No More Learning

I27 See First Life of St. Boniface, chap.
iv. , num. 59, p. 472.
I28 He states
forsan ut
:
" Abundant anni quinque,
; Sigebert,
His martyrdom is set down, at this
at a. d. 744. See p. 274.
l24
"
Flores Historiarum,"
Vita S. Pastoris Ultra- Gregorii,
igo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 5.
It was natural to suppose, that the Christian people of Utrecht should
desire most earnestly to guard the relics of those holy martyrs. But,
the people of Mayence had resolved on sending thither a respectable de- putation, to assert their claims, so far at least as the body of St. Boniface
was concerned. Wherefore, Bishop Lul called together a great and respec- table number of Eastern people, or Franconians, clerics, monks, and laics, to take measures for procuring those relics. 130 The direction of this expedition was entrusted to a man of exemplary life, who was named Hadda. Those persons comprising it united fasting, with the recital of Psalms and prayers, to succeed in their object. However, King Pepin, 131 or the Prefect of that city, had issued an edict, to preserve the remains, and a great number of the citizens hadassembledtoenforceit. But,amiraculoussignwasmanifested,132which convinced them, that Utrecht was not destined to be the ultimate place of rest for the body of St. Boniface. Thence, it was then translated, especially at the
instigation of Bishop Lullus, who was mindful of the holy Martyr's parting directions. With a cortege of religious monks and of several laymen, the
remains were conveyed by boat, along the Rhine, to Mentz. Hymns and canticles were sung during the voyage, and Psalms were recited, by the pious
voyagers ; so that, on the thirtieth day after his departure from life, the body of St. Boniface reached that city, over which he presided as Archbishop.
It so happened, and without any preconcerted arrangement, that the deputies re- turning from Utrecht, and numbers of people coming to celebrate the obsequies of St. Boniface from the most distant places of France and Germany, arrived at Mayence about the same time. Moreover, Bishop Lullus, who had been on a visit at the royal palace, and who had no exact knowledge of when the
body might arrive, came to Mayence, at that very moment, when the boat was ready to touch the shore. Sorrow was felt by all the citizens, that their illus- trious Archbishop was no more, and that his lifeless remains only reached them ; but, they were consoled, as they hoped those relics should be enshrined, where he must become their future great patron. Preparations for embalm- ing the body seem to have been made, at Mayence ; and, when the disem- bowelling took place, blood flowed as if from recent wounds. The parts removed were preserved within a covered vessel, and buried in the ground, where a church was afterwards erected, in honour of St. Boniface. 133 Many miracles then attested the holy Martyr's merits before God, and the citizens of Mayence felt a special veneration, for their great patron and benefactor.
However, the remains of St. Boniface had not yet reached their final place of
deposition. Bishop Lul recollected, that the holy prelate had bound him in a most solemn manner, to have his body buried at Fulda; still was he reluctant to part with the sacred deposit, until warned by the saint himself. It is said, that Bonifaceappeared to a certain holy Deacon, named Otpercht,13* and thus ad- dressed him : "Tell Lullus, that he shall transfer my body to my place of rest. " Notwithstanding, no general credence was given to this statement; but, the Archbishop, collecting a number of relics, obliged that Deacon to swear on them, that the vision he related had truly happened. Then, extending his hands
130 See Dean Cressy's "Church His- sist the removal of the saint's remains. See
of p. 620.
Brittany,"
book xxiii. ,
chap,
xxix. ,
* num. chap, iv. , 57.
church dedicated to St. Boniface,
,34 By Othlo he is called Otpertus.
tory
•s* At this time, it is supposed, that Pippin the King had marched with an army to
Italy, where Aistulf, King of the Lombards, had besieged Rome.
