425,7° the learned Ussher finds himself involved in
chronological
difficulties.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
475
Ussher rightly understood Gildas, he cannot prove that Bede founded his date of the battle, at Mount Badon, solely on the text of Gildas. 35 Owing totheforegoingcircumstance,oursaintwasusuallycalledBadonicus. The birth of this holy man is assigned by Mabillon, to the time of that battle. 36
In the reign of the renowned King Arthur, it is stated,37 that St. Gildas or Gildus, surnamed the Wise, was born in Britain. There in the northern country was a district then called Arecluta. s^ This is allowed to have been near the River Clut39 or Cluyd, from which the city of Alcuith,-*"^ Areclutha,*' or Alcluyd,42 now Dunbritton or Dunbarton,43 took its name,'i4 His father belonged to a noble British family. Variously is he called : by some, Can,4S Caw,46orCaunus,47orperhapsmoreproperlyCannusorConnj*^ byothers
marks : —" The latter part of this passage
is certainly of a doubtful signification, and may, perhaps, be understood in the manner
proposed by Ussher ; although it must be allowed that, if Gildas alluded to the num- ber of years, by -which the battle was prior to that in which he wrote, he would pro- bably have applied the number 44th rather to this year than to that of the battle. Bede copied the whole passage almost word for word, except that marking the time of the battle he has, quadragessimo circiter et quarto annoadventuseoruminBntanniam(L. i. c. 16. J Ussher thought that Bede mentioned the year as the 44th, because he found this number in Gildas, and consequently that Bede's chronology ought to be corrected by what he supposed to be the true meaning of Gildas. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, vol. i. , chap, ix. , § x. , n. 155, p. 479- —"
3^ Dr. Lanigan here observes :
he could not want documents to direct him in assigning the times of the more remark- able transactions of his countrymen. Might not Bede's adout the 44/^ year be relative to one period, and Gildas' positive i^th to ano- ther ? so that it would be true that the battle was fought about the 44th year after the ar- rival, and likewise precisely in the 44th be- fore the year in which Gildas wrote, making altogether, until this last date, about 87 years. Besides, Ussher's argument is merely negative, and, at most, proves nothing more than that we cannot conclude from Gildas' words that the battle took place about A. D. 492. It does not, however, show that it was not fought about that time, nor help us to fix the precise year of it. " Ibid. , p. 480.
3* See "Annates Ordinis S. Benedict! ,"
Lives of the 37 According to Francis Rosiers, in Cambro- British Saints. Appendix vii. , p. 598
tomus i. , lib. vi. , § xix. , p. 150.
beth. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "
" Stemmatibus Lotharingiae," King Arthur began his reign in Britain A. D. 491 ; accord-
ing to Polydore Virgil, lib. iii. , Gordon, and others, A. D. 493 ; while Ussher, in his " In- dex Chronologicus," has this event at A. u.
508.
35 According to the life of Gildas, by the
Monk of Ruys, he was born in Arecluta.
''^ The Monk of Ruys states that Gildas'
father, Caunus, had five sons. The eldest
was named Cuillus, according to this ac- count, and he succeeded in the kingdom to which he was heir.
•''These forms of names were common among the ancient Scots. Conn is a name peculiarly Irish.
Surely
This is said to be " Scotioe validum propug- ""
naculum. See Mabillon's Annales Or- dinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. i. , § xix. ,
p. 150-
39 The name is said to have been derived
from this district.
'*° Thus do I fin—d it named in an edition
of Venerable Bede while Alcluith or Al- duich is found in other MSS. See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 24. There we ar—e told— or rather it is intimated distinctly that the Scoti or Irish colonists were in those parts north of the Clyde, which river separated the Picts and Britons. Bede tells us, however, that Alcuith was a strong British city, even to his own times.
"•' Ussher has changed this name into Ar- gathelia, near the Glotta or Clyde river. See
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 354, and "Index Chronologi- cus," ad A. D. ccccxxv. , p. 515.
*^ Colgan derives this name from "Ar,"
alias " Or," a "limit," or "boundary," and " Ail," a " rock," which is connected with theCluitorCluide,onitsrightbank. See Bede's " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- glorum," lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
*3Thiswasitslatername. SeeCamden's
" Britannia," p. 666,
"^^ Buchanan calls this district "vallem
Glottianam. " See "Rerum Scoticarum
Historia," lib. i. , p. 13.
sIn the "Legenda" of John of Tin-
mouth, he is named "Can rex Albanioe. " "•^ "GildaswasthesonofCawofBritain. " —The pedigrees of Welsh saints, taken out
of an old manuscript, once in possession of John Lewis, Esq. , Llanwenny, in the county of Radnor, about the time of Queen Eliza-
"
.
