brothers had been
exclusively
patron of '5 See ?
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
, Irom theEyrbyggia,cap.
c\ii.
,pp.
62,63.
Lon- don, 17S8, 4to.
'"""See "The Discoveiy of America by the Northernmen in tlie Tenth Century, with Notices of the Early Settlements of the Irish in the Western Hemisphere,"' by N. Ludlow Beamish, F. S. A. , published in London, A. u. 1841.
"" By Lionel Wafer, who lived for several months in the Isthmus of Darian, and who relates many inteixsting specialities, toestab- lish Ins oi)ini()n, reg. irdiiig an early Irish colonization of the great western continent.
'*= By Professor Kafn, of Copenhagen.
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
ble conjecture/^^ tlie country which lay along the coast, reaching from Chesa- peake Bay, and extending down into the Carolinas and Florida, had been peopled by Irishmen, This early and yet informal inference from actual facts created an idea, so long entertained by the Irish, that America was the PromisedLandofSt. Brendan. Norwasearlybelieflessfallible,whenthat great region was supposed to be constituted of an insular group, called the Fortunate Isles. '^s I3ut, that embryo of knowledge, first obtained in Ireland, was destined to produce more complete and satisfactory discoveries. The people of Iceland and the northern races of Europe have since many remote ages preserved national documents,'^^ called Sagas, in which are very curious narratives of discoveries and navigations, and relating to America, long ante- cedent to the times of Christopher Columbus. '^? The earlier historians of the New World were long unacquainted with their contents, as serving to throw light on the origin and antiquities of that Continent. ^^^ A country, situated still farther south than Vinland, was named by the Scandinavians, " Land of the White Men," or " Great Ireland. "'^9 Now it has been supposed, 's** that this country represented the present States of North and South Carolina, of Georgia and of Florida ; as also, that there were races of people in that tract of country besides the Indians, who were unlike them in language, in dress, and in manners. The most significant feature about those narrations is the concurrence of testimony, that the Irish were, beyond doubt, in advance of the Danish and Norwegian adventurers, when obtaining a foot-hold on this continent. The Scandinavians uniformly designated the far-off western land as"IrlanditMikla,"ortheGreatIreland. '^i TheNorwegiansclaim,thatLief Erickson, an adventurer from the coast of Norway, discovered the present United States, in 1000, and that with his companions, he resided in Massachu- setts,forseveralyears. '9^ Curiousfactshavecometolight,regardingtheearly Norwegian discoveries, and about the Northmen's presence, near Fall River, Taunton, and New Port, nearly 500 years before Columbus landed, at Cat Island, intheBahamas. ^93 TheNorwegianscontinuedtomakevoyagestothecoastof
'^^ By Dr. Von Tschudi, in his work on " Peruvian Antiquities. "
'^'' The writer states, in a note, towards the latter part of that work, to which refer- ence has been made, that a manuscript was found, before he finished his book, which converted the conjecture into a certainty.
'^5 In Rev. S. Baring-Gould's curious
"Myths of the Middle Ages," Second
Series, there is a very interesting dissertation "
on 'l"he Fortunate Isles. " See pp. 259 to 295.
'^° See C. C. Rafn's " Antiquites Ameri- caines d'apres les monuments historiques des Islandais et des anciens Scandinaves. '' Kopenhagen, a. d. 1S45, '" ^^o- -^^^ Jean George TheodoreGraesse's"Tresorde Li vres Rares et Precieuxou Nouveau L>ictionnaire Bibliographique," tome i. , p. 149.
'^7 Readers who are inquisitive will con- suit '• Antiquitates Aniericause sive Scrip- tores Septentriorales Rerum Ante-Colum- bianaium in America. " This work has been ably edited, by C. C. Rafn, a member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries. The documents are found in the Latin, Danish and Icelandic tongues, with plates and maps included. It was published, at Hafn, A. D. 1837, in 4to.
'^^ It seems strange, with all the oppor- tunities for obtaining correct information, and with his fine literary taste and research, one of the most elegant writers in tlie wide circle of English literature—himself an American—could have so far overlooked mediceval records and traditions, which serve to illustrate the early history of the great Western Continent. True, indeed, Washing- ton Irving alludes to the legends of Scan- dinavian voyagers and their mysterious Vin- land, supposed to have relation with our present Labrador or Newfoundland. But, he rather too hazardously observes, tliat so far as authenticated records extend, nothing was known about terra finiia and the islands in the Western Hemisphere, until they had been actually (iiscovered by maritime ad ven- turers, towards the close of the fifteenth cen- tury. So writes Washington Irving, in his " Life of Christopher Columbus. "
'®' See Von Humbolt's " Kosmos. "
'^o
£y Professor Rafn.
'^i "From what causes," argues Mr.
Beamish, "could the name of Great Ireland have arisen, but from the fact of the country having been colonized by the Irish ? "
''"^ Before the first centenary of American Independence, the Norwegian settlers were
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
Massachusetts and of Rhode Island, and possibly to New York harbour, down to 1447, which was six years after Columbus was born. '9* It is known, also, that an Arabian geographer of the twelfth century, named Abdullah Mohammed Edrisi—who was born at Ceuta, in 1099, and who pursued his studies at Cordova—mentions "Great Ireland," in a remarkable book, which
he wrote in that age. The Normans, at the Court of Palermo, no doubt, furnished much storied tradition for his information. It was at the invitation of Roger II. , King of Sicily,'55 that he undertook an account of the earlier voyages to that Western land.
