Likewise
Offices have
been composed to honour him.
been composed to honour him.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Cui Elfsius in episcopatum -""
English Edifices ; with Historical and De-
scriptive Accounts of each," vol. iv„ pp. 52 to 59. The historical Article on " Lindis-
fame, or Holy Island Monastery, Durham," is written by William Bendon, Esq.
^ See Sir Walter Scott's " Border An- tiquities of England and Scotland," &c, vol. ii. , pp. 135, 136. In this connexion,
successit. "— Chronica Magistri Rogeri also, there are three most beautiful copper-
de Houedene, vol. i. , Pars Prior, p. 62. Edited by William Stubbs, M. A.
86 See Bishop Godwin's " De Prsesulibus Anglise Commentarius," &c, p. 725.
87 See MatthseiPaiisiensis, Monachi Sancti
Albani, "Chronica Majora," vol. i. , a. d.
968, p. 465.
plate engravings, representing the Abbey Church from different points of view.
9° See this incident as related in Willelmi
Malmesbiriensis Monachi " De Gestis Pon-
tificum Anglorum," lib. iii. , sect. 130, p. 270. Edition of N. E. S. Hamilton.
91 In the first instance, the monks of
Lindisfarne moved to Chester-le-Street, a
place formerly occupied by a Roman Station, known as Condercum, in Durham, and sub- sequently they went to Ripon, in Yorkshire,
88
For some beautiful copperplate re-
presentations of these ruins, the reader is referred to John Britton's " Architectural
Antiquities of Great Britain, represented
9* See Guthrie's " River James
History and Resources," p. 6.
and illustrated in a Series of
tions, Plans, Sections and Details, of Ancient
Views,
Eleva-
Tyne
: its
By whom, or at what exact
This afterwards led
having
5 o2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
chosen. Having removed St. Cuthbert's relics thither, the bishop and his community of monks abandoned their old monastery, and began the erection of another on the site designated. The foundation of Durham is assigned to the latter part of the tenth century. 93
Although centuries had passed over since his death, yet St. Aidan is
regarded first in the line of bishops, that take their name from Durham. ^*
This city is in the county so called, and it is situated on a rocky eminence, partiallysurroundedbytheRiverWear. Itsdesignationisthoughttohave been derived from the Saxon or Celtic words Dun, " a hill," and Holme, " a river island. " A chapel was founded on the steep plateau, towards the close of the tenth century ; and about the same time, the place was fortified, to protect it from the Danish ravages. It is said, the first structure was only of wicker-work, and that a few years afterwards, Bishop Aldun had it replaced by a stone-built church. Soon houses and a population were gathered around it. Walls were built to include the precincts of this ancient city, and a castle stood within them on a commanding site. The northern province of Northumbria had been exposed to the inroads of King Malcolm of Scotland, the son of Kenneth, a. d. 1006,95 during the reign of King Ethelred over the English. He laid siege to Durham, while Bishop Aldun presided in that See, and having under his command the entire military force of Scotland. ? 6 However, a youth of great energy, and well skilled in military affairs, Uchtrad, who was son to Waltheof, the aged Earl of the Northumbrians, collected a considerable number of the men of Northumbria and of York. 97 With these, he proceeded to raise the siege. He then fought a great battle, in which nearly the entire multitude of the Scots was cut to pieces ; their
8
king himself and a few others escaping with difficulty. 9
His successor, Duncan, had also entertained an ambitious hope of
annexing the province of Northumbria to his Kingdom of Scotland ; and with that purpose in view, he collected a multitude of troops for its invasion, about the year 1038. However, he did not succeed in that attempt. In 1040, the King of Scotland besieged Durham, but his forces were totally vanquished. Afterwards, the heads of the Scottish leaders, slain or captured, having heen fixed on poles, were set up in the market place. 99 Consequent on the Anglo-Norman Invasion of England, several of the Saxons assembled here, and erected a castle with other fortifications. They made a temporary resistance, but not receiving assistance, they fled. Then William the Conqueror took possession of Durham, and granted many privileges to the inhabitants. In 1069, Robert Comyn, Earl of Northumberland, appointed governor of that city, entered it with a Norman guard of 700 soldiers. There they committed great enormities.
