3 In the
Registry
of Aberdeen, at xvii.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
« It has
been supposed, that this early Synod, held by the three great Fathers of the Irish Church, must have assembled after a. d. 448, the year assigned for the death of St. Secundums, as there is no mention of him, although the names of Auxilius and of Isserninus are given. Sir James Ware has about 45c as the probable era. Nor could it have been later than 459, the year usually set down for the death of Auxilius. Wherefore, an intermediate year 455 has been thought of, as one probably more reconcilable with the time, when it had been convened. Neither is the place known. Although Auxilius has been styled the co-episcopus and comorban of St. Patrick, yet we are not to understand by such terms, that he acted for the Irish Apostle in the see of Armagh, or therein succeeded, as the words might seem to imply ; but rather, that he assisted contemporaneously in spreading the Gospel in that part of Leinster, to which he had been assigned.
One of St. Patrick's Lives relates, that after many miracles wrought by Auxilius, he happily terminated life at Ceall-vsaille, in the plains of Leinster. It is stated, also, that the Bishop Auxilius, the nephew of St. Patrick, ended his days in the city of Ceall-Usall, which had been called after him. 25 It is
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sect. Book of Leinster.
i. , p. 260. " See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
19 Thus do we find it expressed: "In Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 442, 443.
Leges Ecclesise Angliae," tomusi. , published in 1639, at London, the Decrees of this
is chronicled.
ecclesia, quo, ex ejus nomine denomina-
tionem, sumens, Kill-ausaille vulgo vocatur,
reliquit S. A—uxilium ; in Kill-cuillin S.
Isserninum. " Colgan's "Trias Thauma- Synod are given.
turga," Septima cap. xviii.
Vita S.
lib.
2« Besides the text of these issuing
20
For an illustration of Killashee Church
and Round Tower, County of Kildare, the reader is referred to the Third Volume of this work, at the 19th of March, Art. vi.
at See "Wars of the Gsedhil w; th the Gaill,"editedbyVeryRev. Jamesiienthorn Todd, D. D. There, however, the place is called Orllasaile, while other authorities have Cellusaille, such as Keating, and the
Scholiis
2* "
Episcopus,
tate quo Ceall-Usalli nomen ab eo accepit, vitam finiit. "
Patricii,
iii. ,
Decrees, the learned Spanish priest, Joachim Laurence Villanueva, has amply annotated them in his work " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum qure supersunt, Fragmenta ;
23 In oDelman's " Concilia, Decreta,
illustrata," pp.
I to 102.
"6 At this year we read
:
" Saint Usaille
S. Patricii incivi- nepos,
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
generally considered, moreover, that St. Auxilius died after the middle of the fifth century ; but, differences of statement have been made regarding the precise year. The Annals of the Four Masters agree with some of the
26
ancient Irish Annals, in placing the date at a. d. 454.
Ulster, cited by Ussher, refer his death to the year 460,^ which is pro- nounced by Dr. O'Donovan28 to be the correct date.
A festival in honor of Usaille mac h Baird is inserted in the Martyrology
of
27th
the 19th of March, according to our Irish Martyrologists, cited by Colgan ;
on the 1 6th of September, as stated in his text, but on 16th of April, as found in a note. 3° It is unnecessary to say, that his feast will not be found in the Irish Calendar, at the 16th of September, which is inserted in Colgan's text, as a festival of St. Auxilius —this being one of the many typographical errors so frequentlymetwithinhisprintedworks. AstheScholiastontheMartyrology of Tamlacht treats of him on the 19th of March alone, Colgan is of opinion, that the latter must be the proper date for his principal festival. Thus our IrishHagiologistplaceshisActs,atthe19thofMarch. Undertheheadof Cill Usaille, Duald Mac Firbis records Usaille (Auxilius) bishop, son of Ua Baird, at August 27th. We are told there, that Cill UsailleS1 is in Leinster. 32 This saint is designated Usaille, son of Ua Baird, Bishop, of Cill Usaille, in Leinster, in the Martyrology" of Donegal,33 at the same date. A commen- tator, in the Table appended to this record of our national saints, seems to have entertained quite a different opinion, regarding the locality where he had been venerated. While calling him th—e son of Ua Bhaird— thus agree- ingwiththeTallaghMartyrology'saccount wearetold,Ussailleisidentical
withOsaille,inMar. KI. 34 Thiscommentatorsays,thatwithoutanydoubt, he was Abbot of Cill Om Baird in Conaille, i. e. , Cinel Conaill,35 near Bally Ui Bhaoighill, a good parish, in the diocese of Raphoe. In the Irish Calendar, compiled for the Irish Ordnance Survey Office, at the vi. of the
September Kalends (August 27th) we have an entry of this saint's feast, in a peculiar form. 36 But, no notice is there taken of Auxilius, at the xiv. of the April Kalends (March 19th) nor at the xiv. of the May Kalends
1 (April 6th).
Throughout the earlier middle ages, we have occasional historic allusions
Bishop of Cill Usaille, in Lif—fe (died) on the 228, 229.
of 29 at the Tallagh,
August.
Our Saint's
memory
is also on revered,
twenty-seventh of August. " Dr. O'Dono- ""
34
This perhaps, signifies 'in Mariani Kalen-
van's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 142, 143, n. (z).
