——in —
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
-—St.
Inna.
Within brackets, the etymon [Inna] thus
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal,' on this day. ^ For whom it is meant, we have no means for determining.
Article XVII. —Beginning of the Lent of Jesus, A penitential observance began on this day, in the ancient Irish Church ; and probably it continued for several days afterwards. In the Felire of St. ^ngus, we find :
5. Uli. It). tHAfClAA tticiAm
Co ^^015 rnAiv bAtdtpu
CoffAcli co|\5<Mf l-pu. The following is a literal English version :
G. uii. id. The martyrdom of Luciani With a great devoted host
of 2 Inan January.
of "are Feargna
Daughters
mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ as having a feast on this day. From these entries, it has been conjectured,'* that one of these daughters
Art. XIV. —' Edited Reeves, pp. 10, II.
by
Drs. Todd and
a time when the trick had been written,
* See ibid. , and n. 34,
7 At the 17—th of March,
Life of St. Pa-
Drs, Todd and
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi.
In the
Franciscan M—S. copy it is noted emeni Oa.
'
Art. XV. Edited by Rev, Dr. Kelly,
Art, xvi.
'
Edited
p, xi.
' In the Franciscan
copy
we read
In^eriA
Reeves, pp, 10, II,
=^ In a note Dr. Todd says, that the name,
"Inna," is added in a more recent hand,
and not in Iri—sh characters,
'
Art. xvii. The original stanza in Irish,
and the English translation, were furnished by Professor O'Looney of the Catholic Uni- versity, from the Leabhar Breac copy, in the R. I. A.
pe^gne.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 11,
••See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Septima S. Patricii, part iii. , cap. xix, n. 33, pp. 152, 185.
5 This district of Leix is called Laighis
mic-finn, where the marshy or boggy land lay, and which was called Moin-choluim, at
English rendering,
I celebrate a still more noble [feast] The beginning of the Lent of Jesus.
The Rule of St. Francis of Assisi also enjoins certain prescriptions in reference to this observance, after stating, that the brethren shall fast fi-om the feast of All Saints to the Nativity of our Lord. It invokes a blessing on
those monks, who willingly observe the holy Lent, which begins from the Feast of the Epiphany, and continues for forty days, and which the Lord
'
Tripartite
by
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
consecrated by His holy Fast. Those, who were unwilling to do so, are not obliged to this fast, according to the Franciscan Rule, However, it is expressly stated, that the Fast before the Resurrection of the Lord must be strictly observed. *
<Bi^i\) Bap of Sanuajrp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. ALBERT, BISHOP AND PATRON OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CASHEL AND OF THE DIOCESE OF EMLY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FEAST AND ACTS OF ST. ALBERT—HIS NAME AND ORIGIN—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BISHOP OF CASHEL OR OF EMLY—DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL PARTICULARS REGARDING CASHEL,
A CELEBRATED German writer^ has observed, that while the flames
of war were around the Green Isle the sweets of blazing her, enjoyed
repose. When looking into the ecclesiastical life of her people, we are
almost tempted to beheve, that some potent spirits had transported over the sea the cells of the valley of the Nile, with all their hermits ; its monasteries,
Art. i. — —
We
'
' See Father
pro Hibemia," cap. iv. , p. 43. BoUandus treats "De SS. Episcopis Erardo et Alberto" at the 8th of January. See "Acta Sane- torum Januarii," tomus i. , pp. 533 to 546.
Chap.
i.
Professor Gorres.
the date for his festival.
may presume,
Stephen
White's "
as an reference is made to the
and had settled them down in the Western Isle. In
with all their inmates
the lapse of three centuries, our island, it is very insufficiently reported, gave eight hundred and fifty saints to the Church, won over to Christianity the north of Britain, and soon after a large portion of the yet pagan Germany. It devoted, meantime, the utmost attention to the sciences, and cultivated, with especial care, mystical contemplation in religious communities, as well as in the saints whom they produced. Yet however eulogistic such statementsmaybe; neitherabroadnorathomehavehistoricresearchesyet spread out the entire rolls, destined at some future time to extend much wider the true fame of Ireland.
;
The festival of St. Albert, Bishop and Confessor, is celebrated in the united dioceses of Cashel and Emly on this day. =^ It is kept as a double of the first class, with an octave. Colgan was unable to procure St. Albert's Acts ; and yet, he understood, they had been preserved in Bavaria, at the time he wrote. This author treats about our saint, at the 8th of January ; not, indeed, because he knew the day of St. Albert's death, or even that on which his memory had been venerated, but on account of its having being the festival of St. Erard. This holy man had been Albert's companion, during a considerable period of their respective lives. 3 The German writers, treating about them,4 usually associate those sainted personages as
" SeetheRuleof 3 in his " Sanc- St. Francis, chapter iii. , Catalogus Aliquorum
p. 172. B. P. Francisci Assisiatis "Opus- toram Hibemise" Henry Fitzsimon enters
cula," per Fr, Lucam Waddingum, vol. ii,
St. Albert's name, but without specifying
Apologia
authority, Cronicon Bavarice. "
"
by the name Adalbert,
Conrad de Montepuellarum calls Albert,
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 103
brothers. 5 Such close relationship, however, does not appear to be very certain. Our Irish hagiographist sums up St. Albert's Acts, in a few paragraphs. *^ Moreover, their substance has been collected from the works of various authors, who have alluded to this saint, and to his companions.