The foundations of the majestic Cathedral of Durham, as it now stands,
9! It is said to have been in the seventeenth & See Edward A. Freeman's " History of year of Ethelred, the English monarch, ihat the Norman Conquest of England," vol. i. ,
Aldhun, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, was p, 357.
moved monition to remove the 97 An account of this by angelic
siege
remains cf St. Cuthbert to Durham. See not by some other writer, possibly by
" Church of under Simeon of Durham, in his " Historia Eccle- History England
Oressy's
Saxon and Danish Monarchs, part iv. , siae Dunhelmensis," vol. i. , Auctarium,
book xxxii. , chap, xii. , p. 901.
9* See Alfred Webb's "Compendium of
Irish Biography," p. 3.
95 According to the Annals of Ulster.
See "Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and other Early Memorials of Scottish History," edited by William F. Skene LL. D. , p. 366.
pars, iii. , sect. I, pp. 215, 216. Edition of Thomas Arnold, M. A. , London, 1S82, 8vo.
9s See William F. Skene's " Celtic Scot- land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , p. 385.
»See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. no.
'
is if given,
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 503 were laid100 by Malcolm Ceanmore,101 King of Scotland, Bishop Carilepho
102
and Turgot,
century. Thirty years elapsed before it was completed. The original form of the structure is that of a long cross, with two turrets at the west end.
Between them is a large and richly ornamented door of entrance. The great or central tower was erected in the thirteenth century, and it rises from the intersection of nave and transepts to the height of 214 feet. It is characterized by a singular combination of elegance and massiveness. The Irish-Romanesque and Norman styles of architecture are conspicuous in the oldest portions of the building, while the introduction of a congeries of highly instructive examples illustrate gradual changes in the English style down to the commencement of the fifteenth century. The extreme length of the whole edifice, exclusive of the great west porch or Galilee, is 411 feet. The interior of this Cathedral is awe-inspiring, owing to its ponderous style and noble details. The Galilee, or Lady's Chapel, and the Cloisters of the former monastery, adjoin on the south side of the Nave, and connected with them and the south transept is the Chapter House. 10^ The Cathedral and See of Durham have an interesting history connected with them, but which forms no theme of our 10*
special subject.
Before the arrival of St. Aidan to commence his apostolate in Northum-
bria, it is said, that King Edwin had built a small church and a convent of wood at Tynemouth,los in which his daughter Rosella assumed the veil. 100
Subsequently, and probably owing to the suggestion of our Saint, King Oswald who succeeded had the primitive structure replaced by one of stone.
ThiswasdedicatedtoSt. Mary. However,duringtheeighthcentury,that religious establishment had been frequently plundered by the Danes, who continued their devastations in the succeeding centuries, until the buildings
were 10? The remains still finally destroyed.
103 Three fine folio
the prior of the monastery, towards the close of the eleventh
existing
later erection, and they contain long lancet windows with pointed arches. 108
The ruins rise on a peninsular rock, and they are romantically situated over the River Tyne.
In Scotland, churches were formally dedicated in honour of St. Aidan at
Cambusnethan100 and Menmuir. Near to this latter place, used to be St ,
100 On the nth of August, 1093. William Dugdale's " Monasticon An- 101 Also known as Malcolm III. , son of glicanum," edited by John Caley, Esq. ,
Duncan.
"
Malcolm Ceanmor reigned from
F. R. S. S. A. ; Henry Ellis, LL. B. ,F. R. S. S. A„ and the Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, D. D. See vol. i. , pp. 219 to 252.
I95 It is now a parish of Northumberland-
shire, and it assumes its name, from being
situated at the mouth of the River Tyne. The
Saxons had a fortress there, called Penbal
17th March, 1057-8, to 13th Novem—ber, 1093, the day on which he was slairf. " William F. Skene's " Celtic Scotland : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , n. 72, p. 431.
102 He wrote a Durham.
of the Church of
copperplate engravings, and drawn by John Coney, present a ground- plan, explained by marginal references, with an exterior and an interior view of Durham
"
Cathedral, are to be seen in his
siastical Edifices of the Olden Time. " A Plans, Sections and Details, of Ancient
History
"
lo6 See Samuel Lewis' "
Series of Etchings, with Ground-plans and Fac-similes of Hollar's Views of the Cathe-
English Edifices : with Historical and De-
scriptive Accounts of Each," vol. iv. , pp. 83 to 86.
dral and Conventual Churches, Monasteries,
Abbeys, Priories and other Ecclesiastical
Edifices of England and Wales. Vol. i. ,
Durham. London, 1842. Scott's
104 The reader who desires further en- lightenment may seek information in Sir
Eccle-
illustrated in a Series of Views, Elevations,
Crag, or
the head of the rock-rampart. " Topographical
indicate a of period
Dictionary of England," vol. iv. , p. 408.
