Meldan flourished, does not allow us to conclude, that he was identical with him,
mentioned
in St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
37 The Rev.
Alban Butler writes regard-
" He probably r—eceived that
ing our saint
crown soon after St. Alban," "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. ii. , February vii.
:
^^ Ussher, in his Index Chronologicus, has the date of his suffering A. D. ccciv. See
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
The refer- English Martyrology,
390 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
"
Adam King has entered at the 7th of February,
landvnderValentiniane. "^4 Thesamestatementismade,withthedate361, in Radulph de Rivo's Ecclesiastical Kalendar, yet this is too early for Valen- tinian's reign. '^s Dr. Lanigan is of opinion, that St. Augurius of Ireland, is improperly confounded with the British bishop, Augulus or Augulius. ^^ However, he does not assign any satisfactory reason for this statement. '*7 Dempster attributes to this saint the writing of two books. One of these,
cerning him in these words :
"
Fuit ergo in
Episcopus
et
martyr.
Cceiera,
quce
e variis librum
unum,
et De — alte- fuga peisecutionis
"
De fide plantanda," lib. i. ,
and the
Brigantes. 52 Inlikemanner,Dempster,asusual,seekstomakeSt. Augurius a Scotchman. 53 At the 7th of February,^^ the same writer notes ss the feast
of Augurius, priest and martyr in Anglia. ^^ Ussher places the death of this saint, at the year 304. ^7 As we have already seen, the martyrologies and hagiographies have his festival set down, for the 7th of February. He is re- corded as a bishops^ and as a martyr. 59 This title to the latter designation
is questioned by Rev. S. Baring-Gould,^° who remarks very justly, that little is known regarding him. The French call this holy bishop, St. Aule. Chatelain thinks him to be the same as a saint, who is famous is some parts of Normandy, under the name of St. Ouil. It does not seem desirable to enlarge further on the present holy man's Acts, since, in reaHty, no great amount of light can be reflected on them.
according to him, was intituled,
" De fuga persecutionis. " ^^ Colgan, however, supposes, this Scottish writer ventures upon such an assertion, without any just grounds, because he cites nocredibleauthorityforsuchstatement. '^9 St. Augurius,Augulius,orAulus, is made a saint of Scotland, by Camerarius,5° who refers to Constantinus Guinius. s^ His relics are said to be preserved at Dundran, among the
44 See Bishop Forbes' "^Calendars of Scottish Saints," p. 144. 53
^s See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto- rum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. , num. 4, p.
<^ Without deciding, in what persecution
Augulus suffered, or how his being called,
Episcopus Hiberniae, can be explained, the Bollandists sum up their disquisitions con-
prczdicationem et miracula extulisse asserit : eadem fingendi libidine, qua ipsum Augu- Britannia, civitate Augusta, S. Augulus rium sive Augulium. De fide plantanda
nil solidce rationis habettt,—
ideoque scripsisse subjicit,"
17.
47 See Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sec. iii. ,
pp. 6, 7.
a rum
&c. Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. vii. ,. p. 90. See Index Chronologicus, ibid. , p. 511.
54 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 191.
ss In his " Menologium Scoticum. "—
s* For this statement, he cites Gh. pro- *^ See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis bably Ghinius.
Scotorum," tomus i , lib, i. , num. 40. 57 In his Chronological Index.
49 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vii. 5^ His name occurs with the title of Februarii. Vita S. Augurii and n. 7, pp. bishop in all the manuscript copies of the
adjecta,
nobis cuncta diffusius exposita. " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De
S. Augulo Episcopo Martyre, num. 6, p.
Ussher's
'' **
ancient Western Martyrolog—y which bears the name of St. Jerome. " Rev. Alban
"
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. ii. February vii.
copy
5* Henschen remarks, however, these martyr. See ibid.
were a people, not of Scotia, but of Anglia, ^° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. ,
and seated in Western Yorkshire, in Dur- February vii. , p. 190,
275, 276.
5° See ** De Statu Hominis, veteris simul
ac novae Ecclesise, et Infidelium Conver- sione," lib. i. , pars ii. , cap. iii. , sect. 2, p. 147.
5' In Vita
Butler's
The Bollandist
59 The of had the abbey Epternach
Dermargillse.
Henschenius professes himself entirely igno- of a Martyrology which is very old j this rant regarding this Life. and several other Kalendars style him
ham, Lancaster, &c.
