**" The
foregoing
and the following infor* mation was kindly communicated in Mr.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
Sed si hsec flamma, suos dum Brigida
:
igne
mentis ? Vivaci vivax
;
nescia mortis erit. "
522 Livns OF THE iklSIi SAINTS.
[February i.
It is certain, from what we have already seen, the great St. Brigid's relics were preserved with great honour, at Kildare, and after\vards at Down, for many years after her death. Among other relics of our saint, Hanmer men-
""
tions a bell, called Clogg Brietta," or Brigid's Bell," which he says, the
superstitious Irish found out, in process of time, and to which they attributed great virtue and holiness. This bell, he says, and other toys, carried about, not only in Ireland, but also in England, were banished the land, in the time of Henry V. "4 Colgan indignantly takes exception to such statements ; and, he shows, that the relic in question was not a recent invention or a fraud, butthatithadexistedfromaremoteperiod,"s Yet,heAvouldnotunder- take to pronounce, whether or not, this had' been the identical bell, sent by St. Gildas to our saint as a present. "^ At the church of Serin, in Ireland, was preserved a shroud, in which St. Brigid's corpse is said to have been wrapped, together with other much venerated relics of this same church. "7 Doctor Petrie tells us, that he had in his own cabinet, that celebrated reli- quary, which contained a slipper of St. Bridget. It is said, that a part of St.
and
In art, S. Bridget is usually represented, with her perpetual flame, as a symbol ; sometimes, with a column of fire, said to have been seen above her head, when she took the veil. ^31 This flame has reference, likewise, to the portent of illumination about the house in which she was born. In allusion to her tending of cows, she is also represented, dressed as a dairy-maid, and in the act of churning. Again, one of her floral emblems is the " Laurus Nobilis," which is called the shrub of St. Bride, although it does not flower on her day. '32 We are told, furthermore, that her type among created things is the dove among birds, the vine among trees, and the sun among the stars. ^33
St. Brigid had been regarded by our ancestors as the special patroness of Leinster. '34 In many parts of Ireland, a very considerable number of mar-
the wood that became "^ were green,
sacred
preserved at Candida Casa, until these had been profaned at the period of theReformation. "9 InhiscatalogueoftheIrishsaints,RicardusConvaeus, as already mentioned, tells us, that some relics belonging to our saint, were preserved in a church of the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is not impro- bable, that certain mementoes of St. Brigid had been deposited in some of the churches, dedicated to her memory, as previously detailed, and more especially within those, which were built in extern countries. ^3o
Brigid's
relics,
especially
"4 See Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 9i«
"S For proof of this assertion, he cites the
respective martyrologies of St. i^ngus, or of his scholiast, and of Charles Maguire, at the 1st of February. See "Trias Thauma- turga. " Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Bri- gidae, cap. xvii. , p. 625.
"^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niflB," xxix. Januarii. Vita S. Gildae Ba- donici, cap. ix. , p. 183.
"7 According to St. Adamnan's catalogue of these religious treasures.
"^
*3o gee "Trias " Colgan's Tliaumaturga.
Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidae, cap. xvii. , p. 626.
'3i See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. , February i. , p. 22.
'^^ See " Circle of the Seasons," p. 32. *33 See Professof O'Looney's Irish Life of
St.
Brigid, pp. 43, 44.
'34 The following quotation, in reference
to St. Bridget, is from a poem on the "Pa- tron Saints of the principal tribes and terri- tories of Ireland, several copies of which are preserved in the Library of the R. I. A. Especially there are two MSS. , classed 23, L, 19, and 23, L. 39. An extract is kindly furnished by Mr. Joseph OLongan, which,
In token of her purity, the altar is said
to have become virescent, and to have budded
forth flowers, according to one account. See
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Appendix with its English translation, reads as fol-
Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidse, cap. xi. , pp. 620, 621.
