Scottish
Entries in the
Kalendar of David Camerarius, p.
Kalendar of David Camerarius, p.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
However, the leg of that thief, who had stolen it, contracted to such a degree, that it became completely paralysed.
This obliged him to reveal his crime before all, and restore the coverlet to its proper place.
He was then carried to the Church of St.
Bega, and with lighted torches, the whole night was there spent by himself and friends in prayer to the holy virgin.
She was ever merciful to the prayers of the penitent, and that man's lirnb was restored to its former soundness.
The people who knew of it gave praise to God, who had glorified his saint by such a manifest sign.
47 This Abbey was founded A. i>. 113 1. Latin is interpreted Persoliitio Bourn, in
48 Otherwise called De Sartis Abbey. It English, a Tribute of Oxen. William, Ear] was founded A. D. 1135. It was furnished of Albemarle, appears to have claimed this
with monks from the then recently estab- lished Abbey at Rievaulx.
49 This Priory for Augustine Friars was founded A. D. 1121. It was situated in a vale, on the east bank of the Derwent.
tribute in the district of Copeland, and out of the returns, he gave six cattle to the monks of St. Bees.
»' The chronicler adds: "nee tamen ejus confessio, licet publica, plebem potuit 50 In the Anglo-Saxon language, this absolveie ab imposit^ pensionis gravi
custom was known as Neutgeld, which in jugo. ''
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12
At
Workington,5
3 a town in near the Derwent, three men were Copeland,
returning home from a booth on a certain Sunday. They had their daily
potation, and a quarrel arose among them. From angry words they came
to blows, and those three, setting on a fourth person, dragged him to a little
house, designated a torrel, 53 where holding him down with their hands about his throat, they strangled or smothered him. This villainy being soon
discovered, the villagers flocked from all parts, but taking away the dead body, they found no wounds upon it. According to their custom there, they sounded horns to raise the alarm, and all collected to seize the culprits. These were captured, bound and led by officials, appointed for such occasions, to the Castle of Egremont, in which they were committed to prison. Their dungeon was dark and filthy; they were bound with fetters, and in daily expectation of being condemned to death, when overpowered by the misery of their situation, humbling their souls before the Lord, and with falling tears, they often invoked St. Bega to effect their liberation. When they had thus prayed daily, and with great contrition of soul, a vener- able and beautiful female apparition addressed them in these words : " Looking, I saw your affliction, and I heard your groans in the darkness
and shadow of and I have come to free " Who death, you. " Theyreplied:
"
art thou, lady, who cometh to visit us unworthy sinners ?
u I am the servant of Christ, Bega, whom you have diligently called upon inthedayofyourtrouble; Iwillwhollyreleaseyouandfreeyourlivesfrom the hands of those who complain against you. Arise, go forth and come after me in safety ; I will bring you to my asylum. " Giving thanks, and finding their chains loosed, they followed her without molestation from the keepers,andcametothedomainofSt. Bega. Whentheyapproachedher Church, their fetters snapped asunder, and the vision of the walking saint vanished. Being thus free, with hurried steps they entered that sacred edifice, and poured forth their souls in praise and thanksgiving. There, too, in testimony of their liberation, they left their fetters, as a memorial and offering to God and to St. Bega.
A certain wicked man, named John, having vainly endeavoured to seduce Beatrice, the wife of William, surnamed the Hare, at length took occasion with a confederate to carry her off by force on a festival day, held on the Sabbath before Pentecost. 54 Returning home with her mother, and after the usual devotions were over, the ruffians seized on Beatrice, bore her on a
52 This is now a sea-port town, and the
head of a parish in the West Division of
Cumberland. The monks of St. Bees, by
charter of Ranulf Meschines, possessed a
mill at this place. The town is situated on perpetrata solent solempnizare ; et ecclesiam the south bank of the Derwent, and near its
influx to the sea. After her escape from the
field of Langside, Maiy Queen of Scots landed here in 1568, and sought an asylum in
Workington Hall. The Curwens hospitably entertained her, and the room in which she slept is still known as the Queen's Chamber. Afterwards, Queen Elizabeth gave directions for her removal to Carlisle Castle.
illius visitando orationum et oblationum hostiis honorare. " There can hardly be a
"
53 This term applies to " a kiln. " In the
Leges Burgaium Scoticorum," there is "
doubt, that Whitsuntide, and probably Christmas and Easter, were formerly seasons when the faithful frequented the church of St. Bees in great numbers. It seems, that among the Anglicans, communicants still resort to the church of St. Bees, at the festival of Easter, and they come from con- siderable distances, when their Eucharist is administered so early as eight o'clock in the
allusion to it as ane kill ghair comes are morning. Then the village presents an dryed. " That torrel, the scene of this unwonted appearance from the influx of
homicide, was undoubtedly connected with (lie monks' mill at Workington.
54 This was evidently some festival insti-
visitors. See G. C. Tomlinson's " Life and Miracles of Sancta Bega," p. 73, and appendix, note, p. 80.
tuted to honour St. Bega, as the writer of
"
terrse ob quaedam insignia sanctitatis sanctse
her Life and Miracles states :
homines illius
yirginis tunc illic inventa, et signa ibidem
She replied :
122 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
horsereadyprepared,outraged,andcarriedheraway. Shecouldnotresist
by struggling, but calling upon the protection of God and St. Bega, she pro- hibited the ruffians from doing her violence. Meanwhile the mother of Beatrice quickly raised the alarm with loud cries and lamentations. The brothers of the ill-used woman heard of this transaction, and quickly arming themselves, set out in pursuit of the fugitives. The accomplice was soon seized, and the woman's brothers cut off his head. The chief mis- creant,flyingforhislife,concealedhimselfinathickwood. But,hecould notescapethewrathoftheAlmighty. Anevilspiritseizeduponhim,and ceased not to worry him, even to the close of his miserable existence. He wanderedaboutavagabondandanoutlawthroughvariousparts; hisclothes hung about him in rags, and his flesh was torn off piecemeal among the thickets and briars. A pitiable spectacle he became ; at length he died, and his body was interred at Holm Cultram," in Cumberland.
