No More Learning

4' The prescribed prayer for Lauds and
"
Majestatis tuse, Domine, potentiam humiliter imploramus, ut sicut per beatum Mansuetum confessorem tuum atque pontificem nos dedisti verse fidei esse cultores, ita ejus mentis facias vitoe
ccelestis esse consortes. Per Dominum. "
50 Bishop of Maestricht and Confessor. His feast and office are also assigned to the
Omnia
office thus noticed
:
Vespers in it reads thus :
same date. s 1 Thus
" Remacli et Mansueti. in communi de pluribus confessoriis. "
:
s2 Noticed " De Sancto Mansueto ferial. " s3 In the proper offices are mentioned : S. Remacli et Mansueti confess, pontificum.
"
Omnia de communi conf. pontif. "
:
epis-
" Sancti Mansueti
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 61
ber/° Throughsomemistake,itwouldappear,thatthepeopleofTreveshada St. Maunsey in veneration, as their seventh Bishop, and they celebrated his festival on the 18th of February. As no certain traces of such a distinctive saint can be found, in any authentic record ; it has been surmised, that it ispossibleSt. MaunseyofToulmayhavebeenselectedtofill thatposition of reverence in the metropolitan church, for some reason not now known. However, Father Limpen adduces argument sufficient to prove that our
61
saint had no special connexion with the church of Treves.
Several churches, monasteries and chapels have been built and dedicated
in honour of St. Maunsey, and his relics have been distributed in various places. Besides the parent church and monastery of Toul without the walls, St. Gerard erected one within the city, and it was dedicated in honour of the BlessedVirginMaryandof—St. Mansuetus. AtFurentela,orVourentel—
62
to the holy martyrs Laurence and Vincent, and to the holy confessors, Man- suetus and Apri. In a place called Si—sseium—supposed to be identical with Sexey aux bois or Sexey aux Forges there was a chapel dedicated to St. Mansuetus. Also, in the Vosges mountains, a ca? icellum was erected under the patronage of this holy bishop. Moreover, we read, that in the time of Pibo, bishop of Toul, and towards the close of the eleventh century, he consecrated various churches in honour of St. Maunsey. At Dijon an altar wasdedicatedtohim,inacryptoftheChurchofSt. Benignus. Again,at Liverdun, there was an altar dedicated to Saints Maunsey and Gerard, con- fessors, and it was placed at the right-hand side of the choir. In the Metro- politan Church of Prague, and in the chapel there dedicated to St. Winceslaus,
63
notfarfromAix-la-Chapelle wasachurchconsecratedbyPopeLeoIX. ,
a part of St. Maunsey's arm was preserved, with other relics,
in a magnificent
shrine on the altar. 6* to 65 in Argadia was venerated high According Dempster,
Mansuet, bishop, who promoted Christianity at the first Council of Tours in Gaul, a companion of St. Perpetuus of Tours, of Guyaxus of Rheims, of Thalaussius of Andegavensis, of Victurius Cenomanensis. We can find no authority whatever for such statements, and can only wonder at the shameless
66
The chief festival of St. Mansuy is noticed in nearly all the chief Calen-
audacity of any writer to perpetrate such a forgery.
dars and Martyrologies, at the 3rd of September. However, in the pure text of Usuard, which Father Soller has edited, at such date the name of our
saint does not occur; but, in the additions to that martyrologist, he is mentioned. 67 Likewise, his feast is entered in the Martyrologies of Mauro- lycus, Felicius, Galesinius and Castellan. The announcement in the Roman
the Translation of our saint's relics by Bishop Pibo, and which took place on the xviii. of the July Kalends, a. d. 1104. This is noted by Greven, and in the Kalendar prefixed to an old Manuscript Breviary of Toul, as also in that printed a. d. 1530.
60 However, this seems to have been an
error of entry in a Manuscript Copy of
found in the Benedictine
Usuard, Monastery
of Anchin, near Douay : unless indeed the vigil of our saint's chief festival had been intended.
6' See "Acta Saneturum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. De S. Mansueto Epis. et Conf. Commentarius Prrevius, sect, vi. , num. 76, 77, pp. 634, 635.
