" See Colgan's
^s
dith Hanmer's statement regarding St.
^s
dith Hanmer's statement regarding St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
, p.
241.
4S He is called simply vir and sacerdos in
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 170 to 173.
4' See ' ' Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 467.
42 Applicable to the calm tranquillity of
that departure are these lines by the Rev.
M. J. Mac Hale " the Bedside," intituled, By
as found in " The I—llustrated Monitor," vol.
.
the Fifth Life of St. Brigid, without any assigned to the 6th of August. See pp. 40,
allusion to his having embraced the monastic profession. IntheFourthLifeofourSaint, it is said, he went to Britain, while another account tells us he journeyed to Rome. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S. Brigidae," cap. Ivii. , Iviii. , pp. 581,
41, and n. 4, ibid.
s^Wherefore,ifSt. Brigiddepartedduring his time, she must have died, rather during
the first year of the Emperor Justin's reign, A. D. 518, than during the first year of the
Emperor Justinian's rule, A. D. 527.
be substituted for that of Justinian. See
Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xcix. , p. 562. "
5° Yet, in William M. Hennessy's Chroni- cum Scotomm" his death is placed at A. D. 520. This, however, is corrected in a note by O'Flaherty to A. D. 523, and his death is
l82 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
It has been stated, likewise, that twice six Sovereign Pontiffs of Rome lived contemporaneously with St. Brigid. s^ This statement, however, does not
hardly adjusts the inaccuracy. 54 It is possible, and even probable, St. Brigid lived in the time of eight successive Popes, supposing her to have died a. d. 518 or 523, and in the seventieth year of her age. 55 The Fourth Life of St.
Brigidunpardonablyasserts,thattheholyabbessdieda. d. 548. Thisdate, if not the error of a scribe, defers her death to nearly the middle of the sixth
century.
Nearly all the holy woman's Acts are concurrent, that the illustrious
Patroness of Ireland departed this hfe on the ist of February. s^ It is an honoured day in the Irish Church. 57 After having obtained a glorious victory, over the powers of darkness and the illusions of this world, she now reigns eternally and conspicuously among the celestial choirs of Heavenly Jerusalem, with the Patriarchs and Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, and spotless Virgins, with the Angels and Archangels of God. 5^ Crowned with a diadem of effulgent
seem to accord with exact chronology. 53 An attempt to correct it
5=" It is set down in these lines : —
" Illis temporibus bis senos legimus esse
Pontifices summos Roma vivente puella,"
St. Brigid to have died in the eightieth year of her age, and of Christ 518, as the authors of her Fourth and Sixth Lives seem to indi- cate, she must have been born, about A. D. 439, during the Pontificate of St. Sixtus III. This Pontiff sat in the chair of St. Peter, from 432 to 440. If we join the latter to the other eight, already enumerated, we shall have the number thrice three or nine Pontiffs, reign- ing, during St. Brigid's life-time ; and fol- lowing the last computation. Colgan thinks the emendation he makes must represent the true meaning of the author who com- posed her Sixth Life. He followed the writer of the Fourth Life. If this latter were Animosus' work, it is indicated as hav- ingbeenreadintheMetricalPrologue. See ibid. , n. 15, p. 598.
56Seethevariousoflficesofoursaint. The Roman Breviary of, 1522, Petrus de Natali- bus, and "Chronica Generalis Mundi," state, that St. Brigid flourished during the Emperor Justin's rule. See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, x. , p. '33.
57 "Decessit autem venerabilis Brigida
prima die mensis Februarii, suae benignitatis &misericordiarum remunerationem in per-
petuum possidens Deum : Qui in unitate trinus, & unus in trinitate, vivit & gaudet &
gloriatur, ipse quidem vita gaudium & gloria sanctorum omnium, per omnia saecula saecu-
See Sexta Vita S. Brigidse, sec. Ivi. , p. 594. *'"
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga.
**
53 See Berti's
Breviarium," pars i. Quintum Ecclesise
Seculum, cap. i. , pp. 131, 132. Sextum Ecclesiae Seculum, cap. i. , pp. 149, 150.
5* Instead of the words "bis senos," Col- gan thinks we should read, "Bis ternos Pontifices. " For, he says, St. Brigid died in the seventieth year of her age, according to authorities, cited in the Fourth Appendix to her Acts (cap. vii. ), or in the eightieth year of her age, according to her Fourth Life (lib. ii. , cap. xcix. ), and other authorities; which latter tract Colgan thinks the author of her Metrical or Sixth Life followed. Ac- cording to the author of her Fourth Life and others, she died in the time of Pope Hormisdas, and in the first year of the Emperor Justin's reign (a. d. 518) ; or more truly, periiaps, in a. d. 523, as Colgan en- deavours to show, in the Fourth Appendix
"
to our Saint's Acts. See
turga. " Sexta Vita S. Brigidae, n, 15, p.
