No More Learning

7' See Charles Merivale's
"
civitatum appelantur, quibus orti ex civita-
Princes qui ont regne durant les six premiers
siecles de de leurs contra I'Eglise, guerres
les Juifs, des Ecrivains profanes, et des per- sonnes les plus illustres de leur temps. " Justifiee par les citations des auteurs origi- naux. Avec des Notes pour eclaircir les principales difficultez de I'Histoire. Tome ii. L'Empereur Domitien. Art. v. , p. 32. Ed. Second. A Bruxelles, 1732, et seq. fol.
73 He ruled, from a. d. 117 to 138.
7-t SeeMerivale's" oftheRomans History
under the Empire," vol. vii. , chap. Ixvi. , pp. 434 to 437.
75 For an account of it, the reader is re- ferred to iElius Spartianus, and to Julius
"
^Ionun]enta Historica Bri- tannica," pp. Ixiv. , Ixv.
7* See the laboured and elegant Disquisi- tion, on this subject, in John Hill Burton's
tibus eo pervenerunt. "
ileo," lib. v. , sect. 10. Yet, it seems very
strange, that in commenting on a passage of Dionysius Periegetes, Hill could assert, that there were no Britons in his time, except such as lived in the British Islands. He re- fers on this occasion to Camden's " Bri-
tannia. " However,this latterwriter distinctly admits a Britain, to have been near Bou-
logne.
°* See " Vita
See Historise Romans," lib. xxxix. , sect. 50, 51, 53, lib. xl. , sect. I, 2, 3, 4, lib. xli. , sect. 30, 32, 34, lib. xliv. , sect. ' 42, 43, 49, lib. xlix. , sect. 38, lib. 1. , sect. 24, lib. liii. ,
sect. 7, 22, 25, lib. Iv. , sect. 23, lib. lix. , sect. 21, 25, lib. Ix. , sect. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 30. Editio Reimari, Hamburgi, 1750.
"
sect. xi. ^^ Dion Cassius flourished A. D. 230.
^8 See Whitaker's
of Man- valuable " of History
Agricolge,"
"History chester," vol. i. Corrections, p. 152.
from cola's Invasion to the Revolution of 1688,"
vol. i. , chap, i. , pp. i to 19.
^^ Their chief features, with highly inte-
resting diagrams, may be traced, in the learned folio volume of John Horsley, M. A.
" Britannia Romana : or the Roman Antiquities of Britain," in Three Books. See booki. , chap, x. , pp. 158 to
? " An inscription, found near the northern wall, commemorates his name ; but, little more is known, regarding him.
^ Tacitus has given a most interesting nar- rative, regarding this remarkable expedition, as also touching on the bravery of the Cale- donians, the progress of a partial conquest, and the results of Agricola's military and political arrangements. See "Vita Agri- coIk," cap. X. et seq.
7° An admirable account of Caledonia will be found in Joseph Ritson's " Annals of the Caledonians, Picts and Scots, and of Strath- clyde, Cumberland, Galloway, and Murray. "
and F. R. S.
:
"
— De Bello Gal-
History of the Romans under the Empire," vol. vii. , chap.
Ixi. , p. 83.
