It
would seem, however, to have been introduced into our Island by the Anglo-
18
In the Scottish Kalendars,'9 this Festival of the Translation of St.
would seem, however, to have been introduced into our Island by the Anglo-
18
In the Scottish Kalendars,'9 this Festival of the Translation of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
i.
, cap.
iii.
, p.
23.
657. See Trias Thaumaturga," Prsefacio word Episcopus Midensis is written in the
him as
day of September. At this same date, he has been commemorated in
ology
of
Donegal? ? registers
Ultan, Bishop?
Ard-Brecain,
at the
4th
as we learn from various
local traditions regarding him exist. In the demesne of the Protestant bishop of Meath, near Ardbraccan, St. Ultan's well is still shown. It is circular, and in diameter it measures nine feet and a half. It is reputed sacred, and to a period not far distant, stations were there made on the vigil of St. Ultan's feast. Several other holy wells and stone crosses, bearing his
times,
manuscripts
dclv. ,aliisDCLVi. "—SirJamesWare,"De 234,235.
73 Colgan has his death at a. d. 656, or "''
margin. " Ardbraccanisnowunitedinthe diocese of Meath withsome other ancientsees. 79 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints. "
" See " The Books of Obits and
ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy
Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite
andRev. Henthorn 8l AMS. in classed con-
adLectorem,p. 515.
73 So state ths O'CIerys.
7* Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. I. , pp. 268, 269, and note (d).
James Todd, p. 153.
76 See " Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
T. C. D. , B, 3, 1,
tains at September the 4th, Nones ii. Ultain,
Martyr-
8o Thus "In Hibernia Natale Sancti :
tomus ii. Die — Conf. ix. Lect. A MS. in QuartaSeptembris. Among Epis. et. T. C. D. ,
the pretermitted Feasts. It seems strange especially after the entry which follows at the end of next column—that the editors
classed contains at the B, 3,12, September
4th, Nones ii. , Ultain, Archiepis. et Primas Hiberniae, ix. Lect.
still 8' Even preserved.
? 8 In a
this notice: "The word eappcop, bishop, is inserted by the more recent hand, and the
note by Dr. Todd, he remarks at
Presbyteri et Confessori—s Ultani admirande vitae ac sanclitatis viri. " Ibid. , p. 23.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 91
82
name, exist in the County of Meath.
784, we read of a Translation of his relics at Ardbraccan. 8* The monastery and its abbots appear in our annals ; but the ravages of the Danes are often recorded, during the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. At length, the abbey of Ardbraccan fell into dissolution, and the town into obscurity, after
8
the English Invasion. * However, although denuded of all ancient
buildings, which in rimes past had their own religious interest and beauty ; still survive the memorials of St. Ultan's charitable labours for the orphan children and the poor, united with the graces of literary endowment, and reverence for those who were renowned as saints in the earlier eras of Christianity.
Article II. —Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. We are told that in the Sarum, York and Durham Kalendars, at this date, the com- memoration of a feast was held for a Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics. 1 We find, that on this day, also, in the Irish Church a festival was kept to
honour that made Translation,
Aldhune, a. d. 2 For 999.
order of
a fuller account of the original transfer, we are referred to Simeon of Durham, and to Mabillon. The holy founder of Lindisfame had a heavenly prescience, that after his death, England should be over-run with a host of invading infidels; and, before his death, he took care to admonish his disciples, that when such calamity should be imminent, to chose some other abode, and to fly from their ravages. They were also to take his remains with them, and to seek some safer place for their repose. None of those
monks survived, to witness the fulfilment of that tradition in such scenes of depredation ; and, as we have already narrated,3 over one hundred years
passed away after his death, before the Danish pirates made their inroads on thecoastsofEngland. Towardsthecloseoftheeighthcentury,theexposed situation of Lindisfame recalled St. Cuthbert's monition to the memory of its inmates. In the year 793,4 the Danes made their first descent on that island,
8a See Rev. A. Cogan's " Diocese of
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , p. 52.
83 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 511.
84 See Rev. A.
3 See the Life of St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfame, at the 20th March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i. , chap. iv.
4 On the seventh of the Ides of June,
s See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxvi. , sect, xxiv. ,
p. 308.
" Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , pp. 53, 54—. Article 11.
for their ransom.
mensis gives an account of this depredation, and of the vistole judgments, which after- wards befel the spoilers,
4th, p. 50. 2"
*
Dunel-
Cogan's
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. , September
money
Symeon
See Rev. John Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap, viii. , n. 44, p. 163.
"
of England and Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 144.
by
Bishop
The treasures of the church were borne away, and many of the monks were slain, while others were made 6 Such of the as to the
when the monastery was plundered, and almost totally destroyed. s
captives. religious escaped
main shore returned again to the island, and set about repairing those damages. The bishops and other pious persons afterwards re-edified and restored the monastery, which flourished until the year 867. 7 In 875, Northumbria was dreadfully infested with the Danish pirates ; while the churches and monasteries were especially devoted to destruction. Then Eardulph, the Bishop of Lindisfame, who led a community life, Eadred the abbot, and the community of monks, resolved upon leaving their place, and
Long after St. Ultan's time, a. d.
6
This was doubtless to obtain sums of
7 See Walter Scott's
Border Antiquities
92 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September4.
on carrying with them the sacred depository of the founder's relics, before whichsomanyandsuchgreatmiracleshadbeenwrought. Inthemeantime, coming to the Island of Lindisfarne, the barbarous Danes again burned down the church and monastery, leaving the ruins in that wrecked condition in which they are now presented to us. 8 Still are they venerable monuments of the grand Irish-Romanesque style of the eighth and ninth centuries ;° and those ruins left a model for the still more majestic and glorious edifice of Durham Cathedral. The monks wandered as did the Jews of old in the
Castle and Priory Ruins of Lindisfarne.
desert, with the Ark of the Covenant, and for seven years they had no secure rest for St. Cuthbert's bones. Having ranged throughout all that country to
escape from the hands of their savage enemies, and being quite spent with fatigue, Eandulf and Eadred resolved to pass over into Ireland, which even at this time had become a prey to the Scandinavian invasions. At the mouth of the River Derwent. they embarked, but a prodigious storm arising, they were obliged to return to the port they had left. This was deemed a Divine monition, which they were obliged to obey ; and accordingly, it was deter- mined to remain in
8
England.
In the Fourth Volume of Sir William
10 For want of food and other necessaries,
remnants of that Priory, with the isolated castle on the steep, out at sea, and in the
distance. Copied from an approved original, it has been reduced, drawn on the wood,
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
10
According to William of Malmesbury, after this failure to reach Ireland, St. Cuth-
9 Already have we furnished an illustration
of the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, in the
Third Volume of this work, at the 13th day Tweed, where it lay for many years, until of March, under our notices of St. Gerald or the coming of King Ethelred. See "I)e Garalt, Abbot of Eliterid and Bishop of Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. iii. , Mayo, Art. iii. ; but, the accompanying sect. 129, p. 268. Edition of N. E. S. A. illustration presents another view of the Hamilton.
Dugdale's ** Monasticon Anglicanum," there
is a fine copperplate engraving of the ruined abbey on Lindisfarne Island, with a view of the ruined castle on its steep crag seen through the arch in the distance. See p. 687.
body was honourably interred at Ubbenford, now Norham, near the River
September 4. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 93
many of their followers then deserted them, so that none were left with St. Cuthbert's remains but the bishop, the abbot, and seven other persons, who had devoted themselves to his service. After they had shifted about for seven years, and when Haldena, the Danish tyrant, had fled from the Tyne, the body of St. Cuthbert was brought to the Monastery of Crec, where the monks were lovingly received and hospitably entertained for four months. " At length, King Guthred was received as King at Oswiesdune, both by the DanesandNorthumbrians,andhegaveprotectiontothemonks. In882, the relics of St. Cuthbert rested at Cunecasestre or Conchester, a small town a few miles from the Roman Wall, and now known as Chester upon the street. There the Bishop's see continued for one hundred and thirteen years. King Alfred and the Danish leader gave to that church all the land lying between the Tyne and the Tees, with protection for a month to all
12
persons that fled to the saint's shrine. St. Cuthbert'sremainstoRiponforgreatersecurityfromtheDanes. Four monthsafterwards,theywerebroughttoDurham. Thenachapelhadbeen constructed on a grand elevation over the River Tyne, and a monastery had been established near it, owing to the willing labour of the country people. Like many of the ancient religious houses in those troublesome times, the site was fortified as a protection against unscrupulous aggressors. In fine, on the 4th of September, a. d. 999, Bishop Aldune had St. Cuthbert's remains encased in a shrine, and there they were solemnly exposed for the veneration of pious pilgrims. The Bollandists have an entry of the translation of St. Cuthbert's relics at the 4th of September,^ as found in many ancient Martyrologies. On the annual recurrence of this anniversary, we find it
x
called the Feast of the Translation of St. Cuthbert * in various Irish
Kalendars. In the Annals of the Cistercian Monks, its commemoration
is likewise recorded. 15 In the Irish Church, to celebrate this event, an
office had been instituted. 16 It was comprised in Nine Lessons. 1?
