See "Irish
Ecclesiastical
Record," vol.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
268, 269.
5= He was a bishop, and by some of our writers, he was classed among the saints. His
feast has been assigned to the 3rd of July, si See " Fac-Similes of National Manu-
Duleek, and this is shown on the
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Meath," Sheets 19, 20, 26, 27, 32, 33 ; the other is Duleek Abbey, Upper Duleek barony, shown on Sheets 27, 33.
The tovm of Duleek is on Sheet 27. See ibid.
^
*' niary.
His feast takes place, on the 6th of Feb-
Ord-
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 405
as stated in the copy, found in the Book of Armagh,si for, it is there said,s« the author obtained his information, from the book or from the oral instruc- tion of his preceptor, St. Ultan. ss Various other biographers succeeded, but many of their compositions are said to have perished, during the wars of the Danes and Northmen. Indeed, no less than sixty-six different Lives of Ire- land's illustrious Patron had already appeared, before the close of the twelfth century, when Jocelyn composed his Acts. S4
The most complete and useful work for information, regarding this great Apostle's career, will be found, in those seven ancient Lives or Tracts,5s pre- pared for the press, and edited, by the learned Father John Colgan. 5S These we shall endeavour to describe, in their order of position. Our celebrated Irish Hagiologist, no doubt, has fallen into various mistakes, while endeavour- ing to investigate the authorship of St. Patrick's several biographies, as in- cluded in his great collection. 57 Considering his foreign residence and position, with the want of aids subsequently provided, his misconceptions were almost inevitable. So far as possible, we shall make some corrections. The First Life, contained in the collection, has been attributed to St. Fiech, or Fiacc,5S regarded as the disciple of St. Patrick. He was the first Bishop of Sletty, and, afterwards, he was recognized, as chief Bishop of Leinster. He
is said to have written a Hymn, partly panegyrical, and partly historical, in which he briefly relates some principal incidents of St. Patrick's life. This
composition, Colgan translated, from the original Irish, into Latin. He printedbothversions,incollateralcolumns. 59 Amuchmorecorrectversionof
this Hymn has recently appeared,^" with interesting illustrations, by a highly competent translator and writer. ^^ If this Poem be really Fiecc's composi-
tion, it is the oldest monument extant, for the illustrating of St. Patrick's memoirs. ^^ There are thirty-four Irish stanzas, in this Hymn. ^3 Colgan drew
"
his version, from the Franciscan
Liber Hymnorum," ^^ and, he endeavoured
scripts of Ireland," selected and edited under the direction of the Rt. Hon. Edward Sullivan, Master of the Rolls in Ireland, by
J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A.
S'^Atfol. 16.
53 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 426.
S'* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi.
55 Where the Lives of our saint are noted,
simply and in numerical order, through the course of these chapters, it must be known to the reader, that reference is had to the foregoing volume, its parts, classifications, and paging.
Thaumaturga," published at Louvain, A. D. 1 647) fol-
57 This must be apparent, to the careful Historic investigator, from closely studying
*' "
See the Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
vol. iv. March, 1868. St. Piece's Poem, on
the Life of St. Patrick, pp. 269 to 293.
^^ The xi. Vol. of O'Longan's MSS. , in the R. I. A. , includes St. Fiach's Metrical Life of St. Patrick, 34 verses, at p. 329. Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's small 4to paper MS. (No. 185) in the R. I. A. , con- tains an imperfect Hymn of St. Fiach of
Slatty, in praise of St. Patrick,
^^ I3esides Colgan's edition, we have one, by Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor, in " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus i. Prole- gomina, part i. , pp. 88 et seq. ; one by Henry Leo, " Commentatio de Carmine Vetusto Hibernico in S. Patricii laudem," Halis Saxonum, 1845 5 ^^^ ^7 Vallancey,
*'
Irish Grammar," Dublin, 1773 ; one by Mr. Patrick Lynch, in the Appendix to his "Life of St.
5* In his celebrated collection, the " Trias
the General Preface to
Thaumaturga," as also the notes and obser-
Patrick," Dublin, 1810,
subsequent
vations, Lives.
he has
Colgan's appended
" Trias to the several
and in
editions ; one by Martin A. O'Brennan in
his " vol. and one Antiquities," i. , p. 484;
by Richard Plunket, with the Irish title,
5* of or "Himhin Bishop Sleibhte, Sletty.
