The feast of this saint is set down at the 3rd of July, in the enlarged edition of
Usuard's Martyrology; also, in a Manuscript Catalogue of the Saints ofScot- x
land ; as likewise, in the Breviary of Aberdeen.
Usuard's Martyrology; also, in a Manuscript Catalogue of the Saints ofScot- x
land ; as likewise, in the Breviary of Aberdeen.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
German's Cathedral, Isle of Man.
St. Germanus is said to have laboured in the work of his ministry, until the time of his death, in the Isle of Man. 35 On St. Patrick's return from Britain, he visited the islands, in order to gain them over to Christ. In par- ticular, he preached the Christian faith with great success in the Isle ofMan. 36 Nevertheless, it is thought, that he left mainly to Germanus the task of com- pleting his mission. The date for St. German's death has been assigned to a. d. 474. 37 In the ancient Martyrologies, however, we are at a loss to dis- cover the name of this Germanus. On this day, July 3rd, his festivity is usually recorded. 38 St. Patrick consecrated two others of his disciples, St.
30 See Grose's "Antiquities of England," toI. vi.
dimensions are minutely given, in J. L. Petit's paper, already mentioned.
32 A ground plan of the cathedral church of St. German in Peel Castle in the Isle of Man, as also an effective copperplate engrav-
1775, may
Wales ; or Delineations, Topographical, script Chronicle of that Island.
of that ruined taken in
See vol. " Peveril of the Peak. " vii. ,
ing
be found in
fane,
The Beauties of England and
"
Historical and Descriptive," vol. ii. , The Isle of Man, pp. 288, 289.
33 See Gough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 703.
36 This account is confirmed, by a Manu-
34 A well-executed wood
ancient church and the round tower may be
des iii c Saints," tome viii. ,
p. 2.
Les Vies Juillet,
engraving
of this
Jour
Petit for the
Archaeological Journal," enti-
however, the angles, window-
seen prefixed to the article, written by J. L.
"
tled Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Isle of
Man, vol. iii. , p. 49.
35 Several beautiful illustrations of this
Island may be found, in the Abbotsford edi-
tion of Sir Walter Scott's Waverly Novels.
37 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," Index Chronologicus,
A. D. CCCCLXIV. , p. 522.
38 See Les Petits Bollandistes,
" de
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 41
Conindrius39 and St. Romulus4° to be Bishops of Man, when our saint
After their death these were succeeded by St.
1 Macaldus. 42
his sanctity and for his miracles. These were the first fathers and founders of the church, which was established in the Isle of Man, by our great Apostle. In later times, and after the Reformation, while the Protestant Bishops of Sodor and Man «3 became suffragans to the Archbishop of York, the Catholics on the Island were subjects of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin; in the present century, however, they have been annexed to the See of Liver- pool, England.
ArticleII. —St. Guthagon,Confessor,inBelgium. [Probablyin
the Eighth Ctntury. '] Incidentally we are informed, that the Belgian
Flemings were formerly accustomed to bestow the name of Scots on strangers
to their own country, and who differed from the Belgians in manners and
passed away to bliss.
Maguil,*
After conversion, this latter was eminent for prelate
customs much after the habit of the Romans, who called all other extern ;
——
people except those living in Italy or Greece by the depreciating title of
1 barbari or "barbarians. " Wherefore, an insinuation is conveyed, that
several of the Belgian saints called Scoti may have been strangers only, and not necessarily natives either of Ireland or Scotland. However, in the pre-
sent case, no argument is sought to be drawn against the generally received
statement, that Guthagon had been a native of Scotia ; whether of the greater
or lesser Scotia has been controverted, but it is left to the decis—ion of the
investigator. The—most ancient authority for St. Guthagon's Acts briefly as
theyarerecorded seemstohavebeenanoldoffice,belongingtothechurch
at Oostkerke, near Bruges, in Belgium. From it, Jean Ver-Meulen,2 better
known by the Latinized form of Molanus, probably copied that relation of
the present saint in his Indiculus of the holy persons connected with the
Netherlands. Notices of St. Guthagon are to be found, likewise, in the
"
Natales Sanctorum Belgii et eorum Chronologica Recapitulatio," at the 3rd of July. 3 Jean Cousin, also denominated Canonicus Joannes Cognatus, has copiedfromhim/whathadbeenrelatedaboutthepresentholyman. The
Bollandists s have some particulars regarding this saint, and prefixed in a commentary6 oftenparagraphs,toanofficereadinthechurchatOostkerk. Therearenoticesofhim,atthe3rdofJuly,byBishopChallenor. ? Atthis date,also,heiscommemoratedasarecluse,bytheRev. AlbanButler. 8 He
39 According to Colgan, he is more cor- rectly to be named Condirius, who is vene- rated in our Irish Calendars, at the 17th of November. See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, nn. 63, 64, p. 50.
2 He was born at Lille, A. D. 1553, and
being distinguished as a learned theologian and ecclesiastical historian in the University
of Louvain, he died prematurely, on the 1 8th
of September, 1585. See an account ofhim 40 "
Colgan states, that he had another name, Romanus, and that his feast is to be found, at the 1 8th of November. See ibid.
