In every part of his treatise, the learned Abbot warmly exhorts his readers to exercise charity towards the poor ; to bewail with tears sins they had committed ; and to practise both interior and
exterior
penance.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
The present Saint probably lived at an early period of the Christian Church in Ireland.
He is classed among the -disciples of holy Patrick, the Irish Apostle.
Although called Seseneus, his right name is Sessenus.
^ His feast is set down, at this date, and he is called Sesan by Marianus O'Gorman.
It is
width,
height.
in the
all known concerning him.
of
Donegal,
16 at the
of This is August.
registered
Martyrology
31st
Article III. —Deacon Aedh, or Aidus, of Cuil Maine, now Clonmanv, County of Donegal. In the published Martyrology of
1 we find that veneration was
8
a photograph, translerred to the wood by ,
at the
of to Aedh August
Tallagh,
given
31st
The accompanying illustration is from
text is also given ibid. , num. iv , pp. 306, 307.
,2
William F. Wakeman. by Mrs. Millard.
I3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 268.
9 The O'Maddens were
lords of
The engraving is
formerly
the present barony of Longford, in the sect, xxxii. , num. v. , p. 307.
County of Galway. By a scion of that an-
cient family, Dr. Thomas More Madden,
several interesting references are made in a
work lately published, "Genealogical,
Historical, and Family Records of the Martii vi. , Vita S. Sezini, Episcopi Confess.
O'Maddens of Hy-Many and their Descend- ants. " Dublin, 1894, 8vo.
10 The text of this Bull is set forth in
"
et Patroni Tutelaris Parochiae de Guic
Sezni In Urbe Leonensi, n. i. , p. 478.
IS See his Acts, in the Third Volume of
this work, at the 6th of March, Art. ii.
Bishop de Burgo's
cap. ix. , sect. xxxii. , num.
Hibernia Dominicana,"
ii. , p. 304.
" This Bull is dated: "Datum Romse 230,231. —
apud Sanctos Apostolos ix. Kal. Decern- Article III. bris, Pontificatus nostri AnnoDecimo. " The Kelly, p. xxxiii.
*
Edited by Rev. Dr.
date the 8th of 10 October, 1426,
12 The or
vestry chapter-
During the last century this portion of the building had been used as the Protes- tant Church for Portumna. See Bishop de
" Hibernia Dominicana," ix. , Burgo's cap.
I4 Seev "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"
l6
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
S o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 3 i. Mac Maine. His place, however, is not there particularized. A similar
Lothar,
Irish tion. This
10 this does not rest on solid founda-
is to be found, in the Book of Leinster 2 such copy. Following
entry
authorities, we should be inclined to infer, that the father of Aedh was
namedMaine. HesprungfromtheraceofCollaUais,MonarchofErin, according to the O'Clerys. This must be the same Saint, whose festival has been already recorded, at the ioth of July. 3 When St. Patrick * was in the extreme North of Ireland, he visited the district of Bredach, where he met three of his nephews, by a sister. These, too, were deacons. There the saint rested on a Sunday, and laid out the foundations of a church, called Domhnach bile, afterwards known as Moville, in the present County of Donegal. s Cuil-MainewastheancientnameoftheparishofClonmany,in the north-west of the barony of Inishowen, and in the County of Donegal. It is said, St. Patrick had a nephew, or a relative, called Aidus, Aedan, or Aedh. 7 However, it seems no easy matter to define his identity ; although his father is stated to have been a nobleman, named Colman, son of Aidus, and of the Hi-Bressail race. In after time, the former Aedh became cele- brated for sanctity, and he was regarded as the patron of an island, called Inis-
8 where he was venerated. However, as the date for his festival has not been noted, among the many Irish saints bearing a similar name in our calendars, it is only necessary to state from the particulars recorded, he must bedistinguishedfromthepresentSt. Aidus,saidtobeofCuil-Maine. This ancient denomination has been resolved into Clonmany9 in Donegal. Colgan
advances the possibility of the present Aedus having been a nephew of the
any Martyrology Donegal,
Article IV. —Reputed Translation of St. Ctjimian's Relics, at
Bobbio, in Italy. Already have we related nearly all that can be known,
June, and again at the 19th of August ; both of which days are assigned to him as festivals. However, still much doubt remains, in regard to the identity and acts of that St. Cumian, who was the Bishop buried at Bobbio, in Italy. We have alluded, at the latter date, to that town, and given an illustration of St. Columbano's Church, in which the remains of the illustrious founder and patron, St. Columbanus,3 and also of St. Cummian, are laid at rest, in their respective tombs. When St. Columbanus was obliged to leave Bregentz, his protector, Theodobert, King of Austrasie, having been vanquished in the
Apostle, yet, opinion
holy
great
same date, as Deacon Aedh, of Cuil-Maine.
