Brigid, as
published
by Colgan, in his "Trias Thaumaturga.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
in.
" "' Lord 1872, p. 167. London, l2mo.
Article ii. — See " Act. i Sanctorum,"
See Septinia Vita . S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xli. . p. 135, and n. 81, p. 176, lib. iii. ,
tomusiii. , xxv. "DeSanctis Aprilis.
xcvili. , p. 167, and n. 129, 188. p.
Epis- copis Hi'>erni5 Mac. illeo in Cruachndia, et Machaldo in Insula Mona, pp. 366 to
cap. "
268. '""
368. AccordingtoaManuscript,belongingto
the Monastery of St. Amani. ;.
3 In " De Pioliaiis Sanctorum Vitis. "
Which is quoted, in Ussher's " Britan-
nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs," cap. XV. ,
p. 336.
* Colgan observes :" loco tamen nominum
propriorum temporis siiccessu usurpata. ut suolococonsiabit denominibusjl/uffarM/nw, Maccainiie, Maccrrirhe, Maccallain, Mac- lasre, A/actiiisf, Mactait. Mactiena, aliisque similibus. " See " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Prima S. Bri','idae, sect. 8, 9, and Secunda Vita S. Brigidae, n. II, pp. 525, 526.
' See Circle of the Seasons," p. 116.
' This statement is given, in the O'CIerys'
MartyroloLiy. Her feast is assigned to the 22nd of M. ircb.
p.
' Who are included in Tirechan's list
pp.
525,
526.
See "Trias Tliauniaturga," Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
See EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, v. , p. 335, and nn. 33, 39, 42, pp. 337 to 339, (*/</.
" See under this head, Duald Ma,c Firbis, entry of Mac CailiC, Bishop, in "Proceedin[;s of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 102, 103.
'• "This place is still well known, and the ruins of the church of St. Maccaille are to be seen on the eastern side of the con- spicuous hill of Croghan, near Tyrrell's Pass, on the confines of the Kin—g s County, and thecountyofWestmeath. " Dr. Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , p.
152, n. (in).
'5 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda
Vita S. Brigidse, cap. iii. , p. 519, and n. 11,
488 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 25.
former extent of the latter province, and before a part of it was added to the present King's County. The Eile, with which the name of that place ter-
minates, was a district, commonly called Ely O'Carroll. It has been sup- posed, that while Mac-calle's See was established, at the place already named ; his jurisdiction also extended over a considerable tract of country, and that we may reasonably conclude, he had been consecrated, before a. d. 465''' The range of Croghan Hills gives name to a small parish, in the barony of Lower Philipstown, King's County. There are three well-defined summits, the highest of which rises towards the west, and this elevation is terminated by a remarkable cone, from which a most extensive and varied view of all the neighbouring Irish counties may be obtained. Immediately under it, and sloping along the hill-side, with its aspect towards the east, the crowded
Croghan Hill and Cemetery, King's County.
cemetery, within which a church '^ was formerly to be seen, is now enclosed, with a low and parapeted stone wall. A great number of head-stones '' with in- scriptions rise over the graves ; and this spot is still a favourite and frequented place for interments. ''" This hill was, no doubt, that site, formerly selected by St. Macaille, for his religious establishment. ^" It is said, one Macca, or as
" See ibid. Appendix Quinta ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. iv. , p. 231.
"' See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
grave-yard.
' The material used for these is the grey
limestone of the King's County.
" The accompanying illustration, drawn
on the spot by the author, in August, 1883,
was afterwiirds transferred to the wood, by
William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved
by Mrs. Millard.
""
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
335, and n. 44, pp. 339, 340, ibid.
" The writer was informed, by a farmer named Egan, living near the place, that the foundations remained, end were occasionally unearthed, near the centre of the present
v. ,
p.
April 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 489
others will have it Machilla," a disciple of St. Patrick, presented the veil to ,
St Bridget. By many, it was supposed, that the holy Patroness of Kildare
received it from the Bishop of Soder, in the Isle of Man. 's He bore a name,
somewhat similar to that of our saint, and to this circumstance may be attri-
buted the popular error. But, he does not appear to have been baptized,
much less consecrated as Bishop, at the time when St. Brigid had been veiled.