"
7^ See Le Sieur Le Nain de Tillemont's
Histoire des Empereurs, et des autres
Capitolinus, in
Scotland,
Agri-
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
conquered Britain, and to have built a second wall, in order to restrain the northern natives. ^" The date, most prominently connected with this struc-
ture, is 139, as many inscriptions, found near its ramparts, testify. The pro- file of this fortified line is either of earth, or of stone, in the shape of a ditch, and mound, which had been well garrisoned, at intervals. ^^ For a period of
about twenty years, during which Lollius Urbicus governed the province, peace appears to have prevailed ; and, during his time, within the present
bounds of Scotland, municipal or maritime seats may have been established, by the Roman colonists. ^* In the reign of Commodus,^3 when Christianity is supposed to have taken its hold on North Britain, a violent outbreak of thenativeshappened,a. d,181. Theybrokethroughthatrampart,separating them from their more civilized invaders, they killed a Roman commander, with his followers, and they committed other damage. ^* Whether, they carried a portion of the walls, or a Roman Station, at this time, is not easily ascertainable, from the fragment of history left us. ^s These troubles are said to have been suppressed, by a certain legate, named Marcellus Ulpius, probably between the years 193 and 196. This secured a few years of doubtful peace, for the northern province. ^^ The Emperor, Severus,^? is thought to have restored or improved, in detail,^^ the great defensive engineering position of Hadrian. ^s About a. d. 208, he entered Ca'ledonia,9° at the head of a formidable force, and penetrated, so far as the Moray Firth. But, with numbers greatly reduced, he was obliged to abandon this part of northern Britain. 9' Thenceforth, restless Caledonians and Picts made inroads on the southern province. It has been stated,9=' that although the first intro- duction of Christianity into Scotland cannot be clearly ascertained ; it is possible, the persecution raging against it, in every part of the Roman Empire, urged many Christians to take refuge, among the unconquered people and districts of Ireland and of Scotland. Other writers assert, that
nominally Christianity became the religion of the Roman province, in Scot- land, during the reign of Constantine the Great. 93 Yet, it seems strange,
that among existing Roman relics, great or small, not one can be pronounced
79 He ruled, from A. D. 138 to 161.
^ See Julius Capitolinus, in " Vita Anto- nini Pii," sect. v.
A. D. 417—"Historise," lib. vii. , cap. 17. Editio Havercampi Lugd. Batav. 1738.
^ An interesting work, by the Rev. John Collingwood Bruce, published in 1853, and intituled, "The Roman Wall," throws much light on this subject.
^' " See General Roy's
Military Antiqui-
ties," p. 154.
^^ See Daniel Wilson's "Archeology and
Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," part iii. , chap, ii. , p. 365.
^3 This lasted, from A. D. 180 to 192.
^•» See John Speed's "History of Great Britaine," book vi. , chap, xxi:, p. 224.
*i This is related, by Xiphilinos, who minster. London, 1838, 1839, 8vo.
abridged a work of Dion Cassius. The latter died, some eighty years old, at the
conclusion of the third century. He had
written eighty books of a Roman History ;
a small of these has been but, only portion
preserved.
** See Wilson's " Archseology and Pre-
historic Annals of Scotland," part iii. , chap.
ii. , p. 366.
''' He ruled, from A. D. 193 to 21 1.
*^ The wall he built is said to have ex-
9' By the Rev. W. M. Hetherington,
"
centum et duo millia triginta
Scotland, from the Introduction of Chris- tianity to the Period of the Disruption, May 18, 1843," vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 67.
9"* He was the first Christian of Emperor
Rome, and he ruled with supreme com-
mand, from A. D. 312, to the 22nd of May,
A. D. after a he 337, when, glorious reign,
died, in the sixty-third year of his age.
tended,
passuum a mari ad mare ;" the ditch and
per
were —with numerous rampart strengthened
turrets. See Paulus Orosius who flourished
94 Wilson
remarkable paucity of Roman remains, in
9° See Edward Gibbon's "
Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. i. , chap, vi. , p. 219. With Notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman, Prebendary of St. Peter's, and Vicar of St. Margaret's, West-
of the
»' He died at York, a. d. 211, in his fifty- sixth year, and in the eighteenth of his reign. See 7<5/</. , p. 222.
LL. D. See his " of the Church of History
acknowledges,
that there is a
History
March 1 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 443
a recognizable vestige of their Christianity. 9+ Indeed, we are told, that
Ninian,95 a Briton, by birth, had been ordained just towards the close of the
fourth century 96 and, that, afterwards, he became the Apostle of Southern ;
Scotland, where he built a church for himself, at the promontory Whithorn, in Galloway. It was called Candida Casa, or the White House, because it had been built of stone.
