See "Lectures on the Manuscript
Materials
of Ancient
Irish History," Lect.
Irish History," Lect.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
, p.
611, may be seen the first stanza of this part of the poem in the Irish language and character, as extracted
from the original found in the "Leab/tar Brmc. "
79 The Felire or Festology is closely con • nected with lives of the saints. That of Aengus especially receives the praise of M. de la Villemarque in the November number of the French " Le
Correspon-
periodical, dant," for 1863.
*> See " Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 365 to
370. — *' This is done in the following order :
The elders or ancients under Noah ; the
prophets under Isaiah ; the patriarchs under
Abraham ; the apostles and disciples under
treat,
whereupon, he resolves to change his course, that no one may have cause for complaint. Then,hecommencesanothermovingappeal to our Lord for himself and all men. He beseeches mercy according to the merciful worldly interposition of Divine clemency in times past. Thus Enoch and Elias had been saved from dangers in this world ; Noah had been saved from the deluge ; Abraham had been saved from plagues and from the Chaldeans ; Lot had been saved from the burning city ; Jonas had escaped fromthewhale Isaachadbeendelivered
;
Peter thewiseorlearnedmenunderPaul ;
;
INTROD UCTION. XXlU
from " the countless hosts of the illuminated books of Erinn. " ^ He then says, having already mentioned and invoked the saints at their respective festival days, he will now invoke them in classes or bands, under certain heads or leaders. ^'
Towards the saints of his country, . ^ngus seems to have entertained an extraordinary veneration. According to Colgan's account, he wrote five
distinct " De Sanctis Hiberniae," which Tracts,^^'
in a
about their several lives, or on matters pertaining to them. ^s in the first
the martyrs under Stephen ; the spiritual
directors under old Paul ; the virgins of the
world under the Blessed Virgin Mary ; the
holy bishops of Rome under Peter ; the
bishops of Jerusalem under Jacob or James ;
the bishops of Antioch also under Peter ;
the bishops of Alexandria under Mark ; a
division of them under Honoratus ; a division
of learned men under the gifted Benedict ;
all the innocents who suffered at Bethlehem
under Georgius ; the priests under Aaron ;
the monks under Anthony ; a division of
the world's saints under Martin ; the noble
saints of Erinn under St. Patrick ; the saints
of Scotland under St. Colum Cille ; while destruction of the Israelites from Mount
the last great division of Erinn's saintly
virgins has been placed under holy St.
Brigid of Kildare. In an eloquent strain,
Aengus then continues to beseech our fiery furnace ; of Tobias from his blindness ; Saviour's mercy for himself and for all man- of Peter and Paul from the dungeon ; of
Job from demoniac tribulations ; of David from Saul ; of Joseph from his brothers' hands ; of the Israelites from Egyptian
kind, through the merits and sufferings of
those saints he has named and enumerated.
He asks through the merits of their dis-
membered bodies ; through their bodies bondage ; of Peter from the sea-waves ; of
piercedwithlances; throughtheirwounds;
through their groans ; through their relics ;
through their blanched countenances ;
through their bitter tears ; through all the household, to be saved, as St. Patrick had sacrifices offered of the Saviour's own Body been, from the poisoned drink at Teamhar and Blood, as it is in heaven, upon the holy [Tara], and as St. Coemhghin [Kevin] had altars ; through the blood that flowed from been at Gleann da locha [Glendalough],
the Saviour's own side ; through His sacred
Humanity ; and through His Divinity in union with the Holy Spirit and the Hea-
from perils of the mountain.
*^ See likewise Rev. Matthew Kelly's
" Dissertations chiefly on Irish Church His-
venly Father. After this long invocation, tory. " Edited by Rev. D. M'Carthy, D. D. , Aengus says the brethren of his order deemed pp. 215, 216.
all his
prayers
and
petitions
too little
;
^3 It may be observed, that these tracts
from his father's hands. He entreats Jesus,
through intercession of His Holy Mother, to save him, as Jacob was saved from the
hands of his brother, and as John [Paul] was saved from the viper's venom. He again recurs to examples found in the Old Testament. He mentions the saving of David from Goliath's sword ; the saving of Susanna from her dangers ; of Nineveh from
;
Gilba [Gilboa] ; of Daniel from the lion's
den ; of Moses from the hands of Faro
[Pharaoh] ; of the three youths from the
Johnfromthefierycaldron; ofMartinfrom the priest of the idol. Again, he beseeches Jesus, through intercession of the heavenly
particular manner,
4-
foregoing.
over three columns.
9' As the brothers, who were sons to
part ii», sect, ii. , pp. 137, 138. He was wrong in stating, that a copy of this was in
that part of the Book of Leinster, kept in Trinity College, Dublin. He alluded to
Aed,toNessan,&c. orasonof—. ,
9^ As the daughters of — or the daughter
— Book of " of fol. 16, col. I. yEngus'
INTROD UCTION.
Treatise, he gives the different distinctions of those saints in classes ; he enu-
merates 345 bishopSj^-^ 299 abbots and priests,^^ and seventy-eight deacons. ^^ These he has comprised within the hmits of three chapters. The second Tract is known as the " Homonymi," or the enumeration of saints bearing similar names, but distinguished by various other titles. ^7 It mentions 855 distinct persons, under sixty-two different names, and it is divided into two parts; thefirstpartcontainingfiftychapters,onholymenofthesamename,^^ and the second, twelve chapters on holy women. ^9 The third Treatise, known as the " Book of Sons," divides the saints into another classification. 9° It names saints, who are descended from the same father, and afterwards only sons, each cited by the father's name. 9' Lastly, are enumerated female saints, in their descent from the same father. ? ^ The names of ninety-four fathers,93 who had one saint, or more saints than one, as children, are here preserved, although the number of saints cannot always be discovered. ^* The fourth Tract comprises the names of 210 saints, with their maternal genealogy. 9s It would appear from this title, that the paternal genealogy of these saints had beenpreviouslywritten,eitherbyanotherhand,orbythatofyEngus. The fifth " Book of Litanies" enumerates, in form of an invocation, a long list of saints. 9^ In several of its invocations, the principal name, with associated disciples, is generally found. 97 This name usually pertains to the saint who
seem to be comprised in the ten folia, ex- tracted from the Book of Leinster.
