1lS The
immediate
successor of Connadh Cerr, who reigned a quarter, was his son Fear-
in the Irish
53° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
in the Irish
53° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
" Thusinvited by the Angels, and visited by Christ, Macarius passed away to the joys of Heaven.
When that heavenly band dispersed, St.
Columba returned to his
own monastery through Divine agency. ? 5
About the middle of the year 593, our holy Abbot entertained the greatest
hope of his immediate departure from this life. It does not appear, however, that on this occasion he had been visited with sickness. ? 6 After returning from Ireland to his monastery at Iona, the glorious Abbot one day mani- fested a marvellous sweetness and radiance on his expressive countenance. ? ? Casting his eyes heavenwards, he was wholly replenished with joy and de- light j but, a little time afterwards, the joyousness of his face was converted into sadness and his aspect was changed into sorrow. Two of his monks, who were named respectively Lugneus Mocublai, and Pilu, a Saxon, saw this remarkable change, while standing at the door of his hut, which was situated
great 'entreaty,?
8 an
explanation
for that unwonted on appearance. Falling
When these perceived it, they felt greatly afflicted, because
on a little hill.
of their sad presentiment. They obtained of him, however, but not without
their knees and shedding tears, with a faithful promise of never revealing the
secret during the saint's lifetime, their eager curiosity was at length gratified.
At first, St. Columba said, that he did not wish to cause them more pain, because he saw them so dejected, and because he loved them most sincerely.
:
Afterwards,hespokeinthismanner "Tothispresentday,thricetenyears
of my peregrination in Britain have elapsed ; and in the meantime, for these many days, I have devotedly begged of God that he would be pleased at the end of this thirty years to finish my earthly pilgrimage, and to call me to my heavenly country. This was the cause of my joy ; for, I saw Angels sent from the throne of glory, to meet my soul after its departure out of my body. Lo ! being now suddenly stayed, they stand on a rock at the farther side of our sea, and they would come in haste for my soul, but they are not permitted to approach nearer ; for, what our Lord hath appeared to grant after my pray-
tius,asherenoticed.
95 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
323; SecundaVitaS. Columba? ,cap. xxviii. , pp. 328, 329 ; Tertia Vita S. Columba;, cap. xxxix. , p. 335 ; Quarta Vita S. Columbx, lib. iii. , cap. xxii. , p. 369; Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. xlvii. , p. 439.
QuintaVitaS. Columke, lib. iii. , cap. xxvii. , xxviii. , xxix. , xxx. , pp. 435> 436> and nn. 16, 17, 18, p. 453.
s8 See "A Dictionary of Christian Biogra- D. C. L. , LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A. ,
vol. i. , Art. Columba,
97 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Prima Vita S. Columbse, cap. xvi. , pp. 322,
9s See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's phy," &c, edited by William Smith, "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 22,
p.
603.
pp. 227, 228.
99 The Petits Bollandistes have " Dieu it,
touche par les prieres des Eglises de Bretagne
et d'Ecosse, &c.
—"Vies des
Saints,"
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5*9
ing most earnestly for transition to Him on this very day, he hath now sud-
denlyaltered,onhearingtheprayersofmanychurchesforme. 99 Theyhave obtained and against my will, that four years more shall be added to the term
100 This sorrowful
grief; but, when those four years come to an end, without any preceding
sickness of body, I shall depart hence suddenly, and with God's blessing, I shall pass to the everlasting joys of Paradise, accompanied by holy Angels. " The event corresponded with his prediction.
The King of Scotland, Aidan, had seven sons, whose names are thus foundrecorded,viz. : twoEochaidhs,namely,EochaidhBuidheandEochaidh
of mortal my
pilgrimage.
delay
is the cause of
my present
101 beginningofthatwar,carriedonagainsttheMiathe,10* thesaintatonetime
Finn, Tuathal, Bran,
Baoithine, Conaing,
questioned King
touching
answered,
gart
Io6 should
reign
after him. The saint
consequently prophesied
in this
102 IQ
and Gartnat. 3 Before the
his successor. 1^ The monarch
Aidan
that he knew not which of his three sons, Arthur, Eochaid Find, or Doman-
:
manner " None of these three shall be successor in your kingdom for they
;
shall be all slain by their enemies in battle. Now, if you have any younger childrensendforthem; whenhe,whomourLordhathelectedtobeking,will rush suddenly into my arms. " Being called, Eochaid Buidhe ran to the saint, and rested on his bosom. 10? Kissing him, St. Columba said to his father, "This is he who shall survive, and shall be king after you, and his
children shall
reign
after him. " His sons Connadh loS Domhnall I09 Cerr, Braec,
tome vi. , ixe Jour de Juin, p. 542.
