It would seem, that his
early education had been neglected, supposing this to have been the man to whom allusion has been made.
early education had been neglected, supposing this to have been the man to whom allusion has been made.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Four Masters," vol.
i.
, pp.
496, 497.
38"
Theentry thus runs : pAC]\icii hofdArxH Ajjur Ab -Atvoma.
4 Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xviii. Februarii. De S. Patricio Ostiario, n.
12, p. 366.
s See James Wills' " Lives of Iliustricfrs
See the Polychronicon," edited by Rev. Joseph Rawson Lumby, B. D. , vol. v. , lib. v. , cap. iv. , pp. 304 to 307.
'See James Wills' "Lives of Illustrious
and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Seeond Period, p. 224.
2 which
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3*» early Christian times,10 and to have erected there a penitential resort, which
afterwards became famous. 11 very
Again,
Dabeoc I3 lived there after St. Patrick, while he was celebrated for his virtues
and the austerity of his life. He is also regarded as the first to have built a monastery and a cell there. Besides, he is recognised as the chief patron of
x 3 On Saint's or St. where it is Davog's Island,
he
while there is
a paved way or old road from the graveyard of Templecarn to that point in
the townland of Seedavoge, that juts into the lough, close upon the island. 1 * The first accounts we have regarding the Purgatory of St. Patricks are sup- posed to have been composed at no very early date. About the middle of the twelfth lived the monk of 16 in
Lough Derg.
was buried, still the outlines of several ruins may be traced ;
supposed
century Henry Saltery, Huntingdonshire, England, who heard from another English monk, Gilbert of Lud, the story
of an Irish soldier named Owen. 1 ?
The latter related many wonderful
things that had happened to him, and the visions he beheld in the cavern of
St. Patrick, on St. Daveog's Island on Lough Derg. These visions were
committed to of 18 and different versions of them
writing by Henry Saltery,
were soon circulated in Ireland, the British Islands, and throughout
1
Europe. ? Those accounts are classed among the sources whence Dante
derived some of his poetic ideas for writing the Divina Comedia. 20 Several Treatises on the Purgatory of St. Patrick are to be found, not only in our chief publicLibrariesathome,butalsointhoseontheContinent. Thus,inthe
maturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxii. , p. 103.
16
He seems to have flourished in the time of King Stephen. This tract is addressed to the Abbot Henry de Sartis.
17 He was cellarer to the monastery built by Gilbert de Luda.
18 He states likewise, he had assurance of
the truth of these visions by an Irish bishop,
one of the companions of St. Malachi, and who told several similar stories.
J9ThenarrativeofSt. Patrick'sPurgatory
has been printed in almost every language
of Europe.
20 See Ozanam's " GEuvres Completes,"
Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles, there are such tracts ;
there is a large vellum folio, bound in wood, and attributed to the pen of f* Henricus Saltereyensis. " It is said to have been written at the commence-
10
See the Third Volume of this work, at
the 17th of March, Art. i. , the Life of Saint
Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland,
chap. xiv.
11
However, the Purgatory of St. Patrick is not mentioned in any of his early Lives.
12
See an account of him at the 1st of
January, on the 24th of July, and at the 16th of December. These three distinct festivals were formerly observed in his honour at Lough Derg.
13 For the fullest accounts of this cele- brated island, the reader is referred to Very
Rev. Daniel O'Connor's
''
Lough Derg and
its Pilgrimages. "
14 "This neck was anciently connected tome v. Des 9ources Poetiques de la Divine
with the island by a wooden bridge sup- Comedie, sect, iii. , p. 437.
ported by stone pillars, a part . of which can 21 In the Eighth Volume of Manuscripts,
— which is a Collectanea" yet be seen when the water is clear. " large folio, appear "
William James Doherty's " Inis-Owen and of the Lives and Acts of Saints for the Tirconnell : Notes, Antiquarian and Topo- month of March ; probably, it formed part
graphical," First Series, sect, xxxix. , p. 201.
of the Bollandist collection, although it has not their library mark. In the 3201 num- ber, stated in the " Inventaire " to be " Vita S. Patricii," under this title will be found four different lives of the Saint. The second
15 In the twelfth century, as Jocelyn re-
lates, there was a Purgatory of St. Patrick
on the very summit of Cruachan-aigle, and
to which pilgrims resorted to perform works life bears date 1641, and the third is ex- of penance, in fasting and in watching, to tracted from Camden. There are also two escape the gates of hell, through the merits copies of the "Purgatory;" the first, "ex and prayers of St. Patrick. " Referunt MS. Hiber. Min. Lovanii " and the
etiam nonnulli, qui pernoctaverant ibi, se tormenta gravissima fuisse perpessos, quibus
se purgatos a peccatis putant, unde et qui- dam illorum locum illam Purgatorium S.
