Colbert
Manuscript
2333, 1 2th cent.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
Again, Mon.
Achille Jubinal ^^ and L.
Tachet de Barneval ^^ have given us, in somewhat different
t*^ He departed this life A. D. 1405. Maii xvi, De S. Brendano sev Brandano "'Jacobus De Voragine was born, about Abbate Cluainfertensi in Hibernia. This
394
A. D. 1230, at Voraggio, and he died on the 14th of July, 1298, at Genoa. See notices of his life, in M. C. Dr. Hoefer's "Nouvelle Biographie Generale," tome xlvi. , pp. 452, 453-
5° In the edition of this work, a. d. 1 5 19, I cannot find any mention of St. Brendan.
5' See fol. 357.
5' In Legenda Sanctorum Anglire.
53 See " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S.
treatise is a selection from various accounts, in two chapters, and in fifteen paragraphs, edited by P'athcr Goilefiid Ilenschenn, pp. 599 to 603.
°' See " Bibliotheca Brilannico-IIibcr- nica," &c. , p. 123.
'^ See " liritaimia Sancta," part i. , pp. 289, 290.
*3 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. v. , May xvi.
*' See " Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap. vi. ,sect. viii. , p. 288, antl 5^ See " Scriptorum inustrinm Majoris nn. 84, 85, p. 292 Also, vol. ii. , chap, x. ,
Benedicti," cap. xxxi.
Brytannice," &c. , Cent, xiv. , num. Ixxviii. , p. 236.
55 See " Britannicarum Ecclcsiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xiv. , p. 277, and cap. xvii. ,
pp. 451, 471, 474, 476, 494, and Index Clironologicus, p. 532.
5* See " Historia Ecclesiaiica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. ii. , sect. 143, pp. 81, 82.
57 See " De Scriptoribus Ilibernix," lib. i. , cap. ii. , pp. 12, 13. Also, "De Ililjernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisiiiones," cap. xxvi. , p. 215.
5^ "Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quce MS. habentur, ordinc Mcnsium et Die- rum. "
59 See "Acta Sanctorum IIibcrni;c," Martii xxii. De Egressionc Familix' S. Brendani, cap. xiv. , p. 724.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
sect, vii. , with notes 91 to 133, pp. 28 to 41. *5 See vol. xiv. Edited by Wright, in 1844. Its title is "St. Brandan ; A Me- dieval Legend of the Sea," in English V'erse and Prose, Preface, pp. v. to viii. , Melricul Life, pp. I to 34, Prose Life, pp. 35 to 56,
with nn. pp. 57 to 63. ^ It begins with ;
" Seint Brendan the holi man was zund of Irlande :
Monck he was of hard lyf as I vudcr- stonde. "
It ends with:—"Nou God us bringe to tlnilke joye that his soule wende to. Amen. " *"' A copy of this edition, su|)poscd to be unifjuc, is in the Grenville Library, British
Museum.
'" This work is intituled :—" St. Br. \n-
——
395
forms, the highly-romantic narrative of St. Brendan's Navigation in search ofthePromisedLand. Thisrenownedvoyage,sohappilyversified,7°bya distinguished Irish poet, Denis Florence MacCarthy, forms the subject of a noble composition,7' that has very few more interesting competitors in the English language, both for theme and treatment. ^* The Rev. W. J. Rees has published the Acts of St. Brendan, in Latin,73 with an English translation. 74 An account of this saint will be found, in the works of Rev. M. J. Brenan, O. S. F. ;75 Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd,7'5 Le Vicomte Hersart de la Ville- marque,77Rev. RobertKing,? ^BishopForbes,79andEugene0'Curry. ^° In the Dutch language was lately published, the Legend of Sanct Brandan,^' in various texts, prose and metre. A learned Preface introduces the reader to the first Tract in Latin, " Peregrinatio Sancti Brandani Abbatis. " Next follows, Von Sente Brandan, in Dutch rhymed stanza,^^ of five lines to each stanza ; afterwards. Van dem hilgen sunte Brandan, also similarly rhymed
f'^ a prose Tract follows, Von Sand Brandon ein hiibsch leiblich lesen, was er wunders auf dem mor erfaren hat. ^'* These are all illustrated with researchful and learned notes, by the editor. The Most Rev. Patrick F. Moraa collected and published several Latin Acts of St. Brendan,^^ in 1872, and among the rest is A. Jubinal's version, ^^ collated with several other correlative MSS. ^7 Also,noticesofthissaintaregivenbyRev. JamesRose,^^M. Le Dr. Hoefer,^9 Rev. S. Baring-Gould,9° in the Bibliographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne,? ' in the " Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biogra-
daine's Legende Latine avec nne Trailuction inedite en Prose et en Poesie Romanes," pub- liees par A. Jubinal, A Paris, 1836, 8vo.