59 See Vita Prima S. Patricii, pp. I to 3, with notes, pp. 4 to 10.
*°A inthe tothe " translation, Appendix
Life of St. Patrick," published by Mr. Patrick Lynch, in Dublin, a. d. 1810, differs, in some points, from that given by Colgan.
Phadruig Absdab," &c. , printed at Dublin, 1791.
'"• This is the copy, now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin.
^5 The Rev. Dr. Todd unhesitatingly pre- fers Colgan's edition, to any other that has since appeared. Subsequent editions and
in the first edition of his
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
torendertheIrishliterallyintoLatin/5 Thepoemitselfisofancientdate, although the remote origin claimed for it, by Colgan, has been questioned. ^^
Itsnarrative,however,issmoothandregular; nordowefindthere,manyof those incredible fictions, that are met with, in more recent Lives of our
saint. ^7
A supposition has been offered, that St. Fiech left some memorials
behind him at Sletty, perhaps, and that from these, by a later writer, the Hymn may have been composed, so as thus to bear his name. ^^ It is not readily proved, that the Hymn could have been of St. Fiach's time ; yet, in reference to it, pending the doubt, we may be permitted to give its received denomina- tion. WithregardtotheScholia,orcommentaries,accompanyingthisHymn, an opinion has been advanced, that they are even referable to the middle, or to an earlier part, of the sixth century. ^9 A very judicious critic7° has asserted, that although some of them indicate high antiquity ; yet, others bear traces of a later composition. 7' On collation, they do not seem to have been prepared, solely by one person. 72 As we read them, at present, those glosses are fairly supposed to have been compiled, from observations of various writers, some more, and some less, ancient. 73 In proportion as we remove from the early date, assigned for the composition of St. Fiech's Hymn, so, in a corresponding degree, must we diminish antiquity for the Scholia. ""- Colgan thinks the commentator flourished, about a. d. 580, or, at least, before the close of the sixth century. He wrote, partly in Irish and
translations have added nothing of value,
philologically or historically, and serving for
its illustration. They are nearly all taken
from Colgan's text and version some with already quoted, at " He
1" As for instance, in Scholion 5, there is a Letha, mentioned in the Hymn, at Strophe 5, thus Englished, in the periodical
; p. 285:
(i. e. arbitrary alterations of the original, and Victor) sent him {i. e. Patrick) across all the translations, the offspring of ignorance, for Alps : over the sea marvellous was his the most part, where they differ from his course, until he staid with Germanus in the edition. See the LeAbhA]\ Imuinn, "The south, in Southern Letha. " Here, this Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of place has been properly explained by Armo- Ireland," Fasciculus ii. , No. xix. The rica, or the maritime part of Gaul, to the Hymn of St. Fiacc, in praise of St. Patrick, N. W. But, in Scolion 11, it is interpreted pp. 287 to 289, with notes. It is only right Latium, i. e. Italy. In the "Irish Ecclesias- to observe, that Dr. Todd seems not to have tical Record," vol. iii. , p. 9, it has been
been aware, that' a really valuable version of
this Hymn, with an Introduction, appeared in the " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol.
iv. , March, 1868, pp. 269 to 293.
** See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto- or to Brittany, as well as to Italy. See
Martii xvii. De S. Patricio
Commentarius prasvius, sect, iii. , num. 15, pp. 519, 520. Father Daniel Papebroch is said to have been the author of this com-
"
rum," tomus
Lectures on the
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Appen- dix, No. xviii. , p. 502; Todd's "Irish version of Nennins," p. 69. Hence, "in Southern Letha" does not mean, in the South of Italy, as some have erroneously supposed ; but, rather, in Italy, all of which was called Southern Letha. It was thus distinguished from Armorica, which was called Northern Letha. Colgan also made a similar mistake, in translating Letha, Latium. This is not his only mistranslation of passages in the
Hymn.
73 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, i. , nn. I,2,3,pp. 80,81.
T" The Rev. Dr. Todd seems to think, that to the original Scholiasts' draft, later notes may have been added, by different scribes.
75 By Ussher, this Scholiast is placed among the biographers of St. Patrick, pro-
ii. ,
Episcopo Apostolo et Primate Hibernioe.
O'Curry's
Manuscript
mentary. " ^7 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , sect, i. , p. 80.
Ecclesiasti- chap, iii. ,
^ See Rev. Dr. Todd's teAbhA|\ Imuinn,
" The Book of Hymns of the Ancient
Church of Ireland," Fasciculus ii. , No. xix. ,
pp. 298, 299.
