Wakeman, and being
engraved
by Mrs.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
" '" See his work, on the Bishops of Ire- land, which did not appear, until the year
1665. "^
Ussher, in the Antiquities of Ireland, pub- lished A. D. 1654, cap. 29, and in his Anno- tationes ad S. Patricii Opuscula, published A. D. 1656, at p. 141.
"3 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 35. Although Dr. Lanigan does not agree with Ware, as to thelatterassertion; yet,thereisnonecessity
for Harris recurring to any presumed typo- graphical error of Ware, in setting down, A. D. 455. Such supposed mistake is not marked, even in the Errata to his work.
"* tlis feast is to the 9th of No- referred,
vember.
"5 She is thus named, in the Irish Tripar*
twenty-second year—or about A. D. 433—
Following the Ulster Annals and
be- fore the foundation of that at Armagh. See
"Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 854.
'°* It may be worth observing, that even
in Jocelyn's Life of St. Patrick, and in the Third and Fourth Lives, the preaching of our Apostle in Munster is treated of many chapters, before mention is made of his foundations at Armagh, which is not spoken of until towards the close of his southern mission.
"
'"5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
"
Four Masters, vol. i, pp. 142, 143. Also,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vi.
Colgan's
Martii. Vita S. Cadroe, n. 49, p. 503. The Annals of Clonmacnoise and of Senat-
may safely believe,
in 465, or in —the very year of his appointment as his English translator, Harris, states Benignus resigned the See to Iarlath. "3 These accounts lead to some confusion, in seeking to ascertain the exact date, for that impor- tant ecclesiastical foundation.
Among the favourite disciples of St. Patrick, Benignus, "• or Benen, is most particularly noticed. He seems to have been attached to the Apostle, as a constant companion. Daire's daughter, who is named Ercnait,"^ or
"
See Dr. Lanigan's
to Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," at p. 318, in a copy, once belonging to him, and now in the Dublin Society's Library.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 733
Ergnata,"^ greatly admired the personal appearance of St. Benen, and sweet to her were the charming tones of his voice, when engaged chaunting the sacred Psalms, and other Church Offices. Indeed, through their ears, did he devotionally move the souls of all hearers. A wasting disease seized upon Ergnait, so that she is said to have died of it. "7 Benen carried cretra^^^ to her from Patrick, when she suddenly arose alive, and thenceforward she
loved him spiritually. "? After a long life of religious devotion, she died, and she was buried, it is said, at Tamlaght-bo, now Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, and lying north-westwards from Armagh. This was the church,
whichshehadfounded. But,theO'Clerys'CalendargivesthisEargnat,^^" Virgin, as belonging to Dun-da-en,"^ in Dal-Araidhe, and now the parish of Duneane, in the county of Antrim,
One time, and apparently, when a British king's daughter"* arrived in Ireland, it is stated, that nine daughters, belonging to the king of the Longo-
bards,"^ even before the time,"9 usually assigned for their occupation of Italy. ^30 It is said, that messengers came from those virgins to St. Patrick, when they were at a place, called Ferta Minor,^3' and to know, if they should proceed to him. Then, Patrick declared to their messengers, that three of the maidens^32 should go to Heaven, and in that place, called Coll-na- ningean,^33 or " The hazel tree of the virgins. " This was near to and on the
or likewise "on a
bards,"3 Lombards, came, pilgrimage,
to St. Patrick. Ac- cording to the opinion of some writers, these adventurers issued forth from their primitive Scandinavian settlements,"^ towards the close of the fourth century. ^26 They migrated to Southern Europe. Although usually applied to Italy, yet Leatha, with ancient Irish authors, signified Letavia, or Armo- rica,"7 on the eastern coast of France. It has been thought, that Brittany or Armorica may have been known, in ancient times, as a seat of the Lom-
tite Life. Her festival is said to have fallen, on the 8th of January.
"* Her name is thus given, in the Latin
Tripartite Life.
"7 This is the account, contained in the
origin. Cluverius, in his " Germania An- tiqua," lib. iii. , cap. xxvi. , pp. I02 et seq,, denies it. About the time of Augustus and
Irish
"^ Such is the Irish Tripartite state-
ment ; but, in the Latin Tripartite, it is said, Benignus carried water, blessed by St. Patrick, and that he sprinkled it over her.
"9 The Latin Tripartite here states, this
narrative was taken from that of an old
author.
Trajan, they are discovered, for the first time, between the Elbe and the Oder. See Gibbon's " of the Decline and Fall
Tripartite
Life.
History
of the Roman Empire," vol. vii. , chap, xlii. ,
'^°
9th of November.
pp. 276, 277.
"* The Lombards, who settled in Italy,
are first mentioned by Prosper Aquitanus, Bishop of Regium, in the year 379.
"7 Sec on this subject, the Scholias of the
old commentator, on St. Fiach's Hymn, as,
also, Colgan's notes 14, 15, on the same.
"Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 4, 8. Likewise,
his note 9, to Probus, lib. i. , cap. xii,, pp.
48, 62.
See their notice of St. Benen, at the
'^'
Signifying, according to Joyce, in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," "the fortress of the two birds. " See part ii. , chap, ix. , p. 247.
"^ About Munessa we have already treated. However, Crumtheris may here be meant. Jocelyn calls her simply the King of Britain's daughter, and he remarks, that nine holy maidens came with her.
'^3 These are said by their historian, Paulus Diaconus, to have been so called, from the length of their beards.
"^ Such as Kranztius.
^-^ Paul Warnefrid, surnamed the Deacon, " De Gestibus Longobardorum," lib. i. ,
'=^
Colgan says, that the connection of the
and Grotius, in his Prolegomina to
*'
Longobard virgins, with the daughter of the British king, gives some countenance to this
conjecture.
