may the Heart of God guard me
against the snares of demons, the tempta- tions of vices, the inclinations of the mmd, against every man who meditates evil to- wards me, far or nigli, alone or with others.
against the snares of demons, the tempta- tions of vices, the inclinations of the mmd, against every man who meditates evil to- wards me, far or nigli, alone or with others.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Patrick's contest with the Druids, at Tara, is related in Patrick Kennedy's "Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts," pp.
322 to 325.
*3 Lochu is said to have attempted a
flight into the air, after the example of Simeon Magus, to have fallen down to the ground,andtohavebrokenhisneck. Then, the king, attributing this calamity to St. Patrick's malediction, ordered his satellites to kill the holy man. The mangled remains of the magician who was named Lochu, in that part of the country, thus lay at the feet of St. Patrick. It is stated, that he was pro- jected to earth, by a ball of snow, after the saint had prayed aloud, in presence of all the
and brother fought against brother, while the chariots and their riders were cast to the ground and overturned. Several men were slain, and hardly did the rest escape with life, to a neighbouring hill, called Moduirn. On William Larkin's fine map of the County of Meath, published in 1812, the hills about Slane are very finely delineated ; but, no such name for any hill there occurs. The old Celtic names, for the most part, have merged into modern English denominations. The Latin Tripartite Life states, that fifty of King Leoghaire's retinue came only half- alive to the mountain of Modhairn, and Briggraidbe, in the territory of Carbrie, while the rest were scattered in various directions, three only excepted, King Leo- gaire, his queen, and one of his courtiers. See Seventh Life, lib. i. , cap. Iviii. , p. 126.
*'' In St. Patrick's Acts, her published
name is not given, except in the Latin Tri-
people. Anticipating
tion, St. Patrick in a clear voice began to
their inten- desperate
sing that verse of the psalm " Let God partite Life, which alone calls this queen
:
arise, and let his enemies be scattered, and Angusa, the daughter of Tessach, son to let them that hate him fly from before his Liethen. See lib. i. , cap. Iviii. , p. 126.
The Iri. sh version does not at all name her. ''5 The Irish Tripartite Life states, that the king went to Tara. in sorrow and shame, by twilight, a few persons only escaping in his company. In the Latin and Irish Tri- partite Lives, St. Benen, or Benignus, is said to have carried the polaire (satchel or epis- 15. For, he sent among them, according to tolary) of sacred books, on his back. Ac- the prophecy of Isaiah, the spirit of giddi- cording to the Irish Life, Benan is called a
face. " (Psalms Ixvii. I. ) Then, the Lord, the protector of his chosen ones in the time of need, saved from this angry multitude his faithful servant. Thus, as was said by
"
The Lord shot forth his arrffwt, and lie scattered them ; he vndtiplied lightnings, a7id troubled them. " Psalms xvii.
the Prophet :
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 561
and river ford. With nine chariots, and wicked men in them, each spot was guarded, to the end, that if the saint escaped one passage, he should be en-
trappedinanother. But,themaUceofmancannotprevailagainstthegoodness of God, who conducted his true servant, with eight more attendants,^^ and the holy youth Benignus, in an invisible manner, and through the midst of their blood-thirsty enemies, to Tara, where the king kept his chief court. At the various places of ambush, the eyes of those plotters were bound, so that they couldnotbeholdtheholytravellers. But,totheirsightappearedeightstags, with one hind, passing over the mountains ; and, thus, the Lord being his protector, did the saint and his companions escape the contrivers of, and the means for, their destruction. ^7
On the following day, which was Easter Sunday, the great Fes was solemnized by a public banquet, held in the Royal Hall, on the Hill of Tara. ^^ The advent of St. Patrick in Ireland, and the late events at Slane, were then a subject for general wonder and comment. An invitation had been extended, that he should present himself, before the magnates of the land, at their great assembly. ^9 Nothing could be more sublime, than the dignified and solemn entrance of St. Patrick, into the king's presence, at the Palace of Tara. Pre- cededbythecrucifix, andaccompaniedbyhisclergy,theholymanadvanced like a prophet,7° and when he arrived, all assembled there gazed upon himself and upon his companions, with feelings of admiration and reverence. The palace gates flew open as he approached. 7' It is said, that as St. Patrick
journeyed forward to Tara, on this occasion, he composed that celebrated
Hymn,72 in the Irish
gUla, and he was clothed
or garment of invisibility, occurs, in the Latin Life. ** The Second Life has
language, known as the Feth-Fiadha,73 and which was
"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xli. , xlii. ,
with a dicheltair, Notliing of this
the order and celebration of the Tara Fes.
See, also, Eugene O'Curry's Lectures "On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
Irish," edited by Dr. W. K. Sullivan, vol.
seven.
*7 See "Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap. ii. , lect. ii. , pp. 12 to 20. Also "Trans-
XXXV. , xxxvi. , xxxvii. , p. 15 ; "Tertia Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxxviii,, xxxix. , xl. , p. 24 ;
actions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. xiv. O'Flaherty's "Isles of Arran," pp. 105, 106.
""
Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib.