°9 Such has been the conclusion arrived at,
by the late Professor O'Curry.
See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 279, 280
1° Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
7' In the beginning to these, the Scho- liasts gives us an account of the family, race and virtues of Fiech, as also of the place and time, where and when the Hymn had been composed.
shown, that St. Patrick was a disciple to St. Germanus, when in the North of Italy. The name Letha or Latium is said to have been
applied, by early Irish writers, to Arraorica,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 407
partly in Latin, and the Codex in which his comments are found was very old and worn. He is said to have been well versed in Irish antiquities. 75
Perhaps, the date given by Colgan is of too early a stage ; yet, those notes and the introduction are supposed to have been written, not later than the
eighth century,? ^ from their peculiar idiomatic structure, and from internal evidences of great antiquity. However this may be, the Scholiast states, that
Dumh-gabhla,77 near Sleibhte,^^ was the locality, where Fiech's Hymn had been composed. The time assigned for its composition, moreover, was that ofLugaidh,79sontoLaeghaire,forthenhewaskingoverErinn. Thereason for composing it, also, was to praise St. Patrick. Hence, after his death, as some assert, this Hymn was produced by St. Fiech. ^° The lamented death
of Rev. Dr. Todd,^^ and the suspension of the Irish Archaeological Society's publications, have prevented the appearance of his version of this Hymn, and of its Scholia^ an introduction to both having been left incomplete. ^^
The Second, Third and Fourth Lives of St. Patrick, as published by Col- gan, are filled with fables. Those Acts seem to have been borrowed, one from another, or they are copies of versions, taken from some common source. Occasionally, quotations from St. Patrick's " Confession," with sensible re- marks, appear ; but, it has been thought, that those Lives belong to a more recent period, than that assigned to them. ^3 A St. Patrick, called the junior,^* or some other disciple of the great Irish Apostle, was the author of the Second Life,^^ according to Colgan. ^^ However, it is inferred very justly, that the writer was either an Irishman, or, at least, one versed in the Irish language,^7 that he lived after the death of St. Patrick,^^ and even after the death of his earlier biographer, St. Fiech. ^^ Certain modes of expression have caused Colgan to make mistakes, which have served to confuse his own naturally correct opinions. Those phrases have led him into serious anachronisms. 9° On the whole, however, it may safely be asserted, that obscurity still hangs around the writer, and the exact period when he wrote^
bably because he rendered more clear, what
St. Fiech had left rather unintelligible, and
because he added other particulars. See
^5 it is comprised, in forty-one chapters. The twentieth chapter, however, is defec- tive ; but, its sense may be supplied, from the Third Life, at chapter xvii.
^* "
See Secunda Vita S. Patricii," auc-
tore (ut videtur) S. Patricii Juniore, aliove Magni Patricii Discipulo. Ex MS. Monast. S. Huberti in Ardvenna, pp. il to 20, with notes.
^^ Thus, in cap. xv. , xx. , xxxii. , xxxiv. , he uses Irish words and phrases, with a full
knowledge of their meaning,
^^ At cap. xxii. , he gives the whole chro-
nology of St. Patrick's Acts, before and after he had come to Ireland,
^^ Allusion is made, in the Life, to his relics having been preserved at Sletty.
*'
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. xvii. , pp. 427 et seq.
7^ This seems, also, to be the opinion of
Father Daniel Papebroke.
77 This denomination is probably obso-
lete,
''^ To this the Scholiast in Colgan adds,
"versus Chorum," or towards the choir.
79 He reigned, from A, D. 479 to a. d. 503, according to Dr. O' Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 150 to 165.
See the Prolegomena to this Hymn, in
^'
This sad event took place, June 28th, 1869, at Silverton, near Rathfarnham.
'^^
It ends at p. 304, and it was the last of a sheet, by the author, corrected and signed for the press. The Second Fasciculus was published, in November, 1869.
^3 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, iii. , p. 84.
might have been a good Irish scholar.
^° the
"
March, 1 868, pp. 282, 283, and notes.
Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. ,
^'- It seems
9° For instance, when citing a passage of the Second Life, a Bishop Loam, St. Patrick's contemporary, is said to be in Inreathan. See Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxi. , p. 14. But, Colgan did not re- fleet, that such was a mode of writing, frequently occurring in our old ecclesiastical historic tracts. It only relatively meant, that the person's remains there reposed, when thus mentioned. For a
that in the first note to the Third Life, Colgan contradicts, in a measure, this opinion, for there, he makes Patrick junior a Briton. However, he
example, little before, in this same Second Life, Syl- vester and Selonius, two of Palladius' com-
strange,
panions, are reported to have been in Domnach-Ard. See cap. xxiv. , p, 13. It
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [March 17.
The author of the Third Life of St. Patrick, as pubHshed by Colgan,9' is unknown. Yet,ithasbeeninferred,thathewasanIrishman,9'andthathe wrote in Ireland. 93 It is thought, also, that he must have flourished before A. D. 527. 9* However, the proofs advanced do not establish this conjecture. Again, it is supposed, that Jocelyn had this book, as an authority, and that fromit, someofhisstatementshadbeendrawn. Colganhasnoticed,that Jocelyn names Benignus, Mel, Luman, and a disciple, named Patrick, as the authors of four Tracts, on St. Patrick, and which were extant in his time. ^s He infers, likewise, and endeavours to show, from certain data, that Mel, nor Luman, nor Patrick junior, could have composed the Third Life,9^ which, he says, must be ascribed, in his opinion, to Benignus. 97 However, he had no means for proving, that Jocelyn even referred to those various Lives. Nor would it be worthy a sensible critic's attention, to accept implicitly the autho- rity of an injudicious and a credulous writer, in such an enquiry ; especially, when those Tracts furnish abundant internal evidences, to prove they are not
so very ancient. 9^ Now after the death of St. Patrick, Benignus was his suc-
cessor, as Archbishop, in the See of Armagh. He died, as has been sup- posed, in the year 468,99 But, the writer, concerning whom we now treat,
when he wrote the Life of St. '^"^ informs Patrick,
us,
that Apostle already in circulation. In his work, it may be observed, the
writer mentions St. Earc,'°* son of Dego, whose memory, he tells us, had been revered at Slane. Even Colgan himself places the death of this latter
saint, at the year 512. '°^ Hence, we must regard the question, regarding the true authorship of the Third Life, as yet unsettled.
The Fourth Life of St. Patrick has been attributed, by Colgan, to St. Aile-
"
chapters. ^°'* This was taken from an old parchment, belonging to the fine
ran or Eleran, called
the wise. " ^°3 This Life is comprised in ninety-seven
signifies, only, as appears from the sequel, these had been there interred.
bishopofArmagh. whosucceededSt. Patrick, and who sat for ten years, but a relation to
him, as our hagiologist promised to show, in a Life, to be inserted at the 9th of November. The Life of St. Mocteus, and other authori- ties, were to support these assertions. See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, n. i, p. 29.
^s ggg Rgy. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect. iii. , p. 84.
s' See Index Chronologicus, at a. d.
9' See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, pp. 21 to 29. Colgan's notes succeed to p. 35. This Life was taken from an old Manuscript, found at Biburg, in Bavaria, and it was sent to Colgan, by Father Stephen White, S. J. In the first eleven
almost word for word, with the Second Life ; in the succeeding chapters, it differs for the most part. See n. i, p. 29.
9^ Thus he inserts Irish words or phrases, at cap. XX. , XXV. , xxix. , xxxvii. , xl. , xlviii. Again, he alludes to Ireland, as being "hanc insulam," in cap. xxvi.
93 This especially appears, from cap. xciii.
9* This inference, Colgan draws from certain passages, in the Tract, at cap. xliii. , Ixi. , Ixiii.
95 From these writers, Jocelyn professes to have^drawn whatever he deemed worthy of being reproduced by him. SeetheSexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi. , p. 106, and nn. 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, p. 116,
9* Especially, since these were Britons, and the writer of this Life was an Irishman.
It is comprised, in ninety-four chapters.
97 An objection is proposed, by Colgan, since our Annals state Benignus to have died A. D. 487, that he must have written the Acts of St. Patrick, while the latter was
living. However, Colgan maintains, that the Benignus thus noticed was not the Arch.
chapters,
it agrees,
CCCCLXViil. , in Ussher's
•'
Britannicarum
there were Lives of sixty
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," p. 522. Some
writers state, he died in Armagh, others in
Glastonbury, while the "Annals of Innis-
"
fallen
'°°
make him die in Rome.
See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap.
Ixxxvii. , p. 28.
'°'
His festival is held, on the 2nd of No- vember.