The singing birds, the green vegetation, and the tropical luxuriance, with other particulars so grealy celebrated in the " Golden Legend," are frequently mentioned, in the letter of Columbus to his sovereign. In that mystical sense used by Jacobus of Voraggio, the Promised Land is described. So strong was a belief in St. Brendan's Land, celebrated in mediaeval roman- ces, that various expeditions were organized for its exploration, even after the returnofColumbus. '9° PortugeseandSpanishaccountsconcurintestimony, regarding this prevailing opinion,'97 and the hopes to which it gave rise, in those depositions, taken before Pedro Ortes de Funez, Grand Inquisitor of the Canaries. So late as 1721, Don Caspar Dominguez, taking two friars on board his vessel, conducted the last of tliese speculative voyages. During that year, leaving the populace in a state of anxious and indescribable curiosity, the able commandant, and his apostolic chaplains, sailed from the Island of Teneriffe. But, unsuccessful as preceding vessels, their ship returned from his cruise.
Article II. Another Supposed St. Brendan, Patron of Clonfert, County of Galway. According to some opinions, St. Brendan the Navi- gator is said to have been connected with the See of Ardfert alone, and that another St. Brendan presided over Clonfert. ' However, it is not so very clear, that such a conclusion can be established, from any reliable historic records.
Article III. St. Fiodhmuine, Anchoret of Raithin, King's County, and of Ennisbovne, County of Wicklow. \EigJith Century. \ It seems not unlikely, that the monastery at Rahan, which never fully recovered its import-
472
engaged at Madison, State of Wisconsin, in collecting money to build a monument to their early immigrant countrjmen.
of the nth June, i6o6, Quires sailed away from his companion, but Torres continued his explor. itions, discovciing the strait which bears his name, New Guinea, &c. The re-
"93 They left behind them an old stone
tower at Newport, the I)ighton Writing suits of Torres' expedition lay buried for
Rock, and a skeleton in armour, dug up at Garnet Point, some few years ago.
'9^ Columbus had, it is said, a full know- ledge of the Norwegian discoveries, before he started on his famous trip, in the Santa- Maria, and also, he procured, it is thouglit, a rude map ofVineiand, handed down fr(jm Lief.
'95 His reign lasted, from 1130 to 1 154.
'9* On the 2ist December, 1605, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, with full powers from Philip III. to continue the discoveries of Mendana, sailed from Cnllao with two vessels and a coivclte, in search of the far- famed Australis Terra. Luis Vaez de Torres, who commanded the second vessel, was accompanied by three Franciscans from the piovincc of Peru. They discovered the new Hebrides, which they named Terra Austral del Espiritu Sancto. On the night
years, in the archives of Manilla. Tones was liiully received at Manil a ; and, he de- spatched to . ^pain three Franciscans, vith a statement of his grievances, and also the reasons why he was unable to proceed wuh his ship.
'*' In the treaty of Evora, the Isle of St. Brendan was a cession made by the crown of Portugal to that of Castile. See Ozanam's " Giuvres Com[iletes," tome v. De Sources PoetiqutS de la Divine Coniedie," sect, ii. , n. 2, p. 426. Feidinand Denis and . Monde enchanle are cited, as authorities for such statement.
Article ii. —' The reader is referred, to what has been already staled, in the First Volume of this work, at the 5th ilay of January, in treating tlie Acts of St. Ceara, Ciar or Cera. Virgin.
Article hi. —' The render is referred
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 473
ance, after the expulsion of St. Carthach/ and the secession of his fraternity in 636, was again revived about this period, when the present holyman flourished, and that those Romanesque churches, the remains of which are still standing, were then erected. ^ In the Feilire of St. -^ngus, at the 1 6th of May, is no- ticedthesplendidfeastofSuanach'sdescendants. 3 ThenameofFiodhmuine, i. e. . , H-Suanaigh, occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh,4 at the i6th of May. s He was the son ofCudnilech, according to theO'Clerys,and descended from the race of Dathi, son to Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin while Ferbla—daughter to Dioma Dubh, son of Senach, sprung from the race of Dathi, son of Fiachra—was his mother. '^ Fidmanius and Fidgus or Fidgu- sius are associated as brothers german, at this date, by Colgan ^ and by the Bollandists. ^ Both are said to have been venerated, on this day ; the first at Rathen, and the latter at Gloscarnn. They had another holy brother, named Fidharlius,9 and their genealogy is thus made out, from the Menologium Genealogicum. ^° Their father is said to have been Fiodlibadhaigh, son of Cudolius, son to Coman, son of Suanach, son to Brugdeus, son of Brennan, son to Euchod Brec, son of Dathy, son of Fiachrius, &c. Thus, there are some apparent discrepancies of statement, among authorities setting forth their family pedigree. The two brothers, Fidhmuine and Fiodhairle, who are styledtheUiSuanaigh,werejointpatronsofRahan. Theformerwasare- cluse and superior, or otherwise connected with Inis Baothin, now Ennis- boyne,intheparishofDunganstown,countyofWicklow. Hediedonthe i6th of May, in the year 757 ; and his brother died, on the ist of October, 763. " Ennisboyne,intheparishofDunganstown,sometimescalledEnnis- boheen, barony of Arklow, and county of Wicklow,'^ is said to have been Fiodhmuine's particular locality. There, not far from the town of AVicklow, the ruins of an old church, with a burial-place, may be seen. It is not, how- ever, the most ancient one of that locality. While Fiodhmuine was at Rahan, intheterritoryofFearaCeall,'3heseemstohaveledaneremiticalhfe; for, he is styled an anchoret of that place. This saint is said specially to have been connected with Rahen,^^ in the King's County; and yet, it is possible, he has been confounded with St. Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh, whose feast occurs on the
to his Life, in this Volume, at the 14th of May, Art. i. , chap, iii. , iv.