'^9 It has been asserted, that the Lombards
were in Leatha, or Italy, during the time of St. Patrick.
^30 According to Baronius, they did not settle there, until A. D. 568. See Baronius'
"Annales Ecclesiastici," tomusvii. , at A. D. 568, num. i. , p. 486.
'31 According to the Fourth Life, chap. Ixxxviii. , p. 46.
'32 Colgan says, perhaps, these were the daughters of Enoch, venerated at the 9th of
His- toria Gothorum," p. 28, assigns them such
73 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
east side of Armagh. The place, called Ferta Minor, has eluded enquiry. About five miles from the city, there is an ancient burial-ground,*34 called Clonfeacle, which adjoins Blackwater Town,*3s ©n the banks of that celebrated river so denominated, in the county of Armagh. That place is traditionally held, to -have been an ancient foundation of St. Patrick. It is said to have borne the denomination of Fertamore,^36 but it hardly had been identical with Ferta Minor. The Irish Tripartite Life informs us, that the Apostle
" Let the other maidens go to Druim-fenneda,^37 and let one of them
said
proceed, so far as that hill in the east. " This mandate was duly obeyed. One of these virgins, who is called Cruimthir, or Crumtheris,'38 went, after-
:
wards, and she occupied Kenngobha,'39 or Cengoba,^^° which the Rev. Dr. Reevesexplainstobe"thehillofgrief"^^i Wearetold,thatitwasastone oratory,*42 and that some of its ruins remained. "^3 St. Patrick saw, with his own eyes, three of this holy number of virgins ascend into Heaven. '•• It is stated, that Benen used to carry fragments of food to Crumtheris every night, by orders from St. Patrick. *45 There, too, the holy bishop planted an apple-tree in Achadh-na-elti,**^ and which he took from a fort, in the north of that
whereshedwelt. it wascalled "the
Hence, Abhall-Phadruic, the orchard of Patrick," ^•z in Cengoba.
place, apple," or
Whether an identical transaction, or otherwise, Jocelyn relates a miracle, similar to that one already recorded, as having taken place at Cill-fiacla, or Kil- feacle,inthecountyofTipperary. Hetellsus,howSt. Patrickandhiscom- panions once went to a river, called Dabhall,'*^ and that, towards the close of day, they set up a tent, on a beautiful meadow, near the brink. Thither, it is said he went, to wash his hands and face in the river ; but, whether owing
to declining years, or through some other cause, a tooth being loose fell into the water. His disciples long sought for it, yet in vain. However, on the night succeeding, a very bright light shone over the water, and attracted them thither, when they found such brightness proceeded from his tooth, which was thus miraculously recovered from the river. Giving praise to God, it
The English
" the of ridge
and for which a house had been
Patrick, that used to be given to Cruim-
"
September. He adds: " Cum nome—n illud
earum patris sit Hibemis familiare. " Ibid. ,
n. 69, p. 50,
'33 From the context, in the Tripartite
Lives, this place does not seem to have been distinct from Ferta Minor.
'34 It was within the territory of Donnagh- Munter-Cullen.
'35 It lies within the parish of Clonfeacle,
in the barony of Armagh. The townland, likewise, is called Lisbotin. Both are shown, on the " Ordnance Sui-vey Townland Maps for the County of Armagh," Sheet 8.
'3* It formed a portion of the primatial lands of Armagh,
memory of the nine pilgrim virgins with Armagh-Breague, in Upper Fews. The
latter place, however, is eight or nine miles
south from Armagh. Nor can it be the
great fort of Kinnigo, which lies four miles
north, adds the writer of a note, in Miss
"
Cusack's
'•^ See Dr. Petrie's " Ecclesiastical Archi-
tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , sub-sect. 2, p. 350.
'*3 However, Dr. Reeves was unable to discover the accuracy of this statement,
'^ According to Jocelyn.
'*s According to the legend, it was the milk of the tame doe, already mentioned,
'37
the declivity. " The name seems now to be
obsolete, but it would be thoroughly ther's lap-dog.
of this
is,
built by St.
realized, in the situation of Clonfeacle.
'3^ Her name does not appear discover-
able, in any of our Calendars.
'39 So is it written, in the Latin Tripartite
Life.
'*° Thus it is written, in the Irish Tripar-
tite Life. There she built a religious estab- lishment. In Colgan, it is called a mount, and in the eastern vicinity of Armagh.
'** This place has not been identified.
'*' This place has not been discovered ; but, from the narrative, we may leam how early the cultivation of apple-trees had been in Ireland. Even to the present time, Armagh County is celebrated for its orchards and fruit.
'*® This evidently incorrect spelling is, no doubt, intended for the River Blackwater.
''The country tradition connects the
'' In June, 1879, the writer took a sketch
Life of St. Patrick," &c.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 735 was brought to St. Patrick, who built there a church/^g in which- the tooth
of
as an altar relic. '5° Hence, the —
preserved, finely-situated spot
w—as afterwards
about five miles firom the Metropolitan city Armagh got the name Clucyn-fiacal,^5i or " the meadow of the tooth," and it was a place afterwards renowned for miracles.
Clonfeacle Cemetery, County of Armagh.
One night, after prayer and vigil, when Patrick was resting his wearied limbs,
and sleeping at the fountain, called Tiprad-Cernai,'52 or Tibrad-Chema,^53 in a field of Tir-Tipraid,'54 the Angel of God came and awoke him, a little be-
"
fore daylight. Patrick said to this heavenly messenger :
wherein I have offended God, or does his anger rest upon me ? " " No," said the Angel, " and, moreover, you are informed from him, that if it be your desire,that there shall be no other share for anyone else in Erin. And, the ex- tent oiihQtermon, belonging to your See, shall reach from Droma-Bregh,^ss to
of the old graveyard, which now occupies '52 So the place is called, in the Irish Tri- its site, and which is overcrowded with partite Life.
graves. Beside it is the modern Catholic Church of Clonfeacle. The sketch in question was transferred to the wood, by William F.