It
would seem, however, to have been introduced into our Island by the Anglo-
18
In the Scottish Kalendars,'9 this Festival of the Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics, is to be found, and with a concurrence that shows it to have been one of particular devotion. Thus, at the 4th of September, it
Normans.
occurs in the Kalendars of
20 of 21 of Culenros,
22 Arbuthnott,
of the Aberdeen
11
Hyrdmanistoun, 2 3 and of Thomas
the vol. Saints,"
Breviary,
Dempster. ^
latio Sancti Cuthberti, ix. Lect.
l8
In T. C. D. , a MS. , classed B, 3, 18, 19 (the Sarum Breviary, England), records at Nones ii. September(Septeniber 4th),Trans- latio S. Cuthberti, Lect. iii.
I9 See Forbes' "Kalendars of "Bishop
Scottish Saints. "
See Sir William DugdaleVMonasticon Anglicanum," &c. , edition of John Caley, Esq. , Henry Ellis, LL. B. , and Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, M. A. , vol. i. , pp. 221, 222.
12
See Rev. S. Baring Gould's "Lives of
ix. , September 4U1, p. 51. 13 See "Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
tomus ii. Die Quarta Septembris. Among thepretermittedFeasts,p. 2.
20
Thus :—"Translatio Sancti Cuthberti
14
at September 4th, Nonas ii. , Visitatio Sancti Cuthberti Epis. et Conf.
*S The Translation of St, Cuthbert there
occurs, at the 4th of September, p. 398.
16 At September the 4th, Nones ii. , Translatio Sancti Cuthberti Episcopi et
— Thus Ibid. p. 61.
In T. C. D. a MS. classed B, 3, 9, records
:
Translatio Sancti Cuthberti. "
fuerit in quorundum. "—Ibid. , p. 120. The Confessoris, ix. Lect. , is found in the latter words we apprehend to mean, unless
Calendar list of the MS. Culdee Antiphon-
arium of Armagh Metropolitan Church, and classed B. I. I. , T. C. D.
the office interfere with one of a superior rite.
24 See " Menologium Scoticum," where we
" Dunelmice Cuthberti praesulis, monachi Maelrosiensis. MA. "—Ibid. , p. 210.
* A MS. in T. C. D. , classed B, 3,13, con- read tains at September the 4th, Nones ii. , Trans-
:
In 995, Bishop Aldune conveyed
Episcopi. " Ibid. ,p. 45. 2I "
aa
Thus : "Translatio Sancti Cuthberti
Episcopi. "—Ibid. , p. 104.
23Thus "TranslationsCuthbertiEpis- :
copi et Confessoris, ix. Lect. nisi factum
94 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September4.
Article III. —St. Ness, Nessa, or Munessa, of Ernaidh, said to havebeenUrney,intheCountyofTyrone. [FifthCentury. ] Those, who treat about the bountiful designs of the Almighty in reference to the present holy virgin, have remarked, that she was possessed with the graces of the Holy Spirit, through the virtues which are innate in a good disposi- tion; and from the divers species of all created things, she understood the Creator J and He thus
;
being
understood,
she loved Him with all her
heart,
and with all her soul. For the love and desire of such affection, she looked
down with disregard on all the riches, the delights, the splendours, and the
charms of this world's glory, while she despised them in her heart. At this
date there is a brief notice of St. Monessa, Virgin, in Rev. S, Baring-
"2
Gould's Lives of the Saints. " In the opinion of Colgan, this was the
holy virgin mentioned in the various lives of St. Patrick, as having been bora in Britain of royal parentage. 3 The Bollandists have acts of St. MunessaorMonessa,Virgin,atthe4thdayofSeptember. * Thoseactsare chiefly extracted from the various Lives of St. Patrick, as published by
Thereis a
5-
had also a
6
They
baptised by St. Patrick, and who died in Ireland. Munessa,? Momessa, or 8
Colgan.
formerly sent by the Jesuit Father Stephen White to Father Rosweyd, which referred to St. Muneria or Munessa, daughter to a King of the Britons,
prefixed commentary.