'" See Tertia Vita S.
5= He was a bishop, and by some of our writers, he was classed among the saints. His
feast has been assigned to the 3rd of July, si See " Fac-Similes of National Manu-
Duleek, and this is shown on the
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Meath," Sheets 19, 20, 26, 27, 32, 33 ; the other is Duleek Abbey, Upper Duleek barony, shown on Sheets 27, 33.
The tovm of Duleek is on Sheet 27. See ibid.
^
*' niary.
His feast takes place, on the 6th of Feb-
Ord-
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 405
as stated in the copy, found in the Book of Armagh,si for, it is there said,s« the author obtained his information, from the book or from the oral instruc- tion of his preceptor, St. Ultan. ss Various other biographers succeeded, but many of their compositions are said to have perished, during the wars of the Danes and Northmen. Indeed, no less than sixty-six different Lives of Ire- land's illustrious Patron had already appeared, before the close of the twelfth century, when Jocelyn composed his Acts. S4
The most complete and useful work for information, regarding this great Apostle's career, will be found, in those seven ancient Lives or Tracts,5s pre- pared for the press, and edited, by the learned Father John Colgan. 5S These we shall endeavour to describe, in their order of position. Our celebrated Irish Hagiologist, no doubt, has fallen into various mistakes, while endeavour- ing to investigate the authorship of St. Patrick's several biographies, as in- cluded in his great collection. 57 Considering his foreign residence and position, with the want of aids subsequently provided, his misconceptions were almost inevitable. So far as possible, we shall make some corrections. The First Life, contained in the collection, has been attributed to St. Fiech, or Fiacc,5S regarded as the disciple of St. Patrick. He was the first Bishop of Sletty, and, afterwards, he was recognized, as chief Bishop of Leinster. He
is said to have written a Hymn, partly panegyrical, and partly historical, in which he briefly relates some principal incidents of St. Patrick's life. This
composition, Colgan translated, from the original Irish, into Latin. He printedbothversions,incollateralcolumns. 59 Amuchmorecorrectversionof
this Hymn has recently appeared,^" with interesting illustrations, by a highly competent translator and writer. ^^ If this Poem be really Fiecc's composi-
tion, it is the oldest monument extant, for the illustrating of St. Patrick's memoirs. ^^ There are thirty-four Irish stanzas, in this Hymn. ^3 Colgan drew
"
his version, from the Franciscan
Liber Hymnorum," ^^ and, he endeavoured
scripts of Ireland," selected and edited under the direction of the Rt. Hon. Edward Sullivan, Master of the Rolls in Ireland, by
J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A.
S'^Atfol. 16.
53 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 426.
S'* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi.
55 Where the Lives of our saint are noted,
simply and in numerical order, through the course of these chapters, it must be known to the reader, that reference is had to the foregoing volume, its parts, classifications, and paging.
Thaumaturga," published at Louvain, A. D. 1 647) fol-
57 This must be apparent, to the careful Historic investigator, from closely studying
*' "
See the Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
vol. iv. March, 1868. St. Piece's Poem, on
the Life of St. Patrick, pp. 269 to 293.
^^ The xi. Vol. of O'Longan's MSS. , in the R. I. A. , includes St. Fiach's Metrical Life of St. Patrick, 34 verses, at p. 329. Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's small 4to paper MS. (No. 185) in the R. I. A. , con- tains an imperfect Hymn of St. Fiach of
Slatty, in praise of St. Patrick,
^^ I3esides Colgan's edition, we have one, by Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor, in " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus i. Prole- gomina, part i. , pp. 88 et seq. ; one by Henry Leo, " Commentatio de Carmine Vetusto Hibernico in S. Patricii laudem," Halis Saxonum, 1845 5 ^^^ ^7 Vallancey,
*'
Irish Grammar," Dublin, 1773 ; one by Mr. Patrick Lynch, in the Appendix to his "Life of St.
5* In his celebrated collection, the " Trias
the General Preface to
Thaumaturga," as also the notes and obser-
Patrick," Dublin, 1810,
subsequent
vations, Lives.
he has
Colgan's appended
" Trias to the several
and in
editions ; one by Martin A. O'Brennan in
his " vol. and one Antiquities," i. , p. 484;
by Richard Plunket, with the Irish title,
5* of or "Himhin Bishop Sleibhte, Sletty.
