[celt-saints] 13 October #2
Celtic and Old English Saints 13 October =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Comgan of Lochalsh * St. Colman of Melk * St. Fyncana and St. Fyndoca of Scotland * St. Edward the Confessor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= St. Edward the Confessor, King Born at Islip (near Oxford) c. 1004; died January 5, 1066; canonized 1161. Edward was the son of Ethelbert the Unready (or Ethelred III), king of the English, and Emma, sister of Duke Richard I of Normandy. After Edward's father was defeated by the Danes under Sweyn and his son Canute, Edward and his mother fled to Normandy in 1013. Canute remained in England and in 1016 married Emma, who had returned to England after Ethelred's death. Edward spent his life from age ten until 1041 in exile in Normandy, returning to England only when Canute the Great died. The following year he succeeded to the throne with the support of Earl Godwin, when his half-brother Hardicanute died. His elder brother Alfred, had been brutally murdered by Godwin, Earl of Kent. Nevertheless, for reasons of state, in 1044 Edward married Godwin's daughter Edith, who turned out to be the opposite of her father. Edward's reign was outwardly peaceful and he was a peace-loving man; but he had to contend with the ambitious and powerful Godwin's opposition and other grave difficulties (rivalry between Norman and Saxon courtiers), and he did so with a determination that hardly supports the common picture of Edward as a tame and ineffectual ruler. His was a good ruler and remitted odious taxes. His anonymous contemporary biographer gives a convincing portrait of him in his old age that has obscured the evidence concerning his middle life. The chronicler as that though physically tall and strong, Edward was unambitious and somewhat lacking in energy, and it seems that his character and temperament were more suited to the cloister than to the throne. When Robert, the former abbot of Jumieges whom he had brought with him from Normandy and had promoted to the archbishop of Canterbury in 1051, declared Godwin to be an outlaw, Edward did little to support him. Godwin took refuge in Flanders but returned the following year with a fleet ready to lead a rebellion. Armed revolt was avoided when the two men met and settled their differences; among them was the archbishop Robert returned to France and was replaced by Stigand. After Godwin's death in 1053, his son Tostig, earl of Northumbria, led an unsuccessful revolt and was exiled by Edward to the continent. On the other hand a chronicler speaks of 'the king's just and religious administration' and to the people he was 'good King Edward.' The belief that Edward was a saint was supported by his general reputation for religious devotion and for generosity to the poor and infirm, by the relation of a number of miracles and, too, by the assertion that he and his wife were so ascetic as always to have lived together as brother and sister. Edward and Edith were certainly childless; but that this was due to life-long voluntary abstinence is unlikely in the circumstances of their marriage and is not supported by adequate evidence. Frugal in his own life, he was generous to monasteries and churches and gave freely to the poor. In commutation of a vow that he had made to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome he rebuilt the abbey at Westminster, where his relics still rest behind the high altar. According to legend, as Saint Edward was returning from Mass one day, he gave his ring as an alms to Saint John the Baptist, who appeared to him as a poor pilgrim. Twenty-four years later, two English pilgrims returning from the Holy Land met another pilgrim who introduced himself to them as Saint John. Through them he sent word to King Edward that he thanked him for his alms. Through the pilgrims he promised the king that in six months Edward should be with him forever. The message brought joy to the royal heart. As predicted, Saint Edward died at Westminster on January 5, 1066. He was succeeded by Harold, the son of Godwin, whose brief reign ended with the Battle of Hastings. "Weep not," said Edward to his queen as he lay on his deathbed, "I shall not die but shall live. Departing from the land of the dying, I hope to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living" (Appleton, Attwater, Barlow, Encyclopedia, Tabor) His emblem is a finger ring, which he is sometimes shown handing to a pilgrim (Roeder). King Edward is generally shown in royal robes, holding a sceptre surmounted with a dove (Tabor).
