Florentin
selects thirty sons of nobles, as the companions of his journey, and to whom he shows the crown.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
—St.
Lassar, Virgin, daughter of Eoghan, of Maig-
HiN, POSSIBLY MoYNE, IN THE CouNTY OF Mayo. As in the church there
are different gifts, says St. Jerome,' I grant that marriage is one of them, lest I should seem to oppose nature. At the same time consider, that the gift of virginity differs from that of marriage ; for, if the married and virgins had the same reward, the Apostle would not have added, "But each one has his proper gift from God,' one in this manner and another in that," when he had given the precept regarding continence. This holy female appears, in the Martyro- logy of Tallagh,3 at the i8th of April, as Lasar, daughter of Eccain of Maig- hin. From the same authority, the IJollandists enter Lassara filia Egani de Maigin,* Thislocality,perhaps,wasidenticalwiththepresentMoyne,inthe barony of Tirawley, and county of Mayo. A conventual establishment for
religious women may have existed there, previous to the foundation of a Franciscan Monastery, early in the fifteenth century. ' Its ruins are still iu
a good state of preservation,* and they occupy a most picturesque situation,
mained since the fixed,
at the writer is commemorated as a saint, his festival being assigned, to the i8th of April. Thus, besides the Martyrology of Tallagh,'* that of Marianus
the — Synod
In the Irish a
5'ByColgan.
^ Before the Synod of Kells, no less than
fifty-three bishoprics were in Ireland ; and, their respective names are set down in the
Provinciale Ronianum, published by Carolus A. S. Paulo, in the Appendix to his Gec^a- phy. This list is reproduced, in Rev. Joseph
'3 See Rev. Sylvester Malone's "Church History of Ireland," chap, i. , and n. (h), pp. 18, 19,
** It calls him "Cc^tosus Sapiens. "
'' Marianus O'Gorniaii, at the same day,
The Antiquities of the Christian Church,"vol. i. ,
"
See his
Treatise Adver-
Bingham's "Orijjiucs Ecclesiastics
:
. '"Such was the actual position, at the time
Cogitosus wrote, when Kildare was a great
city, and its bishop was a Metropolitan. See
susJovinianum,lib. i. ,cap. iv. ,SanctiHierony-
mi Steidoniensis "Opera Omnia," tomusi. ,
p. I20. Coloniae Agrippinae, l6i6, fol.
'
See i Cor. vii. , 7. 'EditedbyRev. Dr. Kelly,p. xxi. The
Franciscan copy has it tarfAp 1 eccAin o Tniigm, at the same date.
rilis xviii. the Among
p. 521.
5 Erected A. D. 1460. For an account of it.
see Archdall's " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 507. A view of it will be found, in the "Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. . No. 158, p. 9.
' The accompanying illustration from a drawing made by William F. Wakeman,
Book ix. , chap, vi. , sect. 19, p. 394.
"
tiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 449.
Ussher's '"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An-
Cogitosus strangely
Ap- pretermitted saints,
words be an interpolation of some copyist— that the Prelate of Kildare was always an
Archbishop over the Hibernian Bishops.
Such surely could not have been the case,
even in his time, since Armagh had been re-
guarded always, as the great Irish Primatial See.
" See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia- rum An'. iquitates," cap, xvii. , p. 500.
— in 1 Apostolic Legate, John Papiro, arranged it,
asserts—unless the
« See " Acta tomus ii. , Sanctorum,"
152, Menologies, Cogitosus possibly
" Virtus (? ) Cogitosi justi et veracis
writes
nos defendit. " —
Article ill.
:
236 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 18.
being bounded on the east by the rocky and shelving banks of the River Moy, and on the other sides by the remains of a stone wall, which defined the limits of the religious enclosure, within about four or five acres. The view towards the river conveys the eye over all the Bay of Killala, the Sligo shores of that bay, and the whole expanse of undulated and acclivitous country, to thesky-lineoftheOxMountains. ' Aremarkablesquaretowerrisesonone of the two gable ends, which form the choir and the body of the church. Hexagon arches are turned on consoles, fixed in the gable-ends, from east to
Monastic Remains, at Moyne, County of Mayo.
west, which is a bold execution. About the convent, cloisters, and church,
there is much admired stone-work. ^ The cloisters arebuilton plain pillars,
in couplets. 9 The Martyrology of Donegal,'" registers the name of Lassar,
virgin, and daughter to Eoghan, of Maighin, as having veneration paid her, at this date.
Article IV. —St. Eugene, or Eoghan, Bishop. The Martyrology '
of Tallagh has the entry Eugene, a Bishop, at the i8th of April. Also, at thisdate,andfromthesamesourcetheBollandists' haveEugeniusEpisco-
pus. There appears to have been a saint so denominated, who is mentioned
with Diarmaid and . ^ngus, as also with Brigid, daughter of Dalbronagh, and they are said to have been of the Fotharte tribe, settled in the barony of
and from a sketch taken on the spot, in Au- gust, 1880, has been transferred liy him to the wood, and engraved by Mrs. Millard.
