Glascuensi
in Scotia, Commentarius Praevius, num.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
509.
cum," pp.
148 to 154, where the Registry of
3 "The Editor is not able to decide Christ's Church is quoted.
whether this is the Reachrainn in the east of 7 See Dr. O'Dunovan's
Bregia, where St. Columbkille erected a Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 336, 337. church, or Reachrainn, now Rathlin, or 8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Ragharee Island, off the north coast of 194, 195.
Antrim. '—Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of Article hi. — Edited by Rev, Dr,
8
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z), p. 336.
* A Poem in praise of this Inland has been att ibuted to the founder, St. Columba, and 43 See O'Sullevan Beare's "Histories itisfound among the Laud Manuscripts, in
1
"
Annals of the
26o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 17.
several holy servants have ascended like incense before the throne of God, and have secured his rewards. However, hardly can the patient pilgrim even alight on the sod, where their bodies rest. Yet, their undiscovered remains have sanctified that earth, with which they have long since mingled. Record or vestige of many holy persons that once existed in our Island can hardly be found ; still a magical spell, like an indescribable charm, hallows the surrounding
lovely scenes, blessed with their presence during life. In the Martyrology of 1
Tallagh, at the 17th day of July, is the following entry : Sistan sac. for Loch Melge. From the contraction sac. meaning sogarth we may probably con-
clude that he had been a priest. The Lough Melge, now Lough Melvin, with which he was connected, is a beautiful sheet of water, bordering on the coun- ties of Fermanagh and Leitrim ; but, it lies chiefly within the bounds of the latter county. From the shores of Lough Melvin, its former holy inhabitants have departed long ago from the scenes of this life. Their souls have been
received into a brighter and happier world. The Martyrology of Donegal 2 records a festival in honour of Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melghe, at the 17U1
of July. In a table appended to this record, this saint's name is Latinized Xistus. 3
Article IV. —St. Craebhnat, Virgin. The name, Corpnata, occurs in 1
the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 17th of July. It seems very possible, that an Irish Life of St. Creunata, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Cleary, had reference to this holy woman, and it yet exists in the Burgundian Library at
——
Bruxelles. 3 Some notices most probably regarding this saint or it may have
been a Life, seem to have been prepared by Colgan for publication, at the 17th of July, as on the posthumous list of his Manuscripts we find a St. Cranata, Virgin,* entered. It is likely, this was another form of St. Craebhnat's
or Corpnata's name. In the Martyrology of Donegal,* Craebhnat, Virgin, is recorded at this same date.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Plechmus. At the 1 7th of July,
Convaeus has placed St. Plechmus on his list of Irish Saints. He is styled a
Count, a Bishop, and a distinguished preacher, at Oudenzeel, Dicecesis Daven- triensis. 1 No doubt, from this description, we are to understand St. Plechel- mus, whose Acts have been given already, at the 15th of this month.
Article VI. —Festival of the Scillitani Martyrs, at Carthage, Africa. In the ancient Irish Church, as we learn from the "Feilire" 1 of St.
Kelly, p. xxix.
Article v. —1 Sec O'Sullcvan Beare's "Historic Catholics Ibernue Compcn-
dium," tomus —
i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 48.
' In the "Leabhar Breac" copy is the following raft*, trans- lated in—to English by Whitley Stokes,
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. •
194, E95.
v i/u'd. , —
pp. 470,471.
ARTICLE VI.
Article iv. Kelly, p. xxix.
-
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. t
It is classed among the Manuscripts, LL. D. vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 22.
a to the " Actuum According Catalogus
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Men- sium et Dieruvn. "
4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 1. J4. 195-
:
KonmofUC Amcge hopmn Aequo h-apum Cech rnapcip Acpimem larluAj; ScellicApum.
July r 7 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 261
iEngus, there was a commemoration at this date of a number of holy martyrs, who suffered for the Faith, at Carthage, in Africa. There is a Latin commen-
tary, in explanation of this event appended. 2 This martyrdom has been
referred by Baroniuss to a. d. 202; while there are Acts and elucidations in
the Bollandists' great work,* at the 17th of July,* the festival day assigned for that Passion.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of the Translation of St. Odilia,Virgin. TheBollandists,1 whonoticethisfeastatthe17thofJuly, state, that they give it on the authority of their Florarian Manuscript, which relates how Odilia was one of the ten beautiful queens and virgins in the retinueofSt. Ursula. 2 HerbodywasfoundbyaspecialrevelationatCologne, together with the remains of her two sisters, Ema and Jutta, as also of a cer- tain bishop. The Translation is said to have taken place, a. d. 1285, to the monastery of the Brothers of the Holy Cross in Huy or Hoye,3 an ancient
town of Belgium, in the diocese of Liege. On that occasion many miracles were wrought. Not finding more regarding her, the Bollandists defer the matter to their general account of St. Ursula and of her companion martyrs, to be inserted at the 21st of October.
