It is probable an account of the whole
proceeding
had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
, Scriptorum
Rerum Franciarum. "
^ From these circumstances, Bollandus
justly concludes that this baptism, and other events, were prior to the times of King Pepin
"
and Charlemagne. See
Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii. Com- mentarius Prsevius.
vol. iii. , chap, xviii,, n. loo, p. 1 10.
"In Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," there is a fine engraving' on
9 See L. P.
France. " Premiere Race dite des Merovin- giens, pp. 54 to 56. See likewise the ac- count of his exploits in Greenwood's "First Book of the History of the Germans : Bar- baric Period," chap, xii. , sect, iv. , A. D. 640 to A. D. 724, pp. 711 to 719.
wrought
Anquetil's
" See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Acta Sanctorum
" Histoire de
tended to confirm the Norici in a profession of the Christian faith. See Col- gan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore Conrado, cap. ii. , p. 31.
''•Bollandus attempts, but hardly to his own satisfaction, the solution of this etymon in his notes to Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap. ii. See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii, Januarii, n. (Aa), p. 543-
122 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
while again the action of either saint has been exactly reversed, by other authors. The pious writer Paul remarks, that only Jesus Christ Himself opened the eyes of one born blind, as recorded in the Gospels, until St. Erard wrought this miracle. He then adored the Divine clemency, and gavethankstoGodforHismercy. Healsomanifestedhisreverencefor Odilia, and when he had learned the doom to which she had been destined by a cruel father, to the latter he forwarded an admonitory message, that he should shun all devices of the devil. He added, moreover, that if Ethico hated Odilia for a blameless blindness, that she should thenceforth be loved for the corporal light received from Christ, with her soul's illumination ; and he intimated, that if this counsel were despised, the father must incur a dread penalty for his crime,^s After the baptism of Odilia, St. Erard is said to have revisited Ratisbon. ^^ There he built what was aftenvards called the
Lower Monastery, and it was dedicated to the ever-glorious Virgin Mary, MotherofGod. Thischurchwasafterwardsservedbycelibatecanonesses.
Whilst living, St. Erard, according to tradition, dug a very deep well near this house, and he accomplished the labour with his o^\ti hands. Very clear water was contained in it, and at a subsequent period an abbess of the community there had it carefully enclosed. The people entertained a great veneration for this fountain, and many miracles were reported to have happened in connection with it.
As the time of Blessed Erard's death approached, he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Deploring the bonds of the flesh, his soul seemed to anticipate its future state, and to sigh not for visible but invisible things, not for transient but for permanent delights. Often and with great
fervour he " When shall I repeated :
and
before the face of our
go
Lord? " As the day of his release was near, he frequently ejaculated:
"WhenshallIbedeliveredfromthestraitsofthiscorruption? \\Tienshall I be drawn from the misery of this earthly prison ? When shall my hopes be satisfied ? When shall God's glory be revealed to me ? When shall I learn that my labours have pleased Him? When shall I understand the nature of my judgment, or what may be that reward of which the Apostle speaks, how neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him? " Thus, according to the apostolic precept, forgetting the world, and crucifying it with its vices and concupiscences, he looked forward to Jesus Christ ; and during his last struggle, he revolved in mind all his past actions, as being about to stand before the tribunal of his judge, while the hope of immortal bliss was to him a shield against every fear. Holy thoughts caused him to relinquish earthly regrets, and already the angelic choirs were opening to receive him into their august assembly, where he was thenceforth destined to sing the Divine praises. His will was to see and hear what his bright anticipations pictured to his mind; the movements of life alone remained, and gradually closed, as the eyes of his heart turned from worldly scenes, during the few days of his last illness. His days of health and labour were the true preparation for his moment of happy departure. As a pilgrim on earth, he felt exiled from Heaven ; but things corruptible passed away, as with a fer\'ent desire he hastened towards the grave. He longed for the victory of death; frequently were his reverent eyes and suppliant hands elevated in prayer ; and he awoke, at last, to the ineffable visions of bhss, when he had fallen asleep in the Lord. '7
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Paulo,
'^ See " Annales Ordinis Mabillon's
'S See
S.
Colgan's
nise," viii. Januarii, Vita S, Erardi, authore
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. , p. 507.
lib.
i. , cap. iii. , pp. 24, 25.
