One of our most learned Irish
antiquaries
seems inclined to think he was of the former race.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
363 ArticleVII.
—St.
Abban.
AfestivalinhonorofAbban,ismetwith
in the of 1 published Martyrology Tallagh
,
at the of The same 24th August.
entry is to be found in the Book of Leinster copy. "
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Geldarius, or Gildarius.
The simple entry, Geldarius, without any other designation, appears in the 1
published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 24th August. In like manner, the
name is entered in the Book of Leinster 2 and as classed the Irish copy, among
Saints. This is probably the St. Gildard, a priest, who formerly gave singular edification to the inhabitants of the parish of Lurcy-le-Bourg,3 in the diocese of Nevers, France, and where he died on the 24th of August. The Bollandists have notices of him, taken from old Martyrologies, on this day/ Little seems to be known, regarding his personal history. In some of the ancient Martyrologies, his name is associated with that of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the territory of Nivernais. Thus, in the editions to the Martyrology of Usuard, edited by the Jesuit Father Soller, we find such entries in the
Codex of Centule, 5 and in that of Rheims.
6
Likewise, in the Martyrologium
Parisiense, published in 1727; having set down the feast of St. Patrick of Nivernais, at the 24th of August, an addition of St. Gildard's feast is pre-
scribed. 7 However, in other Martyrologies, his name, profession and feast
entered. The Latin name of his 8 within place, Luperciacum,
are
the former territory of the vEdui, had been a fortified town, and it was sur- rounded with walls. Such strongholds were known by the term Burgos. Hence it came to be called Leurcy le Bourg, in modern French. The Martyrologium Parisiense has a marginal note, which places the present saint in the seventh century ; yet, this chronotaxis is set down, without sufficient authority. St. Gildarddiedonthe24thofAugust; but,asthefestivalofSt. Bartholomew fell on the same day, his feast had been transferred to the 31st of the present month. 9 St. Gildard was buried in the Church of St. Loup, near Nevers. It is a curious subject for enquiry, to learn how his name had been inserted in the Martyrology of Tallagh, as if he were to be classed among the Irish Saints.
separately
Article IX. —St. Fathna, a Bishop and Confessor. The identity
of the present holy Bishop has not been ascertained. In the anonymous
1 there is a St. Fathna list of our Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare, .
Article vii. —'Edited by Rev. Dr. dardi presbyteri. "
Kelly, p. xxxii.
3 Thus noted Ab—bam.
l
Article viii. Edited by
Kelly, p. xxxii.
7 Among the Addenda et Emendanda, at p. xii. , is inserted: "Item in territorio
2
3 Nievre, arrondissement de Cosne, canton
ejusdem civitatis,
Gildardi presbyteri, cujus nomine extitit intra dicecesim abbatia tempore Caroli Crassi imperatoris. "
It is there written Jebl'OA^u.
de
4 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
8 In his " Notitia Galliarum " Hadrianus Valesius thus derives the town denomi- nations: " A Luperco vel Lupercio nomen accepit. Ex Luperciaco Loperciacum fac-
Premery.
Rev. Dr.
castro sancti Luperciaco,
Augusti xxiv. De S. Gildardo Presbytero,
Luperciaci in Territorio Nivernensi Galliae.
Sylloge de loco, cultu, aetate, ac mendosis turn : ex Loperciaco, sublatis duabus litteris,
annuntiationibus, pp. 840, 841. This is con- tained in six paragraphs, written by Father
JohnPinius, S. J.
5 Thus :" In territorio Nivernensi, sancto-
rum Patricii abbatis, et Gildardi presbyteri confessorum. "
6 Thus " In territorio Nivernensi, sane- :
torum confessorum Patricii abbatis et Gil-
Lorciacum : ex Lorciaco, Leurcy o in eu converso. "
» See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome x, xxxie Jour d'Aout, p.
349. — Article ix.
Catho- licae Ibernias Compendium," tomus i. ,
See ""Historic lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
364 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24,
registered, at the 24th of August. Likewise, on the authority of the Carthu- sian Martyrology and of Floratius, we find Faihna, a Bishop, entered on •Father Henry Fitzsimon's list. 2 The Bollandists, at this date, also cite these authorities ;> but, they seem to entertain a doubt, that he may have been identical with St. Fachnan or Fachananus, Bishop and Confessor, who is venerated on the 14th of this month. * He is patron of the church and diocese of Kilfenora,s but we cannot be at all certain the present Fathna
is the same person.
Article X. —Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. Such is the title of a festival announced in Colgan's list of unpublished MSS. , from which we may infer, that our great national hagiologist had intended the publication of some narrative memoirs referring to some particular Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. The life of this holy man has been already set
1
forth, at the 12th of March, the day for his chief festival.
translations of his relics that took place after his death, elsewhere I cannot find one noted for this date. Doubtless, from the Irish, the disciples of St. Cuthbert learned the practice of erecting Celtic crosses, as most graceful andfittingemblemstocommemoratethedead. Accordinglyweread,that St. Ethelwold, his successor over the See of Lindisfarne, placed a cross, elaborately fashioned from stone, over the grave of St. Cuthbert. 3 This seems to have been inscribed, as well with the name of Cuthbert, as with that of its erector, Ethelwold. 3 When the Pagans devastated Lindisfarne church, they broke off the head of this cross ; but, by an ingenious artifice, it was afterwards joined, by an infusion of lead, to those parts remaining. When dangers threatened again from the Northmen, the cross was borne away by the Christians of Northumbria, with the body of St. Cuthbert, to someplaceofconcealment,orforgreatersecurity. InthetimeofSimeonof Durham,* this lofty cross was to be seen in the cemetery, attached to Durham Cathedral—, and having the names of both holy bishops of Lindisfarne inscribed a precious memorial of the past
quary may seek, in vain, for a single vestige of this monument in or near the majestic Cathedral of Durham. It is said, that in 1829, the body of St. Cuthbert was found in Durham Cathedral, and thence conveyed to the British Museum, where it now reposes,s But, we find no confirmation of such statement.
