No More Learning

the Anglo-Saxons called it Wuidland, or Withland, whilst the Britons called it Guith. In Caermarthen, ascribed to old Demetia, Whiteland was known by the Latin desig- nation where a
° to Ussher's "
According Prinr\ordia,"
magnificent
p. 472, and Stillingfleet's "History of the British Churches," there had been a school of Paulinus at Withland or Whiteland, in Caermarthen, and not the Isle of Wight, as some have made it, in which St. David spentsomeofhisearlyyears. SeehisActs, at the 1st of March, cap. 8. Paulinus is said to have been a disciple of Iltutus. Con- sidering the period, at which Iltutus' school
Albalandia,
Cistercian monastery was built, regarding which a charter of King John exists. See
" Monasticon Anglicanum," p. 884 et seq. This lay near Glamorgan, wiiere lUtutus opened his school. Whiteland is mistaken for the Isle of Wight, by the learned Alban Butler, in his Life of St. David, at the 1st
"
of March. See Lives of the Fathers,
" MartyrsandotherprincipalSaints, vol. iii,
14 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i.
lived, and in a very holy manner. This distinguished teacher had been
deprived of sight. Calling his disciples together, Paulinus ordered each in turn to ofifer a prayer, and then to make a sign of the cross over his eyes. All
obeyed these injunctions, but without any healing result, until David was called. This truly modest and humble young priest, by a religious habit
"
"I have not seen the face of my master. " "Then," replied Paulinus,
" touch my eyes, that I may behold thee " David obeyed the order, and
!
sight was immediately restored to his beloved master. However, such was
the extraordinary abnegation and modesty of our saint, that for ten years so- journ with Paulinus, he never allowed his eyes to gaze upon the features of his holy director. •'s
In assuming Paulinus to have been the master of David, it is thought by Colgan, the former must have acted in his capacity, as teacher to our saint, before the end of the fifth century, Ussher^s opinion would seem to be,*° that David—having been already promoted to the priesthood—studied under Paulinus, at the very commencement of the sixth century, and that he was a fellow-disciple, about this time, with Theliaus. <7 However, vainly endeavour- ing to identify this Paulinus,'^^ master of St. David, with others bearing a similar name, Colgan is forced to a conclusion, that he may have been Hil- dutus or Iltutus,'>9 and especially led to this inference, from one or two circumstances related, regarding this latter saint. The first of these is, that in David's Life, published by himself, there is mention made concerning St. Paulinus,andyetnowordaboutSt. Iltutus,5°asoursaint'steacher; likewise, in a Life of this latter, which he cites, David, with others, is said to have been taught by Iltutus. s' In the second plact, as by the Rothe MS. , by Capgrave,5^ and by Giraldus,53 Paulinus is called a disciple of St. Gerraanus,54
acquired, constantly kept his eyes fixed on the ground.
Hitherto," said he,
* By Capgrave, he is called, Paulentus, or Poulentus.
° See, at the year 500, Ussher's " Index
Chronologicus. "' It is strange, Colgan should cite Ussher, as naming a. d. 484, for this course of instruction, more than once. He then infers from it, that a certain St. Paulus, who died, A. D. 600 or 620, could not have been the Paulinus, who was David's teacher, A. D. 484. Ussher has no such account. St. Paulus, called Leonensis Episcopus, is said to have been a disciple of Iltutus, and to have died at Bath, more than one hundred years old, A. D. 600, according
*' Capgrave gives his Acts, and tells us, he was venerated, on the viii. of the Ides of November,
so His feast occurs, at the 6th of Novem- ber. He died, at Del, in the sixth century. S' Speaking about this saint, his Life has
"
" Acta Sanctoram Hiber-
*5 See
niae," i. Martii. Vita S. Davidis, cap. vi. , vii. , viii. , p. 426.
Colgan's
to Claudius Robert, in
"
porum Leonensium," at this year. Ussher
also places his death, about the same time,
"
in his Index Chronologicus ;" but, in the
"
body of his work, adds,
pervenisse traditur," and for this latter date, he cites John Capgrave, after Vita S. Itha- mari. See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
"
Antiquitates, cap. xiv. , p. 290.
