On a certain occasion, at court, the monarch, wishing to
entertain
himself and his nobles by an unworthy action, and one unbecoming the dignity and character of a monarch, was severely reproved by this saint.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
n.
2, p.
167.
:
Brendan, the Voyager.
' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemice," xxv.
Januarii. De B. Paulo, Eremita, pp. 166 to 168, and n. I.
3 This, however, is only an inference of Colgan, who places the death of St. Patrick
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
that Paul, with some of his fellow-disciples,* evinced a pious disposition, he was committed to the charge of St. Fiac,5 of Domnach-Fiec, still better kno^vn as Abbot and Bishop of Sletty,^ on the banks of the River Barrow,' near Carlow, but in the Queen's County, and province of Leinster, Here, no doubt, the humble disciple became a proficient in monastic obedience and sacred learning ; however, he did not long remain^ under the care of Fiac, having entertained a fixed resolve to join his great master, St. Patrick. With him, according to a very doubtful story, Paul afterwards lived several yearsinthemonasteryofDownpatrick. 9 Therehehadchargeoftheceme- tery, and he interred the departed faithful. His course of life was spent in great humility and piety. It is said, that Paul spent altogether fifty years under the guardianship of St. Patrick, whom he survived. The illustrious apostle of Ireland appeared on the second day after his death to this humble disciple, and admonished him to seek a desert island far out in the ocean, and apart from all human intercourse. There, it is stated, he spent thirty
additional years of his life, miraculously supported, yet living in the most
austere manner. ^° to some he was found in that remote According accounts,
haunt bySt. Brendan, "while engaged on his memorable and miraculous voyage ofadventure,whenhepassedsevenyearsontheAtlanticocean. " Besides the legendary cast of this narrative, and a want of apparent connection be- tsveen the Paul there named with the holy hermit who lived so long as a companion of St. Patrick ; the period for extension of his life must preclude all reasonable probability, that the great apostle's disciple could have sur- vived and have borne the rigours of his isolated position until the time of St. Brendan's supposed visit to him. ^3 Most likely, however, if Paul sur- vived his great master, St. Patrick, and lived a hermit in some island off the shore, only a few years elapsed until he was called away to join him in bliss, as a reward for his exemplary fidelity and piety during Ufe.
Article XIIL—St. Poppo, St. Pappan, or Poppon, Abbot of
* Among these are noted, with him, the following six:—Mo-chatoc of Inis-Fail, Au- gustin of Inis-beir, Tegan, Diermit, Nennid,
"
and Fedhelim. See Colgan's Trias Thau-
maturga,"SeptimaVitaS. Patricii,lib. iii. , cap. xxii. , p. 155.
s See his life, at the I2th of October.
*
a great c\'cle of years, St. Brendan is stated to have found him in a distant island of the ocean. —
'"T—here is a St. Polan also called St.
Paul ofCill-mona,andwhosefeastoccurs
at the 2ist of May. Although Colgan does not consider, from the name of his place, he could have been identical with the St. Paul visited on the remote island by St. Brendan
Originally wTitten Sliebhte or Sliebtach,
"the house near the mountains," z. ^. , of
Slieve Margy. See Dr. P. ""W. Joyce's the Navigator, yet there are apparently
"Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, i. , p. 367.
"> An ancient tumulus, containing cinery urns, was opened here several years ago. In the year 1834 two stone crosses were in this churchyard, and apparently erected in the ninth century. See an article and an en-
still fewer incidents to be reconciled in this
latter case than in the accounts left us re-
garding the present St. Paul,
" See his life, at the 1 6th of May.
—"
imitation of the history of St. Paul of Egypt,
the first with this that hermit; difference,
the Irish Paul is made to pass his lonely days in a desert island. " See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § xiii. , n. 186,
p. 495.
'3 Colgan's Chronological Index to the
"Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," assigns the death of St. Paul to A. D. 522.
— Ruins of graving the subject being Sletty
in
Penny Journal," vol. iii. , No. 118, p. II2,
Oct. 4th, 1834. At present only one of those stone crosses is to be found.
^
So Colgan assumes, as otherwise it must prove difficult to account for his spending fifty years under the guidance of St. Patrick.
'Such is the account Paul himself is re- presented as giving, when, after the lapse of
Church, Queen's County"
desert,
the "Dublin
instead of
a continental
"Dr. Lanigan very curtly dismisses this *'
story as being a corrupt and ridiculous
440 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 25.
