''*
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I.
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
It does not seem pro-
bable this saint was the original founder of the monastery at this place,^ nor
does his of " seem to " elder. " He was first epithet Mor, great," equivalent
cousin, yet removed by a later generation,? to the saint, bearing this same name, whose feast occurs on the 9th of this month ; and our present Guaire Mor probably succeeded the other in order of time. Perhaps, indeed, not- withstanding such a probability, and his apparently junior age, this Guaire Mor may have founded Aghadowey Church singly, or in conjunction with his cousin ; and the term applied to the present saint might indicate superiority, celebrity, or position. Perhaps simply a difference of stature may have caused the distinction in names between Guaire Mor and Guaire Beg. ^
ArticleIII. —St. UmhalghaidorAmhalghaidh. Wehavenothing
death, or a day of commemoration, lean- I. O. S. , the pedigree of this Goar, or Gaurius not decide ; but, considering the usual prac- Magnus, is traced, in some unpaged notes, tice in the calendars, it —is more probable bound towards the end of this volume. In that it was the Natalis. " " Ecclesiastical the order of the note paper marks it is p. 23.
of vol.
History Ireland," iii. , chap, xix. ,
sec. vi. , n. 75, p. 165.
"7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
''^Marianus O' Gorman says: "S. Col-
manus seu Mocholmocus Lismorensis filius
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci.
Appendix, cap. iv. , p. 223.
5 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. So
likewise is he simply designated in the Fran- ciscan copy,
of
Aghad- by St. (joarus in the seventh century. " See
Beonnae. "
"^Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemias,"
* We are the told,
nepotis
Abbey
dubthaigh, now Aghadooey, was "founded
xxii. Januarii. p. 154.
Vita S. Colmani, cap. v. ,
"
— Reeves, pp. 24, 25.
Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, "chap.
'
Aghadowey parish, in the barony of Coleraine, is represented on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Sheets 10, li, 12, 18, 19.
In the volume of "Extracts for the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry,"
Article n.
Edited by Drs. Todd and
'
v. , p. 485.
7 See the family pedigree of both dis-
tinctly drawn in Dr. Reeves' Archbishop Colton's "Visitation of the Diocese of
Derry,"n. (w. ), p. 80.
*
Rev. G. Vaughan Sampson's
See notices of him at the 9th of January.
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 401
more distinctive than the mere entry of this saint's name in our calendars.
In the Martyrology of Tallagh,' he has been denominated Umhalghaid. Amhalghaidh is mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal^ as having a fes- tival at this date. In the table postfixed to this Martyrology, his name has been Latinised Amalgythus. 3
Article IV. —The Daughters of Comgall, Colma, Bogha, and Lassara, of Glena\% County of Antrim. The more boundless our confidence in the intercession of our virgin saints, the more numerous will be those graces we may obtain through their intercession. The greater that honour we pay them, the more fully shall we experience the effects of their powerful protection, and that love for innocence and purity, which made their lives only a preparation for never-ending bliss. The Martyrology of Tallagh' mentions a festival on the 22nd of January in honour of Comghaill's daughters,Lassir,Columba,andBogha. Someconfusioninrenderingtheir names appears to have crept into our calendars. According to the Martyr- ology of Donegal,^ on this day was venerated Colma, also called Columba, Bogha, and Laisri,3 three sisters. These virgins belonged to the sept, and
were of son to —were buried and daughters Comhgall, Fianglach. 4 They
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
venerated at Leitir Dal-Araidh —e
;
they
disciples or, according
to
According
poem beginning
Articlk III. —' Edited the Rev. Dr. "Human bones have been by
" The of the Saints of Inis- Hagiology
to the
Fail," they are of the Dal m Buain, the race of Eochaidh, son of Muireadh. The place called Lettir in Dalaradia was anciently known as Lettir-Phadruig, after the Irish Apostle St. Patrick, who there first built a church. From the disciple, called Abhac, placed over it, Lann-Abhaich,'*; Lan-avy, and finally Glen-avy, were titles given to this spot. s It is a parochial church in the diocese of Connor, and in the ancient territory of Delmunia. ^ It is said, that the present church does not occupy the original site ; but that old
Glenavy churchyard lay at some distance, in an angle formed by the Glenavy and Pigeonstown roads. 7 Yet this account seems inconsistent \vith an ex- isting tradition. ^ Glenavy parish? is situated within the barony of Upper
frequently Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we found in that spot. See William Shaw
find this saint's name united there with that Mason's of the previous one: AniAlsAix) ocui'
3uAii\e.