132 The Life of St. Boniface, by Willibald, has it, that the bell of the church was moved by no human hand, and that this terrified the townspeople, who were inclined to re-
The writer of the Supplement
to
bald's Life of St. Boniface states, that it was situated northwards, from the church of the Baptistery of St. John. In his time, those garments which the saint wore at the time of his martyrdom were kept, according to tradition, within a wooden chest, in that
Willi*
June 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 191
on the altar and on the relics, Otpercht prayed the Lord and his saint, whose remains were present, to witness that what he asserted was true. Induced by this avowal, as also recollecting the mandate of Boniface, Lullus now resolved to transport his relics to that place the saint had designated. His body was decentlywrappedinfinelinen,anditwasthenplacedinacoffin. Theocca- sion was one of great ceremony and solemnity. All the people, clergy and laity,oneitherbankoftheRhine,wereassembled. Thecoffinwasfoundto be much lighter when borne to the vessel, than when it had been taken thence ; but, with mingled feelings of resignation to the Divine will, and sorrow for removal of the remains from Mayence, the body was conveyed to Fulda. We may infer, that the remains were brought on board a vessel, beyond the present city of Frankfort, which lies on the River Maine. Hymns and Psalms were chaunted, while a vast number of people, including many
of the Eastern nobles, their wives and children, awaited at a spot situated on
the bank, for the ensuing solemnities. Then disembarking, Archbishop Lullus and his companions left the vessel, and raising the coffin, it was transferred
to the charge to those appointed to receive it.
T 35
The of Fulda was city
situated in I 3 6 and thither the funeral Buconia,
must have
for some miles by land. When the body of St. Boniface had reached the entrance to the forest of Bochonia, the women returned to their homes, while the men accompanied the remains to that place, where they are believed to await the Day of General Judgment. At a time this funeral cortege was expected to
a monk named
had been sent by his Abbot Sturmion, to fish in a certain lake, where wild geeseabounded. Besidesmilk,butterandcheese,fewarticlesoffoodwere in the monastery, to provide for the wants of a great number of expected guests. Wherefore, Ritant brought his fishing apparatus to the lake, and while preparing to cast his nets near to a place, called Aucarium Domus, suddenly a vast number offish arose to the surface of the water. Chaunts of the processionists were heard, at this moment, in the distance, as the sacred remains were carried on their bier. The monk had no further trouble, than in making one vast haul, which filled his boat with fishes. These amply sufficed as food for the large number of guests, who were entertained in the monastery,onthatoccasion. J38 TheblessedLullus,whomBonifacehad consecrated as bishop, took care to have his body honourably buried, in the monastery at Fulda. *39 In the church there, a sarcophagus was prepared, and inthatveryplace,indicatedbythesaint. Agreatnumberofeveryecclesiasti- calgradeattendedduringtheburial. Afterwards,athistomb,numbersofper- sons, labouring under various disorders, came to receive health of mind and body. The blind were restored to sight, while those inan extreme state of weak- ness and almost at the point of death recovered. Several who were insane or possessed became rational and pious, praising God for His mercies, and recog- nising the wonders that had been effected, through the intercession of his glorious servant.
arrive,
Ritant,
whose brother Wolfmar was a J 37 fisherman,
,35 The Supplement to Willibald's Life of
St. Boniface afterwards adds " Citeriores :
autem transvadato amne Rheni redierunt in
sua ; sic quoque prospere per omnia,
Domino dirigente necnon gubernante, agen-
merint
Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum," fol. Hi. , a.
:
quibus contigit
ut in omnibus locis in
"
Hoc de sanctum signorum, multisquse per
tes
meridiare sive noctare, signa crucis impri-
omnium in suo
martyrem Bonifacium divina virtus dignaba-
tur — in eodem ostendere, post martyrium ejus,
sect.
Triumphatori
theta triumphantes. Sed et in quibusdam loco initium erat. " Cap. iii. , 13,
eorum locis, nunc ecclesise constructs cer- nuntur. "
p. 476.
139 See Baronius, " Annales Ecclesiastici,"
tomus ix. , at A. D. 755, sect, xliii. , p. 205.
