Another
abridged
life of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
The Carthusian Martyrology, as Henry Fitzsimon states, has St.
Maldod entered, at the 14th of May.
In the anony- mous list of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare,^ the name of Maldodus occurs, at the same date.
He is likely to be the Saint Moeldod, about whom we have treated, at the 13th of ihis month.
The Boliandists^ enter, at the 14th, Maldod or Maldodus—distinguishing him, however, from Moeldodius,Abbot,veneratedonthe13thdayofMay.
Theycitenotonly Fitzsimon, but, the Manuscript Florarius, the Additions of Greven, the Martyrologies of Canisius and of Dempster, as also the catalogue of Ferrarius, for their standard.
At the 14th of May, Thomas Dempsters enters the fes- tival of Maldodius, a bishop in Ireland, but of the Scottish nation.
t His statements, however, must frequently be regarded with great suspicion.
Article IX. — Festival of St. Victor and of St. Corona, Martyrs in Egypt. \_Second Century. '] In the Feilire of St. ^ngus, at the i4tli of May, there is an entry of a Feast, for St. Corona and St. Victor. ^ Afterwards, the scholiast adds, that these Martyrs suffered, under the Emperor Antoninus, and under Se- bastianus,whowasRomangovernorinthecityofAlexandria,inEgypt. With Victor, the wife of a Roman soldier, and who is named Corona, obtained an immortal crown. She believed in God, and was only sixteen years old, when she suffered death. ^ This happened about the year 177 of the Christian era. The Acts of these holy Martyrs have been preserved,^ and their glorious con- fession of the Faith before the Roman governor of Egypt, Sebastianus, fills us withadmirationfortheircourageandconstancy. Thistriumphhappenedduring the persecution of the Christians, under the Emperor Antoninus. Their me- mory has been constantly held in veneration, throughout the Christian world; while, their names have been inscribed, on a great number of ancient calendars.
licae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap, xi. , p. 50.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints,
iv. , cap. , xi. , xii. , pp. 50,55.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Maii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 263.
3 In the " Menologium Scoticum " thus : " In Hibernia Maldodi episcopi, natione Scoti, viri in omnibus sanctissimi, qui mi- randa patientia et exemplo genti illi praefuit. MC. "
script . Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of Oengus, edited by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxix.
^ See ibid. , p. Ixxxvi. The Irish scholiast mistakes in stating, she was the wife of Vic- tor. See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies dcs Saints," tome v. , Maii xiv. , p. 518.
3 See the EoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xiv. De SS. Victoie Milite at Corona Martyribus in ^gypto, pp. 265 to 271.
• Also called Annius Verus, the Philoso- pher ; but, still better known, as Marcus Aurelius. He was born A. D. 121, and he ascended the throne A. D. 161. He died in the 59th year of his age, and in the 19th of his reign. Seethe "Popular Cyclopedia; or Conversations Lexicon," vol. i. , pp. 1S8, 189.
—
licas Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib.
' See " Historiae Catho-
* See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scot- tish Saints," p. 199.
Article ix. —' See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Mnnu-
.
284 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15. jfifteenti) JDap of iHa^n
ARTICLE I. —ST. DYMPNA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, AND PATRONESS OF GHEEL, BELGIUM.
[SIXTH OR SEVENTH CENTURY. ] CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION—ST. DYMPNA'S BIOGRAPHERS—CONJECTURES OF FATHER HENSCHENIUS —INQUIRY AS TO THE AGE IN WHICH ST. DYMPNA FLOURISHED—HER FAMILY AND NATAL PLACE—HER PARENTAGE, BIRTH, AND EARLY DISPOSITIONS.
WHENthe Almighty has been pleased to bestow a superabundant measure of divine grace on his elect, those favoured children, so precious in His sight, have generally corresponded with His desires and obtained a glorious inheritance. Especially destined to secure their own salvation, by
those sweet influences, which regulate every interior motive and aspiration of their minds, the Church of Christ also regards their external acts, as deserv- ing the veneration of all true Christians, and as incentives to the exercise of exalted virtues. When from early youth, worldly allurements cease to hold sway over innocent souls, faithful to baptismal vows, we cannot fail to recog- nise a spirit, breathing heavenly benedictions, on those children of happy pro- mise. Would it were possible, that we might fathom the depths of wisdom, treasured in the hearts of the just, or that we could unveil the inner life of grace, which elevates and purifies every desire of God's true servant ! What motives for close imitation should their example not present ! What subjects for pious reflection should their actions not furnish ! In reading the Lives of the Saints, we are often surprised, when considering the great results accom- plished by means and instruments, apparently so weak and inadequate for effecting most admirable objects. Yet, the interior motions of divine grace act in antagonism to the assaults of the devil, the world, and the flesh. Hence, those signal triumphs achieved refer not merely to their own individual exer- tions, unsustained by a power that strengthens and gives confidence in the time of trial. Christian heroism has not been restricted to age, sex, rank, or condition, to time or place. From the earliest ages of the Church to the pre- sent century, in every country where the Gospel has been preached, faith, hope and divine love have brightly shone, in the lives and actions of zealous apostles, undaunted martyrs, holy confessors, pious recluses, and stainless virgins. Ireland has given hosts of saints to fill the courts of the Heavenly Jerusalem. And yet, comparatively few records, regarding numbers thus crowned with eternal happiness, have survived to our time. Amongst olheis, the existing Acts of St. Dympna, virgin and martyr, are meagre and unsatis- factory, in reference to many particulars of her short, but glorious career. Sufficiently known, however, are the principal facts of her life, and well authen- ticated the many miracles attesting her exalted sanctity. Tradition has faithfully preserved, for subsequent edifying record, the bright example and merits of this chaste spouse of Christ, in the country of her voluntary exile, as also in the island, which claims the honour of her nativity.