^^ In the History of Tara Hill," Dr. Petrie printed the celebrated Hymn of St. Patrick, with a translation and notes by
xliii. , p. 40 ;
i. , cap. xxxvi. , xxxvii. , xxxviii. , xxxix. , xl. ,
"
xl. , xli. , xlii. , xliii. , xliv. , pp. 74, 75;
"
Ivi. , Ivii. , Iviii. , lix. , Ix. , p. 126. Also, Miss
Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap.
Septima Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. re-translated from different versions, by
pp. 50, 51 ;
Cusack's 387-
*«
"
Life of St. Patrick," pp. 385 to
Whitley Stokes, the late Dr. Todd, and J. O'BeirneCrow. MissCusackhasprinted
According to the Scholiast on St.
Fiech's Hymn, this place. Latinized, Temo-
ria, had its name, Tea-mhur, or Tese-Murus,
because Tea, the wife of King Eremon, son some h—as been Latinized, "Lorica Pa-
to the Spaniard Milesius, had been there in- terred. See First Life, stanza 10, p. 2, and n. 17 r. , p. 5.
Stenson's "Pane-
1875. i2mo.
T' See Archdeacon Hamiilton's " Sum-
mary of the Life of St. Patrick," p. 6, to his edition of the Confession,
7' The most m—inute notices we find, re- garding the turs mentioned by Ptolemy in
"
Jeoffrey Keating, in his
land," and under the reign of Tuathal Teachtmhar, from a. d. 79 to 109, describes
tricii :"
" There has come to me to-day, powerful
strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
" I invoke the of the mighty power
Trinity, 1 believe in the Trinity, under the unity of the God of the Elements.
" At Tara, to-day, I place between me and harm, the virtue of the birth of Christ with his Baptism ; the virtue of His Cruci- fixion, with His Burial ; the virtue of His Resurrection, with His Ascension ; the
•^9 See Rev. E.
J. J.
gyric of St. Patrick," p. 15. Almonte,
—and the
his account of Ireland
and forts at Tara, are to be found in Dr, Petrie's "History of Tara Hill. " Dr.
virtue of the to the Eternal coming
other houses
Judg-
History of Ire-
ment.
" At Tara, to-day, the virtue of the love
of the Seraphim, the obedience of the angels, the hope of the resurrection to eternal re- ward, the prayers of the noble fathers, the
John O'Donovan. Since then, it has been
this Hymn, in the body of her
"
Life of St. Patrick," with valuable annotations.
73 Here do we insert an English trans- lation of this sublime Hymn, which, by
2N
562 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
afterwards held in such great veneration among our people. 7+ The Monarch Laoighaire had desired, that his chiefs and familiars should manifest nothing of courteous respect to the distinguished stranger. Wherefore, as our saint
entered the king's palace, none showed him any honour, or reverence, ex-
cepting the king's chief Poet. ^s In some accounts, he is merely called a
Poet 7^ in others, he is distinguished as Arch-Poet. 77 With great submission, ;
this " son of saluted him. This action was distinguished song," Dubtach,? ^
reputedinhimtojustice. HeaskedtobecomeaChristian,andhereceived the grace of baptism. After his call to the true faith, Dubtach's talents were entirely given, to diffuse Christian truths and virtues. Some of his writings weresaidtobeextantintheseventeenthcentury; and,Colgansays,thatdivers Tracts of Dubthach were even in his own keeping. 79 Instead of displaying his varied powers in praising false gods, the Arch-Poet, thenceforward, only celebrated the greatness and mercies of the one true God. ^°
At this time, the king was seated at a royal banquet, and he invited St.
Patrick,withgreatdissimulation,topartakeofmeatanddrink. LuchMael, or Lugach Mael, the Magician, grieving for the death of his friend Luchra, is
saidtohavepresentedapoisonedcuptothenewly-arrivedguest. However, owing to the Divine protection, the contents in no measure injured St. Patrick. To the great astonishment of all the assembled guests, after bless- ing it, he drank out of that vessel, and the poison was miraculously removed from the liquid therein contained. After the banquet was over, our saint and
allwhowerepresentadjournedtotheopenplain. There,theMagician,Luca- mael, challenged the Apostle, to a trial of their respective powers. These
predictions of the Prophets, the preaching of
the Apostles, the faith of the Confessors, the
purity of the holy Virgin, the deeds of just men.
Christ after me, Christ in me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ at my right hand, Christ on my left, Christ at this side, Christ at that side, Christ at my back. May Christ be in the heart of each person to whom I may speak, Christ in the mouth of each person who speaks to me, Christ in each eye which sees me, Christ in each ear which hears me. "
7^ See the Seventh Life, lib. i. , cap. Ix. , p. 126. The recital of this Hymn was supposed
to prove a spiritual antidote, against all evils, both of mind and body.
" On such a foundation. Harris formed his
epithet of "poet laureat. " See Harris'
"
At Tara, to-day, the strength of heaven,
the light of the sun, the whiteness of the
snow, the face of fire, the rapidity of light- ning, the swiftness ot the wind, tlie depth of the sea, the stability of the earth, the hard- ness of rocks.
