said, also, to have repealed the foregoing prophecy to another bishop,
ordained
by himself in those parts, and who wished to become a subject him-
31
The preceding account cannot be found
Angels of God.
31
The preceding account cannot be found
Angels of God.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
He endeavours to elucidate their Acts, from
various ancient Martyrologies.
Article XV. —Reputed Feast of St. Eata, Abbot of Melrose, andBishopofLindisfarne,England. AmongtheCistercianSaintshas been classed Eata,1 of Lindisfarne, who this life a. d. 688.
Bishop departed
He had been Abbot of Melrose, which in its earlier times is said to have been
a Benedictine Institute, and afterwards a Cistercian, according to Claude
Chalemot. 2 For this, he cites the Roman Baronius and — Martyrology,
Molanus;but,theBollandists3 whonotewhathestatesatthe6thofJune
—cannot find such references supported by October, according to the English Martyrology.
the authors
as they remark, Eata, incorrectly written Rata, will be found, at the 26th of
Article XVI. —Reputed Feast of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore. In our opinion, there must have been some misplacement of a Festival, for this saint, in the Scottish Kalendars. At—the 6th of June, and for a. d. 500, Bishop Forbes has a notice of St. Colmoc— said to have been the same as Colman withthehonorificsuffixofocorog BishopofDromore,inIreland. Although buried in the city of Dromore, a monastery was erected and solemnly dedi- cated in his honour at Inchemaholmoch, in the diocese of Dunblane. 1 How- ever, the Martyrology of Aberdeen gives the place of his sepulture, as Inch- macome, where in after times there was a monastery of Canons Regular, be-
longing to the Order of St. Augustine.
2
In the burial-ground of Kirriemuir,3
However, at the as day succeeding,
there was a " Sancti Colmoci. " Capella
the Festival of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore, is observed in Ireland, we shall have more to state regarding him.
Article XVII. —Reputed Festival of St. Viuianus, Bishop. A
St. Viuianus is set down Camerarius * as a who was venerated on by Bishop,
Article xiv. —» In the "Leabhar at the 26th of October, which is the day for
Breac" copy, the following stanza occurs, and it is translated into English, by Dr. Whitley Stokes : —
his Feast.
2 He was a Cistercian, and he wrote
"Series Sanctorum et Beatorum ac Illus- trium Virorum Ordinis Cisterciensis," which
appeared at Paris a. d. 1670, in4to. See M. Le Dr. Hoefer's "Nouvelle Biographie Generate," tomeix. , col. 565.
3See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusi. , Junii
"
Viuaj cer<vo 4mAnci morxjnim rn<yo po'clu^-a
ttloeLAichjen congLAnbAil twofOcliALmAmcubA.
Amantius' perfect suffering, an over great
vi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 618.
deed if thou conceal it: Moelaithgen with
« to Article xvl— According the
pure goo—dness went under ground to a
Aberdeen Breviary, Pars Hyemalis, fol. ci. , cii.
2" SeeBishopForbes' KalendarsofScot-
tish Saints," pp. 304, 305.
3 —No. Retours, Forfar, 557.
•
Article XVII. In his Entries to the
Scottish Kalendar: "Hoc eodem die sanc-
"
shelter. " Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy,"IrishManuscriptSeries,vol. i. ,
p. xcii.
a On his name is the
_
" nescio ubi
tst. "—Ibid. , p. xcix.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Junii
vi. De Sanctis Martyribus Nivedunensibus, Amantio, Lucio, Alexandro, Andrea, Do- nato, Peregrina, p. 628.
Article xv. -' See an account of him,
tus Viuianus Episcopus. " 2"
Scholion,
quoted. However,
See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of Scot- tish Saints," p. 238.
224
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June ? •
2 As we can find no other account of him, under the fore-
the 6th of
June.
going designation ; it may not be an improbable conjecture to surmise, that the substitution of the letter u for n has taken place in writing his name. In such case, Vinianus can readily be resolved into the Finianus, already men-
tioned, at the present date.
£>ebentl) Bap of %\\\\t.
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR, PATRON OF DROMORE DIOCESE.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORITIES FOR ST. COLMAN's LIFE—PROPHECIES REGARDING HIM —FAMILY AND BIRTH—HIS EARLY EDUCATION—ST. COLMAN SEEKS DROMORE TO FOUND A MONASTERY—IT BECOMES AN EPISCOPAL SEE—MIRACLES OF bT. COLMAN —SAID TO HAVE BEEN CONSECRATED BISHOP IN THE CITY OF ROME.
uncertain are all references made to this holy man, that with the
SOexception of prevailing traditions, and the honour so long paid his memory, we can affirm few personal traits, relating to him, and of a perfectly
traditions—and downtousfromaremoteageandinreferencetoaveneratedbishop have
reliable nature.