"
St. Augurius bischop in Ire-
Thomas Dempsterus, de passionis tempore cum Genebrardo consentiens, de patria repugnat : et suae, id est, recentiore Scotioe antiquem Christi martyrem vendicat. Quod ne sine authore fecisse videretur ; Hunibeitevi Scotiim, scriptoretn antiquis- simum in sua historia ejus in Scotia labores
other,
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
Article IV. —St. Medan, Mellan, Meldan, or Meallan Mac Ui
CuiNN, OF Inis Mac-Ui-Cuinn, now Inchiquin, in Loch Oirbsen, now Lough Corrib, County of Galway. [^Stxth and Seventh Centuries? ^ The great celebrity of this holy man is chiefly due to the circumstance of his appearance to St. Fursey/ in that remarkable vision, to which allusion has been
in his Acts.
it does not seem probable, a knowledge of St. Medan or Mellan, or ? leldan
already made,
During
the earlier
under any form of his name—could have been so imperfect, as we are bound to confess it has become in later years. His Acts seem to have perished.
Still, we feel confident, that among the yet unpublished stores of our manu- scriptliterature,furtherdiscoveriesregardinghimcouldbemade. Tothe
authorities, most readily accessible, must we have recourse for these following brief notices. The Acts of St. Meldan, a bishop and confessor, have been compiled from various sources, by Colgan, who has entered notices of him, atthe7thofFebruary. ^ Apreviouscommentaryandactsofthi—ssaintare
—t the same date. + That St. Mellan
given by the Bollandists,3 a probably
the truest form of his name lived at a very early period, we have reason to conclude, from an entry in the "FeiHre" of St. ^ngus. s The Martyrology
of Tallagh^ registers at the 7th of February, Mellan, Insi mic h Cuinn. Marianus O'Gorman has a notice of him, at this same date. The scholiast
The Kalendar of Dmmmond states, at
St. — to Ireland, Mellan, confessor, departed
most writers have assumed it that Mellan or Meallan, mentioned in the Irish martyro- logies, at this date, must necessarily be identified with the St. Meldan,^ who is recorded as having been seen, in the visions of St. Fursey,9 while the latter lived near Lough Orbsen. In the Acts of St. Patrick, we find it related, that a certain Meldanus,'° or Mellanus," a priest, and an Irishman by birth, left his native country, with five other companions, for the purpose of study- ing the Sacred Scriptures, and of visiting holy places. '^ By a happy chance, they met St. Patrick returning from Britain. Falling on their knees, they obtained his blessing, and the Irish Apostle then predicted, that all of these persons should become bishops. ^3 They all applied most sedulously to their
on St. ^ngus likewise coincides.
the vii. Ides of that in February,
Christ. 7 It can
—not be as certain
Studies, and became great scholars.
Article iv. —^ See his Life at the i6th of
January.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum
Confessore," pp. 269 to 271. .
Afterwards, in due course, they were
Of Loch Uar—a noble guest.
vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano Episcopo et
^ Edited Rev. Dr. xiv. by Kelly, p.
3 See "Acta
Februarii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
Episcopo Hiberno, Peronse in Gallia, pp. 66 to 68.
^ This Life is edited by Father Godefrid Henschen.
5 The following rann, for this day, is ex-
Scottish Saints," p. 4.
^ that Meldan Colgan maintains, however,
is equivalent to Mellan. See "Acta Sanc- torum Hibemise," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. , p. 271.
9 His Life will be found at the 1 6th of
January,
'° to According Joceline.
Sanctorum,"
tomus
ii. ,
vii.
tracted Irom the " Leabhar Breac"- and translated by Professor O'Looney
C tin. It) mellAn in-ofe UAifle ITlAc . h. Chuint) nocriAti
LoinAn bochA^n bpige tochA tlAi|\ Apt) Aige.
copy,
Mellan of the noble island,
Of Mac Ua Cuind implore him j Loman the powerful lamp
Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130.
" The reader is referred to a still more
detailed account of these recorded incidents, in the notices of St. Meallan, of Kilrush or of Cloncraff, at the 28th of January, article ii.