598. Also, Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidse, cap. vii. , p. 619.
Ecclesiasticae Historiae
Trias Thauma-
55 If it be supposed, that she died in the
seventieth year of her age and A. D. 518, St.
Brigid must have been born, about the year lorum. Amen. " Quinta Vita S. Brigidae,
of Christ 449. If she died in the seventieth cap. Ivii. , Iviii. , pp. 581, 582. Colgan's "
year of her age, and A. D. 523, she should Trias Thaumaturga. " This great feast of have come into this world, about the year St. Brigid appears from remote times to 454. In either case, she must have been have been celebrated with solemn public
born during the Pontificate of St. Leo the
Great. But, from this latter Pontiff to the
dates 518 or 523, while Hormisdas was
Pope, including both of these Sovereign
Pontiffs, in the chair of St. Peter sat Leo, death, at February i. , Cogitosus concludes
Ve- niam peto a fratribus et lectoribus qui causa obedentise coactus, nulla praerogativa scientiffi who flourished a. d. 498. But, if we suppose suffultus, pelagus immensum virtutum S.
Hilary, Simplicius, Felix, Gelasius, Ana- stasius, Symmachus, and Hormisdas— eight in all ; not including the Anti-pope Laurence,
his Acts, in the following sentences :
services and panegyrics in the ancient Irish churches. See Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. I to 4, 49, 50.
58 After having given the day of our saint's
"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 183
glory, and rejoicing in the possession of those eternal rewards, she had so richly merited after her departure from earth ; she beholds for ever the in-
effable presence of the Godhead, unceasingly and effectually interceding for her favoured island, and for her devout clients, with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, world without end. s9
An Irish Life of St. Brigid, and also the " Annals of Roscrea," state, that this holy woman died on a Wednesday. It has been remarked,^ that the circumstance of our saint's decease occurring on such a day, if true, should bring her death in all probability into a. d. 523. The ist of February fell on that day, during this year. ^^ It has been added, that St. Brigid took the veil, also, on a Wednesday, and building on this notation, which Ussher was either ignorant of, or overlooked, Colgan argues, that the death of our pious abbess cannot be appHed to any year, later than 523. This, however, rests op a passage,^^ not very trustworthy, as found in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid. ^3 Yet, Dr. Lanigan doubts the accuracy of this relation, which appears to have been an imitation of certain presumed coincidences in St. Patrick's Life and in her own Acts. He thinks a. d. 525, a still more pro- bable date for her death, than 523 ; which latter year, however, he says is the only one that can stand any competition with it. But, between both these dates, he leaves the reader free to form an opinion. Any other dates proposed, he deems not worthy of serious consideration. ^^
The place, whence our holy abbess departed to her true country and
home,hasbeendiverselyrepresented. ^s Especiallytowardstheclosingyears ofherlife, Kildarewasthepermanentplaceforherresidence,andthealmost unanimous echo of tradition declares it to have witnessed her exit from this world. Our historic records furnish sufftcient evidence in attestation. Not- withstanding a contrary assertion, hazarded by the author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, that she died in the northern province ; this mooted question hardly admits of controversy. ^^ Such a statement, regarding her first interment at
"
Brigidse, et viris fortissimis formidandum, See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " Vit. a
his paucis rustico sermone dictis virtutibus de maximis et innumerabilibus cucurrerim.
Orate pro me Cogitoso nepote culpabili et ut oratione vestra pio Domino me commen-
detis exoro, et Deus vos pacem Evangelicam
Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. 99. p. 562.
"
Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. vi. , and nn. 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,
91, pp. 454 to 458.
sectantes, exaudiat.
" See Colgan's
^s
dith Hanmer's statement regarding St.
Trias Thaumaturga. " Secunda Vita S. Brigidai,
Vita Secunda S. Brigidis, cap. xxxvi,, p.
524. Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. cxxxi. ,
p. 542. Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. ii. ,
cap. c, p. 563. Vita Quinta S. Brigidse,
cap. Iviii. , p. 582.
**
Flos patrise pietatis amans, virtutis alum- na,
Sidus Hibernorum, Brigida Virgo fuit. "
"^ ^'
See "EcclesiasticalHistory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. vi. , n. 88, p. 457.
By Dr. Lanigan.
''2 We find in it
See, "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 91.
infers, that neither St. Brcgan, nephew to
nothing
Colgan,
probable,
Brigid's death is said, also, to have occurred,
during the reign of Justinian, and in the year
548. These periods are very different from
but confusion. St.