Another miracle is recorded, regarding a native of Chartres, in France,
and who, having had a vision to encourage him, brought two sons to Eng- land. One of them was a paralytic and dumb from his birth ; while the other was afflicted with a fistula. 56 In a sort of small cart, which the father drew after him, both boys were placed, and brought through the land to divers saints' shrines. Having reached Tynemouth, in the north of England, the poor man was excessively wearied. In despair, he was about to return and seek his own country, when a beautiful person appeared in a night-vision, and directed him to visit the Church of St. Bega, in Copeland. Accordingly he went thither, and passed the night in her church. When the morning brightened into day, the elder son, palsied and dumb, felt a glorified virgin touch him j when suddenly, and with renewed strength, he stood upright, and for the first time his tongue was loosed, to give utterance to a few words in his native Gallic tongue, and even he spoke in English, to him a foreign language. He then went to the altar, returning thanks with allwhowerepresenttoGodandtoSt. Bega. Inthenextplace,vigilsand prayers for the younger son were continued. After some time, the fistula disappeared, the boy being restored to perfect health and vigour. Again were the praises of God and His holy servant Bega proclaimed. After some
days had elapsed, that pious father, with his two sons, returned to France, leaving the little car which had brought them to St. Bees in the place, and as a testimony of that remarkable miracle. 57
St. Bega is thought to have founded a nunnery in the territory of Coup-
8
land, near Carlisle. There, also, she is said to have erected a small church. s This appears to have been no other than St. Bees, her chiefest foundation,
"
and it lay within the kingdom of Strathclyde. ^ Moreover, in the Anglicanum," compiled by Roger Dodsworth and Sir William Dugdale, St. Begaisstatedtohavefoundedfourmonasteries. 60 However,thereseems to be no certainty that she founded more than three, viz. : those of Copeland,
Heorthu,
and
61
During
an incursion from Scotland in
Hartlepool.
1315,
55 A Cistercian abbey had been founded here by Henry, son to David, king of Scot- land, a. d. 1 150, according to Dugdale's "Monasticon Anglicanum," vol. v. , p. 593.
57 See Tomlinson's " Life and Miracles of
Sancta Bega," pp. 40 to 43.
5» See Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , p. 120.
New edition. However, from an old MS. , 59 According to Bishop Forbes, this "
Leland has Alanus, films Waldeff primus foundation took place in 656. See
—" De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea," vol. i. , p. 38.
s6 This miracle is alluded to, in the Ninth Lesson of the Saint's Office, as contained in the Aberdeen Breviary.
"Kalendars of Scottish
fuit fundator. "
Saints," p. 278. See tomus i. , p. 395.
6o
6l See " Les Fetits Hollandistes, " Vies des
Saints," vol. x. , Jour vie Saptembre, p. 529.
Monasticon
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
123
62 account has been left in Manuscript,^ by an unknown monk of St. Mary's
the church and possessions of St. Bees sustained considerable injury.
This
Monastery, at York.
At the 6th of September, St. Bega is venerated, according to the
11 of Martyrologium Anglicanum"
Wilson,6* 6s Arthurus,66 and Ferrarius,
John
Wion. 6? In the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints,68 St. Bega is mentioned
at the same day. She is likewise commemorated in the Circle of -the Seasons, at this date/9 If we are to credit Dempster's statement^ St. Bega was venerated in Scotland, on this day, and at a place called Kilbeg. Also
1
is she commemorated by David Camerarius,? at the 8th September. In
Scotland, she was honoured at Kilbucho,? 2 and at Kilbagie. 73 There is a glebe likewise at Kilbegie ;? 4 and probably Kilbagie,75 in Clackmannan is
named after her. Throughout England and Scotland, also, a feast has been
assigned to St. Bees, on the 31st of October. ? 6 This is the date given for
her chief festival, in the Breviary of Aberdeen, and also by Greven, in his additions to Usuard. Under the name of St. Bees, it is said that she was likewise honoured on the 22nd of November. 77 Again, Gabriel Bucelin? 8 hasreferredherfeasttothe28thofDecember. BesidestheNatalisforher death—generally supposed to have been the 31st of October—the foregoing festivals must have reference to the translation of her relics, or to some special commemoration intended to increase popular devotion for her. Yet, perhaps it is more probable, especially in latter times, that some errors of date may have crept into the kalendars, or some confusion of correct identi- fication has probably occurred.
Assuming a gifted Irish pilgrim's visit to the Shrine of St. Bees, and
enquiries there made, to be incidents of real life,? 9 it would appear, that the
natives of Cumberland, in the present century, know little regarding this stranger virgin, who had once been held by their ancestors in distinguished honour. 80 It was otherwise in those middle ages, when the chronicler of her fame and miracles could only relate what was most clear, coming from the evidence of many Cumbrians, and what most deserved belief. There could
62 Anno Di. 1315. Robertus Brus obsi- debat Carleolum. Quo tempore Jacobus Duglas multa mala fecit apud Egremont, et spoliavit eccl. S. Begae, ac maneria de Cletter et Stainebume prions S. Begoe combusserunt. " —Leland, " De Rebus Brni etane^mei P4,
73 See Statistical Account of Scotland,"
vol. viii. , p. 605, and vol xiv. , p. 623.
i! T fi^? nllH ^n° AM ;K
Koran's
f
K<Z^^LTM
> AbbatlbuSCt
6
*-> In
66 In Sacro
67
" Historise Catholics Ibernice Com- pendium," tomus i. , lib iv. , cap. xi. , p. ci.
p. {^
<t Edition of 1608. «"
t0 ngli Martyrol°gy
Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum. " Gynoeceo.
? A Edltlon of l6
In
68 Published by O'Sullivan Beare, in
1%In "
Lignum Vita," lib. iii.
Appendix.
°' See p. 250.
70 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of bv Ml's- J. Sadlier, —"Historical and
Scottish Saints," Menologium Scoticum, Legendary Poems," pp. 360, 361, New
p. 210.