*7 His feast occurs, at the 9th of February.
*^ Giraldus " tandem Paulinus says :
rarius,
nius, in his notes to the Martyrology, at the loth of October. Colgan, however, adds
epis- copus, cum quo David olim liberalibus dis-
regarding
him: " Sed an in Britanniam
ciplinis in pueritia studuerat. " From this, it is not easy to determine, whether Pauli- nus was the master or fellow-disciple of St. David.
venerit, vel institutor S. Davidis usque ad
annum 570 pervenerit, nullomihiargumento
constat. "
5= Capgrave calls him Paulentus.
53 Giraldus names him Paulinus. It is
Catalogus Episco-
vel etiam DCXX.
it, that many scholars flocked to him,
rum de numero quatuoristi, Samson, Pauli- nus, Gildas, et Dewi, id est, David, stude- bant sapienter. " Here, Paulinus or Paulas is represented as a fellow-disciple of St. David. Colgan tells us, he who in the Life of Iltutus is titled Paulinus, should rather be regarded as " Paulus episcopus Oxismorum sive Leonensis. " This would appear, from a Life of St. Gildas, in Bibliotheca Floria- censi, where Gildas, Paulus Leonensis and Samson are enumerated, among the dis- ciples of Hiltutus. How is it likely, we may ask, that the master and disciple, bear- ing different names, could have been mis- taken for one and the same person ? There was another St. Paulinus, Bishop of Capua, who lived about A. D. 570, according to Fer-
" De Sanctis and to Baro- Italia? ,"
quo-
March i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 15
the Bishop ; so, according to another authority, St. Iltutus is said to have been a disciple of the same GernKinus. ss And lastly, St. Paulinus, together
with David, Dubricius,s6 Daniel," and others, is reported to have assisted at the Synod of p]revi,58 \^^\^ \^^ the country of Ceretica. Now, St. Iltutus is
supposed to have fiourished, about the same time, and in this same region. It is not hkely, he was absent from such an important Synod, writes Colgan ; or, if present, that he had been omitted from that account, contained in the RotheMS. S9 Theauthor,whowrotethisLifeofSt. David,seemstohave supposed, that the person, called by him Paulinus, had been named Iltutus, by other writers. ^" Indeed, it becomes no easy matter to determine this
question, with any perfect degree of accuracy.
CHAPTER III.
ST. DAVID ADMONISHED BY AN ANGEL TO COMMENCE HIS MISSION—RESTORES GLASTON- BURY—BUILDS A CHAPEL IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY—KING INA's FOUNDATIONS FOR IRISHvSTUDENTS—DEATH AND BURIAL OF KING ARTHUR—RELI- GIOUS ERECTION AT BATH BY ST. DAVID—HE BLESSES THE SPRINGS AT THIS PLACE —MISSIONARY Vl^ORKS UNDERTAKEN BY ST. DAVID, DURING THE SAXON INCUR- SIONS—CONDITION OF W^ALES ABOUT THIS PERIOD—KING ERTIG's SIGHT RESTORED —AN ANGELIC MONITION—MANY DISCIPLES FLOCK TO ST. DAVID—OPPOSITION EX- PERIENCED, AND THE DESIGNS OF PAGAN ENEMIES FRUSTRATED.
When David had
of time with the — Paulinus, Angel
It is time that God's beloved
a talent entrusted to thy care should be presented for the salvation of souls. " And the works of our saint soon became manifested to men. He founded or re-edified no less than twelve monasteries. Among these, one of the most celebrated was known as Glastonbury, on the confines of Somerset-
shire. However, we are not to regard St. David, as the original founder, but rather as the rebuilder or restorer of this ancient religious establishment. ^ For we even learn, from an ancient local chronicle, that when Archbishop of Caerleon on Usk, St. David,^ with seven bishops, over whom he presided,
spent
a sufficient
length^ "
of the Lord said to this latter — man holy
:
not reasonable to suppose, he could be iden-
tical with St. Paulinus, Apostle of Northum-
bria, and Archbishop of York, who died
A. D. 640. See his Life, at the loth of inum Britannicis scriptoribus ignotum, si a October, the day of his feast, in Rev. Alban
Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. x.
s-* His feast is held, on the 26th of July.
