520
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [.
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
[March 17.
Again, with apparent want of accuracy, others aver, that St Patrick belonged to Cornwall ; but, it is probable, he has been confounded with St. Petroc, a native of this district. 373 In the Second Volume of Ancient Laws of Ireland, the Irish editors of the Senchus Mor have considered this interesting question,374 and have arrived at the conclusion, that St. Patrick was born at or near Glastonbury,37S in Somersetshire, under the shadow of the Tor of St. Michael. 376 A traditional account refers the Christian foundation here, to St. Joseph of Arimathea, and to eleven other disciples of St. Philip. 377 Arviragus, a British king, is said to have furnished a rude and an uncultivated
Glastonbury and the Tor of St. Michael, 1 _
island, with other lands, for their purpose. 378 It was a tradition at Glaston-
bury, that before he came to Ireland, the great St. Patrick, our Apostle, had there enrolled himself among the monastic brethren. 379 Nor was he the only Irishsaintconnectedwithitsreligiouslife. 3^° Itmustbeacknowledged,this
sea, or the Atlantic ocean, a description Again, it is related, that there Joseph of which is much more applicable to the Arimathea lived, and that after death he de- position of Bristol than to that of Dum- posited
barton, and it is not unreasonable to assume,
that the place of St. Patrick's birth (Nemp- thor), and that of his father's subsequent residence, were not far distant from each
—
373 Such is the very reasonable supposition
of Very Rev. Canon Laurence Toole in his
Manuscript, "Where was St. Patrick
born? " pp. 44, 45.
37+ The theory, that St. Patrick was born
and resided with his parents, in the vicinity
of Glastonbury and Bristol, is considered by them to be consistent with the particulars
which he has given us, regarding his capture and his subsequent escape to his friends and home. See Preface, pp. xix. to xxii.
" The Cup, the Cup itself from which our Lord
Drank at the last sad supper with His own. "
37^ The accompanying illustration of Glas-
tonbury, almost buried under the surround-
ing hills, and the prominent object on the right, known as the Tor of St. Michael, are
copied from an old engraving of Hollar, and have been dra;vn on the wood, by William F. W^akeman. Our engraving is by Mrs. Millard.
377 See Johannis, "Glastonia: Historia. "
Hearne's edition, vol. i. , pp. i, 48.
378 See Collinson's " of Somerset- History
shire," vol. ii. , p. 239.
379 See Rt. Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
"Early Irish Missions," No. I, pp. 18, 19. 3^° See the interesting illustrations and
other. "
Ibid. ,
pp.
xvi. , xvii.
375 to the According
poetical legend,
" Where the winter thom Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our
Lord. "
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469
was no unfitting or unworthy birthplace for the birth of this immortal Con- fessor of the Christian faith.
Among the modern authors, who have treated Scottish ecclesiastical history,38i one writer seeks—but in vain—to assign the exact period, for the introduction of Christianity, among the Scots of North Britain. In alluding to the birth of St. Patrick, however, he does not undertake to decide the question, as to whether it took place in Scotland, or in any other different country. Yet, it is asserted, that from St. Patrick's statements, in his Con- fession, and in his Epistle to Coroticus, it may fairly be inferred, that he was born in the Island of Britain. In the first-named tract, our Apostle speaks
of "inBritannias"5^^—thus going
the number-f"^ and,inthe plural
using
time of the Romans, these invaders distinguished the portion of that insular country, subject to them, by the name of Britannia Romana,324 while the other parts, beyond their sway, were designated Britannia Barbara. But, the Saxon conquest, which commenced in St. Patrick's Hfetime, probably oblite- rated the old Roman denominations ; and, yet, he would naturally refer to those British provinces, in the plural sense, as connected with his special
allusion, in the treatises already quoted.
CHAPTER III.
THE PARENTS AND FAMILY OF PATRICK—EXAMINATION OF THEIR RECORDED NAMES, AND OF OUR saint's GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE—DIFFERENT OPINIONS REGARD- ING THE YEAR OF HIS BIRTH—HIS BAPTISM—MIRACLES THEN WROUGHT—ST. PATRICK'S EARLY CHILDHOOD.
According to a received notion, St. Patrick was the son of a Gallic or British official, employed in the Roman service, at an extreme outpost of
history of Glastonbury, in Sir William Dug- tannia Secunda, a mode of distinguishing dale's " Monasticum Anglicanum," vol. i. , them similar to that which we have adopted pp. I to 79. London edition of 1817, in the appellations of Upper and Lower
Canada. In the course of time other pro- vinces were added: Maxima Caesariensis comprised the central parts of England ;
ment of the Christian era to the present Flavia Caesariensis lay to the north ; and
folio. "
Church History of Scotland from the commence-
38' See Rev. John Cunningham's
Century," vol. i. , chap. ii.
382 See Father Joachim Lorenzo Villa-
nueva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum Apos- toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Confessio, cap. iii. , sect. 13, p. 197.
