Dictionary,"
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
About this very time, of St.
Patrick's return to Gaul, Sulpicius had given up the world, his fortune, and his bar practice.
He sold his patrimony, and he chose for a dwelling one of his villas, in Aquitain, among his own slaves, who had become his brothers in religion.
They all lived together, praying and labouring, sleep- ing upon straw, while eating only brown bread and boiled herbs.
See Le Comte de
of such religious communities, as he lived with, at times ; yet, during his mission, and
when preaching the Gospel, in various parts of Ireland, our saint probably followed that
rule, given by our Saviour, of eating what- ever was laid before him. However, he would not violate the general ecclesiastical laws, relative to abstinence. See Dr. Lani- gan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect, viii. , n. 53, pp. 153, 154.
'^^ SeetheDialoguesofSulpiciusSeverus, lib. i. , cap. iii.
*^ In Jocelyn's Life of the saint, this story occurs, in the twenty-third chapter. The writer adds a very singular practice, in his time, on St. Patrick's day, regarding some bad fasters among our ancestors, and what they called Patrick's fish. See the Sixth Life, cap. xxiii. , p. 66.
Montalembert's
tome i. , liv. iii. , p. 229.
"
Les Moines d'Occident,"
^* However, Dr. Lanigan states, that he
cannot find sufficient for this any authority,
assertion, and he thinks, that St. Patrick, although he might have observed the rules
"^ See " Vita S. Septima
Patricii," pars, Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol.
i. , cap. xxxii. , pp. 121, 122.
so ^ee
*'
5o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
at the school of Tours. He always entertained a great veneration for its holy founder. So cherished was St. Martin's memory, that his beautiful memoir, composed by Sulpicius Severus, was one of the few tracts borne about by our Apostle. It was copied, by his own hand, and for this reason, it was subsequently preserved, with such jealous care, in the " Book of Armagh. 5° After his departure from Tours, he applied most fervently to
practices of piety. s^ As distinguishable from the vision, which urged him to undertake his mission among the Irish, the saint relates the following, as a
"
——
God forIknownot Iheard
Andonanother
within me, or beside me, some persons, singing in the spirit, the most beauti- ful words, and I knew not who they were, nor could I understand what I
at the end of their thus heard, until, prayer, they
sequence :
night
knows,
spoke :
life for you. ' And, again, I awoke. And, again, I heard one praying within
me, and it was within my inward man, and he prayed fervently with groaning. In the meantime, I was stupified, and I wondered and considered, who this could be, who was praying within me. But, at the end of his prayer, he said
he was a spirit ; and I remembered the words of the Apostle, saying :
'
The
spirit helpeth the weakness of our prayer. For what we ought to pray for, we know not, but the spirit himself asketh for us. ' This was said, with un-
to regard such visions, as direct messages from heaven.
It is not so very clear, that St. Patrick formed his design, for preaching the
Gospel, in Ireland, at the time of these visions. 53 Nor can it be known
exactly, at what date, these occurred ; although, they may be assigned, to about A. D. 417, if it be true, as some writers of his life assert, that he was
about thirty years old, at this period. ^* It might appear, from various parts of his Confession, that St. Patrick did not understand the drift of that vision, untilatsomelaterperiod. Then,hewasinformedbyourSaviour,concern- ing the task, which he had to undertake. 55 The circumstance of various dis- tinctvisionsseemstohavebeenconfounded,bycertainwriters. Whilesome of the saint's Livess^ altogether omit the name of St. Martin, as his instructor, others have it, that Patrick had visited that great bishop for forty days,57
which I cannot
from his own simple and pious soul, that St. Patrick's convictions taught him
speakable groanings,
express
find,
iii. Notes on the "Life of St. Patrick," sect. ii. St. Patrick at Tours. No. 28.
January, 1867, p. 195. An account of the ancient monastery of Marmoutier will be
"
llistoiredes Ordres Monastiques, Keligieux et Miliiaires," tome v. , part iv. ,
this ecclesiastical regulation prevailed. That it had been observed in the Gallic Church, prior to its being confirmed by the Council of Agde, appears pretty certain,
53 jsjot to quote some old writers, Harris mentions this resolution, and then he makes St. Patrick commence his travels. See
found in
chap, vii. , pp. 61 to 65.
