Celtic and Old English Saints 19 January =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Nathalan of Aberdeen * St. Blaithmaic of Iona * St. Albert of Cashel * St. Branwallader of Jersey * St. Fillan of Strathfilan * St. Wulstan of Worcester =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Nathalan of Aberdeen, Bishop ------------------------------------------------------ Born near Aberdeen (Tullicht?), Scotland; died 678. Saint Nathalan's name is included in ancient Irish martyrologies, such as that of Aengus. The Aberdeen breviary records that Nathalan was a nobleman, who possessed a large estate which he gave to the poor in order to become an anchorite. Nathalan is especially praised for having earned his living by farming, "which approaches nearest to divine contemplation." He fed his neighbours from his produce during times of famine, and found that farming served him as a type of penance. During his pilgrimage to Rome, Nathalan was consecrated bishop by the pope, because of his holiness and proficiency in profane and sacred learning. He took up residence at Tullicht (now in the diocese of Aberdeen), where he built a church, but he continued to use all his revenues for the relief of the poor as he had previously. He continued to earn his livelihood by the work of his hands, while living austerely, and preaching the Gospel. He is also credited with founding the churches at Bothelim and Colle. His story has elements of folklore, which resembles that of several other saints from this part of the world--but with a difference. A sudden storm interfered with Nathalan's harvest, and he protested against God. When he realised what he had done, he locked his hand and leg together in irons and tossed away the key in the River Dee. He vowed that his arm would never be free until he had made a pilgrimage to Rome. Upon his arrival in the Eternal City, he met a boy who offered him a fish for sale. He bought it and recovered the key from the belly of the fish. It is said that when the pope heard of this miracle, he determined to make him a bishop. Many miracles were wrought at his tomb in Tullicht, where his relics were preserved until the Deformation. It should be noted that the see of Aberdeen had not yet been regularly established; it was first erected at Murthlac by Saint Bean (f.d. October 26) at the beginning of the 11th century, and transferred to Aberdeen by its fourth bishop, Nectan (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Farmer, Husenbeth). St. Blaithmaic (Blaithmac, Blathmac, Blaithmale) of Iona, Martyr ------------------------------------------------------------ Died c. 823; feast day formerly on January 15. Blaithmac was an Irish abbot, who, desiring martyrdom, crossed over to England, which was then prey to the heathen Danes. His contemporary, Walafrid Strabo (died 849), the German Benedictine of Reichenau, narrates his life in a 180-line metrical poem, which has been reprinted in Migne's "Patrologia" and Messingham's "Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum". According to this tradition, Blaithmac was heir to an Irish throne, but entered a monastery instead and later became its abbot. Desiring the crown of martyrs, he obtained permission to live among his brethren at Iona. During the absence of its abbot Dermait, Blaithmac foretold the Viking raid on Iona and buried the shrine containing the relics of Saint Columba (f.d. June 9). After carefully replacing the sod above the burial site, Blaithmac then gave each of the monks the choice of fleeing or staying. As he was offering the Holy Sacrifice the next morning, the invaders rushed in. The whole community was slaughtered, until only Blaithmaic, the temporary abbot, was left. He was promised that his life would be spared if he gave them the relics. He refused and was hacked to pieces by the Danes on the altar steps of the abbey church. When his brethren returned, they buried him where he had fallen. The relics were later reposed at Dunkeld in 849 (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Montague, Moran, O'Hanlon, Skene 2). St. Albert of Cashel, Bishop ------------------------------------------------------ 7th century; feast day may also be January 8. A 12th-century "vita" describes Saint Albert with the pun: "by race an Angle, in speech an angel' ("natione Anglus, conversatione angelus"). According to rather unreliable accounts, Saint Albert was an Englishman who laboured in or was archbishop of Cashel, Ireland, and afterwards evangelized Bavaria with Saint Erhard (f.d. January 8). He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and died shortly after his return to Ratisbon (Regensburg, Germany). Unfortunately, the diocese of Cashel did not exist then, so this