383 Thus, too, Galliae is often written for Gallia, as Britannise for Bri—tannia. Catullus
Valentia included that portion of the ex- treme north of England and the south of Scotland, which lay between the Roman roads or walls, one of which extended from Carlisle to Newcastle, and the other from the Frith of Clyde to the Frith of Forth. From the division of the empire by the first
'
Chapter hi. According to some
writers, the Scoti and the Scuthi, or Scy-
thians, have been confounded, in reference
to the traditional accounts of their settle-
ment, in Scotland. In the opening chapters
has them both in one line """
Hunc Gallise timetis et Britannise ?
—" Carmina. " In Csesarem, xxix. , v. 21. However, no part of Great Britain could be called a Roman province, in the time of CatuUus, who wrote before its invasion by Julius Ccesar, and who died about 710, U. C.
3*4 Thus, at an early period, Britannia Ro- of
"
Vita B. Cadi^oe Abb. Valciodorensis,"
mana was divided into two provinces ; one south of the Thames and Severn, and one to the west of the Severn and Dee, which in- eluded Wales. " These provinces were called respectively Britannia Prima and Bri-
written by an anonymous author, in the eleventh century, there is a curious account of the early adventurers of Southern Europe,
who came to settle in Ireland and in Scot-
land. See Colgan's
:
emperors
down to the time of St.
Christian
Patrick, Britannia Ro—mana was divided into these five provinces. " The Ancient Laws of Ireland. " Senchu|' 1Tlo^. Part ii. , vol. ii. Preface xiv. , x—v.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hi-
470 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
their colonial dependency, in the north of Great Britain. It must be borne
in mind, that long before his time, the Scoti,^ and Picts, or Cruthenians,^ from Ireland,3 had settled in the south-western parts of Scotland. These people must have spoken some dialect of the Gaelic or Irish language,'^ and not very divergent from the mother tongue. For the reason, that British Christians and the old Scots could understand each other, without an interpreter, it has been supposed, the latter were first taught Christianity by the former. s How- ever this may be, although, perhaps, derived from distinctive races, both the parents of St. Patrick appear to have been Christians.
That our saint belonged to a very respectable family may be inferred, from those accounts, which have come down to us. ^ In the aforesaid Emp- tor, near Bonaven, Taburniae, or in Alcluaide of the Britons, lived one Cal- pum, or Calphrainn,7 Latinized Calphurnius, called a deacon, and a noble
bernise," vi, Martii, cap. ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 494. 495. and nn. 3 to 40, pp. 501, 502. —
^
The legendary account of these people derived from Thrace—may be seen, in "The Irish Version of the Historia Brito- num of Nennius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, sect. xxvii. to xxxii. , pp. 120 to 167, with accom- panpng notes. Their expedition to Ireland, and settlement there, are related, vs^ith their subsequent departure for He, or Hay, and Alba, or Scotland, where their sway was established. There is also a legendary history of the Picts and Cruithnians, taken from the " Book of Lecan," fol. 141, a, col. I, and fol. 286, b, col. 2, in the Additional
Notes, No. xviii. , pp. Ixv. to Ixxiv.
3 About A. D. 360, the Picts and Scots
began seriously to disturb the Roman settle-
ments, in North Britain. They were after-
wards joined by the Attacotti and Saxons,
in general assaults on the Roman colonists.
From A. D. 369 to 387, the Romans made re-
prisals, and drove back the Picts and Scots,
to their native fastnesses. See an interesting
account of those events, in William F.
"
Skene's
Ancient Alban," vol. i. , chap, ii. , pp. 97 to 105.
^ Thus, St. Columba, in the sixth century, is represented, as freely conversing with the Pictish King Brude, with Broichan, his Magus, or Druid, and with the king's mes- sengers, without the aid of an interpreter. Again, when preaching the word of God, an interpreter was required : this seems to in- dicate some dialectic differences, between the Scottish and Pictish languages. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St.
and book "
History
lA^CA^ in beCA . 1. SAtlCCUf f)ACtl^1C1Uf. Pac|\aic •Din, '01 b]\ecnAib, •<Mtcl,UAix)e a bunA'oti]', CAt-pu|\n'o Ainm a AuhA^ . 1.
UAfAl, fACApc, pociT) Ainm A ]*enAchA^, oeochon ACAComnAic . 1. ac comAinm.
Celtic Scotland : a History of
Irish," vol. ii. , pp. 166, 167, and n. 197, we find the following curious genealogy of Saint Patrick, ascribed to Flann of the Monas-
: tery —
pAcyvAic Ab ei^xenn uibe
inAc CAlp)\Ainn, mic ITocAi'oe, mic Oei]']'e, nA|\ '0015 "oo lni'6, mic CoyvniAic mo1|^, rrnc teib^Muc, mic Oca, mic Oi^^mc mAic,
mic t11oi]MC, mic Leo in l,Ani\<Mc, mic mAximi, mAi|\5 nA fbonn, mic eneyveccA ai^xt) AbAint),
mic pitij^cif fe]\i\ A^ A15 CAC, mic i:ei\eni ^An AnfAC,
mic biMCAn, •00 b|\A mA|\A,
o UA1C b|\ecAin b|\ucmAiAA.
—
Son of — son of — Calphrainn, Fotide,
book
Columba,"
ii. , cap. 33, 34, pp. 146 to 148.
5 See, Mr. David Calderwood's
i. , cap. 33, p. 62,
of the Kirk of Scotland. " Edited by the
Rev. Thomas Thomson, vol. i. Preamble,
P-37.