100 In the Rev. J. Golden's " St. Columba,
and other Poems," we read : —
" Their prayers prevailed, the Abbot's life prolonged
plete Works, vol. vi. These people seem to have been located on the southern borders of Scotland. Father Innes follows Fordun, who supposes the Mieatre to have been a por- tion of the British troops, in King Aidan's army. But such a supposition is inadmis- sible, if the identity of the Maiathai and of the Maeatse be allowed.
105 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columba;, lib. i. , cap. ix. , p. 341; QuintaVitaS. Columbae,lib. ii. ,cap. xlii. , p. 417.
106
"
'°7 Besides the four sons mentioned in the text, Tighernach lias preserved the names of Bran and Conaing.
For four years more j which he longed
and death for
Withheld its claim and left him to renew
His glorious deeds, not long to last he knew. "
—"St. Columba," sect, xviii. , p. 33.
101 Bran was slain, A. D. 595, according to
the " Annales Ultonienses. " See Rev. Dr.
O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip-
tores," tomus iv. , p. 33. Tighernach's An- See Scotichronicon," tomus i. , lib. iii. , cap. nals have it, A. D. 596. See ibid. , tomus ii. ,
p. 160.
10 - He was drowned, a. d. 621, according to the Annals of Ulster. See ibid. , tomus iv. , p. 41. Those of Tigernach have it at A. D. 622. See ibid. , tomus ii. , pp. 185, 186.
xxviii. , p. 132. Also, his daughter Fyn Even- nu was mother, by Conanrodus, the King of Demetia, and their son was St. Drostan. Arthur is not named in the Irish list.
103 TheIrishtractonthe"MenofAlba"
enumerates them : <\ot)aii cpA v-cacc mec
ber* . 1. T)A eoch-OAig . 1. eAcliAm buroe,
A^uf Oochoi-o jMotiti, CuacaL, bj\An, char, who reigned sixteen years. In his
VjAoinne, CoiiAing, Ajjur* jApcnAic. Ac- cording to the Book of Ballymote, fol. 84^, a, and Mac Firbis' Genealogical Manu-
script, at p. 401.
104 In the year of our Lord 196, reference is
made to the Caledonians and the Maiatai, in
his Fpitome of Dion Cassius, by Xiphilin. See lib. lxxvi. , cap. 12. Archbishop Ussher re-
work " Caledonia," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, v. , p. 284, Chalmers erroneously represents him as the son of a nondescript Eogan, of the house of Laarn. See n. (m).
*°9 See leAbhAfi bpeAcVmAcri Armyo y\y. The Irish version of the Historia Britonmn of Nennius, edited by Rev. Dr. James Hen- thorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 278, 279.
1,0 They began to reign jointly in the IL
"
siarum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 253. Com-
fers to the latter in his
Britannicarum Eccle-
a common one in the family,
Although
Domangart does not appear
enumeration of Aedan's sons. Fordun calls him Griffnus, and states, that he commanded his father's forces at the battle of Fethanleg.
1lS The immediate successor of Connadh Cerr, who reigned a quarter, was his son Fear-
in the Irish
53° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
parsi. , p.
Dungall,
Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," tomus ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 160.
1,1 St. Columba died most probably in 597, and the battle according to Adamnan occur- red in his lifetime.
1,4 Agreeably with the first clause of the
HibernicarumScriptores,"tomusiv. , p. 44.
"3
It seems not a little curious, that during his own lifetime, his son Connadh Cerr is called Rex Dalriada in the Annales Tiger- nachi, at a. d. 627. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 189.
