The reason why the
festival
of our Saints is kept on the 24th of September seems to have arisen from the fact of their 1 when St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
—Reputed Festival of St.
Lolan, Scottish Bishop.
date, Martyrology.
At the of the Bollandists 1 refer to a 23rd September,
which gives a festival to Lolan, a Scottish Bishop ;
Manuscript Kalendar, but, he seems to have
been no other than the Lolan, Bishop and Confessor, of Kincardine, whose feast is generally assigned to the Z2nd of this month, where notices of him have been inserted. 2
ArticleVII. —ReputedFestivalofSt. Hildulph. Atthe23rdof September, the Bollandists notice a festival found in a Manuscript Kalendar
to the Church of St. Saviour
regarding hi—m, the reader is referred —to his Acts, which are given at the nth
belonging
day of July which is his chief feast
at*Antwerp.
particulars
2
Article VIIL—Reputed Festival of St. Kynnera or Canera'
Virgin, at Inis Cathaigh. We know not on what authority, Bishop
1
Challenor has a feast of commemoration for St. Kynnera at Inis Cathaigh.
She led a solitary life of great sanctity, in the South of Ireland. A further
account her be seen at the 28th of 2 the regarding may January,
assigned as that of her chief festival.
day generally
5 This happened during the reign of tomus vi, Septembris xxiii. Among the
Nero, according to the Roman Martyr- ology.
pretermitted feasts, p. 537.
2
See at that date, in the present volume, Art. viii.
6
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
2 6 2
5 > 57-
7 In a note, Dr. Reeves says at the fore-
going passage, which is within brackets, that it has been entered in the more recent hand.
8"
See Martyrologium Romanum," editio
Article vii. — • See " Acta
tomus vi,, Septembris xxiri.
pretermitted feasts, p. 537.
2
Sanctorum," Among the
novissima. NonoKalendas
British Piety," p. 134.
2 In the First Volume of this
Art.
work.
Octobris, p. 142. Article vi. — See "Acta Sanctorum,"
*
x For further
in the Seventh Volume of this work.
Art. i.
Article viii. —' See " A Memorial of
536 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 24.
CtuentiK-fouvtl) JBap of September.
ARTICLE I. —SAINTS CHUNIBALDUS OR CUNIALUUS AND GISLAR1US, PRIESTS AND MISSIONARIES IN BAVARIA.
[SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CENTURIES. }
veneration had been entertained for Saints Chuniald and Gisilar
THAT
in from their own Bavaria,
down to the
is an
acknowledged
age
Various writers have assigned different days for festivals referring to the
present holy companions of St. Rupert, Apostle of Bavaria. In some cases
they are noticed singly, and in others their names are together united. Nor
is it to be understood, that the present day represents the anniversary of their respective deaths.
Acts of Saints Chuniald and Gislar appear to have been prepared by
Colgan, for the 24th of September, as we find from the posthumous list of his
12 MSS. The Bollandists have notices at this date of those Saints, in a
historic Sylloge,3 having pretermitted their Festival, at the 8th of February. * To adopt such a course they were impelled ; because, at the latter date, they had promised to defer their remarks on both to the 24th of September. The Manuscript Florarium Sanctorums in their possession, and Hermann Greuen,6
8
placed their Festivals at the 8th of February. 7 The Petits Bollandistes have notices of St. Chuniald, Cunibald, Chunibald or Kuniald, and of St.
Gisilaire, Gislaire, or Gisibaire, priests and confessors, at the 24th of Septem- ber, which is generally received as the anniversary for the Translation of
"
fact ; yet, no special record of their Acts—if any such existed—now remains.
their relics. In the
Dictionary of Christian Biography,"9 there are b—rief
10 11
of St. Gisilarius or Gizolarius as
Acts of St. Chunialdus, and— Gislarius,
his name is variedly written their periods being assigned to about the
middle of the eighth century.
These holy men are constantly referred to by ecclesiastical writers, as
and fellow-labourers with St. 12 his compatriots Rupert, during missionary
career in Germany ; and hence, accepting the very general tradition there
prevalent regarding the country of their birth, we may suppose it took place in Ireland, at some time about the middle of the seventh century. Among
writers, however, the country of their birth has been questioned. Some have thought—and among these the Bollandist Father Constantine Suyskens—
Article I. —* See •* Actuum Catalogus
erroneously placed Chunibaldi confes- sons. Mengokli militis. Gislarii presbyteri. " 7 See notices of them, at that date, in the Second Volume of the present work, Art. xi. 8 See " Vies des Saints," tome xi. , xxivc
Jour de Septembre, p. 346.
3 Written by Father Constantine 9 Edited by William Smith, D. C. L. ,
soldier,
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine between them, thus :
"
"
Suyskens, S. J. , in twenty-five paragraphs.
ii. , p. 152.
s At the 8th of February it enters " Cuni-
baldi confessoris et Gislarii episcopi. "
Mensium et Dierum ! 2"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Septembris xxiv. De SS. Chunialdo et Gisilario Presbyteris Salisburgi in Ger- mania, pp. 708 to 713.
* See tomus ibid. ,
,0 See vol.
" See vol. ii. , p. 673.
M See his Acts at the 27th of March, in
*
In his Additions to Usuard, Mengold, a
the Third Volume of this work, Art. ii.
present,
is and
strangely
LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A.
i. , p. 535.
