31 The
original
settlers in the Orkney Is- lands are thought to have been Scandina- vians or Picts.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
, p.
xxxix.
s See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (b), p. 311.
6 A and illustrations of them description
may be seen, in the " Irish Penny Journal," vol. i. , No. 2, pp. 9, 10.
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
643
here—as having been prefixed to the mountain, which is composed of tabular limestone. The chief entrance to the caves is on the western side, and high up near its summit' The height of the two openings on the face of the moun- tain is not less than twenty feet. The caves themselves are of very great
Caves of Ceis-Corran, County of Sligo.
but all their
of Donegal,9 at this same date, mentions Murchu, as a saint, whose festival was celebrated.
Article V. —St. Cunera, Virgin and Martyr. Weare not able to
understand, on what grounds the present holy woman has been classed among
our Irish saints. Her personality, as also her period, has raised various his-
toric doubts. A wonderful combination of impossibilities and improbabilities,
it is 1 must be found in the household for the account of stated, tale, adopted
this saint, who is supposed to have been one of St. Ursula's companions. It is not possible now to say, what foundation of truth may underlie that fabulous character, which the story presents, for it abounds in absurd anachronisms and misstatements.
extent,
passages
have not
yet
been
explored.
Martyrology
been 2 printed.
Thus the " at Hystorie plurimorum Sanctorum," printed
In the very infancy of the typographic art, her Legend had
Louvain, a. d. 1485, has a notice of Kunera, Virgo et Martyr. 3 To this
7 The present engraving by Mrs. Millard
is from a sketch originally taken on the spot,
by William F. Wakeman, and by him trans-
ferred to the wood. It is a view as seen
from the interior.
fathomable depth, and spars of unimaginable
beauty. "
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169. — Article v.
reach even to the opposite or eastern side At Cologne, in the year 1483. of the mountain, and contain lakes of un- 3 See fol. lxxxiii. , lxxxiiii.
8
local accounts are to be trusted, these caves
Dr. George Petrie writes, that if the
12, p. 154. ''3
*
8 The
Rev. S.
Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. vi. , June
See
Baring-
644 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
Molanusalludesinhiswork. * ThisSt. CuneraismentionedbyFatherHer- mann Crombach, S. J. , 5 in his work 6 'on St. Ursula and her companions in
martyrdom. HeusedforthispurposeaManuscript,whichbelongedtothe CathedralChurchofSt. Martin,atUtrecht,asalsoone? submittedtohimby
the Archbishop of Phillipi, who was named Philip, and who was Vicar Apos- tolic of the Federate States of Holland. It seems to have been Colgan's inten-
seems to have been composed about the beginning of the fourteenth century.
To this various miracles are
holy virgin's and martyr's intercession. These Acts are illustrated with notes. In the " Acta Sanctorum Belgii Selecta,"' 5 the Acts of St. Cunera, virgin and martyr, are given at the 12th of June, in a Historico-critical commentary by
notice of this woman occurs in holy
The Latin Legend 18 of St. Cunera seems to have been compiled from popular traditions, and to have been in- corporated into the Lessons of a Breviary, or of some office, used in the church of Rhenen. Of this Legend there are other versions, but they are all worthless and unreliable. 1 ' The Legend of St. Cunera states, that there is a certain
8 that the Acts of St. a should be on the 12th Cunera, virgin, published,
tion,
day of June. Her name is found in anothei memorandum. In Colgan's posthu- mous Calendar^ he mentions St. Cunera, virgin, at the 1 2th of June, as one whose Acts he had prepared for publication. The Bollandists IO have pub- lished Acts of this holy virgin and martyr. A previous commentary " has been added by Father Daniel Papebroke, who has entered upon a process of difficultinvestigationtoillustrateherhistoryandperiod. " HerLegendis given in a sermon,^ which was delivered on the day of her festival, and it
Father Daniel 6 A Papebroke. '
simple the compilation of Mgr. Paul Guerin. 1 ?
4 He observes " historiam Latine impres-
sum tomo secundo Legends Lo—vanii et Colo-
"
nise ia infantia typographic. " In Natali-
bus Sanctorum Belgii. "
5 See an account of him and of his works
the Rhine Legends regarding her and a double inspection of her Relics. The third section refers to the veneration of her Relics in various places, and miracles as they have been reported.
from ; one of these belonged to the monas- tery of Bodensee, the other belonged to the church of St. Saviour, at Utrecht.
13 This is set forth in eight paragraphs.
14 The first collection of these, as furnished by Father Papebroke, is taken from a muti- lated Rhenish manuscript, which had been
in Michaud's "
Biographie
Universelle An-
" He had two to work Manuscript copies
cienne et Moderne," tome ix. , p. 515.
Martyrum. " This was published at Cologne, in two folio volumes, A. D. 1647.
6" It is intituled :
Ursula Vindicata, sive Vita et Martyrium SS. Ursulse et Sociorum
added,
1 * and which have been attributed to this
7 The original of was found " in area S.
Cunerse. " This Manuscript has been de-
scribed in John Gerbrand's "Chronicon written about three hundred years before
Episcoporum Ultra jectinorum et Comitum Hollandiae," cap. iv. , v. , vi. The author was a Carmelite, denominated a Leyda.
8 He alludes to her, in "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xxviii. Januarii. De S. Cannera Virgine, n. 2, p. 175.
a. d. 1698, when he wrote. There are two
sections and twenty paragraphs comprised. A second series is given, from a collection
made and printed in German, about the year 1520. This has been rendered into Latin, by Hermann Crombach, S. J. , and it is intro-
duced with a notice in two sections, prefixed,
9 " Actuum Sanctorum Catalogus
quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Die-
comprising twenty-three paragraphs.