41 His feast has been assigned to April 25th. At that date, his Acts are to be found in the fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
and of his works in Michaud's Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne," tome xxviii. , pp. 516, 517.
3 In two paragraphs, pp. 139, 140.
4 See " Historia Tornacensis, tomus iii. ,
p. 272.
5 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Julii
iii. De S. Confessore Oostkerae Guthagono
apud Brugas in Flandria, pp. 668 to 670.
6 Written by Father John Baptist
42 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Jocelyn's
clii. , pp. 98, 99.
cli. ,
" Sexta Vita S.
Patricii," cap.
43 The Protestant bishop of Sodor and
Man is the sole baron of the Island. See Soller, S. J.
" The Popular Encyclopedia ; or Conversa-
7 See " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , p. 8.
tions Lexicon,"—vol. iv. , p. 655. I
8 and
In his "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, other principal Saints," vol. vii. ,
Article II. By Father John Baptist Soller, S. J,
July iii.
42 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 3.
is noticed, likewise, in Les Petits Bollandistes,? at the 3rd of July. This
the Irish seem to have claims for the honour of his stronger
saint, according of Scotia.
to the
Belgian traditions,
king,
King
11 man; but,
was either a
As usual, the Scottish writers contend, that he was their country-
nativity in their country. He is thought to have flourished during the eighth century. Some will have it, that he journeyed to Rome ; yet, although such pilgrimages to the shrines of the Apostles and martyrs there were undertaken by the Irish, Scots and Angles, soon after their conversion to Christianity, there does not appear to have been sufficient warrant for that statement in
referencetoSt. Guthagon. Throughreligiousmotives,however,heentered onapilgrimage,andwithacompanion,namedGillon. TheyarrivedinBel- gium, but at what period is not with certainty known. They rested at a place known as Knocken or Cnokem, which was situated on the maritime shore of Flanders. Nor was it far removed from Oostkerke. This village lay near Burges, on the sea side, between it and Slusa. " There the virtuous life of St. Guthegon gave very great edification to the people of that country. Another companion, Gildulfus, is commemorated with the foregoing, and he spent an eremitical life with them, in Belgium. ^ Here, St. Guthagon led a solitary life, «4 until the time of his death. It is not known for certain, whether he died at Cnokem or at Oostkerke. However, the clergy and people of that district reverently interred his body, according to tradition in the western part of the cemetery of Oostkerke. Those holy men, Saints Guthagon and Gillon, rest at Oist-Kerke, in Flanders. After St. Guthagon's death, miracles were wrought
at his grave. Gerald, Bishop of Tournay, in the year n59, exhumed St. Guthagon's body and placed it in a feretrum. The Abbots of Aldenburg,
DunensandofQuercetanwerepresent. 15 Itwouldseem,thatatasubsequent period, towards the end of a. d. 1444, there was another translation of St.
Guthagon's remains. In the succeeding century, Jean Ver-Meulen relates, that he saw these relics kept within iron gratings in the wall of the church. It has been remarked in our saint's office, that the shrine was hardly kept in a becoming manner. The Calvinists profaned the relics of St. Guthagon after the Reformation,16 and they seem to have utterly destroyed them; nothing having remained but a tooth of the holy man, which had been trans- ferred to the collegiate church of St. Saviour, at Bruges. On the case con-
:
taining it had been inscribed these words " Dens S. Guthagonis. " In the
beginning of the last century, the tooth of St. Guthagon was kept in the church at Oostkerke, and on the 3rd day of eacli July, it was there exposed
9 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , iiie Jour de Juillet, p. I.
10
In the ancient Office of St. Guthagon, he is called King of Scotia, as also by other writers.
" Thus, at the 3rd of July, in Adam
King's "Kalendar," he is placed in the first
century, and in the following words " S. :
Guthagon sone to ye King of Scotland con-
fess. banished for ye cathol—ik faith in flan-
Oostkerke stated to Father Soller, that this village was situated " in agio Franconatensi inter Brugas et Slusam, distans ab Utraque sesquimilliari. " Before his time it was a much more important place, while it had two pastors and llnee assistants, with five thou- sand communicants, lie adds, moreover, that he knew three villages bearing the same name in Belgium, "nempe apud Brugas, apud Furnas, et in Brabantia apud Tu-
ders vnder diocletiane, 99. " Bishop Forbes' ""
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 156.
Also. at the same date, in Thomas Dempster's ""
5 See Mirseus* dici," p. 364.
Scoticum are these words "'"
Menologium
:
185. Belgici Burgun-
Oostkerkae confessoris, Guthagoni
Fasti
et
regis filii, qui divino amore tactus, regnum terre- n—um sprevit, ut cceleste obtineret B. K. ML. "
Ibid. , p. 204.
" A learned nobleman and toparch of
l6 See Bishop Sancta," part ii. , p. 8.
bise. "
I3 See Father Stephen White's Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , p. 42.
' 4 See " Circle of the Seasons/' p.
t? Printed a. d. 1509.
