Perhaps, our suggestion is the better one, and it saves tne
authenticity
of the
3 Edited by Rev.
3 Edited by Rev.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Congello Abbate, sed alio die colendo,
p. 577.
^ ]3y Arnold Wion, who cites the Life of
St. Malachias. There, however, allusion is only made to St. Comgall, who died several centuries, before St. Malachy was born.
^ St. O'Morgair, whose Life is Malachy
given, at the 3rd of November.
" See Rev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect. X. , n. 98, p. 464.
" See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," ix. Februarii, n. 28, p 300.
" In the " '3 In his "
Martyrologium Martyrologium
Gallicanum. " Benedictinum,"
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
Catalogus
Generalis Sanctorum. "
March io. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 293
in Ireland, after the middle of the seventh century. The year for his birth has been assigned to 668, He seems to have been a monk, at lona, after the beginning of the eighth century. Colgan' and the Bollandists^ have given
some notices, concerning this St. Failbeus, the second Abbot of lona, bearing the name,3 at the loth of March. In the year 722, the Annals of lona record his being elected, as superior of the abbey ; but, as Rev. Dr. Reeves* ex-
plains, only as a coadjutor abbot, under Faelcu,5 son of Dorbene. Colgan will have it, that Failbe held such a position, for seven years ; yet, most probably, only for two, as St. Cillene Fada was elected abbot, a. d. 724. On the loth of March, the name of Failbe, bee, Abbot of la, is found set down in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,^ and of Marianus O'Gorman. Again we meet Faiibhe, Abbot of la, mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,? on
"
to his
he was a person of diminutive proportions. This saint died, a. d. 754, accord-
ing to the Annals of the Four Masters,^ after he had completed the eighty- seventh year of his age. He was also called Feidlimidh.
Article XIV. —Reputed Festival of St. Bessogus, a Bishop. In
the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, pubUshed by O'SuUevan Beare, at the loth of March, a St. Bessogus is commemorated. On the authorityof Floratius, Father Henry Fitzsimon calls him a bishop, at the same date. ' I feel satisfied, that here there must be a mistake of spelling for St. Kessogus, the bishop, whose festival is set down, for the present day.
Article XV. —Reputed Festival of a St. Livenus. The name Live- nus occurs, in the Catalogue of our national Saints, at the loth of March, as we find in O'Sullevan Beare's history ;' yet, elsewhere, I find nothing confir- matory of this authority.
Article XVI. —Festival of St. Constantine. At the loth of March, in the ancient Irish Church, was observed the festival of a St. Constantine, as
this The day.
epithet
small," attaching
name,
seems to that imply,
9 The festival of St Bernard is kept, on the 20th of August.
Article XII. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 72, 73.
=*
'
Article xiii. See "Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," x. Martii. De S. Failbeo sive Falveo Abbate Hiensi, p. 576.
Article xiv. —' See O'Sullevan Beare's "Historias Catholicse Ibemias Compen- dium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 52.
Article xv. —' See "Historise Catho-
licse Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib.
iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49.
Article xvi. —' The following Irish
"" Leabhar Breac copy,
P-
nished by Professor O'Looney ):• "! • 1"0.
:
Edited by Rev—. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii.
= See "Acta
Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
stanza, from the
with its English translation, has been
Martii x.
2-
Among
the
pretermitted saints,
— fur- "Oo i\05]\At) co TiAitigbti
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. iii. , sect, v. , p. 502.
* See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes, O. Chronicon Hyense, pp. 382, 385, 386.
5 His feast occurs, it is supposed by Col- gan, at the 3rd of April.
^
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
/^' 'J'
See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i,,
pp. 356, 357.
CoiifCvMicin
cAin comulecli
in the " Feilire. " » in the BoUandist
Yet, collection,
from an
there is no mention of a St. Constantine, at this date.
appears
entry
'
t^f & ^|\ich eo AinjLech
CnAnx) cnoiche in choinroet*. ^'
He was called to the angels Constantine, the chaste, the
luminous,
By whom found the angelic
yew.
The tree of the Cross of the
Lord.
294 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
Article XVII. —Reputed Festival of St. Kennocha, Virgin, CoiLA, Scotland. \Tenth or Eleventh Century. \ At the loth ot March, David Camerarius' has a notice of St. Kennocha, a Virgin, whose memory was celebrated in Coila, a province of Scotia. ^ The Bollandists have a notice,3 at this date, but they reter her festival, to the 13th of March, which is more in accord with the Scottish Kalendars. *
Article XVIII. —Reputed Festival of St. Attala, Abbot of Bob-
bio, Italy. At Bobbio, tor the loth of March, Dempster' has a festival ot the
Abbot Attala, who succeeded St. Columbanus,^ and who, he states, is thought tohavebeenaScot. However,Jonas,whohaswrittentheLiteofbothholy
abbots, distinctly states, that Attala was a noble by birth, and belonging to the Kingdom of Burgundy ; so that, neither Scotland nor Ireland have any
right to claim him as a countryman. The Bollandists,3 giving a previous commentary of their own/ insert his Acts,5 by Jonas, in their great work, at this date.
