abbate, treats about St. Columban, Inclusus, in
*
Mocelloc or Mocheal-
log, corresponding with the present name, is entered in our Irish Calendars at January
23rd, at the present date, at March 7th and
"Quse regio in terris nostri non plena la- boris. "
—^neidos, lib. i. , 1. 460.
= See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Feb-
36, 37.
3 Saints, so named, are entered in our ka-
lendar? , at April ist, at July 1 8th, and at
rnarii ii.
Gandavi Sepulto, pp. 238, 239. Sanders
October 7th. Article ix.
Kelly, p. xiv.
" **
Hagiologio FlandriiE, as also Gazoeus, In Vitis Sanctorum. " Some Belgian
—
' Edited
Rev. Dr.
likewise, allude to him.
3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Feb-
by
manuscripts,
Article
—
'^
Thus
^Eneas:
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ^47
various sources and authorities. This saint, there can be little doubt, was a native of Ireland ; and the Belgian writers agree on this matter. '* Yet, Dempster,5 with his usual effrontery, tries to make him a Scotchman, and he also assumes Columban was a writer. ^ He says, that this saint always lived in Scotland, and he refers to Molanus,^ who has not a single word of what Dempster pretended to quote from him. ^ So much for the credibility of Dempster's statements. Regarding the family and origin of Columban, we have no authentic accounts. He is supposed to have been an emigrant from Ireland, either about the time when Forannan, with his twelve companions, left it for Belgium ;9 or, subsequently, in the year 946, when it has been
'° Saints Cathroe" and Maccallan" abandoned their native fortheshoresoftheContinent. ^3 Yet,itisthoughttobestillmoreprobable, thatoursainthadbeentheresponsibleleaderofamissionaryband. Colgan remarks, that as the mission of the two saints, already named, took place, about A. D. 946, as our saint was called an abbot, and as he became a recluse A. D. 957, "^ it seems probable, he was rather the leader of a new missionary band, than a member of that circle of disciples, who followed Saints Cathroe and Macallan. Columban is related to have fled away from worldly honours. ^s Neither does Colgan conceive it probable, that our saint re- mained as a private individual, under the rule of those holy men, for eleven intervening years, during which Macallan and Cathroe successively ruled
supposed,
island,
ruarii ii. Among the Proetermissi et in
alios dies rejecti, p. 269. In tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , there are four short paragraphs
referring to this saint, pp. 847, 848.
4 By them he is called abbas Hibernicus^ without telling us whether in Ireland or else- where ; but Menard understood that appel- that he had been an abbot
shut up in a cell, for two years, at Ghent, where he died. Nor is there any authority for the statement, that he composed a book of pious sentences. Again, the year of his death, or that of his entire seclusion, is not uncertain ; for, many authors agree, he be- came a recluse A. D. 957, and died A. D.
lation as — meaning
In fine, on what authority, but his own,
hold our saint was venerated on the 13th of February, when so many re- spectable writers agree in stating, that St. Columbanus became a recluse, on the 2nd day of that month, his natalis occurring on
the 15 th of February ?
9 See the Acts of St. Forannan, at the
30th of April.
'°
By Colgan.
" The Acts of St. Cathroe or Cadroe oc-
cur, at the 6th of March.
" The Life of St. Maccallan is at given,
the 2 1 St of January.
'3 Colgan endeavours to show, that their
mission took place during the year named in his Acts of both these saints, and in his notes there, to Lives published, at the 21st of January, and at the 6th of March.