^ See the " Parliameniary Gazetteer of
Ireland," vol ii. , p. 819.
« McPavlan's " Statistical Survey of the
CountyofMayo,"givesadescriptionandde- tails of these ruins.
9 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hibemi-
cum,"p. 507.
'" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
106, 107. — . •\RTICLE IV.
'
In the Franciscan copy, eujem epf is inserted, in the margin, as if
an after placement. 'See"ActaSanctorum. "tomusii. , Ap-
rilis xviii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. S2I-
April i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 237
Forth,countyofCarlow. ThosepersonsbelongedtoAchadh-Togartha,in the plain of Airgedross, in the territory of Idoiigh, Ui Duach, or Hy Duach,
represented by the present parish of Odogh, barony of Fassadineen, county of Kilkenny. 3 But, in an Inquisition taken a. d. 1635, the district of Ui- Duach was then regarded as co-extensive with the said barony. '* Whether the Eoghan, thus distinguished, may be identified with the saint of this day, remains to be discovered. In another form, at this date, the Martyrology of Donegal 5 mentions, as having veneration paid him, the name of Eoghan, Bishop.
Article V. —St. Florentin, Confessor. \Tive! fth or Thirteenth Century^ If, as a celebrated poet has declared of Tasso, that his mind " believed the magic wonders which he sung,"' well may the pious Christian seriously admit those many miraculous gifts, which Almighty God bestows on men, through the merits of his great adorers. Colgan, at the 24th of January, gives these following particulars, regarding our saint, with notes added. " He is mentioned, by Dempster. ' By that writer, he is said to have been a son to the king of the Scots ; but, Colgan ajjpears to adduce good reasons for denying tliis position, as he proves, that none of the Scottish kings had a son, bearing such a name, about that time, when Florentin is said to have flourished. However, Colgan would not undertake to give an absolute deci- sion on the point, as to whether or not this saint had been a native of old Scotia, or Ireland, or of the modern Scotia, or Scotland, which, by the ancients, was usually styled Albania. But, for these following reasons, it was thought much more probable, that the holy man had been a native of Ireland. First, from the year iioo to the year 1200, when the saint is said to have flourished, according to the Scottish historians themselves, there was no king or person of royal origin in Britannic Scotia, who had a son named Florentin, orFlorentius. ' Secondly,Irelandwasformerlydividedintomanykingdoms,' and consequently many kings ruled in it, at the time alluded to ; whereas, at the period St. Florentin is said to have flourished, we do not read that many kings reigned simultaneously in Scotland. And, as we have already seen, that St F'lorentin was not a son to any king, who ruled over the kingdom of Scot- land, it is more than probable, he must , have been son to some minor Irish prince. Thirdly, our ancient Irish Annals relate, that many Florentins flourished, about the time, this saint is supposed to have lived f and these
5 See "Proccedingj of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. series, vol. i. , parti. , p. 83, nn. 5,6.
• See MS. , noted, 24 C. 6, R. I. A. , and Dr. O'Donovans " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 850, n. (e).
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 106, 107.
year 1 125. Then David I. , brother to the
preceding kings, died, in the year 1 1 53. To him was bom one son, named Henry, by his Queen Matilda. Henry died before his father, and leavingthrcesons, viz. : Malcolm, William, and l-)avid. Malcolm, theeldest son, lived in a state of celibacy, during his whole life, and he died in the year 1 165. William,
brother to died in the
Malcolm, year 1214,
leaving two sons, Alexander and John. Hence, St. Florentins could not have been son toanyofthose princes. Nor could lie have been the son to any of the minor Scottish
Article v. —' the Highlands. "
'
See
Collins,
"Ode on
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernije," xxiv. Januarii. Vita S. Florentini, pp. 157, 158.
' See
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis . Sco-
torum," tomus ii. , lib. vi. , num. 509. <"
During this interval, the followin;; kings reigned, of whom history has preserved these facts. In the first place, Kdgar, who com- menced his reign, A. «. Iioi, died without offspring, in the year 1 109. Next, Alexander, the brother of Edgar, died childless, in the
chiefs, so far as Colgan might conjecture. See John Hill Burton's History of . Scot- land," vol. ii. . chap, xiii. , pp. 42 to 69.
s According to St. Bernard's statement, in his Life of St. Malachy-O'Morgair.
» Thus, in the year 1174, the "Annalsof the Four Masters" say: "Flann \i. e. Flo-
ajg
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [April i8.
were illustrious, on account of their learning and holiness of life. ' It is much to be desired, that more detailed particulars regarding him could be procured. Many persons, named Florentin, lived in Ireland, about his period of exist- ence. It is considered, as not improbable, that our saint might have been a son, to one of those petty princes, ruling in our island. The headings of
nineteen chapters, as found in an anonymous Life of this saint, are cited, by
These themes for the aforesaid chapters may thus be translated. 1 The King of Scotia offers the crown to his son, Florentin, and asks his opinionthereon; but,duringthemiddleofthenight,anangelwarnshimto
2.