eiebeutfj JBap of ilarri)*
ARTICLE I. —ST. iENGUSIUS HAGIOGRAPHUS, OR ST. ^NGUS THE CULDEE, BISHOP AND ABBOT AT CLONENAGH, AND ANCHORET, AT DYSARTENOS, OR AT DYSARTBEAGH, QUEEN'S COUNTY.
lEIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES. \
CHAPTER L
INTKODUCTION—SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTS OF ST. ^NGUS—HIS PEDIGREE AND EARLY LIFE—HE STUDIES AT THE MONASTERY OF CLONENAGH— MONASTIC TRAINING AND LEARNING—ST. ^NGUS RETIRES TO DYSARTBKTAGH OR TO UYSART ENOS—HIS AUSTERITIES—HE VISITS THE CHURCH OF COOLBANAGHER— A VISION OF ANGELS—THE PURPOSE IT EVOKED.
value of a national literature, especially of the religious type, is the
THE
true and to
to touch the
to
or the sympathies, to inform the minds, to Unk itself closely to the hearts of
the people, who find lessons in the past, to guide their course for the present, and for a definite future. In our early monasteries, the cultivation of learn- ing was ever based on the soundest of |)rinciples, for man's supernatural con- cerns were held to be paramount. We find, that the study of the Scriptures was universal, and their transcription was a passion. Manuscripts still remain, in sufficient numbers, to attest the taste and learning of those early monks.
Article XVII. —' In the Scottish entries Article xviii. —'See "Menologium
of his Kalendar.
3 As
Arturi in Monasterio.
Gynecoeo
3 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
tliey state,
lasting power
suggest,
awaken,
imagination,
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
=" See
Scottish Saints," p. 235.
" memoratur in "
» See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii x. Among the pretermitted saints, p; 3-
Bisliop
p. 194.
"
See his Life, at the 21st of November.
Scoticum. " Bislaop Forbes'
Kalendars of
^
il. , Martii x. De S. Attala Abbate Bobiensi in
Italia Ordinis S. Columbani, pp. 42 to 45.
In five paragraphs.
s In two
chapters
and twelve
paragraphs.
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 295
As pious and patriotic themes employed their thoughts and pens, a love for religion, for country, and for race, was perpetuated ; while, our devotional and historic literature has been enriched with their contributions, and we are
brought by links of fond sympathy, to commune intelligently with the spirit and society of ages, removed by over a thousand years, from that stand- point, which is occupied by the men of our time. —
It seems not at all certain—indeed it is extremely doubtful that the Feast and Acts of this very celebrated St. ^ngusius Hagiographus, called also St. ^ngus the Culdee, should be assigned to this day, and not rather to the i6th of February, where there is a St. ^-nghas or CEngus, called Bishop of Rath-na n Epscop, or perhaps to the i8th of February, where we have already set down notices of a St. ^ngus, or St. Oengus, called Bishop ofDrum-Rathe. ' Inthe"Felire"ofSt. ^ngus,^atthisdate,andbyafair inference, the entry occurring, which refers to Oengus, may throw his festival upon one or other of the saints' days just noticed ; since, both ^nguses are omitted there, in the metrical Calendar of the Hagiographer, thus leaving an open for the introduction of his own name, by later compilers. However,
the Martyrologies of Tallagh,3 of Marianus O'Gorman,-* and of Donegal,s record our Saint's Feast, at this date, and so do most of the Hagiographical writers, who give his Life. Wherefore, we seem to have no other option, than accordance with so general an arrangement.
The Acts of this illustrious saint, known generally to Irish scholars, as
. ^ngus the Hagiologist, have been pubhshed by Colgan, at the nth of March. ^ The Bollandists,? Bishop Challenor,^ the Rev. Alban Butler,^ the
5. tl. I'D.
hlC COimCl A|\ pATJAC Oengui' ici^\ |:LAichib Libpen, SenAn y'uchAin ConfCAncm pg RAchm.
15, p. 583.
Perhaps, our suggestion is the better one, and it saves tne authenticity of the
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii. The only entry regarding him found in the Martyroiogy of Taliagh, at the same date, is Aenghus, Eps. h Ailileni. This, of course, must have been an addition, or interpola- tion, to the original Calendar, said, at least in part, to have been composed by St. ^ngus himself ; and, the notice may have been inserted, long after his death.
* Marianus there calls our
iEngus, the descendant of Hobien, Bishop.
" '" Acta Sanctorum Hiber* See Colgan s
niae,'' xi. Muriii. De S. ^iigus^io Hagio- grapho Episcopo et Confesbore, pp. 579 to
7 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xi. De B. /Engussio Keledeo Ab- bate et Episcopo in liioernia. A short pre- fatory notice, with Colgan's accoiuit, is here
'°havetheActsofSt. atthesamedate. Col- ^Engus,
Rev. S.
gan doubted not, that the Life of Saint . ^ngus had been written, at full length, and that it had been accessible, at a more remote period ; but, he complains, also, that this Life was not available, at the time he had been en-
Baring-Gould,
gaged, in publishing the Acts of our Irish Saints.
