No More Learning

" ut merito sacra ilia sedicula ob sancti Amoris frequentiam et impetratam salutiferam fonti virtutem a
:
forty
three 2 9 years.
246 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 17.
may be said, that St. Amor's monastery was the cradle of religion and learn- ing, from which bishops, pastors and doctors of the church were drawn. Many of these were renowned for their sanctity. They largely contributed to the conversion of different nations, and some of them obtained the laurel of martyrdom. 3° St. Amor is said to have attained to the eighty-third year of his age, and this has been inferred from the data set down in his traditional acts. The death of this holy Abbot has been generally referred to a. d. 767 or 777. 31 He departed this life on the 17th of August, about the year 767 according to the calculation of Gropp, and in the seventy-third year of his age. 33 On this day, his commemoration is found in the Benedictine Martyrologies of Bucelin and of Benedict Cherle. However, the Bollandist Father Guilielmus Cuper thinks it not unlikely he may have lived to a. d. 777. 33 About two hundred years after the foundation of Amorbach, the Huns or Hungarians over-ran nearly all parts of Germany, putting the inhabitants to the sword, and reducing their habitations to ashes. About the beginning of the tenth century, the Diocese of Wurtzburg was exposed to their ravages. Thus, in 910, in 915, and in 923 especially, they subjected eastern France, Alsace, the Suevi and Saxony to their sway 3< and during some one of those
;
years, Amorbach was invaded, some of its monks were killed, and others
sought safety in flight, while the house itself was set on fire. Such outrages
were repeated in succeeding ages, even when the monastery had been partially rebuilt. No doubt, many of the early charters and records of this
house had been destroyed during these mediaeval ravages. If any remained,
they were probably wholly lost, when the peasant rebellion during the Bran- denburg and Swedish wars broke out, Germany having suffered for a long time duringtheReformationdisturbancesinthesixteenthcentury. Thepeople,
in succeeding times, observed the practice of visiting that place as pilgrims, 35 and the fame of St. Amor in their estimation became so established, that crowds flocked to celebrate his festival, as well in the cloisters, as in the town itself, and with great solemnity. Moreover, as mementoes of their visit, various votive presents and tokens were set up in his old chapel ; while many of these snowed manifest signs of age and decay, in the fifteenth century. St. Amor's virtues and miracles were so divulged, that people came from the most distant places to pray at his well. This fountain was within the sacred edifice itself, and on the northern side. It flowed in a clear and full stream. A stone, level with the pavement of the church, covered it ; but, this caused no obstruction to those who passed near; while a round excavation, about one foot in diameter, allowed access to the water, which could be drawn by means ofacupfastenedtotheorifice. Throughasubterraneanchannel,theoutflow came into a cistern before the church door, in which the pilgrims often washed themselves,36 and returned rejoicing to their homes. A metrical
30 Father adds to the Gropp
" Acta tomus iii. , xvii. Sanctorum," Augusti
De S. Amore vel Amatore, Primo Abbate
Amorbacensi, &c, sect, iv. , pp. 468, 469. 3* AccordingtoTrithemius.
3s Father Gropp relates, that when
Ludovicus was Abbot over Amorbach, in the year 1273, a certain noble Henricus de Rosenberg lived at the church of St. Amor,
foregoing " In hoc uno Sanctorum adeo Patrum successores et filii infelices sumus, quodtantarumvirtutumetprreclaregestorum cognitio ad nos integra non pervenit, tern- porum ac bellorum injuriis plurimum oblit-
terata. "
31 "
See Les Petits Bollandistes, Vies des
account
:
Saints," tome ix. , xviie Jour d'Aout, and this is found mentioned in an old
626.
32 See " MtU mille Annorum
simi et Monasterii 13. M. regalis
33 See his disquisition on this subject, in
Manuscript.
p.
Virg. Amorbach, &c, pars, i. , cap. i. , p. 37.