; other, "ex MS. Maximini Treveris. " This volume has been recently bound, and Mr. Bindon was unable to discover any name or date,
&c, indicating the compiler, or wh«re it was Patricii vocant. "—Colgan's "Trias Thau- written.
it is that St. Beoc or stated,
ai
and, among these,
358 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
ment of the fourteenth 21 there is a Treatise in old French,9* century. Again,
the commencement of which is ornamented with a drawing of the Purga-
tory 24 representing the souls in torment. 25 ,
At Salmansweiler Convent, Wurtemburg, there is a Manuscript Purgatorium Sancti Patricii Episcopi ; as likewise two others,33 having relation to what
happened to a certain George of Hungary, in the Imperial Library at Vienna. The Vision of Tundal 3* likewise seems to have been framed on this model, and it soon became known on the Continent of Europe. 35 The Purgatory
6
of St. Patrick is described in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine^ and it is printed for the greater part in Matthew of Paris. 37 This subject is very fully treated by Father John Colgan, who lived in that part of Ireland in which Lough Derg is situated, and who gives a special account of the mode and prescriptions for carrying out" the exercises of the pilgrims thither, in his own time. 38 Our saint is numbered amongst the Patron Saints of the Church of Trim, in Meath County, by the Martyrology of Tallagh. 39 This holy man is said to have been buried at Trim, with eighteen other saints, whose memories are venerated on the 17th February, and on the 24th of August/ At the latter date, his feast is said to have been inserted in the Martyrology of Sarum. 41 The published Martyrology of Tallagh states, at the 24th of August, that Patrick, surnamed Ostiarius, had been Abbot of Armagh,42 while he is distinguished from another St. Patrick, who is like-
28 at St.
2* at
burg,* there are various Manuscripts describing the Purgatory of St. Patrick.
Basel,
2? at 2
Berne,
Gall,
Geneva,*
at 1 and at Wurtz- Heilsbronn,*
23 It is classed Vol. xxiii. , No. 7806. The last piece in this volume is a copy of
34 Mr. Turnbull has published the "Vision of Tundale, together with metrical morali- zationand other fragments of ancient Poetry," Edinburgh, 1843.
the "
ing thus :
It has no illuminations, nor could Mr. Bindon find any trace of the Irish character or language.
Purgatory "
of St. Patrick," commenc- Patri suo peroptato in Christo. "
33 In the volume xxvii will be found No. 9035, which is a French translation of the
plurimum censoria castigatione : usque acieo
ofSt. Patrick,and de fois allant demander. "
"Moult
ad rem pertinere non potissimum
Purgatory
begins,
quod
videant offendi possit. " Lugduni et Parr-
34 The dimensions of this drawing are
about four inches by two and a-half : it is
rather well executed, but it presents nothing remarkable in appearance.
2s
This MS. is of the fifteenth century.
26 There is one MS. intituled, S. Patricii Episcopi in Hibernia constituti circa A. D. 430, Liber de Purgatorio ; and another,
hisiis, 1505, 4to.
37 See "Chronica Majora," vol. ii. , pp.
192 to 263. Edited by Henry Richards
Luard, M. A.
38" "
See Trias Thaumaturga Sexta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii. This Treatise
is divided into four parts, with a Prologue
and Notes, pp. 273 to 289.
3'At the xiii. of the Kalends of March (Feb-
ruary 17th), the following entry occurs, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh : " Loman in Ath Truim cum sociis, i. e. ,
Patricii Hostiarii, Laurech mac Cuanach, Fortchern ocus Coelochtra, Aedha, Aedha, Aedha Cormaci Eps, Conani, Cuimaeni Eps, Lacteani sac, Ossani, ocus Sarani Conaill ocus Colmani, ocus Lactani Eps, Finnseghi Vir. Hi omnes in Ath Truim requiescunt . " —Rev. Dr. Kelly's "Calendar of Irish Saints," &c, p. xvi.
40 "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxvii. Februarii, nn. 13 and 16, p.
Patricius S. Irland, de
27 There is a MS. , De Patricii Purgatorio.
98
There is a French MS. of the fifteenth
century, Le Purgatoire de S. Patrice.
39 There is a MS. , Patricii Purgatorium.
30 There is a Description du Purgatoire de St. Patrice, in Manuscript.
31 There is a MS. , Patricius de Purgatorio.
33 There is a MS. , David Scotus de Pur- gatorio Patricii.
33 One is a MS. , " Historia eorum quae
contingerunt Georgio de Ungaria filio cujus-
dam in S. Magnatis Ungarici Purgatorio
Purgatorio.
Patricii. Visiones Georgii militis in purga-
tioni S. Patricii. " Again, there is "Nar- 366.
ratio Georgii Hungari S. Patricii Purga- toriorium in Hibernia visitante, Anno 1353," Germanice.
41 See James Wills' "Lives of Illustrious
and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part ii. , p. 224.
In the Libraries at Bamberg,26 at
55 See ibid. , p. 458.
"
36 See Jacobus de Voragine,
ut nihil perperam adhibitum semotumve :
haec aurea nitidis excutitur formis claretque
Legenda
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 359
wise venerated on this day. We do not find this saint's name occurring at
either of these days, in the copy of the Irish Calendar, formerly belonging to the Ordnance Survey Office, Phoenix Park. Neither is it to be met with, in
the Martyrology of Donegal. ^
Article III. —St. Rodan, Bishop of Kill-Rodan, County of Sligo.