Chapter i. —Article i. —' Itvasfor- nain. -iult. and afteiw. nrds it was in the pro- meily included within the Dutch province of vince of French Flanders. From this city, the
May 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
285
The lafe of this glorious saint was written by one Peter, a Canon Regular of St. Autbert's church, in the city of Cambray/ which is situated upon the River Scheld, and within the present French Department, called Nord. The author informs us, in a short preface, prefixed to his narrative of her Acts, and those miracles, wrought through the intercession of our noble virgin and martyr, that he wrote this account in obedience to a request preferred by a pious layman of Gheel, and also urged by the exemplary bishop of Cambray, whoisnamedGuido. ^ Thisbiographerofoursaintappearstohaveavailed himself of an earlier Life, written 3 in the common idiom, and which Peter afterwards rendered into the Latin language. According to the Bollandist editor, the " Legenda S. Dympnge, Virginis et Martyris," had been printed about two hundred years before he wrote,^ or towards the close of the fifteenth century, and another edition of that legend appeared in the year 1496. Various hagiographers published compendious Acts of St. Dympna, which appear to have been compiled from a more considerable amount of matter, extant in Manuscripts. Thus do we find accounts of her in Lippeloo,s in Messingham,^fromBenedictPaschasius,? CanonofSt. Dympna'sCollegiate Church,atGheel,inMirjeus,^andinMolanus. 9 Also,Hareeus,Grammay,'° F. Girolamo Ercolani," and Ribadineira,'^ have accounts of this illustrious Virgin and Martyr. No ordinary degree of taste and elegance is manifested in the edition of her Acts, as published by Surius, who informs us, that he improved the style, and abridged the narrative, of her Life,'3 in some passages. The Life of this illustrious Martyr Virgin had been prepared for publication in his work,^4 by Colgan, at this date,^s as appears from the posthumous list of his unedited Manuscripts. The Rev. Herr John Ludolph van Cray- winckle ^^ wrote St. Dympna's Life, in the idiom of Brabant. '^? This writer
linen called Cambric derives its name.
^ Some doubt appears to exist, regarding the identity of this bishop. The Bollandist Henschenius supposes, that he was either Guido de Collemedio, who succeeded bishop Guilielmus, A. D. 1296, who died A. D. 1302, and who was the reputed author of a MS. Dialogue on the Sacraments, said to be ex- tant ; or, Guiardus, otherwise called Guido de Lauduno, who presided from the year
1238 to 1247.
3 As is said by Father Henschennius.
^ Namely, in 1680. Father Kuyl, vicaire
of the grand cathedral of Antwerp, has in- formed the writer, that Peter of Cambray could never have been at Gheel, before this ancient biographer wrote the acts of St. Dympna and of St. Gerebern. From various intrinsic evidences and some omissions of statement, which appear in his work, this conclusion seems fairly established.
5 See"Vitre Sanctorum," tomusii. , xv. Maii, pp. 7 14 to 723.
* See " Florilegium Insulse Sanctorum," pp. 343 to 350.
7 \\q transcribed it accurately, from an ancient Life, at the instance of the Very Rev. Laurence Sedgarve, President of the Irish Seminaries in Belgium. A hymn in honour of the saint, taken from her office, is found appended.
^ See " Fasti Belgici et Burgundici," pp. 258, 259.
^ See " Natales Sanctorum Belgii," Maii xv. , in one paragraph, pp. 99, 100.
'° In " Antverpise Antiquitates," lib. ii. , cap. x.
" See "Le Eronine della Solitudine saci'a : overo Vite d'alcune delle piu, illus- tri Romite sacre, " which contains a Life, Dimpna Figlia del Re d'Ibcrnia, p. 431. The ordinary Legend of her Acts is given in Italian.
'^ See the Latin edition, printed at Cologne, a. d. 1630, "Flos Sanctorum," pars ii. , xv. Maii, pp. 185, 186.
'^ See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vilis," vol. iii. , xv. Maii, pp. 216 to 218. In ten paragraphs.
' The " Acta Sanctorum Hibernias. "
'^ See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. v. . May 15,
'^ This learned and pious man was born at Lire, a city of the Marquisate of Antwerp, and he was baptized there, on the 28th of August,1609. Hewaseducatedinthecity of Gheel. He was a proficient in polite literature, and after his first studies, he be- came canon of the Premonstratensian Order, in the celebrated abbey of Tangerloo. His profession was made on the 8th of Septem- ber, 1631. He became vicaire of the parish of Duffel, near Lire, in 1641. The same year, he passed to Val-de-Lis, or Lelien- dael, a house of religious women of his order.
286 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15.
appears to have entertained a most tender devotion towards St. Dympna, and to have placed the greatest confidence in the efficacy of her intercession and patronage. '^ But, the Bollandists resolved on the publication of a more com- plete life, having i)rocured materials for their task, by acquiring a MS. bearing on this subject, and which belonged to the church of Gheel. The two first chapters of this Life, already in their possession, had been obtained from a MS. of Red Cross Monastery,'^ in the forest of Soigny, near Brussels.
