—1 Sec O'Sullcvan Beare's "Historic
Catholics
Ibernue Compcn-
dium," tomus —
i.
dium," tomus —
i.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
Fredigand still remained at Deurne, At Monstier, the chief remains were honourably enshrined in the monastery.
St.
Fredigand has
or 846. 3
been venerated as the special patron —of Deurne. 32
*
cese of Arras, St. Frdgaud, confessor special honours also paid to his memory.
A long period had, elapsed, after the translation of St. Fredegand's remains and the destruction of Deurne, until the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I. , who reigned from 1493 until 15 19. During that time, about the Festival of St. John the Baptist in summer, a great pestilence broke out at Deurne. The parish priest exhorted his people to have devotion towards their holy patron, and a new statue of St. Fredigand was ordered from a sculptor to be erected in their church. From the moment of its erection, the plague suddenly ceased. In gratitude for this favour, and mindful of their powerful intercessor before the throne of God, leave was obtained from the venerable bishop of Cambray, Jaques de Croy,33 to have a solemn annual procession with the Blessed Sacrament and the statue of St. Fredegand, on each recurring 1st of May. Soonthefameofmiracleswroughtthroughtheirpatron'sintercession caused numbers of persons to visit St. Fredegand's chapel, where they were curedofvariousdiseases. Intokenofgratitude,whitewandswereleftthere, while different cases of curative miracles wrought were placed upon record, and these are apparently well authenticated. **
In the Martyrologies, the feast of St. Fredigandus is set down at the pre- sent date. In the Florarius Manuscript additions to Usuard, as also in Greven's additions, and in those of Molanus, he is commemorated. By some he is said to have been of Argenton. He is noticed by Saussay, by Wion, by Menard, by Dorgan, by Bucelin, and by Ferrarius. In Father Henry Fitzsimon's list, Fridegandus, Confessor, is mentioned for the 17th of July. The same name occurs, likewise, in the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare. The Office and Mass of St. Fredigand are to be found in Breviaries and Missals, belonging to the churches of Liege, Namur,35 and Duerne. 36
called a blessed
entered a feast for St. Fridigand, Confessor, at this date. 39 In Butler's Lives
of the and in the Circle of the Saints/
of we find July,
At St. Omer, in the dio- as he is so called in French—had
By Molanus and Father Stephen White,** he is
In his 8 has Menologium Scoticum,* Dempster
preacher.
twelfth century. Belgico auctoris annonymi collecta et Latine 30 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia reddita, p. 296.
1 at the
recorded St. Turninus, but this is evidently a mistake for St. Fredigandus.
Seasons/
In the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Antwerp, there was- formerly a
Sancta," part ii. , p. 36.
31
toFather Morinis," lib. vi, cap. vi.
35 Jn these, his memory is combined with
in"De thatofSt. Confessor. Alexius,
According
Malbranq
3s See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , xviie Jour de Juillet, p. 386.
3J He ruled over that See from 1504 to 1516, when he died.
34 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sane- torum," tomus iv. , xvii. Julii. De Sancto Fredegando Abbate, &c. Miracuia ex MS.
36 Here was recited his proper Office, as a Double.
37 See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. ,
p. 15.
38 Thus : "xvii. Argenton monasterio
Fridigandis confessoris. ML. "
39 yee Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 200.
<° See vol. v i i . , xvii. July.
17th
July 17. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 259
chapel dedicated to him. *2 The 4th of December, according to the Carthu- sian Martyrology,« was the date for his feast.
We have to admire in St. Fredigand the united characteristics of a holy monk and also of a zealous priest, whose thoughts and actions were ever engaged on the work God had destined him to fulfil. The duty of self- sanctification he achieved without self-esteem. He was also distinguished asanapostolicman,andagreatpreacherofGod'sword. Ifsomeofthis seed fall among the brambles and in the rocky places, a part is sure to find its roots in good soil, and to bring forth an abundant increase.
Article II. —St. Flann, Bishop of Recrann. On the 17th of July, 1
veneration was given, according to the Martyrology of Tallagh, to Flainn, of Inber Becce. Where this inlet lay seems difficult, at present, to determine.
