Patricks
who is called the Filiolus or " little
"
"Feilire" of St.
"
"Feilire" of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Lanigan, the existing varieties of statement and obscurities of legendary traditions point to the conclusion, that San or the senior Patrick is not to be distinguished from the illustrious St.
Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland.
* His arguments, however, are not conclusive.
Already have we discussed this subject, but in a brief and cursory manner, in a previous division of this work.
s
It has been stated, that Glastonbury, centrally situated in Somersetshire, England, was formerly distinguished for its celebrated Abbey. A very
remote origin has been assigned to the original foundation ;
difficult to separate its authentic from its legendary history.
6
but, it is now In the most
ancient charters of the monastery, Glastonbury is styled the fountain and
origin of all religion in the realm of Britain. It claims to have been founded
by Joseph of Arimathea,? whom Philip the Apostle of Gaul sent to preach
the Gospel there. It is related, likewise, that when the first church had
Devi, Bishop spot. Subsequently, when it had decayed, twelve persons from the north of England effected once more the work of restoration. ' Moreover, a tradition prevailed, that St. Patrick came thither from Ireland, about a. d. 439, and
fallen into ruins, of Saint David's, rebuilt it on the same 8
of his life in that 10 where he formed the monastery,
spent thirty years
brethren, who had previously lived in huts scattered round the church, into
a regular community. There, too, he is said to have died, and to have been buried. " However, all this account seems to be apocryphal ; and the
2"
Sec Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesi- observed in the monastery from very remote
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. vii. , sect, ii. , and nn. , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 324 to 331.
times.
8
See the Third Volume of this work, at the 1st of March, Art. i. , Life of St. David, Archbishop of Menevia, and Chief Patron of Wales, chap. iii.
9 On this whole subject of enquiry, re-
garding the antiquity and traditions of
Glastonbury, the reader is referred to
Archbishop Ussher's very learned disserta-
,0
Before the foundation of the monastery by King Ina, it is stated, that there had been an ancient Church at Glastonbury, and which had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to St. Patrick.
11
In giving the history of Glastonbury, William of Malmesbury, only mentions this account with hesitation. M Jacet ibi Patricius, si credere dignum, natione Britto, beati Germani Autisiodorensis discipulus, quern, a Papa Celestino ordinatum episco- pum, Hiberniensibus misit apostolum. Qui, cum multis annis in conversione illius gentis suo agente labore, Dei gratia cooperante, non nichil promovisset, tandem annosa; peregrinationis tedio simul et vicino senio admonitus, — redeundum ratus, ibi
3 In Archbishop Ussher's work, " Britan- nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 464, he refers to a Glastonbury poetaster's account of them.
"
Sunt hujus nominis, tene certissime, Tres Sancti Prsesules : primus Hiberniro
Archiepiscopus; alterAvernise. Qua- natus fuerat ternus Hibernise
Archiepiscopus primus Hiberniae.
Is primus postea Abbas Glastonise,
Natus Britannia prseclaro genere : Ut sua Vita declarat optime. "
4 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect. ii. pp. 323 to 325.
'
Seethe Third Volume, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xxv,
6"
See Samuel Lewis, Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , pp. 296 to 298.
7 It is rather a remarkable coincidence in connexion with this place, that his festival
been held on the
has
which is also the day for St. Patrick's chief feast. Hence may have arisen the tradition of the Irish monks at Glastonbury, that their great Apostle died, and was interred there, as their Patron's festival had- been
always
17th
of March,
patriam
diem clausit. " Willelmi Malmesbiriensis
" quitates,"cap. vi. ,pp. 53to73.
tion in
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Monachi "De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. ii. , p. 197. Edited from the Autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, London, 1870, 8vo.
3So LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
real foundation of the monastery of Glastonbury has been referred to Ina,
King of the West Saxons, who flourished towards the close of the seventh
and beginning of the eighth century. " The monastery, at the time of its first foundation, appears to have been colonised chiefly with monks from Ireland, and to it great numbers of pilgrims came from our Island, so that it was designated Glastonbury of the Irish.
The Bollandists have some observations regarding two different saints, named Patrick, at this date ; one of these is supposed to have been con-
1
edited by the Bollandists, * there is an entry at the 24th of August, regarding
the deposition of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the monastery of Glastonbury, in Britain. Regarding him, they avow entire ignorance as to whom and in
nected with
in the territory of Nivernais, a tract lying between the Rivers Loire and Allier, in Gaul. 1 * Thus, in addition to the ancient Martyrology of Usuard,
what
position
he had been. '6
But,
at this
very
same another St. day,
Glastonbury monastery
in
England,
Abbot,
Patrick is venerated, and who was born in Auvergne, the son of wealthy
and highly distinguished parents. He retired from the world and took
refuge in the monastery of the holy Abbot Porcian, and in a place still
called after him Saint Pourcain, in the department of Allier, *» there to form
his conduct of life to the practice of all virtues. 18 Afterwards desiring to
lead a solitary life, and having obtained leave from his master, together
with Germanus and his nephew Germanion, Patrick retired to a desert place
near the present town of Nivernois, where he spent the time in constant
and 1? prayer, fasting vigils.
To
compensate
him for such the sacrifices,
Almighty was pleased to grant him the gift of miracles, and to reserve for
him the
glory
of —to Christ the inhabitants of that
20 converting Jesus territory.
However, this St. Patrick — confounded with different although apparently
persons bearing the same name in our island any particular connexion with Ireland.
does not seem to have
had
" His reign over the West Saxons, lasted composed of the eastern section of the from a. D. 688 to 726. See John Speed's ancient Bourbonnais, and of a small portion
"
History of Great Britaine," &c. The of Auvergne. It is intersected from north to
Seventh Booke, chap, vii. , pp. 306, 307.
