*7 See Giraldi
Cambrensis
"Opera," vol.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
, edited by James
cap. i.
July 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
hermit, who occupied a cell somewhere in the neighbourhood of Padstow, and who was highly esteemed for his zeal and holiness. A chapel called after oursaintwasatonetimeonthesiteofPlaceHousenearPadstowx? and,
;
it appears to be not improbable, that it had been the exact spot, where Samson had his cell or hermitage, at the time of St. Petrock's visit. As the holy man had received a Divine monition, to leave his own country, which was known as the Greater Britain, he now crossed over that channel, which sepa- ratesEnglandfromFrance. Inthislattercountrywashedesiredtowork out the designs of Providence. With many other Britons, he appears to have
fled from the and invasions of the 18
persecutions Anglo-Saxons. According
to one account, indeed, he left Cambrian Britain fo escape from a Saxon
who had invaded his
neighbourhood.
There are others who 20 state,
tyrant,^
that a strange pestilence having swept away the greater part of his flock, while war against the Saxons having exterminated the rest with fire and sword, Samson fled to Britany, but in pursuance of a Divine command. Tradition accuses him of carrying off with him into Brittany all the Manuscripts which he could collect. He employed the two horses he brought from Ireland to draw
British
them, Armorica,
his father Ammon23 remained in that 2* which monastery,
with other church 22 When Cornwall for requisites. leaving
hehadfounded. Onthisincident,however,thereareotherversionsofthestory. His father Amon, according to one account, and his cousin St. Magloire 25 had accompanied him to Armorica. 26 Another cousin of his, the celebrated
2 23 St. Maclou or Malo, ? followed, to aid him during his missionary labours.
Samson often interfered to assist the wretched, and to redress the people's
2^ as he was
sooner had he arrived at the port, than he beheld near it a small hut, and a poor man named Privatus weeping, while he was looking towards the sea. Our saint asked the cause for his sorrow, and received as an answer, that for three days and as many nights, he had watched for a deliverer the Almighty had promised to send ; also, that he had a wife covered with leprosy and a demoniac daughter, who waited for their restoration to health at that port. Whereupon, Samson entered their poor lodging, and praying for these afflicted persons, both were restored to health. ^
wrongs,
18 See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's " Histoire Universelle de l'Eglise Catholique," tome ix. , liv. xlv. , p. 251.
19 This is stated in the u Martyrologium Gallicanum," at the 28th of November :
Saxonem
versus minorem Britanniam, ut tutius Christo
"
serviret, pedem retraxit.
20 See Alford's " Fides Regia Britannica,
writer.
24 See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St.
Samson. "
2S His feast is referred to the 24th of
October.
26 " Dans cette sainte colonie de mission-
aires, on distingue principalement Saint Sam- son, Saint Malo, Saint Magloire et Saint Meen. "—L'Abbe" Rohrbacher's " Histoire
"Samson,
tyrannidem fugiens,
21 to Giraldus According
Cambrensis, was the Yellow Pestilence, " quam et phy- sici ictericiam dicunt passionem,"&c. Giraldi
especially distinguished
sive Annales Ecclesise Britannicse," &c, Universelle de l'Eglise Catholique," tome
tomus ii. , A. c. 559, sect, iv. , p. 68.
ix. , liv. xlv. , p. 251.
this 27 His feast on the th of occurs, 15
November.
28 "
See the Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of
Cambrensis "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal
James F. Dimock, M. A. Itinerarium Kam- brise, lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 103.
22 "
Plaustrum ordinans ad portanda spiritualia utensilia sua atque volumina, suumque currum in duobus imponens equis, quern de Hibernia apud se asportaverat patriam pertransiens, Domino comitante, iter suumordinavit. "
23 If he be enumerated among the Cam- brian Saints has not been ascertained by the
Saints," vol. vii. , July xxviii.
29
See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
for his No practical charity.
"Early Irish Missions," No. i. , p. 28.
3° Another very different account of this miracle of Samson is given by Pere Pierre le Bavd, that Privatus was a Prince of this country, "en douleur de sa femme qui es- toit Lepreuse et la fille demoniacle qu'il garit, selon histoire de luy. "—" Histoire de
Bretagne," chap, i. , p. 10.
21
422 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
He then selected Dol, as a place for his residence, and he settled in the
Lesser Britain, generally called Britannic Armorica. His manner of life there
greatly edified the clergy and laity. Samson was soon regarded as a guest
divinely directed to reform the morals of the people, and to become their
guide in spiritual affairs. It is stated, that Childebert ruled as King of
France, 31 at the time of St. Samson's arrival in Armorica. In the Life of our
saint, he is called Hildebert. On his arrival in Brittany, Samson found the
inhabitants in great misery, as also in grief, for what had lately occurred.
Soon, Samson heard all the circumstances, and ever detesting injustice or
oppression, he resolved on an effort to protect the people. Jonas, their
native prince, had just been murdered by a tyrannical governor, Commorus,3a
byname,whohadusurpedtheprovince; andhissonJudualhadbeensentaway as a captive to King Hildebert. That Lieutenant of the Frankish King is also
calledConomororKon-mor. 33 HeruledoverDomnonia,whichcomprised almost all Armorica. He was the autrustion or trusty servant of Queen Ultro- goth. Movedwithpity,Samsonhastenedtotheking,hopingtoredeemJudual from prison. When he arrived at Childebert's palace, he found one of the
sented to him at a banquet. Immediately, it flew into pieces. 35 Then follow other accounts, in the Latin Life of our saint, equally marvellous and incre- dible. 36 However, we are left to infer, that Childebert was inclined to grant the request of St. Samson. After sundry perils and supernatural deeds, Samson gained his object, and returned to Brittany with the young Breton prince. They enlist an army on their homeward route, and enter the country prepared to do battle with the usurper. At one blow the foe is vanquished. Samson praying and fasting, with Judual fighting at the head of his warriors, succeeded in recovering Armoric Cornubia. 37 Afterwards, Judual and his family bore sway over that province. 38 After this, Samson received great honour and large gifts from King Hildebert. He made many journeys to Paris, and during one of these, he assisted at a council held there, in the year 557. 39 According to one opinion, he sat there as Bishop of Menevia 4° ratherthanofDol; but,thatmaywellbeconsideredasuntenable.
