These prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not only that there was such a Welsh or Cornish saint as Crantock ; but, that the out- line of his life, in the main, is
tolerably
correct.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh, whose feast occurs on the
to his Life, in this Volume, at the 14th of May, Art. i. , chap, iii. , iv.
^ See the Earl of Dunraven's " Notes on Irish Architecture," edited by Miss Mar- garet Stokes, vol. ii. , p. 67.
3 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of St. ^ngus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxx.
^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
5 In the Franciscan copy, we have pt)7iniii ,1. h SuAtiAij.
Rahan, whereas in all subsequent notices of the place the plural form Ui Suanaigh is employed in reference to the patronage. There is also a cross which stood there spoken of in the Leabhar Breac (fol. 35<5), under the title of the Ui-Suanaigh Cross. " —Earl of Dunraven's "Notes on Irish Architeciure," edited by Miss Margaret Slokes, vol. ii. , p. 66.
" See Lewis' '" Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 577.
'3 It is remarked, by John O'Donovan, the territory of Feara Ceall never extended added, concludes this account, in the farther north, than to the southern bounda-
* The word "Anno," but nothing more
Martyrology of Donegal, while the year is left blank, in the original.
ries of the baron es of Kilcoursey and Moy- cashel. See his Letter, of January 20th, 183S, from Banagher, in " Letters coniain-
7 See "Acta Sanctorum HiberniK. " iii.
Februarii, Appendix ad Acta S. Colmani ing Information relative to the Antiquities
vulgo Macduach, cap. ii. , p. 24S.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Mail xvi. Among the pretermitted saints,
of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. , p. 2.
'"t Foraninterestingaccountofthisplace, the reader is referred 10 Dr. Petrie's " Ec- clesiastical Architecture and Round Towers
p. 559.
* His feast occurs, at the ist of October.
'° Chapter ix.
" "Drs. Petrie and O'Donovan have been of Ireland," part ii. , sec. iii. , sub-sec. i. , pp.
mistaken in speaking as if one of these two 242 to 247.
brothers had been exclusively patron of '5 See ? (^/i/. , p. 245.
;
474
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
ist of October's Already, in the Life of St. Carthage, we have alUided to the ancient churches yet remaining there, and a suspicion prevails, that these evenhadtheirorigin,whenSt. Fiodhmuinewaslivinginthatlocality. There is a beautifully proportioned doorway,'^ in the west wall of the small church ;'7 and, its mouldings are greatly admired. '^ It has been considered, by John O'Donovan, to look remarkably narrow, in proportion to its height. '? The Annals of the Four Masters ^° place the deatli of this saint, at a. d. 750; while, the Annals of Clonmacnoise enter it, at 751; and those of Ulster, at 756. It is mentioned, in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given on
Doorway of Rahan Old Church, King's County.
this day, to Fiodhmuine, i. e. , Ua Suanaigh, anchorite of Raithin, and of Inis Baithin, on the east of Leinster. ^^ Inis Baithin, now Ennisboyne,^^ is situated in the parish of Dunganstown, at the extreme east of Wicklow County. After the notices of the two Ui Suanaigh, there is only a brief allusion to the
'* Dr. George Petrie has an engraving and relative to the Antiquities of the King's
a notice of it, in his " Ecclesiastical Archi- tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , subs, i. , pp. 246, 247.
County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S37," vol. i. Letter dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1838, p. 92.
TM See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , PP- 352, 353. ^"fl n- (7)- Il'i<i-
'7 It measures 7 feet 9 inches, in height,
2 feet 8 inches wide at the base, and 2 feet
6 inches at the top. Sec " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Thiid Earl of 130, 131-
Dunraven, edited by Miss Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. . p. 64.
'^ The Plate cii. of door-way in the Earl of Dunraven's work, edited by Miss . Stf)kes, belongs to this smaller church, at Rahan. It has been drawn for me, by William F. Wakenian, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millanl.
'9 See "Letters containing Information
-- Dr. Reeves says, in a note, at East of Leinster : "The Manuscript copy has 1oi)\ce)\ tAigcn, west of Leinster, which is manifestly a blunder. . . . The same error is repeated, under Baithin, at the 22iid of this month.