However, popular
these — especially coming
a force and trustworthiness of peculiar importance, even where the incidents
of his biography are obscured, in the memory of his mere personality. The virtues of every saint stand out in Christian reverence, with a peculiar and
surpassing beauty. As years advance, these only serve to brighten the glory of saintliness, and to intensify that affection, with which beatific memories are cherishedinmillionsofhouseholds. ThroughouttheChristianworld,there is need of no words, to tell how much and how deeply each holy one has endeared himself to the members of Christ's Church.
Among many Irish saints, bearing the name of Colman, and numbering at least one hundred and twenty, much difficulty arises, in assigning to the patron of Dromore diocese distinctive acts, which bear a sole reference to him. However, there are Manuscript Lives of him still preserved. Some of
1
Among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, at Bruxelles, there is a Latin Vita S. Colmani, E. Drum. 2 Onthisday,ColganintendedtohavepublishedActsofthissaint. 3 AManu-
scriptLifeofthisholybishop4 wasinpossessionoftheBollandists,towards
these are kept, in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford.
the close of the seventeenth century.
Chapter I. —Article i. —' They are classed : I. Rawl. B 505. f. 245, veil, folio : and, 2. Rawl. B. 485. f. 170-176. b. veil. 4to xiv. cent.
2 In vol. xxii. , fol. 201.
3 As may be seen in the posthumous list.
4 It was included, with certain acts of
This has been edited,5 in the volume
other Irish Saints, in what had formerly
been known as the Salamancan Manuscript,
Having been the property of a Jesuit Col- lege, this Codex had been transferred to the Bollandists' museum or library, then estab- lLhed at Antwerp.
s With a previous commentary of seven paragraphs with notes.
JUNE 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
225
6
editor, Father Francis Baert, this Manuscript? had been written three
of their
which was
to the
anyjudiciousreader. However,asinthecaseofcertainActsoftheIrishsaints, finding none others extant or more reliabl—e ; and, in the present instance,
great
serial
work,
published,
a. d.
1698.
According
hundred before the date of its years
8 He considers it, as justly
publication.
abounding in many unreliable accounts,? which could not fail to displease
hitherto inedited and prepared perhaps
10
although many might suppose it better, to withdraw such Acts from their great collection. Another reason he assigns, that as Irish historians were accus- tomed to refer to Lives of their Saints as historic authorities," he considered it just as well to produce such accounts, even when silly and fabulous. In reference to the present holy man, it is to be suspected, that accounts relating to him have confounded our Colman with other saints bearing a similarname. Therearenoticesofthisholybishop,atthe7thofJune,in Rev. Alban Butler. 12 The Rev. Dr.
if he did not use th
—ose materials
likely to remain so Baert proposed to set them before the curious reader,
J 3 and the Petits Bollandistes z * have his commemoration, at this same date. Also, in the "Circle of the
Seasons,"^ is he noted.
intheworksof
Bishop Forbes/
6 andofRev. S. '7 Baring-Gould,
Lanigan
Before his birth, predictions announced Colman's advent to the Irish. On
a certain
occasion,
18 whilst our
great Apostle
IQ from journeyed
Armagh
towards
of monastery Saul,
hospitably
entertained
a
by bishop, pre-
offer, but he predicted :
assigned
to me, but, after
sixty
6"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
vii. De S. Colmano seu Colmoco, Epis-
copo Dromorensi in Hibernia, pp. 24 to 29. 7 The Life appears in two chapters, con-
taining 14 paragraphs.
14 See "Vies des Saints," tome vi. , viie Jour de Juin, p. 506.
'S At p. 159.
16 See his "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
this biography has relation altogether to a different St. Colman, of Derrymore, vene- rated at May the 20th. See an account of him in vol. v. of this work, Art. i. , at that date.
18 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii vii. De S. Colmano seu Colmoco, &c. Acta
Fabulosa, cap. i. , num. 1, p. 25.
19 St. Patrick. See his Life, in the Third
Appendix follows,
7 paragraphs.
Saints,"
vol.
vi. ,
20 hewas
who
the
sented himself and his establishment to the venerable guest, at his departure. We are informed, however, that St. Patrick refused to accept of that bishop's
" Thou art not
years, one must be born, who shall found his monastery in an adjoining
valley. There, a little while ago, whilst engaged in singing Mass, I saw through the church window a great multitude of angels assembled. " St. Patrick is
8 An
9 He supposed it to have been written, for June 7, p. 71. However, it is evident that
in
the purpose of illustrating by recitation the acts of those Irish Saints, whose festivals had been observed in Ireland, during the fourteenth century. On the yearly recurrence of their special feasts, or as a portion of the Divine Office, or during the hours for reflec- tion in religious houses, such biographies were usually read.