^ See the Earl of Dunraven's " Notes on Irish Architecture," edited by Miss Mar- garet Stokes, vol. ii. , p. 67.
3 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of St. ^ngus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxx.
^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
5 In the Franciscan copy, we have pt)7iniii ,1. h SuAtiAij.
Rahan, whereas in all subsequent notices of the place the plural form Ui Suanaigh is employed in reference to the patronage. There is also a cross which stood there spoken of in the Leabhar Breac (fol. 35<5), under the title of the Ui-Suanaigh Cross. " —Earl of Dunraven's "Notes on Irish Architeciure," edited by Miss Margaret Slokes, vol. ii. , p. 66.
" See Lewis' '" Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 577.
'3 It is remarked, by John O'Donovan, the territory of Feara Ceall never extended added, concludes this account, in the farther north, than to the southern bounda-
* The word "Anno," but nothing more
Martyrology of Donegal, while the year is left blank, in the original.
ries of the baron es of Kilcoursey and Moy- cashel. See his Letter, of January 20th, 183S, from Banagher, in " Letters coniain-
7 See "Acta Sanctorum HiberniK. " iii.
Februarii, Appendix ad Acta S. Colmani ing Information relative to the Antiquities
vulgo Macduach, cap. ii. , p. 24S.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Mail xvi. Among the pretermitted saints,
of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. , p. 2.
'"t Foraninterestingaccountofthisplace, the reader is referred 10 Dr. Petrie's " Ec- clesiastical Architecture and Round Towers
p. 559.
* His feast occurs, at the ist of October.
'° Chapter ix.
" "Drs. Petrie and O'Donovan have been of Ireland," part ii. , sec. iii. , sub-sec. i. , pp.
mistaken in speaking as if one of these two 242 to 247.
brothers had been exclusively patron of '5 See ? (^/i/. , p. 245.
;
474
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
ist of October's Already, in the Life of St. Carthage, we have alUided to the ancient churches yet remaining there, and a suspicion prevails, that these evenhadtheirorigin,whenSt. Fiodhmuinewaslivinginthatlocality. There is a beautifully proportioned doorway,'^ in the west wall of the small church ;'7 and, its mouldings are greatly admired. '^ It has been considered, by John O'Donovan, to look remarkably narrow, in proportion to its height. '? The Annals of the Four Masters ^° place the deatli of this saint, at a. d. 750; while, the Annals of Clonmacnoise enter it, at 751; and those of Ulster, at 756. It is mentioned, in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given on
Doorway of Rahan Old Church, King's County.
this day, to Fiodhmuine, i. e. , Ua Suanaigh, anchorite of Raithin, and of Inis Baithin, on the east of Leinster. ^^ Inis Baithin, now Ennisboyne,^^ is situated in the parish of Dunganstown, at the extreme east of Wicklow County. After the notices of the two Ui Suanaigh, there is only a brief allusion to the
'* Dr. George Petrie has an engraving and relative to the Antiquities of the King's
a notice of it, in his " Ecclesiastical Archi- tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , subs, i. , pp. 246, 247.
County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S37," vol. i. Letter dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1838, p. 92.
TM See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , PP- 352, 353. ^"fl n- (7)- Il'i<i-
'7 It measures 7 feet 9 inches, in height,
2 feet 8 inches wide at the base, and 2 feet
6 inches at the top. Sec " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Thiid Earl of 130, 131-
Dunraven, edited by Miss Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. . p. 64.
'^ The Plate cii. of door-way in the Earl of Dunraven's work, edited by Miss . Stf)kes, belongs to this smaller church, at Rahan. It has been drawn for me, by William F. Wakenian, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millanl.
'9 See "Letters containing Information
-- Dr. Reeves says, in a note, at East of Leinster : "The Manuscript copy has 1oi)\ce)\ tAigcn, west of Leinster, which is manifestly a blunder. . . . The same error is repeated, under Baithin, at the 22iid of this month.
" It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Wick- low," sheet 31.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
——
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
death of Aedhan Raithne, or Aedhan of Rathain, at ySy,'^ in our Annals, until the beginning of the twelfth century, where we read, thatDermod O'Kelly, suc- cessor ofUi Suanaigh, i. e. , abbot of Rahen, died in the year iii3. '^s in 1227, it is recorded,'^ tliat Rahin O'Swanie Castle had been built, by Symon Clif- ford f^ and, John O'Donovan—who had been on the spot—thinks, thata part of that structure must have been a vault, standing near the old church at Rathain. ^^ It seems, that Hua-Sunaig's cross had been set up, some place inornearRahen. Thiswasheldingreatveneration,anditwasassumedto giveprotectiontothose,whowereabletoplacethemselvesunderit. ''? InRoss Corr,3°however,asatiricalPoemhadbeencomposed;3' and,thisappearsto have given so much offence to Mael-bresail,32 son of Fland Lena, that he
slew the satirists, wliile they were under Hua Suanaig's protection, within the princedom of Domnall, son of INIurchadh, a descendant of Cailchin. He arrested the murderers, but he felt unable to award judgment and mulct, on account of the greatness ofthis outrage. 33 So it was left to the conscience of Hua Suanaig himself, and this was his judgment, viz. , the land of the crime, namely Ross Corr, to fall in ownership to St. Mochuda and to Hua Suanaig, and also the persons who committed the crime, namely, the descendants of Gille Suanaig and Hui Chernaig and the Hui Choniii, without reversion to them or to their families until the day of doom. They were condemned, like- Avise, to lose their liberty. 34
Article IV. St. Cairnech, Cairnigh, Crantock, Carantac, or Carantoc, Confessor, of Wales, and of Tuilin, now Dulane, or DuLEENE, County of Meath, Ireland. [Fifth or Sixth Century. ~\ The present holy man, called Cairnech, or Cairnigh, by the Irish, and Cran- tock, Carantac, Carantech, Carannog,' or Carantoc, by the Britons, has had hisnameLatinizedintoCarantorius,Carantocus,orCarantacus. Todistin- guish him from another holy man, who is venerated on the 28th of March,^
May 1 6. ]
475
="* See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 393 to 395.