" It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Wick- low," sheet 31.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
——
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
death of Aedhan Raithne, or Aedhan of Rathain, at ySy,'^ in our Annals, until the beginning of the twelfth century, where we read, thatDermod O'Kelly, suc- cessor ofUi Suanaigh, i. e. , abbot of Rahen, died in the year iii3. '^s in 1227, it is recorded,'^ tliat Rahin O'Swanie Castle had been built, by Symon Clif- ford f^ and, John O'Donovan—who had been on the spot—thinks, thata part of that structure must have been a vault, standing near the old church at Rathain. ^^ It seems, that Hua-Sunaig's cross had been set up, some place inornearRahen. Thiswasheldingreatveneration,anditwasassumedto giveprotectiontothose,whowereabletoplacethemselvesunderit. ''? InRoss Corr,3°however,asatiricalPoemhadbeencomposed;3' and,thisappearsto have given so much offence to Mael-bresail,32 son of Fland Lena, that he
slew the satirists, wliile they were under Hua Suanaig's protection, within the princedom of Domnall, son of INIurchadh, a descendant of Cailchin. He arrested the murderers, but he felt unable to award judgment and mulct, on account of the greatness ofthis outrage. 33 So it was left to the conscience of Hua Suanaig himself, and this was his judgment, viz. , the land of the crime, namely Ross Corr, to fall in ownership to St. Mochuda and to Hua Suanaig, and also the persons who committed the crime, namely, the descendants of Gille Suanaig and Hui Chernaig and the Hui Choniii, without reversion to them or to their families until the day of doom. They were condemned, like- Avise, to lose their liberty. 34
Article IV. St. Cairnech, Cairnigh, Crantock, Carantac, or Carantoc, Confessor, of Wales, and of Tuilin, now Dulane, or DuLEENE, County of Meath, Ireland. [Fifth or Sixth Century. ~\ The present holy man, called Cairnech, or Cairnigh, by the Irish, and Cran- tock, Carantac, Carantech, Carannog,' or Carantoc, by the Britons, has had hisnameLatinizedintoCarantorius,Carantocus,orCarantacus. Todistin- guish him from another holy man, who is venerated on the 28th of March,^
May 1 6. ]
475
="* See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 393 to 395.
^sSee ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 994, 995, and n. (h).
^^ In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as trans- lated by Connell Mageoghegan.
^7 He gave an annuity of four hundred [? ] to the Prior and Convent of Dorrowe. SeeDr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters, " vol. iii. , n. (x), p. 247.
-** See " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838," vol. i. Letter, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, p.
130.
'9 See a comment on the Feilire of /Engus,
in the " Leabhar Breac. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. . parti. On the Calendar of Ocngus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , pp. Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii.
3° The present Roscore towiiland, in the parish of Rahen.
3' These lines of it are quoted :
A chenei pAcliAch ac^o bA|\nei'pi pAchu niAC pAchAch inic niAeb-
b]Aeffi.
It is thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes
"O race ofFiacha. Here is your an- cestry (lit. ' trace ') :
Fiachu son ofFiacha, son of Mael- bressi. "
:
^- He was engaged on a spoiling expedi- tion, and one of his spoils was the outraging of Hua-Suanaig's Cross, and of his safe- conduct in Fid Ela, of the retinue of artists, Hence came the title Cross of the Satirists. It would appear the race of Fiacha claimed to come from Fiacha, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages; but, this was contemp- tuously denied by ihe Satirists, whose blood paid the forfeit,
^^ xhis account is in the "Leabhar Breac," fol. 351^.
^4 tjge " Letters containing Information re- lative to the Antiquities of the King's Conn y, collected during the Progress of the Ord- nance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. Letter of John O Donovnn, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, pp. 123, 124.
Article iv. — ' . See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. viii. , p. 171.
•
476
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
and who is ? . lso called Cearnach, the present saint is usually denominated the Elder. 3 Both saints are often confounded. In one passage, the name of the present holy man appears as Cernachus. '' As the earliest English com- pilation of Crantock's Life was made some centuries after his death, those records of legends, which were current concerning him in the middle ages, should deserve little credit, if they were not supported by other and more independent memorials. Several such may be adduced, from ancient Irish and Welsh sources.
These prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not only that there was such a Welsh or Cornish saint as Crantock ; but, that the out- line of his life, in the main, is tolerably correct. This holy man was cele- brated, in his time. Some INIanuscript copies of his Acts are extant. s There is, in the Library of the British Museum, an old Manuscript Life of this saint, supposedtohavebeenwrittenbyJohnofTynmouth; and,JohnCapgravehas complied the Acts of St. Carantoc, confessor, for the xvii. of the June
Kalends. ^ Wytford has some notices of liim, in his Anglican Martyrology. It was Colgan's intention, 7 to have treated of him, at this date. The BoUan- (lists have published Acts of St. Carentoc,^ or Cernath,9 with some prefatory remarks and notes, by the editor, Father Daniel Papebroke. The Rev. W. J. Rees '° has published the Latin Acts" of St. Carantoc, for the xvii. of the June Kalends,^^ with an English translation. ^3 This has been taken from a Manu- script, in the British Museum. '-^ Besides, R. Rees,'5 the Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'^ and the Rev. John Adams, M. . A. . ^7 have given interesting accounts of St. Crantock. '^ There are also notices of him, in the Dictionary of Christian Biography,'? under the different headings of Cairnech^° and of Carantoc. ^' We find, that for the same date, Bishop Forbes has notices of St. Carnac,^' as likewise of St. Kieranch,^3 who probably was not a different person. St. Carnech, venerated on the i6th of May, belonged to the Britons of Cornwall, according to a commentator on the Feilire of St. /i£ngus,='* and other Irish accounts. ^5 This seems to be confirmed, from a commentary on
» See an account of him, at this date, iu the Third Vohime of this work, Art. i.
3 Because he flourished a century earlier thantheotherCairnech.
» See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"Seriesii. PoliteLiteratureand Antiquities, vol. ii. , No. xlv. Ontheldenti- ficationof the proper Namesappearingontwo Monuments bearing Ogam Inscriptions by the Right Rev. Charles Graves, D. D. , p. 2S6.
5 The MS. classed E 3, 8, in Trinity Col- le'^e, Dublin, has a Vita S. Carantoci Con- fess. , xvii. Kal. Junii.
' See "Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. Ivi. ,
Ivii.
7 At the l6th of May, he notes Carantoc,
in " Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum qui\: MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Uierum. "
* These are furnished from a Manuscript, belonging to the Cottonian Library, London, and classed Vespasian A 14, at fol. 90. They are of a very Iegendai7 character, and they were procured for the BoUandists, through the kindness of the learned Sir William Du^dalc, author of the " Monasticon Angli- caniim," in three folio volumes, with other erudite works.
9 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. De S. Carentoco scu Cernatho K])isc. Abbate in Wallia et Ilibcrnia. pp. 584 to 5S7.
" See " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints. "
" See pp. 97 to loi, ibid.
'- May16.
'3 See pp. 396 to 401, ibid.
''' ItisclassedVespasianA. xiv. ,fol. 90. '5 See ''Essay on the Welsh Saints," p.
209. London, 1836,8x0.
'" See "Lives of the Saints," vol. v. , May
16, pp. 215, 216.
'' Vicar of Stockcross, Berks,
'^ In a Paper, read May iSth, 1872, and
published in "Journ. al of the Royal Institu- tion of Cornwall, 1874," number xv.
"'Edited by William Smith, LL. D. , and Henry Vv'ace, M. A.
"^ See vol. i. , pp. 383, 384.
''' See zV'/^/. , p. 403.
^' See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 298,
'''• See ibid. , p. 377.
^* In the Leabhar Breac copy. See
"Transactionsof the Royal Irish Academy," Iri>li Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Ocngus, p. Ixxxvii.
^^ See " The Irish Version of the Historia Britunum of Nennius," edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, Additional Notes, No. xxii. , p. cxi.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
the Senchus Mor,^^ which states, that St. Cairnech of Tuilen took part in its composition, as also, because Crantock^? in Cornwall is called after this saint. According to some accounts, this holy man was the son of Keredic,^^ Ceredig, or Keretic, a chief who swayed the country of Keredigion, or Keredicia,^9 now Cardiganshire. 3° His mother is styled Anne, and according to some ac- counts, she was a cousin to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 31 There is still extant an Epistle, written by St. Patrick, to the soldiers of a chieftain called Coroti- CUS. 32 He was only nominally a professor of Christianity. He is said to have landed in Ireland, at the head of pirates, and, after committing every kind of outrage, he carried off a number of baptized believers, for the purpose of selling them as slaves to the heathen Picts. It has been conjectured,33 that this chieftain was Ceredig, Caredig, or Cereticus, son of Cynedda,34 as the name is commonly given by Latin writers, and who was also the father of our saint. 35 This conjecture is strengthened, by a statement in the Life of St. Crantock, that Ceredig's territory, in his old age, had been devastated by hordes of Irish. 3^ What else could have been expected, but that fierce retri- bution should be sought by these people, whom he had so grievously
May 1 6. ]
477
-° See "Ancient Laws of Ireland," senchus nion. introduction to Sen- clius Mor, and -AcligAbAiL ; or Law of Dis- tress, as contained in the Harleian Manu- scripts," vol. i. , part i. , Preface, p. xxvii. Also, vol. ii. , part ii. , Preface, p. viii.