^3 See conjectural notices and festivals regarding them, in notes to the memoranda^ already quoted.
deemed, wholly
although
Hibemise,"
7 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
:
—" totheVita S. According Tripartita
of our — ages Christianity,
392 LIVES 01* THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
raised to the episcopal rank. By word and example, they brought many to a sense of their Christian duties, while all of those bishops happily departed totheLord. ^* Theyflourishedtowardsthecloseofthefifthcentury,andit seems probable many of them lived early in the fifth. In the Irish Life of
St. Patrick,'^ this Meldan is said to have been Bishop of Cluancremensis, or Cluain-Chembre,^*^ in Ireland. ^7 The period, at which this St.
Meldan flourished, does not allow us to conclude, that he was identical with him, mentioned in St. Fursey's Acts. In the account of St. Fursey's vision, by Venerable Bede,^^ he alludes to the appearance among the angels of holy and just men. These he does not specially name, but, we are told, they wereScots,andofSt. Fursey'sownnation; thatataformerperiod,theywere celebrated, and that they had not unworthily enjoyed the grade of priests. It is likely, they were named in the more ancient little book of St. Fursey's Life, to which Bede alludes, and quotes as an authority, for a brief account of the vision. In all the other Acts of St. Fursey^^ published, Meldan is the name of that holy person,^^ who was at first—his spiritual father, and who was living—on the island, designated Esbren^' supposed to be incorrectly so called when Fursey visited his part of the country. Loch Oirbsen*^ was the ancient name for the present Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway. On an island of this lake. Saint Meldan's religious establishment was situated. ^3 As we have already stated, this island seems to have been the one, now known as Inchiquin. Here it is thought, that St. Meldan lived, a disciple of St. Brendan, who died on the i6th of May, a. d. 576 or 577, as generally supposed. ^* If so, St. Meldan was born, probably, about the middle of the sixth century. It is conjectured, also, that he aided his pupil, St. Fursey, in ministerialworks,especiallywhilepreaching. ^'s AlthoughSt. Meldanisonly noticed, as a priest, by Venerable Bede ; yet, it has been urged,^^ that he probablyattainedepiscopalrank,^? owingtohistalentsandrenown. =^ He probably lived, too, as an anchoret. It seems highly probable, that the St.
Meldan, who dwelt at Inchiquin, and who flourished about the year 58o,='9 died soon after he had formed the acquaintance of St. Fursey, and in the earlier part of the seventh century, before the commencement of those re- markable visions Fursey had while living in the province of Connaught. In St. Fursey's Acts, at the i6th of January, Saints Meldan and Beoan seem to be
'4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " May—is said to have built the religious
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
house, at this place,
^5 In the Second Book.
Hibhsean, in Western Connaught.
=3 Yxom him it seems to have taken the See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Feb- name of the Island of Mac-Hua-Coinn, or
'^ So is the place written by Henschen.
ruarii vii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
&c. , num. 6, p. 67,
^7 The name seems resolvable into Clon-
craff or Clooncrave. The place has not
Inisquin, now Inchaquin. See more re- garding it in the Life of St. Fursey, at the
i6th of January, chapter iii.
=4 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , sect, vii. , See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis and n. 120, pp. 30, 38.
been identified.
^^ "
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 211, 212. '5> See what has been already stated, in
his Life at the 16th of January.
"^ He is called Mac-Hua-Coinn, because
=5 See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nite," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, cap. i. and n. 7, pp. 269, 271.
=^ By Colgan, ibid, and n. 8.
his origin had been derived from the cele-
brated Monarch of Ireland, Conn of the
Hundred Battles. See Colgan's "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernife," Februarii vii. De Meldans, who were bishops, in liber ordi-
S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. ,
num, cap. i. Colgan thinks one or other of these must have been the present saint.
p. 271. —
='
St. Brendan venerated on the i6th of
='
In Colgan's opinion.
