Cera, and that he dedicated a church for her, which was
probably
the church erected near her cell at Killahear, in the land of " Owenagh of the Mills.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Luitprande.
testimonium veritatis ostenderet.
Et ille,
He was a contemporary and friend of that holy Cistercian abbess, who died in the year 1246. His Life of the saint has been re- published, by Surius, who has changed, in several passages, the terminology of the original Acts. Thus, in the story there related of Osanna, by Thomas Cantipratanus, she is called Osinanna, by Surius.
29 About four miles from Meldensis or
Non sum, inquit dignus, ut mini talia de- monstrantur. Cui ilia : Etsi forte minus
dignus sis, tamen ilia digna est, cujus dignepneconiarevelenter. Neemora,super
hoc pia Lutgarde orante Dominum, eadem nocte dicto viro per somnum tribus vicibus
Virgo apparuit, et quod Osanna [Sttrit Osmanna) vocata sit, indicavit. Qui vidit
testimonium perhibuit, et scimus, quia verum
ejus. "
3° La Brie, a province of France, between
the Seine and Maine rivers, not far from Paris. See " Novum Lexicon Geographi- cum," tomus i. , p. 131.
June, 3* ThisseemstobetheopinionofArturus, in Sacro Gynecoco, when noticing this saint
at the 1st of April, and at the present day.
" In Sarthe, arrondissement, and canton of Saint-Calais.
34 Originally called Catolacum or Catul- liacum by the Romans. A chapel was
Meaux. While here a certain
to have entered a crypt, in which the bodies of several saints had been buried, and there he prayed during night. One of the tombs formed from alabaster he found open ; but,
unable to discover the name and merits of the occupant, he afterwards asked St. Lutgarde -to obtain from the Almighty the favour of such a discovery, and his
est testimonium
request was granted. The sequel is thus "
related by Cantipratanus. Apparens enim ei prsedicta Sancta dixit : Ego vocar Osana
{apud Surium legitur Osmanna) virgo, filia
priest
is said
September 9. ] LIVES OJF THE IRISH SAINTS. 241
Northmen Invasions of Britanic Aremorica, the body of St. Osmana had been brought direct and tor better preservation to Saint-Denis. In the examina- tion of this question, the Bollandist Father Suysken supposes, that her relics had been there deposited, before the middle of the twelfth century, as in the dedication of that great Abbey Church, which the Abbot Sugerius 35 enlarged and magnificently adorned, mention is made of a chapel then in it, and dedicated to St. Osmana. Her body was again transferred to a new shrine, towards the middle of the thirteenth century, and an inscription to that effect 36 was to be found on a tablet placed behind the reliquary. It is said, that St.
Osmanna's remains were deposited in a shrine of iron, richly gilt. Her precious relics were profaned and dispersed, owing to the disorders occasioned by the Calvinists, in the year 1567. The former shrine of St. Osmana appears to have been spoiled of all its rich ornaments, and it no longer exists. In its place was substituted a wooden shrine painted, in which probably the relics of various saints were indiscriminately placed, so that it remains doubtful, if the several portions could be properly distin- guished. Moreover, during the frenzy of the French Revolution, by a decree of the Convention in 1793, the royal tombs in the church of St. Denis
were destroyed, and the valuable relics and other treasures 37 f the Abbey were carried away. This holy virgin is greatly venerated in the dioceses of
Paris, of Saint-Brieuc, and of Mans. 38 Among the Masses Proper for the Patrons and Tutelary Saints of France and Ireland, edited by order of Pope Clement XII. , and published at Paris in 1734, there is a special Mass for our saint, at the 9th of September. 39 In that copy of Usuard, belonging to the Queen of Sweden, at this date* is commemorated St. Osmanna, and also in
erected here in the third century over the MCCXLVI. , Kalendis Aprilis, sanctissimo tomb of St. Denis the martyr, and thence- Resurrectionis Domini nostri die, vene- forward it bore his name. At present, it rabiles praelati Aturensis, episcopus Leo- forms an arrondissement, canton, commune nensis et Guilielmus abbas S. Dionysii, and town of France, in the department of corpus sanctse sacraeque virginis Osmannse, the Seine. The town is situated about 4^ panno serico involutum composuerunt in miles north of Paris, and near the right
splendida ex argento deaurato preciosisque monilibus decorata theca, donata per fratrem Theobaldum de Milly, religiosum et the- saurarium S. Dionysii, qui singulari pietate erga hanc sanctam afficiebatur. " However, Father Suysken seems to doubt the genuine- ness of the foregoing inscription.
37 these were the crown and sword Among
of Charlemagne, the sword of Toan of Arc,
the great cross, &c. The buildings of the Abbey are now used as an establishment for the education of 500 daughters of the mem- bers of the Legion of Honour. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. ii. , p. 870.
38 See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des Saints," tome x. , ixe Jour de Septembre,
"
In festo S. Osmannse the year 1243, and on the vii. of the Ides of virginis ac Hibernise regis filiae, necnon October, an altar was dedicated in the patronae ecclesiae abbatialis et regalis S.
bank of the Seine. The church, founded in
the twelfth century, is a grand specimen of Gothic architecture, and rebuilt by St.
Louis, in 123 1. See the
"
Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. xxi. , p. 161. Ninth
edition.
35 He wrote an account of this
"
chapel of St. Osmanna, to her and other saints, and during the same century, a beautiful shrine was fashioned, in which her
solemnity, which has been quoted by Dom Michel
Felibien in his
Histoire de l'Abbey royal de St. - Denis," published at Paris, in folio, 1706. We are informed there, that on the Second Sunday of June, viz. , the iii. of the Ides, and on the feast of the Apostle, St. Barnabas, A. D. 1 144, among the various altars consecrated was one of St. Osmanna, while the relics of different saints were placed in their respective shrines. Also in
P- 595-
39 It is headed :
relics were placed, according to James mentary to the Acts of St. Osmanna, at this
Doublet, in his History of the Monastery of
day. See sect, i. , num. 6, 7.