^* In the itn folia, these names begin with Patrick, and end with Cobthach, fol. II,
col.
^s At the end of col. 4, this list begins,
and it occupies nearly four columns.
^ These begin at fol. 12, col. 4.
^^ Half-way down col. 5, this commences.
Copies of this list are contained in the " Book
of Ballymote," as also, in the "Book of Lecain. "
^ Thus all those named Aedan are given first : all those named Aed, Brenain, Coluim, &C, , are regularly tabulated, in alphabetical order.
^ Their names follow on a plan similar to
9* Here in the 10 folia, other tracts occur,
which as they are not attributed to the
authorship of St. ^ngus, Colgan passes over.
95 At fol. 18, and on the first column of fol. 19, these matrons are numbered from I
93, by Colgan for purposes of reference ; while the numbers thus given correspond
"
with the figures quoted in his
torum Hibemire," and "Trias Thau-
the
9° At fol. 15, col. 3. This list extends terior to the Anglo-Norman Invasion,"
of Irish Saints," and not to his "Litany. " This is to be found in the ' ' Leabhar-Mor Duna Doighre. " the worn state of this old Codex. See See Professor O'Curry's "Lectures on the "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish His-
Vita S. ^ngussii, cap. xiv. , p. 581. tory," Lect. xviii. , n. 47, p. 381.
93 Colgan adds, that he omitted other
names,
which he could not to read, owing
"
9^ This begins near the top of col. 2, fol.
19.
97 In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nige," Martii viii. Vita S. Senani, n. 11,
p. 535, a part of this Litany is quoted. Dr. Petrie also introduces this extract into his " Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland an-
maturga.
Pedigrees
Acta Sanc-
INTRODUCTION. XXV
presided over a particular monastery,? ^ with the number of holy disciples under his nile ;99 or to a saint who was buried at some particular church, with
his who " in the Lord '°° or to some companions, slept /' perchance
apostle, who, with his numerous band of missionaries, went forth to preach the Gospel
to benighted nations. ^°^ The names, or native places of many foreigners, who flocked to the hives of learning and sanctity in Ireland, are noted in an especialmanner/"^ HerearefoundinvokedthenamesofItalian,Egyptian? British, and Gallic saints, who had been buried in Ireland. ^°3
It has been incorrectly asserted, that the foregoing work is sometimes
called " altogether
which means, the Metrical or Yet, it would appear from Colgan's statement, that the
Psalter. ^°4 Saltair-na-rann" was
Saltair-na-rann,"
Multipartite "
a distinct treatise. '°5 After
describing
" De Sanctis
Hibemiae,"
'-" Some years ag;o, Dr. Todd examined
characters ; while on the opposite side, there is a correct English translation, by a
this MS. , containing ten folia, which he
foimd to have constituted a part of the "Book
of Leinster. " This fact would seem to iden-
tify it with the MS. seen at Louvain, and
described by Father Soller, the BoUandist,
as we have already stated. In point of an- the Archives of St. Isidore's Franciscan tiquity, this version dates back to the first Convent, at Rome.
'°^
See Dr. Lanigan's" Ecclesiastical His- contain the Martyrology of Tallaght—to tory of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , § x. ,
half of the twelfth century. These folia
which allusion has been already made—to- gether with five of seven works attributed to ^ngus. Ward and Colgan consulted this MS. ; for their readings seem to have been marked, and these are very useful in assisting the Irish scholar to decipher certain words. However legible in their time, these are nearly altogether defaced at present. In Ward's and O'Sheerin's Acts of St. Rumold, published at Louvain in 1662, this Litany is quoted at great length, p. 206. With the exception of the groups of seven bishops, nearly all the saints, whose intercession is
invoked, are given.
99 The 8vo paper MSS. , No. 40, 4, in the
p. 247. In note 106, p. 251, he remarks
"Litany of St.
"" See also Harris' Ware, vol. iii. ,
"WritersofIreland,"booki. , chap,v. ,pp.
52, 53-
"^ There is an incomplete copy of this
Litany in the Leabhar Breac, R. I. A. copy. ^=^3 The portion of this work, known as the Litany, has been translated and published
"
for the first time in the Irish Ecclesiastical
Record," vol. iii. Nos. xxxii. and xxxiii. ,
for May and June, 1867. The original Irish occupies one side of the page, in the Irish
R. I. A. , contains the
yEngus. "
'°° At the end of the
in the ten folia, there is some memorandum in Irish.
Litany,
"
competent scholar, writing under the initials B. M. C. Explanatory notes are found at the foot of nearly all those pages. A learned dissertation precedes this Litany, taken from
" Under this title,
says {ib. , p . 582) that it appears in some old Irish MSS. , and that he got a part of it, with the inscription, from Saltair-na-rann composed by Aengus Cele-De. He observes that the latest saint mentioned in it is St. Tigeniach,sonofSt. Mella,andfounderof Doire-melle (see chap, xix. , sec. 13), who died abbot of Kill-achad, in the now county of Cavan, on the 4th of November, A. D. 805 (806). See AA. SS. p. 796, and Arch- dall at Kilachad. This is a strong proof of the assertion that Aengus was the author of this work. " He seems also to have written —at least a great part of it—after the ninth
century commenced.