"
55 Vincentius,
lib. XX. cap. 105, and Vita S. Samsonis, preserved in a Landafif Registry.
s* His festival is usually observed, on the 14th of November.
57 His feast is assigned, to the 23rd of November.
Paulino sit diversus. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," i. Martii. Vita S. Davidis, n.
"
In Speculo Hystoriali,"
St. Joseph of Arima- thea, with his disciples, is said to have settled in this place, and to have consecrated it. Afterwards, St. Fagan, St. David, St. Patrick, with innumerable other holy and learned men, are found connected, by writers, with this celebrated monastery. Ussher cites the following —Latia verses,
58 A. D. 519, according to Ussher. See
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
taken from an old chronicle
" Intrat Avalloniam duodena caterva vir- orum;
Flos Arimathese Joseph est primus eorum.
Josephes ex Joseph genitus patrem comi- tatur ;
His aliisque decern jus Glastoniae pro- priatur,"
cap. xiii. , pp. 253, 254, and "Index Chro- "
nologicus adann. DXIX. ,p. 526.
59 The only inference to be drawn from such a statement is, that under the title Paulinus must also be understood a personal
identity with St. Iltutus.
*° Our Irish hagiologist adds: "Alias
cur sileret discipulatum apud Iltutum, virum origine Britannum et inter Britannos notissi-
mum, memorato ejus discipulatu apud Paul-
lo, p. 431. — Chapter iil
'
:
i6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i.
visitedGlastonburyabouta. d,565. 3 Therehemadearrangements,fordedicating its old church, in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Anotherrecord, innearly similiar terms, assigns this dedication to the year preceding. * Yet, in a more modern work, it is stated, that at a still earlier period, about a. d. 530,5 St. David and his suffragan bishops laid out vast sums in adding to and adorn- ing buildings, belonging to this monastery. From a certain old record,^ we learn, that when St. David came to Glastonbury, he intended to dedicate the church, already restored to nearly its former appearance. Yet, the Lord miraculously appeared to him in sleep, and dissuaded him from this purpose. ^ Being warned by a Divine revelation, St. David added another minor chapel, in form of a chancel, to the eastern side of this church. This he consecrated, inhonouroftheBlessedVirginMary; and,tocommemoratestillmoresuch an event, he brought a precious altar of his own to the place. That posterity might know at what point the chapel had been united to the church, a pyra- mid was exteriorly erected, towards the north ; and, an inner grade or line, facing the south, showed the place where St. Joseph, with a great number of saints, had been buried, according to the opinion of some antiquarians. This place became a sepulchre in after time, for kings, queens, bishops, and nobles. The chapel was consequently held in great veneration, and it was munificently endowed. ^
In a charter of Ina, king over the East Saxons, several hides of land,
with other privileges and possessions, are enumerated, as having been be- stowed on this old chapel? of the Blessed Virgin. These were intended for
the use of Glastonbury monks, who had practised there a life of regular observance. The date of this charter has been assigned to a. d. 725. '°
It was tradi: ionally held, that when the little ancient church, said to have
been here built by Joseph of Arimathea, fell into decay, David, Bishop of St. David's, erected a new one, on the same spot. This structure appears to have been evanescent, as the former ;" for, it became ruinous, in a short time. It was next rebuilt, by twelve persons, from the northern parts of Britain. Even this latter church did not last ; for King Ina had it pulled down, towards the close of the seventh or commencement of the eighth
See
"
Britannicanim Ecclesiarum Antiqui-
History of Glastonbury church, preserved
tates,"cap. ii. ,p. 8. Also,cap. vi. ,pp. 55, 56. 'Our saint is there called "Legionum
Archiepiscopus. " Under the year of grace 516, we read, "Duhritius urbis Legionum Archiepiscopus," in Matthew of Westmin-
in the Cotton Library. See Anglicanum," vol. i. , p. I.
