No More Learning

Hymnus iste, angelica summaeque Sanctae
Brigidae
Fari non valet omnia virtutum mirabilia,
Quae nostris nunquam auribus, si suit facta, audivimus,
Nisi per istam Viiginem, Maria; Sanche similem.
Zona sanctre militae sanctos lumbos pre-
cingere
Consuevit diurno, noclurno quoque studio : Consummato certamine sumpsit palman
victoria;
Refulgens magno splendore, ut sol in cceli culmine.
Andite Virginis laudes, sancta quoque merita. Perfectionem, quam promisit, viri liter adim-
plevit.
Christi Matrem se spopondit, diclo atque
factis fecit.
Brigida automata veri Dei Regina.
Brigida Sancta sedulo sit nostro in auxilio, Ut mereamur coronam habere, ac lauitiam. In conspectu Angelorum in saecula ssecn-
lorum,
Christe Jesu author bonorum miserere,
obsecro omnium.
55 In a note, attaching to these words in
the Hymn, Brigida automata, Colgan re- marks, that in the Irish MS. Automata was found, which should be changed for his emendation. The Greek word avro^arov signifies self-moving, or a mechanical in- strument, so curiously and ingeniously constructed, that it seems to act of its own accord, and without any apparent cause or motor. See ibid, p. 542, and n. 81, p. 545-
56 See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, ii. , n. 18, p. 380.
;
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 89
to exceed those in the Fourth Life, by about twenty-three chapters. 57 That St. Ultan wrote the Acts of St. Brigid, is asserted by an author of her Life
in Irish, by a certain Scholiast, as also by Archbishop Ussher58 and by Sir James Ware. 59 From the probability of some metrical lines appended
having been composed, by the same author, in the opinion of White, Colvenerius and Ward, Colgan maintains, that the Life written was identical with that published by him. This conclusion is supposed to be
"
further warranted, by the usual clause,
to the life of a Saint, coming after, and not before, that Hymn, as found in the St. Magnus MS. , and written many ages before Colgan's time. In the
to
St. Autbert MS. , it comes after a Carmen, which follows the Hymn.
61
To St. Ultan has been attributed the spirit of prophecy. It is said his
remain in metre, and in the Irish language. 62 A prophetic Poem63 extant is ascribed to St. Ultan of Ardbraccan. He is said to have foretold the arrival of the English in Ireland, and that they should annex it to the Kingdom of England. He is stated also to have been the teacher of Tirechan, who wrote from the dictation of Ultan,6* two Books, on the Acts of St. Patrick. These Books are yet in manuscript, and Archbishop Usher frequently quotes passages from them, so that we may conclude, he had
prophecies
them in his
possession.
6s These Annotations are in the Book of Armagh.
Ultan is said to have written a Life of St. Patrick,66 but this is uncertain. 6?
It was as we are 68 that collected the miracles of St. Brigid, into one
E superis resonat intus cum sedibus Echo Tubarum sublimis e superis resonat.
Mitte beata preces pro nobis Virgo benigna : Ad Dominum semper mitte beata preces.
61 Colgan remarks, that he found some words, appended to this Carmen. These showed it had been composed by the author of St. Brigid's Life, and of the Hymn, which preceded it. He also thinks, that the words " cum tuba sublimis," should be substituted for "Tubarum . Sublimis. " The writer's meaning appears to be, that he had a hope of obtaining Holy Brigid's intercession, when the trumpet should sound, on the day ofGeneralJudgment. SeeColgan's"Trias Thaumaturga," Tertia Vita S. Brigidae, p. 542, and nn. 82, 83, p. 545, ibid.
62 Edward O'Reilly possessed copies of these ascribed prophecies. See "Chrono- logical Account of nearly Four Hundred Writers," &c, p. xlv.
63 It is found in Messrs. Hodges and Smith's collection, and in the R. I. A. marked
he, told,
s? This is Colgan's statement. Yet, it must refer, not to the relative numerical divisions of Chapters, but to additional matter, in the Third Life. Colgan's di- visions of the six lives are as follows : viz. First, metrical Life, 53 stanzas of four lines each, Irish with Latin translation ; Second Life, 36 chapters, with prologue ; Third Life, 131 chapters prose, with supple- mentary metrical lines ; Fourth Liie, divided into two books, the first book containing 52 chapters, while the last, having 100, is prefaced by a prologue ; the Fifth Life comprises 58 chapters ; while the Sixth metrical Life contains 68 sections, more or less imperfect, with prefatory and supple- mental lines. To these several biographies are appended learned notes by the editor.
58 See " De Primordiis Ecclesiarum Bri- tannicarum," cap. xvii. , p. 1067.
59 See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. ,
cap. iii. , pp. 22, 23.
