Mirren or Mirinus, they
combined
his name with the titles of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
, September xvi.
Principal
Translated into English as follows: —
" One and twenty (martyrs) whom thou
beseechest, who are holiest with the Lord. " See R. P. Natalis Alexandri, " Historia —Dr. Whitley Stokes' " Felire Hui
Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti," Gormain," pp. 176, 177.
Septembre, pp. 127 to 132.
6 At this date the Roman Martyrology
et sic cum aliis et uno caedi, viginti pro-
miscui sexus decollari
:
sed et Coerealis Miles
On the in fid—e instruxerat, eodem die capite plexi
script Series, vol. i. . part i.
Calendar of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, sunt. " MartyrologiumRomanum,"
LL. D. , p. cxxxvii. A note in the novissima, p. 136.
Leabhar Breac copy has " Cornil, i. e. 7 See Dr. Whitley Stokes' " Felire Hui episcopus Romae, i. e. in Dominico die Gormain,—" pp. 176, 177.
8
"
Editio
Thus " aen ar fichit ale
Article ix.
at cade con Comdidh. "
376 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
ArticleX. —TheFeastoftheExaltationoftheHolyCross. The
1
Emperor Constantine, having had a miraculous vision of the sign of man's
2 Redemption,andhavingvanquishedthetyrantMaxentius, becameaChristian,
and caused the Cross to be inscribed on the banners and coin of the Roman Empire. 3 His pious mother Helena4 was furthermore inspired to visit
Palestine, where, with much difficulty, and assisted by Divine Revelation, she discovered the true Cross and instruments of our Saviour's passion, in the
year of grace 326. 5 The miracles wrought at Jerusalem, on this occasion, confirmed the popular tradition, that those relics had been buried in a corner
of the Holy Sepulchre by the early Christians, to save them from pagan
profanation. Overjoyed at this discovery, 'she caused a magnificent church to be erected on that site, in which she left a considerable portion of the
True Cross, and in a shrine, richly adorned ; another portion she brought to
Constantinople, where it was deposited with great solemnity in the Basilica
destined to receive it ; while the rest was carried to Rome, where the
Emperor Constantine and Helena built a church for it on the palace-site of
Sertorius, and which has ever since received for title, the Church of the Holy
Cross of 6 The feast of that miraculous has been com- Jerusalem. discovery
memoratedintheChurchonthe3rdofMay. ? However,whentheEmperor
8 Mauritiusandhisfamilyhadbeencruellymassacred bytheusurperPhocas,
the barbarian King of Persia, Chosroes II. ,9 broke peace with the Empire, by
invading Mesopotamia and a part of Syria. Then, pressed by the chief statesmen and senators to assume the imperial purple and to rid the state
of a tyrant, Heraclius, Prefect of Africa, transported his forces by sea to Constantinople. After a successful battle he defeated Phocas, made him prisoner, and after his rule of eight years and four months, put him and his children to death, a. d. 611. Afterwards Heraclius offered to makepeace with Chosroes, but the haughty barbarian rejected his proposals. In the first year of his reign, the Persians took Edessa and Apamea, advancing so far as
Article x. —' The incidents of his s See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des
e
Fleury's Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome tion de la Sainte Croix, pp. 276 to 278.
renowned career are set forth in detail in Saints," tome v. , iii "
Jour de Mai. Inven-
ii. , iii. , liv. ix. , x. , xi.
2 The elevation of Constantine after the
death of Constantius in Britain, dates from
the viii. of the August Kalends, a. d. 306. After the defeat of the tyrant Maxentius at
6
See an account of these transactions in
the Milvian bridge, on the 27th October,
A. D. 312, then he and Licinius assumed Volume of this work, Art. xvi. Also in the
Baronius' "Annales Ecclesiastici," ad A. c.
326, No. 42 to 50.
7 This feast has been celebrated in the earliest Irish Calendars, as may be seen by referring to the 3rd of May, in the Fifth
administration of the Roman Calendar of Drummond at v. Nonas Mail—
the
Empire; until at length in a. d. 323 war"
was waged between them, when Licinius
was defeated, and put to death in the
following year. Then Constantine reigned
alone, and died A. D. 337. The chronology rude day of finding of ye halie croce at
joint
"
Helena Sancta Regina sub Constantino Imperatore. " Again in A—dam King's
and incidents of his reign are very learnedly Jerusalem be ilelane mother to Constantine "
set forth in Henry Fynes Clinton's Fasti ye greit. " See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars
Romani," vol. i. , Tables, pp. 348 to 396. After the death of Licinius, Constantine
openly declared in favour of Christianity,
and recommended its adoption by circular
letters addressed "to his subjects. See Philip
Empire," vol. iii. , book ix. , chap, xliv. , p. 688.
of Scottish Saints, pp. 12 and 152.
8 On the 27th of November, A. D. 602. The death of the Emperor Maurice, as also the revolt and succession of l'hocas are related by Theophylact Simocatta in his History of the Emperor Maurice, lib. viii. ,
cap. vii. to xii.
9 The exploits of this great Persian poten- tate are well set forth in Professor George Rawlinson's "Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy," chap, xxii. , xxiii. , xxiv.
