Yet does it appear, that others, having the title of Sedulius or Siedhal, were celebrated, in
connexion
with the ecclesiastical literature of ancient Scotia.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
"
^'3 As we learn, from a short introductory epigram. To this is added, in some manu- scripts, a more detailed confirmation.
^'4 to the Fasti we dis- "Upon turning
cover that an Asterius was consul along with Protogenes in A. D. 499, and that Turcius Rufus Apronianus Asterius was consul with
:
498 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February12.
Arantzenius ;"^ and of Arevalus. "7 The different pieces will be found in Fabricius. The Editio Princeps of Sedulius is a quarto volume printed at Paris by Badius Ascensius, yet without any date. The second edition was
published along with Juvencus and others, by Aldus, at Venice, a. d. 1502. "^ His works are contained in " Opera Christiana ;" "9 in the " Bibliotheca
Patrum "° in the " Maxima,"
Poetarum Latinorum in the volumes ;"
Corpus
of Mattaire ;"' and in the fifth volume of the " Collectio —Pisaurensis. " "'
The works of Sedulius t—
<<
xx. , Originum," cap. iv. He flourished about
119
Basil, A. D. 1564, fol.
"° Published at
vol. vi,, p. 456.
Lyons,
A. D.
1677, fol,,
"^ Vol,
1060.
See Dr. William Smith's "Dictionary
ii. , p.
"= ofGreekandRomanBiographyandMyth- ology," vol. iii,, pp. 765, 766.
"3 He is thought, by Colgan, to have flourished, A. D. 449, but, it seems to have been later.
;
"^ In a series of ingenious Latin verses, having the acrostic words, "Sedulius An- tistes," running from top to bottom, at the initial letters of each verse
while the clo- sing letters of each line carry out the acros-
tic, on an opposite margin.
"5 According to a MS,, Bibliotheca Us-
seriana.
"^ He has written a similar acrostic to
that of Liberius, but couched in different terms.
heElderwere esteemed and very highly
especially the"CarmenPaschale" bythefathersandecclesiasticalwriters,wholived
after his time. Thus is he praised by Turtius Ruffus AsteriuSj^^'s Consul
and Patrician, at Rome, by D. Liberius, the Poet,"'^ or by Liberatus, the Scholastic^^s—as he is sometimes called—by Bellisarius, the Poet,"^ by
Pope Gelasius I. ,"7 by Arator S. R. E. Subdiaconus,"^ by Cassiodorus,"9 by Venantius Fortunatus,^3o by St. Patricius, the contemporary and disciple of St. Augustin,^3i by St. Gregory of Tours,^32 by St. Isidore the Spaniard, ^33 by St. Hildefonsus,'34 by Placidius Lactantius or Lutatius,'35 by Venerable Bede,^36 by Remigius Antisiodorensis,^37 by Asserus Menevensis,'38 by St. Ethelwald,'39 by Sigibertus Gemblacensis,^4o by Eadmer,'"*^ by Honorius Augustodunensis,'42 by an ancient anonymous writer, ^43 by Radulphus Dun- stapulensis, by Trithemius,''»4 by Cardinal Bellarmin,^45 by Richard Broughton,^46 and by a host of ancient and modern writers. '^?
Praesidius in A. D. 496. "—Dr. William Bale, centur. xiv. , and Hanmer, in his
Smith's **
" Chronicle of Ireland,"
of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology," vol. iii. , p. 764.
"^
In 4to, Leovard, A. D. 1761. "7 In 4to, Rome, a. d. i 794.
"8 In
Dictionary
"5 In 8vo, Hal,, A. D. 1704 and 1739.
p. 46,
4to.
Poetarum veterum ecclesiasticorum. "
'33 " and liber Catalogus," cap. vii. ,
lived, A. D. 1 1 20.
"7 In Decreto Ixx. Episcoporum. He '4^ In Catalogo, cap. vii. This writer
flourished about 494.
"^
In versifying the Acts of the Apostles, after the manner of Sedulius, as he states.
"5 De Divinis Lectionibus, cap. xxvii.
^3° Liber i. , epigram i. Likewise in the beginning of Vita S. Martini, Turonensis Kpiscopi, lib. i. This writer lived about A. D. 570.
'3' He is said to have lived A. D.
flourished about A. D, 1120.
'43 His period is referred to the twelfth
century, and as we are told, he is quoted "in Bibliotheca Turneyensi apud Hali-
"
faxenses.
'44 He flourished in the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries.
"»s He flourished in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.
146 In "Hystoria Ecclesiastica Magnae
and to have written Commentaria, According to
600,
^32 He tells us, that of Chilperic, King
the Franks, composed two wretched books
of metre, trying to imitate Sedulius. Liber
v. , historiarum, cap. xlv.
*'
the year 626.
'34 In Sermone v. De He Asumptione,
flourished about the year 650.