Manuscript
Memessa, as she has been variedly called, was a noble and beautiful damsel, said to have been the daughter of a prince, who reigned in a certain part of Britain. By Probus she has been called Muneria. 9 She is also denominatedNessandNessa. Thisvirginwasofroyalbirth,andsheis
to have been the
of a British 10 Without king.
generally supposed
telling us in what country the baptism of Memessa took place, Jocelyn would fain make us believe, that St. Patrick went to Great Britain after his mission had commenced. " The saint's 12 is
See vol. ix. , September 4, pp. 47, 48.
11 See ''Trias Colgan's
3 See " Trias
S. Patricii, cap. Ixxviii. , and nn. 74, 75, pp.
Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clix. , p. ioo, and
Thaumaturga,"
Tertia Vita
7 1 hus is this pious virgin called in
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," by the sect. 1, p. 319.
daughter
authority, however, vastly preferable to that of a writer, who in the same chapter has so many apparent
Article hi. —* Scotus and other theolo-
gians have taught, that from the promptings of the natural law and reason, God may be known and loved by the human creature, not, however, with a love to ensure salva- tion. In the case of the present holy virgin, said to have known God through the natural law, yet the concurrence ofDivine Grace assisting her is not excluded in the words of the writer of St. Patrick's Third Life, where
author of Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxviii. p. 27. See also n. 74, p. 34, ibid.
8 Thus styled by Jocelyn. See Vita Sexta S. Patricii, cap. clix. , p. 100.
9 See Probus or Quinta Vita S. Patricii,
lib. ii. , cap. xxv. , p. 59. Colgan states, that this writer wrongly calls her Muneria, and that Joceline is also incorrect in writing her name Memessa. See n. 74, p. 34.
10 This is expressly stated in various Lives he writes, "per illas creaturas cognovit of St. Patrick ; and owing to the context, in
Creatorem earum, et per auxilium Sancti Spiritus. "
which allusion is made to her, it may also be inferred from the life by Probus.
*
27, 34. QuaitaVitaS. Patricii, cnp. lxxxviii. , p. 46.
4 See "Acta Sanctorum Septembris," tomus ii. Die Quarta Septembris. De S. Munessa seu Monessa, Virg. in Hibernia, pp. 225 to 228. Edited by Father Con- stantine Suysken.
s In eight paragraphs.
6
Marked with this title *J« MS. 167, D. Nomina Sanctarum Faminarum quarumdam ex Prosapia Regum Scotorum Hibernia;.
86.
12 It is generally allowed, that St. Patrick
did not write his Confession, until he had established his see at Armagh, and towards the close of his life. In it, he declares, that he would be afraid to be out of Ireland, even for so short a time as should enable him to visit his relatives, lest he should disobey the commands of Christ our Lord, who had ordered him to come among the Irish, and to remain with them for the rest of his life. See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Eccle- siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , cap. vii. ,
cap. xcii. , p.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 95
1
misstatements. * In the Triparite Life of St. Patrick, it is said, that the
daughter of a British king—seemingly this Munessa or Muneria—came into Ireland. She went to Kill-na-ningen, near Armagh, to be instructed by the
to the same account. As the
made her beautiful, writes Jocelyn, and the elegance of her form made her
lovely, while in her countenance the lilies and the roses of the garden were
mingled together ; very many princes of royal lineage desired her in marriage. However, in nowise could she be persuaded or compelled to give her consent. She had early formed the desire of becoming a Christian. Yet, had she not been washed in the holy font, though in her manners she represented the purity of Christian faith. Her parents being Heathens, endeavoured with words and with stripes, to frustrate her resolution ; but the firmness of her virgin purpose being built on the rock of Christ, could neither be subverted by their persuasions, nor by force. Nor could she, through any of their evil
1
doings, be moved from her fixed determination.
