Aldetrude
and her prayers.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
^s it is considered probable,^^ that this saint was a different person from a Kenan, mentioned by Ussher.
^7 Although he speaks of that holy man, as having been in many other places, Ussher by no means insinuates, that his Kenan belonged to Duleek.
Allowing our saint to have been identical with him, mentioned by Ussher, and that he must have been at least twenty years old, before leaving Ireland ; the present Kenan should have attained the great age of nearly 130 years, in such a hypothesis.
Were we to suppose this saint identical with the Kenan of Plou-Kernaw, it follows, that he flourished about the middle of the sixth century, for, he was present at the death of loava, which took place, at this period.
We read, in the Life of this latter holy person,^^ that three days be- fore his death, the illness of this bishop had been revealed to St.
Pau^s at his monastery, in the Island of Baaz, and to St.
Kenan, in Plou-Kernaw.
This latter immediately went to St.
Paul, who sent him to Brazparza to afford the dying bishop assistance, and to prepare his obsequies.
St.
Ioava^° was greatly comforted on the saini's arrival.
St.
Kenan administered to him all necessary sacraments.
The pious bishop departed to a better life, on the
• **
Article i. — See Life ofthe Apostle
St. John," translated from the French of M. L. Baunard.
= See *• Acta Sanctorum Hibernias," XXV. Februarii. De S. Kenano Abbate, p. 413. 3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Feb-
ruarii xxv. Among the pretermitted saints, pp. 484, 485.
See his Life, at the 24th of November.
vi. , n. 64, p. 345.
" See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Bishops of
Meath," p. 137.
*= See "Monasticon Hibernicum," at
Duleek, p. 533.
'^ In his " Britannicanim Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 411.
'-* See his "Index Chronologicus," at
A. D. ccccL. , p. 519. Ibid.
'5 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 533.
s By Culgan.
** See his Life, at the 2nd of March. is said to liave died about the year 554.
He
'^ By Rev. Dr. Lanigan. "
7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernian" ii. Martii. Vita S. loavre, Episcopi Leonensis, n. II, p. 444.
^ See Albert Le Grande, " Dc Sanctis Britannios Armoricae," at his Life of St. laova, chap, xiii. , at the 2nd of March.
' See " Acta Sanctorum," tomusiii. , Feb- ruarii xxv. Among the pretermitted saints, P- 485"
'° See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
quitates. " Addenda quadaem omissa, p.
508. »8
3ee Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nice," ii. Martii. Vita S. laovce Episcopi
•Leonensis, cap. xiv,, pp. 442, 443.
'"^ His feast occurs, at the 12th of March.
-° This holy bishop accompanied St. Paul of Leon to Britanny. See Dom. Gui Alexis
"" Lobineau's Histoire de Bretagne, Tome
i,, liv. ii. , sect, ccix. , p. 76.
" Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xvi.
^^ See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 699
2nd of March, a. d. 554. We have no further reliable account of St. Kenan. That name mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallaghj^*^ at this date, is Ciaran, Abbot—a mistake probably for Cianan. The Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, likewise, commemorate St. Cianan, at
='-
the 25th of February. recorded,asbeingveneratedonthisday,Cianan,Abbot. Weknownotthe place, exactly, where his office had been discharged. An industrious cleric and countryman,^* in collecting the valuable remains of ancient literature, has re- marked, that he resembled poor Ruthj^'s who having no field of her own, went to glean in the fields of Booz, those ears which the reapers left behind them f^ and so, when we cannot satisfactorily gather all that might comprise a perfect account of our saints, the best that may be done is to collect what might otherwise be scattered and lost.
Article II. —St. Aldetrude, or Aldetrudis, Virgin and Abbess
OF Malbod, OR Maubeuge, Belgium. \_Seve? ith Ceiitury. \ This holy virgin is claimed as belonging to the Saints of Ireland, by Father John Colgan, who inserts her Acts at the 25th of February,' because on the father's side, her ancestral blood was Irish, even although she was born in Belgium, and con- stantlylivedthere. TheBollandists,^afteraScholiastintroduction,produce a brief Latin Life of the saint, adding some few notes, by way of elucidation. 3 The father of St. Aldetrude was Maelceadar* or Maldegarius, also called Vincent, the latter name having been received on account of numerous victories he obtained, and for this reason, too, he was created Count of Hainault, in the Low Countries, by Dagobert, the renowned King of the Franks. This latter monarch to increase those honours gave his relative St. Waldetrude,5 or Waldetrudis, in marriage. Their alliance was the happy occasion, for giving at a future time iour holy children to the Church, viz. : St. Landric,^ Bishop of Meaux ; St. Dentelinus,? Patron of Rosensis, in Cleves ; St. Aldetrude and St. Madelberta. ^ The sister of St. Waldetrude, called St. Aldegunde,9 had founded a religious establishment at Maubeuge,''' a town in French Flanders, and near the southern border line of Belgium. From her earliest infancy, St. Aldetrude, Avith her sister, St. Maldeberta, was distinguished for her pious dispositions ; and both were placed under the charge of their holy aunt Aldegunde, to receive a secular and a religious trainuig. The influence and precepts of this holy woman" soon brought her nieces to despise the vanities of this world, and to resolve on dedicating their virgin souls to Christ. Our saint especially loved to hear the Gospel
" See
ni^," XXV. Februarii, n. I, p. 413, and ii. Martii,n. 11,p. 443.