'°5 There is a MS. Martyrology, entitled,
on this passage :
Colgan
Saltair-na-Rann," preserved in the British Museum [Egerton, 185]. It is a thin, small quarto-sized volume in verse, and with the exception of a few pages, it has been written in the bold and accurate hand of Dubhal- tach Mac Firbisigh, about the year 1650. It consists of sixty-seven pages, containing five quatrains, or twenty lines, on each page. The title is in accordance with the second quatrain, which, as Anglicized, thus begins : "The Saltair of the verses shall be the name
Of my poem : it is not an unwise title. "
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
he mentions the " Saltair-na-rann" as having been composed in the Irish
language ; and, of course, as being distinct from the first named treatise, which had been written mostly in Latin. '°^ Yet, it must be confessed, that the sentences employed by Colgan in his account are rather ambiguous. ^°7
"
The work entitled,
De Sanctis Hibemiae,'' does not appear to have been a
metrical composition, as may be seen in extracts taken from it, and found in
many of Colgan's notes. The " Saltair-na-rann" comprises a History of the
Old Testament,^°^ written in verse,'°3 and which is attributed to ^ngus as its
author. We are informed, that the Chronicle of ^ngus Ceile De, known as
"""
Saltair-na-rann," /. e. Saltair of the Poems" or Verses," has been so
because " sailm" means a " It contains one hundred and psalm. ""°
called,
fifty poems, composed in the finest style of the Gaelic language, as under- stoodintheeighthcentury. '" Thiswork,attributedto^ngusCeileDe, has been called " and it is distributed into
Saltair-na-rann,""
Written in the form of prayers, it tends to raise the reader's mind to the love
of God, and to the celebration of His praise, for all the Creator's works are referred to His greater glory, and rest upon His power, as their final cause.
voted to him. The modem writer, who supplied Mac Firbis's omissions, has ad- mitted some incorrections.
See "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 360, 361, and Appendix, No. cix. , p. 609.
'"s Harris this work had been written says,
"
conflatura in quibusdam antiquis patriae a distinct work from the " Psaltar-na-
This "Saltair-na-Rann," however, is en-
tirely distinct from that of Aengus Ceile
De. '°*
Dr. Geoffrey Keating attributes to the
" authorship of St. iEngus a Saltair-na-
'*
Rann. " See History of Ireland. " Pre-
face. »o7
membranis patrio sermone intitulatur Sal-
tuir-na-rann : quae vol Latine reddita Psal-
terium metricum, nunc Psalterium multipar-
titum denotat. Et in utroque sensu, diversa
S. — recte sic inscribi Aengussii opera pote-
rant. V "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xi. MartiL Vita S. Aengussii, cap. xv. , pp. 581, 582.
O'Mahony's edition, p.
Ixii.
Opus ex jam memoratis opusculis
in elegant metre, but he seems to regard it as
«* The other " Saltair-na-Rann," to
which allusion has been made in a preceding
note, contains three hundred and twelve
quatrains, written in the inferior Gaelic of
the sixteenth, if not of a later century. Yet,
it is not, strictly speaking, a Gaelic Martyr-
o'ogy J for all the Irish saints Professor
O'Curry could discover in it were , St. Pat-
rick, St. Brigid of Kildare, St. Ciaran of property of Sir William Betham. It is Saighir, and St. Ciaran of Clonmacnois.
to the
According poet's arrangement, every
of six folio — written upwards pages, closely
quatrain commenced with a saint's name, on the largest size vellum. " "Chronolo-
but sometimes there are three or even four quatrains devoted to one day, as the number
gical Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
Writers," p. liv.
"3 In Harris' vol. " Writersof Ware, iii. ,
"
Ireland, book i. , chap, v. , p. 33, it is said,
of festivals to fall within it. happened
Every saint, however, has a separate quatrain de-
Rann. "
"" Dr. Jeoffrey Keating adds, that "sal-
tair" means a
"
a psaltery," or a book con-
taining many "duans," or "verses. " See
of Ireland. " Preface.
"History O'Mahony's
edition, p. Ixxi.
'"The VIII. vol. of O'Longan MSS. , in
the R. I. A. , contains Poems of Aengus the
Culdee, pp. 52 to 54.
'" This is most probably the work de-
scribed by O'Reilly, where he says
" :
Aen- Psalter-na-rann,' which is an abridged history of the descendants of Abraham, from the birth of Isaac until after the death of Moses The Psal- ter-na-rann is preserved in a large MS. , the
gus also wrote the
'
written in a fine strong hand, and occupies
parts. "3
INTR OD UCTION. xxvu The foregoing reasons are assigned for this work deserving the title of " Sal-
"
testifies and evidence persuades us, that it had been thus inscribed and com-
MS. , from which the treatise,
Homonymi," already described, has been ex-
that some ascribed to Aengus a Psalter-na- Rann, being a miscellany on Irish affairs, in
''
greatly contributed for many years to the advancement and preservation of Ireland's orthodox and persecuted faith. At length, having endured various trials and tortures,
multipartite psalter. ""S Colgan adds, both authority
tair-na-rann,""< or the
posed by St. -^ngus. The authority assigned is that of an old parchment
"
tracted. It was sent from Ireland"^ to Colgan. It bore the following title :
*'
Homonymi Hiberniae Sancti ex Saltair-na-rann, quod composuit . ^ngus- sius Keledeus. " We are the more induced to believe, that this had been a work of St. ^ngus, since there is no saint found in any portion of it, who had not departed life before his time, or who had not been, at least, his con- temporary. "7 For,althoughourannalsrelatethedeathofSt. Melditribius in the year 840, yet, it is doubtful, if he be the saint bearing that name, and mentioned in the fortieth chapter of the second tract, as already described. "^
There are some Pedigrees of Irish saints yet existing, and these have beengenerallyascribedtoAengusCeileDe. SeveralcopiesofthisTreatise are preserved in our ancient MSS. ; but it is doubtful, if any such copies datebackintheirpresent,state,tothetimeofAengus. Inthosecopieswe po ssess, there may be defections or additions, as compared with the original
prose and verse, Latin and Irish.
wrote no such work," says Dr. Lanigan,
"and his ovily Psalter, ox Saltair-na-rann,
were those above mentioned. Harris got
his information either from Toland, or Protestants, A. D. 1642.
from some one who took it from him. "—
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , sec. x. , n. 107,
p. 251.
"* See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
ni? e," xi. Martii. Vita S. Aengussii, cap. XV. , p. 582.
"5 The late Professor Eugene O'Curry
told me, he had examined a magnificent
copy of the " Psalter-na-Rann" at Oxford.
At that he informed the no time, writer,
perfect copy of it was known to be extant in Ireland.
