'cipiens ut illud con-
France dcpuis les Temps les plus recules
'5
tinuo adnotaret in area, qua; lecto ipsius ad- jusq'eii 17S9," tome ii.
France dcpuis les Temps les plus recules
'5
tinuo adnotaret in area, qua; lecto ipsius ad- jusq'eii 17S9," tome ii.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
d.
6o6.
According to various Scottishwriters,33hedieda.
d.
6x2.
34 Cummockisdedicatedtohim,3Sand Ochiltree was his church.
3^
At the 1 8th of May, Thomas Dempster 37 has an entry of this saint ;33 although, elsewhere, he states, the Scottish Martyrologies do not name the date for his festival, nor could he find it in the Scottish Annals. 39 An in- teresting Hymn ^° to St, Conval has been composed, printed, and circulated, by Rev. Bernard Tracy, Pastor of Pollockshaw::. The Rev. John J. Kyle
;
:
— —
500 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
supposes Oban, or Dunstaffnage,*' to have been connected with a former veneration, paid to St. Conval, Many wonderful cures are attributed to his intercession ; and, he is said to have predicted the punishment, which should fall on the Kings of Pictland and of Britain, on account of their immoralities, while many other prophetic pronouncements are mentioned, as a portion of his spiritual gifis. ''^ The ancient church of Pollockshaws ^a—called Pollock,'t4 Polloc, Poloc, and Pulloc, in ancient documents—or the Shaws,45 as popularly named, probably stood beside the castle upon the bank of the Cart. It was dedicated to St. Convallus, the pupil of St. Kentigern, The old church may have continued to exist as a chapel. After the thirteenth cen- tury, Polloc disappears as a separate parish and parochial name. It is not known, whether it included Upper Pollock, now a part of the parish of Mearns. ''^ The ancient names of Nether Pollock,'»7 and of Eastwood,-*^ for- merly had their separate churches, and they were constituted as separate
parishes. 49
Article II. Merolilanus, a Scottish Priest and ]\Iartyr, at Rheims, France. {Eighth Century. '] Merolilan, a Scottish Priest and Martyr, at Rheims, is noticed by the Bollandists at the i8th of May,' in a historiccommentary. ItwastheintentionofFatherJohnColgan,togive his Acts, at the same date. ^ His' period has been assigned to the eighth century ; but, the date for his birth has not been ascertained. Nor was his memory preserved in our Irish Calendars ; for, only among the Rhemi 3 of
VI.
" Holy Abbot, still defend us, Guard our parish as of yore
; Hye and Erin's saints befriend us,
And the Faith they brought our shore.
Eastwood's Patron ! Thy sweet blessing we implore. "
4' Owing to the statement of Dempster:
" Euonium oppidum esse ora Lornae sive Loguairireoccidcntali contra mulam (mull? ) insulam, a Dumblane urbe supra vigenti milliaria. "
^= See John Lesley's work " De Origine, Moribus, etGestisScotorum," lib. iiii. . sect, xlv. , p. 138.
*3 For an account of this flourishing town, adjoining Glasgow, see the " Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 618.
^^ See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. i. , p. 66.
*5 The Shaws' Fair was held in May probably on the patron's day— and the Races there are not long abolished. In the Scottish dialect Sha'u means " a grove. "
** According to the " Registrum Passe- let. "
*' The parish minister of Pollockshaws in- formed the Rev. Bernard Tracv, that Cosmo Innes confounded Upper Pollock which has long ceased to exist as a parish with Lowcjr or Nether Pollock, in the " Orignes Parochiales Scotiae. " Conval's daven, or dos, still exists, and goes by that
name. It adjoins the burgh of Pollock- shaws.
**^ The church of Estwood was the pro- perty of the Abbey of Paisley, but acquired somewhat later. Its donor is not known. It may have been founded, by the monks themselves, on their own manor. It was certainly the property of Paisley in 1265, when Pope Clement IV. confirmed both the churches of Estwood and Pollic to the Abbey, with their other possessions.
•9 Before the end of the twelfth century, Peter, tlie son of Fulbert, who took the local surname of Polloc, gave to the monks of Paisley the church of Polloc, with its per- tinents, lands and waters, plains and pas- tures; whichwasconfirmedtothemfortheir own use and support, by Bishop Jocelin, who died A. D. 1199. In 1227, at the general settlement of the allowances to the vicars of the Abbey churches, the vicar of Pollock was appointed to have the Altar dues and two calders of meal, and five acres of land by the church, the rest of the church lands remain- ing with the monks.
Article ii. — ' See " Acta Sanctorum," tomusiv. . Mail xviii. De S. Merolilano Pres- bytero Martyrc Scoto, Remis in Gallia, p.
185.