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- in the Monastery of Rubra Vallis, near Bruxelles, and inserted in the first part of theBrabantineHagiology; andagain,from Lessons of the Breviary, for the collegiate
=3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
56, 57.
^* I'homas de Hibernia, of the Order of
Preachers.
church ot Mons, founded by St. Waldetrude. -» See his Life, at the 14th of July.
s See her Acts, at the 9th of April.
See notices ol him, at the 17th of April.
^ =* ** 7
^s Ruth, ii.
See Introductio, p. ii. , a. , Manipulus
of
See notices of her, at the 7ih ol Sep-
Also, in the Martyrology of Donegal,'3 we find
See notices of him, at the I4ih Article IL—' See "Acta Sanctorum tember.
July,
riorum. " Venetiis,nodate,4to.
"
Hibernice," xxv. Februarii. De S. Aide- trude Abbatissa Malbodiensi, p. 412.
^ Her festival occurs, at the 30th of Jan*
uary.
'^ A canton and town of Nord Depart-
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Feb-
ruarii xxv. De S. Aldetrude Virgine Abba- ment, on the River Sambre, where an
tissa Malbodii, in Belgio, pp. 509 to 511.
•3 These Acts are made up from a Manu- script Codex of St. Aldetrude's Life, found
ancient college of noble Canonesses formerly
" ix. , pp. 161, 162.
stood. See
Gazetteer of the World," vol.
70O LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February25.
to the wise and foolish '^^ and to other sublime sentences, relating virgins,
maxims of religion. Filled with Divine faith, her thoughts were wholly absorbed in the ambition to enter heaven by the narrow gate. Inflamed with Divine love, she engaged in fervent and constant prayer, in continual vigils, in abundant alms-givings, and in the discharge of every ordinary duty, that devolved on the perfect religious. One interesting anecdote of her economical regard for the conventual state is related. Being resolved, that the wax used in the altar candles should not go to waste, Aldetrude gathered the scrapings, drippings, and fragments of tapers to put them again into the pot. When placed on the fire, however, and when the wax melted, it caught tire. Thinking there was danger from the blaze, and not wishing to lose the wax, Aldetrude boldly seized the pot, and lifted it in her hands from the fire, tothestonefloor. Althoughsomeofthemeltedwaxranoverherhandsand arms, she miraculously escaped without any burn or hurt, as a consequence of this brave adventure's This gave great edification to all the servants of the convent, who were present. Several sisters in her nunnery had remarkable visions,confirmingthesanctityofAldetrude. Oneofthesevisionsshoweda star descending and ascending, as if inviting the nuns to the marriage feast
of their heavenly bridegroom. When her holy aunt, Aldegunde, was sum- moned from earth to heaven,'-^ our saint was appointed to succeed her, in the administration of conventual affairs, at Maubeuge. Over this community shepresidedmostreligiously,foratermoftwelveyears. Duringthisperiod, St. Aldetrude ruled her nuns with great care and charity. One of her spiritual daughters, when the offices for the day had ended, and when all had retired to rest, enjoyed a vision of the Apostle St. Peter and of St. Aldetrude. They seemed to stand, at the corner of the altar, and engaged in conversation.
guardianship, and I shall bring to naught the efforts of the old enemy. " Again looking, the nun saw a honey-comb on the lips of her Abbess, and a ladder was near, by which she endeavoured to ascend towards heaven. The relation of this vision gave great comfort to Aldetrude's religious community. Another nun heard one Sunday night the sound. of men's voices speaking to the Abbess, whose hand she held in the courtyard of the nunnery. Yet could she see no person. But venturing to ask her superioress, what she had
With a benignant smile, the Apostle was heard to exclaim
amiable virgin, for I shall have thee and thy servants under my constant
"
shalt be wedded to an eternal king. " Aldetrude then fell upon her knees,
learned, the latter said,
I heard them say : because thou art a queen, thou
"
Another time, eagles were seen flying towards
heaven and bearing thither, as it were, St.
Aldetrude and her prayers. Yet,
she had some doubts regarding their efficacy, and respecting her own merits ; but, she was re-assured in a nocturnal vision, when she saw a large and a bright crystal globe fly before her and towards the East. A few days, after- wards, a holy priest told her, that on the night of the Epiphany, he beheld a venerable long-haired man, coming as an Eastern King, with three wands, bearing flowers, in his hand. These he presented to Aldetrude, saying, " Thou shalt rule them with a wand, and they shall grow in her hand to the clouds. " The holy Abbess fell on her knees, and prayed with tears to God. Again, being in the open space, before the doors of her church, and alone,
" The Life of St. Aldegonde, also called " St. Matt, xxv. , I to 13.
Aldegondes and Orgonne, was written soon *3 gee Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of after her death. A second Life was com- the Saints," vol. ii. , February xxv. , p. 414. posed a century later, and a third Life, by ' Her death is said to have occurred Jan-
Hucbald, a learned monk of St. Amand's, uary 30th a. d. 660. See Rev. All)an
in 90O4 Butler's
and in
joy
struck her breast "
devoutly, saying,
Lord,
how can this since be,
1 am an unworthy sinner ?