11
Unacquainted with the vast store of
Irish historical manuscripts, existing in Ire-
land and in Great Britain, as also on the
Continent, in his day, Baert rather thought-
lessly appends a general statement, which latter was the place referred to ; first, be- then as now is altogether incorrect, in refer- cause had that Saul to which the Apostie ence to our Island : " vix alia suppetunt travelled been in the neighbourhood of rerum patriarum monumenta. " there could be no he
10 He adds: "
Aberdonensis collector, ex iis Lectiones pro Volume of this work, at March 17th,
cum Breviarii Divino officio desumpserit," &c.
prsesertim
12
See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vi. , June vii.
' 3 See" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Armagh, reason, why should seek accommodation from any bishop
vol.
i,, chap, ix. , sect, i. , pp. 431 to 434.
on his journey, and secondly, because the Sabhall Patric, or Barn of St. Patrick, was his principal establishment, and his favourite place of resort.
pp. 304, 305.
17 See his "Lives of the
Art. i.
28 As there were two places, called Saul,
in the province of Ulster ; one very near Armagh, and the other about two miles from Down, it may fairly be conjectured, this
226 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 7.
said, also, to have repealed the foregoing prophecy to another bishop, ordained by himself in those parts, and who wished to become a subject him-
31
The preceding account cannot be found
Angels of God. "
withallhis oftheIrish 21 This hasbeen
possessions,
Apostle. 22 of Muckmore. 22-
ofSt. Patrick. 25 weare —thatwhilstthe
lips Again, told, holy
self,
referred, however,
tained, that there had been any Colman, or Colmanellus, a Legate of all Ire- land. 2* Weare further assured, that in lapse of time, all these predictions regarding place and person were fulfilled, as they had been declared from the
to
Colmanelo,
Still,
it cannot be ascer-
a6 2
kille was in the plain of Conall 7 a rural tract in southern Ulster he
spoke in prophetic spirit regarding our saint, to a certain nobleman named Mongan, who wished to dedicate himself and his posterity to Columba : " Trust me, I cannot receive you, because God has destined you for a certain holy man, who will build his monastery, on the northern bank of a river, called Locha. 2^ He shall be venerable, in the sight of God and man. '' Whatever credit may be given to an assertion, that St. Colman's birth had been predicted long before its occurrence, by St. Patrick, we cannot admit, that St. Colum- kille had also foretold an event, which must have happened, probably before his own birth. 3° Neither is the latter prophecy contained in any of St. Columba's authentic Acts, as published by Colgan, nor in other ancient works ; neither do we find the name of Mongan, as there introduced. However,
in any of St. Patrick's Lives, as edited by
Colgan ; however, there is a something
similnr, in his sixth Life, as written by
Jocelin. It runs nearly as follows : At a
certain time, whilst St. Patrick visited that concerning Colmanel and his birth. See part of Ulster, which is called Dalaradia,
he passed through a place, named Mucco-
disciples, Benignus, stopped here, as if contemplating some extraordinary celestial vision. He saw a bright choir of
Angels, diffu. -. ing a heavenly radiance around thai place, and he heard the praise of the
Creator sung with a ravishing melody. Wrapt in admiration, at this miracle, Benig- nus was filled with a thrill of delight. But,
he wondered especially, what this Angelic presence, great effulgence and celestial har- mony portended, in connection with that
place. However, after a short interval, this
mur. One of his
24 See Rev. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
wonderful vision
from the eyes of Benignus, and with accele- rated pace, he followed in the track of St. Patrick to overtake him. The holy Pontiff, wished to learn the cause of his delay, and Benignus described thnt heavenly vision he had witnessed. St. Patrick had a divine in- timation of the meaning to be drawn from this brilliancy, effulgence, and angelic chant. Thereupon, he expounded its meaning in the presence of his companions, as fol-
and Legate of all Ireland, distinguished for his virtues and miracles. After the darkness of life shall overtake him, he shall be trans- ferred to eternal light and rest, by the
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , n. 5, pp. 432, 433.
25 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87.
26
See his Life, at the 9th of June, Art. i. 37 The "Campus Conalleorum," to which allusion is here made, appears to have been that region, known as Conallia Murthem-
nensis. It is mentioned, in the First Life of
St. Patrick, edited by Colgan, in the "Trias
Thaumaturga," at p. 8.
28Nowknownasthe ofLouth. It county
extended from Breagh Mountain, near a city called Pontana—now Drogheda—to an in- dentation of the sea, Dundelg. inia, or Dun Delgan, at present commonly called, Dun-
'*
tlalk. See Mr. D'Alton's
gheda with its Environs," vol. i. . p. 1. Also, Messrs. D'Alton's and O'Flanagan's "His- toryofDundalkandits Environs,"chap,i. , pp. 5 to 7.
»TheRiverLochait wassupposedcould
not be clearly identified, and this was thought by Rev. Dr. Lanigan to have been
some lake, usually called a Loch or Lough, in Ireland, where many of such are found.
30 According to the received account, our saint was born A. u. 516, and St. Columkille came into this world four years later, or about a. d. 520.
