Declano
Episcopo
Ard-
moiice in Hibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
num.
moiice in Hibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
num.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
Vincentius at Rome in Vi—a Tiburtina.
By other
3
Calendars as in the modern Roman Martyrology his feast is deferred to
^Engus.
also, that according to some copies of St. Jerome's Martyrology, at this date,
the following day.
Malmesbury's " De Gestis Pontificum Ang- lorum," Libri Quinque, edited from the autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, lib. iii. , sect. 100 to 109, pp. 211 to 224.
lated into English, by Dr. Whitley Stokes : —
LacepvoUnicenn
Co Cnirc cec-hams p^iche
IrvuAim bApeim f|\uiche Oaix imlcortiAiclie.
"At Vincentius' suffering to Christ went See BartholomEei de Cotton Monachi a troop : in Rome was a succession of seniors,
11
by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. Annales
See "Annales Monastici,"vol. ii. , edited
Monasterii de Waverleia, p. 153.
12 Norwicensis
"
Historia Anglicana," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , sect. 2,
twice nine goodly thousands. "—"Transac-
tions of the Royal Irish Academy,' Irish
Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the
Calendar of cxi. Oengus, pp.
p. 5-
li See Dean
" Church
History
of
Cressy's
Brittany,"- book xx. , chap, xxiv. , p. 521.
2
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
14 See ibid.
Article vii.
—
•
Julii xxiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, Edited by Rev. Dr. p. 327.
Kelly, p. xxx.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
3 At the the 24th of July, it is there en-
centii Martyris. "—"Martyrologium Ro- manum Gregorii XIII. jussu editum Urbani vm. et dementis x. Auctoritate recogni- turn ac deinde Anno mdccxlix. Benedicti xiv. labore et studio auctum et castigatum, p. 106. Editio novissima. Romrr, 1878, 4to.
198, 199. Article viii.
Kelly, p. xxx.
—
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
198, 199.
Article ix. — In the "Leabhar Breac"
copy, we have the following ratifi, trans-
'
1 The Bollandists have a notice, 2
tered : "Romas via Tiburtina sancti Yin-
July 24. I LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Ctoentp'fourtb JBaj? of 3ulp,
ARTICLE I. —ST. DECLAN, BISHOP OF ARDMORE, AND PATRON OF THE DECIES, COUNTY OF WATERFORD.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MATERIALS FOR THE ACTS OF ST. DECLAN—HIS PERIOD—HIS FAMILY AND DESCENT—HIS BIRTH—MIRACULOUS MANIFESTATIONS—HIS FOSTERAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION—HIS REPUTATION FOR SANCTITY AT AN EARLY AGE.
preaching of St. Patrick in Ireland is generally supposed to have
THE
—
been the labours of four other
less distin- guished—missionaries. These were Saints Kieran, Ibar, Ailbe and Declan. With this latter holy man we are at present only concerned. He had in his day, a great local celebrity ; and, even to the present time, his fame has not diminished in his native district, which seems chiefly to have been the scene forhislabours. HisActsarenotdeficientinvariedincidents,butwecannot accept all of them as well authenticated. However unwilling we may feel, to enter upon recorded particulars of our saint's biography, and on the basis
of unsatisfactory statements ; yet, as no better are accessible, and as it is of much importance, in connection with the early establishment of Christianity in Ireland, to treat at some length about St. Declan, we have been obliged to make use of such rather doubtful materials. We shall point out the por- tions of this narrative, however, which are irreconcilable with each other, and withawelldigestedsystemofchronology. Wemustleavethereadertohis own reflections, on the amount of credit due to the various traditions recorded, by the author of our saint's Acts. Hence then, presenting substantially accounts in the Life of St. Declan, and chiefly in that order followed by the Bollandists, as also introducing the substance of several notes, appended by the learned editor of those Acts, we shall blend them with other annotations or remarks of a historic character, that may serve to delineate that remote period, with which our saint is thought to have been contemporaneous.
At this intended to have the Acts of St. Declan. 1 He date, Colgan given
had also promised to illustrate them with accompanying notes. 2 Acts of our saint, 3 abounding in Legends, have descended to us, but they are not of that
ancient date, which Colgan supposed. He was under an impression, that such Acts had been written over a thousand years, previous to his own day. This should lead to a supposition, that they had been extant, at the early period ofthe sixth or seventh century. * What contributes not a little to the impression, that those Acts are of great antiquity is the circumstance, that
Article1. —Chapteri. —* Asmaybe 3Onthese,ArchbishopUssher,Colgan,
seen from his
"
Catalogus Actuum Sancto-
and the Bollandists, have chiefly rested their statements regarding our saint.
4 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xv. , p. 250.
preceded by
although
rum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Mensium et
Dierum. "
a" See
S.
Trias Thaumaturga," Qnarta Vita
Brigidee,
n.
4, p. 563.
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
many monasteries, churches, and other monuments,* had been treated of in
them, as commonly known and subsisting at a time when they were written.
