No More Learning

1 94- r 95-
Sanctorum Hibernise," xvi. Januarii, Vita S. Fursaei, lib. iii. , n. 6, p. 92.
2
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxix.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves pp.
194, 195.
4 Thus "$obbAn beg. —"Common Place
pp.
"
Kalendars of S—cottish Saints," p. 206.
•
Article vi. See Colgan's "Acta
William M. identi- Hennessy
July i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAiNTS. 253
father was a prince, called Tinidorus, said to have been the nephew of St.
or 1 who flourished in the sixth who Ioava, Jovava, century. Lobinean,
treats of him, states, that Tenenan or Tinidor belonged to the Island of Great Britain, and that he was a priest before he passed over to Armorica. For a long time, he lived unknown in the woods, and near a place where Lander- neau has since been built. Thence he was drawn, notwithstanding his own reluctance, to become a bishop. After the death of St. Goluenus, according to one account, St. Tenenanus was called on to rule over the See of Leon, in Britany. According to Lobineau, he ruled after Cetomerin. 2
Article VIII. —Visit of St. Livnius to the Monastery of Ghent, Belgium. At the xvii. Kalends of August—16th of July—a. d. 563, St. Livnius, with three disciples, dear to him and to God, visited the Coenobium ofGhent. TherewashekindlyreceivedbyAbbotFlorbertandhismonks. His Acts may be found, at the 12th of November.
Article IX. —Feast of St. Sinach Mac Dara, Patron of Moyras Parish,CountyofGalway. Thisdayiskeptafestivalinhonouroftheir Patron, St. Sinach Mac Dara, by the people of Moyras Parish. The Life of this saint is to be found, at the 28th day of September, which is that for his principal feast.
ArticleX. —FestivaloftheChild-MartyrMammes. Intheearly
1
Irish Church, as we learn from the "Feilire" of St. ^Engus, on the 16th of
Book F," p. 63. demy.
Article vii.
of March.
In the Royal Irish Aca-
-Aicclnmp momeeir 1cin puncVnb p? na
Bavenis,
"
Recueildes Chroniques de Flan-
—
'
See his
at the 2nd
Viimcliom ,oAil pirochtu ir Cobnan el<M.
Ipvine nopjicclum 'Oo-oicliAn mochinA'o 5aj\ ctAn conbAtn outrun IticjuAn untAl it>An.
Coctfax, •oomrnef [c] aI It-main ecAi AbbAfo
CopAicciun ACAfobpn InAimpn AtiAmij;.
These lines are thus rendered into English :—
" I beseech Mammes,
Among ancient seniors, Findchua and Colman Ela,
That they come into my company.
For this I beseech them
To expel my sins,
Short be the time till they remember
me,
The three, humble, pure.
M Let them come to attend me
3"
See Historie de Bretagne," tome i. ,
liv. ii. , num. cexx. , p. 76.
Article viii. —r See Chronicon Sancti
dre. " Par J. J. De Smet, Chanoine de la
Cathedrale de St. Bavo a Gand, tome Ier,
p. 461. —""
Article x. ' In the Leabhar Breac copy, is the following Stanza, with its English translation by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
"OociqrA ceclroiA
O Chmfc acVic coned^ lege cofbuAg ptAbAir* InmACAm mAmectp
"
only ask it, the prayer, w—ith the gentle host,
of the child Mammes. " "Transactions
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , parti. On the Calendar of
Oengus, pp. cxi.
Everydaywillgotothee, ofChristifthou
*
are quoted thus :
In addition to this, some Irish stanzas
Life,
Cocipac
" of
At the hour of death's
warning
254 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 17. July, the child-martyr Mammes was venerated. A commentary annexed tells
2
Little seems to beknownregardingthissaint,whoiscommemoratedbytheBollandists3 at this date, and who is thought to have suffered martyrdom at Caesarea in
Cappadocia. HeisnoticedinoldcopiesofSt. Jerome'sMartyrology.
