Unicus ille quidem semper
patronus
'
egentum,
Vestibus hos, lllos adjuvat aere, cibo.
egentum,
Vestibus hos, lllos adjuvat aere, cibo.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
21 In this letter, Ward appears to have stated, that the Irish Martyrologies concur
to the 12th of 22 The writer September.
in the feast of St. assigning
Ailbe,
had given the Bollandists three different manuscript copies of St- Ailbe's
Acts but, he did not state to them the source whence these had been ;
obtained. 2^ The Bollandists had a parchment Salamancan manuscript Life
of St. Ailbe, marked P. MS. II. 24 However, Suyskens regrets, that although these Acts may be of sufficient length, and abounding in incidents ; they are usually filled with fables and anachronisms, which render them altogether unreliable in many particulars. He remarks with truth, that such was generally the case, where the Lives of Irish saints have been found written at great length. Nor are the Acts of St. Ailbe, attributed to St. Evin2* as
12 "
In Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 409, 412, 414, and cap. xvii. , pp. 450, 451, 452, 476.
gentos annos floruit, alter ante quadrin- 14 See " De Scriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. gentos. Item ex Martyrologio metrico
O Bresseani, alio in et antiquissimo prosa,
13 See Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 71, 72.
and "
Archiepiscoporum
i. , cap. i. , pp. I, 2,
Casseliensium et Tuamensium Vitae," p. I.
libro, quern Psalterium carminum vocant, a 15 See Cafalogus Actuum Sanctorum S. . /Enea eodem conscripto, et Psalterio
"
quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Dierum. "
Casselensi ac libro per Possidium, archi-
poetam et historicum, inde et ex aliis collecto. "
16
St. Brigid in Trias Thaumaturga," num. 9, 10, p. 604. One among these Lives of our saint begins with the following sen- tence: "Albeus virorum Mumenensium pater beatissimus, ac totius Hyberniae insulae post S. Patricium secundus patronus, ortus est ex Orientali parte regionis Cliach, quae est in Mummonia. " Another Life of our
"
Saint thus commences :
beatissimus, Hyberniae insulae alter Patricius,
ex Orientali parte regionis, quae Arycliach dicitur oriundus fuit. "
17 In a Sylloge Historico-Critica of two sections, comprising thirty -four paragraphs.
18
See ''Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
See his Second Appendix to the Acts of
" 22
Septembris xii. De S. Albeo seu Ailbeo
Episcopo Imelacensi, pp. 26 to 31.
x 9 The editor remarks, that it is not a little surprising, when Irish writers regard our Saint as another Patrick, Martyrologists appear to have made so many mistakes
24 "
regarding him.
20 From Louvain.
21 Ward adds
:
" Uti ex Martyrologio
Helveus episcopus
metrico S. /Eneae Unifabri constat, et altero
metrico B. Mariani Gormani abbatis Collis
Apostolorum ; quorum primus ante octin-
These statements fell into the hands of Suyskens, who does not undertake to ques- tion Ward's critical accuracy concerning the authors and times, to which the respective Martyrologies are referred.
23
Ward wrote
habes ex duobus diversis codicibus Hiber- nicis, et aliis Latinis ; quorum unius auctor est S. Evinus abbas monasterii S. Albani (recte Abbani) in Lagenia, coaevus discipulis Alvei. " And after a few other remarks, the writer continues: "Ipsa Vita, quam fecit Latinam D. O'Sullevanus ex codice D. comitis de Birhaven, etiam est penes me, inde extracta ante annos octo. "
In a letter accompanying this present,
:
" Item ex ejus vita, quam
Albeus Sanctus episco- pus, sanctorum virorum, Mumenentium praeses beatissimus, Hyberniae insula altar Patricius, ex orientali parte regionis Cliach
oriundus fuit. "
25 Suyskens appears to have had no dis-
tinct knowledge regarding this saint. However, he was the same as St. Emhim,
It thus begins
:
28o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
their author, free from such defects. They are regarded as a farrago of
unbearable figments ; and specimens are only given from them to prove the
truth of Suysken's observations. There are notices of this saint, in the works
26 2? 28 of Bishop Challoner, of Rev. Alban Butler, of Rev. S. Baring-Gould,
and of Alfred Webb. 2?
Many years before the time of St. Patrick^ a Christian Priests is said to
have been sent to the Island of Hibernia, that he might there propagate the
true faith. The learned Ussher cannot agree with the opinion of those
writers, who think the priest baptising our saint could have been no other
2
than Palladius,3 sent to announce the Christian faith in Ireland, immediately
before St. Patrick commenced his mission in 432. 33 When that priest came,
the Irish are said to have been Gentiles, and with very few exceptions, they
rejected his mission and teaching. ? 4 When the priest travelled into Munster,
it is stated, that he found the boy Ailbe praying out of doors, and intently
regarding the Heavens above, while asking earnestly for the light of truth, in
these terms " I pray, that I may know the Creator of all things, and I will :
believe in Him, who made Heaven, earth and all creatures ; for I understand, that all these elements were not formed without an artificer, nor could any human agency create them. " As the holy child, Albeus, had offered up this prayer, the priest, who had been near, heard it and accosted him. Then the boy was taught all he wished to learn respecting those great subjects. Afterwards,hewasbaptised,bythenamehehadalreadybome. 35 Another account has it, that St. Albeus was born in the eastern part of the land of Eliach, and that he was brought up by Britons who dwelt in that territory, until a priest of the British nation, who had made some efforts to convert the Irish nation to Christianity, came thither, and finding the child desirous of
6
knowing and serving God, instructed him in the faith, and baptised him. 3 The date of St. Ailbe's baptism appears to be referred by Ussher, with some
hesitation, to a. d. 360. 37 However, this early date is altogether irreconcil- able with the subsequent statements which have been set forth in reference to him. Colgan has adopted some of these accounts 38 but, he has been
;
bishop of Rosglass, and whose feast occurs with that in the text ; and, in the Salaman-
on the 23rd of December. can and Island MSS. , which the
26 See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. , pp. Bollandists possessed, that priest who
"
126 to 128. Also, A Memorial of British
Piety," pp. 128, 129.