40Thus " beatissimaeOsmannae : Ipsodie,
St. tome Denis,
xlii. ,
36 The following is the record : " Anno virginis. "
i. , cap.
p. 314.
Dionysii O. S. B. prope Lutetiam Parisio- rum. " Some portions of this Mass are given by Father Suysken, in his Previous Com-
242 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
theMartyrologiumParisiense. 41 AmongtheAdditionstoUsuard,mentioned by Father Soller, the Codex Hagenoyensis has her feast at this day, but in a
triumph took placed John Wilson, in his Martyrologium Anglicanum, published in 1640, places the feast of St. Osmanna, at the 9th of September. Her name appears, at the 9th of September, in the list of Irish Saints, publishedbyFatherHenryFitzsimon. " IntheCircleoftheSeasons,**her festival is entered, at the present date.
Article III. —St. Cera, Virgin, of Killahear, Parish of Aghna-
mvllen, County of Monaghan. \_Sixth Century! ] Purity, charity and energy, of a high order and a wide range, always vital and effectual, charac- terize the Virgins of Christ. Their lives and conversation give edification to the world ; but, we must often, as in this instance, regret the loss of materials to illustrate their holy practices. The name of St. Cera, Virgin, is to be
1
found in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at this day, and in this
form : Findbarr Cille Cunge, i Broednea et Sae Cerae, Vir. In the Book of
Leinster the copy,
entry
is more correct. 2 We are indebted to the
Very
2 Without
Andrew
also a martyr, "while stating, that at the 9th of September, the day of her
peculiar entry/
authority,
Saussay
has made this
virgin
Rev. Daniel O'Connor, P. P. , of Newtownbutler, for the following interesting
identification, regarding the relationship, locality and period of this holy
woman. 3 Killahear marks the site ot the cell and capella of one among the
most venerated saints of Clogher diocese. St. Cera was the spiritual sister
of St. MacCarthan4 and St. Tighernach,* and in a special manner the
patroness of the territory, variously called Crichmugdorn6 and Donagh- moyne. To most readers the name of Killahear will appear quite new ;
and, yet it is the designation by which is known a largely used graveyard in
the of 8 of and near the ancient parish Aughnamullen, barony Crernorne,
town of Ballytrain. 9 The place is referred to by Shirley, but not under that
name. 10 He
that in the townland of Corlat" a situated. It has also escaped the notice of Irish hagiologists.
is
At the time
merely says,
graveyard
in which St. Cera lived, namely, during the episcopate of St. Tighernach,
Donaghmoyne was included in the territory of the Mugdorne, and indeed for a
41 Thus : "Eodem die, sanctae Osmannae
virginis, cujus reliquiae in basilica S. Dionysii in Francia asservantur. "
:
4'Thus " In Hybernia, sanctae Osmannae
reginae Christianissimae. "
43 Thus, at the Kalends of April, he states,
* See the Eighth Volume of this work at
15th of August, Art. i.
5 See Volume the Fourth of this work, at
4th of April, Art. i.
6
Modernised, Cremorne.
7 Like many another well-known town-
in the Martyrologium Gallicanum : "In land name, this denomination has been
agro Parisiensi, ccenobio San-Dionysiano, Elevatio corporis sanctae Osmannae virginis
omitted from the Ordnance Survey Maps of Ireland.
8
This larger parish is outlined on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps of Ire- 44 See "Historiae Catholicae Iberniae land for the County of Monaghan," Sheets
et martyris, cujus triumphus colitur die IX. Septembris. "
Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 51.
18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.
s Omitted from the Ordnance Survey
Maps of Ireland.
« At p. 253.
Article hi. —' Edited
the Rev. Mr.
,0 See " Evelyn Philip Shirley's
Kelly, D. D. , p. xxxiii.
*
Thus : SAticcAe Cepae.
by
History of the County of Monaghan/' chap, xii. ,
p. 349.
3 """
Extracted from an article, St. Cera's Described on the Ordnance Survey Church, Killahear," which appeared in the Townland Maps for the County of Mona- reopWs Advocate of Monaghan, January ghan," Sheet 27.
I2
2nd, 1892, and written by Father O'Connor, In Evelyn Philip Shirley's "History of
then P. P. of Emyvale. the County of Monaghan," the feast of St.
September 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 243
considerable period, the two names were convertible terms. Therefore, the
name of this cemetery has been handed down traditionally by the people, who always Call it Killahear, which means neither more nor less than the
cell or Church of St. Cera, Virgin, whose feast is kept, according to the 13
Martyrology of Tallaght, on the 9th of September. " Killahear is situated on the summit of a round hill near Corlat lake and in the vicinity of scenery
b—oth varied and attractive.
is
which latter situated
Local tradition says of it and of Chapel Moyle
in the townland of in the eastern Latton-faskey,
Killahear Graveyard, Parish of Aughnamullen, Diocese of Clogher.
division of 14—" that Aughnamullen
are
of the most ancient burial-places in Ireland. " We are told on the authority
Cera, patroness of the church of Donagh- moyne, is placed at the 5th of January. See chap, xii. , p. 358, and n. 2, ibid.
13 The accompanying illustration of the Cemetery of Killahear was obtained from a photograph, taken by Mr. Philip Mulligan,
a student of Maynooth, in August, 1895.
photograph it has been drawn on the wood
and engraved by Gregor Gray.
14 On the shore of Lough Egish. A de-
scription of the surface and statistics of this parish, in 1846, may be found in the " Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 110.
Rev. Daniel O'Connor, P. P. of Newtownbutler. The view of the grave-yard is looking west. From the
15 See " Evelyn Philip Shirley's
It was sent
by Very
History of the County of Monaghan," chap, xii. ,
they
registered
of the Register of Clogher, one of our lost books, but of which many extracts are preserved, that the deanery of Clones is called after the church of St.