^
'? See
Colgan's
"Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
appear
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 123
Having thus led a most holy life and •wTought many miracles, St. Erard terminated his earthly career at Ratisbon, on an. 8th of January, Hence nearly all writers on St. Erard have placed his festival at this day. Thus, the German Martyrology, published by Canisius, Galesinus, the Utrecht Martyrology, Johannes Horolanus and Ferrarius, in their respective calendars ; Bruner, Rader, Aventinus, Felici, and Menard in their Martyrologies ; all state, that he was venerated on the 8th of January. ^^ The —exact year of his death —cannot now be ascertained. It seems to be placed yet only proxi- mately under a. d. 671, by the learned Mabillon. ^9 The Breviary of Ratisbon and Hundius state, that St. Erard died during the reign of Pepin, fatherofCharlemagne. Itdoesnotseemprobablethathelivedontothat period. Soon after his departure, however, the citizens of Ratisbon especially had cognizance of his sanctity, in the number of miracles there wrought through his intercession. St. Erard's remains were interred on the north side of the conventual church he had erected.
St. Wolfgang was accustomed to visit the tomb of St. Erard. On one
of these occasions, and at night, the latter appeared to the holy bishop and warned him to exercise his pastoral duty in reforming the order of canon- esses,^" who kept the church in which his remains lay. This admonition the bishop bore in mind and fulfilled to the best of his ability. ^^ Judith, the Duchess of Bavaria, collected many relics in the Holy Land, whither she made a pilgrimage. These she bestowed on the church and monastery of St. Erard, which she completely restored and amply endowed. ^^ There too she was interred. From many evidences adduced, the ancient writers of oursaint'sactsrelatevariousmiracleswroughtathistomb. Onewasthat of a woman, who, on the saint's festival day, recovered the use of a hand paralysed. Several persons, who had fallen into the very deep well dug by St. Erard's own hands, were brought out of it, not only in a living state, but in some instances, without even having been hurt. Paul had seen a woman, living when he wTOte, whose limbs were very much distorted, and who attributed their restoration, partly to the merits of St. Wenceslaus,^3 and partly to those of St. Erard. Another miraculous detection of a robber, and occurring at the tomb of St Erard, is related. Conrad states, that when labouring under a most debihtating infirmity of long standing, he had a remarkable dream. It seemed as if he were at the kneeling place of the LowerMonasteryinRatisbon. Lookingupwards,hefanciedthatthefollow- ing Latin verses were inscribed on a scroll, over the tomb of Erard :
"Erhardus mores augmentat, res et honores Hue omni genti pro laude sua venienti. "
Conrad had himself conveyed by a boat on the River Danube from Vienna to Ratisbon. There, one day, having been assisted by some friends and
nige," viii. Januarii, Vita S. Erardi, authore Anonymous Life of St. Erard, cap. ii. , and
Paulo, lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 25.
^^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
in Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap, iii. , "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," viii. Januarii, pp. 538, 540, 541, 544.
nise," Appendix ad Vitam S. Erardi, cap. i. ,
" ==
PP- 34> 35- Also Bollandus Acta Sane- She was mother to the Emperor Henry torum Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii, II. , sumamed the Pious. See Bollandus,
Commentarius Prsevius, p. 533.
'9 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. ,p. 507. ^° The Breviary of Ratisbon. See a fur- ther account of this incident in Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iii. ,
lib. xlviii. , sec. ix. , pp. 629, 630.
^' See the account of this vision in Paul's
Life of St. Erard, book ii. , chap. i. , in the
"Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii.
Januarii, n. (c), p. 539. Her son Henry II. was regarded as a great warrior and states- man. See Benevenuti de Rambaldis Liber Augustalis. Burcardus Gotthelffius Stru- vius' "Rerum Germanicarum Scriptores Varii," tomus ii. , p. 18.
^3 This holy martyr was assassinated on the 28th of September, A. D. 938.
124 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
companions to the Church of the Lower Monastery, he was present at a solemn Mass, celebrated on the altar of St. Erard. Prostrating himself, with outstretched arms before Ihe altar, while "Alleluia, O Gemma pastoralis
"
Salve splendor firmamenti," were in the course of being sung, the patient, in his fervour of soul, applied these words in devotion to St. Erard. From that moment a new vigour seemed to enliven his body, and gradually he recovered the use of his limbs. This miraculous recovery urged him to write a compendious Life of St. Erard for the edifica- tion of his readers, to give glory to God, and to honour his faithful servant. ^4 St. Erard is said to have been canonized by Pope Leo IX. , about the year 1052. ^5 This celebration took place in the time of Henry III. , sur-
named the Black, Emperor of Germany, who died in the year 1057. ^^ On the occasion of Pope Leo IX. visiting Germany, and staying at Ratisbon, the relics of St. Erard were transferred to a new place of sepulture.
