589
bable, he first saw the light, towards the close of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century.
bable, he first saw the light, towards the close of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
(f.
, p.
136.
The town is thought
"' The
name :— l. St. Comman, the Leper, son of Laighne, at the 28th of January. 2. St.
Culdees. 'See "
following
Scriptorum
saints bear this form of
Illustrium Majoris In his Apparatus SaCer. "
' ARTICLE III. — See
pp. 335 to 340.
Flores his Life at
^
the day of his feast.
Britannize," <S;c *"
Historiarum," p. 255.
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 587
only by referring the transactions of the lona Adamnan to the Coldingham monk, so named,? but in stating, that the latter was skilled in sacred learning,
that he was a superior over many monks, that he wrote a description of Jeru-
salem, a life of St. Columba, and many other tracts. '° This charlatanic his- •
torian, not content with promulgating these errors, adds other statements," still less excusable, as these could not have reference, either to the Monk of Coldingham, or to the Abbot of Hy. " It is singular, how he has the effron- tery to quote Sigebert'3 as an authority, for some of those hasty imaginings. His want of chronological accuracy is equally at fault, when he states, that Adamnan was a contemporary with Eugenius VI. , ^4 King of Scotland,'^ and with Pope Sergius,'^ while he died towards the close of the eighth century. '7
Several writers have called our saint Adamanus -^^ but his proper name should be Adamnanus or Adamnan. '9 Alter Bede, various hagiographers have placed him on the rolls of history. Colgan has published the acts of this holy penitent at the 31st of January. '" So, in like manner, an intro- duction in four paragraphs leads us to some notices regarding him, as written
» See Thomas " Historia Ec- Dempster's
clesiastica Gentis Scotorum : sive De Scrip-
toribus Scotis," editio altera, tom. i. , lib. i. ,
pp. 4, 5. Bannatyne Club Edition.
'° These statements apply to the Abbot of Hy, and not to the Monk of Coldingham,
as may be seen by consulting Bede, IVithe- mius, and other credible writers.
" He marks, notwithstanding, a very no- table distinction between both Adamnans ;
yet, in a very blundering and loose manner.
"
of Hy. Hence, there is no reference to the
present saint.
'* He died in the to year 697, according
Hector Boetius, who places him in the fifty- seventh place, in his " Scotia Regum Cata-
logus. " He reigned ten years. See like- wise at fol. clxxxvi. , "Scotorum Historise,
a prima gentis origine," &c. , lib. ix. The fol. edition of 1520, printed at the " prelum Ascensianum. " See also George Buchannan's " Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , p.
147. '5
There was another St. Adamnan, diffe- rent from both those saints already alluded to ; he was an Irishman, and Bishop of
Ratlimuige, within the territoryof Dalaradia, in Ulster. He died, A. D. 725. Whether this was the Scottish bishop, whom Hector Boetius and other writers of Scotland state to have been master of Eugenius VI. , King of Scotland, is not known. The master of Eugenius VI. could not have been Adamnan, Abbot of lona, as this latter was only an abbot, and not elevated beyond the rank of presbyter. The former is called a bishop. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xxxi. Januarii, n. 8, p. 226.
See
rum," tom. i. , lib, i. , pp. 4, 5.
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto-
" Thus, in the first place, Dempster makes Adamnan a disciple of St. Kilian. Secondly, he says, that by a tempest Adamnan was driven on the coast of Gaul. Thirdly, that Sigebert, at the year 695, relates these fore- going events, regarding Adamnan. Fourthly, that he was a pilgrim in the Holy Land, and on returning from it that he become Abbot of Hy, in Scotland. Fifthly, that he died in the year 797, while Sergius sat in the chair of St. Peter, and whilst Eugenius VI. , reigned in Scotland. It may be observed, that none of these statements are altogether correct, so far as they relate to either Adam- nan. Nor arc
any
'* Now
year of his pontificate, A. D. 701 ; Sergius II, (
of the first three matters found —in Sigebert, or in any other known
I. in the thirteenth Sergius died,
writer Dempsteraloneexcepted.
'3 Sigebert only says, at A. D. 694, that
Arnual, a disciple of Quintain, bishop,
Adamnan, abbot, Adelin and Wilfrid, bis-
hops, flourished in Gaul, and only remarks
about St. Adamnan, that he lived at this
period. Sigebert says nothing regarding
Adamnan driven a into being by tempest
in the third year of his episcopa. cy, A. D. 847
;
Gaul, and he has nothing whatever regard- ing his journey to Jerusalem. Bede, in his
Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tom. i. , lib.
i-,P- 5-
"* Trithemius and so him Dempster style ;
and in some copies of Venerable Bede's his- tory, such a reading is found.
'' This has been " interpreted, parvus
Adam," in English, "little Adam. "
'"
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni3e,"xxxi, Januarii. Vita S. Adamnani, with accom- panying notes, pp. 224 to 226,
" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
lib. v. , cap. 16, p. 433, and other writers state, that Arnulph, a Gaulish bishop, re-
turning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was carried by a tempest into Britain, where he formed the acquaintance of St. 'Adamnan
Anglorum,"
and Sergius III. in the sixth year of his pon-
tificate, A. D. 911. See Sir Harris Nicolas'
"
Chronology of History," p. 211.