September 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 537 that Saints Rupert, with his companions Chuniald and Gisilar, were natives
16 CarolusCointius,1? MatthewRader,18 andothers. That
x 3
St. Rupert a native of Ireland, 15 and this tradition has been chiefly followed,
of Gaul;
yet, the
ancient Life of St.
Rupert,
as
by John Colgan,
old tract relates, that when Theodon, Duke of the Boii, with many of his
nobles and a great number of people, had been baptised by St. Rupert, and
when the of or 20 had been erected, after
bishopric Juvavensis,^ Juvavum,
the death of Theodon, his successor Theodebert entertained a great respect
for the Apostle. Accordingly, having brought many of the Bavarians to the true faith, finding the errors of paganism still prevailing in the kingdom of
21
Noricum, Rupert then sought his country,
to accompany him. Among these are specially named Chunialdus and
22
Gisilar. Withthem,andhisnieceErendrude, RupertreturnedtoSaltzburg.
ThereheappointedherAbbessoveracommunityofreligiouswomen. The others were destined for missionary labour. It is stated, that St. Gisilarius
Thomas sent Gisibar the name he bestows on Gisilar—to Britain, whence he returned with a contingent of holy men to labourintheLord'svineyard. Accordingtoanancienttradition,St. Kuniald
was also a priest and chaplain25 to St. Rupert.
St. Rupert, with his priests, resolved on entering the Noricum territory.
13 The Petits Bollandi^tes, assigning those 20 Juvavum or Juvavium was the residence Saints to the eighth century, and generally of the Roman Governor of the province, following the statements of the great ^and the head-quarters of the fifth cohort of
was
Dempster states,
first — of
Rupert, bishop Saltzburg.
and to St. priest chaplain/3
2* that St.
Rupert
" On les a crus etaient d' origine franque ou germaine. "
Bollandist collection, write
a tort ecossais ou irlandais, tandis qu' —ils
the first legion. Notitia Impcr. 21 "
:
Vies des Saints," tome xi. , xxive Jour de Septembre, p. 346.
14 See "Antiquae Lectiones," tomus vi. , p. 1 107.
15 No doubt, there are fables in that life,
S. Gisilarius, ambo praesbyteri, ambo viri had been baptised by St. Patrick. This sancti) et secum virginum Christi Erndru-
"
videns vir Dei
(S. Rupertus)
Bavaricae
such as the parachronism, that St. Rupert
caused Father Daniel Papebroch, at the 27th of March, when editing the Acts of St. Rupert, to regard that tract as being un- authentic, and therefore he conjectures merely, that those Saints were natives of Gaul or Germany.
16
dam, neptem suam adducens, quasi cum tot luminaribus ad urbem Juvaviensem
regreditur. "
2-
Also, her name is written Krentrudis and Erentrude. Her festival occurs, at the 30th June, at which date her Acts are to be
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," found in the Sixth Volume of this work, xxvii. Martii, Appendix ad Acta S. Ruperti, Art. i.
23
cap. hi. , pp. 767, 768.
17 See Annales, tomus ii. , at A. C 582, Lectiones," tomus vi. , p. 1171.
num. 16. 24 As authorities, he quotes the Martyr- 18 "
Although in Bavaria Sancta," tomus ologium Carthusianum or Canisius, and i. , at p. 40, St. Rupert is said to have been Adam Walasser, However, Father Con-
fromGaul; however,inhisanimadversionsto that passage, in tomus iii. , Rader states, that although Saints Chuniald and Gisilar were sent from eastern France to convert the Norici, yet that all were born in ancient ScotiaorHibernia. Seep. 32.
19 The ancient name of
Juvavia or Juvavum on the left bank of the Ivarus, a town in the interior of Noricum. At an
residence of the native kings of Noricum. See Dr. William Smith's "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography," vol. ii. , p. 103.
stantine Suyskens was unable to verify
such quotations, as he found no similar
entry in the two editions of the German
Martyrology, edited in the name of Canisius,
and to which he had access. Probably,
however, Dempster intended a reference to
the " of Henricus Antiquae Lectiones,"
Canisius, where a Vita S. Ruperti was to be found.
early period,
it seems to have been the
25 See " Canisius,
tomus vi. , p. 1 171.
Antiquae Lectiones,"
Saltzburg
was
edited 1 * makes by Canisius,
where he selected twelve disciples
The passage reads
:
His ita
gestis, digni- tatis culmen jugo Christi se subdidisse, sed
gentilitatis errore plures involutos superesse, ad patriam suam repedavit, et inde cum duodecim ad prsedicandum sibi sociis electis (inter quos erant eximii Kunialdus et
According to Canisius, "Antiquae
26
nian laboured among the Bavarians. See
At a subsequent period, Bishop Corbi-
538 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September24.
Setting out from Juvavum or Saltzburg, they began to preach among the Gentiles, with great zeal and with a success corresponding. After much
labour and long journeyings, the people of that province renounced their errors. A new order of things began to prevail, with a change of heart. Having thus far accomplished the task he had undertaken, Rupert returned to Saltzburg, leaving his missioners to glean the harvest of souls, and giving them to understand, that the time for his own death was then rapidly approaching. Hence we may infer, that Saints Chuniald and Gisilar, among the other labourers in the vineyard, most effectively prosecuted their mission the Norici, who were over to Christ. 26 We have to
regret,
According to Dempster, St. Chunialdus flourished in the year 620,=? while his Gisibarius—the form in which he writes the name of Gisilarius— flourished
28
;
eighth century. Much less is it allowable to state, that St. Gisilar was buried
at Saltzburg, on the 24th of September, about the year 628,29 since the exact date for his death and interment cannot be known with any degree of cer-
tainty.
