Columban
is related to have fled away from worldly honours.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
—St.
PRiEcoRDius, of Velia and of Corbie, in
PiCARDY, France. [Probably in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ This
^
holy servant of Christ belonged to the race of the Scots, and as, from
the wonderful accounts remaining, it seems he had left his native country, towards the close of the fifth or the commencement of the sixth century, we may deem it extremely probable that he was a native of Ireland, and born there at a time when Christianity began to make progress. The Bol-
landists,^ after Colgan,3 give a short history of St. Praecordius, a holy priest, with an account concerning the discovery and translation of his relics. Nicholas Belfortius-^ first recovered this tract, and rescued it from the manu- script of some unknown writer. 5 Colgan thought Belfort extracted this account^ from the Lessons of an Office, celebrated in the Church of Corbie, on the Festival of the Translation of St. Praecordius' Relics. 7 Little more seems to be known regarding this holy pilgrim's personal history, than his having wandered towards a place. Latinized Valliacus, Vasliacus,^ or Vig- liacus,9 said to have been distinguished among the villages of a church, known as Corbie, '° in the neighbourhood of Soissons. " Its soil was most fertile, while several inhabitants and vineyards about, rendered it a cheerful and an agreeable place for residence. The Aisne river, with its tributary
streams, flowed between beautiful plains and meadows. Here, the holy Praecordius—which seems not to have been his original Celtic name'^—ad- mired the scenery, and he desired to live among the people of Soissons, who belonged to Belgic Gaul. '3 Their city of Soissons is said to have been
'* See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioe," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, cap. —iii. , p. 233.
*
Article vi. Colgan observes, that in
the time of St. Remigius of Rheims, only a few Scottish or Irish colonists were in Great
Britain, and among these, rare could have been the instances, in which 'they had em- braced the Christian Faith ; whereas, after King Clovis of France became a Christian, several Irish Scots visited France, and set- tied there under St. Remigius. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Febiniarii i. De S.
Praecordii Translatione, n. 3, p. 232.
= See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii i. De S. Praecordio Presbytero, Corbeiae et Valliaci, in Gallia. A commentary, in three sections, precedes the Acts proper.
See tomus i. , pp. 196 to 198.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Praecordii Translatione,
pp. 230 to 233, with notes subjoined.
< He was a Canon Regular of the House
of St. John of the Vines, at Soissons.
5 The Bollaudists claim to have given a
more correct version of it, than Colgan did. ^ It was taken from Belfort's supplement, and transmitted to Colgan, by D. Andrew
Raytin.
7 On the 5th of June,
^ **
» In Colgan's version, the statement reads:
**
Inter villas Ecclesiae Carbagiensis, Val- liacus habetur in pago Suessonico," &c. It seems evident " Corbeiensis " should be read.
'" Corbie is now a canton, commune, and townof France, in the department of Somme, andarrondissementofAmiens. Itisaplace
of some manufacturing industry ; and, at one time, it was a strongly fortified town. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. iv. , p. 671. " This lay within the ancient province of Neustria,inthetimeofCharlemagne. See
Wilkinson's " Atlas Classica," map 52. "This probably cannot now be re-
covered,
'3 See Baudrand's Ferrarius, "Novum
Lexicon Geographicum," tomus ii. , p. 222.
According to Ferrarius in Catalogo Generali. "
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 245
built, by Brenmis, Duke of Sens, a. u. c. 315. Here the holy man lived for a very considerable time, in the practice of every virtue. The place appears to be that called Velia, a town near the Aisne, in the diocese of Soissons, ac-
cording to Papirius Masson. Regarding that river, as passing through the country of the Retelii, watering the town Regiteste, then Castrum-Portian, he adds, in fine, that gliding by Velia, it washes the famous city of Soissons. ^^ While thus living in his isolated position, Prcecordius' great merits and
sanctity attracted the notice of holy Remigius,^^ the renowned Archbishop ofRheims. Bothwereattachedbyafirmbondoffamiliarintercourseand
miracles and favours were manifested after his death, towards pious clients, whocametovisithistomb. TherelicsofSt. Prsecordiusseemtohavebeen kept in a rich shrine. For about four hundred years, religiously guarded, a lamp was kept burning before it. Then this shrine, a rich object, excited the cupidity of a certain sacrilegious guardian, who stole it away by night, yet was it again miraculously recovered. Colgan observes, that a fine church, dedicated to St. Prsecordius, stood in the suburbs of Vasliacensis or Velia. ^7 It is probable, that the saint's relics originally reposed there. In the additions of Molanus to Usuard, the Natalis of St. Prsecordius is placed attheKalendsofFebruary. ^^ Canisiushasthesameaccount,andFerrarius gives one nearly similar. '^ A manuscript Martyrology, belonging to the
2°
of ^^ The life of St. Praecordius was charity.
to a
when he laid down the burden of the flesh, probably in the earlier half of the sixth century. No date for his death has been preserved. The clergy and people honourably interred him in a church at Velia. Great
church of St. Gudule, at Bruxelles, has a short notice of him.
seems most likely, that this was the day of his death, which had been observed at Velia ; the feast referring to the recovery and translation of his relics, at Corbie, being assigned to the 5th of June. ^"' At this latter date, the reader will find a continued narrative of that cultus, observed by the religious people of Picardy, manifesting a profound respect entertained by them for St. Prse- cordius, during lifetime, and preserved for several ages, after his happy death had led to the rewards of eternal life.