[FifthCentury^ Thisholymanissupposedtohaveflourishedintheearly
times of Irish Christianity. Although the Martyrology of Tallagh has cele-
brated his festival, at the 18th of l January ;
2 At
taker of cattle, and while leading that pastoral or eremitical life, he was
constantly engaged in prayer. From that humble position, St. Patricks rescued him, to serve in the works of his great mission.
It would seem, that his
early education had been neglected, supposing this to have been the man to whom allusion has been made. After learning the rudiments, when he had been sufficiently instructed, from being a tender of flocks, Rodan became a spiri-
tual shepherd. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, he is styled the noble pres- byter Rodan,* and a church was erected for him, and for other disciples,5 in theterritoryofHuaNoella,6bytheillustriousApostleofIreland. Thatregion is now represented by the modern barony of Tirerrill, in the present County of Sligo. There, in a place called Domhacha,? St. Patrick erected a church, whichwentbythenameofSencheallDumhaighe. Amongthedisciplesof St. Patrick, we meet with a saint of this name. He is called Bishop of Seancheall, in Connaught. 8 His feast has been assigned to the 24th of August. 9 It is also probable, that he was the Bishop of Rodan of Muraisk, 10 a district in the barony of Tireagh, and county of Sligo. It extended from the Rive—r Easkey to Dunnacoy. 11 He was set over the church of Kill- Rodain called after him—in the former territory of Myresch-aigle. " At present, the site of Kill-Rodain has not been discovered, nor is it known how long he lived in that place. In the Irish Life of St. Patrick, his church in
yet,
more correct to follow the authority of Marianus O'Gorman, and to place St.
Rodan's feast at the of 24th
August.
first,
he was a or care- shepherd
42 At the ix. of the Kalends of September,
August 24th, we there find, separate entries of two distinct Patricks, who are placed in different lines, and, in the following order : "PatriciiAbbocusEp. Riusdela. " After- wards, "Patricii hostiarii ocus Abb, Aird- macha. " SeeRev. Dr. Kelly's"Catalogue of Irish Saints," &c, p. xxxii.
« Published by Rev. Drs. Todd and
l
Seewhathasbeenalready stated regarding St. Rottan, venerated at l8th of January, in the First Volume of this
6 Likewise known as Tir-Oilella, the land
or territory of Oilell. See " The Topo-
graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," edited
by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , n. 254, p. xxxvi.
7InthedistrictofMurrisk,thereisstilla townland called Dunheakin.
8 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix, and Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
» See ibid.
Reeves. — Articlehi.
work, Art. vi.
2 11
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 150, p. 115.
plain," in English.
See John O'Donovan's teabhar* tia
8
See his Life, March xvii. , in the Third
Volume of this Art. work,
12 See
" Trias
xiii.
4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. Hi. ,
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xli. , P- 135-
s Besides St. Rodan, the noble priest, are
named Macetus, Cetchenus, and Matona, O'Donovan astray, in his " Genealogies, the sister of Benignus. To Matona, St. Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, Patrick and St. Rodan gave the veil of commonly called O'Dowda's Country. " virginity, and to the care of Rodan she was Addenda, P. , n. (q), p. 471.
committed. '3 See Miss M. F. Cusack's " Life of St.
i. , chap.
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
10
we are that it is informed,
Muirisc in Irish signifies the "Sea-
3-CeA|\c, or the Book of Rights, n. (e), p. 19.
p. 136, and cap. xcix. , pp. 142, 143. This, however, is a wrong interpretation, as that Myresch-Aigle was in Mayo. It also led Dr.
360
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 24.
T
Muirisk is called Cillespuig-Rodain 3 and in an Irish Poem, quoted in the ;
1
Annals of the Four Masters, * the present holy man is called Rodan, son of
Braga, while he is described as St. Patrick's shepherd. This holy bishop,
during his life, and also after his death, was distinguished by miraculous 1
favours,procuredthroughhismerits. * ItismentionedintheMartyrologyof Marianus O'Gorman, as also in that of Donegal,16 how a festival in honour of Rodan, a Bishop, was celebrated at this date. The name of Rodan is found Latinized Romulus, in some Calendars.
Article IV. —St. Merchard or Yarchard, of Kincardine, Scot-
land. [Probably Fifth or Sixth Century. '] The present holy man is found among the Saints of Scotland ; but, we are doubtful as to whether or not his origin should be referred to Ireland. Under various forms of name, such as Merchard, Yarchard, Irchard, Erthad, and Erchad, he is presented to our notice. The Bollandists have the fullest statements regarding him, at the
13
24th day of August. These are contained in a historic Sylloge, consisting
of eleven paragraphs. However, the Breviary of Aberdeen, which was
printed in the year 1509, is alleged to be their chief authority for his Acts.