97 This material is supposed, by some antiquaries, not to have been in common use, for a long time afterwards, not even for the erection of ecclesiastical edifices. Ninian died, at Whithorn, where he was buried, about the year 432. 9^ How far he was successful, in extending the Faith among the Britons, Picts and Scots, is at present imperfectly known. In 369,99 during the reign of the Emperor Valentinian I. ,'°° Theodosius and the Roman legions recovered and converted into a Roman province that dis- trict, between the walls of Antoninus and of Severus. In honour of the Emperor, this conquered province was called Valentia. Still the Picts were
formidable foes, and they continued to ravage the colonizers' settlements. About the beginning of the fifth century, the Celtic and Britannic races re- volted from the Romans, lived independent of them, and refused to obey their laws. '°^ In the year 422, it was found impossible to maintain the colony of Valentia. Then, the legionary colonists and the Romanized Britons were advised to abandon it, for that line of defence, which was south of Hadrian's wall. ^°=' However, the Christianity, which Ninnian represented, together with the Roman civilization, is thought, by some writers, to have been swept away from Scotland, from this time, nearly to the age of the
Venerable Bede. '°3
The denomination of Britain embraced a larger extent of territory, in
former times, than at present. '°+ This extension of British name and race,
on the European Continent, seems to have prevailed from a time very re- mote; although this fact has been overlooked, by several of the French geographers'"^ and historians. In the time of Caesar, Gaul, as known to the Romans, had been distinguished, by its including three principal divisions. '"^ These were inhabited by a people, called the Belgse, the Aquitani, and the Celts or Gauls,'°7 speaking different languages, and regulated by differing
Scotland, and that a trifling innucnce was exercised by Roman civilization, on its ancient arts. Of these, however, illustra- tions and inscriptions are given; but, none of them seem objects of purely Christian design. See '"Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of
from A. D. 364 to 378.
'°' See Zosimus, who flourished about this
time. " Historise Novas," lib. vi. , cap. v,
'"-
Scotland," part iii. , chap.
"^ See Rev. W. M. " His- Hetherington's
ii.
55 His feast occurs, at the l6th of Septem-
tory of the Church of Scotland, from the in- troduction of Christianity to the Period of the Disruption, May 18, 1843," vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 67. This statement, however,
is purely conjectural.
'"^ See Hadrian Valesius, or Adrien de
"
very
work, now in course of publication, by
Ernest Desjardins, of the French Institute, we find no account of the Britons, in Gaul,
during the times immediately before and
immediately after the birth of Jesus Christ,
See "Geographic Plistorique et Adminis- trative de la Gaule Romaine," tome i. , ii.
Paris, 1876, 1878. 8vo.
"^ See his work, " De BelloGallico," lib.
i. , cap. i.
ber.
9^ He is said to have been ordained, in
Rome, by Pope Siricius, who began his pontificate, A. D. 384. From Ninnian's native
Cumberland, he crossed the Solway, and
preached the Gospel, in the southern parts Valois,
of Scotland.
97 Some two hundred and
Notitia Galliarum ordine Littera- rum Digesta," Paris, 1675, fol. , at Aremorica. '°5 In the exhaustive and researchful
sub- sequently, when Venerable Bede wrote, the ruins of this church were traditionally
pointed out.
9* See Wilson's "Archaeology and Pre-
historic Annals of Scotland," part iv. , chap. i. , pp. 480, 481.
99 See William F. Skene's " Celtic Scot- land : A History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. , book i. , chap, ii. , p. 100.
'00 He was a Christian, and he ruled,
fifty years
See Wilson's "Archaeology and Pre- historic Annals of Scotland," part iii. , chap. ii. , p. 367.