When St. Virgil3° presided over the See of Saltzburgh he had it in con-
templation to honour our Saints, together with their father in Christ, St. Rupert, by erecting a church of wonderful size, in that city, and this work he commenced in the year 767. It took five years to have it completed, and ready for dedication to St. Rupert, his fellow-countryman.
The reason why the festival of our Saints is kept on the 24th of September seems to have arisen from the fact of their 1 when St.
among
that no further record remains to present their Acts more in detail.
that church in—
honour of St. or
gained
However, it seems much more probable,
in the year 630 or thereabouts.
that neither of our Saints were born in the years thus mentioned, while they flourished a century later. No account of the year when they departed this life has been found but it seems to have been towards the middle of the
translation^
Virgilius
32 dedicat—ed
in the
as it is stated and in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Duke Thassilo. On the day mentioned, and in the same year, the relics of St. Rupert and of his two companions were translated to a new shrine. This translation of
Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S. Bene- mate laudat. "—Mabillon's "Annales Or- dicti," tomus ii. , lib. xx. , sect. , Hi. , dinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxiv. ,
Rupert
Rudpert,
the
Patron,
year 773
their relics is at the 33
placed by Mabillon, year 774, relying
on certain old Annals of Ratisbon. 34 Thenceforward, the episcopal seat was transferred from the monastery of St. Peter, to the church newly built and dedicated to
p. 65.
27 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib, iii. , num. 265, p. 158.
28
See ibid. , lib. vii. , num. 574, p. 309.
29 See Father Stephen White's "Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , p. 44.
30 His festival is kept on the 27th day of
November, where his Life may be found in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
31 "Translatio hsec facta est vm idus Octobris, sed ejus celebritas in sequentem diem a posteris delata, ob officium dedi- cationis, quse pridie ejus diei, id est, vm idus, ita Celebris est, ut totam ejus diei reverentiam exigat. Translati pariter cum sancto Rudberto sancti Kunialdus et Gisila-
rius, ejus presbyteri seu capellani, quorum posteriorem Alcuinus in quodum epigram-
sect, xiv, p. 213.
3Z See his Life, at the 27th of November,
in the Eleventh Volume of this work. He was the eighth bishop in succession at
"'
Dictionary of Christian Biography," by Dr. William Smith and
Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. i, p. 535.
Saltzburg. See
33 At that year he writes
:
" Eodem anno
facta est translatio corporis sancti Rudberti
episcopi Saltzburgensis, ejusque sociorum in
novam ecclesiam, quam Virgilius antistes in ejus honorem extruxerat. Id factum vm Kalendas Octobris, et quidem Tassilonis ducis anno vicessimo sexto, quod veteres annales Ratisponenses puesenti anno con- signant. "—" Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxiv. , sect. Iv. , p. 23a
* Reference is also made to the " Ana- lecta," tomus iv. , p. 476.
September 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 539
St. Rupert. Besides that translation of relics already mentioned, another took place on the same day, in the year 993, when St. Hartwic, said to have
been the twenty-second bishop and twelfth archbishop of Saltzburg, had restored and consecrated the ruined cathedral, having changed the site or furnished new altars. Then the remains of Saints Chuniald and Gisilar
were in the shrine of St. deposited
35
in the
Rupert.
another Archbishop of Saltzburg, named Weichard, is stated to have opened
the tomb of St. Rupert, where lie found the holy Patron's head and relics,
36 togetherwithagreatquantityofthoseoftheBlessedMartin, ofVincentius
Hermetus, martyr, of Chrysanthius and Daria, and of Gislarius. On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he exposed those relics to
the people, reserving to the proximate feast of St. Rupert's translation the dedication of a new altar to him. In it the archbishop deposited and enclosed the relics already mentioned. 37 Here it may be observed, there is no mention of St. Chuniald, which opens a suspicion, that his remains had not been found or identified in the tomb of St. Rupert on the occasion of this opening. Most likely, during the period which elapsed between a. d. 993 and a. d. 131 5, the relics of Chuniald had been confounded with those of the other
Saints,
Another misfortune befel the great church in Saltzburg, which was acci-
dentally destroyed by fire, in the year 1598, while Wolfgang Theodoric was
archbishop. Atfirst,thecathedralwastemporarilyrestored,butitwasfound necessary afterwards to demolish it and build one anew. What chiefly concerns the scope of our work is to trace the relics of our Saints Chuniald and Gislarius, so far as information serves, and this was furnished by Joannes Stainhauserus, who was an interested eye-witness of what occurred on the occasion of removing the Saints' relics from those altars that had suffered from the fire. 39 Wherefore, in 1601 or 1602, the reliquary containing the seven shrines found under the high altar were removed to the elegant Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in the parochial church, which adjoins the
or had been removed on some occasion not now known. 38
35 The following is the account of St. Hartwic's action, as found in the work of
fixed on the right-hand side of St. Rupert's altar, and recounting the names of saints whose relics were inclosed, by Gregory, who, towards the close of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century, had been
"
pora Sanctorum Chunialdi et Gislarii, de-
posuitque ad corpus eorum quandam
Marcus Hansizius :
Transtulit etiam cor-
compatriotae, sancti patris Rudberti die archbishop of Saltzburg. Such is the ac-
o—ctavoKalendasOctobrisannoDCCCCXCiii. " count given by Joannes Stainhauserus, a
"
Germanise Sacrae," tomus ii. , p. 164.