'^A. D. 797. See Dempster's "Historia
588 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
in six paragraphs, by the BoUandists. ^^ Cressy'* and other English church historians have not forgotten to commemorate this saint. In Hke manner, Father Innes'3 alludes to the remarkable events of his biography. Bishop Forbes, who finds him commemorated in some Scottish Kalendars,^+ has a special biography of St. Adamnanus of Coldingham. '^s Many other Scottish and Continental writers have noted some particulars concerning his life. However, we cannot with certainty pronounce on this saint having been a native of our island. ^^ Bede declares, that he was of Scottish race f7 and, it is likely enough, Adamnan was bom in Scotia Major or Ireland. ^^ Colgan would not undertake to determine this question, as to whether he had been born there or in Scotia Minor, also called Britannic Scotia, and Albania, by the ancients, as it is denominated Scotland, by modern writers. Those who wish to maintain our saint was a native of this latter country, might advance by way of argument, that he was converted while in Britain ; yet, by a con- fessor, who appears to have been an Irishman. ^9 Again, it might be urged, that if Adamnan were an Irishman, why should not his nationality have been as clearly indicated as that of his confessor, or why should not his conversion have taken place in Ireland ? But, an Irishman might easily oppose such objections, by retorting the argument, and by inquiring, if he were a native of British Scotia, why was not his conversion effected in modem Scotland, and not rather in Coludum or Coldingham ? 3° It may be asked, likewise, why should his conversion have been effected by an Irish confessor, rather than by a Scotchman, if he were a native of Albania ? Those, who desire to claim Adamnan, as an Irishman, might also add, that many Irish saints and mis- sionaries then laboured in Northumbria, and in other parts of England, by spreading a knowledge of Faith among the people. 3* Hence, it appears to be very probable, that Adamnan was one of those pious Irish pilgrims, who owed his conversion to a director of Irish race, if not of Irish birth. Re- garding the parents of Adamnan we have no account ;32 but, it seems pro-
" See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi.
Januarii. Acta S. Adamnani, pp. 1120, 1 121.
"See "Church History of Brittany," book xviii. , chap, xv. , pp. 455, 456.
'3 See "Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland. " Chronological Memoirs, pp. 270 to 274.
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § v. , p. 97, and n. 61, p. 100. There our saint is dismissed with a few brief notices,
'' According to the most probable sequence and interpretation of Venerable Bede's nar- rative.
30 Thjs ^. ^s situated, formerly, in the pro- =** ThusDempster,in his "Menologium vinceofNorthumbria,inEngland,asappears
Scoticum," strangely enough has St. Adam- nanus Coludius, and Adamnanus, Abbot of Hy, at this day, while the Scottish entries in the Kalendar of David Camerarius place the former saint at the 27th and the latter at the
31st of January.
y's See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp.
191, 234, 264, Bishop Forbes says he was of the Irish race. Ibid. , p. 264.
from Bede's " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, and from Tri- themius " De Sanctis Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. , cap. 124.
3' Here specially might be enumerated, St. Aidan, St. P'inan, St. Colman, St. Cath- bert, St. Dima, St. Fursey, St. Dichull, be- sides a host of other holy men. Induced by their example, many were desirous of leading a contemplative or missionary life in England. These left their own native is- land, in great numbers, to extend still more the kingdom of God upon earth. See, on this subject, Rt. Rev. Bishop Moran's edi-
tion of Peter Lombard's " De Hiber- Regno
nije. Sanctorum Insula, Commentarius," cap, XV. , pp. 78 to 87.
3^ yee that portion in Venerable Bede's
"* " See Bishop Challoner's
Brittannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 87.
="' Besides Bede, from whose history the
present account of this saint is chiefly taken, the English Martyrology, at the 31st of Jan-
and
Trithemius,
"
DeJViris lllustribus," lib. iii. , cap. 124, have notices regarding
uary, him.
'^
Dr. Lanigan remarks, that there is no authority for deciding, whether this saint was a native of Ireland or Scotland. See
"
lib. iv. , cap. 25, which refers to him.
