See also the " Old
Statistical
Account of Scotland," vol.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
"^ It seems, probably owing to his connexion with St David, "9 that the clergy of Menevia claimed Ferns^^o as a suffragan bishopric of St.
David's.
'31 The Welsh were fond of using the name of ^dan or Maidoc or Madoc,'3» and many celebrated characters among them bore this Christian appellation.
'33 Traces of his memory are also retained in Pembrokeshire.
'34 There he is the reputed founder of Llanhuadain, or Llawhaden, in that county ;^3S while the churches of Nolton and West-Haroldston are ascribed to him, under the name of Madog.
's^
We have no record of his visiting Scotland, although his memory was vividlypreservedinthatcountry. IntheBreviaryofAberdeen,'37St. Aedan of Ferns is called Modoc, and he is commemorated there with a short notice and collect. In the Kalendar'38 of that ancient see,'39 his feast is likewise
"" 9,11. (a). '3' See Ussher's Works," vol v. , Bri-
of the Rev. Alban Butler," etc. ,
»^See Rees' "Essays on the Welsh tannicanmi Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap.
p.
"5 John of Teignmouth and his copyist, Capgrave, state that at St. Divid's Church,
Menevia, Moedok was singularly honoured. "* See Ussher's " Works," vol. vi. " Bri- tannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap.
xvii. , p. 536.
"' The Wexford people, in like manner,
had a great veneration for St. David, "as the teacher of their patron, Saint Mogue. "
Saints," p. 228.
v. , p. 113:
'32 See the Rev. William Warrington's
"History of Wales," vol. i. , book iv. , p. 305 ; book v. , pp. 409 to 413 ; book vi. , pp. 469 to 485, and 505, 506, and vol. ii. , book ix. , pp. 332 to 340.
'33 ihe son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of Korth Wales in the twelfth century. Ma- doc is said to have embarked with a few
"
he traversed the ocean, until he arrived by ac- cident upon the coast of America. " See ibid. y vol. i. , book vi. , pp. 505, 506. The adventures of this Welsh prince are most imaginatively wedded to verse, in Robert
"
Madoc. "
'3'* This division of Wales lies nearest to Ireland. It contains seven hundreds and 145 parishes. See a description of this shire in F. Ennis' " Complete System of ModemGeography,"etc Wales,pp. 615,
616. Dublin, 1816, 4to.
'35 See Rees' "Essay on the Welsh
Saints,"p. 227. Thecivilandecclesiastical antiquities of Llanhauaden are described very
''
Cambrian Travel- lers' Guide, in every Direction," etc. , cols.
955. 956.
'3* See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
vol. vii. , p. 401. Nolton is very fully de-
"
scribed in the
in every Direction," col. 1245. The parish of Harroklston West is situated six miles westofHaverfordWest. Itspopulationis limited. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vi. , p. 819.
"
'37 In the
31st, he is mentioned as " Sanctus Modocus epyscopus et confessor eximius apud Kil- modok. "
'3' He wa§ venerated as a bishop and con- fessor, with an office of ix. Lessons. See in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 112.
'39 See "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 261,
See J. T. Gilbert's
History of the Vice-
the learned writer in the "
"
ships, and leaving Ireland to the north,
roy? of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 19.
"'This is clearly a mistake, and must
only be attributable to some Welsh roman-
cist, anxious to appropriate for his province the renown of this saint's nativity. In the Life of St. Gildas, at the 29th of this month, as we have already seen, this latter is stated tohavebeenthesonofCaw. Seechap. i.
'^In the gloss to the " Feilire " of St.
iEngus, at the 31st of January, in the "Leab- har Breac," we learn, that from the time of David no flesh meat was allowed into the refectory of Cill-Muine, until it was brought thither by the Comorb of Moedhoc of Ferns. It was contrary to rule, however, that he who did so should have joint-seat with David, or continue in the abbacy of Cill-Muine, or that his feet should touch the floor of its refectory
"
so long as he lived. See Irish Ecclesias-
ticalRecord,"vol. vii. , p. 395.
