No More Learning

" According to the Calendar of Marianus O'Gorman, St. Columb was born
on the 7th of December.
100 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta
Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. vi. , p. 486.
was the Sunday letter of the year. But 597 is the only year at this period to which F belongs, that is, whose first of January fell on Tuesday.
108 The feast of St. Columba's successor at Iona, the Abbot Baithen, occurs on this day, likewise, and Adamnan notes the co- incidence, in his " Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 45, p. 182.
109 The Rev. Dr. Reeves has very ably de- monstrated this to have been the true year of the holy Abbot's death, in his edition of Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," Addi- tional ; Notes L, pp. 309 to 312, with the accompanying notes.
110 And the second after the battle year
Cuildreibhne;
101 102
In his Chronicle, at A. D. 596.
At the 9th of June.
103 See " Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto-
tomus
,0* That of Adamnan, and from him the
res,"
i. , Prolegomina,p. 139.
"
106 It is thus expressed by Adamnan : Sanctus ad vespertinalem Doniinicae noctis
Father John Colgan, Ioa
succeeding proofs have been taken, while the particulars have been given in the pre- ceding part of the present chapter.
105 Adamnan relates the saying of St. Co- lumba on Saturday, "hac sequenti media venerabili Dominica nocte patrum gradier viam. "
ecited most after
having completed
probably
and with a view of celebrating the
more than one occasion, employing vuxOv-
from his "Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 45, p. 181, lib. hi. , cap. 11, p. 210, cap. 12, p. 211, and cap. 23, pp. 230, 233.
107 In summing up these particulars, the :
544 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
thirty-four years of his pilgrimage, it must be concluded, that he departed from life, a. d. 597, giving seventy-six years for his age. This calculation fairly accords, likewise, with the account of Venerable Bede,111 who placing St. Columba's removal to Scotland at 565, and who, giving him thirty-two years of pilgrimage there, brings his death to a. d. 597, when he was about
the uncertainty being in his estimation, as to whether it happened before or after the midnight of Sunday. "3 To this latter year, some of the best modern
writers, such as Sir James Ware" 4 Roderick O'Flaherty, 115 Bishop
6 11 II8 Challoner," Rev. Dr. Lanigan, ? the Rev. Alban Butler, Les Petits
112
as to the year of St. Columba's decease, he seems doubtful as to the day
of seventy-seven years age.
While the learned
Ussher — Archbishop agrees
1 '? Rev. Dr. and William F. Reeves,
120 the
Skene, assign departure
The year 598 is assigned by
Bollandistes,
of the holy founder of Iona from this life.
I2I
122
I23 and
Father
byMatthewof Paris,
12* for that of his death. In
by I25 have
very generally adopted, by writers who have
says : Quod si ineunte IX die Junii is decesserit, ad annum dxcvii. cum Beda ; rin desinente ad annum dxcvi. cum Her- manno mors ejus erit referenda : pro quo etiam Tigernaci faciunt Annales ; in quibus Quit's ColumcilU in nocte Do—minica: Pettte- COSttt c0ntij4is. se memoratur. " " Britannica- rum Eccle»iarum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , p. 363. See also his Index Chronologicus, at A. d. , dxcvii. , p. 534.
Scriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 15.
"5 See •'
Ogygia,"
learnedly investigated the matter. 113He "
123
"4 See "De
Baert, S. J. ,
who edited the Acts of our
Scotia;
gus Chronologo-Genealogicus, pp. 474, 475.
116 See "A Memorial of British
p. 89.
Commentarius
"' See " Ecclesiastical of
History Ireland,"
vol. ii. , chap, xii. , sect, xiv. , p. 245, and nn. 230, 231, pp. 247, 248.
1,8
See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. vi. , June ix. The Rev. Alban Butler mistakes, how- ever, in making Saturday fall on the 9th of June, in A. D. 597.
"'See "Vies des Saints," tome vi. ,
120
Ancient Alban," vol.
194.
