Weareatalosstodiscover,whethersomeofthose notes are attributable to the saintly author of the poem itself, or to
Scholiasts
belonging to a later age.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
without
248.
" See
But, it can be well accounted for
sect, ix. , p. 245.
recurring
Colgan's
Ibid. , p.
Colgan saysof him, " Monachum professus in nobili mouasterio de Cluain-edhneach," and in the
to a miracle. "
" Actn Sanctorum Tliber-
" the first statement, Regarding
ix. , p. 580.
U
3o6
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
tical order, when he sought admission to Melruan's monastery at Tallagh/=' it is probable, our saint had only received clerical tonsure, or at most minor orders, when he first left Dysartenos. Were ^ngus advanced to the priest- hood, at this period of life, a necessity for celebrating the holy Sacrifice of Mass very frequendy,^3 with the performance of other peculiar sacerdotal
must soon have revealed his rank to Abbot Melruan, and to the members of his community. Even were those solitary or strictly private
to be celebrated in many ancient
allowed as a practice in our early religious houses, the secret of our saint's priestly ordination could not long be concealed. It is more difficult to com- prehend how, as a monk, he had not been questioned, on the subject of his having already received the pecuhar and noticeable ecclesiastical tonsure. However, there can hardly be any doubt, after Abbot Melruan discovered
the real name, virtues, and learning of his highly-gifted disciple, with his dis- positions for the office, ^ngus must soon have been raised to the sacerdotal
dignity. For want of more complete records, referring to our saint's bio- graphy, and not having seen many early or sufficiently authentic copies of his works, and with little serving for autobiography in his own writings, our present imperfect lights, regarding his private acts, occasionally require us to launch upon a sea of conjecture.
CHAPTER III.
functions,
Masses, formerly permitted
churches,^*
LITERARY PURSUITS OF ST. ^NGUS—THE MARTYROLOGY OF TALLAGH—HE ENGAGES ON THE FELIRE OR FESTILOGY—PRESENTS A COPY OF IT TO FOTHADIUS THE CANONIST —PROBABLE DATE, ORIGIN, AND OBJECT OF THE FEILIRE—TREATISE OF ST. ^NGUS,
—
"DE SANCTIS HIBERNI^"—THE " SALTAIR-NA-RANN " PEDIGREES OR CATA-
LOGUES OF IRISH SAINTS, AND POEMS, ATTRIBUTED TO HIS AUTHORSHIP.
The literary labours, in which St. ^Engus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but, in all probability, he had not formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown, at the period when he
lived. His works are of exceeding value, not only as having been composed, in a comparatively remote age ; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, even of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts,
and to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and records of
those holy personages are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that
"
tans. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernias,"
xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. ii. , v. , pp. 579' 5^°-
ds See that very learned treatise of Cardi- nal Bona, " Rerum Liturgicarum de his qu^E ad Missam generatim spectant," lib. i. , cap. iv. , pp. 203, 204, for proofs of frequently offering the Holy Victim of propitiation, and from the earliest ages of the Christian Church. "Opera Omnia" Emin. Dom. D. Joannis Bona, S. R. E. Card. Pres. Ord. Cis.
Antwerp edition, A. D. 1723, folio.
'* See Cardinal Bona, " Rerum Liturgica-
rum de his quce ad Missam generatim spec- tant. " Having described different rites for
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, he remarks :
*'
actas aliquando in Monasteriis Missas a solo sacerdote nemine pr^sente et respon- dente, quae idcirco sohtarice dict^e sint . . . Verum Missas privatas non a Monachis, sed a primjE Ecclesios Patribus originem traxisse capite sequenti ostendam : Missas autem solitarias in coenobiis actas ex indulgentia, ut loquitur Eduensis, sive ex privilegio ; canonicse sanctiones demonstrant, quae sub- latis omnibus privilegiis, ne quis solus Mis- sas agerat, districte prohibuerunt," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 230. Ibid.
second instance,
clericale institutum occul-
MARCH II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
gave him birth derives no small share of renown, from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the
services of ^ngus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for, happily, in him, we have found a true saint to record the actions of his sanc-
tified compatriots and predecessors.
For an account of the various Tracts, attributed to St. . ^ngus, the reader
is referred to the Introduction," which precedes the First Volume of this work. We cannot be sure, in all cases, that they are his genuine productions ; or, if so, that in some instances, additions or interpolations have not been in- troduced,longafterhisdeath. Aswehavealreadyseen,suchremarksespe- cially apply to the joint composition of St. Melruan and of St. . ^ngus,
usually
by
title,
known
" " The Mar- Martyrologium Tamlachtense," or,
the
tyrology of Tallagh. " Its origin and history have been elsewhere related. The oldest known copy—yet in part defective—is that which is found in the " Book of Leinster. " A Brussels manuscript copy of the Tallagh Martyr- ology was probably transcribed from the leaves extracted from this Codex, and which are now kept, in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. It is an abstract, however, for it only contains the names and festivals of Irish Saints. It takes no notice of the general sanctilogic and foreign entries which form the greater portion of that tract. It has omitted, even, the names of some Irish Saints, which occur in the margin of the MS. It also represents as defective some days, not wanting in the original, but on which,^ it so happened,thatnoIrishSaintshadbeenentered. Perhaps,amorecomplete copy had been made. If so, it does not exist, at present, among the Brussels MSS. 3 Itwouldappear,ColgancontemplatedapublicationoftheTallagh Martyrology, could he only have found a more perfect copy or copies of it, than he had in his possession. -* It is still to be greatly desired, that a more correct edition, than that published by the Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D,, were to appear. The original work, which some writers consider prior to the Festilogium, in the order of being composed, is prosaic and very comprehen-
sive. In the " Colgan's opinion,
Festilogy
" or " Feilire " was first
composed
by ^ngus, and then he resolved upon commencing " The Martyrology of Tallagh," in which should be included the names of saints, omitted in his
"
in compiling the
compiled,longsubsequenttothe Feilire,"fromwhichprobablysaints'names were drawn, to furnish a prose Calendar list, with other additions made, at different periods, and even long after his death. What adds most force to
"
this very date, and that of other saints, down to the close of the ninth century.
Yet, it may be admitted, there were interpolations made to supply omissions in the original draft, which probably engaged the attention of St. Maelruan.
" that thus Feilire,"
doubt
intentional omission of their names in his poem, might in a measure be
any
obviated. However, we have reason for doubting, if yEngus had part, at all,
regarding
the veneration due to and the them,
Martyrology of Tallagh. " It seems chiefly to have been "
this is the insertion of his own argument
name,
. ^ngus Eps.
h. at Aibleni,"
Chapter hi. —' See sect, ii. , pp. xiii. to xxviii.