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Golgus, Abbot. At the pre-
1
sent date, David Camerarius mentions a Golgus, Abbot, said to be alluded
to —
by Adamnan,
in his Third Book—assumed to be in his work Vita S.
Columbse and by other writers. While the Bollandists insert this reputed
2
feast, on his authority, they remark, that under such form,3 they could not
find his name, and therefore, they defer classing Golgus, Abbot, among the saints, until strengthened by further authority than that of Camerarius.
"Magnify us may the prayers horum atqi4e harum, every martyr whom we recount, with
Acts, there is a Previous Commentary by Father Gulielmus Cuper, in three sections
—
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
acfemina- rum in hoc die decollati sunt. " Ibid. , p.
p. 188. — Article VIII.
*
Among
the Scottish
populus magnus est,
cxix.
Entries in the Kalendar of David Camera-
rius, we have the following inserti—on: "17
3 In "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus ii. ,
sect. i. to vi. , pp. 232, 233. Forbes'
" Transactions of
and
Articlevii. —See ActaSanctorum,"
script Series, vol. i. , part i. Onthe Calendar tomus iv. , Julii xvii. Among the preter-
of Oengus, p. cxi. mitted saints, p. 204.
the host of the Scillitani. "
forty-two paragraphs,
22 It is thus given Scellitarum, ". i. proprium
[nomen] gentis . i. populus magnus qui [in
uno die] occisus est proscilita peregrinis Scilla nomem civitatis, scillita vero patrony- mium a scilla diruatum est, in scilla uero
multi uirorum—
See her Acts, at the 21st of October,
" 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii p. 239.
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
xvii. De SS. Scillitanis Martyribus
2 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Sperato, Narzale, Cittino, Veturio, Felice, Acyllino, Laetantio, Januaria, Generosa, Vestina,
Julii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 202. 3 Probably Camerarius meant to have
Donata, Secunda, Carthagine in Africa, pp. written Colgius, who is mentioned by 204 to 216. Adamnan, in lib. hi. , cap. 20, but whose fes-
5 Besides, two different versions of their tival
— he had— if one
is not known.
*
"
3
santly situated in a valley on the Meuse.
In the Department of Liege, and plea-
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. ,
Die. Sanctus Golgus Abbas. " Bishop
262 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July jS.
<&\%\)tm\X\) JBaj) of 3ulin
ARTICLE I. —ST. THENNA, THENOG, THENEW, OR THANAW, AT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
WEmust always feel it to be a regrettable circumstance, that ignorance
and have so often and distorted the Acts of too credulity disfigured
many among our ancient saints ; and, in few of those, perhaps, is the matter more objectionably revealed, than in the Legends current regarding St.
and her illustrious St. 1 of The son, Kentigern, Bishop Glasgow.
Thenew,
learned Bollandists, Fathers Henschenn 2 and Soller, complain of these foolish and incredible traditions ; the first at the 13th day of January, when
to and the latter at the — which has been set down alluding him, present day,
as the festival for St. Thenna or Thenew 3 otherwise called Thametis,
Thenog, Thanaw, and Thennat. It need scarcely be observed, that her bio- graphy is indeed obscure and uncertain, while it is mostly drawn from bardic and popular traditions relating to her renowned son St. Kentigern. More- over, wildly improbable as those stories are, they are inconsistent with one another; for, various versions are extant of accounts, referring to their origin and adventures. The Life of St. Kentigern by Joceline, a monk of Furness, contains a legendary history of his mother, and as more than intimated, taken frompoeticsongsandhistoriesthatwerenotcanonical/ Fromafragment of the Life of St. Kentigern,s written at the desire of Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow, who died a. d. 1164, the compiler of the Aberdeen Breviary seems to have taken the Proper Lessons for her feast. These have been chiefly followed by the Scottish#writers, Dempster, Camerarius, Hunter, King and others. There are notices of this holy woman, whose festival is celebrated on
Rev.
Gould's work.
In the Life of St. Kentigern to which allusion has been already made, St.
Thenew is said to have been daughter to the King of Laudonia, and that she had been brought up in the faith of the church, although she had not been
this Les Petits day, by
6 and
the
Forbes. 7 There is an account of this saint, likewise, in Rev. S. Baring-
8
Article I. — Two festivals are assigned
to him ; one at the 13th day ofJanuary, and
the other at the 13th of November.
3
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusi. , Januarii xiii. De S. Kentigerno Ep.
Glascuensi in Scotia, Commentarius Praevius, num. 6.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii xviii. De S. Thenna seu Thenew Ma- tiona Matre S. Kentigerni. This has been compiled by Father John Baptist Soller in three paragraphs, pp. 422, 423. The autho- rities cited are the Aberdeen Breviary and more recent Scottish Calendars.
