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6X 
 
ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029417882 
 
ANCIENT 
 
 Lives of Scottish Saints 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 W. M. METCALFE, D.D. 
 
 tith an Iniroimction 
 
 PAISLEY: 
 
 ALEXANDER GARDNER 
 
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 MJXXCXCV. 
 
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The Impression of this Edition consists of 220 Copies, of 
 which this is No. ..1.2..-2-4- 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction, - - - - ix. 
 
 S. NlNIAN BY AlLRED OF RlEVAUX, - I 
 
 S. COLUMBA BY CUIMINE THE FAIR, - 29 
 
 S. COLUMBA BY ADAMNAN, .... 46 
 
 S. Kentigern by Jocelin, a Monk of Furness, - 175 
 
 S- Servands, .... . . 281 
 
 S. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, by Turgot, - - 295 
 
 * S. Magnus, - - - 323 
 
 Index, - 367 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 51, line 11 from bottom, for " thing " read " things." 
 ,, 142, ,, 6 ,, ,, "of hewn," etc., read " hewn out of pine and 
 
 oak trees." 
 „ 161, „ 9 from top, for " Vignous " read "Virgnous." 
 ,, 161, „ 14 ,, „ " Vignous " read "Virgnous." 
 ,, 251, ,, 22 ,, ,, " opprobium " read "opprobrium.'' 
 „ 283, „ 20 „ ,, "dragon" read "drake." 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The following pages contain'^ translation of the principal 
 Lives in the new and enlarged edition of Pinkerton's Vita 
 Antiques Sanctorum Scotia, which was issued some years ago.* 
 Two of them— that of S. Columba by Cuimine the Fair, and 
 the Life or Legend of S. Servanus— are, so far as I can make 
 out, here published in English for the first time. The pieces 
 in the collection just referred to which are not here translated 
 are either passed over entirely or reserved for another possible 
 volume in which may be included translations of Ancient 
 Lives of other of the Scottish saints. 
 
 All through, my endeavour has been to keep as near to the 
 original text as possible, and to make the translation as accu- 
 rate a reflection of the different styles of the various authors as 
 my own skill in translating and the idioms of modern English 
 would allow. While making the translations I have consulted 
 such other translations as were accessible to me, and have 
 frequently been indebted to them for what has seemed to me 
 a better rendering than my own. The translation of the Mag- 
 nus Life was made during my summer vacation in 1890, but 
 while the sheets were passing through the press, I have had the 
 advantage of comparing them with Sir George Dasent's 
 recently published translations of the Greater and Lesser 
 Magnus Sagas. By altering the position of the chapters taken 
 by Jonaeus from the Lesser Saga, and by adding several para- 
 graphs to them from the same source, I have tried to make this 
 Life more full, continuous, and complete, and have included in 
 it the narrative given in the Lesser Saga of the foundation of 
 Kirkwall Cathedral by Rognvald Kali. 
 
 * Pinkerton's Lives of the Scottish Saints, 2 vols., 8vo. Paisley, 1889. 
 
x. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For an account of the Authors of the Lives I must refer the 
 reader to the Introduction in the first volume of the Latin 
 text. 
 
 All that has hitherto been said, or, as Dr. Whitely Stokes 
 remarks, " one may almost say, all that can be said," as to the 
 value of Lives of Saints for political and social history has been 
 summed up in a remarkable passage by the late M. Fustel de 
 Coulanges, in his volume entitled La Monarchic. Franqne (pp. 
 9-12). As he there points out, to a certain extent the Lives of 
 the Saints are history. At the time many of them were written, 
 the rules for canonisation had not been regularly determined ; 
 the diocese canonised of its own accord its bishop, and the con- 
 vent its abbot. To write the Lives of these was there- 
 fore a necessity. That they were not written as historical 
 works is certain. Nor is it exactly correct to say that they 
 were written merely for the edification of the faithful. They 
 were composed rather for the purpose of demonstrating the 
 sanctity of those whose lives they record, and of setting forth 
 their worth as saints. Like the legend, the biography was 
 explanatory of the relics which the convent possessed, and on 
 account of which it derived a considerable revenue. To the 
 biography was added a narrative of the miracles which the 
 saint did both before and after his death. Generally speaking, 
 the biography of a saint was written by one of his disciples or 
 by one who had known him, or at least from the testimony of 
 those who had been personally acquainted with him or with 
 those who knew him. The cases in which these first or origi- 
 nal biographies have come down to us are extremely few. As 
 time went on they were copied and re-copied, additions and 
 omissions were made, and a number of them were translated 
 out of the vernacular into Latin, or from Latin into the verna- 
 cular. All this makes it extremely difficult, if not, in many 
 instances, impossible to tell what was in the primitive text. 
 Nevertheless, even as they have survived, they are of great 
 value. The main object of the biographer was generally to 
 pronounce a panegyric, still it is none the less true that he has 
 described the life of an individual, and by comparing a number 
 of these biographies one with the other, it is possible to tell 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi. 
 
 with considerable certainty what the lives of these individuals 
 were. That the author was not altogether an inventor is 
 certain. If he added some virtues to the subject of his bio- 
 graphy, he did not imagine the little details of his life. The 
 habits and customs he describes were actually in vogue. In 
 every miracle he narrates, that which interests us is not the 
 miracle itself, but the details connected with it, the man for 
 whom the miracle was wrought, his physiognomy, his civil state, 
 his social condition, his conduct. It is evident, therefore, that 
 these biographies are capable of furnishing more or less infor- 
 mation not only as to the social condition of a people, but also 
 as to their institutions. They may contain errors as to dates, 
 proper names may be transposed, and even a number of facts 
 may have been altered so as to suit the preconceptions of the 
 authors, but this, though it would undoubtedly have been 
 better had they been in all respects correct, is of small conse- 
 quence. That for which the Lives of the Saints are valuable 
 is the indications they contain of the life of the times to 
 which they belong, and those general and permanent facts 
 which the biographer had no interest in altering. He might 
 invent a miracle, but not the circumstances connected with it. 
 " I may doubt, for example," says M. Fustel de Coulanges, 
 whose words I have been to some extent abridging, " that S. 
 Amand wrought a miracle in order to save a criminal con- 
 demned to death, but I am assured by the narrative that 
 sentence of death was pronounced, and I accept as correct the 
 procedure which is there described. On these points the author 
 was bound to be accurate, otherwise his contemporaries would 
 not have believed his miracle. It is thus that the Lives of the 
 Saints instruct us respecting the manners of men, the general 
 character of the life of their times, the judicial practices, the 
 administration and the government." 
 
 Of the seven Lives here translated, one— Turgot's Life of S. 
 Margaret — is undoubtedly primitive. It is the only ancient 
 Life of that Saint in existence, with the exception of a shorter 
 one, printed by Surius (1618), which is evidently an abridge- 
 ment of it. Cuimine's Life of S. Columba is the oldest Life 
 of the Apostle of the Northern Picts which we possess, and 
 
xii. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 must have been written within sixty years of his death (S97)> 
 but whether it is the primitive Life is somewhat doubtful. 
 Adamnan mentions other writings as among his sources of 
 information, and cites an incident (Bk. III., c. 23, p. I7°)> 
 which he says he found in a writing, and of which no mention 
 is made by Cuimine (ok 66g). It may be, however, that these 
 writings were not biographies, but such works as the Amhra, or 
 panegyric, composed by a contemporary of S. Columba, or narra- 
 tives of particular incidents in the life of the Saint. Adamnan's 
 own Life of S. Columba consists of Cuimine's work, which 
 he has incorporated almost verbatim, with very considerable 
 additions. For these he was indebted to the traditions handed 
 down by his predecessors in office as President of Iona (679-704), 
 to various writings, and to the testimony of certain trustworthy 
 witnesses who had been acquainted with the Saint, or had 
 derived their information from those who were, or had been, 
 his contemporaries. Three of the Lives are translations with 
 additions. From the statements in the Prologues to the Lives 
 of SS. Ninian and Kentigern, it is evident that both Ailred 
 and Jocelin made use of older Lives, and the inference is that 
 they were written in the Celtic tongue. These they seem to 
 have translated and expanded with the help of the stories and 
 traditions they found floating about among the people. The 
 Life of S. Magnus, on the other hand, was originally written 
 in Latin by a certain Master Robert, who seems to have been 
 an Orkneyman. From Latin it was translated into Icelandic. 
 Originally it would seem to have been used as a homily or 
 sermon. The rhetorical and hortatory passages in the Greater 
 Saga are evidently from the hand of Master Robert, but how 
 much more, or who was the Icelandic editor, is unknown. 
 Lastly, the Life of S. Servanus, though curious, is for the most 
 part fiction, and was evidently written to extol the virtues and 
 greatness of the Saint. If there is any truth in the narrative 
 of his intercourse with Adamnan, he was evidently not the 
 S. Servanus referred to in the Life of S. Kentigern, but must 
 have lived at a later period. All the Lives with a single ex- 
 ception — that of S. Margaret — abound in miracles. For the 
 most part they are miracles of healing, though a number of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiii. 
 
 them are miracles wrought on nature. The miracles them- 
 selves, as M. Fustel de Coulanges observes, may be nothing, 
 but the details which surround them are authentic, and are 
 therefore of value as to the social condition of the inhabitants 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, and of their religious tenets and 
 practices. 
 
 In the following notes, which do not profess to be exhaus- 
 tive, I follow in a measure the arrangement adopted by Dr. 
 Whitley Stokes in his Tripartite Life of S. Patrick, and in 
 his Lives of the Saints from the Book of Lismore. 
 
 References to the phenomena of nature are fairly numerous. 
 Most of them, however, are to storms and tempests, one of 
 which is said to have lasted three days and three nights, 45, 
 171.* Mention is made of the whirlpool of Brecan, 63, 107 ; of 
 a sudden and unexpected wave or commotion of the sea, 346 ; 
 of certain strange phenomena witnessed by Cormac and his 
 companions in the Northern Seas, 139; of a pillar of light 
 which suddenly appeared during the night on which S. Columba 
 died, 170; of a pestilential cloud, 100; of the Plague, 144; 
 of rain and drought, 47, 141 ; of the destruction of a city in 
 Italy and its inhabitants apparently by the eruption of a vol- 
 cano, 77 ; of the tides, 197 ; and of a local storm, 116. 
 
 Among animals, birds, fishes, etc., the following are men- 
 tioned : oxen, 18, 200; cows, 46, no, 113, 114, 187; sheep, 
 17,88; lambs, 73; goats, 39; horse, 167, 217; dog (house), 
 39, 129 ; hounds, 46, 116, 257 ; deer, 129, etc. ; wild boar, 119, 
 (Skye), 229 ; wolf, 219, 362, 363 ; swine, 116, 291 ; crane, 93 ; 
 redbreast, 189; crow, 39, 129; whale, 71 ; seal, 88; salmon, 
 39, 112, 129; aquatic monsters, 71, 119, 139; serpents, 120, 
 165 ; dragon, 292. Among animal products, we have hides, 
 21, 121, 186; venison, 38, 128; milk, no, m, 263; ivory 
 (carved), 132 ; horn, 75 ; mares flesh, 73. 
 
 The minerals referred to are: iron, 121, 152, 220; bronze, 
 94; silver, 305, 360; gold, 301, 305, 315 jsalt, 103 ; coal, 234. 
 
 Trees and plants :— oak, 142, 143 ; hazel, 192 ; apple, 99, 
 288 ; pine, 142 ; rushes, 136; mandrake, 283. The fruits and 
 
 The numbers refer to the pages following. 
 
xiv. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cereals are: — apples, 99, 125; nuts, 125; mulberries, 261. 
 Mention is made of wheat, 220, barley, 100, and reference is 
 frequently made to them as corn. Table vegetables are spoken 
 of and leeks are mentioned, 16. At the monastery in Iona 
 there was a gardener, 70, as also at Whithorn, 16. 
 
 Turning now to man, his bodily needs and his means of 
 supplying them — for food he had the flesh of oxen, 17, 86 ; 
 sheep, 17, 72, 88, 291 ; deer, 39, 128; swine, 116, 291 ; also 
 horse-flesh, 73 ; probably goats' flesh, 39; salmon, 39, 112 ; 
 various other kinds of fish, 38, 112 ; game, 38 ; milk, 110, 206 ; 
 butter, 206 ; cheese, 206, 263 ; pot herbs, 16 ; leeks, ibid. ; also 
 mulberries, 261 ; and bread, 88 ; made from wheat probably, 
 220, and barley, 88, no. His drinks were besides water, milk, 
 1 10, 206 ; wine, 206, 289, though this is chiefly mentioned in 
 connection with the celebration of the Mass , ale, 359. 
 
 Clothing : — tunic, 47, 119, 142 ; cowl, 117 ; cloak, 118 ; shoe, 
 108 ; kirtle, 350 ; and a coat with fringes, 47, are the only 
 articles of clothing specifically mentioned. S. Kentigern's, 
 however, are described, 207. Among them was a garment of 
 rough hair-cloth worn next to the skin, and over this another 
 of leather " tied on like a fisherman's." As a rule articles of 
 clothing are referred to in the Lives in general terms. The 
 clerical garb is mentioned, but not further described, 82. 
 
 Coal is mentioned as fuel, 234. Wood appears to have been 
 generally used. 
 
 As shelters, or places for dwelling in, he had huts, 17, 81 ; 
 houses, 32. Roofs are mentioned, 36, 42 ; also doors, 38, 81, 
 128, which were apparently made of wood, 28, and furnished 
 with key-holes, 160, keys, 45, 128, and bolts, ibid. The huts 
 and houses were made of planks, 75, 78, of wattles, 99, and 
 were easily consumed, 82. 
 
 Furniture is mentioned generally, 92 ; specific articles are : 
 bed (straw), 43, 103, 168, 289, 207 ; box, 104 ; cushion, 46, 56 ; 
 pillow, 168, 207 ; ladle, 70; wooden griddle, 73 ; pail, in ; 
 glass cup, 124; leathern milk-vessel, 130; water pot, 75; 
 satchel for holding books, 104; spit, 116; lamps, 169, 191 ; 
 axe, 113 ; knife, 93, 121 ; table, 186. 
 
 Connected with the farm we have sowing and reaping, 84 ; 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv. 
 
 the threshing floor, 113 ; barn, 222; plough, 218; ploughing, 
 ibid. ; cart, 165 ; fences, 52 ; hedges, 17 ; dykes, ibid. ; wheels, 
 axle, linch-pin, 141 ; tools (iron), 121. 
 
 The following trades or occupations are mentioned : smith, 
 1 S3, 263 ; gardener, \6 ; baker, 154 ; shepherd, 187 ; fisherman, 
 ibid.; cook, 194; rush-gatherer, 136; jester, 261. At Iona 
 seals were reared, 88. 
 
 As beasts of burden, oxen, 200 ; and horses, 167, were used. 
 
 The usual mode of travelling by land was on foot, 217 ; but 
 carts drawn by oxen or horses were employed, 140, 141, 165, 
 200; horses were also used for riding, 125. At sea various 
 kinds of boats or vessels were in use. Some were made of 
 wicker work covered with ox-hides, 121, 186; others were made 
 of pinewood or oak, 142. The names for them were : navis 
 (ship), 107 ; barca (bark), 77 ; navicula (boat), 81 ; navis oner- 
 aria (freight ship), 99; alnus (boat), 119; caupallus (coble), 
 ibid.; cymba, symbulla (vessel, skiff), 126, 127 ; longa navis 
 (long boat), 140 ; scaphis (skiff), 143 ; curuca (curach), ibid. 
 Some of the vessels were hollowed trunks of trees, 142. 
 They were propelled by sails, passim in Adamnan ; and oars, 
 119, 143, 186. 
 
 The ailments from which men suffered were : — fevers, 254 ; 
 ophthalmia, 103 ; blindness, 12, 27, 106, 243 ; deafness, 253 ; 
 dumbness, 254; paralysis, ibid. ; bleeding at the nose, 112; 
 scab, 26 ; closing of veins and arteries, ibid. ; insanity, 18, 243, 
 254; leprosy, 27, 106, 212, 243, 254, 358; twisted joints, 25, 359; 
 swelling in the feet, 225 ; hereditary gout, ibid. ; incurable 
 diseases, 243 ; plagues, 145 ; weariness, 84. 
 
 The means of healing were : — The prayers of Saints, which 
 were sometimes efficacious to restore the dead, 18, 46, 103, 122 ; 
 praying at the tombs of Saints, 27, 359 ; Saint's touch, 26, 
 103, 112, 358; washing in water consecrated by a Saint, 27, 
 or in which a Saint had washed, 106, or washing, drinking, or 
 being sprinkled with water in which something blessed by a 
 Saint had been placed, as a white stone, 146, 55, bread, no, a 
 pinewood box, 112, a lump of salt, 103 ; mouthfuls of food 
 or drink given or received, 254; touching the hem of a Saint's 
 garment, 254 ; his shadow, ibid. ; a Saint's spiritual presence, 
 
xvi. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 84 ; vows to Saints. S. Magnus in his apparitions to the dis- 
 eased is represented as stroking or passing his hand over the 
 part affected, 358. 
 
 Physicians are mentioned, 27, 181 ; the drugs named are 
 litargion, 181 ; mandrake, 283. 
 
 At burial the corpse was wrapped in white linen cloths, 171, 
 placed in a coffin, ibid,, and borne by men with singing to the 
 grave, ibid., or placed on a cart or bier drawn by two unbroken 
 oxen, 200. The place of burial was near or in a church, before 
 the altar, 24, 171, 321 ; where the oxen stopped, 200, or in a 
 cemetery, 201. The corpse was sometimes placed in a stone 
 coffin, 24. The lid of the coffin was sometimes inscribed, 196. 
 
 Obsequies were observed which lasted, in the case of S. 
 Columba, three days and three nights, 171. 
 
 Turning now to the other side of human life, S. Ninian 
 relieved the tedium of his journeys with reading, 20. S. Serf 
 amused himself with a redbreast, 190 ; S. Columba apparently 
 with writing, 47, 75 ; other modes of amusement mentioned 
 are joking and jesting, 261 ; feasting, 353 ; gossiping and 
 tale-telling, 19 ; gambling, 392. King Rederech maintained a 
 jester, 261. 
 
 Hunting, 46, 116, 119, 257, and fishing by night as well as 
 by day, 170, are mentioned, but these were prosecuted probably 
 more from necessity than for amusement. 
 
 The literature referred to consists chiefly of portions of the 
 Sacred Scriptures, the Psalter and the Four Gospels, 20, 75, 
 315 ; and Service Books, 149, 313. Songs composed in Irish 
 in praise of S. Columba are mentioned, 57. The Psalter and 
 Gospels were copied at Iona, 75. When the copyist had 
 finished, his writing was examined and corrected by another, 
 75. Books were preserved in satchels of leather, which were 
 secured with straps and hung upon the wall. Sometimes both 
 the coverings and the books themselves were elaborately orna- 
 mented and adorned with jewels and gold, 315 ; see the 
 description of the case of the Book of Armagh, Reeves' 
 Columba, p. 115, note c, and Miss Stokes' Early Christian Art 
 in Ireland. 
 
 The permanent arts mentioned or referred to, are writing, 
 
INTRODUCTION. xvii. 
 
 carving, embroidery, jewel work, work in gold and silver, 
 architecture, but very little light is thrown upon them. The 
 art of the copyist was raised to a high pitch of excellence, 
 among the Irish, and S. Columba is reckoned among the most 
 expert. Nothing is said of this, however, in the Lives follow- 
 ing. Embroidery was done under the direction of Queen 
 Margaret, 302. Among the articles referred to are copes, 
 chasubles, stoles, altar-cloths, and other priestly vestments, 
 ibid. A cross with the image of the Saviour upon it covered 
 with a vestment of purest gold and silver, and studded with 
 gems, and other Church ornaments are spoken of, as well as 
 vessels of solid and pure gold for the altar, ibid., and vessels 
 of gold or silver, or with gold and silver plated, 305. Precious 
 stones are frequently mentioned, but not under specific names. 
 
 The notices of architecture are scanty. We read of a church 
 built of stone, and described as the only stone church in 
 Britain, 11. The workmen came from Tours, 10. For the 
 rest, churches were built of wood and wattles, 143, 230, The 
 cathedrals at Kirkwall and Dunfermline, however, which 
 belong to a later date, were built of stone. Monasteries also 
 were built of wood and wattles, 143, 230. Withes were gathered 
 for building and repairing the guest chamber, 99. They were 
 woven in between upright stakes, 104. The churches had side- 
 chambers or side-chapels or oratories attached to them, 161. 
 The church, president's hut, the huts of the monks, the 
 refectory, kitchen, probably a chamber for preserving the 
 books, tablets, styles, pens and inkhorns, the hospital, guest- 
 house, workshop, and an open court, were surrounded by an 
 enclosure, outside of which stood the barns, kiln, cow-houses, 
 pond, and mill-stream. 
 
 Of the transitory arts, music is the only one referred to, and 
 of that only the singing of songs, 57, and the chanting of the 
 services of the church, 155, and the singing of the Angelic 
 Choir, 187, are mentioned. No musical instrument is named, 
 unless the bell be reckoned one. 
 
 The light thrown upon the religion of the period is not new, 
 but a few points may be noted. The Trinity is spoken of, 258, 
 52; God is described as "our Redeemer and Creator," 325 ; 
 
xviii. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Christ as "the Only Begotten of the Eternal," 52; "our 
 Nazarene Jesus Christ," 179, "the Brightness of the Eternal 
 Light," "the Sun of Righteousness," 180; the Virgin Mary as 
 "the Star of Virginity," "the Virgin Mother," 180. Prayers 
 are offered to her, 185. 
 
 Angels are frequently mentioned, but none of them are 
 named. They meet souls and carry them to heaven, 151. 
 They haunt S. Columba, 157, and accompany him on his way, 
 32, 148. One flies from Iona to Ireland quicker than lightning 
 to the help and deliverance of a monk who was falling from 
 the roof of a house, 157. When in the island of Eilean-na- 
 naoimh, S. Columba is visited by one who instructs him to 
 ordain Aidan king, and when he refuses, smites him with a 
 scourge, 149. 
 
 Demons or evil spirits occur frequently. They are seen 
 carrying the souls of the wicked to hell, 56. They fight 
 against S. Columba with iron darts, 152. The same Saint 
 drives one away which is lurking in a milk-pail. People were 
 believed to be possessed by them. 
 
 Antichrist and Doomsday, heaven and hell, are mentioned. 
 There is no mention of Purgatory. The souls of men are 
 carried or go straight to heaven or hell. 
 
 The Scriptures were studied by Ninian, 9, Columba, 75, 
 Baithene, ibid., Kentigern, 218, Margaret, 304, Magnus, 327. 
 Adamnan, Ailred and Jocelin, and Master Robert show a very 
 considerable acquaintance with the sacred writings. 
 
 The Religious Rites referred to are Baptism, the Eucharist, 
 Ordination. Baptism was performed with water, 106, and was 
 administered to adults, sometimes to a whole family, 123, 156, 
 sometimes just before death, 156, 81, sometimes to children, 
 106, who were clad during the rite in white, 7. The Eucharist 
 was celebrated with wine mixed with water, and bread, 91, on 
 the Lord's day and on Saints' days, 144, 154, when all labour 
 was suspended and the monks received some additions to their 
 food, 155. The festivals began after sunset on the preceding 
 day, 144, 154, 166, 359. By the time of Queen Margaret 
 certain irregular practices had crept into the celebration of the 
 rite, and the Lord's day was desecrated, 309. Ordination of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix. 
 
 deacons, presbyters, and bishops, is referred to ; that of bishops 
 is described, 9, 304. When the Angel instructed S. Columba 
 to ordain Aidan king, he showed him a phantasm of the book 
 of the ritual, 149. 
 
 In the earlier Lives matrimony is referred to, but not as a 
 sacrament. Penance is there spoken of in the same way. The 
 penitent was required to confess in the presence of all, and 
 generally on bended knees, 79, 87, and to promise amendment, 
 96. A more or less extended period of discipline was some- 
 times enjoined, 74, 131. 
 
 Confirmation and Extreme Unction are not in the Earlier 
 Lives referred to. 
 
 To the symbol of the Cross and to the signing of the Cross 
 extraordinary efficacy was assigned. The sign of it was con- 
 sidered effectual to banish demons, no, in, to prostrate a 
 wild beast, 119, to restrain a river monster, 120, to endow a 
 pebble and other substances with healing virtue, 101, 103, 112, 
 124, to unlock doors, 127. It was customary before milking 
 to make the sign of the Cross over the pail, no, and to cross 
 tools before using them, 121. At sea the cruciform arrange- 
 ment of the mast and yards was regarded as conducive to a 
 favourable voyage, 143. Numerous crosses were erected in 
 various parts, 91, 167, 229, 269. 
 
 Prayer is continually mentioned, as also is fasting. The 
 order of prayer is referred to, 155. Kentigern carried his 
 Manual in his hand, 207. The references to the Service Books 
 in the Life of S. Margaret are numerous. S. Columba was 
 wont to retire into the Church, 161, or to some private place, 
 157, for prayer. S. Kentigern retired during Lent, 211. In- 
 stances of the miraculous effects of prayer are given, 18, 46, 
 103, 122. 
 
 Fasting is frequently mentioned. For the austerities of S. 
 Columba see 54, of S. Kentigern, 206-8, of S. Margaret, 314, 
 of S. Magnus, 338. In the Life of the last the practice of 
 making religious vows or promises is frequently mentioned. 
 
 Pilgrimages were made to Iona, 80, 131, Rome, 8, 237, 
 Jerusalem, 354, the Jordan, in which it was customary for the 
 
xx. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 palmers to bathe, 354, St. Andrews, 312, and other sacred 
 places, 342. 
 
 The Relics spoken of are those of SS. Ninian and Magnus. 
 Mention is made of the Black Rood possessed by Queen 
 Margaret, 319, and of the Staff of Kentigern, 268. The 
 clothes of S. Columba and the books written with his own 
 hand were regarded with extraordinary reverence, and on one 
 occasion the exhibition of them was supposed to have had the 
 effect of obtaining a copious rain, 142. For the miracles 
 wrought at the shrines of SS. Ninian and Magnus, see 25, 28, 
 and 358. 
 
 Idolatry or paganism is often referred to, but usually in the 
 most general terms. For references to magic, sorcery and 
 spaecraft, see in, 126, 329-330. By making a circle with his 
 staff S. Ninian is said to have confined a herd of cattle within 
 it and to have rendered it impossible for men who had passed 
 in to the circle to escape from it. The singing of songs in 
 commemoration of S. Columba was supposed to have had the 
 effect of protecting a number of men against the assaults of 
 their enemies, 57. 
 
 Family Relations : — In the older Lives there are indications 
 that marriage of some kind existed. Apparently it was re- 
 garded as dissoluble, 137. Concubinage was practised, 217. 
 The practice of fosterage is referred to. Broichan, the Druid, 
 is spoken of as the foster-father of King Brude, 125. Cruith- 
 nechan was the foster-father of S. Columba, 147. A man might 
 bind himself to another as a slave for a certain period, 133, and 
 captives taken in war were made slaves, 124. As a sign of 
 their condition they wore a girdle, 133. This was unloosed 
 on their being set free, ibid., which they could be either with or 
 without recompense, 124. Queen Margaret was in the habit 
 of redeeming captives, 312. 
 
 Hospitality was freely given in the monasteries. Each had a 
 guest-house. On the guest's arrival water was provided for the 
 washing of his feet, 63, and special provision was made for his 
 maintenance, ibid. He was admitted by or without the per- 
 mission of the abbot, 59. The period of guesting seems to 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxi. 
 
 have been three nights {Revue Celtique, ix. 495). Queen Mar- 
 garet set up a guest-house on each side of the Forth, 312. 
 
 In the Civil State we have the following orders: — Bretwalda, 
 King, Earl (Orkney and Wales), noble, franklin (Orkney), 
 peasant, beggar, who carried a wallet, 113. The royal dignity 
 in Dalriada descended according to the Irish law of Tanistry 
 (Skene, Celtic Scotland, i. 230). The King and Earl were 
 accompanied by their body-guard or retinue. Queen Margaret 
 altered the Court arrangements and surrounded the King with 
 greater state, 305. 
 
 Of social observances those only are indicated which were 
 practised in the monasteries. 
 
 The crimes mentioned are arson, 82, and theft, 88 ; man- 
 slaying, 89, murder, 68, incest, 74, fornication. For the law 
 respecting the last see 182. Among vices, prostitution, 86, 
 indolence and gossiping, 19, and hypocrisy, 214, are mentioned. 
 
 Military affairs do not, as might be expected, occupy much 
 space in the Lives. Still, the following wars and battles are 
 mentioned or referred to : — The battle of Cooldrevny, fought 
 in 561, and said to have been one of the causes leading to S. 
 Columba's withdrawal to Iona, 53 ; Hevenfeld, in which 
 Oswald defeated and slew Cadwalla (634), and after which he 
 was proclaimed Bretwalda, 57 ; Ondemone (563), between the 
 Dalriadians and the Northern Hy Neill, 64 ; of the Miathi, 
 which, according to Tighernach, was fought in 596 at Chircinn, 
 probably the modern Kirkintilloch, 65 ; Arderydd ? (c. 573), 
 69; Roth (637), 150; the battle in which Malcolm Canmore 
 was slain (Nov. 13, 1093), Z l 9 ', Stamford Bridge, (1066), 328 ; 
 Magnus Bareleg's expedition (1098). 
 
 Fortresses are mentioned, 85, 94, 125. The weapons spoken 
 of are the spear, dart, sword, arrow. Echoid Laib, a Pictish 
 King, is said to have escaped when vanquished in battle, 
 riding in a chariot, 65. Nothing is said of the mode of 
 fighting. 
 
 The kinds of ecclesiastics mentioned are the bishops, pres- 
 byter, deacon. The officers connected with monasteries were 
 the Abbot or President, or Patronus ; the Superiors of daughter 
 houses, who were called praepositi, Provosts, 79, and received 
 
xxii. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 their charge from the President, 91. They were either bishops 
 or presbyters. Besides these there were the scribe, butler, 70 ; 
 baker, 154; cook, 222 ; smith, 121 ; private attendant on the 
 President or Superior, 154; the messenger, 70; gardener, ibid.; 
 and the legati, expert seaman who had charge of the boats, and 
 appear to have been employed as messengers, yg. The monks 
 under S. Columba appear to have been divided into those who 
 attended to the field work and those who worked within the 
 monastery. On festivals all work was suspended. The monks 
 were summoned by the sound of the bell to the church, where, 
 clad in white, they celebrated the Eucharist. At his own will 
 the abbot would sometimes insert the name of a friend among 
 the names of the Saints. The chief festival was Easter. 
 
 The number of monks subject to S. Columba is not given. 
 Its daughter houses were numerous both in Scotland and Ire- 
 land. At his monastery in Wales, S. Kentigern is said to have 
 had no fewer than 965 living according to his monastic rule. 
 They were divided into three companies, two of three hundreds 
 each, and one containing the rest. To the three hundred who 
 were illiterate was assigned the duty of tilling the ground and 
 herding the cattle. The other three hundred were occupied 
 within the walls of the monastery, preparing food and building 
 offices. The remaining 365 kept up the services day and night 
 in the Church, 233. 
 
 The vestments are alb, 207 ; cope, chasuble, stole, 302. At 
 Iona the monks when engaged in divine worship were clad in 
 white, 155. White also was the colour of S. Kentigern's alb, 
 207. 
 
 S. Columba, as well as the bishops, founded churches and 
 preached. On two occasions he had to employ the services of 
 an interpreter, 81, 123. SS. Ninian and Kentigern are said to 
 have settled the bounds of parishes, but parochial divisions 
 were not made till much later. 
 
 The monastic buildings have already been described. It has 
 to be added that in the church there was an altar ; and further 
 that at Iona the monks were frequently summoned by the 
 sound of the bell to services at midnight, at which times they 
 carried lamps. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxiii. 
 
 The Culdees are mentioned, 218, and perhaps referred to, 
 309- 
 
 In conclusion, I have to record my best thanks to my son, 
 the Rev. W. Metcalfe, B.D., the translator of Paspates' Great 
 Palace of Constantinople, for reading the proofs and comparing 
 them with the Latin text ; and also to Mr. W. A. Craigie, of 
 St. Andrews University, for reading the proofs of the Magnus 
 Life. To his accurate knowledge of Icelandic and Icelandic 
 literature, I have been greatly indebted. 
 
 W. M. M. 
 
 March, fSpj. 
 
ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 LIFE OF NINIAN. 
 
 BY 
 
 AILRED OF RIEVAUX. 
 
ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 LIFE OF NINIAN 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 MANY wise men of the past have endeavoured to commit 
 to writing the words, manners, and lives of the Saints, 
 more especially of those who were illustrious in their own day, 
 in order to preserve the example of their more perfect life from 
 oblivion, and perpetuate their memory for the edification of 
 posterity. Those who were distinguished by their ability, 
 copious diction and splendid eloquence did this the more 
 profitably in proportion as they gratified the ears of their 
 hearers with the charms of a graceful style. And even those 
 from whom, by reason of the barbarism in which they lived, 
 the faculty of writing in a graceful and elegant manner was 
 withheld, did not fail, though in a more simple style, to 
 communicate to posterity some account of those who ought 
 to be imitated. Hence it is, that the life of the most holy 
 Ninian, commended to us by the sanctity of his ways and 
 his well-known miracles, was obscured by a barbarous lan- 
 guage, and the less it pleased the reader the less it edified 
 him. It has therefore pleased your reverence to lay upon 
 me, insignificant though I am, the task of rescuing the life of 
 this most renowned man, written truthfully enough by my 
 predecessors, but in too barbarous a style, from a rustic 
 dialect, as from darkness, and of bringing it forth into the 
 clear light of the Latin tongue. I esteem your devotion, 
 approve your desire, and applaud your zeal ; but I am 
 conscious of my inability, and fear I may only strip him of 
 the coarse garment in which he has hitherto been hid, and 
 
4 LIFE OF 
 
 not be able to array him in a more comely garb. But 
 since I am unable to refuse that which you enjoin, I shall 
 endeavour to obey your command, preferring that you should 
 deem me incompetent rather than obstinate. For it may be 
 that what incompetence denies, your faith will supply, your 
 prayer obtain, your sanctity secure. He also, for whose 
 honour and love you desire me to do this work, will himself 
 assist your pious vows and aspirations, and aid me in my 
 study and endeavour. Moreover, by his merits you trust that 
 there may be given to me the tongue of the learned and facility 
 of speech. To this must be added your assurance that the 
 clergy and people of your holy Church, who are moved with 
 great affection for this holy one of God, and live beneath his 
 protection, will receive with the greatest reverence whatever I 
 may write, because, as you say, they have unanimously desired 
 that you should assign this work to me. Therefore that which 
 you lay upon me, I undertake, moved indeed by your prayers, 
 but animated by faith ; and as far as He who maketh the 
 the tongues of infants eloquent will deign to aid me, I shall 
 endeavour so to temper my style that no offensive rudeness 
 may obscure so high a theme, and that the simplicity of those 
 who are unacquainted with the profuseness of rhetoric may not 
 be defrauded of the desired fruit of my labour by a prolixity 
 of speech more wearisome than eloquent. May the grace of 
 the Saviour breathe upon the undertaking now begun ; may 
 He who bestows upon His Saint the virtues whereby he is 
 deemed meet to be held in everlasting remembrance, make us 
 who record them worthy ; may He render unto us the reward 
 of our labour, that in the way by which we hasten to our 
 fatherland, his prayer may always be with us : and in the 
 hour of our departure, when we look for the end of the way 
 and the beginning of life, may his consolation be near us, and 
 for the sake of his holy merits may we attain at last to the 
 eternal reward of the good things in heaven. 
 
NI NI AN. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Testimony of Bede Concerning Ninian, with the Observations of 
 
 Ailred, 
 
 The glorious life of the most holy Ninian is commended to us 
 by that same divine authority which from the beginning is 
 acknowledged to have made the holy patriarch Abraham the 
 father of many nations and a prince of the faith predestinated 
 from of old by such an oracle as this : " Get thee out from thy 
 country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto 
 a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great 
 nation." In like manner the most blessed Ninian, having left 
 the country and home of his father, learned in a foreign land 
 that which he afterwards taught in his own, and was set by the 
 Lord over nations and kingdoms, to overthrow and destroy, to 
 plant and to build. Of this most blessed man, when com- 
 mending to us in the fewest words the sacred beginnings of his 
 life and the signs of his holiness, the dignity of his office and 
 the fruit of his ministry, his most excellent end and the reward 
 of his labour, the Venerable Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History 
 of his own nation, writes as follows : " In the year of the Incar- 
 nation of our Lord, 565, at the time when Justin the Less had, 
 after Justinian, received the government of the Roman Empire, 
 there came to Britain from Ireland a presbyter and abbot, re- 
 markable for his habit and rule, by name Columba, to preach 
 the Word of God in the provinces of the Northern Picts ; that 
 is, to those who were separated from the Southern regions by 
 lofty and rugged mountains. For the southern Picts, who 
 have their dwellings among the same mountains, had long be- 
 fore abandoned the error of idolatry and received the faith in 
 the truth at the preaching of the Word by Ninian, a most 
 reverend bishop and a most holy man, of the nation of the 
 Britons, who had been regularly instructed at Rome in the 
 faith and mysteries of the truth, the seat of whose bishopric, 
 dedicated to the Bishop S. Martin, and a remarkable church, 
 where he rests in the body with many saints, is now in the 
 
6 LIFE OF 
 
 possession of the nation of the Angles. That place which be- 
 longs to the province of the Bernicii, is commonly called Ad 
 Candidam Casam (At the White House), because he there built 
 a church of stone, a thing unusual among the Britons." What 
 Bede here briefly narrates, I will now (God willing) more fully 
 set forth. 
 
 On the trustworthy authority of so great a writer, we are in- 
 formed : first, as to the origin of this man, inasmuch as he states 
 that he was of the race of the Britons and was instructed in the 
 rules of faith in the Holy Roman Church ; secondly, as to his 
 office, because he declares that he was a bishop and a preacher 
 of the Word of God ; thirdly, as to the fruit of his labours, be- 
 cause he proves that by his labours the Southern Picts were con- 
 verted from idolatry to the true faith; and finally, as to his end, 
 inasmuch as he testifies that he rests along with many saints in 
 the Church of S. Martin. But what the Venerable Bede here, 
 as the character of his History seemed to require, appears to 
 have touched upon but briefly, a book of the Life and Miracles 
 of S. Ninian, written in a barbarous tongue, sets forth in greater 
 detail ; which book, never varying from the foundation of this 
 testimony, has recorded after the manner of history, the way 
 in which he made a beginning, how he merited such fruit, and 
 how he attained so worthy an end. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and Education of Ninian. 
 
 Blessed Ninian was born in an island, which is said to 
 have received its name of Britain from Brutus, among a 
 people of the same name, and of a not ignoble family. The 
 district in which he is supposed to have been born, is on the 
 western side of the island, where the ocean, stretching out as 
 an arm, and making, as it were, on either side two angles, 
 divides the Kingdom of the Scots from the Kingdom of the 
 Angles. This region, until the most recent times, belonged to 
 the Angles, as is proved not only by the records of history but 
 
NINI AN. 7 
 
 also by the actual memory of individuals, and had a King of its 
 own. S. Ninian's father was a King and by religion a Christian. 
 He was of such faith and merit towards God that he was 
 deemed worthy to have an offspring by whom the things lacking 
 in the faith of his people might be supplied, and by whom a 
 nation of another race, who knew not the sacraments of the 
 faith, might be imbued with the mysteries of our holy religion. 
 Even in his infancy Ninian, being born again by the water of 
 holy baptism, preserved the nuptial robe which he received 
 when clad in white, immaculate, and a conqueror of vices 
 presented it in the presence of Christ. That Holy Spirit 
 whom he first received for his purification, he merited by his 
 most holy life to retain as the enlightener of his holy heart. 
 For while yet a boy, though not with the thoughts of a boy, 
 whatever was contrary to religion, adverse to chastity, 
 opposed to good manners, or at variance with the laws of 
 truth, he, through His guidance, shunned. But whatsoever 
 was of the law of grace, or of good report, whatsoever was of 
 use to man, or acceptable before God, he did not cease to 
 follow with a mind already matured. Happy was he whose 
 delight was in the law of the Lord day and night, who, as a 
 tree planted by rivers of water, brought forth his fruit in due 
 season, when in the vigour of manhood, he strenuously ful- 
 filled that which he had learned with the greatest zeal. His 
 devotion towards the churches was wonderful ; wonderful 
 also was his love to the brethren. He was sparing in food, 
 few in words, diligent in reading, and agreeable in manners ; 
 but jesting he avoided, and continually subjected the flesh 
 to the spirit. Accordingly, directing his mind to the Holy 
 Scriptures, when he had learned from certain of the more 
 learned men of his own race the rules of Faith according to 
 their way, the young man came, by reason of his quick 
 intelligence, to understand, through the divine inspiration he 
 had gathered from the Scriptures, that there were many things 
 wanting to the perfection of these rules. At this his mind 
 began to be troubled, and not enduring that he should be less 
 than perfect, he was greatly afflicted and sighed ; " his heart 
 was hot within him, and while he mused the fire burned." 
 
8 LIFE OF 
 
 "And what," he said, ''what shall I do? In mine own land 
 I have sought Him whom my soul loveth, and have found 
 Him not. I will arise and compass sea and land ; I will seek 
 the truth which my soul loveth. Surely it needeth such toil 
 as this ? Was it not said to Peter : ' Thou art Peter, and on 
 this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall 
 not prevail against it ? ' Therefore, in the faith of Peter 
 there is nothing wanting, nothing obscure, nothing imperfect, 
 nothing against which false doctrine, nor perverse opinions, 
 any more than the gates of Hell, can prevail. And where is 
 the faith of Peter but in the See of Peter ? Thither, thither 
 must I go, that going out from my country, and from 
 my kindred, and from my father's house, I may be deemed 
 meet in the land of vision to behold the will of the Lord, 
 and to be sheltered in His temple. The false prosperity 
 of the age smiles upon me, the vanity of the world entices me, 
 the love of kindred allures me, toil and the weariness of the 
 flesh deter me. ' But he who loveth father and mother more 
 than me,' saith the Lord, ' is not worthy of me.' ' And he who 
 taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me.' 
 I have learned, moreover, that they who despise the royal 
 court shall attain to the kingdom of heaven." Wherefore 
 animated by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, spurning riches, 
 and treading down all earthly affections, this noble youth set 
 out on his pilgrimage, crossed the Britannic sea, and entering 
 Italy by the Gallican Alps, arrived, after a prosperous journey, 
 at the city of Rome. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 He arrives at Rome and is consecrated Bishop by the Pope. His 
 Intercourse with S. Martin and his Return to his Native Land. 
 
 Having arrived at Rome, this most blessed young man, when 
 he had shed tears, the signs of his devotion, before the sacred 
 relics of the Apostles, and commended the desire of his heart 
 
NINIAN. 9 
 
 with many prayers to their protection, presented himself before 
 the Bishop of the Supreme See, by whom, when he had 
 explained the reason of his journey, his devotion was accepted, 
 and he himself received into the greatest affection and treated 
 as a son. Soon the Pope placed him under teachers of the 
 truth, to be instructed in the disciplines of the faith and in the 
 sound doctrines of Scripture. But the young man, full of God, 
 observed that he had not laboured in vain, nor to no purpose ; 
 he learnt, also, that he and many of his countrymen had been 
 imbued by unskilful teachers with many things contrary to 
 sound doctrine. Therefore with all eagerness, with open mouth, 
 receiving the word of God, like a bee, he formed for himself 
 the honeycombs of wisdom by arguments drawn from the 
 opinions of different teachers, as from flowers of many kinds. 
 And hiding them in the recesses of his heart, he preserved 
 them to be inwardly digested, and afterwards brought forward 
 for the instruction of his own inner man, and for the comfort of 
 many others. Truly, it was a worthy recompense, that he who 
 for love of truth despised country, wealth, and pleasures, 
 brought, as I may say, into the secret chambers of the 
 truth and admitted to the very treasuries of wisdom and 
 knowledge, should receive for things carnal things spiritual, for 
 things earthly things heavenly, and for benefits temporal 
 eternal blessings. Meantime, being spoken of by all as chaste 
 in body, prudent in mind, sagacious in counsel, and circumspect 
 in every word and deed, it came to pass that he rose to the 
 favour and friendship of the Supreme Pontiff himself. 
 
 Accordingly, having lived after a praiseworthy manner for 
 many years in the City, and having been sufficiently instructed 
 in the Sacred Scriptures, he attained to the height of virtue, 
 and, borne on the wings of love, was raised to the contempla- 
 tion of celestial things. Then the Roman Pontiff hearing 
 that some in the western parts of Britain had not yet re- 
 ceived the faith of our Saviour, and that others had heard 
 the word of the Gospel either from heretics or from men 
 insufficiently acquainted with the law of God, and moved by 
 the Spirit of God, did, with his own hands, consecrate the 
 said man of God to the Episcopate, and, having bestowed upon 
 
io L I F E F 
 
 him his benediction, appointed him an Apostle to the promised 
 people. 
 
 There flourished at this time the most blessed Martin Bishop 
 of the city of Tours, whose life, resplendent with miracles, and 
 already described by that most learned and holy man, Sul- 
 picius, had illumined the whole world. When returning, 
 therefore, from the city, Ninian, full of the Spirit of God, 
 was touched with the desire of seeing him, and turned 
 aside to the city of Tours. With what joy, devotion, and 
 affection he was received, who shall easily tell ? For 
 verily by grace, as of prophetic illumination, the virtue of 
 the new Bishop was not hid from the holy Bishop of 
 Tours. God having revealed it to him, he knew that he 
 was sanctified by the Spirit, and was about to be set forth 
 for the salvation of many. These pillars in the tabernacle of 
 the Lord are joined together, and the two cherubim, expand- 
 ing their wings, touch each other ; sometimes raised on the 
 wings of virtue they soar to God ; sometimes standing and 
 folding their wings, they edify one another. But withdrawing 
 from these exalted things to what is earthly, the blessed 
 Ninian desired of the Saint masons, saying that, as in faith so 
 also in the manner of constructing churches and in the ordering 
 of ecclesiastical institutions, he proposed to himself to imitate 
 the holy Roman Church. The most blessed man yielded to 
 his request ; and so, satisfied with their mutual intercourse as 
 with heavenly feasts, after embraces and kisses, and tears shed 
 by each, S. Martin remained in his own see, and Ninian 
 hastened, with Christ as his leader, to the work whereto he was 
 sent by the Spirit. On reaching his own country a great 
 multitude of the people went out to meet him. Great was the 
 joy of all, wonderful the devotion ; everywhere resounded the 
 praise of Christ, for all regarded him as a prophet. Straight- 
 way this diligent husbandman, having entered upon the field 
 of his Lord, began to root out that which had been wrongly 
 planted, to scatter that which had been wrongly collected, and 
 to destroy that which had been wrongly built. Then, the minds 
 of the faithful being purged of every error, he began to lay in 
 them the foundations of the true faith, building thereon the 
 
NINIAN. ii 
 
 gold of wisdom, and the silver of knowledge, and the stones of 
 good works ; and all the things requiring to be done by the 
 faithful, he both taught by word and illustrated by examples, 
 and likewise confirmed with many and great miracles. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Foundation of the Church of Whithorn. 
 
 He chose a site for himself in the place which is now called 
 Whithorn. This place is situated on the shore of the ocean, 
 and, running far out into the sea, is enclosed by the sea itself 
 on the east, west, and south, the way being open to those who 
 would approach it only on the north. Here, therefore, by the 
 command of the man of God, the masons, whom he had 
 brought with him, built a church, before which, they say, no 
 other had been built in Britain of stone. And, inasmuch as he 
 learned that the most holy Martin, whom he always venerated 
 with wondrous affection, had now passed away from the earth 
 to the heavens, he was careful to dedicate it to his honour. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 He Heals and Converts King Tudvallus. 
 