*' . See his " Histoire Legendaire de I'lr- lande,"chap. xxiii. Voyage de Saint Bren- dan, Paris, 1856, 8vo.
1° It was first published as a contribution to the " Dubhn University Magazine," in the hey-day of its celebrity as a first-class period- cal, now nearly forty years ago.
7' The latest version of this fine poem, is in the collected "Poems,"by Denis Florence MacCarthy, edited with a Preface by his son John MacCarthy, pp. 83 to 105, Dublin, 1882. cr. 8vo.
7- It is given under six distinct head- ings : —I. The Vocation. II. Ara of the Saints. III. The Voyage, iv. The Buried City. V. The Paradise of Birds, vi. The Promised Land.
73 See "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," pp. 251 to 254.
''' See ibid. , pp. 575 to 579.
75 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," Sixth Century, chap, i. , pp. 57, 58, Duffy's edition, Dublin, 1864.
76 See " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , n. i, pp. 459, 460.
'7 See " La Lcgende Celtique et la Poesie en Irlande, en Cambric, et en Bretagne," sect, v. , pj). liv. to Ixiii. , Paris, 1864, 8vo.
382, and Appendix xli. , p. 533.
^' It is intituled : " Sanct Brandan. Ein
Lateinischer und drei Deutsche Texte herausgegeben von Dr. Carl Schroder," in 8vo, Erlangen, 1871.
^^ To the number of 1930.
^3 In 1165 stanzas.
^^ This is under nineteen chapters, or
headings.
^3 This work is intituled: "Acta Sancti
Brendani : Original Latin Documents, con- nected with the Life of St. Brendan, Patron of Kerry and Clonfert. " Edited by tlie Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory. Published by William Bernard Kelly, 8 Grafton-street, Dublin, 8vo.
^° From the A.
Colbert Manuscript 2333, 1 2th cent. , Naiional Library, Paris.
^^Seeibid. ,pp. 85to131. Amongthese, denoted by/ A, is the Vatican Parchment MS. in 4to. Reginre Xtin? e, No. 481, I2ih cent. B. Vatican MS. Palatin, 217, small 4to, 9th cent. C. Biblioth. Sessoriano MS. Rome, veil. fol. No. 114, sujjposed to be of the nth cent. D. National Library, Paris, No. 3784, fol. and E. No. 5572, fob, both of the nth cent. F. the MS. in Marsh's Lib- rary, Dublin, 13th cent. G. British Museum MS. Cott. Vespasian, A. xix. veil. 410, I2lh cent.
^** See " A New General Biographical Dictionary," vol. v. , p. 34, London, 1848,
7^ See " Primer of Church History of Ireland," vol. i. , Book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 8vo.
69, 70.
79 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp.
284 to 287.
^° See " Lectures on the Manuscript Ma-
terials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xiii. , p. 289, Lect. xvi. , p. 340, Lect. xviii. , p.
^9 See " Nouvelle Biographie Generate, tome vii. , p. 319.
5° See " Lives of the Saints," vol. v. . May 16, pp. 217 to 223.