' The following notice of St. Patrick is
given, in a —MS. of T. C. D. , classed, H. 3.
1n |\ui6en, in l,AffAn\, octif
18, p.
520
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [. 1. po conifoiltpg]
:
It is translated
:
" The radiance, the blaze,
and the bright gem, and the brilliant lamp
that illumined, i. e. , gave light to, the
western world, i. e. , Sanctus Patricius. Patrick now was of the Britons, Ailcluaide was his native place, Calpurn was his father's name, i. e. , a noble priest ; Fotid
was his grandfather's name Deochan his ;—
family name, i. e. , his surname. " "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. March,
1868, n. (d), pp. 283, 284. 7 In Professor O'Curry's
"
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
It is thus rendered into English
:
"
Abbot of all Patrick, Erinn,
Son of Deisse,
Son of Great Cormac, son of Lebriuth, Son of Ota, son of Orric the good.
Son of Moric, son of Leo, full of pros-
perity,
Son of Maximus, why not name him ?
Son of Encretta, the tall and comely, Son of Philisti, the best of men,
Son of Fereni, of no mean repute. Son of Brittan, otter of the sea.
not liable to
reproach,
Lectures on
March 17. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
priest. Yet, there are various renderings for the names of St. Patrick's* ancestors, not alone in different authors, but even in different copies of the same authors' writings. Thus, in Colgan's version of St. Fiach's Hymn, St. Patrick's father is called Calpuirn f in the Third Life, Calburnius f in the Fourth, Kalfurnius f° in the Fifth Life, Calpurnius Diaconus ;" in the Sixth Life, Calphumius ;'^ and in the Seventh Life, he is said to have been Cal- phurnius, who, after the birth of his son, was a noble priest. ^3 Now, accord-
to our Irish on the father's — Patrick's is thus ing Genealogies,''* side, pedigree
was the son of Fotitus —more
tus,'^ Potid,'7 or Potit, a priest'^ or deacon'9 son to Odissius,^" son of
Cornelius, son to Liberius, son of Mercutius, son to Oda, son of Oricius, son to Muricius, son of Oricius, son to Leo, son of Maximus, son to Oiracius, son of Ericius, son of Pelistus, son to Ferinus, son of Britanus, son to Fer- gussiusLethDeirg,sonofNemetus,=^^&c. Thisgenealogyhasverbalalter- ations, and even some omissions, in other accounts. The Britons are said to have derived many of the foregoing Latin names, from the Romans, to whom they were subject, and among whom they lived, for a long time before
derived
:
Calphurnius'S
correctly
called Poti-
From whom the passionate Britons de- scend. "
we find a comment, '^Alpurn, i. e. , qui fuit sacerdos. " In the Scholiast's comment, in the Franciscan copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, contained in the "Liber Hymnorum," we have the following genealogical pedigree : Patrick Mic Calpuirn, Mic Potit, Mic Odissi, Mic Gorend, Mic Mencruid, Mic Ota, Mic Muric, Mic Leo, Mic Maximi, Mic Heneriti, Mic Ferin, Mic Bruti, a quo sunt Bretani nominati.
^ See " Trias Thaumaturga. " In the
second stanza, we find CAlpui|\n, which in
the Latin is rendered Calphumius. The
Scholiast thus weaves our saint's genealogy :
Patrick was the son of Calphumius, the son
of Potitus, son to Odissius, son of Gornia,
son to Menchridius, son of Leo, son to
Maximus, son of Hencretus, ;;on to Ferinus,
son of Eritus, from whom the Britons are is Ounje, Latinized, Otidius. The same named. Hymnus, seu Vita Prima S. reading is in the copy, published in the Patricii, pp. I, 4, n. (d. ) The book of " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," and there Hymns, in Trinity College, Dublin,—a Englished, Otitus. To this is added the
— between the tenth and twelfth Manuscript
comment,
'7
presbyter. Genealogies,
similes of National Manuscripts of Ireland," Again, the letter f being aspirated, or fh, in
edited by J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A. , Irish, has no pronunciation, so that Fotid, part i. No. xxxii. The Second Life has or Fotit, became changed into Otid, or
centuries reads
oci'oe hoA •oeochAin ot)ifp. It is thus read, pAc^uic rriAC CALpui^n, mic pocic.
ph
:
iriAcc triAic Alp«i|\n
usually
" Son of
son of Otide, In Irish,
like and hence j^
is
grandson of deacon Odisse. " See " Fac- this name has been resolved into Fotit.
Englished :
Alpurn,
pronounced
no account of the names of St. Patrick's
parents.
9 See ibid. , cap. xii. , p. 22.
^° See ibid. , cap. i. , p. 35.
^'
Otit.
'^ The illustrious St. of Hilary, Bishop
Poictiers, when he was chosen to fill that of&ce, about A. D. 353, had a wife named Apra or Abram, then living ; but, from the
See ibid , lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 51.
" See ibid. , cap. i. , p. 65. The writer, time of his ordination, he lived in perpetual
Jocelyn, observes, that after Patrick's birth, the parents of our saint were advanced in
years, and by common consent, they prac- tised chastity, until they rested in the Lord.