^ «« it seems," remarks Dr. Todd, "to be alluded to under S. Donnan of Eg and his
error is continued, although it might easily
have been corrected, by observing, that the
notation of the days by calends, nones and xvi. , and nn. i, i, 2.
ides is correct. This confusion Dr. Kelly ^ This work was inaccurately noticed by has inadvertently retained. " Edward O'Reilly, in his "Chronological
* "Theconfusion
inthemonthof
" nomi- quorum
52 companions (17 Apr. ),"
September," says Dr. Todd, "is entirely na in majore —libro scripsimus. " (Kelly's due to the transcriber of the Brussels MS. edit, p. xxi. ) Bolland. Actt. SS. April,
existing
The first of the month is marked 4, and this
torn, ii. , p. 487.
^"
See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' Martyr-
ology of Donegal. " Introduction, pp. xv. ,
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
No sooner had ^ngus been called to fill a different sphere of life in the
monastery, from that in which he had been at first exercised, than the unfor-
gotten vision of angels seen in Coolbanagher Church, and the purpose it evoked, came with new force upon his recollection. Inspired by devotional
feeling and a poetical genius of no mean order, he took up his pen, and the
"
Feilire," or, in Latin, as the Festilogiwn of St. yEngus. s From a Scholiast's account, left us in a preface, it would appear, that the " Feilire " had not been com- posed, in its completed form, and in the same place. Some time must have elapsed, from its first writing, to its final revision. According to Professor Eugene O'Curry, our saint commenced his poem, known as the Festilogy, at Cuil Bennchair in Offaly, continued it at Cluain Eidhnech, and finished it during his servitude at Tallagh. ^ From the relation already given, we feel
inclined rather to suppose, as the stay of -^ngus at Coolbanagher appears to have been of no great duration, when about to pursue his way towards Tal- laght, that his idea of writing the Feilire had been conceived only at the former place, and matured at the latter, where it would seem, at least, to have been
"
had not been issued, until after the death of holy Abbot Malruan, which took
place A. D. 792, according to the best computation. ? This fact appears still more evident, as in the Festilogy, the name of Tallagh's venerable superior is
found recorded, with a suitable eulogy. Professor O'Curry says, according to the best accounts, -^ngus wrote his poem in or before a. d. 798 ; for, so far as can be ascertained, the name of any saint, who died after such date, cannot be discovered in it. ^ Moreover, we find recorded, that ^ngus Ceile De or circulated his "
result was a metrical hymn, in the Irish language, known as the
partially written. Wherever the
'"'
had been began, it seems this poem
Feilire
published
year, when Aidus the Sixth, surnamed Oirdnidhe, undertook his expedition
time in his alma mater at Clonenagh, before
he proceeded to Tallagh.
"> Such is the correction of Mr. O'Dono-
van, although the "Annals of the Four
Masters "place his death at A. D. 787. See
O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 392, 393.
^
See "Lectures on the Manuscript Mate- rials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , P- 362.
s' Theaccount the of regarding expedition
Aedh Oirdnidhe is thus given at the year
''
Annals of theFourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 408to411. " Aedh Oirdnidhe assembled a very great army to proceed into Leinster, and devas- tated Leinster twice in one month. A full muster of the men of Ireland (except the Leiiister-men), both laity and clergy, was again made by him [and he marched] until
he readied Dun-Cuair, on the confines of MeathandLeinster. ThithercameConnm-
which he exempted the clergy of Ireland for ever f—rom expeditions and hostings when he
said
"The Church of the living God, let her alone, waste her not,
Let her right be apart, as best it ever was.
Every true monk, who is of a pure con-
science
For the Church to which it is due let him
labour like every servant,
Every soldier from that out, who is with*
out [religious] rule or obedience,
Is permitted to aid the great Aedh, son of
Niall.
This is the true rule, neither more nor
less,
Let everyone serve in his vocation with-
out murmur or complaint.
The Church," &c.
799 \recte 804], in O'Donovan's
Festilogy,"
against the Leinster people, a. d. 804, according to the most correct supposi- tion. 9 At this period, Aedh encamped at Disert Bethech. Fothadius, the Canonist, accompanied him. ^° This learned man is said to have received a
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish hach, successor of Patrick, having the clergy
Writers," at the year 8cxd, p. liii. , liv. ; by of Leath-Chuinn along with him. It was
Dr. O'Connor, in his " Bibliotheca MS. not pleasing to the clergy to go upon any
Stowenis," vol. i. , p. 30, n. 3; and in expedition; they complained of their
Harris' Ware, vol. iii. , "Irish Writers," grievance to the king, and the king, i. e. ,
p. 53- Aedh, said that he would abide by the
*
If such be the case, it is probable St. award of Fothadh na Canoine ; on which iEngus left Dysartenos, and spent some occasion Fothadh passed the decision by
:
for the first that time, during
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309 _•
present of the Feilire, which had been first shown to him, from our saint's hands. " Fothadh solemnly approved and recommended it for perusal, by the faithful. " He also returned this compliment of ^ngus by the bestowal of another work, of which Fothadius himself was the author. This latter tract is said to have been the famous Remonstrance he drew up, as addressed to King Aldus. It inveighs against the employment of ecclesiastics, in military services. '3 In this canticle of the " enumerates some of the
Feilire," yEngus principal saints, whom he calls Princes of the Saints. The Festilogium is brief, although saints' festivals are assigned to each day of the week, with some allusions to characteristic virtues or actions of each holy individual therein commemo- rated. There is a commentary or series of notes found, in the copies of this work, yet extant. These comments relate many particulars, regarding saints, namedintheFestiloghun.
Weareatalosstodiscover,whethersomeofthose notes are attributable to the saintly author of the poem itself, or to Scholiasts belonging to a later age. The latter supposition, however, is more probable. The brevity, which characterises the Feilire, was a consequence of the object our saint appears to have had in view, whilst engaged in its composi- tion. For, as he had resolved on imitating the practice of God's servant, whose remains were entombed at Coolbanagher, it would be inexpedient to introduce names of all the saints in his Festilogy. He was therefore obliged to confine himself to recording some of the principal ones. A recital of the
entire Psalter, with his other daily exercises, left him no more than sufficient time, for the invocation and praises of saints, included in his metrical hymn, and which, it is said, formed a part of his diurnal devotions.