" At Tara, to-day, may the strength of God pilot me ! may the power of God pre- serve me ! may the wisdom of God instruct me! maytheeyeofGodbeholdme! may the ear of God hear me ! may the word of God make me eloquent ! m-iy the Hand of
God protect me ! may the Way of God Ware, vol. i. , "Archbishops of Armagh,"
direct me ! may the Shield of God defend me !
may the Heart of God guard me
against the snares of demons, the tempta- tions of vices, the inclinations of the mmd, against every man who meditates evil to- wards me, far or nigli, alone or with others.
" I place all these powers between me and every evil, unmerciful powers directed
p. 14.
'*Jocelyncallshim"PoetaRegis," See
"Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xliv. , p. 74. " See " Prima Vita S. Patricii," n. i, p. 4, where Fiech's Scholiast calls Dubtach the Arch-poet, or a chief among the Irish poets, or bards. The Tripartite Lite makes him the arch-poet of the king and of the
See " Vita S. kingdom. Septima Patricii,"
lib. i. , cap. xli. , p. 126.
'^ Fiach, the son of Ere, was a pupil to
this Dubtach ; and, that celebrated disciple afterwards became Bishop of Sletty, near the banks of the Barrow, in the Queen's County.
against my
soul and
body,
as a
protection
against the incantations of false prophets,
against the black laws of Gentilism, against
the false laws ot heresy, against the treachery
of idolatry, against the spells of witches and
Druids, agauist every knowledge which
blinds the soul of man. May Clnist protect me this day against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, until I merit a great reward.
"Christ be with me, Christ before me,
" See the Commentator on St. Patrick's First Life, n. 5, p. S.
^ See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 2.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 56-
'efforts on the part of the Magician and of the saint are related, with varied
colourings of fancy ; but, they are of too legendary a complexion, to deserve serious attention. ^' It is stated, that the monarch ^Yished the saint and the Magician, to put their respective books into water. Should the book of one or of the other be saved from injury or obliteration, his doctrine was adjudged to be the right code of belief. This proposal pleased St. Patrick, but not the Magician, who said the Christian missionary worshipped the watery element as God, because he baptized with it. Then, the king proposed a trial of the books by fire. The book saved from it, was to determine the excellence of its teaching. To this the Magus objected once more, for he said Patrick by turns worshipped fire and water, and that either element should prove propi- tious for him. St. Patrick then declared, that he adored no element, but only the Creator of all the elements. A different kind of trial was then pro- posed, to which the Magus assented ; but, this resulted in his own most
miserable death. ^^
Notwithstanding, King Leogaire
relented not in his wicked
malice, but rather was his heart hardened like unto that of Pharaoh. To
revenge the ]\Iagician's death, he contrived, it is said, by all means possible,
to effect the saint's utter destruction. He found many of his subjects willing
and prompt, to execute this bloody purpose. But, Almighty God, the powerful protector of his servant, manifested his miraculous power ; for, the earth,gapinghorribly,swallowedthoseofficersandthemob. Manycitizens ofTarahadahand,inprosecutingthatwickedandtreacherousdesign. ^3 This severe chastisement struck such a terror into their minds, that fearing to incur
*' We are told, in St. Patrick's
the Magician, fearing to be overcome by
our patron's supposed spells, caused a fan-
tastic snow to fall over all the adjoining
country. In like manner, it is related, that
by force of his magic charms, he overcast all
the land with a palpaljle darkness. But,
neither the one nor other portent was he
able to remove, as he publicly confessed.
Then, Saint Patrick, the child of liglit, ofi'er-
ing his devout prayers to the Son of Justice,
chased away both the snow and the impene-
trable darkness. The people of that region,
who had sat so long in darkness, now ment.
seeing this great light, prayed to the true ^^ The Latin Tripartite Life has an ac- God. They likewise magnified his holy count of three noble young hostages, then servant, St. Patrick, while they felt a de- detained at Tara. These were favourably testation for the delusive efforts of the impressed with the saint and his mission.
Magus.
*^
He consoled those noble youths, by predict-
According to an appointment of all the company for St. Patrick and the Magician, a new and temporary house was built, alter a strange manner. One half was constructed of green oak, and the other o( dry and withered timl)er. Then St.
ing, that they should respectively become the ancestors of St. Columkille, venerated on the 9th ol June ; St. Comgell, venerated on the lOth of May ; and St. Finian, on the 23rd of February, or on the 1 2th of Novem- ber. — the
binding Benig- nus and the Magician, they placed both m the house, one of them opposite the other.
Hence, Colgan infers, hostages
St. Benignus, attired in the Magician's ap- parel, was placed in that part, made of dry wood, and the Magician, with St. Patrick's
vestment, was placed in a part, that was built ol the green wood. This being done,
Acts,
that
Patrick's But, the garment.
fire was set to the house. A strange and an " Trias Thaiimaturga," n. 43, p. 172. It is
unheard-of event took place ; (or, the fire burnt the Magician and the green part of the house, even to ashes ; while, it left, not so much as the least sign of scorching on St.
remarkable, that tlie foregoing account is omitted, from the Irish copy, as published by Miss Cusack.