2? See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 431, and Index Chronologus, A. D. ccc. CLX. ,p. 521.
dario' ; although in Mr. Curry's transcript of the Kalendar of Marian O'Gorman, the name is written Uasaille. In the text, p. 229 supta, the name is written Usaille. Auxil, a Latinized form of the name, occurs in Mar. Gorm. , and Auxilinus in the Mart. Taml. , at the 19th of March. "—Ibid. , pp. 476,
3S
Preface to the Martyrology of Donegal, p. xxxix. , the Writer seems to have experienced
28
See "Annals of the Four Masters, "vol.
i. , pp. 142, 143.
29 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiii.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise,"xix. Martii. VitaS. Auxilii,cap. viii. , p. 658,andin nn. 6,7, 16,p. 659,weare told, that the Martyrologies of Tamlacht, Dunegall and Marianus O'Gorman, treat of
30 See
Colgan's
477.
But in a memorandum, found in the
great difficulty in his efforts to identify this our Saint, on the 1 9*. h of March, and at the place. He thus writes, "Cill Bhaird, in
16th of April.
31 Now Killossey, near Naas, in the
County Kildare.
32 See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 98, 99.
33 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Leinster, no question: perhaps, Cill Bairdne or Cill hi m Baird, is in Upper Connacht. " See ibid. , p. xxxix.
3<s Thus: UuAf41 lie e^p rttcAo'OA b "•o. " See Common Place Book F," p. 73. This copy is now kept in the Royal Irish Aca- demy.
But the Annals of
In a note here, Dr. Todd observes
:
392 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 27.
totheplace,whereoursaint'smemoryhadbeenvenerated. Stilltheannal- istic accounts are rather meagre. A writer of the last century37 relates, that the monastery at Killossy in 833 was burned to the ground by the Danes. At the year 870, we have recorded the death of Loingeach, son of Faeillen,
Abbot of Cill-Ausaille. 3
8
It was a second time, with Cillcullen or Killcullen,
destroyed in 984, by the same raiders, under the command of Ambrose, son of Godfrey, when one thousand persons were taken prisoners, and the entire district was destroyed. After that period, as we are told,39 the church was rebuilt with lime and stone, in the then new mode of architecture, of which the tower is supposed to remain as a monument. It is related, likewise, that an army was led by Aedh, son of Niall to Leinster, when Cill Ausaille and other churches were plundered, in the year 874. 4° In the year 1035, Cill- Usaille and Claenadh were plundered by the foreigners ; but the son ot
Donnchadh, son of Domhnall, overtook them, and made a great slaughter 1"
of them. 4 According to the Liber Regalis Visitationis," of 161 5, Killosoie is returned as an unappropriate rectory, and the church chancel was then in
condition. «2
a Protestant church in the Diocese of Kildare.
good
During
the last43 and
present century,
it was as regarded
As our glorious Apostle St. Patrick had studied under two great masters of the spiritual life, St. Martin of Tours and St. Germanus of Auxerre, and had learned the practice of strict discipline and the exercises of piety to dis- engage him from all worldly pursuits, so was he prepared for that extra- ordinarymissionforwhichProvidencehadspeciallydesignedhim. Inturn, he was able to collect a holy company of disciples to receive instruction and to share his labours. Among them the present saint was most distinguished and trusted for his zeal and fidelity, while his wisdom was approved in the difficult task of framing constitutions, suited to the needs of a transition state frompaganismtoChristianity. Havingbeenchosentotakechargeofsouls, during life he ministered to the requirements of his flock, and like a true pastor, his spirit passed from earth to heaven among his people, to whom he left an example for their imitation and for the practice of their descendants.
Article II. —St. Malrubius, Hermit and Martyr. [Tenth and EleventhCenturies. ~\ Atthe21stofApril,wehavealreadynotedthefestival of a St. Maelrubha or Malrubius, connected with Ireland and Scotland, and
who was a
memory has been confounded in tradition with another bearing that name, and whose feast belongs to the 27th of August. The present saint's name has been variedly written Malrubius, Malrub, Maelrubius, Maelrubba, Maolrubha,
and 2 with Melriga,
many
; yet,
other which it has under- popular transmutations,
Martyr, according
to some accounts1
it would seem, that his
37 William Beaufort, A. B. , who wrote in, 43 See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
1790. This account is preceded by a cum,"p. 332. —
beautiful copper-plate engraving of Killossy ruins at the period already named.
3a See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Article 11. 'See the Fourth Volume of this work, for notices of him at the 2ist of April, Art i.
3 A learned Scottish Father Patrick Jesuit,
Ninian Wemyss, thus writes about the pre-
Four vol. Masters,"
i. , pp. 516, 517. 39 By William Beaufort, A. B.
" banc Malrubium Sispicor,
40 See the '* Chronicum Scotorum," edited
by William M. Hennessy, pp. 164, 165.
4 ' See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals ot the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 830, 831.
42 The vicar was then William Mann, a
sent man holy
:
Macra noster, eis in oris missionarius, et reading minister, and its yearly value was amicus meus, Rossos suum eremitam latine £6. The Church was also supplied with Rufum dicere : jam Malrubius et Rufus non
books. multum discrepant. "
eumdem esse cum famoso illo Rossensium eremita, de quo mira narrantur, quern illi Melrigam vocant: quia narravit mihi P.
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 393
gone in Scotland.