4 For the original and a translation of this Tract, the reader is referred to the "Lives
in the twelfth century, edited from the best
Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. See "The Historians of Scotland," vol. v. , Edinburgh, 1874, 8vo.
5 This is now preserved in the British Museum among the Cottonian Manuscripts, A. xix. , fol. 76. It has been translated and published, also, by the Bishop of Brechin, Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L.
6 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
7 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
pp. 451, 452.
8
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July xviii. , pp. 433, 434.
of St. Ninian and St.
Kentigern," compiled
Bollandistes,
by
Right
Bishop
July t8 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. ]
263
baptized. Bat, Camerarius states, that St. Thametis or Thennat was queen of the Scots, and very celebrated in Glottiana, a province of the Scots. Again, Father Thomas Innes has it, that she was a daughter to the King of the Mid- land Britons. 9 However, among the various opinions afloat, this holy woman
10 since it has been stated that she was of Scotia. Notwithstanding all that has been written about her, nothing can be deter- mined with certainty regarding her origin or place of birth. We can only
briefly allude to popular traditions, for the following narrative of what con- cerns her earlier years. She was sought in marriage by Ewen, who was son to Urien Rheged, King of Cumbria, and a very beautiful youth; but she refused all his solicitations, while this so incensed her father, that he sent her to a swineherd, who was in secret a Christian. This good man preserved her honour, and taught her the practices of religion, which, united with her naturally fine disposition, caused her to be innocent and guileless as a maiden. Shewasengagedinveryhumbleoccupationswhileundertheroof of her protector, and she was often employed at work in the open fields.
SheiscalledThanesbyFordun. " IntheWelshlanguagesheisnamed
DwynwenorDenyw. " WhileArchbishopUssherstylesherThem's,Themi or Thenna ; the Metrical Chronicle of Scotland gives her the name of Cemeda. J 3 While under care of the swineherd, a malicious woman is s;iid to have laid a snare for her innocence, and that beingdecoyed into a wood, she was violently oppressed by a youth, who conceived a passion for the unsuspecting maiden. According to various Legends of his Life, the result ofthisintercoursewasherconceptionofKentigern. Soontheangerofher father was aroused, that his daughter should have presented signs of her approaching maternity. Other accounts have it, that this pious woman became acquainted with some Christian friends. From these she learned to enter- tain a great respect for religious truths and a love for the Blessed Virgin. It is stated, that at an early age, she had made a vow of chastity. On the other hand, she is represented as having been married, and after the death of her husband, she is said to have renounced her position in the kingdom, and to have given herself entirely to heavenly contemplation. In a story, greatly flavoured with romance, it is stated, that she was accused of a-grievous crime, of which, however, she is held to have been altogether innocent. Her father deemed her to have been disgraced, in consequence of it, and had decreed an exemplary punishment. She was sentenced to be cast down from a steep rock, called Kep-duff—said to have been in the Lammermoor—
The story of St. Thenog's adventures, when she was cast on the shore of Fife, is very romantic. It is said, that the chieftain of the place where she
is said to have been
Irish,
according
Fragmentary
9 See " Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. vii. , p. 125.
Kentigern," compiled in the twelfth cen- tury, edited from the best Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Bie-
10
"
See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
Life of St. x< while, in that by Kentigern j
to the
Jocelyn,^itiscalledDumpelder. Notwithstandingthisactofviolence;she was miraculously preserved from death, owing to the aid of our Blessed Lady. She was cast on the shores of Fife. She landed, in most providential manner, at Culross. She had not professed the Christian religion, at this time, according to some accounts.
Irish Saints in Great Britain,"chap. v. ,p. 142. chin. Vita S. Kentigerni, cap. iv. , pp. 11 "
See Scotichronicon," vol. i. , lib. iii. ,
128,248.
IS See ibid. , "Historians of Scotland,"
vol. v. , cap. iii. , pp. 38, 166.
l0
This is stated to have been made of twigs and pitch, covered with leather.
I? See Riirht Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
cap. 24. Goodall's edition, p. 128. 12 "
See Rees' Essay on the Welsh Saints,"
p. 261, and the Mabinogion, parti. , p. 17. 13 See vol. ii. , p. 221.
14 See the "Lives of St. Ninian and St.
264 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 18.
16
at the mouth of Aber- lassigRiver; afterwards,shewasconductedoutbeyondtheIsleofMayand towards the open ocean, where without sail or oar Thenog was abandoned to her fate. " If she be worthy of life," said the chieftain, " the God whom she in- vokes can free her, if He will it, from the perils of the sea. " Accordingly, Divine Providence guarded her from danger, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary afforded the medium of escape. By the force of the waves, the little boat was driven near to St. Servan's cell, at Culross. At this time, she was about to give birth to a child. Seeking the retirement of a cave near the shore, St. Kentigern was there born. Some shepherds who lived in the neighbourhood, soon discovered the mother and child, to whom they brought food and clothing. Afterwards, hearing of those circumstances, St. ServantookThenogandKentigernunderhisprotection. Achapelwasafter-
wards built near that spot where the latter was born, and the ruins of a
T mediaeval church are to be seen in that place. ?