13 See notices of him in "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus iv. , Augusti, xxiv. Among the pretermitted Saints, pp. 741, 742.
l * No ancient acts of this saint survive but, Father William Cuper, S J. , has a Dissertation, " De Sancto Patricio Abbate in Territorio Nivernensi Gallise," and it treats about the veneration, incidents and probable period of this saint, in a Historic
south, by two low ranges of granitic
mountains, whose highest summits do not
exceed 2,300 feet. These separate the
basin of the Allier from that of the Loire on
the and from that of the Cher on the east,
west. The mineral springs of this district
have long been celebrated ; those of Neris,
Bourbon-l'Archambault, and Vichy, are the most frequented. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. i. , p. 172.
,8 See LesPetits " Vies des Bollandistes,
Saints," tome x. , xxive jour d'Aout, p. 166, note I.
Sylloge 781 to 783.
paragraphs.
of nine
See
;
ibid. , pp.
15 From the copy of a Manuscript described as belonging to Rosweyde, " et de quo
"
" According to Andreas Saussay, in his
ad eumdem
add a
quis posset, hunc esse ipsum abbatem
synonymum Nivernensem, de quo supra ;
imperito aliquo pro Nivernis legente vel
substituente Hibernis ; qui agi ratus de Parize of the Diocese of Nevers. But Patricio Hibernorum apostolo, traxerit eum during that period of folly and impiety, his
in Britanniam ad monasterium Glastoniense, relics were dispersed. See Monseigneur ""
ejusque praefecturam. Crosnier's Hagiologie Nivernaise," which 17 One of the most central in France, treats of this saint.
in
agitur praefacione
pag. lvii. "
Usuardum,
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum," of August.
at the
24th
16
They
20 Before the
relics reposed in a curious crypt under the sanctuary of that church, which had been dedicated to him, and now known as Saint-
conjecture :
suspicari
year 1793,
his
precious
x 3 while the other was
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 351
The published Martyrology of Tallagh" records, at this present date, a St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis dela. In like form, he is commemo- rated in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. " This appears to have been the holy personage, distinguished in other ancient records as Sen Patraic. The Calendar of Cashel, which is reputed to be a work ot
9
the eleventh century 3 and consequently written after the promulgation of ,
certain presumed Glastonbury fables, has an account of this Saint, as having been connected with the latter ancient place, as also with Ros-Dela, in the territory of Magh-lacha. This denomination most probably may be identified
with 2* a townland in the Rossdalla,
of Durrow, near and Kilbeggan,
parish
in the County of Westmeath. The Irish etymon Ros-Deala means in
English, " Deala's Wood. "as It is clear, that both Fiech and his very ancient scholiast distinguished Sen Patrick from the great Irish Apostle ; and the latter supposes the Senior Patrick to have been at Ros-Dela and Glastonbury, while doubtful as to which of these places may possess his remains. 26 There appears to exist no old or authentic account of the Irish Apostle having ever been at Glastonbury, notwithstanding the received local tradition ; nor do any of his ancient Lives record such a sojourn, so that the
2?
or Epistola
de 8 be Antiquitate Avalonica,' may regarded
Charta S. Patricii,
as spurious, and it indeed bears internal evidence of not being a genuine deed. It may have been the case, that in after times one of the early colony of Irish monks, named Patrick, had been called to preside over the monasteryofGlastonbury; andsuchhadbeenthereverenceentertainedfor the illustrious Irish 2* and the desire to him as their chief
Apostle, regard
patron, it seems probable enough, that some historic doubts arose on the
subject of identification, and which might have been resolved in favour of such adoption. Still it is more than likely, that another and a different Abbot Patrick was there, and such a conclusion is also in accordance with very early traditions. The choice of acceptance, however, appears to be between a Senior and a Junior Patrick. From all that we can learn, both lived contemporaneously with the Apostle of Ireland, and both are classed amonghisdisciples; but,wecannotknowmuchmoreregardingtheirpersonal
acts.
Among the disciples of the great Irish Apostle, and venerated on the 24th of August, we find a St. Patrick, Senior, said to have been nephew of the former, whose sister was his mother. 3° From the title given to him, we should be led to suppose, not that he was the first in order of time or missionary career ; but, either that he had relative priority of some other
91 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxii.
22 Thus, pacfocn ab Agur epi TUnr 'Dela.
' 7 This is to be found in William of
Malmesbury's treatise, De Antiquitate Eccle-
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," Januarii i. De S. Fanchea Virgine, ex
Vita S. Endei, n. 25, num. iv. , p. 5.
24 We find no account of this place as a
religious site in the work of Archdall, not even in the exhaustive and researchful work of Rev. Anthony Cogan,"The Ecclesiastical History of the Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern. "
33 See
Colgan's
siae Glastoniensis, in Gale's "xv.
It has been given also by Archbishop Ussher
a8
It was never heard of until after the Norman Invasion of England. It received the latter title from the old name of the Ava- Ionia island, on which the monastery of Glastonbury was situated.
*s " 29 "
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (u. ), p. 866. History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
86
"
tates," cap. xvii. , p. 456.
in his
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiqui-
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," ii. , n. 17, p. 328.
3° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Hymnus seu Prima Vita S. Patricii Hiber-
niae Apostoli S- Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi
Authore, p. 3, and Scholia Veteris Scholi-
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
3I Thus is it entered in the "Leabhar
astse,
n. 6, ibid. 29^ p.