'30 But is alleged, that incidents related
rather reverse the order of facts. In allu- ""
sion to the Feilire gloss, already quoted,
"
Irish Ecclesiasti- cal Recorl avers: "That Menevia was suffragan to Ferns would assuredly be far more consonant with the facts above stated ; for these manifestly imply that, after the death of St. David, special reverence was shown by his monastery to his loved dis- ciple, St. Aid. in, and that also the succes- sors of our saint in the see of Ferns received particular honour in Menevia, being reputed the heirs or—comharbs of its holy founder,
St. David. " Ibid,, pp. 395, 396.
Southey's fine poem, called
circumstantially, in the
Cambrian Travellers' Guide,
Proprium Sanctorum," at Jan.
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. , 579
entered. '*** The present St. Modock, or perhaps some other of the name, bishop, who was venerated at Kihuodock, in Scotland, on this day, appears
to have been unconsciously appropriated'*' as a Scotsman by birth, because his feast has been thus set down in some of the Scottish calendars. Kilma-
docK, or Kilmodoc,'** where a church and monastery dedicated to St. Ma-
docus stood, is now quite demolished. This is a large parish in Menteith, in the south of Perthshire, north-west of Stirling. Its name is believed to signify the Chapel of St. Madock, Madocus, or Modocus, one of the Culdees. '*3 A manse and glebe are still there, while most of the ancient families bury in
A great error has been committed by a writer, who styles Gallic missionary,"'*^ Balmadies, an estate in the south- east end of Rescobie parish, in Forfarshire, is perhaps called after St. Mai-
doc. '*^ The cemetery is at Chapeltown. '*? Perhaps a very smal—l parish,
the graveyard. '** the patron here a
"
—e, which lies south-east of Perth St. Madoes,'*^ in the Carse of Gowri
as it
or, iscommonlycalled,Semmidores,'*? maybelongtothepatronsaintofKilma- dock. The name is written in early records St. Madois, and is commonly
"
dores. " There is an ancient monument here called the St. Madois Stone, of
called Semmiedores in the district, where are
the stannin stanes o' Semmie-
which a is in " The drawing given
Sculptured
Stones of Scotland. "'s°
Still,
probably,itreferstoSt. Madianus,thecompanionofSt. Boniface. 'S' King's=»
very strangely and incorrectly places Blessed Maidoc's existence, in the early
part of the fourth century. 'S3 Dempster is equally at fault, by adding some
particulars to his account of Medothus. 's* These never had any real exis- tence but in his own imagination. In a like manner, at the 31st of January, Camerarius relates, that St. Modoc, bishop and confessor, was distinguished for the sanctity of his life, and f—or his miracles, in that part of Scotland, which
'ss
from him was called Kilmodok a place sacred to Modoc. The Kalendar
where entries from the Aberdeen Martyr- land," vol. xiv. , p. 602. "New Statistic*
ology are to be found.
9 '^°See likewise the Martyrology of 607.
Aberdeen. " Ibid. , p. 128.
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, A. D. Lxxx—Dcccxviii. " Book ii. , p. 161. This is one—and not the least valuable—among the many admirable historic volumes of the Spaulding Club, —in Scotland. Prom the
to — when the Club was for- year 1S40 1871
mally dissolved thirty-eight 4to volumes had been published. An account of these
will be found in the concluding volume,
land," vol. iii. ,
'*» See "New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land. " Perth ; pp. 607, 624.
'5° See " New Statistical Account of Scot-
land," vol. X. , pp. 607, 624, 626. Stuart's
magnificent and valuable work was pub-
lished the Club. See
by Spalding plates
of
Iv. , Ivi. , and notices the plates, p. 16.
'5' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'5= This writer observes at his " S. day,
Modoche, bishop of Scotland under Crath-
lintus, king, 328. "
'53 See the Bollandists' remarks on this
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Aidani. Prremium,
nil.
'54 He is said to have flourished about the
year 312, more than two centuries before Maidoc's Ijirth ; to have presided over the
Scottish Church, during its infancy ; and to have been elected to the episcopacj', by the Culdees, without having any fixed see as-
"
signed to him. See the Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. xii. , n. 850. '55 Nothing is known about him according to Camerarius, except what is in a Latin
" Notices of the
Spaulding Club,
with the
Annual Reports, List of Members and
Works printed for the Club, 1839-71. "
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. XXV. , p. 161.
