Gall,
afterwards
living near it as a.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
?
a However, his successor, Nittarius," it is said, first commenced the building of a large church in honour of St.
Magnus.
A consultation had been held with the Archbishop
of Mayence, named Otgar,? 4 and his other suffragan Bishops, to know if it should be desirable, that the sac^pd remains might be translated to a more
ornate and conspicuous shrine. This project was approved of by all, and the permission of King Ludovicus was also obtained. 75 The work of church
building was prosecuted by other prelates, and especially by Lanto,'6 who finished the nave, in the fifth year of his episcopacy, through the aid afforded by the renowned King Ludovicus I. ,? 7 third son of the illustrious Emperor Ludovicus, surnamed Le Debonnaire. ? 8 That elegantly appointed church" was built over the spot, where the body of Magnus had been consigned to the tomb.
68 He is stated to have died about A. D. 818.
^ There is much uncertainty regarding the order of succession of Bishops over the
see of Augsburg, especially in the ninth century, and owing chiefly to the miscon- ceptions and opinions of writers in after
years. Their varying statements are pointed out and critically examined by Father
"'
Suysken in Acta Sanctorum, tomus ii. ,
Septembris vi. , De S. Magno, &c, Com- mentarius Praevius, sect, viii. , pp. 716 to 720.
70 Besides the " Acta Pseudo-Theodori"
of our saint, two other manuscript copies have Hatto, as in the text ; while the Ratis- bon and another copy have the name written Hanto ; Canisius and Goldast read Lanto. Hatto or Hauto is said to have belonged to the noble family of the Andecensian Counts.
habuit, quiedam bona ad episcopatum acquisivit. "
Krueger, Corbinian Khamm and others, who have allusion to Lanto, place the com- mencement of his episcopacy over the see of Augsberg at different dates : some have it at 869; others at 870 ; others again so late as A. D. 878, while none of those historic writers connect him in any way with Otmar, Arch- bishop of Mayence. The latter date is inconsistent with Lanto having received aid towards the church of St. Magnus from Ludovicus I. , King of Germany, during the life-time of that monarch, who died at Frankfort, August 28th, A. D. 876.
77 He bears the surname of Le Pieu. \ or I. c Vieil. He was born A. D. 806, and was brother to Lothaire and Pepin of Aquitaine. His father, known as Louis le Dibonnaire, had three sons by his first wife, Ermengarde. After her death, he espoused Judith of Bavaria, by whom he had a fourth son, known under the of Charles U
remarkable for many and great disorders. Among these were unnatural rebellions of
writes the name Otkerus, and Goldast has
it Otkarius. He ruled over the sec of Francs. This gave Ludovicus supremacy
71 In the Ratisbon
tamen ex parentela, quam in Bagoaria
designation
Chavce. The reign of that monarch was
The saint's Acts stale,
"
minime
his and sub- authority,
7
in hiis rebus sublimari. "
manuscript :
73 He is also named Nitcarius, Nidgarius, and Nitkerus ; he is also called Witgarius
and Nitger.
74 The Ratisbon copy ofour saint's Acts
" Verum-
quivit
against
over Fiance and Germany.
7 = Henry, Abbot of Fuessan, states, that
this work w. is undertaken in the year 870,
with the consent and order of Pope Adrian
II. He filled the chair of St. Peter from
a. d. 867 to 872. However, in none of the year 817, by Ludovicus, and he had posses-
sionofallGermanytotheRhine,A. D. 843, according to the Annalist of Metz. He died in the seventieth year of his age, leaving
Mayence, from A. D. 825 or 826 to A. D. 827.
othermanuscriptaccountsofSt. Magnusis
such a statement to be found ; and, it is only
necessary to observe, that Otgai , the Arch-
bishop of Mayence, had died twenty years three sons, viz. , Carloman, Louis, and before Pope Adrian II. had been set over
the Universal Church.
76 The various writers, such as Bruschius,
Bucelin, Demochares, Stengel, Joannes
Gros. These divided the vast Empire of
Charlemagne between them. See Michaud's
"
1 of the Emperor Charlemagne, by
his second wife, Hildegarde. From this
father, by his first wife, Ermengarde, the kingdom of Bavaria was obtained in the
Charles, known under the designation of Lc
Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et
September 6J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 157
At that time, a poor student,80 the son of respectable parents belonging to
of Durach,81 happened to be in the monastery, and in exchange for his manual labour, he acquired learning and a maintenance. He had been attacked with some kind of evil, which caused sores to break out over
one side of his body, and he was so afflicted as to become almost lame. Touched with his misfortunes, Bishop Lanto asked many of the priests in his
diocese to institute a Triduum, so that the Almighty would mercifully hear theirprayersforhisrecovery. Attheendofthreedays,whenthephysicians had tried their skill in vain, and all had cflspaired of the patient's cure; in his sleep, a venerable man appeared to him, and with a benign look and gentle tone of voice inquired the nature of his infirmity. This having been
the
village
M My son, ask from the Bishop, when to-day he shall have found my body, and taken it from the crypt in which it lies, that he would permit you to kiss that crypt, and when you shall have done so, that you take some dust from the place, mixing it with blessed water and oil. 82 Ask, that before the new altar you be allowed to prostrate
yourself, and moreover, that your sores be anointed. If all this you do, the Lord will restore you to former health. " Immediately awaking, the patient at early dawn went to the church, and told the care-taker what had happened during his sleep. Afterwards, as advised by the guardian, both went on their knees, relating what had occurred to the Bishop, whose assent
explained
to him, the senior said
:
was obtained to fulfil what had been directed in the vision.
The next process was that of unearthing the remains, and soon the workers reached that beautiful stone coffin, in which lay the relics of St. Magnus. On opening it, the body was found to be undecayed, but with the colour 8s Placed at the head was found that Life, written by Theodore, with some faded linen. In fulfilment of the permission given, the patient to whom allusion has been already made was brought to the tomb,
somewhat
Moderne,"
changed.
tome xxv. ,
148
to
150,
and
pp.
