A
Benedictine
monastery, in their stead, was afterwards founded, a.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Therefore, he was
thirty years old, in all likelihood ; since the
Council of Agde required that age, for the
ordination of priests, as well as of bishops.
"
Presbyterium vel episcopura ante triginta annos, id est, antequam ad viri perfect! aitatem perveniat, nu—llus metropolitanorum ordinare priEsumat. " "Canon," xvii. It would also accord well with the probabili- ties of chronology, as referring to our saint. Long beforg th^ Council of Neocaesarea,
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxv. , p. 38. Again, according to the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , p. 121, "annum jam astatis attingens trigessimum. "
55 See Sir James Ware's "Opuscula S.
Patricii," Confessio, p. II.
5* Such as Fiach's Hymn, the Second
Life, and the Fourth Life,
in words. " '^'^ Thus do we
5?
anonymous writer of his Life, in three Books,
' He who his gave
jjuch is the statement made, by the
"
xvii. , p. 835. Jocelyn has it, "cum B.
as cited by Ussher, in his
Primordia," cap.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 509
while the more probable accounts state, that he lived four years,58 in the cele- brated monastery, at Tours. ss In various tracts, St. Patrick's repairing to Tours, and there spendmg four years, we find placed, before the time of his going under the direction of St. German of Auxerre. Others invert the order of his studies. ^" A legendary account states, how an angel said to Martin, that Patrick should go to the island of Tamara. ^^ This seems to have been that island, where hermits dwelt, between the mountain and the sea. ^^ Jocelyn commemorates this vision of the angel to St. Martin. He says, however, that it was St. Martin himself, who was commanded to go to Tamara, while St. Patrick returned to the Blessed Germanus, with whom he spent some
days. ^3
The Bollandists state, under the year 414, that St. Patrick attached him-
self to Amator, then Bishop of Auxerre,^+ and, that he had been for some time
there, with that prelate.
This is not improbable, and we might suspect, that
^s
Probus^^ relates, that St. Patrick had been ordained priest, by Senior, a bishop, who lived on the mountain Hermon. This lay, at the right side of the ocean. ^7 Again, he tells us, that Senior's city was protected by seven walls. ^^ Placing Patrick's ordination in 410,^9 the Bollandists follow Probus, with regard to Senior. They consider, he was bishop, perhaps of Pisa. They supposed,moreover,thatSt. PatrickhadbeenthenandthereinItaly. Ithas been thought, by others, that Probus did not allude to any part of Italy, as he
it was the by
Martino Turonensi Archiepiscopo aliquanto tempore demoratur. "
5^ See the Third Life, cap. xxii. , p. 22 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. However, after Probus gives St. Patrick
these four years of residence, the angel of
the Lord is said to have warned him, to go
among the solitaries, who made no use of
shoes, and that he remained with those
eremites for eight years. See ibid. , cap. ancient Irish phraseology. In the same XXV. Colgan's text of Probus seems to be manner, we are told, the nations of the
latter,
However,
another. Having heard of an ordination, by Amator, they possibly understood it, in re- ference to his episcopal ordination, of wliich alone they make mention.
^^
interpolated, however, to such a degree, that St. Patrick's actions have been thrown out of their original order, in this narra- tive.
East, called the South the right, and the
North the left. That rock, adjoining the
ocean southwards, must be sought for, as
Dr. Lanigan thinks, in the great promon- tory of Britany, or close to some of the bays
of Normandy. At first sight, it might seem probable, that Hermon was one of those rocks, near St. Malo. Perhaps, this was Aletum, or Alctha, a place of consider- able note, and, fi-om the patron saint, it got
59 See this matter treated, in Colgan's Fifth Appendix to the saint's Acts, chap. xi. , p. 236.
^ Thus, Colgan was induced to think, that Germanus had been our saint's first
preceptor, after his Irish captivity. See
"
Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix the name of St. Maclovius' town. After-
ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xiii. , pp. 241 to 245-
wards, it was corrupted into St. Malo. That point, where the sun rises, was considered as the leading one formerly, in fixing geo- graphical and astronomical positions. See
"
Collectanea de Rebus Hiber- nicis," vol. ii. , p. 269 and Dr. O'Brien's
" Irish at Deas. Dictionary,"
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
^9 At this time, our saint should have been, according to them, about thirty-three years of age, for they placed his birth, in A. D. 377. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xVii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. Commentarius prsevius, sect, v. , p. 522.