Calphumius long served the Almighty, as a Deacon, and then ended his life, as a
priest.
continency. See Rev. Alban Butler's
". Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other
Principal Saints," vol. i. , January xiv. , and
"
Breviarium Romanum," noct. ii. , lect. iv. , at the same day.
'9 See the Irish Tripartite Life, in Miss
"
'3
Such, too, is the statement of Florence of Worcester, at A. D. 394, and of other writers. It presupposes, that he had been previously
a Deacon.
'"* *'
^' As the northern Britons derive their Irish Ecclesiastical Record," origin from this ancestor, the matterj is
See ibid. , pars, i. , cap. i. , p. 117.
Especially, Selbach, the
'*
In Colgan's copy of St. Fiach's Hymn
Otide, In the Irish
i. e. ,
Life of St. Patrick," p. 372.
In Colgan's copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, we read ho 'OeocAin Ornffe, Latinized, " Nepos Diaconi Odissii. " In the "Irish
Cusack's
^°
Ecclesiastical Record
ol Deochain Odissus" To this is added a ""
Psalter of
Cashel," and the Sanctilogic Genealogy," comment, z'. ^. , presbyter. "
chap. 1.
*5 In the
"
"
version, we have hoA
"OeochAin Ooiffe, Englished, "grandson
we
472 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
St. Patrick'sbirth. ^=^ Itisthought,someancestorsofSt. Patricktookorders, after the voluntary separation or death of their respective wives ; because ecclesiastical celibacy was then in force, as it is at the present time. Hence, we may well suppose, the acceptance of Holy Orders, by these progenitors of our national saint, was strictly in accordance with that law. ^3 His father was a Decurion,^'* and probably he held some landed property ; for, in virtue of his rank, he was entitled to aspire to municipal or magisterial honours. The Decuriones, or Curiales, exercised important functions, in the various Roman colonies. ''s The saint himself states, that he was of noble birth. ^° A Gaulish or Frankish lady, named Conquessa,^7 or Conceis, and said to have been a relation of St. Martin,^^ Archbishop of Tours, in France, became the wife of Calphurnius. She is extolled, for her elegance of form, and for her exemplary morals. Cochmas^s and Conchessa3° are forms of her name ; the latter, it is said, resting on the authority of St. Patrick himself. 3^ She is also stated to have been called Conches,32 the daughter of Dechuisus ; but, the Scholiast, on St. Fiach's Hymn, has given her father's name, as Ocmusius. 33 Probus calls our saint's mother Concessa,34 while, the author of the Tripartite Life sets down her father's name, as Ecbatius. 35 Her name is written Concha, by some ; but, this is said to be an incorrect rendering. In the *' Leabar Lecan," 3^ we find the name of St. Patrick's mother inserted Coin- ceas. 37 The verbal differences, however, are easily accounted for, owing to the natural mistakes of copyists. Certain writers state, that the Irish Apostle's
adduced, that St. Patrick must have been a native of Great Britain.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Prima S. Patricii, n. lo, p. 8, and Quinta Appendix, cap. iii. , p. 224, ibid.
^3 The 4to paper MSS. , in the Royal Irish Academy, No. 2, 4, contains a Pedigree of St. Patrick.
^^ The title Decurio comes from De Curia,
or belonging to the municipality, the mem- bers of which body were called Curiales or Decuriones. See " Ec-
CochmA]' A mACA]\ mAbbA, nemcho|\ a bAibe bAgA, "Oon niurtiAin ni CAel a cui"o,
RO fA0]\ A|\ fOU-OAp PAC|\A1C.
These lines are thus re—ndered into English,
by Professor O'Curry
" Cochmas was his modest mother, Nemthor was his native town ;
Of Munster not small his share. Which Patrick freed from all sorrow. "
"Lectures on the Manners and Customs =^5 For an account of their office and of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. , lect. viii. , p.
Bingham's Origines clesiasticje ; or, The Antiquities of the —
Christian Church," book iv. , chap. iv.
powers, the reader may consult Dr. William
167, and n. 147.
of Greek and Roman Antiquities," Articles Colonia, Decura, De- curia: Judicum, Decuriones, Exercitus, yiidex and jfudicium, pp. 313 to 320, 388, 481 to Second edition, London,
3° See " Trias Colgan's
Smith's ' '
Dictionary
Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. i. , p. 35. Also Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i,, cap. i. ,
511, 646 to 651. 1849, 8vo.
p. 117.
3' "
The Fourth Life states, Patre Kalfur-
nio ex matre Conchessa ; ut ipsi testatur lib.
Epist. Ego sum Patricias Kalfurniifilius,
matrem habens Cofichessa/n. " These words
^ " Ingenuus
sum secundum carnem ; nam Decurione patre nascor. Vendidi autem
nobilitatem meam (non erubesco, — me are not found in the I have seen of neque copies
poenitet) pro utilitate aliorum. " Villa-
the C9nfession, nor in the Epistle to Coro- ticus.
nueva's
"
Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apos-
toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Epistola ad Christianos Corotici
Tyranni subditos, num. 5, p.