31 His reign lasted from a. d. 511 to a. d.
560.
32 He is said to have been a Prefect sent to
rule there as Lieutenant to King Childe- bert.
33 According to the Breton Legend. This
"
word in that language means
and it is identical with the Irish word Ceann-mor.
34 The Bollandists state, however, that we
are not to admit these crude accounts re-
"non ea garding Ultrogotha, magis quam "
quse refutat Cointius ad an. 529, num. 8.
3s See Surius " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," &c, tomus hi. , Julius xxviii. Vita S.
SamsonisEpiscopi,cap. vii. ,p. 340. 36 See ibid. , cap. viii.
3' See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St. Samson. "
3* See the Bollandists' "Acta Sane-
torum," tomus vi. , Julii xxviii. De S. Samsone Episcopo Conf. Dolse in Britannia
Armorica. Vita S. Samsonis, cap. vi. , pp.
585, 586.
3? The Canons of this Council were Ten
in number, and they are contained in the
" Acta Conciliorum et Epistolx Decretales,
ac Constitutiones Summorum Pontificum,"
edited the Fathers, Labbe by Jesuit Philip
and Gabriel Crossart, with additions by
Father John Harduin, and published at Paris 1714, 1715, in twelve large folio volumes,doublecolumns. Seetomusiii. , cols. 335 to 340.
The — blessedoilonthe epilepsy. holy bishop applied
noblesafflictedwith
top of his head, on his face, and on his breast probably from such an account we are to infer, that he administered the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Manywerethenpresent,andsoonthesickmanrecovered. This wasrelatedtotheking,aspartakingofamiraculouscharacter. WhenSamson began to plead for the release of Judual, he found many of the courtiers opposed to his motion. That noble, whom he had healed, alone seconded His efforts. None was more hostile than Queen Ultrogotha,34 who thought to have poisoned him, but the saint divinely forewarned blessed that cup pre-
head chief,"
July 28. ] LIVES OF TkE IRISH SAINTS.
423
Several historic churches and some remarkable monasteries were founded by Samson in those northern countries of Gaul. The principal and most distinguished of these religious houses was that of Dol or Dole. This he rendered illustrious, through his sanctity and miracles. It has been assumed,
that he became the first
had not been constituted an
Dol or Dole is said to signify "a low fruitful plain. "*3 St. Sampson, it is stated, had six suffragans, all monks, missionaries, and bishops, like himself. ** In the Life of Gildas, this saint is called Archbishop of Britain ; and hence, the people of Dola contend, that their city had early become the ecclesiasti- cal metropolis of Armorica. It is asserted, that it had been formerly an Archi-
of Dol to
1
others,* the place
bishop
episcopalSee,* during
;
it did not receive for three centuries fully
after the death of St. Samson. *6
tany to preach the Gospel to his own countrymen, who had settled there in great numbers as refugees, and that he exercised episcopal functions amongst them whilst he lived in his monastery at Dole. The story too of his carrying
with him the pall from Menevia, and so depriving subsequent prelates filling that See of their Archiepiscopal dignity,*? has been repeated by one writer after another for hundreds of years past, and in modern books it is almost the only thingcommonlystatedinconnectionwithSamson'sname. Innoancient Life of the saint is there any allusion to the story; nor can it be shown, that any British bishop before the time of Augustine ever received a pall from Rome, orthatthesymbolwasevenknownintheearlyBritishChurch. Moreover, if Samson had been invested with it, and had abstracted it from Menevia, it would not have lessened the dignity of his successor, because every Arch- bishop Had a new pall sent to him by the Pope on his consecration, and the oldpalldidnotpassfrombishoptobishopinsuccession. *8 Thefictionmay be traced to the twelfth century, and it seems to have been invented, to account for the disappearance of the metropolitan title from St. David's. *9 However, in due course, but not before the ninth century,s° did Dol become a Bishop's See ; still, in succeeding ages, and long after St. Sa"mson's death, it claimed,
See s this episcopal ;* but, dignity
*° See Alford's "Fides Regia Anglo-
Saxonica sive Annales Ecclesise Anglo-
Saxonies," &c, tomusii. , A. C 559, sect, iv. , p. 68.
41 See Baillet's "LesVies des Saints," tome vii. , xxviii. Jour de Juillet, sect, iv. , p. 812.
42 " Elle possede le monument du moyen
age le plus remarquable du departement, une eglise ogival, dont les piliers sont formes d'une grosse colonne et de quatre colon- nettes entierement isoldes. "—Elisee Reclus'
" Nouvelle Geographie Universale," tome ii. , liv. i. , chap, viii. , sect, iv. , p. 638.
43 In the ancient British language.
44 These are named, Paul of Leon, Tugdual of Treguier, Corentin of Quimper, Paterne of Vannes, Brieuc and Malo of the two dio- ceses, called after their respective names. These have been denominated the seven saints of Britain.