According to the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, this
3 St.
Rachra,4 and RecJuea insula, by Adamnan ;* and, from a very remote period,. itbelongedtoChristChurch,Dublin. 6 ItiscalledRecheninagrant,dated about the year 1038; while Portrane, the parish to which it is attached, is called Portrahern, said to be a corruption of Port-Rechrainn. In the year 1204, the same places appear under the names of Lambay and PortracheU n. About the middle of the sixth century, St. Columba, who founded a church here, placed St. Colman Mac Roi over it. The death of Cobthach, Abbot ofRechra—probablythisplace—andwhodiedin748,isrecorded. Itwould seem, that he was immediate successor to the present holy bishop. Who had been the immediate predecessor of Bishop Flann, son of Kelleah, does not appear to have been recorded. He died in a. d. 734, according to the Anna—ls
Little
Article III. —St. Sistan or Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melge, now LoughMelvin,Counties,ofFermanaghandLeitrim. Themeritsof
saint's festival was on the observed,
of
son of
Kellach, son to Cronnmael, was Bishop of Recrann, a monastery founded by St. Columbkille. It is often supposed to have been in an island situated in that part of Ulster, called Dalriada. This lies off the coast of Antrim. It seems most certain, however, that the Recrann in question may have been situated in the eastern part of Bregia. 3 This latter was formerly called Rechra or
41 See p. 199.
42 Afterwards, it was commonly called the chapel of St. Ursula.
Catholicae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , xii. , pp. 50, 54.
Article ii. — » Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxix.
2 '*
'
the Bodleian Library, Oxford, No. 615, pp.
103, 104.
s See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 41, pp. 164,
17th
July.
Flann,
The — simple entry, Flann, Beg meaning
of the Four Masters. 7
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same date.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," 165. 6"
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, See Afchdall's Monasticon Hiberni-
cap. viii. , p. 509. cum," pp. 148 to 154, where the Registry of
3 "The Editor is not able to decide Christ's Church is quoted.
whether this is the Reachrainn in the east of 7 See Dr. O'Dunovan's
Bregia, where St. Columbkille erected a Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 336, 337. church, or Reachrainn, now Rathlin, or 8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Ragharee Island, off the north coast of 194, 195.
Antrim. '—Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of Article hi. — Edited by Rev, Dr,
8
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z), p. 336.
* A Poem in praise of this Inland has been att ibuted to the founder, St. Columba, and 43 See O'Sullevan Beare's "Histories itisfound among the Laud Manuscripts, in
1
"
Annals of the
26o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 17.
several holy servants have ascended like incense before the throne of God, and have secured his rewards. However, hardly can the patient pilgrim even alight on the sod, where their bodies rest. Yet, their undiscovered remains have sanctified that earth, with which they have long since mingled. Record or vestige of many holy persons that once existed in our Island can hardly be found ; still a magical spell, like an indescribable charm, hallows the surrounding
lovely scenes, blessed with their presence during life. In the Martyrology of 1
Tallagh, at the 17th day of July, is the following entry : Sistan sac. for Loch Melge. From the contraction sac. meaning sogarth we may probably con-
clude that he had been a priest. The Lough Melge, now Lough Melvin, with which he was connected, is a beautiful sheet of water, bordering on the coun- ties of Fermanagh and Leitrim ; but, it lies chiefly within the bounds of the latter county. From the shores of Lough Melvin, its former holy inhabitants have departed long ago from the scenes of this life. Their souls have been
received into a brighter and happier world. The Martyrology of Donegal 2 records a festival in honour of Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melghe, at the 17U1
of July. In a table appended to this record, this saint's name is Latinized Xistus. 3
Article IV. —St. Craebhnat, Virgin. The name, Corpnata, occurs in 1
the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 17th of July. It seems very possible, that an Irish Life of St. Creunata, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Cleary, had reference to this holy woman, and it yet exists in the Burgundian Library at
——
Bruxelles. 3 Some notices most probably regarding this saint or it may have
been a Life, seem to have been prepared by Colgan for publication, at the 17th of July, as on the posthumous list of his Manuscripts we find a St. Cranata, Virgin,* entered. It is likely, this was another form of St. Craebhnat's
or Corpnata's name. In the Martyrology of Donegal,* Craebhnat, Virgin, is recorded at this same date.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Plechmus. At the 1 7th of July,
Convaeus has placed St. Plechmus on his list of Irish Saints. He is styled a
Count, a Bishop, and a distinguished preacher, at Oudenzeel, Dicecesis Daven- triensis. 1 No doubt, from this description, we are to understand St. Plechel- mus, whose Acts have been given already, at the 15th of this month.
Article VI. —Festival of the Scillitani Martyrs, at Carthage, Africa. In the ancient Irish Church, as we learn from the "Feilire" 1 of St.
Kelly, p. xxix.
Article v.
—1 Sec O'Sullcvan Beare's "Historic Catholics Ibernue Compcn-
dium," tomus —
i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 48.
' In the "Leabhar Breac" copy is the following raft*, trans- lated in—to English by Whitley Stokes,
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. •
194, E95.
v i/u'd. , —
pp. 470,471.