However, the virtues of
Article i. —Chapter i. —' The reader may revert, to what we have already written regarding both, at the respective dates specified.
" In ipso etiam iEngussii
^
"" LeabharBreac copy,has
:
bus non reperitur. "
The following stanza, taken from the
"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
—been translated also by Professor O'Looney
xi. Martii. Hagiographo Episcopo
De S.
et
^ngussio
n.
:
Contessore,
saint,
the
great
" See " Lives of the vol. Saints,"
217, 218.
iii. , pp.
Colgan adds
Festilogio in quibusdam exemplaribus poni- tur natalis hac die : sed ilia msulsa additio est : qu(£ idcirco in—vetustioribus exemplari-
bernias,"
"
Feilire," in all its parts.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 72, 73. At tire nth ot March, is there entered Aenghus Ua h Eblen, Bishop, who
They a—re companions of our is called Aenghus Cele-de. It was lie, we Lord ""
Oenjjus amidst chieftains, Libren, and Senan, the everlast-
ing,
Constantine King of Rathin.
are told, that comp(x-,cd the Feilue.
given, pp. 85 to 88. ^ '*
See Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 167 to 1 69.
9 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xi.
296 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
iEngus have been specially recorded, by some old writer, who prefixes an argument or introduction to this saint's existing writings. Another Irish poet, likewise bearing the name of ^ngus, has celebrated the Culdee's praises, in certain verses, sufficiently indicative of great antiquity. The author of this Metrical Life, in the penultimate verse of his panegyric on the saint, prays,
that he may enjoy with his namesake the bliss of eternal life.
He extols
^ngus with surpassing encomium, stating that the saint was often engaged in colloquies with celestial spirits. He styles St. ^ngus, the Sun of Western Europe. On account of those things related, which regard the studies of his youthful days, his daily and wonderful exercises, his rare humility and auste- rity, the day of his death, htingferia sexla, the place of his burial, and such like notices, Colgan is under an impression, that the writer must have been a friend of St. ^ngus, and that they must have lived contemporaneously. Whereiore, owing to the concurrences of time, of neighbourhood, and of great erudition, it is supposed, that the writer had been no other than y£ngus, AbbotofCluain-fearta-Molua,whodiedintheyear858. " Fromthemetrical panegyric, and from that Scholiast, who wrote a preface to the Festilogy of ^ngus, Colgan derived all his materials for the Life of this saint. A few particulars only are excepted, and these were drawn from other sources. '^
^ngus the Culdee, sometimes named ^ngusius Hagiographus, or j^neas, is said to have been descended from Coelbach, King of Ireland. A very ancient pedigree of this saint is still preserved, among our old Irish Manu-
'3
scripts. According this,
told,
to we are
that St. was the son of Oen- ^ngus
goba, son to Oblen, son of Fidru, son to Diarmuit, son of Ainmire, son to
Cellar, son of Oengus, son to Natsluagh, son of Caelbad,'-* son to Cruinba-
drai, son of Eochaidh Cobai. 's Such is St. Angus' pedigree,'" recorded
"
in a preface to his
of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. In Harris' Ware,'^ his father is called Oengobhan; and,wemayalsonotice,thatthereisanaccountleftusfroman
anonymous Scholiast, on the Fesiilogium of St. ^ngus, as mentioned by Col- gan, and who, in a somewhat different form, weaves this holy man's pedigree. '^
He
the "
as an he authority. Thus, sprung
quotes royal
Sanctilogic Genealogy,"'^ race of the Dalaradians in
from the
Ulster,
born,
about
Felire," as contained in the Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript
^° and he was
on the brink of the Eoir, in Laoighis, he was fostered ; there he read his
the middle of the eighth century. At Cluain-eidhneach, state the O'Clerys,^*
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 492,493.
'3 See Leabhar Breac, fol. 8, a col. — 5,
of
F. Diermitii, F. Anmirechi, F. Cellarii, F. ^ngussii, F. Natsluagii, F. Coeibadii, F.
" See
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii, n, 5, p. 582.
Crunnii Badhrai, F. Eochadii
F. Lugadii, F. Rossii, F. Imchadii, F. Fethlemidii, F. Cassii, F. Fiach Aradii, a
'* He
p. 609.
to the race of Irial, son of
' ' to sit here around Delightful
Colgan's
Cobhae,
1.
30. "Catalogue Irish MSS. in the quo Dalaradiorum familia nominatur. " See
Royal Irish Academy," p. 598.
' He was of the Kudiician or Ultonian
race, and he was monarch of Erinn, having been slain, A. D. 357, by Eochaidh Muigh- mheadhoin. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 124, 125.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," xi.