^sSee ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 994, 995, and n. (h).
^^ In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as trans- lated by Connell Mageoghegan.
^7 He gave an annuity of four hundred [? ] to the Prior and Convent of Dorrowe. SeeDr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters, " vol. iii. , n. (x), p. 247.
-** See " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838," vol. i. Letter, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, p.
130.
'9 See a comment on the Feilire of /Engus,
in the " Leabhar Breac. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. . parti. On the Calendar of Ocngus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , pp. Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii.
3° The present Roscore towiiland, in the parish of Rahen.
3' These lines of it are quoted :
A chenei pAcliAch ac^o bA|\nei'pi pAchu niAC pAchAch inic niAeb-
b]Aeffi.
It is thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes
"O race ofFiacha. Here is your an- cestry (lit. ' trace ') :
Fiachu son ofFiacha, son of Mael- bressi. "
:
^- He was engaged on a spoiling expedi- tion, and one of his spoils was the outraging of Hua-Suanaig's Cross, and of his safe- conduct in Fid Ela, of the retinue of artists, Hence came the title Cross of the Satirists. It would appear the race of Fiacha claimed to come from Fiacha, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages; but, this was contemp- tuously denied by ihe Satirists, whose blood paid the forfeit,
^^ xhis account is in the "Leabhar Breac," fol. 351^.
^4 tjge " Letters containing Information re- lative to the Antiquities of the King's Conn y, collected during the Progress of the Ord- nance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. Letter of John O Donovnn, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, pp. 123, 124.
Article iv. — ' . See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. viii. , p. 171.
•
476
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
and who is ? . lso called Cearnach, the present saint is usually denominated the Elder. 3 Both saints are often confounded. In one passage, the name of the present holy man appears as Cernachus. '' As the earliest English com- pilation of Crantock's Life was made some centuries after his death, those records of legends, which were current concerning him in the middle ages, should deserve little credit, if they were not supported by other and more independent memorials. Several such may be adduced, from ancient Irish and Welsh sources. These prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not only that there was such a Welsh or Cornish saint as Crantock ; but, that the out- line of his life, in the main, is tolerably correct. This holy man was cele- brated, in his time. Some INIanuscript copies of his Acts are extant. s There is, in the Library of the British Museum, an old Manuscript Life of this saint, supposedtohavebeenwrittenbyJohnofTynmouth; and,JohnCapgravehas complied the Acts of St. Carantoc, confessor, for the xvii. of the June
Kalends. ^ Wytford has some notices of liim, in his Anglican Martyrology. It was Colgan's intention, 7 to have treated of him, at this date. The BoUan- (lists have published Acts of St. Carentoc,^ or Cernath,9 with some prefatory remarks and notes, by the editor, Father Daniel Papebroke. The Rev. W. J. Rees '° has published the Latin Acts" of St. Carantoc, for the xvii. of the June Kalends,^^ with an English translation. ^3 This has been taken from a Manu- script, in the British Museum. '-^ Besides, R. Rees,'5 the Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'^ and the Rev. John Adams, M. . A. . ^7 have given interesting accounts of St. Crantock. '^ There are also notices of him, in the Dictionary of Christian Biography,'? under the different headings of Cairnech^° and of Carantoc. ^' We find, that for the same date, Bishop Forbes has notices of St. Carnac,^' as likewise of St. Kieranch,^3 who probably was not a different person. St. Carnech, venerated on the i6th of May, belonged to the Britons of Cornwall, according to a commentator on the Feilire of St. /i£ngus,='* and other Irish accounts. ^5 This seems to be confirmed, from a commentary on
» See an account of him, at this date, iu the Third Vohime of this work, Art. i.
3 Because he flourished a century earlier thantheotherCairnech.
» See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"Seriesii. PoliteLiteratureand Antiquities, vol. ii. , No. xlv. Ontheldenti- ficationof the proper Namesappearingontwo Monuments bearing Ogam Inscriptions by the Right Rev. Charles Graves, D. D. , p. 2S6.
5 The MS. classed E 3, 8, in Trinity Col- le'^e, Dublin, has a Vita S. Carantoci Con- fess. , xvii. Kal. Junii.
' See "Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. Ivi. ,
Ivii.
7 At the l6th of May, he notes Carantoc,
in " Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum qui\: MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Uierum. "
* These are furnished from a Manuscript, belonging to the Cottonian Library, London, and classed Vespasian A 14, at fol. 90. They are of a very Iegendai7 character, and they were procured for the BoUandists, through the kindness of the learned Sir William Du^dalc, author of the " Monasticon Angli- caniim," in three folio volumes, with other erudite works.