Scriptores. "
352 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
Patrick, as to the period when he lived, or perhaps because he attained to an extraordinary age. The feast of Old Patrick is commemorated in the
of To this notice, the August.
Scholiast in the Leabhar Breac copy has attached comments, in Irish and Latin. 33 From the date of his festival, it seems to be established, that in the eighth or ninth century, in the Irish Church, Old Patrick was distinguished from the great Apostle of Ireland, in ecclesiastical traditions.
"
Moreover, we may infer from the record in the
lived, at latest in the eighth, if not in some previous century.
As an early writer of the Acts and Miracles of the illustrious Apostle of Ireland, Jocelyn alludes to a St.
Patricks who is called the Filiolus or " little
"
"Feilire" of St. 1 at the MngasJ
furnished by Whitley Stokes, LL. D.
tAfpeicri ftoig ZenAcii •AcAfceoiL poclocha Sen p. acr\4ic cin5 eacha Coemaice Ar»n\ocVi4.
cxxxii. , cxxxiii. "
24th ""
of St. Luman,34 Bishop and nephew to the great St. Patrick. At least,
son
such appears to be the inference and relationship, as drawn from the Latin context of that narrative. 35 " filiolus " be understood, as
"With the heap of Zenobius' (? ) host, whose stories were famed, Old- Patrick, champion
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi. , p. 106, and nn. 177, 178, p. 116.
3* His feast occurs on the 17th of Febru- ary, where an account of him maybe found, in the Second Volume of this work, at that date, Art. iii.
— Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series.
.
3S The words of Jocelyn are: "Quatuor
of battle, loveable tutor of our sage. " "
tamen codices de virtutibus et miraculis partim Latine partim Hibernice conscripti reperiuntur,quos diversistemporibus quatuor discipuli ejus, videlicet beatus Benignus suc- cessor illius, et sanctus Mel Episcopus, et sanctus Lumanus Pontifex nepos ejus, et sanctus Patricius filiolus ejus, qui post dis- sesum patrui sui Britanniam remeans in fata decessit, et in Glosconensi Ecclesia sepultus honorifice, conscripsisse referuntur. "
3<sSeeArchbishopUssher'sBritannicarum
On the Calendar of Oengus, p. exxv.
3* Thus to Sen pacnAic is the comment
of attempted identification, as rendered in
u
i. e. , in Glastonbury of the Gael in Saxon-land. Old-Patrick of Ros Dela in Mag Locha, sed uerius est that he may be in Glastonbury of the Gael in the south of Saxon-land. (ForIrishmenformerlyused
English:
However, may
meaning not the carnal but the spiritual or religiously adopted son of St. Luman. Wherefore, should we credit the local tradition, as handed down by Jocelyn, this Patrick must be considered as the one who went to Glastonbury, on the death of his uncle, the great St. Patrick. He was buried there, we are told, and his memory was likewise held in veneration. Moreover, that little son has been called Patrick Junior, and he is distinguished, both from the Irish Apostle and from Patrick Senior. 36 A Patrick Junior flourished, it is possible, as Abbot of Glastonbury ; and it is stated, about the year 850. 37 This calculation, however, should remove him far from the fifth or sixth century ; so that consequently, he could not have
been nephew to the Irish Apostle.
A very ancient tradition has been given in the Irish Hymn or Metrical
Life of St. Patrick, attributed to his disciple St. Fiech, Bishop of Slebthe, in which it is stated, that the Irish Apostle when he died went to another
8
take the commentator's explanation of this verse, that other Patrick alluded
Patrick, and that together they ascended to Jesus, the Son of Mary. 3 1
If we
Breac "copy, with the English transl—ation
Patricii episcopi doctoris Patricii. " See
:
ibid. , pp.
35 See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga,"
to dwell there in pilgrimage. ) But, his Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p.
relics are in Old-Patrick's stone-tomb in Armagh. " Again, that Scholiast connects the sage with the period of Patrick of
464.
37 According to Archbishop Ussher. This,
writerquotes as an authority Ranulph of Ches-
Armagh,
lib. v. ,
Still we do not find the words there quoted
of whom our
saint was the in his " present ter,
loving tutor and contemporary. To this is added in Latin, "i. e. , in Britannia Sancti
cap. 4. in Gale's edition of the xv. Scriptores.
Feilire," that he must have
Polychronicon,"
ejus
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 353
to was sen or the senior Patrick, whose death was waited for by the Irish Apostle's spirit, from the seventeenth of the April Kalends to the end of the
following August. Wherefore, it should be inferred, that the Irish Apostle pre-deceasedthesenorseniorPatrick. ^ Aboutthelattermuchcontroversy has been raised. Marianus states, that he was of Ros-dela, in the country of Mag-lacha, and where he is thought to have been interred. There he is placed, also, by the Calendar of Cashel and by Fiech's Scholiast, in a par- ticular passage. They add, however, that it is nearer the truth to suppose he was not buried there, but at Glastonbury, a city in the southern territory of the Saxons. «° The place called Ros Daela is said to have been in West-
meath ; but, the exact spot has not been more particularly specified. Ros- 1
dela was in Ossory according to Colgan. * There he places also Mag-
2 43
lacha,* yet he has a Mag-lacha in Thomond. In this territory, we find a
which was the
of St. Senan of
4*
An old Catalogue of the Prelates,4* in the See of Armagh, names Sech- nall 46 as immediately succeeding the great founder, and reigning there for
8
six years,*? while Sen Patraic, a domestic of the Irish Apostle,* is repre-
sented as immediately succeeding him, and ruling there for ten years. This Sean Patraic is called the head of the wise Seniors of St. Patrick's household. 4 »
However, notwithstanding the order of succession, as given for the See of
Armagh, the Annals of the Four Master place the death of Old Patrick at a. d.