 Therefore this light set upon a candlestick began to shine 
 forth with heavenly signs, and with the radiant flames of 
 virtue, upon those who were in the house of God, to enlighten 
 darkened minds with the clear and burning word of the Lord, 
 and to kindle those who were cold in heart. There was a 
 certain king in that region (for the whole island was divided 
 and subject to divers kings) by name Tudvallus, whom riches, 
 power and honour had excited to pride; for the lust of the 
 flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the riches of the world, 
 incite to pride and haughtiness, inasmuch as the more any- 
 one has, the more he thinks he is able to do, and the 
 
12 LIFE OF 
 
 more he believes is permitted to him. This man, despising 
 the warnings of the man of God, both depreciated his doc- 
 trines and manners in secret and opposed his sound teach- 
 ing to his face, so that the earth seemed rejected and nigh 
 to being accursed, seeing that, though often drinking in 
 the rain which came upon it, it brought forth thorns and 
 thistles, and not wholesome herbs. But on a certain occasion 
 when he had troubled the man of God more than usual, the 
 Heavenly Judge suffered the injury of his servant to go un- 
 avenged no longer, but struck the haughty one on the head 
 with an intolerable disease, and broke the crown of the head of 
 him who was walking in his sins. And so much did his sickness 
 increase that blindness suddenly darkened those proud eyes, 
 and he who had fought against the light of truth, lost the light 
 of the body ; but not in vain nor to the increase of his folly. 
 For as the wretched man lay oppressed with pain and deprived 
 of sight, he was illumined within, though in darkness with- 
 out, and when he came to himself, he confessed his sin, seek- 
 ing a remedy from him alone whom he had always oppressed. 
 At last, having summoned his kindred and taken their advice, 
 since he was himself unable to go, being detained by his infir- 
 mity, he sent messengers to the man of God, beseeching him 
 not to enter into judgment with his servant, neither to reward 
 him according to his deeds, but, as an imitator of the Divine 
 benignity, to return him good for evil, and love for hate. 
 Hearing this, the most blessed man, not elated with human 
 pride, but abounding, as always, in the bowels of compassion, 
 having first prayed to God, went straight to the sick man with 
 the greatest humility and devotion. At first he corrected him 
 with gentle reproof, then he touched the head of the sick man 
 with healing hand and impressed on the blind eyes the sign of 
 saving life. What more shall I say ? Pain fled, blindness was 
 driven away by the incoming light. And so it came to pass 
 that sickness of the body cured the sickness of the soul, and 
 the sickness of the body was expelled by the virtue which pro- 
 ceeded from the man of God. Healed therefore in both, in 
 body and soul, the king began with all affection to revere and 
 venerate the man of God, knowing by experience both that the 
 
NINIAN. 13 
 
 Lord was with him, directing all his ways and giving him 
 power over every one who exalted himself against the know- 
 ledge of Christ, and that He would speedily avenge every act 
 of disobedience and every injury done to the servants of 
 Christ. If, therefore, this contemptuous and proud man, by 
 the grace of humility and penitence was deemed meet to be 
 healed by the most holy man, who shall doubt that he who 
 with an unfeigned faith and a sincere and humble heart, im- 
 plores the aid of so great a man for the healing of the wounds 
 of his spirit, shall not also receive a speedy remedy through 
 his holy merits ? But let us now pass to other matters, which 
 seem to be so much the greater in proportion as they are 
 proved to be contrary to nature. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 He Vindicates the Innocence of a Presbyter accused of Violation. 
 
 IN the service of one of the noblemen there was a certain girl, 
 who according to the sinful flesh, was of a beautiful counten- 
 ance and goodly to look upon. There was also an unchaste 
 youth who, when he had cast his eyes upon hers, was seized 
 with a blind passion of love ; and, being unable to subdue the 
 flame of the lust he had conceived, he began to urge her to con- 
 sent to sin. At length, either by solicitation or gifts, he so 
 wrought that she conceived sorrow and brought forth iniquity. 
 The wretched woman yielded herself to the other's lust, little 
 thinking of the judgment of God, though hoping to escape the 
 eyes of men. But her crime was betrayed, and soon laughter was 
 turned into weeping, joy into sorrow, pleasure into punishment. 
 What could she do ? Whither should she turn ? The law, 
 her parents, and her master were feared. Wherefore the un- 
 happy woman made a covenant with death, and placed her 
 hope in a lie, believing that she would appear less guilty if she 
 said that she had been deceived or forced by some man of 
 position. When therefore she was compelled by the elders 
 to confess the name of her paramour, she laid the crime 
 
14 LIFE OF 
 
 of her violation at the door of the presbyter to whom the 
 bishop had entrusted the care of the parish. All who heard 
 her confession were astonished to think that the crime 
 should have been committed by a man in such a position, 
 and absolved her. Accordingly the good were scandalized, 
 the evil-disposed made merry, the common people laughed, 
 the sacred order was scoffed at by the impious, and sorrow 
 seized the presbyter, whose reputation was assailed. But 
 the innocence of the priest was not hid from the beloved 
 soldier of God, since it was revealed to him by the Spirit. 
 Nevertheless he did not lightly bear the scandal which 
 had befallen the Church and the injury done to holy religion. 
 At length the days of the woman were accomplished that she 
 should bring forth, and she brought forth a son, not, as was 
 supposed, to the shame of the priest, but to that of the father 
 and her shameless self. For when the bishop, having sum- 
 moned the clergy and all the people to the church, had ex- 
 horted them in a sermon and laid his hands on those who had 
 been baptized, this wanton woman, casting aside all shame, 
 pushed herself forward along with those who belonged to 
 her among the people, thrust the child into the face of 
 the presbyter, and shouted in the ears of all the congre- 
 gation, that he was the father of the child, her violator and 
 deceiver. Clamour arose among the people ; among the good, 
 shame ; among the wicked, laughter ; but the Saint com- 
 manding the people to be silent, directed the child, which 
 was then but one night old, to be brought to him ; and 
 being inspired by the Spirit of God, fixed his eyes upon him, 
 and said : " Hearken, O child I in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 say here, in the presence of the people, whether this presbyter 
 begat thee." O marvel ! O worthy of all admiration ! O the 
 marvellous clemency of God ! O the ineffable power of the 
 Christian faith ! Verily, to him that believeth, all things are 
 possible ! But what do I say ? To the faith of Ninian what 
 was not possible ? Truly, nature yieldeth to faith, and age to 
 virtue. And why should not nature yield to the Lord of 
 Nature ? Age was not needed for an instrument, nor teaching 
 for an office, nor time for practice, but by the effectual working 
 
NINIAN. 15 
 
 of faith the Divine Power made the tongue of the infant elo- 
 quent, and out of the mouth of a babe and suckling confounded 
 the guilty, convicted the liar, and absolved the innocent. Ac- 
 cordingly, out of the body of an infant there proceeded the 
 voice of man ; an untaught tongue framed intelligent words, and 
 stretching forth his right hand, the child singled out among 
 the people his real father, saying : " That is my father ; he be- 
 gat me ; he committed the crime which is laid against the 
 priest. Of a truth, O bishop, thy presbyter is innocent of this 
 offence; between him and me there is naught save community 
 in the same nature." This was enough. The child then became 
 silent, to speak afterwards according to the law of nature and 
 in the process of increasing years. Immediately there resound 
 in the mouth of all thanksgiving and the voice of praise. 
 All the people exulted with joy, seeing that a great prophet 
 had arisen among them, and because God had visited his 
 people. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 He undertakes the Conversion of the Picts. He returns Home. 
 
 Meanwhile the most blessed man, grieved that the devil, 
 who had been driven out of the region beside the ocean, had 
 found for himself a dwelling place in a corner of the island in the 
 hearts of the Picts, girded himself as a strong wrestler to over- 
 throw his kingdom, and put on, moreover, the shield of faith, the 
 helmet of salvation, the breast-plate of charity, and the sword 
 of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Equipped with such 
 arms and surrounded by a company of his holy brethren, as by 
 a heavenly host, he invaded the empire of the strong man 
 armed, to rescue from his power innumerable vessels of capti- 
 vity. Wherefore going to the Southern Picts, among whom the 
 error of the Gentiles still prevailed, compelling them to venerate 
 and worship idols deaf and dumb, he preached the truth of the 
 Gospel and the purity of the Christian Faith, the Lord working 
 with him and confirming his word with signs following. The 
 
16 LIFE OF 
 
 blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
 the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the oppressed of the 
 devil are delivered. A door is opened for the Word of God ; 
 by the grace of the Holy Spirit faith is received, error aban- 
 doned, temples cast down, and churches built. To the font of 
 the saving laver, rich and poor, young men and maidens, old 
 and young, and mothers with their children hasten, and re- 
 nouncing Satan with all his works and pomps, are joined to 
 the body of the believers by faith, confession, and the sacra- 
 ments. They give thanks to the most merciful God, that in 
 the isles which. are afar off he had revealed His name, sending 
 to them a preacher of the truth, a lamp of salvation, and calling 
 them His people which were not His people, and them beloved 
 which were not beloved, and them as having obtained mercy 
 which had not obtained mercy. Then the holy bishop began 
 to ordain presbyters, to consecrate bishops, to distribute the 
 other dignities of the ecclesiastical orders, and to divide the 
 whole land into parishes with fixed bounds. Finally, having 
 confirmed, in faith and good works, his children whom he had 
 begotten in Christ, and having set in order all things which 
 seemed to be necessary to the honour of God and for the salva- 
 tion of souls, he bade farewell to the brethren, and returned to 
 his own church, where in great tranquillity of soul, he spent a 
 life perfect in all sanctity and glorious in miracles. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Miracle among the Leeks. 
 
 It happened on a certain day that the holy man went with his 
 brethren into the refectory to dine, and seeing no pot-herbs or 
 vegetables on the table, he called the brother who was entrusted 
 with the care of the garden, and enquired why on that day no 
 pot-herbs or vegetables were set before the brethren. He re- 
 plied : " Truly, O Father, whatever remained of the leeks and 
 such like, I to-day committed to the ground, and the garden 
 has not yet produced anything fit for eating." Then said the 
 
NINIAN. 17 
 
 Saint : " Go, and whatever thy hand findeth, gather and bring 
 to me." Amazed, he stood trembling, hesitating what to do. 
 But knowing that Ninian could command nothing in vain, he 
 went slowly to the garden. Then happened a marvellous thing, 
 credible to those alone who think that nothing is impossible to 
 him that believeth ; for he saw leeks and other kinds of vege- 
 tables not only grown but bearing seed. He was astonished, 
 and as if in a trance, thought he saw a vision. At length com- 
 ing to himself and remembering the power of the holy man, 
 he gave thanks to God, and gathering as many as seemed suf- 
 ficient, he set them on the table before the bishop. The guests 
 looked at each other, and with one heart and voice magnified 
 God working in his saints, and so withdrew refreshed much 
 more in mind than in body. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the Animals and the Thieves. 
 
 It sometimes pleased the most holy Ninian to visit his herds 
 and the huts of his shepherds, desiring that the flocks which he 
 had gathered together for the use of the brethren, and also for 
 the poor and the pilgrims, should be partakers of the episcopal 
 benediction. Therefore the animals being collected together 
 into one place, when the servant of the Lord had looked upon 
 them, he raised his hands and commended himself and all that 
 he had to the Divine protection. Then going round, he marked 
 off with the staff on which he was wont to lean, a little field in 
 which he enclosed the cattle, and commanded that all within 
 that circle should remain during the night under the Divine pro- 
 tection ; and having done this, the man of God turned aside to 
 rest for the night in the house of a certain honourable matron. 
 But after they had refreshed their bodies with food and their 
 minds with the Word of God, and all had given themselves to 
 sleep, thieves camejand seeing that the cattle were neither enclosed 
 by walls, nor protected by hedges, nor surrounded by a dyke, they 
 searched about to see if there were any watchers, or anything 
 to prevent them from carrying off the cattle. And when they 
 
18 LIFE OF 
 
 found that everything was still, and that there was neither any- 
 sound nor motion, nor barking of which to be afraid, they 
 crossed the bounds which had been set by the Saint, and 
 rushing in among the cattle endeavoured to carry them all off. 
 But the Divine power which was present, resisted the ungodly, 
 and cast them down, using as an instrument against those 
 who as brute beasts cared not for their minds but for their 
 bellies, an irrational animal. For the bull of the herd, turning as 
 in fury, rushed at them, and attacking the leader of the thieves, 
 threw the wretched man down, and gored him in the belly with 
 its horns, dashing out his entrails and his life together. Then 
 digging up the ground with its hoofs, it struck a marvellous blow 
 with its foot on a rock which it had found, and in a wonderful 
 way, in testimony of so great a miracle, its foot sank into the 
 stone, as into soft wax, leaving its print on the rock, and on 
 account of the footmark giving the place its name ; for to this 
 day the place is called in English, Farres Last, and in Latin, 
 Tauri Vestigium, or the Footprint of the Bull. Meanwhile 
 the most blessed father having finished the solemn service of 
 prayer, went out, and seeing the man lying dead and dis- 
 embowelled among the feet of the cattle, and the others rush- 
 ing hither and thither, as if possessed by furies, was moved with 
 pity, and turning earnestly to God, prayed that He would resus- 
 citate the dead. Nor did he cease either from tears or prayers, 
 until that same power by which the man had been slain had 
 not only restored him to life, but had also made him sound and 
 whole. For verily the power of Christ on account of the merit 
 of the Saint smote him and healed him, slew him and restored 
 him to life ; led him down to the grave and brought him back. 
 Meanwhile the rest of the thieves, who had been running about 
 the whole night, and whom a certain madness had shut up 
 within the enclosure which the father had formed, when they 
 saw the servant of God, cast themselves with fear and trembl- 
 ing at his feet, imploring pardon. Gently chiding them and 
 impressing upon them, with salutary words, the fear of God 
 and the punishment prepared for the rapacious, and having 
 bestowed upon them his benediction, he gave them permission 
 to depart. 
 
NINIAN. 19 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Ailred Complains of the Marnier s of His Own Age. Ninian's Manner 
 of Life. The Miraculous Shower. 
 
 WHEN I consider the devout walk and conversation of this 
 man, I am ashamed of our negligence ; I am ashamed of the 
 sloth of this miserable age. Who of us, I ask, even among 
 servants, does not more frequently in our mutual intercourse 
 and conversation utter things jesting rather than serious, things 
 idle rather than useful, and things carnal rather than things 
 spiritual ? Mouths which the Divine grace has consecrated for 
 the praise of God and the celebration of the sacred mysteries, 
 are day by day polluted with backbitings and worldly conver- 
 sation. Weary of the Psalms and Gospels and Prophets of God, 
 they busy themselves all the day long with the vain and un- 
 seemly works of men. How they conduct themselves on a 
 journey ! Is not the mind like the body, in motion all day 
 long, and the tongue in idleness ? Gossip and the ways of 
 wicked men are in their mouths, religious gravity is dissipated 
 by laughter and idle tales ; * the affairs of kings, the duties of 
 bishops, the ministeries of the clerics, the quarrels of princes, 
 and above all the life and ways of all are discussed. We 
 judge every thing save our own judgment, and what is more to 
 be grieved at, we bite and devour one another that we be 
 consumed one of another. Not so the most blessed Ninian ; 
 no crowd disturbed his tranquillity ; no travelling hindered his 
 meditations ; nor did his prayers grow lukewarm through 
 fatigue. Whithersoever he went he lifted up his soul to celes- 
 tial things either in meditation or in prayer. Whenever he 
 turned aside from his journey and indulged in rest, either for 
 himself or the beast he rode, he brought out a book, which he 
 carried with him for the purpose, and took pleasure in reading 
 or chanting ; for he felt as the prophet says : " O how sweet are 
 thy words unto my taste, yea sweeter than honey to my 
 mouth." Whence the Divine power conferred such grace upon 
 
 * Fabulis, B.M. 
 
20 LIFE OF 
 
 him that even when reclining in the open air and reading in 
 the midst of the heaviest showers of rain no moisture ever 
 touched the volume on which he was intent. But when every- 
 place around was wet with the water running upon it, he sat 
 alone with his little book beneath the rain, as if protected by 
 the roof of a house. And it came to pass that once while 
 travelling with one of his brethren, by name Plebia, a man 
 equally holy with himself, the most reverend man according 
 to his wont, relieved the tedium of the journey with the Psalms 
 of David, and that after a certain portion of the way had been 
 accomplished, they turned aside from the public road, in order 
 to rest a little, and their Psalters being opened they refreshed 
 their souls by sacred reading. Presently the sweet serenity of 
 the sky becoming obscured with black clouds, poured down 
 upon the earth beneath the watery showers it had conceived 
 by natural exhalation. What more shall I say ? The thin 
 air, arching itself like a chamber round the servants of God, 
 stood like a wall impenetrable to the falling waters. During 
 the singing, however, the most blessed Ninian turned away his 
 eyes from the book, being somewhat affected by an unlawful 
 thought, even tickled with a certain desire at the suggestion of 
 the devil, when the shower bursting upon him and his book 
 immediately proclaimed that which was hidden in his heart. 
 Then the brother who was sitting by him, understanding what 
 had happened, reminded him with a gentle reproof of his order 
 and his age, and showed him how unbecoming such things 
 were to such as he. Immediately coming to himself, the man 
 of God blushed at having been overtaken by an unprofitable 
 thought, and in one and the same moment of time, he both put 
 away the thought and caused the rain to cease. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Miracles of Ninian 's Staff on the Sea and on the Land. 
 
 Meanwhile many, both nobles and persons of inferior rank, 
 placed their sons with the blessed pontiff to be imbued with 
 sacred learning. These he indoctrinated with knowledge and 
 
NINIAN. 21 
 
 formed in manners ; curbing with salutary discipline the vices 
 by which their age is wont to be entangled, and instilling 
 into their minds the virtues whereby they might live godly, 
 righteous, and sober lives. On one occasion one of the young 
 men committed a fault which it was impossible to hide from 
 the saint of God ; and because it was not right that the offender 
 should be allowed to go unpunished, the rods, the severest 
 torments of boys, were prepared. The lad fled in terror, 
 and knowing the power of the man of God, was careful 
 to carry with him the staff on which the Saint was in 
 the habit of leaning, in the belief that he had obtained 
 the best comfort for his journey if he did but bear anything 
 with him which belonged to the Saint. Fleeing therefore 
 from the face of the man, he sought diligently for a vessel to 
 carry him over into Ireland. It is the custom in these regions to 
 make a kind of boat by joining wands together in the shape 
 of a cup, and of such a size as to be capable of holding three 
 men sitting together. By stretching an ox-hide over it, they 
 render it not only buoyant, but also impervious to water. 
 Probably in the same way vessels of immense size were at that 
 time built. One of these vessels, but without the covering of 
 hide, the young man stumbled upon lying at the shore, and 
 when he had incautiously entered it, by Divine Providence, 
 (I know not whether on account of its own lightness, for with 
 a slight touch these vessels float far out on the waves), it 
 immediately shot out into the sea. As the waters poured in, 
 the miserable sailor stood not knowing what to do, whither he 
 should turn, or what it was requisite to do. If he abandoned 
 the vessel, his life was in peril ; if he remained, there was 
 nothing before him but certain death. At last the unhappy 
 youth, repenting of his flight, with pale face saw in the waves 
 the avengers of the injury he had done to the father. Then 
 coming to himself, and thinking that S. Ninian was present 
 with him in his staff, as if at his feet he confessed his fault with 
 tears, besought his pardon, entreated that by his most holy 
 merits divine help might be vouchsafed to him. Then trust- 
 ing in the known goodness as well as in the power of the 
 Bishop, he fixed the staff in one of the holes, that it might not 
 
22 LIFE OF 
 
 be hid from posterity what Ninian could do even in the sea. 
 At the touch of the staff the element immediately trembled, 
 and as if driven back by divine power, did not presume any 
 longer to flow in at the open holes. These are Thy works, O 
 Christ! who speaking to Thy disciples, hast endowed them 
 with this promise : " He that believeth in me, the works that 
 I do, shall he do also." Thou didst imprint Thy sacred foot- 
 prints on the waves of the deep : the power of Ninian did 
 restrain the natural powers of the sea. The disciple who was 
 doubting, and therefore in peril among the waves, Thy holy 
 hand sustained, lest he should sink : the staff of Ninian pro- 
 tected his fugitive disciple from being swallowed up by the 
 waves. Thou didst command the wind and the waves that 
 fear might be taken away from Thy disciples : the power of 
 Ninian subdued the winds and the sea that the youth might be 
 conveyed to the desired shores. 
 
 A wind, rising out of the east, bore the vessel gently along. 
 The staff, instead of a sail, caught the wind ; as a helm it 
 directed the boat, as an anchor it stayed it. The people stood 
 on the eastern shore, and seeing the little vessel resting on the 
 waves like a bird, neither driven by sail, nor propelled with 
 oar, nor steered with helm, awaited its approach, wondering 
 what this miracle might mean. Meanwhile the young man 
 landed, and in order that he might make the merits of the man 
 of God more widely known, animated by faith, he fixed the staff 
 in the shore, beseeching God, that in testimony of so great a 
 miracle it might send forth roots, and contrary to its nature, re- 
 ceive moisture, and produce branches and leaves, and bring forth 
 flowers and fruit. The Divine favour was not wanting to the 
 prayer of the suppliant, and immediately the dry wood, 
 sending forth roots and covering itself with new bark, produced 
 branches and leaves, and afterwards growing into a no small 
 tree, makes known even now to all who behold it the power of 
 Ninian. Miracle is attributed to miracle. At the root of the 
 tree a most limpid fountain springing up, sent forth a crystal 
 stream, winding with gentle murmur and lengthened course, 
 pleasant to the eye, and sweet to the taste, and on account of 
 the merits of the Saint useful, and health-giving to the sick. 
 
N IN I AN. 23 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Declamation on the Death of Ninian. His burial at Whithorn. 
 
 The most blessed Ninian, wondrously shining with such 
 miracles as these, and excelling in the highest virtues, reached, 
 after a prosperous course, the day of his summons. That 
 day to the blessed man was a day of exultation and joy ; 
 but to the people over whom he ruled a day of tribulation and 
 woe. He to whom heaven was opened rejoiced ; the people 
 who were bereaved of such a father mourned. He for whom 
 an eternal crown was prepared rejoiced ; they whose salvation 
 was in danger sorrowed. But sorrow mingled with his joy ; 
 for to leave them seemed heavy to bear, but to be longer 
 separated from Christ was intolerable. But Christ, consoling 
 the soul thus hesitating, said : " Arise, hasten, my friend, my 
 dove, and come." " Arise my friend," he said ; " Arise my 
 dove, rise by thought, hasten by desire, come by love." Truly, 
 this voice pleased the most blessed man, as the friend of the 
 Bridegroom, to whom that Heavenly Bridegroom had com- 
 mitted His Bride, revealed his secrets, and opened his treasures. 
 Deservedly is that soul called " friend," to whom all was love, 
 and nothing fear. " My friend," he says, " my dove." O 
 dove ! dove verily taught to mourn, who, ignorant of the gall 
 of bitterness, weeps with them that weep, is weak with them 
 that are weak, and burns with them that are offended. Arise, 
 hasten, my friend, my dove, and come ; for already the winter 
 is passed, the rain is over and gone. Then verily O blessed 
 man ! the winter was passed to thee, when thou wast counted 
 worthy to contemplate with joyful eye that heavenly country 
 which the Sun of Righteousness illumines with the light of His 
 glory, which love enkindles, and a wondrous calm, as of a 
 sweet springtime, tempers with an indescribable evenness of 
 seasons. Then to thee was passed and gone that wintry 
 inclemency which unsettles all these earthly regions, and with 
 the inroads of vice hardens the cold hearts of men, in which 
 neither the truth shines fully nor charity burns ; and from the 
 showers of temptation and the hailstorms of persecutions, that 
 
24 LIFE OF 
 
 holy soul, perfectly triumphant, escaped into the glory of a 
 perpetual spring. " Flowers," he says, " have appeared on our 
 earth." Verily, celestial odour from the flowers of Paradise 
 was breathed upon thee, O blessed Ninian, when the crowd 
 of purple-robed martyrs and white-robed confessors smiled to 
 thee with placid countenance as to their most familiar friend, and 
 welcomed thee whom chastity had made white, and love had 
 made red as the rose, to their company. For although oppor- 
 tunity granted not the sign of bodily martyrdom here, it denied 
 him not that without which martyrdom is nothing, the merit 
 of martyrdom. For how often did he throw himself upon 
 the swords of the perverse ! How often did he expose himself 
 to the arms of tyrants in the cause of justice ! For truth he 
 was ready to lay down his life : and for justice to die. 
 Rightly therefore to the flowers of the roses and to the lilies of 
 the valley is this empurpled and shining one summoned, 
 ascending from Libanus that he may be crowned among the 
 heavenly hosts. For the time of ingrafting was come ; for as 
 a ripened cluster he must needs now be cut off from the stem 
 of the body, or from the vine of the Church on earth, to be 
 purified by love and laid up in heavenly cellars. 
 
 Wherefore the blessed Ninian, perfect in life and full of years, 
 passed happily away from the world, and accompanied by 
 angelic spirits was carried into heaven, to receive there an 
 eternal reward. There, associated with the company of the 
 Apostles, joined to the ranks of the martyrs, enlisted in the 
 hosts of the holy confessors, adorned also with the flowers of 
 the virgins, he fails not to succour those who hope in him, cry 
 to him, and praise him. He was buried in the Church of the 
 blessed Martin, which he had himself built from its foundations, 
 and was placed in a stone sarcophagus beside the altar, the 
 clergy and people being present, sounding forth with their 
 voices celestial hymns, with their hearts, sighs and tears. 
 There the power which shone in the living Saint, ceases not to 
 manifest itself about the body of the departed one, that all the 
 faithful may acknowledge that he who is known to work on 
 earth, lives in heaven. For at his most sacred tomb the infirm 
 are healed, lepers are cleansed, the wicked are terrified, and 
 
NINIAN. 25 
 
 the blind receive their sight ; by all which things the faith of 
 the believing is strengthened to the praise and glory of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with God the 
 Father in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. 
 Amen. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Miracles of the Relics of Niniant 
 
 I. — ON A DEFORMED POOR MAN. 
 
 Wherefore, when the most blessed Ninian had been trans- 
 lated into heaven, the faithful people, who had loved him 
 during his lifetime, frequented with the greatest reverence that 
 which seemed to be left to them of him, namely, his most sacred 
 relics. The Divine Power approving their reverence and faith, 
 proved by many miracles that the Saint whom the common 
 lot had taken away from the earth, was still living in the 
 heavens. There was born to one of the people by his wife, a 
 miserable son, who was the grief of both his parents, a gazing 
 stock to the people, and a horror to those who saw him. Nature 
 had formed him contrary to nature, all his members being 
 turned the wrong way. The joints of his feet were twisted, his 
 heels projected forward ; his back adhered to his face ; his 
 breast was near the back of his head ; and his arms being 
 twisted, his hands rested on his elbows. What more shall I 
 say ? There lay that black figure to whom members had been 
 given without use, life without fruit, to whom among the wreck 
 of other members the tongue alone remained, that he might be- 
 wail his misery and provoke his beholders to sorrow, and his 
 hearers to tears. A continual grief to his parents, their sorrow 
 grew daily. At length they thought of the power of the most 
 holy Ninian which had so often proved efficacious ; and full of 
 faith they caught up that wretched body and coming with it to 
 the relics of the holy man, they offered the sacrifice of a con- 
 trite heart with shedding of tears, and continued instant in devout 
 
26 LIFE OF 
 
 prayers until the hour of vespers. Then laying that body be- 
 fore the tomb of the Saint, they said : " Receive O blessed 
 Ninian, that which we offer, a gift, hateful indeed, but well 
 fitted to prove thy power. Wearied, worn out, oppressed with 
 sadness, overcome with loathing, we present it to thy compas- 
 sion. Truly, if it be a gift, favour is due to those who offer it ; 
 if a burden, thou, whose power to aid is greater, art in every 
 way better able to sustain it. Here, therefore, let him die or 
 live, let him be healed or perish." These or similar things they 
 urged with tears, and leaving the deformed child before the 
 sacred relics, they departed. And behold in the stillness of the 
 midnight the wretched child saw approaching him a man 
 shining with celestial light, resplendent in the insignia of a 
 bishop, who, touching him on the head, commanded him to rise 
 up whole, and give thanks to God, his Healer. And 
 when he was departed, the poor child awaking as from a deep 
 sleep, twisted his members one by one by an easy motion into 
 their natural position ; and having recovered the use of them 
 all, he returned to his parents safe and sound. After this he gave 
 himself wholly up to the Church and to ecclesiastical disci- 
 pline, and after being first shorn for Holy Orders, and then 
 ordained a presbyter, he ended his life in the service of the 
 father. 
 
 II. — ON A POOR MAN AFFLICTED WITH SCABS. 
 
 The fame of this miracle being noised abroad, many ran to- 
 gether, each laying his own misfortune before the sacred relics. 
 Among them came a certain simple man, poor indeed in for- 
 tune, but rich in faith and good will. A strange scab had at- 
 tacked his whole body, and so laid hold upon his members that 
 the skin strangely hardening was closing up the courses of the 
 veins and everywhere contracting the arteries, and nothing but 
 death awaited the sufferer. Accordingly, the unhappy man, draw- 
 ing near to the body of the Saint, offered up the most devout 
 prayers at the altar to the Lord of Faith. Tears flow, sighs 
 heave forth, the breast is beaten, the very bowels tremble. To 
 such faith and to such contrition neither the merit of the Saint 
 was lacking nor the tenderness of Christ, who glorified his 
 
NINIAN. 27 
 
 Saint and mercifully healed the wretched suppliant. Why 
 should I delay longer ? The poor Adelfridus, for that was his 
 name, ceased not from his prayers, and before many days were 
 fulfilled he was restored to his former health. 
 
 III. — ON A BLIND GIRL. 
 
 Moreover, at that time there was among the people a certain 
 girl, by name Deisuit, who was so afflicted with a pain in her 
 eyes that the violence of the disease deprived her of all power 
 of seeing, and the darkness resting upon all things, hid from 
 her even the light of the sun. Painful to the sufferer, it was 
 also a sorrow to her sympathising relatives. But what could 
 they do ? The efforts of the physicians gave place to despair, 
 and Ninian, the only hope that remained, is sought. Led by 
 the hand to that most sacred spot, she is left there weeping 
 and wailing. She asks earnestly, seeks anxiously, knocks im- 
 portunately, and the compassionate Jesus fails not of what he 
 promised in his Gospel : " Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and 
 ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." There- 
 fore to the girl appeared the grace she sought. The door of 
 pity at which she knocked was opened. The health she sought 
 was given ; for the darkness being taken away, the lost light 
 was restored. All pain departed, and she who had come to the 
 sacred tomb, led by another, returned home by the guidance of 
 her own sight amid the great joy of her parents. 
 
 IV. — ON TWO LEPERS. 
 
 Further, there were seen to come into the city two lepers, 
 who, deeming it presumptuous to touch holy things with the 
 contagion of leprosy, implored, as it were, afar off the help of 
 the Father. But coming to the fountain, and believing that 
 whatever holy Ninian had touched was holy, they thought to 
 wash themselves in that laver. O fresh miracle of Eliseus the 
 prophet ! O new cleansing, not of one but of two Naamans ! 
 Naaman came in the spirit of presumption ; these in the spirit 
 of lowliness ; he came in doubt, these in faith. The King 
 of Syria doubted ; the King of Israel doubted ; Naaman 
 doubted. Doubted the King of Syria ; he doubted and was 
 
28 LIFE OF NINIAN. 
 
 proud, who imagined that his leper must be sent not to the 
 prophet but to the King. Doubted also the King of Israel, 
 who, having heard the letter of the King of Syria, rent his gar- 
 ments and said: "Am I God, that I am able to make alive and 
 to kill ? " Doubted Naaman, who, having heard the counsel 
 of the prophet, went away angry. Naaman therefore stood in 
 his chariot of pride at the gate of Eliseus. These in faith and 
 lowliness of heart cried aloud to the mercy of Ninian. Rightly 
 then is his fountain turned into a Jordan, and Ninian become 
 a prophet. The lepers are cleansed at the touch of the laver, 
 but by the merits of Ninian ; and their flesh is restored as the 
 flesh of a little child. They return to their friends healed, to 
 the glory of Ninian, in praise of God, who worketh mar- 
 vellously in his Saints. 
 
 But let this be the end of this book, though not the end of 
 the miracles of S. Ninian. These do not cease to shine forth 
 even now, to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth 
 for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
LIFE OF COLUMBA. 
 
 BY 
 
 CUIMINE THE FAIR. 
 
LIFE OF COLUMBA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Nativity of Columba. An Angel appears to his Mother bearing a 
 Mantle Adorned with Flowers. 
 
 The nativity of Columba, sprung from a nation of saints for 
 the salvation of many, is known to have had its beginning on 
 this wise : One night between his conception and his birth, an 
 angel of the Lord appeared to his mother in dreams, and 
 standing beside her gave her a mantle of marvellous beauty, 
 on which, sooth to say, the lovely colours of every flower 
 seemed to be depicted. After a little, however, he demanded 
 it back, took it from her hands, and raising it, spread it out, 
 and sent it away through the empty air. But she, terrified at the 
 mantle being taken from her, then addressed the man of venerable 
 mien : " Why takest thou away from me the delightful mantle 
 so soon ? " He immediately replied : " Because this cloak is 
 of such exceeding honour that it can no longer be kept 
 with thee." At these words, the woman saw the aforesaid 
 mantle recede further and further from her in its flight, and as 
 it grew in size she beheld it exceed in breadth the plains, and 
 surpass in extent the mountains and wooded valleys. At the 
 same time she heard the following words : " O woman, be not 
 grieved, for to the man to whom thou art bound in the bonds 
 of wedlock, thou art about to bear a son of like beauty, who 
 will be numbered among the prophets of the Lord as one of 
 them ; he is predestinated by God to be the leader of 
 innumerable souls to the heavenly land." On hearing this the 
 woman awoke. 
 
32 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Globe of Fire appears over the Face of Columba. 
 
 After the birth of the child, a priest, a man of blameless life, 
 to whose care the blessed youth had been confided, on return- 
 ing home from church, after Mass, found his whole house lit 
 up with a bright light, and saw a globe of fire resting over 
 the face of the sleeping child. As soon as he beheld it he 
 shook with fear, and lay prostrate on the ground in amaze- 
 ment, perceiving that the grace of the Holy Spirit was poured 
 out upon the child from above. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 An Angel His Companion. 
 
 On a certain occasion the Saint, while a young man, went to 
 visit the holy Bishop Finnian, his master, who was then an old 
 man. S. Finnian, when he saw him approaching, beheld like- 
 wise an angel of the Lord acting as his companion on the 
 journey, and made known the fact to certain brethren who 
 were standing by, saying : " Behold, see now S. Columba 
 coming ; he has been deemed worthy to have an angel of the 
 Lord as the companion of his journey." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 He Turns Water into Wine. 
 
 In those days the Saint crossed over into Britain with twelve 
 disciples and fellow soldiers. He arrived on a certain holy day, 
 as his holy teacher and bishop Finnian was celebrating Mass, 
 when it chanced that no wine could be found for the sacrificial 
 mystery. On hearing the ministers at the altar complaining of 
 this among themselves, he took a pitcher, and went to the 
 
COLUMBA. 33 
 
 fountain, in order that as a deacon he might draw spring water 
 for the holy ministries of the Eucharist. The water being 
 drawn, he said to the ministers : " You have now wine, which 
 the Lord has sent for the celebration of his mysteries." On this 
 being known, the holy Bishop with the ministers gave exceed- 
 ing thanks to God. But the holy youth was wont to ascribe 
 this miracle not to himself but to Bishop S. Finnian. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 He Consecrates Aidan King, and foretells future things concerning 
 
 his Son. 
 
 At another time the holy man, while staying in the Island of 
 Hynba (Eilean-na-Naoimh), one night, when in an ecstacy of 
 mind, saw an angel of the Lord sent unto him, who held in his 
 hand the glass book of the ordination of kings. This book he 
 received from the hand of the angel, and began to read. Re- 
 fusing to ordain Aidan king as he was directed (for he 
 loved his brother more), the angel suddenly stretched forth 
 his hand and smote the Saint with a whip, the mark of 
 the bruise whereof remained on his side all the days of 
 his life. He also addressed to him this word : " Know for cer- 
 tain that I am sent by God, in order that thou mayest ordain 
 Aidan king, which if thou wilt not do, I will smite thee again." 
 The angel of the Lord giving him the same things in charge 
 concerning the ordination of Aidan on three consecutive 
 nights, the Saint sailed over to the Island of Iona, and Aidan 
 coming thither, he ordained him king. Moreover, during the 
 words of ordination, he foretold the future of his sons, and 
 grandsons, and great-grandsons, and laying his hand upon his 
 head, ordained and blessed him, and spake forth these words : 
 " Believe unhesitatingly, O Aidan ; none of thine adversaries 
 shall be able to resist thee, until thou first act unjustly towards 
 me and my posterity. Tell these words to thy sons, lest they 
 lose the kingdom. Because if they hearken not, the scourge 
 which, because of thee I have endured from the angel of God, 
 
 3 
 
34 LIFE OF 
 
 will be turned against them." And so it came to pass, for 
 transgressing the commands of the man of God, they lost the 
 kingdom. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 He sees the soul of a monk received into Heaven. 
 
 On another occasion, when staying in the island of Iona, the 
 holy man saw a monk, who was fruitful in good works, reduced 
 to the last extremity. When he visited him in the hour of his 
 departure, the man of God, after standing for a little beside his 
 couch, blessed him, and then quickly left the house, being 
 unwilling to witness the death of him who at that moment was 
 passing from among them. Then, indeed, the holy man, while 
 walking in the court of his monastery, with his eyes fixed on 
 heaven, was astonished and greatly amazed. One of the 
 brethren, who at the time was alone with him, ventured to ask 
 the cause of his amazement, when the Saint replied : " Just 
 now I saw the holy angels warring against the opposing powers, 
 and I give thanks to Christ, our Judge, because the victorious 
 angels have received the soul of this pilgrim. But I beseech 
 thee, that while I live, thou wilt reveal this secret to no 
 one." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Death of Saint Brendan revealed to him. 
 
 LIKEWISE on a certain day at the first dawn, the Saint called 
 to him his servant, Diormit, and addressed him on this wise : 
 " Let the services of the Holy Eucharist be at once prepared ; 
 for to-day is the natal day of the blessed Brendan." "Where- 
 fore," said the servant, " orderest thou such things ; for no 
 messenger from Ireland has announced his death." " Go," 
 replied the Saint, " obey my order ; for during the night I 
 
COLUMBA. 
 
 35 
 
 saw the heavens suddenly open and choirs of angels, by whose 
 bright and surpassing glory the whole world was in that 
 moment illuminated, descend to meet the soul of S. Brendan. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Death of S. Columban, Bishop in Leinster, revealed. 
 
 On another day, again, when the brethren were about to set 
 out to their manual labour, the Saint, on the contrary, ordered 
 the day to be spent in rest, the rites of the Holy Oblation to 
 be prepared, and some addition to be made to their dinner. 
 '' I must needs celebrate," he said, " the mysteries of the Holy 
 Eucharist for the holy soul which was last night carried among 
 the angels." The brethren obeyed, spent the day in rest, and 
 went with the holy Abbot to the Church as on a holy day. 
 During the sacred mysteries of the Holy Sacrifice, the Saint 
 said, " To-day prayer must be made for the holy Bishop 
 Columban." Then understood the brethren who were stand- 
 ing by, that Columban, Bishop of the people in Leinster, the 
 dear friend of Columba, had departed to the Lord. A short 
 time after, some persons coming from the province of Leinster 
 brought tidings that the Bishop died on the night the Saint 
 said. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Columba fights with demons. 
 
 Now the Saint sought a place among the woods more remote 
 from men and suitable for prayer. And there, when on a 
 certain day he was praying, he suddenly saw before him an 
 exceedingly black host of demons fighting with iron spits, who, 
 as had been revealed to the holy man by the Spirit, were 
 desirous of assailing his monastery and slaying many of the 
 brethren with darts. But he fought against them, and so on 
 both sides the battle was waged during the greater part of the 
 
36 LIFE OF 
 
 day. But though innumerable, and he one, they were unable 
 to overcome him, till at last the angels of God came to his aid, 
 and through fear of them the demons fled from the place, as 
 the Saint himself afterwards told the brethren. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 While staying in Zona he comes by the help of an Angel to the relief of 
 a brother who is falling from the top of a house in Ireland. 
 
 At another time, when the man of God was sitting in his hut 
 writing, his countenance was suddenly changed, and he cried 
 out from a pure heart, saying: " Help ! help ! " Two brethren, 
 who were standing at the door, asked the reason for this 
 sudden cry ; and the man of God gave them the following 
 answer : " I commanded the angel of the Lord, who was just 
 now standing in our midst, to go quickly to the help of one 
 of the brethren who was falling from the roof of a house 
 which is being built." And the Saint immediately added : 
 " Wonderful, indeed, and almost indescribable is the swiftness 
 of the angelic flight ; equal, I should think, to the speed of 
 lightning. For that heavenly being who but now flew hence 
 from us to that man as he was beginning to fall, came up, as 
 if in the twinkling of an eye, and supported him before he 
 touched the earth ; nor did he feel any shock. How amazing, 
 I say, and how timely the aid, which swifter than a word 
 could be rendered so quickly over so many intervening lands 
 and seas." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 He converses with Angels. 
 
 On a certain occasion, on one of the days when the brethren 
 were assembled together, the Saint of God, Columba, said to 
 them : " To-day I wish to go alone to the western plain of our 
 island ; but none of you follow me." They complied with his 
 
COLUMBA. 
 
 37 
 
 request, and he went out alone as he wished ; but a certain 
 brother, a crafty spy, following another path, hid himself on 
 the top of a hill, anxious to spy out what he might and did 
 see, but not without the permission of God, who was magnify- 
 ing his Saint. For he saw him standing on a hill and praying 
 with his hands opened out to heaven, and lifting up his eyes 
 on high. Wonderful to say : lo ! a marvellous sight suddenly 
 appeared. Straightway holy angels, clothed in white raiment, 
 flew towards the holy man with wondrous speed, and began to 
 stand around him as he prayed, and joined in intercourse with 
 the blessed Saint ; but as if conscious of him who was spying 
 them, they flew back on high. The blessed man, after the 
 angelic meeting, betook himself to the monastery, and, the 
 brethren being assembled, sought for him who was guilty of 
 the transgression with a stern reproof. He, then, who knew 
 within himself that he was the inexcusable transgressor, 
 confessed his guilt and on bended knees prayed for pardon ; 
 and the Saint leading him aside, charged him, as he knelt, 
 with a heavy threat to tell no man during his life-time what 
 he had seen. For a time the brother obeyed, but after the 
 Saint's death, he related with many protestations to the 
 brethren what he had seen. Moreover the scene of this 
 angelic assembly is called to this day the Mount of the Angels. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A ball of fire rises from his head. 
 
 MOREOVER, on another occasion, four brethren came from 
 Ireland for the sake of visiting S. Columba, who was then 
 residing in the Island of Hynba (Eilan-na-naoimh). With 
 one consent they besought the Saint with prayers to celebrate 
 the Sacred Mysteries ; which also he did one Lord's Day. 
 But after the reading of the Gospel they saw a certain ball 
 fiery and very bright, blaze from the crown of the holy 
 Columba's head, while he stood before the altar consecrating the 
 Sacred Oblation, and beheld it rise upwards, in the form of a 
 column, until the same Sacred Mysteries were ended. 
 
38 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 He enjoys celestial visions during three days. 
 
 Likewise, on another occasion, when staying in the same 
 island, the grace of the Holy Spirit was abundantly and 
 incomparably poured out upon the holy man, and dwelt with 
 him in a marvellous manner for the space of three days, so 
 that for three days and three nights he neither ate nor drank, 
 nor permitted any one to approach him, but remained in his 
 house, which was shut up and filled with celestial brightness. 
 At night rays of surpassing brilliancy were seen to burst from 
 the house through the chinks in the doors and through the 
 key-holes, and spiritual songs were heard being chanted by 
 him, and songs before unheard. And as he afterwards openly 
 confessed, he was deemed worthy to learn in that place many 
 things, both obscure things of the Scriptures and mysteries 
 unknown to men. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 He relieves the want of a poor man by a spit he blessed. 
 
 On one occasion there came to the Saint a certain peasant 
 who was very poor, complaining bitterly that he had not any- 
 thing wherewith to feed his wife and little ones. Sympathizing 
 with him, the merciful servant of God said : " Poor man ! 
 Take a stake from the neighbouring wood and bring it to me 
 quickly." He obeyed, and went and brought one. And the 
 Saint taking it, sharpened it into a spit, and with his own 
 hand blessed it and gave it to him, saying : " Watch carefully 
 over it, it will hurt neither man nor cattle, but only beasts and 
 game and fish, and so long as thou keepest it, there will be no 
 want whatever of venison in thy house." On hearing this the 
 poor man returned to his home rejoicing ; he also fixed the 
 spit in remote parts of the country which the beasts of the 
 forest were in the habit of frequenting, and when the night 
 was passed, went with the first dawn of day to visit it, and 
 
COLUMBA. 
 
 39 
 
 found a stag impaled upon it. But why say more ? Not a 
 day passed but the stake caught a buck, a doe, or some other 
 animal. His whole house, as it were, was overflowing with the 
 flesh of wild animals. But not many days after, his foolish 
 wife, overcome by the persuasion of the devil, spake thus to 
 him : " Take the stake from the ground ; for if any of the 
 men or domestic cattle should be killed upon it, thou and I 
 with our children will be led captive or reduced to slavery." 
 " It will not be so," replied the husband ; " for the Saint of God 
 has interdicted it from hurting man or beast." Nevertheless, 
 yielding to his wife, he took the stake out of the field, and 
 placed it beside the wall of his house, when immediately his 
 house dog, running against it, died. On this his wife again 
 said : " One of thy sons will fall upon the stake and die." 
 At this the husband removed it from beside the wall, and 
 carrying it into the wood, placed it among thick bushes, so 
 that it might hurt no one. But when he returned on the 
 following day, he found that a goat had fallen upon it. 
 Removing it thence, he hid and fixed it under water. But 
 revisiting it another day, he found a huge salmon, which he 
 was hardly able to carry alone, impaled upon it. Then he 
 placed the stake upon the roof, when a crow flying by chance 
 against it, was killed. Whereupon the poor man, who was 
 now prosperous, led astray by the counsel of his wife, took the 
 stake from the roof, seized his axe, cut it into many pieces, 
 and threw it into the fire, and immediately became poor. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 He is suffused with Heavenly Light in the Church. 
 
 One winter night S. Fernaus entered the Church alone to 
 pray, and was devoutly praying at a certain seat. S. 
 Columba, ignorant of this, entered the church a little after for 
 the same purpose, and along with him there entered a golden 
 light, which descended from heaven and filled the whole church. 
 Moreover, the heavenly light filled also the chapel, though it 
 
4 o LIFE OF 
 
 was shut off, where Fernaus was lying hid in great alarm ; and 
 as no man can look at the summer sun at noontide with steady- 
 unblinking eyes, so also Fernaus could not endure that heavenly 
 splendour. At length having seen the lightning brilliancy no 
 strength remained in him. After a short prayer, however, S. 
 Columba left the church, and on the morrow he called Fernaus 
 to him and addressed him in these consoling words : " O my 
 child, last night thou didst that which was pleasing in the sight 
 of God in bending thine eyes down to the earth for fear of the 
 light. For if thou hadst not so done, thine eyes would have 
 been blinded ; but while I live, take care to keep this vision 
 secret." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Life of Columba is prolonged in answer to the Prayers of the 
 
 Church. 
 
 On another occasion, also, when the man of God was staying 
 in the Island of Iona, his face glowed with a sudden joyfulness, 
 and lifting his eyes to heaven he rejoiced greatly ; but after a 
 little he became sad. Two brethren, however, who were stand- 
 ing at the door inquired the reason of this sudden joy and the 
 following grief. To whom the Saint replied : " Go in peace. I 
 may not tell you." But when they were too troublesome to him 
 concerning this occurrence, he said : " If you will keep it secret, 
 I will tell you, for I love you." And when they gave their 
 word, he spoke thus to them : " Up to the present day thrice 
 ten years of my pilgrimage in Britain have been fulfilled. 
 Moreover, I have asked from the Lord that in the end of this 
 thirtieth year I might pass away and be with Him. And this 
 was the cause of the joy concerning which ye trouble me. I 
 also saw the holy angels coming to meet my soul as it was 
 about to leave the body. But lo ! they stand afar off, being 
 suddenly held back and not suffered to approach nearer, be- 
 cause He who granted that what I besought should happen on 
 this day, hearkening to the prayers of many churches concern- 
 
COLUMBA, 41 
 
 ing me, has changed more quickly than I can tell ; for in 
 answer to the prayers of the churches, it has been granted 
 by the Lord that four years from this day shall be added to 
 my continuance in the flesh. Now this delay was the cause of 
 my grief. But when these four years are ended, I shall joyfully 
 pass to the Lord by a sudden death." 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 He predicts the Hour of his Death ; and blesses Zona. 
 
 According therefore to these words the man of God lived in 
 the flesh for four years more, which being ended, one day in the 
 month of May, infirm with age and conveyed in a waggon, he 
 went to visit the brethren who were labouring in the fields 
 and began to address them as follows : " During the Easter 
 festival, in the month of April just past, I earnestly desired 
 to pass away to Christ, but that the festival of joy might not 
 be changed for you into sorrow, I preferred to delay the day of 
 my departure longer." At these words the brethren were ex- 
 ceeding sorrowful. But the man of the Lord, as he sat in the 
 vehicle, turned his face towards the East, and blessed the 
 island with the islanders who dwelt therein, and from that day 
 there was no viper in it hurtful to man or beast. At length 
 after the words of benediction, the Saint was borne back to his 
 monastery. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 He sees an Angel. 
 
