*3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," in his preface
to a new edition of Usuard's Martyrologyj cap.
to a new edition of Usuard's Martyrologyj cap.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
.
See the remarks of Henry Valois in his Ap- pendix to the edition of ' ' Eusebius's Eccle- siastical History,'" on this subject.
St.
Je- rome's Martyrology had been used by Pope St.
Gregory the Great, and it existed many years earlier.
Since those times, some names have been added to it, such as that of Gre- gory himself.
These D'Achery has marked in Italics.
Among such reputed additions, is the name of St.
Patrick.
See Dr.
Lani- gan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol.
iii.
, chap, xx.
, § x.
, n.
102, pp.
249,
250.
3^ See on this subject the " Acta Sane*
every appearance of certain proof, did not
come from Anglia—as some writers say—
but he came from Hibemia immediately to
Friesland or Frisia, and thence to Eptemac.
Willebrord had previously lived in Ireland,
from the twentieth to the thirty-third year of
his age, engaged in scholastic studies and in
practices of piety, as Alovinus Flaccus states
in his " and as Venerable Bede has it Life,"
in his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglo-
*
" Cetera legi non potu- erant in MS utpote a tineis corrosa ; silicet ab hac die ad viii. Kal. Jan. a quo incipit hocce Martyrologium. " It must be con- fessed, if this Martyrology, for the most
following remarks
:
astique," tome xii. , § 144, Art. St. Jerome. 3' This prelate flourished in the early part
of the fourth century.
*° This learned and illustrious saint's fes-
tival occurs at the 30th of September, on
which day he departed to bliss, in the year 420. See an admirable account of his life
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. Vita S.
. ^ngussii, cap. xii. , p. 581.
^'' It is not at all probable, that Wille-
brord found the Martyrology of St. Jerome
in the territory of Frisia, or in other adjoin- ing districts, inhabited only by unbelievers. Nor has any similar copy been there dis- covered. On thecontrary, Colgan asserts, that many such copies were to be found in Ireland when he wrote. As here mentioned, in the Life of St. . ^ngus, the Martyrologies, ascribed both to Eusebius and to St. Jerome, were extant in his time, or before A. D. 787» when such testimony is supposed to have been recorded. These Martyrologies are considered to be the oldest compilations of the kind.
4S See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 362, 363, 364. YetinFatherMichaelO'Clery'spre- face to a poem of Marianus Gorman, he states, tha—t the Martyrology—otherwise the Festilogy of^ngusCeileDehadbeencom- posed from the Martyrology of Tamlacht.
^* So far as Mr. O'Curry ascertained, "no saint is found in it who died after that year. "
and writings in Rev. Alban Butler's
''
Lives
of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Prin-
cipal Saints," vol. ix. , xxx. September.
*' The learned Bollandists, Henschenius and Papebrochius, were inclined to think that Eusebius was not only translated, but likewise augmented by St. Jerome. See their " Pro- logomina" to the Martyrology of Bede in "Acta Sanctorum," Martii, tomus ii. , pp. V. toviii.
*' The ascribed to St. Martyrology Jerome,
or rather to Eusebius and St. Jerome, as quoted by Aengus, is mentioned more than once by Bede, who lived many years before
'' Charlemagne. Thus, he cites Martyrolo-
gium Eusebii et Hieronymi vocabulis insig- nitum. " He states, that Eusebius is said to have been the author, and Jerome the trans- lator. See lib. ii. " in Marcum," cap. xxvi. , and "Retract, in Acta Apostolorum," cap. i.
INTRODUCTION.
while others are of opinion, that Eusebius39 drew up some sort of an earher Martyrology. It has even been asserted, this latter was the original author of that work ascribed to St. Jerome,^" who was only its translator into Latin. ^^ However, this may be, St. ^ngus appears to have used a certain Codex, and he styles it the Martyrology of Eusebius and Jerome. ^
The Martyrology of St. ^Engus and of St. Moelruan was well arranged, and very comprehensive in its plan. A list of foreign saints was first set down,foreveryday,andthenfollowedthenamesofourIrishsaints. Colgan considers this work the most copious of all the Martyrologies he had ever seen. *3 Yet, it would seem to have been extremely defective, in parts. The names of many saints, omitted in the Roman and other Martyrologies, are to be foundfirstintheMartyrologyattributedto^ngusandMaelruan. 44 However, a learned authority supposes, that ^ngus composed a still more ancient work, which deserves to bear his name, and that this is the oldest Irish Mar- tyrologyknown. 4s Itisthought,St. ^nguswrotethisworkaboutorbefore A. D.
ygS. -*^
We find a more detailed—yet still a very imperfect—description of what has
torain Januarii," of the great Bollandist before the O'Clerys had prepared the cele-
Collection. Tomus i. , Prefacio, cap. iv. brated one, now popularly known as " The
*'
sec. 4. Also, Tillemont's "HistoireEcclesi- Martyrology of Donegal. " See Acta
Wherefore, it would appear, that St. ^Engus *3 This opinion he must have entertained— composed a Martyrology, distinct from that at least so far as Irish saiijts are concerned— known as the Tallagh Martyrolog}'. How-
iNTRODUCTldN.
been called the HieronymianTallaghMartyrology, than that furnished either by Colgan or Bollandus. *^ It comes from the pen of Father John Baptist SoUer. *^ It seems almost certain that Bollandus and his fellow-labourers had
seen Colgan's copy. ^9 SoUer inspected and describes it, as containing ten vellum folia of large size, with nearly half a leaf, and covered with another leafofsimilarmaterialandappearance. ^" Inthecommencementofthis Codex, some modem hand has inscribed it, Martyrologium Tamlactense, et Opuscula S. Aengusst Keledei. ^^ In two different places it is noted as having belongedtotheconventofDonegal. Thoseleaveswerenotclearlytraced nor well arranged. ^^ Many names in this Codex were almost illegible. 53 Soller says it was defective from the iv. of the February Kalends to the iv. of the March Ides : so that the months of January and March were not per- fect. S4 The whole of February was missing. ss The April month was alone complete. May ran on to the 20th day,^^ or the xiii. of the Kalends of
June. June and July were wanting. August began from the iv. Nones,S7
but its remaining days were preserved. In September were missing the xii. , xi. , and x. days of the October Kalends. s^ October continued to the iii. of theKalendsofNovember. ThewholeofNovemberwasmissing. Decem- ber commenced only at the xv. ss of the Kalends of January. ^ Soller de-
ever, the peculiar Martyrology of St. ^Engus must be regarded as identical with his Fes-
tilogy.