[celt-saints] 13 October #1
Celtic and Old English Saints 13 October =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Comgan of Lochalsh * St. Colman of Melk * St. Fyncana and St. Fyndoca of Scotland * St. Edward the Confessor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= St. Comgan (Cowan), of Scotland, Abbot of Lochalsh, Brother of Saint Kentigerna, Hermitess of Loch Lomond 8th century. Saint Comgan, son of King Ceallach (Kelly) of Leinster, was the brother of Saint Kentigern (f.d. January 7) and uncle to Saint Fillan (f.d. January 19). Farmer reports that he succeeded his father as chief. After a defeat in battle, Comgan, Kentigerna, her three sons, and seven others were exiled by a coalition of neighbouring tribes. They settled in western Ross, where Comgan founded a monastery at Lochalsh, opposite Skye. He embraced the monastic life in Scotland, where his feast is kept in the diocese of Aberdeen. Comgan's relics were buried by Fillan at Iona and a church built over them. Many churches in the area mark their movements: Kilchoan and Kilcongen (Church of Comgan), Killelan (Church of Fillan), and others at Islay (Loch Melfort), Ardnamurchan, Knoydart, Sye, North Uist, Kiltearn, and Turriff (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, D'Arcy, Farmer, Simpson, Skene). St. Coloman (Colman, Koloman) of Stockerau (of Melk) Martyr Died in Stockerau, Austria, on October 18, 1012. Saint Coloman, an Irish or Scottish monk of royal lineage who began a penitential pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was stopped at Stockerau, about six miles from Vienna. (Montague says that there is no evidence that Colomon was a missionary or a priest, but simply a pilgrim.) At that time there were continual squirmishes between Austria, Moravia, and Bohemia. So the stranger, who spoke no German, was accused of being a spy and, after various tortures, hanged to death between two thieves. For 18 months Coloman's body remained on the gibbet, uncorrupted and unmolested by the birds and beasts--a miracle. The scaffolding itself was said to have taken root and sent forth green branches. Because of the many miracles that were wrought by his incorrupt body, a popular veneration arose. Marquis Henry of Austria (later Emperor Henry), intrigued by the devotion to Coloman, ordered an investigation into the history of the cultus. Three years after Coloman's death, the investigation led Henry to ask Bishop Megingard to translate Coloman's relics to the tomb he had built for them in the imposing Abbey of Melk (then called Mark, the capital of the ancient Marcomans near Moravia) on the Danube River in western Austria. In art, Saint Colman is a pilgrim monk with a rope in his hand. At times he may be shown (1) hanged on a gibbet; (2) with tongs and rod; and (3) as a priest with a book and maniple. He is venerated in Melk and Ireland. Colman is the patron of hanged men [sic!] horses, and Austria (Coulson, D'Arcy). He is invoked against plague (Roeder) and for husbands by marriageable girls (D'Arcy). St. Fyncana and St. Fyndoca of Scotland, Virgin Martyrs Date unknown. These virgin martyrs are included in the Aberdeen breviary, but nothing is known of them (Benedictines). Sources: Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Coulson, J. (ed.). (1960). The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary. New York: Hawthorn Books. 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. Simpson, W. G. (1934). Celtic Church in Scotland. Aberdeen University Studies. Skene, W. F. (1875-80). Celtic Scotland, 3 vols. Edinburgh. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints
[celt-saints] 12 October #4
Celtic and Old English Saints 12 October
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* St. Fiech of Sletty
* St. Wilfrith of York
* St. Edwin of Northumbria
* St. Ethelburga of Barking
* St. Mobhi of Glasnevin
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St. Mobhi of Glasnevin
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Another one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, Saint Mobhi of Glasnevin,
famed as the founder of a monastic school and as a teacher of some famous
saints, among them Saints Columba and Saint Cannice, whose feast falls the
day before that of his former master. Saint Mobhi is famous also for having
the rather curious adjective 'clarinech' appended to his name, this is
usually translated as 'flat-faced'. The earliest Irish calendar, the
Martyrology of Oengus, attempted to explain why. The entry for today reads:
12. Declare Fiacc and Fiachra, at the same time --
great is that treasure!
my Bi, strong that triumph!
that fair flatfaced one.