4s See "Cqlgan's "Acta Sanctorum
Hibemiae," xxix. Januarii, n. 9, p. 189.
46 A Breton prince, named Nomenoy, who became King of Bretagne, was the first to erect Dol as the Metropolis of his new king- dom. See Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome
vii. , xxviii. Jour de Juillet, sect, iv. , p. 812.
*7 See Giraldi Cambrensis "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by James F. Dimock, M. A. Itinerarium Kambrise, lib. ii. , cap. i. , p.
but, according
2 the lifetime
It has been intimated, that he went to Brit-
103. *8
" of See the History and Antiquities
St. David's," by Jones and Freeman, p. 264.
*9 See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St. Samson. "
5° to Mabillon's uAnnales According
Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. vi. , num. xx. , p. 151.
s' This sentiment is appositely expressed by one of our very distinguished Irish poets :
" For the Irish and Breton are kin, Though the lights of Antiquity
pale,
In the point of the dawn where the
partings begin
Of the Bolg, and the Kymro, and
Gael. "
—Sir Samuel Ferguson's "Lays of the Western Gael, and other Poems. " Adieu to
Brittany, p. 138.
ofSamson.
424 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
on his account, metropolitical jurisdiction, over all the other Sees of Little
Britain. A communistic feeling of national, ethnological and religious
interests, at this period, greatly united the pious men of Armorica, of Cornubia, of Cambria, as also the Britains of Strathclyde with the people of Ireland. 51
CHAPTER IV.
INCORRECT TRADITION A130UT ST. SAMSON HAVING BEEN ARCHBISHOP OF YORK— HIS ZEAL AND MISSIONARY WORK IN ARMORICA—HIS DISCIPLES—FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN ST. SAMSON AND ST. GERMAIN, BISHOP OF PARIS—PRESENCE OF ST. SAMSON AT THE THIRD COUNCIL OF PARIS—HE RETURNS TO DOL MONASTERY— HIS DEATH—WELSH TRADITIONS—HIS" INTERMENT AT DOL—HIS RELICS— MEMORIALS OF ST. SAMSON IN IRELAND, WALES, ENGLAND AND FRANCE- FESTIVAL AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
According to the statements of certain writers, St. Samson was set over the
See of York, and at a time when the Anglo-Saxons invaded the Britons.
During that period, Uterpendragon was confined to his sick bed at Verola-
ravages. Wherefore—so runs the story—the Anglo-Saxons levelled all the Christian churches before them, and obliged the Bishops and pastors to retire from such scenes of desolation to seek hiding-places from their fury. During this state of confusion and desolation, a tradition has it, that Samson, a man of exalted sanctity, and then Archbishop over York,2 fled with multi- tudes of his fellow-countrymen into Lesser Britain, and bringing with him the Pallium,3 which he had received from the Roman Pontiff. 4 There the fugitive prelate is said to have been most favourably received, and the bishop of Dol being dead, at that time, Samson was elected to succeed him, and with unanimous acclaim'; while the king also approving that choice, he was obliged to yield consent to their wishes, although with great reluctance on his part. The story continues, that being enthroned, and so long as he lived, Samson wore his Roman Pallium, at Dol, while many of his successors com- tinued the same usage. However, all this account is self-contradictory, while it is utterly irreconcilable with the facts of civil and ecclesiastical history. *
1
mium, so that he was unable to defend himself or his kingdom from their
Chapter iv. — * This Roman colony was in Britain, and near St. Albans. It is alluded to by Tacitus, in " Annalium," lib. xiv. , cap. xxxiii.
is a pontifical ornament, which properly de-
signates the office of archbishop, or of bishops who have obtained the right to wear it. Allusion is made to its use in the time of St. Isidore of Damietta, who died in the middle of the fifth century, and it was con- ferred on St. Cesaire, Bishop of Aries, by
2
This error is said to have arisen, from
mistaking this Samson, son of Amwn, for Samson, the son of Caw, who had a church
at York, although he was not a bishop there. ""
Samson, son of Caw, lived a gene —ration
earlier than Samson, son of Amwn. " Rev.
Pope Symmacus in the sixth century. See lAbbe Bergier's Dictionnaire de Theolo- gie," sub voce Pallium.
s Yet, such a tradition caused the Kings of Armorica to contend, that their Arch- bishop and Metropolitan of Dol, and the
bishops of that province, owed no subjec- tion to the Archbishop of Tours, although it might have been otherwise in the time of St. Martin. This question had been mooted for more than three hundred years, until thedis- pute was settled by a Decree of Pope Inno-
S. Baring-Gould's
vol. vii. , July 28, p. 607, n. 1.
"
Lives of the Saints,"
3 The Pallium was originally a cloak worn by philosophers in the ancient schools. It appears afterwards to have been worn by
" monks. See Rev. Joseph Bingham's Ori-
gincs Ecclesiastical : Antiquities of the Christian Church," book vi. , chap, iv. , sect.
19, and book vii. , chap, iii. , sect. 6.
4 The Pallium, now conferred by the Pope, cent III. ; while, at the instance of the
July 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. 425
This holy Bishop was most anxious to provide for the spiritual wants of that flock committed to his charge, and once each year, he was sure to visit every quarter of his diocese ; while, on the 1st of November annually, he held a provincial synod, in which with incredible zeal, he laboured to regulate discreetly the affairs of his See, to reform the manners of clergy and people, to build and ornament churches and religious institutes, as also to fill vacant
6
benefices with learned and virtuous ecclesiastics.