man is recorded in the
of
11 at this
with any degree of certainty, in reference to St. Cummianus, at the 9th of 12
2 Thus : &vo mac ttlAine.
3 See the Seventh Volume of this work*, at that date, for a notice of him, Art. iii.
4 See the Third Volume of this work, at the 17th of March, Art. i. The Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief 1'atron of Ire- land, chap. xiv.
rated, on the 8th day of March. See ibid. ,
nn. 104, 105,
9 This parish has an area of 23,375 acres.
Much of the interior surface is mountainous,
and it towers aloft in abrupt accuminated
"
ascents. See Gazetteer of the World," vol.
"Trias
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. Vita Patricii, nn. 176, 177, p. 181.
5 See exxii. , p. 145.
Thaumaturga,"
Thaumaturga," Septima Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Colgan's
6
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , n. (k), p. 1249.
7 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. lxxvi. ,p. 163.
8 This place has not been identified ; yet
Colgan conjectures it may be the same as Cluain-Lothuir, where St. Curcagia is vene-
230, 231. — Article iv.
ii. , p. 593.
,0 See "Trias
"
p.
187.
See the Sixth Volume of this work, at that date, Art. iv.
'
See the present Volume, at that day. Art. ii.
3 His festival is held on the 21st Novem- ber, at which date his Acts are to be found in the Eleventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
2
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5°9
decisive battle of Tolbiac, a. d. 612, by his brother Thierry, the holy Abbot took his course across the Alps, with a single disciple named Attala/
and sought refuge with Agilulphe, King of the Lombards. From him, St. Columban obtained a grant ot the district named Bobbio, not far from that site where Hannibal had formerly encamped on the River Trebbia, and had vanquished the Romans in battle. At that place, in a gorge of the Apen- nines between Milan and Genoa, there had been an old church dedicated to St. Peter,s Prince of the Apostles. The great Irish missionary charged
The Bridge and Town of Bobbio, Italy.
himself with the work of restoration, and beside it he commenced the foundation of his celebrated monastery, where religion and learning alike flourished for many succeeding centuries. 6 As in the case of nearly all such
monastic establishments, a town grew up around that abbey, at the present time comprising fully 4,000 inhabitants. ? The approach to it is by a noble bridge of several arches, which span the River Trebbia. 8 * The monastery
4 He was venerated on the 10th of March
as a saint, and is said by Miss Margaret Stokes to have followed St. Columban from Ireland. See "Six Months in the Apen- nines," p. 168. However, Jonas, who has written the Life of Attala, states that he was a noble by birth, and that he belonged to theKingdomofBurgundy. Seeanoticeof him in the Third Volume of this work, at
the loth of March, Art. xviii.
5 His chief festival occurs on the 29th of
has given a catalogue of seven hundred
manuscripts kept there in the tenth century. There, too, was found that famous Palimp- sest, on which Cardinal Mai has deciphered the work of Cicero, " De Republica. "
7 See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. ii. ,
P- 787- 8Theaccompanyingillustrationisfroma
drawing on the spot by Miss Margaret Stokes, and most kindly lent to the writer
for the purpose of having it copied on the
wood by William F. Wakeman. The 6 The school and library at Bobbio were engraving is by Mrs. Millard. The draw-
June.
regarded as among the most celebrated
during the Middle Ages. The latter con-
ing by Miss Stokes has been engraved on a much larger scale in her highly interesting and valuable work, "Six Months in the
tained a great number of manuscripts,
traced, no doubt, by Irish scribes, and Apennines ; or, a Pilgrimage in Search of having the peculiar interlaced Celtic forms Vestiges of the Irish Saints in Italy," at on several of the initial letters. Muratori p. 191. London, 1892, 4to.
5 io LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
was suppressed, under the French domination of Italy, in 1803, and its
literary treasures were dispersed. Some of the Bobbio Manuscripts were
transferred to the Ambrosian Library in Milan ; others were conveyed to the
Benedictine Monastery of Monte Casino, where a great number of them are
now preserved. 9 It need scarcely be added, that those depositories contain
a vast store of information, historic and otherwise, not yet published. The
Church of St. Columban still exists, and serves for all parochial purposes, at
Bobbio. In the crypt of that church, and at the left side of the high
altar, a sarcophagus contains the relics of St. Cummian. As the stone
which bears the inscription, to which allusion has been already made,10
seems to have rested originally over his grave, and horizontally on the
floor, it is probable enough, that when it had been placed upright, and
fixed into the wall, a solemn Translation of his remains then took
place, and that it possibly occurred on a 31st of August. It seems
likely enough, that St. Cuimian of Bobbio had been the author of a Treatise,
"
intituled, Liber de Penitentiarum Mensura," several manuscript copies
of which and it has also been remain,"
printed.