110 were afterwards Kings of Dalriada. " 1 All of
with Conall and
which predictions fell out to be true, in due time, according to the saint's pro-
For Arthur and Eochaid Find were killed "2 soon afterwards, in the battle of the Miathe. "3 Domangart "* was slain, with his brother Bran, "5
phecy.
at the battle of Corainn, in Saxonia, or England, in a battle-charge. "
6
In
fine, on the death of his father,"? buried at Kilcheran,
1'8
near Campleton,"9
in
120 Eochaid Buidhe, who is also Rex Pictorum,121 ascended styled
Cantire,
the throne,
towards the close of his life, the holy Abbot Columba being in lona com- manded his servant Diarmait 124 —whose office this appears to have been—to ring the bell I25 in haste, so that he might call the monks into the church. "6
182
year 642. See Roderick O'Flaherty's
"Ogygia,"ScotiseRegumCatalogusChrono-
logo-Genealogicus, pp. 478, 479.
111 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarumScriptores,"tomusi. , Prologomina,
and
and he reigned until a. d. 629. After the year S9o,
This title he receives in Annales Ultonienses, at A. D. 628, from the Liber nach, places the event in 596. See Rev. Cuanach. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum
cxxvii.
112 The record of their death, by Tiger-
in
that the supplemental clause by right be-
longs to a former year. Tighernach copy- which had been fought, at that time. ing possibly from some authority, whose Fordun identifies the subject of it with the chronology was in arrear, has referred all he
states to the same event. It is to be observed,
that the marginal chronology in the printed
text of Tighernach, which was constructed
by the Rev. Dr. O'Conor, differs materially
in British occurrences from the computation lib. iii. , cap. xxix. , p. 133. Mr. Skene of Bede, and of the Saxon chronicle. seemed disposed, at one time, to identify the
"s In Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum battle of Cattraeth. with that recorded in Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. The this chapter, and favoured the Rev. Dr.
entry
Tighernach.
It is
very possible,
Annales Ultonienses have, at A. c. 595, p.
" filiorum Aedain . 1. bnam 33: Jugulatio
ocur- OomangAir-c. b. CorvAmn. " They take no notice, however, of the other two brothers, or of Chireind.
1. 6 Fordun records the death of Doman-
"
gart under a different name :
Buyd quod nostro lingua sonat Eugenius, in " Celtic Scotland," vol. ii. , book ii. ,
regno patri post annum successit, alio ejus fratre majore, Griffino no—mine, in bello
" Saxonicoprius interempto. " Scotichroni-
con," vol. i. , lib. iii. , cap. xxviii. , p. 144.
1. 7 According to Annals of Ulster, Aedan died A. D. 605. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 37. The same event is thus recorded by Tigernach, the following year thus:
chap, ii. , iii. , iv. , pp. 80 to 148.
134 He is mentioned again in the same
capacity by Adamnan, in lib. i. , cap. 12, 22, 25, 29, 30, 34; in lib. ii. , cap. 29, 30; and in lib. iii. , cap. It, 23.
"5 The words addressed to him, as given by Adamnan, are " Cloccam pulsa. " The Irish word for a bell is clocc or cloj;, ak ; n
" A. c. 606.
to the English
clock. " ,Some ecclesiastical
Oary de'ohain mic 5<ibr\Ain
Aedani
sui, oetatis vero lxxiiii. " Tigernachi Annales. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 179. The Annales
are formed of sheet iron, bent into a four-sided form like the modern bullock-bells of Spain, and the sheep-bells of Wiltshire, they are also fas-
tened with rivets and brazed.
126
See the practice alluded to in Venerable Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
[mors
— an.
Gabhrani] xxxviii. , regni
in Ireland. preserved They
Cambria? have A. D. 607. 1. 8 "
SeeFordun's Scotichronicon,"vol. i. , ib. iii. , cap. xxxviii. , p. 144.
"' See Cosmo " Parochia- Innes, Origines
1M
123
See Archbishop Ussher's Complete
*'
les Scotiae,"' vol. ii. , part i. , p. 12.
Britannicarum Ecclesia- rum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 254, and
Works, vol. vi. ,
"Index Chronologicus," p. 602.