*' Bollandus has published some extracts
^^
from Colgan's copy,
logia Hieronymiani Tamlactensis,'^ at the last days of the January month.
*^ See "Acta Sanctorum," Junii, tomus vii. , in his learned preface to a new edition
of ancient Martyrologies. In this, he treats regarding various copies of the Martyrology ascribed to St. Jerome.
*9 The Bollandists appear to bad frequent recourse to the Franciscans of Louvain for the names and festivals of saints mentioned in their copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh. See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiv. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios dies rejecti, p. 561.
5° Dr. Todd, when at Rome, in 1S61 and 1862, first ascertained beyond question, that
these
yi^/Zfl
of Leihster, a manuscript written in the twelfth century, and now preserved in the
Library of Trinity College, Dublin.
S' On an average, there are from six to seven columns across each page. The folia
are loosely placed within a parchment cover. William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , has greatly
obliged the author by lending his Catalogue Raisonni oi this MS. , and from it the con- tents are described hereafter in a detailed
form. Only a brief account of it is con- tained in J. T. Gilbert's description, as found
"
in the
mission on Historical Manuscripts," part i. , Report and Appendix, p. 601.
5^ From an inspection of the manuscript here alluded to, and now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, the writer would be inclined to hold a very opposite opinion.
S3 The first folio of this MS. , and the first
entry in this Martyrology, owing probably to some ancient ecclesiastical arrangement, commence with the 25th day of December, and foremost in order is noted the feast of ourLord'sNativity. TheMartyrologydoes not merely record the obits of Irish saints. Under each day, it gives a chief place to foreign saints, adding Irish saints, at the end, and distinguishing the first of these by a peculiar mark.
5* This statement is not correct. quite
ss This is likewise an incorrect statement.
s*To the 19th day, he should have said.
57 But it contains Irish names ol the pre- ceding day.
^ It contains, however, Irish names be- longing to the loth of the Kalends.
59 It contains, however, Irish names of
the previous day.
"
sub nomine Martyro-
had been extracted from the Book
Fourth Report of the Royal Com-
All this account is exceedingly inaccu*
INTRODUCTION. xix
clares, after a diligent examination, he could easily observe that this Codex had been over-rated by the members of his society. ^' Papebroke had fre- quently mentioned to Soller, that Colgan or the Irish Minorite Fathers at Louvain had merely sent extracts of this copy to BoUandus. After this Martyrology, Soller found a list of what he conjectures to be Irish names, running through three leaves. ^' In fine, there were opuscula or fragments of Tracts in the Irish language, of which he was entirely ignorant. Soller in- correctly declares his account to be a complete description of the Codex. ^3
During Dr. Todd's visit to Rome in 1862, he found the eleven missing leaves of the Book of Leinster in the Franciscan ^Convent of St. Isidore, among the documents shown him by the superior. Those leaves contain some of the curious Tracts, attributed to St. ^ngus the Culdee, together with the copy of that Calendar or Martyrology of Tallaght, referred to by Colgan. However,owingtothelossofaleaf,thisisunfortunatelyimperfect. The defect includes the whole ot November, and the first sixteen days of December. This Calendar is a transcript of a very ancient Martyrology, which contained a' list of saints and martyrs belonging to the Universal Church,undereachdayoftheyear; Irishsaintswereaddedattheendof each day. ^4 Might it not be most probable, that the first diurnal entries of the old Tallagh Martyrology are, at least to some extent, transcripts from that ascribed to Eusebius or to Jerome P'^s if so, what delight and interest should not lovers of ecclesiastical history take in the discovery of such a literary and patristic treasure ! If a conjecture of this kind be well founded, those writings so much regretted by the learned as lost, because not hitherto discovered, might in part—if not altogether—be found among unpublished MSS. , attributed to an Irish saint, and yet mouldering on the shelves of our Dublin Franciscan Library. We feel inclined to believe, that the prose Marty—rology of Tallagh had been written—but perhaps not in its completed state before ^ngus had composed his metrical Felij-e. ^^ An opinion was entertained by some ancient writers, that the Martyrology and the Feilire
rate. Owing to the loss of a leaf, pp. 6, 7, there is a defect in the text, extending from 19th of May to the 2nd of August. The Martyrology closes at the 26th day of De- cember. It runs along each page, in 71
written columns in the Irish
closely character,
with coloured initial letters of various names introduced.
*'
This, however, was owing probably to his inability to i-ead Irish ; or to appreciate the value of such a rare Codex or fragment.
*^ Besides the insertion of Irish proper names in this Martyrology, there were found other festivals, added by a comparatively modern hand. Among these, he notices the feast of St. Joseph, the Revelation of St. Michael the Archangel, the festival of
All Saints, and many other solemnities of a
like description.
*3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," in his preface
to a new edition of Usuard's Martyrologyj cap. i. , art. i. , sees, i, 2.
' See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' "
Martyr* ology of Donegal. " Introduction, pp. xiv. ,
xv.
*s Ledwich very incorrectly states, that
the Martyrology called of St. Jerome was not known until about the ninth century, and that Launoy had proved—while he had not—its fabrication about that time,
**
This word, properly speaking, signifies a Festilo^ium or Festivale, which means a list of Feasts or Festivals, placed in their
natm"al sequence. m
I,
XX INTRonUCTION.
had been written by him at Tallaght, while engaged in following the humbler duties of a farm servant. Sufficient evidence can be adduced, however, to prove, that the Feilire could not have been issued, until some years after St- Melruan's death. As -^ngus, in this metrical work, cites the Martyrologies attributed to Jerome and Eusebius, it is highly probable, that he must have
used these works, while engaged at the compilation of his own writings. ^7 Ofthe Metrical Irish "Felire" or Festology—sometimes called the Martyr-
ology of Aengus Ceile De—six copies, at least, are known to be extant, and four of these are on vellum. Two copies are preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford ; one copy is kept in the Franciscan Library, Dublin ; one in the Burgundian Library, Brussels f^ one, a transcript, made for Dr. Todd, by Profes—sor O'Curry ; and one, found in the celebrated Leabhar Mbr Di^naDoighr'e^ commonlycalledtheLeabharBreacp°andnowinposses- sion of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. 7^ We are indebted to the late distinguished Irish scholar. Professor Eugene O'Curry, for a particular de- scription and analysis of Angus' metrical Festology or Fdire. T^ This com- position, considered to be one of the first in date and importance among our Kalendars, consists of three distinct parts. IYiq first part, knoAvn as the In- vocation, contains five quatrains,73 which ask grace and sanctification from Christ on the poet's work. 74 It is \vritten in the ancient Conachlann, as
*7 Dr. Ledwich strives to show, that this Martyrology was first written in the ninth century, because it has the names of Moel- ruan, Aengus, and other later saints. See
"Antiquities of Ireland," p. 365. "It is true that, considered in its present state,"
says Dr. Lanigan, "it was not completed until even the end of that century ; but does
it follow that Aengus and Moelruan had no share in drawing it up ? He adds, that in
its second preface, it cites the Martyrology ofSt. Jerome. Herethedoctoriswrong;
Library of the Royal Irish Academy. "— "TractsRelatingtoIreland. " Muirchear-
tach MacNeill's Circuit of Ireland, page 32, Mr. O'Donovan's Note 36, I. A. S. 's Publi- cations. Copies of the Leabhar Breac have
been lately multiplied by the lithographic
process.