Wakeman, and being engraved by Mrs. Millard, it furnishes the illustration, given in the text.
'S3 It is thus written, in the Latin Tripar- tite Life.
'S'* These places do not appear to have been identified.
'5S This was a part of Breagh territory, apparently the hilly part of Bregia, in the northern part of Meath County, and adjoin-
'5° The shrine of St. Patrick's tooth is a
beautiful object of ancient art, and it was ing Cavan. See Annals of the Four
exhibited in the Royal Irish Academy, by
Museum, attached to that Institution. It
probably belonged to this place.
'5' So is the name written by Jocelyn,
who incorrectly translates it, "Ecclesia dentis. "
"
Masters," Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
the late Dr. who described it to the Stokes,
n. " Leab- (o. ) Also,
at A. D.
members. It is now preserved in the har na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (x),
513, p. 168,
pp. II, 12. Sliabh-Breagh, now Slieve Brey , in the south of Louth County, was mentioned
by the Synod of Rath-Braesail, as having been the southern boundary for the diocese of Armagh ; Cuaille Ciannacta, which is
Is there anything
736 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 17.
and to
"
My
honour from God, and ecclesiastical rights in the country, after I shall have departed. " This self-abnegation and charity pleased the Almighty, and his
'57
debroih, truly sons of life shall come after me, and I wish they may have
Sliabh-Mis,'s6
Bri-Airghi. "
Whereupon,
Patrick
replied :
" That is
noble, that shall be in it, must belong to you. " Full of gratitude for this
Angel said,
manifest,
and God shall
give
all Erin to
you,
while
every
" Deo
clamation. Averylegendaryandunauthenticstoryisrelated,'5Binwhich the names of Colman, son to Aldus, and grandson to Ailill, of the Ui-Bre- sail family,'59 and, also, of a sister,^^° or female relation,'^' to St. Patrick, are
promise,
gratias,"
said
Patrick, according
to his accustomed ex- pious
^^^ which is said to have nated from their familiar intimacy, there are contradictions, obscurities, or irre- concilable accounts, too evident for any serious refutation. It is stated, that
the holy bishop was highly incensed, on account of their transgression, and especially was he indignant, because his own relative had fallen into disgrace. The legend relates, that Patrick came into the church, from the eastern side, and that Lupait, or Lupita,'^3 went to meet him, until she prostrated herself before the chariot, at that place, where a cross afterwards stood, in Both- Archall. '^* " The chariot over her," cried Patrick, and it passed over her thrice, for she used still to come in front of it. '^s However, Lupait implored of Patrick, that he would not take away Heaven from Colman, with his progeny. The saint did not take it away, but he declared, they should be sickly. FromthechildrenofColman,moreover,proceededtheUi-Faelain,'^^ and the Ui-Dubhdara,'^7 as our genealogists relate.
associated. in the narrative of a But,
scandal,
origi-
now the mountain top of Coolkenagh, in the parish of Errigal-Keerogue, in the county of Tyrone, having been then, as it is now, the northern boundary.
'5* This was the well-kno\vn mountain of Slemish, in the county of Antrim.
The former obtained its name, from Bressal.
great-grandson to CoUa da Crioch, the latter from Breasal, son of Aedh Roin.
'^7 which is called Bri-n-aivige,
by Colgan,
'^ In the Irish Tripartite Life, she is called Lupait. In his notes, Colgan main- tains, that the word in Irish, suir, means either a " or a " relative. " In
Brigraidhe, lay to the west. Bri, which ""
sister,"
another part of the Tripartite, Lupait is
signifies a hill," or a rising ground," is pronounced Bree. This is the name of a
townland, in the parish of Muckno, in the county of Monaghan, and being on the west of the county and diocese of Araiagh. "Presuming the identifications to be cor- rect," adds the writer of a note in Miss Cusack's " Life of St. Patrick," " it would appear that at this period the church of Armagh had a territorial jurisdiction over what now constitutes the diocese of Armagh, part of Meath and Connor, and the entire of Down and Dromore. This is an additional evidence of diocesan episcopacy to that afforded by the Synod of Uisnech, held in 1 107, at which the " Chronictim Scotorum " records the division of the old diocese of Meath between the Bishops of Cluain-mac- Nois and Clonard. According to the theory
of King, Reeves, and Todd, diocesan epis- copacy, in its present acceptation, was not introduced into Ireland until Iii8. "
'5^ Reasoning from dates, names and cir-
cumstances set down, Colgan very justly arrives at this conclusion.
'59 Their territory, afterwards called Clan- brassil, lay to the south of Lough Neagh, in the counties of Armagh and Down, being in the latter called Clanbrassil Mac Coolechan.
stated to have been placed over the nunneiy of Druimcheo, near Ardagh, in the county of Longford, of which her nephew, St. Mel, was bishop. From a note of Colgan, it ap- pears, she was buried in the Ferta, beside Armagh.
'*' In the Latin Tripartite Life, no par-
ticular name is given, nor more than as we
have recorded it, in the text.
'*^
Tlie Irish Tripartite Life states, that Colman fixed his attention on Lupait, at Imduail, and that Aedan, the saint of Inis- Lothair, was the son of Lupait and of Col- man. His feast is said to have been held, on the 27th of September.
'*3 Her feast has been assigned, to the
27th of September.
"*^ This place has not been identified.
'*s Where she went to heaven was at the
Ferta, as we are told, and she was buried
by Patrick. It is said, also, that her
ecnaire, or requiem, was sung.