 BUT when a few days were passed, while the solemnities of the 
 Mass were being celebrated according to custom on the Lord's 
 Day, suddenly, his eyes being lifted up, the face of the blessed 
 Columba was seen to be overspread with a bright glow. At 
 the same moment he alone beheld an angel of the Lord hover- 
 ing above within the walls of the oratory. For this was the 
 
42 LIFE OF 
 
 cause of that sudden joy, concerning which when those present 
 inquired, the Saint made to them this reply : " Wonderful and 
 incomparable is the subtilty of the angelic nature ! For lo ! 
 an angel of the Lord sent for the safe-keeping of some one dear 
 to God, looking down upon us within the church and giving his 
 benediction, has returned again through the roof of the church, 
 and left no trace of such exit." These things the Saint said 
 signifying them concerning himself; nevertheless at the time 
 the brethren knew it not ; but afterwards they understood. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 He indicates the Day of his Death to Diormit. 
 
 Accordingly the holy man at the end of the same week, that 
 is on the Sabbath day {i.e., our Saturday), privately called his 
 servant Diormit to him, and thus spake : " In the Sacred Writ- 
 ings this day is called Sabbath, which, being interpreted, is 
 Rest. And truly to me this day is a Sabbath, because to me it 
 is the last day of life, in which, after the afflictions of my 
 labours, I take my rest, and on the coming Lord's day night, 
 shall go the way of my fathers. For already Christ invites 
 me, and so it is revealed to me by Him." At this the servant 
 was much grieved, but was consoled by the father. Thence 
 going out and ascending to the summit of a hill overlooking 
 his monastery, the Saint of God stood a little, and with uplifted 
 hands blessed his community, and prophesied many things 
 concerning the present and the future which the event after- 
 wards confirmed. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 When the Hour of Death is near, he makes a division of a Psalm. 
 
 After these things, descending from the hill and being re- 
 turned to the monastery, he was sitting in his cell writing a 
 psalter. Coming at length to that verse of the thirty-third 
 
COLUMBA. 43 
 
 Psalm, where it is written : " They that seek the Lord shall not 
 want any good thing," he said : " Here I think I must stop. 
 Baitheneus must write the words which follow." Now the 
 verse which the Saint had just written applied very fitly to him 
 to whom verily the good things of eternity will never be lack- 
 ing. But to his successor, that is to the father of his spiritual 
 sons, the following suited not less fitly ; " Come my children, 
 hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord." For, 
 as his predecessor enjoined, he continued, not only in writing 
 but also in labouring in the rule of the monastery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Last Words of Columba. 
 
 ACCORDINGLY, after he had finished writing this verse, which 
 completed the page, he went into the holy church to celebrate 
 the Mass of the Lord's Day night. Returning to his dwelling 
 as soon as it was ended, he sat all night on his bed, where for 
 straw he was wont to have the bare floor, for a pillow a stone, 
 which even to this day remains beside his sepulchre, as it were 
 the inscription on his monument. So then sitting there he 
 commended his last words to his children, saying : " Among 
 yourselves have always mutual and unfeigned charity with 
 peace ; but the Lord, the Comforter of the good, will be your 
 aid, and I, abiding with Him, will intercede for you, that the 
 good things of time and eternity may arise to you. After these 
 words were said, S. Columba was silent for a little. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Columba Dies in the Church. 
 
 THEN straightway at midnight, when the bell rang, rising hur- 
 riedly, he went to the church, and running more quickly than 
 the rest, he entered alone, and fell down before the altar on 
 
44 LIFE OF 
 
 bended knees in prayer. But Diormit, his servant, having fol- 
 lowed more slowly, saw from afar at that moment the whole 
 church filled from within with angelic light ; as he drew 
 near to the door the same light quickly vanished, but 
 not before it had been seen by some of the brethren. 
 But Diormit, entering the church, cried out repeatedly 
 with tearful voice : " Where art thou, father ? " And as 
 lights had not yet been brought in by the brethren, he 
 groped about in the darkness, and found the Saint lying upon 
 his back before the altar. He raised him a little, and sitting 
 beside him laid the holy head in his lap. But the other brethren 
 running up and seeing that the father, whom they had loved 
 while living, was dying, mourned exceedingly as he died. But 
 the Saint, whose life had not yet passed away, raised his eyes 
 to both sides, looked round with a joyful countenance, and saw 
 the holy angels near. Diormit, having raised his right hand, 
 signified that he should bless the brethren ; but the holy father 
 nodded to him and raised his hand himself as far as he could. 
 And after his holy benediction thus signified, he straightway 
 gave up the ghost. His face meanwhile remained ruddy, and 
 in a wonderful degree enlivened by the angelic vision, so that 
 it seemed to be the face not of the dead but of the sleeping. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 His Burial. 
 
 Meanwhile, after the departure of the holy soul, the hymns 
 at Matins being finished, the sacred body was borne with the 
 melodious singing of the brethren back from the church to his 
 dwelling, where for three days and three nights his honourable 
 obsequies were duly performed. When these were finished to 
 the praise of God, the holy body, wrapped in clean linen cloths, 
 was buried with due reverence, to be sometime raised in eternal 
 glory. 
 
COLUMBA. 45 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A Storm occurs during the Days of his Obsequies as the Saint 
 
 predicted. 
 
 FOR once one of the brethren said to the Saint : " All the 
 people of the provinces will come after thy decease to thy ob- 
 sequies." " No," said the Saint, " the event will not turn out 
 as you say ; for a mixed crowd will not be present at my ob- 
 sequies ; only my own monks with whom I have lived will fill 
 my grave and honour my funeral with their attendance." And 
 so it came to pass, for during those three days and nights of 
 his obsequies, a great storm of wind without rain blew, so that 
 no vessel was able to cross the sea to take part in the last rites 
 of the man of God. At length, when the Saint was buried, 
 the wind falling and the tempest being stilled, the waves of the 
 sea became quiet. Glory to Thee O God. Amen. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Eulogy of Columba. He raises the Dead. A Wonderful Stone. He 
 Slays a Boar with a Word. He Blesses the Cows. He beholds 
 souls received into Heaven. He appears to King Oswald. He 
 predicts concerning King Aidan. 
 
 LET the reader therefore consider what and how great were 
 the merits before God in the highest of him whom God so 
 magnified by the prerogative of signs and the privilege of 
 merits, and on whom, next to the Apostles, he bestowed the 
 gift of his grace. For in the flesh, as an angel living, he stilled 
 tempests, calmed seas, a Church not opened to him, he very 
 often unlocked without a key, the bolt being uninjured, im- 
 printing upon it only the sign of the Lord's cross. After 
 kneeling some time, when he had poured himself out in 
 prayer, rising from the ground, in the name of the Lord 
 
46 LIFE OF 
 
 he brings to life the dead son of some common man, and 
 after his obsequies are celebrated, he presents him alive to his 
 father and mother. Also a stone dipped by him in water, in a 
 wonderful way, contrary to its nature, floated upon the surface 
 of the water, nor could this which the holy man had blessed be 
 ever afterwards sunk. A sick man drank of the water in which 
 it was swimming and immediately returned from the brink of 
 death, and recovered soundness and health of body. Accor- 
 dingly the same stone, afterwards preserved in the treasury of 
 the King, wrought many cures among the people by the finger 
 of God, by whom it had been blessed by the hand of Columba, 
 the man of God. Again, when he has entered a wood, a boar 
 of marvellous size, which the hounds chanced to be pursuing, 
 meets him. At the sight of it the Saint stopped, and having 
 raised his holy hand, said : " Come no further ; die where thou 
 art ; " and it died. He also blessed five cows belonging to a 
 poor man and commanded their number to increase to a hun- 
 dred and five ; and this rich blessing was upon the man's sons 
 and grandsons. This Saint, too, very often beheld the souls of 
 just men carried by angels into heaven, and those of wicked 
 men taken down by demons to hell. Moreover, he spake to 
 King Oswald, who had marked out his camp, in preparation 
 for battle, and was sleeping in his tent on a cushion, 
 and commanded him to go forth to battle. He obeyed the 
 command and obtained the victory. Moreover, returning 
 afterwards he was ordained by God Emperor of all Britain, 
 and all the nation, who before that were unbelieving, were 
 baptized. He likewise examined the whole world, clearly 
 perceiving it as if collected under a single ray of the sun, its 
 bosom being wonderfully opened to his merits. One day, 
 also, the Saint of God instructed his servant to suddenly 
 toll the bell. Aroused by the sound, the brethren forth- 
 with entered the Church. The Saint said to them : " Pour out 
 your prayers to the Lord for Aidan and his people." After a 
 time he went out, and looking to heaven, said : " Now the 
 barbarous host is turned to flight, and the victory is yielded to 
 Aidan." Also in the spirit of prophecy he told them of the 
 number of three hundred and three men of the army slain. 
 
COLUMBA. 47 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 A Miracle Wrought by his Tunic. 
 
 After the death of the man of God, a great drought occurred 
 in the spring time. And the brethren fearing an approaching 
 plague raised in the air the white tunic in which the blessed 
 man was clad in the hour of death, and shook it thrice. They 
 also read the books written by his own hand. When all these 
 things were duly performed, wonderful to relate, on the same 
 day a violent rain falling watered the thirsting land, and in the 
 same year it produced rich crops. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 AGAIN, once when the Saint was annoyed by a press of the 
 brethren, a boy, very mean in countenance and dress, secretly 
 drew near behind, that he might touch the fringe of the coat 
 with which the Saint was clad without him knowing. But this 
 was not hidden from the Saint ; for reaching his hand behind 
 him, he held the boy's neck. To whom, trembling, the Saint 
 said : " Open thy mouth and put out thy tongue ; '' which 
 doing, the Saint blessed him with outstretched hand, and said 
 to those standing by : " This boy, now despicable to you, will 
 from this hour be famous in all Ireland, and excel in wisdom, 
 eloquence, in good manners, and in fruitfulness of virtues." 
 Which, indeed, God fulfilled according to the prophecy of His 
 Saint, to the praise and glory of His name, to whom is honour 
 and glory for ever. Amen. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. COLUMBA. 
 
 BY 
 
 AD AMN AN. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. COLUMBA. 
 
 Here begins the Preface to the Life of S. Columba, 
 
 Bishop. 
 
 WITH the aid of Christ I am about, in obedience to the 
 urgent requests of the brethren, to write the life of our 
 blessed Patron, and am anxious, in the first place, to warn 
 those who may read, to pay heed to the facts recorded, and 
 to weigh the things rather than the words, which, as I think, 
 seem to be uncultivated and base. And remembering that 
 the Kingdom of God is not in richness of eloquence but in 
 fruitfulness of faith, let them not, on account of any names of 
 men or tribes, or obscure places in the base Irish tongue, 
 which, as I think, seem rude when compared with the different 
 languages of foreign nations, despise a record of useful deeds 
 which were not done without the help of God. Moreover, 
 I think that the reader ought also to be warned that many 
 thing concerning this man of blessed memory, though worthy 
 of remembrance, are here passed over for the sake of brevity, 
 and that, as it were, only a few out of many are recorded, in 
 order that the patience of the readers may not be wearied. 
 And this, I think, every one who reads this work will probably 
 observe that of the great actions of this same holy man, those 
 which fame has published abroad among the nations are the 
 least important, even when compared with the few which we 
 shall now endeavour briefly to relate. After this first short 
 preface, I shall now, with the help of God, proceed to explain 
 in the beginning of the second the name of our President. 
 
52 LIFE OF 
 
 In the name of Jesus Christ the Second Preface is 
 
 begun. 
 
 There was a man of venerable life and blessed memory, the 
 father and founder of monasteries, who had the same name as 
 Jonah the prophet ; for though in the three languages the 
 sound be different, in Hebrew Iona, in Greek Hepiarepa, and in 
 Latin Columba, the meaning in all is one and the same. Such 
 and so great a name, it is believed, was not given to the man 
 of God without divine guidance. For, according to the testi- 
 mony of the Gospels, the Holy Ghost is shown to have 
 descended upon the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father 
 in the form of that little bird which is called the dove ; and 
 hence in the Sacred Books the dove is very frequently chosen 
 to designate in a mystical sense the Holy Ghost. For this 
 reason, also, our Saviour in His Gospel commanded the disciples 
 to maintain the simplicity of doves engrafted in a pure heart ; 
 for the dove is a simple and innocent bird. With this name, 
 therefore, it was meet that a man who was simple and inno- 
 cent, and gave to the Holy Ghost a dwelling-place in his heart 
 in dove-like ways, should be named ; for to this name may 
 not inaptly be applied that which is written in Proverbs : " A 
 good name is better than many riches.'' Wherefore our Presi- 
 dent, not undeservedly adorned, was not only honoured with 
 this special name from the days of his infancy, but was also so 
 named as a child of promise many long years before in a 
 wonderful prophecy by a certain soldier of Christ, unto whom 
 it was revealed by the Holy Ghost. For a certain pilgrim from 
 Britain, a holy man, a disciple of S. Patrick the Bishop, by 
 name Maucta, thus prophesied concerning our Patron, as is 
 known to us on the testimony of learned men of old : " In the 
 last ages of the world shall be born a son, whose name, Col- 
 umba, shall be spread abroad through all the provinces of the 
 isles of the ocean ; and he shall brilliantly illumine the last 
 ages of the earth. The little farms of our two small monas- 
 teries, his and mine, shall be separated by the space of a little 
 fence ; he shall be very dear to God, and of great merit in His 
 sight." Therefore, when describing the life and character of 
 
COLUMBA. 53 
 
 this our Columba, I shall in the first place give, in the fewest 
 words I can, a general summary, and, at the same time, place 
 before the eyes of the reader his holy walk and conversation. 
 As a foretaste to those who eagerly read them, I shall also 
 briefly touch upon his miracles ; these, however, will be more 
 fully related further on, and divided into three books. The First 
 of these books will contain his Prophetical Revelations ; the 
 Second, the Divine Miracles which were wrought by him ; the 
 Third, the Angelic Apparitions and certain manifestations of 
 the heavenly brightness upon the man of God. Let no one, 
 however, think of me either as saying anything false concerning 
 so great a man, or, as it were, about to write anything which 
 is doubtful or uncertain ; but let him understand that I am 
 about to record without ambiguity, and to relate in a consis- 
 tent narrative the things which have been handed down from 
 my predecessors, who were learned and trustworthy men, and 
 that what I am about to write is taken either from the things 
 I have been able to find already recorded in books, or from 
 those which, on careful examination, I have myself ascertained 
 on the testimony of some trustworthy and learned ancients 
 who unhesitatingly bore witness to them, having themselves 
 diligently inquired into their truth. 
 
 S. Columba, then, was born of noble parents ; his father was 
 Fedilmith, the son of Fergus, and his mother Aethne, whose 
 father may in Latin be called Filius Navis, but in the Irish 
 tongue is named Mac Nave. In the second year after the battle 
 of Cooldrevny (fought A.D. 561), when in the forty-second 
 year of his age, desiring to seek a foreign country for the sake 
 of Christ, he sailed from Ireland into Britain. From his boy- 
 hood he was brought up in the discipline of the Christian faith 
 and in the study of wisdom ; and preserving, through the grace 
 of God, the integrity of his body and the purity of his soul, 
 though dwelling upon the earth, he proved himself fitted for 
 the heavenly life. For he was angelic in appearance, graceful 
 in speech, holy in deed, excellent in ability, great in counsel, 
 and for thirty-four years he lived upon an island as a soldier of 
 Christ. Not even the space of a single hour could he ever 
 spend without devoting himself either to prayer, reading, 
 
54 LIFE OF 
 
 or writing, or to some other similar work. He was so occu- 
 pied day and night, without the slightest intermission in the 
 unwearied exercise of fasting and watching, that the burden 
 of each of these austerities seemed beyond the possibility of 
 human endurance. And still in these he was beloved by all, 
 always exhibiting in his countenance that holy cheerfulness 
 with which the joy of the Holy Ghost was gladdening his 
 inmost soul. 
 
COLUMBA. 55 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 Of His Prophetic Revelations. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A brief Narrative of his Miracles. 
 
 According to the promise given above, the proofs which the 
 venerable man gave of his power must here, in the beginning 
 of this little book, be briefly set forth. By the virtue of his 
 prayers and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he healed 
 men grievously afflicted with divers diseases ; and alone, by 
 the help of God, repelled innumerable hosts of malignant 
 demons, which he saw with his bodily eyes warring against 
 himself, and drove them away from this our chief island, when 
 they were beginning to bring deadly distempers upon his 
 monastic brotherhood. The furious rage of wild beasts, partly 
 by mortification and partly by a bold resistance, he, with the 
 help of Christ, subdued. Swelling seas also, which sometimes 
 rose up in the greatness of the tempest like mountains, were 
 quickly, at his prayers, brought low and stilled, and the ship in 
 which he then chanced to be sailing, was driven in the calm 
 which followed to the desired haven. When returning from 
 the country of the Picts, where he had been staying some days, 
 in order to confound the Druids, he hoisted his sail when the 
 wind was against him, and his ship swept along with as much 
 speed as if he had had the wind in his favour. At other times, 
 also, winds contrary to those who were navigating were at his 
 prayer changed into favourable. In the above mentioned 
 country, he took a white stone from a river and blessed it for 
 the working of certain cures ; and the said stone when placed 
 in water floated, contrary to nature, like an apple. This divine 
 miracle was wrought in the presence of King Brude and his 
 household. And what is a greater miracle, in the same 
 
56 LIFE OF 
 
 country he raised the dead child of a humble believer to life, 
 and restored him to his father and mother living and uninjured. 
 At another time, while the blessed youth was a deacon, dwelling 
 with the holy bishop Findbarr in Ireland, when the wine requi- 
 site for celebrating the holy mysteries was wanting, by the 
 power of prayer he changed pure water into real wine. More- 
 over, an immense blaze of heavenly light on many and different 
 occasions, appeared to certain of the brethren to be poured 
 down upon him during the light of day, as well as in the dark- 
 ness of the night. He so lived, also, as to enjoy bright haunt- 
 ings, most sweet and pleasant, of the holy angels. Through 
 the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he frequently saw the souls 
 of just men carried by angels to the highest heavens, and the 
 souls of the wicked borne down by demons into hell. Very 
 often, too, he foretold the future deserts, sometimes joyful, 
 sometimes sad, of many persons who were still living in mortal 
 flesh. In the terrific onslaughts of battles, he obtained from 
 God, by virtue of his prayers, that some kings should be van- 
 quished, and that other rulers should come off victors. And 
 this great privilege was granted unto him not only while he 
 was here in this present life, but also after his departure from 
 the flesh, as to a victorious and most valiant champion, by 
 God, from whom all the saints derive their honour. I shall 
 give one example of this great honour conferred by Almighty 
 God upon this honourable man, which was made manifest to 
 Oswald, the Saxon Ruler, the day before he engaged in battle 
 against Cation, a very brave king of the Britons. This same 
 king Oswald, when he had pitched his camp in readiness for 
 the battle, was one day sleeping in his tent upon a pillow, and 
 saw S. Columba in a vision, shining in the form of an angel, 
 and of figure so majestic that his head seemed to touch the 
 clouds. The blessed man made his name known to the king, 
 and, standing in the middle of the camp, covered the whole of 
 it, except at one small extremity, with his glistening raiment, 
 and addressed to him these cheering words, the same indeed 
 as the Lord spake to Joshua, the son of Nun, before the pas- 
 sage of the Jordan, after the death of Moses, saying : " Be 
 strong and of good courage ; behold, I shall be with thee," etc. 
 
COLUMBA. 57 
 
 Then S. Columba, having said these words in the vision to the 
 king, added : " Go forth this night from the camp to battle ; 
 for on this occasion the Lord has granted unto me both that 
 thy foes shall be put to flight, and that thine enemy, Cation, 
 shall be delivered into thy hands, and that after the battle thou 
 shalt return in triumph and reign happily." After these words 
 the king arose, and, having assembled his council, related the 
 vision ; and being encouraged by it, the whole people promised, 
 that after their return from the battle they would believe and 
 receive baptism ; for up to that time all that Saxon land had 
 been wrapped in the darkness of paganism and ignorance, 
 except King Oswald himself and twelve men who were bap- 
 tised with him during his exile among the Scots. What more 
 need I say ? The following night King Oswald, as he had 
 been instructed in the vision, went forth from the camp to 
 battle against many thousands with an army much smaller ; 
 and, according as it was promised, an easy and decisive victorv 
 was granted to him by the Lord, and King Cation being slain, 
 he returned from the war in triumph, and was afterwards 
 ordained by God Bretwalda of all Britain. This narrative was 
 unhesitatingly told to me, Adamnan, by my predecessor, our 
 Abbot Failbhe, who solemnly declared that he heard it from 
 the lips of King Oswald himself, when relating this same vision 
 to the Abbot Seghine. 
 
 And this also, it seems, ought not to be omitted. By some 
 songs composed in the Irish language in praise of this blessed 
 man and by the commemoration of his name, certain wicked 
 men, though of lewd conversation and stained with the blood of 
 their fellowmen, the same night in which they sang these 
 songs were delivered from the hands of their enemies, who had 
 surrounded the house in which they were singing. From the 
 flames and swords and spears they escaped unhurt, and strange 
 to say, only a few, who had lightly esteemed these commemo- 
 rations of the holy man, and had refused to join in the singing, 
 perished in that assault of their enemies. The witnesses of 
 this miracle are not two or three, as the law requires, bu'; even 
 hundreds and more can be brought forward to attest it. And 
 this is known to have happened, not only in one place or on 
 
S 8 LIFE OF 
 
 one occasion, but also at different times and in different places 
 has it been proved beyond all measure of doubt to have 
 happened in the same manner and by the same means, both 
 in Ireland and in Britain. This I have learned for certain 
 from well informed men of the very countries where the same 
 thing has occurred through a similar miracle. 
 
 But to return to the matter in hand. Among the miracles 
 which this same man of the Lord wrought by the gift of God 
 while dwelling in mortal flesh, was that he began, even from 
 his early years, to be able by the spirit of prophecy to predict 
 things which were about to come to pass, and to make known 
 to those who were with him things which were occurring in 
 other places ; for though absent in body, he was present in 
 spirit, and could discern things which were done afar off. For, 
 according to the words of S. Paul : " He that is joined to the 
 Lord is one spirit." Whence also this same man of the Lord, 
 S. Columba, as also, when a few of the brethren would some- 
 times inquire into this matter he did not deny, when the 
 bosom of his mind was wonderfully enlarged, saw in many 
 visions of the divine grace even the whole universe drawn 
 together as into one ray of the sun and laid open to his sight. 
 
 These things are here narrated concerning the miracles of 
 the holy man that the more eager reader may, in the things 
 which are here briefly written, have a foretaste, as it were, of 
 those richer banquets which lie before him in the fuller narra- 
 tives to be given, with the help of the Lord, in the three 
 following books. It seems to me not improper, though it may 
 be out of the usual order, to speak now of some prophecies of 
 the blessed man which he uttered at sundry times concerning 
 certain holy and illustrious men. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of St. Fintan the Abbot, son of Tailchan. 
 
 S. Fintan, who was afterwards well known through all the 
 churches of the Scots, having by the help of God preserved 
 
COLUMBA. 59 
 
 from his boyhood purity of body and soul, and being devoted 
 to the study of divine wisdom, held in his heart this one resolve, 
 which he had nourished in the years of his youth, that leaving 
 Ireland, he would make a pilgrimage in order to visit our S. 
 Columba. Animated by this resolve he went to a certain friend 
 older than himself, a venerable cleric, the most prudent in his 
 own tribe, who, in the Irish tongue, was called Columb Crag, 
 in order to obtain from him, as a prudent man, some advice. 
 When he made known to him his thoughts, he received from 
 him this reply : " Thy desire is devout, and is inspired, I 
 believe, by God ; who can therefore presume to say that thou 
 oughtest not to cross the sea to S. Columba." By chance two 
 of S. Columba's monks arrived at the very moment, who, being 
 inquired of concerning their journey, said : " We have sailed 
 lately over from Britain, and have come to-day from the Oak- 
 wood of Calgach." " Is your holy father, Columba, not well ?" 
 said Columb Crag. They wept sorely, and said with great 
 sorrow : " Our Patron is well indeed, for a few days ago he 
 departed to be with Christ." When they heard this, Fintan 
 and Columb, and all who were there present, fell on their faces 
 to the ground and wept bitterly. Fintan then inquired, saying : 
 " Whom has he left as his successor ? " " Baithene, his dis- 
 ciple," they said. And as they all cried out : " Meet and right," 
 Columb said to Fintan : " What wilt thou do now, Fintan ? " 
 He replied : " If God permit, I will sail over to Baithene, that 
 holy and wise man, and if he will receive me, I will have him 
 for my abbot." Then kissing the aforementioned Columb, and 
 bidding him farewell, he prepared for his voyage, and setting 
 sail without the slightest delay came to the island of Iona. 
 At that time his name was not known in these places. At 
 first, therefore, he was received only with the hospitality given 
 to every unknown guest. One day he sent a messenger to 
 Baithene, saying that he desired to speak with him face to 
 face ; and he being always affable and pleasant to travellers, 
 ordered him to be brought to him. Accordingly he was at 
 once brought in, and at first, as seemed meet, he bowed down 
 to the ground on bended knees, and when requested by the 
 holy Abbot, he rose up, and, being seated, was questioned by 
 
60 LIFE OF 
 
 Baithene, to whom he was as yet unknown, respecting his race 
 and province, name and manner of life, and for what cause he 
 had undertaken his voyage. And being thus interrogated, he 
 narrated all things in order, and humbly entreated that he 
 might be admitted. The holy Abbot on hearing these things 
 from his guest, and at the same time recognising that this was 
 he of whom S. Columba had some time previously uttered a 
 prophecy, said : " Verily, my son, I ought to give thanks to my 
 God for thy arrival ; but know of a certainty thou wilt not be 
 our monk." Hearing this the guest was deeply grieved, and 
 replied : " Perhaps I am unworthy, and do not deserve to 
 become a monk." The Abbot immediately answered : " Not 
 because, as thou sayest, thou art unworthy have I said what I 
 have, but because, even though I would much rather have 
 retained thee with me, I cannot desecrate the command of my 
 predecessor, S. Columba, through whom the Holy Spirit pro- 
 phesied of thee. For when alone with me one day, speaking 
 with the mouth of prophecy, he said, among other things : 
 ' These my words, O Baithene, thou must needs hearken unto 
 very attentively ; for immediately after my departure from this 
 world to be with Christ, which I wait and earnestly desire, a 
 certain brother from Ireland, Fintan by name, of the tribe of 
 Mocumoie, whose father is called Tailchan, now carefully 
 ordering his youth according to good morals, and well versed 
 in sacred studies — he coming to thee, I say, will humbly 
 entreat thee to receive and number him among thy other 
 monks. But it has not been ordained for him in the foreknow- 
 ledge of God that he should be the monk of any Abbot ; but 
 long since has he been chosen of God to be an Abbot of monks 
 and a leader of souls to the heavenly kingdom. Detain not, 
 therefore, that illustrious man with thee on these our islands, 
 lest thou shouldst even seem to oppose the will of God ; but 
 make known these words to him, and send him back to Ireland, 
 that he may found a monastery in the parts of the Leinstermen, 
 near the sea, and there, feeding the flock of the sheep of 
 Christ, lead innumerable souls to the heavenly land.' '' Hear- 
 ing these words the holy youth shed tears, and gave thanks to 
 Christ, saying : " Be it unto me according to the prophetical 
 
COLUMBA. 61 
 
 and marvellous foreknowledge of the holy Columba." And 
 obeying the words of the saint, and receiving a blessing from 
 Baithene, he in the same days sailed back in peace to Ireland. 
 These things I have learned as unquestionably true from an 
 aged pious presbyter, a soldier of Christ, Oissene by name, the 
 son of Ernan, of the tribe of Mocu Neth Corb, who narrated 
 them to me, and testified that he had himself heard the above 
 recorded words from the mouth of S. Fintan, son of Tailchan, 
 whose monk he himself had been. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A Prophecy of S. Columba concerning Ernene, son of Crasen, 
 
 At another time the blessed man, while dwelling for a few 
 months in the middle parts of Ireland, founding, by Divine 
 guidance, the monastery which, in the Irish tongue, is called 
 Dairmaig [Durrow], was pleased to visit the brethren who dwelt 
 in the monastery of S. Ceran, at Clonmacnoise. When his ap- 
 proach was known, all flocked together from the little farms in 
 the neighbourhood of the monastery, and following the Abbot 
 Alither and those who were found within it, with all alacrity, 
 they issued beyond the enclosure of the monastery, and 
 advanced with one accord to meet S. Columba, as if he were 
 an angel of the Lord ; they humbly bowed down with their 
 faces to the earth in his presence, with all reverence, kissed 
 him, and, singing hymns and praises, conducted him with 
 honour to the Church. Over the saint, as he walked, was a 
 canopy framed of wood, made to be supported by four men 
 walking by his side, lest the holy Abbot Columba should be 
 troubled by the multitude of brethren crowding around him. 
 In that same hour a serving-boy, very mean in dress and 
 appearance, and not yet acceptable to the elders, concealing 
 himself as much as he could, came behind that he might 
 stealthily touch even so much as the hem of the garment in 
 which the blessed man was clothed, and if it were possible, 
 
62 LIFE OF 
 
 without his knowing or feeling it. But this was not hid from 
 Saint ; for what he was unable to see done behind him with his 
 bodily eyes, he saw with the eyes of his spirit. Suddenly 
 therefore he stopped, and stretching his hand behind him, 
 seized the boy by the neck, and pulling him round, set him 
 before him. All who were standing by cried out : "Let him go, 
 let him go : why hold that unhappy and naughty lad ? " But 
 the Saint, out of his pure heart, uttered these prophetic words : 
 " Surfer it brethren ; suffer it to be so now." But to the lad, 
 who was quaking with fear, he said : " My son, open thy 
 mouth and put out thy tongue." Then, as commanded, the 
 boy opened his mouth in great terror, and put out his tongue ; 
 and the Saint, extending to it his holy hand, carefully blessed 
 it, and spake prophetically, saying : " This lad, though he now 
 appears to you very vile and worthless, let no one on that 
 account despise him. For, from this hour, he will not only not 
 displease you, he will greatly delight you. From day to day 
 he shall gradually advance in good conduct and in the virtues 
 of the soul ; from this day also shall wisdom and prudence be 
 more and more increased in him, and great shall be his progress 
 in this your community ; moreover, to his tongue shall be given 
 sound and learned eloquence of God." This was Ernene, son 
 of Crasen, who was afterwards famous, and most highly 
 honoured among all the Churches of Ireland. All these words 
 prophesied concerning himself, which are written above, he told 
 to the Abbot Seghine, when my predecessor, Failbhe, was 
 intently listening, who also was himself present with Seghine, 
 and from whose revelation I myself have learned the things I 
 have now narrated. Many other things, also, during those 
 days in which he was entertained at the monastery of Clon- 
 macnoise, did he prophesy by the revelation of the Holy 
 Ghost ; as, for instance, concerning the discord which, after 
 many days, arose in the churches of Ireland on account of the 
 difference in regard to the Feast of Easter ; and concerning 
 some angelic visitations manifested to himself ; certain places 
 within the enclosure of that monastery being at that time 
 resorted to by angels. 
 
COLUMBA. 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the arrival of S. Caimiech, the Abbot, who had previously been 
 announced i?i prophecy by S. Columba. 
 
 On another occasion, when in the island of Iona, on a day of 
 destructive tempest and exceedingly high seas, when sitting in 
 his house and giving instructions to the brethren, the Saint 
 said : " Prepare quickly the guest-chamber, and draw water to 
 wash the feet of guests." Upon this one of the brethren said : 
 " Narrow though it be, who can cross the sound safely on so 
 stormy and perilous a day ? " Whom hearing, the Saint thus 
 answered : " To a certain holy and elect man, who will arrive 
 amongst us before evening, the Almighty has granted a calm 
 even in this tempest.'' And lo ! the same day the ship, waited 
 for by the brethren for some time, and in which was Cainnech, 
 arrived according to the prophecy of the Saint, who went forth 
 with the brethren to meet him, and received him with hospi- 
 tality and honour. But the sailors who were with Cainnech, 
 on being asked by the brethren what kind of a voyage they 
 had had, told them, even as S. Columba had predicted, of 
 the tempest and calm which God had given in the same sea 
 and at the same time yet marvellously sundered. The tem- 
 pest, which was seen in the distance, they said they did not feel. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the peril of the holy bishop Colmann Mocusailni in the sea near the 
 island called Rechru. 
 
 On another day S. Columba, when sitting in his mother- 
 Church, suddenly cried out, saying with a smile : " Colum- 
 bannus, the son of Beogna has begun to sail over to us, and is 
 now in great danger in the rolling tides of the whirlpool of 
 Brecan. Seated at the brow he is raising both hands to 
 heaven ; he is also blessing that troubled and dreadful sea ; 
 
64 L I F E O F 
 
 nevertheless the Lord thus alarms him, not that the vessel in 
 which he is seated, may be overwhelmed by the waves in ship- 
 wreck, but rather to incite to more fervent prayer, that, by 
 God's favour, he may reach us after escaping the peril." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of Cormac. 
 
 On another occasion, also, S. Columba thus prophesied con- 
 cerning Cormac, grandson of Lethan, a man truly pious, who 
 not less than three times patiently sought a desert in the 
 ocean, yet did not find it, saying : " To-day again Cormac 
 desiring to find the desert, is embarking from the district which 
 is situated beyond the river Moy, and called Erris ; yet even 
 this time he will not find what he seeks, and that for no other 
 fault than this, that he has irregularly allowed to accompany 
 him on his voyage the monk of a certain religious Abbot, who 
 is going away without his consent." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A Prophecy of the Blessed Man concerning the tumults of Battles which 
 were fought at a distance. 
 
 Two years after the battle of Cooldrevny, as we have been 
 told, at the time when the blessed man first set sail and took 
 his departure from Ireland, one day, namely, in the same 
 hour in which the battle, which in Irish is called Ondemone 
 was fought in Ireland, the same man of God, who was then 
 living with King Connall, the son of Comgill, in Britain, told 
 him every thing, both concerning the battle which was being 
 fought, and concerning the Kings to whom the Lord had 
 granted victory over their enemies. In their own tongue the 
 names of the Kings were Ainmire, son of Setna, and the two 
 
COLUMBA. 65 
 
 sons of Mac Erca, Domnall and Forcus. Also concerning the 
 King of the Picts who was called Echoid Laib, how, when 
 vanquished, he escaped riding in a chariot, the Saint pro- 
 phesied in like manner. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Of the Battle of the Miathi. 
 
 On another occasion, many years after the above mentioned 
 battle, when the holy man was in the island of Iona, he 
 suddenly said to his servant Diormit : " Ring the bell." 
 Startled by the sound, the brethren quickly ran to the Church, 
 the holy president himself leading the way. There as they 
 knelt he said to them : " Let us now earnestly pray to the Lord 
 for this people and for King Aidan ; for at this moment they 
 are engaging in battle." And a little after he left the place of 
 prayer and looking up to heaven, said : " Now are the barbar- 
 ians being put to flight ; and to Aidan, the victory, sad 
 though it be, is given." The blessed man also prophetically 
 declared that the number of the slain in Aidan's army would 
 be three hundred and three men. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 A Prophecy of S. Columba concerning the sons of King Aidan. 
 
 At another time before the battle mentioned above, the Saint 
 inquired of King Aidan concerning his successor to the king- 
 dom. He said in answer that he knew not which of his three 
 sons would reign after him, whether Artur, or Echoid Find, or 
 Domingart. Thereupon the Saint prophesied as follows : 
 " None of these three shall be the Ruler ; for they shall all fall 
 in battle, slain by their enemies ; but if thou hast any younger 
 sons, let them now come to me, and he whom the Lord shall 
 choose from among them to be King, will straightway rush 
 
 5 
 
66 LIFE OF 
 
 into my lap." And according to the word of the Saint, when 
 they were called in, Echoid Buide drawing near lay in his 
 bosom. Immediately the Saint kissed him, and blessed him, 
 and said to his father : " This is the survivor ; he shall rule after 
 thee as King, and his sons shall reign after him." And so 
 afterwards were all these things fully accomplished in their own 
 time. For Artur and Echoid Find were slain not long after 
 the above-mentioned battle of the Miathi ; Domingart was 
 defeated and slain in Saxonia ; and Echoid Buide succeeded 
 his father in the kingdom. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of Domnall son of Aid. 
 
 DOMNALL son of Aid, while yet a boy, was brought by his 
 fosterers to S. Columba at Druim Ceatt, who, looking at him, 
 inquired saying : " Whose son is this whom ye have brought ? " 
 They answered : " This is Domnall, son of Aid, who is brought 
 to thee that he may return enriched with thy blessing." When 
 he had blessed him, the Saint immediately said : " This one 
 shall survive his brothers and become a very famous king ; nor 
 shall he ever be delivered into the hands of his enemies, but in 
 his old age and in his own home, surrounded by a crowd of his 
 familiar friends, he shall die in peace in his own bed. All 
 these things were truly fulfilled concerning him, according to 
 the prophecy of the blessed man. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Of Scandlan son of Colman. 
 
 At the same time and in the same place, the Saint desiring to 
 visit Scandlan, son of Colman, then a captive in bonds with 
 King Aid, went to him ; and when he had blessed him, he 
 
COLUMBA. 67 
 
 comforted him, saying : " Son, be not sorrowful, but rather be 
 of good courage and rejoice. For King Aid, with whom thou 
 art now in bonds, will pass away from this world before thee ; 
 and after a while of exile, thou shalt rule among thine own 
 people as King for thirty years. And again thou shalt be a 
 fugitive from thy kingdom, and shalt dwell in exile for some 
 days ; after which, invited back by thy people, thou shalt reign 
 for three short terms. All these things were fully accomplished 
 according to the prophecy of the Saint ; for after thirty years 
 Scandlan was driven from his kingdom and lived some time in 
 exile ; but afterwards, when invited back by his people, he 
 reigned not three years as he expected, but three months, and 
 then died. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Of two other Rulers who were called the grandsons of Muiredach ; 
 Baitan, son of Mac Ere, and Echoid, son of Domnall — a prophecy 
 of the Blessed Man. 
 
 At another time, when travelling through a wild and rocky 
 country which is called Ardnamurchan, and listening to his 
 companions, Laisran, the son of Feradach, and Diormit his 
 servant, discussing on the way respecting the two Kings men- 
 tioned above, he addressed to them these words : " O my chil- 
 dren, why do you so foolishly talk together of these men ? For 
 both these Kings of whom you now speak, have just perished, 
 their heads having been cut off by their enemies. To-day, 
 moreover, some sailors coming here from Ireland, shall relate 
 these same things to you concerning these Kings." And that 
 same day sailors from Ireland arrived at a place called Muir- 
 bolc Paradisi, and told the two above-mentioned companions 
 who were sailing in the same ship with the Saint, how the 
 prophecy of the venerable man concerning the slaughter of 
 these Kings had been fulfilled. 
 
68 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning Oingus, son of Aid Comman. 
 
 THIS man, when he was driven from his country with his two 
 brothers, came as an exile to the Saint, who was then travelling 
 in Britain, and who, when blessing him, uttered from his holy 
 heart these words in prophecy concerning him : " This youth, 
 surviving when his brothers are dead, shall rule in his native 
 land for a long time ; his enemies shall fall before him ; neither 
 shall he ever be delivered into his enemies' hands ; but he shall 
 die an old man among his friends a peaceful death. All which 
 things were fully accomplished according to the word of the 
 Saint. This was Oingus surnamed Bronbachal. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A prophecy of the Blessed Man concerning the son of King Dermit who 
 in the Irish tongue is called Aid Slane. 
 
 At another time, when the blessed man was tarrying in Ireland 
 for some days, he spake in prophecy the following words to the 
 above mentioned Aid, who was then visiting him : " Beware, 
 my son, lest through committing parricidal crime thou lose the 
 prerogative of the monarchy of the Kingdom of all Ireland 
 which has been foreordained for thee by God ; for if at any 
 time thou shouldst commit that crime, thou shalt not hold the 
 whole of thy father's Kingdom, but only a part of it in thine 
 own tribe for a little time." These words of the Saint were on 
 this wise fulfilled according to his prophecy ; for after Aid had 
 treacherously slain Suibne, son of Columban, he did not reign, 
 it is said, more than four years and three months, and then only 
 as joint-ruler of the Kingdom. 
 
COLUMBA. 6 9 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A prophecy of the Blessed Man concerning King Roderc son of Tothal 
 who reigned at Alcluith. 
 
 On another occasion this same King, as a friend of the holy 
 man, sent a secret message to him by Lugbe Mocumin, desiring 
 to know whether he would be slain by his enemies or not. But 
 when Lugbe was interrogated by the Saint respecting the said 
 King, his kingdom and his people, he, responding as if he 
 pitied him, said : " Why dost thou inquire concerning that 
 wretched man who is in no wise able to tell at what hour he 
 may be slain by his enemies ? " The Saint then answered : 
 " Never shall he be delivered into the hands of his enemies, 
 but in his own house, and on his own pillow shall he die." 
 Which prophecy of the Saint concerning King Roderc was 
 fully accomplished ; for according to his words, he died a 
 peaceful death in his own house. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A prophecy of the Saint concerning two boys, one of whom according to 
 the word of the Saint died at the end of a week. 
 
 At another time two peasants came to the Saint when he was 
 residing in the island of Iona. One of them, named Meldan, 
 whose son was with him, inquired of the Saint what would 
 befall him in the future. To whom the Saint thus replied : 
 " Is not this Saturday ? Thy son on the sixth day at the end 
 of the week will die, and on the eighth, that is, on Saturday, he 
 will be buried here." Nevertheless, the other man, by name 
 Glasderc, inquiring respecting his son, whom he likewise 
 had with him, received from the Saint the following answer : 
 "Thy son, Ernan, will see his grand-children, and will be 
 buried in his old age in this island." All which things were in 
 their own time according to the word of the Saint fully accom- 
 plished respecting both the boys. 
 
70 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Saint concerning Colga son of Aid Draigniche, descended 
 from the grandson of Fechureg, and concerning a secret sin of his 
 mother. 
 
 On another occasion, the above mentioned Colga while staying 
 with the Saint in the island of Iona, was interrogated by him 
 concerning his mother, as to whether she was pious or not. In 
 reply he said : " I have always known my mother to be well 
 mannered and of good report." Then the Saint uttered this pro- 
 phecy : " With the help of God, set out at once for Ireland and 
 inquire diligently of thy mother concerning her very great 
 hidden sin which she will not confess to any human being." 
 Hearing this and obeying, he set out for Ireland. When closely 
 questioned by him, his mother, though at first denying her sin, 
 at last confessed it ; and doing penance according to the 
 judgment of the Saint, she was absolved, marvelling greatly at 
 what was made known to the Saint concerning her. Colga, 
 however, returned to the Saint and remained with him for 
 some days ; and inquiring concerning the end of his own days, 
 received this reply from the Saint : " In thine own country, 
 which thou lovest, thou shalt be the head of a church for many 
 years ; and if perchance thou shalt at any time see thy butler 
 amusing himself at supper with his friends and twirling the 
 ladle round by the neck, know then that thou shalt shortly 
 die." What more need I say ? This same prophecy of the 
 blessed man was fulfilled in all things as was prophesied con- 
 cerning this same Colga. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of Laisran, the Gardener, a holy man. 
 
 On a certain day the blessed man ordered one of his monks 
 named Trena, of the tribe of Mocuruntir, to go to Ireland on 
 a piece of business for him. In obedience to the command of 
 
COLUMBA. 7 i 
 
 the man of God he quickly prepared for the voyage, and com- 
 plained in the presence of the Saint that he was in need of one 
 sailor. Replying to him, the Saint immediately uttered these 
 words from his holy breast : " The sailor who thou sayest is not 
 yet present, I cannot now find ; go in peace ; thou shalt have 
 favourable and prosperous breezes until thou reach Ireland. 
 Thou shalt see a man about to run to meet thee from a distance, 
 who before others shall be the first to take hold of the prow of 
 thy ship ; he shall be the companion of thy journey for some 
 days in Ireland, and when thou returnest thence, he shall ac- 
 company thee to us, a man chosen of God, who in this my 
 monastery shall spend the rest of his days well." What more 
 need I say ? Receiving the benediction of the Saint, Trena 
 crossed over all the seas with full sails ; and lo, as his little ship 
 reached the port, Laisran Mocumoie ran more quickly than the 
 rest, and seized the prow. The sailors knew that he was the 
 man concerning whom the Saint prophesied. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Of a great whale which the Saint knew of beforehand, and spake about. 
 
 One day, when the venerable man was staying in the island 
 of Iona, a certain brother, Berach by name, proposed to sail 
 over to the island of Tiree, and coming to the Saint early in 
 the morning, asked to be blessed by him. Looking at him the 
 Saint said : " O my son, be very careful to-day not to attempt 
 to cross by a direct course through the open sea to Tiree, but 
 rather go about and sail round by the smaller islands, lest thou 
 be terrified by some monstrous prodigy, and be hardly able to 
 escape it." Having received the Saint's benediction, he left 
 him, and embarking, transgressed the word of the Saint as if 
 he lightly esteemed it. Then while crossing the larger arms of 
 the sea near Tiree, he and the sailors who were with him, 
 looked out, and lo, a whale of vast and astounding size raised 
 itself like a mountain and swimming on the surface opened its 
 
72 LIFE OF 
 
 wide mouth bristling with teeth. The rowers hauled down the 
 sail, and rowed back greatly terrified, and could with difficulty 
 escape from the agitation of the waves which the movement 
 of the monster caused ; and recalling the prophetic utterance 
 of the Saint, they marvelled. Moreover, on the same day, in 
 the morning the Saint told Baithene, who was about to sail to 
 the above mentioned island, of this same whale, saying : " Last 
 night, at midnight, a great whale rose from the depths of the 
 sea, and will to-day rise to the surface between the islands of 
 Iona and Tiree." Baithene responding said : " The beast and 
 I are under the power of God." " Go in peace," said the Saint, 
 " thy faith in Christ shall protect thee from this danger." 
 Baithene accordingly, having received a blessing from the 
 Saint, sailed from the port, and before they had crossed but a 
 little space of the sea, he and his companions beheld the whale ; 
 and when all the rest were terrified, he alone was unmoved, 
 and raising both his hands he blessed the sea and the whale ; 
 and at the same moment the enormous monster sank beneath 
 the waves and appeared to them no more. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Prophecy of the holy man concerning a certain Baitan who with others 
 had sailed in search of a desert in the ocean. 
 
 At another time a certain man named Baitan, by race a 
 descendant of Niath Taloirc, when about to set out with others 
 in quest of a desert in the sea, desired to be blessed by the 
 Saint. Bidding him farewell the Saint uttered this prophetic 
 word concerning him : " This man, who is going to seek a 
 desert in the ocean, shall not lie buried in a desert, but shall be 
 interred where a woman shall drive sheep over his grave. The 
 same Baitan after long wanderings through stormy seas, not 
 having found the desert, returned to his native land, and there 
 remained many years the head of a small monastic house 
 which in the Irish tongue is called Lathreginden. It came to 
 pass in those days after he had died and was buried in the 
 
COLUMBA. 73 
 
 Oakgrove of Calgach, that on account of a hostile inroad the 
 people of the neighbourhood fled with their wives and little 
 ones to the Church of that place. And hence it happened that 
 on a certain day a woman was caught who was driving her 
 lambs over the grave of this same man, who had lately been 
 buried there. And a holy priest, who was among those who 
 had seen this, said : " Now is the prophecy of S. Columba 
 fulfilled, though first made known many years ago." And the 
 aforesaid presbyter, Mailodran by name, a soldier of Christ, 
 of the tribe of Mocurin, told these things to me, narrating 
 them of Baitan. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning a certain Neman, who feigned 
 
 penitence. 
 
 At another time the Saint went to the Hinbina island (Eilean- 
 na-naoimh), and on the same day gave instructions that even 
 to the penitents indulgence shonld be permitted in respect of 
 food. Now there was then among the penitents a certain 
 Neman, son of Cathir, who, though ordered by the Saint, 
 refused to accept the offer of this little indulgence. Him the 
 Saint addressed in these words : " O Neman, dost thou not 
 accept the indulgence in food permitted by Baithene and me ? 
 The time will come when thou wilt secretly eat mare's flesh in 
 the wood with thieves." And accordingly this same man, after 
 he had returned to the world, was found in a forest with robbers 
 taking such flesh from a wooden griddle, and eating it according 
 to the word of the Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Of a certain unhappy man who slept with his mother. 
 
