No More Learning

6
See an account of this St. Modan or
Muadan, in the Third Volume of this work,
at the 6th of March, Art. iv, 7"
the reader is referred to Lewis'
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
lished Martyrology of Tallagh has the 29th of August ; but this seems only a misplacement of the entry, which should be for the 30th of this month.
Article IV. —St. Cronan op Cluain-an-dobhair, King's County. — 1
It is recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, that at the 30th of August, veneration was given to Cronan, of Cluain-an-dobhair, or as it is written, Cluana andobhair. In that copy contained in the Book of Leinster,
2
ated somewhere in the present King's County, says that eminent Irish topo-
grapher, Dr. John O'Donovan; but, it has not yet been identified. * It may be, that the topographical designation has now become obsolete ; or, if not, it should probably be sought for in the neighbourhood of Birr. The festival
of this saint is entered, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal,$ as that of Cronan, Cluana an dobair. His humble grave bears no monument, but he requires no memorials beyond those which exist in survival lessons he taught to bring many others to be wise unto salvation.
the entry is nearly similar.
Cluain-an-dobhair, or Cluain-in-dibhair,3 is situ-
Article V. —St. Firdacrich, or Fer-da-chrioch. —Tne simple entry 1
of Firdacrich appears in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 30th ofAugust. Asimilarnoticeissetdown,inthatcopyoftheMartyrologyto be seen in the Book of Leinster. 3 In the Martyrology of Donegal,? at this same date, his name is entered as Fir-da-chrioch.
Article VI. —Festival of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr. —In the
Irish Church, the memory of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, was specially commemorated on the 30th of August, as recorded in the " Feilire * of St. jfEngus. " This festival appears to have been a translation of her relics, with
those of other named saints,
and 2 Eulogius.
Fructuosus,
At the 21st day of January, the Bollandists 3 commemorate saints similarly
named, excepting Maurice, placed at the 22nd of September, in the Roman Martyrology. Tobothdaystheyreferforfurtherelucidation.
—Article VII. —Feast of the Translation of St. Wilibrord's Relics.
From the additions to Usuard's Martyrology by Greven, the Bollandists
Article iv. —l Edited
*
: Stokes, LL. D —
~° «A <\ AcriA *Um 5 5
Kelly, p.
xxxiii.
2 Thus CnouAn cUiAin &x\ X)obon. :
3 This place is alluded to in the " Annals of the Four Masters," at a. d. 507, when the battle of Druim-Deargaighe was fought and
. .
"son of Niaff, over Foilghe Berraidhe. Afterwards, the land from Cluain-in Dibhair to the Hill of Uis-
gained by Fiacha,
by
Rev. Dr. translation is
by Whitley
Mauricius,
Augurius,
" A delightful virgin Agatha, who is a sun neachinWestmeathbelongedtotheCinel- toyoursaints; totherewardabo—verewards Fiachach, his tribe. See Dr. O'Donovan's she ran with her noble sisters. " "Trans-
" edition, vol. i. , pp. 164 to 167. actions of the Royal Irish Academy Irish
4 By the Four Masters it is again alluded Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i.
On the To this a
et
to, at A. D. 843, 938, and 942. —Ibid, n (d).
Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxvi.
—is affixed:
comment "Agatha
martyr. " Ibid. , p. cxxxv.
s Edited
by
228, 229. Article v.
Drs Todd and
— Kelly, p. xxxiii.
l
2 is found in According to what
Reeves, pp. Edited by Rev. Dr.
i. , uirgo
2
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
228, 229. —x Article vi.
the Spanish work of Antonio Domenec on the General History of Saints, belonging to the
Thus: pefvoAqYicri.
"
copy is the following stanza : The English
Principality of Catalonia, lib. i. , fol. 83.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. Among the pretermitted saints,
p. 544.
Vol. VIII. —No. 8.
1 f
In the
Leabhar Breac"
1
•A-opeich bu<vm UArbu<yoaib ConArech^bWA1b.