==*
It is said to have been in the region of
=7 By Sacerdos was often meant Episco- pus, according to a usage of ancient writers. =^ St. yEngus the Culdee enumerates two
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 393
considered as Irishmen, by birth. Even it is said there, St. Fursey, on look- ing, beheld these two venerable men of that province, in which the man of God was bom. 30 St. Meldan was the one most familiar, as the Sinedrus or spiritual director of Fursa, who afterwards went to Peronne, according to Cathal Maguire. 3'^ But, at the time of the vision, Meldan was already dead, and numbered among the blessed ; while, his remains were most probably interred, in the first instance, at Inisquin, on Lough Corrib,32 some time after the beginning of the seventh century. Probably, when St. Fursey left Ireland for England, and subsequently for France, he did not chose to dis- turb St. Meldan's remains, while not assured he could find a suitable place for their deposition. Unquestionably this was the St. Meldan that appeared in vision to his disciple and spiritual son, the future Abbot of Lagny, and whose relics the latter brought over to France when there established. Mention is made, regarding another apparition of this St. Meldan to a monk, namedColman. 33 Whetherthishappenedbefore,orafter,thedeathofSt. Comgall,34 has not been determined. Judging by the narrative in the Acts of St. Fursey, St. Meldan was not living, when the Irish missionary went to Gaul. 35 His relics were brought to France, however, by St. Fursey, who deposited them at Perrone, Picardy. Of this town, he is regarded as a
and there honoured. 3^ The translation of St. Meldan's from body
patron,
Ireland probably took place, after Erchinoald37 had founded the Church of
Saints Peter and Paul, on the top of the mount at Cignes, near Perrone.
This happened during the lifetime of St. Fursey, who deposited in this church, moreover, the bodies or relics of St. Bean or Beoan, of St. Patrick,38
and of many other saints,39 as sacred pledges, while through their merits many miracles were afterwards wrought. In this church, St. Fursey himself loved to pray. However, in the seventeenth century, local traditions had not preserved a recollection of the exact spot, where those saintly reHcs lay, at Perrone. The neglect of preceding generations, or the ravages of time, had caused this total oblivion. ^o It does not seem probable, that this St. Meldan, who was a priest, can be identified with the succeeding St. Meldan, called a bishop. '^^ According to Colgan,^^ St. ^ngus places the natal day of St. Meldanus with that of his companions, SS. Nassadius and Beodanus, at the26thofOctober. 43 Atthissamedate,theMartyrologyofTallaghtsays, that three saints from Britain lived at Tamlachta Umhail, in the region of
3° In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xvi, Januarii. Vita S. P'urssei, lib. i. , cap. xxi. , p. 79. Also, Desmay's Life of St. Fursey, chapter vii. , at the 9th of Feb-
^s gee Bishop Challoner's ''Britannia
Sancta," part i,, p. ill.
37 He was Major-domo to King Clevis II.
of France,
38 it is difficult to determine who these
saints were, as we find multiple names in our calendars.
39 Whether of Ireland or of the Continent cannot be known.
^o c^gg " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii vii. De S. Meldano, Epis- copo et Confessore, cap. iv,, v. , p. 270.
288.
31 When treating about St. Fursey, at the
1 6th of January.
32 See the highly interesting description of this fine expanse of water, in Sir William
ruary, ibid. , p.
R. Wilde's "
Lough
Corrib, its Shores and
Islands ; with some notices of Lough Mask,"
chap. ii. , pp. 18 to 38, with Appendix B.
4i See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Medano, 34 His departure is usually assigned to sive Meldano. Commentarius prasvius,
33 This is related in the Life of St. Com- gall, chapter Iv.
the loth of May, a. d. 601. See his Life at
num. 5, p. 67. ''
that
35 Colgan supposes St. Meldan died before
the year 626. See "Acta Sanctorum Hi- bemias," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , and n. ii, p. 271.
'^See ActaSanctorumHibemise,"Feb-
day.
ruariivii,, n. I, p. 271.
43 The reader is referred to their Acts, at
that day, where further remarks, in reference to the Saints Meldan and Beoan, of St. Fursey's vision, will be found.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJ^TS. [February 7.
Ivechia, in Ultonia. They dwelt near Lake Bricreann. 44 These tliree are called Nasad; Beoan and Mellan. They lived in the same church. As tlieir province was Ultonia, however, this seems alone sufficient to make us doubt, if the Beoan and Meldan of St. Fursey's vision can be identified with two of thenumberhavingaccordantnames. ^s Thissaintmusthavebeenfamous atonetime,sincemanychurcheswerededicatedtohim. Sometimes,aswe aretold,heiscalledMedan. ^*^ Theremovalofhisremains,toafardistant land, does not appear to have occasioned forgetfulness of his merits and miracles in the province, which seems to have been the one that can best lay claim to his nativity. Around the beautiful shores and islands of Lough Corrib, his name was long a household word. He is mentioned in the list ofsaintsfoundintheMartyrologyofDonegal. 47 Thereweread,asbeing venerated on this day, Meallan, Mac Ui Cuinn, of Inis Mac Ui Cuinn, in
LochOirbsen,inConnaught.
