Yet, acknowledging Probus to
be an older authority {Idid.
be an older authority {Idid.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
^^° These are of the legend class, which were popularly told, and probably long after his age, to illustrate the
early promise of his future great missionary career. It is said, the admirable progress this holy child made, in the course of virtue, far exceeded his tender years; for,hislovingbreastaboundedinDivinegifts,whileitwasenriched and stored with all virtues. During the slippery career of youth, he did not fall into any faults, that might stain the spotless robe of chastity ; such was his care, in keeping the integrity both of soul and body unblemished. While the inward motions of grace instructed and directed him, in all his actions ; yet, when he came to competent years, his parents took care to train him up in learning. The child applied to his books very diligently. He most particularly desired, to learn psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles. These he committed to memory ; as even from the prime of youth, he was wont every day to repeat the whole Psalter. His tender body was chastised with fastings, watchings, and other exercises of devotion. He presented it, as a livingholocaust,holy,andpleasingtoGod. Helikewiserepresented,inhis mortal flesh, the life of an angel, as if living without any body. Such are the accounts of Jocelyn,'^' and of some, among St. Patrick's more recent biogra- phers ; but, they seem to conflict, with that statement of the Apostle himself, as to how, during the earlier years of life, he was negligent in discharging his religious duties, as he acknowledges,'^^ and in keeping God's commandments. In the true spirit of humility, however, St. Patrick thanked the Lord, who regarded his lowliness, who had compassion on the ignorance of his youth, and who had preserved him, before he knew the Creator of all things, or before he could distinguish good from evil ; by admonishing and consoling him, also, as a father does his child.
CHAPTER IV.
THE EARLY DIALECTS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS—THEIR DISTURBED SOCIAL RELATIONS —ST. PATRICK'S YOUTH AND HIS ERRORS—THE EVENT WHICH LED TO HIS FIRST CAPTIVITY, ABOUT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN—NIALL OF THE NINE HOSTAGES—MISFOR- TUNES OCCURRING TO ST. PATRICK'S FAMILY—HE BECOMES A SLAVE TO MILCHUO, IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND—HIS MANNER OF LIFE THERE—HIS ESCAPE FROM CAP- TIVITY AND SUBSEQUENT ADVENTURES.
Whether St. Patrick lived amid the Picts or Scots, as a highlander or low- lander, has not been decided. Notwithstanding, it is probable, he first
learned, in North Britain, that Scotish or Gaelic language, which, in after hfe, enabled him, to converse with and preach so eloquently, to the people of
48,49; theSixthLife,cap,iv. ,v. ,vi. ,vii. , viii. , ix. , pp. 65, 66; the Seventh Life, part i,, cap. vi. , vii. , viii. , ix. , xi. , xii. , pp. 117 to 119.
"~ Such as those of converting water into
honey, to refresh his nurse, who had been
sick; of raising a dead boy to life; of
having an angel to labour for himself, and
for his nurse; of obtaining butter and cheese
from snow, to pay a tribute for his nurse, to
the king. Tlie miracle of the angel, aiding
St. Patrick to cleanse the king's stables, is
said to have occurred, at Dunbreatan, as called in the British tongue, or " Mons Bri-
torum," as Latinised, in the Vale of Chid,
according to Jocelyn. The Tripartite Life, also, identifies the place, as Alclud. See
Fourth Life, cap. xi. , xii. , xiii. , xiv. , pp. 36, 37 ; the Sixth Life, cap. x. , xi. , pp. 66, 67, and n. 12, p. 109 ; the Seventh Life, pars, i. , cap. x. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. , pp. 118, 119.
""See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xii. , p. 67. "
"
'''See Confessio S. Patricii," cap. i,, num. i. Villanueva's " Sancti Patricii,
Ibcrnorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. , pp. 1S4, 1S5. References to this passage of his Confession are to be
found, in the Second Life, cap. xi. , p. 12 ; in the Third, cap. iv. , p. 21 ; in the Fourth,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 485
Ireland. ^ So far as we can glean, two great distinctive dialectic differences
—in the Celtic
existed, languages,
even at that remote
These were the
period.
