Kentigern,^5 and when the latter died,^^ here his disciple often
meditated
on the bitter passion of Christ, in fasting and weeping, while he recalled the memories of his great Master.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Todd and Reeves, pp.
68, 69. — Article ix.
'
The Irish following
stanza, from the "Feilire" of St. /Engus, "Leabhar Breac" copy, with the English
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISB SAINTS. 201
ArticleIX. —FeastofVictorinusandCompanions,Martyrs. In the ancient Irish Church, at the 6th day of March, the festival of St. Victor- inus,andofseveralmartyrs,iscommemorated. ^ Probablythisreferstothe martyrdom of St. Victorinus, St. Victor, St. Claudianus, or Claudius, and his wife, St. Bassa, of whom notices will be found, in the BoUandist collection, at this day. '' They suffered in Bithynia. 3
Article X. —St. Senanus, or Seranus, Confessor. At the 6th of
March, in the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare, a St. Senanus is entered. Yet, it seems probable, this saint must be
identified with a Saranus, Confessor, noted at the very same day, by Henry
Fitzsimon,^ on the authority of the Carthusian Martyrology. =* Elsewhere, I do not find corroboration for the present entry.
Article XI. —St. Odhran, Odran, or Odranus. The name Odran S. occurs,intheMartyrologyofTallagh,^atthe6thofMarch. Theletter
S. be intended for the Irish word may
Soggart, Anglice,
day, in the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal,^ is set
downOdranusorOdhran. Inthetable,appendedtothislatterwork,the commentator remarks, that he was Abbot of la—which is incorrect—and of
Conall Gulban's race, according to the Hagiogenesis. 3 The Odhran, mentioned in the genealogical table of the early Abbots of Hy,4 was a cousin to St. Columkille,5 but only a simple monk. ^ The Bollandists? have a note of Odranus, yet nothing more seems to be known regarding him.
Article XII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adrian and Companions, Martyrs. \Ninth Century? [ In Bishop Forbes' work, the account of St. Adrian and of his companions, martyrs,'' is set down : their festival falling on the 4th of March,^ with the remark of a St. Odran, occurring in the Irish Martyrology of Donegal, at the 6th of this month, as if his name might be identical with Adrian.
Article XIII. —St. Maeldubh, Son of Berran. He is entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 6th of March, as Moeldub mac Berani.
has been— translation, obligingly
furnished
by
^"
See O'Sullevan Beare's Historias Ca-
Professor O'Looney
:
tholicse Ibernise
Compendium,"
tomus
1. ,
b. 11. n. lloripiAi'oec iA^ te|\i
Oo ^IaicVi -oe foi\ oii\5e
lib. — and
iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, cap. xii. , p. 56.
'
Article xi. Edited by Rev. Dr.
conAlii Ill ireil tliccopini.
innocence,
On the feast of Victorinus.
Kelly, p. xvii.
=^ Edited Drs. Todd and by
68, 69.
3
See, ibid,, pp. 458, 459.
SI05 o^xcA
Reeves, pp.
conduct us in
* See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," Additional Notes N, p.
342.
s See his Life, at the 9th of June.
® His feast, however, has been assigned to the 27th of October.
May they
To the kingdom of God directly, The host who were slaughtered in
* See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
7 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
i. , Martii vi. De Sanctis Martyribus Victore, Victorino, Claudiano sive Claudio, et Bassa
Martii vi.
i. , Among the pretermitted saints,
uxore, Nicomediae et Apamise, in Bithynia, p. 423.
3 They are noted in the old Martyrology,
' See what has been
attributed to St—. Jerome. Article x. ' See "
Catalogus Aliquo- runji Sanctorum Ibernise. "
chastity,
p. 420,
Article xii.
" On this priest. "
—
already stated, at the notices given of Saints
Mannan and Tiaan, at the 23rd of February,
Vol. ii. of this work, Art. iv. ; and also at
Vol. Art. to St. Adrian and iii. . ii. , relating
his companions, martyrs.
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
The Bollandists notice him, in like manner, but without stating further parti- culars of him. ^ Maeldubh, son of Berran, had a festival celebrated on this day, according to the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal. 3
Article XIV. —Reputed Festival of St. Carthach, of Cill-Car-
SUPPOSED TO BE
— CoUNTY OF DONEGAL.