^^ to According
"
No reliance is to be placed upon Mere-
cap. xxxvi. , p. 524. See, also. Messing- Brigid, that " about the year 524 she was
"
ham's Florilegium Insulse Sanctorum. "
translated from the Hebrides into Dune, and resteth by Saint Patrick's side, as for- merly hath beene declared in his Life. Ire- land hath given her this epitaph :—
59 See, Colgan's
"
Trias Thaumaturga. "
that epoch of Hormisdas. See Ussher, " De St. Patrick, on the sister's side, nor St.
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Primordiis," cap.
xvii. , p. 884.
''3 There we are told, she died
Columkille, who died in 597, nor St. Ultan, who departed a. d. 656, nor St. Aileran, the
the Pontificate of Pope Hormisdas, and therefore priortothemonthofAugustin^^said year.
who died in could have been the 664,
during
Wise,
author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, for rea- sonswhichheassigns.
^'^ See, Dr. Lanigan's
it is
the bodices of these saints were not together in Down, previous to A. D. 823. Hence, he
1 84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
Downpatrick, appears to have been falsely based, on a subsequent opinion about her remains being there, with those of St. Patrick and St. Columkille.
It must have been entertained, only at a comparatively recent date. Hence, originated the account, presented by the author of her Fourth Life,^7 that she died at Do\vnpatrick, or in its immediate neighbourhood. ^^
As in the time of Crimthann, Dunlaing and Illand, so under successive princes of Leinster, Kildare continued to enjoy ecclesiastical immunities, and torejoiceinarepetitionofecclesiasticalendowments. ^9 Tothebeginning of the ninth century, it was in an exceedingly flourishing condition. After this period, war, rapine, fire, and violence, stain the annals of Kildare ;7o yet, learning and sanctity were not wholly banished from its cloisters, to the
The Grey Abbey, Kildare.
period of the Anglo-Norman invasion. Even after stranger lords took possession of the city and its appurtenances, two fine religious foundations
^ Colgan thinks it highly probable, that Among others, John Brampton and Henry Animosus was the author of this Life, rather of Marlborough, in their Annals, relate, than any other anonymous writer, among that her remains reposed there with the
the many, who are said to have attempted
bodies of Saints Patrick and Columkille.
St. Brigid's Acts, especially when some cir-
cumstances seem to favour the inference,
while no good reason establishes a contrary
conclusion . According to what Colgan him-
self supposes, the incidents of name, time Ireland, she rested soon afterwards in
and place should tell in favour of Animosus
or Anmichod, as being the author, and that
he lived after a. d. 823, and before 1097.
Colgan has not been able to detect any date,
for drawing a different conclusion. See DXXIII. , and "De Ecclesiarum Britanni-
"Trias Thaumaturga. " Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, n, 2, p. 564.
^There are many authors, who affirm that St. Brigid had been interred at Down, in the first instance ; but, these writers rather belong to a comparatively modern period.
At the year 11 77, Roger Hovenden, in his Annals, has a similar statement. Again, the author of the Annals of Glastonbury says of St. Brigid, that having returned to
carum Primordiis," cap. xvii. , p. 888, are of accord, on this latter point.
^9 See Rev. Dr. Todd's " St. Patrick Apostle of Ireland. " Introduction, pp. 16 to 18,
7° See an interesting summary of its his-
the Lord, and was buried in the city of
Down. David Roth, Bishop of Ossory, in his Dissertation on St. Brigid, pp. 151, 152, and Ussher, in his Index Chronolgicus, A. D.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 185
were effected; since, Lord William de Vesey, a. d. 1260, established a friary for the Franciscan Order, which is now popularly known as the Grey Abbey. It is situated on the south side of the town, near a high road, and surrounded by an extensive and a crowded graveyard, covered with humble graves and having several head-stones inscribed. A high hawthorn-fence separates it from the road, the only good enclosure surrounding it. A farm-house and out-offices are at one side, and several fine ash-trees are thickly interlaced, to lendsomeadjoiningpaddocksshelter. Aniron-gateformsanentrancefrom the road, but the off-fences are broken down, while cattle range among the graves and ruins. These latter traces of the fine old abbey are fast crumb- lingaway. Theyseemtoindicatetwochiefdivisions; namely,theFriary proper, and its church, in immediate proximity. The entire length of the building appears to have been 35 yards, from east to west ; and, 8 yards in width, interiorly. The south side-wall is much broken ; the north side-wall at the churcSportion was propped by four buttresses, apparently built to give strength,ataperiodlongaftertheChurchhadbeenquitecompleted. Six lancet-headed Avindows were in the north wall. A large and pointed window occupied the east gable. A long vault, extending from the monastic house northwards,isyettraceable,underthegraves; while,extendingsouthwards, on the off-side, are some fragments of foundations. 7^ These appearances indicate, that the plan of this building, at one time, was nearly cruciform. 7^ Half of the west gable is entirely gone. 73 In the year 1290, William de Vescy built a house for Carmelites or White Friars, and a few members of this order yet occupy a dwelling standing on the site.