Florentin selects thirty sons of nobles, as the companions of his journey, and to whom he shows the crown. 3. He prays to God, for means to cross the sea, when an angel from heaven brings a cross, on which he journeys. 4. With his companions, sitting on this cross, he sails over the
sea. 5. Having landed, he tells each of his companions to separate, and to serve God, in solitude. 6. Approaching the city of Bonetta,^ he hires hun-
self as swine-herd, for the term of thirty-two years. 7. In that place, where he acted as swine-herd, his fountain and staff remain. 8. He conducts his
swine to the neighbouring Lingonians. 9. He heals blind, lame and deaf. 10. A demon, in the shape of a most beautiful female, offers him a wedding ring, telling him, that he was a son to the Scottish king. 11. He contends three days and three nights with this demon, without cessation. 12. Ihe demon endeavours to deprive him of his senses. 13. Being about to sleep, he put his staff in the ground, and where it took root, a fountain also sprung up. 14. He takes ill, and an angel predicts his departure, revealing what sort of death he should die. 15. He departs, prescribing that he should be buried in the place, to which two bulls should draw his body, when placed on a chariot. 16. His body was brought into a thick wood, and on its approach the trees inclined their tops. 17. They consign his remains to earth, within thisthickwood. 18. Achurchwasfounded,andgreatmiraclesdailytook place. 19. Continuation of these miracles. This saint flourished, about the
year i 200, and his memory was revered in the place of his departure, on the 24th of January, according to Dempster. ' Privately fleeing from Scotland, St. Florentin is said to have gone into the territory of Lotharinga, \yhere he wrouirht many miracles, while endeavouring to convert souls to Christ. '" His remams reoose, in the village of Bonnet," diocese of Toul, and withm the ancient territory of Campania. " A celebrated procession of demented persons,
Dempster.
depart.
rentius] O'Gorman, chief Lecturer of Armagh,
and of all Ireland, a learned sage, and versed
in sacred and profane pliilosophy, after hav-
ine spent twenty-one years of study in France
and England, and twenty other years in di-
rectine and governing the schools of Ireland,
diedhappilyontheWednesdaybeforeEaster, rity, or areason for his statements, bee
"Acta Sanctorum Hiberm^e, novan's Edition, vol. iii. ,pp. 12 to 15, and xxiv. Januarii. Vita b. Horentmi, n. 2,
intheseventiethyearofhisage. "-Dr. O'Do- Colgan's
no^e(v). Ibid. Attheyear, 1195,weread:
"
Florence, the son of Regan O'Mulrony, Bishop of Elphin, died," ibid. , pp. 100, loi. This Florentin derived his origin from the Kings of Connaught. At the year, 1203, we have mention made regarding a "Florence
O'Carolan, Bishop of Tyrone {i. e. of Derry],"
i. o
wWihHoJ wWteinlt "o^v¥Ve,rx t\J *lwo»n"a*,j w. . i. t-. h- others of the
Irish cler^g'y, this year. See ibid. , pp. 134, ,,f
7 Colean, however, would not undertake to say, that any of the foregoing Florentins
p. 158. „, ^ „ . , • . • ^OrBonnet. Thefollowingderivationis
given for this denomination, in M. Bullet s "Memoires surlaLangue Celtique, . toTMei. "Bon, montagne. At en composition J^t
pres," p. 65.
> bee Histona Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto-
rum," lib. vi. ,. num. „509. .
-
" See Camerarms.
' Camerarms says: "tnbustantumLeu-
had been identical with cur saint. He fears, also, that the present Florentin did not flourish at the time alluded to by Dempster, who was accustomed to afhx, in so many passages, the period for living and the date of death for saints, without giving an autho-
cis acivitatejanuillanae. "
" Dempster says, that a temple had been
, , ,,
April i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 239
to his tomb, took place on certain occasions ; during wliicli, many afflicted creatures were restored, to the complete rational exercise of their mental facul- ties. Infirm persons were for the most part healed, when they made a pil- grimage to his relics. The actions of this saint had been depicted, around the walls of his church. 's His festival was celebrated, on the i8th of April, accord- ing to Camerarius. The present holy man is altogether distinct from that Irish St Florentius, who flourished, about a. d. 560 ;'< and, who was venerated, at Ambasia, in Gaul, and, at a time, when Germanus, Bishop of Paris, and Gildas, Bishop of Rhodez, in Aquitaine, flourished ;'5 as also, from the S. Florentius, Episcopus Tungrensis,'' noted by the BoUandists,'' at the present day.