'"""See "The Discoveiy of America by the Northernmen in tlie Tenth Century, with Notices of the Early Settlements of the Irish in the Western Hemisphere,"' by N. Ludlow Beamish, F. S. A. , published in London, A. u. 1841.
"" By Lionel Wafer, who lived for several months in the Isthmus of Darian, and who relates many inteixsting specialities, toestab- lish Ins oi)ini()n, reg. irdiiig an early Irish colonization of the great western continent.
'*= By Professor Kafn, of Copenhagen.
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
ble conjecture/^^ tlie country which lay along the coast, reaching from Chesa- peake Bay, and extending down into the Carolinas and Florida, had been peopled by Irishmen, This early and yet informal inference from actual facts created an idea, so long entertained by the Irish, that America was the PromisedLandofSt. Brendan. Norwasearlybelieflessfallible,whenthat great region was supposed to be constituted of an insular group, called the Fortunate Isles. '^s I3ut, that embryo of knowledge, first obtained in Ireland, was destined to produce more complete and satisfactory discoveries. The people of Iceland and the northern races of Europe have since many remote ages preserved national documents,'^^ called Sagas, in which are very curious narratives of discoveries and navigations, and relating to America, long ante- cedent to the times of Christopher Columbus. '^? The earlier historians of the New World were long unacquainted with their contents, as serving to throw light on the origin and antiquities of that Continent. ^^^ A country, situated still farther south than Vinland, was named by the Scandinavians, " Land of the White Men," or " Great Ireland. "'^9 Now it has been supposed, 's** that this country represented the present States of North and South Carolina, of Georgia and of Florida ; as also, that there were races of people in that tract of country besides the Indians, who were unlike them in language, in dress, and in manners. The most significant feature about those narrations is the concurrence of testimony, that the Irish were, beyond doubt, in advance of the Danish and Norwegian adventurers, when obtaining a foot-hold on this continent. The Scandinavians uniformly designated the far-off western land as"IrlanditMikla,"ortheGreatIreland. '^i TheNorwegiansclaim,thatLief Erickson, an adventurer from the coast of Norway, discovered the present United States, in 1000, and that with his companions, he resided in Massachu- setts,forseveralyears. '9^ Curiousfactshavecometolight,regardingtheearly Norwegian discoveries, and about the Northmen's presence, near Fall River, Taunton, and New Port, nearly 500 years before Columbus landed, at Cat Island, intheBahamas. ^93 TheNorwegianscontinuedtomakevoyagestothecoastof
'^^ By Dr. Von Tschudi, in his work on " Peruvian Antiquities. "
'^'' The writer states, in a note, towards the latter part of that work, to which refer- ence has been made, that a manuscript was found, before he finished his book, which converted the conjecture into a certainty.
'^5 In Rev. S. Baring-Gould's curious
"Myths of the Middle Ages," Second
Series, there is a very interesting dissertation "
on 'l"he Fortunate Isles. " See pp. 259 to 295.
'^° See C. C. Rafn's " Antiquites Ameri- caines d'apres les monuments historiques des Islandais et des anciens Scandinaves. '' Kopenhagen, a. d. 1S45, '" ^^o- -^^^ Jean George TheodoreGraesse's"Tresorde Li vres Rares et Precieuxou Nouveau L>ictionnaire Bibliographique," tome i. , p. 149.
'^7 Readers who are inquisitive will con- suit '• Antiquitates Aniericause sive Scrip- tores Septentriorales Rerum Ante-Colum- bianaium in America. " This work has been ably edited, by C. C. Rafn, a member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries. The documents are found in the Latin, Danish and Icelandic tongues, with plates and maps included. It was published, at Hafn, A. D. 1837, in 4to.
'^^ It seems strange, with all the oppor- tunities for obtaining correct information, and with his fine literary taste and research, one of the most elegant writers in tlie wide circle of English literature—himself an American—could have so far overlooked mediceval records and traditions, which serve to illustrate the early history of the great Western Continent. True, indeed, Washing- ton Irving alludes to the legends of Scan- dinavian voyagers and their mysterious Vin- land, supposed to have relation with our present Labrador or Newfoundland. But, he rather too hazardously observes, tliat so far as authenticated records extend, nothing was known about terra finiia and the islands in the Western Hemisphere, until they had been actually (iiscovered by maritime ad ven- turers, towards the close of the fifteenth cen- tury. So writes Washington Irving, in his " Life of Christopher Columbus. "
'®' See Von Humbolt's " Kosmos. "
'^o
£y Professor Rafn.
'^i "From what causes," argues Mr.
Beamish, "could the name of Great Ireland have arisen, but from the fact of the country having been colonized by the Irish ? "
''"^ Before the first centenary of American Independence, the Norwegian settlers were
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
Massachusetts and of Rhode Island, and possibly to New York harbour, down to 1447, which was six years after Columbus was born. '9* It is known, also, that an Arabian geographer of the twelfth century, named Abdullah Mohammed Edrisi—who was born at Ceuta, in 1099, and who pursued his studies at Cordova—mentions "Great Ireland," in a remarkable book, which
he wrote in that age. The Normans, at the Court of Palermo, no doubt, furnished much storied tradition for his information. It was at the invitation of Roger II. , King of Sicily,'55 that he undertook an account of the earlier voyages to that Western land.
