^^i Under the name, Civitas Morinorum, it has been
frequently
alluded to, as
having been a principal city, belonging to the Morini.
having been a principal city, belonging to the Morini.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
" *" The first line of this Hymn reads, "Tenia Vita S.
Patricii," cap.
i.
, p.
2I.
Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Sy-
Confessions,"
place
Latintranslation
Vita Patricii," stanza I, p. i. The version of this Hymn, contained in the "Irish Eccle-
Nemturri. "
S.
siastical Record," has 5enAi]\ Pac]\aicc in ""
it is translated, Patrick wasbornatEmptur. " Tothelatterword,
"
a note is appended :
and,
Many
imagined
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
Clude—now understood to be Strath Clyde—and that he was born, in Nempthur, which town was on the Taburnian plain. ^°5 This Life is of very ancient date, and it seems to indicate some old Irish tradition, concerning the saint's birth taking place in France. ^°^ The Fifth Life is thought to have
the merit of even more being
^°7 explicit ; for,
it he was born at Ban- states,
nave Tiburnife, in the Nentria—interpreted the Neustria—province. ^°^ Here, it is asserted,^°9 we may observe the same confused tradition, regarding the saint's French origin ; since, Neustria^'° is said to have been a name, during
the Merovingian period,^" for that whole district, comprised between the Meuse and the Loire. The Sixth and best-known Life, by Jocelyn,^'^ has
Nempthor,andthevillageofTaburnia,neartheIrishSea; and,apparently set down in a manner, to correct a mistake of previous authorities, on this subject. In fine, the Seventh Life^'3 declares, that St. Patrick belonged to the Alcluid Britons,^^'-^ and that his birthplace was Nempthur. ^'s The Irish TripartiteLifecallsitNemtur. ^'^ 'TheBreviariesrepeatmanyofthefore- going names, very vaguely, and with little attempt to fix the actual localities, wheretheyarenowtobefound. ^'7 Wehavealreadyseen,tha—toneIrishManu- script Life^'^ of St. —Patrick states, he was born at Eptor probably a mis-
^^9
spelling of Emptor placed in Provence, France. Thus, it will be
observed, that in the principal authorities presented, there is a concurrence,
in the accepting locality,
The — called
so— and variously denominated, Nempthur Emptor.
" Quarta
denotat,
et nativitatis locus fuit. "—"
Septima
most a version for the word localities, Enon, probably corrupt
"
himself. Furthermore, there is no appearance of certainty, in the minds of the different writers, as to the exact sites of those places mentioned. No one
enim," andBenavenTabernise,arethoughttobenamed,bySt. Patrick
*°^ It adds, "juxta Thyrrenum posside- ret. "
" De Brittanis Alcluidensi-
'°^ It
says,
' ' Sanctus
ergo
Patricius in
:
^'^ See Rev. William G. Todd's "
History
oppido Nempthor nomine * * * * of the Ancient Church in Ireland," 6. j p.
Quod oppidum
campo
qui —
it is
Campus
est, &c.
turrem
cselestem * * * *
in tabernaculorum
Vita S.
Taburnise dicitur,"
"^
etymo
patria
exvocis
Patricii," cap. i. , p. 35. Such is the opinion advanced, by Mr. John Cashel Hoey ; yet, we consider it
hardly sustained by the statements, con- tained in the Fourth Life.
=^"7 According to Mr. John Cashel Hoey. =^°^It states, "Brito fuit natione : * * * * de vico Bannaue Tiburnice regionis, haud procul a mare occidentali : quern vicum indubitanter comperimus esse Nentriae provinci^e, —in qua olim gigantes
Vita S.
Cashel
It is thought, the name Neustria or
New-land" may have originated from its
'"^
Vita S. Patricii," pars, i. , cap. i. , p. 117.
^'^
See Sister Mary Francis Clare Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick," p. 372.
"^ The Breviary of Paris, printed A. D. 1622, says: "in IBritannia natus * * »
pie educatus in oppido Empthori," noct. ii. ,
lect. iv. The still older Breviary of Ar-
magh states, "in illo Brittanioe oppido no-
mine Emptor," lect. i. The old Roman
Breviary, printed at Venice, A. D. 1522, says
"
habitasse dicuntur. " "
S. lect. i. Patricius, genere Brito,"
Quinta Patricii," lib. i , cap. i. , p. 51.
simply
The Breviary of Rheims, printed A. D. 1612,
"
='°9 Mr.
' ' in maritimo Brittanije
states, territorio,
quod Hiberniam respicit," lect. iv. A still more ancient Rheims Breviary has "in maritimo Britannise territorio natus," lect. iv. The Breviary of Rouen is said to read "InBrittaniaGalhcana. " TheBreviaryof the Canons of St. John of Lateran, printed in 1635, states, that the Irish Apostle was "ex Brittaniamagnainsula;" whileastillmore ancient at A. D.
"" By
John
Hoey.
having been a newly-conquered country. See Baxter, at Neustria. This name is said to have began with the Franks, and to date only from the death of Clovis.
=" "
See Hadrian Valesius, at Neustria, in Notitia Galliarum. "
-•^ He " Brito natione states,
in pago Ta- burnia vocabulo, hoc est, tabernaculorum campo, eo quod Romanus exercitus taberna- cula fixerit ibidem, secus oppidum Nemp-
" one, printed Bruxelles,
has Patricius ex Britannia magna insula. "
thor degens, niari Hibernico collimitans "
*'** Transcribed by Michael Mahony of
Ardee, in the county of Kerry, a. d. 1821, "9 See Chapter i. , n. 227, of this Life.
habitatione. "— Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap. i. , p. 65.
='3 It states
bus originem duxit Sanctus Patricius. "
" Thus, interpreted, quod
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " pendix i. , pp. 189 to 196.
Ap-
1622,
452 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
of them venture—s to name that exact district, or diocese, Avhere Enon—a doubtfullocaUty orevenEmptor,BonavenandTaberniaaretobefound.
It is probable enough, that a perusal of the Jesuit Father Malbrancq's historical work,^^" and some fancied topographical coherences, guided Dr. Lanigan to his conclusion, that St. Patrick must have been a Continental or Gallic Briton, by birth.
and when with his living
^^' it is
St. Patrick could
^^^
''^ See "De Morinis et Moiinomm Re-
letter does so not, by any means,
into the changes of dialect.
easily glide
bus," Tornaci Nerviorum, A. D. 1639, 1654.