°'
The Third Life says, "ut irit Patricius
adTamerensemInsulam. " Seecap. xxii. ,
p. 23.
Vallancey's
''^
See tbid. , nn. 19, 20, pp. 30, 31. See
also the Fifth lib. i. Life,
cap. xvi. , p. 48. *3 See the Sixth Life, cap. xxii. , p. 66.
*5 I'his may account, for what Probus and others state, about his having been ordained bishop, by one Amator, and not long before his setting out, for the Irish
mission. Those writers, however, might have confounded one ordination with
'* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. , sect, v. , p. 522.
our saint had been ordained a
priest.
See "Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 48.
°^ Probus writes, "in dextro latere maris Oceani. " This phtase must be understood, as meaning the south side, according to tire
Sio LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
places Senior's residence near the ocean, which Dr, Lanigan considers to be the Atlantic. The whole passage is very curious, he allows, not that we are bound to believe what it contains, but because it may be worth while to searchforthatplace,towhichProbusalludes. Thename,Hermon. signifies " a a of two Celtic " and
great,"
Maeii,
thought, by
Rev. Dr. to Lanigan,
great rock," being compound
words, Her,
" rock. " 7° This rock or mount is
be the present Mont St. Michel, It might justly be called Hermon, as it is really a stupendous rock, situated in a bay, between Avranches and Dol, at the points of Normandy and Britany. It has the sea towards the north, and so close to it, that in times of high water, the rock becomes an island.
Mont St. Michel, France.
It was a celebrated place, long before that period, when Probus lived. Some writers maintain, that it was an episcopal See, even before the time of St. Maclovius. 7» Achurchhadbeenerected,onthatinsulatedrock,inhonour of St. Michael, a. d. 709, by Autbert, Bishop of Avranches. 7^ It might be objected, that there seems not to have been any town, or church, at Mont St. Michel," in St. Patrick's time. But, Probus and other ancient writers before him, not adverting to chronological dates, probably thought it had been a monastery,
'"See Bullet's sub voce, Hermon.
"
Dictionnaire Celtique,"
tohavebeenbuiltbyPateme. Hisfeastis kept, on the 15th of April. He was bishop
of Avranches, in the sixth century, and he died, A. D. 565. His Life was written, by St. Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. See the
"
Benedictine Histoire Literaire de la
France," &c. , tome iii. , vii. Siecle S. Fortunat, sect, ii. , p. 478.
'3 It is in the Department of Manche, and in the Fifth Arrondissement, of which the chief city is Avranches. This latter gave title to a bishop, from about A. D. 400, until A. D. 1 791, when the See was sup- pressed, and united to the diocese of Cou-
'' See Hadrian Valesius,
"
Notitia Gal-
liarum," &c. , at Aletum. The name of St.
Malo, together with the See, had been
transferred, in the twelfth century, to the
present St. Malo. See Pierre le Bavd's
"
Histoire de Bretagne," &c. , chap, i. , p. 7. It is situated, about a league's distance from Aletum, the ruins of which are still to be seen, under the name of Quidaleth or Gui- chaleth. See ibid,, and Martinere, at Aleth.
T Hadrian Valesius says, that it is thought
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
when our Apostle was living. It is possible, likewise, that to enhance the respectability of that holy rock, a story had been circulated, concerning our
saint having spent some time there, particularly as it was inhabited of old, by hermits, before Autbert's time. 74 He established clerics there, to sing the Divine Office.
