41
Bishop Rothe admits the uncertainty of St.
Bishop Rothe admits the uncertainty of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
"
This admirable work has been published in
five volumes, 8vo.
so •* Vies des Saints," tome x. , iii e jour de
20 In " Annalium
Boiorum,''
lib.
vi. , p.
September, pp. 431 to 435.
3' "Lives of the vol. ix. , Saints,"
Sep-
307.
21 See Ussher in "Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquiiates," p. 1038.
23 See " Histoire ecclesiastique et politique de la ville et du Diocese du Toul," 1707, 4l °-
tember 3, pp. 35, 36.
3' See D. Petro Lombardo, " De Regno
Hibernise, Sanctorum Insula, Comnien- tarius," cap. xiii. , p. 60, Dr. Moran's edition,
:
33 He writes " Fuit enim idem veneran-
dus Pater, sicut relatu majorum didicimus, nobili Scottorum sanguine oriundus. "— Num. 2.
** •' See
Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iv. , lib. liii. , sect, xxv. , pp. 209, 210.
September 3. J LIVES OF THE 1RJSH SAINTS.
39
statement. 34 Frombothotthesesources,nearlyallthemoremodernlivesofour sainthavedrawntheiraccounts. 35 Inthemetricallinesprefixedtohislifeby Adso, he is said to have been descended from parents of gentle birth, and possibly, at a time when Christianity had been propagated in Ireland. 3° It is stated,37 also, in an edition of Mansuetus' Life, published by Bosquet, and written by the Abbot Adso, in the tenth century, that some verses are wanting, which Adso prefixed to his work, and of which, in order to make him a Scot of Albafiy, Dempster cites a passage. 38 But, he disingenuously suppresses the Tetrastich^ which demonstrates him to have been a Scot of Ireland, as the learned Archbishop Ussher takes care to remark/ In Harris's edition of Ware41 many mistakes occur, when narrating the particulars of our saint's life, as founded on the authority of Archbishop Ussher, and especially in assigning Maunsey to the first or second century. Also by Thomas Dempster, whose audacity and ignorance are found united in a similar statement. *2
It must be admitted, although an ancient tradition of Toul has been
followed by many writers, regarding his living in the time of the Apostles, that the days of the present holy bishop cannot date b—ack to that early
It seems most — that St. Mansuetus rendered period/3 probable, by
the French St. Mansey or Maunsey was born about the beginning of the fourth
:
34 In this we read " ut
fuerit adolescens, nomine Mansuetus, trans- marinis partibus nobilium quidem Scotorum
clara progenie genitus ; sed mentis egregiae nobilitate multo preciosius insignitus. "—lib. i. , cap. i. , num. 2.
35 The learned Uom Augustine Calmet, Abbot of St. Leopold, Nancy, in his admir-
able and very complete provincial history, follows their authority, when alluding to the time of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, he introduces there a tract with the title, Incipit Catalogus Pontificum Ttdlcnsium, a B. Mansueto, et deinceps. In it is written : " Ea tempestate, ut scripturae documento percepimus, quidam sanctae indolis fuerat adolescens nomine Mansuetus transmarinis partibus, nobilium quidem Scothorum clara
land. He also states amusingly
scriptime mento percepimus, quidam sanctse indolis
gave 39 The following are the Latin lines :—
sed mentis nobili- egregiae
trace. "
Harris' Ware, vol. iii.
progenie genitus ;
tate multo pretiosius insignitus. Quo videli- cet tenere adhuc aetatis progressu consistente, cum praesagio nominis provehebatur culmine sanctitatis, moribus vocabulo consonantibus se semper sublimior studebat fieri augmento
"
Writers of Ireland,"
pietatis. "—"Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Preuvesde 1' Histoire de Lorraine. Vitse et Actuum B. Mansueti, Primi Leuchorum Urbis Pontificis, lib. i. , cap. ii. , col. 87.
book i. , p. 4.
40 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiaruni Anti-
quitates," cap. xvi. , p. 391.
41 See vol. iii. " Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 4.
42 In his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentig
Scotorum," where he pretends, that the term Scotus applied to St. Mansuetus should class him among the Saints of Scot-
There, too, it is stated
:
Christi-
:
docu- is rendered into " Scotia English :
birth to her noble son, Mansuetus. "
"
Inclyta Mansueti claris natalibus orti
Progenies titulis fulget in orbe suis, Insula Christicolas gestabat Hibernia
gentes,
Unde genus traxit, et satus inde fuit. "
Thus rendered into English : —
"Though great by blood, Mansuetus bears his name,
Yet he on real worth supports his fame, Wide o'er the world Religion deigned
to smile,
And spread her Harvest through Hiber-
nia's Isle,
Hence the long series of his high-born
race,
And hence the glories of his birth we
""
Hiberni impudenter civem sutun faciunt, sed tabulae Ecclesiae Tullensis, Guil. Eisengrinus C. I. , part I. , dist. ill. , Franc. Roziers, torn. 11. , ofMaunsey'sbirth,atsomeperiodsubsequent StemmatisLotharingae,Hist. Capital. xxn. t
36
Insula
colas gestabat Hibernia gentes ;" although we cannot pronounce with certainty, that this line may not have referred to the Island
to his death, and before the verses in which et Constantinus Ghinius in Natalib, SS it is included had been composed. Canonic, pro nobis contra mendicorum im- 37 In Harris' Ware, vol. ii. " Writers of potentiam stant graviter ; et A—dso abbas, qui vitam ejus scripsit, cap. 11. " Lib. xii. ,
Ireland," book L, p. 4.