" He probably r—eceived that
ing our saint
crown soon after St. Alban," "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. ii. , February vii.
:
^^ Ussher, in his Index Chronologicus, has the date of his suffering A. D. ccciv. See
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
The refer- English Martyrology,
390 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
"
Adam King has entered at the 7th of February,
landvnderValentiniane. "^4 Thesamestatementismade,withthedate361, in Radulph de Rivo's Ecclesiastical Kalendar, yet this is too early for Valen- tinian's reign. '^s Dr. Lanigan is of opinion, that St. Augurius of Ireland, is improperly confounded with the British bishop, Augulus or Augulius. ^^ However, he does not assign any satisfactory reason for this statement. '*7 Dempster attributes to this saint the writing of two books. One of these,
cerning him in these words :
"
Fuit ergo in
Episcopus
et
martyr.
Cceiera,
quce
e variis librum
unum,
et De — alte- fuga peisecutionis
"
De fide plantanda," lib. i. ,
and the
Brigantes. 52 Inlikemanner,Dempster,asusual,seekstomakeSt. Augurius a Scotchman. 53 At the 7th of February,^^ the same writer notes ss the feast
of Augurius, priest and martyr in Anglia. ^^ Ussher places the death of this saint, at the year 304. ^7 As we have already seen, the martyrologies and hagiographies have his festival set down, for the 7th of February. He is re- corded as a bishops^ and as a martyr. 59 This title to the latter designation
is questioned by Rev. S. Baring-Gould,^° who remarks very justly, that little is known regarding him. The French call this holy bishop, St. Aule. Chatelain thinks him to be the same as a saint, who is famous is some parts of Normandy, under the name of St. Ouil. It does not seem desirable to enlarge further on the present holy man's Acts, since, in reaHty, no great amount of light can be reflected on them.
according to him, was intituled,
" De fuga persecutionis. " ^^ Colgan, however, supposes, this Scottish writer ventures upon such an assertion, without any just grounds, because he cites nocredibleauthorityforsuchstatement. '^9 St. Augurius,Augulius,orAulus, is made a saint of Scotland, by Camerarius,5° who refers to Constantinus Guinius. s^ His relics are said to be preserved at Dundran, among the
44 See Bishop Forbes' "^Calendars of Scottish Saints," p. 144. 53
^s See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto- rum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. , num. 4, p.
<^ Without deciding, in what persecution
Augulus suffered, or how his being called,
Episcopus Hiberniae, can be explained, the Bollandists sum up their disquisitions con-
prczdicationem et miracula extulisse asserit : eadem fingendi libidine, qua ipsum Augu- Britannia, civitate Augusta, S. Augulus rium sive Augulium. De fide plantanda
nil solidce rationis habettt,—
ideoque scripsisse subjicit,"
17.
47 See Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sec. iii. ,
pp. 6, 7.
a rum
&c. Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. vii. ,. p. 90. See Index Chronologicus, ibid. , p. 511.
54 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 191.
ss In his " Menologium Scoticum. "—
s* For this statement, he cites Gh. pro- *^ See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis bably Ghinius.
Scotorum," tomus i , lib, i. , num. 40. 57 In his Chronological Index.
49 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," vii. 5^ His name occurs with the title of Februarii. Vita S. Augurii and n. 7, pp. bishop in all the manuscript copies of the
adjecta,
nobis cuncta diffusius exposita. " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De
S. Augulo Episcopo Martyre, num. 6, p.
Ussher's
'' **
ancient Western Martyrolog—y which bears the name of St. Jerome. " Rev. Alban
"
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. ii. February vii.
copy
5* Henschen remarks, however, these martyr. See ibid.
were a people, not of Scotia, but of Anglia, ^° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. ,
and seated in Western Yorkshire, in Dur- February vii. , p. 190,
275, 276.
5° See ** De Statu Hominis, veteris simul
ac novae Ecclesise, et Infidelium Conver- sione," lib. i. , pars ii. , cap. iii. , sect. 2, p. 147.
5' In Vita
Butler's
The Bollandist
59 The of had the abbey Epternach
Dermargillse.
Henschenius professes himself entirely igno- of a Martyrology which is very old j this rant regarding this Life. and several other Kalendars style him
ham, Lancaster, &c.