3 In the Registry of Aberdeen, at xvii. Kal. Septembris, is set down the festival of St. Malrubius of Appilhors, which is clearly in- tended for Applecross, a well-known place in Scotland. The Martyiology of Aberdeen, at the vj. Kl\ Septembris, has a commemoration of this holy athlete of Christ, and of the place where he was interred. 4 The Bollandists have notices of St. Malrubius, Monk and Martyr, at the 27th of Augusts These consist in the proper Lessons for the Saint's Office, taken from the
6
Breviary of Aberdeen, together with a previous commentary, by Father
John Pinius, S. J. At the present date, also, in the Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the Saints,"? the account of Maelrubha has been entered, with the supposition that he was the same person as the Maelrubha mentioned in the Irish Martyrologies, at the 21st of April. The Rev. Alban Butler has notice of a festival for St. Maelrubius, whom he distinguishes from a saint of the
8
name, venerated on the 21st of April.
and a. d. 1040, with different festival days, are quite sufficient to dis- tinguish both Saints ; yet, it must be confessed, other circumstances of their lives seem so identical, that it will be found difficult to avoid their being considered one and the same person. In the Life of St. Columban,? by Jonas,thereismentionofacertaindisciplenamedSummarius. Theparish of Keith has him for a tutelar Saint. He is also named Samarive and on
;
the 27th August, which is called Samarevis day, there is a fair at Forres. Thomas Innes considers this saint to be identical with St. Malrubius, the Hermit, called in Irish Sa-Maruve. 10 As the present saint is—stated in his
—manatthetimeofhisdeath thedateof Proper Office, to have been an old
whichhasbeenfairlywelldenned wemayconsiderhimtohavebeenborn about or after the middle of the tenth century. He is said to have led a heremitical life in Mernia, a district of Scotland, and within the ancient King- dom of Albania or Alban. 11 In the First Lesson of the Aberdeen
Breviary, which contains his Office, we are informed, that this holy man lived for a long time under monastic rule, and wearing the monk's habit. His life was spent in preaching the Gospel to pagans, and having instructed many of these in the doctrines of Faith, they were brought to embrace Christianity. This did not happen, however, without many trials and adversities which he personally endured. By Grevan, the present holy man is stated to have been an abbot. 12
3 For these various changes the reader is
referred to what has been already written,
at the 2 1st of April, when treating about St.
Maelrubius, or Maolrubha, of Bangor, Keith, taken from a MS. account of Sco—t-
County of Down, and of Applecross, Scot- land.
4
I0 See, A Description of the Parish of tish Bishops, in the library at Slaines.
''
Illustrations of the Topography and Anti- quities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff. " terms: "In Scotia Sancti Malrubij mar- Edited by Joseph Robertson, vol. ii. , p.
This account runs in the following
tyris sepultus apud Appilhorss Rossensis 240.
dyocesis. Cuius tanto sperabatur in patribus " Its situation and description may be "
illis beatitudo in patria quanto eiusdem found, by referring to the map in Celtic
miranda apud illam indomitam gentem com- probatur probitas et patiencia. "— " Proceed- ings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- land," vol. ii. , p. 267.
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , De S. Malrubio Monacho et Martyre in
Marnia Scotiae Provincia, pp. 131, 132.
Scotland : a History of Ancient Alban," by William F. Skene, vol. i. , book i. , chap, vii. ,
6
7 See vol.
p. 340. The chief stronghold of the men of Moerne was Dun Fother or Dunotter, situated on the east coast over the German Ocean. The men ot Moerne " appear to have occupied an important position in the population of the Kingdom of Alban — the entire
8
throughout
Ibid. , p. 383.
history
kings. "
In five paragraphs.
viii. , August 27, p. 346.
See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
of her
I2 Thus " In Scotia Malkubii abbatis. "
:
The k appears to have been wrongly in- serted forr in giving the Saint's name.
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Saints," vol. viii. , August xxvii.
principal 9 See his feast, at the 21st of November,
Most assuredly the dates a. d. 721
in the Eleventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 27.
Some of the Norwegians had come as sea-pirates to the coasts of Ross, and hearing that Maelrubius had been engaged in bringing over many of their compatriots from gentile superstitions to the true Faith, they resolved on putting him to death. Whereupon, drawing their swords, those cruel men attacked him, and having mortally wounded him, they left the meek and
patient Martyr of Christ to perish in the dense woods, a prey for dogs and
wild birds. While he lay almost as if dead during three whole days, his
friends knew not what had become of him. Nevertheless, the Angels of
GodwereknowntohavevisitedandconsoledHispiousservant. Moreover,
a miraculous light surrounded the place where he fell, and this attracted
persons to it. There Malrubius was found in his last agony. However, he
had time to receive the Holy Viaticum ; and then praising the Lord, with
patience and resignation, his spirit departed to obtain an eternal reward.
The scene of his martyrdom is said to have been within Nairn, and not far
x
from Inverness. 3 However, it is also related, that the remains of this holy
had been removed to now Martyr Appilcroce,
Applecross,
interred. Besides, the faithful resolved on commemorating the memory of
this saint, by erecting a chapel of hewn wood on that spot where his martyr- dom took place. It was known as Urquhard, and afterwards a parochial church was there erected to his honour. j s This appears to have been the
origin of the present Urquhart-and-Loggie-Wester, a parish chiefly in the south-east of Ross-shire, but comprehending also the well-known detached dis- trict of Nairnshire called Ferrintosh. 16 The year 1024 has been very gene- rallyassignedasthecorrectdatefortheMartyrdomofSt. Malrubius. Thus,
1
the Bollandists had two Manuscript Lists ? of Scottish Saints, which affirmed
andbesides
cluding an account of the Saints of England, Ireland, and Scotland. '9 Wherefore according to their computation, his death must have occurred during the reign of Malcolm II. as King over Scotland. 20 He is said to have ruled from a. d.
these, they possessed
it;
13 According to Father Patrick Wemyss,
S. J.
14 This is a parish in Koss-shire, and ex-
tending for about twenty-five miles along the West Coast. It is a considerable dis- tance from Nairn.