=* Edited
by
Drs. Todd and Reeves,
rishes of Glenavy, Camlin, and Tullyrusk.
the Rev. Edward LL. B. , pp. By Cupples,
24, 25.
3 See /^zV/. , pp. 354, 355.
Article IV. —'Editedby Rev. Dr. Kelly,
]). xiii. In the Franciscan copy we react:
1. Co- ViliA^xtini Com^Ailt efc lAfii ocu]'
tumbv^e ocuy bo5<ie.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
^ In the table appended to the Donegal
Martyrology, this holy female's name has
been Latinised Lasia. See ? 3/^. , pp. 432, 433.
The father of this latter was Deman, son
to Nuathaill, son to Mutalan, son to Can-
talan, son to Fiengalac, son to Nied, son to
'• a Dal-Buain. See Rev. Wm. Buan, quo
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix S. , p. '
/3/V/, pp. 236, 237.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Scptima Vita S. Patricii, n. 219, p. 183. Vol. I,
Vicar, pp. 236, 237.
^In a letter to the writer, headed
237.
5 See
"
Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol. ii. , No. xiii. Pa-
"Glenavy, 2nd May, 1873," the Rev. George Pye, P. P. , thus states the popular belief, while furnishing — particu-
descriptive
lars regarding this place: "There is no vestige of the old church of Glenavy. A tradition ^exists, that the Protestant church is on the site of the old one. It is divided by a river from what is supposed to be the
old cemetery, where, according to Reeves, were buried the three sisters. These are said to be the sisters of St. Comgall, abbot
there
'It is on the "Ordnance represented
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim. " Sheets 58, 59, 62, 63.
2D
and founder of Bangor.
Maheramorne, near Lame.
was a religious house in Glenavy, to which the three sisters retired. There is no ruin whatever on the spot. "
He came from
Perhaps
402 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22
Massereene, and in the county of Antrim. At a place called Camus^° Comhgaill," those holy women are also said to have been venerated. This, by others, is also thought to be the spot where their bodies had been interred. The holy virgins' names are included in the calendar compiled by the Rev. William Reeves. " They are likewise entered in the Kalendar of Drum- mond -p but, apparently in a most incorrect manner, at the xi. of the Februar}- kalends, which corresponds with this date. Thus in early ages, and in the same family, we find many saints, while from the fifth to the eighth century Ireland appeared to realize the glorious vision of a church which St. John had in Patmos. ^<
ArticleV. —St. LonanFinn. LonanFinnoccursintheMartyrolog>'
of Donegal' on this day. Nothing more is recorded. A nearly similar
entry is made, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 22nd of January; but in the published copy, we find Lonan (fann) corrected to (fionn). The latter ""
appellation usually designates
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun,
AND Martyr. [Eighth a? id Ninth Centuries? \ On this day, according to
Ferrarius' and Dempster,^ St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun and martyr,^ was honoured with a festival. But Colgan, who gives his acts, thought better to assignthemtothe2nddayofFebruary. * Theremoremaybelearnedre- garding this devoted missionary.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adalgisus, or Algisus, Priest,inTheoracia,aDistrictinPicardy. Afeasthasbeenassigned to this day' for the saint, whose name appears at the head of this article, as statedbytheBoUandists. ^ Buthisfestivalseemsmoreproperlyreferable to the 2nd of June,3 where his life will be found.
'°
This is identified with Camus, in Derry,
quoque sancte virgines Comgaill et sanctus confessor Colman hodie ad Christum migra- verunt. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
" In a note at this passage Dr. Todd says : ' ' The more recent hand has added here, AT Ai|\e fin AX)ei|\ Oieiiguf, erj'echc ingen
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," lib. v.
or in of In the pupils religion Comhgall.
whiteness" or fairness. "
by John O'Donovan, in a marginal note to the *' Irish Calendar of Saints," p. 14.
'
the to\vnland of Camus, in the parish of Article v. — Edited by Drs. Todd and
Macosquin, and barony of Coleraine, re- Reeves, p. 25.