"
St. Augurius bischop in Ire-
Thomas Dempsterus, de passionis tempore cum Genebrardo consentiens, de patria repugnat : et suae, id est, recentiore Scotioe antiquem Christi martyrem vendicat. Quod ne sine authore fecisse videretur ; Hunibeitevi Scotiim, scriptoretn antiquis- simum in sua historia ejus in Scotia labores
other,
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
Article IV. —St. Medan, Mellan, Meldan, or Meallan Mac Ui
CuiNN, OF Inis Mac-Ui-Cuinn, now Inchiquin, in Loch Oirbsen, now Lough Corrib, County of Galway. [^Stxth and Seventh Centuries? ^ The great celebrity of this holy man is chiefly due to the circumstance of his appearance to St. Fursey/ in that remarkable vision, to which allusion has been
in his Acts.
it does not seem probable, a knowledge of St. Medan or Mellan, or ? leldan
already made,
During
the earlier
under any form of his name—could have been so imperfect, as we are bound to confess it has become in later years. His Acts seem to have perished.
Still, we feel confident, that among the yet unpublished stores of our manu- scriptliterature,furtherdiscoveriesregardinghimcouldbemade. Tothe
authorities, most readily accessible, must we have recourse for these following brief notices. The Acts of St. Meldan, a bishop and confessor, have been compiled from various sources, by Colgan, who has entered notices of him, atthe7thofFebruary. ^ Apreviouscommentaryandactsofthi—ssaintare
—t the same date. + That St. Mellan
given by the Bollandists,3 a probably
the truest form of his name lived at a very early period, we have reason to conclude, from an entry in the "FeiHre" of St. ^ngus. s The Martyrology
of Tallagh^ registers at the 7th of February, Mellan, Insi mic h Cuinn. Marianus O'Gorman has a notice of him, at this same date. The scholiast
The Kalendar of Dmmmond states, at
St. — to Ireland, Mellan, confessor, departed
most writers have assumed it that Mellan or Meallan, mentioned in the Irish martyro- logies, at this date, must necessarily be identified with the St. Meldan,^ who is recorded as having been seen, in the visions of St. Fursey,9 while the latter lived near Lough Orbsen. In the Acts of St. Patrick, we find it related, that a certain Meldanus,'° or Mellanus," a priest, and an Irishman by birth, left his native country, with five other companions, for the purpose of study- ing the Sacred Scriptures, and of visiting holy places. '^ By a happy chance, they met St. Patrick returning from Britain. Falling on their knees, they obtained his blessing, and the Irish Apostle then predicted, that all of these persons should become bishops. ^3 They all applied most sedulously to their
on St. ^ngus likewise coincides.
the vii. Ides of that in February,
Christ. 7 It can
—not be as certain
Studies, and became great scholars.
Article iv. —^ See his Life at the i6th of
January.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum
Confessore," pp. 269 to 271. .
Afterwards, in due course, they were
Of Loch Uar—a noble guest.
vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano Episcopo et
^ Edited Rev. Dr. xiv. by Kelly, p.
3 See "Acta
Februarii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
Episcopo Hiberno, Peronse in Gallia, pp. 66 to 68.
^ This Life is edited by Father Godefrid Henschen.
5 The following rann, for this day, is ex-
Scottish Saints," p. 4.
^ that Meldan Colgan maintains, however,
is equivalent to Mellan. See "Acta Sanc- torum Hibemise," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. , p. 271.
9 His Life will be found at the 1 6th of
January,
'° to According Joceline.
Sanctorum,"
tomus
ii. ,
vii.
tracted Irom the " Leabhar Breac"- and translated by Professor O'Looney
C tin. It) mellAn in-ofe UAifle ITlAc . h. Chuint) nocriAti
LoinAn bochA^n bpige tochA tlAi|\ Apt) Aige.
copy,
Mellan of the noble island,
Of Mac Ua Cuind implore him j Loman the powerful lamp
Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130.
" The reader is referred to a still more
detailed account of these recorded incidents, in the notices of St. Meallan, of Kilrush or of Cloncraff, at the 28th of January, article ii.