ArticleXI. —ReputedFeastofSt. Hillarmus. TheMartyrology
of Tallagh registers Hillarmus, as having a festival at this date. His name does not appear, however, to be that of an Irish saint, and it may have been in-
tended for Hilarious, martyr at Ostia, or for Helerius, martyr inCsesarea added,
an Island in the British Sea, or Hilarius, martyr : all of whom are commemo-
2 rated,atthe16thofJuly,inancientCalendars. But,indeed,theentrymust
have been intended for St. Elier, or Helier,^ a holy hermit, who lived in the
Island of Jersey,* off the coast of Normandy, and who had been converted
to the true faith by St. Marcou,5 a saintly abbot of Armorica. He then led
a solitary life in a cave, on the Island of Jersey, where he was murdered by
robbers or infidel barbarians. The chief town on that Island still bears his
name. Heisvenerated,atthisday,andhisfeastisspeciallyrecordedinthe
6
us, that he suffered martyrdom, at the early age of twelve.
French Breviaries.
£>ebentttntd JBaj) of Sulin +
ARTICLE I. —ST. FREDIGAND OR FRIDEGANDUS, ABBOT AT DEUREN, NEAR ANTWERP, BELGIUM.
[ABOUT THE SEVENTH CENTURY. ]
the virtues of our primitive saints, their love for prayer was
AMONG remarkable. Besides the
always very morning
and other stated times, also, at which they assembled to pray.
had Many even rose
They were taught,
in the night, to occupy themselves in this holy exercise.
moreover, to profit of the intervals from sleep, by reciting the Lord's prayer, or
some verses of the Psalms. Every morning, they repeated the Apostles' Creed,
which they were careful to use on all occasions of danger, as the symbol and shield, which so well guarded their faith. Thus were their minds constantly elevated towards God, and their affections centered in him.
Like many accounts regarding the early saints, those relating to St. Fredegandus are unsatisfactory, for want of consistency and agreement on
That I may see their semblance
At the time of their protection (? ). "
3 See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xvi.
—Ibid. , pp. cxviii. , cxix. "
3 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii xvi. De SS. Paulo et Mammete Mart.
* See an
governing Island and its history, in Samuel Lewis' "Topographical History of Eng-
Caesarese in Cappadocia. x
Article XI. — Edited by Rev. Dr. land," vol. ii. , pp. 632 to 639.
Kelly, p. xxix. 2SeetheBollandists'"ActaSanctorum,"
tomusiv. , Julii xvi. Sancti qui xvii. Kalen- das Augusti coluntur.
s His festival is held on the 1st of May.
6 in those of of Especially Rennes,
Coutances and of the Cistercian Abbey at Beaubec, in the diocese of Rouen.
interesting
account of this sclf-
evening, they
July 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 255
particulars related. He is said to have nourished in the eighth century j although other inferences may be drawn from the Acts which remain. It
may be necessary therefore to observe, that the array of testimony which follows,mustservetofurnishtheonlystatementsthatcanbeoffered; ifthese are not conclusive, we can only regret, none others exist or are accessible to us, in the endeavour to evolve the true facts of his history and period.
On the of to Miraeus, 1 is commemorated in some 17th July, according
parts of the Low Countries St. Fredegand. In the " Natales Sanctorum
"
we find St. mentioned at the same date,2 Fredegand
by Molanus,
with some biographical notices, drawn probably from traditions or written records. Colgan had prepared notices of St. Fredigand for the 17th day of July,3 but he did not live to publish them. At the 17th of July, the Bol- landists4 havesomenoticesregardingthispiousmissionary,andwhichserve to throw a coloured light on his period and career. Those memoranda are
Belgii
Acts s some by
anonymous writer,
and an account of 6
miracles, wrought
through his intercession, also the work of some unknown compiler. ? There
8
is a Previous Commentary prefixed to both by Father Guilielmus Cuper.
There are intrinsic evidences to show, that the short Manuscript Life con- tained in the Register of the Cathedral at Antwerp cannot be regarded as a very ancient one ; neither is it historically reliable, since in the narrative we detect anachronisms of statement, that cannot readily be reconciled. There is an office of this saint celebrated in the church at Duerne, and in it under a Double Rite there are proper Lessons for the Second Nocturn, in which it is stated, that he came from Ireland into Gaul with other holy men, to preach the Gospel in the country about Antwerp. Notices of this saint are to be
10 found in Bishop Challoner's work,9 as also in that of Rev. Alban Butler, —at
the 17th of July. The latter, however, incorrectly calls him Turninus taking the denomination of his place for the name of the saint. " In Les
13
there are notices of this holy missionary, at the present date. So many uncertain accounts of him are given, however, that it is
Petits Bollandistes,
difficult to pronounce with any great degree of certainty on these varying
statements. .