faith which the early Church professed respecting Confession, the Penitential
of Cummian establishes, moreover, Catholic doctrine on the efficacy of good
works, and on the necessity for satisfying the Divine Justice for sin through the Sacrament of Penance. ^ In a brief preface, the author specifies the chief remedies applicable to the wounds made by sin in the human soul ; and he states, that as disease is overcome by counter-irritants, so should those, who wilfully commit crimes that are unlawful, also refrain from acts that are lawful, in order to procure pardon and remission.
In every part of his treatise, the learned Abbot warmly exhorts his readers to exercise charity towards the poor ; to bewail with tears sins they had committed ; and to practise both interior and exterior penance. '4 Under fourteen distinct headings or chapters are enumerated the most grievous crimes that are committed, and the various penalties which are to be inflicted for their com- mission, as applicable to the clergy or laity. Even for those in a higher ecclesiastical station, the infliction is greater in proportion to their elevation than for those in the lower grade of orders. Very minute likewise are the
9 During a visit to Monte Casino, in
October, 1886, the writer was shown in the
Manuscript department of that magnificent and valuable Library several Codices taken from Hobbio, and traced in what the librarian considered to be the Lombard ic style. Everywhere the distinctive Celtic interlaced style was apparent in that class of manuscripts. When the librarian was informed by the present writer that the characters and style were unmistakably of Irish origin, he expressed great surprise, but possibly he was not wholly convinced that our country could boast an art so peculiar to itself, and so different from any indi- genoustoItaly.
10
In the Sixth Volume of this work,
at the 9th of June, Art. iv. ; and in the readers. See pp. 193 to 210.
present Volume, at the 19th of August, Art. ii.
" Two of these, classed Nos. 550 and 675, are of the ninth century, and they are kept in the Library of St. Gall, where the
,4
See Very Kev. P. J. Carew's
"
Ecclesi-
12 Besides the exhibiting
writer had an opportunity of inspecting them ontheoccasionofavisittothatplace. There is moreover a Darmstadt copy of the ninth century, classed No. 91, as also a Vienna Codex of the tenth century, classed Codex Theologicus, No. 651.
"
"it is to be found in the Bibliotheca
Maxima Patruum," vol. xii. , pp. $\,etseq. \ "
also in Abbd Migne's Cursus Completus Patrilogise," vol. lxxxvii. , pp. 979. et seq.
* 3 In Father F. Patrick Fleming's "Collec- tanea Sacra," he inserts this tract, under the
"
Cumeani Abbatis Scoto- Iliberni Liber de Poenitentiarum Mensura nunc primum ex MS. Codice Bibliotheca; San-GallensisinLucemeditus. " Itispre- eeded by an address of the editor to his
following title .
astical History of Ireland, from the Intro-
duction of Christianity into that Country to
the Commencement of the Thirteenth Century," chap, viii. , p. 309.
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
prescriptions given in reference to different occasions and matters ; as also with regard to the nature, time and mode for performing those penances in
each particular case. The requirements were exceedingly rigorous. How- ever, no matter how great may be the crime committed, no priest must refuse absolution to a penitent at the point of death, as the Lord hath said : On whatever day the sinner shall repent, let him live and not die. Very interesting, also, are the statements contained in Cumian's Penitential,
regarding the Grecian practice of the clergy and laity communicating each Sunday, although the Romans did not conform to such a practice under a
similar penalty. It is decreed, moreover, that on the day of a monk's interment, Mass should be offered, as also on the third day, or whenever the abbot desired it, while for a good laic, Mass might be celebrated on the
x
third or seventh day. s Without any other reason for doing so, Colgan has
1
Article V. —St. Aedh, Martyr. Veneration was given to an Aedh,
Martyr, at the 31st of August, as we find set down in the Martyrology of
some notices of this St.
he found a St. Cumeneus, the son of Dubh, a confessor, ? and venerated at a place called Druim Druith, at that date, in the Irish calendars. 18 The Translation of St. Cummian's relics has been assigned to this day, by Hugo
T Menard and by Arnold Wion. 9
given
Cumian,
1
Tallagh. Again,
under the head of Inis Duald Mac Firbis enters, Cathaigh,
from
localization, however, is not stated.
at
2 The reason for this
Aedhan, bishop,
Inis-Cathaigh,
August 31st.