10 or son to a
Challenor's "Britannia
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 43
for the veneration of the faithful. Formerly, his feast was kept there with
greatsolemnity,andonit therewasanobligationforhearingMass. This, however, had been abrogated, yet a proper office for a Confessor not a Pontiff had been recited, and he was invoked as a minor patron of that place.
The feast of this saint is set down at the 3rd of July, in the enlarged edition of
Usuard's Martyrology; also, in a Manuscript Catalogue of the Saints ofScot- x
land ; as likewise, in the Breviary of Aberdeen. ? John Wilson, in his " Martyrologium Anglicanum," sets him down as an Irishman, at this day. The name of Guthagon occurs, at this date, in the anonymous Catalogue, publishedbyO'SullevanBeare,asGuthagonius. MolanusandHenryFitz-
simon set him down, as Rex et Confessor, at the Guthagonus,
18
3rd July. Again,afeasthasbeenassignedtohim,atthe1stofOctober. Thisappears
as having reference to the Translation of his Relics.
Article III. —St. Cilline or Cillen, Droicteach, Abbot of Iona, Scotland. {Eighth Century. '] Among a long line of illustrious abbots who
presided over Iona, the present holy man is classed.
In the Martyrology of
occurs. He
1 at the
is noted in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, at the
this date, the Bollandistss have noticed him, also, on the foregoing authority and on that of Sirinus. Some notices of him occur, in the work of Bishop Forbes/ ThisdistinguishedsaintderivedhisoriginfromtheraceofConall Cremthainne, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages, of the southern Hy-Neill. This saint's pedigree is thus given in the Naemhsenchas. His father's name was Dicolla, son of Cilline, son to Amalgadh, son of Feradhaigh, son to Feic,* son of Cerbaill, who was son to the aforesaid Conall Cremthainne. 6 He was born in Ireland, probably towards the close of the seventh century. The epithet, suffixed to his original name Cilline, and which was Droicteach, sig- nifying "Bridge-maker," has reference apparently to work of that kind on which he had been engaged, previous to his leaving Ireland for Scotland. It is likely, that he felt a religious inspiration to join the Columban institute in Iona, and there, too, it would seem, that he chose to live as an ancho- rite,? according to the custom of those monks, who desired to observe a very strict discipline. His virtues were so highly esteemed by that community, after the death of St. Cilline Fada, or the Tall Abbot of Iona, whick took place, a. d. 726, Cilline Droicteach was selected as his immediate successor. 8 Meanwhile, Feidhlimid or Failbhe seems to have been elected Abbot of Iona in the year 722, nor do we find that he ceased to enjoy that title, during the administrationofFaelcu,9ofCilleneFada,10 andofCillineDroicteach,until he departed this life at the very advanced age of eighty-seven years, com-
Tallagh,
3rd
of
July,
the
simply entry
of
Cilline,
Abb.
Iae,
18
Catholica Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , —xii. , pp. 50, 54.
*
Article hi. Edited by Rev. Dr.
See O'Sullevan Beare's "Historia baill, King of Ireland, who reigned 21 years, and who died a. d. 565.
Kelly, p. xxviii. 2"
Royal Irish Academy.
^ In the Annals of Tighernach and of
Ulster, he is only styled ancorita.
Thus : Kellenus cognomento Droich-
theach, virgo, miles egregius. "
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Julii iii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 631.
4 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 301.
5 He was brother to Diannait Mac Cer-
8
In a gloss on his name, in the Calendar
6
According to the Leabhar Lecain, in the
of Marianus O'Gorman, he is expressly styled -Abb 1^e ColAim cible.
9 See an account of him, in the Fourth Volume of this work, at April 3rd, Art. iv.
I0
14th, Art. iii.
of 2 At 3rd July.
For a notice of him, see ibid. , at April
44 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 3.
pleted in 759, and during the administratorship of Slebhine. Whether
Feidhlimid or Failbhe " had been the principal or only a coadjutor Abbot
over Iona cannot be gleaned with any degree of distinctness from the Irish
12
Annals.
It is thought, that owing to the circumstance of Cilline Droicteach
having chosen the rigid rule of an anchorite's state, the active duties of his
presidency, over the monastic institute of Iona, had been in a great measure
discharged by his coadjutor, Fedhlimid. He continued alive, during the pre-
sidency of Cilline Droicteach. The present hoiy man brought to Erin that
shrine of the many relics,^ which Adamnan had collected, to make peace
and friendship between the Cinel-Conaill and the Cinel-Eoghain. This
appears to have occurred in the year 727. The Relics collected by Adamnan
were returned to Iona in 730. The present saint, called Cilleine Droctigh,
anchorite of la, died on the 3rd of July, a. d. 747. I4 Other accounts have
l6 He is to have been the fourteenth abbot of reputed
a. d. J s and
12
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life
751
752.