16
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol.
1005
21 to a. d. 22 The 1034.
martyrdom
of St.
15 In the Manuscript copy of the Aber-
deen Breviary, which the Bollandists pos-
sessed, they found three Middle Lessons
from the Office of St. Rufus interpolated,
after what has been given in the text. These
are apparently referable to St. Rufus, Mar-
tyr, venerated at Capua, in Italy, on the
same day. It seems probable, the Scottish
compiler of that copy confounded Mael-
Rubha with St. Rufus, owing to a fancied tyrannical. Then certain persons, in re-
similarity of name,
venge for injuries inflicted on their friends, conspired to effect his destruction in his fort of Glammis in Angus, after a reign of
xiii. , p. 297.
'7 One of these has it, "S. Malrubbus thirty-one years. See " De Origine, Mori-
heremita et Martyr in Mernla Scotia: bus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum," lib. , v. p.
regione"; the year added is mxxiv. In another compiled by Father Patrick Ninian Wemyss is found, "S. Malrubius eiemita et Martyr sub Malcolmo II. , anno Cliristi mxxiv. "
18
Thus marked lijf Ms. 167.
19 This was transcribed with the heading
202.
2I "
See William F. Skene's Celtic Scot-
land : A History of Ancient Alban," vol i. ,
book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 384 to 398.
n This is the year assigned for his death in the Chronicon of Marianus Scotus. " 1034 Moelcoluim Rex Scotiae obiit 7 Kal.
Decembri. "
"Sanctorum Scotorum Vitae ex Breviario
another 18 in- Manuscript collection,
in usum insignis ecclesioe Cathedralis Aber- donensis, adeoque totius ecclesise Scoticanae,
impensis Valteri Chepman Edinburgensis mercatoris typis mandati Kal. Februariis anno a Christo nato mdix. At p. 129 of the Jesuit MS. , is the title Vita S. Malrubii abbatis, a Danis Martyrio coronati, heremitae (Marne) in Scotia sub rege Malcolmo II. , anno mxxtv. , Augusti xxvn.
20
According to John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, when Grimus had been killed in battle a. d. ioio, Malcolm II. ascended the throne; and although for a great part of his life dis- tinguished for his virtues and glorious deeds, yet when old he became avaricious and
1 * where were they
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
Malrubius is said by some writers to have occurred, during the reign of King Duncan over Scotland, and this lasted from 1034 to io4o,23 when he was slain by his own general, Macbeth, on the 14th of August. This usurper succeeded him in the Kingdom and ruled afterwards for seventeen years. 24 Malrubius is stated by Rev. Alban Butler2* to have been martyred by the Norwegians, about the year 1040. 26 This account accords, also, with that given in his Proper Office and by Camerarius. InAdamKing'sCalendar,atthe27thofAugust,thissaint, called Malrube, is stated to have been martyred during the reign of King Malcolm III. over Scotland. 27 If such were the case, it should bring the deathofMalrubiustoamuchlater 28 Itwould thatthebounds
23 See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land : A History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , p. 399.
24 Such is the account given by Marianus
25 In " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and
he married the celebrated Queen Margaret,
daughter to the Saxon King Eadward
Aetheling. He had a prosperous reign of
thirty-five years, when he died a. d. 1092. See an account of him in " Rerum Scoti- carum Historia," auctore Georgio Buchanano Scoto, lib. vii. , pp. 195 to 200. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1697, 8vo.
2? An interesting account of this extensive
:
" 1040 Donnchadh rex Scotiae in
Scotus
autumno occiditur (19 Kal. Sept. ) a duce suo Macbethad MacFinnloech, cui successit in regnumannis 17. "
period. seem, 2
of a sanctuary surrounded the Church of Applecross ? in former times, and the ecclesiastical lands extended around it, for the distance of six miles.
This tract enjoyed special religious immunities. Notwithstanding, the Danes invaded that part of the country, and entering on the church-lands,
they spoiled them of provisions by violence, and drove away several head of cattle from the ecclesiastical farms ; although it was a time of scarcity for the monks and people there living. However, the inhabitants and owners took up arms to rescue the prey, and to punish the depredators, who suc- ceeded in reaching their ships, having taken their plunder on board. Then they hoisted sail. Although the winds were light and the sea calm ; yet, their vessels sunk in the waves, and in presence of their pursuers, who viewed that fate reserved for their rapine. Other miracles are related, as due to the merits of this holy martyr. When a great number of the Islanders3° had con- spired to make an inroad on the inhabitants of Ross, while these were engaged in celebrating the annual festival of St. Maelrubius, in his church at Contan ;3« the marauders stole upon them unawares, and under darkness of the night, fire was set to the building. Then over one hundred Christian men and women perished in the flames, or by the sword, when they thought to escaped2 However, St. Maelrubius appeared in a vision to the relations of those who had been slain. Soon the people of Ross collected their forces. Although their adversaries greatly outnumbered them, and were better inured to war,
other principal Saints," vol. viii. , August parish, called by the Gaelic inhabitants
xxvii. 26
Lesley authorities.
and Adam
are
King quoted
as
Comrich or Comaraich, may be found in
the Gazetteer of vol. "Imperial Scotland,"
i. , pp. 59, 60.
been supposed, that this early Synod, held by the three great Fathers of the Irish Church, must have assembled after a. d. 448, the year assigned for the death of St. Secundums, as there is no mention of him, although the names of Auxilius and of Isserninus are given. Sir James Ware has about 45c as the probable era. Nor could it have been later than 459, the year usually set down for the death of Auxilius. Wherefore, an intermediate year 455 has been thought of, as one probably more reconcilable with the time, when it had been convened. Neither is the place known. Although Auxilius has been styled the co-episcopus and comorban of St. Patrick, yet we are not to understand by such terms, that he acted for the Irish Apostle in the see of Armagh, or therein succeeded, as the words might seem to imply ; but rather, that he assisted contemporaneously in spreading the Gospel in that part of Leinster, to which he had been assigned.