36 Father Suyskens is of opinion, that if the Blessed Martin of Tours be here meant,
his relics could not have been "in magna
"
in St. Rupert's tomb.
37 Such is the narrative of Marcus Han-
sizius in "Germanise Sacrae," tomus ii. , p.
Headds " banc 445- : Lapis impositus
inscriptionem accepit: Anno mcccxv:
viii Calend. Octob. recondite sunt Martin, Vincent, Crisantus, Hermes, Daria Hie hal reliquiae A D. Wichardo and Gisilar. Again, there were six other Archiepiscopo Salzburg. In piano small vessels, not exceeding the size of ink- lapidis incisa erant nomina Sanctorum, bottles : one of these was gold, two were
quantitate
merchant, as related by Hansizius.
39 The substance of this is to be found in the work of Hansizius, who tells us, that within the altar of St. Rupert was found a hollow, formed of square stones, with a flag on which was inscribed, Septem INVENIAS. This being removed, seven square compart- ments of lead were which contained as
seen,
quorum reliquiae subtus cubabant : in medio S. Rupertus et S. Martinus. In primo angulo S. Vincentius, in secundo S.
Hermes, in tertio S. Chrysantus, in quarto S. Daria.
3* However, it is stated, that the name of St. Chuniald had been inscribed on a table,
silver, and three lead ; but there was nothing found to indicate the saints' relics they enclosed. A diligent search was made, even in the cathedral crypt ; but n» more of those sacred remains, that had formerly enriched the Church of St. Rupert, could be discovered.
Again,
year 1315,
many reliquaries of the Saints, Rupert,
54° LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September24.
convent of the Franciscan fathers. 4 Afterwards, they were removed to the aulic oratory of the parochial church, where they rested under an altar formed of ebony and silver. 41 Moreover, it would seem, that many relics of Saints Chuniald and Gislar were preserved in various churches of Saltzburg both before and after the destruction of the Cathedral Church. 42 In an old Manuscript Office belonging to Saltzburg, as also in a Breviary printed when Leonard was archbishop of that See, we find with the Feast of Translation of St. Rupert's Relics, the Commemoration of Saints Chuniald and Gislar. 43
Various dates have been noted for the Festivals of those holy missionaries.
According to Camerarius, St. Chunialdus was venerated in Scotland, on the
21st of 44 Father Fitz-Simon45 announces the festival of February. Henry
Gisilarius for the 10th of alone,
September.
46 At the 12th of
September,
40 Mezgerus, who wrote the " Historia
Salisburgensis," relates this translation, at the year 1602, and says, that the remains of St. Chuniald were removed with others. This is a mistake, but it serves to prove that the local tradition had assigned his interment to have been in St. Rupert's tomb, even to the time of Archbishop Theodoric. See lib. i. , cap. ix.
41 The same work, written towards the
closeoftheseventeenthcentury,states "As- :
servatur hodie corpus S. Gisilarii in loculo
cupreo subtus a—ltare oratoriiaulici apud PP.
Franciscanos. " Ibid. , lib. vi. , inter Collec-
tanea, p. 1093. Regarding the more cele- burgi in Germania. Sylloge Historica, brated relics of the metropolitan Church of
Saltzburg, built by Archbishop Wolfgang Theodoric, and alluding to those in the
" tumba cuprea continetur corpus S. Gisilarii levitae, a Wolffyango Theodorico, destructa ecclesia Cathedrali, anno mdcii. transla- tum. "—Ibid. , p. 1 128. In neither of the foregoing extracts is there any mention of
the relics of St. Chuniald.
num. 14, p. 711.
43 In it is this Antiphon " Fulgebant
Franciscan Church, the author writes :
justi, et tanquam scintillas in arundineto discurrunt, judicabunt nationes et regnabunt in aeternum.
~ft. Sacerdotes tui induant justitiam.
R7. Et sancti tui exultent. Oratio. —Deus, tuorum gloria sacer-
dotum, praesta, quaesumus, ut, qui beatorum confessorum tuorum Chunialdi et Gislarii natalitia colimus eorum auxilium sentiamus. Per Dominum, &c.
Antiphona ad Laudes. Corpora Sanc- torum in pace sepulta sunt,etvivent nomina eorum in aeternum.
Versus et Collecta, ut supra.
Then from the ancient Missal printed at Salzburg, A. D. 1515, we read "Eodem
"
die," the editor adds, Translations S.
Ruperti Kunialdi et Gislarii. " Collecta : Sanctorum Confessorum tuorum, &c, de pluribus confessoribus.
:
44 He writes " S. Chunialdus presbyter
et confessor. Fuit is socius peregrinationis et meriti magniillius Ruperti, Salisburgensis
ecclesiae antistitis, in cujus die translationis, quae ad octavum Kal. Octob. fit, celebratur turn etiam pia Chunialdi memoria, licet in Scotia hoc coleretur die. "—" De Scotorum Pietate," lib, iii.
42 **
In
Mezgerus thus furnishes a list of them : Reliquiae SS. Gislariiet Chunialdi fuere
repositse in sequentibus altaribus.
In summo altari S. Petri anno mcxliii.
Ita Ms. T. sub num. II.
In altari ad S. Crucem anno MCCXXXiv.
Ita Ms. x. sub num. 23.
Reliquiae S. Gislarii tantum.