It is related, that about the
middle of the sixth century, St. Samson placed various channel islands, and
aided by King Childebert, among others Jersey—then deserted—to be held
under sway of Dol monastery, in perpetuity. But, to his successor St.
Maglorie has been attributed its complete conversion to Christianity. ? Owing
to monastic culture, Jersey afterwards became a marval of fertility and of
8
agriculturalwealth, whileithasapopulationsixtimesgreaterthanFrance,
in relative proportion to the extent of its surface. * As one of the Scilly Islands has borne the name of St. Samson,10 and from an immemorial period ; so it has been conjectured, that during his lifetime, it had become his abode. The origin of a monastery at Pentalien, as at Dol, has been referred to the holybishopSamson. 11 ThatwasalsoinArmorica. Atacertaintime,whileSt. Samson preached in the Island, called Resia, the people were accustomed to practise profane rites, on the Kalends of January. But, the saint assembled them in one place, and there he lectured them on the unseemliness of their proceedings. The seniors felt ashamed, and promised to renounce these customs for the future. The children, who were accustomed to run about the island, were rewarded with some small gifts by the saint, and he exhorted them to renounce such evil practices. A reform was soon affected, and
12
nothing but Christian usages were afterwards tolerated in that island. According to a Breton legend, seeing his monks disturbed by the cry of wild birds, St. Samson collected these together one night, and in the court of his
x 3 he
was dismissed, with an interdiction against resuming their screams. This order of the saint they afterwards implicitly observed. 14 To St. Samson, likewise, in conjunction with St. Teilo, a British monk, is attributed the
r
planting of a great orchard or forest s of fruit trees, which existed, even to
the twelfth 16 It in the immediate of and
monastery,
imposed
silence on them. Next the feathered flock morning,
century. grew
neighbourhood Dol,
Archbishop of Tours, Pope Nicholas I. wrote to Salomon, Count of Britanny, a definitive Decree, importing, that thence- forth, the Archbishop of Tours should have jurisdiction over the See of Dol, as over all the other Sees in Britanny. It began
Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," for a description of the Scilly Islands, in general and in detail, vol. iv. , pp. 31, 32.
"
thus :
sis. " See it in Matthsei Parisiensis, Monachi Sancti Albani, " Chronica Majora," vol. ii. Edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , at A. D. 1 199, pp. 459, 460.
7 See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 632.
8 See Le Comte de Montalembert's " Les
Moines de l'Occident," tome ii. , liv. vii. , chap, iv. , p. 316.
9 From 22,855 in 1851, the population increased to 57,155 in i860. See "The
Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. , p. 381. 10 This is a very small island, only inha- bited by a few individuals. See Samuel
" See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. vi. , sect, xx. , p. 151.
Doleat Dolensis, et gaudeat Turonen-
" I2
6 See Les Petits
Saints," tome ix. , xxviiie Jour de Juillet, p. 89.
Bollandistes,
" Vies des
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Julii xxviii. De S. Samsone Episcopo Conf. Dobe in Britannia Armorica. Vita S. Samsonis, lib. ii. , num. 13, p. 590.
13 Such casual in the Acts of descriptions
saints furnish a correct notion of what had been the custom in building early monas- teries. We are to infer, most probably, that the dwellings of St. Samson's monks had been formed around a square plot ofground which was in the centre.
M See Albert le Grand, p. 423.
"i In the Legend it is called "magnum
nemus. "
l6 "
It bore the name Arboretum Teleavi
et Samsonis. " See La Broderie's " Dis- cours sur les Saints Bretons," p. 39.
426 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
according to popular tradition, it was three miles in extent. To these saints,
the people of Amorica are mainly indebted for introducing the apple-tree into 1
a district, where cider is yet the national beverage. ?
The chief of St. Samson were St. 18 his deacon and disciples Magloire,
1
successor at Dol, St. Similien, ^ Abbot over the monastery of Taurac, St.
Ethbin 20 and St. Guenole the 21 both Younger,
religious
of the same
monastery
at Taurac, the famous St. Me'en," founder of Gael monastery ; besides, in
Greater and Lesser Britain, there were many others, who spread everywhere
the name and glory of this holy man. Among these may be included
his own father, and his mother, his uncle and his aunt, his brothers and his
2 cousins. 3
Some accounts state, that Queen Ultrogotha was a faithful coadjutrice of the monks. With her husband's assistance, at the gates of Paris, she founded a great monastery, afterwards known as St. Germain-des-Pre's. The Bishop of Paris, St. Germain,2* and the king, agreed that it should be given for a religious institute of men. This new monastery was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction. One day, according to a Breton legend, our saint and the Bishop of Paris talked over the affairs of their respective monasteries. St. Samson said his monks were such good economists, and so careful of their beehives, that they had an abundance of honey and of-wax. At the same time, he complained, that their country was not suited for vines, and con- sequently, they experienced a dearth of wine. St. Germain then replied, that vineyards abounded near Paris, and that, while wanting waxlights for the Church services, they had more wine than sufficient for monastic uses. It was agreed, that Dol should furnish yearly wax, to light the church at Paris ; while the tenth part of wine, produced from the monastery vineyards there, should be returned as an equivalent. During the lifetime of both saints, this mutual accommodation continued. 25
The zeal of St. Samson caused him to visit Paris, and to take part in the deliberations of many holy Archbishops and Bishops, who assembled for the purpose of holding a National Council. The king had invited him to lodge in an apartment prepared for his reception, in the royal palace ; but, such was our saint's humility, that he preferred to remain in the monastery of St. Vincent,builtbySt.
cap. i.
