^^^ However this may be, we are obliged to resume the incredible and
contradictory
romance, whichconsignsSt.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
No doubt, cer- tain old Acts of the saint we cannot be sure, however, these are the most ancient and authentic —contain the entry of such preposterous statements.
Later writers, during the middle ages,''^7 adopted those vain fantasies, without sufficient examination, and these again have been repeated by more modern
or in
The best refutation of certain strange accounts, relating to St. Brigid's birth, will probably be found in a brief statement of the legend. ^30 xhe paternal ancestor of our illustrious virgin, and who is named Eochaidh Finn, went among the Lagenians, whose king bestowed many tracts of land on him, at different places. In that province the prince's posterity dwelt at a time
Indeed, an exact critical analysis will only serve to
of the historic — complete ignorance value, applic-
writers^^^
abletotheirsourcesforinformation. Th—egenealogyofSt. Brigid'smother apparently drawn from remote pedigrees shows that she was not of servile condition,229 but through family origin, in every respect, fitted to be the lawful and respected spouse of the noble Dubtach.
unreflectingly
^^'^^^ "Dubtachus erat ejus
genitor cogno-
being everywhere wife of Dubtach. "
else of as the spoken
mine dietus
Clarus homo meritis, clarus et a
;
'^'^^ That the illustrious St. Brigid was born in Scotia of noble and Christian parents is stated in the ' ' Chronica Generalis Mun- di," by Petrus de Natalibus, lib. iii. , cap. 69, as, also, in St. Brigid's Second, Third, and Fourth Offices, published by Colgan. She is said to have been "de bona pro- sapia" in the First Office,
^^^ See the succinct account of John Cap-
**
Nova Legenda Angliae," fol. "^ Such as Harris in his edition of Sir
"
James Ware's works, vol. ii,,
Ireland," book i. , chap, iii. , pp. ii, 12.
^^9 That she was a captive is intimated in
"S Such as Ussher, Ware, Lanigan, &c.
The latter writer observes, that " no atten-
tion is due to what v/e find in two or three
of the so-called Lives of St. Brigid concern-
ing her mother having been a concubine,
whom, when pregnant, the wife of Dubtach
obliged him to dismiss, and of her having
been purchased by a pagan poet or a magus,
and how, in consequence of his taking her
to Ulster, she was then delivered of the
saint. This romance-like narrative cannot
agree with the circumstance, that the parents
of the saint were Christians. I mean such the life called the fifth, whatever it has on strict Christians as were then in Ireland, nor these subjects was evidently taken from one with the rank of her mother's family and her or other of them, Amidst other nonsense
vis ; Nobilis
mitis
proa- pietate
atque humilis, repletus ;
Nobilior propria conjuge, prole pia. " —Sexta Vita S. Brigidae. Prologus. Col- gan's "TriasThaumaturga,"p. 582.
=^^3 She is understood to have been Bro-
cessa or Brotseach, the mother of St.
Brigid.
grave in his xlix.
^"^^
In those well-known acts of St. Brigid,
written by Cogitosus, she is said to have
been predestined for accomplishment of the
Almighty's decrees, by special graces re- ceived from heaven.
"Writers of
Colgan's first published metrical acts of the
saint, attributed to St. Brogan Cloen. See
*'
TriasThaumaturga. " Hymnus,seuVita Prima S. Brigidse, strophe i. , p. 515.
^3o On this subject. Dr. Lanigan remarks : * ' These stories are given in the third and fourth lives, which in very great part are mere transcripts of each other, agreeing, word for word, in many passages. The
former bears every appearance of being an abridgment of the latter. Be this as it may, they form but one authority. And as to
22 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
Fourth Life wrote. =3^ From his race, as we
when the author of St.
are told, a celebrated and powerful chieftain, named Dubtach, was derived, whoboughtafemaleservant,namedBroschach. Shewasverybeautifuland
distinguished by her great propriety of manner. =^32 Immediately after follows a romantic and an incredible account, seemingly irreconcilable with this latter statement. On learning that Broschach had conceived, the proper wife of Dubtach, it is said, became very much grieved, and advised her husband to sell his slave. ^33 Fear was expressed, at the same time, that Broschach's children should domineer over the family of his wife. But, the chieftain Dubtach would not hearken to the counsels of his consort, on ac- count of a great love he entertained for Broschach. =34
Brigid's
About this time, it is said, that two holy bishops^35 came from Britain, =36 andenteredthehouseofDubtach. OneofthesewascalledMelorMaol, andtheotherMelchuorMaolchu. ^37 Theseweredisciples,wearetold,of St. Patrick, the archbishop, who then preached God's word in Ireland. ^38 Maol said to Dubtach's " are sorrowful ? The of
wife, Why you offspring thy servant, shall be exalted above you and your progeny :239 however, love that servant equally with your own sons, because her infant shall procure blessings for your children. " But, the jealously of Dubtach's wife was not appeased,
and her brothers, who were powerful and brave men, earnestly urged Dubtach to sell his servant, in a distant part of the country. By a special inspiration, a poet, belonging to the Hy-Niall family,^40 came from the northern part of
contained in these tracts a magus is intro-
duced foretelling the future sanctity of the child, while she was still in her mother's womb. "—"Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sec. ii. , n. 22, pp. 381, 382.