 AT another time the Saint aroused the brethren at the dead of 
 night, and when they were assembled in the Church, said to 
 
74 LIFE OF 
 
 them : " Let us now pray earnestly to the Lord ; for in this 
 hour a sin unheard of in the world has been perpetrated, for 
 which the vengeance of justice is greatly to be feared." Of 
 this sin he spake on the morrow when a few inquired of him, 
 saying : " After a few months, that unhappy creature will come 
 to the island of Iona along with Lugaid, who is ignorant of the 
 sin." Accordingly when the few months were passed, the 
 Saint one day gave instructions to Diormit, saying : " Rise 
 quickly, behold Lugaid approaches ; tell him to send off the 
 wretch he has with him in the ship to the island of Mull, that 
 he may not tread the turf of this island." In obedience to the 
 Saint's instructions, he put out to sea and told Lugaid on his 
 drawing near all the words of the Saint concerning the unhappy 
 man. On hearing these words the unhappy man swore that 
 he would never eat food with others, until he had first seen S. 
 Columba and spoken to him. Diormit on his return repeated 
 this to the Saint, who on hearing it went to the port ; and to 
 Baithene who cited the evidences of Holy Scripture, and sug- 
 gested that the penitence of the unhappy man should be 
 received, S. Columba said : " O Baithene, this man has com- 
 mitted fratricide after the manner of Cain, and is an adulterer 
 with his mother." Then the wretched man throwing himself 
 on his knees on the shore promised that he would obey the 
 requirements of penitence according to the judgment of the 
 Saint. The Saint said to him : " If thou do penance with tears 
 and weeping for twelve years among the Britons and never to 
 the day of thy death return to Ireland, perchance God may 
 pardon thy sin." Having said these things, the Saint turned 
 to his companions and said : " This man is a son of perdition, 
 and will not perform the penance he has promised, but will 
 soon return to Ireland and in a short time perish there, slain 
 by his enemies." All these things happened exactly according 
 to the prophecy of the Saint ; for the wretched man returned 
 to Ireland in the same days, and falling into the hands of his 
 enemies, in the district which is called Lea, was slain. He 
 was of the descendants of Turtre. 
 
COLUMBA. 75 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Of the Vowel I. 
 
 One day Baithene coming to the Saint said : " I require some 
 one of the brethren to look over and correct with me the 
 Psalter I have written." Hearing this the Saint thus spake : 
 " Why incur this trouble to us without cause ? For in that 
 Psalter of thine of which thou speakest not one superfluous 
 letter will be found, nor is there one wanting except only 
 a single vowel I." And so, when the whole Psalter had been 
 read through, it was found to be as the Saint had said. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Of the book which fell into the water-vessel as the Saint had foretold. 
 
 In like manner one day, when sitting at the hearth in the 
 monastery, he saw Lugbe of the tribe of Mocumin at a distance 
 reading a book, and suddenly said to him : " Take care, my 
 son, take care ; for I think the book thou art reading is about 
 to fall into a vessel full of water." And so it immediately 
 happened ; for the said young man rising after a little to attend 
 to some duty in the monastery, forgetful of the word of the 
 blessed man, the book which he carelessly held under his arm 
 suddenly fell into a waterpot full of water. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Of the inkhorn, awkwardly spilled. 
 
 AMONG these, it is recorded, that on another day a shout was 
 raised on the other side of the sound of Iona. The Saint who 
 was sitting in a hut made of planks, hearing the shout, said : 
 " The man who is shouting on the other side of the Sound is 
 
76 LIFE OF 
 
 not quick witted ; for to-day he will upset my inkhorn and spill 
 the ink. Hearing this, his servant Diormit, waited the arrival 
 of this clumsy guest, and stood a little before the door in order 
 to protect the inkhorn. But something soon arising he went 
 away, and after his departure the troublesome guest arrived, 
 and in his eagerness to kiss the Saint he upset the inkhorn 
 with the hem of his garment and spilled the ink. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Of the arrival of another Guest foretold by the Saint. 
 
 At another time, likewise, the Saint spake thus on the third 
 day of the week : " On the morrow, which is the fourth day of 
 the week, we intend to fast ; and yet by the arrival of a certain 
 troublesome guest the customary fast will be broken. And so 
 it came to pass as had been foreshown by the Saint ; for on the 
 morning of the fourth day another stranger by name Aidan 
 son of Fergno, who, as is said, ministered for twelve years to 
 Brenden Mocualti shouted from the other side of the Sound. 
 He was a very religious man, and by his arrival the fast of that 
 day, was, according to the word of the Saint, broken. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 Of another man in distress who was calling out from the other side of the 
 aforesaid Sound. 
 
 Also one day, hearing a certain man calling from the other 
 side of the Sound, the Saint spake thus : " Much to be pitied 
 is the man who is shouting ; he comes to us to ask something 
 pertaining to the healing of his flesh. More suitable were it 
 for him this day to do true penance for his sins ; for at the end 
 of the week he shall die." Those who were present told this to 
 
COLUMBA. 77 
 
 the unhappy man when he arrived. But he, lightly esteeming 
 it, when he had received the things he had asked, quickly 
 returned, and according to the prophetic word of the Saint 
 died before the end of the same week. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning the Roman city burnt by a sul- 
 phurous fire which fell from heaven. 
 
 Likewise at another time Lugbe of the tribe Mocumin, of 
 whom we made mention above, came to the Saint one day, 
 after the grinding of the corn, and could in no wise look upon 
 his face, which was suffused with a marvellous ruddy brightness ; 
 and fearing greatly quickly fled. The Saint with a slight 
 clapping of the hands called him back. When he returned, 
 he was immediately asked by the Saint, why he had fled so 
 quickly. He replied : " I fled, because I was greatly afraid." 
 After a little, becoming more confident, he ventured to ask the 
 Saint : " Has any awful vision been shown to thee just now ? " 
 The Saint replied : " A very terrible retribution has just now 
 been exacted in a remote part of the world." "What retribution," 
 asked the young man, "and in what part has it been executed?" 
 Then the Saint thus spake : " A sulphurous fire has just been 
 poured out from heaven upon a city under the Roman rule, 
 situated within the confines of Italy ; and about three thousand 
 men, besides a number of women and children, have perished. 
 And before the present year ends, Gallican sailors arriving from 
 the provinces of Gaul, will relate these same things unto thee." 
 His words, after a few months, were proved to have been true. 
 For the same Lugbe, when going with the Saint to Kintyre, 
 inquired of the captain and sailors of a bark just arriving, and 
 heard all the things narrated by them concerning the city and 
 its inhabitants, exactly as they were predicted by the illus- 
 trious man. 
 
78 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 A vision of the Blessed Man concerning Laisran, son of Feradach. 
 
 ONE very cold day in winter, the Saint was troubled with great 
 sadness, and wept. His servant, Diormit, asked him the cause 
 of his sadness, and received this response : " Not without 
 reason, O my child, am I now sad, seeing that my monks who 
 are already wearied with heavy labour, are burdened by 
 Laisran with the construction of a large house. This displeases 
 me greatly." Strange to say, at that moment Laisran, who 
 was then living in the monastery of the Oakwood Plain, 
 was in some way compelled, and, as if incited by a fire 
 within him, ordered the monks to cease from work, and 
 some refreshments to be prepared for them, and besides, 
 ordered them to rest not only for that day, but also on other 
 days of severe weather. The Saint hearing in spirit these 
 consolatory words addressed to the brethren by Laisran, ceased 
 to weep, and greatly rejoiced, though dwelling in the island of 
 Iona, and related all the circumstances to the brethren around 
 him and blessed Laisran as the comforter of the monks. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Of Fechna, a wise man, how he came as a penitent to S. Columba as he 
 
 had foretold. 
 
 At another time the Saint, when sitting on the top of the 
 hill which in the distance rises up above our monastery, 
 turned to his servant Diormit and addressed him, saying : " I 
 wonder why a certain ship from Ireland is so long in drawing 
 near. It carries a certain wise man, who having fallen into a 
 certain sin, will soon arrive and promise amendment with tears. 
 Not long after the servant, when looking towards the south, 
 saw the sail of a ship approaching the harbour. The Saint, 
 when its arrival was pointed out to him, rose up quickly, saying ; 
 
COLUMBA. 7 9 
 
 " Let us go to meet the stranger, whose sincere repentance 
 Christ has received." But Fechna leaving the ship hastened 
 to meet the Saint, who was coming down to the harbour, and 
 falling on his bended knees, with tears and lamentations groaned 
 most bitterly, and in the presence of all who were there con- 
 fessed his sins. Then the Saint shedding tears equally with 
 him, said to him : " Rise up, my son, and be comforted ; the 
 sins which thou hast committed are forgiven thee, because, as 
 it is written, " God despiseth not a humble and contrite heart." 
 He then rose up and was joyfully supported by the Saint ; and 
 some days after was sent to Baithene, who at the time was 
 living, as Superior, at the monastery in the plain of Lunge, 
 and made his journey thither in peace. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning his monk Cailtan, 
 
 At another time, when sending two monks to another of the 
 name of Cailtan, who at the time was superior in the cell which 
 is now called by the name of his brother Diuni and is situated 
 near the lake of the river Aba, the Saint gave them these 
 instructions : " Go quickly to Cailtan, and tell him to come to 
 me without delay." In obedience to the Saint's command 
 they went, and arriving at the cell of Diuni, informed Cailtan 
 of their errand. At once, without tarrying, he followed the 
 Saint's messengers, and quickly came along with them to the 
 Saint, who was then dwelling in the island of Iona. On making 
 his appearance, the Saint spoke to him, addressing him in these 
 words : "O Cailtan, thou hast done well by obediently hastening 
 to me ; rest a little. Loving thee as a friend, I sent to invite 
 thee, in order that thou mayest in true obedience finish the 
 course of thy life here with me ; for before the end of this week 
 thou wilt pass away in peace to the Lord." When Cailtan heard 
 these words, he gave thanks to God and embraced the Saint 
 with tears. After receiving the Saint's benediction, he went to 
 the guest-chamber. That same night he fell sick, and according 
 
80 LIFE OF 
 
 to the word of the Saint he departed during that same week to 
 Christ the Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Foresight and prophecy of the Holy Man concerning two brothers. 
 
 ONE Lord's day a shout was raised on the other side of the 
 Sound we have so often mentioned. On hearing the shout the 
 Saint said to the brethren who were present : " Go quickly and 
 bring the strangers, who are come from a great distance, to us 
 speedily." They obeyed at once ; and, ferrying the guests 
 across, they brought them in. The Saint embraced them, and 
 immediately began to make inquiries of them as to the reason 
 of their journey. In reply they said : " We are come that we 
 may tarry this year with thee." To this the Saint responded : 
 " With me you cannot tarry a year, as you say, without first 
 taking the monastic vow." When those who were present 
 heard these words addressed to newly arrived guests, they 
 wondered greatly. But the elder brother answered in reply to 
 the words of the Saint : " Although up to this moment we 
 never had this thought in mind, yet we will follow thy advice, 
 as we believe it to be divinely inspired." What more need I 
 say ? That self-same moment they entered the chapel with 
 the Saint, and on bended knees devoutly took the monastic 
 vow. The Saint then, turning to the brethren, said : " These 
 two strangers who are presenting themselves a living sacrifice 
 to God, and in a brief space are fulfilling a long period of 
 Christian warfare, shall shortly, even during this present 
 month, pass in peace to Christ the Lord." When they heard 
 these words, both the brothers gave thanks to God, and were 
 led away to the guest-chamber. After seven days the elder 
 brother began to be sick, and, during the same week, passed 
 away to the Lord. Likewise also the other, after seven days 
 more, he also grew sick, and in the end of the same week 
 passed with joy to the Lord. And thus, according to the true 
 prophecy of the Saint, before the end of that same month both 
 the brothers ended this present life. 
 
COLUMBA 81 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning Artbranan. 
 
 When the blessed man was sojourning for some days in the isle 
 of Skye he struck a piece of ground near the sea with his staff, 
 and spoke thus to his companions : " Strange to say, O chil- 
 dren, to day in this spot a certain aged heathen, who has 
 preserved his natural goodness through all his life, will here be 
 baptized, and die, and be buried." And lo ! about an hour 
 after, there came into the harbour a vessel, on the prow of 
 which sat a decrepit old man, the chief of the Geona cohort, 
 whom two young men lifted out' of the ship and laid in the 
 presence of the blessed man. Having received the word of 
 God from the Saint by means of an interpreter, he forthwith 
 believed, was baptized by the Saint, and after the completion 
 of the mystery of baptism, as the Saint prophesied, immediately 
 died in the same place, and there his companions buried him, 
 and raised a cairn over his body. To this day this cairn is 
 seen on the sea shore ; and the river of the place in which he 
 received baptism was called by the inhabitants Dobur Art- 
 branan, and is so named to this present day. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Of the Boat that was removed by the Saint's order. 
 
 At another time, when travelling beyond Drumalban, the 
 Saint came to a village amid deserted fields, on the bank of a 
 river where it enters a lake. Here he made a stay ; and that 
 same night, as they were falling asleep, he aroused his com- 
 panions, saying : " Now, now, run out quickly, bring hither our 
 boat, which you left in a house beyond the river, and place it 
 in an adjoining hut." Obeying him forthwith, they did as he 
 commanded them. When they were again settled down, the 
 Saint, after a while, quietly nudging Diormit, said : " Stand 
 now without the door and see what is happening in the village, 
 
 6 
 
82 LIFE OF 
 
 where you first left your boat." In obedience to the Saint, 
 Diormit went out, and looking back, saw the whole village 
 burning with a devastating fire ; and, returning to the Saint, 
 told him what was taking place. The Saint then told the 
 brethren of a certain envious foe who had that night set fire to 
 the houses. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Of Gallan, son of Fachtna, who was in the jurisdiction of Colga, son 
 
 of Cellach. 
 
 MOREOVER, on another day, when the Saint was sitting in his 
 hut, he prophesied to the same Colga, who was reading beside 
 him, saying : " Just now the demons are dragging down to hell 
 a miserly chief from the district under thy jurisdiction." 
 When he heard this, Colga marked down the day and hour on 
 his tablet. After some months, having returned to his country 
 and made inquiries among the inhabitants of the place, he 
 found that Gallan, son of Fachtna, had died at the very 
 moment the blessed man told him that he was being carried off 
 by demons. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Of Findchan, a priest, Founder of the Monastery which, in the Irish 
 tongue, is called Artchain, in the island of Tiree. 
 
 At another time the above-mentioned priest and soldier of 
 Christ, Findchan, brought with him from Ireland to Britain, 
 clad in the clerical garb and for the purpose of staying with 
 him in his monastery for a number of years, Aid, surnamed the 
 Black, a descendant of a royal family and an Irish Pict by 
 race. This Aid the Black had been a very blood-thirsty man, 
 and was the murderer of many. Among others he had slain 
 Diormit, son of Cerbul, who by Divine authority had been 
 
COLUMBA. 83 
 
 ordained Ruler of all Ireland. Moreover, this same Aid, after 
 spending some time in retirement, was, in the presence of the 
 above-named Findchan, ordained a priest, though unlawfully, 
 by a bishop who had been invited for the purpose. The bishop, 
 however, would not venture to lay his hand upon his head 
 unless the said Findchan, who loved Aid after the flesh, would 
 first place his right hand upon his head as a mark of approval. 
 When such an ordination was afterwards made known to the 
 Saint, he was deeply grieved, and forthwith pronounced this 
 terrible sentence against Findchan and Aid who had been 
 ordained, saying : " That right hand which Findchan, contrary 
 to the laws of God and the Church, laid on the head of that 
 son of perdition, shall soon rot away and after great agonies of 
 pain shall go before him to the grave ; while he himself shall 
 survive its burial for many years. But this unlawfully ordained 
 Aid shall return as a dog to his vomit and live again as a 
 bloody murderer, and at last, pierced in the neck by a lance, he 
 shall fall from a beam into the water and die by drowning." 
 Such was the end merited long before by him who slew the King 
 of all Ireland. The prophecy of the blessed man was fulfilled 
 concerning both ; for the right hand of the priest Findchan 
 putrified from the effects of a blow and preceded him to the 
 earth, being buried in the island which is called Ommon ; while 
 he himself survived for many years according to the word of 
 S. Columba. But Aid the Black, a priest only in name, turning 
 again to his former evil ways, was treacherously pierced by a 
 lance, and falling from the prow of a boat into a lake, perished. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Of the consolation of the spirit of the Saint sent to the monks when 
 wearied on a journey. 
 
 AMONG these remarkable manifestations of the spirit of pro- 
 phecy it does not seem foreign to our little books to say some- 
 thing also of the spiritual comfort which the monks of S. 
 
84 LIFE OF 
 
 Columba once felt from his spirit meeting them in the way. 
 For on one occasion, when the brethren were returning in the 
 evening from harvesting, and were come to the place which in 
 the Irish tongue is called Cuuleilne, which is said to be midway 
 between the western plain of the Island of Iona and our 
 monastery, each of them seemed to feel something strange and 
 unwonted, which, however, none of them ventured to mention 
 in any way to each other. And so for some days in the same 
 place and at the same hour in the evening they had the same 
 feeling.. In those days, however, S. Baithene was among 
 them, as the director of their labours, and one day he addressed 
 them, saying : " Now brethren, if any of you feel any unwonted 
 or unexpected sign in this middle place between the harvest 
 and the monastery, you ought each to confess it." Then an 
 elder brother said : " In obedience to thy command I will tell 
 what has been shown to me in this place ; for both in the past 
 few days and even now I perceive a fragrance of such wonderful 
 sweetness as if all the flowers of the earth were gathered into 
 one place, also a glow of fire not painful but in a certain manner 
 pleasing, and a certain unusual and incomparable gladness 
 poured into my heart, which of a sudden comforts me in a 
 wonderful way, and so refreshes me that I am able to remember 
 neither grief nor weariness of any kind ; but even the burden 
 which I carry on my back, though heavy, from this place until 
 the monastery is reached, is in some way I know not of, so 
 lightened that I do not feel that I am bearing a burden." 
 What more need I say ? All the harvesters one by one 
 declared that they had had the same experience in every thing, 
 exactly as this one had openly declared, and all knelt down 
 together and requested of S. Baithene that he would learn and 
 inform them of the cause and origin of this wonderful relief 
 which he himself as well as the rest was feeling. Thereupon 
 he replied : " Ye all know that our father Columba is always 
 anxiously thinking about us, and that mindful of our labour he 
 is grieved when we are late in returning to him, and, therefore, 
 though he has not come to meet us in person, his spirit is 
 meeting us and comforting us as we walk along, and is in this 
 way filling us with joy." On hearing these words, they knelt 
 
COLUMBA. 85 
 
 down, and spreading out their hands to heaven with great joy, 
 venerated Christ in the holy and blessed man. 
 
 Moreover, we ought not to be silent respecting what has 
 been unhesitatingly handed down to us by certain well 
 informed men concerning the voice of the blessed man when 
 engaged in singing the Psalms. The voice of the venerable 
 man when he was in the church singing psalms with the 
 brethren, was raised in so wonderful a manner that it was 
 sometimes heard four stadia, i.e., five hundred paces off, and 
 sometimes even eight stadia, i.e., a thousand paces away. And 
 strange to say, in the ears of those who were standing beside 
 him in the church, his voice did not exceed in the greatness of 
 its sound the due measure of the human voice ; and yet, at the 
 same time, persons who were standing more than a thousand 
 paces away heard the same voice so distinctly that they could 
 distinguish the verses he was singing, even syllable by syllable. 
 Whether they were near or afar off, his voice sounded the same 
 in the ears of those who were listening. But it is admitted 
 that this miracle in connection with the voice of the blessed 
 man happened not often but seldom. Nevertheless, it could 
 not have happened at all without the aid of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 And that also ought not to be passed over in silence which 
 is said to have happened when he raised his voice in so great 
 and wonderful a manner near the fortress of King Brude. For 
 when the Saint was according to custom chanting the even- 
 song with a few of the brethren outside the fortifications of the 
 King, certain Druids coming near to them did all they could 
 to prevent the sound of the divine praise from being heard out 
 of their mouth among the heathen. On hearing this the Saint 
 began to sing the forty-fourth Psalm, and at the same moment 
 his voice was so wonderfully raised in the air that it became 
 like pealing thunder, and both the King and the people were 
 struck with intolerable amazement and fear. 
 
86 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Of a certain rich man who was called Lugud Clodus. 
 
 At another time, when the Saint was staying in Ireland for 
 some days, he saw a cleric seated in a chariot, and pleasantly 
 driving along the plain of Breg, and inquired who he was. 
 From the man's friends he received the following response con- 
 cerning him : " This is Lugud Clodus, a man rich and 
 honoured among the people." Thereupon the Saint replied : 
 " Not such do I see ; but a poor wretched creature who, on the 
 day of his death, will have among his cattle, in one of his 
 enclosures, three strayed cattle of his neighbour's. One of the 
 three he will select and order to be slain for his own use, and 
 when the flesh of it is cooked, he will request a part of it to be 
 given to him as he lies on the same couch with a prostitute, and 
 receiving but a morsel of it to eat, he will be there immediately 
 choked and die." All these things, as we have heard from 
 persons well informed, were fulfilled according to the prophecy 
 of the Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 Prophecy of the Saint concerning Neman, son of Gruthrich. 
 
 FOR this man, when the Saint reproved him for his faults, 
 lightly esteemed and mocked the Saint. Replying to him the 
 blessed man said : " In the name of the Lord, Neman, I will 
 declare words of truth concerning thee. Thy enemies shall 
 find thee lying in bed with a prostitute, and shall slay thee 
 there. Moreover, demons shall snatch away thy soul to the 
 place of torments." And this same Neman was, after some 
 years, found in bed with a prostitute in the district of Cainle, 
 and being beheaded by his enemies, died according to the word 
 of the Saint. 
 
COLUMBA. 87 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning a certain priest who was in 
 
 Trioit. 
 
 At another time the Saint, when staying in that part of Ireland 
 mentioned a little ago, came by chance on the Lord's Day to 
 a little monastery in the neighbourhood, which is called in the 
 Irish language Trioit. On the same day, when he heard a 
 certain priest celebrating the holy mysteries of the Eucharist, 
 whom the brethren residing there had chosen to perform the 
 solemn offices of the Mass, because they deemed him very 
 devout, he suddenly uttered this terrible declaration : " The 
 clean and the unclean are seen now to be equally mingled 
 together ; that is, the clean mysteries of the Holy Sacrifice are 
 offered by an unclean man who in his own conscience is con- 
 cealing a great crime." When they heard these words those 
 who were present were appalled. But he concerning whom 
 they were said, was compelled to confess his sin in the presence 
 of all. And the fellow soldiers of Christ, who stood round the 
 Saint in the Church and had heard him making manifest the 
 secrets of the heart, with great wonder glorified the divine 
 knowledge which dwelt in him. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning the thief Erco Mocudruidi, who 
 dwelt in the island of Colonsay. 
 
 At another time, when the Saint was staying in Iona, two of 
 the brethren, by name Lugbe and Silnan, being summoned to 
 him, he charged them saying : " Cross now to the island of 
 Mull and on the open ground near the sea shore search for the 
 thief Ere, who secretly came alone last night from the island 
 of Colonsay, and during the day is trying to hide himself 
 among the sandhills under his boat covered with hay, in order 
 
88 LIFE OF 
 
 that at night he may cross over to the little island, where our 
 young seals are brought forth and reared, and there filling his 
 boat from those he has ruthlessly slain, the destructive thief 
 may return to his own dwelling. As soon as they heard these 
 words, they obeyed and sailed over and found the thief con- 
 cealed in the place indicated by the Saint and brought him to 
 the Saint as he had directed them. When he saw him the 
 Saint said : " Why dost thou transgress the divine command so 
 often and steal the things of others. Whenever thou art in 
 want come to us, and thou shalt receive whatever needful things 
 thou askest." And as he said this he commanded some 
 wethers to be killed and given to the wretched thief in place 
 of seals, that he might not go back home empty. And some 
 time after the Saint, foreseeing in spirit the approaching death 
 of the thief, sent to Baithene, who was at the time in charge in 
 the plain of Lunge, to have conveyed to that same thief a fat 
 sheep and six measures of corn as his last gift. Baithene 
 having sent them as the Saint had desired, found that the 
 wretched thief had suddenly died on the same day before their 
 arrival, and the presents sent over were used at his funeral. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning the poet Cronan. 
 
 At another time, when the Saint was one day sitting with the 
 brethren beside Lough Key, near the mouth of the river, which 
 in Latin is called Bos, there came to them a certain Irish poet ; 
 and when he had retired after a short interview, the brethren 
 said to the Saint : " Why didst thou not ask the poet Cronan 
 before he went away to sing us a song with accompaniment, 
 according to the rules of his art." To which the Saint replied : 
 " Wherefore do you also now utter useless words ? How 
 could I ask a song of joy from that miserable creature, who 
 even now has been slain by his enemies and has thus quickly 
 come to the end of his life." When these words had been said 
 by the Saint, lo, some man cried out from the other side of the 
 
COLUMBA. 89 
 
 river, saying, " The poet who just now left you in safety, has 
 this moment been slain in the way by his enemies." Then all 
 who were present, looked at each other in amazement, and 
 wondered greatly. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning two Nohkmen who died of wounds 
 they had inflicted on each other. 
 
 At another time, again, when the Saint was living in the island 
 of Iona, very suddenly, while engaged in reading, and to the 
 great surprise of all, he sighed very sorrowfully. On seeing 
 this Lugbe Mocublai, who was present, began to ask the cause 
 of his sudden grief. The Saint very sorrowfully replied : " Two 
 men of royal descent in Ireland have just died from wounds 
 they have inflicted on each other not far from the monastery 
 called Cellrois in the province of the Maugdorna, and on the 
 eighth day, when a week has passed, one coming from Ireland 
 will call from the other side of the Sound, and tell you these 
 things as they occurred. But O my child, as long as I live, 
 tell this to no one." On the eighth day, accordingly, a shout 
 was heard from the other side of the Sound. Then the Saint 
 calling the above mentioned Lugbe to him quietly said : " He 
 who is now calling from across the Sound is the aged traveller 
 of whom I spoke to thee before ; go and bring him here to 
 me." And he being speedily brought, among other things, 
 told also this, saying : " Two noblemen in the district of the 
 Maugdorna, near the confines of the territory where the mon- 
 astery called Cellrois is situated, have died from wounds they 
 inflicted on each other ; namely, Colman the Hound, son 
 of Ailen, and Ronan, son of Aid, son of Colga, both descended 
 from the Kings of the Airtheara. After these things had been 
 narrated, Lugbe, the soldier of Christ, began to question the 
 Saint in private, saying : " Tell me, I beseech thee, of these and 
 such like prophetic revelations, how they are made to thee ; 
 whether by vision or by hearing, or by other means unknown 
 
90 LIFE OF 
 
 to men." To this the Saint replied : " Of the very difficult 
 matter concerning which thou now inquirest, I can tell thee 
 nothing whatever unless thou first strictly promise on thy 
 bended knees by the name of the Most High God never to tell 
 this most secret mystery to any one during all the days of my 
 life." On hearing this, Lugbe immediately fell on his knees, 
 and with his face bent down to the ground, promised every 
 thing exactly according to the demand of the Saint. As soon 
 as the promise was given, the Saint said to him as he arose : 
 " Some there are, though very few, to whom the Divine 
 grace has given when the bosom of their own mind is 
 wonderfully enlarged, to behold clearly and most distinctly 
 even the whole orb of the entire earth, with the surrounding 
 sea and sky, in one and the same moment, as if beneath 
 a single ray of the sun." The Saint, when speaking 
 of this miracle, though he seems to be speaking 
 of other of the elect, as shunning vain glory, did nevertheless in 
 reality speak of himself, though indirectly, and no one can 
 doubt this who reads the Apostle Paul, that vessel of election, 
 where he narrates such visions as were revealed to him. For 
 he did not write " I know that I," but " I know a man caught 
 up even to the third heaven." Now although he seems to be 
 here speaking of another, yet no one doubts that while pre- 
 serving his humility, he is speaking of none other than himself. 
 And our Columba, in narrating the spiritual visions mentioned 
 above, imitated him, as in this also which the aforesaid man, 
 whom the Saint greatly loved, could with difficulty extort from 
 him after earnest entreaties, as Lugbe after the death of S. 
 Columba did himself testify in the presence of other holy men, 
 from whom we have learned those well authenticated incidents 
 concerning the Saint, which we have narrated above. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 Of Cronan the Bishop. 
 
 AT another time a traveller came to the Saint from the province 
 of the Munstermen, and in his humility did all he could to 
 
COLUMBA. 91 
 
 disguise himself, so that no one might know that he was a 
 bishop ; but it was impossible to hide it from the Saint. For 
 on the next Lord's Day, when requested by the Saint to 
 consecrate according to custom the Body of Christ, he called 
 the Saint to his side, that together, as two priests, they might 
 break the bread of the Lord. Thereupon the Saint went up 
 to the Altar, and suddenly looking him in the face thus 
 addressed him : " Christ bless thee, brother ; break this bread 
 alone according to the episcopal rite. We know now that 
 thou art a Bishop. Why hast thou until now tried to hide 
 thyself, so that the veneration due to thee might not be ren- 
 dered by us." On hearing the Saint's word the humble 
 traveller was greatly astonished and venerated Christ in the 
 Saint ; and the bystanders in amazement glorified God. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning Ernan the Priest. 
 
 At another time, again, the venerable man sent Ernan, his 
 uncle, an aged priest, to preside over the monastery which he 
 had founded many years before in the island of Hinba (Eilean- 
 na-Naoimh). At his departure, the Saint embraced and 
 blessed him, and uttered this prophecy concerning him : " This 
 my friend who is now going from us, I do not expect to see 
 alive again in this world." Accordingly Ernan after a few 
 days fell ill and desired to be carried back to the Saint, who 
 greatly rejoiced at his return and set out for the harbour to 
 meet him. Ernan himself very boldly attempted, though with 
 feeble steps, to walk without assistance from the harbour to 
 meet the Saint. But when there was between them a space of 
 about four and twenty paces, he was suddenly overtaken by 
 death, and before the Saint could see his face in life, he fell to 
 the ground and breathed his last, that the word of the Saint 
 might not in any way be frustrated. Hence in that place 
 before the door of the Kiln a cross was raised, and another 
 cross was in like manner put up where the Saint stood when 
 Ernan expired, which cross remains to this day. 
 
92 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning the family of a certain peasant. 
 
 At another time also there came among others to the Saint 
 while he was staying in the district which in the Irish tongue 
 is called Coire Salchain, a certain peasant, of whom, when he 
 saw him coming to him, one evening, he inquired : " Where 
 dost thou live ? " He replied : " I live in the district which 
 borders on the shore of Lake Crogreth." " The district of 
 which thou speakest," returned the Saint, "barbarous marauders 
 are now devastating." When he heard this, the wretched 
 peasant began to lament his wife and children ; but the Saint, 
 seeing him so deeply afflicted, comforted him, saying : '' Go, 
 my poor fellow, go ; all thy family has escaped by flight to the 
 mountain ; but all thy cattle the marauders have taken away, 
 and all the furniture of thy house the ruthless pillagers have in 
 like manner carried off with their booty. When the peasant 
 heard this, he returned home and found that all had happened 
 as the Saint foretold. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Prophecy of the Holy Man concerning a peasant named Gore, son of 
 
 Aidan. 
 
 At another time, again, a certain peasant who at that time 
 was by far the bravest of all the men among the Korkureti, 
 asked the Saint by what death he would die. " Not on the 
 battle field shalt thou die," replied the Saint, " nor at sea ; a 
 companion of thy journey of whom thou hast no suspicion, 
 shall be the cause of thy death." " Perhaps," said Gore, " one 
 of the friends who accompany me on my journey intends to 
 murder me, or my wife because of her love for some younger 
 man meditates my destruction by treachery." The Saint 
 answered : " Not thus will it happen." " Why," said Gore, 
 
COLUMBA. 93 
 
 " wilt thou not now tell me of my murderer ? " " Because," 
 said the Saint, " I do not wish to tell thee anything more 
 clearly just now concerning thy companion who is to injure 
 thee, lest the frequent recollection of the fact should sadden 
 thee too much before the day come when thou shalt prove the 
 truth of this matter." But why delay longer with words ? 
 After the lapse of a few years this same Gore was by chance 
 one day sitting under his boat scraping off the bark from his 
 spear handle with his knife, when hearing others near him 
 fighting among themselves, he rose quickly to separate them 
 as they fought, and carelessly throwing his knife down to the 
 ground in his haste, he was seriously wounded by it in the 
 knee. And from such a companion did the cause of his death 
 originate ; and he himself trembling in spirit at once recog- 
 nised it according to the prophecy of the holy man. After a 
 few months he died in agony from the wound. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 The Sainfs foreknowledge and prophecy concerning another matter, 
 which though of less importance is so beautiful that I think it ought 
 not to be passed over in silence. 
 
 For at another time when the Saint was dwelling in the island 
 of Iona, he called one of the brethren to him and addressed 
 him thus : " At the dawn of the third day from this when sitting 
 on the shore of the sea on the western side of this island, thou 
 oughtest then to look out. For a crane, a stranger from the 
 northern part of Ireland, driven about by the winds through 
 long flights, will come after the ninth hour of the day, fatigued 
 and very weary, and with its strength almost spent will light 
 on the shore and lie down before thee. Treat it tenderly and 
 carry it to a neighbouring house, and there when it shall be 
 kindly received, do thou nurse and feed it three days and 
 nights ; and when refreshed after the three days rest, it is un- 
 willing to tarry longer with us, it will return with renewed 
 
94 LIFE OF 
 
 strength to the pleasant part of Ireland from which it originally 
 came. I earnestly commend it to thee, because it comes from 
 our own native place." The brother obeyed, and on the third 
 day after the ninth hour, he watched, as he was told, for the 
 arrival of the presaged guest, and when it came and alighted, 
 he lifted it from the shore, bore it in its weakness to a dwelling, 
 and in its hunger fed it. On his return to the monastery in 
 the evening the Saint not by way of inquiring but stating as a 
 fact, said : " God bless thee, my son, because thou hast 
 ministered to this foreign guest that will not tarry long on its 
 journey, but after three days will return to its own country." 
 As the Saint predicted the event also proved. For after being 
 tended three days, the bird in the presence of its hospitable 
 entertainer, first rose up on its wings to a great height, and 
 then, having searched out its way for a little in the air, crossed 
 the ocean, and flying by a straight course, returned to Ireland 
 on a calm day. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 The foreknowledge of the Holy Man concerning the Battle which was 
 fought a long time afterwards in the fortress of the Cethirn and 
 concerning the Well 7iear the same place. 
 
 Another time, after the convention of the Kings at the Ridge 
 Ceath ; namely, of Aid son of Ainmurech and Aidan son of 
 Gabhran, the blessed man returned to the sea-coast, and on a 
 calm day in summer, he and Abbot Congal sat down not far 
 from the above-named fort. Then water from a well close by 
 was brought in a bronze vessel to the Saint, that they might 
 wash their hands. When S. Columba had received it, he thus 
 addressed Abbot Congal who was sitting by his side : ' The 
 well, O Congal, whence this water which has now been poured 
 upon us, was drawn, will one day be no longer fit for human 
 use.' ' From what cause,' said Congal, ' shall the water of this 
 spring be polluted ? ' ' Because,' said S. Columba, ' it shall be 
 
COLUMBA. 95 
 
 filled with human blood, for thy relatives and mine according 
 to the flesh, the people of the Cruithni and the race of Nial 
 shall fight in battle against each other in this neighbouring 
 fortress of the Cethirn, and at the aforesaid well an unhappy 
 relative of mine shall be slain, whose blood with that of many 
 others shall fill up its place.' After many years this veritable 
 prophecy was in its own time fulfilled ; for in the battle, as 
 many are aware, Domnal, son of Aid, came off victorious, and 
 at the said well according to the prophecy of the holy man a 
 kinsman of his was slain. 
 
 Another soldier of Christ, Finan by name, who for many 
 years lived blamelessly the life of an anchorite near the mon- 
 astery of the Oakwood Plain, and was present when the battle 
 was fought, in narrating some things to me, Adamnan, solemnly 
 averred that he saw a dead body in the aforesaid well, and that 
 on his return after the battle on the same day to the monastery 
 of S. Comgel which is called in the Irish tongue Cambas, 
 because he had thence first come, he found two aged monks of 
 S. Comgel there, who, when he told them of the battle he had 
 seen and of the well defiled with human blood, immediately said : 
 ' A true prophet was Columba, who all these things which thou 
 tellest us have to-day been accomplished concerning the battle 
 and the well, many years before they have come to pass, he 
 foretold in our hearing in the presence of S. Comgel when 
 sitting with him near the fortress of the Cethirn. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 Of the difference between divers presents revealed to the Holy Man by 
 Divine Grace. 
 
 About the same time Conall, Bishop of Coleraine, collected 
 almost innumerable presents from the people of the Plain of 
 Elne, in order to give to the blessed man a hospitable reception 
 on his return, after the convention of the Kings mentioned 
 above, and to the vast multitude accompanying him. Many 
 
g6 LIFE OF 
 
 of these presents from the people were laid out in the paved 
 court of the monastery, that they might be blessed by the holy 
 man on his arrival. While blessing them he examined them, 
 specially pointing out me the gift of a wealthy man. ' The 
 man whose gift that is,' he said, ' is, for his mercy to the poor 
 and his liberality, attended by the mercy of God.' In like 
 manner he distinguished another among the many presents, 
 saying : ' Of this present of a wise and avaricious man I can 
 in no wise taste, until he has first shown true penitence for the 
 sin of avarice.' Hearing this saying, which was quickly cir- 
 culated among the crowd, Columb son of Aid, conscious of 
 his fault, ran up, and on his bended knees repented and pro- 
 mised that henceforward he would renounce his avarice and 
 practice liberality with amendment of life. The Saint com- 
 manded him to rise, and from that hour he was cured of the 
 vice of greed ; for he was a wise man, as was revealed to the 
 Saint through that present. But the munificent rich man 
 called Brenden, of whose present mention was made a little 
 above, hearing the words spoken by the Saint concerning him- 
 self, knelt at the feet of the Saint, and besought him to offer 
 up prayer for him to the Lord. When at the outset he was 
 reproved by the Saint for certain of his sins, he repented of 
 them, and promised to amend his life. And thus both these 
 men were amended of their peculiar faults and cured of their 
 vices. 
 
 With like knowledge the Saint also at another time dis- 
 tinguished among many presents, which had been collected at 
 the Great Cell of Deathrib, on the occasion of his visit to that 
 place, the present of a greedy man named Diormit. 
 
 To have written these things in the course of this book as 
 a few instances out of many of the prophetic gifts of the 
 blessed man, may suffice. I have said a few, for it cannot 
 be doubted concerning this venerable man, that the things 
 which, through being inwardly hidden sacraments, could not 
 in any way come to the knowledge of men were much more 
 numerous than those which as a few little drops oozed out, as 
 it were, like newly fermented wine through the chinks of a full 
 vessel. For holy and apostolic men, avoiding vain glory, strive 
 
COLUMBA. 97 
 
 to hide as far as they are able the inner secrets inwardly 
 manifested to them by God. Yet God sometimes, whether 
 they will or not, makes some of these secrets known and in 
 many ways brings them forth to the world, desiring thus to 
 glorify those Saints who glorify him ; the Lord Himself, to 
 Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Here endeth the First Book. 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 Of His Miraculous Powers. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of the Wine which he made from Water. 
 
 At another time, while the venerable man was yet a youth in 
 Ireland, learning with S. Findbarr, the bishop, the wisdom of 
 Holy Scripture, it came to pass one holy day that not the least 
 drop of wine was found wherewith to celebrate the sacri- 
 ficial mystery. When he heard the ministers of the altar 
 complaining of their want among themselves, he took a vessel 
 and went with it to the fountain, in order that as a deacon 
 he might draw spring water for the celebration of the Holy 
 Eucharist. At that time he was serving in the order of a 
 deacon. Accordingly the blessed man blessed in faith the 
 element of water which he drew from the spring, invoking the 
 name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who turned water into wine at 
 Cana of Galilee, by whose operation in this miracle also, an 
 inferior element, namely water, was changed into one of a more 
 acceptable kind, namely wine, by means of the hand of this 
 remarkable man. The holy man then returned from the 
 spring, and entering the church placed the vessel containing 
 this liquid near the altar, and said to the ministers : ' You have 
 wine which the Lord Jesus has sent for the celebration of His 
 mysteries.' When this was known the holy bishop with the 
 ministers gave great thanks to God. But the holy youth 
 was wont to ascribe this not to himself but to S. Vinnian, 
 the bishop. This first proof of his power Christ the Lord 
 made manifest through his disciple in the same way as he 
 
COLUMBA. 99 
 
 wrought himself, when he made the beginning of miracles in 
 Cana of Galilee. 
 
 Let this divine miracle manifested by means of our Columba 
 shine in the beginning of this book as a light, that we may 
 pass on to other miracles of power which were shown forth 
 in him. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the bitter fruit of a tree changed into sweet by the benediction of the 
 
 Saint. 
 
 THERE was a certain very fruitful apple tree near the monastery 
 of the Oakwood Plain, on its southern side. On a certain day 
 in autumn, when the inhabitants of the place were complaining 
 of the exceeding bitterness of its fruit, the Saint came to it, 
 and seeing the boughs uselessly bearing abundant fruit which 
 injured rather than pleased those who tasted of it, he raised his 
 holy hand and blessed it, saying : ' In the name of Almighty 
 God, let all thy bitterness, O bitter tree, depart from thee, and 
 let thy apples hitherto so very bitter, be now changed into the 
 sweetest' Strange to say ; quicker than the word, and at the 
 same instant, every apple of the tree lost its bitterness and be- 
 came wonderfully sweet according to the Saint's word. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of corn sown after Midsummer and reaped in the beginning of the 
 month of August at the Saints prayer while he was residing in the 
 island of Zona. 
 
 At another time the Saint sent his monks to fetch from the 
 little farm of a peasant some bundles of withes to build a guest 
 house with. When they returned to the Saint with a freight 
 ship filled with the foresaid bundles of withes, and told him that 
 
ioo LIFE OF 
 
 the peasant was very sorry on account of the loss, the Saint 
 immediately gave directions, saying : ' Lest we do the man any 
 injury, let there be taken from us to him twice three measures 
 of barley and let him sow it now in his arable land.' 
 According to the command of the Saint the three measures 
 of barley were sent to the peasant, whose name was Findchan, 
 and delivered over to him with the above instructions. He 
 received them thankfully, but said : 'What good can corn do 
 which is sown after midsummer contrary to the nature of this 
 soil ? ' His wife on the other hand urged : ' Act according to 
 the command of the Saint, to whom the Lord will give what- 
 soever he shall ask of Him.' And those also who were sent 
 likewise added thus, saying : 'Saint Columba who sent us to 
 thee with this gift, entrusted us also with this instruction con- 
 cerning thy corn, saying : ' Let the man trust in the Omnipo- 
 tence of God ; his corn, though sown now when twelve days 
 of the month of June are passed, shall be reaped in the first 
 days of the month of August' The peasant therefore obeyed, 
 ploughing and sowing ; and to the amazement of all his neigh- 
 bours, the harvest which he sowed against hope at the aforesaid 
 time, he gathered in ripe in the beginning of the month of 
 August according to the word of the Saint, in the place which 
 is called Delcros. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of a Pestilential Cloud, and the curing of many people. 
 
 At another time, again, when the Saint was staying in the 
 island of Iona, and was sitting on the hill, which in Latin is 
 called Munitio Magna, he saw in the North a heavy rain cloud 
 rise up from the sea on a bright day. As the Saint saw it 
 ascending, he said to one of his monks, named Silnan, son 
 of Neman-don Mocusogin, who was sitting beside him : 
 "That cloud will be very baneful to men and beasts, and 
 after swiftly passing to-day over a considerable part of 
 Ireland, that is, from the river which is called Ailbine (Del- 
 
COLUMBA. 101 
 
 vin, in Meath) as far as the Ford Clied (Dublin), it will dis- 
 charge in the evening a pestilential rain, which will cause 
 large and putrid ulcers to grow on the bodies of men and 
 on the udders of cows, from which men and cattle will sicken 
 and labour till worn to death. But we, commiserating with 
 them, ought, with the merciful aid of God, to relieve them in 
 their sufferings. Do thou, therefore, Silnan, descend now with 
 me from this hill, and make ready for a voyage on the morrow, 
 when, life being spared and God willing, thou shalt receive 
 from me bread blessed by the invocation of the name of God. 
 This thou shalt dip in water, and with the water thou shalt 
 then sprinkle man and beast, and they shall quickly recover 
 their health." But why delay? On the morrow, having 
 quickly prepared the things which were requisite, Silnan, after 
 he had received from the hand of the Saint the bread which 
 had been blessed, sailed away in peace. As he was setting 
 out, the Saint gave him this word of consolation, saying, " Be 
 of good courage, my son, thou shalt have favouring and pros- 
 perous breezes, day and night, till thou come to the place which 
 is called Ard Ceannachte, so that thou mayest succour the sick 
 there the more speedily with the healing bread." What more ? 
 Silnan, obeying the command of the Saint, had a quick and 
 prosperous voyage, through the help of God, and coming to the 
 above-mentioned part of that country he found the people, of 
 whom the Saint had spoken, destroyed by the pestilential rain 
 falling down from the aforesaid cloud, which had passed 
 rapidly on before him. In the first place, twice three men were 
 found in one house by the sea, reduced to the last agonies of 
 approaching death, but when sprinkled by Silnan with the 
 water of benediction, they were the same day happily healed. 
 The fame of this sudden healing was quickly noised abroad 
 through all the region devastated by this very pestilential 
 disease, and drew all who were sick to S. Columba's mes- 
 senger, who, following the Saint's instructions, sprinkled man 
 and beast with the water in which the consecrated bread had 
 been dipped, when they were immediately restored to perfect 
 health. Then the men, finding that they and their cattle were 
 saved, praised Christ in S. Columba with the utmost expres- 
 
102 LIFE OF 
 
 sions of thankfulness. In the narrative above written, these 
 two things, I think, are clearly associated, namely, the gift of 
 prophecy concerning the cloud, and miraculous power in heal- 
 ing the sick. That these things are in every particular true, 
 the above-named Silnan, a soldier of Christ, the messenger 
 of S. Columba, testified in the presence of Abbot Seghine and 
 other elder brethren. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of Maugina, a holy virgin, daughter of Daimen, who had dwelt in a 
 place which in Irish is called Clochur of the sons of Daimen. 
 
 At another time the Saint, while dwelling in the island of 
 Iona, one day at prime called to him a certain brother, named 
 Lugaid, surnamed, in the Irish tongue, Lathir, and addressed 
 him thus, saying : " Get ready quickly for a rapid voyage to 
 Ireland, for it is of the utmost importance that I should send 
 thee on an errand as far as Clochur of the sons of Daimen. 
 For last night, by some accident, Maugina, a holy virgin, 
 daughter of Daimen, stumbled when returning home from the 
 chapel after Mass, and her thigh-bone is broken in two. She 
 is now crying out, and often mentions my name, hoping that 
 through me she will obtain some comfort from the Lord." 
 Why need I say more ? Lugaid obeyed at once, and as he 
 was setting out, the Saint gave to him, with his benediction, a 
 little pinewood box, saying : " Let the blessed gift which is 
 contained in this little box, be dipped in a vessel of water when 
 thou comest to meet Maugina, and let the water thus blessed 
 be poured over her thigh-bone, and immediately on the name 
 of the God being invoked, her thigh-bone shall be joined and 
 made strong, and the holy virgin shall be restored to perfect 
 health." This also the Saint added : " Lo here, in thy presence, 
 I write on the lid of this box the number of twenty-three years, 
 which the holy virgin shall live in this present life after receiv- 
 ing her health." All these things were fulfilled exactly as the 
 Saint predicted, for as soon as Lugaid came to the holy virgin, 
 
COLUMBA. 103 
 
 and her thigh was washed, as the Saint had enjoined, with the 
 blessed water, without the slightest delay the bone closed 
 together, and her thigh was perfectly healed. On the arrival 
 of the messenger of S. Columba, she rejoiced with much giving 
 of thanks, and after her restoration lived, according to the pro- 
 phecy of the Saint, twenty-three years in the constant practice 
 of good works. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the cure of divers diseases which were wrought in the Ridge of 
 
 Ceatt. 
 
 This man of remarkable life, as we have been told by those 
 who were well-informed, healed the disorders of divers sick 
 persons by invoking the name of Christ, during the days 
 he dwelt for a short time at the Ridge of Ceatt attending the 
 Convention of the Kings. For either by the stretching out of 
 his holy hand, or by sprinkling many sick with water he had 
 blessed, or even through touching the hem of his garment, or 
 some other thing, as salt, or bread which had received his 
 blessing and been dipped in water, those who believed re- 
 covered perfect health. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of a lump of salt blessed by the Saint which fire could not consume. 
 
 At another time, again, Colga son of Cellach asked and 
 received from the Saint a lump of salt, which he had blessed 
 for the cure of his sister, who had been his nurse and was now 
 suffering greatly from a severe attack of ophthalmia. This 
 same sister and nurse, when she received so great and blessed 
 a gift from the hand of her brother, hung it up on the wall over 
 her bed. Some days after it happened by accident that the 
 same village, together with the dwelling of the aforesaid woman, 
 
104 LIFE OF 
 
 was wholly consumed by a destructive fire. But strange to 
 say, in order that the gift of the blessed man might not be 
 destroyed, the portion of the wall on which it hung remained 
 standing uninjured after all the rest of the house had been con- 
 sumed ; nor did the fire venture to touch the two uprights on 
 which the lump of salt was suspended. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the volume of a book written by the Saint which could not be destroyed 
 
 by water. 
 