136
See John of Trittenham's "Catalogus
agono-
procession
proceeded
x37 To this been accustomed.
Ritant had also
occupation,
*38 The writer of the Supplement to the Life of St. Boniface, by Willibald, adds :
i 9 2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 5. A new church, in honour of Our Lord and Saviour and of All His
bishop of Canterbury, took care by decree of a public Synod, ^ to have an annual festival instituted, in honour of that Martyrdom of him and of his
1
companions. ** Moreover, Bishop Milred wrote to Lullus, Archbishop of
Maintz, expressing his grief, I4S on account of the death of Boniface, but con- soled, likewise, that his blood had been shed for the sake of Christ, and that hereflectedsogreatanhonouronthecountrytowhichhebelonged. '*6 The Bollandists have published an account '*? of very remarkable miracles, wrought through the relics —and intercession of St. Boniface, from the year 1588 down eventotheirdays a. d. 1695. SeveralinterestingmemorialsofSt. Boniface are extant, even some of these professing to represent the effigies of the holy Archbishop, with his costume—episcopal and abbatial—of that age in which he flourished. J *8 The most precious are those representations, taken from an ancient stone tablet, belonging to Mount St. Peter, near the city of Fulda. 1 *? In one of these, St. Boniface is represented in monastic habit, and bestowing his benediction on the monks ; while, in another, he is clothed and furnished with episcopal insignia. ** The ecclesiastical antiquary, no doubt, might glean a considerable amount of information, from a careful study of these
churcheshavebeenconsecratedanddedicatedtohonourthe — ofits memory
illustr
—ious Apostle. Among these, the Cathedral of Mayence as already
stated is the most historically and architectually interesting. At Docum, likewise, where his martyrdom took place, a noble church was erected to the
Martyr. 152 A magnificent Basilica, dedicated in honour of St. Boniface, has beenerectedatMunich. Theinteriorconsistsofanave,supportedbyfine columns on either side, 153 and in compartments over these are splendid fresco paintings, representing the chief incidents of the saint's eventful career. 15* In England, several churches and chapels were formerly dedicated to St.
*'
Annales Fuldae. " interesting, and they serve to exhibit faithful 141 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Junii pictures of monuments and seals, said to v. De S. Bonifacio Martyre, &c. Analecta have been sculptured or modelled so
Bonifaciana, cap. ii. , num. 13, p. 490. early as the beginning of the ninth century. 142 In his Vita /Egilis, Candidus has cele- I4' In that exact and esteemed work of the brated this ceremonial, in some Latin Hexa- Jesuit Christopher Brower "Fvldensivm
on the First of
the remains of St. Boniface were brought,141 and the church was con-
Saints,
was built at Fulda.
Thither,
November,
secrated Hecstulf,with by Archbishop
and 1*2 When rejoicing.
great ceremony
the news of St. Boniface's martyrdom arrived in England, Cuthbert, Arch-
—— illustrations. 151 Throughout Germany as may be expected many noble
140 According to the "
meter verses.
143 This was held in the year 756. See
Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of His-
tory,"p. 225.
144 See the Collection of Boniface's Epis-
ties, by Seravius, Epist. lxx. 145 See ibid. , Epist. lxxviii.
"
AnnalesOrdinis S. Be- nedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxiii. ,sect. x. , p. 171.
*4' Underthe title ofAnalecta Bonifaciana, cap. vii. , num. 52 to 76, in " Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. , Junii v. De S. Bonifacio Martyre, &c, pp. 500 to 504.
Antiqvitatvm Libri iv. ," engravings of St. Boniface and of his church are given. See
lib. ii. ,cap. ii. , p. 108, and cap. xv. , pp. 163
146 See Mabillon's
also highly interesting, it having been de- stroyed by fire a. d. 1387, according to Brower. Inadditiontothesearesculptures and seals of Charlemagne and of his brother Caroloman.