"
Monasticon
"
3 This visit has been assigned to A. D. 566.
A tablet at Glastonbury placed it at 565. But these dates are subsequent to the year generally assigned for our saint's death.
* See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. v. , p. 47. This learned writer places the work of restoration
quod Dominus ipse Ecclesiam ipsam prius cum ejus Cimiterio dedicaverat, manum
Episcopi digito perforavit ; et sic perlorata multis videntibus in crastino apparuit. " See also Rev. John Adams' "Chronicles of Cornish Saints. " S. David,
ster. See
Flores Ilistoriarum," p. 185.
See " Index Chrono-
or, a Chronographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the
Islands adjacent, from the earliest Anti-
quity. " By William Camden. Translated
from the edition published by the Author in man's
under the year 529. logicus,"p. 528.
"
a Pontifex summus Anglorem Christus
5 See "Britannia ;
cally remarked :
Quam niagnus Sacerdos
MDCVii. Enlarged by the latest discoveries,
Concilia," pp. 227, 22S. " See i^/</. , p. 227.
by
Richard
Gough, (u. )
R. L. S. ,
vol. >
i. ,
orplanks, no trace of it can be found
F. A. &
Such account is contained in a MS. at present.
note *
and
p. 58,
consequently
' xhe account adds
:
" Necnon in signum
^
ancient ruins are to be seen appended to the
Views of Glastonbury town and its
foregoing account, in " Monasticon Angli- canuni," vol. i. , p. 3.
^ Before particularizing the several dona- tives to this estabiishmeiit, it is parentheti-
obsequio, sibi ac perpelua; Virgini Mariae,
et beato David, multis et inaudiiis miraculis
olim se sanctiticasse innotuit. " See Spel-
*'
" It w. as built of wood probably
March i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 17
century. He then built a magnificent one, which was dedicated in honour of Christ, under the invocation of his two glorious Apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, as an inscription in elegiac Latin verse on its upper cornice testified. "
"
we are informed, devoted themselves to a religious life. They were main-
tained at the king's expense, while engaged instructing youth in the princi- ples of religion, in practices of piety, and in an acquisition of the liberal sciences. '3 Even many of these students led solitary lives, that they might
have greater leisure for learned pursuits, and greater opportunities for the practice of asceticism and mortification. '* Owing to such circumstances, this place received the title, Glas-nan Geadhel, or Glassia Hibernorum, in Latin ; for, it became a favourite place of resort for our countrymen, many of whom rendered it still more celebrated, by their piety, learning and resi- dence. Amongst them, various saints are enumerated. 's
During the lifetime of David, lived his renowned kinsman King Arthur,'^
In those men of most early times,
exemplary lives,
especially
the
Irish," as
'^
This inscription, with a versified Eng- lish translation, is to be found in Cough's
Glastenbury, at that present, were translated into the great new cliurch, and there in a faire Tombe of Marble, his body was laid,
"
'3 One of the St. Patricks from Ireland
Camden's
Britannia," vol. i. , pp. 58, 59.
— knownasSt. PatrickSenior
which noble the fatall overthrowes of infinite more, was altogether raced at the disposeofsomethenincommission; whose
gathered, it is said, the first regular congrega- tion of monks. Here, likewise, he lived thirty years as a monk, and he was buried on the north side of the altar. See ibid. , and William of Malmsbury's "History and Anti- quities of Glastonbury," printed in folio, by Gale, at Oxford, A. D. 1691. Here, also, died and was interred the renowned King Arthur—said to have been St. David's nephew—on the 21st of May, A. D. 542.
too forward zeale, and ouer-hasty actions in these behalfes, hath left vnto vs a want of many truths, and cause to wish that some of their imployments had beene better spent. " —See Speed's " Historie of Great Britaine. " Booke vii. , chap, xii. , pp. 272, 273.