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
589
bable, he first saw the light, towards the close of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. 33
It would appear, that in his youth, he was addicted to a life of debauchery and licentiousness ; yet, the grace of God effectually interposed, and rescued him from this state of sin. Being moved to penitence, he sought the counsel of a spiritual director,34 to whom he disclosed his manifold crimes, expres- sing, at the same time, a desire to perform suitable penance for such trans- gressions. The director35 told him, in order to appease God's wrath, that he should apply, for the future, to a recitation of psalms, to devout prayer, and to fasting. Our saint, who showed himself a true penitent, declared his readiness to accept any penance imposed, that salvation might be secured on the last day, even although it should be enjoined on him to remain standing during whole nights in prayer, or to pass the whole week in a continuous fast. 3^ His confessor, however, would not impose so rigorous a penance on this fervent penitent, but only required him to fast two or three days ; then, after a short interval, he directed Adamnan to revisit the tribunal of confes- sion, that he might hear what should afterwards be expedient for him to do. 37 Having thus expressed himself, and having prescribed an exact measure of penance, that confessor of Irish descent was suddenly called away from England, where our saint then lived. After this occurrence, our saint had no longer access to his spiritual father, who left for Ireland. 32 But, mindful of his former transgressions, Adamnan bewailed with tears, by day and night, the miseries of his youth. By the most guarded conduct, he afterwards endeavoured to nourish a spirit of penance and purity, practising frequent vigils and prayers. He only tasted nutriment on Sundays and Thursdays, spending other days of the week in observing the strictest abstinence from all food. Although Adamnan heard about the death of his director in Ireland, yet this did not induce him to change that rigorous mode of living. Whatever penitential observances the pious religious at first under- took as a satisfaction for his sins, those holy exercises were afterwards con- tinued, while joined with fervent and constant aspirations to God.
It is not altogether unquestionable, although highly probable, that the conversion of Adamnan was commenced at Coldingham. It is certain,
however, from Venerable Bede's narrative, that his penance was there en- joined by the director. This happened, it is likely, during the seventh
century. As a priest and monk, he lived many years afterwards in the monastery of Coldingham,39 which then lay within the old province of
33 This may be inferred from the English before the Christian era. See Elias Reg- Martyrology, and from ^Venerable Bede's nault's " Histoire de I'lrlande," liv. i. ,
narrative,
3^ He is called an Irish Confessor, in
chap, ii. , p. 23.
ssgeg Bede's "HistoriaEcclesiastica Gen-
tis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, p. 336.
37 See Father Innes' " Civil and Ecclesi-
"
35 It is not correct to say, that Bede calls
"
Hibernus," while omitting to distinguish our saint in like manner. Bede only says, that Adamnan's master went to Hibemia, from which country his origin was derived, whereas our saint is
"
Bishop Forbes' Saints," p. 264,
Kalendars of Scottish
his master or director
asticalHistoryofScotland. " Chronological Memoirs, p. 272.
vir de genere Scotorum. " All na- tives of Ireland, at that time, were generally calledScots,astheircountrywasnamed Scotia. The origin of both terms to natives of Ireland and to their country is thought by a French writer to have no more remote antiquity than a century or two centuries
called
38Be(}e calls it " suum Hibemiam. " See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglo- rum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, p. 337. This Cressy
''
Ireland his Native Country. " See "Church History of Brit-
tany," book xviii. , cap. xv. , p. 456. 39Thisreligiousestablishmentwasfounded
''
which extended from 634 to 643 A. D. " George Chalmers' " Caledonia ; or, an Account, Historical and Topographic, of North Britain ; from
rightly interprets
under the reign of Oswald—,
590 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Northumbria,inthekingdomofAnglia/" Atasubsequentperiod,itformed a part of the Marches, belonging to Scotland. •* Here, in the seventh century, St. Abba or Ebba^' founded a double separate monastery :43 one house being intended for monks, and the other for nuns. ** The latter was under her own special direction. This holy abbesses was daughter to Ethelfrid, King of Northumberland, and a sister to St. Oswald*^ and Oswio, styled respectively the Sixth and Seventh*? Bretwaldas, or chief wielders of Saxon power in Britain. *^ It is said, St. Ebba was abbess here in the year 661. At this place,« she entertained St. Cuthbert,'° the Prior o—f Melrose, for several days. About a mile —south-west of St. Abb's Head thus de- nominated from that holy woman St. Ebba's ancient nunnery, at Colding-
ham, stood on the sea-beaten rock. s^
the most ancient to the present times : with a Dictionary of Places, Chorographical and Philological," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, vii. , P- 325-
It is said, the most ancient church
that Dukedom was united to the Crown of
France, ending with the year of our Lord 68 ; in which are several pieces of Talies- sin, an ancient British Poet, and a Defence
*° Coldingham was a cell to Durham. In of the Antiquity of the Scottish Nation :
his Appendix to Venerable Bede's History,
Num XX. , pp. 760 to 764, Smith has printed various charters relating to this house. See
''
with many other Antiquities, never before
published in the English Tongue ; with a
compleat Index to the whole," book vi. , Sir William Dugdale's Monasticon Angli- chap, xxv. , p. 215, and chap, xxvi. , pp.
canum," vol. vi. , part ii. , p. 1 149. The new edition, by John Caley, Esq. , F. R. S. S. A. , Henry Ellis, LL. B. , F. R. S. S. A. , and the Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, D. D.
217, 218. As an Appendix to this work,
and of very great interest for the antiquary, is a republication of the following distinct
tract. Its title runs " The Breviary of *' See Gough's Camden's "Britannia," Britayne. As this most noble and renowned
vol. iii. , p. 301, for an account of this
place, in comiexion with the Merchia, Merch, or Mers.