"
Records to the Fall of the Western
Smith's
Ancient History from the Earliest
4 The feast of this
n the Church on the 18th of August.
is held
pious Empress
Hierosolomis Inventio Sanctae Crucis ab
" Kalendar at the 3rd of May The halie
September 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
Antioch ; in the second, they took Csesarea, in Cappadocia ; in the fourth,
Damascus; in the fifth, in June, a. d. 614, they took possession of Jerusalem, which they filled with massacre, outrage, and desolation. The churches were burned, and that portion of the true Cross left there by St. Helena was carried away to Persia. 10
of Eutychius, tomus ii. , pp. 212 to 223. 11 "
main," pp. 176, 177.
For its present state, see
Nineveh
'
4 Thus —
"
country,
At length, the Emperor Heraclius levied an army
when near the ruins of ancient 11 on the 12th Ninive,
and invaded that
of December, a. d. 627, the Persians were entirely defeated. Chosroes was dethroned and put to death by his son Siroes, who made peace with Heraclius,
restored the true Cross, releasing Zachary, patriarch of Jerusalem, and all the Roman captives. The Emperor brought the precious Relic with him in
triumph to Constantinople, where he was received with great rejoicing. In the spring of 629, Heraclius set out for Jerusalem to carry this portion of the
true Cross, and deposit it with great pomp and religious ceremony in its formerplace. Fromthistimeforward,theFeastoftheExaltationoftheHoly Cross was celebrated with extraordinary devotion and ceremonies in the
12
city of Constantinople, and it soon was established in all other nations
throughout the Christian world. In the Felire of Marianus O'Gorman, the Exaltation of dear Christ's Cross, the great, pure diademed standard, is com- memorated, at the 14th of September. ^ This Festival is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, 14 on the 14th of September. Also, in the Roman Breviary, this feast is celebrated as a Duplex Majus, with an Office of Nine Lessons.
jfifteentl) ©ap of September
ARTICLE I. —ST. MIRINUS OR MEADHRAN, PATRON OF PAISLEY, SCOTLAND.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
ALTHOUGH—chiefly venerated in Scotland, St. Mirinus—also called
1
Meadhran seems to have been born in Ireland. Whatever is related
regarding him, we find chiefly contained in the Breviary of Aberdeen, where
there is an Office of Five Lessons for St. Mirinus all of which seems to have ;
been taken from the Life of St. 2 Abbot of in Ireland. At Comgall, Bangor,
an early age, his parents entrusted their son to the care of St. Comgall, to be trained in his school. In Bangor Monastery he assumed the religious habit, and subsequently he there became prior. The gentleness of his rule was admired by all, and he was especially loved by the monks over whom he presided. When St. Finian,3 Abbot of Maghbile, came to visit Bangor
10 These events are related ir. the Annals —Dr. Whitley Stokes' Felire Hui Gor-
Exaltatio Sanctze Crucis, quando Heraclius Imperator, Chosroea The Emperor Constantinus Prophy- Rege devicto, earn de Perside Jerosoly-
the Buried City of the East," 185 1, 8vo. 12
roger. itus
on the Ceremonies of the Constantinopolitan Court. See edition of J. H. Leichius and J. J. Reiskins, lib. i. , cap. xxii. , p. 74,
1 — fol. Lipsiae 751,
13 Thus
"Tocbai! croiche caemh-Crist, In meirge moir mindglain. "
num," Editio novissinia, p. 136.
:
describes these rites in his book mam —"
reportavit. " Martyrologium
Roma-
— See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 397.
for his work, Art. i.
3 See his Acts, at the 10th of September, in the present volume, Art. i.
"
2
See his at the 10th
Life, May,
Article
I.
Bishop
Forbes'
festival,
the date in the Fifth Volume of this
378 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September15.
during the absence of St. Comgall, he asked for milk, which was not to be had, as the strict observance of the monastery required the inmates to live only on bread and herbs. However, Merinus desired the cellarer to bring from the buttery some milk, which was miraculously procured and distributed, through favour of St. Finian, to the other monks at table. On a certain occasion, one of the brethren saw Merinus surrounded with a heavenly light, while sitting in his cell. At length, St. Mirinus left Ireland in order to spread the faith in Scotland, then newly evangelized by the great St. Columkille,4 Abbot of Iona. The chief establishment of Minn was at Passelet5 —now Paisley—one of the most busy commercial towns of Scotland. Here tradition states, that he built a religious house. Besides, St. Mirin is said to have been Abbot over the Monastery in Paisley. Here, too, he lived for a very considerable time. It is related, that one of his monks, owing to hunger
6
and thirst, had fallen dead in a valley, called Colpdasch. However, through
the merits of holy Merin, he was again restored to life. Having wrought
many miracles, and having passed a life of great holiness, he slept in the Lord at Paisley. ? There, too, in his honour the church of that place was dedicated
to God, and he is the recognised local patron.
At the 15th of September, the Martyrology of Aberdeen enters a festival
for St. Mirin, Bishop and Confessor, at Paisley, in Scotland. 8 Adam King's Kalendar has a notice of St. Mirine, at the 15th of September. ? In his
" Menologium Scoticum," Thomas Dempster records him at the same
date. 10 The memory of St. Merinus, Abbot, is recorded in two late
Manuscript Catalogues of. Irish Saints, as the Bollandists remark ; besides, in
Greven's additions to the Martyrology, he is called a bishop in Scotia, while
FerrariussetshimdownasanAbbot. TheBollandists"noticethisfestival
of St. Merinus or Mirinus, Abbot of Paisley, at the 15th day of September.
When the Rule of 12 had been introduced from VVenlock in Cluny
Shrop- shire, England, after a temporary resting place at Renfrew, the Abbey of
Paisley was founded for monks of the Cluniac Order, about 1163, by Walter,
1
High Steward of Scotland. ? Finding a church at Paisley already dedicated to
to St.