^^' He " Iterum annos says : post paucos
=^7 Dr. has confounded Therou- Lanigan
in Britanniis eram cum parentibus meis. "
When speaking of Britain, in his own Confession,
only
writers of his Acts. Here, likewise, it has been asserted, the early topogra- phical names may be discovered. ^^3 In later times, the Gallic Britain of St. Patrick's birth, it is alleged, became confounded with Great Britain. ''24 Certain reasons have been adduced,^^^ for identifying Bonaven with Boulogne ; and for making Tabernise^^^ agree with a city,^^? very famous in those French wars, waged during the middle ages. This latter word has not only mystified Colgan, but certain authors of those Lives, whose authority he chose to follow. While they left out Bonavem, because it did not agree with Nem-
thought,
have meant Gaul,^^^^ ^nd such, too, was the presumed opinion of some early
parents there,
retained the word as Taberni^e, or,
choose to write " Cam- it,
thur, they
pus Taburnise. "
making it a district, that got its name, because they assumed it had been the site for a Roman camp, in which there were tents or tabernacles. ^^9 To sustain his identification, however. Dr. Lanigan supposes a mistake of spell- ing,andthatforTaburnise,weshouldratherreadTarvenna. ^30 St. Gregory
they
They endeavoured also to account for this etymon, by
anne, lying at some thirty miles from Bou- Confessio S. Patiicii," p. 9. Ware's logne, with another town, at least twenty edition. The BoUandist edition, and tliat of miles still farther removed. Most certainly, Father Joachim Lorenzo Villanueva, have Therouanne did not stand in the near rela- "in Britannia. " See Dr. O'Conor, in Pro- tion he has supposed to Boulogne. Yet,
"
" Rerum Hibernicarum tores," who lias Britanniis, tomus i.
who to have been Dr. Scrip- Malbrancq, appears
legomena
222 "
Pergere in Britannias, etsi libentis-
Lanigan's chief authority, does not omit to mention, that Tervanna and Taruanna are two entirely distinct places. Tervanna had
sime paratus irem, quasi ad patriam et pa-
rentes ; et non id solum, sed eram usque ad been the old Roman name, given to the Gallias visitarem fratres meos, ut viderem town, now known as Saint Pol : while
faciem sanctorum Domini mei. " See "Con-
fessio S. Patricii," cap. iv. , sect. 19, p. 203. Villaneuva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula. " This seems to indicate a more distant situa- tion from Ireland, when St. Patrick wrote, than Great Britain presented.
"3 It may be observed, that Dr. Lanigan does not attempt to identify, the two locali- ties, called Enon and Nempthur. I'he former he has regarded as being too insig- nificant, while the latter, he did not believe, had any existence, as a town, but rather as a pro"vince.
To prevent such a misconception, in the lessons for St. Patrick's Office, the cor- rector of the Rouen Breviary inserts : "In Britannia Gallicana ortum. " Seethe Bollan- dists* Commentarius Prtevius, sect, v. , at S. Patrick's Acts, tomus ii. , Martii xvii. , p. 522.
"^3 By Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
326 While Dr. Lanigan accounts for a
change, in the verbal structure, by consider- ing the usual transmutation of b into v, he overlooks the letter ;-, and its force. This
Tamanna was that which formerly applied toTherouenne,asnowcalled. See"Comi- tum Ten'anensium Annales Historici," Col- lectore Th. Turpin Paulinate. Ord. Predicat.
"8 After telling us, that St. Patrick was born at Nemthor, the author of his Second Life piofesses to give us the reason, wliy it
"
campus autem Taber- naculorum, ob hoc dictus est, eo quod in eo Romani exercitus quodam tempore tabern—a-
cula sua ibi statuernnt hyemali frigore. "
bore such a name,
"
The Third Life has almost the same words.
See cap. i. , p. 21 ; and, in substance, the
Fourth Life quite accords. See cap. i. , p. 35. The Sixth Life agrees. See cap. i. , p. 65.
^'"^ So understand all the ancient writers of St. Patrick's Acts, and the old Commen- tators on them.
^•'° See more on this subject, in Hadrian
Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap. i. , p. 11.
"
Notitia Galliarum," at Gessoria'
"
Valesius,
cum and Tai-Dcnna Morinoiian.
="3' It may be objected, that "Tabernia
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 453
of Tours has called the inhabitants, by the denomination, Tarabannenses.
^^i Under the name, Civitas Morinorum, it has been frequently alluded to, as
having been a principal city, belonging to the Morini. ^sz Boulogne was also situated in this region,233 and it was so connected with Tarvanna,234 that both
places anciently formed only one episcopal See. Thus Jonas,23s -writing nearly twelve hundred years ago, calls Audomarus,^36 Bishop of Boulogne,^^? andofTarvana. ^38 Wemustadopt,notwithstanding,themeaningoftheold
this special investigation.
In St. Patrick's Confession, his father Calphurnius, or Calpornius, the Dea-
con, is said again to have been a priest of the town of Bonaven Taberniae. ^39
Near the town, it is thought, he had a small villa, called Enon,^*" where St.
Patrickbecameacaptive. ^^t Here,however,wefindneitheratown,norapro-
vince,calledNemthor,norAlcluit. Ithasbeensupposed,byDr. Lanigan,that
St. Patrick's probable reason for distinguishing Bonaven,^42 by the adjunct Tabernise, was, lest it might be confounded with the Italian Bononia, now
Bologna,orwithaBononia,inAquitain; as,inthesamemanner,toavoid
"
plainoftents;" and,itseemsthemostnaturalconclusion,tobedrawnfrom
biographical writers,
Campus Tabernise,"
*'
is a different name from Tarvenna. " Owing
to the usual commutation of b for v, how-
ever, and, vice versa, we might read " Ta- vernia. " Thus, Tarvenna was called by
"
some Tarabanna,"
°32 Malbrancq says, this capital of the Mo- rini got the name of Tarvanna, from a
prsetor Tarvannus, in the time of Augustus.
Hadrian Valesius, in the passage already cited.
^3** The old diocese of Terouanne con- tained 800 parishes, in the countries of Flanders, Artois, and the Boulannais.
^39 Piobus agrees with the Confession, ex-
cept that, according to Colgan's edition, for Bonavem Tabernia;, he has "devico Ban-
nave Tiburnia; regionis ;" and, he adds, that it was not far from the Western Sea, or Atlantic Ocean ' ' haud a mari
"
quod etiam ad circumjacens territorium sese
He writes, extendit. " He
^33 Bucherius maintains, that Boulogne was an ancient See, and that it had a bishop,
in the time of
at Belgium
Calpornium
his sons flourished. See "
num," lib. viii. , cap. 15.