Moreover, the writer asserts, that he used still more ancient writings in com-
6
piling those Acts.
copiesofDeclan'sLifetobefoundinIreland. Eventhereseemtohavebeen variations from it. ? In another place, Colgan inclines to an opinion, that perhaps these were the production of a writer, who had been contem- poraneous with St. Ultan, a disciple of St. Declan, and who is said to have been set over the monastery of Ardmore, by appointment of its founder. 8 However, Colgan's critical discrimination appears to have been egregiously at fault, regarding the remote antiquity of our saint's Latin Life j nor can we believe from its internal evidences, that the author of this tract in question flourished, until some centuries after the death of his biographical subject. Most probably, Colgan founded his opinion, on passages in our saint's Life, where Ultan is spoken of in the present tense, as illustrating his holy manner of living by the performance of miracles, and again, in having received an account of St. Declan's actions, from his former disciples, a number of whom werehisconstantcompanions. ^ But,eventhewordingofthosepassagesis by no means conclusive, in favour of that interpretation placed upon them. For, in the first place, it may be observed, historians are frequently in the habit of relating past occurrences in the present tense, and biographers are also accustomed to an observance of a like practice. So that, when it is said, the Life of a saint abounds in well-known miracles, we may understand such phrases, as not inconsistent with their having been written, and often long after the person's death, to whom they refer. In the second place, when it is related, that the narrative had been drawn from a relation given by St. Declan's dis-
ciples, it is not necessary to suppose, that these disciples related verbally to the author of the saint's Acts, what he had written j but only, that those dis- ciples had committed certain facts respecting their master to writing, and which had been preserved for posterity in such a manner. Doubtless, the sense of the author regarding our saint's Acts was, that certain reports, derived from Declan's disciples by him, were found in ancient writings, and that these formed authorities, from which his more recent biography had been compiled. 10
The Bollandists received a copy of St. Declan's Latin Life from Irish MinoriteFriars,intheconventatLouvain. " Asthatcopy,inpossessionof the Bollandists, contained many errors and omissions, they sent it to Rome for the purpose of comparison with a more complete copy, kept in the Library
5 Excepting from St. Declan's Acts, which they cite, these structures were unknown to Colgan, Ware, and other authors.
» These passages occur in our saint's Life
" Et ipse Ultanus post obitum
visitavit, sed in veteribus scriptisnon inveni-
It is lawful to conjecture, that there were formerly many
6 He states at Num. 28: "
quod S. Declanus multis vicibus Romam cujus vita clara miraculis refulget," cap. ix. ,
Vulgus dicit,
mirabilis multorum miraculorum
sect. 72. And again : "et inde fertur nobis
—"Acta
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. quod magnus exercitus in comitatu ipsius
mus plus quam tribus vicibus. " Declano Episcopo Ardmorise in Hibemia
S.
Commentarius num. Praevius,
I0 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
8, p. 592.
' Thus Dr. Charles Smith cites a Manu-
v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Ilibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
script Life of St. Declan, and discrepancies from the Latin published Life can be traced in it. See " The Ancient and present State of the County and City of Waterford," chap, i. , p. 6, n.
num. 8. p. 592.
" At a time when Boschius wrote, a copy
had been preserved, written in the Irish character, according to Friell. This was taken from a most ancient copy, by brother Michael O'Clery, to whose talents a grace-
*
nice," xiv. Martii. Vila S. Ullani, p. 608.
vSee Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
as follows
sanctissimi Declani secundus abbas et pater
:
Declani) discipulis, consuete fuerat," cap. ix. , sect. 77.
antiquis ejus (scil.
exstitit,
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309
of St. Isidore's
College.
12 These
lengthened
Acts
have been published by
the Bollandists, at the 24th of July. They consist of the saint's Life, com-
prised in nine chapters, and seventy-nine paragraphs, with accompanying
notes, besides a preliminary commentary of eleven paragraphs. These Acts
were edited by Father Peter Boschius,^ as appears from the marginal initials,
1
affixed at the commencement. '* Bosch observes, that in editing previous
volumes of the great work on which he was engaged, his predecessors were sensible those Acts of St. Declan had been filled with incredible legends, as
alreadyremarked,inmorethanonepassage. ^ Hewasconvinced,also,that few persons, who might take the trouble to examine them, could arrive at a differentconclusion. Suchconsiderations,andothersofasimilarcharacter, urged an idea, about entirely suppressing those Acts. Yet, on subsequent reflection,theeditoralteredthisresolution. 16 TheBollandistwouldnothave his objections to their antiquity understood as implying, that a distant period could not be assigned for their authorship fi and, moreover, he had no proof to advance, that the author recording our saint's Acts flourished at a later periodthanthetenthcentury. Fromacertainpassage,whichappearedinan interpolated copy of these Acts, Papebroch supposed, that the writer could not have lived, before the twelfth century. Some Manuscript Lives of this
18 1
saintare still preserved in Dublin, as also at Bruxelles. ? There is also a
50 21 Manuscript Life of St. Declan, at Louvain. In the "Feilire" of St.
^Engus, at the 24th of July, St. Declan is commemorated, and with distin- guished praise. To this has been affixed a comment, relating to-his family
ful tribute is paid by Colgan, in his preface to the First Volume of the Irish Saints.
