In England, the building art of the Romans25 formed a basis for their indigenous archi- tecture; but, in ecclesiastical structures, their earliest stone churches in the
30 See Dean Henry Hart Milman's " His-
tory of Christianity, from the Birth of Christ to the Abolition of Paganism in the
Roman Empire," vol.
30 See Dean Henry Hart Milman's " His-
tory of Christianity, from the Birth of Christ to the Abolition of Paganism in the
Roman Empire," vol.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Therefore,amongthesaidelders,there
were probably some prelates and dignified clergymen, besides the abbot and headsofthatmonastery. ThemonksofHywerethepersonsappliedtofor a bishop by Oswald, and it was by them that Aedan was sent. But, although it is certain that the superiors of Hy had a share in this transaction, as Aedan could not have been made a bishop without the consent of his abbot, who was then Segenius, it does not follow, that they were the only persons con- cerned in his appointment. ^
Having been consecrated a bishop, Aidan was sent to his mission. It was then found Aidan possessed, not only that virtue, they gave him credit for,
but also other noble many
gifts,
in a
high degree
of 6 He was a perfection. ^
man of singular meekness, piety and moderation. Being a truly religious man, 2
he had now attained Episcopal rank, 37 and zealous for the honour of God, while attached to the Irish usages, which then prevailed at Iona, he set out to commence his mission among the Northumbrians.
CHAPTER II.
RECEPTION OF ST. AIDAN BY KING OSWALD—THE HOLY BISHOP OBTAINS FROM HIM THE ISLAND OF LINDISFARNE—DESCRIPTION OF THAT PLACE AND OF ITS ENDOW- MENTS—THERE ST. AIDAN FOUNDS A CHURCH AND MONASTERY—THE DISCIPLINE OF IONA INTRODUCED—THE SCHOOL ESTABLISHED AT LINDISFARNE BECOMES A SOURCE OF MISSIONARY PROPAGANDISM FOR THE DIFFERENT ANGLO-SAXON NATIONS—MISSIONARY CAREER OF ST. AIDAN—KING OSWALD ACTS AS HIS IN- TERPRETER.
No welcome could be more cordial than that given to St. Aidan, by the
Judiciis verax, animi pietate benignus, Excelsus meritis, summissus mente sed
ipsa, Hostibushorribilis,cunctisjocundisamicis,
1 when the Irish
Northumbria. He was received with the respect due to his sacred calling,
pious King Oswald,
no less than to his personal piety, character, learning and accomplishments,
Aedan was sent from Hy and from its
" Ab hac ergo insula, ab horum
monastery ;
collegio monachorum,* ad provinciam An- gloruminstituendam in Christo, missusest
Aidanus, accepto gradu episcopatus. "— Ut bello indomitus, sic pacta in pace
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
fidelis.
Invaluit postquam sceptris et culmine
Regni,
Extruit Ecclesias domisque exornat opimis, Vasa ministeriis prsestans pretiosa sa-
cratis
Argento, gemmis aras vestivit et auro,
lib. iii. , cap, v. , pp. 274, 275.
236 See Surius, "De Probatis Sanctorum
Vitis," vol. iv. , Augusti xxxi. Vita St. Aidani, cap. iv. , p. 338.
23? See Matthew of Paris, "Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard,
M. A. , vol. — i. , p. 278.
'
Serica
tendens velamina parietibus sacris,
Chapter ii.
His praise is thus given inthePoemofFlaccusAlcwin,"DePonti—-
" flcibusetSanctisEcclesiseEboracensis :
" Hostibus occisis regnum sanctissimus Oswald
Ingreditur, heros veterum condignus avo- rum.
Vir virtute potens, patriae tutator, amator, Moribusegregius,Christimandatasecutus,
Pauperibus largus, parcus sibi, dives in omnes,
Auri blateolis pulcre distincta coronis,
Sanctaque suspendit varias per tecta
lucernas,
Esset ut in templis cceli stellantis imago,
Christicolasque greges duxit devotus in illas,
Ut fierent Domino laudes sine fine ca- nentum. "
-Thomas Gale's "Historic Britannicse,
Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicae, Scriptores xv. ," vol. i. , pp. 707, 708.
missionary
made his in appearance
47 6 LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [AucuiT3i.
The King delighted much in his society and conversation. Nevertheless, seeking to avoid the distractions of a court, the holy man but seldom
accepted Oswald's invitation to banquets ; yet, whenever, through courtesy, Aidan deemed it necessary to keep up such social and friendly relations, the bishop went, with one or two clerics, to the royal table. There having taken
a small repast, he made haste to depart, so that he might usefully employ
8
When our saint arrived in Northumbria,— Oswald, for his episcopal King
see,3 bestowed upon him the Island of Fame afterwards called Holy Island
his time in reading or in writing.
—at his own request.
not properly an island, but rather, as Bede has termed it, a semi-isle ; for, although surrounded by the sea at full tide, its ebb leaves the sands dry between it and the opposite coast of Northumberland, from which it is about two miles distant. 5 At present, it is called House Isl—and, and it is situated
nearly two miles eastward from Bamborough Castle formerly the royal residenceoftheBerenicianKingsofNorthumbria. Atthenorthernendof the Island, there is a deep chasm, and in stormy weather the sea forces its way through it with such violence, as to form a fine jet cTeau sixty feet high, and it is c—alled the Churn. Altogether, the Fame Islands form a cluster of seventeen most of these being only small islets. Nevertheless, from all we can learn, it seems probable, that another religious establishment was on the
6
mainland of Northumbria ; but, whether in the time of Aidan, or after it,
does not clearly appear. It is known, however, that a great part of his life was spent in a cell and in retirement, on the Island ? although he often went and stayed in the royal residence of Bamburgh, where he had a church in which to minister. Whether he had a separate habitation there for him- self and his community we cannot discover. At the south-western angle of the Island of Fame, the site for St. Aidan's religious establishment is thought to have been selected, and there, through the munificence of King Oswald, and his own zealous exertions, dwellings for himself and his religious com- munity were erected. At the present time, the chief village on that island indicates the site of an ancient monastery, and, with its subsequent exten-
2"
See Venerable Bede's Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. v. , pp. 276, 277.