'^ See Camerarius " De Statu Hominis veteris simul ac novae Ecclesise, et Sanctis Kegni Scotise," lib. I. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 141.
lows r—
L(\i§eAn uile a|\ cul bpl^TDe
Clu 50 fAitib^Ae.
All Leinster under the protection of Bridget,
Fame most precious.
February t. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 223
riages were solemnized within that period of the year, extending from the
EpiphanytoAsh-Wednesday. Severalpartieswerealsomostanxious,that their marriages should be celebrated before the ist of February, so that possession might then be taken of their new abode. ^35 it was also an in- variable usage of the Irish people to have female infants, born on the feast of the holy abbess of Kildare, baptized with the beautiful name of Bridget'36 or Bride. This even was a practice, when such births preceded or succeeded the festival by a week or two, and when no other sister had already received
that name in a particular family.
The sapient Irish antiquary, Ledwich, while considerately allowing St.
Brigid to have had an existence, in one passage of his work,^37 deems her to have been a purely imaginary personage, in another,^38 or to have been a sort of Druidess, estabHshed at Kildare to preserve fire, together with her community of Druidesses,^39 whom it would be so absurd to call nuns. We cannot even discover, when the practice of preserving fire had been at first introduced, in Kildare. ^^o Giraldus Cambrensis is the first writer who men- tions it. ^41 Whatever had been the system of the heathen Irish, with regard
to the preservation of fire, nothing occurs to prove, that the practice of Kil-
dare was in any manner derived from it ; although, it is not meant to be
denied, that some remnants of Pagan customs have been observed, without,
however, any bad intention, in Ireland, as well as in other countries. ^'^^ Even,
it was sometimes thought advisable, to allow certain time-sanctioned usages,
harmlessinthemselves; yet,withtheprecautionofhavingthemdirectedto
the worship and honour of the true and Almighty God. ^'^3 As yet happens
in the midland counties, and in parts of the South of Ireland, the custom of
"
Brigid Oge" is practised, especially by young persons ;^'*4 still, this is more likely to have had a Christian, rather than a Gentile origin. ^45 The Irish practice of making eircular^'*^ and square crosses on St.
carrying the
^33 For this information, I feel indebted to
Ven. John Kenny, D. D. , P. P. , Ennis, and
dean of Killaloe diocese, conveyed in a letter
dated Ennis, April 14th, 1875.
^^i It was kept constantly burning, in an enclosure near the monastery, as Ware says,
*'
De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus, Dis- quisitiones," &c. , cap. xvii,, p. 83, for the benefit of the and of To this
^36 In Cormac's "
the name of
poor guests.
remark, Harris wantonly added, "as was in English "a fiery arrow. " See "SAriAf pretended. " This practice continued until
Glossary," V>x\^\. \^^Q. x\yt(iixQ>xa. breo-aigit,breo-shaigit,
cVioi\rnAic," translated and annotated by
Dr. O'Donovan, edited, with Notes and In-
dices, by Whitley Stokes, p. 23.
'37 Dr. Milner was induced to suppose,
that Ledwich did not deny the existence of St. Brigid. See "Tour in Ireland," letter xi. Dr. Milner, however, seems to have observed only a passage at p. 387 of the "Antiquities of Ireland," overlooking one at p. 378.
'38 See Dr. Ledwich's "Antiquities of Ireland," p. 378.
'39 Ledwich imagines, these were intended to replace the heathen Druidesses of yore. If the Pagan Irish worshipped or tended fire, however, its care was entrusted to Druids, rather than to Druidesses.
the suppression of monasteries in the reign of King Henry VIH. See Harris' Ware, vol. ii. , "The Antiquities of Ireland," chap, xxxv. , p. 238.
''^'^ See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sec. vi. , n. 98, pp. 459, 460.
'43 in reference to this matter, see St. Gregory the Great's letter to Mellitus in Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An* glorum," lib. i. , cap. 30.