—also called Frego and Fredegad is said to have been born within the Liberties of Antwerp, and at a place called Turninum, 13 afterwards Turne M or Deurne, on the banks of a river called Schinda, which flows . into the Scheld \ yet, by
the — author of his Acts, St.
Although, by anonymous Fredegand
Article l— • See "Fasti Burgundici," pp. 430, 431.
2
et
I0 See "Lives of the Fathers,
and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xvii.
The account is contained in three para- graphs, pp. 162, 163.
"
He quotes the Manuscripts of Colgan,
3 See "
quae MS. habentur, Ordine Mensium et Dierum. "
Catalogus
Actuum Sanctorum
at the of for his statement. Yet, 17th July
in these Manuscripts, Colgan calls him Fre-
digandus.
I2 See " Les Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviie Jour de Juillet, p. 386.
I3 According to Miraeus, this was the for-
mer Latin designation of the place,
I4 Its origin is thus commented on by Gramay: "Inter vicos terrae Ryensis anti- quitatis merito primas tenet Turninum a tur- ribus (ne quis Turnum aut Troianum aliquem somniet) dictum. "—" De Antiquitatibus
Antverpiensibus," lib. iv. , cap. iv.
1S See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des
Saints," tome viii. , xvii. Jour de Juillet, p. 386.
4 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
iv. , Julii xvii. De Sancto Fredegando Abbate Tur-
nini prope Antverpiam, pp. 288 to 297.
5 Ex Regestro Cathedralis Ecclesiae Ant-
verpiensis, tome i. , ad annum mdxciii. , fol. 257.
6 Ex Ms.
Belgico auctoris anonymi collecta et Latine reddita.
7 Notes to both tracts have been added by the editor.
8 In three sections, and twenty-eight
paragraphs.
9 See "Britannia Sancta," part 'i. , p. 36.
Belgici
Martyrs,
256 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 17. other Belgian wi iters, this statement has been questioned. By the French he
by
has been called 1* This saint was an Irishman Fregaud.
birth,
to his ancient office recited at Deuren, as also in the opinion of Molanus, Mirseus, and Malbranq. He appears to have embraced the monastic state of life, and if it be true, that he was a native of Ireland, it seems most likely his profession was made in our country. According to all accounts, he was remarkable for his many virtues, even in early youth. He became a priest,
when he had attained the requisite qualifications through age and study. 61
He became a companion of St. Fursey,' St. Foillan, ? and St. Ultan, when they left Ireland, to spread the Faith in the north-western Continental coun- tries. However,nothingdefiniteseemstobeknownregardingthisconnexion.
St. Fredegand is said to have been a companion of St. Foillan, where his mission in the Low Countries took place, and to have been like him an apos- tolical preacher. The district of Ryland appears to have been that selected by Fredegand for his special harvest of souls. According to the published
l8
Acts of our saint, the illustrious Willibrord
had there built a small monas-
tery about the year 700, and into this Fredigand entered as a monk ; while
his piety and diligence, in this state, caused him to be elected as Abbot over
thecommunity. Helabouredwithunweariedzealtobringthepeopletoa
perfect practice of Christian virtue. At this period, also, Pepin of Herstal
had obtained great victories over the Frisons, and through the ministry of St.
Willibrord, many of these were brought over to embrace the Catholic faith.