7' " There is a short history of the author,
and the tract prefixed to this copy, which commenced, as such Gaedhlic documents usually do, with giving the name of the author,thetime,theplace,andtheobject
for this Martyrology is quoted, not in any of the composition. There is, then, a short
preface to the Mart)rrology of Tallagh, alias that of Aengus and Moelruan, but in the
disquisition on this arrangement, in which
the usages of the philosophers and the order
second preface to ih&Festilogium of Aengus. " "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. See
iii. , chap, xx. , § x. , n, 102, p. 249.
^This is a of " S. copy Festilogium
Engusii Keledei," in Irish, and beautifully written by Michael O'Clery. The accom-
panying gloss and notes are very full, and
"
Vol. xvii. . No. 5102 of the " Inventaire. "
Irish Aca-
Royal
*9 It was compiled about A. D. 1400.
of the creation are referred to as precedents. "
*'
Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 363.
72 In O'Reilly's "Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liii. , it receives the designation of a Hier- ology.
73 A quatrain means four rhymed lines.
T" We are that General Val* informed,
lancey and Theophilus O'Flanagan, having met with this poem-—which is rather a con-
the
Festilogium" occupies fifty-one pages.
See "
of the
Proceedings demy," vol. iii. , p. 489.
7° " A of his copy
one—in the leabhar Breac, and finding the name of Christ contractedly
called '
is preserved in the Leabhar Breac, in the
poem,
Felire,^
spicuous
written CR, with a horizontal dash over these two letters, considered they had found anaddresstothesun. Thiswasasupposed
proof of the former worship of that luminary by the ancient Irish. The letters C R were presumed to have been a contraction for Creas, which, from the books of Indian Brahmins and the Sanscrit, Vallancey con- jectured to be a name for the sun, common
"Sanctify, O Christ ! my words : — O Lord of the seven heavens ! Grantmethegiftofwisdom,
O Sovereign of the bright sun !
" O bright sun, who dost illumine
The heavens with all thy holiness !
O King who governest the angels ! O Lord of all the people !
These views of
highly poetical translation of Aengus' poem, were embodied inasmallprintedpamphlet. Thiswasad-
dressed " To the President and Members of the Royal Irish Academy, as a Proof of the Ancient Histoiy of Ireland," by General Vallancey.
75 Such is the English equivalent.
7* An illustration, in the Irish language and character, will be found in "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Appendix No. cxiii. , p. 6io,' and which has been published from the ori-
containedintheLeabharBreac. The five Irish stanzas have been thus rendered into English, by Mr. O'Curry : —
*
both to Ireland and India.
General with a Vallancey,
' ' O Lord of the
ginal,
INTRODUCTION.
modem Gaelic scholars call " chain-verse. "7s By such metrical arrangement,
the last words of each quatrain are identical, or nearly so, with the first words
of that succeeding. 7^ The second part, ^o. are told, is a poem, by way of
preface, and it consists of 220 quatrains. But of these, only eighty are found
prefixed to the main poem, or chief subject matter. The remaining 140
quatrains are postfixed to the main poem, and these are called the post or
second preface. We may rather, perhaps, consider them in the light of
those verses, which many of our mediaeval and modern poets designate the
" as the conclusion of a Those stanzas are of a similar L'Envoy," poem.
character, and follow in a like measure, as they are indeed a continuation of the Invocation. Eighty stanzas, prefixed to the main poem in very beauti-
ful and forcible language, give us a glo%ving account regarding the sufferings and tortures of the early Christian martyrs ; how their persecutors' names have been forgotten, while those of their victims were remembered with honour, veneration, and affection ; how Pilate's wife sinks into oblivion, while the Blessed Virgin Mary has been remembered and venerated from earth's uttermost bounds to its centre. Even in Ireland, the enduring supre- macy of Christ's Church had been manifested. Tara had been abandoned
and had become a desert, because its kings were vain-glorious, while Armagh remained the populous seat of dignity, piety, and learning. Cruachain, a former royal residence of the Connaught kings, is deserted, while Clonmac- nois resounds with the dashing of chariots and the tramp of multitudes to honour St. Ciaran's shrine. Aillinn's royal palace had passed away, while
"
"
people
O King all righteous and good !
MayIreceivethefullbenefit Of praising Thy Royal hosts,
Thy royal hosts I praise,
Because Thou art my Sovereign ;
I have disposed my mind
To be constantly beseeching Thee,
I beseech a favour from Thee,
That I be purified from my sins
Through the peaceful bright -shining flock,
The royal host whom I celebrate. " —Ibid. , Lect. xvii. , pp. 365, 366.
!
INTRonUCTION,
St. Brigid'schurchatKildareretaineditsdazzlingsplendour. Ulster'sroyal palace at Emania had disappeared, while the holy Coemghen's church at
Gleann-da-locha remains in full glory. The monarch Leaghaire's pomp and pride Avere extinguished, while St. Patrick's name continues to shine with undiminished lustre. Thus, the poet contrasts fleeting and forgotten names and reputations of great men and establishments, belonging to the pagan and secular world, with the stability, freshness, and splendour of Christian Churches, and with the ever-flourishing names of their illustrious, although often humble founders. The thirdpai't is properly the Felire or Festological
Poem itself, and it is comprised within 365 quatrains, which, the reader will observe, form a stanza for each day in the year. The author has imposed on himself the task of introducing into each stanza some saints' names or festivals commemorated on that particular day to which they refer. 77 The Circum- cision of our Lord is placed at the head of the Festivals, and with it the Felire begins. 7^ This poem is not wholly confined to notices of the Irish saints, as the festivals of many foreign ones are generally first introduced. The whole of this, which is the chief poem, as also the first preface, is thickly interlinedwithanancientglossandcommentary. Theseexplaindifficultor obsolete words and passages. Sometimes, notes may be found on the sites of ancient churches, connected with Irish saints, who lived to the time of our author. Occasional passages from their Lives and Miracles will be seen. Those notes are interspersed over the margin, and they require close and accuratestudytoconnectthemwiththeirappropriatetextualpassages. The three parts, or cantos, into which the entire poem has been divided, may be treated, indeed, as one continuous composition. The last words of the In- vocation are the first words to the first preface of eighty stanzas ; while the last words of this preface are the first words of the main poem ; and again, the last words of this chief poem are the first words of the post or second preface, which consists of 140 stanzas. This latter division concludes the work, and in it yEngus recapitulates the subject of his Felire,Ti teaching the faithfulhowtoreadanduseit,andexplainingitsarrangement. Hedeclares, though great the number, he has only been able there to enumerate the princes of the saints. He recommends it for pious meditation to the faithful, and indicates spiritual benefits to be gained by reading or reciting it. He says he had travelled far and near to collect the names and history of subjects for his praise and invocation. For the foreign saints, he consulted St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and Eusebius. He collected the festivals of our Irish saints,
"See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves. Intro-
duction, p. xiv.