62 This happened in 1049, according to Hermannus Contractus, a contemporaneous writer, and when that Pope was on a visit to
the neighbourhood.
63 These were collected through the pious
care of King Charles IV. , and a printed catalogue of them was issued in the year 1679. 64 See the Bcllandists' •' Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. De S. Mansueto Epis. et Conf. Commentarius Praevius,
sect, vi. , pp. 633 to 636.
6s See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints. "' Menologium Scoticum,
p. 195.
^ To ignorance alone do we attribute the
•'
Sedebat anno lxii. die III. Septembris. "—" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus ii. ,
lib. xii. , num. 838, p. 448.
6? Thus, in the manuscript versions of
Usuard at Antwerp, Utrecht, Leyden, Lou- vain, Antverpiensis Maximus, Albergensis,
statement referring to our saint :
62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September 3.
Martyrology, at the 3rd of September, "TulU in Gallia, sancti Mansueti episcopi et confessoris,"68 embraces what is found in the additions to Usuard
and in the Martyrologies previously cited. 69 In some Martyrologies, such as in certain Usuardine editions, in a Florarian MS. of the Saints, belonging
to the Bollandists, in the German Martyrology of Canisius, in Wilson's Martyrologium Anglicanum, and in Saussay's Martyrologium Gallicanum,
while entering the holy Bishop's festival at the 3rd of September, they con- sider him to have been a disciple of St. Peter, which supposition more recent
investigations have entirely disproved. In the Martyrology of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin, the feast of St. Mansuetus has been recorded, at
the 3rd of September. ? The feast of S. Mansu, at Septembre 3. , is entered
"
in a Kalendar, prefixed to
Heures de Nostre-Dame a l'usage du Mans. "
1
September 3rd, in the Annals of the Cistercian Monks,"? is dedicated to St.
Mansuet, first Bishop of Toul, in Lorraine. In Baillet's M Les Vies des
2
Saints,"? St. Maunsey or St. Mause, first Bishop of Toul, in Lorraine, is
recorded at this same date.
A French writer has remarked, that the zeal and learning of Scottish
preachers made such an impression on their contemporaries, that Ireland was known as the Holy Island of Christians, even as the Phoenicians had formerly called it, in Pagan times, the Sacred Isle. ? 3 In the case of St. Maunsey, who lived in the primitive ages, he had become a missionary of Christ, and had spread the light of Faith in a region of France, that had not then heard the truths of the Gospel proclaimed. Moreover, it is remarkable, that even in his own Island, the standard of the cross had not been erected by its great Apostle St. Patrick, at that period, when the grace of conversion was vouchsafed to one of its emigrants, who visited Rome, the centre of Christianity, and who received from the Sovereign Pontiff his commission to gain numbers of converts in France to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
ARTICLE II. —ST. MACNESSIUS, OR MAC NISSI, BISHOP OF CONNOR, COUNTY DOWN.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORS ON ST. MACNESSIUS1 LIFE—BAPTISM BY ST. PATRICK— EDUCATED UNDER BISHOP BOLCAN—BECOMES A DISCIPLE OF ST. PATRICK—HIS CONSECRATION AS BISHOP—PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM—RETURN TO ROME, WHERE HE IS TREATED WITH GREAT RESPECT—JOYFULLY RECEIVED ON HIS RETURN TO IRELAND—HIS MISSIONARY LABOURS—GIFTS OF MIRACLES AND OF PROPHESY—HE RESCUES ST. COLMAN FROM DEATH—VISIT FROM ST. BRIGID—ST. MACNESSIUS THE FIRST BISHOP OF CONNOR—MONASTERY AND CHURCH AT CONNOR.
Notwithstanding his reception of baptismal graces, and the care taken of his early religious education, the present holy bishop is stated
Danicus, Bruxelles, Ughellianus, Florence, ParisSt. Victor;alsointheQueenofSweden's
MS. , No. 130, printed at Lubeck, and as edited by Belin and Molanus.