,
476 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 29.
heisnamedNau+9orNauus. 5° HeissaidtohavebeenaKingofScotland or Albania,5^ while other accounts make him King of the Picts. s^ He was blessed with a numerous offspring,s3 several of whom were distinguished for pietyandvalour. S4 Hiseldestson,bysomecalledCuillus,55byotherwriters is named Howelus,56 Hoel,57 Huel, or Huelinus. Mailoc, another son, was brought up with a knowledge of sacred letters, in which, after he had been excellently instructed, he left his father and all his worldly pretensions. He afterwards built a monastery in a district called Luihes,^^ where, in the village of Elmail, he lived and died in great sanctity. Two other brothers, Egreass? and Allsecus,^ with their sister Peteona,^' in like manner abandoned the world, and choose a retired place in the furthest extremity of that country. ^^ There, living near each other, yet in separate cells,^3 by watching, fasting, and fervent prayer, they continually tended towards their heavenly home, till they were called at last to the joys of their Lord. ^-*
From his earliest years, our saint, ^vith all the warm affections of his soul, endeavouredtobecomeatrueservantofChrist. Aboyofgooddisposition, he was addicted to a love for learning. When a child, Gildas was com- mitted by his parents to the care of St. Iltutus,^5 who brought him up in his monastery of Llan-Iltut, in Glamorganshire. ^^ There he was instructed in the sacred Scriptures, and in the liberal sciences. He had an excellent me- mory for all his master taught. He principally applied to an acquisition of the seven chief courses of knowledge, with studious zeal. Sacred letters, where his great proficiency appears to this day, in what has been preserved ofhiswritings,^7wereespeciallytheobjectofhisschoolexercises. Atthese he continued until he arrived at puberty. St. Iltut^^ dwelt in a certain small
4' Caradoc thus names him. Ussher thinks
that Gildas Albanius may have had for his
father this Navus or Navis, who was the ma-
ternal grandfather of St. Columkille. See
"
Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. DXXII. , p. 527.
Connaught, where a St. Mailan or Mailoc was venerated on the 1 7th of May.
59 Colgan thinks he may possibly be a St. Aireid or Egread, veneratoi at the 26th of
August.
^ Colgan thinks he may be identified with
5°He "
is called Nanus rex St, Oilleoc or of Cluain
Pictorum,"by Alleoc,
John Bale. Nau or Nana is shown by Col- venerated on the 24th of July.
Etdien,
to have been a common name
gan among
the Scots.
S' Capgrave calls him King of Albania, or North Britain, and so it is said Gildas got the name of Albanius. Alluding to his own times, Caradoc calls that prince a King of the Scots. But, according to Dr. Lanigan, the Scots did not get possession of Areclutha until long after the birth of Gildas. See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. x. , n. 158, pp. 480, 481.
5^ In the copy of Caradoc, used by Bale, cent, ii. , cap. 87, he is thus called.
S3 Caradoc of Lanncarvan states, that Nau had twenty-four sons, who were warlike and victorious, while among these was Gildas, whom his parents devoted to a learned course of studies.
*' St. Petonea little can be Regarding
gleaned from our calendars.
5* See " Acta Sanctorum
ruum Occidentis," lib. i.
*3That for the sister was built between
the cells occupied by her brothers.
'••See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , pp. 79, 80.
'5 His feast occurs on the 6th of Novem-
ber. See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints, vol. xL, vi. November. AlsoCressy's " Church History of Brittany," book xi. , chap, xxvii. , p. 251. —
Hibernia2,"xxix. Januarii, pp. 178, 179, 181.
^IfindbyconjectureofWilkins witha
55 He is thus named by the Monk of Ruys.
s* John of Tinmouth so styles him.
5' The Registry of Glastonbury thus calls him.
the foundation of Lanntwit Illtyd monastery placed at a. d. 508. See "Wales, Past and Present," chap, xxvii. ,
p. 211.
•*' See Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
s^Colgan offers a conjecture—without, Sancta," —*
80.
however, insisting much on its accuracy There is a Latin life of this saint, with that this place may be Snamh Luither, in an English translation, in the Rev. W. J.
^
Gonon numbers them among the Bene-
dictine saints, under this heading
SS. Eremitarum Gildae cognomentpj Sapi- entis, nee non Mailoci, — Allaeci fra-
Egrese, trum et Peteonae Sororis. " "De
Vitis Pat-
doubt implied—
part i. , p.
— :
" Vitse
January 29. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
and barren island with his disciples, while St. Gildas Badonicus^^ was his pupil. Here, in his endeavour to distinguish the latter from St. Gildas Alba- nius, who is supposed to have been born a. d.