The " Feilire" was most probably composed, or at least completed, after the year 797,^* the date for the death of Donogh, or Donnchadh, son to Donall. ^^ Such conjecture possibly agrees with that of Colgan, that the scholia on the Festilogy of ^ngus had been partly composed at Tallagh, in the time of Mal- ruan. ^^ Yet, such cannot be the case, so far as regards all these various com-
" " Aedh Oirdnidhe afterwards went to the King of Leinster, and obtained his full demand from the Leinster men ; and Fins- neachta, King of Leinster, gave him hostages and pledges," And, at this passage, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that the decision of
" Fothadh na Canoine, or Fothad of the
"
canon, is referred to in a preface to the
Felirc-^nguis, preserved in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 32.
" Edward OReilly writes : "The Felire is written in that kind of verse called by the Irish poets rinn aird, in which every verse ends with a word of two syllables, contains
of a Canon; and, after its issue, the clergy
were exempted from attending military ex-
peditions.
^* Edward O'Reilly tells us, that the reim-
sceul, or preliminary discourse, prefixed to this performance, gives the pedigree of the
author, through several generations ; while,
it states, that the time of its writing was the
time of Conor, son of Aodli Oirdnighe, son
of 'bi\2i\\ frasaigh, for it was he who took the
government of Ireland after Donagh, the
son of Donall of Meath, King of Meath. It
adds, Angus, in the prelace to the Felire,
mentions the death of Donogh. See
six syllables in—the verse, and the entire rann "
''
Chronological Account of nearly Four
twenty-four. " Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liv. '^ See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii. Vita S. . ^ngussii, cap.
Hundred Irish Writers," pp. liii. , "
xiii. , p. 581.
'3 On this occasion, Fothadh wrote a poem
by way of precept to the king, in which he advises him to exempt the clergy from the obligation of fighting his battles. There is a copy of the entire poem, preserved in a vellum manuscript, in the Libraiy of Trinity College, DubUn, H. 2. 18. It is also quoted in the Leabhar-gabhala of the O'Clerys, p. 199. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (e), pp. 409, 410. This decision of Fothadh obtained the name
liv.
'S See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (r), p. 399, where we read :" O'Flaherty places the accessions, of Donnchadh in the year 770, and his death
in 797, which is the true chronology.
" He
adds : "Quo rege, Anno 795, Dani —Scotise, et "
Hibernise oras infestare cceperunt. " Ogy- gia," pars, iii. , cap. xciii. p. 433. The An-
nals of Ulster, however, assign the death of this monarch to A. D. 796, and the Four Masters to A. D. 792. I am unable to discover
any notice, regarding Conor, son of Aodh Oirdnighe, mentioned by the Scholiast on
. Angus' poem, in any of our early Annals.
3IO LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
ments ; since Colgan himself frequently cites them, under the title of jEngu- siiis aiictus, and he attributes them to Cathal Maguire, in accordance with an endorsement on the St. Isidore's copy, which was formerly in his possession.
During the progress of the late Ordnance Survey of Ireland, the Feilire or Festilogy of ^ngus came first to be noticed, as a topographical tract of great value. '? The Rev. Dr. Todd suggested to the Board of Trinity College, Dublin, the engagement of Eugene O'Curry to make a. facsimile co^y, for its library, of the "Leabhar Mor Duna Doighre," or "Leabhar Breac,"in which the Festilogy
is contained. On the Ordnance Survey Archseological Department being dis- pensed with, Mr. George Smith, an eminent Dublin publisher, engaged Mr. O'Curry to transcribe the Festilogy, once more, with a view to its publication.
This, however, was not a facsimile copy, which indeed it would be practi- cally useless to print, even if such a thing were possible, because the tract
consists, properly, of three parts ; namely, the text of the poem, the inter- lined gloss, and the interlined marginal, topographical, and other notes. These three parts were distinctly copied, all the contractions were lengthened out, and the whole disposed and arranged in such a manner, as to merit the
approval of our most distinguished Irish scholars. collated with other MSS. in London and Oxford. '^
This copy was afterwards Yet, the copy thus pre-
pared
published
;
has not been
'9
in the
present work,
so the text of far,
but,
the Feilire, as relating to the several diurnal festivals, has been kindly sup-
plied to the writer, and translated into English, by the learned Irish Scholar, Professor O'Looney of the Irish Catholic University.
The Psalter Mac Richard, Bodleian Library, Oxford, contains an account
"
of the ancient Tract, called the
Feilire," or Festilogium of ^ngus the Cul-
dee ^° being a Martyrology, or Calendar of saints' days, observed in the ;
ancient Irish Church, and compiled in the eighth century. Again, there is found a "
fineandanancientcopyofthe Feilire,"orFestilogium,ofSt. ^ngustheCul- dee. ^^ This part of the Manuscript appears to be more ancient than the rest, and its writing seems referable to the twelfth century. This is, moreover, proba-
blythemostancientandperfectcopyofthe"Feilire"extant. Boththis,and ""
the Leabhar Breac copy, are accompanied by a copious interlinear gloss, and scholia, containing some exceedingly curious legends and traditions, which throw great light on the ancient state of religion and society in Ireland, at or before the period of the twelfth century. There is another copy of this
'^ As Edward O'Reilly tells us: "The
Jieimsceul gives the time and place in which
the author wrote this poem. " After quoting
a portion of this ^«>«j^«// in Irish, the fol-
lowing translation is given: "There are
four co-necessaries in every learned treatise,
i. e. , place, time, person, and cause of writ-
ing. Therefore, the place of this piece was
first Ciil Banaghar, in the plain of Rechet,
in the country of I Failge, or O'Kaly, and its
revisal in Tamhlacht ; (now Tallagh, near
Dublin), or else in Cluain Eidhnach it was Saints, by the same author. During this
and in Cul — it was
begun, Banaghar finished,
Mr.
year, also, O'Curry spent
some months
"
and revised in Tallaght. " Chronological
in the British Museum, London, having his transcribed copy of the Festilogy with him. '9 The transcript and translation into Eng- lish remained in the possession of Mr. Smith, who, we believe, has since trans- ferred this copy to the Royal Irish Acade-
micians.
-° At fol. 15.
-'^
At fol. 59 to 73.
-^ On the back of its parchment cover, a
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liii.
'7 Under the able superintendence of Sir Thomas Larcom and Dr. George Petrie, Eugene O'Curry brought it to bear, with im-
portant results, on our local topography, in every part of Ireland.