121
123 The exact date must be determined, however, from a knowledge of the battle
battle of Wodenysburgh, which was fought according to the Saxon chronicle, in 591. He places it near Chester, whither Aedan marched to the support of the British King Cadwalla. See "Scotichronicon," vol. i. ,
Reeves, with some very ingenious communi-
The lication of these, by their learned author, is omitted, where the result of his other investi- gations into the history of this obscure but important period, brings him to relate the
cations,
in
support
ofhis
theory.
pub-
Eochodius incidents of St. Columba's career. See
"
bells as old as the time of St. Columba are
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 53i
At this time, he had an intuition of a combat
pending,
I2 7 and that was know—n
128
as the battle of the Miathe, or Mae position people
—dtse. The of these
said to have been a Caledonian tribe seems to have been immediately north
to have been fought at Lethrigh I33 or Leithredh, 134 others at Chircinn/ss while others consider it to have been fought at Cattraeth. 136 Our saint pre- ceded the monks, and having entered the sacred walls, falling upon his
:
knees, Columba said " Now let us offer our prayers very earnestly to the
Lord, for this people I3? and for King Aidan,138 as at this present moment they begin to fight a battle. "130 Within a little while, going out of the oratory
:
and casting his eyes towards Heaven, St. Columba said " Now the barba •
glorum," lib. iv. , cap. xxiii. , p. 326. On his own authority he fills up the blanks : 137 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," " In fighting, again, in support of the Bri-
of Severus' 120 which formed a line of wall,
between the
and which divided the Barbari from the Romans. 130 The Maiate were near Hadrian's Wall, and the Caledonians further north. 131 The locality where this engagement took place has been greatly contested 132 some supposing it
Prima Vita S. Columbse, cap. xxix. , p. 324; Tertia Vita S. Columbse, cap. vi. , p. 332 ; Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. viii. , P- 34i-
128 A modem Scottish writer calls them Midland Britons, and places them in Valen- cia, between the two Roman Walls. See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and Ecclesias- tical History of Scotland," book i. , sect, i. , p. 4, sect, iii. , p. 8, sect, vi. , p. 9, sect, ix. , p. 13, sect, xii. , p. 17, sect, xxv. , p. 31, sect, xxxvii.
own monastery through Divine agency. ? 5
About the middle of the year 593, our holy Abbot entertained the greatest
hope of his immediate departure from this life. It does not appear, however, that on this occasion he had been visited with sickness. ? 6 After returning from Ireland to his monastery at Iona, the glorious Abbot one day mani- fested a marvellous sweetness and radiance on his expressive countenance. ? ? Casting his eyes heavenwards, he was wholly replenished with joy and de- light j but, a little time afterwards, the joyousness of his face was converted into sadness and his aspect was changed into sorrow. Two of his monks, who were named respectively Lugneus Mocublai, and Pilu, a Saxon, saw this remarkable change, while standing at the door of his hut, which was situated
great 'entreaty,?
8 an
explanation
for that unwonted on appearance. Falling
When these perceived it, they felt greatly afflicted, because
on a little hill.
of their sad presentiment. They obtained of him, however, but not without
their knees and shedding tears, with a faithful promise of never revealing the
secret during the saint's lifetime, their eager curiosity was at length gratified.
At first, St. Columba said, that he did not wish to cause them more pain, because he saw them so dejected, and because he loved them most sincerely.
:
Afterwards,hespokeinthismanner "Tothispresentday,thricetenyears
of my peregrination in Britain have elapsed ; and in the meantime, for these many days, I have devotedly begged of God that he would be pleased at the end of this thirty years to finish my earthly pilgrimage, and to call me to my heavenly country. This was the cause of my joy ; for, I saw Angels sent from the throne of glory, to meet my soul after its departure out of my body. Lo ! being now suddenly stayed, they stand on a rock at the farther side of our sea, and they would come in haste for my soul, but they are not permitted to approach nearer ; for, what our Lord hath appeared to grant after my pray-
tius,asherenoticed.
95 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
323; SecundaVitaS. Columba? ,cap. xxviii. , pp. 328, 329 ; Tertia Vita S. Columba;, cap. xxxix. , p. 335 ; Quarta Vita S. Columbx, lib. iii. , cap. xxii. , p. 369; Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. xlvii. , p. 439.
