165
circumstances are collected together by Colgan,^ who places their acts at this day, but hardly on the authority of our native calendars.
circumstances are collected together by Colgan,^ who places their acts at this day, but hardly on the authority of our native calendars.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
"
M
102 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January to.
distinction at the loth of January, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. s Likewise Maelodhrain's festival occurs in the Martyrolo'g}' of Donegal/ on this same day. In the death of this just man, religion lost a great and true soldier, who, in the seclusion of a monastery, showed how the good fight could be fought in this world, and how the most enduring victories for earth and heaven could be achieved.
Article VI. —St. Paul, a Monk and a Disciple of St. Patrick or
OF St. Fiach of Sletty. [Fifth or Sixth Century^ This holy man is called
amonk,andheis setdownamongthedisciplesofSt. Patrick,byColgan, who promised to treat of him at the loth day of January. This promise,
however, appears to have been forgotten, at the present date. Most likely it was fulfilled at the 25th of January. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, a certain Paul is enumerated among the disciples of St. Fiach of Domhnach- Fiac, or of Sletty. At the former place he appears to have lived for some time. ' Two miles south of Wicklow town, in the county of the same name, there were an old church and a graveyard, now obliterated, and called Kilpoole, or Paul's Church. It may not be easy, nevertheless, to identify this spot with the present saint. *
Article VII. —St. Seanog, or Moshenoc. It is possible, we may have
losttheoriginaletymon,applicabletothepresentsaint. IntheMartyrology of Donegal' we find Seanog recorded on to-day. This saint's name is also
Latinized, Senilis. ' In the Martyrology of Tallagh, edited by the Rev. D—r. Kelly,3 this servant of God is entered as Mo-Shenoc,* or " My Shenoc," an indication of endearment thus being affixed to the simple name.
Article VIII. —The Blessed Eochaid O'Kelly, Bishop of Meath.
[EleventhandTwelfthCenturies. ^ Inearlytimes,asinourown,theprelatesand pastors of Ireland have commended the doctrines and practices of the Church to
the people's religious sympathies. Colgan says this holy and learned man was
venerated on the loth of January. ' He is styled the chief head of the men
of Meath, and the most distinguished bishop of all Ireland. This renowned
man must have been born about the middle of the eleventh century. His
immediate predecessors in the see of Meath would seem to have been either
Fiachry, the most holy Elder of Clonard and Meath, who died a. d. 1135, or
Gilla-Christ, otherwise called Christian O'Hagan, Comorban of Finian, who
died A. D. 1136. ^ Therefore, the present illustrious prelate could have only
filled the see not more than four or five years. Short as was the term of
incumbency, few could resist the charm of his persuasive accents, and many
had been incited to virtue or rec—laimed from vice by his gentle, tender piety.
**
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii. In the Franciscan copy ITIelo'onini is the form. This is the last Irish saints entry, on the first page of the MS.
'
As you live, so shall you die" this was singularly exemplified in the death
* Edited —Drs. Todd and by
Art. vn. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 13.
' See ibid. , pp. 466, 467. 3 See p. xii.
In the Franciscan is copy tnofhetioc
Reeves, p. 13. Art. VI. See "Trias Thaumaturga. "
found. — Art. Vlil.
' See"Trias
"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xxii. ,
Thaumaturga, ad Acta S. Columbae, cap.
pp. 152, 153, n. 42, p. 185, and Quinta Appen- "
Quinta
iv. , sees. 1. , ii. , p. 507.
' See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Bishops of Meath," p. 140.
dixad "Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267. ' For further observations regarding him, the reader is referred to the 2Sth of January.
Appendix
January ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 163
the vigilant bishop, who passed away to glory eternal, after he had fulfilled every known duty. . He died a. d. i 140, according to Dr. O'Donovan's Annals
of the Four Masters,3 at Durrow, in the King's County, and at an advanced age.
Article IX. —Feast of. the Translation of St Wasnulf's Relics. For a fuller account of this saint, the reader is referred to his Acts, at the ist of October. ThefeastofthetranslationofSt. Wasnulph'srelics"hadbeenobserved at Condet or Conde—a town in Hannonia—and from a very remote period, on the loth of January. About the year 1539, it was celebrated after the manner of a greater double, owing to the liberality and foundation of a certain Master NicholasMairisie,formerlyacanonoftheCollegiateChurchatConde. About the year 1584, a confraternity or sodality, named from St. , Wasnulph or Was- nulf, was instituted by Henry Hector, Pastor of Conde, he having obtained consent from the chapter of the place. The Archbishop of Cambray gave his sanction, that the celebration of this feast should be on the loth of January. It is thought, after the fury of the Northman invasion had passed over, that the relics of St. Wasnulf had been transferred from the Church of St. Bertin of Sithen, to his own proper church. About this time and afterwards, it was usual in many places to commemorate the translations of saints' reHcs. '' Such is the account, as furnished by John Boreau, the Dean of Conde, a very learned man,andonehavingagreatvenerationforSt. Wasnulf. Thisholymanwas a native of Ireland or a Scot by race, as many old chroniclers relate.
ekbetttlb ©ap of Saatuarp*
ARTICLE I. —THE HOLY VIRGINS, ST. ETHNEA AND ST. FEDELMIA, DAUGHTERS OF KING LAOIGHAIRE.