"*4 Yet observed in Carrigaline, and in other parts of Cork county. Letter from Very Rev. Denis Canon M'Swiney, P. P. , to the writer.
'45 According to a modern writer, the custom of carrying about an image of St. Brigid, on the eve of her festival, is said to
'40 Such account is not referred to in very
ancient documents. The writers of St. have been derived from Paganism. See
Brigid's Lives, it seems evident, knew no- thing about it. See her Third Life, at chap.
84, and her Fourth Life, book ii. , chap. 57.
Marcus Keane's "Towers and Temples of
Ancient Ireland," p. 60.
'4^ These are sometimes called bo^ bjAf-
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 537, 51'oe, 538,558,559.
Brigid's Ring," and they are invari-
"
ablymadebywomenalone. Fromadraw-
224 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
Brigid's eve, still prevailing ; and the hanging out of a ribbon or handkerchief from vvindovvs'47—yet pretty general in the South of Ireland'-^^—may be traced tothediscontinuanceofoldfestiveandChristianusages. Allourlegend-lore confirms the truth of such a conclusion. In the county of Cork, this tradi- tion prevails. St. Patrick once said in St. Brigid's hearing, that every second
"
day from her festival should be good. ^'^^ " and half of my day, too. " ^so
Yes," repUed the holy Brigid,
Although this illustrious patroness of Ireland justly deserved the title of
Thaumaturga, or " Worker of Miracles," and although she was eminently
distinguished for her faith, her spirit of prophecy, and her knowledge con-
cerning the most sublime mysteries of Christianity ; yet, she considered, with
the great Apostle of the Gentiles, that without charity, her works could not
be rendered perfect. 's^ Though she spoke words of human and angelic
wisdom or eloquence, she deemed herself as nothing, or not better than
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, if not possessing this queen of all
virtues. In the distribution of temporal goods, she was liberal, indeed, and
almost to prodigality, especially when poor and distressed individuals claimed
herprotection. Thiswasdone,throughnomotiveofostentation,orthrough
any pride of soul, through no indirect self-seeking or ambition. She was in-
duced, neither to think evil, nor to feel indignant, even when unworthy
personsapproachedtoobtainheralms. Sheenviednotothers,whenfortune
dealt adversely with herself ; she was humble, as the lowliest of her religious,
when placed over them as a superior. She bore kindly and patiently, with
theperversenessandingratitudeofsome; while,beingaloverofwhatwas
deemed upright and just, the holy Brigid laboured indefatigably, in the cause
of religion and divine truth. Speaking and understanding as a child, in her
youth,yetshelearnedtoloveandserveGod; nor,inheradvancedyears
was it deemed necessary to put away the things she had learned, in earlier
life, since these stood the test of genuine holiness. She was only required
to glean fresher flowers, and to gather riper fruits, before her course on earth
had finally closed. Steadily keeping her own sanctification in view, she
burned with a holy zeal to secure the salvation of all other persons, especially
those immediately subject to her regular rule. She undertook many wonder-
ful labours, and her energies never failed, in bringing them to a satisfactory issue. In doing the work of God, her soul seemed to expend itself in each
particularaction; and,yet,aftersuchaccomplishment,itfeltinvigoratedfor fresher toils. Bright, indeed, is her crown in Heaven, and unfading are her rewards. If she was strong in faith, she was firm in hope ; and, as an ardent love of God and of her neighbour animated her devoted spirit, so was she a
living impersonation on earth of that virtue, greatest of all, pure and perfect charity.
ing of one, sent to the writer by Mr. Denis A. O'Leary, Kilbolane Cottage, Charleville,
County Cork, it seems in every respect to resemble St* Patrick's tastefully decorated cross, so becomingly worn by Irish female children on their right shoulder, each St. Patrick's Day. Exactly similar crosses are made by men, and put up in the thatch every
one is made on
'*7 This is said to lengthen during the night, and to cure headaches.
**" The foregoing and the following infor* mation was kindly communicated in Mr.
O'Leary's letter of April 17th, 1875.