Already, at the 24th of July, Dempster has placed the festival of this holy
bishop, named Erthad,3 and his Natalis is also set down at this date.
Ferrarius has followed such statement4 By Camerarius, Erchadus or
Erthadus is noticed, at the 24th of Augusts Again, a learned Scotch Jesuit,
Father Patrick Ninian Wemyss, had given a Scottish Menology to the
Bollandists, and in it was found, at this same date, the name of Bishop
Erthad, which he states to have been thus entered in the Scotch Festilogies.
Bishop Forbes has some biographical particulars regarding Merchard or
6
Yarchard ;
and, on the authority of the Aberdeen Breviary, this Irchardus
is stated to have been born in in Kincardin 8 Tolmaid,? Oneyll, among
barbarous and untaught people. There from his early days, he rebuked unbelievers, and he preached virtue. He likewise addicted himself to the practices of prayer, vigils and fasting. He was ordained a Priest by St. Ternan,' who made him coadjutor and penitentiary, in all the provinces
under his 10 It is jurisdiction.
stated,
that soon Yarchard went afterwards,
» The Bollandists remark, that this place was unknown to them.
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. " William M. Hennessy's translation of the Tripartite Life, part ii. , p. 2.
14 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , at A. D. 448, pp. 138, 139.
15 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cxlii. , p. 96.
8
western district of Aberdeenshire. It com- prehends all the upper part of the basin of the River Dee, as much of the central portion of that basin as belongs to Aberdeenshire, a small part of the lower portion of that basin, and a small part of the right side of the central portion of the basin of the Don. See " The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, Topo- graphical, Statistical and Historical," vol. ii. , p. 223.
9 His festival is kept, on the I2th of June. At that date, notices of him may be found, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. ii.
century, and he was the disciple of St. Palladius, who became Apostle of the Picts, in 431, as may be seen in Acts of the latter, at the 6th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this work,
Art. i.
" This statement, to be found in the
16
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
"
226, 227. —* Article iv.
Acta Sanctorum," De S. Irchardo, seu Ethardo vel Erchado, Ep. et Conf. in Scotia,
PP- 773. 774-
2
Compiled by Father William Cuper, SJ. 3 See a notice in the Seventh Volume of
this work, at that date, Art. xiii.
lib. Hi. , p. 168.
6
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," PP- 397. 466.
See tomus iv. , Augusti xxiv.
4 In "
Generalis Sanctorum. " 5 In his book, " De Scotorum Fortitudine, Doctrina, Pietate, ac de Ortu et Progressu Hseresis in Regnis Scotias et Anglise,"
,0 St. Ternan lived in the fifth
Catalogus
Kincardine-O'Neil forms the south-
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 361
to Rome, where he was consecrated bishop by Pope Gregory," who gave him faculties for a mission in his own country, and who bestowed his
blessing, when the saint took his departure. On returning to Scotland, he passed through the province of Pictavia or Poitou in Gaul. " There he found many of the Picti or natives of Poitou, who had been subjugated by the Galli. He remained among those people for three years. St. Yarchard was the instrument chosen by the Almighty for restoring them to their
belief,^ owing to the prudence and sanctity he manifested, and as due also 1
to his spirit of faith and prayer. * Afterwards, he fell sick, but he humbly besought God to spare his life, until he returned to his own country. He
passed through the countries of Anglia and of Scotia, and preached along the way. At length, he came to the hill of Kincardine Oneyll. There he
to heavenly delights, his most pure life was prolonged in the presence of Christ, so that he obtained the lasting and great happiness of life eternal. 16 When St. Yarchard -perceived that his death was approaching, he desired his body to be placed in a chariot drawn by two horses. His remains were ordered to be deposited where the chariot stopped. When this order was obeyed, and the corpse had been deposited on the chariot, it is said to have moved to a considerable distance beyond the River Dee, when mechanically itceasedtoproceed. Therethebodywastakenfromthebierandinterred.
1
In that place, called Kincardin, ? a fine church was afterwards erected, and
there the Saint was specially venerated, as it had been considered the spot miraculously designed for his sepulture. Besides Kincardine Oneyll, asso-
received his 1* Hewas a by compatriots.
was
cardine, in the Diocese of Aberdeen. His memory was deemed to be worthy ofpiousvenerationandcelebration,inthatplace. Thedespicableandvain desires of this world he thought deserving only of his disdain, while attached
honourably
at bishop Kin-
Breviary of Aberdeen, is irreconcilable with the account of Yarchard having been the
disciple of St. Ternan. Pope St. Gregory I. , or the Great, did not ascend the pontifical throne, until A. D. 590, and he died on the 1 2th of March, A. D. 604. See Rev. Alban' Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xii.
M In the fifth century, the heresiarchs
Pelagius and Celestius had spread many errors on the doctrine of Divine Grace, while
in Gaul and Britain, Pelagianism, as the
heresy had been generally called, greatly
prevailed. These are probably the errors to
which allusion is here made. See Vossius,
"
Historia de Controversiis quas Pelagius ejusque Reliquiae moverunt," Leyden, 1618, 4to.
