No More Learning

February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 41
she shall be full of grace before God and man, and her name shall be
celebrated throughout the entire world. " Pronouncing such words, those
angels disappeared. On a certain occasion, being awake, and studying the course of the heavenly bodies, according to a usual custom79 during the . ,. , whole night, that same Magus saw a column of fire ascending from the » , house, in which Brigid and her mother slept. He called another man to witnesssuchphenomenon. Inthemorning,anaccountofthisprodigywas given to many other persons. ^ We are told, that the child's stomach rejected the food of the Magus, and on endeavouring to discover a cause for
: suchnausea,themagicianwasurgedtocryout "Iamunclean,butthis
girl is filled with graces of the Holy Spirit, and that is the reason why she will not retain any sustenance which I supply to her. " Whereupon, he procured a white cow,^^ which was intended to give milk, while a certain religious and Christian woman was provided to take charge of the infant. That woman milked the cow, and the milk, afterwards given to the child, was found to agree with her. Yet, while the infant suffered from weakness, herpersonalbeautyevenimproved. ^^ Asthemaidgrewup,sheservedin menial offices about the house. ^3 Whatever she touched or saw, in the shape of food, seemed to increase in a miraculous manner. It is remarked, that the Magus and his family were Pagans at the time of these occurrences. Afterwards, however, he became a Christian. A little before this latter event, the faith of Christ is said to have come into Ireland. ^^ On a certain
day, the infant's voice was heard praying to God, while extending her little
handstowardsheaven. Acertainmansalutedher,andtohimshereplied,
" This will be mine ; this will be mine. " Hearing such words, he said ;
"
for ever. " And her prediction was exactly fulfilled. ^s in course of time, a
This is truly a prophecy, for the infant says this place shall belong to her
79 The Fourth Life has it,
"
suoque more
nion, being obliged to take a little water immediately afterwards, in order to facilitate such an effort. On each Thursday, also, she rather tasted than drank a little water.
astra coeli considerans," &c. It may be
asked, if this passage throws any light on
the supposed ^astronomical pursuit of the
Druids ?
^°
Brigidse, cap. viii. , p. 569, ibid.
^^ Professor O'Looney's Irish Life has a
"white red-eared cow," pp. 9, 10.
And during such a long lapse of time, she neither eat or drank anything, besides what hasbeenalreadymentioned. Norhadshe
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Tertia Vita S, Brigidae, cap. vii. , viii. , p.
528. Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, lib. i. , cap. even an appetite for eating or drinking, xi. , p, 547, ibid. As usual, the foregoing
circumstances are greatly amplified in the
Fifth Life of our Saint, where it is added,
that the Magus and his wife took care to
provide a nurse for the infant. This nurse
assisted the mother in attending to its wants.
It is also said, the heads of the family were
very indulgent to the mother, even although
they held her as a slave. Quinta Vita S.
2=^ The writer of St. remarks,thatt—hisaccountshouldnotexcite
the — incredulity
a great appearance of personal comeliness, This wonderful example of abstinence, it is said, could be vouched for, by more wit- nesses than even the inhabitants of that village, in which the maiden lived. Hence, a less remarkable instance, in St. Brigid's case, cannot be reasonably doubted. The writer then adds, that what the Almighty had effected for the then living was
reason. Vita Bri- undefinable See Quinta-S.
day,
all Sundays of the year. And as the passage through the throat was of narrow compass, she could scarcely swallow Holy Commu-
gidse, cap. x. , xi. , pp. 569, 570,
Brigid's
Fifth Life
virgin
only known to the great Author and for an
if
even it the admi-
might
in his own
ibid.
^3 Professor O'Looney's Irish Life states, that she used to train the sheep, supply the
ration ofhisreaders; for,
it was possible to see a certain virgin, that
dwelt in the south of England, and that she
lived for twenty years in her father's house,
without taking any kind of food, except the
Body of our Lord, which she received on Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. x. , p. 528.
Although she was reduced to a great degree of bodily prostration, and could not walk :
yet, her mental powers were unimpaired, she had the faculty of speech, and retained
birds, and feed the poor, pp. 9, 10.
^-^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. i. , cap. vii. , p.