" His name is found, in " Catalogus
Actuum Sanctorum qune MS. habentur, or- dine Mensium ct Dierum. "
3 Their territory w. -is bounded, towards the cast, by the Treviri and Viroduni, towards the south, by the Catalauni. towards the west, by the Suessones, while the great
May i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
501
-France had he been then known, and afterwards venerated. An account of St. Merolilanus is to be found, in the ancient Breviary of the Diocese of Rheims, in France; and, the accomphshed Flodoard,+ in his history of that ancient church, 5 sets forth several particulars, regarding the holy man. St. Merolilanus was of Irish race—indicated by the term Scotigena applied to him—and he travelled into France, with some companions, for the purpose of making a pil- grimage to Rome. Passing along the River Axona^—now known as L'Aisne 7—some robbers set upon the travellers, and those freebooters killed Merolilanus. His companions brought the body of the holy man to Rheims,^ where it was interred in an ancient cemetery. For a long time, the very memory of St. Merolilanus seems to have been forgotten, in the place of his sepulture, until miracles revealed the spot where he was buried. It happened in the time of Hildegarius, a Priest of Rheims, as we are told in the History 9 of that city, by FIodoard,'° that a person of some respectabilit)', yet in poor circumstances, died ; and, as means were wanting to give him a decent inter- ment, his friends applied to that Priest for a place of sepulture, where they might find a sarcophagus to enclose his body. The requisite permission being granted, his friends opened that place, where Merolilanus had been en- tombed, and they found his sarcophagus, which, however, could not be opened bythem. Hearingthis,thePriestapproachedthespot,andendeavouringto raise the lid of that sarcophagus—which he partially accomplished—a most . fragrantodourwasdiffusedaround. Lookingin,Hildegariussawthesaint's body preserved entire, and clothed with sacerdotal garments. He replaced -the lid, not daring furtlier to interfere with the remains ; however, he allowed the dead man's body to be placed over them, some planks being inserted beneath. That very night, his uncle on the mother's side, and who had long -been dead, appeared to the Priest during sleep, and told him, that he had offended deeply the Almighty on the day past, and more especially, should he presume farther to violate the sepulchre of Merolilanus. About the same time, the latter holy man appeared in spirit to Hildegarius, and intimated, that he felt much the indignity of a corpse having been placed over his own remains, and he announced, that if the Priest did not remove the body soon, some preter- natural punishment should befall him. Wherefore—according to the History ofRheimsChurch,byFlodarius"—affrightedbysuchadmonitions,Hildegar
forest of Ardennes lay towards the north, See Bavdrand's " Novum Lexicon Geogra- phicum," tomus ii. , p. 128.
'* This writer flourished in the tenth cen-
'
tury, and he wrote ' Annales " dating from
A. D. 919, to A. D. 978. He ends with an account of aman of God, "Malcallanus, na- tione Hibernicus. " There is a fine edition of these Annals, in Georgius Heinricus Pertz's "Monumenta Germanise Historica," tomus iii. , pp. 363 to 408.
s See " Historia Ecclesice Remensis," lib. iv. , cap. 48.
^ Allusion is made to it, in Julius Caesar's Commentaries, " De Bello Gallico," lib. ii. , cap. ix. ^
7 A river of Champagne, which passes by the city of Soissons, and flows into the Oyse, near the city of Compiegne.
^ Besides its fine cathedral, this city is remarkable for its public churches, institu- tions and commerce. See Elisee Reclus' "Nouvelle Geographic Universelle," tome
ii. , chap, xi. , sect, v. , p. 709.
9 This history first appeared in a French
translation, by Nicolas Chesneau, published
^° See an interesting account of Flodoard or Frodoard, Canon of the Church of Rheims and of his writings, in " Histoire Literaire de la France," tome vi. , pp. 313 to 329.
''A few extracts, from the "Historia Ecclesije Rhemensis," only appear, in the " Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France," par Dom. Martin Bouquet, Bene- dictin de la Congregation de Saint Maur, tome v. , pp. 361, 362, and tome vi. , pp. 213 to 216.
4to. Father Sirmond
at Rheims, in
published the Latin text, for the first time, at Paris, in 161 1, 8vo. The best edition is that of Couvenier, or Colvener, published at Douai, 1617, 8vo, and it has been reproduced in the " Bibliotheca Patruum," tonius xvii. , at Lyons, in 1677. See M. le Dr. Hoefer's " Nouvelle Biographic Generate," tome xvii. , col. 937.
1 540,
"
502
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
caused almost immediately the body of the buried man to be raised, for inter- ment in another place. The saint of God appeared to a rustic and ordered, also, that he should go to the Bishop Artoldus,'^ or Artand, and tell him, that the body of Merolilanus, which lay in the cemetery without, must be re- moved to within the church. The rustic was unwilling, however, to convey such a message to the Bishop, and he treated it with neglect. '3 Afterwards, the saint appeared one Sunday night in a vision to a certain Priest, who served under Hildegarius. '* He was admonished to inform tlie Bishop, that the body of Merolilanus should be brought into that church, and even the very place where it was to be deposed had been mentioned. Then, too, did he give the history of himself, which had been forgotten ; while, he told the priest, to write down his name as Merolilanus, and he presented a piece of chalk for that purpose. '5 During the effort, however, the priest wrote down the letter R for that of L ; and Merolilanus warned him to make the neces- sary correction. '^ The Bishop—informed of these visions—caused the church to be restored ; still, he did not transfer to it the saint's relics. Nor was it long afterwards, until in the presence of Prince Hugo,'? fifth son to Heribert, Count of Picardy, and in the same church, Artoldus abdicated the episcopal dignity. However, the King Raoul having prevailed against Heribert in war, and after the peace concluded between them, at Soissons, a. d. 935, Artaud wasrestoredtothearchiepiscopalseatofRheims. '^ Afterwards,theremains of Merolilanus were translated to the Church of the Holy Apostles and of St. Symphronien, Martyr, at Rheims. It seems probable, that either Archbishop Artaldus, or his successor Odalricus,'^ took care to have this ceremony car- ried out, with due solemnity, and according to the requirement of St. Meroli- lanus, His relics were preserved, in the Church of St. Symphorien, at Rheims. ''° There, his Natalis was specially venerated. In the city and dio- cese of Rheims, the Feast of St. Merolilanus, ! \Iartyr, is kept under a simple rite of three Lessons. His martyrdom is commemorated, in the third Lesson, and the other parts of his office are taken from the common of a
'* He was nominated and consecrated
Bishop of Rheims a. d. 931 ; but, on the oc-
cupation of that city by Heiebert, Count of
Picardy, he was obliged to resign, a. d. 940.