July 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
hermit, who occupied a cell somewhere in the neighbourhood of Padstow, and who was highly esteemed for his zeal and holiness. A chapel called after oursaintwasatonetimeonthesiteofPlaceHousenearPadstowx? and,
;
it appears to be not improbable, that it had been the exact spot, where Samson had his cell or hermitage, at the time of St. Petrock's visit. As the holy man had received a Divine monition, to leave his own country, which was known as the Greater Britain, he now crossed over that channel, which sepa- ratesEnglandfromFrance. Inthislattercountrywashedesiredtowork out the designs of Providence. With many other Britons, he appears to have
fled from the and invasions of the 18
persecutions Anglo-Saxons. According
to one account, indeed, he left Cambrian Britain fo escape from a Saxon
who had invaded his
neighbourhood.
There are others who 20 state,
tyrant,^
that a strange pestilence having swept away the greater part of his flock, while war against the Saxons having exterminated the rest with fire and sword, Samson fled to Britany, but in pursuance of a Divine command. Tradition accuses him of carrying off with him into Brittany all the Manuscripts which he could collect. He employed the two horses he brought from Ireland to draw
British
them, Armorica,
his father Ammon23 remained in that 2* which monastery,
with other church 22 When Cornwall for requisites. leaving
hehadfounded. Onthisincident,however,thereareotherversionsofthestory. His father Amon, according to one account, and his cousin St. Magloire 25 had accompanied him to Armorica. 26 Another cousin of his, the celebrated
2 23 St. Maclou or Malo, ? followed, to aid him during his missionary labours.
Samson often interfered to assist the wretched, and to redress the people's
2^ as he was
sooner had he arrived at the port, than he beheld near it a small hut, and a poor man named Privatus weeping, while he was looking towards the sea. Our saint asked the cause for his sorrow, and received as an answer, that for three days and as many nights, he had watched for a deliverer the Almighty had promised to send ; also, that he had a wife covered with leprosy and a demoniac daughter, who waited for their restoration to health at that port. Whereupon, Samson entered their poor lodging, and praying for these afflicted persons, both were restored to health. ^
wrongs,
18 See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's " Histoire Universelle de l'Eglise Catholique," tome ix. , liv. xlv. , p. 251.
19 This is stated in the u Martyrologium Gallicanum," at the 28th of November :
Saxonem
versus minorem Britanniam, ut tutius Christo
"
serviret, pedem retraxit.
20 See Alford's " Fides Regia Britannica,
writer.
24 See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St.
Samson. "
2S His feast is referred to the 24th of
October.
26 " Dans cette sainte colonie de mission-
aires, on distingue principalement Saint Sam- son, Saint Malo, Saint Magloire et Saint Meen. "—L'Abbe" Rohrbacher's " Histoire
"Samson,
tyrannidem fugiens,
21 to Giraldus According
Cambrensis, was the Yellow Pestilence, " quam et phy- sici ictericiam dicunt passionem,"&c. Giraldi
especially distinguished
sive Annales Ecclesise Britannicse," &c, Universelle de l'Eglise Catholique," tome
tomus ii. , A. c. 559, sect, iv. , p. 68.
ix. , liv. xlv. , p. 251.
this 27 His feast on the th of occurs, 15
November.
28 "
See the Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of
Cambrensis "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal
James F. Dimock, M. A. Itinerarium Kam- brise, lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 103.
22 "
Plaustrum ordinans ad portanda spiritualia utensilia sua atque volumina, suumque currum in duobus imponens equis, quern de Hibernia apud se asportaverat patriam pertransiens, Domino comitante, iter suumordinavit. "
23 If he be enumerated among the Cam- brian Saints has not been ascertained by the
Saints," vol. vii. , July xxviii.
29
See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
for his No practical charity.
"Early Irish Missions," No. i. , p. 28.
3° Another very different account of this miracle of Samson is given by Pere Pierre le Bavd, that Privatus was a Prince of this country, "en douleur de sa femme qui es- toit Lepreuse et la fille demoniacle qu'il garit, selon histoire de luy. "—" Histoire de
Bretagne," chap, i. , p. 10.
21
422 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
He then selected Dol, as a place for his residence, and he settled in the
Lesser Britain, generally called Britannic Armorica. His manner of life there
greatly edified the clergy and laity. Samson was soon regarded as a guest
divinely directed to reform the morals of the people, and to become their
guide in spiritual affairs. It is stated, that Childebert ruled as King of
France, 31 at the time of St. Samson's arrival in Armorica. In the Life of our
saint, he is called Hildebert. On his arrival in Brittany, Samson found the
inhabitants in great misery, as also in grief, for what had lately occurred.
Soon, Samson heard all the circumstances, and ever detesting injustice or
oppression, he resolved on an effort to protect the people. Jonas, their
native prince, had just been murdered by a tyrannical governor, Commorus,3a
byname,whohadusurpedtheprovince; andhissonJudualhadbeensentaway as a captive to King Hildebert. That Lieutenant of the Frankish King is also
calledConomororKon-mor. 33 HeruledoverDomnonia,whichcomprised almost all Armorica. He was the autrustion or trusty servant of Queen Ultro- goth. Movedwithpity,Samsonhastenedtotheking,hopingtoredeemJudual from prison. When he arrived at Childebert's palace, he found one of the
sented to him at a banquet. Immediately, it flew into pieces. 35 Then follow other accounts, in the Latin Life of our saint, equally marvellous and incre- dible. 36 However, we are left to infer, that Childebert was inclined to grant the request of St. Samson. After sundry perils and supernatural deeds, Samson gained his object, and returned to Brittany with the young Breton prince. They enlist an army on their homeward route, and enter the country prepared to do battle with the usurper. At one blow the foe is vanquished. Samson praying and fasting, with Judual fighting at the head of his warriors, succeeded in recovering Armoric Cornubia. 37 Afterwards, Judual and his family bore sway over that province. 38 After this, Samson received great honour and large gifts from King Hildebert. He made many journeys to Paris, and during one of these, he assisted at a council held there, in the year 557. 39 According to one opinion, he sat there as Bishop of Menevia 4° ratherthanofDol; but,thatmaywellbeconsideredasuntenable.