'** This was the name of a tribe and of a
territory, containing about one-half the northern part of the present county of Kil- dare. SeeJohnO'Donovan's"Leabharna g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (a), pp. 205
to 207.
'*' These were ancient chiefs of Fenna-
^rARCH 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
7^7
Soon after the foundation of his religious estabh'shment at Armagh,
several of the monks were engaged in agricultural operations required by the rule, which St. Patrick imposed. Those labourers were cutting corn, in
"
Conor's district," then near the present city. They were obliged, not only to abstain from food, but even from using water for drink. They were seized with great thirst, as the day seems to have been extremely warm. We are told, in the Irish Tripartite Life, that a vessel of whey was taken to them from Patrick, although he had persuaded them, like the devout Christians in the primitive Church,*'^^ to observe abstinence even from drinking water, and which was to last from tierce until vesper time. One of those disciples, named Colman,'^9 with a heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, fell a victim to this rigorous fast, and rather than
break through the established discipline, he died, owing to the burning thirst experienced. When St. Patrick heard of this, he is said to have exclaimed :
"
city after us. " As a distinction, and for his devotion to rule, Colman was
the first man buried by St. Patrick, at Armagh, and in a newly-laid-out cemetery. '7° At the cross, by the door of St. Patrick's house, his remains
were deposited ; and, in after time, he was venerated, as Colman Itadach, or " Colman tlie Thirsty. " When the Irish Apostle was at a place, called
Druim-Chaile,'? ' or Druim-chaula,'? ^ as we are told, angels went, and took from off the road a stone, which lay before the chariot. Its name was after-
"
wards Leac-na-Naingel, or the stone of the Angel. " Raising both his
hands, St. Patrick blessed Ard-macha, from that spot. While he was near the church of Armagh,'73 he had also a miraculous vision, and being
absorbed in heavenly contemplation, our Divine Lord appeared to him, and manifested the manner and form, in which the good and bad should ap-
proach hun, on the Day of General Judgment. '74
CHAPTER XXIII.
REGARDING ST. PATRICK'S TO —AFTER THE POUNDATrON 0? ENQUIRY JOURNEY ROME,
ARMAGH—CUROTICUS—MIRACULOUS OCCURRENCES REPUTED RESIGNATION OF THE SEE, AT ARMAGH, TO ST. BENIGNUS.
It has been generally thought, that St. Patrick fixed his residence, chiefly at Armagh, after he had built the first church there, and had constituted that
harvest time, at Trian-Conchobhair, or
My debroth, there will be abundance of food and ale and prosperity in this
nagh, and sometime of Farney. See Dr.
"
Masters," however, place the foundation of Armagh Cathedral, at a. d. 457.
'? ' It is thus noticed, in the Irish Tripar- tite Life.
'7' It is so written, in the Latin Tripartite Life. No identification has been given.
'" The Latin Tripartite Life states, it was in a place, where a cross was set up, and towards the north. It may have been on that hill, where the Catholic Cathedral is now built.
'? ' See Colgnn's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Terlia Vita S. Patricii," cap. ixxviii. , p. 27, cap. Ixxx. , Ixxxi. , Ixxxii. , Ixxxiii. , p. 28, and nn. 74, 75, 76, 77, p. 34, and n. 88, p. 35. Quaria Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxi. , Ixxxii. , Ixxxiii. , Ixxxiv. , Ixxxv. , Ixxxvi. , Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii. , pp. 45, 46, and nn. 60 to
3 a
O'Donovau's
vol. ii. , at A. D. 1076, pp. 908, 909, at A. D.
Annals of the Four Masters,"
1097, pp. 956, 957, and at A. D. 1118, pp. 1006, 1007.
'^^ Thus we read in the Life of the Abbot,
Silvaiius, of Mount Sinai, how he and his
disciple Zachary, travelling one day, the latter wished to drink some water, which he found on the way. The abbot stopped him
"
See Tillemont's "Memoirs pour servir a
I'Histoire licclesiastiqiie,'" tome X. , p. 451. '°« By some of our Calendarists and eccle- siastical writers, his feast has been assigned
to the 5th of March.
'7° Ussher assigns the death of this Col-
man, to a. d. 445 ; tlie " Annals of the Four Vol. III. —-No. 12.
by saying,
My child, this is a last day. "
738 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i^.
city his Primatial See. ^ When he had brought the whole Island to the
Faith^ in this place did the saint erect his Archiepiscopal seat, intending to make it the principal and the metropolitan church of all Ireland. That this
his intention might be understood, for all succeeding ages, he purposed to make a journey to Rome,3 there to have it confirmed and ratified by Apos-
tolicauthority/ Healsodesired,toprocuresomerelicsoftheApostlesand other saints, 5 according to the Tripartite Lives, which relate, that he was tran- sported to Rome, and, in a miraculous manner,^ towards the end of his life,
and when he was already advanced in years. An Angel, appearing to the saint,
expressed approval of this project. ? Again, the holy man wanting means to be provided for his journey, by Heaven's decree miraculously were coaches^ sent, to carry him and his retinue, so far as the water side. It is recorded, that he went in one day to Comur-tri-nuisce, said to have been that place in Leinster, where the three rivers, Suir, Nore and Barrow meet, in the present county ot Waterford. 9 Before St. Patrick set out for Rome, in search of those relics, it is related, that he entrusted Sechnall, or Secundinus,^° with a care and charge over the archbishopric of Armagh, and the primacy of Ire-
Vita S.
cap. iii. , iv. , v. , vi. , vii. , viii. , p. 52, and nn.
2> 3i 4) 5) p. 63, cap. xxiv. , xxv. , xxvi. , p. 59, and n. 28, p. 63. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 85, cap. icii. , p. 86, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87, 88, cap. cxliii. , p. 96, cap.