By some writers, Albert is called Adalbert. He is supposed by others to have been called Albeus, or Ailbe, in his native country. This is generally regarded as having been Ireland. The proper name of Ailbe was not such an unusual one among Irish families. It is supposed, a transition from it to the form of Albert, a well-known name in Germany, might be both easy and natural, among the people of that country. There are similar changes, re- garding the names of Irish Saints and Doctors, who, in olden times, resorted to the Continent. 7 Most likely St. Albert's original Irish nam—e cannot now
—Thisholymanissaidtohavebeenabrother oratleasta be revealed.
of St.
companion of St. Erard,^ and Hildulph or Hidulf. 9 He thought,
is therefore, to have been descended from a noble, if not from royal parentage, in old Scotia or Hibernia. These holy men were associated, it is assumed, not alone by family ties, but by a holy emulation in the desire of becoming
Rock of Cashel.
perfect. Being anxious to Imitate their Divine Master, in his contempt for worldly honours, they abandoned all comforts, derivable from their birth and possessions. Theywererenowned,aswellfortheirlearningasfortheirpiety.
s Such has not been done, however, by Conrad de Montepuellarum.
* To these he has added a few critical notes,
8 For a further ehicidation of St. Albert's Acts, see the Life of St. Erard, which follows, on this same day.
9 The reader is referred, likewise, to the
' See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical Life of St. Hildulph at the nth of July, the
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § day of his feast. After all, the proper ex-
viii. , and n. 102, pp. no, in, 112, and planation of the word "brother" or
"
Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," viii. "brothers" as applied to those saints may
Januarii, Vita St. Albertl, nn, r, 2, pp. signify, that they were merely brethren in 40, 41. religion, and not in kindred.
I04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
Hence it happened, that they were compelled, in a measure, to accept episcopal consecration. HildulphbecameBishopofTrevesinGermany. Livingintheir
native country, as we are told, Erard had been appointed Bishop of Ardagh, while Albert became Archbishop of Cashel. ^° This latter place is now a decaying old town, yet rich in the imperishable associations of its renowned " Rock," with former regal and archiepiscopal honours. " Even still it is crowned with ruins, denoting a past history of chequered events, and pre-
serving some interesting memorials of a by-gone splendour. "
The relics of architectural magnificence at Cashel have frequently obtained
admirable and historic illustration. '3 The pictorial
and
of a generation have made those relics the theme for inspiration. ^*
Cashel seems to have been the royal seat of the Munster Kings, long before St. Patrick preached the Gospel in Ireland. ^s However distinguished, afterwards, as a regal residence of the Christian Monarchs, who ruled in North Munster; yetEmly'^seems,sofaraswecanlearn,tohavebeenthefirst seat of the southern provincial bishops. '7 This continued probably for a long period, for until the time of Comiac M'Cuoillinarn, who is noted in our annals, both as King and Bishop of Cashel,^^ no clear trace of an episcopal predecessor at the place, and in the pastoral office, can be discovered. '9
Tradition has it, that King ^ngus built the first church on the Rock, in
'° " See Colgan's
" The annexed
Intent the Annunciation —Feast to hold
Acta Sanctonim Vita S. Alberti,
" There is an engraved ground plan, and a view of the ruins on the Rock of Cashel, drawn by Dr. Wynne, in Grose's "Anti- quities of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 72, 73. There is likewise an engraving of the old Franciscan Abbey ruins at Cashel, from an original drawing by Barralet. See vol. ii. , pp. 47, 48.
At Cashel of the Kings. "
of St. Patrick," by Aubrey De Vere, p. 95.
now a
Hibemioe," viii. Januarii. §§ i. , ii. ^ pp. 38, 39.
See
"Legends
Mares, Dublin.
poor
erected his first cathedral, or bishop's church. It is fourteen miles west of Cashel, in the south of Ireland. Towards the close of the sixth century, a sort of imiversity is said to have been established here. Until the city was plundered and burnt by the Danes, in the ninth century, it afforded accommoda- tion, as recorded by some writers, for fifteen
engraving,byA. Appleton,
'* About A. D.
500, Emly,
is copied from a photograph, by F. W. village, was the 'spot on which St. Ailbe
'3 Among these pictures and descriptioris Pepper, ''"
"
may be quoted the Dublin Penny Journal,
vol. ii. , No. 66, pp. 105, 106, 108; No. 71,
Byron, or the pencil of a Rosa. " "
p. 148. But the most elegant engravings
'7 See Sir James Ware, Archiepisco-
are the steel in Bartlett's " plates
Casseliensium et Tuamensium pp. I, 2,
Scenery porum, and Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , § xvi. ,
Vitae,"
to
'* One of the most beautiful among
'^ Sir
De Vere has
these
pp. 138
Aubrey
beautiful lines, in a sonnet, frequently
149.