59 See Vita Prima S. Patricii, pp. I to 3, with notes, pp. 4 to 10.
*°A inthe tothe " translation, Appendix
Life of St. Patrick," published by Mr. Patrick Lynch, in Dublin, a. d. 1810, differs, in some points, from that given by Colgan.
Phadruig Absdab," &c. , printed at Dublin, 1791.
'"• This is the copy, now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin.
^5 The Rev. Dr. Todd unhesitatingly pre- fers Colgan's edition, to any other that has since appeared. Subsequent editions and
in the first edition of his
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
torendertheIrishliterallyintoLatin/5 Thepoemitselfisofancientdate, although the remote origin claimed for it, by Colgan, has been questioned. ^^
Itsnarrative,however,issmoothandregular; nordowefindthere,manyof those incredible fictions, that are met with, in more recent Lives of our
saint. ^7
A supposition has been offered, that St. Fiech left some memorials
behind him at Sletty, perhaps, and that from these, by a later writer, the Hymn may have been composed, so as thus to bear his name. ^^ It is not readily proved, that the Hymn could have been of St. Fiach's time ; yet, in reference to it, pending the doubt, we may be permitted to give its received denomina- tion. WithregardtotheScholia,orcommentaries,accompanyingthisHymn, an opinion has been advanced, that they are even referable to the middle, or to an earlier part, of the sixth century. ^9 A very judicious critic7° has asserted, that although some of them indicate high antiquity ; yet, others bear traces of a later composition. 7' On collation, they do not seem to have been prepared, solely by one person. 72 As we read them, at present, those glosses are fairly supposed to have been compiled, from observations of various writers, some more, and some less, ancient. 73 In proportion as we remove from the early date, assigned for the composition of St. Fiech's Hymn, so, in a corresponding degree, must we diminish antiquity for the Scholia. ""- Colgan thinks the commentator flourished, about a. d. 580, or, at least, before the close of the sixth century. He wrote, partly in Irish and
translations have added nothing of value,
philologically or historically, and serving for
its illustration. They are nearly all taken
from Colgan's text and version some with already quoted, at " He
1" As for instance, in Scholion 5, there is a Letha, mentioned in the Hymn, at Strophe 5, thus Englished, in the periodical
; p. 285:
(i. e. arbitrary alterations of the original, and Victor) sent him {i. e. Patrick) across all the translations, the offspring of ignorance, for Alps : over the sea marvellous was his the most part, where they differ from his course, until he staid with Germanus in the edition. See the LeAbhA]\ Imuinn, "The south, in Southern Letha. " Here, this Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of place has been properly explained by Armo- Ireland," Fasciculus ii. , No. xix. The rica, or the maritime part of Gaul, to the Hymn of St. Fiacc, in praise of St. Patrick, N. W. But, in Scolion 11, it is interpreted pp. 287 to 289, with notes. It is only right Latium, i. e. Italy. In the "Irish Ecclesias- to observe, that Dr. Todd seems not to have tical Record," vol. iii. , p. 9, it has been
been aware, that' a really valuable version of
this Hymn, with an Introduction, appeared in the " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol.
iv. , March, 1868, pp. 269 to 293.
** See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto- or to Brittany, as well as to Italy. See
Martii xvii. De S. Patricio
Commentarius prasvius, sect, iii. , num. 15, pp. 519, 520. Father Daniel Papebroch is said to have been the author of this com-
"
rum," tomus
Lectures on the
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Appen- dix, No. xviii. , p. 502; Todd's "Irish version of Nennins," p. 69. Hence, "in Southern Letha" does not mean, in the South of Italy, as some have erroneously supposed ; but, rather, in Italy, all of which was called Southern Letha. It was thus distinguished from Armorica, which was called Northern Letha. Colgan also made a similar mistake, in translating Letha, Latium. This is not his only mistranslation of passages in the
Hymn.
73 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, i. , nn. I,2,3,pp. 80,81.
T" The Rev. Dr. Todd seems to think, that to the original Scholiasts' draft, later notes may have been added, by different scribes.
75 By Ussher, this Scholiast is placed among the biographers of St. Patrick, pro-
ii. ,
Episcopo Apostolo et Primate Hibernioe.
O'Curry's
Manuscript
mentary. " ^7 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , sect, i. , p. 80.
Ecclesiasti- chap, iii. ,
^ See Rev. Dr. Todd's teAbhA|\ Imuinn,
" The Book of Hymns of the Ancient
Church of Ireland," Fasciculus ii. , No. xix. ,
pp. 298, 299.