^3 See conjectural notices and festivals regarding them, in notes to the memoranda^ already quoted.
deemed, wholly
although
Hibemise,"
7 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
:
—" totheVita S. According Tripartita
of our — ages Christianity,
392 LIVES 01* THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
raised to the episcopal rank. By word and example, they brought many to a sense of their Christian duties, while all of those bishops happily departed totheLord. ^* Theyflourishedtowardsthecloseofthefifthcentury,andit seems probable many of them lived early in the fifth. In the Irish Life of
St. Patrick,'^ this Meldan is said to have been Bishop of Cluancremensis, or Cluain-Chembre,^*^ in Ireland. ^7 The period, at which this St.
Meldan flourished, does not allow us to conclude, that he was identical with him, mentioned in St. Fursey's Acts. In the account of St. Fursey's vision, by Venerable Bede,^^ he alludes to the appearance among the angels of holy and just men. These he does not specially name, but, we are told, they wereScots,andofSt. Fursey'sownnation; thatataformerperiod,theywere celebrated, and that they had not unworthily enjoyed the grade of priests. It is likely, they were named in the more ancient little book of St. Fursey's Life, to which Bede alludes, and quotes as an authority, for a brief account of the vision. In all the other Acts of St. Fursey^^ published, Meldan is the name of that holy person,^^ who was at first—his spiritual father, and who was living—on the island, designated Esbren^' supposed to be incorrectly so called when Fursey visited his part of the country. Loch Oirbsen*^ was the ancient name for the present Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway. On an island of this lake. Saint Meldan's religious establishment was situated. ^3 As we have already stated, this island seems to have been the one, now known as Inchiquin. Here it is thought, that St. Meldan lived, a disciple of St. Brendan, who died on the i6th of May, a. d. 576 or 577, as generally supposed. ^* If so, St. Meldan was born, probably, about the middle of the sixth century. It is conjectured, also, that he aided his pupil, St. Fursey, in ministerialworks,especiallywhilepreaching. ^'s AlthoughSt. Meldanisonly noticed, as a priest, by Venerable Bede ; yet, it has been urged,^^ that he probablyattainedepiscopalrank,^? owingtohistalentsandrenown. =^ He probably lived, too, as an anchoret. It seems highly probable, that the St.
Meldan, who dwelt at Inchiquin, and who flourished about the year 58o,='9 died soon after he had formed the acquaintance of St. Fursey, and in the earlier part of the seventh century, before the commencement of those re- markable visions Fursey had while living in the province of Connaught. In St. Fursey's Acts, at the i6th of January, Saints Meldan and Beoan seem to be
'4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " May—is said to have built the religious
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
house, at this place,
^5 In the Second Book.
Hibhsean, in Western Connaught.
=3 Yxom him it seems to have taken the See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Feb- name of the Island of Mac-Hua-Coinn, or
'^ So is the place written by Henschen.
ruarii vii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
&c. , num. 6, p. 67,
^7 The name seems resolvable into Clon-
craff or Clooncrave. The place has not
Inisquin, now Inchaquin. See more re- garding it in the Life of St. Fursey, at the
i6th of January, chapter iii.
=4 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , sect, vii. , See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis and n. 120, pp. 30, 38.
been identified.
^^ "
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 211, 212. '5> See what has been already stated, in
his Life at the 16th of January.
"^ He is called Mac-Hua-Coinn, because
=5 See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nite," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, cap. i. and n. 7, pp. 269, 271.
=^ By Colgan, ibid, and n. 8.
his origin had been derived from the cele-
brated Monarch of Ireland, Conn of the
Hundred Battles. See Colgan's "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernife," Februarii vii. De Meldans, who were bishops, in liber ordi-
S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. ,
num, cap. i. Colgan thinks one or other of these must have been the present saint.
p. 271. —
='
St. Brendan venerated on the i6th of
='
In Colgan's opinion.