3 See Matthew of Paris, " Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 278.
the 20th erf March, Art. i. St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, chap. hi. St. Cuth-
bert, who was bishop of Lindisfarne, not very long after the death of St. Aidan, is stated, after an episcopacy of twelve years, in 676, to have retired and constructed a hermitage for himself on the Island of Fame,
*
However,
it must be that Lindisfarne is observed,
4 Holy Island now forms a parish, in the
union of Berwick, in Islandshire, north See Wharton's "Anglia Sacra," vol. i. ,
division of Northumberland, 5^ miles N. by Chronicon Sanctse Crucis Edinburgensis, E. from Belford, and 10 miles S. E. from p. 155.
Berwick. It is now dedicated to St. John 7 All the inference we can draw from Bede
"
the Evangelist. See Samuel Lewis' Topo- on the subject of St. Aidan's residence is,
graphical Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 219.
that Oswald "locum episcopalis in insula —Lindisfarnensi, ubi ipse petebat, tribuit. "
s Scott
11
—is :
thus
described
Sir
Walter
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
It
by
Anglorum,"
For with the flow and ebb its style Varies from continent to isle ;
Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day, The pilgrims to the shrine find way ; Twice every day the waves efface
—" Of staves and sandalled feet the trace. " Marmion," canto ii. , sect. ix.
6
See the Third Volume of this work, at
"illo enim secreta? orationis et silentii causa secedere consueverat ; denique usque hodie locum sedis illius solitarice in eadem insula solent ostendere. "—Ibid. , cap. xvi. He died on the mainland, so that we are inclined to be- lieve he chiefly lived there, but that occa- sionally he resorted to a cell, which had been
built on the Island.
* See Samuel Lewis' M Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 539.
lib. iii. , iii. cap.
Again
:
ssepius
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
sions, the foundations may still be traced over an area of four acres. 8 The Britons called this island Inis Medicante, and, in some editions of Nennius,9 it has been Latinized Insula Medcant. 10 We are informed," that it had been calledbytheIrish,Inismetgoit,ortheMIslandofthegreatWinds. " There Aedan established his chief seat, in the year 631, according to the Annals of Ulster, while Tighernach places the foundation of Inis Metgoit at 632, but in this case, as in many entries of Saxon events, the latter is three years in arrear. 12 The O'Clerys stated that St. Aidan was a bishop at Inis
1
Medhcoit, in the north-west * of Little Saxonland, and they remark, that it
was on a pilgrimage Aedhan went to Inis Medcoit, or Medhcoit. It was
also known as Midcoit, or Inis Medicante, for so the Britons called Lindis-
farne. The fine ecclesiastical ruins on the Island are frequently visited by
admiring tourists, and Holy Island is a place of considerable resort for sea-
bathers, while the inhabitants are for the most part fishermen, and connected
with the fisheries around the shores or out on the deep ocean. * The south-
eastern extremity of the Island rises in a conical peak to the height of sixty
16 feet.
The endowment of King Oswald was munificent, and in his gratitude he did not forget to supply money and lands for the maintenance of Aidan and of his ministers. It consisted of three several portions ; the first was situated at the south of the Tweed, extending from the mouth of that river along the coast to Warren-mouth, near Bamburgh, thence following the course of the rivulet of Warren to its source at Heburn Bell, and then taking a line north- ward to the Tweed, so as to include the entire valley of the Bremish and Till ; the second lay to the north of the Tweed, including the whole district between the Edder or Adder, and the Leader, while the third lay to the north of the Lammermuir Hills, extending from their base to the River Esk,
which discharges itself into the Frith of Forth, at Musselburgh, near
1 Edinburgh.
?
Aedan founded his monastery at Lindisfame about fhe year of our Lord
18 the hundred and
KingOswald'sreign. ^ Wemaywellsuppose,thefirst monasticbuildingsat
after the
into Britain, the thirty-ninth after the arrival of St. Augustine, and the second of
635,
eighty-eighth
coming
of the Saxons English
9 According to Cave, Nennius was a Briton by birth, and a disciple of Elvodug, of Probus and of Beulan, a priest, at first a
Ireland," book i. , chap, iv. , p. 31.
I2
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes,
monk in the monastery of Bangor, and O, n. (r), p. 374.
afterwards abbot. See "Scriptorum Ec- I3 See "The of Martyrology Donegal,"
clesiasticorum Historia Literaria," volumen edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
i. , ssec. vii. , p. 577. According to Bale, pp. 230, 231.
Vossius and others, Nennius flourished l4 It should be written north-east,
about the year 620. According to John *3 The several fishing boats, owned on
Pits, he was one of those monks who the Island, are engaged in the cod, ling,
escaped from the slaughter of Ethelfrid, at haddock and lobster fisheries ; while there
Chester. From previous British writings is a curing and a smoking house for herrings,
and traditions, he^ wrote the following which are taken in great numbers along the
"
lib. i. 11. " De Mirabilibus," lib. ii.
III. " Catalogum Urbium Britannia;,"
lib. i. iv. " De Origine Britonum,"
works : 1.
Collectiones Historiarum,"
coast.
l6 On the summit is a castellated fort,
built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
1? See John Hodgson Hinde's "History lib. i. See Relationum Historicarum of Northumberland," p. 126, Newcastle,
"
de Rebus Anglicis,"
nicse, Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicae, Scriptores
num. 106. 67, p.
septima,
10 See Thomas Gale's " Historian Britan-
Dictionary of Universal Knowledge," vol.
p. 107.
I9 "
See Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. viii. , August xxxi.