9' See tome v. , pp. 533, 534. 9= See vol. ii. , p. 741.
"
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
phy,92in Les Petits Bollandistes,93 andin the "Dictionary of Christian Biogra- phy. "94 Later still has been published, " Les Voyages Merveilleuxde Saint Bran- dan a la Recherche du Paradis Terrestre," Legende en vers du XIP Siecle, publi^ed'aprfes le Manuscrit du Musee Britannique avec Introduction parFran- cisque-Michel. 95 It is the same, as that—to which allusion has been made and which was addressed to Queen Aaliz. A short Introduction, and some observations on the text, accompany this Legend,
While St. Patrick, about the middle of the fifth century, was in view of Luachra, and on the banks of the Shannon, according to the Irish Tripartite Life,^^ he predicted that a star of the Western World should be born,97 in West Munster, and that he should be the great patriarch of monks. 9^ This prophecy is said to have been delivered, in reference to that mountain range,99 which lies near to the present Castle Island,'°° and to the east of Tralee, in the county of Kerry. This prophecy introduced in consequence of Luachra being mentioned—was intended to announce the birth of St. Brendan, or Braen, the Fair, son of Findlug, belong- ing to the family of Hua Alta, of Ciarraige Luachra. '°' A certain great and wealthy man, named Airde,'°^ who lived in the territory of Kyarragi, had hospitably entertained, one night, the celebrated Prophet, St. Becus Mac De, and the host had asked his guest to predict some new and welcome event, which should soon take place. Then, the prophet said: " This very night, between thee and the sea, shall be born one, whom thou and thy posterity shall serve in time to come, and whom, for his sanctity, many shall venerate. " That very night, also, thirty of the rich host's cows brought forth calves. The country where this event took place is described, as lying about the coasts of Ireland, which are opposite to the setting sun. '°3 Its general name was Kyarragi, or as specified, in some accounts, Ciarraighe '°-» Luachra.
396
93 See "Vies des Saints," tome v. , xvic Jour de Mai, p. 557.
9* Edited by William Smith, LL. D. ,
and Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. i. , pp. 335,
336.
95 A Paris, 1878, 8vo.
9* See the Irish Tripartite Life of . St.
Patrick, part iii. , edited by Miss M. F. Cusack, p. 472.
9' In some accounts—as in the Irish Tri- partite Life—it is stated, that Brenainn, son of the Ua-Altce was to receive birth one hundred and twenty years after St. Patrick's prophecy.
9** This shows St. Brendan was not a na- tive of Clonfert, as some writers have as- serted.
99 There is a veiy interesting description of them, in the " Battle of Magh-Lena," edited by Eugene O'Curry, p. 24.
'°° . See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. vi. , n. (f), pp. 2078,
2079.
'°' The Scholiast on the copy of the Fci-
lirc of St. /Engus, contained in the Leabhar Breac, has a comment on this saint's family, in which he quotes the following stanza, from an Irish Poem :—
O j;AbAif THAC h. A\Xzm bpenAin-o coLm acIcai <Vchc iTiAf Ve^|A nif mef<MT)c Opn cofe CluAin fei\c<M.
It is thus translated, by Dr. Whitley Stokes:
" Since the son of Hua Alltai took it, Brenann with the multitude of his
flocks,
It is not better, it is not the worse, Clonfcrt, from that to this. "
—"Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. Ixxwi.
'°- He is also called Mac Fidhaigh, in the Irish Life. The site of his house, at the present day, is a beautifully verdant hillock, in the townland of Listrim, and parisii of Ardfert. On the top of this is a plateau, and there the site of an ancient Cahir is easily traceable, but not a stone of it now remains in situ. The people yet call it Cahir-Airde, or Cahirard, rendered by the Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue, "the fort of Airdc. "
'°^ I'^ Marsh's Library copy, the Acts of St. Brendan thus open: " Natus est beatis- sinuis Brendanus Abb. as inzepharia Mumen- ensi pl. aga, in regione qure dicitur Kyarra;^! , qua; gens est circa oras littoiis IlyberniK
contra solis occasum. "
^°* This denomination is drawn from Ciar,
the son of Fergus Mac Roighc, whose dc- scendants occupied it, and from Raighc, which means a district.