,s See vol. v. , pp. 288 to 301.
t6 This is followed from
rum. "
10 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
by Excerpts the miracles of St. Cunera, sects. 1 to 5.
ii. , Junii xii. De S. Cunera Virg. Mart. Rhenis
'? See " Les Petits Bollandists, Vies des Saints," tome vi. , xiie Jour de Juin, p. 584.
18 FatherPapebrokeobtainedacopyofthe
Rhenen Legend, wanting six folios. This
was presented to him by Peter, Archbishop of Sebaste, Vicar Apostolic of the Federal States of Holland.
apud Belgas in Dioce. Ultraiectina, pp. 557 to 572.
11
This consists of three sections, com-
prising twenty paragraphs. The first sec- tion treats about the conjectures, rather than the unreliable stories, which make her a companion of St. Ursula, as also about her race and period. The second section relates
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
645
of
to 20 called the Isidore,
21
of 23 Then it goes on to state, that it was at a future time governed by the King of
part
thirty-three islands,
Europe, according
22 which were
28
a crusade against the Saracens,
prisonerandcarriedbeforetheSoldan2Q ofBabylon,3°andbythelatterhe was condemned to captivity. The Sultan had a daughter named Florentia, who loved the captive, while through him she was instructed in the Christian
governed by
England, in which land there was a great royal city, anciently called Orcada,2*
2s Aurelius, 20 who was a Christian. 2 ?
but at that time known as
In this is said to have city
and to 31 Orkney,
z their
" Lives of
Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. vi. , June 12, p. 154.
30 It seems most that St. Isidore of — likely,
28 The and of Saracens, origin conquests
so greatly dreaded by the Christians, are to befoundrelatedinEdwardGibbon's'' His-
482. Vol. vii. , chap, lvi. , p. 99, chap, lvii. , lviii. , lix. , lx. , pp, 146 to 319. Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
29 This is no doubt intended for Sultan, a title said to have been invented for Mamood or Mahmud, the Gaznevide, who reigned in the eastern province of Persia, one thousand
19 See Rev. S.
Seville one of the most learned chronogra-
tory of the Decline
phers of the sixth and seventh centuries—is
here meant.
21
These seem to be the Orcas of Diodorus Siculus, and now known as the Orkney Islands. It is said, that orch means " out- ward," or u bordering," in the British lan- guage; while ynys, or enys means "an island," in Celtic "inis. "
22 Of these thirteen are said to have been inhabited by the Christians.
"
after the birth of Christ. Some writers refer it to an earlier period.
23 The states Legend
30 The Sultans of Babylon date from the
Jork.
reigned King He marched at the head of his armies in
the
King
of
consisting Orkney.
Orcades,
according to the Legend. He was taken
faith, and afterwards she was baptized.
child should be a paragon of virtue. The astrologer's wife made advances towards King Aurelius. These he indignantly rejected. Aurelius merited to become a saint, and afterwards he became illustrious on account of his mira- cles. When the celebrated St. Ursula 34 was about to sail from Brit—ain on a
In its
Cunera 33 was born. A Jewish astrologer predicted before her birth, that the
together they eloped.
capital Jork,3
daughter
to Rome with her eleve—
She effected his escape from prison,
n thousand St. Cunera who is virgins,
pilgrimage
said to have been her kinswoman joined this company. The object St. Ursula had in view was to visit the shrines of St. Peter and of St. Paul, with those of other holy persons there resting. She had previously sent messengers to the Orkney city of Jorc, entreating permission that her parents might allow their daughter Cunera to leave with her. This permission she obtained, and accordinglyCuneraaccompaniedhertoRome. Havingaccomplishedtheir pious wishes there, all were on their way home to Britain, and they sailed
quse quondam
steterunt sub imperio Regis Orcadorum, time of Saladin I. , who conquered Egypt in
:
nunc autem Regis Angliae, et Teutonice vo-
cantur Bartnengen. "
24 The has " in Orcardam mino- Legend it,
rem, ad urbem dictam Orcadam. "
2s Aswemayconjecture, this is intended for York, a city in northern England. This account seems to indicate that the compiler of the Legend was ignorant of the geogra-
phy of the British Islands.
26 As a well known matter of history, no
record of this supposed king, in connexion with the Orkney Islands, can be found.
the year 11 64, and who selected Babylon to be the capital of himself and of his succes- sors.
31 The original settlers in the Orkney Is- lands are thought to have been Scandina- vians or Picts. An interesting account of
"
According
:
to the historic traditions of
708.
32 No such place is known in the Orkney
Islands.
33 In the Prologue to the Rhenen Legend,
" Cunera, quasi Condens aera,
27
Ireland and Scotland, St. Palladius whose feast occurs at the 6th of July, was the first
it is said
quia thesaurum hie in terra condidit, quern in cselo nunc invenit. "
and he
St. Servanus to take charge of that mis-
34 Her feast and that of her martyred com- panions belong to the 21st of October.
35 For an elaborate investigation of the
Apostle sion.