——in —
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
Patrick Murray, D. D. , Maynooth College, on "The Rock of Cashel," will long per- petuate undying memories of its former celebrity. This sad and musical series of stanzas thus opens :
:
"Royal and saintly Cashel ! I would gaze Upon the wreck of thy departed powers Not in the de\vy light of matin hours,
Nor the meridian pomp of summer's
blaze.
But at the close of dim autumnal days.
* * * * At such a time, methinks. There breathes from thy lone courts and
voiceless aisles
A melancholy moral, such as sinks
On the lone traveller's heart amid the
piles
Of vast Persepolis on her movmtain
stand.
Or Thebes half buried in the desert land. " '9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Cashel," pp. 463 to 467.
"
Fair was that eve, as if from earth away All trace of sin and sorrow
Passed, in the light of the eternal day,
"
That knows nor night nor morrow. See Edward Hayes' "Ballads of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 37 to 40.
'S According to Aubrey De Vera, the Apostle
"turned and fired by love that mocks at rest.
Through raging stoiin pushed on the whole night long,
poets
past
present
hundred students at a time.
"
Here," says is still to be seen a wilderness of architectural ruins, worthy the pen of a
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 105
St. Patrick's time. ^° It is possible, accordingly, that Cashel had been erected into a separate see, long before the commencement of the tenth century. '^' A tradition regarding the prelate, whose feast is commemorated this day, having ruled there as bishop, may be well founded, although our hitherto published annals are silent on the subject.
Cashel is now the Metropolitan See of Munster, anciently called Mom- monia. This is the southern province of Ireland. Ten suffragan sees were under Cashel in Colgan's time. ^^ He tells us, that owing either to the avarice of certain persons, or to the ravages of time, many additional episcopates existed in this province, at an earlier period, but these had then disappeared. It is a difficult task to name with accuracy the first bishop of Cashel, even although historians mention St. Albert, called Archbishop of this See, and who is said to have abdicated it about the seventh or eighth century. We are informed, that the people of Cashel, for four hundred and sixty years, were subject to the jurisdiction of St. Ailbe, and to his successors. ^3 This assertion, however, may admit of very considerable modification, when all historic sources are better explored.
CHAPTER 11.
EARLY ARCHIEPISCOPACY IN IRELAND—ST. ALBERT'S SEE—HE LEAVES IT AND GOES ON A PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ROME—THE PERIOD OF THIS PILGRIM- AGE—HE RETURNS TO GERMANY, AND AFTERWARDS VISITS THE HOLY LAND.
GiRALDUS Cambrensis maintains, that there were no Archbishops in Ireland, until a. d. 1 152, when Cardinal Jphn Paparo brought four palls for the Sees
of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin, and Tuam. ^ As subsequent writers followed this statement, and as it might thence be inferred, that St. Albert could not
have been Archbishop of Cashel, about the seventh or eighth century, Colgan premises that Giraldus wrote this account, as also many other remarks about our island, neither from a personal knowledge, nor from authentic information. Besides the Prelates of Armagh, who were constantly called Archbishops and Prelates, there were others called Archbishops in Ireland, although they had not received palls. Nor was the title of Archbishop always assigned to a fixed see. The other three provinces had a bishop, who presided over suffragans. ^^ For the most part, the Archbishop's title had been derived from the province in which he resided, and it did not belong to any particular see. Thus, he who would have been called Archbishop of Cashel, or of Dublin, or of Tuam, in more modern times, was then usually called Archbishop or Bishop of Munster, or of Leinster, or of Connaught, in the early Christian ages. From among the bishops of each province, one distinguished for his virtues or merits was usually selected to preside over other resident bishops. Thisdignitywasnotaffixedtoanyparticulardiocese; butthebishop,who was so distinguished, remained attached to his own place. Yet, he was often designated Archbishop of the whole province. The case of St. Maidoc, or
TM St. Patrick is said to have left his bless-
ing on the King, people and kingdom at
"Historical and Legendary Recollections of
the Rock of Cashel," pp. 12, 13.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemise, viii.
Cashel. He the enjoined building
"Here on this once,
A
De Vere's "
Januarii, n, 2, p. 40.
Rock, high place church to God. "—See
Chap. ii. —' "
Archiepiscoporum Topographia Hibemiae,"
kingly
" See Miss M. St.
Legends
of St.
xvii.
of idols
Aubrey Patrick," p. 103.
"
Casseliensium et Tuamensium Vitse," p. i.
dist.
John
to
Neville's *
iii. , cap.
According Colgan.
=^3 Sir Ware, James
rated the 17th of
the 6th of June.
s See his Life at ^ See his Life at the 12th
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
io6
Aidan 3 who died a. d. 642 ; St. Moling,* called Bishop of Ferns, and Arch- bishop of Leinster, who died 696 ; St. jarlath,5 Bishop of Tuam, and Arch- bishop of Connaught, who flourished in the year 530 ; as also one of his
successors, Aidus O'Hoissin, Archbishop of Connaught, who died 1085 ; St. Ailbe,^ appointed Archbishop of Munster, before the year 490, by St. Patrick ; Mailb'righde, Archbishop of Munster, who died 895 •^ and Cormac,^ who is
— of as also King of Munster, and who was killed called Archbishop Cashel,
instances are rehed on to state- intheyear903 allofthese proveColgan's
ments. Again he refers us to notes, annexed to his life of St. Maidoc,9 for
'^° further pertinent remarks, respecting this subject.