^5 See Professor
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , p. 363, and Ap- pendix, No. cxi. ,
Eugene O'Curry's
belonged
Conall Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys.
him,
By the side of the cold clear Eoir," &c.
'' See vol. ii. "The Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 51.
'* "
" It is at Cluain eidhneach he was nursed ;
It is given in these words
sius filius ^ngavani, F. Hoblenii, F. Fidrai,
:
S.
iEngus-
many crosses,
" Lee-
" as "accord- They superadd, authority,
Colgan's
Martii, nn. I, 3, p. 582.
'* Chapter xxiii.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra- pho Episcopo et Confessore, cap. i. , p. 579.
ing to th—is verse, which is in a poem. " It
begins
:
At Cluain-eidhneach he was buried
At Cluain-eidhneach of He read his psalms first. "
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 297
psalms first, and there he was afterwards buried. Thus, we may probably infer, that his birth took place, near the celebrated monastery, founded by St. Fintan. "
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life. He practised mortification, to an ex- traordinary degree, even in his youth ; and, he conceived most exalted ideas of Christian perfection, the attainment of which was an object, ever upper- most in his mind. Almost from infancy, he deserved the appellation Culdee,'3 or worshipper of God, which surname he afterwards bore. It has been stated,^* that the surname Ceile De, given to y5i)ngus, indicated an office, or a particular sort of profession, and that he was one of that clerical body, who had been afterwards called Culdees. ^5 However, according to Rev. Dr.
Lanigan, the title, Ceile De, as applied to ^ngus, had nothing to do with them ; and, he thinks, it is more than probable, about that time, there was
not as yet any such institution as the Culdees, in their corporate capacity. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that the Culdees were the secular canons of cathedral
or collegiate churches, such as those we call prebendaries. He thinks it a palpable mistake to suppose, that they were a monastic o—rder. ^^
About this time, the great Monastery of Clonenagh incorrectly said to have been in East Meath, by Bishop Challenor,='7 a—nd by others to have been in Ossory, but rather it should be stated, in Leix then under direction of
the saintly Abbot Malathgenius,^^ enjoyed a high reputation, both for the numberandsanctityofitsinmates. ^9 ^nguspreterredhissuitforadmission within its enclosure, and his request was favourably received. But his early novitiate, in the exercise of all virtues, had preceded the care bestowed by that holy abbot, on his youthful disciple. His daily progress in the paths of Christian sanctity, and his advancement in sacred learning, were aided by application and capacity, to such an extraordinary degree, that in a short time, ^ngus bore the reputation of being one among the most sanctified and erudite men, of whom Ireland could then boast. Our saint must have been his disciple belore the year 767,3° since this is the period, to which the demise of Maelaithgen has been referred. 3'
" See his Life, at the 17th of February.
"3 The Keledei, Cele de, Caelicolae, or Colidei, first appear as "Culdees," in the eighth century. They were the socii, mariti,
brought under the canonical rule along with
the secular clergy, retaining, however, to some extent the nomenclature of the monas-
tery, until at length the name of Keledeus,
or servi of God, which is the meaning of the or Culdee, became almo—st synonymous with ""
word Ceile. "
that of secular canon. " Celtic Scotland :
=* By Toland, in "Nazarenus," Letter ii,, sect. 3.
=^5 After citing various proofs and illustra-
tions, William F. Skene arrives at the con-
elusion, "that the Culdees originally sprang
from that ascetic order who adopted a soli-
tary service of God in an isolated cell as the
highest form of religious life, and who were
then became as-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. ii. , chap,
Dr. Lanigan adds : ^Engus's surname was peculiar to himself, unless it should be supposed that all that is said of his having been a monk, etc. , is false. Many Irish names began with Ceile, Cele, or with the
corresponding word Gila, follow—ed by that
termed Deicolae
sociated in communities of anchorites, or
hermits ; that they were clerics, and might
be called monks, but only in the sense in
which anchorites were monks ; that they
made their appearance in the eastern dis-
tricts of Scotland at the same time as the
secular clergy were introduced, and sue-
ceeded the Columban monks who had been
driven across the great mountain range of Kelly's Dissertations chiefly on Irish Drumalban, the western frontier of the Church History. " Edited by Rev. D. Pictish kingdom 5 and that they were finally M'Carthy, D. Y),, pp. 209 to 219.
;
that
they
vi. , p. 277.
** "
of our Saviour or some Saint. "
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xx. , sect, x. , n. 96, p. 248.
^? See "Britaimia Sancta," part i. , p. 167.
*^ The feast of St. Malathgenius is ob- served, on the 21st of October,
*9 See an excellent memoir, chiefly taken
from Colgan, and publisned in Rev. Dr. "
" Eccle-
298 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii
An ingenious and a distinguished French writer, 3* capable from his pecu- liar line of study to pronounce opinions on this subject, has ably vindicated the progress made in sacred learning and science, among the pupils ot our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of
numbers still remained, and liis conceptions becoming spiritualized by aspira- tions after pericciion, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study with manual labour divided cloistral occupa- tions, and through study, this inspiration became fruitful.
p. 577.