'^ See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. , Junii v. De S. Bonifacio Martrye, &c. Commentarius Prsevius, sect. iv. Effigies S. Bonifacii, ex vetusto lapide et sigillis, nee non Monastici tunc habitus formae ex picturis seculi ix. ; Regum item Francorum eodem spectantium, pp. 45S to 460.
'Sa to the Second Life of St. According
Boniface, cap. ii. , sect. 14.
148 After the death of Father Henschen, S. J. , his co-labourer Father Daniel Pape- broke supplied a Fourth Section to the pre- vious Commentary on the Acts of St. Boniface, and he brings fourteen separate illustrations on to aid in
copper, explaining his description. All of these are exceedingly
to
165.
"5° A plan of the old Basilica of Fulda is
a. d. 1 +° 819.
June 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. J 93 Boniface. At present, we can only discover the Cathedral Church of Ply-
mouth to be dedicated to St. and St. Boniface. J ss In Mary
Ireland, also, we have scarcely any doubt, but that several churches or religious institu- tions had been dedicated to St. Boniface. In the New World, likewise, and
1 *6 the German
in the United
to erect churches and to found religious institutions, in many of the dioceses there, in honour of their great Apostle. Several personal relics of St. Boni- face have been preserved. At Fulda is kept that copy of the Gospels, which was stained with the Martyr's blood. '57 Also, his blood-stained copy of that
especially
States,
immigrants have not forgotten
Basilica of St. Boniface, Munich.
Treatise of St. Ambrose, " On the Advantage of Death," was long preserved in the Monastery at Fulda, and shown to hosts of devout pilgrims. There,
was retained a fragment of his skull. 1 * 8 A portion of his bones was to be seen atLouvain. At Mechlin, at Cologne, and at Prague, some of St. Boniface's relics have been preserved. ' 3 ' At Bruges, some portions of the relics of St. Boniface and of his companions were kept in an ivory shrine, obtained from Godebald, Bishop of Utrecht, a. d. 1115, by Reifrid, second Dean of that Chapter. In the year 1471, these were transferred to a new shrine, on the 10th of March, the Second Sunday of Lent. On the base of that shrine, certain Latin hexameter verses were inscribed, in praise of St. Boniface. In 1624, those relics were solemnly placed in a new shrine. They
too,
153 It is represented on the accompanying illustration, faithfully drawn on the wood, and copied from a local photograph. The engraving is by Mrs. Millard.
154 In September, 1886, the writer had an
opportunity of visiting it, and taking these observations.
155 See the "Catholic Directoiy, Eccle- siastical Register, and Almanac. "
,5° See Sadlier's "Catholic Directory, Vol. VI. —No. 4.
Almanac and Ordo," where may be found
the designation of St. Boniface, attached to various missionary establishments.
1S7 See Micliaud's "Biographic Univer- selle," tome v. , Art. Boniface (Saint),
P- 5-
156 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould s "Lives of
the Saints," vol. vi. , June 5, p. 54.
139 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
the Saints," vol. vi. , June 5, p. 54.
N
.
,
194 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 5.