547, ibid.
^s «' * in The Life of St. Brigid,
the
Mary
42 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February i.
large parish was formed in that part of the country, and it was dedicated to
St. Brigid. ^^ Learning those foregoing words, some local inhabitants went
:
to the Magus and said to him " Do you remain with us, but let the girl,
who has prophesied that our lands will belong to her, retire. " The Magus
"
I shall not leave my female slave and her daughter, but I will ratherquityourcountry. " ThentheMagus,withhisfamily,issaidtohave directed his course towards Munster, his native province. ^7 There, also, he
^^
replied :
inherited a paternal estate.
In St. Brigid's Third Life, we afterwards read of a desire entering the
daughter's mind to return—in all probability—to her father's home. On
learning this wish, the Magus sent messengers to Dubtach, who was informed, that his daughter could be received free. The father of our Saint was greatly
rejoiced. On the reception of this message, he went to the magician's house, whence he returned,^? accompanied by his daughter. The Christian nurse also followed her youthful charge. 9° This attendant was seized with
some complaint. Our Saint, accompanied by another girl, was sent to the house of a certain man,9': that they might procure a draught of beer for the
patient. In this expectation, it appears, the messengers were disappointed ; but on their return homewards, St. Brigid turned out of her course towards a particular well. ^'* Here she filled the vessel borne with water, and instantly
of Erin,' and the special Patroness of the sancta puella fideliter ministrabat. " Then
Dioceses of Kildare and Leighlin," by an
Irish Priest, the late Rev. Mr. O'Donnell of
Maynooth College, the expressions of the holy infant are referred, not to an earthly, but to a heavenly, inheritance. See chap.
i. , p. 9. Dublin, 1859, i8mo.
twenty-one or twenty-two chapters of the latter life are said to be missing. In a note we find remarked, that these seem to have been omitted, owing to the fault of a scribe. But their tenor may be gleaned from the ninth to the thirty-second chapter of the preceding life. See ibid, n. 17, p. 564.
**"
Colgan maintains, that from the manner
in which this account is conveyed in her '*"
Third Life, by the word parrochia, the
author means a district of ecclesiastical land,
dedicated to St. Brigid, according to an old
custom. In Colgan's time, there was a parish
church consecrated to St. Brigid, in the
diocese of Elphin, within the district of related. After describing the virtues, which
Soil-mured-haigh, and in the province of Connaught. Formerly a monastery was there endowed with ample possessions. The author, in Colgan's opinion, must have flourished at a distant date ; for, he says, that district was large, that a considerable tract of land was attached, and that it was St. Brigid's patrimony. For many ages before Colgan's time, the tract there was of no large extent, nor did it belong to St. Brigid's order. See "Trias Thauma- turga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, n. 8, p. 543, ibid. However, it may still be ques- tioned, if Colgan rightly indentified the locality, to which allusion has been made.
^1 These circumstances are also briefly related in Professor O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 7, 8.
characterized the holy maiden, when absent from her paternal roof, the writer then pro- ceeds to relate how her father impulsively thanked God for having sent him such a daughter. While leaving her mother still a captive, Brigid and her nurse were brought to his house. There his daughter was re- ceived with the most affectionate care. See Quinta Vita S. Brigidee, cap. xiii. , p. 570> ibid. See also "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ii. , pp. 14, 15.
9' In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life, he
is named Baethchu, pp. 9, 10.
9" The account runs, that she was enabled
lo express these words, as versified in the Sixth Life :
" Third and Fourth Lives of our Saint. See
^ These circumstances are related in the
Qucerite cervisiam : voluptas. "
"
Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap. ix. , p. 528. Vita Quarta S. Brigidee, cap. xii. , p. 579. In the latter record, we find these following additional particulars related: "Cum jam crevisset quidem corpore, sed plus fidespe et charitate,
Colgan's
^ It is stated to be in Ui Failge, or Offaly, in Professor O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 9, lo.
9° Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidas, cap. xi. , p. 528. In the Fifth Life of our Saint, the same circum-
stances apparently are somewhat differently
mihi mcdo magna Then follow these lines i
*'
Brigida (tunc fuerat juvenis et pulchm puella)
Mittitur ad vicos quaerendo quippe liquo* rem,
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 43
it became changed into an excellent description of beer. 93 When the nurse tasted it, she recovered from her infirmity. 94 This miracle is also alluded to in one of St. Brigid's offices.
Most of those foregoing accounts are altogether omitted, from narratives
which are considered to have been the earliest and most authentic biogra-
phies of our Saint ; and there is every reason to suppose them altogether
legendary, and undeserving attention. Nor can we find any valid reason to
question a supposition already adduced,9s that our Saint's parents, besides
being of noble family, were also Christians, and that St. Brigid herself was
born in lawful wedlock. All her biographers seem agreed, however, that
from her earliest youth, this illustrious maiden was remarkable for every
noble and virtuous characteristic, foreshadowing the future Saint. To her
Christian nurse is attributed much of that holy training, which during child-
hoodmadeheradevoutclientofJesusandMary. 96 whenthisholyvirgin
grew to the years of discretion, and even from her most tender youth, she
was distinguished for her extraordinary virtues f^ especially, for that grave
decorum and modesty, which bestowed dignity and propriety on her every
word and action. Each day she acquired some new virtue, or increased in
spiritual progress. She was early grounded in doctrines of the Christian's
Faith j and she must have received, also, some secular education, corre-
sponding with the rank of her parents. From earliest years she was distin-
guished for instances of extraordinary charity, especially towards the poor. An anecdote of her childhood is related. s^ The youthful virgin was bounti-
ful and hospitable to such a degree, that she frequently distributed to the poor and to strangers large quantities of milk and butter, which her mother
had committed to her charge. In consequence of this generous propensity, she found on a certain occasion, that her store was completely exhausted.
Being accustomed each day to superintend the labours of her maids and of her daughter, in various departments of their industry, our Saint's mother was about to make her usual inquiries, when fearing reproof for the improvi-
Virgo Dei properans una comitante sorore.
Quidam cervisiam, quamvis velabat, ha- bebat :
Virginibus sacris stultus donare negabat. "
account, and all that follows in this biogra-
phy, so far as the 35th chapter, are wanting in the Fourth Life. See ibid, n. 8, p. 543. The circumstances of this miracle are related, with certain modifications, in the Fifth and Sixth Lives. In the former, it is said, during her infirmity, the nurse suffered greatly from thirst, and that St. Brigid signed the water drawn from the well, with a sign of the cross, while those, who were present and witnessed the miraculous effect produced, admired and extolled our Saint's
Further on this line occurs
:
*'
Qui latices gelidos Lyei convertit in un- das :"
to which Colgan appends this note, that in the
MS. for lyei, or more correctly, lya:i, was to faith and miraculous powers. It is here
be found cccli(z. But because the author seems to allude to the change by Christ of water into wine at Cana in Galilee, lycni appears to be the correct reading. See "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Quinta S. Brigidse, cap. xvi. , p. 571 ; and Sexta Vita S. Bri- gidae, sec. iii,, p. 583, and n. 8, p. 598, ibid.
93 The kind of beer alluded to was mead, as expressed in the metrical life. It appears to have been a favourite drink among the a—ncient Iri—sh ; and, most likely, it was little
said, likewise, that two girls accompanied the Saint, when she proceeded on her er- rand.
In the Sixth Life, it is stated, that the nurse had been seized with a burning fever, so that she could scarcely articulate owing to thirst,
9S Especially by Dr. Lanigan.
at all impregnated with intoxicating
Irish Priest, chap, i. , pp. 10 to 13.
'^^ See the various published Offices and
accounts of our Saint, by different writers.
^s Professor
By Cogitosus. In O'Looney's
Irish Life of St. Brigid, this account is am-
plified, and St. Brigid's prayer is rendered into three Irish stanzas, pp. il to 14,
if properties.
9-* Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidfe, cap. xii,, p. 528. Such
56 gee
"
The Life of St. Brigid," by an
44 LIVES OF THE imSff SAINTS. [February i.
dcnce admitted into household concerns, Brigid betook herself to prayer.