°9 Such has been the conclusion arrived at,
by the late Professor O'Curry.
See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 279, 280
1° Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
7' In the beginning to these, the Scho- liasts gives us an account of the family, race and virtues of Fiech, as also of the place and time, where and when the Hymn had been composed.
shown, that St. Patrick was a disciple to St. Germanus, when in the North of Italy. The name Letha or Latium is said to have been
applied, by early Irish writers, to Arraorica,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 407
partly in Latin, and the Codex in which his comments are found was very old and worn. He is said to have been well versed in Irish antiquities. 75
Perhaps, the date given by Colgan is of too early a stage ; yet, those notes and the introduction are supposed to have been written, not later than the
eighth century,? ^ from their peculiar idiomatic structure, and from internal evidences of great antiquity. However this may be, the Scholiast states, that
Dumh-gabhla,77 near Sleibhte,^^ was the locality, where Fiech's Hymn had been composed. The time assigned for its composition, moreover, was that ofLugaidh,79sontoLaeghaire,forthenhewaskingoverErinn. Thereason for composing it, also, was to praise St. Patrick. Hence, after his death, as some assert, this Hymn was produced by St. Fiech. ^° The lamented death
of Rev. Dr. Todd,^^ and the suspension of the Irish Archaeological Society's publications, have prevented the appearance of his version of this Hymn, and of its Scholia^ an introduction to both having been left incomplete. ^^
The Second, Third and Fourth Lives of St. Patrick, as published by Col- gan, are filled with fables. Those Acts seem to have been borrowed, one from another, or they are copies of versions, taken from some common source. Occasionally, quotations from St. Patrick's " Confession," with sensible re- marks, appear ; but, it has been thought, that those Lives belong to a more recent period, than that assigned to them. ^3 A St. Patrick, called the junior,^* or some other disciple of the great Irish Apostle, was the author of the Second Life,^^ according to Colgan. ^^ However, it is inferred very justly, that the writer was either an Irishman, or, at least, one versed in the Irish language,^7 that he lived after the death of St. Patrick,^^ and even after the death of his earlier biographer, St. Fiech. ^^ Certain modes of expression have caused Colgan to make mistakes, which have served to confuse his own naturally correct opinions. Those phrases have led him into serious anachronisms. 9° On the whole, however, it may safely be asserted, that obscurity still hangs around the writer, and the exact period when he wrote^
bably because he rendered more clear, what
St. Fiech had left rather unintelligible, and
because he added other particulars. See
^5 it is comprised, in forty-one chapters. The twentieth chapter, however, is defec- tive ; but, its sense may be supplied, from the Third Life, at chapter xvii.
^* "
See Secunda Vita S. Patricii," auc-
tore (ut videtur) S. Patricii Juniore, aliove Magni Patricii Discipulo. Ex MS. Monast. S. Huberti in Ardvenna, pp. il to 20, with notes.
^^ Thus, in cap. xv. , xx. , xxxii. , xxxiv. , he uses Irish words and phrases, with a full
knowledge of their meaning,
^^ At cap. xxii. , he gives the whole chro-
nology of St. Patrick's Acts, before and after he had come to Ireland,
^^ Allusion is made, in the Life, to his relics having been preserved at Sletty.
*'
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. xvii. , pp. 427 et seq.
7^ This seems, also, to be the opinion of
Father Daniel Papebroke.
77 This denomination is probably obso-
lete,
''^ To this the Scholiast in Colgan adds,
"versus Chorum," or towards the choir.
79 He reigned, from A, D. 479 to a. d. 503, according to Dr. O' Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 150 to 165.
See the Prolegomena to this Hymn, in
^'
This sad event took place, June 28th, 1869, at Silverton, near Rathfarnham.
'^^
It ends at p. 304, and it was the last of a sheet, by the author, corrected and signed for the press. The Second Fasciculus was published, in November, 1869.
^3 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect, iii. , p. 84.
might have been a good Irish scholar.
^° the
"
March, 1 868, pp. 282, 283, and notes.
Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. ,
^'- It seems
9° For instance, when citing a passage of the Second Life, a Bishop Loam, St. Patrick's contemporary, is said to be in Inreathan. See Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxi. , p. 14. But, Colgan did not re- fleet, that such was a mode of writing, frequently occurring in our old ecclesiastical historic tracts. It only relatively meant, that the person's remains there reposed, when thus mentioned. For a
that in the first note to the Third Life, Colgan contradicts, in a measure, this opinion, for there, he makes Patrick junior a Briton. However, he
example, little before, in this same Second Life, Syl- vester and Selonius, two of Palladius' com-
strange,
panions, are reported to have been in Domnach-Ard. See cap. xxiv. , p, 13. It
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [March 17.