31 His reign lasted from a. d. 511 to a. d.
560.
32 He is said to have been a Prefect sent to
rule there as Lieutenant to King Childe- bert.
33 According to the Breton Legend. This
"
word in that language means
and it is identical with the Irish word Ceann-mor.
34 The Bollandists state, however, that we
are not to admit these crude accounts re-
"non ea garding Ultrogotha, magis quam "
quse refutat Cointius ad an. 529, num. 8.
3s See Surius " De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," &c, tomus hi. , Julius xxviii. Vita S.
SamsonisEpiscopi,cap. vii. ,p. 340. 36 See ibid. , cap. viii.
3' See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St. Samson. "
3* See the Bollandists' "Acta Sane-
torum," tomus vi. , Julii xxviii. De S. Samsone Episcopo Conf. Dolse in Britannia
Armorica. Vita S. Samsonis, cap. vi. , pp.
585, 586.
3? The Canons of this Council were Ten
in number, and they are contained in the
" Acta Conciliorum et Epistolx Decretales,
ac Constitutiones Summorum Pontificum,"
edited the Fathers, Labbe by Jesuit Philip
and Gabriel Crossart, with additions by
Father John Harduin, and published at Paris 1714, 1715, in twelve large folio volumes,doublecolumns. Seetomusiii. , cols. 335 to 340.
The — blessedoilonthe epilepsy. holy bishop applied
noblesafflictedwith
top of his head, on his face, and on his breast probably from such an account we are to infer, that he administered the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Manywerethenpresent,andsoonthesickmanrecovered. This wasrelatedtotheking,aspartakingofamiraculouscharacter. WhenSamson began to plead for the release of Judual, he found many of the courtiers opposed to his motion. That noble, whom he had healed, alone seconded His efforts. None was more hostile than Queen Ultrogotha,34 who thought to have poisoned him, but the saint divinely forewarned blessed that cup pre-
head chief,"
July 28. ] LIVES OF TkE IRISH SAINTS.
423
Several historic churches and some remarkable monasteries were founded by Samson in those northern countries of Gaul. The principal and most distinguished of these religious houses was that of Dol or Dole. This he rendered illustrious, through his sanctity and miracles. It has been assumed,
that he became the first
had not been constituted an
Dol or Dole is said to signify "a low fruitful plain. "*3 St. Sampson, it is stated, had six suffragans, all monks, missionaries, and bishops, like himself. ** In the Life of Gildas, this saint is called Archbishop of Britain ; and hence, the people of Dola contend, that their city had early become the ecclesiasti- cal metropolis of Armorica. It is asserted, that it had been formerly an Archi-
of Dol to
1
others,* the place
bishop
episcopalSee,* during
;
it did not receive for three centuries fully
after the death of St. Samson. *6
tany to preach the Gospel to his own countrymen, who had settled there in great numbers as refugees, and that he exercised episcopal functions amongst them whilst he lived in his monastery at Dole. The story too of his carrying
with him the pall from Menevia, and so depriving subsequent prelates filling that See of their Archiepiscopal dignity,*? has been repeated by one writer after another for hundreds of years past, and in modern books it is almost the only thingcommonlystatedinconnectionwithSamson'sname. Innoancient Life of the saint is there any allusion to the story; nor can it be shown, that any British bishop before the time of Augustine ever received a pall from Rome, orthatthesymbolwasevenknownintheearlyBritishChurch. Moreover, if Samson had been invested with it, and had abstracted it from Menevia, it would not have lessened the dignity of his successor, because every Arch- bishop Had a new pall sent to him by the Pope on his consecration, and the oldpalldidnotpassfrombishoptobishopinsuccession. *8 Thefictionmay be traced to the twelfth century, and it seems to have been invented, to account for the disappearance of the metropolitan title from St. David's. *9 However, in due course, but not before the ninth century,s° did Dol become a Bishop's See ; still, in succeeding ages, and long after St. Sa"mson's death, it claimed,
See s this episcopal ;* but, dignity
*° See Alford's "Fides Regia Anglo-
Saxonica sive Annales Ecclesise Anglo-
Saxonies," &c, tomusii. , A. C 559, sect, iv. , p. 68.
41 See Baillet's "LesVies des Saints," tome vii. , xxviii. Jour de Juillet, sect, iv. , p. 812.
42 " Elle possede le monument du moyen
age le plus remarquable du departement, une eglise ogival, dont les piliers sont formes d'une grosse colonne et de quatre colon- nettes entierement isoldes. "—Elisee Reclus'
" Nouvelle Geographie Universale," tome ii. , liv. i. , chap, viii. , sect, iv. , p. 638.
43 In the ancient British language.
44 These are named, Paul of Leon, Tugdual of Treguier, Corentin of Quimper, Paterne of Vannes, Brieuc and Malo of the two dio- ceses, called after their respective names. These have been denominated the seven saints of Britain.