*^
In the summer of 1849, Mr. Eugene O'Curry and Rev. Dr. Todd examined the
MS. collections in the University of Oxford, for four days spent there ; and during their stay, so far as time permitted, they extracted various readings, considered desirable and useful, from the Festilogium of ^Engus. These were intended to further illustrate Mr. O'Curry's transcript of this poem. Amongst other valuable documents, they discovered two fine copies of the Martyr- ology of ^ngus the Culdee, and the Psalter- na-Rann, comprising five books on the Irish
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. _• ___^
311
work ; but with a less copious gloss or scholia. It had been used by Colgan, at Louvain ; subsequently it was preserved in St. Isidore's conventual
Library, at Rome ; and, at present, it is in the Franciscan Convent Library, Dublin. It is a MS. of the fifteenth century. ^^ The Brussels copy, of which
Dr, Todd obtained a transcript made by Mr. O'Curry in 185 1, was evidently taken from the St, Isidore MS. Edward O'Reilly describes an imperfect
perhaps, the oldest copy of that work now in existence. ^3
In the Introduction to this we have alluded to the " work, already Tract, De
Sanctis Hibernise," said to have been one of Angus's works. Only partially has this been published ; and that is the fifth part, or " Book of Litanies. " ^4 This portion of the work is especially valuable, and it furnishes a proof, that from its establishment, to the beginning of the ninth century, the Irish Churchheldandinculcatedthedoctrineofinvokingthesaints. Theauthor, having flourished in the latter half of the eighth century, the Litany more immediately and directly refers to that period. We can, perhaps, go even somewhat farther back. Bearing in mind the religious opinions of ^ngus, and his intimate acquaintance with the Hagiology of his native land, it follows, that when beseeching the intercession of the servants of God, whose holy deeds he had rendered so familiar to his countrymen, he would jealously
avoid introducing any persons, whose convictions with regard to this impor- tant subject had not been such as he himself entertained. Therefore, this Litany is at once a proof and a result of his knowing those mentioned in it to have held, no less than himself, such a dogma of Catholic Faith,^5
copy,
being
Royal
on besides the " Leabhar Breac " as vellum, one,
in the
Irish Academy's Library, Dublin ; while, in his own possession, was another copy beautifully written on vellum. In his opinion, from its orthography, and other internal marks of antiquity, it may be concluded, that this MS. was written, at least as early as the eleventh century, and it is, he considers,
The " Psalter-na-Rann " ^^ is also attributed—but, perhaps, incorrectly— to the pen of . ^ngus,^? while this composition has been already described,"^^ and analyzed. Various Pedigrees or Catalogues of Irish Saints are extant, in our public Libraries. ^9 In verse and prose, the families and race-stock of different holy men and women have been celebrated. ^" One of the oldest Tracts among these, and even some other old genealogical Treatises, are re- puted to have been compiled by our saint. Poems, said tp have been com-
more recent hand attributes the Scholia, to Cathal or Charles Maguire, Canon of Ar- magh, and Dean of Clogher, who died A. D. 1470. Charles Maguire may have been the transcriber of this latter ; but most certainly not the original compiler, for the copy in the Leabhar Breac had been written at the end of the fourteenth century, and the Bodleian copy nearly one hundred years before, so that the larger collection existed before Maguire was born. See, " The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves.
Oxford copy of his Psalter na Rann 600
"
years old. See
p. xcvi. London Ed. , 1656, 8vo.
^ " ^ngus who lived in the ninth century could know nothing of Brian Boromh, who was killed in the battle of Clontarf in 1014. All the parts of that MS. (Oxford), which relate to the tenth and eleventh centuries, are additions to the works of yEngus,—which areaccurately mentioned by Colgan. " Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's " Bibliotheca MS. Stowensis," vol. i. , p. 30, n. 3.
Introduction, p.
Catalogue
*3 See "
Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. liii. , liv.
** It has appeared, in the " Irish Eccle- siastical Record," vol. ill. The months of May and June, 1867, pp. 385 to 397, and 461 to 477. An introductory and critical notice precedes, signed B. M. C . , while notes and various readings accompany it.
*s See ibid. May, 1867, p. 388.
"*
and See inaccurately.
Chronological
nearly
Sir James Ware's authority makes the
xiv, Account of
=^ In the Oxford "
appears imperfectly
fol. 1697, p. 4. Neither was Bishop Nicol- son accurately informedaboutthetitleorcon- tents of this MS.
^' A Manuscript, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and classed H. i, li, con- tains a Catalogue of Male and Female Irish
Saints, in Alphabetical order.
3o in the Manuscript of Trinity College,
Dublin, classed H, 1, 1 1, we find an account
Antiquitates Hiberniae,"
" of MSS. it
312 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
posed by^ngus the Culdee, are to be found among the O'Longan Manuscripts, in the Royal Irish Academy. 3» There is a Poems^ of 412 verses,33 on Adam and the Patriarchs to the flood, on Noah and his descendants, to the building of the Tower of Babel, on its measurement, and on the Conquests or Colo- nizationsofIreland,anteriortotheMilesianConquest. 34 ThisPoemiseven brought down to the time of Brian Boru. The author says, in the last stanza, that it was not lawful for him to make any false statement, in his composition, and the writer calls " noble Hence, this Poem has some-
himself, Aengus. "
times been ascribed to St. ^ngus Ceile De, but, perhaps, more correctly it
should be assigned to Angus Roe O'Daly, who died in 1350. 35
But, until we have had a critical examination and analysis of all these attributed works, it will be impossible to decide with more authoritative statements, regarding their authenticity, and number. The Irish Archaeolo- gical Society has announced the intention of supplying a desideratum^ long
" The
Works of St. ^ngus the Culdee. " We fear, however, an indefinite postpone- ment regarding this project, although it is one of the highest national and
philological importance.
CHAPTER IV.
MODES OF LIFE AT TALLAGH, UNTIL THE TIME ARRIVED FOR DEPARTURE—ST. i^NGUS RETURNS TO CLONENAGH, WHERE HE IS CHOSEN AS ABBOT—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN A CHOREPISCOPUS—OCCASIONAL RETIREMENT TO DYSART ENOS OR TO DYSERT- BEAGH—HIS DEATH AND BURIAL—VALUE OF ST. VENGUS' HAGIOGRAPHICAL WORKS —CONCLUSION.
We may well conceive, how affectionately and agreeably passed their hours of occasional relaxation, as of study, while the holy Abbot Melruan and
. zEngus were companions, in the ccenobmm, at Tallagh. Their interchange of pious and cultivated thought must have proved mutually conducive to the accuracy and unction of those hagiographical and sacred historic works, whichseemspeciallytohavehadaliteraryfascinationforthem. Theteach- ing of ecclesiastical and secular learning probably engaged a considerable part of their daily monastic routine. For we cannot doubt, but native and foreign literature, as also the science of the period, was then taught in the school of Tallagh, with the religious training and dogma, peculiar to such an establishment. It seems evident, from references made to Eusebius and St. Jerome, that ^ngus was well versed in the Greek, as in the Latin language. So long as Melruan lived, peace and security reigned within the Irish mon- asticenclosures.