'°' A. Jubinal's version of the " Navigatio
—
Sancti Brendani " has "e stagnile regione Mimensium ortus fuit. "
'°* The " Lectio," or "Legenda Brevis " has " venerabilis Brendanus in provincia stagnile Mummensium natus. " See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," p. 139.
'°7 The townland and town of Tralee, in the parish so named, and in the barony of Trughanacmy, are found, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," sheets 21, 29.
"• This district down to the present day is known by the Irish-speaking inhabitants as Cuil—(or the Corner), and the parish in Irish is called Faroiste na Cuiie—so that the Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue considers the form of the name, as given by Duald Mac Ferbuis, to be more correct, than that given in the Irish Life.
"5 Appended to the Pedigrees of St. Brendan, as given in his Book of Genealo- gies, there is a statement, that the saint be- longed to Altraighe-Cuile-beara, or Cin- beara, L. 8, p. 729. Manuscript contained
—"
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
According to one of liis Lives, St. Brendan was born in a marshy region of Munster/°5 Thisdoesnotnecessarilysuppose,thatthesituationwasdamp; but, rather, that is was near that Lough-Uke appearance of the sea,'°^ which is noticeable, at the entrance to Tralee liarbour. '°7 According to a local tradition, Annagh,'°^ which is close to that town, was the place of his nativity. Alltraighe Caille,'°9 situated in Ciarraighe Luachra,"° was the precise dis- trict, according to the Book of Lismore/" and it extended from Slieve- Luachra on the east, to the shore along Tralee Bay, on the west. The de- nomination Altraighe'" has entirely disappeared from Kerry topography for many centuries. Again, there appears to have been a distinction, in this part of the country, between one portion, called Altraighe Cliach,"3 and another, which was known as Altraighe Cuile-beara,"4 or Cinbeara. In the latter, which is stated to have been the portion, extending from the Spa to Fenit Island,St. Brendanisthoughttohavebeenboni. ^s Veryfewtraditionsre- garding the life and times of St. Brendan survive in this district of Ardfert,"^ which was so intimately associated with his history ; and, so far as could be discovered by inquiry, from the old residents, who were likely to know of any such local tradition. "? It seems certain, from the Irish Life of the saint preserved in the Book of Lismore, that he was born,"^ in or near the pre- sent Fenit,"9 now a large townland—about six miles west from Tralee and on the northern shore of Tralee Harbour—consisting of a promontory, lying between that shore and Barrow harbour. It is called Fenit Without, while
May 1 6. ]
397
'°^ The townland and parish of Annagh,
partly in the barony of Corkaguiny, and in the Royal Irish Academy's copy of the
partly in the barony of Truglianacmy, are shown. Ibid. , sheets 28, 29, 37, 38.
'°9 This seems to have been the tract of land, lying between Ardfert, Fenit, and Tralee.
"° Following many old writers, Sir James Ware makes Brendan a native of Kerry. Tradition accords likewise with this asser- tion, and even with greater particularity. See "De Scriptoribus Hibernice," lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 12.
" Fol. 72.
" Book of Lecan.
"* The parish of Ardfert is situated, partly
in the barony of Clanmaurice, and partly in that of Trughanacmy, and it is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Majjs for the County of Kerry," sheets 14, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29. The town and townland proper are on sheets 20, 21.
"' Such is the information, conveyed to the writer, in a communication of the Rev. Denis O'Donoghue, P. P. , of Ardfert to
; whom he feels specially indebted, for much of what precedes and follows, in reference to
"= The Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue has derived
it from Alt, meaning the Ua-Alta, who St. Brendan's birth-place.
possessed that large district—raige or regio. That was the sept from whom . St. Brendan sprung.