Article VI. —St. Cillen, Bishop. Veneration was paid to Cillen,
Bishop, at the 31st of August, as we find entered in the Martyrology of
1 similarnamesaretobefoundintheIrishCalendars but Donegal. Many ;
no other indication is given to distinguish him. The name is often written Kilian or Killen.
"5 Having made this statement, Cumian's
Penitential thus concludes : "Potest esse
jejunium pro poenitente vigessimo die vel
septimo ; et propinquos ejus oportet jejunare septimo die, et oblationem offerre ad altare,
sicut in Jesu filio Syrach legitur, et pro Saul filii Israel jejunaverunt : postea quantum voluerit Presbyter. Mulieres possunt sub nigro velamine accipere Sacrificium : Ba-
silius hoc judicavit. Episcopis licet in
campo confirmare. Prsesbytero in uno altari
duas facere Missas conceditur uno die.
Orane Sacrificium sordida vetustate corrup-
turn, igne comburendum est; Confessio
autem Deo soli ut agatur, si necesse est,
licebit. Missas secularium mortuorum, ter
in anno, tertio die, et septimo die, et tri-
gessimo die, quia surrexit Dominus tertia
die et hora nona emisit spiritum et triginta
dies filii Israel Flem- Moysen planxerunt. "—
Abbatis Scoto-Hiberni Liber de Mensura
Poenitentiarum, p. 210.
l6 "
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Ja-
nuarii xii. De S. Cumiano Episcopo Bobii
sepulto, pp. 58, 59.
' 7 See our notices of him, at the 12th of Jan-
uary,in the First Volume of this work, Art. iii.
,8
His feast is noted at the 12th of January, in the Martyrologies of Tallaght, of Maria- nus O'Gorman, of Cathal Maguire and of the O'Clerys.
ing's "Collectanea Sacra," &c. Cumeani and Reeves, pp. 230, 231.
at the 12th of 6 because day January,'
' 9 See
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae," Januarii—xii. , n. , 6. p. 59.
' Articlev. Editedby
Rev. Dr. p. xxxiii. Also in the Book of Leinster copy
we find •Aet> map.
2
See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part
i. , pp. 1 14, US-
Article vi. —* Edited by Drs. Todd
Kelly,
A
SI2
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Article VII. —St. Cronan, Deacon. The name of Cronan, Deacon, 1
is found recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at this date. Again, St. Cronan, apparently a deacon, is an entry found in the Book of
Leinster copy of that Martyrology. to be known.
2
Where or when he lived does not seem
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of Colum Cuile. A festival is inserted
of Tallagh, 1 in honour of Colum Cuile, at the 31st of August. This is intended, no doubt, for the great Apostle of Caledonia. 8 There is no entry of Colum Cuile, however, in the Manuscript
copy of that Martyrology, contained in the Book of Leinster, at this date.
in the
published Martyrology
Article IX. —Translation of St. Ninian's Relics.
Calendar " D—e Nova Farina," there is a feast noted at the ii. of the Kalends
— the chief feast for this distinguished apostle of the Southern Picts falls upon the 16th day of September, when further notices of him are to be found. He
1
August 31st for a translation of the Relics of St. Ninian. However,
was specially venerated in Scotland.
- Article X. —Feast of St. Paxjlinus. In the
Feast of Paultous is set down at the 31st of August, in the "Feilire
A comment is
Bishop of Nola, a town in Italy.
2 and it that he was Paulinus, asserts,
As in all similar cases, where an Irish Calendar entry of a foreign saint, unconnected with Ireland by birth, locality, mission or death, occurs, reference to the general Collections of Church
Hagiographies must be consulted for complete illustrations of their Lives.
1
Article VII. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
Kelly, p. xxxiii. Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of
3
Angus'.
attached,
Thus : Sci Cponam, and over this word, Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. so far as can be deciphered, -oiam. cxxvi.
Article viii. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
'3"
xxxiii. 2""
Kelly, p.
See his Life, at the 9th of June, in the in Latin, quia se ipsum tradidit ciuidam
Sixth Volume o—f this work, Art i.
Bishop Forbes* " Kalendars of Scottish
Saints," p. 74.
Article x. —' Sec " Transactions of the
(sic). Moreover in the lower margin is
'
Article ix. Thus entered
: ii. kal. lound a comment
Semitic
ti- Oct. " Translacio Sancti Niniani. " See -dujjAifc 7pl. nApet>b<M . i. "quia uidua
early
Irish Church, the
In that copy found in the Leabhar
Breac. " To ,ob,OAi in the text is added tiApe
:
tradidit eum pro filio suoin seruitium generi regis Uandalorum . i. gens in Affrica . i.