The singing birds, the green vegetation, and the tropical luxuriance, with other particulars so grealy celebrated in the " Golden Legend," are frequently mentioned, in the letter of Columbus to his sovereign. In that mystical sense used by Jacobus of Voraggio, the Promised Land is described. So strong was a belief in St. Brendan's Land, celebrated in mediaeval roman- ces, that various expeditions were organized for its exploration, even after the returnofColumbus. '9° PortugeseandSpanishaccountsconcurintestimony, regarding this prevailing opinion,'97 and the hopes to which it gave rise, in those depositions, taken before Pedro Ortes de Funez, Grand Inquisitor of the Canaries. So late as 1721, Don Caspar Dominguez, taking two friars on board his vessel, conducted the last of tliese speculative voyages. During that year, leaving the populace in a state of anxious and indescribable curiosity, the able commandant, and his apostolic chaplains, sailed from the Island of Teneriffe. But, unsuccessful as preceding vessels, their ship returned from his cruise.
Article II. Another Supposed St. Brendan, Patron of Clonfert, County of Galway. According to some opinions, St. Brendan the Navi- gator is said to have been connected with the See of Ardfert alone, and that another St. Brendan presided over Clonfert. ' However, it is not so very clear, that such a conclusion can be established, from any reliable historic records.
Article III. St. Fiodhmuine, Anchoret of Raithin, King's County, and of Ennisbovne, County of Wicklow. \EigJith Century. \ It seems not unlikely, that the monastery at Rahan, which never fully recovered its import-
472
engaged at Madison, State of Wisconsin, in collecting money to build a monument to their early immigrant countrjmen.
of the nth June, i6o6, Quires sailed away from his companion, but Torres continued his explor. itions, discovciing the strait which bears his name, New Guinea, &c. The re-
"93 They left behind them an old stone
tower at Newport, the I)ighton Writing suits of Torres' expedition lay buried for
Rock, and a skeleton in armour, dug up at Garnet Point, some few years ago.
'9^ Columbus had, it is said, a full know- ledge of the Norwegian discoveries, before he started on his famous trip, in the Santa- Maria, and also, he procured, it is thouglit, a rude map ofVineiand, handed down fr(jm Lief.
'95 His reign lasted, from 1130 to 1 154.
'9* On the 2ist December, 1605, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, with full powers from Philip III. to continue the discoveries of Mendana, sailed from Cnllao with two vessels and a coivclte, in search of the far- famed Australis Terra. Luis Vaez de Torres, who commanded the second vessel, was accompanied by three Franciscans from the piovincc of Peru. They discovered the new Hebrides, which they named Terra Austral del Espiritu Sancto. On the night
years, in the archives of Manilla. Tones was liiully received at Manil a ; and, he de- spatched to . ^pain three Franciscans, vith a statement of his grievances, and also the reasons why he was unable to proceed wuh his ship.
'*' In the treaty of Evora, the Isle of St. Brendan was a cession made by the crown of Portugal to that of Castile. See Ozanam's " Giuvres Com[iletes," tome v. De Sources PoetiqutS de la Divine Coniedie," sect, ii. , n. 2, p. 426. Feidinand Denis and . Monde enchanle are cited, as authorities for such statement.
Article ii. —' The reader is referred, to what has been already staled, in the First Volume of this work, at the 5th ilay of January, in treating tlie Acts of St. Ceara, Ciar or Cera. Virgin.
Article hi. —' The render is referred
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 473
ance, after the expulsion of St. Carthach/ and the secession of his fraternity in 636, was again revived about this period, when the present holyman flourished, and that those Romanesque churches, the remains of which are still standing, were then erected. ^ In the Feilire of St. -^ngus, at the 1 6th of May, is no- ticedthesplendidfeastofSuanach'sdescendants. 3 ThenameofFiodhmuine, i. e. . , H-Suanaigh, occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh,4 at the i6th of May. s He was the son ofCudnilech, according to theO'Clerys,and descended from the race of Dathi, son to Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin while Ferbla—daughter to Dioma Dubh, son of Senach, sprung from the race of Dathi, son of Fiachra—was his mother. '^ Fidmanius and Fidgus or Fidgu- sius are associated as brothers german, at this date, by Colgan ^ and by the Bollandists. ^ Both are said to have been venerated, on this day ; the first at Rathen, and the latter at Gloscarnn. They had another holy brother, named Fidharlius,9 and their genealogy is thus made out, from the Menologium Genealogicum. ^° Their father is said to have been Fiodlibadhaigh, son of Cudolius, son to Coman, son of Suanach, son to Brugdeus, son of Brennan, son to Euchod Brec, son of Dathy, son of Fiachrius, &c. Thus, there are some apparent discrepancies of statement, among authorities setting forth their family pedigree. The two brothers, Fidhmuine and Fiodhairle, who are styledtheUiSuanaigh,werejointpatronsofRahan. Theformerwasare- cluse and superior, or otherwise connected with Inis Baothin, now Ennis- boyne,intheparishofDunganstown,countyofWicklow. Hediedonthe i6th of May, in the year 757 ; and his brother died, on the ist of October, 763. " Ennisboyne,intheparishofDunganstown,sometimescalledEnnis- boheen, barony of Arklow, and county of Wicklow,'^ is said to have been Fiodhmuine's particular locality. There, not far from the town of AVicklow, the ruins of an old church, with a burial-place, may be seen. It is not, how- ever, the most ancient one of that locality. While Fiodhmuine was at Rahan, intheterritoryofFearaCeall,'3heseemstohaveledaneremiticalhfe; for, he is styled an anchoret of that place. This saint is said specially to have been connected with Rahen,^^ in the King's County; and yet, it is possible, he has been confounded with St. Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh, whose feast occurs on the
to his Life, in this Volume, at the 14th of May, Art. i. , chap, iii. , iv.