Theentry thus runs : pAC]\icii hofdArxH Ajjur Ab -Atvoma.
4 Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xviii. Februarii. De S. Patricio Ostiario, n.
12, p. 366.
s See James Wills' " Lives of Iliustricfrs
See the Polychronicon," edited by Rev. Joseph Rawson Lumby, B. D. , vol. v. , lib. v. , cap. iv. , pp. 304 to 307.
'See James Wills' "Lives of Illustrious
and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Seeond Period, p. 224.
2 which
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3*» early Christian times,10 and to have erected there a penitential resort, which
afterwards became famous. 11 very
Again,
Dabeoc I3 lived there after St. Patrick, while he was celebrated for his virtues
and the austerity of his life. He is also regarded as the first to have built a monastery and a cell there. Besides, he is recognised as the chief patron of
x 3 On Saint's or St. where it is Davog's Island,
he
while there is
a paved way or old road from the graveyard of Templecarn to that point in
the townland of Seedavoge, that juts into the lough, close upon the island. 1 * The first accounts we have regarding the Purgatory of St. Patricks are sup- posed to have been composed at no very early date. About the middle of the twelfth lived the monk of 16 in
Lough Derg.
was buried, still the outlines of several ruins may be traced ;
supposed
century Henry Saltery, Huntingdonshire, England, who heard from another English monk, Gilbert of Lud, the story
of an Irish soldier named Owen. 1 ?
The latter related many wonderful
things that had happened to him, and the visions he beheld in the cavern of
St. Patrick, on St. Daveog's Island on Lough Derg. These visions were
committed to of 18 and different versions of them
writing by Henry Saltery,
were soon circulated in Ireland, the British Islands, and throughout
1
Europe. ? Those accounts are classed among the sources whence Dante
derived some of his poetic ideas for writing the Divina Comedia. 20 Several Treatises on the Purgatory of St. Patrick are to be found, not only in our chief publicLibrariesathome,butalsointhoseontheContinent. Thus,inthe
maturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. clxxii. , p. 103.
16
He seems to have flourished in the time of King Stephen. This tract is addressed to the Abbot Henry de Sartis.
17 He was cellarer to the monastery built by Gilbert de Luda.
18 He states likewise, he had assurance of
the truth of these visions by an Irish bishop,
one of the companions of St. Malachi, and who told several similar stories.
J9ThenarrativeofSt. Patrick'sPurgatory
has been printed in almost every language
of Europe.
20 See Ozanam's " GEuvres Completes,"
Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles, there are such tracts ;
there is a large vellum folio, bound in wood, and attributed to the pen of f* Henricus Saltereyensis. " It is said to have been written at the commence-
10
See the Third Volume of this work, at
the 17th of March, Art. i. , the Life of Saint
Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland,
chap. xiv.
11
However, the Purgatory of St. Patrick is not mentioned in any of his early Lives.
12
See an account of him at the 1st of
January, on the 24th of July, and at the 16th of December. These three distinct festivals were formerly observed in his honour at Lough Derg.
13 For the fullest accounts of this cele- brated island, the reader is referred to Very
Rev. Daniel O'Connor's
''
Lough Derg and
its Pilgrimages. "
14 "This neck was anciently connected tome v. Des 9ources Poetiques de la Divine
with the island by a wooden bridge sup- Comedie, sect, iii. , p. 437.
ported by stone pillars, a part . of which can 21 In the Eighth Volume of Manuscripts,
— which is a Collectanea" yet be seen when the water is clear. " large folio, appear "
William James Doherty's " Inis-Owen and of the Lives and Acts of Saints for the Tirconnell : Notes, Antiquarian and Topo- month of March ; probably, it formed part
graphical," First Series, sect, xxxix. , p. 201.
of the Bollandist collection, although it has not their library mark. In the 3201 num- ber, stated in the " Inventaire " to be " Vita S. Patricii," under this title will be found four different lives of the Saint. The second
15 In the twelfth century, as Jocelyn re-
lates, there was a Purgatory of St. Patrick
on the very summit of Cruachan-aigle, and
to which pilgrims resorted to perform works life bears date 1641, and the third is ex- of penance, in fasting and in watching, to tracted from Camden. There are also two escape the gates of hell, through the merits copies of the "Purgatory;" the first, "ex and prayers of St. Patrick. " Referunt MS. Hiber. Min. Lovanii " and the
etiam nonnulli, qui pernoctaverant ibi, se tormenta gravissima fuisse perpessos, quibus
se purgatos a peccatis putant, unde et qui- dam illorum locum illam Purgatorium S.