'*
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
:
" Have courage,
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 701
looking towards the south, she was dazzled with the most vivid flashes of lightning, while a tremendous roar of thunder was heard. This terrified her
"
spirit. " Suddenly, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, in the shape of a most
so much, that she cried out,
Lord Jesus, into thy hands, I commend my
^^
This is — inferred,
from her term of rule
twelve years over Maubeuge.
'9 Thus, Mirceus, Molanus, Menard, Wion,
s
Ferrarius, the BoUandisls, Saussay, Dor- p. 342, and n. 59, p. 376.
gain, Bucelin, Colgan, Gelenius, Lahicrius,
a very ancient manuscript of St. Richarius,
at Centule, a manuscript Ado, belonging to
the Monastery of St. Laurence, at Leodium.
A manuscript Florarius has January 28th, as
the date for her festival ; while some more
recent Kalendars refer it, to the 15th of in Kilmacduagh Diocese.
March. — Article III.
Colcu, of Cluain Colgan at Athcluna- Meadhraidhe, and Fael, and Sarar, three children of Aedh, son of Aedh, son of Lug- haidh, son of Uaitti, son of Fiachrach, son of Eochaidh Muighraedoin. "—Book of Le- can.
'
The tenor of our subse- quent account should make the present monk that patron saint, whose Acts are given by Colgan, in "Acta Sanctorum Hi- berniae," xx. Februarii. De S. Colgo sive Colgano, Abbate de Kill-Colgan, in Con-
'°
This surname, Draigniche, is Ilib.
and " Be not I will said, afraid,
comely young man, passed by,
This gave her great confidence and courage. One of St. Aldetrude's reli- gious sisters related to St. Dado or Audoen,^5 the bishop, a full account regarding the Life of her Abbess, not doubting but they should have an account of it for Maubeuge Nunnery, as the Abbot Sobnias, or Sobinus, had written a Life of her aunt, St. Aldegunde,'^ for the Monastery of Nivelles. St. Aldetrude departed to bliss, on the 25th of February ;^7 and, the year of her death is said to have been a. d. 676,'^ although the Bollandists seem to think,thatshesurvivedSt. Audeon. ^9 Butthisisbynomeanscertain.
Article III. —Reputed Feast of Cailtan, or Coelten, or Colga,
Monk,atIona,Scotland. Muchuncertaintyprevails,regardingtheiden- tification and festival of Cailtan or Colga ;^ for, some Scotch writers seek to confound the names, which to us seem to be quite distinct. There is a record of this holy man, in the Kalendar of David Camerarius, at the 25th of February,^ and Bishop Forbes has entered, likewise, some particulars, regard- ingCailtanorColga. 3 AccordingtotheascribedTreatiseofSt. ^^ngus,-^Cuil- lenda or Cuilenn wasthe mother of Cailtanus, also called Colgan, Colgius or Colga. His sister was Faillen, and his brothers were Aedh and Sorarius. s Both Camerarius and Dempster observe, that their Cailtan was an abbot f and, although the last-named writer assigns him a festival, at the 13th of March, in his Scottish History,^ yet, neither at that or at the present date is there any mention of him, in the Scottish Menologies. It may be a subject for enquiry, if the present monk were identical with one known as Colgius, or Colgan,^ or Colcu,9 the son of Aid Draigniche/° and who resided in the
other principal Saints," vol. i. , January xxx. 's His feast occurs at the 24th of August,
rectly used in a manuscript copy of Adam- nan for Colgcus.
-
Colgan has an unsupported conjecture, that the feast of Cailtan might have been, at
tlie 25th of July, or at the 2gth of October.
See " Trias Thaumaturga," n. 76, p. 379. "
and he died A. D. 689,
^^ " According to Mirceus'
In Fastis Bel-
gicis," she died A. D. 664.
'7 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. De
S. Aldetrude Virgine, Abbatissa Maibodii
in Belgio, n. (i), p. 511.
^"
On the Mothers of the Irish Saints. " See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xvii. ,
3 gee Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. — 235, 294.
nacia, pp. 380, 381. The same writer 'O^^A151l15e, the genitive of "OpAigneAch, observes, that Colcius or Colgius is incor- "blackthorn. "
^
Brunus make him an Abbot in Sutherland.
Dempster states, that the collections of
"
7 gee
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , num. 227, p. 163.
9
''
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
^ He was patron, it is said, of Kilcolgan,
guard you. "
702 -LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February25.
Island of lona, during the time of St. Columba. " He was asked by the saint, on a certain occasion, whether his mother, Ciiillenn," was rehgious or
not. This Colga,'3 who belonged to the Hy Fiachrach tribe,'^ answered, that he had always known his mother to be good, and to have borne such a
character. The saint then the spoke
words
"
following prophetic
return to Scolia,'^ and interrogate your mother closely, regarding her very grievous sin,^*^ which she does not wish to confess to any man. " In obedience to these words, he sailed for Ireland. When Colgu interrogated his mother
closely, though at first denying it, she at last confessed her sin.
Doing penance, according to the judgment'? of the saint, she was absolved,'^ and she wondered very much, at what had been revealed to Columba, regarding her. '9 But Colga, returning to the saint, remained with him for some days.
'* '"
See his feast, at the 9th of June.