657. See Trias Thaumaturga," Prsefacio word Episcopus Midensis is written in the
him as
day of September. At this same date, he has been commemorated in
ology
of
Donegal? ? registers
Ultan, Bishop?
Ard-Brecain,
at the
4th
as we learn from various
local traditions regarding him exist. In the demesne of the Protestant bishop of Meath, near Ardbraccan, St. Ultan's well is still shown. It is circular, and in diameter it measures nine feet and a half. It is reputed sacred, and to a period not far distant, stations were there made on the vigil of St. Ultan's feast. Several other holy wells and stone crosses, bearing his
times,
manuscripts
dclv. ,aliisDCLVi. "—SirJamesWare,"De 234,235.
73 Colgan has his death at a. d. 656, or "''
margin. " Ardbraccanisnowunitedinthe diocese of Meath withsome other ancientsees. 79 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints. "
" See " The Books of Obits and
ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy
Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite
andRev. Henthorn 8l AMS. in classed con-
adLectorem,p. 515.
73 So state ths O'CIerys.
7* Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. I. , pp. 268, 269, and note (d).
James Todd, p. 153.
76 See " Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
T. C. D. , B, 3, 1,
tains at September the 4th, Nones ii. Ultain,
Martyr-
8o Thus "In Hibernia Natale Sancti :
tomus ii. Die — Conf. ix. Lect. A MS. in QuartaSeptembris. Among Epis. et. T. C. D. ,
the pretermitted Feasts. It seems strange especially after the entry which follows at the end of next column—that the editors
classed contains at the B, 3,12, September
4th, Nones ii. , Ultain, Archiepis. et Primas Hiberniae, ix. Lect.
still 8' Even preserved.
? 8 In a
this notice: "The word eappcop, bishop, is inserted by the more recent hand, and the
note by Dr. Todd, he remarks at
Presbyteri et Confessori—s Ultani admirande vitae ac sanclitatis viri. " Ibid. , p. 23.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 91
82
name, exist in the County of Meath.
784, we read of a Translation of his relics at Ardbraccan. 8* The monastery and its abbots appear in our annals ; but the ravages of the Danes are often recorded, during the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. At length, the abbey of Ardbraccan fell into dissolution, and the town into obscurity, after
8
the English Invasion. * However, although denuded of all ancient
buildings, which in rimes past had their own religious interest and beauty ; still survive the memorials of St. Ultan's charitable labours for the orphan children and the poor, united with the graces of literary endowment, and reverence for those who were renowned as saints in the earlier eras of Christianity.
Article II. —Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. We are told that in the Sarum, York and Durham Kalendars, at this date, the com- memoration of a feast was held for a Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics. 1 We find, that on this day, also, in the Irish Church a festival was kept to
honour that made Translation,
Aldhune, a. d. 2 For 999.
order of
a fuller account of the original transfer, we are referred to Simeon of Durham, and to Mabillon. The holy founder of Lindisfame had a heavenly prescience, that after his death, England should be over-run with a host of invading infidels; and, before his death, he took care to admonish his disciples, that when such calamity should be imminent, to chose some other abode, and to fly from their ravages. They were also to take his remains with them, and to seek some safer place for their repose. None of those
monks survived, to witness the fulfilment of that tradition in such scenes of depredation ; and, as we have already narrated,3 over one hundred years
passed away after his death, before the Danish pirates made their inroads on thecoastsofEngland. Towardsthecloseoftheeighthcentury,theexposed situation of Lindisfame recalled St. Cuthbert's monition to the memory of its inmates. In the year 793,4 the Danes made their first descent on that island,
8a See Rev. A. Cogan's " Diocese of
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , p. 52.
83 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 511.
84 See Rev. A.
3 See the Life of St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfame, at the 20th March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i. , chap. iv.
4 On the seventh of the Ides of June,
s See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxvi. , sect, xxiv. ,
p. 308.
" Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , pp. 53, 54—. Article 11.
for their ransom.
mensis gives an account of this depredation, and of the vistole judgments, which after- wards befel the spoilers,
4th, p. 50. 2"
*
Dunel-
Cogan's
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. , September
money
Symeon
See Rev. John Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap, viii. , n. 44, p. 163.