^^ A parish in the centre of the west coast, Cornwall. See Redding's " Illustrated Itinerary of Cornwall, 1842," p. 220.
'^ The Cottonian Manuscript, Vesp. A 14
states, that this Keredic had many sons, of
whom Carentocus was one. The genealogy
of Keredic is thus given : he was Mak Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quoe
Cuneda, Mak Ethern, Mak Patern, Pes supposed to be used for the Greek word Trats meaning "son "—Ludant, Mak Tacit, Mak Kein, Mak Guorchem, Mak Doli, Mak Gurdoli, Mak Donni, Mak Guordonni, Mak Amguolie, Mak Amguerit, Mak Omnid, ]Mak Dubunn, Mak Britguenin, Mak Etigen, Mak Aballath, Mak Canabeth, Mak Beli. These were the sons of Cuneda : his eldest Tipipann, who died in the territory of Mann Gudodin—now tlie Isle of Man—while his father Cuneda and his brothers did not go there, but Merian his son divided the posses- sions of his father among his brothers ; the second son was Ismael, the third Kumann, the fourth Dunann, the fifth Keredic, the sixth Alxilach, the seventh Emmann, the eighth Dogmaile, and the ninth Etern. These were the boundaries of their posses- sions : from the River called Donbyrduiu —conjecturedtohavebeentheTyvydividing the shires of Pembroke and Carmarthen to another River, called Guonn or Quon supposed to be the Conway, at the mouth of which is Aberconwy. This includes a tract of West British country, embracing all the southern part of Ceretica, which was situated opposite the Wexford coast, in Ireland. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Mail xvi. De S. Carentoco sen Cer- natho Episc. Abbate in Wallia et Hibernia, p. 585,andnn. (a,b,c),p. 587.
supersunt, Fragmenta ;" scholiis illustrata a Joachimo Laurentio Villaneuva Presbytero, pp, 240 to 255.
33 By Rev. James Henihorn Todd, in " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap. ii.
3'* See his genealogy, extracted from the Welsh records in S. R. Meyrick's " History and Antiquities of the County of Cardigan," Introduction, p. 18. London, 1S08, 4to.
3S See, also, Rev. Rice Rees' " Essay on the Welsh Saints," p. 135.
3* In the Saxon and Welsh additions to the "Hisioria Britonum," dcccclxxvii. , in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 3859, be- longing to the British Museum, there is a "map Ceretic guletic," as noticed in William F. Skene's " Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and other early Me- morials of Scottish History," p. 15- In the Preface to that work, at p. xcv. , Mr. Skene hashimfirst,onalistoftheBritishKingsof Strath Clyde. Noticing this, an ingenious correspondent, Mr. William Birch, 88 Lower Clanbrassil-street, Dublin, thinks he was probably the tyrant Coroticus—mentioned in the saint's " Epistle " to that tyrant. In a letter, dated August 19th, 1885, and ad- dressed to the writer, Mr. Birch adds : "no doubt, according to the Pedigree—of the above-mentioned—Cereticus, he was con- temporary with Pope Celestine, St. Patrick andNiall-mor. But,Ithinkthisconnection
^* This territory is said to have been named after him. See //'/(/.
3° According to Cough's Camden's " Bri- tannia. " the Britons called it Sire Aber-tivy, and ancient writers Ceretica, over which the famous King Caratacus ruled. See vol. ii. ,
P-
524-
3' According to the Cottonian Manuscript,
classed Vesp. A. 14, fol. 90.
3= See the text of tiiis Epistle, with some
learned comments, by the editor, in " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi,
478
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
——
wronged. 37 Seeing that the great Irish Apostle had terrified the soldiers of Ceredig, by denouncing God's judgments upon them, and upon their chief, when stigmatizing them as " fellow-citizens of devils and murderers of the brethren of the Lord," what more likely to have happened, ^^ than that Cran- tock—being fully aware of the enormity of those crimes, committed by his father's troops, and of the terror which the saint's scathing denunciation had struck into their hearts—should have fled for mercy to St. Patrick, rather than lead guilty soldiers against the avenging host ? By the Welsh writers, how- ever, this saint is claimed, as having been the son of one among their chief- tains, and he was known as Carannog. By the mediseval hagiologists, his name is given as Carantocus, But, there is much diversity of opinion regarding his pedigree. One account has it,39 that Carantocus—probably not
differing from Maccarthinn. ^o Bishop of Clogher
sister of St.
to his Life, in this Volume, at the 14th of May, Art. i. , chap, iii. , iv.