27 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other Principal Saints," voL ix. , Sep-
3S Ussher adds a comment, on the fore- See Lives of the Saints," vol ix. , Sep- going account, that the Christian priest
tember 12 5,8 '•
tember 12, pp. 180, 181.
29 See " A Compendium of Irish Blogra-
phy," p. 3.
3° See his Life, at the 17th of March, in
the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
31 This statement is taken from the Kil-
here mentioned as sent from the Roman See to Ireland is said to have been there many years before St. Patrick ; nor could he coincide with those who thought him to have been identical with Palladius, who received
his mission the year before St. Patrick came "
kenny Manuscript, and buyskens doubts to preach in Ireland. See Britannicarum not this priest must have been Palladius, Ecclesiaium Antiquitates," cap. xvi. ,
unless we are to imagine some other, and withoutsufficientauthority,tohavebeensent from the Roman See.
3* See his Life at the 6th of July, the date for his festival, in the Seventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
p. 409.
3> bee Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , p. 126.
baptised our Saint is called Palladius. He is said, also, to have been sent into Ireland, by Pope Celestine, before the time of St. Patrick,
3J See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum death, A. i>. 527, St. Ailbe should have
Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 409.
34 The Kilkenny Manuscript, quoted by
Suyskens, gives an account corresponding
lived 167 years, in such hypothesis.
38 Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Ap- pendix v. ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xv. De
3 ? See
"Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates. " Index Chronologicus, p. 512. If we are to take the received date for his
1
September 12. I LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS. 2$:
obliged, as a consequence, to contradict himself in other places. Sir James Ware39 and Dr. Lanigan40 are of opinion, that Ailbe was not prior to St.
Patrick, in the prosecution of missionary enterprises, although they admit him to have been contemporaneous with the Apostle of Ireland. 4I
There can be no doubt regarding the veneration in which Ailbe had been
held in former times ; for, he is dignified with the title of saint in various
Irish hagiographies. Among the manuscript materials, in the Bollandist
Museum, and which related to Ireland, was to be found a certain Irish
2
composition/ referring to the principal Irish Saints. 43 In this manuscript
their virtues were especially characterized. 44 However, a great difference of
opinion exists, among our native writers, regarding the exact period when St. Ailbe flourished. By certain historians, we are told, that he was living in Ireland, with Saints Declan45 of Ardmore, Ibar46 of Beg Eri, and Kieran*7 of Saigir, before the arrival of St. Patrick in this country. 48 In these accounts, they seem to have followed implicitly some old tracts or legends, which abound in absurdities and contradictions. 4? Hanmer alludes to these rhapsodies, and copies their fabulous statements. 50 Ussher also draws his
accounts of our saint from such sources.
It is related in St. Ailbe's Acts, as published by the Bollandists, that his
descent was from the Dalaradians in the north of Ireland. Ailbhe belonged to the race of Fertlachtga, son to Fergus, son of Ross, son to Rudhraighe.
in verse the rule which— 51 " composed begins
for me Say [to
It was he that
the son of Saran]' Cuimin, of Coindeire, cecinit
u
;
:
There came not into a body of clay, One more generous of food or raiment. "
Ailbhe loved hospitality ;
He was not a false devotee ;
The foregoing words within brackets have been added by Professor O'Curry, as serving to complete the first line of the poem quoted. 52 The father of our saint is called Olcneus," by some writers, and by others Olcnais. His
S. Patricii Patria et Genere, pp. 250,
« See his Life, in the Seventh Volume of . this work, at July 24th, Art. i.
46 See his in the Fourth Volume of Life,
this work, at the 23rd of April, Art. i.
47 See his Life, in the Third Volume of
this work, at the 5th of March, Art. i.
48 Thus, Hanmer states, on the authority of a Legend, and on very slight grounds,
that with their disciples, preaching the Gospel of Christ before Patrick, there were
four bishops, Albeus, Declanus, Ybarus and Kyaranus in Ireland. —" Chronicle of Ire- land," p. 69.
et sei l-
39 See, Sir James Ware's "
Opuscula
adscripta S. Patricio. " Annotationes,
p. 106 Londini, 1656, iamo.
40
See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, x. , pp. 21, ^seil-
,
41
Harris followed Ussher, in this matter, appearing to prefer the latter writer's authority to the account of his author, Sir James Ware. See his observations, at the
Lives of Irish Bishops, viz. , Ailbe, Kieran and
St. Patrick. Harris' Ware, vol. . i. , pp. 10,
400,490,491.
42
Attributed to St. Cummin.
43 Dom. Philip O'Sullevan sent a Latin
version of it to the Bollandists, in the year x °35-
Ailbe's
4* Even Lloyd, in his work on Church Government, says, he dared not wholly reject these Irish Legends, fcee chap. ii.
4* The
S» "
on St. great chanty, is thus pronounced:
Dr. Todd adds in a note
following eulogy,
There is a good copy of this poetical rule in Mr. Curry's copy of the Brussels MS. , contain- ingtheFelireofAengus,&c. Thepoemis
addressed to Eoghan, son of Saran, of Cluain Coelain, Co. Tipperary. "
53 in the Kilkenny MS. By Ussher, he
Albius sterna ruerit mihi laude canendus ;
Haud scio, num vivat largior ulla manus.
Unicus ille quidem semper patronus '
egentum,
Vestibus hos, lllos adjuvat aere, cibo.
50 " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 71, 72.
51 See" of edited Martyrology Donegal,"
by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 246, 247.