Gaelic now represented by the Irish, Manx, and Scotch Gaelic tongues ; and the Cymric, consisting of the Welsh, the Cornish and the Breton dialects. The three Gaelic languages have a closer affinity, towards each other,thanthethreeCymricdialects; but,eachoneoftheseclassespossesses in common great distinctive differences, which separate it from the other,
while there are, also, analogies so close, vital and fundamental, as to leave no doubt, all those varieties are but children of the same common parent. Another anciently-spoken and now lost Celtic dialect, in these islands, was the Pictish. In the anti-Christian period, the diversity of Celtic languages was probably very great, before the introduction of writing, which raised the standard of their cultivation, chiefly through the agency of that great civiliser, the Christian Church. '
Near the northern outposts of the Romans, in Great Britain, we suppose
Patricktohavespenthisearlyyouth; and,surroundedbyaperpetualclangour of arms, his education must have been often interrupted, owing to the exigencies of this situation. His defective instruction the saint deplored, in after life, complaining, that he could not explain with conciseness of language what his feelings dictated, and what his mind, sense and affections demonstrated ; while blushing for his ignorance, and for his unpolished style of writing, espe- cially when departing from the vernacular. Latin, to him, appears to have been an unfamiliar tongue. 3 Fire trieth gold, however, and the fire of tribu- lationjustmen; but,totheend,thatSaintPatrick'svirtuesshouldbecome more illustrious, and his crown of bliss more glorious, he was exposed, to the assaults of the tempter. The saint confesses and deplores his transgres- sions, with their causes ; for, he declares, that he had withdrawn from God, and did not keep his commandments, and was disobedient to his priests, who advised him on the affair of salvation. To these errors, the humble servant of Christ attributes those temporal afflictions, which overtook him, while he was yet a mere boy, and before he could well understand, what he ought to desire, or to avoid. +
Towards the close of the fourth and the commencement of the fifth
centuries, frequent inroads were made on the British shores, by expeditionary and piratical vessels, saiUng from the coasts of Ireland. 5 The Second Life^ of our saint would lead to the inference, that some of these half-military, half-
cap, i. , p. 35, and in the Seventh Life, pars. i. , cap. v. , p. 118. It is remarkable, that in the Irish Tripartite version of the latter, this passage seems to have been borrowed nearly verbally from the Second and Third Lives, and the original Latin is introduced. "
120 to 140, for further most interesting ex-
positions on this subject.
3 In allusion to his Confession, he WTites,
" nam sermo et lingua nostra translata est in linguam alienam. "
* See Confessio S. Patricii, cap. i. , num.
i, 2, 3, 4, 5, pp. 184 to 189. Villanueva's
See Miss Cusack's
Life of St. Patrick,
of — "Sancti Ibernorum
Apostle Ireland," p. 373. Patricii, Apostoli,
Chapter iv,
'
To Very Rev. Laurence
Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c.
5 See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land. AHistoryofAncientAlban,"vol.
i. , book i. , chap, ii. , pp. 105 to 109, The poet Claudian also allud—es to these frequent
Canon Toole of Manchester is the writer in-
debted, for calling his attention, in a letter,
dated St. Wilfrid's, April 14th, 1877, to the
mistakes of many preachers of St. Patrick's
panegyrics, viz. : that the saint's captivity in Ireland first taught him a language, so very different, from what he had learned while a boy, and that his slavery was a pro- vidential means, destined to make him, in the future, a master of the Irish language.
= See William F. Skene's " Four Ancient Books of Wales," vol. i. , chap, viii. , pp.
i-aids, where he writes
" totam cum Scotus lemen Movit, et infesto spumavit rcmige Tethys,"
—"
251, 252. —
''
:
De Laudibus Stilichonis," lib. ii. , vv.
According to one account but not ap-
486 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
marine, adventurers brought him a captive, into Scotia, with a sister, and a hundred others,7 of either sex, while he was Uving in Britain. The Fourth Life confirms this account, adding, that his sister Lupita was borne away with him,bythepiratesofsomeparticularfleet. ^ However,adifferentversionofthe occurrence is found in the Tripartite Life, where it is said, that among others, who left Great Britain, and the River Clyde, were Calphurnius and Con- chessa, with their son Patrick, and his two sisters, Lupita and Tigrida, who visited Armoric Britain, for the purpose of seeing their kindred, living there at the time. 9 Now, the sons of Rethmit,^" King of Britain, according to Probus, or the seven sons of Fechtmagius, King of the Britons, according to the Tripartite Life," when banished from their country, created a great dis- turbance, in the district of Lethania,^^ and in Armoric Britain. Plunder and burnings marked the traces of this invasion ; and, Calphurnius, with his wife, Conchessa, are stated to have been murdered, by those freebooters. They also took Patrick, and his two sisters, Lupita and Tigrida, prisoners, for the purpose of making them slaves. Following this statement, we are obliged to acknowledge, that St. Patrick was living, with his family, in Armorica, at the time of his captivity. Jocelyn is silent on this subject, although he admits our saint's mother to have been born in Gaul, whence she and a sister had beencarriedasslavestoNorthBritain. 's But,Probus,amuchmoreancient and respectable authority,'* calls St. Patrick's country, and the town where hisfamilydwelt,Arimuric. ^^ Itwillbeeasytoobserve,thatthewordinno respect differs from Armorica. St. Patrick himself informs us, that he was
when he was about sixteen of '^ He alludes to this captured, years age. only
single captivity. He acknowledges, that he was ignorant, at the time, of the true God ; but, by this we are to understand, some neglect of his duties, overlookedbyhimself,orbyhisparents. Heintimates,thatmanythousand men shared his captivity, in Ireland, and probably we must infer, these were reduced to servitude, when our saint had been made a captive. This latter
proved by the writer who refers to his Con- fession—St. Patrick was only seven years old,atthistime. Seecap. xi. p. 12.