One of St. Patrick's Lives relates, that after many miracles wrought by Auxilius, he happily terminated life at Ceall-vsaille, in the plains of Leinster. It is stated, also, that the Bishop Auxilius, the nephew of St. Patrick, ended his days in the city of Ceall-Usall, which had been called after him. 25 It is
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sect. Book of Leinster.
i. , p. 260. " See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
19 Thus do we find it expressed: "In Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 442, 443.
Leges Ecclesise Angliae," tomusi. , published in 1639, at London, the Decrees of this
is chronicled.
ecclesia, quo, ex ejus nomine denomina-
tionem, sumens, Kill-ausaille vulgo vocatur,
reliquit S. A—uxilium ; in Kill-cuillin S.
Isserninum. " Colgan's "Trias Thauma- Synod are given.
turga," Septima cap. xviii.
Vita S.
lib.
2« Besides the text of these issuing
20
For an illustration of Killashee Church
and Round Tower, County of Kildare, the reader is referred to the Third Volume of this work, at the 19th of March, Art. vi.
at See "Wars of the Gsedhil w; th the Gaill,"editedbyVeryRev. Jamesiienthorn Todd, D. D. There, however, the place is called Orllasaile, while other authorities have Cellusaille, such as Keating, and the
Scholiis
2* "
Episcopus,
tate quo Ceall-Usalli nomen ab eo accepit, vitam finiit. "
Patricii,
iii. ,
Decrees, the learned Spanish priest, Joachim Laurence Villanueva, has amply annotated them in his work " Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum
Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum qure supersunt, Fragmenta ;
23 In oDelman's " Concilia, Decreta,
illustrata," pp.
I to 102.
"6 At this year we read
:
" Saint Usaille
S. Patricii incivi- nepos,
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
generally considered, moreover, that St. Auxilius died after the middle of the fifth century ; but, differences of statement have been made regarding the precise year. The Annals of the Four Masters agree with some of the
26
ancient Irish Annals, in placing the date at a. d. 454.
Ulster, cited by Ussher, refer his death to the year 460,^ which is pro- nounced by Dr. O'Donovan28 to be the correct date.
A festival in honor of Usaille mac h Baird is inserted in the Martyrology
of
27th
the 19th of March, according to our Irish Martyrologists, cited by Colgan ;
on the 1 6th of September, as stated in his text, but on 16th of April, as found in a note. 3° It is unnecessary to say, that his feast will not be found in the Irish Calendar, at the 16th of September, which is inserted in Colgan's text, as a festival of St. Auxilius —this being one of the many typographical errors so frequentlymetwithinhisprintedworks. AstheScholiastontheMartyrology of Tamlacht treats of him on the 19th of March alone, Colgan is of opinion, that the latter must be the proper date for his principal festival. Thus our IrishHagiologistplaceshisActs,atthe19thofMarch. Undertheheadof Cill Usaille, Duald Mac Firbis records Usaille (Auxilius) bishop, son of Ua Baird, at August 27th. We are told there, that Cill UsailleS1 is in Leinster. 32 This saint is designated Usaille, son of Ua Baird, Bishop, of Cill Usaille, in Leinster, in the Martyrology" of Donegal,33 at the same date. A commen- tator, in the Table appended to this record of our national saints, seems to have entertained quite a different opinion, regarding the locality where he had been venerated. While calling him th—e son of Ua Bhaird— thus agree- ingwiththeTallaghMartyrology'saccount wearetold,Ussailleisidentical
withOsaille,inMar. KI. 34 Thiscommentatorsays,thatwithoutanydoubt, he was Abbot of Cill Om Baird in Conaille, i. e. , Cinel Conaill,35 near Bally Ui Bhaoighill, a good parish, in the diocese of Raphoe. In the Irish Calendar, compiled for the Irish Ordnance Survey Office, at the vi. of the
September Kalends (August 27th) we have an entry of this saint's feast, in a peculiar form. 36 But, no notice is there taken of Auxilius, at the xiv. of the April Kalends (March 19th) nor at the xiv. of the May Kalends
1 (April 6th).
Throughout the earlier middle ages, we have occasional historic allusions
Bishop of Cill Usaille, in Lif—fe (died) on the 228, 229.
of 29 at the Tallagh,
August.
Our Saint's
memory
is also on revered,
twenty-seventh of August. " Dr. O'Dono- ""
34
This perhaps, signifies 'in Mariani Kalen-
van's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 142, 143, n. (z).