1665. "^
Ussher, in the Antiquities of Ireland, pub- lished A. D. 1654, cap. 29, and in his Anno- tationes ad S. Patricii Opuscula, published A. D. 1656, at p. 141.
"3 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Armagh," p. 35. Although Dr. Lanigan does not agree with Ware, as to thelatterassertion; yet,thereisnonecessity
for Harris recurring to any presumed typo- graphical error of Ware, in setting down, A. D. 455. Such supposed mistake is not marked, even in the Errata to his work.
"* tlis feast is to the 9th of No- referred,
vember.
"5 She is thus named, in the Irish Tripar*
twenty-second year—or about A. D. 433—
Following the Ulster Annals and
be- fore the foundation of that at Armagh. See
"Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 854.
'°* It may be worth observing, that even
in Jocelyn's Life of St. Patrick, and in the Third and Fourth Lives, the preaching of our Apostle in Munster is treated of many chapters, before mention is made of his foundations at Armagh, which is not spoken of until towards the close of his southern mission.
"
'"5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
"
Four Masters, vol. i, pp. 142, 143. Also,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vi.
Colgan's
Martii. Vita S. Cadroe, n. 49, p. 503. The Annals of Clonmacnoise and of Senat-
may safely believe,
in 465, or in —the very year of his appointment as his English translator, Harris, states Benignus resigned the See to Iarlath. "3 These accounts lead to some confusion, in seeking to ascertain the exact date, for that impor- tant ecclesiastical foundation.
Among the favourite disciples of St. Patrick, Benignus, "• or Benen, is most particularly noticed. He seems to have been attached to the Apostle, as a constant companion. Daire's daughter, who is named Ercnait,"^ or
"
See Dr. Lanigan's
to Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," at p. 318, in a copy, once belonging to him, and now in the Dublin Society's Library.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 733
Ergnata,"^ greatly admired the personal appearance of St. Benen, and sweet to her were the charming tones of his voice, when engaged chaunting the sacred Psalms, and other Church Offices. Indeed, through their ears, did he devotionally move the souls of all hearers. A wasting disease seized upon Ergnait, so that she is said to have died of it. "7 Benen carried cretra^^^ to her from Patrick, when she suddenly arose alive, and thenceforward she
loved him spiritually. "? After a long life of religious devotion, she died, and she was buried, it is said, at Tamlaght-bo, now Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, and lying north-westwards from Armagh. This was the church,
whichshehadfounded. But,theO'Clerys'CalendargivesthisEargnat,^^" Virgin, as belonging to Dun-da-en,"^ in Dal-Araidhe, and now the parish of Duneane, in the county of Antrim,
One time, and apparently, when a British king's daughter"* arrived in Ireland, it is stated, that nine daughters, belonging to the king of the Longo-
bards,"^ even before the time,"9 usually assigned for their occupation of Italy. ^30 It is said, that messengers came from those virgins to St. Patrick, when they were at a place, called Ferta Minor,^3' and to know, if they should proceed to him. Then, Patrick declared to their messengers, that three of the maidens^32 should go to Heaven, and in that place, called Coll-na- ningean,^33 or " The hazel tree of the virgins. " This was near to and on the
or likewise "on a
bards,"3 Lombards, came, pilgrimage,
to St. Patrick. Ac- cording to the opinion of some writers, these adventurers issued forth from their primitive Scandinavian settlements,"^ towards the close of the fourth century. ^26 They migrated to Southern Europe. Although usually applied to Italy, yet Leatha, with ancient Irish authors, signified Letavia, or Armo- rica,"7 on the eastern coast of France. It has been thought, that Brittany or Armorica may have been known, in ancient times, as a seat of the Lom-
tite Life. Her festival is said to have fallen, on the 8th of January.
"* Her name is thus given, in the Latin
Tripartite Life.
"7 This is the account, contained in the
origin. Cluverius, in his " Germania An- tiqua," lib. iii. , cap. xxvi. , pp. I02 et seq,, denies it. About the time of Augustus and
Irish
"^ Such is the Irish Tripartite state-
ment ; but, in the Latin Tripartite, it is said, Benignus carried water, blessed by St. Patrick, and that he sprinkled it over her.
"9 The Latin Tripartite here states, this
narrative was taken from that of an old
author.
Trajan, they are discovered, for the first time, between the Elbe and the Oder. See Gibbon's " of the Decline and Fall
Tripartite
Life.
History
of the Roman Empire," vol. vii. , chap, xlii. ,
'^°
9th of November.
pp. 276, 277.
"* The Lombards, who settled in Italy,
are first mentioned by Prosper Aquitanus, Bishop of Regium, in the year 379.
"7 Sec on this subject, the Scholias of the
old commentator, on St. Fiach's Hymn, as,
also, Colgan's notes 14, 15, on the same.
"Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 4, 8. Likewise,
his note 9, to Probus, lib. i. , cap. xii,, pp.
48, 62.
See their notice of St. Benen, at the
'^'
Signifying, according to Joyce, in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," "the fortress of the two birds. " See part ii. , chap, ix. , p. 247.
"^ About Munessa we have already treated. However, Crumtheris may here be meant. Jocelyn calls her simply the King of Britain's daughter, and he remarks, that nine holy maidens came with her.
'^3 These are said by their historian, Paulus Diaconus, to have been so called, from the length of their beards.
"^ Such as Kranztius.
^-^ Paul Warnefrid, surnamed the Deacon, " De Gestibus Longobardorum," lib. i. ,
'=^
Colgan says, that the connection of the
and Grotius, in his Prolegomina to
*'
Longobard virgins, with the daughter of the British king, gives some countenance to this
conjecture.
'^9 It has been asserted, that the Lombards
were in Leatha, or Italy, during the time of St. Patrick.