However, the illustrious and holy Abbess received the veil from the son of
Cuille, or Caille, i. e. , Maccaille,''* in Uisninch Midi, or Usneagh, in West-
meath, according to some accounts ;=s and there, too, it has been supposed,
that our saint usually resided. It is stated, that Maccaille had an inspiration
from Heaven, regarding St. Brigid's earnest desire of becoming a virgin, she
being so remarkable for her maidenly love of chastity. ^* He consecrated her
to the Almighty,'' by receiving her vows, and by investing her with a white
'^ or
the usual dress of nuns, in the times of Christianity. '' early
cloak,
the cutting of her hair, which in the profession of holy virgins was not prac- tised, at this early period. 3° The date for St. Brigid's profession has been re- ferred, to about the middle of the fifth century. That Maccaille then officiated, is to be found in that entry of the Cashel Calendars" regarding his festival day, and this statement has been followed by Cathal Maguire. 3' An old Poem,33 ascribed to St. Brogan Cloen, agrees with such a notion. 34 On this occasion, according to another account,35 St. Brigid 3^ went to receive the
qui colitur in Cruachan Brighele in regione
de dedit velum Sanct£e Bfi- IfTalgia, ipse
gidse. "
3" At the same day, in his Festilogy, this
"
Magnus, cujus Ecclesia est in Cruachan
Brigh-eile in regione Ifalgine, et qui posuit velum candidum supra caput Sanctse Bri-
gidje. "
33 Written on the Virtues and Miracles of
veil,
The white garment of St. Brigid is noticed, likewise, as having been her pecu- liar dress, in the Third of her published Lives. There is no notice, about
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (m), p. 152.
" to " Et According John Capgrave :
assumptis secum tribus puellis perrexit ad
— Machillam, Sancti Patricii disci- Episcopum
S. Maccalleus
sect. pulum. "Vita S. Brigidie," 4.
writer observes
:
Episcopus
'3 See Ussher's " Britannicanim Ecclesia-
nim Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 336.
"* Nearly all our Irisli Annals and Calen-
dars agree in this statement.
See Rev. Dr.
of Ire-
" Ecclesiastical
History
Lanigan's
land," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, v. , n. 44, pp. St. Brigiil, and it is thought only a short
339. 340- '3 See a
time after her death. See it reproduced, in
from Tirechan,
"
According to the Life of St. Brigid, by
" Trias
S. Brigidx, pp. 515 to 5'8.
Vita Prima
passage Ussher, at p. 1031, in his
quoted by Primordia. "
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
*
Cogitosus.
See "Trias Thauma- Colgan's
'^ "Posuit avibas Maccalleus velum Supra caput Sanctae Brigidae
Clarus est in ejus gestis ;
In ckIo exaudita est ejus petitio
Deum precor in omnibus adversis, Modis omnibus, quibus valet os
meum,
Profundiorem pelago, magnifice
priedicabilem :
Trinum et Unum. Veridica nar-
— ratio. " Stanzas 8, 9.
'5 In Colgan, ibid. It is said, St. Ultan in his Life of the saint relates, that she received the veil from Bishop Mel,,a disciple of St. Patrick. See Tenia Vita S. Brigidoe, cap. 18, p. 529. The same statement is to be found, by other writers of her Acts, in the Irish language.
3' Her feast occurs, at the 1st of Feb- ruary.
turga," Secanda Vita S. Brigidse, cap. iii. ,
p. 519.
»? This is stated, in the Fifth Life of St.
Brigid, as published by Colgan, in his "Trias Thaumaturga. " See cap. xxviii,, p. 573. The Calendars of Cashel and of Maguirc also ac-
cord. See ibid. , p. 525.
"•
Tirechan calls it a "pallium," and speaking of a certain church founded by the Irish Apostle, in the southern part of . Meath,
"
he observes, in qua S. Brigida pallium
caepit sub manibus filii Caille in Uisnech Midhe.