'^ See Cough's Camden's "Britannia. "
'5 The principal one of these was St. Patrick Senior,towhomMarianusO'Corman alludes in his Martyrology, at the 24th of
:
a. d. here 435,
—
and his Queenes at his feete Monument, among
According to a bardic tradition, Speed re-
lates, that his body was deposited between
two Pyramids, standing in the churchyard August, in these words " S. Patricius
of Clastonbury. King Henry II, of Eng- Senex in Ros-dela in regione de Magh-
"
land caused the ground to be digged, and lacha, et in Clais na ngaehkel, id est,
at seven foot depth was found a huge broad
stone, wherein a Leaden Crosse was fastened,
and in that side that lay downward, in rude
and barbarous letters (as rudely set and con-
trived) this inscription written vpon that
side of the lead that was towards the stone. "
There is an engraving of this lead cross,
with an inscription, in very ancient lettering,
given : IIic JACET sepultus inclitus
Rex Arturius in insula Avalonia. Glastoniae Hibernorum quiescit senior Patri-
The cross of lead and its inscription had been long preserved in the Treasury or
Register of Glastonbury church, until the time of Henry VIII. , according to Stowe. The body of Queen Gueneuer, Arthur's wife, was found beside his own. Both were
cius. Haec enim est civitas in Aquilonari regione Saxonum, et Scoti habitant earn.
Ejus autem reliquiae jacent in reliquiario S. Patricii Ardmachias. " The Martyrologies
of St. . (Engus, Maguire and Donegal, as we are told, have similar accounts, regarding this St. Patrick Senior, at the 24th of
enclosed in the trunk of a tree, nine feet be- "''
low the huge broad stone. " Ten wounds
were traceable on the skull of King Arthur.
Finely platted tresses, in colour like gold,
remained on the queen's skull. On being
touched, these latter turned into dust. Of
this exhumation, Giraldus Cambrensis was
an eye-witness. "The bones of King
Arthur and of Queen Guineuer, his wife, by the direction of Henry de Bloys, Nephew to
King Henry the Second, and Abbot of
August. However, in The Martyrology of Donegal," published by Drs. Todd and Reeves, I find no mention regarding him, at the date in question.
'* He is said to have been the son of Nazaleod or Uther, and to have succeeded him, A. D. 514. The war of Badon and King Arthur's great victory are commemo- rated at A. D. 516. See "Annales Cam- briae," edited by Rev. John Williams, ab
Glassiae Hibernorum, qua est urbs in Aquilonari regione Saxonum : in qua olim
suscepta peregrinatione solebant Hibemi habitare : ejus autem reliquiae jacent in re- liquiario Senioris Patricii Ardmachias. " And the Calendar of Cashel, at the same day, has
"
quiescit in Ros dela in regione Maclacha
the following account :
Patricius Senior
quiescit. Sed secundum aliquos, et verius,
;
B
i8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March i.
the heroic leader of the Britons, and the terror of their foes. We read, that
having been mortally wounded by ]\Iodred,'7 in Cornubia, near the river Kemelen, in the year of our Lord 542, Arthur had been brought to the Island of Avallon, so that his wound might be healed. Here he died, and was buried in the cemetery of the monks, during summer, and about the feast of Pentecost. His queen Guenevera was interred beside him. We are told, they rested in their grave for 648 years, when their remains were after- wards removed to the church. ^^ before the death of
larger Immediately
Arthur, in 542, he is said to have bequeathed his British crown to a kinsman,
named Constantine, son to Cador, Chief of Cornubia. Then, we are in-
formed, the most holy Archbishop of Caerleon, David, died in his city of Menevia, and within the Abbey, which he loved more than all the other reli- gious houses in his diocese. This was because, it had been founded by St. Patrick, who predicted his own nativity. ^9 Whilst sojourning in this monas- tery with his confreres, a sudden weakness, betokening the approach of death, came over him. By order of Malgon, King of the Venedoti, he was buried in the Church of Menevia. Then, after giving an account of Constantine's wars, it is said, he was killed by Conan, in the third year of his reign,^° which must have been, a. d. 545. ^'
Another recorded religious foundation, effected by St. David, was at Bath,^^ in Somersetshire. Here, we are told, that owing to his blessing,
Ithel, p. 3. Many fabulous and romantic Walter of Oxford, Geoffrey of Monmouth,
things have been related, concerning this re- Matthew of Westminster, Alan Insulensis, nownedchampionoftheBritishnation. He and the Annals of Winion monastery.