425,7° the learned Ussher finds himself involved in chronological difficulties. In the hypothesis, that St. Iltut was the teacher of St. Gildas Badonicus, he must have thus taught about the year 530,7^ and the death of Iltutus is accordingly brought down by conjecture to 540. 7^ Yet elsewhere, the latter is said by Ussher to have been an abbot73 when he baptized St. Samson,74 who is stated to have been consecrated bishop a. d. 521, the very year after the birth of Gildas Bado- nicus. Now, the two latter holy men are classed as school-fellows, at the school of Iltutus. Besides, St. Samson,7s a certain St. Paul7fi studied with him at this place. While Gildas was subject to this discipline, he was most obedient and self-restrained ; his renown for charity and wisdom commenced. Having a beautiful form and features, and of high lineage, he was in rank, but especially in purity of morals, superior to the most distinguished sons of nobles there receiving instruction. Foremost in ability and acquirements, the world was crucified to him, and he to the world. Assiduous in learning ;
given to watching and prayer ; affable in manners ; grave and thoughtful beyond his years, he could profitably associate both with the young and the
old, accommodating himself to the humours of either class, yet always ob- serving propriety. 77 While at school, likewise, our saint was distinguished by the performance of miracles •^^ and he was a most useful and promising member of this early collegiate institute.
CHAPTER II.
ST. GILDA—S MAKES A VOYAGE TO IRELAND—HIS AUSTERITIES—HIS STUDIOUS DISPOSI-
TION HEFASHIONSABELLFOR
ST. BRIGID—HIS PROFESSORSHIP — ATARMAGH
HIS ORDINATION, PREACHING, MIRACLES AND CONVERSIONS HE IS THOUGHT TO ——
HAVEVISITEDIRELANDASECONDTIME,WHENINVITEDBYKINGAINMIRE HIS LABOURS THERE.
Having spent some well-employed years, under the tutelage of St. Iltutus, in sacred and profane learning, Gildas bade farewell to his master and to his
Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British chap, ix. , sec. x. , n. 160, p. 481.
Saints," pp. 158 to 182, and 465 to 494, 74 gee Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesi- ^"
According to Ussher. arum Antiquitates, cap. xiii. , p. 252, cap. 7° Ussher calls the father of Gildas, who xiv. , p. 274, and "Index Chronologicus,"
was at the school of St. Iltut, Caun, and
the latter, too, he states was the father of
Gildas Albanius. See "Britannicarum
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 354,
and "Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. century, is said to be still remaining in the CCCCXXV. , p. 515.
7' We must allow that Gildas hardly went
7=" See Ussher's "Britannicarum Eccle- siarum Antiquitates," cap. xiv. , p. 274, and "IndexChronologicus,"adA. D. DXL. , p. 529.
73 Dr. Lanigsm argues, that taking Ussher's
old, and that we can hardly believe he kept nici, cap. iii. , pp. 181, 182, and n. 8, pp. a school sixty years afterwards. See "Ec- 188,189.
clesiastical History of Ireland," v(ji. i. , '^See J(5z^. , cap. iv. , v. , p. 182.
to him as a
ninth or tenth year.
in " graved Jones'
pupil
before he had attained the
History
of
Wales," chap,
Iltutus must have been abbot at
latest about 491, at least thirty-five years nice," xxix. Januarii. Vita S. Gildse Bado-
admissions,
ad A. D. DVIIL, p. 525.
7S See his life at the 28th of July. The
cross of Iltudus, thought to have been erected by Sampson about the middle of the sixth
churchyard of Lantwit, in Glamorganshire. Its archaic inscriptions are to be seen en-
ii. , p. 39.
76^ciaudius Robertus, in his catalogue of
the Bishops of Dol, in Armorica, places the death of this holy man at the 12th of March, and about the year 600.
77 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
478 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 29.