^ ]3y Arnold Wion, who cites the Life of
St. Malachias. There, however, allusion is only made to St. Comgall, who died several centuries, before St. Malachy was born.
^ St. O'Morgair, whose Life is Malachy
given, at the 3rd of November.
" See Rev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect. X. , n. 98, p. 464.
" See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," ix. Februarii, n. 28, p 300.
" In the " '3 In his "
Martyrologium Martyrologium
Gallicanum. " Benedictinum,"
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
Catalogus
Generalis Sanctorum. "
March io. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 293
in Ireland, after the middle of the seventh century. The year for his birth has been assigned to 668, He seems to have been a monk, at lona, after the beginning of the eighth century. Colgan' and the Bollandists^ have given
some notices, concerning this St. Failbeus, the second Abbot of lona, bearing the name,3 at the loth of March. In the year 722, the Annals of lona record his being elected, as superior of the abbey ; but, as Rev. Dr. Reeves* ex-
plains, only as a coadjutor abbot, under Faelcu,5 son of Dorbene. Colgan will have it, that Failbe held such a position, for seven years ; yet, most probably, only for two, as St. Cillene Fada was elected abbot, a. d. 724. On the loth of March, the name of Failbe, bee, Abbot of la, is found set down in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,^ and of Marianus O'Gorman. Again we meet Faiibhe, Abbot of la, mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,? on
"
to his
he was a person of diminutive proportions. This saint died, a. d. 754, accord-
ing to the Annals of the Four Masters,^ after he had completed the eighty- seventh year of his age. He was also called Feidlimidh.
Article XIV. —Reputed Festival of St. Bessogus, a Bishop. In
the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, pubUshed by O'SuUevan Beare, at the loth of March, a St. Bessogus is commemorated. On the authorityof Floratius, Father Henry Fitzsimon calls him a bishop, at the same date. ' I feel satisfied, that here there must be a mistake of spelling for St. Kessogus, the bishop, whose festival is set down, for the present day.
Article XV. —Reputed Festival of a St. Livenus. The name Live- nus occurs, in the Catalogue of our national Saints, at the loth of March, as we find in O'Sullevan Beare's history ;' yet, elsewhere, I find nothing confir- matory of this authority.
Article XVI. —Festival of St. Constantine. At the loth of March, in the ancient Irish Church, was observed the festival of a St. Constantine, as
this The day.
epithet
small," attaching
name,
seems to that imply,
9 The festival of St Bernard is kept, on the 20th of August.
Article XII. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 72, 73.
=*
'
Article xiii. See "Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," x. Martii. De S. Failbeo sive Falveo Abbate Hiensi, p. 576.
Article xiv. —' See O'Sullevan Beare's "Historias Catholicse Ibemias Compen- dium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 52.
Article xv. —' See "Historise Catho-
licse Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib.
iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49.
Article xvi. —' The following Irish
"" Leabhar Breac copy,
P-
nished by Professor O'Looney ):• "! • 1"0.
:
Edited by Rev—. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii.
= See "Acta
Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
stanza, from the
with its English translation, has been
Martii x.
2-
Among
the
pretermitted saints,
— fur- "Oo i\05]\At) co TiAitigbti
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. iii. , sect, v. , p. 502.
* See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes, O. Chronicon Hyense, pp. 382, 385, 386.
5 His feast occurs, it is supposed by Col- gan, at the 3rd of April.
^
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
/^' 'J'
See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i,,
pp. 356, 357.
CoiifCvMicin
cAin comulecli
in the " Feilire. " » in the BoUandist
Yet, collection,
from an
there is no mention of a St. Constantine, at this date.
appears
entry
'
t^f & ^|\ich eo AinjLech
CnAnx) cnoiche in choinroet*. ^'
He was called to the angels Constantine, the chaste, the
luminous,
By whom found the angelic
yew.
The tree of the Cross of the
Lord.
294 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
Article XVII. —Reputed Festival of St. Kennocha, Virgin, CoiLA, Scotland. \Tenth or Eleventh Century. \ At the loth ot March, David Camerarius' has a notice of St. Kennocha, a Virgin, whose memory was celebrated in Coila, a province of Scotia. ^ The Bollandists have a notice,3 at this date, but they reter her festival, to the 13th of March, which is more in accord with the Scottish Kalendars. *
Article XVIII. —Reputed Festival of St. Attala, Abbot of Bob-
bio, Italy. At Bobbio, tor the loth of March, Dempster' has a festival ot the
Abbot Attala, who succeeded St. Columbanus,^ and who, he states, is thought tohavebeenaScot. However,Jonas,whohaswrittentheLiteofbothholy
abbots, distinctly states, that Attala was a noble by birth, and belonging to the Kingdom of Burgundy ; so that, neither Scotland nor Ireland have any
right to claim him as a countryman. The Bollandists,3 giving a previous commentary of their own/ insert his Acts,5 by Jonas, in their great work, at this date.