In altari S Pauli juxta abbatiam anno
mccciv. Ms. t. n. 3,
In altari SS. Trinitatis, nunc Carmeli-
tano, anno mcccxxvi.
date, Martyrology.
At the of the Bollandists 1 refer to a 23rd September,
which gives a festival to Lolan, a Scottish Bishop ;
Manuscript Kalendar, but, he seems to have
been no other than the Lolan, Bishop and Confessor, of Kincardine, whose feast is generally assigned to the Z2nd of this month, where notices of him have been inserted. 2
ArticleVII. —ReputedFestivalofSt. Hildulph. Atthe23rdof September, the Bollandists notice a festival found in a Manuscript Kalendar
to the Church of St. Saviour
regarding hi—m, the reader is referred —to his Acts, which are given at the nth
belonging
day of July which is his chief feast
at*Antwerp.
particulars
2
Article VIIL—Reputed Festival of St. Kynnera or Canera'
Virgin, at Inis Cathaigh. We know not on what authority, Bishop
1
Challenor has a feast of commemoration for St. Kynnera at Inis Cathaigh.
She led a solitary life of great sanctity, in the South of Ireland. A further
account her be seen at the 28th of 2 the regarding may January,
assigned as that of her chief festival.
day generally
5 This happened during the reign of tomus vi, Septembris xxiii. Among the
Nero, according to the Roman Martyr- ology.
pretermitted feasts, p. 537.
2
See at that date, in the present volume, Art. viii.
6
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
2 6 2
5 > 57-
7 In a note, Dr. Reeves says at the fore-
going passage, which is within brackets, that it has been entered in the more recent hand.
8"
See Martyrologium Romanum," editio
Article vii. — • See " Acta
tomus vi,, Septembris xxiri.
pretermitted feasts, p. 537.
2
Sanctorum," Among the
novissima. NonoKalendas
British Piety," p. 134.
2 In the First Volume of this
Art.
work.
Octobris, p. 142. Article vi. — See "Acta Sanctorum,"
*
x For further
in the Seventh Volume of this work.
Art. i.
Article viii. —' See " A Memorial of
536 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 24.
CtuentiK-fouvtl) JBap of September.
ARTICLE I. —SAINTS CHUNIBALDUS OR CUNIALUUS AND GISLAR1US, PRIESTS AND MISSIONARIES IN BAVARIA.
[SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CENTURIES. }
veneration had been entertained for Saints Chuniald and Gisilar
THAT
in from their own Bavaria,
down to the
is an
acknowledged
age
Various writers have assigned different days for festivals referring to the
present holy companions of St. Rupert, Apostle of Bavaria. In some cases
they are noticed singly, and in others their names are together united. Nor
is it to be understood, that the present day represents the anniversary of their respective deaths.
Acts of Saints Chuniald and Gislar appear to have been prepared by
Colgan, for the 24th of September, as we find from the posthumous list of his
12 MSS. The Bollandists have notices at this date of those Saints, in a
historic Sylloge,3 having pretermitted their Festival, at the 8th of February. * To adopt such a course they were impelled ; because, at the latter date, they had promised to defer their remarks on both to the 24th of September. The Manuscript Florarium Sanctorums in their possession, and Hermann Greuen,6
8
placed their Festivals at the 8th of February. 7 The Petits Bollandistes have notices of St. Chuniald, Cunibald, Chunibald or Kuniald, and of St.
Gisilaire, Gislaire, or Gisibaire, priests and confessors, at the 24th of Septem- ber, which is generally received as the anniversary for the Translation of
"
fact ; yet, no special record of their Acts—if any such existed—now remains.
their relics. In the
Dictionary of Christian Biography,"9 there are b—rief
10 11
of St. Gisilarius or Gizolarius as
Acts of St. Chunialdus, and— Gislarius,
his name is variedly written their periods being assigned to about the
middle of the eighth century.
These holy men are constantly referred to by ecclesiastical writers, as
and fellow-labourers with St. 12 his compatriots Rupert, during missionary
career in Germany ; and hence, accepting the very general tradition there
prevalent regarding the country of their birth, we may suppose it took place in Ireland, at some time about the middle of the seventh century. Among
writers, however, the country of their birth has been questioned. Some have thought—and among these the Bollandist Father Constantine Suyskens—
Article I. —* See •* Actuum Catalogus
erroneously placed Chunibaldi confes- sons. Mengokli militis. Gislarii presbyteri. " 7 See notices of them, at that date, in the Second Volume of the present work, Art. xi. 8 See " Vies des Saints," tome xi. , xxivc
Jour de Septembre, p. 346.
3 Written by Father Constantine 9 Edited by William Smith, D. C. L. ,
soldier,
Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine between them, thus :
"
"
Suyskens, S. J. , in twenty-five paragraphs.
ii. , p. 152.
s At the 8th of February it enters " Cuni-
baldi confessoris et Gislarii episcopi. "
Mensium et Dierum ! 2"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Septembris xxiv. De SS. Chunialdo et Gisilario Presbyteris Salisburgi in Ger- mania, pp. 708 to 713.
* See tomus ibid. ,
,0 See vol.
" See vol. ii. , p. 673.
M See his Acts at the 27th of March, in
*
In his Additions to Usuard, Mengold, a
the Third Volume of this work, Art. ii.
present,
is and
strangely
LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A.
i. , p. 535.
September 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 537 that Saints Rupert, with his companions Chuniald and Gisilar, were natives
16 CarolusCointius,1? MatthewRader,18 andothers. That
x 3
St. Rupert a native of Ireland, 15 and this tradition has been chiefly followed,
of Gaul;
yet, the
ancient Life of St.