XV. " "Historia Britonum,
p. 132.
" See Harris' Ware, vol. ii.
1'
tomus i.
/Etas
1857, 8vo.
l8 See Chambers's " a Encyclopaedia,
cap. lxv. , " Writers of
i. ,
478 LIVES 0* THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Lindisfarnewereofanunpretendingcharacter. TheearlieragesofChristianity could not command the subsidiary to pious emotion, which church architecture afterwards afforded; yet, sanctity was imparted to the meanest building
became better established, and when the
the zeal and devotion of the
the materials used in construction were of a more lasting character than
through
worshippers.
wood. 31 However, as
Christianity
ravages of wars had ceased, there can hardly be a doubt, but that stone build-
ings were designed to replace those perishable structures, especially in
Northumbria. Andastheprimitiveandsmall,althoughsolidlyconstructed,
stonechurchesofIrelandhadeventhenanexistenceformodels it seems ;
probable, that the early stone buildings of the Scottish monks at Lindisfarne were of such a type. Although not referable to the time of St. Aidan, still
the ruins of a later monastery upon Holy Island betoken great antiquity. The arches in general are often stated to be strictly Saxon. 32 The pillars
which
short and 2* There massy.
them are
architecture, although
is, strictly speak-
support no Saxon
ing,
to designate a style of building, which appears to have had its origin in Ire- land, and to have been introduced by the Irish missionaries.
In England, the building art of the Romans25 formed a basis for their indigenous archi- tecture; but, in ecclesiastical structures, their earliest stone churches in the
30 See Dean Henry Hart Milman's " His-
tory of Christianity, from the Birth of Christ to the Abolition of Paganism in the
Roman Empire," vol. iii. , book iv. , chap. »v-» P« 373- Newand revised edition, Lon- don, 1875, cr- 8vo.
Built ere the art was known, By pointed aisle, and shafted stalk, The arcades of an alleyed walk,
" —"Marmion. " Canto ii. , sect, ix. , x.
strong, 2*
such a term has been used frequently
To emulate in stone.
21 "
In the beginning of every mission,
among the people where Christianity had
not been previously established, the first
churches were usually plain and unadorned
to serve a temporary purpose, as also ad-
mitting of ready construction and without
considerable labour or expense having been
undertaken. The greater number of churches
founded by St. Patrick in Ireland were pro-
bably of such description. When stone
most abounded, that material was more
freely used than wood ; while the existing
ruined structures that still remain, from very
primitive times, show them to have been Oriental nations, as also by the Greeks.
rude in shape and design, almost as the Fine copper-plate engravings of the ground- houses then occupied by the people. The plans, elevations, sections, exteriors and
writer's missionary experience has recalled his frequent ministrations, in the plain and primitive log-churches, of necessity erected in the backwoods of America.
interiors, shapes, pillars, doors and adorn- ments, of those temples, are presented, with detailed descriptions, especially in tome ii. , premiere partie, liv. ii. , chap. i. to xxi. , pp. 45 to 127. The domestic architecture of the Romans is illustrated, in tome iii. , pre- miere partie, of the same work, liv. iii. ,
81
See Rev. Courtenay Moore's "Chroni-
cles of St. Colman, and of St. Colman's,
Farahy, Diocese of Cloyne," p. 6.
23
This accepted notion of the existing chap. xiv. to xvi. , pp. 125 to 135 ; as also,
ruins being of Saxon architecture is probably taken from Sir Walter Scott's poetic descrip- tion :—
"A solemn huge and dark-red pile, Placed on the margin of the isle.
ancient civic structures, preserved and in ruins, in liv. v. , chap. ii. to v. , pp. 176 to 182. Again, the baths of the Romans are
shown in the same volume, seconde partie, liv. i. , chap. i. to v. , pp. 201 to 212 ; also, their theatres and amphitheatres
20 Nor is it that likely
84 See George Gilbert Scott's Essay on theHistoryofEnglishChurchArchitecture," chap, ii. , p. 44. London, 1881, 4to.
25 For the antiquarian, this subject is pre- sented in a fashion the most intelligible, by the learned Benedictin Maurist, Dom Ber- nard de Montfaucon, in his most valuable work, "L'Antiquite Expllquee, et repre- sentee, en Figures," where he treats about their most ancient pagan temples, supposed to have had their origin from the Egyptians, and to have been modelled on the style thence borrowed by the Phoenicians and other
In Saxon strength that abbey frowned, in liv. ii. , chap. i. to ix. , pp. 231 to
With massive arches broad and round, That rose alternate, row and row,
On ponderous columns, short and low,
262 ; with plans of their circus and hippo-
drome, liv. iii. , chap. i. to iii. , pp. 273 to 280. In tome iv. are to be found their tri-
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 479
northwereformedonIrishmodels. ThebuildingswhichtheRomansleft in the country, and the tnos Romanus brought in by the Roman missionaries in the seventh century, as also the new style brought in by the Normans in the eleventh, were all distinct forms of Roman influence. English ecclesiastical architecture borrowed nothing from any works either of the Saxons before or after they came into Britain, nor from the Britons before the Romans came. It seems probable, that the ancient Christian Britons
26
had erected stone churches, in the very primitive times ; but, it
is specially noticed, that their peculiar manner was to erect wooden churches. The Roman basilica was the type of structure, which had
been adopted most generally, in the building of early Christian temples, and extending to Gaul, it was introduced into Ireland during the fifth and sixth centuries, with some distinctive peculiarities of detail.