^* Thus is it expressed, in Aubrey de
holy youth Benignus was not touched by the flames, nor did he receive any harm from them, while the Magician's garment was consumed into ashes. This was regarded, as a repetition of the miracle, relating to the three children in the Babylonian furnace, and which is registered by Daniel, in his book of Prophe- cies. So winds up the account ; and, it is greatly to be suspected, the whole of this romantic story only depends on some wild popular tradition, framed on the incidents just alluded to, as found in the Old Testa-
must have been hrstly, Ferguss
Eachod, or perhaps Sedna ; and, thirdly, perhaps, Finlug, the grandfather of St. Finian of Clonard. Colgan thinks this story may have been an interpolation, in the pub- lished Tripartite, the original copy of which he deems referable to the sixth century. See
;
secondly,
5^4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
a like danger, all the people of the country thereabout became Christians. They then received the grace of baptism. It is said, the unbelieving king
simply tolerated St. Patrick, in announcing Christianity to his subjects. ^* Someaccountshaveit, thattheMonarchLeogairecontinuedanobstinate Pagan,^5 to the end of his days. Other writers state, that he was converted to Christianity,^^ by St. Patrick. ^7 Miracles are said to have been wrought by the latter, on this occasion,^^ and these had a salutary effect, if not on the dispositions of King Leoghaire, at least on the minds of the queen,^9 and of many, who were then in Tara and its neighbourhood. 5° The Apostle then predicted, according to some writers, that since Leoghaire had professed his belief in God, and had submitted to Patrick, that he should have a lengthened reign; yet,becauseofhispreviousdissimulationanddisobedience,noking or roydamhna of his race, save Lughaidh, then in the womb of Queen
"
Vere's "Legends of St. Patrick," in the ing to a Tract found in the
Poem " St. Patrick at Tara," pp. 29, 30 : — H-Uidhri," p. 117. It begins : Cotncoc
"
Yet the King believed not ;
L^egA^M CO q\ecini aca]" a Ai'oe'o A'Ofec in l"ceC fo. It is thus translated, "The con- version of Loegaire to Christianity and his
but ordinance
That whoso would might believe that death are told in this story. " See, also,
Dubtach first,
>' ;
gave
word ;
So the meek believed, and the wise, and
**
Description," p. xxii. , in the published copy.
^9 The Third Life states, that she was con- verted to the Christian Faith. She em- And the Druids, because they could braced the Christian Religion, and received answer nought, baptism at the saint's hands, according to Bow'd down to the Faith the stranger Jocelyn. She ended her days happily, as some state ; but, we have hardly anything
brave,
And Mary's Son as their God adored.
brought.
That — Erin God day upon
He rose and believed the
onthis authentic, subject.
pour'd
Yet none like the chief of the Bards had
5*"
"
See Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap.
spirit
merit, —
Tertia Vita S. Patricii," cap. xl. , xli. , xlii. ,
!
pp. 24, 25
Quarta
Patricii," cap.
Ere the great light yet on the rest had burst. "
"
xli. , xlii. , xliii. , xliv. , xlv. , xlvi. , p. 51 ;
*5 See the Third
15 ; the Sixth Life, cap. xlix. , pp. 75, 76.
"
Archaeological Association of Ireland,
Life, cap. xlii. , pp. 14,
Septima
^ See, on the present subject, that very curious, but romantic and fabulous tract, knownasSiabur-CharpatConCuilaind,or " The Demoniac Chariot of Cu Chulaind," from the Lebor na h-Uidre, translated and edited by J. O'Beirne Crowe, A. B. , for
"The Journal of the Royal Historical and
"
his
vol.
! . , part ii. Fourth Series. January, 1871, the city, and to feign death, before St.
pp. 371 to 448. Patrick should arrive at the place. He was ^7 See the Second Life, cap. xli. , p. 16 ; commanded not to arise, even if the holy the Fourth Life, cap. xlix. , p. 41 ; the Fifth man called on him so to act. To this course Life, lib. i. , cap. xlvi. , p. 51 ; the Seventh Erramaelus assented, but, as it fell out, to Life, lib. i. , cap. Ixvii. , p. 128. However, his own destruction. To test St. Patrick's the sincerity of this conversion has been supernatural knowledge, the king brought questioned, since Loeghaire is reported as him that way. However, our saint, having
" It is better for me to had a Divine admonition of the scheme, believe than to die. " The Tripartite Life cried out: "O Erramaelus, whether truly
having exclaimed
:
tells us, his father Niall had enjoined on him, never to embrace the Faith of Christ, and that he should always adhere to the gods of his ancestors. See lib. ii. , cap. viii. , p. 130-
or falsely you have been wounded, no heal- ing shall you receive ; whether truly or falsely you have been wounded, from this place you shall not rise. " And this prophecy was fulfilled, for Erramaelus, who feigned
death, was found in reality to have passed away from life. See lib. i. , cap. Ixviii. , p. 128.
^'
novel doctrine of forgiving injuries, accord-
By a test, the king tried our saint's
xxxviii. , xxxix. , xl. , xli. , pp. 15, 16; *'
Vita S.
xliv. , xlv. , xlvi. , xlvii. , xlviii. , xlix. , pp. 40,
41 ; "
Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap.