Again, with apparent want of accuracy, others aver, that St Patrick belonged to Cornwall ; but, it is probable, he has been confounded with St. Petroc, a native of this district. 373 In the Second Volume of Ancient Laws of Ireland, the Irish editors of the Senchus Mor have considered this interesting question,374 and have arrived at the conclusion, that St. Patrick was born at or near Glastonbury,37S in Somersetshire, under the shadow of the Tor of St. Michael. 376 A traditional account refers the Christian foundation here, to St. Joseph of Arimathea, and to eleven other disciples of St. Philip. 377 Arviragus, a British king, is said to have furnished a rude and an uncultivated
Glastonbury and the Tor of St. Michael, 1 _
island, with other lands, for their purpose. 378 It was a tradition at Glaston-
bury, that before he came to Ireland, the great St. Patrick, our Apostle, had there enrolled himself among the monastic brethren. 379 Nor was he the only Irishsaintconnectedwithitsreligiouslife. 3^° Itmustbeacknowledged,this
sea, or the Atlantic ocean, a description Again, it is related, that there Joseph of which is much more applicable to the Arimathea lived, and that after death he de- position of Bristol than to that of Dum- posited
barton, and it is not unreasonable to assume,
that the place of St. Patrick's birth (Nemp- thor), and that of his father's subsequent residence, were not far distant from each
—
373 Such is the very reasonable supposition
of Very Rev. Canon Laurence Toole in his
Manuscript, "Where was St. Patrick
born? " pp. 44, 45.
37+ The theory, that St. Patrick was born
and resided with his parents, in the vicinity
of Glastonbury and Bristol, is considered by them to be consistent with the particulars
which he has given us, regarding his capture and his subsequent escape to his friends and home. See Preface, pp. xix. to xxii.
" The Cup, the Cup itself from which our Lord
Drank at the last sad supper with His own. "
37^ The accompanying illustration of Glas-
tonbury, almost buried under the surround-
ing hills, and the prominent object on the right, known as the Tor of St. Michael, are
copied from an old engraving of Hollar, and have been dra;vn on the wood, by William F. W^akeman. Our engraving is by Mrs. Millard.
377 See Johannis, "Glastonia: Historia. "
Hearne's edition, vol. i. , pp. i, 48.
378 See Collinson's " of Somerset- History
shire," vol. ii. , p. 239.
379 See Rt. Rev. Patrick F. Moran's
"Early Irish Missions," No. I, pp. 18, 19. 3^° See the interesting illustrations and
other. "
Ibid. ,
pp.
xvi. , xvii.
375 to the According
poetical legend,
" Where the winter thom Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our
Lord. "
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469
was no unfitting or unworthy birthplace for the birth of this immortal Con- fessor of the Christian faith.
Among the modern authors, who have treated Scottish ecclesiastical history,38i one writer seeks—but in vain—to assign the exact period, for the introduction of Christianity, among the Scots of North Britain. In alluding to the birth of St. Patrick, however, he does not undertake to decide the question, as to whether it took place in Scotland, or in any other different country. Yet, it is asserted, that from St. Patrick's statements, in his Con- fession, and in his Epistle to Coroticus, it may fairly be inferred, that he was born in the Island of Britain. In the first-named tract, our Apostle speaks
of "inBritannias"5^^—thus going
the number-f"^ and,inthe plural
using
time of the Romans, these invaders distinguished the portion of that insular country, subject to them, by the name of Britannia Romana,324 while the other parts, beyond their sway, were designated Britannia Barbara. But, the Saxon conquest, which commenced in St. Patrick's Hfetime, probably oblite- rated the old Roman denominations ; and, yet, he would naturally refer to those British provinces, in the plural sense, as connected with his special
allusion, in the treatises already quoted.
CHAPTER III.
THE PARENTS AND FAMILY OF PATRICK—EXAMINATION OF THEIR RECORDED NAMES, AND OF OUR saint's GENEALOGY AND PEDIGREE—DIFFERENT OPINIONS REGARD- ING THE YEAR OF HIS BIRTH—HIS BAPTISM—MIRACLES THEN WROUGHT—ST. PATRICK'S EARLY CHILDHOOD.
According to a received notion, St. Patrick was the son of a Gallic or British official, employed in the Roman service, at an extreme outpost of
history of Glastonbury, in Sir William Dug- tannia Secunda, a mode of distinguishing dale's " Monasticum Anglicanum," vol. i. , them similar to that which we have adopted pp. I to 79. London edition of 1817, in the appellations of Upper and Lower
Canada. In the course of time other pro- vinces were added: Maxima Caesariensis comprised the central parts of England ;
ment of the Christian era to the present Flavia Caesariensis lay to the north ; and
folio. "
Church History of Scotland from the commence-
38' See Rev. John Cunningham's
Century," vol. i. , chap. ii.
382 See Father Joachim Lorenzo Villa-
nueva's " Sancti Patricii Ibernorum Apos- toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Confessio, cap. iii. , sect. 13, p. 197.
383 Thus, too, Galliae is often written for Gallia, as Britannise for Bri—tannia. Catullus
Valentia included that portion of the ex- treme north of England and the south of Scotland, which lay between the Roman roads or walls, one of which extended from Carlisle to Newcastle, and the other from the Frith of Clyde to the Frith of Forth. From the division of the empire by the first
'
Chapter hi. According to some
writers, the Scoti and the Scuthi, or Scy-
thians, have been confounded, in reference
to the traditional accounts of their settle-
ment, in Scotland. In the opening chapters
has them both in one line """
Hunc Gallise timetis et Britannise ?