As the Almighty had decreed, her innocence was vindicated, and Thenog
lived had ordered her to be placed in a small boat,
was received in a kind St. manner, by
Servan,
18 when she was
unjustly
persecuted. Her protectress, the Blessed Virgin Mary, procured for her the 1
grace of baptism, at St. Servan's hands, ? and at the same time her son Ken- tigern was baptized. St. Thenna, having thus become the mother of St.
20 at her care was now directed towards his Kentigern, Culross, great
proper instruction. Afterwards, St. Servan became her spiritual director, as also the instructor of her illustrious son, St. Kentigern. When he grew up, the British church founded in Strathclyde by St. Ninian had faded, owing to the influences exercised by the pagan population, that made inroads into the Christian dis- tricts, and it remained for St. Kentigern to re-found it in that same century,
21
when St. Columba arrived in Scotland.
Thenog lived a most retired, peniten-
tial,andholylife,notfarfromGlasgow. Herfastsandabstinencewerecon-
tinuous, while in prayer and vigils her time was mostly spent. She often held
pious conferences, with her illustrious son, from whom she never chose to be separated,duringthewholecourseofhervirtuousandexemplarylife. When
this life in the year 445, and during the reign of Eugene II. ; whereas, it is altogether certain, her son, St. Kentigern, prolonged his life beyond the middle
22 are nearer to the when date,
buried in St. Mungo's church, in the city of Glasgow, however, as has been most generally believed.
At an early period, a church was dedicated to her, in this city ; and it was
inaveryconspicuouspartofGlasgow. Thatfinechurchwasdemolished, during the Reformation. The popular name of her church at Glasgow, at
the time of the Reformation, was San Theneukes Kirk; afterwards, by a furthercorruption,itwentbythenameofSt. P2noch's33 Herfestivalisplaced
of the sixth The Petits century.
Bollandistes, they set down a. d. 580, as that for her death.
•* O Lord Jesus, I have left the kingdom,
her death drew near, she cried out
which I received from you, and for your sake, but place me, I earnestly beseech, in your own kingdom. " One absurd statement has it, that she departed
:
According to Dempster and those who follow him, her remains were deposed at Dalgarnoch. She was
"Irish Saints in Great Britain," chap, v. ,
pp. 143, 144.
18 His feast occurs at the 1st ofJuly, where
notices of him may be found in the present
volume, Art. ii.
'9 Such is the account contained in the
Breviarium Aberdonense, Pars Estivalis, fol. xxxiv. b.
Sancta," part ii. ( p. 36.
2I
Sec "Chronicles of the Picts, Chroni- cles of the Scots, and other early Memorials of Scottish History," edited by William F. Skene, Preface, sect, viii. , p. cliv.
22 See " Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
2? See " Origines Parochiales Scotire,"
part i. , pp. 5, 16.
20 See Bishop Challenor's " Brittannia
July 18. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 265 at the 181I1 of July, in the Aberdeen Breviary. She is commemorated as a
Thomas 2 5 at this same date. Dempster,
Adam
24 and also
Also, in the Scottish Entries in the Kalendarof David Camerarius,26 her festi-
widow, by
King,
by
val is noted. Divesting her story of the mythological narratives with which it has been clouded, we may well conclude, that St. Thenna loved God ardently 110111 her earliest years, nor was she one of those negligent worship- pers, who bide their time and opportunities, when turning only to Him in the decline of their days, after a career in which everything—pleasure, avarice,
ambition—has had its share ; everything, on which, constitute true wisdom.
Article II. —Minnborinus, Abbot of St. Martin's Monastery,
Cologne. \TenthCentury-. ] Itseemsveryprobable,thatthepresentholy man was born in Ireland, about or a little later than the beginning of the tenth century. The form of his name is an unusual one in our early Annals, but it may have been somewhat transformed when he went to the Continent. Where he had been educated has not transpired, nor when he left the shores of Ireland. In his early days, however, the country had been woefully harassed by the Danes and other Northmen, so that it is not unlikely, many Irishmen betook themselves to more distant countries, where greater protec- tion had been afforded than c—ould be enjoyed at home. The city —of Cologne,
1
on the left bank of the Rhine at first known as Ara Ubiorum had been
2
founded by Claudia Agrippina Augusta, wife of the Emperor Claudius,3 in
the first century of the Christian era ; and, in succeeding ages/ the church was well established there, with numerous pious votaries. Several fine churches were erected in it, and other religious institutions. It suffered greatly during the ravages of Attila and the Huns, in the fifth century.