'*3 " New Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. X. , p. 1224.
See also the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xx. , pp. 40, 92.
"""Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. XX. , p. 81.
'•*3See "Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. iii. , p. 568.
'*^ See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'*' See " Old Statistical Account of Scot-
subject in the
"
Account of Scotland," vol. xi. , parti. , p. '^''See "Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
sec. 6,
p.
p. 568.
58o • LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
of Drummond,^s6 has an entry regarding this saint, whose veneration is re- ferredtoIreland. Withsingularincorrectness,astatementhasbeenmade,^s7 that St. Maedoc,^s8 Bishop of Ferns, was the first founder of Melrose monas- tery,^59onthebanksoftheTweedinScotland. Thismistakeh—asoriginated,
We have only submitted an abridged biography of this illustrious prelate,
andyetwearereluctantlyobligedtoclosewiththepresentparagraph. That very old vellum book,^^^ which is still accessible,'^^' states, ^^3 how Maedhog of Ferns, in habits and in life, was like unto Cornelius the Pope. '*^* This
latter holy pontiff and martyr passed through all the successive grades of Orders, in all of which he served the Lord faithfully. He was remarkable
for his humility, virginal purity, modesty, meekness, fidelity, and zeal. ^^5 Endowed with like virtues, our saint was the contemporary and companion of various holy persons. The Bollandists remark,^^^ that besides Maidoc having been mentioned in the Acts of St. Lasrian or Molassius^^? of Devenish, his name likewise occurs in those of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore,'^^ and of St. Colman Elo,^^9 not to speak of many other great men. Throughout Ireland, as in more distant countries, the memory of holy Bishop Maidoc appears to have been held in extraordinary veneration. This may well be allowed, when we consider the many places and objects, more or less con- nected with his name. It shall long live in honoured remembrance, on earth as in heaven, the inheritance and the pledge of piety and fidelity for
past and present supernatural favours.
Article II. —St. Mochumma or Documma, Bishop of Inis Mahee,
County of Down. [Probably in the Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh Century. ] In his own quaint and peculiar phraseology, a celebrated modern ^vriter has
from the
of Lindisfarne was its first bishop and abbot. "^°
owever, h—
generally
received that St. Aidan a namesake account,
prayer found in the Breviary of Aberdeen and in the Chronicle of Scone. It may thus be rendered in English: "Grant, we be- seech Thee, Almighty God, through the intercession of Thy blessed confessor and bishop, Modoc, that our bodies may be delivered from all adversities, and that our minds may be cleansed from all evil thoughts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. , etc. See " De Statu Hominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae et Sanctis Regni Scotise," liber i. , pars, ii. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 139.
'5*Thuswereadattheii. oftheFebruary
"
Kalends (January 31st),
tale Sancti Aedse Episcopi et Sanctus Mael
Monastery of old Melrose, and the Town and Parish of Melrose," by James A. Wade,
gives a most interesting historical, descrip- tive, and architectural account of this cele-
brated locality, in xiv. chapters, pp. 400.
*^
See z3/<3? . , chap, ii. , p. 83.
'*' Allusion is made to the leaves abstracted
from the Book of Leinster, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which are now in the Franciscan Library, Dublin,
'**
In it are to be found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tamlacht, and many other matters relating to the saints and to their mothers.
'*3 See Dr. Todd's and Dr. Reeves'
an faid commemorantur. — See Kalen- "
Martyrology of Donegal, pp. 32, 33.
'** His feast occurs at the i6th of Sep- tember.
'*5 gee an account of the pontificate and martyrdom of this illustrious Pope, in Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. ix. September xvi.
darium Drummondiense. Bishop Forbes'
"
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4.
'57 On the authority of "Master Fox,"
according to Dr. Hanmer's Ireland," p. 126.
*'
Chronicle of
'58 Who " builded the Monastery o—f Mel-
rose, by the flood of the Tweed. " John
D'Alton's "History of Ireland, from the
earliest period to the year 1245, when the
'^^
xxxi. Januarii. Prcemium ad Acta S. Ae- dani, sec. 10, p. 1 1 12.
'
Annals of Boyle,' which are adopted and
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , '*' Venerated at the 12th of September,
embodied as the running text authority, terminate," vol. ii. , p. 95, n (a).