*3 Lochu is said to have attempted a
flight into the air, after the example of Simeon Magus, to have fallen down to the ground,andtohavebrokenhisneck. Then, the king, attributing this calamity to St. Patrick's malediction, ordered his satellites to kill the holy man. The mangled remains of the magician who was named Lochu, in that part of the country, thus lay at the feet of St. Patrick. It is stated, that he was pro- jected to earth, by a ball of snow, after the saint had prayed aloud, in presence of all the
and brother fought against brother, while the chariots and their riders were cast to the ground and overturned. Several men were slain, and hardly did the rest escape with life, to a neighbouring hill, called Moduirn. On William Larkin's fine map of the County of Meath, published in 1812, the hills about Slane are very finely delineated ; but, no such name for any hill there occurs. The old Celtic names, for the most part, have merged into modern English denominations. The Latin Tripartite Life states, that fifty of King Leoghaire's retinue came only half- alive to the mountain of Modhairn, and Briggraidbe, in the territory of Carbrie, while the rest were scattered in various directions, three only excepted, King Leo- gaire, his queen, and one of his courtiers. See Seventh Life, lib. i. , cap. Iviii. , p. 126.
*'' In St. Patrick's Acts, her published
name is not given, except in the Latin Tri-
people. Anticipating
tion, St. Patrick in a clear voice began to
their inten- desperate
sing that verse of the psalm " Let God partite Life, which alone calls this queen
:
arise, and let his enemies be scattered, and Angusa, the daughter of Tessach, son to let them that hate him fly from before his Liethen. See lib. i. , cap. Iviii. , p. 126.
The Iri. sh version does not at all name her. ''5 The Irish Tripartite Life states, that the king went to Tara. in sorrow and shame, by twilight, a few persons only escaping in his company. In the Latin and Irish Tri- partite Lives, St. Benen, or Benignus, is said to have carried the polaire (satchel or epis- 15. For, he sent among them, according to tolary) of sacred books, on his back. Ac- the prophecy of Isaiah, the spirit of giddi- cording to the Irish Life, Benan is called a
face. " (Psalms Ixvii. I. ) Then, the Lord, the protector of his chosen ones in the time of need, saved from this angry multitude his faithful servant. Thus, as was said by
"
The Lord shot forth his arrffwt, and lie scattered them ; he vndtiplied lightnings, a7id troubled them. " Psalms xvii.
the Prophet :
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 561
and river ford. With nine chariots, and wicked men in them, each spot was guarded, to the end, that if the saint escaped one passage, he should be en-
trappedinanother. But,themaUceofmancannotprevailagainstthegoodness of God, who conducted his true servant, with eight more attendants,^^ and the holy youth Benignus, in an invisible manner, and through the midst of their blood-thirsty enemies, to Tara, where the king kept his chief court. At the various places of ambush, the eyes of those plotters were bound, so that they couldnotbeholdtheholytravellers. But,totheirsightappearedeightstags, with one hind, passing over the mountains ; and, thus, the Lord being his protector, did the saint and his companions escape the contrivers of, and the means for, their destruction. ^7
On the following day, which was Easter Sunday, the great Fes was solemnized by a public banquet, held in the Royal Hall, on the Hill of Tara. ^^ The advent of St. Patrick in Ireland, and the late events at Slane, were then a subject for general wonder and comment. An invitation had been extended, that he should present himself, before the magnates of the land, at their great assembly. ^9 Nothing could be more sublime, than the dignified and solemn entrance of St. Patrick, into the king's presence, at the Palace of Tara. Pre- cededbythecrucifix, andaccompaniedbyhisclergy,theholymanadvanced like a prophet,7° and when he arrived, all assembled there gazed upon himself and upon his companions, with feelings of admiration and reverence. The palace gates flew open as he approached. 7' It is said, that as St. Patrick
journeyed forward to Tara, on this occasion, he composed that celebrated
Hymn,72 in the Irish
gUla, and he was clothed
or garment of invisibility, occurs, in the Latin Life. ** The Second Life has
language, known as the Feth-Fiadha,73 and which was
"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xli. , xlii. ,
with a dicheltair, Notliing of this
the order and celebration of the Tara Fes.
See, also, Eugene O'Curry's Lectures "On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
Irish," edited by Dr. W. K. Sullivan, vol.
seven.
*7 See "Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap. ii. , lect. ii. , pp. 12 to 20. Also "Trans-
XXXV. , xxxvi. , xxxvii. , p. 15 ; "Tertia Vita S. Patricii," cap. xxxviii,, xxxix. , xl. , p. 24 ;
actions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. xiv. O'Flaherty's "Isles of Arran," pp. 105, 106.
""
Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib.
^^ In the History of Tara Hill," Dr. Petrie printed the celebrated Hymn of St. Patrick, with a translation and notes by
xliii. , p. 40 ;
i. , cap. xxxvi. , xxxvii. , xxxviii. , xxxix. , xl. ,
"
xl. , xli. , xlii. , xliii. , xliv. , pp. 74, 75;
"
Ivi. , Ivii. , Iviii. , lix. , Ix. , p. 126. Also, Miss
Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap.