1 The Apostle himself says in his Confes-
Gildce Badonici, cap. xii. , it is called Le- thania, being a maritime district of British Armorica.
'^ ggg Sixth Life, cap. i. , p. 65.
** See, Ussher's " " Primordia, cap. xvii. ,
sion " adductus sum in millibus hominum. "
captivitate
cum tot
pp. 822, 828, where he seems to have ^ See cap. xv. , p. 37. The Fifth Life followed Jocelyn's authority, in refei^ence to
only states, that St. Patrick was then cap- tured, with many others, but, this is noticed, as a first capture. See lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 51. Jocelyn, or the Sixth Life, is equally brief, in this account. See cap. xiii. , p. 67.
5 See chap, xvi. , p. 119.
^° Or Rectmitius. In some Manuscripts, they are called the sons of Sectmacius.
" The Scholiast on St. Fiach's Hymn has a like statement, but their lather is called Factmudius. See n. 5, e. In the Irish Tripartite Life, their father is named Fecht- mad. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St.
this matter.
Yet, acknowledging Probus to
be an older authority {Idid. , p, 817) this learned man quotes him on another occasion, when seeming to approve St. Patrick's Armoric descent. See ibid. , p. 833.
's "Cum adhuc esset in patria sua cum
patre Calpurnio et matre Concessa, fratre etiam Ructhi et sorore Mila nomine, in civi- tate eorum Arimuric, facta est seditio magna in partibus illis. Kam filii Rethmiti regis de Britannia vastantes Arimuric," &c. See Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48. "Trias Thaumaturga. " In a note,
"
Rather was Armoric Britain called muric is wrong, because Arimuric, or
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 376. ""
civitate eorum Ari-
Letha, or Leatha, by the Irish, and Lly- daw, by the Celts of Great Britain. See the Additional Note, No. xi. to the "Irish Version of Ncnnius' Hisloria Britonum,' edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, p. xix. The name is found Latinized, Letavia, and sometimes simply, Letha. However, in the Vita S,
Armorica, was the name, not of a town, but of a large territory. See n. 9, p. 62, ibid. Yet, he might have known, that the epithet, Armorica, could and actually used to be ap- plied to the towns, in that maritime range of country.
'* "
Annorum eram tunc fere sedecim. " See Confessio S. Patricii. " His Acts
Colgan says, that
"
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 487
event is placed so early as 352, according to the Annals of Connaught/7 it occurred in the year 388, if we credit Florence of Worcester ;'^ by others, it is placed at a much later period. '? A sister of St. Patrick, and who is named Lupita,^° shared his captivity, according to one account ; while the captive is named Mila. ^*' by Probus," and he mentions a brother named Ructhi,^3 made captive, at the same time. But, their names do not occur,^^ in any othernoticesofoursaint. ^^s TigrisorTigridahasbeenmadehiscompanion in servitude, according to other writers. However, their accounts, in the opinion of Dr. Lanigan, do not deserve the slightest degree of credit. Although St. Patrick speaks of some devout females, who were persecuted for their faith and made captives,^^ and specially describes his own mis- fortunes, he has no allusion whatever to any sister or sisters, sharing his exile and state of slavery. If we allow St. Patrick to have been born in Scotland, on the weight of evidence ; we ought to deem Armoric Britain, the place where he was captured, for the like reason. But, as we can find recorded in history no king of Britain, named Fechtmagius, or Fechtmad, or Rethmit,^' about the commencement of the fifth century, we may well doubt, if Patrick had been captured by his sons, or that these had killed his parents, at that time. ^^ Nay more, the saint himself speaks of the Irish, as having been his captors -p and, by some writers, these were thought to have been pirates ; but, it would seem, on this occasion, as his misfortune was shared by many thousands, this circumstance has given rise to the opinion, that a large and well-appointed expeditionary force carried them prisoners, away from theii own country.
Some of our historical writers have sought to connect this event, with the
generally agree, in reference to this age. " A child of sixteen years (was he) when he was taken into bondage ;" is the statement made in the Hymn of St. Fiech.
Venerable Bede, he is Reuda ; by the Scots» Rether ; and by Nennius, Hista-reuth. He ruled over the Ultonian Dalriada, and as he
conducted several military enterprises, both by sea and land, against the Dalreudiau colonists of Scotland, as also against the Romans and Britons ; from his enemies, in
"
'9 About A. D. 403. See Thomas Moore's North Britain, he got the appellation of
'7 See Ussher's
"
Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 432.
'* See " Chronicon," at A. D. cccLxxxviii.
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, x. , pp. 211, 212. About this period, his captivity seems to accord best, with the series of his Acts.
Fommaire, or Fammaire, the word 'poj- inAi|\e, in Irish and Erse, meaning "a pirate," or "a depredator at sea. " Dr. Langhorne supposes the foregoing names to be applicable to this person, as being a depredator of the Reudians or Dalriadians
°°
According to Ussher, she was buried,
"
and venerated, at Armagh. See
mordia," cap. xvii. , p. 824. Also, the of Ulster, and not of Britain. This prince
Scholiast on St. Fiach's Hymn.
