20 See "
Chronicle
of Ireland," pp.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Symeonis Monachi "Opera Omnia," vol.
ii.
, edited
by Thomas Arnold, M. A. , London, 1885, 8vo.
See an interesting account of the Trans-
"
la'ion in Rev. John Lingard's
ties of the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap. viii. , pp. 160 to 163.
3 The altar was a flat of on plate silver,
which it was customary to conscaate the
Holy Eucharist. A similar altar made from
two pieces of wood, fastened with silver
nails, and bearing the inscription, "Alme enclosed in the chalice, "oblatis super
Antiqui-
Agiw. Sophiae.
Sanctae Marias. '' was
* The very ancient and anonymous author
of Vita S. Cuthberti, published by the Bollandists, states, that the Eucharist was
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . 421
had been buried with the remains. Having surveyed the body until their veneration and curiosity were satisfied, they restored it to that tomb, in
which it had formerly reposed. The following morning, the monks were eager to announce the discovery of the two preceding nights, and a solemn
act of thanksgiving was performed to publish their triumph and to silence the doubts of incredulous persons. However, the abbot of a neighbouring monastery entertained a rational scepticism, as he alleged, that the tomb had been opened in the dead of night, none but a few of the monks of Durham being permitted to be present. Suspicions and altercations continued almost to the day for celebrating the translation, when many of the nobility and clergy of the neighbouring countries had been invited to assemble. Alexander, brother to the King of Scots, and Radulfus, abbot of Seez, in Normandy, were present. The latter prevailed on Abbot Turgot to exhibit the chest and to open the lid, in presence of the incredulous. By permission of Turgot, the abbot of Seez then approached, raised up the body, and
and the
of St. Cuthbert's relics was performed, with the accustomed ceremonies. 6
Article VI. —Reputed Feast of St. Fiacrius, or Fiacre. At the
1
29th of August, Camerarius has entered a feast for St. Fiacrius, said to have
been son of Eugenius IV. , King of Scotland. On this authority, and at this date, the Bollandists2 notice him, likewise, but properly refer his festival and
acts to the following day.
+.
Cfttrttetf) Bap of 3ugu*t»
ARTICLE L—ST. FIACRE, HERMIT, AT BREUIL, FRANCE. {SEVENTH CENTURY. }
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MANUSCRIPT AND PRINTED AUTHORITIES FOR ST. FIACRE'S ACTS— HIS COUNTRY AND PARENTAGE—HE LEAVES IRELAND AND TRAVELS TO FRANCE —HE ARRIVES THERE DURING THE EPISCOPATE OF ST. FARO.
seems strange to state—but it is no less true—that missionaries exiled IT from their beloved native land, homes and families, and the founders of distant religious colonies, feel a happiness more sublime and refined in those mysterious transports of soul, which spring from their charity and self-
sanctum pectus positis. "—"Acta Sane- M. A. , London, 1882, 8vo.
the head, the
At this sight, every dqubt vanished; the most incredulous confessed themselves satisfied. Afterwards, the Te Deum was chaunted, and that Translation
proved
the
flexibility
of the
joints, by moving
arms,
legs.
torum," tomus iii. , Martii xx.
5 Speaking of this exposition, the his-
torian, Simeon of Durham, writes of himself,
"incorruptum corpus ejus, quadringentessimo
et octavo decimo dormiiionis anno, ejus
6 See the Benedictine "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , ssec. ii. Translatio S. Cuthberti,
divina quamvis indignis gratia
videre — et
Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 240.
manibus quoque contrectare donavit. "
a See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , cap. x. , p. 34. Symeonis Monachi Opera Augusti xxix. Among the pretermitted
"Historia Dunelmensis Ecclesise," lib. "
i. ,
Omnia," vol i. , edited by Thomas Arnold, saints, p. 496.
p. 294. Article VI.
—
Thus
" :
29
Die.
Sanctus
Fiacrius —ScotorumRegishocnomine Eugenii
quarti
Alius. "
Bishop
5
4 2 2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
denial, than do the rich and favoured ones of this world, in their foolish
pride and selfish indulgence. The great pastors of souls not only experience
but communicate happiness to others, and thus earn the respect of all, who
admire greatness of thought, united with efforts for good. The temperance of their living, and the zeal that consumes them for the honour and glory of God, indicate true philosophy and devotion to duty harmoniously combined. Our Irish missionaries not only introduced the germs of a spiritual life amongthosepeoplesintowhoselandstheyjourneyed; buteven,ascolonists, their labours cannot be underrated in an industrial point of view. There is much to be related, regarding this, holy man's life, as he became very celebrated ; but more still has been placed on record, and referring especially to those miracles, wrought through his intercession, for long centuries after his death.
Several manuscript lives of this holy hermit are yet extant, and to be found in various public libraries, as at Oxford, 1 while this Life2 has been
printed in John Capgrave's work,3 and thence borrowed by Messingham ;*- another at Utrecht,s and this, different from the formet, has been published
by Surius
;
also, at
Montpellier •?
belonging
Jesuit
68
one at Bruxelles,
to the Library;? while at Dijon, also, there is a tract, which has been published by
10 11 in reference to miracles wrought by St. Fiacre.
the Bollandists,
Brief particulars of our saint's life are given in many French Breviaries.