Septima Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap. re-translated from different versions, by
pp. 50, 51 ;
Cusack's 387-
*«
"
Life of St. Patrick," pp. 385 to
Whitley Stokes, the late Dr. Todd, and J. O'BeirneCrow. MissCusackhasprinted
According to the Scholiast on St.
Fiech's Hymn, this place. Latinized, Temo-
ria, had its name, Tea-mhur, or Tese-Murus,
because Tea, the wife of King Eremon, son some h—as been Latinized, "Lorica Pa-
to the Spaniard Milesius, had been there in- terred. See First Life, stanza 10, p. 2, and n. 17 r. , p. 5.
Stenson's "Pane-
1875. i2mo.
T' See Archdeacon Hamiilton's " Sum-
mary of the Life of St. Patrick," p. 6, to his edition of the Confession,
7' The most m—inute notices we find, re- garding the turs mentioned by Ptolemy in
"
Jeoffrey Keating, in his
land," and under the reign of Tuathal Teachtmhar, from a. d. 79 to 109, describes
tricii :"
" There has come to me to-day, powerful
strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
" I invoke the of the mighty power
Trinity, 1 believe in the Trinity, under the unity of the God of the Elements.
" At Tara, to-day, I place between me and harm, the virtue of the birth of Christ with his Baptism ; the virtue of His Cruci- fixion, with His Burial ; the virtue of His Resurrection, with His Ascension ; the
•^9 See Rev. E.
J. J.
gyric of St. Patrick," p. 15. Almonte,
—and the
his account of Ireland
and forts at Tara, are to be found in Dr, Petrie's "History of Tara Hill. " Dr.
virtue of the to the Eternal coming
other houses
Judg-
History of Ire-
ment.
" At Tara, to-day, the virtue of the love
of the Seraphim, the obedience of the angels, the hope of the resurrection to eternal re- ward, the prayers of the noble fathers, the
John O'Donovan. Since then, it has been
this Hymn, in the body of her
"
Life of St. Patrick," with valuable annotations.
73 Here do we insert an English trans- lation of this sublime Hymn, which, by
2N
562 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
afterwards held in such great veneration among our people. 7+ The Monarch Laoighaire had desired, that his chiefs and familiars should manifest nothing of courteous respect to the distinguished stranger. Wherefore, as our saint
entered the king's palace, none showed him any honour, or reverence, ex-
cepting the king's chief Poet. ^s In some accounts, he is merely called a
Poet 7^ in others, he is distinguished as Arch-Poet. 77 With great submission, ;
this " son of saluted him. This action was distinguished song," Dubtach,? ^
reputedinhimtojustice. HeaskedtobecomeaChristian,andhereceived the grace of baptism. After his call to the true faith, Dubtach's talents were entirely given, to diffuse Christian truths and virtues. Some of his writings weresaidtobeextantintheseventeenthcentury; and,Colgansays,thatdivers Tracts of Dubthach were even in his own keeping. 79 Instead of displaying his varied powers in praising false gods, the Arch-Poet, thenceforward, only celebrated the greatness and mercies of the one true God. ^°
At this time, the king was seated at a royal banquet, and he invited St.
Patrick,withgreatdissimulation,topartakeofmeatanddrink. LuchMael, or Lugach Mael, the Magician, grieving for the death of his friend Luchra, is
saidtohavepresentedapoisonedcuptothenewly-arrivedguest. However, owing to the Divine protection, the contents in no measure injured St. Patrick. To the great astonishment of all the assembled guests, after bless- ing it, he drank out of that vessel, and the poison was miraculously removed from the liquid therein contained. After the banquet was over, our saint and
allwhowerepresentadjournedtotheopenplain. There,theMagician,Luca- mael, challenged the Apostle, to a trial of their respective powers. These
predictions of the Prophets, the preaching of
the Apostles, the faith of the Confessors, the
purity of the holy Virgin, the deeds of just men.
Christ after me, Christ in me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ at my right hand, Christ on my left, Christ at this side, Christ at that side, Christ at my back. May Christ be in the heart of each person to whom I may speak, Christ in the mouth of each person who speaks to me, Christ in each eye which sees me, Christ in each ear which hears me. "
7^ See the Seventh Life, lib. i. , cap. Ix. , p. 126. The recital of this Hymn was supposed
to prove a spiritual antidote, against all evils, both of mind and body.
" On such a foundation. Harris formed his
epithet of "poet laureat. " See Harris'
"
At Tara, to-day, the strength of heaven,
the light of the sun, the whiteness of the
snow, the face of fire, the rapidity of light- ning, the swiftness ot the wind, tlie depth of the sea, the stability of the earth, the hard- ness of rocks.