; other, "ex MS. Maximini Treveris. " This volume has been recently bound, and Mr. Bindon was unable to discover any name or date,
&c, indicating the compiler, or wh«re it was Patricii vocant. "—Colgan's "Trias Thau- written.
it is that St. Beoc or stated,
ai
and, among these,
358 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
ment of the fourteenth 21 there is a Treatise in old French,9* century. Again,
the commencement of which is ornamented with a drawing of the Purga-
tory 24 representing the souls in torment. 25 ,
At Salmansweiler Convent, Wurtemburg, there is a Manuscript Purgatorium Sancti Patricii Episcopi ; as likewise two others,33 having relation to what
happened to a certain George of Hungary, in the Imperial Library at Vienna. The Vision of Tundal 3* likewise seems to have been framed on this model, and it soon became known on the Continent of Europe. 35 The Purgatory
6
of St. Patrick is described in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine^ and it is printed for the greater part in Matthew of Paris. 37 This subject is very fully treated by Father John Colgan, who lived in that part of Ireland in which Lough Derg is situated, and who gives a special account of the mode and prescriptions for carrying out" the exercises of the pilgrims thither, in his own time. 38 Our saint is numbered amongst the Patron Saints of the Church of Trim, in Meath County, by the Martyrology of Tallagh. 39 This holy man is said to have been buried at Trim, with eighteen other saints, whose memories are venerated on the 17th February, and on the 24th of August/ At the latter date, his feast is said to have been inserted in the Martyrology of Sarum. 41 The published Martyrology of Tallagh states, at the 24th of August, that Patrick, surnamed Ostiarius, had been Abbot of Armagh,42 while he is distinguished from another St. Patrick, who is like-
28 at St.
2* at
burg,* there are various Manuscripts describing the Purgatory of St. Patrick.
Basel,
2? at 2
Berne,
Gall,
Geneva,*
at 1 and at Wurtz- Heilsbronn,*
23 It is classed Vol. xxiii. , No. 7806. The last piece in this volume is a copy of
34 Mr. Turnbull has published the "Vision of Tundale, together with metrical morali- zationand other fragments of ancient Poetry," Edinburgh, 1843.
the "
ing thus :
It has no illuminations, nor could Mr. Bindon find any trace of the Irish character or language.
Purgatory "
of St. Patrick," commenc- Patri suo peroptato in Christo. "
33 In the volume xxvii will be found No. 9035, which is a French translation of the
plurimum censoria castigatione : usque acieo
ofSt. Patrick,and de fois allant demander. "
"Moult
ad rem pertinere non potissimum
Purgatory
begins,
quod
videant offendi possit. " Lugduni et Parr-
34 The dimensions of this drawing are
about four inches by two and a-half : it is
rather well executed, but it presents nothing remarkable in appearance.
2s
This MS. is of the fifteenth century.
26 There is one MS. intituled, S. Patricii Episcopi in Hibernia constituti circa A. D. 430, Liber de Purgatorio ; and another,
hisiis, 1505, 4to.
37 See "Chronica Majora," vol. ii. , pp.
192 to 263. Edited by Henry Richards
Luard, M. A.
38" "
See Trias Thaumaturga Sexta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii. This Treatise
is divided into four parts, with a Prologue
and Notes, pp. 273 to 289.
3'At the xiii. of the Kalends of March (Feb-
ruary 17th), the following entry occurs, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh : " Loman in Ath Truim cum sociis, i. e. ,
Patricii Hostiarii, Laurech mac Cuanach, Fortchern ocus Coelochtra, Aedha, Aedha, Aedha Cormaci Eps, Conani, Cuimaeni Eps, Lacteani sac, Ossani, ocus Sarani Conaill ocus Colmani, ocus Lactani Eps, Finnseghi Vir. Hi omnes in Ath Truim requiescunt . " —Rev. Dr. Kelly's "Calendar of Irish Saints," &c, p. xvi.
40 "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxvii. Februarii, nn. 13 and 16, p.
Patricius S. Irland, de
27 There is a MS. , De Patricii Purgatorio.
98
There is a French MS. of the fifteenth
century, Le Purgatoire de S. Patrice.
39 There is a MS. , Patricii Purgatorium.
30 There is a Description du Purgatoire de St. Patrice, in Manuscript.
31 There is a MS. , Patricius de Purgatorio.
33 There is a MS. , David Scotus de Pur- gatorio Patricii.
33 One is a MS. , " Historia eorum quae
contingerunt Georgio de Ungaria filio cujus-
dam in S. Magnatis Ungarici Purgatorio
Purgatorio.
Patricii. Visiones Georgii militis in purga-
tioni S. Patricii. " Again, there is "Nar- 366.
ratio Georgii Hungari S. Patricii Purga- toriorium in Hibernia visitante, Anno 1353," Germanice.
41 See James Wills' "Lives of Illustrious
and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part ii. , p. 224.
In the Libraries at Bamberg,26 at
55 See ibid. , p. 458.
"
36 See Jacobus de Voragine,
ut nihil perperam adhibitum semotumve :
haec aurea nitidis excutitur formis claretque
Legenda
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 359
wise venerated on this day. We do not find this saint's name occurring at
either of these days, in the copy of the Irish Calendar, formerly belonging to the Ordnance Survey Office, Phoenix Park. Neither is it to be met with, in
the Martyrology of Donegal. ^
Article III. —St. Rodan, Bishop of Kill-Rodan, County of Sligo.