"*The person who brought this book with him from Ireland was the Very Rev. Father Francis Mathew, at one time guar- dian of the Convent at Louvain, and Francis- can Provincial over the Irish province. He was a man of much erudition, austerity of life, and very zealous in the cause of religion. He presented this work, already mentioned, to Colgan, in the year 1633. By his preach- ing, exhortations, and pious labours, he had
"7 This matter had been discovered, by a careful collation of this treatise with our annals and native records. According to these later authentic sources, no saint men- tioned in the work alluded to, is found to have lived after A. D. 800, except St. Tiger- nach, founder of Doire-melle monastery. He is said to have departed A. D. 805, at which time there can be no doubt that iEn- gus was still living,
"^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
ni? e," xi. Martii. Vita S. . (Engussii, cap. XV. , p. 582. Colgan observes, that he was induced to treat, at some length, on the valuable works of this venerable saint, that
his readers might know what great antiquity and authority attached to the aforesaid Mar- tyrologies and other works, and which he had so frequently taken occasion to quote in his own volumes. It would also appear, Colgan intended to publish the works of St. ^ngus, had his own life been prolonged. Ibid. , cap. xiv. , p. 581.
Dr. Lanigan's
Aengus
with the greatest patience and constancy, this pious sufferer was put to death by the
xxviii INTRODUCTION.
composition. The oldest copy known is also the best and most copious,"?
and its genuineness has been generally admitted by most of our antiquarians. It is the more valuable, because it almost invariably gives references to the sites of churches, in connection with the holy persons whose pedigrees are found recorded. It often enumerates and traces the lineage of groups of persons or associates, who occupied such churches at one time, and occa- sionally their successors for a few generations. In the form of anno- tations, an immense amount of ecclesiastical and topographical information isconveyed. Thesehistoriccommentsestablishwithsatisfactoryexactness a date for the foundation of nearly all our primitive churches. It is an almost invariable rule with the venerable genealogist, to trace the pedigree of each saint to some remarkable personage, whose name and period can be ascertained from our national records . and books of secular genealogy. "" This is thought to be the oldest known collection of our national saints' pedigreesinexistence. Itsexacttimeofcompositioncannotbedetermined; but, if genuinely attributed, it was probably one of Aengus's latest and most matured literary efforts.
Fothadius, the Canonist, so called from his knowledge of the Church Canons, on which he is said to have written ;"^ Dicul or Dicuil, called the Geographer;"^ Dungal, the Recluse ;"3 Albin,"4 Clement,"5 and Claude;"^
St. Donatus,"7 Bishop of Fiesole, and St. Andrew,"^ his Archdeacon ; all these were Irish writers, whose learning served to render the ninth century somewhat remarkable. St. Boniface, also, first Bishop of Mentz,"9 is said to have been a Scot by birth, and to have been the author of a Life of certain
"9 This is found in the Book of Leinster, which was compiled within the years 1120 and 1 1 60. A copy is contained in the Book
of Ballymote, composed in 1391 ; and ano- ther in the Book of Lecain, written a. d. 1416. A later still is found in the great
Book of Genealogies, compiled by Dudley Mac Firbis, in 1650.
By referring to these pedigrees, you may easily find the time at which any of the early saints of Erinn flourished. As, for instance, St. Co- lum Cille is recorded to have been the son
of /i'/^//wzd%, son of Fergus, son of Conall, sonofNiall, " of the Nine Hostages," mo- narch of Erinn, who was killed in the year
405. Now, by allowing the usual average
the year 520. He was actually bom, as we know from other sources, in 515. "
"'He is said likewise to have written some poetic precepts. See Edward O'Reilly's "Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. Iv. Ivi.
'"The work attributed to him, "Liber de Mensura Orbis Terrae," was first pub- lished at Paris in 1807 by Walckenaer. Another edition, edited by Letronne, was published in 181 1. A more complete edi- tion still is that published at Berlin, A. D. 1870, and edited by Gust. Parthey.
"3 See "Irish Folk Lore," by Lagenien-
sis. Chap, xxx. , pp. 253 to 284.
"Anglicse Historioe Libri Vigintiseptem," lib. v.
'^^ See his Life at the 20th of March,
"° See Professor
lures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 359, 360.
"
This learned writer adds :
of
to each of the four
'^^ See Sir " De James Ware,
thirty years
genera-
Scriptoribus Hibernias," lib. i. , cap. v. , pp. 38 to 41.
Eugene O'Curry's
tions from Niall to Colum, making 120
years, and adding them to 405, we shall
find that Colum (who is known to have died in the year 592) must have been bom about
"? See his Life at the 22nd of October, '-^ See his Life at the 22nd of August, '^ See his Life at the 5th of June.
" Lee-
'^'' See Henricus Canisius, Lectiones,"tomus i. , and Polydore Virgil,
" Antiqute
INTRODUCTION. xxix
saints. '3o Besides these, Maolmura of Fahan, a poet and historian j^3i St. Patrick, Abbot of Armagh ;'32 ^ngus,'33 who wrote the praises of his more celebratednamesakeinelegantverse;'34 MoengalorMarcellus,Masterover the Schools of St. Gall j'35 and St. Buo,'36 Apostle of Iceland, with many others : all are classed among the theological, philosophical and historical
writers of this age. '3?
Towards the close of the ninth, and- the commencement of the tenth
century, flourished the celebrated and accomplished St. Cormac Mac Cuoil- linan,^38 King of Munster, and Bishop of Cashel. In our Irish annals and records, he has been called the most learned among the Scots. ^39 He was
skilled in philology, antiquities, poetry, and history. He is said to have
a " De composed book,
Sanctorum Hiberniae another famous ;"
Genealogia
collection of records, in prose and verse, known as the " Psalterium Cassel-
""
ensi," or Psalter of Cashel ;"'4° as also a book, Sanas Chormaic," that is,
Cormac's Glossary or Etymological Dictionary. ^'*' Contemporaneously, and in the tenth century, flourished Selbach, secretary to King Cormac, already mentioned, and like him a man of great piety and learning. He is said to
have written a book, with the Latinized title,
*'
Genealogiai Sanctorum
Hibemiae. ""*^ This is supposed to be identical with an ancient Genealogical
and Metrical Menology in Irish verse, commencing with the words,
*' Naoimh Sheanchus Naomh or " Poetical of the Irish Innsefail," History
Saints. ^'^^a Although Colgan could not pronounce the authors real name
"
with certainty, yet he generally quotes it as the Menologium Genealo-
Ireland," book i. , chaps, v. vi.
from the original found in the "Leab/tar Brmc. "
79 The Felire or Festology is closely con • nected with lives of the saints. That of Aengus especially receives the praise of M. de la Villemarque in the November number of the French " Le
Correspon-
periodical, dant," for 1863.