[FIFTH CEN7UR V. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—KING LAOIGHAIRE—HIS DAUGHTERS, ETHNEA THE FAIR, AND FEDELMIA THE ROSY—THEIR FOSTERAGE AND ABSENCE FROM TARA, WHEN ST. PATRICK PREACHED BEFORE THE IRISH STATE ASSEMBLY—VARIATIONS OF NARRATIVE IN REFERENCE TO THE ACTS OF THESE HOLY SISTERS.
the most poetical and edifying incidents of early Irish ecclesias-
AMONG
guidance, which brought those pure-minded maidens to hold an unexpected interview with the great messenger of salvation, when engaged on his wonderful progress through this island. The Almighty rules not the affairs of His universe, nor of men, by any blind chance ; nor are we to deem as romantic and idle stories various narratives of miraculous conversions, or
3 See vol. —ii. , pp. 1062, 1063. translations occurring about the same period,
"
Art IX. See Colgan's Acta Sancto- and in places not far apart from Conde, by
rum Hibemise," x. Januarii, De S. Was- John Boreau, who quotes Molanus as an
nulphi, Ep. Translatione, pp. 50,51. authority. Boreau wrote a little tract re-
'
Various instances are given of similar garding St. Wasnulf.
tical we read worthier our attention than that Providential history, nothing
'
x64 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJVTS. [January ii.
the marvellous effects procured on holy converts. The manifestations of God's grace are mysterious, even to those who experience them. Those noble virgins, commemorated on this day, were like exquisite flowers, which bloom in beauty, cast fragrance around them, and perish on earth, while their odours are exhaled to higher air. Ranked with the foremost to em- brace' the faith, and to long for the coming of their Heavenly Bridegroom, they were early votaries among the distinguished daughters of Erin, who at once went forth having their lamps trimmed and brightly gleaming. The first fruits of native sanctity, eagerly they imbibed the spirit of those Divine wordsspokentothem. AsspousesofourLordJesusChrist,theyhastened in a transport of zeal and love, to be united with Him forever in the kingdom
of His heavenly glory.
A very remarkable monarch of Ireland was King Laoighaire, who suc-
ceeded to the throne a. d. 428, on the death of King Dathi,' killed by lightning among the Alps. Laighaire was son to the celebrated Niall of the Nine Hostages, and he reigned for ^thirty years. He was father to Ethnea and Fedelmia, who doubtless in early life had been imbued with the Druidic teaching, and the superstitious rites of their insulated gentilism. Those children were remarkable for their extraordinary beauty, and their dispositions and intellectual capacity were alike amiable and admirable. They grew up, as an old writer phrases it, like roses flourishing in a rose-bed. ^
It would not appear they resided in their fathers court, at that time when St. Patrick preached, about a. d. 433, before the king and his as- sembled nobles. On the contrary, it is likely those young princesses were
at fosterage, with a provincial potentate, and in a distant part of the kingdom, according to a custom very prevalent from remote times in Ireland. Ethnea is said to have been so called, because of her fair and clear complexion ; while Fedelmia was known as the ruddy or rosy,3 owing to the graceful blushes of youth and innocence adorning her person. * It is said these accidental advantages of nature gave origin to their names ; while the spirit and originality of their native language, and the genius of their subject people, aptly affixed descriptive force to objective reality. Many ancient writers of St. Patrick's Acts relate the particulars of St. Ethnea's and St. Fedelmia's conversion. Certain variations of their names and the incidents recorded are admitted by different writers. s The concurrent or discordant
Art. I. —Chap. i. —'It is somewhat re- markable that the monument of this King Dathi is shown at Rathcroghan, and near the very spot where St. Patrick met the daughters of King Laoighaire. There is an interesting historical and legendary ac-
As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted, But yet a union in partition. "
—See *' A Midsummer Dream,"
act iii. , scene ii.
^L. Tachet de Barneval designates them
Dathi and his descendants in " The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowda's
Country," edited by John O'Donovan, pp. 17 to 35, with corresponding notes.
"This must remind the English classical reader of Shakespeare's lines and imagery,
count of
King
Night's
applied by one maiden to another
:
Legendaire de ITrlande," chap, iv. , p. 34.
• Aubrey De Vere has written a poem, regarding St. Patrick and the Two Prin- cesses, Fedel—m, " the Red Rose," and Ethna,
of St.
"the Fair. " See "Legends Patrick,"
pp. 51 to 59.
s The chief authorities for their acts are
" Like two artificial gods Have with our neelds created both one
flower,
Both on one sampler, sitting on one
cushion,
Both vv^rbling of one song, both in one
key;
" Tertia Vita S. Patricii. cap. xlvii. , xlviii. , p. 25. Quarta Vita S.
in the French language,
Aethene la
Blanche et Fethle la Rose," see
Histoire
to be found successively in Colgan's "
Trias
Thaimiaturga.