Harris' Ware, vol. " i. ,
5' See the
of Rheims.
of
Breviary
5' See Father Viilanueva's
Archbishops
"
Sancti Patri- cii Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," ii>:c. Confessio S. Patricii, cap. iii. , pp. 194, 195. One account states, that St. Patrick was a priest, at that time, when
Armagh," p. 9.
S4 xhe Second Life states, that he was
then "incipiens quasi annorum triginta. " See cap. xxi. , p. 13. Again, we read : " Erat autem tunc quasi annorum triginta. "
he had the vision. See the Fifth Life, cap. See
"
xvii. , xviii. , p. 48. Therefore, he was
thirty years old, in all likelihood ; since the
Council of Agde required that age, for the
ordination of priests, as well as of bishops.
"
Presbyterium vel episcopura ante triginta annos, id est, antequam ad viri perfect! aitatem perveniat, nu—llus metropolitanorum ordinare priEsumat. " "Canon," xvii. It would also accord well with the probabili- ties of chronology, as referring to our saint. Long beforg th^ Council of Neocaesarea,
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxv. , p. 38. Again, according to the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , p. 121, "annum jam astatis attingens trigessimum. "
55 See Sir James Ware's "Opuscula S.
Patricii," Confessio, p. II.
5* Such as Fiach's Hymn, the Second
Life, and the Fourth Life,
in words. " '^'^ Thus do we
5?
anonymous writer of his Life, in three Books,
' He who his gave
jjuch is the statement made, by the
"
xvii. , p. 835. Jocelyn has it, "cum B.
as cited by Ussher, in his
Primordia," cap.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 509
while the more probable accounts state, that he lived four years,58 in the cele- brated monastery, at Tours. ss In various tracts, St. Patrick's repairing to Tours, and there spendmg four years, we find placed, before the time of his going under the direction of St. German of Auxerre. Others invert the order of his studies. ^" A legendary account states, how an angel said to Martin, that Patrick should go to the island of Tamara. ^^ This seems to have been that island, where hermits dwelt, between the mountain and the sea. ^^ Jocelyn commemorates this vision of the angel to St. Martin. He says, however, that it was St. Martin himself, who was commanded to go to Tamara, while St. Patrick returned to the Blessed Germanus, with whom he spent some
days. ^3
The Bollandists state, under the year 414, that St. Patrick attached him-
self to Amator, then Bishop of Auxerre,^+ and, that he had been for some time
there, with that prelate.
This is not improbable, and we might suspect, that
^s
Probus^^ relates, that St. Patrick had been ordained priest, by Senior, a bishop, who lived on the mountain Hermon. This lay, at the right side of the ocean. ^7 Again, he tells us, that Senior's city was protected by seven walls. ^^ Placing Patrick's ordination in 410,^9 the Bollandists follow Probus, with regard to Senior. They consider, he was bishop, perhaps of Pisa. They supposed,moreover,thatSt. PatrickhadbeenthenandthereinItaly. Ithas been thought, by others, that Probus did not allude to any part of Italy, as he
it was the by
Martino Turonensi Archiepiscopo aliquanto tempore demoratur. "
5^ See the Third Life, cap. xxii. , p. 22 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. However, after Probus gives St. Patrick
these four years of residence, the angel of
the Lord is said to have warned him, to go
among the solitaries, who made no use of
shoes, and that he remained with those
eremites for eight years. See ibid. , cap. ancient Irish phraseology. In the same XXV. Colgan's text of Probus seems to be manner, we are told, the nations of the
latter,
However,
another. Having heard of an ordination, by Amator, they possibly understood it, in re- ference to his episcopal ordination, of wliich alone they make mention.
^^
interpolated, however, to such a degree, that St. Patrick's actions have been thrown out of their original order, in this narra- tive.