Potiti Diaconem, quondam Presby-
Tarvannje nomen accepit,
quotes, cathedral,
from the frontis-
:
procul
of its old
Morinis Tarvana vocor praetore volente. " See " De Morinis," lib. ii. , cap. 4.
piece
this verse
:
occidental! ,
i. , cap.
i.
when Roma-
name, the transposition of a syllable, or of a letter, may have occurred. This has frequently
been admitted, in old words ; and, particu-
larly, in writing the names of places. The two first syllables, as often happens in old
-**' He
" :
Patrem habui
Constantine, or,
least,
says
"^3+ To account for a difference of
filium
teri ; qui fuit e vico Benaven Tabernia;
"
found, likewise, in other versions.
" Ex
" lib.
^•° The Armagh and Cotton MSS. have
simply eniin ; but, this is said to bear no correct meaning. Ware has it, Enon, and this is guessed to be the true reading.
^•^ We may easily suppose, that some errors of transcription might have crept into sius, at Gessoriacum. So we find, Linerensi Probus' text ; yet, as to Bannave, there is
records, are transposed. See Hadrian Vale-
for Lirhiensi, in an old tract on the Liturgy,
quoted by Ussher, p. 343. Nogesia, the name of a town, became Genosia ; Dun-
britton has been modified, into Uunbertane, Dunbarton, Dumbarton.
no material difference between it and Bona- vem. Ban might be used for Bon, (Baxter,
Glossar, &c. , at Bonium), and the final 7n, which has a sort of nasal termination, as it is still with the Portuguese, could be omitted, so as to write lor it Bonavem, or Bo-
^35 In his
"
Vita S. Eustacii. "
=3^ " —
He writes Bononi;^ et Tarvanensis nauen v and u being one and the same
letter Bonaue. Probus'
gionis," is thought worthy of notice, since it corresponds with what Dr. Lanigan has ad-
"
Travanensis regio. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, vii. , and nn. 70, 71, 72, pp. 94 to 96. — -•*3 According to Mr. John Cashel Hoey—
who adopts this opinion of Dr. Lanigan the See of Boulogne was restored. See Dr. Rock entirely mistakes St. Patrick s
oppidi prcesulem. "
-37 Some writers have said, that the See of
Boulogne was first established, a. d, 1566. This is a mistake, founded upon a practice, introduced in the middle ages, of denomina- ting the See from Tarvanna or Terouanne alone, on account of its greater local dignity. But, after the destruction of Terou-
vanced, concerning
anne, by the Emperor Charles V. , in 1553,
or " " the Taburnise," meaning
villam enim — ubi (Enon) prope habuit, ego
in Confessio S. Patricii," cap. i. , sect. i. Villanueva's Edition, p. 184. Some verbal differences are to be
capturam decidi. "
addition of "re-
454
in his "Notitia word Gessoriacum.
Galliarum,"
"
at the
" of Palgrave's History
sius,
2t5 By Bullet, in his
tique. " See
"
Dictionnaire Cel- Memoires sur la Langue Cel-
tome ii.
'*^Seea. tAfn. Aven,Avon, On. Hid. ,
from " a Ail,
rock,"
and " a cliff. " Cluaide,
tique,"
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
-
[March 17.
a similar confusion, the French call it, at present, Bolougne-sur-Mer,^43 jn
Picardy. The Romans knew it under the denomination of Gessoriacum.
However, about the reign of Constantine the Great, its Celtic name Bonaven,
or Bonaun, or otherwise Bonon, Latinized into Bononia, is said to have
become more general. ^44 Again, it has been authoritatively stated,^45 that
Am, or Aven,^46 signifies a river, in the Celtic language, and, therefore, the
town was so called, from its having been situated, at the mouth of a river. ^47
Bo7i " while or means a " river it has signifies, mouth," 07i, avon, ;" wherefore,
been observed,^^^ that Bononia can be no other than Bonavon,^^? or Bonaun ;
for, ave7i, ave/n, avo}i,^'^° and aim, are pronounced in a similar manner. As for the addition of Taberniae, it designates the district of Tarvanna, or Tar- venna, otherwise Tarabanna, which was a celebrated and an ancient city, not far removed from Boulogne. ^^i if Dr. Lanigan had been enabled to perfect the proof, and to follow it up, by local research and by the light lately cast on the geography of Roman Gaul, this matter should have come in a far more complete form, from his erudite pen, as Mr. John Cashel Hoey modestly observes ; but, failing the conditions, it became a fair subject for hisowndiscussion. Hesuggests,whatmustbethoughtveryremarkable,inthe neighbourhood of Boulogne, towards the close of the seventeenth century, an old tower was to be seen ; and, D'Anville, with other writers, has asserted, this was identical with a tower, erected by Caligula for a lighthouse, on the
northern coast of France. ^52 Eginhard speaks of Charlemagne repairing the Boulougne tower, which, even then, must have been of ancient construction.
It seems quite possible, the Pharos, or, turris arduns^ may not only be identical with the monument described ;^S3 but, that it may even have 'corre- sponded, with the Nemthor^54 of St. Patrick's Acts. Another consideration must be taken into account, that our Apostle is generally regarded, as having been Roman by descent, as likewise by his education, received in a province, where Roman civilization and government had long prevailed, where the Latin language was spoken, and where the privileges of the Roman Empire extended. Inlikemanner,hewasRomanbythepossessionofnobility, which he himself declares. Of this circumstance, his name affords a curious illustration. ^55 In addition, he was of Christian parentage, and yet a Celt of
Confession, in objecting, that a wilderness
must be sought for at this place. See his
work, "Did the Early Church of Ireland
acknowledge the Pope's Supremacy ?
answered in a Letter to Lord John
Manners," p. ix. The wilderness alluded
to lay between St. Patrick's landing-place,
after his exile, and where his friends dwelt.
«'
according to Mr. Hoey.
=5o Even in England, Avon has retained its
*44
maximiprincipatummut—atonomineBono- locality.
Gessoriacum Galli circa Constantini niam vocare coeperunt. " Hadrianus Vale-
-s^
"
-pp.
says,
period,
the
39, 104, 105, and tome iii. , p. 218.
'*'! Ibid. , tome i. , p. 55, at the word sumed the illustrious name of Patricius,
Boulogne. which by the conversion of Ireland has—been ''"
=*** Gallonim Bononia eodem pene est etymo, quasi dicas i9t7«-«f^« sive j^i'w-rtMW. " See Baxter, Glossar. AA. Britan. ad^^«/«/;/.