31 Again, as we happen to know, that St,
altogether disappeared,
" Know, my dearly beloved children,
lows
that in this place, a certain son of life, name Colmanellus, shall build a church, and shall gather many sons of light and future angelic companions. He shall be Prassul
:
prediction
22 He is venerated, on the 26th of Septem- ber.
23 Jocelin says nothing about the number of years to elapse, between the prophecy
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga, "Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87.
abbotSt. Col—um-
History of Dro-
28
June 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 227
unless we are to reject what is related of his education under Caylan and Ailbe, and of his connection with Macnisse, Colman was prior to Columkille
1
by many years. 3
Our saint is usually invoked as Colman, in his offices. Yet, there are
otherformsofthisname. HeappearstohavebeendenominatedColmoc,
in the Aberdeen Breviary. Colmus, Mocolmoc, and Colmanelus, are names
applied to this saint. A scholiast on the ^Engussian Martyrology styles him
Mocolmus. 32 Informer avariationofnamewillfindits instances,
illustration, in the case of other Irish saints, to whom diminutives and terms of endear-
ment have been accorded, by the people inhabiting this island. It has been asserted, that St. Colman of Dromore was born at an earlier period, than has
been generally supposed ; for, it is evident. ,33 that St. Finian of Maghbile was first instructed by our saint, who was eminent in the early part of the sixth
century. 34 Colgan 35 reckons Colman of Dromore, among the disciples of St. Patrick & and, if we admit this statement, the birth of this Irish patriarch should be placed early, and in or about the middle of the fifth century. The bir—th of our saint is assigned by Si—r James Ware and by his editor Walter Harris 37
very general opinion, also,
Because there is an account of St. Gregory the Great having consecrated a
1
Colman,* at Rome, it has been thought, he can have been no other than the
first bishop and patron of Dromore, so named. But, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan
amistakeof ColmanofDromorehasbeen Ussher,
tells 2 that us,*
to 8 Itisa that
Ussheras
St. Colmanflourishedinthesixthcentury. 39 However,ithasbeenincorrectly stated, that when treating on the Writers of Ireland, Ware asserts that Colman of Dromore flourished to the seventh century; but. this accurate writer makes no such statement there, unless we are to apply his account respecting St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne,40 to the saint of whom we are now treating.
quoting
authority
516. 3
through
confounded with a Colmanel of Muckmore. They are distinguished, how-
ever, by Father John Colgan,43 who, on the authority of Jocelyn," calls the latter an Apostolic Legate. "45 Through a sort of negligence very usual with
Columkille had some transactions with Col- 38 But it would seem, that Ussher refers manelo, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan believes, that not to him, but to St. Colman Elo. See
"
the mistake has proceeded from such circum- Index Chronologicus,
p- 434.
32 " "
Britannicarum Ec- Ecclesiastical History of Ire- clesiarum Antiquitates," a. d. dxvi. , p.
"
land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , n. II, 526.
39 "
See Harris' Ware, vol. ii. , Antiqui-
ties of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265.
4° See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise,"
lib. i. , cap. iii. , pp. 27 to 29.
4I This latter person must have been the
Colmanus Ela or Colmanellus, alluded to in
St. Patrick's prophecy, as given by Jocelin, and who, it was said, in due course, should
become Apostolic Legate in Ireland. Colgan
distinguishes him by that title, and assigns 33 From documents referred to by his death to A. D. 610. See "Acta Sancto- Ussher. mm Hiberniae," Februarii iii. De S. Col-
34 See Dr. " n. " Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His- mano, vulgo Macduach, 2. Also, Trias
stance. See
In the Leabhar Breac copy we find
after Colaim, 1. e. UlochoUnoj; 'Opomamoir. in Viuib echAch uIatj : rendered into
English, "? '. <? . , My Colmoc of Druim-Mor
in Ui-Echach of Ulster. "—"Transactions
of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of
Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. xcix.
toryofIreland,"vol. i. , chap. ix. ,sect. i. ,p. 43i. 35 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
p- 269.
36 For this statement, reference is made to
St. Finnian of Maghbile or Moville, whose feast occurs at the 10th of September.
Thaumaturga," Index Tertius.
*2 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , and nn. 3 to
e, pp. 431, 432.
43 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta
S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87, and n. 106, p. 1 13.
37 See Harris' Ware, vol. I, " Ireland," p. 257.
:
** He states "
Bishops
of
Ipse Prsesul atque totius Hibernise Legatus emcitur. "
228
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 7.
6 and without
Colman of Dromore,48 is confounded with Colmanel.
in which Harris has the same confusion at Bishops and Writers, but he distinguishes them at Monasteries/' The Rev. Mervyn Archdall has jumbled them together, 50 when treating about
Muck-a-more. 51 Yet, we have no certain data for these statements.