Cera of Donaghmoyne, the spiritual sister of the blessed bishops of Ergal, MacCarten and Tighernach. It is stated, that St. Tigernach consecrated a church for the aforesaid virgin ; and in honour of the bishop himself a stone cross was erected there, as was manifest to those
the church. 15 The stone cross referred to is possibly the venerable cross at present to be seen in the Diamond at Clones. It would appear, that St. Tigernach placed the
P. 358.
visiting
in Rome as two being
244 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
deanery of Clones under the patronage of the holy virgin, St.
Cera, and that he dedicated a church for her, which was probably the church erected near her cell at Killahear, in the land of " Owenagh of the Mills. " 16 In the published Martyrology of Donegal,17 we do not find her mentioned —at least under such a name as Cera—at the 9th day of September.
Article IV. —St. Bertellinus or Eettelin, Hermit, and Patron of Stafford, England. [In the Eighth Century. } In the list of saints left by
September. His Life has been written by John Capgrave,* but it is hardly anything more than a collection of popular legends/ An earlier Life of
Bettelin, by Alexander, is regarded as possessing little credit in the latter of its statements. Two other writers, Ingulphus and Felix, preserve incidental mention of him, and it is more trustworthy. s The Bollandists have pub- lished his Acts 6 at this date ;? but these are regarded as being unauthentic and abounding in fables. They have been edited by Father Constantine Suysken, and" have a Previous critical Commentary of seventeen paragraphs. They seem to have been composed after the year 1386, if we are to judge from the relation of a miracle wrought in that year, and attributed to the merits ofour saint. 8 This composition has been used by John Capgrave in compiling a Life of St. Bertellinus. 9 By Molanus,10 it is thought the author had been Alexander Essibiensis Prior," and John Pits states, that he flourished a. d. 1220 12 however, this can hardly be reconciled with the
;
account of a miracle, attributed to the merits of St. Bertellin in those acts, and stated to have occurred in a. d, 1386. A very elegant biography of this
saint, called Betellin, has been compiled by one of the Anglican writers in the rare and much admired work, " Lives of the English Saints. 1 * There is
1 it would seem he had intended the Acts of St. Bertel- publishing
Colgan,
linus, at the 9th of September, or at the 12th of August. For a nearly similar notice, the reader is referred to this latter date, in the Eighth Volume of this work,* where we have deferred further notices of him to the 9th of
,6 The foregoing is mainly taken from a
letter, written by Very Rev. Daniel
O'Connor, P. P. , and dated Emyvale, 23rd
8 It is possible, however, as this is in a
concluding paragraph, that it may have been an addition to an older copy of St. Bertellin's
Acts.
f Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves. 'See
August, 1892. "
Legenda Sanctorum Angliae,"
Article iv. —* See Catalogus aliquorum fol. 1.
" Alexander
Sanctorum quae MSS. habentur.
2 See at August 12th, Art. vi.
3 He died at Lynn, the place of his birth,
In his notes, he says :
on the 12th day of August, a. d. 1464, at the quantum intellectui nostro. " These are age of seventy years. See Introduction to the very words beginning that Manuscript the " Chronicle of England," edited by the Life published by the Bollandists, and Rev. Francis Charles Hingeston, B. A. , they begin likewise that Life issued by p. xxi.
" was first
printed in London by Wynkyn de Worde, some state he was a chronographer of
4 "
The NovaLegendaAngliae
England:
Somersetshire, and others of Staffordshire. He was a Canon Regular of St. Augustine. He is praised for the elegance of his writings, both in prose and verse.
"
Relatio- num Historicarum de Rebus Anglicis," 7 They are the compilation ofananony- tomus i. Aetas Decimatettia, a. d. 1220,
A. D. 1 5 16. Copies of this work, in black letter, are now very scarce.
3 See " Lives of the English Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 61.
6
" of himself and his re-
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
See an account
Septembris ix. De S. Bertellino vel Becce-
puted writings in Joannis Pitsei,
lino Eremito in Anglia, pp. 446 to 453.
mous author, and were found in a Manu-
script of the monastery, Rubra Vallis, near Bruxelles.
num. 319, pp. 295, 296.
,3 Among the Hermit Saints, vol. v. , pp.
57 to 72.
,0
Essebiensis Prior Regularium scripsii Vitam Bertellini eremite, lib. i. Incipit : Quoniam
Capgrave.
" He was born in the west of
September 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIATS. 245
a brief notice of this holy hermit and confessor, called Bertellin, or Bercellin, or Bertelmus, called in French Bertaume, in Les Petits Bollandistes, 1 * at this date. Also, in the work of Rev. S. Baring-Gould,15 there are notices of him. If the published Acts of Bertellinus—as there called—are to be relied on, he
was of 16 and of a beautiful form. Bred royal origin.
in the Catholic
he sailed over to Ireland, and there he became companion to an Irish King, whose confidence and affection he gained. How long this continued, or how long he remained in Ireland, is not stated ; but, in consequence of an intrigue with the King's daughter, both absconded, and sought a place of retirement in England. This was in the midst of dense woods, where, on giving birth to a child, wolves attacked them, and devoured herself, as also her offspring. When Bertellinus returned, and found them dead, believing this to be a punishment destined for their unhappy transgressions, remorse filled his soul, and from that time forward, he resolved on leading a penitential
life. Withthis inview,heretiredtoa purpose
called 1? Bertelmesley.
rocky place
There he loved and served God with true earnestness, believing, with
Magdalen, that his former many sins would be iorgiven him because he loved much ; and soon the neighbouring people who learned his course of life regarded him as a prophet and one dear to Christ. At this time, likewise, a noble scion of the Mercian province, who was named Guthlac,18 had embraced a military career, in which he had the reputation of being courageous and daring to a degree, but in which he had to regret the
ravagesandcrimesofthewarsinwhichhehadbeenengaged. Reflection on those disorders caused him to renounce that profession, and devote himself to a spiritual warfare against the devil and the flesh. He too had resolved on leading a religious life, and with that intention he retired to a
sought
a certain
with
died a. d. 714 or 715. His life has been
written by one Felix, a contemporary.