"49 Originally it may have been written Bononen, to signify Bononenscs Tabemice,
communicated to a whole nation. See "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," v. , vi.
=5* The great military importance of Bou- logne may be assumed, even before the
Celtic signification, and it means '"a river. " ^^^ UnderthemodernnameofTerouannc, the ruins of this place are even yet trace- able; while its name had been extended to a considerable district surrounding it, and ** Tarva- nensis regio," had been applied to this
thence, "pagus Tarbannensis," or,
See Suetonius, "^53 SeeSirFrancis
Normandy and of England," vol. ii. =5*Takingtheauthority of O'Brien's" Irish Dictionary," might not Ailcluide be formed
Vita Caligulse. "'
"At this
^^s Gibbon
meanest subjects of the Roman Empire as-
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 455
Britain, by blood. The flict, that the district between Boulogne and Amiens, about his time, had been inhabited by a clan, called Britanni, may have mis- led those writers, who supposed he must have been born in the island of Britain, as likewise those who held that, if born in France, he must have derivedhisoriginfromapartofit, subsequentlycalledbythenameofBrit- tany. Now, supposing, that Dr. Lanigan had rightly succeeded in his con- jecture, regarding Boulogne, we must endeavour to discover, whether other places, named in the Confession, in St. Fiach's Hymn, and in the old Acts, can be identified with localities, still existing, within a proper circumscription of the Roman military occupation, around that city. These must likewise bear a certain and an unquestionable antiquity, at least nearly approaching St, Patrick's time. ^56
The effort of Dr. Lanigan, to identify the Tabernise of Bonaven, or of the
supposed Boulogne, with Therouanne, is not a successful one, according to Mr. John Cashel Hoey. But, this latter writer holds, that it seems no very
difficult matter, to identify its site with Desvres,^57 which, to the eye and on
oldMaps,hasthevestigesofagreatRomanmilitaryposition. Itwasavast place of arms, and it has tracings of fortified walls, a fosse, with lines of circumvallation. Hard by, on the forest edge, are the Sept Voies, or Septon- vium. Herehasbeentracedthemeetingofsevengreatmilitaryroads,lead- ing from and to various other principal strongholds, which maintained the Roman power, throughout Northern and Western Europe. Any person, who carefully examines the Chart of Roman Roads in the Department, Pas de
as the Commission of —
Calais, published by Departmental Antiquities,^^^
cannot fail to
how this
obscur—
which had certainly
perceive,
present
e
village
nevertheless became at one
never been raised to the rank of a Roman city
time a great nucleus of Imperial power. The fragment of an ancient bridge
is still known, as the Potit de Ccesar. The Septemvhmi, with its remarkable concentration of roads, is alone sufficient to indicate its local military impor- tance. There is one road, leading straight to Amiens ; another, that reaches the sea, by the mouth of the Canche stream ; another, that runs into the harbour of Boulogne ; one road joins the highways from Saint Omer, and from Tournehem, while it carries them on to Wissant,^59 and Sangate, the
period of which we treat. It was the point,
from which England had formerly been in-
vaded, in the time of Julius Ccesar. It was
the principal military Roman settlement, in
Northern Gaul. Julian the Apostate held
his head-quarters there, shortly before the
birth of St. Patrick. All around its situa-
tion, the surface is marked by roads and
mounds, which exhibit the peculiarities of
Roman construction. In a recent Essay, by
M. Quenson, an accomplished scholar of
Saint Omer, it has been stated, that eighty- Dyonnet. Carte No. 24. Paris, 1859, eight different works have been written, in
4to.
order to settle the site of the Portus
whence Cresar embarked to invade Britain.
No less than nineteen different localities
have been assigned, for this debarcation. ales. Arras : chez Topino, Libraire, 1840. M. de Laulcy wrote a work, since Mr.
Quenson published his Essay, and the latest
researches seem to have finally determined
the controversy, on this point. The absorb-
ing interest and great ability, with which
this difficult problem has been investigated,
in a country where such zealous and learned
scholars are to be found, leaves an inquirer
Itius,
somewhat still to glean, in places which are farther inland from the famous Port, they have so long laboured to identify, and espe- daily as referring to our subject, that most engages the Irish ecclesiastical historian's attention.
=^57 Its position, relative to Boulogne, will be found, on the " Atlas de lllistoire du Consulat et de I'Empirc," dresse et dessine sous la direction de M. Thiers, par M. M. A. Dufour et Duvotenay, grave sur acier par
^ss gee " Monumentaledu De- Statistique
partementduPasdeCalais. " Publieepar la Commission des Antiquites Departement-
^=9 Portus Itius, or Witsand, has not yet supplanted the ancient Gessoriacum. In the early part of the Roman era, and until the end of the reign of Claudius, it was the accustomed point of transit, between Gaul and England, for the embarkation of the Romans. See a critique, in the Gentleman's Magazine, for June, 1857, on Sir Francis
456 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
supposed Portus Itius'^^" and Portus Inferior ; a fifth road extended to Ter-
vanna and Arras the sixth ran to Taruanna while the seventh reached ;;
Saint Omer. ^^' Not unconscious of its difficulties, Mr. John Cashel Hoey approaches the etymology of Desvres, which in the Latin of the middle ages,^^^ is spoken of as Vivernia Bononiensis. -^'^ The name, Desvres, has evidently undergone some strange, yet traceable, variations and modifica- tions. ^^* Its first appearance, as a French word, is Desurennes. *^s This
Palgrave's England. "
''
History of Normandy and of
that conflict of consonants, which has re- sulted in the present high polish of Acade- mic French. I may mention one or two instances, to show how little violence I do to French philology in identifying the Diver- nia Bononiensis of the middle ages with the Tabernse of Boulogne. Saverne, in Lorraine, is well known to be the Taberme Triboroco- 7tini. It was known, in a semi-Germanic form, as Rlsas Tabern. Gradually the sibi- lant ss of the first word invaded the second ; and it has long settled down into one word, intheformofSaverne. TheTaberna:Rhc- nana;, on the other hand, retained the hard b instead of converting it into v, as inevitably happened in the south, and instead changed the T into Z, Rhein-Zabren. In ages which had no hesitation in changing the pure dental T into the sibilant dentals S or Z, it
willnotbeconsidered — thatitwas suiprising,
*°° The Reviewer already quoted shows, that Sir Francis Palgiave has identified Portus Itius with Wissan, now standing in- land, at a distance of about four miles from the Sael water. Froissart speaks of Wissant, as a large town, in 1346. The Reviewer refers, also, to an able article on this sub- ject, by Mr. George Long, in Dr. Smith's " Dictionary of Ancient Geography. " See vol. ii. , pp. 99, 100.