KiLCARR, [SixtJl Century? ^
THAIGHE,
Under the h—
gal County Duald Mac Firbis writes, that in Tir Boghuine,^^ at the 6th March, a Carthach, Bishop, was venerated. He is said to have been the son of Aongus, son to Nathfraech, King of the Eoghanacht of Cashel. ' If so, he does not appear to have been different from the St. Carthach, or Carthage, of Sier-Kieran,andofotherplaces. HisActs,sofarasknown,havebeengiven, atthepreviousday,andtothesethereaderisreferred. Byalocalwriter,we are told, that St. Carthaigh is thought to have died, on the 6th day of March, in the year 540. '*
Article XV. —St. Baldred or Baltherus, Hermit, and Mis- sionary, IN Scotland, and St. Bilfrid, or Bilfred, a Hermit, at Lindisfarne, in England. \Probably in the Seventh or Eighth Century^ It does not appear to be determined, whether Ireland or Scotland gave birth to these holy men. The Acts of St. Balther, a Priest, and a hermit, have been joined with these of Bilfrid, another hermit, and a worker in gold, accordingtotheBollandists,'atthe6thofMarch. TiioseActsaregivenin a historic commentary of four sections, containing eighteen paragraphs. The Bollandists state, that as St. Baldred and Bilfrid lived in the same age, and in the same country, so after death, their relics t\'ere presented for veneration to the faithful, in the same church. Those holy men are commemorated, likewise, by Bishop Challoner,"^ and by Rev. S. Baring-Gould ;3 while the Rev. Alban Butler'* only notices St. Baldrede, at this day. The Scottishs and English historians^ have references to them. It is barely possible, that one or both of those may have been of Irish origin, nothing having been recorded, regardingtheirnatalplaces. TheBreviaryofAberdeen? containsanaccount of St. Baldred—who is also called Baltherus^—and a remarkable Celtic saint, venerated in Scotland. s A summary of his actions will be found, in
*"
See Kalendais of Scottish Saints," tis Balthero Presbytero et Bilfrldo Auri-
ead of Cill
Carthaighe
said to be the
present Kilcarr,'
in Done-
pp. 256 to 268. —
Article xiii. 'Edited by Rev. Dr.
fabro, in Scotia et Anglia, pp. 448 to 452.
'
See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , March vi. , p. 159.
Kelly, p. xvii.
"See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
3
See "Lives of the vol. Saints,"
i. , Martii vi. Among the pretermitted saints,
iii. ,
p. 420.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
March vi. , pp. 94, 95.
* See '•' Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other Principal Saints," vol. iii. , March
68,69. — vi.
's Article xiv. Such is the identifica-
tion in William M. Hennessy's note.
" This is said to have been identical with the present barony of Banagh, in the county
of Donegal.
3 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 94, 95.
Article xv. —' See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vi. De Sanctis Anachore*
Such as Bcetius, Major, Lesley, Forbes, &c.
* Such as Turgot, and Simeon of Durham, Matthew of Westminster, Selden, &c.
i Pars Hyemalis, fol. Ixiii. , Ixiiii.
^ In a Fragmentum Historioe de Pontifici- bus Eboracensibus. See Mabillon's "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti," pars, ii. ,
p. 508.
s The Bollandists consider, that the Calen-
darists and some of the Scottish historians may have confounded St. Baldred with St. Baithen, the immediate successor of St. Co-
* See Thomas Lalor Cooke's "
tory of the Town of Birr," chap, x. , pp. 169, 170.
Early
His-
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 203
Bishop Forbes' work. ^° There we learn, that this saint became a hermit, in remote desert places, and in islands of the sea. One of these is known as the Bass Rock," where the existence of a ruin^^ testifies to the former habi- tation of an island saint,'3 known as Baldred or Baltherus. He is stated, to have been the suffragan'4 of St.
Kentigern,^5 and when the latter died,^^ here his disciple often meditated on the bitter passion of Christ, in fasting and weeping, while he recalled the memories of his great Master. He taught the faith in three parochial churches, viz. , Aldhame,^? Tynynghame'^ and Pres- toune,'9 which had been subjected to him by St. Mungo. It is traditionally held, that a rock, impeding the navigation, and afterwards called the Tumba
or Scapha of St. Baldred, moved beneath him to the shore. He also per-
formedothermiracles,andbecamecelebratedthroughoutLaudonia. Heis
said, to have walked on the water, like St. Peter, and to have obtained
pardon for the soul of a deacon, who before his death had fallen into a carnal
sin. Worn out by extreme old age, he died in the house of the parish priest,
atAldhame. Histhreechurchesputinaclaimforhisbody,andtherefore
the people were requested to pray God, that he might give a sign. On the
next morning, three bodies were laid out, each with the same exequial pomp,
when each carried off one assumed to their own ^° congregation body church,
where it was kept in honourable veneration. The date for his death is a. d.