"
"
January n. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
165
circumstances are collected together by Colgan,^ who places their acts at this day, but hardly on the authority of our native calendars. The ancient
Franciscan copy of the Tallagh? Martyrology appears to have only the entry of Fedelma, virgin, at this date,^ However, Probus has remarked that, St Patrick and his successors in after time were accustomed to celebrate the memory of these holy virgins. 9 The most ancient account we possess of the circumstances relating to the conversion of King Laeghaire's daughters is probably that given by Tirechan, which bears internal evidence of high
antiquity, and which was A\Titten when Paganism had not wholly disappeared from the country. '"
CHAPTER II.
ETHNEA AND FEDELMIA NURTURED AND EDUCATED BY THE DRUIDS, MAEL AND CAPLIT —THESE ENDEAVOUR TO OBSTRUCT THE PREACHING OF ST. PATRICK—HE VISITS CROGHAN AND THE FOUNTAIN OF CLIABACH—THE KING'S DAUGHTERS MEET THE APOSTLE AND HIS CLERICS—THEY HEAR HIS SERMON AND BECOME CONVERTS.
It is most likely, in accord with a prevailing custom of their age and nation, that persons of distinguished rank, such as those princesses held, should be
assigned to the direction of guardians and of teachers, who might be capable
of protecting them, and of imparting such knowledge or training as befitted their royal station. ' Nor can we conceive instructors more likely to be charged with this trast than the Druids or priests of the pagan Irish, who were addicted to literary pursuits, and whose offices gave them a hold over the superstitious reverence of kings, nobles, and people. We are assured, that the Magi brothers, Mael and Caplit, fostered the two daughters of King Laeghaire from their very infancy. These were initiated to the mysteries of Druidism, as seems very probable, from the nature of those discourses pronounced by them, when first they met St. Patrick. One fanciful account states, that their guardian Magi, much fearing the approach of this holy
Patricii, cap. llv. , Iv. , Ivi. , Ivii. , p. 42. Quinta Vita S. Pati-icii, lib. ii. , cap. xiii. ,
vTta S^'^iPaS cap. ^^S! '; Ivl'. , pp. 77 '78^ Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap! xliv. ,
xlv, xlvi. , pp. 135, 136. The present
narrative has been chiefly compiled from a
combination of the foregoing accounts.
A li-Ggipc An fubA UAnic wac vn&f^ ITlAi^e.
^' "'• '^- SfwT^. °V^'J'^'^^^^'^''
^
Januarii, De BB. VV. Ethnea et Fedel-
J""^ \^
^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^°" «f ^^^^y-
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xvii,, p. 58.
•" See this account in Dr. Todd's " St. Patrick,ApostleofIreland,"chap,iii. , pp.
451 to 456. — Chap. ii.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xi.
mia, pp. 54 to 56. And again at xvi. Februarii,pp. 415,416.
^ Even it is only possible to decipher the letters. . . oebmA Ui|\. The published copy has Feidelmai. See Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xii.
^ On this day, we find no mention of these virgins, or of any other Irish saint, in the Feilire of St. ^ngus, as may be seen in the following Irish stanza and its English trans- lation, supphed by Professor O'Looney : —
t). 111. I'D. CyvocVi 11- iTiAyvd-p perAi^ CoriA fiuAg tAn 5Aile
'It seems
ladies were at this time temporary wards of
host of
valour
perfect From Egypt pleasant joyful
the King of Connaught, who resided at
Rathcroghan, in the parish of Elphin and county of Roscommon. The remarkable group of antiquities here to be seen have been noticed by John O'Donovan in the " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Roscom- mon, collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. , pp. 191 to 198.
likely
the
royal
i66 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January ii.
herald of the Gospel," produced by magic art a dense darkness, which pre- vailed for three days, and as many nights, over the whole plain of Hai,3 where they dwelt. St. Patrick prayed, however, that the efforts of his opponents might not succeed, and that Christian light should shine upon the people. Then those dark clouds broke away, and a beautiful white light shone around on every side, to the great admiration of all persons.
About the year a. d. 433, or soon afterwards,^ St. Patrick approached Croghan,s the royal residence of the Connaught Kings. Near it was a foun-
tain,^ denominated Cliabach,? lying towards the east. ^ According to custom,
at an early hour, St. Patrick, and a great number of clerics accompanying
went to this somewhere — Their him, fountain, adjoining Rathcroghan. 9
object was to celebrate the Divine praises doubtless after the form pre- scribed in their psalteries and offices. Those holy seniors were clothed in white robes, and books were in their hands. Those clerics, too, so distinct in mien and garb from inhabitants of the land, might be taken for beings of a different order by the superstitious pagans. '" Early on this morning, the sun having just risen, the young princesses went to bathe in that clear fountain, on the margin whereof they found St. Patrick sitting ^vith other holy men. Regarding his countenance and garb, they were struck with wonder, and
*Probus says, St. Patrick came "per alveum fluminis Synonae," which indicates he crossed the River Shannon, or perhaps held his course along its banks as he pro- ceeded.