After various changes of fortune, and under
adversity, he lived to the year 961, ruling
this diocese in tranquillity towards the close
of his life. See an account of his life and
writings, in " Histoire Literaire de la P'rench bishops, clergy and jieople, on this France,'' tome vi. , pp. 295 to 300. subject ; and, levying a force, he besieged
'3 The account then proceeds : " Nee Rheims in 931, and having captured it dur-
ing the absence of Herbert, an assembly of twenty-eight bishops elected Artaud, a monk of St. Remi. He was accordingly enthroned, and he received the pallium from Pope John
longe post iterum apparens evigilanii, duri-
ter increpavit ilium, quare praceptum neg-
lexit ; et corripiens, alapa ejus percussit
iTiaxillam. Qui mox auditura amisit ipsius
auris, in qua percussuo est parte, capitisque XL, in 933. See I'Abbe Fleury's " His- dolore per dimidium fere vexatus est an- toire Ecclesiastique," tome xii,, lib. Iv. ,
num. "
'* In the same church.
sect, i. , vii.
'* See Henri Martin's "Histoire de
liv. xvi. , p. 516.
'' He was elected, A. D. 962. See I'Abb^
Fleury's " Histoire Ecclesiastique,"- tome xii. , liv. Ivi. , sect. iv.
''" See Les Petiis Bollandistes' " Vies des Saints," tome v. , xviii«. , Jour de Mai, p. 625.
=" See " Martyrologiuni Gallicanum. "
added "' i)ra.
'cipiens ut illud con-
France dcpuis les Temps les plus recules
'5
tinuo adnotaret in area, qua; lecto ipsius ad- jusq'eii 17S9," tome ii. , Deuxieme Partie,
It is :
hserebat.
'* The narrative then continues : " et ita
in crastinum hoc nonien adscriptum inven- tuni est : ut testaretur idem Presbyter : quod vigilando per diem tarn bene scribere nequi- visset. "
' It was sought topromote him by ordina- tion, for the Archbishopric of Rheims, so
that he bore the title of elect, from A. D. 925, when he was scarcely five years old. But. in the year 947, a synodal decree annulled his ordination. In the name of his infant son, Herbert appropriated the revenues of this church for six years, even living with his wife in the Archbishop's palace. However, the King Raoul heard ihe complaints of the
= Thus, bl^A1n bic o diboeriAT).
—
May i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Martyr, and not a Bishop. His festival is found inscribed, at this date, in the Martyrologies of Saussay,^' of Ferrarius,^^ and of Camerarius. Little more do we find on record, regarding that sainted Irish pilgrim and martyr.
Article III. St. Bran Beg, of Clane, County of Kildare. {Sixth or Seventh Century. ^ In the published Martyrology of Tallagh/ at the18thofMay,thenameofBranbice,ofChlaonadh,occurs and,theentry
;
is nearly alike, in the Franciscan copy. ^ He is commemorated, likewise, in the " Feilire " of St. ^ngus, at this date. 3 He is noticed, also, by the Bollandists. 4 This holy man is said to have been the son of Degill, and a nephew of the great St. Columkille,^ by his s'ster Cumenia,^ also called Cuimne. HisbrotherswereMernoc,^Cascene,andMeldalfalthoughthat Tract, on tlie Mothers of the Irish Saints, makes Cuman only to be the mother of the two sons of Degil, i. e. ^ Mernoc and Caisene. 9 However, there was a place in Tyrconnell, called the cell of the seven sons of Degill. ^° The Martyrology of Donegal " mentions, that a festival was celebrated on this day, in honour of Bran Beg, of Claenadh, in Ui Faelain, in Magh Laighin. ThismayberenderedintoEnglish,"theplainofLeinster. " ThepresentClane, in the county of Kildare, lies in this plain. '^ We do not know, whether the present holy man was founder of a religious establishment there; but, as he flourished at an early date, it seems altogether probable, he may be regarded as the founder and patron of Clane. '3 in the eighth century, there was an abbey, at Clane; for, we read of the death in 777, ''^ or 782, of its Abbot
Banbhan. Asynod,consistingoftwenty-sixbishopsandagreatnumberof abbots, was held there, a. d. 1162. In the thirteenth century, a Franciscan abbey was founded, in the place—it is thought by Gerald Fitz-Maurice, Lord Offaley ; but, this account is not confirmed. '^ It was suppressed, in the reign of King Henry VIII. '^ The ruins yet remain, in an open field, beside the present town of Clane. ^7 It was situated within the territory, formerly styled Hui-Faelan, in Mag-Laigen. '^ A strange error has been allowed, by Arch-
"See " Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum. "
Article hi. — ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters/' vol. ii. , n. (n), p. 946.