Mirren or Mirinus, they combined his name with the titles of St. James and of their patroness of Wenlock, St. Milburga, when their own church and
4 See his Life, at the 9th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
5 This place is of great antiquity, it having been "the site of a station formed by the Romans during their occupation of Scotland between the years 80 and 446, and designated by Ptolem—v, the ancient geographer, Vanduara. " "The Imperial GazetteerofScotland,1' vol. ii. ,
6 This — in some place— part
die 6 Februarii de S. aliis quae Merino,
episcopO, aliis abbate, jam fuerunt observata. " See pp. 2, 3.
" This was a monastery built early in the tenth century by William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, founded by the Abbot Bernon of Gigny in 940, and raised to its greatest
mostprobably hasnotyetbeenidentified. 7 See " Breviarium Aberdonense," Pars
Aestiva, —fol. cvi.
8 Thus " Decim j Septimo KT. Octobris.
'
557.
of Scotland
is passed over, however, with
p.
—In Scocia Sancti Mirini episcopi et
confessoris apud Pasletum cuius ibidem
cenobium sumptuosa dedicatum structure
illustrium Scotorum regum meritis Merini splendour by his successor, St. Odo. Its
datatum ubi varia miraculosa sanctitatis sue history may be found abbreviated in the ""
patent indicia. "— Proceedings of the "Encyclopedic Catholique of M. l'Abbe
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, "Vol. ii. ,
pp. 267, 268.
9 Thus—" S. Mirine abot of paslay an
Glaire and M. le Vte. Walsh, tome viii. ,
Art. Cluny, pp. 235 to 237.
,J Founder of the Stuart family.
confess, in —Scotland under king fin- "
barmache. " Bishop Forbes' Kalendar of Scottish Saints," p. 162.
I0 Thus—" Pasleti Mirini abbatis, quern
nonnulli ponunt sub Fincormacho rege sub M
annum ccclxix. , K. C. -r*$&/. , p. 211. "See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
xv. the
Septembris Among pretermitted
Saints. He
the remark—" Vuleri tamen etiam possunt,
September 15. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
monastery were dedicated. At first, Paisley was only a Priory ; but, in 12 16, a Bull of Pope Honorius III. ** detached it from Wenlock, and had it
constituted an Abbacy. The buildings then existing were burned by the English, in 1307, during the War of Independence, and the monastery seems to have been^almost entirely destroyed. In 1406, Robert III. , King of
Scotland, was interred in Paisley Abbey. 15
Little seems to have been done towards a restoration of the building, until the Abbot Thomas Tervas,
who died a. d. 1459,
commenced the good
work, which was com-
pleted by his successor,
the Abbot George Shaw.
St. Mirrin's Chapel, Paisley.
Hamilton attended her during her flight to England, so far as the Solway. AfterwardshewasdeclaredatraitorbyRegentMurray. Onthe2ndofApril,
14 He reigned from A. D. 1216 to A. D.
Gazetteer of Scotland,'' vol. v. , Art. Paisley
1227. See Sir Harris Nicolas' of History,' p. 209.
js "
"
pp. 147 to 157.
"7 See Jac. Augusti Thuani
Robert the GWjtto, ottre ILortJ tfje fHato at ©urrtjounalli his m&ginjr. ! t? ts faorjrj foes fjati than to $aslarj, &nti Sxres entgrit in that &ubag. "
Historiarum sui Temporis," tomus ii. , lib. xliii. ,
—Andrew 01 " Wyntoun's Orygynale
,0 See that magnificent topographical work, Francis H. Groome's " Ordnance
of Scotland," vol.
book chap, xxvi. , p. 98. Edition of David
Laing.
Cronykil
Hi. ,
ix. ,
Chronology
"
&mg,
sect, iii. , pp. 628, 629.
,8 He then waded knee-deep into the
water, and held back Queen Mary's boat, urging her not to trust herself into the power of her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Under another title for the purposes of his romance, Sir Walter Scott has pathetically introduced this parting scene, when closing with the
xxxviii. , and last chapter of his fine historical novel, "The Abbot. "
He ruled from 1472 to 16
During the
I499.
troublous times of the Reformation in Scot- land, the last Abbot, John Hamilton, had ceased to exercise diction in 1545 ; yet, by consent of Queen Mary, he retained the abbacy in trust for his nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton. intheyear1557,abody of the Reformers attacked the abbey, drove the monks out of the building, and " burnt all the ymages and ydols and popish stuffin the same. " Hav- ing been present in the
Queen's interest, at the battle ofLangside, 13th May, 1 568,^ John
18
juris-
However,
38o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 15.
1
1571, he was captured in the Castle of Dumbarton. ? His possessions were
forfeited, and the abbey lands of Paisley were bestowed on William Lord Sempil. Since that period, the glorious Abbey Church of Paisley has become a venerable ruin, the traces of which reveal to the beholder its former magnifi- cence. 20 When entire, it consisted of a nave, choir, and north transept. The chapel of St. Mirren and St. Columba occupies the place where the south transept should have been. The total outside length of the building, in its perfectstate,hadbeen265feet. 21 ThechapelofSt. MirranandSt. Columba, better known as the " Sounding Aisle,"22 is on the south side, and on the
site of the south The nave is the now 2^ and it is transept. only part roofed,
still used as the Presbyterian church for Abbey Parish. 2*
The chapel of St.