In Ireland, which formed no part of the Roman world, pilgrims or visitors
may have brought Roman architectural ideas, but these hardly supplied actualRomanmodels. Toofrequentlyhavetheround-headeddoor-waysand windows in early Irish Churches been considered as of Norman origin solely,
2 althoughdisplayingfeaturesvaryinginotherways ? but,inreality,bothstyles
28 which
umphal arches, in premiere partie, liv. vi. , illustrations of ancient ports, fortresses, chap, viii. , pp. 169 to 172 ; in seconde phares or lighthouses and octagonal towers,
are derived from the Romans. The Irish Churches and
come down to the English Conquest of the twelfth century, besides their other national peculiarities, exhibit in point of mere form an independent variety, with features of its own, distinguishing it from the Romanesque of
partie of the same tomer are shown their
chap. i. to vii. , pp. 119 to 147, The whole of tome v. of this great series is taken up with descriptions and illustrations of funereal
bridges in various parts of their provinces,
liv. i. , chap. i. to v. , pp. 177 to 190, and their
aqueducts, chap, ix. , x. t pp. 198 to 202. monuments, urns and tombs of the Greeks
Tome v. , premiere partie, is altogether de- voted to the illustration of their tombs, fune-
ral monuments, inscriptions and memorials of the dead; while in the seconde partie are illustrations of a similar character referring to the Egyptians, to the Gauls, Germans, and other barbarous people, liv. i. , chap. i. tox. ,pp. 173to201. IntheSupple-
ment au Livre de — et L'Antiquite Expliquee
"
and Romans, as also, of others in the different
provinces of the Empire, in Gaul, Germany, Britain, in Sarmatia, Denmark, Scythia, and otherplaces. Thebriefsynopsisofcontents
here presented only refers, however, to the various forms and applications of ancient architecture ; other varied matters and objects of antiquity are treated, likewise, in
detail, and in a clear manner for the student's comprehension.
Representee en Figures
great 26
published long afterwards by the same writer—we find in tome ii. an account of the Grecian temples, in liv. ii. , chap. i. to viii. , pp. 18 to 47 and
regarding the Gaulish temples, at chap. i. to vii. , pp. 216 to 238. In tome iii. of this
An instance is furnished by Venerable Bede, where Ninian built Candida Casa, " ibi ecclesiamde lapide, insolito Britonibus
;
in liv. viii. we have remarks and engravings
—" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , chap. iv. , pp. 272,
Supplement, are delineations and descrip-
tions of ancient houses, and those belonging
to the Gauls and Germans, in liv. ii. , chap,
viii. , pp. 63, 64 ; while liv. vi. is devoted
to ancient buildings, columns and city gates,
chap. i. tov. ,pp. 144to158; whileliv. vii.
treats of baths and fountains, with architec-
tural representations, chap, i. , iv, pp. 159 to
169. In tome iv. of the Supplement are cells of the monks, a—nd usually associated descriptions and plates representing arches with a round tower. " Rev. Dr. George T.
"
chap. i. to iv. , pp. 66 to 79 ; while in liv. Church. " A History of Ireland and Irish
v. , are accounts of bridges, aqueducts, mili- Christianity, from the Anglo-Norman Con- tary columns, with their inscriptions, chap. quest to the Dawn of the Reformation, sect. i. to ix. , pp. 88 to 118 j as also in liv. vi. , xv. , p. 351. London, 1889, 8vo.
of triumph and their adornments in liv. iv. , Stokes'
Ireland and the Anglo-Norman
more, fecerit. "
;
monasteries,
273.
27 See George Wilkinson's Practical
" Geology and Ancient Architecture of Ire-
land," sect, vi. , p. 108. London, 1845, 8vo. 28 "The Celtic Monastery is in every instance a collection of small, square, stone- roofed churches, without any architectural adornments, enclosed within a cashel or fortification, wherein were the stone or mud
48o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
or 2' The Normandy, Germany, Italy, Aquitaine.
churches to appear
early
have been very numerous ; but at present, the far greater proportion can only
be traced by tradition, and by site, the original buildings having been quite obliterated. However, the most ancient stone churches in Ireland were oblong,
generally of small dimensions, of rude and solid construction, void of archi-
tectural ornament, having sharply pointed gables, square-headed doors and windows,withhorizontallintelsofalongsinglestonelaidoverthem. Like
the Egyptians and Greeks, the arch was unused by the builders, at first ; but at length, circularly headed door-ways and windows were introduced, of no great dimensions, it is true, but often ornamented with effective zig-zag
mouldings, and sculptures of figures, rudely designed and executed. The Roman forms seem to have been understood, and very generally adopted from the seventh to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Several existing remains of such churches are still to be seen. While we admire in Grecian
architecture grace and elegance of design with regularity of form, and variety
of detail , it is remarkable that the springing of arches, on a large or small
scale, is wanting. The Roman builders were the first to introduce the arch
into their public and private buildings, and hence it may be considered
characteristic of their peculiar style of architecture. In Ireland, we have a
continuous succession of native biddings from pagan times 3° and
from the early Christian period until the twelfth century. Of these,
the latter examples are, of course, largely influenced by foreign models ;
but here alone in Christendom, do we see a native round-arched
construction developing itself out of an earlier entablature construction. **
Hence, that assimilated style has been very properly designated the Irish
Romanesque. In many of the later buildings the general effect of the
enriched portions—that is, of the doorways and chancel arches—does not
differ very much from that of ordinary Norman buildings. But there is often
a special character in the ornaments used. The jambs have frequently a
very distinct character, which seems also to have made its way into some
buildings in North Wales. Above all, there is the sloping of the sides of the
2
doorways,3 so eminently characteristic of the Irish buildings, and which is
manifestly a native tradition handed on from earlier native buildings. " It may be questioned, whether the rich Irish Romanesque of the eleventh and twelfth centuries may be considered a Roman style influenced by native tradition, or a native style influenced by Roman models. If we take into
29 See that magnificently illustrated work, "Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. , part iv. , concluding essay, chap. vi. "Of the Romanesque oflreland," pp. 189 to 205.
30 For some of the most characteristic
many of the extremely antique Egyptian buildings, and also in some of the Grecian structures.