^ See the Earl of Dunraven's " Notes on Irish Architecture," edited by Miss Mar- garet Stokes, vol. ii. , p. 67.
3 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of St. ^ngus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxx.
^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
5 In the Franciscan copy, we have pt)7iniii ,1. h SuAtiAij.
Rahan, whereas in all subsequent notices of the place the plural form Ui Suanaigh is employed in reference to the patronage. There is also a cross which stood there spoken of in the Leabhar Breac (fol. 35<5), under the title of the Ui-Suanaigh Cross. " —Earl of Dunraven's "Notes on Irish Architeciure," edited by Miss Margaret Slokes, vol. ii. , p. 66.
" See Lewis' '" Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 577.
'3 It is remarked, by John O'Donovan, the territory of Feara Ceall never extended added, concludes this account, in the farther north, than to the southern bounda-
* The word "Anno," but nothing more
Martyrology of Donegal, while the year is left blank, in the original.
ries of the baron es of Kilcoursey and Moy- cashel. See his Letter, of January 20th, 183S, from Banagher, in " Letters coniain-
7 See "Acta Sanctorum HiberniK. " iii.
Februarii, Appendix ad Acta S. Colmani ing Information relative to the Antiquities
vulgo Macduach, cap. ii. , p. 24S.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Mail xvi. Among the pretermitted saints,
of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. , p. 2.
'"t Foraninterestingaccountofthisplace, the reader is referred 10 Dr. Petrie's " Ec- clesiastical Architecture and Round Towers
p. 559.
* His feast occurs, at the ist of October.
'° Chapter ix.
" "Drs. Petrie and O'Donovan have been of Ireland," part ii. , sec. iii. , sub-sec. i. , pp.
mistaken in speaking as if one of these two 242 to 247.
brothers had been exclusively patron of '5 See ? (^/i/. , p. 245.
;
474
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
ist of October's Already, in the Life of St. Carthage, we have alUided to the ancient churches yet remaining there, and a suspicion prevails, that these evenhadtheirorigin,whenSt. Fiodhmuinewaslivinginthatlocality. There is a beautifully proportioned doorway,'^ in the west wall of the small church ;'7 and, its mouldings are greatly admired. '^ It has been considered, by John O'Donovan, to look remarkably narrow, in proportion to its height. '? The Annals of the Four Masters ^° place the deatli of this saint, at a. d. 750; while, the Annals of Clonmacnoise enter it, at 751; and those of Ulster, at 756. It is mentioned, in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given on
Doorway of Rahan Old Church, King's County.
this day, to Fiodhmuine, i. e. , Ua Suanaigh, anchorite of Raithin, and of Inis Baithin, on the east of Leinster. ^^ Inis Baithin, now Ennisboyne,^^ is situated in the parish of Dunganstown, at the extreme east of Wicklow County. After the notices of the two Ui Suanaigh, there is only a brief allusion to the
'* Dr. George Petrie has an engraving and relative to the Antiquities of the King's
a notice of it, in his " Ecclesiastical Archi- tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , subs, i. , pp. 246, 247.
County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S37," vol. i. Letter dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1838, p. 92.
TM See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , PP- 352, 353. ^"fl n- (7)- Il'i<i-
'7 It measures 7 feet 9 inches, in height,
2 feet 8 inches wide at the base, and 2 feet
6 inches at the top. Sec " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Thiid Earl of 130, 131-
Dunraven, edited by Miss Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. . p. 64.
'^ The Plate cii. of door-way in the Earl of Dunraven's work, edited by Miss . Stf)kes, belongs to this smaller church, at Rahan. It has been drawn for me, by William F. Wakenian, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millanl.
'9 See "Letters containing Information
-- Dr. Reeves says, in a note, at East of Leinster : "The Manuscript copy has 1oi)\ce)\ tAigcn, west of Leinster, which is manifestly a blunder. . . . The same error is repeated, under Baithin, at the 22iid of this month.
" It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Wick- low," sheet 31.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
——
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
death of Aedhan Raithne, or Aedhan of Rathain, at ySy,'^ in our Annals, until the beginning of the twelfth century, where we read, thatDermod O'Kelly, suc- cessor ofUi Suanaigh, i. e. , abbot of Rahen, died in the year iii3. '^s in 1227, it is recorded,'^ tliat Rahin O'Swanie Castle had been built, by Symon Clif- ford f^ and, John O'Donovan—who had been on the spot—thinks, thata part of that structure must have been a vault, standing near the old church at Rathain. ^^ It seems, that Hua-Sunaig's cross had been set up, some place inornearRahen. Thiswasheldingreatveneration,anditwasassumedto giveprotectiontothose,whowereabletoplacethemselvesunderit. ''? InRoss Corr,3°however,asatiricalPoemhadbeencomposed;3' and,thisappearsto have given so much offence to Mael-bresail,32 son of Fland Lena, that he
slew the satirists, wliile they were under Hua Suanaig's protection, within the princedom of Domnall, son of INIurchadh, a descendant of Cailchin. He arrested the murderers, but he felt unable to award judgment and mulct, on account of the greatness ofthis outrage. 33 So it was left to the conscience of Hua Suanaig himself, and this was his judgment, viz. , the land of the crime, namely Ross Corr, to fall in ownership to St. Mochuda and to Hua Suanaig, and also the persons who committed the crime, namely, the descendants of Gille Suanaig and Hui Chernaig and the Hui Choniii, without reversion to them or to their families until the day of doom. They were condemned, like- Avise, to lose their liberty. 34
Article IV. St. Cairnech, Cairnigh, Crantock, Carantac, or Carantoc, Confessor, of Wales, and of Tuilin, now Dulane, or DuLEENE, County of Meath, Ireland. [Fifth or Sixth Century. ~\ The present holy man, called Cairnech, or Cairnigh, by the Irish, and Cran- tock, Carantac, Carantech, Carannog,' or Carantoc, by the Britons, has had hisnameLatinizedintoCarantorius,Carantocus,orCarantacus. Todistin- guish him from another holy man, who is venerated on the 28th of March,^
May 1 6. ]
475
="* See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 393 to 395.