Stabuletum. {EleventhCentury^ Thisholyman,whoisheldbysometo have been a native of our island, was in great repute for sanctity. His acts have been collected and repeatedly published. Thus one of the earliest printed accounts of the saints—that work by Lippeloo'—has biographical notices concerning him. The acts of this saint, in thirty paragraphs, have beeninsertedbySuriusinhiscollection,atthisdate. ^ Mir3eus3andMartene^ have also notices of him for the 25th of January. Molanus, in like manner, has not failed to include St. Poppo in his catalogue,s Again, the acts of St. Poppan, Abbot of Stabuletum, and of his mother, St. Adelwiva, are to be found in the Bollandist collection. ^ Baillet^ and Butler^ both include him. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has stated, that this saint's name is not to be found in the old Martyrologies,9 and that to Baronius is owing his insertion intheRomanMartyrology. Therecanbenodoubt,thatgreatconfusion has arisen regarding the Irish relationship of this celebrated abbot ; for while some writers ascribe his birth to our island, others again more correctly assign the nativity of Poppan, Abbot of Stabuletum, to Flanders. Accord- ing to Dr. Meredith Hanmer, St. Pappan was a native of Santry,'° a small village in the neighbourhood of our Irish metropolis. This statement, like- wise, appears to rest on mediaeval tradition. To our concluding remarks, we request the reader's attention. The chief ancient biographers of Poppan, and of his blessed mother, Adelwiva," were Everhelmus, Abbot of Altmont, inHannonia,andOnulphus,amonk,whocontributedapreface. Butindeed it seems rather difficult to assign his exact share of the composition to each writer of this very interesting and authentic memoir. According to it, the father of our saint was Tizekinus, and his mother was Adelwiif. The saint himself was a seven months' child. He was born a. d. 978," in the district of Listrogaugirem, in Flanders, through which the River Lisa flows, until it joinstheScheltatGand. 's Hewasnurturedwithgreatcare,whileaninfant, his constitution being weak. During youth he served in the army ; yet lov- ing spiritual exercises, he soon renounced the world, to embrace a religious life. ^* This was owing to a special intervention of Providence, for he had been engaged to marry the daughter of his friend Frumhold. But as the time appointed drew nigh, Poppo mounted his horse and proceeded with some retainers to fetch home his intended bride. He had not gone far
Articlexiii. —' See"VitseSanctorum,"
tomus i. , XXV. Januarii, at pp. 454 to 463.
^ See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. i. , XXV. Januarii, pp. 420 to 431.
3 See "Fasti Belgici et Burganici," xxv.
CoUectio," tomus ii.
the 25th of January, St. Poppo is recorded
in a single paragraph, at p. 15.
Poppo,AbbotofStavelo,asanIrishsaint. 9 See "Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , p.
375-
" See his' " Chronicle of Ireland," p.
named Adu- Adalunif,
Adelwis, Adalwyf by Surius, Saussay, Menard and in certain Codices. In the Flemish, or Teutonic dia- lects, her name is variedly interpreted as compounded with nobility, in character and
degree.
" Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the
Saints," vol. i. , xxv. January, p. 375.
'3 The Bollandists note " Agrum ilium Lisn: vicinum Buzelinus noster lib. I. GalloflandrijE, Legiensem, Lsetigum, Lae- tiensem pagum, ant regionem, vocari in ve- teribus monumentis testatur. " Note (a) to
cap. i. , p. 253.
'< See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , xxv. January.
Januarii. ^ See "
variously naluva, Adunaliva,
Amplissima Prsefatio, p. 17.
5 In the " Natales Sanctorum Belgii," at
*
These are contained in sixteen chapters,
andseventyparagraphs. See"ActaSanc- torum," tomus ii. , xxv. Januarii, pp. 637 to 652, according to the old edition. Tomus iii. , pp. 251 to 266 in the new edition.
7 See "Les Vies des Saints. " At the 2Sth of January, there are notices of St. Poppon, Abbot of Stavelo or Stabelo.
^ See *' Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , xxv. Janu- ary. Again Butler's Abbreviator, the Irish Cistercian Monk, at p. 1 1 1, has a uotice of St.
185.
" She is
.
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
before a dazzling flash of light illuminated his soul, while his body was en- vironed with a blaze of glory. As this faded away, he spurred on his horse, andthenhenoticedthataflameburntonthepointofhisspear. Hethought atallchurchtaperwasinhishand. Afterwards,turningtohiscompanions,
" God calls me to another life. "'s
St. Poppo made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and to Rome. Afterwards he
assumed the monastic habit at St. Thierry's, near Rheims. He was succes-
sively made prior over St. Vedast's, provost of Vennes, and abbot of Beau- lieu. This latter house he rebuilt. Subsequently he was chosen abbot over St. Vedast. He is said to have travelled into France, where he founded or governed many religious houses, over which he placed superiors, who were distinguished for zeal and piety. St. Poppan arrived there, it has been re- ported, during the reign of Henry the Emperor, to whom he had an intro- duction, and by whom he was most courteously and magnificently entertained. The emperor conceived a great veneration and esteem for him ; while, on account of his many shining virtues and sterling qualities, this saint obtained a high place in his favour and confidence.