Mirren, or " the sounding aisle," was erected about the end of the fifteenth
19 He was hanged on a gibbet, in his Episcopal Robes, over the battlements of the Castle of Stirling, on the 6th of April,
"—Rev. Dr. Schotichronicon," vol. i. , p. 288.
2 century.
1 1. 57
J.
F. S. Gordon's
—
age probably they
existed before the
" 20
chapel itself, and were fragments of an
s
In Scotland are various localities, associated with the name of this saint.
In 1874, the writer, in company with Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, author of the
" Scoti-Chronicon," had an opportunity for
visiting the Abbey ruins at Paisley. An
interesting account of this monastic establish-
ment may be found in Dr. J. Cameron
Lees' "The Abbey of Paisley, from its
foundation to its Dissolution," Paisley, 1878.
21
Internally the nave is 93 feet in length, by 59^ feet in breadth, including the side aisles. The choir, which has no aisles, is
123^ feet long, and 32 wide, and the transept is 32 feet in width. The distance from the north wall to the wall of St. Mirren's Chapel is 92^ feet ; all of these measurements being internal. The walls of the choir only rise a foot or little more over the ground level, but the piscina and sedilia still remain, as also the foundations of the pillars, on which the central tower arose. The north transept, with its magnificent and finely- traceried window, 32 feet in height and 18 feet wide, remains to be seen. A wood-cut, postfixed to Robert William Billings' description of the Abbey of Paisley, represents the beautiful sedilia wrought in four different compartments, with fine super-mouldings.
22 The " sounding aisle " has received its name from a long established reputation for the loudness with which sounds are echoed within it ; and it is generally some time ere the slamming of doors, and some other noisy
—"
earlier edifice. " Billing's Baronial and
Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland,"
vol- iv. The Abbey of Paisley, pp. 2, 3.
23 " The interior of the nave is truly
magnificent. Ten massy clustered columns,
17 feet in height, with simple but elegantly moulded capitals, divide the aisles from the body of the fabric. Of these columns, the circumference of each of the two nearest the west is more than double that of any of the others, plainly indicating that they were intended by the architect, in con- nection with the front wall, to support two western towers. From the imposts of the columns spring pointed arches, with delicate and graceful mouldings. From a floor formed above the first tier of arches spring those of the triforium. Above the tiiforium rises the clerestory, the arches of which are simple, pointed and narrow, but of just proportions. The original roof, which has given place to a simple coved one, was finely groined with sculptured bosses, at the intersections of the ribs, of which a specimen is still to be seen, towards the west end of the southern aisle. "—"The Topographical Statistical and Historical
Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 482.
24 In the magnificently illustrated work of Robert William Hillings, "The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland,'' vol. iv. , Nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, are views representing—I. The West Front ol Paisley efforts to make the visitor duly aware of Abbey ; 2. The North Side, externally ; 3. The Nave, interior looking west ; 4.
this peculiarity, can be so far suppressed as to admit of the peaceable inspection of its interesting contents. The main object of
Chapel on the South Side of the Choir. The latter, which is known as St. Mirin's
Chapel, was copied, drawn, and engraved on the wood by Grcgor Grey. It forms the subject of our present illustration.
*s See the Charter quoted in " Views in '
Renfrewshire," p. 43. m
attention is that mysterious monument, "
called Queen Blearie's Tomb. " It is the monument of a female, whose effigy lies at full length on a large altar sarcophagus. ***** Along a portion of the upper
end of the sounding aisle there is a series
of sculptured groups in compartments. They are the work of an ancient and rude
September 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 38
Thus, in the south-east boundary of the parish of Kelton in Kirkcudbright is
Kirk Mirren, where the vestige of an ancient chapel and churchyard may be
26 2 found. In the parish of Kilmarnock is St. Mirren's ruined Chapel ? upon
Inch Murryn, the largest Island of romantic Loch Lomond. 28 Owing to the name and to the patron, some former connexion with the Abbey of Paisley may be traced. In Kilsyth, on the south of Woodend, there is a remarkable
2
spring called St. Mirrin's Well. ? In the parish of Coylton, there is a farm
called Knock Murran. 3° On the south side of the North Esk is the Burn of Alurran. There are no distinct traces of this Saint's memory anywhere on the east coast of Scotland. 31
ArticleII. —St. AnmeirorAinmire,ofCluain-foda. TheMartyr-
of 1 records a festival in honour of Anmeir or Ainmire, of ology Tallagh
Cluain-foda,2 at the 15th of September. In modern phraseology, the locality must now be recognised in Clonfad, and there are various places so called, in different counties of Ireland ; but, hitherto we have not been able to identifythepresentSaintinconnectionwithanyofthem. Thereweretwo celebrated places, bearing this name, and mentioned in our Annals. One was known as Cluain-foda Baetanabha,3 that is " the long Lawn" or n Meadow " of Baetain-abha, in the parish of Killucan, barony of Farbil, and County of Westmeath. In our Irish Annals, it is noticed in connection with the founder St. Etchcenius or Etchen, who died in the year of grace 5 7 7, 4
Long
8 Westmeath. It was likewise called Cluain-foda-Fine, in Feara-Tulach. In
the year 835 died Fiachra, son of Dubhdacrich, Abbot of this place. 9 Again,
it is mentioned under the designation of Cluain-foda-Fini, at a. d. 887,'
when Conchobhar, son of Flanagan, Lord of Ui-Failge, was destroyed by fire in its church, and the relics of Finian were violated by the Feara-Tulach,
on his way from parleying with Flann, son of Maelseachlain, King of Ireland.