*> See " Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 365 to
370. — *' This is done in the following order :
The elders or ancients under Noah ; the
prophets under Isaiah ; the patriarchs under
Abraham ; the apostles and disciples under
treat,
whereupon, he resolves to change his course, that no one may have cause for complaint. Then,hecommencesanothermovingappeal to our Lord for himself and all men. He beseeches mercy according to the merciful worldly interposition of Divine clemency in times past. Thus Enoch and Elias had been saved from dangers in this world ; Noah had been saved from the deluge ; Abraham had been saved from plagues and from the Chaldeans ; Lot had been saved from the burning city ; Jonas had escaped fromthewhale Isaachadbeendelivered
;
Peter thewiseorlearnedmenunderPaul ;
;
INTROD UCTION. XXlU
from " the countless hosts of the illuminated books of Erinn. " ^ He then says, having already mentioned and invoked the saints at their respective festival days, he will now invoke them in classes or bands, under certain heads or leaders. ^'
Towards the saints of his country, . ^ngus seems to have entertained an extraordinary veneration. According to Colgan's account, he wrote five
distinct " De Sanctis Hiberniae," which Tracts,^^'
in a
about their several lives, or on matters pertaining to them. ^s in the first
the martyrs under Stephen ; the spiritual
directors under old Paul ; the virgins of the
world under the Blessed Virgin Mary ; the
holy bishops of Rome under Peter ; the
bishops of Jerusalem under Jacob or James ;
the bishops of Antioch also under Peter ;
the bishops of Alexandria under Mark ; a
division of them under Honoratus ; a division
of learned men under the gifted Benedict ;
all the innocents who suffered at Bethlehem
under Georgius ; the priests under Aaron ;
the monks under Anthony ; a division of
the world's saints under Martin ; the noble
saints of Erinn under St. Patrick ; the saints
of Scotland under St. Colum Cille ; while destruction of the Israelites from Mount
the last great division of Erinn's saintly
virgins has been placed under holy St.
Brigid of Kildare. In an eloquent strain,
Aengus then continues to beseech our fiery furnace ; of Tobias from his blindness ; Saviour's mercy for himself and for all man- of Peter and Paul from the dungeon ; of
Job from demoniac tribulations ; of David from Saul ; of Joseph from his brothers' hands ; of the Israelites from Egyptian
kind, through the merits and sufferings of
those saints he has named and enumerated.
He asks through the merits of their dis-
membered bodies ; through their bodies bondage ; of Peter from the sea-waves ; of
piercedwithlances; throughtheirwounds;
through their groans ; through their relics ;
through their blanched countenances ;
through their bitter tears ; through all the household, to be saved, as St. Patrick had sacrifices offered of the Saviour's own Body been, from the poisoned drink at Teamhar and Blood, as it is in heaven, upon the holy [Tara], and as St. Coemhghin [Kevin] had altars ; through the blood that flowed from been at Gleann da locha [Glendalough],
the Saviour's own side ; through His sacred
Humanity ; and through His Divinity in union with the Holy Spirit and the Hea-
from perils of the mountain.
*^ See likewise Rev. Matthew Kelly's
" Dissertations chiefly on Irish Church His-
venly Father. After this long invocation, tory. " Edited by Rev. D. M'Carthy, D. D. , Aengus says the brethren of his order deemed pp. 215, 216.
all his
prayers
and
petitions
too little
;
^3 It may be observed, that these tracts
from his father's hands. He entreats Jesus,
through intercession of His Holy Mother, to save him, as Jacob was saved from the
hands of his brother, and as John [Paul] was saved from the viper's venom. He again recurs to examples found in the Old Testament. He mentions the saving of David from Goliath's sword ; the saving of Susanna from her dangers ; of Nineveh from
;
Gilba [Gilboa] ; of Daniel from the lion's
den ; of Moses from the hands of Faro
[Pharaoh] ; of the three youths from the
Johnfromthefierycaldron; ofMartinfrom the priest of the idol. Again, he beseeches Jesus, through intercession of the heavenly
particular manner,
4-
foregoing.
over three columns.
9' As the brothers, who were sons to
part ii», sect, ii. , pp. 137, 138. He was wrong in stating, that a copy of this was in
that part of the Book of Leinster, kept in Trinity College, Dublin. He alluded to
Aed,toNessan,&c. orasonof—. ,
9^ As the daughters of — or the daughter
— Book of " of fol. 16, col. I. yEngus'
INTROD UCTION.
Treatise, he gives the different distinctions of those saints in classes ; he enu-
merates 345 bishopSj^-^ 299 abbots and priests,^^ and seventy-eight deacons. ^^ These he has comprised within the hmits of three chapters. The second Tract is known as the " Homonymi," or the enumeration of saints bearing similar names, but distinguished by various other titles. ^7 It mentions 855 distinct persons, under sixty-two different names, and it is divided into two parts; thefirstpartcontainingfiftychapters,onholymenofthesamename,^^ and the second, twelve chapters on holy women. ^9 The third Treatise, known as the " Book of Sons," divides the saints into another classification. 9° It names saints, who are descended from the same father, and afterwards only sons, each cited by the father's name. 9' Lastly, are enumerated female saints, in their descent from the same father. ? ^ The names of ninety-four fathers,93 who had one saint, or more saints than one, as children, are here preserved, although the number of saints cannot always be discovered. ^* The fourth Tract comprises the names of 210 saints, with their maternal genealogy. 9s It would appear from this title, that the paternal genealogy of these saints had beenpreviouslywritten,eitherbyanotherhand,orbythatofyEngus. The fifth " Book of Litanies" enumerates, in form of an invocation, a long list of saints. 9^ In several of its invocations, the principal name, with associated disciples, is generally found. 97 This name usually pertains to the saint who
seem to be comprised in the ten folia, ex- tracted from the Book of Leinster.