248.
" See
But, it can be well accounted for
sect, ix. , p. 245.
recurring
Colgan's
Ibid. , p.
Colgan saysof him, " Monachum professus in nobili mouasterio de Cluain-edhneach," and in the
to a miracle. "
" Actn Sanctorum Tliber-
" the first statement, Regarding
ix. , p. 580.
U
3o6
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
tical order, when he sought admission to Melruan's monastery at Tallagh/=' it is probable, our saint had only received clerical tonsure, or at most minor orders, when he first left Dysartenos. Were ^ngus advanced to the priest- hood, at this period of life, a necessity for celebrating the holy Sacrifice of Mass very frequendy,^3 with the performance of other peculiar sacerdotal
must soon have revealed his rank to Abbot Melruan, and to the members of his community. Even were those solitary or strictly private
to be celebrated in many ancient
allowed as a practice in our early religious houses, the secret of our saint's priestly ordination could not long be concealed. It is more difficult to com- prehend how, as a monk, he had not been questioned, on the subject of his having already received the pecuhar and noticeable ecclesiastical tonsure. However, there can hardly be any doubt, after Abbot Melruan discovered
the real name, virtues, and learning of his highly-gifted disciple, with his dis- positions for the office, ^ngus must soon have been raised to the sacerdotal
dignity. For want of more complete records, referring to our saint's bio- graphy, and not having seen many early or sufficiently authentic copies of his works, and with little serving for autobiography in his own writings, our present imperfect lights, regarding his private acts, occasionally require us to launch upon a sea of conjecture.
CHAPTER III.
functions,
Masses, formerly permitted
churches,^*
LITERARY PURSUITS OF ST. ^NGUS—THE MARTYROLOGY OF TALLAGH—HE ENGAGES ON THE FELIRE OR FESTILOGY—PRESENTS A COPY OF IT TO FOTHADIUS THE CANONIST —PROBABLE DATE, ORIGIN, AND OBJECT OF THE FEILIRE—TREATISE OF ST. ^NGUS,
—
"DE SANCTIS HIBERNI^"—THE " SALTAIR-NA-RANN " PEDIGREES OR CATA-
LOGUES OF IRISH SAINTS, AND POEMS, ATTRIBUTED TO HIS AUTHORSHIP.
The literary labours, in which St. ^Engus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but, in all probability, he had not formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown, at the period when he
lived. His works are of exceeding value, not only as having been composed, in a comparatively remote age ; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, even of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts,
and to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and records of
those holy personages are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that
"
tans. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernias,"
xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. ii. , v. , pp. 579' 5^°-
ds See that very learned treatise of Cardi- nal Bona, " Rerum Liturgicarum de his qu^E ad Missam generatim spectant," lib. i. , cap. iv. , pp. 203, 204, for proofs of frequently offering the Holy Victim of propitiation, and from the earliest ages of the Christian Church. "Opera Omnia" Emin. Dom. D. Joannis Bona, S. R. E. Card. Pres. Ord. Cis.
Antwerp edition, A. D. 1723, folio.
'* See Cardinal Bona, " Rerum Liturgica-
rum de his quce ad Missam generatim spec- tant. " Having described different rites for
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, he remarks :
*'
actas aliquando in Monasteriis Missas a solo sacerdote nemine pr^sente et respon- dente, quae idcirco sohtarice dict^e sint . . . Verum Missas privatas non a Monachis, sed a primjE Ecclesios Patribus originem traxisse capite sequenti ostendam : Missas autem solitarias in coenobiis actas ex indulgentia, ut loquitur Eduensis, sive ex privilegio ; canonicse sanctiones demonstrant, quae sub- latis omnibus privilegiis, ne quis solus Mis- sas agerat, districte prohibuerunt," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 230. Ibid.
second instance,
clericale institutum occul-
MARCH II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
gave him birth derives no small share of renown, from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the
services of ^ngus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for, happily, in him, we have found a true saint to record the actions of his sanc-
tified compatriots and predecessors.
For an account of the various Tracts, attributed to St. . ^ngus, the reader
is referred to the Introduction," which precedes the First Volume of this work. We cannot be sure, in all cases, that they are his genuine productions ; or, if so, that in some instances, additions or interpolations have not been in- troduced,longafterhisdeath. Aswehavealreadyseen,suchremarksespe- cially apply to the joint composition of St. Melruan and of St. . ^ngus,
usually
by
title,
known
" " The Mar- Martyrologium Tamlachtense," or,
the
tyrology of Tallagh. " Its origin and history have been elsewhere related. The oldest known copy—yet in part defective—is that which is found in the " Book of Leinster. " A Brussels manuscript copy of the Tallagh Martyr- ology was probably transcribed from the leaves extracted from this Codex, and which are now kept, in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. It is an abstract, however, for it only contains the names and festivals of Irish Saints. It takes no notice of the general sanctilogic and foreign entries which form the greater portion of that tract. It has omitted, even, the names of some Irish Saints, which occur in the margin of the MS. It also represents as defective some days, not wanting in the original, but on which,^ it so happened,thatnoIrishSaintshadbeenentered. Perhaps,amorecomplete copy had been made. If so, it does not exist, at present, among the Brussels MSS. 3 Itwouldappear,ColgancontemplatedapublicationoftheTallagh Martyrology, could he only have found a more perfect copy or copies of it, than he had in his possession. -* It is still to be greatly desired, that a more correct edition, than that published by the Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D,, were to appear. The original work, which some writers consider prior to the Festilogium, in the order of being composed, is prosaic and very comprehen-
sive. In the " Colgan's opinion,
Festilogy
" or " Feilire " was first
composed
by ^ngus, and then he resolved upon commencing " The Martyrology of Tallagh," in which should be included the names of saints, omitted in his
"
in compiling the
compiled,longsubsequenttothe Feilire,"fromwhichprobablysaints'names were drawn, to furnish a prose Calendar list, with other additions made, at different periods, and even long after his death. What adds most force to
"
this very date, and that of other saints, down to the close of the ninth century.
Yet, it may be admitted, there were interpolations made to supply omissions in the original draft, which probably engaged the attention of St. Maelruan.
" that thus Feilire,"
doubt
intentional omission of their names in his poem, might in a measure be
any
obviated. However, we have reason for doubting, if yEngus had part, at all,
regarding
the veneration due to and the them,
Martyrology of Tallagh. " It seems chiefly to have been "
this is the insertion of his own argument
name,
. ^ngus Eps.
h. at Aibleni,"
Chapter hi. —' See sect, ii. , pp. xiii. to xxviii.