East, called the South the right, and the
North the left. That rock, adjoining the
ocean southwards, must be sought for, as
Dr. Lanigan thinks, in the great promon- tory of Britany, or close to some of the bays
of Normandy. At first sight, it might seem probable, that Hermon was one of those rocks, near St. Malo. Perhaps, this was Aletum, or Alctha, a place of consider- able note, and, fi-om the patron saint, it got
59 See this matter treated, in Colgan's Fifth Appendix to the saint's Acts, chap. xi. , p. 236.
^ Thus, Colgan was induced to think, that Germanus had been our saint's first
preceptor, after his Irish captivity. See
"
Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix the name of St. Maclovius' town. After-
ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xiii. , pp. 241 to 245-
wards, it was corrupted into St. Malo. That point, where the sun rises, was considered as the leading one formerly, in fixing geo- graphical and astronomical positions. See
"
Collectanea de Rebus Hiber- nicis," vol. ii. , p. 269 and Dr. O'Brien's
" Irish at Deas.
Dictionary,"
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
^9 At this time, our saint should have been, according to them, about thirty-three years of age, for they placed his birth, in A. D. 377. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xVii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. Commentarius prsevius, sect, v. , p. 522.
°'
The Third Life says, "ut irit Patricius
adTamerensemInsulam. " Seecap. xxii. ,
p. 23.
Vallancey's
''^
See tbid. , nn. 19, 20, pp. 30, 31. See
also the Fifth lib. i. Life,
cap. xvi. , p. 48. *3 See the Sixth Life, cap. xxii. , p. 66.
*5 I'his may account, for what Probus and others state, about his having been ordained bishop, by one Amator, and not long before his setting out, for the Irish
mission. Those writers, however, might have confounded one ordination with
'* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. , sect, v. , p. 522.
our saint had been ordained a
priest.
See "Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 48.
°^ Probus writes, "in dextro latere maris Oceani. " This phtase must be understood, as meaning the south side, according to tire
Sio LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
places Senior's residence near the ocean, which Dr, Lanigan considers to be the Atlantic. The whole passage is very curious, he allows, not that we are bound to believe what it contains, but because it may be worth while to searchforthatplace,towhichProbusalludes. Thename,Hermon. signifies " a a of two Celtic " and
great,"
Maeii,
thought, by
Rev. Dr. to Lanigan,
great rock," being compound
words, Her,
" rock. " 7° This rock or mount is
be the present Mont St. Michel, It might justly be called Hermon, as it is really a stupendous rock, situated in a bay, between Avranches and Dol, at the points of Normandy and Britany. It has the sea towards the north, and so close to it, that in times of high water, the rock becomes an island.
Mont St. Michel, France.
It was a celebrated place, long before that period, when Probus lived. Some writers maintain, that it was an episcopal See, even before the time of St. Maclovius. 7» Achurchhadbeenerected,onthatinsulatedrock,inhonour of St. Michael, a. d. 709, by Autbert, Bishop of Avranches. 7^ It might be objected, that there seems not to have been any town, or church, at Mont St. Michel," in St. Patrick's time. But, Probus and other ancient writers before him, not adverting to chronological dates, probably thought it had been a monastery,
'"See Bullet's sub voce, Hermon.
"
Dictionnaire Celtique,"
tohavebeenbuiltbyPateme. Hisfeastis kept, on the 15th of April. He was bishop
of Avranches, in the sixth century, and he died, A. D. 565. His Life was written, by St. Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. See the
"
Benedictine Histoire Literaire de la
France," &c. , tome iii. , vii. Siecle S. Fortunat, sect, ii. , p. 478.
'3 It is in the Department of Manche, and in the Fifth Arrondissement, of which the chief city is Avranches. This latter gave title to a bishop, from about A. D. 400, until A. D. 1 791, when the See was sup- pressed, and united to the diocese of Cou-
'' See Hadrian Valesius,
"
Notitia Gal-
liarum," &c. , at Aletum. The name of St.