" Protulerat quendam generosum Scotia natum Mansuetuw. " It
num. 838, p. 448.
43 See Adrien Baillet's
38 Thus
given :
"
Les Vies des
4o LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
century. ** If, as has been stated, he was a native of Ireland, it is likely he had an original Celtic name, the form of which may have been different, but it cannot now be known. In the little poem prefixed to the life above
in which allusion is made to Ausonius. 45 If by the word Auso? iii is to be understood the poet Ausonius,46 master of St. Paulinus,4? we should be inclined to place Mansuetus at a later period than
thefourthcentury,chargingAdso,however,withahugeanacronism. But,it is more probable, that by Ausom'i he meant Italic particularly as in another verse, he has Ausonias Italas. **
St. Maunsey appears to have journeyed abroad, and to have visited Rome,
where he probably received the light of Faith, and embraced the Christian
religion. This happened, however, at a much later period, than has been
traditionally held, or than has been recorded by several uncritical and over-
credulous writers ; for he is said to have come to the knowledge of the
Christian religion, through St. James the Apostle. 4? This account must be
relegated to the cloud of fables, that have covered the early career of St.
Mansuetus ; nor can even such assertion be traced to any well-known
authority. He is said, likewise, to have been a disciple of St. Peter the
Apostle. 50 Although such unreliable tradition may have been reproduced in
1
the Vita Brevior- and Vita Prolixior^ as also in the prefixed poem;"
there is sufficient evidence to prove, that it must be dismissed as unworthy of
credence. So far as his life has been transmitted to us, chronology has been
departed from, and probability has been little observed in many particulars. 54 Quoting Constantinus Ghinius,55 Thomas Dempster maintains,56 that St. Mansuetus was a disciple of St, Peter, and that he was ordained in Rome.
mentioned is a
distich,
Saints," tome ix. , p. 60. Paris 1701, 8vo. 44 Dom Augustin Calmet writes: " S.
Mansuy premier Evequede Toul, fut envoye apparemmentparleS. SiegedanslaBelgique, pour y precher l'Evangile, vers le milieu du quatneme siecle. Nous ne croyons pas
mous, cap. xi. , p. 50. And Henry Fitz- simon's "Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum Hiberniae," cap. xii. , p. 55.
Ton ni — ni le reculer "Petrus
que puisse l'avancer, Apostolicae pollebat
culmine
beaucoup davantage. " "Histoire Ecclesias- tique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Dis- sertation sur les Premiers Eveques de l'Eglise de Toul, col. xxvii.
Roma:
;
4* In the following connexion
:
" Sedulus
Huncque sequutus amans, expetit ipse libens,
b'uscipit ardentem Petrus pietatis Alum-
num,
Et facit expertem sancta secreta Virum :
Cujus ab ore piis attrectans dogmata verbis,
Ebiberat stabilem fonte salutis opem. Sedulus Ausonii per tempora longa
magistri
Obsequio Petri haesit amore sui.
Quern Petrus ad summon provexit cul-
minis arcem,
54 " Nous remarquerons seulment que »'il n'y a eu que six eveques a Toul entre lui et Saint Auspice qui vivoit sur la fin du cin- quieme siecle, il y a grande apparence qu'il n'a paru que durant la paix de l'Eylisc, et au
Ausonii^zi tempora, longa magistri obsequis Petri hcesit amore sui. "
born at Bourdeaux in the
He died
a. d. 394.
47 He was born at Bourdeaux, in 353.
Afterwards he became bishop of Nola. He lived to the year 431, and his festival is celebrated on the 22nd of June.
46 A Latin
poet,
beginning of the fourth century.
" Ecclesiastical « 9 According to the statement of Convaeus.
Et dat decus. " gavisus pontificale
48 See Rev. Dr.
Hisiory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, ii. , No. II, p. 5.
Lanigan's
"
See O'Sullivan Beare's
Catholics; Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 47.
s° See Molanus, also Baronius, in his notes on the Roman Martyrology, at the 3rd of September. Likewise O'Sullivan Beare's " Historic Hiberniae Catholica: Compen-
dium," tomus i. , lib. iv. Catalogus Anony-
Historic Hiberniae
5' SeeNum. 3.
52 — num. See lib. i. , cap. i. , 3.