Principal
Translated into English as follows: —
" One and twenty (martyrs) whom thou
beseechest, who are holiest with the Lord. " See R. P. Natalis Alexandri, " Historia —Dr. Whitley Stokes' " Felire Hui
Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti," Gormain," pp. 176, 177.
Septembre, pp. 127 to 132.
6 At this date the Roman Martyrology
et sic cum aliis et uno caedi, viginti pro-
miscui sexus decollari
:
sed et Coerealis Miles
On the in fid—e instruxerat, eodem die capite plexi
script Series, vol. i. . part i.
Calendar of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, sunt. " MartyrologiumRomanum,"
LL. D. , p. cxxxvii. A note in the novissima, p. 136.
Leabhar Breac copy has " Cornil, i. e. 7 See Dr. Whitley Stokes' " Felire Hui episcopus Romae, i. e. in Dominico die Gormain,—" pp. 176, 177.
8
"
Editio
Thus " aen ar fichit ale
Article ix.
at cade con Comdidh. "
376 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
ArticleX. —TheFeastoftheExaltationoftheHolyCross. The
1
Emperor Constantine, having had a miraculous vision of the sign of man's
2 Redemption,andhavingvanquishedthetyrantMaxentius, becameaChristian,
and caused the Cross to be inscribed on the banners and coin of the Roman Empire. 3 His pious mother Helena4 was furthermore inspired to visit
Palestine, where, with much difficulty, and assisted by Divine Revelation, she discovered the true Cross and instruments of our Saviour's passion, in the
year of grace 326. 5 The miracles wrought at Jerusalem, on this occasion, confirmed the popular tradition, that those relics had been buried in a corner
of the Holy Sepulchre by the early Christians, to save them from pagan
profanation. Overjoyed at this discovery, 'she caused a magnificent church to be erected on that site, in which she left a considerable portion of the
True Cross, and in a shrine, richly adorned ; another portion she brought to
Constantinople, where it was deposited with great solemnity in the Basilica
destined to receive it ; while the rest was carried to Rome, where the
Emperor Constantine and Helena built a church for it on the palace-site of
Sertorius, and which has ever since received for title, the Church of the Holy
Cross of 6 The feast of that miraculous has been com- Jerusalem. discovery
memoratedintheChurchonthe3rdofMay. ? However,whentheEmperor
8 Mauritiusandhisfamilyhadbeencruellymassacred bytheusurperPhocas,
the barbarian King of Persia, Chosroes II. ,9 broke peace with the Empire, by
invading Mesopotamia and a part of Syria. Then, pressed by the chief statesmen and senators to assume the imperial purple and to rid the state
of a tyrant, Heraclius, Prefect of Africa, transported his forces by sea to Constantinople. After a successful battle he defeated Phocas, made him prisoner, and after his rule of eight years and four months, put him and his children to death, a. d. 611. Afterwards Heraclius offered to makepeace with Chosroes, but the haughty barbarian rejected his proposals. In the first year of his reign, the Persians took Edessa and Apamea, advancing so far as
Article x. —' The incidents of his s See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des
e
Fleury's Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome tion de la Sainte Croix, pp. 276 to 278.
renowned career are set forth in detail in Saints," tome v. , iii "
Jour de Mai. Inven-
ii. , iii. , liv. ix. , x. , xi.
2 The elevation of Constantine after the
death of Constantius in Britain, dates from
the viii. of the August Kalends, a. d. 306. After the defeat of the tyrant Maxentius at
6
See an account of these transactions in
the Milvian bridge, on the 27th October,
A. D. 312, then he and Licinius assumed Volume of this work, Art. xvi. Also in the
Baronius' "Annales Ecclesiastici," ad A. c.
326, No. 42 to 50.
7 This feast has been celebrated in the earliest Irish Calendars, as may be seen by referring to the 3rd of May, in the Fifth
administration of the Roman Calendar of Drummond at v. Nonas Mail—
the
Empire; until at length in a. d. 323 war"
was waged between them, when Licinius
was defeated, and put to death in the
following year. Then Constantine reigned
alone, and died A. D. 337. The chronology rude day of finding of ye halie croce at
joint
"
Helena Sancta Regina sub Constantino Imperatore. " Again in A—dam King's
and incidents of his reign are very learnedly Jerusalem be ilelane mother to Constantine "
set forth in Henry Fynes Clinton's Fasti ye greit. " See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars
Romani," vol. i. , Tables, pp. 348 to 396. After the death of Licinius, Constantine
openly declared in favour of Christianity,
and recommended its adoption by circular
letters addressed "to his subjects. See Philip
Empire," vol. iii. , book ix. , chap, xliv. , p. 688.
of Scottish Saints, pp. 12 and 152.
8 On the 27th of November, A. D. 602. The death of the Emperor Maurice, as also the revolt and succession of l'hocas are related by Theophylact Simocatta in his History of the Emperor Maurice, lib. viii. ,
cap. vii. to xii.
9 The exploits of this great Persian poten- tate are well set forth in Professor George Rawlinson's "Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy," chap, xxii. , xxiii. , xxiv.
"
Records to the Fall of the Western
Smith's
Ancient History from the Earliest
4 The feast of this
n the Church on the 18th of August.
is held
pious Empress
Hierosolomis Inventio Sanctae Crucis ab
" Kalendar at the 3rd of May The halie
September 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
Antioch ; in the second, they took Csesarea, in Cappadocia ; in the fourth,
Damascus; in the fifth, in June, a. d. 614, they took possession of Jerusalem, which they filled with massacre, outrage, and desolation. The churches were burned, and that portion of the true Cross left there by St. Helena was carried away to Persia. 10
of Eutychius, tomus ii. , pp. 212 to 223. 11 "
main," pp. 176, 177.