It is probable an account of the whole proceeding had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX. , in that history contained in the Roman Library, to which Paul alludes. ^? This is presumed to have been a Bull issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, in reference to the elevation and translation of St. Wolf- gang's and of St. Erard's relics. ^^ In an old sarcophagus, containing the rehcs of St. Hildulph, and thought to have been fashioned in the twelfth
century, St. Erard and St. Hildulph are represented as bearing archiepiscopal palliums. ^9 One of the writers^" of Erard's acts, commenting on the deriva- tion of his name, declares, that as God fashioned and elected such an ark of sanctity, so did He place there treasures of honour; and as the noble saint had preserved innocence, during the whole course of his life, he was justly regarded, as chosen solely by and looking constantly on his great Maker. From his earliest years, in the sight of man, he bloomed as a spring flower, breathing fragrance around, owing to his chaste deportment and sincerity of disposition. His prayers were soul-felt and fervent when a child; his obedience and docility at school were grateful to his masters; while he willingly aided his class-fellows, less advanced in ability and knowledge, to overcome the difficulties of study. This happy life-time of youth, Hke the new vine in spring, began to expand its tendrils, to shoot forth its leaves, and to gather its blushing weight of fruit, which ripened at a later season. Among the less accomplished and cultivated of his companions, he was the purple rose growing amid brakes and brambles. In his native Scotia, the odour of his virtues soon became diffused. As he reached the prime of life, holiness increased within him. As life itself declined, his glory shone the more beautiful and gorgeous, like the sun sinking down behind the western waves, leaving a glittering brightness and variety over the myriad billows, surging and chafing on the troubled ocean.
Article III. —St. Ergnat, Virgin, of Tamlacht, County of Ar- magh,ANDOFDuneane,CountyOFANTRIM. \FifthCentury^ Welearn
^®See"ChronicaAustralis"subanno, 440, " Rerum Germanicamm Scriptores
lucida," and the sequence,
"ActaSanctorumHiber-
^*' See
nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
Paulo, lib. ii,, cap. i. , ii. , pp. 26, 27, and aliquot insignes," tomus i. Editio tertia
Colgan's
p,
Conrad's Vita S. Erardi, cap. iii. , pp. 31, 32.
curante Burcardo Gotthelffio Struvio,
^7 In his Life of St. Erard, lib. i. , cap. ii. It seems to have included notices of St.
^s This Sovereign Pontiff died A. D. 1054.
See Sigeberti Gemblacensis Coenobitae Hildulph.
"Chronographia," p. 599, in Johannes Pis- torius Nidanus, "Illustrium Veterum Scrip- torum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas setates Gestarum Historias vel Annales poste« risreliquerunt," tomus i.
"^
See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus
i,, viii. Januarii, n. (b), p. 536.
="9 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , § xv. , p. 507. 30 Conrad de Montepuellarum, chap. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 125
from the Homilies of St. Gregory the Great, as also from some of the early canons of the Irish Church, that as a physician cannot apply his remedy, unless he happens to know the malady of his patient, so cannot sins be healed without confession. Althoughwithourheartswebelieveuntojustice,withourmouth confession is made unto salvation. It serves to restrain, also, evil temptations, and it represses the force of passion. They who conceal sin cannot be directed ; but persons who with penitent minds confess and relinquish all those sins,
^
entertained or committed, will obtain mercy.
This noble lady flourished in the very dawn of Christianity in our island,
and about the year of Christ, 460. The places of her veneration are called Clauin-da-en or Dun-da-en, in the Feevah or wood of Dalaradia, and also in theChurchofTamlacht-bo. TheparishofDuneaneissituatedinthediocese of Connor. Its church was an ancient one, standing within Lisnaclosky townland. ^ We, find in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 as having a feast on this day, Eargnat, Virgin, of Dun-da-en, in Dal-Araidhe. This holy penitent's acts have been written by Colgan. * Her place is now called Duneane, in the county of Antrim,s There is a St. Herenat, Virgin, of this same locality, entered at the 30th of October. It appears most probable, they are iden- tical ; in which case, this virgin had a double festival in the year. One of the Irish saints introduced to us this day, in the Felire of St. ^ngus, is the present St. Erenait. ^ The etymology of Dun-da-en, contracted to Duneane,? has been
to " the fort of the two birds. " The four towns interpreted signify
of Duneane—on one of which the Protestant church stands^—are surrounded by that part of Lord O'Neill's property, known as " the estate of Feevah. "9 From the Irish Apostle's Lives, it would seem, that Ercnata was the daughter of and that she flourished as a
of St. Patrick. '° sumamed Derga, was the son of Finchod, son to Eugene, son to Niell. " This latter seems to have been the distinguished founder, from whom the family and territory of Hy-Niellain, near Armagh, derived origin. Colgan thinks the charming and celebrated locality, known as Drumsailech'^ belonged to him, and that afterwards it was made over to the great Irish Apostle, St. Patrick, to found the noble city of Armagh, the Ecclesiastical Metropolis of Ireland.