'3' Colgan remarks, that this account fur- nishes no slight indication showing how the author of this life lived at a very early period, and that he flourished at least previously to the tenth century, as for many ages back, the family of St. Brigid did not live, in those
Vita Quarta S. Brigidoe, lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 546, In closing this»account of Broschach,
as she is generally called throughout the Fourth Life, the author adds regarding her,
**in omnibus enim moribus, illafoemma erat perfecta. "
=^3S They were disciples and nephews of St. Patrick, the children ofhis sister Darerca. Colgan gives their acts, at the 6th of Feb- ruary, the day of their feast, in his "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," vi. Februarii, pp. 259 to 264.
=^3* In Professor O'Looney's "Life of St. Brigid," Irish and English MS. , while call- ing them bishops of the Britons, they are said to have come from the Alps to foretel of her, pp. 5, 6.
=37Inthe"TertiaVitaS. Brigidce"they
'3='IntheThirdLife,thi—slatteraccount arecalledMelandMelchu,asalsoinmany
places to which allusion had been made. "
See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, n. 7, p. 563. It may be asked, however, on what data Colgan grounds his assertion, even if the author specified those exactplaces? Thishehasnotdone.
ofBrocseach's — good
morals
"
as contained in other works. In the Vita S. Bri-
the Fourth Life
is See coincidently given.
are more
Quarta correctly named,
"Tertia Vita S. Brigidae, cap. i. , p. 527. Both statements appear to have been im-
plicitly followed, in the Fifth or acephalous
Life of our saint, which Colgan supplies in
his own words, and in elegant Latin, appa-
rently written to imitate Laurence of Dur-
ham's style. This narrative is paraphrased
from more succinct accounts of previous
writers. To supply what is wanting in his
author, Colg—an draws somewhat on his own
imagination a rather exceptional' case with him.
=33 In the Irish Life of St. Brigid, con-
" «<
tained in the Leabhar Breac" and the "Book of Lismore," the account is some- what similar.
»34See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
240
Media. " The poet, in question, or the magus, as he is called in the St. Autbert MS. , came from the territory of Himaccuais
Maol and Maolchu, or by change of the dipthong, Mael and Maelchu ; for ao, ae, and te were indifferently used by the Irish and other
ancient people.
=38 Such is'the account given, in the Fourth
Life of St. Brigid.
=39 In an Irish life (chap, ii. ) this wife of
the chieftain is called Brectan. She is said to have borne seven sons to Dubtach, the seventh or last having been born after the birth of St. Brigid. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, n. 10, p. 564.
gidfe" they
Id est, de terra nepotum Neill, seu
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 23
Ireland,^*^ and bought this female slave from Dubtach, who consented to sell
her, because he feared the anger of his wife,^'^^ and of her brothers, belonging to a noble family. ''*3 Yet, he would not consent to sell the child, which she then bore, because wonderful things had been predicted regarding the unborn infant. ='44 in his account of these transactions, Laurence of Durham remarks, that the English, Irish, and Scotch were accustomed to deal in slaves, more than in any other kind of merchandise ; and that they even considered it an honourable kind of traffic, although so much opposed to the spirit of Chris- tianity. He says, that the mother had been known to sell her daughter, the
in Meath, and from the particular spot called Tochar-maine, as stated in St. Brigid's Irish Life (cap . v. ) Although, in the Fourth Life,
"
it is said, he was poeta de aquilone Hi-
berniae," there is nothing contradictory to be
found
because relatively to Leinster, Meath
" Be of good cheer, for no person shall be able to injure you ; the graces bestowed on your infant shall prove your protection, for to you shall be bom an illustrious daughter, who will shine in this
;
:
lay to the north, and because a certain
magus, or poet, belonging to the region of
Conall Marthemne, in Ulster, bought the mother of St. Brigid, not immediately from Dubtach, but from the aforesaid Meathian
poet. This is expressly stated, in the Irish
world with the brightness of the noon-day "*'
Life. See " Trias Colgan's
sun. Dubtach replied, I give thanks to
Thaumaturga. " Tertia Vita S. Brigidse, n. 4, p. 542.
God,
although having sons.
of the magus, Dubtach regarded his female servant with greater affection ; although his
wife, with her brothers, urged her husband
to sell his slave, in a far distant country.
•' " VitaTertiaS. See Trias Thaumaturga.
Brigidae, cap, ii. , p. 527. Vita Quarta S. Brigidffi, lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 546, ibid. In the Fifth Life of our saint, a similar story is told substantially, but in a more improved Latin phraseology and style ; a greater im- aginative liberty having been taken appa-
^41 In Professor O'Looney's MS. the poet
is said to have been of the Ui Mac Uais,
and to have been from Tochur Maine, pp.
5,6. ^^'
Laurence of Durham's fragmentary
life starts with an announcement, that the
wife of Dubtach, bitterly reproaching her
husband with his infidelities, declared that
henceforth he must make up his mind, either
to sell his female slave, or be prepared for her
own separation from him. Her persistently
expressed resolution, it is said, overcame rently with special circumstances given in
her husband's previous intention. Dubtach then placed his servant in the chariot, which
find a market.