"-* This seems to have been near Tralee, as the Rev.
t*^ He departed this life A. D. 1405. Maii xvi, De S. Brendano sev Brandano "'Jacobus De Voragine was born, about Abbate Cluainfertensi in Hibernia. This
394
A. D. 1230, at Voraggio, and he died on the 14th of July, 1298, at Genoa. See notices of his life, in M. C. Dr. Hoefer's "Nouvelle Biographie Generale," tome xlvi. , pp. 452, 453-
5° In the edition of this work, a. d. 1 5 19, I cannot find any mention of St. Brendan.
5' See fol. 357.
5' In Legenda Sanctorum Anglire.
53 See " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S.
treatise is a selection from various accounts, in two chapters, and in fifteen paragraphs, edited by P'athcr Goilefiid Ilenschenn, pp. 599 to 603.
°' See " Bibliotheca Brilannico-IIibcr- nica," &c. , p. 123.
'^ See " liritaimia Sancta," part i. , pp. 289, 290.
*3 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. v. , May xvi.
*' See " Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap. vi. ,sect. viii. , p. 288, antl 5^ See " Scriptorum inustrinm Majoris nn. 84, 85, p. 292 Also, vol. ii. , chap, x. ,
Benedicti," cap. xxxi.
Brytannice," &c. , Cent, xiv. , num. Ixxviii. , p. 236.
55 See " Britannicarum Ecclcsiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xiv. , p. 277, and cap. xvii. ,
pp. 451, 471, 474, 476, 494, and Index Clironologicus, p. 532.
5* See " Historia Ecclesiaiica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. ii. , sect. 143, pp. 81, 82.
57 See " De Scriptoribus Ilibernix," lib. i. , cap. ii. , pp. 12, 13. Also, "De Ililjernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisiiiones," cap. xxvi. , p. 215.
5^ "Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quce MS. habentur, ordinc Mcnsium et Die- rum. "
59 See "Acta Sanctorum IIibcrni;c," Martii xxii. De Egressionc Familix' S. Brendani, cap. xiv. , p. 724.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
sect, vii. , with notes 91 to 133, pp. 28 to 41. *5 See vol. xiv. Edited by Wright, in 1844. Its title is "St. Brandan ; A Me- dieval Legend of the Sea," in English V'erse and Prose, Preface, pp. v. to viii. , Melricul Life, pp. I to 34, Prose Life, pp. 35 to 56,
with nn. pp. 57 to 63. ^ It begins with ;
" Seint Brendan the holi man was zund of Irlande :
Monck he was of hard lyf as I vudcr- stonde. "
It ends with:—"Nou God us bringe to tlnilke joye that his soule wende to. Amen. " *"' A copy of this edition, su|)poscd to be unifjuc, is in the Grenville Library, British
Museum.
'" This work is intituled :—" St. Br. \n-
——
395
forms, the highly-romantic narrative of St. Brendan's Navigation in search ofthePromisedLand. Thisrenownedvoyage,sohappilyversified,7°bya distinguished Irish poet, Denis Florence MacCarthy, forms the subject of a noble composition,7' that has very few more interesting competitors in the English language, both for theme and treatment. ^* The Rev. W. J. Rees has published the Acts of St. Brendan, in Latin,73 with an English translation. 74 An account of this saint will be found, in the works of Rev. M. J. Brenan, O. S. F. ;75 Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd,7'5 Le Vicomte Hersart de la Ville- marque,77Rev. RobertKing,? ^BishopForbes,79andEugene0'Curry. ^° In the Dutch language was lately published, the Legend of Sanct Brandan,^' in various texts, prose and metre. A learned Preface introduces the reader to the first Tract in Latin, " Peregrinatio Sancti Brandani Abbatis. " Next follows, Von Sente Brandan, in Dutch rhymed stanza,^^ of five lines to each stanza ; afterwards. Van dem hilgen sunte Brandan, also similarly rhymed
f'^ a prose Tract follows, Von Sand Brandon ein hiibsch leiblich lesen, was er wunders auf dem mor erfaren hat. ^'* These are all illustrated with researchful and learned notes, by the editor. The Most Rev. Patrick F. Moraa collected and published several Latin Acts of St. Brendan,^^ in 1872, and among the rest is A. Jubinal's version, ^^ collated with several other correlative MSS. ^7 Also,noticesofthissaintaregivenbyRev. JamesRose,^^M. Le Dr. Hoefer,^9 Rev. S. Baring-Gould,9° in the Bibliographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne,? ' in the " Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biogra-
daine's Legende Latine avec nne Trailuction inedite en Prose et en Poesie Romanes," pub- liees par A. Jubinal, A Paris, 1836, 8vo.