Another abridged life of St. Dympna, taken from MSS. belonging to the church of St. Saviour, in the city of Utrecht, Holland, enabled the Bollandist editor ^° of our saint's Acts to publish those interesting memorials of her vir- tues and glorious martyrdom, in that great encyclopaedia of hagiological biography—the " Acta Sanctorum. " Again, Adrian Baillet,'' and Bishop Challoner,^^ have written particulars of our saint. The Fifth Volume of the ** Acta Sanctorum Belgii Selecta," records the Acts of St, Dympna, virgin, and
in the city of Malines, and of vvhicli he be- There are usually Litanies, Hymns and Pray- came chaplain. Having exercised this func- ers, referring to St. Dympna or . St. Gere-
tion about twenty-six years, he was ap- pointed parish priest of Oelegliem village. His death occurred, on the nth of Septem- ber, 1679, i" I'ls seventy-first year of his age.
' The following is the title of tliis short biography in the Flemish languai^e : " Eeii Lehe onder de Doornen, De Edele, Door- lugtige ende Heylige Maeget Dymphna, Dogter van den Koning van Yrlandt, Pa- troonersse van de vryheyt van Gheel, Wiens Leven, Mai telie ense Dood, ende ook van den H. Priester Gerebernus haeren Biecht- Vaeder, hier in 't kort beschreven is," etc. , etc. By een vergaedert door Fr. Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Canoninck Norbertyn, der Abdye van Tongerloo, Vicaiius in 'tKlooster van Leliendael, tot Mechelen. In the English language this title may be rendered : "A Lily amongst Thorns. The noble, illustrious and holy St. Dympna, daughter of the King of Ireland, Patroness of the municipality of Gheel, whose Life, Martyrdom and Death, as also of the holy Priest Gereberii, her Confessor, are here briefly written," etc. , etc. Compiled by Fr. Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Norbertin Canon of the Abbey of Tongerloo, Vicaire to the Monastery of Val-de-Lis, at Malines. A copy of the original edition of this work, in 4to, published, a. d. 1652, is extremely rare, and can hardly be found at the present day. The Rev. Mr. Kuyl, Vicaire of Ant- werp cathedral, was in possession of one; which literary curiosity, however, the writer had not the oi)portunity of seeing, during the time lie remained in that city, as it was in the hands of a bookbinder. This little work has frequently been reprinted in the different cities of Belgium, and numerous copies of these various editions, in i8mo, can be easily procured. The Rev. M. Kuyl presented the writer with one of these copies, containing seventy-two pages, and bearing on the title i)age the city where it was printed, with the publisher's name: " Te Turnhout, by P. J. Brepols, Boek-drukker. "
bern, appended to the several editions of this little work. The following Latin dedi- cation is found prefixed : " Virgini Castis- simse, Martyri invictissimse, Reginre Nobilis- simje, Hyberni? e Flori, Primicerice Virgini Martyri. Totius Brabantice, Thaumaturgoe sponssejESU, Candida Rubicundce, Sanct. e DYMPX. t;, Ccelo terraque gloriosce, Miraculis prseclara:, Divas tutelari, municipiiGelensis; sacras Tongerloensium Vicince Patronas suas seternum colend. ^;, Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Canonicus Tongerloensis, Vicarius Lilio Vallensis Sacrarum Virginum, Nativitate Liranus, Incremento Fidei, studii, pietatis, tuusGelensis cliens humillimus, seip- sum totum, corde toto, viribus omnibus, dicat consecratque. " AneditionofCraeywinckel's work, printed at Malines in the seventeenth century, has the following Flemish title : "De triumpherende Suyveiheyt. Het leven, mar- telie ende mirakelen van de H. Maeghdt ende martelersse Dympna'dochter van den Coninck van Yrlandt Patronersse van de wyt-vermaerde Viyheyt van Gheel," etc. Door Fr. Joannes Ludolphus van Cray- winckel Canonick, etc. Mechelen, by Robert Jaye, 1658. The foregoing title may be thus Anglicized : " Chastity trium- phant. The Life, Martyrdom and Miracles of the holy Virgin and Martyr, Dympna, daughter of the King of Ireland, Patroness of the celebrated municipality of Gheel," etc. By Fr. John Ludolph van Craeywinc- kel, canon, etc. Mechlin, Robert Jaye,
1658.
"* The titles of seven works, which he
wrote, may be found in " Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire Litteraire des Dix-Sept Provinces dcs Pays-Bas, de la principaute de Liege, et de quelques contrees voisines," tome ii. , p. 12.
'9 Dedicated to St. Paul.
'° Godefridus Henschenius, S. J.
" See " Vies des Saints," tome ii. , xv.
Mali, pp. 264, 265.
^" See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp.
288, 289.
May 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 287
of St. Gerebern, Priest, and Martyr, at Gheel, in Brabrant, at tlie 15th of May. '3 Likewise,Rev. AlbanButlernoticeslierfeast. ^-^ AmongtheManuscripts,^5pre- served in the Burgundian Library at Brussels, there is a small portfolio, in which may be found, "Anecdotes a la vie deSt. Dympna," occupying only one sheet of foolscap, and containing merely a short notice, regarding the subject of this memoir. We are told, it does not differ from the ordinary Life of this holy virgin. Some notices of St. Dympna are also entered in the "Circle of the Seasons,"^^ and in Mrs. Anastatia O'Byrne's "Saints of Ireland,"^? at the 15th of May. In 1837, a Flemish Life of the saint ^^ appeared, at Antwerp and also a
j
French book, published at Anvers, in 1840, bears the title, " Dympne d'Irlande ; Legend du septieme siecle, par Felix Bogaerts ; avec trois litho- graphies composees par N. De Keyser. "^^ The Rev. S. Baring-Gould,3° L'Abb^ Rohrbacher,3' UAbbe Desiombes,^^ aad the Petits Bollandistes33 have Memoirs of St. Dympna, Virgin and Martyr, as also of her holy com- panion St. Gerebern, Priest, who shared her glorious crown. An imperfect, but a valuable work,34 entitled,35 " Notice Historique sur le chapitre CoUegiale de Sainte Dympne, a Gheel,"36 par L'Abbe C. Stroobant, was printedatAntwerp,inroyaloctavo,1856. 37 ItgivesashortnoticeabouttheActs of St. Dympna and of St. Gerebern, and afterwards an incomplete, but still mteresting, historical account of the collegiate chapter 3^ and church of St. Dympna, at Gheel. 39 L'Abbe Stroobant's narrative brings the history of St. Dympna's church down to the year 1660.