:
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS: [September ti.
mother was named Sandith, Handith or Sant. 54 She is said to have been a maid-servant, in the house of Cronan, the Lord of Eliach. ss He was also regarded as a king, over the territory known as Eliogarty, and this is said to
have originally included Ely O'Carroll,56 which formerly was in Munster, as also the baronies of Ikerrin and Eliogarty,57 now in the County of Tipperary. It is said, that St. Ailbe was born in Eliach. s8 This name is supposed to be derived from its signifying a level tract of country; while others have it as being identical with Aileach, Elagh or Ellagh, meaning a stone-fort. 59 But we must not wholly confound it with Ely O'Caroll, as Hanmer60 did ; although that district formerly belonged to the Munster province.
The Legend of our Saint's Life, as found in the Bollandists' collection, relates, that Ailbe's birth caused such displeasure to Cronan, that he would not allow the infant to be brought up in his house. Cronan ordered the child to be exposed to dogs and wild beasts, that he might be devoured. His father had been obliged previously, to fly from the anger of this petty ruler. Then we have a story regarding the exposed child being carried away by a wolf from a great stone under which he had been laid, and brought to this wild animal's den. There he was tended and preserved with the wolf's
named Lochan,61 his beautiful admiring
Thence a
gentile,
appearance, is said to have drawn the child, and as having brought him
offspring.
to his own home. 62 From the circumstance of this babe having been found living beneath a rock, his name is said to have been derived. 6^ But, indeed, as the Bollandist editor yery justly remarks, the whole of this fable
is called Olcnais, and he is said to have dwelt " in regione Artrigi. " — " Britannica- rum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p.
John ODubhagain and Giolla na Naomh
O'Huidhrin," pp. 134, 135, and p. Ixxxvi. ,
nn. 777, 778. Also Roderick O'Flaherty's
"
Ogygia," Part iii«> caP- Ixxxii. , pp. 386 to 54 According to a Salamancan Manu- 388.
409.
script, and the O'Clerys.
55 The Eliach or Elia here alluded to is
known as Eliogarty, derived in denomina- tion from Eile, the seventh in descent according to some accounts from Cian, son of Oiliol Olum, King of Munster. See Dr.
P. W. " Joyce's
59 See Dr. P. W. Joyce's "Origin and
History of Irish Names of Places," part iii. ,
and
Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, ii. ,
which Ussher quotes, this man is called the
son of Luider.
6i "
Origin
History
of
Tunc p. 130. According to others, Cian left no lupa post eum ad catulos revertens, et
posterity.
56 This district has been formed into the
baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybritt, in the
present King's County. The O'Carrolls were for many centuries chieftains over this
country.
57 After the Anglo-Norman Invasion,
these divisions were withdrawn, and added to the Earl of Ormond's country, the native
chiefs, O'Meagher and O'Fogarty, becoming his tributaries. See Dr. O'Donovan's LeAbharv na 5-CeA|\c, or " Book of Rights," pp. 78, 79 n. (i).
58 The Southern Eile, known as Eile
Ui-Foghartaigh or O'Fogarty's Ely, are said
by O'Huidhein to have descended from
Eochaidh Bailldeirg, the son of Carthainn
Fionn, King of Thomond, in the time of St.
Patrick. According to this account O'Fogarty
was not of the Elian race, but descended from
the Dal-Cais of Thomond. See Dr. to others, better skilled than he was in the O'Donovan's "Topographical Poems of Irish language.
chap, i. , p, 283. 60 "
61
In the Legend of St. Ailbe's Life, from
See Chronicle of Ireland," p. 71.
This silly legend thus proceeds
:
Puerum inter suos non inveniens, e vestigio sequuta velociter virum est. Cumque homo demui suae appropinquaret, fera irruit in eum ac pallium ejus tenuit, et non permisit eum domum intrare, donee in sinu ejus prospexit puerum. TuncLochanusadlupamait; Vade in pace; quia Puer deceteroerit apud me, et non relinquam eum tecum. Tunc lupa rugi- endo ac ululando reversa est ad speluncam suam; LochanusveroPuerumnutriens,ejus curaro quibusdam Brittonibus Christianis commiserat, a quibus hoc nomen Helveus ei imponebatur, eo quod vivus sub rupe est inventus. "
:
63 The Bollandist editor says he found the following marginal note, affixed to his
copy of the legend
" Alveus, quasi Albeo
; Ail Ilibernica sonat Rupem aut Saxum ;
*** "
Beo vero vivum. This etymology,
however, he desires to leave for judgment
September 12. ] LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. *«3 seems borrowed from a still older legend concerning Romulus and Remus,64
6*
the illegitimate sons of Rhea Silvia,
they having been saved and suckled by
66
a wolf.
However, in the Acts of St. Ailbe, quoted by Ussher,6? we have a much more reasonable narrative concerning Lochan's giving St. Ailbe, when rescued from beneath the rock where he had been exposed, to certain Britons, who lived with him in the eastern part of Eliach. There, he was tended with great care by his guardians. The grace of God soon became manifested in him. Even while a boy, he desired to be enlightened con- cerning the Creator of the Universe. 68 It would seem, in the different copies of St. Ailbe's Acts, which fell into the hands of Suyskens, there were even contradictory statements regarding him that cannot be regarded as facts. 69
The Acts of our Saint, to which Ussher had access, tell us, that Ailbe went to Rome. ? There he learned the Sacred Scriptures from Bishop
Hilarius. ? 1 The ancient author does not favour us with
this Hilarius must have been. ? 2 He is said to have been a holy man, who
64 See
" Historiarum
ab Urbe
ad sancti totam urbem Roma- preces
Livy's
quae
nam, ut habent MSS. Inisense ac Salman- ticense, aut saltern tota nescio cujus, in eadem urbe monasterii septa repleverit ; item quinque alias pluviae, videlicet mellis, piscium, olei, frumenti seu panis optimi ac vini prasstantisimi, quas in eamdem urbem Romanam, ut habent duo priora MSS. , aut in sancti penum, ut Killkennensi praaplacet, ipso, quo episcopus creatus est, die tarn copiose dilapsas nugatur, Romanus Pontifex omnisque populus Romanus prodigiosis illis dapibus ties dies totidemque nocfes abunde satiati fuerint. Hasce, inquam, similesque nugas rec—ensere hie possem, at fabularum satis est. " "Acta
Septembris xii.