were periodically exposed for veneration, by the faithful. At Erfurt, likewise, some portions of his relics have been preserved. The collegiate church of St. Quentin, in the department of Aisne, is said to keep a part of St. Boniface's skull. It seems difficult to discover, at what time, it became possessed of that relic. l6° ThecopeandchasubleofSt. Boniface,withapartofhisskull,were
shown at Docum. l6t A considerable of St. Boniface's arm is at portion
long
Eichfeld, and it was bestowed by the Rev. and illustrious Prince Joachim,
Abbot of Fulda, in 1670. There, too, the Feast of our saint was devoutly celebrated. That office for St. Boniface, read in the Church of Utrecht, 162 has been chiefly taken from the Second Life of the holy Martyr, as published by the Bollandists. 16^
Both ancient and modern Calendars and Martyrologies record the chief
Festival of the illustrious Apostle of Germany and of his faithful companions
in suffering. Although Venerable Bede departed this life, a. d. 735, twenty
years before the death of St. Boniface ; still in some of the best and most
authentic versions of his Martyrology, we find the introduction of that Festi-
val, which commemorates the Martyrdom of St. Boniface and of h—is com-
Usuardan—dAdo draw-
16 l6s '*
thesixthAbbotof panions. Also, Raban, Fulda,
ing their accounts most probably from more ancient Calendars have notices
of St. Boniface's Martyrdom. 166 Those copies of St. Jerome's Martyrology, belonging to Corbie and Lucca,'6? have the Festival of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr, postfixed, through the care of those who had such copies trans-
l68
cribed. In an ancient Martyrology
belonging to the Collegiate Church of
,6
St. Mary, at Utrecht, the Feast of St. Boniface is also entered. 9 In a
1 Manuscript belonging to St. Martin's at Treves, this Festival occurs. ? In a
Martyrology, which belonged to. the Queen of Sweden, there is a lengthened encomiumonSt. Boniface,whichisindeedanabbreviationofhisLife. The
1
Bollandist Father Henschen deems '7
this to have formerly belonged to the
Monastery of Fulda. Also, a compendium of this eulogy is to be found, in a 12
Manuscript Martyrology, belonging to the Monastery of St. Cyriacus. ? In
160 See " Les Petits Bollandistes, Vies des Saints," tome vi. , ve Jour de Juin,
167 In this particular copy, the saint is as- signed to Austria, i. e. , Franconia or Eastern Fiance, in which Fulda is situated, in the diocese of Wurtzburg.
p. 463, note.
161
"
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's the Saints," vol. vi. , June 5. p. 54.
162 Printed A. n. 1608, and 1618.
Lives of
163 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Junii iv. De S. Bonifacio Martyre, &c. niis veniens Trajcctum, tempore S. Willi-
Commentaiius Prsevius, sect, i. , num. 5, P- 453-
" S.
105 His Martyrology states: "Nonas Junii, Bonifacii Archiepiscopi, cujus in Fre- sonis martyrii passio peracta est, et Eobani Coeniscopi ejus, cum servis De Wintrunge et Walthore, Scirbalde et Bosan, Hamunde ^Ethelhere, Wancare et Gundacare, \Yi lie- hereetHadavolfe. *'
166 In these words: "Item S. Bonifacii
Episcopi, qui de Britanniis veniens, et fidem
Christi gentibus Euangelizans, cum maxi- mum multitudinem in Frisia Christianse reli-
gioni subjugasset, novissime a Paganis, qui supererant, gladio peremptus martyrium con- summavit, cum Eobano Coepiscopo et aliis servis Dei. "
104 At the 5th of June, we read Bonifacii, Archiepiscopi in Fresonis, martyrii passio peracta est, et Eobani Coepiscopi ejus, cum aliis servis Dei sociis eorum. "
:
168
Transcribed about A. n. 11 38.
169 In these terms "
:
brordi Archiepiscopi primi Trajectensium Doctoris, cum eo moratus est. Post transi- tum vero sanctissimi Praesulis Willibrordi, jam dictus Bonifacius Dei gratia ejusdem Archiepiscopatus lionore sublimatus est. Qui cum fidem Christi in Frisia constants euangenlizaret, et maximam multitudinem Christiani religioni subjugasset, novissime a Fngis gladio peremptus, martyrium con- summavit, cum cooperatoribus Eobano et Adelario Praesbyteris et aliis quinquaginta tribus. "
"
170 Thusis it recorded:
Bonifacii Episcopi et Martyris cum sociis suis
Eobano Coepiscopo Athalario Presbytero, et aliis quinquaginta tribus. "
171 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Junii v. De S. Bonifacio Martyre, &c. Com- mentarius Pnevius, sect, iii. , num. II, 16,
17, 18, pp. 456, 457.
Trajecti, Archiepiscopi et Martyris. Qui de Biitan-
B. Bonifacii
In Frisia S.