'^9 Mr. O'Longan informs me, that St. Patrick is reputed to have said these words. 'So j^ the Irish v—ersion, the saying of St.
but
Day, only
Patrick's
each festival occurring.
biM'§x)e
Patrick runs thus
"
i
Jac -oaixa La 50 itiaic
6 La Lao —AmAc. "
Then follows the reply
" :
Soa'o,"
'OtjbAipc
"blM'sit), "xxguf teAt mo lAe leif. " *si See i. Cor. xiii.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 225
Article II. —St. Derlugdacha, Virgin, and Second Abbess of KiLDARE. \Fifth and Sixth Centuries. '] Lives of holy celibates are noted in the earliest historical annals of the Church. A nun, according to the signification of the word, in numerous languages, is a virgin or widow, consecrated to God, by the three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and obliged to live in a convent under a certain rule. From the first age of our receiving the Christian Faith, female religious were thus distinguished in Ireland. The Acts of St. Derlugdacha, as given by Colgan^ and the Bollandists,^ afford illustrations. Other writers on ecclesiastical history and saints' lives commemorate the present holy virgin, on St. Brigid's festival day. Some brief notices of this saint are to be found,likewise,inBishopChalloner'swork,3attheistofFebruary. Itmust be allowed, that Colgan's assumption, regarding this saint having been one of St. Patrick's disciples and veiled by him, is over-strained. ^ Her holy alumna, or foster-child, however, is incidently mentioned in the Acts of St. Brigid, the illustrious patroness of Ireland. From these sources, we are in- formed, that Derlugdacha,5 or as she is less correctly called, Dardulacha,^ wasunderSt. Brigid'sguidanceandbelongedtohercommunity. Shelived inthefifth,andintheearlierpartofthesixth,century. Itismostprobable, Derlugdacha passed her novitiate, and the chief part of her life, at Kildare monastery ; but of this, we are not certain. Regarding her family and birth- place, we have no account worthy of credence. Although, it has been as- serted, by Dempster, that this saint was a sister, in his opinion, to the holy martyrs, Gunifort and Gunibald -^ that she went from Scotia in company with her two brothers and a sister to Germany, in the year 420 ; and that the Irishman will in vain claim >her as a countrywoman ; still the Scotsman's assertions rest on no trustworthy authority, and they are not truthfully appli- cable to the history of our saint. ^ This writer neither produces his authority —as indeed he could not—nor assigns any fair grounds for his several teme- rarious statements. It cannot be inferred, because we have it recorded, that two sisters of Saints Gunifort and Gunibald suffered martyrdom in Germany, and that St. Derlugdacha—or as Dempster calls her, Dardulacha—had been venerated at Frisinga, or Frisengen,9 in Germany, that our saint had been one of these sisters. They were virgins and martyrs, whilst our saint was not crownedwithmartyrdom. Andeven,thoughitbeadmitted,thatourDer- lugdacha had been venerated at Frisingan, or Freysingen,^° in Germany, it does not follow that she had travelled thither. Dempster's own assertions areevenself-contradictory. Havingbroughtthosebrothersandsisters,from their native country, to Germany, in 420 ; he makes the two latter suffer martyrdom, in the place to which they went, while their brothers were present,exhortingthemtoconstancy. " Moreover,oneofthebrothers,St.
Article n. —'See "Acta Sanctorum Sanctorum Hibernise," i. Februarii, n. i. , p. Hibemise," i. Februarii. Vita S. Derlug- 230.
dachse, pp. 229, 230.
=
ThusdesignatedbyFerrarius,Fitzsimon,
They give her Acts in eight paragraphs
in the " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Febru-
^ Dempster adds, " ut ex historia colligo, quam habet sanctuarium Paphiae. "
^ See " Historia Ecclesiastica Dempster's
arii i. , pp. 186, 187. 3 See "Britannia
Sancta," part i. , p. 95.