^43 the later writers of our saint's
By acts,
we are told, that one day the holy maiden's iather and mother passed by the house of a certain magus, in a chariot. In St. Brigid's Irish Life he is called Maithginn, from whom Ross-Maithginn is denominated. He ordered the servants to inform him who were seated in it, for by the noise of this vehicle, Maith- ginn supposed it conveyed a king. The servants reported to their master, that the chariot contained Dubthac. The magus de- sired him to be called. On being hailed, the magician asked if the woman, called ancilla, who sat behind him in the chariot, was with child. On receiving an answer in the affir- mative from Dubtach, the magician asked her the name of this unborn child's father. She replied, that Dubtach was its parent. Then the magus addressed these words to him, "Be thou a careful guardian of this woman, for the child she bears shall become illustrious. " Dubtach then told the magus that his wife, who feared this child's birth,
previous accounts. See Vita Quinta S. Bri- gidce, cap, iii. , p. 567, ibid. In the metrical
enabled him to
the matter is thus briefly
after the fashion of his country, to reach a place where he could
acts of St. — Brigid,
journey
had urged him to sell his fellow-traveller, who is represented as being a slave. The magus then prophesised, that the children of Dubtach's wife should serve the family of her servant for ever. The magician also said to the servant
recorded
:
"
Quadam namque sedebat.
die
genetrix
dum forte
that hitherto I have had no daughter,
"
After these words
In curru praegnans, nee tunc enixa puel- 1am,
Dumque frementis equi spumantia coUa tenebat,
Pulverulenta quidem vestigia longa sona- bat.
Audierat sonitum vates stridere rotarum Dixerat ; ecce venit. Rex est, qui prse-
sidct axi.
Sed commitissa tamen carpentum sola re-
— gebat.
Sexta Vita S. sec. i. , 582, Brigidse, pp.
583, ibid.
^44 In the Office of St. Brigid, printed at
Paris in 1622, and in her other printed or manuscripts offices, various portents re- ferring to her conception and early child- hood are noticed, in the antiphons, hymns and responses. Also, many virtues and miracles, which afterwards distinguished her, are related,
24 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
son his father, and a husband his wife, forgetting every sentiment of nature
and grace. ^'s After the Normans took possession of England, slavery of this sort was happily abolished ; and the English owed this happy change, rather to invaders, than to their own countrymen. This writer adds, that the Irish and Scots, having lords of their own nation, never wholly abandoned serfdom, nor yet allowed it to exist, as formerly they did.
^^^ However this may be, we are obliged to resume the incredible and contradictory romance, whichconsignsSt. Brigid'smothertoastateofbondage. Withhisnewly- purchased slave, the poet afterwards returned to his own country. ^47 A certain holy man paid a visit, on that night of arrival at his house. This pious guest prayed to God, the whole night. Frequently during that time, he saw a globe of fire, resting over the spot, where the bond-woman and mother of St. Brigid slept. Respecting such circumstances, the poet host wasapprizedinthemorning. ^^s Severalincidents,connectedwithSt. Brigid's birth, as related by some of her biographers, are puerile in the extreme, and unworthy the slightest degree of credit. ^49 It is said, a certain infant, whose
=^s
writings of this author, he could never dis- cover elsewhere, authority for the statement of a custom prevailing in former times among the Irish, whereby a brother would sell his brother, a daughter her mother, a father his son, or any other relative his kinsman. If the sale of slaves and captives prevailed in pagan times, the mild spirit of Christianity and of religious feeling haslongago abolished all vile customs of the slave mart, in our island. We read, however, that the English and Britons, even long after their reception of the Christian religion, allowed this abomin- able trade in human creatures to continue. We learn, also, that to this infamous traffic in men and women, could be traced, in great part, their loss of liberty and subjection to a foreign yoke. These were regarded as just punishments and visitations of God, for permitting such abuses. See Colgan's
258. Giraldus Cambrensis, Opera, vol. v. , Dimock's edition.
**7 According to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life in MS. a Dmid from the territory of Connaill repurchased the bondwoman from the poet ; and brought her to his own part of the country, pp. 5, 6.
--^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Tertia Vita S. Brigiaiaj, cap. iii. , p. 527. Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, lib. i. , cap. iii. , iv. , p. 546. In the Fifth Life, the foregoing accounts are greatly extended, by the intro- duction of imaginary discourses and circum- stances. See Quinta Vita vS. Brigidoe, cap. iii. , iv. , pp. 567, 568, ibid.
=^49 After the account already given, theThird Life inserts a ridiculous narrative, relative to an occurrence at the infant's birth. This same narrative is given in the Fourth Life, where it is added, that the infant St. Brigid was distinguished by extraordinary beauty
Colgan remarks, that except in the
"
Brigidse, cap. i,, ii,, p. 567 and n. 5, p. i. , cap. v. , pp. 546, 547, ibid. As usual,
"Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S.
of features.
Vita Quarta S. Brigidae," lib.
639, ibid.
*** Giraldus Cambrensis writes as follows
on this subject, in reference to Ireland, that
soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, a council was convened at Armagh, in which it was decreed, that the English, then held as bondsmen, in various parts of Hibernia, should be set at liberty. The clergy and laity were unanimously agreed on this sub- ject. Previously to that period, the Saxons were accustomed to
jell
and relations as slaves to the Irish, even
although not pressed to it by any necessity.