" At Tara, to-day, may the strength of God pilot me ! may the power of God pre- serve me ! may the wisdom of God instruct me! maytheeyeofGodbeholdme! may the ear of God hear me ! may the word of God make me eloquent ! m-iy the Hand of
God protect me ! may the Way of God Ware, vol. i. , "Archbishops of Armagh,"
direct me ! may the Shield of God defend me !
may the Heart of God guard me
against the snares of demons, the tempta- tions of vices, the inclinations of the mmd, against every man who meditates evil to- wards me, far or nigli, alone or with others.
" I place all these powers between me and every evil, unmerciful powers directed
p. 14.
'*Jocelyncallshim"PoetaRegis," See
"Sexta Vita S. Patricii," cap. xliv. , p. 74. " See " Prima Vita S. Patricii," n. i, p. 4, where Fiech's Scholiast calls Dubtach the Arch-poet, or a chief among the Irish poets, or bards. The Tripartite Lite makes him the arch-poet of the king and of the
See " Vita S. kingdom. Septima Patricii,"
lib. i. , cap. xli. , p. 126.
'^ Fiach, the son of Ere, was a pupil to
this Dubtach ; and, that celebrated disciple afterwards became Bishop of Sletty, near the banks of the Barrow, in the Queen's County.
against my
soul and
body,
as a
protection
against the incantations of false prophets,
against the black laws of Gentilism, against
the false laws ot heresy, against the treachery
of idolatry, against the spells of witches and
Druids, agauist every knowledge which
blinds the soul of man. May Clnist protect me this day against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, until I merit a great reward.
"Christ be with me, Christ before me,
" See the Commentator on St. Patrick's First Life, n. 5, p. S.
^ See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 2.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 56-
'efforts on the part of the Magician and of the saint are related, with varied
colourings of fancy ; but, they are of too legendary a complexion, to deserve serious attention. ^' It is stated, that the monarch ^Yished the saint and the Magician, to put their respective books into water. Should the book of one or of the other be saved from injury or obliteration, his doctrine was adjudged to be the right code of belief. This proposal pleased St. Patrick, but not the Magician, who said the Christian missionary worshipped the watery element as God, because he baptized with it. Then, the king proposed a trial of the books by fire. The book saved from it, was to determine the excellence of its teaching. To this the Magus objected once more, for he said Patrick by turns worshipped fire and water, and that either element should prove propi- tious for him. St. Patrick then declared, that he adored no element, but only the Creator of all the elements. A different kind of trial was then pro- posed, to which the Magus assented ; but, this resulted in his own most
miserable death. ^^
Notwithstanding, King Leogaire
relented not in his wicked
malice, but rather was his heart hardened like unto that of Pharaoh. To
revenge the ]\Iagician's death, he contrived, it is said, by all means possible,
to effect the saint's utter destruction. He found many of his subjects willing
and prompt, to execute this bloody purpose. But, Almighty God, the powerful protector of his servant, manifested his miraculous power ; for, the earth,gapinghorribly,swallowedthoseofficersandthemob. Manycitizens ofTarahadahand,inprosecutingthatwickedandtreacherousdesign. ^3 This severe chastisement struck such a terror into their minds, that fearing to incur
*' We are told, in St. Patrick's
the Magician, fearing to be overcome by
our patron's supposed spells, caused a fan-
tastic snow to fall over all the adjoining
country. In like manner, it is related, that
by force of his magic charms, he overcast all
the land with a palpaljle darkness. But,
neither the one nor other portent was he
able to remove, as he publicly confessed.
Then, Saint Patrick, the child of liglit, ofi'er-
ing his devout prayers to the Son of Justice,
chased away both the snow and the impene-
trable darkness. The people of that region,
who had sat so long in darkness, now ment.
seeing this great light, prayed to the true ^^ The Latin Tripartite Life has an ac- God. They likewise magnified his holy count of three noble young hostages, then servant, St. Patrick, while they felt a de- detained at Tara. These were favourably testation for the delusive efforts of the impressed with the saint and his mission.
Magus.
*^
He consoled those noble youths, by predict-
According to an appointment of all the company for St. Patrick and the Magician, a new and temporary house was built, alter a strange manner. One half was constructed of green oak, and the other o( dry and withered timl)er. Then St.
ing, that they should respectively become the ancestors of St. Columkille, venerated on the 9th ol June ; St. Comgell, venerated on the lOth of May ; and St. Finian, on the 23rd of February, or on the 1 2th of Novem- ber. — the
binding Benig- nus and the Magician, they placed both m the house, one of them opposite the other.
Hence, Colgan infers, hostages
St. Benignus, attired in the Magician's ap- parel, was placed in that part, made of dry wood, and the Magician, with St. Patrick's
vestment, was placed in a part, that was built ol the green wood. This being done,
Acts,
that
Patrick's But, the garment.
fire was set to the house. A strange and an " Trias Thaiimaturga," n. 43, p. 172. It is
unheard-of event took place ; (or, the fire burnt the Magician and the green part of the house, even to ashes ; while, it left, not so much as the least sign of scorching on St.
remarkable, that tlie foregoing account is omitted, from the Irish copy, as published by Miss Cusack.