fellow-disciples. Then he went over to Iren for further instruction. By this place, we are to understand Erinn, or Ireland. It has indeed been stated, through want of sufficient knowledge, that Iren was an academy in Great Britain,^ and some have gone so far as to make it identical with Oxford. ^ But it is quite evident, from the sequel, it was in Ireland, Gildas, a diligent lover of study, sought out the most renowned doctors in philosophy and theology. Here, like a faithful servant, he treasured the talent he had re- ceived from God, that it might be returned to him with usury. Of Gildas it might truly be affirmed, that if the sword of the persecutor reached him not, hedidnotlosethemartyr'spalm. AgainstthetemptationsofSatanhere- solutely contended, and he subjected himself to a rigorous course of penance to subdue bodily failings. Towards himself he seemed to direct the scourge, and to bear his self-imposed persecution patiently for the sake of Christ, so thathislifemightberegardedasacontinuousmartjTdom. There,too,in Ireland he frequented the most celebrated schools in quest of divine and human learning. 3 Like the industrious bee, he gathered from every flower the honey of virtue and knowledge, for his own and his neighbour's benefit. In the meantime, he chastised his body and brought it under subjection ; lest, with all his learning, while preaching to others, he himself might become a cast-away. Therefore he fasted much, and he often watched whole nights. He employed those silent hours of darkness in prayer. * As to fasting, he seems to have practised excessive rigour : for the writer of his acts affirms, as a thing he had learned from a reliable source, that from the age of fifteen until the day he died, Gildas only partook of three meals each week. Even
when he eat, it was only very sparingly. 5
It is stated, that Gildas was able with his own hands to exercise in certain
artistic productions. At the request of St Brigid, an illustrious virgin pre- siding as abbess over a monastery of virgins, he made and sent her a bell. ^ This she desired to possess as a relic. ' If the holy virgin were the great abbess of Kildare, as seems to be indicated ; supposing its occurrence, this event must have been towards the close of her life. ^ Again we are told, that
Chap. ii. —* A statement of
Bosco, attached to the margin, in the Monk
of Ruys' biography of Gildas. By Diodorus
Siculus, Ireland is called Iru, lib. v. , p.
309. The Irish are called Irenses by Ode-
ricus Vitalis, in his Ecclesiastical History, at
A. D. 1094, lib. X. ; and by yElnothus of Gildas AIbanius, Ussher assigns it to A. n, Canterbury, in his life of Canute they are
called Iri, chap. x.
" Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
absurdity of this fable. See "Antiquities Index Chronologicus, A. D. CCCCLXXXIV. ,
' has however Stillingfleet
the
In those times there were in Ireland,
exposed of the British Church," chap. iv.
Antiquitates. "
"
3
ccccxcvill. , pp. 523, 524. Yet the life, which mentions this transaction, places it subsequently to the return of Gildas from Ireland. From this, too, Ussher quotes at p. 905 of his work. Hence, according to his own calculation, it must have been later than 508. See ibid. A. D. DVlli. , p. 525.
' See the Monk of Ruys' narrative, chap, ix. Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
besides the school of Armagh, those of Ailbe,
Moctheus, Enda, Naal, &c. , &c. Ussher in
pursuance of his hypothesis, mentions (p.
907) among the schools, which Gildas might
have frequented, that of Finnian at Clonard,
imagining that it was his Badonicus, who is
said to have come to Iren, and according to
him in the year 540 [Ind. Chron. )" See xxix. Januarii, p. 183.
Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § x. , n. 162, p.
482. Gildas, who came to Ireland, taught for some time in Armagh, and therefore was not different from him called Albanius by Ussher.
* See that account, given by the Monk of
^
She is said to have died about 521 or 523. See her life at the 1st of Februarj-. Colgan thinks this transaction must reler to Gildas Albanius, whom) he distinguishes from Gildas Badonicus. See ibid. , n. 11, p. 189.
John
de
" Historia Vitae S. Gildae "
Ruys.
Hibemise," xxix. Januarii, p. 182.
Sapientis," cap. vi. , vii. Colgan's Acta Sanctorum
"
Thinking this narrative referable to
5 See Bishop Challenor's
Britannia Sanc-
ta," part i. , p. 80. *
484. Yet, strange to say, he does not bring Albanius to Ireland until A. D. 498. See
January 29. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 479
while Gildas, the Historian of Britain,? remained in Ireland, he preached
much and discharged the duties of a professor in the city of Armagh. '"
It seems more than likely from the order of narrative," that this saint
hadbeenpromotedtoHolyOrdersinIreland. WhenGildaswasordaineda priest, he went to preach the Gospel in Britain's northern parts. There a great part of the inhabitants were as yet pagans. Among the nominal Christians, many were infected with Pelagian heresy. God blessed the labours of Gildas with such signal success, that great numbers both of the pagans and heretics, through his means, were converted to Christ. Many miracles were wrought through him. He cured blind, lame, and sick, in confirmation of his doctrine. His great fame attracted multitudes to his sermons. The Church of Christ received a daily accession to its member- ship ; and finally, he succeeded in drawing people of various British pro- vinces over to the true Catholic doctrine. Idols and their temples were overthrown by those, who had formerly been pagans ; while in their stead churcheswereerectedatconvenientplaces. Severalnobles,withtheirwives, children and families, received the grace of Christian baptism. " When Gildas saw that so much had been accomplished, filled with great joy, he is
said thus to have " I prayed :
thee
O Lord who Jesus Christ,
thanks,
hast deigned to bring this people, so long straying from thee, to a know-
there valuable "Memoir introductory to the early History of the
canim Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates," pp. 443,
in Rev. Robert
King's
Church of Armagh. "
bernire," xxix. Januarii. Vita S.