^ «« it seems," remarks Dr. Todd, "to be alluded to under S. Donnan of Eg and his
error is continued, although it might easily
have been corrected, by observing, that the
notation of the days by calends, nones and xvi. , and nn. i, i, 2.
ides is correct. This confusion Dr. Kelly ^ This work was inaccurately noticed by has inadvertently retained. " Edward O'Reilly, in his "Chronological
* "Theconfusion
inthemonthof
" nomi- quorum
52 companions (17 Apr. ),"
September," says Dr. Todd, "is entirely na in majore —libro scripsimus. " (Kelly's due to the transcriber of the Brussels MS. edit, p. xxi. ) Bolland. Actt. SS. April,
existing
The first of the month is marked 4, and this
torn, ii. , p. 487.
^"
See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' Martyr-
ology of Donegal. " Introduction, pp. xv. ,
3o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
No sooner had ^ngus been called to fill a different sphere of life in the
monastery, from that in which he had been at first exercised, than the unfor-
gotten vision of angels seen in Coolbanagher Church, and the purpose it evoked, came with new force upon his recollection. Inspired by devotional
feeling and a poetical genius of no mean order, he took up his pen, and the
"
Feilire," or, in Latin, as the Festilogiwn of St. yEngus. s From a Scholiast's account, left us in a preface, it would appear, that the " Feilire " had not been com- posed, in its completed form, and in the same place. Some time must have elapsed, from its first writing, to its final revision. According to Professor Eugene O'Curry, our saint commenced his poem, known as the Festilogy, at Cuil Bennchair in Offaly, continued it at Cluain Eidhnech, and finished it during his servitude at Tallagh. ^ From the relation already given, we feel
inclined rather to suppose, as the stay of -^ngus at Coolbanagher appears to have been of no great duration, when about to pursue his way towards Tal- laght, that his idea of writing the Feilire had been conceived only at the former place, and matured at the latter, where it would seem, at least, to have been
"
had not been issued, until after the death of holy Abbot Malruan, which took
place A. D. 792, according to the best computation. ? This fact appears still more evident, as in the Festilogy, the name of Tallagh's venerable superior is
found recorded, with a suitable eulogy. Professor O'Curry says, according to the best accounts, -^ngus wrote his poem in or before a. d. 798 ; for, so far as can be ascertained, the name of any saint, who died after such date, cannot be discovered in it. ^ Moreover, we find recorded, that ^ngus Ceile De or circulated his "
result was a metrical hymn, in the Irish language, known as the
partially written. Wherever the
'"'
had been began, it seems this poem
Feilire
published
year, when Aidus the Sixth, surnamed Oirdnidhe, undertook his expedition
time in his alma mater at Clonenagh, before
he proceeded to Tallagh.
"> Such is the correction of Mr. O'Dono-
van, although the "Annals of the Four
Masters "place his death at A. D. 787. See
O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 392, 393.
^
See "Lectures on the Manuscript Mate- rials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , P- 362.
s' Theaccount the of regarding expedition
Aedh Oirdnidhe is thus given at the year
''
Annals of theFourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 408to411. " Aedh Oirdnidhe assembled a very great army to proceed into Leinster, and devas- tated Leinster twice in one month. A full muster of the men of Ireland (except the Leiiister-men), both laity and clergy, was again made by him [and he marched] until
he readied Dun-Cuair, on the confines of MeathandLeinster. ThithercameConnm-
which he exempted the clergy of Ireland for ever f—rom expeditions and hostings when he
said
"The Church of the living God, let her alone, waste her not,
Let her right be apart, as best it ever was.
Every true monk, who is of a pure con-
science
For the Church to which it is due let him
labour like every servant,
Every soldier from that out, who is with*
out [religious] rule or obedience,
Is permitted to aid the great Aedh, son of
Niall.
This is the true rule, neither more nor
less,
Let everyone serve in his vocation with-
out murmur or complaint.
The Church," &c.
799 \recte 804], in O'Donovan's
Festilogy,"
against the Leinster people, a. d. 804, according to the most correct supposi- tion. 9 At this period, Aedh encamped at Disert Bethech. Fothadius, the Canonist, accompanied him. ^° This learned man is said to have received a
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish hach, successor of Patrick, having the clergy
Writers," at the year 8cxd, p. liii. , liv. ; by of Leath-Chuinn along with him. It was
Dr. O'Connor, in his " Bibliotheca MS. not pleasing to the clergy to go upon any
Stowenis," vol. i. , p. 30, n. 3; and in expedition; they complained of their
Harris' Ware, vol. iii. , "Irish Writers," grievance to the king, and the king, i. e. ,
p. 53- Aedh, said that he would abide by the
*
If such be the case, it is probable St. award of Fothadh na Canoine ; on which iEngus left Dysartenos, and spent some occasion Fothadh passed the decision by
:
for the first that time, during
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 309 _•
present of the Feilire, which had been first shown to him, from our saint's hands. " Fothadh solemnly approved and recommended it for perusal, by the faithful. " He also returned this compliment of ^ngus by the bestowal of another work, of which Fothadius himself was the author. This latter tract is said to have been the famous Remonstrance he drew up, as addressed to King Aldus. It inveighs against the employment of ecclesiastics, in military services. '3 In this canticle of the " enumerates some of the
Feilire," yEngus principal saints, whom he calls Princes of the Saints. The Festilogium is brief, although saints' festivals are assigned to each day of the week, with some allusions to characteristic virtues or actions of each holy individual therein commemo- rated. There is a commentary or series of notes found, in the copies of this work, yet extant. These comments relate many particulars, regarding saints, namedintheFestiloghun.
Weareatalosstodiscover,whethersomeofthose notes are attributable to the saintly author of the poem itself, or to Scholiasts belonging to a later age. The latter supposition, however, is more probable. The brevity, which characterises the Feilire, was a consequence of the object our saint appears to have had in view, whilst engaged in its composi- tion. For, as he had resolved on imitating the practice of God's servant, whose remains were entombed at Coolbanagher, it would be inexpedient to introduce names of all the saints in his Festilogy. He was therefore obliged to confine himself to recording some of the principal ones. A recital of the
entire Psalter, with his other daily exercises, left him no more than sufficient time, for the invocation and praises of saints, included in his metrical hymn, and which, it is said, formed a part of his diurnal devotions.