606, according to Dempster, or a. d. 608, according to Bishop Forbes ; but, Simeon of Durham and Hovenden^' have it, at a. d. 756. By Dempster, he is called. Bishop of Glasgow, and he is said to have Written a book, " De Scoticje Ecclesias Statu. " ^^ makes our saint a
John Lesley^s
among the Picts, and a contemporary with St. Columba,^+ and Aidan, the forty-ninth Scottish king. Turgot states,^5 that Presbyter Baltherus died, in theseventeenthyearofCynouulf's pontificate,^^overtheseeofLindisfarne,
lumba, over the monastery at lona. Again,
it would seem, that St. Baldred has been in-
correctly called a bishop, and that the Bre-
viary of Aberdeen has falsely assigned him
to the age, when St. Kentigern lived, while
Baldred flourished a century later. See
Malcolm the Maiden. See Robertson's "Statuta Ecclesiastica Scotiae," vol. ii. , p. 261. This monastery was richly endowed with lands.
'^ At Preston Kirk some places near the church still bear his name : thus, St. Bal- dred's well, and Baldred's whill, a pool or eddy in the river. See the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xi,, p. 87. Also "New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vi. Haddington, pp. 21, 58.
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vi.
De Sanctis Anachoretis Balthero Presbytero
et Bilfrido Aurifabro in Scotia et Anglia,
sect, ii. , pp. 448 to 450.
'°
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. 273, 274.
^°
Similar accounts are frequent, in the
" This was almost an impregnable citadel, in the old province of Laudonia, about two miles out from the coast line, and surrounded on every side by the sea,
Acts of Celtic saints, especially in reference
to popular disputes to acquire relics. Hector
Boece has the foregoing account in his
" Historia Scotise," lib. ix. , fol. 171.
*' In his " Annales. "
"See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
" An
the
interesting work,
tion of five Edinburgh literati, has been
published: " The Bass Rock, its Civil and Scotorum," tomus i,, lib. ii. , num. 122. p.
joint produc-
Ecclesiastical History, Geology, Martyr- 65. For what he asserts, Dempster cites
ology. Zoology, and Botany. " John Lesley's "Historia Scotise," lib. iv. ,
'3 Mr. James Millar published a Poem, in p. clii. , and John Fordun's Manuscript
"
St. Baldred of the Bass. " According to Bower and other writers.
1825, intituled
"Historia Scotorum," lib. vii. , preserved in St. Benedict's College, Cambridge.
"3 See " De Origine, IMoribus et Rebus
Gestis Scotorum," lib. iiii. , p. 152. Romse mdlxxviii. 4to.
=•» SeehisLife,atthe9thofJune,
»5 in "Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii. , cap. ii.
=6 This began in 740.
'^ He ruled over the kingdom of Nor-
thumbria, during a disturbed period, for
'''
'S See notices of him at the 13th of Ja- nuary, and at the 13th of November.
'*
This is said to have happened, about A. D. 530, when he was one hundred and eighty-three years old.
'7 His cave is shown on the coast near Aldhame.
'**
The church of St. Baldred, here, had the right of Sanctuary, in the charter of
missionary
2 04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
and in the twentieth year of King Eadbert's reign,=7 and on the day before theNonesofMarch. Accordingtothedataheregiven,theBollandistswill have it, that his death occurred, a. d. 756, or at least in the year 757. The next holy man, whose name is associated with Balther, and at the same date, does not appear to have had special relations with him during life. About St. Bilfrid or Bilfred, we have little information. We do not even know that exact place, with which he was connected, but this appears to be somewhere in the diocese of Lindisfarne. During this retirement, he practised the art of the goldsmith, and a specimen of his taste, as an artist, yet exists in the Cot- tonian library, in the British Museum, London. It is a Book of Gospels,^^ ornamented with gems and gold,"9 which was long preserved at Durham. ^o As Bishop Eadfrid succeeded Eadberts^ over Lindisfarne see, where he sat from A. D. 698 to A. D. 720,32 g^jj(j ^g Bilfrid seems to have been his contem- porary, or to have flourished soon after his time, it may not be amiss to ascribe his period to the seventh or eighth century. The day and year for his death have not been discovered. We read, that Anlaf, the Dane, burned
the church and monastery of Tyningham, a. d. 941,^3 or 95i. 3'» Immediately afterwards, he was struck with a sudden illness and died. About two cen-
turies later, a priest, named Elfrid, or Elfred,35 recovered the relics of St. Bil- frid, by a revelation ; and, with these, he also recovered the remains of St.