Article XI. —Feast of the Martyrdom of St. Zenobius and of his Companions, at Antioch.
2
See ibid. , cap. xii. , p. 54.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
this work, at that date, Art. i. a See the Bollandists' " Acta
iv. , Augusti xxiv. Among the pretermitted
Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii xii. De S. Ethelwoldo Episcopo Lindisfarnensi in Anglia, sect. 4, 5,
Saints, p. 742.
4 See some account of him, in the present
Volume,andatthatdate, Art. ii.
5 Among the Proper Masses for Patron Saints and Titulars of France and Ireland, printed at Paris, A. D. 1734, is noted his Mass " in festo sancti Fachnani, episcopi et confessoris, ecclesiae et dicecesis Fenabo-
"
Article x. — See the Third Volume of
p. 605. 3Hisfeastoccursonthe12thofFebruary,
and he died about a. d. 740.
* See " Historia Dunelmensis," lib. i. ,
cap. xii.
s See " Lives of the Saints," enriched with
Fifty-one full-page Miniatures, in Gold and Colours, the Text within engraved Borders, from Ancient Books of Devotion, p. 84.
rensis patroni.
'
!
At the an anti- present day,
Among the many
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 365
festival to commemorate the sufferings of St. Zenatius—more correctly—of St.
Zenobiusand of his 1 in at at this date. All companions martyrdom, Antioch,
that can well be known regarding them has been set down by the Bollandists," at the 24th of August, when they are mentioned in some of the old Martyrologies. 3
Ctoentp*ttftb Dap of aujjusrt.
ARTICLE I. —ST. MICHAN, PATRON OF ST. MICHAN'S PARISH, AND CHURCH, IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DUBLIN.
[PROBABLY IN THE TENTH OR ELEVENTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION. —ST. MICHAN—UNCERTAINTY REGARDING HIS AGE AND RACE—HIS COMMEMORATION AND HIS CHURCH IN DUBLIN—ORIGIN OF OSMANTOWN—ST. MICHAN'S PARISH DURING THE MIDDLE AGES—VENERATION OF ST. SYTH OR OSYTH.
appears rather strange, that a Saint, intimately connected with a ITcity, which contains so many records of its early history, should have left little trac—e of his own personality to our time. The forms of his name are very various Thus, Michanus, Mighan, Myghan, Michee, and Mahano are found in different mediaeval documents, which have reference to him and to the well-known church and parish of which he is the patron. The name Michanus is entered at this date, in the anonymous calendar, published
by O'Sullivan Beare.
1
For all that is personally known of the present holy
man, we might end the account in a few 2 But the of very paragraphs. history
his parish, and of the churches there dedicated to him, may have some interest for our readers.
Article xi—J See " Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of
/Engus, by Whitley Stokes, p. cxxv.
2
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Au-
gusti xxiv. De SS. Zenobio, Capitulino, of Arabia. For twenty years she was sterile,
Emerita, ltalica, Item de SS. Juviano et Julio, MM. Antiochice. Cultusexapographis Hieronymianis, pp. 767, 768.
3 The commentaiyon these is written by
Father John P—inius, S. J.
when an angel predicted the birth of Michee, and the boy was afterwards baptized tjy Magonius, Bishop of Alexandria. When he was seventeen years old, Obeth died, then Michee was offered succession over the
of Chananaeum, but this he refused. He then went to the city of Alexandria, where he received the monk's habit from the bishop, and he was initiated to the priest- hood, in the thirtieth year of his age. Then returning to his native country, he was con- secrated bishop, and governed in that capacity for twenty-two years. Afterwards he left that place under angelic guidance, The narrative then continues in the original Latin: "inde perveniens ad ripam Nili fluminis, sociis LX sibi assecutis, fluminis impetum benedictionis oppositione con- stringens, cum omni comitatu suo securus
"
I. See Historise Catholicse
Article
Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
'
The Bollandists alluding to him, at the 25th of August, relate, that they had an
"
Vita Sancti Michese," but that it abounded altogether in fables ; and to prove this statement, they adduce some specimens of absurd narratives drawn from it. This tract was contained in a drawer, among other Manuscript Lives of Irish Saints, received from Father Henry Fitz-
simon, and it was marked i|« M. S. 167 A.
apocryphal
That
"
Vita Sancti Micheae" was to be found
at fol. 20 et In the father of St. seq. it,
Michee is stated to have been King over the
Chananseans, and his name was Obeth, the son of Eliud ; while his mother was named
Alipia, and she was daughter to the King
Kingdom
366 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25.
Whether St. Michan is to be regarded as a Danish or an Irish saint is a matter contested.
One of our most learned Irish antiquaries seems inclined to think he was of the former race. 3 If we are to follow the prevailing popular opinion of the inhabitants of Dublin, in the sixteenth century, we are likely to concur in the statement of Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer, who calls St. Michan a " Dane and Bishop. " 4 Notwithstanding the latter distinction accorded him, and for which Hanmer appears to have had even documentary warrant, it does not seem likely, that Michan had been advanced to the
episcopal dignity. A very probable opinion may be formed, as the name Michan, in any of its forms, is not found historically to have been at all common in Irish families,5 that the present holy man was of Danish origin, and born in Dublin, which in his time had been colonized by Scandinavians, who had embraced the Christian faith. The period when he flourished is unknown.