457, when that See was founded,50 and during the lifetime of Patrick, son
of Calphurn, son of Potaide, Archbishop, first Primate, and chief Apostle of
Ireland, whose death they record at a. d. 493,51 or thirty-six years later.
These are inconsistencies of date and statement resting most probably upon
falsehistoricalassumptions. Itispossible,nevertheless,thatthePatrickof
Ros-dela was the real Patrick of Glastonbury ; yet, it should not be safe to
advance such an opinion, with any degree of certainty, as we know so little
about his rank and position, or even of his period. In a lengthy note,
Colgan examines the statement of Fiech regarding the two Saints, named
Patrick, and who went together to heaven. He rejects the opinion of the
scholiast, that San Patrick could have been the one to whom allusion was
made 52 in the first place, because he is said to have pre-deceased the Irish ;
Index Topographicus.
44 See his Life, at the 8th of March, in
theThirdVolumeofthiswork,Art. i.
Mag-lacha,
birth-place
Inniscathy.
38 Thus runs the translation into Latin by
Colgan, of the Irish strophe:— '
r. j-<Ammm • t) . • • „
&, a
£Sl^^ Venit Patricium alterum
«Tb» ,o have been found in the appears
d
JLi simul ascenderunt
„
Psalter of Cashel.
Ad
—"Trias
Prima Vita S. Patricii Hibernise Apostoli. S. Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi Authore,
strophe 33, p. 3.
39 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that
Sen Patrick is not to be distinguished from
"
46
\
the Irish Apostle. See
Jesum
filium Maris.
t ir
" Thaumaturga, Hymnus
seu
festival at the of November, occurs, 27th
where his Acts are to be found, in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
47 See Ussher's "Britannicarum Ecclesi-
arum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 454.
48 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , ^'Archbishops
of Armagh," p. 34.
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, ii. , — 49 According to the Irish poem of Flann,
pp. 323 to 325.
40 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
Prima Vita S. Patricii. Scholia Veteris
Scholiasts, n. 29ff. , p. 6. See, also, Notse in Scholiastem S. Fieci, n. 48. , p. 10.
41 See the Index Topographicus to "Trias Thaumaturga," p. 716.
. on the Household of St. Patrick, as solved in the Book of Lecan, fol. 44 b.
so See Dr. John O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , pp. 142, 143 and n. (e).
*« See ibid. , pp. 154 to 159.
S2 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Hymnus seu Prima Vita S. Patricii Hibernia Apos-
Ecclesiastical His-
42
43 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniw," Notse Alise in Fiecum, n. 22, p. 7.
See ibid. , p. 715.
toli S. Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi Authore, Z
O^t"he«rTMwi»sec Secundinus, and called Pri- '
^f
mate of Armagh by some writers. His
pre-
354 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
Apostle, and secondly, because a St. Patrick, Bishop of Nivemais, died on the 1 6th of March, and a St. Patrick, Bishop of Nola, had his festival on the 17th, the anniversary of the Irish Apostle's death. Either of the latter two, he supposes, might have been him spoken of as ascending with St. Patrick to
heaven. The only ancient authority we find for making the present holy man a bishop, as well as an abbot, is the Martyrology of Tallagh. The " Feilire " of ^Engus has no other distinction for him, than that he was tutor of the great St. Patrick. Nor do we find Ros-Dela noted in any of our ancient records, as the seat of a bishop. Nevertheless, under the head of Ros-dela, Duald MacFirbiss enters, Old Patrick, a bishop and an abbot of
Ros-dela, in Magh Lacha, at August the 24th. 53
Whosoever of the different Patricks venerated as saints in Ireland the
present may have been, it is supposed probable, and accordant with an ancient tradition, that he went from Ireland to Glastonbury, there to seek peace and rest. A cause for his removal has also been assigned. On account of the rebellious people he met with, that St. Patrick is said to have left Ireland,54 and to have sought the monastery of Glastonbury. There he died, on the feast of St. Bartholomew, the Apostle. 55 Wherefore, it has been supposed, that the festival of the second St. Patrick or the Minor had been held also on that same day. He was regarded as an Abbot but not as a Bishop, and to him we are told the Purgatory of St. Patrick should be ascribed. Moreover, the Abbey of Glastonbury is thought to have numbere—d
Sen-Patricks6—called St. " the tutor of our "
holy by ^Engus
apostle among its abbots. Another office he is said to have held, as being head of
the Irish Apostles' Seniors. 57 It is stated, besides, that this pious man resigned his charge at Glastonbury, and that he went to Ireland with his greatdisciple. Here,too,helabouredintheconversionofournation. Atthe closeofhislife,itis hereturnedtohis 8 The
thought monasteryat Glastonbury. s Patrick, who was nephew to the great Irish Apostle, according to Jocelin,5^ after the death of his uncle, retired to Glastonbury, and was there buried.
In this point, he is followed by the Bollandists. They add a circumstance, however, directly opposite to what he states ; for they make this Patrick succeed his uncle in the See of Armagh and govern it for ten years. Now Jocelin only states, that after the uncle's death, he went straight to Britain, and remained there for the rest of his life.
To avoid the many difficulties that occurred on this subject, the Bolland- ists gave a new turn to the name Sen-Patrick? According to them, it does not mean Patrick, senior, or the Elder, but the son of Sannan, called Deacon Sannan. APatrickwhowasthesonofSannan,andcalledDeaconSannan,
53 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 126, 127.