26t " Would so many roads," enquires Mr.
Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Sy-
Confessions,"
place
Latintranslation
Vita Patricii," stanza I, p. i. The version of this Hymn, contained in the "Irish Eccle-
Nemturri. "
S.
siastical Record," has 5enAi]\ Pac]\aicc in ""
it is translated, Patrick wasbornatEmptur. " Tothelatterword,
"
a note is appended :
and,
Many
imagined
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
Clude—now understood to be Strath Clyde—and that he was born, in Nempthur, which town was on the Taburnian plain. ^°5 This Life is of very ancient date, and it seems to indicate some old Irish tradition, concerning the saint's birth taking place in France. ^°^ The Fifth Life is thought to have
the merit of even more being
^°7 explicit ; for,
it he was born at Ban- states,
nave Tiburnife, in the Nentria—interpreted the Neustria—province. ^°^ Here, it is asserted,^°9 we may observe the same confused tradition, regarding the saint's French origin ; since, Neustria^'° is said to have been a name, during
the Merovingian period,^" for that whole district, comprised between the Meuse and the Loire. The Sixth and best-known Life, by Jocelyn,^'^ has
Nempthor,andthevillageofTaburnia,neartheIrishSea; and,apparently set down in a manner, to correct a mistake of previous authorities, on this subject. In fine, the Seventh Life^'3 declares, that St. Patrick belonged to the Alcluid Britons,^^'-^ and that his birthplace was Nempthur. ^'s The Irish TripartiteLifecallsitNemtur. ^'^ 'TheBreviariesrepeatmanyofthefore- going names, very vaguely, and with little attempt to fix the actual localities, wheretheyarenowtobefound. ^'7 Wehavealreadyseen,tha—toneIrishManu- script Life^'^ of St. —Patrick states, he was born at Eptor probably a mis-
^^9
spelling of Emptor placed in Provence, France. Thus, it will be
observed, that in the principal authorities presented, there is a concurrence,
in the accepting locality,
The — called
so— and variously denominated, Nempthur Emptor.
" Quarta
denotat,
et nativitatis locus fuit. "—"
Septima
most a version for the word localities, Enon, probably corrupt
"
himself. Furthermore, there is no appearance of certainty, in the minds of the different writers, as to the exact sites of those places mentioned. No one
enim," andBenavenTabernise,arethoughttobenamed,bySt. Patrick
*°^ It adds, "juxta Thyrrenum posside- ret. "
" De Brittanis Alcluidensi-
'°^ It
says,
' ' Sanctus
ergo
Patricius in
:
^'^ See Rev. William G. Todd's "
History
oppido Nempthor nomine * * * * of the Ancient Church in Ireland," 6. j p.
Quod oppidum
campo
qui —
it is
Campus
est, &c.
turrem
cselestem * * * *
in tabernaculorum
Vita S.
Taburnise dicitur,"
"^
etymo
patria
exvocis
Patricii," cap. i. , p. 35. Such is the opinion advanced, by Mr. John Cashel Hoey ; yet, we consider it
hardly sustained by the statements, con- tained in the Fourth Life.
=^"7 According to Mr. John Cashel Hoey. =^°^It states, "Brito fuit natione : * * * * de vico Bannaue Tiburnice regionis, haud procul a mare occidentali : quern vicum indubitanter comperimus esse Nentriae provinci^e, —in qua olim gigantes
Vita S.
Cashel
It is thought, the name Neustria or
New-land" may have originated from its
'"^
Vita S. Patricii," pars, i. , cap. i. , p. 117.
^'^
See Sister Mary Francis Clare Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick," p. 372.
"^ The Breviary of Paris, printed A. D. 1622, says: "in IBritannia natus * * »
pie educatus in oppido Empthori," noct. ii. ,
lect. iv. The still older Breviary of Ar-
magh states, "in illo Brittanioe oppido no-
mine Emptor," lect. i. The old Roman
Breviary, printed at Venice, A. D. 1522, says
"
habitasse dicuntur. " "
S. lect. i. Patricius, genere Brito,"
Quinta Patricii," lib. i , cap. i. , p. 51.
simply
The Breviary of Rheims, printed A. D. 1612,
"
='°9 Mr.
' ' in maritimo Brittanije
states, territorio,
quod Hiberniam respicit," lect. iv. A still more ancient Rheims Breviary has "in maritimo Britannise territorio natus," lect. iv. The Breviary of Rouen is said to read "InBrittaniaGalhcana. " TheBreviaryof the Canons of St. John of Lateran, printed in 1635, states, that the Irish Apostle was "ex Brittaniamagnainsula;" whileastillmore ancient at A. D.
"" By
John
Hoey.
having been a newly-conquered country. See Baxter, at Neustria. This name is said to have began with the Franks, and to date only from the death of Clovis.
=" "
See Hadrian Valesius, at Neustria, in Notitia Galliarum. "
-•^ He " Brito natione states,
in pago Ta- burnia vocabulo, hoc est, tabernaculorum campo, eo quod Romanus exercitus taberna- cula fixerit ibidem, secus oppidum Nemp-
" one, printed Bruxelles,
has Patricius ex Britannia magna insula. "
thor degens, niari Hibernico collimitans "
*'** Transcribed by Michael Mahony of
Ardee, in the county of Kerry, a. d. 1821, "9 See Chapter i. , n. 227, of this Life.
habitatione. "— Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap. i. , p. 65.
='3 It states
bus originem duxit Sanctus Patricius. "
" Thus, interpreted, quod
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " pendix i. , pp. 189 to 196.
Ap-
1622,
452 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
of them venture—s to name that exact district, or diocese, Avhere Enon—a doubtfullocaUty orevenEmptor,BonavenandTaberniaaretobefound.
It is probable enough, that a perusal of the Jesuit Father Malbrancq's historical work,^^" and some fancied topographical coherences, guided Dr. Lanigan to his conclusion, that St. Patrick must have been a Continental or Gallic Briton, by birth.
and when with his living
^^' it is
St. Patrick could
^^^
''^ See "De Morinis et Moiinomm Re-
letter does so not, by any means,
into the changes of dialect.
easily glide
bus," Tornaci Nerviorum, A. D. 1639, 1654.