A Benedictine monastery, in their stead, was afterwards founded, a. d. 966, by Richard, Duke of Normandy,75 and a considerable towngrewup,atthebaseandsidesoftherock. Itwasmuchresortedto,by pilgrims, and it was supplied with a numerous garrison. ? ^ Its natural strength was increased, by fortifications, in an almost impregnable manner. From the bottom upwards, various ranges of walls traversed the sides of St. Michel's rock. Including balustrades around the church, on its summit, the wallsmayfairlybecomputed,atthenumberofseven. ? ? Itmaynaturallybe objected, that it was not an episcopal See. This is easily obviated, however, on reflecting, that we often find bishops residing in monasteries, as was the case in Ireland. Here, the monastic superior was very often both bishop and abbot. No bishop, bearing the name of Senior, is to be found living at Pisa, in Italy, nor do we find any such name, among the bishops of Gaul, in St. Patrick's time. ? ^ According to Dr. Lanigan's hypothesis, the Senior of Probus is not to be taken, perhaps, as a proper name. It might be intended to "
signify,
aged,"
supposition,
that he to some spent, according
writers,
^3 to other autho- thirty, or, according
tances. See Charles Kjiight's "English Cyclopsedia," Geography, vol. i. , col. 754, and vol. iii. , col. 688.
'i* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect. X. , n. 75, pp. 164 to 167.
? s In 1622, the Benedictine monks here were united to the Congregation of St. Maur. After the French Revolution, this place was made a prison for nobles and priests. At present, however, this Abbey has been transformed into a state prison. See the Abbe Migne's " Dictionnaire des Abbayes et Monasteres," &c. , col. 563, 564.
said to have succeeded in the See of Avran- ches.
7* A deed of Lewis the
80
jjjg festival occurs, on the 26th of July, although he died on the 31st of this month, a. d. 448, after having ruled his diocese for
thirtyyearsandtwenty-fivedays. SeeRev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers,
Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. July xxvi.
*' See his " Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 837 and the following pages.
A. D. 817, names this establishment, among the great monasteries of France.
" See Martiniere, at Mont St. Michel, and also Hadrian Valesius.
'* A St. Senior, or St. Senator, was a fellow-hermit with St. Paterne, and he is
^^ See the Second Life of St. Patrick, cap.
xxii. , p. 13 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxvi. , p.
38. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,
lib. i. , cap, xxxiii. , p. 122, we have a nearly similar account,
^* But Colgan shows, in his notes, the in-
or "
on the
that in the west of a Gaul,
old,"
monastic state of living then prevailed, similar to that subsequently brought
into Ireland. 79
The saintly Bishop of Auxerre, Germanus, was born at Auxerre of noble parents, about the year 380. ^° He was a mere layman, for several years after St. Patrick's first return from Ireland to Gaul. The Emperor Honorius created Germanus a Duke, and a military leader, in his own province. After- wards, he embraced the clerical state, and he became a bright ornament of the Gallic Church. From a secular administration, he was appointed to succeed Amator, who died on the ist of May, a. d. 418. Until this year, therefore, St. Patrick could not have become his disciple ; and, many think their first interview took place, during that very year, when Bishop Germanus had been consecrated. Yet, led astray by some passages in Ussher's work,^^ Colgan places our saint, at Rome, under the tuition of Germanus, so far back asA. D. 396. Then,heisbroughttoSt. Martin. Othersstate,thatPatrick wasthirtyyearsofage,whenhecametoGermanus. ^'' Oneaccounthasit,
Pious,
and dated
^= See the Fourth
Life, cap. xxvii. , p. 38.
" Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iv. ,
79 See Rev. Dr. sect, x. , n. 45, p. 167.
Lanigan's
512 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
rities, forty years with St. Germanus,^* while he was employed, in diligently studying the Holy Scriptures. However, the Third Life states,^5 that Patrick was only four years with St. Gernianus, and, that then he lived nine years, in an island, called Tamerensis. Afterwards, it is said, he went to Rome.
Again, St. Erric of Auxerre speaks of eighteen years, as all passed by St. Patrick, under St. German. ^^ Many who wrote after his time adopt this statement. Rigorously taken, however, this could not be true. From the words of Erric of Auxerre, it might be inferred, that St. Patrick was the con- stant companion of St. Germanus. ^7 It was during this time, that our Apostle is said to have got the name of Magonius, or, as Nennius has it, Maun. ^^ Not in Gaul alone, but likewise in Italy, St. Patrick is introduced, as being under the guidance of St. Germanus,^? who spent much of his time, withtheimperialruleratRavenna. Here,too,hedied,andSt. Patrickwas probably under his guidance there, as in many other places, where he may have received instruction. This seems consistent, with what we read, in various tracts. 9° He is said to have crossed the mighty Alps,? ^ and to have visited the south-east of Italy, to learn wisdom and religion, from the Bishop Germanus. 9^ By one learned authority, it has been advanced, that the four years of St. Patrick, passed in St. Martin's monastery, should precede those years he spent in the island. 93 And next, in chronological order, ought to follow those other four years, he remained under the immediate direction of St. Germanus. Thus, it might happen, at thirty years, that Patrick could have placed himself, under the guidance of so holy a bishop, who recom- mended him to study in a suitable place, and who afterwards received his missionary services, until the Irish mission had been thought deserving our Apostle's ultimate charge. The practical duties of a pastor and the adminis- tration of the sacraments were a necessary part of this preparation. 9<
In the Irish version of Nennius95 it is said, that Patrick went southwards to study, and that he read the Canon with Germanus. ? ^ Other Acts of the
Until he left him with Germanus, Southwards in the south of Letha. "
—
^* These might in some manner be ac-
counted for, as being added to 414, they there is added this ancient gloss :
correctness of such an assertion. See cap. xxii. , and nn. 26, 28, pp. 13, 17, "Trias Thaumaturga. "
*s See cap. xxi. , xxii. , pp. 22, 23.
"Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. ,
make 432, the presumed date when St. Patrick commenced his mission in Ireland.
*7 See " De Miraculis S. Germani," lib. i. , cap. xii.
^'^
If there be any truth in this stoiy, it has been conjectured, that Maun might be the same as Maen, a rock, by which metaphori-
Italia ubi fuit Germanus. " See p. 9.
cal
St. Patrick
may
have been
'^xhediversitiesof narrative and the chro-
— difficulties found in St. Patrick's nological
—Acts especially in reference to this period have induced the Rev. John Francis Shearman and other writers to suppose, that those statements must have reference to more Patricks than to the traditional
appellation, recognised.
*9 Probus, who has been classed among
the most accurate of our Apostle's biogra-
phers, represents him, as having been in Gaul and Italy. Thus, our saint is made to
"
state, that he had been ""
Apostle of Ireland. See Father Shearman's per Italiam. " See Quinta Vita S. Pa- ingenious essay in Loca Patriciana,'. ' part,
tricii," lib. i. , cap. xix. , p. 48.
'° See Ussher's " Primordia," cap. xvii. .
pp. 833 et seq.
9' From the Hymn of St. Fiach, " Liber
his
Hymnorum," we read t— translation, by
:
William M. Hennessey tory
*' He sent him across the mighty Alps, It was an illustrious course,
^s Published by the Irish Archaeological Society, in 1848.
per Gallias atque
No. 25. October, 1866. On this last word,
'^ See the " Tribes and Customs of Hy-
Fiachrach," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, p. 413. Taken from a fragment of St.