33 The peculiar features of the Irish eccle- siastical style may well be studied, from its earliest period to its ultimate developments in the photographs and description occurring in ' ' NotesonIrish
specimens,
reader is referred to
with minute the
Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret tecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven. Stokes.
were probably some prelates and dignified clergymen, besides the abbot and headsofthatmonastery. ThemonksofHywerethepersonsappliedtofor a bishop by Oswald, and it was by them that Aedan was sent. But, although it is certain that the superiors of Hy had a share in this transaction, as Aedan could not have been made a bishop without the consent of his abbot, who was then Segenius, it does not follow, that they were the only persons con- cerned in his appointment. ^
Having been consecrated a bishop, Aidan was sent to his mission. It was then found Aidan possessed, not only that virtue, they gave him credit for,
but also other noble many
gifts,
in a
high degree
of 6 He was a perfection. ^
man of singular meekness, piety and moderation. Being a truly religious man, 2
he had now attained Episcopal rank, 37 and zealous for the honour of God, while attached to the Irish usages, which then prevailed at Iona, he set out to commence his mission among the Northumbrians.
CHAPTER II.
RECEPTION OF ST. AIDAN BY KING OSWALD—THE HOLY BISHOP OBTAINS FROM HIM THE ISLAND OF LINDISFARNE—DESCRIPTION OF THAT PLACE AND OF ITS ENDOW- MENTS—THERE ST. AIDAN FOUNDS A CHURCH AND MONASTERY—THE DISCIPLINE OF IONA INTRODUCED—THE SCHOOL ESTABLISHED AT LINDISFARNE BECOMES A SOURCE OF MISSIONARY PROPAGANDISM FOR THE DIFFERENT ANGLO-SAXON NATIONS—MISSIONARY CAREER OF ST. AIDAN—KING OSWALD ACTS AS HIS IN- TERPRETER.
No welcome could be more cordial than that given to St. Aidan, by the
Judiciis verax, animi pietate benignus, Excelsus meritis, summissus mente sed
ipsa, Hostibushorribilis,cunctisjocundisamicis,
1 when the Irish
Northumbria. He was received with the respect due to his sacred calling,
pious King Oswald,
no less than to his personal piety, character, learning and accomplishments,
Aedan was sent from Hy and from its
" Ab hac ergo insula, ab horum
monastery ;
collegio monachorum,* ad provinciam An- gloruminstituendam in Christo, missusest
Aidanus, accepto gradu episcopatus. "— Ut bello indomitus, sic pacta in pace
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
fidelis.
Invaluit postquam sceptris et culmine
Regni,
Extruit Ecclesias domisque exornat opimis, Vasa ministeriis prsestans pretiosa sa-
cratis
Argento, gemmis aras vestivit et auro,
lib. iii. , cap, v. , pp. 274, 275.
236 See Surius, "De Probatis Sanctorum
Vitis," vol. iv. , Augusti xxxi. Vita St. Aidani, cap. iv. , p. 338.
23? See Matthew of Paris, "Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard,
M. A. , vol. — i. , p. 278.
'
Serica
tendens velamina parietibus sacris,
Chapter ii.
His praise is thus given inthePoemofFlaccusAlcwin,"DePonti—-
" flcibusetSanctisEcclesiseEboracensis :
" Hostibus occisis regnum sanctissimus Oswald
Ingreditur, heros veterum condignus avo- rum.
Vir virtute potens, patriae tutator, amator, Moribusegregius,Christimandatasecutus,
Pauperibus largus, parcus sibi, dives in omnes,
Auri blateolis pulcre distincta coronis,
Sanctaque suspendit varias per tecta
lucernas,
Esset ut in templis cceli stellantis imago,
Christicolasque greges duxit devotus in illas,
Ut fierent Domino laudes sine fine ca- nentum. "
-Thomas Gale's "Historic Britannicse,
Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicae, Scriptores xv. ," vol. i. , pp. 707, 708.
missionary
made his in appearance
47 6 LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [AucuiT3i.
The King delighted much in his society and conversation. Nevertheless, seeking to avoid the distractions of a court, the holy man but seldom
accepted Oswald's invitation to banquets ; yet, whenever, through courtesy, Aidan deemed it necessary to keep up such social and friendly relations, the bishop went, with one or two clerics, to the royal table. There having taken
a small repast, he made haste to depart, so that he might usefully employ
8
When our saint arrived in Northumbria,— Oswald, for his episcopal King
see,3 bestowed upon him the Island of Fame afterwards called Holy Island
his time in reading or in writing.
—at his own request.
not properly an island, but rather, as Bede has termed it, a semi-isle ; for, although surrounded by the sea at full tide, its ebb leaves the sands dry between it and the opposite coast of Northumberland, from which it is about two miles distant. 5 At present, it is called House Isl—and, and it is situated
nearly two miles eastward from Bamborough Castle formerly the royal residenceoftheBerenicianKingsofNorthumbria. Atthenorthernendof the Island, there is a deep chasm, and in stormy weather the sea forces its way through it with such violence, as to form a fine jet cTeau sixty feet high, and it is c—alled the Churn. Altogether, the Fame Islands form a cluster of seventeen most of these being only small islets. Nevertheless, from all we can learn, it seems probable, that another religious establishment was on the
6
mainland of Northumbria ; but, whether in the time of Aidan, or after it,
does not clearly appear. It is known, however, that a great part of his life was spent in a cell and in retirement, on the Island ? although he often went and stayed in the royal residence of Bamburgh, where he had a church in which to minister. Whether he had a separate habitation there for him- self and his community we cannot discover. At the south-western angle of the Island of Fame, the site for St. Aidan's religious establishment is thought to have been selected, and there, through the munificence of King Oswald, and his own zealous exertions, dwellings for himself and his religious com- munity were erected. At the present time, the chief village on that island indicates the site of an ancient monastery, and, with its subsequent exten-
2"
See Venerable Bede's Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. v. , pp. 276, 277.