53 In these lines
:
plutot sous —le regne des emans du grand "
Constantin. " Adrien Baillet's Les Vies des Saints," tome ix. , p. 61.
55 Page LX.
56 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco- torum," tomus ii. , lib. xii. , num. 838, p. 447.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
41
Bishop Rothe admits the uncertainty of St. Mansuetus having been a disciple of St. Peter. 57 Although St. Mansuet is said to have received his first mission from the Prince of the Apostles s8 there are too many historical
;
contradictions and objections to oppose those statements, and the best critics
have disproved such groundless assertions. Among these may be mentioned
Mabillon, Martene', and Durand. 5? It seems most probable, that St. Mansey was consecrated Bishop in Rome, about the time when Constantine60 the
Great was 61 or Emperor,
62 Constantine 63 II. ,
when his three
Constantius II. , and Constans had succeeded to the Empire, which was
partitionedbetweenthem. Althoughwemaynotacceptasliterallycorrect the statement, that St. Mansuetus had been placed by St. Peter over the
possibly 6* 65
sons,
of Toul 66 it is most bishopric ; still,
probable,
that he was commissioned
by
the Sovereign Pontiff of the Roman See to undertake such a mission.
Moreover, when we read of Mansuetus having been sent by St. Peter, it is
easily reconciled with the truth of history, by referring to the well-known
idiom of using the founder's name for that of the church over which he had
6? presided.
57 See his work, Hibernia resurgens," P^ 197.
58 The following short notice of Maunsue- tus is taken from a tract by Philip O'Sullivan,
The or 68 inhabited that of ancient
Leuci, Leques, formerly
province
"S. Mansuetus fidem primus qui
Gaul,
crossed the Julian Alps, Constantine fell into an ambush and was slain, A. D. 340. See Henry Fynes Clinton's "Fasti Romani," vol. i. , tables, p. 400.
64 Hesucceeded,at toThrace twenty years,
and the East. His reign was greatly dis- turbed by wars, which he waged with different rivals. On the death of Constans, A. D. 350, he was recognised as sole Emperor, but he died at Mopsucrene, in Cilicia, on the third of November, A. D. 361. See ibid. , p. 444.
65 Constans, who was only seventeen, held
the Italian prefecture, and the province of Greece, as also Africa. On the death of his brother Constantine II. , A. D. 340, he assumed the government of the Western Empire for ten years. He was put to death by Magnentius, an ignorant barbarian, at the foot of the Pyrenees, a. d. 350. Magnentius then usurped the prefectures of Gaul and Italy. See Baronius' "Annates Ecclesias- tici," tomus iii. , p. 504.
suscepisse per D, Jacobum creditur; pastea a S. Petro ad Thulos transmissus quos ad fidem con-
vertit, quorumque Apostolicus, patronus habetur. Festus illius dies celebratur, 3 Sep- tembris. "—" Historic Catholics; Hibernice Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , chap, x. , p. 47.
59 See " Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum," tomus iii. , col. 1021. Also, Amplissima Collectio Veterum Scriptorum," tomus vi. , P. 637-
60 He was born about A. D. 273 or 274 at
Nissa, a town of Upper Mcesia, and he was
the son of Constantinus and Helena. On
the death of his father in Britain, A. D. 306,
the Roman soldiers there proclaimed him
Emperor. He then waged war against the
Franks, Alemanni and other Germans.
Having embraced the Christian religion, he
became sole Emperor, A. D. 324, after the
death of Licinius. He died at the age of as a recognised fact, by the 12th century sixty-four, on the 22nd of May, a. d. 337, biographer of the Blessed Marianus Scotus. at his palace, in the suburbs of Nicomedia. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
See Philip Smith's " Ancient History," vol. iii. , chap. xliv.
61 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. De S. Mansueto Episc. et Conf. Commentarius Proevius, sect, ii. , pp. 620 to 623.
62 By Faustsu
63 He was regarded as Emperor over Gaul
and the Western Empire, and had attained
only his twenty-first year, when his father died, A. D. 337. But, dissatisfied with his share of the Empire, Constantine required his brother Constans to give up Africa. War ensued between them, when having
tomus ii. , Februarii ix. Vita Beati Mariani,
cap, i. , p. 365.
67 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan justly observes :
" thus ad Set Petrutn, for or to the Church of Rome ; a S. Petro, from or by the said Church ; ad S. Martinum to the Church of Tours; andwhatwasverycommonamongst ourselves, ad S. Patricium, a S. Patrilio, to or by the See of Armagh. "—" Ecclesias- tical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, ii. , n. II.
68 "
See J. Clement's Antiquites de la
Ville et du Siege episcopal de Toul," 1702, 8vo.