68 See " Martyrologium Romanum Gre- gorii XIII. ," &c. Editio novissima, p. 131, Romae, 1878, fol.
^ In a Martyrology, published in Paris, 1727, are these words: " Tulli Leucorum,
sancti Mansueti primi ejusdem urbis epis- copi. " In the margin is added, that he flourished in the fourth century, and such is the most probable conclusion at which it
seems possible to arrive. 7°Thus,atiii. Non. Septembris: "Ciuitate
Tullensi ; festiuitas sancti Mansueti, episcopi et confessoris. "—"The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. , and by James Henthorn Todd, D. D. , p. 152.
7 ' See vol. ix. , pp. 394, 395.
72 See tome iii,, pp. 28, 29. "
73 See Elias Regnault's Histoire de
l'lrlande," liv. i. , chap, v. , p. 54*
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 63
to have been not exempt from temptation, and a lapse into grievous sin. Even his great master, St. Patrick, accuses himself of ingratitude towards God, when he had attained the use of reason ; while, in later times, the angelic
St. Aloysius often spoke of lapses during his youth, although unsullied by any grievous fault. Still he deemed it the period of his sinfulness, and when he knew not the proper service of his Creator. This neglect of the Divine commandments was in time most fully repaired. In the case of Macnessius, as he advanced in years, he was distinguished for his great virtues, and by
the performance of miracles, which fully attested his great sanctity. ""1
In the Feilire of St. ^Engus, yet in a very enigmatical form, the feast of St. Mac Nisse is entered at the 3rd of September. A gloss on the Leabhar Breac copy professes to give the name and family of both his father and mother. 2 There are some incidental but unreliable notices of our saint, in St. Patrick's Tripartite Life,3 which had been published by Father John Colgan. Fromthesesources,apartofthefollowingmemoirofSt. Macnes- sius has been gleaned. Moreover, Colgan had intended to publish the acts ofSt. Macnessius,atthe3rddayofSeptember. * Someaccountofthisholy bishop is to be found in Porter. s In the first volume of the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum " for September, and at 3rd day of this month, the Acts of
St. Macnessius are published, under the editorial supervision of Father John Veldius. They consist of a short Life—rather it is a panegyric of our saint—
6
taken from one belonging to the Irish College of the Jesuits at Salamanca. The author of this tract is unknown, but it furnishes intrinsic evidence of having been written before a. d. 1442, when the See of Connor was united to thatof^Down,byPopeEugeniusIV. Theeulogiuminquestionisannotated by the editor, and a previous or preceding commentary is given, in which nine distinct paragraphs are occupied by a dissertation on that veneration paid tothesaint. Ittreats,also,onhisbeingdistinctfromotherhomonymoussaints; on the place and time of his episcopacy ; as also regarding the year of his death, and on his acts, which were then extant. More recently still, other writers have given notices of St. Mac Nissi, and among those may be men-
tioned Rev. Alban 10
8 Rev, M.
Rev. Dr.
J. Carew, Rev. S. Baring-Gould,"andVeryRev. JamesO'Laverty.
and numbered P. Ms. xi. , in the Bollandist Library. It is added that it had the follow- ing title : —" hi. Nonas Septembris. In- cipit Vita Sancti Macnissi episcopi : coronidem vero hanc : Explicit Vita S. Engula, qui & Macnessi dicitur, seddemor—te
ejus nihil exprimunt prceterquam diem. "
Prsevius, sect. 9, p. 664.
7 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
other principal Saints,'' vol. ix. , September iii.
8"
See EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland,"
vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , p. 432, and vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, ii. , n. 26, p. 308.
9" of
See Ecclesiastical History Ireland,"
1 Article ii. —Chapter —
is in thirteen comprised
i. In the Leabhar Breac copy is the following
chapters,
rann:—
ColtnAn "OpotriA jrepcA
Lons-AjvA-o groan alaib true mrre cormbib
O Chotroervib ma^A-ib.
Thus rendered in Dr. Whitley Stokes'
translation
Colman
of
tomus
hi. , Acta S. Macnescii. Commentarius
English
Druim Ferta : Longarad a delightful sun ; Mac Nisse with thousands, from great Conderi. "— " Transactions of the Royal
Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. exxxvi.