^' This is thought, however, to be a mis-
take for Lupita.
^ See the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48. ^3 It is supposed, however, that this is a
mistake for Succet, the first name for St. Patrick.
^* See ibid. , n. 11, p. 62.
^5 That passage of Probus, in which those persons are spoken of, bears evident marks of interpolation, according to Dr. Lanigan.
''^"Sed et illse maxime laborant, quse
servitro detinentur ; usque ad terrores —et
minas assidue perfenmt (al. perseverant. )" Confessio S. Patricii, cap. vi. , num. 18. Villanueva's " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," p. 202,
^' In some copies of Probus, we are told, this prince is called Kethmaig Rethmet ; by
is said to have had seven sons, who were commanders of the fleet, and who served with a commander of his land forces, named Gauran, under King Niall of the Nine Hos- tages. See Patrick Lynch's "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, viii,, pp. 90 to 92.
'^ Dr. Lanigan suggests, that as our saint
was known to have been taken and brought
to Ireland by pirates, it may be conjectured, that wishing to save the honour of his country, some writer strove to throw the blame of that act on the Britons, and thus, he
Pri-
occasion to what has been said about the seven sons of King Factmudius.
gave
-5 In his Epistola ad Coroticnni St. Patrick
"
Numquid piam misericordiam ago erga gentem illam, quas me aliquando cepe- runt. "
3° Yet the author of the Tripartite Life
says:
488 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
reign of King Niall of the Nine Hostages, which commenced a. d. 379. 3°
After a sovereignty of twenty-seven years over Ireland, he was slain, a. d. 405. 3* Our Irish chroniclers relate, that towards the close of his reign, after he had ravaged the coasts of Wales, this king carried his arms into Gaul, whence he took away St. Patrick, with many other captives, to Ireland. 3' Nor does the story seem to be true, that our saint had been taken prisoner, by a British king, in the first instance. We have no good authority for Niall of theNineHostageshavingvisitedGaul,untiltheclosingperiodofhishfe; and, this is a well-noted event, in the annals of our country. 33 King Niall's expe- dition to Gaul, in the ninth year of his reign,34 and the consequent captivity of St. Patrick, at that time, can hardly be considered as worthy of credit. 35 Atalaterperiodofhiscareer,itwasmorelikelytobetrue. Thatcelebrated Irish warrior, after having ravaged the coasts of Great Britain and Gaul, was killed by Eochod, the son of Ennius Kinsellaich,36 who had laid a revengeful plot to take the monarch's life. 37 This happened, in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, or about the year 405,3^ near the Portus Iccius, in Gaul. 39 Roderick O'Flaherty adds, that Niell was killed, near the Eoire,-*" by a poisoned arrow, which had been shot across that river,^' while he was engaged prosecuting a war in Armorica. ''^ Lynch mentioned the Loire, like- wise,^ but he has omitted other circumstances,44 given by O'Flaherty, whose account of the place, where those transactions occurred, is quite contradic-
tory. It seems probable, that the death of King Niall occurred, a. d. 404 ; for,inthefollowingyear,Dathy,^^hissuccessor,ascendedthethrone. ''^ Most
Eochod's return as a hostage. This latter adventurous prince contrived to escape once more from his guards, and he tracked Niall on his Gallic expedition.
3* Or A. M. 5604, according to Gratianus Lucius. This was Dr. John Lynch's compu- tation.
Iccian Sea. It is now known as the Strait of Dover.
'°
O'Flaherty incorrectly quotes Ussher, to show, that the Mare Iccium extended so far as the Loire.
*' The words are "venenata sagitta trans
Ligerim jacta propter mare Ictium confossus est. "
"''See "Ogygia," pars, iii. , cap, Ixxxv. , p. - 403.
mitted to visit his father. Having violated clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,
makes his reign commence, in 352. Ussher
has him on the throne, A. D. 360. See his
" Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. CCCLX. , and
*'
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 306, 307, 370, and p. 512.
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 126, 127.
3' See Dr. O'Donovan's
3* " General
See, Keating's History
39 See "Trias Colgan's
of Ireland," book i. , p. 320. Duffy's edition.
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Cohimba," n. 33, p. 449. This place derived its name from the Icht or
33 In his " Ogygia," Roderick O'Flaherty has a pretty full account of this monarch's
reign, from A. D. 379 to 305, pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxv. , Ixxxvi. , pp. 393 to 412.
34 According to the ancient writer, quoted
by Keating.