In addition to these works, the most complete, correct and in- teresting historical account of St. Dympna, and of her companion Martyr, St. Gerebern, as also of the ancient city of Gheel, hitherto published, has appeared at Antwerp. 4° It is written in the Flemish language, by the Rev. Peter
^3 An address to the reader, by Cornelius Smet, precedes these Acts ; as also a pre- vious commentary, by Godefrid Hen- schennius, sect. I to lO. Then follow, viz. : Vita auctore Petro Canonico S. Autberti ex codicibus MSS. , in three chapters, sect. I to 23 ; Prologus ad Miracula : Historia Mira- culorum, sect. I to 6 ; Miracula recentiora in Compendium redacta, sect, i to 5. See pp. 301 to 333.
^^ See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Sainis," vol. v. , May xv. f-. 2S Vol. xxxi. , No. 17056, as found in the "Inventaire," and described by Mr. Bin- don in the " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"vol. iii. , p. 502.
^* See p. 136.
*' See pp. 91, 92.
""^ It bears the title : " De Heylege
Dympna, eerste Maegd en Martelares der Brabandsche Kempen ; tot voorbleeld voor- gedraegeii aen de Belgische jeugd ;" door
B. B. , R. C. P. In English: "St. Dympna, first Virgin and Martyr of the Cam- pines, in Brabant, proposed as a model for
3' See "Vies des Saints pour tons les joursdel'Annee," tome iii. , xv^ Maii, p. iir. 3^ In "Vies des Saints de Cambrai et
d'Arras. "
33 See "Les Vies des Saints," tome v. ,
xv'= jour de Mai, pp. 551 to 554.
^t This work is not yet finished, but
the first part, already published, contains 248 pages.
35 This work is dedicated to the Very Rev. Monsieur Corneille Eyskens, Cure de Gheel, et Archipretre du district de Gheel.
3^ The materials for this work appear to have been drawn, in a great measure, from what has appea'red on the Chapitre de Ste. Dimphne, in the " Annales Archeologiques de la Belgique," tomes xii. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. and xvii.
37 Imprimerie J. E. Buschmann.
3^ About the period of the French Revolu- tion, when the revenues were sequestrated, this college of canons was dispersed.
39 This work has two woodcuts, repre- senting armorial bearings, belonging to the Berthout and Merode families.
»° This beautifully illustrated work bears on its title-page the following inscription : " Gheel vermaerd door den eerdienst der Heilige Dimphna Geschied—en oudsheid- skundige Beschryving der kerken gestichten en kapellen dier oude vryheid," door P. D. Kuyl, Priester, etc. Antwerpen Drukkery J. E. Buschmann, MDCCCLXiii. This title may be translated : " Gheel celebrated for the veneration of St. Dympna. A histori-
J.
young Belgian females. " author's name in full. Beulen, R. C. Priest. Janssens, in i2mo.
We here give the By John Baptist
"^9 For this information,'^I feel indebted to the Rev. Dr. Reeves ; but, I have not been fortunate enough, to procure a copy of the work in question.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. v. , May 15, pp. 207 to 211.
Published by C.
J.
288 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15.
Domenick Kuyl, vicar of the great cathedral in that city. -*' The author had previously prepared a smaller work, for popular circulation, entitled: "Legende der Martelaren vanGheel SS. Dimphna en Gerebernus opgevolgd van eene reeks wonderbare genezingen door de voorspraek der H. Dimphna bekomen, alsmede eenige oefeningen van devotie tot de H. Patrones van Gheel. "*^ This little pamphlet was also issued at Antwerp, and by the same publisher, in the year i860. It has a small but beautifully engraved map prefixed, on which a plan of Gheel, with the image of its patroness and her usual emblems, will be found. The position of the streets, churches, religious establishments, and other interesting objects, akhough not drawn according to an exact scale, is intelligibly represented, with various accompanying refer- ences. 43 Besides the foregoing, there are several published accounts of St. Dympna, in Belgium, and in Germany, as also in other countries, on the Continent of Europe. ''^
From the Prologue to the Life of our saint, as written by Canon Peter,4S it would appear, that his task had been undertaken, in compliance with the repeated request of a venerable and pious inhabitant of Gheel, named Stephen
cal and an archceological description of the churches, institutions and chapels of this ancientcommune. " ByP. D. Kuyl,Priest, etc. , Antwerp. J. E. Buschmann, Publisher, 1863. This magnificent work contains 396 pages, with an appendix of 152 additional pages, royal 8vo. It is highly creditable to Flemish scholarship, research and taste. A very large edition, issued by the amiable and erudite author, who has established for him- self an enduring fame in the literary world, had been already nearly exhausted, a few months after its first publication. The fine paper copies bound are published at twenty francs, and the ordinaiy unbound coiiies at eight francs. The worli is dedicated to His Eminence, Engelbert, Cardinal Archbishop of Mechlin.
were afforded, and valuable introductions obtained, to prosecute all necessary inquiries at the localiiies of Gheel and Sonsbeck, in reference to the subjects embraced in this biography.