78 In the "Lectures on the Manuscript
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Ap- pendix No. cxiv. , p. 611, may be seen the first stanza of this part of the poem in the Irish language and character, as extracted
from the original found in the "Leab/tar Brmc. "
79 The Felire or Festology is closely con • nected with lives of the saints. That of Aengus especially receives the praise of M. de la Villemarque in the November number of the French " Le
Correspon-
periodical, dant," for 1863.
*> See " Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 365 to
370. — *' This is done in the following order :
The elders or ancients under Noah ; the
prophets under Isaiah ; the patriarchs under
Abraham ; the apostles and disciples under
treat,
whereupon, he resolves to change his course, that no one may have cause for complaint. Then,hecommencesanothermovingappeal to our Lord for himself and all men. He beseeches mercy according to the merciful worldly interposition of Divine clemency in times past. Thus Enoch and Elias had been saved from dangers in this world ; Noah had been saved from the deluge ; Abraham had been saved from plagues and from the Chaldeans ; Lot had been saved from the burning city ; Jonas had escaped fromthewhale Isaachadbeendelivered
;
Peter thewiseorlearnedmenunderPaul ;
;
INTROD UCTION. XXlU
from " the countless hosts of the illuminated books of Erinn. " ^ He then says, having already mentioned and invoked the saints at their respective festival days, he will now invoke them in classes or bands, under certain heads or leaders. ^'
Towards the saints of his country, . ^ngus seems to have entertained an extraordinary veneration. According to Colgan's account, he wrote five
distinct " De Sanctis Hiberniae," which Tracts,^^'
in a
about their several lives, or on matters pertaining to them. ^s in the first
the martyrs under Stephen ; the spiritual
directors under old Paul ; the virgins of the
world under the Blessed Virgin Mary ; the
holy bishops of Rome under Peter ; the
bishops of Jerusalem under Jacob or James ;
the bishops of Antioch also under Peter ;
the bishops of Alexandria under Mark ; a
division of them under Honoratus ; a division
of learned men under the gifted Benedict ;
all the innocents who suffered at Bethlehem
under Georgius ; the priests under Aaron ;
the monks under Anthony ; a division of
the world's saints under Martin ; the noble
saints of Erinn under St. Patrick ; the saints
of Scotland under St. Colum Cille ; while destruction of the Israelites from Mount
the last great division of Erinn's saintly
virgins has been placed under holy St.
Brigid of Kildare. In an eloquent strain,
Aengus then continues to beseech our fiery furnace ; of Tobias from his blindness ; Saviour's mercy for himself and for all man- of Peter and Paul from the dungeon ; of
Job from demoniac tribulations ; of David from Saul ; of Joseph from his brothers' hands ; of the Israelites from Egyptian
kind, through the merits and sufferings of
those saints he has named and enumerated.
He asks through the merits of their dis-
membered bodies ; through their bodies bondage ; of Peter from the sea-waves ; of
piercedwithlances; throughtheirwounds;
through their groans ; through their relics ;
through their blanched countenances ;
through their bitter tears ; through all the household, to be saved, as St. Patrick had sacrifices offered of the Saviour's own Body been, from the poisoned drink at Teamhar and Blood, as it is in heaven, upon the holy [Tara], and as St. Coemhghin [Kevin] had altars ; through the blood that flowed from been at Gleann da locha [Glendalough],
the Saviour's own side ; through His sacred
Humanity ; and through His Divinity in union with the Holy Spirit and the Hea-
from perils of the mountain.
*^ See likewise Rev. Matthew Kelly's
" Dissertations chiefly on Irish Church His-
venly Father. After this long invocation, tory. " Edited by Rev. D. M'Carthy, D. D. , Aengus says the brethren of his order deemed pp. 215, 216.
all his
prayers
and
petitions
too little
;
^3 It may be observed, that these tracts
from his father's hands. He entreats Jesus,
through intercession of His Holy Mother, to save him, as Jacob was saved from the
hands of his brother, and as John [Paul] was saved from the viper's venom. He again recurs to examples found in the Old Testament. He mentions the saving of David from Goliath's sword ; the saving of Susanna from her dangers ; of Nineveh from
;
Gilba [Gilboa] ; of Daniel from the lion's
den ; of Moses from the hands of Faro
[Pharaoh] ; of the three youths from the
Johnfromthefierycaldron; ofMartinfrom the priest of the idol. Again, he beseeches Jesus, through intercession of the heavenly
particular manner,
4-
foregoing.
over three columns.
9' As the brothers, who were sons to
part ii», sect, ii. , pp. 137, 138. He was wrong in stating, that a copy of this was in
that part of the Book of Leinster, kept in Trinity College, Dublin. He alluded to
Aed,toNessan,&c. orasonof—. ,
9^ As the daughters of — or the daughter
— Book of " of fol. 16, col. I. yEngus'
INTROD UCTION.
Treatise, he gives the different distinctions of those saints in classes ; he enu-
merates 345 bishopSj^-^ 299 abbots and priests,^^ and seventy-eight deacons. ^^ These he has comprised within the hmits of three chapters. The second Tract is known as the " Homonymi," or the enumeration of saints bearing similar names, but distinguished by various other titles. ^7 It mentions 855 distinct persons, under sixty-two different names, and it is divided into two parts; thefirstpartcontainingfiftychapters,onholymenofthesamename,^^ and the second, twelve chapters on holy women. ^9 The third Treatise, known as the " Book of Sons," divides the saints into another classification. 9° It names saints, who are descended from the same father, and afterwards only sons, each cited by the father's name. 9' Lastly, are enumerated female saints, in their descent from the same father. ? ^ The names of ninety-four fathers,93 who had one saint, or more saints than one, as children, are here preserved, although the number of saints cannot always be discovered. ^* The fourth Tract comprises the names of 210 saints, with their maternal genealogy.