66
in Ireland, at an early period, for it is asserted
Such appears to have been the tradition
42
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJSITS.
l
Septemi
known to the Romans as Belgica prima, and their chief city was Toul. 6^ To this Ptolemy has added another, which he names Nasion. ? The Leuci occupied the southern part of the present Department of the Meuse, the
greater part of the Meurthe Department, and the Vosges Department, in France. 7l Before the time of our saint, Toul had been a city of some
2
importance,' and it was surrounded with walls for defence. During the
Middle Ages, the Dukes of Lotharingia, or Lorraine, ruled over that territory, between the Meuse and Moselle ; and ecclesiastically the See of Toul was undertheMetropolitanCityofTriers,orTreves. FromRome,St. Mansuetus was sent to Toul, having been invested with the episcopal character, and he was appointed its first pastor. This took place, not before the middle of the fourth century,73 or perhaps even later. In his history of the Gallic Church, Bosquet remarks? * that Mansuet must not be confounded with a Bishop of the Armorican Britons bearing a like name, and who was present at the first Council of Tours. 7 5 The people to whom St. Maunsuy had been sent were then addicted to idolatry, and involved in the darkness of pagan superstition. It is said, that they had a king named Leon, who was an idolater, and a man of barbarous manners. '6 When their first missionary entered Toul, and began to announce the truths of the Gospel, he found the magistrates and chiefs of the people indisposed to hear his preaching. This conduct influenced greatly the opposition and indifference of the humbler classes, so that for some time his doctrine and teaching were disregarded.
The holy missionary built for his dwelling in the woods an humble cabin of twigs interwoven ;77 and, in that he lived, devoted to the exercises of prayer and meditation. While there, numbers resorted to him. Having received instruction, they renounced idolatrous worship, and embraced the true religion. Even, the governor's wife, having heard so many rumours about the strange missionary, desired to learn more about his race, the doctrines he taught, and the places whence he came ; but, it was only during the absence of her pagan husband, she could venture, through her domestics, to arrange foraprivateinterviewwiththeholyman. Whenhehadexpoundedtoher, the chief mysteries of the Christian religion, and the truths of Divine Faith, that lady believed in his doctrine and teaching, but still deferred her profes-
69 It is situated on the River Moselle, about the middle of the fourth century. To
surrounded by a chain of hills covered with
vineyards. See Gazetteer of the World, vol.
xiii. , p. 141.
omitotherarguments, heendeavoursto prove this from the recorded succession of the bishops of Toul : thus, 1. S. Mansuet, or
70 In the Second Book of his ; 2, S. Anion Geography, Mansuy
Alchas
on account of the similarity of name to the Latin Nanceium, it is thought by many to
have represented the present City of Nancy in Lorraine. See " Recueil des Ilistoriens ues Gaules et de la France," par Dora Martin Bouquet, Pretre et Religious Benedictin de la Congregation de Saint Maur, tome i. ,
7, S. Apre, or Evre, vers l'an 500, &c.
'' Ilistoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lor- raine," tome i. , col. xxxiii.
7* See '* Eccleste Gallicanse Historiamm," T. C. Evangelis in Callus inque ad datam a Constantino Imperatore ecclesioe pacem, lib. i. , cap. xx.
et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. , Dissertation sur les Premier! Evesques de l'Eglise de Toul, col. xxvii.
p. 77, n. (i). 71 "
See Ilistoire de Jules C£sar," par
Napoleon III. , Empereur, tome ii. , liv. iii. , This
chap, ii. , p. 22, n. 3.
72 See Bataille's "Notice historique surla
Ville de Toul et ses Antiquites," with plates, 1 84 1, 8vo.
7i In a Dissertation sur les
Toul, prefixed to the first volume of his History of Lorraine, Calmet maintains, that Mansuetus was sent bom Rome to Toul,
held a. d. 461.
? 6 See Calmet's " Ilistoire Ecclesiastique
Ev&jtus
propc meenia civitatis exiguie habitations sil. i
de
7? The Vita Prolixior " states,
S. Celsin ; 5, S. Auspice, vers ban 450; 6, S. Ours, or Urse, sous (Jlovis, vers Tan 4S8—;
? 5 was
rectptorium pneparavit," lib. i. , cap. i. , n. 6, p. 640.
; 3, S.
; 4,
boy, on being restored to life, and alter
8o See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des e
in the water for three
lying daysandthreenights,
Saints,"tomex. ,iii JourdeSeptembre,p. 432
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
43
sion of faith, lest it should cause some trouble between herself and husband. 78
However, when he happened to be absent on public business, the missionary was encouraged to visit her house, and still afford her the satisfaction of
learning those messages of salvation he was so well qualified to convey.
It happened on a certain day, observed as a local festival, and while un-
peopleofToulwerebentonenjoyment,theonlysonoftheirgovernorfell by accident from the city ramparts into the Moselle, which flowed beneath. The river was very deep at that place. Public rejoicings were at once dis- continued, and in common with his parents, the inhabitants shared their sorrowonaccountoftheyouthwhohadbeendrowned. Everyeffortwas madetorecoverthedeadbody. Invainwerethepagangodsinvokedfor that purpose. However, during the night, the governor's wife had a dream, in which she saw St. Mansuy, who promised to restore her son, if she would become a convert to Christianity.