Acca,3S St. Alkmund,37 the Bishop, King Oswin,38 ^-^^ ^^ Abbesses, Ebba39 and Ethelgitha, being directed to them, by visions. The bones of St. Balther and of St. Bilfrid were put together, ^vith the body of St. Cuthbert,4° in his shrine,atDurham. Butin1104,theywereremovedfromthisshrine,^'and were placed in the shrine of Venerable Bedc^^ The various relics were assigned special places of honour in the great Cathedral of Durham. *3 The Bollandists have no doubt, that the lives and miracles of the holy men, who
twenty-one years. See Dr. Lingard's "His- tory of England," vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. no. ^ This highly ornate Manuscript has the Prefaces and Canons of Eusebius and of St.
3« His feast occurs, on the 6th of May.
^a At this period, Bishop Ethelwold suc- ceeded, and died on the 1 2th of Febmary,
a. d. 740. This prelate engaged Bilfrid to Jerome in the beginning, while it has a labour, at the work of ornamenting the Saxon version of Aldred Presbyter inserted Book of Gospels, according to Turgot, in
between the lines. This is the Book of St. his " Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii, cap. Cuthbert, alluded to by Turgot, and by xi.
Simeon of Durham, according to Selden.
"9 A curious story is told, by Turgot, in his "Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii. , cap. xi. , xii. , that to save it from Danish ravages, this book was brought to Ireland, in a ship, that it fell overboard, and was again mira-
33 See Matthew of Westminster's " Flores Historiarum," a. d. DCCCXLi. , p. 365.
34
Baronius, in his "Annales Ecclesias- tici," thus corrects the chronotaxis of Mat- thoeus Westmonasteriensis.
3S He is called the son of Weston, ia "
culously recovered, that its folios did not Turgot's Historia Dunelmensis," lib. iii. ,
seem in the least stained, by the action of the waves, which was attributed to the merits of St. Cuthbert, and that, in fine, about 1 100, it was preserved in the church of Durham.
cap. vii.
3* His feast is usually assigned to the 20th
of October, the day of his death. His Life occurs, at the same date, in our collection, as classed among the Irish Saints.
30 "On the cover is '»! < Eadfrid, Oetil-
wald, Billfrith, Aldred hoc Evangelium tember.
Deo et Cuthberto construxerunt et ornave-
38 His feast occurs on the 20th of August,
;'
April,
above this in Saxon characters, and
39 Her festivals are on the 2nd qf
nint
in a Northumbrian dialect,
the anchorite he fabricated the curious
works that are on the outside, and it adorned
with gold and with gems, also with silver
overgilded, a priceless treasure. ' Billfri—th
is supposed to be a local form of Bilfred. "
Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the the Saints, vol. iii. , March vi. , p. 95. Saints," vol. iii. , March vi. , p. 95. *3 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto-
'
And Billfrith,
and 25th of August,
<° See his Life, at the 20th of March,
*' The head of St. Oswald was alone left
37 His festival belongs to the 9th of Sep-
with St. Cuthbert's remains. The Life of St. Oswald is given, at the 5th of August,
*' "
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's Lives of
"
March 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 205
are here commemorated, had been formerly written. While some writers
have placed their festivals, at the 29th of March, and others, at the 27th of
November, most Calendarists prefer the present date. The Scottish Kalen-
dars have St. Baldred, Bishop and Confessor. Thus, the Kalendar of Aber-
deennoteshimPridieNonasMartii. 44 Likewise,inAdamKing'sKalendar,
weread "S. BaldredebischopofGlascowsuccess,toS. Mugoandcofess. :
vnderKingAidanus. S. Fredolinecof. ScotismovnderAnastasi,''atthe6th "
of March. In Dempster's Menologium Scoticum,'' we find the following notices, at the same date, about Baldred, Bishop of Preston, whose body^s was found by Divine power to appease dissensions among the faithful. ^^ St. Balther was venerated with an office, containing nine Lessons.