12 An Irishman distinguished by his writings and many virtues, Francis Harold, then resided at Rome, and he returned the Acts of St. Declan, afterwards published by
the Bollandists, having accurately amended them, A. n. 1679, from the Roman copy. This enabled him also to supply certain
"
omissions. See Acta Sanctorum," tomus reasons or greater authorities could be pro-
v. , Julii xxiv. De S.
Declano Episcopo Ard-
moiice in Hibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
num. 9, 10, 11, pp. 592, 593.
13 The Bollandist editor acknowledges,
that he could find no better authorities for
St. Declan's Acts, than those used by Ussher
duced to contradict them ; for, as all these
men were skilled in a knowledge of their
country's antiquities, and had read these Manuscript Acts of our saint, in very ancient books ; it ought only seem reasonable, that others should incline to hold as probable an opinion, that those Acts of St. Declan were
and Colgan ; but, he feels surprised, that
these learned men coidd have bestowed of great antiquity.
18
In Marsh's Library, there is one, but sistencies of these materials. See Commen- the commencement of St. Declan's Life,
much attention on the chronological incon-
tarius Praevius, sect. 6, p. 592,
14 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morioe in Hibernia, pp. 590 to 608.
*S He remarks : "sed prsecipue ubi de S.
Patricio est actumdiexvii. Martii, — pag. 581. "
16 for the reasons: Chiefly following
First, because they served to show the public
opinion formerly entertained in Ireland, re-
specting Declan's sanctity. Secondly, be-
cause they were of great antiquity in the Life of St. Declan. It exists among the opinion of those esteemed for their know-
ledge of Irish antiquities ; and thirdly, be- cause Ware, Ussher and Colgan published some extracts from them, which created a desire on the part of many, that the entire
Burgundian Manuscripts, in the Library at Bruxelles, fol. 160.
Acts should be published.
*' But, he desired to remove such period
some ages from the death of St. Declan, of whose times this author could have no
personal knowledge. He also acknowledges, that the opinions of Colgan, and of his col-
leagues—whom he extols in the preface his work—
worthy of due consideration, so long as no
to of Ussher and of Ware, must be
which continues from fol. 10 1 to 107, is lost, at fol. 100, in the " Codex Kil- kenniensis. " In Trinity College, there is a Manuscript classed E. 3, II, which contains
a Vita S. Declani, at fol. 66.
Also, in the
and
Irish
Messrs.
Hodges
Academy,
quarto paper Manuscript
Royal
Smith's
contains a Life of St. Deaglan of Ardmore, in the county of Waterford.
'9 Michael O'Clery transcribed an Irish
ao
Described as Vita S. Declani Episcopi
Hibernire, among the Manuscripts of the Library at Louvain.
No. 150,
3 io LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
and descent, with another, which assigns his fosterage to St. Moling.
22
At the
24th of July, Acts or notices of St. Declan, Bishop of Ardmore, are to be a2
found, in the works of Archbishop Ussher, 3 of Dr. Meredith Hanmer, * of
25 of Rev. Alban Butler,26 and of Rev. Dr. 2? as Bishop Challoner, Lanigan ;
28 2 likewise in Les Petits Bollandistes, in Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd's, '
and in the Rev. S. Baring-Gould's work. 3°
With regard to the time when our saint flourished, there are several con-
flictingaccounts. Onchronologicalgrounds,thesepresentvariousdifficulties. The birth of St. Declan is referred to the times of the Roman Emperor Con- stantme,31 about the middle of the fourth century, and his episcopacy to a. d. 402, thirty years before St. Patrick had been sent to Ireland, by Pope Celes- tine. His Acts state, that on his return from Rome, our saint visited St. David,32 who was then Bishop over Menevia. 33 Still greater chronological absurdities are to be found, in those Acts of St. Declan. It is stated, in the Life, as published by the Bollandists, that Declan was born in the year 347 ; but, as the author indulges in so many absurd admissions with regard to known historic facts, his chronotaxis must in many cases be rejected. For, we can place little faith on the statements of a writer, who gives us an account, con- cerning St. Declan's visit to St. David, Bishop of Menevia,3* and regarding the very early establishment of Ardmore as an episcopal See ; as likewise those particulars to be found in the fourth and beginning of the fifth chapters in our saint's Life"; or when he proceeds to record St. Patrick's subsequent arrival in
35 to which he was sent by Pope Celestine. Besides these, we meet Ireland, #
other matters, which cannot be chronologically reconciled with the foregoing statements. However, the editor of our saint's Acts states, that whatever degree of credit or antiquity may be assigned to them, the author of this Life of St. Declan could not have forged in Ireland certain strange narratives which may therein be found. For, even the common people of that Island
21 From the " Lcabhar Breac "copy, be- to 28.
28 "
longing to the Royal Irish Academy, is the See Vies des Saints," xxive Jour de following stanza, translated by Whitley Juillet, p. 3.
Stokes,
LL. D. :—
niAT>coich t)Uic Aei^\e
•Oocchobaip cing OAige CacViuc cent) c. mile
"OecUn 4|voi mairxe.