This admirable work has been published in
five volumes, 8vo.
so •* Vies des Saints," tome x. , iii e jour de
20 In " Annalium
Boiorum,''
lib.
vi. , p.
September, pp. 431 to 435.
3' "Lives of the vol. ix. , Saints,"
Sep-
307.
21 See Ussher in "Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquiiates," p. 1038.
23 See " Histoire ecclesiastique et politique de la ville et du Diocese du Toul," 1707, 4l °-
tember 3, pp. 35, 36.
3' See D. Petro Lombardo, " De Regno
Hibernise, Sanctorum Insula, Comnien- tarius," cap. xiii. , p. 60, Dr. Moran's edition,
:
33 He writes " Fuit enim idem veneran-
dus Pater, sicut relatu majorum didicimus, nobili Scottorum sanguine oriundus. "— Num. 2.
** •' See
Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iv. , lib. liii. , sect, xxv. , pp. 209, 210.
September 3. J LIVES OF THE 1RJSH SAINTS.
39
statement. 34 Frombothotthesesources,nearlyallthemoremodernlivesofour sainthavedrawntheiraccounts. 35 Inthemetricallinesprefixedtohislifeby Adso, he is said to have been descended from parents of gentle birth, and possibly, at a time when Christianity had been propagated in Ireland. 3° It is stated,37 also, in an edition of Mansuetus' Life, published by Bosquet, and written by the Abbot Adso, in the tenth century, that some verses are wanting, which Adso prefixed to his work, and of which, in order to make him a Scot of Albafiy, Dempster cites a passage. 38 But, he disingenuously suppresses the Tetrastich^ which demonstrates him to have been a Scot of Ireland, as the learned Archbishop Ussher takes care to remark/ In Harris's edition of Ware41 many mistakes occur, when narrating the particulars of our saint's life, as founded on the authority of Archbishop Ussher, and especially in assigning Maunsey to the first or second century. Also by Thomas Dempster, whose audacity and ignorance are found united in a similar statement. *2
It must be admitted, although an ancient tradition of Toul has been
followed by many writers, regarding his living in the time of the Apostles, that the days of the present holy bishop cannot date b—ack to that early
It seems most — that St. Mansuetus rendered period/3 probable, by
the French St. Mansey or Maunsey was born about the beginning of the fourth
:
34 In this we read " ut
fuerit adolescens, nomine Mansuetus, trans- marinis partibus nobilium quidem Scotorum
clara progenie genitus ; sed mentis egregiae nobilitate multo preciosius insignitus. "—lib. i. , cap. i. , num. 2.
35 The learned Uom Augustine Calmet, Abbot of St. Leopold, Nancy, in his admir-
able and very complete provincial history, follows their authority, when alluding to the time of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, he introduces there a tract with the title, Incipit Catalogus Pontificum Ttdlcnsium, a B. Mansueto, et deinceps. In it is written : " Ea tempestate, ut scripturae documento percepimus, quidam sanctae indolis fuerat adolescens nomine Mansuetus transmarinis partibus, nobilium quidem Scothorum clara
land. He also states amusingly
scriptime mento percepimus, quidam sanctse indolis
gave 39 The following are the Latin lines :—
sed mentis nobili- egregiae
trace. "
Harris' Ware, vol. iii.
progenie genitus ;
tate multo pretiosius insignitus. Quo videli- cet tenere adhuc aetatis progressu consistente, cum praesagio nominis provehebatur culmine sanctitatis, moribus vocabulo consonantibus se semper sublimior studebat fieri augmento
"
Writers of Ireland,"
pietatis. "—"Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Preuvesde 1' Histoire de Lorraine. Vitse et Actuum B. Mansueti, Primi Leuchorum Urbis Pontificis, lib. i. , cap. ii. , col. 87.
book i. , p. 4.
40 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiaruni Anti-
quitates," cap. xvi. , p. 391.
41 See vol. iii. " Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 4.
42 In his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentig
Scotorum," where he pretends, that the term Scotus applied to St. Mansuetus should class him among the Saints of Scot-
There, too, it is stated
:
Christi-
:
docu- is rendered into " Scotia English :
birth to her noble son, Mansuetus. "
"
Inclyta Mansueti claris natalibus orti
Progenies titulis fulget in orbe suis, Insula Christicolas gestabat Hibernia
gentes,
Unde genus traxit, et satus inde fuit. "
Thus rendered into English : —
"Though great by blood, Mansuetus bears his name,
Yet he on real worth supports his fame, Wide o'er the world Religion deigned
to smile,
And spread her Harvest through Hiber-
nia's Isle,
Hence the long series of his high-born
race,
And hence the glories of his birth we
""
Hiberni impudenter civem sutun faciunt, sed tabulae Ecclesiae Tullensis, Guil. Eisengrinus C. I. , part I. , dist. ill. , Franc. Roziers, torn. 11. , ofMaunsey'sbirth,atsomeperiodsubsequent StemmatisLotharingae,Hist. Capital. xxn. t
36
Insula
colas gestabat Hibernia gentes ;" although we cannot pronounce with certainty, that this line may not have referred to the Island
to his death, and before the verses in which et Constantinus Ghinius in Natalib, SS it is included had been composed. Canonic, pro nobis contra mendicorum im- 37 In Harris' Ware, vol. ii. " Writers of potentiam stant graviter ; et A—dso abbas, qui vitam ejus scripsit, cap. 11. " Lib. xii. ,
Ireland," book L, p. 4.