Article VII. —St. Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, or Foduibh. — This holy man appears to have been distinct from a bishop of Tallagh, simi- larly named. ^ The present addition, to our list of saints, entered as Airen-
**See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. ,Februarii i. De S. Prae- cordio Presbytero, &c. Commentarius Praevius, sects, i, 2, p. 196.
'S His feast occurs, on the 1st of October, although he died on the 13th of January, in the year 533, according to Rivet. Pope Leo JX. , during a council held at Rheims A. D. 1049, transferred his relics to the church of the Benedictine Abbey, bearing his name, inthatcity,ontheistofOctober. SeeRev.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni£e,"Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Prcecordii Translatione, n.
''
and Other October i.
'^ St,
Alban Butler's
Lives of the Fathers, Mar- gundy, where it is placed,
tyrs,
Principal Saints,"
was in the
vol.
^° It notes **Et Praecordii x. , only,
teri. "
Presby-
Remigius
year of his age, when he died, after having exercised the office of bishop for over seventy years. Yet, Baronius does not consider, he ruled for seventy-four years, in the epis- copate of Rheims.
^' See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii i. De S. Praecordii Trans-
latione, pp. 230 to 232, and nn. 3, 4, 6, ibid. —'
Article vii. See at his feast day, loth of tliis month.
ninety-fourth
prolonged
great age,
2, p. 232.
^^ "
There he writes, In Vasliaco natalis S; Pracordii Confessoris. "
'^ In "Generali Catalog© Sanctorum," Ferrarius writes his place Vigliacus, for Valliacus. Readmits, however, that some write it Vasliacus ; but, he greatly mistakes, when he called it a village, having a Bene- dictine monastery, in the country of Bur-
Therefore, it
246 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
nanh Foduibh, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,= at the ist of Feb- ruary. Again do we meet with Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, registered in theMartyrologyofDonegal,3onthisday. Thepatronymicmayaifordsome chie to his family and period.
Article VIII. —St. Mochealloc. No matter how little distinguished the servant of God may be in life, his course lies in the right direction, and must conduct him to glory. "The path of the just," writes Solomon, " is as a shining light, that goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day," This is a great truth, that admits of many interpretations ; as you turn it in different directions, it gives out, like the diamond, manifold streams of radiance. We find simply a saint, called Mochealloc,^ registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^' on this day. The enclitic " mo " or " my " was probably a prefix, the original name being Chealloc, Ceallach or Kelloch. 3 For want of further — it seems difficult to unite—but most
namesakes of the Irish Calendars, under any form of designation.
Article IX. —St. Begin or Beon, Virgin. It seems somewhat re- markable, that so many virgins are venerated in our calendars, on the festival of the greatest among Irish female saints. The feast of Beoin, or Beon, virgin, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,' and of Donegal,^ as having been celebrated on this day, to which her name is referred. This special form of name is unique in our calendars.
S>ttoxia Bap of jfeiruarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLUMBAN, ABBOT AND RECLUSE, AT GHENT, BELGIUM.
\_TENTH CEN7URY. -\
during his wanderings, the Trojan exile found the fame of his country AS extended, by the valour and toil of her chiefs, in far distant lands j^ so,
may the Irish pilgrim trace the labours of our saints, not alone on their own soil, but in the remote places of their adoption. At the 2nd of February, Colgan'' and the Bollandists3 have given St. Columban's Acts, compiled from
distinction, likely we must disassociate his festival and his person, when classed with his
=' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
= Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 36, 37.
36, 37. — Article viii.
i.
expressed
by
at December
=
23rd.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
De S. Columbano Abbate, treats about St. Columban, Inclusus, in
*
Mocelloc or Mocheal-
log, corresponding with the present name, is entered in our Irish Calendars at January
23rd, at the present date, at March 7th and
"Quse regio in terris nostri non plena la- boris. "
—^neidos, lib. i. , 1. 460.
= See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Feb-
36, 37.
3 Saints, so named, are entered in our ka-
lendar? , at April ist, at July 1 8th, and at
rnarii ii.
Gandavi Sepulto, pp. 238, 239. Sanders
October 7th. Article ix.
Kelly, p. xiv.
" **
Hagiologio FlandriiE, as also Gazoeus, In Vitis Sanctorum. " Some Belgian
—
' Edited
Rev. Dr.
likewise, allude to him.