ArticleVI. —St. Moninnsen,ofMainistir. Fromtheappendixto _
this proper name, we may assume, probabl_v, that he was a monk, and belong- ing to some particular monastery, kx this date, a festival is recorded, in the
'
in honour of a St. Moninnsen, of Manister. There are so many localities, in different parts of Ireland, compounded with the word
"
a monastery," that in the absence of further accounts regarding this saint, it will be difiBcult to identify him, or his place of retreat. Quoting the Martyrology of Tallagh, as their authority, the Bollandists ' enter Monindus senex de monasterio ; and, if this be correct, we should probably
infer, that the present holy recluse lived to an old age.
Article VII. —The Holy Maildulphus, of Malmesbury, P^ngland, {Sei'tnthCeri/ury. ] InthesecondeditionoftheEnglishMartyrology,asthe Bollandists state,' at the i8th of April, this holy man's name is found in- scribed. HewasaScoto-Hibemus,accordingtoCamden. 'Hepassedover to England in 676. 3 He was a man of great erudition and of singular piety, who, at first, led an eremitical life. Afterwards, he opened a school, and de- voted himself, with his scholars, to a monastic life. The place he selected was a pleasant wood under a hill, and it was at first called Ingelborn. Here he built a—little monastery, known as Maildulfel-burge*— evidently called after his name and since known as Malmesbury.
Martyrolog)' of Tallagh
Mainistir, signifying
He is not characterized as a saint, however, in the "Monasticon Anglicanum," where treating about the
erected to his memory, within a thick grove, not far from the ancient ciiy of the Lingones
—now Lances— in Champagne. See" Hb- tona Ecclesiastica Geutis . Scotorum,"Iib. vi. ,
p. 521.
ARTICLE vii. —' See "Acta . Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Aprilis xviii. Among the preter-
mitted saints, p. 522. '
WhentreatingabouttheCountyofWilts. See Gibson's Camden's " Britannia : or a
Chorographical Description of Great Bri- tain and Ireland, together with the adjacent Islands," vol. i. , cols. 103, 104, fol. Second
num.
•3 Accordwg to Camerarius.
509.
"See Ussher's "Index at A. D. DLX. , p. 531.
"
" See Ussher s " Britannicanim Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , 397, 398. * p.
Accordmg to Greven's additions, to the Carthusian Bnixelles Martyrology. His feast isalso referred, to the i6th of October.
''See "Acta Sanctonim," tomus ii. Aprihs xviu. , among the pretermitted saints, P* S**-
London.
' See L'Abb^ Ma-Geoghegan's " Histoire
de I'Irlande Ancienne et Modeme," tome i. ,
partie ii. , chap, iv. , p. 350.
* In old charters, it is called Meldunum,
London, 1879, 1880, 8vo.
Article VI. —»
Kelly, p. xxi. The Franciscan copy enters ttlonmnrenot»l4tii|xei\.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Ap- rilis xviii. Among the pretermitted saints,
. . '
Edited
by
Rev.
Dr.
preserved in the Pub- andCharlesTriceMartin. InTwoVolumes.
Chronologicus,
Edition,
1722.
and
trum Malmesburiense, or the Register of
Maldubury
Maldunburg.
Regis-
Malmesbury Abbey
;
lie Record Office. " Edited by J. S. Brewer,
See "
'
240 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April i8.
erection of that religious liouse. 5 He wrote many works, which are now lost, and he lived to be advanced in years. * The disciple and successor of Mail- dulph was St. Aldelmus,' who afterwards founded a stately monastery, at that place, and it was enriched with ample donations. " His master was buried at
Malmesbury. 9
Article VHI. —Festival of St. Septimus, Deacon and Martyr, at Salona, in Dalmatia. The feast of Septimus was celebrated, in the old Irisn church, on the i8th of April, according to the Feilire of St. . ^Engus. ' This holy martyr suffered for the Faith, at Salona, in Dalmatia, with St. Victo- ricus, as a companion. The Bollandists notice them, at this date,' and they refer to that ancient Martyrology, attributed to St. Jerome, as also to other and similar records, where, however, some errors seem to have occurred.
Article IX. —Reputed Feast of the Blessed Marianus Scotus. [Eleventh C'tttury. ^ A festival of Marianus Scotus is set down, for the
17th of April;' but, already, we have given his Acts, at the 9th day ot February. '^
Article X. —Reputed Festival for the Elevation of the Abbot Donnan'sRelics. CitingtheKalendarofAdamKing,orJamesChey- neus, as also a Scottish Breviary, the Elevation of Abbot Donnan was a feast
' observed,onthei8thofApril,accordingtotheMenology andEcclesiastical
History' of Thomas Dempster. The Bollandists 3 merely notice this state- ment, referring it to St. Donnan, already treated of, at the previous day. <
5 See tome i. , p. So-
' SeeL'AbbeMa-Geoghegan's"Histoire de I'Irlande Ancienne et Moderne," tome i. , Partie ii. , chap. iv.