*' . See his " Histoire Legendaire de I'lr- lande,"chap. xxiii. Voyage de Saint Bren- dan, Paris, 1856, 8vo.
1° It was first published as a contribution to the " Dubhn University Magazine," in the hey-day of its celebrity as a first-class period- cal, now nearly forty years ago.
7' The latest version of this fine poem, is in the collected "Poems,"by Denis Florence MacCarthy, edited with a Preface by his son John MacCarthy, pp. 83 to 105, Dublin, 1882. cr. 8vo.
7- It is given under six distinct head- ings : —I. The Vocation. II. Ara of the Saints. III. The Voyage, iv. The Buried City. V. The Paradise of Birds, vi. The Promised Land.
73 See "Lives of the Cambro-British Saints," pp. 251 to 254.
''' See ibid. , pp. 575 to 579.
75 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," Sixth Century, chap, i. , pp. 57, 58, Duffy's edition, Dublin, 1864.
76 See " St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , n. i, pp. 459, 460.
'7 See " La Lcgende Celtique et la Poesie en Irlande, en Cambric, et en Bretagne," sect, v. , pj). liv. to Ixiii. , Paris, 1864, 8vo.
382, and Appendix xli. , p. 533.
^' It is intituled : " Sanct Brandan. Ein
Lateinischer und drei Deutsche Texte herausgegeben von Dr. Carl Schroder," in 8vo, Erlangen, 1871.
^^ To the number of 1930.
^3 In 1165 stanzas.
^^ This is under nineteen chapters, or
headings.
^3 This work is intituled: "Acta Sancti
Brendani : Original Latin Documents, con- nected with the Life of St. Brendan, Patron of Kerry and Clonfert. " Edited by tlie Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory. Published by William Bernard Kelly, 8 Grafton-street, Dublin, 8vo.
^° From the A.
Colbert Manuscript 2333, 1 2th cent. , Naiional Library, Paris.
^^Seeibid. ,pp. 85to131. Amongthese, denoted by/ A, is the Vatican Parchment MS. in 4to. Reginre Xtin? e, No. 481, I2ih cent. B. Vatican MS. Palatin, 217, small 4to, 9th cent. C. Biblioth. Sessoriano MS. Rome, veil. fol. No. 114, sujjposed to be of the nth cent. D. National Library, Paris, No. 3784, fol. and E. No. 5572, fob, both of the nth cent. F. the MS. in Marsh's Lib- rary, Dublin, 13th cent. G. British Museum MS. Cott. Vespasian, A. xix. veil. 410, I2lh cent.
^** See " A New General Biographical Dictionary," vol. v. , p. 34, London, 1848,
7^ See " Primer of Church History of Ireland," vol. i. , Book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 8vo.
69, 70.
79 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp.
284 to 287.
^° See " Lectures on the Manuscript Ma-
terials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xiii. , p. 289, Lect. xvi. , p. 340, Lect. xviii. , p.
^9 See " Nouvelle Biographie Generate, tome vii. , p. 319.
5° See " Lives of the Saints," vol. v. . May 16, pp. 217 to 223.
9' See tome v. , pp. 533, 534. 9= See vol. ii. , p. 741.