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
475
Ussher rightly understood Gildas, he cannot prove that Bede founded his date of the battle, at Mount Badon, solely on the text of Gildas. 35 Owing totheforegoingcircumstance,oursaintwasusuallycalledBadonicus. The birth of this holy man is assigned by Mabillon, to the time of that battle. 36
In the reign of the renowned King Arthur, it is stated,37 that St. Gildas or Gildus, surnamed the Wise, was born in Britain. There in the northern country was a district then called Arecluta. s^ This is allowed to have been near the River Clut39 or Cluyd, from which the city of Alcuith,-*"^ Areclutha,*' or Alcluyd,42 now Dunbritton or Dunbarton,43 took its name,'i4 His father belonged to a noble British family. Variously is he called : by some, Can,4S Caw,46orCaunus,47orperhapsmoreproperlyCannusorConnj*^ byothers
marks : —" The latter part of this passage
is certainly of a doubtful signification, and may, perhaps, be understood in the manner
proposed by Ussher ; although it must be allowed that, if Gildas alluded to the num- ber of years, by -which the battle was prior to that in which he wrote, he would pro- bably have applied the number 44th rather to this year than to that of the battle. Bede copied the whole passage almost word for word, except that marking the time of the battle he has, quadragessimo circiter et quarto annoadventuseoruminBntanniam(L. i. c. 16. J Ussher thought that Bede mentioned the year as the 44th, because he found this number in Gildas, and consequently that Bede's chronology ought to be corrected by what he supposed to be the true meaning of Gildas. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, vol. i. , chap, ix. , § x. , n. 155, p. 479- —"
3^ Dr. Lanigan here observes :
he could not want documents to direct him in assigning the times of the more remark- able transactions of his countrymen. Might not Bede's adout the 44/^ year be relative to one period, and Gildas' positive i^th to ano- ther ? so that it would be true that the battle was fought about the 44th year after the ar- rival, and likewise precisely in the 44th be- fore the year in which Gildas wrote, making altogether, until this last date, about 87 years. Besides, Ussher's argument is merely negative, and, at most, proves nothing more than that we cannot conclude from Gildas' words that the battle took place about A. D. 492. It does not, however, show that it was not fought about that time, nor help us to fix the precise year of it. " Ibid. , p. 480.
3* See "Annates Ordinis S. Benedict! ,"
Lives of the 37 According to Francis Rosiers, in Cambro- British Saints. Appendix vii. , p. 598
tomus i. , lib. vi. , § xix. , p. 150.
beth. See Rev. W. J. Rees' "
" Stemmatibus Lotharingiae," King Arthur began his reign in Britain A. D. 491 ; accord-
ing to Polydore Virgil, lib. iii. , Gordon, and others, A. D. 493 ; while Ussher, in his " In- dex Chronologicus," has this event at A. u.
508.
35 According to the life of Gildas, by the
Monk of Ruys, he was born in Arecluta.
''^ The Monk of Ruys states that Gildas'
father, Caunus, had five sons. The eldest
was named Cuillus, according to this ac- count, and he succeeded in the kingdom to which he was heir.
•''These forms of names were common among the ancient Scots. Conn is a name peculiarly Irish.
Surely
This is said to be " Scotioe validum propug- ""
naculum. See Mabillon's Annales Or- dinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. i. , § xix. ,
p. 150-
39 The name is said to have been derived
from this district.
'*° Thus do I fin—d it named in an edition
of Venerable Bede while Alcluith or Al- duich is found in other MSS. See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 24. There we ar—e told— or rather it is intimated distinctly that the Scoti or Irish colonists were in those parts north of the Clyde, which river separated the Picts and Britons. Bede tells us, however, that Alcuith was a strong British city, even to his own times.
"•' Ussher has changed this name into Ar- gathelia, near the Glotta or Clyde river. See
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 354, and "Index Chronologi- cus," ad A. D. ccccxxv. , p. 515.
*^ Colgan derives this name from "Ar,"
alias " Or," a "limit," or "boundary," and " Ail," a " rock," which is connected with theCluitorCluide,onitsrightbank. See Bede's " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- glorum," lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
*3Thiswasitslatername. SeeCamden's
" Britannia," p. 666,
"^^ Buchanan calls this district "vallem
Glottianam. " See "Rerum Scoticarum
Historia," lib. i. , p. 13.
sIn the "Legenda" of John of Tin-
mouth, he is named "Can rex Albanioe. " "•^ "GildaswasthesonofCawofBritain. " —The pedigrees of Welsh saints, taken out
of an old manuscript, once in possession of John Lewis, Esq. , Llanwenny, in the county of Radnor, about the time of Queen Eliza-
"
.