^30 According to Baronius, they did not settle there, until A. D. 568. See Baronius'
"Annales Ecclesiastici," tomusvii. , at A. D. 568, num. i. , p. 486.
'31 According to the Fourth Life, chap. Ixxxviii. , p. 46.
'32 Colgan says, perhaps, these were the daughters of Enoch, venerated at the 9th of
His- toria Gothorum," p. 28, assigns them such
73 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
east side of Armagh. The place, called Ferta Minor, has eluded enquiry. About five miles from the city, there is an ancient burial-ground,*34 called Clonfeacle, which adjoins Blackwater Town,*3s ©n the banks of that celebrated river so denominated, in the county of Armagh. That place is traditionally held, to -have been an ancient foundation of St. Patrick. It is said to have borne the denomination of Fertamore,^36 but it hardly had been identical with Ferta Minor. The Irish Tripartite Life informs us, that the Apostle
" Let the other maidens go to Druim-fenneda,^37 and let one of them
said
proceed, so far as that hill in the east. " This mandate was duly obeyed. One of these virgins, who is called Cruimthir, or Crumtheris,'38 went, after-
:
wards, and she occupied Kenngobha,'39 or Cengoba,^^° which the Rev. Dr. Reevesexplainstobe"thehillofgrief"^^i Wearetold,thatitwasastone oratory,*42 and that some of its ruins remained. "^3 St. Patrick saw, with his own eyes, three of this holy number of virgins ascend into Heaven. '•• It is stated, that Benen used to carry fragments of food to Crumtheris every night, by orders from St. Patrick. *45 There, too, the holy bishop planted an apple-tree in Achadh-na-elti,**^ and which he took from a fort, in the north of that
whereshedwelt. it wascalled "the
Hence, Abhall-Phadruic, the orchard of Patrick," ^•z in Cengoba.
place, apple," or
Whether an identical transaction, or otherwise, Jocelyn relates a miracle, similar to that one already recorded, as having taken place at Cill-fiacla, or Kil- feacle,inthecountyofTipperary. Hetellsus,howSt. Patrickandhiscom- panions once went to a river, called Dabhall,'*^ and that, towards the close of day, they set up a tent, on a beautiful meadow, near the brink. Thither, it is said he went, to wash his hands and face in the river ; but, whether owing
to declining years, or through some other cause, a tooth being loose fell into the water. His disciples long sought for it, yet in vain. However, on the night succeeding, a very bright light shone over the water, and attracted them thither, when they found such brightness proceeded from his tooth, which was thus miraculously recovered from the river. Giving praise to God, it
The English
" the of ridge
and for which a house had been
Patrick, that used to be given to Cruim-
"
September. He adds: " Cum nome—n illud
earum patris sit Hibemis familiare. " Ibid. ,
n. 69, p. 50,
'33 From the context, in the Tripartite
Lives, this place does not seem to have been distinct from Ferta Minor.
'34 It was within the territory of Donnagh- Munter-Cullen.
'35 It lies within the parish of Clonfeacle,
in the barony of Armagh. The townland, likewise, is called Lisbotin. Both are shown, on the " Ordnance Sui-vey Townland Maps for the County of Armagh," Sheet 8.
'3* It formed a portion of the primatial lands of Armagh,
memory of the nine pilgrim virgins with Armagh-Breague, in Upper Fews. The
latter place, however, is eight or nine miles
south from Armagh. Nor can it be the
great fort of Kinnigo, which lies four miles
north, adds the writer of a note, in Miss
"
Cusack's
'•^ See Dr. Petrie's " Ecclesiastical Archi-
tecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, iii. , sub-sect. 2, p. 350.
'*3 However, Dr. Reeves was unable to discover the accuracy of this statement,
'^ According to Jocelyn.
'*s According to the legend, it was the milk of the tame doe, already mentioned,
'37
the declivity. " The name seems now to be
obsolete, but it would be thoroughly ther's lap-dog.
of this
is,
built by St.
realized, in the situation of Clonfeacle.
'3^ Her name does not appear discover-
able, in any of our Calendars.
'39 So is it written, in the Latin Tripartite
Life.
'*° Thus it is written, in the Irish Tripar-
tite Life. There she built a religious estab- lishment. In Colgan, it is called a mount, and in the eastern vicinity of Armagh.
'** This place has not been identified.
'*' This place has not been discovered ; but, from the narrative, we may leam how early the cultivation of apple-trees had been in Ireland. Even to the present time, Armagh County is celebrated for its orchards and fruit.
'*® This evidently incorrect spelling is, no doubt, intended for the River Blackwater.
''The country tradition connects the
'' In June, 1879, the writer took a sketch
Life of St. Patrick," &c.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 735 was brought to St. Patrick, who built there a church/^g in which- the tooth
of
as an altar relic. '5° Hence, the —
preserved, finely-situated spot
w—as afterwards
about five miles firom the Metropolitan city Armagh got the name Clucyn-fiacal,^5i or " the meadow of the tooth," and it was a place afterwards renowned for miracles.
Clonfeacle Cemetery, County of Armagh.
One night, after prayer and vigil, when Patrick was resting his wearied limbs,
and sleeping at the fountain, called Tiprad-Cernai,'52 or Tibrad-Chema,^53 in a field of Tir-Tipraid,'54 the Angel of God came and awoke him, a little be-
"
fore daylight. Patrick said to this heavenly messenger :
wherein I have offended God, or does his anger rest upon me ? " " No," said the Angel, " and, moreover, you are informed from him, that if it be your desire,that there shall be no other share for anyone else in Erin. And, the ex- tent oiihQtermon, belonging to your See, shall reach from Droma-Bregh,^ss to
of the old graveyard, which now occupies '52 So the place is called, in the Irish Tri- its site, and which is overcrowded with partite Life.
graves. Beside it is the modern Catholic Church of Clonfeacle. The sketch in question was transferred to the wood, by William F.