2 See ibid. , p. cxlii.
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thauraaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Paiiicii, pars ii. , cap.
i. , Septembris
exxix. , p. 146, cap. exxxiv. , p. 147. 4"
chap, iii. , p. 49.
I0 See "Ecclesiastical
of Ire-
See Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Dierum. " s See << Compendium Annalium Ecclesi-
History
asticorum Regni Hibernke," cap. vii. , p. 173.
6
land," Appendix, p. 410.
"See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
September 3, pp. 36, 37.
I2 In his "Historical Account of
:
Butler,7
Lanigan,
J.
Brenan,9 Rev. P. 12
Of this life, the editor remarks, that it
the
— "
"Acta Sanctorum,"
64 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
The birth of Macnessius is said to have been manifested to St. Patrick, and long before the time of its occurrence. St. Macnessius, also written
Mac Nissi'3, or Nisa1
Annals of Tigernach. 16 Such is the statement of the commentator on the Feilire of Oengus, who calls his father Fobrece, but rather confuses his genealogy, by the manner in which it is given. "J As such, it is to be found
" 22 or spotted. "
Diocese of Down and Connor, Ancient and Modem,'' vol. iii. , pp. 271 to 273.
13 By Colgan, St. Macnessius or Ccemanus is said to have been the son of Fabricius, son to Fieg, son of Mail, &c. Thence is the line transferred to that of St. Maccarthen. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. Appendix ad Acta S- Maccarthenni, cap. ii. , iii. , pp. 740, 741.
Connor, Porter observes:—" . Engus Mac- nisius primus fait hujus Ecclesia: Epi copus
et Fundator. Is cognomentum a matre, more insolito, trahens, vulgo S. Macnisa,
vel Macnisius, sine aliqua alia additione, dictus est. Patris autem nomen Fobreiv fuit, ut tarn e Tigerjiaci annalibus quam ex antiquo Aengusiani Mart)iologii Scoliaste,
14 The Bollandist editor states in a note "Alibi rectius Nisa : unde Sanctus mac (Latins Alius) Nisa; sive Macnissius dictus est. " See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , . -• eptembi is iii. Vila S. Macnescii. n. (b), p. 665.
'5 For further particulars regarding the family descent, the reader is referred to the
Life of St. Maccarthen, Bishop of Clogher,
chap, i. , at the 15th day of August, in the Fighth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Annalium Ecclesiasti- coruni Regni Hibernian," cap vii. , p. 173.
19 In a gloss on the Martyrology of /Engus the Culdee, at the 3rd of September, the following remarks occur : —
". 1. Cnef mgen Chonch<\i-oe x>o X)aI
Ceclupn a uiAcip tleb iiiac Cnif p<\cp<Mc h-e ap if oc p^cpAic 110 aLca . 1. 110 cho'olAT). " —
It is thus translated: "i. e. , Cnes,
was the son of Fobrec or Fobreach,1* as stated in the
*,
in the Leabhar Breac and at the of
copy, 3rd September.
18 His mother was
named Cnes,^ a daughter to Conchaid or Conchaide of Dal Cethern.