81 The anonymous writer of the German
294, 295-
79 Thus Father Stengel writes :
Life of St. Magnus thus identifies it although
" Cum Lanto episcopus templum restauraret et
ornaret, sacrum D. Magni corpus in medio Kempten. Book iii. , chap, v. , sect. 2.
sinens, sicut prius posi- tum fuerat, donee cum omni diligentia ac reverentia consensum ab Hadriano summo Pontifice expetisset : deinde venerabilis
proesul Lanto, Othgarium seu Otgerum S. Moguntinaeecclesias archiepiscopum accessit, suumque illi affectum aperuit. Turn Metro-
politanus omnes fratres suos episcopos ac suffraganeos convocavit, quatenus cum eis consultaret, si eum ausus esset ab illo loco
82
The use of oil —
regarded as a symbol of
eccleske
requiescere
St. Mark. vi. 13. Sometimes oil had been taken from the lamps which burned before the shrines of saints for the same purpose, as Mabillon in alium transferre. Concluserunt autem, shows, in his Prrefacio ad Sceeulum Bene-
dignum fore, pretiosum ac sanctum corpus dictinum piimum, sect, ix. , num. 101.
in meliorem
atque
: subiimiorum locum, si 8i In the saint's Acts we read " Pars vero
Deus vellet, transponere. Sicque revevsus corporis in vestimento corrupta apparebat,
est cum licentia piissimi regis Ludovici ad corpus vero tantum quasi colore mutato
'
- —"
This removal of the relics must have been at least one hundred and seventy years after the saint's death. How long the remains afterwards continued whole is not known ; but, the Abbot Henry believed, that while John Hesse was Abbot of Kussen, a skeleton was found, supposed to have been that of St. Magnus. According to Bucelin, John Hess was Abbot there to
the year 1480.
propria, &c. Monasteriologia," &c. jacebat candidum. " Rerum Augustanarum, pars ii. , cap. 14,
num. 2. This account, however, seems to
be inconsistent with comparative chron-
ology.
-"Although styled
"
Acts, Father Suysken understands the word
rather to be interpreted
from the tenor of this narrative.
discipulus," or scholar, in the house, and which is manifest
frater," in our saint's
"
— in the text written Duria—and he states, that the place is in the district, near
—
Divine Grace had been blessed to cure
diseases, in former ages of the Church ; and the practice was derived from that of the
disciples of Christ, who "cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that
"—
were sick, and healed them
i5» LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6.
which he was permitted to kiss, and the church guardian taking some dust from the coffin mixed it with water and oil, which were applied to the boy's sores. Next day, the Bishop asked the care-taker to inform him regarding the result, and on going to where the boy lodged, he Was able to report, that scarcely a trace of the sores remained. Then having been brought by the Bishop before the new altar of St. Magnus, the patient returned home quite healed. As a manifestation of his gratitude, for the rest of his life, the youth devoted himself as watchman in that monastery. The Bishop returned thanks to God for the performandfe of such a remarkable miracle. 8*
When the translation of the body of St. Magnus had thus been accom- plished, the next care of Bishop Lanto was to examine the Life which had been taken from his tomb. The tract was found to be almost decayed, through the effects of damp and age; yet, was it legible for the most part. To one Ermenricus,8* of the monastery of Elwanga,86 was afterwards com- mitted the task of reading and emending it, although protesting his inability and want of skill for the competent performance of that duty. After the translation of our saint's remains to the new shrine, many and great were the miracles wrought through his intercession. According to some accounts, Magnus was canonized by Pope Adrian II. 87 others have it by
;
Pope John VIII. 88 while others state that Pope John IX. 89 officiated on that ;
8* Father Suysken is of opinion, that this
translation should most probably be referred
to between the years 825 and 847 under
Bishop Lanto, who within the latter year is
thought to have assisted at the Council of
Mayence in September or October, as con-
vened by kaban Manr. In the first place, a retoucher, et de chatier les actes de vS. Bishop Lanto was present, but his see is not Magne premier Abbe de Fuessen au merne named. Again, that he was Bishop of diocese. * * * Ermenric executa sans doute ce
seems most — because Augsburg probable,
dessein en homme
none of the other bishops
d'esprit tel etoit. Mais il est
eleven in number—is styled bishop of that see, although it cannot be doubted such a
ou
les actes qu'il avoit revus et corriges, sont
perdus, ou qu'une main etrangere bien prelate had been present. Moreover, diffe'rente de la sienne, les a entierement
because among the other sees, that of Augs-
corrumpus dans la suite. "—Ibid. , p. 326.
87 He filled the chair of St. Peter from
A. D. 867 to 872. In his Vita S. Magni,
Martinus, under the title, De Translatione
et Canonizatione S. Magni, ascribes the
latter process to Tope Hadrian II. , probably because he had ivad in the Manuscript Life,
that Lanto, Bishop of Augsburg, had ob- tained permission from that Pontiff to have the saint's relics transferred. I lenry, Abbot of Pausen, also. Beems to be of opinion that the translation and canonization occurred during the episcopacy of bishop Lanto.
ruled from S72 to 882. The Bol- landisl Jesuits had in their Library a little Italian book, edited at Rome, A. D. 1726, on occasion Of the Canonization ol Saints
burg
seems most
likely
to have been
Bishop
Lanto's, and to him it has been attributed by
Eccard, in "Francia Orientalis," tomus ii. ,
P- 394-
85 In the saint's Acts we read : "Accer-
sivit quemdam monachum prudentem et industrium ex monasterio Elewanga, nomine
Ermenricum," &e. This passage betrays the interpolator's work, as Ermenricus would not be likely to indulge in such self-
glorification.
over the monastery of Elawangen, A. i>. S45. and held this position to A. D. . S62, according to the catalogue of the Abbots of Elewan-
gen. as given by Corbiuian Khamm, in ""
Ermenricus became Abbot
Hierarchia Augustana, pais i. , in
Auctario. An account of his Life and Aloysius and Stanislaus; and the anony-
Writings may be seen in
Abbe d'Elwangen, pp. 324 to 326.