250.
3^ See on this subject the " Acta Sane*
every appearance of certain proof, did not
come from Anglia—as some writers say—
but he came from Hibemia immediately to
Friesland or Frisia, and thence to Eptemac.
Willebrord had previously lived in Ireland,
from the twentieth to the thirty-third year of
his age, engaged in scholastic studies and in
practices of piety, as Alovinus Flaccus states
in his " and as Venerable Bede has it Life,"
in his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglo-
*
" Cetera legi non potu- erant in MS utpote a tineis corrosa ; silicet ab hac die ad viii. Kal. Jan. a quo incipit hocce Martyrologium. " It must be con- fessed, if this Martyrology, for the most
following remarks
:
astique," tome xii. , § 144, Art. St. Jerome. 3' This prelate flourished in the early part
of the fourth century.
*° This learned and illustrious saint's fes-
tival occurs at the 30th of September, on
which day he departed to bliss, in the year 420. See an admirable account of his life
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. Vita S.
. ^ngussii, cap. xii. , p. 581.
^'' It is not at all probable, that Wille-
brord found the Martyrology of St. Jerome
in the territory of Frisia, or in other adjoin- ing districts, inhabited only by unbelievers. Nor has any similar copy been there dis- covered. On thecontrary, Colgan asserts, that many such copies were to be found in Ireland when he wrote. As here mentioned, in the Life of St. . ^ngus, the Martyrologies, ascribed both to Eusebius and to St. Jerome, were extant in his time, or before A. D. 787» when such testimony is supposed to have been recorded. These Martyrologies are considered to be the oldest compilations of the kind.
4S See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 362, 363, 364. YetinFatherMichaelO'Clery'spre- face to a poem of Marianus Gorman, he states, tha—t the Martyrology—otherwise the Festilogy of^ngusCeileDehadbeencom- posed from the Martyrology of Tamlacht.
^* So far as Mr. O'Curry ascertained, "no saint is found in it who died after that year. "
and writings in Rev. Alban Butler's
''
Lives
of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Prin-
cipal Saints," vol. ix. , xxx. September.
*' The learned Bollandists, Henschenius and Papebrochius, were inclined to think that Eusebius was not only translated, but likewise augmented by St. Jerome. See their " Pro- logomina" to the Martyrology of Bede in "Acta Sanctorum," Martii, tomus ii. , pp. V. toviii.
*' The ascribed to St. Martyrology Jerome,
or rather to Eusebius and St. Jerome, as quoted by Aengus, is mentioned more than once by Bede, who lived many years before
'' Charlemagne. Thus, he cites Martyrolo-
gium Eusebii et Hieronymi vocabulis insig- nitum. " He states, that Eusebius is said to have been the author, and Jerome the trans- lator. See lib. ii. " in Marcum," cap. xxvi. , and "Retract, in Acta Apostolorum," cap. i.
INTRODUCTION.
while others are of opinion, that Eusebius39 drew up some sort of an earher Martyrology. It has even been asserted, this latter was the original author of that work ascribed to St. Jerome,^" who was only its translator into Latin. ^^ However, this may be, St. ^ngus appears to have used a certain Codex, and he styles it the Martyrology of Eusebius and Jerome. ^
The Martyrology of St. ^Engus and of St. Moelruan was well arranged, and very comprehensive in its plan. A list of foreign saints was first set down,foreveryday,andthenfollowedthenamesofourIrishsaints. Colgan considers this work the most copious of all the Martyrologies he had ever seen. *3 Yet, it would seem to have been extremely defective, in parts. The names of many saints, omitted in the Roman and other Martyrologies, are to be foundfirstintheMartyrologyattributedto^ngusandMaelruan. 44 However, a learned authority supposes, that ^ngus composed a still more ancient work, which deserves to bear his name, and that this is the oldest Irish Mar- tyrologyknown. 4s Itisthought,St. ^nguswrotethisworkaboutorbefore A. D.
ygS. -*^
We find a more detailed—yet still a very imperfect—description of what has
torain Januarii," of the great Bollandist before the O'Clerys had prepared the cele-
Collection. Tomus i. , Prefacio, cap. iv. brated one, now popularly known as " The
*'
sec. 4. Also, Tillemont's "HistoireEcclesi- Martyrology of Donegal. " See Acta
Wherefore, it would appear, that St. ^Engus *3 This opinion he must have entertained— composed a Martyrology, distinct from that at least so far as Irish saiijts are concerned— known as the Tallagh Martyrolog}'. How-
iNTRODUCTldN.
been called the HieronymianTallaghMartyrology, than that furnished either by Colgan or Bollandus. *^ It comes from the pen of Father John Baptist SoUer. *^ It seems almost certain that Bollandus and his fellow-labourers had
seen Colgan's copy. ^9 SoUer inspected and describes it, as containing ten vellum folia of large size, with nearly half a leaf, and covered with another leafofsimilarmaterialandappearance. ^" Inthecommencementofthis Codex, some modem hand has inscribed it, Martyrologium Tamlactense, et Opuscula S. Aengusst Keledei. ^^ In two different places it is noted as having belongedtotheconventofDonegal. Thoseleaveswerenotclearlytraced nor well arranged. ^^ Many names in this Codex were almost illegible. 53 Soller says it was defective from the iv. of the February Kalends to the iv. of the March Ides : so that the months of January and March were not per- fect. S4 The whole of February was missing. ss The April month was alone complete. May ran on to the 20th day,^^ or the xiii. of the Kalends of
June. June and July were wanting. August began from the iv. Nones,S7
but its remaining days were preserved. In September were missing the xii. , xi. , and x. days of the October Kalends. s^ October continued to the iii. of theKalendsofNovember. ThewholeofNovemberwasmissing. Decem- ber commenced only at the xv. ss of the Kalends of January. ^ Soller de-
ever, the peculiar Martyrology of St. ^Engus must be regarded as identical with his Fes-
tilogy.
*' Bollandus has published some extracts
^^
from Colgan's copy,
logia Hieronymiani Tamlactensis,'^ at the last days of the January month.
*^ See "Acta Sanctorum," Junii, tomus vii. , in his learned preface to a new edition
of ancient Martyrologies. In this, he treats regarding various copies of the Martyrology ascribed to St. Jerome.