^^' He " Iterum annos says : post paucos
=^7 Dr. has confounded Therou- Lanigan
in Britanniis eram cum parentibus meis. "
When speaking of Britain, in his own Confession,
only
writers of his Acts. Here, likewise, it has been asserted, the early topogra- phical names may be discovered. ^^3 In later times, the Gallic Britain of St. Patrick's birth, it is alleged, became confounded with Great Britain. ''24 Certain reasons have been adduced,^^^ for identifying Bonaven with Boulogne ; and for making Tabernise^^^ agree with a city,^^? very famous in those French wars, waged during the middle ages. This latter word has not only mystified Colgan, but certain authors of those Lives, whose authority he chose to follow. While they left out Bonavem, because it did not agree with Nem-
thought,
have meant Gaul,^^^^ ^nd such, too, was the presumed opinion of some early
parents there,
retained the word as Taberni^e, or,
choose to write " Cam- it,
thur, they
pus Taburnise. "
making it a district, that got its name, because they assumed it had been the site for a Roman camp, in which there were tents or tabernacles. ^^9 To sustain his identification, however. Dr. Lanigan supposes a mistake of spell- ing,andthatforTaburnise,weshouldratherreadTarvenna. ^30 St. Gregory
they
They endeavoured also to account for this etymon, by
anne, lying at some thirty miles from Bou- Confessio S. Patiicii," p. 9. Ware's logne, with another town, at least twenty edition. The BoUandist edition, and tliat of miles still farther removed. Most certainly, Father Joachim Lorenzo Villanueva, have Therouanne did not stand in the near rela- "in Britannia. " See Dr. O'Conor, in Pro- tion he has supposed to Boulogne. Yet,
"
" Rerum Hibernicarum tores," who lias Britanniis, tomus i.
who to have been Dr. Scrip- Malbrancq, appears
legomena
222 "
Pergere in Britannias, etsi libentis-
Lanigan's chief authority, does not omit to mention, that Tervanna and Taruanna are two entirely distinct places. Tervanna had
sime paratus irem, quasi ad patriam et pa-
rentes ; et non id solum, sed eram usque ad been the old Roman name, given to the Gallias visitarem fratres meos, ut viderem town, now known as Saint Pol : while
faciem sanctorum Domini mei. " See "Con-
fessio S. Patricii," cap. iv. , sect. 19, p. 203. Villaneuva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula. " This seems to indicate a more distant situa- tion from Ireland, when St. Patrick wrote, than Great Britain presented.
"3 It may be observed, that Dr. Lanigan does not attempt to identify, the two locali- ties, called Enon and Nempthur. I'he former he has regarded as being too insig- nificant, while the latter, he did not believe, had any existence, as a town, but rather as a pro"vince.
To prevent such a misconception, in the lessons for St. Patrick's Office, the cor- rector of the Rouen Breviary inserts : "In Britannia Gallicana ortum. " Seethe Bollan- dists* Commentarius Prtevius, sect, v. , at S. Patrick's Acts, tomus ii. , Martii xvii. , p. 522.
"^3 By Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
326 While Dr. Lanigan accounts for a
change, in the verbal structure, by consider- ing the usual transmutation of b into v, he overlooks the letter ;-, and its force. This
Tamanna was that which formerly applied toTherouenne,asnowcalled. See"Comi- tum Ten'anensium Annales Historici," Col- lectore Th. Turpin Paulinate. Ord. Predicat.
"8 After telling us, that St. Patrick was born at Nemthor, the author of his Second Life piofesses to give us the reason, wliy it
"
campus autem Taber- naculorum, ob hoc dictus est, eo quod in eo Romani exercitus quodam tempore tabern—a-
cula sua ibi statuernnt hyemali frigore. "
bore such a name,
"
The Third Life has almost the same words.
See cap. i. , p. 21 ; and, in substance, the
Fourth Life quite accords. See cap. i. , p. 35. The Sixth Life agrees. See cap. i. , p. 65.
^'"^ So understand all the ancient writers of St. Patrick's Acts, and the old Commen- tators on them.
^•'° See more on this subject, in Hadrian
Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap. i. , p. 11.
"
Notitia Galliarum," at Gessoria'
"
Valesius,
cum and Tai-Dcnna Morinoiian.
="3' It may be objected, that "Tabernia
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 453
of Tours has called the inhabitants, by the denomination, Tarabannenses.
^^i Under the name, Civitas Morinorum, it has been frequently alluded to, as
having been a principal city, belonging to the Morini. ^sz Boulogne was also situated in this region,233 and it was so connected with Tarvanna,234 that both
places anciently formed only one episcopal See. Thus Jonas,23s -writing nearly twelve hundred years ago, calls Audomarus,^36 Bishop of Boulogne,^^? andofTarvana. ^38 Wemustadopt,notwithstanding,themeaningoftheold
this special investigation.
In St. Patrick's Confession, his father Calphurnius, or Calpornius, the Dea-
con, is said again to have been a priest of the town of Bonaven Taberniae. ^39
Near the town, it is thought, he had a small villa, called Enon,^*" where St.
Patrickbecameacaptive. ^^t Here,however,wefindneitheratown,norapro-
vince,calledNemthor,norAlcluit. Ithasbeensupposed,byDr. Lanigan,that
St. Patrick's probable reason for distinguishing Bonaven,^42 by the adjunct Tabernise, was, lest it might be confounded with the Italian Bononia, now
Bologna,orwithaBononia,inAquitain; as,inthesamemanner,toavoid
"
plainoftents;" and,itseemsthemostnaturalconclusion,tobedrawnfrom
biographical writers,
Campus Tabernise,"
*'
is a different name from Tarvenna. " Owing
to the usual commutation of b for v, how-
ever, and, vice versa, we might read " Ta- vernia. " Thus, Tarvenna was called by
"
some Tarabanna,"
°32 Malbrancq says, this capital of the Mo- rini got the name of Tarvanna, from a
prsetor Tarvannus, in the time of Augustus.
Hadrian Valesius, in the passage already cited.
^3** The old diocese of Terouanne con- tained 800 parishes, in the countries of Flanders, Artois, and the Boulannais.
^39 Piobus agrees with the Confession, ex-
cept that, according to Colgan's edition, for Bonavem Tabernia;, he has "devico Ban-
nave Tiburnia; regionis ;" and, he adds, that it was not far from the Western Sea, or Atlantic Ocean ' ' haud a mari
"
quod etiam ad circumjacens territorium sese
He writes, extendit. " He
^33 Bucherius maintains, that Boulogne was an ancient See, and that it had a bishop,
in the time of
at Belgium
Calpornium
his sons flourished. See "
num," lib. viii. , cap. 15.
