Having ruled over a community of holy virgins as superioress for some time ; Heia desired to live in perfect retirement
from the world, and accordingly, resigning her charge, she sought out a lonely place in the interior of that province.
from the world, and accordingly, resigning her charge, she sought out a lonely place in the interior of that province.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
, p.
36.
:
tion of Christianity into Northumberland, it appears indeed to have been customary to
grant much greater privileges and immuni- ties to chnrch-lands than were found ad- visable at a later period, or than seem to
have been —in the
permitted provinces
9 Simeonof Durham, writes: "Rece-
south
of the Humber. " The Saxons in Epistola ad Hug. de Archiepiscopis Ebor.
"
England," vol. i. , book i. , chap, xi. , p.
Twysden's
302.
s See James Guthrie's
"
,0
See Vita S. Wilfridi, cap. x.
" See Thomas Gale's " Historire Britan-
nicte, Saxonicae, Anglo-Danicce, Scriptores
River Tyne: its.
Newcastle-
xx. 7HavingbaotizedEdwin,KingofNorth-
umbria, a. d. 627, the monarch had him es-
tablished over the newly-founded see of xiii. , xiv. , xvii.
York. See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- * See ibid. , lib. iii. , cap. i. , pp. 260, 261.
cap.
,3 As stated Simon of Durham. by
and Resources," 6. p.
xv. ," ex Vetustis Codd. MSS.
History
upon-Tyne, 1880, 8vo.
6
See Venerable
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. ii. ,
editi, p. 55. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xv. , sect, xii. ,
n. 107, p. 423.
Bede's "Historia
dente Paulino, Eboracensis ecclesia per
xxx. annos proprium non habuit episcopum ; sed Lindisfarnensis, ecclesiae prsesules, Aidanus, Finanus, Colmannus, et Tuda,
Nordanhimbro—rum provincio administrarunt
" pontificatum. " Scriptoresx. "
*
18
MSee "Historia^Ecclesiastica Genti
Anglorum," lib. ii. , cap. ix. , x. , xi. , xii. ,
Religion suffered
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 489
also better suited for a monastic establishment. Certain ignorant and pre- judiced writers have laboured to prove, that from such circumstances, Aedan's faith was different from that of the other Anglo-Saxon missionaries, who received their credentials direct from the Roman Pontiff. 16 Notorious among those writers is the Irish Anglican Rector of Aghaboe, who states, that one of Aedan's reasons for choosing Lindisfarne for his See was because had he fixed upon York, he would have acquiesced in the decision of the Roman Pontiff, contrary to the system of the Irish hierarchy. For Paulinus, who came from Rome, had been bishop of that city, and thus York was a Roman See. 1 ? To those strictures, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan replies, that a writer of common honesty, if inquiring into the reason for Aedan's not settling at York, which had been abandoned by Paulinus, would have observed, that Aedan perhaps thought it improper to reside there, while Paulinus was still alive, although it may be said, that he need not have had any scruple on that score. 18
The manner of Aidan's living is thus described. If he received any rich per-
sons as his guests, he gave them entertainment, but never money on any account If he received any sums of money from rich men, those were either distributed
immediately among the poor, or employed in purchasing the manumission of persons, who were unjustly enslaved. In fine, many of those, who were thus
hismeans,afterwardsbecameChristians. 1^ Somewereeven raised to the priesthood, after a suitable course of training and instruction. 20 In his time, it was customary with all religious men and women, to prolong their fast to the ninth hour of each day, during the whole year ; with the exception of fifty days after Easter, or during the time of Pentecost. They weremovedtosuchapractice,bytheexampleoftheirBishop. Through
human respect or fear, he never spared the rich or powerful, when they deserved reproof ; but, he often admonished them for their correction, and with severe invectives. When on his missions, he was accustomed to travel on foot through towns and country places, along his route ; and only, when necessity compelled him, would he ride on horseback. Thus engaged, whenever he bSheld any persons, whether rich or poor, he always turned out ofhiswaytoaccostthem; ifhediscoveredthemtobeinfidels,heexhorted them to embrace the faith, and prepare to receive the Sacraments of the Church. Iftheywerebelievers,hesaidafewwordstostrengthenthemin the practice of alms-giving or of other virtuous actions. All who accom- panied him on his travels, whether clerics or laics, he employed in reading
liberated
through
the Holy Scriptures with himself, and in reciting Psalms.
21
By a learned
English Church historian, we are informed, that the Saxon homilies exhort
the people with great earnestness to the frequent perusal of the Scriptures,
and enforce that advice from the great benefit of such an exercise ; that the mindwasrefinedandthepassionswerepurgedbysuchexpedient; thatit was the way, moreover, to refresh our greatest concern on ourselves, as also to make heaven and hell have their due impression. The writer in question
16
However, it is only necessary to state, that the learned Lloyd proves from Bede, and particularly from the circumstance of Aedan's having been held in veneration by Honorius and Felix, that he was in full
vol. ii. , chap, xv. , sect, xiv. , n. 113, p.
425.
I9 See Thomas Fuller's " Church History
of Britain ; from the Birth of Jesus Christ
until the year m. dc. xlviii. ," vol. i. , book
communion with the bishops that came ii. , cent, vii. , p. 203. Oxford edition, 1845, ''
from Rome. See Historical Account of 8vo.
20 "
Church Government," chap, v. , sect. v. See Surius, De Probatis Sanctorum 1 Again, Dr. Ledwich states, that Oswald Vitis," vol. iv. , Augusti xxxi. Vita S. Aidaini
took no notice of Paulinus, being '. ' no cap. ii. , p. 338.