Uandali. —See ibid. , End of Volume VIII.
p.
cxxxv.
In the Scottish
"
of St.
width,
height.
in the
all known concerning him.
of
Donegal,
16 at the
of This is August.
registered
Martyrology
31st
Article III. —Deacon Aedh, or Aidus, of Cuil Maine, now Clonmanv, County of Donegal. In the published Martyrology of
1 we find that veneration was
8
a photograph, translerred to the wood by ,
at the
of to Aedh August
Tallagh,
given
31st
The accompanying illustration is from
text is also given ibid. , num. iv , pp. 306, 307.
,2
William F. Wakeman. by Mrs. Millard.
I3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 268.
9 The O'Maddens were
lords of
The engraving is
formerly
the present barony of Longford, in the sect, xxxii. , num. v. , p. 307.
County of Galway. By a scion of that an-
cient family, Dr. Thomas More Madden,
several interesting references are made in a
work lately published, "Genealogical,
Historical, and Family Records of the Martii vi. , Vita S. Sezini, Episcopi Confess.
O'Maddens of Hy-Many and their Descend- ants. " Dublin, 1894, 8vo.
10 The text of this Bull is set forth in
"
et Patroni Tutelaris Parochiae de Guic
Sezni In Urbe Leonensi, n. i. , p. 478.
IS See his Acts, in the Third Volume of
this work, at the 6th of March, Art. ii.
Bishop de Burgo's
cap. ix. , sect. xxxii. , num.
Hibernia Dominicana,"
ii. , p. 304.
" This Bull is dated: "Datum Romse 230,231. —
apud Sanctos Apostolos ix. Kal. Decern- Article III. bris, Pontificatus nostri AnnoDecimo. " The Kelly, p. xxxiii.
*
Edited by Rev. Dr.
date the 8th of 10 October, 1426,
12 The or
vestry chapter-
During the last century this portion of the building had been used as the Protes- tant Church for Portumna. See Bishop de
" Hibernia Dominicana," ix. , Burgo's cap.
I4 Seev "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"
l6
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
S o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 3 i. Mac Maine. His place, however, is not there particularized. A similar
Lothar,
Irish tion. This
10 this does not rest on solid founda-
is to be found, in the Book of Leinster 2 such copy. Following
entry
authorities, we should be inclined to infer, that the father of Aedh was
namedMaine. HesprungfromtheraceofCollaUais,MonarchofErin, according to the O'Clerys. This must be the same Saint, whose festival has been already recorded, at the ioth of July. 3 When St. Patrick * was in the extreme North of Ireland, he visited the district of Bredach, where he met three of his nephews, by a sister. These, too, were deacons. There the saint rested on a Sunday, and laid out the foundations of a church, called Domhnach bile, afterwards known as Moville, in the present County of Donegal. s Cuil-MainewastheancientnameoftheparishofClonmany,in the north-west of the barony of Inishowen, and in the County of Donegal. It is said, St. Patrick had a nephew, or a relative, called Aidus, Aedan, or Aedh. 7 However, it seems no easy matter to define his identity ; although his father is stated to have been a nobleman, named Colman, son of Aidus, and of the Hi-Bressail race. In after time, the former Aedh became cele- brated for sanctity, and he was regarded as the patron of an island, called Inis-
8 where he was venerated. However, as the date for his festival has not been noted, among the many Irish saints bearing a similar name in our calendars, it is only necessary to state from the particulars recorded, he must bedistinguishedfromthepresentSt. Aidus,saidtobeofCuil-Maine. This ancient denomination has been resolved into Clonmany9 in Donegal. Colgan
advances the possibility of the present Aedus having been a nephew of the
any Martyrology Donegal,
Article IV. —Reputed Translation of St. Ctjimian's Relics, at
Bobbio, in Italy. Already have we related nearly all that can be known,
June, and again at the 19th of August ; both of which days are assigned to him as festivals. However, still much doubt remains, in regard to the identity and acts of that St. Cumian, who was the Bishop buried at Bobbio, in Italy. We have alluded, at the latter date, to that town, and given an illustration of St. Columbano's Church, in which the remains of the illustrious founder and patron, St. Columbanus,3 and also of St. Cummian, are laid at rest, in their respective tombs. When St. Columbanus was obliged to leave Bregentz, his protector, Theodobert, King of Austrasie, having been vanquished in the
Apostle, yet, opinion
holy
great
same date, as Deacon Aedh, of Cuil-Maine.
man is recorded in the
of
11 at this
with any degree of certainty, in reference to St. Cummianus, at the 9th of 12
2 Thus : &vo mac ttlAine.
3 See the Seventh Volume of this work*, at that date, for a notice of him, Art. iii.
4 See the Third Volume of this work, at the 17th of March, Art. i. The Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief 1'atron of Ire- land, chap. xiv.
rated, on the 8th day of March. See ibid. ,
nn. 104, 105,
9 This parish has an area of 23,375 acres.
Much of the interior surface is mountainous,
and it towers aloft in abrupt accuminated
"
ascents. See Gazetteer of the World," vol.