21
Oneofhis wasnamedGommar,T9andit is
thatSt.
had many conversations on religious matters with him, so that in fine he became a great saint. It is likewise related, that St. Rurnold 20 was a com- panion and confidant of both. The country about Antwerp was the chief
captains
stated,
Fredegand
It seems to have been assumed, that he belonged to the Benedictine Order ; but this is more than doubtful, if he came in company with St. Fursey and other missionaries into France. 22 The results of his preaching were very remarkable. Abundant fruits were gleaned, while personally he contended against the obstacles to sanctity, so that his eternal reward might be obtained. This holy man was greatly distinguished for his success in spreading the Gospel through those parts. St. Amand 2 3 founded a monastery at Querquelodora at Duerne, and the Bollandists sup- pose, that St. Fredegand was set over it, but whether as Abbot, before Fir- minus2*orafterhistime,cannotwellbedetermined. Accordingtoanother account, in 726, a pious and wealthy man named Rohingus and his wife Bebelina bestowed the site on St. Willibrord, who there built a church in honour of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. 2 * The monastery at Dome, near Antwerp, is thought by some to have been the foundation of St. Frede- gand ; and, there he is said to have become a monk, while other writers state, that he presided over it as the first Abbot. Before the Norman Invasion, Turninum was a fortified town, and it seems to have been approachable by
scene of St. Fredigand's labours.
lfj See his Life in the First Volume of this work, at the 16th of January, Art. i.
ber. The Venerable Bede treats about his
mission, in " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xi.
*» He departed this life, on the nth of
October, about the year 774.
20 See his Life in the present volume at
the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Saints," vol. vii. , July xvii.
aa
principal
7 His feast occurs, at the 30th of October.
See in connexion with this subject ,8 His feast occurs on the 7th of Novcm- Carol us Cointius in " Annalibus Franco-
the 1st day of this month, Art. i.
81 See Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of p. 76,
"
rum," ad annum 650, tomus iii. , num. 5.
a3 He died a. d. 684. His feast is on the
6th of February.
- 4 Ileis said to have ruled there about
A. D. 725 or 726.
a5 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedict! ," tomus ii. , lib. xx. , num. lxxii. ,
according
July 17. LIVES OF THE IRISH SATNTS. 257
ships. The site of this religious establishment was in a marshy place ; yet vessels seem to have had access to it from the sea, before the present mounds or embankments had been erected on the Scheld. This place is said to have been more ancient than the stately city of Antwerp, which afterwards had
26
with a steeple 441 feet in
height, dominates proudly
over the streets and houses.
The interior has five aisles,
and the elevation of 360
9
feet ? presents a wonder-
fullylineperspective. Noble churches and religious in- stitutes still manifest the permanent character of that impression made on a free people, yet preserving the traditions of their fathers in the Faith, and observing well the precepts learned from their first teachers.
St. Fredigand died in the
Netherlands, about the close of the seventh cen-
tury, as has been generally
28
His relics for- merly reposed in his monas- tery at Dome, where they hadbeendeposited. How-
ever, in the ninth century, the Normans made an
irruption into this part of the country, and, in 836, they burned Turninum, and utterly destroyed that reli- gious establishment. ^ They also tore down the walls
been built near it, and where at present a truly magnificent Gothic cathedral,
The City and Cathedral of Antwerp, Belgium.
and towers of the city, killing numbers of the people, and bringing others away as slaves. Only a solitude remained. To guard the precious relics of our saint from sacrilege, in the time of the Norman devastations, they were
26
The accompanying illustration, from an
tamen celebre ipso die Alexii, decima sep- tima die Julii, recolitur. Cujus corpus no- biscum in convenlu cum omni honore pariter et reverentia tempore exequiarum positum fuerat, et exaltatum ibidem pluribns annis, post cujus desessum in dicta libertate orato- rium seu ecclesia extructa, fuerat consecrata quoque in honore sancti Fredigandi, qui fuit de Online sancti Benedicti, militant laudabiliter sub eo, et ad Deum feliciter ac ovanter transcendit. "
29 An account of this destruction is to be found in the Life of St. Gummarus, written by Brother Theobald, who flourished in the eleventh century, or more probably in the
R
approved view, presents the lofty completed tower and the upper part of the cathedral as
they appear over the adjoining houses. This illustration has been drawn by William F.
Wakeman, on the wood, engraved by Mrs. Millard.
27 See James Bell's "System of Geogra-
phy, Popular and Scientific," vol. ii. , part i.
Belgium, chap, vi. , p. 78.
2b
In the Acts of our saint, taken from the Register of the church at Antwerp, there appear to have been the following additions
" Cujus i'estum per Vol. VII. —No. 5.
in a more recent hand
totam dicecesim Leodienscm principale, non
:
believed.