eiebeutfj JBap of ilarri)*
ARTICLE I. —ST. iENGUSIUS HAGIOGRAPHUS, OR ST. ^NGUS THE CULDEE, BISHOP AND ABBOT AT CLONENAGH, AND ANCHORET, AT DYSARTENOS, OR AT DYSARTBEAGH, QUEEN'S COUNTY.
lEIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES. \
CHAPTER L
INTKODUCTION—SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTS OF ST. ^NGUS—HIS PEDIGREE AND EARLY LIFE—HE STUDIES AT THE MONASTERY OF CLONENAGH— MONASTIC TRAINING AND LEARNING—ST. ^NGUS RETIRES TO DYSARTBKTAGH OR TO UYSART ENOS—HIS AUSTERITIES—HE VISITS THE CHURCH OF COOLBANAGHER— A VISION OF ANGELS—THE PURPOSE IT EVOKED.
value of a national literature, especially of the religious type, is the
THE
true and to
to touch the
to
or the sympathies, to inform the minds, to Unk itself closely to the hearts of
the people, who find lessons in the past, to guide their course for the present, and for a definite future. In our early monasteries, the cultivation of learn- ing was ever based on the soundest of |)rinciples, for man's supernatural con- cerns were held to be paramount. We find, that the study of the Scriptures was universal, and their transcription was a passion. Manuscripts still remain, in sufficient numbers, to attest the taste and learning of those early monks.
Article XVII. —' In the Scottish entries Article xviii. —'See "Menologium
of his Kalendar.
3 As
Arturi in Monasterio.
Gynecoeo
3 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
tliey state,
lasting power
suggest,
awaken,
imagination,
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
=" See
Scottish Saints," p. 235.
" memoratur in "
» See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii x. Among the pretermitted saints, p; 3-
Bisliop
p. 194.
"
See his Life, at the 21st of November.
Scoticum. " Bislaop Forbes'
Kalendars of
^
il. , Martii x. De S. Attala Abbate Bobiensi in
Italia Ordinis S. Columbani, pp. 42 to 45.
In five paragraphs.
s In two
chapters
and twelve
paragraphs.
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 295
As pious and patriotic themes employed their thoughts and pens, a love for religion, for country, and for race, was perpetuated ; while, our devotional and historic literature has been enriched with their contributions, and we are
brought by links of fond sympathy, to commune intelligently with the spirit and society of ages, removed by over a thousand years, from that stand- point, which is occupied by the men of our time. —
It seems not at all certain—indeed it is extremely doubtful that the Feast and Acts of this very celebrated St. ^ngusius Hagiographus, called also St. ^ngus the Culdee, should be assigned to this day, and not rather to the i6th of February, where there is a St. ^-nghas or CEngus, called Bishop of Rath-na n Epscop, or perhaps to the i8th of February, where we have already set down notices of a St. ^ngus, or St. Oengus, called Bishop ofDrum-Rathe. ' Inthe"Felire"ofSt. ^ngus,^atthisdate,andbyafair inference, the entry occurring, which refers to Oengus, may throw his festival upon one or other of the saints' days just noticed ; since, both ^nguses are omitted there, in the metrical Calendar of the Hagiographer, thus leaving an open for the introduction of his own name, by later compilers. However,
the Martyrologies of Tallagh,3 of Marianus O'Gorman,-* and of Donegal,s record our Saint's Feast, at this date, and so do most of the Hagiographical writers, who give his Life. Wherefore, we seem to have no other option, than accordance with so general an arrangement.
The Acts of this illustrious saint, known generally to Irish scholars, as
. ^ngus the Hagiologist, have been pubhshed by Colgan, at the nth of March. ^ The Bollandists,? Bishop Challenor,^ the Rev. Alban Butler,^ the
5. tl. I'D.
hlC COimCl A|\ pATJAC Oengui' ici^\ |:LAichib Libpen, SenAn y'uchAin ConfCAncm pg RAchm.
15, p. 583.
Perhaps, our suggestion is the better one, and it saves tne authenticity of the
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii. The only entry regarding him found in the Martyroiogy of Taliagh, at the same date, is Aenghus, Eps. h Ailileni. This, of course, must have been an addition, or interpola- tion, to the original Calendar, said, at least in part, to have been composed by St. ^ngus himself ; and, the notice may have been inserted, long after his death.
* Marianus there calls our
iEngus, the descendant of Hobien, Bishop.
" '" Acta Sanctorum Hiber* See Colgan s
niae,'' xi. Muriii. De S. ^iigus^io Hagio- grapho Episcopo et Confesbore, pp. 579 to
7 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xi. De B. /Engussio Keledeo Ab- bate et Episcopo in liioernia. A short pre- fatory notice, with Colgan's accoiuit, is here
'°havetheActsofSt. atthesamedate. Col- ^Engus,
Rev. S.
gan doubted not, that the Life of Saint . ^ngus had been written, at full length, and that it had been accessible, at a more remote period ; but, he complains, also, that this Life was not available, at the time he had been en-
Baring-Gould,
gaged, in publishing the Acts of our Irish Saints.