3 See Matthew of Paris, " Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 278.
the 20th erf March, Art. i. St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, chap. hi. St. Cuth-
bert, who was bishop of Lindisfarne, not very long after the death of St. Aidan, is stated, after an episcopacy of twelve years, in 676, to have retired and constructed a hermitage for himself on the Island of Fame,
*
However,
it must be that Lindisfarne is observed,
4 Holy Island now forms a parish, in the
union of Berwick, in Islandshire, north See Wharton's "Anglia Sacra," vol. i. ,
division of Northumberland, 5^ miles N. by Chronicon Sanctse Crucis Edinburgensis, E. from Belford, and 10 miles S. E. from p. 155.
Berwick. It is now dedicated to St. John 7 All the inference we can draw from Bede
"
the Evangelist. See Samuel Lewis' Topo- on the subject of St. Aidan's residence is,
graphical Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 219.
that Oswald "locum episcopalis in insula —Lindisfarnensi, ubi ipse petebat, tribuit. "
s Scott
11
—is :
thus
described
Sir
Walter
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
It
by
Anglorum,"
For with the flow and ebb its style Varies from continent to isle ;
Dry-shod, o'er sands, twice every day, The pilgrims to the shrine find way ; Twice every day the waves efface
—" Of staves and sandalled feet the trace. " Marmion," canto ii. , sect. ix.
6
See the Third Volume of this work, at
"illo enim secreta? orationis et silentii causa secedere consueverat ; denique usque hodie locum sedis illius solitarice in eadem insula solent ostendere. "—Ibid. , cap. xvi. He died on the mainland, so that we are inclined to be- lieve he chiefly lived there, but that occa- sionally he resorted to a cell, which had been
built on the Island.
* See Samuel Lewis' M Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 539.
lib. iii. , iii. cap.
Again
:
ssepius
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
sions, the foundations may still be traced over an area of four acres. 8 The Britons called this island Inis Medicante, and, in some editions of Nennius,9 it has been Latinized Insula Medcant. 10 We are informed," that it had been calledbytheIrish,Inismetgoit,ortheMIslandofthegreatWinds. " There Aedan established his chief seat, in the year 631, according to the Annals of Ulster, while Tighernach places the foundation of Inis Metgoit at 632, but in this case, as in many entries of Saxon events, the latter is three years in arrear. 12 The O'Clerys stated that St. Aidan was a bishop at Inis
1
Medhcoit, in the north-west * of Little Saxonland, and they remark, that it
was on a pilgrimage Aedhan went to Inis Medcoit, or Medhcoit. It was
also known as Midcoit, or Inis Medicante, for so the Britons called Lindis-
farne. The fine ecclesiastical ruins on the Island are frequently visited by
admiring tourists, and Holy Island is a place of considerable resort for sea-
bathers, while the inhabitants are for the most part fishermen, and connected
with the fisheries around the shores or out on the deep ocean. * The south-
eastern extremity of the Island rises in a conical peak to the height of sixty
16 feet.
The endowment of King Oswald was munificent, and in his gratitude he did not forget to supply money and lands for the maintenance of Aidan and of his ministers. It consisted of three several portions ; the first was situated at the south of the Tweed, extending from the mouth of that river along the coast to Warren-mouth, near Bamburgh, thence following the course of the rivulet of Warren to its source at Heburn Bell, and then taking a line north- ward to the Tweed, so as to include the entire valley of the Bremish and Till ; the second lay to the north of the Tweed, including the whole district between the Edder or Adder, and the Leader, while the third lay to the north of the Lammermuir Hills, extending from their base to the River Esk,
which discharges itself into the Frith of Forth, at Musselburgh, near
1 Edinburgh.
?
Aedan founded his monastery at Lindisfame about fhe year of our Lord
18 the hundred and
KingOswald'sreign. ^ Wemaywellsuppose,thefirst monasticbuildingsat
after the
into Britain, the thirty-ninth after the arrival of St. Augustine, and the second of
635,
eighty-eighth
coming
of the Saxons English
9 According to Cave, Nennius was a Briton by birth, and a disciple of Elvodug, of Probus and of Beulan, a priest, at first a
Ireland," book i. , chap, iv. , p. 31.
I2
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes,
monk in the monastery of Bangor, and O, n. (r), p. 374.
afterwards abbot. See "Scriptorum Ec- I3 See "The of Martyrology Donegal,"
clesiasticorum Historia Literaria," volumen edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
i. , ssec. vii. , p. 577. According to Bale, pp. 230, 231.
Vossius and others, Nennius flourished l4 It should be written north-east,
about the year 620. According to John *3 The several fishing boats, owned on
Pits, he was one of those monks who the Island, are engaged in the cod, ling,
escaped from the slaughter of Ethelfrid, at haddock and lobster fisheries ; while there
Chester. From previous British writings is a curing and a smoking house for herrings,
and traditions, he^ wrote the following which are taken in great numbers along the
"
lib. i. 11. " De Mirabilibus," lib. ii.
III. " Catalogum Urbium Britannia;,"
lib. i. iv. " De Origine Britonum,"
works : 1.
Collectiones Historiarum,"
coast.
l6 On the summit is a castellated fort,
built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
1? See John Hodgson Hinde's "History lib. i. See Relationum Historicarum of Northumberland," p. 126, Newcastle,
"
de Rebus Anglicis,"
nicse, Saxonicse, Anglo-Danicae, Scriptores
num. 106. 67, p.
septima,
10 See Thomas Gale's " Historian Britan-
Dictionary of Universal Knowledge," vol.
p. 107.
I9 "
See Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. viii. , August xxxi.
XV. " "Historia Britonum,
p. 132.
" See Harris' Ware, vol. ii.
1'
tomus i.