QuintaVitaS. Columke, lib. iii. , cap. xxvii. , xxviii. , xxix. , xxx. , pp. 435> 436> and nn. 16, 17, 18, p. 453.
s8 See "A Dictionary of Christian Biogra- D. C. L. , LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A. ,
vol. i. , Art. Columba,
97 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Prima Vita S. Columbse, cap. xvi. , pp. 322,
9s See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's phy," &c, edited by William Smith, "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 22,
p.
603.
pp. 227, 228.
99 The Petits Bollandistes have " Dieu it,
touche par les prieres des Eglises de Bretagne
et d'Ecosse, &c.
—"Vies des
Saints,"
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5*9
ing most earnestly for transition to Him on this very day, he hath now sud-
denlyaltered,onhearingtheprayersofmanychurchesforme. 99 Theyhave obtained and against my will, that four years more shall be added to the term
100 This sorrowful
grief; but, when those four years come to an end, without any preceding
sickness of body, I shall depart hence suddenly, and with God's blessing, I shall pass to the everlasting joys of Paradise, accompanied by holy Angels. " The event corresponded with his prediction.
The King of Scotland, Aidan, had seven sons, whose names are thus foundrecorded,viz. : twoEochaidhs,namely,EochaidhBuidheandEochaidh
of mortal my
pilgrimage.
delay
is the cause of
my present
101 beginningofthatwar,carriedonagainsttheMiathe,10* thesaintatonetime
Finn, Tuathal, Bran,
Baoithine, Conaing,
questioned King
touching
answered,
gart
Io6 should
reign
after him. The saint
consequently prophesied
in this
102 IQ
and Gartnat. 3 Before the
his successor. 1^ The monarch
Aidan
that he knew not which of his three sons, Arthur, Eochaid Find, or Doman-
:
manner " None of these three shall be successor in your kingdom for they
;
shall be all slain by their enemies in battle. Now, if you have any younger childrensendforthem; whenhe,whomourLordhathelectedtobeking,will rush suddenly into my arms. " Being called, Eochaid Buidhe ran to the saint, and rested on his bosom. 10? Kissing him, St. Columba said to his father, "This is he who shall survive, and shall be king after you, and his
children shall
reign
after him. " His sons Connadh loS Domhnall I09 Cerr, Braec,
tome vi. , ixe Jour de Juin, p. 542.
100 In the Rev. J. Golden's " St. Columba,
and other Poems," we read : —
" Their prayers prevailed, the Abbot's life prolonged
plete Works, vol. vi. These people seem to have been located on the southern borders of Scotland. Father Innes follows Fordun, who supposes the Mieatre to have been a por- tion of the British troops, in King Aidan's army. But such a supposition is inadmis- sible, if the identity of the Maiathai and of the Maeatse be allowed.
105 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columba;, lib. i. , cap. ix. , p. 341; QuintaVitaS. Columbae,lib. ii. ,cap. xlii. , p. 417.
106
"
'°7 Besides the four sons mentioned in the text, Tighernach lias preserved the names of Bran and Conaing.
For four years more j which he longed
and death for
Withheld its claim and left him to renew
His glorious deeds, not long to last he knew. "
—"St. Columba," sect, xviii. , p. 33.
101 Bran was slain, A. D. 595, according to
the " Annales Ultonienses. " See Rev. Dr.
O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip-
tores," tomus iv. , p. 33. Tighernach's An- See Scotichronicon," tomus i. , lib. iii. , cap. nals have it, A. D. 596. See ibid. , tomus ii. ,
p. 160.
10 - He was drowned, a. d. 621, according to the Annals of Ulster. See ibid. , tomus iv. , p. 41. Those of Tigernach have it at A. D. 622. See ibid. , tomus ii. , pp. 185, 186.
xxviii. , p. 132. Also, his daughter Fyn Even- nu was mother, by Conanrodus, the King of Demetia, and their son was St. Drostan. Arthur is not named in the Irish list.