The author of the Third Life of St. Patrick, as pubHshed by Colgan,9' is unknown. Yet,ithasbeeninferred,thathewasanIrishman,9'andthathe wrote in Ireland. 93 It is thought, also, that he must have flourished before A. D. 527. 9* However, the proofs advanced do not establish this conjecture. Again, it is supposed, that Jocelyn had this book, as an authority, and that fromit, someofhisstatementshadbeendrawn. Colganhasnoticed,that Jocelyn names Benignus, Mel, Luman, and a disciple, named Patrick, as the authors of four Tracts, on St. Patrick, and which were extant in his time. ^s He infers, likewise, and endeavours to show, from certain data, that Mel, nor Luman, nor Patrick junior, could have composed the Third Life,9^ which, he says, must be ascribed, in his opinion, to Benignus. 97 However, he had no means for proving, that Jocelyn even referred to those various Lives. Nor would it be worthy a sensible critic's attention, to accept implicitly the autho- rity of an injudicious and a credulous writer, in such an enquiry ; especially, when those Tracts furnish abundant internal evidences, to prove they are not
so very ancient. 9^ Now after the death of St. Patrick, Benignus was his suc-
cessor, as Archbishop, in the See of Armagh. He died, as has been sup- posed, in the year 468,99 But, the writer, concerning whom we now treat,
when he wrote the Life of St. '^"^ informs Patrick,
us,
that Apostle already in circulation. In his work, it may be observed, the
writer mentions St. Earc,'°* son of Dego, whose memory, he tells us, had been revered at Slane. Even Colgan himself places the death of this latter
saint, at the year 512. '°^ Hence, we must regard the question, regarding the true authorship of the Third Life, as yet unsettled.
The Fourth Life of St. Patrick has been attributed, by Colgan, to St. Aile-
"
chapters. ^°'* This was taken from an old parchment, belonging to the fine
ran or Eleran, called
the wise. " ^°3 This Life is comprised in ninety-seven
signifies, only, as appears from the sequel, these had been there interred.
bishopofArmagh. whosucceededSt. Patrick, and who sat for ten years, but a relation to
him, as our hagiologist promised to show, in a Life, to be inserted at the 9th of November. The Life of St. Mocteus, and other authori- ties, were to support these assertions. See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, n. i, p. 29.
^s ggg Rgy. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, iii. , sect. iii. , p. 84.
s' See Index Chronologicus, at a. d.
9' See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, pp. 21 to 29. Colgan's notes succeed to p. 35. This Life was taken from an old Manuscript, found at Biburg, in Bavaria, and it was sent to Colgan, by Father Stephen White, S. J. In the first eleven
almost word for word, with the Second Life ; in the succeeding chapters, it differs for the most part. See n. i, p. 29.
9^ Thus he inserts Irish words or phrases, at cap. XX. , XXV. , xxix. , xxxvii. , xl. , xlviii. Again, he alludes to Ireland, as being "hanc insulam," in cap. xxvi.
93 This especially appears, from cap. xciii.
9* This inference, Colgan draws from certain passages, in the Tract, at cap. xliii. , Ixi. , Ixiii.
95 From these writers, Jocelyn professes to have^drawn whatever he deemed worthy of being reproduced by him. SeetheSexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxxvi. , p. 106, and nn. 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, p. 116,
9* Especially, since these were Britons, and the writer of this Life was an Irishman.
It is comprised, in ninety-four chapters.
97 An objection is proposed, by Colgan, since our Annals state Benignus to have died A. D. 487, that he must have written the Acts of St. Patrick, while the latter was
living. However, Colgan maintains, that the Benignus thus noticed was not the Arch.
chapters,
it agrees,
CCCCLXViil. , in Ussher's
•'
Britannicarum
there were Lives of sixty
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," p. 522. Some
writers state, he died in Armagh, others in
Glastonbury, while the "Annals of Innis-
"
fallen
'°°
make him die in Rome.
See Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap.
Ixxxvii. , p. 28.
'°'
His festival is held, on the 2nd of No- vember.
'" See Tertia Vita S.