"51^ ^WnoemAib
45o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [August 31.
notice a translation of the Relics of St. Willibrord, Bishop, at the 30th of August. His chief feast is set down in the Roman Martyrology, at the 7th
3
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Aidanus, Apostle of North-
—The 1 the of have noted umbria. Bollandists, quoting authority Camerarius,
St. Aidan, Confessor, and Bishop of Lindisfarne, at this date, although stating his festival has been placed in the Roman Breviary, at the 31st of August. In the anonymous list of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare,s we find. Aidanus, entered at the 30th of August, but this is probably a mistake ; for, it should be noted on the following day—that which is recog-
nised as specially dedicated to his memory.
C6frtp*ff)rait JBap of august
ARTICLE I. —ST. AIDAN, OR AEDHAN, APOSTLE OF THE NORTH- UMBRIANS, AND FIRST BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE.
SEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—WRITERS OF ST. ATDAN'S ACTS—HIS IRISH ORIGIN AND EARLY MONASTIC LIFE IN IONA—HIS POSITION THERE—FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN ENGLAND—ANGLO-SAXON INVASION—ST. AIDAN IS CHOSEN tO PREACH THE GOSPEL IN NORTHUMBRIA.
of the truest character has ever distinguished the Apostles of
of November.
HEROISM with the errors of
nations, overspread paganism
and
idolatry.
Such
evils have taken root in the sensual desires and habits of poor degraded
humanity, and having been the growth of ages and of successive generations
ofmen,it requiresmorethanmortalpowerandmortalcouragetowagean effective war with such passions and prejudices. No doubt, successful mis- sionaries among the heathens were endowed with great force of character and admirable natural qualifications to undertake the task ; but Divine inspira- tion was necessary to inflame their souls with a burning zeal and a sublime charity, to rescue their fellow-men from ignorance and vice. Again, a pre- vious course of religious discipline and training, with humble submission to those placed over them by the Almighty as guides and teachers, most gene- rally produced those great athletes of Christ, who in turn were enabled through His graces to sow the good seed in the hearts of others, and to pro- claim His glorious doctrines and morality among the infidels of their time.
Article viii. —' See "Acta Sanc-
torum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. Among the
pretermitted saints, p. 544.
3 See " Historic Catholicce Iberniae
Compendium," tomus i. , lib. 4, cap. xi. , p. 50.
Article vii. — ' See" Acta
Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. Among the preter-
mitted saints, p. 544.
a See also, at the same date, the Eleventh
Volume of this work, for notices of this holy man.
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
We shall see in the course of this narrative, how providentially St. Aidan had been destined for such a mission, and how faithfully he responded to the Divine call.
It is very satisfactory to know, that in treating about the present zealous Apostle of Northumbria, we have the chief incidents of his glorious career
recorded, on the most unquestionable authority, and that too from a remote period, traced back nearly approaching to the time when he flourished. The Life of St. Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, was first written by Venerable Bede,
1 anditisincludedinhisEcclesiasticalHistoryoftheEnglishNation. Indeed,
from this noble work, all subsequent writers have mostly drawn their accounts of the present holy bishop ; and therefore, it shall form the basis, on which
chiefly rest the subsequent particulars of his biography. The Venerable Bede was born in Northumbria,2 a. d. 673, about twenty-two years after the death of St. Aidan. At the early age of seven, he was placed, under the care of Abbot Benedicts in the Abbey of Wearmouth ;4 and afterwards, he
under the rule of
5 the first Abbot of
6 While
Ceolfrid,
Article i. —Chapter i. — z See "The the
Jarrow.
residing
lived,
in both places, Bede had exceptional facilities for acquiring all requisite and authentic information, regarding the holy founder of Lindisfarne.
Miscellaneous Works of Venerable Bede, in the original Latin, collated with the Manuscripts, and various printed Edi-
tions, accompanied by a new English Translation o( the Historical Works, and a Life of the Author," By the Rev. J. A. Giles, D. C. L. , late Fellow of C. C. C. , Ox- ford, London, 1843, six vols- 8vo. Vol. ii. , " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. iii. to xvii. , cap. xxvi. ; and vol. iii. , lib. iv. , cap. xxiii. , xxvii. To this edi- tion is reference made, in notes to the pre- sent Life.