"Trias
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. Vita Patricii, nn. 176, 177, p. 181.
5 See exxii. , p. 145.
Thaumaturga,"
Thaumaturga," Septima Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Colgan's
6
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , n. (k), p. 1249.
7 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. lxxvi. ,p. 163.
8 This place has not been identified ; yet
Colgan conjectures it may be the same as Cluain-Lothuir, where St. Curcagia is vene-
230, 231. — Article iv.
ii. , p. 593.
,0 See "Trias
"
p.
187.
See the Sixth Volume of this work, at that date, Art. iv.
'
See the present Volume, at that day. Art. ii.
3 His festival is held on the 21st Novem- ber, at which date his Acts are to be found in the Eleventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
2
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 5°9
decisive battle of Tolbiac, a. d. 612, by his brother Thierry, the holy Abbot took his course across the Alps, with a single disciple named Attala/
and sought refuge with Agilulphe, King of the Lombards. From him, St. Columban obtained a grant ot the district named Bobbio, not far from that site where Hannibal had formerly encamped on the River Trebbia, and had vanquished the Romans in battle. At that place, in a gorge of the Apen- nines between Milan and Genoa, there had been an old church dedicated to St. Peter,s Prince of the Apostles. The great Irish missionary charged
The Bridge and Town of Bobbio, Italy.
himself with the work of restoration, and beside it he commenced the foundation of his celebrated monastery, where religion and learning alike flourished for many succeeding centuries. 6 As in the case of nearly all such
monastic establishments, a town grew up around that abbey, at the present time comprising fully 4,000 inhabitants. ? The approach to it is by a noble bridge of several arches, which span the River Trebbia. 8 * The monastery
4 He was venerated on the 10th of March
as a saint, and is said by Miss Margaret Stokes to have followed St. Columban from Ireland. See "Six Months in the Apen- nines," p. 168. However, Jonas, who has written the Life of Attala, states that he was a noble by birth, and that he belonged to theKingdomofBurgundy. Seeanoticeof him in the Third Volume of this work, at
the loth of March, Art. xviii.
5 His chief festival occurs on the 29th of
has given a catalogue of seven hundred
manuscripts kept there in the tenth century. There, too, was found that famous Palimp- sest, on which Cardinal Mai has deciphered the work of Cicero, " De Republica. "
7 See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. ii. ,
P- 787- 8Theaccompanyingillustrationisfroma
drawing on the spot by Miss Margaret Stokes, and most kindly lent to the writer
for the purpose of having it copied on the
wood by William F. Wakeman. The 6 The school and library at Bobbio were engraving is by Mrs. Millard. The draw-
June.
regarded as among the most celebrated
during the Middle Ages. The latter con-
ing by Miss Stokes has been engraved on a much larger scale in her highly interesting and valuable work, "Six Months in the
tained a great number of manuscripts,
traced, no doubt, by Irish scribes, and Apennines ; or, a Pilgrimage in Search of having the peculiar interlaced Celtic forms Vestiges of the Irish Saints in Italy," at on several of the initial letters. Muratori p. 191. London, 1892, 4to.
5 io LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
was suppressed, under the French domination of Italy, in 1803, and its
literary treasures were dispersed. Some of the Bobbio Manuscripts were
transferred to the Ambrosian Library in Milan ; others were conveyed to the
Benedictine Monastery of Monte Casino, where a great number of them are
now preserved. 9 It need scarcely be added, that those depositories contain
a vast store of information, historic and otherwise, not yet published. The
Church of St. Columban still exists, and serves for all parochial purposes, at
Bobbio. In the crypt of that church, and at the left side of the high
altar, a sarcophagus contains the relics of St. Cummian. As the stone
which bears the inscription, to which allusion has been already made,10
seems to have rested originally over his grave, and horizontally on the
floor, it is probable enough, that when it had been placed upright, and
fixed into the wall, a solemn Translation of his remains then took
place, and that it possibly occurred on a 31st of August. It seems
likely enough, that St. Cuimian of Bobbio had been the author of a Treatise,
"
intituled, Liber de Penitentiarum Mensura," several manuscript copies
of which and it has also been remain,"
printed.
faith which the early Church professed respecting Confession, the Penitential
of Cummian establishes, moreover, Catholic doctrine on the efficacy of good
works, and on the necessity for satisfying the Divine Justice for sin through the Sacrament of Penance. ^ In a brief preface, the author specifies the chief remedies applicable to the wounds made by sin in the human soul ; and he states, that as disease is overcome by counter-irritants, so should those, who wilfully commit crimes that are unlawful, also refrain from acts that are lawful, in order to procure pardon and remission.