However, the virtues of
Article i. —Chapter i. —' The reader may revert, to what we have already written regarding both, at the respective dates specified.
" In ipso etiam iEngussii
^
"" LeabharBreac copy,has
:
bus non reperitur. "
The following stanza, taken from the
"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
—been translated also by Professor O'Looney
xi. Martii. Hagiographo Episcopo
De S.
et
^ngussio
n.
:
Contessore,
saint,
the
great
" See " Lives of the vol. Saints,"
217, 218.
iii. , pp.
Colgan adds
Festilogio in quibusdam exemplaribus poni- tur natalis hac die : sed ilia msulsa additio est : qu(£ idcirco in—vetustioribus exemplari-
bernias,"
"
Feilire," in all its parts.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 72, 73. At tire nth ot March, is there entered Aenghus Ua h Eblen, Bishop, who
They a—re companions of our is called Aenghus Cele-de. It was lie, we Lord ""
Oenjjus amidst chieftains, Libren, and Senan, the everlast-
ing,
Constantine King of Rathin.
are told, that comp(x-,cd the Feilue.
given, pp. 85 to 88. ^ '*
See Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 167 to 1 69.
9 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xi.
296 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
iEngus have been specially recorded, by some old writer, who prefixes an argument or introduction to this saint's existing writings. Another Irish poet, likewise bearing the name of ^ngus, has celebrated the Culdee's praises, in certain verses, sufficiently indicative of great antiquity. The author of this Metrical Life, in the penultimate verse of his panegyric on the saint, prays,
that he may enjoy with his namesake the bliss of eternal life.
He extols
^ngus with surpassing encomium, stating that the saint was often engaged in colloquies with celestial spirits. He styles St. ^ngus, the Sun of Western Europe. On account of those things related, which regard the studies of his youthful days, his daily and wonderful exercises, his rare humility and auste- rity, the day of his death, htingferia sexla, the place of his burial, and such like notices, Colgan is under an impression, that the writer must have been a friend of St. ^ngus, and that they must have lived contemporaneously. Whereiore, owing to the concurrences of time, of neighbourhood, and of great erudition, it is supposed, that the writer had been no other than y£ngus, AbbotofCluain-fearta-Molua,whodiedintheyear858. " Fromthemetrical panegyric, and from that Scholiast, who wrote a preface to the Festilogy of ^ngus, Colgan derived all his materials for the Life of this saint. A few particulars only are excepted, and these were drawn from other sources. '^
^ngus the Culdee, sometimes named ^ngusius Hagiographus, or j^neas, is said to have been descended from Coelbach, King of Ireland. A very ancient pedigree of this saint is still preserved, among our old Irish Manu-
'3
scripts. According this,
told,
to we are
that St. was the son of Oen- ^ngus
goba, son to Oblen, son of Fidru, son to Diarmuit, son of Ainmire, son to
Cellar, son of Oengus, son to Natsluagh, son of Caelbad,'-* son to Cruinba-
drai, son of Eochaidh Cobai. 's Such is St. Angus' pedigree,'" recorded
"
in a preface to his
of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. In Harris' Ware,'^ his father is called Oengobhan; and,wemayalsonotice,thatthereisanaccountleftusfroman
anonymous Scholiast, on the Fesiilogium of St. ^ngus, as mentioned by Col- gan, and who, in a somewhat different form, weaves this holy man's pedigree. '^
He
the "
as an he authority. Thus, sprung
quotes royal
Sanctilogic Genealogy,"'^ race of the Dalaradians in
from the
Ulster,
born,
about
Felire," as contained in the Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript
^° and he was
on the brink of the Eoir, in Laoighis, he was fostered ; there he read his
the middle of the eighth century. At Cluain-eidhneach, state the O'Clerys,^*
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 492,493.
'3 See Leabhar Breac, fol. 8, a col. — 5,
of
F. Diermitii, F. Anmirechi, F. Cellarii, F. ^ngussii, F. Natsluagii, F. Coeibadii, F.
" See
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii, n, 5, p. 582.
Crunnii Badhrai, F. Eochadii
F. Lugadii, F. Rossii, F. Imchadii, F. Fethlemidii, F. Cassii, F. Fiach Aradii, a
'* He
p. 609.
to the race of Irial, son of
' ' to sit here around Delightful
Colgan's
Cobhae,
1.
30. "Catalogue Irish MSS. in the quo Dalaradiorum familia nominatur. " See
Royal Irish Academy," p. 598.
' He was of the Kudiician or Ultonian
race, and he was monarch of Erinn, having been slain, A. D. 357, by Eochaidh Muigh- mheadhoin. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 124, 125.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," xi.
^5 See Professor
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , p. 363, and Ap- pendix, No. cxi. ,
Eugene O'Curry's
belonged
Conall Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys.
him,
By the side of the cold clear Eoir," &c.