Article XVI.
68, 69. — Article ix.
'
The Irish following
stanza, from the "Feilire" of St. /Engus, "Leabhar Breac" copy, with the English
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISB SAINTS. 201
ArticleIX. —FeastofVictorinusandCompanions,Martyrs. In the ancient Irish Church, at the 6th day of March, the festival of St. Victor- inus,andofseveralmartyrs,iscommemorated. ^ Probablythisreferstothe martyrdom of St. Victorinus, St. Victor, St. Claudianus, or Claudius, and his wife, St. Bassa, of whom notices will be found, in the BoUandist collection, at this day. '' They suffered in Bithynia. 3
Article X. —St. Senanus, or Seranus, Confessor. At the 6th of
March, in the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare, a St. Senanus is entered. Yet, it seems probable, this saint must be
identified with a Saranus, Confessor, noted at the very same day, by Henry
Fitzsimon,^ on the authority of the Carthusian Martyrology. =* Elsewhere, I do not find corroboration for the present entry.
Article XI. —St. Odhran, Odran, or Odranus. The name Odran S. occurs,intheMartyrologyofTallagh,^atthe6thofMarch. Theletter
S. be intended for the Irish word may
Soggart, Anglice,
day, in the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal,^ is set
downOdranusorOdhran. Inthetable,appendedtothislatterwork,the commentator remarks, that he was Abbot of la—which is incorrect—and of
Conall Gulban's race, according to the Hagiogenesis. 3 The Odhran, mentioned in the genealogical table of the early Abbots of Hy,4 was a cousin to St. Columkille,5 but only a simple monk. ^ The Bollandists? have a note of Odranus, yet nothing more seems to be known regarding him.
Article XII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adrian and Companions, Martyrs. \Ninth Century? [ In Bishop Forbes' work, the account of St. Adrian and of his companions, martyrs,'' is set down : their festival falling on the 4th of March,^ with the remark of a St. Odran, occurring in the Irish Martyrology of Donegal, at the 6th of this month, as if his name might be identical with Adrian.
Article XIII. —St. Maeldubh, Son of Berran. He is entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 6th of March, as Moeldub mac Berani.
has been— translation, obligingly
furnished
by
^"
See O'Sullevan Beare's Historias Ca-
Professor O'Looney
:
tholicse Ibernise
Compendium,"
tomus
1. ,
b. 11. n. lloripiAi'oec iA^ te|\i
Oo ^IaicVi -oe foi\ oii\5e
lib. — and
iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, cap. xii. , p. 56.
'
Article xi. Edited by Rev. Dr.
conAlii Ill ireil tliccopini.
innocence,
On the feast of Victorinus.
Kelly, p. xvii.
=^ Edited Drs. Todd and by
68, 69.
3
See, ibid,, pp. 458, 459.
SI05 o^xcA
Reeves, pp.
conduct us in
* See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
of St. Columba," Additional Notes N, p.
342.
s See his Life, at the 9th of June.
® His feast, however, has been assigned to the 27th of October.
May they
To the kingdom of God directly, The host who were slaughtered in
* See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
7 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
i. , Martii vi. De Sanctis Martyribus Victore, Victorino, Claudiano sive Claudio, et Bassa
Martii vi.
i. , Among the pretermitted saints,
uxore, Nicomediae et Apamise, in Bithynia, p. 423.
3 They are noted in the old Martyrology,
' See what has been
attributed to St—. Jerome. Article x. ' See "
Catalogus Aliquo- runji Sanctorum Ibernise. "
chastity,
p. 420,
Article xii.
" On this priest. "
—
already stated, at the notices given of Saints
Mannan and Tiaan, at the 23rd of February,
Vol. ii. of this work, Art. iv. ; and also at
Vol. Art. to St. Adrian and iii. . ii. , relating
his companions, martyrs.
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
The Bollandists notice him, in like manner, but without stating further parti- culars of him. ^ Maeldubh, son of Berran, had a festival celebrated on this day, according to the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal. 3
Article XIV. —Reputed Festival of St. Carthach, of Cill-Car-
SUPPOSED TO BE
— CoUNTY OF DONEGAL.