" Protulerat quendam generosum Scotia natum Mansuetuw. " It
num. 838, p. 448.
43 See Adrien Baillet's
38 Thus
given :
"
Les Vies des
4o LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
century. ** If, as has been stated, he was a native of Ireland, it is likely he had an original Celtic name, the form of which may have been different, but it cannot now be known. In the little poem prefixed to the life above
in which allusion is made to Ausonius. 45 If by the word Auso? iii is to be understood the poet Ausonius,46 master of St. Paulinus,4? we should be inclined to place Mansuetus at a later period than
thefourthcentury,chargingAdso,however,withahugeanacronism. But,it is more probable, that by Ausom'i he meant Italic particularly as in another verse, he has Ausonias Italas. **
St. Maunsey appears to have journeyed abroad, and to have visited Rome,
where he probably received the light of Faith, and embraced the Christian
religion. This happened, however, at a much later period, than has been
traditionally held, or than has been recorded by several uncritical and over-
credulous writers ; for he is said to have come to the knowledge of the
Christian religion, through St. James the Apostle. 4? This account must be
relegated to the cloud of fables, that have covered the early career of St.
Mansuetus ; nor can even such assertion be traced to any well-known
authority. He is said, likewise, to have been a disciple of St. Peter the
Apostle. 50 Although such unreliable tradition may have been reproduced in
1
the Vita Brevior- and Vita Prolixior^ as also in the prefixed poem;"
there is sufficient evidence to prove, that it must be dismissed as unworthy of
credence. So far as his life has been transmitted to us, chronology has been
departed from, and probability has been little observed in many particulars. 54 Quoting Constantinus Ghinius,55 Thomas Dempster maintains,56 that St. Mansuetus was a disciple of St, Peter, and that he was ordained in Rome.
mentioned is a
distich,
Saints," tome ix. , p. 60. Paris 1701, 8vo. 44 Dom Augustin Calmet writes: " S.
Mansuy premier Evequede Toul, fut envoye apparemmentparleS. SiegedanslaBelgique, pour y precher l'Evangile, vers le milieu du quatneme siecle. Nous ne croyons pas
mous, cap. xi. , p. 50. And Henry Fitz- simon's "Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum Hiberniae," cap. xii. , p. 55.
Ton ni — ni le reculer "Petrus
que puisse l'avancer, Apostolicae pollebat
culmine
beaucoup davantage. " "Histoire Ecclesias- tique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Dis- sertation sur les Premiers Eveques de l'Eglise de Toul, col. xxvii.
Roma:
;
4* In the following connexion
:
" Sedulus
Huncque sequutus amans, expetit ipse libens,
b'uscipit ardentem Petrus pietatis Alum-
num,
Et facit expertem sancta secreta Virum :
Cujus ab ore piis attrectans dogmata verbis,
Ebiberat stabilem fonte salutis opem. Sedulus Ausonii per tempora longa
magistri
Obsequio Petri haesit amore sui.
Quern Petrus ad summon provexit cul-
minis arcem,
54 " Nous remarquerons seulment que »'il n'y a eu que six eveques a Toul entre lui et Saint Auspice qui vivoit sur la fin du cin- quieme siecle, il y a grande apparence qu'il n'a paru que durant la paix de l'Eylisc, et au
Ausonii^zi tempora, longa magistri obsequis Petri hcesit amore sui. "
born at Bourdeaux in the
He died
a. d. 394.
47 He was born at Bourdeaux, in 353.
Afterwards he became bishop of Nola. He lived to the year 431, and his festival is celebrated on the 22nd of June.
46 A Latin
poet,
beginning of the fourth century.
" Ecclesiastical « 9 According to the statement of Convaeus.
Et dat decus. " gavisus pontificale
48 See Rev. Dr.
Hisiory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, ii. , No. II, p. 5.
Lanigan's
"
See O'Sullivan Beare's
Catholics; Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. x. , p. 47.
s° See Molanus, also Baronius, in his notes on the Roman Martyrology, at the 3rd of September. Likewise O'Sullivan Beare's " Historic Hiberniae Catholica: Compen-
dium," tomus i. , lib. iv. Catalogus Anony-
Historic Hiberniae
5' SeeNum. 3.
52 — num. See lib. i. , cap. i. , 3.
53 In these lines
:
plutot sous —le regne des emans du grand "
Constantin. " Adrien Baillet's Les Vies des Saints," tome ix. , p. 61.