29See "St. of Ireland. " Patrick, Apostle
Introductory Dissertation, pp. 206 to 212, 214, 219, 220.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 24, pp. 532, 533.
31 He became sole Emperor A. D. 324, and
his very distinguished place in history lasted,
"If thou likest, O Ireland, a champion of
batile to aid thee, thou hast the head of a death. See Edward Gibbon's "History of hundred thousand, Declan of Ardmore. "— the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," pire," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , to chap, xviii.
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxii.
22
See ibid. , p. cxx.
23 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xv. , p. 362; cap. xvi. , pp.
409, 410, 412 to 414, and cap. xvii. , p.
450.
3* See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 67
to 70. 25
See his Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xxiv.
"Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xii. , pp. 25 432.
See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. ,
after a. d. 516, when St. David was elevated to the dignity of Bishop, as the Bollandists show, at the 1st of March, on which day his Acts are given by them.
33 See also the Life of St. David, at the
1st of March, in the Third Volume of this
work, Art. i.
3«
cannotbeassertedfairly, unlesswebewill- tag to admit, that at the incredible age of about one hundred and seventy years, Declan had undertaken a voyage to Rome.
PP- 37> 3%'
26 "
until a. d. 340, the year assigned for his
On Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
3» This supposed visit must have occurred,
The Bollandist editor this remarks,
3s This is generally assigned to a. i>.
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3ii
should have been able to contradict his assertions, if certain allusions to our
saint's remaining monuments, were not in accordance with popular traditions
and cognizance. 36
The Acts of St. Declan commence with a genealogical account concern-
ing his race and origin. We are told, that he was royally descended from the
Kings of Ireland,37 who for a long series of years governed this Island, while
dwelt in Temoria 3 otherwise known as Tamrach or Tamar, or they city,*
Tara. 39 A powerful king, named Equitius Feadhlech,<° who had enlarged
the boundaries of his
kingdom/
1 was the father of three sons. One of these
3 wasfatherto
had three circles of roses like zones on his body, and this happened from the
time of his birth. Besides his elegance of form, he was celebrated for his strength, and for his address in transacting different matters, even from his infancy. He undertook the government of the kingdom, and on that very yearinwhichCaiusCaesar44 wasslain;afterhehadreignedtwenty-sixyears in Temoria, he was killed by the Leinster people, and in that year when the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul 45 were put to death by Nero. 46 He had a son, named Crimthun niudh nuaruir,4 7 who only reigned ten years before his
8
death. The latter left a son named Ferudach Finfectnach,4 who reigned
thirtyyearsinTemoria. Hewasthefatherofason,calledFichudhFinn- faluidh,49 who reigned thirty years, and who was killed at Tara. This latter was the parent of Tuathal Teachmear,s° who brought many territories under his sway, and who ruled at Tara for twenty-three years, when he was at length
sons,
whowasnamed
Lecharius,*
Luguidh Sriubhnearg,43
who
36 Such as are, the Hall of Dobran after-
wards known as the Hall of St. Declan
the stone shown in Magh Femhin which he
blessed ; the stone on which he was born,
and to which allusion is made in the Life as
existing ; the monastery called after him, at tius, from the Irish Ech, which signifies
;
Temoria the or Cairn of St. Declan; : Heap
theCity of St. Declan, as Ardmorehad been
called ; and the Desert of St. Declan near
it. To these may be added, what is told at
the end of his Life, that St. Declan had been
buried in his own city of Ardmore, where
great signs and miracles were wrought king.
at his tomb, when the Life itself h#d been written. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusv. , Julli xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Hibernia. Commentarius Proevius, num. 4, p. 591.
37 The small folio vellum Manuscript in
the Royal Irish Academy, No. 42. 6, inti- tuled the Book of Lecan, contains various
43 In the aforesaid Sanctilogium Genealo- gicum, the name is written, "Lugadius
Sriebdearg. "
44 This Emperor was surnamed Caligula.
He was assassinated by conspirators, in the year of Christ 41.
45 In the Life, Doctor of the Gentiles is a
title superadded to this Apostle.
46 The Bollandists have referred the
martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, to the year of Christ, 65. Petavius, Labbeus and other writersassignittoA. D. 67. Withthelatter date, the Acts of our saint seem to agree,
as they make Luguidh reign twenty-six years.
47 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, he is called "Crimthannus Nianair. "
48 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum calls
"
and accounts Ireland's regarding
poems
early colonists, the synchronisms of the kings of the world and the successions of
Irishkings.
38 It was a city in eastern Midia, or Meath,
within the present province of Leinster.
39 It was anciently the seat of the chief monarchs over all Ireland to the sixth cen- tury, and to the reign of Dermod the First, as has been already remarked, in the Life of
him simply
40 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has logicum, he is called "Fiachus Finnfho-
St. Ruadan, chap, hi. , at the 15th of April. See Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Feredacius. "
49 According to the Sanctilogium Genea-
"
Eochu Fedlech. "
laidh. "
5° In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is named, "Tuathalius Techtmuir.
41 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, according to Colgan, his name is written
"
" in English "a horse. " See ibid. , eques,"
Eochodius Fedhleach. See
maturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, n. 9, p.