Article IX. — Festival of St. Victor and of St. Corona, Martyrs in Egypt. \_Second Century. '] In the Feilire of St. ^ngus, at the i4tli of May, there is an entry of a Feast, for St. Corona and St. Victor. ^ Afterwards, the scholiast adds, that these Martyrs suffered, under the Emperor Antoninus, and under Se- bastianus,whowasRomangovernorinthecityofAlexandria,inEgypt. With Victor, the wife of a Roman soldier, and who is named Corona, obtained an immortal crown. She believed in God, and was only sixteen years old, when she suffered death. ^ This happened about the year 177 of the Christian era. The Acts of these holy Martyrs have been preserved,^ and their glorious con- fession of the Faith before the Roman governor of Egypt, Sebastianus, fills us withadmirationfortheircourageandconstancy. Thistriumphhappenedduring the persecution of the Christians, under the Emperor Antoninus. Their me- mory has been constantly held in veneration, throughout the Christian world; while, their names have been inscribed, on a great number of ancient calendars.
licae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap, xi. , p. 50.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints,
iv. , cap. , xi. , xii. , pp. 50,55.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Maii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 263.
3 In the " Menologium Scoticum " thus : " In Hibernia Maldodi episcopi, natione Scoti, viri in omnibus sanctissimi, qui mi- randa patientia et exemplo genti illi praefuit. MC. "
script . Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of Oengus, edited by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxix.
^ See ibid. , p. Ixxxvi. The Irish scholiast mistakes in stating, she was the wife of Vic- tor. See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies dcs Saints," tome v. , Maii xiv. , p. 518.
3 See the EoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xiv. De SS. Victoie Milite at Corona Martyribus in ^gypto, pp. 265 to 271.
• Also called Annius Verus, the Philoso- pher ; but, still better known, as Marcus Aurelius. He was born A. D. 121, and he ascended the throne A. D. 161. He died in the 59th year of his age, and in the 19th of his reign. Seethe "Popular Cyclopedia; or Conversations Lexicon," vol. i. , pp. 1S8, 189.
—
licas Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib.
' See " Historiae Catho-
* See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scot- tish Saints," p. 199.
Article ix. —' See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Mnnu-
.
284 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15. jfifteenti) JDap of iHa^n
ARTICLE I. —ST. DYMPNA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, AND PATRONESS OF GHEEL, BELGIUM.
[SIXTH OR SEVENTH CENTURY. ] CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION—ST. DYMPNA'S BIOGRAPHERS—CONJECTURES OF FATHER HENSCHENIUS —INQUIRY AS TO THE AGE IN WHICH ST. DYMPNA FLOURISHED—HER FAMILY AND NATAL PLACE—HER PARENTAGE, BIRTH, AND EARLY DISPOSITIONS.
WHENthe Almighty has been pleased to bestow a superabundant measure of divine grace on his elect, those favoured children, so precious in His sight, have generally corresponded with His desires and obtained a glorious inheritance. Especially destined to secure their own salvation, by
those sweet influences, which regulate every interior motive and aspiration of their minds, the Church of Christ also regards their external acts, as deserv- ing the veneration of all true Christians, and as incentives to the exercise of exalted virtues. When from early youth, worldly allurements cease to hold sway over innocent souls, faithful to baptismal vows, we cannot fail to recog- nise a spirit, breathing heavenly benedictions, on those children of happy pro- mise. Would it were possible, that we might fathom the depths of wisdom, treasured in the hearts of the just, or that we could unveil the inner life of grace, which elevates and purifies every desire of God's true servant ! What motives for close imitation should their example not present ! What subjects for pious reflection should their actions not furnish ! In reading the Lives of the Saints, we are often surprised, when considering the great results accom- plished by means and instruments, apparently so weak and inadequate for effecting most admirable objects. Yet, the interior motions of divine grace act in antagonism to the assaults of the devil, the world, and the flesh. Hence, those signal triumphs achieved refer not merely to their own individual exer- tions, unsustained by a power that strengthens and gives confidence in the time of trial. Christian heroism has not been restricted to age, sex, rank, or condition, to time or place. From the earliest ages of the Church to the pre- sent century, in every country where the Gospel has been preached, faith, hope and divine love have brightly shone, in the lives and actions of zealous apostles, undaunted martyrs, holy confessors, pious recluses, and stainless virgins. Ireland has given hosts of saints to fill the courts of the Heavenly Jerusalem. And yet, comparatively few records, regarding numbers thus crowned with eternal happiness, have survived to our time. Amongst olheis, the existing Acts of St. Dympna, virgin and martyr, are meagre and unsatis- factory, in reference to many particulars of her short, but glorious career. Sufficiently known, however, are the principal facts of her life, and well authen- ticated the many miracles attesting her exalted sanctity. Tradition has faithfully preserved, for subsequent edifying record, the bright example and merits of this chaste spouse of Christ, in the country of her voluntary exile, as also in the island, which claims the honour of her nativity.