/Etas
1857, 8vo.
l8 See Chambers's " a Encyclopaedia,
cap. lxv. , " Writers of
i. ,
478 LIVES 0* THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
Lindisfarnewereofanunpretendingcharacter. TheearlieragesofChristianity could not command the subsidiary to pious emotion, which church architecture afterwards afforded; yet, sanctity was imparted to the meanest building
became better established, and when the
the zeal and devotion of the
the materials used in construction were of a more lasting character than
through
worshippers.
wood. 31 However, as
Christianity
ravages of wars had ceased, there can hardly be a doubt, but that stone build-
ings were designed to replace those perishable structures, especially in
Northumbria. Andastheprimitiveandsmall,althoughsolidlyconstructed,
stonechurchesofIrelandhadeventhenanexistenceformodels it seems ;
probable, that the early stone buildings of the Scottish monks at Lindisfarne were of such a type. Although not referable to the time of St. Aidan, still
the ruins of a later monastery upon Holy Island betoken great antiquity. The arches in general are often stated to be strictly Saxon. 32 The pillars
which
short and 2* There massy.
them are
architecture, although
is, strictly speak-
support no Saxon
ing,
to designate a style of building, which appears to have had its origin in Ire- land, and to have been introduced by the Irish missionaries.
In England, the building art of the Romans25 formed a basis for their indigenous archi- tecture; but, in ecclesiastical structures, their earliest stone churches in the
30 See Dean Henry Hart Milman's " His-
tory of Christianity, from the Birth of Christ to the Abolition of Paganism in the
Roman Empire," vol. iii. , book iv. , chap. »v-» P« 373- Newand revised edition, Lon- don, 1875, cr- 8vo.
Built ere the art was known, By pointed aisle, and shafted stalk, The arcades of an alleyed walk,
" —"Marmion. " Canto ii. , sect, ix. , x.
strong, 2*
such a term has been used frequently
To emulate in stone.
21 "
In the beginning of every mission,
among the people where Christianity had
not been previously established, the first
churches were usually plain and unadorned
to serve a temporary purpose, as also ad-
mitting of ready construction and without
considerable labour or expense having been
undertaken. The greater number of churches
founded by St. Patrick in Ireland were pro-
bably of such description. When stone
most abounded, that material was more
freely used than wood ; while the existing
ruined structures that still remain, from very
primitive times, show them to have been Oriental nations, as also by the Greeks.
rude in shape and design, almost as the Fine copper-plate engravings of the ground- houses then occupied by the people. The plans, elevations, sections, exteriors and
writer's missionary experience has recalled his frequent ministrations, in the plain and primitive log-churches, of necessity erected in the backwoods of America.
interiors, shapes, pillars, doors and adorn- ments, of those temples, are presented, with detailed descriptions, especially in tome ii. , premiere partie, liv. ii. , chap. i. to xxi. , pp. 45 to 127. The domestic architecture of the Romans is illustrated, in tome iii. , pre- miere partie, of the same work, liv. iii. ,
81
See Rev. Courtenay Moore's "Chroni-
cles of St. Colman, and of St. Colman's,
Farahy, Diocese of Cloyne," p. 6.
23
This accepted notion of the existing chap. xiv. to xvi. , pp. 125 to 135 ; as also,
ruins being of Saxon architecture is probably taken from Sir Walter Scott's poetic descrip- tion :—
"A solemn huge and dark-red pile, Placed on the margin of the isle.
ancient civic structures, preserved and in ruins, in liv. v. , chap. ii. to v. , pp. 176 to 182. Again, the baths of the Romans are
shown in the same volume, seconde partie, liv. i. , chap. i. to v. , pp. 201 to 212 ; also, their theatres and amphitheatres
20 Nor is it that likely
84 See George Gilbert Scott's Essay on theHistoryofEnglishChurchArchitecture," chap, ii. , p. 44. London, 1881, 4to.
25 For the antiquarian, this subject is pre- sented in a fashion the most intelligible, by the learned Benedictin Maurist, Dom Ber- nard de Montfaucon, in his most valuable work, "L'Antiquite Expllquee, et repre- sentee, en Figures," where he treats about their most ancient pagan temples, supposed to have had their origin from the Egyptians, and to have been modelled on the style thence borrowed by the Phoenicians and other
In Saxon strength that abbey frowned, in liv. ii. , chap. i. to ix. , pp. 231 to
With massive arches broad and round, That rose alternate, row and row,
On ponderous columns, short and low,
262 ; with plans of their circus and hippo-
drome, liv. iii. , chap. i. to iii. , pp. 273 to 280. In tome iv. are to be found their tri-
August 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 479
northwereformedonIrishmodels. ThebuildingswhichtheRomansleft in the country, and the tnos Romanus brought in by the Roman missionaries in the seventh century, as also the new style brought in by the Normans in the eleventh, were all distinct forms of Roman influence. English ecclesiastical architecture borrowed nothing from any works either of the Saxons before or after they came into Britain, nor from the Britons before the Romans came. It seems probable, that the ancient Christian Britons
26
had erected stone churches, in the very primitive times ; but, it
is specially noticed, that their peculiar manner was to erect wooden churches. The Roman basilica was the type of structure, which had
been adopted most generally, in the building of early Christian temples, and extending to Gaul, it was introduced into Ireland during the fifth and sixth centuries, with some distinctive peculiarities of detail.