60 "
This piece is headed, Carmen de
eadem S. — MSS. Autberti :" (Scil. Brigida. )
No. 221. This is a folio
paper
MS.
The Writers
its lines are as follows
64 " Harris' Ware, vol. iii.
:
Brigida nomen habet, gemino et diademate fulget
Quam colimus fratres, Brigida nomen habet.
Virgo fuit Domini, mundo et crncifixa manebat
Intus et exterius, Virgo fuit Domini. Despiciebat ovans instantis gaudia Vitae,
Et falsos fastus despiciebat ovans.
of Ireland," book i. , chap, iv. , p. 30.
mundi fallentis honores ; Divitias, pompas horruit et fragiles
Gaudia perpetuae spectaus et prcemia vita;
.
68
:
"
Horruit et
fragiles
Suscepit, certse gaudia perpetuae
Martyrology of Donegal," edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 236, 237.
.
.
Explicit Vita S. Brigidae," postfixed
65 Fol. xvi. , Book of Armagh. 66 "
SeeSirJamesWare, DeScriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 23.
°? Edward O'Reilly writes
of the Life of our Apostle, that we have seen attributed to Ultan, is certainly t—he production of a more modern pen. " "Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Writers," &c, p. xlv.
By the O'Clerys in the
" The copy
9o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 4.
book, and he gave them to Brogan Claen,6^ his disciple. It is said, likewise,
that Ultan commanded him to turn them into verse, so that it was the latter
that " The victorious loved as it is found in the composed, Brighit not,"
Book of Hymns. ? St. Ultan died at Ardbraccan, about three miles from
Navan, in the present County of Meath. 7
1
He is said to have completed
the extraordinary age of one hundred and eighty years. The O'CIerys' Irish Calendar even adds, that he was one hundred and eight-nine years old, when he resigned his spirit to heaven. This does not seem, however, to rest on any sure basis of calculation. He died on the 4th day of September. According to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, his death occurred, a. d. 653 ; Ware has it at the date 2 but to the Annals of Ulster, those
655 ;? according
of the Four Masters, and most other authorities, it happened a. d. 656. 73
The Annals of Ulster again note his death, under the year 662 ; and, as they state, according to another Book,? * which had been in possession of the author.
In the Martyrology of Christ Church he is recorded as a Bishop and
Confessor,attheii. NonesofSeptember. ? 5 Heisnotnoticed,however,inthe Calendar prefixed. By Greven he is set down as Vultan, at the 4th day of September, and as an Abbot in Ireland ; while a similar entry is given in the Florarium Manuscript, in possession of the Bollandists. ? 6 The Martyr-
8 of
Scotland. 79 Thus, in the Kalendar of Drummond,80 he is mentioned with
special eulogy.
The feast of this Saint had been celebrated with an office in former
** Abbot of Rostuirc, in Osory. His could have fallen into the error of writing :
feast falls on the 17th of September. See "Non novimus hunc Vultanum aut Ulta-
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Prima num abbatem, nisi forsan, idem sit cum
Vita S. Brigidoe, nn. I, 2, p. 518. Ultano abbate Hiberno, sed in Belgio 70 The Irish title for which is leabAp defuncto, de quo actum est I Maii. " Seep,
lomann. 3. It is sufficiently plain, that the entiy 1* "Obiit apud Ardbrechain in Midia refers to St Ultan, Abbot of Ardbraccan. pridie Nonas Septembris anno salutis 77 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 23.
657. See Trias Thaumaturga," Prsefacio word Episcopus Midensis is written in the
him as
day of September. At this same date, he has been commemorated in
ology
of
Donegal? ? registers
Ultan, Bishop?
Ard-Brecain,
at the
4th
as we learn from various
local traditions regarding him exist. In the demesne of the Protestant bishop of Meath, near Ardbraccan, St. Ultan's well is still shown. It is circular, and in diameter it measures nine feet and a half. It is reputed sacred, and to a period not far distant, stations were there made on the vigil of St. Ultan's feast. Several other holy wells and stone crosses, bearing his
times,
manuscripts
dclv. ,aliisDCLVi. "—SirJamesWare,"De 234,235.
73 Colgan has his death at a. d. 656, or "''
margin. " Ardbraccanisnowunitedinthe diocese of Meath withsome other ancientsees. 79 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints. "
" See " The Books of Obits and
ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy
Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite
andRev. Henthorn 8l AMS. in classed con-
adLectorem,p. 515.
73 So state ths O'CIerys.
7* Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. I. , pp. 268, 269, and note (d).
James Todd, p. 153.