Rupert,
as
by John Colgan,
old tract relates, that when Theodon, Duke of the Boii, with many of his
nobles and a great number of people, had been baptised by St. Rupert, and
when the of or 20 had been erected, after
bishopric Juvavensis,^ Juvavum,
the death of Theodon, his successor Theodebert entertained a great respect
for the Apostle. Accordingly, having brought many of the Bavarians to the true faith, finding the errors of paganism still prevailing in the kingdom of
21
Noricum, Rupert then sought his country,
to accompany him. Among these are specially named Chunialdus and
22
Gisilar. Withthem,andhisnieceErendrude, RupertreturnedtoSaltzburg.
ThereheappointedherAbbessoveracommunityofreligiouswomen. The others were destined for missionary labour. It is stated, that St. Gisilarius
Thomas sent Gisibar the name he bestows on Gisilar—to Britain, whence he returned with a contingent of holy men to labourintheLord'svineyard. Accordingtoanancienttradition,St. Kuniald
was also a priest and chaplain25 to St. Rupert.
St. Rupert, with his priests, resolved on entering the Noricum territory.
13 The Petits Bollandi^tes, assigning those 20 Juvavum or Juvavium was the residence Saints to the eighth century, and generally of the Roman Governor of the province, following the statements of the great ^and the head-quarters of the fifth cohort of
was
Dempster states,
first — of
Rupert, bishop Saltzburg.
and to St. priest chaplain/3
2* that St.
Rupert
" On les a crus etaient d' origine franque ou germaine. "
Bollandist collection, write
a tort ecossais ou irlandais, tandis qu' —ils
the first legion. Notitia Impcr. 21 "
:
Vies des Saints," tome xi. , xxive Jour de Septembre, p. 346.
14 See "Antiquae Lectiones," tomus vi. , p. 1 107.
15 No doubt, there are fables in that life,
S. Gisilarius, ambo praesbyteri, ambo viri had been baptised by St. Patrick. This sancti) et secum virginum Christi Erndru-
"
videns vir Dei
(S. Rupertus)
Bavaricae
such as the parachronism, that St. Rupert
caused Father Daniel Papebroch, at the 27th of March, when editing the Acts of St. Rupert, to regard that tract as being un- authentic, and therefore he conjectures merely, that those Saints were natives of Gaul or Germany.
16
dam, neptem suam adducens, quasi cum tot luminaribus ad urbem Juvaviensem
regreditur. "
2-
Also, her name is written Krentrudis and Erentrude. Her festival occurs, at the 30th June, at which date her Acts are to be
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," found in the Sixth Volume of this work, xxvii. Martii, Appendix ad Acta S. Ruperti, Art. i.
23
cap. hi. , pp. 767, 768.
17 See Annales, tomus ii. , at A. C 582, Lectiones," tomus vi. , p. 1171.
num. 16. 24 As authorities, he quotes the Martyr- 18 "
Although in Bavaria Sancta," tomus ologium Carthusianum or Canisius, and i. , at p. 40, St. Rupert is said to have been Adam Walasser, However, Father Con-
fromGaul; however,inhisanimadversionsto that passage, in tomus iii. , Rader states, that although Saints Chuniald and Gisilar were sent from eastern France to convert the Norici, yet that all were born in ancient ScotiaorHibernia. Seep. 32.
19 The ancient name of
Juvavia or Juvavum on the left bank of the Ivarus, a town in the interior of Noricum. At an
residence of the native kings of Noricum. See Dr. William Smith's "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography," vol. ii. , p. 103.
stantine Suyskens was unable to verify
such quotations, as he found no similar
entry in the two editions of the German
Martyrology, edited in the name of Canisius,
and to which he had access. Probably,
however, Dempster intended a reference to
the " of Henricus Antiquae Lectiones,"
Canisius, where a Vita S. Ruperti was to be found.
early period,
it seems to have been the
25 See " Canisius,
tomus vi. , p. 1 171.
Antiquae Lectiones,"
Saltzburg
was
edited 1 * makes by Canisius,
where he selected twelve disciples
The passage reads
:
His ita
gestis, digni- tatis culmen jugo Christi se subdidisse, sed
gentilitatis errore plures involutos superesse, ad patriam suam repedavit, et inde cum duodecim ad prsedicandum sibi sociis electis (inter quos erant eximii Kunialdus et
According to Canisius, "Antiquae
26
nian laboured among the Bavarians. See
At a subsequent period, Bishop Corbi-
538 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September24.
Setting out from Juvavum or Saltzburg, they began to preach among the Gentiles, with great zeal and with a success corresponding. After much
labour and long journeyings, the people of that province renounced their errors. A new order of things began to prevail, with a change of heart. Having thus far accomplished the task he had undertaken, Rupert returned to Saltzburg, leaving his missioners to glean the harvest of souls, and giving them to understand, that the time for his own death was then rapidly approaching. Hence we may infer, that Saints Chuniald and Gisilar, among the other labourers in the vineyard, most effectively prosecuted their mission the Norici, who were over to Christ. 26 We have to
regret,
According to Dempster, St. Chunialdus flourished in the year 620,=? while his Gisibarius—the form in which he writes the name of Gisilarius— flourished
28
;
eighth century. Much less is it allowable to state, that St. Gisilar was buried
at Saltzburg, on the 24th of September, about the year 628,29 since the exact date for his death and interment cannot be known with any degree of cer-
tainty.