ARTICLE VI.
Article iv. Kelly, p. xxix.
-
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. t
It is classed among the Manuscripts, LL. D. vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 22.
a to the " Actuum According Catalogus
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Men- sium et Dieruvn. "
4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 1. J4. 195-
:
KonmofUC Amcge hopmn Aequo h-apum Cech rnapcip Acpimem larluAj; ScellicApum.
July r 7 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 261
iEngus, there was a commemoration at this date of a number of holy martyrs, who suffered for the Faith, at Carthage, in Africa. There is a Latin commen-
tary, in explanation of this event appended. 2 This martyrdom has been
referred by Baroniuss to a. d. 202; while there are Acts and elucidations in
the Bollandists' great work,* at the 17th of July,* the festival day assigned for that Passion.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of the Translation of St. Odilia,Virgin. TheBollandists,1 whonoticethisfeastatthe17thofJuly, state, that they give it on the authority of their Florarian Manuscript, which relates how Odilia was one of the ten beautiful queens and virgins in the retinueofSt. Ursula. 2 HerbodywasfoundbyaspecialrevelationatCologne, together with the remains of her two sisters, Ema and Jutta, as also of a cer- tain bishop. The Translation is said to have taken place, a. d. 1285, to the monastery of the Brothers of the Holy Cross in Huy or Hoye,3 an ancient
town of Belgium, in the diocese of Liege. On that occasion many miracles were wrought. Not finding more regarding her, the Bollandists defer the matter to their general account of St. Ursula and of her companion martyrs, to be inserted at the 21st of October.
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Golgus, Abbot. At the pre-
1
sent date, David Camerarius mentions a Golgus, Abbot, said to be alluded
to —
by Adamnan,
in his Third Book—assumed to be in his work Vita S.
Columbse and by other writers. While the Bollandists insert this reputed
2
feast, on his authority, they remark, that under such form,3 they could not
find his name, and therefore, they defer classing Golgus, Abbot, among the saints, until strengthened by further authority than that of Camerarius.
"Magnify us may the prayers horum atqi4e harum, every martyr whom we recount, with
Acts, there is a Previous Commentary by Father Gulielmus Cuper, in three sections
—
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
acfemina- rum in hoc die decollati sunt. " Ibid. , p.
p. 188. — Article VIII.
*
Among
the Scottish
populus magnus est,
cxix.
Entries in the Kalendar of David Camera-
rius, we have the following inserti—on: "17
3 In "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus ii. ,
sect. i. to vi. , pp. 232, 233. Forbes'
" Transactions of
and
Articlevii. —See ActaSanctorum,"
script Series, vol. i. , part i. Onthe Calendar tomus iv. , Julii xvii. Among the preter-
of Oengus, p. cxi. mitted saints, p. 204.
the host of the Scillitani. "
forty-two paragraphs,
22 It is thus given Scellitarum, ". i. proprium
[nomen] gentis . i. populus magnus qui [in
uno die] occisus est proscilita peregrinis Scilla nomem civitatis, scillita vero patrony- mium a scilla diruatum est, in scilla uero
multi uirorum—
See her Acts, at the 21st of October,
" 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii p. 239.
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
xvii. De SS. Scillitanis Martyribus
2 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Sperato, Narzale, Cittino, Veturio, Felice, Acyllino, Laetantio, Januaria, Generosa, Vestina,
Julii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 202. 3 Probably Camerarius meant to have
Donata, Secunda, Carthagine in Africa, pp. written Colgius, who is mentioned by 204 to 216. Adamnan, in lib. hi. , cap. 20, but whose fes-
5 Besides, two different versions of their tival
— he had— if one
is not known.
*
"
3
santly situated in a valley on the Meuse.
In the Department of Liege, and plea-
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. ,
Die. Sanctus Golgus Abbas. " Bishop
262 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July jS.
<&\%\)tm\X\) JBaj) of 3ulin
ARTICLE I. —ST. THENNA, THENOG, THENEW, OR THANAW, AT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
WEmust always feel it to be a regrettable circumstance, that ignorance
and have so often and distorted the Acts of too credulity disfigured
many among our ancient saints ; and, in few of those, perhaps, is the matter more objectionably revealed, than in the Legends current regarding St.
and her illustrious St. 1 of The son, Kentigern, Bishop Glasgow.