The Acts of this saint, as preserved, must have been falsified, at least in some particulars ; for, various anachronisms are detected in them, if we accept the foregoing accounts. However, those Acts of his as taken from the Salamancan MS.
various ancient Martyrologies.
Article XV. —Reputed Feast of St. Eata, Abbot of Melrose, andBishopofLindisfarne,England. AmongtheCistercianSaintshas been classed Eata,1 of Lindisfarne, who this life a. d. 688.
Bishop departed
He had been Abbot of Melrose, which in its earlier times is said to have been
a Benedictine Institute, and afterwards a Cistercian, according to Claude
Chalemot. 2 For this, he cites the Roman Baronius and — Martyrology,
Molanus;but,theBollandists3 whonotewhathestatesatthe6thofJune
—cannot find such references supported by October, according to the English Martyrology.
the authors
as they remark, Eata, incorrectly written Rata, will be found, at the 26th of
Article XVI. —Reputed Feast of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore. In our opinion, there must have been some misplacement of a Festival, for this saint, in the Scottish Kalendars. At—the 6th of June, and for a. d. 500, Bishop Forbes has a notice of St. Colmoc— said to have been the same as Colman withthehonorificsuffixofocorog BishopofDromore,inIreland. Although buried in the city of Dromore, a monastery was erected and solemnly dedi- cated in his honour at Inchemaholmoch, in the diocese of Dunblane. 1 How- ever, the Martyrology of Aberdeen gives the place of his sepulture, as Inch- macome, where in after times there was a monastery of Canons Regular, be-
longing to the Order of St. Augustine.
2
In the burial-ground of Kirriemuir,3
However, at the as day succeeding,
there was a " Sancti Colmoci. " Capella
the Festival of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore, is observed in Ireland, we shall have more to state regarding him.
Article XVII. —Reputed Festival of St. Viuianus, Bishop. A
St. Viuianus is set down Camerarius * as a who was venerated on by Bishop,
Article xiv. —» In the "Leabhar at the 26th of October, which is the day for
Breac" copy, the following stanza occurs, and it is translated into English, by Dr. Whitley Stokes : —
his Feast.
2 He was a Cistercian, and he wrote
"Series Sanctorum et Beatorum ac Illus- trium Virorum Ordinis Cisterciensis," which
appeared at Paris a. d. 1670, in4to. See M. Le Dr. Hoefer's "Nouvelle Biographie Generate," tomeix. , col. 565.
3See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusi. , Junii
"
Viuaj cer<vo 4mAnci morxjnim rn<yo po'clu^-a
ttloeLAichjen congLAnbAil twofOcliALmAmcubA.
Amantius' perfect suffering, an over great
vi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 618.
deed if thou conceal it: Moelaithgen with
« to Article xvl— According the
pure goo—dness went under ground to a
Aberdeen Breviary, Pars Hyemalis, fol. ci. , cii.
2" SeeBishopForbes' KalendarsofScot-
tish Saints," pp. 304, 305.
3 —No. Retours, Forfar, 557.
•
Article XVII. In his Entries to the
Scottish Kalendar: "Hoc eodem die sanc-
"
shelter. " Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy,"IrishManuscriptSeries,vol. i. ,
p. xcii.
a On his name is the
_
" nescio ubi
tst. "—Ibid. , p. xcix.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Junii
vi. De Sanctis Martyribus Nivedunensibus, Amantio, Lucio, Alexandro, Andrea, Do- nato, Peregrina, p. 628.
Article xv. -' See an account of him,
tus Viuianus Episcopus. " 2"
Scholion,
quoted. However,
See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of Scot- tish Saints," p. 238.
224
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June ? •
2 As we can find no other account of him, under the fore-
the 6th of
June.
going designation ; it may not be an improbable conjecture to surmise, that the substitution of the letter u for n has taken place in writing his name. In such case, Vinianus can readily be resolved into the Finianus, already men-
tioned, at the present date.
£>ebentl) Bap of %\\\\t.
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR, PATRON OF DROMORE DIOCESE.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORITIES FOR ST. COLMAN's LIFE—PROPHECIES REGARDING HIM —FAMILY AND BIRTH—HIS EARLY EDUCATION—ST. COLMAN SEEKS DROMORE TO FOUND A MONASTERY—IT BECOMES AN EPISCOPAL SEE—MIRACLES OF bT. COLMAN —SAID TO HAVE BEEN CONSECRATED BISHOP IN THE CITY OF ROME.
uncertain are all references made to this holy man, that with the
SOexception of prevailing traditions, and the honour so long paid his memory, we can affirm few personal traits, relating to him, and of a perfectly
traditions—and downtousfromaremoteageandinreferencetoaveneratedbishop have
reliable nature.