3 This seems to have been the ancient name for the rich and beautiful region of Roscommon, and which was afterwards called Machaire Chonnacht, or "the plain of Connaught. "
* Rev. P. J. Carew says, St. Patrick em- ployed almost three years preaching the
"
the well where King Laoighaire's daughters were baptized must have been in Ogulla, a small parish near Tulsk. Perhaps there is a local tradition to that effect. The situation
Gospel in the vicinity of Tarah. See clesiastical History of Ireland," chap, iii. , p. 9a
5 There is a village and townland of
Croghan in the parish of Killukin, barony of Boyle, county of Roscommon ; but al- though some objects of interest are to be found there, it was not the royal residence for Connaught. See its site on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 10. The true place was Rath or Riagh Croghan, in this same county, and in the barony of Roscommon, a few miles from Belanegar. See Isaac Weld's "Statistical Survey of the County of Roscommon," pp. 284, 285. In the parish of Elphin, in this same county,
nance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Roscommon," Sheets 22, 23, 28.
In the towTiland denomination of Ogulla, two wells near graveyards are marked on the first of these sheets, and lakes border on other parts, as may be seen on the second sheet.
7 There is a townland denomination Cleagh- beg, on the River Suck, near Ballinasloe, in the parish of Creagh, barony of Moycam, and county of Roscommon. See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 53. This, however, is not likfly to have been the site of Cliabach.
*Probus, while adhering to the same position, calls this fountain Dabach. See
"
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Quinta
Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xiv. , p. 53. Afterwards, however, he writes it Clebach.
9 The ancient pagan name of this place seems to have been Oenach Cruachan, and here was one of the royal cemeteries of Ireland. See a curious account of this lo- cality, taken from a very old document, in Dr. Petrie's "Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland," &c. , part i. , sect, iii. , pp. 100 to 107. Dr. O'Donovan describes, likewise, the modem appearance of various objects at
''
this place, in his edition of
Four Masters," vol. iii. , n. (r), pp. 204 to 206.
"Tirechan says the virgins found Patrick at the well with a synod of Bishops ; yet the author evidently means not a synod properly so called, but only an assembly or a com- pany. See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , pp. 451, 452.
St. Patrick's Well and Lough Patrick are "
indicated on the Ordnance Survey Town-
land Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 22. These seem to lie on the direct course which St. Patrick took on his way to Croghan. On this same sheet and on Sheet 21 are shown, likewise, the various remark- able mounds, antiquities, and holy wells, about Rathcroghan.
'In a letter, addressed to the writer, by Very Rev. Joseph McTucker, P. P. , Boyle, and V. G. of Elphin diocese, dated October i6th, 1873, he expresses an opinion, that
Annals of the
Ec-
of the parish will be found on the
"
Ord-
January ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . 167
inquired about his birth and residence, taking him for an apparition. They imagined himself and his companions to be spectral gods or sidhe. " But the saint admonished them rather to believe in his God, than to inquire about his descent or his dweUing-place. Then the damsels, desiring to know
more assuredly of God, earnestly questioned regarding his power, riches, and
" Who is God ? Where does He your
The elder
dwell ? Whether is He in the skies or under them ? Does He dwell on earth ? Is He to be found in the mountains, or in the valleys, in the sea, or in rivers ? Hath He sons beautiful in form and appearance ? Doth He possess gold and silver, or doth His kingdom abound in all manner of wealth? By what, sort of worship is He to be adored? Is He young or is He old ? Are his years to fail after a definite period, or are they to be lasting ? "" These were the natural outpourings of a curiosity and Want of Christian knowledge in such youthful maidens, and eagerly they listened to Patrick's reply. From such questions, also, we may probably infer, that the pagan deities of Ireland were topical beings or serial genii, supposed to inhabit the mountains, plains, rivers, and fountains. ^3 The saint instructed them in the Catholic faith, truly affirming God to be the Creator and ruler oftheheavensandtheearth,thesea,andofallthatistherein; thatHehad one Son, with Himself co-eternal, co-equal, and consubstantial, everywhere reigning, governing all things, possessing all things. He also promised them that they should exchange an earthly and a transitory kingdom for a heavenly and an eternal kingdom ; for that if they obeyed his counsel, they should be united with the celestial King, in a pure and an indissoluble union. St.
glory.
daughter asked,
Patrick said " Our God is the God of all the God of heaven and earth
:
;; the God of seas and rivers ; the God of sun, moon, and stars ; the God of
mountainheightsandvalleydepths; Godabovetheheavens,inheaven,and under heaven. Many mansions He has, heaven, earth, sea, and all these contain. From Him the sun and moon, these luminaries of the world, have their light. On earth He produced ranges of mountains, rivers, and foun- tains, with beautiful islands in the sea. From nothing He created all things, visible and invisible. He sustains all, inspires all, vivifies all ; He has a Son congenital with the Father, and neither is the Father prior to the Son, nor the Son later in time than the Father. Nor is the Holy Spirit separated from the Father and the Son, but he proceeds from the Father and the Son, co-eternal with and equal to both persons. Yet, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are not three Gods, but one God, true, holy, and omnipotent. Those three persons are one and united. Wherefore, as you are the daughters of a temporal king, it is meet and just, that your thoughts and
eyes should be drawn away from perishable things to those that are eternal, from things lowly to those that are above, and that your nuptials, chaste and
" in which the had been trained as princesses
"See "Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga.
Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xlviii. , p. 25. Gentiles. See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick,
The term itself, meaning "Fairies," has
reference to a very old Irish superstition.
These immaterial beings were supposed to
inhabit pleasant raths and rounded hills,
un-ler which they lived. The daughters of
King Laoighaire thought St. Patrick and
his companions belonged to this fanciful
race of beings.