^ See the Earl of Dunraven's " Notes on Irish Architecture," edited by Miss Mar- garet Stokes, vol. ii. , p. 67.
3 See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of St. ^ngus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxx.
^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
5 In the Franciscan copy, we have pt)7iniii ,1. h SuAtiAij.
Rahan, whereas in all subsequent notices of the place the plural form Ui Suanaigh is employed in reference to the patronage. There is also a cross which stood there spoken of in the Leabhar Breac (fol. 35<5), under the title of the Ui-Suanaigh Cross. " —Earl of Dunraven's "Notes on Irish Architeciure," edited by Miss Margaret Slokes, vol. ii. , p. 66.
" See Lewis' '" Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 577.
'3 It is remarked, by John O'Donovan, the territory of Feara Ceall never extended added, concludes this account, in the farther north, than to the southern bounda-
* The word "Anno," but nothing more
Martyrology of Donegal, while the year is left blank, in the original.
ries of the baron es of Kilcoursey and Moy- cashel. See his Letter, of January 20th, 183S, from Banagher, in " Letters coniain-
7 See "Acta Sanctorum HiberniK. " iii.
Februarii, Appendix ad Acta S. Colmani ing Information relative to the Antiquities
vulgo Macduach, cap. ii. , p. 24S.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Mail xvi. Among the pretermitted saints,
of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. , p. 2.
'"t Foraninterestingaccountofthisplace, the reader is referred 10 Dr. Petrie's " Ec- clesiastical Architecture and Round Towers
p. 559.
* His feast occurs, at the ist of October.
'° Chapter ix.
" "Drs. Petrie and O'Donovan have been of Ireland," part ii. , sec. iii. , sub-sec. i. , pp.
mistaken in speaking as if one of these two 242 to 247.
brothers had been exclusively patron of '5 See ? (^/i/. , p. 245.
;
474
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
ist of October's Already, in the Life of St. Carthage, we have alUided to the ancient churches yet remaining there, and a suspicion prevails, that these evenhadtheirorigin,whenSt. Fiodhmuinewaslivinginthatlocality. There is a beautifully proportioned doorway,'^ in the west wall of the small church ;'7 and, its mouldings are greatly admired. '^ It has been considered, by John O'Donovan, to look remarkably narrow, in proportion to its height. '? The Annals of the Four Masters ^° place the deatli of this saint, at a. d. 750; while, the Annals of Clonmacnoise enter it, at 751; and those of Ulster, at 756. It is mentioned, in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given on
Doorway of Rahan Old Church, King's County.
this day, to Fiodhmuine, i. e. , Ua Suanaigh, anchorite of Raithin, and of Inis Baithin, on the east of Leinster. ^^ Inis Baithin, now Ennisboyne,^^ is situated in the parish of Dunganstown, at the extreme east of Wicklow County. After the notices of the two Ui Suanaigh, there is only a brief allusion to the
'* Dr. George Petrie has an engraving and relative to the Antiquities of the King's
a notice of it, in his " Ecclesiastical Archi- tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , subs, i. , pp. 246, 247.
County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1S37," vol. i. Letter dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1838, p. 92.
TM See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , PP- 352, 353. ^"fl n- (7)- Il'i<i-
'7 It measures 7 feet 9 inches, in height,
2 feet 8 inches wide at the base, and 2 feet
6 inches at the top. Sec " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Thiid Earl of 130, 131-
Dunraven, edited by Miss Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. . p. 64.
'^ The Plate cii. of door-way in the Earl of Dunraven's work, edited by Miss . Stf)kes, belongs to this smaller church, at Rahan. It has been drawn for me, by William F. Wakenian, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millanl.
'9 See "Letters containing Information
-- Dr. Reeves says, in a note, at East of Leinster : "The Manuscript copy has 1oi)\ce)\ tAigcn, west of Leinster, which is manifestly a blunder. . . . The same error is repeated, under Baithin, at the 22iid of this month.