==*
It is said to have been in the region of
=7 By Sacerdos was often meant Episco- pus, according to a usage of ancient writers. =^ St. yEngus the Culdee enumerates two
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 393
considered as Irishmen, by birth. Even it is said there, St. Fursey, on look- ing, beheld these two venerable men of that province, in which the man of God was bom. 30 St. Meldan was the one most familiar, as the Sinedrus or spiritual director of Fursa, who afterwards went to Peronne, according to Cathal Maguire. 3'^ But, at the time of the vision, Meldan was already dead, and numbered among the blessed ; while, his remains were most probably interred, in the first instance, at Inisquin, on Lough Corrib,32 some time after the beginning of the seventh century. Probably, when St. Fursey left Ireland for England, and subsequently for France, he did not chose to dis- turb St. Meldan's remains, while not assured he could find a suitable place for their deposition. Unquestionably this was the St. Meldan that appeared in vision to his disciple and spiritual son, the future Abbot of Lagny, and whose relics the latter brought over to France when there established. Mention is made, regarding another apparition of this St. Meldan to a monk, namedColman. 33 Whetherthishappenedbefore,orafter,thedeathofSt. Comgall,34 has not been determined. Judging by the narrative in the Acts of St. Fursey, St. Meldan was not living, when the Irish missionary went to Gaul. 35 His relics were brought to France, however, by St. Fursey, who deposited them at Perrone, Picardy. Of this town, he is regarded as a
and there honoured. 3^ The translation of St. Meldan's from body
patron,
Ireland probably took place, after Erchinoald37 had founded the Church of
Saints Peter and Paul, on the top of the mount at Cignes, near Perrone.
This happened during the lifetime of St. Fursey, who deposited in this church, moreover, the bodies or relics of St. Bean or Beoan, of St. Patrick,38
and of many other saints,39 as sacred pledges, while through their merits many miracles were afterwards wrought. In this church, St. Fursey himself loved to pray. However, in the seventeenth century, local traditions had not preserved a recollection of the exact spot, where those saintly reHcs lay, at Perrone. The neglect of preceding generations, or the ravages of time, had caused this total oblivion. ^o It does not seem probable, that this St. Meldan, who was a priest, can be identified with the succeeding St. Meldan, called a bishop. '^^ According to Colgan,^^ St. ^ngus places the natal day of St. Meldanus with that of his companions, SS. Nassadius and Beodanus, at the26thofOctober. 43 Atthissamedate,theMartyrologyofTallaghtsays, that three saints from Britain lived at Tamlachta Umhail, in the region of
3° In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xvi, Januarii. Vita S. P'urssei, lib. i. , cap. xxi. , p. 79. Also, Desmay's Life of St. Fursey, chapter vii. , at the 9th of Feb-
^s gee Bishop Challoner's ''Britannia
Sancta," part i,, p. ill.
37 He was Major-domo to King Clevis II.
of France,
38 it is difficult to determine who these
saints were, as we find multiple names in our calendars.
39 Whether of Ireland or of the Continent cannot be known.
^o c^gg " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii vii. De S. Meldano, Epis- copo et Confessore, cap. iv,, v. , p. 270.
288.
31 When treating about St. Fursey, at the
1 6th of January.
32 See the highly interesting description of this fine expanse of water, in Sir William
ruary, ibid. , p.
R. Wilde's "
Lough
Corrib, its Shores and
Islands ; with some notices of Lough Mask,"
chap. ii. , pp. 18 to 38, with Appendix B.
4i See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Medano, 34 His departure is usually assigned to sive Meldano. Commentarius prasvius,
33 This is related in the Life of St. Com- gall, chapter Iv.
the loth of May, a. d. 601. See his Life at
num. 5, p. 67. ''
that
35 Colgan supposes St. Meldan died before
the year 626. See "Acta Sanctorum Hi- bemias," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , and n. ii, p. 271.
'^See ActaSanctorumHibemise,"Feb-
day.
ruariivii,, n. I, p. 271.
43 The reader is referred to their Acts, at
that day, where further remarks, in reference to the Saints Meldan and Beoan, of St. Fursey's vision, will be found.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJ^TS. [February 7.
Ivechia, in Ultonia. They dwelt near Lake Bricreann. 44 These tliree are called Nasad; Beoan and Mellan. They lived in the same church. As tlieir province was Ultonia, however, this seems alone sufficient to make us doubt, if the Beoan and Meldan of St. Fursey's vision can be identified with two of thenumberhavingaccordantnames. ^s Thissaintmusthavebeenfamous atonetime,sincemanychurcheswerededicatedtohim. Sometimes,aswe aretold,heiscalledMedan. ^*^ Theremovalofhisremains,toafardistant land, does not appear to have occasioned forgetfulness of his merits and miracles in the province, which seems to have been the one that can best lay claim to his nativity. Around the beautiful shores and islands of Lough Corrib, his name was long a household word. He is mentioned in the list ofsaintsfoundintheMartyrologyofDonegal. 47 Thereweread,asbeing venerated on this day, Meallan, Mac Ui Cuinn, of Inis Mac Ui Cuinn, in
LochOirbsen,inConnaught.