7' See ibid.
Scottish Entries in the
Kalendar of David Camerarius, p. 240.
York, 1869, 8vo. 8o He says :—
7* See Chalmers' " vol. Caledonia,"
"
I stood within the fontless porch,
I paced the empty nave, The very verger of the church
A false tradition gave. "—Ibid.
ii. , p. 958; "Statistical Account of Scotland,"
"
vol. iv. , p. 344 ; and Origines Parochiales
'
Scotiae, part 1. . p. 177.
74 See " part ii. , p. 822.
Parochiales Scotia,"
Origines
75 See "New Statistical Account of Scot- land " vol viii" pp 3' 128'
76See Rt- Rev- Patrick F-
"In* Saints in Great Britain," chap v. ,
160.
Jl ?
of John Wllson
'
S5.
f
79 See the verses headed " Saint Bees," m the admirably edited Poems of Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee, with copious notes. Also an Introduction and Biographical Sketch,
4°-
the Menologium Benedictinum. "
i24 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6.
be no end to his narrative, states the compiler of her Acts, were all such
signs of her sanctity and miracles to be written, regarding the Virgin Bega, who now reigns in endless glory, and with Him, who is infinite and eternal.
ARTICLE II. —ST. MAGNUS, MAGOBALDUS, MAGNOALD, OR MAGNOBALDUS, APOSTLE OF SUABIA.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—WRITERS OF THE ACTS OF ST. MAGNOALDUS OR MAGNUS—IRELAND THE COUNTRY OF HIS BIRTH—PERIOD OF HIS NATIVITY—HE BECOMES A DISCIPLE OF ST. COLUMBAN—SAINTS MAGNOALD AND GALL REMAIN IN SWITZERLAND— ADMONITION TO MAGNOALD OF ST. COLUMBAN AND PROPHECY BEFORE SETTING OUT FOR ITALY.
While abundant light has been thrown on the incidents of modern history, as also on the life and actions of celebrated characters who have lived in our own times, owing to the issue of printed works, and the recorded memoranda or correspondence of contemporaneous writers ; far different are the old manuscript memorials of doubtful authenticity, or whose authors and sources for information are not sufficiently accredited, when we seek to establish facts relating to many of our old-world saints. Such, it must be admitted, is often the case, with regard to acts, conveying to us the most remote traditions,inreferencetothepresentholyman. Theonlyancientauthority for his life is, unfortunately, not altogether trustworthy. This is a memoir, which it is stated had been written by his companion and disciple Theodore,1 and who laid it under the abbot's head, when he had been buried. Then the account runs, that when the body was disinterred, and on the stone coffin being opened, in the ninth century, the book had been taken out, and when
2 to to have been a forgery of the tenth or twelfth century. 3 This Life is made up of long extracts from Jonas, the monk of Bobbio, who wrote the Acts of St. Columban, and from Walafridus Strabo,* who wrote the Acts of St. Gall. EventsrelatedofothersaretransferredtoMagnoald. s Wherethecomposer of this Life had genuine lives to manipulate, and convert to a memoir of St. Magnoald, his book is interesting ; but, when he brings the abbot to that ground where his abbey had been founded, and for which the lives of St.
it wa—s delivered to —of
greatly decayed by age, Ermenric, Elwangen,
re-edit. However, it is supposed
at least in
great part
Columban and St. Gall furnished no data, frequently he lapses into foolish
Article ii. —Chapter i. —' Called by cujusdam impostoris. "
Latin writers, Theodorus Campedonensis,
from the place where he passed a part of his
life as an abbot. He was a monk of St.
Gall and of St. Magnus. It is stated, that
by command of Bishop Tozzo, he wrote the siastici Francorum," tomus ii. , at A. D. lifeofhismaster,St. Magnus. Heflourished
A. D. 680. See Rev. Dr. William Cave's
"
Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Literaria," volumen i. Sseculum Monothe- leticum, p. 595.
2 He died a. d. 866.
3 Thus Basnage states
nee Ermenrici illud est opusculum, sed
:
" Nee Theodori
Bishop of Laon, who flourished in the seventh century, are related verbatim of Magnoald, the writer only changing the letter C into M. See Benkert's " Athanasia," vol. xi. Kritische Priifung d, Lebensgesch der Heil. Magnus, p. 414. Wurzburg, 1832.
* Pere Charles le Cointe holds the writer
to have been a synchronus of St. Magnus,
and to have thus flourished
to Walafridus Strabo. See "Annates Eccle-
614.
s Thus, the incidents told of St. Cagnoald,
prior
September 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 25
6 This
about the bona fides of Theodore's Acts has been drawn in a great measure from an opinion of the learned Father Mabillon, that they were composed by some impostor i under such a shadowy title.
legend.
scepticism
This, however, is too sweeping a charge, and it seems far more probable that the writer's errors are owing to ignorance rather than to deliberate forgery. The Bollandists have very fully treated about St. Magnoaldus, or Magnus, andthen attributed to the monk Theodore, of Kempten, as taken from a manuscript " of St. Maximinus of Treves.
12
attributed to the saint's inter- cession. ^ This holy abbot's Acts have been edited by Father Constantine Suysken, S. J. , who has laboured much to investigate or unravel the obscure and often contradictory materials that are left for enquiry. In the first place the original life, as stated, if written by Theodorus,14 and buried with the saint, was almost defaced and scarcely legible, when discovered in the ninth century, and at present it is not known to exist. Again, by four
1 persons, that copy is said to have been given to a certain Ermenric, ^ a
monk and levite of Elewanga, to revise and restore. Neither is that particular manuscript to be found, and we know not if the task committed to him had been reliably executed. But, in the third place, that same work
l6 ;
at the 6thof
follows the unauthentic life of the saint,
previous commentary,9
September.
Afterwards succeeds an account of miracles,
8 Thereis a
to have fallen into other hands
whether through ignorance or fraud remains to be solved. When and where
while in the
the Acts of St. Magnus have become vitiated, in point of historic accuracy
appears
process
6"
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's Lives of
the Saints," vol. ix. , September 6, p. 94.
disciple, of St. Magnus in his apostolic labours, to have been witness of nearly all the miracles he relates, and to have been a friend, at the hour of his death.