Merchants and pirates were alike engaged in this nefarious commerce. The Irish, becoming purchasers of those slaves, were justly deemed as partners in such traffic, and therefore was it thought they had incurred Divine displeasure, which had been mani-
Laurence of Durham greatly enlarges on the foregoingaccounts. VitaQuintaS. Brigidae,
cap. v. , p. 568, ibid. We are assured, by Col- gan, that a king alluded to, and then with his
queen a guest with the i/iagus, was dynast of Conall Murthemne, a region mentioned, in an Irish Life of St. Brigid. In a part of
this territory, designated Fochart, St. Brigid was born, according to the same authority,
and to Henry of Marlborough, A. D, 468. Conchobarius in " Vita S. Monennsa," and other biographers are of accord. These are
their ovra. children
fested by permitting their subjection, in turn, ""
to the Anglo-Norman invaders. See Ex- may refer to Vita Tertia S. Brigidfe," n. pugnatio Hibemica," lib. i. , cap. xviii. , p. 5, P- 543.
followed by Ussher, " De Primordiis Eccle- "
siarum Britannicarum, pp. 627, 884. But, the magian here mentioned is not identical
with the Meathian, who purchased St. Brigid's mother in the first instance. He
was the second purchaser and he belonged
to the territory of the aforesaid Conall, as
mentioned in an Irish Life. The student
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 25
birth had preceded St. Brigid's by a single day,=so ^^^^ suddenly on that of our saint's nativity. ^si By some chance, Brigid, being brought near the life- less body of this infant, touched it. ^s" The child was immediately restored to life. When this miracle took place, all who were present declared, Brigid
was that renowned saint, promised by the prophets. ="53
After our saint's birth, the magus is said to have brought her mother with
him to Connaught, where he dwelt ; and, it is also stated, that the mother of this magus had been a native of that province, while his father was born in Munster. ='54 One day, when the mother of St. Brigid went some distance to milk cows,2S5 she left her infant sleeping alone in the house. Suddenly, it appeared to be in flames, and all who saw ran to extinguish them. =56 Qn approaching the dwelling, however, these flames went out ; and on entering, the people found St. Brigid sweetly smiling, with infantile innocence and beauty, her cheeks being flushed with a roseate hue. ^57 AH proclaimed aloud, that the child was replenished with graces of the Holy Spirit. ^ss
Before we proceed further, it may be well to mention, that St. Brigid's
biographers seem generally to agree in naming Fochard^S9 as her birthplace. Such is the account left us in her Fourth Life. There, as we are told, the
village in which she was born bore the name, Fochart Muirthemne,^^° being in the region called Conaille Muirthemhne, formerly within the Ulster
^^^ The
to a remote time. ^^^ At present, Faughart=63 is a small country village, in
province.
tradition,
on which such a statement is referable prevails,
=50 This infant is said to have been a son
of the King and Queen of Conaille, who were then on a visit with a- magus, the second
purchaser, according to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 5 to 8.
=51 Professor O'Looney's Irish Life states,
St. Brigid was born at the rising of the sun,
pp. 7, 8.
252 In Professor O'Looney Irish Life, it is
stated, that St. Brigid's breath brought the king's son to life, pp. 7, 8.
^53 This account is contained in the Fourth Life. We are told by Colgan, that it is to be found, also, in the Irish Life, where it is stated, the infant brought to life was a son to the King of Conall, and this child was
usual amplifications, we are told, St. Brigid spoke, before that natural period arrived, when infants usually articulate. Such ac- count, however, is not contained in her other lives. Colgan refers to notes, ap- pended to St. Fursey's Life at the i6th of
January, and to other particulars, which serve to accompany that of St. Barr, at the
25th of September, for parallel instances of children, who spoke soon after their birth, and even in their mother's womb.
259 In Wright's "Louthiana," part i. , p. 9, there is a very interesting description of certainancientremainsinthislocality. Dr. Lanigan, who rejects the romantic narrative
of St. Brigid's birth, agrees that she was born in Fochard. He further observes :
Whether her coming into the world in
that place was owing to her parents having had a residence there, or to their being on a visit at some fr—iend's house, it is imma-
"
terial to enquire. " Ecclesiastical History
of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sec. II, p. 378, and n. 24, p. 382, ibid.
Vita S. Brigidas, lib. i. , cap. vi. , p. 547.
born on that night, previous to St. Brigid's
" *'
birth, according to the legend. See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta VitaS. Brigidae, lib. i. , cap. vi. , p. 547, and n. 12, p. 564, ibid.
^^54 This is accordant with a statement in
Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid,
pp. 7, 8. =55 Ibid.
=56 <<
etiam rutilis tectorurn subdere flammis
^^° St. was Brigid
Ssepe
of that
and in her honour a monastery of Canons had been established there, at a time when the Fourth Life had been written. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta
Cernebant f—abricam, parvas et cunabula
Brigidae. " ^VitaSextaS. Brigidoe,sec. "
ii. , p. 583. Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. "
"
«57 Ibid.
v. , p. 527. "Quarta Vita S. BrigidEe," lib. i. , cap. viii,, ix. , p. 547. In the latter life, we are informed about the reason why the magician visited the province of Con- naught. This he did to exercise his magic arts ; for which purpose, he travelled through that district, and through other provinces, where he was received with great respect.
=58 In the Fifth Life of our saint, with its
Tertia Vita S. Brigidse," cap.
=^*
Foughart is a parish in the diocese of
patron
place,
Armagh.
=*= St. Bernard in his *' Vita S. Malachiae"
writes ;
**
Venerunt tres Episcopi in villam
Fochart, quem dicunt locum nativitatis
Brigidae virginis," &c. , cap. xxv. , sec. 56.