'35 In Scholiis ad Librum viii. Thebaidis
Papinii Statii,
'3*See "Ilistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum," lib. v. , cap, xix. Also, in the " Ars Metrica. " He also says, in imitation of Sedulius, he described in metre the Life of St. Culhbert, at first, and afterwards, in
prose. Bede flourished about A,D. 720,
'37 In writing on St. Paul's Epistles. He
flourished about A,D, 880,
'38 De Aelfredo. This writer lived A. D.
900.
'39 In Carmine ad Winfrithum. He
flourished about A. D, 960. '"oDeVirisIllustribus. Thiswriterlived
in the beginning of the twelfth century.
'-»' In Vita S. Dunstani. This writer
February tz. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 499
Conjecture alone can help us to approximate, regarding the period for his decease. Ussher thinks, that Sedulius belonged to the latter part of the fifth century, and that he died, about a. d. 494. ''*^ Sir James Ware follows this opinion, ^49 at least inferentially. Although we have no reliable record, that he had a festival day ; yet, from the sublime spirit of piety which characterizes his authentic writings, from the title of venerable, bestowed on him, as also, from his labours for edifying and sound doctrine, and because hehasbeenalwayshighlyesteemedamongtheFathersoftheChurch; there can hardly be a doubt, that he has been aggregated to the company of the blessed in Heaven. 'so
Christianity was not long established, when admiration, for old classical poetry of the heathen world, began to create a longing for an order of ideas, more in accord with devotional feeling, and soon it sought a new class ot
poets, to develop this expression. Hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, im- mortal yearnings, with which the Gentiles were unacquainted, had to be ex-
pressed ; the old, capricious, worldly poetry was abandoned, while a new, solemn, and spiritual one was adopted. Christians could neither use nor love a poetry, which had been profaned in celebration of an unholy and im- puremythology. Fromtimetotime,theyframedforthemselves,andfor the celebration of the Divine mysteries, one more in consonance with the old Hebraistic psalms, more rhythmical, and, in some cases, less metrical. ^s^ Perhaps, we are more indebted to St. Ambrose, who lived in the fourth
century, than to any other, for this great and elevating change. His hymns became popular, and eventually, classical themes were less in vogue. With St. Patrick and his disciple St. Secumdinus, the new school was introduced, withthenewreligion,intoIreland; and,astheCeltswereessentiallymusical, there can be little question, that in some short period, they impressed it with their own genius ; in fact, it is a well-founded opinion,'S2 after the most patient investigation, that it was from the Celtic races and their peculiar metre the Latin hymnal rhymes drew their inspiration. '53 When the Irish missionaries spread themselves over Europe, they carried with them, every- where, their own peculiar hymnology, in which was crystallized those sublime truths, that had been imparted to them, by their great Apostle St. Patrick. '54 The transition from Irish to Latin versification was both natural and easy,
Britanniae," lib. iv. , cap. xvii. This latter writer states, that Sedulius wrote more than forty books.
^'*^ See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An- tiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 408, and "Index Chronologicus," A. D. ccccxcv. , p. 524.
^'^9 See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. i. , pp. 4 to 6.
^2° See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hi- berniae," Februarii xii. De Venerabili Sedulio Scriptore et Doctore eximio, cap.
viii. , ix. , X. , p. 318.
'5^ In our times, several of the ancient
hymns have been collected and edited by Herr Mone. This accomplished scholar,
linguist, and archaeologist, belongs to Carls- ruhe. He is author of several works, and he was editor of a German archseological
journal. In 1853, 1854, and 1855, he pub- lished, at Freyburg, three volumes of mediae-
val hymns, entitled—" Hymni Latini Medii
^vi. " Somewhat later, a volume of Celtic
investigations more especially occupied his learned leisure.
^52 Of Dr. Guest.
^S3 Of the 320 hymns, which Mone's first volume contains, more than one fourth are taken from Reichenau and from St. Gall, These grand old hymns exhibit the most ex- traordinary mastery, over the resources of the Latin tongue ; for, often the writers were obliged to bend and change the pro- fane classical to holy purposes, alien to its former desecration.
^54 When Mone and Daniel began their great collections of mediaeval hymns, it was in the Irish convents of St. Gall, and of its affiliation, Reichenau, and among the manu- scripts of other Scoto-Germanic houses, they discovered their richest and most valuable treasures. Any one, accustomed to the pe- culiar measure and feeling of Irish poetry, will at once discern, that a great portion of these hymns are of Irish origin and growth.
Colgan's
cap. i. , pp. 319, 320. "
" Acta Sanctorum Hi-
^7 See
bemi»,"xii. Februarii. Appendix ad Acta S. Sedulii Scriptoris et Doctoris eximii,
500 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February12.
as we are told by a writer, quite competent to form a correct opinion on this subject ;'5S and from the lessons of Irish or Keltic bards, several ancient
hymnologistsimbibedthestyleofwritinghymnsandsacredpoems. Thus, as the English metrical songs of Moore were wedded to the genius of Irish melody, so were the assonances and metre of our ancient bards introduced and grafted into the literature of the Church.