of the
Orkneys,
appointed
and Fall of
Empire," vol. vi. , chap. 1. , li. , Hi. , pp. 195 to
years
Gazet- teer of the World," vol. x. , pp. 706 to
these Islands may be found, in the
the Roman
646 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
downthe Rhine to Cologne. 35 When the illustrious pilgrims were on their
return, the whole party was massacred by the Huns, with the exception of
St. Cunera. 36 The exact time when this martyrdom took place, and its spe-
cial circumstances,3? have been greatly contested by historians. 38 Some have
thought it referable to the Emperor Maximin, who lived in the third century ;
others again state, it was in the time of the tyrant Maximus, who flourished
about a. d. 385 ; while most writers treating about this occurrence assign it to
themiddleofthecenturysucceeding,andinthetimeofAttila. 30 Intheyear
1 156, many tombs, with inscriptions, were discovered at Cologne, which were
thoughttohavebeenthoseofSt. Ursulaandhercompanions. Amongthese
are said to have been found the names of many bishops and of other holy
persons,supposedtohavebeenhercompanions. 40 Atthetimeofthatmassa-
1
cre/ Radbod, King of Frisia, and a great foe to Pepin of Heristal, is assumed
to have been at Cologne. This account, however, is altogether inconsistent with historic indications. Radbod was so struck by the beauty of Cunera, that he saved her from the massacre, and hid her under his mantle, as the Legendstates. ThencehecarriedherofftoRhenen,hiscapitalontheRhine, andwhichwasinthedioceseofUtrecht/7 Thiscitywasformerlyontheleft bank of the old Rhine, the bed of which is now nearly dried up ; but it is on the right bank of the later course of the Rhine, which in those parts is called Lecka. The city was so called, probably be- cause it was situated between the two Rhines. 43 A probable conjec- ture has been offered,44 however, that St. Cunera had been a daughter to one of those chiefs who had been baptized in Frisia, by St. Willibrord ; that she had deserved the reverence of a king with whom she lived ; and that she had been put to death, owing to the jealousy of his wife. Afterwards, when miraculous indications had revealed her sanctity, a church was built over her placeofsepulture. Inreferencetoherthepopulartraditionsbecomingobscure, she is thought to have been regarded as one of St. Ursula's contemporaries
obscure history of St. Ursula and the Eleven
Thousand Martyrs who are said to have suf-
fered with her at Cologne, the student may
be referred to Father Hermann Combach's
"
Ursula Vindicata, sive Vita et Martyrium SS. Ursula et Sociorum Martyrum. "
Rev. Dr. F. J. Pabisch and the Rev. Thomas S. Byrne, vol. i. , Period i. , Epoch i. , part 2, chap, i. , sect. 67, p. 187. "
40 See L'Abbe Fleury's Histoire Ecclesi-
36 The historic traditions
celebrated massacre have been most exhaus- tively dealt with by Father Victor De Buck, in the Bollandists'" Acta Sanctorum ,"tomus ix. , Octobris xxi. De S. Ursula et Undecim Millibus Sociarum Virginum et Martyrum Colonise Agrippince, pp. 73 to 303.
37 It has been recently asserted by many writers, that the Legend of the Eleven Thousand Virgins arose out of a mistaken
"
astique,"tome xv. , liv. Ixx. , sect. xviii. ,p. 28. 4I " It is not necessary to expose the ab- surd anachronisms of this Radbod
reading of the following :
(artyres) v. (irgines), as if the Legend thus
ran ; Ursula et Undecimilla Virg. Martyr.
Cf. Floss, in Aschbach's Eccl. Cyclopedia, clus' vol. iv. , pp. 1 102 to 1 108.
38 The most ancient
testimony bearing
on
tome iv. , chap, iv. , pp. 289 to 293.
** Below that was com- city Batavodurum,
monly called Wykter-Durstede, above the ford now known as Wagheninghe, and where St. Cunera as a Virgin and Martyr is held in special veneration. Such is the statement
the subject is the Clematianic inscription, as-
signed to the fifth or sixth century, published
in the German work of Rev. Dr. J. H. Kessel on St. Ursula and her Eleven Thou-
sand Virgins, p. 10. in 1863.
Published at Cologne,
of Father Papebroke, in the rum," tomus ii. , Junii xii.
Acta Sancto-
39 See Rev. Dr.
Universal Church History," translated by
Mart. Commentarius num. I, p. 557.
sect.
John Alzog's
Virg.
Prrevius,
1,
relating
to this
story.
died in 719, the first crusade was in 1096,
Ursula et xi. M.
" Manual of
St. Ursula is generally supposed to have been martyred in the Hunish invasion of
451. Probably the foundation of the legend is the murder of a girl by her mistress o—ut jealousy, some time in the Middle Ages. " Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the
Saints," vol. vi. , June 12, p. 155.
** This city is still the See of the Catholic
Archbishop, and the fourth city of the
Netherlands for size and population. See
an interesting description of it, in Elisee Re-
"
Nouvelle Geographie Universelle,"
"
De S. Cunera,
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
647
andcompanions. However,wehaveonlytopursuethenarrativeregarding her, as we find it in the Legend. Radbod, the King of Rhenen, is said to have brought her into his palace, when she had been rescued from that death which overtook the eleven thousand virgins. While there, she kept herself constantly in the presence of God, serving him day and night, by vigils, absti- nence,andothergoodworks. Whilestrictlyobservinghiscommandments,she despised the pomps of this life, advancing steadily from virtue to virtue. The poor were constant objects of her care. The king greatly admired her life and works, placing her over his family and giving her influence throughout his kingdom ; while these privileges, so far from causing her to feel proud, rather increased her deferential humility to the king, queen, and their whole family. But his wife was displeased that a young and beautiful girl had been thus preserved, and lodged with her under the same roof. Soon did the queen resorttocalumniestotarnishthefairfameofCunera. However,theking would not believe these stories, as he found Cunera to be so virtuous ; and
accordingly, he felt angry, enjoining silence on the queen, who also urged that their guest was over prodigal in wasting their substance on the poor.