Wakeman, and being engraved by Mrs. Millard, it furnishes the illustration, given in the text.
'S3 It is thus written, in the Latin Tripar- tite Life.
'S'* These places do not appear to have been identified.
'5S This was a part of Breagh territory, apparently the hilly part of Bregia, in the northern part of Meath County, and adjoin-
'5° The shrine of St. Patrick's tooth is a
beautiful object of ancient art, and it was ing Cavan. See Annals of the Four
exhibited in the Royal Irish Academy, by
Museum, attached to that Institution. It
probably belonged to this place.
'5' So is the name written by Jocelyn,
who incorrectly translates it, "Ecclesia dentis. "
"
Masters," Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
the late Dr. who described it to the Stokes,
n. " Leab- (o. ) Also,
at A. D.
members. It is now preserved in the har na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (x),
513, p. 168,
pp. II, 12. Sliabh-Breagh, now Slieve Brey , in the south of Louth County, was mentioned
by the Synod of Rath-Braesail, as having been the southern boundary for the diocese of Armagh ; Cuaille Ciannacta, which is
Is there anything
736 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 17.
and to
"
My
honour from God, and ecclesiastical rights in the country, after I shall have departed. " This self-abnegation and charity pleased the Almighty, and his
'57
debroih, truly sons of life shall come after me, and I wish they may have
Sliabh-Mis,'s6
Bri-Airghi. "
Whereupon,
Patrick
replied :
" That is
noble, that shall be in it, must belong to you. " Full of gratitude for this
Angel said,
manifest,
and God shall
give
all Erin to
you,
while
every
" Deo
clamation. Averylegendaryandunauthenticstoryisrelated,'5Binwhich the names of Colman, son to Aldus, and grandson to Ailill, of the Ui-Bre- sail family,'59 and, also, of a sister,^^° or female relation,'^' to St. Patrick, are
promise,
gratias,"
said
Patrick, according
to his accustomed ex- pious
^^^ which is said to have nated from their familiar intimacy, there are contradictions, obscurities, or irre- concilable accounts, too evident for any serious refutation. It is stated, that
the holy bishop was highly incensed, on account of their transgression, and especially was he indignant, because his own relative had fallen into disgrace. The legend relates, that Patrick came into the church, from the eastern side, and that Lupait, or Lupita,'^3 went to meet him, until she prostrated herself before the chariot, at that place, where a cross afterwards stood, in Both- Archall. '^* " The chariot over her," cried Patrick, and it passed over her thrice, for she used still to come in front of it. '^s However, Lupait implored of Patrick, that he would not take away Heaven from Colman, with his progeny. The saint did not take it away, but he declared, they should be sickly. FromthechildrenofColman,moreover,proceededtheUi-Faelain,'^^ and the Ui-Dubhdara,'^7 as our genealogists relate.
associated. in the narrative of a But,
scandal,
origi-
now the mountain top of Coolkenagh, in the parish of Errigal-Keerogue, in the county of Tyrone, having been then, as it is now, the northern boundary.
'5* This was the well-kno\vn mountain of Slemish, in the county of Antrim.
The former obtained its name, from Bressal.
great-grandson to CoUa da Crioch, the latter from Breasal, son of Aedh Roin.
'^7 which is called Bri-n-aivige,
by Colgan,
'^ In the Irish Tripartite Life, she is called Lupait. In his notes, Colgan main- tains, that the word in Irish, suir, means either a " or a " relative. " In
Brigraidhe, lay to the west. Bri, which ""
sister,"
another part of the Tripartite, Lupait is
signifies a hill," or a rising ground," is pronounced Bree. This is the name of a
townland, in the parish of Muckno, in the county of Monaghan, and being on the west of the county and diocese of Araiagh. "Presuming the identifications to be cor- rect," adds the writer of a note in Miss Cusack's " Life of St. Patrick," " it would appear that at this period the church of Armagh had a territorial jurisdiction over what now constitutes the diocese of Armagh, part of Meath and Connor, and the entire of Down and Dromore. This is an additional evidence of diocesan episcopacy to that afforded by the Synod of Uisnech, held in 1 107, at which the " Chronictim Scotorum " records the division of the old diocese of Meath between the Bishops of Cluain-mac- Nois and Clonard. According to the theory
of King, Reeves, and Todd, diocesan epis- copacy, in its present acceptation, was not introduced into Ireland until Iii8. "
'5^ Reasoning from dates, names and cir-
cumstances set down, Colgan very justly arrives at this conclusion.
'59 Their territory, afterwards called Clan- brassil, lay to the south of Lough Neagh, in the counties of Armagh and Down, being in the latter called Clanbrassil Mac Coolechan.
stated to have been placed over the nunneiy of Druimcheo, near Ardagh, in the county of Longford, of which her nephew, St. Mel, was bishop. From a note of Colgan, it ap- pears, she was buried in the Ferta, beside Armagh.
'*' In the Latin Tripartite Life, no par-
ticular name is given, nor more than as we
have recorded it, in the text.
'*^
Tlie Irish Tripartite Life states, that Colman fixed his attention on Lupait, at Imduail, and that Aedan, the saint of Inis- Lothair, was the son of Lupait and of Col- man. His feast is said to have been held, on the 27th of September.
'*3 Her feast has been assigned, to the
27th of September.
"*^ This place has not been identified.
'*s Where she went to heaven was at the
Ferta, as we are told, and she was buried
by Patrick. It is said, also, that her
ecnaire, or requiem, was sung.