However, popular
these — especially coming
a force and trustworthiness of peculiar importance, even where the incidents
of his biography are obscured, in the memory of his mere personality. The virtues of every saint stand out in Christian reverence, with a peculiar and
surpassing beauty. As years advance, these only serve to brighten the glory of saintliness, and to intensify that affection, with which beatific memories are cherishedinmillionsofhouseholds. ThroughouttheChristianworld,there is need of no words, to tell how much and how deeply each holy one has endeared himself to the members of Christ's Church.
Among many Irish saints, bearing the name of Colman, and numbering at least one hundred and twenty, much difficulty arises, in assigning to the patron of Dromore diocese distinctive acts, which bear a sole reference to him. However, there are Manuscript Lives of him still preserved. Some of
1
Among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, at Bruxelles, there is a Latin Vita S. Colmani, E. Drum. 2 Onthisday,ColganintendedtohavepublishedActsofthissaint. 3 AManu-
scriptLifeofthisholybishop4 wasinpossessionoftheBollandists,towards
these are kept, in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford.
the close of the seventeenth century.
Chapter I. —Article i. —' They are classed : I. Rawl. B 505. f. 245, veil, folio : and, 2. Rawl. B. 485. f. 170-176. b. veil. 4to xiv. cent.
2 In vol. xxii. , fol. 201.
3 As may be seen in the posthumous list.
4 It was included, with certain acts of
This has been edited,5 in the volume
other Irish Saints, in what had formerly
been known as the Salamancan Manuscript,
Having been the property of a Jesuit Col- lege, this Codex had been transferred to the Bollandists' museum or library, then estab- lLhed at Antwerp.
s With a previous commentary of seven paragraphs with notes.
JUNE 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
225
6
editor, Father Francis Baert, this Manuscript? had been written three
of their
which was
to the
anyjudiciousreader. However,asinthecaseofcertainActsoftheIrishsaints, finding none others extant or more reliabl—e ; and, in the present instance,
great
serial
work,
published,
a. d.
1698.
According
hundred before the date of its years
8 He considers it, as justly
publication.
abounding in many unreliable accounts,? which could not fail to displease
hitherto inedited and prepared perhaps
10
although many might suppose it better, to withdraw such Acts from their great collection. Another reason he assigns, that as Irish historians were accus- tomed to refer to Lives of their Saints as historic authorities," he considered it just as well to produce such accounts, even when silly and fabulous. In reference to the present holy man, it is to be suspected, that accounts relating to him have confounded our Colman with other saints bearing a similarname. Therearenoticesofthisholybishop,atthe7thofJune,in Rev. Alban Butler. 12 The Rev. Dr.
if he did not use th
—ose materials
likely to remain so Baert proposed to set them before the curious reader,
J 3 and the Petits Bollandistes z * have his commemoration, at this same date. Also, in the "Circle of the
Seasons,"^ is he noted.
intheworksof
Bishop Forbes/
6 andofRev. S. '7 Baring-Gould,
Lanigan
Before his birth, predictions announced Colman's advent to the Irish. On
a certain
occasion,
18 whilst our
great Apostle
IQ from journeyed
Armagh
towards
of monastery Saul,
hospitably
entertained
a
by bishop, pre-
offer, but he predicted :
assigned
to me, but, after
sixty
6"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
vii. De S. Colmano seu Colmoco, Epis-
copo Dromorensi in Hibernia, pp. 24 to 29. 7 The Life appears in two chapters, con-
taining 14 paragraphs.
14 See "Vies des Saints," tome vi. , viie Jour de Juin, p. 506.
'S At p. 159.
16 See his "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
this biography has relation altogether to a different St. Colman, of Derrymore, vene- rated at May the 20th. See an account of him in vol. v. of this work, Art. i. , at that date.
18 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii vii. De S. Colmano seu Colmoco, &c. Acta
Fabulosa, cap. i. , num. 1, p. 25.
19 St. Patrick. See his Life, in the Third
Appendix follows,
7 paragraphs.
Saints,"
vol.
vi. ,
20 hewas
who
the
sented himself and his establishment to the venerable guest, at his departure. We are informed, however, that St. Patrick refused to accept of that bishop's
" Thou art not
years, one must be born, who shall found his monastery in an adjoining
valley. There, a little while ago, whilst engaged in singing Mass, I saw through the church window a great multitude of angels assembled. " St. Patrick is
8 An
9 He supposed it to have been written, for June 7, p. 71. However, it is evident that
in
the purpose of illustrating by recitation the acts of those Irish Saints, whose festivals had been observed in Ireland, during the fourteenth century. On the yearly recurrence of their special feasts, or as a portion of the Divine Office, or during the hours for reflec- tion in religious houses, such biographies were usually read.
11
Unacquainted with the vast store of
Irish historical manuscripts, existing in Ire-
land and in Great Britain, as also on the
Continent, in his day, Baert rather thought-
lessly appends a general statement, which latter was the place referred to ; first, be- then as now is altogether incorrect, in refer- cause had that Saul to which the Apostie ence to our Island : " vix alia suppetunt travelled been in the neighbourhood of rerum patriarum monumenta. " there could be no he
10 He adds: "
Aberdonensis collector, ex iis Lectiones pro Volume of this work, at March 17th,
cum Breviarii Divino officio desumpserit," &c.
prsesertim
12
See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vi. , June vii.