Iona, commencing with the great founder, St. Columkille. 1 ? We have him
in the of 18 at this same Martyrology Donegal,
as Cillen
recorded,
Droichtech, Abbot of la Colum Cille.
date,
Article IV. —St. Tirechan, Bishop. {Seventh Century^ It is much to be regretted, that we know very little relating to the personal history of the present distinguished bishop, so much regarded in his day, and who was remarkable, doubtless, for his holiness of life, as for his proficiency in learn- ing. Being one of St. Patrick's early biographers should alone give him a special claim on our veneration. Marianus O'Gorman has an entry of Tire- chan, at the 3rd of July, in his Calendar. It may be supposed, that Tirechan had been a native of Cashel or of its vicinity, if he is to be confounded with a Tirechan who had gone to Rome, and who at the entreaty of his mother was recalled, at a time when St. Fechin, Abbot of Fore, had visited that city, over
2 that he was the dis- ciple of St. Ultan, who wrote the Acts of St. Patrick. He was bishop of Ard- brecain, and he died a. d. 665. 3 In the Book of Armagh are found Latin annotations on the Life of St. Patrick by Tirechan,4 and which throw some light on the source whence his narrative had been drawn. 5 Like his master
which Moenach then ruled. 1 Tirechan tells us
" He seems to have been
nbout fifty years old, and it may be, that in-
firmity or necessity obliged him to have an assistant.
himself,
l6 to the Annals of According
ofSt. Columba," Additional Notes O, pp.
38210386.
l8
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
13 Thisisthe ofa beginning
ArticleIV. —' See "Acta Colgan's
Sanctorum Hibernise," xx. Januarii, Vita
which Adamnan composed, on placing the bag,
— those containing
reliquaries,
poem
on the back of
Secunda S. 135.
2
Fechini, cap. xiv. , pp. 134,
Cillen
:
" O youth, illustrious is
The bag which thou takest on thy
back," &c.
See Very Rev. James Henthorn Todd's " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , p. 444.
3 iJis feast occurs, at the 4th of Septem- ber.
elected,
when
Tiger-
M See
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columlxe, tines on the Manuscript Materials of
Colgan's
"Trias
Thaumaturga,"
4 See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
cap. ii. , sect, v. , p. 502.
15 The " Annals of Ulster " have dated
at this
year.
Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvi. , p. 347.
it,
5 Atfol. passage :
ga,
"
we find there the
following
nach.
'? See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's
"
pp. 382 to 385.
Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes O,
184, 185.
Tirechan Episcopus
hec
scripsit
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 45
Ultan,
thissaintwrotetheActsofSt. intwobooks. 6 Weareinformed Patrick,
in these, that he was a disciple of that holy Bishop, from whose lips or from
whose book, he had composed his own work. He also tells us in it, that he
washimselfabishop,buthedoesnotstatewherehisSeehadbeen. Acopy
of this Life of St. Patrick by Tirechan is extant in the Leabhar Arda Macha,
or the Book of 7 This is Armagh.
Dr. 8 It has Jeoffry Keating.
quoted by
lately engaged the attention of an able and a learned editor,9 so that the read-
ing public shall soon have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with its contents. 10 TheseActswereinpossessionofthelearnedArchbishopUssher, who frequently quotes from them, in his valuable historic work, " De Primor- diis Ecclesiarum Britannicarum. "11 Extracts from them have also been
12
This interest- ing ancient memoir by Tirechan throws very considerable light on the early ecclesiastical history of Ireland, as also on the biography of the Irish Apostle. -3
1
According to the chronology of Tirechan, * he places the death of St. Patrick,
at a. d. 436 from the Passion, or a. d. 469 from the Nativity of Christ. He
states, likewise, that King Loiguire reigned two or five years after the Irish Apostle's decease; while he supposes the total duration of that reign, to have
reproduced, by the learned hagiologist, Father John Colgan.
15 A
hasbeen
16thatthe Abbot of
been
man
his mother. This seems to come within the range of possibility. The times agree very well. Thus, Ultan died a. d. 655, and he was contemporary with
thirty-six years.
conjecture
offered,
present holy
complied
request
by
St.
Fechin,
Fore,
to visit
St. Fechin, who
a. d. 18 The 664.
made
J 7
with a
Ardbrecain. He is thought to have flourished, about the middle of the
seventh 20 Onthe of inthe of 21 century. 3rd July, Martyrology Donegal,
appears within brackets the name of Tirechan. 32
this life, on the 20th of
present saint was a bishop, and he is said to have ruled 10 over the church of
departed
January,
ex ore vel libro Ultani — episcopi, cujus ipse
alumpnus vel discipulus fait. " Ibid. , Ap- pendix, No. cvi. , pp. 607, 608.
6 See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 23.
7 This is generally believed to be as old as 807 ; but, Eugene O'Curry deems it to be
11
See
"
the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish
older than the year 727. See
Lectures on
History," Lect. xvi. , p. 343. 8"
In his General History of Ireland. "
9 The Rev. Father Edmund Hogan, S. J. See " Vita Sancti Patricii Hibernorum
Apostoli, Auctore Muirchu Maccumachteni
et Tirechani Collectanea de S. Patricio. "
The portion already published has appeared,
" 16
in the Analecta Bollandiana," tomus i. , Fasc. iv. Edited by Fathers Carolus de Smedt, Gulielmus Van Hooff and Josephus de Backer. Paris and
royal 8vo.