Potiti Diaconem, quondam Presby-
Tarvannje nomen accepit,
quotes, cathedral,
from the frontis-
:
procul
of its old
Morinis Tarvana vocor praetore volente. " See " De Morinis," lib. ii. , cap. 4.
piece
this verse
:
occidental! ,
i. , cap.
i.
when Roma-
name, the transposition of a syllable, or of a letter, may have occurred. This has frequently
been admitted, in old words ; and, particu-
larly, in writing the names of places. The two first syllables, as often happens in old
-**' He
" :
Patrem habui
Constantine, or,
least,
says
"^3+ To account for a difference of
filium
teri ; qui fuit e vico Benaven Tabernia;
"
found, likewise, in other versions.
" Ex
" lib.
^•° The Armagh and Cotton MSS. have
simply eniin ; but, this is said to bear no correct meaning. Ware has it, Enon, and this is guessed to be the true reading.
^•^ We may easily suppose, that some errors of transcription might have crept into sius, at Gessoriacum. So we find, Linerensi Probus' text ; yet, as to Bannave, there is
records, are transposed. See Hadrian Vale-
for Lirhiensi, in an old tract on the Liturgy,
quoted by Ussher, p. 343. Nogesia, the name of a town, became Genosia ; Dun-
britton has been modified, into Uunbertane, Dunbarton, Dumbarton.
no material difference between it and Bona- vem. Ban might be used for Bon, (Baxter,
Glossar, &c. , at Bonium), and the final 7n, which has a sort of nasal termination, as it is still with the Portuguese, could be omitted, so as to write lor it Bonavem, or Bo-
^35 In his
"
Vita S. Eustacii. "
=3^ " —
He writes Bononi;^ et Tarvanensis nauen v and u being one and the same
letter Bonaue. Probus'
gionis," is thought worthy of notice, since it corresponds with what Dr. Lanigan has ad-
"
Travanensis regio. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, vii. , and nn. 70, 71, 72, pp. 94 to 96. — -•*3 According to Mr. John Cashel Hoey—
who adopts this opinion of Dr. Lanigan the See of Boulogne was restored. See Dr. Rock entirely mistakes St. Patrick s
oppidi prcesulem. "
-37 Some writers have said, that the See of
Boulogne was first established, a. d, 1566. This is a mistake, founded upon a practice, introduced in the middle ages, of denomina- ting the See from Tarvanna or Terouanne alone, on account of its greater local dignity. But, after the destruction of Terou-
vanced, concerning
anne, by the Emperor Charles V. , in 1553,
or " " the Taburnise," meaning
villam enim — ubi (Enon) prope habuit, ego
in Confessio S. Patricii," cap. i. , sect. i. Villanueva's Edition, p. 184. Some verbal differences are to be
capturam decidi. "
addition of "re-
454
in his "Notitia word Gessoriacum.
Galliarum,"
"
at the
" of Palgrave's History
sius,
2t5 By Bullet, in his
tique. " See
"
Dictionnaire Cel- Memoires sur la Langue Cel-
tome ii.
'*^Seea. tAfn. Aven,Avon, On. Hid. ,
from " a Ail,
rock,"
and " a cliff. " Cluaide,
tique,"
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
-
[March 17.
a similar confusion, the French call it, at present, Bolougne-sur-Mer,^43 jn
Picardy. The Romans knew it under the denomination of Gessoriacum.
However, about the reign of Constantine the Great, its Celtic name Bonaven,
or Bonaun, or otherwise Bonon, Latinized into Bononia, is said to have
become more general. ^44 Again, it has been authoritatively stated,^45 that
Am, or Aven,^46 signifies a river, in the Celtic language, and, therefore, the
town was so called, from its having been situated, at the mouth of a river. ^47
Bo7i " while or means a " river it has signifies, mouth," 07i, avon, ;" wherefore,
been observed,^^^ that Bononia can be no other than Bonavon,^^? or Bonaun ;
for, ave7i, ave/n, avo}i,^'^° and aim, are pronounced in a similar manner. As for the addition of Taberniae, it designates the district of Tarvanna, or Tar- venna, otherwise Tarabanna, which was a celebrated and an ancient city, not far removed from Boulogne. ^^i if Dr. Lanigan had been enabled to perfect the proof, and to follow it up, by local research and by the light lately cast on the geography of Roman Gaul, this matter should have come in a far more complete form, from his erudite pen, as Mr. John Cashel Hoey modestly observes ; but, failing the conditions, it became a fair subject for hisowndiscussion. Hesuggests,whatmustbethoughtveryremarkable,inthe neighbourhood of Boulogne, towards the close of the seventeenth century, an old tower was to be seen ; and, D'Anville, with other writers, has asserted, this was identical with a tower, erected by Caligula for a lighthouse, on the
northern coast of France. ^52 Eginhard speaks of Charlemagne repairing the Boulougne tower, which, even then, must have been of ancient construction.
It seems quite possible, the Pharos, or, turris arduns^ may not only be identical with the monument described ;^S3 but, that it may even have 'corre- sponded, with the Nemthor^54 of St. Patrick's Acts. Another consideration must be taken into account, that our Apostle is generally regarded, as having been Roman by descent, as likewise by his education, received in a province, where Roman civilization and government had long prevailed, where the Latin language was spoken, and where the privileges of the Roman Empire extended. Inlikemanner,hewasRomanbythepossessionofnobility, which he himself declares. Of this circumstance, his name affords a curious illustration. ^55 In addition, he was of Christian parentage, and yet a Celt of
Confession, in objecting, that a wilderness
must be sought for at this place. See his
work, "Did the Early Church of Ireland
acknowledge the Pope's Supremacy ?
answered in a Letter to Lord John
Manners," p. ix. The wilderness alluded
to lay between St. Patrick's landing-place,
after his exile, and where his friends dwelt.
«'
according to Mr. Hoey.
=5o Even in England, Avon has retained its
*44
maximiprincipatummut—atonomineBono- locality.
Gessoriacum Galli circa Constantini niam vocare coeperunt. " Hadrianus Vale-
-s^
"
-pp.
says,
period,
the
39, 104, 105, and tome iii. , p. 218.
'*'! Ibid. , tome i. , p. 55, at the word sumed the illustrious name of Patricius,
Boulogne. which by the conversion of Ireland has—been ''"
=*** Gallonim Bononia eodem pene est etymo, quasi dicas i9t7«-«f^« sive j^i'w-rtMW. " See Baxter, Glossar. AA. Britan. ad^^«/«/;/.
"49 Originally it may have been written Bononen, to signify Bononenscs Tabemice,
communicated to a whole nation. See "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," v. , vi.