At the dates to which allusion is made, it must be observed, that the
title of Archbishop will not be found severally applied in the Annals of the FourMasters. " Ourreadersarealsoreferredforfurtheraccounts,onthis
matter, to different lives of the saints already named, and to where their acts are written, in other parts of this work, under the dates of their respective
festivals.
Ruins on Rock of Cashel.
By some, it is thought, that to Emly, as being a more ancient see than Cashel, mustratherbeassignedtheformersuperintendenceofSt. Albert. " Ithas been conjectured, however, by most of our ecclesiastical writers, that our present saint was called Archbishop of Cashel, not because this see had been erected in the time of Albert, but that when afterwards erected, it was re-
3 Venerated the 31st of January. Vene*
" See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemi«," viii.
Januarii, n. 2, p. 40.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vols, i. ,
ii.
" See" Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § viii. , p. III.
June,
of September.
7 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 552, 553.
•
s At the 31st of January.
See his Life at the 14th of September.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 107
cognised as the chief see, within the Munster province. It has been main- tained, there was neither a bishop nor an archbishop over Cashel in the eighth century—most Ukely his time was the seventh—when Albert is thought to have flourished.
The title, Archbishop of Munster, having been first annexed to Emly,
was
Albert or Ailbe
which see had sometimes been called Archbishops he may thus have ac- quired the title Archprelate of Munster, or of Cashel, when this city was re- cognised as Metropohtan for the province. '3
Cashel obtained its ecclesiastical distinction, it is asserted, only about the close of the ninth century. Hence, certain writers, referred to by Colgan, in his acts of St. Albert, might suppose him to have deserved the title, Arch- bishop over Cashel,'* during his life-time, thus anticipating a subsequent for- mation of this see.
In order to divest themselves of all temporal honours, St. Albert, with
his companions, Erhard and Hildulph,'5 resolved on emigrating to a distant country, where they might remain unknown to their kindred. We are told,
that St. Erhard, Bishop of Ardagh,'^ in the territory of Teffia,'? St. Albert, Archbishop of Cashel, and St. Hildulph, associated with themselves nineteen other holy companions. Their missionary tour seems referable to the seventh century. Those Irish missionaries, including our saint, all set out on their travels. Through France and Germany they passed,'^ nor did they rest until they had arrived at Rome, the parent and nurse of our holy religion. Here, according to the custom of our country, and of the time, these pious pilgrims acknowledged with reverence its apostolic privileges, as highly dis- tinguishing this city among other cities of the world. '»
It appears to us, that we must regard the missionary tour to the Continent, by St. Albert, St. Erard, and St. Hildulph, as the consequence of a close companionship and friendship in Ireland among these holy men. Even, if divided by distant stations, they were resolved to engage in a holy and ad- venturous career for the sake of Christ.
afterwards,
it has been
asserted,
transferred to Cashel. —
Hence, although
might
have been
over— the only bishop Emly
prelates
of
O'Dubhegain and O'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. 35, p. ix.
'^
Rader, the Bavarian writer, seems to have regarded the Blessed Albertus as St. photograph, by Frederick W. Mares, Erhard's companion, and moreover as a kinsman. But the historian is of opinion,
'3 Colgan gives parallel cases, regarding similar titular applications on the Continent.
Januarii. Vita St. Alberti, n. 2, p. 41. Also, Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § viii. , n. 103, p. 112.
'5 Hildulph is said, by some writers, to
have been a younger brother to both Erhard
The accompanying engraving, by Messrs. Jacquet et Bisson, Paris, is copied from a
Dublin.
'See •' Acta Sanctorum Hibemige," viii.
that both changed the darkness of Scotia
for the light of Germany. We are told, that Albert did not remain very long until he went to Rome. See "Bavaria Sancta," tomus i. , p. 63. The Jesuit, Matthew Rader, wrote "Bavaria Sancta," in three folio vols. It was published a. d. 1615-27, with 60, 44 and 20 plates of Raph. Sadeler.
and Albert.
'* ""
This see is situated in the county of Longford, and it was founded by St. Mel, a Briton, in the fifth century. See his Life at the 6th of February.
•' In St. Patrick's time this was a large
He also published the work Bavaria Pia,
in a fol. vol. , a. d. 1628, with 16 plates of
Raph. Sadeler. These were issued at
Monaci. A Munich edition of the fore-
going works in four vols, contains inferior
territory, extending into the present counties
of Westmeath and Longford. The river
Ethne, now the Inny, divided it into
two parts, north and south ; the former in-
eluded the greater part of Longford county, 444.
"
meath. See "Topographical Poems of niae" viii. Januarii. Vita S. Alberti, §
and the
latter,
the western half of "West-
'9 See Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
However conflicting are accounts
proofs. See Jacques-Charles Brunet's
" Manuel Du Libraire et de I'Amateur de
Livres," tome iv. See also Dr. Hoefer's
Nouvelle Biographic, tome xli. , pp. 443,
"
Rader" Art.
io8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
regarding them, some few circumstances transpire, which serve nearly to determine the period of their mission.