[FifthCentury^ Thisholymanissupposedtohaveflourishedintheearly
times of Irish Christianity. Although the Martyrology of Tallagh has cele-
brated his festival, at the 18th of l January ;
2 At
taker of cattle, and while leading that pastoral or eremitical life, he was
constantly engaged in prayer. From that humble position, St. Patricks rescued him, to serve in the works of his great mission.
It would seem, that his
early education had been neglected, supposing this to have been the man to whom allusion has been made. After learning the rudiments, when he had been sufficiently instructed, from being a tender of flocks, Rodan became a spiri-
tual shepherd. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, he is styled the noble pres- byter Rodan,* and a church was erected for him, and for other disciples,5 in theterritoryofHuaNoella,6bytheillustriousApostleofIreland. Thatregion is now represented by the modern barony of Tirerrill, in the present County of Sligo. There, in a place called Domhacha,? St. Patrick erected a church, whichwentbythenameofSencheallDumhaighe. Amongthedisciplesof St. Patrick, we meet with a saint of this name. He is called Bishop of Seancheall, in Connaught. 8 His feast has been assigned to the 24th of August. 9 It is also probable, that he was the Bishop of Rodan of Muraisk, 10 a district in the barony of Tireagh, and county of Sligo. It extended from the Rive—r Easkey to Dunnacoy. 11 He was set over the church of Kill- Rodain called after him—in the former territory of Myresch-aigle. " At present, the site of Kill-Rodain has not been discovered, nor is it known how long he lived in that place. In the Irish Life of St. Patrick, his church in
yet,
more correct to follow the authority of Marianus O'Gorman, and to place St.
Rodan's feast at the of 24th
August.
first,
he was a or care- shepherd
42 At the ix. of the Kalends of September,
August 24th, we there find, separate entries of two distinct Patricks, who are placed in different lines, and, in the following order : "PatriciiAbbocusEp. Riusdela. " After- wards, "Patricii hostiarii ocus Abb, Aird- macha. " SeeRev. Dr. Kelly's"Catalogue of Irish Saints," &c, p. xxxii.
« Published by Rev. Drs. Todd and
l
Seewhathasbeenalready stated regarding St. Rottan, venerated at l8th of January, in the First Volume of this
6 Likewise known as Tir-Oilella, the land
or territory of Oilell. See " The Topo-
graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," edited
by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , n. 254, p. xxxvi.
7InthedistrictofMurrisk,thereisstilla townland called Dunheakin.
8 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix, and Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
» See ibid.
Reeves. — Articlehi.
work, Art. vi.
2 11
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 150, p. 115.
plain," in English.
See John O'Donovan's teabhar* tia
8
See his Life, March xvii. , in the Third
Volume of this Art. work,
12 See
" Trias
xiii.
4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. Hi. ,
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xli. , P- 135-
s Besides St. Rodan, the noble priest, are
named Macetus, Cetchenus, and Matona, O'Donovan astray, in his " Genealogies, the sister of Benignus. To Matona, St. Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, Patrick and St. Rodan gave the veil of commonly called O'Dowda's Country. " virginity, and to the care of Rodan she was Addenda, P. , n. (q), p. 471.
committed. '3 See Miss M. F. Cusack's " Life of St.
i. , chap.
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
10
we are that it is informed,
Muirisc in Irish signifies the "Sea-
3-CeA|\c, or the Book of Rights, n. (e), p. 19.
p. 136, and cap. xcix. , pp. 142, 143. This, however, is a wrong interpretation, as that Myresch-Aigle was in Mayo. It also led Dr.
360
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 24.
T
Muirisk is called Cillespuig-Rodain 3 and in an Irish Poem, quoted in the ;
1
Annals of the Four Masters, * the present holy man is called Rodan, son of
Braga, while he is described as St. Patrick's shepherd. This holy bishop,
during his life, and also after his death, was distinguished by miraculous 1
favours,procuredthroughhismerits. * ItismentionedintheMartyrologyof Marianus O'Gorman, as also in that of Donegal,16 how a festival in honour of Rodan, a Bishop, was celebrated at this date. The name of Rodan is found Latinized Romulus, in some Calendars.
Article IV. —St. Merchard or Yarchard, of Kincardine, Scot-
land. [Probably Fifth or Sixth Century. '] The present holy man is found among the Saints of Scotland ; but, we are doubtful as to whether or not his origin should be referred to Ireland. Under various forms of name, such as Merchard, Yarchard, Irchard, Erthad, and Erchad, he is presented to our notice. The Bollandists have the fullest statements regarding him, at the
13
24th day of August. These are contained in a historic Sylloge, consisting
of eleven paragraphs. However, the Breviary of Aberdeen, which was
printed in the year 1509, is alleged to be their chief authority for his Acts.
Already, at the 24th of July, Dempster has placed the festival of this holy
bishop, named Erthad,3 and his Natalis is also set down at this date.