 ANOTHER miracle which was wrought by means of the con- 
 trary element, ought not, I think, to be passed over in silence. 
 For many years after the blessed man's departure to the Lord 
 a certain youth falling from his horse into the river which is 
 called in the Irish tongue Boend, sank and was drowned, and 
 remained under the water twenty days. When he fell, he had 
 under his arm a number of books packed up in a leathern 
 satchel, and so, when he was found after the above mentioned 
 number of days, he was still holding the satchel with the books 
 between his arm and his side. When the dead body was 
 brought to the dry ground and the satchel opened, the volume 
 which had been written by the sacred fingers of S. Columba, 
 was found among the other books, which were not only des- 
 troyed but had also rotted away, dry and wholly uninjured, as 
 if it had been laid away in a box. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of another miracle under similar circumstances. 
 
 AT another time a book of hymns for the office of every day 
 in the week and in the Saint's own handwriting dropped with 
 the leathern satchel that contained it, from the shoulder of a 
 
COLUMBA. ios 
 
 boy who fell from a bridge, into a certain river in the province 
 of Leinster, and sank. This same book remained in the water 
 from the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord until the end of the 
 Paschal season, and was afterwards found in the bank of the 
 river by certain women who were walking there, and was by 
 them carried in the same satchel, which was not only soaked 
 but also rotted away, to a certain priest named Iogenan, a 
 Pict by race, to whom it formerly belonged. On opening the 
 satchel this same Iogenan found his book uninjured and as 
 clean and dry, as if it had remained as long a time in his desk 
 and had never fallen into the water. Other similar incidents 
 which have occurred in different places, we have also in- 
 dubitably learned from persons well informed, respecting books 
 written by the hand of S. Columba, which books, indeed, by 
 immersion in water could not in any degree be injured. But 
 in regard to the above mentioned book of Iogenan, we have 
 received the narrative without the slightest ambiguity from 
 certain veracious and upright men of good reputation, who saw 
 the book itself, perfectly white and beautiful after it had been 
 immersed for as many days as stated above. These two 
 miracles, though wrought in matters of small moment, and 
 shown by opposite elements, namely, fire and water, attest the 
 honour of the blessed man, and of what and how great merit 
 he was esteemed before God. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of water which at the prayer of the Saint was drawn from the hard 
 
 rock. 
 
 AND because a little ago mention was made of the element of 
 water, we must not be silent respecting other miracles which 
 the Lord wrought by the Saint, though in divers times and 
 places in connection with the same element. For at another 
 time, when the Saint was on one of his journeys, an infant was 
 presented to him by its parents for baptism as he was travelling ; 
 
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 and because there was no water to be found in the neighbour- 
 hood, the Saint turning aside to a rock that was near, knelt 
 down and prayed a little ; and rising up after prayer, he blessed 
 the face of the rock, from which the bubbling water immediately 
 flowed abundantly, in which he at once baptized the infant. 
 Prophesying, concerning the child which was baptized, he 
 uttered these words, saying : " This child shall live to an ex- 
 treme old age ; in the years of his youth he will serve freely 
 his carnal desires, and then devoting himself to the Christian 
 warfare until the end of his life, he will depart to the Lord in a 
 good old age." All these things happened to the man accord- 
 ing to the prophecy of the Saint. He was Lugucencalad, 
 whose parents had been in Artdaib Muirchol, where to this 
 day is seen a fountain called by the name of S. Columba. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Of another poisonous fountain of water to which the Blessed Man gave 
 his blessing in the country of the Picts. 
 
 At another time, the blessed man, when tarrying some days 
 in the province of the Picts, heard that there was spread among 
 the heathen people the fame of another fountain which foolish 
 men, whose senses were blinded by the devil, worshipped as a 
 god ; for those who drank of this fountain or purposely washed 
 their hands or feet in it, were, with the permission of God, 
 smitten with demoniacal art, and returned leprous, or blind of 
 an eye, or even crippled, or they were seized with some other 
 ailments. And because of these things, the Pagans were seduced, 
 and were paying divine honour to the well. When he learned 
 these things, the Saint went boldly one day to the well ; and 
 the Druids, whom he had often sent away vanquished and con- 
 founded, were greatly rejoiced, thinking, forsooth, that he would 
 suffer similar things from the touch of the hurtful water. But 
 having first raised his holy hand with an invocation of the name 
 of Christ, he washed his hands and feet ; and then with his 
 
COLUMBA. 107 
 
 companions drank of the water he had blessed. And from that 
 day the demons departed from the fountain, and not only was 
 it not permitted to do harm to any one, but even many diseases 
 were healed among the people by this same fountain, after it 
 had been blessed and washed in by the Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Of the Blessed Man's peril at sea and the sudden stilling of the tempest 
 
 at his prayer. 
 
 At another time the holy man began to be in great peril at 
 sea ; for the whole vessel in which he was, was violently shaken 
 and heavily struck by huge waves, while a great storm of 
 winds raged on every side. The sailors then chanced to say 
 to the Saint as he was trying with them to bail the vessel : 
 " What thou art now doing is of little use to us in our present 
 straits ; thou ought rather to be praying for us as we are 
 perishing." On hearing this he ceased to throw out the bitter 
 water of the green sea wave, and began to pour forth sweet and 
 earnest prayer to the Lord. And wonderful to relate, the 
 very moment the Saint stood up in the prow, with his hands 
 outstretched to heaven, and prayed to the Almighty, the whole 
 storm and fury of the sea, subsiding more quickly than can be 
 told, ceased, and a most serene calm ensued. But those who 
 were in the ship were amazed, and giving thanks with great 
 admiration, they glorified God in the holy and illustrious man. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of another similar peril to him, at sea, in the Brecain whirlpool. 
 
 At another time, also, when a furious and dangerous storm 
 was raging, and his companions were crying out that he ought 
 to pray to the Lord for them, the Saint made them this answer : 
 
108 LIFE OF 
 
 " On this day it is not for me to pray for you in your present 
 peril, but the holy man, Abbot Cainnech." And wonderful 
 are the things I am about to relate. At that same hour S. 
 Cainnech was residing in his monastery, which in Latin is 
 called Campulus Bovis, but in Irish, Ached-bou, and had 
 heard with the inward ear of the heart, through the revelation 
 of the Holy Spirit, the above saying of S. Columba. And 
 when by chance he had begun to break the blessed bread, after 
 the ninth hour, in the refectory, he hastily left the table, and 
 with one shoe on his foot and the other left behind in his very 
 great haste, he went hurriedly to the church, saying : " This is 
 not the time for us to eat, when the vessel of S. Columba is in 
 great peril at sea. For at this moment he is lamenting and 
 calling on the name of Cainnech to pray to Christ for him and 
 his companions in peril." After saying these words, he went 
 into the chapel, and prayed for a little on his bended knees, 
 and the Lord hearing his prayer, the storm immediately ceased 
 and the sea became quite calm. Thereupon S. Columba, see- 
 ing in spirit, though away at a great distance, Cainnech' s great 
 haste in going to the church, to the amazement of all uttered 
 these words from his pure heart, saying : " Now I know, O 
 Cainnech, that God has heard thy prayer ; now has thy swift 
 running to the church with a single shoe greatly profited us." 
 In such a miracle as this, as we believe, the prayer of both 
 Saints co-operated. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of the staff of S. Cainnech, which was forgotten in the Harbour. 
 
 At another time, the Cainnech mentioned above, when embark- 
 ing at the port of the island of Iona for Ireland, forgot to take 
 with him his staff. After his departure it was found on the shore 
 and placed in the hands of S. Columba, who returned home 
 and carried it into the chapel, where he continued alone a long 
 time in prayer. Cainnech, meanwhile, was drawing near to 
 
C O L U M B A . 109 
 
 the island of Oidech, when he was suddenly pricked at heart 
 on account of his forgetfulness, and was greatly disturbed in 
 mind. But after a little while, when he disembarked from his 
 vessel, and was bending his knees in prayer on the ground, he 
 found the staff, which in his forgetfulness he had left behind 
 him in the port of the island of Iona, lying before him on the 
 turf in the little land of Aitech. And greatly surprised at its 
 conveyance to him by the divine power, he gave thanks to 
 God. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of Baithene and Columban, the son of Beogna, holy priests ; how on 
 the same day prosperous winds were given to each, when they asked 
 them to be given through the prayer of the Blessed man, though 
 they were sailing different ways. 
 
 At another time, also, the above-mentioned holy men came to 
 the Saint, and together with one accord asked that he would 
 seek and obtain from the Lord a favourable wind for them, 
 though they were about to set out in different directions. In 
 answer the Saint gave them this reply : " To-morrow morning, 
 Baithene, when setting sail from the harbour of the island of 
 Iona, shall have a favourable wind until he reaches the harbour 
 of the Plain of Lunge." And so the Lord granted it according 
 to the word of the Saint. For Baithene, on the same day, 
 crossed the whole of the great sea, until he came to Tiree, with 
 full sails. But in the third hour of the same day the venerable 
 man called the priest, Columban, to him, saying : " Baithene 
 has now prosperously reached his desired haven ; make ready 
 to sail to-day ; the Lord will soon change the wind to the 
 north." The same hour the wind from the south, in obedience 
 to the word thus spoken by the blessed man, changed into a 
 wind from the north ; and thus on the same day the two holy 
 men departed from each other in peace, and both made their 
 voyages with full sails and a favouring breeze, Baithene setting 
 
no LIFE OF 
 
 out in the morning for Tiree, and Columban in the afternoon 
 for Ireland. This miracle, the Lord granting it, was wrought 
 in virtue of the prayers of this illustrious man ; because, as it 
 is written, "All things are possible to him that believeth." 
 After the departure of S. Columban, on the same day S. 
 Columba uttered this prophetic word concerning him : " The 
 holy man, Columban, whom we blessed as he departed, will 
 never in this world see my face again." This also was after- 
 wards fulfilled, for in the same year S. Columba passed away 
 to the Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Of the driving away of a Demon which was lurking in a Milk-pail. 
 
 At another time, a certain youth, called Columban, grandson 
 of Briun, came up himself and stopped at the door of the hut 
 in which the blessed man was writing. This same man when 
 on his return home after milking the cows, was carrying on his 
 back a vessel full of new milk, which he asked the Saint to 
 bless according to his wont. The Saint who was then sitting 
 at some distance opposite to him raised his hand, made the 
 sign of the cross in the air, and invoking the name of God, 
 blessed the vessel, which was at once greatly disturbed, and the 
 bar of the lid being pushed back through the two holes that 
 received it, was shot away to a great distance, the lid fell to the 
 earth, and the greater part of the milk was spilled on the ground. 
 The young lad set the vessel with what little milk remained in 
 it down on its bottom on the ground, and humbly bowed his 
 knees in prayer. The Saint said to him : " Rise, Columban, 
 to-day thou hast done thy work carelessly ; for thou didst not 
 drive away the demon that was lurking in the bottom of thy 
 empty vessel by making upon it the sign of the cross of our 
 Lord before pouring the milk into it, and now not enduring 
 the power of that sign, but stricken with terror and having 
 troubled every corner of the vessel, he has quickly fled away 
 
COLUMBA. in 
 
 after spilling the milk. Bring hither, therefore, to me thy vessel 
 that I may bless it. When this had been done, the half empty 
 vessel which the Saint had blessed, was found the same 
 moment divinely filled ; and the little which at first had re- 
 mained in the bottom of the pail, under the blessing of his holy 
 hand quickly rose up to the brim. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of a vessel which a certain Sorcerer called Silnan filled with milk taken 
 
 from a bull. 
 
 It is said that the following occurred in the house of a rich 
 peasant, named Foirtgirn, who dwelt in Mount Cainle. When 
 the Saint was staying there as a guest, he discerned justly in a 
 dispute between two rustics of whose coming he knew before- 
 hand. One of them, who was a sorcerer, at the command of 
 the Saint, took milk by means of his diabolical art from a bull 
 which was near. This the Saint ordered to be done, not that 
 he might confirm these sorceries, which God forbid, but to 
 destroy them in the presence of the multitude. The blessed 
 man, therefore, quickly asked the vessel, full as it seemed to be 
 of such milk, to be given to him, and with this sentence 
 he blessed it, saying : " In this way shall it be proved that this 
 is not that true milk which it is thought to be, but blood 
 deprived of its colour by the artifice of demons for the decep- 
 tion of men." And immediately the milky coloured fluid was 
 changed into its own nature, i.e., into blood. The bull also, 
 which for the space of an hour had pined and wasted away 
 with a hideous leanness and was near to death, when sprinkled 
 with water, blessed by the Saint, was healed with marvellous 
 celerity. 
 
112 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of Lugne Mocumin. 
 
 One day a certain youth of good parts, named Lugne, who 
 afterwards in his old age was president of the Monastery in the 
 Elena island (Eilean Naomh), came to the Saint, complaining 
 of a flow of blood, which frequently during many months had 
 issued profusely from his nostrils. Having asked him to 
 come nearer, the Saint blessed both his nostrils, pressing them 
 together with the fingers of his hand. From the hour in which 
 he received the blessing unto the last day of his life, blood 
 never again flowed from his nose. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Of a great salmon found in the river Sale according to the word of the 
 
 Saint. 
 
 At another time, when some hardy fishermen, companions of 
 this renowned man, had taken five fish in a net in the river 
 Sale, which abounds in fish, the Saint said to them : " Go 
 again, cast your net into the river, and immediately you shall 
 find a large fish, which the Lord has prepared for me." They 
 obeyed the word of the Saint, and caught in the net a salmon 
 of amazing size, which had been prepared for him by God. 
 
 Of two fish found, by his prop <hecy, in the river which is called Boo. 
 
 At another time, also, when the Saint was staying some days 
 beside Lough Key, his companions desiring to go afishing, he 
 delayed them, saying : " To-day and to-morrow no fish will be 
 found in the river. On the third day I will send you, and you 
 shall find two large river-salmon caught in the net." Accord- 
 ingly, after two days, when they cast the net, they landed two 
 of the most extraordinary size. The river in which they were 
 
COLUMBA 113 
 
 found is called Bo. In the capture of fish on these two occa- 
 sions the power of the miracle appears accompanied at the 
 same time by prophetic foreknowledge, for which graces the 
 Saint and his companions gave fervent thanks to God. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Of Nesan the Crooked, who dwelt in the country bordering on the Lake 
 
 of Apors. 
 
 This Nesan, although very poor, on one occasion joyfully 
 received the holy man as his guest. When he had hospitably 
 entertained him according to his ability for the space of one 
 night, the Saint asked him the number of his heifers. He 
 replied : " Five." Thereupon the Saint said : " Bring them to 
 me that I may bless them." When they were brought to him, 
 the Saint raised his holy hand and blessed them, saying : 
 " From this day thy five little heifers shall increase to the 
 number of a hundred and five cows." And because the same 
 Nesan was a man of humble condition with a wife and children, 
 the blessed man added even this further blessing, saying : 
 " Thy seed shall be blessed in thy children and grandchildren." 
 All these things without any failure were completely fulfilled 
 according to the word of the Saint. 
 
 But concerning a certain rich and very greedy man named 
 Uigene, who had despised him, and did not receive him with 
 hospitality, S. Columba, on the other hand, uttered this pro- 
 phetic sentence, saying : " The riches of that avaricious man, 
 who has despised Christ in the strangers who came to be his 
 guests, shall from this day gradually diminish, until they are 
 reduced to nothing, and he himself shall be a beggar ; and his 
 son shall go about from house to house with a half empty 
 wallet, and he shall die, slain by a rival beggar with an axe in 
 the pit of a threshing floor." All these things concerning both 
 were fully accomplished according to the phophecy of the holy 
 man. 
 
ii 4 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Of Columban, a man of equally humble condition, whose very few cattle 
 the Holy Man blessed, how and after his blessing they increased to 
 a hundred. 
 
 At another time, also, when the blessed man had one night 
 been hospitably entertained by the aforesaid Columban, who 
 was then poor, early next morning the Saint asked his 
 humble host, as he had done before in the above account of 
 Nesan, as to the amount and value of his goods. When asked, 
 he said : " I have only five small cows, but if thou wilt bless 
 them, they will grow to more." Being immediately ordered 
 by the Saint to bring them to him, in like manner as was 
 related above concerning the five cows of Nesan, the Saint 
 gave as rich a blessing to the five cows of Columban, saying : 
 " By the gift of God, thou shalt have a hundred and five cows, 
 and an abundant blessing shall be on thy children and on thy 
 grandchildren." All which things were abundantly fulfilled in 
 his lands and cattle and offspring according to the prophecy 
 of the blessed man, and in a wonderful way the number of 
 cattle of each of the above-mentioned men when it reached 
 one hundred and five, as fixed by the Saint, could not in any 
 way be increased. For those which exceeded this fixed num- 
 ber were carried off by various accidents, and could never be 
 found except in so far as any of them might be used for the 
 family, or spent in almsgiving. In this narrative, as in others, 
 then, a miracle of power together with prophecy is clearly 
 shown. For in the large increase of cattle the virtue of his 
 blessing and of his prayer is equally manifest, and in the fixing 
 of the number his prophetic foreknowledge. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Of the death of some wicked men who had despised the Saint. 
 
 THE venerable man had a great affection for the above men- 
 tioned Columban, whom the virtue of his blessing had raised 
 
COLUMBA. 115 
 
 from povery to wealth, because he had done for him many acts 
 of kindness. Now there was at the same time a certain wicked 
 man, an oppressor of the good, named John, son of Conall, son 
 of Domnall, sprung from the royal race of Gabhran. This 
 man was oppressing the aforesaid Columban, the friend of S. 
 Columba ; and, making a hostile incursion, not once but twice, 
 had destroyed his dwelling and taken away everything he 
 could find in it. Hence it not undeservedly happened 
 to this wicked man that, after he had plundered the house 
 of the same person for the third time, and was return- 
 ing to the ship with his associates laden with plunder, he 
 met the blessed man, whom he had despised as being far 
 away, coming towards him. When the Saint rebuked him 
 for his evil deeds, and advised, and besought him to lay down 
 the plunder, he remained hardened and obstinate, and scorned 
 the Saint, and went on board his vessel with the plunder, 
 and mocked and derided the blessed man. The Saint fol- 
 lowed him to the edge of the water and wading up to the 
 knees in the clear sea-water, raised both his hands to heaven 
 and earnestly besought Christ, who glorifies His own elect who 
 are glorifying Him. Now the haven, in which for some time 
 after the departure of the oppressor he continued standing and 
 praying to the Lord, is at a place which in Irish is called 
 Ait-Chambas Art-Muirchol. As soon as he had finished his 
 prayer, the Saint returned to the dry land and sat down in the 
 higher ground with his companions, to whom he then uttered 
 these very terrible words, saying: "That miserable wretch, who 
 has despised Christ in his servants, will never return to the 
 port from which he has just set out in your presence ; neither 
 shall he nor his wicked associates reach any other place they 
 seek, for sudden death shall prevent it. This day, as you will 
 soon see, a furious storm proceeding from a cloud rising in the 
 North shall overwhelm him and his companions ; not even one 
 of them shall be left to tell the tale." After a little, while the 
 day was exceeding bright, behold, a cloud rose up from the 
 sea, as the Saint had said, and caused a great hurricane, which 
 overtook the robber with his booty between the islands of Mull 
 and Colonsay, and overwhelmed them in the midst of the sea 
 
u6 LIFE OF 
 
 which was suddenly lashed to fury ; and as the Saint had said, 
 not even one of those who were in the ship escaped ; and in 
 this wonderful way, by such a singular storm, were the robbers, 
 miserably indeed, but justly, overwhelmed and sunk in the 
 deep, while the whole sea round about remained tranquil. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Of the death of a certain Feradach, a dishonest man, foretold by the 
 
 Saint. 
 
 At another time, also, the holy man specially commended to 
 the care of one Feradach, a rich man, who lived in the isle of 
 Islay, a certain exile, of noble race among the Picts, by name 
 Tarain, that he might pass some months in his retinue as one 
 of his friends. When he had received the person thus highly 
 recommended at the hand of the holy man, he after a few 
 days acted treacherously towards him, and by a cruel order put 
 him to death. This enormous crime having been made known 
 to the Saint by travellers, he in reply thus prophesied : " Not 
 to me, but to God has this unhappy wretch lied, whose name 
 will be blotted out from the Book of Life. I am speaking these 
 words now in the midst of summer, but in autumn, before he 
 shall taste the flesh of the swine fattened on the fruit of the 
 trees, he shall be seized with sudden death and be carried off 
 to the infernal regions ! " When this prophecy of the holy man 
 was made known to the miserable wretch, he scorned and laughed 
 at the Saint : and when a few days of the autumn months were 
 passed, he ordered a sow which had been fattened on the 
 kernels of nuts to be killed ; none of the other swine of the 
 man having as yet been slaughtered ; he ordered also that the 
 entrails should be at once taken out, and a piece quickly 
 roasted for him on the spit, so that by tasting of it the im- 
 patient man might falsify the prediction of the blessed man. 
 As soon as the piece was roasted, he asked that a very small 
 morsel might be given him to taste, but before the hand which 
 
COLUMBA. 117 
 
 he had stretched out to take it could be turned to his mouth, 
 he expired, and fell on his back a corpse. And all who saw 
 and heard this were greatly terrified and amazed and glorified 
 Christ, honouring him in his holy prophet. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Of another persecutor whose name in Latin was Manus Dextera. 
 
 At another time when the blessed man was staying in Eilean- 
 na-Naiomh, and had begun to excommunicate some destroyers 
 of the churches, namely, the sons of Conall, son of Domnall, 
 one of whom was the John of whom we spoke above, one of 
 their wicked associates at the instigation of the devil rushed on 
 the Saint with a spear to kill him. To prevent this, one of the 
 brethren named Findlugan who was prepared to die for the 
 holy man, put on the Saint's cowl and threw himself between 
 them. But in a wonderful way the Saint's garment, as if it 
 had been a most secure and impenetrable protection, could not 
 be pierced by the strong thrust of a very sharp spear, though 
 made by a powerful man, but remained uninjured ; and he who 
 was clad in it was preserved safe and untouched under such a 
 defence. But the ruffian, who was called Manus Dextera, 
 went back thinking that he had transfixed the holy man with 
 the spear. A year after from that day, when the Saint was 
 dwelling in the island of Iona, he said : " To-day exactly a 
 year has passed since the day on which Lam-dess did what he 
 could to kill Findlugan in my place, but he himself is, I 
 believe, being slain this very hour." And so it happened at 
 that same moment according to the revelation of the Saint, in 
 the island which in Latin may be called Longa, where, in a 
 battle fought between a number of men on both sides, this 
 Lam-dess alone was slain by Cronan son of Baithene, being 
 transfixed by a dart shot in the name, as it is said, of S. 
 Columba ; and after his death the men ceased to fight. 
 
n8 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Of another oppressor of the innocent, who, in the Province of Leinster, 
 being terribly reproved by the Saint, fell dead at the same moment, 
 like Ananias in the presence of Peter. 
 
 When the blessed man, while yet a youth in deacon's orders, 
 was living in the country of the Leinstermen, learning divine 
 wisdom, it came to pass one day that a certain ruthless and 
 cruel oppressor of the harmless was pursuing a young girl, who 
 fled before him, on a level plain. By chance she saw the aged 
 Gemman, the teacher of the above-mentioned young deacon, 
 reading on the plain, and ran straight to him as fast as she 
 could. Alarmed at such an unexpected occurrence, Gemman 
 called to Columba, who was reading at a distance, that 
 together, as far as they were able, they might protect the girl 
 from her pursuer. He immediately coming up, paid no respect 
 to them, but stabbed the girl with his lance under their cloaks, 
 and leaving her lying dead at their feet, turned away and began 
 to depart. Then the old man in great affliction turned to 
 Columba and said : " How long, holy youth Columba, shall 
 God, the Just Judge, suffer this crime and our dishonour to go 
 unavenged ? " The Saint at once uttered this sentence against 
 the perpetrator of the crime, saying : " The same moment that 
 the soul of this girl murdered by him ascends into heaven, the 
 soul of her murderer shall go down to hell." And quicker than 
 it can be said, at the word, as Ananias before Peter, so also that 
 murderer of the innocent fell down on the same spot, before the 
 eyes of the holy youth, dead. The report of this sudden and 
 terrible avenging was immediately spread throughout many 
 districts of Ireland, and with it the wonderful fame of the holy 
 deacon. 
 
 Let what we have hitherto said be sufficient concerning the 
 terrible avenging of the adversaries. We will now relate a few 
 things concerning wild beasts. 
 
COLUMBA. 119 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Of the death of a wild boar which the Saint slew from a distance, 
 striding it down with the sign of our Lords Cross. 
 
 At another time the blessed man, when staying a few days in 
 the isle of Skye, separated himself from the brethren and went 
 alone a little further to pray ; and having entered a thick wood, 
 he met a huge wild boar, which the hounds chanced to be 
 pursuing. As soon as he saw it, at a distance, the Saint stood 
 looking intently at it. Then, having invoked the name of God 
 and raised his holy hand in fervent prayer, he said to it : " No 
 further shalt thou come ; perish on the spot on which thou now 
 standest." When these words of the Saint sounded in the 
 woods, the terrible brute was not only unable to advance 
 further, but through the efficacy of his word quickly sank down 
 dead before his face. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Of an aquatic monster, which at his prayer and on raising his hand 
 against it, was driven back, that it might not hurt Lugne, who was 
 swimming in the vicinity. 
 
 At another time, again, when the blessed man was staying for 
 a few days in the province of the Picts, he had occasion to cross 
 the river Ness. When he came to its bank, he saw some of the 
 inhabitants burying an unfortunate man.whom, as those who were 
 burying him said, an aquatic monster had seized a little before 
 while he was swimming and bitten very savagely. His wretched 
 body, though too late, certain who had come to his assistance in a 
 boat, had taken out with long hooks. The blessed man, on the 
 other hand, hearing this, directed one of his companions to swim 
 across and rowing over in the coble that was standing on the 
 other shore bring it to him. When he heard the order of the 
 excellent man, Lugne Mocumin made no delay, but obeying, 
 took off his clothes with the exception of his tunic and threw 
 
120 LIFE OF 
 
 himself into the water. But the monster, which before had 
 been not so much satiated as excited for prey, was lurking in the 
 bottom of the river, and feeling the water disturbed above by 
 the man swimming, suddenly rose up and with a tremendous 
 roar darted with open mouth at the man as he swam in the 
 middle of the stream. Then the blessed man observing this, 
 while all present, the brethren even as well as strangers, 
 were stricken with terror, raised his holy hand and having 
 made the saving sign of the cross in the empty air and in- 
 voked the name of God, commanded the ferocious brute, 
 saying : " Thou shalt advance no further, nor touch the man ; 
 go back quickly." Then the monster, on hearing the voice of 
 the Saint, was terrified and fled backward very swiftly just as 
 if it had been drawn back with ropes, though before it had ap- 
 proached so near to where Lugne was swimming, that there 
 was not more than the length of a spear-shaft between the 
 monster and the man. The brethren when they saw that the 
 monster had gone back and that their fellow soldier Lugne had 
 returned to them in the boat safe and sound, with great 
 wonder glorified God in the blessed man. And even the 
 barbarous heathens who were present, were compelled by the 
 greatness of the miracle, which they themselves had seen, to 
 magnify the God of the Christians. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Of the poisonous serpents of the Island of lona, which from the day the 
 Saint blessed the island, could harm neither man nor beast. 
 
 ON a certain day of the same summer in which he passed to 
 the Lord, the Saint went, being conveyed in a cart, to visit the 
 brethren who were engaged on some heavy work in the western 
 plain of the island of lona. After addressing to them some 
 words of comfort, the Saint stood on the higher ground and 
 thus prophesied : " My children, I know that from this day you 
 will never again be able to see my face anywhere in this field." 
 
COLUMBA. 121 
 
 Seeing the brethren in great sorrow at hearing this, he tried as 
 much as he could to console them ; and raising both his holy 
 hands, he blessed the whole of this our island, saying : " From 
 this moment the poisons of all reptiles shall in no wise be able 
 to hurt either man or cattle in this island so long as the 
 inhabitants continue to observe the commandments of Christ." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Of the knife blessed by the Saint with the sign of our Lord's Cross. 
 
 AT another time a certain brother, called Molua, grandson of 
 Briun, coming to the Saint while he was writing, said to him : 
 " I beseech thee to bless this knife which I hold in my hand." 
 The Saint, without turning his face from the book out of which 
 he was copying, extended his holy hand a little, and, 
 making the sign of the cross with his pen, blessed it. When 
 the aforesaid brother was going away with the knife thus 
 blessed, the Saint began to inquire, saying : " What sort of a 
 knife have I blessed for that brother ? " Diormit, his faithful 
 attendant, answered : " Thou hast blessed a knife used for 
 killing bulls or oxen." The Saint, on the contrary, replied : 
 " The knife which I have blessed will, I trust in my Lord, hurt 
 neither man nor beast." This word of the Saint was most 
 strongly confirmed in that some hour. For the same brother 
 went beyond the enclosure of the monastery intending to slay 
 an ox, and tried three times with a strong and powerful thrust; 
 nevertheless he could not pierce even the hide. When the 
 monks, who were skillful, knew this, they melted the iron of 
 this same knife with the heat of fire, and spread a thin coating 
 of the liquid metal over all the iron tools in the monastery ; 
 and such was the abiding virtue of the Saint's blessing that 
 after that they could inflict a wound on no flesh. 
 
122 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Of the cure of Diormit when sick. 
 
 At another time, Diormit, the Saint's faithful servant, was sick 
 nigh into death, and the Saint went to see him in his extremity. 
 Having invoked the name of Christ, he stood by the bed of 
 the sick man, and praying for him, said : " Be propitious unto 
 me, O my Lord, I beseech Thee, and take not away the soul 
 of my faithful servant from the tabernacle of this flesh whilst 
 I live." And having said this, he was silent for a little. Then 
 he uttered these words from his sacred mouth : " My child 
 shall not only not die now, but he shall even live many years 
 after my death." His prayer was heard, for immediately after 
 the Saint's audible prayer, Diormit was restored to complete 
 health, and lived also for many years after the departure of 
 the Saint to the Lord. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Of the cure of Finten, son of Aid, when he was on the point of death. 
 
 At another time, also, when the Saint was making a journey 
 across Drumalban, a certain youth, named Finten, one of his 
 companions, was seized with a sudden illness and reduced to 
 the last extremity. His fellow soldiers besought the Saint, 
 with sorrow, to pray for him. Sympathising with them, he 
 immediately spread out his holy hands to heaven in earnest 
 prayer, and blessing the sick youth, said : " This youth, for 
 whom you plead, shall live a long life ; he shall remain alive 
 after all of us who are now here have passed away, and shall 
 die in a good old age." This prophecy of the blessed man 
 was in all things fully accomplished ; for this same youth, 
 afterwards the founder of the monastery which is called Kailli- 
 au-inde, ended this present life in a good old age. 
 
COLUMBA. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Of a boy whom the venerable Man raised to life in the name of the Lord 
 
 Christ 
 
 At the time when S. Columba was sojourning for some days 
 in the province of the Picts, a certain peasant with all his 
 family hearing the word of life when the holy man was 
 preaching through an interpreter believed, and believing was 
 baptized — the husband with his wife and children and domestics. 
 And after the short interval of a few days one of the sons of 
 this householder was seized with a dangerous illness, and 
 brought down to the confines of life and death. When the 
 Druids saw him in a dying state, they began to upbraid his 
 parents with great bitterness, to magnify their gods as more 
 powerful than the God of the Christians, and to despise God as 
 weaker than their own gods. When all these things were 
 made known to the blessed man, he burned with zeal for God, 
 and went with his companions to the house of the friendly 
 peasant, where the parents were celebrating the sad obsequies 
 of their child, who had just died. The Saint on seeing them 
 deeply affected strove to comfort them with words of con- 
 solation, and exhorted them not in any way to doubt the 
 Divine Omnipotence. He then inquired, saying : " In which 
 room is the body of the dead child ? " The bereaved father 
 then led the Saint under the sad roof, who immediately, leaving 
 all the crowd without the door, entered the chamber of 
 mourning alone, where instantly, on bended knees and with 
 his face bathed in abundant tears, he prayed to the Lord 
 Christ. Then rising from his knees, he turned his eyes to the 
 dead child, saying : " In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ rise 
 up and stand on thy feet." At this glorious word of the Saint 
 the soul returned to the body, and the dead child opened his 
 eyes and lived again. The apostolic man then taking him by 
 the hand raised him up, and placing him in a standing position, 
 led him forth out of the chamber, and restored him to his 
 parents. A shout then arose from the people ; wailing was 
 turned to joy, and the God of the Christians was glorified. 
 
124 LIFE OF 
 
 We must believe that this our Columba had the gift of miracles 
 like the prophets Elijah and Elisha, that like the Apostles 
 Peter and Paul and John he had the honour bestowed upon 
 him of raising the dead to life ; and that among both, that is, 
 among the company of the prophets and of the apostles, this 
 prophetic and apostolic man now enjoys a glorious and eternal 
 throne in the heavenly land with Christ, Who reigneth with 
 the Father in the Unity of the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Of the illness with which the Druid Broichan was visited because of his 
 retention of a female slave, and of his cure on her release. 
 
 About the same time the venerable man requested Broichan 
 the Druid, out of compassion for humanity, to set at liberty a 
 certain Irish female slave ; and when he very cruelly and 
 obstinately refused, the Saint spoke to him and addressed him 
 as follows : " Know, O Broichan, and be assured, that if thou 
 refuse to set this captive stranger free, as I desire, before I de- 
 part again from this province, thou shalt suddenly die." This 
 he said in the presence of King Brude, and going out from the 
 King's dwelling, he came to the river Ness ; and taking from it 
 a white stone, said to his companions : " Observe this white 
 stone ; by means of this the Lord will effect the cure of many 
 diseases among this heathen people.'' And having uttered 
 this saying, he immediately added: "Broichan is now greviously 
 chastised ; for an angel sent from heaven is striking him 
 severely, and has broken into many fragments the glass cup in 
 his hand from which he was drinking, and has left him gasping 
 heavily for breath and nearly dead. Let us wait here a little 
 for the two messengers of the King, who have been sent after 
 us with all haste to request us to return quickly to the help of 
 the dying Broichan, who now that he has been terribly punished 
 is ready to set the girl free." While the Saint was yet speaking 
 
COLUMBA. i2S 
 
 these words, behold, there came, as he had said, two horsemen 
 sent by the King, who related all that had occurred to Broichan 
 in the King's fortress according to the prediction of the Saint, 
 both the breaking of the drinking cup, and of the chastisement 
 of the Druid, and his readiness to set his captive free. They 
 then added : " The King and his friends have sent us to thee 
 to request thee to come to the assistance of his fosterer 
 Broichan who is fast dying." On hearing these words of the 
 messengers S. Columba sent two of his companions to the 
 King with the stone he had blessed, saying : " If Broichan shall 
 first promise to liberate the maid, then let this stone be dipped 
 in water, from which let him drink, and he shall be immediately 
 restored to health. But if he break his promise, and refuse to 
 set the maid free, he shall die at once." 
 
 Obeying the Saint's instructions, the two who were sent 
 came to the royal palace and related to the King the vener- 
 able man's words. When made acquainted with them, the 
 King and his fosterer Broichan were utterly dismayed. They 
 immediately liberated the maid, and delivered her to the 
 Saint's messengers. The stone was then immersed in water, 
 and in a wonderful manner, contrary to its nature, it floated 
 on water like an apple or a nut ; nor could it, on account of 
 the holy man's blessing, be made to sink. Broichan drank 
 of the water as the stone floated on it, and instantly returned 
 from the brink of the grave, recovering the perfect health of his 
 body. This remarkable stone was afterwards preserved in the 
 King's treasury, and, through the mercy of God, floated in the 
 same manner when immersed in water, and effected many cures 
 of sicknesses among the people. Wonderful to relate, however, 
 when this same stone was in request for any who were sick 
 whose term of life had arrived, it could never be found. Thus 
 on the day King Brude died it was sought for, but could not 
 be found in the place in which it had been previously pre- 
 served. 
 
126 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Of the Holy Maris opposition to the Druid Broichan and of the con- 
 trary wind. 
 
 One day after the above mentioned events, Broichan addressed 
 the holy man, saying : " Tell me, Columba, when dost thou 
 propose to set sail ? " The Saint replied : " On the third day, 
 God willing and preserving my life, I propose beginning my 
 voyage." Broichan on the other hand said : " Thou shalt not 
 be able ; for I can make the wind unfavourable to thee and 
 bring down upon thee the shadow of a thick darkness." The 
 Saint replied : " The Almighty Power of God rules all things, 
 and in His name and under His control are all our movements 
 directed." What more need I say ? The same day, the Saint 
 as he purposed in his heart, came with a great concourse 
 attending him, to the long lake of the river Ness. Then the 
 Druids began to exult, seeing that a thick darkness was resting 
 upon all things, and that the wind was contrary and tempestu- 
 ous. Nor should we wonder that God permitting them, they 
 are sometimes able, with the aid of demons, to raise tempests 
 and to agitate the sea. For thus legions of demons once met 
 the holy Bishop Germanus in the middle of the sea, when 
 sailing from the Gallican Gulf to Britain, for the salvation of 
 men, and opposed him with perils, raising violent storms and 
 obscuring the heavens and the light of day with clouds of thick 
 darkness. But all these things were dispersed at the prayer 
 of S. Germanus, more quickly than his words were uttered, and 
 the darkness ceased. Accordingly, our Columba, seeing that 
 the elements were violently agitated against him, invoked 
 Christ the Lord, and embarking in his small boat, while the 
 sailors hesitated, he, made more confident, ordered the sail 
 to be hoisted against the wind. On this being done, and 
 while the whole crowd was looking on, the vessel ran against 
 the adverse winds and was carried along with marvellous 
 rapidity. And after no great interval the winds which had 
 been against them, veered round to help them on their voyage 
 to the astonishment of all. And thus during all that day the 
 
COLUMBA. 127 
 
 skiff of the blessed man was driven along by gentle and 
 favouring breezes, and borne to the desired haven. Let the 
 reader therefore consider what and how great this venerable 
 man was, in whom God Almighty manifested His own illustrious 
 name in the presence of the heathen people, by bestowing upon 
 him the power of working such great miracles as those we 
 have now recorded. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Of the Gate of the Royal Fortress which suddenly opened of its own 
 
 accord. 
 
 At another time, that is, when the Saint was weary at the end 
 of his first journey to King Brude, it happened that this same 
 King, elated with pride of royalty and acting haughtily, would 
 not open the gates of his fortress on the first arrival of the 
 blessed man. When the man of God observed this, he went 
 up with his companions to the folding gates, and having 
 first marked them mth the sign of the Lord's Cross, he next 
 knocked at, and then laid his hand upon them, when they 
 immediately flew open of their own accord with great celerity, 
 the bolts having been violently driven back. Immediately they 
 were opened, the Saint and his companions entered. On this 
 becoming known, the King and his Senate were greatly 
 alarmed, and issuing out of the palace, went to meet the 
 blessed man with reverence, and addressed him with the most 
 respectful and conciliating words ; and from that day, ever 
 afterwards, that same ruler as long as he lived, honoured the 
 holy and venerable man with the greatest honour as was meet. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Of a similar unclosing of the Church of the Field of the Streams. 
 
 AT another time, again, when the blessed man was staying a 
 few days in Ireland, he went to visit the brethren who were 
 
128 LIFE OF 
 
 dwelling in the monastery of the Field of the Two Streams, 
 having been invited by them. But from some accident it 
 happened that on his arrival at the church, the keys of the 
 chapel could not be found. But when the Saint heard some of 
 them complaining among themselves about the keys not having 
 been found yet and of the doors being bolted, he went up to the 
 door, and said : " The Lord is able to open His house to His 
 servants without a key." When this was said, the bolts were 
 driven back with great force and the door opened of its own 
 accord. The Saint with the admiration of all entered the 
 church before them. He was hospitably entertained by the 
 brethren and regarded by all with the utmost respect and 
 veneration. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Of a certain Peasant, who was a beggar, for whom the Saint made and 
 blessed a stake for killing wild beasts with. 
 
 At another time a certain very poor peasant who was dwelling 
 in the country which borders on the shores of the Aporic Lake, 
 came to the Saint. To this miserable man who had nothing 
 wherewith to feed his wife and little ones, when he was 
 begging, the blessed man showed pity, and having given him 
 what he could, said : " Poor creature, take a branch from the 
 neighbouring wood and bring it to me at once." The miser- 
 able man obeying, brought the branch as according to the 
 Saint's command ; and the Saint taking it from him, sharpened 
 it into a stake ; and when he had sharpened it with his own 
 hand and blessed it, he gave it back to the destitute man, 
 saying : " Take great care of this stake, which, as I believe will 
 hurt neither man nor cattle, but wild beasts and fish alone ; 
 and as long as thou hast this stake there shall never be lacking 
 in thy house abundance of venison." On hearing this, the 
 wretched beggar rejoiced greatly and returned home, and fixed 
 the stake in a remote place frequented by the wild beasts of 
 
COLUMBA. 129 
 
 the forests ; and when the night was passed, early next 
 morning he went to see the stake, and found that a stag of great 
 size had fallen upon it and had been transfixed by it. What 
 more need be said ? Not a day could pass, so tradition says, 
 on which he did not find that either a stag or a hind or some 
 other wild animal had fallen upon the spit and been trans- 
 fixed. His whole house being thus filled with the flesh of the 
 wild animals, that which was over, which the chamber of his 
 own house could not hold, he sold to his neighbours. 
 
 Nevertheless, as with Adam, the envy of the devil found out 
 even this wretched man by means of his wife, who, not as 
 wise but as foolish, thus addressed her husband : " Take 
 the stake," she said, '' out of the earth, for if men, or even 
 cattle, should perish upon it, thou and I, with our children, 
 will either be put to death or led captive." To this her hus- 
 band replied : " It will not so happen, for the holy man said 
 to me, when he blessed the stake, that it would never injure 
 men nor even cattle." After saying this, however, he 
 yielded to his wife, and went and took the stake out of the 
 earth, and, as if demented, placed it within his house, leaning 
 it against the wall, when immediately his house-dog, falling 
 upon it, was killed. On its death his wife said : " One of thy 
 children will fall upon the stake and perish." On hearing her 
 words the husband removed the stake from the wall, and 
 carried it back into the forest and placed it in a very dense 
 thicket, where, as he thought, it could not be lighted upon by 
 any living creature. But, returning on the following day, he 
 found that a roe had fallen upon it and perished. Removing 
 it thence, he placed it in the river, which may be called in 
 Latin Nigra Dea, hiding it near the bank, under the water, 
 but when he visited it the next day he found transfixed, 
 and still held upon it, a salmon of great size, which he was 
 scarcely able by himself to lift from the river and carry 
 home. The stake he took out of the water, and, carrying 
 it back with him at the same time, placed it outside on the 
 top of his house, when a crow, having alighted upon it, was 
 killed by the force of its fall. After this the miserable 
 man, perverted by the counsel of his foolish wife, took the 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 stake down from the house-top, and, having procured an 
 axe, cut it into many pieces and threw them into the fire. 
 And after this, the rich solace against his poverty being lost, 
 he began, as he deserved, to be in want again. This solace 
 against poverty depended entirely on the stake so often 
 mentioned above, which the blessed man had blessed and given 
 him, and which, so long as it was preserved, would have 
 sufficed for snares and nets, and for every kind of hunting and 
 fishing, but now that it was lost, the wretched peasant, though 
 enriched by it for a season, with his whole family, bewailed it, 
 though too late, all the remaining days of his life. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Of the leathern milk-vessel which was carried away by the ebb, and 
 brought back to the same place by the return of the tide. 
 
 At another time the blessed man's messenger, who was called 
 Lugaid, and surnamed Laitir, when preparing, in obedience to 
 the Saint, to set sail for Ireland, found among the utensils of 
 the Saint's ship a leathern milk-vessel, which he had sought 
 for, and put it in the sea, under a heap of large stones, 
 for the purpose of moistening it, and then going to the 
 Saint told him what he had done with it. The Saint 
 smiled and said : " The skin which, as thou sayest, thou hast 
 put under the waves, will not, I think, accompany thee this 
 time to Ireland." " Why," inquired Lugaid, " can I not have 
 it with me in the ship ? " The Saint replied : " Thou shalt 
 know the reason to-morrow, as the event will prove.'' Accord- 
 ingly, on the following morning, Lugaid went to take the skin 
 out of the sea, but during the night the ebb of the tide had 
 carried it away. Not finding it, he returned in grief to the 
 Saint, and on his bended knees on the ground confessed his 
 carelessness. The Saint consoled him, saying : " Be not 
 grieved, brother, for perishable things ; the skin which the 
 retiring tide carried away, the returning tide will bring back to 
 
COLUMBA 131 
 
 its place after thy departure." The same day, after Lugaid 
 had set out from the island of Iona, when the ninth hour was 
 passed, the Saint said to those who stood near him : " Let one 
 of you now go to the sea ; the skin for which Lugaid was grieving, 
 and which the ebbing tide carried away, the returning tide has 
 now brought back and restored to the place from which it was 
 taken away." On hearing these words of the Saint, a certain 
 active youth ran to the sea-shore, and found the skin as the 
 Saint had predicted, and, hastening at full speed, bore it back, 
 rejoicing greatly, and delivered it openly to the Saint, amid 
 the great admiration of all who were present. In the two 
 narratives which we have just related, though touching on 
 small matters, namely, a stake and a skin, as often said, the 
 gifts of prophecy and of miracles are seen accompanying each 
 other. Let us now turn to other matters. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 Of Libran of the Rush-ground, a prophecy of the Holy Man. 
 
 At another time, while the holy man was residing in the 
 island of Iona, a certain man of humble birth, who had lately 
 assumed the clerical habit, sailed over from Ireland and came 
 to the island monastery of the blessed man. The Saint having 
 one day found him sitting alone in the guest house, he inquired 
 of him first concerning his country and race and the object of 
 his journey. He replied that he was born in the country of the 
 Connaught men, and that he had undertaken his long and 
 weary journey in order to atone for his sins by a pilgrimage. 
 The Saint, then, in order to test the character of his penitence, 
 set before his eyes the hardness and severity of the monastic 
 discipline, whereupon he immediately replied : " I am ready 
 for whatever thou mayest desire to command me, however hard 
 or humiliating." Why need I add more ? That same hour he 
 confessed all his sins, and on his bended knees on the ground 
 promised to fulfil the rules of penance. The Saint said to him : 
 
132 LIFE OF 
 
 " Rise and sit down." Then he thus addressed him as he sat : 
 " Seven years thou must do penance in the island of Tiree ; 
 thou and I, God willing, shall survive that period of seven 
 years." Comforted by these words of the Saint, the man gave 
 thanks to God, and, turning to the Saint, asked, " What ought 
 I to do on account of an oath I have violated ? For while 
 living in my own country I murdered a certain man, and after 
 his murder, as guilty of the crime, I was held in bonds. But a 
 certain very wealthy blood relation came to my aid, and 
 promptly loosing me from the chains with which I was bound, 
 rescued me from the death to which I was condemned. After 
 my release I bound myself by a great oath to serve him, who 
 had rescued me, all the days of my life. But I had passed but 
 a few days in his service when, disdaining to serve man, and 
 preferring rather to obey God, I deserted my master according 
 to the flesh, and, violating my oath, fled, and, God granting me 
 a prosperous journey, came to thee." To this the Saint, seeing 
 him very much grieved for these things, first prophesying, 
 said : " At the end of the seven years, as I said to thee, thou 
 shalt come to me here during the Forty Days, that in the 
 Paschal Festival thou mayest approach the altar and receive 
 the Eucharist." 
 
 But why delay with words ? The penitent stranger obeyed 
 the Saint's commands in every thing. He was sent at the 
 time to the monastery on the Plain of Lunge, and when he had 
 completed the seven years of penance there, he returned during 
 the Forty Days to the Saint, according to his previous com- 
 mand and prophecy. When the celebration of Easter was over, 
 during which he drew near, as directed, to the altar, he came 
 again to the Saint inquiring of him with regard to the above- 
 mentioned oath. Then the Saint gave this prophetic response 
 to his inquiry : " Thy earthly master, of whom thou spakest 
 some time ago, is still living, and thy father and mother and 
 brethren are still alive. Now, therefore, thou must prepare 
 thyself for a voyage." And, while saying these words, he drew 
 forth a sword, ornamented with carved ivory, and said : " Take 
 this gift to carry with thee, and offer it to thy master as the 
 price of thy ransom ; nevertheless, he will in no wise accept it, 
 
COLUMBA. 133 
 
 for he has a kindly disposed wife, and, guided by her whole- 
 some counsel, he will on that same day, without recompense 
 or ransom, set thee free, unloosing, according to custom, the 
 captive's girdle from around thy loins. But when relieved 
 from this anxiety, thou shalt not escape another arising from a 
 different source. For thy brethren on all sides will press thee 
 to make good the support due to thy father for so long a time 
 as thou hast neglected it. Nevertheless do thou, obeying their 
 will, without any hesitation, dutifully take in hand to cherish 
 thine aged father. But this burden, though it may seem to 
 thee heavy, must not grieve thee, because thou shalt soon lay 
 it down. For in the end of the week in which thou beginnest 
 to minister to thy father, thou shalt lay his dead body in the 
 grave. But after the burial of thy father, thy brethren, again, 
 will sharply require of thee to pay the expenses also due for 
 thy mother. But from the necessity of doing this thy younger 
 brother will free thee, by engaging to perform in thy stead every 
 duty and obligation which thou owest, serving thy mother on 
 thy behalf." 
 