KiLCARR, [SixtJl Century? ^
THAIGHE,
Under the h—
gal County Duald Mac Firbis writes, that in Tir Boghuine,^^ at the 6th March, a Carthach, Bishop, was venerated. He is said to have been the son of Aongus, son to Nathfraech, King of the Eoghanacht of Cashel. ' If so, he does not appear to have been different from the St. Carthach, or Carthage, of Sier-Kieran,andofotherplaces. HisActs,sofarasknown,havebeengiven, atthepreviousday,andtothesethereaderisreferred. Byalocalwriter,we are told, that St. Carthaigh is thought to have died, on the 6th day of March, in the year 540. '*
Article XV. —St. Baldred or Baltherus, Hermit, and Mis- sionary, IN Scotland, and St. Bilfrid, or Bilfred, a Hermit, at Lindisfarne, in England. \Probably in the Seventh or Eighth Century^ It does not appear to be determined, whether Ireland or Scotland gave birth to these holy men. The Acts of St. Balther, a Priest, and a hermit, have been joined with these of Bilfrid, another hermit, and a worker in gold, accordingtotheBollandists,'atthe6thofMarch. TiioseActsaregivenin a historic commentary of four sections, containing eighteen paragraphs. The Bollandists state, that as St. Baldred and Bilfrid lived in the same age, and in the same country, so after death, their relics t\'ere presented for veneration to the faithful, in the same church. Those holy men are commemorated, likewise, by Bishop Challoner,"^ and by Rev. S. Baring-Gould ;3 while the Rev. Alban Butler'* only notices St. Baldrede, at this day. The Scottishs and English historians^ have references to them. It is barely possible, that one or both of those may have been of Irish origin, nothing having been recorded, regardingtheirnatalplaces. TheBreviaryofAberdeen? containsanaccount of St. Baldred—who is also called Baltherus^—and a remarkable Celtic saint, venerated in Scotland. s A summary of his actions will be found, in
*"
See Kalendais of Scottish Saints," tis Balthero Presbytero et Bilfrldo Auri-
ead of Cill
Carthaighe
said to be the
present Kilcarr,'
in Done-
pp. 256 to 268. —
Article xiii. 'Edited by Rev. Dr.
fabro, in Scotia et Anglia, pp. 448 to 452.
'
See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , March vi. , p. 159.
Kelly, p. xvii.
"See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
3
See "Lives of the vol. Saints,"
i. , Martii vi. Among the pretermitted saints,
iii. ,
p. 420.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
March vi. , pp. 94, 95.
* See '•' Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other Principal Saints," vol. iii. , March
68,69. — vi.
's Article xiv. Such is the identifica-
tion in William M. Hennessy's note.
" This is said to have been identical with the present barony of Banagh, in the county
of Donegal.
3 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 94, 95.
Article xv. —' See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vi. De Sanctis Anachore*
Such as Bcetius, Major, Lesley, Forbes, &c.
* Such as Turgot, and Simeon of Durham, Matthew of Westminster, Selden, &c.
i Pars Hyemalis, fol. Ixiii. , Ixiiii.
^ In a Fragmentum Historioe de Pontifici- bus Eboracensibus. See Mabillon's "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti," pars, ii. ,
p. 508.
s The Bollandists consider, that the Calen-
darists and some of the Scottish historians may have confounded St. Baldred with St. Baithen, the immediate successor of St. Co-
* See Thomas Lalor Cooke's "
tory of the Town of Birr," chap, x. , pp. 169, 170.
Early
His-
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 203
Bishop Forbes' work. ^° There we learn, that this saint became a hermit, in remote desert places, and in islands of the sea. One of these is known as the Bass Rock," where the existence of a ruin^^ testifies to the former habi- tation of an island saint,'3 known as Baldred or Baltherus. He is stated, to have been the suffragan'4 of St.
Kentigern,^5 and when the latter died,^^ here his disciple often meditated on the bitter passion of Christ, in fasting and weeping, while he recalled the memories of his great Master. He taught the faith in three parochial churches, viz. , Aldhame,^? Tynynghame'^ and Pres- toune,'9 which had been subjected to him by St. Mungo. It is traditionally held, that a rock, impeding the navigation, and afterwards called the Tumba
or Scapha of St. Baldred, moved beneath him to the shore. He also per-
formedothermiracles,andbecamecelebratedthroughoutLaudonia. Heis
said, to have walked on the water, like St. Peter, and to have obtained
pardon for the soul of a deacon, who before his death had fallen into a carnal
sin. Worn out by extreme old age, he died in the house of the parish priest,
atAldhame. Histhreechurchesputinaclaimforhisbody,andtherefore
the people were requested to pray God, that he might give a sign. On the
next morning, three bodies were laid out, each with the same exequial pomp,
when each carried off one assumed to their own ^° congregation body church,
where it was kept in honourable veneration. The date for his death is a. d.