'' In the old Life of St. Guthlac, it is
called Ripadum, and by Tohn Capgrave, Repyngdonam. In this place, according to John Leland, there were monasteries of re- ligious men and women, in his time,
20 The ancient life of St. Guthlac has a
similar statement, but it does not give their
names.
2I
The Bollandist Father Suysken is at a loss to know from what source of informa- tion this name had been inserted,
known as T 9 where he embraced the monastic state and Reppington,
place
received the clerical tonsure. However, after serving God in that condition
for a time, Guthlac desired to become an anchoret, and leaving Reppington, he took with him two young men,20 one of whom was Bertellin. 21 They
22
named
and sedgy grass. There they set up a hut with earth-sods; while for
island,
14 See "Vies des Saints," tome x. , Jour
ixe de Septembre, p. 596.
'5 See " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
September 9, pp. 139, 140.
16
In the Acts, his father is said to have been a king and to have had jurisdiction over Stafford, now the chief town of Stafford- shire in England. By William Camden it
"
is said to have been—called the Tertia Cor-
naviorum regio. " "Britannia," Stafford- iensis comitatus, vulgo Stafford-shire, p.
244. Editio Amstelodami, 1659, fol. By Venerable Bede, its ancient inhabitants are
woods, marshes,
" 22 called Mediterranei Angli. See Historia
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. ,cap. xxi.
'» The Bollandist Father Suysken was unable to find on the Maps or in the Geo- graphical Dictionaries of England the deno- mination of Bertelmesley. If such place ever existed in England, it cannot now be identified.
18 The feast of St. Guthlac occurs on the Iith of April. He lived in the seventh and in the beginning of the eighth century. He
Croyland was formerly in East Mercia. It is now known as Croyland or Crowland, in the parish of St. Bartholomew and St. Guthlac, county of Lincoln. The island of Croyland was formed by the four waters of
Shepishea on the east, Nena on the west, Southea on the south, and Asendyk on the north. The town there, lying on a flat surface, is liable to be flooded after con- tinual rains. See Samuel Lewis' " Topo- graphical Dictionary of England," vol. i. , p. 738.
Croyland,
interspersed
up
faith,
246 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
covering they assumed sheep and goat skins, fasting in a rigorous manner, with constant vigils and prayer. Thus, they lived in that island for many years, and wrought various miracles. 23 In that same place were other holy
2
men, regarded as disciples of St. Guthlac, * as they were his familiars and
imitators. 25 At length, it pleased the Almighty to call Guthlac2* away from earth about the time of Easter. Bertellin was overwhelmed with grief while attending during his final illness to the revelations and directions of his dying
superior. anchoret named
28 should be
only brought
Pega, of his
26 These were in that part,
Guthlac's sister
to take
2? and an
charge
Then he said, " The time has come, my son, that I should go to Him, whose
2
servant I am, and do you set out on your journey. " 9 Afterwards extending
his hand to the altar, which was near, he partook of the Holy Communion. Then raising his eyes and hands to heaven, he slept happily in the Lord. 30
Having religiously complied with the instructions given him, Bertellin went to the king, his father, and asked from him a desert island, where he might live in penitence the rest of his days. This was known to the ancients as
1
Such request the king readily granted, and there Bertellin long lived in the practice of penitential works. He also performed many miracles. We may well treat as a fable, that account given in the anonymous Acts, as to how he had been disturbed in possession of that place, and the means he employed to retain it. 3a There
Egbert,
obsequies.
Bethney, and in after times it was called Stafford. 3
23 Guthlac is stated to have retired thither,
in the reign of Cenred, eighth King of Mercia. See ibid.
24 Among these was one named Cissa, a
person of noble birth and having hereditary wealth, as likewise a convert to the Catholic faith. Another confidant was Egbert, and alsoTatwin. Alloftheselivedinseparate cells, not far apart from the oratory of their
Bettelin, who made the fourth, and came nearer the saint's person than the rest, lived in separate cottages, close to Guthlake's oratory and under his guidance. All this we learn from Ingulphus, himself Abbot of Croyland,—towards the end of the eleventh century. " "Lives of the English Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 61.
*? Her feast is held on the 8th of January,
and frequent mention of her occurs in St.
Guthlac's Acts.
holy father Guthlac. See " Historia In- "
gulphi Abbatis Croylandensis, p. 53, in Annotatis, lit. a.
28
as "
is mentioned one Beccelinus, a cleric, who seqretorum ejus prae ceteris conscius. " After
as
lived of choice under his discipline, and who became his faithful servant. He seems to
have been regarded by subsequent writers, as having been identical with our St. Bettelin or Bertellin, and the names are much alike. It is thought, that Beccelinus had been afterwards changed into Bertelinus, as found in his Acts by John Capgrave and by others.
26 The Anglican writer states " Bettelin
:
was a disciple of St. Guthlake's, in the eighth century, and one of four who followed him in a hermit's life, in the island of Croy- land, on the southern border of Lincolnshire. Cissa had been a pagan, of noble blood and great in the world ; but had left all to follow Christ and St. Guthlake, and succeeded him as Abbot. Till the Danes came, he lay in a high marble tomb, on the right of his spiritual father in the Abbey of Croyland. Egbert was more in St. Guthlake's con- fidence than any of his brethren ; he may have been his confessor. Tatwin had for-
merly been ferryman at the passage from the mainland to the island. These, with
landensis, he is
Among these,
in the Vita S.
Guthlaci,
represented
Egbertus,
In the Historia Ingulphi, Abbatis Croy-
the death of Guthlac, Egbert is said to have lived in a cell, not far from his oratory.
29 Much of what precedes in the text seems
to have been derived from the old Vita S.
Guthlaci, by Felix.
3° In 716, it is said, that Ethelbald founded
in Croyland a Benedictine monastery, in honour of St. Mary, St. Bartholomew, and St. Guthlac. It was built upon piles, and
it was destroyed by the Danes in 870 ; but, it was rebuilt by King Edred, in the year 948. 31 "Wherethetownnowstands,theriver Sow formed in those—times an island which
"
was called Bethney. " Lives of the English
Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 66.