powerfully resisted the Pagan Saxons ; but, whether he was king of the Britons in
general, or only a Prince over Cornwall, is
uncertain. See Echard's " of History Eng-
Amongst Scottish writers, are John Fordun, John Major, and Hector Boetius, who ac- cord in tiieir several works. These are cited and followed Ussher.
vol. book
land," i. , i. , chap, ii. ,
'9
by Here, evidently,
the tradition popular
cent,
41. In another account, I find Uter" called Pendragon, of his Royal Banner bom ever before him ; wherein was pourtrayed a Dragon with a Golden Head, as in our English camps it is a—t this day born for the Imperial Standard. " Sir Richard Baker's
"Chronicle of the of Kings
Bollandist who "recte erui editor, says :
infra ex Vita, num. 17. mortuum esse anno
intermedio DXLIV. , quo cyclo solis XXL, litteris Dominicalibus CB, Kalendaj Martiae in feriam tertiam convenere : qui obitus ejus
"' characteres ibidem observantur. See 'Acta
Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii i. Vita S. Davidis. Commentarius Pr£evius, sect, ii. , n. 14, pp. 40, 41.
^^ The name, in the original account, is Badum. Camden has a description concern- ing it, in his account of Somersetshire. See
England," p. 4. By the same author, we are told, that Arthur was son "of the fair Lady Igren ;" but, we may well doubt the veracity of this account, as it has been connected with a fabulous and
an absurd tradition.
"
'' In I'olydori Vergilii Urbinatis An-
"
glicse Historian Libri Vigintiseptem, lib.
iii. , p. 60, this enemy of King Arthur is called "Mordredum nepotem. " He is said
to have excited insurrection, during the
king's absence on a warlike expedition,
the of Rome for its Mor- having city object.
dred is also said to have been killed in this battle. Polydore Virgil was bom about A. D. 1470, and he died in 1555. See notices
Coigau's Martii.
" Acta Sanctoram i. Hibemix,"
Vita S. Davidis, sect, ix. , p. 426,
regarding him and his writings, in the
''
Bio-
Camden's Brittannia," where it is de- scribed, as lying on the noble river Avon. It
"
is an ancient city,
its baths, TSara Qep/xa, or the IVartit
Waters; byAntoninusAqU/ESOLIS,bythe
Britons Yr ennaint twymin and. Caer
Badon, by the Saxons BathaucesU-r, Hat Bathan, and from the resort of the sick Akemanccstcr, q. d. the city of the sick ; by
Stcj)lianus Badiz<i, by us at present Bath,; and in niudcni Lutiu Bathouia, It stands
graphic Universelle, Ancienne et Modeme,
cr. Redige par une Societe de Gens de
Lcttres et de Savants. " Tome xxxv. , pp.
260, 261, 262.
called by Ptolemy from
'"
The foregoing account is set down in
some ancient records of Glastonbuiy church. "
See Monasticon Anglicanum," vol. i. , p. 7. 'i'lie writers of British history, who con-
firm this statement, are Tliomas Rudburii,
vi. , p.
has confounded the great Apostle of Ireland, with a St. Patrick, designated Senior.
^ Godfrey, or Geoffrey, of Monmouth,
gives the foregoing account in his Chronicle,
lib. ii. , cap. 2, 3, 4.
""
Such, at least, is the inference of the
and n. 13, p. 431, ibid. Also, Gough's ''
March i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 19
water, which heretofore had proved most deleterious to health, became after- wards most salubrious to persons washed by it. ^3 Whether, this account has any reference to the famous Thermal and warm water fountains, so well known and so long resorted to by invalids, we have no means left for ascer- taining. But, there is every reason for supposing such identification. =*+ Theseappeartohavebeenknown,fromthemostremoteantiquity.