55 Page LX.
56 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco- torum," tomus ii. , lib. xii. , num. 838, p. 447.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
41
Bishop Rothe admits the uncertainty of St. Mansuetus having been a disciple of St. Peter. 57 Although St. Mansuet is said to have received his first mission from the Prince of the Apostles s8 there are too many historical
;
contradictions and objections to oppose those statements, and the best critics
have disproved such groundless assertions. Among these may be mentioned
Mabillon, Martene', and Durand. 5? It seems most probable, that St. Mansey was consecrated Bishop in Rome, about the time when Constantine60 the
Great was 61 or Emperor,
62 Constantine 63 II. ,
when his three
Constantius II. , and Constans had succeeded to the Empire, which was
partitionedbetweenthem. Althoughwemaynotacceptasliterallycorrect the statement, that St. Mansuetus had been placed by St. Peter over the
possibly 6* 65
sons,
of Toul 66 it is most bishopric ; still,
probable,
that he was commissioned
by
the Sovereign Pontiff of the Roman See to undertake such a mission.
Moreover, when we read of Mansuetus having been sent by St. Peter, it is
easily reconciled with the truth of history, by referring to the well-known
idiom of using the founder's name for that of the church over which he had
6? presided.
57 See his work, Hibernia resurgens," P^ 197.
58 The following short notice of Maunsue- tus is taken from a tract by Philip O'Sullivan,
The or 68 inhabited that of ancient
Leuci, Leques, formerly
province
"S. Mansuetus fidem primus qui
Gaul,
crossed the Julian Alps, Constantine fell into an ambush and was slain, A. D. 340. See Henry Fynes Clinton's "Fasti Romani," vol. i. , tables, p. 400.
64 Hesucceeded,at toThrace twenty years,
and the East. His reign was greatly dis- turbed by wars, which he waged with different rivals. On the death of Constans, A. D. 350, he was recognised as sole Emperor, but he died at Mopsucrene, in Cilicia, on the third of November, A. D. 361. See ibid. , p. 444.
65 Constans, who was only seventeen, held
the Italian prefecture, and the province of Greece, as also Africa. On the death of his brother Constantine II. , A. D. 340, he assumed the government of the Western Empire for ten years. He was put to death by Magnentius, an ignorant barbarian, at the foot of the Pyrenees, a. d. 350. Magnentius then usurped the prefectures of Gaul and Italy. See Baronius' "Annates Ecclesias- tici," tomus iii. , p. 504.
suscepisse per D, Jacobum creditur; pastea a S. Petro ad Thulos transmissus quos ad fidem con-
vertit, quorumque Apostolicus, patronus habetur. Festus illius dies celebratur, 3 Sep- tembris. "—" Historic Catholics; Hibernice Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , chap, x. , p. 47.
59 See " Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum," tomus iii. , col. 1021. Also, Amplissima Collectio Veterum Scriptorum," tomus vi. , P. 637-
60 He was born about A. D. 273 or 274 at
Nissa, a town of Upper Mcesia, and he was
the son of Constantinus and Helena. On
the death of his father in Britain, A. D. 306,
the Roman soldiers there proclaimed him
Emperor. He then waged war against the
Franks, Alemanni and other Germans.
Having embraced the Christian religion, he
became sole Emperor, A. D. 324, after the
death of Licinius. He died at the age of as a recognised fact, by the 12th century sixty-four, on the 22nd of May, a. d. 337, biographer of the Blessed Marianus Scotus. at his palace, in the suburbs of Nicomedia. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
See Philip Smith's " Ancient History," vol. iii. , chap. xliv.
61 See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. De S. Mansueto Episc. et Conf. Commentarius Proevius, sect, ii. , pp. 620 to 623.
62 By Faustsu
63 He was regarded as Emperor over Gaul
and the Western Empire, and had attained
only his twenty-first year, when his father died, A. D. 337. But, dissatisfied with his share of the Empire, Constantine required his brother Constans to give up Africa. War ensued between them, when having
tomus ii. , Februarii ix. Vita Beati Mariani,
cap, i. , p. 365.
67 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan justly observes :
" thus ad Set Petrutn, for or to the Church of Rome ; a S. Petro, from or by the said Church ; ad S. Martinum to the Church of Tours; andwhatwasverycommonamongst ourselves, ad S. Patricium, a S. Patrilio, to or by the See of Armagh. "—" Ecclesias- tical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, ii. , n. II.
68 "
See J. Clement's Antiquites de la
Ville et du Siege episcopal de Toul," 1702, 8vo.