^* In the itn folia, these names begin with Patrick, and end with Cobthach, fol. II,
col.
^s At the end of col. 4, this list begins,
and it occupies nearly four columns.
^ These begin at fol. 12, col. 4.
^^ Half-way down col. 5, this commences.
Copies of this list are contained in the " Book
of Ballymote," as also, in the "Book of Lecain. "
^ Thus all those named Aedan are given first : all those named Aed, Brenain, Coluim, &C, , are regularly tabulated, in alphabetical order.
^ Their names follow on a plan similar to
9* Here in the 10 folia, other tracts occur,
which as they are not attributed to the
authorship of St. ^ngus, Colgan passes over.
95 At fol. 18, and on the first column of fol. 19, these matrons are numbered from I
93, by Colgan for purposes of reference ; while the numbers thus given correspond
"
with the figures quoted in his
torum Hibemire," and "Trias Thau-
the
9° At fol. 15, col. 3. This list extends terior to the Anglo-Norman Invasion,"
of Irish Saints," and not to his "Litany. " This is to be found in the ' ' Leabhar-Mor Duna Doighre. " the worn state of this old Codex. See See Professor O'Curry's "Lectures on the "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish His-
Vita S. ^ngussii, cap. xiv. , p. 581. tory," Lect. xviii. , n. 47, p. 381.
93 Colgan adds, that he omitted other
names,
which he could not to read, owing
"
9^ This begins near the top of col. 2, fol.
19.
97 In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nige," Martii viii. Vita S. Senani, n. 11,
p. 535, a part of this Litany is quoted. Dr. Petrie also introduces this extract into his " Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland an-
maturga.
Pedigrees
Acta Sanc-
INTRODUCTION. XXV
presided over a particular monastery,? ^ with the number of holy disciples under his nile ;99 or to a saint who was buried at some particular church, with
his who " in the Lord '°° or to some companions, slept /' perchance
apostle, who, with his numerous band of missionaries, went forth to preach the Gospel
to benighted nations. ^°^ The names, or native places of many foreigners, who flocked to the hives of learning and sanctity in Ireland, are noted in an especialmanner/"^ HerearefoundinvokedthenamesofItalian,Egyptian? British, and Gallic saints, who had been buried in Ireland. ^°3
It has been incorrectly asserted, that the foregoing work is sometimes
called " altogether
which means, the Metrical or Yet, it would appear from Colgan's statement, that the
Psalter. ^°4 Saltair-na-rann" was
Saltair-na-rann,"
Multipartite "
a distinct treatise. '°5 After
describing
" De Sanctis
Hibemiae,"
'-" Some years ag;o, Dr. Todd examined
characters ; while on the opposite side, there is a correct English translation, by a
this MS. , containing ten folia, which he
foimd to have constituted a part of the "Book
of Leinster. " This fact would seem to iden-
tify it with the MS. seen at Louvain, and
described by Father Soller, the BoUandist,
as we have already stated. In point of an- the Archives of St. Isidore's Franciscan tiquity, this version dates back to the first Convent, at Rome.
'°^
See Dr. Lanigan's" Ecclesiastical His- contain the Martyrology of Tallaght—to tory of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , § x. ,
half of the twelfth century. These folia
which allusion has been already made—to- gether with five of seven works attributed to ^ngus. Ward and Colgan consulted this MS. ; for their readings seem to have been marked, and these are very useful in assisting the Irish scholar to decipher certain words. However legible in their time, these are nearly altogether defaced at present. In Ward's and O'Sheerin's Acts of St. Rumold, published at Louvain in 1662, this Litany is quoted at great length, p. 206. With the exception of the groups of seven bishops, nearly all the saints, whose intercession is
invoked, are given.
99 The 8vo paper MSS. , No. 40, 4, in the
p. 247. In note 106, p. 251, he remarks
"Litany of St.
"" See also Harris' Ware, vol. iii. ,
"WritersofIreland,"booki. , chap,v. ,pp.
52, 53-
"^ There is an incomplete copy of this
Litany in the Leabhar Breac, R. I. A. copy. ^=^3 The portion of this work, known as the Litany, has been translated and published
"
for the first time in the Irish Ecclesiastical
Record," vol. iii. Nos. xxxii. and xxxiii. ,
for May and June, 1867. The original Irish occupies one side of the page, in the Irish
R. I. A. , contains the
yEngus. "
'°° At the end of the
in the ten folia, there is some memorandum in Irish.
Litany,
"
competent scholar, writing under the initials B. M. C. Explanatory notes are found at the foot of nearly all those pages. A learned dissertation precedes this Litany, taken from
" Under this title,
says {ib. , p . 582) that it appears in some old Irish MSS. , and that he got a part of it, with the inscription, from Saltair-na-rann composed by Aengus Cele-De. He observes that the latest saint mentioned in it is St. Tigeniach,sonofSt. Mella,andfounderof Doire-melle (see chap, xix. , sec. 13), who died abbot of Kill-achad, in the now county of Cavan, on the 4th of November, A. D. 805 (806). See AA. SS. p. 796, and Arch- dall at Kilachad. This is a strong proof of the assertion that Aengus was the author of this work. " He seems also to have written —at least a great part of it—after the ninth
century commenced.
'°5 There is a MS. Martyrology, entitled,
on this passage :
Colgan
Saltair-na-Rann," preserved in the British Museum [Egerton, 185]. It is a thin, small quarto-sized volume in verse, and with the exception of a few pages, it has been written in the bold and accurate hand of Dubhal- tach Mac Firbisigh, about the year 1650. It consists of sixty-seven pages, containing five quatrains, or twenty lines, on each page. The title is in accordance with the second quatrain, which, as Anglicized, thus begins : "The Saltair of the verses shall be the name
Of my poem : it is not an unwise title. "
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
he mentions the " Saltair-na-rann" as having been composed in the Irish
language ; and, of course, as being distinct from the first named treatise, which had been written mostly in Latin. '°^ Yet, it must be confessed, that the sentences employed by Colgan in his account are rather ambiguous. ^°7
"
The work entitled,
De Sanctis Hibemiae,'' does not appear to have been a
metrical composition, as may be seen in extracts taken from it, and found in
many of Colgan's notes. The " Saltair-na-rann" comprises a History of the
Old Testament,^°^ written in verse,'°3 and which is attributed to ^ngus as its
author. We are informed, that the Chronicle of ^ngus Ceile De, known as
"""
Saltair-na-rann," /. e. Saltair of the Poems" or Verses," has been so
because " sailm" means a " It contains one hundred and psalm. ""°
called,
fifty poems, composed in the finest style of the Gaelic language, as under- stoodintheeighthcentury. '" Thiswork,attributedto^ngusCeileDe, has been called " and it is distributed into
Saltair-na-rann,""
Written in the form of prayers, it tends to raise the reader's mind to the love
of God, and to the celebration of His praise, for all the Creator's works are referred to His greater glory, and rest upon His power, as their final cause.
voted to him. The modem writer, who supplied Mac Firbis's omissions, has ad- mitted some incorrections.