This charge failed, likewise, to effect her object. She was filled with envy and
jealousy;
St.
so that at
she
prevailed
on one*5 of her attendants to
Cunera,
with a
6 while the
king
was out
hunting.
The
body
was
last, towel,*
strangle
afterwards buried in a stable. The queen, who assisted in the murder and
also in this attempt at concealment, engaged her waiting-maid to keep it a
profound secret. They had prepared a false statement for the king on his return, and the queen told him, that during his absence the parents of Cunera had come to the palace and had hastily removed their daughter. The horse of the kingwas startled, it seems, and refused to enter thatstable, where the corpse had been interred. Having been brought to another stable, however, he readily entered. When the king had retired for rest that evening, his ostler saw a bright light appearing above Cunera's grave, and which assumed the form of a cross, as if composed of lighted candles. This information was brought to the king, who resolved on finding out the mystery, if possible ; but, when his servants were at a distance from that stable those lights appeared, yet, when they arrived at it, suddenly the phenomenon vanished. However, on entering the stable, they noticed where the earth had been recently dis- turbed, and again removing it, they discovered the body of St. Cunera, having the towel with which she had been strangled around her neck. She was then removed from that pit. Suspecting the queen to have been the per- petrator of this foul murder, the king flew into a violent rage, and he punished her so severely, that between consciousness of guilt and fear, she became a lunatic. Then she ran away raving mad, tearing her hair and clothes for three days, while she wandered over the country. At last, she threw herself head- long from a precipice, and thus ended her miserable life. According to the Latin Legend, this occurred a. d. 339 ; while it is added, that Radbod, who so greatly admired and lamented Cunera, bestowed his palace as a place, where the holy woman was to receive posthumous honours. It is said, he also richly endowed it.
Thus was the place of her deposition, and her great sanctity, manifested to all. It is added, that when Pope Sergius sent Willebrord as Archbishop to preside over the See of Utrecht,*? in 698, with his deacon the
"* By Father Daniel Papebroke.
"5 The Latin legend calls her pedissequa,
preached the Gospel among the Frisons, whom he converted to the Faith, having de-
or "
46 This towel is said to have been pre-
served as a relic, in the church of Rhenen.
*7 According to St. Boniface, Archbishop of Mayence, St. Willibrord, for fifty years,
their temples and places of pagan
waiting
maid. "
stroyed
worship, and having built Christian churches
in their stead, establishing his episcopal seat in the city of Utrecht. See "Opera S. Bone- facii," Epistola i. His mission lasted from
648 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
Blessed Adalbert, and his sub-deacon the Blessed Werenfrid, it so hap- pened, that they passed through the town of Rhenen. There, the chief inhabi- tants waited on them, and reported the virtues and acts of St. Cunera. They also suppliantly stated, as the Almighty had wrought great miracles through his holy virgin and martyr, that her remains should be translated with becom-
ing honours. Having joyfully received this testimony, St. Willibrord promised to accomplish that object which they so piously sought, but as his business was then of a pressing nature, he was obliged to postpone his intentions.
However, this mission was too long placed in abeyance; and one day, while descending the Rhine with some companions, a great storm arose as they approached the eminence of Heymon,48 while all feared that their vessel must be submerged. 49 St. Willibrord prayed to the Lord that the tempest might cease, and accordingly it was stilled. This threatened danger, he attributed
to his neglecting that promise made to the people of Rhenen ; and accordingly he directed the bark to its shore, where he landed, and he then ordered all his people to approach reverently the place, where St. Cunera's remains were preserved. This command was very cheerfully obeyed, while with religious rites and solemnities, preparations were made for a public Translation, about the commencement of the eighth century. s° In his Menologium Scotorum, at the 12th of June,51 Thomas Dempster commemorates the transference and placing of St. Kunera's relics by Willibrord, Archbishop of the Scots. St. Cunera is venerated chiefly in the diocese of Utrecht, where her beautiful church had been erected at Rhenen, over the spot where she suffered martyr- dom, and it was distinguished by a magnificent tower. There, pilgrimages were made to her shrine by the people, who believed in the cures sa wrought through her intercession, and who also brought diseased cattle thither, hoping for their cure. It is stated, likewise, that formerly the people of Cleves and of Gelderland were accustomed to swear on the relics of St. Cunera. Females in that part of Holland frequently assumed the name Cunera, contracted to Knera or Knertje. 53 Her festival is set down in the Cologne and Lubeck Martyrologies ; as also, in some ancient Dutch Breviaries at the 12th of June. Molanus in his additions to Usuard has notices of this saint and her festival,5* at this date. There are other festivals of this holy virgin and martyr assigned to the 28th of October,55 said by one authority to have been the date for her Passion, 56 while it may have been only the date for the Translation of her Relics ; while again, in the Florarium Sanctorum, the Finding of the Relics
A. D. 694 to 744.
48 In the Westphalia (Bodensis) Manu-
script and in the Louvain version of this
5° See " Les Petits Bollandistes Vies des Saints, tome vi. , xiie Jour de Juin, p. 584.
s' He thus writes: "Urbe Reinensi Kunerae virginis Ur>ulanae per S. Vvilli- brordum Scotum Archiepiscopum translatio et reliquiarum collocatio, ML. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 202.
& The cure of a toothache was supposed to be effected by a visit to her shrine,
53 Adiminutiveformoftheprecedingnamc. 54 Thus : "In oppido Rhenensi Elevatio S.
Cunerre, Virginis et Martyris. "
55 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Junii xii. De S. Cunera, Virg. Mart.
s See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (b), p. 311.