*' She received the veil from St. Finan, an Irish bishop of Lindisfarne, according to her Life. This will be found in Capgrave's
"Legenda Sanctorum Angliae," at the 25th
Hand was of ancient time divided into three
Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Wales. Contaynyng a learned discourse of the vari-
able state and alteration thereof, vnder diuers as wel natural : as forren Princes and Con- querours. Together with the Geographicall
description of the same, such as nether by
elder, nor later writers, the like hath been
of August.
"
*3See Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of the set foorth before. " Written in Latin by
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Hunifrey Lhuyd of Denbigh, a Cambro-
Saints," vol. viii. , xxv. August.
**This account suggests a similitude be-
tween her foundation and St. Brigid's at Kildare. See, regarding this latter estab- lishment, remarks in Rev. P. J. Carew's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," chap. vi. , p. 240.
*5 The feast of St. Ebba, virgin, and Ab- bess of Coldingham falls on the 25th of August. See an account of her in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 330. —
Britayne. And lately Englished by Thomas Twyne, Gentleman, M. D. Lxxiii.
** During the period of the Saxon hep-
"
History of the . Anglo-Saxons," vol. i. , book iii. , chap. 5> P- 3I9» regards the Bretwalda as a kind
of war-king, or a temporary military leader. The learned Saxon scholar and antiquary, John Mitchell Kemble, in his account re- garding the growth of the kingly power, considers the Bretwaldadom as being "a mere accidental predominance. " See "The
*^ This — man see his Life at the holy
Saxons in
a of the England, History Eng-
5th of August had been educated Ireland,
lish Commonwealth till the
Period of the
in and he was a convert to the Faith.
Norman Conquest," vol. ii. , book ii. , chap,
i. , p. 18.
'The of in Ber- Nunnery Coldingham,
' See an account of their respective reigns
in Dr. " of
Lingard's History England,"
chap, ii,, pp. 89 to 103. Also Mon. De wickshire, is thought to have been the oldest
" Histoire
tome i. , lib. iii. , pp. 164 to 168. Likewise
John Lewis' "History of Great Britain, from the first Inhabitants thereof, 'till the Deatli of Cadwalader, Last King of the Britains ; and of the Kings of Scotland to Eugene V. As also a Short Account of the Kings, Dukes, and Earls of Bretagne, 'till
in Scotland, as neither its founder, the time of its foundation, nor its order, are said to be known. See a further account of this nunnery, with three distinct copperplate
"
Antiquities of Scot- land," vol. i. , pp. 95 to 98.
s° See his Life at the 20th of March.
S' See a description of Coldingham, with
Rapin Thoyras'
d'Angleterre,"
tarchy. Sharon Turner, in his
engravings, in Grose's
:
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 591
herehadbeenfabricatedofwood. s' Coldinghamparishliesalongthecoast of Berwickshire, and on the German Ocean. 53 Not many years ago, the ruins there remaining were very extensive ; but those are now sadly dilapi- dated, by peasants having carried stones away for the erection of their cottages. 5+ During the middle ages, Coldingham was a priory of consider- able consequence,5s while its possessions and revenues were ample. s^ Not very long after the monastic foundation,57 our saint must have joined the
That term "
nan, s^ seems to imply his attainment of some dignity, in the monastery where
he lived, and accordingly he has been dignified with the title of abbot. ss It has been assumed to indicate, he was superior over that religious house, with which he was connected. However, Venerable Bede speaks of our saint in such terms, as might lead us to suppose, he was not elevated to any exalted ec- clesiastical dignity. ^" In like manner do John Capgrave^' and Harpsfeld^' alludetohim,asifoccupyingasubordinateposition. Mostrehableauthorities regardhimassimplyapriestandamonk. ^3 Weread,thatonacertainday, Adamnan going out from the monastery, in company with a religious brother, both again returned, having accomplished the object of their journey. While on their way back, Adamnan looked towards the ecclesiastical buildings of Coldingham, which reared their walls^* in the distance. A sudden grief overcast his soul, and to the surprise of his companion, Adamnan burst into tears. That brother demanded the cause for his sorrow. " All those public
said the " are about to be con- saint,
Coldingham fraternity.
prsepositus," applied
to the Adam- holy
and
s«med in a short time, and laid prostrate in ashes. " This being heard, the
private buildings,
which
you see,"
two magnificent illustrations of its priory, "
Antiquities
of England and Scotland," etc. , vol. i. In-
troduction, p. XXXV.
History of Berwickshire, anciently termed Coldinghamshire. " This work, containing plates and many wood-cut views, was pub- lished at Edinburgh, in 1836.
in Robert William Billing's Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland," vol. i. , pp. I, 2.
5* See W. H. Hunter's " of the History
5^ See Walter Scott's " Border
53
"
Priory of Coldingham, from the earliest date to the present time ; also the Rights of Property and Possessions of the Priory. " This work contains beautiful plates of views, and it appeared in Edinburgh, A. D. 1858.
57 We consider this house, mainly, if not altogethei-, embraced that rule of life pre- vailing in the institute at lona.
5* By Trithemius.
