Celtic and Old English Saints 7 December
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* St. Buithe of Monasterboice
* St. Dima of the Mercians
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St. Buithe (Buite, Boethius) of Monasterboice & Scotland
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Died 521. Saint Buithe was a Scot who spent some years in Italy and
elsewhere on the continent before returning to Scotland to evangelize
the Picts. It is said that Buithe raised the son of King Nectan of the
Picts from the dead (or the king himself in some versions). In gratitude
the king gave the saint a church-- Carbuddo ("Castrum Butthi"), which
appears to have taken its name from him (originally Kirkbuddo or the
church of Buithe).
About 500 AD, Buithe founded a school at Monasterboice in County Louth,
which gained dominance in the 9th and 10th centuries when the Viking
raids threatened the great schools of Ireland. This school was known for
its sculpture; the Crosses of Monasterboice are world renowned. They
incorporate representation of Biblical subjects directly on the Crosses,
visual lessons for the faithful and less likely to be destroyed than
were books. Two of these crosses, including the Muireadach Cross dating
from 923, survive at Monasterboice. Fourteen historical poems of its
Abbot Flann (11th century) also survive in old Gaelic books, especially
in the "Book of Leinster" (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Healy, Kenney,
Montague, Moran, Porter, Simpson,Skene, Stokes).
Troparion of St Buithe tone 8
Great wonderworker and ascetic, O Father Buithe, who by the power of thy
prayers didst restore the slain to life,/ intercede with Christ our God
that He will grant us life eternal in the realms of the blessed.
Images of the Muireadach Cross, Monasterboice:
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/muiredach/muiredach3.html
Purchase a copy of this and other High Crosses?
In brass or silverplated
http://www.inhisname.com/CrucifixPages/CelticCr.htm
More Crosses
http://www.archangelbooks.com/celtic.htm
St. Diuma (Dimma, Dima),
Bishop of the Mercians and Middle Anglians
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Died 658; feast day may actually be on May 5. Saint Diuma, often thought
to be a woman because of the form of his name, was an Irish or Scottish
priest, who was sent with Saints Cedd (f.d. October 26), Betti, and Adda
by Bishop Saint Finan of Lindisfarne (f.d. February 17) to evangelize
the Mercians following the baptism of Peada, son of their king, Penda.
The Venerable Bede (f.d. May 25) records that their apostolate was
extremely successful. Following Penda's death and the
ascension of the Christian Oswiu to the throne in 654, Diuma was
consecrated bishop of the Mercians and Middle Angles by Finan. An
11th-century menology records the Diuma was buried at Charlbury (Oxon.)
(Benedictines, Farmer).
Sources:
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Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate.
(1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan.
D'Arcy, M. R. (1974). The Saints of Ireland. Saint Paul, Minnesota:
Irish American Cultural Institute. [This is probably the most
useful book to choose to own on the Irish saints. The author
provides a great deal of historical context in which to place the
lives of the saints.]
Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Healy, J. (1902). Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars.
Dublin: Sealy, Bryers and Walker.
Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland.
Guildford: Billing & Sons.
Moran, P. (1879). Irish Saints in Great Britian.
Porter, A. K. (1931). The Crosses and Culture of Ireland.
New Haven: Yale University Press.
Simpson, W. G. (1934). Celtic Church in Scotland.
Aberdeen University Studies.
Skene, W. F. (1875-80). Celtic Scotland, 3 vols. Edinburgh.
Stokes, M. (1932). Early Christian Art in Ireland.
Dublin: Government Publications.
For All the Saints:
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm
An Alphabetical Index of the Saints of the West
http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/saintsa.htm
These Lives are archived at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints
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