10? See John Britton's "Architectural An-
tiquities of Great Britain, represented and
Io8
tions, the reader is referred to Sir Walter
"
Border Antiquities of England and Scotland," vol. i. , pp. 58 to 61.
I09 See Commissary Records of Glasgow.
For two beautiful copperplate illustra-
5 o4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Iten's Well, celebrated for the cure of asthma and cutaneous diseases. " In the immediate vicinity is Come's Wei), no doubt named after St. Colman. At Fearn is Aidan's Well. "1 At Jarrow, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, England, the Catholic Church there has been dedicated to St. Aidan.
We cannot accept as authentic the statement, that the present Saint left
behind him
any
considerable amount of
1 ' 2 Yet, we are
n3 on the
of Bale11* and
Possevin, Commentaria in Sacras Scripturas," lib. i. , as also
authority for the latter statement. "?
The name of St. Aidan has been inscribed in several ancient Martyr-
120
in the Martyrology of Donegal, as Aedhan, son to Lughar. Also, the
12
Circle of the Seasons ? has his festival at this day.
Likewise Offices have
been composed to honour him. Thus, we find, that he was commemorated
In Scotland, the memory of this Saint was par-* Thus, in the Kalendar of Drummond, at the 31st of St. Aidan is commemorated, also, in the Kalendar1 *1
stated in W. M. Hennessy's note.
"3 See O'Sullevan Beare's " Historian
Catholicae Iberniae Compendium," tomus i„ lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
I2< For this, he quotes Venerable Bede and Surius.
I2s Thus " In Sancti Aidani : Anglia
Harris, ""
authority
Homilias et Condones," lib. i. He remarks, moreover, that none of this Saint's works remain, but some Fragments of Conferences, which are mentioned by Bede. 116 How- ever, Dr. Lanigan questions the authority of Bale, on this point. He concludes, that the works mentioned by him were not written by our Saint. He was even unable to find, in what part of Bede's works, Harris found his
and Calendars. The
a festival, at the 31st of August, to honour Aedhan, Bishop of Innsi Medcoit. A similar notice is to be found, in that copy of it contained in the Book of Leinster. 110 Under the head of Inis Medcoit,120 Duald Mac Firbis121 enters
ologies
published Martyrology
Aedan, Bishop,
in a Calendar, at the same date. 12* He is noticed, on this day, in the Roman Martyrology, with an allusion to that remarkable miracle, which took place at the time of his death. I2s Again, at this same date, he is recorded
formerly in Ireland. ticularly venerated. August, he is noted,l s°
1. 0 " See Jervise's
History and Traditions of the Land of the Lindsays," p. 241.
1. 1
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 269.
"" He is omitted from the Catalogue of
the learned English writer, John Pits, in
" De Illustribus Britannise 1. 3SeeHarris'Ware. Vol.
1. 4 See "
Britannia? ," cent. lib. xiv.
Sacer. "
1,6 See Rev. James Wills' " Lives of Illus-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Ecclesiastical and Literary Series.
"Writers of Irrland," book i. , chap, iv. , p. 32.
Lindisfarnensis, animamcum cujus
"5 In "
Apperatus
p.
128. Editio novissima.
"6 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
First Period,
pp. 230, 231.
"7 See p. 244.
,28 A MS. in classed B. con-
"7
p. 135.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
T. C. D. , 1. 3, tains at August 31st, Kal. ii. . Sept. Sancti Aidani Epis. et Conf. ix. , Lect. per constit. A MS. in T. C. D. , classed B. 3. 9, registers August 31st, Kal. ii. , Sept. Sancti Aidani
Epis, et Conf. commemoratio iii. Lect.
,2» See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 269.
,30 Thus: "In Brittania Natale Sancti Con-
Scriptorum
Illustrium
Majoris
ovibus, Monachus. "—" Martyrologium Romanum,"
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xv. , sec. xiv. , n. 115, p. 426.
X,B
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxih. "» Thus : -Ae-oAm epip 1np me^ocoic. ,ao Inis Medcoit is now either Fame or
Lindisfarne, in England.
"'
See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. . part i. . pp. 116, 117.