M
102 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January to.
distinction at the loth of January, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. s Likewise Maelodhrain's festival occurs in the Martyrolo'g}' of Donegal/ on this same day. In the death of this just man, religion lost a great and true soldier, who, in the seclusion of a monastery, showed how the good fight could be fought in this world, and how the most enduring victories for earth and heaven could be achieved.
Article VI. —St. Paul, a Monk and a Disciple of St. Patrick or
OF St. Fiach of Sletty. [Fifth or Sixth Century^ This holy man is called
amonk,andheis setdownamongthedisciplesofSt. Patrick,byColgan, who promised to treat of him at the loth day of January. This promise,
however, appears to have been forgotten, at the present date. Most likely it was fulfilled at the 25th of January. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, a certain Paul is enumerated among the disciples of St. Fiach of Domhnach- Fiac, or of Sletty. At the former place he appears to have lived for some time. ' Two miles south of Wicklow town, in the county of the same name, there were an old church and a graveyard, now obliterated, and called Kilpoole, or Paul's Church. It may not be easy, nevertheless, to identify this spot with the present saint. *
Article VII. —St. Seanog, or Moshenoc. It is possible, we may have
losttheoriginaletymon,applicabletothepresentsaint. IntheMartyrology of Donegal' we find Seanog recorded on to-day. This saint's name is also
Latinized, Senilis. ' In the Martyrology of Tallagh, edited by the Rev. D—r. Kelly,3 this servant of God is entered as Mo-Shenoc,* or " My Shenoc," an indication of endearment thus being affixed to the simple name.
Article VIII. —The Blessed Eochaid O'Kelly, Bishop of Meath.
[EleventhandTwelfthCenturies. ^ Inearlytimes,asinourown,theprelatesand pastors of Ireland have commended the doctrines and practices of the Church to
the people's religious sympathies. Colgan says this holy and learned man was
venerated on the loth of January. ' He is styled the chief head of the men
of Meath, and the most distinguished bishop of all Ireland. This renowned
man must have been born about the middle of the eleventh century. His
immediate predecessors in the see of Meath would seem to have been either
Fiachry, the most holy Elder of Clonard and Meath, who died a. d. 1135, or
Gilla-Christ, otherwise called Christian O'Hagan, Comorban of Finian, who
died A. D. 1136. ^ Therefore, the present illustrious prelate could have only
filled the see not more than four or five years. Short as was the term of
incumbency, few could resist the charm of his persuasive accents, and many
had been incited to virtue or rec—laimed from vice by his gentle, tender piety.
**
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii. In the Franciscan copy ITIelo'onini is the form. This is the last Irish saints entry, on the first page of the MS.
'
As you live, so shall you die" this was singularly exemplified in the death
* Edited —Drs. Todd and by
Art. vn. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 13.
' See ibid. , pp. 466, 467. 3 See p. xii.
In the Franciscan is copy tnofhetioc
Reeves, p. 13. Art. VI. See "Trias Thaumaturga. "
found. — Art. Vlil.
' See"Trias
"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xxii. ,
Thaumaturga, ad Acta S. Columbae, cap.
pp. 152, 153, n. 42, p. 185, and Quinta Appen- "
Quinta
iv. , sees. 1. , ii. , p. 507.
' See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Bishops of Meath," p. 140.
dixad "Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267. ' For further observations regarding him, the reader is referred to the 2Sth of January.
Appendix
January ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 163
the vigilant bishop, who passed away to glory eternal, after he had fulfilled every known duty. . He died a. d. i 140, according to Dr. O'Donovan's Annals
of the Four Masters,3 at Durrow, in the King's County, and at an advanced age.
Article IX. —Feast of. the Translation of St Wasnulf's Relics. For a fuller account of this saint, the reader is referred to his Acts, at the ist of October. ThefeastofthetranslationofSt. Wasnulph'srelics"hadbeenobserved at Condet or Conde—a town in Hannonia—and from a very remote period, on the loth of January. About the year 1539, it was celebrated after the manner of a greater double, owing to the liberality and foundation of a certain Master NicholasMairisie,formerlyacanonoftheCollegiateChurchatConde. About the year 1584, a confraternity or sodality, named from St. , Wasnulph or Was- nulf, was instituted by Henry Hector, Pastor of Conde, he having obtained consent from the chapter of the place. The Archbishop of Cambray gave his sanction, that the celebration of this feast should be on the loth of January. It is thought, after the fury of the Northman invasion had passed over, that the relics of St. Wasnulf had been transferred from the Church of St. Bertin of Sithen, to his own proper church. About this time and afterwards, it was usual in many places to commemorate the translations of saints' reHcs. '' Such is the account, as furnished by John Boreau, the Dean of Conde, a very learned man,andonehavingagreatvenerationforSt. Wasnulf. Thisholymanwas a native of Ireland or a Scot by race, as many old chroniclers relate.
ekbetttlb ©ap of Saatuarp*
ARTICLE I. —THE HOLY VIRGINS, ST. ETHNEA AND ST. FEDELMIA, DAUGHTERS OF KING LAOIGHAIRE.
