No More Learning

S. Baring-Gould's 'Lives of the Saints," vol. viii. , p. 235.
4 The Latin writers usually style it Novo- comum.
s The narrative contained in the anony-
mous Acts indicates a period when idolatry
still prevailed in Northern Italy, and especi- ally in Como.
*
In the anonymous Acts of our saint, they are called Cumani, instead of their proper designation Comenses. The Cumani were a
3
These words are, "cum gravis infidelium
haereticorum oriretur persecutio ;
"
but the
context afterwards clearly shows, that their
persecutors were in the habit of sacrificing
extremity of the beautiful Lago di Como, and it is built around the semicircular termination of that lake. The Romans called it Comum or Novicomum. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of a small republic belonging to the Ghibelline party. It was taken and burnt
to idols.
3 It is situated at the south-west
of Cuma celebrated as the residence of the Cuman or Cumaean Sybil. There were various other Sybils in different places, and a curious account of them may be found in Dr.
Augustus Jessopp's edition of Very Rev. Dr. F. C. Hussenbeth's " Emblems of Saints. "
Third edition, Appendix I. Iconography of the Sibyls, by W. Marsh, pp. 403 to 426.
7 The day and year of his martyrdom
by the Milanese in 1127 and again in 127 1. "
See Gazetteer of the World," vol. iv. , pp. *34> 635-
of their
being
people Campania
;
city
August 22. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 327
blood. " Filled with rage, on receiving such a reply, the tyrant commanded them to be led through the public streets of that city, and afterwards to be
decapitated. Thinking that by ordering one to be sacrificed in presence of the other, the survivor might be moved through fear of death to apostatize ; while the brothers were congratulating each other, that they were to suffer martyrdom together, Gunibold was beheaded,1 at the place of public execution, and Guinifort was released for that time. During the night, the Christians came stealthily and removed the remains of the martyr Gunibold for interment. From that to the present period, his sacred relics have remained at Como.
It does not seem likely, that Guinifort long survived. However, filled with zeal to preach the words of life, he went alone to Milan, where he con- verted many to the true Faith, for which he still desired to suffer, and to share the glorious crowns of his beloved sisters and brother. 8 Nor were his hopes long deferred, for having been apprehended once more, Gunifort was again brought before the judges, and ordered by them to sacrifice before their
idols. * He " I desire most replied :
to sacrifice
God. " u Whom do you call the living God ? " asked his persecutor. He then
earnestly
myself
to the
living
answered: "Jesus Christ is the living God and man, who created and redeemed me with His precious blood. " Then, the pagan judge commanded himtobeconductedwithoutthecity,andtobebeheaded. Moreover,while he was led to that place destined for his execution, the lictors were ordered to inflict severe stripes upon him, and to discharge arrows against his body. Thatcruelsentencetheystrictlyobeyed. Theystruckhimrepeatedlywith stones and until he was all covered with wounds. 10
arrows,
loss of blood, the glorious Martyr fell to the ground, before he arrived at the
place destined for his execution. Then he exclaimed
eternal glory, O clement Father, receive my body and soul, which I offer to Thee as a sacrifice. " He then lay prostrate on the earth, and apparently lifeless. Thinking he was dead, the persecutors left him there, and then
departed.
After remaining for some time in that state of helplessness, it pleased the
AlmightytogiveGuinefortstrengthtorise; yet,althoughthusseverelyinjured and acutely suffering, with arrows fixed in his body and which he could not ex- tract, he was enabled nevertheless to reach the noble city of Papia. In the Roman times, it was called Ticinum after the river Ticinus," now the Tesino, which flows by its walls ; but, between the sixth and eighth centuries, the ancient name disappeared, and it assumed the appellation of Papia, softened by Italian euphony into Pavia. " There a pious Christian woman, who
have not been recorded, nor is any date for his festival known.
8 In his poetic Martyrology, at this date, Brautius commemorates these four :—
" His panegyrist states, "hinc atque inde sanctissimum Martyrem sagittis repleverunt, ut quasi ericius videretur. "
" It is thus c—elebrated in the poem of C.