Father,
3? This has been inserted by Father Gropp
antiquis-
in
" In the name of the
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. "
Holy and of
36 In thus invoked the doingso, they
Trinity,
August 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 247
description of the site, with miraculous properties of this holy well, has been composed in Latin Hexameter verse, at considerable length, and as found in
an ancient Manuscripts From the local allusions, it may be suspected this had been the composition of one familiar with the surroundings, and probably he was a monk, belonging to the monastery at Amorbach. Another short Latin poem or anagram, supposed by Gropp to have been written by the same person, is extant. 38 The celebrated monastery of Amorbach is at pre- sent the residence of the Prince of Leiningen. 39 The monastery of Amorbach, and the well of St. Amor, had been objects for the veneration of pilgrims who went thither to pray. Many of these had been afflicted with various diseases, and we have recorded the names of persons who received benefits and relief, at different dates, from a. d. 1446 to the year 17 12. The particulars are set down, by Father Ignatius Gropp, as taken from an account of the Priest, John Keck, who lived towards the close of the fifteenth century, as also from the statementsoflaterwriters. However,manyotherscouldberecorded,40which were solely written not on parchment or paper, but in the grateful hearts of
the faithful, who received such benefits through St. Amor's intercession, and which favours continued to be granted even down to the present time.
Article IV. —St. Temhnen, Monk and Martyr, of Magheralin. This holy martyr seems to have flourished at an early period in the Irish Church. The ^Feilire" 1 of St. on this " the death of
^Engus, day, gives Teimnen,theMonk. " Thescholiastadds,thathewasamartyrfromLinn
Luachain, on the—brink of Cassan Linde. 2 " Temmian, mon,"—for mona-
chus, "a monk"
in his History already mentioned.
38
*
It is addressed to young people thus :
dered
:
"
historica Methoda adum-
Fons sancti Amoris peregrini salutifer et dos. "
peratae —" et memoriam. "
yEtas mille Annorum
By transposition a —
of the
it is ren-
antiquissimi et regalis Monasterii B. M. Virg. in Amorbach, Ord. S. Benedict! in Archidiaecesi Gloria et Honore
Morsus infantis aegri sano ; certe pro- dest, fili. "
Afterwards, the poet explains his own m—ean-
is the record in the of at
:
ing more fully in the following verse copy,
are the and the following stanza,
" Infantis /Egri morbus dum pectora mordet.
English translation of Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , at the 17th of August :—
llocher1 ttt marvcin amine-}*
nioj\pem icnoich caLait> L4cleir\ cam cen chinam CAimchm Ceunne-n mariAij*.
" Mammes the martyr suffered great pain on a hard cross : with a fair, crimeless fo—l- lowing Monk TeimneVs bed-death. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxiv.
Mordet et cutem.
exilem, quae tegit ossa,
Dos ego magna adsum, morsus sacroque repente,
Hos (certe prodest) sano liquore meo.
Ergo veni dilecte, veni formosule FILL
Sanantem bibe. "
succum
si
sitis,
inde
39 See Les Petits Bollandistes " Vies des 2
letters,
Moguntina
simple
Martyrology Tallagh,3
— modi anathemata, quae singulis annis afferri
et appendi ibidem solent in perennem recu-
cxxxi.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxii. In
that copy of the same Martyrology, as found
48 Father Gropp adds : "Alia testantur
appensae in ejus sacello variae imagines, ITionAcln.
figurae cereae, fulcra subalaria, aliaque hujus- 4 By a more recent hand, that has added
Saints," tome ix. , xviie Jour d'Aout, p. 626.
sanitatis alteriusve beneficii testem
coronata
brata, etc. , ex ejusdem Monasterii Chartis et Documents aliisque probatis Autoribus eruta et probata," pars, i. , cap. i. , pp. 42, etseq.
x
Article iv. — In the "Leabhar Breac"
Seeifo'd. , p.
atque
in the Book of Leinster, we read Cemiani
248 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 17.
the 17th of August. In reference to this holy man, it has been suggested/
first, that the Temhnen here mentioned may be the same as St. Hieron, a
priest who was martyred by the Norsemen in 856, and who is commemorated,
on this day,5 in Holland; or secondly, that the name may not be different from
thatofErnan,diminutivefromIemorHeronn,meaning"iron. "6 However,he
is sufficiently well distinguished in the entries given from two of our most
ancient Calendars. There is, therefore, no necessity to seek for any foreign
saint, nor for any person bearing the name Ernan or Ferreolus. But there
seems, nevertheless, some confusion, as we have already had Temnen, of
Linn Uachaille, at the 7 th of August. ? It is possible, that there may have been
two bearing a like name, and that by an error in the gloss of Marianus
O'Gorman, they are both said to be of Linn Uachaille. In the Martyrology of
Tamlacht, at 7th August, we have "Temnanus Linn dtiachil," and at the 17th
of " Temmianus monachus," which seems to indicate that were August, they
two different persons. In the text of Marianus O'Gorman, we have simply "Temnan," in both places; but, in both, the gloss tells us, that he was of Linn Uachaille. 8 His name occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal,? at this same date, under the title of Temhnen, Monk and Martyr, of Linn Uachille. 10 This place has been now identified with the present parish of Magheralin or Maralin, lying partly in the Barony of O'Neilland East, County of Armagh, but chiefly in that of Lower Iveagh, County of Down. 11 This old church of Linn Uachille has often been noticed in our Annals, as having been despoiled by the Northmen. 12 It is probable, that during one of their forays, the saint here named had obtained his crown of martyrdom.