3
Calendars as in the modern Roman Martyrology his feast is deferred to
^Engus.
also, that according to some copies of St. Jerome's Martyrology, at this date,
the following day.
Malmesbury's " De Gestis Pontificum Ang- lorum," Libri Quinque, edited from the autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, lib. iii. , sect. 100 to 109, pp. 211 to 224.
lated into English, by Dr. Whitley Stokes : —
LacepvoUnicenn
Co Cnirc cec-hams p^iche
IrvuAim bApeim f|\uiche Oaix imlcortiAiclie.
"At Vincentius' suffering to Christ went See BartholomEei de Cotton Monachi a troop : in Rome was a succession of seniors,
11
by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. Annales
See "Annales Monastici,"vol. ii. , edited
Monasterii de Waverleia, p. 153.
12 Norwicensis
"
Historia Anglicana," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , sect. 2,
twice nine goodly thousands. "—"Transac-
tions of the Royal Irish Academy,' Irish
Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the
Calendar of cxi. Oengus, pp.
p. 5-
li See Dean
" Church
History
of
Cressy's
Brittany,"- book xx. , chap, xxiv. , p. 521.
2
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
14 See ibid.
Article vii.
—
•
Julii xxiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, Edited by Rev. Dr. p. 327.
Kelly, p. xxx.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
3 At the the 24th of July, it is there en-
centii Martyris. "—"Martyrologium Ro- manum Gregorii XIII. jussu editum Urbani vm. et dementis x. Auctoritate recogni- turn ac deinde Anno mdccxlix. Benedicti xiv. labore et studio auctum et castigatum, p. 106. Editio novissima. Romrr, 1878, 4to.
198, 199. Article viii.
Kelly, p. xxx.
—
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
2
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
198, 199.
Article ix. — In the "Leabhar Breac"
copy, we have the following ratifi, trans-
'
1 The Bollandists have a notice, 2
tered : "Romas via Tiburtina sancti Yin-
July 24. I LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Ctoentp'fourtb JBaj? of 3ulp,
ARTICLE I. —ST. DECLAN, BISHOP OF ARDMORE, AND PATRON OF THE DECIES, COUNTY OF WATERFORD.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MATERIALS FOR THE ACTS OF ST. DECLAN—HIS PERIOD—HIS FAMILY AND DESCENT—HIS BIRTH—MIRACULOUS MANIFESTATIONS—HIS FOSTERAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION—HIS REPUTATION FOR SANCTITY AT AN EARLY AGE.
preaching of St. Patrick in Ireland is generally supposed to have
THE
—
been the labours of four other
less distin- guished—missionaries. These were Saints Kieran, Ibar, Ailbe and Declan. With this latter holy man we are at present only concerned. He had in his day, a great local celebrity ; and, even to the present time, his fame has not diminished in his native district, which seems chiefly to have been the scene forhislabours. HisActsarenotdeficientinvariedincidents,butwecannot accept all of them as well authenticated. However unwilling we may feel, to enter upon recorded particulars of our saint's biography, and on the basis
of unsatisfactory statements ; yet, as no better are accessible, and as it is of much importance, in connection with the early establishment of Christianity in Ireland, to treat at some length about St. Declan, we have been obliged to make use of such rather doubtful materials. We shall point out the por- tions of this narrative, however, which are irreconcilable with each other, and withawelldigestedsystemofchronology. Wemustleavethereadertohis own reflections, on the amount of credit due to the various traditions recorded, by the author of our saint's Acts. Hence then, presenting substantially accounts in the Life of St. Declan, and chiefly in that order followed by the Bollandists, as also introducing the substance of several notes, appended by the learned editor of those Acts, we shall blend them with other annotations or remarks of a historic character, that may serve to delineate that remote period, with which our saint is thought to have been contemporaneous.
At this intended to have the Acts of St. Declan. 1 He date, Colgan given
had also promised to illustrate them with accompanying notes. 2 Acts of our saint, 3 abounding in Legends, have descended to us, but they are not of that
ancient date, which Colgan supposed. He was under an impression, that such Acts had been written over a thousand years, previous to his own day. This should lead to a supposition, that they had been extant, at the early period ofthe sixth or seventh century. * What contributes not a little to the impression, that those Acts are of great antiquity is the circumstance, that
Article1. —Chapteri. —* Asmaybe 3Onthese,ArchbishopUssher,Colgan,
seen from his
"
Catalogus Actuum Sancto-
and the Bollandists, have chiefly rested their statements regarding our saint.
4 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xv. , p. 250.
preceded by
although
rum quae MS. habentur, Ordine Mensium et
Dierum. "
a" See
S.
Trias Thaumaturga," Qnarta Vita
Brigidee,
n.
4, p. 563.
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
many monasteries, churches, and other monuments,* had been treated of in
them, as commonly known and subsisting at a time when they were written.