The " Feilire" was most probably composed, or at least completed, after the year 797,^* the date for the death of Donogh, or Donnchadh, son to Donall. ^^ Such conjecture possibly agrees with that of Colgan, that the scholia on the Festilogy of ^ngus had been partly composed at Tallagh, in the time of Mal- ruan. ^^ Yet, such cannot be the case, so far as regards all these various com-
" " Aedh Oirdnidhe afterwards went to the King of Leinster, and obtained his full demand from the Leinster men ; and Fins- neachta, King of Leinster, gave him hostages and pledges," And, at this passage, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that the decision of
" Fothadh na Canoine, or Fothad of the
"
canon, is referred to in a preface to the
Felirc-^nguis, preserved in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 32.
" Edward OReilly writes : "The Felire is written in that kind of verse called by the Irish poets rinn aird, in which every verse ends with a word of two syllables, contains
of a Canon; and, after its issue, the clergy
were exempted from attending military ex-
peditions.
^* Edward O'Reilly tells us, that the reim-
sceul, or preliminary discourse, prefixed to this performance, gives the pedigree of the
author, through several generations ; while,
it states, that the time of its writing was the
time of Conor, son of Aodli Oirdnighe, son
of 'bi\2i\\ frasaigh, for it was he who took the
government of Ireland after Donagh, the
son of Donall of Meath, King of Meath. It
adds, Angus, in the prelace to the Felire,
mentions the death of Donogh. See
six syllables in—the verse, and the entire rann "
''
Chronological Account of nearly Four
twenty-four. " Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liv. '^ See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii. Vita S. . ^ngussii, cap.
Hundred Irish Writers," pp. liii. , "
xiii. , p. 581.
'3 On this occasion, Fothadh wrote a poem
by way of precept to the king, in which he advises him to exempt the clergy from the obligation of fighting his battles. There is a copy of the entire poem, preserved in a vellum manuscript, in the Libraiy of Trinity College, DubUn, H. 2. 18. It is also quoted in the Leabhar-gabhala of the O'Clerys, p. 199. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (e), pp. 409, 410. This decision of Fothadh obtained the name
liv.
'S See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (r), p. 399, where we read :" O'Flaherty places the accessions, of Donnchadh in the year 770, and his death
in 797, which is the true chronology.
" He
adds : "Quo rege, Anno 795, Dani —Scotise, et "
Hibernise oras infestare cceperunt. " Ogy- gia," pars, iii. , cap. xciii. p. 433. The An-
nals of Ulster, however, assign the death of this monarch to A. D. 796, and the Four Masters to A. D. 792. I am unable to discover
any notice, regarding Conor, son of Aodh Oirdnighe, mentioned by the Scholiast on
. Angus' poem, in any of our early Annals.
3IO LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
ments ; since Colgan himself frequently cites them, under the title of jEngu- siiis aiictus, and he attributes them to Cathal Maguire, in accordance with an endorsement on the St. Isidore's copy, which was formerly in his possession.
During the progress of the late Ordnance Survey of Ireland, the Feilire or Festilogy of ^ngus came first to be noticed, as a topographical tract of great value. '? The Rev. Dr. Todd suggested to the Board of Trinity College, Dublin, the engagement of Eugene O'Curry to make a. facsimile co^y, for its library, of the "Leabhar Mor Duna Doighre," or "Leabhar Breac,"in which the Festilogy
is contained. On the Ordnance Survey Archseological Department being dis- pensed with, Mr. George Smith, an eminent Dublin publisher, engaged Mr. O'Curry to transcribe the Festilogy, once more, with a view to its publication.
This, however, was not a facsimile copy, which indeed it would be practi- cally useless to print, even if such a thing were possible, because the tract
consists, properly, of three parts ; namely, the text of the poem, the inter- lined gloss, and the interlined marginal, topographical, and other notes. These three parts were distinctly copied, all the contractions were lengthened out, and the whole disposed and arranged in such a manner, as to merit the
approval of our most distinguished Irish scholars. collated with other MSS. in London and Oxford. '^
This copy was afterwards Yet, the copy thus pre-
pared
published
;
has not been
'9
in the
present work,
so the text of far,
but,
the Feilire, as relating to the several diurnal festivals, has been kindly sup-
plied to the writer, and translated into English, by the learned Irish Scholar, Professor O'Looney of the Irish Catholic University.
The Psalter Mac Richard, Bodleian Library, Oxford, contains an account
"
of the ancient Tract, called the
Feilire," or Festilogium of ^ngus the Cul-
dee ^° being a Martyrology, or Calendar of saints' days, observed in the ;
ancient Irish Church, and compiled in the eighth century. Again, there is found a "
fineandanancientcopyofthe Feilire,"orFestilogium,ofSt. ^ngustheCul- dee. ^^ This part of the Manuscript appears to be more ancient than the rest, and its writing seems referable to the twelfth century. This is, moreover, proba-
blythemostancientandperfectcopyofthe"Feilire"extant. Boththis,and ""
the Leabhar Breac copy, are accompanied by a copious interlinear gloss, and scholia, containing some exceedingly curious legends and traditions, which throw great light on the ancient state of religion and society in Ireland, at or before the period of the twelfth century. There is another copy of this
'^ As Edward O'Reilly tells us: "The
Jieimsceul gives the time and place in which
the author wrote this poem. " After quoting
a portion of this ^«>«j^«// in Irish, the fol-
lowing translation is given: "There are
four co-necessaries in every learned treatise,
i. e. , place, time, person, and cause of writ-
ing. Therefore, the place of this piece was
first Ciil Banaghar, in the plain of Rechet,
in the country of I Failge, or O'Kaly, and its
revisal in Tamhlacht ; (now Tallagh, near
Dublin), or else in Cluain Eidhnach it was Saints, by the same author. During this
and in Cul — it was
begun, Banaghar finished,
Mr.
year, also, O'Curry spent
some months
"
and revised in Tallaght. " Chronological
in the British Museum, London, having his transcribed copy of the Festilogy with him. '9 The transcript and translation into Eng- lish remained in the possession of Mr. Smith, who, we believe, has since trans- ferred this copy to the Royal Irish Acade-
micians.
-° At fol. 15.
-'^
At fol. 59 to 73.
-^ On the back of its parchment cover, a
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," p. liii.
'7 Under the able superintendence of Sir Thomas Larcom and Dr. George Petrie, Eugene O'Curry brought it to bear, with im-
portant results, on our local topography, in every part of Ireland.