 After these words the above-mentioned brother, Libran by 
 name, having received the gift, set out enriched with the Saint's 
 blessing ; and, arriving at his native country, found everything 
 turn out exactly in accordance with the Saint's prophecy. 
 For, immediately on his showing and offering the price of his 
 freedom to his master, his wife opposed his wish to accept any- 
 thing, saying : " What need have we to accept this ransom 
 which S. Columba has sent ? We are not worthy of it. Set 
 this dutiful servant free without payment. The blessing of the 
 holy man will profit us more than this payment which is 
 offered." Accordingly the husband, hearkening to this whole- 
 some counsel of his wife, immediately set the slave free without 
 a ransom. Libran was next, in accordance with the Saint's 
 prophecy, compelled by his brothers to undertake the care of 
 his father, and buried him at his death on the seventh day. 
 After his burial he was compelled to discharge the duties 
 owing to his mother, but his younger brother coming to his 
 assistance, as the Saint had foretold, relieved him from the 
 obligation by fulfilling the duties in his stead, and said to his 
 
134 LIFE OF 
 
 brothers : " On no account ought we to detain our brother at 
 home, who for seven years has laboured with S. Columba in 
 Britain for the salvation of his soul." 
 
 After being released from all the things by which he was 
 troubled, and bidding farewell to his mother and brethren, he 
 returned a free man, and came to the place which, in Irish, is 
 called Daire Calgaich. There he found a ship under sail just 
 leaving the port, and, shouting from the shore, he asked the 
 sailors to receive him among them that he might sail into 
 Britain. But they refused, because they were not of the monks 
 of S. Columba. Then, addressing the venerable man, who, 
 though far distant, was nevertheless present in spirit, as the 
 event speedily proved, he said : " Is it thy will, O holy 
 Columba, that these sailors, who do not receive me, thy com- 
 panion, should sail away with full sails and favourable winds?" 
 At this saying the wind, which before was favourable to them, 
 was changed, quicker than it can be said, into the contrary direc- 
 tion. Meanwhile the sailors, seeing the same man running in the 
 same direction with them along the river, hastily took counsel 
 with each other, and cried out to him from the ship, saying : 
 " Perhaps on this account, because we refused to receive thee, 
 the wind has quickly veered round against us. But if even 
 now we were to invite thee on board amongst us, couldst thou 
 make the winds, which are now against us, favourable ? " On 
 hearing this the wayfarer said to them : " S. Columba, to whom 
 I am going, and whom I have obeyed during the past seven 
 years, is able, by virtue of his prayers, to obtain from his Lord, 
 if ye receive me, a favourable wind." When they heard this 
 they brought the ship to land and invited him on board with 
 them. As soon as he was on board, he said : " In the name 
 of the Almighty, whom S. Columba blamelessly serves, spread 
 your sail on the extended yards." When this was done, the 
 contrary gales of wind were immediately changed into favour- 
 able, and a prosperous voyage was made under full sail to 
 Britain. And Libran, after the shores of Britain were reached, 
 blessed the sailors and left the ship, and came to S. Columba 
 in the island of Iona, where he was then dwelling. 
 
 The blessed man received him with joy, and, without obtain- 
 
COLUMBA. 135 
 
 ing the information from another, told him all that had 
 happened to him during his journey, also concerning his 
 master, and the wholesome counsel of his master's wife ; how 
 by her persuasion he was set free ; likewise concerning his 
 brothers ; of the death of his father, and his burial at the end 
 of a week ; of his mother, and of the timely assistance of his 
 younger brother ; of the things which occurred as he returned ; 
 of the wind adverse and favourable ; of the words of the 
 sailors, who at first refused to take him on board ; of the pro- 
 mise of a fair wind, and of the favourable change in the wind 
 on his being taken on board the ship. But why need I add 
 more ? Everything the Saint foretold, he now described after 
 it had been exactly fulfilled. 
 
 After these words the traveller gave back the price of his 
 ransom which he had received from the Saint. At the same 
 time, the Saint addressed to him this word, saying : " Inas- 
 much as thou art free, thou shalt be called Libran." In those 
 days Libran took the monastic vow with much fervour. And 
 when he was being sent back by the holy man to the monas- 
 tery, where he had previously served the Lord during the 
 seven years of penance, he received in farewell from the Saint 
 this prophetic announcement concerning himself: "Thou shalt 
 live a long life, and shalt finish this present life in a good old 
 age. Nevertheless, thou shalt not rise from the dead in 
 Britain but in Ireland." When he heard these words, he wept 
 bitterly on his bended knees, and the Saint, seeing that he was 
 very sad, began to comfort him, saying : " Arise, and be not 
 grieved. Thou shalt die in one of my monasteries, and thy 
 lot shall be among my chosen monks in the Kingdom, and 
 with them shalt thou awake from the sleep of death unto the 
 resurrection of life." When he received this great consolation 
 from the Saint he rejoiced exceedingly, and departed in 
 peace, enriched with the blessing of the Saint. This truth- 
 ful prophecy of the Saint concerning this man was afterwards 
 accomplished. For when, through many revolving years, he 
 had obediently served the Lord in the monastery of the Plain 
 of Lunge, after the departure of S. Columba from the world, 
 he was sent, in extreme old age, on a mission to Ireland in 
 
i 3 6 LIFE OF 
 
 connection with certain affairs belonging to the monastery, and 
 proceeded as soon as he landed through the Plain of Breg until 
 he came to the monastery of the Oakwood Plain ; and there, 
 being received as a guest in the guest chamber, and suffering 
 from a certain disease, he passed to the Lord in peace on the 
 seventh day of his sickness, and was buried among the chosen 
 monks of S. Columba, according to his prophecy, to await 
 resurrection to life eternal. 
 
 Let it suffice that we have written these true prophecies of 
 S. Columba concerning Libran, who was called Libran of the 
 Rush-ground, because for many years he had worked on the 
 rush-ground gathering rushes. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Of a certain little woman who suffered great and very dangerous 
 pains in childbirth. 
 
 ON a certain day, while the Saint was dwelling in the island 
 of Iona, he rose from reading and smiling said : " I must now 
 hasten to the chapel to pray to the Lord for a certain poor 
 woman in Ireland, who is at this moment crying out and men- 
 tioning the name of Columba and suffering in the great pains 
 of a most difficult child-birth, and is hoping that deliverance 
 will be given to her from the Lord from her suffering through 
 me, because she is a blood relation to me, and is lineally 
 descended from the house of my mother's parentage." Saying 
 this, the Saint moved with pity for the little woman, ran to the 
 church and on bended knees prayed for her to Christ who was 
 Himself born of human kind. After prayer he went out from 
 the chapel, and addressed the brethren who came running to 
 him, saying : " Now hath the Lord Jesus, born of woman, 
 mercifully given timely help to the miserable woman, delivered 
 her from her distresses ; and she hath safely brought forth her 
 child ; nor shall she die on this occasion." The same hour, as 
 the Saint prophesied, the poor woman, on invoking his name, 
 
COLUMBA. 137 
 
 was safely delivered and restored to health. So it was after- 
 wards made known to us by some travellers who came from 
 Ireland and from the same district in which the woman lived. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 Of one Lugne, surnamed Tictida, a Pilot, who lived on the island of 
 Rechrea, and whom, because he was deformed, his wife hated. 
 
 At another time, when the holy man was sojourning on the 
 island of Rechrea, a certain man of humble birth came to him 
 and complained of his wife, who, as he said, so hated him that 
 she would on no account allow him to come near her for mar- 
 riage rights. On hearing this, the Saint summoned the wife 
 and, so far as he could, began to reprove her on account of it, 
 saying : ' Why, O woman, dost thou attempt to withdraw thy 
 flesh from thyself, when the Lord says 'They two shall be one 
 flesh ? ' The flesh of thy husband therefore is thy flesh." She 
 answering said : " Whatever thou shalt require of me I am 
 ready to do, however hard it may be, this one thing excepted, 
 that thou dost not in any way urge me to sleep in the same 
 bed with Lugne. I refuse not to perform every household duty, 
 or if thou commandest me, I will even cross the seas and dwell 
 in a monastery for women." The Saint then said : " What 
 thou sayest cannot lawfully be done ; for thou art bound by 
 the law to thy husband so long as he liveth. What God 
 hath lawfully joined it is impious to separate." And when 
 he had said these words, he immediately added : " This day 
 let us three, that is, the husband with his wife and I, pray to 
 the Lord with fasting.'' But the woman replied : " I know, 
 because nothing is impossible with thee, that the things which 
 seem difficult or even impossible will, when asked by thee from 
 God, be granted. But why say more ? " The woman agreed 
 to fast with the Saint that night, and likewise the husband ; 
 and the following night the Saint passed without sleep, praying 
 for them. Next day he thus addressed the woman in the pre- 
 
138 LIFE OF 
 
 sence of her husband : " O woman, art thou still ready, as thou 
 saidst yesterday, to go away to a convent of women ? " She 
 replied : " Now I know that thy prayer for me has been heard 
 by God : for him whom I hated yesterday, I to-day love ; for 
 my heart was last night, in some way I know not of, changed 
 from hate to love." Why linger ? From that day to the day 
 of death the soul of the wife was indissolubly joined to that of 
 her husband in love, so that she in no wise refused those 
 mutual marital rights, which she was before unwilling to allow. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 Of the voyage of Cormac, the grandson of Lethan, a prophecy of the 
 
 Blessed Man. 
 
 At another time, Cormac, a soldier of Christ, of whom, in the 
 first part of this little book, we briefly mentioned a few parti- 
 culars, attempted again, a second time, to discover a desert in 
 the ocean. After he set out under full sail from the land 
 along the boundless ocean, S. Columba, who was then staying 
 beyond Drumalban, commended him to King Brude in the 
 presence of the ruler of the Orkneys, saying : " Some of our 
 brethren have lately set sail, desiring to find a desert in the 
 pathless sea ; should they chance, after many wanderings, to 
 come to the Orkney islands, do thou carefully commend them 
 to this prince, whose hostages are in thy hand, that no evil may 
 befall them within his territories." The Saint spake thus 
 because he foresaw in spirit that after a few months Cormac 
 would arrive at the Orkneys. And so it came to pass ; and 
 to the aforesaid commendation of the holy man Cormac owed 
 his escape from impending death. 
 
 After the lapse of a few months, when the Saint was staying 
 in the island of Iona, Cormac's name was one day un- 
 expectedly mentioned in his presence by some persons in 
 conversation. They were observing that it was not yet known 
 whether Cormac's voyage had been successful or not. Hearing 
 
COLUMBA. 139 
 
 this the Saint joined in the conversation, and said : " Cormac, 
 of whom you are now speaking, you will presently see arriving 
 here to-day." And after the space of about an hour, wonder- 
 ful to relate, behold Cormac unexpectedly arrived, and, amid 
 the admiration and thanksgiving of all, proceeded to the 
 chapel. And because we have briefly mentioned the blessed 
 man's prophecy respecting the second voyage of this Cormac, 
 it is requisite that another and equally remarkable instance of 
 his prophetic knowledge should be related respecting his third 
 voyage. 
 
 When Cormac was wearily pursuing his third vogage in the 
 ocean, he began to be in imminent danger of death. For, 
 when for fourteen summer days and as many nights his vessel 
 sailed with full sails before the south wind in a straight course 
 from the land into the regions of the north, his voyage 
 seemed to be extended beyond the limits of human wanderings 
 and return impossible. Then it came to pass that, after the 
 tenth hour of the fourteenth day, certain terrors, most formidable, 
 and almost insupportable, arose on every side. Loathsome 
 and annoying creatures, such as had never been seen before, 
 covered the sea in swarms, and struck the keel and sides, the 
 prow and the stern, of the vessel with such fearful violence that 
 it seemed as if they would wholly penetrate the leathern 
 covering of the vessel. As those who were there afterwards 
 narrated, they were nearly as large as frogs ; they gave great 
 trouble with their stings, and, though not able to fly, they 
 could swim ; they also crowded upon the blades of the oars. 
 When Cormac and his fellow-sailors saw these and other 
 monsters, which it is not now our province to describe, they 
 were filled with fear and alarm, and, with tears, prayed to God, 
 who is a faithful and a very present help in time of trouble. 
 
 At that same hour our holy Columba, though far distant in body, 
 was nevertheless present in spirit with Cormac in the vessel. 
 Therefore, at that moment, he gave the signal, assembled 
 the brethren in the chapel, and entering the church, addressed 
 those who were present, and uttered the following prophecy 
 in his usual manner, saying : " Brethren, pray with all ear- 
 nestness for Cormac, who, by sailing too far, has passed be- 
 
140 L I F E F 
 
 yond the limits hitherto reached by men, and is now suffering 
 horrible fear and alarm in the presence of monsters never be- 
 fore seen and well nigh indescribable. We ought, therefore, to 
 sympathise with our brethren and associates in their anxiety 
 and danger, and to pray the Lord with them. For, behold, at 
 this moment Cormac and his sailors are shedding copious 
 tears, and praying to Christ with intense fervour ; let us assist 
 them with our prayers that Christ, having compassion upon 
 us, may cause the wind, which for fourteen days past has 
 blown from the South, to blow from the North, and this North 
 wind will draw back Cormac's vessel frormthe perils." When he 
 had said this, with a tearful voice, on bended knees before the 
 altar, he prayed to the almighty power of God, the Ruler of the 
 winds and all things. And after prayer he rose quickly, and 
 wiping away his tears, joyfully gave thanks to God, saying : 
 " Now, brethren, let us congratulate our dear friends for whom 
 we are praying ; for God will now change the South wind into 
 one from the North, and delivering our associates from their 
 perils, bring them here to us again." And as he spoke 
 the South wind immediately ceased and a North wind blew for 
 many days ; and Cormac's vessel was brought back to land. 
 And Cormac came to S. Columba, and, God granting it, they 
 saw each other face to face to the great joy and wonder of all. 
 Let the reader then consider how great and of what character 
 the blessed man must have been, who possessed such prophetic 
 knowledge, and by invoking the name of Christ, could control 
 the winds and waves. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 Of the Venerable Man's journey in a Chariot which was not secured 
 with proper linch-pins. 
 
 At another time, when the Saint, compelled by some matters of 
 ecclesiastical business, was spending some days in Ireland, he 
 mounted a yoked cart which he had previously blessed, but in 
 
COLUMBA. 141 
 
 which, from some unaccountable negligence, the requisite linch- 
 pins had not been fixed in the holes at the ends of the axles. On 
 that day it was Columban, the son of Echud, a holy man, and 
 founder of the monastery which in the Irish tongue is called 
 Snam-luthir, who performed the office of driver in the carriage 
 with S. Columba. The jolting of that day through the long 
 reaches of the journey was great, yet the wheels did not come 
 off the axles, nor slip from their proper places, though, as said 
 above, there were no linch-pins to secure them, nor fastenings 
 to prevent them. Divine grace alone so favoured the vener- 
 able man that the vehicle in which he was advantageously 
 seated, should proceed without being upset or meeting with 
 any obstacle to prevent its progress. 
 
 Let that which we have thus far written suffice in respect to 
 the miracles which the Divine Omnipotence wrought through 
 this remarkable man, while he lived in this present life. We 
 must now mention a few of those well authenticated miracles 
 which the Lord granted unto him to perform after his depar- 
 ture from the flesh. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 Of the Rain which after some months of Drought the Lord bounti- 
 fully poured out upon the earth in honour of the Blessed Man 
 — a miracle which we are now by God's favour going to relate 
 as we saw it happen in our own day with our own eyes. 
 
 FOR about fourteen years ago there occurred in these marshy 
 regions during the spring a great drought, long-continued and 
 severe, insomuch so that there seemed to impend over the 
 people the threat of the Lord against sinners in the book of 
 Leviticus, which says : " I will give to you the heaven above as 
 iron, and the earth as brass. Your labour shall be spent for 
 naught ; the earth shall not bring forth her increase, nor the 
 trees their fruit," etc. We, therefore, reading these words, and 
 fearing the impending plague, took counsel together and resolved 
 
142 LIFE OF 
 
 that some of our elder brethren should go round the newly- 
 ploughed and sown field, carrying with them the white tunic 
 of S. Columba and the books which he had written with his 
 own pen, and that they should raise them in the air and three 
 times shake the tunic which the Saint wore at the time of his 
 death, and that they should open his books and read them on 
 the little Hill of the Angels, where the citizens of the heavenly 
 country were sometimes seen to descend to hold communion 
 with the blessed man. When all these things had been done 
 in the manner prescribed, then, wonderful to relate, on the same 
 day, the heavens, which during the past months of March and 
 April had been bare of clouds, were suddenly covered with 
 dense vapours, rising up from the sea with marvellous rapidity ; 
 a copious rain fell day and night ; and the land, previously 
 parched, being sufficiently moistened, brought forth its fruits 
 and a most abundant harvest in the same year. And thus the 
 very commemoration of the name of the blessed man, by the 
 exhibition of his tunic and books, obtained seasonable relief at 
 the same time for many places and much people. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 Of adverse winds changed into favourable breezes through the virtue 
 of the Venerable Man's prayers. 
 
 Our belief in such miracles as were performed in past times, 
 and which we ourselves did not see, is confirmed beyond doubt 
 by those which have been wrought in the present, and which 
 we ourselves have seen. For on three occasions we have seen 
 unfavourable gales of wind changed into propitious breezes. 
 
 On the first occasion, when our long boats of hewn pine 
 and oak had to be drawn over land, and a great quantity 
 of materials for building ships to be brought home in the 
 same way, taking counsel together, we placed the garments 
 and books of the blessed man upon the altar, and at the same 
 time fasted and prayed and invoked his name, in order that he 
 
COLUMBA. 143 
 
 might obtain for us from the Lord a favourable wind. And 
 this was done for us by the holy man, through God's favour. 
 For on the day that our sailors had made all things ready and 
 were prepared to convey the wood, for the purposes above 
 mentioned, in skiffs and curachs, the wind, which for several 
 days before had been contrary, suddenly became favourable. 
 Then by long and dangerous ways, the favouring breezes 
 blowing the entire day, and under full sails, the whole fleet of 
 boats arrived, without the slightest hindrance, safely at the 
 island of Iona. 
 
 On the second occasion when, a few years later, some oak 
 trees were being conveyed, in twelve vessels which we took with 
 us for the purpose, from near the mouth of the river Shiel for 
 the repair of our monastery, our sailors one day rowed out to 
 sea with their oars, the sea being calm, when suddenly a wes- 
 terly wind, which is also called Zephyr, sprang up against us, 
 and we turned aside to the nearest island, which is called in 
 Irish Airthrago, seeking shelter in a harbour in it. But 
 meanwhile we began to complain of this inopportune contrari- 
 ness of the wind, and in a certain manner as it were to blame 
 our Columba, saying : " Is this our unfortunate detention 
 pleasing to thee, O Saint? Hitherto we had hoped that, 
 through the Divine favour, we might have received some aid 
 and comfort in our labours from thee, thinking that thou wert 
 great and honoured before God." A little after, as it were a 
 single moment, wonderful to relate, behold the adverse westerly 
 wind fell, and more quickly than it can be said, a most favour- 
 able south-easterly wind blew. The sailors then as directed 
 raised the yards in the form of a cross and spread the sails 
 upon them, and with steady and favouring breezes we, that 
 same day, reached our own island, being borne thither without 
 the slightest fatigue, and rejoicing in our cargo of wood, in 
 company with all those who were engaged in assisting us in 
 the ships. This querulous blaming of the holy man, though 
 slight, profited us not a little ; and in what and how great 
 esteem the Saint is held before God is evident in His hearing 
 him so quickly and changing the wind. 
 
 The third occasion was when in the summer, after the con- 
 
144 LIFE OF 
 
 vention of the Irish Synod, we were detained some days by 
 adverse winds among the people of the tribe of Lorn, and had 
 reached the island of Shuna, where the vigil and feast of S. 
 Columba found us delayed and very sad, because we wished to 
 celebrate that joyous day in the island of Iona. Then, as on 
 a former occasion, we were complaining and saying, " Is it 
 pleasing to thee, O Saint, that we should spend the morrow, 
 the day of thy festival, among strangers, and not in thine own 
 church ? Easy is it for thee on the morning of such a day to 
 obtain from the Lord that contrary winds be changed into 
 favourable, and that we celebrate the solemn Mass of thy birth 
 in thine own church." When that night was passed, we arose 
 at daybreak, and, observing that the adverse winds had ceased, 
 we went on board and put to sea when there was no wind 
 blowing, and lo, immediately there sprang up behind us a wind 
 from the South. Then the sailors, rejoicing, raised the sails, 
 and thus on this day also, without any exertion on our part, 
 so quick and so favourable was our passage, God granting it to 
 the blessed man, that we reached the haven of the island of 
 Iona after the third hour of the day, as we had before anxiously 
 desired. After washing our hands and feet, we entered the 
 church at the sixth hour with our brethren, and celebrated at 
 once the sacred service of the Mass on the festival day, which 
 is the birth-day of SS. Columba and Baithene, at the day- 
 break of which day, as we said above, we set sail from the 
 island of Shuna, which is situated afar off. The witnesses of 
 the incidents just related are not merely two or three, as the 
 law requires, but hundreds and more, who are still living. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 Of the Plague. 
 
 AND this also, in connection with the Plague which in our own 
 time twice devastated the greater part of the world, ought to 
 be accounted, I think, among not the least of his miracles. For 
 not to mention the other and greater countries of Europe, that 
 
COLUMBA. 145 
 
 is, Italy, the Roman States and the Cisalpine provinces of 
 Gaul, with the provinces of Spain also, which lie beyond the 
 Pyrenees, these islands of the sea, namely Ireland and Britain, 
 have throughout their whole extent, except among two tribes, 
 the Picts and Scots of Britain, who are separated from 
 each other by the Dorsal mountains of Britain, been twice 
 ravaged by a dreadful pestilence. And although neither of 
 these tribes was free from those great sins by which the wrath 
 of the Eternal Judge is very frequently provoked, yet hitherto 
 both of them have been patiently borne with and spared. And 
 to whom else can this favour, granted to them by God, be 
 attributed but to S. Columba, whose monasteries have been 
 founded within the territories of both these peoples, and are 
 regarded by both with the greatest respect up to the present 
 time. But that which we are now about to say cannot, we 
 think, be heard without a sigh, because there are many very 
 stupid people in both tribes, who, in their ignorance that they 
 have owed their immunity from the plagues to the prayers of 
 the Saints, ungratefully and wickedly abuse the patience of 
 God. But we give frequent thanks to God for having, through 
 the intercession of our holy patron, preserved us in these 
 our islands from the ravages of the plagues, and that in 
 Saxonia also, when visiting our friend, King Aldfrid, where the 
 pestilence was still raging and laying waste many villages, our 
 Lord, both in the first visitation, after the war of Egfrid, and 
 in the second, two years later, so delivered us from such danger, 
 though walking in the midst of death, that not even one of our 
 companions died of the plague, nor was any one of them 
 attacked by any other disease. 
 
 Here the Second Book of the miracles must end ; but it is 
 right to inform the reader that in it, even of well authenticated 
 miracles, many have been omitted in order to avoid fatiguing 
 those who read it. 
 
 Here endeth the Second Book. 
 
BOOK III. 
 
 Here beginneth the Third Book. 
 
 Of Angelic Visions. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In the First of these three little Books have been described, 
 with the assistance of God, briefly and concisely, as was 
 observed above, some of the prophetic revelations. In the 
 Second have been recorded the miracles of power which were 
 wrought by the blessed man, and with which, as was frequently 
 remarked, the gift of prophecy was often associated. But in 
 this Third Book, which treats of Angelic Apparitions, we shall 
 narrate those which were made to others regarding the blessed 
 man, and those which were made to him regarding others, and 
 those also which were made to both parties, though in a dif- 
 ferent manner ; that is, to the Saint directly and more fully, 
 but to others indirectly and in part, that is, externally and 
 tentatively, yet in the same visions, whether of angels or of 
 heavenly light. But whatever discrepancies may at first sight 
 appear in such visions, will be cleared away when they are 
 narrated below in their proper places. We shall begin as from 
 the beginnings of the birth of the blessed man by describing 
 those angelic apparitions which occurred then. 
 
 The Angel of the Lord appeared to the mother of the vener- 
 able man one night, between his conception and his birth, in 
 dreams, and, standing by her, delivered to her a certain robe of 
 marvellous beauty, on which the most beautiful colours, as it 
 were of the whole world of flowers, seemed to be depicted. 
 After a little he asked it back, and took it out of her hands, 
 and, lifting it up and opening it out, sent it forth into the 
 empty air. But she, deeply grieved at the robe being taken 
 
C O L U M B A . 147 
 
 from her, spake thus to the man of venerable mien : " Why 
 takest thou the beautiful cloak away from me so soon ? " He 
 immediately replied : " Because this mantle is of such great 
 honour that thou mayst not longer retain it with thee." When 
 this was said, the woman saw the aforesaid mantle gradually 
 receding from her in its flight, and expanding till it exceeded 
 in width the breadth of the plains, and surpassed in all its 
 dimensions the mountains and forests. Then she heard a 
 voice addressing her thus : " Be not grieved, O woman, for to 
 the man to whom thou hast been joined in bonds of wedlock 
 thou shalt bear a beautiful son, who shall be numbered among 
 his people as one of the prophets of God, and is predestinated 
 by God to be the leader of innumerable souls to the heavenly 
 country." On hearing these words the woman awaked out of 
 sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the bright ray of Light seen resting upon the face of the sleeping boy. 
 
 On another night the fosterer of the same blessed boy, 
 Cruithnechan, a priest, a man of blameless life, upon returning 
 home from the church after Mass, found his whole house 
 illumined with a bright light, and saw a globe as of fire stand- 
 ing over the face of the little boy as he lay asleep. On seeing 
 this he shook with fear, and fell down with his face to the 
 ground, marvelling greatly, and perceiving that the grace of 
 the Holy Spirit had been poured out from heaven upon his 
 young charge. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of the Apparition of the holy Angels whom S. Brenden saw accom- 
 panying tlu Blessed Man along the Plain. 
 
 FOR after an interval of many years, when S. Columba was 
 excommunicated by a certain Synod for some pardonable and 
 
148 LIFE OF 
 
 very trifling reasons, though unjustly, as was afterwards made 
 clear in the end, he came to the Assembly which had been 
 convened against him. When S. Brenden, the founder of the 
 monastery which, in Irish, is called Birra, saw him approach- 
 ing in the distance, he suddenly rose up, and, with his head 
 bowed down, reverently kissed him. When some of the elders 
 in the Assembly, who took him aside from the rest, found 
 fault with him, saying : " Why didst thou not refuse to rise in 
 the presence of the excommunicated and to kiss him ? " he 
 replied to them on this wise : " If you had seen what the Lord 
 has this day thought fit to show to me concerning his chosen 
 one, whom you dishonour, you would never have excommuni- 
 cated him whom God not only doth in no wise excommunicate 
 according to your unjust sentence, but even more and more 
 magnifies." They, in reply, said : " In what way, we should 
 like to know, does God honour him whom we have excom- 
 municated, and not without cause ? " "I have seen,'' said 
 Brenden, " a most brilliant pillar, wreathed with tresses of fire, 
 going before that same man of God whom you despise. Holy 
 angels also were his companions as he journeyed across the 
 plain. Him, therefore, whom I see to be ordained by God to 
 be a leader of the people to life, I dare not spurn." On hear- 
 ing these words from him, not only did they cease, not daring 
 to persist in excommunicating him any longer, but they also 
 honoured him with the greatest reverence. This was done at 
 Tiltown. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the angel of the Lord ivhom S. Finnio saw accompanying the 
 Blessed Man on his journey. 
 
 ON another occasion the holy man went to the venerable 
 Bishop Finio, who had formerly been his teacher, the youn°- 
 going to visit the aged. When S. Finnio saw him drawing 
 nigh to him, he beheld an angel of the Lord accompanying 
 him ; and as it has been handed down to us by well informed 
 
COLUMBA. 149 
 
 persons, he made known the same to certain brethren who 
 were standing by, saying, " Behold, look now at S. Columba 
 as he draweth near ; he has been deemed worthy to have an 
 angelic inhabitant of heaven for his companion on the way." 
 About the same time the Saint sailed over into Britain with 
 his twelve fellow-soldiers and disciples. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the Angel of the Lord who appeared in a vision to S. Columba 
 while he was staying in the island of Eilean-na-naoimh, and 
 was sent that he might ordain Aidan king. 
 
 At another time, when this illustrious man was staying in the 
 island of Eilean-na-naoimh, on a certain night, he saw in an 
 ecstacy of mind an angel of the Lord sent to him from heaven, 
 and bearing in his hand the glass book of the ordination of 
 Kings. Having received the book from the hand of the angel, 
 the venerable man, as commanded by him, began to read 
 therein ; and when he refused to ordain Aidan King, as the 
 book directed, because he preferred Iogenan, his brother, the 
 angel suddenly stretching forth his hand smote him with a 
 scourge, the livid marks of which remained in his side all the 
 days of his life. And he added these words : " Know for cer- 
 tain that I am sent to thee from God with the glass book that, 
 in accordance with the words thou hast read therein, thou 
 shouldst ordain Aidan unto the kingdom. And if thou refuse 
 to obey this command, I will smite thee again." When, there- 
 fore, this angel of the Lord had appeared for three successive 
 nights, holding in his hand the same glass book, and had given 
 him the same commands respecting the ordination of the same 
 king, the Saint, in obedience to the word of the Lord, sailed 
 over to the island of Iona. Aidan arriving in the same days, 
 he then ordained him to be King, as he had been commanded. 
 And among the words of ordination he made known the future 
 concerning the children, grand-children, and great-grand-chil- 
 dren of Aidan, and laying his hands upon his head ordained 
 and blessed him. 
 
ISO LIFE OF 
 
 Cummene the Fair, in the book which he wrote on the virtues 
 of S. Columba, thus records what S. Columba began to prophesy 
 concerning Aidan, his posterity and his kingdom, saying : 
 " Believe implicitly, O Aidan, none of thy adversaries shall be 
 able to withstand thee unless thou first act unjustly towards 
 me and my posterity. Instruct, therefore, thy children, that 
 they instruct their children, their grand-children, and their 
 posterity, that they let not the sceptre of their kingdom perish 
 from their hands through evil counsels. For at whatever time 
 they turn against me or against my relatives who are in Ireland, 
 the scourge which I endured of the angel because of thee, shall 
 be turned in great disgrace upon them by the hand of God 
 upon them, and the hearts of men shall be turned away from 
 them, and their foes shall be greatly strengthened against them." 
 
 Now this prophecy was fulfilled in our own times, at the 
 battle of Roth, when Domnall Brece, the grandson of Aidan, 
 devastated the territory of Domnall, the grandson of Ainmureg, 
 without cause. And from that day until this they have been 
 trodden down by strangers, which pierces the heart with sighs 
 and grief. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the apparition of Angels carrying the soul of the blessed Brito to 
 
 heaven. 
 
 At another time, when the holy man was staying in the island 
 of Iona, Brito, one of his own monks, who was always bent on 
 good works, being seized with bodily illness and brought down 
 nigh unto death, he stood for a little at his bedside and blessed 
 him, and then suddenly went out of the house, not wishing to 
 see him die. And the same moment after the holy man had 
 left the house, the monk ended this present life. Then the 
 illustrious man, walking about in the little court of the monas- 
 tery with his eyes directed to heaven, was for a long time lost 
 in wonder and admiration. But a certain brother, Aidan by 
 name, the son of Liber, a man truly virtuous and religious, 
 
COLUMBA. 151 
 
 who alone of the brethren was then present, began to ask the 
 Saint, on his bended knees, to tell him the reason of his great 
 astonishment. The Saint replied : " Just now I saw holy 
 angels warring in the air against the adverse powers, and I 
 give thanks to Christ the Judge, because the victorious angels 
 have borne away the soul of this pilgrim, who was the first to 
 die among us in this island, to the joys of the heavenly country. 
 But I beseech of thee to reveal this secret to no one while I 
 live." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of the vision of Angels vouchsaved to the same Holy Man when they 
 were leading the soul of one Diormit to heaven. 
 
 At another time a certain stranger from Ireland came to the 
 Saint and remained some months with him in the island of 
 Iona, to whom the blessed man one day said : " One of the 
 clerics of thy province, whose name I do not yet know, is at 
 this moment being borne by angels into heaven." Then the 
 brother, on hearing this, began to search within himself con- 
 cerning the life of the Anterii, who are called, in Irish, 
 Indairthir, and concerning the name of that blessed man, and 
 immediately replied, saying : " I know a soldier of Christ, 
 named Diormit, who has built himself a little monastery in the 
 same district as that in which I dwell." The Saint said to 
 him : " It is he of whom thou speakest who has now been 
 carried by the angels of God into Paradise." But this ought 
 to be noted most carefully, that there were many secret things 
 entrusted to him by God, but concealed from others, which this 
 venerable man would in no wise suffer to go forth to the know- 
 ledge of men ; and this for two reasons, as he one day hinted 
 to a few of the brethren — one was that he might avoid vain- 
 glory, and the other that he might not, through the fame of his 
 revelations being spread abroad, invite the intolerable crowds 
 who were anxious to ask some questions about themselves, to 
 come and inquire of him. 
 
152 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the brave fight of the Angels against the Demons, and how they 
 opportunely came to his assistance in the same conflict. 
 
 On another day, when the holy man was living in the island 
 of Iona, he sought a place in the woods more remote from 
 men and suitable for prayer ; and there, when he had begun 
 to pray, he suddenly, as he afterwards told a few of the 
 brethren, beheld a very black host of demons fighting against 
 himself with iron darts. As it had been revealed by the Spirit 
 to the holy man, these wicked spirits desired to assail his 
 monastery and to slay many of the brethren with the same 
 spears. But he, though but one man against an innumerable 
 multitude of such foes, having received the armour of the 
 Apostle Paul, fought bravely in the conflict. And so the 
 battle was contested on both sides during the greater part of 
 the day ; nor could they, who were innumerable, overcome 
 him who was but one ; neither could he, who was but one, of 
 his own strength expel them from the island, until the angels 
 of God, as the Saint afterwards related to a certain few, came 
 to his aid, when the demons, overcome with fear, left the place. 
 The same day the Saint, when returning to the monastery after 
 the flight of the demons from his island, uttered these words 
 concerning the same hostile legions, saying : " These deadly 
 foes who this day, through the mercy of God and the assistance 
 of the angels, have been put to flight from this small tract of 
 land, have fled to the island of Tiree, and there these ruthless 
 invaders will attack the monasteries of the brethren, and carry 
 with them pestilential diseases, and being attacked by them 
 many will die." And so in those days it came to pass, as the 
 blessed man had foreseen. And, two days after, he thus spake 
 by the revelation of the Spirit : " Well has Baithene managed, 
 through the help of God, that the congregation of the Church, 
 over which he was appointed by God to preside in the Plain of 
 Lunge, should be defended by fastings and prayers from the 
 attack of the demons, where no one, except him who is now 
 
COLUMBA. 153 
 
 dead, shall at this time die." And so it came to pass accord- 
 ing to his prophecy. For when many died from that disease 
 in other monasteries of the same island, no one, except the one 
 of whom the Saint spoke, died with Baithene in his own con- 
 gregation. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the Apparition of Angels whom the man of God saw carrying the 
 soul of a blacksmith named Columb, and surnamed Coilrigin, to 
 heaven. 
 
 A certain blacksmith, greatly devoted to works of charity, 
 and full of other good works, dwelt in the midland district of 
 Ireland. When the above-mentioned Columb, surnamed 
 Coilrigin, was dying in a good old age, at the very moment 
 when he departed from the body, S. Columba, who was residing 
 in the island of Iona, thus addressed a few of the elder brethren 
 who were standing around him : " Columb Coilrigin, the black- 
 smith, has not laboured in vain ; he who was desirous of profit 
 is now happy, having obtained eternal wages by the labour of 
 his own hands. For lo ! his soul is now being carried by holy 
 angels to the joys of the heavenly country. For whatever he 
 could obtain by the exercise of his trade, he spent in alms for 
 the needy." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of a like vision of Angels whom the Blessed Man saw carrying the 
 soul of a certain virtuous woman to heaven. 
 
 At another time, again, when the holy man was staying in the 
 island of Iona, on a certain day he suddenly lifted his eyes to 
 heaven and spake these words : " O happy woman, happy, 
 because pious, whose soul the angels of God are now carrying 
 to paradise." Now there was a certain religious brother, a 
 
154 LIFE OF 
 
 Saxon, Genere by name, a baker, working at his trade, who 
 heard these words spoken by the mouth of the Saint. And on 
 the same day of the month, at the end of the same year, the 
 Saint said to this same Genere, the Saxon : " I see a wonder- 
 ful thing ; behold, the woman of whom I spake last year, when 
 thou wert present, is now meeting in the air the soul of her 
 husband, a poor and holy man, and with the holy angels is 
 fighting for it against the adverse powers ; by their united aid, 
 and by the aid of the uprightness of the man himself, his soul 
 is rescued from the assaults of the demons, and brought to the 
 place of eternal refreshment. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Of the apparition of the holy Angels whom S. Columba saw meeting in 
 its passage the soul of the blessed Brenden, founder of the monas- 
 tery which is called in Irish, Birra. 
 
 On another day, again, while the venerable man was residing 
 in the island of Iona, very early in the morning he called his 
 servant Diormit, who has been so often mentioned, and com- 
 manded him, saying : " Make ready in haste for the celebration 
 of the Holy Eucharist : for to-day is the birth-day of the 
 blessed Brenden." " Wherefore," his servant asked, " dost thou 
 order such solemnities of the Mass to be prepared to-day ; for 
 no messenger has come to us from Ireland announcing that 
 holy man's death ? " " Go," said the Saint ; " it is thy duty to 
 obey my commands. For during the past night I saw the 
 heavens suddenly open, and choirs of innumerable angels 
 descend to meet the soul of S. Brenden, and by their bright 
 and incomparable splendour the whole orb of the world was in 
 that same hour illumined. 
 
COLUMBA-. i5s 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Of the vision of holy angels who bore the soul of the Bishop Columban 
 Mocu Loigse to heaven. 
 
 On another day, also, when the brethren were putting on their 
 shoes in the morning, and preparing to go to the various 
 labours of the monastery, the Saint, on the contrary, ordered 
 them to rest that day and preparations to be made for cele- 
 brating the holy sacrifice, and some additions to be made to 
 their dinner as on the Lord's Day. " I, though unworthy," he 
 said, '• must to-day celebrate the holy mysteries of the Eucharist 
 out of reverence for the soul, borne amid holy choirs of angels, 
 which ascended during the night beyond the starry realms of 
 the heavens to Paradise." When they heard these words, the 
 brethren obeyed, and spent the day in rest, according to the 
 Saint's command ; and the preparations for the sacred services 
 having been duly made, clothed in their white robes, as on a 
 festival, they went with the Saint to the Church. But it came 
 to pass that when, in the course of chanting the offices, the 
 prayer was as usual being sung, in which the name of S. Martin is 
 commemorated, the Saint, when the chanters came to the place 
 of that name, suddenly said to them : " To-day you must pray 
 for the Bishop S. Columban." Then all the brethren who 
 were present understood that Columban, a bishop in Leinster, 
 and a dear friend of Columba, had departed to the Lord. And 
 after a time, some who came from the province of Leinster 
 announced that the Bishop had died the same night in which it 
 was so revealed to the Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of the apparition of Angels who descended to meet the souls of the 
 monks of S. Comgell. 
 
 AT another time the venerable man, when residing in the 
 island of Iona, became suddenly excited, and, sounding the 
 
156 LIFE OF 
 
 bell, collected the brethren. " Now," he said, " let us help with 
 our prayer the monks of the Abbot Comgell, who this moment 
 have been plunged into the Lake of the Calf [now Belfast 
 Lough] ; for lo ! they are now fighting against the adverse 
 powers in the air, and are striving to rescue the soul of a 
 stranger who, with them, is in danger of drowning." Then, 
 after many tears and fervent prayers, he stood up quickly 
 before the altar with a joyful countenance, while the brethren 
 were still prostrate in prayer, and said : " Give thanks to Christ, 
 for now the holy angels, coming to the aid of the holy souls, 
 have rescued this stranger from the assaults of the demons, and 
 delivered them as victorious warriors. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of the manifestation of Angels who came to meet the soul of one 
 
 Emchath. 
 
 At another time, when the holy man was travelling beyond 
 Drumalban, near the lake of the river Ness, he was suddenly 
 inspired by the Holy Spirit, and said to the brethren who 
 accompanied him : "■ Let us hasten to meet the holy angels, 
 who have been sent out from the highest realms of heaven to 
 bear away the soul of a heathen, and are now awaiting our 
 arrival at the place that we may in time baptize this man 
 before his death, who, through his whole life up to an ex- 
 treme old age, has preserved his natural goodness." And 
 having said this, the holy old man hastened on before his 
 companions as much as he could, until he came to a district 
 which is called Aircardan, where was found a certain old man 
 named Emchath, who, hearing the word of God preached by 
 the Saint, believed and was baptized, and immediately there- 
 after, full of joy and secure against evil, and accompanied by 
 the angels who came to meet him, passed to the Lord. His 
 son, Virolec, also believing, was baptized with all his house. 
 
COLUMBA. iS7 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of the Angel of the Lord who so quickly and opportunely came to the 
 assistance of a brother who fell from the top of the round monastery 
 in the Oakwood Plain. 
 
 At another time, when the holy man was sitting in his hut 
 writing, his countenance suddenly changed, and he poured 
 forth from his pure heart this cry, saying : " Help ! help ! " 
 Two brothers who were standing at the door, namely, Colgu, 
 son of Cellach, and Lugne Mocublai, asked him the cause of 
 so sudden a cry. The venerable man gave the following reply, 
 saying : " The angel of the Lord, who was just now standing 
 among you, I commanded to go quickly to the assistance of 
 one of the brethren who had fallen from the highest point of 
 the great house which is now being built in the Oakwood 
 Plain." The Saint immediately thereafter added these words : 
 " Very wonderful and almost unspeakable is the swiftness of 
 the angelic flight, similar, as I think, to the speed of lightning. 
 For the heavenly being who just now flew away from us when 
 the man was beginning to fall, arrived there to his assistance, 
 as it were in the twinkling of an eye, before his body could 
 touch the ground ; nor was he who fell able to feel any fracture 
 or bruise. How astonishing, I say, is that most swift and 
 timely help which, swifter than a word, can be given so very 
 quickly, even though so many seas and lands intervene." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Of the multitude of Holy Angels which were seen to descend from 
 heaven to hold converse with the Blessed Man. 
 
 At another time, again, while the blessed man was dwelling 
 in the island of Iona, he one day, when the brethren were 
 assembled together, enjoined them with great earnestness, 
 saying : " To-day I desire to go alone to the western plain of 
 our island. Let none of you, therefore, follow me." They 
 
158 LIFE OF 
 
 obeyed, and he went alone as he wished. But a certain 
 brother, a crafty spy, going by another path, secretly placed 
 himself on the top of a little hill which overlooks the plain, 
 anxious to find out the reason why the blessed man went 
 alone. When this spy was looking at him from the top of the 
 hill as he stood on a mound on the plain, with his hands 
 stretched upwards in prayer and raising his eyes to heaven, 
 then, strange to relate, behold a wonderful sight suddenly 
 appeared, which the above-mentioned man, not, as I think, 
 without Divine permission, saw even with his bodily eyes from 
 his place on the neighbouring hill, that the Saint's name and 
 the honour due to him might afterwards, though much against 
 his will, be more widely made known among the people 
 because of the vision thus vouchsaved. For holy angels, 
 citizens of the heavenly country, clad in white robes and flying 
 ■ with wonderful swiftness, began to stand around the holy man 
 as he prayed ; and after a little intercourse with him that 
 heavenly host, as if conscious of being watched, quickly flew 
 back to the highest heavens. The blessed man himself, after 
 the angelic meeting, returned to the monastery, and again 
 assembling the brethren, demanded, with no slight menace, 
 who among them had been guilty of violating his command. 
 While all were protesting that they were entirely ignorant of 
 the matter, the brother who knew that he himself was the 
 inexcusable transgressor, no longer able to hide his guilt, fell 
 on his knees before the Saint in the midst of the brethren, and 
 humbly prayed for forgiveness. The Saint then, taking him 
 aside, commanded him with a heavy threat, as he knelt, never 
 during the life-time of the blessed man to disclose to any 
 person even the least hint of the secret regarding that angelic 
 vision. But after the departure of the holy man from the body 
 he, with great protestations, made known to the brethren the 
 apparition of that heavenly assembly. Whence, even to this 
 day also, the place where that angelic assembly was held, 
 bears witness to the event which occurred on it, by its name ; 
 this in Latin may be said to be " Colliculus Angelorum," but 
 in Irish it is called Cnoc Angel. 
 
 Hence, therefore, we must notice and carefully inquire how 
 
COLUMBA. i 59 
 
 great and of what kind those sweet visits of the angels to the 
 blessed man were. They occurred most frequently during 
 winter nights, when he was watching, and in lonely places, 
 where he was praying whilst others slept; and could in no 
 wise come to the knowledge of men. That they were very 
 numerous is beyond all doubt ; and even though several which 
 happened by night or by day might in some way be discovered 
 by men, yet in comparison with the angelic visions which could 
 be known by no one, they are doubtless very few. The same 
 remark must be made in respect to certain bright manifesta- 
 tions, which have been examined by a few, and shall be de- 
 scribed below. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of the bright Pillar which was seen to glow upon the Holy Man's head. 
 
 At another time, four holy founders of monasteries came from 
 Ireland to visit S. Columba, and found him in the island of 
 Eilean-na-naoimh. The names of these distinguished men were 
 Comgell, Mocu Aridi, Cainnech Mocu Dalon, Brenden Mocu 
 Alti, and Cormac, grandson of Lethan. They all with one 
 accord agreed that S. Columba should consecrate in their 
 presence in the Church the holy mysteries of the Eucharist. 
 In compliance with their request, the Saint went with them 
 into the Church on the Lord's Day according to custom after 
 the reading of the Gospel ; and there, while the solemn offices 
 of the Mass were being celebrated, S. Brenden Mocu Alti, as 
 he afterwards told Comgell and Cainnech, beheld a ball of fire 
 like a comet, and very bright, glowing on the head of S. 
 Columba, and rising upward from it like a pillar, as long as he 
 stood before the altar consecrating the holy oblation, and until 
 the holy mysteries were completed. 
 
i6o LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of the descent or visitation of the Holy Spirit which in the same island 
 continued with the Venerable Man during three days and as many 
 nights. 
 
 At another time, when the holy man was staying on the island 
 of Eilean-na-naoimh, the grace of the Holy Ghost was abun- 
 dantly and incomparably poured out upon him, and continued 
 with him in a wonderful manner, so that he remained for three 
 days and as many nights without eating and drinking, and allow- 
 ing no one to approach him, in a house shut close, and filled with 
 heavenly brightness. From this house beams of intense bright- 
 ness escaped through the chinks in the doors and through the 
 key-holes, and were seen at night. Certain spiritual songs also, 
 which had never been heard before, were sung by him. More- 
 over, as he afterwards admitted in the presence of a very few, 
 he beheld many mysteries kept secret from the beginning of 
 the world fully revealed. Obscure passages of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures also, and passages very difficult to understand, were made 
 plain, clearer even than the light to the eyes of his very pure 
 heart. He grieved that his disciple Baithene was not present, 
 because if he had chanced to have been with him during those 
 three days, he would have been able to explain, from the lips 
 of the blessed man, many mysteries regarding past or future 
 ages unknown to others, and to have interpreted numerous 
 passages also in the Sacred Volume. Baithene, however, was 
 detained in the island of Eigg by contrary winds, and was 
 not able to be present until the three days and nights of that 
 incomparable and glorious visitation were ended. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Of the splendour of the angelic light which Virgno—a youth of good 
 disposition, and afterwards appointed by God Superior of this 
 church, in which I, though unworthy, now serve — saw descending 
 upon S. Columba in the church, one winter's night, while the 
 brethren were at rest in their cells. 
 