CHAPTER III.
ANOTHER SCOTTISH SEDULIUS, A BISHOP OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY—HIS HISTORY, SO FAR AS KNOWN—SEDULIUS, ABBOT OF LINNDUACHUIL—SEDULIUS, OF LISMORE— SEDULIUS, ABBOT OF KINN LOCHA—SEDULIUS, CALLED THE YOUNGER, AND HIS WRITINGS—SEDULIUS, ABBOT AND BISHOP OF ROSCOMMON—SEDULIUS OR SIADHAL, OF CASTLEKIERAN- OTHER REMARKABLE PERSONS, BEARING THE NAME SEDULIUS, SIADHAL OR SHIEL—CONCLUSION.
Yet does it appear, that others, having the title of Sedulius or Siedhal, were celebrated, in connexion with the ecclesiastical literature of ancient Scotia.
A who was a Scot Sedulius, also,
by birth,
Fergustus he subscribed to that council, convened a. d. 721, at Rome,3 under
the pontificate of Gregory II. -^ He has been confounded with Sedulius the
Younger, a learned man from his youth, who is said, by John Bale, to have flourished a. d. 714, while Eugene VII. ruled in Scotland. It is also re- lated, that he collected, in a book, the statutes of the Roman Council, at St. Peter's, when he assisted with a Pictish bishop, called Fergus, or, as written Fergustus. s Bale could find nothing more, about other works he had written f but, he assumes this Sedulius was a bishop of the Southern Picts. 7 Autbertinus^ believed, that the author of the Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles could have been no other, than Sedulius the Scot, who assisted at that Roman synod, celebrated under Gregory II. or 111. 9 Some think a second council was held at Rome, a. d. 736,^° under Gregory III. ," and that the Sedulius, Bishop of Britain, and of Scottish race, assisted thereat ; yet, this does not appear from any known authority.
is enumerated, by Colgan,'-^ among those holy men, bearing a similar name. He died in the year 752. ^5
In the Penitentiary of St. Maelruan, Abbot of Tallagh, there is mention
*'
*5S See Veiy Rev. Canon Ulick J. Bourke's
Aryan Origin of the Celtic Race and Lan-
A Sedulius, Abbot of Linnduachuil"—on the River Lagan^3—in Ultonia,
^ in like manner is he styled, unwarrant- ably, by Simler and other writers,
^
^ numeral we are him—but this is a mistake—Sedulius the The characters, here,
In "Prestigiarum de Sacramento Eu- Chapter III. — Mre. Louis Moreri calls charistije," p. 911.
guage," &c. , chap, xv. , pp. 457 to 462. '
Younger. See "Le Grand Dictionnaire
told,areundecipherable. SeeLabbe'shis-
toric dissertation on Cardinal Bellarmin's ^"
Historique," tome ix. , p. 312.
His signature to the council, held at
Rome, in 721, is remarkable : "Sedulius, Britanniae Episcopus de genere Scotorum. "
3 This council sat, during "the heat of
notice of Caius Caslius Sedulius, Ope-
rum," tomus septimus. De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," p. 152.
'° In the chronological list of councils,
the Iconoclastic controversy. " Bishop one at Rome, a. d. 731, is set down in Sir
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 337.
"" Harris Nicolas' Chronology of History,
p. 224.
" He is said to have from A. D. reigned,
731 to 741. See ibid.
"About five miles north-west of Dro-
more.
'^ Now Magheralin, in the county of Down.
* See Du Pin's ** Nouvelle
des Auteurs Ecclesiastiques," tome vi,, siecleviii. , p. 129.
s See " Illustrium Scriptorum
Majoris Brytanniae, quam nunc Angliam et Scotiam
vocant," cent, xiv. , num.
^Seeibid. ; \
Bibliotheque
xxviii,y-j^''. l99.
'^See"ActaSanctorumHibernice,"xii.
^ is known. =^ With or Fergus
February 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 501
madeofaSediilius,sonofThesda,ofLismore,inMunster. Hemusthave flourished before a. d. 787, when St. Maelruan died; and, Colgan says, he seems distinguishable, from any of the eight SeduHuses, he has recorded. ^^
Seduhus, Abbot of Kinn Locha,^7 is noticed by Colgan,^^ among the eminent persons so called. He is distinguished as St. Siadhal Ua Commain, and he died on the 8th of March, a. d. 794. '9
There was another remarkable man, known as Siadhal or Shiel. To distinguish him from Caius Caelius Sedulius, he is usually recognised as a
2°
Scot, and he is called, Sedulius the Younger.
but less renowned than the former, the younger Sedulius is thought to have been, the son of Feredach. He is said to have flourished a. d. 818. Again, Dr. Lanigan considers him, to have been the successor of Muireadhach,^^ whodiedAbbotofKildarea. d. 821. " Aboutthisnotedwriter,afewob-
servations are required. Sedulius the Younger, although probably a con- temporary, must not be confounded with Sedulius, an abbot and a bishop of
Roscommon,=^3 who died in 813^4 or 814. ^5 To the younger Sedulius is attributed a commentary,^^ on all the Epistles of Saint Paul, which had been
drawn from the writings of Origin, of Eusebius, of Hilary, the Deacon, of Saint Ambrose, of Rufinus, of St. John Chrysostom, of St. Jerome, of St.
