Celtic and Old English Saints 2 April =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Bronach of Glen-Seichis * St. Constantine II of Scotland * St. Ebba the Younger =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Bronach (Bromana, Bronacha, Bronanna) of Glen-Seichis, Virgin ------------------------------------------------ Date unknown. The name of this virgin is registered in the martyrologies of Tallaght and Donegal. Glen-Seichis is the old name of Kilbroney or Kilbronach in County Down near Rostrevor, Ireland, which takes its present name from her. Saint Bronach's Bell is the subject of a well-known Irish legend of a mysterious, invisible bell that rang in Kilbroney churchyard. In 1885, a storm ripped down an old oak tree near Kilbroney, and in its branches was found a 6th-century bell. For many years the denizens heard a bell ringing and attributed it to a supernatural origin. It seems, however, that the bell was hidden during the Reformation to prevent its removal or destruction. Over the years the tongue had worn away, so the bell stopped ringing, yet talk of it did not. The bell and Bronach's cross can now be found at the parish church of Rostrevor (Attwater2, Benedictines, D'Arcy, Husenbeth, Montague, Muirhead, Neeson). St. Constantine II of Scotland, King & Martyr ------------------------------------------------ Died 874; feast day at Saint Andrews, Scotland, is March 11. King Constantine was killed in a battle against heathen invaders of Scotland. In his last moments he repeated words echoing Psalm 27: "Lord Jesus, abandon not to beasts the souls that serve You." He was buried on Iona, where miracles took place at his tomb. Thereafter he was locally venerated as a martyr (Benedictines, Husenbeth). St. Ebba (Ebbe) the Younger, Virgin & Martyr ------------------------------------------------ Died 879; feast day formerly August 23. Ebba was abbess of the great monastic foundation of Coldingham in the Marshes on the Scottish border, which had been founded two centuries earlier by Saint Ebba the Elder (f.d. August 25). During a Danish invasion Saint Ebba feared for her virginity because of the Viking reputation for rape and massacre. She gathered her nuns in the chapter house and encouraged them to follow her example: with a razor she cut off (or cut open) her nose and upper lip to discourage rape by the invaders. The entire community did likewise. They must have made a frightful spectacle. Their appearance so disgusted the raiders that the women were saved from rape but not from death: The Danes soon returned and set fire to the convent. The entire community perished in the flames. Although there is no surviving ancient record of Saint Ebba, it may have been among the lost manuscripts at Tynemouth, there was a shrine dedicated to her in the 13th century. In Coldingham, another manuscript refers to a curious feast of the edication of the altar of Saint Ebba on June 22, which may refer to either the Younger or the Elder (Benedictines, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Husenbeth). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1958). A Dictionary of Saints. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. [Attwater 2] Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of saints. NY: Macmillan. Bentley, J. (1986). A Calendar of Saints: The Lives of the Principal Saints of the Christian Year, NY: Facts on File. D'Arcy, M. R. (1974). The Saints of Ireland. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Irish American Cultural Institute. Encyclopaedia of Catholic Saints, March. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University 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. Muirhead, L. R. (ed.). (1962). Benn Blue Guide to Ireland. London: Ernest Benn Limited. Neeson, E. (1967). Book of Irish Saints. Cork: Mercer Press. 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 ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