Histoire Literaire de la France,'' tome v. , siecle ix. Ermcnric,
86
"
mous writer gives a double catalogue of saints canonized by the Sovereign Pontiffs, There he states, that St. Ampelius, Bishop, and St. Magnus, Abbot, were canonized A. D. 873. by Pope John VIII. However, this statement does not appear to be sub-
From the foregoing dates, it may be
seen, that the Emperor Ludovicus, Otger,
Archbishop of Mayence, and Ermenricus of
Elwangen, could have been contempora- stantiated.
neous, yet not with Lanto, Bishop of 89 I Ie was Pope only from A. D. 898 to 900.
Augsburg, the term of whose episcopacy, at the earliest, is placed at A. D. 869, This must invalidate the accuracy of chronology for the statement in the text. However, it is stated by the Benedictine writer: " Lanton
Ev&que d'Ausbourg chargea Ermenrtc de
et de qu'il arrive,
scavoir,
que
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 159 occasion. ? But great uncertainty attends the supposition, and it does not
1
by which we are to understand the principal one—was held on the viii. of the September Ides,9* which corresponds with the 6th of this month.
Many of those miracles recorded, and several seemingly well authenticated, as having occurred, owing to the merits and intercession of our saint, have beenenumeratedbyFatherLudovicusBabenstuber. Thedatesanddetails of those may be found, on referring to his work. Those records have also been re-produced by the Bollandists,»3 but must here be omitted ; the narrativeofSt. Magnushavingbeenalreadysomuchextended. Theyrefer to cases of Phrenesis, Rabies, Parturition, Plague among people and cattle, Demoniac Possession, Punishment for Irreverence, Expulsion of Vermin from Houses and Fields, Inundations suppressed, Healing from Dangerous Diseases, Evils averted from Men and Cattle, &c. Many of these benefits were obtained by the use of St. Magnus' staff and of his other relics. In the church of Fiissen, the staff of St. Magnoald is still preserved, and through its instrumentality several wonderful miracles have been wrought. It is carried about by the people, to chase destructive vermin from their fields. Through prayers and invocations offered to the saint, various benefits of a spiritual and temporal character have been obtained In latter times, the once celebrated Abbey of Fiissen has been sequestrated. 94
Towards the end of the ninth century, a nobleman, named Salomon Ramschwagius, who as a boy had been educated in the monastery of St.
Gall, afterwards living near it as a. fraler conscriptus,^ and entering there as a
monk,atlengthhebecameAbbotoverthemonastery. As2,fraterconscriptus, he had exchanged a property of his own for one near the monastery of St. Gall. This was a pleasant site on a hill, and on the opposite bank of the river, formerly called Ira—at present known as the Steinach, an affluent of the Sitter. ^6 There he erected a church, in shape and honour of the Holy
appear to rest on any reliable or very ancient authority. 9
saint's cultus was well established—especially throughout Germany—in the ninth century. In Suabia, the commemorative Translation of Magnoald's remains is held on the 21st of March, as a festival. In concluding t—he account of St. Magnus, the Acta Pseudo-Theodori states, that his solemnity
An Office of St. Magnus which his Emi- nence the Cardinal Bishop Andreas of Austria caused to be printed A. D. 1599,
" miraculis clarum Joannes IX. Pont. Max. , qui creatus legitur anno Christi octingen- tessimo septuagessimo, Dantonis Augustani
episcopi precibus in Sanctos adscripsit. " It seems evident from the date, John VIII. must have been intended. An Office, issued A. D. 1671, and again printed a. d. 1687, ascribes the saint's canonization to Tope John IX. The Proper Office of St. Magnus for the Diocese of Constance, printed a. d. 1725, and re-issued a. d. 1739, reads :
miraculis clarum — "Quern Joannes IX. ,
Pontifex Maximus, in Sanctos adscripsit. " Noct. ii. , Lect. 3.
90 The earliest Manuscript and Printed Offices of St Magnus do not mention his canonization.
devotions, and many of the religious services, tomus ii. , Septembris vi. De Sancto Magno, therein practised.
&c, Commentarius Prrevius, sect. ix. . num. & See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vi. , 112 to 115, p. 722. p. 508.
states in one of the Lessons :
Quern
91 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
is clearly an error lor bris. "
"
octavo Idus Septem-
93 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. Miracula, auctore P. Ludovico Babenstuber Benedictino Ettalensi, pp. 759 to 781.
94 At present, if is the property of the Freiherr von Poniskau. See Rev. S. Baring-
" September p. 95.
Gould's
95
Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
6,
A meant one who was /rater conscriptus
allowed to be an honorary member of a
religious community, without being bound
to observe its udes, except as a matter of
choice; but, being permitted to join in the
Nevertheless, the
92 In the saint's Acts, as published by
"
solemnitas S. Magni confessoris Christi
atque abbatis, quarto Idus Septembris ad laudem et gloriam nominis Domini. " How-
ever, the phrase "quarto Idus Septembris"
Goldast, the text runs :
Celebratur autem
i6o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
Cross, and richly endowed it. 97 Afterwards, Adalbert, Bishop of Augsburgh, dedicated this church in a solemn manner. Through the influence of Salomon, an arm of St. Magnus was obtained from Fiissen, and brought with solemn ceremonies to that church, in which it was
deposited. ?
lation of the Relic took place between the years 887 and 889. 99 In the
archives of St. Gall's monastery are Latin Hymns, apparently of contempora-
neous date, and written to commemorate this event. 100 Some of these have been published by Canisius Iot and by other writers. To that church, also, Salomon attached Canons, who were there obliged to sing the Divine praises. When he had been created Abbot of St. Gall, and afterwards when he had been advanced as Bishop to the see of Constance, he enriched the endow- ment with additional possessions. Thenceforth, the church was regarded as specially dedicaied to St. Magnus. The annual festival celebrations at St. Gall's to commemorate his Translation were observed with peculiar ceremonies and rejoicing. Beside the church another institute of Recluse Virgins of St. Benedict's Order had been established. The Bishop of Con-
I02
stance blessed a cell in which St. Guiborat or Viborade
life, and where she obtained the crown of martyrdom, at the hands of the Hungarians,'°3 on the 2nd of May,10* a. d. 925, when these barbarians brought devastation on Suabia, and on all the adjoining countries. At this time, likewise, they burned the church of St. Magnus. This, however, was soon restored, and the body of St. Viborade, having been in the first instance deposited in St. Gall's monastery, was subsequently removed to the oratory of her cell, and finally it was translated. There too were deposited the remains of her companion, St. Rachilde, who survived her for twenty-one years. Both were held in the greatest —veneration by the faithful. In fine, the church and cemetery of St. Magnus which originally extended beyond
97 An interesting account of this pious nobleman may be found in Mabil Ion's
"
Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus Hi. , lib. xxxvii. , num. xl. , pp. 178, 179.