6 A and illustrations of them description
may be seen, in the " Irish Penny Journal," vol. i. , No. 2, pp. 9, 10.
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
643
here—as having been prefixed to the mountain, which is composed of tabular limestone. The chief entrance to the caves is on the western side, and high up near its summit' The height of the two openings on the face of the moun- tain is not less than twenty feet. The caves themselves are of very great
Caves of Ceis-Corran, County of Sligo.
but all their
of Donegal,9 at this same date, mentions Murchu, as a saint, whose festival was celebrated.
Article V. —St. Cunera, Virgin and Martyr. Weare not able to
understand, on what grounds the present holy woman has been classed among
our Irish saints. Her personality, as also her period, has raised various his-
toric doubts. A wonderful combination of impossibilities and improbabilities,
it is 1 must be found in the household for the account of stated, tale, adopted
this saint, who is supposed to have been one of St. Ursula's companions. It is not possible now to say, what foundation of truth may underlie that fabulous character, which the story presents, for it abounds in absurd anachronisms and misstatements.
extent,
passages
have not
yet
been
explored.
Martyrology
been 2 printed.
Thus the " at Hystorie plurimorum Sanctorum," printed
In the very infancy of the typographic art, her Legend had
Louvain, a. d. 1485, has a notice of Kunera, Virgo et Martyr. 3 To this
7 The present engraving by Mrs. Millard
is from a sketch originally taken on the spot,
by William F. Wakeman, and by him trans-
ferred to the wood. It is a view as seen
from the interior.
fathomable depth, and spars of unimaginable
beauty. "
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169. — Article v.
reach even to the opposite or eastern side At Cologne, in the year 1483. of the mountain, and contain lakes of un- 3 See fol. lxxxiii. , lxxxiiii.
8
local accounts are to be trusted, these caves
Dr. George Petrie writes, that if the
12, p. 154. ''3
*
8 The
Rev. S.
Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. vi. , June
See
Baring-
644 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
Molanusalludesinhiswork. * ThisSt. CuneraismentionedbyFatherHer- mann Crombach, S. J. , 5 in his work 6 'on St. Ursula and her companions in
martyrdom. HeusedforthispurposeaManuscript,whichbelongedtothe CathedralChurchofSt. Martin,atUtrecht,asalsoone? submittedtohimby
the Archbishop of Phillipi, who was named Philip, and who was Vicar Apos- tolic of the Federate States of Holland. It seems to have been Colgan's inten-
seems to have been composed about the beginning of the fourteenth century.
To this various miracles are
holy virgin's and martyr's intercession. These Acts are illustrated with notes. In the " Acta Sanctorum Belgii Selecta,"' 5 the Acts of St. Cunera, virgin and martyr, are given at the 12th of June, in a Historico-critical commentary by
notice of this woman occurs in holy
The Latin Legend 18 of St. Cunera seems to have been compiled from popular traditions, and to have been in- corporated into the Lessons of a Breviary, or of some office, used in the church of Rhenen. Of this Legend there are other versions, but they are all worthless and unreliable. 1 ' The Legend of St. Cunera states, that there is a certain
8 that the Acts of St. a should be on the 12th Cunera, virgin, published,
tion,
day of June. Her name is found in anothei memorandum. In Colgan's posthu- mous Calendar^ he mentions St. Cunera, virgin, at the 1 2th of June, as one whose Acts he had prepared for publication. The Bollandists IO have pub- lished Acts of this holy virgin and martyr. A previous commentary " has been added by Father Daniel Papebroke, who has entered upon a process of difficultinvestigationtoillustrateherhistoryandperiod. " HerLegendis given in a sermon,^ which was delivered on the day of her festival, and it
Father Daniel 6 A Papebroke. '
simple the compilation of Mgr. Paul Guerin. 1 ?
4 He observes " historiam Latine impres-
sum tomo secundo Legends Lo—vanii et Colo-
"
nise ia infantia typographic. " In Natali-
bus Sanctorum Belgii. "
5 See an account of him and of his works
the Rhine Legends regarding her and a double inspection of her Relics. The third section refers to the veneration of her Relics in various places, and miracles as they have been reported.
from ; one of these belonged to the monas- tery of Bodensee, the other belonged to the church of St. Saviour, at Utrecht.
13 This is set forth in eight paragraphs.
14 The first collection of these, as furnished by Father Papebroke, is taken from a muti- lated Rhenish manuscript, which had been
in Michaud's "
Biographie
Universelle An-
" He had two to work Manuscript copies
cienne et Moderne," tome ix. , p. 515.
Martyrum. " This was published at Cologne, in two folio volumes, A. D. 1647.
6" It is intituled :
Ursula Vindicata, sive Vita et Martyrium SS. Ursulse et Sociorum
added,
1 * and which have been attributed to this
7 The original of was found " in area S.
Cunerse. " This Manuscript has been de-
scribed in John Gerbrand's "Chronicon written about three hundred years before
Episcoporum Ultra jectinorum et Comitum Hollandiae," cap. iv. , v. , vi. The author was a Carmelite, denominated a Leyda.
8 He alludes to her, in "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xxviii. Januarii. De S. Cannera Virgine, n. 2, p. 175.
a. d. 1698, when he wrote. There are two
sections and twenty paragraphs comprised. A second series is given, from a collection
made and printed in German, about the year 1520. This has been rendered into Latin, by Hermann Crombach, S. J. , and it is intro-
duced with a notice in two sections, prefixed,
9 " Actuum Sanctorum Catalogus
quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Die-
comprising twenty-three paragraphs.