After death, our saint's relics were placed on one side of the altar in her
church. 74 Theyweredeposedinamonument,adornedwithbeautifulwork-
manship. Goldandsilver,superimposed,formedartisticdecorationsforher shrine, as also for that of St. Conleath. 75 This latter tomb occupied a posi- tion on the other side of the principal altar. Many miracles were wrought before the shrine of our holy abbess, after her death. 76 It is related, that on her festival day, multitudes flocked to Kildare from different provinces ; some went to recover health through her intercession, others to offer gifts at her shrine, while some attended to witness magnificent ceremonies there per- formed. Again,otherswereinducedtobepresentthroughlessdevotional and more worldly motives. 77 In such convocations, we niay find probably,
a of the later " prototype patrons,''
or "
so common in other
patterns,"
of the country. It is incorrectly stated,72 in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid,
that immediately after her death, she was buried with great honour and solemnity in the same tomb, with the most holy Archbishop Patrick. 79 It is
tory, in Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni- cum," pp. 322 to 331.
7' The accompanying illustration, engraved by George A. Hanion, from a drawing on the wood, by William F. Wakeman, was taken as a sketch, on the spot, by the author, December, 1875.
7= Unless, indeed, the vault extending northwards had no connexion with an upper house, and had been intended solely for in- terments.
73 Some fine carved stones were removed
from the Grey Abbey many years ago, and were used to build the Chapel of Miltown, some few miles from Kildare.
7S Colgan does not hesitate in his opinion, that St. Brigid was first buried at Kildare. Bollandus also accords on this point, in his Commentarius Praevius ad Vitam S. Brigidge. "ActaSanctorum,"tomusi. Diei. Febru- arii, sees, vi. , vii. , pp. io6 to io8.
76 According to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 47, 48.
^^ See Cogitosus' "Vita S. Brigidae," cap. xiv. This account sufficiently refutes a sup- position, offered by the author of her Fourth Life, that our saint had been at first buried in Downpatrick.
78 See Martin Haverty's "History of Ire- land," chap, ix. , p. 80.
79 After the first interment of St. Brigid, at Kildare, according to Cogitosus, that her
" History of Ireland," chap, vi. , p. 242.
74 See Rev. P. J. Carew's
Ecclesiastical
parts
i86 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
further intimated, such juxtaposition of their bodies, after death, had been a
result of their wishes whilst alive. In that tract, it is expressly noted, their
remains were interred, in the city of Ultonian territory, called Dun-da-Leth-
glaisse, or Dun-da-Lethglass,^° and which was situated near the sea. ^^ It
existed from the time of St. Patrick, as an ancient episcopal residence. ^^ In
former times, this city had been named Aras Kealtuir, after a celebrated hero
or champion, called Kealtuir. ^3 He is numbered among the principal heroes
of Ireland, and he was a contemporary with Connor Mac Nessa, King of Ulster. ^* Notwithstanding this account of our saint's death and burial, the
author of her Fourth Life remarks, that the privileges, honour, and distinction, due to Kildare city in the province of Leinster, were recognised for ages after theBlessedBrigid'sdeath,inconnexionwithhernameandmemory. ^s These
facts serve, likewise, to impress us with the moral of all historic experience,
that great names serve to make celebrated, through all time, localities, which without such connexion, should otherwise leave little to interest human sympathy, or awaken popular feeling. Fond memory recalls deeds that have been done there, and that have not passed away to unhonourable oblivion.
CHAPTER XV.
MIRACLES WROUGHT AT KILDARE AFTER ST. BRIGID's DEATH—THE FALCON—ST. brigid's relics are removed to down—REMARKABLE DISCOVERY OF THE BODIES OF ST. PATRICK, ST. BRIGID AND ST. COLUMKILLE IN THAT CITY—SOLEMN TRANSLATION TO A MAGNIFICENT TOMB—KILDARE AND ITS TRADITIONS— DESECRATION OF HOLY REMAINS AT DOWN—REPUTED REMOVAL OF ST. BRIGID'S HEAD TO AUSTRIA, AND AFTERWARDS TO LISBON.
Not only during the lifetime of St. Brigid did she perform miracles, but even after release from her corporeal prison, many wonders, attributed to her merits and to Almighty power, took place within and without that monastery, where her venerable remains were deposed. ^ Of some miracles, Cogitosus
remainswereafterwardstranslatedtoDown entombed,viz. ,St. Patrick,St. Brigidand is admitted by Colgan. There they had St. Columkille. Besides, it became the
been interred, in the same place with those
of Patrick and Columkille. Although the
occurrence of translating her remains to
Down is unquestionable ; yet, the time when
it took place is altogether unknown. See Arturus, &c.