76 See " Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
T. C. D.
, B, 3, 1,
tains at September the 4th, Nones ii. Ultain,
Martyr-
8o Thus "In Hibernia Natale Sancti :
tomus ii. Die — Conf. ix. Lect. A MS. in QuartaSeptembris. Among Epis. et. T. C. D. ,
the pretermitted Feasts. It seems strange especially after the entry which follows at the end of next column—that the editors
classed contains at the B, 3,12, September
4th, Nones ii. , Ultain, Archiepis. et Primas Hiberniae, ix. Lect.
still 8' Even preserved.
? 8 In a
this notice: "The word eappcop, bishop, is inserted by the more recent hand, and the
note by Dr. Todd, he remarks at
Presbyteri et Confessori—s Ultani admirande vitae ac sanclitatis viri. " Ibid. , p. 23.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 91
82
name, exist in the County of Meath.
784, we read of a Translation of his relics at Ardbraccan. 8* The monastery and its abbots appear in our annals ; but the ravages of the Danes are often recorded, during the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. At length, the abbey of Ardbraccan fell into dissolution, and the town into obscurity, after
8
the English Invasion. * However, although denuded of all ancient
buildings, which in rimes past had their own religious interest and beauty ; still survive the memorials of St. Ultan's charitable labours for the orphan children and the poor, united with the graces of literary endowment, and reverence for those who were renowned as saints in the earlier eras of Christianity.
Article II. —Translation of St. Cuthbert's Relics. We are told that in the Sarum, York and Durham Kalendars, at this date, the com- memoration of a feast was held for a Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics. 1 We find, that on this day, also, in the Irish Church a festival was kept to
honour that made Translation,
Aldhune, a. d. 2 For 999.
order of
a fuller account of the original transfer, we are referred to Simeon of Durham, and to Mabillon. The holy founder of Lindisfame had a heavenly prescience, that after his death, England should be over-run with a host of invading infidels; and, before his death, he took care to admonish his disciples, that when such calamity should be imminent, to chose some other abode, and to fly from their ravages. They were also to take his remains with them, and to seek some safer place for their repose. None of those
monks survived, to witness the fulfilment of that tradition in such scenes of depredation ; and, as we have already narrated,3 over one hundred years
passed away after his death, before the Danish pirates made their inroads on thecoastsofEngland. Towardsthecloseoftheeighthcentury,theexposed situation of Lindisfame recalled St. Cuthbert's monition to the memory of its inmates. In the year 793,4 the Danes made their first descent on that island,
8a See Rev. A. Cogan's " Diocese of
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , p. 52.
83 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 511.
84 See Rev. A.
3 See the Life of St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfame, at the 20th March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i. , chap. iv.
4 On the seventh of the Ides of June,
s See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxvi. , sect, xxiv. ,
p. 308.
" Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
vii. , pp. 53, 54—. Article 11.
for their ransom.
mensis gives an account of this depredation, and of the vistole judgments, which after- wards befel the spoilers,
4th, p. 50. 2"
*
Dunel-
Cogan's
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. , September
money
Symeon
See Rev. John Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church," chap, viii. , n. 44, p. 163.
"
of England and Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 144.
by
Bishop
The treasures of the church were borne away, and many of the monks were slain, while others were made 6 Such of the as to the
when the monastery was plundered, and almost totally destroyed. s
captives. religious escaped
main shore returned again to the island, and set about repairing those damages. The bishops and other pious persons afterwards re-edified and restored the monastery, which flourished until the year 867. 7 In 875, Northumbria was dreadfully infested with the Danish pirates ; while the churches and monasteries were especially devoted to destruction. Then Eardulph, the Bishop of Lindisfame, who led a community life, Eadred the abbot, and the community of monks, resolved upon leaving their place, and
Long after St. Ultan's time, a. d.
6
This was doubtless to obtain sums of
7 See Walter Scott's
Border Antiquities
92 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September4.
on carrying with them the sacred depository of the founder's relics, before whichsomanyandsuchgreatmiracleshadbeenwrought. Inthemeantime, coming to the Island of Lindisfarne, the barbarous Danes again burned down the church and monastery, leaving the ruins in that wrecked condition in which they are now presented to us. 8 Still are they venerable monuments of the grand Irish-Romanesque style of the eighth and ninth centuries ;° and those ruins left a model for the still more majestic and glorious edifice of Durham Cathedral. The monks wandered as did the Jews of old in the
Castle and Priory Ruins of Lindisfarne.
desert, with the Ark of the Covenant, and for seven years they had no secure rest for St. Cuthbert's bones. Having ranged throughout all that country to
escape from the hands of their savage enemies, and being quite spent with fatigue, Eandulf and Eadred resolved to pass over into Ireland, which even at this time had become a prey to the Scandinavian invasions. At the mouth of the River Derwent. they embarked, but a prodigious storm arising, they were obliged to return to the port they had left. This was deemed a Divine monition, which they were obliged to obey ; and accordingly, it was deter- mined to remain in
8
England.