Among the noble ladies, who received the veil from St. Patrick, St. Ercnata
Darius,
contemporary
Darius,
Art. III. —' "Collectio Hibemorum Can- onnum," xlviii. 3.
^
See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiasti- cal Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro- more," p. 86, n. (h), and Appendix DD. pp. 300, 301, Calendar LL. p. 376.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. "
10, II.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemite," viii.
Januarii. Vita S. Ergnata, pp. 41, 42.
Colgan mistakes, however, in assigning Dun- There she is said to rest in Tamlachta-bo. da-en to the diocese and county of Down. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87,
5 According to William M. Hennessy's 88. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap.
MS. note.
* The
nished by Professor O'Looney A. ui. IT). ec]'echc ecimoni
son of sumamed
Cassan, Colla, Dacrioch,
as mentioned in the "Menologic Genealogy," chap. ix.
A. ui.
sounded Drumhillagh, of frequent occurrence
in some of the Ulster counties, and it means
" the ridge of sallows. " It takes the modem
spelling Drumsillagh. See Dr. P. W.
rann from the
Ixxii. , pp. 162, 163.
" thinks he must have been Neil-
following
with the English translation, h—as been fur-
Colgan
Ian, the son of Fedhlim, son to Fiachrius
:
e-pfcop ecl>A AiixTJAe e-i\cnAiu UA5 Ano^AbA nechcAn nAi|\ •oeAbbAe.
d. " The death of Ecimon,
A bishop chaste and noble, Ercnat chosen to the inheritance
'^
This is a townland name, sometimes
[of heaven], Joyce's Nectan the noble of Alba. "
Origin and History of Irish Names
original,
"
? See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
of the County of Antrim," sheets 42, 43,
48, 49.
^
It measures 54 by 26 feet, and is thought to be ancient. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con-
nor, and Dromore," p. 86, n. (h).
"
See ? (^/i/. Appendix DD. , pp. 300, 301. '° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 46.
"
of Places," part i. , chap, ii. , p. 21
126 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
or Ergnata is enumerated. ^3 Her love of God was earnest and sedulous.
Her pure-mindedness and observance of charitable and pious works served to
single her out from among other pious women, to make and keep in repair, as also to wash, the sacred vestments. These offices accorded with the tastes and zeal of St. Ergnat, while nothing on her part was left undone to promote that splendour and decency becoming the Divine Mysteries. At these she attended Avith rapt devotion. ^4 But her love for sacred music furnished an opportunity to the enemy of her soul to excite a momentary feeling, which soon developed into a strong temptation. Her admiration for the exquisite voice of St. Benignus, who sang sacred music with great pathos, presented a dangerousoccasionofsin. Thus,eventheholiestmortalsmayhavereasonto fear the imguardedness of a spiritual friendship, contracted through the purest motives. But, the Almighty saves from the iDlast of temptation those who fondly love Him, and so was the holy virgin Ergnat rescued from a tempo- ral's and spiritual death, through the instrumentality of St. Patrick'^ and St. Benignus. '? Renderedmorecautiousbyherescapefromagreatdanger,and increasing her labours with sole trust in the sustaining grace of God, she be- wailed with abundance of tears in after-life the frailty of a short time. As a penitent, she afterwards obtained that Divine aid, which caused her perfectly to regard only the love of God and to despise that towards created beings. Her closing years were rendered illustrious by signs and miracles. About the middle of the fifth century she is thought to have flourished ; but the exact year when or place where she died does not appear to have been discovered. She wasburiedatTamlachta-Bo. '^ Probablyherdeathtookplaceabouttheclose of the fifth century. Our hagiographers assign two different festivals to honour her. One of these occiirred on the 8th of January, and the other on the 30thofOctober. '^ Thefirstdenotesthedayofhernatalis;^°theotherfeast probably marks some particular event during her life, or a translation of her relics after death. In the Lives of the Saints, nothing engages more our human sympathies than a fall from grace and a subsequent return to its DivineAuthor; whileouro\vntremblinghopesofsalvationareencouraged, when so many feeble mortals have bravely resisted the assaults of Satan and escaped from his wiles. The remote occasions of guilt are to be dreaded, since the fires of deceitftil passion are seldom wholly extinguished. Some- times transforming himself into an angel of light, the devil designs our destruc- tion the more dangerously, because his approaches are insidious. He does not desire to sound the note of alarm, when his unseen snares are dra^vn closely
around us.
'3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,p. 269. Colgan refers to a very ancient Irish Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii. , cap. vi.