On a certain occasion, at court, the monarch, wishing to entertain himself and his nobles by an unworthy action, and one unbecoming the dignity and character of a monarch, was severely reproved by this saint. According to the practices of low buffoonery, then common at courts, the emperor had a certain person smeared over with honey. In this condition he was exposed to some domesticated bears. These at once set upon the man, and after feasting upon the honey that covered all parts of his body, the unfortunate wretch was with difficulty rescued from their rough embraces, and he had a narrow escape from a miserable death. The emperor was so diverted with such a degrading spectacle, that he did not at first advert to the man's danger. But the re- proof of Pappan was justly severe and effective ; it was especially high- minded and courageous, when directed against an arbitrary exercise of power. These ignoble and dangerous sports were abandoned by the emperor and
his courtiers. '^ Henry, moreover, so much admired the Christian feeling and candour of Pappan, that he was rewarded with the abbacy of Stabu-
letumj'^ much against his own expectation, and without his wishes being consulted. His elevation to this dignity took place, it is supposed, about
the year 1014. '^ He was also abbot over Malmedy, about one league apart. Both houses were in the diocese of Liege. After the election of Conrad as
Emperor of Germany, in 1024, Pappan was the mediator of peace between himself and the French king. He also effected union between the emperor and the other German princes. ^9 The holy abbot was called upon to govern the abbey of St. Maximin at Triers, and again the houses of Arras and Marchiennes were committed to his charge. In all, he established a most exact and beneficial religious discipline.
In the year io48,^<' St. Pappan is said to have departed this life, in his
'5 See Rev. S. Baring- Gould's " Lives of "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv. Janu- the Saints," vol. i. , xxv. Januar)-^, p. 376. arii. Previous observations to the acts of
he cried
out,
'^ See Everhelmus, "Vita S. Popponis St. Poppon, § i. , p. 251. New edition.
Abbatis," cap. vi. —" Acta Sanctorum," to- mus iii. xxv. Januarii, § 23, p. 257.
there was founded by St. Remade, Bishop
of Maestricht, under the auspices of St. Sigebert, King of Austrasia. St. Remacles'
'^SeeSurius' " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," tom. i. , xxv. Januarii.
" situated in the Ardennes. The monastery Ann. 1024, § xiv.
'7 Also called Stabulaus, or Stavelo. It was
''Baronius,
Annales Ecclesiastici," ad
"
feast falls on the 3rd of September. See tomus iii. , xxv. Januarii. De S, Poppone,
^°
his death by Constantius Felicius and Sige-
This appears to ^be the date given for
bert of Gemblour. See
Acta Sanctorum,"
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 25.
seventieth year, and to have been interred at Stabuletum. "^ Although
"
revered as a saint, he was never canonized, mine author noteth," is the
remarkofDr. Hanmer. ^^ Ayearlycommemorationofthesainttookplace in his native village, up to the time when Hanmer \vrote his Chronicle of Ireland,abouttheyeari6oo. ^3 ThepresentholymanisnamedPoppan,
""
by Molanus. Until of late years, the Poppan tree stood in the village of
Santry, and its site is still pointed out by the older inhabitants. Under it the villagers were accustomed to meet, on the festival day, and on other joyous occasions. ^"* In the twelfth centurj^ one of Hugh De Lacy's barons hadagrantofsomelandsinMeath,withSantry,^snearDublin. "^ Nowit might have happened, that this Baron Adam de Felpo, or one of his suc- cessors, introduced the veneration of the Gallo-Belgic Saint Pappan into Santry; yet, to the writer, it would seem, that the Papan there commemorated was quite a different saint, and that he lived at a much earlier period, than the holy Abbot of Stavelot. The concordance of name probably caused two distinct persons to be confounded in traditional and documentary accounts. Besides, in the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a festival set down at the 31st of July, which appears to have been a day dedicated to the memory of St. Papan, at Santry. ^7 Hanmer neglects telling us the day, when the holy man's festival had been there celebrated,*^ nor has local tradition preserved a recollection to our times. Unless the entry of Saint Papan's name, in Dr. Kell/s published copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, be the addition of some comparatively modern hand, it will be found a difficult matter to identify him with the saint, whose acts are connected with those foregoing public events. Such transactions occurred during the eleventh century; whereas, our best Irish critics pronounce, that no native saint, who lived after the ninth century, has place in that Martyrology, composed by St. Melruan and by St. -^ngus the Culdee.
Article XIV. —St. Hia, Hya, Iia or Iies, Virgin, at St. Iies, in Cornwall, England. \Fifth Ce;Uury. ] On a different soil, the blood of many noble martyrs from Ireland flowed, and during the very first age of our country's conversion. The present holy virgin was the companion of martyrs, but it does not seem clear that she suffered with them. At the 25th of
Abbate, et B. AdeUviva ejus matre in Gallia
Belgica. Pranotationes, §§ i. , 6, p. 251. New edition.