4s See "Cqlgan's "Acta Sanctorum
Hibemiae," xxix. Januarii, n. 9, p. 189.
46 A Breton prince, named Nomenoy, who became King of Bretagne, was the first to erect Dol as the Metropolis of his new king- dom. See Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome
vii. , xxviii. Jour de Juillet, sect, iv. , p. 812.
*7 See Giraldi Cambrensis "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by James F. Dimock, M. A. Itinerarium Kambrise, lib. ii. , cap. i. , p.
but, according
2 the lifetime
It has been intimated, that he went to Brit-
103. *8
" of See the History and Antiquities
St. David's," by Jones and Freeman, p. 264.
*9 See Rev. John Adams' "Life of St. Samson. "
5° to Mabillon's uAnnales According
Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. vi. , num. xx. , p. 151.
s' This sentiment is appositely expressed by one of our very distinguished Irish poets :
" For the Irish and Breton are kin, Though the lights of Antiquity
pale,
In the point of the dawn where the
partings begin
Of the Bolg, and the Kymro, and
Gael. "
—Sir Samuel Ferguson's "Lays of the Western Gael, and other Poems. " Adieu to
Brittany, p. 138.
ofSamson.
424 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
on his account, metropolitical jurisdiction, over all the other Sees of Little
Britain. A communistic feeling of national, ethnological and religious
interests, at this period, greatly united the pious men of Armorica, of Cornubia, of Cambria, as also the Britains of Strathclyde with the people of Ireland. 51
CHAPTER IV.
INCORRECT TRADITION A130UT ST. SAMSON HAVING BEEN ARCHBISHOP OF YORK— HIS ZEAL AND MISSIONARY WORK IN ARMORICA—HIS DISCIPLES—FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN ST. SAMSON AND ST. GERMAIN, BISHOP OF PARIS—PRESENCE OF ST. SAMSON AT THE THIRD COUNCIL OF PARIS—HE RETURNS TO DOL MONASTERY— HIS DEATH—WELSH TRADITIONS—HIS" INTERMENT AT DOL—HIS RELICS— MEMORIALS OF ST. SAMSON IN IRELAND, WALES, ENGLAND AND FRANCE- FESTIVAL AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
According to the statements of certain writers, St. Samson was set over the
See of York, and at a time when the Anglo-Saxons invaded the Britons.
During that period, Uterpendragon was confined to his sick bed at Verola-
ravages. Wherefore—so runs the story—the Anglo-Saxons levelled all the Christian churches before them, and obliged the Bishops and pastors to retire from such scenes of desolation to seek hiding-places from their fury. During this state of confusion and desolation, a tradition has it, that Samson, a man of exalted sanctity, and then Archbishop over York,2 fled with multi- tudes of his fellow-countrymen into Lesser Britain, and bringing with him the Pallium,3 which he had received from the Roman Pontiff. 4 There the fugitive prelate is said to have been most favourably received, and the bishop of Dol being dead, at that time, Samson was elected to succeed him, and with unanimous acclaim'; while the king also approving that choice, he was obliged to yield consent to their wishes, although with great reluctance on his part. The story continues, that being enthroned, and so long as he lived, Samson wore his Roman Pallium, at Dol, while many of his successors com- tinued the same usage. However, all this account is self-contradictory, while it is utterly irreconcilable with the facts of civil and ecclesiastical history. *
1
mium, so that he was unable to defend himself or his kingdom from their
Chapter iv. — * This Roman colony was in Britain, and near St. Albans. It is alluded to by Tacitus, in " Annalium," lib. xiv. , cap. xxxiii.
is a pontifical ornament, which properly de-
signates the office of archbishop, or of bishops who have obtained the right to wear it. Allusion is made to its use in the time of St. Isidore of Damietta, who died in the middle of the fifth century, and it was con- ferred on St. Cesaire, Bishop of Aries, by
2
This error is said to have arisen, from
mistaking this Samson, son of Amwn, for Samson, the son of Caw, who had a church
at York, although he was not a bishop there. ""
Samson, son of Caw, lived a gene —ration
earlier than Samson, son of Amwn. " Rev.
Pope Symmacus in the sixth century. See lAbbe Bergier's Dictionnaire de Theolo- gie," sub voce Pallium.
s Yet, such a tradition caused the Kings of Armorica to contend, that their Arch- bishop and Metropolitan of Dol, and the
bishops of that province, owed no subjec- tion to the Archbishop of Tours, although it might have been otherwise in the time of St. Martin. This question had been mooted for more than three hundred years, until thedis- pute was settled by a Decree of Pope Inno-
S. Baring-Gould's
vol. vii. , July 28, p. 607, n. 1.
"
Lives of the Saints,"
3 The Pallium was originally a cloak worn by philosophers in the ancient schools. It appears afterwards to have been worn by
" monks. See Rev. Joseph Bingham's Ori-
gincs Ecclesiastical : Antiquities of the Christian Church," book vi. , chap, iv. , sect.
19, and book vii. , chap, iii. , sect. 6.
4 The Pallium, now conferred by the Pope, cent III. ; while, at the instance of the
July 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. 425
This holy Bishop was most anxious to provide for the spiritual wants of that flock committed to his charge, and once each year, he was sure to visit every quarter of his diocese ; while, on the 1st of November annually, he held a provincial synod, in which with incredible zeal, he laboured to regulate discreetly the affairs of his See, to reform the manners of clergy and people, to build and ornament churches and religious institutes, as also to fill vacant
6
benefices with learned and virtuous ecclesiastics.