See "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 360, 361, and Appendix, No. cix. , p. 609.
'"s Harris this work had been written says,
"
conflatura in quibusdam antiquis patriae a distinct work from the " Psaltar-na-
This "Saltair-na-Rann," however, is en-
tirely distinct from that of Aengus Ceile
De. '°*
Dr. Geoffrey Keating attributes to the
" authorship of St. iEngus a Saltair-na-
'*
Rann. " See History of Ireland. " Pre-
face. »o7
membranis patrio sermone intitulatur Sal-
tuir-na-rann : quae vol Latine reddita Psal-
terium metricum, nunc Psalterium multipar-
titum denotat. Et in utroque sensu, diversa
S. — recte sic inscribi Aengussii opera pote-
rant. V "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xi. MartiL Vita S. Aengussii, cap. xv. , pp. 581, 582.
O'Mahony's edition, p.
Ixii.
Opus ex jam memoratis opusculis
in elegant metre, but he seems to regard it as
«* The other " Saltair-na-Rann," to
which allusion has been made in a preceding
note, contains three hundred and twelve
quatrains, written in the inferior Gaelic of
the sixteenth, if not of a later century. Yet,
it is not, strictly speaking, a Gaelic Martyr-
o'ogy J for all the Irish saints Professor
O'Curry could discover in it were , St. Pat-
rick, St. Brigid of Kildare, St. Ciaran of property of Sir William Betham. It is Saighir, and St. Ciaran of Clonmacnois.
to the
According poet's arrangement, every
of six folio — written upwards pages, closely
quatrain commenced with a saint's name, on the largest size vellum. " "Chronolo-
but sometimes there are three or even four quatrains devoted to one day, as the number
gical Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
Writers," p. liv.
"3 In Harris' vol. " Writersof Ware, iii. ,
"
Ireland, book i. , chap, v. , p. 33, it is said,
of festivals to fall within it. happened
Every saint, however, has a separate quatrain de-
Rann. "
"" Dr. Jeoffrey Keating adds, that "sal-
tair" means a
"
a psaltery," or a book con-
taining many "duans," or "verses. " See
of Ireland. " Preface.
"History O'Mahony's
edition, p. Ixxi.
'"The VIII. vol. of O'Longan MSS. , in
the R. I. A. , contains Poems of Aengus the
Culdee, pp. 52 to 54.
'" This is most probably the work de-
scribed by O'Reilly, where he says
" :
Aen- Psalter-na-rann,' which is an abridged history of the descendants of Abraham, from the birth of Isaac until after the death of Moses The Psal- ter-na-rann is preserved in a large MS. , the
gus also wrote the
'
written in a fine strong hand, and occupies
parts. "3
INTR OD UCTION. xxvu The foregoing reasons are assigned for this work deserving the title of " Sal-
"
testifies and evidence persuades us, that it had been thus inscribed and com-
MS. , from which the treatise,
Homonymi," already described, has been ex-
that some ascribed to Aengus a Psalter-na- Rann, being a miscellany on Irish affairs, in
''
greatly contributed for many years to the advancement and preservation of Ireland's orthodox and persecuted faith. At length, having endured various trials and tortures,
multipartite psalter. ""S Colgan adds, both authority
tair-na-rann,""< or the
posed by St. -^ngus. The authority assigned is that of an old parchment
"
tracted. It was sent from Ireland"^ to Colgan. It bore the following title :
*'
Homonymi Hiberniae Sancti ex Saltair-na-rann, quod composuit . ^ngus- sius Keledeus. " We are the more induced to believe, that this had been a work of St. ^ngus, since there is no saint found in any portion of it, who had not departed life before his time, or who had not been, at least, his con- temporary. "7 For,althoughourannalsrelatethedeathofSt. Melditribius in the year 840, yet, it is doubtful, if he be the saint bearing that name, and mentioned in the fortieth chapter of the second tract, as already described. "^
There are some Pedigrees of Irish saints yet existing, and these have beengenerallyascribedtoAengusCeileDe. SeveralcopiesofthisTreatise are preserved in our ancient MSS. ; but it is doubtful, if any such copies datebackintheirpresent,state,tothetimeofAengus. Inthosecopieswe po ssess, there may be defections or additions, as compared with the original
prose and verse, Latin and Irish.
wrote no such work," says Dr. Lanigan,
"and his ovily Psalter, ox Saltair-na-rann,
were those above mentioned. Harris got
his information either from Toland, or Protestants, A. D. 1642.
from some one who took it from him. "—
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , sec. x. , n. 107,
p. 251.
"* See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
ni? e," xi. Martii. Vita S. Aengussii, cap. XV. , p. 582.
"5 The late Professor Eugene O'Curry
told me, he had examined a magnificent
copy of the " Psalter-na-Rann" at Oxford.
At that he informed the no time, writer,
perfect copy of it was known to be extant in Ireland.