3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Feb-
by
manuscripts,
Article
—
'^
Thus
^Eneas:
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ^47
various sources and authorities. This saint, there can be little doubt, was a native of Ireland ; and the Belgian writers agree on this matter. '* Yet, Dempster,5 with his usual effrontery, tries to make him a Scotchman, and he also assumes Columban was a writer. ^ He says, that this saint always lived in Scotland, and he refers to Molanus,^ who has not a single word of what Dempster pretended to quote from him. ^ So much for the credibility of Dempster's statements. Regarding the family and origin of Columban, we have no authentic accounts. He is supposed to have been an emigrant from Ireland, either about the time when Forannan, with his twelve companions, left it for Belgium ;9 or, subsequently, in the year 946, when it has been
'° Saints Cathroe" and Maccallan" abandoned their native fortheshoresoftheContinent. ^3 Yet,itisthoughttobestillmoreprobable, thatoursainthadbeentheresponsibleleaderofamissionaryband. Colgan remarks, that as the mission of the two saints, already named, took place, about A. D. 946, as our saint was called an abbot, and as he became a recluse A. D. 957, "^ it seems probable, he was rather the leader of a new missionary band, than a member of that circle of disciples, who followed Saints Cathroe and Macallan.
Columban is related to have fled away from worldly honours. ^s Neither does Colgan conceive it probable, that our saint re- mained as a private individual, under the rule of those holy men, for eleven intervening years, during which Macallan and Cathroe successively ruled
supposed,
island,
ruarii ii. Among the Proetermissi et in
alios dies rejecti, p. 269. In tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , there are four short paragraphs
referring to this saint, pp. 847, 848.
4 By them he is called abbas Hibernicus^ without telling us whether in Ireland or else- where ; but Menard understood that appel- that he had been an abbot
shut up in a cell, for two years, at Ghent, where he died. Nor is there any authority for the statement, that he composed a book of pious sentences. Again, the year of his death, or that of his entire seclusion, is not uncertain ; for, many authors agree, he be- came a recluse A. D. 957, and died A. D.
lation as — meaning
In fine, on what authority, but his own,
hold our saint was venerated on the 13th of February, when so many re- spectable writers agree in stating, that St. Columbanus became a recluse, on the 2nd day of that month, his natalis occurring on
the 15 th of February ?
9 See the Acts of St. Forannan, at the
30th of April.
'°
By Colgan.
" The Acts of St. Cathroe or Cadroe oc-
cur, at the 6th of March.
" The Life of St. Maccallan is at given,
the 2 1 St of January.
'3 Colgan endeavours to show, that their
mission took place during the year named in his Acts of both these saints, and in his notes there, to Lives published, at the 21st of January, and at the 6th of March. See
Dr.
5 In his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. ii. , sect. 28. By Dempster, our saint is made a Benedictine
abbot, and he is distinguished from others
bearing the same name and previously no- ticed.
* We are told, that St. Columban wrote a book of Pious Sentences in verse, and that
he was called a
of his silence and rules.
in Ireland. "
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxiii. , sect, iv. , n. 21, p. 404.
Lanigan's
Ecclesiastical
Dempster
recluse, owing
7 Dempster expressly alludes to John Mo-
lanus,
"
In Natalibus Sanctorum Belgii. "
We are also told, that the date for St. Co-
lumban's feast was the 13th of February,
although the year of his death is uncertain.
Molanus mentions Columban at the 2nd of
February.
^
In pointing out these errors, Colgan re- marks, in the first place, Molanus has none of those statements for which he is cited as authority, except that he says, Columbanus was an abbot and a recluse. Again, our saint could not have always lived in Scotia, as he died at Ghent. Nor does any other writer say that he was from Scotia Minor or
Alba. Neither was he called a recluse, on account of the rigorous silence and disci- pline he observed ; but, because he remained
their respective Lives, in Hibernian," xxi. Januarii.
"
Acta Sanctorum
Vita S. Malcal-
"
959. does
to the
rigour
lani, and n. 4, pp. 152, 153. Also, ii. Fe-
bruarii. Vita S. Columbani, cap. ii. , and n. 2, pp. 238, 239. Also, vi. Martii, Vita B. Cadroe, Abb. , Valciodorensis, nn. 59 and 61, pp. 503, 504.
"
densium," lib. iv. This he found in an old
^* According to Sanders,
Reruni Gan-
manuscript, belonging to the monastery of St. Bavo, at Ghent.
**
''S See the Bollandists'
rum," tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , p. 847.
Acta Sancto^
248 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February 2.
^^
Columban was an abbot, either before leaving Ireland, or after his arrival on the Continent ; however, having resigned that dignity, the holy man shut himself up as a recluse, in a cemetery,"? attached to a monastery at Ghent,"^ on the 2nd of February, a. d. 95 7. '9 He lived here, exercising most austere penance, for the short space of two years, in
this city. =^° His death took place, on the 15th day of February, a. d. 959,=^^ according to Sanders. =^=^ He was buried in the Blessed Virgin's crypt, before the altar of St. Andrew,=3 at Ghent f^ and, his tomb was a little retired from the entrance, under a stone arch. The name of this saint was invoked as a confessor, but not as a bishop, amongst other patrons of Belgium, in litanies,=s which were recited, during times of public necessity or calamity. '^ It ap- pears not possible to state more particulars regarding this saint ; for, his Acts haveeitherperished,orhavenotbeenpublished. ^'? Besidessomefewnotices, recorded of Columban, and drawn from Belgian authors cited by him,^^ Colgan found other writers, relating matters respecting our saint, which were
over Wasor Monastery.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," ii.
Februarii, n. 3, p. 239.
^^ Such is a statement made by Balduin
Willot. ^^
XV. De S. Columbano Abbate, incluso
Gandavi in Flandria, sect. 3, p. 847.