'' See vol. ii. "The Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 51.
'* "
" It is at Cluain eidhneach he was nursed ;
It is given in these words
sius filius ^ngavani, F. Hoblenii, F. Fidrai,
:
S.
iEngus-
many crosses,
" Lee-
" as "accord- They superadd, authority,
Colgan's
Martii, nn. I, 3, p. 582.
'* Chapter xxiii.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra- pho Episcopo et Confessore, cap. i. , p. 579.
ing to th—is verse, which is in a poem. " It
begins
:
At Cluain-eidhneach he was buried
At Cluain-eidhneach of He read his psalms first. "
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 297
psalms first, and there he was afterwards buried. Thus, we may probably infer, that his birth took place, near the celebrated monastery, founded by St. Fintan. "
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life. He practised mortification, to an ex- traordinary degree, even in his youth ; and, he conceived most exalted ideas of Christian perfection, the attainment of which was an object, ever upper- most in his mind. Almost from infancy, he deserved the appellation Culdee,'3 or worshipper of God, which surname he afterwards bore. It has been stated,^* that the surname Ceile De, given to y5i)ngus, indicated an office, or a particular sort of profession, and that he was one of that clerical body, who had been afterwards called Culdees. ^5 However, according to Rev. Dr.
Lanigan, the title, Ceile De, as applied to ^ngus, had nothing to do with them ; and, he thinks, it is more than probable, about that time, there was
not as yet any such institution as the Culdees, in their corporate capacity. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that the Culdees were the secular canons of cathedral
or collegiate churches, such as those we call prebendaries. He thinks it a palpable mistake to suppose, that they were a monastic o—rder. ^^
About this time, the great Monastery of Clonenagh incorrectly said to have been in East Meath, by Bishop Challenor,='7 a—nd by others to have been in Ossory, but rather it should be stated, in Leix then under direction of
the saintly Abbot Malathgenius,^^ enjoyed a high reputation, both for the numberandsanctityofitsinmates. ^9 ^nguspreterredhissuitforadmission within its enclosure, and his request was favourably received. But his early novitiate, in the exercise of all virtues, had preceded the care bestowed by that holy abbot, on his youthful disciple. His daily progress in the paths of Christian sanctity, and his advancement in sacred learning, were aided by application and capacity, to such an extraordinary degree, that in a short time, ^ngus bore the reputation of being one among the most sanctified and erudite men, of whom Ireland could then boast. Our saint must have been his disciple belore the year 767,3° since this is the period, to which the demise of Maelaithgen has been referred. 3'
" See his Life, at the 17th of February.
"3 The Keledei, Cele de, Caelicolae, or Colidei, first appear as "Culdees," in the eighth century. They were the socii, mariti,
brought under the canonical rule along with
the secular clergy, retaining, however, to some extent the nomenclature of the monas-
tery, until at length the name of Keledeus,
or servi of God, which is the meaning of the or Culdee, became almo—st synonymous with ""
word Ceile. "
that of secular canon. " Celtic Scotland :
=* By Toland, in "Nazarenus," Letter ii,, sect. 3.
=^5 After citing various proofs and illustra-
tions, William F. Skene arrives at the con-
elusion, "that the Culdees originally sprang
from that ascetic order who adopted a soli-
tary service of God in an isolated cell as the
highest form of religious life, and who were
then became as-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. ii. , chap,
Dr. Lanigan adds : ^Engus's surname was peculiar to himself, unless it should be supposed that all that is said of his having been a monk, etc. , is false. Many Irish names began with Ceile, Cele, or with the
corresponding word Gila, follow—ed by that
termed Deicolae
sociated in communities of anchorites, or
hermits ; that they were clerics, and might
be called monks, but only in the sense in
which anchorites were monks ; that they
made their appearance in the eastern dis-
tricts of Scotland at the same time as the
secular clergy were introduced, and sue-
ceeded the Columban monks who had been
driven across the great mountain range of Kelly's Dissertations chiefly on Irish Drumalban, the western frontier of the Church History. " Edited by Rev. D. Pictish kingdom 5 and that they were finally M'Carthy, D. Y),, pp. 209 to 219.
;
that
they
vi. , p. 277.
** "
of our Saviour or some Saint. "
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xx. , sect, x. , n. 96, p. 248.
^? See "Britaimia Sancta," part i. , p. 167.
*^ The feast of St. Malathgenius is ob- served, on the 21st of October,
*9 See an excellent memoir, chiefly taken
from Colgan, and publisned in Rev. Dr. "
" Eccle-
298 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii
An ingenious and a distinguished French writer, 3* capable from his pecu- liar line of study to pronounce opinions on this subject, has ably vindicated the progress made in sacred learning and science, among the pupils ot our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of
numbers still remained, and liis conceptions becoming spiritualized by aspira- tions after pericciion, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study with manual labour divided cloistral occupa- tions, and through study, this inspiration became fruitful.