66
in Ireland, at an early period, for it is asserted
Such appears to have been the tradition
42
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJSITS.
l
Septemi
known to the Romans as Belgica prima, and their chief city was Toul. 6^ To this Ptolemy has added another, which he names Nasion. ? The Leuci occupied the southern part of the present Department of the Meuse, the
greater part of the Meurthe Department, and the Vosges Department, in France. 7l Before the time of our saint, Toul had been a city of some
2
importance,' and it was surrounded with walls for defence. During the
Middle Ages, the Dukes of Lotharingia, or Lorraine, ruled over that territory, between the Meuse and Moselle ; and ecclesiastically the See of Toul was undertheMetropolitanCityofTriers,orTreves. FromRome,St. Mansuetus was sent to Toul, having been invested with the episcopal character, and he was appointed its first pastor. This took place, not before the middle of the fourth century,73 or perhaps even later. In his history of the Gallic Church, Bosquet remarks? * that Mansuet must not be confounded with a Bishop of the Armorican Britons bearing a like name, and who was present at the first Council of Tours. 7 5 The people to whom St. Maunsuy had been sent were then addicted to idolatry, and involved in the darkness of pagan superstition. It is said, that they had a king named Leon, who was an idolater, and a man of barbarous manners. '6 When their first missionary entered Toul, and began to announce the truths of the Gospel, he found the magistrates and chiefs of the people indisposed to hear his preaching. This conduct influenced greatly the opposition and indifference of the humbler classes, so that for some time his doctrine and teaching were disregarded.
The holy missionary built for his dwelling in the woods an humble cabin of twigs interwoven ;77 and, in that he lived, devoted to the exercises of prayer and meditation. While there, numbers resorted to him. Having received instruction, they renounced idolatrous worship, and embraced the true religion. Even, the governor's wife, having heard so many rumours about the strange missionary, desired to learn more about his race, the doctrines he taught, and the places whence he came ; but, it was only during the absence of her pagan husband, she could venture, through her domestics, to arrange foraprivateinterviewwiththeholyman. Whenhehadexpoundedtoher, the chief mysteries of the Christian religion, and the truths of Divine Faith, that lady believed in his doctrine and teaching, but still deferred her profes-
69 It is situated on the River Moselle, about the middle of the fourth century. To
surrounded by a chain of hills covered with
vineyards. See Gazetteer of the World, vol.
xiii. , p. 141.
omitotherarguments, heendeavoursto prove this from the recorded succession of the bishops of Toul : thus, 1. S. Mansuet, or
70 In the Second Book of his ; 2, S. Anion Geography, Mansuy
Alchas
on account of the similarity of name to the Latin Nanceium, it is thought by many to
have represented the present City of Nancy in Lorraine. See " Recueil des Ilistoriens ues Gaules et de la France," par Dora Martin Bouquet, Pretre et Religious Benedictin de la Congregation de Saint Maur, tome i. ,
7, S. Apre, or Evre, vers l'an 500, &c.
'' Ilistoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lor- raine," tome i. , col. xxxiii.
7* See '* Eccleste Gallicanse Historiamm," T. C. Evangelis in Callus inque ad datam a Constantino Imperatore ecclesioe pacem, lib. i. , cap. xx.
et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. , Dissertation sur les Premier! Evesques de l'Eglise de Toul, col. xxvii.
p. 77, n. (i). 71 "
See Ilistoire de Jules C£sar," par
Napoleon III. , Empereur, tome ii. , liv. iii. , This
chap, ii. , p. 22, n. 3.
72 See Bataille's "Notice historique surla
Ville de Toul et ses Antiquites," with plates, 1 84 1, 8vo.
7i In a Dissertation sur les
Toul, prefixed to the first volume of his History of Lorraine, Calmet maintains, that Mansuetus was sent bom Rome to Toul,
held a. d. 461.
? 6 See Calmet's " Ilistoire Ecclesiastique
Ev&jtus
propc meenia civitatis exiguie habitations sil. i
de
7? The Vita Prolixior " states,
S. Celsin ; 5, S. Auspice, vers ban 450; 6, S. Ours, or Urse, sous (Jlovis, vers Tan 4S8—;
? 5 was
rectptorium pneparavit," lib. i. , cap. i. , n. 6, p. 640.
; 3, S.
; 4,
boy, on being restored to life, and alter
8o See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des e
in the water for three
lying daysandthreenights,
Saints,"tomex. ,iii JourdeSeptembre,p. 432
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
43
sion of faith, lest it should cause some trouble between herself and husband. 78
However, when he happened to be absent on public business, the missionary was encouraged to visit her house, and still afford her the satisfaction of
learning those messages of salvation he was so well qualified to convey.
It happened on a certain day, observed as a local festival, and while un-
peopleofToulwerebentonenjoyment,theonlysonoftheirgovernorfell by accident from the city ramparts into the Moselle, which flowed beneath. The river was very deep at that place. Public rejoicings were at once dis- continued, and in common with his parents, the inhabitants shared their sorrowonaccountoftheyouthwhohadbeendrowned. Everyeffortwas madetorecoverthedeadbody. Invainwerethepagangodsinvokedfor that purpose. However, during the night, the governor's wife had a dream, in which she saw St. Mansuy, who promised to restore her son, if she would become a convert to Christianity.
