Celtic and Old English Saints 20 March =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne * St. Herbert of Derwent Water * St. Martin of Braga * St. Clement of the Paris Schools =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Herbert, Priest-Hermit of Derwent Water, England ------------------------------------------------------ Died March 20, 687. Saint Herbert was the priestly disciple and good friend of Saint Cuthbert (f.d. today). He lived alone on theisland on Lake Derwentwater, later called Saint Herbert's. Each year Herbert would visit Saint Cuthbert at Lindisfarne. In 686, the year before Saint Cuthbert died, he travelled to Carlisle, and Herbert visited him there instead. Saint Cuthbert told Herbert on this visit that if he had anything to ask he must do so at this time because he foresaw that he would die and the Herbert would not see him again in this world. Herbert wept and begged him not to abandon him, but to pray that since they had served God together in the world, they be taken at the same time. Saint Cuthbert prayed for a moment and then predicted that this would be so. Soon afterward Herbert fell ill and his illness lasted until March 20 of the following year, when both saints died. Ruins of a circular stone building on St. Herbert's Isle there may be connected with him (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, White). St. Martin of Braga, Bishop ------------------------------------------------------ Born in Pannonia (Hungary) c. 515; died at Braga, Spain, 580. While Martin's origin and early history are uncertain, he was known as a zealous missionary, who evangelized Spain. Around 550, Saint Martin introduced communal monasticism to Galicia (northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula) which he may have learned as a monk in Palestine. His principal foundation was the abbey of "Dumium" (Mondonedo) of which he became bishop before his appointment to the see of Braga. He also travelled widely to evangelize the pagans and Arian Suevians (converting their king). Fortunatus compared the bishop of Braga, who was a writer of some importance, with his patron, Saint Martin of Tours (f.d. November 11). His extant works include a sermon which gives interesting particulars about the rural superstitions he encountered (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopaedia). St. Clement of the Paris Schools ------------------------------------------------------- Died 826. A monk of Saint Gall, Switzerland, possibly Notker Balbulus (f.d. April 6), reports that Irish Saint Clement came with Albinus to France and announced in the market that they had learning for sale at a time when classical learning was all but forgotten in the West. Their price: food and shelter--and pupils. Upon hearing this, Emperor Charlemagne, who held "the Irish in special esteem" (according to Einhard), engaged their services. Albinus was sent to Pavia to head the monastery of Saint Augustine, while he established Clement in his Paris School. There Clement became one of the most famous scholars of the Carolingian court. He succeeded Blessed Alcuin (f.d. May 19) as the head of the Paris Schools when the latter retired to the monastery at Tours. Among those influenced by him was the future emperor, Lothair, who was noted for his interest in the schools of Italy (D'Arcy, Gougaud, Fitzpatrick, Kenney, Montague, O'Hanlon, Tommasini). _______________________ ICONS of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/icons/Icons-Cuthbert.htm##1 _______________________ Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The penguin dictionary of saints, NY: Penguin Books. Attwater, D. (1958). A dictionary of saints. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. [Attwater 2] Bede. "De Vita et Miraculis S. Cudberti", c. 5; 9, 10; 17, 19, 20. (Pat. Ecc. Ang. Bede, IV.) in H. Waddell (tr.), Beasts and Saints. NY: Henry Holt and Co., 1934. Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1966). The Book of Saints. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell. Bentley, J. (1986). A Calendar of Saints: The Lives of the Principal Saints of the Christian Year, NY: Facts on File. Colgrave, B. (tr.). (1940). Two Lives of Saint Cuthbert. Colgrave, H. (1955). Saint Cuthbert of Durham. D'Arcy, M. R. (1974). The saints of Ireland. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Irish American Cultural Institute. 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.] Encyclopedia of Catholic Saints, March. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fitzpatrick, B. (1922). Ireland and the Making of Britain. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Fitzpatrick, B. (1927). Ireland and the foundations of Europe. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Gill, F. C. (1958). The glorious Company: Lives of Great Christians for Daily Devotion, vol. I. London: Epworth Press. Gougaud, Dom L. (1923). Gaelic Pioneers of Christianity, V. Collins (tr.). Dublin: Gill & Sons. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Kenney, J. F. (1929). Sources for early history of Ireland, vol. 1, Ecclesiastical. New York: Columbia University Press. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. Montalembert. (1863). Monks of the West. Paris. Moran, Cardinal. (1879). Irish Saints in Great Britain. Dublin: Brown and Nolan. O'Hanlon, J. (1875). Lives of Irish Saints, 10 vol. Dublin. Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry Regnery. Skene, W. F. (1875-80). Celtic Scotland, 3 vols. Edinburgh. Tabor, M. E. (1908). The Saints in Art with Their Attributes and Symbols Alphabetically Arranged. London: Methuen & Co. Tommasini, Fra A. (1937). Irish Saints in Italy. London: Sands and Company. Webb, J. F. (1983). The Age of Bede. White, K. E. (1992). Guide to the Saints, NY: Ivy Books. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