Augustin, of Pelagius, of Genade of Constantinople, of St. Gregory the Great,^7 and of some other Fathers. ^^ Thus, it was only a compilation of ancient
commentaries, on these epistles. This work of Sedulius was printed, for
the first time, at Basle, in 1528, and in 1534. ^^ Sedulius the Younger is believed to have been author of a commentary on St. Matthew, written in the same style, and divided into 355 chapters. 3°. It is likely, that several codices are extant, in which his works are contained. In the Imperial
"
Library, at Vienna,3^ there is a valuable vellum manuscript, intitled
Junioris Scoti Catena, sive Collectanea ex Patrum sententiis et dictis in Evangelium S. Mathaei. " 32 This popular work, on t'. ie Gospel of St.
Februarii. De S, Sedulio Episcopo Dub-
liniensi, p. 315, and n. 4, ibid.
^5 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 354, 355.
^^ See " Acta Sanctorum
Februarii. De S. Sedulio Episcopo Dub- liniensi, p. 315.
^^ There are several places in Ireland,
named Ceann-lacha, Kinn Locha, or Kin-
lough, "the head of the lake. " Dr.
O'Donovan thinks, that place here referred
to be at the north-west ex- may Kinlough,
tremity of Lough Melvin, in the barony of Rose Ciogher, and county of Leitrim. See
"
(a), p. 402.
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n.
'^
Hibernise,"
xii.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xii.
Februarii. De S. Sedulio Episcopo Dub- S. J. , observes, at i. Cor. vi. , 5.
liniensi, p. 315.
ts See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 402, 403.
a monk of St. Gall's Mo- nastery, speaks, in his abridged Annals, of a Scot, named Sedulius, called the Younger, to distinguish him from the poet, bearing a
like name.
=' He is called the son of Ceallach.
^^
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 432, 433.
^3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
g^g supplement to the historic disser-
='°
Hepidanus,
Septimus. p. 152.
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis,
Distinguished as a writer,
SeduHi
nise,"Februariixii. De vS. Sedulio Episcopo Dubliniensi, and n. 6, p. 315.
^^ See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i,, pp. 426, 427.
^s See Dr. " Ecclesiastical His- Lanigan's
"
tory of Ireland,
xii. , and nn. 126, 127, pp. 255 to 257. Dr. Lanigan is in the habit of adding one year additional to the Four Masters' computation, Dr. O'Donovan corrects it in a less uniform fashion.
^^ It is "Collectaneum usually intituled,
sive Explanatio in omnes Epistolas Sancti Pauli. "
=^7 The name of this saint is not mentioned, but his "Liber Moralium," xix. , on Job, cap. 21, is quoted, as Benedict Justiniani,
vol. iii. , chap, xx. , section
^s
tation on Cardinal Bellarmin's notice of Caius Cselius Sedulius, "Operum," tomus
De
^9 It afterwards appeared, in the " Biblio- theque des Peres. "
30 See Labbe, on Cardinal Bellarmin's
works, " De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," at Sedulius.
31 Cod. Membr. Theol. , cix. (nunc vi. i. )
c.
502 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS [Februaryla.
Matthew, is by our fellow-countryman, Sedulius, that is, SiedJmil, or Shiel. Denis, in his catalogue,33 says that this manuscript is as old as the tenth
century. It now consists of 157 folia, of large quarto form, written in a fair and uniform hand, in two columns, with red initial letters. 34 According
to a taste, prevailing among scholars of the ninth age, little of an original character was produced ; but, to extract whatever seemed best, from
writings of their predecessors, or to compose commentaries, or other
compilationsfromthem,wasmuchinvogue. ThiscommentaryofSedulius
on St. had not issued from the when Ceillier wrote. 35 It Matthew, press,
existed in MS. only, and it was preserved in the college library, belonging to the Jesuits, at Paris. Not only do we find cited there, St. Eucherius, St.
Leo, Arnobius the Younger, Fauste de Riez, St. Gregory the Great, St. Isidore, Arculphc, and Venerable Bede, but even the Poet Sedulius. This demonstrates sufficiently, that commentary is not the work of the poet. To
"
Commentariolum inartemEutychii. "so TotheyoungerSeduliusdifferentworksareattributed, and which Trithemius accords to the elder ; namely, a book of epistles, a volume on Priscian, another on the second edition of Donatus, with some other tracts. Trithemius does not give the titles of these, as he ordinarily had done, for works he personally inspected.