"
Patrick's Life, as found in the Breac. "
Leabhar
xiii. , pp. 409 to 468, in the "Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Asso- elation of Irelan,d" vol. iv.
thirty years old, in all likelihood ; since the
Council of Agde required that age, for the
ordination of priests, as well as of bishops.
"
Presbyterium vel episcopura ante triginta annos, id est, antequam ad viri perfect! aitatem perveniat, nu—llus metropolitanorum ordinare priEsumat. " "Canon," xvii. It would also accord well with the probabili- ties of chronology, as referring to our saint. Long beforg th^ Council of Neocaesarea,
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxv. , p. 38. Again, according to the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , p. 121, "annum jam astatis attingens trigessimum. "
55 See Sir James Ware's "Opuscula S.
Patricii," Confessio, p. II.
5* Such as Fiach's Hymn, the Second
Life, and the Fourth Life,
in words. " '^'^ Thus do we
5?
anonymous writer of his Life, in three Books,
' He who his gave
jjuch is the statement made, by the
"
xvii. , p. 835. Jocelyn has it, "cum B.
as cited by Ussher, in his
Primordia," cap.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 509
while the more probable accounts state, that he lived four years,58 in the cele- brated monastery, at Tours. ss In various tracts, St. Patrick's repairing to Tours, and there spendmg four years, we find placed, before the time of his going under the direction of St. German of Auxerre. Others invert the order of his studies. ^" A legendary account states, how an angel said to Martin, that Patrick should go to the island of Tamara. ^^ This seems to have been that island, where hermits dwelt, between the mountain and the sea. ^^ Jocelyn commemorates this vision of the angel to St. Martin. He says, however, that it was St. Martin himself, who was commanded to go to Tamara, while St. Patrick returned to the Blessed Germanus, with whom he spent some
days. ^3
The Bollandists state, under the year 414, that St. Patrick attached him-
self to Amator, then Bishop of Auxerre,^+ and, that he had been for some time
there, with that prelate.
This is not improbable, and we might suspect, that
^s
Probus^^ relates, that St. Patrick had been ordained priest, by Senior, a bishop, who lived on the mountain Hermon. This lay, at the right side of the ocean. ^7 Again, he tells us, that Senior's city was protected by seven walls. ^^ Placing Patrick's ordination in 410,^9 the Bollandists follow Probus, with regard to Senior. They consider, he was bishop, perhaps of Pisa. They supposed,moreover,thatSt. PatrickhadbeenthenandthereinItaly. Ithas been thought, by others, that Probus did not allude to any part of Italy, as he
it was the by
Martino Turonensi Archiepiscopo aliquanto tempore demoratur. "
5^ See the Third Life, cap. xxii. , p. 22 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. However, after Probus gives St. Patrick
these four years of residence, the angel of
the Lord is said to have warned him, to go
among the solitaries, who made no use of
shoes, and that he remained with those
eremites for eight years. See ibid. , cap. ancient Irish phraseology. In the same XXV. Colgan's text of Probus seems to be manner, we are told, the nations of the
latter,
However,
another. Having heard of an ordination, by Amator, they possibly understood it, in re- ference to his episcopal ordination, of wliich alone they make mention.
^^
interpolated, however, to such a degree, that St. Patrick's actions have been thrown out of their original order, in this narra- tive.
East, called the South the right, and the
North the left. That rock, adjoining the
ocean southwards, must be sought for, as
Dr. Lanigan thinks, in the great promon- tory of Britany, or close to some of the bays
of Normandy. At first sight, it might seem probable, that Hermon was one of those rocks, near St. Malo. Perhaps, this was Aletum, or Alctha, a place of consider- able note, and, fi-om the patron saint, it got
59 See this matter treated, in Colgan's Fifth Appendix to the saint's Acts, chap. xi. , p. 236.
^ Thus, Colgan was induced to think, that Germanus had been our saint's first
preceptor, after his Irish captivity. See
"
Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix the name of St. Maclovius' town. After-
ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xiii. , pp. 241 to 245-
wards, it was corrupted into St. Malo. That point, where the sun rises, was considered as the leading one formerly, in fixing geo- graphical and astronomical positions. See
"
Collectanea de Rebus Hiber- nicis," vol. ii. , p. 269 and Dr. O'Brien's
" Irish at Deas. Dictionary,"
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
^9 At this time, our saint should have been, according to them, about thirty-three years of age, for they placed his birth, in A. D. 377. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xVii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. Commentarius prsevius, sect, v. , p. 522.