[FIFTH CEN7UR V. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—KING LAOIGHAIRE—HIS DAUGHTERS, ETHNEA THE FAIR, AND FEDELMIA THE ROSY—THEIR FOSTERAGE AND ABSENCE FROM TARA, WHEN ST. PATRICK PREACHED BEFORE THE IRISH STATE ASSEMBLY—VARIATIONS OF NARRATIVE IN REFERENCE TO THE ACTS OF THESE HOLY SISTERS.
the most poetical and edifying incidents of early Irish ecclesias-
AMONG
guidance, which brought those pure-minded maidens to hold an unexpected interview with the great messenger of salvation, when engaged on his wonderful progress through this island. The Almighty rules not the affairs of His universe, nor of men, by any blind chance ; nor are we to deem as romantic and idle stories various narratives of miraculous conversions, or
3 See vol. —ii. , pp. 1062, 1063. translations occurring about the same period,
"
Art IX. See Colgan's Acta Sancto- and in places not far apart from Conde, by
rum Hibemise," x. Januarii, De S. Was- John Boreau, who quotes Molanus as an
nulphi, Ep. Translatione, pp. 50,51. authority. Boreau wrote a little tract re-
'
Various instances are given of similar garding St. Wasnulf.
tical we read worthier our attention than that Providential history, nothing
'
x64 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJVTS. [January ii.
the marvellous effects procured on holy converts. The manifestations of God's grace are mysterious, even to those who experience them. Those noble virgins, commemorated on this day, were like exquisite flowers, which bloom in beauty, cast fragrance around them, and perish on earth, while their odours are exhaled to higher air. Ranked with the foremost to em- brace' the faith, and to long for the coming of their Heavenly Bridegroom, they were early votaries among the distinguished daughters of Erin, who at once went forth having their lamps trimmed and brightly gleaming. The first fruits of native sanctity, eagerly they imbibed the spirit of those Divine wordsspokentothem. AsspousesofourLordJesusChrist,theyhastened in a transport of zeal and love, to be united with Him forever in the kingdom
of His heavenly glory.
A very remarkable monarch of Ireland was King Laoighaire, who suc-
ceeded to the throne a. d. 428, on the death of King Dathi,' killed by lightning among the Alps. Laighaire was son to the celebrated Niall of the Nine Hostages, and he reigned for ^thirty years. He was father to Ethnea and Fedelmia, who doubtless in early life had been imbued with the Druidic teaching, and the superstitious rites of their insulated gentilism. Those children were remarkable for their extraordinary beauty, and their dispositions and intellectual capacity were alike amiable and admirable. They grew up, as an old writer phrases it, like roses flourishing in a rose-bed. ^
It would not appear they resided in their fathers court, at that time when St. Patrick preached, about a. d. 433, before the king and his as- sembled nobles. On the contrary, it is likely those young princesses were
at fosterage, with a provincial potentate, and in a distant part of the kingdom, according to a custom very prevalent from remote times in Ireland. Ethnea is said to have been so called, because of her fair and clear complexion ; while Fedelmia was known as the ruddy or rosy,3 owing to the graceful blushes of youth and innocence adorning her person. * It is said these accidental advantages of nature gave origin to their names ; while the spirit and originality of their native language, and the genius of their subject people, aptly affixed descriptive force to objective reality. Many ancient writers of St. Patrick's Acts relate the particulars of St. Ethnea's and St. Fedelmia's conversion. Certain variations of their names and the incidents recorded are admitted by different writers. s The concurrent or discordant
Art. I. —Chap. i. —'It is somewhat re- markable that the monument of this King Dathi is shown at Rathcroghan, and near the very spot where St. Patrick met the daughters of King Laoighaire. There is an interesting historical and legendary ac-
As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted, But yet a union in partition. "
—See *' A Midsummer Dream,"
act iii. , scene ii.
^L. Tachet de Barneval designates them
Dathi and his descendants in " The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowda's
Country," edited by John O'Donovan, pp. 17 to 35, with corresponding notes.
"This must remind the English classical reader of Shakespeare's lines and imagery,
count of
King
Night's
applied by one maiden to another
:
Legendaire de ITrlande," chap, iv. , p. 34.
• Aubrey De Vere has written a poem, regarding St. Patrick and the Two Prin- cesses, Fedel—m, " the Red Rose," and Ethna,
of St.
"the Fair. " See "Legends Patrick,"
pp. 51 to 59.
s The chief authorities for their acts are
" Like two artificial gods Have with our neelds created both one
flower,
Both on one sampler, sitting on one
cushion,
Both vv^rbling of one song, both in one
key;
" Tertia Vita S. Patricii. cap. xlvii. , xlviii. , p. 25. Quarta Vita S.
in the French language,
Aethene la
Blanche et Fethle la Rose," see
Histoire
to be found successively in Colgan's "
Trias
Thaimiaturga.
"
"
January n. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
165
circumstances are collected together by Colgan,^ who places their acts at this day, but hardly on the authority of our native calendars. The ancient
Franciscan copy of the Tallagh? Martyrology appears to have only the entry of Fedelma, virgin, at this date,^ However, Probus has remarked that, St Patrick and his successors in after time were accustomed to celebrate the memory of these holy virgins. 9 The most ancient account we possess of the circumstances relating to the conversion of King Laeghaire's daughters is probably that given by Tirechan, which bears internal evidence of high
antiquity, and which was A\Titten when Paganism had not wholly disappeared from the country. '"
CHAPTER II.