Moreover, the writer asserts, that he used still more ancient writings in com-
6
piling those Acts.
copiesofDeclan'sLifetobefoundinIreland. Eventhereseemtohavebeen variations from it. ? In another place, Colgan inclines to an opinion, that perhaps these were the production of a writer, who had been contem- poraneous with St. Ultan, a disciple of St. Declan, and who is said to have been set over the monastery of Ardmore, by appointment of its founder. 8 However, Colgan's critical discrimination appears to have been egregiously at fault, regarding the remote antiquity of our saint's Latin Life j nor can we believe from its internal evidences, that the author of this tract in question flourished, until some centuries after the death of his biographical subject. Most probably, Colgan founded his opinion, on passages in our saint's Life, where Ultan is spoken of in the present tense, as illustrating his holy manner of living by the performance of miracles, and again, in having received an account of St. Declan's actions, from his former disciples, a number of whom werehisconstantcompanions. ^ But,eventhewordingofthosepassagesis by no means conclusive, in favour of that interpretation placed upon them. For, in the first place, it may be observed, historians are frequently in the habit of relating past occurrences in the present tense, and biographers are also accustomed to an observance of a like practice. So that, when it is said, the Life of a saint abounds in well-known miracles, we may understand such phrases, as not inconsistent with their having been written, and often long after the person's death, to whom they refer. In the second place, when it is related, that the narrative had been drawn from a relation given by St. Declan's dis-
ciples, it is not necessary to suppose, that these disciples related verbally to the author of the saint's Acts, what he had written j but only, that those dis- ciples had committed certain facts respecting their master to writing, and which had been preserved for posterity in such a manner. Doubtless, the sense of the author regarding our saint's Acts was, that certain reports, derived from Declan's disciples by him, were found in ancient writings, and that these formed authorities, from which his more recent biography had been compiled. 10
The Bollandists received a copy of St. Declan's Latin Life from Irish MinoriteFriars,intheconventatLouvain. " Asthatcopy,inpossessionof the Bollandists, contained many errors and omissions, they sent it to Rome for the purpose of comparison with a more complete copy, kept in the Library
5 Excepting from St. Declan's Acts, which they cite, these structures were unknown to Colgan, Ware, and other authors.
» These passages occur in our saint's Life
" Et ipse Ultanus post obitum
visitavit, sed in veteribus scriptisnon inveni-
It is lawful to conjecture, that there were formerly many
6 He states at Num. 28: "
quod S. Declanus multis vicibus Romam cujus vita clara miraculis refulget," cap. ix. ,
Vulgus dicit,
mirabilis multorum miraculorum
sect. 72. And again : "et inde fertur nobis
—"Acta
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. quod magnus exercitus in comitatu ipsius
mus plus quam tribus vicibus. " Declano Episcopo Ardmorise in Hibemia
S.
Commentarius num. Praevius,
I0 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
8, p. 592.
' Thus Dr. Charles Smith cites a Manu-
v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Ilibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
script Life of St. Declan, and discrepancies from the Latin published Life can be traced in it. See " The Ancient and present State of the County and City of Waterford," chap, i. , p. 6, n.
num. 8. p. 592.
" At a time when Boschius wrote, a copy
had been preserved, written in the Irish character, according to Friell. This was taken from a most ancient copy, by brother Michael O'Clery, to whose talents a grace-
*
nice," xiv. Martii. Vila S. Ullani, p. 608.
vSee Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
as follows
sanctissimi Declani secundus abbas et pater
:
Declani) discipulis, consuete fuerat," cap. ix. , sect. 77.
antiquis ejus (scil.
exstitit,
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309
of St. Isidore's
College.
12 These
lengthened
Acts
have been published by
the Bollandists, at the 24th of July. They consist of the saint's Life, com-
prised in nine chapters, and seventy-nine paragraphs, with accompanying
notes, besides a preliminary commentary of eleven paragraphs. These Acts
were edited by Father Peter Boschius,^ as appears from the marginal initials,
1
affixed at the commencement. '* Bosch observes, that in editing previous
volumes of the great work on which he was engaged, his predecessors were sensible those Acts of St. Declan had been filled with incredible legends, as
alreadyremarked,inmorethanonepassage. ^ Hewasconvinced,also,that few persons, who might take the trouble to examine them, could arrive at a differentconclusion. Suchconsiderations,andothersofasimilarcharacter, urged an idea, about entirely suppressing those Acts. Yet, on subsequent reflection,theeditoralteredthisresolution. 16 TheBollandistwouldnothave his objections to their antiquity understood as implying, that a distant period could not be assigned for their authorship fi and, moreover, he had no proof to advance, that the author recording our saint's Acts flourished at a later periodthanthetenthcentury. Fromacertainpassage,whichappearedinan interpolated copy of these Acts, Papebroch supposed, that the writer could not have lived, before the twelfth century. Some Manuscript Lives of this
18 1
saintare still preserved in Dublin, as also at Bruxelles. ? There is also a
50 21 Manuscript Life of St. Declan, at Louvain. In the "Feilire" of St.
^Engus, at the 24th of July, St. Declan is commemorated, and with distin- guished praise. To this has been affixed a comment, relating to-his family
ful tribute is paid by Colgan, in his preface to the First Volume of the Irish Saints.