11
Germano passo, geminisque sorori-
Silius Italicus
:
*' CseruleasTicinusaquasetstagnavadoso Perspicuus servat turbari nescia fundo, Ac nitidum viridi lente trahit amne
liquorum. "
—" Punicorum," lib. iv. , vv. 82-84,
" See Rev. John Chetwode Eustace'- "Classical Tour through Italy, An. MDCCCII. ," vol. hi. , chap, xv. , pp. 507 to 509.
arsit
Martyrio, donee fossus et ustus obit. "
bus,
9 Thisstatementrevealsthecircumstance, that the martyrdom of our saint occurred when the people of Milan were for the most part idolaters, and not during the time of the Arians, as Jacobus Gualla relates, in his work, " Sanctuarium Papise," lib. vii. , cap. ix.
:
Fainting through
" O Lord, King of
328 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 22.
dwelt near the Church of St. Romanus, received him with great charity and
veneration, while she tended him with great care for the three days he survived
in her house. But then his time had arrived to receive the eternal crown,
and departing this life, his soul ascended to join his sisters and brother in
Paradise. At that moment, the wonders of the Almighty were manifested on
behalf of his devoted servant ; for the Angels of Heaven stood around the
sacred remains, filling the whole house with resplendent light, and with a
most fragrant odour. At the same time were heard these joyous words of
Divine " Blessed be the Lord, who is in His saints. " praise : always glorious
In the Panegyric of St. Guinefort, we are told, that he was interred on the eleventh of the September Kalends (August 22nd), in the Church of St. Mary, near the Church of the great St. Romanus, where afterwards the Almighty was pleased to work many miracles, in honour of His holy Martyr. Many blind persons visiting his tomb were restored to sight. Numbers of lepers and other infirm persons, on going there, were also restored to health, through the prayers of St. Guinifort. These miracles shed no slight lustre and renown on Pavia, the city in which his relics had been preserved. Without the walls of Pavia is a church dedicated to St. Gunifort but at
;
Milan, where he suffered for the Faith, although the common people usually called him Bonifort, little was known regarding him, and such was likewise the
case in respect to his brother the Martyr Guinibold at Como. ^
The present holy Martyr is commemorated in the Roman Martyr-
1
ology, * on the 22nd August. Besides, on this same day, various
ecclesiastical writers have noted his feast, which appears to have been celebrated, not on the day of his death, but on that of his interment at Pavia. AmongthesewritersaretheauthorofhisancientActs,PietroPaulo
Bosca, Joannes Baptista Carisius, Aloysius Tatti, Jacobus Gualla, Petrus
1* 16 —Ferarius, andFatherStephenWhite
Galesinus,andtheBollandists. Philip
alsocommemoratehim. Dempster whocla— Scot,together
ims him as a
with his brother St. Gunibald and his sisters agrees as to the date for his feast. ** Gunifort, also called Gunifortis and Gunifortus in ancient writings,
was regarded with special veneration in the city of Pavia.
Among the courageous and zealous Irish Martyrs who suffered for the
Faith, the holy brothers Guinefort and Gunibold, with their two nameless sisters, deserve to be held in especial veneration. From the society of family and of friends, and from the attractions of home, they resolved to take up their cross and to follow Christ. Faithful to Him in their lives and deaths, their sacrifice was accepted, and their final reward had been secured, when their sufferings were over in this world, and crowned with the laurel of martyrdom,
Article III. —St. Beoghna, Abbot of Bangor, County of Down. [Sixth and Seventh Centuries. '] Doubtless where he had so long, as student, priest, and high official, discharged his duties with honour to himself and with benefit to all who came within the sphere of his influence, the memory
of this holy abbot must have been held in benediction. In a misplaced 1
manner, the published Martyrology of Tallagh enters this saint, as Beogaes,
13 Such are the statements of Pietro Paulo ,<s "See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap.
"
Bosca, in his Martyrologium Mediola- iv. , p. 39.
nense. "
*7 See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
14
Th—us: "Papiae sancti Guniforti Mar-
Scotorum," tomus
lib. vii. , num.
tyris. " "Martyrologium Romanum," p. 12a. Editio novissima Romse, 1878-fol.
309.