35 Yet, this has been stated, in a Manu-
script, quoted by Dr. Jeoffry Keating. See
*'
General History of Ireland," part i. , p. 320. Also, it is in a passage, as given by Ussher, from his Tripartite copy of St. Patrick's Life. The author thought, that St. Patrick's captivity happened, in the first year of the Emperor Julian's reign. See • Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 432. Julian the Apostate died about A.
early promise of his future great missionary career. It is said, the admirable progress this holy child made, in the course of virtue, far exceeded his tender years; for,hislovingbreastaboundedinDivinegifts,whileitwasenriched and stored with all virtues. During the slippery career of youth, he did not fall into any faults, that might stain the spotless robe of chastity ; such was his care, in keeping the integrity both of soul and body unblemished. While the inward motions of grace instructed and directed him, in all his actions ; yet, when he came to competent years, his parents took care to train him up in learning. The child applied to his books very diligently. He most particularly desired, to learn psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles. These he committed to memory ; as even from the prime of youth, he was wont every day to repeat the whole Psalter. His tender body was chastised with fastings, watchings, and other exercises of devotion. He presented it, as a livingholocaust,holy,andpleasingtoGod. Helikewiserepresented,inhis mortal flesh, the life of an angel, as if living without any body. Such are the accounts of Jocelyn,'^' and of some, among St. Patrick's more recent biogra- phers ; but, they seem to conflict, with that statement of the Apostle himself, as to how, during the earlier years of life, he was negligent in discharging his religious duties, as he acknowledges,'^^ and in keeping God's commandments. In the true spirit of humility, however, St. Patrick thanked the Lord, who regarded his lowliness, who had compassion on the ignorance of his youth, and who had preserved him, before he knew the Creator of all things, or before he could distinguish good from evil ; by admonishing and consoling him, also, as a father does his child.
CHAPTER IV.
THE EARLY DIALECTS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS—THEIR DISTURBED SOCIAL RELATIONS —ST. PATRICK'S YOUTH AND HIS ERRORS—THE EVENT WHICH LED TO HIS FIRST CAPTIVITY, ABOUT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN—NIALL OF THE NINE HOSTAGES—MISFOR- TUNES OCCURRING TO ST. PATRICK'S FAMILY—HE BECOMES A SLAVE TO MILCHUO, IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND—HIS MANNER OF LIFE THERE—HIS ESCAPE FROM CAP- TIVITY AND SUBSEQUENT ADVENTURES.
Whether St. Patrick lived amid the Picts or Scots, as a highlander or low- lander, has not been decided. Notwithstanding, it is probable, he first
learned, in North Britain, that Scotish or Gaelic language, which, in after hfe, enabled him, to converse with and preach so eloquently, to the people of
48,49; theSixthLife,cap,iv. ,v. ,vi. ,vii. , viii. , ix. , pp. 65, 66; the Seventh Life, part i,, cap. vi. , vii. , viii. , ix. , xi. , xii. , pp. 117 to 119.
"~ Such as those of converting water into
honey, to refresh his nurse, who had been
sick; of raising a dead boy to life; of
having an angel to labour for himself, and
for his nurse; of obtaining butter and cheese
from snow, to pay a tribute for his nurse, to
the king. Tlie miracle of the angel, aiding
St. Patrick to cleanse the king's stables, is
said to have occurred, at Dunbreatan, as called in the British tongue, or " Mons Bri-
torum," as Latinised, in the Vale of Chid,
according to Jocelyn. The Tripartite Life, also, identifies the place, as Alclud. See
Fourth Life, cap. xi. , xii. , xiii. , xiv. , pp. 36, 37 ; the Sixth Life, cap. x. , xi. , pp. 66, 67, and n. 12, p. 109 ; the Seventh Life, pars, i. , cap. x. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. , pp. 118, 119.
""See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xii. , p. 67. "
"
'''See Confessio S. Patricii," cap. i,, num. i. Villanueva's " Sancti Patricii,
Ibcrnorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. , pp. 1S4, 1S5. References to this passage of his Confession are to be
found, in the Second Life, cap. xi. , p. 12 ; in the Third, cap. iv. , p. 21 ; in the Fourth,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 485
Ireland. ^ So far as we can glean, two great distinctive dialectic differences
—in the Celtic
existed, languages,
even at that remote
These were the
period.