12 An Irishman distinguished by his writings and many virtues, Francis Harold, then resided at Rome, and he returned the Acts of St. Declan, afterwards published by
the Bollandists, having accurately amended them, A. n. 1679, from the Roman copy. This enabled him also to supply certain
"
omissions. See Acta Sanctorum," tomus reasons or greater authorities could be pro-
v. , Julii xxiv. De S.
Declano Episcopo Ard-
moiice in Hibernia, Commentarius Pnevius,
num. 9, 10, 11, pp. 592, 593.
13 The Bollandist editor acknowledges,
that he could find no better authorities for
St. Declan's Acts, than those used by Ussher
duced to contradict them ; for, as all these
men were skilled in a knowledge of their
country's antiquities, and had read these Manuscript Acts of our saint, in very ancient books ; it ought only seem reasonable, that others should incline to hold as probable an opinion, that those Acts of St. Declan were
and Colgan ; but, he feels surprised, that
these learned men coidd have bestowed of great antiquity.
18
In Marsh's Library, there is one, but sistencies of these materials. See Commen- the commencement of St. Declan's Life,
much attention on the chronological incon-
tarius Praevius, sect. 6, p. 592,
14 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. ,
Julii xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morioe in Hibernia, pp. 590 to 608.
*S He remarks : "sed prsecipue ubi de S.
Patricio est actumdiexvii. Martii, — pag. 581. "
16 for the reasons: Chiefly following
First, because they served to show the public
opinion formerly entertained in Ireland, re-
specting Declan's sanctity. Secondly, be-
cause they were of great antiquity in the Life of St. Declan. It exists among the opinion of those esteemed for their know-
ledge of Irish antiquities ; and thirdly, be- cause Ware, Ussher and Colgan published some extracts from them, which created a desire on the part of many, that the entire
Burgundian Manuscripts, in the Library at Bruxelles, fol. 160.
Acts should be published.
*' But, he desired to remove such period
some ages from the death of St. Declan, of whose times this author could have no
personal knowledge. He also acknowledges, that the opinions of Colgan, and of his col-
leagues—whom he extols in the preface his work—
worthy of due consideration, so long as no
to of Ussher and of Ware, must be
which continues from fol. 10 1 to 107, is lost, at fol. 100, in the " Codex Kil- kenniensis. " In Trinity College, there is a Manuscript classed E. 3, II, which contains
a Vita S. Declani, at fol. 66.
Also, in the
and
Irish
Messrs.
Hodges
Academy,
quarto paper Manuscript
Royal
Smith's
contains a Life of St. Deaglan of Ardmore, in the county of Waterford.
'9 Michael O'Clery transcribed an Irish
ao
Described as Vita S. Declani Episcopi
Hibernire, among the Manuscripts of the Library at Louvain.
No. 150,
3 io LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
and descent, with another, which assigns his fosterage to St. Moling.
22
At the
24th of July, Acts or notices of St. Declan, Bishop of Ardmore, are to be a2
found, in the works of Archbishop Ussher, 3 of Dr. Meredith Hanmer, * of
25 of Rev. Alban Butler,26 and of Rev. Dr. 2? as Bishop Challoner, Lanigan ;
28 2 likewise in Les Petits Bollandistes, in Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd's, '
and in the Rev. S. Baring-Gould's work. 3°
With regard to the time when our saint flourished, there are several con-
flictingaccounts. Onchronologicalgrounds,thesepresentvariousdifficulties. The birth of St. Declan is referred to the times of the Roman Emperor Con- stantme,31 about the middle of the fourth century, and his episcopacy to a. d. 402, thirty years before St. Patrick had been sent to Ireland, by Pope Celes- tine. His Acts state, that on his return from Rome, our saint visited St. David,32 who was then Bishop over Menevia. 33 Still greater chronological absurdities are to be found, in those Acts of St. Declan. It is stated, in the Life, as published by the Bollandists, that Declan was born in the year 347 ; but, as the author indulges in so many absurd admissions with regard to known historic facts, his chronotaxis must in many cases be rejected. For, we can place little faith on the statements of a writer, who gives us an account, con- cerning St. Declan's visit to St. David, Bishop of Menevia,3* and regarding the very early establishment of Ardmore as an episcopal See ; as likewise those particulars to be found in the fourth and beginning of the fifth chapters in our saint's Life"; or when he proceeds to record St. Patrick's subsequent arrival in
35 to which he was sent by Pope Celestine. Besides these, we meet Ireland, #
other matters, which cannot be chronologically reconciled with the foregoing statements. However, the editor of our saint's Acts states, that whatever degree of credit or antiquity may be assigned to them, the author of this Life of St. Declan could not have forged in Ireland certain strange narratives which may therein be found. For, even the common people of that Island
21 From the " Lcabhar Breac "copy, be- to 28.
28 "
longing to the Royal Irish Academy, is the See Vies des Saints," xxive Jour de following stanza, translated by Whitley Juillet, p. 3.
Stokes,
LL. D. :—
niAT>coich t)Uic Aei^\e
•Oocchobaip cing OAige CacViuc cent) c. mile
"OecUn 4|voi mairxe.