3 "The Editor is not able to decide Christ's Church is quoted.
whether this is the Reachrainn in the east of 7 See Dr. O'Dunovan's
Bregia, where St. Columbkille erected a Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 336, 337. church, or Reachrainn, now Rathlin, or 8 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Ragharee Island, off the north coast of 194, 195.
Antrim. '—Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of Article hi. — Edited by Rev, Dr,
8
the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z), p. 336.
* A Poem in praise of this Inland has been att ibuted to the founder, St. Columba, and 43 See O'Sullevan Beare's "Histories itisfound among the Laud Manuscripts, in
1
"
Annals of the
26o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 17.
several holy servants have ascended like incense before the throne of God, and have secured his rewards. However, hardly can the patient pilgrim even alight on the sod, where their bodies rest. Yet, their undiscovered remains have sanctified that earth, with which they have long since mingled. Record or vestige of many holy persons that once existed in our Island can hardly be found ; still a magical spell, like an indescribable charm, hallows the surrounding
lovely scenes, blessed with their presence during life. In the Martyrology of 1
Tallagh, at the 17th day of July, is the following entry : Sistan sac. for Loch Melge. From the contraction sac. meaning sogarth we may probably con-
clude that he had been a priest. The Lough Melge, now Lough Melvin, with which he was connected, is a beautiful sheet of water, bordering on the coun- ties of Fermanagh and Leitrim ; but, it lies chiefly within the bounds of the latter county. From the shores of Lough Melvin, its former holy inhabitants have departed long ago from the scenes of this life. Their souls have been
received into a brighter and happier world. The Martyrology of Donegal 2 records a festival in honour of Siostan, Priest, of Loch Melghe, at the 17U1
of July. In a table appended to this record, this saint's name is Latinized Xistus. 3
Article IV. —St. Craebhnat, Virgin. The name, Corpnata, occurs in 1
the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 17th of July. It seems very possible, that an Irish Life of St. Creunata, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Cleary, had reference to this holy woman, and it yet exists in the Burgundian Library at
——
Bruxelles. 3 Some notices most probably regarding this saint or it may have
been a Life, seem to have been prepared by Colgan for publication, at the 17th of July, as on the posthumous list of his Manuscripts we find a St. Cranata, Virgin,* entered. It is likely, this was another form of St. Craebhnat's
or Corpnata's name. In the Martyrology of Donegal,* Craebhnat, Virgin, is recorded at this same date.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Plechmus. At the 1 7th of July,
Convaeus has placed St. Plechmus on his list of Irish Saints. He is styled a
Count, a Bishop, and a distinguished preacher, at Oudenzeel, Dicecesis Daven- triensis. 1 No doubt, from this description, we are to understand St. Plechel- mus, whose Acts have been given already, at the 15th of this month.
Article VI. —Festival of the Scillitani Martyrs, at Carthage, Africa. In the ancient Irish Church, as we learn from the "Feilire" 1 of St.
Kelly, p. xxix.
Article v. —1 Sec O'Sullcvan Beare's "Historic Catholics Ibernue Compcn-
dium," tomus —
i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 48.
' In the "Leabhar Breac" copy is the following raft*, trans- lated in—to English by Whitley Stokes,
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. •
194, E95.
v i/u'd. , —
pp. 470,471.
ARTICLE VI.
Article iv. Kelly, p. xxix.
-
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. t
It is classed among the Manuscripts, LL. D. vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 22.
a to the " Actuum According Catalogus
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Men- sium et Dieruvn. "
4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 1. J4. 195-
:
KonmofUC Amcge hopmn Aequo h-apum Cech rnapcip Acpimem larluAj; ScellicApum.
July r 7 . ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 261
iEngus, there was a commemoration at this date of a number of holy martyrs, who suffered for the Faith, at Carthage, in Africa. There is a Latin commen-
tary, in explanation of this event appended. 2 This martyrdom has been
referred by Baroniuss to a. d. 202; while there are Acts and elucidations in
the Bollandists' great work,* at the 17th of July,* the festival day assigned for that Passion.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of the Translation of St. Odilia,Virgin. TheBollandists,1 whonoticethisfeastatthe17thofJuly, state, that they give it on the authority of their Florarian Manuscript, which relates how Odilia was one of the ten beautiful queens and virgins in the retinueofSt. Ursula. 2 HerbodywasfoundbyaspecialrevelationatCologne, together with the remains of her two sisters, Ema and Jutta, as also of a cer- tain bishop. The Translation is said to have taken place, a. d. 1285, to the monastery of the Brothers of the Holy Cross in Huy or Hoye,3 an ancient
town of Belgium, in the diocese of Liege. On that occasion many miracles were wrought. Not finding more regarding her, the Bollandists defer the matter to their general account of St. Ursula and of her companion martyrs, to be inserted at the 21st of October.