Thus, those of Burgundy12 and of Auxerre'3 have lessons proper for his
—n of Meaux—
venerated we find proper Lessons for his Office at the Sunday after the 30th of August j and these contain the chief incidents of his life, briefly narrated, with some interesting particulars about the local respect which has been constantly paid to his relics after death. Those lessons have served to
in which
feast. 14 I the Breviary diocese this saint is specially
Article i. —Chapter i. —'In a Cot-
tonian MS. classed Tiberius 223b. E. T. ^I
9 It contains a diffuse Prologue, which
with " Christi Confessor, Egregius
begins
224; and in a Bodleian MS. , classed Fiacrius perfectus evangelicae institutionis
Tanner 15, veil, folio, xv. cent. discipulus enituit. " The Life itself com-
2""
It begins with these words, Sanctus Fiacrius Confessor, vir vita venerabilis :" and it ends with this sentence, "et floruit circa annum Domini sexcentessimum vices- simumsecundum. "
Beatus Fiacrius, Eremita magnifi- cus, in Meldensi territorio. " It ends wiih these words, "qui cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat Deus per infinite saeculasseculorum. Amen. " TheBolland- ists have printed this Life, in their collection of Saints' Acts.
,0 See Miracula S. Fiacrii facta Divione,
in Sacello Uucis Burgundiae auctore
3 See " Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. 147. "
4 See Florilegium Insula? Sanctorum," p. 390. Messingham introduces some other miracles of St. Fiacre, taken from Surius, which are not in Capgrave ;. also an extract from the Breviary of Burgundy, and a hymn
anonymo ex MS. Divionensi. This begins "
"
Lucernae novae specula. "
s Headed, Vita S. Fiacrii Confessoris et EremitX, and it is in a beautiful manuscript belonging to the cathedral church in that
"
Beatus Fiacrius, ex Hibernia nobilibnsorta parenti- bus. " It ends with this sentence, "quod de singulis non est nostra possibilitatis
cribere. "
6 In "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," at
the 30th of August, tomus iv. , p. 329.
^ It is preserved among the MSS. of Bib-
liotheque de l'Ecole de Medecine, and it is classed MS. Bibl. da Roi, 5361 . 5. olim Philiberti de la Mare, veil. xiv. cent.
•This has been written by an anonymous author.
with Mirabilis Deus in Sanctis suis, qui
beginning,
virtutem eis tribuit faciendi miracula. "
Its ending is "cum gaudio ad propria remeavit. "
"See Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy's " De-
scriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland,"
vol. i. , part i. , pp. 272 to 274.
city. It begins with the words,
mences,
,s
"
It thus commences the narrative :
Beatus Fiacrius, in Hibernise partibus,
relicta in Meldensi sub B. patria territorio,
Faronis Episcopi protectione consistens in- numeris florebat virtutibus," &c.
'3 His life is presented in this Breviary, at some length.
M See " Insulse Messingham's Florilegium
Sanctorum," Vita S. Fiacrii, p. 392.
'5 See Supplement to Irish edition of the
August 30. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 423
form a portion of our Offices for Irish Saints ; and, at this day, the Feast of St. Fiacre is observed as a Double, in Ireland. Here we find this holy man's name Latinized Fiacrius and Fefrus. The observation occurs, likewise, that he was a native of Ireland, which country received the name of Scotia, from ancient writers. ^ Hildegarius, Bishop of Meaux, who flourished in the ninth century, lauds St. Fiacre in his Life of St. Faro. Falconius, a sub- deacon and poet of Meaux, who lived in the eleventh century, likewise
16
celebrates our saint.
Almost from the commencement of printing, the publication of saints'
lives began to become popular j and accordingly, with others of the class, St.
1 Fiacre has been introduced into such collections, by John Capgrave, ? and
18 1
by Lippeloo. Surius ? has published Acts of this holy man, in eight
paragraphs, at the 29th of August. He also relates some of this saint's miracles. In his usual ignorant manner, Dr. Meredith Haninerao has a notice of this saint, and in it are several incorrect statements. Messingham has published his Acts, and Mabillon alludes to him. 21 In the Benedictine
2
The Bollandists * have published the Acts of St. Fiacrius from an ancient
manuscript, written by some unknown author. 3* A previous commentary,26
Collection22
are also included, and Dom. Michel Toussaint-Chretien du Plessis23 has specially commemorated him, in relation with the ecclesi- astical history of Meaux.
they
with two 2? and Appendices,
has been them. given by
accompanying Notes,
However, the editor, Father John Stilting, S. J. , remarks that the writer of St.
Fiacre's Acts—manuscript copies of which the Bollandists possessed—lived at a time remote from the subject of his biography, and therefore they were
not to be implicitly relied upon as authentic in all particulars. However, the miracles related were of a different complexion, since they seem to have been transcribed from ancient local records, and furnished by contemporary writers, as having a knowledge of what they attested. Nevertheless, those
28 had been written2?
to the Preface, which bears the stamp of its having been simply a eulogistic
Roman Breviary, at the 30th of August, Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf.
Acts of our the saint, published by
Bollandists,
previous
Lect. iv.
in Territorio Meldensi in Gallia, pp. 598 to 620.
2S These have been divided into seven chapters by the Bollandist editor, Father John Stilting, S. J. , and they are comprised in sixty-nine paragraphs, with a Prologue in five paragraphs.
15
Both these writers certify, that the pro-
vince of Meaux had been rendered famous
for the miracles and signs, wrought through
the intercession of St. Fiacre. See "Brevi- arium Meldensis," Lect. vi.
17 See " Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. cxlvii. , cxlviii. , quinto decimo, Kal. Sep- tembris.
18 "
See VitseSanctorum,"tomusiii. ,pp.