2I "
admirer of Roman innovations. " See Venerable Bede's Historia Eccle- 18 " See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. v.
r\
49° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
rather amusingly concludes, from the cultivation of Scriptural studies by St. Aidan and his companions, that in their time, the Bible was not counted to be a dangerous book, nor was it kept under restraint, or granted only with
faculties and
dispensations.
practices, and from the keeping of Easter differently from the Roman custom, amounts to this, that those early Scottish missionaries lived independently of the Roman See, and refused to come under the Pope's patriarchate, or submit to his regulations. But these unwarrantable statements are scarcely deserv-
ing
Thus, as may be judged, Aidan fulfilled faithfully every Christian duty;
and above all, he was indefatigable in the exercise of those offices that
increased 2* and, within a few years, the proselytes ;
of serious refutation.
See the Rev. Jeremy Collier's "Eccle-
siastical History of Great Britain," vol. i. ,
book ii. , cent, vii. , pp. 205, 206, and 212,
213.
83 See Bede's
28 This
town—formerly known as
"
Gentis Anglorum," lib. Hi. , cap. xvii.
84 Hector Boece thus writes
:
" Eoque
Historia Ecclesiastica
effectum, ut Aidanus septem perpetuis
diebus, mortalium amplius quam quindecim
millia, sacro ac lustrico fonte abluerit: quorum
haud pauci, vitae fortunseque rebus contemp- tis, sacne doctrinse ac orationi addicti, in vitam abierunt solitarium. "—" Scotorum
Historic," lib. ix. , fol. clxxxii.
*s SeeRev. Dr. "
Lingard's Antiquities
the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap, i. , p. 27. 86 For a detailed account of him and his writings, the reader is referred to John Pits' " Relationum Historicarum de Rebus Anglicis," tomus i. , Aetas Octava, num.
101, pp. 129 to 140.
*7 This town and parish, now dedicated
born in or near Jarrow, and when the religious house was there founded,
he left Wearmouth, and went thither, living under Ceolfrid, its first Abbot. There, too, his valuable works were for the most part written, and he resided in Jarrow to the close of his life, a. d. 734. He died in the fiftv-ninth year of his age.
:
year 674, Biscopius, as Latinized, or Benedict, a Saxon noble, obtained a grant of land near the mouth of the River Wear on which to erect a monastery from Egfrid, King of Northumbria. It was a Benedictine estab- lishment, but the monastery was destroyed by the Danes, during the reign of King Ethelred. Venerable Bede, who was born
A. d. 673, at the early age of seven, lived here, under the care of Abbot Benedict.
luna in qualibet feria cum Judseis, sed die
Dominica semper agebat, a luna quarta decima usque ad vicessimam : propter fidem videlicet Dominica? resurrectionis, quam una Sabbati factam, propterque spem nostra; resurrectionis, quam eadem una Sabbati, quae nunc Dominica dies dicitur, veracit—er
32 The inference afterwards drawn from such
devolved on him, in his character of a
was owing no less to his virtues than to his preaching. The former won the esteem, while his arguments convinced the understanding of his hearers.
the number of
Chnrch of Northumbria was fixed on a solid and permanent foundation. 2*
Each
day,
With regard to the Pascha—l question, although exemplary in all other 26
respects, the Venerable Bede— who had received a different teaching at Wearmouth 2 ? and 28 he could not of Aidan's
Jarrow declares,
conduct. Asanapologyforhim,itisremarkedamongotherthings,thathe
did not keep that festival, on any day of the week, after the Jewish fashion, as
some had falsely imagined, but always on a Sunday, in commemoration of
2
ourLord'sResurrection. ? Inallotherrespects,Bedeextolshisgreatvirtues,
in the highest possible terms. It is remarked, that the saint had no other object
missionary Bishop.
approve
—and
are partly in the union of Gateshead and partly in that of South Shields, in the northern division of the County of Durham. The place is of great antiquity. Various Roman foundations and other relics have come to light in its vtcinity. A monastery was founded here by St. Benedict, to whom Egfrid, King of Northumbria, gave forty hides of land for that purpose. The church was completed in 680, and soon after the original foundation, it was united to St. Peter's monastery at Wearmouth. Vener-
Girwy
parish,
dedicated to St. Paul,
of able Bede is to have been supposed
to St. Peter, situated in the union of Sunder-
land, and eastern division of Chester-ward,
lie in the County of Durham. About the quidam falso opinantur, quarta decima
29 Bede writes
" Unde et banc non, ut
futuram cum sancta ecclesia credebat. " "
Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xvii.
2* His success
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
in view, in his mode of celebrating Easter different from what the whole
opponent
attributed even to his reliques ? 32
The inherent good qualities and dispositions of the Pagan Saxons, notwithstanding the varied and inveterate social disorders and political
disorganization prevailing, were especially manifested among the women of their race. That moral dignity attained by the sex in Germany,33 from which country their ancestry was derived, was now destined to acquire a new lustre in the Kingdom of Northumbria, when the missionaries set before them the sublime vocation of Christian life in the state of celibacy, and the practice of serving God in the retirement of the cloister. This desire was awakened, even in the souls of many ladies of high social distinction ; and foremost among these appears to have been one named Heia,34 of that nation. She founded a convent for religious women on the confines of Deira and of Berenicia, and on a well-wooded promontory, which was resorted to by wild deer. Owing to this circumstance, it was called Heruteu,3S by the Saxons. In modern times, that place is known as Hartlepool. 36 Heia was the first of Northumbrian women to take the veil, and to receive religious consecration at the hands of St. Aidan. 37 By several writers, she has been confounded with St. or 8 an Irish Princess, who lived as a
Church practised, than the observance of a festival, referring to the redemp- tion of mankind, through the Passion and Resurrection of our Divine Saviour, with His Ascension into heaven, where he is the Mediator betwixt Godandman. Notwithstandingdifferencesofopinion,Aidanwasheldin great veneration, not only by the people, but by the bishops, Honorius, of Canterbury, and Felix, of the East Angles. 3 This respect he secured, even from those who disagreed with him, as to the mode of celebrating Easter ; for they knew, that naturally he would not desire to observe it in a manner contrary to that of those from whom his mission had been immediately received. 31 If Oswald had been considered as an
of the Roman missionaries and practices, how could it have come to pass, that he has been held by Bede, and by all the abettors of the Romans, as one of the greatest among the English saints, and that so many miracles have been
Bega Bees,3
solitary in that part of the country.