=5* The great military importance of Bou- logne may be assumed, even before the
Celtic signification, and it means '"a river. " ^^^ UnderthemodernnameofTerouannc, the ruins of this place are even yet trace- able; while its name had been extended to a considerable district surrounding it, and ** Tarva- nensis regio," had been applied to this
thence, "pagus Tarbannensis," or,
See Suetonius, "^53 SeeSirFrancis
Normandy and of England," vol. ii. =5*Takingtheauthority of O'Brien's" Irish Dictionary," might not Ailcluide be formed
Vita Caligulse. "'
"At this
^^s Gibbon
meanest subjects of the Roman Empire as-
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 455
Britain, by blood. The flict, that the district between Boulogne and Amiens, about his time, had been inhabited by a clan, called Britanni, may have mis- led those writers, who supposed he must have been born in the island of Britain, as likewise those who held that, if born in France, he must have derivedhisoriginfromapartofit, subsequentlycalledbythenameofBrit- tany. Now, supposing, that Dr. Lanigan had rightly succeeded in his con- jecture, regarding Boulogne, we must endeavour to discover, whether other places, named in the Confession, in St. Fiach's Hymn, and in the old Acts, can be identified with localities, still existing, within a proper circumscription of the Roman military occupation, around that city. These must likewise bear a certain and an unquestionable antiquity, at least nearly approaching St, Patrick's time. ^56
The effort of Dr. Lanigan, to identify the Tabernise of Bonaven, or of the
supposed Boulogne, with Therouanne, is not a successful one, according to Mr. John Cashel Hoey. But, this latter writer holds, that it seems no very
difficult matter, to identify its site with Desvres,^57 which, to the eye and on
oldMaps,hasthevestigesofagreatRomanmilitaryposition. Itwasavast place of arms, and it has tracings of fortified walls, a fosse, with lines of circumvallation. Hard by, on the forest edge, are the Sept Voies, or Septon- vium. Herehasbeentracedthemeetingofsevengreatmilitaryroads,lead- ing from and to various other principal strongholds, which maintained the Roman power, throughout Northern and Western Europe. Any person, who carefully examines the Chart of Roman Roads in the Department, Pas de
as the Commission of —
Calais, published by Departmental Antiquities,^^^
cannot fail to
how this
obscur—
which had certainly
perceive,
present
e
village
nevertheless became at one
never been raised to the rank of a Roman city
time a great nucleus of Imperial power. The fragment of an ancient bridge
is still known, as the Potit de Ccesar. The Septemvhmi, with its remarkable concentration of roads, is alone sufficient to indicate its local military impor- tance. There is one road, leading straight to Amiens ; another, that reaches the sea, by the mouth of the Canche stream ; another, that runs into the harbour of Boulogne ; one road joins the highways from Saint Omer, and from Tournehem, while it carries them on to Wissant,^59 and Sangate, the
period of which we treat. It was the point,
from which England had formerly been in-
vaded, in the time of Julius Ccesar. It was
the principal military Roman settlement, in
Northern Gaul. Julian the Apostate held
his head-quarters there, shortly before the
birth of St. Patrick. All around its situa-
tion, the surface is marked by roads and
mounds, which exhibit the peculiarities of
Roman construction. In a recent Essay, by
M. Quenson, an accomplished scholar of
Saint Omer, it has been stated, that eighty- Dyonnet. Carte No. 24. Paris, 1859, eight different works have been written, in
4to.
order to settle the site of the Portus
whence Cresar embarked to invade Britain.
No less than nineteen different localities
have been assigned, for this debarcation. ales. Arras : chez Topino, Libraire, 1840. M. de Laulcy wrote a work, since Mr.
Quenson published his Essay, and the latest
researches seem to have finally determined
the controversy, on this point. The absorb-
ing interest and great ability, with which
this difficult problem has been investigated,
in a country where such zealous and learned
scholars are to be found, leaves an inquirer
Itius,
somewhat still to glean, in places which are farther inland from the famous Port, they have so long laboured to identify, and espe- daily as referring to our subject, that most engages the Irish ecclesiastical historian's attention.
=^57 Its position, relative to Boulogne, will be found, on the " Atlas de lllistoire du Consulat et de I'Empirc," dresse et dessine sous la direction de M. Thiers, par M. M. A. Dufour et Duvotenay, grave sur acier par
^ss gee " Monumentaledu De- Statistique
partementduPasdeCalais. " Publieepar la Commission des Antiquites Departement-
^=9 Portus Itius, or Witsand, has not yet supplanted the ancient Gessoriacum. In the early part of the Roman era, and until the end of the reign of Claudius, it was the accustomed point of transit, between Gaul and England, for the embarkation of the Romans. See a critique, in the Gentleman's Magazine, for June, 1857, on Sir Francis
456 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
supposed Portus Itius'^^" and Portus Inferior ; a fifth road extended to Ter-
vanna and Arras the sixth ran to Taruanna while the seventh reached ;;
Saint Omer. ^^' Not unconscious of its difficulties, Mr. John Cashel Hoey approaches the etymology of Desvres, which in the Latin of the middle ages,^^^ is spoken of as Vivernia Bononiensis. -^'^ The name, Desvres, has evidently undergone some strange, yet traceable, variations and modifica- tions. ^^* Its first appearance, as a French word, is Desurennes. *^s This
Palgrave's England. "
''
History of Normandy and of
that conflict of consonants, which has re- sulted in the present high polish of Acade- mic French. I may mention one or two instances, to show how little violence I do to French philology in identifying the Diver- nia Bononiensis of the middle ages with the Tabernse of Boulogne. Saverne, in Lorraine, is well known to be the Taberme Triboroco- 7tini. It was known, in a semi-Germanic form, as Rlsas Tabern. Gradually the sibi- lant ss of the first word invaded the second ; and it has long settled down into one word, intheformofSaverne. TheTaberna:Rhc- nana;, on the other hand, retained the hard b instead of converting it into v, as inevitably happened in the south, and instead changed the T into Z, Rhein-Zabren. In ages which had no hesitation in changing the pure dental T into the sibilant dentals S or Z, it
willnotbeconsidered — thatitwas suiprising,
*°° The Reviewer already quoted shows, that Sir Francis Palgiave has identified Portus Itius with Wissan, now standing in- land, at a distance of about four miles from the Sael water. Froissart speaks of Wissant, as a large town, in 1346. The Reviewer refers, also, to an able article on this sub- ject, by Mr. George Long, in Dr. Smith's " Dictionary of Ancient Geography. " See vol. ii. , pp. 99, 100.
26t " Would so many roads," enquires Mr.