644 to 646.
19 See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. iv. , Augusti xxix. , p. 329.
20 See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 156,
See Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, vi. , pp. 343, 344.
26
In three sections and thirty-one para-
157.
21 "
graphs.
270neoftheseis froma of manuscript
Dijon, in two chapters and twenty-six para-
graphs; while the other Appendix is ex-
tracted from Du Plessis' " Histoire de
lEglise de Meaux," and containing an
account of several miracles wrought through
St. Fiacre's intercession, in six paragraphs,
a8 "
Codex noster, qui notatur ij< Ms. SS. totus est de S. Fiacrio. "
29 The miracles followed the Life in manu-
script, and afterwards^ he Office and Mass
of St. Fiacre, apparently drawn from the
Life, or perhaps from more ancient Acts, which may also have furnished materials for
that Life. However, the Office, Hymn and Mass contain the same particulars in sub- stance as are found in the Life.
22
In the "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S.
we find entered, the Life of St. Fiacre, Hermit, with a historic notice, in three paragraphs ; the Life itself
being in 17 paragraphs, pp. 598 to 602.
23 In his " Histoire de l'Eglise de Meaux," avec un Volume de Pieces justifi-
catives, two volumes, Paris, 1731,410.
24 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
Benedicti," tomus ii. ,
A2A
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
discourse, probably delivered on the occasion of some festival or celebration of Fiacre. The Acts agree with the Life of our saint published by Surius, only they are more prolix, and contain a greater number of miracles. Another manuscript of Dijon, containing Acta S. Fiacrii, had been sent to the Bollandists by Father Chifflet. This contained similarly recorded miracles as those in the former tract, and in part, those miracles specially wrought in the chapel of the Duke of Burgundy at Dijon. 3° Again, Father
Papebroch had transcribed the Life and Miracles of St. Fiacre, from a manuscript of Dominus le Maire, so far as could be ascertained by Father Stilting, since the proper name had been ambiguously written. The two latter Lives differed from the former one, in stating, that St. Fiacre derived his descent from the Scottish royal family, and that he had collected disciples
1
3 and the Rev. Alban Butler^4 Moreover, Baillet,3 Bishop Challoner,33,
have commemorations of St. Fiacre, at the 30th of August. A Life of this
saint had been prepared for publication, at this date, by Colgan, as we find from the posthumous list of his MSS. Several small Lives of St. Fiacre have
been published in France for popular reading, as also for the use of pilgrims to his shrine. 35 Many of these contain prayers and hymns, in honour of the
holy hermit. The Abbe Godescard,36 as also Richard et Giraud,3? have notices of him in their respective works. l\\ more recent years, several writershaveaddedmuchtoourknowledgeofSt. Fiacre. Amongthesemay be mentioned Mons. Jubinal,38 Bishop Forbes,39 Les Petits Bollandistes,40
'2
M. le Or. Hoefer,4 Rev. S. Baring-Gould,* and Rev. Mr. Olden. o His
Eminence Cardinal Moran has given a very interesting biography of St. Fiacre. 44 An account of Saint Fiacre de la Brie, has been furnished by Joseph Casimir O'Meagher, in a paper read45 before the Royal Irish Academy,46 and from which several interesting memorials of him are to be related.
Nearly all hagiographical writers are agreed, that St. Fiacre or Fiachra was born in Ireland, and of illustrious parentage,4? in what particular locality
3° In this manuscript, some errors were Monsieur Saint Fiacre, which dates back to ''
around him in the desert. 3
corrected, and that portion of it published the fifteenth century, in his Alysteies
by the Bollandists had been compared with
that Life given by Surius, and found in the
other manuscripts.
31 It was not deemed necessary to publish
those manuscript lives in full, in order to
avoid repetitions, but the miracles which
did not appear in the fully published Life were added by the Bollandist editor.
33 See "Vies des Saints,'' tome ii. , pp.
inedits du xve Siecle. "
39 See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,'' pp.
338 to 341.
40 See "Vies des Saints," tome x. , xxxe
jour d'Aout, pp. 333 to 337.
4l See " Nouvelle Biographic Generale,"
tome xvii. , col. 614 to 616.
* 7 See " Lives of the Saints,'' vol. viii. ,
August 30, pp. 384 to 386.
493- 494- 33 "
43 In Leslie
" of Na- Dictionary
Stephens'
See Britannia Sancta," part ii. , Aug. tional Biography," vol. xviii. , pp. 396, 397.
30, pp. 102, 103, and "A Memorial of Briti. -h Piety," p. 122.
34 See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints, vol. viii. , August 30.
Mois d'Aout 30.
** See " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. xii. , June, 1876, pp. 361 to 368.
*'* Onthe9thofNovember,1891.
46 See " of the Irish Proceedings Royal
Academy," Third Series, vol. ii. , No. 2,
Patron de Brie, nasquit en Hibernie, de parens nobles et riches, avec lesquels il demeura jusq'a ce qui inspire d'une lumiere d'en haut, il sortie commeun autre Abraham de s—on pays, et du millieu de ses parents," &c.
35 One of these, the
of the distin- guished Irish poet, Denis Florence Mac- Carthy, is in the writer's possession. It is intituled, "La Vie de Saint Fiacre, Con- fesseur, Pation de Brie, avec des Avertisse- mens aux Pelerins. " A Troyes, 1751, iSmo. 36 In his " Vies des Principeaux Saints. "
sect, xiii. , to pp. 173
37 In "
3* He has published a curious Mystcre. de
Gautier's " Fleurs Saints. " Traduction de
Vies
del des
Bibliotheque
Sacree. "
1'Espagnole du Livre de Pierre Ribadeneira, p. 829.
gift
176.