Having ruled over a community of holy virgins as superioress for some time ; Heia desired to live in perfect retirement
from the world, and accordingly, resigning her charge, she sought out a lonely place in the interior of that province. The most celebrated monas-
teries erected during the time of St. Aidan's episcopacy were placed on the eastern littoral of Northumbria ; while chief among these were Lindisfarne,
30 See Rev.
tical History of Great Britain," vol. i. , book ii. , cent, vii. , p. 223.
See
Jeremy
stag,"
isle in the Saxon language. It has been
Collier's " Ecclesias-
3S Hert or hart means " and eu
31 In some of Rev. Dr. Ledwich's absurd
deductions concerning the Culdees, he en-
deavours to represent Aedan as not in com-
munion with the Roman prelates ; and a parish in the N. E. Division of Stockton- moreover, he throws out a malignant c—harge
Venerable Bede's
ward, co-palatine of Durham, lies 18 miles E. S. E. of Durham. It is built on a bold and nearly insulated headland, which forms the north horn of a fine between 700 and
against
"Antiquities of Ireland," p. 64.
32 See Rev. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
sect, xiv. , n. 113, p. 426.
33 See Caius Cornelius Tacitus, " De Situ
Moribus, et Populis Germanise Libellus,"
World," vol. vi. , pp. 821, 822.
37 See Venerable Bede's "Historia Ecclesi-
astica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. xxiii. ,
pp. 102, 103.
38 Her festival occurs on the 31st of
October.
3' She was grand-niece of Edwin, the first
xix.
34 See an account of St. Heyna or Hieu, in
the Fifth Volume of this work, at the 30th of May, Art. vi.
cap. xviii. ,
veracity.
bay,
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xv„ 800 acres in area. See "Gazetteer of the
""
" cervi. " See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Latinized by Venerable Bede as
insula
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxiv.
36 This sea-port—formerly a borough—and
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31. _. _—.
the religious capital of that Kingdom, and Bamborough, the principal military fortress. When Heia had relinquished her charge over the community at Hartlepool, a very distinguished princess of the blood royal and of the Deirien dynasty, named Hilda,39 presided over a convent, situated at the mouth of the Wear/ a little river of Northumberland, which flows into the German Ocean.
1
There she resided, with a small number of companions/ superior to most of
her sex in learning, inferior to none in religion/
2
Aidan then called her to
govern the larger convent, which the founder had resigned.
In treating about this period, when Christianity had been first introduced
among the Northumbrians, a celebrated French writer, in his generous
sympathy for the wrongs of Ireland, has indulged in some unmerited reflec-
tions on what he conceives the ingratitude of the Saxons, in after time, and
as a return for the religion and civilization received through the Irish Celts.
Alluding to that generous hospitality extended towards the young sons of the
Saxon nobles, and the opportunities afforded them gratuitously for study and learning in the schools of Ireland ; it has been supposed, that national enmity
was afterwards the consequence, in those early ages, among the people of both races. ** However, this is only a partial and an incorrect view of facts easily ascertainable ; yet a common error into which previous British and Irish writers have fallen, through want of sufficient knowledge and a proper exami- nation of early authorities for authentic history. It should be better known, not alone in England and in Ireland, but throughout the whole world, that from the first introduction of — the
to the time of the N—orman Invasion of England a period of more than four hundred years the most cordial relations generally existed between the people of Ireland and those of England. During the greater part of that interval, both countries had to exert their energies to the utmost, in order to resist and repel the Danish and Norwegian invaders. Even when the Nor- mans had subdued the Saxons, and had established their rigid rule over them as conquerors, another hundred years elapsed before these intruders meditated the invasion of Ireland, which took place under King Henry II. , in the year 1172. 44 Thus they were Norman chiefs and their retainers, who effected thesubjugationoftheSaxonsandoftheIrish; althoughthelatterwerenot finally subdued, until the reign of King James I. ,45 early in the seventeenth
Christianity among Anglo-Saxons
century,
At that distant period, likewise, the religious habit was held in great reverence
by the people, so that whenever or wheresoever any cleric or monk appeared, he was received by all as the servant of God ; 'even if he were met on his journey, the multitude ran to him, and with bended necks were glad to be either signed
with his hand or blessed by his lips/
6
They diligently gave ear to his words
l'lrlande, entre ces deux races saxonne et celtique, destinees, par un douloureux mys- stere, k s'entre-deehirer, avant meme que
Christian King of Northumbria, and father
to the queen, who had been married to King
Oswy.
40 It is sixty-five miles in length. See la religion les eui divisees, et dont Tune, en
Chambers's "Encyclopaedia," vol. x. , p. 586. 41 The feast of St. Hilda is kept on the
17th of November, on which day she departed this life a. d. 680.
payant ses premiers bien-faits de la plus noire ingratitude, a longtemps terni l'eclat de sa gloire par l'obstination perverse de sa tyrannic"—" Le Comte de Montalembert's
42 See Dr. Thomas Fuller's "Church "Les Moines d'Occident," tome
History of Britain," &c, vol. i. , book ii. , cent, vii. , p. 221.
43
"Ainsi s'inauguraient, dans les condi- tions les plus honorables, et sous des inspira- tionsaussipuresquegenireuses,lespremieres relations historiques entre l'Angleterre et
iv. ,
liv.
xiii. , chap, ii. , p. 58.
44 "
See Rev. Dr. Leland's History of
Ireland, from the invasion of Henry II. ," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. , pp. 1 to 39.
4S See Thomas Moore's "History of Ireland," vol. iv. , chap, lii. , pp. 14510174.
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 493
of exhortation, and if perchance a priest came to any village, forthwith the inhabitants gathered together, and they were careful to seek from him the word of life. 4? Those among the missionaries who were priests administered Baptism to the neophytes ; while the people flocked together with eagerness to hear the Divine message. Churches were built in many places, while lands and sites were given likewise, for the building and endowment of schools and monasteries. .