Article hi. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
*
21
Italise. " Thus beogAer nuc "OAig^e ab benn.
15 In "Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum Kelly, p. xxxii.
i. ,
575, p.
August 22. LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
329
Abb. Bennchoir. Anotherentryisevidentlyallowedtointervene,between
thefirstandthelastofthesedenominations. Inthatcopycontainedinthe
Book of Leinster his name and that of his father are 3 The name of , given.
the latter, according to that record was Daigre. His record and feast are
set down by Marianus O'Gorman, at the 22nd of August. 3 The present
holymanwasborn,probablyintheearlyhalfofthesixthcentury. Itseems
quite likely, that his religious profession must have been made under St.
Comgall,4 the first founder of Bangor, and who was called away from this
life, on the 10th of May, a. d. 6oi. s Soon after his decease, it would ap-
pear, that St. Beoghna was elected to succeed him. However, he did not long
survive his illustrious predecessor. The age of Christ, when the holy man
resigned his spirit to heaven, was 605, according to the Annals of the Four
Masters. 6 At this date of August 22nd, in the Martyrology of Donegal,? we
likewise find a festival recorded, in honour of Beoghna, Abbot of Bennchor,
after Comhgall. In that carefully compiled Calendar, referring to the
Diocese of Down, Connor, and Dromore, his feast has been registered for
8
this day.
Coolbanagher Old Church, Queen's County
Article IV. —St. Sinche, Daughter or Annudh, of Cuil-bennchuir
probably Coolbanagher, Queen's County. At the 22nd of August, in 1
the published Martyrology of Tallagh, appears a festival in honor of Sae Sinche. We read this entry somewhat differently, in that copy contained in the BookofLeinster,2andatthissamedate. TheMartyrologyofDonegal,3 on
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- feast is set down at the 12th, instead of the nian," Februarii xxviii. De S. Sillano sive 22nd, ofAugust.
3 See
Silvano Abbate Benchorensi, nn. 6, 7, p.
424.
4 See his Life in the Fifth Volume of this
work, at the 10th of May, Art. i.
s
See
Rev. Dr.
"
Ecclesiastical
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," Appendix ll. , p. 379.
Colgan's
Lanigan's
— Kelly, p. xxxii.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap x. , sect.
xii. , p. 63, and n. 207, p. 69.
6
pp. 230, 231. An oversight or a misprint occurs in the English translation, where his
Article iv.
l
Edited
by Rev. Dr.
See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
2 Thus CumetuA^uffeeSinchi.
:
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 226, 227.
' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
226, 227.
8 See Rev. William Reeve's " Ecclesias-
330 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 22.
this day, records the name as Sinche, daughter of Annudh, of Cuil-benchuir.
This place may probably be identical with Coolbanagher, or Coolbenger, a parish in the barony of Portnahinch, in the northern part of the Queen's County. '* The old church of Coolbanaghers yet remains in a ruinous state, and its surrounding graveyard is now used as a place of burial. Tradition
date of erection. There are two divisions in this church yet visible most probably the nave and choir. A wall appears to have separated both, but a large pointed doorway afforded a communi- cation. The nave, on the outside, measures thirty-two feet in length by twenty-two feet in breadth. The outside wall of the choir measures twenty- eight feet, in length, by sixteen feet, in breadth. The inside of the building is filled with loose stones and rubbish.
A narrow low door, now stopped up
with masonry, appears beneath an overshadowing mass of ivy, on the west- ern gable ; and a door seems to have been subsequently opened, on the southern side wall, probably, when the former one had been closed. A splayed window opened on either side of the nave. A splayed and ruinous east window formerly lighted the choir, the side walls of which are now nearlylevelwiththeground. Therearenotombs,atpresent,inthegrave- yard or church, but such as bear modern inscriptions. The old building is
6 seems to be
Nothing known, however,
to the —an assigns building early
of
regarding the period at which this holy virgin flourished.
apparently
very great antiquity.