" It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Wick- low," sheet 31.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
——
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
death of Aedhan Raithne, or Aedhan of Rathain, at ySy,'^ in our Annals, until the beginning of the twelfth century, where we read, thatDermod O'Kelly, suc- cessor ofUi Suanaigh, i. e. , abbot of Rahen, died in the year iii3. '^s in 1227, it is recorded,'^ tliat Rahin O'Swanie Castle had been built, by Symon Clif- ford f^ and, John O'Donovan—who had been on the spot—thinks, thata part of that structure must have been a vault, standing near the old church at Rathain. ^^ It seems, that Hua-Sunaig's cross had been set up, some place inornearRahen. Thiswasheldingreatveneration,anditwasassumedto giveprotectiontothose,whowereabletoplacethemselvesunderit. ''? InRoss Corr,3°however,asatiricalPoemhadbeencomposed;3' and,thisappearsto have given so much offence to Mael-bresail,32 son of Fland Lena, that he
slew the satirists, wliile they were under Hua Suanaig's protection, within the princedom of Domnall, son of INIurchadh, a descendant of Cailchin. He arrested the murderers, but he felt unable to award judgment and mulct, on account of the greatness ofthis outrage. 33 So it was left to the conscience of Hua Suanaig himself, and this was his judgment, viz. , the land of the crime, namely Ross Corr, to fall in ownership to St. Mochuda and to Hua Suanaig, and also the persons who committed the crime, namely, the descendants of Gille Suanaig and Hui Chernaig and the Hui Choniii, without reversion to them or to their families until the day of doom. They were condemned, like- Avise, to lose their liberty. 34
Article IV. St. Cairnech, Cairnigh, Crantock, Carantac, or Carantoc, Confessor, of Wales, and of Tuilin, now Dulane, or DuLEENE, County of Meath, Ireland. [Fifth or Sixth Century. ~\ The present holy man, called Cairnech, or Cairnigh, by the Irish, and Cran- tock, Carantac, Carantech, Carannog,' or Carantoc, by the Britons, has had hisnameLatinizedintoCarantorius,Carantocus,orCarantacus. Todistin- guish him from another holy man, who is venerated on the 28th of March,^
May 1 6. ]
475
="* See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 393 to 395.
^sSee ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 994, 995, and n. (h).
^^ In the Annals of Clonmacnoise, as trans- lated by Connell Mageoghegan.
^7 He gave an annuity of four hundred [? ] to the Prior and Convent of Dorrowe. SeeDr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters, " vol. iii. , n. (x), p. 247.
-** See " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the King's County, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1838," vol. i. Letter, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, p.
130.
'9 See a comment on the Feilire of /Engus,
in the " Leabhar Breac. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. . parti. On the Calendar of Ocngus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , pp. Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii.
3° The present Roscore towiiland, in the parish of Rahen.
3' These lines of it are quoted :
A chenei pAcliAch ac^o bA|\nei'pi pAchu niAC pAchAch inic niAeb-
b]Aeffi.
It is thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes
"O race ofFiacha. Here is your an- cestry (lit. ' trace ') :
Fiachu son ofFiacha, son of Mael- bressi. "
:
^- He was engaged on a spoiling expedi- tion, and one of his spoils was the outraging of Hua-Suanaig's Cross, and of his safe- conduct in Fid Ela, of the retinue of artists, Hence came the title Cross of the Satirists. It would appear the race of Fiacha claimed to come from Fiacha, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages; but, this was contemp- tuously denied by ihe Satirists, whose blood paid the forfeit,
^^ xhis account is in the "Leabhar Breac," fol. 351^.
^4 tjge " Letters containing Information re- lative to the Antiquities of the King's Conn y, collected during the Progress of the Ord- nance Survey in 1S38," vol. i. Letter of John O Donovnn, dated Roscrea, February 7th, 1838, pp. 123, 124.
Article iv. — ' . See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. viii. , p. 171.
•
476
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
and who is ? . lso called Cearnach, the present saint is usually denominated the Elder. 3 Both saints are often confounded. In one passage, the name of the present holy man appears as Cernachus. '' As the earliest English com- pilation of Crantock's Life was made some centuries after his death, those records of legends, which were current concerning him in the middle ages, should deserve little credit, if they were not supported by other and more independent memorials. Several such may be adduced, from ancient Irish and Welsh sources.
These prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, not only that there was such a Welsh or Cornish saint as Crantock ; but, that the out- line of his life, in the main, is tolerably correct. This holy man was cele- brated, in his time. Some INIanuscript copies of his Acts are extant. s There is, in the Library of the British Museum, an old Manuscript Life of this saint, supposedtohavebeenwrittenbyJohnofTynmouth; and,JohnCapgravehas complied the Acts of St. Carantoc, confessor, for the xvii. of the June
Kalends. ^ Wytford has some notices of liim, in his Anglican Martyrology. It was Colgan's intention, 7 to have treated of him, at this date. The BoUan- (lists have published Acts of St. Carentoc,^ or Cernath,9 with some prefatory remarks and notes, by the editor, Father Daniel Papebroke. The Rev. W. J. Rees '° has published the Latin Acts" of St. Carantoc, for the xvii. of the June Kalends,^^ with an English translation. ^3 This has been taken from a Manu- script, in the British Museum. '-^ Besides, R. Rees,'5 the Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'^ and the Rev. John Adams, M. . A. . ^7 have given interesting accounts of St. Crantock. '^ There are also notices of him, in the Dictionary of Christian Biography,'? under the different headings of Cairnech^° and of Carantoc. ^' We find, that for the same date, Bishop Forbes has notices of St. Carnac,^' as likewise of St. Kieranch,^3 who probably was not a different person. St. Carnech, venerated on the i6th of May, belonged to the Britons of Cornwall, according to a commentator on the Feilire of St. /i£ngus,='* and other Irish accounts. ^5 This seems to be confirmed, from a commentary on
» See an account of him, at this date, iu the Third Vohime of this work, Art. i.
3 Because he flourished a century earlier thantheotherCairnech.
» See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy,"Seriesii. PoliteLiteratureand Antiquities, vol. ii. , No. xlv. Ontheldenti- ficationof the proper Namesappearingontwo Monuments bearing Ogam Inscriptions by the Right Rev. Charles Graves, D. D. , p. 2S6.
5 The MS. classed E 3, 8, in Trinity Col- le'^e, Dublin, has a Vita S. Carantoci Con- fess. , xvii. Kal. Junii.
' See "Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. Ivi. ,
Ivii.
7 At the l6th of May, he notes Carantoc,
in " Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum qui\: MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Uierum. "
* These are furnished from a Manuscript, belonging to the Cottonian Library, London, and classed Vespasian A 14, at fol. 90. They are of a very Iegendai7 character, and they were procured for the BoUandists, through the kindness of the learned Sir William Du^dalc, author of the " Monasticon Angli- caniim," in three folio volumes, with other erudite works.
9 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. De S. Carentoco scu Cernatho K])isc. Abbate in Wallia et Ilibcrnia. pp. 584 to 5S7.
" See " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints. "
" See pp. 97 to loi, ibid.
'- May16.
'3 See pp. 396 to 401, ibid.
''' ItisclassedVespasianA. xiv. ,fol. 90. '5 See ''Essay on the Welsh Saints," p.
209. London, 1836,8x0.
'" See "Lives of the Saints," vol. v. , May
16, pp. 215, 216.
'' Vicar of Stockcross, Berks,
'^ In a Paper, read May iSth, 1872, and
published in "Journ. al of the Royal Institu- tion of Cornwall, 1874," number xv.
"'Edited by William Smith, LL. D. , and Henry Vv'ace, M. A.
"^ See vol. i. , pp. 383, 384.
''' See zV'/^/. , p. 403.
^' See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 298,
'''• See ibid. , p. 377.
^* In the Leabhar Breac copy. See
"Transactionsof the Royal Irish Academy," Iri>li Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Ocngus, p. Ixxxvii.
^^ See " The Irish Version of the Historia Britunum of Nennius," edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, Additional Notes, No. xxii. , p. cxi.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
the Senchus Mor,^^ which states, that St. Cairnech of Tuilen took part in its composition, as also, because Crantock^? in Cornwall is called after this saint. According to some accounts, this holy man was the son of Keredic,^^ Ceredig, or Keretic, a chief who swayed the country of Keredigion, or Keredicia,^9 now Cardiganshire. 3° His mother is styled Anne, and according to some ac- counts, she was a cousin to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 31 There is still extant an Epistle, written by St. Patrick, to the soldiers of a chieftain called Coroti- CUS. 32 He was only nominally a professor of Christianity. He is said to have landed in Ireland, at the head of pirates, and, after committing every kind of outrage, he carried off a number of baptized believers, for the purpose of selling them as slaves to the heathen Picts. It has been conjectured,33 that this chieftain was Ceredig, Caredig, or Cereticus, son of Cynedda,34 as the name is commonly given by Latin writers, and who was also the father of our saint. 35 This conjecture is strengthened, by a statement in the Life of St. Crantock, that Ceredig's territory, in his old age, had been devastated by hordes of Irish. 3^ What else could have been expected, but that fierce retri- bution should be sought by these people, whom he had so grievously
May 1 6. ]
477
-° See "Ancient Laws of Ireland," senchus nion. introduction to Sen- clius Mor, and -AcligAbAiL ; or Law of Dis- tress, as contained in the Harleian Manu- scripts," vol. i. , part i. , Preface, p. xxvii. Also, vol. ii. , part ii. , Preface, p. viii.