Gaelic now represented by the Irish, Manx, and Scotch Gaelic tongues ; and the Cymric, consisting of the Welsh, the Cornish and the Breton dialects. The three Gaelic languages have a closer affinity, towards each other,thanthethreeCymricdialects; but,eachoneoftheseclassespossesses in common great distinctive differences, which separate it from the other,
while there are, also, analogies so close, vital and fundamental, as to leave no doubt, all those varieties are but children of the same common parent. Another anciently-spoken and now lost Celtic dialect, in these islands, was the Pictish. In the anti-Christian period, the diversity of Celtic languages was probably very great, before the introduction of writing, which raised the standard of their cultivation, chiefly through the agency of that great civiliser, the Christian Church. '
Near the northern outposts of the Romans, in Great Britain, we suppose
Patricktohavespenthisearlyyouth; and,surroundedbyaperpetualclangour of arms, his education must have been often interrupted, owing to the exigencies of this situation. His defective instruction the saint deplored, in after life, complaining, that he could not explain with conciseness of language what his feelings dictated, and what his mind, sense and affections demonstrated ; while blushing for his ignorance, and for his unpolished style of writing, espe- cially when departing from the vernacular. Latin, to him, appears to have been an unfamiliar tongue. 3 Fire trieth gold, however, and the fire of tribu- lationjustmen; but,totheend,thatSaintPatrick'svirtuesshouldbecome more illustrious, and his crown of bliss more glorious, he was exposed, to the assaults of the tempter. The saint confesses and deplores his transgres- sions, with their causes ; for, he declares, that he had withdrawn from God, and did not keep his commandments, and was disobedient to his priests, who advised him on the affair of salvation. To these errors, the humble servant of Christ attributes those temporal afflictions, which overtook him, while he was yet a mere boy, and before he could well understand, what he ought to desire, or to avoid. +
Towards the close of the fourth and the commencement of the fifth
centuries, frequent inroads were made on the British shores, by expeditionary and piratical vessels, saiUng from the coasts of Ireland. 5 The Second Life^ of our saint would lead to the inference, that some of these half-military, half-
cap, i. , p. 35, and in the Seventh Life, pars. i. , cap. v. , p. 118. It is remarkable, that in the Irish Tripartite version of the latter, this passage seems to have been borrowed nearly verbally from the Second and Third Lives, and the original Latin is introduced. "
120 to 140, for further most interesting ex-
positions on this subject.
3 In allusion to his Confession, he WTites,
" nam sermo et lingua nostra translata est in linguam alienam. "
* See Confessio S. Patricii, cap. i. , num.
i, 2, 3, 4, 5, pp. 184 to 189. Villanueva's
See Miss Cusack's
Life of St. Patrick,
of — "Sancti Ibernorum
Apostle Ireland," p. 373. Patricii, Apostoli,
Chapter iv,
'
To Very Rev. Laurence
Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c.
5 See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land. AHistoryofAncientAlban,"vol.
i. , book i. , chap, ii. , pp. 105 to 109, The poet Claudian also allud—es to these frequent
Canon Toole of Manchester is the writer in-
debted, for calling his attention, in a letter,
dated St. Wilfrid's, April 14th, 1877, to the
mistakes of many preachers of St. Patrick's
panegyrics, viz. : that the saint's captivity in Ireland first taught him a language, so very different, from what he had learned while a boy, and that his slavery was a pro- vidential means, destined to make him, in the future, a master of the Irish language.
= See William F. Skene's " Four Ancient Books of Wales," vol. i. , chap, viii. , pp.
i-aids, where he writes
" totam cum Scotus lemen Movit, et infesto spumavit rcmige Tethys,"
—"
251, 252. —
''
:
De Laudibus Stilichonis," lib. ii. , vv.
According to one account but not ap-
486 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
marine, adventurers brought him a captive, into Scotia, with a sister, and a hundred others,7 of either sex, while he was Uving in Britain. The Fourth Life confirms this account, adding, that his sister Lupita was borne away with him,bythepiratesofsomeparticularfleet. ^ However,adifferentversionofthe occurrence is found in the Tripartite Life, where it is said, that among others, who left Great Britain, and the River Clyde, were Calphurnius and Con- chessa, with their son Patrick, and his two sisters, Lupita and Tigrida, who visited Armoric Britain, for the purpose of seeing their kindred, living there at the time. 9 Now, the sons of Rethmit,^" King of Britain, according to Probus, or the seven sons of Fechtmagius, King of the Britons, according to the Tripartite Life," when banished from their country, created a great dis- turbance, in the district of Lethania,^^ and in Armoric Britain. Plunder and burnings marked the traces of this invasion ; and, Calphurnius, with his wife, Conchessa, are stated to have been murdered, by those freebooters. They also took Patrick, and his two sisters, Lupita and Tigrida, prisoners, for the purpose of making them slaves. Following this statement, we are obliged to acknowledge, that St. Patrick was living, with his family, in Armorica, at the time of his captivity. Jocelyn is silent on this subject, although he admits our saint's mother to have been born in Gaul, whence she and a sister had beencarriedasslavestoNorthBritain. 's But,Probus,amuchmoreancient and respectable authority,'* calls St. Patrick's country, and the town where hisfamilydwelt,Arimuric. ^^ Itwillbeeasytoobserve,thatthewordinno respect differs from Armorica. St. Patrick himself informs us, that he was
when he was about sixteen of '^ He alludes to this captured, years age. only
single captivity. He acknowledges, that he was ignorant, at the time, of the true God ; but, by this we are to understand, some neglect of his duties, overlookedbyhimself,orbyhisparents. Heintimates,thatmanythousand men shared his captivity, in Ireland, and probably we must infer, these were reduced to servitude, when our saint had been made a captive. This latter
proved by the writer who refers to his Con- fession—St. Patrick was only seven years old,atthistime. Seecap. xi. p. 12.