2
The ancient kingdom of Northumbria lay north of the River Humber, and extended to the southern limits of that country inha- bited by the Picts and Scots.
3 The feast of this holy man, an Anglo-
Saxon by birth and origin, is kept on the
12th of January. Having visited Rome, he afterwards took the religious habit, in the celebratedmonasteryofLerins, in France. There he remained for two years, when he returned to Rome, a. d. 668. He afterwards accompanied St. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, to England, and had charge of the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul, near thatcity; butheresolvedonreturningagain to Rome, where he wished to acquire new experiences and lights regarding matters of Church discipline, and on divers monastic institutions. Whereupon he visited many places in Italy. He afterwards set out for England, and having been there favourably received by Egfrid, King of Northumbria, Benedict built two monasteries, those of Wearmouth and of Jarrow, formerly called Girwy. As these lay near to each other, he was appointed superior over both monas- teries. However, he took care to select two persons of eminent piety, Esterwinand Ceol- fridor Ceolfroid,to serve under him, and these
Churchveneratesassaints. St. Benedict taught his religious all those prac- tices of devotion, which he had observed in the Roman convents, and which he had learned in other houses visited by him. He wished especially to introduce the monastic life, as he saw it practised in France and Italy. In his monastery, he established a
college, in which he taught publicly, and soon he had six hundred monks who attended his lectures.
4 It is now known as Monk-Wearmouth,
owing to the foundation of a Benedictine
monastery, about A. D. 674, by Biscop, a Saxon noble, who obtained from Egfrid a grant of land near the River Wear, for the erection of an Abbey, dedicated to St. Peter. It was situated also at the mouth of that river, in Durham, and on the north bank. In the reign of Ethelred, that monastery was destroyed by the Danes.
s He is venerated as a saint, on the 25th
of September.
6 This place, in Durham, is of great anti-
quity, and it appears to have been formerly a Roman station, as numerous remains and
inscriptions discovered attest. Afterwards, the Saxons occupied that site. Egfrid granted forty hides of land to St. Benedict, for the purpose of building a church, which was com- pleted in 685, and dedicated to St. Paul.
This monastery was frequently plundered and burned by the Danes, but it was again restored. According to an inscription, still preserved in the church, it is supposed to have been refounded by the Normans. In 1083, both St. Peter's at Wearmouth and St. Paul's at Jarrow, were made cellsto the con- vent of Durham, by Bishop Carilepho. Some remains of the monastery are still to be seen near the parish church. See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , pp. 631, 632,
English
452 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
The Acts of this saint have been often written, since the time of Venerable Bede. Moreover,severalManuscriptLives1ofthesaintareextant,bothin Great Britain and on the Continent. 8 So early as the ninth century, the veneration of St. Aidan had been established in Ireland, as we find him re- cordedatthe31stofAugust,inthe"Feilire"9ofSt. Aengus. Alatercom- mentary is found attached, 10 and professingto give his pedigree ; yet to this re- puted family descent, little credence should be attached. Among those writers, who have left memoirs of or who have commemorated St. Aidan, we may mention John Capgrave," and the compiler of the Breviary of Aberdeen. The
12
"Hystorieplurimorum Sanctorum" has notices of Aydanus, Confessor.
In the
collection of x3 his Acts are Edward Maihew1* has the Lippeloo, registered.
Life of St. Aidan written at the 31st of August. The acts of this apostolic
man have been published at the 21st of August, by Surius, in eleven para- graphs,^ and Archbishop Ussher has allusion to him in his great historical work. 10 Dr. Meredith Hanmer gives a curious account of Aedanus, which
confuses the Patron Saint of
1 ? with the man. 18 Ferns, so-called, present holy
Stephen
He
1 20
is also noticed
by
Father
White, ' Rev. Collier, Rev. Jeremy
Dean 21 L'Abbe' Cressy,
and Adrien Baillet. 23 The Bollandists24 Fleury," by
have given the Acts of St. Aidan, at the 31st of August, the editor being Father John Stilting. These Acts are mainly compiled from the History of
1 Among these we find : "Vita S. Aidani Pridie Kalendas Septembris.
Lindisfarnensis, MS. Bodl. Digby, 175, ff.