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Golgus, Abbot. At the pre-
1
sent date, David Camerarius mentions a Golgus, Abbot, said to be alluded
to —
by Adamnan,
in his Third Book—assumed to be in his work Vita S.
Columbse and by other writers. While the Bollandists insert this reputed
2
feast, on his authority, they remark, that under such form,3 they could not
find his name, and therefore, they defer classing Golgus, Abbot, among the saints, until strengthened by further authority than that of Camerarius.
"Magnify us may the prayers horum atqi4e harum, every martyr whom we recount, with
Acts, there is a Previous Commentary by Father Gulielmus Cuper, in three sections
—
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
acfemina- rum in hoc die decollati sunt. " Ibid. , p.
p. 188. — Article VIII.
*
Among
the Scottish
populus magnus est,
cxix.
Entries in the Kalendar of David Camera-
rius, we have the following inserti—on: "17
3 In "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus ii. ,
sect. i. to vi. , pp. 232, 233. Forbes'
" Transactions of
and
Articlevii. —See ActaSanctorum,"
script Series, vol. i. , part i. Onthe Calendar tomus iv. , Julii xvii. Among the preter-
of Oengus, p. cxi. mitted saints, p. 204.
the host of the Scillitani. "
forty-two paragraphs,
22 It is thus given Scellitarum, ". i. proprium
[nomen] gentis . i. populus magnus qui [in
uno die] occisus est proscilita peregrinis Scilla nomem civitatis, scillita vero patrony- mium a scilla diruatum est, in scilla uero
multi uirorum—
See her Acts, at the 21st of October,
" 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii p. 239.
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
xvii. De SS. Scillitanis Martyribus
2 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Sperato, Narzale, Cittino, Veturio, Felice, Acyllino, Laetantio, Januaria, Generosa, Vestina,
Julii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 202. 3 Probably Camerarius meant to have
Donata, Secunda, Carthagine in Africa, pp. written Colgius, who is mentioned by 204 to 216. Adamnan, in lib. hi. , cap. 20, but whose fes-
5 Besides, two different versions of their tival
— he had— if one
is not known.
*
"
3
santly situated in a valley on the Meuse.
In the Department of Liege, and plea-
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. ,
Die. Sanctus Golgus Abbas. " Bishop
262 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July jS.
<&\%\)tm\X\) JBaj) of 3ulin
ARTICLE I. —ST. THENNA, THENOG, THENEW, OR THANAW, AT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
WEmust always feel it to be a regrettable circumstance, that ignorance
and have so often and distorted the Acts of too credulity disfigured
many among our ancient saints ; and, in few of those, perhaps, is the matter more objectionably revealed, than in the Legends current regarding St.
and her illustrious St. 1 of The son, Kentigern, Bishop Glasgow.
Thenew,
learned Bollandists, Fathers Henschenn 2 and Soller, complain of these foolish and incredible traditions ; the first at the 13th day of January, when
to and the latter at the — which has been set down alluding him, present day,
as the festival for St. Thenna or Thenew 3 otherwise called Thametis,
Thenog, Thanaw, and Thennat. It need scarcely be observed, that her bio- graphy is indeed obscure and uncertain, while it is mostly drawn from bardic and popular traditions relating to her renowned son St. Kentigern. More- over, wildly improbable as those stories are, they are inconsistent with one another; for, various versions are extant of accounts, referring to their origin and adventures. The Life of St. Kentigern by Joceline, a monk of Furness, contains a legendary history of his mother, and as more than intimated, taken frompoeticsongsandhistoriesthatwerenotcanonical/ Fromafragment of the Life of St. Kentigern,s written at the desire of Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow, who died a. d. 1164, the compiler of the Aberdeen Breviary seems to have taken the Proper Lessons for her feast. These have been chiefly followed by the Scottish#writers, Dempster, Camerarius, Hunter, King and others. There are notices of this holy woman, whose festival is celebrated on
Rev.
Gould's work.
In the Life of St. Kentigern to which allusion has been already made, St.
Thenew is said to have been daughter to the King of Laudonia, and that she had been brought up in the faith of the church, although she had not been
this Les Petits day, by
6 and
the
Forbes. 7 There is an account of this saint, likewise, in Rev. S. Baring-
8
Article I. — Two festivals are assigned
to him ; one at the 13th day ofJanuary, and
the other at the 13th of November.
3
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusi. , Januarii xiii. De S. Kentigerno Ep.
Glascuensi in Scotia, Commentarius Praevius, num. 6.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Julii xviii. De S. Thenna seu Thenew Ma- tiona Matre S. Kentigerni. This has been compiled by Father John Baptist Soller in three paragraphs, pp. 422, 423. The autho- rities cited are the Aberdeen Breviary and more recent Scottish Calendars.