''*
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I. 0. S. collection, is now
preserved in the R. I. A. This must be History of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 13.
presented on the Ordnance Survey Towti- Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the land Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Franciscan copy, this entry reads tonAn
Sheets 7, 8, 11, 12. On Sheet 7 of the pnt». — townland Lower Camus may be seen the Article vi.
" Ruins of a church" immediately on the ralis Sanctorum. "
""" south banks of the pastoral Bann. "
'See "Catalogus Gene-
* See " Acta Sanctorum "See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of dies rejecti, p. 389.
annotations to Felire {Dublin MS. , are called Blaisse, Coma, and Boga. "
they
tomus ii. , xxii. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios
Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix
LL. , p. 376.
'3 Thus: xi. Kal. "Apud Hiberniam
3See "Acta . Sanctorum Junii," of the
BoUandists, tomusi. ,ii. Junii, pp. 222to22S. There they have rightly inserted his acts.
' See Rev. Sylvester Maione's "Church
3 In his " Menologicum Scoticura" Demp-
ster enters Erlulf as a bishop and confessor, '"
CliomgAilL It is for this reason that at Verdun. See Bishop Forbes' Kalen-
yEngus says, The decease of the daughters of Comhgall. ' These are the words of
^ngus in his Felire or Martyrology ; he
calls the three * of Comh- virgins daughters
gall,' because they were the foster-children
dars of Scottish Saints," p, 190.
*See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioc," xxii.
Januarii, p. 153, and ii. Februarii, pp. 240,
241. De S. Verdensi et ErlulphoEpiscopo
Martyre.
Article vn. —" By Camerarius.
Januarii,"
January 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
Ctomtp'-tftirtr Bap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. MAIMBOD, MARTYR, IN FRANCE.
{PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY. ^
Aportrait-painter or a sculptor usually desires to copy after the fairest
features and the most forms. The in like man- graceful biographer,
ner, should be pleased when he has for his subject a person possessing the highest moral perfections. These he finds in every true saint, but more especially in every noble martyr venerated by the faithful. The BoUandists
have published Acts of Saint Maimbod,' from a MS. , belonging to the church of Besan9on, and from Chifflet. Colgan has also republished them at this day. ^
The period of this saint seems to have been about the ninth century. 3 From various accounts we learn, that he was a native and wore the habit or dress+ of Scotia or Ireland. ^ Of illustrious birth and rank, he was entirely devoted to God's service from his youth, and distinguished by the exercise of all Christian virtues. Maimbod was remarkable, also, for personal beauty and elegance of form. These advantages of birth, rank, and figure he little valued, rather preferring that his soul should be adorned with the virtues of humility and of self-denial. He considered worldly things as mean and transitory. He knew, that a Christian's highest ambition should be eternal rewards. At what period of life he resolved on setting out from Ireland has not transpired. Maimbod's object in leaving his native country appears to have been the acquisition of greater perfection, and a subjection of his will to God's designs. He likewise desired to visit certain shrines and places, where the relics of saints and martyrs were preserved. During this pilgrim- age, he exercised extraordinary mortification and resolution in overcoming temptations. With joy of spirit, he endured cold, hunger, and thirst ; and whilst exteriorly he was scantily clothed, interiorly his soul was inflamed with an ever-burning love of the Creator, and a great zeal to promote whatever contributed to His honour and glory. He always denied himself luxuries, and often bodily necessaries. In him, the flesh was always subject to the spirit. It would appear, that Maimbod had been elevated to the clerical state before leaving Ireland, and that he was distinguished for wisdom,
holiness, and ecclesiastical learning.
Art. 1. —'They are found in ten para- graphs. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusii. , xxiii. Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, pp. 542
He cultivated the love of poverty to
sec. vii. , n. 68, p. 363. <Fromtheterm"habitu,"anditsap-
plication in our saint's acts, the Bollandist
editor rightly infers, that the costume of the
to 544. ^""
See Acta Sanctorum Hibernian," xxiii. Scots and Gauls was different. See
Acta
Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, pp. 155 to Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiii. Acta
157, with notes.
3 The time is not mentioned, and it can
only be inferred that it was not long before his remains had been removed by order of Berengarius, who is said to have lived about
S. Maimbodi, n. (b), p. 543.
sxhe Scotia, whence the acts bring him,
is represe'nted as that which was the country of St. Columbanus, St. Deicolus, and of St. Columbinus. These holy men had dis-
"
A. D. 900. See Dr. Lanigan's Ecciesiasti- tinguished themselves especially in Bur-
cal History of Ireland," vol iii. , cap. xxii. , gundy.