"; See Rev. Dr.
Lanigan's
ix de Jour
35 peregrinationis suae, aetatis 76 . " Codex Harleianus.
,2 "
9 Thus in Reran) Hibernicarum Scrip-
tores," tomus ii. , Annales Innisfallenses,
we have in the Bodleian " Nativitas copy,
Regum
ii. , Junii
Prxsbytero Abbate, Ad Yitam prolixiorem
byMatthewofWestminster,
Sigibert,
John Mabillon,
the illustrious Cenobiarch terminated his precious life. Most probably, how- ever, the truest calculation is, that Columba died very early on Sunday morn-
the
of
a. d.
120
At this
he should have been in the
9th
His death has been
597. 12
1. 1 *' See
June,
time,
? according to the Annals of Innisfallen,
ing,
eighty-sixth year of his age,
lished by Rev. Dr. O'Conor, 120 but in which we find no record of his demise.
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 168, 169.
banus, doctor Scotorum et Pictorum, obiit, qui posteris suis multa sanctkatis documenta
1. 2
This computation seems to have been
—"Chronica edited reliquit. " Majora," by
Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 257.
He appears to have copied the exact
words of Matthew of Paris already given, in
"Floies Historiarum," p. 203.
•See "Annales Ordinis S. Benedict! ,"
tomus i. , lib. ix. , sect, xix. , p. 249.
'• "
assigned
to a. d.
606, by
Catalo-
saint, in the BdUaodJsts' "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ix. De Sancto Columba
I'iety,"
pr&vius,
pp. 193,
Juin, p. 542.
See "Celtic Scotland: a History of Columbae chill, at a. d. 511, p. 5.
P- 143-
"l In his Chronicle of that
'• :
where he
writes
termDoctor Scotorum obiit.
ii. ,
Sepultus Duni in Hibcrnia, vt ex vulgato epithaphio
— fidem intirmamhoc manifestum, cvjus opere
date, S. Columbanus Abbas et
"Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum/' tomus i. , lib. iii. , num. 249, p. 150. Father John Colgan thus pleasantly
:
Priesby- probani. " At Anno Gratis dxcviii. , Matthew of
Paris " Eodem anno Sanctus Colum- says:
lands him on the horns of a dilemma " Sed.
599,
the
O'Clerys
it,
that
128
Thomas 1 ^ without Dempster,
1:5 In the Mai tyrology of Donegal they state : "It was A. D. 599, when he resigned his spirit. " See edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 152, 153.
Ii6
See the remarks of Father Francis
sect, iii. ,
" Ecclesiasti- cal Ili. -tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xii. ,
sect, xiv. , and n. 231, pp. 245, 24S.
'•8 " They state at a. d. 597:
Quies Co- lumbkille nocte Dominica 5 Idas Junii, ann—o
book Xi° Hewrites "ObiitannoDCVI. ii. , chap, iv. , :
as pub-
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 545
giving the sightest reason or authority for this invention. He departed from 1
this iife, in the seventy-sixth year of hisage,^ according to accounts very gene- rally received ; while several writers state, that he was seventy-seven, at the time of his death. ^2 The O'Clerys thus sum up their estimate of his labours, and the close of his career. He did more service in Albain, for the love of the Lord, than in Erin, though he did much good there also ; for, it was he that brought the people *33 from the darkness of paganism and sin, to the light of faith and of good deeds. He spent thirty-four years of his life, in that country, serving God, until he went to Heaven, on Sunday night exactly, after completing his seventy-sixth year. *34
All the Church Calendars and Martyrologies, both native and foreign, are
agreed, that the chief festival of St.
Columkille belongs to the 9th of June, the
T6
day of his death. 3S Thus, Venerable Bede, in his Martyrology,^ the Calendar
of Cashel,and Usuard, venerate him. '37 St. Columba left behind an imperish- able memory, in theaffections and veneration of thepeople, whom he firstbrought overtotheChristianfaith. '38 InthemostancientofourIrishCalendarsextant, and ascribed to St. ^Engus the Culdee,^ at the 9th of June, he is commemo- rated with distinction. Columbse Cille is the simple record found in theMartyr-
ology of-Tallagh, I4°at this date.