°'
The Third Life says, "ut irit Patricius
adTamerensemInsulam. " Seecap. xxii. ,
p. 23.
Vallancey's
''^
See tbid. , nn. 19, 20, pp. 30, 31. See
also the Fifth lib. i. Life,
cap. xvi. , p. 48. *3 See the Sixth Life, cap. xxii. , p. 66.
*5 I'his may account, for what Probus and others state, about his having been ordained bishop, by one Amator, and not long before his setting out, for the Irish
mission. Those writers, however, might have confounded one ordination with
'* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. , sect, v. , p. 522.
our saint had been ordained a
priest.
See "Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 48.
°^ Probus writes, "in dextro latere maris Oceani. " This phtase must be understood, as meaning the south side, according to tire
Sio LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
places Senior's residence near the ocean, which Dr, Lanigan considers to be the Atlantic. The whole passage is very curious, he allows, not that we are bound to believe what it contains, but because it may be worth while to searchforthatplace,towhichProbusalludes. Thename,Hermon. signifies " a a of two Celtic " and
great,"
Maeii,
thought, by
Rev. Dr. to Lanigan,
great rock," being compound
words, Her,
" rock. " 7° This rock or mount is
be the present Mont St. Michel, It might justly be called Hermon, as it is really a stupendous rock, situated in a bay, between Avranches and Dol, at the points of Normandy and Britany. It has the sea towards the north, and so close to it, that in times of high water, the rock becomes an island.
Mont St. Michel, France.
It was a celebrated place, long before that period, when Probus lived. Some writers maintain, that it was an episcopal See, even before the time of St. Maclovius. 7» Achurchhadbeenerected,onthatinsulatedrock,inhonour of St. Michael, a. d. 709, by Autbert, Bishop of Avranches. 7^ It might be objected, that there seems not to have been any town, or church, at Mont St. Michel," in St. Patrick's time. But, Probus and other ancient writers before him, not adverting to chronological dates, probably thought it had been a monastery,
'"See Bullet's sub voce, Hermon.
"
Dictionnaire Celtique,"
tohavebeenbuiltbyPateme. Hisfeastis kept, on the 15th of April. He was bishop
of Avranches, in the sixth century, and he died, A. D. 565. His Life was written, by St. Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. See the
"
Benedictine Histoire Literaire de la
France," &c. , tome iii. , vii. Siecle S. Fortunat, sect, ii. , p. 478.
'3 It is in the Department of Manche, and in the Fifth Arrondissement, of which the chief city is Avranches. This latter gave title to a bishop, from about A. D. 400, until A. D. 1 791, when the See was sup- pressed, and united to the diocese of Cou-
'' See Hadrian Valesius,
"
Notitia Gal-
liarum," &c. , at Aletum. The name of St.
Malo, together with the See, had been
transferred, in the twelfth century, to the
present St. Malo. See Pierre le Bavd's
"
Histoire de Bretagne," &c. , chap, i. , p. 7. It is situated, about a league's distance from Aletum, the ruins of which are still to be seen, under the name of Quidaleth or Gui- chaleth. See ibid,, and Martinere, at Aleth.
T Hadrian Valesius says, that it is thought
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
when our Apostle was living. It is possible, likewise, that to enhance the respectability of that holy rock, a story had been circulated, concerning our
saint having spent some time there, particularly as it was inhabited of old, by hermits, before Autbert's time. 74 He established clerics there, to sing the Divine Office.