404 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 23.
such a degree, that whatever he received from others he bestowed upon the poor. When he had nothing to give in the shape of alms, he enriched the souls of many by his expositions of the Divine word, and by exhortations full of consolation and fervour. ^
Having visited many places, renowned for their connection with eminent
saints, he came at length to the Burgundian territory,? where the relics of many servants of God were enshrined, and among them, several belonging to his own country. The author of St. Mairabod's Acts, who appears to have been a Frenchman, takes great care to enumerate the many holy martyrs and confessors,^ who adorned and blessed his country by their labours, virtues, and constant patronage. Among the Irish saints in France
are specially named Columbanus,9 Dichull,'° Columbin," and AnatoUus. " While in the province of Burgundy,^3 Maimbod became the guest of a certain nobleman, who, aware of his great virtues and the efficacy of his
prayers, requested this holy pilgrim to accept something whereby the donor mightberememberedinhispetitionsbeforeGod. Thesaintdeclared,that as he had an humble trust in the Almighty's constant favours, he had no need for the goods of this transitory world. But that he might not seem to undervalue the kind intentions of his host, Maimbod consented to accejjt the present of a pair of gloves. '^ Then, bestowing his benediction on this
'See Colgan's "Acta Sanctoram Hiber- n. 9, p. 157. For particulars, regarding
niffi," xxiii. Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, cap. i. , ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 155, 156.
this great saint, the reader is referred to his Life, which will be found at the 21st of November.
See the Acts of St. Deicolus, at the
625. ''
^ See ibid. , cap. vi. , p. 1 56.
^ '°
Among these are mentioned Saints Fer-
reolus and Ferrutius, martyrs under Severus,
A. D. 211 or 212, and alluded to by St.
Gregory of Tours. Their feast is kept on
the 1 6th of June. Again, St. Iraeneus, with
his martyred companions, at Lyons, under
the same emperor, and in the beginning of
the same century. Their feast is kept on
the 2nd of June. His feast is held on the as given by Colgan at the 1 8th of January. 28th of June and on the 23rd of August. According to Menard and Galesinus the Saints Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilles at Natalis of St. Columbin occurs on the 13th Valence, martyrs, and whose feasts are of September. Trithemius treats of him celebrated on'the 23rd of April ; Saints Au- in his work, " De Viris illustribus ordinis dochius and Thirsus at . ^dua, whose feasts S. Benedict! ," lib. iii. , cap. 77. This saint, occur on the 24th of September ; St. Mam- however, is a different person from Colum-
metus, the Cappadocian Martyr, whose banus the monk, who was a disciple to St. ''
Benignus, martyr, most probably imder Au- reliaus, about the year 272, and on the ist of November, near Dijon : all of these are alluded to by the writer, as saints greatly
''
feast is assigned to the 1 7th of August ; St. Columbanus, abbot. See Colgan's Acta
Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiii. Januarii. Vita
" Colgan gives the Acts of Anatolius, at the 3rd of February, and to that date the reader is referred for further notices regard- ing this saint.
venerated in France. See Colgan's
S. Maimbodi, nn. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ''
'^ The name is derived from the
dians, who settled in Switzerland and a part of Franche-Comte, in the beginning of the
157. Also the Boliandists' Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiii. Acta S. Maim-
Burgun-
"Acta Sanctoi-um Hibemise," xxiii. Januarii,
from the last edition of the Gennan.
London, 1762.
'* In the acts of our saint, the word used
to signify gloves is "Wantos," from the
p.
bodi, nn. (c, d, e, f, g, h, i), pp. 543, 544. fifth century. Thence spreading themselves
And Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," at the date of various festivals com- memorated.