In Ireland, which formed no part of the Roman world, pilgrims or visitors
may have brought Roman architectural ideas, but these hardly supplied actualRomanmodels. Toofrequentlyhavetheround-headeddoor-waysand windows in early Irish Churches been considered as of Norman origin solely,
2 althoughdisplayingfeaturesvaryinginotherways ? but,inreality,bothstyles
28 which
umphal arches, in premiere partie, liv. vi. , illustrations of ancient ports, fortresses, chap, viii. , pp. 169 to 172 ; in seconde phares or lighthouses and octagonal towers,
are derived from the Romans. The Irish Churches and
come down to the English Conquest of the twelfth century, besides their other national peculiarities, exhibit in point of mere form an independent variety, with features of its own, distinguishing it from the Romanesque of
partie of the same tomer are shown their
chap. i. to vii. , pp. 119 to 147, The whole of tome v. of this great series is taken up with descriptions and illustrations of funereal
bridges in various parts of their provinces,
liv. i. , chap. i. to v. , pp. 177 to 190, and their
aqueducts, chap, ix. , x. t pp. 198 to 202. monuments, urns and tombs of the Greeks
Tome v. , premiere partie, is altogether de- voted to the illustration of their tombs, fune-
ral monuments, inscriptions and memorials of the dead; while in the seconde partie are illustrations of a similar character referring to the Egyptians, to the Gauls, Germans, and other barbarous people, liv. i. , chap. i. tox. ,pp. 173to201. IntheSupple-
ment au Livre de — et L'Antiquite Expliquee
"
and Romans, as also, of others in the different
provinces of the Empire, in Gaul, Germany, Britain, in Sarmatia, Denmark, Scythia, and otherplaces. Thebriefsynopsisofcontents
here presented only refers, however, to the various forms and applications of ancient architecture ; other varied matters and objects of antiquity are treated, likewise, in
detail, and in a clear manner for the student's comprehension.
Representee en Figures
great 26
published long afterwards by the same writer—we find in tome ii. an account of the Grecian temples, in liv. ii. , chap. i. to viii. , pp. 18 to 47 and
regarding the Gaulish temples, at chap. i. to vii. , pp. 216 to 238. In tome iii. of this
An instance is furnished by Venerable Bede, where Ninian built Candida Casa, " ibi ecclesiamde lapide, insolito Britonibus
;
in liv. viii. we have remarks and engravings
—" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , chap. iv. , pp. 272,
Supplement, are delineations and descrip-
tions of ancient houses, and those belonging
to the Gauls and Germans, in liv. ii. , chap,
viii. , pp. 63, 64 ; while liv. vi. is devoted
to ancient buildings, columns and city gates,
chap. i. tov. ,pp. 144to158; whileliv. vii.
treats of baths and fountains, with architec-
tural representations, chap, i. , iv, pp. 159 to
169. In tome iv. of the Supplement are cells of the monks, a—nd usually associated descriptions and plates representing arches with a round tower. " Rev. Dr. George T.
"
chap. i. to iv. , pp. 66 to 79 ; while in liv. Church. " A History of Ireland and Irish
v. , are accounts of bridges, aqueducts, mili- Christianity, from the Anglo-Norman Con- tary columns, with their inscriptions, chap. quest to the Dawn of the Reformation, sect. i. to ix. , pp. 88 to 118 j as also in liv. vi. , xv. , p. 351. London, 1889, 8vo.
of triumph and their adornments in liv. iv. , Stokes'
Ireland and the Anglo-Norman
more, fecerit. "
;
monasteries,
273.
27 See George Wilkinson's Practical
" Geology and Ancient Architecture of Ire-
land," sect, vi. , p. 108. London, 1845, 8vo. 28 "The Celtic Monastery is in every instance a collection of small, square, stone- roofed churches, without any architectural adornments, enclosed within a cashel or fortification, wherein were the stone or mud
48o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 31.
or 2' The Normandy, Germany, Italy, Aquitaine.
churches to appear
early
have been very numerous ; but at present, the far greater proportion can only
be traced by tradition, and by site, the original buildings having been quite obliterated. However, the most ancient stone churches in Ireland were oblong,
generally of small dimensions, of rude and solid construction, void of archi-
tectural ornament, having sharply pointed gables, square-headed doors and windows,withhorizontallintelsofalongsinglestonelaidoverthem. Like
the Egyptians and Greeks, the arch was unused by the builders, at first ; but at length, circularly headed door-ways and windows were introduced, of no great dimensions, it is true, but often ornamented with effective zig-zag
mouldings, and sculptures of figures, rudely designed and executed. The Roman forms seem to have been understood, and very generally adopted from the seventh to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Several existing remains of such churches are still to be seen. While we admire in Grecian
architecture grace and elegance of design with regularity of form, and variety
of detail , it is remarkable that the springing of arches, on a large or small
scale, is wanting. The Roman builders were the first to introduce the arch
into their public and private buildings, and hence it may be considered
characteristic of their peculiar style of architecture. In Ireland, we have a
continuous succession of native biddings from pagan times 3° and
from the early Christian period until the twelfth century. Of these,
the latter examples are, of course, largely influenced by foreign models ;
but here alone in Christendom, do we see a native round-arched
construction developing itself out of an earlier entablature construction. **
Hence, that assimilated style has been very properly designated the Irish
Romanesque. In many of the later buildings the general effect of the
enriched portions—that is, of the doorways and chancel arches—does not
differ very much from that of ordinary Norman buildings. But there is often
a special character in the ornaments used. The jambs have frequently a
very distinct character, which seems also to have made its way into some
buildings in North Wales. Above all, there is the sloping of the sides of the
2
doorways,3 so eminently characteristic of the Irish buildings, and which is
manifestly a native tradition handed on from earlier native buildings. " It may be questioned, whether the rich Irish Romanesque of the eleventh and twelfth centuries may be considered a Roman style influenced by native tradition, or a native style influenced by Roman models. If we take into
29 See that magnificently illustrated work, "Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret Stokes, vol. ii. , part iv. , concluding essay, chap. vi. "Of the Romanesque oflreland," pp. 189 to 205.
30 For some of the most characteristic
many of the extremely antique Egyptian buildings, and also in some of the Grecian structures.
33 The peculiar features of the Irish eccle- siastical style may well be studied, from its earliest period to its ultimate developments in the photographs and description occurring in ' ' NotesonIrish
specimens,
reader is referred to
with minute the
Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret tecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven. Stokes.