It is related, that about the
middle of the sixth century, St. Samson placed various channel islands, and
aided by King Childebert, among others Jersey—then deserted—to be held
under sway of Dol monastery, in perpetuity. But, to his successor St.
Maglorie has been attributed its complete conversion to Christianity. ? Owing
to monastic culture, Jersey afterwards became a marval of fertility and of
8
agriculturalwealth, whileithasapopulationsixtimesgreaterthanFrance,
in relative proportion to the extent of its surface. * As one of the Scilly Islands has borne the name of St. Samson,10 and from an immemorial period ; so it has been conjectured, that during his lifetime, it had become his abode. The origin of a monastery at Pentalien, as at Dol, has been referred to the holybishopSamson. 11 ThatwasalsoinArmorica. Atacertaintime,whileSt. Samson preached in the Island, called Resia, the people were accustomed to practise profane rites, on the Kalends of January. But, the saint assembled them in one place, and there he lectured them on the unseemliness of their proceedings. The seniors felt ashamed, and promised to renounce these customs for the future. The children, who were accustomed to run about the island, were rewarded with some small gifts by the saint, and he exhorted them to renounce such evil practices. A reform was soon affected, and
12
nothing but Christian usages were afterwards tolerated in that island. According to a Breton legend, seeing his monks disturbed by the cry of wild birds, St. Samson collected these together one night, and in the court of his
x 3 he
was dismissed, with an interdiction against resuming their screams. This order of the saint they afterwards implicitly observed. 14 To St. Samson, likewise, in conjunction with St. Teilo, a British monk, is attributed the
r
planting of a great orchard or forest s of fruit trees, which existed, even to
the twelfth 16 It in the immediate of and
monastery,
imposed
silence on them. Next the feathered flock morning,
century. grew
neighbourhood Dol,
Archbishop of Tours, Pope Nicholas I. wrote to Salomon, Count of Britanny, a definitive Decree, importing, that thence- forth, the Archbishop of Tours should have jurisdiction over the See of Dol, as over all the other Sees in Britanny. It began
Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," for a description of the Scilly Islands, in general and in detail, vol. iv. , pp. 31, 32.
"
thus :
sis. " See it in Matthsei Parisiensis, Monachi Sancti Albani, " Chronica Majora," vol. ii. Edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , at A. D. 1 199, pp. 459, 460.
7 See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , p. 632.
8 See Le Comte de Montalembert's " Les
Moines de l'Occident," tome ii. , liv. vii. , chap, iv. , p. 316.
9 From 22,855 in 1851, the population increased to 57,155 in i860. See "The
Gazetteer of the World," vol. vii. , p. 381. 10 This is a very small island, only inha- bited by a few individuals. See Samuel
" See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. vi. , sect, xx. , p. 151.
Doleat Dolensis, et gaudeat Turonen-
" I2
6 See Les Petits
Saints," tome ix. , xxviiie Jour de Juillet, p. 89.
Bollandistes,
" Vies des
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Julii xxviii. De S. Samsone Episcopo Conf. Dobe in Britannia Armorica. Vita S. Samsonis, lib. ii. , num. 13, p. 590.
13 Such casual in the Acts of descriptions
saints furnish a correct notion of what had been the custom in building early monas- teries. We are to infer, most probably, that the dwellings of St. Samson's monks had been formed around a square plot ofground which was in the centre.
M See Albert le Grand, p. 423.
"i In the Legend it is called "magnum
nemus. "
l6 "
It bore the name Arboretum Teleavi
et Samsonis. " See La Broderie's " Dis- cours sur les Saints Bretons," p. 39.
426 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 28.
according to popular tradition, it was three miles in extent. To these saints,
the people of Amorica are mainly indebted for introducing the apple-tree into 1
a district, where cider is yet the national beverage. ?
The chief of St. Samson were St. 18 his deacon and disciples Magloire,
1
successor at Dol, St. Similien, ^ Abbot over the monastery of Taurac, St.
Ethbin 20 and St. Guenole the 21 both Younger,
religious
of the same
monastery
at Taurac, the famous St. Me'en," founder of Gael monastery ; besides, in
Greater and Lesser Britain, there were many others, who spread everywhere
the name and glory of this holy man. Among these may be included
his own father, and his mother, his uncle and his aunt, his brothers and his
2 cousins. 3
Some accounts state, that Queen Ultrogotha was a faithful coadjutrice of the monks. With her husband's assistance, at the gates of Paris, she founded a great monastery, afterwards known as St. Germain-des-Pre's. The Bishop of Paris, St. Germain,2* and the king, agreed that it should be given for a religious institute of men. This new monastery was exempt from episcopal jurisdiction. One day, according to a Breton legend, our saint and the Bishop of Paris talked over the affairs of their respective monasteries. St. Samson said his monks were such good economists, and so careful of their beehives, that they had an abundance of honey and of-wax. At the same time, he complained, that their country was not suited for vines, and con- sequently, they experienced a dearth of wine. St. Germain then replied, that vineyards abounded near Paris, and that, while wanting waxlights for the Church services, they had more wine than sufficient for monastic uses. It was agreed, that Dol should furnish yearly wax, to light the church at Paris ; while the tenth part of wine, produced from the monastery vineyards there, should be returned as an equivalent. During the lifetime of both saints, this mutual accommodation continued. 25
The zeal of St. Samson caused him to visit Paris, and to take part in the deliberations of many holy Archbishops and Bishops, who assembled for the purpose of holding a National Council. The king had invited him to lodge in an apartment prepared for his reception, in the royal palace ; but, such was our saint's humility, that he preferred to remain in the monastery of St. Vincent,builtbySt.