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal,' on this day. ^ For whom it is meant, we have no means for determining.
Article XVII. —Beginning of the Lent of Jesus, A penitential observance began on this day, in the ancient Irish Church ; and probably it continued for several days afterwards. In the Felire of St. ^ngus, we find :
5. Uli. It). tHAfClAA tticiAm
Co ^^015 rnAiv bAtdtpu
CoffAcli co|\5<Mf l-pu. The following is a literal English version :
G. uii. id. The martyrdom of Luciani With a great devoted host
of 2 Inan January.
of "are Feargna
Daughters
mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ as having a feast on this day. From these entries, it has been conjectured,'* that one of these daughters
Art. XIV. —' Edited Reeves, pp. 10, II.
by
Drs. Todd and
a time when the trick had been written,
* See ibid. , and n. 34,
7 At the 17—th of March,
Life of St. Pa-
Drs, Todd and
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi.
In the
Franciscan M—S. copy it is noted emeni Oa.
'
Art. XV. Edited by Rev, Dr. Kelly,
Art, xvi.
'
Edited
p, xi.
' In the Franciscan
copy
we read
In^eriA
Reeves, pp, 10, II,
=^ In a note Dr. Todd says, that the name,
"Inna," is added in a more recent hand,
and not in Iri—sh characters,
'
Art. xvii. The original stanza in Irish,
and the English translation, were furnished by Professor O'Looney of the Catholic Uni- versity, from the Leabhar Breac copy, in the R. I. A.
pe^gne.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 11,
••See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Septima S. Patricii, part iii. , cap. xix, n. 33, pp. 152, 185.
5 This district of Leix is called Laighis
mic-finn, where the marshy or boggy land lay, and which was called Moin-choluim, at
English rendering,
I celebrate a still more noble [feast] The beginning of the Lent of Jesus.
The Rule of St. Francis of Assisi also enjoins certain prescriptions in reference to this observance, after stating, that the brethren shall fast fi-om the feast of All Saints to the Nativity of our Lord. It invokes a blessing on
those monks, who willingly observe the holy Lent, which begins from the Feast of the Epiphany, and continues for forty days, and which the Lord
'
Tripartite
by
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
consecrated by His holy Fast. Those, who were unwilling to do so, are not obliged to this fast, according to the Franciscan Rule, However, it is expressly stated, that the Fast before the Resurrection of the Lord must be strictly observed. *
<Bi^i\) Bap of Sanuajrp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. ALBERT, BISHOP AND PATRON OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CASHEL AND OF THE DIOCESE OF EMLY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FEAST AND ACTS OF ST. ALBERT—HIS NAME AND ORIGIN—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BISHOP OF CASHEL OR OF EMLY—DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL PARTICULARS REGARDING CASHEL,
A CELEBRATED German writer^ has observed, that while the flames
of war were around the Green Isle the sweets of blazing her, enjoyed
repose. When looking into the ecclesiastical life of her people, we are
almost tempted to beheve, that some potent spirits had transported over the sea the cells of the valley of the Nile, with all their hermits ; its monasteries,
Art. i. — —
We
'
' See Father
pro Hibemia," cap. iv. , p. 43. BoUandus treats "De SS. Episcopis Erardo et Alberto" at the 8th of January. See "Acta Sane- torum Januarii," tomus i. , pp. 533 to 546.
Chap.
i.
Professor Gorres.
the date for his festival.
may presume,
Stephen
White's "
as an reference is made to the
and had settled them down in the Western Isle. In
with all their inmates
the lapse of three centuries, our island, it is very insufficiently reported, gave eight hundred and fifty saints to the Church, won over to Christianity the north of Britain, and soon after a large portion of the yet pagan Germany. It devoted, meantime, the utmost attention to the sciences, and cultivated, with especial care, mystical contemplation in religious communities, as well as in the saints whom they produced. Yet however eulogistic such statementsmaybe; neitherabroadnorathomehavehistoricresearchesyet spread out the entire rolls, destined at some future time to extend much wider the true fame of Ireland.
;
The festival of St. Albert, Bishop and Confessor, is celebrated in the united dioceses of Cashel and Emly on this day. =^ It is kept as a double of the first class, with an octave. Colgan was unable to procure St. Albert's Acts ; and yet, he understood, they had been preserved in Bavaria, at the time he wrote. This author treats about our saint, at the 8th of January ; not, indeed, because he knew the day of St. Albert's death, or even that on which his memory had been venerated, but on account of its having being the festival of St. Erard. This holy man had been Albert's companion, during a considerable period of their respective lives. 3 The German writers, treating about them,4 usually associate those sainted personages as
" SeetheRuleof 3 in his " Sanc- St. Francis, chapter iii. , Catalogus Aliquorum
p. 172. B. P. Francisci Assisiatis "Opus- toram Hibemise" Henry Fitzsimon enters
cula," per Fr, Lucam Waddingum, vol. ii,
St. Albert's name, but without specifying
Apologia
authority, Cronicon Bavarice. "
"
by the name Adalbert,
Conrad de Montepuellarum calls Albert,
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 103
brothers. 5 Such close relationship, however, does not appear to be very certain. Our Irish hagiographist sums up St. Albert's Acts, in a few paragraphs. *^ Moreover, their substance has been collected from the works of various authors, who have alluded to this saint, and to his companions.