Rerum Franciarum. "
^ From these circumstances, Bollandus
justly concludes that this baptism, and other events, were prior to the times of King Pepin
"
and Charlemagne. See
Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii. Com- mentarius Prsevius.
vol. iii. , chap, xviii,, n. loo, p. 1 10.
"In Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," there is a fine engraving' on
9 See L. P.
France. " Premiere Race dite des Merovin- giens, pp. 54 to 56. See likewise the ac- count of his exploits in Greenwood's "First Book of the History of the Germans : Bar- baric Period," chap, xii. , sect, iv. , A. D. 640 to A. D. 724, pp. 711 to 719.
wrought
Anquetil's
" See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Acta Sanctorum
" Histoire de
tended to confirm the Norici in a profession of the Christian faith. See Col- gan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore Conrado, cap. ii. , p. 31.
''•Bollandus attempts, but hardly to his own satisfaction, the solution of this etymon in his notes to Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap. ii. See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii, Januarii, n. (Aa), p. 543-
122 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
while again the action of either saint has been exactly reversed, by other authors. The pious writer Paul remarks, that only Jesus Christ Himself opened the eyes of one born blind, as recorded in the Gospels, until St. Erard wrought this miracle. He then adored the Divine clemency, and gavethankstoGodforHismercy. Healsomanifestedhisreverencefor Odilia, and when he had learned the doom to which she had been destined by a cruel father, to the latter he forwarded an admonitory message, that he should shun all devices of the devil. He added, moreover, that if Ethico hated Odilia for a blameless blindness, that she should thenceforth be loved for the corporal light received from Christ, with her soul's illumination ; and he intimated, that if this counsel were despised, the father must incur a dread penalty for his crime,^s After the baptism of Odilia, St. Erard is said to have revisited Ratisbon. ^^ There he built what was aftenvards called the
Lower Monastery, and it was dedicated to the ever-glorious Virgin Mary, MotherofGod. Thischurchwasafterwardsservedbycelibatecanonesses.
Whilst living, St. Erard, according to tradition, dug a very deep well near this house, and he accomplished the labour with his o^\ti hands. Very clear water was contained in it, and at a subsequent period an abbess of the community there had it carefully enclosed. The people entertained a great veneration for this fountain, and many miracles were reported to have happened in connection with it.
As the time of Blessed Erard's death approached, he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Deploring the bonds of the flesh, his soul seemed to anticipate its future state, and to sigh not for visible but invisible things, not for transient but for permanent delights. Often and with great
fervour he " When shall I repeated :
and
before the face of our
go
Lord? " As the day of his release was near, he frequently ejaculated:
"WhenshallIbedeliveredfromthestraitsofthiscorruption? \\Tienshall I be drawn from the misery of this earthly prison ? When shall my hopes be satisfied ? When shall God's glory be revealed to me ? When shall I learn that my labours have pleased Him? When shall I understand the nature of my judgment, or what may be that reward of which the Apostle speaks, how neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him? " Thus, according to the apostolic precept, forgetting the world, and crucifying it with its vices and concupiscences, he looked forward to Jesus Christ ; and during his last struggle, he revolved in mind all his past actions, as being about to stand before the tribunal of his judge, while the hope of immortal bliss was to him a shield against every fear. Holy thoughts caused him to relinquish earthly regrets, and already the angelic choirs were opening to receive him into their august assembly, where he was thenceforth destined to sing the Divine praises. His will was to see and hear what his bright anticipations pictured to his mind; the movements of life alone remained, and gradually closed, as the eyes of his heart turned from worldly scenes, during the few days of his last illness. His days of health and labour were the true preparation for his moment of happy departure. As a pilgrim on earth, he felt exiled from Heaven ; but things corruptible passed away, as with a fer\'ent desire he hastened towards the grave. He longed for the victory of death; frequently were his reverent eyes and suppliant hands elevated in prayer ; and he awoke, at last, to the ineffable visions of bhss, when he had fallen asleep in the Lord. '7
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Paulo,
'^ See " Annales Ordinis Mabillon's
'S See
S.
Colgan's
nise," viii. Januarii, Vita S, Erardi, authore
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. , p. 507.
lib.
i. , cap. iii. , pp. 24, 25.