^^ " The constitution of the city was very
free. It was a little republic in all but
Ghent was, in all respects," says John name. Its population was divided into
"
tant cities of Europe. . . . The activity
one of the most impor- —and wealth of its burghers were proverbial. "
fifty-two guilds of manufacturers and into thirty-twotribesofweavers; eachfraternity
electing annually or biennially its own deans
and subordinate officers. The which senate,
exercised functions legislative, judicial, and administrative, subject of course to the grand council of Mechlin and to the sovereign au- thority, consisted of twenty-six members.
These were appointed partly from the upper class, or the men who lived upon their
Lothrop Motley,
John Lothrop Motley's Dutch Republic," vol. i.
Rise of the Historical Intro-
duction, sect, xi. , p. 59.
^5 Colgan cites for proof of this statement,
Sanders, " De Rebus Gandanensibus," lib.
"
gium Benedictinum," lib. ii. , and Molanus,
'*
iv. , cap. 4. Hugo Menard,
Martyrolo-
*'
In Natalibus Sanctorum Belgii," ex chro-
nicis Gandensis Monasterii. See **Acta
Sanctorum Hibemise," ii. Februarii. Vita were chosen by a college of eight electors,
S. Columbani, cap. ii. , iii. , pp. 238, 239. who were appointed by the sovereign on ^^ "The origin of Ghent is ascribed by nomination by the citizens. The whole city
tradition to the Vandals, who in their irrup- tion into Belgium in the fifth century built a fort, named from them Vanda, which name was afterwards changed to Ganda, or Gan- davum Castrum. "—"The English Cyclo- paedia. " Geography, vol. iii. , col. 20.
in its collective capacity, constituted one of the four estates (Membra) of the province of
Flanders,"— John Lothrop Motley's "Rise of the Dutch Republic," vol. i. Historical
Introduction, sect, xi,, pp. 60, 61.
=^s Inaprocessionalaccommodatedtothe Roman Rite, and compiled by direction of gan, in corroboration of this statement. See Matthias Hove, Archbishop of Mechlin,
=' The previous authors are cited by Col-
ibid. , cap. iv. , p. 239.
" For this statement, he quotes the St.
Bavo Manuscript. Rosweyd and Mudsard in the Flemish work, the Ecclesiastical An-
nals of Belgium, Molanus, and other writers, inform us that St. Columban died on the fifteenth kalends of March or on the 1 5th of February. This is found in manuscripts of a place, which, in English, has for its mean- ing the Red Valley.
this Major Litany was prescribed to be sung on Rogation Monday.
"3 "In Bel- Rayssius, Hierogazophilacio
"7 In the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullivan Beare, at the 3rd of February, we find entered, " Re- clusio Columbani. " See "Historic Ca- tholics IberniiE tomus
gico," alludes to this saint, when treating about the Cathedral Church of St. Bavo at Ghent. However,thissaintwasnotanin- clusus nor buried in either or
Compendium," lib, iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49.
i. ,
" Fasti
there, crypt cemetery, but in a spot consecrated in his day to St. Bavo, and where afterwards a tower had been built. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii
Ant. in " Sanderus,
means, partly from the manufacturers in general, and partly from the weavers. They
^^
The foregoing work was recommended,
in an epistle appended, for use in the Bel-
gian churches, and it was printed at Ant-
" Plantinianis anno CIOIDCII. " werp, typis
'^'^
Among these are, Miraeus, in
"
Vita Hiltrudis," Hagiologio Flandriae," Augustine Wiemans in "Brabantia Mariana,"
lib. iii. , cap. 52, Vernulaeus " De Propa- ganda Fide in Belgio per Hibemos," cap. iii. , &c.
Belgici et Burgundici," in
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 249
conformable neither to truth nor to credibility. ^9 Like the Apostle St. Paul,
this holy man gloried in the testimony of a good conscience, living in sim- plicityofheartandinthegraceofGod. 3° Hepassedawayfromtheworld, for which he felt no attachment, to enjoy the happiness of eternal life.
Article II. —St. Jollathan, of the Desert. It does not seem to have been found, at what particular time this saint flourished. Jollathan, or lUadhon, of the Desert, is recorded in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,^' on the present day. The place, with which he was connected, was afterwards known, it is said, as Desert-Iolladain, or Disert Dillon,3—in the barony of Salt, and county of Kildare. ^ Here, an ancient cemetery
Castle Dillon Graveyard, County Kildare.
now almost disused—is yet to be seen and enclosed with a fence rail-work, in an open field. s Castledillon graveyard^ lies south of the road, which skirts the beautiful demesne of Straffan, in a picturesque situation, and near the
=9 Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," ii. Februarii. Vica S. Columbani, cap. v. ,
p. 239. Inn. 16, p. 239, Colganadds, Sander in his writers of Flanders states, that this
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
36, 37-
3 This name seems to have been changed
into Castledillon, a small parish, having only anareaofii33acres. Seeitsextentdefined, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
saint wrote an epistle to Hunaldus, but by
Sirmund, Pithseus, Binius and others, this
epistle is attributed to St.