*< See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Gentis Scotorum," vol. i. , lib. iv. , sec 391,
"
Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 270.
5 By some of our Irish vi^riters she is called Derlugacha, but more properly Derlugdacha, as the Martyrologies of Marianus Gorman, Maguire, Tallagh and Donegal have it, at the Ist of February. See Colgan's "Acta
p. 214. See the Edinburgh edition of
1829.
9 This he says is to be found in the Bre-
viary of Frisengen.
Vol II.
Q
^
Dempster, Camerarius and other authors,
'°
This city is situated in Bavaria.
" For this statement, Dempster cites the testimony of Jacobus Guallus.
226 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
Gunibald, is thought by Dempster" to have been translated to bliss, a. d. 417; both these brothers, subsequently to the martyrdom of their sisters,
and successively, having died in Italy for the faith of Christ. Here, indeed, we have a rare tissue of absurdities, and at variance with correct chronology.
We do not find it stated, by any reliable author, that St. Derlugdacha had either a brother or sister. Nor do we find it well authenticated, that she even
leftherowncountry. ShewasveneratedprobablyatFrisingia,inGermany, and also in Scotland. One account has it, that Darlugtach, virgin, and the
disciple of St. Brigid, went over to North Britain,'3 during the third year of the reign of Nectan, son of Morbet, the thirty-ninth King of the Picts. ^* She is said to have concurred with him, during her second year's sojourn^s in the first foundation of an ancient church at Abernethy. ^^ Furthermore, it has been stated, that when Nectan dedicated Abernethy to St. Brigid, the abbess
of Kildare, where her undying fire was kept burning, according to the legend, Darlughdach sang Alleluia at the offering. '7 Nor, is it likely, the virgin exiled herself in 420, at which time her superioress, St. Brigid, was not even born, according to most trustworthy accounts. ^^ Equally false is Hanmer's state- ment, that Derlugdacha had a daughter, and for which account he refers to
a legend, regarding St. Brigid. '9 St. Derlugdacha appears to have always remained a virgin, and to have been distinguished, for a general purity of life and morals ; even, although on one occasion, she had yielded to a grievous sin of thought, contrary to chastity. This assault of the enemy, she was at length enabled to repress ; and, by the voluntary infliction of great bodily pain on herself, she obtained a glorious victory over carnal temptations. This incident, as related, happened while St. Brigid and her ward chanced to spend a night with some people, living in a certain village. Strongly assailed by the tempter, while St. Brigid lightly slept, Derlugdacha arose from bed ; but, impressed by the fear and love of God, as also through re- verence for her holy superior, the young nun applied live coals of fire to her
*' See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco- torum," tomus i. , lib. vii. , sec. 76.
^3 "It is evident that, though Christianity
in his Appendix to her Acts. The earliest date assigned for her birth is A. D. 439. Nor can Dempster say, that he does not refer to
signed
known in Caledonia, it was a — the alumna of St.
early long Derlugdacha, Brigid,
was
time before it made any visible progress. "
'*
Church History of Scotland, from the commencement of the Christian era to the present time," vol. i. ,
chap. ii. , p. 46. '•Thebeginningofhisreignhasbeenas-
to A. D. We find him called
"
reigned 34 years. See pp. 160, 161.
'S See Skene's "Chronicle of the Picts
and Scots," p. 6.
"* See Father Innes' " Civil and Ecclesi-
astical History of Scotland," book i. , sect. Iv. , pp. 96, 97, and book ii. , section ix. , p.
1 28.
'7 See Rev. Mackenzie E. C. Walcott's
when he states, that his Dardulacha was
venerated on the 1st of February. All au-
thorities agree, that the natalis of Derlug-
dacha, St. Brigid's spiritual daughter, must
be referred to this same day. See Colgan's
Rev. John Cunningham's
n. 4, and "Trias " p. 230, Thaumaturga.
Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidffi, cap. ix. , p. 620.