^* Thus is it expressed, in Aubrey de
holy youth Benignus was not touched by the flames, nor did he receive any harm from them, while the Magician's garment was consumed into ashes. This was regarded, as a repetition of the miracle, relating to the three children in the Babylonian furnace, and which is registered by Daniel, in his book of Prophe- cies. So winds up the account ; and, it is greatly to be suspected, the whole of this romantic story only depends on some wild popular tradition, framed on the incidents just alluded to, as found in the Old Testa-
must have been hrstly, Ferguss
Eachod, or perhaps Sedna ; and, thirdly, perhaps, Finlug, the grandfather of St. Finian of Clonard. Colgan thinks this story may have been an interpolation, in the pub- lished Tripartite, the original copy of which he deems referable to the sixth century. See
;
secondly,
5^4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
a like danger, all the people of the country thereabout became Christians. They then received the grace of baptism. It is said, the unbelieving king
simply tolerated St. Patrick, in announcing Christianity to his subjects. ^* Someaccountshaveit, thattheMonarchLeogairecontinuedanobstinate Pagan,^5 to the end of his days. Other writers state, that he was converted to Christianity,^^ by St. Patrick. ^7 Miracles are said to have been wrought by the latter, on this occasion,^^ and these had a salutary effect, if not on the dispositions of King Leoghaire, at least on the minds of the queen,^9 and of many, who were then in Tara and its neighbourhood. 5° The Apostle then predicted, according to some writers, that since Leoghaire had professed his belief in God, and had submitted to Patrick, that he should have a lengthened reign; yet,becauseofhispreviousdissimulationanddisobedience,noking or roydamhna of his race, save Lughaidh, then in the womb of Queen
"
Vere's "Legends of St. Patrick," in the ing to a Tract found in the
Poem " St. Patrick at Tara," pp. 29, 30 : — H-Uidhri," p. 117. It begins : Cotncoc
"
Yet the King believed not ;
L^egA^M CO q\ecini aca]" a Ai'oe'o A'Ofec in l"ceC fo. It is thus translated, "The con- version of Loegaire to Christianity and his
but ordinance
That whoso would might believe that death are told in this story. " See, also,
Dubtach first,
>' ;
gave
word ;
So the meek believed, and the wise, and
**
Description," p. xxii. , in the published copy.
^9 The Third Life states, that she was con- verted to the Christian Faith. She em- And the Druids, because they could braced the Christian Religion, and received answer nought, baptism at the saint's hands, according to Bow'd down to the Faith the stranger Jocelyn. She ended her days happily, as some state ; but, we have hardly anything
brave,
And Mary's Son as their God adored.
brought.
That — Erin God day upon
He rose and believed the
onthis authentic, subject.
pour'd
Yet none like the chief of the Bards had
5*"
"
See Secunda Vita S. Patricii," cap.
spirit
merit, —
Tertia Vita S. Patricii," cap. xl. , xli. , xlii. ,
!
pp. 24, 25
Quarta
Patricii," cap.
Ere the great light yet on the rest had burst. "
"
xli. , xlii. , xliii. , xliv. , xlv. , xlvi. , p. 51 ;
*5 See the Third
15 ; the Sixth Life, cap. xlix. , pp. 75, 76.
"
Archaeological Association of Ireland,
Life, cap. xlii. , pp. 14,
Septima
^ See, on the present subject, that very curious, but romantic and fabulous tract, knownasSiabur-CharpatConCuilaind,or " The Demoniac Chariot of Cu Chulaind," from the Lebor na h-Uidre, translated and edited by J. O'Beirne Crowe, A. B. , for
"The Journal of the Royal Historical and
"
his
vol.
! . , part ii. Fourth Series. January, 1871, the city, and to feign death, before St.
pp. 371 to 448. Patrick should arrive at the place. He was ^7 See the Second Life, cap. xli. , p. 16 ; commanded not to arise, even if the holy the Fourth Life, cap. xlix. , p. 41 ; the Fifth man called on him so to act. To this course Life, lib. i. , cap. xlvi. , p. 51 ; the Seventh Erramaelus assented, but, as it fell out, to Life, lib. i. , cap. Ixvii. , p. 128. However, his own destruction. To test St. Patrick's the sincerity of this conversion has been supernatural knowledge, the king brought questioned, since Loeghaire is reported as him that way. However, our saint, having
" It is better for me to had a Divine admonition of the scheme, believe than to die. " The Tripartite Life cried out: "O Erramaelus, whether truly
having exclaimed
:
tells us, his father Niall had enjoined on him, never to embrace the Faith of Christ, and that he should always adhere to the gods of his ancestors. See lib. ii. , cap. viii. , p. 130-
or falsely you have been wounded, no heal- ing shall you receive ; whether truly or falsely you have been wounded, from this place you shall not rise. " And this prophecy was fulfilled, for Erramaelus, who feigned
death, was found in reality to have passed away from life. See lib. i. , cap. Ixviii. , p. 128.
^'
novel doctrine of forgiving injuries, accord-
By a test, the king tried our saint's
xxxviii. , xxxix. , xl. , xli. , pp. 15, 16; *'
Vita S.
xliv. , xlv. , xlvi. , xlvii. , xlviii. , xlix. , pp. 40,
41 ; "
Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib. i. , cap.