CHAPTER IV.
THE ZEAL OF KING OSWALD FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIANITY—HIS DEATH— AFTERWARDS KING OSWY SUCCEEDS HIM IN THE PROVINCE OF BKRNICIA—OSWIN BECOMES RULER OVER THE DEIRI, AND BEFRIENDS ST. AIDAN—GENEROSITY OF THIS KING AND THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY—DEATH OF OSWIN AND OF OUR SAINT— THE SEES OF LINDISFARNE AND OF DURHAM—TRANSLATION OF ST. AIDAN's RELICS—COMMEMORATION AND FESTIVALS—CONCLUSION.
King Oswald, and the Anglo-Saxons whom he ruled, were in a great measure guided by this holy prelate. Humbly and willingly, the monarch gave ear, in all important cases, to Aidan's admonitions, while he also industriously applied to building up and extending the Church of Christ, throughout his kingdomofNorthumbria. NotonlydidKingOswaldhopefortherealms of everlasting joy, unknown to his ancestors ; but he obtained an increase of his temporal possessions, to a great extent, owing to the favour of Almighty God, the Lord of earth and Heaven. 1 He was the most potent of the Anglo-Saxon Kings, in his time, ruling over the people of four distinct nationalities ; viz. , the Britons, the Picts, the Scots, and the Angles, each of these
a different 2 like other who language. However, many monarchs,
speaking
enjoyed a prosperous career for some time, the vicissitudes of that barbarous ageandnationturnedthetideoffortuneagainsthim. ThegoodKingOswald was killed on the 5th of August, a. d. 642, by Penda, king of the Mercians, in a battle fought at Maser, or Macerfeld, by some supposed to be Oswestra,
46 Hume has absurdly and ignorantly re- ferred to this account of Venerable Bede, as
showing the height to which priestly domi- nation had been carried among the Anglo-
common air,
Might seem a saintly image from its shrine
Descended :—happy are the eyes that meet
Saxons. It is cited as an instance of The Apparition ; evil thoughts are stayed
"
At his approach, and low-bowed necks entreat
A benediction from his voice or hand ;
Whence grace, through which the heart can understand,
And vows, that bind the will, in silence made. "
—Wordsworth's" Poetical Works," vol. iv. ,
Ecclesiastical Sonnets, part i. , sonnet xix. , With the vain world ; who outwardly as p. 14. London 1857, 8vo, in six volumes,
servility
to the mo—nks, and an '
abject
and "
illiberal devotion. " History of England,
vol. i. , chap, i. , pp. 42, 43.
47 This account of the " Primitive Saxon Clergy," taken from Bede, is thus versified in one of William Wordsworth's sonnets :—
" How beautiful your presence, how benign, Servants of God! who not a thought
will share
- bare
As winter trees, yield no fallacious
That the firm soul is clothed with fruit
divine ;
Such Priest when service worthy of his
care
Has called him forth to breathe the
Moxon's edition.
Chapter iv. —' See Surius," De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," vol. iv„ Augusti xxxi.
sign
Yita S. Aidani, cap. v. , p. 338. 2"
See L'Abbe Fleury's Histoire Ec- clesiastique," tome viii. , liv. , xxxviii. , sect. xix. , p. 348.
494 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
in Shropshire, and by others Winwick in Lancashire. 3 He reigned for nine
years, and he thus perished in the thirty-eighth year of his age. 4 His religious life and conversation, with his great zeal for the propagation of Christianity, caused him to be regarded as a saint. Moreover, his festival, from a very
ancient had been in
period, kept England,
5 on the of 6 the date 5th August,
for his death.
Oswald was succeeded by his brother, Oswy, then about thirty years of
age. With much trouble he held the throne for twenty-eight years. Oswy ruled over all the northern part of Northumbria, that is the province of Bernicia, beyond the Humber.
During the second year of his reign, Oswy had a partner in this royal dignity, and he was called Oswin. He was son of Osric, and he belonged to KingEdwin'srace. Hischaracterhasbeendrawninthemostpleasingcolours byVenerableBede. Hewasaffable,just,religiousandgenerous. Hisvirtues were idolized by his subjects ; and his court was crowded with foreign Saxons, who solicited employment in his service. 7 Oswin governed the pro- vince of the Deiri for seven years in great prosperity, and he was beloved by all men.
Venerable Bede relates some miracles, which were wrought through the
merits of St. Aidan. A certain named priest,
8 a man of
and truth, and much esteemed by the grandees of the Kingdom, had been sent to Cantua,9 to conduct thence the intended wife of King Oswy. She was named Eanfleda, and she was daughter to King Edwin, who had been killed. Vita went to Bishop Aidan, beseeching him to supplicate the Almighty for himself and his companions, who were about to undertake this journey. The Queen had been brought to Cantua, on the death of her father, Edwin. 10 The priest, Vita, and his companions were resolved on proceeding to that place, by a land journey, and on returning with Eanfleda by a sea voyage. Blessing them and commending them to God, Aidan gave the priest
some consecrated " I know when oil, saying :
a and a tempest
you embark,
head-wind shall arise. But, do you remember, to cast some of this oil, which
I give you, into the ocean. Immediately the wind shall cease, and a tranquil seashallbearyouprosperouslytotheendofyourdestinedcourse. "" All
these things occurred, as the Bishop had intimated. Having set sail, the wind arose ; and the sailors endeavoured, but in vain, to secure the vessel, by casting anchor. But, the waves began to roll into the ship, and threatened the voyagers with instant destruction. At length, the priest, remembering our saint's words, produced the ampulla and cast some oil into the se'a. In- stantly, the waves began to subside. " Thus it happened, that the man of
3See Rev. Dr. " of withhimtoKent asea
passage, Queen
Lingard's History England," vol. i. , chap. ii. , p. 92, and n. ibid. 4 See Rev. Collier's " Ecclesias-
by
Ethelburga, and her daughter Eanfleda. See
Jeremy
tical History of Great Britain," vol. i. , book achi Cestrensis, vol. v. , pp.