10 This is the more to be desired, as Sir
William Betham has
printed the Book of Armagh, in his " Irish
Antiquarian Researches," part ii. Dublin,
1827, 8vo. It is so full of errors as to be quite useless. See Rev.
St. Germanus is said to have laboured in the work of his ministry, until the time of his death, in the Isle of Man. 35 On St. Patrick's return from Britain, he visited the islands, in order to gain them over to Christ. In par- ticular, he preached the Christian faith with great success in the Isle ofMan. 36 Nevertheless, it is thought, that he left mainly to Germanus the task of com- pleting his mission. The date for St. German's death has been assigned to a. d. 474. 37 In the ancient Martyrologies, however, we are at a loss to dis- cover the name of this Germanus. On this day, July 3rd, his festivity is usually recorded. 38 St. Patrick consecrated two others of his disciples, St.
30 See Grose's "Antiquities of England," toI. vi.
dimensions are minutely given, in J. L. Petit's paper, already mentioned.
32 A ground plan of the cathedral church of St. German in Peel Castle in the Isle of Man, as also an effective copperplate engrav-
1775, may
Wales ; or Delineations, Topographical, script Chronicle of that Island.
of that ruined taken in
See vol. " Peveril of the Peak. " vii. ,
ing
be found in
fane,
The Beauties of England and
"
Historical and Descriptive," vol. ii. , The Isle of Man, pp. 288, 289.
33 See Gough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 703.
36 This account is confirmed, by a Manu-
34 A well-executed wood
ancient church and the round tower may be
des iii c Saints," tome viii. ,
p. 2.
Les Vies Juillet,
engraving
of this
Jour
Petit for the
Archaeological Journal," enti-
however, the angles, window-
seen prefixed to the article, written by J. L.
"
tled Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Isle of
Man, vol. iii. , p. 49.
35 Several beautiful illustrations of this
Island may be found, in the Abbotsford edi-
tion of Sir Walter Scott's Waverly Novels.
37 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," Index Chronologicus,
A. D. CCCCLXIV. , p. 522.
38 See Les Petits Bollandistes,
" de
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 41
Conindrius39 and St. Romulus4° to be Bishops of Man, when our saint
After their death these were succeeded by St.
1 Macaldus. 42
his sanctity and for his miracles. These were the first fathers and founders of the church, which was established in the Isle of Man, by our great Apostle. In later times, and after the Reformation, while the Protestant Bishops of Sodor and Man «3 became suffragans to the Archbishop of York, the Catholics on the Island were subjects of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin; in the present century, however, they have been annexed to the See of Liver- pool, England.
ArticleII. —St. Guthagon,Confessor,inBelgium. [Probablyin
the Eighth Ctntury. '] Incidentally we are informed, that the Belgian
Flemings were formerly accustomed to bestow the name of Scots on strangers
to their own country, and who differed from the Belgians in manners and
passed away to bliss.
Maguil,*
After conversion, this latter was eminent for prelate
customs much after the habit of the Romans, who called all other extern ;
——
people except those living in Italy or Greece by the depreciating title of
1 barbari or "barbarians. " Wherefore, an insinuation is conveyed, that
several of the Belgian saints called Scoti may have been strangers only, and not necessarily natives either of Ireland or Scotland. However, in the pre-
sent case, no argument is sought to be drawn against the generally received
statement, that Guthagon had been a native of Scotia ; whether of the greater
or lesser Scotia has been controverted, but it is left to the decis—ion of the
investigator. The—most ancient authority for St. Guthagon's Acts briefly as
theyarerecorded seemstohavebeenanoldoffice,belongingtothechurch
at Oostkerke, near Bruges, in Belgium. From it, Jean Ver-Meulen,2 better
known by the Latinized form of Molanus, probably copied that relation of
the present saint in his Indiculus of the holy persons connected with the
Netherlands. Notices of St. Guthagon are to be found, likewise, in the
"
Natales Sanctorum Belgii et eorum Chronologica Recapitulatio," at the 3rd of July. 3 Jean Cousin, also denominated Canonicus Joannes Cognatus, has copiedfromhim/whathadbeenrelatedaboutthepresentholyman. The
Bollandists s have some particulars regarding this saint, and prefixed in a commentary6 oftenparagraphs,toanofficereadinthechurchatOostkerk. Therearenoticesofhim,atthe3rdofJuly,byBishopChallenor. ? Atthis date,also,heiscommemoratedasarecluse,bytheRev. AlbanButler. 8 He
39 According to Colgan, he is more cor- rectly to be named Condirius, who is vene- rated in our Irish Calendars, at the 17th of November. See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, nn. 63, 64, p. 50.
2 He was born at Lille, A. D. 1553, and
being distinguished as a learned theologian and ecclesiastical historian in the University
of Louvain, he died prematurely, on the 1 8th
of September, 1585. See an account ofhim 40 "
Colgan states, that he had another name, Romanus, and that his feast is to be found, at the 1 8th of November. See ibid.
41 His feast has been assigned to April 25th. At that date, his Acts are to be found in the fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
and of his works in Michaud's Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne," tome xxviii. , pp. 516, 517.