'^ It has been stated, tliat St. Ailbe founded a priory here in 584. See Thomas 3 See " Transactions of the Royal Irish James Rawson's " Statistical Survey of the
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. . part i. , p. Ixxx.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Mali xviii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 135.
5 See his Life, of the 9th of June.
* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, cap. X. , num. 12, p. 488.
7 His feast occurs, at the 23rd of Decem- ber.
^ See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes A, pp. 246, 247.
9 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Secunda Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, Calendar of Oengus. See "Transactions of
pars, ii. , num. xxcv. (85), p. 469.
'° See ibid. , Quarta Appendix ad Acta S.
Columbas, cap. ii. , num. 3, p. 478.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
132, 133.
County of Kildare," Introduction, p. xviii. This is an error, borrowed/ from Arch-
dall.
"* See Dr. O'Donovan's 7 Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 3S2, 3S3, and n. (1), ibid.
'S See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni- cum," p. 313.
'* In the 24th year of his reign, June 15th.
''' Theaccompanyingviewwassketched on the spot by tlie writer, in April, 1874. It has been drawn, by William F. Wakeman, on the wood, engraved by Mrs. Millard.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. Ixxxviii.
'9 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 312.
°° Quoting Colgan's authority, although
'^ This is noted, by the scholiast on the
'
503
——
504 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
dall, to creep into his work,'9 when he states,'" that St. Ailbe founded a monastery at Clane—while the place was altogether different, viz. , Cluain- Damh,'' near the banks of the Liffey. From the term of Little applied to the present saint, it seems probable, he was of small stature. St. Bran is said by Adamnan, or by his scholiast, to have been interred at Londonderry," although venerated, on this day, at the church of Claonadh—the ancient
Abbey Ruins at Clane. County of Kildare.
name of Clane—in Lagenia. '3 With two other Irish saints, Bran is named, at the 1 8th of May—or xv. of the June Kalends—in the Kalendarium Drum- mondiense. '*
Article IV. St. Mo-Maedoc, of Fidown, County of Kilkenny. That the present holy man flourished at an early date has been ascertained. IntheFeilire^ ofSt. . ^ngus,atthei8thofMay,wefindMaedocmentioned
no such matter is related by him.
" See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
hiae," Martii xxvi. Do S. Scnchello Abbale et Episcopo de Kill-Achuid, cap. iii. , p. 748.
" See " Memoirs of the City and North- western Liberties of Londonderry," part ii. , sect. 2, p. 27.
^^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columba:, cap. ii. , num. i. , p. 477, and cap. x. , num. 12, p. 488.
"* Thus : " XV. Kalend. Apud Iliberniam Natale Sanctorum Confessorum Ikain Medoc Domnoc. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalen- dars of Scottish Saints," p. 1 3.
Article iv. — ' In the " Leabhar Breac" copy we read: —
^'eil,tiiAH\e iiuMch ^wimjat) 111onioex)oc nioi\ iriAinech 111oT)otunoc iiiint) buA-oAch Veil b)\Ain bic o ClAonAX).
Thus translated by Dr. Whilley Stokes :
" The feast of good Mark who was crowned : my Maedoc great, tvcasurous : my Uomnoc, a victot ious diadem : the feast of Hran the Little from Claenad. "—On the Calendar of Oengus. "TransactionsoftheRoyalIrish Academy," Irisii Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. Ixxx.
May 1 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
505
—
with praise. ^ However, there is much doubt regarding his identity. The Franciscan copy,3 and the pubHshed version,* of the Tallagh Martyrology haveanentryofthissaint,attheiSthofMay. TheBollandistssalsocom- memorate him, and they state, that by some authorities, he is styled a Bishop, but more truly speaking he was an Abbot. He was descended from the race of Labhraidh Lore, son to Ugaine Mor, according to the O'Clerys. ^ The scholiast on the Calendar of Oengus, thus weaves his pedigree : Momoedoc was son of Midgnae, son to Nindid, son ofNazar, son to Crimthann, son of Eochaid, son to Oengus, son of Crimthann, son of Cathair Mor,7 and Colam, son of Nindid, son of Nazar, son of Crimthan, son to Eochaid, son of Oengus, sonofCiimthannan,sonofCathairMdr. Byanotherconjecture,thisholy man has been confounded with St. Maidoc, or Momhaeddg, whose festival has been assigned to the 23rd of March,^ where notices regarding him may be seen. Both Colgan and the Bollandists mark his feast, likewise, at the same date. The place of our present saint is said to have been situated on the River Suir, in the southern part of Ossory territory. 9 Fiddown is now a parisli church, in the Diocese of Ossory. This saint is called Maidoc, in the Calendar of Cash el. He was a different person from St. Maidoc, Bishop of Ferns ;^° yet, it seems difficult to discriminate him, from other saints, bearing thesamename. " Weread,intheMartyrologyofDonegal,"^^ thatveneration was given on this day to St. Momhaedhog, Bishop, of Fiodh-duin, in Osraighe. Likewise, under the head of Fiodh-Duin, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Momhaedog, bishop of Fidh-Duin, at May i8th. '3
ArticleV. St. Modomnoc,ofTipratFachtna. Thepresentholy man is to be distinguished from him, about whom we have previously treated. St. ^ngus calls him " a victorious diadem,"^ and my Domnoc is stated by his scholiast to have been specially venerated, at Tipra Fachtnai in Ossory. ^ InthepublishedMartyrologyofTallagh,3 hisnameappearsasModomnoc, TipratFachtnat,attheiSthofMay. IntheFranciscancopyj-^theentryis slightly different, but the contraction may have the like signification. The Bollandistss quotethesameauthorityfortheirentryModomnocusdeTiprad- Fathna, at this date.