'59 A beautifully illustrated work, "His- tory of St. Mary's Abbey, Melrose, the
'^
See his life at the 7th of June.
'''See his life, which occurs at the 26th
of September.
In Hibernia na-
""""
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 581
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a.
We have no record of his visiting Scotland, although his memory was vividlypreservedinthatcountry. IntheBreviaryofAberdeen,'37St. Aedan of Ferns is called Modoc, and he is commemorated there with a short notice and collect. In the Kalendar'38 of that ancient see,'39 his feast is likewise
"" 9,11. (a). '3' See Ussher's Works," vol v. , Bri-
of the Rev. Alban Butler," etc. ,
»^See Rees' "Essays on the Welsh tannicanmi Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap.
p.
"5 John of Teignmouth and his copyist, Capgrave, state that at St. Divid's Church,
Menevia, Moedok was singularly honoured. "* See Ussher's " Works," vol. vi. " Bri- tannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap.
xvii. , p. 536.
"' The Wexford people, in like manner,
had a great veneration for St. David, "as the teacher of their patron, Saint Mogue. "
Saints," p. 228.
v. , p. 113:
'32 See the Rev. William Warrington's
"History of Wales," vol. i. , book iv. , p. 305 ; book v. , pp. 409 to 413 ; book vi. , pp. 469 to 485, and 505, 506, and vol. ii. , book ix. , pp. 332 to 340.
'33 ihe son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of Korth Wales in the twelfth century. Ma- doc is said to have embarked with a few
"
he traversed the ocean, until he arrived by ac- cident upon the coast of America. " See ibid. y vol. i. , book vi. , pp. 505, 506. The adventures of this Welsh prince are most imaginatively wedded to verse, in Robert
"
Madoc. "
'3'* This division of Wales lies nearest to Ireland. It contains seven hundreds and 145 parishes. See a description of this shire in F. Ennis' " Complete System of ModemGeography,"etc Wales,pp. 615,
616. Dublin, 1816, 4to.
'35 See Rees' "Essay on the Welsh
Saints,"p. 227. Thecivilandecclesiastical antiquities of Llanhauaden are described very
''
Cambrian Travel- lers' Guide, in every Direction," etc. , cols.
955. 956.
'3* See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
vol. vii. , p. 401. Nolton is very fully de-
"
scribed in the
in every Direction," col. 1245. The parish of Harroklston West is situated six miles westofHaverfordWest. Itspopulationis limited. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vi. , p. 819.
"
'37 In the
31st, he is mentioned as " Sanctus Modocus epyscopus et confessor eximius apud Kil- modok. "
'3' He wa§ venerated as a bishop and con- fessor, with an office of ix. Lessons. See in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 112.
'39 See "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 261,
See J. T. Gilbert's
History of the Vice-
the learned writer in the "
"
ships, and leaving Ireland to the north,
roy? of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 19.
"'This is clearly a mistake, and must
only be attributable to some Welsh roman-
cist, anxious to appropriate for his province the renown of this saint's nativity. In the Life of St. Gildas, at the 29th of this month, as we have already seen, this latter is stated tohavebeenthesonofCaw. Seechap. i.
'^In the gloss to the " Feilire " of St.
iEngus, at the 31st of January, in the "Leab- har Breac," we learn, that from the time of David no flesh meat was allowed into the refectory of Cill-Muine, until it was brought thither by the Comorb of Moedhoc of Ferns. It was contrary to rule, however, that he who did so should have joint-seat with David, or continue in the abbacy of Cill-Muine, or that his feet should touch the floor of its refectory
"
so long as he lived. See Irish Ecclesias-
ticalRecord,"vol. vii. , p. 395.
'30 But is alleged, that incidents related
rather reverse the order of facts. In allu- ""
sion to the Feilire gloss, already quoted,
"
Irish Ecclesiasti- cal Recorl avers: "That Menevia was suffragan to Ferns would assuredly be far more consonant with the facts above stated ; for these manifestly imply that, after the death of St. David, special reverence was shown by his monastery to his loved dis- ciple, St. Aid. in, and that also the succes- sors of our saint in the see of Ferns received particular honour in Menevia, being reputed the heirs or—comharbs of its holy founder,
St. David. " Ibid,, pp. 395, 396.