2? See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 431, and Index Chronologus, A. D. ccc. CLX. ,p. 521.
dario' ; although in Mr. Curry's transcript of the Kalendar of Marian O'Gorman, the name is written Uasaille. In the text, p. 229 supta, the name is written Usaille. Auxil, a Latinized form of the name, occurs in Mar. Gorm. , and Auxilinus in the Mart. Taml. , at the 19th of March. "—Ibid. , pp. 476,
3S
Preface to the Martyrology of Donegal, p. xxxix. , the Writer seems to have experienced
28
See "Annals of the Four Masters, "vol.
i. , pp. 142, 143.
29 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiii.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise,"xix. Martii. VitaS. Auxilii,cap. viii. , p. 658,andin nn. 6,7, 16,p. 659,weare told, that the Martyrologies of Tamlacht, Dunegall and Marianus O'Gorman, treat of
30 See
Colgan's
477.
But in a memorandum, found in the
great difficulty in his efforts to identify this our Saint, on the 1 9*. h of March, and at the place. He thus writes, "Cill Bhaird, in
16th of April.
31 Now Killossey, near Naas, in the
County Kildare.
32 See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 98, 99.
33 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Leinster, no question: perhaps, Cill Bairdne or Cill hi m Baird, is in Upper Connacht. " See ibid. , p. xxxix.
3<s Thus: UuAf41 lie e^p rttcAo'OA b "•o. " See Common Place Book F," p. 73. This copy is now kept in the Royal Irish Aca- demy.
But the Annals of
In a note here, Dr. Todd observes
:
392 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 27.
totheplace,whereoursaint'smemoryhadbeenvenerated. Stilltheannal- istic accounts are rather meagre. A writer of the last century37 relates, that the monastery at Killossy in 833 was burned to the ground by the Danes. At the year 870, we have recorded the death of Loingeach, son of Faeillen,
Abbot of Cill-Ausaille. 3
8
It was a second time, with Cillcullen or Killcullen,
destroyed in 984, by the same raiders, under the command of Ambrose, son of Godfrey, when one thousand persons were taken prisoners, and the entire district was destroyed. After that period, as we are told,39 the church was rebuilt with lime and stone, in the then new mode of architecture, of which the tower is supposed to remain as a monument. It is related, likewise, that an army was led by Aedh, son of Niall to Leinster, when Cill Ausaille and other churches were plundered, in the year 874. 4° In the year 1035, Cill- Usaille and Claenadh were plundered by the foreigners ; but the son ot
Donnchadh, son of Domhnall, overtook them, and made a great slaughter 1"
of them. 4 According to the Liber Regalis Visitationis," of 161 5, Killosoie is returned as an unappropriate rectory, and the church chancel was then in
condition. «2
a Protestant church in the Diocese of Kildare.
good
During
the last43 and
present century,
it was as regarded
As our glorious Apostle St. Patrick had studied under two great masters of the spiritual life, St. Martin of Tours and St. Germanus of Auxerre, and had learned the practice of strict discipline and the exercises of piety to dis- engage him from all worldly pursuits, so was he prepared for that extra- ordinarymissionforwhichProvidencehadspeciallydesignedhim. Inturn, he was able to collect a holy company of disciples to receive instruction and to share his labours. Among them the present saint was most distinguished and trusted for his zeal and fidelity, while his wisdom was approved in the difficult task of framing constitutions, suited to the needs of a transition state frompaganismtoChristianity. Havingbeenchosentotakechargeofsouls, during life he ministered to the requirements of his flock, and like a true pastor, his spirit passed from earth to heaven among his people, to whom he left an example for their imitation and for the practice of their descendants.
Article II. —St. Malrubius, Hermit and Martyr. [Tenth and EleventhCenturies. ~\ Atthe21stofApril,wehavealreadynotedthefestival of a St. Maelrubha or Malrubius, connected with Ireland and Scotland, and
who was a
memory has been confounded in tradition with another bearing that name, and whose feast belongs to the 27th of August. The present saint's name has been variedly written Malrubius, Malrub, Maelrubius, Maelrubba, Maolrubha,
and 2 with Melriga,
many
; yet,
other which it has under- popular transmutations,
Martyr, according
to some accounts1
it would seem, that his
37 William Beaufort, A. B. , who wrote in, 43 See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
1790. This account is preceded by a cum,"p. 332. —
beautiful copper-plate engraving of Killossy ruins at the period already named.
3a See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Article 11. 'See the Fourth Volume of this work, for notices of him at the 2ist of April, Art i.
3 A learned Scottish Father Patrick Jesuit,
Ninian Wemyss, thus writes about the pre-
Four vol. Masters,"
i. , pp. 516, 517. 39 By William Beaufort, A. B.
" banc Malrubium Sispicor,
40 See the '* Chronicum Scotorum," edited
by William M. Hennessy, pp. 164, 165.
4 ' See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals ot the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 830, 831.
42 The vicar was then William Mann, a
sent man holy
:
Macra noster, eis in oris missionarius, et reading minister, and its yearly value was amicus meus, Rossos suum eremitam latine £6. The Church was also supplied with Rufum dicere : jam Malrubius et Rufus non
books. multum discrepant. "
eumdem esse cum famoso illo Rossensium eremita, de quo mira narrantur, quern illi Melrigam vocant: quia narravit mihi P.
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 393
gone in Scotland.