^
'? See
Colgan's
"Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
appear
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 123
Having thus led a most holy life and •wTought many miracles, St. Erard terminated his earthly career at Ratisbon, on an. 8th of January, Hence nearly all writers on St. Erard have placed his festival at this day. Thus, the German Martyrology, published by Canisius, Galesinus, the Utrecht Martyrology, Johannes Horolanus and Ferrarius, in their respective calendars ; Bruner, Rader, Aventinus, Felici, and Menard in their Martyrologies ; all state, that he was venerated on the 8th of January. ^^ The —exact year of his death —cannot now be ascertained. It seems to be placed yet only proxi- mately under a. d. 671, by the learned Mabillon. ^9 The Breviary of Ratisbon and Hundius state, that St. Erard died during the reign of Pepin, fatherofCharlemagne. Itdoesnotseemprobablethathelivedontothat period. Soon after his departure, however, the citizens of Ratisbon especially had cognizance of his sanctity, in the number of miracles there wrought through his intercession. St. Erard's remains were interred on the north side of the conventual church he had erected.
St. Wolfgang was accustomed to visit the tomb of St. Erard. On one
of these occasions, and at night, the latter appeared to the holy bishop and warned him to exercise his pastoral duty in reforming the order of canon- esses,^" who kept the church in which his remains lay. This admonition the bishop bore in mind and fulfilled to the best of his ability. ^^ Judith, the Duchess of Bavaria, collected many relics in the Holy Land, whither she made a pilgrimage. These she bestowed on the church and monastery of St. Erard, which she completely restored and amply endowed. ^^ There too she was interred. From many evidences adduced, the ancient writers of oursaint'sactsrelatevariousmiracleswroughtathistomb. Onewasthat of a woman, who, on the saint's festival day, recovered the use of a hand paralysed. Several persons, who had fallen into the very deep well dug by St. Erard's own hands, were brought out of it, not only in a living state, but in some instances, without even having been hurt. Paul had seen a woman, living when he wTOte, whose limbs were very much distorted, and who attributed their restoration, partly to the merits of St. Wenceslaus,^3 and partly to those of St. Erard. Another miraculous detection of a robber, and occurring at the tomb of St Erard, is related. Conrad states, that when labouring under a most debihtating infirmity of long standing, he had a remarkable dream. It seemed as if he were at the kneeling place of the LowerMonasteryinRatisbon. Lookingupwards,hefanciedthatthefollow- ing Latin verses were inscribed on a scroll, over the tomb of Erard :
"Erhardus mores augmentat, res et honores Hue omni genti pro laude sua venienti. "
Conrad had himself conveyed by a boat on the River Danube from Vienna to Ratisbon. There, one day, having been assisted by some friends and
nige," viii. Januarii, Vita S. Erardi, authore Anonymous Life of St. Erard, cap. ii. , and
Paulo, lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 25.
^^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
in Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap, iii. , "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," viii. Januarii, pp. 538, 540, 541, 544.
nise," Appendix ad Vitam S. Erardi, cap. i. ,
" ==
PP- 34> 35- Also Bollandus Acta Sane- She was mother to the Emperor Henry torum Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii, II. , sumamed the Pious. See Bollandus,
Commentarius Prsevius, p. 533.
'9 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. ,p. 507. ^° The Breviary of Ratisbon. See a fur- ther account of this incident in Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iii. ,
lib. xlviii. , sec. ix. , pp. 629, 630.
^' See the account of this vision in Paul's
Life of St. Erard, book ii. , chap. i. , in the
"Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii.
Januarii, n. (c), p. 539. Her son Henry II. was regarded as a great warrior and states- man. See Benevenuti de Rambaldis Liber Augustalis. Burcardus Gotthelffius Stru- vius' "Rerum Germanicarum Scriptores Varii," tomus ii. , p. 18.
^3 This holy martyr was assassinated on the 28th of September, A. D. 938.
124 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
companions to the Church of the Lower Monastery, he was present at a solemn Mass, celebrated on the altar of St. Erard. Prostrating himself, with outstretched arms before Ihe altar, while "Alleluia, O Gemma pastoralis
"
Salve splendor firmamenti," were in the course of being sung, the patient, in his fervour of soul, applied these words in devotion to St. Erard. From that moment a new vigour seemed to enliven his body, and gradually he recovered the use of his limbs. This miraculous recovery urged him to write a compendious Life of St. Erard for the edifica- tion of his readers, to give glory to God, and to honour his faithful servant. ^4 St. Erard is said to have been canonized by Pope Leo IX. , about the year 1052. ^5 This celebration took place in the time of Henry III. , sur-
named the Black, Emperor of Germany, who died in the year 1057. ^^ On the occasion of Pope Leo IX. visiting Germany, and staying at Ratisbon, the relics of St. Erard were transferred to a new place of sepulture.