,
476 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 29.
heisnamedNau+9orNauus. 5° HeissaidtohavebeenaKingofScotland or Albania,5^ while other accounts make him King of the Picts. s^ He was blessed with a numerous offspring,s3 several of whom were distinguished for pietyandvalour. S4 Hiseldestson,bysomecalledCuillus,55byotherwriters is named Howelus,56 Hoel,57 Huel, or Huelinus. Mailoc, another son, was brought up with a knowledge of sacred letters, in which, after he had been excellently instructed, he left his father and all his worldly pretensions. He afterwards built a monastery in a district called Luihes,^^ where, in the village of Elmail, he lived and died in great sanctity. Two other brothers, Egreass? and Allsecus,^ with their sister Peteona,^' in like manner abandoned the world, and choose a retired place in the furthest extremity of that country. ^^ There, living near each other, yet in separate cells,^3 by watching, fasting, and fervent prayer, they continually tended towards their heavenly home, till they were called at last to the joys of their Lord. ^-*
From his earliest years, our saint, ^vith all the warm affections of his soul, endeavouredtobecomeatrueservantofChrist. Aboyofgooddisposition, he was addicted to a love for learning. When a child, Gildas was com- mitted by his parents to the care of St. Iltutus,^5 who brought him up in his monastery of Llan-Iltut, in Glamorganshire. ^^ There he was instructed in the sacred Scriptures, and in the liberal sciences. He had an excellent me- mory for all his master taught. He principally applied to an acquisition of the seven chief courses of knowledge, with studious zeal. Sacred letters, where his great proficiency appears to this day, in what has been preserved ofhiswritings,^7wereespeciallytheobjectofhisschoolexercises. Atthese he continued until he arrived at puberty. St. Iltut^^ dwelt in a certain small
4' Caradoc thus names him. Ussher thinks
that Gildas Albanius may have had for his
father this Navus or Navis, who was the ma-
ternal grandfather of St. Columkille. See
"
Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. DXXII. , p. 527.
Connaught, where a St. Mailan or Mailoc was venerated on the 1 7th of May.
59 Colgan thinks he may possibly be a St. Aireid or Egread, veneratoi at the 26th of
August.
^ Colgan thinks he may be identified with
5°He "
is called Nanus rex St, Oilleoc or of Cluain
Pictorum,"by Alleoc,
John Bale. Nau or Nana is shown by Col- venerated on the 24th of July.
Etdien,
to have been a common name
gan among
the Scots.
S' Capgrave calls him King of Albania, or North Britain, and so it is said Gildas got the name of Albanius. Alluding to his own times, Caradoc calls that prince a King of the Scots. But, according to Dr. Lanigan, the Scots did not get possession of Areclutha until long after the birth of Gildas. See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. x. , n. 158, pp. 480, 481.
5^ In the copy of Caradoc, used by Bale, cent, ii. , cap. 87, he is thus called.
S3 Caradoc of Lanncarvan states, that Nau had twenty-four sons, who were warlike and victorious, while among these was Gildas, whom his parents devoted to a learned course of studies.
*' St. Petonea little can be Regarding
gleaned from our calendars.
5* See " Acta Sanctorum
ruum Occidentis," lib. i.
*3That for the sister was built between
the cells occupied by her brothers.
'••See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , pp. 79, 80.
'5 His feast occurs on the 6th of Novem-
ber. See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints, vol. xL, vi. November. AlsoCressy's " Church History of Brittany," book xi. , chap, xxvii. , p. 251. —
Hibernia2,"xxix. Januarii, pp. 178, 179, 181.
^IfindbyconjectureofWilkins witha
55 He is thus named by the Monk of Ruys.
s* John of Tinmouth so styles him.
5' The Registry of Glastonbury thus calls him.
the foundation of Lanntwit Illtyd monastery placed at a. d. 508. See "Wales, Past and Present," chap, xxvii. ,
p. 211.
•*' See Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
s^Colgan offers a conjecture—without, Sancta," —*
80.
however, insisting much on its accuracy There is a Latin life of this saint, with that this place may be Snamh Luither, in an English translation, in the Rev. W. J.
^
Gonon numbers them among the Bene-
dictine saints, under this heading
SS. Eremitarum Gildae cognomentpj Sapi- entis, nee non Mailoci, — Allaeci fra-
Egrese, trum et Peteonae Sororis. " "De
Vitis Pat-
doubt implied—
part i. , p.
— :
" Vitse
January 29. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
and barren island with his disciples, while St. Gildas Badonicus^^ was his pupil. Here, in his endeavour to distinguish the latter from St. Gildas Alba- nius, who is supposed to have been born a. d.