Such is the account given by Kkkehard
Junior in his bonk, De Cassibus S. C. alli,
Gall's monastery, has the following heading and opening verse : —
i.
9? This inference is drawn from the cir-
cap.
cumstances, that Adalbert commenced his
xTMSeeanaccountofherlife, andthatof her companion, St. Rachilde, in the Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints,"
in the former while the year,
episcopacy
monastic life of Saloman began in the latter year, as the authors of " Gallia Christiana" state See tomus col.
tome v. , ii ,; Jour de Mai, 268 to pp.
v. ,
100 One of these hymns is published by
Henricus Canisius, and it was written appa- rently by one of the monks of St. Gall. It seems to have been intended a> a Festival Carmen, inviting our saint to return anil be the patron of the monastery, where he formerly lived with St. Gall. The following are the heading and opening Sapphic verses :—
Invitatio S. Magni.
"Miles, ad castrum poperes novellum,
pridem et notos repetas locellos,
century, these barbarous people began to
"
L'an 912, ils pillerent sans resistance la Franconie et la Turinge ; I'annee suivante ils ravage- rent l'Allemagne, e'est adire, le haut Rhin ; e» il y en eut grand nomine de tues sur la riviere d'In. par les Allemands et les Hava- rois. En 915. ils desolerent toute Allemagne par le fer et par le feu, coururent la Turinge et la Saxe, et vinrent en 916 au monastere de Fulde. L'annee suivante par l'Allemagne
posside terrain tibi prseperatam, jam comes Galli, social e sibi. *'
et I'Al—sace, ill penetrerent jusqu'en Lor« "
—" 'OI
raine. '' Abbe Fleury's Histoire Fccl£-
901.
273.
,03 In the commencement of the tenth
Antique Lectiones," tomus v. , pp. 750 et seq.
siastique," tome xi. , liv. liv. , sect, liii. , p.
596.
104 This is the day assigned iot her fes-
tival.
One of those hymns, by Ratpert, of St.
"
Versus Ratperti de S. Magno. Mire cunctorum Deus et creator, milis et fort is solidator orbis,
vota servorum tibi subditoruni accipe Clemens/'
extend their ravages into Germany.
8 This Trans-
lived an enclosed
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 161
the town of St. Gallen—were subsequently embraced within the circuit of its walls.
Besides the religious establishments at Fiiessan and at St. (Jail, dedicated to St. Magnus, and to which allusion has been already made, a parochial church had been erected to his memory, at a remote period, near the ancient fortification of Sorethanum, called by the natives Schussenreidi, now a town ol Wiirtemberg, in the circle of the Danube, about eight miles N. E. of Waldsee, near the source of the Schussen. 105 About a. d. ii88,106
Conradus, in favour with the Emperor Frederick I. , rarnamed Barbarossa, and having no sons as heirs for their possessions, resolved on founding a
of God and to the Blessed lo7 near the church Virgin,
to the
of St. Magnus, and on the site of the old castle. 108 This foundation w;i, given in charge to monks of the Premonstratensian Order, '°9 to whom also was transferred in perpetuity the aforesaid parochial church of St. Magnus, with the care of souls. In course of time, that monastery was endowed with many privileges, and it became a free and an Imperial Abbey, in the Germanic Confederation. It was secularised in 1803, when the Municipal and
monastery
Another church and dedicated to St. 111 had been monastery, Magnus,
112
erected at Ratisbon, in Bavaria, near the bridge which spans the Danube, andasstatedintheyear1 138. Theremanymiracleswerewroughtthroughthe saint's intercession. 1 ^ That coenobium is said to have been an establishment created by the efforts of the venerable Gebehard, a priest and canon of Ratisbon church, and through the patronage of King Conrad and his brother Henry, Duke of Bavaria. It was destroyed by the Swedes, in 1633, when they obtained possession of Ratisbon, but afterwards it was restored. 1 ' 4 The site now belongs to the Canons Regular of the Augustinian Order. Another note-worthy circumstance, connected with this monastery of St. Magnus, was
Ecclesiastical were Sovereignties
110 and Austria lost the
glory
swept away,
which had given her a natural authority and pre-eminence in the Empire.
I0
SSee "Gazetteer of the World," vol. xii. , p. 489.
106
According to a Manuscript Chronicle, of nearly contemporaneous date.
'°7 This was endowed with all the landed property of the founders.
108 The endowment took place, during the
Pontificate of Clement III. , who ruled from
Magnus, which was afterwards joined to the church and convent of St. Andrew, belong-
ing to the Augustinians. For authority, Father Francis Grienwald, a Carthusian of the monastery of St. Vitus, without the city of Ratisbon, is cited, and also Martin, Abbot
of Fiiessen, a. d. 1624.
U2 This celebrated bridge of cut-stone
facings, and which joins the suburb Statt- stratensis," tomus ii. , p. 820. 1 1 35, according to the chronicle of Andieas,
,l0
See an impartial account of these a priest of Ratisbon, as published by the transactions, in that admirable work of learned Benedictine, Dom Bernard Fez, in
""
Professor J. R. Seeley's Life and Times of Thesaurus Anecdotorum novissimus, sen
Stein, or Germany and Prussia in the Veterum Monumentorum collectio recentis-
a. d. 1187101191.
uv See " Annales Ordinis Pramion- am-hoff to Ratisbon, was commenced a. d.
Napoleonic Age," vol. i. , part ii. , chap, iii. , pp. 199 to 217 Cambridge : 1878, 8vo.
111
Father Babenstuber relates a legend re- garding St. Michael the Archangel, in the shape of a beautiful young man, and also respecting St. Magnus, as a venerable old pilgrim, appearing to the ferryman, before a bridge had been there built over the Danube.