Episcopo Imelacensi. Sylloge Historico- Critica, sect, i. , num. 15, p. 28.
70 See Archbishop Ussher's "Britanni-
carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, cap. xvi. , p. 412.
71 The Bollandists state that the Hilarius here mentioned was no other than Pope Hilarius, or rather Hilarus, who, they say,
ordained, a. d. 464, Ailbe, bishop, as also Declan. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De Sancto Patricio, Commen- tarius Praevius, sect. 4.
72 Should there be any truth in what is said of Ailbe's expedition to Rome, Dr. Lanigan was inclined to think, that Hila- rius, bishop of Aries, who lived until the year 449, was the person alluded to, particularly as St. Patrick had spent some time among the celebrated monks of Lerins, of whose congregation Hilarius had been a member, and who probably had been a contemporary there with St. Patrick. Accordingly he might have sent Ailbe, and perhaps others, for their theological educa-
condita Libri," lib. i. , cap. 4.
65 "
See Thomas Henry Dyer's History of the Kings of Rome," sect, ii. , p. 43.
66
It is greatly to be regretted, that in this case, as in so many other instances, our Irish Saints' acts should have been not alone overloaded with fiction, but that these
have been so preposterously disedifying, as to bring discredit on the birth and parents of this Saint. We cannot but admire the just severity with which Suyskens condemns such inelegant compositions.
67 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti- quitates," cap. xvi. , p. 409.
68 A curious is told story
tomus
De S. Albeo seu Ailbeo
by
Emly, that when St. Ailbe was a little
iv. ,
*school-boy, his master directed him to look alter the sparro>vs, and see that they did not encroach on the harvest fields. Ailbe did as he was told, and he confined all the sparrows to the nouses adjoining. Then he presented himself at school with his books, and the schoolmaster, thinking he had for- gotten the duty assigned, questioned him regarding it. He was then told, to go out and judge for himself. He therefore went out, and found that no sparrow was to be seen. To the present day, when the people
of the neighbourhood begin to reap the harvest, far and near they send for water to
St. Ailbe's Well, which they sprinkle over their grounds, believing, as they do, that no sparrows shall come near their corn. See
"Emly of Old, and Emly as it is," p. 6.
This is a small pamphlet, conjointly drawn up by the late Maurice Lenihan, author of
"
the History of Limerick," and by the Very Rev. Maurice Canon Power, P. P.
69 After giving a few extracts, by way of
specimen, the learned and judicious editor
remarks
" :
the of people
Sanctorum,"
Possem hie et alia non minus tion to that renowned school. Yet, Dr. insulsa nugatoris commenta recensere, Lanigan does not mean to insinuate, that cujusmodi est predigiosa ilia pomorum Ailbe was ordained bishop during the life- mirae magnitudinis melleique saporis pluvia, time of Hilarius, Bishop of Aries. His
any
account of whom
284 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
found our Saint distinguished for his great virtues and learning, as also for miracles wrought through the Divine assistance. The account adds, he sent Ailbe to the Pope, that he might be consecrated as a bishop. 73 In the Acts of St. Declan,74 it is said, our saint had been many years a disciple of
80 81
Pope,
The opinion of Papebroke appears likewise to have met the approval
46 7.
ing.
of Suyskens.
Hilarius75 at
and that at his
76 the consecrated Pope
Rome,
Ailbe a bishop. The ingenious Papebroke, who supposes the Acts of St.
Bishop
request
Declan and of St. Ailbe as published to have been written by the same person, thinks that account probable,77 and he conjectures, that the Hilarius in question was himself a Roman Pontiff, and identical with that St. Hilarius or St. Hilarus,78 who the functions of
discharged
This Pope was remarkable for his great mental capacity and learn-
82
One of the Saint's Lives has the absurd statement, that Ailbe received episcopal consecration from Pope Clement. But, this is not only irrecon- cilable with fact, but with every other account regarding him, and may be dismissed as not worthy of consideration. If we allow, that he had been
consecrated by Pope Clement, we should be obliged to refer the period in
which Ailbe lived to the end of the first century, when Clement I. occupied
the Papal chair 83 or afterwards, to nearly the middle of the eleventh ;
century, when Clement II. was Sovereign Pontiff. 84 During this intermediate period, no Pope, bearing the name of Clement, sat in the Chair of St.
80
conjecture goes no further than that, See an account of this distinguished
perhaps, Ailbe when young had been sent Pontiff in R. P. Natalis Alexandri, • His- "
to Hilarius for his education. See Eccle- toria Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testa-
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xi. , n. 84, p. 24.
73 In reference to this statement, the Rev.
Dr. Lanigan remarks, that if Hilarius sent
Ailbe to the Pope, it would seem that Church of Rome, died a. d. 465, having Hilarius was not then a resident in Rome. —
See ibid.
7* Published by the Bollandists. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ardmoriae in Hibernia,
pp. 590 to 608.
75 See ibid. Vita S. Declani, cap. iii. , p. 597. 76 <« Whoever that Hilarius was, he is ex-
Hennessy's edition, vol. i. , pp. 20, 21.