^'3 As we learn, from a short introductory epigram. To this is added, in some manu- scripts, a more detailed confirmation.
^'4 to the Fasti we dis- "Upon turning
cover that an Asterius was consul along with Protogenes in A. D. 499, and that Turcius Rufus Apronianus Asterius was consul with
:
498 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February12.
Arantzenius ;"^ and of Arevalus. "7 The different pieces will be found in Fabricius. The Editio Princeps of Sedulius is a quarto volume printed at Paris by Badius Ascensius, yet without any date. The second edition was
published along with Juvencus and others, by Aldus, at Venice, a. d. 1502. "^ His works are contained in " Opera Christiana ;" "9 in the " Bibliotheca
Patrum "° in the " Maxima,"
Poetarum Latinorum in the volumes ;"
Corpus
of Mattaire ;"' and in the fifth volume of the " Collectio —Pisaurensis. " "'
The works of Sedulius t—
<<
xx. , Originum," cap. iv. He flourished about
119
Basil, A. D. 1564, fol.
"° Published at
vol. vi,, p. 456.
Lyons,
A. D.
1677, fol,,
"^ Vol,
1060.
See Dr. William Smith's "Dictionary
ii. , p.
"= ofGreekandRomanBiographyandMyth- ology," vol. iii,, pp. 765, 766.
"3 He is thought, by Colgan, to have flourished, A. D. 449, but, it seems to have been later.
;
"^ In a series of ingenious Latin verses, having the acrostic words, "Sedulius An- tistes," running from top to bottom, at the initial letters of each verse
while the clo- sing letters of each line carry out the acros-
tic, on an opposite margin.
"5 According to a MS,, Bibliotheca Us-
seriana.
"^ He has written a similar acrostic to
that of Liberius, but couched in different terms.
heElderwere esteemed and very highly
especially the"CarmenPaschale" bythefathersandecclesiasticalwriters,wholived
after his time. Thus is he praised by Turtius Ruffus AsteriuSj^^'s Consul
and Patrician, at Rome, by D. Liberius, the Poet,"'^ or by Liberatus, the Scholastic^^s—as he is sometimes called—by Bellisarius, the Poet,"^ by
Pope Gelasius I. ,"7 by Arator S. R. E. Subdiaconus,"^ by Cassiodorus,"9 by Venantius Fortunatus,^3o by St. Patricius, the contemporary and disciple of St. Augustin,^3i by St. Gregory of Tours,^32 by St. Isidore the Spaniard, ^33 by St. Hildefonsus,'34 by Placidius Lactantius or Lutatius,'35 by Venerable Bede,^36 by Remigius Antisiodorensis,^37 by Asserus Menevensis,'38 by St. Ethelwald,'39 by Sigibertus Gemblacensis,^4o by Eadmer,'"*^ by Honorius Augustodunensis,'42 by an ancient anonymous writer, ^43 by Radulphus Dun- stapulensis, by Trithemius,''»4 by Cardinal Bellarmin,^45 by Richard Broughton,^46 and by a host of ancient and modern writers. '^?
Praesidius in A. D. 496. "—Dr. William Bale, centur. xiv. , and Hanmer, in his
Smith's **
" Chronicle of Ireland,"
of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology," vol. iii. , p. 764.
"^
In 4to, Leovard, A. D. 1761. "7 In 4to, Rome, a. d. i 794.
"8 In
Dictionary
"5 In 8vo, Hal,, A. D. 1704 and 1739.
p. 46,
4to.
Poetarum veterum ecclesiasticorum. "
'33 " and liber Catalogus," cap. vii. ,
lived, A. D. 1 1 20.
"7 In Decreto Ixx. Episcoporum. He '4^ In Catalogo, cap. vii. This writer
flourished about 494.
"^
In versifying the Acts of the Apostles, after the manner of Sedulius, as he states.
"5 De Divinis Lectionibus, cap. xxvii.
^3° Liber i. , epigram i. Likewise in the beginning of Vita S. Martini, Turonensis Kpiscopi, lib. i. This writer lived about A. D. 570.
'3' He is said to have lived A. D.
flourished about A. D, 1120.
'43 His period is referred to the twelfth
century, and as we are told, he is quoted "in Bibliotheca Turneyensi apud Hali-
"
faxenses.
'44 He flourished in the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries.
"»s He flourished in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.
146 In "Hystoria Ecclesiastica Magnae
and to have written Commentaria, According to
600,
^32 He tells us, that of Chilperic, King
the Franks, composed two wretched books
of metre, trying to imitate Sedulius. Liber
v. , historiarum, cap. xlv.
*'
the year 626.
'34 In Sermone v. De He Asumptione,
flourished about the year 650.