15 By some, he is also named Ermenold, who lived in the time of the Blessed Raban Maur, whose life may be found in the second volume of this work, at the 4th of February, Art. iv. Ermenric became the seventh Abbot of the monastery of Elewan- gen, in the diocese of Augustana, a. d. 845, according to Mabillon. In his epistles to Gundramnus and Ruodolfus, he speaks very modestly of his abilities. " An vero S. Magni Vitam, qualis typis edita est exara- verit, certo pronunciare non licet. " "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti," ssec. ii.
16 The third revisor or in interpolator,
reference to Ermenric, states, that the latter, compelled by obedience, and not willing to contemn the order of a pontiff, undertook
the patch-work, according to the best of his ability, although little learned to amend and insert what should be proper. However, he accomplished the task, through Divine assistance, renewing the writing and correct- ing what he found in a confused state, and making the text clearer by means of chapters. To his emendations or possibly corruptions of the original text, Father Suysken justly objects, and naturally preferred he had assumed only the role of amanuensis, and not that of interpolator. The Bollandist editor
:
" Qui Magnum appellat
7 He adds
Magnoaldum, ut Chagnoaldi sancti Colum- bani discipuli facta personato suo Magnoaldo affingat. Non immoror fabulis illius impos- toris observandis, quas in actis sanctorum nostrorum manifeste detexi. Nihil itaque certi sive de Magno, sive de Theodoro nobis succurrit, nisi quod eos non Columbani, sed Galli discipulos, non Scotto-Hibernos, sed Alamanos fuisse constat ex Walafiido Strabone, qui eos Willimari presbyteri clericos extitisse ait, — in sancti
antequam
Galli disciplinam cooptarentur. " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xiii. ,
sect, xxxiii. , p. 393.
8
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. De Sancto Magno Monasterii Faucensis, Abbate Primo Fussse in Sueria, pp. 700 to 78x.
9 In thirteen sections, and one hundred and seventy-five paragraphs.
10
In eight chapters, and seventy-eight paragraphs, with accompanying notes.
11
Collated with the editions of Henricus
Canisius and of Melchior Goldast, together
with six other manuscripts-
12
Miracula auctore P. Ludovico Babens- tuber Benedictino Ettalensi.
13 These miracles are contained in seven
chapters, and in one hundred and fifty-six paragraphs, with illustrative notes.
"
M Said to have been a monk or eremite of adds: "utinam, inquam, ipsa Theodori
Campidonum or Kempten. This Theodore verba, confusa utcumque gestorum serie, is represented as the companion, or rather integre fideliterque posteritate tradidisset. "
10
ofemendation, —
26 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
1 theerrorshavecreptincannotwellbedetermined ? but,asuspicionremains,
j
that many of the mis-statements occurring are attributed to a compiler of the
eleventh 8 who to have had access to the Acts of St. century,' appears
Magnus, said to have been written by the monk, Theodore, and restored by Ermenric. Under such specious mask, not a few have been deceived, who imagined that the Acts still preserved must have had their origin on a
J
respectable and trustworthy ancient authority. 9 Of the later interpolated
Acts, various manuscript copies have reached our time, and some of these have been already printed. In the Bollandist Library there were various copies. Among these were four distinct ones, 20 taken from a Manuscript Vita S. Magni, belonging to the Library of St. Maximinius of Treves. This
21
latter the Bollandist editor selected as a text for publication.
these, the Jesuit Father Gamans had formerly sent a double copy ; one
of Saints Udalric22 and 23 and the Afra, Augsburg,
2
a some differences of statement. $
From the interpolated Acts of St. Magnus, all subsequent published accounts are chiefly drawn. Those Acts have been printed by Henricus
26 228 Canisius, and by Melchior de Haiminsfeld Goldast, ? while Surius has
1 Mabillon supposed, that the Acts of St. Magnus, as manipulated by Ermenric, had been temerariously enlarged by a later writer. Father Suysken has a suspicion of another interpolation in the original of Ermenric, from a reading found in one manuscript copy, regarding a miracle related in sub- stance, but in different words, from those found in other codices. And that the evident introduction of passages, from Walafrid Strabo's Life of St. Gall, into that of St. Magnus, should not be attributed to Ermen- ric, seems sufficiently established.
taken from the
library
other from a monastery at Ratisbon. * Among all of these might be found
18 "
There exists a copy ot the interpolated Acts of St. Magnus, and written by an anony- mous monk of Ratisbon. It bears the
ment, denique ab anonymo recentiore digesta et aucta. "
21 By him and by Mabillon allusion is
made to the as the Acta or Vita Tract,
Pseudo-Theodori, a title by which it shall be subsequently designated.
"Ex
codice MS. Augustae ad SS. Udalr. et
Afram ab an. 700 conscripto, in 4 Tit. Legendae aliquot SS. lit. z. n. 36-" In his
M
Vetara Analecta," Mabillon inserts a tract, written by a certain monk, of Ratisbon, whose name is not given, and in reference to his own temptations. After returning from
Fulda to Ratisbon, alluding to his labours by "
following title :
pergam. antiquiss.
candlelight, the monk writes
vero redii Vitam S. Magni scripsi, compul-
from the time when
Romans and called Castra Regince"
sus fratrum duorum
" vol. Picturesque Europe,"
intimis et assi- duis, Wilhelmi scilicet ex congregatione nostra, et alterius qui ad nos discendi causa
ex Monasterio S. Magni \enit Adalham d ic- tus, qui nunc—in S. Alfrre ccenobio abbas est
*' Whether weight or consideration might be attributable to the earliest versions, the
precihus
v. , p. 274.
25 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. De Sancto Magno, &c, Com-
constitutus. " Pars
had already premised, that he left the Monas- tery of St. Einmeram at Ratisbon, A. D. 1062, so that he must have written the Acts of St. Magnus, after the middle of the eleventh century. This is further established, from certain passages to be found in a Prologue, attached to those Acts.
ii.