*9 The Bollandists appear to bad frequent recourse to the Franciscans of Louvain for the names and festivals of saints mentioned in their copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh. See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiv. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios dies rejecti, p. 561.
5° Dr. Todd, when at Rome, in 1S61 and 1862, first ascertained beyond question, that
these
yi^/Zfl
of Leihster, a manuscript written in the twelfth century, and now preserved in the
Library of Trinity College, Dublin.
S' On an average, there are from six to seven columns across each page. The folia
are loosely placed within a parchment cover. William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , has greatly
obliged the author by lending his Catalogue Raisonni oi this MS. , and from it the con- tents are described hereafter in a detailed
form. Only a brief account of it is con- tained in J. T. Gilbert's description, as found
"
in the
mission on Historical Manuscripts," part i. , Report and Appendix, p. 601.
5^ From an inspection of the manuscript here alluded to, and now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, the writer would be inclined to hold a very opposite opinion.
S3 The first folio of this MS. , and the first
entry in this Martyrology, owing probably to some ancient ecclesiastical arrangement, commence with the 25th day of December, and foremost in order is noted the feast of ourLord'sNativity. TheMartyrologydoes not merely record the obits of Irish saints. Under each day, it gives a chief place to foreign saints, adding Irish saints, at the end, and distinguishing the first of these by a peculiar mark.
5* This statement is not correct. quite
ss This is likewise an incorrect statement.
s*To the 19th day, he should have said.
57 But it contains Irish names ol the pre- ceding day.
^ It contains, however, Irish names be- longing to the loth of the Kalends.
59 It contains, however, Irish names of
the previous day.
"
sub nomine Martyro-
had been extracted from the Book
Fourth Report of the Royal Com-
All this account is exceedingly inaccu*
INTRODUCTION. xix
clares, after a diligent examination, he could easily observe that this Codex had been over-rated by the members of his society. ^' Papebroke had fre- quently mentioned to Soller, that Colgan or the Irish Minorite Fathers at Louvain had merely sent extracts of this copy to BoUandus. After this Martyrology, Soller found a list of what he conjectures to be Irish names, running through three leaves. ^' In fine, there were opuscula or fragments of Tracts in the Irish language, of which he was entirely ignorant. Soller in- correctly declares his account to be a complete description of the Codex. ^3
During Dr. Todd's visit to Rome in 1862, he found the eleven missing leaves of the Book of Leinster in the Franciscan ^Convent of St. Isidore, among the documents shown him by the superior. Those leaves contain some of the curious Tracts, attributed to St. ^ngus the Culdee, together with the copy of that Calendar or Martyrology of Tallaght, referred to by Colgan. However,owingtothelossofaleaf,thisisunfortunatelyimperfect. The defect includes the whole ot November, and the first sixteen days of December. This Calendar is a transcript of a very ancient Martyrology, which contained a' list of saints and martyrs belonging to the Universal Church,undereachdayoftheyear; Irishsaintswereaddedattheendof each day. ^4 Might it not be most probable, that the first diurnal entries of the old Tallagh Martyrology are, at least to some extent, transcripts from that ascribed to Eusebius or to Jerome P'^s if so, what delight and interest should not lovers of ecclesiastical history take in the discovery of such a literary and patristic treasure ! If a conjecture of this kind be well founded, those writings so much regretted by the learned as lost, because not hitherto discovered, might in part—if not altogether—be found among unpublished MSS. , attributed to an Irish saint, and yet mouldering on the shelves of our Dublin Franciscan Library. We feel inclined to believe, that the prose Marty—rology of Tallagh had been written—but perhaps not in its completed state before ^ngus had composed his metrical Felij-e. ^^ An opinion was entertained by some ancient writers, that the Martyrology and the Feilire
rate. Owing to the loss of a leaf, pp. 6, 7, there is a defect in the text, extending from 19th of May to the 2nd of August. The Martyrology closes at the 26th day of De- cember. It runs along each page, in 71
written columns in the Irish
closely character,
with coloured initial letters of various names introduced.
*'
This, however, was owing probably to his inability to i-ead Irish ; or to appreciate the value of such a rare Codex or fragment.
*^ Besides the insertion of Irish proper names in this Martyrology, there were found other festivals, added by a comparatively modern hand. Among these, he notices the feast of St. Joseph, the Revelation of St. Michael the Archangel, the festival of
All Saints, and many other solemnities of a
like description.
*3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," in his preface
to a new edition of Usuard's Martyrologyj cap. i. , art. i. , sees, i, 2.
' See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' "
Martyr* ology of Donegal. " Introduction, pp. xiv. ,
xv.
*s Ledwich very incorrectly states, that
the Martyrology called of St. Jerome was not known until about the ninth century, and that Launoy had proved—while he had not—its fabrication about that time,
**
This word, properly speaking, signifies a Festilo^ium or Festivale, which means a list of Feasts or Festivals, placed in their
natm"al sequence. m
I,
XX INTRonUCTION.
had been written by him at Tallaght, while engaged in following the humbler duties of a farm servant. Sufficient evidence can be adduced, however, to prove, that the Feilire could not have been issued, until some years after St- Melruan's death. As -^ngus, in this metrical work, cites the Martyrologies attributed to Jerome and Eusebius, it is highly probable, that he must have
used these works, while engaged at the compilation of his own writings. ^7 Ofthe Metrical Irish "Felire" or Festology—sometimes called the Martyr-
ology of Aengus Ceile De—six copies, at least, are known to be extant, and four of these are on vellum. Two copies are preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford ; one copy is kept in the Franciscan Library, Dublin ; one in the Burgundian Library, Brussels f^ one, a transcript, made for Dr. Todd, by Profes—sor O'Curry ; and one, found in the celebrated Leabhar Mbr Di^naDoighr'e^ commonlycalledtheLeabharBreacp°andnowinposses- sion of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. 7^ We are indebted to the late distinguished Irish scholar. Professor Eugene O'Curry, for a particular de- scription and analysis of Angus' metrical Festology or Fdire. T^ This com- position, considered to be one of the first in date and importance among our Kalendars, consists of three distinct parts. IYiq first part, knoAvn as the In- vocation, contains five quatrains,73 which ask grace and sanctification from Christ on the poet's work. 74 It is \vritten in the ancient Conachlann, as
*7 Dr. Ledwich strives to show, that this Martyrology was first written in the ninth century, because it has the names of Moel- ruan, Aengus, and other later saints. See
"Antiquities of Ireland," p. 365. "It is true that, considered in its present state,"
says Dr. Lanigan, "it was not completed until even the end of that century ; but does
it follow that Aengus and Moelruan had no share in drawing it up ? He adds, that in
its second preface, it cites the Martyrology ofSt. Jerome. Herethedoctoriswrong;
Library of the Royal Irish Academy. "— "TractsRelatingtoIreland. " Muirchear-
tach MacNeill's Circuit of Ireland, page 32, Mr. O'Donovan's Note 36, I. A. S. 's Publi- cations. Copies of the Leabhar Breac have
been lately multiplied by the lithographic
process.