54 •' See
late Fellow of Magdalen College, Cam-
bridge, vol. v. , lib. v. , cap. iv. , pp. 304 to
307.
It has been stated, that Glastonbury, centrally situated in Somersetshire, England, was formerly distinguished for its celebrated Abbey. A very
remote origin has been assigned to the original foundation ;
difficult to separate its authentic from its legendary history.
6
but, it is now In the most
ancient charters of the monastery, Glastonbury is styled the fountain and
origin of all religion in the realm of Britain. It claims to have been founded
by Joseph of Arimathea,? whom Philip the Apostle of Gaul sent to preach
the Gospel there. It is related, likewise, that when the first church had
Devi, Bishop spot. Subsequently, when it had decayed, twelve persons from the north of England effected once more the work of restoration. ' Moreover, a tradition prevailed, that St. Patrick came thither from Ireland, about a. d. 439, and
fallen into ruins, of Saint David's, rebuilt it on the same 8
of his life in that 10 where he formed the monastery,
spent thirty years
brethren, who had previously lived in huts scattered round the church, into
a regular community. There, too, he is said to have died, and to have been buried. " However, all this account seems to be apocryphal ; and the
2"
Sec Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesi- observed in the monastery from very remote
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. vii. , sect, ii. , and nn. , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 324 to 331.
times.
8
See the Third Volume of this work, at the 1st of March, Art. i. , Life of St. David, Archbishop of Menevia, and Chief Patron of Wales, chap. iii.
9 On this whole subject of enquiry, re-
garding the antiquity and traditions of
Glastonbury, the reader is referred to
Archbishop Ussher's very learned disserta-
,0
Before the foundation of the monastery by King Ina, it is stated, that there had been an ancient Church at Glastonbury, and which had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to St. Patrick.
11
In giving the history of Glastonbury, William of Malmesbury, only mentions this account with hesitation. M Jacet ibi Patricius, si credere dignum, natione Britto, beati Germani Autisiodorensis discipulus, quern, a Papa Celestino ordinatum episco- pum, Hiberniensibus misit apostolum. Qui, cum multis annis in conversione illius gentis suo agente labore, Dei gratia cooperante, non nichil promovisset, tandem annosa; peregrinationis tedio simul et vicino senio admonitus, — redeundum ratus, ibi
3 In Archbishop Ussher's work, " Britan- nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 464, he refers to a Glastonbury poetaster's account of them.
"
Sunt hujus nominis, tene certissime, Tres Sancti Prsesules : primus Hiberniro
Archiepiscopus; alterAvernise. Qua- natus fuerat ternus Hibernise
Archiepiscopus primus Hiberniae.
Is primus postea Abbas Glastonise,
Natus Britannia prseclaro genere : Ut sua Vita declarat optime. "
4 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect. ii. pp. 323 to 325.
'
Seethe Third Volume, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xxv,
6"
See Samuel Lewis, Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , pp. 296 to 298.
7 It is rather a remarkable coincidence in connexion with this place, that his festival
been held on the
has
which is also the day for St. Patrick's chief feast. Hence may have arisen the tradition of the Irish monks at Glastonbury, that their great Apostle died, and was interred there, as their Patron's festival had- been
always
17th
of March,
patriam
diem clausit. " Willelmi Malmesbiriensis
" quitates,"cap. vi. ,pp. 53to73.
tion in
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Monachi "De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. ii. , p. 197. Edited from the Autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, London, 1870, 8vo.
3So LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
real foundation of the monastery of Glastonbury has been referred to Ina,
King of the West Saxons, who flourished towards the close of the seventh
and beginning of the eighth century. " The monastery, at the time of its first foundation, appears to have been colonised chiefly with monks from Ireland, and to it great numbers of pilgrims came from our Island, so that it was designated Glastonbury of the Irish.
The Bollandists have some observations regarding two different saints, named Patrick, at this date ; one of these is supposed to have been con-
1
edited by the Bollandists, * there is an entry at the 24th of August, regarding
the deposition of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the monastery of Glastonbury, in Britain. Regarding him, they avow entire ignorance as to whom and in
nected with
in the territory of Nivernais, a tract lying between the Rivers Loire and Allier, in Gaul. 1 * Thus, in addition to the ancient Martyrology of Usuard,
what
position
he had been. '6
But,
at this
very
same another St. day,
Glastonbury monastery
in
England,
Abbot,
Patrick is venerated, and who was born in Auvergne, the son of wealthy
and highly distinguished parents. He retired from the world and took
refuge in the monastery of the holy Abbot Porcian, and in a place still
called after him Saint Pourcain, in the department of Allier, *» there to form
his conduct of life to the practice of all virtues. 18 Afterwards desiring to
lead a solitary life, and having obtained leave from his master, together
with Germanus and his nephew Germanion, Patrick retired to a desert place
near the present town of Nivernois, where he spent the time in constant
and 1? prayer, fasting vigils.
To
compensate
him for such the sacrifices,
Almighty was pleased to grant him the gift of miracles, and to reserve for
him the
glory
of —to Christ the inhabitants of that
20 converting Jesus territory.
However, this St. Patrick — confounded with different although apparently
persons bearing the same name in our island any particular connexion with Ireland.
does not seem to have
had
" His reign over the West Saxons, lasted composed of the eastern section of the from a. D. 688 to 726. See John Speed's ancient Bourbonnais, and of a small portion
"
History of Great Britaine," &c. The of Auvergne. It is intersected from north to
Seventh Booke, chap, vii. , pp. 306, 307.