"
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
phy,92in Les Petits Bollandistes,93 andin the "Dictionary of Christian Biogra- phy. "94 Later still has been published, " Les Voyages Merveilleuxde Saint Bran- dan a la Recherche du Paradis Terrestre," Legende en vers du XIP Siecle, publi^ed'aprfes le Manuscrit du Musee Britannique avec Introduction parFran- cisque-Michel. 95 It is the same, as that—to which allusion has been made and which was addressed to Queen Aaliz. A short Introduction, and some observations on the text, accompany this Legend,
While St. Patrick, about the middle of the fifth century, was in view of Luachra, and on the banks of the Shannon, according to the Irish Tripartite Life,^^ he predicted that a star of the Western World should be born,97 in West Munster, and that he should be the great patriarch of monks. 9^ This prophecy is said to have been delivered, in reference to that mountain range,99 which lies near to the present Castle Island,'°° and to the east of Tralee, in the county of Kerry. This prophecy introduced in consequence of Luachra being mentioned—was intended to announce the birth of St. Brendan, or Braen, the Fair, son of Findlug, belong- ing to the family of Hua Alta, of Ciarraige Luachra. '°' A certain great and wealthy man, named Airde,'°^ who lived in the territory of Kyarragi, had hospitably entertained, one night, the celebrated Prophet, St. Becus Mac De, and the host had asked his guest to predict some new and welcome event, which should soon take place. Then, the prophet said: " This very night, between thee and the sea, shall be born one, whom thou and thy posterity shall serve in time to come, and whom, for his sanctity, many shall venerate. " That very night, also, thirty of the rich host's cows brought forth calves. The country where this event took place is described, as lying about the coasts of Ireland, which are opposite to the setting sun. '°3 Its general name was Kyarragi, or as specified, in some accounts, Ciarraighe '°-» Luachra.
396
93 See "Vies des Saints," tome v. , xvic Jour de Mai, p. 557.
9* Edited by William Smith, LL. D. ,
and Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. i. , pp. 335,
336.
95 A Paris, 1878, 8vo.
9* See the Irish Tripartite Life of . St.
Patrick, part iii. , edited by Miss M. F. Cusack, p. 472.
9' In some accounts—as in the Irish Tri- partite Life—it is stated, that Brenainn, son of the Ua-Altce was to receive birth one hundred and twenty years after St. Patrick's prophecy.
9** This shows St. Brendan was not a na- tive of Clonfert, as some writers have as- serted.
99 There is a veiy interesting description of them, in the " Battle of Magh-Lena," edited by Eugene O'Curry, p. 24.
'°° . See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. vi. , n. (f), pp. 2078,
2079.
'°' The Scholiast on the copy of the Fci-
lirc of St. /Engus, contained in the Leabhar Breac, has a comment on this saint's family, in which he quotes the following stanza, from an Irish Poem :—
O j;AbAif THAC h. A\Xzm bpenAin-o coLm acIcai <Vchc iTiAf Ve^|A nif mef<MT)c Opn cofe CluAin fei\c<M.
It is thus translated, by Dr. Whitley Stokes:
" Since the son of Hua Alltai took it, Brenann with the multitude of his
flocks,
It is not better, it is not the worse, Clonfcrt, from that to this. "
—"Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca- demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. Ixxwi.
'°- He is also called Mac Fidhaigh, in the Irish Life. The site of his house, at the present day, is a beautifully verdant hillock, in the townland of Listrim, and parisii of Ardfert. On the top of this is a plateau, and there the site of an ancient Cahir is easily traceable, but not a stone of it now remains in situ. The people yet call it Cahir-Airde, or Cahirard, rendered by the Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue, "the fort of Airdc. "
'°^ I'^ Marsh's Library copy, the Acts of St. Brendan thus open: " Natus est beatis- sinuis Brendanus Abb. as inzepharia Mumen- ensi pl. aga, in regione qure dicitur Kyarra;^! , qua; gens est circa oras littoiis IlyberniK
contra solis occasum. "
^°* This denomination is drawn from Ciar,
the son of Fergus Mac Roighc, whose dc- scendants occupied it, and from Raighc, which means a district.