It is probable an account of the whole proceeding had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX. , in that history contained in the Roman Library, to which Paul alludes. ^? This is presumed to have been a Bull issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, in reference to the elevation and translation of St. Wolf- gang's and of St. Erard's relics. ^^ In an old sarcophagus, containing the rehcs of St. Hildulph, and thought to have been fashioned in the twelfth
century, St. Erard and St. Hildulph are represented as bearing archiepiscopal palliums. ^9 One of the writers^" of Erard's acts, commenting on the deriva- tion of his name, declares, that as God fashioned and elected such an ark of sanctity, so did He place there treasures of honour; and as the noble saint had preserved innocence, during the whole course of his life, he was justly regarded, as chosen solely by and looking constantly on his great Maker. From his earliest years, in the sight of man, he bloomed as a spring flower, breathing fragrance around, owing to his chaste deportment and sincerity of disposition. His prayers were soul-felt and fervent when a child; his obedience and docility at school were grateful to his masters; while he willingly aided his class-fellows, less advanced in ability and knowledge, to overcome the difficulties of study. This happy life-time of youth, Hke the new vine in spring, began to expand its tendrils, to shoot forth its leaves, and to gather its blushing weight of fruit, which ripened at a later season. Among the less accomplished and cultivated of his companions, he was the purple rose growing amid brakes and brambles. In his native Scotia, the odour of his virtues soon became diffused. As he reached the prime of life, holiness increased within him. As life itself declined, his glory shone the more beautiful and gorgeous, like the sun sinking down behind the western waves, leaving a glittering brightness and variety over the myriad billows, surging and chafing on the troubled ocean.
Article III. —St. Ergnat, Virgin, of Tamlacht, County of Ar- magh,ANDOFDuneane,CountyOFANTRIM. \FifthCentury^ Welearn
^®See"ChronicaAustralis"subanno, 440, " Rerum Germanicamm Scriptores
lucida," and the sequence,
"ActaSanctorumHiber-
^*' See
nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
Paulo, lib. ii,, cap. i. , ii. , pp. 26, 27, and aliquot insignes," tomus i. Editio tertia
Colgan's
p,
Conrad's Vita S. Erardi, cap. iii. , pp. 31, 32.
curante Burcardo Gotthelffio Struvio,
^7 In his Life of St. Erard, lib. i. , cap. ii. It seems to have included notices of St.
^s This Sovereign Pontiff died A. D. 1054.
See Sigeberti Gemblacensis Coenobitae Hildulph.
"Chronographia," p. 599, in Johannes Pis- torius Nidanus, "Illustrium Veterum Scrip- torum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas setates Gestarum Historias vel Annales poste« risreliquerunt," tomus i.
"^
See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus
i,, viii. Januarii, n. (b), p. 536.
="9 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , § xv. , p. 507. 30 Conrad de Montepuellarum, chap. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 125
from the Homilies of St. Gregory the Great, as also from some of the early canons of the Irish Church, that as a physician cannot apply his remedy, unless he happens to know the malady of his patient, so cannot sins be healed without confession. Althoughwithourheartswebelieveuntojustice,withourmouth confession is made unto salvation. It serves to restrain, also, evil temptations, and it represses the force of passion. They who conceal sin cannot be directed ; but persons who with penitent minds confess and relinquish all those sins,
^
entertained or committed, will obtain mercy.
This noble lady flourished in the very dawn of Christianity in our island,
and about the year of Christ, 460. The places of her veneration are called Clauin-da-en or Dun-da-en, in the Feevah or wood of Dalaradia, and also in theChurchofTamlacht-bo. TheparishofDuneaneissituatedinthediocese of Connor. Its church was an ancient one, standing within Lisnaclosky townland. ^ We, find in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 as having a feast on this day, Eargnat, Virgin, of Dun-da-en, in Dal-Araidhe. This holy penitent's acts have been written by Colgan. * Her place is now called Duneane, in the county of Antrim,s There is a St. Herenat, Virgin, of this same locality, entered at the 30th of October. It appears most probable, they are iden- tical ; in which case, this virgin had a double festival in the year. One of the Irish saints introduced to us this day, in the Felire of St. ^ngus, is the present St. Erenait. ^ The etymology of Dun-da-en, contracted to Duneane,? has been
to " the fort of the two birds. " The four towns interpreted signify
of Duneane—on one of which the Protestant church stands^—are surrounded by that part of Lord O'Neill's property, known as " the estate of Feevah. "9 From the Irish Apostle's Lives, it would seem, that Ercnata was the daughter of and that she flourished as a
of St. Patrick. '° sumamed Derga, was the son of Finchod, son to Eugene, son to Niell. " This latter seems to have been the distinguished founder, from whom the family and territory of Hy-Niellain, near Armagh, derived origin. Colgan thinks the charming and celebrated locality, known as Drumsailech'^ belonged to him, and that afterwards it was made over to the great Irish Apostle, St. Patrick, to found the noble city of Armagh, the Ecclesiastical Metropolis of Ireland.