13 See notices of him in "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus iv. , Augusti, xxiv. Among the pretermitted Saints, pp. 741, 742.
l * No ancient acts of this saint survive but, Father William Cuper, S J. , has a Dissertation, " De Sancto Patricio Abbate in Territorio Nivernensi Gallise," and it treats about the veneration, incidents and probable period of this saint, in a Historic
south, by two low ranges of granitic
mountains, whose highest summits do not
exceed 2,300 feet. These separate the
basin of the Allier from that of the Loire on
the and from that of the Cher on the east,
west. The mineral springs of this district
have long been celebrated ; those of Neris,
Bourbon-l'Archambault, and Vichy, are the most frequented. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. i. , p. 172.
,8 See LesPetits " Vies des Bollandistes,
Saints," tome x. , xxive jour d'Aout, p. 166, note I.
Sylloge 781 to 783.
paragraphs.
of nine
See
;
ibid. , pp.
15 From the copy of a Manuscript described as belonging to Rosweyde, " et de quo
"
" According to Andreas Saussay, in his
ad eumdem
add a
quis posset, hunc esse ipsum abbatem
synonymum Nivernensem, de quo supra ;
imperito aliquo pro Nivernis legente vel
substituente Hibernis ; qui agi ratus de Parize of the Diocese of Nevers. But Patricio Hibernorum apostolo, traxerit eum during that period of folly and impiety, his
in Britanniam ad monasterium Glastoniense, relics were dispersed. See Monseigneur ""
ejusque praefecturam. Crosnier's Hagiologie Nivernaise," which 17 One of the most central in France, treats of this saint.
in
agitur praefacione
pag. lvii. "
Usuardum,
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum," of August.
at the
24th
16
They
20 Before the
relics reposed in a curious crypt under the sanctuary of that church, which had been dedicated to him, and now known as Saint-
conjecture :
suspicari
year 1793,
his
precious
x 3 while the other was
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 351
The published Martyrology of Tallagh" records, at this present date, a St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis dela. In like form, he is commemo- rated in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. " This appears to have been the holy personage, distinguished in other ancient records as Sen Patraic. The Calendar of Cashel, which is reputed to be a work ot
9
the eleventh century 3 and consequently written after the promulgation of ,
certain presumed Glastonbury fables, has an account of this Saint, as having been connected with the latter ancient place, as also with Ros-Dela, in the territory of Magh-lacha. This denomination most probably may be identified
with 2* a townland in the Rossdalla,
of Durrow, near and Kilbeggan,
parish
in the County of Westmeath. The Irish etymon Ros-Deala means in
English, " Deala's Wood. "as It is clear, that both Fiech and his very ancient scholiast distinguished Sen Patrick from the great Irish Apostle ; and the latter supposes the Senior Patrick to have been at Ros-Dela and Glastonbury, while doubtful as to which of these places may possess his remains. 26 There appears to exist no old or authentic account of the Irish Apostle having ever been at Glastonbury, notwithstanding the received local tradition ; nor do any of his ancient Lives record such a sojourn, so that the
2?
or Epistola
de 8 be Antiquitate Avalonica,' may regarded
Charta S. Patricii,
as spurious, and it indeed bears internal evidence of not being a genuine deed. It may have been the case, that in after times one of the early colony of Irish monks, named Patrick, had been called to preside over the monasteryofGlastonbury; andsuchhadbeenthereverenceentertainedfor the illustrious Irish 2* and the desire to him as their chief
Apostle, regard
patron, it seems probable enough, that some historic doubts arose on the
subject of identification, and which might have been resolved in favour of such adoption. Still it is more than likely, that another and a different Abbot Patrick was there, and such a conclusion is also in accordance with very early traditions. The choice of acceptance, however, appears to be between a Senior and a Junior Patrick. From all that we can learn, both lived contemporaneously with the Apostle of Ireland, and both are classed amonghisdisciples; but,wecannotknowmuchmoreregardingtheirpersonal
acts.
Among the disciples of the great Irish Apostle, and venerated on the 24th of August, we find a St. Patrick, Senior, said to have been nephew of the former, whose sister was his mother. 3° From the title given to him, we should be led to suppose, not that he was the first in order of time or missionary career ; but, either that he had relative priority of some other
91 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxii.
22 Thus, pacfocn ab Agur epi TUnr 'Dela.
' 7 This is to be found in William of
Malmesbury's treatise, De Antiquitate Eccle-
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," Januarii i. De S. Fanchea Virgine, ex
Vita S. Endei, n. 25, num. iv. , p. 5.
24 We find no account of this place as a
religious site in the work of Archdall, not even in the exhaustive and researchful work of Rev. Anthony Cogan,"The Ecclesiastical History of the Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern. "
33 See
Colgan's
siae Glastoniensis, in Gale's "xv.
It has been given also by Archbishop Ussher
a8
It was never heard of until after the Norman Invasion of England. It received the latter title from the old name of the Ava- Ionia island, on which the monastery of Glastonbury was situated.
*s " 29 "
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (u. ), p. 866. History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
86
"
tates," cap. xvii. , p. 456.
in his
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiqui-
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," ii. , n. 17, p. 328.
3° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Hymnus seu Prima Vita S. Patricii Hiber-
niae Apostoli S- Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi
Authore, p. 3, and Scholia Veteris Scholi-
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
3I Thus is it entered in the "Leabhar
astse,
n. 6, ibid. 29^ p.
Scriptores. "
352 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
Patrick, as to the period when he lived, or perhaps because he attained to an extraordinary age. The feast of Old Patrick is commemorated in the
of To this notice, the August.