'' See Rev. Joseph Bingham's " Origines Ecclesiastic*. The Antiquitiesof the Chris- tian Church," Book vii. , chap, iv. , sect. 6,
pp. 265 to 267.
* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vjii , sect, iii. , n. 34, p. 387.
"Atthe of "St.
25th April : Maccalleus,
490 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 25.
order of penitence ^7 from Bishop Mel ;3* or, in other words, to be invested with the reHgious habit, as already stated in her Lile. 39 Some modern writers
have incorrectly stated, that our Apostle St. Patrick was the prelate who received the profession of the holy virgin, St. Brigid. ^" However, it seems not improbable, tiiat both St. Mel and St. Maccaille officiated, at this inves- titure. *' The latter might have been deputed by the former, to take a lead- ing part in that solemn function, which led to the great works afterwards
accomplished by the holy virgin. Thus, to each of them might fairly be attributed a part in the ceremony of veiling, althougli it be immediately and properly referable to the ministry of St. Maccalleus. When her father Dub- thach found, that heaven had decreed his daughter to become a consecrated virgin, he desired that Melchon should have charge of her religious direction,
and, accordingly, she was ])rovidentially conducted to the temple, by one who accosted her on her way, but who is not named. ''" Perhaps, he may not have
been any other tiian St. Mac-Caille. Other pious virgins accompanied St. Brigid,andtosharehergraces. <3 Thentookplacethatremarkablemiracleofa great flame extending from St. Brigid's head to the very roof of the church. ** In admiration of this phenomenon, the Bishop especially made diligent en- quiries about the saint's parents, he also learned her manner of living, from the time of her infancy. One of his clerics informed him, that she was Brigid, the wonder-worker, and a daughter to Dubtach. On hearing this, the Bishop
3' For the above statement, the Martyr-
ology of Donegal has a reference, to the Life
of Bridget, chap. 17.
38 His feast occurs, at the 6th of Feb-
ruary.
" See chap, iii. , in vol. ii. of this work.
<" Thus, John Brampton, in his Hist.
Joranalens, ad a. d. 1185, and Henry of Marlborough, in his Chronicle at A. D. 493.
An old writer of St. Brigid's Acts, in "His- toriarum Sanctorum Collectione," published at Louvain, in 1485, says, that she was veiled " a duobus Sanctis Episcopis discipulis S. Patricii. "
t'See St. Mel's Life, at the 6th of Feb-
Sexta Vita S. Brigidx, sect, xi. , xii. , xiii. , p. 584.
" " Tempore quo praesul fundebat chrismatis undas
Virgineasque simul benedixit pol- lice pallas ;
Et cum sancta caput curvabat pop- lite flexo
Amplectendo pedem retinens alta- ris et orat ;
(Mira loquor! ) de sancto vertice flamnias
Ascend ere polo : signum dixere
parentes
Virginis. Antistes miiatur talia
ruary, chap, i. , vol. ii.
*' The Sixtli Life of St. Brigid gives the
Melchon, O Benedicta
:
: foregoing and following account —
Deo sacro velamine
" Respondens ille viator ; Ipse ego ductor ero vester : nunc cernite
templum ;
Intrantes pariler : steterat tunc praesul
ad aram.
Viryinibus septem stipatur virgo beata
virgo
Sancta mei memorans dixit sis Bri-
gida velo.
Talibus alloquitur verbis. Dimisit
voti numerum
Brigida sancta Dei pedibus voluebat, et
orat
Pontificem precibus lachrymis et voce
precatur ;
O pater alme tuis cernis cum sistimus
aris.
Nunc benedic famulas devoto pectore
stantes.
Et sancto nostras signabis chrismate
frontes. "
namque reliquit,
sua; virtutis
j^iqualis ns
assignata figu-
signa
:
Flammis consumptum, cinerem sic usque redactum :
Sed bene pes quartus, manibus quern virgo tenebat
Manserat altaris, tetigit non impe-
"See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
ustis. "
euntem.
" Altera
.
Desunt hie aliqua.
tus
Magna Dei virtus servabat fissile
lignum
Ignibus illossum, nee solvit longa
vetustas,
Altaris quartus servatur pes tribus
ignis.