At the 1 8th of May, Thomas Dempster 37 has an entry of this saint ;33 although, elsewhere, he states, the Scottish Martyrologies do not name the date for his festival, nor could he find it in the Scottish Annals. 39 An in- teresting Hymn ^° to St, Conval has been composed, printed, and circulated, by Rev. Bernard Tracy, Pastor of Pollockshaw::. The Rev. John J. Kyle
;
:
— —
500 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
supposes Oban, or Dunstaffnage,*' to have been connected with a former veneration, paid to St. Conval, Many wonderful cures are attributed to his intercession ; and, he is said to have predicted the punishment, which should fall on the Kings of Pictland and of Britain, on account of their immoralities, while many other prophetic pronouncements are mentioned, as a portion of his spiritual gifis. ''^ The ancient church of Pollockshaws ^a—called Pollock,'t4 Polloc, Poloc, and Pulloc, in ancient documents—or the Shaws,45 as popularly named, probably stood beside the castle upon the bank of the Cart. It was dedicated to St. Convallus, the pupil of St. Kentigern, The old church may have continued to exist as a chapel. After the thirteenth cen- tury, Polloc disappears as a separate parish and parochial name. It is not known, whether it included Upper Pollock, now a part of the parish of Mearns. ''^ The ancient names of Nether Pollock,'»7 and of Eastwood,-*^ for- merly had their separate churches, and they were constituted as separate
parishes. 49
Article II. Merolilanus, a Scottish Priest and ]\Iartyr, at Rheims, France. {Eighth Century. '] Merolilan, a Scottish Priest and Martyr, at Rheims, is noticed by the Bollandists at the i8th of May,' in a historiccommentary. ItwastheintentionofFatherJohnColgan,togive his Acts, at the same date. ^ His' period has been assigned to the eighth century ; but, the date for his birth has not been ascertained. Nor was his memory preserved in our Irish Calendars ; for, only among the Rhemi 3 of
VI.
" Holy Abbot, still defend us, Guard our parish as of yore
; Hye and Erin's saints befriend us,
And the Faith they brought our shore.
Eastwood's Patron ! Thy sweet blessing we implore. "
4' Owing to the statement of Dempster:
" Euonium oppidum esse ora Lornae sive Loguairireoccidcntali contra mulam (mull? ) insulam, a Dumblane urbe supra vigenti milliaria. "
^= See John Lesley's work " De Origine, Moribus, etGestisScotorum," lib. iiii. . sect, xlv. , p. 138.
*3 For an account of this flourishing town, adjoining Glasgow, see the " Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 618.
^^ See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. i. , p. 66.
*5 The Shaws' Fair was held in May probably on the patron's day— and the Races there are not long abolished. In the Scottish dialect Sha'u means " a grove. "
** According to the " Registrum Passe- let. "
*' The parish minister of Pollockshaws in- formed the Rev. Bernard Tracv, that Cosmo Innes confounded Upper Pollock which has long ceased to exist as a parish with Lowcjr or Nether Pollock, in the " Orignes Parochiales Scotiae. " Conval's daven, or dos, still exists, and goes by that
name. It adjoins the burgh of Pollock- shaws.
**^ The church of Estwood was the pro- perty of the Abbey of Paisley, but acquired somewhat later. Its donor is not known. It may have been founded, by the monks themselves, on their own manor. It was certainly the property of Paisley in 1265, when Pope Clement IV. confirmed both the churches of Estwood and Pollic to the Abbey, with their other possessions.
•9 Before the end of the twelfth century, Peter, tlie son of Fulbert, who took the local surname of Polloc, gave to the monks of Paisley the church of Polloc, with its per- tinents, lands and waters, plains and pas- tures; whichwasconfirmedtothemfortheir own use and support, by Bishop Jocelin, who died A. D. 1199. In 1227, at the general settlement of the allowances to the vicars of the Abbey churches, the vicar of Pollock was appointed to have the Altar dues and two calders of meal, and five acres of land by the church, the rest of the church lands remain- ing with the monks.
Article ii. — ' See " Acta Sanctorum," tomusiv. . Mail xviii. De S. Merolilano Pres- bytero Martyrc Scoto, Remis in Gallia, p.
185.