PiCARDY, France. [Probably in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ This
^
holy servant of Christ belonged to the race of the Scots, and as, from
the wonderful accounts remaining, it seems he had left his native country, towards the close of the fifth or the commencement of the sixth century, we may deem it extremely probable that he was a native of Ireland, and born there at a time when Christianity began to make progress. The Bol-
landists,^ after Colgan,3 give a short history of St. Praecordius, a holy priest, with an account concerning the discovery and translation of his relics. Nicholas Belfortius-^ first recovered this tract, and rescued it from the manu- script of some unknown writer. 5 Colgan thought Belfort extracted this account^ from the Lessons of an Office, celebrated in the Church of Corbie, on the Festival of the Translation of St. Praecordius' Relics. 7 Little more seems to be known regarding this holy pilgrim's personal history, than his having wandered towards a place. Latinized Valliacus, Vasliacus,^ or Vig- liacus,9 said to have been distinguished among the villages of a church, known as Corbie, '° in the neighbourhood of Soissons. " Its soil was most fertile, while several inhabitants and vineyards about, rendered it a cheerful and an agreeable place for residence. The Aisne river, with its tributary
streams, flowed between beautiful plains and meadows. Here, the holy Praecordius—which seems not to have been his original Celtic name'^—ad- mired the scenery, and he desired to live among the people of Soissons, who belonged to Belgic Gaul. '3 Their city of Soissons is said to have been
'* See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioe," Februarii i. De S. Catano alias Caddano, Episcopo, cap. —iii. , p. 233.
*
Article vi. Colgan observes, that in
the time of St. Remigius of Rheims, only a few Scottish or Irish colonists were in Great
Britain, and among these, rare could have been the instances, in which 'they had em- braced the Christian Faith ; whereas, after King Clovis of France became a Christian, several Irish Scots visited France, and set- tied there under St. Remigius. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Febiniarii i. De S.
Praecordii Translatione, n. 3, p. 232.
= See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii i. De S. Praecordio Presbytero, Corbeiae et Valliaci, in Gallia. A commentary, in three sections, precedes the Acts proper.
See tomus i. , pp. 196 to 198.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Praecordii Translatione,
pp. 230 to 233, with notes subjoined.
< He was a Canon Regular of the House
of St. John of the Vines, at Soissons.
5 The Bollaudists claim to have given a
more correct version of it, than Colgan did. ^ It was taken from Belfort's supplement, and transmitted to Colgan, by D. Andrew
Raytin.
7 On the 5th of June,
^ **
» In Colgan's version, the statement reads:
**
Inter villas Ecclesiae Carbagiensis, Val- liacus habetur in pago Suessonico," &c. It seems evident " Corbeiensis " should be read.
'" Corbie is now a canton, commune, and townof France, in the department of Somme, andarrondissementofAmiens. Itisaplace
of some manufacturing industry ; and, at one time, it was a strongly fortified town. See "Gazetteer of the World," vol. iv. , p. 671. " This lay within the ancient province of Neustria,inthetimeofCharlemagne. See
Wilkinson's " Atlas Classica," map 52. "This probably cannot now be re-
covered,
'3 See Baudrand's Ferrarius, "Novum
Lexicon Geographicum," tomus ii. , p. 222.
According to Ferrarius in Catalogo Generali. "
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 245
built, by Brenmis, Duke of Sens, a. u. c. 315. Here the holy man lived for a very considerable time, in the practice of every virtue. The place appears to be that called Velia, a town near the Aisne, in the diocese of Soissons, ac-
cording to Papirius Masson. Regarding that river, as passing through the country of the Retelii, watering the town Regiteste, then Castrum-Portian, he adds, in fine, that gliding by Velia, it washes the famous city of Soissons. ^^ While thus living in his isolated position, Prcecordius' great merits and
sanctity attracted the notice of holy Remigius,^^ the renowned Archbishop ofRheims. Bothwereattachedbyafirmbondoffamiliarintercourseand
miracles and favours were manifested after his death, towards pious clients, whocametovisithistomb. TherelicsofSt. Prsecordiusseemtohavebeen kept in a rich shrine. For about four hundred years, religiously guarded, a lamp was kept burning before it. Then this shrine, a rich object, excited the cupidity of a certain sacrilegious guardian, who stole it away by night, yet was it again miraculously recovered. Colgan observes, that a fine church, dedicated to St. Prsecordius, stood in the suburbs of Vasliacensis or Velia. ^7 It is probable, that the saint's relics originally reposed there. In the additions of Molanus to Usuard, the Natalis of St. Prsecordius is placed attheKalendsofFebruary. ^^ Canisiushasthesameaccount,andFerrarius gives one nearly similar. '^ A manuscript Martyrology, belonging to the
2°
of ^^ The life of St. Praecordius was charity.
to a
when he laid down the burden of the flesh, probably in the earlier half of the sixth century. No date for his death has been preserved. The clergy and people honourably interred him in a church at Velia. Great
church of St. Gudule, at Bruxelles, has a short notice of him.
seems most likely, that this was the day of his death, which had been observed at Velia ; the feast referring to the recovery and translation of his relics, at Corbie, being assigned to the 5th of June. ^"' At this latter date, the reader will find a continued narrative of that cultus, observed by the religious people of Picardy, manifesting a profound respect entertained by them for St. Prse- cordius, during lifetime, and preserved for several ages, after his happy death had led to the rewards of eternal life.