3 In two paragraphs, pp. 139, 140.
4 See " Historia Tornacensis, tomus iii. ,
p. 272.
5 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Julii
iii. De S. Confessore Oostkerae Guthagono
apud Brugas in Flandria, pp. 668 to 670.
6 Written by Father John Baptist
42 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Jocelyn's
clii. , pp. 98, 99.
cli. ,
" Sexta Vita S.
Patricii," cap.
43 The Protestant bishop of Sodor and
Man is the sole baron of the Island. See Soller, S. J.
" The Popular Encyclopedia ; or Conversa-
7 See " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , p. 8.
tions Lexicon,"—vol. iv. , p. 655. I
8 and
In his "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, other principal Saints," vol. vii. ,
Article II. By Father John Baptist Soller, S. J,
July iii.
42 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 3.
is noticed, likewise, in Les Petits Bollandistes,? at the 3rd of July. This
the Irish seem to have claims for the honour of his stronger
saint, according of Scotia.
to the
Belgian traditions,
king,
King
11 man; but,
was either a
As usual, the Scottish writers contend, that he was their country-
nativity in their country. He is thought to have flourished during the eighth century. Some will have it, that he journeyed to Rome ; yet, although such pilgrimages to the shrines of the Apostles and martyrs there were undertaken by the Irish, Scots and Angles, soon after their conversion to Christianity, there does not appear to have been sufficient warrant for that statement in
referencetoSt. Guthagon. Throughreligiousmotives,however,heentered onapilgrimage,andwithacompanion,namedGillon. TheyarrivedinBel- gium, but at what period is not with certainty known. They rested at a place known as Knocken or Cnokem, which was situated on the maritime shore of Flanders. Nor was it far removed from Oostkerke. This village lay near Burges, on the sea side, between it and Slusa. " There the virtuous life of St. Guthegon gave very great edification to the people of that country. Another companion, Gildulfus, is commemorated with the foregoing, and he spent an eremitical life with them, in Belgium. ^ Here, St. Guthagon led a solitary life, «4 until the time of his death. It is not known for certain, whether he died at Cnokem or at Oostkerke. However, the clergy and people of that district reverently interred his body, according to tradition in the western part of the cemetery of Oostkerke. Those holy men, Saints Guthagon and Gillon, rest at Oist-Kerke, in Flanders. After St. Guthagon's death, miracles were wrought
at his grave. Gerald, Bishop of Tournay, in the year n59, exhumed St. Guthagon's body and placed it in a feretrum. The Abbots of Aldenburg,
DunensandofQuercetanwerepresent. 15 Itwouldseem,thatatasubsequent period, towards the end of a. d. 1444, there was another translation of St.
Guthagon's remains. In the succeeding century, Jean Ver-Meulen relates, that he saw these relics kept within iron gratings in the wall of the church. It has been remarked in our saint's office, that the shrine was hardly kept in a becoming manner. The Calvinists profaned the relics of St. Guthagon after the Reformation,16 and they seem to have utterly destroyed them; nothing having remained but a tooth of the holy man, which had been trans- ferred to the collegiate church of St. Saviour, at Bruges. On the case con-
:
taining it had been inscribed these words " Dens S. Guthagonis. " In the
beginning of the last century, the tooth of St. Guthagon was kept in the church at Oostkerke, and on the 3rd day of eacli July, it was there exposed
9 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , iiie Jour de Juillet, p. I.
10
In the ancient Office of St. Guthagon, he is called King of Scotia, as also by other writers.
" Thus, at the 3rd of July, in Adam
King's "Kalendar," he is placed in the first
century, and in the following words " S. :
Guthagon sone to ye King of Scotland con-
fess. banished for ye cathol—ik faith in flan-
Oostkerke stated to Father Soller, that this village was situated " in agio Franconatensi inter Brugas et Slusam, distans ab Utraque sesquimilliari. " Before his time it was a much more important place, while it had two pastors and llnee assistants, with five thou- sand communicants, lie adds, moreover, that he knew three villages bearing the same name in Belgium, "nempe apud Brugas, apud Furnas, et in Brabantia apud Tu-
ders vnder diocletiane, 99. " Bishop Forbes' ""
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 156.
Also. at the same date, in Thomas Dempster's ""
5 See Mirseus* dici," p. 364.
Scoticum are these words "'"
Menologium
:
185. Belgici Burgun-
Oostkerkae confessoris, Guthagoni
Fasti
et
regis filii, qui divino amore tactus, regnum terre- n—um sprevit, ut cceleste obtineret B. K. ML. "
Ibid. , p. 204.
" A learned nobleman and toparch of
l6 See Bishop Sancta," part ii. , p. 8.
bise. "
I3 See Father Stephen White's Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , p. 42.
' 4 See " Circle of the Seasons/' p.
t? Printed a. d. 1509.
10 or son to a
Challenor's "Britannia
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 43
for the veneration of the faithful. Formerly, his feast was kept there with
greatsolemnity,andonit therewasanobligationforhearingMass. This, however, had been abrogated, yet a proper office for a Confessor not a Pontiff had been recited, and he was invoked as a minor patron of that place.