I hi being passed freely over the river by the charitable man, they promised Heaven to
sima," tomus iv. This valuable historical work, in six folio volumes, appeared from
1721 to 1729. In the year 1 1 4.
of Mayence, named Otgar,? 4 and his other suffragan Bishops, to know if it should be desirable, that the sac^pd remains might be translated to a more
ornate and conspicuous shrine. This project was approved of by all, and the permission of King Ludovicus was also obtained. 75 The work of church
building was prosecuted by other prelates, and especially by Lanto,'6 who finished the nave, in the fifth year of his episcopacy, through the aid afforded by the renowned King Ludovicus I. ,? 7 third son of the illustrious Emperor Ludovicus, surnamed Le Debonnaire. ? 8 That elegantly appointed church" was built over the spot, where the body of Magnus had been consigned to the tomb.
68 He is stated to have died about A. D. 818.
^ There is much uncertainty regarding the order of succession of Bishops over the
see of Augsburg, especially in the ninth century, and owing chiefly to the miscon- ceptions and opinions of writers in after
years. Their varying statements are pointed out and critically examined by Father
"'
Suysken in Acta Sanctorum, tomus ii. ,
Septembris vi. , De S. Magno, &c, Com- mentarius Praevius, sect, viii. , pp. 716 to 720.
70 Besides the " Acta Pseudo-Theodori"
of our saint, two other manuscript copies have Hatto, as in the text ; while the Ratis- bon and another copy have the name written Hanto ; Canisius and Goldast read Lanto. Hatto or Hauto is said to have belonged to the noble family of the Andecensian Counts.
habuit, quiedam bona ad episcopatum acquisivit. "
Krueger, Corbinian Khamm and others, who have allusion to Lanto, place the com- mencement of his episcopacy over the see of Augsberg at different dates : some have it at 869; others at 870 ; others again so late as A. D. 878, while none of those historic writers connect him in any way with Otmar, Arch- bishop of Mayence. The latter date is inconsistent with Lanto having received aid towards the church of St. Magnus from Ludovicus I. , King of Germany, during the life-time of that monarch, who died at Frankfort, August 28th, A. D. 876.
77 He bears the surname of Le Pieu. \ or I. c Vieil. He was born A. D. 806, and was brother to Lothaire and Pepin of Aquitaine. His father, known as Louis le Dibonnaire, had three sons by his first wife, Ermengarde. After her death, he espoused Judith of Bavaria, by whom he had a fourth son, known under the of Charles U
remarkable for many and great disorders. Among these were unnatural rebellions of
writes the name Otkerus, and Goldast has
it Otkarius. He ruled over the sec of Francs. This gave Ludovicus supremacy
71 In the Ratisbon
tamen ex parentela, quam in Bagoaria
designation
Chavce. The reign of that monarch was
The saint's Acts stale,
"
minime
his and sub- authority,
7
in hiis rebus sublimari. "
manuscript :
73 He is also named Nitcarius, Nidgarius, and Nitkerus ; he is also called Witgarius
and Nitger.
74 The Ratisbon copy ofour saint's Acts
" Verum-
quivit
against
over Fiance and Germany.
7 = Henry, Abbot of Fuessan, states, that
this work w. is undertaken in the year 870,
with the consent and order of Pope Adrian
II. He filled the chair of St. Peter from
a. d. 867 to 872. However, in none of the year 817, by Ludovicus, and he had posses-
sionofallGermanytotheRhine,A. D. 843, according to the Annalist of Metz. He died in the seventieth year of his age, leaving
Mayence, from A. D. 825 or 826 to A. D. 827.
othermanuscriptaccountsofSt. Magnusis
such a statement to be found ; and, it is only
necessary to observe, that Otgai , the Arch-
bishop of Mayence, had died twenty years three sons, viz. , Carloman, Louis, and before Pope Adrian II. had been set over
the Universal Church.
76 The various writers, such as Bruschius,
Bucelin, Demochares, Stengel, Joannes
Gros. These divided the vast Empire of
Charlemagne between them. See Michaud's
"
1 of the Emperor Charlemagne, by
his second wife, Hildegarde. From this
father, by his first wife, Ermengarde, the kingdom of Bavaria was obtained in the
Charles, known under the designation of Lc
Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et
September 6J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 157
At that time, a poor student,80 the son of respectable parents belonging to
of Durach,81 happened to be in the monastery, and in exchange for his manual labour, he acquired learning and a maintenance. He had been attacked with some kind of evil, which caused sores to break out over
one side of his body, and he was so afflicted as to become almost lame. Touched with his misfortunes, Bishop Lanto asked many of the priests in his
diocese to institute a Triduum, so that the Almighty would mercifully hear theirprayersforhisrecovery. Attheendofthreedays,whenthephysicians had tried their skill in vain, and all had cflspaired of the patient's cure; in his sleep, a venerable man appeared to him, and with a benign look and gentle tone of voice inquired the nature of his infirmity. This having been
the
village
M My son, ask from the Bishop, when to-day he shall have found my body, and taken it from the crypt in which it lies, that he would permit you to kiss that crypt, and when you shall have done so, that you take some dust from the place, mixing it with blessed water and oil. 82 Ask, that before the new altar you be allowed to prostrate
yourself, and moreover, that your sores be anointed. If all this you do, the Lord will restore you to former health. " Immediately awaking, the patient at early dawn went to the church, and told the care-taker what had happened during his sleep. Afterwards, as advised by the guardian, both went on their knees, relating what had occurred to the Bishop, whose assent
explained
to him, the senior said
:
was obtained to fulfil what had been directed in the vision.
The next process was that of unearthing the remains, and soon the workers reached that beautiful stone coffin, in which lay the relics of St. Magnus. On opening it, the body was found to be undecayed, but with the colour 8s Placed at the head was found that Life, written by Theodore, with some faded linen. In fulfilment of the permission given, the patient to whom allusion has been already made was brought to the tomb,
somewhat
Moderne,"
changed.
tome xxv. ,
148
to
150,
and
pp.