1 The Apostle himself says in his Confes-
Gildce Badonici, cap. xii. , it is called Le- thania, being a maritime district of British Armorica.
'^ ggg Sixth Life, cap. i. , p. 65.
** See, Ussher's " " Primordia, cap. xvii. ,
sion " adductus sum in millibus hominum. "
captivitate
cum tot
pp. 822, 828, where he seems to have ^ See cap. xv. , p. 37. The Fifth Life followed Jocelyn's authority, in refei^ence to
only states, that St. Patrick was then cap- tured, with many others, but, this is noticed, as a first capture. See lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 51. Jocelyn, or the Sixth Life, is equally brief, in this account. See cap. xiii. , p. 67.
5 See chap, xvi. , p. 119.
^° Or Rectmitius. In some Manuscripts, they are called the sons of Sectmacius.
" The Scholiast on St. Fiach's Hymn has a like statement, but their lather is called Factmudius. See n. 5, e. In the Irish Tripartite Life, their father is named Fecht- mad. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St.
this matter.
Yet, acknowledging Probus to
be an older authority {Idid. , p, 817) this learned man quotes him on another occasion, when seeming to approve St. Patrick's Armoric descent. See ibid. , p. 833.
's "Cum adhuc esset in patria sua cum
patre Calpurnio et matre Concessa, fratre etiam Ructhi et sorore Mila nomine, in civi- tate eorum Arimuric, facta est seditio magna in partibus illis. Kam filii Rethmiti regis de Britannia vastantes Arimuric," &c. See Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48. "Trias Thaumaturga. " In a note,
"
Rather was Armoric Britain called muric is wrong, because Arimuric, or
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 376. ""
civitate eorum Ari-
Letha, or Leatha, by the Irish, and Lly- daw, by the Celts of Great Britain. See the Additional Note, No. xi. to the "Irish Version of Ncnnius' Hisloria Britonum,' edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, p. xix. The name is found Latinized, Letavia, and sometimes simply, Letha. However, in the Vita S,
Armorica, was the name, not of a town, but of a large territory. See n. 9, p. 62, ibid. Yet, he might have known, that the epithet, Armorica, could and actually used to be ap- plied to the towns, in that maritime range of country.
'* "
Annorum eram tunc fere sedecim. " See Confessio S. Patricii. " His Acts
Colgan says, that
"
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 487
event is placed so early as 352, according to the Annals of Connaught/7 it occurred in the year 388, if we credit Florence of Worcester ;'^ by others, it is placed at a much later period. '? A sister of St. Patrick, and who is named Lupita,^° shared his captivity, according to one account ; while the captive is named Mila. ^*' by Probus," and he mentions a brother named Ructhi,^3 made captive, at the same time. But, their names do not occur,^^ in any othernoticesofoursaint. ^^s TigrisorTigridahasbeenmadehiscompanion in servitude, according to other writers. However, their accounts, in the opinion of Dr. Lanigan, do not deserve the slightest degree of credit. Although St. Patrick speaks of some devout females, who were persecuted for their faith and made captives,^^ and specially describes his own mis- fortunes, he has no allusion whatever to any sister or sisters, sharing his exile and state of slavery. If we allow St. Patrick to have been born in Scotland, on the weight of evidence ; we ought to deem Armoric Britain, the place where he was captured, for the like reason. But, as we can find recorded in history no king of Britain, named Fechtmagius, or Fechtmad, or Rethmit,^' about the commencement of the fifth century, we may well doubt, if Patrick had been captured by his sons, or that these had killed his parents, at that time. ^^ Nay more, the saint himself speaks of the Irish, as having been his captors -p and, by some writers, these were thought to have been pirates ; but, it would seem, on this occasion, as his misfortune was shared by many thousands, this circumstance has given rise to the opinion, that a large and well-appointed expeditionary force carried them prisoners, away from theii own country.
Some of our historical writers have sought to connect this event, with the
generally agree, in reference to this age. " A child of sixteen years (was he) when he was taken into bondage ;" is the statement made in the Hymn of St. Fiech.
Venerable Bede, he is Reuda ; by the Scots» Rether ; and by Nennius, Hista-reuth. He ruled over the Ultonian Dalriada, and as he
conducted several military enterprises, both by sea and land, against the Dalreudiau colonists of Scotland, as also against the Romans and Britons ; from his enemies, in
"
'9 About A. D. 403. See Thomas Moore's North Britain, he got the appellation of
'7 See Ussher's
"
Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 432.
'* See " Chronicon," at A. D. cccLxxxviii.
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, x. , pp. 211, 212. About this period, his captivity seems to accord best, with the series of his Acts.
Fommaire, or Fammaire, the word 'poj- inAi|\e, in Irish and Erse, meaning "a pirate," or "a depredator at sea. " Dr. Langhorne supposes the foregoing names to be applicable to this person, as being a depredator of the Reudians or Dalriadians
°°
According to Ussher, she was buried,
"
and venerated, at Armagh. See
mordia," cap. xvii. , p. 824. Also, the of Ulster, and not of Britain. This prince
Scholiast on St. Fiach's Hymn.