He was a contemporary and friend of that holy Cistercian abbess, who died in the year 1246. His Life of the saint has been re- published, by Surius, who has changed, in several passages, the terminology of the original Acts. Thus, in the story there related of Osanna, by Thomas Cantipratanus, she is called Osinanna, by Surius.
29 About four miles from Meldensis or
Non sum, inquit dignus, ut mini talia de- monstrantur. Cui ilia : Etsi forte minus
dignus sis, tamen ilia digna est, cujus dignepneconiarevelenter. Neemora,super
hoc pia Lutgarde orante Dominum, eadem nocte dicto viro per somnum tribus vicibus
Virgo apparuit, et quod Osanna [Sttrit Osmanna) vocata sit, indicavit. Qui vidit
testimonium perhibuit, et scimus, quia verum
ejus. "
3° La Brie, a province of France, between
the Seine and Maine rivers, not far from Paris. See " Novum Lexicon Geographi- cum," tomus i. , p. 131.
June, 3* ThisseemstobetheopinionofArturus, in Sacro Gynecoco, when noticing this saint
at the 1st of April, and at the present day.
" In Sarthe, arrondissement, and canton of Saint-Calais.
34 Originally called Catolacum or Catul- liacum by the Romans. A chapel was
Meaux. While here a certain
to have entered a crypt, in which the bodies of several saints had been buried, and there he prayed during night. One of the tombs formed from alabaster he found open ; but,
unable to discover the name and merits of the occupant, he afterwards asked St. Lutgarde -to obtain from the Almighty the favour of such a discovery, and his
est testimonium
request was granted. The sequel is thus "
related by Cantipratanus. Apparens enim ei prsedicta Sancta dixit : Ego vocar Osana
{apud Surium legitur Osmanna) virgo, filia
priest
is said
September 9. ] LIVES OJF THE IRISH SAINTS. 241
Northmen Invasions of Britanic Aremorica, the body of St. Osmana had been brought direct and tor better preservation to Saint-Denis. In the examina- tion of this question, the Bollandist Father Suysken supposes, that her relics had been there deposited, before the middle of the twelfth century, as in the dedication of that great Abbey Church, which the Abbot Sugerius 35 enlarged and magnificently adorned, mention is made of a chapel then in it, and dedicated to St. Osmana. Her body was again transferred to a new shrine, towards the middle of the thirteenth century, and an inscription to that effect 36 was to be found on a tablet placed behind the reliquary. It is said, that St.
Osmanna's remains were deposited in a shrine of iron, richly gilt. Her precious relics were profaned and dispersed, owing to the disorders occasioned by the Calvinists, in the year 1567. The former shrine of St. Osmana appears to have been spoiled of all its rich ornaments, and it no longer exists. In its place was substituted a wooden shrine painted, in which probably the relics of various saints were indiscriminately placed, so that it remains doubtful, if the several portions could be properly distin- guished. Moreover, during the frenzy of the French Revolution, by a decree of the Convention in 1793, the royal tombs in the church of St. Denis
were destroyed, and the valuable relics and other treasures 37 f the Abbey were carried away. This holy virgin is greatly venerated in the dioceses of
Paris, of Saint-Brieuc, and of Mans. 38 Among the Masses Proper for the Patrons and Tutelary Saints of France and Ireland, edited by order of Pope Clement XII. , and published at Paris in 1734, there is a special Mass for our saint, at the 9th of September. 39 In that copy of Usuard, belonging to the Queen of Sweden, at this date* is commemorated St. Osmanna, and also in
erected here in the third century over the MCCXLVI. , Kalendis Aprilis, sanctissimo tomb of St. Denis the martyr, and thence- Resurrectionis Domini nostri die, vene- forward it bore his name. At present, it rabiles praelati Aturensis, episcopus Leo- forms an arrondissement, canton, commune nensis et Guilielmus abbas S. Dionysii, and town of France, in the department of corpus sanctse sacraeque virginis Osmannse, the Seine. The town is situated about 4^ panno serico involutum composuerunt in miles north of Paris, and near the right
splendida ex argento deaurato preciosisque monilibus decorata theca, donata per fratrem Theobaldum de Milly, religiosum et the- saurarium S. Dionysii, qui singulari pietate erga hanc sanctam afficiebatur. " However, Father Suysken seems to doubt the genuine- ness of the foregoing inscription.
37 these were the crown and sword Among
of Charlemagne, the sword of Toan of Arc,
the great cross, &c. The buildings of the Abbey are now used as an establishment for the education of 500 daughters of the mem- bers of the Legion of Honour. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. ii. , p. 870.
38 See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des Saints," tome x. , ixe Jour de Septembre,
"
In festo S. Osmannse the year 1243, and on the vii. of the Ides of virginis ac Hibernise regis filiae, necnon October, an altar was dedicated in the patronae ecclesiae abbatialis et regalis S.
bank of the Seine. The church, founded in
the twelfth century, is a grand specimen of Gothic architecture, and rebuilt by St.
Louis, in 123 1. See the
"
Encyclopaedia Britannica," vol. xxi. , p. 161. Ninth
edition.
35 He wrote an account of this
"
chapel of St. Osmanna, to her and other saints, and during the same century, a beautiful shrine was fashioned, in which her
solemnity, which has been quoted by Dom Michel
Felibien in his
Histoire de l'Abbey royal de St. - Denis," published at Paris, in folio, 1706. We are informed there, that on the Second Sunday of June, viz. , the iii. of the Ides, and on the feast of the Apostle, St. Barnabas, A. D. 1 144, among the various altars consecrated was one of St. Osmanna, while the relics of different saints were placed in their respective shrines. Also in
P- 595-
39 It is headed :
relics were placed, according to James mentary to the Acts of St. Osmanna, at this
Doublet, in his History of the Monastery of
day. See sect, i. , num. 6, 7.
40Thus " beatissimaeOsmannae : Ipsodie,
St. tome Denis,
xlii. ,
36 The following is the record : " Anno virginis. "
i. , cap.
p. 314.