—" Carmina. " In Csesarem, xxix. , v. 21. However, no part of Great Britain could be called a Roman province, in the time of CatuUus, who wrote before its invasion by Julius Ccesar, and who died about 710, U. C.
3*4 Thus, at an early period, Britannia Ro- of
"
Vita B. Cadi^oe Abb. Valciodorensis,"
mana was divided into two provinces ; one south of the Thames and Severn, and one to the west of the Severn and Dee, which in- eluded Wales. " These provinces were called respectively Britannia Prima and Bri-
written by an anonymous author, in the eleventh century, there is a curious account of the early adventurers of Southern Europe,
who came to settle in Ireland and in Scot-
land. See Colgan's
:
emperors
down to the time of St.
Christian
Patrick, Britannia Ro—mana was divided into these five provinces. " The Ancient Laws of Ireland. " Senchu|' 1Tlo^. Part ii. , vol. ii. Preface xiv. , x—v.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hi-
470 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
their colonial dependency, in the north of Great Britain. It must be borne
in mind, that long before his time, the Scoti,^ and Picts, or Cruthenians,^ from Ireland,3 had settled in the south-western parts of Scotland. These people must have spoken some dialect of the Gaelic or Irish language,'^ and not very divergent from the mother tongue. For the reason, that British Christians and the old Scots could understand each other, without an interpreter, it has been supposed, the latter were first taught Christianity by the former. s How- ever this may be, although, perhaps, derived from distinctive races, both the parents of St. Patrick appear to have been Christians.
That our saint belonged to a very respectable family may be inferred, from those accounts, which have come down to us. ^ In the aforesaid Emp- tor, near Bonaven, Taburniae, or in Alcluaide of the Britons, lived one Cal- pum, or Calphrainn,7 Latinized Calphurnius, called a deacon, and a noble
bernise," vi, Martii, cap. ii. , iii. , iv. , v. , pp. 494. 495. and nn. 3 to 40, pp. 501, 502. —
^
The legendary account of these people derived from Thrace—may be seen, in "The Irish Version of the Historia Brito- num of Nennius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, sect. xxvii. to xxxii. , pp. 120 to 167, with accom- panpng notes. Their expedition to Ireland, and settlement there, are related, vs^ith their subsequent departure for He, or Hay, and Alba, or Scotland, where their sway was established. There is also a legendary history of the Picts and Cruithnians, taken from the " Book of Lecan," fol. 141, a, col. I, and fol. 286, b, col. 2, in the Additional
Notes, No. xviii. , pp. Ixv. to Ixxiv.
3 About A. D. 360, the Picts and Scots
began seriously to disturb the Roman settle-
ments, in North Britain. They were after-
wards joined by the Attacotti and Saxons,
in general assaults on the Roman colonists.
From A. D. 369 to 387, the Romans made re-
prisals, and drove back the Picts and Scots,
to their native fastnesses. See an interesting
account of those events, in William F.
"
Skene's
Ancient Alban," vol. i. , chap, ii. , pp. 97 to 105.
^ Thus, St. Columba, in the sixth century, is represented, as freely conversing with the Pictish King Brude, with Broichan, his Magus, or Druid, and with the king's mes- sengers, without the aid of an interpreter. Again, when preaching the word of God, an interpreter was required : this seems to in- dicate some dialectic differences, between the Scottish and Pictish languages. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St.
and book "
History
lA^CA^ in beCA . 1. SAtlCCUf f)ACtl^1C1Uf. Pac|\aic •Din, '01 b]\ecnAib, •<Mtcl,UAix)e a bunA'oti]', CAt-pu|\n'o Ainm a AuhA^ . 1.
UAfAl, fACApc, pociT) Ainm A ]*enAchA^, oeochon ACAComnAic . 1. ac comAinm.
Celtic Scotland : a History of
Irish," vol. ii. , pp. 166, 167, and n. 197, we find the following curious genealogy of Saint Patrick, ascribed to Flann of the Monas-
: tery —
pAcyvAic Ab ei^xenn uibe
inAc CAlp)\Ainn, mic ITocAi'oe, mic Oei]']'e, nA|\ '0015 "oo lni'6, mic CoyvniAic mo1|^, rrnc teib^Muc, mic Oca, mic Oi^^mc mAic,
mic t11oi]MC, mic Leo in l,Ani\<Mc, mic mAximi, mAi|\5 nA fbonn, mic eneyveccA ai^xt) AbAint),
mic pitij^cif fe]\i\ A^ A15 CAC, mic i:ei\eni ^An AnfAC,
mic biMCAn, •00 b|\A mA|\A,
o UA1C b|\ecAin b|\ucmAiAA.
—
Son of — son of — Calphrainn, Fotide,
book
Columba,"
ii. , cap. 33, 34, pp. 146 to 148.
5 See, Mr. David Calderwood's
i. , cap. 33, p. 62,
of the Kirk of Scotland. " Edited by the
Rev. Thomas Thomson, vol. i. Preamble,
P-37.
' The following notice of St. Patrick is
given, in a —MS. of T. C. D. , classed, H. 3.