3 In the Registry of Aberdeen, at xvii. Kal. Septembris, is set down the festival of St. Malrubius of Appilhors, which is clearly in- tended for Applecross, a well-known place in Scotland. The Martyiology of Aberdeen, at the vj. Kl\ Septembris, has a commemoration of this holy athlete of Christ, and of the place where he was interred. 4 The Bollandists have notices of St. Malrubius, Monk and Martyr, at the 27th of Augusts These consist in the proper Lessons for the Saint's Office, taken from the
6
Breviary of Aberdeen, together with a previous commentary, by Father
John Pinius, S. J. At the present date, also, in the Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the Saints,"? the account of Maelrubha has been entered, with the supposition that he was the same person as the Maelrubha mentioned in the Irish Martyrologies, at the 21st of April. The Rev. Alban Butler has notice of a festival for St. Maelrubius, whom he distinguishes from a saint of the
8
name, venerated on the 21st of April.
and a. d. 1040, with different festival days, are quite sufficient to dis- tinguish both Saints ; yet, it must be confessed, other circumstances of their lives seem so identical, that it will be found difficult to avoid their being considered one and the same person. In the Life of St. Columban,? by Jonas,thereismentionofacertaindisciplenamedSummarius. Theparish of Keith has him for a tutelar Saint. He is also named Samarive and on
;
the 27th August, which is called Samarevis day, there is a fair at Forres. Thomas Innes considers this saint to be identical with St. Malrubius, the Hermit, called in Irish Sa-Maruve. 10 As the present saint is—stated in his
—manatthetimeofhisdeath thedateof Proper Office, to have been an old
whichhasbeenfairlywelldenned wemayconsiderhimtohavebeenborn about or after the middle of the tenth century. He is said to have led a heremitical life in Mernia, a district of Scotland, and within the ancient King- dom of Albania or Alban. 11 In the First Lesson of the Aberdeen
Breviary, which contains his Office, we are informed, that this holy man lived for a long time under monastic rule, and wearing the monk's habit. His life was spent in preaching the Gospel to pagans, and having instructed many of these in the doctrines of Faith, they were brought to embrace Christianity. This did not happen, however, without many trials and adversities which he personally endured. By Grevan, the present holy man is stated to have been an abbot. 12
3 For these various changes the reader is
referred to what has been already written,
at the 2 1st of April, when treating about St.
Maelrubius, or Maolrubha, of Bangor, Keith, taken from a MS. account of Sco—t-
County of Down, and of Applecross, Scot- land.
4
I0 See, A Description of the Parish of tish Bishops, in the library at Slaines.
''
Illustrations of the Topography and Anti- quities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff. " terms: "In Scotia Sancti Malrubij mar- Edited by Joseph Robertson, vol. ii. , p.
This account runs in the following
tyris sepultus apud Appilhorss Rossensis 240.
dyocesis. Cuius tanto sperabatur in patribus " Its situation and description may be "
illis beatitudo in patria quanto eiusdem found, by referring to the map in Celtic
miranda apud illam indomitam gentem com- probatur probitas et patiencia. "— " Proceed- ings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- land," vol. ii. , p. 267.
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , De S. Malrubio Monacho et Martyre in
Marnia Scotiae Provincia, pp. 131, 132.
Scotland : a History of Ancient Alban," by William F. Skene, vol. i. , book i. , chap, vii. ,
6
7 See vol.
p. 340. The chief stronghold of the men of Moerne was Dun Fother or Dunotter, situated on the east coast over the German Ocean. The men ot Moerne " appear to have occupied an important position in the population of the Kingdom of Alban — the entire
8
throughout
Ibid. , p. 383.
history
kings. "
In five paragraphs.
viii. , August 27, p. 346.
See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
of her
I2 Thus " In Scotia Malkubii abbatis. "
:
The k appears to have been wrongly in- serted forr in giving the Saint's name.
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Saints," vol. viii. , August xxvii.
principal 9 See his feast, at the 21st of November,
Most assuredly the dates a. d. 721
in the Eleventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 27.
Some of the Norwegians had come as sea-pirates to the coasts of Ross, and hearing that Maelrubius had been engaged in bringing over many of their compatriots from gentile superstitions to the true Faith, they resolved on putting him to death. Whereupon, drawing their swords, those cruel men attacked him, and having mortally wounded him, they left the meek and
patient Martyr of Christ to perish in the dense woods, a prey for dogs and
wild birds. While he lay almost as if dead during three whole days, his
friends knew not what had become of him. Nevertheless, the Angels of
GodwereknowntohavevisitedandconsoledHispiousservant. Moreover,
a miraculous light surrounded the place where he fell, and this attracted
persons to it. There Malrubius was found in his last agony. However, he
had time to receive the Holy Viaticum ; and then praising the Lord, with
patience and resignation, his spirit departed to obtain an eternal reward.
The scene of his martyrdom is said to have been within Nairn, and not far
x
from Inverness. 3 However, it is also related, that the remains of this holy
had been removed to now Martyr Appilcroce,
Applecross,
interred. Besides, the faithful resolved on commemorating the memory of
this saint, by erecting a chapel of hewn wood on that spot where his martyr- dom took place. It was known as Urquhard, and afterwards a parochial church was there erected to his honour. j s This appears to have been the
origin of the present Urquhart-and-Loggie-Wester, a parish chiefly in the south-east of Ross-shire, but comprehending also the well-known detached dis- trict of Nairnshire called Ferrintosh. 16 The year 1024 has been very gene- rallyassignedasthecorrectdatefortheMartyrdomofSt. Malrubius. Thus,
1
the Bollandists had two Manuscript Lists ? of Scottish Saints, which affirmed
andbesides
cluding an account of the Saints of England, Ireland, and Scotland. '9 Wherefore according to their computation, his death must have occurred during the reign of Malcolm II. as King over Scotland. 20 He is said to have ruled from a. d.
these, they possessed
it;
13 According to Father Patrick Wemyss,
S. J.
14 This is a parish in Koss-shire, and ex-
tending for about twenty-five miles along the West Coast. It is a considerable dis- tance from Nairn.