4S He is called simply vir and sacerdos in
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 170 to 173.
4' See ' ' Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 467.
42 Applicable to the calm tranquillity of
that departure are these lines by the Rev.
M. J. Mac Hale " the Bedside," intituled, By
as found in " The I—llustrated Monitor," vol.
.
the Fifth Life of St. Brigid, without any assigned to the 6th of August. See pp. 40,
allusion to his having embraced the monastic profession. IntheFourthLifeofourSaint, it is said, he went to Britain, while another account tells us he journeyed to Rome. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Vita S. Brigidae," cap. Ivii. , Iviii. , pp. 581,
41, and n. 4, ibid.
s^Wherefore,ifSt. Brigiddepartedduring his time, she must have died, rather during
the first year of the Emperor Justin's reign, A. D. 518, than during the first year of the
Emperor Justinian's rule, A. D. 527.
be substituted for that of Justinian. See
Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xcix. , p. 562. "
5° Yet, in William M. Hennessy's Chroni- cum Scotomm" his death is placed at A. D. 520. This, however, is corrected in a note by O'Flaherty to A. D. 523, and his death is
l82 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
It has been stated, likewise, that twice six Sovereign Pontiffs of Rome lived contemporaneously with St. Brigid. s^ This statement, however, does not
hardly adjusts the inaccuracy. 54 It is possible, and even probable, St. Brigid lived in the time of eight successive Popes, supposing her to have died a. d. 518 or 523, and in the seventieth year of her age. 55 The Fourth Life of St.
Brigidunpardonablyasserts,thattheholyabbessdieda. d. 548. Thisdate, if not the error of a scribe, defers her death to nearly the middle of the sixth
century.
Nearly all the holy woman's Acts are concurrent, that the illustrious
Patroness of Ireland departed this hfe on the ist of February. s^ It is an honoured day in the Irish Church. 57 After having obtained a glorious victory, over the powers of darkness and the illusions of this world, she now reigns eternally and conspicuously among the celestial choirs of Heavenly Jerusalem, with the Patriarchs and Prophets, the Apostles, Martyrs, and spotless Virgins, with the Angels and Archangels of God. 5^ Crowned with a diadem of effulgent
seem to accord with exact chronology. 53 An attempt to correct it
5=" It is set down in these lines : —
" Illis temporibus bis senos legimus esse
Pontifices summos Roma vivente puella,"
St. Brigid to have died in the eightieth year of her age, and of Christ 518, as the authors of her Fourth and Sixth Lives seem to indi- cate, she must have been born, about A. D. 439, during the Pontificate of St. Sixtus III. This Pontiff sat in the chair of St. Peter, from 432 to 440. If we join the latter to the other eight, already enumerated, we shall have the number thrice three or nine Pontiffs, reign- ing, during St. Brigid's life-time ; and fol- lowing the last computation. Colgan thinks the emendation he makes must represent the true meaning of the author who com- posed her Sixth Life. He followed the writer of the Fourth Life. If this latter were Animosus' work, it is indicated as hav- ingbeenreadintheMetricalPrologue. See ibid. , n. 15, p. 598.
56Seethevariousoflficesofoursaint. The Roman Breviary of, 1522, Petrus de Natali- bus, and "Chronica Generalis Mundi," state, that St. Brigid flourished during the Emperor Justin's rule. See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, x. , p. '33.
57 "Decessit autem venerabilis Brigida
prima die mensis Februarii, suae benignitatis &misericordiarum remunerationem in per-
petuum possidens Deum : Qui in unitate trinus, & unus in trinitate, vivit & gaudet &
gloriatur, ipse quidem vita gaudium & gloria sanctorum omnium, per omnia saecula saecu-
See Sexta Vita S. Brigidse, sec. Ivi. , p. 594. *'"
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga.
**
53 See Berti's
Breviarium," pars i. Quintum Ecclesise
Seculum, cap. i. , pp. 131, 132. Sextum Ecclesiae Seculum, cap. i. , pp. 149, 150.
5* Instead of the words "bis senos," Col- gan thinks we should read, "Bis ternos Pontifices. " For, he says, St. Brigid died in the seventieth year of her age, according to authorities, cited in the Fourth Appendix to her Acts (cap. vii. ), or in the eightieth year of her age, according to her Fourth Life (lib. ii. , cap. xcix. ), and other authorities; which latter tract Colgan thinks the author of her Metrical or Sixth Life followed. Ac- cording to the author of her Fourth Life and others, she died in the time of Pope Hormisdas, and in the first year of the Emperor Justin's reign (a. d. 518) ; or more truly, periiaps, in a. d. 523, as Colgan en- deavours to show, in the Fourth Appendix
"
to our Saint's Acts. See
turga. " Sexta Vita S. Brigidae, n, 15, p.