4 ? " Sainet Fiacre, l'illustre et miraculeux
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 425
or year is uncertain; for nothing authoritative has been recorded, in reference to these subjects, in his early Acts. The Breviarium Meldensis, which contains the proper Office of St. Fiacrius, states, that lie was from Hibernia,
called by the ancients Scotia. *
8
Nevertheless, a difference of statement
prevails regarding the question as to whether this holy missionary had been a native of Ireland or of Scotland. Among writers of the latter nation, Hector Boece relates4^ that St. Fiacrius was son of Eugenius, King of the Scots, who was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son, Ferquhard. Next tohimarementionedhisbrothersFiacrius5°andDonevaldus. JohnLesley has a similar statement 51 and, it seems to have been followed, by many
;
other Scottisti writers. But, nearly all the Irish and French authors52 who
have treated on the life and mission of St. Fiacre state, that he was born in
Hibern—ia. The Irish genealogist, Duald Mac Firbis, even gives his pedigree
thus: Fiachra, son of Colman, son of Eoghan, son of Biodan, son of
Oiloil, son of Suibhne, son of Maelduin, son of Fibnn, son of Inchada, son
of Colla-da-crioch who we know was fifth in descent from Corin of the ;
Hundred Battles. 53
Some of the modern French writers of St. Fiacre's Life, accepting the
statements of Boece, and mistaking the application of Scotia to Ireland in his
time, have confounded his origin and race in a manner, so as to render their
narrativeunintelligible. ^ Fromotherincidentswhicharementioned,itseems
probable, however, that St. Fiacre was born, either towards the close of the
sixth or the beginning of the seventh century. ss The proper name of this
saint in Irish is said to have been Fiachra, making Fiachrach in the genitive
case 6 and the most celebrated eponymous of the name known in Irish ;-
history is Fiachra, the son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin,s7 who was the progenitor of several distinctive tribes. 58
A very interesting window of the sixteenth century, at the Church of St. Maclou, in Pontoise, represents the legend of St. Fiacre, from his earlier to his later years, as popularly received at the time of its erection. Unfortu-
nately half the window is destroyed ;
48 "
Thus Fiacrius, qui et Fefrus, erat ex
but what is left purports to exhibit eight
Hibernia, quam veteres Scotiam appella-
there find such a passage.
S4 Thus "one account has it :
" St. Fiacre
— Dominica ultima Augusti, in Festo S. Fiacrii, Brigensis Anachorctae Patroni. Ad
OfhciumNocturnum. Lect. iv
** See "Scotorum Hystorite," lib. ix. , p.
173-
s° The accidental agreement of his name
with that of our saint was probably the sole
bant, nobilibus ortus parentibus,*' &c.
etoit Ecoissois mais ne en d'origine,
Hy-
foundation for
one and the same person.
them to have been
Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran—since, His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Syd- ney, N. S. W. —he states: "St. Fiachra, better known by the name of Fiacre, by which he was designated on the Continent, was born about the
eldest son of Eugene IV. ,
"
Roi d'E. o>se. "
supposing
of a—
year 590, princely
51 See ''De Origine, Moribus et Rebus
gestis Scotorum," lib iv. , pp. 155, 156.
52 from the Scottish one Borrowing writers,
French account has it, that Fiacre was the
"Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. xii. , June, 1-876,
p. 361.
5J See "The Tribes and Genealogies,
Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowd's Country," with Translation and
Notes, and a map of Hy-Fiachrach, by John O'Donovan, pp. 2 et seq. , and Addenda F. , p. 409.
57 He was King of Connaught, and he was raised to the throne of Ireland in the
however, on what authority the
ology of Donegal" is cited for making St.
Fiacre, the son of Colman, son of Eogan, of he gave name— Hy-Amhalgaidh, the race of Colla-da-Crioch, as I cannot Hy-Ceara, and several other families.
53 See Joseph Casimir O'Meaghei's paper on Saint Fiacre de la Brie, read November 9th, 1 89 1, before the members of the Royal
"
Irish Academy. See Proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy," Third Series, vol.
ii. , No. 2, sect, xiii. , p. 173. I know not, year 358. See Roderick O Flaherty's
"Martyr-
iii. , cap. — to "Ogygia," pars lxxix. ,pp. 373 378.
bernie," &c.
55 In the account of St. Fiacre, written by
family in the north of Connaught. "
s® Such as the Hy-Fiachrach
to whom the the
426 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
scenes taken from his life, and explained by French inscriptions. 59 One of those pictures shows St. Fiacre, in his younger days, going to school, in
order to be instructed in the Catholic faith.
St. Fiacre or Fiachra is also
traditions,
as
6*
Fithoc, Futtach,
6*
Muffett,
66 from Mofutack6
and
Musset.
68
According
statements,?
by Conan,
the
holy
Fefrus
some
60 ami he is
under the different
by
appellations Fiacer, Feacar, Ficker,
recognised
styled
writers, 62
of Fiancorus,
by corruption
of Scottish
59 The inscriptions are as follows : —
1. "CommeSainctFiacreensonjeune
age alloit a l'escole pour appendre la foy
catholique. "
2. " Comme le pere de Sainct Fiacre, due
Hie duxit vitam, vitam finivit ibidem. Meldica nunc signis floret provincia Fefri. "
61 "
See Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
land," vol. vii. , pp.
by Thomas Arnold, M. A. , London, 1885, 8vo.