Thenew,
learned Bollandists, Fathers Henschenn 2 and Soller, complain of these foolish and incredible traditions ; the first at the 13th day of January, when
to and the latter at the — which has been set down alluding him, present day,
as the festival for St. Thenna or Thenew 3 otherwise called Thametis,
Thenog, Thanaw, and Thennat. It need scarcely be observed, that her bio- graphy is indeed obscure and uncertain, while it is mostly drawn from bardic and popular traditions relating to her renowned son St. Kentigern. More- over, wildly improbable as those stories are, they are inconsistent with one another; for, various versions are extant of accounts, referring to their origin and adventures. The Life of St. Kentigern by Joceline, a monk of Furness, contains a legendary history of his mother, and as more than intimated, taken frompoeticsongsandhistoriesthatwerenotcanonical/ Fromafragment of the Life of St. Kentigern,s written at the desire of Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow, who died a. d. 1164, the compiler of the Aberdeen Breviary seems to have taken the Proper Lessons for her feast. These have been chiefly followed by the Scottish#writers, Dempster, Camerarius, Hunter, King and others. There are notices of this holy woman, whose festival is celebrated on
Rev.
Gould's work.
In the Life of St. Kentigern to which allusion has been already made, St.
Thenew is said to have been daughter to the King of Laudonia, and that she had been brought up in the faith of the church, although she had not been
this Les Petits day, by
6 and
the
Forbes. 7 There is an account of this saint, likewise, in Rev. S. Baring-
8
Article I. — Two festivals are assigned
to him ; one at the 13th day ofJanuary, and
the other at the 13th of November.
3
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusi. , Januarii xiii. De S. Kentigerno Ep. Glascuensi in Scotia, Commentarius Praevius, num. 6.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii xviii. De S. Thenna seu Thenew Ma- tiona Matre S. Kentigerni. This has been compiled by Father John Baptist Soller in three paragraphs, pp. 422, 423. The autho- rities cited are the Aberdeen Breviary and more recent Scottish Calendars.
4 For the original and a translation of this Tract, the reader is referred to the "Lives
in the twelfth century, edited from the best
Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. See "The Historians of Scotland," vol. v. , Edinburgh, 1874, 8vo.
5 This is now preserved in the British Museum among the Cottonian Manuscripts, A. xix. , fol. 76. It has been translated and published, also, by the Bishop of Brechin, Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L.
6 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
7 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
pp. 451, 452.
8
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July xviii. , pp. 433, 434.
of St. Ninian and St.
Kentigern," compiled
Bollandistes,
by
Right
Bishop
July t8 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. ]
263
baptized. Bat, Camerarius states, that St. Thametis or Thennat was queen of the Scots, and very celebrated in Glottiana, a province of the Scots. Again, Father Thomas Innes has it, that she was a daughter to the King of the Mid- land Britons. 9 However, among the various opinions afloat, this holy woman
10 since it has been stated that she was of Scotia. Notwithstanding all that has been written about her, nothing can be deter- mined with certainty regarding her origin or place of birth. We can only
briefly allude to popular traditions, for the following narrative of what con- cerns her earlier years. She was sought in marriage by Ewen, who was son to Urien Rheged, King of Cumbria, and a very beautiful youth; but she refused all his solicitations, while this so incensed her father, that he sent her to a swineherd, who was in secret a Christian. This good man preserved her honour, and taught her the practices of religion, which, united with her naturally fine disposition, caused her to be innocent and guileless as a maiden. Shewasengagedinveryhumbleoccupationswhileundertheroof of her protector, and she was often employed at work in the open fields.
SheiscalledThanesbyFordun. " IntheWelshlanguagesheisnamed
DwynwenorDenyw. " WhileArchbishopUssherstylesherThem's,Themi or Thenna ; the Metrical Chronicle of Scotland gives her the name of Cemeda. J 3 While under care of the swineherd, a malicious woman is s;iid to have laid a snare for her innocence, and that beingdecoyed into a wood, she was violently oppressed by a youth, who conceived a passion for the unsuspecting maiden. According to various Legends of his Life, the result ofthisintercoursewasherconceptionofKentigern. Soontheangerofher father was aroused, that his daughter should have presented signs of her approaching maternity. Other accounts have it, that this pious woman became acquainted with some Christian friends. From these she learned to enter- tain a great respect for religious truths and a love for the Blessed Virgin. It is stated, that at an early age, she had made a vow of chastity. On the other hand, she is represented as having been married, and after the death of her husband, she is said to have renounced her position in the kingdom, and to have given herself entirely to heavenly contemplation. In a story, greatly flavoured with romance, it is stated, that she was accused of a-grievous crime, of which, however, she is held to have been altogether innocent. Her father deemed her to have been disgraced, in consequence of it, and had decreed an exemplary punishment. She was sentenced to be cast down from a steep rock, called Kep-duff—said to have been in the Lammermoor—
The story of St. Thenog's adventures, when she was cast on the shore of Fife, is very romantic.
or 846. 3
been venerated as the special patron —of Deurne. 32
*
cese of Arras, St. Frdgaud, confessor special honours also paid to his memory.