59 In this light Camerarius regards him.
"' The
name :— l. St. Comman, the Leper, son of Laighne, at the 28th of January. 2. St.
Culdees. 'See "
following
Scriptorum
saints bear this form of
Illustrium Majoris In his Apparatus SaCer. "
' ARTICLE III. — See
pp. 335 to 340.
Flores his Life at
^
the day of his feast.
Britannize," <S;c *"
Historiarum," p. 255.
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 587
only by referring the transactions of the lona Adamnan to the Coldingham monk, so named,? but in stating, that the latter was skilled in sacred learning,
that he was a superior over many monks, that he wrote a description of Jeru-
salem, a life of St. Columba, and many other tracts. '° This charlatanic his- •
torian, not content with promulgating these errors, adds other statements," still less excusable, as these could not have reference, either to the Monk of Coldingham, or to the Abbot of Hy. " It is singular, how he has the effron- tery to quote Sigebert'3 as an authority, for some of those hasty imaginings. His want of chronological accuracy is equally at fault, when he states, that Adamnan was a contemporary with Eugenius VI. , ^4 King of Scotland,'^ and with Pope Sergius,'^ while he died towards the close of the eighth century. '7
Several writers have called our saint Adamanus -^^ but his proper name should be Adamnanus or Adamnan. '9 Alter Bede, various hagiographers have placed him on the rolls of history. Colgan has published the acts of this holy penitent at the 31st of January. '" So, in like manner, an intro- duction in four paragraphs leads us to some notices regarding him, as written
» See Thomas " Historia Ec- Dempster's
clesiastica Gentis Scotorum : sive De Scrip-
toribus Scotis," editio altera, tom. i. , lib. i. ,
pp. 4, 5. Bannatyne Club Edition.
'° These statements apply to the Abbot of Hy, and not to the Monk of Coldingham,
as may be seen by consulting Bede, IVithe- mius, and other credible writers.
" He marks, notwithstanding, a very no- table distinction between both Adamnans ;
yet, in a very blundering and loose manner.
"
of Hy. Hence, there is no reference to the
present saint.
'* He died in the to year 697, according
Hector Boetius, who places him in the fifty- seventh place, in his " Scotia Regum Cata-
logus. " He reigned ten years. See like- wise at fol. clxxxvi. , "Scotorum Historise,
a prima gentis origine," &c. , lib. ix. The fol. edition of 1520, printed at the " prelum Ascensianum. " See also George Buchannan's " Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , p.
147. '5
There was another St. Adamnan, diffe- rent from both those saints already alluded to ; he was an Irishman, and Bishop of
Ratlimuige, within the territoryof Dalaradia, in Ulster. He died, A. D. 725. Whether this was the Scottish bishop, whom Hector Boetius and other writers of Scotland state to have been master of Eugenius VI. , King of Scotland, is not known. The master of Eugenius VI. could not have been Adamnan, Abbot of lona, as this latter was only an abbot, and not elevated beyond the rank of presbyter. The former is called a bishop. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xxxi. Januarii, n. 8, p. 226.
See
rum," tom. i. , lib, i. , pp. 4, 5.
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto-
" Thus, in the first place, Dempster makes Adamnan a disciple of St. Kilian. Secondly, he says, that by a tempest Adamnan was driven on the coast of Gaul. Thirdly, that Sigebert, at the year 695, relates these fore- going events, regarding Adamnan. Fourthly, that he was a pilgrim in the Holy Land, and on returning from it that he become Abbot of Hy, in Scotland. Fifthly, that he died in the year 797, while Sergius sat in the chair of St. Peter, and whilst Eugenius VI. , reigned in Scotland. It may be observed, that none of these statements are altogether correct, so far as they relate to either Adam- nan. Nor arc
any
'* Now
year of his pontificate, A. D. 701 ; Sergius II, (
of the first three matters found —in Sigebert, or in any other known
I. in the thirteenth Sergius died,
writer Dempsteraloneexcepted.
'3 Sigebert only says, at A. D. 694, that
Arnual, a disciple of Quintain, bishop,
Adamnan, abbot, Adelin and Wilfrid, bis-
hops, flourished in Gaul, and only remarks
about St. Adamnan, that he lived at this
period. Sigebert says nothing regarding
Adamnan driven a into being by tempest
in the third year of his episcopa. cy, A. D. 847
;
Gaul, and he has nothing whatever regard- ing his journey to Jerusalem. Bede, in his
Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tom. i. , lib.
i-,P- 5-
"* Trithemius and so him Dempster style ;
and in some copies of Venerable Bede's his- tory, such a reading is found.
'' This has been " interpreted, parvus
Adam," in English, "little Adam. "
'"
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni3e,"xxxi, Januarii. Vita S. Adamnani, with accom- panying notes, pp. 224 to 226,
" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
lib. v. , cap. 16, p. 433, and other writers state, that Arnulph, a Gaulish bishop, re-
turning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was carried by a tempest into Britain, where he formed the acquaintance of St. 'Adamnan
Anglorum,"
and Sergius III. in the sixth year of his pon-
tificate, A. D. 911. See Sir Harris Nicolas'
"
Chronology of History," p. 211.