Malo, together with the See, had been
transferred, in the twelfth century, to the
present St. Malo. See Pierre le Bavd's
"
Histoire de Bretagne," &c. , chap, i. , p. 7. It is situated, about a league's distance from Aletum, the ruins of which are still to be seen, under the name of Quidaleth or Gui- chaleth. See ibid,, and Martinere, at Aleth.
T Hadrian Valesius says, that it is thought
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
when our Apostle was living. It is possible, likewise, that to enhance the respectability of that holy rock, a story had been circulated, concerning our
saint having spent some time there, particularly as it was inhabited of old, by hermits, before Autbert's time. 74 He established clerics there, to sing the Divine Office. A Benedictine monastery, in their stead, was afterwards founded, a. d. 966, by Richard, Duke of Normandy,75 and a considerable towngrewup,atthebaseandsidesoftherock. Itwasmuchresortedto,by pilgrims, and it was supplied with a numerous garrison. ? ^ Its natural strength was increased, by fortifications, in an almost impregnable manner. From the bottom upwards, various ranges of walls traversed the sides of St. Michel's rock. Including balustrades around the church, on its summit, the wallsmayfairlybecomputed,atthenumberofseven. ? ? Itmaynaturallybe objected, that it was not an episcopal See. This is easily obviated, however, on reflecting, that we often find bishops residing in monasteries, as was the case in Ireland. Here, the monastic superior was very often both bishop and abbot. No bishop, bearing the name of Senior, is to be found living at Pisa, in Italy, nor do we find any such name, among the bishops of Gaul, in St. Patrick's time. ? ^ According to Dr. Lanigan's hypothesis, the Senior of Probus is not to be taken, perhaps, as a proper name. It might be intended to "
signify,
aged,"
supposition,
that he to some spent, according
writers,
^3 to other autho- thirty, or, according
tances. See Charles Kjiight's "English Cyclopsedia," Geography, vol. i. , col. 754, and vol. iii. , col. 688.
'i* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect. X. , n. 75, pp. 164 to 167.
? s In 1622, the Benedictine monks here were united to the Congregation of St. Maur. After the French Revolution, this place was made a prison for nobles and priests. At present, however, this Abbey has been transformed into a state prison. See the Abbe Migne's " Dictionnaire des Abbayes et Monasteres," &c. , col. 563, 564.
said to have succeeded in the See of Avran- ches.
7* A deed of Lewis the
80
jjjg festival occurs, on the 26th of July, although he died on the 31st of this month, a. d. 448, after having ruled his diocese for
thirtyyearsandtwenty-fivedays. SeeRev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers,
Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. July xxvi.
*' See his " Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 837 and the following pages.
A. D. 817, names this establishment, among the great monasteries of France.
" See Martiniere, at Mont St. Michel, and also Hadrian Valesius.
'* A St. Senior, or St. Senator, was a fellow-hermit with St. Paterne, and he is
^^ See the Second Life of St. Patrick, cap.
xxii. , p. 13 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxvi. , p.
38. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,
lib. i. , cap, xxxiii. , p. 122, we have a nearly similar account,
^* But Colgan shows, in his notes, the in-
or "
on the
that in the west of a Gaul,
old,"
monastic state of living then prevailed, similar to that subsequently brought
into Ireland. 79
The saintly Bishop of Auxerre, Germanus, was born at Auxerre of noble parents, about the year 380. ^° He was a mere layman, for several years after St. Patrick's first return from Ireland to Gaul. The Emperor Honorius created Germanus a Duke, and a military leader, in his own province. After- wards, he embraced the clerical state, and he became a bright ornament of the Gallic Church. From a secular administration, he was appointed to succeed Amator, who died on the ist of May, a. d. 418. Until this year, therefore, St. Patrick could not have become his disciple ; and, many think their first interview took place, during that very year, when Bishop Germanus had been consecrated. Yet, led astray by some passages in Ussher's work,^^ Colgan places our saint, at Rome, under the tuition of Germanus, so far back asA. D. 396. Then,heisbroughttoSt. Martin. Othersstate,thatPatrick wasthirtyyearsofage,whenhecametoGermanus. ^'' Oneaccounthasit,
Pious,
and dated
^= See the Fourth
Life, cap.
of such religious communities, as he lived with, at times ; yet, during his mission, and
when preaching the Gospel, in various parts of Ireland, our saint probably followed that
rule, given by our Saviour, of eating what- ever was laid before him. However, he would not violate the general ecclesiastical laws, relative to abstinence. See Dr. Lani- gan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect, viii. , n. 53, pp. 153, 154.