103 TheIrishtractonthe"MenofAlba"
enumerates them : <\ot)aii cpA v-cacc mec
ber* . 1. T)A eoch-OAig . 1. eAcliAm buroe,
A^uf Oochoi-o jMotiti, CuacaL, bj\An, char, who reigned sixteen years. In his
VjAoinne, CoiiAing, Ajjur* jApcnAic. Ac- cording to the Book of Ballymote, fol. 84^, a, and Mac Firbis' Genealogical Manu-
script, at p. 401.
104 In the year of our Lord 196, reference is
made to the Caledonians and the Maiatai, in
his Fpitome of Dion Cassius, by Xiphilin. See lib. lxxvi. , cap. 12. Archbishop Ussher re-
work " Caledonia," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, v. , p. 284, Chalmers erroneously represents him as the son of a nondescript Eogan, of the house of Laarn. See n. (m).
*°9 See leAbhAfi bpeAcVmAcri Armyo y\y. The Irish version of the Historia Britonmn of Nennius, edited by Rev. Dr. James Hen- thorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 278, 279.
1,0 They began to reign jointly in the IL
"
siarum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 253. Com-
fers to the latter in his
Britannicarum Eccle-
a common one in the family,
Although
Domangart does not appear
enumeration of Aedan's sons. Fordun calls him Griffnus, and states, that he commanded his father's forces at the battle of Fethanleg.
1lS The immediate successor of Connadh Cerr, who reigned a quarter, was his son Fear-
in the Irish
53° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
parsi. , p.
Dungall,
Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," tomus ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 160.
1,1 St. Columba died most probably in 597, and the battle according to Adamnan occur- red in his lifetime.
1,4 Agreeably with the first clause of the
HibernicarumScriptores,"tomusiv. , p. 44.
"3
It seems not a little curious, that during his own lifetime, his son Connadh Cerr is called Rex Dalriada in the Annales Tiger- nachi, at a. d. 627. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 189.
110 were afterwards Kings of Dalriada. " 1 All of
with Conall and
which predictions fell out to be true, in due time, according to the saint's pro-
For Arthur and Eochaid Find were killed "2 soon afterwards, in the battle of the Miathe. "3 Domangart "* was slain, with his brother Bran, "5
phecy.
at the battle of Corainn, in Saxonia, or England, in a battle-charge. "
6
In
fine, on the death of his father,"? buried at Kilcheran,
1'8
near Campleton,"9
in
120 Eochaid Buidhe, who is also Rex Pictorum,121 ascended styled
Cantire,
the throne,
towards the close of his life, the holy Abbot Columba being in lona com- manded his servant Diarmait 124 —whose office this appears to have been—to ring the bell I25 in haste, so that he might call the monks into the church. "6
182
year 642. See Roderick O'Flaherty's
"Ogygia,"ScotiseRegumCatalogusChrono-
logo-Genealogicus, pp. 478, 479.
111 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarumScriptores,"tomusi. , Prologomina,
and
and he reigned until a. d. 629. After the year S9o,
This title he receives in Annales Ultonienses, at A. D. 628, from the Liber nach, places the event in 596. See Rev. Cuanach. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum
cxxvii.
112 The record of their death, by Tiger-
in
that the supplemental clause by right be-
longs to a former year. Tighernach copy- which had been fought, at that time. ing possibly from some authority, whose Fordun identifies the subject of it with the chronology was in arrear, has referred all he
states to the same event. It is to be observed,
that the marginal chronology in the printed
text of Tighernach, which was constructed
by the Rev. Dr. O'Conor, differs materially
in British occurrences from the computation lib. iii. , cap. xxix. , p. 133. Mr. Skene of Bede, and of the Saxon chronicle. seemed disposed, at one time, to identify the
"s In Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum battle of Cattraeth. with that recorded in Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. The this chapter, and favoured the Rev. Dr.
entry
Tighernach.
It is
very possible,
Annales Ultonienses have, at A. c. 595, p.
" filiorum Aedain . 1. bnam 33: Jugulatio
ocur- OomangAir-c. b. CorvAmn. " They take no notice, however, of the other two brothers, or of Chireind.