His name occurs in the Calendar prefixed to the Martyrology of Christ
Church,Dublin,under25thAugust—viii. Kal. ,Sept. —asS. MicheeConfessoris; while he is described in the Martyrology itself in these terms, and at the
:
" Eodem die ; sancti Michee episcopi, confessoris. "6 However, we
same date
are told, that the insertion of the word episcopi is —in a more recent hand. 7 In
to two ancient Breviaries one—
of these to
the Calendars
St. John's Church, Dublin, the other to Clondalkin and now in Trinity College Library, Dublin, the word "Episcopi" is inserted before "Confessoris. " By some writers, he is regarded, as not having advanced beyond the grade
prefixed
belonging
of priest ; and this opinion is altogether probable, since no record presents his parish in the character of having been a primitive See. St. Michan must have lived in the eleventh or perhaps the preceding century ; but the year for his decease has not been recorded.
The Danes or Ostmen, who had settled in Dublin, and who had surrounded their city with walls, embraced Christianity in the tenth and eleventh centuries. 8 Their conversion from Paganism placed them on more friendly
pertransiit. Deinde ad littus Maris Rubri
cum sociis veniens, secundum illud Israelitici
populi, ab expugnatione Pharaonis per Dominum salvati, sic (sicco) vestigio transi- turn fecit. " The narrative then continues,
that having spent two months at Jerusalem, there he continued to exercise the patriarchal
ministry for seven years. During that time,
he was directed by an angel to Mount Sion,
and there he was shown that tree, from Patrick. " Introduction, sect, i. , p. 2. which the precious wood (of the cross) had
been cut. By order of the angel, he also
cut three baculi from it, and the angel took
a fourth ba. ulus. Subsequently, Michee is
sent to Constantinople, and there he presided
over that church. Again, having spent
seven years there, he passed over the Alps.
Furthermore accompanied byseven thousand
companions he travelled over Gaul, the
angel accompanying him, and coming to
the English sea, he found no ships in which
to crosi ; yet, with his companions, Michee script in the Library of Trinity College, passed over with dry feet. With such
abbreviated notice of the narrative, the
Bollandists derisively close their account,
thinking they had already given more than
sufficient of such absurdities. See
"
Dublin, by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. , &c, with an Introduction, by James Hen- thorne Todd, D. D. , V. P. R. I. A. , pp. 68 and 149.
Acta
1 See Introduction, ibid. , p. Ixx.
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Augusti xxv. Among
the pretermitted Saints, p. 3.
3 Thus William Monck Mason writes
" that parish, north of the Liffey (which was
so certainly appropriated to them that it still retains the name of Ostmanstown,) is dedi- cated to St. Michan, a saint not known in Ireland. "—M The History and Antiquities of the Collegiate and Cathedral Church of St.
4 Following this tradition, the Rev. Thomas Walsh makes him a Dane, in his M History of the Irish Hierarchy and Monas- teries of Ireland," p. 645. New York, 1855, 8vo.
5 Unless it may be rendered by the well known Irish name of Meehan.
6 See "The Book of Obits and Martyr- ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin. " Edited from the Original Manu-
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 367
relations with the Irish. Many of the Dublin Ostmen then chose to live on
all that district near the river was known by the denomination of Ostmantown — afterwards corrupted to Oxmantown Green. These residents are thought to havebuilttheChurchofSt. Michan. Thischurchwasdedicatedtohim,on the 14th of May,10 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer places the foundation of St. Michan's Church on the Fair Green or Commune, afterwards called Ostmon- towne Green. This parcel of land is said to have been given by Murchard or
had been observed in Dublin, or at least in that parish of which he was
1 patron.
The parish of St. Michan, during six centuries, was the only parish on
the north side of the River Liffey, and it is supposed to be coeval with the
" earliestparishesintheCityofDublin WithintheWalls. " Abouttheyear
948, a Benedictine Abbey,15 since known as St. Mary's Abbey, was founded
8 For an account of the Ostmen of Dublin and of that " unclean, selfish, cunning and and their conversion to Christianity, the voracious reptile," the RAT, who caused his reader is referred to Charles Halliday's death, see the late Rev. John S. Joly's very
the north side of the Liflfey, about 1095 9 an<3 owing to this circumstance, J
for that 13 The festival of St. Michan purpose.
of
was celebrated always on the 25th of August, and it seems to have been held as a general holy day in that parish, to refrain from servile works. Doubtless religious ceremonies were also prescribed, for its greater solemnity. In the year 1565,1 we have a glimpse of the manner in which St. Michan's feast
Moragh," King
Leinster,
*
16 It was endowed with all the rich and
on the northern bank of the
fertile pasture land, stretching eastwards along the banks of the River Liffey, so far as the Tolka. 1 ? The parish of St. Michan is one of the oldest parishes in Dublin. It extended from the River Liffey northwards, so far as Little Cabra; and from St. Mary's Abbey it reached westward, to Oxmantown Green. 18 In Archbishop Alan's Register, the church is called " Ecclesia
"Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book ii. , chap, vi. , pp. 122 to 142.
9 According to Stanihurst, in his Descrip- tion of Ireland.
10 This statement we find in the calendar of the Obit$ and Martyrology of Christ
interesting brochure on " The Old Bridge of Athlone," Dublin, 1881.
14 This is to be found in the Diary of Sir Peter Lewis, now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, in the Manuscript classed E, Tab. 2, No. 21.