" His name is found, in " Catalogus
Actuum Sanctorum qune MS. habentur, or- dine Mensium ct Dierum. "
3 Their territory w. -is bounded, towards the cast, by the Treviri and Viroduni, towards the south, by the Catalauni. towards the west, by the Suessones, while the great
May i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
501
-France had he been then known, and afterwards venerated. An account of St. Merolilanus is to be found, in the ancient Breviary of the Diocese of Rheims, in France; and, the accomphshed Flodoard,+ in his history of that ancient church, 5 sets forth several particulars, regarding the holy man. St. Merolilanus was of Irish race—indicated by the term Scotigena applied to him—and he travelled into France, with some companions, for the purpose of making a pil- grimage to Rome. Passing along the River Axona^—now known as L'Aisne 7—some robbers set upon the travellers, and those freebooters killed Merolilanus. His companions brought the body of the holy man to Rheims,^ where it was interred in an ancient cemetery. For a long time, the very memory of St. Merolilanus seems to have been forgotten, in the place of his sepulture, until miracles revealed the spot where he was buried. It happened in the time of Hildegarius, a Priest of Rheims, as we are told in the History 9 of that city, by FIodoard,'° that a person of some respectabilit)', yet in poor circumstances, died ; and, as means were wanting to give him a decent inter- ment, his friends applied to that Priest for a place of sepulture, where they might find a sarcophagus to enclose his body. The requisite permission being granted, his friends opened that place, where Merolilanus had been en- tombed, and they found his sarcophagus, which, however, could not be opened bythem. Hearingthis,thePriestapproachedthespot,andendeavouringto raise the lid of that sarcophagus—which he partially accomplished—a most . fragrantodourwasdiffusedaround. Lookingin,Hildegariussawthesaint's body preserved entire, and clothed with sacerdotal garments. He replaced -the lid, not daring furtlier to interfere with the remains ; however, he allowed the dead man's body to be placed over them, some planks being inserted beneath. That very night, his uncle on the mother's side, and who had long -been dead, appeared to the Priest during sleep, and told him, that he had offended deeply the Almighty on the day past, and more especially, should he presume farther to violate the sepulchre of Merolilanus. About the same time, the latter holy man appeared in spirit to Hildegarius, and intimated, that he felt much the indignity of a corpse having been placed over his own remains, and he announced, that if the Priest did not remove the body soon, some preter- natural punishment should befall him. Wherefore—according to the History ofRheimsChurch,byFlodarius"—affrightedbysuchadmonitions,Hildegar
forest of Ardennes lay towards the north, See Bavdrand's " Novum Lexicon Geogra- phicum," tomus ii. , p. 128.
'* This writer flourished in the tenth cen-
'
tury, and he wrote ' Annales " dating from
A. D. 919, to A. D. 978. He ends with an account of aman of God, "Malcallanus, na- tione Hibernicus. " There is a fine edition of these Annals, in Georgius Heinricus Pertz's "Monumenta Germanise Historica," tomus iii. , pp. 363 to 408.
s See " Historia Ecclesice Remensis," lib. iv. , cap. 48.
^ Allusion is made to it, in Julius Caesar's Commentaries, " De Bello Gallico," lib. ii. , cap. ix. ^
7 A river of Champagne, which passes by the city of Soissons, and flows into the Oyse, near the city of Compiegne.
^ Besides its fine cathedral, this city is remarkable for its public churches, institu- tions and commerce. See Elisee Reclus' "Nouvelle Geographic Universelle," tome
ii. , chap, xi. , sect, v. , p. 709.
9 This history first appeared in a French
translation, by Nicolas Chesneau, published
^° See an interesting account of Flodoard or Frodoard, Canon of the Church of Rheims and of his writings, in " Histoire Literaire de la France," tome vi. , pp. 313 to 329.
''A few extracts, from the "Historia Ecclesije Rhemensis," only appear, in the " Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France," par Dom. Martin Bouquet, Bene- dictin de la Congregation de Saint Maur, tome v. , pp. 361, 362, and tome vi. , pp. 213 to 216.
4to. Father Sirmond
at Rheims, in
published the Latin text, for the first time, at Paris, in 161 1, 8vo. The best edition is that of Couvenier, or Colvener, published at Douai, 1617, 8vo, and it has been reproduced in the " Bibliotheca Patruum," tonius xvii. , at Lyons, in 1677. See M. le Dr. Hoefer's " Nouvelle Biographic Generate," tome xvii. , col. 937.
1 540,
"
502
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
caused almost immediately the body of the buried man to be raised, for inter- ment in another place. The saint of God appeared to a rustic and ordered, also, that he should go to the Bishop Artoldus,'^ or Artand, and tell him, that the body of Merolilanus, which lay in the cemetery without, must be re- moved to within the church. The rustic was unwilling, however, to convey such a message to the Bishop, and he treated it with neglect. '3 Afterwards, the saint appeared one Sunday night in a vision to a certain Priest, who served under Hildegarius. '* He was admonished to inform tlie Bishop, that the body of Merolilanus should be brought into that church, and even the very place where it was to be deposed had been mentioned. Then, too, did he give the history of himself, which had been forgotten ; while, he told the priest, to write down his name as Merolilanus, and he presented a piece of chalk for that purpose. '5 During the effort, however, the priest wrote down the letter R for that of L ; and Merolilanus warned him to make the neces- sary correction. '^ The Bishop—informed of these visions—caused the church to be restored ; still, he did not transfer to it the saint's relics. Nor was it long afterwards, until in the presence of Prince Hugo,'? fifth son to Heribert, Count of Picardy, and in the same church, Artoldus abdicated the episcopal dignity. However, the King Raoul having prevailed against Heribert in war, and after the peace concluded between them, at Soissons, a. d. 935, Artaud wasrestoredtothearchiepiscopalseatofRheims. '^ Afterwards,theremains of Merolilanus were translated to the Church of the Holy Apostles and of St. Symphronien, Martyr, at Rheims. It seems probable, that either Archbishop Artaldus, or his successor Odalricus,'^ took care to have this ceremony car- ried out, with due solemnity, and according to the requirement of St. Meroli- lanus, His relics were preserved, in the Church of St. Symphorien, at Rheims. ''° There, his Natalis was specially venerated. In the city and dio- cese of Rheims, the Feast of St. Merolilanus, ! \Iartyr, is kept under a simple rite of three Lessons. His martyrdom is commemorated, in the third Lesson, and the other parts of his office are taken from the common of a
'* He was nominated and consecrated
Bishop of Rheims a. d. 931 ; but, on the oc-
cupation of that city by Heiebert, Count of
Picardy, he was obliged to resign, a. d. 940.