'°' A. Jubinal's version of the " Navigatio
—
Sancti Brendani " has "e stagnile regione Mimensium ortus fuit. "
'°* The " Lectio," or "Legenda Brevis " has " venerabilis Brendanus in provincia stagnile Mummensium natus. " See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," p. 139.
'°7 The townland and town of Tralee, in the parish so named, and in the barony of Trughanacmy, are found, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," sheets 21, 29.
"• This district down to the present day is known by the Irish-speaking inhabitants as Cuil—(or the Corner), and the parish in Irish is called Faroiste na Cuiie—so that the Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue considers the form of the name, as given by Duald Mac Ferbuis, to be more correct, than that given in the Irish Life.
"5 Appended to the Pedigrees of St. Brendan, as given in his Book of Genealo- gies, there is a statement, that the saint be- longed to Altraighe-Cuile-beara, or Cin- beara, L. 8, p. 729. Manuscript contained
—"
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
According to one of liis Lives, St. Brendan was born in a marshy region of Munster/°5 Thisdoesnotnecessarilysuppose,thatthesituationwasdamp; but, rather, that is was near that Lough-Uke appearance of the sea,'°^ which is noticeable, at the entrance to Tralee liarbour. '°7 According to a local tradition, Annagh,'°^ which is close to that town, was the place of his nativity. Alltraighe Caille,'°9 situated in Ciarraighe Luachra,"° was the precise dis- trict, according to the Book of Lismore/" and it extended from Slieve- Luachra on the east, to the shore along Tralee Bay, on the west. The de- nomination Altraighe'" has entirely disappeared from Kerry topography for many centuries. Again, there appears to have been a distinction, in this part of the country, between one portion, called Altraighe Cliach,"3 and another, which was known as Altraighe Cuile-beara,"4 or Cinbeara. In the latter, which is stated to have been the portion, extending from the Spa to Fenit Island,St. Brendanisthoughttohavebeenboni. ^s Veryfewtraditionsre- garding the life and times of St. Brendan survive in this district of Ardfert,"^ which was so intimately associated with his history ; and, so far as could be discovered by inquiry, from the old residents, who were likely to know of any such local tradition. "? It seems certain, from the Irish Life of the saint preserved in the Book of Lismore, that he was born,"^ in or near the pre- sent Fenit,"9 now a large townland—about six miles west from Tralee and on the northern shore of Tralee Harbour—consisting of a promontory, lying between that shore and Barrow harbour. It is called Fenit Without, while
May 1 6. ]
397
'°^ The townland and parish of Annagh,
partly in the barony of Corkaguiny, and in the Royal Irish Academy's copy of the
partly in the barony of Truglianacmy, are shown. Ibid. , sheets 28, 29, 37, 38.
'°9 This seems to have been the tract of land, lying between Ardfert, Fenit, and Tralee.
"° Following many old writers, Sir James Ware makes Brendan a native of Kerry. Tradition accords likewise with this asser- tion, and even with greater particularity. See "De Scriptoribus Hibernice," lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 12.
" Fol. 72.
" Book of Lecan.
"* The parish of Ardfert is situated, partly
in the barony of Clanmaurice, and partly in that of Trughanacmy, and it is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Majjs for the County of Kerry," sheets 14, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29. The town and townland proper are on sheets 20, 21.
"' Such is the information, conveyed to the writer, in a communication of the Rev. Denis O'Donoghue, P. P. , of Ardfert to
; whom he feels specially indebted, for much of what precedes and follows, in reference to
"= The Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue has derived
it from Alt, meaning the Ua-Alta, who St. Brendan's birth-place.
possessed that large district—raige or regio. That was the sept from whom . St. Brendan sprung.
"-* This seems to have been near Tralee, as the Rev.