""^^ See the "Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 197, 198, for an in- teresting account of this parish.
36 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Later writers, during the middle ages,''^7 adopted those vain fantasies, without sufficient examination, and these again have been repeated by more modern
or in
The best refutation of certain strange accounts, relating to St. Brigid's birth, will probably be found in a brief statement of the legend. ^30 xhe paternal ancestor of our illustrious virgin, and who is named Eochaidh Finn, went among the Lagenians, whose king bestowed many tracts of land on him, at different places. In that province the prince's posterity dwelt at a time
Indeed, an exact critical analysis will only serve to
of the historic — complete ignorance value, applic-
writers^^^
abletotheirsourcesforinformation. Th—egenealogyofSt. Brigid'smother apparently drawn from remote pedigrees shows that she was not of servile condition,229 but through family origin, in every respect, fitted to be the lawful and respected spouse of the noble Dubtach.
unreflectingly
^^'^^^ "Dubtachus erat ejus
genitor cogno-
being everywhere wife of Dubtach. "
else of as the spoken
mine dietus
Clarus homo meritis, clarus et a
;
'^'^^ That the illustrious St. Brigid was born in Scotia of noble and Christian parents is stated in the ' ' Chronica Generalis Mun- di," by Petrus de Natalibus, lib. iii. , cap. 69, as, also, in St. Brigid's Second, Third, and Fourth Offices, published by Colgan. She is said to have been "de bona pro- sapia" in the First Office,
^^^ See the succinct account of John Cap-
**
Nova Legenda Angliae," fol. "^ Such as Harris in his edition of Sir
"
James Ware's works, vol. ii,,
Ireland," book i. , chap, iii. , pp. ii, 12.
^^9 That she was a captive is intimated in
"S Such as Ussher, Ware, Lanigan, &c.
The latter writer observes, that " no atten-
tion is due to what v/e find in two or three
of the so-called Lives of St. Brigid concern-
ing her mother having been a concubine,
whom, when pregnant, the wife of Dubtach
obliged him to dismiss, and of her having
been purchased by a pagan poet or a magus,
and how, in consequence of his taking her
to Ulster, she was then delivered of the
saint. This romance-like narrative cannot
agree with the circumstance, that the parents
of the saint were Christians. I mean such the life called the fifth, whatever it has on strict Christians as were then in Ireland, nor these subjects was evidently taken from one with the rank of her mother's family and her or other of them, Amidst other nonsense
vis ; Nobilis
mitis
proa- pietate
atque humilis, repletus ;
Nobilior propria conjuge, prole pia. " —Sexta Vita S. Brigidae. Prologus. Col- gan's "TriasThaumaturga,"p. 582.
=^^3 She is understood to have been Bro-
cessa or Brotseach, the mother of St.
Brigid.
grave in his xlix.
^"^^
In those well-known acts of St. Brigid,
written by Cogitosus, she is said to have
been predestined for accomplishment of the
Almighty's decrees, by special graces re- ceived from heaven.
"Writers of
Colgan's first published metrical acts of the
saint, attributed to St. Brogan Cloen. See
*'
TriasThaumaturga. " Hymnus,seuVita Prima S. Brigidse, strophe i. , p. 515.
^3o On this subject. Dr. Lanigan remarks : * ' These stories are given in the third and fourth lives, which in very great part are mere transcripts of each other, agreeing, word for word, in many passages. The
former bears every appearance of being an abridgment of the latter. Be this as it may, they form but one authority. And as to
22 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
Fourth Life wrote. =3^ From his race, as we
when the author of St.
are told, a celebrated and powerful chieftain, named Dubtach, was derived, whoboughtafemaleservant,namedBroschach. Shewasverybeautifuland
distinguished by her great propriety of manner. =^32 Immediately after follows a romantic and an incredible account, seemingly irreconcilable with this latter statement. On learning that Broschach had conceived, the proper wife of Dubtach, it is said, became very much grieved, and advised her husband to sell his slave. ^33 Fear was expressed, at the same time, that Broschach's children should domineer over the family of his wife. But, the chieftain Dubtach would not hearken to the counsels of his consort, on ac- count of a great love he entertained for Broschach. =34
Brigid's
About this time, it is said, that two holy bishops^35 came from Britain, =36 andenteredthehouseofDubtach. OneofthesewascalledMelorMaol, andtheotherMelchuorMaolchu. ^37 Theseweredisciples,wearetold,of St. Patrick, the archbishop, who then preached God's word in Ireland. ^38 Maol said to Dubtach's " are sorrowful ? The of
wife, Why you offspring thy servant, shall be exalted above you and your progeny :239 however, love that servant equally with your own sons, because her infant shall procure blessings for your children. " But, the jealously of Dubtach's wife was not appeased,
and her brothers, who were powerful and brave men, earnestly urged Dubtach to sell his servant, in a distant part of the country. By a special inspiration, a poet, belonging to the Hy-Niall family,^40 came from the northern part of
contained in these tracts a magus is intro-
duced foretelling the future sanctity of the child, while she was still in her mother's womb. "—"Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sec. ii. , n. 22, pp. 381, 382.