'^A. D. 797. See Dempster's "Historia
588 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
in six paragraphs, by the BoUandists. ^^ Cressy'* and other English church historians have not forgotten to commemorate this saint. In Hke manner, Father Innes'3 alludes to the remarkable events of his biography. Bishop Forbes, who finds him commemorated in some Scottish Kalendars,^+ has a special biography of St. Adamnanus of Coldingham. '^s Many other Scottish and Continental writers have noted some particulars concerning his life. However, we cannot with certainty pronounce on this saint having been a native of our island. ^^ Bede declares, that he was of Scottish race f7 and, it is likely enough, Adamnan was bom in Scotia Major or Ireland. ^^ Colgan would not undertake to determine this question, as to whether he had been born there or in Scotia Minor, also called Britannic Scotia, and Albania, by the ancients, as it is denominated Scotland, by modern writers. Those who wish to maintain our saint was a native of this latter country, might advance by way of argument, that he was converted while in Britain ; yet, by a con- fessor, who appears to have been an Irishman. ^9 Again, it might be urged, that if Adamnan were an Irishman, why should not his nationality have been as clearly indicated as that of his confessor, or why should not his conversion have taken place in Ireland ? But, an Irishman might easily oppose such objections, by retorting the argument, and by inquiring, if he were a native of British Scotia, why was not his conversion effected in modem Scotland, and not rather in Coludum or Coldingham ? 3° It may be asked, likewise, why should his conversion have been effected by an Irish confessor, rather than by a Scotchman, if he were a native of Albania ? Those, who desire to claim Adamnan, as an Irishman, might also add, that many Irish saints and mis- sionaries then laboured in Northumbria, and in other parts of England, by spreading a knowledge of Faith among the people. 3* Hence, it appears to be very probable, that Adamnan was one of those pious Irish pilgrims, who owed his conversion to a director of Irish race, if not of Irish birth. Re- garding the parents of Adamnan we have no account ;32 but, it seems pro-
" See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi.
Januarii. Acta S. Adamnani, pp. 1120, 1 121.
"See "Church History of Brittany," book xviii. , chap, xv. , pp. 455, 456.
'3 See "Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland. " Chronological Memoirs, pp. 270 to 274.
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § v. , p. 97, and n. 61, p. 100. There our saint is dismissed with a few brief notices,
'' According to the most probable sequence and interpretation of Venerable Bede's nar- rative.
30 Thjs ^. ^s situated, formerly, in the pro- =** ThusDempster,in his "Menologium vinceofNorthumbria,inEngland,asappears
Scoticum," strangely enough has St. Adam- nanus Coludius, and Adamnanus, Abbot of Hy, at this day, while the Scottish entries in the Kalendar of David Camerarius place the former saint at the 27th and the latter at the
31st of January.
y's See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp.
191, 234, 264, Bishop Forbes says he was of the Irish race. Ibid. , p. 264.
from Bede's " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, and from Tri- themius " De Sanctis Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. , cap. 124.
3' Here specially might be enumerated, St. Aidan, St. P'inan, St. Colman, St. Cath- bert, St. Dima, St. Fursey, St. Dichull, be- sides a host of other holy men. Induced by their example, many were desirous of leading a contemplative or missionary life in England. These left their own native is- land, in great numbers, to extend still more the kingdom of God upon earth. See, on this subject, Rt. Rev. Bishop Moran's edi-
tion of Peter Lombard's " De Hiber- Regno
nije. Sanctorum Insula, Commentarius," cap, XV. , pp. 78 to 87.
3^ yee that portion in Venerable Bede's
"* " See Bishop Challoner's
Brittannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 87.
="' Besides Bede, from whose history the
present account of this saint is chiefly taken, the English Martyrology, at the 31st of Jan-
and
Trithemius,
"
DeJViris lllustribus," lib. iii. , cap. 124, have notices regarding
uary, him.
'^
Dr. Lanigan remarks, that there is no authority for deciding, whether this saint was a native of Ireland or Scotland. See
"
lib. iv. , cap. 25, which refers to him.