Article V. —St. Beccan, possibly of Kilbeggan, County of 1
Westmeath. TheMartyrologyofTallagh, simplyentersthename—Beccan, Sci, at the 17th of August. —Except the inference, that he flourished proba- bly before the ninth century no other conjecture appears safe to hazard.
2 Wehavealreadyseen,atthe5thdayofApril, thataSt. BecanorBegain,
the son of Cule, was venerated, and he was connected with Imlech-Fiaich,3 in Fera-Cul-Breagh, now Emlach, in the present County of Meath. Although, according to some conjectural accounts, he is thought to have founded a monastery at Kilbeggan, in the present County of Westmeath ; yet, of the different saints bearing this name and mentioned in our Irish Calendars, all have some distinction of epithet, but none are remarked as having been con- nected with Kilbeggan. It seems most probable, however, that this place
a note at this saint's name in the O'Clerys'
copy of the Martyrology of Donegal.
5 See his Acts, in Art. i. , at this date.
6 This same name is Latinized Ferreolus
by Adamnan, in Vita S. Columbse, lib. iii. , cap. 23, p. 237, Rev. Dr. Reeves' edition.
1 See at this date, in the present Volume, Art. iii.
10 A note by Drs. Todd and Reeves, tells us at this word, Linn Uachaille^ that the more recent hand has written here an ex-
planatory or an enquiring note, the substance of which has been embodied in our text.
11 "
See Lewis' Topographical Dictionary
of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 334.
u See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias-
8 "An idem et Hieron, Mart, Holland, tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
&ne cepnan flop aca Ann, quasi diminu- tivum ab Heronn. Ferreolus, unde Ieron—n juxtaAdamnan,"whichmaybetranslated
"Is he the same as Ileiron, a martyr of Holland ? or is the name that is here Ernan, a sort of diminutive from Heronn, Ferreolus, unde Ieronn according to Adamnan. "
» Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 220,221.
Dromore," n. (i), pp. no, 1 11, and Appen- dix LL, p. 379
1
Article v. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxxii. In that copy found in the Book of Leinster, we also find beccAin, without the addition of Sci, which stands for "saint. "
2
See at that date, in the Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
August i 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 249
took its denomination from a church built there by, or dedicated to, a St, Beccan. Now, two differently entered saints of this name occur, on this day, in our Calendars, and as they have no distinction of patronymic or of place, it may be, that one or the other had been connected with Kilbeggan. Beside this town, and on an eminence within some rich pasture fields, the old cemetery is to be seen. There it was lately enclosed with a strong iron and wire fence, having an entrance-gate between cut-stone piers. * The grave- yard is full of modern head-stones, but few vestiges of ancient ones are now
Kilbeggan Old Graveyard, County of Westmeath.
to be seen. This is said to have had a church on its site, and the place is yet called The Relick, or Reilig,s which signifies a graveyard. Near this, a
Cistercian 6 to have been monastery appears
founded,? by
about the year 1200, and it was supplied with monks from the Abbey of
Mellifont,intheCountyofLouth. WehavearecordofsomeAbbots,who governed that house in Kilbeggan, to the last Abbot, whose possessions were
JO
confiscated, after Inquisition made,9 during the reign of King Henry VIII. From the enumeration given, it would seem, that it had acquired a very ample revenue from houses and lands. It is stated, that the Abbot and Canons had voluntarily surrendered this Abbey to him, with its church,
belfry
and 11 In the time of cemetery.