HiN, POSSIBLY MoYNE, IN THE CouNTY OF Mayo. As in the church there
are different gifts, says St. Jerome,' I grant that marriage is one of them, lest I should seem to oppose nature. At the same time consider, that the gift of virginity differs from that of marriage ; for, if the married and virgins had the same reward, the Apostle would not have added, "But each one has his proper gift from God,' one in this manner and another in that," when he had given the precept regarding continence. This holy female appears, in the Martyro- logy of Tallagh,3 at the i8th of April, as Lasar, daughter of Eccain of Maig- hin. From the same authority, the IJollandists enter Lassara filia Egani de Maigin,* Thislocality,perhaps,wasidenticalwiththepresentMoyne,inthe barony of Tirawley, and county of Mayo. A conventual establishment for
religious women may have existed there, previous to the foundation of a Franciscan Monastery, early in the fifteenth century. ' Its ruins are still iu
a good state of preservation,* and they occupy a most picturesque situation,
mained since the fixed,
at the writer is commemorated as a saint, his festival being assigned, to the i8th of April. Thus, besides the Martyrology of Tallagh,'* that of Marianus
the — Synod
In the Irish a
5'ByColgan.
^ Before the Synod of Kells, no less than
fifty-three bishoprics were in Ireland ; and, their respective names are set down in the
Provinciale Ronianum, published by Carolus A. S. Paulo, in the Appendix to his Gec^a- phy. This list is reproduced, in Rev. Joseph
'3 See Rev. Sylvester Malone's "Church History of Ireland," chap, i. , and n. (h), pp. 18, 19,
** It calls him "Cc^tosus Sapiens. "
'' Marianus O'Gorniaii, at the same day,
The Antiquities of the Christian Church,"vol. i. ,
"
See his
Treatise Adver-
Bingham's "Orijjiucs Ecclesiastics
:
. '"Such was the actual position, at the time
Cogitosus wrote, when Kildare was a great
city, and its bishop was a Metropolitan. See
susJovinianum,lib. i. ,cap. iv. ,SanctiHierony-
mi Steidoniensis "Opera Omnia," tomusi. ,
p. I20. Coloniae Agrippinae, l6i6, fol.
'
See i Cor. vii. , 7. 'EditedbyRev. Dr. Kelly,p. xxi. The
Franciscan copy has it tarfAp 1 eccAin o Tniigm, at the same date.
rilis xviii. the Among
p. 521.
5 Erected A. D. 1460. For an account of it.
see Archdall's " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 507. A view of it will be found, in the "Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. . No. 158, p. 9.
' The accompanying illustration from a drawing made by William F. Wakeman,
Book ix. , chap, vi. , sect. 19, p. 394.
"
tiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 449.
Ussher's '"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An-
Cogitosus strangely
Ap- pretermitted saints,
words be an interpolation of some copyist— that the Prelate of Kildare was always an
Archbishop over the Hibernian Bishops.
Such surely could not have been the case,
even in his time, since Armagh had been re-
guarded always, as the great Irish Primatial See.
" See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia- rum An'. iquitates," cap, xvii. , p. 500.
— in 1 Apostolic Legate, John Papiro, arranged it,
asserts—unless the
« See " Acta tomus ii. , Sanctorum,"
152, Menologies, Cogitosus possibly
" Virtus (? ) Cogitosi justi et veracis
writes
nos defendit. " —
Article ill.
:
236 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 18.
being bounded on the east by the rocky and shelving banks of the River Moy, and on the other sides by the remains of a stone wall, which defined the limits of the religious enclosure, within about four or five acres. The view towards the river conveys the eye over all the Bay of Killala, the Sligo shores of that bay, and the whole expanse of undulated and acclivitous country, to thesky-lineoftheOxMountains. ' Aremarkablesquaretowerrisesonone of the two gable ends, which form the choir and the body of the church. Hexagon arches are turned on consoles, fixed in the gable-ends, from east to
Monastic Remains, at Moyne, County of Mayo.
west, which is a bold execution. About the convent, cloisters, and church,
there is much admired stone-work. ^ The cloisters arebuilton plain pillars,
in couplets. 9 The Martyrology of Donegal,'" registers the name of Lassar,
virgin, and daughter to Eoghan, of Maighin, as having veneration paid her, at this date.
Article IV. —St. Eugene, or Eoghan, Bishop. The Martyrology '
of Tallagh has the entry Eugene, a Bishop, at the i8th of April. Also, at thisdate,andfromthesamesourcetheBollandists' haveEugeniusEpisco-
pus. There appears to have been a saint so denominated, who is mentioned
with Diarmaid and . ^ngus, as also with Brigid, daughter of Dalbronagh, and they are said to have been of the Fotharte tribe, settled in the barony of
and from a sketch taken on the spot, in Au- gust, 1880, has been transferred liy him to the wood, and engraved by Mrs. Millard.