For its present state, see
Nineveh
'
4 Thus —
"
country,
At length, the Emperor Heraclius levied an army
when near the ruins of ancient 11 on the 12th Ninive,
and invaded that
of December, a. d. 627, the Persians were entirely defeated. Chosroes was dethroned and put to death by his son Siroes, who made peace with Heraclius,
restored the true Cross, releasing Zachary, patriarch of Jerusalem, and all the Roman captives. The Emperor brought the precious Relic with him in
triumph to Constantinople, where he was received with great rejoicing. In the spring of 629, Heraclius set out for Jerusalem to carry this portion of the
true Cross, and deposit it with great pomp and religious ceremony in its formerplace. Fromthistimeforward,theFeastoftheExaltationoftheHoly Cross was celebrated with extraordinary devotion and ceremonies in the
12
city of Constantinople, and it soon was established in all other nations
throughout the Christian world. In the Felire of Marianus O'Gorman, the Exaltation of dear Christ's Cross, the great, pure diademed standard, is com- memorated, at the 14th of September. ^ This Festival is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, 14 on the 14th of September. Also, in the Roman Breviary, this feast is celebrated as a Duplex Majus, with an Office of Nine Lessons.
jfifteentl) ©ap of September
ARTICLE I. —ST. MIRINUS OR MEADHRAN, PATRON OF PAISLEY, SCOTLAND.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
ALTHOUGH—chiefly venerated in Scotland, St. Mirinus—also called
1
Meadhran seems to have been born in Ireland. Whatever is related
regarding him, we find chiefly contained in the Breviary of Aberdeen, where
there is an Office of Five Lessons for St. Mirinus all of which seems to have ;
been taken from the Life of St. 2 Abbot of in Ireland. At Comgall, Bangor,
an early age, his parents entrusted their son to the care of St. Comgall, to be trained in his school. In Bangor Monastery he assumed the religious habit, and subsequently he there became prior. The gentleness of his rule was admired by all, and he was especially loved by the monks over whom he presided. When St. Finian,3 Abbot of Maghbile, came to visit Bangor
10 These events are related ir. the Annals —Dr. Whitley Stokes' Felire Hui Gor-
Exaltatio Sanctze Crucis, quando Heraclius Imperator, Chosroea The Emperor Constantinus Prophy- Rege devicto, earn de Perside Jerosoly-
the Buried City of the East," 185 1, 8vo. 12
roger. itus
on the Ceremonies of the Constantinopolitan Court. See edition of J. H. Leichius and J. J. Reiskins, lib. i. , cap. xxii. , p. 74,
1 — fol. Lipsiae 751,
13 Thus
"Tocbai! croiche caemh-Crist, In meirge moir mindglain. "
num," Editio novissinia, p. 136.
:
describes these rites in his book mam —"
reportavit. " Martyrologium
Roma-
— See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 397.
for his work, Art. i.
3 See his Acts, at the 10th of September, in the present volume, Art. i.
"
2
See his at the 10th
Life, May,
Article
I.
Bishop
Forbes'
festival,
the date in the Fifth Volume of this
378 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September15.
during the absence of St. Comgall, he asked for milk, which was not to be had, as the strict observance of the monastery required the inmates to live only on bread and herbs. However, Merinus desired the cellarer to bring from the buttery some milk, which was miraculously procured and distributed, through favour of St. Finian, to the other monks at table. On a certain occasion, one of the brethren saw Merinus surrounded with a heavenly light, while sitting in his cell. At length, St. Mirinus left Ireland in order to spread the faith in Scotland, then newly evangelized by the great St. Columkille,4 Abbot of Iona. The chief establishment of Minn was at Passelet5 —now Paisley—one of the most busy commercial towns of Scotland. Here tradition states, that he built a religious house. Besides, St. Mirin is said to have been Abbot over the Monastery in Paisley. Here, too, he lived for a very considerable time. It is related, that one of his monks, owing to hunger
6
and thirst, had fallen dead in a valley, called Colpdasch. However, through
the merits of holy Merin, he was again restored to life. Having wrought
many miracles, and having passed a life of great holiness, he slept in the Lord at Paisley. ? There, too, in his honour the church of that place was dedicated
to God, and he is the recognised local patron.
At the 15th of September, the Martyrology of Aberdeen enters a festival
for St. Mirin, Bishop and Confessor, at Paisley, in Scotland. 8 Adam King's Kalendar has a notice of St. Mirine, at the 15th of September. ? In his
" Menologium Scoticum," Thomas Dempster records him at the same
date. 10 The memory of St. Merinus, Abbot, is recorded in two late
Manuscript Catalogues of. Irish Saints, as the Bollandists remark ; besides, in
Greven's additions to the Martyrology, he is called a bishop in Scotia, while
FerrariussetshimdownasanAbbot. TheBollandists"noticethisfestival
of St. Merinus or Mirinus, Abbot of Paisley, at the 15th day of September.
When the Rule of 12 had been introduced from VVenlock in Cluny
Shrop- shire, England, after a temporary resting place at Renfrew, the Abbey of
Paisley was founded for monks of the Cluniac Order, about 1163, by Walter,
1
High Steward of Scotland. ? Finding a church at Paisley already dedicated to
to St.