Church
already
referred to, "ii Id Maii,
'5 An account of this interesting
Abbey
Dedicacio Ecclesie Sancti Michee ;
"
but the
and of the Abbey of the Virgin Mary, that
succeeded it, may be found in Archdall's
" 16
Gilbert, Esq. , F. S. A.
dwellings, and for exportation. The Rev. Meredith Hanmer, D. D. , in his "Chronicle of Ireland," tells us under Anno 1095, that "King William Rufus, by licence of Mur-
year has not transpired. See at p. 65. There
is no notice of this feast in the succeeding old Martyrology, but it has been added in the more recent hand.
" It seems most probable that Dermot
MacMorrough or Diarmaid na nGall, who died A. D. 1 171, is here alluded to.
13 See Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 194. Edition of 1809, Dublin, 8vo.
13 Sir Peter Lewis, who was Chantor of
Christ Church Cathedral, and who was also
architect of the great bridge at Athlone, tells us how St. Michan's Day was observed
Monasticon Hibernicum," pp. 132 to 147. The history of this remarkable religious foundation has been amply set forth, in a volume published by the Master of the Rolls, and learnedly edited by John T.
Liffey.
in his time : —" Saturday, 25th August,
Sanct Myghan's Day, hollyday with all my chard, had that frame which made up the
masons, except Donyll Ogge and his boy wroght all this day having stonys in the
churche tyll night, the wages per diem, xijd. " This entry was made in his Diary, in the year 1 565. For several other curious par- ticulars concerning Sir Peter Lewis, whose
effigy in stone formerly adorned the great
roofe of Westminster Hall, where no English Spider webbeth or breedeth to this day," and that M the faire greene or Commune, now called Ostomontowne-Greene, was all wood, and hee that diggeth at this day to any depth shall finde the ground full of great rootes. " See pp. 194, 195, Edition of 1809.
" t8
bridge he finished in les than one year," In some of the City of Dublin mediaeval
1 All the
westward of St. Mary's Abbey contained dense oak forests, the timber of which the Danish inhabitants of Dublin availed themselves for building
ground lying
368 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25
S. Michie,"^ and " Ecclesia S. Micheani. "20 And in the Calendar prefixed
of Christ Church, the
for the dedication of the Church of St. Michan
to the
Martyrology
of —is as the date 14th May assigned
Ecclesise Sancti Michee.
21
In the Repertorium Viride of Archbishop
22 "
Alan, it is likewise noticed as Ecclesia de Sto Mahano. "
By virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in England a. d. 1534, King Henry VIII. was made supreme head of the Church of England upon earth, and the First Fruits of all ecclesiastical promotions were granted to him. A
similar act was passed in the Irish Parliament, a. d. 1537, which ordained that King Henry should be styled supreme head of the Church of Ireland upon earth, and to have the First Fruits, &c, of all ecclesiastical promotions. Also, a law was made, that no person or ecclesiastic should, upon any pretence whatsoever, appeal to Rome, under a heavy penalty. About the same time, the Church of St. Michan became one of the three prebendal churches assigned to Christ Church Cathedral, by Archbishop Brown, the first Pro- testant Archbishop of Dublin. From that period, we have two rival ecclesiastical churches : the Church of Ireland as by law established, yielding her allegiance to the Crown of England; and the Roman Catholic Church, subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Before the year 16 10, St. Michan's Church is represented as being in Ostman or Ormuntown, on the north bank of the river Liffey, and on the
line of the ancient 2* The former church of this city.
very boundary
said to have been a fine building and one of the largest in Dublin.
is It was attached to the present imposing square tower, a mediaeval structure. How- ever, the body of the former church was taken down after the year 1820, and the present erection was substituted. 2* The adjoining cemetery and the vaults beneath the church have been for many years favourite places for burial, especially with the parishioners. In 1659, a Census was taken of St. Michan's Parish, by Sir William Petty, and it was found to contain a popu- lation of only 1,173 souls, although it then embraced a very large area of northern Dublin. However, owing to the salubrity of its air, Oxmantown became one of the most fashionable suburbs near the city, and when new streets were laid out in it, the population soon began to increase. Sir
Humphrey Jervis, a wealthy alderman of Dublin, had acquired a very con- siderable part of St. Mary's Abbey estate, including the ruined Abbey itself,
and he was a public spirited citizen, who resolved on the improvement of
that 3* Towardsthecloseoftheseventeenth severalstreets property. century,
were laid out, and houses were built rapidly, on the northern side of the
26
Liffey ; especially after the building of Essex Bridge across the River, in
Documents, we find allusion to the parish of St. Michan. Thus, wehave reference tocertain tenures there and to their occupants, in 1244, mentioned in the Dublin White Book. At fol. 61 ro. we read, after the enumeration: " Et iste predicte quatuor terre iacent in parochia Sancti Michani, in villa Ostman- norum. "—"Historic and Municipal Docu- ments of Ireland, A. D. 1172 — 1320," p. 477. P'rom the Archives of the City of Dublin,
aa See an account of him, in John D'Alton's
" Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 184 to 196.
23 As shown on Speed's Map of Dublin, then published.
•< An illustration of. St. Michan's Church, as it now stands, may be seen in the Dublin Penny Journal of January 4th, 1834. See vol. ii. , No. 79, p. 209.
a 5 However, we are told by Walter Harris, that afterwards he lay in gaol for many years, but the cause for his imprisonment is not stated.
a6
ItwassonamedincomplimenttoArthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and then Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland.
etc. Edited by J. T. Gilbert, London, 1870, 8vo.
*» At a. d. 1530, fol. 75 a.
F. S. A. ,
90 21
Atfol. 147a.
See Rev. Dr. Todd's Introduction, pp. xlvii, and n. (e. ) ibid. Also p. 65.