" A monastery at Stabuletum was reduced
to ashes by the Northmen, in the year 882, according to Baronius. " Annales Ecclesi-
astici," ad annum, sec. xvi.
"See " Chronicle of Ireland," p. 186.
»3See idtd. , p. 185.
'•When in happy nistic innocence,
p. 53, and Notes, p. 129.
'"See j^/^/. , for further particulars regard-
ing the early lords of Santry; as also for the curious account of Simon de Monlfort's
"
birth, taken from the
de Monlfort," p. 73—printed by the Cam- den Society.
*'" Papan i Sentreibh, ocus Follomon meic Nathfriach. See Dr. Kelly's "Calen- dar of Irish Saints," p. xxx. In the Fran- ciscan copy, this entry, with the whole of
"
all the village train, from labour free,
Led up their sports beneath the spread- July, is wanting. Perhaps this missing ing tree. leaf in "the Book of Leinster" may be
While many a pastime circled in the among the Burgundian Manuscripts, in
shade,
The young contending as the old sur-
vey'd. "
—Goldsmith's "Deserted Village. "
Irish Archjeological Society in 1845. LIII. , edition.
'S See " Prioratus Omnium Registiiim
of Flanders. See the BoUan- Sanctorum juxta Dublin," edited by the dists* "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv. Rev. Richard Butler, M. R. I. A. for the Januarii. Pranotationes, sec. p, 252. New
Bruxelles.
=* It is remarkable, that neither the names
of Poppan, or of his blessed mother, Adel- wiva, can be found in Anthony Sander's
Hagiology
Miracula Simonis
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 443
January, Colgan has inserted the acts of St. Hia or lia. ' By some writers, this holy woman is called St. Ita, while the Bollandists^ seem to have thought she was identical with the holy virgin St. Ita or Mida, Abbess of Killeedy. 3 This, however, is quite a mistake. By Fitzsimon, she is called St. lia, virgin, and he adds that after her, St. Ivesbay in Cornwall has been named. ^ According to an universally-received tradition, this holy maiden flourished in Ireland, when the illustrious St. Patrick reaped an abundant harvest there, and gathered numberless souls into the true fold. 5 St. Hia was among the earliest of his converts. ^ No sooner had she been regenerated by the waters of baptism, than she prepared to devote herself wholly to become the spouse of Christ. For the sake of greater perfection, it is stated, she resolved to leave her friends and native country, together with St. Fingar, or Guigner, and his numerous band^ of companions and martyrs. ^ But she found that these had already embarked, and then filled with sorrow because of her disappointment, she fell on her knees. Raising her eyes towards heaven, says St. Anselm, she poured forth most fervent prayers. Suddenly a small leaf, floating on the waves, having been touched by a wand she carried, began to grow, until it had attained an immense size. With the faith of St. Peter on the sea,9 and of Elias passing the waters of Jordan,'° the holy virgin Hya placed her feet upon it, and then wafted miraculously over the Irish Sea, she arrived at the port of Heul, in Cornwall, before the other voyagers had reached it in their vessel. " Here St. Hya lived a retired life and wrought many miracles. When this holy virgin arrived in Cornubia or Cornwall," she resided at a place called Pendinas,^3 situated on the northern part of the Belerian promontory,^-t and near a bay, into which the Httle river of Haile flows. Large banks of sand obstruct the entrance to this little town, and it is known as lie's Bay by mariners. ^s The soul of St. Hya, called St. Itha, by Wilson,^^ departed happily to our Lord, on the 25th day
Article xiv. —' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxv. Januarii. De S. Hia, Virgine, pp. 164 to 166.
'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxv,
Januarii. Prsetermissi et in alios dies re-
jecti, p. 610. There they cite " Martyro-
logium Anglicanum novum," as an authority. 3 Her life has been already written at the
Canterbury, has elegantly composed a Latin panegyric on them.
' See Matt, xiv. , 29.
'° See iv. Kings, ii. , 8.
" Dr. Lanigan is of opinion, that this story
of the exile and the subsequent martyrdom of St. Fingar or Guigner, may have had its origin in the raid of Coroticus on the coast
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sec. x. , p. 297,
and nn. 107, 108, 109, pp. 301, 302.
"An interesting account of this the ex- treme south-western part of England, will
15th of January. "
of Ireland. See
*See Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum "
Iberniae," in O'Sullevan's Historise Ca-
tholicae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. ,
lib, iv. , cap. xii. , p. 55.
sThis is intimated in the account left us
by St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury. *In the "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. . p. 270, Colgan seems to confound St. Hia
with St.