:
tion of Christianity into Northumberland, it appears indeed to have been customary to
grant much greater privileges and immuni- ties to chnrch-lands than were found ad- visable at a later period, or than seem to
have been —in the
permitted provinces
9 Simeonof Durham, writes: "Rece-
south
of the Humber. " The Saxons in Epistola ad Hug. de Archiepiscopis Ebor.
"
England," vol. i. , book i. , chap, xi. , p.
Twysden's
302.
s See James Guthrie's
"
,0
See Vita S. Wilfridi, cap. x.
" See Thomas Gale's " Historire Britan-
nicte, Saxonicae, Anglo-Danicce, Scriptores
River Tyne: its.
Newcastle-
xx. 7HavingbaotizedEdwin,KingofNorth-
umbria, a. d. 627, the monarch had him es-
tablished over the newly-founded see of xiii. , xiv. , xvii.
York. See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- * See ibid. , lib. iii. , cap. i. , pp. 260, 261.
cap.
,3 As stated Simon of Durham. by
and Resources," 6. p.
xv. ," ex Vetustis Codd. MSS.
History
upon-Tyne, 1880, 8vo.
6
See Venerable
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. ii. ,
editi, p. 55. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xv. , sect, xii. ,
n. 107, p. 423.
Bede's "Historia
dente Paulino, Eboracensis ecclesia per
xxx. annos proprium non habuit episcopum ; sed Lindisfarnensis, ecclesiae prsesules, Aidanus, Finanus, Colmannus, et Tuda,
Nordanhimbro—rum provincio administrarunt
" pontificatum. " Scriptoresx. "
*
18
MSee "Historia^Ecclesiastica Genti
Anglorum," lib. ii. , cap. ix. , x. , xi. , xii. ,
Religion suffered
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 489
also better suited for a monastic establishment. Certain ignorant and pre- judiced writers have laboured to prove, that from such circumstances, Aedan's faith was different from that of the other Anglo-Saxon missionaries, who received their credentials direct from the Roman Pontiff. 16 Notorious among those writers is the Irish Anglican Rector of Aghaboe, who states, that one of Aedan's reasons for choosing Lindisfarne for his See was because had he fixed upon York, he would have acquiesced in the decision of the Roman Pontiff, contrary to the system of the Irish hierarchy. For Paulinus, who came from Rome, had been bishop of that city, and thus York was a Roman See. 1 ? To those strictures, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan replies, that a writer of common honesty, if inquiring into the reason for Aedan's not settling at York, which had been abandoned by Paulinus, would have observed, that Aedan perhaps thought it improper to reside there, while Paulinus was still alive, although it may be said, that he need not have had any scruple on that score. 18
The manner of Aidan's living is thus described. If he received any rich per-
sons as his guests, he gave them entertainment, but never money on any account If he received any sums of money from rich men, those were either distributed
immediately among the poor, or employed in purchasing the manumission of persons, who were unjustly enslaved. In fine, many of those, who were thus
hismeans,afterwardsbecameChristians. 1^ Somewereeven raised to the priesthood, after a suitable course of training and instruction. 20 In his time, it was customary with all religious men and women, to prolong their fast to the ninth hour of each day, during the whole year ; with the exception of fifty days after Easter, or during the time of Pentecost. They weremovedtosuchapractice,bytheexampleoftheirBishop. Through
human respect or fear, he never spared the rich or powerful, when they deserved reproof ; but, he often admonished them for their correction, and with severe invectives. When on his missions, he was accustomed to travel on foot through towns and country places, along his route ; and only, when necessity compelled him, would he ride on horseback. Thus engaged, whenever he bSheld any persons, whether rich or poor, he always turned out ofhiswaytoaccostthem; ifhediscoveredthemtobeinfidels,heexhorted them to embrace the faith, and prepare to receive the Sacraments of the Church. Iftheywerebelievers,hesaidafewwordstostrengthenthemin the practice of alms-giving or of other virtuous actions. All who accom- panied him on his travels, whether clerics or laics, he employed in reading
liberated
through
the Holy Scriptures with himself, and in reciting Psalms.
21
By a learned
English Church historian, we are informed, that the Saxon homilies exhort
the people with great earnestness to the frequent perusal of the Scriptures,
and enforce that advice from the great benefit of such an exercise ; that the mindwasrefinedandthepassionswerepurgedbysuchexpedient; thatit was the way, moreover, to refresh our greatest concern on ourselves, as also to make heaven and hell have their due impression. The writer in question
16
However, it is only necessary to state, that the learned Lloyd proves from Bede, and particularly from the circumstance of Aedan's having been held in veneration by Honorius and Felix, that he was in full
vol. ii. , chap, xv. , sect, xiv. , n. 113, p.
425.
I9 See Thomas Fuller's " Church History
of Britain ; from the Birth of Jesus Christ
until the year m. dc. xlviii. ," vol. i. , book
communion with the bishops that came ii. , cent, vii. , p. 203. Oxford edition, 1845, ''
from Rome. See Historical Account of 8vo.
20 "
Church Government," chap, v. , sect. v. See Surius, De Probatis Sanctorum 1 Again, Dr. Ledwich states, that Oswald Vitis," vol. iv. , Augusti xxxi. Vita S. Aidaini
took no notice of Paulinus, being '. ' no cap. ii. , p. 338.
2I "
admirer of Roman innovations. " See Venerable Bede's Historia Eccle- 18 " See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. v.
r\
49° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
rather amusingly concludes, from the cultivation of Scriptural studies by St. Aidan and his companions, that in their time, the Bible was not counted to be a dangerous book, nor was it kept under restraint, or granted only with
faculties and
dispensations.
practices, and from the keeping of Easter differently from the Roman custom, amounts to this, that those early Scottish missionaries lived independently of the Roman See, and refused to come under the Pope's patriarchate, or submit to his regulations. But these unwarrantable statements are scarcely deserv-
ing
Thus, as may be judged, Aidan fulfilled faithfully every Christian duty;
and above all, he was indefatigable in the exercise of those offices that
increased 2* and, within a few years, the proselytes ;
of serious refutation.