^ See the " Parliameniary Gazetteer of
Ireland," vol ii. , p. 819.
« McPavlan's " Statistical Survey of the
CountyofMayo,"givesadescriptionandde- tails of these ruins.
9 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hibemi-
cum,"p. 507.
'" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
106, 107. — . •\RTICLE IV.
'
In the Franciscan copy, eujem epf is inserted, in the margin, as if
an after placement. 'See"ActaSanctorum. "tomusii. , Ap-
rilis xviii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. S2I-
April i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 237
Forth,countyofCarlow. ThosepersonsbelongedtoAchadh-Togartha,in the plain of Airgedross, in the territory of Idoiigh, Ui Duach, or Hy Duach,
represented by the present parish of Odogh, barony of Fassadineen, county of Kilkenny. 3 But, in an Inquisition taken a. d. 1635, the district of Ui- Duach was then regarded as co-extensive with the said barony. '* Whether the Eoghan, thus distinguished, may be identified with the saint of this day, remains to be discovered. In another form, at this date, the Martyrology of Donegal 5 mentions, as having veneration paid him, the name of Eoghan, Bishop.
Article V. —St. Florentin, Confessor. \Tive! fth or Thirteenth Century^ If, as a celebrated poet has declared of Tasso, that his mind " believed the magic wonders which he sung,"' well may the pious Christian seriously admit those many miraculous gifts, which Almighty God bestows on men, through the merits of his great adorers. Colgan, at the 24th of January, gives these following particulars, regarding our saint, with notes added. " He is mentioned, by Dempster. ' By that writer, he is said to have been a son to the king of the Scots ; but, Colgan ajjpears to adduce good reasons for denying tliis position, as he proves, that none of the Scottish kings had a son, bearing such a name, about that time, when Florentin is said to have flourished. However, Colgan would not undertake to give an absolute deci- sion on the point, as to whether or not this saint had been a native of old Scotia, or Ireland, or of the modern Scotia, or Scotland, which, by the ancients, was usually styled Albania. But, for these following reasons, it was thought much more probable, that the holy man had been a native of Ireland. First, from the year iioo to the year 1200, when the saint is said to have flourished, according to the Scottish historians themselves, there was no king or person of royal origin in Britannic Scotia, who had a son named Florentin, orFlorentius. ' Secondly,Irelandwasformerlydividedintomanykingdoms,' and consequently many kings ruled in it, at the time alluded to ; whereas, at the period St. Florentin is said to have flourished, we do not read that many kings reigned simultaneously in Scotland. And, as we have already seen, that St F'lorentin was not a son to any king, who ruled over the kingdom of Scot- land, it is more than probable, he must , have been son to some minor Irish prince. Thirdly, our ancient Irish Annals relate, that many Florentins flourished, about the time, this saint is supposed to have lived f and these
5 See "Proccedingj of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. series, vol. i. , parti. , p. 83, nn. 5,6.
• See MS. , noted, 24 C. 6, R. I. A. , and Dr. O'Donovans " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 850, n. (e).
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 106, 107.
year 1 125. Then David I. , brother to the
preceding kings, died, in the year 1 1 53. To him was bom one son, named Henry, by his Queen Matilda. Henry died before his father, and leavingthrcesons, viz. : Malcolm, William, and l-)avid. Malcolm, theeldest son, lived in a state of celibacy, during his whole life, and he died in the year 1 165. William,
brother to died in the
Malcolm, year 1214,
leaving two sons, Alexander and John. Hence, St. Florentins could not have been son toanyofthose princes. Nor could lie have been the son to any of the minor Scottish
Article v. —' the Highlands. "
'
See
Collins,
"Ode on
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernije," xxiv. Januarii. Vita S. Florentini, pp. 157, 158.
' See
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis . Sco-
torum," tomus ii. , lib. vi. , num. 509. <"
During this interval, the followin;; kings reigned, of whom history has preserved these facts. In the first place, Kdgar, who com- menced his reign, A. «. Iioi, died without offspring, in the year 1 109. Next, Alexander, the brother of Edgar, died childless, in the
chiefs, so far as Colgan might conjecture. See John Hill Burton's History of . Scot- land," vol. ii. . chap, xiii. , pp. 42 to 69.
s According to St. Bernard's statement, in his Life of St. Malachy-O'Morgair.
» Thus, in the year 1174, the "Annalsof the Four Masters" say: "Flann \i. e. Flo-
ajg
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [April i8.
were illustrious, on account of their learning and holiness of life. ' It is much to be desired, that more detailed particulars regarding him could be procured. Many persons, named Florentin, lived in Ireland, about his period of exist- ence. It is considered, as not improbable, that our saint might have been a son, to one of those petty princes, ruling in our island. The headings of
nineteen chapters, as found in an anonymous Life of this saint, are cited, by
These themes for the aforesaid chapters may thus be translated. 1 The King of Scotia offers the crown to his son, Florentin, and asks his opinionthereon; but,duringthemiddleofthenight,anangelwarnshimto
2.