Ferrarius has followed such statement4 By Camerarius, Erchadus or
Erthadus is noticed, at the 24th of Augusts Again, a learned Scotch Jesuit,
Father Patrick Ninian Wemyss, had given a Scottish Menology to the
Bollandists, and in it was found, at this same date, the name of Bishop
Erthad, which he states to have been thus entered in the Scotch Festilogies.
Bishop Forbes has some biographical particulars regarding Merchard or
6
Yarchard ;
and, on the authority of the Aberdeen Breviary, this Irchardus
is stated to have been born in in Kincardin 8 Tolmaid,? Oneyll, among
barbarous and untaught people. There from his early days, he rebuked unbelievers, and he preached virtue. He likewise addicted himself to the practices of prayer, vigils and fasting. He was ordained a Priest by St. Ternan,' who made him coadjutor and penitentiary, in all the provinces
under his 10 It is jurisdiction.
stated,
that soon Yarchard went afterwards,
» The Bollandists remark, that this place was unknown to them.
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. " William M. Hennessy's translation of the Tripartite Life, part ii. , p. 2.
14 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , at A. D. 448, pp. 138, 139.
15 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cxlii. , p. 96.
8
western district of Aberdeenshire. It com- prehends all the upper part of the basin of the River Dee, as much of the central portion of that basin as belongs to Aberdeenshire, a small part of the lower portion of that basin, and a small part of the right side of the central portion of the basin of the Don. See " The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, Topo- graphical, Statistical and Historical," vol. ii. , p. 223.
9 His festival is kept, on the I2th of June. At that date, notices of him may be found, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. ii.
century, and he was the disciple of St. Palladius, who became Apostle of the Picts, in 431, as may be seen in Acts of the latter, at the 6th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this work,
Art. i.
" This statement, to be found in the
16
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
"
226, 227. —* Article iv.
Acta Sanctorum," De S. Irchardo, seu Ethardo vel Erchado, Ep. et Conf. in Scotia,
PP- 773. 774-
2
Compiled by Father William Cuper, SJ. 3 See a notice in the Seventh Volume of
this work, at that date, Art. xiii.
lib. Hi. , p. 168.
6
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," PP- 397. 466.
See tomus iv. , Augusti xxiv.
4 In "
Generalis Sanctorum. " 5 In his book, " De Scotorum Fortitudine, Doctrina, Pietate, ac de Ortu et Progressu Hseresis in Regnis Scotias et Anglise,"
,0 St. Ternan lived in the fifth
Catalogus
Kincardine-O'Neil forms the south-
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 361
to Rome, where he was consecrated bishop by Pope Gregory," who gave him faculties for a mission in his own country, and who bestowed his
blessing, when the saint took his departure. On returning to Scotland, he passed through the province of Pictavia or Poitou in Gaul. " There he found many of the Picti or natives of Poitou, who had been subjugated by the Galli. He remained among those people for three years. St. Yarchard was the instrument chosen by the Almighty for restoring them to their
belief,^ owing to the prudence and sanctity he manifested, and as due also 1
to his spirit of faith and prayer. * Afterwards, he fell sick, but he humbly besought God to spare his life, until he returned to his own country. He
passed through the countries of Anglia and of Scotia, and preached along the way. At length, he came to the hill of Kincardine Oneyll. There he
to heavenly delights, his most pure life was prolonged in the presence of Christ, so that he obtained the lasting and great happiness of life eternal. 16 When St. Yarchard -perceived that his death was approaching, he desired his body to be placed in a chariot drawn by two horses. His remains were ordered to be deposited where the chariot stopped. When this order was obeyed, and the corpse had been deposited on the chariot, it is said to have moved to a considerable distance beyond the River Dee, when mechanically itceasedtoproceed. Therethebodywastakenfromthebierandinterred.
1
In that place, called Kincardin, ? a fine church was afterwards erected, and
there the Saint was specially venerated, as it had been considered the spot miraculously designed for his sepulture. Besides Kincardine Oneyll, asso-
received his 1* Hewas a by compatriots.
was
cardine, in the Diocese of Aberdeen. His memory was deemed to be worthy ofpiousvenerationandcelebration,inthatplace. Thedespicableandvain desires of this world he thought deserving only of his disdain, while attached
honourably
at bishop Kin-
Breviary of Aberdeen, is irreconcilable with the account of Yarchard having been the
disciple of St. Ternan. Pope St. Gregory I. , or the Great, did not ascend the pontifical throne, until A. D. 590, and he died on the 1 2th of March, A. D. 604. See Rev. Alban' Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xii.
M In the fifth century, the heresiarchs
Pelagius and Celestius had spread many errors on the doctrine of Divine Grace, while
in Gaul and Britain, Pelagianism, as the
heresy had been generally called, greatly
prevailed. These are probably the errors to
which allusion is here made. See Vossius,
"
Historia de Controversiis quas Pelagius ejusque Reliquiae moverunt," Leyden, 1618, 4to.