COLUMBA. 161 
 
 One winter night the above mentioned Virgnous, burning with 
 the love of God, entered the church alone to pray while the 
 others were asleep ; and there, in a certain chapel attached to 
 the wall of the church, was engaged in fervent prayer. After 
 a while, as it were the space of an hour, the venerable man 
 Columba entered the same sacred house, and along with him a 
 golden light, which came down from the highest heaven and 
 filled the whole of that part of the church. Even the separ- 
 ate recess of the little chapel, where Vignous was trying 
 as much as he could to hide himself, was, to his great alarm, 
 completely filled by the splendour of that heavenly light which 
 broke in through the inner door of the chamber which was 
 standing ajar. And as no one can look at the midday sun in 
 summer with open and steady eye, so Vignous could not in 
 any wise endure that celestial splendour which he saw, because 
 of the brilliant and incomparable radiance which beat upon his 
 eyes. The brother spoken of was so much terrified by the 
 fierce and surpassing brightness which he saw, that no strength 
 remained in him. But, after a short prayer, S. Columba left 
 the church. On the following day he called Virgnous, who was 
 greatly alarmed, and addressed him in these few encouraging 
 words : " Thou art sighing to good purpose, my child, for last 
 night thou didst make thyself well pleasing in the sight of God 
 by keeping thine eyes fixed on the ground when overwhelmed 
 with fear at the brightness ; for hadst thou not done so, thine 
 eyes would have been blinded by that inestimable light which 
 was then seen. But this thou must carefully observe, that as 
 long as I live, thou shalt never make this manifestation of light 
 known to any one." This remarkable and wonderful circum- 
 stance, therefore, became known to many after the blessed 
 man's death, from the narrative of this same Virgnous Com man. 
 It was related to me, Adamnan, by the son of Virgnous' sister, 
 a respected priest, who assured me of the truth of that which 
 I have now here written of the vision. He had even heard 
 the story of the vision, as far as it was seen by him, from the 
 lips of the Abbot Virgnous himself, who was his uncle. 
 
162 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Of another almost similar vision of heavenly light. 
 
 ANOTHER night, again, one of the brethren, whose name was 
 Colge, the son of Aido Draigniche, of the grandsons of 
 Fechrech, of whom we made mention in the First Book, came 
 by chance to the door of the church while the other brethren 
 were asleep, and there stood for a time in prayer. Then 
 suddenly he saw the whole church filled with celestial light, 
 which, more quickly than he could tell, flashed like lightning 
 from his gaze. He did not know that S. Columba was then 
 within the church praying. After so sudden a manifestation 
 of light he returned home greatly alarmed. The next day -the 
 Saint called him and rebuked him sternly, saying : " Beware 
 above all things, child, that thou attempt not, as a curious spy, 
 to investigate that heavenly light, which is not granted to 
 thee, for it will flee from thee ; see also that thou tell no one 
 during my lifetime what thou hast seen. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Of another similar apparition of Divine Light. 
 
 At another time, again, the blessed man one day gave strict 
 orders to a disciple who was receiving instruction with him, and 
 whose name was Berchan, and surname Mesloen, saying : " Take 
 care, my son, that to-night thou come not, as is thy custom, to 
 my hut." But though he heard this, contrary to the command, 
 Berchan went in the dead of night, when the rest were quiet, 
 to the blessed man's dwelling, and cunningly prying about, 
 placed his eyes in a line with the keyholes, thinking, as indeed 
 the event proved, that some heavenly vision would be vouch- 
 saved to the Saint within. For in that same hour, that little 
 hut of the blessed man was filled with the splendour of the 
 heavenly glory, and the young transgressor, not being able to 
 endure it, at once fled from the spot. On the following day 
 
COLUMBA. 163 
 
 the Saint took him aside and reprimanded him with great 
 severity, and addressed to him these words : " Last night, my 
 son, thou didst sin before God, for thou didst vainly imagine 
 that the prying of thy secret inquisitiveness could be covered 
 or hid from the Holy Ghost. Did I not see thee at that 
 hour approaching the door of my hut and then going away ? 
 Unless I had then prayed for thee, thou wouldest there, before 
 the door, either have fallen down dead or had thine eyes 
 plucked from their sockets. But the Lord spared thee this 
 time for my sake. And be thou assured of this also that, 
 whilst thou art living in luxury in thine own country of 
 Ireland, thy face will bear the marks of thy reproach all the 
 days of thy life. Nevertheless, by my prayers, I have 
 obtained from the Lord that, as thou art my disciple, thou 
 shalt repent in tears before the end and obtain mercy from the 
 Lord." All these things, according to the saying of the 
 blessed man, afterwards happened to Berchan as they were 
 foretold concerning him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Of another vision of angels whom the Holy Man saw coming to meet his 
 holy soul, as if it were about to leave the body. 
 
 At another time, while the blessed man was living in the 
 island of Iona, his holy countenance was one day lighted up 
 with a marvellous and joyful cheerfulness, and raising his eyes 
 to heaven he was filled with gladness and rejoiced exceedingly. 
 Then, after an interval of a few seconds, that sweet and 
 pleasant joyfulness was changed into mournful sadness. And 
 two men, who were then standing at the door of his hut, which 
 was built on the higher ground, and were themselves also much 
 afflicted with him — of whom one was Lugne Mocublai, and 
 the other a Saxon called Pilu — inquired of him the cause of his 
 sudden joy and of the sorrow which followed. The Saint thus 
 addressed them : " Go in peace ; ask me not now to explain 
 the cause either of the joy or of the sorrow." On hearing this 
 
164 LIFE OF 
 
 they fell on their knees, and with their faces bowed to the 
 earth, entreated him with tears, desiring to learn something 
 concerning the matter which had in that hour been revealed to 
 the Saint. Seeing them deeply afflicted, he said : " Because I 
 love you, I desire you not to be afflicted, but you must first 
 promise me that you will never during my lifetime tell to any 
 one the secret you seek to know." They at once, according to 
 his request, promised ; and then, after the promise had been 
 given, the venerable man spake to them thus : " On this pre- 
 sent day thirty years of my sojourn in Britain have been 
 completed. Meanwhile, for many days past, I have earnestly 
 asked of the Lord that in the end of this thirtieth year He 
 would deliver me from my dwelling here and call me thither to 
 the heavenly country. And this was the cause of my joy con- 
 cerning which you are now sorrowfully inquiring. For I saw 
 holy angels sent from the Lofty Throne to meet me, to lead 
 my soul from the flesh. But behold now, they have suddenly 
 stopped, and are standing on a rock on the other side of the 
 sound of our island, though anxious to come near and call me 
 away from the body. But they are not permitted to come 
 nearer, and are shortly about to fly back to the highest 
 heavens, because that which the Lord granted me, after pray- 
 ing with my whole strength, that I might pass from the world 
 to Him on this day, He, hearkening to the prayers of many 
 Churches for me, has suddenly withheld. That is to say, 
 the Lord, in answer to the prayers of these Churches, though 
 against my will, has granted that four years from this day be 
 added to me for continuing in the flesh. Such a sad delay as 
 this was not unfitly the cause of my grief to-day. These four 
 years in this life being by God's favour ended, I shall suddenly, 
 and with no preceding sickness of body, depart with joy to the 
 Lord, accompanied by His holy angels, who will come to meet 
 me." According to these words which the venerable man 
 uttered, not, it is said, without great sighs and grief and with 
 much weeping, he afterwards abode in the flesh four years. 
 
COLUMBA. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Of the departure to the Lord of our Patron, S. Columba, 
 
 WHEN the end of the above-mentioned four years was 
 approaching, after the completion of which he knew, as a true 
 prophet, that his death would follow, the old man, worn out 
 with age, one day in the month of May went in a cart, as we 
 have already narrated in the Second Book, to visit some of the 
 brethren who were at work. And while they were working 
 that day in the western part of the island of Iona, he began to 
 speak to them, saying : " During the Paschal services, which 
 were recently held in the month of April, with desire, have I 
 desired to depart to Christ the Lord, as he had conceeded to 
 me if I preferred it. But in order that the festivity of joy 
 might not be turned for you into sorrow, I preferred to delay 
 the day of my departure a little longer." While listening to 
 these sad words from him his beloved monks were greatly 
 afflicted, and he endeavoured as much as he could to cheer 
 them with consolatory words. Then having done this, as he 
 was sitting in the vehicle, he turned his face to the East and 
 blessed the island and its inhabitants ; and from that day to 
 the present, as we have already stated in the Book mentioned 
 above, the venom of vipers with three forked tongues is 
 unable to do any manner of harm either to man or beast. 
 After pronouncing these words of blessing, the Saint was 
 carried back to his monastery. 
 
 Then, again, when a few days had passed, while the solemn 
 offices of the Mass were according to custom being celebrated 
 on the Lord's day, the face of the venerable man, as his eyes 
 were raised to heaven, suddenly appeared as if suffused with a 
 ruddy glow ; for, as it is written, " A glad heart maketh a 
 cheerful countenance." For in that same hour, he alone saw 
 the angel of the Lord flying above within the walls of his 
 chapel ; because the lovely and tranquil aspect of the holy 
 angels pours joy and exultation into the hearts of the elect, 
 this was the cause of the sudden joy which was infused into 
 
166 LIFE OF 
 
 the blessed man. When those who were present in the same 
 place made inquiries as to the cause of the joy with which the 
 Saint was inspired, he, looking up to heaven, made this reply : 
 " Wonderful and incomparable is the subtilty of the angelic 
 nature. For behold an angel of the Lord, sent to demand a 
 deposit dear to God, after looking down upon us within the 
 church and blessing us, returned again through the roof of the 
 church without leaving any trace of his passage through." 
 Thus spoke the Saint ; but none of those around him could 
 understand anything of the nature of the deposit which the 
 angel was sent to demand back. Our Patron, however, gave 
 the name of a deposit to his own soul, which had been entrusted 
 to him by God ; and after an interval of six days from that 
 time, he departed to the Lord during the night of the Lord's 
 Day, as shall be related further on. 
 
 In the end of that same week, that is on the Saturday, the 
 venerable man and his faithful servant Diormit, went to bless 
 the barn which was close at hand. When the Saint had 
 entered the barn and blessed it, and also the two heaps of 
 winnowed corn that were in it, he added these words and gave 
 thanks, saying : " Heartily do I congratulate my beloved monks 
 that in this year also, although in it I am called to depart 
 from you, you will have bread sufficient for the year." On 
 hearing this, Diormit, his servant, began to be sorrowful and 
 thus spake : " This year, O Father, thou often makest us sad, 
 because thou frequently makest mention of thy departure from 
 us." The Saint made this reply : " I have a little secret com- 
 munication to make to thee ; if thou wilt faithfully promise me 
 not to reveal it to any one before my death, I shall be able to 
 speak with thee more explicitly concerning my departure." 
 When his attendent had, on bended knees, given the promise 
 in accordance with the Saint's desire, the venerable man con- 
 tinued thus : " In the Holy Scriptures this day is called the 
 Sabbath, which being interpreted is called rest. And a true 
 Sabbath is this day to me, because it is the last day of my 
 present laborious life ; in it I rest after the fatigues of my 
 labours ; and to-night, at midnight, when the holy day of the 
 Lord begins, according to the words of the Scriptures, I shall 
 
COLUMBA. 167 
 
 go the way of our fathers. For already my Lord Jesus Christ 
 condescends to invite me ; and to Him, I say, in the middle of 
 this ensuing night, I shall depart at His invitation. For thus 
 has it been revealed to me by the Lord Himself." As he 
 listened to these sorrowful words, Diormit began to weep 
 bitterly ; and the Saint tried to console him as well as he could. 
 
 After this the Saint left the barn and when returning to the 
 monastery, rested half way at a place where a cross was after- 
 wards erected, which may be seen to this day standing by the 
 wayside and fixed in a millstone. And there, while the Saint, 
 as I have said, wearied with old age, sat and rested for a little, 
 behold there ran towards him a white pack-horse, a faithful 
 servant, that used to carry the milk vessels between the cow- 
 house and the monastery. It came to the Saint, and, wonder- 
 ful to relate, placed its head in his bosom, inspired, as I believe, 
 by God, as every animal is endowed with the knowledge of 
 things according to the will of the Creator, and knowing that 
 its master was soon about to leave it, and that it would see him 
 no more, it began to utter plaintive cries and, like a human 
 being, to shed abundant tears on the Saint's bosom, foaming 
 and weeping greatly. The servant seeing this began to drive 
 the weeping mourner away, but the Saint forbade him, saying: 
 " Let it alone, let our friend alone, let him pour out his bitter 
 grief into my bosom. Behold thou, as thou art a man, and 
 hast a rational soul, canst know nothing of my departure 
 beyond what I myself have just told thee ; but to this brute 
 beast, devoid of reason, the Creator Himself has in some way 
 manifestly made it known that its master is about to leave it." 
 And saying this the Saint blessed the horse as it turned away 
 from him in sadness. 
 
 And leaving this place the Saint ascended a little hill which 
 overlooks the monastery, and stood for a while on the top, and 
 as he stood there he raised both his hands and blessed the 
 monastery, saying : " On this place, though small and mean, 
 shall not only the Scotic kings and their peoples, but also the 
 Rulers of foreign and barbarous nations and their subjects, 
 confer great and unusual honour ; by the saints also, even of 
 other churches, shall it be held in no common reverence." 
 
168 LIFE OF 
 
 After these words he descended from the hill, and having 
 returned to the monastery, sat in his hut transcribing the 
 Psalter ; and coming to that verse of the Thirty-third Psalm, 
 where it is written — " They that seek the Lord shall not want 
 any good thing" [A.V., Ps. xxxiv. 10], he said : " Here at the end 
 of the page I must stop, but let Baithene write what follows." 
 The last verse he had written was very applicable to a Saint 
 who was about to depart, and to whom eternal goods shall 
 never be wanting ; but the one which follows it, is equally 
 applicable to the father who became his successor and the 
 instructor of his spiritual children — "Come, ye children, 
 hearken unto me ; I will teach you the fear of the Lord;" and, 
 as he appointed him his successor, he did succeed him not only 
 in teaching but also in writing. 
 
 After he had written the above-mentioned verse at the end 
 of the page, the Saint entered the church at vespers on the 
 night before the Lord's Day. When the service was over he 
 returned to his chamber and reclined the rest of the night upon 
 his bed, where he had a bare flag for his couch, and for his 
 pillow the stone which, to this day, stands as the title of his 
 monument beside his grave. While reclining there he gave his 
 last instructions to the brethren, in the hearing of his attendant 
 alone, saying : " These, O my children, are the last words I 
 address to you — that ye have mutual and unfeigned charity 
 among yourselves with peace ; and if ye thus observe these 
 things after the manner of the holy fathers, God, the Comforter 
 of the Good, will be your Helper, and I, abiding with Him, will 
 intercede for you ; and not only will the things needful for 
 this present life be sufficiently administered unto you by Him, 
 but there will also be rendered unto you those good and eternal 
 rewards which are prepared for them that keep His command- 
 ments." Thus far have the last words of our venerable Patron, 
 as he was passing from this weary pilgrimage to the heavenly 
 country, been preserved for recital in our brief narrative. 
 
 After these words, as the happy hour of his departure was 
 gradually drawing nigh, the Saint became silent. Then, as 
 soon as the bell rang at midnight, he rose hastily and went to 
 the church, and running more quickly than the rest, he entered 
 
COLUMBA. 169 
 
 alone, and knelt down in prayer beside the altar. At the same 
 moment, Diormit, his servant, who followed him more slowly, 
 saw from a distance the whole of the interior of the church 
 about the Saint filled with angelic light. As he drew near to 
 the door the light he had seen, and which was also seen by a 
 few more of the brethren who were standing at a distance, 
 suddenly disappeared. Diormit, therefore, entering the church, 
 cried out in a mournful voice: "Father, where art thou?" 
 And feeling his way through the darkness, as the lamps of the 
 brethren had not yet been brought in, he found the Saint lying 
 before the altar, and raising him a little, sat down beside him 
 and took his holy head into his bosom. Meanwhile the rest of 
 the monks ran in with lights, and seeing their father dying 
 burst into lamentations. And the Saint, as we have learned 
 from some who were present, before his soul departed, opened 
 wide his eyes and looked round him from side to side, with a 
 countenance full of wonderful joy and gladness, seeing, doubt- 
 less, the holy angels coming to meet him. Diormit then raised 
 the holy right hand of the Saint that he might bless the 
 assembled monks. And the venerable father himself moved 
 his hand at the same time as well as he was able, that, as he 
 could not in words, he might at least by the motion of his hand 
 be seen to bless the brethren as his soul was departing. And 
 having in this way given them his holy blessing, he immedi- 
 ately breathed his last. When he had departed from the 
 tabernacle of the body, his face still continued ruddy and lit 
 up in a wonderful way by the angelic vision, insomuch so that 
 it seemed to be the face not of the dead but of one sleeping. 
 Meantime the whole church resounded with mournful lamenta- 
 tions. 
 
 I ought not to omit to mention the revelation made to a 
 certain saint in Ireland at the very time the blessed soul passed 
 away. For in the monastery, which in the Irish tongue is 
 called Clonifinchoil, there was a holy man, an aged soldier of 
 Christ, named Lugud, the son of Tailchan, and known 
 for his integrity and wisdom. This man had a vision which, 
 at the first dawn of day, he told in great sorrow to one named 
 Fergnous, who was, like himself, a Christian soldier, saying : 
 
170 LIFE OF 
 
 " In the middle of this last night, S. Columba, the pillar of 
 many churches, departed to the Lord, and in the hour of his 
 blessed departure I saw in spirit the whole island of Iona, 
 where in the body I never was, resplendent with the brightness 
 of angels, and the whole space above, up to the pure air of 
 heaven, lit up with the brilliance of the same heavenly 
 messengers, who descended in countless numbers, and were 
 sent from heaven to bear away his holy soul. Also, I heard 
 the loud hymns and entrancing songs of the angelic hosts at 
 the moment of the departure of his holy soul among the 
 ascending choirs of angels." This angelic vision which, as has 
 been said, he undoubtedly learnt from the lips of the aged 
 Saint to whom it was revealed, Fergnous, who about that time 
 came over from Ireland, and abode the rest of his days in the 
 island of Eilean-na-naoimh, used often to narrate to the monks 
 of S. Columba. This same Fergnous, after living for many years 
 in blameless obedience among the brethren, led the life of a 
 hermit in the hermitage of Muirbulcmar, finishing his course 
 as a victorious soldier of Christ. This vision mentioned above 
 we have not only found in writing, but we have also heard it 
 related without the slightest hesitation by several well informed 
 old men, to whom Virgnous himself had told it. 
 
 Another vision, also given at the same hour, under a different 
 form, was related to me, Adamnan, who was then a young 
 man, by one of those who saw it, and solemnly assured me of 
 its truth. He was a very old man, a soldier of Christ, whose 
 name in Latin may be called Ferreolus, but, in Irish, Ernene, 
 of the race of the Mocufirroide, who, as being himself a monk, 
 is buried amid the remains of other monks of S. Columba in 
 the Ridge of Tomma, and awaits the resurrection with the 
 saints. He said : " On the night in which S. Columba, by a 
 happy and blessed death, passed from the earth to the heavens, 
 I, and others with me, were engaged in fishing in the valley of 
 the river Fend, which abounds in fish, when we saw the whole 
 vault of heaven suddenly illuminated. Struck by the sudden- 
 ness of the miracle we turned our uplifted eyes to the East, 
 and lo ! there appeared, as it were, an immense pillar of fire, 
 which seemed, as it rose up in the darkness, to illumine the 
 
COLUMBA. 171 
 
 whole world like the summer sun at noon, and after the pillar 
 penetrated the heavens, darkness followed as after the setting 
 of the sun. And not only did we, who were together in the 
 same place, see with great surprise the brightness of this 
 remarkable and luminous pillar, but many other fishermen also, 
 who were here and there engaged in fishing in different deep 
 pools along the same river, were greatly terrified, as they after- 
 wards related to us, by an apparition of the same kind. These 
 three miraculous visions, then, which were seen at the very 
 hour of our venerable Patron's departure, show clearly that 
 eternal honours have been conferred upon him by the Lord. 
 Let us now return to our narrative. 
 
 Meanwhile, after the departure of his holy soul, when the 
 morning hymns were sung, his sacred body was borne, amid 
 the chanting of psalms by the brethren, from the church back 
 to the chamber from which a little before he had come alive, 
 and his obsequies were celebrated with all due honour and 
 reverence for three days and as many nights. And when these 
 sweet praises of God were ended, the venerable body of our 
 holy and blessed Patron was wrapped in clean clothes of fine 
 linen and placed in a coffin which had been prepared for it, 
 and was buried with all due reverence, to rise again in lustrous 
 and eternal glory. 
 
 And now, near the close of this book, will be related what 
 has been told us by well-informed persons regarding the above- 
 mentioned three days in which his obsequies were celebrated 
 according to ecclesiastical custom. One of the brethren, 
 speaking one day in the presence of the venerable man, with 
 great simplicity said to him : " After thy death all the people 
 of these provinces will row over to this island of Iona to 
 celebrate thy obsequies, and will entirely fill it." On hearing 
 this the Saint immediately replied : " No, my child, the event 
 will not turn out as thou sayest, for a mixed multitude of 
 people will not in any way be able to come to my obsequies. 
 My beloved monks alcne will perform my funeral rites and 
 grace the last offices bestowed upon me." And this prophetic 
 word, immediately after his departure, the Omnipotence of 
 God caused to be fulfilled. For during the three days and 
 
172 LIFE OF 
 
 nights of his obsequies a great and stormy tempest, without 
 rain, arose, and by reason of its violence no one could in any 
 direction cross the Sound in his little boat. And immediately 
 after the interment of the blessed man, the tempest fell, and 
 the wind ceased, and the whole ocean became calm. 
 
 Let the reader therefore consider in what and how great 
 honour our illustrious Patron was held with God, seeing that 
 while he was yet dwelling in mortal flesh God was pleased at 
 his prayer to still the storms and calm the seas ; and again, 
 when he found it necessary, as on the occasion mentioned 
 above, gales arose when he wished, and the sea was lashed into 
 fury, and this storm, as was said above, when his funeral 
 services were completed, subsided into a great calm. 
 
 Such, then, was the end of our illustrious Patron's life, and 
 such is an earnest of his merits, who, according to the state- 
 ments of the Scriptures, is now a sharer in eternal triumphs, 
 added to the Patriarchs, associated with the Prophets and 
 Apostles, numbered amongst the thousands of white-robed 
 saints who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, 
 and is now following the Lamb, his Leader ; a virgin immacu- 
 late, freed from every blemish through the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ; to Whom be honour, power, praise, and glory, 
 and everlasting dominion in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 After reading these three little Books let the diligent reader 
 observe of what and how great merit, of what and how high 
 honour in the sight of God our holy and venerable President, 
 often mentioned above, must have been deemed worthy, how 
 great and many were the bright and angelic visitations to him, 
 how full he was of the spirit of prophecy, how efficacious was 
 the working of his divine powers, how often and to what great 
 extent the brightness of the divine light shone around him 
 while he was still dwelling in mortal flesh, and how, even since 
 the departure of his most holy soul from the tabernacle of the 
 body, even up to the present day, as has been clearly shown to 
 certain chosen persons, the place where his bones repose does 
 not cease to be illumined by that same heavenly brightness or 
 to be haunted by the visits of the holy angels. And this 
 
COLUMBA. 173 
 
 unusual favour has also been conferred by God upon this same 
 man of blessed memory, that though he lived in this small and 
 remote island of the British sea, his name has been found 
 worthy to be clearly proclaimed not only throughout the whole 
 of our own Ireland and Britain, the largest island of the whole 
 world, but has reached even to triangular Spain, and into Gaul 
 and to Italy, situated beyond the Pennine Alps, and also to the 
 city of Rome itself, which is the head of all the cities. Such 
 and so great honourable celebrity, among other gifts of divine 
 favour, is known to have been conferred upon this same Saint 
 by God, who loveth the diligent, and raiseth to immense 
 honour, by glorifying them more and more, those who with 
 praises magnify Him who is blessed for ever. Amen. 
 
 I beseech those who wish to transcribe these little Books — 
 yea, rather, I adjure them by Christ, the Judge of the world — 
 after they have diligently copied, carefully to compare and 
 correct their copies with that from which they have written 
 them, and also to subjoin here this adjuration — Whosoever 
 readeth these little Books on the virtues of Columba, let him 
 pray to the Lord for me, Dorbbene, that after death I may 
 possess eternal life. 
 
 These are the names of the twelve men who sailed over from 
 Ireland with S. Columba on his first voyage to Britain : the 
 two sons of Brenden ; Baithene, who is also called Conin, the 
 successor of S. Columba, and Cobthach, his brother ; Ernaan, 
 the uncle of S. Columba ; Diormit, his servant ; Rus and 
 Fechno, two sons of Rodain ; Scandal, the son of Bresail, the 
 son of Endei, the son of Neil ; Luguid Mocuthemne ; Echoid ; 
 Tochannu Mocufir-cetea ; Cairnaan, the son of Branduib, the 
 son of Meilgi ; Grilaan. 
 
 The parents of S. Columba were — Aedelmith, his father, the 
 son of Ferguss ; Eithne, his mother, the daughter of Mac Nav. 
 
 Iogen was the younger brother of Columba. His three 
 sisters were : Cuimne, the mother of the sons of Meic Decuil, 
 who are called Mernooc, Cascene, Meldal, and Bran, who was 
 buried in Dairu Calchaich, the cousins of S. Columba ; 
 Mincholeth, mother of the sons of Enain, one of whom was 
 
174 LIFEOFCOLUMBA. 
 
 called Calmaan ; Sinech, mother of the men of Mocuni, in 
 Cuile-aque, whose names are — Aidan, a monk, who was buried 
 in Cuil-uisci ; Chronrii Moccucein, who was buried in Dair- 
 magh ; and Tocummi Mocucein, a holy priest, who in extreme 
 old. age ended this present life in the island of Iona. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOCELIN, A MONK OF FURNESS. 
 
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 
 
 Here begins the Prologue, in the form of an 
 Epistle, to the Life of S. Kentigern, Bishop 
 and Confessor. 
 
 TO his most reverend lord and dearest father, Jocelin, the 
 anointed of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jocelin, the least 
 of the poor of Christ, animated and sustained by filial love 
 and obedience, wishes the salvation of body and soul in our 
 Saviour. 
 
 Since your great name, high office, and equal judgment, 
 your life untarnished by any breath of evil fame, and your long 
 tried religion, persuade me, after most careful consideration, 
 that you love the beauty of the House of the Lord over which 
 you preside, I have deemed it fitting to present to you the first 
 fruits of my gleanings, which are redolent of the beauty and 
 glory both of yourself and your Church. For, according to 
 your command, I have wandered through the streets and lanes 
 of the city seeking a record of the life of S. Kentigern, in whom 
 your soul delights, and in whose chair the grace of Divine 
 condescension, by the adoption of sons, by ecclesiastical elec- 
 tion, and by succession of ministry, has caused your sanctity 
 to preside. Wherefore I sought diligently for a life of him, if 
 perchance one might be found, which seemed to be supported 
 with greater authority and more evident truth, and to be 
 written in a more graceful style than the one which your 
 Church has hitherto used, because that, as it seems to many, is 
 stained throughout, being discoloured by an uncouth diction, 
 and obscured by an uncultivated style ; and, what above all 
 these things a wise man would still more abhor, in the very 
 
178 LIFE OF 
 
 beginning of the narrative there are matters which are mani- 
 festly contrary to sound doctrine and the Catholic Faith. But 
 another little volume I have found, written in the Celtic 
 dialect, which, though abounding from beginning to end with 
 solecisms, contains the life and acts of the holy pontiff at 
 greater length. Seeing the life of so precious a pontiff, 
 glorious with signs and wonders, and most illustrious in virtues 
 and doctrine, perversely narrated and marred by unsound 
 doctrine, or greatly obscured by barbaric language, I confess I 
 was grieved and took it ill. I resolved, therefore, to put 
 together the materials I had collected from either volume for 
 its restoration, and as far as I could, and in obedience to your 
 command, season what had been rudely composed with Roman 
 salt. It is absurd, I think, that so precious a treasure should 
 be swathed in such vile wrappages, and I have endeavoured, 
 therefore, to cover it, if not with tissues of gold or silk, at least 
 with pure linen. I have attempted, moreover, to so pour the 
 life-giving liquid from the old vessel into the new, that, draw- 
 ing it out according to the scanty capacity of the vessel, it may 
 be acceptable to the more simple, and neither useless to those 
 of moderate ability, nor contemptible to those who are more 
 richly endowed. Assisted, therefore, by the prayers and 
 merits of our holy President, if the favour of the Inspirer 
 from on High, encourage me, I shall so temper my style that 
 the work I have undertaken shall not be obscured by creeping 
 in the darkness through poverty of language, nor swell with 
 rhetorical phrases beyond what is fitting, through aiming too 
 high, lest I should seem to have planted a grove in the temple 
 of the Lord contrary to His command. Hence the whole aim 
 of this work, all the fruit of my labour, ought, it has seemed to 
 me, to be consecrated to your name and to be submitted for 
 your consideration. If, however, any thing inelegant or insipid 
 be put forth, let it be seasoned with the salt of your discretion ; 
 if by chance there be anything in it which sounds scarcely 
 consonant with the truth, though I do not think there is, let it 
 be shaped and adjusted to the rule of your judgment. But if 
 nothing be found in it failing in either of these respects, let it 
 be supported by your testimony and confirmed by your 
 
KENTIGERN. 179 
 
 authority. And in all these things, if any thing come to light 
 proceeding from my pen otherwise than becoming the subject, 
 let it be imputed to the slenderness of my skill. And if any 
 thing appear in it worthy of being read, let it be ascribed to 
 your Eminency. Of the translation of this Saint, or of the 
 miracles he performed after his death, I have been unable any- 
 where to find an account ; they either have not been recorded, 
 because they have escaped the memory of those who were 
 present, or they have been multiplied beyond enumeration 
 and have been omitted, that the multitude of facts collected 
 might not weary feeble readers. May your sanctity always 
 live and flourish in the Lord. 
 
 Here ends the Prologue. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Here beginneth the Life of S. Kentigern, Bishop and Confessor. 
 
 THE beginning of the record of the glorious life of the most 
 illustrious Kentigern, very dear to God and men, a Nazarite of 
 our Nazarene Jesus Christ, is consecrated by the divine oracle 
 in which the Lord, anticipating in His gracious benedictions the 
 blessed prophet Jeremiah, foretells that he should be a vessel 
 of election sanctified to the work of his ministry, by such praise 
 as this : " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and 
 before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and 
 gave thee a prophet unto the nations." Truly the blessed 
 Kentigern, who was known to God before he was born into the 
 world, and bedewed with the grace of election before he came 
 forth from his mother's womb, was made great by miracles 
 before he became great either in his members or his merits. 
 For him who was sanctified, and was to be yet more sanctified, 
 the Holy of Holies Himself, while he was still shut up within 
 the gates of the maternal womb, began to cause to shine forth 
 in his very beginning the splendour of His virtues, that he 
 
180 LIFE OF 
 
 might prove that the special gift of the Holy Ghost is not con- 
 strained by the chain of original sin. This man, I say, famous 
 for his race and beauty, and distinguished in many ways by 
 signs, and prodigies, and presages, was, by a decree of the 
 Redeemer, destined to be a prophet, yea, also a teacher and 
 chief ruler, to many nations. 
 
 Wherefore this most holy man, though he drew his original 
 germ from a royal stem, came forth as a rose from the thorn, 
 as a sweet smelling tree from filthy ground, since his mother 
 was the daughter of a certain King, very pagan in his creed, a 
 ruling prince in the northern parts of Britain. But when the 
 sound of the preaching of the Christian Faith went forth in the 
 land of that region, and the words of holy preachers advanced 
 into those northern confines, whence every evil used to be 
 spread, she heard with her ears those things which were to be 
 heard, how the Brightness of the Eternal Light, the Sun of 
 Righteousness, having risen by the Star of Virginity, illumined 
 the world with the rays of His knowledge and love, and pro- 
 claimed salvation to them that were near and to them that 
 were afar off, leading His own into all the fulness of the truth 
 more efficaciously by the arguments of manifest signs ; then 
 her heart burned within her, and in her meditation that fire 
 burned which the Lord sent upon the earth, and she earnestly 
 desired that it should be kindled. Her soul thirsting to come 
 to the knowledge of the truth, she received the engrafted word 
 which was able to save her soul from everlasting death. 
 Though not yet washed in the water of the saving laver, she 
 was nevertheless running in the way of the commandments of 
 God with an enlarged and diligent heart. She persevered con- 
 tinually in frequent almsgiving, in devout prayers, in learning 
 the faith of the Church and in practising its discipline, as far 
 as she might, for fear of her pagan father. With special devo- 
 tion, however, did she, among these things, admire the fruitful 
 purity of the Virgin Mother ; through admiring, she venerated, 
 and, through venerating and loving, she desired to imitate it, 
 and with a certain presumptuous boldness of feminine rashness 
 she desired to be like her in conceiving and in giving birth, and 
 on this account she earnestly laboured to entreat the Lord. 
 
KENTIGERN. 181 
 
 After the lapse of some time she was found to be with child, 
 and her soul magnified the Lord, believing in her simplicity 
 that her desire had been accomplished. That, however, which 
 was born in her she received from the embrace of man, but, as 
 she often asserted, binding herself by an oath, by whom, or 
 when, or in what way she conceived, she was unconscious. But 
 though the fact of this secret was hid from her, or had escaped 
 her memory, the truth of the matter ought by no means to 
 perish from the mind of any discreet person, nor should any 
 scruple arise from it. For though at present we bury in 
 silence things which we find recorded in poetic songs or in 
 histories which are not canonical, when we turn to the Sacred 
 Volumes we read in the Book of Genesis that the daughters of 
 Lot not only secretly stole for themselves their father's 
 embraces, but also that each of them conceived by him when 
 he was drunk, and entirely unwitting of the fact. It is certain, 
 moreover, that many, through taking the draught of oblivion, 
 which physicists call Letargion, have slept ; and when they 
 suffered incisions in their members, and sometimes burning 
 and abrasion in vital parts, have not in the least felt it, but 
 have been ignorant, when awakened, of the things which were 
 done to them. We frequently have heard that maidenly 
 chastity has been stormed by tricks of jugglers, and that the 
 deflowered has never known her deflowerer. It may be that 
 something of the sort happened to this girl by the secret judg- 
 ment of God, that she might not feel the mixture of the sexes j 
 and so, when impregnated, might think herself undefiled. 
 
 We do not think that this has been mentioned here in vain, 
 because the foolish and stupid people who live in the diocese 
 of S. Kentigern do not shrink from asserting even that he was 
 conceived and born of a virgin. But why should we delay with 
 these things ? Indeed, we deem it both absurd and irrelevant 
 to inquire further who the sower was, or how he ploughed or 
 sowed the land, when the Lord, bestowing His favour, the land 
 brought forth good and rich fruit — the fruit, I say, of this land 
 which received a blessing from the Lord, whereby many 
 generations are blessed by the Lord and receive from Him the 
 fruit of eternal salvation. Meanwhile the woman went about, 
 
182 LIFE OF 
 
 and the signs of her seduction were apparent to all 
 
 When her condition was made known to the King, her father, 
 
 he began more earnestly to try to learn from her — now urging her 
 with terrors, now coaxing her with blandishments — who had 
 caused her to be with child. But she, interposing with an oath in 
 the name of Christ, protested that she was innocent of all inter- 
 course with man. But the King hearing this, and moved with 
 a more vehement rage, both because of the name of Christ, 
 which had been uttered by her mouth, and because he could 
 not find out the violator of his daughter, swore, and resolved to 
 keep his righteous judgment, that he would not in any respect 
 swerve from the law ordained by his ancestors in such matters 
 for the love or life of his own daughter. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Of the law established in those days among the Cambrian people 
 concerning Girls who committed fornication. 
 
 THERE was among that barbarous people a law, promulgated 
 of old, that a girl who committed fornication in her father's 
 house, and was found with child, should be cast down from the 
 top of the highest mountain, and that her paramour should be 
 beheaded. Similarly among the ancient Saxons, almost down 
 to these modern times, the law continued that every virgin 
 deflowered of her own will in her father's house should, without 
 any remission, be buried alive, and her violator be hanged over 
 her tomb. What shall we say to these things, or what can we 
 conjecture concerning them ? If such zeal for chastity burn in 
 the heathen, who are ignorant of the divine law, solely for the 
 sake of integrity, and out of respect for the traditions of their 
 fathers, what shall the Christian do who is constrained to the 
 preservation of chastity by the divine law, which promises as 
 the reward of it the joy of heaven, and likewise, on the other 
 hand, metes out for the transgression of it eternal punishment ? 
 
KENTIGERN. 183 
 
 Behold, both sexes and every condition are now plunged in 
 every slough of carnal pollution almost as boldly as willingly, 
 because with impunity ; and not only is the vilest herd pol- 
 luted with the contagion, but those who are maintained by 
 ecclesiastical benefices and attached to divine offices deem 
 themselves happier, the more filthy they are. But now the 
 Hammerer of the whole earth, even the Spirit of Fornica- 
 tion, passes through them. They who exhibit outwardly a 
 certain fancied form of godliness, but deny the power thereof 
 by their works, paying allegiance to this present world, are 
 known by their impure life to lie before God by their sacred 
 habit and tonsure. Verily they ought to fear that which the 
 Lord threatens by His prophet, saying : " He who hath done 
 iniquity in the land of the saints shall not look upon the glory 
 of God." Even now what is to be bewailed with every river 
 of tears? That sin of sins, which is now committed with 
 impunity, than which nothing more detestable can be con- 
 ceived, on account of which the sulphurous flame, a heavenly 
 judgment, destroyed the guilty in the Five Cities of the Plain. 
 Nor can he easily be found who will willingly reprove the 
 perpetrator. For if any one, however rarely, be found whom 
 the zeal of the Lord's house consumeth, and who burneth with 
 the love of justice and integrity, so that he should seem to 
 censure such monstrous sins, he is straightway resisted to his 
 face as a sycophant, and denounced by all as a traducer ; his 
 mouth is closed, as of one speaking wickedly, his tongue is 
 decreed to be tied up. 
 
 Why is this ? Plainly because the body of Leviathan, as it 
 is written, is shut close up with scales, pressing upon one 
 another, and the shadows cover his shadow; because the crimin- 
 ous and guilty, who are members of the devil, are mutually 
 protected by others who labour in the same vice, that the 
 arrow of correction cannot pierce them. Verily, as I think, 
 this is done as a proof of their inexcusable damnation, that 
 such men, being given over to a reprobate mind, neither receive 
 nor accept the rod of correction. And the multitude, labour- 
 ing in the same vice, mitigates not in the least their punish- 
 ment because the many, not less than they themselves, 
 
1 84 LIFE OF 
 
 individually burn, as if cast into a furnace. But what shall we 
 say of those on whom the duty is conjoined of binding and 
 loosing, of shutting and opening, who are placed upon a 
 candlestick, that in the House of the Lord they may shine by 
 word and example? Do not the greater number in the 
 present represent smoke rather than flame, and stench rather 
 than brightness ? Are they not dumb dogs, not able, yea, not 
 willing, to bark ? When they see manners more than bestial, 
 they do not dare to rebuke them, especially since they them- 
 selves are conformed to their habits, yea, are worse deformed. 
 For, as the people, so the priest ; as the subject, so the pre- 
 late; yea, as the first in dignity, so the worse in iniquity, and 
 they who excel in office excel also in vice. What the Scripture 
 mystically says of such is to be feared for them : " If so much 
 as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned." The beast 
 touches the mountain when any one of bestial life mounts to 
 the chair of prelacy, and lays an impure hand on purifying 
 sacrifices. Yet such is he who is commanded to be stoned, 
 since it is clearly taught in the opinions of the holy Fathers 
 that he ought to be subjected to a hard and heavy condemna- 
 tion. That I have said these things by way of digression will, 
 I trust, be burdensome to none. The zeal of this pagan man 
 who spared not his own daughter, but for the fault of simple 
 fornication delivered her to such a doom, ought to cause great 
 shame to the worshippers of Christ to the planting and propa- 
 gating of modesty. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 How the divine favour delivered the mother of S. Kentigern from the 
 precipice and from shipwreck. 
 
 ACCORDINGLY the aforesaid girl was led by the command of 
 the King to the summit of a very high mountain, called Dum- 
 pelder, in order that she might be cast down from thence and 
 be broken limb from limb or dashed to pieces. But she, 
 groaning heavily, and looking up to heaven, said in complain- 
 
KENTIGERN. 185 
 
 ing words : " Justly do I suffer this, because I have acted as 
 one of the foolish women, desiring to be equalled to the most 
 holy, most serene Bearer of Salvation, the parent who brought 
 forth her Father. But I beseech thee, O Lady 1 blessed 
 among women, take away the iniquity of thine handmaid, for 
 I have done very foolishly. O Mother of mercy ! show the 
 light of thy compassion towards me, and deliver me from the 
 oppression which surrounds me. I beseech thee, O Lady, that 
 as He, the Flower of the Angelic Mountains, without injury to 
 thy snow white purity, vouchsaved to become in thee, the 
 lowly valley, fertile in every virtue, the lily of our valleys, and 
 as out of thee, the most firm mountain of the faith, the stone 
 was hewn without hands, which grew into a great mountain 
 and filled the whole earth ; so me, thine handmaid, though not 
 yet washed in the sacred laver, yet firmly believing in thy Son, 
 and hoping in the shadow of thy wings, do thou deliver from 
 the imminent precipice, that the blessed name of thy Son may 
 for ever be magnified in the sight of these people. Moreover, 
 the offspring which I bear in my womb I promise to thy Son 
 and to thee as a peculiar possession, to be thy servant all the 
 days of his life." 
 
 When she had prayed in this manner with devout heart and 
 mouth, the servants of the King cast her, continually invoking 
 Christ and His mother, down from the top of the mountain. 
 Then a thing, wonderful and unheard of from the past, 
 occurred. When she fell she was not bruised, because the 
 Lord supported her hand, therefore she felt no hurt. As it 
 seemed to her, she descended to the earth like a winged bird, 
 with a gentle gliding, lest, perchance, she should dash her foot 
 against a stone. Thanksgiving and the voice of praise sound 
 in the mouth of many who beheld these wonderful works of 
 God. The holy and terrible name of Christ is magnified. The 
 innocent is judged both to be deemed free from all further 
 punishment, and in every way to be held in reverence. But, 
 on the other hand, the idolaters and adversaries of the Christian 
 Faith ascribed this miracle not to divine virtue but to magical 
 arts ; and with unanimous voice proclaimed her a witch and a 
 sorceress. Therefore there was a division among the people 
 
 13 
 
186 LIFE OF 
 
 concerning her. Some said : " She is a good woman and 
 innocent." Others said : " Nay, but by her artifices she 
 deceiveth the people, changeth her countenance, and deludeth 
 their senses." The crowd, therefore, in the whirl of its own 
 words confused itself ; but the sacrilegious multitude prevail- 
 ing, they moved the King, who was wholly given up to idolatry, 
 to pronounce a new judgment concerning his daughter. At 
 length, by the general connivance of the assembly of the 
 wicked and of those who oppose the name of Christ, it was 
 decreed that the little pregnant woman should be placed alone 
 in a boat and exposed on the sea. In order, therefore, that the 
 sentence thus resolved upon might be carried out, the servants 
 of the King embarked and took her far out to sea, and there, 
 placed alone in a very little boat of hides, put together after 
 the manner of the Irish, they committed her to fortune with- 
 out a single oar, and then rowed back to the shore, and related 
 what they had done to the King and the people, who were 
 awaiting the issue of the event. But these, mocking, said : 
 " She calls herself the handmaid of Christ. She professes that 
 she has His power as her protector. Let us see if her words 
 are true. She trusteth in Christ, let Him deliver her, if He is 
 able, from the hand of death and from the peril of the sea." 
 
 But the girl, destitute of all human help, commits herself to 
 Him alone who made the sea and the dry land, devoutly be- 
 seeching that He who had already saved her from the precipice 
 would save her from the imminent peril. Wonderful to relate 
 —but with God nothing is impossible — that little boat in which 
 the pregnant girl was detained, ploughed the watery vortices 
 and the eddies of the waves towards the opposite shore in a 
 much swifter course than if it had been borne onward by a 
 wind filling the sails or propelled by the effort of many rowers. 
 For He who preserved Jonah the prophet unhurt amid the 
 whirlpools of the ocean when swallowed up in the huge belly 
 of the whale, who likewise by His right hand upheld the 
 blessed Peter when walking upon the waves that he might not 
 sink, and delivered his co-Apostle, who thrice suffered ship- 
 wreck, from the depths of the sea, brought the woman safe to 
 a haven of safety, for the sake of the child whom she bore in 
 
KENTIGERN. 187 
 
 her womb, whom He predestinated to be a chief steersman of 
 His own ship, that is, an excellent teacher and ruler of His 
 Church. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Of the birth of S. Kentigern, and of his education with S. Serf. 
 
 The aforesaid woman landed on the sand near to a place 
 called Culross. In this place S. Serf was then dwelling, and 
 teaching many boys, who were to be trained to the Divine ser- 
 vice, and in sacred literature. When she had landed on the shore, 
 the pangs of labour at once took hold upon her. Raising her 
 eyes, she saw afar off, though in the darkness, the sign of the 
 ashes of a fire near the shore, which, perhaps, some shepherds 
 or fishermen had left. She therefore crawled to the place, and 
 as best she could kindled for herself a fire. But when the 
 dawn, the harbinger of the divine light, began to whiten, the 
 time was fulfilled that she should be delivered. And she 
 brought forth a son, about to be a herald and messenger of the 
 true Light. 
 
 Now, at the same hour, S. Serf, while intent upon prayer 
 after Mass in the morning matins, and drawing in his breath 
 with the sweetness of holy contemplation, heard the angelic 
 companies chanting their sweet praises on high, and rejoicing to- 
 gether with them in their praises, he with his disciples exulted 
 and eagerly offered in spirit to the Lord the sacrifices of jubila- 
 tion by singing : " We Praise Thee, O Lord." The clerics were 
 astonished at the novelty of the event, and when they inquired 
 what had happened, he told them all in order the whole mat- 
 ter, and the hymning of the angels, and sedulously exhorted 
 them that they themselves should offer the calves of their lips 
 to the Lord. But there were in the neighbourhood shepherds 
 keeping watch over their flocks by night, and they going forth 
 at the break of day, when they saw a fire burning close at 
 hand, made haste and came to it, and found the young woman 
 
188 LIFE OF 
 
 newly delivered of a child, and the infant wrapped in rags and 
 lying in the open air. They were moved with pity, took care 
 of them by increasing the fire and supplying them with food, 
 and by obtaining other necessaries ; and bringing them in as 
 suitable a way as they could, they presented them to S. Serf, 
 and rehearsed the matter to him in order. 
 
 When he heard these things, and saw the little boy, the 
 mouth of the blessed old man was filled with spiritual laughter, 
 and his heart with joy. Wherefore also in the language of his 
 country he exclaimed : " Mochohe ! Mochohe ! " which in Latin 
 means " Care mi, Care mi," adding : " Blessed art thou who 
 hast come in the name of the Lord." He therefore took them 
 to his dwelling, nourished and educated them as if they had 
 been his own kindred. Accordingly, after certain days had 
 elapsed, he bathed them in the laver of regeneration and re- 
 novation, and anointed them with the sacred chrism ; calling 
 the mother Taneu, and the boy Kyentyern, which, being 
 interpreted, is The Capital Lord. That this new name with 
 which the mouth of S. Serf named him was not received in 
 vain shall be clearly set forth in its place in the following 
 pages. Therefore the man of the Lord educated the child of 
 the Lord, like another Samuel, commended and assigned to 
 him by God. The child grew and waxed strong, and the grace 
 of God was with him. But when the age of understanding 
 and the time fit and acceptable for learning came, he delivered 
 him to be instructed in letters, and, that he might profit in 
 these things, spent much labour and care upon him. Nor was 
 he in this respect defrauded of his desire ; for the boy, in 
 acquiring and retaining, responded well and richly to his 
 training, like a tree which is planted near the running waters, 
 which bringeth forth its fruit in due season. The boy 
 advanced, the unction of a good hope and a holy disposition 
 teaching him, in the discipline of letters, and not less in the 
 exercises of the sacred virtues. For there were bestowed upon 
 him by the Father of Lights, from Whom cometh down every 
 good and every perfect gift, a docile heart, a mind quick to 
 understand, a memory tenacious in retaining what he had 
 learnt, a tongue persuasive in setting forth what he willed ; a 
 
KENTIGERN. 189 
 
 voice, high, sweet, harmonious, and almost unwearied, in 
 singing the divine praises. A praiseworthy life gilded all 
 these gifts of grace, and therefore beyond all his companions 
 he was precious and beloved in the eyes of the holy old man. 
 Wherefore, also, he was accustomed to call him, in the 
 language of his country, Mungher, which in Latin means 
 Karissimus Amicus ; and by this name, down to the present 
 day, the common people are frequently used to call him, and 
 to invoke him in their necessities. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of the little bird which was killed and then restored to life by 
 
 Kentigern. 
 