Florentin selects thirty sons of nobles, as the companions of his journey, and to whom he shows the crown. 3. He prays to God, for means to cross the sea, when an angel from heaven brings a cross, on which he journeys. 4. With his companions, sitting on this cross, he sails over the
sea. 5. Having landed, he tells each of his companions to separate, and to serve God, in solitude. 6. Approaching the city of Bonetta,^ he hires hun-
self as swine-herd, for the term of thirty-two years. 7. In that place, where he acted as swine-herd, his fountain and staff remain. 8. He conducts his
swine to the neighbouring Lingonians. 9. He heals blind, lame and deaf. 10. A demon, in the shape of a most beautiful female, offers him a wedding ring, telling him, that he was a son to the Scottish king. 11. He contends three days and three nights with this demon, without cessation. 12. Ihe demon endeavours to deprive him of his senses. 13. Being about to sleep, he put his staff in the ground, and where it took root, a fountain also sprung up. 14. He takes ill, and an angel predicts his departure, revealing what sort of death he should die. 15. He departs, prescribing that he should be buried in the place, to which two bulls should draw his body, when placed on a chariot. 16. His body was brought into a thick wood, and on its approach the trees inclined their tops. 17. They consign his remains to earth, within thisthickwood. 18. Achurchwasfounded,andgreatmiraclesdailytook place. 19. Continuation of these miracles. This saint flourished, about the
year i 200, and his memory was revered in the place of his departure, on the 24th of January, according to Dempster. ' Privately fleeing from Scotland, St. Florentin is said to have gone into the territory of Lotharinga, \yhere he wrouirht many miracles, while endeavouring to convert souls to Christ. '" His remams reoose, in the village of Bonnet," diocese of Toul, and withm the ancient territory of Campania. " A celebrated procession of demented persons,
Dempster.
depart.
rentius] O'Gorman, chief Lecturer of Armagh,
and of all Ireland, a learned sage, and versed
in sacred and profane pliilosophy, after hav-
ine spent twenty-one years of study in France
and England, and twenty other years in di-
rectine and governing the schools of Ireland,
diedhappilyontheWednesdaybeforeEaster, rity, or areason for his statements, bee
"Acta Sanctorum Hiberm^e, novan's Edition, vol. iii. ,pp. 12 to 15, and xxiv. Januarii. Vita b. Horentmi, n. 2,
intheseventiethyearofhisage. "-Dr. O'Do- Colgan's
no^e(v). Ibid. Attheyear, 1195,weread:
"
Florence, the son of Regan O'Mulrony, Bishop of Elphin, died," ibid. , pp. 100, loi. This Florentin derived his origin from the Kings of Connaught. At the year, 1203, we have mention made regarding a "Florence
O'Carolan, Bishop of Tyrone {i. e. of Derry],"
i. o
wWihHoJ wWteinlt "o^v¥Ve,rx t\J *lwo»n"a*,j w. . i. t-. h- others of the
Irish cler^g'y, this year. See ibid. , pp. 134, ,,f
7 Colean, however, would not undertake to say, that any of the foregoing Florentins
p. 158. „, ^ „ . , • . • ^OrBonnet. Thefollowingderivationis
given for this denomination, in M. Bullet s "Memoires surlaLangue Celtique, . toTMei. "Bon, montagne. At en composition J^t
pres," p. 65.
> bee Histona Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto-
rum," lib. vi. ,. num. „509. .
-
" See Camerarms.
' Camerarms says: "tnbustantumLeu-
had been identical with cur saint. He fears, also, that the present Florentin did not flourish at the time alluded to by Dempster, who was accustomed to afhx, in so many passages, the period for living and the date of death for saints, without giving an autho-
cis acivitatejanuillanae. "
" Dempster says, that a temple had been
, , ,,
April i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 239
to his tomb, took place on certain occasions ; during wliicli, many afflicted creatures were restored, to the complete rational exercise of their mental facul- ties. Infirm persons were for the most part healed, when they made a pil- grimage to his relics. The actions of this saint had been depicted, around the walls of his church. 's His festival was celebrated, on the i8th of April, accord- ing to Camerarius. The present holy man is altogether distinct from that Irish St Florentius, who flourished, about a. d. 560 ;'< and, who was venerated, at Ambasia, in Gaul, and, at a time, when Germanus, Bishop of Paris, and Gildas, Bishop of Rhodez, in Aquitaine, flourished ;'5 as also, from the S. Florentius, Episcopus Tungrensis,'' noted by the BoUandists,'' at the present day.