128 120
Scriptoribus. "
ii. ,
Episcopi
Sanctus Cutbertus ovium pastor in cerium ferri vidisset, relictis factus est
fessoris et Episcopi Edain. " See ibid. , p. 23. '3. in the Kalendar of the Aberdeen '" He is under Inis Cathaigh, also, as Breviary, he is thus noticed : 31st Pridie
writings.
told, by 11 * that St. Aidan wrote
at 122 Father I23 inserts him August 31st. Henry Fitzsimon,
of 8 Tallagh" registers
August 3 1 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 505
and
2 of Aberdeen.
in the Kalendar of Adam
T 33
King,
David Camerarius, his feast has been placed at the 30th day of August 3S ;
but, this seems to have been a mistake of entry for the present date.
The wealth of the Church in those Ages of Faith, when our Saint lived, was in its extent, in the mode of its acquisition, and in the rule of its dis- pensation, consistent with that spiritual poverty, which belongs to the attainment of beatitude. Nor must we terminate our inquiries, respecting those who lived in external poverty or riches, without an examination from other sides, in what manner men living in those ages corresponded with an injunction from the Mount, following the first counsel that Christ gave. '36 Their humility and the manners which it originated are well illustrated, in the life of St. Aidan, and in the actions of his royal patrons, Oswald and Oswey. The apostolic spirit of St. Aidan seemed to be infused into the
souls of his successors in Northumbria ;*37 for by many of these, Christianity
was not only diffused over that Kingdom, but it spread to other places, as to
Mercia^8 and Essex. Even to the northern banks of the Thames, evangelists,
who derived their orders immediately or more remotely from St. Columba's
foundation at Iona, were found preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Anglo-
Saxon f 39 The that the native schools of Ireland sent forth people. fact,
teachers who enriched, not only the British Islands, but even distant king- doms on the Continent, with the fruits of their learning and zeal, has long been known to historians. It has also been well established, that monasteries founded by such missionaries continued to be fed from their native sources for many centuries. Hitherto it has been hardly recognized, that in the remote recesses of the Apennines and of the Alps, in the Tyrol, throughout the various German States, and along the banks of the distant Danube, there still exist material remains and perponal relics of those devoted men. It is to be hoped, however, that the ages of investigation and enlightenment, now so happily progressive, shall soon bring to light the religious, social and literary services Ireland rendered to past and to future times by anticipation, and at periods when darkness and barbarism overspread the whole of
Europe.
Article II. —St. Senan, Sessan, or Sessen, of Ath-omna, possibly Portumna,CountyofGalway. AfeastforSt. SenanofAtha-omnaoccurs
Also,
in the " Menologium Scoticum," of Dempster,^ and at the 31st of August, his festival is recorded. Among the Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of
T
p.
.
Martyrology^
Kal. Oct. —"AidaniEpiscopietConfessoris,"
Anglorum Apostolus ex Hoy insula una Hebridum ad Anglos ad Christi fidcm conuertendos missus. " See ibid. , p. 240.
I36 See Kenelm H. Digby's "Mores Catho- situs Sancti Aydani primi Lindisfernensis lici ; or, Ages of Faith," vol. i. , book i. ,
episcopi et confessaris cuius animam Sanctus chap, iii. , p. 39.
120. ibid.
132 The Martyrology of Aberdeen says at
Pridie Kl. Septembris—" In Britannia tran-
Cuthbertus vidit in celis ab angelis deferri. " ""
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 267.
133 Thus : "S. Aidane bischop of nor- thumberland scotisman vnder king donald," See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 160.
134 Thus " In Northumbria Aidani Apos- :
toli, Lindisfarnensis archiepiscopi, qui re- gulam Benedictinam reformavit et S. Heinam primam conuentualem suae patriae monialem velavit VV. BT. " See ibid. , p. 210.
135 Thus " Die. Sanctus Aidanus siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. : 30
Confessor, Lindisfernensis Episcopus et xxi. , xxii. , xxiv.
137 See Rev. James Craigie Robertson's
History of the Christian Church, from the Election of Pope Gregory the Great to the Concordat of Worms," a. d. 590—1 122, vol. ii. , chap, iii. , p. 63.
I38 The first missionary bishop among the Mercians and Midland Angles was St. Dima or Dioma, whose Acts are given in the Second Volume of this work, at the 22nd of February, the date for his festival, Art. ix.
I39 See Venerable Bede's "Historia Eccle-
5°6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
1
in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, on this day, as also in that copy
to be found in the Book of Leinster. 2 Ath-Omna means the " Ford of the
Oak " and it may have been the ancient denomination of Port-Omna, now ;
Portumna,3 on the River Shannon, in the Barony of Longford and County of Galway. It is within the parish of Lickmolassy. * The place is of great antiquity, and a town is said to have been there for many centuries before Ireland
became subject to the control of the sister kingdom.