:
Brendan, the Voyager.
' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemice," xxv.
Januarii. De B. Paulo, Eremita, pp. 166 to 168, and n. I.
3 This, however, is only an inference of Colgan, who places the death of St. Patrick
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
that Paul, with some of his fellow-disciples,* evinced a pious disposition, he was committed to the charge of St. Fiac,5 of Domnach-Fiec, still better kno^vn as Abbot and Bishop of Sletty,^ on the banks of the River Barrow,' near Carlow, but in the Queen's County, and province of Leinster, Here, no doubt, the humble disciple became a proficient in monastic obedience and sacred learning ; however, he did not long remain^ under the care of Fiac, having entertained a fixed resolve to join his great master, St. Patrick. With him, according to a very doubtful story, Paul afterwards lived several yearsinthemonasteryofDownpatrick. 9 Therehehadchargeoftheceme- tery, and he interred the departed faithful. His course of life was spent in great humility and piety. It is said, that Paul spent altogether fifty years under the guardianship of St. Patrick, whom he survived. The illustrious apostle of Ireland appeared on the second day after his death to this humble disciple, and admonished him to seek a desert island far out in the ocean, and apart from all human intercourse. There, it is stated, he spent thirty
additional years of his life, miraculously supported, yet living in the most
austere manner. ^° to some he was found in that remote According accounts,
haunt bySt. Brendan, "while engaged on his memorable and miraculous voyage ofadventure,whenhepassedsevenyearsontheAtlanticocean. " Besides the legendary cast of this narrative, and a want of apparent connection be- tsveen the Paul there named with the holy hermit who lived so long as a companion of St. Patrick ; the period for extension of his life must preclude all reasonable probability, that the great apostle's disciple could have sur- vived and have borne the rigours of his isolated position until the time of St. Brendan's supposed visit to him. ^3 Most likely, however, if Paul sur- vived his great master, St. Patrick, and lived a hermit in some island off the shore, only a few years elapsed until he was called away to join him in bliss, as a reward for his exemplary fidelity and piety during Ufe.
Article XIIL—St. Poppo, St. Pappan, or Poppon, Abbot of
* Among these are noted, with him, the following six:—Mo-chatoc of Inis-Fail, Au- gustin of Inis-beir, Tegan, Diermit, Nennid,
"
and Fedhelim. See Colgan's Trias Thau-
maturga,"SeptimaVitaS. Patricii,lib. iii. , cap. xxii. , p. 155.
s See his life, at the I2th of October.
*
a great c\'cle of years, St. Brendan is stated to have found him in a distant island of the ocean. —
'"T—here is a St. Polan also called St.
Paul ofCill-mona,andwhosefeastoccurs
at the 2ist of May. Although Colgan does not consider, from the name of his place, he could have been identical with the St. Paul visited on the remote island by St. Brendan
Originally wTitten Sliebhte or Sliebtach,
"the house near the mountains," z. ^. , of
Slieve Margy. See Dr. P. ""W. Joyce's the Navigator, yet there are apparently
"Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, i. , p. 367.
"> An ancient tumulus, containing cinery urns, was opened here several years ago. In the year 1834 two stone crosses were in this churchyard, and apparently erected in the ninth century. See an article and an en-
still fewer incidents to be reconciled in this
latter case than in the accounts left us re-
garding the present St. Paul,
" See his life, at the 1 6th of May.
—"
imitation of the history of St. Paul of Egypt,
the first with this that hermit; difference,
the Irish Paul is made to pass his lonely days in a desert island. " See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § xiii. , n. 186,
p. 495.
'3 Colgan's Chronological Index to the
"Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," assigns the death of St. Paul to A. D. 522.
— Ruins of graving the subject being Sletty
in
Penny Journal," vol. iii. , No. 118, p. II2,
Oct. 4th, 1834. At present only one of those stone crosses is to be found.
^
So Colgan assumes, as otherwise it must prove difficult to account for his spending fifty years under the guidance of St. Patrick.
'Such is the account Paul himself is re- presented as giving, when, after the lapse of
Church, Queen's County"
desert,
the "Dublin
instead of
a continental
"Dr. Lanigan very curtly dismisses this *'
story as being a corrupt and ridiculous
440 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 25.