,s See vol. v. , pp. 288 to 301.
t6 This is followed from
rum. "
10 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
by Excerpts the miracles of St. Cunera, sects. 1 to 5.
ii. , Junii xii. De S. Cunera Virg. Mart. Rhenis
'? See " Les Petits Bollandists, Vies des Saints," tome vi. , xiie Jour de Juin, p. 584.
18 FatherPapebrokeobtainedacopyofthe
Rhenen Legend, wanting six folios. This
was presented to him by Peter, Archbishop of Sebaste, Vicar Apostolic of the Federal States of Holland.
apud Belgas in Dioce. Ultraiectina, pp. 557 to 572.
11
This consists of three sections, com-
prising twenty paragraphs. The first sec- tion treats about the conjectures, rather than the unreliable stories, which make her a companion of St. Ursula, as also about her race and period. The second section relates
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
645
of
to 20 called the Isidore,
21
of 23 Then it goes on to state, that it was at a future time governed by the King of
part
thirty-three islands,
Europe, according
22 which were
28
a crusade against the Saracens,
prisonerandcarriedbeforetheSoldan2Q ofBabylon,3°andbythelatterhe was condemned to captivity. The Sultan had a daughter named Florentia, who loved the captive, while through him she was instructed in the Christian
governed by
England, in which land there was a great royal city, anciently called Orcada,2*
2s Aurelius, 20 who was a Christian. 2 ?
but at that time known as
In this is said to have city
and to 31 Orkney,
z their
" Lives of
Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. vi. , June 12, p. 154.
30 It seems most that St. Isidore of — likely,
28 The and of Saracens, origin conquests
so greatly dreaded by the Christians, are to befoundrelatedinEdwardGibbon's'' His-
482. Vol. vii. , chap, lvi. , p. 99, chap, lvii. , lviii. , lix. , lx. , pp, 146 to 319. Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
29 This is no doubt intended for Sultan, a title said to have been invented for Mamood or Mahmud, the Gaznevide, who reigned in the eastern province of Persia, one thousand
19 See Rev. S.
Seville one of the most learned chronogra-
tory of the Decline
phers of the sixth and seventh centuries—is
here meant.
21
These seem to be the Orcas of Diodorus Siculus, and now known as the Orkney Islands. It is said, that orch means " out- ward," or u bordering," in the British lan- guage; while ynys, or enys means "an island," in Celtic "inis. "
22 Of these thirteen are said to have been inhabited by the Christians.
"
after the birth of Christ. Some writers refer it to an earlier period.
23 The states Legend
30 The Sultans of Babylon date from the
Jork.
reigned King He marched at the head of his armies in
the
King
of
consisting Orkney.
Orcades,
according to the Legend. He was taken
faith, and afterwards she was baptized.
child should be a paragon of virtue. The astrologer's wife made advances towards King Aurelius. These he indignantly rejected. Aurelius merited to become a saint, and afterwards he became illustrious on account of his mira- cles. When the celebrated St. Ursula 34 was about to sail from Brit—ain on a
In its
Cunera 33 was born. A Jewish astrologer predicted before her birth, that the
together they eloped.
capital Jork,3
daughter
to Rome with her eleve—
She effected his escape from prison,
n thousand St. Cunera who is virgins,
pilgrimage
said to have been her kinswoman joined this company. The object St. Ursula had in view was to visit the shrines of St. Peter and of St. Paul, with those of other holy persons there resting. She had previously sent messengers to the Orkney city of Jorc, entreating permission that her parents might allow their daughter Cunera to leave with her. This permission she obtained, and accordinglyCuneraaccompaniedhertoRome. Havingaccomplishedtheir pious wishes there, all were on their way home to Britain, and they sailed
quse quondam
steterunt sub imperio Regis Orcadorum, time of Saladin I. , who conquered Egypt in
:
nunc autem Regis Angliae, et Teutonice vo-
cantur Bartnengen. "
24 The has " in Orcardam mino- Legend it,
rem, ad urbem dictam Orcadam. "
2s Aswemayconjecture, this is intended for York, a city in northern England. This account seems to indicate that the compiler of the Legend was ignorant of the geogra-
phy of the British Islands.
26 As a well known matter of history, no
record of this supposed king, in connexion with the Orkney Islands, can be found.
the year 11 64, and who selected Babylon to be the capital of himself and of his succes- sors.
31 The original settlers in the Orkney Is- lands are thought to have been Scandina- vians or Picts. An interesting account of
"
According
:
to the historic traditions of
708.
32 No such place is known in the Orkney
Islands.
33 In the Prologue to the Rhenen Legend,
" Cunera, quasi Condens aera,
27
Ireland and Scotland, St. Palladius whose feast occurs at the 6th of July, was the first
it is said
quia thesaurum hie in terra condidit, quern in cselo nunc invenit. "
and he
St. Servanus to take charge of that mis-
34 Her feast and that of her martyred com- panions belong to the 21st of October.
35 For an elaborate investigation of the
Apostle sion.