A Benedictine monastery, in their stead, was afterwards founded, a. d. 966, by Richard, Duke of Normandy,75 and a considerable towngrewup,atthebaseandsidesoftherock. Itwasmuchresortedto,by pilgrims, and it was supplied with a numerous garrison. ? ^ Its natural strength was increased, by fortifications, in an almost impregnable manner. From the bottom upwards, various ranges of walls traversed the sides of St. Michel's rock. Including balustrades around the church, on its summit, the wallsmayfairlybecomputed,atthenumberofseven. ? ? Itmaynaturallybe objected, that it was not an episcopal See. This is easily obviated, however, on reflecting, that we often find bishops residing in monasteries, as was the case in Ireland. Here, the monastic superior was very often both bishop and abbot. No bishop, bearing the name of Senior, is to be found living at Pisa, in Italy, nor do we find any such name, among the bishops of Gaul, in St. Patrick's time. ? ^ According to Dr. Lanigan's hypothesis, the Senior of Probus is not to be taken, perhaps, as a proper name. It might be intended to "
signify,
aged,"
supposition,
that he to some spent, according
writers,
^3 to other autho- thirty, or, according
tances. See Charles Kjiight's "English Cyclopsedia," Geography, vol. i. , col. 754, and vol. iii. , col. 688.
'i* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect. X. , n. 75, pp. 164 to 167.
? s In 1622, the Benedictine monks here were united to the Congregation of St. Maur. After the French Revolution, this place was made a prison for nobles and priests. At present, however, this Abbey has been transformed into a state prison. See the Abbe Migne's " Dictionnaire des Abbayes et Monasteres," &c. , col. 563, 564.
said to have succeeded in the See of Avran- ches.
7* A deed of Lewis the
80
jjjg festival occurs, on the 26th of July, although he died on the 31st of this month, a. d. 448, after having ruled his diocese for
thirtyyearsandtwenty-fivedays. SeeRev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers,
Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. July xxvi.
*' See his " Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 837 and the following pages.
A. D. 817, names this establishment, among the great monasteries of France.
" See Martiniere, at Mont St. Michel, and also Hadrian Valesius.
'* A St. Senior, or St. Senator, was a fellow-hermit with St. Paterne, and he is
^^ See the Second Life of St. Patrick, cap.
xxii. , p. 13 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxvi. , p.
38. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,
lib. i. , cap, xxxiii. , p. 122, we have a nearly similar account,
^* But Colgan shows, in his notes, the in-
or "
on the
that in the west of a Gaul,
old,"
monastic state of living then prevailed, similar to that subsequently brought
into Ireland. 79
The saintly Bishop of Auxerre, Germanus, was born at Auxerre of noble parents, about the year 380. ^° He was a mere layman, for several years after St. Patrick's first return from Ireland to Gaul. The Emperor Honorius created Germanus a Duke, and a military leader, in his own province. After- wards, he embraced the clerical state, and he became a bright ornament of the Gallic Church. From a secular administration, he was appointed to succeed Amator, who died on the ist of May, a. d. 418. Until this year, therefore, St. Patrick could not have become his disciple ; and, many think their first interview took place, during that very year, when Bishop Germanus had been consecrated. Yet, led astray by some passages in Ussher's work,^^ Colgan places our saint, at Rome, under the tuition of Germanus, so far back asA. D. 396. Then,heisbroughttoSt. Martin. Othersstate,thatPatrick wasthirtyyearsofage,whenhecametoGermanus. ^'' Oneaccounthasit,
Pious,
and dated
^= See the Fourth
Life, cap. xxvii. , p. 38.
" Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iv. ,
79 See Rev. Dr. sect, x. , n. 45, p. 167.
Lanigan's
512 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
rities, forty years with St. Germanus,^* while he was employed, in diligently studying the Holy Scriptures. However, the Third Life states,^5 that Patrick was only four years with St. Gernianus, and, that then he lived nine years, in an island, called Tamerensis. Afterwards, it is said, he went to Rome.