"
of England and Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 144.
by
Bishop
The treasures of the church were borne away, and many of the monks were slain, while others were made 6 Such of the as to the
when the monastery was plundered, and almost totally destroyed. s
captives. religious escaped
main shore returned again to the island, and set about repairing those damages. The bishops and other pious persons afterwards re-edified and restored the monastery, which flourished until the year 867. 7 In 875, Northumbria was dreadfully infested with the Danish pirates ; while the churches and monasteries were especially devoted to destruction. Then Eardulph, the Bishop of Lindisfame, who led a community life, Eadred the abbot, and the community of monks, resolved upon leaving their place, and
Long after St. Ultan's time, a. d.
6
This was doubtless to obtain sums of
7 See Walter Scott's
Border Antiquities
92 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September4.
on carrying with them the sacred depository of the founder's relics, before whichsomanyandsuchgreatmiracleshadbeenwrought. Inthemeantime, coming to the Island of Lindisfarne, the barbarous Danes again burned down the church and monastery, leaving the ruins in that wrecked condition in which they are now presented to us. 8 Still are they venerable monuments of the grand Irish-Romanesque style of the eighth and ninth centuries ;° and those ruins left a model for the still more majestic and glorious edifice of Durham Cathedral. The monks wandered as did the Jews of old in the
Castle and Priory Ruins of Lindisfarne.
desert, with the Ark of the Covenant, and for seven years they had no secure rest for St. Cuthbert's bones. Having ranged throughout all that country to
escape from the hands of their savage enemies, and being quite spent with fatigue, Eandulf and Eadred resolved to pass over into Ireland, which even at this time had become a prey to the Scandinavian invasions. At the mouth of the River Derwent. they embarked, but a prodigious storm arising, they were obliged to return to the port they had left. This was deemed a Divine monition, which they were obliged to obey ; and accordingly, it was deter- mined to remain in
8
England.
In the Fourth Volume of Sir William
10 For want of food and other necessaries,
remnants of that Priory, with the isolated castle on the steep, out at sea, and in the
distance. Copied from an approved original, it has been reduced, drawn on the wood,
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
10
According to William of Malmesbury, after this failure to reach Ireland, St. Cuth-
9 Already have we furnished an illustration
of the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, in the
Third Volume of this work, at the 13th day Tweed, where it lay for many years, until of March, under our notices of St. Gerald or the coming of King Ethelred. See "I)e Garalt, Abbot of Eliterid and Bishop of Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. iii. , Mayo, Art. iii. ; but, the accompanying sect. 129, p. 268. Edition of N. E. S. A. illustration presents another view of the Hamilton.
Dugdale's ** Monasticon Anglicanum," there
is a fine copperplate engraving of the ruined abbey on Lindisfarne Island, with a view of the ruined castle on its steep crag seen through the arch in the distance. See p. 687.
body was honourably interred at Ubbenford, now Norham, near the River
September 4. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 93
many of their followers then deserted them, so that none were left with St. Cuthbert's remains but the bishop, the abbot, and seven other persons, who had devoted themselves to his service. After they had shifted about for seven years, and when Haldena, the Danish tyrant, had fled from the Tyne, the body of St. Cuthbert was brought to the Monastery of Crec, where the monks were lovingly received and hospitably entertained for four months. " At length, King Guthred was received as King at Oswiesdune, both by the DanesandNorthumbrians,andhegaveprotectiontothemonks. In882, the relics of St. Cuthbert rested at Cunecasestre or Conchester, a small town a few miles from the Roman Wall, and now known as Chester upon the street. There the Bishop's see continued for one hundred and thirteen years. King Alfred and the Danish leader gave to that church all the land lying between the Tyne and the Tees, with protection for a month to all
12
persons that fled to the saint's shrine. St. Cuthbert'sremainstoRiponforgreatersecurityfromtheDanes. Four monthsafterwards,theywerebroughttoDurham. Thenachapelhadbeen constructed on a grand elevation over the River Tyne, and a monastery had been established near it, owing to the willing labour of the country people. Like many of the ancient religious houses in those troublesome times, the site was fortified as a protection against unscrupulous aggressors. In fine, on the 4th of September, a. d. 999, Bishop Aldune had St. Cuthbert's remains encased in a shrine, and there they were solemnly exposed for the veneration of pious pilgrims. The Bollandists have an entry of the translation of St. Cuthbert's relics at the 4th of September,^ as found in many ancient Martyrologies. On the annual recurrence of this anniversary, we find it
x
called the Feast of the Translation of St. Cuthbert * in various Irish
Kalendars. In the Annals of the Cistercian Monks, its commemoration
is likewise recorded. 15 In the Irish Church, to celebrate this event, an
office had been instituted. 16 It was comprised in Nine Lessons. 1?