of the
Orkneys,
appointed
and Fall of
Empire," vol. vi. , chap. 1. , li. , Hi. , pp. 195 to
years
Gazet- teer of the World," vol. x. , pp. 706 to
these Islands may be found, in the
the Roman
646 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
downthe Rhine to Cologne. 35 When the illustrious pilgrims were on their
return, the whole party was massacred by the Huns, with the exception of
St. Cunera. 36 The exact time when this martyrdom took place, and its spe-
cial circumstances,3? have been greatly contested by historians. 38 Some have
thought it referable to the Emperor Maximin, who lived in the third century ;
others again state, it was in the time of the tyrant Maximus, who flourished
about a. d. 385 ; while most writers treating about this occurrence assign it to
themiddleofthecenturysucceeding,andinthetimeofAttila. 30 Intheyear
1 156, many tombs, with inscriptions, were discovered at Cologne, which were
thoughttohavebeenthoseofSt. Ursulaandhercompanions. Amongthese
are said to have been found the names of many bishops and of other holy
persons,supposedtohavebeenhercompanions. 40 Atthetimeofthatmassa-
1
cre/ Radbod, King of Frisia, and a great foe to Pepin of Heristal, is assumed
to have been at Cologne. This account, however, is altogether inconsistent with historic indications. Radbod was so struck by the beauty of Cunera, that he saved her from the massacre, and hid her under his mantle, as the Legendstates. ThencehecarriedherofftoRhenen,hiscapitalontheRhine, andwhichwasinthedioceseofUtrecht/7 Thiscitywasformerlyontheleft bank of the old Rhine, the bed of which is now nearly dried up ; but it is on the right bank of the later course of the Rhine, which in those parts is called Lecka. The city was so called, probably be- cause it was situated between the two Rhines. 43 A probable conjec- ture has been offered,44 however, that St. Cunera had been a daughter to one of those chiefs who had been baptized in Frisia, by St. Willibrord ; that she had deserved the reverence of a king with whom she lived ; and that she had been put to death, owing to the jealousy of his wife. Afterwards, when miraculous indications had revealed her sanctity, a church was built over her placeofsepulture. Inreferencetoherthepopulartraditionsbecomingobscure, she is thought to have been regarded as one of St. Ursula's contemporaries
obscure history of St. Ursula and the Eleven
Thousand Martyrs who are said to have suf-
fered with her at Cologne, the student may
be referred to Father Hermann Combach's
"
Ursula Vindicata, sive Vita et Martyrium SS. Ursula et Sociorum Martyrum. "
Rev. Dr. F. J. Pabisch and the Rev. Thomas S. Byrne, vol. i. , Period i. , Epoch i. , part 2, chap, i. , sect. 67, p. 187. "
40 See L'Abbe Fleury's Histoire Ecclesi-
36 The historic traditions
celebrated massacre have been most exhaus- tively dealt with by Father Victor De Buck, in the Bollandists'" Acta Sanctorum ,"tomus ix. , Octobris xxi. De S. Ursula et Undecim Millibus Sociarum Virginum et Martyrum Colonise Agrippince, pp. 73 to 303.
37 It has been recently asserted by many writers, that the Legend of the Eleven Thousand Virgins arose out of a mistaken
"
astique,"tome xv. , liv. Ixx. , sect. xviii. ,p. 28. 4I " It is not necessary to expose the ab- surd anachronisms of this Radbod
reading of the following :
(artyres) v. (irgines), as if the Legend thus
ran ; Ursula et Undecimilla Virg. Martyr.
Cf. Floss, in Aschbach's Eccl. Cyclopedia, clus' vol. iv. , pp. 1 102 to 1 108.
38 The most ancient
testimony bearing
on
tome iv. , chap, iv. , pp. 289 to 293.
** Below that was com- city Batavodurum,
monly called Wykter-Durstede, above the ford now known as Wagheninghe, and where St. Cunera as a Virgin and Martyr is held in special veneration. Such is the statement
the subject is the Clematianic inscription, as-
signed to the fifth or sixth century, published
in the German work of Rev. Dr. J. H. Kessel on St. Ursula and her Eleven Thou-
sand Virgins, p. 10. in 1863.
Published at Cologne,
of Father Papebroke, in the rum," tomus ii. , Junii xii.
Acta Sancto-
39 See Rev. Dr.
Universal Church History," translated by
Mart. Commentarius num. I, p. 557.
sect.
John Alzog's
Virg.
Prrevius,
1,
relating
to this
story.
died in 719, the first crusade was in 1096,
Ursula et xi. M.
" Manual of
St. Ursula is generally supposed to have been martyred in the Hunish invasion of
451. Probably the foundation of the legend is the murder of a girl by her mistress o—ut jealousy, some time in the Middle Ages. " Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the
Saints," vol. vi. , June 12, p. 155.
** This city is still the See of the Catholic
Archbishop, and the fourth city of the
Netherlands for size and population. See
an interesting description of it, in Elisee Re-
"
Nouvelle Geographie Universelle,"
"
De S. Cunera,
June 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
647
andcompanions. However,wehaveonlytopursuethenarrativeregarding her, as we find it in the Legend. Radbod, the King of Rhenen, is said to have brought her into his palace, when she had been rescued from that death which overtook the eleven thousand virgins. While there, she kept herself constantly in the presence of God, serving him day and night, by vigils, absti- nence,andothergoodworks. Whilestrictlyobservinghiscommandments,she despised the pomps of this life, advancing steadily from virtue to virtue. The poor were constant objects of her care. The king greatly admired her life and works, placing her over his family and giving her influence throughout his kingdom ; while these privileges, so far from causing her to feel proud, rather increased her deferential humility to the king, queen, and their whole family. But his wife was displeased that a young and beautiful girl had been thus preserved, and lodged with her under the same roof. Soon did the queen resorttocalumniestotarnishthefairfameofCunera. However,theking would not believe these stories, as he found Cunera to be so virtuous ; and
accordingly, he felt angry, enjoining silence on the queen, who also urged that their guest was over prodigal in wasting their substance on the poor.