A long period had, elapsed, after the translation of St. Fredegand's remains and the destruction of Deurne, until the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I. , who reigned from 1493 until 15 19. During that time, about the Festival of St. John the Baptist in summer, a great pestilence broke out at Deurne. The parish priest exhorted his people to have devotion towards their holy patron, and a new statue of St. Fredigand was ordered from a sculptor to be erected in their church. From the moment of its erection, the plague suddenly ceased. In gratitude for this favour, and mindful of their powerful intercessor before the throne of God, leave was obtained from the venerable bishop of Cambray, Jaques de Croy,33 to have a solemn annual procession with the Blessed Sacrament and the statue of St. Fredegand, on each recurring 1st of May. Soonthefameofmiracleswroughtthroughtheirpatron'sintercession caused numbers of persons to visit St. Fredegand's chapel, where they were curedofvariousdiseases. Intokenofgratitude,whitewandswereleftthere, while different cases of curative miracles wrought were placed upon record, and these are apparently well authenticated. **
In the Martyrologies, the feast of St. Fredigandus is set down at the pre- sent date. In the Florarius Manuscript additions to Usuard, as also in Greven's additions, and in those of Molanus, he is commemorated. By some he is said to have been of Argenton. He is noticed by Saussay, by Wion, by Menard, by Dorgan, by Bucelin, and by Ferrarius. In Father Henry Fitzsimon's list, Fridegandus, Confessor, is mentioned for the 17th of July. The same name occurs, likewise, in the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare. The Office and Mass of St. Fredigand are to be found in Breviaries and Missals, belonging to the churches of Liege, Namur,35 and Duerne. 36
called a blessed
entered a feast for St. Fridigand, Confessor, at this date. 39 In Butler's Lives
of the and in the Circle of the Saints/
of we find July,
At St. Omer, in the dio- as he is so called in French—had
By Molanus and Father Stephen White,** he is
In his 8 has Menologium Scoticum,* Dempster
preacher.
twelfth century. Belgico auctoris annonymi collecta et Latine 30 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia reddita, p. 296.
1 at the
recorded St. Turninus, but this is evidently a mistake for St. Fredigandus.
Seasons/
In the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Antwerp, there was- formerly a
Sancta," part ii. , p. 36.
31
toFather Morinis," lib. vi, cap. vi.
35 Jn these, his memory is combined with
in"De thatofSt. Confessor. Alexius,
According
Malbranq
3s See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , xviie Jour de Juillet, p. 386.
3J He ruled over that See from 1504 to 1516, when he died.
34 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sane- torum," tomus iv. , xvii. Julii. De Sancto Fredegando Abbate, &c. Miracuia ex MS.
36 Here was recited his proper Office, as a Double.
37 See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. ,
p. 15.
38 Thus : "xvii. Argenton monasterio
Fridigandis confessoris. ML. "
39 yee Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 200.
<° See vol. v i i . , xvii. July.
17th
July 17. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 259
chapel dedicated to him. *2 The 4th of December, according to the Carthu- sian Martyrology,« was the date for his feast.
We have to admire in St. Fredigand the united characteristics of a holy monk and also of a zealous priest, whose thoughts and actions were ever engaged on the work God had destined him to fulfil. The duty of self- sanctification he achieved without self-esteem. He was also distinguished asanapostolicman,andagreatpreacherofGod'sword. Ifsomeofthis seed fall among the brambles and in the rocky places, a part is sure to find its roots in good soil, and to bring forth an abundant increase.
Article II. —St. Flann, Bishop of Recrann. On the 17th of July, 1
veneration was given, according to the Martyrology of Tallagh, to Flainn, of Inber Becce. Where this inlet lay seems difficult, at present, to determine.