1n |\ui6en, in l,AffAn\, octif
18, p.
520
in tiA togniA^, ocu|' in LochApnn LAin- ne]\i\X)Ai t\o ino]\chAi'o [. 1. po conifoiltpg]
:
It is translated
:
" The radiance, the blaze,
and the bright gem, and the brilliant lamp
that illumined, i. e. , gave light to, the
western world, i. e. , Sanctus Patricius. Patrick now was of the Britons, Ailcluaide was his native place, Calpurn was his father's name, i. e. , a noble priest ; Fotid
was his grandfather's name Deochan his ;—
family name, i. e. , his surname. " "Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. March,
1868, n. (d), pp. 283, 284. 7 In Professor O'Curry's
"
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient
It is thus rendered into English
:
"
Abbot of all Patrick, Erinn,
Son of Deisse,
Son of Great Cormac, son of Lebriuth, Son of Ota, son of Orric the good.
Son of Moric, son of Leo, full of pros-
perity,
Son of Maximus, why not name him ?
Son of Encretta, the tall and comely, Son of Philisti, the best of men,
Son of Fereni, of no mean repute. Son of Brittan, otter of the sea.
not liable to
reproach,
Lectures on
March 17. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
471
priest. Yet, there are various renderings for the names of St. Patrick's* ancestors, not alone in different authors, but even in different copies of the same authors' writings. Thus, in Colgan's version of St. Fiach's Hymn, St. Patrick's father is called Calpuirn f in the Third Life, Calburnius f in the Fourth, Kalfurnius f° in the Fifth Life, Calpurnius Diaconus ;" in the Sixth Life, Calphumius ;'^ and in the Seventh Life, he is said to have been Cal- phurnius, who, after the birth of his son, was a noble priest. ^3 Now, accord-
to our Irish on the father's — Patrick's is thus ing Genealogies,''* side, pedigree
was the son of Fotitus —more
tus,'^ Potid,'7 or Potit, a priest'^ or deacon'9 son to Odissius,^" son of
Cornelius, son to Liberius, son of Mercutius, son to Oda, son of Oricius, son to Muricius, son of Oricius, son to Leo, son of Maximus, son to Oiracius, son of Ericius, son of Pelistus, son to Ferinus, son of Britanus, son to Fer- gussiusLethDeirg,sonofNemetus,=^^&c. Thisgenealogyhasverbalalter- ations, and even some omissions, in other accounts. The Britons are said to have derived many of the foregoing Latin names, from the Romans, to whom they were subject, and among whom they lived, for a long time before
derived
:
Calphurnius'S
correctly
called Poti-
From whom the passionate Britons de- scend. "
we find a comment, '^Alpurn, i. e. , qui fuit sacerdos. " In the Scholiast's comment, in the Franciscan copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, contained in the "Liber Hymnorum," we have the following genealogical pedigree : Patrick Mic Calpuirn, Mic Potit, Mic Odissi, Mic Gorend, Mic Mencruid, Mic Ota, Mic Muric, Mic Leo, Mic Maximi, Mic Heneriti, Mic Ferin, Mic Bruti, a quo sunt Bretani nominati.
^ See " Trias Thaumaturga. " In the
second stanza, we find CAlpui|\n, which in
the Latin is rendered Calphumius. The
Scholiast thus weaves our saint's genealogy :
Patrick was the son of Calphumius, the son
of Potitus, son to Odissius, son of Gornia,
son to Menchridius, son of Leo, son to
Maximus, son of Hencretus, ;;on to Ferinus,
son of Eritus, from whom the Britons are is Ounje, Latinized, Otidius. The same named. Hymnus, seu Vita Prima S. reading is in the copy, published in the Patricii, pp. I, 4, n. (d. ) The book of " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," and there Hymns, in Trinity College, Dublin,—a Englished, Otitus. To this is added the
— between the tenth and twelfth Manuscript
comment,
'7
presbyter. Genealogies,
similes of National Manuscripts of Ireland," Again, the letter f being aspirated, or fh, in
edited by J. T. Gilbert, F. S. A. , M. R. I. A. , Irish, has no pronunciation, so that Fotid, part i. No. xxxii. The Second Life has or Fotit, became changed into Otid, or
centuries reads
oci'oe hoA •oeochAin ot)ifp. It is thus read, pAc^uic rriAC CALpui^n, mic pocic.
ph
:
iriAcc triAic Alp«i|\n
usually
" Son of
son of Otide, In Irish,
like and hence j^
is
grandson of deacon Odisse. " See " Fac- this name has been resolved into Fotit.
Englished :
Alpurn,
pronounced
no account of the names of St. Patrick's
parents.
9 See ibid. , cap. xii. , p. 22.
^° See ibid. , cap. i. , p. 35.
^'
Otit.
'^ The illustrious St. of Hilary, Bishop
Poictiers, when he was chosen to fill that of&ce, about A. D. 353, had a wife named Apra or Abram, then living ; but, from the
See ibid , lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 51.
" See ibid. , cap. i. , p. 65. The writer, time of his ordination, he lived in perpetual
Jocelyn, observes, that after Patrick's birth, the parents of our saint were advanced in
years, and by common consent, they prac- tised chastity, until they rested in the Lord.