See an interesting account of the Trans-
"
la'ion in Rev. John Lingard's
ties of the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap. viii. , pp. 160 to 163.
3 The altar was a flat of on plate silver,
which it was customary to conscaate the
Holy Eucharist. A similar altar made from
two pieces of wood, fastened with silver
nails, and bearing the inscription, "Alme enclosed in the chalice, "oblatis super
Antiqui-
Agiw. Sophiae.
Sanctae Marias. '' was
* The very ancient and anonymous author
of Vita S. Cuthberti, published by the Bollandists, states, that the Eucharist was
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . 421
had been buried with the remains. Having surveyed the body until their veneration and curiosity were satisfied, they restored it to that tomb, in
which it had formerly reposed. The following morning, the monks were eager to announce the discovery of the two preceding nights, and a solemn
act of thanksgiving was performed to publish their triumph and to silence the doubts of incredulous persons. However, the abbot of a neighbouring monastery entertained a rational scepticism, as he alleged, that the tomb had been opened in the dead of night, none but a few of the monks of Durham being permitted to be present. Suspicions and altercations continued almost to the day for celebrating the translation, when many of the nobility and clergy of the neighbouring countries had been invited to assemble. Alexander, brother to the King of Scots, and Radulfus, abbot of Seez, in Normandy, were present. The latter prevailed on Abbot Turgot to exhibit the chest and to open the lid, in presence of the incredulous. By permission of Turgot, the abbot of Seez then approached, raised up the body, and
and the
of St. Cuthbert's relics was performed, with the accustomed ceremonies. 6
Article VI. —Reputed Feast of St. Fiacrius, or Fiacre. At the
1
29th of August, Camerarius has entered a feast for St. Fiacrius, said to have
been son of Eugenius IV. , King of Scotland. On this authority, and at this date, the Bollandists2 notice him, likewise, but properly refer his festival and
acts to the following day.
+.
Cfttrttetf) Bap of 3ugu*t»
ARTICLE L—ST. FIACRE, HERMIT, AT BREUIL, FRANCE. {SEVENTH CENTURY. }
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MANUSCRIPT AND PRINTED AUTHORITIES FOR ST. FIACRE'S ACTS— HIS COUNTRY AND PARENTAGE—HE LEAVES IRELAND AND TRAVELS TO FRANCE —HE ARRIVES THERE DURING THE EPISCOPATE OF ST. FARO.
seems strange to state—but it is no less true—that missionaries exiled IT from their beloved native land, homes and families, and the founders of distant religious colonies, feel a happiness more sublime and refined in those mysterious transports of soul, which spring from their charity and self-
sanctum pectus positis. "—"Acta Sane- M. A. , London, 1882, 8vo.
the head, the
At this sight, every dqubt vanished; the most incredulous confessed themselves satisfied. Afterwards, the Te Deum was chaunted, and that Translation
proved
the
flexibility
of the
joints, by moving
arms,
legs.
torum," tomus iii. , Martii xx.
5 Speaking of this exposition, the his-
torian, Simeon of Durham, writes of himself,
"incorruptum corpus ejus, quadringentessimo
et octavo decimo dormiiionis anno, ejus
6 See the Benedictine "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , ssec. ii. Translatio S. Cuthberti,
divina quamvis indignis gratia
videre — et
Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 240.
manibus quoque contrectare donavit. "
a See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , cap. x. , p. 34. Symeonis Monachi Opera Augusti xxix. Among the pretermitted
"Historia Dunelmensis Ecclesise," lib. "
i. ,
Omnia," vol i. , edited by Thomas Arnold, saints, p. 496.
p. 294. Article VI.
—
Thus
" :
29
Die.
Sanctus
Fiacrius —ScotorumRegishocnomine Eugenii
quarti
Alius. "
Bishop
5
4 2 2 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
denial, than do the rich and favoured ones of this world, in their foolish
pride and selfish indulgence. The great pastors of souls not only experience
but communicate happiness to others, and thus earn the respect of all, who
admire greatness of thought, united with efforts for good. The temperance of their living, and the zeal that consumes them for the honour and glory of God, indicate true philosophy and devotion to duty harmoniously combined. Our Irish missionaries not only introduced the germs of a spiritual life amongthosepeoplesintowhoselandstheyjourneyed; buteven,ascolonists, their labours cannot be underrated in an industrial point of view. There is much to be related, regarding this, holy man's life, as he became very celebrated ; but more still has been placed on record, and referring especially to those miracles, wrought through his intercession, for long centuries after his death.
Several manuscript lives of this holy hermit are yet extant, and to be found in various public libraries, as at Oxford, 1 while this Life2 has been
printed in John Capgrave's work,3 and thence borrowed by Messingham ;*- another at Utrecht,s and this, different from the formet, has been published
by Surius
;
also, at
Montpellier •?
belonging
Jesuit
68
one at Bruxelles,
to the Library;? while at Dijon, also, there is a tract, which has been published by
10 11 in reference to miracles wrought by St. Fiacre.
the Bollandists,
Brief particulars of our saint's life are given in many French Breviaries.