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
589
bable, he first saw the light, towards the close of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. 33
It would appear, that in his youth, he was addicted to a life of debauchery and licentiousness ; yet, the grace of God effectually interposed, and rescued him from this state of sin. Being moved to penitence, he sought the counsel of a spiritual director,34 to whom he disclosed his manifold crimes, expres- sing, at the same time, a desire to perform suitable penance for such trans- gressions. The director35 told him, in order to appease God's wrath, that he should apply, for the future, to a recitation of psalms, to devout prayer, and to fasting. Our saint, who showed himself a true penitent, declared his readiness to accept any penance imposed, that salvation might be secured on the last day, even although it should be enjoined on him to remain standing during whole nights in prayer, or to pass the whole week in a continuous fast. 3^ His confessor, however, would not impose so rigorous a penance on this fervent penitent, but only required him to fast two or three days ; then, after a short interval, he directed Adamnan to revisit the tribunal of confes- sion, that he might hear what should afterwards be expedient for him to do. 37 Having thus expressed himself, and having prescribed an exact measure of penance, that confessor of Irish descent was suddenly called away from England, where our saint then lived. After this occurrence, our saint had no longer access to his spiritual father, who left for Ireland. 32 But, mindful of his former transgressions, Adamnan bewailed with tears, by day and night, the miseries of his youth. By the most guarded conduct, he afterwards endeavoured to nourish a spirit of penance and purity, practising frequent vigils and prayers. He only tasted nutriment on Sundays and Thursdays, spending other days of the week in observing the strictest abstinence from all food. Although Adamnan heard about the death of his director in Ireland, yet this did not induce him to change that rigorous mode of living. Whatever penitential observances the pious religious at first under- took as a satisfaction for his sins, those holy exercises were afterwards con- tinued, while joined with fervent and constant aspirations to God.
It is not altogether unquestionable, although highly probable, that the conversion of Adamnan was commenced at Coldingham. It is certain,
however, from Venerable Bede's narrative, that his penance was there en- joined by the director. This happened, it is likely, during the seventh
century. As a priest and monk, he lived many years afterwards in the monastery of Coldingham,39 which then lay within the old province of
33 This may be inferred from the English before the Christian era. See Elias Reg- Martyrology, and from ^Venerable Bede's nault's " Histoire de I'lrlande," liv. i. ,
narrative,
3^ He is called an Irish Confessor, in
chap, ii. , p. 23.
ssgeg Bede's "HistoriaEcclesiastica Gen-
tis Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, p. 336.
37 See Father Innes' " Civil and Ecclesi-
"
35 It is not correct to say, that Bede calls
"
Hibernus," while omitting to distinguish our saint in like manner. Bede only says, that Adamnan's master went to Hibemia, from which country his origin was derived, whereas our saint is
"
Bishop Forbes' Saints," p. 264,
Kalendars of Scottish
his master or director
asticalHistoryofScotland. " Chronological Memoirs, p. 272.
vir de genere Scotorum. " All na- tives of Ireland, at that time, were generally calledScots,astheircountrywasnamed Scotia. The origin of both terms to natives of Ireland and to their country is thought by a French writer to have no more remote antiquity than a century or two centuries
called
38Be(}e calls it " suum Hibemiam. " See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglo- rum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, p. 337. This Cressy
''
Ireland his Native Country. " See "Church History of Brit-
tany," book xviii. , cap. xv. , p. 456. 39Thisreligiousestablishmentwasfounded
''
which extended from 634 to 643 A. D. " George Chalmers' " Caledonia ; or, an Account, Historical and Topographic, of North Britain ; from
rightly interprets
under the reign of Oswald—,
590 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Northumbria,inthekingdomofAnglia/" Atasubsequentperiod,itformed a part of the Marches, belonging to Scotland. •* Here, in the seventh century, St. Abba or Ebba^' founded a double separate monastery :43 one house being intended for monks, and the other for nuns. ** The latter was under her own special direction. This holy abbesses was daughter to Ethelfrid, King of Northumberland, and a sister to St. Oswald*^ and Oswio, styled respectively the Sixth and Seventh*? Bretwaldas, or chief wielders of Saxon power in Britain. *^ It is said, St. Ebba was abbess here in the year 661. At this place,« she entertained St. Cuthbert,'° the Prior o—f Melrose, for several days. About a mile —south-west of St. Abb's Head thus de- nominated from that holy woman St. Ebba's ancient nunnery, at Colding-
ham, stood on the sea-beaten rock. s^
the most ancient to the present times : with a Dictionary of Places, Chorographical and Philological," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, vii. , P- 325-
It is said, the most ancient church
that Dukedom was united to the Crown of
France, ending with the year of our Lord 68 ; in which are several pieces of Talies- sin, an ancient British Poet, and a Defence
*° Coldingham was a cell to Durham. In of the Antiquity of the Scottish Nation :
his Appendix to Venerable Bede's History,
Num XX. , pp. 760 to 764, Smith has printed various charters relating to this house. See
''
with many other Antiquities, never before
published in the English Tongue ; with a
compleat Index to the whole," book vi. , Sir William Dugdale's Monasticon Angli- chap, xxv. , p. 215, and chap, xxvi. , pp.
canum," vol. vi. , part ii. , p. 1 149. The new edition, by John Caley, Esq. , F. R. S. S. A. , Henry Ellis, LL. B. , F. R. S. S. A. , and the Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, D. D.
217, 218. As an Appendix to this work,
and of very great interest for the antiquary, is a republication of the following distinct
tract. Its title runs " The Breviary of *' See Gough's Camden's "Britannia," Britayne. As this most noble and renowned
vol. iii. , p. 301, for an account of this
place, in comiexion with the Merchia, Merch, or Mers.