The notes for this entry read:
Mobi, i.e. of Glasnevin on the brink of the river Liffey on the north side.
Mobi son of Beoan, of Corco tri of the Luigni of Connaught. Uaine,
Findbarr's daughter, was his mother. In Cell maic Taidg was he conceived and
brought forth, and of a dead woman he was begotten.
Table-faced was he, for the earth pressed him down, so that he was one flat
board. Mobi the Table-faced of Glasnevin in (the country occupied by) the
Danes. Berchan was Mobi's name. Beoaith son of Senach was his father's name,
and Huanir the Fair, daughter of Finnbarr, his mother's name. Mobi etc.
The later Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman records the saint as 'Clarenech
('table-face'), from Glasnevin in Fingal on the river Liffey's brink, on the
north side, and Berchan was another name of his.'
The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal refers to Saint Mobhi's famous
Glasnevin foundation and to some of its notable students:
MOBHI CLAIRENECH, [Abbot], of Glas Naoidhen in Fine-Gall, on the brink of
the river Life, on the north side; and Bearchan was another name for him.
The year of the Lord when he resigned his spirit was 544. He was of the race
of Eochaidh Finn Fuathairt, of whom Brighit is descended ; and Uanfinn,
daughter of Finnbarr, was his mother. The Life of Colum Cille, chap. 35,
states that Colum Cille went to Glas Naoidhen, where Mobhi Clairenech was
with two score and ten persons at his school ; and among them were
Cainneach, Ciaran of Cluain, and Comgall ; and after the dispersion of the
school, Mobhi requested of Colum Cille not to accept of any land till he
should give him leave. The same life states, chap. 39, that when Colum Cille
was at Doire, where the king of Erin, Aedh, son of Ainmire, was, Aedh
offered that town to Colum Cille, and that Colum refused to accept of the
town because he had not the permission of Mobhi, and that on his coming
forth from the town, two of Mobhi's people met him, bringing the girdle of
Mobhi with them to him, after Mobhi's own death, together with his
permission to him to accept of land. When Colum received the girdle he said
:
" Good was the man who had this girdle," said he, "for it was never opened
for gluttony, nor closed on falsehood." On which occasion he composed the
quatrain :
"Mobhi's girdle, [Mobhi's girdle],
Nibhdar sibhne im lo,
It was not opened for satiety,
It was not closed on a lie."
In his classic work on the monastic schools of Ireland, Archbishop John
Healy recounts the time spent by Saint Columba at Glasnevin:
It was the custom in those days for the students to visit the various saints
of Erin, who were celebrated for holiness and learning; and so we find that
Columba, when he had finished his studies under Finnian of Clonard, directed
his steps to the school of another great master of the spiritual life, St.
Mobhi Clarainech of Glasnevin.
The students' cells at Glasnevin were situated on one side of the River
Tolka, and Mobhi's church was on the other, at or near the spot where the
Protestant church now stands. The light-footed youngsters of those days,
however, found no difficulty in crossing the rapid and shallow stream at
ordinary times. But when the river was swollen with heavy rains, it was no
easy task to breast the flood ; yet such was Columba's zeal in the service
of God that on one such occasion, to his master's admiration and surprise,
he crossed the angry torrent, that he might be present as usual at the
exercises in the church. " May God be praised," said Columba, when he had
crossed safely over, "and deliver us from these perils in future." It is
said that his prayer was heard ; and that all the cells, with their
occupants, were suddenly transferred to the other side of the stream, and
remained there ever after.
Columba had for companions at Glasnevin St. Cannech, St. Ciaran, and St.