Scholiast in the Leabhar Breac copy has attached comments, in Irish and Latin. 33 From the date of his festival, it seems to be established, that in the eighth or ninth century, in the Irish Church, Old Patrick was distinguished from the great Apostle of Ireland, in ecclesiastical traditions.
"
Moreover, we may infer from the record in the
lived, at latest in the eighth, if not in some previous century.
As an early writer of the Acts and Miracles of the illustrious Apostle of Ireland, Jocelyn alludes to a St.
Patricks who is called the Filiolus or " little
"
"Feilire" of St. 1 at the MngasJ
furnished by Whitley Stokes, LL. D.
tAfpeicri ftoig ZenAcii •AcAfceoiL poclocha Sen p. acr\4ic cin5 eacha Coemaice Ar»n\ocVi4.
cxxxii. , cxxxiii. "
24th ""
of St. Luman,34 Bishop and nephew to the great St. Patrick. At least,
son
such appears to be the inference and relationship, as drawn from the Latin context of that narrative. 35 " filiolus " be understood, as
"With the heap of Zenobius' (? ) host, whose stories were famed, Old- Patrick, champion
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi. , p. 106, and nn. 177, 178, p. 116.
3* His feast occurs on the 17th of Febru- ary, where an account of him maybe found, in the Second Volume of this work, at that date, Art. iii.
— Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series.
.
3S The words of Jocelyn are: "Quatuor
of battle, loveable tutor of our sage. " "
tamen codices de virtutibus et miraculis partim Latine partim Hibernice conscripti reperiuntur,quos diversistemporibus quatuor discipuli ejus, videlicet beatus Benignus suc- cessor illius, et sanctus Mel Episcopus, et sanctus Lumanus Pontifex nepos ejus, et sanctus Patricius filiolus ejus, qui post dis- sesum patrui sui Britanniam remeans in fata decessit, et in Glosconensi Ecclesia sepultus honorifice, conscripsisse referuntur. "
3<sSeeArchbishopUssher'sBritannicarum
On the Calendar of Oengus, p. exxv.
3* Thus to Sen pacnAic is the comment
of attempted identification, as rendered in
u
i. e. , in Glastonbury of the Gael in Saxon-land. Old-Patrick of Ros Dela in Mag Locha, sed uerius est that he may be in Glastonbury of the Gael in the south of Saxon-land. (ForIrishmenformerlyused
English:
However, may
meaning not the carnal but the spiritual or religiously adopted son of St. Luman. Wherefore, should we credit the local tradition, as handed down by Jocelyn, this Patrick must be considered as the one who went to Glastonbury, on the death of his uncle, the great St. Patrick. He was buried there, we are told, and his memory was likewise held in veneration. Moreover, that little son has been called Patrick Junior, and he is distinguished, both from the Irish Apostle and from Patrick Senior. 36 A Patrick Junior flourished, it is possible, as Abbot of Glastonbury ; and it is stated, about the year 850. 37 This calculation, however, should remove him far from the fifth or sixth century ; so that consequently, he could not have
been nephew to the Irish Apostle.
A very ancient tradition has been given in the Irish Hymn or Metrical
Life of St. Patrick, attributed to his disciple St. Fiech, Bishop of Slebthe, in which it is stated, that the Irish Apostle when he died went to another
8
take the commentator's explanation of this verse, that other Patrick alluded
Patrick, and that together they ascended to Jesus, the Son of Mary. 3 1
If we
Breac "copy, with the English transl—ation
Patricii episcopi doctoris Patricii. " See
:
ibid. , pp.
35 See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga,"
to dwell there in pilgrimage. ) But, his Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p.
relics are in Old-Patrick's stone-tomb in Armagh. " Again, that Scholiast connects the sage with the period of Patrick of
464.
37 According to Archbishop Ussher. This,
writerquotes as an authority Ranulph of Ches-
Armagh,
lib. v. ,
Still we do not find the words there quoted
of whom our
saint was the in his " present ter,
loving tutor and contemporary. To this is added in Latin, "i. e. , in Britannia Sancti
cap. 4. in Gale's edition of the xv. Scriptores.
Feilire," that he must have
Polychronicon,"
ejus
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 353
to was sen or the senior Patrick, whose death was waited for by the Irish Apostle's spirit, from the seventeenth of the April Kalends to the end of the
following August. Wherefore, it should be inferred, that the Irish Apostle pre-deceasedthesenorseniorPatrick. ^ Aboutthelattermuchcontroversy has been raised. Marianus states, that he was of Ros-dela, in the country of Mag-lacha, and where he is thought to have been interred. There he is placed, also, by the Calendar of Cashel and by Fiech's Scholiast, in a par- ticular passage. They add, however, that it is nearer the truth to suppose he was not buried there, but at Glastonbury, a city in the southern territory of the Saxons. «° The place called Ros Daela is said to have been in West-
meath ; but, the exact spot has not been more particularly specified. Ros- 1
dela was in Ossory according to Colgan. * There he places also Mag-
2 43
lacha,* yet he has a Mag-lacha in Thomond. In this territory, we find a
which was the
of St. Senan of
4*
An old Catalogue of the Prelates,4* in the See of Armagh, names Sech- nall 46 as immediately succeeding the great founder, and reigning there for
8
six years,*? while Sen Patraic, a domestic of the Irish Apostle,* is repre-
sented as immediately succeeding him, and ruling there for ten years. This Sean Patraic is called the head of the wise Seniors of St. Patrick's household. 4 »
However, notwithstanding the order of succession, as given for the See of
Armagh, the Annals of the Four Master place the death of Old Patrick at a. d.