'^^ SeetheDialoguesofSulpiciusSeverus, lib. i. , cap. iii.
*^ In Jocelyn's Life of the saint, this story occurs, in the twenty-third chapter. The writer adds a very singular practice, in his time, on St. Patrick's day, regarding some bad fasters among our ancestors, and what they called Patrick's fish. See the Sixth Life, cap. xxiii. , p. 66.
Montalembert's
tome i. , liv. iii. , p. 229.
"
Les Moines d'Occident,"
^* However, Dr. Lanigan states, that he
cannot find sufficient for this any authority,
assertion, and he thinks, that St. Patrick, although he might have observed the rules
"^ See " Vita S. Septima
Patricii," pars, Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol.
i. , cap. xxxii. , pp. 121, 122.
so ^ee
*'
5o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
at the school of Tours. He always entertained a great veneration for its holy founder. So cherished was St. Martin's memory, that his beautiful memoir, composed by Sulpicius Severus, was one of the few tracts borne about by our Apostle. It was copied, by his own hand, and for this reason, it was subsequently preserved, with such jealous care, in the " Book of Armagh. 5° After his departure from Tours, he applied most fervently to
practices of piety. s^ As distinguishable from the vision, which urged him to undertake his mission among the Irish, the saint relates the following, as a
"
——
God forIknownot Iheard
Andonanother
within me, or beside me, some persons, singing in the spirit, the most beauti- ful words, and I knew not who they were, nor could I understand what I
at the end of their thus heard, until, prayer, they
sequence :
night
knows,
spoke :
life for you. ' And, again, I awoke. And, again, I heard one praying within
me, and it was within my inward man, and he prayed fervently with groaning. In the meantime, I was stupified, and I wondered and considered, who this could be, who was praying within me. But, at the end of his prayer, he said
he was a spirit ; and I remembered the words of the Apostle, saying :
'
The
spirit helpeth the weakness of our prayer. For what we ought to pray for, we know not, but the spirit himself asketh for us. ' This was said, with un-
to regard such visions, as direct messages from heaven.
It is not so very clear, that St. Patrick formed his design, for preaching the
Gospel, in Ireland, at the time of these visions. 53 Nor can it be known
exactly, at what date, these occurred ; although, they may be assigned, to about A. D. 417, if it be true, as some writers of his life assert, that he was
about thirty years old, at this period. ^* It might appear, from various parts of his Confession, that St. Patrick did not understand the drift of that vision, untilatsomelaterperiod. Then,hewasinformedbyourSaviour,concern- ing the task, which he had to undertake. 55 The circumstance of various dis- tinctvisionsseemstohavebeenconfounded,bycertainwriters. Whilesome of the saint's Livess^ altogether omit the name of St. Martin, as his instructor, others have it, that Patrick had visited that great bishop for forty days,57
which I cannot
from his own simple and pious soul, that St. Patrick's convictions taught him
speakable groanings,
express
find,
iii. Notes on the "Life of St. Patrick," sect. ii. St. Patrick at Tours. No. 28.
January, 1867, p. 195. An account of the ancient monastery of Marmoutier will be
"
llistoiredes Ordres Monastiques, Keligieux et Miliiaires," tome v. , part iv. ,
this ecclesiastical regulation prevailed. That it had been observed in the Gallic Church, prior to its being confirmed by the Council of Agde, appears pretty certain,
53 jsjot to quote some old writers, Harris mentions this resolution, and then he makes St. Patrick commence his travels. See
found in
chap, vii. , pp. 61 to 65.