444 LIVES OF 2 HE IRISH SAINTS. [xMakch 17.
laws and institutes. Their boundaries, also, are tolerably well defined. '"^ It has been asserted, that the name of Britain was not given to any part of Gaul, until after St. Patrick's mission to Ireland. '°3 However, a people, called Armoricans,"° lived near the ocean, on the extreme boundaries of Gaul, and these were subdued by Caesar. In the third century, Christianity seems to have spread among them. "^ Their name seems to be drawn, from a Celtic
root '" Ard Mor means " ; for,
in the Gaulish, "3 and British,
maritime,"
Irish"4 languages, since, merely the ocean-bound districts of West Gaul had beencalledArmorica. "^ EvenAquitainwentbysuchadesignation. "^For a long time, such usage continued. "7 Again, in olden times, that people, who uihabited the sea-coast of Gaul, about Boulogne, and lying nearest to Britain, in their own language, were called Morini. "^ They lived, on the northern coast of France, and on the south-western shore of the present Bel- gium, Their name appears derivable from a root, similar to that of the Armorici. "5 ThereisallusiontotheBrittani,'^°inthispartofGaul,andto
'^^^
This latter port is thought to have been identical with Gessoriacus or Gessoriacum, otherwise known as Portus Iccius,'^3 or Ictius, in modern times known as
the British harbour of the Morini,'^^ by Pliny Secundus, or the Elder.
'°? See on this subject, Henri d'Arbois de
iv. , sect. 31. Hardouin's edition.
Jubainville's
Gaulois," Paris, 1875, 8vo.
apud Bononiam per tractum Belgicos et Ar-
" Les les Celtes,
Galates,
les "'
Eutropius says:
"Carausius cum
"^ Thus " Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna
morica; pacandura mare accepisset, quod
:
flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana divi- dit. " The Belgse and Helvetians are lauded
Franci et Saxones infestabant. "—Lib. xix. "* The Britons call such as live, upon the
for their superior valour. Regarding the "n
Eorum una pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano ; continetur Gar- umna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum ; attingit etiam a Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum ; vergit ad Septemtriones. Belgas ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur ; perti-
nent ad inferiorem fluminis Rheni partem ;
spectant in Septemtriones, et orientem solem. Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenreos montes, ad earn partem Oceani, quoe est ad
119
Helvetians, he adds
:
Pj^j. |g terme d'Armorique les anciens
Hispaniam, pertinet ; — inter occasum
Naturalis Z)^
;" Gallia,
sect.
iv. , 31.
spectat
Solis et Septemtriones. " Caesar, "De
lib.
The editors of the Dauphin's edition have a
" Ita
Bello Gallico," lib. i. ,
which is worth libri omnes. Hi inter Gessoriacenses Ambianosque medii, in ora similiter positi, ea loca tenuere certe, ubi nunc oppida Stapulre, Monstrolium, Hesdi- nium, et adjacentem agrum, Ponticum ad
i.
'°5 See Rev. Daniel Rock's " Letter to
Brittanni,"
LordJohnManners. " Appendix,p. vi. "° "
Thus, we find, in Ccesar, caiterDeque civitates positae in ultimis Gallic finibus,
cap.
ocean—o conjunctse, qure Armoricce appellan-
tur. " "De Bello Gallico," lib. viii. , cap. Somonam amnem. Cluverius hie Briannos
31-
'" According to Dom Guy Alexis Lobi-
'
neau.
'" Aremorica, in the old Gaulish and
British dialects, signifies, "by the sea- side. " See Camden's "Britannia," col. xxix. Gibson's edition.
"
legi mavult. " See Germania Antiqua,"
lib. ii. , cap. 27. Leyden, 1616, two vols. , fol. Ussher follows him, in reading Briatiiti for Britanni. See " Primordia," p. 471.
"' A glance at the map will show the close relation of tlie district, marked by the present towns of Etaples, Montreuil, Hes- din and Ponthieu, to localities, named in the previous note.
Britannicum," lib. iv. , sect. 37. Some are of opinion, this port had been so distin- guished, because it was the place for Conti- nentals debarking, when on a voyage to Great Britain, or because it was near the Straits. See Hardouin's note.
"3 In British, Mor s\gw\^\t% "the sea. "
"
Moil- is said to have a like
"3 Certain geographers have placed Ar- morica between the Seine and the Loire. See Cluverius and Martiniere. However, they regard rather the usage of a certain period, and not the more ancient acceptation of the name.