English Edifices ; with Historical and De-
scriptive Accounts of each," vol. iv„ pp. 52 to 59. The historical Article on " Lindis-
fame, or Holy Island Monastery, Durham," is written by William Bendon, Esq.
^ See Sir Walter Scott's " Border An- tiquities of England and Scotland," &c, vol. ii. , pp. 135, 136. In this connexion,
successit. "— Chronica Magistri Rogeri also, there are three most beautiful copper-
de Houedene, vol. i. , Pars Prior, p. 62. Edited by William Stubbs, M. A.
86 See Bishop Godwin's " De Prsesulibus Anglise Commentarius," &c, p. 725.
87 See MatthseiPaiisiensis, Monachi Sancti
Albani, "Chronica Majora," vol. i. , a. d.
968, p. 465.
plate engravings, representing the Abbey Church from different points of view.
9° See this incident as related in Willelmi
Malmesbiriensis Monachi " De Gestis Pon-
tificum Anglorum," lib. iii. , sect. 130, p. 270. Edition of N. E. S. Hamilton.
91 In the first instance, the monks of
Lindisfarne moved to Chester-le-Street, a
place formerly occupied by a Roman Station, known as Condercum, in Durham, and sub- sequently they went to Ripon, in Yorkshire,
88
For some beautiful copperplate re-
presentations of these ruins, the reader is referred to John Britton's " Architectural
Antiquities of Great Britain, represented
9* See Guthrie's " River James
History and Resources," p. 6.
and illustrated in a Series of
tions, Plans, Sections and Details, of Ancient
Views,
Eleva-
Tyne
: its
By whom, or at what exact
This afterwards led
having
5 o2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
chosen. Having removed St. Cuthbert's relics thither, the bishop and his community of monks abandoned their old monastery, and began the erection of another on the site designated. The foundation of Durham is assigned to the latter part of the tenth century. 93
Although centuries had passed over since his death, yet St. Aidan is
regarded first in the line of bishops, that take their name from Durham. ^*
This city is in the county so called, and it is situated on a rocky eminence, partiallysurroundedbytheRiverWear. Itsdesignationisthoughttohave been derived from the Saxon or Celtic words Dun, " a hill," and Holme, " a river island. " A chapel was founded on the steep plateau, towards the close of the tenth century ; and about the same time, the place was fortified, to protect it from the Danish ravages. It is said, the first structure was only of wicker-work, and that a few years afterwards, Bishop Aldun had it replaced by a stone-built church. Soon houses and a population were gathered around it. Walls were built to include the precincts of this ancient city, and a castle stood within them on a commanding site. The northern province of Northumbria had been exposed to the inroads of King Malcolm of Scotland, the son of Kenneth, a. d. 1006,95 during the reign of King Ethelred over the English. He laid siege to Durham, while Bishop Aldun presided in that See, and having under his command the entire military force of Scotland. ? 6 However, a youth of great energy, and well skilled in military affairs, Uchtrad, who was son to Waltheof, the aged Earl of the Northumbrians, collected a considerable number of the men of Northumbria and of York. 97 With these, he proceeded to raise the siege. He then fought a great battle, in which nearly the entire multitude of the Scots was cut to pieces ; their
8
king himself and a few others escaping with difficulty. 9
His successor, Duncan, had also entertained an ambitious hope of
annexing the province of Northumbria to his Kingdom of Scotland ; and with that purpose in view, he collected a multitude of troops for its invasion, about the year 1038. However, he did not succeed in that attempt. In 1040, the King of Scotland besieged Durham, but his forces were totally vanquished. Afterwards, the heads of the Scottish leaders, slain or captured, having heen fixed on poles, were set up in the market place. 99 Consequent on the Anglo-Norman Invasion of England, several of the Saxons assembled here, and erected a castle with other fortifications. They made a temporary resistance, but not receiving assistance, they fled. Then William the Conqueror took possession of Durham, and granted many privileges to the inhabitants. In 1069, Robert Comyn, Earl of Northumberland, appointed governor of that city, entered it with a Norman guard of 700 soldiers. There they committed great enormities.
The foundations of the majestic Cathedral of Durham, as it now stands,
9! It is said to have been in the seventeenth & See Edward A. Freeman's " History of year of Ethelred, the English monarch, ihat the Norman Conquest of England," vol. i. ,
Aldhun, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, was p, 357.
moved monition to remove the 97 An account of this by angelic
siege
remains cf St. Cuthbert to Durham. See not by some other writer, possibly by
" Church of under Simeon of Durham, in his " Historia Eccle- History England
Oressy's
Saxon and Danish Monarchs, part iv. , siae Dunhelmensis," vol. i. , Auctarium,
book xxxii. , chap, xii. , p. 901.