*^
In the summer of 1849, Mr. Eugene O'Curry and Rev. Dr. Todd examined the
MS. collections in the University of Oxford, for four days spent there ; and during their stay, so far as time permitted, they extracted various readings, considered desirable and useful, from the Festilogium of ^Engus. These were intended to further illustrate Mr. O'Curry's transcript of this poem. Amongst other valuable documents, they discovered two fine copies of the Martyr- ology of ^ngus the Culdee, and the Psalter- na-Rann, comprising five books on the Irish
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. _• ___^
311
work ; but with a less copious gloss or scholia. It had been used by Colgan, at Louvain ; subsequently it was preserved in St. Isidore's conventual
Library, at Rome ; and, at present, it is in the Franciscan Convent Library, Dublin. It is a MS. of the fifteenth century. ^^ The Brussels copy, of which
Dr, Todd obtained a transcript made by Mr. O'Curry in 185 1, was evidently taken from the St, Isidore MS. Edward O'Reilly describes an imperfect
perhaps, the oldest copy of that work now in existence. ^3
In the Introduction to this we have alluded to the " work, already Tract, De
Sanctis Hibernise," said to have been one of Angus's works. Only partially has this been published ; and that is the fifth part, or " Book of Litanies. " ^4 This portion of the work is especially valuable, and it furnishes a proof, that from its establishment, to the beginning of the ninth century, the Irish Churchheldandinculcatedthedoctrineofinvokingthesaints. Theauthor, having flourished in the latter half of the eighth century, the Litany more immediately and directly refers to that period. We can, perhaps, go even somewhat farther back. Bearing in mind the religious opinions of ^ngus, and his intimate acquaintance with the Hagiology of his native land, it follows, that when beseeching the intercession of the servants of God, whose holy deeds he had rendered so familiar to his countrymen, he would jealously
avoid introducing any persons, whose convictions with regard to this impor- tant subject had not been such as he himself entertained. Therefore, this Litany is at once a proof and a result of his knowing those mentioned in it to have held, no less than himself, such a dogma of Catholic Faith,^5
copy,
being
Royal
on besides the " Leabhar Breac " as vellum, one,
in the
Irish Academy's Library, Dublin ; while, in his own possession, was another copy beautifully written on vellum. In his opinion, from its orthography, and other internal marks of antiquity, it may be concluded, that this MS. was written, at least as early as the eleventh century, and it is, he considers,
The " Psalter-na-Rann " ^^ is also attributed—but, perhaps, incorrectly— to the pen of . ^ngus,^? while this composition has been already described,"^^ and analyzed. Various Pedigrees or Catalogues of Irish Saints are extant, in our public Libraries. ^9 In verse and prose, the families and race-stock of different holy men and women have been celebrated. ^" One of the oldest Tracts among these, and even some other old genealogical Treatises, are re- puted to have been compiled by our saint. Poems, said tp have been com-
more recent hand attributes the Scholia, to Cathal or Charles Maguire, Canon of Ar- magh, and Dean of Clogher, who died A. D. 1470. Charles Maguire may have been the transcriber of this latter ; but most certainly not the original compiler, for the copy in the Leabhar Breac had been written at the end of the fourteenth century, and the Bodleian copy nearly one hundred years before, so that the larger collection existed before Maguire was born. See, " The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves.
Oxford copy of his Psalter na Rann 600
"
years old. See
p. xcvi. London Ed. , 1656, 8vo.
^ " ^ngus who lived in the ninth century could know nothing of Brian Boromh, who was killed in the battle of Clontarf in 1014. All the parts of that MS. (Oxford), which relate to the tenth and eleventh centuries, are additions to the works of yEngus,—which areaccurately mentioned by Colgan. " Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's " Bibliotheca MS. Stowensis," vol. i. , p. 30, n. 3.
Introduction, p.
Catalogue
*3 See "
Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. liii. , liv.
** It has appeared, in the " Irish Eccle- siastical Record," vol. ill. The months of May and June, 1867, pp. 385 to 397, and 461 to 477. An introductory and critical notice precedes, signed B. M. C . , while notes and various readings accompany it.
*s See ibid. May, 1867, p. 388.
"*
and See inaccurately.
Chronological
nearly
Sir James Ware's authority makes the
xiv, Account of
=^ In the Oxford "
appears imperfectly
fol. 1697, p. 4. Neither was Bishop Nicol- son accurately informedaboutthetitleorcon- tents of this MS.
^' A Manuscript, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and classed H. i, li, con- tains a Catalogue of Male and Female Irish
Saints, in Alphabetical order.
3o in the Manuscript of Trinity College,
Dublin, classed H, 1, 1 1, we find an account
Antiquitates Hiberniae,"
" of MSS. it
312 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
posed by^ngus the Culdee, are to be found among the O'Longan Manuscripts, in the Royal Irish Academy. 3» There is a Poems^ of 412 verses,33 on Adam and the Patriarchs to the flood, on Noah and his descendants, to the building of the Tower of Babel, on its measurement, and on the Conquests or Colo- nizationsofIreland,anteriortotheMilesianConquest. 34 ThisPoemiseven brought down to the time of Brian Boru. The author says, in the last stanza, that it was not lawful for him to make any false statement, in his composition, and the writer calls " noble Hence, this Poem has some-
himself, Aengus. "
times been ascribed to St. ^ngus Ceile De, but, perhaps, more correctly it
should be assigned to Angus Roe O'Daly, who died in 1350. 35
But, until we have had a critical examination and analysis of all these attributed works, it will be impossible to decide with more authoritative statements, regarding their authenticity, and number. The Irish Archaeolo- gical Society has announced the intention of supplying a desideratum^ long
" The
Works of St. ^ngus the Culdee. " We fear, however, an indefinite postpone- ment regarding this project, although it is one of the highest national and
philological importance.
CHAPTER IV.
MODES OF LIFE AT TALLAGH, UNTIL THE TIME ARRIVED FOR DEPARTURE—ST. i^NGUS RETURNS TO CLONENAGH, WHERE HE IS CHOSEN AS ABBOT—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN A CHOREPISCOPUS—OCCASIONAL RETIREMENT TO DYSART ENOS OR TO DYSERT- BEAGH—HIS DEATH AND BURIAL—VALUE OF ST. VENGUS' HAGIOGRAPHICAL WORKS —CONCLUSION.
We may well conceive, how affectionately and agreeably passed their hours of occasional relaxation, as of study, while the holy Abbot Melruan and
. zEngus were companions, in the ccenobmm, at Tallagh. Their interchange of pious and cultivated thought must have proved mutually conducive to the accuracy and unction of those hagiographical and sacred historic works, whichseemspeciallytohavehadaliteraryfascinationforthem. Theteach- ing of ecclesiastical and secular learning probably engaged a considerable part of their daily monastic routine. For we cannot doubt, but native and foreign literature, as also the science of the period, was then taught in the school of Tallagh, with the religious training and dogma, peculiar to such an establishment. It seems evident, from references made to Eusebius and St. Jerome, that ^ngus was well versed in the Greek, as in the Latin language. So long as Melruan lived, peace and security reigned within the Irish mon- asticenclosures.