*9 The following is Hanmer's statement : Algernon Herbert. He is said to have ** Saint Darlugdach called a virgin, and yet
455. Nectan-mor-breac in the
Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius," edited by Dr. James Henthom Todd, and Hon.
"
of Scotland," p. 316,
Scoti-Monasticon : The Ancient Church
'^
This appears sufficiently manifest, as St. Patrick's apostleship had not then com- menced, in Ireland. After his mission be- gan, St. Brigid was born, as Colgan proves
"
ActaSanctorumHibernise,"i, Februarii,
had a daughter that was baptized in the presence of ^n^/^i? . 'Y\i\% Darlugdach \v? i'? > the second Nunne, and succeeded Bri^idexw Kildare, whose remembran—ce is celebrated
the same day with her," "Chronicle
Ireland," p. 92. This assertion meets from
Colgan a vehement protest, and it is probably
the coinage of Hanmer's own brain ; for it cannot be found in the pages of any old
writer, but, on the contrary, the writers of St. Brigid's Acts, as also the various old
calendarists, invariably call St. Derlugdach a virgin. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
i. Februarii, n. 2, p. 230.
of
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 227
feet, thus endeavouring to counteract her mental torment. Between the im- pulses of nature and grace a severe mental conflict is often experienced. The devil urges to the prosecution of a first evil design, by filling the ima-
gination with illusions and pleasures of his suggestion. But, the grace of God proves still more effectual in a dangerous juncture, and when sought for with earnestness. Betaking oneself to prayer, and entreating Divine protec- tion to preserve from sin, will secure a victory over the very strongest temp- tation. With scorched feet, our saint returned to her bed. The holy Brigid happened to be awake, while her religious daughter endured this painful trial of constancy. Yet, the pious abbess did not break silence. On the follow- ing day, Derlugdacha confessed her sin of thought to the sainted abbess.
"
Brigid then said to her :
My daughter, I have witnessed your contest, but
because you have nobly resisted, and have subjected your feet, to the action
of material fire, you shall not be tempted, henceforward, with carnal desires,
while the flames of hell shall not affect you, at a future period. " Then, St.
Brigid applied a sign of the cross on Derlugdacha's feet, and healed them,^°
so that no trace or mark remained, to indicate their having suffered by fire. =^^
Because of her fortitude and fidelity, Derlugdacha was specially called St.
Brigid's alunma, or foster-child, and on account of efforts made to emulate
the virtues of her holy superioress. Among all other religious daughters,
under the Abbess of Kildare, a particular affection seems to have been enter-
tained for her alumiia. This regard was cordially returned by our saint.
Such was Derlugdacha's remarkable and fervent love towards God, and
devotedness towards her superioress, that she desired to depart from this
world, on that day, when St. Brigid was about to be called to her everlasting
reward. For, when this holy servant of Christ had been pressed down with
the weight of advancing years, Brigid's favourite foster-child one day said to
"
My mother and mistress, I desire to go with you instantly
her superioress :
toGod'skingdom. " Towhichthesaintlyandvenerablemotherabbessre-
" It shall not so
year, and when it will have expired, you shall die on the anniversary day of my departure, and the same date must commemorate my festival and thine. " This prophecy was duly fulfilled. ^^ Thus, united in life and love with the venerable Brigid, as our saint desired to obtain a closer union with her superioress, at the death and final triumph of the latter ; so, Derlugdacha obtained the object of her petition, although in a manner somewhat modified. The Almighty, who unalterably guards his own wise decrees, is yet attentive to the pious desires of his petitioners, and he becomes the rewarder of all virtues. As his spouses were engaged in the exercises and pursuit of piety, sowasitmeet,thattheyshouldbeeverlastinglyandunitedlycrowned. But, he wished Derlugdacha, the favourite scholar of Brigid, to survive her holy mistress, for the exact term of one year. She wept over the bier of Kildare's great abbess.