457, when that See was founded,50 and during the lifetime of Patrick, son
of Calphurn, son of Potaide, Archbishop, first Primate, and chief Apostle of
Ireland, whose death they record at a. d. 493,51 or thirty-six years later.
These are inconsistencies of date and statement resting most probably upon
falsehistoricalassumptions. Itispossible,nevertheless,thatthePatrickof
Ros-dela was the real Patrick of Glastonbury ; yet, it should not be safe to
advance such an opinion, with any degree of certainty, as we know so little
about his rank and position, or even of his period. In a lengthy note,
Colgan examines the statement of Fiech regarding the two Saints, named
Patrick, and who went together to heaven. He rejects the opinion of the
scholiast, that San Patrick could have been the one to whom allusion was
made 52 in the first place, because he is said to have pre-deceased the Irish ;
Index Topographicus.
44 See his Life, at the 8th of March, in
theThirdVolumeofthiswork,Art. i.
Mag-lacha,
birth-place
Inniscathy.
38 Thus runs the translation into Latin by
Colgan, of the Irish strophe:— '
r. j-<Ammm • t) . • • „
&, a
£Sl^^ Venit Patricium alterum
«Tb» ,o have been found in the appears
d
JLi simul ascenderunt
„
Psalter of Cashel.
Ad
—"Trias
Prima Vita S. Patricii Hibernise Apostoli. S. Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi Authore,
strophe 33, p. 3.
39 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that
Sen Patrick is not to be distinguished from
"
46
\
the Irish Apostle. See
Jesum
filium Maris.
t ir
" Thaumaturga, Hymnus
seu
festival at the of November, occurs, 27th
where his Acts are to be found, in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
47 See Ussher's "Britannicarum Ecclesi-
arum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 454.
48 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , ^'Archbishops
of Armagh," p. 34.
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect, ii. , — 49 According to the Irish poem of Flann,
pp. 323 to 325.
40 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
Prima Vita S. Patricii. Scholia Veteris
Scholiasts, n. 29ff. , p. 6. See, also, Notse in Scholiastem S. Fieci, n. 48. , p. 10.
41 See the Index Topographicus to "Trias Thaumaturga," p. 716.
. on the Household of St. Patrick, as solved in the Book of Lecan, fol. 44 b.
so See Dr. John O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , pp. 142, 143 and n. (e).
*« See ibid. , pp. 154 to 159.
S2 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Hymnus seu Prima Vita S. Patricii Hibernia Apos-
Ecclesiastical His-
42
43 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniw," Notse Alise in Fiecum, n. 22, p. 7.
See ibid. , p. 715.
toli S. Fieco Episcopo Sleptensi Authore, Z
O^t"he«rTMwi»sec Secundinus, and called Pri- '
^f
mate of Armagh by some writers. His
pre-
354 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
Apostle, and secondly, because a St. Patrick, Bishop of Nivemais, died on the 1 6th of March, and a St. Patrick, Bishop of Nola, had his festival on the 17th, the anniversary of the Irish Apostle's death. Either of the latter two, he supposes, might have been him spoken of as ascending with St. Patrick to
heaven. The only ancient authority we find for making the present holy man a bishop, as well as an abbot, is the Martyrology of Tallagh. The " Feilire " of ^Engus has no other distinction for him, than that he was tutor of the great St. Patrick. Nor do we find Ros-Dela noted in any of our ancient records, as the seat of a bishop. Nevertheless, under the head of Ros-dela, Duald MacFirbiss enters, Old Patrick, a bishop and an abbot of
Ros-dela, in Magh Lacha, at August the 24th. 53
Whosoever of the different Patricks venerated as saints in Ireland the
present may have been, it is supposed probable, and accordant with an ancient tradition, that he went from Ireland to Glastonbury, there to seek peace and rest. A cause for his removal has also been assigned. On account of the rebellious people he met with, that St. Patrick is said to have left Ireland,54 and to have sought the monastery of Glastonbury. There he died, on the feast of St. Bartholomew, the Apostle. 55 Wherefore, it has been supposed, that the festival of the second St. Patrick or the Minor had been held also on that same day. He was regarded as an Abbot but not as a Bishop, and to him we are told the Purgatory of St. Patrick should be ascribed. Moreover, the Abbey of Glastonbury is thought to have numbere—d
Sen-Patricks6—called St. " the tutor of our "
holy by ^Engus
apostle among its abbots. Another office he is said to have held, as being head of
the Irish Apostles' Seniors. 57 It is stated, besides, that this pious man resigned his charge at Glastonbury, and that he went to Ireland with his greatdisciple. Here,too,helabouredintheconversionofournation. Atthe closeofhislife,itis hereturnedtohis 8 The
thought monasteryat Glastonbury. s Patrick, who was nephew to the great Irish Apostle, according to Jocelin,5^ after the death of his uncle, retired to Glastonbury, and was there buried.
In this point, he is followed by the Bollandists. They add a circumstance, however, directly opposite to what he states ; for they make this Patrick succeed his uncle in the See of Armagh and govern it for ten years. Now Jocelin only states, that after the uncle's death, he went straight to Britain, and remained there for the rest of his life.
To avoid the many difficulties that occurred on this subject, the Bolland- ists gave a new turn to the name Sen-Patrick? According to them, it does not mean Patrick, senior, or the Elder, but the son of Sannan, called Deacon Sannan. APatrickwhowasthesonofSannan,andcalledDeaconSannan,
53 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 126, 127.
54 •' See
late Fellow of Magdalen College, Cam-
bridge, vol. v. , lib. v. , cap. iv. , pp. 304 to
307.