By some writers, Albert is called Adalbert. He is supposed by others to have been called Albeus, or Ailbe, in his native country. This is generally regarded as having been Ireland. The proper name of Ailbe was not such an unusual one among Irish families. It is supposed, a transition from it to the form of Albert, a well-known name in Germany, might be both easy and natural, among the people of that country. There are similar changes, re- garding the names of Irish Saints and Doctors, who, in olden times, resorted to the Continent. 7 Most likely St. Albert's original Irish nam—e cannot now
—Thisholymanissaidtohavebeenabrother oratleasta be revealed.
of St.
companion of St. Erard,^ and Hildulph or Hidulf. 9 He thought,
is therefore, to have been descended from a noble, if not from royal parentage, in old Scotia or Hibernia. These holy men were associated, it is assumed, not alone by family ties, but by a holy emulation in the desire of becoming
Rock of Cashel.
perfect. Being anxious to Imitate their Divine Master, in his contempt for worldly honours, they abandoned all comforts, derivable from their birth and possessions. Theywererenowned,aswellfortheirlearningasfortheirpiety.
s Such has not been done, however, by Conrad de Montepuellarum.
* To these he has added a few critical notes,
8 For a further ehicidation of St. Albert's Acts, see the Life of St. Erard, which follows, on this same day.
9 The reader is referred, likewise, to the
' See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical Life of St. Hildulph at the nth of July, the
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § day of his feast. After all, the proper ex-
viii. , and n. 102, pp. no, in, 112, and planation of the word "brother" or
"
Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," viii. "brothers" as applied to those saints may
Januarii, Vita St. Albertl, nn, r, 2, pp. signify, that they were merely brethren in 40, 41. religion, and not in kindred.
I04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
Hence it happened, that they were compelled, in a measure, to accept episcopal consecration. HildulphbecameBishopofTrevesinGermany. Livingintheir
native country, as we are told, Erard had been appointed Bishop of Ardagh, while Albert became Archbishop of Cashel. ^° This latter place is now a decaying old town, yet rich in the imperishable associations of its renowned " Rock," with former regal and archiepiscopal honours. " Even still it is crowned with ruins, denoting a past history of chequered events, and pre-
serving some interesting memorials of a by-gone splendour. "
The relics of architectural magnificence at Cashel have frequently obtained
admirable and historic illustration. '3 The pictorial
and
of a generation have made those relics the theme for inspiration. ^*
Cashel seems to have been the royal seat of the Munster Kings, long before St. Patrick preached the Gospel in Ireland. ^s However distinguished, afterwards, as a regal residence of the Christian Monarchs, who ruled in North Munster; yetEmly'^seems,sofaraswecanlearn,tohavebeenthefirst seat of the southern provincial bishops. '7 This continued probably for a long period, for until the time of Comiac M'Cuoillinarn, who is noted in our annals, both as King and Bishop of Cashel,^^ no clear trace of an episcopal predecessor at the place, and in the pastoral office, can be discovered. '9
Tradition has it, that King ^ngus built the first church on the Rock, in
'° " See Colgan's
" The annexed
Intent the Annunciation —Feast to hold
Acta Sanctonim Vita S. Alberti,
" There is an engraved ground plan, and a view of the ruins on the Rock of Cashel, drawn by Dr. Wynne, in Grose's "Anti- quities of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 72, 73. There is likewise an engraving of the old Franciscan Abbey ruins at Cashel, from an original drawing by Barralet. See vol. ii. , pp. 47, 48.
At Cashel of the Kings. "
of St. Patrick," by Aubrey De Vere, p. 95.
now a
Hibemioe," viii. Januarii. §§ i. , ii. ^ pp. 38, 39.
See
"Legends
Mares, Dublin.
poor
erected his first cathedral, or bishop's church. It is fourteen miles west of Cashel, in the south of Ireland. Towards the close of the sixth century, a sort of imiversity is said to have been established here. Until the city was plundered and burnt by the Danes, in the ninth century, it afforded accommoda- tion, as recorded by some writers, for fifteen
engraving,byA. Appleton,
'* About A. D.
500, Emly,
is copied from a photograph, by F. W. village, was the 'spot on which St. Ailbe
'3 Among these pictures and descriptioris Pepper, ''"
"
may be quoted the Dublin Penny Journal,
vol. ii. , No. 66, pp. 105, 106, 108; No. 71,
Byron, or the pencil of a Rosa. " "
p. 148. But the most elegant engravings
'7 See Sir James Ware, Archiepisco-
are the steel in Bartlett's " plates
Casseliensium et Tuamensium pp. I, 2,
Scenery porum, and Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , § xvi. ,
Vitae,"
to
'* One of the most beautiful among
'^ Sir
De Vere has
these
pp. 138
Aubrey
beautiful lines, in a sonnet, frequently
149.