Among the noble ladies, who received the veil from St. Patrick, St. Ercnata
Darius,
contemporary
Darius,
Art. III. —' "Collectio Hibemorum Can- onnum," xlviii. 3.
^
See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiasti- cal Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro- more," p. 86, n. (h), and Appendix DD. pp. 300, 301, Calendar LL. p. 376.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. "
10, II.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemite," viii.
Januarii. Vita S. Ergnata, pp. 41, 42.
Colgan mistakes, however, in assigning Dun- There she is said to rest in Tamlachta-bo. da-en to the diocese and county of Down. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87,
5 According to William M. Hennessy's 88. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap.
MS. note.
* The
nished by Professor O'Looney A. ui. IT). ec]'echc ecimoni
son of sumamed
Cassan, Colla, Dacrioch,
as mentioned in the "Menologic Genealogy," chap. ix.
A. ui.
sounded Drumhillagh, of frequent occurrence
in some of the Ulster counties, and it means
" the ridge of sallows. " It takes the modem
spelling Drumsillagh. See Dr. P. W.
rann from the
Ixxii. , pp. 162, 163.
" thinks he must have been Neil-
following
with the English translation, h—as been fur-
Colgan
Ian, the son of Fedhlim, son to Fiachrius
:
e-pfcop ecl>A AiixTJAe e-i\cnAiu UA5 Ano^AbA nechcAn nAi|\ •oeAbbAe.
d. " The death of Ecimon,
A bishop chaste and noble, Ercnat chosen to the inheritance
'^
This is a townland name, sometimes
[of heaven], Joyce's Nectan the noble of Alba. "
Origin and History of Irish Names
original,
"
? See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
of the County of Antrim," sheets 42, 43,
48, 49.
^
It measures 54 by 26 feet, and is thought to be ancient. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con-
nor, and Dromore," p. 86, n. (h).
"
See ? (^/i/. Appendix DD. , pp. 300, 301. '° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 46.
"
of Places," part i. , chap, ii. , p. 21
126 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
or Ergnata is enumerated. ^3 Her love of God was earnest and sedulous.
Her pure-mindedness and observance of charitable and pious works served to
single her out from among other pious women, to make and keep in repair, as also to wash, the sacred vestments. These offices accorded with the tastes and zeal of St. Ergnat, while nothing on her part was left undone to promote that splendour and decency becoming the Divine Mysteries. At these she attended Avith rapt devotion. ^4 But her love for sacred music furnished an opportunity to the enemy of her soul to excite a momentary feeling, which soon developed into a strong temptation. Her admiration for the exquisite voice of St. Benignus, who sang sacred music with great pathos, presented a dangerousoccasionofsin. Thus,eventheholiestmortalsmayhavereasonto fear the imguardedness of a spiritual friendship, contracted through the purest motives. But, the Almighty saves from the iDlast of temptation those who fondly love Him, and so was the holy virgin Ergnat rescued from a tempo- ral's and spiritual death, through the instrumentality of St. Patrick'^ and St. Benignus. '? Renderedmorecautiousbyherescapefromagreatdanger,and increasing her labours with sole trust in the sustaining grace of God, she be- wailed with abundance of tears in after-life the frailty of a short time. As a penitent, she afterwards obtained that Divine aid, which caused her perfectly to regard only the love of God and to despise that towards created beings. Her closing years were rendered illustrious by signs and miracles. About the middle of the fifth century she is thought to have flourished ; but the exact year when or place where she died does not appear to have been discovered. She wasburiedatTamlachta-Bo. '^ Probablyherdeathtookplaceabouttheclose of the fifth century. Our hagiographers assign two different festivals to honour her. One of these occiirred on the 8th of January, and the other on the 30thofOctober. '^ Thefirstdenotesthedayofhernatalis;^°theotherfeast probably marks some particular event during her life, or a translation of her relics after death. In the Lives of the Saints, nothing engages more our human sympathies than a fall from grace and a subsequent return to its DivineAuthor; whileouro\vntremblinghopesofsalvationareencouraged, when so many feeble mortals have bravely resisted the assaults of Satan and escaped from his wiles. The remote occasions of guilt are to be dreaded, since the fires of deceitftil passion are seldom wholly extinguished. Some- times transforming himself into an angel of light, the devil designs our destruc- tion the more dangerously, because his approaches are insidious. He does not desire to sound the note of alarm, when his unseen snares are dra^vn closely
around us.
'3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,p. 269. Colgan refers to a very ancient Irish Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii. , cap. vi.