This charge failed, likewise, to effect her object. She was filled with envy and
jealousy;
St.
so that at
she
prevailed
on one*5 of her attendants to
Cunera,
with a
6 while the
king
was out
hunting.
The
body
was
last, towel,*
strangle
afterwards buried in a stable. The queen, who assisted in the murder and
also in this attempt at concealment, engaged her waiting-maid to keep it a
profound secret. They had prepared a false statement for the king on his return, and the queen told him, that during his absence the parents of Cunera had come to the palace and had hastily removed their daughter. The horse of the kingwas startled, it seems, and refused to enter thatstable, where the corpse had been interred. Having been brought to another stable, however, he readily entered. When the king had retired for rest that evening, his ostler saw a bright light appearing above Cunera's grave, and which assumed the form of a cross, as if composed of lighted candles. This information was brought to the king, who resolved on finding out the mystery, if possible ; but, when his servants were at a distance from that stable those lights appeared, yet, when they arrived at it, suddenly the phenomenon vanished. However, on entering the stable, they noticed where the earth had been recently dis- turbed, and again removing it, they discovered the body of St. Cunera, having the towel with which she had been strangled around her neck. She was then removed from that pit. Suspecting the queen to have been the per- petrator of this foul murder, the king flew into a violent rage, and he punished her so severely, that between consciousness of guilt and fear, she became a lunatic. Then she ran away raving mad, tearing her hair and clothes for three days, while she wandered over the country. At last, she threw herself head- long from a precipice, and thus ended her miserable life. According to the Latin Legend, this occurred a. d. 339 ; while it is added, that Radbod, who so greatly admired and lamented Cunera, bestowed his palace as a place, where the holy woman was to receive posthumous honours. It is said, he also richly endowed it.
Thus was the place of her deposition, and her great sanctity, manifested to all. It is added, that when Pope Sergius sent Willebrord as Archbishop to preside over the See of Utrecht,*? in 698, with his deacon the
"* By Father Daniel Papebroke.
"5 The Latin legend calls her pedissequa,
preached the Gospel among the Frisons, whom he converted to the Faith, having de-
or "
46 This towel is said to have been pre-
served as a relic, in the church of Rhenen.
*7 According to St. Boniface, Archbishop of Mayence, St. Willibrord, for fifty years,
their temples and places of pagan
waiting
maid. "
stroyed
worship, and having built Christian churches
in their stead, establishing his episcopal seat in the city of Utrecht. See "Opera S. Bone- facii," Epistola i. His mission lasted from
648 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 12.
Blessed Adalbert, and his sub-deacon the Blessed Werenfrid, it so hap- pened, that they passed through the town of Rhenen. There, the chief inhabi- tants waited on them, and reported the virtues and acts of St. Cunera. They also suppliantly stated, as the Almighty had wrought great miracles through his holy virgin and martyr, that her remains should be translated with becom-
ing honours. Having joyfully received this testimony, St. Willibrord promised to accomplish that object which they so piously sought, but as his business was then of a pressing nature, he was obliged to postpone his intentions.
However, this mission was too long placed in abeyance; and one day, while descending the Rhine with some companions, a great storm arose as they approached the eminence of Heymon,48 while all feared that their vessel must be submerged. 49 St. Willibrord prayed to the Lord that the tempest might cease, and accordingly it was stilled. This threatened danger, he attributed
to his neglecting that promise made to the people of Rhenen ; and accordingly he directed the bark to its shore, where he landed, and he then ordered all his people to approach reverently the place, where St. Cunera's remains were preserved. This command was very cheerfully obeyed, while with religious rites and solemnities, preparations were made for a public Translation, about the commencement of the eighth century. s° In his Menologium Scotorum, at the 12th of June,51 Thomas Dempster commemorates the transference and placing of St. Kunera's relics by Willibrord, Archbishop of the Scots. St. Cunera is venerated chiefly in the diocese of Utrecht, where her beautiful church had been erected at Rhenen, over the spot where she suffered martyr- dom, and it was distinguished by a magnificent tower. There, pilgrimages were made to her shrine by the people, who believed in the cures sa wrought through her intercession, and who also brought diseased cattle thither, hoping for their cure. It is stated, likewise, that formerly the people of Cleves and of Gelderland were accustomed to swear on the relics of St. Cunera. Females in that part of Holland frequently assumed the name Cunera, contracted to Knera or Knertje. 53 Her festival is set down in the Cologne and Lubeck Martyrologies ; as also, in some ancient Dutch Breviaries at the 12th of June. Molanus in his additions to Usuard has notices of this saint and her festival,5* at this date. There are other festivals of this holy virgin and martyr assigned to the 28th of October,55 said by one authority to have been the date for her Passion, 56 while it may have been only the date for the Translation of her Relics ; while again, in the Florarium Sanctorum, the Finding of the Relics
A. D. 694 to 744.
48 In the Westphalia (Bodensis) Manu-
script and in the Louvain version of this
5° See " Les Petits Bollandistes Vies des Saints, tome vi. , xiie Jour de Juin, p. 584.
s' He thus writes: "Urbe Reinensi Kunerae virginis Ur>ulanae per S. Vvilli- brordum Scotum Archiepiscopum translatio et reliquiarum collocatio, ML. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 202.
& The cure of a toothache was supposed to be effected by a visit to her shrine,
53 Adiminutiveformoftheprecedingnamc. 54 Thus : "In oppido Rhenensi Elevatio S.
Cunerre, Virginis et Martyris. "
55 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Junii xii. De S. Cunera, Virg. Mart.