——in —
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
Patrick Murray, D. D. , Maynooth College, on "The Rock of Cashel," will long per- petuate undying memories of its former celebrity. This sad and musical series of stanzas thus opens :
:
"Royal and saintly Cashel ! I would gaze Upon the wreck of thy departed powers Not in the de\vy light of matin hours,
Nor the meridian pomp of summer's
blaze.
But at the close of dim autumnal days.
* * * * At such a time, methinks. There breathes from thy lone courts and
voiceless aisles
A melancholy moral, such as sinks
On the lone traveller's heart amid the
piles
Of vast Persepolis on her movmtain
stand.
Or Thebes half buried in the desert land. " '9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Cashel," pp. 463 to 467.
"
Fair was that eve, as if from earth away All trace of sin and sorrow
Passed, in the light of the eternal day,
"
That knows nor night nor morrow. See Edward Hayes' "Ballads of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 37 to 40.
'S According to Aubrey De Vera, the Apostle
"turned and fired by love that mocks at rest.
Through raging stoiin pushed on the whole night long,
poets
past
present
hundred students at a time.
"
Here," says is still to be seen a wilderness of architectural ruins, worthy the pen of a
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 105
St. Patrick's time. ^° It is possible, accordingly, that Cashel had been erected into a separate see, long before the commencement of the tenth century. '^' A tradition regarding the prelate, whose feast is commemorated this day, having ruled there as bishop, may be well founded, although our hitherto published annals are silent on the subject.
Cashel is now the Metropolitan See of Munster, anciently called Mom- monia. This is the southern province of Ireland. Ten suffragan sees were under Cashel in Colgan's time. ^^ He tells us, that owing either to the avarice of certain persons, or to the ravages of time, many additional episcopates existed in this province, at an earlier period, but these had then disappeared. It is a difficult task to name with accuracy the first bishop of Cashel, even although historians mention St. Albert, called Archbishop of this See, and who is said to have abdicated it about the seventh or eighth century. We are informed, that the people of Cashel, for four hundred and sixty years, were subject to the jurisdiction of St. Ailbe, and to his successors. ^3 This assertion, however, may admit of very considerable modification, when all historic sources are better explored.
CHAPTER 11.
EARLY ARCHIEPISCOPACY IN IRELAND—ST. ALBERT'S SEE—HE LEAVES IT AND GOES ON A PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ROME—THE PERIOD OF THIS PILGRIM- AGE—HE RETURNS TO GERMANY, AND AFTERWARDS VISITS THE HOLY LAND.
GiRALDUS Cambrensis maintains, that there were no Archbishops in Ireland, until a. d. 1 152, when Cardinal Jphn Paparo brought four palls for the Sees
of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin, and Tuam. ^ As subsequent writers followed this statement, and as it might thence be inferred, that St. Albert could not
have been Archbishop of Cashel, about the seventh or eighth century, Colgan premises that Giraldus wrote this account, as also many other remarks about our island, neither from a personal knowledge, nor from authentic information. Besides the Prelates of Armagh, who were constantly called Archbishops and Prelates, there were others called Archbishops in Ireland, although they had not received palls. Nor was the title of Archbishop always assigned to a fixed see. The other three provinces had a bishop, who presided over suffragans. ^^ For the most part, the Archbishop's title had been derived from the province in which he resided, and it did not belong to any particular see. Thus, he who would have been called Archbishop of Cashel, or of Dublin, or of Tuam, in more modern times, was then usually called Archbishop or Bishop of Munster, or of Leinster, or of Connaught, in the early Christian ages. From among the bishops of each province, one distinguished for his virtues or merits was usually selected to preside over other resident bishops. Thisdignitywasnotaffixedtoanyparticulardiocese; butthebishop,who was so distinguished, remained attached to his own place. Yet, he was often designated Archbishop of the whole province. The case of St. Maidoc, or
TM St. Patrick is said to have left his bless-
ing on the King, people and kingdom at
"Historical and Legendary Recollections of
the Rock of Cashel," pp. 12, 13.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemise, viii.
Cashel. He the enjoined building
"Here on this once,
A
De Vere's "
Januarii, n, 2, p. 40.
Rock, high place church to God. "—See
Chap. ii. —' "
Archiepiscoporum Topographia Hibemiae,"
kingly
" See Miss M. St.
Legends
of St.
xvii.
of idols
Aubrey Patrick," p. 103.
"
Casseliensium et Tuamensium Vitse," p. i.
dist.
John
to
Neville's *
iii. , cap.
According Colgan.
=^3 Sir Ware, James
rated the 17th of
the 6th of June.
s See his Life at ^ See his Life at the 12th
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
io6
Aidan 3 who died a. d. 642 ; St. Moling,* called Bishop of Ferns, and Arch- bishop of Leinster, who died 696 ; St. jarlath,5 Bishop of Tuam, and Arch- bishop of Connaught, who flourished in the year 530 ; as also one of his
successors, Aidus O'Hoissin, Archbishop of Connaught, who died 1085 ; St. Ailbe,^ appointed Archbishop of Munster, before the year 490, by St. Patrick ; Mailb'righde, Archbishop of Munster, who died 895 •^ and Cormac,^ who is
— of as also King of Munster, and who was killed called Archbishop Cashel,
instances are rehed on to state- intheyear903 allofthese proveColgan's
ments. Again he refers us to notes, annexed to his life of St. Maidoc,9 for
'^° further pertinent remarks, respecting this subject.