^^ A parish in the centre of the west coast, Cornwall. See Redding's " Illustrated Itinerary of Cornwall, 1842," p. 220.
'^ The Cottonian Manuscript, Vesp. A 14
states, that this Keredic had many sons, of
whom Carentocus was one. The genealogy
of Keredic is thus given : he was Mak Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quoe
Cuneda, Mak Ethern, Mak Patern, Pes supposed to be used for the Greek word Trats meaning "son "—Ludant, Mak Tacit, Mak Kein, Mak Guorchem, Mak Doli, Mak Gurdoli, Mak Donni, Mak Guordonni, Mak Amguolie, Mak Amguerit, Mak Omnid, ]Mak Dubunn, Mak Britguenin, Mak Etigen, Mak Aballath, Mak Canabeth, Mak Beli. These were the sons of Cuneda : his eldest Tipipann, who died in the territory of Mann Gudodin—now tlie Isle of Man—while his father Cuneda and his brothers did not go there, but Merian his son divided the posses- sions of his father among his brothers ; the second son was Ismael, the third Kumann, the fourth Dunann, the fifth Keredic, the sixth Alxilach, the seventh Emmann, the eighth Dogmaile, and the ninth Etern. These were the boundaries of their posses- sions : from the River called Donbyrduiu —conjecturedtohavebeentheTyvydividing the shires of Pembroke and Carmarthen to another River, called Guonn or Quon supposed to be the Conway, at the mouth of which is Aberconwy. This includes a tract of West British country, embracing all the southern part of Ceretica, which was situated opposite the Wexford coast, in Ireland. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Mail xvi. De S. Carentoco sen Cer- natho Episc. Abbate in Wallia et Hibernia, p. 585,andnn. (a,b,c),p. 587.
supersunt, Fragmenta ;" scholiis illustrata a Joachimo Laurentio Villaneuva Presbytero, pp, 240 to 255.
33 By Rev. James Henihorn Todd, in " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap. ii.
3'* See his genealogy, extracted from the Welsh records in S. R. Meyrick's " History and Antiquities of the County of Cardigan," Introduction, p. 18. London, 1S08, 4to.
3S See, also, Rev. Rice Rees' " Essay on the Welsh Saints," p. 135.
3* In the Saxon and Welsh additions to the "Hisioria Britonum," dcccclxxvii. , in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 3859, be- longing to the British Museum, there is a "map Ceretic guletic," as noticed in William F. Skene's " Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and other early Me- morials of Scottish History," p. 15- In the Preface to that work, at p. xcv. , Mr. Skene hashimfirst,onalistoftheBritishKingsof Strath Clyde. Noticing this, an ingenious correspondent, Mr. William Birch, 88 Lower Clanbrassil-street, Dublin, thinks he was probably the tyrant Coroticus—mentioned in the saint's " Epistle " to that tyrant. In a letter, dated August 19th, 1885, and ad- dressed to the writer, Mr. Birch adds : "no doubt, according to the Pedigree—of the above-mentioned—Cereticus, he was con- temporary with Pope Celestine, St. Patrick andNiall-mor. But,Ithinkthisconnection
^* This territory is said to have been named after him. See //'/(/.
3° According to Cough's Camden's " Bri- tannia. " the Britons called it Sire Aber-tivy, and ancient writers Ceretica, over which the famous King Caratacus ruled. See vol. ii. ,
P-
524-
3' According to the Cottonian Manuscript,
classed Vesp. A. 14, fol. 90.
3= See the text of tiiis Epistle, with some
learned comments, by the editor, in " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi,
478
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
——
wronged. 37 Seeing that the great Irish Apostle had terrified the soldiers of Ceredig, by denouncing God's judgments upon them, and upon their chief, when stigmatizing them as " fellow-citizens of devils and murderers of the brethren of the Lord," what more likely to have happened, ^^ than that Cran- tock—being fully aware of the enormity of those crimes, committed by his father's troops, and of the terror which the saint's scathing denunciation had struck into their hearts—should have fled for mercy to St. Patrick, rather than lead guilty soldiers against the avenging host ? By the Welsh writers, how- ever, this saint is claimed, as having been the son of one among their chief- tains, and he was known as Carannog. By the mediseval hagiologists, his name is given as Carantocus, But, there is much diversity of opinion regarding his pedigree. One account has it,39 that Carantocus—probably not
differing from Maccarthinn. ^o Bishop of Clogher
sister of St.
