No More Learning

Soonafterwards,theconvertexpressedadesire
to lead a still more perfect life. He then offered to the Almighty and to the
BlessedVirginallhistemporalpossessions. Heplacedhimselfimmediately under the direction of Sigisbert. Soon he was joined by other monks. 1 * As
the number of his disciples began to increase, Sigisbert built another oratory, which he dedicated to St. Martin. He constructed cells around it, in which to lodge his monks. They became united in the strictest rules of Christian
called Placidus, who lived in a castle called Tremisium. 1?
Gall's Life, found in the monastery of Sele-
eremi amatorum. "
JI See Rev. S. " Lives of Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. vii. , July n, p. 281.
I2
The old Life of St. Gall, edited by Father O'Sheerin, may be seen in the " Col- lectanea Sacra," of Father Christopher Fleming, in the commentaries affixed to the Life of St. Columban, num. 81.
on the River Main, in
This contains some inaccuracies, however, such as stating that they left Ireland in the
time of Pope Gregory. They arrived in Franee long before his incumbency.
10
The old writer of Vita S. Galli states, that St. Columban came to Ursaria, which
the time when he wrote. He adds regarding
"
Columbanus; Ibi reliquit Sigebertum
genstad,
Germany.
was a
'3 Franciscus Guillimann adds: "
in Helvetia, also called Ursella and Urania, where he constructed a church, and that it was known as St. Columban's at
city
eaque tenebat omnia—, quae nunc Disertinoe regionis
It was designated Disertina in
" nominantur. " De Rebus
Helvetiae," lib. See Rev. S. Daring-Gould's "Lives of
iv. , cap. ii. , p. 425. l*
2o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July ii,
charity, and practised the most heroic virtues. He there established, not alone the rule of St. Columban, but introduced likewise his spirit ; for, by example as by words, he never failed to animate his brethren, in all the per- fections of their state. He also consecrated those immense solitudes around him to God and to his Holy Mother. However, a local Count, whose name wasVictortheFirstjs resentedthisintrusion—asheruledoverallRhaetial6 —and he resolved on taking possession of those lands, with which Placidus hadendowedthemonastery. Thelatterwenttohimwithacomplaintand remonstrance. With the freedom of another John the Baptist, Placide also reproached him with living a sinful life in company with an abandoned woman. He chose to be offended with Placidus, and in revenge, he ordered some of his retainers to beset the way by which he was to return. In a passionate mood, this chief ordered them to murder his visitor, and to smite off the head of Placidus. as we are on the nth of 1 ?
However,
Rhine, over a bridge, he and some of his servants fell into the river, when they
weresweptalongbythetorrentanddrowned. Thelossofhisdeardisciple
Placidus brought great affliction to the heart of Sigisbert. On the very spot
where he had been murdered, the people of that country afterwards built a
magnificent church in honour of the martyr, and it lasted for many subse-
This, told, happened July. the barbarous and unjust Count did not long survive.
18
very year when his glorious master St. Columbanus passed away to bliss.
quent centuries.
It is said, that St. Sigisbert departed this life in 613, the
Others have the date for his placed
at a. d. T 9 He was buried 615.
departure
in the same tomb with Placidus, so that while they were closely united in
charity and conversation during life, they were not separated when both had beenremovedfromtheirreligiouscommunity. Sigebertisregardedastheir apostle by the Grisons, in that portion of Switzerland. In 621, the Abbey of
20
Disentis was
No less than five
wrought at the tomb of St. Sigisbert and of St. Placidus. To honour their relics, a marble sarcophagus was made by orders of King Pepin. It is said, that Tello, who is reputed to have been a son of Victor and afterwards Bishop of Chur,22 endeavoured to make reparation for the cruelty of his father. Everywhere this bishop propagated devotion to St. Placidus. The veil which wrapped the head of St. Placidus had long been preserved as a relic in that place. The graves of these saints were visited in 781, by Charlemagne and by liis Empress Hildegarde. Frequent pilgrimages took place to the Abbey of Dissentis, when prayers were offered before the shrine of its patron saints. Among the illustrious visitors was St. Charles Borromeo, who undertook a
founded, parishes
were
subject
to it. 21
Miracles were
frequently
the Saints," vol. vii. , July 1 1, p. 281.
'5 He lived at a place, called Willinga, which was a castle situated on the other
bankoftheRhine. Itisnowinruins.
,6 See Franciscus Guillimann, "De Rebus
Helvetian," lib. iv. , cap. ii. , p. 425.