Calphumius long served the Almighty, as a Deacon, and then ended his life, as a
priest.
continency. See Rev. Alban Butler's
". Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other
Principal Saints," vol. i. , January xiv. , and
"
Breviarium Romanum," noct. ii. , lect. iv. , at the same day.
'9 See the Irish Tripartite Life, in Miss
"
'3
Such, too, is the statement of Florence of Worcester, at A. D. 394, and of other writers. It presupposes, that he had been previously
a Deacon.
'"* *'
^' As the northern Britons derive their Irish Ecclesiastical Record," origin from this ancestor, the matterj is
See ibid. , pars, i. , cap. i. , p. 117.
Especially, Selbach, the
'*
In Colgan's copy of St. Fiach's Hymn
Otide, In the Irish
i. e. ,
Life of St. Patrick," p. 372.
In Colgan's copy of St. Fiach's Hymn, we read ho 'OeocAin Ornffe, Latinized, " Nepos Diaconi Odissii. " In the "Irish
Cusack's
^°
Ecclesiastical Record
ol Deochain Odissus" To this is added a ""
Psalter of
Cashel," and the Sanctilogic Genealogy," comment, z'. ^. , presbyter. "
chap. 1.
*5 In the
"
"
version, we have hoA
"OeochAin Ooiffe, Englished, "grandson
we
472 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
St. Patrick'sbirth. ^=^ Itisthought,someancestorsofSt. Patricktookorders, after the voluntary separation or death of their respective wives ; because ecclesiastical celibacy was then in force, as it is at the present time. Hence, we may well suppose, the acceptance of Holy Orders, by these progenitors of our national saint, was strictly in accordance with that law. ^3 His father was a Decurion,^'* and probably he held some landed property ; for, in virtue of his rank, he was entitled to aspire to municipal or magisterial honours. The Decuriones, or Curiales, exercised important functions, in the various Roman colonies. ''s The saint himself states, that he was of noble birth. ^° A Gaulish or Frankish lady, named Conquessa,^7 or Conceis, and said to have been a relation of St. Martin,^^ Archbishop of Tours, in France, became the wife of Calphurnius. She is extolled, for her elegance of form, and for her exemplary morals. Cochmas^s and Conchessa3° are forms of her name ; the latter, it is said, resting on the authority of St. Patrick himself. 3^ She is also stated to have been called Conches,32 the daughter of Dechuisus ; but, the Scholiast, on St. Fiach's Hymn, has given her father's name, as Ocmusius. 33 Probus calls our saint's mother Concessa,34 while, the author of the Tripartite Life sets down her father's name, as Ecbatius. 35 Her name is written Concha, by some ; but, this is said to be an incorrect rendering. In the *' Leabar Lecan," 3^ we find the name of St. Patrick's mother inserted Coin- ceas. 37 The verbal differences, however, are easily accounted for, owing to the natural mistakes of copyists. Certain writers state, that the Irish Apostle's
adduced, that St. Patrick must have been a native of Great Britain.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Prima S. Patricii, n. lo, p. 8, and Quinta Appendix, cap. iii. , p. 224, ibid.
^3 The 4to paper MSS. , in the Royal Irish Academy, No. 2, 4, contains a Pedigree of St. Patrick.
^^ The title Decurio comes from De Curia,
or belonging to the municipality, the mem- bers of which body were called Curiales or Decuriones. See " Ec-
CochmA]' A mACA]\ mAbbA, nemcho|\ a bAibe bAgA, "Oon niurtiAin ni CAel a cui"o,
RO fA0]\ A|\ fOU-OAp PAC|\A1C.
These lines are thus re—ndered into English,
by Professor O'Curry
" Cochmas was his modest mother, Nemthor was his native town ;
Of Munster not small his share. Which Patrick freed from all sorrow. "
"Lectures on the Manners and Customs =^5 For an account of their office and of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. , lect. viii. , p.
Bingham's Origines clesiasticje ; or, The Antiquities of the —
Christian Church," book iv. , chap. iv.
powers, the reader may consult Dr. William
167, and n. 147.
of Greek and Roman Antiquities," Articles Colonia, Decura, De- curia: Judicum, Decuriones, Exercitus, yiidex and jfudicium, pp. 313 to 320, 388, 481 to Second edition, London,
3° See " Trias Colgan's
Smith's ' '
Dictionary
Thaumaturga. " Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. i. , p. 35. Also Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i,, cap. i. ,
511, 646 to 651. 1849, 8vo.
p. 117.
3' "
The Fourth Life states, Patre Kalfur-
nio ex matre Conchessa ; ut ipsi testatur lib.
Epist. Ego sum Patricias Kalfurniifilius,
matrem habens Cofichessa/n. " These words
^ " Ingenuus
sum secundum carnem ; nam Decurione patre nascor. Vendidi autem
nobilitatem meam (non erubesco, — me are not found in the I have seen of neque copies
poenitet) pro utilitate aliorum. " Villa-
the C9nfession, nor in the Epistle to Coro- ticus.
nueva's
"
Sancti Patricii, Ibernorum Apos-
toli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. S. Patricii Epistola ad Christianos Corotici
Tyranni subditos, num. 5, p.