In every part of his treatise, the learned Abbot warmly exhorts his readers to exercise charity towards the poor ; to bewail with tears sins they had committed ; and to practise both interior and exterior penance. '4 Under fourteen distinct headings or chapters are enumerated the most grievous crimes that are committed, and the various penalties which are to be inflicted for their com- mission, as applicable to the clergy or laity. Even for those in a higher ecclesiastical station, the infliction is greater in proportion to their elevation than for those in the lower grade of orders. Very minute likewise are the
9 During a visit to Monte Casino, in
October, 1886, the writer was shown in the
Manuscript department of that magnificent and valuable Library several Codices taken from Hobbio, and traced in what the librarian considered to be the Lombard ic style. Everywhere the distinctive Celtic interlaced style was apparent in that class of manuscripts. When the librarian was informed by the present writer that the characters and style were unmistakably of Irish origin, he expressed great surprise, but possibly he was not wholly convinced that our country could boast an art so peculiar to itself, and so different from any indi- genoustoItaly.
10
In the Sixth Volume of this work,
at the 9th of June, Art. iv. ; and in the readers. See pp. 193 to 210.
present Volume, at the 19th of August, Art. ii.
" Two of these, classed Nos. 550 and 675, are of the ninth century, and they are kept in the Library of St. Gall, where the
,4
See Very Kev. P. J. Carew's
"
Ecclesi-
12 Besides the exhibiting
writer had an opportunity of inspecting them ontheoccasionofavisittothatplace. There is moreover a Darmstadt copy of the ninth century, classed No. 91, as also a Vienna Codex of the tenth century, classed Codex Theologicus, No. 651.
"
"it is to be found in the Bibliotheca
Maxima Patruum," vol. xii. , pp. $\,etseq. \ "
also in Abbd Migne's Cursus Completus Patrilogise," vol. lxxxvii. , pp. 979. et seq.
* 3 In Father F. Patrick Fleming's "Collec- tanea Sacra," he inserts this tract, under the
"
Cumeani Abbatis Scoto- Iliberni Liber de Poenitentiarum Mensura nunc primum ex MS. Codice Bibliotheca; San-GallensisinLucemeditus. " Itispre- eeded by an address of the editor to his
following title .
astical History of Ireland, from the Intro-
duction of Christianity into that Country to
the Commencement of the Thirteenth Century," chap, viii. , p. 309.
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
prescriptions given in reference to different occasions and matters ; as also with regard to the nature, time and mode for performing those penances in
each particular case. The requirements were exceedingly rigorous. How- ever, no matter how great may be the crime committed, no priest must refuse absolution to a penitent at the point of death, as the Lord hath said : On whatever day the sinner shall repent, let him live and not die. Very interesting, also, are the statements contained in Cumian's Penitential,
regarding the Grecian practice of the clergy and laity communicating each Sunday, although the Romans did not conform to such a practice under a
similar penalty. It is decreed, moreover, that on the day of a monk's interment, Mass should be offered, as also on the third day, or whenever the abbot desired it, while for a good laic, Mass might be celebrated on the
x
third or seventh day. s Without any other reason for doing so, Colgan has
1
Article V. —St. Aedh, Martyr. Veneration was given to an Aedh,
Martyr, at the 31st of August, as we find set down in the Martyrology of
some notices of this St.
he found a St. Cumeneus, the son of Dubh, a confessor, ? and venerated at a place called Druim Druith, at that date, in the Irish calendars. 18 The Translation of St. Cummian's relics has been assigned to this day, by Hugo
T Menard and by Arnold Wion. 9
given
Cumian,
1
Tallagh. Again,
under the head of Inis Duald Mac Firbis enters, Cathaigh,
from
localization, however, is not stated.
at
2 The reason for this
Aedhan, bishop,
Inis-Cathaigh,
August 31st.
Article VI. —St. Cillen, Bishop. Veneration was paid to Cillen,
Bishop, at the 31st of August, as we find entered in the Martyrology of
1 similarnamesaretobefoundintheIrishCalendars but Donegal. Many ;
no other indication is given to distinguish him. The name is often written Kilian or Killen.