'35 In Scholiis ad Librum viii. Thebaidis
Papinii Statii,
'3*See "Ilistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum," lib. v. , cap, xix. Also, in the " Ars Metrica. " He also says, in imitation of Sedulius, he described in metre the Life of St. Culhbert, at first, and afterwards, in
prose. Bede flourished about A,D. 720,
'37 In writing on St. Paul's Epistles. He
flourished about A,D, 880,
'38 De Aelfredo. This writer lived A. D.
900.
'39 In Carmine ad Winfrithum. He
flourished about A. D, 960. '"oDeVirisIllustribus. Thiswriterlived
in the beginning of the twelfth century.
'-»' In Vita S. Dunstani. This writer
February tz. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 499
Conjecture alone can help us to approximate, regarding the period for his decease. Ussher thinks, that Sedulius belonged to the latter part of the fifth century, and that he died, about a. d. 494. ''*^ Sir James Ware follows this opinion, ^49 at least inferentially. Although we have no reliable record, that he had a festival day ; yet, from the sublime spirit of piety which characterizes his authentic writings, from the title of venerable, bestowed on him, as also, from his labours for edifying and sound doctrine, and because hehasbeenalwayshighlyesteemedamongtheFathersoftheChurch; there can hardly be a doubt, that he has been aggregated to the company of the blessed in Heaven. 'so
Christianity was not long established, when admiration, for old classical poetry of the heathen world, began to create a longing for an order of ideas, more in accord with devotional feeling, and soon it sought a new class ot
poets, to develop this expression. Hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, im- mortal yearnings, with which the Gentiles were unacquainted, had to be ex-
pressed ; the old, capricious, worldly poetry was abandoned, while a new, solemn, and spiritual one was adopted. Christians could neither use nor love a poetry, which had been profaned in celebration of an unholy and im- puremythology. Fromtimetotime,theyframedforthemselves,andfor the celebration of the Divine mysteries, one more in consonance with the old Hebraistic psalms, more rhythmical, and, in some cases, less metrical. ^s^ Perhaps, we are more indebted to St. Ambrose, who lived in the fourth
century, than to any other, for this great and elevating change. His hymns became popular, and eventually, classical themes were less in vogue. With St. Patrick and his disciple St. Secumdinus, the new school was introduced, withthenewreligion,intoIreland; and,astheCeltswereessentiallymusical, there can be little question, that in some short period, they impressed it with their own genius ; in fact, it is a well-founded opinion,'S2 after the most patient investigation, that it was from the Celtic races and their peculiar metre the Latin hymnal rhymes drew their inspiration. '53 When the Irish missionaries spread themselves over Europe, they carried with them, every- where, their own peculiar hymnology, in which was crystallized those sublime truths, that had been imparted to them, by their great Apostle St. Patrick. '54 The transition from Irish to Latin versification was both natural and easy,
Britanniae," lib. iv. , cap. xvii. This latter writer states, that Sedulius wrote more than forty books.
^'*^ See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An- tiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 408, and "Index Chronologicus," A. D. ccccxcv. , p. 524.
^'^9 See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. i. , pp. 4 to 6.
^2° See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hi- berniae," Februarii xii. De Venerabili Sedulio Scriptore et Doctore eximio, cap.
viii. , ix. , X. , p. 318.
'5^ In our times, several of the ancient
hymns have been collected and edited by Herr Mone. This accomplished scholar,
linguist, and archaeologist, belongs to Carls- ruhe. He is author of several works, and he was editor of a German archseological
journal. In 1853, 1854, and 1855, he pub- lished, at Freyburg, three volumes of mediae-
val hymns, entitled—" Hymni Latini Medii
^vi. " Somewhat later, a volume of Celtic
investigations more especially occupied his learned leisure.
^52 Of Dr. Guest.
^S3 Of the 320 hymns, which Mone's first volume contains, more than one fourth are taken from Reichenau and from St. Gall, These grand old hymns exhibit the most ex- traordinary mastery, over the resources of the Latin tongue ; for, often the writers were obliged to bend and change the pro- fane classical to holy purposes, alien to its former desecration.
^54 When Mone and Daniel began their great collections of mediaeval hymns, it was in the Irish convents of St. Gall, and of its affiliation, Reichenau, and among the manu- scripts of other Scoto-Germanic houses, they discovered their richest and most valuable treasures. Any one, accustomed to the pe- culiar measure and feeling of Irish poetry, will at once discern, that a great portion of these hymns are of Irish origin and growth.
Colgan's
cap. i. , pp. 319, 320. "
" Acta Sanctorum Hi-
^7 See
bemi»,"xii. Februarii. Appendix ad Acta S. Sedulii Scriptoris et Doctoris eximii,
500 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February12.
as we are told by a writer, quite competent to form a correct opinion on this subject ;'5S and from the lessons of Irish or Keltic bards, several ancient
hymnologistsimbibedthestyleofwritinghymnsandsacredpoems. Thus, as the English metrical songs of Moore were wedded to the genius of Irish melody, so were the assonances and metre of our ancient bards introduced and grafted into the literature of the Church.