'3' Colgan remarks, that this account fur- nishes no slight indication showing how the author of this life lived at a very early period, and that he flourished at least previously to the tenth century, as for many ages back, the family of St. Brigid did not live, in those
Vita Quarta S. Brigidoe, lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 546, In closing this»account of Broschach,
as she is generally called throughout the Fourth Life, the author adds regarding her,
**in omnibus enim moribus, illafoemma erat perfecta. "
=^3S They were disciples and nephews of St. Patrick, the children ofhis sister Darerca. Colgan gives their acts, at the 6th of Feb- ruary, the day of their feast, in his "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," vi. Februarii, pp. 259 to 264.
=^3* In Professor O'Looney's "Life of St. Brigid," Irish and English MS. , while call- ing them bishops of the Britons, they are said to have come from the Alps to foretel of her, pp. 5, 6.
=37Inthe"TertiaVitaS. Brigidce"they
'3='IntheThirdLife,thi—slatteraccount arecalledMelandMelchu,asalsoinmany
places to which allusion had been made. "
See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, n. 7, p. 563. It may be asked, however, on what data Colgan grounds his assertion, even if the author specified those exactplaces? Thishehasnotdone.
ofBrocseach's — good
morals
"
as contained in other works. In the Vita S. Bri-
the Fourth Life
is See coincidently given.
are more
Quarta correctly named,
"Tertia Vita S. Brigidae, cap. i. , p. 527. Both statements appear to have been im-
plicitly followed, in the Fifth or acephalous
Life of our saint, which Colgan supplies in
his own words, and in elegant Latin, appa-
rently written to imitate Laurence of Dur-
ham's style. This narrative is paraphrased
from more succinct accounts of previous
writers. To supply what is wanting in his
author, Colg—an draws somewhat on his own
imagination a rather exceptional' case with him.
=33 In the Irish Life of St. Brigid, con-
" «<
tained in the Leabhar Breac" and the "Book of Lismore," the account is some- what similar.
»34See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
240
Media. " The poet, in question, or the magus, as he is called in the St. Autbert MS. , came from the territory of Himaccuais
Maol and Maolchu, or by change of the dipthong, Mael and Maelchu ; for ao, ae, and te were indifferently used by the Irish and other
ancient people.
=38 Such is'the account given, in the Fourth
Life of St. Brigid.
=39 In an Irish life (chap, ii. ) this wife of
the chieftain is called Brectan. She is said to have borne seven sons to Dubtach, the seventh or last having been born after the birth of St. Brigid. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, n. 10, p. 564.
gidfe" they
Id est, de terra nepotum Neill, seu
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 23
Ireland,^*^ and bought this female slave from Dubtach, who consented to sell
her, because he feared the anger of his wife,^'^^ and of her brothers, belonging to a noble family. ''*3 Yet, he would not consent to sell the child, which she then bore, because wonderful things had been predicted regarding the unborn infant. ='44 in his account of these transactions, Laurence of Durham remarks, that the English, Irish, and Scotch were accustomed to deal in slaves, more than in any other kind of merchandise ; and that they even considered it an honourable kind of traffic, although so much opposed to the spirit of Chris- tianity. He says, that the mother had been known to sell her daughter, the
in Meath, and from the particular spot called Tochar-maine, as stated in St. Brigid's Irish Life (cap . v. ) Although, in the Fourth Life,
"
it is said, he was poeta de aquilone Hi-
berniae," there is nothing contradictory to be
found
because relatively to Leinster, Meath
" Be of good cheer, for no person shall be able to injure you ; the graces bestowed on your infant shall prove your protection, for to you shall be bom an illustrious daughter, who will shine in this
;
:
lay to the north, and because a certain
magus, or poet, belonging to the region of
Conall Marthemne, in Ulster, bought the mother of St. Brigid, not immediately from Dubtach, but from the aforesaid Meathian
poet. This is expressly stated, in the Irish
world with the brightness of the noon-day "*'
Life. See " Trias Colgan's
sun. Dubtach replied, I give thanks to
Thaumaturga. " Tertia Vita S. Brigidse, n. 4, p. 542.
God,
although having sons.
of the magus, Dubtach regarded his female servant with greater affection ; although his
wife, with her brothers, urged her husband
to sell his slave, in a far distant country.
•' " VitaTertiaS. See Trias Thaumaturga.
Brigidae, cap, ii. , p. 527. Vita Quarta S. Brigidffi, lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 546, ibid. In the Fifth Life of our saint, a similar story is told substantially, but in a more improved Latin phraseology and style ; a greater im- aginative liberty having been taken appa-
^41 In Professor O'Looney's MS. the poet
is said to have been of the Ui Mac Uais,
and to have been from Tochur Maine, pp.
5,6. ^^'
Laurence of Durham's fragmentary
life starts with an announcement, that the
wife of Dubtach, bitterly reproaching her
husband with his infidelities, declared that
henceforth he must make up his mind, either
to sell his female slave, or be prepared for her
own separation from him. Her persistently
expressed resolution, it is said, overcame rently with special circumstances given in
her husband's previous intention. Dubtach then placed his servant in the chariot, which
find a market.