ETHNEA AND FEDELMIA NURTURED AND EDUCATED BY THE DRUIDS, MAEL AND CAPLIT —THESE ENDEAVOUR TO OBSTRUCT THE PREACHING OF ST. PATRICK—HE VISITS CROGHAN AND THE FOUNTAIN OF CLIABACH—THE KING'S DAUGHTERS MEET THE APOSTLE AND HIS CLERICS—THEY HEAR HIS SERMON AND BECOME CONVERTS.
It is most likely, in accord with a prevailing custom of their age and nation, that persons of distinguished rank, such as those princesses held, should be
assigned to the direction of guardians and of teachers, who might be capable
of protecting them, and of imparting such knowledge or training as befitted their royal station. ' Nor can we conceive instructors more likely to be charged with this trast than the Druids or priests of the pagan Irish, who were addicted to literary pursuits, and whose offices gave them a hold over the superstitious reverence of kings, nobles, and people. We are assured, that the Magi brothers, Mael and Caplit, fostered the two daughters of King Laeghaire from their very infancy. These were initiated to the mysteries of Druidism, as seems very probable, from the nature of those discourses pronounced by them, when first they met St. Patrick. One fanciful account states, that their guardian Magi, much fearing the approach of this holy
Patricii, cap. llv. , Iv. , Ivi. , Ivii. , p. 42. Quinta Vita S. Pati-icii, lib. ii. , cap. xiii. ,
vTta S^'^iPaS cap. ^^S! '; Ivl'. , pp. 77 '78^ Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap! xliv. ,
xlv, xlvi. , pp. 135, 136. The present
narrative has been chiefly compiled from a
combination of the foregoing accounts.
A li-Ggipc An fubA UAnic wac vn&f^ ITlAi^e.
^' "'• '^- SfwT^. °V^'J'^'^^^^'^''
^
Januarii, De BB. VV. Ethnea et Fedel-
J""^ \^
^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^°" «f ^^^^y-
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xvii,, p. 58.
•" See this account in Dr. Todd's " St. Patrick,ApostleofIreland,"chap,iii. , pp.
451 to 456. — Chap. ii.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xi.
mia, pp. 54 to 56. And again at xvi. Februarii,pp. 415,416.
^ Even it is only possible to decipher the letters. . . oebmA Ui|\. The published copy has Feidelmai. See Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xii.
^ On this day, we find no mention of these virgins, or of any other Irish saint, in the Feilire of St. ^ngus, as may be seen in the following Irish stanza and its English trans- lation, supphed by Professor O'Looney : —
t). 111. I'D. CyvocVi 11- iTiAyvd-p perAi^ CoriA fiuAg tAn 5Aile
'It seems
ladies were at this time temporary wards of
host of
valour
perfect From Egypt pleasant joyful
the King of Connaught, who resided at
Rathcroghan, in the parish of Elphin and county of Roscommon. The remarkable group of antiquities here to be seen have been noticed by John O'Donovan in the " Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Roscom- mon, collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. , pp. 191 to 198.
likely
the
royal
i66 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January ii.
herald of the Gospel," produced by magic art a dense darkness, which pre- vailed for three days, and as many nights, over the whole plain of Hai,3 where they dwelt. St. Patrick prayed, however, that the efforts of his opponents might not succeed, and that Christian light should shine upon the people. Then those dark clouds broke away, and a beautiful white light shone around on every side, to the great admiration of all persons.
About the year a. d. 433, or soon afterwards,^ St. Patrick approached Croghan,s the royal residence of the Connaught Kings. Near it was a foun-
tain,^ denominated Cliabach,? lying towards the east. ^ According to custom,
at an early hour, St. Patrick, and a great number of clerics accompanying
went to this somewhere — Their him, fountain, adjoining Rathcroghan. 9
object was to celebrate the Divine praises doubtless after the form pre- scribed in their psalteries and offices. Those holy seniors were clothed in white robes, and books were in their hands. Those clerics, too, so distinct in mien and garb from inhabitants of the land, might be taken for beings of a different order by the superstitious pagans. '" Early on this morning, the sun having just risen, the young princesses went to bathe in that clear fountain, on the margin whereof they found St. Patrick sitting ^vith other holy men. Regarding his countenance and garb, they were struck with wonder, and
*Probus says, St. Patrick came "per alveum fluminis Synonae," which indicates he crossed the River Shannon, or perhaps held his course along its banks as he pro- ceeded.
3 This seems to have been the ancient name for the rich and beautiful region of Roscommon, and which was afterwards called Machaire Chonnacht, or "the plain of Connaught. "
* Rev. P. J. Carew says, St. Patrick em- ployed almost three years preaching the
"
the well where King Laoighaire's daughters were baptized must have been in Ogulla, a small parish near Tulsk. Perhaps there is a local tradition to that effect. The situation
Gospel in the vicinity of Tarah. See clesiastical History of Ireland," chap, iii. , p. 9a
5 There is a village and townland of
Croghan in the parish of Killukin, barony of Boyle, county of Roscommon ; but al- though some objects of interest are to be found there, it was not the royal residence for Connaught. See its site on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 10. The true place was Rath or Riagh Croghan, in this same county, and in the barony of Roscommon, a few miles from Belanegar. See Isaac Weld's "Statistical Survey of the County of Roscommon," pp. 284, 285. In the parish of Elphin, in this same county,
nance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Roscommon," Sheets 22, 23, 28.