See the Rev. Jeremy Collier's "Eccle-
siastical History of Great Britain," vol. i. ,
book ii. , cent, vii. , pp. 205, 206, and 212,
213.
83 See Bede's
28 This
town—formerly known as
"
Gentis Anglorum," lib. Hi. , cap. xvii.
84 Hector Boece thus writes
:
" Eoque
Historia Ecclesiastica
effectum, ut Aidanus septem perpetuis
diebus, mortalium amplius quam quindecim
millia, sacro ac lustrico fonte abluerit: quorum
haud pauci, vitae fortunseque rebus contemp- tis, sacne doctrinse ac orationi addicti, in vitam abierunt solitarium. "—" Scotorum
Historic," lib. ix. , fol. clxxxii.
*s SeeRev. Dr. "
Lingard's Antiquities
the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap, i. , p. 27. 86 For a detailed account of him and his writings, the reader is referred to John Pits' " Relationum Historicarum de Rebus Anglicis," tomus i. , Aetas Octava, num.
101, pp. 129 to 140.
*7 This town and parish, now dedicated
born in or near Jarrow, and when the religious house was there founded,
he left Wearmouth, and went thither, living under Ceolfrid, its first Abbot. There, too, his valuable works were for the most part written, and he resided in Jarrow to the close of his life, a. d. 734. He died in the fiftv-ninth year of his age.
:
year 674, Biscopius, as Latinized, or Benedict, a Saxon noble, obtained a grant of land near the mouth of the River Wear on which to erect a monastery from Egfrid, King of Northumbria. It was a Benedictine estab- lishment, but the monastery was destroyed by the Danes, during the reign of King Ethelred. Venerable Bede, who was born
A. d. 673, at the early age of seven, lived here, under the care of Abbot Benedict.
luna in qualibet feria cum Judseis, sed die
Dominica semper agebat, a luna quarta decima usque ad vicessimam : propter fidem videlicet Dominica? resurrectionis, quam una Sabbati factam, propterque spem nostra; resurrectionis, quam eadem una Sabbati, quae nunc Dominica dies dicitur, veracit—er
32 The inference afterwards drawn from such
devolved on him, in his character of a
was owing no less to his virtues than to his preaching. The former won the esteem, while his arguments convinced the understanding of his hearers.
the number of
Chnrch of Northumbria was fixed on a solid and permanent foundation. 2*
Each
day,
With regard to the Pascha—l question, although exemplary in all other 26
respects, the Venerable Bede— who had received a different teaching at Wearmouth 2 ? and 28 he could not of Aidan's
Jarrow declares,
conduct. Asanapologyforhim,itisremarkedamongotherthings,thathe
did not keep that festival, on any day of the week, after the Jewish fashion, as
some had falsely imagined, but always on a Sunday, in commemoration of
2
ourLord'sResurrection. ? Inallotherrespects,Bedeextolshisgreatvirtues,
in the highest possible terms. It is remarked, that the saint had no other object
missionary Bishop.
approve
—and
are partly in the union of Gateshead and partly in that of South Shields, in the northern division of the County of Durham. The place is of great antiquity. Various Roman foundations and other relics have come to light in its vtcinity. A monastery was founded here by St. Benedict, to whom Egfrid, King of Northumbria, gave forty hides of land for that purpose. The church was completed in 680, and soon after the original foundation, it was united to St. Peter's monastery at Wearmouth. Vener-
Girwy
parish,
dedicated to St. Paul,
of able Bede is to have been supposed
to St. Peter, situated in the union of Sunder-
land, and eastern division of Chester-ward,
lie in the County of Durham. About the quidam falso opinantur, quarta decima
29 Bede writes
" Unde et banc non, ut
futuram cum sancta ecclesia credebat. " "
Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xvii.
2* His success
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
in view, in his mode of celebrating Easter different from what the whole
opponent
attributed even to his reliques ? 32
The inherent good qualities and dispositions of the Pagan Saxons, notwithstanding the varied and inveterate social disorders and political
disorganization prevailing, were especially manifested among the women of their race. That moral dignity attained by the sex in Germany,33 from which country their ancestry was derived, was now destined to acquire a new lustre in the Kingdom of Northumbria, when the missionaries set before them the sublime vocation of Christian life in the state of celibacy, and the practice of serving God in the retirement of the cloister. This desire was awakened, even in the souls of many ladies of high social distinction ; and foremost among these appears to have been one named Heia,34 of that nation. She founded a convent for religious women on the confines of Deira and of Berenicia, and on a well-wooded promontory, which was resorted to by wild deer. Owing to this circumstance, it was called Heruteu,3S by the Saxons. In modern times, that place is known as Hartlepool. 36 Heia was the first of Northumbrian women to take the veil, and to receive religious consecration at the hands of St. Aidan. 37 By several writers, she has been confounded with St. or 8 an Irish Princess, who lived as a
Church practised, than the observance of a festival, referring to the redemp- tion of mankind, through the Passion and Resurrection of our Divine Saviour, with His Ascension into heaven, where he is the Mediator betwixt Godandman. Notwithstandingdifferencesofopinion,Aidanwasheldin great veneration, not only by the people, but by the bishops, Honorius, of Canterbury, and Felix, of the East Angles. 3 This respect he secured, even from those who disagreed with him, as to the mode of celebrating Easter ; for they knew, that naturally he would not desire to observe it in a manner contrary to that of those from whom his mission had been immediately received. 31 If Oswald had been considered as an
of the Roman missionaries and practices, how could it have come to pass, that he has been held by Bede, and by all the abettors of the Romans, as one of the greatest among the English saints, and that so many miracles have been
Bega Bees,3
solitary in that part of the country.