7' " There is a short history of the author,
and the tract prefixed to this copy, which commenced, as such Gaedhlic documents usually do, with giving the name of the author,thetime,theplace,andtheobject
for this Martyrology is quoted, not in any of the composition. There is, then, a short
preface to the Mart)rrology of Tallagh, alias that of Aengus and Moelruan, but in the
disquisition on this arrangement, in which
the usages of the philosophers and the order
second preface to ih&Festilogium of Aengus. " "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. See
iii. , chap, xx. , § x. , n, 102, p. 249.
^This is a of " S. copy Festilogium
Engusii Keledei," in Irish, and beautifully written by Michael O'Clery. The accom-
panying gloss and notes are very full, and
"
Vol. xvii. . No. 5102 of the " Inventaire. "
Irish Aca-
Royal
*9 It was compiled about A. D. 1400.
of the creation are referred to as precedents. "
*'
Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 363.
72 In O'Reilly's "Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liii. , it receives the designation of a Hier- ology.
73 A quatrain means four rhymed lines.
T" We are that General Val* informed,
lancey and Theophilus O'Flanagan, having met with this poem-—which is rather a con-
the
Festilogium" occupies fifty-one pages.
See "
of the
Proceedings demy," vol. iii. , p. 489.
7° " A of his copy
one—in the leabhar Breac, and finding the name of Christ contractedly
called '
is preserved in the Leabhar Breac, in the
poem,
Felire,^
spicuous
written CR, with a horizontal dash over these two letters, considered they had found anaddresstothesun. Thiswasasupposed
proof of the former worship of that luminary by the ancient Irish. The letters C R were presumed to have been a contraction for Creas, which, from the books of Indian Brahmins and the Sanscrit, Vallancey con- jectured to be a name for the sun, common
"Sanctify, O Christ ! my words : — O Lord of the seven heavens ! Grantmethegiftofwisdom,
O Sovereign of the bright sun !
" O bright sun, who dost illumine
The heavens with all thy holiness !
O King who governest the angels ! O Lord of all the people !
These views of
highly poetical translation of Aengus' poem, were embodied inasmallprintedpamphlet. Thiswasad-
dressed " To the President and Members of the Royal Irish Academy, as a Proof of the Ancient Histoiy of Ireland," by General Vallancey.
75 Such is the English equivalent.
7* An illustration, in the Irish language and character, will be found in "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Appendix No. cxiii. , p. 6io,' and which has been published from the ori-
containedintheLeabharBreac. The five Irish stanzas have been thus rendered into English, by Mr. O'Curry : —
*
both to Ireland and India.
General with a Vallancey,
' ' O Lord of the
ginal,
INTRODUCTION.
modem Gaelic scholars call " chain-verse. "7s By such metrical arrangement,
the last words of each quatrain are identical, or nearly so, with the first words
of that succeeding. 7^ The second part, ^o. are told, is a poem, by way of
preface, and it consists of 220 quatrains. But of these, only eighty are found
prefixed to the main poem, or chief subject matter. The remaining 140
quatrains are postfixed to the main poem, and these are called the post or
second preface. We may rather, perhaps, consider them in the light of
those verses, which many of our mediaeval and modern poets designate the
" as the conclusion of a Those stanzas are of a similar L'Envoy," poem.
character, and follow in a like measure, as they are indeed a continuation of the Invocation. Eighty stanzas, prefixed to the main poem in very beauti-
ful and forcible language, give us a glo%ving account regarding the sufferings and tortures of the early Christian martyrs ; how their persecutors' names have been forgotten, while those of their victims were remembered with honour, veneration, and affection ; how Pilate's wife sinks into oblivion, while the Blessed Virgin Mary has been remembered and venerated from earth's uttermost bounds to its centre. Even in Ireland, the enduring supre- macy of Christ's Church had been manifested. Tara had been abandoned
and had become a desert, because its kings were vain-glorious, while Armagh remained the populous seat of dignity, piety, and learning. Cruachain, a former royal residence of the Connaught kings, is deserted, while Clonmac- nois resounds with the dashing of chariots and the tramp of multitudes to honour St. Ciaran's shrine. Aillinn's royal palace had passed away, while
"
"
people
O King all righteous and good !
MayIreceivethefullbenefit Of praising Thy Royal hosts,
Thy royal hosts I praise,
Because Thou art my Sovereign ;
I have disposed my mind
To be constantly beseeching Thee,
I beseech a favour from Thee,
That I be purified from my sins
Through the peaceful bright -shining flock,
The royal host whom I celebrate. " —Ibid. , Lect. xvii. , pp. 365, 366.
!
INTRonUCTION,
St. Brigid'schurchatKildareretaineditsdazzlingsplendour. Ulster'sroyal palace at Emania had disappeared, while the holy Coemghen's church at
Gleann-da-locha remains in full glory. The monarch Leaghaire's pomp and pride Avere extinguished, while St. Patrick's name continues to shine with undiminished lustre. Thus, the poet contrasts fleeting and forgotten names and reputations of great men and establishments, belonging to the pagan and secular world, with the stability, freshness, and splendour of Christian Churches, and with the ever-flourishing names of their illustrious, although often humble founders. The thirdpai't is properly the Felire or Festological
Poem itself, and it is comprised within 365 quatrains, which, the reader will observe, form a stanza for each day in the year. The author has imposed on himself the task of introducing into each stanza some saints' names or festivals commemorated on that particular day to which they refer. 77 The Circum- cision of our Lord is placed at the head of the Festivals, and with it the Felire begins. 7^ This poem is not wholly confined to notices of the Irish saints, as the festivals of many foreign ones are generally first introduced. The whole of this, which is the chief poem, as also the first preface, is thickly interlinedwithanancientglossandcommentary. Theseexplaindifficultor obsolete words and passages. Sometimes, notes may be found on the sites of ancient churches, connected with Irish saints, who lived to the time of our author. Occasional passages from their Lives and Miracles will be seen. Those notes are interspersed over the margin, and they require close and accuratestudytoconnectthemwiththeirappropriatetextualpassages. The three parts, or cantos, into which the entire poem has been divided, may be treated, indeed, as one continuous composition. The last words of the In- vocation are the first words to the first preface of eighty stanzas ; while the last words of this preface are the first words of the main poem ; and again, the last words of this chief poem are the first words of the post or second preface, which consists of 140 stanzas. This latter division concludes the work, and in it yEngus recapitulates the subject of his Felire,Ti teaching the faithfulhowtoreadanduseit,andexplainingitsarrangement. Hedeclares, though great the number, he has only been able there to enumerate the princes of the saints. He recommends it for pious meditation to the faithful, and indicates spiritual benefits to be gained by reading or reciting it. He says he had travelled far and near to collect the names and history of subjects for his praise and invocation. For the foreign saints, he consulted St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and Eusebius. He collected the festivals of our Irish saints,
"See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves. Intro-
duction, p. xiv.