April 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
wasmostanxioustocomplywiththevirgin'sdesires. Hergoodfameseemed to herald a future career of great usefulness in tfie Church. The Bishop who
received her religious profession is stated, likewise, to have procured a suita- ble place, for the establishment of her nunnery. He presented her with as many cows, as there were members in her community ; but, tiie number of her virgins, at the time of her religious commencement, has been differently stated. The Third Life says, she left her father's house attended by three, but it afterwards enumerates, eight postulantSj^s while the Filth Life has seven. The home which St. Brigid occupied, in the beginning of her monastic seclu- sion, is thought to have been not far from the place where Mac-Caille lived. According to one conjecture, it was called Rath-bnghde, or Brigid's rath. This was situated within the territory of Fearcall, in Meath. Another sup- position is, that it may have been at Tegii-Brighide, or Brigid's House, in Kinel-Fiacha, the country about Kilbeggan. ''* As St. Brigid was then very young and inexperienced, St. Mac-Caille appears to have devoted some por- tion of his time to her instruction, and to supply the religious necessities of her community. He exercised hospitality towards herself and her nuns ; and, on one occasion, when they had been invited to a banquet, an interesting spiritual colloquy took place. *' In the opinion of the Bollandists, the veil- ingofSt. Brigidtookplace,beforea. d. 440; whileUssherplacestheevent,
at A. D. 467,** and he states, that St. Patrick, or some one of his disciples, was reported to have given it to her, when she was little over fourteen years old. As her peculiar practice, and on the recommendation of St. Mac-Caille, to aim at excellence, in a special degree, St. Brigid selected Mercy, while her other reli- gious applied themselves respectively to observe some chosen virtue, with great constancy and fervour. '*' The Bollandists place the death of our saint, in the year 456, on supposition, that St. Patrick survived him four years. '" The Annals of Innisfallen s' have A. D. 484, for that event. 5' The Chronicum ScotorumplacesMaccaille'sdeath,ata. d. 487. TheAnnalsofSe—nat-mac-
—cnoise, those of the other authorities Magnus, of Clonma Island,53and
such as
Duald Mac Firbis have 489. According to the Annals of the Four Masters,
Bishop Mac-caille died in the year 489 \^ which, after his usual manner. Rev.
Dr. Lanigan interprets into a. d. 490. 55 This latter, however, is the year set down for his death, in the Annals of Tigernach. s* The Felire of St. ^ngus "
sit seems, that when they arrived at the
place where the bisliop was, they met there four or five other postulants. See Rev. Ur. Lanigaii's "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land,"vol. i. ,chap. viii. ,sect,iii. ,n. 44,pp. 388, 389.
<'Seei*/i/. ,n. 47, pp. 386, 389.
5' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumalurga," Secunda Vita S. BrigidiE, n. II, p. 526.
»• See Dr. O'Donovan s edition, vol. i. ,
*' . See the relation, in the Life of
St. Brigid, ch. Tp. iii. , as already detailed 488. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's Rerum
in our Second Volume, at the ist of Feb-
ruary.
*' See Index Chronologicus, in " Britan-
nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," at A. D.
Hibernicaruin Scriptores," tomus ii. Tiger- nachi Annales, p. 123
5' The— Leabhar Breac copy has this stanza:
cccci-xvii. , p. 522.
*' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
TdAnc UAfAl in eigipc TlfoLig FOCALp<iitLe VLefc oip dTibuL cinTie
e^xop tno^x TTIac Grille.
Quinta Vita S. Brigidae, cap. xxxii. , p. 574.
5° See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv.
Aprilis, p. 367.
'' Bodleian copy, Rawlinson, No. 503. ''See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiberni-
Thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes bishop Mac-Caille. "
:
—
carum Scriptorts," tomus ii. , "Quies "
of ne^jlect. A rod of gold, a vast bar, great
meicc CalU Epis. Annales Xnisfalenses, p. 4.
pp. 152, 153. "
ssSee EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland,"
vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, xiii. , p. 418, also, n. 165, p. 420, ibid.