Article V. —St. Cummene or Cummein. In that copy of the
Martyrology of Tallagh, found in the Book of Leinster, the entry of
Curamen's name is united with that of Sinche. 1 In the
published Martyr-
of 2 at this same date, the is Cummene ocus Sae Sinche. ology Tallagh, entry
According to the Martyrology of Marianus 0'Gorman,3 as also of an Irish Kalendar in the Koyal Irish Academy,* veneration was given to a St. Cummene or Cuimein, at the 22nd of August. There is a Killcummin, near Killala, and in the churchyard of that place is shown Saint Commyn's tomb. * Anciently there was a chapel, at a place called Glennahania, in the Deanery ofKells,andCountyofMeath. Perhapsalsotherewasamonastery. The place called Tempull Cummain, and the holy well near it, still known as
6
and when funeralsarepassingby,theDeProfundi'sis yetentonedbytheprocession-
Tobar Cummain, remain. Pilgrimages used to be made thither,
*"
See Lewis' Topographical Dictionary illustration,
— 5 It adjoins the ruins of Coolbanagher ^gup rce Sinchi.
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 396.
Castle, near the great Heath of Mary-
borough.
tical Survey of the Queen's County," we are simply informed that " at Coolbanagher are the ruins of a church and also of a castle," chap, xi. , sect, iv. , p. 136.
Article v.
'
In this
manner,
Curmnem
In Sir Charles Coote's " Statis-
3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xii. Januarii, n. 6, p. 59.
4 There we find but the simple entry,
Cuimein, at the xi. of the September
Kalends, corresponding with the 22nd of
6 Thesearesome A ofthiskalendarwasmade descriptive particulars, August. copy
noticed during a visit to the spot, on the 10th
of December, 1853. On that occasion, the
writer took a pencil sketch of the old church
ruins, as they appeared from the south-east
side of the building. It has since been Rev. James Little, with an engraving, may drawn on the wood, by William F. Wake- be found there at p. 3.
man, and it has been engraved by Mrs. 6 On what particular day, however, seems Millard. It serves for the accompanying to have been forgotten.
a
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxii.
for the Irish Ordnance Survey. See Common-Place Book F. , p. 72.
s See " Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. ix. An article written by
August 22. ] LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. 331
ists. 7 But, whether the place had been dedicated to the present holy person, or to one of many other saints bearing this name, cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. The Martyrology of Donegal8 records Cummein simply, at the 22nd of August.
Article VI. —St. Sedrach, Bishop. The published Martyrologies
of 1 andof 3 atthe22ndof The Tallagh Donegal register Sedrach, August.
former Calendar designates him as a bishop, and this is found, likewise, in
that copy of the Tallagh Martyrology, contained in the Book of Leinster,* at this same date. The see over which he presided is not known, nor the date
for his episcopacy.
Article VII. —Reputed Feast for The Sons of Daighre. It seems likely, that the present is a misplaced insertion, and a mistake com-
mitted modern transcribers. We read by
the
1
in
that a festival in honor of MacDaighri, or the sons of Daighre, was celebrated
at the 22nd of August. We think their names have been very incorrectly entered in this record, having been interposed between St. Beoghna and his
and office as Abbot of 2 The of at the Bangor. Martyrology Donegal,3
place
same date, records, The Sons of Daighre. 4
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Timothy, the Disciple of St. Paul. In the " Feilire" of St. ^ngus, x at the 22nd of August, there is a commemoration of St. Timothy, the Disciple of St. Paul, with an obser- vation which seems to indicate, that it was a day of special observance in theIrishChurch. AcommentisattachedtothetwofirstIrishwordsofthe ranny by the unknown scholiast. 2 The Bollandists, at this date, give the Apocryphal Acts, by an anonymous writer, of St. Timothy,3 a Martyr in Rome; while these are preceded by a commentary of a critical character,*
and written by Father John Pinius, in which an enquiry is instituted regarding
7 " of Breac" isthe
See Rev. A. Cogan's Diocese
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap.
xvi. , p. 288.
ramiin
with the postfixed English translation by
8
Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 226, 227.
Article yi. -« Edited by Rev. Dr.
-Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Kelly, p. xxxii.
^
226, 227.
3 Thus entered : Article vii. — Edited
2
Our
fosterling of Paul with splendour : beseech
the — with holiness of the holy Emeli-
opinion
is, that the
reading
youths
" of Irish
*
Se'opAch epi.
by Rev. Dr.