^^
This occurrence took place, before Failbhe Flann was King of Munster, and consequently before the death of St. Co-
The Tract, attributed to Saint iliingus
the Culdee, " On the Mothers of the Irish
Saints," supplies the following curious lumba. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
commentary on this passage : CuiileAtro iriACAi-p choLc<Mi mec <\ex»A ocu]" trxxilnToi A fechAiv 1 c^\X ColjAn ic At cLmc nie-o- l\ATOi, ut dicitur :
Cint-LetTO TnAc;Ai)\ CotjAn caiii CocbAX) 1 nnng Uillenn eA-o
La V'^'^iLbe 5A11 chAifeA-o cuiL •Oo U1T0 1 CAi^^el A^x eel.
Hibernice," xx. Februarii, n! 4, p. 381.
'7 The word used is "judicalionem," for the judicial decision of the saint. The Bol-
* Cuillenn was mother of Colga, son of Mabillon, " Musieum Italicum," vol. i. , p.
and of Failinn his sister, in Cill "Deum acmisericor- Aedh, 395. omnipotentem,
Colgan, at Ath-cliath-Medraidhi, tct dicitur :
Cuillenn the mother of Colga the chaste
Was reared at Magh Ulien for a time
By Failbhe, without charge of guilt : She went to Cashel straying. '
This Failbhe Flann was King of Munster,
and he died A. D. 637, having reigned four- "
dem qui non vult mortem peccatorum, sed ut convertantur et vivant, fratres carissimi deprecemur, ut ad veniam rectam famulus luus [111. i. e. , N. N. ], misericordix veniam propiciatus indulgeat, si qua sunt culparum suarum omnium vulnera quce post sacri lavacri undam contraxit, ita in hac publica confessione delicta sanentur, ut nulla cica- tricum signa remaneant. Per Dominum
teen years. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum nostrum Jesum Christum. " In a very Iliberniae," xx. Februarii, p. 381. Two ancient Irish poem, on the duties of the
lines of the above stanza are incorrectly translated.
*3 The great-grandfather of Colga is said to have been Lughaidh, brother to OilioU
*' "
abbot of a church," the same word is used.
Molt, King of Ireland, who died A. D. 483. deeds. " The ministry of the priest, in re-
This Lughaidh is said to have been son to Dathi, King of Ireland, who died A. D. 428.
conciling the penitent, is ahso, as in that poem, called by St Adamnan " a judgment. " '9 The rite of absolution varied in form, but was alw ays substantially the same. 'Ihe scended ; and Fiachra was son to Eochaidh words used still by the Greek Church, in
Muighmheadhoin, who died King of Ire- absolving the penitent, are in the form of
"
land A. D. 365, and brother to Niall of the prayer, and are called by divines
INine Hostages, who died King of Ireland toria. " A similar form was used in the
The latter was son to Fiachra Follsnaihach, from whom the Ui Fiachrach family de-
A. D. 405.
•* The tJi i:iAch|\Ach was a tribe, inhabit-
ing an extensive tract of country, in the modern counties of Galway and Mayo. See O'Donovan's "Tribes and Customs of Hy Fiachrach," and the admirable map prefixed to this work.
Latin Church, down to the twelfth century, according to many Catholic divines. The sacramental form of absolution, by the insti- tution of Jesus Christ and the nature of the sacrament, is certainly a judicial act. But, our Lord did not determine, whether in that judgment the indicative or deprecatorial
'5
That is,
" ad
Hiberniam,"
as shown in
sentence
should
be He left that to be used.
the next sentence. See Rev. William fixed by the Church. See Chardon's "llis-
*'
Reeves' Adamnan's n. (c), p. 46.
Life of St. Columba," toire des Sacraments. " Penitence, sect, iv. , part iv. , chap, i. . Absolution. "Hodie
landist's copy reads
"
indicationem," but in-
correctly, as the same word occurs in similar
circumstances.
''^
The word in the original is "sanata. " In "the prayer over the penitent," in St. Columbanus's Missal, at the end of the peni- tential canons, the same word is used. See
It is thine to heal all the hosts, be they lowly or great ; thine to judge each, accord- ing to his station in life, and according to his
:
Quickly
depreca-
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 703
Then asking about his own fortunes, he received this answer from Columba : " In your own country, which you love, you shall be head^° over a certain church^^ for many years, and when at length you see your butler^' playing for a company of friends at supper, and twisting the tap,=3 in a circle round his neck,24 know that you sliall soon die. " This same prophecy of the holy man was exactly fulfilled, as it had been foretold to Colga. St. Columba's early biographer, AdamnaUj^s does not forget to relate another anecdote re- garding him. ^^ This same Colgius, son to Aedh Draigniche, witnessed one night a wonderful apparition. While others were sleeping, he went to the church door, and beheld within a celestial light, which surrounded the wiiole ambit. This fell upon St. Columba, as he prayed thtre, at that late hour. But, soon was Colgius warned of his temerity, for suddenly the church was wrapt in total obscurity. In great fear, he returned to the monastery. Next day, Columba took him to task and warned him, not to enquire too curiously into matters, which were too deep for him, and told him, moreover, that he should not be able to endure the effulgence of celestial light. At the same time, Colgius was dismissed, with a command, that he should not divulge what had happened, so long as Columba was living. According to Colgan, the disciple, Colgo, or Colgcus, spent many years with St. Columba, in the Island of lona, although it appears he afterwards went to Ireland, where he became rector or abbot over a church. Probably after him, this was called Kill-Colgan. It is now a parish, in the barony of Dunkellin, and county of Galway. ==7 H^ lived, it is thought, about a. d. 580. ^2 From circumstances recorded already, and from these which follow, this abbot can hardly be re- cognised, as that monk Cailtan, who in the time of St. Columba lived in a cell, near the lake of the River Aba,^9 supposed to have been the Awe,3° in Argyle. 3^ Or, Lochavich, formerly Loch-Afify, a smaller lake, lying to the north-west, may be here intended.