:
" ii
Id
Maii,
Dedicacio
parish
August 25.
in the of 1 published Martyrology Tallagh
,
at the of The same 24th August.
entry is to be found in the Book of Leinster copy. "
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Geldarius, or Gildarius.
The simple entry, Geldarius, without any other designation, appears in the 1
published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 24th August. In like manner, the
name is entered in the Book of Leinster 2 and as classed the Irish copy, among
Saints. This is probably the St. Gildard, a priest, who formerly gave singular edification to the inhabitants of the parish of Lurcy-le-Bourg,3 in the diocese of Nevers, France, and where he died on the 24th of August. The Bollandists have notices of him, taken from old Martyrologies, on this day/ Little seems to be known, regarding his personal history. In some of the ancient Martyrologies, his name is associated with that of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the territory of Nivernais. Thus, in the editions to the Martyrology of Usuard, edited by the Jesuit Father Soller, we find such entries in the
Codex of Centule, 5 and in that of Rheims.
6
Likewise, in the Martyrologium
Parisiense, published in 1727; having set down the feast of St. Patrick of Nivernais, at the 24th of August, an addition of St. Gildard's feast is pre-
scribed. 7 However, in other Martyrologies, his name, profession and feast
entered. The Latin name of his 8 within place, Luperciacum,
are
the former territory of the vEdui, had been a fortified town, and it was sur- rounded with walls. Such strongholds were known by the term Burgos. Hence it came to be called Leurcy le Bourg, in modern French. The Martyrologium Parisiense has a marginal note, which places the present saint in the seventh century ; yet, this chronotaxis is set down, without sufficient authority. St. Gildarddiedonthe24thofAugust; but,asthefestivalofSt. Bartholomew fell on the same day, his feast had been transferred to the 31st of the present month. 9 St. Gildard was buried in the Church of St. Loup, near Nevers. It is a curious subject for enquiry, to learn how his name had been inserted in the Martyrology of Tallagh, as if he were to be classed among the Irish Saints.
separately
Article IX. —St. Fathna, a Bishop and Confessor. The identity
of the present holy Bishop has not been ascertained. In the anonymous
1 there is a St. Fathna list of our Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare, .
Article vii. —'Edited by Rev. Dr. dardi presbyteri. "
Kelly, p. xxxii.
3 Thus noted Ab—bam.
l
Article viii. Edited by
Kelly, p. xxxii.
7 Among the Addenda et Emendanda, at p. xii. , is inserted: "Item in territorio
2
3 Nievre, arrondissement de Cosne, canton
ejusdem civitatis,
Gildardi presbyteri, cujus nomine extitit intra dicecesim abbatia tempore Caroli Crassi imperatoris. "
It is there written Jebl'OA^u.
de
4 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
8 In his " Notitia Galliarum " Hadrianus Valesius thus derives the town denomi- nations: " A Luperco vel Lupercio nomen accepit. Ex Luperciaco Loperciacum fac-
Premery.
Rev. Dr.
castro sancti Luperciaco,
Augusti xxiv. De S. Gildardo Presbytero,
Luperciaci in Territorio Nivernensi Galliae.
Sylloge de loco, cultu, aetate, ac mendosis turn : ex Loperciaco, sublatis duabus litteris,
annuntiationibus, pp. 840, 841. This is con- tained in six paragraphs, written by Father
JohnPinius, S. J.
5 Thus :" In territorio Nivernensi, sancto-
rum Patricii abbatis, et Gildardi presbyteri confessorum. "
6 Thus " In territorio Nivernensi, sane- :
torum confessorum Patricii abbatis et Gil-
Lorciacum : ex Lorciaco, Leurcy o in eu converso. "
» See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome x, xxxie Jour d'Aout, p.
349. — Article ix.
Catho- licae Ibernias Compendium," tomus i. ,
See ""Historic lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
364 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24,
registered, at the 24th of August. Likewise, on the authority of the Carthu- sian Martyrology and of Floratius, we find Faihna, a Bishop, entered on •Father Henry Fitzsimon's list. 2 The Bollandists, at this date, also cite these authorities ;> but, they seem to entertain a doubt, that he may have been identical with St. Fachnan or Fachananus, Bishop and Confessor, who is venerated on the 14th of this month. * He is patron of the church and diocese of Kilfenora,s but we cannot be at all certain the present Fathna
is the same person.
Article X. —Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. Such is the title of a festival announced in Colgan's list of unpublished MSS. , from which we may infer, that our great national hagiologist had intended the publication of some narrative memoirs referring to some particular Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. The life of this holy man has been already set
1
forth, at the 12th of March, the day for his chief festival.
translations of his relics that took place after his death, elsewhere I cannot find one noted for this date. Doubtless, from the Irish, the disciples of St. Cuthbert learned the practice of erecting Celtic crosses, as most graceful andfittingemblemstocommemoratethedead. Accordinglyweread,that St. Ethelwold, his successor over the See of Lindisfarne, placed a cross, elaborately fashioned from stone, over the grave of St. Cuthbert. 3 This seems to have been inscribed, as well with the name of Cuthbert, as with that of its erector, Ethelwold. 3 When the Pagans devastated Lindisfarne church, they broke off the head of this cross ; but, by an ingenious artifice, it was afterwards joined, by an infusion of lead, to those parts remaining. When dangers threatened again from the Northmen, the cross was borne away by the Christians of Northumbria, with the body of St. Cuthbert, to someplaceofconcealment,orforgreatersecurity. InthetimeofSimeonof Durham,* this lofty cross was to be seen in the cemetery, attached to Durham Cathedral—, and having the names of both holy bishops of Lindisfarne inscribed a precious memorial of the past
quary may seek, in vain, for a single vestige of this monument in or near the majestic Cathedral of Durham. It is said, that in 1829, the body of St. Cuthbert was found in Durham Cathedral, and thence conveyed to the British Museum, where it now reposes,s But, we find no confirmation of such statement.