Dionysii O. S. B. prope Lutetiam Parisio- rum. " Some portions of this Mass are given by Father Suysken, in his Previous Com-
242 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
theMartyrologiumParisiense. 41 AmongtheAdditionstoUsuard,mentioned by Father Soller, the Codex Hagenoyensis has her feast at this day, but in a
triumph took placed John Wilson, in his Martyrologium Anglicanum, published in 1640, places the feast of St. Osmanna, at the 9th of September. Her name appears, at the 9th of September, in the list of Irish Saints, publishedbyFatherHenryFitzsimon. " IntheCircleoftheSeasons,**her festival is entered, at the present date.
Article III. —St. Cera, Virgin, of Killahear, Parish of Aghna-
mvllen, County of Monaghan. \_Sixth Century! ] Purity, charity and energy, of a high order and a wide range, always vital and effectual, charac- terize the Virgins of Christ. Their lives and conversation give edification to the world ; but, we must often, as in this instance, regret the loss of materials to illustrate their holy practices. The name of St. Cera, Virgin, is to be
1
found in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at this day, and in this
form : Findbarr Cille Cunge, i Broednea et Sae Cerae, Vir. In the Book of
Leinster the copy,
entry
is more correct. 2 We are indebted to the
Very
2 Without
Andrew
also a martyr, "while stating, that at the 9th of September, the day of her
peculiar entry/
authority,
Saussay
has made this
virgin
Rev. Daniel O'Connor, P. P. , of Newtownbutler, for the following interesting
identification, regarding the relationship, locality and period of this holy
woman. 3 Killahear marks the site ot the cell and capella of one among the
most venerated saints of Clogher diocese. St. Cera was the spiritual sister
of St. MacCarthan4 and St. Tighernach,* and in a special manner the
patroness of the territory, variously called Crichmugdorn6 and Donagh- moyne. To most readers the name of Killahear will appear quite new ;
and, yet it is the designation by which is known a largely used graveyard in
the of 8 of and near the ancient parish Aughnamullen, barony Crernorne,
town of Ballytrain. 9 The place is referred to by Shirley, but not under that
name. 10 He
that in the townland of Corlat" a situated. It has also escaped the notice of Irish hagiologists.
is
At the time
merely says,
graveyard
in which St. Cera lived, namely, during the episcopate of St. Tighernach,
Donaghmoyne was included in the territory of the Mugdorne, and indeed for a
41 Thus : "Eodem die, sanctae Osmannae
virginis, cujus reliquiae in basilica S. Dionysii in Francia asservantur. "
:
4'Thus " In Hybernia, sanctae Osmannae
reginae Christianissimae. "
43 Thus, at the Kalends of April, he states,
* See the Eighth Volume of this work at
15th of August, Art. i.
5 See Volume the Fourth of this work, at
4th of April, Art. i.
6
Modernised, Cremorne.
7 Like many another well-known town-
in the Martyrologium Gallicanum : "In land name, this denomination has been
agro Parisiensi, ccenobio San-Dionysiano, Elevatio corporis sanctae Osmannae virginis
omitted from the Ordnance Survey Maps of Ireland.
8
This larger parish is outlined on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps of Ire- 44 See "Historiae Catholicae Iberniae land for the County of Monaghan," Sheets
et martyris, cujus triumphus colitur die IX. Septembris. "
Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 51.
18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.
s Omitted from the Ordnance Survey
Maps of Ireland.
« At p. 253.
Article hi. —' Edited
the Rev. Mr.
,0 See " Evelyn Philip Shirley's
Kelly, D. D. , p. xxxiii.
*
Thus : SAticcAe Cepae.
by
History of the County of Monaghan/' chap, xii. ,
p. 349.
3 """
Extracted from an article, St. Cera's Described on the Ordnance Survey Church, Killahear," which appeared in the Townland Maps for the County of Mona- reopWs Advocate of Monaghan, January ghan," Sheet 27.
I2
2nd, 1892, and written by Father O'Connor, In Evelyn Philip Shirley's "History of
then P. P. of Emyvale. the County of Monaghan," the feast of St.
September 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 243
considerable period, the two names were convertible terms. Therefore, the
name of this cemetery has been handed down traditionally by the people, who always Call it Killahear, which means neither more nor less than the
cell or Church of St. Cera, Virgin, whose feast is kept, according to the 13
Martyrology of Tallaght, on the 9th of September. " Killahear is situated on the summit of a round hill near Corlat lake and in the vicinity of scenery
b—oth varied and attractive.
is
which latter situated
Local tradition says of it and of Chapel Moyle
in the townland of in the eastern Latton-faskey,
Killahear Graveyard, Parish of Aughnamullen, Diocese of Clogher.
division of 14—" that Aughnamullen
are
of the most ancient burial-places in Ireland. " We are told on the authority
Cera, patroness of the church of Donagh- moyne, is placed at the 5th of January. See chap, xii. , p. 358, and n. 2, ibid.
13 The accompanying illustration of the Cemetery of Killahear was obtained from a photograph, taken by Mr. Philip Mulligan,
a student of Maynooth, in August, 1895.
photograph it has been drawn on the wood
and engraved by Gregor Gray.
14 On the shore of Lough Egish. A de-
scription of the surface and statistics of this parish, in 1846, may be found in the " Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 110.
Rev. Daniel O'Connor, P. P. of Newtownbutler. The view of the grave-yard is looking west. From the
15 See " Evelyn Philip Shirley's
It was sent
by Very
History of the County of Monaghan," chap, xii. ,
they
registered
of the Register of Clogher, one of our lost books, but of which many extracts are preserved, that the deanery of Clones is called after the church of St.
Cera of Donaghmoyne, the spiritual sister of the blessed bishops of Ergal, MacCarten and Tighernach. It is stated, that St. Tigernach consecrated a church for the aforesaid virgin ; and in honour of the bishop himself a stone cross was erected there, as was manifest to those
the church. 15 The stone cross referred to is possibly the venerable cross at present to be seen in the Diamond at Clones. It would appear, that St. Tigernach placed the
P. 358.
visiting
in Rome as two being
244 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
deanery of Clones under the patronage of the holy virgin, St.