Having ruled over a community of holy virgins as superioress for some time ; Heia desired to live in perfect retirement
from the world, and accordingly, resigning her charge, she sought out a lonely place in the interior of that province. The most celebrated monas-
teries erected during the time of St. Aidan's episcopacy were placed on the eastern littoral of Northumbria ; while chief among these were Lindisfarne,
30 See Rev.
tical History of Great Britain," vol. i. , book ii. , cent, vii. , p. 223.
See
Jeremy
stag,"
isle in the Saxon language. It has been
Collier's " Ecclesias-
3S Hert or hart means " and eu
31 In some of Rev. Dr. Ledwich's absurd
deductions concerning the Culdees, he en-
deavours to represent Aedan as not in com-
munion with the Roman prelates ; and a parish in the N. E. Division of Stockton- moreover, he throws out a malignant c—harge
Venerable Bede's
ward, co-palatine of Durham, lies 18 miles E. S. E. of Durham. It is built on a bold and nearly insulated headland, which forms the north horn of a fine between 700 and
against
"Antiquities of Ireland," p. 64.
32 See Rev. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
sect, xiv. , n. 113, p. 426.
33 See Caius Cornelius Tacitus, " De Situ
Moribus, et Populis Germanise Libellus,"
World," vol. vi. , pp. 821, 822.
37 See Venerable Bede's "Historia Ecclesi-
astica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. xxiii. ,
pp. 102, 103.
38 Her festival occurs on the 31st of
October.
3' She was grand-niece of Edwin, the first
xix.
34 See an account of St. Heyna or Hieu, in
the Fifth Volume of this work, at the 30th of May, Art. vi.
cap. xviii. ,
veracity.
bay,
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xv„ 800 acres in area. See "Gazetteer of the
""
" cervi. " See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Latinized by Venerable Bede as
insula
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxiv.
36 This sea-port—formerly a borough—and
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31. _. _—.
the religious capital of that Kingdom, and Bamborough, the principal military fortress. When Heia had relinquished her charge over the community at Hartlepool, a very distinguished princess of the blood royal and of the Deirien dynasty, named Hilda,39 presided over a convent, situated at the mouth of the Wear/ a little river of Northumberland, which flows into the German Ocean.
1
There she resided, with a small number of companions/ superior to most of
her sex in learning, inferior to none in religion/
2
Aidan then called her to
govern the larger convent, which the founder had resigned.
In treating about this period, when Christianity had been first introduced
among the Northumbrians, a celebrated French writer, in his generous
sympathy for the wrongs of Ireland, has indulged in some unmerited reflec-
tions on what he conceives the ingratitude of the Saxons, in after time, and
as a return for the religion and civilization received through the Irish Celts.
Alluding to that generous hospitality extended towards the young sons of the
Saxon nobles, and the opportunities afforded them gratuitously for study and learning in the schools of Ireland ; it has been supposed, that national enmity
was afterwards the consequence, in those early ages, among the people of both races. ** However, this is only a partial and an incorrect view of facts easily ascertainable ; yet a common error into which previous British and Irish writers have fallen, through want of sufficient knowledge and a proper exami- nation of early authorities for authentic history. It should be better known, not alone in England and in Ireland, but throughout the whole world, that from the first introduction of — the
to the time of the N—orman Invasion of England a period of more than four hundred years the most cordial relations generally existed between the people of Ireland and those of England. During the greater part of that interval, both countries had to exert their energies to the utmost, in order to resist and repel the Danish and Norwegian invaders. Even when the Nor- mans had subdued the Saxons, and had established their rigid rule over them as conquerors, another hundred years elapsed before these intruders meditated the invasion of Ireland, which took place under King Henry II. , in the year 1172. 44 Thus they were Norman chiefs and their retainers, who effected thesubjugationoftheSaxonsandoftheIrish; althoughthelatterwerenot finally subdued, until the reign of King James I. ,45 early in the seventeenth
Christianity among Anglo-Saxons
century,
At that distant period, likewise, the religious habit was held in great reverence
by the people, so that whenever or wheresoever any cleric or monk appeared, he was received by all as the servant of God ; 'even if he were met on his journey, the multitude ran to him, and with bended necks were glad to be either signed
with his hand or blessed by his lips/
6
They diligently gave ear to his words
l'lrlande, entre ces deux races saxonne et celtique, destinees, par un douloureux mys- stere, k s'entre-deehirer, avant meme que
Christian King of Northumbria, and father
to the queen, who had been married to King
Oswy.
40 It is sixty-five miles in length. See la religion les eui divisees, et dont Tune, en
Chambers's "Encyclopaedia," vol. x. , p. 586. 41 The feast of St. Hilda is kept on the
17th of November, on which day she departed this life a. d. 680.
payant ses premiers bien-faits de la plus noire ingratitude, a longtemps terni l'eclat de sa gloire par l'obstination perverse de sa tyrannic"—" Le Comte de Montalembert's
42 See Dr. Thomas Fuller's "Church "Les Moines d'Occident," tome
History of Britain," &c, vol. i. , book ii. , cent, vii. , p. 221.
43
"Ainsi s'inauguraient, dans les condi- tions les plus honorables, et sous des inspira- tionsaussipuresquegenireuses,lespremieres relations historiques entre l'Angleterre et
iv. ,
liv.
xiii. , chap, ii. , p. 58.
44 "
See Rev. Dr. Leland's History of
Ireland, from the invasion of Henry II. ," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. , pp. 1 to 39.
4S See Thomas Moore's "History of Ireland," vol. iv. , chap, lii. , pp. 14510174.
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 493
of exhortation, and if perchance a priest came to any village, forthwith the inhabitants gathered together, and they were careful to seek from him the word of life. 4? Those among the missionaries who were priests administered Baptism to the neophytes ; while the people flocked together with eagerness to hear the Divine message. Churches were built in many places, while lands and sites were given likewise, for the building and endowment of schools and monasteries. .
CHAPTER IV.