17 See Franciscus Guillimann, "Dc Rebus
20
The Abbot Dom. Albert Funsi of this
Helvttiae," lib. iv. , cap. ii. , p. 425.
x8
At a — recent comparatively period
an
Tremi-
enormous avalanche frequent among those
Alpine Mountains—buried it, and the people
living around it, so that the place where it
stood cannot now be known. See Les Petit!
Kollandistes, " Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
e
xi Jour de Juillet, p. 249.
19 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"tomus i. ,lib. xi. ,num. xx. ,p. 310.
(Tavetsch) Medullum (Medels. ) sunt et vici plures, at Camossum ^Kemps) Summus
Helvetia. ',"
and it continued to flourish for
many subsequent ages.
monastery communicated many particulars regarding it to Mabillon, and these were takenfromancientManuscripts.
21 Thus states FranciscusGuillimann, while enumerating the Federal Cantons of Rhaetia:
" Prima et
terii et vici, ampla et locuples, cujus parretipe
sunt siuin
quinque
;
ipsum,
antiquissima
est Disertini monas-
While passing the
Dissertinum
(Trams) Bregallia (Brigell) Actuatium
M
lib. iv. , cap. ii. , p. 425.
vicus '-'-
(Summits)
.
—"De Rebus
It is said, from 759 to 774. He died
A. D. 784. This, however, can hardly square with the much earlier date assigned for the
July it. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 207
fatiguing journey through the Rhetinn Alps for that purpose, and when he
was treated with marked the monks of that 23 When respect by monastery.
Disentis had been occupied by the French in 1799, the relics of those saints were for the most part lost. The feast of St. Sigisbert, confessor, and of St. Placidus, martyr, are celebrated on the nth of July, throughout that diocese where they so long lived and laboured. They are commemorated in the Chur Breviary. They are commemorated, likewise, in Les Petits 2* Bollan- dists, at the nth of July.
Article IV. —St. Lonan, of Ard-Cruinn. Veneration was given, at the nth of July, to Lonan, of Arda Crainn, as we find entered in the Martyr-
of 1 The Bollandists have at this same ology Tallagh. recorded,
date,
a feast
for Lonanus of Ard-cruinn,2 as furnished by Father O'Sheerin.
enquire, if Ard-cruinn can be identical with Ardcroney,3 a parish in the barony of Lower Ormond, and county of Tipperary. The left side of the direct road —as you advance from Borris-o-kane to Nenagh—affords the site for an ancient church, on a very elevated spot. Connected with this church appear the remains of an old castle ; some of the side walls, chambers, winding- stairs and window-places, are yet to be seen. The whole group of ruins is enclosed within a much frequented graveyard. The church walls are in tolerable preservation. In one end gable, a narrow cut-stone and pointed window remains entire. The opposite gable, near the old castle, appears rather to have been an interior cross-wall, under which a wide arch opens. The masonry in this group of buildings is very massiveand well cemented. The whole deserves an attentive study from the antiquary and archaeologist. In the
an old, and also a new one the former giving name to a parish, known as Loman. Tradition states, that a St. Lonan, nephew of the Irish Apostle, is honoured there. The ruins of the ancient church stand in a lonely cemetery a mile and a-half off the main road from Douglas to Luney. 4 In the Martyrology of Donegal,5 the feast of this saint is also entered, at the nth of July.
Article V. —St. Falbi, or Failbhe, Son of Culocha, of Disert Mic-Conlocha, in Cuircne, County of Westmeath. In the " Feilire " of
———
Isle of Man which is full of ancient Celtic ecclesiastical memorials there is
death of Sigisbert.
23 This is related, in the Italian Life of St.
Charles Borromeo, by the noble priest John Peter Giusani, lib. vi. , cap. xii.
24 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
where St. Patrick's mother was honoured. The present ruins I take to be the remains of a church erected a couple of hundred years ago on the site of an ancient foundation. In the s—mall burial-ground—now disused, I think stands a curious and ancient Celtic cross 6 feet high, and 3 feet broad at the shoulders. The circle is not worked through, but marked or punched deeply in the face of the stone. The stone itself is not regu- larly dressed. The panel, &c, of the cross exhibit the usual scroll-work. I could dis-
xie
Article iv.
Kelly, p. xxix.
2
de — 248,249. • Jour Juillet, pp.
l
Edited
by Rev. Dr.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xi. Among the pretermitted saints,
p. 177.
3 It is noticed, on the Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the County of Tip- perary," sheets io, 14, 15. The townland proper is on sheet 15.