606, according to Dempster, or a. d. 608, according to Bishop Forbes ; but, Simeon of Durham and Hovenden^' have it, at a. d. 756. By Dempster, he is called. Bishop of Glasgow, and he is said to have Written a book, " De Scoticje Ecclesias Statu. " ^^ makes our saint a
John Lesley^s
among the Picts, and a contemporary with St. Columba,^+ and Aidan, the forty-ninth Scottish king. Turgot states,^5 that Presbyter Baltherus died, in theseventeenthyearofCynouulf's pontificate,^^overtheseeofLindisfarne,
lumba, over the monastery at lona. Again,
it would seem, that St. Baldred has been in-
correctly called a bishop, and that the Bre-
viary of Aberdeen has falsely assigned him
to the age, when St. Kentigern lived, while
Baldred flourished a century later. See
Malcolm the Maiden. See Robertson's "Statuta Ecclesiastica Scotiae," vol. ii. , p. 261. This monastery was richly endowed with lands.
'^ At Preston Kirk some places near the church still bear his name : thus, St. Bal- dred's well, and Baldred's whill, a pool or eddy in the river. See the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xi,, p. 87. Also "New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vi. Haddington, pp. 21, 58.
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vi.
De Sanctis Anachoretis Balthero Presbytero
et Bilfrido Aurifabro in Scotia et Anglia,
sect, ii. , pp. 448 to 450.
'°
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," pp. 273, 274.
^°
Similar accounts are frequent, in the
" This was almost an impregnable citadel, in the old province of Laudonia, about two miles out from the coast line, and surrounded on every side by the sea,
Acts of Celtic saints, especially in reference
to popular disputes to acquire relics. Hector
Boece has the foregoing account in his
" Historia Scotise," lib. ix. , fol. 171.
*' In his " Annales. "
"See "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
" An
the
interesting work,
tion of five Edinburgh literati, has been
published: " The Bass Rock, its Civil and Scotorum," tomus i,, lib. ii. , num. 122. p.
joint produc-
Ecclesiastical History, Geology, Martyr- 65. For what he asserts, Dempster cites
ology. Zoology, and Botany. " John Lesley's "Historia Scotise," lib. iv. ,
'3 Mr. James Millar published a Poem, in p. clii. , and John Fordun's Manuscript
"
St. Baldred of the Bass. " According to Bower and other writers.
1825, intituled
"Historia Scotorum," lib. vii. , preserved in St. Benedict's College, Cambridge.
"3 See " De Origine, IMoribus et Rebus
Gestis Scotorum," lib. iiii. , p. 152. Romse mdlxxviii. 4to.
=•» SeehisLife,atthe9thofJune,
»5 in "Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii. , cap. ii.
=6 This began in 740.
'^ He ruled over the kingdom of Nor-
thumbria, during a disturbed period, for
'''
'S See notices of him at the 13th of Ja- nuary, and at the 13th of November.
'*
This is said to have happened, about A. D. 530, when he was one hundred and eighty-three years old.
'7 His cave is shown on the coast near Aldhame.
'**
The church of St. Baldred, here, had the right of Sanctuary, in the charter of
missionary
2 04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
and in the twentieth year of King Eadbert's reign,=7 and on the day before theNonesofMarch. Accordingtothedataheregiven,theBollandistswill have it, that his death occurred, a. d. 756, or at least in the year 757. The next holy man, whose name is associated with Balther, and at the same date, does not appear to have had special relations with him during life. About St. Bilfrid or Bilfred, we have little information. We do not even know that exact place, with which he was connected, but this appears to be somewhere in the diocese of Lindisfarne. During this retirement, he practised the art of the goldsmith, and a specimen of his taste, as an artist, yet exists in the Cot- tonian library, in the British Museum, London. It is a Book of Gospels,^^ ornamented with gems and gold,"9 which was long preserved at Durham. ^o As Bishop Eadfrid succeeded Eadberts^ over Lindisfarne see, where he sat from A. D. 698 to A. D. 720,32 g^jj(j ^g Bilfrid seems to have been his contem- porary, or to have flourished soon after his time, it may not be amiss to ascribe his period to the seventh or eighth century. The day and year for his death have not been discovered. We read, that Anlaf, the Dane, burned
the church and monastery of Tyningham, a. d. 941,^3 or 95i. 3'» Immediately afterwards, he was struck with a sudden illness and died. About two cen-
turies later, a priest, named Elfrid, or Elfred,35 recovered the relics of St. Bil- frid, by a revelation ; and, with these, he also recovered the remains of St.