The Almighty graciously heard her petitions, and miraculously increased the exhausted store of butter. 99 When this remarkable circumstance became known to the handmaids, these admired the girFs wonderful trust in Divine Providence, and then gave praise to God, who rewarded her Faith, Hope and Charity, by the performance of this miracle in her behalf. ^°°
At another time, it is related, while engaged in providing food for some
^°'*
These anecdotes serve to impress us most agreeably, with the natural kindliness and generosity of her youthful
disposition.
It appears quite probable, that in her youth, the pious maiden must have
been known, to the great Irish Apostle Patrick. For, it is related, in the Tripartite Life of this latter Saint, that on a certain occasion, when preaching
99 This account is also given in various Magus, on seeing it, contemptuously taunted Offices and other narratives, regarding our her on its smallness. The Saint replied, Saint. See likewise "The Life of St. however, that there should be suflficient to Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ii. , pp. fill a large vessel. Through the interposi-
tion of Divine Providence, her prediction
was fulfilled. When the witnessed Magus
this miracle, he told St. Brigid, that the vessel thus miraculously filled should belong to her, and likewise those twelve cows given
noble '°' she was so much moved with the guests,
and
of a dog, that she gave him a great portion of the bacon she had been cook- ing, and, afterwards, she found more than a sufficiency remaining, for the
entertainment of the strangers.
17, 18. ^°° See
"Trias
Secunda Vita S. Brigidae, cap. ii,, p. 519.
"
Thaumaturga," Capgrave relates this miracle, as occurring
Colgan's
at the house of the Magus.
Sanctorum Anglise, ScotijB et Hibernice," in charge to her mother. Still the Saint Vita S. Brigidse, sec. 2. In the Third Life declined receiving such gifts, asking instead of St. Brigid, the account given regarding of them her mother's freedom. The Magus
this miracle is substantially as follows. then said ;
"
After stating some circumstances, that took place after our Saint had been sent back to her father, we are told, that she again re- turned to visit her mother, who remained with her master, the Magus ;' although she lived in a
it into twelve parts, in honour of the twelve See Apostles. She made one portion greater
Quinta Vita S. Brigidoe," cap. xviii. ,
Legenda
Lo, I offer you your mother's liberty, as well as the gifts of this butter and those cows. " We are told, that the Magus then believed and was baptized, and that St. Brigid, bestowing her gifts on the poor, returned with her mother towards her from that in which father's home. See ' ' Trias Thau-
separate house,
he dwelt. The Saint's mother had the
chargeoftwelvecows; thebutterproduced
from which, she was obliged to collect.
But, when St. Brigid arrived on this visit to
her mother, the virgin was accustomed to
distribute butter each day to the poor and
to the guests ; in doing which, she divided company with her nurse and a brother.
than the remaining parts, in honour of our Saviour, while remarking, she saw the per-
One
Thaumaturga. " Vita Prima S. Brigidae, sec. 14, p. 516. Vita Secunda S. Brigidx, cap. iv. , p. 519. butter. On seeing this vessel, the ready Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap. xiii. , p. 528.
son of Christ in that of
day, the Magus and his wife brought a large measure to her, that it might be hlled with
flush of her checks betrayed a certain dis- turbanceofhermind; forshehadonlythe butter of one day and a half day then col- lected. Visitors having entered the house, the virgin joyously began to exercise claims of hospitality towards them, and to prepare for their refection. She then retired to a private part of this house, where she poured forth her prayers to God. Afterwards, she produced the small quantity of butter then in her possession. But, the wife of the
saint. See ' ' Trias Colgan's
every guest.
whining
eager gestures
Colgan's
maturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap. xv. ,
p. 528. Similar circumstances, for the most part, are mentioned in the Fifth Life of our Saint, with the usual amplifications. It is there reported, likewise, that she paid a visit to her mother, already alluded to, in
"
xix. , XX. , xxi. , pp. 571, 572, ibid.
'°'
These circumstances are alluded to in the First, Second and Third Lives of the
In the Fifth Life nearly the same account is given, with the addition of some immaterial particulars. See Vita Quinta S. Brigido), cap. xvii. , p. 571, ibid. All accounts agree, that these occurrences took place at her father's house.