It
would seem, however, to have been introduced into our Island by the Anglo-
18
In the Scottish Kalendars,'9 this Festival of the Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics, is to be found, and with a concurrence that shows it to have been one of particular devotion. Thus, at the 4th of September, it
Normans.
occurs in the Kalendars of
20 of 21 of Culenros,
22 Arbuthnott,
of the Aberdeen
11
Hyrdmanistoun, 2 3 and of Thomas
the vol. Saints,"
Breviary,
Dempster. ^
latio Sancti Cuthberti, ix. Lect.
l8
In T. C. D. , a MS. , classed B, 3, 18, 19 (the Sarum Breviary, England), records at Nones ii. September(Septeniber 4th),Trans- latio S. Cuthberti, Lect. iii.
I9 See Forbes' "Kalendars of "Bishop
Scottish Saints. "
See Sir William DugdaleVMonasticon Anglicanum," &c. , edition of John Caley, Esq. , Henry Ellis, LL. B. , and Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, M. A. , vol. i. , pp. 221, 222.
12
See Rev. S. Baring Gould's "Lives of
ix. , September 4U1, p. 51. 13 See "Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
tomus ii. Die Quarta Septembris. Among thepretermittedFeasts,p. 2.
20
Thus :—"Translatio Sancti Cuthberti
14
at September 4th, Nonas ii. , Visitatio Sancti Cuthberti Epis. et Conf.
*S The Translation of St, Cuthbert there
occurs, at the 4th of September, p. 398.
16 At September the 4th, Nones ii. , Translatio Sancti Cuthberti Episcopi et
— Thus Ibid. p. 61.
In T. C. D. a MS. classed B, 3, 9, records
:
Translatio Sancti Cuthberti. "
fuerit in quorundum. "—Ibid. , p. 120. The Confessoris, ix. Lect. , is found in the latter words we apprehend to mean, unless
Calendar list of the MS. Culdee Antiphon-
arium of Armagh Metropolitan Church, and classed B. I. I. , T. C. D.
the office interfere with one of a superior rite.
24 See " Menologium Scoticum," where we
" Dunelmice Cuthberti praesulis, monachi Maelrosiensis. MA. "—Ibid. , p. 210.
* A MS. in T. C. D. , classed B, 3,13, con- read tains at September the 4th, Nones ii. , Trans-
:
In 995, Bishop Aldune conveyed
Episcopi. " Ibid. ,p. 45. 2I "
aa
Thus : "Translatio Sancti Cuthberti
Episcopi. "—Ibid. , p. 104.
23Thus "TranslationsCuthbertiEpis- :
copi et Confessoris, ix. Lect. nisi factum
94 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September4.
Article III. —St. Ness, Nessa, or Munessa, of Ernaidh, said to havebeenUrney,intheCountyofTyrone. [FifthCentury. ] Those, who treat about the bountiful designs of the Almighty in reference to the present holy virgin, have remarked, that she was possessed with the graces of the Holy Spirit, through the virtues which are innate in a good disposi- tion; and from the divers species of all created things, she understood the Creator J and He thus
;
being
understood,
she loved Him with all her
heart,
and with all her soul. For the love and desire of such affection, she looked
down with disregard on all the riches, the delights, the splendours, and the
charms of this world's glory, while she despised them in her heart. At this
date there is a brief notice of St. Monessa, Virgin, in Rev. S, Baring-
"2
Gould's Lives of the Saints. " In the opinion of Colgan, this was the
holy virgin mentioned in the various lives of St. Patrick, as having been bora in Britain of royal parentage. 3 The Bollandists have acts of St. MunessaorMonessa,Virgin,atthe4thdayofSeptember. * Thoseactsare chiefly extracted from the various Lives of St. Patrick, as published by
Thereis a
5-
had also a
6
They
baptised by St. Patrick, and who died in Ireland. Munessa,? Momessa, or 8
Colgan.
formerly sent by the Jesuit Father Stephen White to Father Rosweyd, which referred to St. Muneria or Munessa, daughter to a King of the Britons,
prefixed commentary.