^ The Bodleian copy, Rawlinson, No. "
" Noble Marc in Egypt deserves not a word
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
" "' Lord 1872, p. 167. London, l2mo.
Article ii. — See " Act. i Sanctorum,"
See Septinia Vita . S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xli. . p. 135, and n. 81, p. 176, lib. iii. ,
tomusiii. , xxv. "DeSanctis Aprilis.
xcvili. , p. 167, and n. 129, 188. p.
Epis- copis Hi'>erni5 Mac. illeo in Cruachndia, et Machaldo in Insula Mona, pp. 366 to
cap. "
268. '""
368. AccordingtoaManuscript,belongingto
the Monastery of St. Amani. ;.
3 In " De Pioliaiis Sanctorum Vitis. "
Which is quoted, in Ussher's " Britan-
nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs," cap. XV. ,
p. 336.
* Colgan observes :" loco tamen nominum
propriorum temporis siiccessu usurpata. ut suolococonsiabit denominibusjl/uffarM/nw, Maccainiie, Maccrrirhe, Maccallain, Mac- lasre, A/actiiisf, Mactait. Mactiena, aliisque similibus. " See " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Prima S. Bri','idae, sect. 8, 9, and Secunda Vita S. Brigidae, n. II, pp. 525, 526.
' See Circle of the Seasons," p. 116.
' This statement is given, in the O'CIerys'
MartyroloLiy. Her feast is assigned to the 22nd of M. ircb.
p.
' Who are included in Tirechan's list
pp.
525,
526.
See "Trias Tliauniaturga," Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
See EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, v. , p. 335, and nn. 33, 39, 42, pp. 337 to 339, (*/</.
" See under this head, Duald Ma,c Firbis, entry of Mac CailiC, Bishop, in "Proceedin[;s of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 102, 103.
'• "This place is still well known, and the ruins of the church of St. Maccaille are to be seen on the eastern side of the con- spicuous hill of Croghan, near Tyrrell's Pass, on the confines of the Kin—g s County, and thecountyofWestmeath. " Dr. Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , p.
152, n. (in).
'5 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda
Vita S. Brigidse, cap. iii. , p. 519, and n. 11,
488 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 25.
former extent of the latter province, and before a part of it was added to the present King's County. The Eile, with which the name of that place ter-
minates, was a district, commonly called Ely O'Carroll. It has been sup- posed, that while Mac-calle's See was established, at the place already named ; his jurisdiction also extended over a considerable tract of country, and that we may reasonably conclude, he had been consecrated, before a. d. 465''' The range of Croghan Hills gives name to a small parish, in the barony of Lower Philipstown, King's County. There are three well-defined summits, the highest of which rises towards the west, and this elevation is terminated by a remarkable cone, from which a most extensive and varied view of all the neighbouring Irish counties may be obtained. Immediately under it, and sloping along the hill-side, with its aspect towards the east, the crowded
Croghan Hill and Cemetery, King's County.
cemetery, within which a church '^ was formerly to be seen, is now enclosed, with a low and parapeted stone wall. A great number of head-stones '' with in- scriptions rise over the graves ; and this spot is still a favourite and frequented place for interments. ''" This hill was, no doubt, that site, formerly selected by St. Macaille, for his religious establishment. ^" It is said, one Macca, or as
" See ibid. Appendix Quinta ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. iv. , p. 231.
"' See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
grave-yard.
' The material used for these is the grey
limestone of the King's County.
" The accompanying illustration, drawn
on the spot by the author, in August, 1883,
was afterwiirds transferred to the wood, by
William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved
by Mrs. Millard.
""
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the
335, and n. 44, pp. 339, 340, ibid.
" The writer was informed, by a farmer named Egan, living near the place, that the foundations remained, end were occasionally unearthed, near the centre of the present
v. ,
p.
April 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 489
others will have it Machilla," a disciple of St. Patrick, presented the veil to ,
St Bridget. By many, it was supposed, that the holy Patroness of Kildare
received it from the Bishop of Soder, in the Isle of Man. 's He bore a name,
somewhat similar to that of our saint, and to this circumstance may be attri-
buted the popular error. But, he does not appear to have been baptized,
much less consecrated as Bishop, at the time when St. Brigid had been veiled.