The feast of this saint is set down at the 3rd of July, in the enlarged edition of
Usuard's Martyrology; also, in a Manuscript Catalogue of the Saints ofScot- x
land ; as likewise, in the Breviary of Aberdeen. ? John Wilson, in his " Martyrologium Anglicanum," sets him down as an Irishman, at this day. The name of Guthagon occurs, at this date, in the anonymous Catalogue, publishedbyO'SullevanBeare,asGuthagonius. MolanusandHenryFitz-
simon set him down, as Rex et Confessor, at the Guthagonus,
18
3rd July. Again,afeasthasbeenassignedtohim,atthe1stofOctober. Thisappears
as having reference to the Translation of his Relics.
Article III. —St. Cilline or Cillen, Droicteach, Abbot of Iona, Scotland. {Eighth Century. '] Among a long line of illustrious abbots who
presided over Iona, the present holy man is classed.
In the Martyrology of
occurs. He
1 at the
is noted in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, at the
this date, the Bollandistss have noticed him, also, on the foregoing authority and on that of Sirinus. Some notices of him occur, in the work of Bishop Forbes/ ThisdistinguishedsaintderivedhisoriginfromtheraceofConall Cremthainne, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages, of the southern Hy-Neill. This saint's pedigree is thus given in the Naemhsenchas. His father's name was Dicolla, son of Cilline, son to Amalgadh, son of Feradhaigh, son to Feic,* son of Cerbaill, who was son to the aforesaid Conall Cremthainne. 6 He was born in Ireland, probably towards the close of the seventh century. The epithet, suffixed to his original name Cilline, and which was Droicteach, sig- nifying "Bridge-maker," has reference apparently to work of that kind on which he had been engaged, previous to his leaving Ireland for Scotland. It is likely, that he felt a religious inspiration to join the Columban institute in Iona, and there, too, it would seem, that he chose to live as an ancho- rite,? according to the custom of those monks, who desired to observe a very strict discipline. His virtues were so highly esteemed by that community, after the death of St. Cilline Fada, or the Tall Abbot of Iona, whick took place, a. d. 726, Cilline Droicteach was selected as his immediate successor. 8 Meanwhile, Feidhlimid or Failbhe seems to have been elected Abbot of Iona in the year 722, nor do we find that he ceased to enjoy that title, during the administrationofFaelcu,9ofCilleneFada,10 andofCillineDroicteach,until he departed this life at the very advanced age of eighty-seven years, com-
Tallagh,
3rd
of
July,
the
simply entry
of
Cilline,
Abb.
Iae,
18
Catholica Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , —xii. , pp. 50, 54.
*
Article hi. Edited by Rev. Dr.
See O'Sullevan Beare's "Historia baill, King of Ireland, who reigned 21 years, and who died a. d. 565.
Kelly, p. xxviii. 2"
Royal Irish Academy.
^ In the Annals of Tighernach and of
Ulster, he is only styled ancorita.
Thus : Kellenus cognomento Droich-
theach, virgo, miles egregius. "
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Julii iii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 631.
4 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 301.
5 He was brother to Diannait Mac Cer-
8
In a gloss on his name, in the Calendar
6
According to the Leabhar Lecain, in the
of Marianus O'Gorman, he is expressly styled -Abb 1^e ColAim cible.
9 See an account of him, in the Fourth Volume of this work, at April 3rd, Art. iv.
I0
14th, Art. iii.
of 2 At 3rd July.
For a notice of him, see ibid. , at April
44 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 3.
pleted in 759, and during the administratorship of Slebhine. Whether
Feidhlimid or Failbhe " had been the principal or only a coadjutor Abbot
over Iona cannot be gleaned with any degree of distinctness from the Irish
12
Annals.
It is thought, that owing to the circumstance of Cilline Droicteach
having chosen the rigid rule of an anchorite's state, the active duties of his
presidency, over the monastic institute of Iona, had been in a great measure
discharged by his coadjutor, Fedhlimid. He continued alive, during the pre-
sidency of Cilline Droicteach. The present hoiy man brought to Erin that
shrine of the many relics,^ which Adamnan had collected, to make peace
and friendship between the Cinel-Conaill and the Cinel-Eoghain. This
appears to have occurred in the year 727. The Relics collected by Adamnan
were returned to Iona in 730. The present saint, called Cilleine Droctigh,
anchorite of la, died on the 3rd of July, a. d. 747. I4 Other accounts have
l6 He is to have been the fourteenth abbot of reputed
a. d. J s and
12
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life
751
752.