Manuscript
Memessa, as she has been variedly called, was a noble and beautiful damsel, said to have been the daughter of a prince, who reigned in a certain part of Britain. By Probus she has been called Muneria. 9 She is also denominatedNessandNessa. Thisvirginwasofroyalbirth,andsheis
to have been the
of a British 10 Without king.
generally supposed
telling us in what country the baptism of Memessa took place, Jocelyn would fain make us believe, that St. Patrick went to Great Britain after his mission had commenced. " The saint's 12 is
See vol. ix. , September 4, pp. 47, 48.
11 See ''Trias Colgan's
3 See " Trias
S. Patricii, cap. Ixxviii. , and nn. 74, 75, pp.
Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clix. , p. ioo, and
Thaumaturga,"
Tertia Vita
7 1 hus is this pious virgin called in
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," by the sect. 1, p. 319.
daughter
authority, however, vastly preferable to that of a writer, who in the same chapter has so many apparent
Article hi. —* Scotus and other theolo-
gians have taught, that from the promptings of the natural law and reason, God may be known and loved by the human creature, not, however, with a love to ensure salva- tion. In the case of the present holy virgin, said to have known God through the natural law, yet the concurrence ofDivine Grace assisting her is not excluded in the words of the writer of St. Patrick's Third Life, where
author of Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxviii. p. 27. See also n. 74, p. 34, ibid.
8 Thus styled by Jocelyn. See Vita Sexta S. Patricii, cap. clix. , p. 100.
9 See Probus or Quinta Vita S. Patricii,
lib. ii. , cap. xxv. , p. 59. Colgan states, that this writer wrongly calls her Muneria, and that Joceline is also incorrect in writing her name Memessa. See n. 74, p. 34.
10 This is expressly stated in various Lives he writes, "per illas creaturas cognovit of St. Patrick ; and owing to the context, in
Creatorem earum, et per auxilium Sancti Spiritus. "
which allusion is made to her, it may also be inferred from the life by Probus.
*
27, 34. QuaitaVitaS. Patricii, cnp. lxxxviii. , p. 46.
4 See "Acta Sanctorum Septembris," tomus ii. Die Quarta Septembris. De S. Munessa seu Monessa, Virg. in Hibernia, pp. 225 to 228. Edited by Father Con- stantine Suysken.
s In eight paragraphs.
6
Marked with this title *J« MS. 167, D. Nomina Sanctarum Faminarum quarumdam ex Prosapia Regum Scotorum Hibernia;.
86.
12 It is generally allowed, that St. Patrick
did not write his Confession, until he had established his see at Armagh, and towards the close of his life. In it, he declares, that he would be afraid to be out of Ireland, even for so short a time as should enable him to visit his relatives, lest he should disobey the commands of Christ our Lord, who had ordered him to come among the Irish, and to remain with them for the rest of his life. See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Eccle- siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , cap. vii. ,
cap. xcii. , p.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 95
1
misstatements. * In the Triparite Life of St. Patrick, it is said, that the
daughter of a British king—seemingly this Munessa or Muneria—came into Ireland. She went to Kill-na-ningen, near Armagh, to be instructed by the
to the same account. As the
made her beautiful, writes Jocelyn, and the elegance of her form made her
lovely, while in her countenance the lilies and the roses of the garden were
mingled together ; very many princes of royal lineage desired her in marriage. However, in nowise could she be persuaded or compelled to give her consent. She had early formed the desire of becoming a Christian. Yet, had she not been washed in the holy font, though in her manners she represented the purity of Christian faith. Her parents being Heathens, endeavoured with words and with stripes, to frustrate her resolution ; but the firmness of her virgin purpose being built on the rock of Christ, could neither be subverted by their persuasions, nor by force. Nor could she, through any of their evil
1
doings, be moved from her fixed determination.