Cera, and that he dedicated a church for her, which was probably the church erected near her cell at Killahear, in the land of " Owenagh of the Mills. " 16 In the published Martyrology of Donegal,17 we do not find her mentioned —at least under such a name as Cera—at the 9th day of September.
Article IV. —St. Bertellinus or Eettelin, Hermit, and Patron of Stafford, England. [In the Eighth Century. } In the list of saints left by
September. His Life has been written by John Capgrave,* but it is hardly anything more than a collection of popular legends/ An earlier Life of
Bettelin, by Alexander, is regarded as possessing little credit in the latter of its statements. Two other writers, Ingulphus and Felix, preserve incidental mention of him, and it is more trustworthy. s The Bollandists have pub- lished his Acts 6 at this date ;? but these are regarded as being unauthentic and abounding in fables. They have been edited by Father Constantine Suysken, and" have a Previous critical Commentary of seventeen paragraphs. They seem to have been composed after the year 1386, if we are to judge from the relation of a miracle wrought in that year, and attributed to the merits ofour saint. 8 This composition has been used by John Capgrave in compiling a Life of St. Bertellinus. 9 By Molanus,10 it is thought the author had been Alexander Essibiensis Prior," and John Pits states, that he flourished a. d. 1220 12 however, this can hardly be reconciled with the
;
account of a miracle, attributed to the merits of St. Bertellin in those acts, and stated to have occurred in a. d, 1386. A very elegant biography of this
saint, called Betellin, has been compiled by one of the Anglican writers in the rare and much admired work, " Lives of the English Saints. 1 * There is
1 it would seem he had intended the Acts of St. Bertel- publishing
Colgan,
linus, at the 9th of September, or at the 12th of August. For a nearly similar notice, the reader is referred to this latter date, in the Eighth Volume of this work,* where we have deferred further notices of him to the 9th of
,6 The foregoing is mainly taken from a
letter, written by Very Rev. Daniel
O'Connor, P. P. , and dated Emyvale, 23rd
8 It is possible, however, as this is in a
concluding paragraph, that it may have been an addition to an older copy of St. Bertellin's
Acts.
f Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves. 'See
August, 1892. "
Legenda Sanctorum Angliae,"
Article iv. —* See Catalogus aliquorum fol. 1.
" Alexander
Sanctorum quae MSS. habentur.
2 See at August 12th, Art. vi.
3 He died at Lynn, the place of his birth,
In his notes, he says :
on the 12th day of August, a. d. 1464, at the quantum intellectui nostro. " These are age of seventy years. See Introduction to the very words beginning that Manuscript the " Chronicle of England," edited by the Life published by the Bollandists, and Rev. Francis Charles Hingeston, B. A. , they begin likewise that Life issued by p. xxi.
" was first
printed in London by Wynkyn de Worde, some state he was a chronographer of
4 "
The NovaLegendaAngliae
England:
Somersetshire, and others of Staffordshire. He was a Canon Regular of St. Augustine. He is praised for the elegance of his writings, both in prose and verse.
"
Relatio- num Historicarum de Rebus Anglicis," 7 They are the compilation ofananony- tomus i. Aetas Decimatettia, a. d. 1220,
A. D. 1 5 16. Copies of this work, in black letter, are now very scarce.
3 See " Lives of the English Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 61.
6
" of himself and his re-
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
See an account
Septembris ix. De S. Bertellino vel Becce-
puted writings in Joannis Pitsei,
lino Eremito in Anglia, pp. 446 to 453.
mous author, and were found in a Manu-
script of the monastery, Rubra Vallis, near Bruxelles.
num. 319, pp. 295, 296.
,3 Among the Hermit Saints, vol. v. , pp.
57 to 72.
,0
Essebiensis Prior Regularium scripsii Vitam Bertellini eremite, lib. i. Incipit : Quoniam
Capgrave.
" He was born in the west of
September 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIATS. 245
a brief notice of this holy hermit and confessor, called Bertellin, or Bercellin, or Bertelmus, called in French Bertaume, in Les Petits Bollandistes, 1 * at this date. Also, in the work of Rev. S. Baring-Gould,15 there are notices of him. If the published Acts of Bertellinus—as there called—are to be relied on, he
was of 16 and of a beautiful form. Bred royal origin.
in the Catholic
he sailed over to Ireland, and there he became companion to an Irish King, whose confidence and affection he gained. How long this continued, or how long he remained in Ireland, is not stated ; but, in consequence of an intrigue with the King's daughter, both absconded, and sought a place of retirement in England. This was in the midst of dense woods, where, on giving birth to a child, wolves attacked them, and devoured herself, as also her offspring. When Bertellinus returned, and found them dead, believing this to be a punishment destined for their unhappy transgressions, remorse filled his soul, and from that time forward, he resolved on leading a penitential
life. Withthis inview,heretiredtoa purpose
called 1? Bertelmesley.
rocky place
There he loved and served God with true earnestness, believing, with
Magdalen, that his former many sins would be iorgiven him because he loved much ; and soon the neighbouring people who learned his course of life regarded him as a prophet and one dear to Christ. At this time, likewise, a noble scion of the Mercian province, who was named Guthlac,18 had embraced a military career, in which he had the reputation of being courageous and daring to a degree, but in which he had to regret the
ravagesandcrimesofthewarsinwhichhehadbeenengaged. Reflection on those disorders caused him to renounce that profession, and devote himself to a spiritual warfare against the devil and the flesh. He too had resolved on leading a religious life, and with that intention he retired to a
sought
a certain
with
died a. d. 714 or 715. His life has been
written by one Felix, a contemporary.
'' In the old Life of St. Guthlac, it is
called Ripadum, and by Tohn Capgrave, Repyngdonam. In this place, according to John Leland, there were monasteries of re- ligious men and women, in his time,
20 The ancient life of St. Guthlac has a
similar statement, but it does not give their
names.