• **
Article i. — See Life ofthe Apostle
St. John," translated from the French of M. L. Baunard.
= See *• Acta Sanctorum Hibernias," XXV. Februarii. De S. Kenano Abbate, p. 413. 3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Feb-
ruarii xxv. Among the pretermitted saints, pp. 484, 485.
See his Life, at the 24th of November.
vi. , n. 64, p. 345.
" See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Bishops of
Meath," p. 137.
*= See "Monasticon Hibernicum," at
Duleek, p. 533.
'^ In his " Britannicanim Ecclesiarum
Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 411.
'-* See his "Index Chronologicus," at
A. D. ccccL. , p. 519. Ibid.
'5 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 533.
s By Culgan.
** See his Life, at the 2nd of March. is said to liave died about the year 554.
He
'^ By Rev. Dr. Lanigan. "
7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernian" ii. Martii. Vita S. loavre, Episcopi Leonensis, n. II, p. 444.
^ See Albert Le Grande, " Dc Sanctis Britannios Armoricae," at his Life of St. laova, chap, xiii. , at the 2nd of March.
' See " Acta Sanctorum," tomusiii. , Feb- ruarii xxv. Among the pretermitted saints, P- 485"
'° See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical His- tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect.
quitates. " Addenda quadaem omissa, p.
508. »8
3ee Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nice," ii. Martii. Vita S. laovce Episcopi
•Leonensis, cap. xiv,, pp. 442, 443.
'"^ His feast occurs, at the 12th of March.
-° This holy bishop accompanied St. Paul of Leon to Britanny. See Dom. Gui Alexis
"" Lobineau's Histoire de Bretagne, Tome
i,, liv. ii. , sect, ccix. , p. 76.
" Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xvi.
^^ See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 699
2nd of March, a. d. 554. We have no further reliable account of St. Kenan. That name mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallaghj^*^ at this date, is Ciaran, Abbot—a mistake probably for Cianan. The Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, likewise, commemorate St. Cianan, at
='-
the 25th of February. recorded,asbeingveneratedonthisday,Cianan,Abbot. Weknownotthe place, exactly, where his office had been discharged. An industrious cleric and countryman,^* in collecting the valuable remains of ancient literature, has re- marked, that he resembled poor Ruthj^'s who having no field of her own, went to glean in the fields of Booz, those ears which the reapers left behind them f^ and so, when we cannot satisfactorily gather all that might comprise a perfect account of our saints, the best that may be done is to collect what might otherwise be scattered and lost.
Article II. —St. Aldetrude, or Aldetrudis, Virgin and Abbess
OF Malbod, OR Maubeuge, Belgium. \_Seve? ith Ceiitury. \ This holy virgin is claimed as belonging to the Saints of Ireland, by Father John Colgan, who inserts her Acts at the 25th of February,' because on the father's side, her ancestral blood was Irish, even although she was born in Belgium, and con- stantlylivedthere. TheBollandists,^afteraScholiastintroduction,produce a brief Latin Life of the saint, adding some few notes, by way of elucidation. 3 The father of St. Aldetrude was Maelceadar* or Maldegarius, also called Vincent, the latter name having been received on account of numerous victories he obtained, and for this reason, too, he was created Count of Hainault, in the Low Countries, by Dagobert, the renowned King of the Franks. This latter monarch to increase those honours gave his relative St. Waldetrude,5 or Waldetrudis, in marriage. Their alliance was the happy occasion, for giving at a future time iour holy children to the Church, viz. : St. Landric,^ Bishop of Meaux ; St. Dentelinus,? Patron of Rosensis, in Cleves ; St. Aldetrude and St. Madelberta. ^ The sister of St. Waldetrude, called St. Aldegunde,9 had founded a religious establishment at Maubeuge,''' a town in French Flanders, and near the southern border line of Belgium. From her earliest infancy, St. Aldetrude, Avith her sister, St. Maldeberta, was distinguished for her pious dispositions ; and both were placed under the charge of their holy aunt Aldegunde, to receive a secular and a religious trainuig. The influence and precepts of this holy woman" soon brought her nieces to despise the vanities of this world, and to resolve on dedicating their virgin souls to Christ. Our saint especially loved to hear the Gospel
" See
ni^," XXV. Februarii, n. I, p. 413, and ii. Martii,n. 11,p. 443.
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- in the Monastery of Rubra Vallis, near Bruxelles, and inserted in the first part of theBrabantineHagiology; andagain,from Lessons of the Breviary, for the collegiate
=3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
56, 57.
^* I'homas de Hibernia, of the Order of
Preachers.
church ot Mons, founded by St. Waldetrude. -» See his Life, at the 14th of July.
s See her Acts, at the 9th of April.
See notices ol him, at the 17th of April.
^ =* ** 7
^s Ruth, ii.