9 His festival occurs at the 2ist of Novem- ber. It appears from his acts, that St. Columbanus, who died A. D. 615, was from the same Scotia as Maimbod. See Colgan's
towards the Rhone and Soane, they erected
l8th of January. He died about the year
For particulars regarding St. Columbin, the disciple and successor of St. Deicolus in
the rule of Lure Monastery, in Burgundy, and when he died, the reader is referred to the 6th chapter of the Acts of St.
bable this saint was the original founder of the monastery at this place,^ nor
does his of " seem to " elder. " He was first epithet Mor, great," equivalent
cousin, yet removed by a later generation,? to the saint, bearing this same name, whose feast occurs on the 9th of this month ; and our present Guaire Mor probably succeeded the other in order of time. Perhaps, indeed, not- withstanding such a probability, and his apparently junior age, this Guaire Mor may have founded Aghadowey Church singly, or in conjunction with his cousin ; and the term applied to the present saint might indicate superiority, celebrity, or position. Perhaps simply a difference of stature may have caused the distinction in names between Guaire Mor and Guaire Beg. ^
ArticleIII. —St. UmhalghaidorAmhalghaidh. Wehavenothing
death, or a day of commemoration, lean- I. O. S. , the pedigree of this Goar, or Gaurius not decide ; but, considering the usual prac- Magnus, is traced, in some unpaged notes, tice in the calendars, it —is more probable bound towards the end of this volume. In that it was the Natalis. " " Ecclesiastical the order of the note paper marks it is p. 23.
of vol.
History Ireland," iii. , chap, xix. ,
sec. vi. , n. 75, p. 165.
"7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
''^Marianus O' Gorman says: "S. Col-
manus seu Mocholmocus Lismorensis filius
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci.
Appendix, cap. iv. , p. 223.
5 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. So
likewise is he simply designated in the Fran- ciscan copy,
of
Aghad- by St. (joarus in the seventh century. " See
Beonnae. "
"^Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemias,"
* We are the told,
nepotis
Abbey
dubthaigh, now Aghadooey, was "founded
xxii. Januarii. p. 154.
Vita S. Colmani, cap. v. ,
"
— Reeves, pp. 24, 25.
Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, "chap.
'
Aghadowey parish, in the barony of Coleraine, is represented on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Sheets 10, li, 12, 18, 19.
In the volume of "Extracts for the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry,"
Article n.
Edited by Drs. Todd and
'
v. , p. 485.
7 See the family pedigree of both dis-
tinctly drawn in Dr. Reeves' Archbishop Colton's "Visitation of the Diocese of
Derry,"n. (w. ), p. 80.
*
Rev. G. Vaughan Sampson's
See notices of him at the 9th of January.
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 401
more distinctive than the mere entry of this saint's name in our calendars.
In the Martyrology of Tallagh,' he has been denominated Umhalghaid. Amhalghaidh is mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal^ as having a fes- tival at this date. In the table postfixed to this Martyrology, his name has been Latinised Amalgythus. 3
Article IV. —The Daughters of Comgall, Colma, Bogha, and Lassara, of Glena\% County of Antrim. The more boundless our confidence in the intercession of our virgin saints, the more numerous will be those graces we may obtain through their intercession. The greater that honour we pay them, the more fully shall we experience the effects of their powerful protection, and that love for innocence and purity, which made their lives only a preparation for never-ending bliss. The Martyrology of Tallagh' mentions a festival on the 22nd of January in honour of Comghaill's daughters,Lassir,Columba,andBogha. Someconfusioninrenderingtheir names appears to have crept into our calendars. According to the Martyr- ology of Donegal,^ on this day was venerated Colma, also called Columba, Bogha, and Laisri,3 three sisters. These virgins belonged to the sept, and
were of son to —were buried and daughters Comhgall, Fianglach. 4 They
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
venerated at Leitir Dal-Araidh —e
;
they
disciples or, according
to
According
poem beginning
Articlk III. —' Edited the Rev. Dr. "Human bones have been by
" The of the Saints of Inis- Hagiology
to the
Fail," they are of the Dal m Buain, the race of Eochaidh, son of Muireadh. The place called Lettir in Dalaradia was anciently known as Lettir-Phadruig, after the Irish Apostle St. Patrick, who there first built a church. From the disciple, called Abhac, placed over it, Lann-Abhaich,'*; Lan-avy, and finally Glen-avy, were titles given to this spot. s It is a parochial church in the diocese of Connor, and in the ancient territory of Delmunia. ^ It is said, that the present church does not occupy the original site ; but that old
Glenavy churchyard lay at some distance, in an angle formed by the Glenavy and Pigeonstown roads. 7 Yet this account seems inconsistent \vith an ex- isting tradition. ^ Glenavy parish? is situated within the barony of Upper
frequently Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we found in that spot. See William Shaw
find this saint's name united there with that Mason's of the previous one: AniAlsAix) ocui'
3uAii\e.