Comgall-and during their entire lives a tender and ardent friendship united
these holy men together. A pestilence which broke
[celt-saints] 12 October #3
Celtic and Old English Saints 12 October =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Fiech of Sletty * St. Wilfrith of York * St. Edwin of Northumbria * St. Ethelburga of Barking =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= St. Fiech (Fiacc), Bishop of Sletty in Ireland, Friend of Saint Patrick - A Bardic Saint of Ireland A saint closely associated with Saint Patrick, Fiacc of Sletty, a converted Irish bard said to have composed the earliest metrical life of Saint Patrick. Modern scholars, I need hardly add, no longer take this tradition at face value, but below is a paper from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record of 1921, when writers were much more accepting of the historicity of the traditional accounts. THE valley of the Barrow, which extends through a considerable portion of southern Leinster, has not received as much notice as it deserves in descriptions of the natural attractions and associations of the water-ways of Ireland. Nevertheless, events and scenes and memories connected with the best and greatest epochs of our country's past have left their traces along the course of this classic river, from its source in the Slievebloom Mountains till it enters the sea at Waterford Harbour. In ages long gone by, when south-eastern Ireland was almost entirely a forest-land and roads were few, this waterway was mainly the medium of communication between those tribal divisions now forming the counties of Kildare, Carlow, Wexford, and Waterford. Neither does the Barrow lack certain elements of the picturesque that make it fall but little short of the beautiful, for many stretches of its scenery, especially between Carlow and the Meeting of the three Sisters, where it enters the Atlantic, compare favourably with those of the better-known rivers of Ireland. Nor yet is the spell of history wanting, since Sage and Saint, Gael and Dane, Norman and Puritan, the conqueror and the vanquished, have lived and left many a mark on its border-lands, and supplied many a pictured page to the gladsome and, too often, sadsome annals of our country. In the early days of Christianity in Ireland, as with most of the rivers of the country, certain districts adjacent to the course of the Barrow were chosen by missionaries and scholar-monks for sites whereon to erect little churches or found monastic schools, that afterwards gave rise to the towns which now flourish along its banks. In the history of the poet-saint and scribe who founded the ancient monastery of Sletty we are interested in the following pages. St. Fiacc of Sletty was a contemporary of St. Patrick, and, moreover, played an important part in the opening scene of the great Apostle's mission at the court of Tara, in the memorable Eastertide of 433. Afterwards the threads of his life-story were for a time closely interwoven with events narrated in the accounts of the labours and miracles of our National Patron. Most of us are acquainted with the oft-told incident that occurred on the first appearance of St. Patrick and his followers at the court of King Laoghaire. Previous to the arrival of the Saint a royal command was given that none of the assembly should rise to do honour to the mysterious band of strangers. However, a few of the courtiers present were so impressed by the venerable appearance of the leader of the procession that they could not restrain their feelings of emotion, and failed to obey the orders of the pagan monarch. The first who rose, as is recorded, was Dubhthach, 'chief bard and brehon of Erin,' whose example was followed by Fiacc his pupil, who is described in the records of the event as ' the young poet.' The latter was not only the favourite pupil of the royal bard, but was, moreover, his nephew and foster-son. Dubhthach has ever since been immortalized in song and story as the ' first convert of Erin.' It is more than probable that his nephew received the gift of Faith at the same time. Fiacc, it is told, was then sixteen years of age so that he must have been born about the year A.D. 415. The conversion of the chief bard of Erin ' was undoubtedly the first victory achieved by St. Patrick over paganism in Ireland. How important and far-reaching was the acceptance of Christianity by a personage of such exalted rank, and by one whose profession was highly esteemed in those days, we shall explain later on. St.Fiacc was of noble lineage, being descended (in the sixth or seventh generation) from the celebrated Cathair Mor, who was King of Leinster and Ard-righ at the end of the second century. The chiefs of the clan MacMorrogh (now called Kavanagh) trace their descent from the same illustrious ancestor. We may note, in passing, that St. Moling, one of the immediate successors of St. Aidan, Patron of the See of Ferns, belonged to the same race. His monastery beside the Barrow continued to be the burial-place of the Kavanaghs down