See Introductio, p. ii. , a. , Manipulus
of
See notices of her, at the 7ih ol Sep-
Also, in the Martyrology of Donegal,'3 we find
See notices of him, at the I4ih Article IL—' See "Acta Sanctorum tember.
July,
riorum. " Venetiis,nodate,4to.
"
Hibernice," xxv. Februarii. De S. Aide- trude Abbatissa Malbodiensi, p. 412.
^ Her festival occurs, at the 30th of Jan*
uary.
'^ A canton and town of Nord Depart-
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Feb-
ruarii xxv. De S. Aldetrude Virgine Abba- ment, on the River Sambre, where an
tissa Malbodii, in Belgio, pp. 509 to 511.
•3 These Acts are made up from a Manu- script Codex of St. Aldetrude's Life, found
ancient college of noble Canonesses formerly
" ix. , pp. 161, 162.
stood. See
Gazetteer of the World," vol.
70O LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February25.
to the wise and foolish '^^ and to other sublime sentences, relating virgins,
maxims of religion. Filled with Divine faith, her thoughts were wholly absorbed in the ambition to enter heaven by the narrow gate. Inflamed with Divine love, she engaged in fervent and constant prayer, in continual vigils, in abundant alms-givings, and in the discharge of every ordinary duty, that devolved on the perfect religious. One interesting anecdote of her economical regard for the conventual state is related. Being resolved, that the wax used in the altar candles should not go to waste, Aldetrude gathered the scrapings, drippings, and fragments of tapers to put them again into the pot. When placed on the fire, however, and when the wax melted, it caught tire. Thinking there was danger from the blaze, and not wishing to lose the wax, Aldetrude boldly seized the pot, and lifted it in her hands from the fire, tothestonefloor. Althoughsomeofthemeltedwaxranoverherhandsand arms, she miraculously escaped without any burn or hurt, as a consequence of this brave adventure's This gave great edification to all the servants of the convent, who were present. Several sisters in her nunnery had remarkable visions,confirmingthesanctityofAldetrude. Oneofthesevisionsshoweda star descending and ascending, as if inviting the nuns to the marriage feast
of their heavenly bridegroom. When her holy aunt, Aldegunde, was sum- moned from earth to heaven,'-^ our saint was appointed to succeed her, in the administration of conventual affairs, at Maubeuge. Over this community shepresidedmostreligiously,foratermoftwelveyears. Duringthisperiod, St. Aldetrude ruled her nuns with great care and charity. One of her spiritual daughters, when the offices for the day had ended, and when all had retired to rest, enjoyed a vision of the Apostle St. Peter and of St. Aldetrude. They seemed to stand, at the corner of the altar, and engaged in conversation.
guardianship, and I shall bring to naught the efforts of the old enemy. " Again looking, the nun saw a honey-comb on the lips of her Abbess, and a ladder was near, by which she endeavoured to ascend towards heaven. The relation of this vision gave great comfort to Aldetrude's religious community. Another nun heard one Sunday night the sound. of men's voices speaking to the Abbess, whose hand she held in the courtyard of the nunnery. Yet could she see no person. But venturing to ask her superioress, what she had
With a benignant smile, the Apostle was heard to exclaim
amiable virgin, for I shall have thee and thy servants under my constant
"
shalt be wedded to an eternal king. " Aldetrude then fell upon her knees,
learned, the latter said,
I heard them say : because thou art a queen, thou
"
Another time, eagles were seen flying towards
heaven and bearing thither, as it were, St.
Aldetrude and her prayers. Yet,
she had some doubts regarding their efficacy, and respecting her own merits ; but, she was re-assured in a nocturnal vision, when she saw a large and a bright crystal globe fly before her and towards the East. A few days, after- wards, a holy priest told her, that on the night of the Epiphany, he beheld a venerable long-haired man, coming as an Eastern King, with three wands, bearing flowers, in his hand. These he presented to Aldetrude, saying, " Thou shalt rule them with a wand, and they shall grow in her hand to the clouds. " The holy Abbess fell on her knees, and prayed with tears to God. Again, being in the open space, before the doors of her church, and alone,
" The Life of St. Aldegonde, also called " St. Matt, xxv. , I to 13.
Aldegondes and Orgonne, was written soon *3 gee Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of after her death. A second Life was com- the Saints," vol. ii. , February xxv. , p. 414. posed a century later, and a third Life, by ' Her death is said to have occurred Jan-
Hucbald, a learned monk of St. Amand's, uary 30th a. d. 660. See Rev. All)an
in 90O4 Butler's
and in
joy
struck her breast "
devoutly, saying,
Lord,
how can this since be,
1 am an unworthy sinner ?
'*
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
:
" Have courage,
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 701
looking towards the south, she was dazzled with the most vivid flashes of lightning, while a tremendous roar of thunder was heard. This terrified her
"
spirit. " Suddenly, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, in the shape of a most
so much, that she cried out,
Lord Jesus, into thy hands, I commend my
^^
This is — inferred,
from her term of rule
twelve years over Maubeuge.
'9 Thus, Mirceus, Molanus, Menard, Wion,
s
Ferrarius, the BoUandisls, Saussay, Dor- p. 342, and n. 59, p. 376.
gain, Bucelin, Colgan, Gelenius, Lahicrius,
a very ancient manuscript of St. Richarius,
at Centule, a manuscript Ado, belonging to
the Monastery of St. Laurence, at Leodium.