Southey's fine poem, called
circumstantially, in the
Cambrian Travellers' Guide,
Proprium Sanctorum," at Jan.
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. , 579
entered. '*** The present St. Modock, or perhaps some other of the name, bishop, who was venerated at Kihuodock, in Scotland, on this day, appears
to have been unconsciously appropriated'*' as a Scotsman by birth, because his feast has been thus set down in some of the Scottish calendars. Kilma-
docK, or Kilmodoc,'** where a church and monastery dedicated to St. Ma-
docus stood, is now quite demolished. This is a large parish in Menteith, in the south of Perthshire, north-west of Stirling. Its name is believed to signify the Chapel of St. Madock, Madocus, or Modocus, one of the Culdees. '*3 A manse and glebe are still there, while most of the ancient families bury in
A great error has been committed by a writer, who styles Gallic missionary,"'*^ Balmadies, an estate in the south- east end of Rescobie parish, in Forfarshire, is perhaps called after St. Mai-
doc. '*^ The cemetery is at Chapeltown. '*? Perhaps a very smal—l parish,
the graveyard. '** the patron here a
"
—e, which lies south-east of Perth St. Madoes,'*^ in the Carse of Gowri
as it
or, iscommonlycalled,Semmidores,'*? maybelongtothepatronsaintofKilma- dock. The name is written in early records St. Madois, and is commonly
"
dores. " There is an ancient monument here called the St. Madois Stone, of
called Semmiedores in the district, where are
the stannin stanes o' Semmie-
which a is in " The drawing given
Sculptured
Stones of Scotland. "'s°
Still,
probably,itreferstoSt. Madianus,thecompanionofSt. Boniface. 'S' King's=»
very strangely and incorrectly places Blessed Maidoc's existence, in the early
part of the fourth century. 'S3 Dempster is equally at fault, by adding some
particulars to his account of Medothus. 's* These never had any real exis- tence but in his own imagination. In a like manner, at the 31st of January, Camerarius relates, that St. Modoc, bishop and confessor, was distinguished for the sanctity of his life, and f—or his miracles, in that part of Scotland, which
'ss
from him was called Kilmodok a place sacred to Modoc. The Kalendar
where entries from the Aberdeen Martyr- land," vol. xiv. , p. 602. "New Statistic*
ology are to be found.
9 '^°See likewise the Martyrology of 607.
Aberdeen. " Ibid. , p. 128.
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, A. D. Lxxx—Dcccxviii. " Book ii. , p. 161. This is one—and not the least valuable—among the many admirable historic volumes of the Spaulding Club, —in Scotland. Prom the
to — when the Club was for- year 1S40 1871
mally dissolved thirty-eight 4to volumes had been published. An account of these
will be found in the concluding volume,
land," vol. iii. ,
'*» See "New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land. " Perth ; pp. 607, 624.
'5° See " New Statistical Account of Scot-
land," vol. X. , pp. 607, 624, 626. Stuart's
magnificent and valuable work was pub-
lished the Club. See
by Spalding plates
of
Iv. , Ivi. , and notices the plates, p. 16.
'5' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'5= This writer observes at his " S. day,
Modoche, bishop of Scotland under Crath-
lintus, king, 328. "
'53 See the Bollandists' remarks on this
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Aidani. Prremium,
nil.
'54 He is said to have flourished about the
year 312, more than two centuries before Maidoc's Ijirth ; to have presided over the
Scottish Church, during its infancy ; and to have been elected to the episcopacj', by the Culdees, without having any fixed see as-
"
signed to him. See the Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. xii. , n. 850. '55 Nothing is known about him according to Camerarius, except what is in a Latin
" Notices of the
Spaulding Club,
with the
Annual Reports, List of Members and
Works printed for the Club, 1839-71. "
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. XXV. , p. 161.
'*3 " New Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. X. , p. 1224.
See also the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xx. , pp. 40, 92.
"""Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. XX. , p. 81.
'•*3See "Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. iii. , p. 568.
'*^ See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'*' See " Old Statistical Account of Scot-
subject in the
"
Account of Scotland," vol. xi. , parti. , p. '^''See "Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
sec. 6,
p.
p. 568.