After various changes of fortune, and under
adversity, he lived to the year 961, ruling
this diocese in tranquillity towards the close
of his life. See an account of his life and
writings, in " Histoire Literaire de la P'rench bishops, clergy and jieople, on this France,'' tome vi. , pp. 295 to 300. subject ; and, levying a force, he besieged
'3 The account then proceeds : " Nee Rheims in 931, and having captured it dur-
ing the absence of Herbert, an assembly of twenty-eight bishops elected Artaud, a monk of St. Remi. He was accordingly enthroned, and he received the pallium from Pope John
longe post iterum apparens evigilanii, duri-
ter increpavit ilium, quare praceptum neg-
lexit ; et corripiens, alapa ejus percussit
iTiaxillam. Qui mox auditura amisit ipsius
auris, in qua percussuo est parte, capitisque XL, in 933. See I'Abbe Fleury's " His- dolore per dimidium fere vexatus est an- toire Ecclesiastique," tome xii,, lib. Iv. ,
num. "
'* In the same church.
sect, i. , vii.
'* See Henri Martin's "Histoire de
liv. xvi. , p. 516.
'' He was elected, A. D. 962. See I'Abb^
Fleury's " Histoire Ecclesiastique,"- tome xii. , liv. Ivi. , sect. iv.
''" See Les Petiis Bollandistes' " Vies des Saints," tome v. , xviii«. , Jour de Mai, p. 625.
=" See " Martyrologiuni Gallicanum. "
added "' i)ra.
'cipiens ut illud con-
France dcpuis les Temps les plus recules
'5
tinuo adnotaret in area, qua; lecto ipsius ad- jusq'eii 17S9," tome ii. , Deuxieme Partie,
It is :
hserebat.
'* The narrative then continues : " et ita
in crastinum hoc nonien adscriptum inven- tuni est : ut testaretur idem Presbyter : quod vigilando per diem tarn bene scribere nequi- visset. "
' It was sought topromote him by ordina- tion, for the Archbishopric of Rheims, so
that he bore the title of elect, from A. D. 925, when he was scarcely five years old. But. in the year 947, a synodal decree annulled his ordination. In the name of his infant son, Herbert appropriated the revenues of this church for six years, even living with his wife in the Archbishop's palace. However, the King Raoul heard ihe complaints of the
= Thus, bl^A1n bic o diboeriAT).
—
May i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Martyr, and not a Bishop. His festival is found inscribed, at this date, in the Martyrologies of Saussay,^' of Ferrarius,^^ and of Camerarius. Little more do we find on record, regarding that sainted Irish pilgrim and martyr.
Article III. St. Bran Beg, of Clane, County of Kildare. {Sixth or Seventh Century. ^ In the published Martyrology of Tallagh/ at the18thofMay,thenameofBranbice,ofChlaonadh,occurs and,theentry
;
is nearly alike, in the Franciscan copy. ^ He is commemorated, likewise, in the " Feilire " of St. ^ngus, at this date. 3 He is noticed, also, by the Bollandists. 4 This holy man is said to have been the son of Degill, and a nephew of the great St. Columkille,^ by his s'ster Cumenia,^ also called Cuimne. HisbrotherswereMernoc,^Cascene,andMeldalfalthoughthat Tract, on tlie Mothers of the Irish Saints, makes Cuman only to be the mother of the two sons of Degil, i. e. ^ Mernoc and Caisene. 9 However, there was a place in Tyrconnell, called the cell of the seven sons of Degill. ^° The Martyrology of Donegal " mentions, that a festival was celebrated on this day, in honour of Bran Beg, of Claenadh, in Ui Faelain, in Magh Laighin. ThismayberenderedintoEnglish,"theplainofLeinster. " ThepresentClane, in the county of Kildare, lies in this plain. '^ We do not know, whether the present holy man was founder of a religious establishment there; but, as he flourished at an early date, it seems altogether probable, he may be regarded as the founder and patron of Clane. '3 in the eighth century, there was an abbey, at Clane; for, we read of the death in 777, ''^ or 782, of its Abbot
Banbhan. Asynod,consistingoftwenty-sixbishopsandagreatnumberof abbots, was held there, a. d. 1162. In the thirteenth century, a Franciscan abbey was founded, in the place—it is thought by Gerald Fitz-Maurice, Lord Offaley ; but, this account is not confirmed. '^ It was suppressed, in the reign of King Henry VIII. '^ The ruins yet remain, in an open field, beside the present town of Clane. ^7 It was situated within the territory, formerly styled Hui-Faelan, in Mag-Laigen. '^ A strange error has been allowed, by Arch-
"See " Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum. "
Article hi. — ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiv.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters/' vol. ii. , n. (n), p. 946.
'^ It has been stated, tliat St. Ailbe founded a priory here in 584. See Thomas 3 See " Transactions of the Royal Irish James Rawson's " Statistical Survey of the
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. . part i. , p. Ixxx.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Mali xviii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 135.
5 See his Life, of the 9th of June.
* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, cap. X. , num. 12, p. 488.