In the Fourth Volume of Sir William
10 For want of food and other necessaries,
remnants of that Priory, with the isolated castle on the steep, out at sea, and in the
distance. Copied from an approved original, it has been reduced, drawn on the wood,
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
10
According to William of Malmesbury, after this failure to reach Ireland, St. Cuth-
9 Already have we furnished an illustration
of the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory, in the
Third Volume of this work, at the 13th day Tweed, where it lay for many years, until of March, under our notices of St. Gerald or the coming of King Ethelred. See "I)e Garalt, Abbot of Eliterid and Bishop of Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. iii. , Mayo, Art. iii. ; but, the accompanying sect. 129, p. 268. Edition of N. E. S. A. illustration presents another view of the Hamilton.
Dugdale's ** Monasticon Anglicanum," there
is a fine copperplate engraving of the ruined abbey on Lindisfarne Island, with a view of the ruined castle on its steep crag seen through the arch in the distance. See p. 687.
body was honourably interred at Ubbenford, now Norham, near the River
September 4. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 93
many of their followers then deserted them, so that none were left with St. Cuthbert's remains but the bishop, the abbot, and seven other persons, who had devoted themselves to his service. After they had shifted about for seven years, and when Haldena, the Danish tyrant, had fled from the Tyne, the body of St. Cuthbert was brought to the Monastery of Crec, where the monks were lovingly received and hospitably entertained for four months. " At length, King Guthred was received as King at Oswiesdune, both by the DanesandNorthumbrians,andhegaveprotectiontothemonks. In882, the relics of St. Cuthbert rested at Cunecasestre or Conchester, a small town a few miles from the Roman Wall, and now known as Chester upon the street. There the Bishop's see continued for one hundred and thirteen years. King Alfred and the Danish leader gave to that church all the land lying between the Tyne and the Tees, with protection for a month to all
12
persons that fled to the saint's shrine. St. Cuthbert'sremainstoRiponforgreatersecurityfromtheDanes. Four monthsafterwards,theywerebroughttoDurham. Thenachapelhadbeen constructed on a grand elevation over the River Tyne, and a monastery had been established near it, owing to the willing labour of the country people. Like many of the ancient religious houses in those troublesome times, the site was fortified as a protection against unscrupulous aggressors. In fine, on the 4th of September, a. d. 999, Bishop Aldune had St. Cuthbert's remains encased in a shrine, and there they were solemnly exposed for the veneration of pious pilgrims. The Bollandists have an entry of the translation of St. Cuthbert's relics at the 4th of September,^ as found in many ancient Martyrologies. On the annual recurrence of this anniversary, we find it
x
called the Feast of the Translation of St. Cuthbert * in various Irish
Kalendars. In the Annals of the Cistercian Monks, its commemoration
is likewise recorded. 15 In the Irish Church, to celebrate this event, an
office had been instituted. 16 It was comprised in Nine Lessons. 1? It
would seem, however, to have been introduced into our Island by the Anglo-
18
In the Scottish Kalendars,'9 this Festival of the Translation of St. Cuthbert's relics, is to be found, and with a concurrence that shows it to have been one of particular devotion. Thus, at the 4th of September, it
Normans.
occurs in the Kalendars of
20 of 21 of Culenros,
22 Arbuthnott,
of the Aberdeen
11
Hyrdmanistoun, 2 3 and of Thomas
the vol. Saints,"
Breviary,
Dempster. ^
latio Sancti Cuthberti, ix. Lect.
l8
In T. C. D. , a MS. , classed B, 3, 18, 19 (the Sarum Breviary, England), records at Nones ii. September(Septeniber 4th),Trans- latio S. Cuthberti, Lect. iii.
I9 See Forbes' "Kalendars of "Bishop
Scottish Saints. "
See Sir William DugdaleVMonasticon Anglicanum," &c. , edition of John Caley, Esq. , Henry Ellis, LL. B. , and Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, M. A. , vol. i. , pp. 221, 222.
12
See Rev. S. Baring Gould's "Lives of
ix. , September 4U1, p. 51. 13 See "Acta Sanctorum Septembris,"
tomus ii. Die Quarta Septembris. Among thepretermittedFeasts,p. 2.
20
Thus :—"Translatio Sancti Cuthberti
14
at September 4th, Nonas ii. , Visitatio Sancti Cuthberti Epis. et Conf.
*S The Translation of St, Cuthbert there
occurs, at the 4th of September, p.