81 The anonymous writer of the German
294, 295-
79 Thus Father Stengel writes :
Life of St. Magnus thus identifies it although
" Cum Lanto episcopus templum restauraret et
ornaret, sacrum D. Magni corpus in medio Kempten. Book iii. , chap, v. , sect. 2.
sinens, sicut prius posi- tum fuerat, donee cum omni diligentia ac reverentia consensum ab Hadriano summo Pontifice expetisset : deinde venerabilis
proesul Lanto, Othgarium seu Otgerum S. Moguntinaeecclesias archiepiscopum accessit, suumque illi affectum aperuit. Turn Metro-
politanus omnes fratres suos episcopos ac suffraganeos convocavit, quatenus cum eis consultaret, si eum ausus esset ab illo loco
82
The use of oil —
regarded as a symbol of
eccleske
requiescere
St. Mark. vi. 13. Sometimes oil had been taken from the lamps which burned before the shrines of saints for the same purpose, as Mabillon in alium transferre. Concluserunt autem, shows, in his Prrefacio ad Sceeulum Bene-
dignum fore, pretiosum ac sanctum corpus dictinum piimum, sect, ix. , num. 101.
in meliorem
atque
: subiimiorum locum, si 8i In the saint's Acts we read " Pars vero
Deus vellet, transponere. Sicque revevsus corporis in vestimento corrupta apparebat,
est cum licentia piissimi regis Ludovici ad corpus vero tantum quasi colore mutato
'
- —"
This removal of the relics must have been at least one hundred and seventy years after the saint's death. How long the remains afterwards continued whole is not known ; but, the Abbot Henry believed, that while John Hesse was Abbot of Kussen, a skeleton was found, supposed to have been that of St. Magnus. According to Bucelin, John Hess was Abbot there to
the year 1480.
propria, &c. Monasteriologia," &c. jacebat candidum. " Rerum Augustanarum, pars ii. , cap. 14,
num. 2. This account, however, seems to
be inconsistent with comparative chron-
ology.
-"Although styled
"
Acts, Father Suysken understands the word
rather to be interpreted
from the tenor of this narrative.
discipulus," or scholar, in the house, and which is manifest
frater," in our saint's
"
— in the text written Duria—and he states, that the place is in the district, near
—
Divine Grace had been blessed to cure
diseases, in former ages of the Church ; and the practice was derived from that of the
disciples of Christ, who "cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that
"—
were sick, and healed them
i5» LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6.
which he was permitted to kiss, and the church guardian taking some dust from the coffin mixed it with water and oil, which were applied to the boy's sores. Next day, the Bishop asked the care-taker to inform him regarding the result, and on going to where the boy lodged, he Was able to report, that scarcely a trace of the sores remained. Then having been brought by the Bishop before the new altar of St. Magnus, the patient returned home quite healed. As a manifestation of his gratitude, for the rest of his life, the youth devoted himself as watchman in that monastery. The Bishop returned thanks to God for the performandfe of such a remarkable miracle. 8*
When the translation of the body of St. Magnus had thus been accom- plished, the next care of Bishop Lanto was to examine the Life which had been taken from his tomb. The tract was found to be almost decayed, through the effects of damp and age; yet, was it legible for the most part. To one Ermenricus,8* of the monastery of Elwanga,86 was afterwards com- mitted the task of reading and emending it, although protesting his inability and want of skill for the competent performance of that duty. After the translation of our saint's remains to the new shrine, many and great were the miracles wrought through his intercession. According to some accounts, Magnus was canonized by Pope Adrian II. 87 others have it by
;
Pope John VIII. 88 while others state that Pope John IX. 89 officiated on that ;
8* Father Suysken is of opinion, that this
translation should most probably be referred
to between the years 825 and 847 under
Bishop Lanto, who within the latter year is
thought to have assisted at the Council of
Mayence in September or October, as con-
vened by kaban Manr. In the first place, a retoucher, et de chatier les actes de vS. Bishop Lanto was present, but his see is not Magne premier Abbe de Fuessen au merne named. Again, that he was Bishop of diocese. * * * Ermenric executa sans doute ce
seems most — because Augsburg probable,
dessein en homme
none of the other bishops
d'esprit tel etoit. Mais il est
eleven in number—is styled bishop of that see, although it cannot be doubted such a
ou
les actes qu'il avoit revus et corriges, sont
perdus, ou qu'une main etrangere bien prelate had been present. Moreover, diffe'rente de la sienne, les a entierement
because among the other sees, that of Augs-
corrumpus dans la suite. "—Ibid. , p. 326.
87 He filled the chair of St. Peter from
A. D. 867 to 872. In his Vita S. Magni,
Martinus, under the title, De Translatione
et Canonizatione S. Magni, ascribes the
latter process to Tope Hadrian II. , probably because he had ivad in the Manuscript Life,
that Lanto, Bishop of Augsburg, had ob- tained permission from that Pontiff to have the saint's relics transferred. I lenry, Abbot of Pausen, also. Beems to be of opinion that the translation and canonization occurred during the episcopacy of bishop Lanto.
ruled from S72 to 882. The Bol- landisl Jesuits had in their Library a little Italian book, edited at Rome, A. D. 1726, on occasion Of the Canonization ol Saints
burg
seems most
likely
to have been
Bishop
Lanto's, and to him it has been attributed by
Eccard, in "Francia Orientalis," tomus ii. ,
P- 394-
85 In the saint's Acts we read : "Accer-
sivit quemdam monachum prudentem et industrium ex monasterio Elewanga, nomine
Ermenricum," &e. This passage betrays the interpolator's work, as Ermenricus would not be likely to indulge in such self-
glorification.
over the monastery of Elawangen, A. i>. S45. and held this position to A. D. . S62, according to the catalogue of the Abbots of Elewan-
gen. as given by Corbiuian Khamm, in ""
Ermenricus became Abbot
Hierarchia Augustana, pais i. , in
Auctario. An account of his Life and Aloysius and Stanislaus; and the anony-
Writings may be seen in
Abbe d'Elwangen, pp. 324 to 326.
Histoire Literaire de la France,'' tome v. , siecle ix. Ermcnric,
86
"
mous writer gives a double catalogue of saints canonized by the Sovereign Pontiffs, There he states, that St. Ampelius, Bishop, and St. Magnus, Abbot, were canonized A. D. 873. by Pope John VIII. However, this statement does not appear to be sub-
From the foregoing dates, it may be
seen, that the Emperor Ludovicus, Otger,
Archbishop of Mayence, and Ermenricus of
Elwangen, could have been contempora- stantiated.
neous, yet not with Lanto, Bishop of 89 I Ie was Pope only from A. D. 898 to 900.