A manuscript Florarius has January 28th, as
the date for her festival ; while some more
recent Kalendars refer it, to the 15th of in Kilmacduagh Diocese.
March. — Article III.
Colcu, of Cluain Colgan at Athcluna- Meadhraidhe, and Fael, and Sarar, three children of Aedh, son of Aedh, son of Lug- haidh, son of Uaitti, son of Fiachrach, son of Eochaidh Muighraedoin. "—Book of Le- can.
'
The tenor of our subse- quent account should make the present monk that patron saint, whose Acts are given by Colgan, in "Acta Sanctorum Hi- berniae," xx. Februarii. De S. Colgo sive Colgano, Abbate de Kill-Colgan, in Con-
'°
This surname, Draigniche, is Ilib.
and " Be not I will said, afraid,
comely young man, passed by,
This gave her great confidence and courage. One of St. Aldetrude's reli- gious sisters related to St. Dado or Audoen,^5 the bishop, a full account regarding the Life of her Abbess, not doubting but they should have an account of it for Maubeuge Nunnery, as the Abbot Sobnias, or Sobinus, had written a Life of her aunt, St. Aldegunde,'^ for the Monastery of Nivelles. St. Aldetrude departed to bliss, on the 25th of February ;^7 and, the year of her death is said to have been a. d. 676,'^ although the Bollandists seem to think,thatshesurvivedSt. Audeon. ^9 Butthisisbynomeanscertain.
Article III. —Reputed Feast of Cailtan, or Coelten, or Colga,
Monk,atIona,Scotland. Muchuncertaintyprevails,regardingtheiden- tification and festival of Cailtan or Colga ;^ for, some Scotch writers seek to confound the names, which to us seem to be quite distinct. There is a record of this holy man, in the Kalendar of David Camerarius, at the 25th of February,^ and Bishop Forbes has entered, likewise, some particulars, regard- ingCailtanorColga. 3 AccordingtotheascribedTreatiseofSt. ^^ngus,-^Cuil- lenda or Cuilenn wasthe mother of Cailtanus, also called Colgan, Colgius or Colga. His sister was Faillen, and his brothers were Aedh and Sorarius. s Both Camerarius and Dempster observe, that their Cailtan was an abbot f and, although the last-named writer assigns him a festival, at the 13th of March, in his Scottish History,^ yet, neither at that or at the present date is there any mention of him, in the Scottish Menologies. It may be a subject for enquiry, if the present monk were identical with one known as Colgius, or Colgan,^ or Colcu,9 the son of Aid Draigniche/° and who resided in the
other principal Saints," vol. i. , January xxx. 's His feast occurs at the 24th of August,
rectly used in a manuscript copy of Adam- nan for Colgcus.
-
Colgan has an unsupported conjecture, that the feast of Cailtan might have been, at
tlie 25th of July, or at the 2gth of October.
See " Trias Thaumaturga," n. 76, p. 379. "
and he died A. D. 689,
^^ " According to Mirceus'
In Fastis Bel-
gicis," she died A. D. 664.
'7 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. De
S. Aldetrude Virgine, Abbatissa Maibodii
in Belgio, n. (i), p. 511.
^"
On the Mothers of the Irish Saints. " See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xvii. ,
3 gee Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. — 235, 294.
nacia, pp. 380, 381. The same writer 'O^^A151l15e, the genitive of "OpAigneAch, observes, that Colcius or Colgius is incor- "blackthorn. "
^
Brunus make him an Abbot in Sutherland.
Dempster states, that the collections of
"
7 gee
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iii. , num. 227, p. 163.
9
''
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
^ He was patron, it is said, of Kilcolgan,
guard you. "
702 -LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [February25.
Island of lona, during the time of St. Columba. " He was asked by the saint, on a certain occasion, whether his mother, Ciiillenn," was rehgious or
not. This Colga,'3 who belonged to the Hy Fiachrach tribe,'^ answered, that he had always known his mother to be good, and to have borne such a
character. The saint then the spoke
words
"
following prophetic
return to Scolia,'^ and interrogate your mother closely, regarding her very grievous sin,^*^ which she does not wish to confess to any man. " In obedience to these words, he sailed for Ireland. When Colgu interrogated his mother
closely, though at first denying it, she at last confessed her sin.
Doing penance, according to the judgment'? of the saint, she was absolved,'^ and she wondered very much, at what had been revealed to Columba, regarding her. '9 But Colga, returning to the saint, remained with him for some days.
'* '"
See his feast, at the 9th of June.
^^
This occurrence took place, before Failbhe Flann was King of Munster, and consequently before the death of St. Co-
The Tract, attributed to Saint iliingus
the Culdee, " On the Mothers of the Irish
Saints," supplies the following curious lumba. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
commentary on this passage : CuiileAtro iriACAi-p choLc<Mi mec <\ex»A ocu]" trxxilnToi A fechAiv 1 c^\X ColjAn ic At cLmc nie-o- l\ATOi, ut dicitur :
Cint-LetTO TnAc;Ai)\ CotjAn caiii CocbAX) 1 nnng Uillenn eA-o
La V'^'^iLbe 5A11 chAifeA-o cuiL •Oo U1T0 1 CAi^^el A^x eel.