Acca,3S St. Alkmund,37 the Bishop, King Oswin,38 ^-^^ ^^ Abbesses, Ebba39 and Ethelgitha, being directed to them, by visions. The bones of St. Balther and of St. Bilfrid were put together, ^vith the body of St. Cuthbert,4° in his shrine,atDurham. Butin1104,theywereremovedfromthisshrine,^'and were placed in the shrine of Venerable Bedc^^ The various relics were assigned special places of honour in the great Cathedral of Durham. *3 The Bollandists have no doubt, that the lives and miracles of the holy men, who
twenty-one years. See Dr. Lingard's "His- tory of England," vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. no. ^ This highly ornate Manuscript has the Prefaces and Canons of Eusebius and of St.
3« His feast occurs, on the 6th of May.
^a At this period, Bishop Ethelwold suc- ceeded, and died on the 1 2th of Febmary,
a. d. 740. This prelate engaged Bilfrid to Jerome in the beginning, while it has a labour, at the work of ornamenting the Saxon version of Aldred Presbyter inserted Book of Gospels, according to Turgot, in
between the lines. This is the Book of St. his " Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii, cap. Cuthbert, alluded to by Turgot, and by xi.
Simeon of Durham, according to Selden.
"9 A curious story is told, by Turgot, in his "Historia Dunelmensis," lib. ii. , cap. xi. , xii. , that to save it from Danish ravages, this book was brought to Ireland, in a ship, that it fell overboard, and was again mira-
33 See Matthew of Westminster's " Flores Historiarum," a. d. DCCCXLi. , p. 365.
34
Baronius, in his "Annales Ecclesias- tici," thus corrects the chronotaxis of Mat- thoeus Westmonasteriensis.
3S He is called the son of Weston, ia "
culously recovered, that its folios did not Turgot's Historia Dunelmensis," lib. iii. ,
seem in the least stained, by the action of the waves, which was attributed to the merits of St. Cuthbert, and that, in fine, about 1 100, it was preserved in the church of Durham.
cap. vii.
3* His feast is usually assigned to the 20th
of October, the day of his death. His Life occurs, at the same date, in our collection, as classed among the Irish Saints.
30 "On the cover is '»! < Eadfrid, Oetil-
wald, Billfrith, Aldred hoc Evangelium tember.
Deo et Cuthberto construxerunt et ornave-
38 His feast occurs on the 20th of August,
;'
April,
above this in Saxon characters, and
39 Her festivals are on the 2nd qf
nint
in a Northumbrian dialect,
the anchorite he fabricated the curious
works that are on the outside, and it adorned
with gold and with gems, also with silver
overgilded, a priceless treasure. ' Billfri—th
is supposed to be a local form of Bilfred. "
Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the the Saints, vol. iii. , March vi. , p. 95. Saints," vol. iii. , March vi. , p. 95. *3 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto-
'
And Billfrith,
and 25th of August,
<° See his Life, at the 20th of March,
*' The head of St. Oswald was alone left
37 His festival belongs to the 9th of Sep-
with St. Cuthbert's remains. The Life of St. Oswald is given, at the 5th of August,
*' "
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's Lives of
"
March 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 205
are here commemorated, had been formerly written. While some writers
have placed their festivals, at the 29th of March, and others, at the 27th of
November, most Calendarists prefer the present date. The Scottish Kalen-
dars have St. Baldred, Bishop and Confessor. Thus, the Kalendar of Aber-
deennoteshimPridieNonasMartii. 44 Likewise,inAdamKing'sKalendar,
weread "S. BaldredebischopofGlascowsuccess,toS. Mugoandcofess. :
vnderKingAidanus. S. Fredolinecof. ScotismovnderAnastasi,''atthe6th "
of March. In Dempster's Menologium Scoticum,'' we find the following notices, at the same date, about Baldred, Bishop of Preston, whose body^s was found by Divine power to appease dissensions among the faithful. ^^ St. Balther was venerated with an office, containing nine Lessons.
Article XVI.