598. Also, Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidse, cap. vii. , p. 619.
Ecclesiasticae Historiae
Trias Thauma-
55 If it be supposed, that she died in the
seventieth year of her age and A. D. 518, St.
Brigid must have been born, about the year lorum. Amen. " Quinta Vita S. Brigidae,
of Christ 449. If she died in the seventieth cap. Ivii. , Iviii. , pp. 581, 582. Colgan's "
year of her age, and A. D. 523, she should Trias Thaumaturga. " This great feast of have come into this world, about the year St. Brigid appears from remote times to 454. In either case, she must have been have been celebrated with solemn public
born during the Pontificate of St. Leo the
Great. But, from this latter Pontiff to the
dates 518 or 523, while Hormisdas was
Pope, including both of these Sovereign
Pontiffs, in the chair of St. Peter sat Leo, death, at February i. , Cogitosus concludes
Ve- niam peto a fratribus et lectoribus qui causa obedentise coactus, nulla praerogativa scientiffi who flourished a. d. 498. But, if we suppose suffultus, pelagus immensum virtutum S.
Hilary, Simplicius, Felix, Gelasius, Ana- stasius, Symmachus, and Hormisdas— eight in all ; not including the Anti-pope Laurence,
his Acts, in the following sentences :
services and panegyrics in the ancient Irish churches. See Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. I to 4, 49, 50.
58 After having given the day of our saint's
"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 183
glory, and rejoicing in the possession of those eternal rewards, she had so richly merited after her departure from earth ; she beholds for ever the in-
effable presence of the Godhead, unceasingly and effectually interceding for her favoured island, and for her devout clients, with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, world without end. s9
An Irish Life of St. Brigid, and also the " Annals of Roscrea," state, that this holy woman died on a Wednesday. It has been remarked,^ that the circumstance of our saint's decease occurring on such a day, if true, should bring her death in all probability into a. d. 523. The ist of February fell on that day, during this year. ^^ It has been added, that St. Brigid took the veil, also, on a Wednesday, and building on this notation, which Ussher was either ignorant of, or overlooked, Colgan argues, that the death of our pious abbess cannot be appHed to any year, later than 523. This, however, rests op a passage,^^ not very trustworthy, as found in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid. ^3 Yet, Dr. Lanigan doubts the accuracy of this relation, which appears to have been an imitation of certain presumed coincidences in St. Patrick's Life and in her own Acts. He thinks a. d. 525, a still more pro- bable date for her death, than 523 ; which latter year, however, he says is the only one that can stand any competition with it. But, between both these dates, he leaves the reader free to form an opinion. Any other dates proposed, he deems not worthy of serious consideration. ^^
The place, whence our holy abbess departed to her true country and
home,hasbeendiverselyrepresented. ^s Especiallytowardstheclosingyears ofherlife, Kildarewasthepermanentplaceforherresidence,andthealmost unanimous echo of tradition declares it to have witnessed her exit from this world. Our historic records furnish sufftcient evidence in attestation. Not- withstanding a contrary assertion, hazarded by the author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, that she died in the northern province ; this mooted question hardly admits of controversy. ^^ Such a statement, regarding her first interment at
"
Brigidse, et viris fortissimis formidandum, See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " Vit. a
his paucis rustico sermone dictis virtutibus de maximis et innumerabilibus cucurrerim.
Orate pro me Cogitoso nepote culpabili et ut oratione vestra pio Domino me commen-
detis exoro, et Deus vos pacem Evangelicam
Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. 99. p. 562.
"
Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. vi. , and nn. 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,
91, pp. 454 to 458.
sectantes, exaudiat.
" See Colgan's
^s
dith Hanmer's statement regarding St.
Trias Thaumaturga. " Secunda Vita S. Brigidai,
Vita Secunda S. Brigidis, cap. xxxvi,, p.
524. Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. cxxxi. ,
p. 542. Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. ii. ,
cap. c, p. 563. Vita Quinta S. Brigidse,
cap. Iviii. , p. 582.
**
Flos patrise pietatis amans, virtutis alum- na,
Sidus Hibernorum, Brigida Virgo fuit. "
"^ ^'
See "EcclesiasticalHistory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. vi. , n. 88, p. 457.
By Dr. Lanigan.
''2 We find in it
See, "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 91.
infers, that neither St. Brcgan, nephew to
nothing
Colgan,
probable,
Brigid's death is said, also, to have occurred,
during the reign of Justinian, and in the year
548. These periods are very different from
but confusion. St.