Marianus 0'Gorman,Cathald Maguire, and
The
at v. Idas Junij. In Scotia Sancti Columbe presbyteri et confessoris
141
Notker Balbulus, —likewise
I42
Hermann Greuen 1 *4 as in the j also,
Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad ActaS.
magne et mirande viri. "
of Martyrology Salisbury,
by
si illud sit manifestum, cur quseso ejus fiJem infirmam probauerit? vel si infirma sit, cur
Columbse, cap. 4, p. 483.
135 At the 9th of v. Idus, June
S. Columbia Confessoris. "
"
vocatur manifesta ? "
translated from Extracts, compiled by the
In Scotia
res
131 The following accounts of him are
ments
ipsa
— and found in various Irish docu- O'Clerys,
et Confessoris; magnae et admi- randas virtutis viri. "
138 See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. ii. , book ii. , chap, iv. , p. 143.
""
139 In the Leabhar Breac copy, we find
at this date, the following stanza, which has been tran—slated into English, by Dr. Whitley
:
" Three years was he without light,
Colum in his Duibh-regles.
lie went with angels out of his earthly
prison
After six years and seventy. "
See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 152, 153. Very different is the rendering of this stanza, in William M. Hennessey's version of the " Chronicum Scotorum," pp. 64,—65,
llofnA'ouc oonbicriL<xicli 1mbicVtbi lerr- lAirropech
OAechine Arvo AingbecVi Colam Cille CAin-olecn.
where we find the Irish thus translated
" without was Thirty years, light,
Colum Cille in his Black Regies ; He went to angels from his body
After seven
years
and
:
seventy. "
" Kalendars of
" May they protect us to the eternal king- dom, wherein is ever a lucid light, Baethine high, angelic, Columb cille the lustrous. "
140 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxvi.
I4t He writes : "In Scotia insula Hiber-
niadepositio S. Columbae, cognomento apud suos Columkille, eo quod multarum cellarum, id est, Monasteriorum, vel Ecclesiarum, insti- tutor, fundator et rector extitit," &c. Then
132 See Bishop Forbes'
Scottish Saints," p. 306.
133 A note by Dr. Todd says at this pas-
" 134 See
follows a eulogy and a summary actions.
of his chief
sage,
i. e. , the men of Albain or Scotland. " ""
edited 150, 151.
Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp.
142 See "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 264.
143 At the same date : "Ita Scotia festum S. Columbae Presbyteri et Confe—ssoris, sin- gularis mirificaeque virtutis viri. " "Martyr- ologium Salisburiense. "
IM
by*
"
agree.
1 ^ and
Martyrology
says,
The Martyrology of Donegal.
135 Father John Colgan, adhering to his error regarding the loth of June being the obit for St. Columba, imagines a translation of the Natalis to the 9th of June. See,," Trias
of Aberdeen
In nearly similar terms is he praised, in the
137 He writes
:
" In Scotia B. Columba?