2I
The Bollandist Father Suysken is at a loss to know from what source of informa- tion this name had been inserted,
known as T 9 where he embraced the monastic state and Reppington,
place
received the clerical tonsure. However, after serving God in that condition
for a time, Guthlac desired to become an anchoret, and leaving Reppington, he took with him two young men,20 one of whom was Bertellin. 21 They
22
named
and sedgy grass. There they set up a hut with earth-sods; while for
island,
14 See "Vies des Saints," tome x. , Jour
ixe de Septembre, p. 596.
'5 See " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
September 9, pp. 139, 140.
16
In the Acts, his father is said to have been a king and to have had jurisdiction over Stafford, now the chief town of Stafford- shire in England. By William Camden it
"
is said to have been—called the Tertia Cor-
naviorum regio. " "Britannia," Stafford- iensis comitatus, vulgo Stafford-shire, p.
244. Editio Amstelodami, 1659, fol. By Venerable Bede, its ancient inhabitants are
woods, marshes,
" 22 called Mediterranei Angli. See Historia
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. ,cap. xxi.
'» The Bollandist Father Suysken was unable to find on the Maps or in the Geo- graphical Dictionaries of England the deno- mination of Bertelmesley. If such place ever existed in England, it cannot now be identified.
18 The feast of St. Guthlac occurs on the Iith of April. He lived in the seventh and in the beginning of the eighth century. He
Croyland was formerly in East Mercia. It is now known as Croyland or Crowland, in the parish of St. Bartholomew and St. Guthlac, county of Lincoln. The island of Croyland was formed by the four waters of
Shepishea on the east, Nena on the west, Southea on the south, and Asendyk on the north. The town there, lying on a flat surface, is liable to be flooded after con- tinual rains. See Samuel Lewis' " Topo- graphical Dictionary of England," vol. i. , p. 738.
Croyland,
interspersed
up
faith,
246 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September9.
covering they assumed sheep and goat skins, fasting in a rigorous manner, with constant vigils and prayer. Thus, they lived in that island for many years, and wrought various miracles. 23 In that same place were other holy
2
men, regarded as disciples of St. Guthlac, * as they were his familiars and
imitators. 25 At length, it pleased the Almighty to call Guthlac2* away from earth about the time of Easter. Bertellin was overwhelmed with grief while attending during his final illness to the revelations and directions of his dying
superior. anchoret named
28 should be
only brought
Pega, of his
26 These were in that part,
Guthlac's sister
to take
2? and an
charge
Then he said, " The time has come, my son, that I should go to Him, whose
2
servant I am, and do you set out on your journey. " 9 Afterwards extending
his hand to the altar, which was near, he partook of the Holy Communion. Then raising his eyes and hands to heaven, he slept happily in the Lord. 30
Having religiously complied with the instructions given him, Bertellin went to the king, his father, and asked from him a desert island, where he might live in penitence the rest of his days. This was known to the ancients as
1
Such request the king readily granted, and there Bertellin long lived in the practice of penitential works. He also performed many miracles. We may well treat as a fable, that account given in the anonymous Acts, as to how he had been disturbed in possession of that place, and the means he employed to retain it. 3a There
Egbert,
obsequies.
Bethney, and in after times it was called Stafford. 3
23 Guthlac is stated to have retired thither,
in the reign of Cenred, eighth King of Mercia. See ibid.
24 Among these was one named Cissa, a
person of noble birth and having hereditary wealth, as likewise a convert to the Catholic faith. Another confidant was Egbert, and alsoTatwin. Alloftheselivedinseparate cells, not far apart from the oratory of their
Bettelin, who made the fourth, and came nearer the saint's person than the rest, lived in separate cottages, close to Guthlake's oratory and under his guidance. All this we learn from Ingulphus, himself Abbot of Croyland,—towards the end of the eleventh century. " "Lives of the English Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 61.
*? Her feast is held on the 8th of January,
and frequent mention of her occurs in St.
Guthlac's Acts.
holy father Guthlac. See " Historia In- "
gulphi Abbatis Croylandensis, p. 53, in Annotatis, lit. a.
28
as "
is mentioned one Beccelinus, a cleric, who seqretorum ejus prae ceteris conscius. " After
as
lived of choice under his discipline, and who became his faithful servant. He seems to
have been regarded by subsequent writers, as having been identical with our St. Bettelin or Bertellin, and the names are much alike. It is thought, that Beccelinus had been afterwards changed into Bertelinus, as found in his Acts by John Capgrave and by others.
26 The Anglican writer states " Bettelin
:
was a disciple of St. Guthlake's, in the eighth century, and one of four who followed him in a hermit's life, in the island of Croy- land, on the southern border of Lincolnshire. Cissa had been a pagan, of noble blood and great in the world ; but had left all to follow Christ and St. Guthlake, and succeeded him as Abbot. Till the Danes came, he lay in a high marble tomb, on the right of his spiritual father in the Abbey of Croyland. Egbert was more in St. Guthlake's con- fidence than any of his brethren ; he may have been his confessor. Tatwin had for-
merly been ferryman at the passage from the mainland to the island. These, with
landensis, he is
Among these,
in the Vita S.
Guthlaci,
represented
Egbertus,
In the Historia Ingulphi, Abbatis Croy-
the death of Guthlac, Egbert is said to have lived in a cell, not far from his oratory.
29 Much of what precedes in the text seems
to have been derived from the old Vita S.
Guthlaci, by Felix.
3° In 716, it is said, that Ethelbald founded
in Croyland a Benedictine monastery, in honour of St. Mary, St. Bartholomew, and St. Guthlac. It was built upon piles, and
it was destroyed by the Danes in 870 ; but, it was rebuilt by King Edred, in the year 948. 31 "Wherethetownnowstands,theriver Sow formed in those—times an island which
"
was called Bethney. " Lives of the English
Saints," vol. v. , Hermit Saints, p. 66.