Chapter i. —Article i. —' Itvasfor- nain. -iult. and afteiw. nrds it was in the pro- meily included within the Dutch province of vince of French Flanders. From this city, the
May 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
285
The lafe of this glorious saint was written by one Peter, a Canon Regular of St. Autbert's church, in the city of Cambray/ which is situated upon the River Scheld, and within the present French Department, called Nord. The author informs us, in a short preface, prefixed to his narrative of her Acts, and those miracles, wrought through the intercession of our noble virgin and martyr, that he wrote this account in obedience to a request preferred by a pious layman of Gheel, and also urged by the exemplary bishop of Cambray, whoisnamedGuido. ^ Thisbiographerofoursaintappearstohaveavailed himself of an earlier Life, written 3 in the common idiom, and which Peter afterwards rendered into the Latin language. According to the Bollandist editor, the " Legenda S. Dympnge, Virginis et Martyris," had been printed about two hundred years before he wrote,^ or towards the close of the fifteenth century, and another edition of that legend appeared in the year 1496. Various hagiographers published compendious Acts of St. Dympna, which appear to have been compiled from a more considerable amount of matter, extant in Manuscripts. Thus do we find accounts of her in Lippeloo,s in Messingham,^fromBenedictPaschasius,? CanonofSt. Dympna'sCollegiate Church,atGheel,inMirjeus,^andinMolanus. 9 Also,Hareeus,Grammay,'° F. Girolamo Ercolani," and Ribadineira,'^ have accounts of this illustrious Virgin and Martyr. No ordinary degree of taste and elegance is manifested in the edition of her Acts, as published by Surius, who informs us, that he improved the style, and abridged the narrative, of her Life,'3 in some passages. The Life of this illustrious Martyr Virgin had been prepared for publication in his work,^4 by Colgan, at this date,^s as appears from the posthumous list of his unedited Manuscripts. The Rev. Herr John Ludolph van Cray- winckle ^^ wrote St. Dympna's Life, in the idiom of Brabant. '^? This writer
linen called Cambric derives its name.
^ Some doubt appears to exist, regarding the identity of this bishop. The Bollandist Henschenius supposes, that he was either Guido de Collemedio, who succeeded bishop Guilielmus, A. D. 1296, who died A. D. 1302, and who was the reputed author of a MS. Dialogue on the Sacraments, said to be ex- tant ; or, Guiardus, otherwise called Guido de Lauduno, who presided from the year
1238 to 1247.
3 As is said by Father Henschennius.
^ Namely, in 1680. Father Kuyl, vicaire
of the grand cathedral of Antwerp, has in- formed the writer, that Peter of Cambray could never have been at Gheel, before this ancient biographer wrote the acts of St. Dympna and of St. Gerebern. From various intrinsic evidences and some omissions of statement, which appear in his work, this conclusion seems fairly established.
5 See"Vitre Sanctorum," tomusii. , xv. Maii, pp. 7 14 to 723.
* See " Florilegium Insulse Sanctorum," pp. 343 to 350.
7 \\q transcribed it accurately, from an ancient Life, at the instance of the Very Rev. Laurence Sedgarve, President of the Irish Seminaries in Belgium. A hymn in honour of the saint, taken from her office, is found appended.
^ See " Fasti Belgici et Burgundici," pp. 258, 259.
^ See " Natales Sanctorum Belgii," Maii xv. , in one paragraph, pp. 99, 100.
'° In " Antverpise Antiquitates," lib. ii. , cap. x.
" See "Le Eronine della Solitudine saci'a : overo Vite d'alcune delle piu, illus- tri Romite sacre, " which contains a Life, Dimpna Figlia del Re d'Ibcrnia, p. 431. The ordinary Legend of her Acts is given in Italian.
'^ See the Latin edition, printed at Cologne, a. d. 1630, "Flos Sanctorum," pars ii. , xv. Maii, pp. 185, 186.
'^ See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vilis," vol. iii. , xv. Maii, pp. 216 to 218. In ten paragraphs.
' The " Acta Sanctorum Hibernias. "
'^ See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. v. . May 15,
'^ This learned and pious man was born at Lire, a city of the Marquisate of Antwerp, and he was baptized there, on the 28th of August,1609. Hewaseducatedinthecity of Gheel. He was a proficient in polite literature, and after his first studies, he be- came canon of the Premonstratensian Order, in the celebrated abbey of Tangerloo. His profession was made on the 8th of Septem- ber, 1631. He became vicaire of the parish of Duffel, near Lire, in 1641. The same year, he passed to Val-de-Lis, or Lelien- dael, a house of religious women of his order.
286 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15.
appears to have entertained a most tender devotion towards St. Dympna, and to have placed the greatest confidence in the efficacy of her intercession and patronage. '^ But, the Bollandists resolved on the publication of a more com- plete life, having i)rocured materials for their task, by acquiring a MS. bearing on this subject, and which belonged to the church of Gheel. The two first chapters of this Life, already in their possession, had been obtained from a MS. of Red Cross Monastery,'^ in the forest of Soigny, near Brussels.
Another abridged life of St. Dympna, taken from MSS. belonging to the church of St. Saviour, in the city of Utrecht, Holland, enabled the Bollandist editor ^° of our saint's Acts to publish those interesting memorials of her vir- tues and glorious martyrdom, in that great encyclopaedia of hagiological biography—the " Acta Sanctorum. " Again, Adrian Baillet,'' and Bishop Challoner,^^ have written particulars of our saint. The Fifth Volume of the ** Acta Sanctorum Belgii Selecta," records the Acts of St, Dympna, virgin, and
in the city of Malines, and of vvhicli he be- There are usually Litanies, Hymns and Pray- came chaplain. Having exercised this func- ers, referring to St. Dympna or . St. Gere-
tion about twenty-six years, he was ap- pointed parish priest of Oelegliem village. His death occurred, on the nth of Septem- ber, 1679, i" I'ls seventy-first year of his age.