78 In the "Lectures on the Manuscript
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Ap- pendix No. cxiv. , p. 611, may be seen the first stanza of this part of the poem in the Irish language and character, as extracted
from the original found in the "Leab/tar Brmc. "
79 The Felire or Festology is closely con • nected with lives of the saints. That of Aengus especially receives the praise of M. de la Villemarque in the November number of the French " Le
Correspon-
periodical, dant," for 1863.
*> See " Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 365 to
370. — *' This is done in the following order :
The elders or ancients under Noah ; the
prophets under Isaiah ; the patriarchs under
Abraham ; the apostles and disciples under
treat,
whereupon, he resolves to change his course, that no one may have cause for complaint. Then,hecommencesanothermovingappeal to our Lord for himself and all men. He beseeches mercy according to the merciful worldly interposition of Divine clemency in times past. Thus Enoch and Elias had been saved from dangers in this world ; Noah had been saved from the deluge ; Abraham had been saved from plagues and from the Chaldeans ; Lot had been saved from the burning city ; Jonas had escaped fromthewhale Isaachadbeendelivered
;
Peter thewiseorlearnedmenunderPaul ;
;
INTROD UCTION. XXlU
from " the countless hosts of the illuminated books of Erinn. " ^ He then says, having already mentioned and invoked the saints at their respective festival days, he will now invoke them in classes or bands, under certain heads or leaders. ^'
Towards the saints of his country, . ^ngus seems to have entertained an extraordinary veneration. According to Colgan's account, he wrote five
distinct " De Sanctis Hiberniae," which Tracts,^^'
in a
about their several lives, or on matters pertaining to them. ^s in the first
the martyrs under Stephen ; the spiritual
directors under old Paul ; the virgins of the
world under the Blessed Virgin Mary ; the
holy bishops of Rome under Peter ; the
bishops of Jerusalem under Jacob or James ;
the bishops of Antioch also under Peter ;
the bishops of Alexandria under Mark ; a
division of them under Honoratus ; a division
of learned men under the gifted Benedict ;
all the innocents who suffered at Bethlehem
under Georgius ; the priests under Aaron ;
the monks under Anthony ; a division of
the world's saints under Martin ; the noble
saints of Erinn under St. Patrick ; the saints
of Scotland under St. Colum Cille ; while destruction of the Israelites from Mount
the last great division of Erinn's saintly
virgins has been placed under holy St.
Brigid of Kildare. In an eloquent strain,
Aengus then continues to beseech our fiery furnace ; of Tobias from his blindness ; Saviour's mercy for himself and for all man- of Peter and Paul from the dungeon ; of
Job from demoniac tribulations ; of David from Saul ; of Joseph from his brothers' hands ; of the Israelites from Egyptian
kind, through the merits and sufferings of
those saints he has named and enumerated.
He asks through the merits of their dis-
membered bodies ; through their bodies bondage ; of Peter from the sea-waves ; of
piercedwithlances; throughtheirwounds;
through their groans ; through their relics ;
through their blanched countenances ;
through their bitter tears ; through all the household, to be saved, as St. Patrick had sacrifices offered of the Saviour's own Body been, from the poisoned drink at Teamhar and Blood, as it is in heaven, upon the holy [Tara], and as St. Coemhghin [Kevin] had altars ; through the blood that flowed from been at Gleann da locha [Glendalough],
the Saviour's own side ; through His sacred
Humanity ; and through His Divinity in union with the Holy Spirit and the Hea-
from perils of the mountain.
*^ See likewise Rev. Matthew Kelly's
" Dissertations chiefly on Irish Church His-
venly Father. After this long invocation, tory. " Edited by Rev. D. M'Carthy, D. D. , Aengus says the brethren of his order deemed pp. 215, 216.
all his
prayers
and
petitions
too little
;
^3 It may be observed, that these tracts
from his father's hands. He entreats Jesus,
through intercession of His Holy Mother, to save him, as Jacob was saved from the
hands of his brother, and as John [Paul] was saved from the viper's venom. He again recurs to examples found in the Old Testament. He mentions the saving of David from Goliath's sword ; the saving of Susanna from her dangers ; of Nineveh from
;
Gilba [Gilboa] ; of Daniel from the lion's
den ; of Moses from the hands of Faro
[Pharaoh] ; of the three youths from the
Johnfromthefierycaldron; ofMartinfrom the priest of the idol. Again, he beseeches Jesus, through intercession of the heavenly
particular manner,
4-
foregoing.
over three columns.
9' As the brothers, who were sons to
part ii», sect, ii. , pp. 137, 138. He was wrong in stating, that a copy of this was in
that part of the Book of Leinster, kept in Trinity College, Dublin. He alluded to
Aed,toNessan,&c. orasonof—. ,
9^ As the daughters of — or the daughter
— Book of " of fol. 16, col. I. yEngus'
INTROD UCTION.
Treatise, he gives the different distinctions of those saints in classes ; he enu-
merates 345 bishopSj^-^ 299 abbots and priests,^^ and seventy-eight deacons. ^^ These he has comprised within the hmits of three chapters. The second Tract is known as the " Homonymi," or the enumeration of saints bearing similar names, but distinguished by various other titles. ^7 It mentions 855 distinct persons, under sixty-two different names, and it is divided into two parts; thefirstpartcontainingfiftychapters,onholymenofthesamename,^^ and the second, twelve chapters on holy women. ^9 The third Treatise, known as the " Book of Sons," divides the saints into another classification. 9° It names saints, who are descended from the same father, and afterwards only sons, each cited by the father's name. 9' Lastly, are enumerated female saints, in their descent from the same father. ? ^ The names of ninety-four fathers,93 who had one saint, or more saints than one, as children, are here preserved, although the number of saints cannot always be discovered. ^* The fourth Tract comprises the names of 210 saints, with their maternal genealogy.