Article XI. —Feast of the Martyrdom of St. Zenobius and of his Companions, at Antioch.
2
See ibid. , cap. xii. , p. 54.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
this work, at that date, Art. i. a See the Bollandists' " Acta
iv. , Augusti xxiv. Among the pretermitted
Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii xii. De S. Ethelwoldo Episcopo Lindisfarnensi in Anglia, sect. 4, 5,
Saints, p. 742.
4 See some account of him, in the present
Volume,andatthatdate, Art. ii.
5 Among the Proper Masses for Patron Saints and Titulars of France and Ireland, printed at Paris, A. D. 1734, is noted his Mass " in festo sancti Fachnani, episcopi et confessoris, ecclesiae et dicecesis Fenabo-
"
Article x. — See the Third Volume of
p. 605. 3Hisfeastoccursonthe12thofFebruary,
and he died about a. d. 740.
* See " Historia Dunelmensis," lib. i. ,
cap. xii.
s See " Lives of the Saints," enriched with
Fifty-one full-page Miniatures, in Gold and Colours, the Text within engraved Borders, from Ancient Books of Devotion, p. 84.
rensis patroni.
'
!
At the an anti- present day,
Among the many
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 365
festival to commemorate the sufferings of St. Zenatius—more correctly—of St.
Zenobiusand of his 1 in at at this date. All companions martyrdom, Antioch,
that can well be known regarding them has been set down by the Bollandists," at the 24th of August, when they are mentioned in some of the old Martyrologies. 3
Ctoentp*ttftb Dap of aujjusrt.
ARTICLE I. —ST. MICHAN, PATRON OF ST. MICHAN'S PARISH, AND CHURCH, IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DUBLIN.
[PROBABLY IN THE TENTH OR ELEVENTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION. —ST. MICHAN—UNCERTAINTY REGARDING HIS AGE AND RACE—HIS COMMEMORATION AND HIS CHURCH IN DUBLIN—ORIGIN OF OSMANTOWN—ST. MICHAN'S PARISH DURING THE MIDDLE AGES—VENERATION OF ST. SYTH OR OSYTH.
appears rather strange, that a Saint, intimately connected with a ITcity, which contains so many records of its early history, should have left little trac—e of his own personality to our time. The forms of his name are very various Thus, Michanus, Mighan, Myghan, Michee, and Mahano are found in different mediaeval documents, which have reference to him and to the well-known church and parish of which he is the patron. The name Michanus is entered at this date, in the anonymous calendar, published
by O'Sullivan Beare.
1
For all that is personally known of the present holy
man, we might end the account in a few 2 But the of very paragraphs. history
his parish, and of the churches there dedicated to him, may have some interest for our readers.
Article xi—J See " Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of
/Engus, by Whitley Stokes, p. cxxv.
2
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Au-
gusti xxiv. De SS. Zenobio, Capitulino, of Arabia. For twenty years she was sterile,
Emerita, ltalica, Item de SS. Juviano et Julio, MM. Antiochice. Cultusexapographis Hieronymianis, pp. 767, 768.
3 The commentaiyon these is written by
Father John P—inius, S. J.
when an angel predicted the birth of Michee, and the boy was afterwards baptized tjy Magonius, Bishop of Alexandria. When he was seventeen years old, Obeth died, then Michee was offered succession over the
of Chananaeum, but this he refused. He then went to the city of Alexandria, where he received the monk's habit from the bishop, and he was initiated to the priest- hood, in the thirtieth year of his age. Then returning to his native country, he was con- secrated bishop, and governed in that capacity for twenty-two years. Afterwards he left that place under angelic guidance, The narrative then continues in the original Latin: "inde perveniens ad ripam Nili fluminis, sociis LX sibi assecutis, fluminis impetum benedictionis oppositione con- stringens, cum omni comitatu suo securus
"
I. See Historise Catholicse
Article
Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
'
The Bollandists alluding to him, at the 25th of August, relate, that they had an
"
Vita Sancti Michese," but that it abounded altogether in fables ; and to prove this statement, they adduce some specimens of absurd narratives drawn from it. This tract was contained in a drawer, among other Manuscript Lives of Irish Saints, received from Father Henry Fitz-
simon, and it was marked i|« M. S. 167 A.
apocryphal
That
"
Vita Sancti Micheae" was to be found
at fol. 20 et In the father of St. seq. it,
Michee is stated to have been King over the
Chananseans, and his name was Obeth, the son of Eliud ; while his mother was named
Alipia, and she was daughter to the King
Kingdom
366 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25.
Whether St. Michan is to be regarded as a Danish or an Irish saint is a matter contested.
One of our most learned Irish antiquaries seems inclined to think he was of the former race. 3 If we are to follow the prevailing popular opinion of the inhabitants of Dublin, in the sixteenth century, we are likely to concur in the statement of Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer, who calls St. Michan a " Dane and Bishop. " 4 Notwithstanding the latter distinction accorded him, and for which Hanmer appears to have had even documentary warrant, it does not seem likely, that Michan had been advanced to the
episcopal dignity. A very probable opinion may be formed, as the name Michan, in any of its forms, is not found historically to have been at all common in Irish families,5 that the present holy man was of Danish origin, and born in Dublin, which in his time had been colonized by Scandinavians, who had embraced the Christian faith. The period when he flourished is unknown.