Stabuletum. {EleventhCentury^ Thisholyman,whoisheldbysometo have been a native of our island, was in great repute for sanctity. His acts have been collected and repeatedly published. Thus one of the earliest printed accounts of the saints—that work by Lippeloo'—has biographical notices concerning him. The acts of this saint, in thirty paragraphs, have beeninsertedbySuriusinhiscollection,atthisdate. ^ Mir3eus3andMartene^ have also notices of him for the 25th of January. Molanus, in like manner, has not failed to include St. Poppo in his catalogue,s Again, the acts of St. Poppan, Abbot of Stabuletum, and of his mother, St. Adelwiva, are to be found in the Bollandist collection. ^ Baillet^ and Butler^ both include him. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has stated, that this saint's name is not to be found in the old Martyrologies,9 and that to Baronius is owing his insertion intheRomanMartyrology. Therecanbenodoubt,thatgreatconfusion has arisen regarding the Irish relationship of this celebrated abbot ; for while some writers ascribe his birth to our island, others again more correctly assign the nativity of Poppan, Abbot of Stabuletum, to Flanders. Accord- ing to Dr. Meredith Hanmer, St. Pappan was a native of Santry,'° a small village in the neighbourhood of our Irish metropolis. This statement, like- wise, appears to rest on mediaeval tradition. To our concluding remarks, we request the reader's attention. The chief ancient biographers of Poppan, and of his blessed mother, Adelwiva," were Everhelmus, Abbot of Altmont, inHannonia,andOnulphus,amonk,whocontributedapreface. Butindeed it seems rather difficult to assign his exact share of the composition to each writer of this very interesting and authentic memoir. According to it, the father of our saint was Tizekinus, and his mother was Adelwiif. The saint himself was a seven months' child. He was born a. d. 978," in the district of Listrogaugirem, in Flanders, through which the River Lisa flows, until it joinstheScheltatGand. 's Hewasnurturedwithgreatcare,whileaninfant, his constitution being weak. During youth he served in the army ; yet lov- ing spiritual exercises, he soon renounced the world, to embrace a religious life. ^* This was owing to a special intervention of Providence, for he had been engaged to marry the daughter of his friend Frumhold. But as the time appointed drew nigh, Poppo mounted his horse and proceeded with some retainers to fetch home his intended bride. He had not gone far
Articlexiii. —' See"VitseSanctorum,"
tomus i. , XXV. Januarii, at pp. 454 to 463.
^ See " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis,"
vol. i. , XXV. Januarii, pp. 420 to 431.
3 See "Fasti Belgici et Burganici," xxv.
CoUectio," tomus ii.
the 25th of January, St. Poppo is recorded
in a single paragraph, at p. 15.
Poppo,AbbotofStavelo,asanIrishsaint. 9 See "Lives of the Saints," vol. i. , p.
375-
" See his' " Chronicle of Ireland," p.
named Adu- Adalunif,
Adelwis, Adalwyf by Surius, Saussay, Menard and in certain Codices. In the Flemish, or Teutonic dia- lects, her name is variedly interpreted as compounded with nobility, in character and
degree.
" Rev. S. Baring-Gould's " Lives of the
Saints," vol. i. , xxv. January, p. 375.
'3 The Bollandists note " Agrum ilium Lisn: vicinum Buzelinus noster lib. I. GalloflandrijE, Legiensem, Lsetigum, Lae- tiensem pagum, ant regionem, vocari in ve- teribus monumentis testatur. " Note (a) to
cap. i. , p. 253.
'< See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , xxv. January.
Januarii. ^ See "
variously naluva, Adunaliva,
Amplissima Prsefatio, p. 17.
5 In the " Natales Sanctorum Belgii," at
*
These are contained in sixteen chapters,
andseventyparagraphs. See"ActaSanc- torum," tomus ii. , xxv. Januarii, pp. 637 to 652, according to the old edition. Tomus iii. , pp. 251 to 266 in the new edition.
7 See "Les Vies des Saints. " At the 2Sth of January, there are notices of St. Poppon, Abbot of Stavelo or Stabelo.
^ See *' Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," vol. i. , xxv. Janu- ary. Again Butler's Abbreviator, the Irish Cistercian Monk, at p. 1 1 1, has a uotice of St.
185.
" She is
.
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
before a dazzling flash of light illuminated his soul, while his body was en- vironed with a blaze of glory. As this faded away, he spurred on his horse, andthenhenoticedthataflameburntonthepointofhisspear. Hethought atallchurchtaperwasinhishand. Afterwards,turningtohiscompanions,
" God calls me to another life. "'s
St. Poppo made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and to Rome. Afterwards he
assumed the monastic habit at St. Thierry's, near Rheims. He was succes-
sively made prior over St. Vedast's, provost of Vennes, and abbot of Beau- lieu. This latter house he rebuilt. Subsequently he was chosen abbot over St. Vedast. He is said to have travelled into France, where he founded or governed many religious houses, over which he placed superiors, who were distinguished for zeal and piety. St. Poppan arrived there, it has been re- ported, during the reign of Henry the Emperor, to whom he had an intro- duction, and by whom he was most courteously and magnificently entertained. The emperor conceived a great veneration and esteem for him ; while, on account of his many shining virtues and sterling qualities, this saint obtained a high place in his favour and confidence.