According to the Life of our saint, as published by the Bollandists, his mother was called Ness. 20 The original name of this saint is said to have been ^Engus. We are told, likewise, that he was called Caeman Breac,
Kev-awn 21 the latter word pronounced Brak,
the "maculosus" meaning
having
In a fountain of water, which miraculously sprung from the earth,23 it is
— :
" Compendium
i6 Yet, according to the Annals of Tigher-
naoh, as published by Dr. O'Conor, [of Patrick's skin] because it was with Fobrach was his brother. This, however, Patrick he was fostered, 7. e. ,heused —to sleep. "
20
is probably a mistake, which arose from the In a note, the editor adds
:
"
Alibi
editor having confounded ^op with pp in the rectius Nisa : unde sanctus mac {Latins
Manuscript. In the Dublin copy of Tigher- filius) Nisce sive Macnissius dictus est. "
"
nach and in the
where the same entry occurs verbatim, the word is manifestly pp pater, not frater See " The Book of Obits and the Martyrology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite and Rev. Dr. Todd. Introduction, pp. lxxiii. , lxxiv.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris
Chronicon Scotorum,"
" CAemAn Opecc, mac nip,
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (n), p. 168. In the same work, we find recorded the death
17 Thus
nuc nertiAinoip, mic eipc, nuc echaic of a St. Caemhan Breac, of Ros-each, who munt)pein<vip. Ocuf JTobpecc auim a departed this life on the 14th of September,
:
— and n. Ach<My\. •Aenjjur' T>oni a cec anim. " Its a. d. 614. Ibid. , pp. 238, 2}Q,
Mac Misi, son of Nemaindir, son of Eric, the 14th of September, in a subsequent part son of EchaidhMundremair. And Fobrece of this volume. It is probable, our saint
(z). English Translation is: "Caeman Brec, Notices of this latter saint will be found, at
was the name of his father. But Aengus
was his first name. " From this it might be
inferred, that Caeman Breac or Mac Nisse
had for his father Nemainder ; whereas the vato e Vita S. Comgalii citanda ad lit. ;;/. "
writer's meaning appears to have been, that the latter was father of Fobrece.
—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. Vita S. Macnissii, auctore incerto, n. (c), p. 665.
18
In alluding to the Cathedral Church of
ad diem tertium Septembris. intelligimus. "
daughter of Conchaid of Dal Cetherin, was his mother, or Mac [son] Cnis Patraic
iii. Vita S. Macnisii, n. (b), p. 655. 21 "
See the Rev. James O Eaverty's His-
torical Account of the Diocese of Down and
Connor,Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , p. 270. 22 "
had been incorrectly confounded with him. 23 " Fabulosum id prorsus est: idem suspicor de vivo fonte, fortassis hue deri-
September 3] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 65
stated, that our saint was baptised by the Apostle of the Irish nation. After- wards, he was known as Mac Cneise or the son of Cnes. 2* The Christian
name bestowed on him was
mother. This is a more saidtohavebeenfosteredandaccustomedtosleepwithSt. Patrick. Where-
^Engus,
2s and his surname was derived from his
likely
as we find
under the of
placed charge Bishop
To
derivation than that one 26 where he is given,
he was
Patrick's skin. " Yet, as it was not unusual among the Irish to derive a surname from the mother, we might probably suppose her to have been of a more distinguished family than that of her husband, or to have been more remarkable for her mental endowments.
fore,
He—was
named,
reported,
Patrick while he was still very young.
entrusted as a foster-child, and from that holy bishop his education had been
received. When young, he was sent to take charge of certain cows and
their calves. A deep slumber then oppressed him. Meantime, the calves
took advantage of their youthful herdsman's sleep to approach the cows,
andtodrawtheaccustomedsustenancefromthem. Wearetold,thatthe
Bishop's mother—also the nurse of our saint—felt displeased at his neglect,
and struck the child. This, however, she did not with impunity; for that
hand,withwhichshechastisedtheyouth,becamepowerless. Whereupon,the
Bishop required his foster-son to pray for her. Immediately on complying
with such request, the offending member was again restored to its former
strength. From such a circumstance, and owing to other . miracles of a similar nature, the fame of this youthful soldier of Christ was greatly extended. Our saint was a most docile pupil to his master, while going through the course of elementary studies. When St. Patrick was on a journey through
28 met Bolcan with our 29 he thus addressed the Dalaradia, having saint,
former " You and your successors shall always be subject to the rule of :
this your companion and to his successors. " The Apostle's allusion, in this prophetic declaration, referred to the Bishopric subsequently obtained. 30
24 Yet, in the Scholion to the Calendar of mento Aradii, regis Ultonice, in ea olim yEngus, in the Leabhar Breac, we have the principatum tenente. "—"Trias Thauma- confusing and ridiculous statement, that she turga," Prima Vita S. Patricii, n. 18, was son of Nemainder, son to Ere, son of p. 8.
Eochaid Mundremar. See the translation in 29 In a comment on this narrative, the
:
Very Rev.