Article VII. —St. Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, or Foduibh. — This holy man appears to have been distinct from a bishop of Tallagh, simi- larly named. ^ The present addition, to our list of saints, entered as Airen-
**See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. ,Februarii i. De S. Prae- cordio Presbytero, &c. Commentarius Praevius, sects, i, 2, p. 196.
'S His feast occurs, on the 1st of October, although he died on the 13th of January, in the year 533, according to Rivet. Pope Leo JX. , during a council held at Rheims A. D. 1049, transferred his relics to the church of the Benedictine Abbey, bearing his name, inthatcity,ontheistofOctober. SeeRev.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberni£e,"Feb-
ruarii i. De S. Prcecordii Translatione, n.
''
and Other October i.
'^ St,
Alban Butler's
Lives of the Fathers, Mar- gundy, where it is placed,
tyrs,
Principal Saints,"
was in the
vol.
^° It notes **Et Praecordii x. , only,
teri. "
Presby-
Remigius
year of his age, when he died, after having exercised the office of bishop for over seventy years. Yet, Baronius does not consider, he ruled for seventy-four years, in the epis- copate of Rheims.
^' See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii i. De S. Praecordii Trans-
latione, pp. 230 to 232, and nn. 3, 4, 6, ibid. —'
Article vii. See at his feast day, loth of tliis month.
ninety-fourth
prolonged
great age,
2, p. 232.
^^ "
There he writes, In Vasliaco natalis S; Pracordii Confessoris. "
'^ In "Generali Catalog© Sanctorum," Ferrarius writes his place Vigliacus, for Valliacus. Readmits, however, that some write it Vasliacus ; but, he greatly mistakes, when he called it a village, having a Bene- dictine monastery, in the country of Bur-
Therefore, it
246 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[February i.
nanh Foduibh, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,= at the ist of Feb- ruary. Again do we meet with Aireannan, Mac Ui Oidhibh, registered in theMartyrologyofDonegal,3onthisday. Thepatronymicmayaifordsome chie to his family and period.
Article VIII. —St. Mochealloc. No matter how little distinguished the servant of God may be in life, his course lies in the right direction, and must conduct him to glory. "The path of the just," writes Solomon, " is as a shining light, that goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day," This is a great truth, that admits of many interpretations ; as you turn it in different directions, it gives out, like the diamond, manifold streams of radiance. We find simply a saint, called Mochealloc,^ registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^' on this day. The enclitic " mo " or " my " was probably a prefix, the original name being Chealloc, Ceallach or Kelloch. 3 For want of further — it seems difficult to unite—but most
namesakes of the Irish Calendars, under any form of designation.
Article IX. —St. Begin or Beon, Virgin. It seems somewhat re- markable, that so many virgins are venerated in our calendars, on the festival of the greatest among Irish female saints. The feast of Beoin, or Beon, virgin, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh,' and of Donegal,^ as having been celebrated on this day, to which her name is referred. This special form of name is unique in our calendars.
S>ttoxia Bap of jfeiruarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLUMBAN, ABBOT AND RECLUSE, AT GHENT, BELGIUM.
\_TENTH CEN7URY. -\
during his wanderings, the Trojan exile found the fame of his country AS extended, by the valour and toil of her chiefs, in far distant lands j^ so,
may the Irish pilgrim trace the labours of our saints, not alone on their own soil, but in the remote places of their adoption. At the 2nd of February, Colgan'' and the Bollandists3 have given St. Columban's Acts, compiled from
distinction, likely we must disassociate his festival and his person, when classed with his
=' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
= Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 36, 37.
36, 37. — Article viii.
i.
expressed
by
at December
=
23rd.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
De S. Columbano Abbate, treats about St. Columban, Inclusus, in
*
Mocelloc or Mocheal-
log, corresponding with the present name, is entered in our Irish Calendars at January
23rd, at the present date, at March 7th and
"Quse regio in terris nostri non plena la- boris. "
—^neidos, lib. i. , 1. 460.
= See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Feb-
36, 37.
3 Saints, so named, are entered in our ka-
lendar? , at April ist, at July 1 8th, and at
rnarii ii.
Gandavi Sepulto, pp. 238, 239. Sanders
October 7th. Article ix.
Kelly, p. xiv.
" **
Hagiologio FlandriiE, as also Gazoeus, In Vitis Sanctorum. " Some Belgian
—
' Edited
Rev. Dr.
likewise, allude to him.