16
See "Gazetteer of the World," vol.
1005
21 to a. d. 22 The 1034.
martyrdom
of St.
15 In the Manuscript copy of the Aber-
deen Breviary, which the Bollandists pos-
sessed, they found three Middle Lessons
from the Office of St. Rufus interpolated,
after what has been given in the text. These
are apparently referable to St. Rufus, Mar-
tyr, venerated at Capua, in Italy, on the
same day. It seems probable, the Scottish
compiler of that copy confounded Mael-
Rubha with St. Rufus, owing to a fancied tyrannical. Then certain persons, in re-
similarity of name,
venge for injuries inflicted on their friends, conspired to effect his destruction in his fort of Glammis in Angus, after a reign of
xiii. , p. 297.
'7 One of these has it, "S. Malrubbus thirty-one years. See " De Origine, Mori-
heremita et Martyr in Mernla Scotia: bus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum," lib. , v. p.
regione"; the year added is mxxiv. In another compiled by Father Patrick Ninian Wemyss is found, "S. Malrubius eiemita et Martyr sub Malcolmo II. , anno Cliristi mxxiv. "
18
Thus marked lijf Ms. 167.
19 This was transcribed with the heading
202.
2I "
See William F. Skene's Celtic Scot-
land : A History of Ancient Alban," vol i. ,
book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 384 to 398.
n This is the year assigned for his death in the Chronicon of Marianus Scotus. " 1034 Moelcoluim Rex Scotiae obiit 7 Kal.
Decembri. "
"Sanctorum Scotorum Vitae ex Breviario
another 18 in- Manuscript collection,
in usum insignis ecclesioe Cathedralis Aber- donensis, adeoque totius ecclesise Scoticanae,
impensis Valteri Chepman Edinburgensis mercatoris typis mandati Kal. Februariis anno a Christo nato mdix. At p. 129 of the Jesuit MS. , is the title Vita S. Malrubii abbatis, a Danis Martyrio coronati, heremitae (Marne) in Scotia sub rege Malcolmo II. , anno mxxtv. , Augusti xxvn.
20
According to John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, when Grimus had been killed in battle a. d. ioio, Malcolm II. ascended the throne; and although for a great part of his life dis- tinguished for his virtues and glorious deeds, yet when old he became avaricious and
1 * where were they
August 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
Malrubius is said by some writers to have occurred, during the reign of King Duncan over Scotland, and this lasted from 1034 to io4o,23 when he was slain by his own general, Macbeth, on the 14th of August. This usurper succeeded him in the Kingdom and ruled afterwards for seventeen years. 24 Malrubius is stated by Rev. Alban Butler2* to have been martyred by the Norwegians, about the year 1040. 26 This account accords, also, with that given in his Proper Office and by Camerarius. InAdamKing'sCalendar,atthe27thofAugust,thissaint, called Malrube, is stated to have been martyred during the reign of King Malcolm III. over Scotland. 27 If such were the case, it should bring the deathofMalrubiustoamuchlater 28 Itwould thatthebounds
23 See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land : A History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, viii. , p. 399.
24 Such is the account given by Marianus
25 In " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and
he married the celebrated Queen Margaret,
daughter to the Saxon King Eadward
Aetheling. He had a prosperous reign of
thirty-five years, when he died a. d. 1092. See an account of him in " Rerum Scoti- carum Historia," auctore Georgio Buchanano Scoto, lib. vii. , pp. 195 to 200. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1697, 8vo.
2? An interesting account of this extensive
:
" 1040 Donnchadh rex Scotiae in
Scotus
autumno occiditur (19 Kal. Sept. ) a duce suo Macbethad MacFinnloech, cui successit in regnumannis 17. "
period. seem, 2
of a sanctuary surrounded the Church of Applecross ? in former times, and the ecclesiastical lands extended around it, for the distance of six miles.
This tract enjoyed special religious immunities. Notwithstanding, the Danes invaded that part of the country, and entering on the church-lands,
they spoiled them of provisions by violence, and drove away several head of cattle from the ecclesiastical farms ; although it was a time of scarcity for the monks and people there living. However, the inhabitants and owners took up arms to rescue the prey, and to punish the depredators, who suc- ceeded in reaching their ships, having taken their plunder on board. Then they hoisted sail. Although the winds were light and the sea calm ; yet, their vessels sunk in the waves, and in presence of their pursuers, who viewed that fate reserved for their rapine. Other miracles are related, as due to the merits of this holy martyr. When a great number of the Islanders3° had con- spired to make an inroad on the inhabitants of Ross, while these were engaged in celebrating the annual festival of St. Maelrubius, in his church at Contan ;3« the marauders stole upon them unawares, and under darkness of the night, fire was set to the building. Then over one hundred Christian men and women perished in the flames, or by the sword, when they thought to escaped2 However, St. Maelrubius appeared in a vision to the relations of those who had been slain. Soon the people of Ross collected their forces. Although their adversaries greatly outnumbered them, and were better inured to war,
other principal Saints," vol. viii. , August parish, called by the Gaelic inhabitants
xxvii. 26
Lesley authorities.
and Adam
are
King quoted
as
Comrich or Comaraich, may be found in
the Gazetteer of vol. "Imperial Scotland,"
i. , pp. 59, 60.