:
82 Who writes " etenim licet memoratse
Albei Declanique Vitae Hilarium suum a
Romano pontifice distinguant, cum tamen eundum et episcopum fuisse et Romae habi- tasse velint ac praeterea Romani Pontifecis
pressly distinguished from the Pope of that ab Hiiario S. Albei institutore diversi
time, both in Ailbe's and Declan's Lives, nomen aut non memorent, aut S. Clementem
and consequently must not be confounded, per immanem parachronismum imperite
as has been done by the Bollandists, with Pope Hilarius. The whole matter is in- volved in such obscurity, that it is useless to attempt an elucidation of it. "
"
obtrundant, multasque futiles fabellas immi- sceant, non est, cur ipsis hac etiam in parte assentiamur ; praesertim cum in opposita
—See Dr.
to the 12th of 22 The writer September.
in the feast of St. assigning
Ailbe,
had given the Bollandists three different manuscript copies of St- Ailbe's
Acts but, he did not state to them the source whence these had been ;
obtained. 2^ The Bollandists had a parchment Salamancan manuscript Life
of St. Ailbe, marked P. MS. II. 24 However, Suyskens regrets, that although these Acts may be of sufficient length, and abounding in incidents ; they are usually filled with fables and anachronisms, which render them altogether unreliable in many particulars. He remarks with truth, that such was generally the case, where the Lives of Irish saints have been found written at great length. Nor are the Acts of St. Ailbe, attributed to St. Evin2* as
12 "
In Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 409, 412, 414, and cap. xvii. , pp. 450, 451, 452, 476.
gentos annos floruit, alter ante quadrin- 14 See " De Scriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. gentos. Item ex Martyrologio metrico
O Bresseani, alio in et antiquissimo prosa,
13 See Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 71, 72.
and "
Archiepiscoporum
i. , cap. i. , pp. I, 2,
Casseliensium et Tuamensium Vitae," p. I.
libro, quern Psalterium carminum vocant, a 15 See Cafalogus Actuum Sanctorum S. . /Enea eodem conscripto, et Psalterio
"
quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Dierum. "
Casselensi ac libro per Possidium, archi-
poetam et historicum, inde et ex aliis collecto. "
16
St. Brigid in Trias Thaumaturga," num. 9, 10, p. 604. One among these Lives of our saint begins with the following sen- tence: "Albeus virorum Mumenensium pater beatissimus, ac totius Hyberniae insulae post S. Patricium secundus patronus, ortus est ex Orientali parte regionis Cliach, quae est in Mummonia. " Another Life of our
"
Saint thus commences :
beatissimus, Hyberniae insulae alter Patricius,
ex Orientali parte regionis, quae Arycliach dicitur oriundus fuit. "
17 In a Sylloge Historico-Critica of two sections, comprising thirty -four paragraphs.
18
See ''Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
See his Second Appendix to the Acts of
" 22
Septembris xii. De S. Albeo seu Ailbeo
Episcopo Imelacensi, pp. 26 to 31.
x 9 The editor remarks, that it is not a little surprising, when Irish writers regard our Saint as another Patrick, Martyrologists appear to have made so many mistakes
24 "
regarding him.
20 From Louvain.
21 Ward adds
:
" Uti ex Martyrologio
Helveus episcopus
metrico S. /Eneae Unifabri constat, et altero
metrico B. Mariani Gormani abbatis Collis
Apostolorum ; quorum primus ante octin-
These statements fell into the hands of Suyskens, who does not undertake to ques- tion Ward's critical accuracy concerning the authors and times, to which the respective Martyrologies are referred.
23
Ward wrote
habes ex duobus diversis codicibus Hiber- nicis, et aliis Latinis ; quorum unius auctor est S. Evinus abbas monasterii S. Albani (recte Abbani) in Lagenia, coaevus discipulis Alvei. " And after a few other remarks, the writer continues: "Ipsa Vita, quam fecit Latinam D. O'Sullevanus ex codice D. comitis de Birhaven, etiam est penes me, inde extracta ante annos octo. "
In a letter accompanying this present,
:
" Item ex ejus vita, quam
Albeus Sanctus episco- pus, sanctorum virorum, Mumenentium praeses beatissimus, Hyberniae insula altar Patricius, ex orientali parte regionis Cliach
oriundus fuit. "
25 Suyskens appears to have had no dis-
tinct knowledge regarding this saint. However, he was the same as St. Emhim,
It thus begins
:
28o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
their author, free from such defects. They are regarded as a farrago of
unbearable figments ; and specimens are only given from them to prove the
truth of Suysken's observations. There are notices of this saint, in the works
26 2? 28 of Bishop Challoner, of Rev. Alban Butler, of Rev. S. Baring-Gould,
and of Alfred Webb. 2?
Many years before the time of St. Patrick^ a Christian Priests is said to
have been sent to the Island of Hibernia, that he might there propagate the
true faith. The learned Ussher cannot agree with the opinion of those
writers, who think the priest baptising our saint could have been no other
2
than Palladius,3 sent to announce the Christian faith in Ireland, immediately
before St. Patrick commenced his mission in 432. 33 When that priest came,
the Irish are said to have been Gentiles, and with very few exceptions, they
rejected his mission and teaching. ? 4 When the priest travelled into Munster,
it is stated, that he found the boy Ailbe praying out of doors, and intently
regarding the Heavens above, while asking earnestly for the light of truth, in
these terms " I pray, that I may know the Creator of all things, and I will :
believe in Him, who made Heaven, earth and all creatures ; for I understand, that all these elements were not formed without an artificer, nor could any human agency create them. " As the holy child, Albeus, had offered up this prayer, the priest, who had been near, heard it and accosted him. Then the boy was taught all he wished to learn respecting those great subjects. Afterwards,hewasbaptised,bythenamehehadalreadybome. 35 Another account has it, that St. Albeus was born in the eastern part of the land of Eliach, and that he was brought up by Britons who dwelt in that territory, until a priest of the British nation, who had made some efforts to convert the Irish nation to Christianity, came thither, and finding the child desirous of
6
knowing and serving God, instructed him in the faith, and baptised him. 3 The date of St. Ailbe's baptism appears to be referred by Ussher, with some
hesitation, to a. d. 360. 37 However, this early date is altogether irreconcil- able with the subsequent statements which have been set forth in reference to him. Colgan has adopted some of these accounts 38 but, he has been
;
bishop of Rosglass, and whose feast occurs with that in the text ; and, in the Salaman-
on the 23rd of December. can and Island MSS. , which the
26 See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. , pp. Bollandists possessed, that priest who
"
126 to 128. Also, A Memorial of British
Piety," pp. 128, 129.