However, the illustrious and holy Abbess received the veil from the son of
Cuille, or Caille, i. e. , Maccaille,''* in Uisninch Midi, or Usneagh, in West-
meath, according to some accounts ;=s and there, too, it has been supposed,
that our saint usually resided. It is stated, that Maccaille had an inspiration
from Heaven, regarding St. Brigid's earnest desire of becoming a virgin, she
being so remarkable for her maidenly love of chastity. ^* He consecrated her
to the Almighty,'' by receiving her vows, and by investing her with a white
'^ or
the usual dress of nuns, in the times of Christianity. '' early
cloak,
the cutting of her hair, which in the profession of holy virgins was not prac- tised, at this early period. 3° The date for St. Brigid's profession has been re- ferred, to about the middle of the fifth century. That Maccaille then officiated, is to be found in that entry of the Cashel Calendars" regarding his festival day, and this statement has been followed by Cathal Maguire. 3' An old Poem,33 ascribed to St. Brogan Cloen, agrees with such a notion. 34 On this occasion, according to another account,35 St. Brigid 3^ went to receive the
qui colitur in Cruachan Brighele in regione
de dedit velum Sanct£e Bfi- IfTalgia, ipse
gidse. "
3" At the same day, in his Festilogy, this
"
Magnus, cujus Ecclesia est in Cruachan
Brigh-eile in regione Ifalgine, et qui posuit velum candidum supra caput Sanctse Bri-
gidje. "
33 Written on the Virtues and Miracles of
veil,
The white garment of St. Brigid is noticed, likewise, as having been her pecu- liar dress, in the Third of her published Lives. There is no notice, about
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (m), p. 152.
" to " Et According John Capgrave :
assumptis secum tribus puellis perrexit ad
— Machillam, Sancti Patricii disci- Episcopum
S. Maccalleus
sect. pulum. "Vita S. Brigidie," 4.
writer observes
:
Episcopus
'3 See Ussher's " Britannicanim Ecclesia-
nim Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 336.
"* Nearly all our Irisli Annals and Calen-
dars agree in this statement.
See Rev. Dr.
of Ire-
" Ecclesiastical
History
Lanigan's
land," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, v. , n. 44, pp. St. Brigiil, and it is thought only a short
339. 340- '3 See a
time after her death. See it reproduced, in
from Tirechan,
"
According to the Life of St. Brigid, by
" Trias
S. Brigidx, pp. 515 to 5'8.
Vita Prima
passage Ussher, at p. 1031, in his
quoted by Primordia. "
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
*
Cogitosus.
See "Trias Thauma- Colgan's
'^ "Posuit avibas Maccalleus velum Supra caput Sanctae Brigidae
Clarus est in ejus gestis ;
In ckIo exaudita est ejus petitio
Deum precor in omnibus adversis, Modis omnibus, quibus valet os
meum,
Profundiorem pelago, magnifice
priedicabilem :
Trinum et Unum. Veridica nar-
— ratio. " Stanzas 8, 9.
'5 In Colgan, ibid. It is said, St. Ultan in his Life of the saint relates, that she received the veil from Bishop Mel,,a disciple of St. Patrick. See Tenia Vita S. Brigidoe, cap. 18, p. 529. The same statement is to be found, by other writers of her Acts, in the Irish language.
3' Her feast occurs, at the 1st of Feb- ruary.
turga," Secanda Vita S. Brigidse, cap. iii. ,
p. 519.
»? This is stated, in the Fifth Life of St.
Brigid, as published by Colgan, in his "Trias Thaumaturga. " See cap. xxviii,, p. 573. The Calendars of Cashel and of Maguirc also ac-
cord. See ibid. , p. 525.
"•
Tirechan calls it a "pallium," and speaking of a certain church founded by the Irish Apostle, in the southern part of . Meath,
"
he observes, in qua S. Brigida pallium
caepit sub manibus filii Caille in Uisnech Midhe.
'' See Rev. Joseph Bingham's " Origines Ecclesiastic*. The Antiquitiesof the Chris- tian Church," Book vii. , chap, iv. , sect. 6,
pp. 265 to 267.
* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vjii , sect, iii. , n. 34, p. 387.
"Atthe of "St.
25th April : Maccalleus,
490 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 25.
order of penitence ^7 from Bishop Mel ;3* or, in other words, to be invested with the reHgious habit, as already stated in her Lile. 39 Some modern writers
have incorrectly stated, that our Apostle St. Patrick was the prelate who received the profession of the holy virgin, St. Brigid. ^" However, it seems not improbable, tiiat both St. Mel and St. Maccaille officiated, at this inves- titure. *' The latter might have been deputed by the former, to take a lead- ing part in that solemn function, which led to the great works afterwards
accomplished by the holy virgin. Thus, to each of them might fairly be attributed a part in the ceremony of veiling, althougli it be immediately and properly referable to the ministry of St. Maccalleus. When her father Dub- thach found, that heaven had decreed his daughter to become a consecrated virgin, he desired that Melchon should have charge of her religious direction,
and, accordingly, she was ])rovidentially conducted to the temple, by one who accosted her on her way, but who is not named. ''" Perhaps, he may not have
been any other tiian St. Mac-Caille. Other pious virgins accompanied St. Brigid,andtosharehergraces. <3 Thentookplacethatremarkablemiracleofa great flame extending from St. Brigid's head to the very roof of the church. ** In admiration of this phenomenon, the Bishop especially made diligent en- quiries about the saint's parents, he also learned her manner of living, from the time of her infancy. One of his clerics informed him, that she was Brigid, the wonder-worker, and a daughter to Dubtach. On hearing this, the Bishop
3' For the above statement, the Martyr-
ology of Donegal has a reference, to the Life
of Bridget, chap. 17.
38 His feast occurs, at the 6th of Feb-
ruary.
" See chap, iii. , in vol. ii. of this work.
<" Thus, John Brampton, in his Hist.
Joranalens, ad a. d. 1185, and Henry of Marlborough, in his Chronicle at A. D. 493.
An old writer of St. Brigid's Acts, in "His- toriarum Sanctorum Collectione," published at Louvain, in 1485, says, that she was veiled " a duobus Sanctis Episcopis discipulis S. Patricii. "
t'See St. Mel's Life, at the 6th of Feb-
Sexta Vita S. Brigidx, sect, xi. , xii. , xiii. , p. 584.
" " Tempore quo praesul fundebat chrismatis undas
Virgineasque simul benedixit pol- lice pallas ;
Et cum sancta caput curvabat pop- lite flexo
Amplectendo pedem retinens alta- ris et orat ;
(Mira loquor! ) de sancto vertice flamnias
Ascend ere polo : signum dixere
parentes
Virginis. Antistes miiatur talia
ruary, chap, i. , vol. ii.
*' The Sixtli Life of St. Brigid gives the
Melchon, O Benedicta
:
: foregoing and following account —
Deo sacro velamine
" Respondens ille viator ; Ipse ego ductor ero vester : nunc cernite
templum ;
Intrantes pariler : steterat tunc praesul
ad aram.
Viryinibus septem stipatur virgo beata
virgo
Sancta mei memorans dixit sis Bri-
gida velo.
Talibus alloquitur verbis. Dimisit
voti numerum
Brigida sancta Dei pedibus voluebat, et
orat
Pontificem precibus lachrymis et voce
precatur ;
O pater alme tuis cernis cum sistimus
aris.
Nunc benedic famulas devoto pectore
stantes.
Et sancto nostras signabis chrismate
frontes. "
namque reliquit,
sua; virtutis
j^iqualis ns
assignata figu-
signa
:
Flammis consumptum, cinerem sic usque redactum :
Sed bene pes quartus, manibus quern virgo tenebat
Manserat altaris, tetigit non impe-
"See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
ustis. "
euntem.
" Altera
.
Desunt hie aliqua.
tus
Magna Dei virtus servabat fissile
lignum
Ignibus illossum, nee solvit longa
vetustas,
Altaris quartus servatur pes tribus
ignis.