In the towTiland denomination of Ogulla, two wells near graveyards are marked on the first of these sheets, and lakes border on other parts, as may be seen on the second sheet.
7 There is a townland denomination Cleagh- beg, on the River Suck, near Ballinasloe, in the parish of Creagh, barony of Moycam, and county of Roscommon. See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 53. This, however, is not likfly to have been the site of Cliabach.
*Probus, while adhering to the same position, calls this fountain Dabach. See
"
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Quinta
Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xiv. , p. 53. Afterwards, however, he writes it Clebach.
9 The ancient pagan name of this place seems to have been Oenach Cruachan, and here was one of the royal cemeteries of Ireland. See a curious account of this lo- cality, taken from a very old document, in Dr. Petrie's "Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland," &c. , part i. , sect, iii. , pp. 100 to 107. Dr. O'Donovan describes, likewise, the modem appearance of various objects at
''
this place, in his edition of
Four Masters," vol. iii. , n. (r), pp. 204 to 206.
"Tirechan says the virgins found Patrick at the well with a synod of Bishops ; yet the author evidently means not a synod properly so called, but only an assembly or a com- pany. See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," chap, iii. , pp. 451, 452.
St. Patrick's Well and Lough Patrick are "
indicated on the Ordnance Survey Town-
land Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheet 22. These seem to lie on the direct course which St. Patrick took on his way to Croghan. On this same sheet and on Sheet 21 are shown, likewise, the various remark- able mounds, antiquities, and holy wells, about Rathcroghan.
'In a letter, addressed to the writer, by Very Rev. Joseph McTucker, P. P. , Boyle, and V. G. of Elphin diocese, dated October i6th, 1873, he expresses an opinion, that
Annals of the
Ec-
of the parish will be found on the
"
Ord-
January ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . 167
inquired about his birth and residence, taking him for an apparition. They imagined himself and his companions to be spectral gods or sidhe. " But the saint admonished them rather to believe in his God, than to inquire about his descent or his dweUing-place. Then the damsels, desiring to know
more assuredly of God, earnestly questioned regarding his power, riches, and
" Who is God ? Where does He your
The elder
dwell ? Whether is He in the skies or under them ? Does He dwell on earth ? Is He to be found in the mountains, or in the valleys, in the sea, or in rivers ? Hath He sons beautiful in form and appearance ? Doth He possess gold and silver, or doth His kingdom abound in all manner of wealth? By what, sort of worship is He to be adored? Is He young or is He old ? Are his years to fail after a definite period, or are they to be lasting ? "" These were the natural outpourings of a curiosity and Want of Christian knowledge in such youthful maidens, and eagerly they listened to Patrick's reply. From such questions, also, we may probably infer, that the pagan deities of Ireland were topical beings or serial genii, supposed to inhabit the mountains, plains, rivers, and fountains. ^3 The saint instructed them in the Catholic faith, truly affirming God to be the Creator and ruler oftheheavensandtheearth,thesea,andofallthatistherein; thatHehad one Son, with Himself co-eternal, co-equal, and consubstantial, everywhere reigning, governing all things, possessing all things. He also promised them that they should exchange an earthly and a transitory kingdom for a heavenly and an eternal kingdom ; for that if they obeyed his counsel, they should be united with the celestial King, in a pure and an indissoluble union. St.
glory.
daughter asked,
Patrick said " Our God is the God of all the God of heaven and earth
:
;; the God of seas and rivers ; the God of sun, moon, and stars ; the God of
mountainheightsandvalleydepths; Godabovetheheavens,inheaven,and under heaven. Many mansions He has, heaven, earth, sea, and all these contain. From Him the sun and moon, these luminaries of the world, have their light. On earth He produced ranges of mountains, rivers, and foun- tains, with beautiful islands in the sea. From nothing He created all things, visible and invisible. He sustains all, inspires all, vivifies all ; He has a Son congenital with the Father, and neither is the Father prior to the Son, nor the Son later in time than the Father. Nor is the Holy Spirit separated from the Father and the Son, but he proceeds from the Father and the Son, co-eternal with and equal to both persons. Yet, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are not three Gods, but one God, true, holy, and omnipotent. Those three persons are one and united. Wherefore, as you are the daughters of a temporal king, it is meet and just, that your thoughts and
eyes should be drawn away from perishable things to those that are eternal, from things lowly to those that are above, and that your nuptials, chaste and
" in which the had been trained as princesses
"See "Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga.
Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xlviii. , p. 25. Gentiles. See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick,
The term itself, meaning "Fairies," has
reference to a very old Irish superstition.
These immaterial beings were supposed to
inhabit pleasant raths and rounded hills,
un-ler which they lived. The daughters of
King Laoighaire thought St. Patrick and
his companions belonged to this fanciful
race of beings.