27 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other Principal Saints," voL ix. , Sep-
3S Ussher adds a comment, on the fore- See Lives of the Saints," vol ix. , Sep- going account, that the Christian priest
tember 12 5,8 '•
tember 12, pp. 180, 181.
29 See " A Compendium of Irish Blogra-
phy," p. 3.
3° See his Life, at the 17th of March, in
the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
31 This statement is taken from the Kil-
here mentioned as sent from the Roman See to Ireland is said to have been there many years before St. Patrick ; nor could he coincide with those who thought him to have been identical with Palladius, who received
his mission the year before St. Patrick came "
kenny Manuscript, and buyskens doubts to preach in Ireland. See Britannicarum not this priest must have been Palladius, Ecclesiaium Antiquitates," cap. xvi. ,
unless we are to imagine some other, and withoutsufficientauthority,tohavebeensent from the Roman See.
3* See his Life at the 6th of July, the date for his festival, in the Seventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
p. 409.
3> bee Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , p. 126.
baptised our Saint is called Palladius. He is said, also, to have been sent into Ireland, by Pope Celestine, before the time of St. Patrick,
3J See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum death, A. i>. 527, St. Ailbe should have
Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 409.
34 The Kilkenny Manuscript, quoted by
Suyskens, gives an account corresponding
lived 167 years, in such hypothesis.
38 Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Ap- pendix v. ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xv. De
3 ? See
"Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates. " Index Chronologicus, p. 512. If we are to take the received date for his
1
September 12. I LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS. 2$:
obliged, as a consequence, to contradict himself in other places. Sir James Ware39 and Dr. Lanigan40 are of opinion, that Ailbe was not prior to St.
Patrick, in the prosecution of missionary enterprises, although they admit him to have been contemporaneous with the Apostle of Ireland. 4I
There can be no doubt regarding the veneration in which Ailbe had been
held in former times ; for, he is dignified with the title of saint in various
Irish hagiographies. Among the manuscript materials, in the Bollandist
Museum, and which related to Ireland, was to be found a certain Irish
2
composition/ referring to the principal Irish Saints. 43 In this manuscript
their virtues were especially characterized. 44 However, a great difference of
opinion exists, among our native writers, regarding the exact period when St. Ailbe flourished. By certain historians, we are told, that he was living in Ireland, with Saints Declan45 of Ardmore, Ibar46 of Beg Eri, and Kieran*7 of Saigir, before the arrival of St. Patrick in this country. 48 In these accounts, they seem to have followed implicitly some old tracts or legends, which abound in absurdities and contradictions. 4? Hanmer alludes to these rhapsodies, and copies their fabulous statements. 50 Ussher also draws his
accounts of our saint from such sources.
It is related in St. Ailbe's Acts, as published by the Bollandists, that his
descent was from the Dalaradians in the north of Ireland. Ailbhe belonged to the race of Fertlachtga, son to Fergus, son of Ross, son to Rudhraighe.
in verse the rule which— 51 " composed begins
for me Say [to
It was he that
the son of Saran]' Cuimin, of Coindeire, cecinit
u
;
:
There came not into a body of clay, One more generous of food or raiment. "
Ailbhe loved hospitality ;
He was not a false devotee ;
The foregoing words within brackets have been added by Professor O'Curry, as serving to complete the first line of the poem quoted. 52 The father of our saint is called Olcneus," by some writers, and by others Olcnais. His
S. Patricii Patria et Genere, pp. 250,
« See his Life, in the Seventh Volume of . this work, at July 24th, Art. i.
46 See his in the Fourth Volume of Life,
this work, at the 23rd of April, Art. i.
47 See his Life, in the Third Volume of
this work, at the 5th of March, Art. i.
48 Thus, Hanmer states, on the authority of a Legend, and on very slight grounds,
that with their disciples, preaching the Gospel of Christ before Patrick, there were
four bishops, Albeus, Declanus, Ybarus and Kyaranus in Ireland. —" Chronicle of Ire- land," p. 69.
et sei l-
39 See, Sir James Ware's "
Opuscula
adscripta S. Patricio. " Annotationes,
p. 106 Londini, 1656, iamo.
40
See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, x. , pp. 21, ^seil-
,
41
Harris followed Ussher, in this matter, appearing to prefer the latter writer's authority to the account of his author, Sir James Ware. See his observations, at the
Lives of Irish Bishops, viz. , Ailbe, Kieran and
St. Patrick. Harris' Ware, vol. . i. , pp. 10,
400,490,491.
42
Attributed to St. Cummin.
43 Dom. Philip O'Sullevan sent a Latin
version of it to the Bollandists, in the year x °35-
Ailbe's
4* Even Lloyd, in his work on Church Government, says, he dared not wholly reject these Irish Legends, fcee chap. ii.
4* The
S» "
on St. great chanty, is thus pronounced:
Dr. Todd adds in a note
following eulogy,
There is a good copy of this poetical rule in Mr. Curry's copy of the Brussels MS. , contain- ingtheFelireofAengus,&c. Thepoemis
addressed to Eoghan, son of Saran, of Cluain Coelain, Co. Tipperary. "
53 in the Kilkenny MS. By Ussher, he
Albius sterna ruerit mihi laude canendus ;
Haud scio, num vivat largior ulla manus.
Unicus ille quidem semper patronus '
egentum,
Vestibus hos, lllos adjuvat aere, cibo.
50 " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 71, 72.
51 See" of edited Martyrology Donegal,"
by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 246, 247.
:
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS: [September ti.
mother was named Sandith, Handith or Sant. 54 She is said to have been a maid-servant, in the house of Cronan, the Lord of Eliach. ss He was also regarded as a king, over the territory known as Eliogarty, and this is said to
have originally included Ely O'Carroll,56 which formerly was in Munster, as also the baronies of Ikerrin and Eliogarty,57 now in the County of Tipperary. It is said, that St. Ailbe was born in Eliach. s8 This name is supposed to be derived from its signifying a level tract of country; while others have it as being identical with Aileach, Elagh or Ellagh, meaning a stone-fort. 59 But we must not wholly confound it with Ely O'Caroll, as Hanmer60 did ; although that district formerly belonged to the Munster province.