CHAPTER III.
ANOTHER SCOTTISH SEDULIUS, A BISHOP OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY—HIS HISTORY, SO FAR AS KNOWN—SEDULIUS, ABBOT OF LINNDUACHUIL—SEDULIUS, OF LISMORE— SEDULIUS, ABBOT OF KINN LOCHA—SEDULIUS, CALLED THE YOUNGER, AND HIS WRITINGS—SEDULIUS, ABBOT AND BISHOP OF ROSCOMMON—SEDULIUS OR SIADHAL, OF CASTLEKIERAN- OTHER REMARKABLE PERSONS, BEARING THE NAME SEDULIUS, SIADHAL OR SHIEL—CONCLUSION.
Yet does it appear, that others, having the title of Sedulius or Siedhal, were celebrated, in connexion with the ecclesiastical literature of ancient Scotia.
A who was a Scot Sedulius, also,
by birth,
Fergustus he subscribed to that council, convened a. d. 721, at Rome,3 under
the pontificate of Gregory II. -^ He has been confounded with Sedulius the
Younger, a learned man from his youth, who is said, by John Bale, to have flourished a. d. 714, while Eugene VII. ruled in Scotland. It is also re- lated, that he collected, in a book, the statutes of the Roman Council, at St. Peter's, when he assisted with a Pictish bishop, called Fergus, or, as written Fergustus. s Bale could find nothing more, about other works he had written f but, he assumes this Sedulius was a bishop of the Southern Picts. 7 Autbertinus^ believed, that the author of the Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles could have been no other, than Sedulius the Scot, who assisted at that Roman synod, celebrated under Gregory II. or 111. 9 Some think a second council was held at Rome, a. d. 736,^° under Gregory III. ," and that the Sedulius, Bishop of Britain, and of Scottish race, assisted thereat ; yet, this does not appear from any known authority.
is enumerated, by Colgan,'-^ among those holy men, bearing a similar name. He died in the year 752. ^5
In the Penitentiary of St. Maelruan, Abbot of Tallagh, there is mention
*'
*5S See Veiy Rev. Canon Ulick J. Bourke's
Aryan Origin of the Celtic Race and Lan-
A Sedulius, Abbot of Linnduachuil"—on the River Lagan^3—in Ultonia,
^ in like manner is he styled, unwarrant- ably, by Simler and other writers,
^
^ numeral we are him—but this is a mistake—Sedulius the The characters, here,
In "Prestigiarum de Sacramento Eu- Chapter III. — Mre. Louis Moreri calls charistije," p. 911.
guage," &c. , chap, xv. , pp. 457 to 462. '
Younger. See "Le Grand Dictionnaire
told,areundecipherable. SeeLabbe'shis-
toric dissertation on Cardinal Bellarmin's ^"
Historique," tome ix. , p. 312.
His signature to the council, held at
Rome, in 721, is remarkable : "Sedulius, Britanniae Episcopus de genere Scotorum. "
3 This council sat, during "the heat of
notice of Caius Caslius Sedulius, Ope-
rum," tomus septimus. De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," p. 152.
'° In the chronological list of councils,
the Iconoclastic controversy. " Bishop one at Rome, a. d. 731, is set down in Sir
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 337.
"" Harris Nicolas' Chronology of History,
p. 224.
" He is said to have from A. D. reigned,
731 to 741. See ibid.
"About five miles north-west of Dro-
more.
'^ Now Magheralin, in the county of Down.
* See Du Pin's ** Nouvelle
des Auteurs Ecclesiastiques," tome vi,, siecleviii. , p. 129.
s See " Illustrium Scriptorum
Majoris Brytanniae, quam nunc Angliam et Scotiam
vocant," cent, xiv. , num.
^Seeibid. ; \
Bibliotheque
xxviii,y-j^''. l99.
'^See"ActaSanctorumHibernice,"xii.
^ is known. =^ With or Fergus
February 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 501
madeofaSediilius,sonofThesda,ofLismore,inMunster. Hemusthave flourished before a. d. 787, when St. Maelruan died; and, Colgan says, he seems distinguishable, from any of the eight SeduHuses, he has recorded. ^^
Seduhus, Abbot of Kinn Locha,^7 is noticed by Colgan,^^ among the eminent persons so called. He is distinguished as St. Siadhal Ua Commain, and he died on the 8th of March, a. d. 794. '9
There was another remarkable man, known as Siadhal or Shiel. To distinguish him from Caius Caelius Sedulius, he is usually recognised as a
2°
Scot, and he is called, Sedulius the Younger.
but less renowned than the former, the younger Sedulius is thought to have been, the son of Feredach. He is said to have flourished a. d. 818. Again, Dr. Lanigan considers him, to have been the successor of Muireadhach,^^ whodiedAbbotofKildarea. d. 821. " Aboutthisnotedwriter,afewob-
servations are required. Sedulius the Younger, although probably a con- temporary, must not be confounded with Sedulius, an abbot and a bishop of
Roscommon,=^3 who died in 813^4 or 814. ^5 To the younger Sedulius is attributed a commentary,^^ on all the Epistles of Saint Paul, which had been
drawn from the writings of Origin, of Eusebius, of Hilary, the Deacon, of Saint Ambrose, of Rufinus, of St. John Chrysostom, of St. Jerome, of St.