3 gee "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Feb-
by
manuscripts,
Article
—
'^
Thus
^Eneas:
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ^47
various sources and authorities. This saint, there can be little doubt, was a native of Ireland ; and the Belgian writers agree on this matter. '* Yet, Dempster,5 with his usual effrontery, tries to make him a Scotchman, and he also assumes Columban was a writer. ^ He says, that this saint always lived in Scotland, and he refers to Molanus,^ who has not a single word of what Dempster pretended to quote from him. ^ So much for the credibility of Dempster's statements. Regarding the family and origin of Columban, we have no authentic accounts. He is supposed to have been an emigrant from Ireland, either about the time when Forannan, with his twelve companions, left it for Belgium ;9 or, subsequently, in the year 946, when it has been
'° Saints Cathroe" and Maccallan" abandoned their native fortheshoresoftheContinent. ^3 Yet,itisthoughttobestillmoreprobable, thatoursainthadbeentheresponsibleleaderofamissionaryband. Colgan remarks, that as the mission of the two saints, already named, took place, about A. D. 946, as our saint was called an abbot, and as he became a recluse A. D. 957, "^ it seems probable, he was rather the leader of a new missionary band, than a member of that circle of disciples, who followed Saints Cathroe and Macallan.
Columban is related to have fled away from worldly honours. ^s Neither does Colgan conceive it probable, that our saint re- mained as a private individual, under the rule of those holy men, for eleven intervening years, during which Macallan and Cathroe successively ruled
supposed,
island,
ruarii ii. Among the Proetermissi et in
alios dies rejecti, p. 269. In tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , there are four short paragraphs
referring to this saint, pp. 847, 848.
4 By them he is called abbas Hibernicus^ without telling us whether in Ireland or else- where ; but Menard understood that appel- that he had been an abbot
shut up in a cell, for two years, at Ghent, where he died. Nor is there any authority for the statement, that he composed a book of pious sentences. Again, the year of his death, or that of his entire seclusion, is not uncertain ; for, many authors agree, he be- came a recluse A. D. 957, and died A. D.
lation as — meaning
In fine, on what authority, but his own,
hold our saint was venerated on the 13th of February, when so many re- spectable writers agree in stating, that St. Columbanus became a recluse, on the 2nd day of that month, his natalis occurring on
the 15 th of February ?
9 See the Acts of St. Forannan, at the
30th of April.
'°
By Colgan.
" The Acts of St. Cathroe or Cadroe oc-
cur, at the 6th of March.
" The Life of St. Maccallan is at given,
the 2 1 St of January.
'3 Colgan endeavours to show, that their
mission took place during the year named in his Acts of both these saints, and in his notes there, to Lives published, at the 21st of January, and at the 6th of March. See
Dr.
5 In his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. ii. , sect. 28. By Dempster, our saint is made a Benedictine
abbot, and he is distinguished from others
bearing the same name and previously no- ticed.
* We are told, that St. Columban wrote a book of Pious Sentences in verse, and that
he was called a
of his silence and rules.
in Ireland. "
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxiii. , sect, iv. , n. 21, p. 404.
Lanigan's
Ecclesiastical
Dempster
recluse, owing
7 Dempster expressly alludes to John Mo-
lanus,
"
In Natalibus Sanctorum Belgii. "
We are also told, that the date for St. Co-
lumban's feast was the 13th of February,
although the year of his death is uncertain.
Molanus mentions Columban at the 2nd of
February.
^
In pointing out these errors, Colgan re- marks, in the first place, Molanus has none of those statements for which he is cited as authority, except that he says, Columbanus was an abbot and a recluse. Again, our saint could not have always lived in Scotia, as he died at Ghent. Nor does any other writer say that he was from Scotia Minor or
Alba. Neither was he called a recluse, on account of the rigorous silence and disci- pline he observed ; but, because he remained
their respective Lives, in Hibernian," xxi. Januarii.
"
Acta Sanctorum
Vita S. Malcal-
"
959. does
to the
rigour
lani, and n. 4, pp. 152, 153. Also, ii. Fe-
bruarii. Vita S. Columbani, cap. ii. , and n. 2, pp. 238, 239. Also, vi. Martii, Vita B. Cadroe, Abb. , Valciodorensis, nn. 59 and 61, pp. 503, 504.
"
densium," lib. iv. This he found in an old
^* According to Sanders,
Reruni Gan-
manuscript, belonging to the monastery of St. Bavo, at Ghent.
**
''S See the Bollandists'
rum," tomus ii. , Februarii xv. , p. 847.
Acta Sancto^
248 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February 2.
^^
Columban was an abbot, either before leaving Ireland, or after his arrival on the Continent ; however, having resigned that dignity, the holy man shut himself up as a recluse, in a cemetery,"? attached to a monastery at Ghent,"^ on the 2nd of February, a. d. 95 7. '9 He lived here, exercising most austere penance, for the short space of two years, in
this city. =^° His death took place, on the 15th day of February, a. d. 959,=^^ according to Sanders. =^=^ He was buried in the Blessed Virgin's crypt, before the altar of St. Andrew,=3 at Ghent f^ and, his tomb was a little retired from the entrance, under a stone arch. The name of this saint was invoked as a confessor, but not as a bishop, amongst other patrons of Belgium, in litanies,=s which were recited, during times of public necessity or calamity. '^ It ap- pears not possible to state more particulars regarding this saint ; for, his Acts haveeitherperished,orhavenotbeenpublished. ^'? Besidessomefewnotices, recorded of Columban, and drawn from Belgian authors cited by him,^^ Colgan found other writers, relating matters respecting our saint, which were
over Wasor Monastery.
"^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," ii.
Februarii, n. 3, p. 239.