The Legend of our Saint's Life, as found in the Bollandists' collection, relates, that Ailbe's birth caused such displeasure to Cronan, that he would not allow the infant to be brought up in his house. Cronan ordered the child to be exposed to dogs and wild beasts, that he might be devoured. His father had been obliged previously, to fly from the anger of this petty ruler. Then we have a story regarding the exposed child being carried away by a wolf from a great stone under which he had been laid, and brought to this wild animal's den. There he was tended and preserved with the wolf's
named Lochan,61 his beautiful admiring
Thence a
gentile,
appearance, is said to have drawn the child, and as having brought him
offspring.
to his own home. 62 From the circumstance of this babe having been found living beneath a rock, his name is said to have been derived. 6^ But, indeed, as the Bollandist editor yery justly remarks, the whole of this fable
is called Olcnais, and he is said to have dwelt " in regione Artrigi. " — " Britannica- rum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p.
John ODubhagain and Giolla na Naomh
O'Huidhrin," pp. 134, 135, and p. Ixxxvi. ,
nn. 777, 778. Also Roderick O'Flaherty's
"
Ogygia," Part iii«> caP- Ixxxii. , pp. 386 to 54 According to a Salamancan Manu- 388.
409.
script, and the O'Clerys.
55 The Eliach or Elia here alluded to is
known as Eliogarty, derived in denomina- tion from Eile, the seventh in descent according to some accounts from Cian, son of Oiliol Olum, King of Munster. See Dr.
P. W. " Joyce's
59 See Dr. P. W. Joyce's "Origin and
History of Irish Names of Places," part iii. ,
and
Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, ii. ,
which Ussher quotes, this man is called the
son of Luider.
6i "
Origin
History
of
Tunc p. 130. According to others, Cian left no lupa post eum ad catulos revertens, et
posterity.
56 This district has been formed into the
baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybritt, in the
present King's County. The O'Carrolls were for many centuries chieftains over this
country.
57 After the Anglo-Norman Invasion,
these divisions were withdrawn, and added to the Earl of Ormond's country, the native
chiefs, O'Meagher and O'Fogarty, becoming his tributaries. See Dr. O'Donovan's LeAbharv na 5-CeA|\c, or " Book of Rights," pp. 78, 79 n. (i).
58 The Southern Eile, known as Eile
Ui-Foghartaigh or O'Fogarty's Ely, are said
by O'Huidhein to have descended from
Eochaidh Bailldeirg, the son of Carthainn
Fionn, King of Thomond, in the time of St.
Patrick. According to this account O'Fogarty
was not of the Elian race, but descended from
the Dal-Cais of Thomond. See Dr. to others, better skilled than he was in the O'Donovan's "Topographical Poems of Irish language.
chap, i. , p, 283. 60 "
61
In the Legend of St. Ailbe's Life, from
See Chronicle of Ireland," p. 71.
This silly legend thus proceeds
:
Puerum inter suos non inveniens, e vestigio sequuta velociter virum est. Cumque homo demui suae appropinquaret, fera irruit in eum ac pallium ejus tenuit, et non permisit eum domum intrare, donee in sinu ejus prospexit puerum. TuncLochanusadlupamait; Vade in pace; quia Puer deceteroerit apud me, et non relinquam eum tecum. Tunc lupa rugi- endo ac ululando reversa est ad speluncam suam; LochanusveroPuerumnutriens,ejus curaro quibusdam Brittonibus Christianis commiserat, a quibus hoc nomen Helveus ei imponebatur, eo quod vivus sub rupe est inventus. "
:
63 The Bollandist editor says he found the following marginal note, affixed to his
copy of the legend
" Alveus, quasi Albeo
; Ail Ilibernica sonat Rupem aut Saxum ;
*** "
Beo vero vivum. This etymology,
however, he desires to leave for judgment
September 12. ] LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. *«3 seems borrowed from a still older legend concerning Romulus and Remus,64
6*
the illegitimate sons of Rhea Silvia,
they having been saved and suckled by
66
a wolf.
However, in the Acts of St. Ailbe, quoted by Ussher,6? we have a much more reasonable narrative concerning Lochan's giving St. Ailbe, when rescued from beneath the rock where he had been exposed, to certain Britons, who lived with him in the eastern part of Eliach. There, he was tended with great care by his guardians. The grace of God soon became manifested in him. Even while a boy, he desired to be enlightened con- cerning the Creator of the Universe. 68 It would seem, in the different copies of St. Ailbe's Acts, which fell into the hands of Suyskens, there were even contradictory statements regarding him that cannot be regarded as facts. 69
The Acts of our Saint, to which Ussher had access, tell us, that Ailbe went to Rome. ? There he learned the Sacred Scriptures from Bishop
Hilarius. ? 1 The ancient author does not favour us with
this Hilarius must have been. ? 2 He is said to have been a holy man, who
64 See
" Historiarum
ab Urbe
ad sancti totam urbem Roma- preces
Livy's
quae
nam, ut habent MSS. Inisense ac Salman- ticense, aut saltern tota nescio cujus, in eadem urbe monasterii septa repleverit ; item quinque alias pluviae, videlicet mellis, piscium, olei, frumenti seu panis optimi ac vini prasstantisimi, quas in eamdem urbem Romanam, ut habent duo priora MSS. , aut in sancti penum, ut Killkennensi praaplacet, ipso, quo episcopus creatus est, die tarn copiose dilapsas nugatur, Romanus Pontifex omnisque populus Romanus prodigiosis illis dapibus ties dies totidemque nocfes abunde satiati fuerint. Hasce, inquam, similesque nugas rec—ensere hie possem, at fabularum satis est. " "Acta
Septembris xii.