:
Postquam
it was fortified the by —
This unknown writer
26 " In
Ingolstad,
Antiquae Lectiones," tomus v.
47 This Abbey was founded A. i>. 113 1. Latin is interpreted Persoliitio Bourn, in
48 Otherwise called De Sartis Abbey. It English, a Tribute of Oxen. William, Ear] was founded A. D. 1135. It was furnished of Albemarle, appears to have claimed this
with monks from the then recently estab- lished Abbey at Rievaulx.
49 This Priory for Augustine Friars was founded A. D. 1121. It was situated in a vale, on the east bank of the Derwent.
tribute in the district of Copeland, and out of the returns, he gave six cattle to the monks of St. Bees.
»' The chronicler adds: "nee tamen ejus confessio, licet publica, plebem potuit 50 In the Anglo-Saxon language, this absolveie ab imposit^ pensionis gravi
custom was known as Neutgeld, which in jugo. ''
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12
At
Workington,5
3 a town in near the Derwent, three men were Copeland,
returning home from a booth on a certain Sunday. They had their daily
potation, and a quarrel arose among them. From angry words they came
to blows, and those three, setting on a fourth person, dragged him to a little
house, designated a torrel, 53 where holding him down with their hands about his throat, they strangled or smothered him. This villainy being soon
discovered, the villagers flocked from all parts, but taking away the dead body, they found no wounds upon it. According to their custom there, they sounded horns to raise the alarm, and all collected to seize the culprits. These were captured, bound and led by officials, appointed for such occasions, to the Castle of Egremont, in which they were committed to prison. Their dungeon was dark and filthy; they were bound with fetters, and in daily expectation of being condemned to death, when overpowered by the misery of their situation, humbling their souls before the Lord, and with falling tears, they often invoked St. Bega to effect their liberation. When they had thus prayed daily, and with great contrition of soul, a vener- able and beautiful female apparition addressed them in these words : " Looking, I saw your affliction, and I heard your groans in the darkness
and shadow of and I have come to free " Who death, you. " Theyreplied:
"
art thou, lady, who cometh to visit us unworthy sinners ?
u I am the servant of Christ, Bega, whom you have diligently called upon inthedayofyourtrouble; Iwillwhollyreleaseyouandfreeyourlivesfrom the hands of those who complain against you. Arise, go forth and come after me in safety ; I will bring you to my asylum. " Giving thanks, and finding their chains loosed, they followed her without molestation from the keepers,andcametothedomainofSt. Bega. Whentheyapproachedher Church, their fetters snapped asunder, and the vision of the walking saint vanished. Being thus free, with hurried steps they entered that sacred edifice, and poured forth their souls in praise and thanksgiving. There, too, in testimony of their liberation, they left their fetters, as a memorial and offering to God and to St. Bega.
A certain wicked man, named John, having vainly endeavoured to seduce Beatrice, the wife of William, surnamed the Hare, at length took occasion with a confederate to carry her off by force on a festival day, held on the Sabbath before Pentecost. 54 Returning home with her mother, and after the usual devotions were over, the ruffians seized on Beatrice, bore her on a
52 This is now a sea-port town, and the
head of a parish in the West Division of
Cumberland. The monks of St. Bees, by
charter of Ranulf Meschines, possessed a
mill at this place. The town is situated on perpetrata solent solempnizare ; et ecclesiam the south bank of the Derwent, and near its
influx to the sea. After her escape from the
field of Langside, Maiy Queen of Scots landed here in 1568, and sought an asylum in
Workington Hall. The Curwens hospitably entertained her, and the room in which she slept is still known as the Queen's Chamber. Afterwards, Queen Elizabeth gave directions for her removal to Carlisle Castle.
illius visitando orationum et oblationum hostiis honorare. " There can hardly be a
"
53 This term applies to " a kiln. " In the
Leges Burgaium Scoticorum," there is "
doubt, that Whitsuntide, and probably Christmas and Easter, were formerly seasons when the faithful frequented the church of St. Bees in great numbers. It seems, that among the Anglicans, communicants still resort to the church of St. Bees, at the festival of Easter, and they come from con- siderable distances, when their Eucharist is administered so early as eight o'clock in the
allusion to it as ane kill ghair comes are morning. Then the village presents an dryed. " That torrel, the scene of this unwonted appearance from the influx of
homicide, was undoubtedly connected with (lie monks' mill at Workington.
54 This was evidently some festival insti-
visitors. See G. C. Tomlinson's " Life and Miracles of Sancta Bega," p. 73, and appendix, note, p. 80.
tuted to honour St. Bega, as the writer of
"
terrse ob quaedam insignia sanctitatis sanctse
her Life and Miracles states :
homines illius
yirginis tunc illic inventa, et signa ibidem
She replied :
122 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
horsereadyprepared,outraged,andcarriedheraway. Shecouldnotresist
by struggling, but calling upon the protection of God and St. Bega, she pro- hibited the ruffians from doing her violence. Meanwhile the mother of Beatrice quickly raised the alarm with loud cries and lamentations. The brothers of the ill-used woman heard of this transaction, and quickly arming themselves, set out in pursuit of the fugitives. The accomplice was soon seized, and the woman's brothers cut off his head. The chief mis- creant,flyingforhislife,concealedhimselfinathickwood. But,hecould notescapethewrathoftheAlmighty. Anevilspiritseizeduponhim,and ceased not to worry him, even to the close of his miserable existence. He wanderedaboutavagabondandanoutlawthroughvariousparts; hisclothes hung about him in rags, and his flesh was torn off piecemeal among the thickets and briars. A pitiable spectacle he became ; at length he died, and his body was interred at Holm Cultram," in Cumberland.