^sSee ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 994, 995, and n. (h).
^^ In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as trans- lated by Connell Mageoghegan.
^7 He gave an annuity of four hundred [? ] to the Prior and Convent of Dorrowe. SeeDr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters, " vol. iii. , n. (x), p. 247.
-** See " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838," vol. i. Letter, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, p.
130.
'9 See a comment on the Feilire of /Engus,
in the " Leabhar Breac. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. . parti. On the Calendar of Ocngus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , pp. Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii.
3° The present Roscore towiiland, in the parish of Rahen.
3' These lines of it are quoted :
A chenei pAcliAch ac^o bA|\nei'pi pAchu niAC pAchAch inic niAeb-
b]Aeffi.
It is thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes
"O race ofFiacha. Here is your an- cestry (lit. ' trace ') :
Fiachu son ofFiacha, son of Mael- bressi. "
:
^- He was engaged on a spoiling expedi- tion, and one of his spoils was the outraging of Hua-Suanaig's Cross, and of his safe- conduct in Fid Ela, of the retinue of artists, Hence came the title Cross of the Satirists. It would appear the race of Fiacha claimed to come from Fiacha, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages; but, this was contemp- tuously denied by ihe Satirists, whose blood paid the forfeit,
^^ xhis account is in the "Leabhar Breac," fol. 351^.
^4 tjge " Letters containing Information re- lative to the Antiquities of the King's Conn y, collected during the Progress of the Ord- nance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. Letter of John O Donovnn, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, pp. 123, 124.
Article iv. — ' . See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. viii. , p. 171.
•
476
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
and who is ? . lso called Cearnach, the present saint is usually denominated the Elder. 3 Both saints are often confounded. In one passage, the name of the present holy man appears as Cernachus. '' As the earliest English com- pilation of Crantock's Life was made some centuries after his death, those records of legends, which were current concerning him in the middle ages, should deserve little credit, if they were not supported by other and more independent memorials. Several such may be adduced, from ancient Irish and Welsh sources. These prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not only that there was such a Welsh or Cornish saint as Crantock ; but, that the out- line of his life, in the main, is tolerably correct. This holy man was cele- brated, in his time. Some INIanuscript copies of his Acts are extant. s There is, in the Library of the British Museum, an old Manuscript Life of this saint, supposedtohavebeenwrittenbyJohnofTynmouth; and,JohnCapgravehas complied the Acts of St. Carantoc, confessor, for the xvii. of the June
Kalends. ^ Wytford has some notices of liim, in his Anglican Martyrology. It was Colgan's intention, 7 to have treated of him, at this date. The BoUan- (lists have published Acts of St. Carentoc,^ or Cernath,9 with some prefatory remarks and notes, by the editor, Father Daniel Papebroke. The Rev. W. J. Rees '° has published the Latin Acts" of St. Carantoc, for the xvii. of the June Kalends,^^ with an English translation. ^3 This has been taken from a Manu- script, in the British Museum. '-^ Besides, R. Rees,'5 the Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'^ and the Rev. John Adams, M. . A. . ^7 have given interesting accounts of St. Crantock. '^ There are also notices of him, in the Dictionary of Christian Biography,'? under the different headings of Cairnech^° and of Carantoc. ^' We find, that for the same date, Bishop Forbes has notices of St. Carnac,^' as likewise of St. Kieranch,^3 who probably was not a different person. St. Carnech, venerated on the i6th of May, belonged to the Britons of Cornwall, according to a commentator on the Feilire of St. /i£ngus,='* and other Irish accounts. ^5 This seems to be confirmed, from a commentary on
» See an account of him, at this date, iu the Third Vohime of this work, Art. i.
3 Because he flourished a century earlier thantheotherCairnech.
» See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"Seriesii. PoliteLiteratureand Antiquities, vol. ii. , No. xlv. Ontheldenti- ficationof the proper Namesappearingontwo Monuments bearing Ogam Inscriptions by the Right Rev. Charles Graves, D. D. , p. 2S6.
5 The MS. classed E 3, 8, in Trinity Col- le'^e, Dublin, has a Vita S. Carantoci Con- fess. , xvii. Kal. Junii.
' See "Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. Ivi. ,
Ivii.
7 At the l6th of May, he notes Carantoc,
in " Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum qui\: MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Uierum. "
* These are furnished from a Manuscript, belonging to the Cottonian Library, London, and classed Vespasian A 14, at fol. 90. They are of a very Iegendai7 character, and they were procured for the BoUandists, through the kindness of the learned Sir William Du^dalc, author of the " Monasticon Angli- caniim," in three folio volumes, with other erudite works.