THE ZEAL OF KING OSWALD FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIANITY—HIS DEATH— AFTERWARDS KING OSWY SUCCEEDS HIM IN THE PROVINCE OF BKRNICIA—OSWIN BECOMES RULER OVER THE DEIRI, AND BEFRIENDS ST. AIDAN—GENEROSITY OF THIS KING AND THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY—DEATH OF OSWIN AND OF OUR SAINT— THE SEES OF LINDISFARNE AND OF DURHAM—TRANSLATION OF ST. AIDAN's RELICS—COMMEMORATION AND FESTIVALS—CONCLUSION.
King Oswald, and the Anglo-Saxons whom he ruled, were in a great measure guided by this holy prelate. Humbly and willingly, the monarch gave ear, in all important cases, to Aidan's admonitions, while he also industriously applied to building up and extending the Church of Christ, throughout his kingdomofNorthumbria. NotonlydidKingOswaldhopefortherealms of everlasting joy, unknown to his ancestors ; but he obtained an increase of his temporal possessions, to a great extent, owing to the favour of Almighty God, the Lord of earth and Heaven. 1 He was the most potent of the Anglo-Saxon Kings, in his time, ruling over the people of four distinct nationalities ; viz. , the Britons, the Picts, the Scots, and the Angles, each of these
a different 2 like other who language. However, many monarchs,
speaking
enjoyed a prosperous career for some time, the vicissitudes of that barbarous ageandnationturnedthetideoffortuneagainsthim. ThegoodKingOswald was killed on the 5th of August, a. d. 642, by Penda, king of the Mercians, in a battle fought at Maser, or Macerfeld, by some supposed to be Oswestra,
46 Hume has absurdly and ignorantly re- ferred to this account of Venerable Bede, as
showing the height to which priestly domi- nation had been carried among the Anglo-
common air,
Might seem a saintly image from its shrine
Descended :—happy are the eyes that meet
Saxons. It is cited as an instance of The Apparition ; evil thoughts are stayed
"
At his approach, and low-bowed necks entreat
A benediction from his voice or hand ;
Whence grace, through which the heart can understand,
And vows, that bind the will, in silence made. "
—Wordsworth's" Poetical Works," vol. iv. ,
Ecclesiastical Sonnets, part i. , sonnet xix. , With the vain world ; who outwardly as p. 14. London 1857, 8vo, in six volumes,
servility
to the mo—nks, and an '
abject
and "
illiberal devotion. " History of England,
vol. i. , chap, i. , pp. 42, 43.
47 This account of the " Primitive Saxon Clergy," taken from Bede, is thus versified in one of William Wordsworth's sonnets :—
" How beautiful your presence, how benign, Servants of God! who not a thought
will share
- bare
As winter trees, yield no fallacious
That the firm soul is clothed with fruit
divine ;
Such Priest when service worthy of his
care
Has called him forth to breathe the
Moxon's edition.
Chapter iv. —' See Surius," De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," vol. iv„ Augusti xxxi.
sign
Yita S. Aidani, cap. v. , p. 338. 2"
See L'Abbe Fleury's Histoire Ec- clesiastique," tome viii. , liv. , xxxviii. , sect. xix. , p. 348.
494 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
in Shropshire, and by others Winwick in Lancashire. 3 He reigned for nine
years, and he thus perished in the thirty-eighth year of his age. 4 His religious life and conversation, with his great zeal for the propagation of Christianity, caused him to be regarded as a saint. Moreover, his festival, from a very
ancient had been in
period, kept England,
5 on the of 6 the date 5th August,
for his death.
Oswald was succeeded by his brother, Oswy, then about thirty years of
age. With much trouble he held the throne for twenty-eight years. Oswy ruled over all the northern part of Northumbria, that is the province of Bernicia, beyond the Humber.
During the second year of his reign, Oswy had a partner in this royal dignity, and he was called Oswin. He was son of Osric, and he belonged to KingEdwin'srace. Hischaracterhasbeendrawninthemostpleasingcolours byVenerableBede. Hewasaffable,just,religiousandgenerous. Hisvirtues were idolized by his subjects ; and his court was crowded with foreign Saxons, who solicited employment in his service. 7 Oswin governed the pro- vince of the Deiri for seven years in great prosperity, and he was beloved by all men.
Venerable Bede relates some miracles, which were wrought through the
merits of St. Aidan. A certain named priest,
8 a man of
and truth, and much esteemed by the grandees of the Kingdom, had been sent to Cantua,9 to conduct thence the intended wife of King Oswy. She was named Eanfleda, and she was daughter to King Edwin, who had been killed. Vita went to Bishop Aidan, beseeching him to supplicate the Almighty for himself and his companions, who were about to undertake this journey. The Queen had been brought to Cantua, on the death of her father, Edwin. 10 The priest, Vita, and his companions were resolved on proceeding to that place, by a land journey, and on returning with Eanfleda by a sea voyage. Blessing them and commending them to God, Aidan gave the priest
some consecrated " I know when oil, saying :
a and a tempest
you embark,
head-wind shall arise. But, do you remember, to cast some of this oil, which
I give you, into the ocean. Immediately the wind shall cease, and a tranquil seashallbearyouprosperouslytotheendofyourdestinedcourse. "" All
these things occurred, as the Bishop had intimated. Having set sail, the wind arose ; and the sailors endeavoured, but in vain, to secure the vessel, by casting anchor. But, the waves began to roll into the ship, and threatened the voyagers with instant destruction. At length, the priest, remembering our saint's words, produced the ampulla and cast some oil into the se'a. In- stantly, the waves began to subside. " Thus it happened, that the man of
3See Rev. Dr. " of withhimtoKent asea
passage, Queen
Lingard's History England," vol. i. , chap. ii. , p. 92, and n. ibid. 4 See Rev. Collier's " Ecclesias-
by
Ethelburga, and her daughter Eanfleda. See
Jeremy
tical History of Great Britain," vol. i. , book achi Cestrensis, vol. v. , pp.