' 3 See" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Armagh, reason, why should seek accommodation from any bishop
vol.
i,, chap, ix. , sect, i. , pp. 431 to 434.
on his journey, and secondly, because the Sabhall Patric, or Barn of St. Patrick, was his principal establishment, and his favourite place of resort.
pp. 304, 305.
17 See his "Lives of the
Art. i.
28 As there were two places, called Saul,
in the province of Ulster ; one very near Armagh, and the other about two miles from Down, it may fairly be conjectured, this
226 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 7.
said, also, to have repealed the foregoing prophecy to another bishop, ordained by himself in those parts, and who wished to become a subject him-
31
The preceding account cannot be found
Angels of God. "
withallhis oftheIrish 21 This hasbeen
possessions,
Apostle. 22 of Muckmore. 22-
ofSt. Patrick. 25 weare —thatwhilstthe
lips Again, told, holy
self,
referred, however,
tained, that there had been any Colman, or Colmanellus, a Legate of all Ire- land. 2* Weare further assured, that in lapse of time, all these predictions regarding place and person were fulfilled, as they had been declared from the
to
Colmanelo,
Still,
it cannot be ascer-
a6 2
kille was in the plain of Conall 7 a rural tract in southern Ulster he
spoke in prophetic spirit regarding our saint, to a certain nobleman named Mongan, who wished to dedicate himself and his posterity to Columba : " Trust me, I cannot receive you, because God has destined you for a certain holy man, who will build his monastery, on the northern bank of a river, called Locha. 2^ He shall be venerable, in the sight of God and man. '' Whatever credit may be given to an assertion, that St. Colman's birth had been predicted long before its occurrence, by St. Patrick, we cannot admit, that St. Colum- kille had also foretold an event, which must have happened, probably before his own birth. 3° Neither is the latter prophecy contained in any of St. Columba's authentic Acts, as published by Colgan, nor in other ancient works ; neither do we find the name of Mongan, as there introduced. However,
in any of St. Patrick's Lives, as edited by
Colgan ; however, there is a something
similnr, in his sixth Life, as written by
Jocelin. It runs nearly as follows : At a
certain time, whilst St. Patrick visited that concerning Colmanel and his birth. See part of Ulster, which is called Dalaradia,
he passed through a place, named Mucco-
disciples, Benignus, stopped here, as if contemplating some extraordinary celestial vision. He saw a bright choir of
Angels, diffu. -. ing a heavenly radiance around thai place, and he heard the praise of the
Creator sung with a ravishing melody. Wrapt in admiration, at this miracle, Benig- nus was filled with a thrill of delight. But,
he wondered especially, what this Angelic presence, great effulgence and celestial har- mony portended, in connection with that
place. However, after a short interval, this
mur. One of his
24 See Rev. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
wonderful vision
from the eyes of Benignus, and with accele- rated pace, he followed in the track of St. Patrick to overtake him. The holy Pontiff, wished to learn the cause of his delay, and Benignus described thnt heavenly vision he had witnessed. St. Patrick had a divine in- timation of the meaning to be drawn from this brilliancy, effulgence, and angelic chant. Thereupon, he expounded its meaning in the presence of his companions, as fol-
and Legate of all Ireland, distinguished for his virtues and miracles. After the darkness of life shall overtake him, he shall be trans- ferred to eternal light and rest, by the
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , n. 5, pp. 432, 433.
25 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87.
26
See his Life, at the 9th of June, Art. i. 37 The "Campus Conalleorum," to which allusion is here made, appears to have been that region, known as Conallia Murthem-
nensis. It is mentioned, in the First Life of
St. Patrick, edited by Colgan, in the "Trias
Thaumaturga," at p. 8.
28Nowknownasthe ofLouth. It county
extended from Breagh Mountain, near a city called Pontana—now Drogheda—to an in- dentation of the sea, Dundelg. inia, or Dun Delgan, at present commonly called, Dun-
'*
tlalk. See Mr. D'Alton's
gheda with its Environs," vol. i. . p. 1. Also, Messrs. D'Alton's and O'Flanagan's "His- toryofDundalkandits Environs,"chap,i. , pp. 5 to 7.
»TheRiverLochait wassupposedcould
not be clearly identified, and this was thought by Rev. Dr. Lanigan to have been
some lake, usually called a Loch or Lough, in Ireland, where many of such are found.
30 According to the received account, our saint was born A. u. 516, and St. Columkille came into this world four years later, or about a. d. 520.