Iona, commencing with the great founder, St. Columkille. 1 ? We have him
in the of 18 at this same Martyrology Donegal,
as Cillen
recorded,
Droichtech, Abbot of la Colum Cille.
date,
Article IV. —St. Tirechan, Bishop. {Seventh Century^ It is much to be regretted, that we know very little relating to the personal history of the present distinguished bishop, so much regarded in his day, and who was remarkable, doubtless, for his holiness of life, as for his proficiency in learn- ing. Being one of St. Patrick's early biographers should alone give him a special claim on our veneration. Marianus O'Gorman has an entry of Tire- chan, at the 3rd of July, in his Calendar. It may be supposed, that Tirechan had been a native of Cashel or of its vicinity, if he is to be confounded with a Tirechan who had gone to Rome, and who at the entreaty of his mother was recalled, at a time when St. Fechin, Abbot of Fore, had visited that city, over
2 that he was the dis- ciple of St. Ultan, who wrote the Acts of St. Patrick. He was bishop of Ard- brecain, and he died a. d. 665. 3 In the Book of Armagh are found Latin annotations on the Life of St. Patrick by Tirechan,4 and which throw some light on the source whence his narrative had been drawn. 5 Like his master
which Moenach then ruled. 1 Tirechan tells us
" He seems to have been
nbout fifty years old, and it may be, that in-
firmity or necessity obliged him to have an assistant.
himself,
l6 to the Annals of According
ofSt. Columba," Additional Notes O, pp.
38210386.
l8
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
13 Thisisthe ofa beginning
ArticleIV. —' See "Acta Colgan's
Sanctorum Hibernise," xx. Januarii, Vita
which Adamnan composed, on placing the bag,
— those containing
reliquaries,
poem
on the back of
Secunda S. 135.
2
Fechini, cap. xiv. , pp. 134,
Cillen
:
" O youth, illustrious is
The bag which thou takest on thy
back," &c.
See Very Rev. James Henthorn Todd's " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , p. 444.
3 iJis feast occurs, at the 4th of Septem- ber.
elected,
when
Tiger-
M See
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Columlxe, tines on the Manuscript Materials of
Colgan's
"Trias
Thaumaturga,"
4 See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
cap. ii. , sect, v. , p. 502.
15 The " Annals of Ulster " have dated
at this
year.
Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvi. , p. 347.
it,
5 Atfol. passage :
ga,
"
we find there the
following
nach.
'? See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's
"
pp. 382 to 385.
Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes O,
184, 185.
Tirechan Episcopus
hec
scripsit
July 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 45
Ultan,
thissaintwrotetheActsofSt. intwobooks. 6 Weareinformed Patrick,
in these, that he was a disciple of that holy Bishop, from whose lips or from
whose book, he had composed his own work. He also tells us in it, that he
washimselfabishop,buthedoesnotstatewherehisSeehadbeen. Acopy
of this Life of St. Patrick by Tirechan is extant in the Leabhar Arda Macha,
or the Book of 7 This is Armagh.
Dr. 8 It has Jeoffry Keating.
quoted by
lately engaged the attention of an able and a learned editor,9 so that the read-
ing public shall soon have an opportunity of becoming acquainted with its contents. 10 TheseActswereinpossessionofthelearnedArchbishopUssher, who frequently quotes from them, in his valuable historic work, " De Primor- diis Ecclesiarum Britannicarum. "11 Extracts from them have also been
12
This interest- ing ancient memoir by Tirechan throws very considerable light on the early ecclesiastical history of Ireland, as also on the biography of the Irish Apostle. -3
1
According to the chronology of Tirechan, * he places the death of St. Patrick,
at a. d. 436 from the Passion, or a. d. 469 from the Nativity of Christ. He
states, likewise, that King Loiguire reigned two or five years after the Irish Apostle's decease; while he supposes the total duration of that reign, to have
reproduced, by the learned hagiologist, Father John Colgan.
15 A
hasbeen
16thatthe Abbot of
been
man
his mother. This seems to come within the range of possibility. The times agree very well. Thus, Ultan died a. d. 655, and he was contemporary with
thirty-six years.
conjecture
offered,
present holy
complied
request
by
St.
Fechin,
Fore,
to visit
St. Fechin, who
a. d. 18 The 664.
made
J 7
with a
Ardbrecain. He is thought to have flourished, about the middle of the
seventh 20 Onthe of inthe of 21 century. 3rd July, Martyrology Donegal,
appears within brackets the name of Tirechan. 32
this life, on the 20th of
present saint was a bishop, and he is said to have ruled 10 over the church of
departed
January,
ex ore vel libro Ultani — episcopi, cujus ipse
alumpnus vel discipulus fait. " Ibid. , Ap- pendix, No. cvi. , pp. 607, 608.
6 See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 23.
7 This is generally believed to be as old as 807 ; but, Eugene O'Curry deems it to be
11
See
"
the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish
older than the year 727. See
Lectures on
History," Lect. xvi. , p. 343. 8"
In his General History of Ireland. "
9 The Rev. Father Edmund Hogan, S. J. See " Vita Sancti Patricii Hibernorum
Apostoli, Auctore Muirchu Maccumachteni
et Tirechani Collectanea de S. Patricio. "
The portion already published has appeared,
" 16
in the Analecta Bollandiana," tomus i. , Fasc. iv. Edited by Fathers Carolus de Smedt, Gulielmus Van Hooff and Josephus de Backer. Paris and
royal 8vo.
10 This is the more to be desired, as Sir
William Betham has
printed the Book of Armagh, in his " Irish
Antiquarian Researches," part ii. Dublin,
1827, 8vo. It is so full of errors as to be quite useless. See Rev.