Harris' Ware, vol. " i. ,
5' See the
of Rheims.
of
Breviary
5' See Father Viilanueva's
Archbishops
"
Sancti Patri- cii Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," ii>:c. Confessio S. Patricii, cap. iii. , pp. 194, 195. One account states, that St. Patrick was a priest, at that time, when
Armagh," p. 9.
S4 xhe Second Life states, that he was
then "incipiens quasi annorum triginta. " See cap. xxi. , p. 13. Again, we read : " Erat autem tunc quasi annorum triginta. "
he had the vision. See the Fifth Life, cap. See
"
xvii. , xviii. , p. 48. Therefore, he was
thirty years old, in all likelihood ; since the
Council of Agde required that age, for the
ordination of priests, as well as of bishops.
"
Presbyterium vel episcopura ante triginta annos, id est, antequam ad viri perfect! aitatem perveniat, nu—llus metropolitanorum ordinare priEsumat. " "Canon," xvii. It would also accord well with the probabili- ties of chronology, as referring to our saint. Long beforg th^ Council of Neocaesarea,
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxv. , p. 38. Again, according to the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xxxi. , p. 121, "annum jam astatis attingens trigessimum. "
55 See Sir James Ware's "Opuscula S.
Patricii," Confessio, p. II.
5* Such as Fiach's Hymn, the Second
Life, and the Fourth Life,
in words. " '^'^ Thus do we
5?
anonymous writer of his Life, in three Books,
' He who his gave
jjuch is the statement made, by the
"
xvii. , p. 835. Jocelyn has it, "cum B.
as cited by Ussher, in his
Primordia," cap.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 509
while the more probable accounts state, that he lived four years,58 in the cele- brated monastery, at Tours. ss In various tracts, St. Patrick's repairing to Tours, and there spendmg four years, we find placed, before the time of his going under the direction of St. German of Auxerre. Others invert the order of his studies. ^" A legendary account states, how an angel said to Martin, that Patrick should go to the island of Tamara. ^^ This seems to have been that island, where hermits dwelt, between the mountain and the sea. ^^ Jocelyn commemorates this vision of the angel to St. Martin. He says, however, that it was St. Martin himself, who was commanded to go to Tamara, while St. Patrick returned to the Blessed Germanus, with whom he spent some
days. ^3
The Bollandists state, under the year 414, that St. Patrick attached him-
self to Amator, then Bishop of Auxerre,^+ and, that he had been for some time
there, with that prelate.
This is not improbable, and we might suspect, that
^s
Probus^^ relates, that St. Patrick had been ordained priest, by Senior, a bishop, who lived on the mountain Hermon. This lay, at the right side of the ocean. ^7 Again, he tells us, that Senior's city was protected by seven walls. ^^ Placing Patrick's ordination in 410,^9 the Bollandists follow Probus, with regard to Senior. They consider, he was bishop, perhaps of Pisa. They supposed,moreover,thatSt. PatrickhadbeenthenandthereinItaly. Ithas been thought, by others, that Probus did not allude to any part of Italy, as he
it was the by
Martino Turonensi Archiepiscopo aliquanto tempore demoratur. "
5^ See the Third Life, cap. xxii. , p. 22 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. However, after Probus gives St. Patrick
these four years of residence, the angel of
the Lord is said to have warned him, to go
among the solitaries, who made no use of
shoes, and that he remained with those
eremites for eight years. See ibid. , cap. ancient Irish phraseology. In the same XXV. Colgan's text of Probus seems to be manner, we are told, the nations of the
latter,
However,
another. Having heard of an ordination, by Amator, they possibly understood it, in re- ference to his episcopal ordination, of wliich alone they make mention.
^^
interpolated, however, to such a degree, that St. Patrick's actions have been thrown out of their original order, in this narra- tive.