Another miracle is recorded, regarding a native of Chartres, in France,
and who, having had a vision to encourage him, brought two sons to Eng- land. One of them was a paralytic and dumb from his birth ; while the other was afflicted with a fistula. 56 In a sort of small cart, which the father drew after him, both boys were placed, and brought through the land to divers saints' shrines. Having reached Tynemouth, in the north of England, the poor man was excessively wearied. In despair, he was about to return and seek his own country, when a beautiful person appeared in a night-vision, and directed him to visit the Church of St. Bega, in Copeland. Accordingly he went thither, and passed the night in her church. When the morning brightened into day, the elder son, palsied and dumb, felt a glorified virgin touch him j when suddenly, and with renewed strength, he stood upright, and for the first time his tongue was loosed, to give utterance to a few words in his native Gallic tongue, and even he spoke in English, to him a foreign language. He then went to the altar, returning thanks with allwhowerepresenttoGodandtoSt. Bega. Inthenextplace,vigilsand prayers for the younger son were continued. After some time, the fistula disappeared, the boy being restored to perfect health and vigour. Again were the praises of God and His holy servant Bega proclaimed. After some
days had elapsed, that pious father, with his two sons, returned to France, leaving the little car which had brought them to St. Bees in the place, and as a testimony of that remarkable miracle. 57
St. Bega is thought to have founded a nunnery in the territory of Coup-
8
land, near Carlisle. There, also, she is said to have erected a small church. s This appears to have been no other than St. Bees, her chiefest foundation,
"
and it lay within the kingdom of Strathclyde. ^ Moreover, in the Anglicanum," compiled by Roger Dodsworth and Sir William Dugdale, St. Begaisstatedtohavefoundedfourmonasteries. 60 However,thereseems to be no certainty that she founded more than three, viz. : those of Copeland,
Heorthu,
and
61
During
an incursion from Scotland in
Hartlepool.
1315,
55 A Cistercian abbey had been founded here by Henry, son to David, king of Scot- land, a. d. 1 150, according to Dugdale's "Monasticon Anglicanum," vol. v. , p. 593.
57 See Tomlinson's " Life and Miracles of
Sancta Bega," pp. 40 to 43.
5» See Bishop Challenor's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , p. 120.
New edition. However, from an old MS. , 59 According to Bishop Forbes, this "
Leland has Alanus, films Waldeff primus foundation took place in 656. See
—" De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea," vol. i. , p. 38.
s6 This miracle is alluded to, in the Ninth Lesson of the Saint's Office, as contained in the Aberdeen Breviary.
"Kalendars of Scottish
fuit fundator. "
Saints," p. 278. See tomus i. , p. 395.
6o
6l See " Les Fetits Hollandistes, " Vies des
Saints," vol. x. , Jour vie Saptembre, p. 529.
Monasticon
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
123
62 account has been left in Manuscript,^ by an unknown monk of St. Mary's
the church and possessions of St. Bees sustained considerable injury.
This
Monastery, at York.
At the 6th of September, St. Bega is venerated, according to the
11 of Martyrologium Anglicanum"
Wilson,6* 6s Arthurus,66 and Ferrarius,
John
Wion. 6? In the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints,68 St. Bega is mentioned
at the same day. She is likewise commemorated in the Circle of -the Seasons, at this date/9 If we are to credit Dempster's statement^ St. Bega was venerated in Scotland, on this day, and at a place called Kilbeg. Also
1
is she commemorated by David Camerarius,? at the 8th September. In
Scotland, she was honoured at Kilbucho,? 2 and at Kilbagie. 73 There is a glebe likewise at Kilbegie ;? 4 and probably Kilbagie,75 in Clackmannan is
named after her. Throughout England and Scotland, also, a feast has been
assigned to St. Bees, on the 31st of October. ? 6 This is the date given for
her chief festival, in the Breviary of Aberdeen, and also by Greven, in his additions to Usuard. Under the name of St. Bees, it is said that she was likewise honoured on the 22nd of November. 77 Again, Gabriel Bucelin? 8 hasreferredherfeasttothe28thofDecember. BesidestheNatalisforher death—generally supposed to have been the 31st of October—the foregoing festivals must have reference to the translation of her relics, or to some special commemoration intended to increase popular devotion for her. Yet, perhaps it is more probable, especially in latter times, that some errors of date may have crept into the kalendars, or some confusion of correct identi- fication has probably occurred.
Assuming a gifted Irish pilgrim's visit to the Shrine of St. Bees, and
enquiries there made, to be incidents of real life,? 9 it would appear, that the
natives of Cumberland, in the present century, know little regarding this stranger virgin, who had once been held by their ancestors in distinguished honour. 80 It was otherwise in those middle ages, when the chronicler of her fame and miracles could only relate what was most clear, coming from the evidence of many Cumbrians, and what most deserved belief. There could
62 Anno Di. 1315. Robertus Brus obsi- debat Carleolum. Quo tempore Jacobus Duglas multa mala fecit apud Egremont, et spoliavit eccl. S. Begae, ac maneria de Cletter et Stainebume prions S. Begoe combusserunt. " —Leland, " De Rebus Brni etane^mei P4,
73 See Statistical Account of Scotland,"
vol. viii. , p. 605, and vol xiv. , p. 623.
i! T fi^? nllH ^n° AM ;K
Koran's
f
K<Z^^LTM
> AbbatlbuSCt
6
*-> In
66 In Sacro
67
" Historise Catholics Ibernice Com- pendium," tomus i. , lib iv. , cap. xi. , p. ci.
p. {^
<t Edition of 1608. «"
t0 ngli Martyrol°gy
Catalogus Generalis Sanctorum. " Gynoeceo.
? A Edltlon of l6
In
68 Published by O'Sullivan Beare, in
1%In "
Lignum Vita," lib. iii.
Appendix.
°' See p. 250.
70 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of bv Ml's- J. Sadlier, —"Historical and
Scottish Saints," Menologium Scoticum, Legendary Poems," pp. 360, 361, New
p. 210.
7' See ibid.
Scottish Entries in the
Kalendar of David Camerarius, p. 240.