'** This was the name of a tribe and of a
territory, containing about one-half the northern part of the present county of Kil- dare. SeeJohnO'Donovan's"Leabharna g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (a), pp. 205
to 207.
'*' These were ancient chiefs of Fenna-
^rARCH 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
7^7
Soon after the foundation of his religious estabh'shment at Armagh,
several of the monks were engaged in agricultural operations required by the rule, which St. Patrick imposed. Those labourers were cutting corn, in
"
Conor's district," then near the present city. They were obliged, not only to abstain from food, but even from using water for drink. They were seized with great thirst, as the day seems to have been extremely warm. We are told, in the Irish Tripartite Life, that a vessel of whey was taken to them from Patrick, although he had persuaded them, like the devout Christians in the primitive Church,*'^^ to observe abstinence even from drinking water, and which was to last from tierce until vesper time. One of those disciples, named Colman,'^9 with a heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, fell a victim to this rigorous fast, and rather than
break through the established discipline, he died, owing to the burning thirst experienced. When St. Patrick heard of this, he is said to have exclaimed :
"
city after us. " As a distinction, and for his devotion to rule, Colman was
the first man buried by St. Patrick, at Armagh, and in a newly-laid-out cemetery. '7° At the cross, by the door of St. Patrick's house, his remains
were deposited ; and, in after time, he was venerated, as Colman Itadach, or " Colman tlie Thirsty. " When the Irish Apostle was at a place, called
Druim-Chaile,'? ' or Druim-chaula,'? ^ as we are told, angels went, and took from off the road a stone, which lay before the chariot. Its name was after-
"
wards Leac-na-Naingel, or the stone of the Angel. " Raising both his
hands, St. Patrick blessed Ard-macha, from that spot. While he was near the church of Armagh,'73 he had also a miraculous vision, and being
absorbed in heavenly contemplation, our Divine Lord appeared to him, and manifested the manner and form, in which the good and bad should ap-
proach hun, on the Day of General Judgment. '74
CHAPTER XXIII.
REGARDING ST. PATRICK'S TO —AFTER THE POUNDATrON 0? ENQUIRY JOURNEY ROME,
ARMAGH—CUROTICUS—MIRACULOUS OCCURRENCES REPUTED RESIGNATION OF THE SEE, AT ARMAGH, TO ST. BENIGNUS.
It has been generally thought, that St. Patrick fixed his residence, chiefly at Armagh, after he had built the first church there, and had constituted that
harvest time, at Trian-Conchobhair, or
My debroth, there will be abundance of food and ale and prosperity in this
nagh, and sometime of Farney. See Dr.
"
Masters," however, place the foundation of Armagh Cathedral, at a. d. 457.
'? ' It is thus noticed, in the Irish Tripar- tite Life.
'7' It is so written, in the Latin Tripartite Life. No identification has been given.
'" The Latin Tripartite Life states, it was in a place, where a cross was set up, and towards the north. It may have been on that hill, where the Catholic Cathedral is now built.
'? ' See Colgnn's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Terlia Vita S. Patricii," cap. ixxviii. , p. 27, cap. Ixxx. , Ixxxi. , Ixxxii. , Ixxxiii. , p. 28, and nn. 74, 75, 76, 77, p. 34, and n. 88, p. 35. Quaria Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxi. , Ixxxii. , Ixxxiii. , Ixxxiv. , Ixxxv. , Ixxxvi. , Ixxxvii. , Ixxxviii. , pp. 45, 46, and nn. 60 to
3 a
O'Donovau's
vol. ii. , at A. D. 1076, pp. 908, 909, at A. D.
Annals of the Four Masters,"
1097, pp. 956, 957, and at A. D. 1118, pp. 1006, 1007.
'^^ Thus we read in the Life of the Abbot,
Silvaiius, of Mount Sinai, how he and his
disciple Zachary, travelling one day, the latter wished to drink some water, which he found on the way. The abbot stopped him
"
See Tillemont's "Memoirs pour servir a
I'Histoire licclesiastiqiie,'" tome X. , p. 451. '°« By some of our Calendarists and eccle- siastical writers, his feast has been assigned
to the 5th of March.
'7° Ussher assigns the death of this Col-
man, to a. d. 445 ; tlie " Annals of the Four Vol. III. —-No. 12.
by saying,
My child, this is a last day. "
738 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i^.
city his Primatial See. ^ When he had brought the whole Island to the
Faith^ in this place did the saint erect his Archiepiscopal seat, intending to make it the principal and the metropolitan church of all Ireland. That this
his intention might be understood, for all succeeding ages, he purposed to make a journey to Rome,3 there to have it confirmed and ratified by Apos-
tolicauthority/ Healsodesired,toprocuresomerelicsoftheApostlesand other saints, 5 according to the Tripartite Lives, which relate, that he was tran- sported to Rome, and, in a miraculous manner,^ towards the end of his life,
and when he was already advanced in years. An Angel, appearing to the saint,
expressed approval of this project. ? Again, the holy man wanting means to be provided for his journey, by Heaven's decree miraculously were coaches^ sent, to carry him and his retinue, so far as the water side. It is recorded, that he went in one day to Comur-tri-nuisce, said to have been that place in Leinster, where the three rivers, Suir, Nore and Barrow meet, in the present county ot Waterford. 9 Before St. Patrick set out for Rome, in search of those relics, it is related, that he entrusted Sechnall, or Secundinus,^° with a care and charge over the archbishopric of Armagh, and the primacy of Ire-
Vita S.
cap. iii. , iv. , v. , vi. , vii. , viii. , p. 52, and nn.
2> 3i 4) 5) p. 63, cap. xxiv. , xxv. , xxvi. , p. 59, and n. 28, p. 63. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 85, cap. icii. , p. 86, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87, 88, cap. cxliii. , p. 96, cap.