East, called the South the right, and the
North the left. That rock, adjoining the
ocean southwards, must be sought for, as
Dr. Lanigan thinks, in the great promon- tory of Britany, or close to some of the bays
of Normandy. At first sight, it might seem probable, that Hermon was one of those rocks, near St. Malo. Perhaps, this was Aletum, or Alctha, a place of consider- able note, and, fi-om the patron saint, it got
59 See this matter treated, in Colgan's Fifth Appendix to the saint's Acts, chap. xi. , p. 236.
^ Thus, Colgan was induced to think, that Germanus had been our saint's first
preceptor, after his Irish captivity. See
"
Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix the name of St. Maclovius' town. After-
ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xiii. , pp. 241 to 245-
wards, it was corrupted into St. Malo. That point, where the sun rises, was considered as the leading one formerly, in fixing geo- graphical and astronomical positions. See
"
Collectanea de Rebus Hiber- nicis," vol. ii. , p. 269 and Dr. O'Brien's
" Irish at Deas.
Dictionary,"
^^ Aletum was a garrison town, and the residence of the Prefect or commander of soldiers, called Martenses.
^9 At this time, our saint should have been, according to them, about thirty-three years of age, for they placed his birth, in A. D. 377. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xVii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. Commentarius prsevius, sect, v. , p. 522.
°'
The Third Life says, "ut irit Patricius
adTamerensemInsulam. " Seecap. xxii. ,
p. 23.
Vallancey's
''^
See tbid. , nn. 19, 20, pp. 30, 31. See
also the Fifth lib. i. Life,
cap. xvi. , p. 48. *3 See the Sixth Life, cap. xxii. , p. 66.
*5 I'his may account, for what Probus and others state, about his having been ordained bishop, by one Amator, and not long before his setting out, for the Irish
mission. Those writers, however, might have confounded one ordination with
'* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De S. Patricio Episcopo, &c. , sect, v. , p. 522.
our saint had been ordained a
priest.
See "Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 48.
°^ Probus writes, "in dextro latere maris Oceani. " This phtase must be understood, as meaning the south side, according to tire
Sio LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
places Senior's residence near the ocean, which Dr, Lanigan considers to be the Atlantic. The whole passage is very curious, he allows, not that we are bound to believe what it contains, but because it may be worth while to searchforthatplace,towhichProbusalludes. Thename,Hermon. signifies " a a of two Celtic " and
great,"
Maeii,
thought, by
Rev. Dr. to Lanigan,
great rock," being compound
words, Her,
" rock. " 7° This rock or mount is
be the present Mont St. Michel, It might justly be called Hermon, as it is really a stupendous rock, situated in a bay, between Avranches and Dol, at the points of Normandy and Britany. It has the sea towards the north, and so close to it, that in times of high water, the rock becomes an island.
Mont St. Michel, France.
It was a celebrated place, long before that period, when Probus lived. Some writers maintain, that it was an episcopal See, even before the time of St. Maclovius. 7» Achurchhadbeenerected,onthatinsulatedrock,inhonour of St. Michael, a. d. 709, by Autbert, Bishop of Avranches. 7^ It might be objected, that there seems not to have been any town, or church, at Mont St. Michel," in St. Patrick's time. But, Probus and other ancient writers before him, not adverting to chronological dates, probably thought it had been a monastery,
'"See Bullet's sub voce, Hermon.
"
Dictionnaire Celtique,"
tohavebeenbuiltbyPateme. Hisfeastis kept, on the 15th of April. He was bishop
of Avranches, in the sixth century, and he died, A. D. 565. His Life was written, by St. Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. See the
"
Benedictine Histoire Literaire de la
France," &c. , tome iii. , vii. Siecle S. Fortunat, sect, ii. , p. 478.
'3 It is in the Department of Manche, and in the Fifth Arrondissement, of which the chief city is Avranches. This latter gave title to a bishop, from about A. D. 400, until A. D. 1 791, when the See was sup- pressed, and united to the diocese of Cou-
'' See Hadrian Valesius,
"
Notitia Gal-
liarum," &c. , at Aletum. The name of St.
Malo, together with the See, had been
transferred, in the twelfth century, to the
present St. Malo. See Pierre le Bavd's
"
Histoire de Bretagne," &c. , chap, i. , p. 7. It is situated, about a league's distance from Aletum, the ruins of which are still to be seen, under the name of Quidaleth or Gui- chaleth. See ibid,, and Martinere, at Aleth.