^43 the later writers of our saint's
By acts,
we are told, that one day the holy maiden's iather and mother passed by the house of a certain magus, in a chariot. In St. Brigid's Irish Life he is called Maithginn, from whom Ross-Maithginn is denominated. He ordered the servants to inform him who were seated in it, for by the noise of this vehicle, Maith- ginn supposed it conveyed a king. The servants reported to their master, that the chariot contained Dubthac. The magus de- sired him to be called. On being hailed, the magician asked if the woman, called ancilla, who sat behind him in the chariot, was with child. On receiving an answer in the affir- mative from Dubtach, the magician asked her the name of this unborn child's father. She replied, that Dubtach was its parent. Then the magus addressed these words to him, "Be thou a careful guardian of this woman, for the child she bears shall become illustrious. " Dubtach then told the magus that his wife, who feared this child's birth,
previous accounts. See Vita Quinta S. Bri- gidce, cap, iii. , p. 567, ibid. In the metrical
enabled him to
the matter is thus briefly
after the fashion of his country, to reach a place where he could
acts of St. — Brigid,
journey
had urged him to sell his fellow-traveller, who is represented as being a slave. The magus then prophesised, that the children of Dubtach's wife should serve the family of her servant for ever. The magician also said to the servant
recorded
:
"
Quadam namque sedebat.
die
genetrix
dum forte
that hitherto I have had no daughter,
"
After these words
In curru praegnans, nee tunc enixa puel- 1am,
Dumque frementis equi spumantia coUa tenebat,
Pulverulenta quidem vestigia longa sona- bat.
Audierat sonitum vates stridere rotarum Dixerat ; ecce venit. Rex est, qui prse-
sidct axi.
Sed commitissa tamen carpentum sola re-
— gebat.
Sexta Vita S. sec. i. , 582, Brigidse, pp.
583, ibid.
^44 In the Office of St. Brigid, printed at
Paris in 1622, and in her other printed or manuscripts offices, various portents re- ferring to her conception and early child- hood are noticed, in the antiphons, hymns and responses. Also, many virtues and miracles, which afterwards distinguished her, are related,
24 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
son his father, and a husband his wife, forgetting every sentiment of nature
and grace. ^'s After the Normans took possession of England, slavery of this sort was happily abolished ; and the English owed this happy change, rather to invaders, than to their own countrymen. This writer adds, that the Irish and Scots, having lords of their own nation, never wholly abandoned serfdom, nor yet allowed it to exist, as formerly they did.
^^^ However this may be, we are obliged to resume the incredible and contradictory romance, whichconsignsSt. Brigid'smothertoastateofbondage. Withhisnewly- purchased slave, the poet afterwards returned to his own country. ^47 A certain holy man paid a visit, on that night of arrival at his house. This pious guest prayed to God, the whole night. Frequently during that time, he saw a globe of fire, resting over the spot, where the bond-woman and mother of St. Brigid slept. Respecting such circumstances, the poet host wasapprizedinthemorning. ^^s Severalincidents,connectedwithSt. Brigid's birth, as related by some of her biographers, are puerile in the extreme, and unworthy the slightest degree of credit. ^49 It is said, a certain infant, whose
=^s
writings of this author, he could never dis- cover elsewhere, authority for the statement of a custom prevailing in former times among the Irish, whereby a brother would sell his brother, a daughter her mother, a father his son, or any other relative his kinsman. If the sale of slaves and captives prevailed in pagan times, the mild spirit of Christianity and of religious feeling haslongago abolished all vile customs of the slave mart, in our island. We read, however, that the English and Britons, even long after their reception of the Christian religion, allowed this abomin- able trade in human creatures to continue. We learn, also, that to this infamous traffic in men and women, could be traced, in great part, their loss of liberty and subjection to a foreign yoke. These were regarded as just punishments and visitations of God, for permitting such abuses. See Colgan's
258. Giraldus Cambrensis, Opera, vol. v. , Dimock's edition.
**7 According to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life in MS. a Dmid from the territory of Connaill repurchased the bondwoman from the poet ; and brought her to his own part of the country, pp. 5, 6.
--^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Tertia Vita S. Brigiaiaj, cap. iii. , p. 527. Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, lib. i. , cap. iii. , iv. , p. 546. In the Fifth Life, the foregoing accounts are greatly extended, by the intro- duction of imaginary discourses and circum- stances. See Quinta Vita vS. Brigidoe, cap. iii. , iv. , pp. 567, 568, ibid.
=^49 After the account already given, theThird Life inserts a ridiculous narrative, relative to an occurrence at the infant's birth. This same narrative is given in the Fourth Life, where it is added, that the infant St. Brigid was distinguished by extraordinary beauty
Colgan remarks, that except in the
"
Brigidse, cap. i,, ii,, p. 567 and n. 5, p. i. , cap. v. , pp. 546, 547, ibid. As usual,
"Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S.
of features.
Vita Quarta S. Brigidae," lib.
639, ibid.
*** Giraldus Cambrensis writes as follows
on this subject, in reference to Ireland, that
soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, a council was convened at Armagh, in which it was decreed, that the English, then held as bondsmen, in various parts of Hibernia, should be set at liberty. The clergy and laity were unanimously agreed on this sub- ject. Previously to that period, the Saxons were accustomed to
jell
and relations as slaves to the Irish, even
although not pressed to it by any necessity.