"5 Having made this statement, Cumian's
Penitential thus concludes : "Potest esse
jejunium pro poenitente vigessimo die vel
septimo ; et propinquos ejus oportet jejunare septimo die, et oblationem offerre ad altare,
sicut in Jesu filio Syrach legitur, et pro Saul filii Israel jejunaverunt : postea quantum voluerit Presbyter. Mulieres possunt sub nigro velamine accipere Sacrificium : Ba-
silius hoc judicavit. Episcopis licet in
campo confirmare. Prsesbytero in uno altari
duas facere Missas conceditur uno die.
Orane Sacrificium sordida vetustate corrup-
turn, igne comburendum est; Confessio
autem Deo soli ut agatur, si necesse est,
licebit. Missas secularium mortuorum, ter
in anno, tertio die, et septimo die, et tri-
gessimo die, quia surrexit Dominus tertia
die et hora nona emisit spiritum et triginta
dies filii Israel Flem- Moysen planxerunt. "—
Abbatis Scoto-Hiberni Liber de Mensura
Poenitentiarum, p. 210.
l6 "
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Ja-
nuarii xii. De S. Cumiano Episcopo Bobii
sepulto, pp. 58, 59.
' 7 See our notices of him, at the 12th of Jan-
uary,in the First Volume of this work, Art. iii.
,8
His feast is noted at the 12th of January, in the Martyrologies of Tallaght, of Maria- nus O'Gorman, of Cathal Maguire and of the O'Clerys.
ing's "Collectanea Sacra," &c. Cumeani and Reeves, pp. 230, 231.
at the 12th of 6 because day January,'
' 9 See
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae," Januarii—xii. , n. , 6. p. 59.
' Articlev. Editedby
Rev. Dr. p. xxxiii. Also in the Book of Leinster copy
we find •Aet> map.
2
See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part
i. , pp. 1 14, US-
Article vi. —* Edited by Drs. Todd
Kelly,
A
SI2
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Article VII. —St. Cronan, Deacon. The name of Cronan, Deacon, 1
is found recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at this date. Again, St. Cronan, apparently a deacon, is an entry found in the Book of
Leinster copy of that Martyrology. to be known.
2
Where or when he lived does not seem
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of Colum Cuile. A festival is inserted
of Tallagh, 1 in honour of Colum Cuile, at the 31st of August. This is intended, no doubt, for the great Apostle of Caledonia. 8 There is no entry of Colum Cuile, however, in the Manuscript
copy of that Martyrology, contained in the Book of Leinster, at this date.
in the
published Martyrology
Article IX. —Translation of St. Ninian's Relics.
Calendar " D—e Nova Farina," there is a feast noted at the ii. of the Kalends
— the chief feast for this distinguished apostle of the Southern Picts falls upon the 16th day of September, when further notices of him are to be found. He
1
August 31st for a translation of the Relics of St. Ninian. However,
was specially venerated in Scotland.
- Article X. —Feast of St. Paxjlinus. In the
Feast of Paultous is set down at the 31st of August, in the "Feilire
A comment is
Bishop of Nola, a town in Italy.
2 and it that he was Paulinus, asserts,
As in all similar cases, where an Irish Calendar entry of a foreign saint, unconnected with Ireland by birth, locality, mission or death, occurs, reference to the general Collections of Church
Hagiographies must be consulted for complete illustrations of their Lives.
1
Article VII. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
Kelly, p. xxxiii. Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of
3
Angus'.
attached,
Thus : Sci Cponam, and over this word, Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. so far as can be deciphered, -oiam. cxxvi.
Article viii. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
'3"
xxxiii. 2""
Kelly, p.
See his Life, at the 9th of June, in the in Latin, quia se ipsum tradidit ciuidam
Sixth Volume o—f this work, Art i.
Bishop Forbes* " Kalendars of Scottish
Saints," p. 74.
Article x. —' Sec " Transactions of the
(sic). Moreover in the lower margin is
'
Article ix. Thus entered
: ii. kal. lound a comment
Semitic
ti- Oct. " Translacio Sancti Niniani. " See -dujjAifc 7pl. nApet>b<M . i. "quia uidua
early
Irish Church, the
In that copy found in the Leabhar
Breac. " To ,ob,OAi in the text is added tiApe
:
tradidit eum pro filio suoin seruitium generi regis Uandalorum . i. gens in Affrica . i.
Uandali. —See ibid. , End of Volume VIII.
p.
cxxxv.
In the Scottish
"
of St.