At the dates to which allusion is made, it must be observed, that the
title of Archbishop will not be found severally applied in the Annals of the FourMasters. " Ourreadersarealsoreferredforfurtheraccounts,onthis
matter, to different lives of the saints already named, and to where their acts are written, in other parts of this work, under the dates of their respective
festivals.
Ruins on Rock of Cashel.
By some, it is thought, that to Emly, as being a more ancient see than Cashel, mustratherbeassignedtheformersuperintendenceofSt. Albert. " Ithas been conjectured, however, by most of our ecclesiastical writers, that our present saint was called Archbishop of Cashel, not because this see had been erected in the time of Albert, but that when afterwards erected, it was re-
3 Venerated the 31st of January. Vene*
" See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemi«," viii.
Januarii, n. 2, p. 40.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vols, i. ,
ii.
" See" Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § viii. , p. III.
June,
of September.
7 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 552, 553.
•
s At the 31st of January.
See his Life at the 14th of September.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 107
cognised as the chief see, within the Munster province. It has been main- tained, there was neither a bishop nor an archbishop over Cashel in the eighth century—most Ukely his time was the seventh—when Albert is thought to have flourished.
The title, Archbishop of Munster, having been first annexed to Emly,
was
Albert or Ailbe
which see had sometimes been called Archbishops he may thus have ac- quired the title Archprelate of Munster, or of Cashel, when this city was re- cognised as Metropohtan for the province. '3
Cashel obtained its ecclesiastical distinction, it is asserted, only about the close of the ninth century. Hence, certain writers, referred to by Colgan, in his acts of St. Albert, might suppose him to have deserved the title, Arch- bishop over Cashel,'* during his life-time, thus anticipating a subsequent for- mation of this see.
In order to divest themselves of all temporal honours, St. Albert, with
his companions, Erhard and Hildulph,'5 resolved on emigrating to a distant country, where they might remain unknown to their kindred. We are told,
that St. Erhard, Bishop of Ardagh,'^ in the territory of Teffia,'? St. Albert, Archbishop of Cashel, and St. Hildulph, associated with themselves nineteen other holy companions. Their missionary tour seems referable to the seventh century. Those Irish missionaries, including our saint, all set out on their travels. Through France and Germany they passed,'^ nor did they rest until they had arrived at Rome, the parent and nurse of our holy religion. Here, according to the custom of our country, and of the time, these pious pilgrims acknowledged with reverence its apostolic privileges, as highly dis- tinguishing this city among other cities of the world. '»
It appears to us, that we must regard the missionary tour to the Continent, by St. Albert, St. Erard, and St. Hildulph, as the consequence of a close companionship and friendship in Ireland among these holy men. Even, if divided by distant stations, they were resolved to engage in a holy and ad- venturous career for the sake of Christ.
afterwards,
it has been
asserted,
transferred to Cashel. —
Hence, although
might
have been
over— the only bishop Emly
prelates
of
O'Dubhegain and O'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. 35, p. ix.
'^
Rader, the Bavarian writer, seems to have regarded the Blessed Albertus as St. photograph, by Frederick W. Mares, Erhard's companion, and moreover as a kinsman. But the historian is of opinion,
'3 Colgan gives parallel cases, regarding similar titular applications on the Continent.
Januarii. Vita St. Alberti, n. 2, p. 41. Also, Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § viii. , n. 103, p. 112.
'5 Hildulph is said, by some writers, to
have been a younger brother to both Erhard
The accompanying engraving, by Messrs. Jacquet et Bisson, Paris, is copied from a
Dublin.
'See •' Acta Sanctorum Hibemige," viii.
that both changed the darkness of Scotia
for the light of Germany. We are told, that Albert did not remain very long until he went to Rome. See "Bavaria Sancta," tomus i. , p. 63. The Jesuit, Matthew Rader, wrote "Bavaria Sancta," in three folio vols. It was published a. d. 1615-27, with 60, 44 and 20 plates of Raph. Sadeler.
and Albert.
'* ""
This see is situated in the county of Longford, and it was founded by St. Mel, a Briton, in the fifth century. See his Life at the 6th of February.
•' In St. Patrick's time this was a large
He also published the work Bavaria Pia,
in a fol. vol. , a. d. 1628, with 16 plates of
Raph. Sadeler. These were issued at
Monaci. A Munich edition of the fore-
going works in four vols, contains inferior
territory, extending into the present counties
of Westmeath and Longford. The river
Ethne, now the Inny, divided it into
two parts, north and south ; the former in-
eluded the greater part of Longford county, 444.
"
meath. See "Topographical Poems of niae" viii. Januarii. Vita S. Alberti, §
and the
latter,
the western half of "West-
'9 See Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
However conflicting are accounts
proofs. See Jacques-Charles Brunet's
" Manuel Du Libraire et de I'Amateur de
Livres," tome iv. See also Dr. Hoefer's
Nouvelle Biographic, tome xli. , pp. 443,
"
Rader" Art.
io8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
regarding them, some few circumstances transpire, which serve nearly to determine the period of their mission.