425,7° the learned Ussher finds himself involved in chronological difficulties. In the hypothesis, that St. Iltut was the teacher of St. Gildas Badonicus, he must have thus taught about the year 530,7^ and the death of Iltutus is accordingly brought down by conjecture to 540. 7^ Yet elsewhere, the latter is said by Ussher to have been an abbot73 when he baptized St. Samson,74 who is stated to have been consecrated bishop a. d. 521, the very year after the birth of Gildas Bado- nicus. Now, the two latter holy men are classed as school-fellows, at the school of Iltutus. Besides, St. Samson,7s a certain St. Paul7fi studied with him at this place. While Gildas was subject to this discipline, he was most obedient and self-restrained ; his renown for charity and wisdom commenced. Having a beautiful form and features, and of high lineage, he was in rank, but especially in purity of morals, superior to the most distinguished sons of nobles there receiving instruction. Foremost in ability and acquirements, the world was crucified to him, and he to the world. Assiduous in learning ;
given to watching and prayer ; affable in manners ; grave and thoughtful beyond his years, he could profitably associate both with the young and the
old, accommodating himself to the humours of either class, yet always ob- serving propriety. 77 While at school, likewise, our saint was distinguished by the performance of miracles •^^ and he was a most useful and promising member of this early collegiate institute.
CHAPTER II.
ST. GILDA—S MAKES A VOYAGE TO IRELAND—HIS AUSTERITIES—HIS STUDIOUS DISPOSI-
TION HEFASHIONSABELLFOR
ST. BRIGID—HIS PROFESSORSHIP — ATARMAGH
HIS ORDINATION, PREACHING, MIRACLES AND CONVERSIONS HE IS THOUGHT TO ——
HAVEVISITEDIRELANDASECONDTIME,WHENINVITEDBYKINGAINMIRE HIS LABOURS THERE.
Having spent some well-employed years, under the tutelage of St. Iltutus, in sacred and profane learning, Gildas bade farewell to his master and to his
Rees' "Lives of the Cambro-British chap, ix. , sec. x. , n. 160, p. 481.
Saints," pp. 158 to 182, and 465 to 494, 74 gee Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesi- ^"
According to Ussher. arum Antiquitates, cap. xiii. , p. 252, cap. 7° Ussher calls the father of Gildas, who xiv. , p. 274, and "Index Chronologicus,"
was at the school of St. Iltut, Caun, and
the latter, too, he states was the father of
Gildas Albanius. See "Britannicarum
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. XV. , p. 354,
and "Index Chronologicus," ad A. D. century, is said to be still remaining in the CCCCXXV. , p. 515.
7' We must allow that Gildas hardly went
7=" See Ussher's "Britannicarum Eccle- siarum Antiquitates," cap. xiv. , p. 274, and "IndexChronologicus,"adA. D. DXL. , p. 529.
73 Dr. Lanigsm argues, that taking Ussher's
old, and that we can hardly believe he kept nici, cap. iii. , pp. 181, 182, and n. 8, pp. a school sixty years afterwards. See "Ec- 188,189.
clesiastical History of Ireland," v(ji. i. , '^See J(5z^. , cap. iv. , v. , p. 182.
to him as a
ninth or tenth year.
in " graved Jones'
pupil
before he had attained the
History
of
Wales," chap,
Iltutus must have been abbot at
latest about 491, at least thirty-five years nice," xxix. Januarii. Vita S. Gildse Bado-
admissions,
ad A. D. DVIIL, p. 525.
7S See his life at the 28th of July. The
cross of Iltudus, thought to have been erected by Sampson about the middle of the sixth
churchyard of Lantwit, in Glamorganshire. Its archaic inscriptions are to be seen en-
ii. , p. 39.
76^ciaudius Robertus, in his catalogue of
the Bishops of Dol, in Armorica, places the death of this holy man at the 12th of March, and about the year 600.
77 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
478 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 29.