" for the Pray
of
Timothy
the
should
be, Beogaes, son of Daigre, Abbot of anus. " Transactions the Royal
Bennchor.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
226, 227.
* A note by Dr. Todd, says at Daighre,
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxv.
11
margin, in Irish characters, Uide an idem qui 14 hujus. ' 'Consider if they are the same, who are mentioned on the 14th of this month. '"
Thus: "Ataig itge . i. ad [d]isc—ipulum cxxxii.
The more recent hand has written in the
p. «3
Article viii. —-l In the " Leabhar Romse, pp. 530 to 535.
copy
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
Irish,
of Martyrology Tallagh,
4C41C icce -ClllAWOAl
^^ *
CQ„Am WQwm e^ellAni>
following
prayers
2
dixit uel escop {sic) ad corpus dixit. " Ibid.
In three paragraphs, with annotations, 4 This is in two sections, embracing 19 paragraphs. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Augusti xxii. De S. Timotheo Martyre
332 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 22.
their genuineness, and as to whether the saint noticed has not been con- founded with St. Timothy, the Disciple of St. Paul. In the notes regarding pretermitted feasts, they allude also to this controverted subject, and to the authorities on which such insertion is made. 5 The principal festival of St. Timothy, the Disciple of St. Paul, is kept however on the 24th of January.
Article IX. —Festival of St. Emilianus and Companions, Martyrs.
In the Irish Church, at an early period, the Festival of St. Emilianus and his
Companions, who were Martyrs, was kept on the 22nd of August, as we
learn from the " Feilire " of St. ^ngus. 1 An explanation is added, in a
brief note2 the in Irish and Latin. we do not find by Scholiast, Elsewhere,
this feast, on the 22nd of August, except in that copy of the Tallagh Martyr- ology, contained in the Book of Leinster.
Article X. —Reputed Feast of the Blessed Monk, Quadanoc.
to 1 theBlessed According Dempster,
Quadanoc St. Winnoc,andhewasveneratedatAudomaropolis,nowSaintOmer,a on
the 22nd of August.
Article XI. —Reputed Feast for the BirthJ of St. Patrick, at
1
Kilpatrick, in Scotland. This day is said by Dempster to have been
the anniversary of St. Patrick's Birth, at Kilpatrick, in Scotland.
Article XII. —Reputed Feast of St. Barr, Bishop. The Bollandists,* at the 22nd of August, enter the feast of St. Barr, a Bishop, in Scotia, on the authority of Ferrarius, quoting from a Scottish Menology, and from the
2
Martyrology of Canisius.
identical with St. Barr, First Bishop and Patron of Cork, they remit his Acts to the 25th of September^ his proper Festival.
"
s They state :
sanctiPauliApostolifit mentioinMartyro- logio Rhinoviensi et apud Florentinium in
2 The of in France, capital Artois,
Ibid. , pp. 488, 489. '
Timothei
Romse, discipuli
Articlexi. —Thusdowefindanentry
textu Martyrologii, quod in lucem dedit. "
of
August.
Eodem die ad
Article IX. — See 2"
sons of grace, i. e. seven sons of Emilianus,
with eight sons. —See ibid. , p. exxxii.
'
Article X. In his "Menologium
Scotorum," we find this entry :—" XXII.
Audomaropoli Beati Quadanoci monachi S. Vvinoci socii, sanctitate inclyti. B. " See Bishop Forbes' u Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 209.
Article xii.
"
Transactions of
Hiberniamnavigatio,cujus
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu- scopulus in Glotta, qui in medio flumine
script Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar situs impune plenis velis illat—as naves
of Oengus, p. cxxv. innocuus excipit, nee laedit. C. " Bishop
It may thus be rendered in English :
Seven sons with Emelianus, i. e. youths or 209.
wasamonkand of disciple
However, recognising this holy man, as being
—
—XXII.
"
memoriam servat
"
Menologium Scotorum," for the
in his
month
Kilpatrick in Scotia nativitas Patricii et in
Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p.
—
'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Augusti xxii.