Merchants and pirates were alike engaged in this nefarious commerce. The Irish, becoming purchasers of those slaves, were justly deemed as partners in such traffic, and therefore was it thought they had incurred Divine displeasure, which had been mani-
Laurence of Durham greatly enlarges on the foregoingaccounts. VitaQuintaS. Brigidae,
cap. v. , p. 568, ibid. We are assured, by Col- gan, that a king alluded to, and then with his
queen a guest with the i/iagus, was dynast of Conall Murthemne, a region mentioned, in an Irish Life of St. Brigid. In a part of
this territory, designated Fochart, St. Brigid was born, according to the same authority,
and to Henry of Marlborough, A. D, 468. Conchobarius in " Vita S. Monennsa," and other biographers are of accord. These are
their ovra. children
fested by permitting their subjection, in turn, ""
to the Anglo-Norman invaders. See Ex- may refer to Vita Tertia S. Brigidfe," n. pugnatio Hibemica," lib. i. , cap. xviii. , p. 5, P- 543.
followed by Ussher, " De Primordiis Eccle- "
siarum Britannicarum, pp. 627, 884. But, the magian here mentioned is not identical
with the Meathian, who purchased St. Brigid's mother in the first instance. He
was the second purchaser and he belonged
to the territory of the aforesaid Conall, as
mentioned in an Irish Life. The student
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 25
birth had preceded St. Brigid's by a single day,=so ^^^^ suddenly on that of our saint's nativity. ^si By some chance, Brigid, being brought near the life- less body of this infant, touched it. ^s" The child was immediately restored to life. When this miracle took place, all who were present declared, Brigid
was that renowned saint, promised by the prophets. ="53
After our saint's birth, the magus is said to have brought her mother with
him to Connaught, where he dwelt ; and, it is also stated, that the mother of this magus had been a native of that province, while his father was born in Munster. ='54 One day, when the mother of St. Brigid went some distance to milk cows,2S5 she left her infant sleeping alone in the house. Suddenly, it appeared to be in flames, and all who saw ran to extinguish them. =56 Qn approaching the dwelling, however, these flames went out ; and on entering, the people found St. Brigid sweetly smiling, with infantile innocence and beauty, her cheeks being flushed with a roseate hue. ^57 AH proclaimed aloud, that the child was replenished with graces of the Holy Spirit. ^ss
Before we proceed further, it may be well to mention, that St. Brigid's
biographers seem generally to agree in naming Fochard^S9 as her birthplace. Such is the account left us in her Fourth Life. There, as we are told, the
village in which she was born bore the name, Fochart Muirthemne,^^° being in the region called Conaille Muirthemhne, formerly within the Ulster
^^^ The
to a remote time. ^^^ At present, Faughart=63 is a small country village, in
province.
tradition,
on which such a statement is referable prevails,
=50 This infant is said to have been a son
of the King and Queen of Conaille, who were then on a visit with a- magus, the second
purchaser, according to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 5 to 8.
=51 Professor O'Looney's Irish Life states,
St. Brigid was born at the rising of the sun,
pp. 7, 8.
252 In Professor O'Looney Irish Life, it is
stated, that St. Brigid's breath brought the king's son to life, pp. 7, 8.
^53 This account is contained in the Fourth Life. We are told by Colgan, that it is to be found, also, in the Irish Life, where it is stated, the infant brought to life was a son to the King of Conall, and this child was
usual amplifications, we are told, St. Brigid spoke, before that natural period arrived, when infants usually articulate. Such ac- count, however, is not contained in her other lives. Colgan refers to notes, ap- pended to St. Fursey's Life at the i6th of
January, and to other particulars, which serve to accompany that of St. Barr, at the
25th of September, for parallel instances of children, who spoke soon after their birth, and even in their mother's womb.
259 In Wright's "Louthiana," part i. , p. 9, there is a very interesting description of certainancientremainsinthislocality. Dr. Lanigan, who rejects the romantic narrative
of St. Brigid's birth, agrees that she was born in Fochard. He further observes :
Whether her coming into the world in
that place was owing to her parents having had a residence there, or to their being on a visit at some fr—iend's house, it is imma-
"
terial to enquire. " Ecclesiastical History
of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sec. II, p. 378, and n. 24, p. 382, ibid.
Vita S. Brigidas, lib. i. , cap. vi. , p. 547.
born on that night, previous to St. Brigid's
" *'
birth, according to the legend. See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta VitaS. Brigidae, lib. i. , cap. vi. , p. 547, and n. 12, p. 564, ibid.
^^54 This is accordant with a statement in
Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid,
pp. 7, 8. =55 Ibid.
=56 <<
etiam rutilis tectorurn subdere flammis
^^° St. was Brigid
Ssepe
of that
and in her honour a monastery of Canons had been established there, at a time when the Fourth Life had been written. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta
Cernebant f—abricam, parvas et cunabula
Brigidae. " ^VitaSextaS. Brigidoe,sec. "
ii. , p. 583. Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. "
"
«57 Ibid.
v. , p. 527. "Quarta Vita S. BrigidEe," lib. i. , cap. viii,, ix. , p. 547. In the latter life, we are informed about the reason why the magician visited the province of Con- naught. This he did to exercise his magic arts ; for which purpose, he travelled through that district, and through other provinces, where he was received with great respect.
=58 In the Fifth Life of our saint, with its
Tertia Vita S. Brigidse," cap.
=^*
Foughart is a parish in the diocese of
patron
place,
Armagh.
=*= St. Bernard in his *' Vita S. Malachiae"
writes ;
**
Venerunt tres Episcopi in villam
Fochart, quem dicunt locum nativitatis
Brigidae virginis," &c. , cap. xxv. , sec. 56.
""^^ See the "Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 197, 198, for an in- teresting account of this parish.
36 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