*' She received the veil from St. Finan, an Irish bishop of Lindisfarne, according to her Life. This will be found in Capgrave's
"Legenda Sanctorum Angliae," at the 25th
Hand was of ancient time divided into three
Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Wales. Contaynyng a learned discourse of the vari-
able state and alteration thereof, vnder diuers as wel natural : as forren Princes and Con- querours. Together with the Geographicall
description of the same, such as nether by
elder, nor later writers, the like hath been
of August.
"
*3See Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of the set foorth before. " Written in Latin by
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Hunifrey Lhuyd of Denbigh, a Cambro-
Saints," vol. viii. , xxv. August.
**This account suggests a similitude be-
tween her foundation and St. Brigid's at Kildare. See, regarding this latter estab- lishment, remarks in Rev. P. J. Carew's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," chap. vi. , p. 240.
*5 The feast of St. Ebba, virgin, and Ab- bess of Coldingham falls on the 25th of August. See an account of her in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 330. —
Britayne. And lately Englished by Thomas Twyne, Gentleman, M. D. Lxxiii.
** During the period of the Saxon hep-
"
History of the . Anglo-Saxons," vol. i. , book iii. , chap. 5> P- 3I9» regards the Bretwalda as a kind
of war-king, or a temporary military leader. The learned Saxon scholar and antiquary, John Mitchell Kemble, in his account re- garding the growth of the kingly power, considers the Bretwaldadom as being "a mere accidental predominance. " See "The
*^ This — man see his Life at the holy
Saxons in
a of the England, History Eng-
5th of August had been educated Ireland,
lish Commonwealth till the
Period of the
in and he was a convert to the Faith.
Norman Conquest," vol. ii. , book ii. , chap,
i. , p. 18.
'The of in Ber- Nunnery Coldingham,
' See an account of their respective reigns
in Dr. " of
Lingard's History England,"
chap, ii,, pp. 89 to 103. Also Mon. De wickshire, is thought to have been the oldest
" Histoire
tome i. , lib. iii. , pp. 164 to 168. Likewise
John Lewis' "History of Great Britain, from the first Inhabitants thereof, 'till the Deatli of Cadwalader, Last King of the Britains ; and of the Kings of Scotland to Eugene V. As also a Short Account of the Kings, Dukes, and Earls of Bretagne, 'till
in Scotland, as neither its founder, the time of its foundation, nor its order, are said to be known. See a further account of this nunnery, with three distinct copperplate
"
Antiquities of Scot- land," vol. i. , pp. 95 to 98.
s° See his Life at the 20th of March.
S' See a description of Coldingham, with
Rapin Thoyras'
d'Angleterre,"
tarchy. Sharon Turner, in his
engravings, in Grose's
:
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 591
herehadbeenfabricatedofwood. s' Coldinghamparishliesalongthecoast of Berwickshire, and on the German Ocean. 53 Not many years ago, the ruins there remaining were very extensive ; but those are now sadly dilapi- dated, by peasants having carried stones away for the erection of their cottages. 5+ During the middle ages, Coldingham was a priory of consider- able consequence,5s while its possessions and revenues were ample. s^ Not very long after the monastic foundation,57 our saint must have joined the
That term "
nan, s^ seems to imply his attainment of some dignity, in the monastery where
he lived, and accordingly he has been dignified with the title of abbot. ss It has been assumed to indicate, he was superior over that religious house, with which he was connected. However, Venerable Bede speaks of our saint in such terms, as might lead us to suppose, he was not elevated to any exalted ec- clesiastical dignity. ^" In like manner do John Capgrave^' and Harpsfeld^' alludetohim,asifoccupyingasubordinateposition. Mostrehableauthorities regardhimassimplyapriestandamonk. ^3 Weread,thatonacertainday, Adamnan going out from the monastery, in company with a religious brother, both again returned, having accomplished the object of their journey. While on their way back, Adamnan looked towards the ecclesiastical buildings of Coldingham, which reared their walls^* in the distance. A sudden grief overcast his soul, and to the surprise of his companion, Adamnan burst into tears. That brother demanded the cause for his sorrow. " All those public
said the " are about to be con- saint,
Coldingham fraternity.
prsepositus," applied
to the Adam- holy
and
s«med in a short time, and laid prostrate in ashes. " This being heard, the
private buildings,
which
you see,"
two magnificent illustrations of its priory, "
Antiquities
of England and Scotland," etc. , vol. i. In-
troduction, p. XXXV.
History of Berwickshire, anciently termed Coldinghamshire. " This work, containing plates and many wood-cut views, was pub- lished at Edinburgh, in 1836.
in Robert William Billing's Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland," vol. i. , pp. I, 2.
5* See W. H. Hunter's " of the History
5^ See Walter Scott's " Border
53
"
Priory of Coldingham, from the earliest date to the present time ; also the Rights of Property and Possessions of the Priory. " This work contains beautiful plates of views, and it appeared in Edinburgh, A. D. 1858.
57 We consider this house, mainly, if not altogethei-, embraced that rule of life pre- vailing in the institute at lona.
5* By Trithemius.
59 In this light Camerarius regards him.