April 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
wasmostanxioustocomplywiththevirgin'sdesires. Hergoodfameseemed to herald a future career of great usefulness in tfie Church. The Bishop who
received her religious profession is stated, likewise, to have procured a suita- ble place, for the establishment of her nunnery. He presented her with as many cows, as there were members in her community ; but, tiie number of her virgins, at the time of her religious commencement, has been differently stated. The Third Life says, she left her father's house attended by three, but it afterwards enumerates, eight postulantSj^s while the Filth Life has seven. The home which St. Brigid occupied, in the beginning of her monastic seclu- sion, is thought to have been not far from the place where Mac-Caille lived. According to one conjecture, it was called Rath-bnghde, or Brigid's rath. This was situated within the territory of Fearcall, in Meath. Another sup- position is, that it may have been at Tegii-Brighide, or Brigid's House, in Kinel-Fiacha, the country about Kilbeggan. ''* As St. Brigid was then very young and inexperienced, St. Mac-Caille appears to have devoted some por- tion of his time to her instruction, and to supply the religious necessities of her community. He exercised hospitality towards herself and her nuns ; and, on one occasion, when they had been invited to a banquet, an interesting spiritual colloquy took place. *' In the opinion of the Bollandists, the veil- ingofSt. Brigidtookplace,beforea. d. 440; whileUssherplacestheevent,
at A. D. 467,** and he states, that St. Patrick, or some one of his disciples, was reported to have given it to her, when she was little over fourteen years old. As her peculiar practice, and on the recommendation of St. Mac-Caille, to aim at excellence, in a special degree, St. Brigid selected Mercy, while her other reli- gious applied themselves respectively to observe some chosen virtue, with great constancy and fervour. '*' The Bollandists place the death of our saint, in the year 456, on supposition, that St. Patrick survived him four years. '" The Annals of Innisfallen s' have A. D. 484, for that event. 5' The Chronicum ScotorumplacesMaccaille'sdeath,ata. d. 487. TheAnnalsofSe—nat-mac-
—cnoise, those of the other authorities Magnus, of Clonma Island,53and
such as
Duald Mac Firbis have 489. According to the Annals of the Four Masters,
Bishop Mac-caille died in the year 489 \^ which, after his usual manner. Rev.
Dr. Lanigan interprets into a. d. 490. 55 This latter, however, is the year set down for his death, in the Annals of Tigernach. s* The Felire of St. ^ngus "
sit seems, that when they arrived at the
place where the bisliop was, they met there four or five other postulants. See Rev. Ur. Lanigaii's "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land,"vol. i. ,chap. viii. ,sect,iii. ,n. 44,pp. 388, 389.
<'Seei*/i/. ,n. 47, pp. 386, 389.
5' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumalurga," Secunda Vita S. BrigidiE, n. II, p. 526.
»• See Dr. O'Donovan s edition, vol. i. ,
*' . See the relation, in the Life of
St. Brigid, ch. Tp. iii. , as already detailed 488. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's Rerum
in our Second Volume, at the ist of Feb-
ruary.
*' See Index Chronologicus, in " Britan-
nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," at A. D.
Hibernicaruin Scriptores," tomus ii. Tiger- nachi Annales, p. 123
5' The— Leabhar Breac copy has this stanza:
cccci-xvii. , p. 522.
*' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
TdAnc UAfAl in eigipc TlfoLig FOCALp<iitLe VLefc oip dTibuL cinTie
e^xop tno^x TTIac Grille.
Quinta Vita S. Brigidae, cap. xxxii. , p. 574.
5° See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv.
Aprilis, p. 367.
'' Bodleian copy, Rawlinson, No. 503. ''See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiberni-
Thus translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes bishop Mac-Caille. "
:
—
carum Scriptorts," tomus ii. , "Quies "
of ne^jlect. A rod of gold, a vast bar, great
meicc CalU Epis. Annales Xnisfalenses, p. 4.
pp. 152, 153. "
ssSee EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland,"
vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, xiii. , p. 418, also, n. 165, p. 420, ibid.
^ The Bodleian copy, Rawlinson, No. "
" Noble Marc in Egypt deserves not a word
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