Hibernice," xx. Februarii, n! 4, p. 381.
'7 The word used is "judicalionem," for the judicial decision of the saint. The Bol-
* Cuillenn was mother of Colga, son of Mabillon, " Musieum Italicum," vol. i. , p.
and of Failinn his sister, in Cill "Deum acmisericor- Aedh, 395. omnipotentem,
Colgan, at Ath-cliath-Medraidhi, tct dicitur :
Cuillenn the mother of Colga the chaste
Was reared at Magh Ulien for a time
By Failbhe, without charge of guilt : She went to Cashel straying. '
This Failbhe Flann was King of Munster,
and he died A. D. 637, having reigned four- "
dem qui non vult mortem peccatorum, sed ut convertantur et vivant, fratres carissimi deprecemur, ut ad veniam rectam famulus luus [111. i. e. , N. N. ], misericordix veniam propiciatus indulgeat, si qua sunt culparum suarum omnium vulnera quce post sacri lavacri undam contraxit, ita in hac publica confessione delicta sanentur, ut nulla cica- tricum signa remaneant. Per Dominum
teen years. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum nostrum Jesum Christum. " In a very Iliberniae," xx. Februarii, p. 381. Two ancient Irish poem, on the duties of the
lines of the above stanza are incorrectly translated.
*3 The great-grandfather of Colga is said to have been Lughaidh, brother to OilioU
*' "
abbot of a church," the same word is used.
Molt, King of Ireland, who died A. D. 483. deeds. " The ministry of the priest, in re-
This Lughaidh is said to have been son to Dathi, King of Ireland, who died A. D. 428.
conciling the penitent, is ahso, as in that poem, called by St Adamnan " a judgment. " '9 The rite of absolution varied in form, but was alw ays substantially the same. 'Ihe scended ; and Fiachra was son to Eochaidh words used still by the Greek Church, in
Muighmheadhoin, who died King of Ire- absolving the penitent, are in the form of
"
land A. D. 365, and brother to Niall of the prayer, and are called by divines
INine Hostages, who died King of Ireland toria. " A similar form was used in the
The latter was son to Fiachra Follsnaihach, from whom the Ui Fiachrach family de-
A. D. 405.
•* The tJi i:iAch|\Ach was a tribe, inhabit-
ing an extensive tract of country, in the modern counties of Galway and Mayo. See O'Donovan's "Tribes and Customs of Hy Fiachrach," and the admirable map prefixed to this work.
Latin Church, down to the twelfth century, according to many Catholic divines. The sacramental form of absolution, by the insti- tution of Jesus Christ and the nature of the sacrament, is certainly a judicial act. But, our Lord did not determine, whether in that judgment the indicative or deprecatorial
'5
That is,
" ad
Hiberniam,"
as shown in
sentence
should
be He left that to be used.
the next sentence. See Rev. William fixed by the Church. See Chardon's "llis-
*'
Reeves' Adamnan's n. (c), p. 46.
Life of St. Columba," toire des Sacraments. " Penitence, sect, iv. , part iv. , chap, i. . Absolution. "Hodie
landist's copy reads
"
indicationem," but in-
correctly, as the same word occurs in similar
circumstances.
''^
The word in the original is "sanata. " In "the prayer over the penitent," in St. Columbanus's Missal, at the end of the peni- tential canons, the same word is used. See
It is thine to heal all the hosts, be they lowly or great ; thine to judge each, accord- ing to his station in life, and according to his
:
Quickly
depreca-
February 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 703
Then asking about his own fortunes, he received this answer from Columba : " In your own country, which you love, you shall be head^° over a certain church^^ for many years, and when at length you see your butler^' playing for a company of friends at supper, and twisting the tap,=3 in a circle round his neck,24 know that you sliall soon die. " This same prophecy of the holy man was exactly fulfilled, as it had been foretold to Colga. St. Columba's early biographer, AdamnaUj^s does not forget to relate another anecdote re- garding him. ^^ This same Colgius, son to Aedh Draigniche, witnessed one night a wonderful apparition. While others were sleeping, he went to the church door, and beheld within a celestial light, which surrounded the wiiole ambit. This fell upon St. Columba, as he prayed thtre, at that late hour. But, soon was Colgius warned of his temerity, for suddenly the church was wrapt in total obscurity. In great fear, he returned to the monastery. Next day, Columba took him to task and warned him, not to enquire too curiously into matters, which were too deep for him, and told him, moreover, that he should not be able to endure the effulgence of celestial light. At the same time, Colgius was dismissed, with a command, that he should not divulge what had happened, so long as Columba was living. According to Colgan, the disciple, Colgo, or Colgcus, spent many years with St. Columba, in the Island of lona, although it appears he afterwards went to Ireland, where he became rector or abbot over a church. Probably after him, this was called Kill-Colgan. It is now a parish, in the barony of Dunkellin, and county of Galway. ==7 H^ lived, it is thought, about a. d. 580. ^2 From circumstances recorded already, and from these which follow, this abbot can hardly be re- cognised, as that monk Cailtan, who in the time of St. Columba lived in a cell, near the lake of the River Aba,^9 supposed to have been the Awe,3° in Argyle. 3^ Or, Lochavich, formerly Loch-Afify, a smaller lake, lying to the north-west, may be here intended.