ArticleVI. —St. Moninnsen,ofMainistir. Fromtheappendixto _
this proper name, we may assume, probabl_v, that he was a monk, and belong- ing to some particular monastery, kx this date, a festival is recorded, in the
'
in honour of a St. Moninnsen, of Manister. There are so many localities, in different parts of Ireland, compounded with the word
"
a monastery," that in the absence of further accounts regarding this saint, it will be difiBcult to identify him, or his place of retreat. Quoting the Martyrology of Tallagh, as their authority, the Bollandists ' enter Monindus senex de monasterio ; and, if this be correct, we should probably
infer, that the present holy recluse lived to an old age.
Article VII. —The Holy Maildulphus, of Malmesbury, P^ngland, {Sei'tnthCeri/ury. ] InthesecondeditionoftheEnglishMartyrology,asthe Bollandists state,' at the i8th of April, this holy man's name is found in- scribed. HewasaScoto-Hibemus,accordingtoCamden. 'Hepassedover to England in 676. 3 He was a man of great erudition and of singular piety, who, at first, led an eremitical life. Afterwards, he opened a school, and de- voted himself, with his scholars, to a monastic life. The place he selected was a pleasant wood under a hill, and it was at first called Ingelborn. Here he built a—little monastery, known as Maildulfel-burge*— evidently called after his name and since known as Malmesbury.
Martyrolog)' of Tallagh
Mainistir, signifying
He is not characterized as a saint, however, in the "Monasticon Anglicanum," where treating about the
erected to his memory, within a thick grove, not far from the ancient ciiy of the Lingones
—now Lances— in Champagne. See" Hb- tona Ecclesiastica Geutis . Scotorum,"Iib. vi. ,
p. 521.
ARTICLE vii. —' See "Acta . Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Aprilis xviii. Among the preter-
mitted saints, p. 522. '
WhentreatingabouttheCountyofWilts. See Gibson's Camden's " Britannia : or a
Chorographical Description of Great Bri- tain and Ireland, together with the adjacent Islands," vol. i. , cols. 103, 104, fol. Second
num.
•3 Accordwg to Camerarius.
509.
"See Ussher's "Index at A. D. DLX. , p. 531.
"
" See Ussher s " Britannicanim Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , 397, 398. * p.
Accordmg to Greven's additions, to the Carthusian Bnixelles Martyrology. His feast isalso referred, to the i6th of October.
''See "Acta Sanctonim," tomus ii. Aprihs xviu. , among the pretermitted saints, P* S**-
London.
' See L'Abb^ Ma-Geoghegan's " Histoire
de I'Irlande Ancienne et Modeme," tome i. ,
partie ii. , chap, iv. , p. 350.
* In old charters, it is called Meldunum,
London, 1879, 1880, 8vo.
Article VI. —»
Kelly, p. xxi. The Franciscan copy enters ttlonmnrenot»l4tii|xei\.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Ap- rilis xviii. Among the pretermitted saints,
. . '
Edited
by
Rev.
Dr.
preserved in the Pub- andCharlesTriceMartin. InTwoVolumes.
Chronologicus,
Edition,
1722.
and
trum Malmesburiense, or the Register of
Maldubury
Maldunburg.
Regis-
Malmesbury Abbey
;
lie Record Office. " Edited by J. S. Brewer,
See "
'
240 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April i8.
erection of that religious liouse. 5 He wrote many works, which are now lost, and he lived to be advanced in years. * The disciple and successor of Mail- dulph was St. Aldelmus,' who afterwards founded a stately monastery, at that place, and it was enriched with ample donations. " His master was buried at
Malmesbury. 9
Article VHI. —Festival of St. Septimus, Deacon and Martyr, at Salona, in Dalmatia. The feast of Septimus was celebrated, in the old Irisn church, on the i8th of April, according to the Feilire of St. . ^Engus. ' This holy martyr suffered for the Faith, at Salona, in Dalmatia, with St. Victo- ricus, as a companion. The Bollandists notice them, at this date,' and they refer to that ancient Martyrology, attributed to St. Jerome, as also to other and similar records, where, however, some errors seem to have occurred.
Article IX. —Reputed Feast of the Blessed Marianus Scotus. [Eleventh C'tttury. ^ A festival of Marianus Scotus is set down, for the
17th of April;' but, already, we have given his Acts, at the 9th day ot February. '^
Article X. —Reputed Festival for the Elevation of the Abbot Donnan'sRelics. CitingtheKalendarofAdamKing,orJamesChey- neus, as also a Scottish Breviary, the Elevation of Abbot Donnan was a feast
' observed,onthei8thofApril,accordingtotheMenology andEcclesiastical
History' of Thomas Dempster. The Bollandists 3 merely notice this state- ment, referring it to St. Donnan, already treated of, at the previous day. <
5 See tome i. , p. So-
' SeeL'AbbeMa-Geoghegan's"Histoire de I'Irlande Ancienne et Moderne," tome i. , Partie ii. , chap. iv.