York, 1869, 8vo. 8o He says :—
7* See Chalmers' " vol. Caledonia,"
"
I stood within the fontless porch,
I paced the empty nave, The very verger of the church
A false tradition gave. "—Ibid.
ii. , p. 958; "Statistical Account of Scotland,"
"
vol. iv. , p. 344 ; and Origines Parochiales
'
Scotiae, part 1. . p. 177.
74 See " part ii. , p. 822.
Parochiales Scotia,"
Origines
75 See "New Statistical Account of Scot- land " vol viii" pp 3' 128'
76See Rt- Rev- Patrick F-
"In* Saints in Great Britain," chap v. ,
160.
Jl ?
of John Wllson
'
S5.
f
79 See the verses headed " Saint Bees," m the admirably edited Poems of Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee, with copious notes. Also an Introduction and Biographical Sketch,
4°-
the Menologium Benedictinum. "
i24 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 6.
be no end to his narrative, states the compiler of her Acts, were all such
signs of her sanctity and miracles to be written, regarding the Virgin Bega, who now reigns in endless glory, and with Him, who is infinite and eternal.
ARTICLE II. —ST. MAGNUS, MAGOBALDUS, MAGNOALD, OR MAGNOBALDUS, APOSTLE OF SUABIA.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—WRITERS OF THE ACTS OF ST. MAGNOALDUS OR MAGNUS—IRELAND THE COUNTRY OF HIS BIRTH—PERIOD OF HIS NATIVITY—HE BECOMES A DISCIPLE OF ST. COLUMBAN—SAINTS MAGNOALD AND GALL REMAIN IN SWITZERLAND— ADMONITION TO MAGNOALD OF ST. COLUMBAN AND PROPHECY BEFORE SETTING OUT FOR ITALY.
While abundant light has been thrown on the incidents of modern history, as also on the life and actions of celebrated characters who have lived in our own times, owing to the issue of printed works, and the recorded memoranda or correspondence of contemporaneous writers ; far different are the old manuscript memorials of doubtful authenticity, or whose authors and sources for information are not sufficiently accredited, when we seek to establish facts relating to many of our old-world saints. Such, it must be admitted, is often the case, with regard to acts, conveying to us the most remote traditions,inreferencetothepresentholyman. Theonlyancientauthority for his life is, unfortunately, not altogether trustworthy. This is a memoir, which it is stated had been written by his companion and disciple Theodore,1 and who laid it under the abbot's head, when he had been buried. Then the account runs, that when the body was disinterred, and on the stone coffin being opened, in the ninth century, the book had been taken out, and when
2 to to have been a forgery of the tenth or twelfth century. 3 This Life is made up of long extracts from Jonas, the monk of Bobbio, who wrote the Acts of St. Columban, and from Walafridus Strabo,* who wrote the Acts of St. Gall. EventsrelatedofothersaretransferredtoMagnoald. s Wherethecomposer of this Life had genuine lives to manipulate, and convert to a memoir of St. Magnoald, his book is interesting ; but, when he brings the abbot to that ground where his abbey had been founded, and for which the lives of St.
it wa—s delivered to —of
greatly decayed by age, Ermenric, Elwangen,
re-edit. However, it is supposed
at least in
great part
Columban and St. Gall furnished no data, frequently he lapses into foolish
Article ii. —Chapter i. —' Called by cujusdam impostoris. "
Latin writers, Theodorus Campedonensis,
from the place where he passed a part of his
life as an abbot. He was a monk of St.
Gall and of St. Magnus. It is stated, that
by command of Bishop Tozzo, he wrote the siastici Francorum," tomus ii. , at A. D. lifeofhismaster,St. Magnus. Heflourished
A. D. 680. See Rev. Dr. William Cave's
"
Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Literaria," volumen i. Sseculum Monothe- leticum, p. 595.
2 He died a. d. 866.
3 Thus Basnage states
nee Ermenrici illud est opusculum, sed
:
" Nee Theodori
Bishop of Laon, who flourished in the seventh century, are related verbatim of Magnoald, the writer only changing the letter C into M. See Benkert's " Athanasia," vol. xi. Kritische Priifung d, Lebensgesch der Heil. Magnus, p. 414. Wurzburg, 1832.
* Pere Charles le Cointe holds the writer
to have been a synchronus of St. Magnus,
and to have thus flourished
to Walafridus Strabo. See "Annates Eccle-
614.
s Thus, the incidents told of St. Cagnoald,
prior
September 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 25
6 This
about the bona fides of Theodore's Acts has been drawn in a great measure from an opinion of the learned Father Mabillon, that they were composed by some impostor i under such a shadowy title.
legend.
scepticism
This, however, is too sweeping a charge, and it seems far more probable that the writer's errors are owing to ignorance rather than to deliberate forgery. The Bollandists have very fully treated about St. Magnoaldus, or Magnus, andthen attributed to the monk Theodore, of Kempten, as taken from a manuscript " of St. Maximinus of Treves.
12
attributed to the saint's inter- cession. ^ This holy abbot's Acts have been edited by Father Constantine Suysken, S. J. , who has laboured much to investigate or unravel the obscure and often contradictory materials that are left for enquiry. In the first place the original life, as stated, if written by Theodorus,14 and buried with the saint, was almost defaced and scarcely legible, when discovered in the ninth century, and at present it is not known to exist. Again, by four
1 persons, that copy is said to have been given to a certain Ermenric, ^ a
monk and levite of Elewanga, to revise and restore. Neither is that particular manuscript to be found, and we know not if the task committed to him had been reliably executed. But, in the third place, that same work
l6 ;
at the 6thof
follows the unauthentic life of the saint,
previous commentary,9
September.
Afterwards succeeds an account of miracles,
8 Thereis a
to have fallen into other hands
whether through ignorance or fraud remains to be solved. When and where
while in the
the Acts of St. Magnus have become vitiated, in point of historic accuracy
appears
process
6"
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's Lives of
the Saints," vol. ix. , September 6, p. 94.
disciple, of St. Magnus in his apostolic labours, to have been witness of nearly all the miracles he relates, and to have been a friend, at the hour of his death.