Mirren or Mirinus, they combined his name with the titles of St. James and of their patroness of Wenlock, St. Milburga, when their own church and
4 See his Life, at the 9th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
5 This place is of great antiquity, it having been "the site of a station formed by the Romans during their occupation of Scotland between the years 80 and 446, and designated by Ptolem—v, the ancient geographer, Vanduara. " "The Imperial GazetteerofScotland,1' vol. ii. ,
6 This — in some place— part
die 6 Februarii de S. aliis quae Merino,
episcopO, aliis abbate, jam fuerunt observata. " See pp. 2, 3.
" This was a monastery built early in the tenth century by William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, founded by the Abbot Bernon of Gigny in 940, and raised to its greatest
mostprobably hasnotyetbeenidentified. 7 See " Breviarium Aberdonense," Pars
Aestiva, —fol. cvi.
8 Thus " Decim j Septimo KT. Octobris.
'
557.
of Scotland
is passed over, however, with
p.
—In Scocia Sancti Mirini episcopi et
confessoris apud Pasletum cuius ibidem
cenobium sumptuosa dedicatum structure
illustrium Scotorum regum meritis Merini splendour by his successor, St. Odo. Its
datatum ubi varia miraculosa sanctitatis sue history may be found abbreviated in the ""
patent indicia. "— Proceedings of the "Encyclopedic Catholique of M. l'Abbe
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, "Vol. ii. ,
pp. 267, 268.
9 Thus—" S. Mirine abot of paslay an
Glaire and M. le Vte. Walsh, tome viii. ,
Art. Cluny, pp. 235 to 237.
,J Founder of the Stuart family.
confess, in —Scotland under king fin- "
barmache. " Bishop Forbes' Kalendar of Scottish Saints," p. 162.
I0 Thus—" Pasleti Mirini abbatis, quern
nonnulli ponunt sub Fincormacho rege sub M
annum ccclxix. , K. C. -r*$&/. , p. 211. "See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
xv. the
Septembris Among pretermitted
Saints. He
the remark—" Vuleri tamen etiam possunt,
September 15. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
monastery were dedicated. At first, Paisley was only a Priory ; but, in 12 16, a Bull of Pope Honorius III. ** detached it from Wenlock, and had it
constituted an Abbacy. The buildings then existing were burned by the English, in 1307, during the War of Independence, and the monastery seems to have been^almost entirely destroyed. In 1406, Robert III. , King of
Scotland, was interred in Paisley Abbey. 15
Little seems to have been done towards a restoration of the building, until the Abbot Thomas Tervas,
who died a. d. 1459,
commenced the good
work, which was com-
pleted by his successor,
the Abbot George Shaw.
St. Mirrin's Chapel, Paisley.
Hamilton attended her during her flight to England, so far as the Solway. AfterwardshewasdeclaredatraitorbyRegentMurray. Onthe2ndofApril,
14 He reigned from A. D. 1216 to A. D.
Gazetteer of Scotland,'' vol. v. , Art. Paisley
1227. See Sir Harris Nicolas' of History,' p. 209.
js "
"
pp. 147 to 157.
"7 See Jac. Augusti Thuani
Robert the GWjtto, ottre ILortJ tfje fHato at ©urrtjounalli his m&ginjr. ! t? ts faorjrj foes fjati than to $aslarj, &nti Sxres entgrit in that &ubag. "
Historiarum sui Temporis," tomus ii. , lib. xliii. ,
—Andrew 01 " Wyntoun's Orygynale
,0 See that magnificent topographical work, Francis H. Groome's " Ordnance
of Scotland," vol.
book chap, xxvi. , p. 98. Edition of David
Laing.
Cronykil
Hi. ,
ix. ,
Chronology
"
&mg,
sect, iii. , pp. 628, 629.
,8 He then waded knee-deep into the
water, and held back Queen Mary's boat, urging her not to trust herself into the power of her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Under another title for the purposes of his romance, Sir Walter Scott has pathetically introduced this parting scene, when closing with the
xxxviii. , and last chapter of his fine historical novel, "The Abbot. "
He ruled from 1472 to 16
During the
I499.
troublous times of the Reformation in Scot- land, the last Abbot, John Hamilton, had ceased to exercise diction in 1545 ; yet, by consent of Queen Mary, he retained the abbacy in trust for his nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton. intheyear1557,abody of the Reformers attacked the abbey, drove the monks out of the building, and " burnt all the ymages and ydols and popish stuffin the same. " Hav- ing been present in the
Queen's interest, at the battle ofLangside, 13th May, 1 568,^ John
18
juris-
However,
38o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 15.
1
1571, he was captured in the Castle of Dumbarton. ? His possessions were
forfeited, and the abbey lands of Paisley were bestowed on William Lord Sempil. Since that period, the glorious Abbey Church of Paisley has become a venerable ruin, the traces of which reveal to the beholder its former magnifi- cence. 20 When entire, it consisted of a nave, choir, and north transept. The chapel of St. Mirren and St. Columba occupies the place where the south transept should have been. The total outside length of the building, in its perfectstate,hadbeen265feet. 21 ThechapelofSt. MirranandSt. Columba, better known as the " Sounding Aisle,"22 is on the south side, and on the
site of the south The nave is the now 2^ and it is transept. only part roofed,
still used as the Presbyterian church for Abbey Parish. 2*
The chapel of St.