When St. Virgil3° presided over the See of Saltzburgh he had it in con-
templation to honour our Saints, together with their father in Christ, St. Rupert, by erecting a church of wonderful size, in that city, and this work he commenced in the year 767. It took five years to have it completed, and ready for dedication to St. Rupert, his fellow-countryman.
The reason why the festival of our Saints is kept on the 24th of September seems to have arisen from the fact of their 1 when St.
among
that no further record remains to present their Acts more in detail.
that church in—
honour of St. or
gained
However, it seems much more probable,
in the year 630 or thereabouts.
that neither of our Saints were born in the years thus mentioned, while they flourished a century later. No account of the year when they departed this life has been found but it seems to have been towards the middle of the
translation^
Virgilius
32 dedicat—ed
in the
as it is stated and in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Duke Thassilo. On the day mentioned, and in the same year, the relics of St. Rupert and of his two companions were translated to a new shrine. This translation of
Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S. Bene- mate laudat. "—Mabillon's "Annales Or- dicti," tomus ii. , lib. xx. , sect. , Hi. , dinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxiv. ,
Rupert
Rudpert,
the
Patron,
year 773
their relics is at the 33
placed by Mabillon, year 774, relying
on certain old Annals of Ratisbon. 34 Thenceforward, the episcopal seat was transferred from the monastery of St. Peter, to the church newly built and dedicated to
p. 65.
27 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib, iii. , num. 265, p. 158.
28
See ibid. , lib. vii. , num. 574, p. 309.
29 See Father Stephen White's "Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , p. 44.
30 His festival is kept on the 27th day of
November, where his Life may be found in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
31 "Translatio hsec facta est vm idus Octobris, sed ejus celebritas in sequentem diem a posteris delata, ob officium dedi- cationis, quse pridie ejus diei, id est, vm idus, ita Celebris est, ut totam ejus diei reverentiam exigat. Translati pariter cum sancto Rudberto sancti Kunialdus et Gisila-
rius, ejus presbyteri seu capellani, quorum posteriorem Alcuinus in quodum epigram-
sect, xiv, p. 213.
3Z See his Life, at the 27th of November,
in the Eleventh Volume of this work. He was the eighth bishop in succession at
"'
Dictionary of Christian Biography," by Dr. William Smith and
Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. i, p. 535.
Saltzburg. See
33 At that year he writes
:
" Eodem anno
facta est translatio corporis sancti Rudberti
episcopi Saltzburgensis, ejusque sociorum in
novam ecclesiam, quam Virgilius antistes in ejus honorem extruxerat. Id factum vm Kalendas Octobris, et quidem Tassilonis ducis anno vicessimo sexto, quod veteres annales Ratisponenses puesenti anno con- signant. "—" Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxiv. , sect. Iv. , p. 23a
* Reference is also made to the " Ana- lecta," tomus iv. , p. 476.
September 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 539
St. Rupert. Besides that translation of relics already mentioned, another took place on the same day, in the year 993, when St. Hartwic, said to have
been the twenty-second bishop and twelfth archbishop of Saltzburg, had restored and consecrated the ruined cathedral, having changed the site or furnished new altars. Then the remains of Saints Chuniald and Gisilar
were in the shrine of St. deposited
35
in the
Rupert.
another Archbishop of Saltzburg, named Weichard, is stated to have opened
the tomb of St. Rupert, where lie found the holy Patron's head and relics,
36 togetherwithagreatquantityofthoseoftheBlessedMartin, ofVincentius
Hermetus, martyr, of Chrysanthius and Daria, and of Gislarius. On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he exposed those relics to
the people, reserving to the proximate feast of St. Rupert's translation the dedication of a new altar to him. In it the archbishop deposited and enclosed the relics already mentioned. 37 Here it may be observed, there is no mention of St. Chuniald, which opens a suspicion, that his remains had not been found or identified in the tomb of St. Rupert on the occasion of this opening. Most likely, during the period which elapsed between a. d. 993 and a. d. 131 5, the relics of Chuniald had been confounded with those of the other
Saints,
Another misfortune befel the great church in Saltzburg, which was acci-
dentally destroyed by fire, in the year 1598, while Wolfgang Theodoric was
archbishop. Atfirst,thecathedralwastemporarilyrestored,butitwasfound necessary afterwards to demolish it and build one anew. What chiefly concerns the scope of our work is to trace the relics of our Saints Chuniald and Gislarius, so far as information serves, and this was furnished by Joannes Stainhauserus, who was an interested eye-witness of what occurred on the occasion of removing the Saints' relics from those altars that had suffered from the fire. 39 Wherefore, in 1601 or 1602, the reliquary containing the seven shrines found under the high altar were removed to the elegant Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in the parochial church, which adjoins the
or had been removed on some occasion not now known. 38
35 The following is the account of St. Hartwic's action, as found in the work of
fixed on the right-hand side of St. Rupert's altar, and recounting the names of saints whose relics were inclosed, by Gregory, who, towards the close of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century, had been
"
pora Sanctorum Chunialdi et Gislarii, de-
posuitque ad corpus eorum quandam
Marcus Hansizius :
Transtulit etiam cor-
compatriotae, sancti patris Rudberti die archbishop of Saltzburg. Such is the ac-
o—ctavoKalendasOctobrisannoDCCCCXCiii. " count given by Joannes Stainhauserus, a
"
Germanise Sacrae," tomus ii. , p. 164.