His name occurs in the Calendar prefixed to the Martyrology of Christ
Church,Dublin,under25thAugust—viii. Kal. ,Sept. —asS. MicheeConfessoris; while he is described in the Martyrology itself in these terms, and at the
:
" Eodem die ; sancti Michee episcopi, confessoris. "6 However, we
same date
are told, that the insertion of the word episcopi is —in a more recent hand. 7 In
to two ancient Breviaries one—
of these to
the Calendars
St. John's Church, Dublin, the other to Clondalkin and now in Trinity College Library, Dublin, the word "Episcopi" is inserted before "Confessoris. " By some writers, he is regarded, as not having advanced beyond the grade
prefixed
belonging
of priest ; and this opinion is altogether probable, since no record presents his parish in the character of having been a primitive See. St. Michan must have lived in the eleventh or perhaps the preceding century ; but the year for his decease has not been recorded.
The Danes or Ostmen, who had settled in Dublin, and who had surrounded their city with walls, embraced Christianity in the tenth and eleventh centuries. 8 Their conversion from Paganism placed them on more friendly
pertransiit. Deinde ad littus Maris Rubri
cum sociis veniens, secundum illud Israelitici
populi, ab expugnatione Pharaonis per Dominum salvati, sic (sicco) vestigio transi- turn fecit. " The narrative then continues,
that having spent two months at Jerusalem, there he continued to exercise the patriarchal
ministry for seven years. During that time,
he was directed by an angel to Mount Sion,
and there he was shown that tree, from Patrick. " Introduction, sect, i. , p. 2. which the precious wood (of the cross) had
been cut. By order of the angel, he also
cut three baculi from it, and the angel took
a fourth ba. ulus. Subsequently, Michee is
sent to Constantinople, and there he presided
over that church. Again, having spent
seven years there, he passed over the Alps.
Furthermore accompanied byseven thousand
companions he travelled over Gaul, the
angel accompanying him, and coming to
the English sea, he found no ships in which
to crosi ; yet, with his companions, Michee script in the Library of Trinity College, passed over with dry feet. With such
abbreviated notice of the narrative, the
Bollandists derisively close their account,
thinking they had already given more than
sufficient of such absurdities. See
"
Dublin, by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. , &c, with an Introduction, by James Hen- thorne Todd, D. D. , V. P. R. I. A. , pp. 68 and 149.
Acta
1 See Introduction, ibid. , p. Ixx.
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Augusti xxv. Among
the pretermitted Saints, p. 3.
3 Thus William Monck Mason writes
" that parish, north of the Liffey (which was
so certainly appropriated to them that it still retains the name of Ostmanstown,) is dedi- cated to St. Michan, a saint not known in Ireland. "—M The History and Antiquities of the Collegiate and Cathedral Church of St.
4 Following this tradition, the Rev. Thomas Walsh makes him a Dane, in his M History of the Irish Hierarchy and Monas- teries of Ireland," p. 645. New York, 1855, 8vo.
5 Unless it may be rendered by the well known Irish name of Meehan.
6 See "The Book of Obits and Martyr- ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin. " Edited from the Original Manu-
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 367
relations with the Irish. Many of the Dublin Ostmen then chose to live on
all that district near the river was known by the denomination of Ostmantown — afterwards corrupted to Oxmantown Green. These residents are thought to havebuilttheChurchofSt. Michan. Thischurchwasdedicatedtohim,on the 14th of May,10 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer places the foundation of St. Michan's Church on the Fair Green or Commune, afterwards called Ostmon- towne Green. This parcel of land is said to have been given by Murchard or
had been observed in Dublin, or at least in that parish of which he was
1 patron.
The parish of St. Michan, during six centuries, was the only parish on
the north side of the River Liffey, and it is supposed to be coeval with the
" earliestparishesintheCityofDublin WithintheWalls. " Abouttheyear
948, a Benedictine Abbey,15 since known as St. Mary's Abbey, was founded
8 For an account of the Ostmen of Dublin and of that " unclean, selfish, cunning and and their conversion to Christianity, the voracious reptile," the RAT, who caused his reader is referred to Charles Halliday's death, see the late Rev. John S. Joly's very
the north side of the Liflfey, about 1095 9 an<3 owing to this circumstance, J
for that 13 The festival of St. Michan purpose.
of
was celebrated always on the 25th of August, and it seems to have been held as a general holy day in that parish, to refrain from servile works. Doubtless religious ceremonies were also prescribed, for its greater solemnity. In the year 1565,1 we have a glimpse of the manner in which St. Michan's feast
Moragh," King
Leinster,
*
16 It was endowed with all the rich and
on the northern bank of the
fertile pasture land, stretching eastwards along the banks of the River Liffey, so far as the Tolka. 1 ? The parish of St. Michan is one of the oldest parishes in Dublin. It extended from the River Liffey northwards, so far as Little Cabra; and from St. Mary's Abbey it reached westward, to Oxmantown Green. 18 In Archbishop Alan's Register, the church is called " Ecclesia
"Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book ii. , chap, vi. , pp. 122 to 142.
9 According to Stanihurst, in his Descrip- tion of Ireland.
10 This statement we find in the calendar of the Obit$ and Martyrology of Christ
interesting brochure on " The Old Bridge of Athlone," Dublin, 1881.
14 This is to be found in the Diary of Sir Peter Lewis, now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, in the Manuscript classed E, Tab. 2, No. 21.