' The following is the title of tliis short biography in the Flemish languai^e : " Eeii Lehe onder de Doornen, De Edele, Door- lugtige ende Heylige Maeget Dymphna, Dogter van den Koning van Yrlandt, Pa- troonersse van de vryheyt van Gheel, Wiens Leven, Mai telie ense Dood, ende ook van den H. Priester Gerebernus haeren Biecht- Vaeder, hier in 't kort beschreven is," etc. , etc. By een vergaedert door Fr. Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Canoninck Norbertyn, der Abdye van Tongerloo, Vicaiius in 'tKlooster van Leliendael, tot Mechelen. In the English language this title may be rendered : "A Lily amongst Thorns. The noble, illustrious and holy St. Dympna, daughter of the King of Ireland, Patroness of the municipality of Gheel, whose Life, Martyrdom and Death, as also of the holy Priest Gereberii, her Confessor, are here briefly written," etc. , etc. Compiled by Fr. Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Norbertin Canon of the Abbey of Tongerloo, Vicaire to the Monastery of Val-de-Lis, at Malines. A copy of the original edition of this work, in 4to, published, a. d. 1652, is extremely rare, and can hardly be found at the present day. The Rev. Mr. Kuyl, Vicaire of Ant- werp cathedral, was in possession of one; which literary curiosity, however, the writer had not the oi)portunity of seeing, during the time lie remained in that city, as it was in the hands of a bookbinder. This little work has frequently been reprinted in the different cities of Belgium, and numerous copies of these various editions, in i8mo, can be easily procured. The Rev. M. Kuyl presented the writer with one of these copies, containing seventy-two pages, and bearing on the title i)age the city where it was printed, with the publisher's name: " Te Turnhout, by P. J. Brepols, Boek-drukker. "
bern, appended to the several editions of this little work. The following Latin dedi- cation is found prefixed : " Virgini Castis- simse, Martyri invictissimse, Reginre Nobilis- simje, Hyberni? e Flori, Primicerice Virgini Martyri. Totius Brabantice, Thaumaturgoe sponssejESU, Candida Rubicundce, Sanct. e DYMPX. t;, Ccelo terraque gloriosce, Miraculis prseclara:, Divas tutelari, municipiiGelensis; sacras Tongerloensium Vicince Patronas suas seternum colend. ^;, Ludolphus van Craeywinckel, Canonicus Tongerloensis, Vicarius Lilio Vallensis Sacrarum Virginum, Nativitate Liranus, Incremento Fidei, studii, pietatis, tuusGelensis cliens humillimus, seip- sum totum, corde toto, viribus omnibus, dicat consecratque. " AneditionofCraeywinckel's work, printed at Malines in the seventeenth century, has the following Flemish title : "De triumpherende Suyveiheyt. Het leven, mar- telie ende mirakelen van de H. Maeghdt ende martelersse Dympna'dochter van den Coninck van Yrlandt Patronersse van de wyt-vermaerde Viyheyt van Gheel," etc. Door Fr. Joannes Ludolphus van Cray- winckel Canonick, etc. Mechelen, by Robert Jaye, 1658. The foregoing title may be thus Anglicized : " Chastity trium- phant. The Life, Martyrdom and Miracles of the holy Virgin and Martyr, Dympna, daughter of the King of Ireland, Patroness of the celebrated municipality of Gheel," etc. By Fr. John Ludolph van Craeywinc- kel, canon, etc. Mechlin, Robert Jaye,
1658.
"* The titles of seven works, which he
wrote, may be found in " Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire Litteraire des Dix-Sept Provinces dcs Pays-Bas, de la principaute de Liege, et de quelques contrees voisines," tome ii. , p. 12.
'9 Dedicated to St. Paul.
'° Godefridus Henschenius, S. J.
" See " Vies des Saints," tome ii. , xv.
Mali, pp. 264, 265.
^" See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp.
288, 289.
May 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 287
of St. Gerebern, Priest, and Martyr, at Gheel, in Brabrant, at tlie 15th of May. '3 Likewise,Rev. AlbanButlernoticeslierfeast. ^-^ AmongtheManuscripts,^5pre- served in the Burgundian Library at Brussels, there is a small portfolio, in which may be found, "Anecdotes a la vie deSt. Dympna," occupying only one sheet of foolscap, and containing merely a short notice, regarding the subject of this memoir. We are told, it does not differ from the ordinary Life of this holy virgin. Some notices of St. Dympna are also entered in the "Circle of the Seasons,"^^ and in Mrs. Anastatia O'Byrne's "Saints of Ireland,"^? at the 15th of May. In 1837, a Flemish Life of the saint ^^ appeared, at Antwerp and also a
j
French book, published at Anvers, in 1840, bears the title, " Dympne d'Irlande ; Legend du septieme siecle, par Felix Bogaerts ; avec trois litho- graphies composees par N. De Keyser. "^^ The Rev. S. Baring-Gould,3° L'Abb^ Rohrbacher,3' UAbbe Desiombes,^^ aad the Petits Bollandistes33 have Memoirs of St. Dympna, Virgin and Martyr, as also of her holy com- panion St. Gerebern, Priest, who shared her glorious crown. An imperfect, but a valuable work,34 entitled,35 " Notice Historique sur le chapitre CoUegiale de Sainte Dympne, a Gheel,"36 par L'Abbe C. Stroobant, was printedatAntwerp,inroyaloctavo,1856. 37 ItgivesashortnoticeabouttheActs of St. Dympna and of St. Gerebern, and afterwards an incomplete, but still mteresting, historical account of the collegiate chapter 3^ and church of St. Dympna, at Gheel. 39 L'Abbe Stroobant's narrative brings the history of St. Dympna's church down to the year 1660.