9* See Alfred Webb's "Compendium of
Irish Biography," p. 3.
95 According to the Annals of Ulster.
See "Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and other Early Memorials of Scottish History," edited by William F. Skene LL. D. , p. 366.
pars, iii. , sect. I, pp. 215, 216. Edition of Thomas Arnold, M. A. , London, 1S82, 8vo.
9s See William F. Skene's " Celtic Scot- land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , p. 385.
»See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. no.
'
is if given,
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 503 were laid100 by Malcolm Ceanmore,101 King of Scotland, Bishop Carilepho
102
and Turgot,
century. Thirty years elapsed before it was completed. The original form of the structure is that of a long cross, with two turrets at the west end.
Between them is a large and richly ornamented door of entrance. The great or central tower was erected in the thirteenth century, and it rises from the intersection of nave and transepts to the height of 214 feet. It is characterized by a singular combination of elegance and massiveness. The Irish-Romanesque and Norman styles of architecture are conspicuous in the oldest portions of the building, while the introduction of a congeries of highly instructive examples illustrate gradual changes in the English style down to the commencement of the fifteenth century. The extreme length of the whole edifice, exclusive of the great west porch or Galilee, is 411 feet. The interior of this Cathedral is awe-inspiring, owing to its ponderous style and noble details. The Galilee, or Lady's Chapel, and the Cloisters of the former monastery, adjoin on the south side of the Nave, and connected with them and the south transept is the Chapter House. 10^ The Cathedral and See of Durham have an interesting history connected with them, but which forms no theme of our 10*
special subject.
Before the arrival of St. Aidan to commence his apostolate in Northum-
bria, it is said, that King Edwin had built a small church and a convent of wood at Tynemouth,los in which his daughter Rosella assumed the veil. 100
Subsequently, and probably owing to the suggestion of our Saint, King Oswald who succeeded had the primitive structure replaced by one of stone.
ThiswasdedicatedtoSt. Mary. However,duringtheeighthcentury,that religious establishment had been frequently plundered by the Danes, who continued their devastations in the succeeding centuries, until the buildings
were 10? The remains still finally destroyed.
103 Three fine folio
the prior of the monastery, towards the close of the eleventh
existing
later erection, and they contain long lancet windows with pointed arches. 108
The ruins rise on a peninsular rock, and they are romantically situated over the River Tyne.
In Scotland, churches were formally dedicated in honour of St. Aidan at
Cambusnethan100 and Menmuir. Near to this latter place, used to be St ,
100 On the nth of August, 1093. William Dugdale's " Monasticon An- 101 Also known as Malcolm III. , son of glicanum," edited by John Caley, Esq. ,
Duncan.
"
Malcolm Ceanmor reigned from
F. R. S. S. A. ; Henry Ellis, LL. B. ,F. R. S. S. A„ and the Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, D. D. See vol. i. , pp. 219 to 252.
I95 It is now a parish of Northumberland-
shire, and it assumes its name, from being
situated at the mouth of the River Tyne. The
Saxons had a fortress there, called Penbal
17th March, 1057-8, to 13th Novem—ber, 1093, the day on which he was slairf. " William F. Skene's " Celtic Scotland : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , n. 72, p. 431.
102 He wrote a Durham.
of the Church of
copperplate engravings, and drawn by John Coney, present a ground- plan, explained by marginal references, with an exterior and an interior view of Durham
"
Cathedral, are to be seen in his
siastical Edifices of the Olden Time. " A Plans, Sections and Details, of Ancient
History
"
lo6 See Samuel Lewis' "
Series of Etchings, with Ground-plans and Fac-similes of Hollar's Views of the Cathe-
English Edifices : with Historical and De-
scriptive Accounts of Each," vol. iv. , pp. 83 to 86.
dral and Conventual Churches, Monasteries,
Abbeys, Priories and other Ecclesiastical
Edifices of England and Wales. Vol. i. ,
Durham. London, 1842. Scott's
104 The reader who desires further en- lightenment may seek information in Sir
Eccle-
illustrated in a Series of Views, Elevations,
Crag, or
the head of the rock-rampart. " Topographical
indicate a of period
Dictionary of England," vol. iv. , p. 408.