According to the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, this
3 St.
Rachra,4 and RecJuea insula, by Adamnan ;* and, from a very remote period,. itbelongedtoChristChurch,Dublin. 6 ItiscalledRecheninagrant,dated about the year 1038; while Portrane, the parish to which it is attached, is called Portrahern, said to be a corruption of Port-Rechrainn. In the year 1204, the same places appear under the names of Lambay and PortracheU n. About the middle of the sixth century, St. Columba, who founded a church here, placed St. Colman Mac Roi over it. The death of Cobthach, Abbot ofRechra—probablythisplace—andwhodiedin748,isrecorded. Itwould seem, that he was immediate successor to the present holy bishop. Who had been the immediate predecessor of Bishop Flann, son of Kelleah, does not appear to have been recorded. He died in a. d. 734, according to the Anna—ls
Little
Article III. —St. Sistan or Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melge, now LoughMelvin,Counties,ofFermanaghandLeitrim. Themeritsof
saint's festival was on the observed,
of
son of
Kellach, son to Cronnmael, was Bishop of Recrann, a monastery founded by St. Columbkille. It is often supposed to have been in an island situated in that part of Ulster, called Dalriada. This lies off the coast of Antrim. It seems most certain, however, that the Recrann in question may have been situated in the eastern part of Bregia. 3 This latter was formerly called Rechra or
41 See p. 199.
42 Afterwards, it was commonly called the chapel of St. Ursula.
Catholicae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , xii. , pp. 50, 54.
Article ii. — » Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxix.
2 '*
'
the Bodleian Library, Oxford, No. 615, pp.
103, 104.
s See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 41, pp. 164,
17th
July.
Flann,
The — simple entry, Flann, Beg meaning
of the Four Masters. 7
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same date.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," 165. 6"
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, See Afchdall's Monasticon Hiberni-
cap. viii. , p. 509. cum," pp. 148 to 154, where the Registry of
3 "The Editor is not able to decide Christ's Church is quoted.
whether this is the Reachrainn in the east of 7 See Dr. O'Dunovan's
Bregia, where St. Columbkille erected a Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 336, 337. church, or Reachrainn, now Rathlin, or 8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Ragharee Island, off the north coast of 194, 195.
Antrim. '—Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of Article hi. — Edited by Rev, Dr,
8
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z), p. 336.
* A Poem in praise of this Inland has been att ibuted to the founder, St. Columba, and 43 See O'Sullevan Beare's "Histories itisfound among the Laud Manuscripts, in
1
"
Annals of the
26o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 17.
several holy servants have ascended like incense before the throne of God, and have secured his rewards. However, hardly can the patient pilgrim even alight on the sod, where their bodies rest. Yet, their undiscovered remains have sanctified that earth, with which they have long since mingled. Record or vestige of many holy persons that once existed in our Island can hardly be found ; still a magical spell, like an indescribable charm, hallows the surrounding
lovely scenes, blessed with their presence during life. In the Martyrology of 1
Tallagh, at the 17th day of July, is the following entry : Sistan sac. for Loch Melge. From the contraction sac. meaning sogarth we may probably con-
clude that he had been a priest. The Lough Melge, now Lough Melvin, with which he was connected, is a beautiful sheet of water, bordering on the coun- ties of Fermanagh and Leitrim ; but, it lies chiefly within the bounds of the latter county. From the shores of Lough Melvin, its former holy inhabitants have departed long ago from the scenes of this life. Their souls have been
received into a brighter and happier world. The Martyrology of Donegal 2 records a festival in honour of Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melghe, at the 17U1
of July. In a table appended to this record, this saint's name is Latinized Xistus. 3
Article IV. —St. Craebhnat, Virgin. The name, Corpnata, occurs in 1
the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 17th of July. It seems very possible, that an Irish Life of St. Creunata, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Cleary, had reference to this holy woman, and it yet exists in the Burgundian Library at
——
Bruxelles. 3 Some notices most probably regarding this saint or it may have
been a Life, seem to have been prepared by Colgan for publication, at the 17th of July, as on the posthumous list of his Manuscripts we find a St. Cranata, Virgin,* entered. It is likely, this was another form of St. Craebhnat's
or Corpnata's name. In the Martyrology of Donegal,* Craebhnat, Virgin, is recorded at this same date.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Plechmus. At the 1 7th of July,
Convaeus has placed St. Plechmus on his list of Irish Saints. He is styled a
Count, a Bishop, and a distinguished preacher, at Oudenzeel, Dicecesis Daven- triensis. 1 No doubt, from this description, we are to understand St. Plechel- mus, whose Acts have been given already, at the 15th of this month.
Article VI. —Festival of the Scillitani Martyrs, at Carthage, Africa. In the ancient Irish Church, as we learn from the "Feilire" 1 of St.
Kelly, p. xxix.
Article v.
—1 Sec O'Sullcvan Beare's "Historic Catholics Ibernue Compcn-
dium," tomus —
i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 48.
' In the "Leabhar Breac" copy is the following raft*, trans- lated in—to English by Whitley Stokes,
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. •
194, E95.
v i/u'd. , —
pp. 470,471.
ARTICLE VI.
Article iv. Kelly, p. xxix.