Thus, those of Burgundy12 and of Auxerre'3 have lessons proper for his
—n of Meaux—
venerated we find proper Lessons for his Office at the Sunday after the 30th of August j and these contain the chief incidents of his life, briefly narrated, with some interesting particulars about the local respect which has been constantly paid to his relics after death. Those lessons have served to
in which
feast. 14 I the Breviary diocese this saint is specially
Article i. —Chapter i. —'In a Cot-
tonian MS. classed Tiberius 223b. E. T. ^I
9 It contains a diffuse Prologue, which
with " Christi Confessor, Egregius
begins
224; and in a Bodleian MS. , classed Fiacrius perfectus evangelicae institutionis
Tanner 15, veil, folio, xv. cent. discipulus enituit. " The Life itself com-
2""
It begins with these words, Sanctus Fiacrius Confessor, vir vita venerabilis :" and it ends with this sentence, "et floruit circa annum Domini sexcentessimum vices- simumsecundum. "
Beatus Fiacrius, Eremita magnifi- cus, in Meldensi territorio. " It ends wiih these words, "qui cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat Deus per infinite saeculasseculorum. Amen. " TheBolland- ists have printed this Life, in their collection of Saints' Acts.
,0 See Miracula S. Fiacrii facta Divione,
in Sacello Uucis Burgundiae auctore
3 See " Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. 147. "
4 See Florilegium Insula? Sanctorum," p. 390. Messingham introduces some other miracles of St. Fiacre, taken from Surius, which are not in Capgrave ;. also an extract from the Breviary of Burgundy, and a hymn
anonymo ex MS. Divionensi. This begins "
"
Lucernae novae specula. "
s Headed, Vita S. Fiacrii Confessoris et EremitX, and it is in a beautiful manuscript belonging to the cathedral church in that
"
Beatus Fiacrius, ex Hibernia nobilibnsorta parenti- bus. " It ends with this sentence, "quod de singulis non est nostra possibilitatis
cribere. "
6 In "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," at
the 30th of August, tomus iv. , p. 329.
^ It is preserved among the MSS. of Bib-
liotheque de l'Ecole de Medecine, and it is classed MS. Bibl. da Roi, 5361 . 5. olim Philiberti de la Mare, veil. xiv. cent.
•This has been written by an anonymous author.
with Mirabilis Deus in Sanctis suis, qui
beginning,
virtutem eis tribuit faciendi miracula. "
Its ending is "cum gaudio ad propria remeavit. "
"See Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy's " De-
scriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland,"
vol. i. , part i. , pp. 272 to 274.
city. It begins with the words,
mences,
,s
"
It thus commences the narrative :
Beatus Fiacrius, in Hibernise partibus,
relicta in Meldensi sub B. patria territorio,
Faronis Episcopi protectione consistens in- numeris florebat virtutibus," &c.
'3 His life is presented in this Breviary, at some length.
M See " Insulse Messingham's Florilegium
Sanctorum," Vita S. Fiacrii, p. 392.
'5 See Supplement to Irish edition of the
August 30. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 423
form a portion of our Offices for Irish Saints ; and, at this day, the Feast of St. Fiacre is observed as a Double, in Ireland. Here we find this holy man's name Latinized Fiacrius and Fefrus. The observation occurs, likewise, that he was a native of Ireland, which country received the name of Scotia, from ancient writers. ^ Hildegarius, Bishop of Meaux, who flourished in the ninth century, lauds St. Fiacre in his Life of St. Faro. Falconius, a sub- deacon and poet of Meaux, who lived in the eleventh century, likewise
16
celebrates our saint.
Almost from the commencement of printing, the publication of saints'
lives began to become popular j and accordingly, with others of the class, St.
1 Fiacre has been introduced into such collections, by John Capgrave, ? and
18 1
by Lippeloo. Surius ? has published Acts of this holy man, in eight
paragraphs, at the 29th of August. He also relates some of this saint's miracles. In his usual ignorant manner, Dr. Meredith Haninerao has a notice of this saint, and in it are several incorrect statements. Messingham has published his Acts, and Mabillon alludes to him. 21 In the Benedictine
2
The Bollandists * have published the Acts of St. Fiacrius from an ancient
manuscript, written by some unknown author. 3* A previous commentary,26
Collection22
are also included, and Dom. Michel Toussaint-Chretien du Plessis23 has specially commemorated him, in relation with the ecclesi- astical history of Meaux.
they
with two 2? and Appendices,
has been them. given by
accompanying Notes,
However, the editor, Father John Stilting, S. J. , remarks that the writer of St.
Fiacre's Acts—manuscript copies of which the Bollandists possessed—lived at a time remote from the subject of his biography, and therefore they were
not to be implicitly relied upon as authentic in all particulars. However, the miracles related were of a different complexion, since they seem to have been transcribed from ancient local records, and furnished by contemporary writers, as having a knowledge of what they attested. Nevertheless, those
28 had been written2?
to the Preface, which bears the stamp of its having been simply a eulogistic
Roman Breviary, at the 30th of August, Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf.
Acts of our the saint, published by
Bollandists,
previous
Lect. iv.
in Territorio Meldensi in Gallia, pp. 598 to 620.
2S These have been divided into seven chapters by the Bollandist editor, Father John Stilting, S. J. , and they are comprised in sixty-nine paragraphs, with a Prologue in five paragraphs.
15
Both these writers certify, that the pro-
vince of Meaux had been rendered famous
for the miracles and signs, wrought through
the intercession of St. Fiacre. See "Brevi- arium Meldensis," Lect. vi.
17 See " Nova Legenda Anglise," fol. cxlvii. , cxlviii. , quinto decimo, Kal. Sep- tembris.
18 "
See VitseSanctorum,"tomusiii. ,pp.
644 to 646.