=* Edited
by
Drs. Todd and Reeves,
rishes of Glenavy, Camlin, and Tullyrusk.
the Rev. Edward LL. B. , pp. By Cupples,
24, 25.
3 See /^zV/. , pp. 354, 355.
Article IV. —'Editedby Rev. Dr. Kelly,
]). xiii. In the Franciscan copy we react:
1. Co- ViliA^xtini Com^Ailt efc lAfii ocu]'
tumbv^e ocuy bo5<ie.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
^ In the table appended to the Donegal
Martyrology, this holy female's name has
been Latinised Lasia. See ? 3/^. , pp. 432, 433.
The father of this latter was Deman, son
to Nuathaill, son to Mutalan, son to Can-
talan, son to Fiengalac, son to Nied, son to
'• a Dal-Buain. See Rev. Wm. Buan, quo
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix S. , p. '
/3/V/, pp. 236, 237.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Scptima Vita S. Patricii, n. 219, p. 183. Vol. I,
Vicar, pp. 236, 237.
^In a letter to the writer, headed
237.
5 See
"
Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol. ii. , No. xiii. Pa-
"Glenavy, 2nd May, 1873," the Rev. George Pye, P. P. , thus states the popular belief, while furnishing — particu-
descriptive
lars regarding this place: "There is no vestige of the old church of Glenavy. A tradition ^exists, that the Protestant church is on the site of the old one. It is divided by a river from what is supposed to be the
old cemetery, where, according to Reeves, were buried the three sisters. These are said to be the sisters of St. Comgall, abbot
there
'It is on the "Ordnance represented
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim. " Sheets 58, 59, 62, 63.
2D
and founder of Bangor.
Maheramorne, near Lame.
was a religious house in Glenavy, to which the three sisters retired. There is no ruin whatever on the spot. "
He came from
Perhaps
402 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22
Massereene, and in the county of Antrim. At a place called Camus^° Comhgaill," those holy women are also said to have been venerated. This, by others, is also thought to be the spot where their bodies had been interred. The holy virgins' names are included in the calendar compiled by the Rev. William Reeves. " They are likewise entered in the Kalendar of Drum- mond -p but, apparently in a most incorrect manner, at the xi. of the Februar}- kalends, which corresponds with this date. Thus in early ages, and in the same family, we find many saints, while from the fifth to the eighth century Ireland appeared to realize the glorious vision of a church which St. John had in Patmos. ^<
ArticleV. —St. LonanFinn. LonanFinnoccursintheMartyrolog>'
of Donegal' on this day. Nothing more is recorded. A nearly similar
entry is made, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 22nd of January; but in the published copy, we find Lonan (fann) corrected to (fionn). The latter ""
appellation usually designates
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun,
AND Martyr. [Eighth a? id Ninth Centuries? \ On this day, according to
Ferrarius' and Dempster,^ St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun and martyr,^ was honoured with a festival. But Colgan, who gives his acts, thought better to assignthemtothe2nddayofFebruary. * Theremoremaybelearnedre- garding this devoted missionary.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adalgisus, or Algisus, Priest,inTheoracia,aDistrictinPicardy. Afeasthasbeenassigned to this day' for the saint, whose name appears at the head of this article, as statedbytheBoUandists. ^ Buthisfestivalseemsmoreproperlyreferable to the 2nd of June,3 where his life will be found.
'°
This is identified with Camus, in Derry,
quoque sancte virgines Comgaill et sanctus confessor Colman hodie ad Christum migra- verunt. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
" In a note at this passage Dr. Todd says : ' ' The more recent hand has added here, AT Ai|\e fin AX)ei|\ Oieiiguf, erj'echc ingen
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," lib. v.
or in of In the pupils religion Comhgall.
whiteness" or fairness. "
by John O'Donovan, in a marginal note to the *' Irish Calendar of Saints," p. 14.
'
the to\vnland of Camus, in the parish of Article v. — Edited by Drs. Todd and
Macosquin, and barony of Coleraine, re- Reeves, p. 25.