258 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 17.
translated to the collegiate church of St. Peter, at Monstier. This was built
near the River Sambre,3° and it was situated about two leagues from Namur.
Again, it has been stated, regarding the relics, that Adalard, superior of Sithieu,
with Folquinus the Bishop, received St. Fredegand's remains, about a. d. 845
1
His relics were thus translated to the territory of Liege ; but, after the Norman incursions, it may be inferred from accounts left us, that some relics of St. Fredigand still remained at Deurne, At Monstier, the chief remains were honourably enshrined in the monastery. St. Fredigand has
or 846. 3
been venerated as the special patron —of Deurne. 32
*
cese of Arras, St. Frdgaud, confessor special honours also paid to his memory.
A long period had, elapsed, after the translation of St. Fredegand's remains and the destruction of Deurne, until the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I. , who reigned from 1493 until 15 19. During that time, about the Festival of St. John the Baptist in summer, a great pestilence broke out at Deurne. The parish priest exhorted his people to have devotion towards their holy patron, and a new statue of St. Fredigand was ordered from a sculptor to be erected in their church. From the moment of its erection, the plague suddenly ceased. In gratitude for this favour, and mindful of their powerful intercessor before the throne of God, leave was obtained from the venerable bishop of Cambray, Jaques de Croy,33 to have a solemn annual procession with the Blessed Sacrament and the statue of St. Fredegand, on each recurring 1st of May. Soonthefameofmiracleswroughtthroughtheirpatron'sintercession caused numbers of persons to visit St. Fredegand's chapel, where they were curedofvariousdiseases. Intokenofgratitude,whitewandswereleftthere, while different cases of curative miracles wrought were placed upon record, and these are apparently well authenticated. **
In the Martyrologies, the feast of St. Fredigandus is set down at the pre- sent date. In the Florarius Manuscript additions to Usuard, as also in Greven's additions, and in those of Molanus, he is commemorated. By some he is said to have been of Argenton. He is noticed by Saussay, by Wion, by Menard, by Dorgan, by Bucelin, and by Ferrarius. In Father Henry Fitzsimon's list, Fridegandus, Confessor, is mentioned for the 17th of July. The same name occurs, likewise, in the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare. The Office and Mass of St. Fredigand are to be found in Breviaries and Missals, belonging to the churches of Liege, Namur,35 and Duerne. 36
called a blessed
entered a feast for St. Fridigand, Confessor, at this date. 39 In Butler's Lives
of the and in the Circle of the Saints/
of we find July,
At St. Omer, in the dio- as he is so called in French—had
By Molanus and Father Stephen White,** he is
In his 8 has Menologium Scoticum,* Dempster
preacher.
twelfth century. Belgico auctoris annonymi collecta et Latine 30 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia reddita, p. 296.
1 at the
recorded St. Turninus, but this is evidently a mistake for St. Fredigandus.
Seasons/
In the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Antwerp, there was- formerly a
Sancta," part ii. , p. 36.
31
toFather Morinis," lib. vi, cap. vi.
35 Jn these, his memory is combined with
in"De thatofSt. Confessor. Alexius,
According
Malbranq
3s See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , xviie Jour de Juillet, p. 386.
3J He ruled over that See from 1504 to 1516, when he died.
34 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sane- torum," tomus iv. , xvii. Julii. De Sancto Fredegando Abbate, &c. Miracuia ex MS.
36 Here was recited his proper Office, as a Double.
37 See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. ,
p. 15.
38 Thus : "xvii. Argenton monasterio
Fridigandis confessoris. ML. "
39 yee Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 200.
<° See vol. v i i . , xvii. July.
17th
July 17. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 259
chapel dedicated to him. *2 The 4th of December, according to the Carthu- sian Martyrology,« was the date for his feast.
We have to admire in St. Fredigand the united characteristics of a holy monk and also of a zealous priest, whose thoughts and actions were ever engaged on the work God had destined him to fulfil. The duty of self- sanctification he achieved without self-esteem. He was also distinguished asanapostolicman,andagreatpreacherofGod'sword. Ifsomeofthis seed fall among the brambles and in the rocky places, a part is sure to find its roots in good soil, and to bring forth an abundant increase.
Article II.