Church
already
referred to, "ii Id Maii,
'5 An account of this interesting
Abbey
Dedicacio Ecclesie Sancti Michee ;
"
but the
and of the Abbey of the Virgin Mary, that
succeeded it, may be found in Archdall's
" 16
Gilbert, Esq. , F. S. A.
dwellings, and for exportation. The Rev. Meredith Hanmer, D. D. , in his "Chronicle of Ireland," tells us under Anno 1095, that "King William Rufus, by licence of Mur-
year has not transpired. See at p. 65. There
is no notice of this feast in the succeeding old Martyrology, but it has been added in the more recent hand.
" It seems most probable that Dermot
MacMorrough or Diarmaid na nGall, who died A. D. 1 171, is here alluded to.
13 See Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 194. Edition of 1809, Dublin, 8vo.
13 Sir Peter Lewis, who was Chantor of
Christ Church Cathedral, and who was also
architect of the great bridge at Athlone, tells us how St. Michan's Day was observed
Monasticon Hibernicum," pp. 132 to 147. The history of this remarkable religious foundation has been amply set forth, in a volume published by the Master of the Rolls, and learnedly edited by John T.
Liffey.
in his time : —" Saturday, 25th August,
Sanct Myghan's Day, hollyday with all my chard, had that frame which made up the
masons, except Donyll Ogge and his boy wroght all this day having stonys in the
churche tyll night, the wages per diem, xijd. " This entry was made in his Diary, in the year 1 565. For several other curious par- ticulars concerning Sir Peter Lewis, whose
effigy in stone formerly adorned the great
roofe of Westminster Hall, where no English Spider webbeth or breedeth to this day," and that M the faire greene or Commune, now called Ostomontowne-Greene, was all wood, and hee that diggeth at this day to any depth shall finde the ground full of great rootes. " See pp. 194, 195, Edition of 1809.
" t8
bridge he finished in les than one year," In some of the City of Dublin mediaeval
1 All the
westward of St. Mary's Abbey contained dense oak forests, the timber of which the Danish inhabitants of Dublin availed themselves for building
ground lying
368 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25
S. Michie,"^ and " Ecclesia S. Micheani. "20 And in the Calendar prefixed
of Christ Church, the
for the dedication of the Church of St. Michan
to the
Martyrology
of —is as the date 14th May assigned
Ecclesise Sancti Michee.
21
In the Repertorium Viride of Archbishop
22 "
Alan, it is likewise noticed as Ecclesia de Sto Mahano. "
By virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in England a. d. 1534, King Henry VIII. was made supreme head of the Church of England upon earth, and the First Fruits of all ecclesiastical promotions were granted to him. A
similar act was passed in the Irish Parliament, a. d. 1537, which ordained that King Henry should be styled supreme head of the Church of Ireland upon earth, and to have the First Fruits, &c, of all ecclesiastical promotions. Also, a law was made, that no person or ecclesiastic should, upon any pretence whatsoever, appeal to Rome, under a heavy penalty. About the same time, the Church of St. Michan became one of the three prebendal churches assigned to Christ Church Cathedral, by Archbishop Brown, the first Pro- testant Archbishop of Dublin. From that period, we have two rival ecclesiastical churches : the Church of Ireland as by law established, yielding her allegiance to the Crown of England; and the Roman Catholic Church, subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Before the year 16 10, St. Michan's Church is represented as being in Ostman or Ormuntown, on the north bank of the river Liffey, and on the
line of the ancient 2* The former church of this city.
very boundary
said to have been a fine building and one of the largest in Dublin.
is It was attached to the present imposing square tower, a mediaeval structure. How- ever, the body of the former church was taken down after the year 1820, and the present erection was substituted. 2* The adjoining cemetery and the vaults beneath the church have been for many years favourite places for burial, especially with the parishioners. In 1659, a Census was taken of St. Michan's Parish, by Sir William Petty, and it was found to contain a popu- lation of only 1,173 souls, although it then embraced a very large area of northern Dublin. However, owing to the salubrity of its air, Oxmantown became one of the most fashionable suburbs near the city, and when new streets were laid out in it, the population soon began to increase. Sir
Humphrey Jervis, a wealthy alderman of Dublin, had acquired a very con- siderable part of St. Mary's Abbey estate, including the ruined Abbey itself,
and he was a public spirited citizen, who resolved on the improvement of
that 3* Towardsthecloseoftheseventeenth severalstreets property. century,
were laid out, and houses were built rapidly, on the northern side of the
26
Liffey ; especially after the building of Essex Bridge across the River, in
Documents, we find allusion to the parish of St. Michan. Thus, wehave reference tocertain tenures there and to their occupants, in 1244, mentioned in the Dublin White Book. At fol. 61 ro. we read, after the enumeration: " Et iste predicte quatuor terre iacent in parochia Sancti Michani, in villa Ostman- norum. "—"Historic and Municipal Docu- ments of Ireland, A. D. 1172 — 1320," p. 477. P'rom the Archives of the City of Dublin,
aa See an account of him, in John D'Alton's
" Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 184 to 196.
23 As shown on Speed's Map of Dublin, then published.
•< An illustration of. St. Michan's Church, as it now stands, may be seen in the Dublin Penny Journal of January 4th, 1834. See vol. ii. , No. 79, p. 209.
a 5 However, we are told by Walter Harris, that afterwards he lay in gaol for many years, but the cause for his imprisonment is not stated.
a6
ItwassonamedincomplimenttoArthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and then Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland.
etc. Edited by J. T. Gilbert, London, 1870, 8vo.
*» At a. d. 1530, fol. 75 a.
F. S. A. ,
90 21
Atfol. 147a.
See Rev. Dr. Todd's Introduction, pp. xlvii, and n. (e. ) ibid. Also p. 65.
:
" ii
Id
Maii,
Dedicacio
parish
August 25.