''*
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I. 0. S. collection, is now
preserved in the R. I. A. This must be History of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 13.
presented on the Ordnance Survey Towti- Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the land Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Franciscan copy, this entry reads tonAn
Sheets 7, 8, 11, 12. On Sheet 7 of the pnt». — townland Lower Camus may be seen the Article vi.
" Ruins of a church" immediately on the ralis Sanctorum. "
""" south banks of the pastoral Bann. "
'See "Catalogus Gene-
* See " Acta Sanctorum "See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of dies rejecti, p. 389.
annotations to Felire {Dublin MS. , are called Blaisse, Coma, and Boga. "
they
tomus ii. , xxii. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios
Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix
LL. , p. 376.
'3 Thus: xi. Kal. "Apud Hiberniam
3See "Acta . Sanctorum Junii," of the
BoUandists, tomusi. ,ii. Junii, pp. 222to22S. There they have rightly inserted his acts.
' See Rev. Sylvester Maione's "Church
3 In his " Menologicum Scoticura" Demp-
ster enters Erlulf as a bishop and confessor, '"
CliomgAilL It is for this reason that at Verdun. See Bishop Forbes' Kalen-
yEngus says, The decease of the daughters of Comhgall. ' These are the words of
^ngus in his Felire or Martyrology ; he
calls the three * of Comh- virgins daughters
gall,' because they were the foster-children
dars of Scottish Saints," p, 190.
*See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioc," xxii.
Januarii, p. 153, and ii. Februarii, pp. 240,
241. De S. Verdensi et ErlulphoEpiscopo
Martyre.
Article vn. —" By Camerarius.
Januarii,"
January 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
Ctomtp'-tftirtr Bap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. MAIMBOD, MARTYR, IN FRANCE.
{PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY. ^
Aportrait-painter or a sculptor usually desires to copy after the fairest
features and the most forms. The in like man- graceful biographer,
ner, should be pleased when he has for his subject a person possessing the highest moral perfections. These he finds in every true saint, but more especially in every noble martyr venerated by the faithful. The BoUandists
have published Acts of Saint Maimbod,' from a MS. , belonging to the church of Besan9on, and from Chifflet. Colgan has also republished them at this day. ^
The period of this saint seems to have been about the ninth century. 3 From various accounts we learn, that he was a native and wore the habit or dress+ of Scotia or Ireland. ^ Of illustrious birth and rank, he was entirely devoted to God's service from his youth, and distinguished by the exercise of all Christian virtues. Maimbod was remarkable, also, for personal beauty and elegance of form. These advantages of birth, rank, and figure he little valued, rather preferring that his soul should be adorned with the virtues of humility and of self-denial. He considered worldly things as mean and transitory. He knew, that a Christian's highest ambition should be eternal rewards. At what period of life he resolved on setting out from Ireland has not transpired. Maimbod's object in leaving his native country appears to have been the acquisition of greater perfection, and a subjection of his will to God's designs. He likewise desired to visit certain shrines and places, where the relics of saints and martyrs were preserved. During this pilgrim- age, he exercised extraordinary mortification and resolution in overcoming temptations. With joy of spirit, he endured cold, hunger, and thirst ; and whilst exteriorly he was scantily clothed, interiorly his soul was inflamed with an ever-burning love of the Creator, and a great zeal to promote whatever contributed to His honour and glory. He always denied himself luxuries, and often bodily necessaries. In him, the flesh was always subject to the spirit. It would appear, that Maimbod had been elevated to the clerical state before leaving Ireland, and that he was distinguished for wisdom,
holiness, and ecclesiastical learning.
Art. 1. —'They are found in ten para- graphs. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusii. , xxiii. Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, pp. 542
He cultivated the love of poverty to
sec. vii. , n. 68, p. 363. <Fromtheterm"habitu,"anditsap-
plication in our saint's acts, the Bollandist
editor rightly infers, that the costume of the
to 544. ^""
See Acta Sanctorum Hibernian," xxiii. Scots and Gauls was different. See
Acta
Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, pp. 155 to Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiii. Acta
157, with notes.
3 The time is not mentioned, and it can
only be inferred that it was not long before his remains had been removed by order of Berengarius, who is said to have lived about
S. Maimbodi, n. (b), p. 543.
sxhe Scotia, whence the acts bring him,
is represe'nted as that which was the country of St. Columbanus, St. Deicolus, and of St. Columbinus. These holy men had dis-
"
A. D. 900. See Dr. Lanigan's Ecciesiasti- tinguished themselves especially in Bur-
cal History of Ireland," vol iii. , cap. xxii. , gundy.