On a certain occasion, at court, the monarch, wishing to entertain himself and his nobles by an unworthy action, and one unbecoming the dignity and character of a monarch, was severely reproved by this saint. According to the practices of low buffoonery, then common at courts, the emperor had a certain person smeared over with honey. In this condition he was exposed to some domesticated bears. These at once set upon the man, and after feasting upon the honey that covered all parts of his body, the unfortunate wretch was with difficulty rescued from their rough embraces, and he had a narrow escape from a miserable death. The emperor was so diverted with such a degrading spectacle, that he did not at first advert to the man's danger. But the re- proof of Pappan was justly severe and effective ; it was especially high- minded and courageous, when directed against an arbitrary exercise of power. These ignoble and dangerous sports were abandoned by the emperor and
his courtiers. '^ Henry, moreover, so much admired the Christian feeling and candour of Pappan, that he was rewarded with the abbacy of Stabu-
letumj'^ much against his own expectation, and without his wishes being consulted. His elevation to this dignity took place, it is supposed, about
the year 1014. '^ He was also abbot over Malmedy, about one league apart. Both houses were in the diocese of Liege. After the election of Conrad as
Emperor of Germany, in 1024, Pappan was the mediator of peace between himself and the French king. He also effected union between the emperor and the other German princes. ^9 The holy abbot was called upon to govern the abbey of St. Maximin at Triers, and again the houses of Arras and Marchiennes were committed to his charge. In all, he established a most exact and beneficial religious discipline.
In the year io48,^<' St. Pappan is said to have departed this life, in his
'5 See Rev. S. Baring- Gould's " Lives of "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv. Janu- the Saints," vol. i. , xxv. Januar)-^, p. 376. arii. Previous observations to the acts of
he cried
out,
'^ See Everhelmus, "Vita S. Popponis St. Poppon, § i. , p. 251. New edition.
Abbatis," cap. vi. —" Acta Sanctorum," to- mus iii. xxv. Januarii, § 23, p. 257.
there was founded by St. Remade, Bishop
of Maestricht, under the auspices of St. Sigebert, King of Austrasia. St. Remacles'
'^SeeSurius' " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," tom. i. , xxv. Januarii.
" situated in the Ardennes. The monastery Ann. 1024, § xiv.
'7 Also called Stabulaus, or Stavelo. It was
''Baronius,
Annales Ecclesiastici," ad
"
feast falls on the 3rd of September. See tomus iii. , xxv. Januarii. De S, Poppone,
^°
his death by Constantius Felicius and Sige-
This appears to ^be the date given for
bert of Gemblour. See
Acta Sanctorum,"
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 25.
seventieth year, and to have been interred at Stabuletum. "^ Although
"
revered as a saint, he was never canonized, mine author noteth," is the
remarkofDr. Hanmer. ^^ Ayearlycommemorationofthesainttookplace in his native village, up to the time when Hanmer \vrote his Chronicle of Ireland,abouttheyeari6oo. ^3 ThepresentholymanisnamedPoppan,
""
by Molanus. Until of late years, the Poppan tree stood in the village of
Santry, and its site is still pointed out by the older inhabitants. Under it the villagers were accustomed to meet, on the festival day, and on other joyous occasions. ^"* In the twelfth centurj^ one of Hugh De Lacy's barons hadagrantofsomelandsinMeath,withSantry,^snearDublin. "^ Nowit might have happened, that this Baron Adam de Felpo, or one of his suc- cessors, introduced the veneration of the Gallo-Belgic Saint Pappan into Santry; yet, to the writer, it would seem, that the Papan there commemorated was quite a different saint, and that he lived at a much earlier period, than the holy Abbot of Stavelot. The concordance of name probably caused two distinct persons to be confounded in traditional and documentary accounts. Besides, in the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a festival set down at the 31st of July, which appears to have been a day dedicated to the memory of St. Papan, at Santry. ^7 Hanmer neglects telling us the day, when the holy man's festival had been there celebrated,*^ nor has local tradition preserved a recollection to our times. Unless the entry of Saint Papan's name, in Dr. Kell/s published copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, be the addition of some comparatively modern hand, it will be found a difficult matter to identify him with the saint, whose acts are connected with those foregoing public events. Such transactions occurred during the eleventh century; whereas, our best Irish critics pronounce, that no native saint, who lived after the ninth century, has place in that Martyrology, composed by St. Melruan and by St. -^ngus the Culdee.
Article XIV. —St. Hia, Hya, Iia or Iies, Virgin, at St. Iies, in Cornwall, England. \Fifth Ce;Uury. ] On a different soil, the blood of many noble martyrs from Ireland flowed, and during the very first age of our country's conversion. The present holy virgin was the companion of martyrs, but it does not seem clear that she suffered with them. At the 25th of
Abbate, et B. AdeUviva ejus matre in Gallia
Belgica. Pranotationes, §§ i. , 6, p. 251. New edition.