-
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. t
It is classed among the Manuscripts, LL. D. vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 22.
a to the " Actuum According Catalogus
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Men- sium et Dieruvn. "
4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 1. J4. 195-
:
KonmofUC Amcge hopmn Aequo h-apum Cech rnapcip Acpimem larluAj; ScellicApum.
July r 7 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 261
iEngus, there was a commemoration at this date of a number of holy martyrs, who suffered for the Faith, at Carthage, in Africa. There is a Latin commen-
tary, in explanation of this event appended. 2 This martyrdom has been
referred by Baroniuss to a. d. 202; while there are Acts and elucidations in
the Bollandists' great work,* at the 17th of July,* the festival day assigned for that Passion.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of the Translation of St. Odilia,Virgin. TheBollandists,1 whonoticethisfeastatthe17thofJuly, state, that they give it on the authority of their Florarian Manuscript, which relates how Odilia was one of the ten beautiful queens and virgins in the retinueofSt. Ursula. 2 HerbodywasfoundbyaspecialrevelationatCologne, together with the remains of her two sisters, Ema and Jutta, as also of a cer- tain bishop. The Translation is said to have taken place, a. d. 1285, to the monastery of the Brothers of the Holy Cross in Huy or Hoye,3 an ancient
town of Belgium, in the diocese of Liege. On that occasion many miracles were wrought. Not finding more regarding her, the Bollandists defer the matter to their general account of St. Ursula and of her companion martyrs, to be inserted at the 21st of October.
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Golgus, Abbot. At the pre-
1
sent date, David Camerarius mentions a Golgus, Abbot, said to be alluded
to —
by Adamnan,
in his Third Book—assumed to be in his work Vita S.
Columbse and by other writers. While the Bollandists insert this reputed
2
feast, on his authority, they remark, that under such form,3 they could not
find his name, and therefore, they defer classing Golgus, Abbot, among the saints, until strengthened by further authority than that of Camerarius.
"Magnify us may the prayers horum atqi4e harum, every martyr whom we recount, with
Acts, there is a Previous Commentary by Father Gulielmus Cuper, in three sections
—
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
acfemina- rum in hoc die decollati sunt. " Ibid. , p.
p. 188. — Article VIII.
*
Among
the Scottish
populus magnus est,
cxix.
Entries in the Kalendar of David Camera-
rius, we have the following inserti—on: "17
3 In "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus ii. ,
sect. i. to vi. , pp. 232, 233. Forbes'
" Transactions of
and
Articlevii. —See ActaSanctorum,"
script Series, vol. i. , part i. Onthe Calendar tomus iv. , Julii xvii. Among the preter-
of Oengus, p. cxi. mitted saints, p. 204.
the host of the Scillitani. "
forty-two paragraphs,
22 It is thus given Scellitarum, ". i. proprium
[nomen] gentis . i. populus magnus qui [in
uno die] occisus est proscilita peregrinis Scilla nomem civitatis, scillita vero patrony- mium a scilla diruatum est, in scilla uero
multi uirorum—
See her Acts, at the 21st of October,
" 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii p. 239.
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
xvii. De SS. Scillitanis Martyribus
2 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Sperato, Narzale, Cittino, Veturio, Felice, Acyllino, Laetantio, Januaria, Generosa, Vestina,
Julii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 202. 3 Probably Camerarius meant to have
Donata, Secunda, Carthagine in Africa, pp. written Colgius, who is mentioned by 204 to 216. Adamnan, in lib. hi. , cap. 20, but whose fes-
5 Besides, two different versions of their tival
— he had— if one
is not known.
*
"
3
santly situated in a valley on the Meuse.
In the Department of Liege, and plea-
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. ,
Die. Sanctus Golgus Abbas. " Bishop
262 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July jS.
<&\%\)tm\X\) JBaj) of 3ulin
ARTICLE I. —ST. THENNA, THENOG, THENEW, OR THANAW, AT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
WEmust always feel it to be a regrettable circumstance, that ignorance
and have so often and distorted the Acts of too credulity disfigured
many among our ancient saints ; and, in few of those, perhaps, is the matter more objectionably revealed, than in the Legends current regarding St.
and her illustrious St. 1 of The son, Kentigern, Bishop Glasgow.