T Hadrian Valesius says, that it is thought
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
when our Apostle was living. It is possible, likewise, that to enhance the respectability of that holy rock, a story had been circulated, concerning our
saint having spent some time there, particularly as it was inhabited of old, by hermits, before Autbert's time. 74 He established clerics there, to sing the Divine Office. A Benedictine monastery, in their stead, was afterwards founded, a. d. 966, by Richard, Duke of Normandy,75 and a considerable towngrewup,atthebaseandsidesoftherock. Itwasmuchresortedto,by pilgrims, and it was supplied with a numerous garrison. ? ^ Its natural strength was increased, by fortifications, in an almost impregnable manner. From the bottom upwards, various ranges of walls traversed the sides of St. Michel's rock. Including balustrades around the church, on its summit, the wallsmayfairlybecomputed,atthenumberofseven. ? ? Itmaynaturallybe objected, that it was not an episcopal See. This is easily obviated, however, on reflecting, that we often find bishops residing in monasteries, as was the case in Ireland. Here, the monastic superior was very often both bishop and abbot. No bishop, bearing the name of Senior, is to be found living at Pisa, in Italy, nor do we find any such name, among the bishops of Gaul, in St. Patrick's time. ? ^ According to Dr. Lanigan's hypothesis, the Senior of Probus is not to be taken, perhaps, as a proper name. It might be intended to "
signify,
aged,"
supposition,
that he to some spent, according
writers,
^3 to other autho- thirty, or, according
tances. See Charles Kjiight's "English Cyclopsedia," Geography, vol. i. , col. 754, and vol. iii. , col. 688.
'i* See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i,, chap, iv. , sect. X. , n. 75, pp. 164 to 167.
? s In 1622, the Benedictine monks here were united to the Congregation of St. Maur. After the French Revolution, this place was made a prison for nobles and priests. At present, however, this Abbey has been transformed into a state prison. See the Abbe Migne's " Dictionnaire des Abbayes et Monasteres," &c. , col. 563, 564.
said to have succeeded in the See of Avran- ches.
7* A deed of Lewis the
80
jjjg festival occurs, on the 26th of July, although he died on the 31st of this month, a. d. 448, after having ruled his diocese for
thirtyyearsandtwenty-fivedays. SeeRev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers,
Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vii. July xxvi.
*' See his " Primordia," cap. xvii. , p. 837 and the following pages.
A. D. 817, names this establishment, among the great monasteries of France.
" See Martiniere, at Mont St. Michel, and also Hadrian Valesius.
'* A St. Senior, or St. Senator, was a fellow-hermit with St. Paterne, and he is
^^ See the Second Life of St. Patrick, cap.
xxii. , p. 13 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxvi. , p.
38. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,
lib. i. , cap, xxxiii. , p. 122, we have a nearly similar account,
^* But Colgan shows, in his notes, the in-
or "
on the
that in the west of a Gaul,
old,"
monastic state of living then prevailed, similar to that subsequently brought
into Ireland. 79
The saintly Bishop of Auxerre, Germanus, was born at Auxerre of noble parents, about the year 380. ^° He was a mere layman, for several years after St. Patrick's first return from Ireland to Gaul. The Emperor Honorius created Germanus a Duke, and a military leader, in his own province. After- wards, he embraced the clerical state, and he became a bright ornament of the Gallic Church. From a secular administration, he was appointed to succeed Amator, who died on the ist of May, a. d. 418. Until this year, therefore, St. Patrick could not have become his disciple ; and, many think their first interview took place, during that very year, when Bishop Germanus had been consecrated. Yet, led astray by some passages in Ussher's work,^^ Colgan places our saint, at Rome, under the tuition of Germanus, so far back asA. D. 396. Then,heisbroughttoSt. Martin. Othersstate,thatPatrick wasthirtyyearsofage,whenhecametoGermanus. ^'' Oneaccounthasit,
Pious,
and dated
^= See the Fourth
Life, cap.