36 Father Suyskens is of opinion, that if the Blessed Martin of Tours be here meant,
his relics could not have been "in magna
"
in St. Rupert's tomb.
37 Such is the narrative of Marcus Han-
sizius in "Germanise Sacrae," tomus ii. , p.
Headds " banc 445- : Lapis impositus
inscriptionem accepit: Anno mcccxv:
viii Calend. Octob. recondite sunt Martin, Vincent, Crisantus, Hermes, Daria Hie hal reliquiae A D. Wichardo and Gisilar. Again, there were six other Archiepiscopo Salzburg. In piano small vessels, not exceeding the size of ink- lapidis incisa erant nomina Sanctorum, bottles : one of these was gold, two were
quantitate
merchant, as related by Hansizius.
39 The substance of this is to be found in the work of Hansizius, who tells us, that within the altar of St. Rupert was found a hollow, formed of square stones, with a flag on which was inscribed, Septem INVENIAS. This being removed, seven square compart- ments of lead were which contained as
seen,
quorum reliquiae subtus cubabant : in medio S. Rupertus et S. Martinus. In primo angulo S. Vincentius, in secundo S.
Hermes, in tertio S. Chrysantus, in quarto S. Daria.
3* However, it is stated, that the name of St. Chuniald had been inscribed on a table,
silver, and three lead ; but there was nothing found to indicate the saints' relics they enclosed. A diligent search was made, even in the cathedral crypt ; but n» more of those sacred remains, that had formerly enriched the Church of St. Rupert, could be discovered.
Again,
year 1315,
many reliquaries of the Saints, Rupert,
54° LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September24.
convent of the Franciscan fathers. 4 Afterwards, they were removed to the aulic oratory of the parochial church, where they rested under an altar formed of ebony and silver. 41 Moreover, it would seem, that many relics of Saints Chuniald and Gislar were preserved in various churches of Saltzburg both before and after the destruction of the Cathedral Church. 42 In an old Manuscript Office belonging to Saltzburg, as also in a Breviary printed when Leonard was archbishop of that See, we find with the Feast of Translation of St. Rupert's Relics, the Commemoration of Saints Chuniald and Gislar. 43
Various dates have been noted for the Festivals of those holy missionaries.
According to Camerarius, St. Chunialdus was venerated in Scotland, on the
21st of 44 Father Fitz-Simon45 announces the festival of February. Henry
Gisilarius for the 10th of alone,
September.
46 At the 12th of
September,
40 Mezgerus, who wrote the " Historia
Salisburgensis," relates this translation, at the year 1602, and says, that the remains of St. Chuniald were removed with others. This is a mistake, but it serves to prove that the local tradition had assigned his interment to have been in St. Rupert's tomb, even to the time of Archbishop Theodoric. See lib. i. , cap. ix.
41 The same work, written towards the
closeoftheseventeenthcentury,states "As- :
servatur hodie corpus S. Gisilarii in loculo
cupreo subtus a—ltare oratoriiaulici apud PP.
Franciscanos. " Ibid. , lib. vi. , inter Collec-
tanea, p. 1093. Regarding the more cele- burgi in Germania. Sylloge Historica, brated relics of the metropolitan Church of
Saltzburg, built by Archbishop Wolfgang Theodoric, and alluding to those in the
" tumba cuprea continetur corpus S. Gisilarii levitae, a Wolffyango Theodorico, destructa ecclesia Cathedrali, anno mdcii. transla- tum. "—Ibid. , p. 1 128. In neither of the foregoing extracts is there any mention of
the relics of St. Chuniald.
num. 14, p. 711.
43 In it is this Antiphon " Fulgebant
Franciscan Church, the author writes :
justi, et tanquam scintillas in arundineto discurrunt, judicabunt nationes et regnabunt in aeternum.
~ft. Sacerdotes tui induant justitiam.
R7. Et sancti tui exultent. Oratio. —Deus, tuorum gloria sacer-
dotum, praesta, quaesumus, ut, qui beatorum confessorum tuorum Chunialdi et Gislarii natalitia colimus eorum auxilium sentiamus. Per Dominum, &c.
Antiphona ad Laudes. Corpora Sanc- torum in pace sepulta sunt,etvivent nomina eorum in aeternum.
Versus et Collecta, ut supra.
Then from the ancient Missal printed at Salzburg, A. D. 1515, we read "Eodem
"
die," the editor adds, Translations S.
Ruperti Kunialdi et Gislarii. " Collecta : Sanctorum Confessorum tuorum, &c, de pluribus confessoribus.
:
44 He writes " S. Chunialdus presbyter
et confessor. Fuit is socius peregrinationis et meriti magniillius Ruperti, Salisburgensis
ecclesiae antistitis, in cujus die translationis, quae ad octavum Kal. Octob. fit, celebratur turn etiam pia Chunialdi memoria, licet in Scotia hoc coleretur die. "—" De Scotorum Pietate," lib, iii.
42 **
In
Mezgerus thus furnishes a list of them : Reliquiae SS. Gislariiet Chunialdi fuere
repositse in sequentibus altaribus.
In summo altari S. Petri anno mcxliii.
Ita Ms. T. sub num. II.
In altari ad S. Crucem anno MCCXXXiv.
Ita Ms. x. sub num. 23.
Reliquiae S. Gislarii tantum.
In altari S Pauli juxta abbatiam anno
mccciv. Ms. t. n. 3,
In altari SS. Trinitatis, nunc Carmeli-
tano, anno mcccxxvi.