"*The person who brought this book with him from Ireland was the Very Rev. Father Francis Mathew, at one time guar- dian of the Convent at Louvain, and Francis- can Provincial over the Irish province. He was a man of much erudition, austerity of life, and very zealous in the cause of religion. He presented this work, already mentioned, to Colgan, in the year 1633. By his preach- ing, exhortations, and pious labours, he had
"7 This matter had been discovered, by a careful collation of this treatise with our annals and native records. According to these later authentic sources, no saint men- tioned in the work alluded to, is found to have lived after A. D. 800, except St. Tiger- nach, founder of Doire-melle monastery. He is said to have departed A. D. 805, at which time there can be no doubt that iEn- gus was still living,
"^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
ni? e," xi. Martii. Vita S. . (Engussii, cap. XV. , p. 582. Colgan observes, that he was induced to treat, at some length, on the valuable works of this venerable saint, that
his readers might know what great antiquity and authority attached to the aforesaid Mar- tyrologies and other works, and which he had so frequently taken occasion to quote in his own volumes. It would also appear, Colgan intended to publish the works of St. ^ngus, had his own life been prolonged. Ibid. , cap. xiv. , p. 581.
Dr. Lanigan's
Aengus
with the greatest patience and constancy, this pious sufferer was put to death by the
xxviii INTRODUCTION.
composition. The oldest copy known is also the best and most copious,"?
and its genuineness has been generally admitted by most of our antiquarians. It is the more valuable, because it almost invariably gives references to the sites of churches, in connection with the holy persons whose pedigrees are found recorded. It often enumerates and traces the lineage of groups of persons or associates, who occupied such churches at one time, and occa- sionally their successors for a few generations. In the form of anno- tations, an immense amount of ecclesiastical and topographical information isconveyed. Thesehistoriccommentsestablishwithsatisfactoryexactness a date for the foundation of nearly all our primitive churches. It is an almost invariable rule with the venerable genealogist, to trace the pedigree of each saint to some remarkable personage, whose name and period can be ascertained from our national records . and books of secular genealogy. "" This is thought to be the oldest known collection of our national saints' pedigreesinexistence. Itsexacttimeofcompositioncannotbedetermined; but, if genuinely attributed, it was probably one of Aengus's latest and most matured literary efforts.
Fothadius, the Canonist, so called from his knowledge of the Church Canons, on which he is said to have written ;"^ Dicul or Dicuil, called the Geographer;"^ Dungal, the Recluse ;"3 Albin,"4 Clement,"5 and Claude;"^
St. Donatus,"7 Bishop of Fiesole, and St. Andrew,"^ his Archdeacon ; all these were Irish writers, whose learning served to render the ninth century somewhat remarkable. St. Boniface, also, first Bishop of Mentz,"9 is said to have been a Scot by birth, and to have been the author of a Life of certain
"9 This is found in the Book of Leinster, which was compiled within the years 1120 and 1 1 60. A copy is contained in the Book
of Ballymote, composed in 1391 ; and ano- ther in the Book of Lecain, written a. d. 1416. A later still is found in the great
Book of Genealogies, compiled by Dudley Mac Firbis, in 1650.
By referring to these pedigrees, you may easily find the time at which any of the early saints of Erinn flourished. As, for instance, St. Co- lum Cille is recorded to have been the son
of /i'/^//wzd%, son of Fergus, son of Conall, sonofNiall, " of the Nine Hostages," mo- narch of Erinn, who was killed in the year
405. Now, by allowing the usual average
the year 520. He was actually bom, as we know from other sources, in 515. "
"'He is said likewise to have written some poetic precepts. See Edward O'Reilly's "Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. Iv. Ivi.
'"The work attributed to him, "Liber de Mensura Orbis Terrae," was first pub- lished at Paris in 1807 by Walckenaer. Another edition, edited by Letronne, was published in 181 1. A more complete edi- tion still is that published at Berlin, A. D. 1870, and edited by Gust. Parthey.
"3 See "Irish Folk Lore," by Lagenien-
sis. Chap, xxx. , pp. 253 to 284.
"Anglicse Historioe Libri Vigintiseptem," lib. v.
'^^ See his Life at the 20th of March,
"° See Professor
lures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , pp. 359, 360.
"
This learned writer adds :
of
to each of the four
'^^ See Sir " De James Ware,
thirty years
genera-
Scriptoribus Hibernias," lib. i. , cap. v. , pp. 38 to 41.
Eugene O'Curry's
tions from Niall to Colum, making 120
years, and adding them to 405, we shall
find that Colum (who is known to have died in the year 592) must have been bom about
"? See his Life at the 22nd of October, '-^ See his Life at the 22nd of August, '^ See his Life at the 5th of June.
" Lee-
'^'' See Henricus Canisius, Lectiones,"tomus i. , and Polydore Virgil,
" Antiqute
INTRODUCTION. xxix
saints. '3o Besides these, Maolmura of Fahan, a poet and historian j^3i St. Patrick, Abbot of Armagh ;'32 ^ngus,'33 who wrote the praises of his more celebratednamesakeinelegantverse;'34 MoengalorMarcellus,Masterover the Schools of St. Gall j'35 and St. Buo,'36 Apostle of Iceland, with many others : all are classed among the theological, philosophical and historical
writers of this age. '3?
Towards the close of the ninth, and- the commencement of the tenth
century, flourished the celebrated and accomplished St. Cormac Mac Cuoil- linan,^38 King of Munster, and Bishop of Cashel. In our Irish annals and records, he has been called the most learned among the Scots. ^39 He was
skilled in philology, antiquities, poetry, and history. He is said to have
a " De composed book,
Sanctorum Hiberniae another famous ;"
Genealogia
collection of records, in prose and verse, known as the " Psalterium Cassel-
""
ensi," or Psalter of Cashel ;"'4° as also a book, Sanas Chormaic," that is,
Cormac's Glossary or Etymological Dictionary. ^'*' Contemporaneously, and in the tenth century, flourished Selbach, secretary to King Cormac, already mentioned, and like him a man of great piety and learning. He is said to
have written a book, with the Latinized title,
*'
Genealogiai Sanctorum
Hibemiae. ""*^ This is supposed to be identical with an ancient Genealogical
and Metrical Menology in Irish verse, commencing with the words,
*' Naoimh Sheanchus Naomh or " Poetical of the Irish Innsefail," History
Saints. ^'^^a Although Colgan could not pronounce the authors real name
"
with certainty, yet he generally quotes it as the Menologium Genealo-
Ireland," book i. , chaps, v. vi.