^^ Such is a statement made by Balduin
Willot. ^^
XV. De S. Columbano Abbate, incluso
Gandavi in Flandria, sect. 3, p. 847.
^^ " The constitution of the city was very
free. It was a little republic in all but
Ghent was, in all respects," says John name. Its population was divided into
"
tant cities of Europe. . . . The activity
one of the most impor- —and wealth of its burghers were proverbial. "
fifty-two guilds of manufacturers and into thirty-twotribesofweavers; eachfraternity
electing annually or biennially its own deans
and subordinate officers. The which senate,
exercised functions legislative, judicial, and administrative, subject of course to the grand council of Mechlin and to the sovereign au- thority, consisted of twenty-six members.
These were appointed partly from the upper class, or the men who lived upon their
Lothrop Motley,
John Lothrop Motley's Dutch Republic," vol. i.
Rise of the Historical Intro-
duction, sect, xi. , p. 59.
^5 Colgan cites for proof of this statement,
Sanders, " De Rebus Gandanensibus," lib.
"
gium Benedictinum," lib. ii. , and Molanus,
'*
iv. , cap. 4. Hugo Menard,
Martyrolo-
*'
In Natalibus Sanctorum Belgii," ex chro-
nicis Gandensis Monasterii. See **Acta
Sanctorum Hibemise," ii. Februarii. Vita were chosen by a college of eight electors,
S. Columbani, cap. ii. , iii. , pp. 238, 239. who were appointed by the sovereign on ^^ "The origin of Ghent is ascribed by nomination by the citizens. The whole city
tradition to the Vandals, who in their irrup- tion into Belgium in the fifth century built a fort, named from them Vanda, which name was afterwards changed to Ganda, or Gan- davum Castrum. "—"The English Cyclo- paedia. " Geography, vol. iii. , col. 20.
in its collective capacity, constituted one of the four estates (Membra) of the province of
Flanders,"— John Lothrop Motley's "Rise of the Dutch Republic," vol. i. Historical
Introduction, sect, xi,, pp. 60, 61.
=^s Inaprocessionalaccommodatedtothe Roman Rite, and compiled by direction of gan, in corroboration of this statement. See Matthias Hove, Archbishop of Mechlin,
=' The previous authors are cited by Col-
ibid. , cap. iv. , p. 239.
" For this statement, he quotes the St.
Bavo Manuscript. Rosweyd and Mudsard in the Flemish work, the Ecclesiastical An-
nals of Belgium, Molanus, and other writers, inform us that St. Columban died on the fifteenth kalends of March or on the 1 5th of February. This is found in manuscripts of a place, which, in English, has for its mean- ing the Red Valley.
this Major Litany was prescribed to be sung on Rogation Monday.
"3 "In Bel- Rayssius, Hierogazophilacio
"7 In the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullivan Beare, at the 3rd of February, we find entered, " Re- clusio Columbani. " See "Historic Ca- tholics IberniiE tomus
gico," alludes to this saint, when treating about the Cathedral Church of St. Bavo at Ghent. However,thissaintwasnotanin- clusus nor buried in either or
Compendium," lib, iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49.
i. ,
" Fasti
there, crypt cemetery, but in a spot consecrated in his day to St. Bavo, and where afterwards a tower had been built. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii
Ant. in " Sanderus,
means, partly from the manufacturers in general, and partly from the weavers. They
^^
The foregoing work was recommended,
in an epistle appended, for use in the Bel-
gian churches, and it was printed at Ant-
" Plantinianis anno CIOIDCII. " werp, typis
'^'^
Among these are, Miraeus, in
"
Vita Hiltrudis," Hagiologio Flandriae," Augustine Wiemans in "Brabantia Mariana,"
lib. iii. , cap. 52, Vernulaeus " De Propa- ganda Fide in Belgio per Hibemos," cap. iii. , &c.
Belgici et Burgundici," in
February 2. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 249
conformable neither to truth nor to credibility. ^9 Like the Apostle St. Paul,
this holy man gloried in the testimony of a good conscience, living in sim- plicityofheartandinthegraceofGod. 3° Hepassedawayfromtheworld, for which he felt no attachment, to enjoy the happiness of eternal life.
Article II. —St. Jollathan, of the Desert. It does not seem to have been found, at what particular time this saint flourished. Jollathan, or lUadhon, of the Desert, is recorded in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,^' on the present day. The place, with which he was connected, was afterwards known, it is said, as Desert-Iolladain, or Disert Dillon,3—in the barony of Salt, and county of Kildare. ^ Here, an ancient cemetery
Castle Dillon Graveyard, County Kildare.
now almost disused—is yet to be seen and enclosed with a fence rail-work, in an open field. s Castledillon graveyard^ lies south of the road, which skirts the beautiful demesne of Straffan, in a picturesque situation, and near the
=9 Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," ii. Februarii. Vica S. Columbani, cap. v. ,
p. 239. Inn. 16, p. 239, Colganadds, Sander in his writers of Flanders states, that this
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
36, 37-
3 This name seems to have been changed
into Castledillon, a small parish, having only anareaofii33acres. Seeitsextentdefined, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
saint wrote an epistle to Hunaldus, but by
Sirmund, Pithseus, Binius and others, this
epistle is attributed to St.