4 For the original and a translation of this Tract, the reader is referred to the "Lives
in the twelfth century, edited from the best
Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. See "The Historians of Scotland," vol. v. , Edinburgh, 1874, 8vo.
5 This is now preserved in the British Museum among the Cottonian Manuscripts, A. xix. , fol. 76. It has been translated and published, also, by the Bishop of Brechin, Alexander Penrose Forbes, D. C. L.
6 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
7 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
pp. 451, 452.
8
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July xviii. , pp. 433, 434.
of St. Ninian and St.
Kentigern," compiled
Bollandistes,
by
Right
Bishop
July t8 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. ]
263
baptized. Bat, Camerarius states, that St. Thametis or Thennat was queen of the Scots, and very celebrated in Glottiana, a province of the Scots. Again, Father Thomas Innes has it, that she was a daughter to the King of the Mid- land Britons. 9 However, among the various opinions afloat, this holy woman
10 since it has been stated that she was of Scotia. Notwithstanding all that has been written about her, nothing can be deter- mined with certainty regarding her origin or place of birth. We can only
briefly allude to popular traditions, for the following narrative of what con- cerns her earlier years. She was sought in marriage by Ewen, who was son to Urien Rheged, King of Cumbria, and a very beautiful youth; but she refused all his solicitations, while this so incensed her father, that he sent her to a swineherd, who was in secret a Christian. This good man preserved her honour, and taught her the practices of religion, which, united with her naturally fine disposition, caused her to be innocent and guileless as a maiden. Shewasengagedinveryhumbleoccupationswhileundertheroof of her protector, and she was often employed at work in the open fields.
SheiscalledThanesbyFordun. " IntheWelshlanguagesheisnamed
DwynwenorDenyw. " WhileArchbishopUssherstylesherThem's,Themi or Thenna ; the Metrical Chronicle of Scotland gives her the name of Cemeda. J 3 While under care of the swineherd, a malicious woman is s;iid to have laid a snare for her innocence, and that beingdecoyed into a wood, she was violently oppressed by a youth, who conceived a passion for the unsuspecting maiden. According to various Legends of his Life, the result ofthisintercoursewasherconceptionofKentigern. Soontheangerofher father was aroused, that his daughter should have presented signs of her approaching maternity. Other accounts have it, that this pious woman became acquainted with some Christian friends. From these she learned to enter- tain a great respect for religious truths and a love for the Blessed Virgin. It is stated, that at an early age, she had made a vow of chastity. On the other hand, she is represented as having been married, and after the death of her husband, she is said to have renounced her position in the kingdom, and to have given herself entirely to heavenly contemplation. In a story, greatly flavoured with romance, it is stated, that she was accused of a-grievous crime, of which, however, she is held to have been altogether innocent. Her father deemed her to have been disgraced, in consequence of it, and had decreed an exemplary punishment. She was sentenced to be cast down from a steep rock, called Kep-duff—said to have been in the Lammermoor—
The story of St. Thenog's adventures, when she was cast on the shore of Fife, is very romantic. It is said, that the chieftain of the place where she
is said to have been
Irish,
according
Fragmentary
9 See " Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. vii. , p. 125.
Kentigern," compiled in the twelfth cen- tury, edited from the best Manuscripts. By Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Bie-
10
"
See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
Life of St. x< while, in that by Kentigern j
to the
Jocelyn,^itiscalledDumpelder. Notwithstandingthisactofviolence;she was miraculously preserved from death, owing to the aid of our Blessed Lady. She was cast on the shores of Fife. She landed, in most providential manner, at Culross. She had not professed the Christian religion, at this time, according to some accounts.
Irish Saints in Great Britain,"chap. v. ,p. 142. chin. Vita S. Kentigerni, cap. iv. , pp. 11 "
See Scotichronicon," vol. i. , lib. iii. ,
128,248.
IS See ibid. , "Historians of Scotland,"
vol. v. , cap. iii. , pp. 38, 166.
l0
This is stated to have been made of twigs and pitch, covered with leather.
I? See Riirht Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
cap. 24. Goodall's edition, p. 128. 12 "
See Rees' Essay on the Welsh Saints,"
p. 261, and the Mabinogion, parti. , p. 17. 13 See vol. ii. , p. 221.
14 See the "Lives of St. Ninian and St.
264 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 18.
16
at the mouth of Aber- lassigRiver; afterwards,shewasconductedoutbeyondtheIsleofMayand towards the open ocean, where without sail or oar Thenog was abandoned to her fate. " If she be worthy of life," said the chieftain, " the God whom she in- vokes can free her, if He will it, from the perils of the sea. " Accordingly, Divine Providence guarded her from danger, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary afforded the medium of escape. By the force of the waves, the little boat was driven near to St. Servan's cell, at Culross. At this time, she was about to give birth to a child. Seeking the retirement of a cave near the shore, St. Kentigern was there born. Some shepherds who lived in the neighbourhood, soon discovered the mother and child, to whom they brought food and clothing. Afterwards, hearing of those circumstances, St. ServantookThenogandKentigernunderhisprotection. Achapelwasafter-
wards built near that spot where the latter was born, and the ruins of a
T mediaeval church are to be seen in that place. ?