fellow-disciples. Then he went over to Iren for further instruction. By this place, we are to understand Erinn, or Ireland. It has indeed been stated, through want of sufficient knowledge, that Iren was an academy in Great Britain,^ and some have gone so far as to make it identical with Oxford. ^ But it is quite evident, from the sequel, it was in Ireland, Gildas, a diligent lover of study, sought out the most renowned doctors in philosophy and theology. Here, like a faithful servant, he treasured the talent he had re- ceived from God, that it might be returned to him with usury. Of Gildas it might truly be affirmed, that if the sword of the persecutor reached him not, hedidnotlosethemartyr'spalm. AgainstthetemptationsofSatanhere- solutely contended, and he subjected himself to a rigorous course of penance to subdue bodily failings. Towards himself he seemed to direct the scourge, and to bear his self-imposed persecution patiently for the sake of Christ, so thathislifemightberegardedasacontinuousmartjTdom. There,too,in Ireland he frequented the most celebrated schools in quest of divine and human learning. 3 Like the industrious bee, he gathered from every flower the honey of virtue and knowledge, for his own and his neighbour's benefit. In the meantime, he chastised his body and brought it under subjection ; lest, with all his learning, while preaching to others, he himself might become a cast-away. Therefore he fasted much, and he often watched whole nights. He employed those silent hours of darkness in prayer. * As to fasting, he seems to have practised excessive rigour : for the writer of his acts affirms, as a thing he had learned from a reliable source, that from the age of fifteen until the day he died, Gildas only partook of three meals each week. Even
when he eat, it was only very sparingly. 5
It is stated, that Gildas was able with his own hands to exercise in certain
artistic productions. At the request of St Brigid, an illustrious virgin pre- siding as abbess over a monastery of virgins, he made and sent her a bell. ^ This she desired to possess as a relic. ' If the holy virgin were the great abbess of Kildare, as seems to be indicated ; supposing its occurrence, this event must have been towards the close of her life. ^ Again we are told, that
Chap. ii. —* A statement of
Bosco, attached to the margin, in the Monk
of Ruys' biography of Gildas. By Diodorus
Siculus, Ireland is called Iru, lib. v. , p.
309. The Irish are called Irenses by Ode-
ricus Vitalis, in his Ecclesiastical History, at
A. D. 1094, lib. X. ; and by yElnothus of Gildas AIbanius, Ussher assigns it to A. n, Canterbury, in his life of Canute they are
called Iri, chap. x.
" Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
absurdity of this fable. See "Antiquities Index Chronologicus, A. D. CCCCLXXXIV. ,
' has however Stillingfleet
the
In those times there were in Ireland,
exposed of the British Church," chap. iv.
Antiquitates. "
"
3
ccccxcvill. , pp. 523, 524. Yet the life, which mentions this transaction, places it subsequently to the return of Gildas from Ireland. From this, too, Ussher quotes at p. 905 of his work. Hence, according to his own calculation, it must have been later than 508. See ibid. A. D. DVlli. , p. 525.
' See the Monk of Ruys' narrative, chap, ix. Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
besides the school of Armagh, those of Ailbe,
Moctheus, Enda, Naal, &c. , &c. Ussher in
pursuance of his hypothesis, mentions (p.
907) among the schools, which Gildas might
have frequented, that of Finnian at Clonard,
imagining that it was his Badonicus, who is
said to have come to Iren, and according to
him in the year 540 [Ind. Chron. )" See xxix. Januarii, p. 183.
Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § x. , n. 162, p.
482. Gildas, who came to Ireland, taught for some time in Armagh, and therefore was not different from him called Albanius by Ussher.
* See that account, given by the Monk of
^
She is said to have died about 521 or 523. See her life at the 1st of Februarj-. Colgan thinks this transaction must reler to Gildas Albanius, whom) he distinguishes from Gildas Badonicus. See ibid. , n. 11, p. 189.
John
de
" Historia Vitae S. Gildae "
Ruys.
Hibemise," xxix. Januarii, p. 182.
Sapientis," cap. vi. , vii. Colgan's Acta Sanctorum
"
Thinking this narrative referable to
5 See Bishop Challenor's
Britannia Sanc-
ta," part i. , p. 80. *
484. Yet, strange to say, he does not bring Albanius to Ireland until A. D. 498. See
January 29. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 479
while Gildas, the Historian of Britain,? remained in Ireland, he preached
much and discharged the duties of a professor in the city of Armagh. '"
It seems more than likely from the order of narrative," that this saint
hadbeenpromotedtoHolyOrdersinIreland. WhenGildaswasordaineda priest, he went to preach the Gospel in Britain's northern parts. There a great part of the inhabitants were as yet pagans. Among the nominal Christians, many were infected with Pelagian heresy. God blessed the labours of Gildas with such signal success, that great numbers both of the pagans and heretics, through his means, were converted to Christ. Many miracles were wrought through him. He cured blind, lame, and sick, in confirmation of his doctrine. His great fame attracted multitudes to his sermons. The Church of Christ received a daily accession to its member- ship ; and finally, he succeeded in drawing people of various British pro- vinces over to the true Catholic doctrine. Idols and their temples were overthrown by those, who had formerly been pagans ; while in their stead churcheswereerectedatconvenientplaces. Severalnobles,withtheirwives, children and families, received the grace of Christian baptism. " When Gildas saw that so much had been accomplished, filled with great joy, he is
said thus to have " I prayed :
thee
O Lord who Jesus Christ,
thanks,
hast deigned to bring this people, so long straying from thee, to a know-
there valuable "Memoir introductory to the early History of the
canim Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates," pp. 443,
in Rev. Robert
King's
Church of Armagh. "
bernire," xxix. Januarii. Vita S.