404 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 23.
such a degree, that whatever he received from others he bestowed upon the poor. When he had nothing to give in the shape of alms, he enriched the souls of many by his expositions of the Divine word, and by exhortations full of consolation and fervour. ^
Having visited many places, renowned for their connection with eminent
saints, he came at length to the Burgundian territory,? where the relics of many servants of God were enshrined, and among them, several belonging to his own country. The author of St. Mairabod's Acts, who appears to have been a Frenchman, takes great care to enumerate the many holy martyrs and confessors,^ who adorned and blessed his country by their labours, virtues, and constant patronage. Among the Irish saints in France
are specially named Columbanus,9 Dichull,'° Columbin," and AnatoUus. " While in the province of Burgundy,^3 Maimbod became the guest of a certain nobleman, who, aware of his great virtues and the efficacy of his
prayers, requested this holy pilgrim to accept something whereby the donor mightberememberedinhispetitionsbeforeGod. Thesaintdeclared,that as he had an humble trust in the Almighty's constant favours, he had no need for the goods of this transitory world. But that he might not seem to undervalue the kind intentions of his host, Maimbod consented to accejjt the present of a pair of gloves. '^ Then, bestowing his benediction on this
'See Colgan's "Acta Sanctoram Hiber- n. 9, p. 157. For particulars, regarding
niffi," xxiii. Januarii. Vita S. Maimbodi, cap. i. , ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 155, 156.
this great saint, the reader is referred to his Life, which will be found at the 21st of November.
See the Acts of St. Deicolus, at the
625. ''
^ See ibid. , cap. vi. , p. 1 56.
^ '°
Among these are mentioned Saints Fer-
reolus and Ferrutius, martyrs under Severus,
A. D. 211 or 212, and alluded to by St.
Gregory of Tours. Their feast is kept on
the 1 6th of June. Again, St. Iraeneus, with
his martyred companions, at Lyons, under
the same emperor, and in the beginning of
the same century. Their feast is kept on
the 2nd of June. His feast is held on the as given by Colgan at the 1 8th of January. 28th of June and on the 23rd of August. According to Menard and Galesinus the Saints Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilles at Natalis of St. Columbin occurs on the 13th Valence, martyrs, and whose feasts are of September. Trithemius treats of him celebrated on'the 23rd of April ; Saints Au- in his work, " De Viris illustribus ordinis dochius and Thirsus at . ^dua, whose feasts S. Benedict! ," lib. iii. , cap. 77. This saint, occur on the 24th of September ; St. Mam- however, is a different person from Colum-
metus, the Cappadocian Martyr, whose banus the monk, who was a disciple to St. ''
Benignus, martyr, most probably imder Au- reliaus, about the year 272, and on the ist of November, near Dijon : all of these are alluded to by the writer, as saints greatly
''
feast is assigned to the 1 7th of August ; St. Columbanus, abbot. See Colgan's Acta
Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiii. Januarii. Vita
" Colgan gives the Acts of Anatolius, at the 3rd of February, and to that date the reader is referred for further notices regard- ing this saint.
venerated in France. See Colgan's
S. Maimbodi, nn. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ''
'^ The name is derived from the
dians, who settled in Switzerland and a part of Franche-Comte, in the beginning of the
157. Also the Boliandists' Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus ii. , xxiii. Acta S. Maim-
Burgun-
"Acta Sanctoi-um Hibemise," xxiii. Januarii,
from the last edition of the Gennan.
London, 1762.
'* In the acts of our saint, the word used
to signify gloves is "Wantos," from the
p.
bodi, nn. (c, d, e, f, g, h, i), pp. 543, 544. fifth century. Thence spreading themselves
And Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," at the date of various festivals com- memorated.
9 His festival occurs at the 2ist of Novem- ber. It appears from his acts, that St. Columbanus, who died A. D. 615, was from the same Scotia as Maimbod. See Colgan's
towards the Rhone and Soane, they erected
l8th of January. He died about the year
For particulars regarding St. Columbin, the disciple and successor of St. Deicolus in
the rule of Lure Monastery, in Burgundy, and when he died, the reader is referred to the 6th chapter of the Acts of St.