Augsburg, the term of whose episcopacy, at the earliest, is placed at A. D. 869, This must invalidate the accuracy of chronology for the statement in the text. However, it is stated by the Benedictine writer: " Lanton
Ev&que d'Ausbourg chargea Ermenrtc de
et de qu'il arrive,
scavoir,
que
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 159 occasion. ? But great uncertainty attends the supposition, and it does not
1
by which we are to understand the principal one—was held on the viii. of the September Ides,9* which corresponds with the 6th of this month.
Many of those miracles recorded, and several seemingly well authenticated, as having occurred, owing to the merits and intercession of our saint, have beenenumeratedbyFatherLudovicusBabenstuber. Thedatesanddetails of those may be found, on referring to his work. Those records have also been re-produced by the Bollandists,»3 but must here be omitted ; the narrativeofSt. Magnushavingbeenalreadysomuchextended. Theyrefer to cases of Phrenesis, Rabies, Parturition, Plague among people and cattle, Demoniac Possession, Punishment for Irreverence, Expulsion of Vermin from Houses and Fields, Inundations suppressed, Healing from Dangerous Diseases, Evils averted from Men and Cattle, &c. Many of these benefits were obtained by the use of St. Magnus' staff and of his other relics. In the church of Fiissen, the staff of St. Magnoald is still preserved, and through its instrumentality several wonderful miracles have been wrought. It is carried about by the people, to chase destructive vermin from their fields. Through prayers and invocations offered to the saint, various benefits of a spiritual and temporal character have been obtained In latter times, the once celebrated Abbey of Fiissen has been sequestrated. 94
Towards the end of the ninth century, a nobleman, named Salomon Ramschwagius, who as a boy had been educated in the monastery of St.
Gall, afterwards living near it as a. fraler conscriptus,^ and entering there as a
monk,atlengthhebecameAbbotoverthemonastery. As2,fraterconscriptus, he had exchanged a property of his own for one near the monastery of St. Gall. This was a pleasant site on a hill, and on the opposite bank of the river, formerly called Ira—at present known as the Steinach, an affluent of the Sitter. ^6 There he erected a church, in shape and honour of the Holy
appear to rest on any reliable or very ancient authority. 9
saint's cultus was well established—especially throughout Germany—in the ninth century. In Suabia, the commemorative Translation of Magnoald's remains is held on the 21st of March, as a festival. In concluding t—he account of St. Magnus, the Acta Pseudo-Theodori states, that his solemnity
An Office of St. Magnus which his Emi- nence the Cardinal Bishop Andreas of Austria caused to be printed A. D. 1599,
" miraculis clarum Joannes IX. Pont. Max. , qui creatus legitur anno Christi octingen- tessimo septuagessimo, Dantonis Augustani
episcopi precibus in Sanctos adscripsit. " It seems evident from the date, John VIII. must have been intended. An Office, issued A. D. 1671, and again printed a. d. 1687, ascribes the saint's canonization to Tope John IX. The Proper Office of St. Magnus for the Diocese of Constance, printed a. d. 1725, and re-issued a. d. 1739, reads :
miraculis clarum — "Quern Joannes IX. ,
Pontifex Maximus, in Sanctos adscripsit. " Noct. ii. , Lect. 3.
90 The earliest Manuscript and Printed Offices of St Magnus do not mention his canonization.
devotions, and many of the religious services, tomus ii. , Septembris vi. De Sancto Magno, therein practised.
&c, Commentarius Prrevius, sect. ix. . num. & See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. vi. , 112 to 115, p. 722. p. 508.
states in one of the Lessons :
Quern
91 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
is clearly an error lor bris. "
"
octavo Idus Septem-
93 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. Miracula, auctore P. Ludovico Babenstuber Benedictino Ettalensi, pp. 759 to 781.
94 At present, if is the property of the Freiherr von Poniskau. See Rev. S. Baring-
" September p. 95.
Gould's
95
Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
6,
A meant one who was /rater conscriptus
allowed to be an honorary member of a
religious community, without being bound
to observe its udes, except as a matter of
choice; but, being permitted to join in the
Nevertheless, the
92 In the saint's Acts, as published by
"
solemnitas S. Magni confessoris Christi
atque abbatis, quarto Idus Septembris ad laudem et gloriam nominis Domini. " How-
ever, the phrase "quarto Idus Septembris"
Goldast, the text runs :
Celebratur autem
i6o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
Cross, and richly endowed it. 97 Afterwards, Adalbert, Bishop of Augsburgh, dedicated this church in a solemn manner. Through the influence of Salomon, an arm of St. Magnus was obtained from Fiissen, and brought with solemn ceremonies to that church, in which it was
deposited. ?
lation of the Relic took place between the years 887 and 889. 99 In the
archives of St. Gall's monastery are Latin Hymns, apparently of contempora-
neous date, and written to commemorate this event. 100 Some of these have been published by Canisius Iot and by other writers. To that church, also, Salomon attached Canons, who were there obliged to sing the Divine praises. When he had been created Abbot of St. Gall, and afterwards when he had been advanced as Bishop to the see of Constance, he enriched the endow- ment with additional possessions. Thenceforth, the church was regarded as specially dedicaied to St. Magnus. The annual festival celebrations at St. Gall's to commemorate his Translation were observed with peculiar ceremonies and rejoicing. Beside the church another institute of Recluse Virgins of St. Benedict's Order had been established. The Bishop of Con-
I02
stance blessed a cell in which St. Guiborat or Viborade
life, and where she obtained the crown of martyrdom, at the hands of the Hungarians,'°3 on the 2nd of May,10* a. d. 925, when these barbarians brought devastation on Suabia, and on all the adjoining countries. At this time, likewise, they burned the church of St. Magnus. This, however, was soon restored, and the body of St. Viborade, having been in the first instance deposited in St. Gall's monastery, was subsequently removed to the oratory of her cell, and finally it was translated. There too were deposited the remains of her companion, St. Rachilde, who survived her for twenty-one years. Both were held in the greatest —veneration by the faithful. In fine, the church and cemetery of St. Magnus which originally extended beyond
97 An interesting account of this pious nobleman may be found in Mabil Ion's
"
Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus Hi. , lib. xxxvii. , num. xl. , pp. 178, 179.