19 See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. iv. , Augusti xxix. , p. 329.
20 See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 156,
See Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, vi. , pp. 343, 344.
26
In three sections and thirty-one para-
157.
21 "
graphs.
270neoftheseis froma of manuscript
Dijon, in two chapters and twenty-six para-
graphs; while the other Appendix is ex-
tracted from Du Plessis' " Histoire de
lEglise de Meaux," and containing an
account of several miracles wrought through
St. Fiacre's intercession, in six paragraphs,
a8 "
Codex noster, qui notatur ij< Ms. SS. totus est de S. Fiacrio. "
29 The miracles followed the Life in manu-
script, and afterwards^ he Office and Mass
of St. Fiacre, apparently drawn from the
Life, or perhaps from more ancient Acts, which may also have furnished materials for
that Life. However, the Office, Hymn and Mass contain the same particulars in sub- stance as are found in the Life.
22
In the "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S.
we find entered, the Life of St. Fiacre, Hermit, with a historic notice, in three paragraphs ; the Life itself
being in 17 paragraphs, pp. 598 to 602.
23 In his " Histoire de l'Eglise de Meaux," avec un Volume de Pieces justifi-
catives, two volumes, Paris, 1731,410.
24 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
Benedicti," tomus ii. ,
A2A
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
discourse, probably delivered on the occasion of some festival or celebration of Fiacre. The Acts agree with the Life of our saint published by Surius, only they are more prolix, and contain a greater number of miracles. Another manuscript of Dijon, containing Acta S. Fiacrii, had been sent to the Bollandists by Father Chifflet. This contained similarly recorded miracles as those in the former tract, and in part, those miracles specially wrought in the chapel of the Duke of Burgundy at Dijon. 3° Again, Father
Papebroch had transcribed the Life and Miracles of St. Fiacre, from a manuscript of Dominus le Maire, so far as could be ascertained by Father Stilting, since the proper name had been ambiguously written. The two latter Lives differed from the former one, in stating, that St. Fiacre derived his descent from the Scottish royal family, and that he had collected disciples
1
3 and the Rev. Alban Butler^4 Moreover, Baillet,3 Bishop Challoner,33,
have commemorations of St. Fiacre, at the 30th of August. A Life of this
saint had been prepared for publication, at this date, by Colgan, as we find from the posthumous list of his MSS. Several small Lives of St. Fiacre have
been published in France for popular reading, as also for the use of pilgrims to his shrine. 35 Many of these contain prayers and hymns, in honour of the
holy hermit. The Abbe Godescard,36 as also Richard et Giraud,3? have notices of him in their respective works. l\\ more recent years, several writershaveaddedmuchtoourknowledgeofSt. Fiacre. Amongthesemay be mentioned Mons. Jubinal,38 Bishop Forbes,39 Les Petits Bollandistes,40
'2
M. le Or. Hoefer,4 Rev. S. Baring-Gould,* and Rev. Mr. Olden. o His
Eminence Cardinal Moran has given a very interesting biography of St. Fiacre. 44 An account of Saint Fiacre de la Brie, has been furnished by Joseph Casimir O'Meagher, in a paper read45 before the Royal Irish Academy,46 and from which several interesting memorials of him are to be related.
Nearly all hagiographical writers are agreed, that St. Fiacre or Fiachra was born in Ireland, and of illustrious parentage,4? in what particular locality
3° In this manuscript, some errors were Monsieur Saint Fiacre, which dates back to ''
around him in the desert. 3
corrected, and that portion of it published the fifteenth century, in his Alysteies
by the Bollandists had been compared with
that Life given by Surius, and found in the
other manuscripts.
31 It was not deemed necessary to publish
those manuscript lives in full, in order to
avoid repetitions, but the miracles which
did not appear in the fully published Life were added by the Bollandist editor.
33 See "Vies des Saints,'' tome ii. , pp.
inedits du xve Siecle. "
39 See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,'' pp.
338 to 341.
40 See "Vies des Saints," tome x. , xxxe
jour d'Aout, pp. 333 to 337.
4l See " Nouvelle Biographic Generale,"
tome xvii. , col. 614 to 616.
* 7 See " Lives of the Saints,'' vol. viii. ,
August 30, pp. 384 to 386.
493- 494- 33 "
43 In Leslie
" of Na- Dictionary
Stephens'
See Britannia Sancta," part ii. , Aug. tional Biography," vol. xviii. , pp. 396, 397.
30, pp. 102, 103, and "A Memorial of Briti. -h Piety," p. 122.
34 See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints, vol. viii. , August 30.
Mois d'Aout 30.
** See " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. xii. , June, 1876, pp. 361 to 368.
*'* Onthe9thofNovember,1891.
46 See " of the Irish Proceedings Royal
Academy," Third Series, vol. ii. , No. 2,
Patron de Brie, nasquit en Hibernie, de parens nobles et riches, avec lesquels il demeura jusq'a ce qui inspire d'une lumiere d'en haut, il sortie commeun autre Abraham de s—on pays, et du millieu de ses parents," &c.
35 One of these, the
of the distin- guished Irish poet, Denis Florence Mac- Carthy, is in the writer's possession. It is intituled, "La Vie de Saint Fiacre, Con- fesseur, Pation de Brie, avec des Avertisse- mens aux Pelerins. " A Troyes, 1751, iSmo. 36 In his " Vies des Principeaux Saints. "
sect, xiii. , to pp. 173
37 In "
3* He has published a curious Mystcre. de
Gautier's " Fleurs Saints. " Traduction de
Vies
del des
Bibliotheque
Sacree. "
1'Espagnole du Livre de Pierre Ribadeneira, p. 829.
gift
176.