15 By some, he is also named Ermenold, who lived in the time of the Blessed Raban Maur, whose life may be found in the second volume of this work, at the 4th of February, Art. iv. Ermenric became the seventh Abbot of the monastery of Elewan- gen, in the diocese of Augustana, a. d. 845, according to Mabillon. In his epistles to Gundramnus and Ruodolfus, he speaks very modestly of his abilities. " An vero S. Magni Vitam, qualis typis edita est exara- verit, certo pronunciare non licet. " "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti," ssec. ii.
16 The third revisor or in interpolator,
reference to Ermenric, states, that the latter, compelled by obedience, and not willing to contemn the order of a pontiff, undertook
the patch-work, according to the best of his ability, although little learned to amend and insert what should be proper. However, he accomplished the task, through Divine assistance, renewing the writing and correct- ing what he found in a confused state, and making the text clearer by means of chapters. To his emendations or possibly corruptions of the original text, Father Suysken justly objects, and naturally preferred he had assumed only the role of amanuensis, and not that of interpolator. The Bollandist editor
:
" Qui Magnum appellat
7 He adds
Magnoaldum, ut Chagnoaldi sancti Colum- bani discipuli facta personato suo Magnoaldo affingat. Non immoror fabulis illius impos- toris observandis, quas in actis sanctorum nostrorum manifeste detexi. Nihil itaque certi sive de Magno, sive de Theodoro nobis succurrit, nisi quod eos non Columbani, sed Galli discipulos, non Scotto-Hibernos, sed Alamanos fuisse constat ex Walafiido Strabone, qui eos Willimari presbyteri clericos extitisse ait, — in sancti
antequam
Galli disciplinam cooptarentur. " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xiii. ,
sect, xxxiii. , p. 393.
8
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. De Sancto Magno Monasterii Faucensis, Abbate Primo Fussse in Sueria, pp. 700 to 78x.
9 In thirteen sections, and one hundred and seventy-five paragraphs.
10
In eight chapters, and seventy-eight paragraphs, with accompanying notes.
11
Collated with the editions of Henricus
Canisius and of Melchior Goldast, together
with six other manuscripts-
12
Miracula auctore P. Ludovico Babens- tuber Benedictino Ettalensi.
13 These miracles are contained in seven
chapters, and in one hundred and fifty-six paragraphs, with illustrative notes.
"
M Said to have been a monk or eremite of adds: "utinam, inquam, ipsa Theodori
Campidonum or Kempten. This Theodore verba, confusa utcumque gestorum serie, is represented as the companion, or rather integre fideliterque posteritate tradidisset. "
10
ofemendation, —
26 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
1 theerrorshavecreptincannotwellbedetermined ? but,asuspicionremains,
j
that many of the mis-statements occurring are attributed to a compiler of the
eleventh 8 who to have had access to the Acts of St. century,' appears
Magnus, said to have been written by the monk, Theodore, and restored by Ermenric. Under such specious mask, not a few have been deceived, who imagined that the Acts still preserved must have had their origin on a
J
respectable and trustworthy ancient authority. 9 Of the later interpolated
Acts, various manuscript copies have reached our time, and some of these have been already printed. In the Bollandist Library there were various copies. Among these were four distinct ones, 20 taken from a Manuscript Vita S. Magni, belonging to the Library of St. Maximinius of Treves. This
21
latter the Bollandist editor selected as a text for publication.
these, the Jesuit Father Gamans had formerly sent a double copy ; one
of Saints Udalric22 and 23 and the Afra, Augsburg,
2
a some differences of statement. $
From the interpolated Acts of St. Magnus, all subsequent published accounts are chiefly drawn. Those Acts have been printed by Henricus
26 228 Canisius, and by Melchior de Haiminsfeld Goldast, ? while Surius has
1 Mabillon supposed, that the Acts of St. Magnus, as manipulated by Ermenric, had been temerariously enlarged by a later writer. Father Suysken has a suspicion of another interpolation in the original of Ermenric, from a reading found in one manuscript copy, regarding a miracle related in sub- stance, but in different words, from those found in other codices. And that the evident introduction of passages, from Walafrid Strabo's Life of St. Gall, into that of St. Magnus, should not be attributed to Ermen- ric, seems sufficiently established.
taken from the
library
other from a monastery at Ratisbon. * Among all of these might be found
18 "
There exists a copy ot the interpolated Acts of St. Magnus, and written by an anony- mous monk of Ratisbon. It bears the
ment, denique ab anonymo recentiore digesta et aucta. "
21 By him and by Mabillon allusion is
made to the as the Acta or Vita Tract,
Pseudo-Theodori, a title by which it shall be subsequently designated.
"Ex
codice MS. Augustae ad SS. Udalr. et
Afram ab an. 700 conscripto, in 4 Tit. Legendae aliquot SS. lit. z. n. 36-" In his
M
Vetara Analecta," Mabillon inserts a tract, written by a certain monk, of Ratisbon, whose name is not given, and in reference to his own temptations. After returning from
Fulda to Ratisbon, alluding to his labours by "
following title :
pergam. antiquiss.
candlelight, the monk writes
vero redii Vitam S. Magni scripsi, compul-
from the time when
Romans and called Castra Regince"
sus fratrum duorum
" vol. Picturesque Europe,"
intimis et assi- duis, Wilhelmi scilicet ex congregatione nostra, et alterius qui ad nos discendi causa
ex Monasterio S. Magni \enit Adalham d ic- tus, qui nunc—in S. Alfrre ccenobio abbas est
*' Whether weight or consideration might be attributable to the earliest versions, the
precihus
v. , p. 274.
25 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Sep- tembris vi. De Sancto Magno, &c, Com-
constitutus. " Pars
had already premised, that he left the Monas- tery of St. Einmeram at Ratisbon, A. D. 1062, so that he must have written the Acts of St. Magnus, after the middle of the eleventh century. This is further established, from certain passages to be found in a Prologue, attached to those Acts.
ii.
:
Postquam
it was fortified the by —
This unknown writer
26 " In
Ingolstad,
Antiquae Lectiones," tomus v.