Again, St. Erric of Auxerre speaks of eighteen years, as all passed by St. Patrick, under St. German. ^^ Many who wrote after his time adopt this statement. Rigorously taken, however, this could not be true. From the words of Erric of Auxerre, it might be inferred, that St. Patrick was the con- stant companion of St. Germanus. ^7 It was during this time, that our Apostle is said to have got the name of Magonius, or, as Nennius has it, Maun. ^^ Not in Gaul alone, but likewise in Italy, St. Patrick is introduced, as being under the guidance of St. Germanus,^? who spent much of his time, withtheimperialruleratRavenna. Here,too,hedied,andSt. Patrickwas probably under his guidance there, as in many other places, where he may have received instruction. This seems consistent, with what we read, in various tracts. 9° He is said to have crossed the mighty Alps,? ^ and to have visited the south-east of Italy, to learn wisdom and religion, from the Bishop Germanus. 9^ By one learned authority, it has been advanced, that the four years of St. Patrick, passed in St. Martin's monastery, should precede those years he spent in the island. 93 And next, in chronological order, ought to follow those other four years, he remained under the immediate direction of St. Germanus. Thus, it might happen, at thirty years, that Patrick could have placed himself, under the guidance of so holy a bishop, who recom- mended him to study in a suitable place, and who afterwards received his missionary services, until the Irish mission had been thought deserving our Apostle's ultimate charge. The practical duties of a pastor and the adminis- tration of the sacraments were a necessary part of this preparation. 9<
In the Irish version of Nennius95 it is said, that Patrick went southwards to study, and that he read the Canon with Germanus. ? ^ Other Acts of the
Until he left him with Germanus, Southwards in the south of Letha. "
—
^* These might in some manner be ac-
counted for, as being added to 414, they there is added this ancient gloss :
correctness of such an assertion. See cap. xxii. , and nn. 26, 28, pp. 13, 17, "Trias Thaumaturga. "
*s See cap. xxi. , xxii. , pp. 22, 23.
"Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. ,
make 432, the presumed date when St. Patrick commenced his mission in Ireland.
*7 See " De Miraculis S. Germani," lib. i. , cap. xii.
^'^
If there be any truth in this stoiy, it has been conjectured, that Maun might be the same as Maen, a rock, by which metaphori-
Italia ubi fuit Germanus. " See p. 9.
cal
St. Patrick
may
have been
'^xhediversitiesof narrative and the chro-
— difficulties found in St. Patrick's nological
—Acts especially in reference to this period have induced the Rev. John Francis Shearman and other writers to suppose, that those statements must have reference to more Patricks than to the traditional
appellation, recognised.
*9 Probus, who has been classed among
the most accurate of our Apostle's biogra-
phers, represents him, as having been in Gaul and Italy. Thus, our saint is made to
"
state, that he had been ""
Apostle of Ireland. See Father Shearman's per Italiam. " See Quinta Vita S. Pa- ingenious essay in Loca Patriciana,'. ' part,
tricii," lib. i. , cap. xix. , p. 48.
'° See Ussher's " Primordia," cap. xvii. .
pp. 833 et seq.
9' From the Hymn of St. Fiach, " Liber
his
Hymnorum," we read t— translation, by
:
William M. Hennessey tory
*' He sent him across the mighty Alps, It was an illustrious course,
^s Published by the Irish Archaeological Society, in 1848.
per Gallias atque
No. 25. October, 1866. On this last word,
'^ See the " Tribes and Customs of Hy-
Fiachrach," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, p. 413. Taken from a fragment of St.
"
Patrick's Life, as found in the Breac. "
Leabhar
xiii. , pp. 409 to 468, in the "Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Asso- elation of Irelan,d" vol. iv.