12
Published at Louvain, a. d. 1485. See 44, 46, b. veil, small folio, xi. cent. MS. fol. cxx. , cxxi. , cxxii.
Bodl. Sanct. Misc. 491 (1093), ff. 164-173, 13 See the Third Volume of Lippeloo's veil. 4 to xii. , cent. MS. , Bodl. Fairfax, 6 "Vitse Sanctorum. " Vita S. Aidani, at
(3886), ff. 160-162, b. veil, folio, xiv. cent. MS. Harl. , 4843, ff. 180-184, paper folio, xv. cent. De S. Aidano MS. Cott. Tiber. E. I,
ff. 231, b. 233, MS. Bodl. Tanner, 15, veil. folio, dble. col. , xv. cent. De S. Aidano,
August 31st, pp. 656 to 660.
14 See " In Trophseis Ordinis Benedic-
tini," tomus ii.
'5 See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. iv. , Augusti xxxi. , pp. 338, 339.
16 See "Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An-
tiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 365, cap. xvii. , pp. 463, 476, 494.
x? SeetheFirstVolumeofthisWork,at the 31st of January, for the Life of St. Maidoc or Aidus, Bishop of Ferns, Art. i.
et MS. Lansd. Episcopo Confessore,
ff. 19b, 21b, veil, folio, xiv. cent.
436,
8
»
Among these are found : Vita S. Aidani, Episcop. Lindisfarnensis,MS. Ccenob. Cam- beronensis in Hannoniae. MS. Bibl. de la Ville de Laon, veil, folio, xii. cent. MS.
Christina? Vatic. 1088.
» In —that copy found in the " Leabhar
Breac" a manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy—is the following stanza. Its English translation has been furnished by
Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
18 He writes: absurdly
Kegin.
"Capgravemaketh two of one Aidanus, the one an Abbot, the other a Bishop, and to reconcile the disso- nance, he was first an Abbot, afterwards a bishop, so writeth Bale. Beda delivereth
Semite echm
avoid prolixitie I omit. " Chronicle of Ireland," p. 127.
ti-^uginfc ingjuan jjeboAi
Aodah
1nt>p meocoic molinai
x
9 See"ApologiaproHibernia,"cap. ii. , p. 15, cap. iv. , p. 37, cap. v. , p. 66.
20
See his "Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain," &c, vol. i. , book ii. , cent, vii. , pp. 203 to 215.
21 See "Church History of Brittany," book xv. , chap, iii. , pp. 347 to 350.
32 See " Ilistoirc tome Ecclesiastique,"
viii. , liv. xxxviii. , sect. xviii. ,xix. , pp. 345 to 348, and liv. xxxix. , sect, iii. , p. 430,
3i In Baillet's " Les Vies des Saints,"
la
'•They overspread the end of August, Aedan the pure sun of praised Inis Medcoit (Lindisfame), with Paulinus of the widow. " —"Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxvi.
,0
See ibid. , p. cxxxv. The scholiast ap- pears to doubt whether Inis Medcoit was Inis
paulin napeoboai.
i. ,
tome iii. , at the 31st of August is entered, Cathaig, or the Island in the north-west of St. Aidan, first bishop of Lindisfame, in
the Little Saxons.
"
England, pp. 503 to 505.
24 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti
xxxi. De S. Aidano Episcopo Lindisfarnensi, pp. 688 to 694.
See Anglia.
Capgrave's "Nova Legenda This work records St. Aidanus, Bishop and Confessor, at fob v. , vi. , vii.
singular commendations of h—im, the which to "
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 453
Venerable Bede ; and they are contained in a historic commentary of four
sections, comprising thirty-two paragraphs. The reader may find, by Walter Harrises notices of this holy bishop. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Challoner26 has also given the Acts of this Saint. They are chiefly extracted from the works cf
2 28 Venerable Bede. In the writings of Rev. Alban Butler, 7 Rev. Dr. Lanigan,
Dean Henry Hart Milman,29 Bishop Forbes,30 Rev.