10? See John Britton's "Architectural An-
tiquities of Great Britain, represented and
Io8
tions, the reader is referred to Sir Walter
"
Border Antiquities of England and Scotland," vol. i. , pp. 58 to 61.
I09 See Commissary Records of Glasgow.
For two beautiful copperplate illustra-
5 o4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Iten's Well, celebrated for the cure of asthma and cutaneous diseases. " In the immediate vicinity is Come's Wei), no doubt named after St. Colman. At Fearn is Aidan's Well. "1 At Jarrow, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, England, the Catholic Church there has been dedicated to St. Aidan.
We cannot accept as authentic the statement, that the present Saint left
behind him
any
considerable amount of
1 ' 2 Yet, we are
n3 on the
of Bale11* and
Possevin, Commentaria in Sacras Scripturas," lib. i. , as also
authority for the latter statement. "?
The name of St. Aidan has been inscribed in several ancient Martyr-
120
in the Martyrology of Donegal, as Aedhan, son to Lughar. Also, the
12
Circle of the Seasons ? has his festival at this day.
Likewise Offices have
been composed to honour him. Thus, we find, that he was commemorated
In Scotland, the memory of this Saint was par-* Thus, in the Kalendar of Drummond, at the 31st of St. Aidan is commemorated, also, in the Kalendar1 *1
stated in W. M. Hennessy's note.
"3 See O'Sullevan Beare's " Historian
Catholicae Iberniae Compendium," tomus i„ lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
I2< For this, he quotes Venerable Bede and Surius.
I2s Thus " In Sancti Aidani : Anglia
Harris, ""
authority
Homilias et Condones," lib. i. He remarks, moreover, that none of this Saint's works remain, but some Fragments of Conferences, which are mentioned by Bede. 116 How- ever, Dr. Lanigan questions the authority of Bale, on this point. He concludes, that the works mentioned by him were not written by our Saint. He was even unable to find, in what part of Bede's works, Harris found his
and Calendars. The
a festival, at the 31st of August, to honour Aedhan, Bishop of Innsi Medcoit. A similar notice is to be found, in that copy of it contained in the Book of Leinster. 110 Under the head of Inis Medcoit,120 Duald Mac Firbis121 enters
ologies
published Martyrology
Aedan, Bishop,
in a Calendar, at the same date. 12* He is noticed, on this day, in the Roman Martyrology, with an allusion to that remarkable miracle, which took place at the time of his death. I2s Again, at this same date, he is recorded
formerly in Ireland. ticularly venerated. August, he is noted,l s°
1. 0 " See Jervise's
History and Traditions of the Land of the Lindsays," p. 241.
1. 1
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 269.
"" He is omitted from the Catalogue of
the learned English writer, John Pits, in
" De Illustribus Britannise 1. 3SeeHarris'Ware. Vol.
1. 4 See "
Britannia? ," cent. lib. xiv.
Sacer. "
1,6 See Rev. James Wills' " Lives of Illus-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Ecclesiastical and Literary Series.
"Writers of Irrland," book i. , chap, iv. , p. 32.
Lindisfarnensis, animamcum cujus
"5 In "
Apperatus
p.
128. Editio novissima.
"6 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
First Period,
pp. 230, 231.
"7 See p. 244.
,28 A MS. in classed B. con-
"7
p. 135.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
T. C. D. , 1. 3, tains at August 31st, Kal. ii. . Sept. Sancti Aidani Epis. et Conf. ix. , Lect. per constit. A MS. in T. C. D. , classed B. 3. 9, registers August 31st, Kal. ii. , Sept. Sancti Aidani
Epis, et Conf. commemoratio iii. Lect.
,2» See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 269.
,30 Thus: "In Brittania Natale Sancti Con-
Scriptorum
Illustrium
Majoris
ovibus, Monachus. "—" Martyrologium Romanum,"
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xv. , sec. xiv. , n. 115, p. 426.
X,B
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxih. "» Thus : -Ae-oAm epip 1np me^ocoic. ,ao Inis Medcoit is now either Fame or
Lindisfarne, in England.
"'
See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. . part i. . pp. 116, 117.