^^ to According
"
No reliance is to be placed upon Mere-
cap. xxxvi. , p. 524. See, also. Messing- Brigid, that " about the year 524 she was
"
ham's Florilegium Insulse Sanctorum. "
translated from the Hebrides into Dune, and resteth by Saint Patrick's side, as for- merly hath beene declared in his Life. Ire- land hath given her this epitaph :—
59 See, Colgan's
"
Trias Thaumaturga. "
that epoch of Hormisdas. See Ussher, " De St. Patrick, on the sister's side, nor St.
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Primordiis," cap.
xvii. , p. 884.
''3 There we are told, she died
Columkille, who died in 597, nor St. Ultan, who departed a. d. 656, nor St. Aileran, the
the Pontificate of Pope Hormisdas, and therefore priortothemonthofAugustin^^said year.
who died in could have been the 664,
during
Wise,
author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, for rea- sonswhichheassigns.
^'^ See, Dr. Lanigan's
it is
the bodices of these saints were not together in Down, previous to A. D. 823. Hence, he
1 84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
Downpatrick, appears to have been falsely based, on a subsequent opinion about her remains being there, with those of St. Patrick and St. Columkille.
It must have been entertained, only at a comparatively recent date. Hence, originated the account, presented by the author of her Fourth Life,^7 that she died at Do\vnpatrick, or in its immediate neighbourhood. ^^
As in the time of Crimthann, Dunlaing and Illand, so under successive princes of Leinster, Kildare continued to enjoy ecclesiastical immunities, and torejoiceinarepetitionofecclesiasticalendowments. ^9 Tothebeginning of the ninth century, it was in an exceedingly flourishing condition. After this period, war, rapine, fire, and violence, stain the annals of Kildare ;7o yet, learning and sanctity were not wholly banished from its cloisters, to the
The Grey Abbey, Kildare.
period of the Anglo-Norman invasion. Even after stranger lords took possession of the city and its appurtenances, two fine religious foundations
^ Colgan thinks it highly probable, that Among others, John Brampton and Henry Animosus was the author of this Life, rather of Marlborough, in their Annals, relate, than any other anonymous writer, among that her remains reposed there with the
the many, who are said to have attempted
bodies of Saints Patrick and Columkille.
St. Brigid's Acts, especially when some cir-
cumstances seem to favour the inference,
while no good reason establishes a contrary
conclusion . According to what Colgan him-
self supposes, the incidents of name, time Ireland, she rested soon afterwards in
and place should tell in favour of Animosus
or Anmichod, as being the author, and that
he lived after a. d. 823, and before 1097.
Colgan has not been able to detect any date,
for drawing a different conclusion. See DXXIII. , and "De Ecclesiarum Britanni-
"Trias Thaumaturga. " Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, n, 2, p. 564.
^There are many authors, who affirm that St. Brigid had been interred at Down, in the first instance ; but, these writers rather belong to a comparatively modern period.
At the year 11 77, Roger Hovenden, in his Annals, has a similar statement. Again, the author of the Annals of Glastonbury says of St. Brigid, that having returned to
carum Primordiis," cap. xvii. , p. 888, are of accord, on this latter point.
^9 See Rev. Dr. Todd's " St. Patrick Apostle of Ireland. " Introduction, pp. 16 to 18,
7° See an interesting summary of its his-
the Lord, and was buried in the city of
Down. David Roth, Bishop of Ossory, in his Dissertation on St. Brigid, pp. 151, 152, and Ussher, in his Index Chronolgicus, A. D.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 185
were effected; since, Lord William de Vesey, a. d. 1260, established a friary for the Franciscan Order, which is now popularly known as the Grey Abbey. It is situated on the south side of the town, near a high road, and surrounded by an extensive and a crowded graveyard, covered with humble graves and having several head-stones inscribed. A high hawthorn-fence separates it from the road, the only good enclosure surrounding it. A farm-house and out-offices are at one side, and several fine ash-trees are thickly interlaced, to lendsomeadjoiningpaddocksshelter. Aniron-gateformsanentrancefrom the road, but the off-fences are broken down, while cattle range among the graves and ruins. These latter traces of the fine old abbey are fast crumb- lingaway. Theyseemtoindicatetwochiefdivisions; namely,theFriary proper, and its church, in immediate proximity. The entire length of the building appears to have been 35 yards, from east to west ; and, 8 yards in width, interiorly. The south side-wall is much broken ; the north side-wall at the churcSportion was propped by four buttresses, apparently built to give strength,ataperiodlongaftertheChurchhadbeenquitecompleted. Six lancet-headed Avindows were in the north wall. A large and pointed window occupied the east gable. A long vault, extending from the monastic house northwards,isyettraceable,underthegraves; while,extendingsouthwards, on the off-side, are some fragments of foundations. 7^ These appearances indicate, that the plan of this building, at one time, was nearly cruciform. 7^ Half of the west gable is entirely gone. 73 In the year 1290, William de Vescy built a house for Carmelites or White Friars, and a few members of this order yet occupy a dwelling standing on the site.