Episcopo Imelacensi. Sylloge Historico- Critica, sect, i. , num. 15, p. 28.
70 See Archbishop Ussher's "Britanni-
carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, cap. xvi. , p. 412.
71 The Bollandists state that the Hilarius here mentioned was no other than Pope Hilarius, or rather Hilarus, who, they say,
ordained, a. d. 464, Ailbe, bishop, as also Declan. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. De Sancto Patricio, Commen- tarius Praevius, sect. 4.
72 Should there be any truth in what is said of Ailbe's expedition to Rome, Dr. Lanigan was inclined to think, that Hila- rius, bishop of Aries, who lived until the year 449, was the person alluded to, particularly as St. Patrick had spent some time among the celebrated monks of Lerins, of whose congregation Hilarius had been a member, and who probably had been a contemporary there with St. Patrick. Accordingly he might have sent Ailbe, and perhaps others, for their theological educa-
condita Libri," lib. i. , cap. 4.
65 "
See Thomas Henry Dyer's History of the Kings of Rome," sect, ii. , p. 43.
66
It is greatly to be regretted, that in this case, as in so many other instances, our Irish Saints' acts should have been not alone overloaded with fiction, but that these
have been so preposterously disedifying, as to bring discredit on the birth and parents of this Saint. We cannot but admire the just severity with which Suyskens condemns such inelegant compositions.
67 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti- quitates," cap. xvi. , p. 409.
68 A curious is told story
tomus
De S. Albeo seu Ailbeo
by
Emly, that when St. Ailbe was a little
iv. ,
*school-boy, his master directed him to look alter the sparro>vs, and see that they did not encroach on the harvest fields. Ailbe did as he was told, and he confined all the sparrows to the nouses adjoining. Then he presented himself at school with his books, and the schoolmaster, thinking he had for- gotten the duty assigned, questioned him regarding it. He was then told, to go out and judge for himself. He therefore went out, and found that no sparrow was to be seen. To the present day, when the people
of the neighbourhood begin to reap the harvest, far and near they send for water to
St. Ailbe's Well, which they sprinkle over their grounds, believing, as they do, that no sparrows shall come near their corn. See
"Emly of Old, and Emly as it is," p. 6.
This is a small pamphlet, conjointly drawn up by the late Maurice Lenihan, author of
"
the History of Limerick," and by the Very Rev. Maurice Canon Power, P. P.
69 After giving a few extracts, by way of
specimen, the learned and judicious editor
remarks
" :
the of people
Sanctorum,"
Possem hie et alia non minus tion to that renowned school. Yet, Dr. insulsa nugatoris commenta recensere, Lanigan does not mean to insinuate, that cujusmodi est predigiosa ilia pomorum Ailbe was ordained bishop during the life- mirae magnitudinis melleique saporis pluvia, time of Hilarius, Bishop of Aries. His
any
account of whom
284 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September12.
found our Saint distinguished for his great virtues and learning, as also for miracles wrought through the Divine assistance. The account adds, he sent Ailbe to the Pope, that he might be consecrated as a bishop. 73 In the Acts of St. Declan,74 it is said, our saint had been many years a disciple of
80 81
Pope,
The opinion of Papebroke appears likewise to have met the approval
46 7.
ing.
of Suyskens.
Hilarius75 at
and that at his
76 the consecrated Pope
Rome,
Ailbe a bishop. The ingenious Papebroke, who supposes the Acts of St.
Bishop
request
Declan and of St. Ailbe as published to have been written by the same person, thinks that account probable,77 and he conjectures, that the Hilarius in question was himself a Roman Pontiff, and identical with that St. Hilarius or St. Hilarus,78 who the functions of
discharged
This Pope was remarkable for his great mental capacity and learn-
82
One of the Saint's Lives has the absurd statement, that Ailbe received episcopal consecration from Pope Clement. But, this is not only irrecon- cilable with fact, but with every other account regarding him, and may be dismissed as not worthy of consideration. If we allow, that he had been
consecrated by Pope Clement, we should be obliged to refer the period in
which Ailbe lived to the end of the first century, when Clement I. occupied
the Papal chair 83 or afterwards, to nearly the middle of the eleventh ;
century, when Clement II. was Sovereign Pontiff. 84 During this intermediate period, no Pope, bearing the name of Clement, sat in the Chair of St.
80
conjecture goes no further than that, See an account of this distinguished
perhaps, Ailbe when young had been sent Pontiff in R. P. Natalis Alexandri, • His- "
to Hilarius for his education. See Eccle- toria Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testa-
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xi. , n. 84, p. 24.
73 In reference to this statement, the Rev.
Dr. Lanigan remarks, that if Hilarius sent
Ailbe to the Pope, it would seem that Church of Rome, died a. d. 465, having Hilarius was not then a resident in Rome. —
See ibid.
7* Published by the Bollandists. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ardmoriae in Hibernia,
pp. 590 to 608.
75 See ibid. Vita S. Declani, cap. iii. , p. 597. 76 <« Whoever that Hilarius was, he is ex-
Hennessy's edition, vol. i. , pp. 20, 21.
:
82 Who writes " etenim licet memoratse
Albei Declanique Vitae Hilarium suum a
Romano pontifice distinguant, cum tamen eundum et episcopum fuisse et Romae habi- tasse velint ac praeterea Romani Pontifecis
pressly distinguished from the Pope of that ab Hiiario S. Albei institutore diversi
time, both in Ailbe's and Declan's Lives, nomen aut non memorent, aut S. Clementem
and consequently must not be confounded, per immanem parachronismum imperite
as has been done by the Bollandists, with Pope Hilarius. The whole matter is in- volved in such obscurity, that it is useless to attempt an elucidation of it. "
"
obtrundant, multasque futiles fabellas immi- sceant, non est, cur ipsis hac etiam in parte assentiamur ; praesertim cum in opposita
—See Dr.