29See "St. of Ireland. " Patrick, Apostle
Introductory Dissertation, pp. 206 to 212, 214, 219, 220.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 24, pp. 532, 533.
31 He became sole Emperor A. D. 324, and
his very distinguished place in history lasted,
"If thou likest, O Ireland, a champion of
batile to aid thee, thou hast the head of a death. See Edward Gibbon's "History of hundred thousand, Declan of Ardmore. "— the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," pire," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , to chap, xviii.
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxii.
22
See ibid. , p. cxx.
23 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xv. , p. 362; cap. xvi. , pp.
409, 410, 412 to 414, and cap. xvii. , p.
450.
3* See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 67
to 70. 25
See his Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xxiv.
"Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xii. , pp. 25 432.
See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. ,
after a. d. 516, when St. David was elevated to the dignity of Bishop, as the Bollandists show, at the 1st of March, on which day his Acts are given by them.
33 See also the Life of St. David, at the
1st of March, in the Third Volume of this
work, Art. i.
3«
cannotbeassertedfairly, unlesswebewill- tag to admit, that at the incredible age of about one hundred and seventy years, Declan had undertaken a voyage to Rome.
PP- 37> 3%'
26 "
until a. d. 340, the year assigned for his
On Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
3» This supposed visit must have occurred,
The Bollandist editor this remarks,
3s This is generally assigned to a. i>.
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3ii
should have been able to contradict his assertions, if certain allusions to our
saint's remaining monuments, were not in accordance with popular traditions
and cognizance. 36
The Acts of St. Declan commence with a genealogical account concern-
ing his race and origin. We are told, that he was royally descended from the
Kings of Ireland,37 who for a long series of years governed this Island, while
dwelt in Temoria 3 otherwise known as Tamrach or Tamar, or they city,*
Tara. 39 A powerful king, named Equitius Feadhlech,<° who had enlarged
the boundaries of his
kingdom/
1 was the father of three sons. One of these
3 wasfatherto
had three circles of roses like zones on his body, and this happened from the
time of his birth. Besides his elegance of form, he was celebrated for his strength, and for his address in transacting different matters, even from his infancy. He undertook the government of the kingdom, and on that very yearinwhichCaiusCaesar44 wasslain;afterhehadreignedtwenty-sixyears in Temoria, he was killed by the Leinster people, and in that year when the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul 45 were put to death by Nero. 46 He had a son, named Crimthun niudh nuaruir,4 7 who only reigned ten years before his
8
death. The latter left a son named Ferudach Finfectnach,4 who reigned
thirtyyearsinTemoria. Hewasthefatherofason,calledFichudhFinn- faluidh,49 who reigned thirty years, and who was killed at Tara. This latter was the parent of Tuathal Teachmear,s° who brought many territories under his sway, and who ruled at Tara for twenty-three years, when he was at length
sons,
whowasnamed
Lecharius,*
Luguidh Sriubhnearg,43
who
36 Such as are, the Hall of Dobran after-
wards known as the Hall of St. Declan
the stone shown in Magh Femhin which he
blessed ; the stone on which he was born,
and to which allusion is made in the Life as
existing ; the monastery called after him, at tius, from the Irish Ech, which signifies
;
Temoria the or Cairn of St. Declan; : Heap
theCity of St. Declan, as Ardmorehad been
called ; and the Desert of St. Declan near
it. To these may be added, what is told at
the end of his Life, that St. Declan had been
buried in his own city of Ardmore, where
great signs and miracles were wrought king.
at his tomb, when the Life itself h#d been written. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusv. , Julli xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Hibernia. Commentarius Proevius, num. 4, p. 591.
37 The small folio vellum Manuscript in
the Royal Irish Academy, No. 42. 6, inti- tuled the Book of Lecan, contains various
43 In the aforesaid Sanctilogium Genealo- gicum, the name is written, "Lugadius
Sriebdearg. "
44 This Emperor was surnamed Caligula.
He was assassinated by conspirators, in the year of Christ 41.
45 In the Life, Doctor of the Gentiles is a
title superadded to this Apostle.
46 The Bollandists have referred the
martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, to the year of Christ, 65. Petavius, Labbeus and other writersassignittoA. D. 67. Withthelatter date, the Acts of our saint seem to agree,
as they make Luguidh reign twenty-six years.
47 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, he is called "Crimthannus Nianair. "
48 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum calls
"
and accounts Ireland's regarding
poems
early colonists, the synchronisms of the kings of the world and the successions of
Irishkings.
38 It was a city in eastern Midia, or Meath,
within the present province of Leinster.
39 It was anciently the seat of the chief monarchs over all Ireland to the sixth cen- tury, and to the reign of Dermod the First, as has been already remarked, in the Life of
him simply
40 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has logicum, he is called "Fiachus Finnfho-
St. Ruadan, chap, hi. , at the 15th of April. See Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Feredacius. "
49 According to the Sanctilogium Genea-
"
Eochu Fedlech. "
laidh. "
5° In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is named, "Tuathalius Techtmuir.
41 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, according to Colgan, his name is written
"
" in English "a horse. " See ibid. , eques,"
Eochodius Fedhleach. See
maturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, n. 9, p.