After death, our saint's relics were placed on one side of the altar in her
church. 74 Theyweredeposedinamonument,adornedwithbeautifulwork-
manship. Goldandsilver,superimposed,formedartisticdecorationsforher shrine, as also for that of St. Conleath. 75 This latter tomb occupied a posi- tion on the other side of the principal altar. Many miracles were wrought before the shrine of our holy abbess, after her death. 76 It is related, that on her festival day, multitudes flocked to Kildare from different provinces ; some went to recover health through her intercession, others to offer gifts at her shrine, while some attended to witness magnificent ceremonies there per- formed. Again,otherswereinducedtobepresentthroughlessdevotional and more worldly motives. 77 In such convocations, we niay find probably,
a of the later " prototype patrons,''
or "
so common in other
patterns,"
of the country. It is incorrectly stated,72 in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid,
that immediately after her death, she was buried with great honour and solemnity in the same tomb, with the most holy Archbishop Patrick. 79 It is
tory, in Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni- cum," pp. 322 to 331.
7' The accompanying illustration, engraved by George A. Hanion, from a drawing on the wood, by William F. Wakeman, was taken as a sketch, on the spot, by the author, December, 1875.
7= Unless, indeed, the vault extending northwards had no connexion with an upper house, and had been intended solely for in- terments.
73 Some fine carved stones were removed
from the Grey Abbey many years ago, and were used to build the Chapel of Miltown, some few miles from Kildare.
7S Colgan does not hesitate in his opinion, that St. Brigid was first buried at Kildare. Bollandus also accords on this point, in his Commentarius Praevius ad Vitam S. Brigidge. "ActaSanctorum,"tomusi. Diei. Febru- arii, sees, vi. , vii. , pp. io6 to io8.
76 According to Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 47, 48.
^^ See Cogitosus' "Vita S. Brigidae," cap. xiv. This account sufficiently refutes a sup- position, offered by the author of her Fourth Life, that our saint had been at first buried in Downpatrick.
78 See Martin Haverty's "History of Ire- land," chap, ix. , p. 80.
79 After the first interment of St. Brigid, at Kildare, according to Cogitosus, that her
" History of Ireland," chap, vi. , p. 242.
74 See Rev. P. J. Carew's
Ecclesiastical
parts
i86 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
further intimated, such juxtaposition of their bodies, after death, had been a
result of their wishes whilst alive. In that tract, it is expressly noted, their
remains were interred, in the city of Ultonian territory, called Dun-da-Leth-
glaisse, or Dun-da-Lethglass,^° and which was situated near the sea. ^^ It
existed from the time of St. Patrick, as an ancient episcopal residence. ^^ In
former times, this city had been named Aras Kealtuir, after a celebrated hero
or champion, called Kealtuir. ^3 He is numbered among the principal heroes
of Ireland, and he was a contemporary with Connor Mac Nessa, King of Ulster. ^* Notwithstanding this account of our saint's death and burial, the
author of her Fourth Life remarks, that the privileges, honour, and distinction, due to Kildare city in the province of Leinster, were recognised for ages after theBlessedBrigid'sdeath,inconnexionwithhernameandmemory. ^s These
facts serve, likewise, to impress us with the moral of all historic experience,
that great names serve to make celebrated, through all time, localities, which without such connexion, should otherwise leave little to interest human sympathy, or awaken popular feeling. Fond memory recalls deeds that have been done there, and that have not passed away to unhonourable oblivion.
CHAPTER XV.
MIRACLES WROUGHT AT KILDARE AFTER ST. BRIGID's DEATH—THE FALCON—ST. brigid's relics are removed to down—REMARKABLE DISCOVERY OF THE BODIES OF ST. PATRICK, ST. BRIGID AND ST. COLUMKILLE IN THAT CITY—SOLEMN TRANSLATION TO A MAGNIFICENT TOMB—KILDARE AND ITS TRADITIONS— DESECRATION OF HOLY REMAINS AT DOWN—REPUTED REMOVAL OF ST. BRIGID'S HEAD TO AUSTRIA, AND AFTERWARDS TO LISBON.
Not only during the lifetime of St. Brigid did she perform miracles, but even after release from her corporeal prison, many wonders, attributed to her merits and to Almighty power, took place within and without that monastery, where her venerable remains were deposed. ^ Of some miracles, Cogitosus
remainswereafterwardstranslatedtoDown entombed,viz. ,St. Patrick,St. Brigidand is admitted by Colgan. There they had St. Columkille. Besides, it became the
been interred, in the same place with those
of Patrick and Columkille. Although the
occurrence of translating her remains to
Down is unquestionable ; yet, the time when
it took place is altogether unknown. See Arturus, &c.