^' This is thought, however, to be a mis-
take for Lupita.
^ See the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48. ^3 It is supposed, however, that this is a
mistake for Succet, the first name for St. Patrick.
^* See ibid. , n. 11, p. 62.
^5 That passage of Probus, in which those persons are spoken of, bears evident marks of interpolation, according to Dr. Lanigan.
''^"Sed et illse maxime laborant, quse
servitro detinentur ; usque ad terrores —et
minas assidue perfenmt (al. perseverant. )" Confessio S. Patricii, cap. vi. , num. 18. Villanueva's " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," p. 202,
^' In some copies of Probus, we are told, this prince is called Kethmaig Rethmet ; by
is said to have had seven sons, who were commanders of the fleet, and who served with a commander of his land forces, named Gauran, under King Niall of the Nine Hos- tages. See Patrick Lynch's "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, viii,, pp. 90 to 92.
'^ Dr. Lanigan suggests, that as our saint
was known to have been taken and brought
to Ireland by pirates, it may be conjectured, that wishing to save the honour of his country, some writer strove to throw the blame of that act on the Britons, and thus, he
Pri-
occasion to what has been said about the seven sons of King Factmudius.
gave
-5 In his Epistola ad Coroticnni St. Patrick
"
Numquid piam misericordiam ago erga gentem illam, quas me aliquando cepe- runt. "
3° Yet the author of the Tripartite Life
says:
488 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
reign of King Niall of the Nine Hostages, which commenced a. d. 379. 3°
After a sovereignty of twenty-seven years over Ireland, he was slain, a. d. 405. 3* Our Irish chroniclers relate, that towards the close of his reign, after he had ravaged the coasts of Wales, this king carried his arms into Gaul, whence he took away St. Patrick, with many other captives, to Ireland. 3' Nor does the story seem to be true, that our saint had been taken prisoner, by a British king, in the first instance. We have no good authority for Niall of theNineHostageshavingvisitedGaul,untiltheclosingperiodofhishfe; and, this is a well-noted event, in the annals of our country. 33 King Niall's expe- dition to Gaul, in the ninth year of his reign,34 and the consequent captivity of St. Patrick, at that time, can hardly be considered as worthy of credit. 35 Atalaterperiodofhiscareer,itwasmorelikelytobetrue. Thatcelebrated Irish warrior, after having ravaged the coasts of Great Britain and Gaul, was killed by Eochod, the son of Ennius Kinsellaich,36 who had laid a revengeful plot to take the monarch's life. 37 This happened, in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, or about the year 405,3^ near the Portus Iccius, in Gaul. 39 Roderick O'Flaherty adds, that Niell was killed, near the Eoire,-*" by a poisoned arrow, which had been shot across that river,^' while he was engaged prosecuting a war in Armorica. ''^ Lynch mentioned the Loire, like- wise,^ but he has omitted other circumstances,44 given by O'Flaherty, whose account of the place, where those transactions occurred, is quite contradic-
tory. It seems probable, that the death of King Niall occurred, a. d. 404 ; for,inthefollowingyear,Dathy,^^hissuccessor,ascendedthethrone. ''^ Most
Eochod's return as a hostage. This latter adventurous prince contrived to escape once more from his guards, and he tracked Niall on his Gallic expedition.
3* Or A. M. 5604, according to Gratianus Lucius. This was Dr. John Lynch's compu- tation.
Iccian Sea. It is now known as the Strait of Dover.
'°
O'Flaherty incorrectly quotes Ussher, to show, that the Mare Iccium extended so far as the Loire.
*' The words are "venenata sagitta trans
Ligerim jacta propter mare Ictium confossus est. "
"''See "Ogygia," pars, iii. , cap, Ixxxv. , p. - 403.
mitted to visit his father. Having violated clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,
makes his reign commence, in 352. Ussher
has him on the throne, A. D. 360. See his
" Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. CCCLX. , and
*'
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 306, 307, 370, and p. 512.
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 126, 127.
3' See Dr. O'Donovan's
3* " General
See, Keating's History
39 See "Trias Colgan's
of Ireland," book i. , p. 320. Duffy's edition.
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Cohimba," n. 33, p. 449. This place derived its name from the Icht or
33 In his " Ogygia," Roderick O'Flaherty has a pretty full account of this monarch's
reign, from A. D. 379 to 305, pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxv. , Ixxxvi. , pp. 393 to 412.
34 According to the ancient writer, quoted
by Keating.
35 Yet, this has been stated, in a Manu-
script, quoted by Dr. Jeoffry Keating. See
*'
General History of Ireland," part i. , p. 320. Also, it is in a passage, as given by Ussher, from his Tripartite copy of St. Patrick's Life. The author thought, that St. Patrick's captivity happened, in the first year of the Emperor Julian's reign. See • Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 432. Julian the Apostate died about A.