4 The foregoing particulars, and the fol- lowing were communicated to the writer, by
Rev. Patrick Power, 14 Great Nelson-street,
Liverpool, in a letter dated August 3rd, 1887. He adds: "About four miles from the former and about two ^from Onchan
"
if there cover no inscription— inscription
had been—
evidently the venerable monument has been exposed to rough weather and rougher hand-
it would be now as obliterated,
ling in days gone by. I may add, that the whole is set in a stone pedestal (rude as the monument itseli), about 6 feet in length by a foot ami a-half broad. "
s Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
We may
2o8 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Jn. v it.
1 at the nth of July, there is an entry of Conlug's pious son. In a comment annexed, we are informed, that he was of Disert Meic Conlocha, in the west of Meath, and that Failbe was his name. 2 His father was named
—
daughter of Moche, son to Bairrinn, sister of Muiccin, of Maighin, was his mother. s TheterritoryofCuircneorMachaireCuircnewascommensurate
St.
^Engus,
Conlug—according
Martyrology of TallaglV at the nth of July, Mac Conlocae, Falbi being his name, in Disiurt mic-Conlocha, in Curchib. The Bollandists *> have on this day the brief notices furnished by O'Sheerin, and representing him as a burn- ing and a shining light. The Calendar of Cashel as also the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Cathal Maguire commemorate him. Euten,
to other accounts
Culocha. We find
entered in the
with the barony of Kilkenny West, in the county of Westmeath.
6
This dis-
trictofCuircne' embracedalsothatportionofForgneyparish,lyingsouth
ofRiver 8 inthe of and of The
Inny, barony Abbeyshruel, county Longford. place of this saint is now probably that called Dysart,9 a parish partly in the barony of Rathconrath, and partly in that of Moycashel and Magheradernan. Therearesomeremainsofanoldchurchandacemeterylyingwithinit. 10 It is remarked, that in the Menologium Scoticum of Dempster, he has a Fail- beus at the 25th of January, at the 3rd of June, and at the 6th of October.
" The Martyrology of Donegal I2 records the present saint, as Failbhe, son of Culocha, of Disert Mic Conlocha, in Cuircne, in Westmeath.
Article VI. —St. Colman, Son of Cron or Cronan. In the
Martyrology of TallaglV we find inserted, at the nth of July, the name of Colman, son of Cronan. A similar notice, furnished by O'Sheerin to the
Bollandists,
The Martyrology of Donegal calls him the son of Cron. 3 Perhaps, his place may be identified with Daire Mor, or Kilcolman, a parish, partly in the barony ofBallybritt, and partly in the barony of Clonlisk, in the southern part of the
8
These relative situations are well shown, on the Map of the Diocese of Meath, con- structed by Rev. Dr. Daniel Augustus Beau- ford, Rector ofNavan.
9 Disert-Conlocha appears to have been another name for this church. See 1 >r. O'Donovan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (h), pp. 181, 182.
192, 193. — Article v.
2 for this same date, has been inserted in their great collection.
* In the " Leabhar Breac" copy, we find the following stanza and its EnnlLsh translation by Dr. Whitley Stoke. s,
LamAjvcA riApipiA
eufeniA rU>5T>Ai bencoichc balcc Aijje HIaccqvAib'oechCotilocha.
"
LL. D. : —
With the martyrdom of the queen Euphe-
mia the hostful, Benedict, a strong pillar,
Conlug's pious son. "—"Transactions of mensis, tanquam qui scripserit Acta S.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
Columbae, ast ibi de eo nihil : siquid certi inveniatur, poterit referri ad diem vi. Octo- bris. "—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus hi. , Julii xi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 178.
12 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Scries, vol. i. , part i.
Ocngus, p. ex.
Sec ibid. , p. cxviii.
On the Calendar of
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxix.
4 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 178.
s According to the O'Clerys' Calendar.
192, 193. — Article vi.
•
Edited by
the Rev. Dr.
6
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals oi the
Four vol. ii. , n. 1121. Masters," (g), p.
7 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Leabhar na
g-Ceart,
or Book of
Rights,"
n. 181. (h), p.
I0
See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary
ofIreland,"vol. i. , p. 592.
11 "
Primo die in Praetermissis est ex Ferrario 13 Junii ex Dempstero, ubi remittitur ad 9 ejusdem
The Bollandists subjoin :
xxix.
* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii
xi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 177.
3 Edited Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. by
192, 193.
« Seethe Fifth Volume of this work, Art. ».
Kelly, p.