1. 6 Fordun records the death of Doman-
"
gart under a different name :
Buyd quod nostro lingua sonat Eugenius, in " Celtic Scotland," vol. ii. , book ii. ,
regno patri post annum successit, alio ejus fratre majore, Griffino no—mine, in bello
" Saxonicoprius interempto. " Scotichroni-
con," vol. i. , lib. iii. , cap. xxviii. , p. 144.
1. 7 According to Annals of Ulster, Aedan died A. D. 605. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 37. The same event is thus recorded by Tigernach, the following year thus:
chap, ii. , iii. , iv. , pp. 80 to 148.
134 He is mentioned again in the same
capacity by Adamnan, in lib. i. , cap. 12, 22, 25, 29, 30, 34; in lib. ii. , cap. 29, 30; and in lib. iii. , cap. It, 23.
"5 The words addressed to him, as given by Adamnan, are " Cloccam pulsa. " The Irish word for a bell is clocc or cloj;, ak ; n
" A. c. 606.
to the English
clock. " ,Some ecclesiastical
Oary de'ohain mic 5<ibr\Ain
Aedani
sui, oetatis vero lxxiiii. " Tigernachi Annales. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 179. The Annales
are formed of sheet iron, bent into a four-sided form like the modern bullock-bells of Spain, and the sheep-bells of Wiltshire, they are also fas-
tened with rivets and brazed.
126
See the practice alluded to in Venerable Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
[mors
— an.
Gabhrani] xxxviii. , regni
in Ireland. preserved They
Cambria? have A. D. 607. 1. 8 "
SeeFordun's Scotichronicon,"vol. i. , ib. iii. , cap. xxxviii. , p. 144.
"' See Cosmo " Parochia- Innes, Origines
1M
123
See Archbishop Ussher's Complete
*'
les Scotiae,"' vol. ii. , part i. , p. 12.
Britannicarum Ecclesia- rum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 254, and
Works, vol. vi. ,
"Index Chronologicus," p. 602.
121
123 The exact date must be determined, however, from a knowledge of the battle
battle of Wodenysburgh, which was fought according to the Saxon chronicle, in 591. He places it near Chester, whither Aedan marched to the support of the British King Cadwalla. See "Scotichronicon," vol. i. ,
Reeves, with some very ingenious communi-
The lication of these, by their learned author, is omitted, where the result of his other investi- gations into the history of this obscure but important period, brings him to relate the
cations,
in
support
ofhis
theory.
pub-
Eochodius incidents of St. Columba's career. See
"
bells as old as the time of St. Columba are
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 53i
At this time, he had an intuition of a combat
pending,
I2 7 and that was know—n
128
as the battle of the Miathe, or Mae position people
—dtse. The of these
said to have been a Caledonian tribe seems to have been immediately north
to have been fought at Lethrigh I33 or Leithredh, 134 others at Chircinn/ss while others consider it to have been fought at Cattraeth. 136 Our saint pre- ceded the monks, and having entered the sacred walls, falling upon his
:
knees, Columba said " Now let us offer our prayers very earnestly to the
Lord, for this people I3? and for King Aidan,138 as at this present moment they begin to fight a battle. "130 Within a little while, going out of the oratory
:
and casting his eyes towards Heaven, St. Columba said " Now the barba •
glorum," lib. iv. , cap. xxiii. , p. 326. On his own authority he fills up the blanks : 137 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," " In fighting, again, in support of the Bri-
of Severus' 120 which formed a line of wall,
between the
and which divided the Barbari from the Romans. 130 The Maiate were near Hadrian's Wall, and the Caledonians further north. 131 The locality where this engagement took place has been greatly contested 132 some supposing it
Prima Vita S. Columbse, cap. xxix. , p. 324; Tertia Vita S. Columbse, cap. vi. , p. 332 ; Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. viii. , P- 34i-
128 A modem Scottish writer calls them Midland Britons, and places them in Valen- cia, between the two Roman Walls. See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and Ecclesias- tical History of Scotland," book i. , sect, i. , p. 4, sect, iii. , p. 8, sect, vi. , p. 9, sect, ix. , p. 13, sect, xii. , p. 17, sect, xxv. , p. 31, sect, xxxvii.