June 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 195
the Roman Martyrology, the Festival of St. Boniface is set down, at the 5th day of June. '73 This holy martyr was greatly venerated in Scotland. The
feast of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr is entered, at the 5U1 of June, in the
Kalendar of Hyrdmanistoun J "4 the Calendar of Arbuthnott/75 and that ;
T? 6 commemoratehimandhis
in Adam
Scotorum," 7 and in the Scottish Kalendar/79 there are notices of him, at this date.
As if by enchantment, over the entire surface of Europe, under the trans-
forming genius of Catholic Ireland, great labours were undertaken, while
innumerable convents and schools were founded,180 under its auspices
and inspiration. Pious retreats were afforded, by Christian missionaries from
our Island, as places where religious and monks, the ancient tutelary masters
of learning, should watch and wait during evil times, preserving science in
their solitudes, and spreading the hallowed remembrance of Christian heroic
efforts in the Church of Christ, with that love of home and of native country,
which the sacred fire of national 181 before the preserves independence. Long
time of St. Boniface, Ireland had effected such hallowed results, and contem- poraneous with him were labourers in the Lord's vineyard, who undoubtedly were natives of our Green Island, associated in his mission and works. Their record still survives, in the grateful memory of many a distant community, and their festivals are even yet celebrated in divers places, where the Faith and those good fruits it naturally produces are on a safe foundation, and where they seems to flourish after the lapse of long ages.
Article II —St. Eoban, Martyr, and Assistant Bishop of Utrecht,
inthe of
Breviary Aberdeen,
companions "
in
martyrdom; also, I8
King's Kalendar,'
77 in
Dempster's
Menologium
Holland. [Eighth Century. '] This holy man, who is claimed to have been 1
an Irishman, was a companion of St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany, in
preaching the Gospel, especially to the Frisons. As we have already seen,
he was set over the See of Utrecht, by St. Boniface, to administer its affairs,
as an assistant or 2 The duties of this he dis- Bishop Chorepiscopus. office,
charged with great fidelity and fruit. When St. Boniface arrived at Utrecht, in the summer of 755, he brought St. Eoban with him to the more northern parts of Frisia, the circumstances and results of which expedition are recorded in the preceding Article. St. Eoban shared in the martyr- dom of St. Boniface, and therefore his festival is to be assigned
172 Baronius ology.
esteems this
l8° the Among
"
7i In these terms: "Eodem die sancti
highly
Martyr-
Burgundian Library Manuscripts, Bruxelles, vol. xxviii. , No. 5314, there is an interesting collection upon the "Irish Apostles," with their labours in Belgium and Germany. To the historical student, who wishes to pursue his researches in reference to the seminaries established on the Continent, this volume and its contents must be of great value. In it, are the names of many almost unknown authors, with re-
Bonifacii Episcopi Moguntini, qui de Anglia
Romam veniens, et a Gregorio Secundo in
Germaniam missus, ut fidem Christi illis
gentibus evangelizaret ; cum maximam mul-
titudinem, prsesertim Frisonum, Christiana?
religioni subjugasset, Geimanorum Aposto-
lus meruit appellari : no\ issime in Frisia a
furentibus Gentilibus gladio peremptus, ferences to their writings,
consummavit cu—m Eobano et lBl See Sindaret's "
martyrium Synchronisme
des quibusdam aliis servis Dei. " "Martyrolo- Litteratures depuis leur origine, jusqu'a nos giumRomanianGregoriiXIII. ,"p. 80. Jours,"&c. CinquiemeEpoque,sect,xiii. ,
174 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of pp. 285, 286. —
Scottish Saints," p. 41.
176
178 See ibid. , p. 202.
Article ii.
'
See the communication
175 See
Most Rev. Dr. "Was Moran,
101. Steibit. , p, 117. 177 See ibid. , p. 154.
of the
St. Boniface an Irishman?