128 120
Scriptoribus. "
ii. ,
Episcopi
Sanctus Cutbertus ovium pastor in cerium ferri vidisset, relictis factus est
fessoris et Episcopi Edain. " See ibid. , p. 23. '3. in the Kalendar of the Aberdeen '" He is under Inis Cathaigh, also, as Breviary, he is thus noticed : 31st Pridie
writings.
told, by 11 * that St. Aidan wrote
at 122 Father I23 inserts him August 31st. Henry Fitzsimon,
of 8 Tallagh" registers
August 3 1 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 505
and
2 of Aberdeen.
in the Kalendar of Adam
T 33
King,
David Camerarius, his feast has been placed at the 30th day of August 3S ;
but, this seems to have been a mistake of entry for the present date.
The wealth of the Church in those Ages of Faith, when our Saint lived, was in its extent, in the mode of its acquisition, and in the rule of its dis- pensation, consistent with that spiritual poverty, which belongs to the attainment of beatitude. Nor must we terminate our inquiries, respecting those who lived in external poverty or riches, without an examination from other sides, in what manner men living in those ages corresponded with an injunction from the Mount, following the first counsel that Christ gave. '36 Their humility and the manners which it originated are well illustrated, in the life of St. Aidan, and in the actions of his royal patrons, Oswald and Oswey. The apostolic spirit of St. Aidan seemed to be infused into the
souls of his successors in Northumbria ;*37 for by many of these, Christianity
was not only diffused over that Kingdom, but it spread to other places, as to
Mercia^8 and Essex. Even to the northern banks of the Thames, evangelists,
who derived their orders immediately or more remotely from St. Columba's
foundation at Iona, were found preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Anglo-
Saxon f 39 The that the native schools of Ireland sent forth people. fact,
teachers who enriched, not only the British Islands, but even distant king- doms on the Continent, with the fruits of their learning and zeal, has long been known to historians. It has also been well established, that monasteries founded by such missionaries continued to be fed from their native sources for many centuries. Hitherto it has been hardly recognized, that in the remote recesses of the Apennines and of the Alps, in the Tyrol, throughout the various German States, and along the banks of the distant Danube, there still exist material remains and perponal relics of those devoted men. It is to be hoped, however, that the ages of investigation and enlightenment, now so happily progressive, shall soon bring to light the religious, social and literary services Ireland rendered to past and to future times by anticipation, and at periods when darkness and barbarism overspread the whole of
Europe.
Article II. —St. Senan, Sessan, or Sessen, of Ath-omna, possibly Portumna,CountyofGalway. AfeastforSt. SenanofAtha-omnaoccurs
Also,
in the " Menologium Scoticum," of Dempster,^ and at the 31st of August, his festival is recorded. Among the Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of
T
p.
.
Martyrology^
Kal. Oct. —"AidaniEpiscopietConfessoris,"
Anglorum Apostolus ex Hoy insula una Hebridum ad Anglos ad Christi fidcm conuertendos missus. " See ibid. , p. 240.
I36 See Kenelm H. Digby's "Mores Catho- situs Sancti Aydani primi Lindisfernensis lici ; or, Ages of Faith," vol. i. , book i. ,
episcopi et confessaris cuius animam Sanctus chap, iii. , p. 39.
120. ibid.
132 The Martyrology of Aberdeen says at
Pridie Kl. Septembris—" In Britannia tran-
Cuthbertus vidit in celis ab angelis deferri. " ""
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 267.
133 Thus : "S. Aidane bischop of nor- thumberland scotisman vnder king donald," See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 160.
134 Thus " In Northumbria Aidani Apos- :
toli, Lindisfarnensis archiepiscopi, qui re- gulam Benedictinam reformavit et S. Heinam primam conuentualem suae patriae monialem velavit VV. BT. " See ibid. , p. 210.
135 Thus " Die. Sanctus Aidanus siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. : 30
Confessor, Lindisfernensis Episcopus et xxi. , xxii. , xxiv.
137 See Rev. James Craigie Robertson's
History of the Christian Church, from the Election of Pope Gregory the Great to the Concordat of Worms," a. d. 590—1 122, vol. ii. , chap, iii. , p. 63.
I38 The first missionary bishop among the Mercians and Midland Angles was St. Dima or Dioma, whose Acts are given in the Second Volume of this work, at the 22nd of February, the date for his festival, Art. ix.
I39 See Venerable Bede's "Historia Eccle-
5°6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
1
in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, on this day, as also in that copy
to be found in the Book of Leinster. 2 Ath-Omna means the " Ford of the
Oak " and it may have been the ancient denomination of Port-Omna, now ;
Portumna,3 on the River Shannon, in the Barony of Longford and County of Galway. It is within the parish of Lickmolassy. * The place is of great antiquity, and a town is said to have been there for many centuries before Ireland
became subject to the control of the sister kingdom.