'°*
In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, it is said the guests, who wit- nessed this miracle, would not eat the food thus increased, but it was distributed to the poor and destitute, pp. 9 to 12.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 45
toavastmultitudeofpersons,Bridgetformedoneofthenumber. Thenshe
is said to have been illustrious for her gifts of prophecy and miracles. The place, where St. Patrick is said to have preached on this occasion, we find called, the territory of Lemania. It was a rural district of Tyrone, in the diocese of Clogher, and commonly called Magh-lemna, otherwise Clossach.
It is said, that St. Patrick stood on a hill, called Finn-abhuir. We are told, likewise, that the Irish Apostle preached here with great fervour for a dura- .
tion of three days and three nights, while the people were so enraptured \
with his discourse, they did not think a single day had elapsed, pending this \
long interval. '°3 While listening to him, she was transported into such an \ V.
ecstacy, that the people thought she had fallen asleep. During this time, \ T Brigid had a vision, regarding that present, and a future state of the Irish \ Church. Then on awaking, St. Patrick desired her to relate what she had \ seen. She told him, at first, that she had seen a herd of white oxen amid white crops ; then, she beheld spotted animals of different colours ; and
after these appeared black and darkly-coloured cattle. Afterwards sheep and swine were seen ; lastly dogs and wolves worrying each other. ^°+ Yet while Brigid seemed to sleep, St. Patrick would not allow the congregation to awaken her, until she came to a state of consciousness of her own accord. The Irish Apostle afterwards told the people, that her vision referred to that present and to a future state of the Church in Ireland. ^°s
In his Fourth^°'^ and Sixth^°7 Lives, it is related, that St. Brigid wove a shroud to cover the remains of St. Patrick, after his death. Dr. Lanigan calculates, that the Irish Apostle did not live nearly so late as a. d. 493,^°^ when St. Brigid's reputation was spread far and wide. ^°9 At the time of his decease, the holy virgin is thought to have been a mere child. Besides the earlier writers of St. Patrick's Acts have no mention of St. Brigid having woven the shroud. With special minuteness, Fiach's hymn, the Scholiast, Probus, the Tripartite, and the third Life give an account of the last days of St. Patrick, his death and obsequies. They specify the name of that bishop who attended him, although otherwise he was scarcely known. Strange, indeed, would be their omitting to mention so celebrated a saint as Brigid had she attended with the shroud at his exit. If those circumstances, reported by later writers concerning her transactions with St. Patrick, had really occurred, it is impossible they could have been overlooked by those authors, who lived nearer to their occurrence. Perhaps Brigid wove a pall or some sepulchral ornament to be spread over his grave, and hence might have arisen the idea, that she had done so during his lifetime. "^ Such a circum- stance might easily give origin to the rumour of her having assisted at St. Patrick's obsequies. People about Dundalk, however, have a tradition, that
'°3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
Xciv. , xcv. , pp. 86, 87.
chap, iii. , p. 31.
*°9 In her exertions for forming congrega*
tions —of holy virgins and establishments for
ded so well with the them which coinci—
views of our Apostle she would and should
have acted under his guidance, were he
alive. there must have been Accordingly
frequent communications between them, concerning which the ancient writers could
"
not have been totally silent. See
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap* viii. j sec. ii*, n. 29, pp. 384, 385.
"°See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol* i. , cap. viii. , sec, ii. , n. 29, p. 384.
^°'*
See
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 149, 150, and n. 11, p. 184.
"Trias
Colgan's Thaumaturga,"
'°s See "The Life of St.
Irish Priest, chap, iii. , pp. 31 to 33.
'"*
an
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, xciii. , p. 47.
^°7 StQ Ibid. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
clxxxviii. , clxxxix. , p. 107.
108 jn "The Life of St. - Brigid," by an
Irish Priest, the author seems inclined to adopt this date for St. Patrick's death. See
Eccle-
Brigid," by
46 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
St. Brigid lived in the year 432, when St. Patrick first preached in Ireland, and that she survived him thirty years. "' As St. Brigid approached the
years of puberty, her parents thought of procuring her a partner for life; and they wished to espouse her to a husband of their own selection.