31 Again, as we happen to know, that St,
altogether disappeared,
" Know, my dearly beloved children,
lows
that in this place, a certain son of life, name Colmanellus, shall build a church, and shall gather many sons of light and future angelic companions. He shall be Prassul
:
prediction
22 He is venerated, on the 26th of Septem- ber.
23 Jocelin says nothing about the number of years to elapse, between the prophecy
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga, "Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87.
abbotSt. Col—um-
History of Dro-
28
June 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 227
unless we are to reject what is related of his education under Caylan and Ailbe, and of his connection with Macnisse, Colman was prior to Columkille
1
by many years. 3
Our saint is usually invoked as Colman, in his offices. Yet, there are
otherformsofthisname. HeappearstohavebeendenominatedColmoc,
in the Aberdeen Breviary. Colmus, Mocolmoc, and Colmanelus, are names
applied to this saint. A scholiast on the ^Engussian Martyrology styles him
Mocolmus. 32 Informer avariationofnamewillfindits instances,
illustration, in the case of other Irish saints, to whom diminutives and terms of endear-
ment have been accorded, by the people inhabiting this island. It has been asserted, that St. Colman of Dromore was born at an earlier period, than has
been generally supposed ; for, it is evident. ,33 that St. Finian of Maghbile was first instructed by our saint, who was eminent in the early part of the sixth
century. 34 Colgan 35 reckons Colman of Dromore, among the disciples of St. Patrick & and, if we admit this statement, the birth of this Irish patriarch should be placed early, and in or about the middle of the fifth century. The bir—th of our saint is assigned by Si—r James Ware and by his editor Walter Harris 37
very general opinion, also,
Because there is an account of St. Gregory the Great having consecrated a
1
Colman,* at Rome, it has been thought, he can have been no other than the
first bishop and patron of Dromore, so named. But, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan
amistakeof ColmanofDromorehasbeen Ussher,
tells 2 that us,*
to 8 Itisa that
Ussheras
St. Colmanflourishedinthesixthcentury. 39 However,ithasbeenincorrectly stated, that when treating on the Writers of Ireland, Ware asserts that Colman of Dromore flourished to the seventh century; but. this accurate writer makes no such statement there, unless we are to apply his account respecting St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne,40 to the saint of whom we are now treating.
quoting
authority
516. 3
through
confounded with a Colmanel of Muckmore. They are distinguished, how-
ever, by Father John Colgan,43 who, on the authority of Jocelyn," calls the latter an Apostolic Legate. "45 Through a sort of negligence very usual with
Columkille had some transactions with Col- 38 But it would seem, that Ussher refers manelo, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan believes, that not to him, but to St. Colman Elo. See
"
the mistake has proceeded from such circum- Index Chronologicus,
p- 434.
32 " "
Britannicarum Ec- Ecclesiastical History of Ire- clesiarum Antiquitates," a. d. dxvi. , p.
"
land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , n. II, 526.
39 "
See Harris' Ware, vol. ii. , Antiqui-
ties of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265.
4° See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise,"
lib. i. , cap. iii. , pp. 27 to 29.
4I This latter person must have been the
Colmanus Ela or Colmanellus, alluded to in
St. Patrick's prophecy, as given by Jocelin, and who, it was said, in due course, should
become Apostolic Legate in Ireland. Colgan
distinguishes him by that title, and assigns 33 From documents referred to by his death to A. D. 610. See "Acta Sancto- Ussher. mm Hiberniae," Februarii iii. De S. Col-
34 See Dr. " n. " Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His- mano, vulgo Macduach, 2. Also, Trias
stance. See
In the Leabhar Breac copy we find
after Colaim, 1. e. UlochoUnoj; 'Opomamoir. in Viuib echAch uIatj : rendered into
English, "? '. <? . , My Colmoc of Druim-Mor
in Ui-Echach of Ulster. "—"Transactions
of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of
Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. xcix.
toryofIreland,"vol. i. , chap. ix. ,sect. i. ,p. 43i. 35 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
p- 269.
36 For this statement, reference is made to
St. Finnian of Maghbile or Moville, whose feast occurs at the 10th of September.
Thaumaturga," Index Tertius.
*2 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , and nn. 3 to
e, pp. 431, 432.
43 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta
S. Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87, and n. 106, p. 1 13.
37 See Harris' Ware, vol. I, " Ireland," p. 257.
:
** He states "
Bishops
of
Ipse Prsesul atque totius Hibernise Legatus emcitur. "
228
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 7.
6 and without
Colman of Dromore,48 is confounded with Colmanel.
in which Harris has the same confusion at Bishops and Writers, but he distinguishes them at Monasteries/' The Rev. Mervyn Archdall has jumbled them together, 50 when treating about
Muck-a-more. 51 Yet, we have no certain data for these statements.
The Acts of this saint, as preserved, must have been falsified, at least in some particulars ; for, various anachronisms are detected in them, if we accept the foregoing accounts. However, those Acts of his as taken from the Salamancan MS.