"Historia
In Irish, inui]\
means "the meaning.
sea. "
"'See
Pliny's
Naturalis,"
lib.
"3Baudrand makes Gessoriacum the
sea-coast, Morinwyr.
entendoient toutes les cotes occidentales des
Gaules, habitees par les Aquitains, les Ar-
moricains, et les Morins, tons noms qui
signifient la meme chose, c'est a dire, peu-
ples maretimes. "—Lobineau's " Histoire de
Bretagne," vol. ii. , p. 7.
'^° these " Deinde Pliny gives words,
Menapii, Morini, Oromansaci juncti pago, qui Gessoriacus vocatur ; Brittani, Ambiani, Bellovaci. " See Plinii Secundi " Historia
note on the word "
quotation.
'"He "Portum Morinorum styles it,
]\[arch 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 445
Boulogne. '^-f The Biitanni have been placed, by Pliny, in its vicinity,'*5 or, as Camden has expressed it, in the country, adjoining Boulogne. '^^ The
Greek writer, Dionysius Periegetes'^7 distinguishes this Briton district,"^^ with sufficient accuracy. "9 Indeed, the Welsh Triads declare, that people of Great Britain originally came from this quarter. 'so We have been thus par- ticular, in alluding to what is stated, regarding the Britanni,'3i thought to have been living near Boulogne, since some writers of great authority con- sider this to have been the native country of St. Patrick.
There can be no manner of doubt, that other indigenous or idiomatic denominations, unknown to the classic writers, prevailed among those people. Thus, we find the Britons of Britany are distinguished from the Gauls. ^32 Again, the old Belgian Alobrites, or Gallo-Britons,'33 lived in Walloon, near Germany, or in the Low Countries,'34 during the time of Dionysius, the African. In early times, Pliny has styled that part of the northern sea Britannic,'35 which flows between the Seine's^ and the Rhine. He also alludes to the Herba Britannica,^37 which grew on the Continent, and probably had been indigenous to some parts of the country, which is now known as Belgium. '38 The same writer was inclined to think,^39 the Frisians had been considered Britons ^'•° nay, that even in the beginning, all
;
the Belgians were denominated, in like manner. ^'*'
same as Bononia. Portus Iccius, however, land of Lhdaw they came, having their "
he distinguishes fiom Boulogne. See No- descent from the primary stock of the
vum Lexicon Geographicum," tomus i. , pp. 125, 322, 370.
'''» See Hadrian Valesius, at Gessonacum, "
Cymmry. " And again, Cynan is spoken of as lord of Meirion (probably a Celtic form of the word Morini) in Liydaw. Taliessin also mentions the Morini Brython in his Frif Gyfarch. It is supposed, that Lydaw, latinized Letavia, is one of the early Celtic names of the country of the Morini, as Neus- tria was that given in the Merovingian period to the whole province, between the Meuse and Loire, including Boulogne.
'3' See a learned Essay on this subject, in the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ix. Octobris xxi. Acta S. Ursula;.
'3^ When St. Maclovius, Bishop of St. Malo, had been expelled from his See, we
Geographia Antiqua," lib. ii. ,
Cellarius,
cap. 3, and other. writers. lena, 1691, fol.
'^5 Following Pliny, for
portus," Ricardus Corenensis has, tannicre gentis portus. " See " De situ Britanniae," lib. i. , sect. 4.
"^ See "Britannia," Gibson's edition, col. xvi.
"7 In his poem Feriegesis, alluding to the African and European Continents, having first invoked the l\Iuse, Dionysius treats of Islands, at v. 447. Then, he describes the British Islands, opposite the mouths of the
Rhine, as being the largest insular—lands, known at the time when he wrote :
Aicrcrai vrjffoi iaai Bperavides avrla V-qvov'— lldwv TOL fiiyeOos vepiibaiov' oud^ ris dWrj
ev wdarjai —iao(papii€i. Nijo-ots Bperaviaiv
Vv. 566-569.
"8 See idid. , vv.