Thenew,
learned Bollandists, Fathers Henschenn 2 and Soller, complain of these foolish and incredible traditions ; the first at the 13th day of January, when
to and the latter at the — which has been set down alluding him, present day,
as the festival for St. Thenna or Thenew 3 otherwise called Thametis,
Thenog, Thanaw, and Thennat. It need scarcely be observed, that her bio- graphy is indeed obscure and uncertain, while it is mostly drawn from bardic and popular traditions relating to her renowned son St. Kentigern. More- over, wildly improbable as those stories are, they are inconsistent with one another; for, various versions are extant of accounts, referring to their origin and adventures. The Life of St. Kentigern by Joceline, a monk of Furness, contains a legendary history of his mother, and as more than intimated, taken frompoeticsongsandhistoriesthatwerenotcanonical/ Fromafragment of the Life of St. Kentigern,s written at the desire of Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow, who died a. d. 1164, the compiler of the Aberdeen Breviary seems to have taken the Proper Lessons for her feast. These have been chiefly followed by the Scottish#writers, Dempster, Camerarius, Hunter, King and others. There are notices of this holy woman, whose festival is celebrated on
Rev.
Gould's work.
In the Life of St. Kentigern to which allusion has been already made, St.
Thenew is said to have been daughter to the King of Laudonia, and that she had been brought up in the faith of the church, although she had not been
this Les Petits day, by
6 and
the
Forbes. 7 There is an account of this saint, likewise, in Rev. S. Baring-
8
Article I. — Two festivals are assigned
to him ; one at the 13th day ofJanuary, and
the other at the 13th of November.
3
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusi. , Januarii xiii. De S. Kentigerno Ep. Glascuensi in Scotia, Commentarius Praevius, num. 6.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii xviii. De S. Thenna seu Thenew Ma- tiona Matre S. Kentigerni. This has been compiled by Father John Baptist Soller in three paragraphs, pp. 422, 423. The autho- rities cited are the Aberdeen Breviary and more recent Scottish Calendars.
4 For the original and a translation of this Tract, the reader is referred to the "Lives
in the twelfth century, edited from the best
Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. See "The Historians of Scotland," vol. v. , Edinburgh, 1874, 8vo.
5 This is now preserved in the British Museum among the Cottonian Manuscripts, A. xix. , fol. 76. It has been translated and published, also, by the Bishop of Brechin, Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L.
6 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
7 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
pp. 451, 452.
8
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July xviii. , pp. 433, 434.
of St. Ninian and St.
Kentigern," compiled
Bollandistes,
by
Right
Bishop
July t8 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. ]
263
baptized. Bat, Camerarius states, that St. Thametis or Thennat was queen of the Scots, and very celebrated in Glottiana, a province of the Scots. Again, Father Thomas Innes has it, that she was a daughter to the King of the Mid- land Britons. 9 However, among the various opinions afloat, this holy woman
10 since it has been stated that she was of Scotia. Notwithstanding all that has been written about her, nothing can be deter- mined with certainty regarding her origin or place of birth. We can only
briefly allude to popular traditions, for the following narrative of what con- cerns her earlier years. She was sought in marriage by Ewen, who was son to Urien Rheged, King of Cumbria, and a very beautiful youth; but she refused all his solicitations, while this so incensed her father, that he sent her to a swineherd, who was in secret a Christian. This good man preserved her honour, and taught her the practices of religion, which, united with her naturally fine disposition, caused her to be innocent and guileless as a maiden. Shewasengagedinveryhumbleoccupationswhileundertheroof of her protector, and she was often employed at work in the open fields.
SheiscalledThanesbyFordun. " IntheWelshlanguagesheisnamed
DwynwenorDenyw. " WhileArchbishopUssherstylesherThem's,Themi or Thenna ; the Metrical Chronicle of Scotland gives her the name of Cemeda. J 3 While under care of the swineherd, a malicious woman is s;iid to have laid a snare for her innocence, and that beingdecoyed into a wood, she was violently oppressed by a youth, who conceived a passion for the unsuspecting maiden. According to various Legends of his Life, the result ofthisintercoursewasherconceptionofKentigern. Soontheangerofher father was aroused, that his daughter should have presented signs of her approaching maternity. Other accounts have it, that this pious woman became acquainted with some Christian friends. From these she learned to enter- tain a great respect for religious truths and a love for the Blessed Virgin. It is stated, that at an early age, she had made a vow of chastity. On the other hand, she is represented as having been married, and after the death of her husband, she is said to have renounced her position in the kingdom, and to have given herself entirely to heavenly contemplation. In a story, greatly flavoured with romance, it is stated, that she was accused of a-grievous crime, of which, however, she is held to have been altogether innocent. Her father deemed her to have been disgraced, in consequence of it, and had decreed an exemplary punishment. She was sentenced to be cast down from a steep rock, called Kep-duff—said to have been in the Lammermoor—
The story of St. Thenog's adventures, when she was cast on the shore of Fife, is very romantic.