Mirren, or " the sounding aisle," was erected about the end of the fifteenth
19 He was hanged on a gibbet, in his Episcopal Robes, over the battlements of the Castle of Stirling, on the 6th of April,
"—Rev. Dr. Schotichronicon," vol. i. , p. 288.
2 century.
1 1. 57
J.
F. S. Gordon's
—
age probably they
existed before the
" 20
chapel itself, and were fragments of an
s
In Scotland are various localities, associated with the name of this saint.
In 1874, the writer, in company with Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, author of the
" Scoti-Chronicon," had an opportunity for
visiting the Abbey ruins at Paisley. An
interesting account of this monastic establish-
ment may be found in Dr. J. Cameron
Lees' "The Abbey of Paisley, from its
foundation to its Dissolution," Paisley, 1878.
21
Internally the nave is 93 feet in length, by 59^ feet in breadth, including the side aisles. The choir, which has no aisles, is
123^ feet long, and 32 wide, and the transept is 32 feet in width. The distance from the north wall to the wall of St. Mirren's Chapel is 92^ feet ; all of these measurements being internal. The walls of the choir only rise a foot or little more over the ground level, but the piscina and sedilia still remain, as also the foundations of the pillars, on which the central tower arose. The north transept, with its magnificent and finely- traceried window, 32 feet in height and 18 feet wide, remains to be seen. A wood-cut, postfixed to Robert William Billings' description of the Abbey of Paisley, represents the beautiful sedilia wrought in four different compartments, with fine super-mouldings.
22 The " sounding aisle " has received its name from a long established reputation for the loudness with which sounds are echoed within it ; and it is generally some time ere the slamming of doors, and some other noisy
—"
earlier edifice. " Billing's Baronial and
Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland,"
vol- iv. The Abbey of Paisley, pp. 2, 3.
23 " The interior of the nave is truly
magnificent. Ten massy clustered columns,
17 feet in height, with simple but elegantly moulded capitals, divide the aisles from the body of the fabric. Of these columns, the circumference of each of the two nearest the west is more than double that of any of the others, plainly indicating that they were intended by the architect, in con- nection with the front wall, to support two western towers. From the imposts of the columns spring pointed arches, with delicate and graceful mouldings. From a floor formed above the first tier of arches spring those of the triforium. Above the tiiforium rises the clerestory, the arches of which are simple, pointed and narrow, but of just proportions. The original roof, which has given place to a simple coved one, was finely groined with sculptured bosses, at the intersections of the ribs, of which a specimen is still to be seen, towards the west end of the southern aisle. "—"The Topographical Statistical and Historical
Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 482.
24 In the magnificently illustrated work of Robert William Hillings, "The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland,'' vol. iv. , Nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, are views representing—I. The West Front ol Paisley efforts to make the visitor duly aware of Abbey ; 2. The North Side, externally ; 3. The Nave, interior looking west ; 4.
this peculiarity, can be so far suppressed as to admit of the peaceable inspection of its interesting contents. The main object of
Chapel on the South Side of the Choir. The latter, which is known as St. Mirin's
Chapel, was copied, drawn, and engraved on the wood by Grcgor Grey. It forms the subject of our present illustration.
*s See the Charter quoted in " Views in '
Renfrewshire," p. 43. m
attention is that mysterious monument, "
called Queen Blearie's Tomb. " It is the monument of a female, whose effigy lies at full length on a large altar sarcophagus. ***** Along a portion of the upper
end of the sounding aisle there is a series
of sculptured groups in compartments. They are the work of an ancient and rude
September 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 38
Thus, in the south-east boundary of the parish of Kelton in Kirkcudbright is
Kirk Mirren, where the vestige of an ancient chapel and churchyard may be
26 2 found. In the parish of Kilmarnock is St. Mirren's ruined Chapel ? upon
Inch Murryn, the largest Island of romantic Loch Lomond. 28 Owing to the name and to the patron, some former connexion with the Abbey of Paisley may be traced. In Kilsyth, on the south of Woodend, there is a remarkable
2
spring called St. Mirrin's Well. ? In the parish of Coylton, there is a farm
called Knock Murran. 3° On the south side of the North Esk is the Burn of Alurran. There are no distinct traces of this Saint's memory anywhere on the east coast of Scotland. 31
ArticleII. —St. AnmeirorAinmire,ofCluain-foda. TheMartyr-
of 1 records a festival in honour of Anmeir or Ainmire, of ology Tallagh
Cluain-foda,2 at the 15th of September. In modern phraseology, the locality must now be recognised in Clonfad, and there are various places so called, in different counties of Ireland ; but, hitherto we have not been able to identifythepresentSaintinconnectionwithanyofthem. Thereweretwo celebrated places, bearing this name, and mentioned in our Annals. One was known as Cluain-foda Baetanabha,3 that is " the long Lawn" or n Meadow " of Baetain-abha, in the parish of Killucan, barony of Farbil, and County of Westmeath. In our Irish Annals, it is noticed in connection with the founder St. Etchcenius or Etchen, who died in the year of grace 5 7 7, 4
Long
8 Westmeath. It was likewise called Cluain-foda-Fine, in Feara-Tulach. In
the year 835 died Fiachra, son of Dubhdacrich, Abbot of this place. 9 Again,
it is mentioned under the designation of Cluain-foda-Fini, at a. d. 887,'
when Conchobhar, son of Flanagan, Lord of Ui-Failge, was destroyed by fire in its church, and the relics of Finian were violated by the Feara-Tulach,
on his way from parleying with Flann, son of Maelseachlain, King of Ireland.