7 His feast occurs, at the 23rd of Decem- ber.
^ See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes A, pp. 246, 247.
9 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Secunda Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, Calendar of Oengus. See "Transactions of
pars, ii. , num. xxcv. (85), p. 469.
'° See ibid. , Quarta Appendix ad Acta S.
Columbas, cap. ii. , num. 3, p. 478.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
132, 133.
County of Kildare," Introduction, p. xviii. This is an error, borrowed/ from Arch-
dall.
"* See Dr. O'Donovan's 7 Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 3S2, 3S3, and n. (1), ibid.
'S See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni- cum," p. 313.
'* In the 24th year of his reign, June 15th.
''' Theaccompanyingviewwassketched on the spot by tlie writer, in April, 1874. It has been drawn, by William F. Wakeman, on the wood, engraved by Mrs. Millard.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. Ixxxviii.
'9 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 312.
°° Quoting Colgan's authority, although
'^ This is noted, by the scholiast on the
'
503
——
504 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 8.
dall, to creep into his work,'9 when he states,'" that St. Ailbe founded a monastery at Clane—while the place was altogether different, viz. , Cluain- Damh,'' near the banks of the Liffey. From the term of Little applied to the present saint, it seems probable, he was of small stature. St. Bran is said by Adamnan, or by his scholiast, to have been interred at Londonderry," although venerated, on this day, at the church of Claonadh—the ancient
Abbey Ruins at Clane. County of Kildare.
name of Clane—in Lagenia. '3 With two other Irish saints, Bran is named, at the 1 8th of May—or xv. of the June Kalends—in the Kalendarium Drum- mondiense. '*
Article IV. St. Mo-Maedoc, of Fidown, County of Kilkenny. That the present holy man flourished at an early date has been ascertained. IntheFeilire^ ofSt. . ^ngus,atthei8thofMay,wefindMaedocmentioned
no such matter is related by him.
" See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
hiae," Martii xxvi. Do S. Scnchello Abbale et Episcopo de Kill-Achuid, cap. iii. , p. 748.
" See " Memoirs of the City and North- western Liberties of Londonderry," part ii. , sect. 2, p. 27.
^^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columba:, cap. ii. , num. i. , p. 477, and cap. x. , num. 12, p. 488.
"* Thus : " XV. Kalend. Apud Iliberniam Natale Sanctorum Confessorum Ikain Medoc Domnoc. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalen- dars of Scottish Saints," p. 1 3.
Article iv. — ' In the " Leabhar Breac" copy we read: —
^'eil,tiiAH\e iiuMch ^wimjat) 111onioex)oc nioi\ iriAinech 111oT)otunoc iiiint) buA-oAch Veil b)\Ain bic o ClAonAX).
Thus translated by Dr. Whilley Stokes :
" The feast of good Mark who was crowned : my Maedoc great, tvcasurous : my Uomnoc, a victot ious diadem : the feast of Hran the Little from Claenad. "—On the Calendar of Oengus. "TransactionsoftheRoyalIrish Academy," Irisii Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. Ixxx.
May 1 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
505
—
with praise. ^ However, there is much doubt regarding his identity. The Franciscan copy,3 and the pubHshed version,* of the Tallagh Martyrology haveanentryofthissaint,attheiSthofMay. TheBollandistssalsocom- memorate him, and they state, that by some authorities, he is styled a Bishop, but more truly speaking he was an Abbot. He was descended from the race of Labhraidh Lore, son to Ugaine Mor, according to the O'Clerys. ^ The scholiast on the Calendar of Oengus, thus weaves his pedigree : Momoedoc was son of Midgnae, son to Nindid, son ofNazar, son to Crimthann, son of Eochaid, son to Oengus, son of Crimthann, son of Cathair Mor,7 and Colam, son of Nindid, son of Nazar, son of Crimthan, son to Eochaid, son of Oengus, sonofCiimthannan,sonofCathairMdr. Byanotherconjecture,thisholy man has been confounded with St. Maidoc, or Momhaeddg, whose festival has been assigned to the 23rd of March,^ where notices regarding him may be seen. Both Colgan and the Bollandists mark his feast, likewise, at the same date. The place of our present saint is said to have been situated on the River Suir, in the southern part of Ossory territory. 9 Fiddown is now a parisli church, in the Diocese of Ossory. This saint is called Maidoc, in the Calendar of Cash el. He was a different person from St. Maidoc, Bishop of Ferns ;^° yet, it seems difficult to discriminate him, from other saints, bearing thesamename. " Weread,intheMartyrologyofDonegal,"^^ thatveneration was given on this day to St. Momhaedhog, Bishop, of Fiodh-duin, in Osraighe. Likewise, under the head of Fiodh-Duin, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Momhaedog, bishop of Fidh-Duin, at May i8th. '3
ArticleV. St. Modomnoc,ofTipratFachtna. Thepresentholy man is to be distinguished from him, about whom we have previously treated. St. ^ngus calls him " a victorious diadem,"^ and my Domnoc is stated by his scholiast to have been specially venerated, at Tipra Fachtnai in Ossory. ^ InthepublishedMartyrologyofTallagh,3 hisnameappearsasModomnoc, TipratFachtnat,attheiSthofMay. IntheFranciscancopyj-^theentryis slightly different, but the contraction may have the like signification. The Bollandistss quotethesameauthorityfortheirentryModomnocusdeTiprad- Fathna, at this date.