July ii. ] LIVES OF TllE IRISH SAINTS. 209
King's County. The present saint appears distinguishable from another bearingthesamenameandveneratedatthesameplace. HisActsmaybeseen, at the 20th of May/ This place is at present said5 to be written Derrimore, and to be found in Eliogarty, county of Tipperary. It seems, probable, that he may be identified with a Colman, bishop, set down by Duald Mac Firbis, at this date, and stated to have been of Doire Mor. 6
Article VII. —St. Berran. At the nth of July, the simple entry,
1 Berran,ismetwithintheMartyrologyofTallagh. FatherO'Sheerinassured
the Bollandists, who insert his commemoration at this date, that he was patron of Kill-Berrain, in Lower Ormond, and in the diocese of Killaloe, where his feast and vigil were observed, but on the 5th of May, as the Records of that diocese attest. 3 Marianus O'Gorman also includes him. His festival is like- wise noted in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 where jt is entered in the more recent hand. 4
Article VIII. —St. Gabtina or Gaibhthene, Virgin. According to
the of Martyrology
Tallagh,
1 St.
Gabtina, virgin,
had a feast on this
day.
Father O'Sheerin furnished the Bollandists 2 a like record for this date. In
the Martyrology of Donegal,3 a festival was celebrated, it is stated, at the t ith
of July, in honour of Gaibhthene, virgin. Nothing more seems to be known
about her.
Article IX. —Reputed Feast of St. Etianus, or Etto, Disciple
of St. Fursey. In the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints published by
O'Sullevan Beare, at the nth of July, we find Etianus or Etto entered.
Molanus and Henry Fitzsimon have Etianus, Bishop, r—ecorded at the same
date. 1 His Acts have been given at the preceding day the correct one for
2
Article X. —Translation of St. Benedict's Relics.
his feast.
" Leabhar Breac " of the " copy
St. 1 there is a record of yEngus,
Feilire," by St. Benedict's festival, at the nth of July.
Furthermore, a scholion informs us, thathewasBenedict^theFatherofMonks. Usuardandotherancient Martyrologists have it as the festival for a Translation of his relics, as the Bollandists note at this day. 4 They refer, however, to his chief feast, at the
2
5 By William M. Hennessy.
6 See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Article VIII,—'•* Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxix.
2 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Julii xi. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 177.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
192, 193.
Article ix. — l See "Historic Catholics
Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , xii. , pp. 50, 54.
Article vii
Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxix. 2
servations
:
" Cur
hoc die adducitur ?
Irish
vol.
—
The Bollandists add to the foregoing ob-
Academy," part i. , p. 105.
Manuscript Series,
i. ,
j
igitur
Aliis catalogis ignotus est ; si res magis pa- teat, facile alio die locum in Actis invenire
poterit. "— "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 177.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
192,193.
4 See note by Rev. Dr. Todd.
2
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," ix. Februa—rii, n. 13, p. 299.
Article x. x See " Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. ex.
In the
O
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 12.
2 1 st of March for an exhaustive illustration of his Acts. Also, in Usuard is to be found, at this same date, a Translation of the relics of his sister Scho- lastics, whose chief festival and Acts are noticed, on the 10th of February.
Article XI. —Festival of St. Euphemia, Virgin and Martyr, with her Companions. In the Irish Church, the Feast of St. Euphemia
was on the nth of formerly celebrated,
July.
we are informed, that she Was a virgin, who suffered martyrdom under the
Emperor Diocletian, with xu thousand other martyrs. The Greeks had a
feast for herat this date, and it is noted by Greven, as the Bollandists remark. 3
—— However, in the Roman Martyrology * as also in the Greek Menologies
her feast has been referred to the 16th of September.
Article XII. —Festival of St. Maclovius. At the nth of July, Greven, Saussay and other hagiographers commemorate St. Maclovius or St. Malo, Bishop and Confessor in British Armorica, as the Bollandists
;
more particulars regarding him.
Ctodftf) 3Bap of 3ulp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. MENULPHUS OR ST. MENOU, BISHOP OF QUIMPER- CORENTIN, FRANCE.
[PROBABLY IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. ']
WE often hear Christians say, they do not find the peace, and joy, and
and are led to from the fruitfulness, usefulness, they expect promises
of God conveyed in the Sacred Scriptures. If so, we may rest assured, the fault lies with themselves. It is only the true saint can fully comprehend, what
observe x but to treat about him on the
for his chief November 15th. To that same date, likewise, our readers are referred for
lire of St. /Engus. See
they prefer
day
festival,
2
See ibid. , p. cxviii.