Queen
Elizabeth, some of these
3"6 See Rev. Anthony Cogan's Ecclesias-
Of this, however, there is no account in •'
tical History of the Diocese of Meath, the tract of Sir James Ware, Coenobia
Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap, xxiii. , p. 136.
4 The accompanying illustration of this burial-place was sketched by the writer on the spot in August, 1888.
It was afterwards drawn on the wood by William F. Wake- man, and engraved by Mrs. Millard.
5 The term is said to be a derivative from
Cisterciensia Hibemise. "
7 It was called the Abbey of the River of
God.
8
According to Allemande.
9 On the 30th of November, 1539.
10 See Mervyn Archdall's " Monasticon Hibernicum," pp. 717, 718.
11 According to an Inquisition taken in
the Latin word mains. "
" re-
the third of Edward VI. 's year
Reliqttia, signifying
reign.
" At the annual rent of £6 15s. as stated
the Dalton 8 family,
2 $6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 17.
possessions were rented to Robert Dillon and to his heirs, /*;/ capites King
James I. granted I the site and landed property of the monastery to Sir
Oliver Lambert, who is said to have pulled down its walls. 14 At this same
the of 1*recordsBeccan. ThenaddstheCalen- date, Martyrology Donegal,
darist : this may be Beccan, son to Saran, who descends from the race of Colla-da-chrioch. •
Article VI. —St. Beccan. There is another Beccan mentioned in the
of x andof Martyrologies Tallagh
2atthe of Inthat 17th August.
Donegal,
copy of the former, inserted in the Book of Leinster, 3 we find also the double
entry of such a name, but without further designation, in either case. Article VII. —St. Tocha, or Tuchai. The name of Tuchai, was
1
venerated at the 17th of August, as we find in the Martyrology of Tallagh.
In that of
Donegal,
2 the name is written Tocha.
Article VIIT. —St. Fortheto. We have reason to suspect, some incorrection has been admitted, in entering a saint's name here, and in the present form. Veneration was given to Fortheto, at the 17th of August, as
1
It must be admitted, however, that the name is given with identical spelling in that copy found in the Book of Leinster,2 and at this same date. The O'Clerys seem to have had doubts about admitting that unusual form of an Irish name into
their Calendar.
Article IX. —St. Eoin of St. John's, County of Down. It should be understood, that the proper name Eoin, in Irish, is equivalent to the
we read in the published Martyrology of Tallagh.
x
records a festival at the In the beginning of the fourteenth century, his place seems to have been known as the Chapel of Styoun, now St. John's Point. This is a detached townland in the parish of Rathmullan. 3 At this same date, the name occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal/Eoin,sonofCarlan,ofTigh-Eoin,inUladh. Thisplacehasbeen identifiedwithSt. John's,intheCountyofDown. s Intheyear1183,itwould seem to have been designated Stechian, in the time of James I. Stion, and at the time of the Dissolution, it was called the Chapel of St. John of Jerusalem. This ancient chapel belonged to a very antique class of ecclesiastical build-
The
17th of August, to honour St. Eoani mic Carlain.
English
name
John.
Martyrology
of
Tallagh 3
in the Chief Remembrancer's Office.
13 By letters patent, in the fourth year of
the entry Cuchai.
3
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 222, 223.
his reign.
14
See Rev. Anthony Cogan's
"Diocese of
Article viii. — " Kelly, p. xxxii.
s
Thus Vopcheco. Article ix. — *
Kelly, p. xxxii.
Edited
Edited
by
by
Rev. Dr.
Rev. Dr.
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. ,
chap, lxxiv. , pp. 176, 177.
"5
Edited by 220, 221.
Article VI. p. xxxii.
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
—
A similar notice accurs in the Book of Leinster copy Sci eoam 1111c Captain, at this same day.
3 See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
for the County of Down," sheet 45.
* Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
220, 221.
5 By William M. Hennessy.
•
Edited by
Rev. Dr.
a
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 220, 221.
3 Thus written, beccam. '
Article vil— ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxii. In the copy, as found in the Book of Leinster, at this date, we have
Kelly,
August 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 251 ings. It measured only 20 by 13 feet, in the clear. Better than a century
6
ago, the walls were entire.
the foundation, and with it the east window, small and narrow, terminating in an acute angle, formed by two inclined flags. The doorway, in the west wall, is 5 feet, 6 inches, high ; 2 feet, 1 inch wide, at the top, but gradually dilating to the threshold, where it is 3 feet in breadth. In the south wall, near the south-east angle, there is a window 2 feet, 5 \ inches high ; 1 foot, 4 inches wide, at top, and 1 foot, 9 nine inches, at bottom. In both instances, the aperture is surmounted by a single flag, instead of an arch. ?