Augustin, of Pelagius, of Genade of Constantinople, of St. Gregory the Great,^7 and of some other Fathers. ^^ Thus, it was only a compilation of ancient
commentaries, on these epistles. This work of Sedulius was printed, for
the first time, at Basle, in 1528, and in 1534. ^^ Sedulius the Younger is believed to have been author of a commentary on St. Matthew, written in the same style, and divided into 355 chapters. 3°. It is likely, that several codices are extant, in which his works are contained. In the Imperial
"
Library, at Vienna,3^ there is a valuable vellum manuscript, intitled
Junioris Scoti Catena, sive Collectanea ex Patrum sententiis et dictis in Evangelium S. Mathaei. " 32 This popular work, on t'. ie Gospel of St.
Februarii. De S, Sedulio Episcopo Dub-
liniensi, p. 315, and n. 4, ibid.
^5 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 354, 355.
^^ See " Acta Sanctorum
Februarii. De S. Sedulio Episcopo Dub- liniensi, p. 315.
^^ There are several places in Ireland,
named Ceann-lacha, Kinn Locha, or Kin-
lough, "the head of the lake. " Dr.
O'Donovan thinks, that place here referred
to be at the north-west ex- may Kinlough,
tremity of Lough Melvin, in the barony of Rose Ciogher, and county of Leitrim. See
"
(a), p. 402.
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n.
'^
Hibernise,"
xii.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xii.
Februarii. De S. Sedulio Episcopo Dub- S. J. , observes, at i. Cor. vi. , 5.
liniensi, p. 315.
ts See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 402, 403.
a monk of St. Gall's Mo- nastery, speaks, in his abridged Annals, of a Scot, named Sedulius, called the Younger, to distinguish him from the poet, bearing a
like name.
=' He is called the son of Ceallach.
^^
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 432, 433.
^3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
g^g supplement to the historic disser-
='°
Hepidanus,
Septimus. p. 152.
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis,
Distinguished as a writer,
SeduHi
nise,"Februariixii. De vS. Sedulio Episcopo Dubliniensi, and n. 6, p. 315.
^^ See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i,, pp. 426, 427.
^s See Dr. " Ecclesiastical His- Lanigan's
"
tory of Ireland,
xii. , and nn. 126, 127, pp. 255 to 257. Dr. Lanigan is in the habit of adding one year additional to the Four Masters' computation, Dr. O'Donovan corrects it in a less uniform fashion.
^^ It is "Collectaneum usually intituled,
sive Explanatio in omnes Epistolas Sancti Pauli. "
=^7 The name of this saint is not mentioned, but his "Liber Moralium," xix. , on Job, cap. 21, is quoted, as Benedict Justiniani,
vol. iii. , chap, xx. , section
^s
tation on Cardinal Bellarmin's notice of Caius Cselius Sedulius, "Operum," tomus
De
^9 It afterwards appeared, in the " Biblio- theque des Peres. "
30 See Labbe, on Cardinal Bellarmin's
works, " De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," at Sedulius.
31 Cod. Membr. Theol. , cix. (nunc vi. i. )
c.
502 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS [Februaryla.
Matthew, is by our fellow-countryman, Sedulius, that is, SiedJmil, or Shiel. Denis, in his catalogue,33 says that this manuscript is as old as the tenth
century. It now consists of 157 folia, of large quarto form, written in a fair and uniform hand, in two columns, with red initial letters. 34 According
to a taste, prevailing among scholars of the ninth age, little of an original character was produced ; but, to extract whatever seemed best, from
writings of their predecessors, or to compose commentaries, or other
compilationsfromthem,wasmuchinvogue. ThiscommentaryofSedulius
on St. had not issued from the when Ceillier wrote. 35 It Matthew, press,
existed in MS. only, and it was preserved in the college library, belonging to the Jesuits, at Paris. Not only do we find cited there, St. Eucherius, St.
Leo, Arnobius the Younger, Fauste de Riez, St. Gregory the Great, St. Isidore, Arculphc, and Venerable Bede, but even the Poet Sedulius. This demonstrates sufficiently, that commentary is not the work of the poet. To
"
Commentariolum inartemEutychii. "so TotheyoungerSeduliusdifferentworksareattributed, and which Trithemius accords to the elder ; namely, a book of epistles, a volume on Priscian, another on the second edition of Donatus, with some other tracts. Trithemius does not give the titles of these, as he ordinarily had done, for works he personally inspected.