Such is the account given by Kkkehard
Junior in his bonk, De Cassibus S. C. alli,
Gall's monastery, has the following heading and opening verse : —
i.
9? This inference is drawn from the cir-
cap.
cumstances, that Adalbert commenced his
xTMSeeanaccountofherlife, andthatof her companion, St. Rachilde, in the Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints,"
in the former while the year,
episcopacy
monastic life of Saloman began in the latter year, as the authors of " Gallia Christiana" state See tomus col.
tome v. , ii ,; Jour de Mai, 268 to pp.
v. ,
100 One of these hymns is published by
Henricus Canisius, and it was written appa- rently by one of the monks of St. Gall. It seems to have been intended a> a Festival Carmen, inviting our saint to return anil be the patron of the monastery, where he formerly lived with St. Gall. The following are the heading and opening Sapphic verses :—
Invitatio S. Magni.
"Miles, ad castrum poperes novellum,
pridem et notos repetas locellos,
century, these barbarous people began to
"
L'an 912, ils pillerent sans resistance la Franconie et la Turinge ; I'annee suivante ils ravage- rent l'Allemagne, e'est adire, le haut Rhin ; e» il y en eut grand nomine de tues sur la riviere d'In. par les Allemands et les Hava- rois. En 915. ils desolerent toute Allemagne par le fer et par le feu, coururent la Turinge et la Saxe, et vinrent en 916 au monastere de Fulde. L'annee suivante par l'Allemagne
posside terrain tibi prseperatam, jam comes Galli, social e sibi. *'
et I'Al—sace, ill penetrerent jusqu'en Lor« "
—" 'OI
raine. '' Abbe Fleury's Histoire Fccl£-
901.
273.
,03 In the commencement of the tenth
Antique Lectiones," tomus v. , pp. 750 et seq.
siastique," tome xi. , liv. liv. , sect, liii. , p.
596.
104 This is the day assigned iot her fes-
tival.
One of those hymns, by Ratpert, of St.
"
Versus Ratperti de S. Magno. Mire cunctorum Deus et creator, milis et fort is solidator orbis,
vota servorum tibi subditoruni accipe Clemens/'
extend their ravages into Germany.
8 This Trans-
lived an enclosed
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 161
the town of St. Gallen—were subsequently embraced within the circuit of its walls.
Besides the religious establishments at Fiiessan and at St. (Jail, dedicated to St. Magnus, and to which allusion has been already made, a parochial church had been erected to his memory, at a remote period, near the ancient fortification of Sorethanum, called by the natives Schussenreidi, now a town ol Wiirtemberg, in the circle of the Danube, about eight miles N. E. of Waldsee, near the source of the Schussen. 105 About a. d. ii88,106
Conradus, in favour with the Emperor Frederick I. , rarnamed Barbarossa, and having no sons as heirs for their possessions, resolved on founding a
of God and to the Blessed lo7 near the church Virgin,
to the
of St. Magnus, and on the site of the old castle. 108 This foundation w;i, given in charge to monks of the Premonstratensian Order, '°9 to whom also was transferred in perpetuity the aforesaid parochial church of St. Magnus, with the care of souls. In course of time, that monastery was endowed with many privileges, and it became a free and an Imperial Abbey, in the Germanic Confederation. It was secularised in 1803, when the Municipal and
monastery
Another church and dedicated to St. 111 had been monastery, Magnus,
112
erected at Ratisbon, in Bavaria, near the bridge which spans the Danube, andasstatedintheyear1 138. Theremanymiracleswerewroughtthroughthe saint's intercession. 1 ^ That coenobium is said to have been an establishment created by the efforts of the venerable Gebehard, a priest and canon of Ratisbon church, and through the patronage of King Conrad and his brother Henry, Duke of Bavaria. It was destroyed by the Swedes, in 1633, when they obtained possession of Ratisbon, but afterwards it was restored. 1 ' 4 The site now belongs to the Canons Regular of the Augustinian Order. Another note-worthy circumstance, connected with this monastery of St. Magnus, was
Ecclesiastical were Sovereignties
110 and Austria lost the
glory
swept away,
which had given her a natural authority and pre-eminence in the Empire.
I0
SSee "Gazetteer of the World," vol. xii. , p. 489.
106
According to a Manuscript Chronicle, of nearly contemporaneous date.
'°7 This was endowed with all the landed property of the founders.
108 The endowment took place, during the
Pontificate of Clement III. , who ruled from
Magnus, which was afterwards joined to the church and convent of St. Andrew, belong-
ing to the Augustinians. For authority, Father Francis Grienwald, a Carthusian of the monastery of St. Vitus, without the city of Ratisbon, is cited, and also Martin, Abbot
of Fiiessen, a. d. 1624.
U2 This celebrated bridge of cut-stone
facings, and which joins the suburb Statt- stratensis," tomus ii. , p. 820. 1 1 35, according to the chronicle of Andieas,
,l0
See an impartial account of these a priest of Ratisbon, as published by the transactions, in that admirable work of learned Benedictine, Dom Bernard Fez, in
""
Professor J. R. Seeley's Life and Times of Thesaurus Anecdotorum novissimus, sen
Stein, or Germany and Prussia in the Veterum Monumentorum collectio recentis-
a. d. 1187101191.
uv See " Annales Ordinis Pramion- am-hoff to Ratisbon, was commenced a. d.
Napoleonic Age," vol. i. , part ii. , chap, iii. , pp. 199 to 217 Cambridge : 1878, 8vo.
111
Father Babenstuber relates a legend re- garding St. Michael the Archangel, in the shape of a beautiful young man, and also respecting St. Magnus, as a venerable old pilgrim, appearing to the ferryman, before a bridge had been there built over the Danube.
I hi being passed freely over the river by the charitable man, they promised Heaven to
sima," tomus iv. This valuable historical work, in six folio volumes, appeared from
1721 to 1729. In the year 1 1 4.