" A monastery at Stabuletum was reduced
to ashes by the Northmen, in the year 882, according to Baronius. " Annales Ecclesi-
astici," ad annum, sec. xvi.
"See " Chronicle of Ireland," p. 186.
»3See idtd. , p. 185.
'•When in happy nistic innocence,
p. 53, and Notes, p. 129.
'"See j^/^/. , for further particulars regard-
ing the early lords of Santry; as also for the curious account of Simon de Monlfort's
"
birth, taken from the
de Monlfort," p. 73—printed by the Cam- den Society.
*'" Papan i Sentreibh, ocus Follomon meic Nathfriach. See Dr. Kelly's "Calen- dar of Irish Saints," p. xxx. In the Fran- ciscan copy, this entry, with the whole of
"
all the village train, from labour free,
Led up their sports beneath the spread- July, is wanting. Perhaps this missing ing tree. leaf in "the Book of Leinster" may be
While many a pastime circled in the among the Burgundian Manuscripts, in
shade,
The young contending as the old sur-
vey'd. "
—Goldsmith's "Deserted Village. "
Irish Archjeological Society in 1845. LIII. , edition.
'S See " Prioratus Omnium Registiiim
of Flanders. See the BoUan- Sanctorum juxta Dublin," edited by the dists* "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xxv. Rev. Richard Butler, M. R. I. A. for the Januarii. Pranotationes, sec. p, 252. New
Bruxelles.
=* It is remarkable, that neither the names
of Poppan, or of his blessed mother, Adel- wiva, can be found in Anthony Sander's
Hagiology
Miracula Simonis
January 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 443
January, Colgan has inserted the acts of St. Hia or lia. ' By some writers, this holy woman is called St. Ita, while the Bollandists^ seem to have thought she was identical with the holy virgin St. Ita or Mida, Abbess of Killeedy. 3 This, however, is quite a mistake. By Fitzsimon, she is called St. lia, virgin, and he adds that after her, St. Ivesbay in Cornwall has been named. ^ According to an universally-received tradition, this holy maiden flourished in Ireland, when the illustrious St. Patrick reaped an abundant harvest there, and gathered numberless souls into the true fold. 5 St. Hia was among the earliest of his converts. ^ No sooner had she been regenerated by the waters of baptism, than she prepared to devote herself wholly to become the spouse of Christ. For the sake of greater perfection, it is stated, she resolved to leave her friends and native country, together with St. Fingar, or Guigner, and his numerous band^ of companions and martyrs. ^ But she found that these had already embarked, and then filled with sorrow because of her disappointment, she fell on her knees. Raising her eyes towards heaven, says St. Anselm, she poured forth most fervent prayers. Suddenly a small leaf, floating on the waves, having been touched by a wand she carried, began to grow, until it had attained an immense size. With the faith of St. Peter on the sea,9 and of Elias passing the waters of Jordan,'° the holy virgin Hya placed her feet upon it, and then wafted miraculously over the Irish Sea, she arrived at the port of Heul, in Cornwall, before the other voyagers had reached it in their vessel. " Here St. Hya lived a retired life and wrought many miracles. When this holy virgin arrived in Cornubia or Cornwall," she resided at a place called Pendinas,^3 situated on the northern part of the Belerian promontory,^-t and near a bay, into which the Httle river of Haile flows. Large banks of sand obstruct the entrance to this little town, and it is known as lie's Bay by mariners. ^s The soul of St. Hya, called St. Itha, by Wilson,^^ departed happily to our Lord, on the 25th day
Article xiv. —' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxv. Januarii. De S. Hia, Virgine, pp. 164 to 166.
'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxv,
Januarii. Prsetermissi et in alios dies re-
jecti, p. 610. There they cite " Martyro-
logium Anglicanum novum," as an authority. 3 Her life has been already written at the
Canterbury, has elegantly composed a Latin panegyric on them.
' See Matt, xiv. , 29.
'° See iv. Kings, ii. , 8.
" Dr. Lanigan is of opinion, that this story
of the exile and the subsequent martyrdom of St. Fingar or Guigner, may have had its origin in the raid of Coroticus on the coast
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , sec. x. , p. 297,
and nn. 107, 108, 109, pp. 301, 302.
"An interesting account of this the ex- treme south-western part of England, will
15th of January. "
of Ireland. See
*See Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum "
Iberniae," in O'Sullevan's Historise Ca-
tholicae Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. ,
lib, iv. , cap. xii. , p. 55.
sThis is intimated in the account left us
by St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury. *In the "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. . p. 270, Colgan seems to confound St. Hia
with St.