As the Almighty had decreed, her innocence was vindicated, and Thenog
lived had ordered her to be placed in a small boat,
was received in a kind St. manner, by
Servan,
18 when she was
unjustly
persecuted. Her protectress, the Blessed Virgin Mary, procured for her the 1
grace of baptism, at St. Servan's hands, ? and at the same time her son Ken- tigern was baptized. St. Thenna, having thus become the mother of St.
20 at her care was now directed towards his Kentigern, Culross, great
proper instruction. Afterwards, St. Servan became her spiritual director, as also the instructor of her illustrious son, St. Kentigern. When he grew up, the British church founded in Strathclyde by St. Ninian had faded, owing to the influences exercised by the pagan population, that made inroads into the Christian dis- tricts, and it remained for St. Kentigern to re-found it in that same century,
21
when St. Columba arrived in Scotland.
Thenog lived a most retired, peniten-
tial,andholylife,notfarfromGlasgow. Herfastsandabstinencewerecon-
tinuous, while in prayer and vigils her time was mostly spent. She often held
pious conferences, with her illustrious son, from whom she never chose to be separated,duringthewholecourseofhervirtuousandexemplarylife. When
this life in the year 445, and during the reign of Eugene II. ; whereas, it is altogether certain, her son, St. Kentigern, prolonged his life beyond the middle
22 are nearer to the when date,
buried in St. Mungo's church, in the city of Glasgow, however, as has been most generally believed.
At an early period, a church was dedicated to her, in this city ; and it was
inaveryconspicuouspartofGlasgow. Thatfinechurchwasdemolished, during the Reformation. The popular name of her church at Glasgow, at
the time of the Reformation, was San Theneukes Kirk; afterwards, by a furthercorruption,itwentbythenameofSt. P2noch's33 Herfestivalisplaced
of the sixth The Petits century.
Bollandistes, they set down a. d. 580, as that for her death.
•* O Lord Jesus, I have left the kingdom,
her death drew near, she cried out
which I received from you, and for your sake, but place me, I earnestly beseech, in your own kingdom. " One absurd statement has it, that she departed
:
According to Dempster and those who follow him, her remains were deposed at Dalgarnoch. She was
"Irish Saints in Great Britain," chap, v. ,
pp. 143, 144.
18 His feast occurs at the 1st ofJuly, where
notices of him may be found in the present
volume, Art. ii.
'9 Such is the account contained in the
Breviarium Aberdonense, Pars Estivalis, fol. xxxiv. b.
Sancta," part ii. ( p. 36.
2I
Sec "Chronicles of the Picts, Chroni- cles of the Scots, and other early Memorials of Scottish History," edited by William F. Skene, Preface, sect, viii. , p. cliv.
22 See " Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
xviii e Jour de Juillet, p. 413.
2? See " Origines Parochiales Scotire,"
part i. , pp. 5, 16.
20 See Bishop Challenor's " Brittannia
July 18. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 265 at the 181I1 of July, in the Aberdeen Breviary. She is commemorated as a
Thomas 2 5 at this same date. Dempster,
Adam
24 and also
Also, in the Scottish Entries in the Kalendarof David Camerarius,26 her festi-
widow, by
King,
by
val is noted. Divesting her story of the mythological narratives with which it has been clouded, we may well conclude, that St. Thenna loved God ardently 110111 her earliest years, nor was she one of those negligent worship- pers, who bide their time and opportunities, when turning only to Him in the decline of their days, after a career in which everything—pleasure, avarice,
ambition—has had its share ; everything, on which, constitute true wisdom.
Article II. —Minnborinus, Abbot of St. Martin's Monastery,
Cologne. \TenthCentury-. ] Itseemsveryprobable,thatthepresentholy man was born in Ireland, about or a little later than the beginning of the tenth century. The form of his name is an unusual one in our early Annals, but it may have been somewhat transformed when he went to the Continent. Where he had been educated has not transpired, nor when he left the shores of Ireland. In his early days, however, the country had been woefully harassed by the Danes and other Northmen, so that it is not unlikely, many Irishmen betook themselves to more distant countries, where greater protec- tion had been afforded than c—ould be enjoyed at home. The city —of Cologne,
1
on the left bank of the Rhine at first known as Ara Ubiorum had been
2
founded by Claudia Agrippina Augusta, wife of the Emperor Claudius,3 in
the first century of the Christian era ; and, in succeeding ages/ the church was well established there, with numerous pious votaries. Several fine churches were erected in it, and other religious institutions. It suffered greatly during the ravages of Attila and the Huns, in the fifth century.