58o • LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
of Drummond,^s6 has an entry regarding this saint, whose veneration is re- ferredtoIreland. Withsingularincorrectness,astatementhasbeenmade,^s7 that St. Maedoc,^s8 Bishop of Ferns, was the first founder of Melrose monas- tery,^59onthebanksoftheTweedinScotland. Thismistakeh—asoriginated,
We have only submitted an abridged biography of this illustrious prelate,
andyetwearereluctantlyobligedtoclosewiththepresentparagraph. That very old vellum book,^^^ which is still accessible,'^^' states, ^^3 how Maedhog of Ferns, in habits and in life, was like unto Cornelius the Pope. '*^* This
latter holy pontiff and martyr passed through all the successive grades of Orders, in all of which he served the Lord faithfully. He was remarkable
for his humility, virginal purity, modesty, meekness, fidelity, and zeal. ^^5 Endowed with like virtues, our saint was the contemporary and companion of various holy persons. The Bollandists remark,^^^ that besides Maidoc having been mentioned in the Acts of St. Lasrian or Molassius^^? of Devenish, his name likewise occurs in those of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore,'^^ and of St. Colman Elo,^^9 not to speak of many other great men. Throughout Ireland, as in more distant countries, the memory of holy Bishop Maidoc appears to have been held in extraordinary veneration. This may well be allowed, when we consider the many places and objects, more or less con- nected with his name. It shall long live in honoured remembrance, on earth as in heaven, the inheritance and the pledge of piety and fidelity for
past and present supernatural favours.
Article II. —St. Mochumma or Documma, Bishop of Inis Mahee,
County of Down. [Probably in the Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh Century. ] In his own quaint and peculiar phraseology, a celebrated modern ^vriter has
from the
of Lindisfarne was its first bishop and abbot. "^°
owever, h—
generally
received that St. Aidan a namesake account,
prayer found in the Breviary of Aberdeen and in the Chronicle of Scone. It may thus be rendered in English: "Grant, we be- seech Thee, Almighty God, through the intercession of Thy blessed confessor and bishop, Modoc, that our bodies may be delivered from all adversities, and that our minds may be cleansed from all evil thoughts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. , etc. See " De Statu Hominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae et Sanctis Regni Scotise," liber i. , pars, ii. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 139.
'5*Thuswereadattheii. oftheFebruary
"
Kalends (January 31st),
tale Sancti Aedse Episcopi et Sanctus Mael
Monastery of old Melrose, and the Town and Parish of Melrose," by James A. Wade,
gives a most interesting historical, descrip- tive, and architectural account of this cele-
brated locality, in xiv. chapters, pp. 400.
*^
See z3/<3? . , chap, ii. , p. 83.
'*' Allusion is made to the leaves abstracted
from the Book of Leinster, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which are now in the Franciscan Library, Dublin,
'**
In it are to be found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tamlacht, and many other matters relating to the saints and to their mothers.
'*3 See Dr. Todd's and Dr. Reeves'
an faid commemorantur. — See Kalen- "
Martyrology of Donegal, pp. 32, 33.
'** His feast occurs at the i6th of Sep- tember.
'*5 gee an account of the pontificate and martyrdom of this illustrious Pope, in Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. ix. September xvi.
darium Drummondiense. Bishop Forbes'
"
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4.
'57 On the authority of "Master Fox,"
according to Dr. Hanmer's Ireland," p. 126.
*'
Chronicle of
'58 Who " builded the Monastery o—f Mel-
rose, by the flood of the Tweed. " John
D'Alton's "History of Ireland, from the
earliest period to the year 1245, when the
'^^
xxxi. Januarii. Prcemium ad Acta S. Ae- dani, sec. 10, p. 1 1 12.
'
Annals of Boyle,' which are adopted and
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , '*' Venerated at the 12th of September,
embodied as the running text authority, terminate," vol. ii. , p. 95, n (a).
'59 A beautifully illustrated work, "His- tory of St. Mary's Abbey, Melrose, the
'^
See his life at the 7th of June.
'''See his life, which occurs at the 26th
of September.
In Hibernia na-
""""
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 581
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a.