In addition to these works, the most complete, correct and in- teresting historical account of St. Dympna, and of her companion Martyr, St. Gerebern, as also of the ancient city of Gheel, hitherto published, has appeared at Antwerp. 4° It is written in the Flemish language, by the Rev. Peter
^3 An address to the reader, by Cornelius Smet, precedes these Acts ; as also a pre- vious commentary, by Godefrid Hen- schennius, sect. I to lO. Then follow, viz. : Vita auctore Petro Canonico S. Autberti ex codicibus MSS. , in three chapters, sect. I to 23 ; Prologus ad Miracula : Historia Mira- culorum, sect. I to 6 ; Miracula recentiora in Compendium redacta, sect, i to 5. See pp. 301 to 333.
^^ See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Sainis," vol. v. , May xv. f-. 2S Vol. xxxi. , No. 17056, as found in the "Inventaire," and described by Mr. Bin- don in the " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"vol. iii. , p. 502.
^* See p. 136.
*' See pp. 91, 92.
""^ It bears the title : " De Heylege
Dympna, eerste Maegd en Martelares der Brabandsche Kempen ; tot voorbleeld voor- gedraegeii aen de Belgische jeugd ;" door
B. B. , R. C. P. In English: "St. Dympna, first Virgin and Martyr of the Cam- pines, in Brabant, proposed as a model for
3' See "Vies des Saints pour tons les joursdel'Annee," tome iii. , xv^ Maii, p. iir. 3^ In "Vies des Saints de Cambrai et
d'Arras. "
33 See "Les Vies des Saints," tome v. ,
xv'= jour de Mai, pp. 551 to 554.
^t This work is not yet finished, but
the first part, already published, contains 248 pages.
35 This work is dedicated to the Very Rev. Monsieur Corneille Eyskens, Cure de Gheel, et Archipretre du district de Gheel.
3^ The materials for this work appear to have been drawn, in a great measure, from what has appea'red on the Chapitre de Ste. Dimphne, in the " Annales Archeologiques de la Belgique," tomes xii. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. and xvii.
37 Imprimerie J. E. Buschmann.
3^ About the period of the French Revolu- tion, when the revenues were sequestrated, this college of canons was dispersed.
39 This work has two woodcuts, repre- senting armorial bearings, belonging to the Berthout and Merode families.
»° This beautifully illustrated work bears on its title-page the following inscription : " Gheel vermaerd door den eerdienst der Heilige Dimphna Geschied—en oudsheid- skundige Beschryving der kerken gestichten en kapellen dier oude vryheid," door P. D. Kuyl, Priester, etc. Antwerpen Drukkery J. E. Buschmann, MDCCCLXiii. This title may be translated : " Gheel celebrated for the veneration of St. Dympna. A histori-
J.
young Belgian females. " author's name in full. Beulen, R. C. Priest. Janssens, in i2mo.
We here give the By John Baptist
"^9 For this information,'^I feel indebted to the Rev. Dr. Reeves ; but, I have not been fortunate enough, to procure a copy of the work in question.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. v. , May 15, pp. 207 to 211.
Published by C.
J.
288 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 15.
Domenick Kuyl, vicar of the great cathedral in that city. -*' The author had previously prepared a smaller work, for popular circulation, entitled: "Legende der Martelaren vanGheel SS. Dimphna en Gerebernus opgevolgd van eene reeks wonderbare genezingen door de voorspraek der H. Dimphna bekomen, alsmede eenige oefeningen van devotie tot de H. Patrones van Gheel. "*^ This little pamphlet was also issued at Antwerp, and by the same publisher, in the year i860. It has a small but beautifully engraved map prefixed, on which a plan of Gheel, with the image of its patroness and her usual emblems, will be found. The position of the streets, churches, religious establishments, and other interesting objects, akhough not drawn according to an exact scale, is intelligibly represented, with various accompanying refer- ences. 43 Besides the foregoing, there are several published accounts of St. Dympna, in Belgium, and in Germany, as also in other countries, on the Continent of Europe. ''^
From the Prologue to the Life of our saint, as written by Canon Peter,4S it would appear, that his task had been undertaken, in compliance with the repeated request of a venerable and pious inhabitant of Gheel, named Stephen
cal and an archceological description of the churches, institutions and chapels of this ancientcommune. " ByP. D. Kuyl,Priest, etc. , Antwerp. J. E. Buschmann, Publisher, 1863. This magnificent work contains 396 pages, with an appendix of 152 additional pages, royal 8vo. It is highly creditable to Flemish scholarship, research and taste. A very large edition, issued by the amiable and erudite author, who has established for him- self an enduring fame in the literary world, had been already nearly exhausted, a few months after its first publication. The fine paper copies bound are published at twenty francs, and the ordinaiy unbound coiiies at eight francs. The worli is dedicated to His Eminence, Engelbert, Cardinal Archbishop of Mechlin.
were afforded, and valuable introductions obtained, to prosecute all necessary inquiries at the localiiies of Gheel and Sonsbeck, in reference to the subjects embraced in this biography.