is an obscure point in his life. He is the patron saint of Cashel, Ireland (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopaedia). St. Branwallader of Jersey, Bishop (Branwalader, Branwalator, Brelade, Breward) ------------------------------------------------------ 6th century (?); in Cornwall he has feast days on February 9 and June 6; January 19 may be the day of the translation of his relics. Saint Branwallader was a Celtic or Welsh monk, who is said to have been a bishop in Jersey. It is believed that Branwallader worked with Saint Samson (f.d. July 28) in Cornwall and the Channel Islands, where he is remembered at Jersey in St. Brelade. He may also have travelled with Samson to Brittany in northern France. In the Exeter martyrology, Branwallader is described a the son of the Cornish king, Kenen. King Athelstan, who founded Milton Abbey in Dorset, obtained some of the saint's relics (an arm or head) from Breton clerics fleeing Northmen and translated them to Milton Abbey in 935. William Worcestre claimed that the body itself was at Branston, Devon, and Leland referred to a chapel of St. Breward near Seaton. The cultus of Saint Branwallader has been strong at least from the 10th century, when his name could be found in litanies. His feast was kept at Winchester, Exeter, and Cornwall. In Brittany, he has sometimes been confused with Saint Brendan (f.d. May 16) and Saint Brannock (f.d. January 7) (Benedictines, Farmer). St. Fillan of Strathfillan, Abbot (Foelan, Foellan, Foilan, Foillan, Fulan), ------------------------------------------------------ Early 8th century; in Ireland his feast is celebrated on January 9 which is the day of his death. The Irish Fillan, son of Feriach, grandson of King Ceallach of Leinster, received the monastic habit in the abbey of Saint Fintan Munnu. Then he accompanied his mother, Saint Kentigerna (f.d. January 7), and his uncle, Saint Comgan (f.d. October 13), to Scotland, where he became a missionary monk. He was perhaps a monk at Taghmon in Wexford and a hermit at Pittenweem, Fife, before being chosen as abbot of the nearby monastery, which he governed for some years. He retired to Glendochart in Perthshire, where he lived a solitary life and built a church. There he died and was buried at the place now called Strathfillan in his honour. Until the early 19th century, the mentally ill were dipped into the pool here and then left all night, tied up, in a corner of Fillan's ruined chapel. If they were found loose the next morning, they were considered cured. Further north, in Ross-shire, there are dedications to his memory and that of his uncle (Kilkoan and Killellan). Both Irish and Scottish martyrologies recorded his sanctity, and the "Aberdeen Breviary" relates some extraordinary miracles performed by him. History also records that Robert the Bruce put his hopes of victory at Bannockburn into the hands of Saint Fillan. It is reported that he brought an arm relic of the saint into battle having passed most of the night praying for his intercession. Not surprisingly, the Scottish victory at Bannockburn revived and perpetuated his veneration, and his feast is still kept in the diocese of Dunkeld. The bell and staff of St. Fillan still exist. His pastoral staff, or crozier, (the Quigrich), and his bell are in the National Museum in Edinburgh. To see the reliquary cover of the crozier, go here http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/photogallery1.html His "healing stones" are at the Tweed Mill, Dochart Bridge, Killin.(Attwater2, Benedictines,Coulson, Farmer, Gill, Montague). St. Wulstan of Worcester ------------------------------------------ Bishop of Worcester & confessor, 1008 - 1095. The last bishop of England to receive his pastoral staff from a Saxon king, Saint Edward the Confessor; one of the very few, by Divine intervention, to have kept his Seat after the arrival of William the Conqueror. Sources: Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 2nd edition, revised and updated by Catherine Rachel John. New York: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1966). The Book of Saints:. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell. . 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. Gill, F. C. (1958). The Glorious Company: Lives of Great Christians for daily devotion, vol. I. London: Epworth Press. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. Moran, P. Card. (1879). Irish Saints in Great Britian. O'Hanlon, J. (1875). Lives of Irish Saints, 10 vol. Dublin. Skene, W. F. (1875-80). Celtic Scotland, 3 vols. Edinburgh. 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 ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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