Article X. —Festival of St. Mammes, Martyr, in C^esarea, Cappa-
docia. ThefestivalofSt. Mammes,theMartyr,washonouredinIreland,
probably before the eighth century, and on the 17th of August, when it is
6 besides some
lation of his relics to the Lingones, a people of Champagne,? in France, are
noticedinthe"Feihre" ofSt. 1 Thescholiasthas ^Engus.
chapters ;
previous
observations 7 on a of the Trans- History
added. That IO was History
name is unknown.
8
written,
11
by
some
of buthis Langres,
Dromore," n. (s), pp. 33, 34, and Appendix
LL, p. 379. —
Article x. See "Transactions of
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , parti. On the Calendar of
Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxiv.
* In Latin thus: "Roches Mammes
martir 7rl. qui mulsit lac a ferinis et cui
euangelium datum est et passus est sub [au]
ri iano imperatore in ciuitate Capadocioe
prouincire etpuererat annorum . xu. quando passus est. Vel Mammes . i. sanctus fil
Longbardaib . i. anni hiFrangcaib 7 nobilis martir et confessor fuit sicut incolre loci ill [i] us affirmant. "
3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Au- gusti xvii. De Sanctis Martyribus Alexan- drinis Mammete Disco seu Diseo et forte Disca et Mammitacum sociis suis, p. 418.
8
SeeTacitus,Historiarum,lib. iv. , cap.
'
57. Now les Langrois, their chief city is
mitted saints, p. 416. 42
But now, the east wall has been demolished to
added, likewise, some comments 2 to that record. At this date, the Bollandists3 have entered, on authority of an ancient Calendar, a St. Mammes with others at Alexandria ; but, they have doubts, if he be at all a different person from St. Mammes, a Martyr of Cesarea, in Cappadocia, whose feast is also set down for the 17th of August. A very elaborate previous commentary 4 is prefixed to the Passion s of the last-named holy Martyr, containing a Prologue, with two
Article. XI. —Festival of the Translation of St. David's Relics, Archbishop in Wales. In Greven's additions to the Carthusian Martyr- ology, Bruxelles, is an entry, at the 17th of August: " Translatio divi Davidis archiepiscopi in Wallia. " This is noted, likewise, at the same date, by the
6 See Harris " History and Antiquities of the County of Down," p. 271.
s Auctore, Godefrido Lingonensi episcopo, ex codice MS. Carthusian Divionensis.
i See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias-
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and accompanyingannotations.
In five sections and fifty-two para. See also, the Third Volume of this graphs. work, for that date, Art. i.
6
nineteen
with
priest
Comprising
7 In seven paragraphs.
paragraphs,
Langres. 9"
See Pliny, Historia Naturalis," lib. iv. , sect. 31.
10 The Bollandists observe " Et in :
" A preface of the author, in two para- graphs, and in three chapters, comprising twenty additional paragraphs, together with notes of the editor, Father John Pinius, S. J. , may be found. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Augusti xvii. De Sancto Mamante vel Mammete Martyre, Caesarea; in Cappadocia, pp. 423 to 446.
Bibliotheca FloriacensiJoannis a Bosco lypis editab pag. 226, et sequentibits xysti dextri.
—'See "Acta
Article xi. Sanctorum,"
tomus iii. , Augusti xvii. Among the preter-
252 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 18. Bollandists, 1 who refer for further particulars to his Acts, published on the ist
2
Article XII. —The Finding of St. Livinus, Martyr, in Belgium. In the Florarium Sanctorum, at the 17th of Augustus entered S. Livinilnventio. It is to be presumed, this is a feast, designed to commemorate the Finding or Translation of St. Livinus' relics. The chief Festival of this holy Irish Martyr is held on the 12th day of November, at which date the Bollandists
2
<£t(rl)tmttl) ©ap of august.
ARTICLE I. —ST. DAIGH OR DAGEUS, BISIIGT, OF INIS-CAOIN- DEAGIIA, NOW INISKEEN, IN THE COUNTY OF LOUTH.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ] CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—ANCIENT ACTS OF ST.