Prsesbyteri
Stokes
:
546 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
Martyrologium Subense,145 and in that of Petrus Galesinus. '46 Besides, his festival, at this date, is recorded in the Martyrologies of Felicillus, of Arnold
Wion, of Canisius, of Molanus, of Dorgain, of Baronius, in his Notes to the
Roman Martyrology, of Hugh Menard, of the Kalendarof Drummond, 147 the
3
Calendarium de Nova Farina,'* the Calendarium Celticum,'49 the Kalen-
darium de Arbuthnott,IS° the Calendar in the Breviary of Aberdeen,151
in Adam King's Kalendar,152 in the Menologium Scotorum of Thomas
1 " in the Calendar of David 154 and in the Scottish Dempster, Camerarius,
Kalendar. J 55 This day is recorded, in the Martyrology of Donegal, 156 the name of Colum Cille, 157 son to Felim, with a distinguished eulogy, and refer- ences to him from various Irish sources. On almost every published list of saints, the name of St. Columkille or Columba occurs. 158
The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Columba, at the 9th of June. 15'
Father Stephen White," placing his feast at this date, introduces him
with distinguished praise. In the anonymous Catalogue, published by O'Sullevan Beare,101 St. Columba's name is entered at this date. Likewise, he is noted in that list of Convceus, where the princely abbot is stated to have lived for thirty years in Britain, and afterwards to have died in the Island of
where he established a renowned 162 our more modern monastery. Among
Hi,
writers, the chief festival of the illustrious founder of Iona has been constantly
referred to the 9U1 of day of June, as we find by consulting the biographies or
notices of l63 Rev. Dr. Alban Bishop Challenor,
16*
Rev. Lanigan, D. D. ,l6s Very Rev. Dr. F. C. Hussenbeth,166 Rev. Dr. William
Reeves, l67 Le Comte de Montalembert,168 and Bishop Forbes. 16?
From a very remote period, both in Ireland and in Scotland, the memory of this great Cenobiarch was annually commemorated by a special office and aMassinhishonour. TherearereferencestoanofficeofSt. Columba,in Nine Lessons, as we learn from various Irish Manuscripts, preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. Thus, a Manuscript intituled the Breviary of Kil-
" In Scotia S. Columbae Prsesbyteri et Confessoris
'38 See " Circle of the 161. Seasons," p.
144 In the Carthusian
Martyrology :
magnse et admiranda: virtutis viri. " Columbi Prsesbyteri
MS It borrows the account of Balbulus.
Notger
Romanum XIII. . ' p. 82. Editio, Ronue, 1878, fol.
100 See " Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. ,
146 He writes " In Scotia S. Columbe
:
Prresbyteri et Confessoris, admirandarum p. 15, cap. iv. , p. 39, and cap. v. , p. 71. 161 "
virtutum Christianarum, et divina vivendi See Historic Catholica; Iberniae
ratione praeclari. " Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , M? See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of p. 50.
Scottisli Saints," p. 15.
l6 -'
See ibid. , cap. x. , p. 48.
163 See "A Memorial of British
148 See ibid. ,
,4» See ibid. , p. 86.
150 See ibid. , p. 101.
151 See ibid. , p. 117.
152 See ibid. , p. 154.
'S3 See ibid. , p. 202.
•« See ibid. , p. 238.
'55 See ibid. , p. 252. 245- 156 Edited by Dis. Todd and Reeves. See ,6
72.
pp. 151 to 163.
57 In a note, by Dr. Todd, he says at this
" In the margin there is this note in the more recent hand, ' Natus est 7° Decembris an. 520, ex Vita S. Boctii episcopi ; in Hibernia vixit 42 annos, Hiam
profectus an. 565, ibi post 34 obiit, an. 598, setat, 76. ' But these numbers are not quite consistent. "
Piety,"
word, Colum Cille
:
^
edition of Rev. Dr. Augustus Jessopp, p. C2.
167 See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,"
p.
"
159
In these words
"
et Confessoris. "
Martyrologium 1
Gregorii
Butler,
Very
John
p. 89.
164 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs
and other principal Saints," vol. vi. ,
June ix.
165 See Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
"
land," vol. ii. , chap, xii. , sect, xiv. , p.
:
In Scotia Sancti —
See " Emblems of the Saints,'' third
Additional Notes L,
168 See "Les Moines d'Occident," tome
iii. , liv. xi. , chap, vii. , p. 283.
169 See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p.
306.
*'• Among them, at Idus Junii v. —June
p. 310,
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 547
moon records various Irish
Saints,
1 ? with their festival celebrations. The
Manuscript Culdee Antiphonarium of Armagh Metropolitan Church, classed
11 12
B.