4 ? " Sainet Fiacre, l'illustre et miraculeux
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 425
or year is uncertain; for nothing authoritative has been recorded, in reference to these subjects, in his early Acts. The Breviarium Meldensis, which contains the proper Office of St. Fiacrius, states, that lie was from Hibernia,
called by the ancients Scotia. *
8
Nevertheless, a difference of statement
prevails regarding the question as to whether this holy missionary had been a native of Ireland or of Scotland. Among writers of the latter nation, Hector Boece relates4^ that St. Fiacrius was son of Eugenius, King of the Scots, who was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son, Ferquhard. Next tohimarementionedhisbrothersFiacrius5°andDonevaldus. JohnLesley has a similar statement 51 and, it seems to have been followed, by many
;
other Scottisti writers. But, nearly all the Irish and French authors52 who
have treated on the life and mission of St. Fiacre state, that he was born in
Hibern—ia. The Irish genealogist, Duald Mac Firbis, even gives his pedigree
thus: Fiachra, son of Colman, son of Eoghan, son of Biodan, son of
Oiloil, son of Suibhne, son of Maelduin, son of Fibnn, son of Inchada, son
of Colla-da-crioch who we know was fifth in descent from Corin of the ;
Hundred Battles. 53
Some of the modern French writers of St. Fiacre's Life, accepting the
statements of Boece, and mistaking the application of Scotia to Ireland in his
time, have confounded his origin and race in a manner, so as to render their
narrativeunintelligible. ^ Fromotherincidentswhicharementioned,itseems
probable, however, that St. Fiacre was born, either towards the close of the
sixth or the beginning of the seventh century. ss The proper name of this
saint in Irish is said to have been Fiachra, making Fiachrach in the genitive
case 6 and the most celebrated eponymous of the name known in Irish ;-
history is Fiachra, the son of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin,s7 who was the progenitor of several distinctive tribes. 58
A very interesting window of the sixteenth century, at the Church of St. Maclou, in Pontoise, represents the legend of St. Fiacre, from his earlier to his later years, as popularly received at the time of its erection. Unfortu-
nately half the window is destroyed ;
48 "
Thus Fiacrius, qui et Fefrus, erat ex
but what is left purports to exhibit eight
Hibernia, quam veteres Scotiam appella-
there find such a passage.
S4 Thus "one account has it :
" St. Fiacre
— Dominica ultima Augusti, in Festo S. Fiacrii, Brigensis Anachorctae Patroni. Ad
OfhciumNocturnum. Lect. iv
** See "Scotorum Hystorite," lib. ix. , p.
173-
s° The accidental agreement of his name
with that of our saint was probably the sole
bant, nobilibus ortus parentibus,*' &c.
etoit Ecoissois mais ne en d'origine,
Hy-
foundation for
one and the same person.
them to have been
Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran—since, His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Syd- ney, N. S. W. —he states: "St. Fiachra, better known by the name of Fiacre, by which he was designated on the Continent, was born about the
eldest son of Eugene IV. ,
"
Roi d'E. o>se. "
supposing
of a—
year 590, princely
51 See ''De Origine, Moribus et Rebus
gestis Scotorum," lib iv. , pp. 155, 156.
52 from the Scottish one Borrowing writers,
French account has it, that Fiacre was the
"Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. xii. , June, 1-876,
p. 361.
5J See "The Tribes and Genealogies,
Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowd's Country," with Translation and
Notes, and a map of Hy-Fiachrach, by John O'Donovan, pp. 2 et seq. , and Addenda F. , p. 409.
57 He was King of Connaught, and he was raised to the throne of Ireland in the
however, on what authority the
ology of Donegal" is cited for making St.
Fiacre, the son of Colman, son of Eogan, of he gave name— Hy-Amhalgaidh, the race of Colla-da-Crioch, as I cannot Hy-Ceara, and several other families.
53 See Joseph Casimir O'Meaghei's paper on Saint Fiacre de la Brie, read November 9th, 1 89 1, before the members of the Royal
"
Irish Academy. See Proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy," Third Series, vol.
ii. , No. 2, sect, xiii. , p. 173. I know not, year 358. See Roderick O Flaherty's
"Martyr-
iii. , cap. — to "Ogygia," pars lxxix. ,pp. 373 378.
bernie," &c.
55 In the account of St. Fiacre, written by
family in the north of Connaught. "
s® Such as the Hy-Fiachrach
to whom the the
426 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
scenes taken from his life, and explained by French inscriptions. 59 One of those pictures shows St. Fiacre, in his younger days, going to school, in
order to be instructed in the Catholic faith.
St. Fiacre or Fiachra is also
traditions,
as
6*
Fithoc, Futtach,
6*
Muffett,
66 from Mofutack6
and
Musset.
68
According
statements,?
by Conan,
the
holy
Fefrus
some
60 ami he is
under the different
by
appellations Fiacer, Feacar, Ficker,
recognised
styled
writers, 62
of Fiancorus,
by corruption
of Scottish
59 The inscriptions are as follows : —
1. "CommeSainctFiacreensonjeune
age alloit a l'escole pour appendre la foy
catholique. "
2. " Comme le pere de Sainct Fiacre, due
Hie duxit vitam, vitam finivit ibidem. Meldica nunc signis floret provincia Fefri. "
61 "
See Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
land," vol. vii. , pp.