 The fellow pupils of S. Kentigern, seeing that he was loved 
 by their teacher and spiritual father more than all the rest, 
 hated him, nor could they say anything peaceably to him 
 either publicly or in private. Wherefore in many ways they 
 lay in wait for him, abused, envied, and slandered him. But 
 the child of the Lord always had the eyes of his heart towards 
 the Lord, and grieved more for them than for himself, caring 
 little for all the unjust machinations of men. Now, a little 
 bird, which on account of the redness of its body is called the 
 redbreast, by the will of the Heavenly Father, without whom 
 not one sparrow falleth to the ground, was wont to receive its 
 daily food from the hand of Serf, the servant of God, and in 
 consequence of this had become familiar and at home with him. 
 Sometimes it was even wont to rest upon his head, or face, or 
 shoulder, or in his bosom, or to sit by his side as he prayed or 
 read ; and by the flapping of its wings, or by the sound of its 
 inarticulate voice, or by some other little gesture, it showed the 
 affection which it had for him. So that sometimes the face of 
 the man of God assumed the joy which was shadowed forth in 
 the motion of the bird, as he wondered at the great power of 
 
190 LIFE OF 
 
 the Creator in this little creature, to Whom the dumb speak, 
 and irrational things are known to have understanding. 
 
 And because this bird frequently, at the command or beck of 
 the man of God, came to him or departed from him, it brought 
 to light the unbelief and hardness of heart of his disciples, and 
 showed clearly their disobedience. Let not this seem strange 
 to any one, seeing that the Lord, by the voice of an animal 
 dumb and a beast of burden, reproved the foolishness of the 
 prophet ; and Solomon, the wisest of men, sends the sluggard 
 to the ant, that, by considering its labour and industry, he 
 may shake off his torpor and sloth. Moreover, a holy and 
 wise man called his religious to consider the work of the bees, 
 that in their little bodies they might learn the beautiful disci- 
 pline of service. But perhaps it will seem marvellous to some 
 that a man so holy and perfect should take delight in the play 
 or ways of a little bird. But let such know that perfect 
 men ought at times to have the severity of their discipline 
 mitigated by something of this kind, in order that they who 
 mentally rise up to God may at times lower themselves to us ; 
 because even the bow requires occasionally to be unbent from 
 its daily strain, lest at the needful time it be found nerveless 
 and useless for the discharge of the arrow. For birds in pass- 
 ing through the air rise with outstretched wings, and again 
 closing them, descend to the lower parts of the earth. 
 
 Therefore on a certain day, when the aged man entered his 
 oratory to offer up to God the incense of prayers, the boys took 
 advantage of his absence, and began to indulge in play with 
 the aforesaid little bird ; and, while they handled it among 
 themselves, and tried to snatch it from each other, it died in 
 their hands, and its head was torn from its body. When this 
 was done, their play was changed into sorrow, and they already, 
 in imagination, saw the strokes of the rods which are wont to 
 be the greatest torment of boys, hanging over them. At 
 length, having taken counsel among themselves, they laid the 
 blame on the boy Kentigern, who had kept himself entirely 
 aloof from the affair, and they showed him the dead bird, and 
 threw it from them before the old man arrived. The old 
 man took the destruction of the bird very ill, and threatened 
 
KENTIGERN. 191 
 
 to avenge its death upon its destroyer very severely. The 
 boys, therefore, rejoiced, thinking that they had escaped, and 
 that they had turned on Kentigern the punishment due to 
 themselves, and that they had lessened the grace of friendship 
 which Serf had hitherto entertained towards him. 
 
 When Kentigern, the most pure child, learned this, he took 
 the bird into his hands, put the head to the body, and 
 impressed upon it the sign of the cross, and raising his pure 
 hands in prayer to the Lord, said : " O Lord Jesus Christ, in 
 whose hand is the breath of all Thy creatures, rational and 
 irrational, give back to this little bird the breath of life, that 
 Thy blessed name may be glorified for ever." These words 
 spake the Saint in prayer, and immediately the bird was 
 restored to life ; and not only rose safely with untrammelled 
 flight in the air, but flew forth in its usual way to meet the old 
 man with joy as he returned from the church. On seeing this 
 prodigy the heart of the holy old man exulted in the Lord, 
 and his soul magnified the child of the Lord in the Lord, and 
 the Lord who alone doeth marvellous works, and was working 
 in the child. By this remarkable sign, therefore, the Lord 
 signified, nay, in a way presignified, Kentigern to be His own, 
 and began to announce him whom He afterwards, and in 
 manifold ways, made more remarkable by wonders. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the fire put out through envy by the companions of S. Kentigern and 
 by his breath brought down from heaven on a little branch of hazel. 
 
 IT was a rule with S. Serf that each of the boys whom he 
 trained and instructed should, during the course of the week, 
 carefully attend to arrange the lamps in the church while the 
 divine office was being celebrated there by day and by night, 
 and that for this purpose, when the rest had gone to sleep, one of 
 them should diligently attend to the fire, lest any neglect should 
 
192 LIFE OF 
 
 occur in the divine service on account of the want of light. It 
 came to pass that S. Kentigern was appointed to this service 
 in the order of his course, and while he was performing it dili- 
 gently and in order, his rivals, inflamed with the torches of envy, 
 yea, blinded, as it is the way with the perverse to envy the 
 progress of their betters, and to persecute or prevent or depre- 
 ciate the good in others which they do not, or will not, or 
 can not have in themselves, secretly on a certain solemn night 
 extinguished all the fire within the habitations of the monas- 
 tery and the places in its neighbourhood ; and then, as if 
 ignorant and innocent sought their couches. And when about 
 cockcrow, Kentigern rose according to custom at the sacred 
 vigils, in order that, as custom required, he might attend to 
 the lights, he sought for fire all around and found none. 
 
 At length, becoming aware of the wickedness of his rivals, 
 he determined to give place to envy, and began to leave the 
 monastery. And when he came to the hedge which surrounded 
 that habitation, he came to himself and stood still, and armed 
 his soul to endure perils among false brethren and to bear the 
 persecution of the froward. Then returning to the house, he 
 laid hold of and drew out a branch of a growing hazel which 
 had come up beside the hedge, and, animated by faith, be- 
 sought the Father of Lights to lighten his darkness by the 
 pouring in of new light, and in a new way prepare a lamp for 
 him by which he might clothe with wholesome confusion his 
 enemies who were persecuting him. Therefore, raising his 
 pure hand, he made upon the branch the sign of the cross, and 
 blessing it in the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, he 
 breathed upon it. A marvellous and wonderful thing happened. 
 Straightway fire sent down from heaven fell upon the branch, 
 as if the boy had breathed out flame instead of breath, and 
 sent forth rays, vomiting fire far and wide, and dissipating the 
 darkness all around, and so in His light he saw light and went 
 into the House of the Lord. God, therefore, sent forth His 
 light, and led him and brought him into the monastery, unto 
 His holy hill and unto His tabernacles. So also he went unto 
 the altar of God, who gladdened his youth with so clear a sign, 
 and kindled the lamps of the Church that the Divine Office 
 
KENTIGERN. 193 
 
 might be celebrated and performed in due season. The Lord, 
 therefore, was his light and his salvation, that he might no 
 longer fear any of his rivals, because He judged him and pled 
 his cause against those unjust, envious, and deceitful boys, that 
 their malice might no more prevail against him. 
 
 All were astonished beholding this great vision, when that 
 torch burnt without injury to him, as once the bush which 
 appeared to Moses was seen to burn and was not consumed. 
 Nevertheless it was one and the same Lord who wrought the 
 sign both in the bush and in the hazel bough ; for He who 
 appointed Moses to be a Lawgiver to the people of the 
 Hebrews, that he might lead them out from the Egyptian 
 bondage, deigned to appoint Kentigern a preacher of the 
 Christian law to many peoples among the nations, that he 
 might rescue them from the dominion of the devil. At last 
 that torch was extinguished, after the lamps of the church were 
 lighted, and every one wondered more and more as they saw 
 these great works of God. For that hazel tree from which the 
 little branch was taken, received a blessing from S. Kentigern, 
 and afterwards began to grow into a grove. If from that grove 
 of hazel, as the country folk say, even the greenest twig be 
 taken, it kindles like the driest material at the touch of fire, 
 which as it were laps it up, and when beaten upon by but a 
 little breath, by the merit of the Saint, it sheds from itself a 
 fiery spray. And truly, a miracle of this kind deserved to 
 continue, yea, to perpetuate itself in his case in whom, in the 
 verdure of the springtime of his youth, the delight of the flesh, 
 though outwardly flourishing, was inwardly despised, and all 
 the glory of the world like the flower of the grass altogether 
 withered, because the Spirit of the Lord blew upon it, and the 
 Word of the Lord which endureth for ever, by enlightening, 
 consecrated to Himself that most dear soul and undefiled body, 
 and the fire of the Holy Spirit consumed him as a whole burnt 
 offering, accepted in an odour of sweet savour. 
 
194 L I F E O F 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of the cook raised from the dead by the prayers of S- Kentigern. 
 
 S. Serf had a certain man deputed to the office of the 
 kitchen, who was very necessary for him and for those who 
 were living with him, inasmuch as he was skilled in his 
 art and active and carefully attended to this frequent minis- 
 try. It came to pass that he was seized with a very severe 
 illness and lay in bed ; and the disease increasing and pre- 
 vailing, he yielded up the breath of life. Sorrow at his 
 death filled the heart of the old man ; and all the multitude of 
 his disciples and all his household mourned for him, because 
 any one equal to him in such a ministry was not easily found. 
 Discharging the duty of nature, they consigned his native dust 
 to the womb of all, and sustained no small loss on account of 
 his decease. On the day after his burial, all the disciples and 
 servants, the jealous as well as the friendly, came to the blessed 
 Serf, earnestly beseeching him that he would by his prayer 
 summon his Munhu, and compel him, in virtue of his obedience, 
 so far as to endeavour to raise his cook from the dead. For 
 those who were envious asserted that the magicians in Egypt 
 had, by means of their enchantments, shown forth signs from 
 heaven, and on the testimony of John in the Apocalypse, the 
 disciples of Antichrist would send down fire from heaven, and 
 that many wizards had in the eyes of all done what seemed 
 wonderful things by their wicked arts, but that no one of the 
 human race could bring back from death to the breath of life 
 anyone who was really dead, unless he were perfect in holiness. 
 In season and out of season they persisted, urging with 
 persuasive words that he should prove his holiness with such a 
 work, and that his merit would be proclaimed for ever if he re- 
 called to life him who was dead and buried. At first the holy 
 old man hesitated to presume to enjoin so extraordinary a work 
 on the youth, but at length, overcome and constrained by the 
 importunity of their wickedness, he talked to the young man 
 of the Lord on such a matter with gentle words and prayers, 
 
KENTIGERN. 195 
 
 but found him reluctant, asserting that he had not merit for it. 
 Then S. Serf adjured him, by the holy and terrible name 
 of the Lord, that he should at least attempt to do what he 
 could in this matter, and, this he commanded in virtue of holy 
 obedience. The young man, then, fearing that adjuration, and 
 deeming obedience better and more pleasing to God than all 
 sacrifices, went to the grave where the cook had the day before 
 been buried, and caused the earth wherewith he was covered to 
 be dug up and cast out. Then falling down upon the ground 
 alone, shedding many tears, and having his face covered with 
 them, he said : " O Lord Jesus Christ ! Who art the life and 
 the resurrection of Thine own who faithfully believe in Thee, 
 Who killest and makest alive, who bringest down to the grave 
 and bringest up ; to Whom life and death are servants, Who 
 didst raise up Lazarus when he had been dead four days, raise 
 again this dead man, that Thy holy name may be glorified 
 above all things, blessed for ever." 
 
 Then a thing exceedingly astonishing occurred. While S. 
 Kentigern poured forth many prayers, the dead man, prostrate 
 in the dust, straightway rose again from the dead, and came 
 forth, though bound in grave clothes, from the sepulchral 
 house. He verily rose from death as the other rose from 
 prayer, and along with him, and a great crowd following him, 
 he proceeded safe and active, first, to the church to give thanks 
 to God, and then, by the command of Kentigern, to his accus- 
 tomed office of the kitchen, every one applauding the miracle 
 and praising God. But he that was raised from the dead 
 afterwards described the punishments of the wicked and the 
 joys of the righteous which he saw, and turned many from evil 
 to good, and strengthened in their holy purpose many who 
 were endeavouring to advance from good to better. On being 
 uro-ed by many he likewise unfolded the manner of his resusci- 
 tation. He asserted that he was torn from things human with 
 unspeakable pain, and led before the tribunal of the terrible 
 Judge, and that there he saw many who, on receiving their 
 sentence, were cast into hell, others destined to purgatorial 
 places, and some raised to celestial joys beyond the heavens. 
 And when he, tremblingly, expected his own sentence, he 
 
196 LIFE OF 
 
 heard that he was the man for whom Kentigern, beloved of 
 the Lord, was praying ; he was ordered by a being, streaming 
 with light, to be led back to the body and brought back to his 
 former life and health, and he was sedulously warned by the 
 same being who conducted him, that in future he should be 
 watchful to live a stricter life. And the same cook, preferring 
 sacred religion in habit and in act, and profiting, and going on 
 from strength to strength, lived seven years longer, and then, 
 yielding to fate, was buried in a noble sarcophagus. Likewise 
 there was engraven on the lid of his tomb how he was raised 
 from the dead by S. Kentigern, that by all who see or shall see 
 it in time to come, the wonderful God may be glorified in his 
 Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 How S. Kentigern secretly departed from S. Serf, and what sort of 
 miracle was wrought at his departure. 
 
 When the holiness of S. Kentigern shone forth with such 
 increasingly remarkable signs, and the fragrance of his virtues 
 spread far and wide as the savour of life, his rivals drew unto 
 themselves from these life-giving odours a savour of death ; 
 and the holy reputation which furnished to many an in- 
 centive to holy conversation, fostered in them the seeds of a 
 greater hatred towards the saint of God. The boy, prudent in 
 the Lord, knew that the measure of their malice towards him 
 was filled up, and that the inveterate envy that had entered 
 into their bowels and marrow could find no rest in their 
 unquiet hearts. Nor did he deem it safe to slumber longer 
 beside a venomous crowd of serpents, lest, perchance, he should 
 suffer the loss of inward sweetness. Moveover, he weighed the 
 breath of popular fame, serenely and sweetly breathing on him 
 and calling from every side : " Well done ! well done ! " 
 Accordingly he resolved forthwith to leave the place, that he 
 might in humility forsake the company of those who were 
 
KENTIGERN. 197 
 
 hating and envying him, and prudently avoid vain glory. 
 Upon this he took counsel, with the earnestness of the most 
 fervent prayer, with the Angel of Good Counsel, that his good 
 spirit might lead him in the right way, lest by any means he 
 should run, or had run, in vain. The Lord, therefore, inclined 
 His ear to the prayers of His servant, revealing to him by the 
 Holy Spirit that that which he had settled in his mind would 
 be well pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. 
 
 Therefore he secretly withdrew from the place, having God 
 as the guide of his journey and as his protector in every place. 
 Journeying on he came to the Friscan shore, where the river, 
 called Mallena, overflowing its channel from the influx of the 
 tide, took away all hope of crossing. But the good and mighty 
 Lord, who divided the Red Sea into parts, and led Israel 
 through the midst dry shod, under the leadership of Moses, 
 and again turned back to its sources the perpetual flowing of 
 the Jordan, so that the children of Israel might cross dry shod 
 into the Land of Promise under Joshua, and who the stream 
 of the same Jordan, at the prayer of Elijah and his disciple 
 Elisha, divided, in order that they pass through with dry feet, 
 He Himself now, with the same mighty hand and outstretched 
 arm, divided the river Mallena, that Kentigern, beloved of God 
 and men, might pass through on dry land. Then the tide 
 flowing back in a wonderful way, and being, as I may say, 
 afraid, the waters as well of the sea as of the river, were as 
 walls on his right hand and on his left. He next crossed a 
 little arm of the sea by a bridge, which is called by the inhabi- 
 tants the Pons Servani, and on looking back to the bank saw 
 the waters, which before stood as in a heap, now flowed back, 
 and filling the channel of the Mallena, and even overflowing 
 the afore-mentioned bridge, and entirely denying a passage to 
 any one. 
 
 And behold S. Serf, supporting his aged limbs with a staff, 
 having followed the fugitive, stood above the bank, and beck- 
 oning with his hand, shouted and lamented saying : " Alas ! 
 my dearest son ! light of mine eyes ! staff of mine old age ! 
 why dost thou desert me ? Wherefore art thou leaving me ! 
 Call to mind, I beseech thee, the days that are past, and 
 
198 LIFE OF 
 
 remember the years that are gone by : how I took thee up 
 when thou earnest forth from thy mother's womb ; how I have 
 nourished thee, taught thee, trained thee even unto this hour. 
 Despise me not ; neither forsake my gray hairs ; but return 
 that shortly thou mayest close mine eyes." Kentigern, moved 
 by these words of the old man and melted to tears responded : 
 " Thou seest, O Father ! that what is done is according to the 
 Divine Will ; neither ought we, nor can we change the counsel 
 of the Most High ; nor ought we to fail to obey His Will. 
 Besides there is this sea which as a great gulf is fixed between 
 us ; so that if I would pass from hence to you I cannot, neither 
 can you pass from thence to me. I pray thee, therefore, have 
 me excused.'' Then the old man said : " I pray thee that by 
 thy prayer thou wouldest make, as thou hast just done, the 
 liquid again solid, divide the sea, make bare the ground, that 
 at least I alone may cross and come to thee on dry ground. 
 With willing mind will I become a son instead of a father to 
 thee, and a disciple instead of a teacher, that until the evening 
 of my days I may be thine inseparable companion." Then 
 again Kentigern, bedewed with tears, said : " Return, I beseech 
 thee, O my Father, to thine own, that in thy holy presence 
 they may be trained in sacred doctrine, guided by thy example 
 and corrected by thy discipline. The Rewarder of all reward 
 thee for all the benefits thou hast shown toward me, and since 
 thou hast fought a good fight, even now thou hast finished thy 
 course, and hast maintained the faith living and fruitful ; hence- 
 forth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness, which 
 the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will shortly render thee. But 
 I, destined to the work of the ministry, will go to that to which 
 He Who separated me from my mother's womb and called me 
 by His grace, has sent me. 
 
 When these words were said, and each had given the other 
 his blessing, they separated, no more to look upon each other 
 again in this world. Serf returned to his home and awaited in 
 a good old age the day of his call. And thus grown old in 
 good days, he was gathered to the holy fathers and rested in 
 the Lord, and as a good labourer in the vineyard in the evening, 
 he received from the Lord the penny of eternal reward. And 
 
KENTIGERN. 199 
 
 what sort of a man and how great and in what miracles he 
 shone, a little book written concerning his life will clearly 
 show to those who read it. Now the place by which 
 S. Kentigern crossed was afterwards entirely impassable. For 
 the bridge was always after that covered with the waters of the 
 sea, and afforded to no one any longer the means of crossing. 
 Even the Mallena changed the force of its current from its 
 proper place, and from that day until the present turned back 
 into the channel of the river Ledon. So that henceforward the 
 rivers which until then had been divided from each other, were 
 mingled and united. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the sick man who desired and sought in prayer and obtained from 
 the Lord that before his death he should see S. Kentigern, and 
 tasted death in his presence, and obtained sepulture by his fore- 
 thought. 
 
 There was a man of venerable life, Fregus by name, tormented 
 by much and long continued sickness. The same lived in a 
 town called Kernach (Carnoch), detained upon a bed of pain, 
 strong in faith, wholesome in holy conversation, intent upon 
 heaven. This man, just and full of fear, when the south wind 
 was blowing over his garden so that the odour of its breezes 
 reached him, felt in his heart the sweetness of the sanctity 
 flowing from the great reputation of S. Kentigern. Whence 
 also the desire kindling within him, both his heart and eye 
 thirsted, so that it might have been thought that the desire 
 which S. Simeon had to see the Lord, was renewed. For 
 Simeon with panting spirit desired to see with the eyes of the 
 flesh the salvation of God, the Lord's Christ clothed in flesh. 
 Fregus, with a fixed faith, unwearied desire, and many prayers, 
 desired of the Lord that he might see the servant of the Lord 
 Christ, Kentigern. Christ heard the desire of both, and the 
 ear of God hearing the preparation of their heart, fulfilled it. 
 
200 L I F E O F 
 
 Simeon's desire and joy was fulfilled to his salvation in the day 
 in which Christ was presented in the Temple. To his 
 consolation Fregus saw Kentigern the same day in which he 
 departed from S. Serf, and was glad. For Fregus had received 
 a promise from the Holy Ghost that he should not see death 
 until he had first seen Kentigern the Nazarite of the Lord. And 
 when Kentigern came to the dwelling place of the holy 
 sick man and knocked at the door, the sick man instructed by 
 a divine oracle called from within, saying : " Open the gates, 
 for God is with us. Come is the herald of my salvation, 
 promised me by God, and long waited for by me, and to-day 
 shown me." And when he saw him he exulted in spirit, 
 and giving thanks, blessed God and said : " Lord, now lettest 
 Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word ; 
 for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast 
 prepared before the face of all people, a Light for the revelation 
 of the True Light which lighteth every man coming into the 
 world and to declare the glory of eternal life to the peoples of 
 these and many nations." And turning to him, he again said : 
 " Dispose of my house and of my life to-day, and to-morrow at- 
 tend to my burial, as it pleaseth thy providence, God inspiring 
 thee." Then by the advice of S. Kentigern, whatever of earthly 
 substance he possessed he dispersed and gave to the poor, and 
 having made a pure confession, he was anointed with the oil of 
 remission, and being purified with the sacraments of the life- 
 giving Body and Blood of the Lord, he commended his spirit into 
 the hands of the Lord, and with eyes and hands stretched out 
 to heaven expired during the words of prayer. On the morrow 
 Kentigern yoked two untamed oxen to a new carton which he 
 placed the dead body, and having offered up prayer in the name 
 of the Lord, he enjoined the brute beasts to convey the burden 
 placed upon them to the place which God had provided for it. 
 And the bulls, which were not in the least restive, nor in any- 
 thing disobedient to the voice of S. Kentigern, without any trip- 
 ping or falling and without a guide, came by a straight course, 
 with Kentigern and many others who were accompanying him 
 following, to Cathures, which is now called Glasgow, and 
 there with all gentleness halted with the burden of sacred earth 
 
KENTIGERN. 201 
 
 laid upon them (a beautiful sight) near a certain cemetery 
 which had long before been consecrated by S. Ninian. In- 
 deed, with no less a miracle, in no dissimilar way, and with no 
 unequal power was this chariot by ruling and threatening 
 directed to the aforenamed place by Him who once, when 
 Dagon was cast down and broken, brought from Ekron to 
 Bethshemesh, the Ark of the Covenant, which had been 
 taken by the Philistines, placed on a new cart and drawn by 
 milch cows which had never borne the yoke. The Saint 
 therefore in the same place took the holy body down from the 
 cart and having celebrated the obsequies, buried it in that 
 cemetery, wherein was never yet man laid. This was the first 
 burial in that place in which afterwards many bodies were 
 buried in peace. The greatest reverence was paid to the tomb 
 of the man of God : nor did any rash fool ever venture to trample 
 upon or to pass over it with impunity : for within the space of 
 a year many who trod upon it or refused to honour it were 
 overtaken by some grevious misfortune, and some were even 
 punished with death. That tomb is even to the present 
 surrounded by a delicious density of overshadowing trees in 
 token of the sanctity of him who is buried there and of the 
 reverence due to him. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Of two brothers, one of whom was punished by the judgment of God, 
 the other with all his family was deemed meet to be blessed by God 
 for many generations. 
 
 When the man of God, Fregus, had been buried, S. Kentigern, 
 as enjoined upon him by a revelation from the Lord, dwelt 
 with two brothers who were living in the same place before his 
 arrival, and, ordering his life in much sanctity,went on with great 
 virtues unto perfection. One of the brothers with whom he lived 
 was called Telleyr, the other Anguen. Anguen received 
 God's Saint as an angel of the Lord and loved him out of the 
 
 14 
 
202 LIFE OF 
 
 most generous affection of his heart, and with all reverence and 
 veneration obeyed his commands, submitting himself to all 
 his injunctions. And not in vain. For the servant of the Lord 
 blessed him in the name of the Lord. And succoured by that 
 benediction of graciousness not only he himself but almost the 
 whole of his posterity received a blessing from the Lord, and 
 mercy from God our Saviour, and seemed to possess it as if by 
 hereditary right. For He magnified them in the sight of kings 
 and made them of great name like unto the name of the great 
 ones who were in the earth, so that they grew and increased 
 both in abundance of wealth, and in the culture of the Christian 
 Religion, insomuch so that it was justly said, these are the 
 seed which the Lord hath blessed by the prayers of his servant 
 Kentigern. 
 
 But the other, Telleyr by name, was very troublesome to him, 
 secretly detracting from his religion, depreciating all his actions, 
 often openly resisting him to his face, doing him insults and 
 injuries. Either by minishing from the good he did or by 
 perverting it, he obscured every thing by evil interpretation. 
 But the servant of God, who by daily custom had taught him- 
 self with blessed Job to be a brother to dragons and a com- 
 panion to ostriches, and like Ezekiel to dwell with scorpions, 
 possessed his soul in patience and was peaceful with him who 
 hated peace. When he spoke to him of the things that be- 
 long to peace, Telleyr, perverse and ungrateful as he was, only 
 fought against him. But God, the Lord of Vengeance, the 
 patient Rewarder, did not finally suffer the injury done to his 
 servant to go unavenged. For on a certain day, after many revil- 
 ings bywhichhe had embittered the soulof the just, he went forth 
 to his work. And because he was of great strength he placed 
 upon his shoulders a beam of great weight beyond the measure 
 of his strength, rejoicing and thinking that he had acquired for 
 himself the triumphal reputation of having surpassed asses 
 in the bearing of burdens. And when he had gone a little way he 
 tripped upon a stone and fell, and so, being crushed beneath his 
 burden, he gave up the ghost. He learned what Solomon 
 says : " Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath 
 none to lift him up." And again : " He hath fallen once for all 
 who continually doeth evil." 
 
KENTIGERN. 203 
 
 Kentigern, when he heard that his adversary had fallen, 
 afflicted himself with great lamentations and procured for him 
 a place of burial ; imitating in this matter holy David the good 
 King of the Hebrews who mourned over the death of his 
 persecutor Saul and lamented him with a great lamentation. 
 But because, as Solomon testifies, where the fool perishes the 
 wise man will be more prudent, we have in the case of this man 
 sufficiently clear evidence that we ought to beware of offending 
 against the servants and friends of God, and not to dare to 
 inflict upon them trouble, or grievance, or injury. For the 
 elect are the temple of God, and the Holy Ghost dwelleth in 
 them. They are the more therefore to be deferred to, and we 
 should abstain from injuring them, inasmuch as He who 
 dwelleth in them is most powerful in vindicating their wrongs 
 and impartial in rendering justice to those who suffer wrong. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Of the election of S. Kentigern, and of his consecration as a bishop. 
 
 And when S. Kentigern, dwelling in the above mentioned 
 place, became abundant in the affluence of many miraculous 
 gifts, it pleased Him Who had separated him from his mother's 
 womb, that he should no longer be hid under a bushel but 
 rather that he should be set upon a candlestick, that by bring- 
 ing forth his righteousness as the light and his judgment as the 
 noonday, he might give light to all that are in the house of 
 God. Therefore by Divine prompting the king and clergy of 
 the Cambrian region with other Christians, though they were 
 but very few, came together; and after taking into consideration 
 what was to be done in order to restore the state of the Church 
 which had been well-nigh destroyed, with one consent they 
 came to S. Kentigern and chose him, notwithstanding his great 
 resistance and many objections, as the shepherd and bishop of 
 their souls. He objected to their election of him, that he was 
 not fit on account of his youth ; but they urged the gravity of 
 
204 L I F E F 
 
 his manners and the riches of his wisdom and knowledge. He 
 pled that he could not with equanimity endure the diminution 
 of his inward peace and holy contemplation. They alleged, 
 on the contrary, that it was healthful to break in on the 
 Sabbath of the contemplative life for the salvation of many 
 souls. In the end, he judged himself insufficient for this 
 honour, yea, rather for this burden ; but the voice of all pro- 
 claimed that his sufficiency had been declared by God with 
 many indications of signs and wonders. Invoking therefore 
 for him prosperity, and blessing him in the name of the Holy 
 Trinity, and committing him to the Holy Ghost, the Glorifier 
 and Distributor of all the orders and offices and dignities in the 
 Church, they enthroned him ; and having called one bishop 
 from Ireland, after the manner of the Britons and Scots of that 
 period, they caused him to be consecrated bishop. The custom 
 had grown up in Britain in the consecration of bishops to 
 anoint only their heads by pouring on them the sacred chrism, 
 with invocation of the Holy Ghost and benediction and the 
 laying on of hands ; which rite these ignorant people alleged 
 they had received by the institution of the Divine law and by 
 the tradition of the Apostles. But the sacred canons ordain 
 that no one shall be consecrated a bishop except by at least 
 three bishops, to wit, one who acts as consecrator, who shall 
 say over him who is to be consecrated the sacramental 
 benedictions and the prayers for each of the episcopal 
 ornaments ; and two others, who shall lay on hands along with 
 him, shall be witnesses, and hold the text of the Gospels 
 supported on his neck. Yet although the consecration to which 
 the Britons were accustomed, seems to be little consonant with 
 the sacred canons, it is nevertheless agreed that it does not 
 destroy the power or efficacy of the Divine mystery or of the 
 episcopal ministration. But because these islanders, as placed 
 beyond the civilized world, were, by reason of the attacks made 
 upon them by the pagans, ignorant of the canons, the judgment 
 of the Church, condescending to them, admits in that respect 
 their excuse. But in these times it permits no such rite as this 
 to be used by any one without grave censure. But S. Kenti- 
 gern, though he was consecrated in this manner, took pains to 
 
KENTIGERN. 205 
 
 correct it in every possible way, as we shall state further on. 
 He established his cathedral seat in a town called Glesgu, 
 which is interpreted The Dear Family, and is now called Glas- 
 gow, where he united to himself many servants of God, a 
 family famous and dear to God, who practised continence and 
 lived after the manner of the primitive Church under the 
 Apostles, with no possessions, in holy discipline, and in divine 
 service. 
 
 The diocese of that episcopate was extended to the borders 
 of the Cambrian kingdom, which reached from sea to sea like 
 the rampart once built by the Emperor Severus. Afterwards 
 by the advice and assistance of a Roman legion, in order to 
 prevent the incursions of the Picts, a wall was built in the same 
 place as this rampart, eight feet in breadth, and twelve in 
 height. It stretched to the Forth, and by division separates 
 Scotia from Anglia. This Cambrian region over which 
 Kentigern now ruled with episcopal honour, had formerly, in 
 the time of Pope Eleutherius, when King Lucius was reigning, 
 received the Christian Faith, as had also the whole of Britain ; 
 but in consequence of the pagans infesting the island and 
 asserting their rule in it, the islanders lapsed into apostasy and 
 cast away the faith they had received. Many had not even 
 been washed in the saving laver. Many were tainted with 
 the contagion of manifold heresies. Many, in name only 
 Christians, were plunged in the slough of numerous vices ; very 
 many had been taught by a ministry of men who were unskilled 
 in and ignorant of the law of God. All the provincials there- 
 fore were in need of the counsel of a good pastor and the 
 healing of a good ruler. God, therefore, the Disposer and 
 Dispenser of all good things, provided, promoted and proposed 
 S. Kentigern as the remedy of all their diseases, their support 
 and their example in life. 
 
206 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 How S. Kentigern conducted himself by his example and teaching in 
 his Episcopacy ; and how he bore himself both in public and in 
 private. 
 
 The blessed Kentigern, having taken possession of his 
 government, as he excelled others in dignity, so he sought to 
 exceed all in sanctity. And as he was higher in rank, so he 
 endeavoured to appear more excellent than others in the 
 increase of holy virtues and manners. For he thought it 
 unworthy for him, who was bound by a Divine command to 
 go up upon the mountain to bring good tidings to Zion, to 
 creep on the ground and to lie at the foot. And truly it is not 
 becoming for him who, from his office, is called to announce 
 high things to live meanly ; wherefore the Saint of God, after 
 accepting the Episcopal dignity, always sought to exercise a 
 greater humility and strictness than previously in food and 
 clothing, in vigils and couches, and in the mortification of his 
 body. And that I may briefly describe his whole life from 
 the time of his ordination, which occurred in the twenty-fifth 
 year of his age, down to the extreme end of his life, which 
 lasted the space of one hundred and sixty years — breaking his 
 fast after three and often four days, he used to revive rather 
 than recruit his body by tasting cheap and very light foods, 
 such as bread and milk, or cheese, or butter and some slight 
 relish, lest his bodily frame should entirely perish after the way 
 of this mortality ; yea, that I may speak more fittingly, 
 mortifying his members which were upon the earth by the 
 crucifixion of a daily cross, he would by slaying offer himself 
 for a sweet savour, a living sacrifice, acceptable unto God. 
 From flesh and blood, from wine and from all that could 
 inebriate he abstained altogether as one of, nay, as a chief 
 among the Nazarites. But if at any time it happened that he 
 was on a journey or dining with the King, he refrained from 
 abstaining with his usual strictness. Afterwards, when he 
 returned home, as if punishing himself for a serious crime, he 
 increased his abstinence, 
 
KENTIGERN. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of S. Kentigern's mode of dress. 
 
 He wore the roughest hair-cloth next to his naked body ; 
 then a garment of leather made from the skins of goats ; next 
 a cowl tied on like a fisherman's. Over this he was clad in a 
 white alb, and always wore a stole placed upon his neck. He 
 bore also a pastoral staff, not rounded, gilded and gemmed as 
 may be seen now, but of simple wood, and merely bent. In 
 his hand he had the Manual Book, always ready for the exer- 
 cise of his ministry when necessity or reason required. And 
 so by the whiteness of his dress he expressed the purity of his 
 inner life and avoided vain glory. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Of the couch of S. Kentigern and his vigils, and his bath in cold water. 
 
 What shall I say of his bed ? I hesitate whether to call it a 
 bed or a tomb. He lay on the rock hollowed out like a 
 monument ; having for his head a stone in place of a pillow, 
 like another Jacob. Verily, he was a strong wrestler against 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil. Throwing in a few ashes, 
 and taking off his hair-cloth, he shook off his drowsiness by 
 destroying rather than by taking sleep. And to express my- 
 self more clearly, in a certain similitude of snatching sleep he 
 used to bury himself with Christ. Then, when he had taken a 
 moderate amount of sleep he rose in the night time, at the 
 beginning of his vigils, and poured out his heart as water in 
 the sight of the Lord his God. And thus in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs celebrating the night watches of the Lord, 
 he exulted in the Lord and rejoiced in God our Saviour, until 
 the second cock-crowing. Then entering into conflict with a 
 sharper wrestling against that great and malignant dragon, 
 which, according to the prophet, lieth in the midst of his rivers, 
 
2o8 LIFE OF 
 
 he was wont to strip himself of his clothes, and naked follow- 
 ing a naked Christ, making himself naked and bare, he plunged 
 into the swift-flowing and cold water. Then, verily, as the 
 hart thirsteth after the water brooks, so his soul thirsted after 
 God, the living water ; and there in cold and nakedness, with 
 his eyes and hands lifted towards heaven, he with devout heart 
 and lips chanted the whole Psalter from beginning to end. 
 Thereby made like one of the flock of sheep that are even 
 shorn which came up from the washing to Mount Gilead, 
 emerging from the water like a dove bathed in milk, yea, as a 
 Nazarite whiter than snow, brighter than milk, ruddier than 
 ancient ivory, fairer than a sapphire, he sat down, drying his 
 limbs, on a stone on the brow of a mountain called Gulath, by 
 the river-side, near his own hut. And then, when his body 
 was dried, he put on his clothes, as if preparing his going forth 
 at the dawn, and showed himself as an example to his disciples. 
 Of this practice of bathing neither the fire of the flashing 
 lightning, nor hail, nor snow, nor the spirit of the storms ever 
 deprived him, unless a journey unavoidedly undertaken or a 
 very serious sickness prevented him. But even then he was 
 wont to redeem the work by some other divine and spiritual 
 exercise. Wherefore, by the daily use of this salutary bath, 
 as of a new Jordan, his flesh was restored as the flesh of a little 
 child ; because the law of sin which warreth in the less 
 honourable members was so weakened in him, and the fire of 
 concupiscence so mortified and extinguished, that no corruption 
 of the rebellious flesh, either watching or even sleeping, ever 
 polluted or stained the lily of his snow-white modesty. Nor 
 did he feel even its simple motion either rage or stir within 
 him. For through the grace of Christ working with him, his 
 flesh with its passions stilled, continued in the innocence of 
 childhood's purity. Yea, this holy one grew up before the 
 Lord like an unfading lily. And hence on one occasion he 
 plainly declared to his disciples that he was no more moved 
 at the sight or touch of the most beautiful girl than at the 
 sight or touch of the hardest flint. 
 
KENTIGERN. 209 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Of the mode of speaking the man of God used. 
 
 In speaking, however, he was able to control his spirit and had 
 learned to set a watch before his mouth and to keep the door 
 of his lips that he might direct his words with discretion. Nor 
 did any one of his words fall lightly to the ground, nor was 
 the word he uttered given to the winds that when found it 
 might return unto him void. Wherefore he spoke in weight, 
 in number, and in measure as the necessary occasion required. 
 His speech was seasoned with salt and suited to every age and 
 sex. Honey and milk were under his tongue and his store- 
 house was filled with spiritual wine ; yea, even from his lips the 
 babe in Christ sucked milk, the more advanced honey and the 
 perfect wine, each unto his health. In judging or condemning 
 or reproving he had not by him divers weights, nor was 
 there respect of persons with him, but he studied the cause ; 
 and according to the name of the fault in due time and place 
 he administered the measure of ecclesiastical discipline with 
 the greatest discretion. Besides, this Saint preached more by 
 his silence than many teachers and rulers do by loud speaking. 
 For his look, countenance, mien, gait, and the bearing of his 
 whole body proclaimed discipline and by certain signs bursting 
 forth like water interpreted the purity of the inner man, which 
 lay hid there. Of his munificence which gave itself wholly to 
 almsgiving and works of mercy, it is superfluous to commit 
 anything to writing ; since all the substance which the Divine 
 Bounty had conferred upon him, was the common treasury of 
 the poor. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 With what grace he was deemed meet to be adorned, while he celebrated 
 the sacred mysteries of the Mass. 
 
 BUT although in the preceding, and in similar holy exercises, 
 he showed himself as a man, or sometimes as above man, yet 
 
210 LIFE OF 
 
 it was when celebrating the sacred mysteries of the Mass, that 
 he in a manner putting off the man and withdrawing himself 
 from earthly things, assumed something of a divine character 
 wholly above the human. For while with his hands raised in 
 the form of a cross he repeated the Sursum Corda, he lifted his 
 own unto the Lord, as he exhorted others. So from the golden 
 censer of his own purest heart filled with the live coals of 
 virtue, kindled with divine love, like the clearest sweet 
 smelling incense, his prayer, passing beyond the clouds 
 penetrated the heavens, and rising into the light which no man 
 can approach unto, was directed into the presence of God, 
 so that the Most High Himself vouchsafed by signs manifest 
 to the eyes of men to declare that He had accepted it as an 
 odour of a sweet savour well-pleasing to Himself. For many 
 times while handling the Divine Sacraments, a snow white dove 
 having a beak as it were of gold was seen to settle upon his 
 head and with the transparent fluttering of its wings to over- 
 shadow him and that which was laid upon the altar like a ray 
 of sunlight. Frequently also as he stood as a sacrificer, 
 sacrificing at the holy altars, a bright cloud overshadowed his 
 head. At times too when the Son was being immolated to 
 the Father, it was not he that seemed to stand there, but a fiery 
 pillar, by the brightness of which the sight of the beholders was 
 blinded. Not to all, however, was it given to know or see this 
 ministry, but to those only to whom it was granted by the 
 Father of Lights. For on one occasion when the priest of the 
 Lord was celebrating the Holy mysteries, a sweet smelling 
 cloud filled the whole house, when many were hearing the 
 sacred mysteries of the Lord. The odour, exceeding all per- 
 fumes, bathed all who had assembled themselves together in an 
 exceeding sweetness, and infused perfect health into many who 
 were there labouring with divers diseases. Verily, while I 
 record these things sorrow fills my heart as I see the priesthood 
 in the present defiled in so many ways. For while in the 
 meantime I am silent concerning those who simoniacally come 
 to sacrifice, or with Judas sell the Lord's body, since forsooth 
 they will not offer it except for a price, I speak of those who, 
 entangled in crimes and dissolute in vices, polluted in body and 
 
KENTIGERN. 211 
 
 soul, presume to touch and to contaminate with impure hands 
 the Sacrifice of Purification. Alas ! in how many in the 
 present is the stench of foulness felt rather than the odour of 
 spiritual sweetness ! O how more are now seized upon and 
 blinded by the dark whirlwind than overshadowed by the 
 bright cloud ! Woe! woe! I say to many in the present whom 
 the sulphurous flame rather the surrounding pillar of fire 
 awaits ! But now I turn back my eyes to myself and to others 
 like unto me, who in any way are discharging the office of the 
 priesthood, and for whom instead of a snow white dove at the 
 time of sacrifice, flies sufficiently tormenting come up from the 
 river of Egypt ; that is, thoughts unclean, vain, unprofitable 
 rush into the memory from the imagination of this perishing 
 world. Wherefore fear and trembling come upon me, for, as 
 Solomon testifies, dead flies cause the ointment to stink, since 
 minds occupied with thoughts of this kind know little of how 
 great the delight is of that inward sweetness which proceeds 
 from the visitation of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of the way in which S. Kentigern withdrew himself during the whole 
 of Lent into more secret places in the desert and returned to his own 
 Church before Maundy Thursday and sometimes before Palm 
 Sunday. 
 
 The man of God persevered in the manner of life we have 
 described up to an extreme old age almost all the year round, 
 except during the days of Lent ; for in those days he 
 was wont beyond his ordinary way to walk in a certain 
 newness of life. For emulating the fervour of certain holy 
 fathers, or rather following in the footsteps of Elijah and John 
 the Baptist and of the Saviour Himself, he withdrew during 
 every Lent into desert places, and thus separating himself by 
 flight from the sight of the sons of men and remaining in 
 solitude of body and mind, he dwelt alone ; and thus more 
 freely devoting himself to God, away from the disturbance of 
 
212 LIFE OF 
 
 men, the contradiction of tongues and the conversation of the 
 world, he hid himself in the secret presence of God. Therefore 
 sitting alone he raised himself above himself, and often dwelling 
 in dens of the earth or standing at the entering in of his cave, 
 and praying, after the rushing of the great and strong wind and 
 of the fire, he heard the still small whisper of thin air breathing 
 upon him and shedding over him and filling him with a certain 
 unspeakable sweetness. Wherefore he walked about the streets 
 of the heavenly Jerusalem seeking for himself Him in whom 
 his soul delighted, and offering in his heart a sacrifice of joy, 
 mortifying, nevertheless, his most holy members which were 
 upon the earth. Presenting his most innocent body by a daily 
 martyrdom as an odour of sweet savour, he offered himself a 
 living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. With what and 
 what sort of food he sustained his life during those days he re- 
 vealed to none or at least only to a few. These, however, he 
 forbade with episcopal authority to disclose that mystery to 
 mortal man. 
 
 Nevertheless he once spake, and two of his disciples heard 
 the word once and simply uttered from his lips, and not 
 to be recalled. " I knew," he said, '' a certain man, who during 
 Lent sustained his life on the roots of herbs only, and some- 
 times, the Lord granting him strength, passed the whole of 
 that time without the support of earthly food." Neither of 
 them doubted that he spake this of himself, but the man of God 
 suppressed his own name, in order that he might avoid vain 
 glory which he everywhere sought to shun. At first he used 
 for a long time to return home and to his disciples on Maundy 
 Thursday, and afterwards on the Saturday before Palm Sun- 
 day, in order to fulfil his episcopal duties, when he was received 
 by all as an angel of light and peace. Accordingly he was 
 wont to pass that week with his disciples, and on Maundy 
 Thursday, after the preparation of the holy chrism and oil, 
 washing with his own hands and tears the feet, first of the poor 
 and then of the leprous, and wiping them with his hair and 
 soothing them with many kisses,* he afterwards diligently 
 
 * Osculis demulcens, B. M, 
 
KENTIGERN. 213 
 
 waited upon them at table. Then for their consolation he sat 
 at a banquet with the reconciled penitents and refreshed him- 
 self and them with bodily and with spiritual food ; and from 
 that hour until after the celebration of the Mass on Easter 
 Sunday he remained continually fasting. Truly on Good 
 Friday he crucified himself with the Crucified with an incredible 
 crucifixion, and with scourgings and in nakedness and with 
 frequent kneeling, scarcely ever sitting down, he passed the day 
 and the night bearing about in his own body the marks of the 
 Lord Jesus with an exceedingly heavy cross of the soul and 
 body. 
 
 But on holy Saturday, as if dead to the world, he buried with 
 himself in a double tomb the true Abraham the ancient of days, 
 and entering the sepulchre in the abundance of inward con- 
 templation, he rested from the strifes of this stormy world, 
 except that he appeared to celebrate the office of the day. 
 At length, renewed in the spirit of his mind he awaited, 
 with the sweet spices of holy virtues so diligently pre- 
 pared, the most holy day of the Lord's resurrection. Then 
 in a certain manner rising together with Christ, he feasted on 
 the flesh of the unspotted lamb with the unleavened bread of 
 sincerity and truth. And in the day which the Lord had made 
 a day of joy on earth and in heaven, he rejoiced with all spiritual 
 joy, and feasted with the brethren and a great multitude of the 
 poor. This he was said to do at the other great festivals also. 
 But if from any urgent cause it chanced, and it happened 
 rarely, that he had to dine with seculars, while he slightly 
 tasted the food set before him, he filled the guests with spiritual 
 dainties, and, restraining the vain conversation which is wont to 
 prevail at feasts, he concealed his own abstinence under the 
 veil of sacred preaching. 
 
214 LI FE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 What a bright countenance he had, and what he thought about 
 hypocrites. 
 
 S. KENTIGERN is said to have been of middle stature, though 
 inclining to be tall. It is asserted also that he was of robust 
 strength, and almost unwearied in the endurance of any labour 
 whether of body or mind. He was fair to look upon and 
 graceful in form. Having a countenance full of grace and 
 reverence, dovelike eyes, and cheeks like the turtle-dove, he 
 drew towards him in love the affections of all who beheld him. 
 And presenting the cheerfulness of his outward man as the 
 most faithful interpreter and sign of his inward gentleness, he 
 shed over all a certain feeling of spiritual joy and exultation 
 with which the Lord had enriched man. For shunning 
 hypocrisy as well in manner as in act himself, he taught all who 
 followed him to shun it with the greatest care. And showing 
 by examples that hypocrites are the most loathsome class of 
 men, he instructed them with such words as these : " Beware, 
 beloved," he said to his disciples, " of the vice of hypocrisy, 
 which in a way is the renunciation of the Faith, the abandon- 
 ment of hope, the death of charity, the cancer of chastity, the 
 blinding of truth, the prison-house of sobriety, the fetter of 
 righteousness, the little fox of obedience, the scant mantle of 
 patience. And, that I may speak briefly, it is the moth of 
 religion, the extinction of the virtues, the covert of vices, 
 the asylum of all iniquity, the habitation of crimes. That 
 hypocrisy is the nourisher of all evils our Lord teaches when 
 he says that hypocrisy is the leaven of the Pharisees. For as 
 leaven mixed with food makes it light, puffed up, and sour, so 
 hypocrisy makes the heart of which it takes possession, void of 
 religion, puffed up, and elated with the false praises of men, and 
 sharp, hard and bitter against the truth of conscience, against 
 good, against the righteous, and against those who seek 
 after purity and holiness. And truly, beloved, while all iniquity 
 by itself and in itself is single, hypocrisy alone in itself is 
 double, yea, manifold. For the hypocrite, as far as in him lies, 
 
KENTIGERN. 215 
 
 tries to blind Him who sees all things, while turning his eyes 
 away from himself, he conceals his vices before human 
 onlookers, under the appearance of an ostensible sanctity. And 
 although other impious, wicked and criminal men are members 
 of Antichrist, yet hypocrites alone are singularly and specially 
 his followers and forerunners, as the simple followers and lovers 
 of truth and purity are members and disciples of Jesus Christ. 
 For Antichrist himself, as it is written, shall sit in the temple 
 of God and by false signs show himself as if he were God. 
 Yea, the very angel of Satan transforms himself into an 
 angel of light ; and therefore it is not to be wondered at if his 
 special servant and member transform himself into a servant 
 of righteousness, since he is himself a synagogue of Satan. 
 Believe me, for I speak to you in the truth, that the wrath of 
 God never rages more fiercely in the Church of God than when 
 he causeth a hypocrite to rule over it, because of the sins of the 
 people. For also in the Apocalypse a more hurtful persecution 
 is described as raging on the pale horse than on the rest which 
 precede it ; because in truth the Holy Church is injured much 
 more severely by hypocrisy, which is signified by the pale 
 horse, than in the time of open persecutions wherein the 
 faithful and unfaithful, the just and the unjust were made 
 manifest and a multitude of martyrs were crowned. But 
 clearly hypocrites by their gestures and by the bearing of their 
 outward man make known to those who watch carefully and 
 judge all spiritual things what kind of things lie hid within 
 them. For while they feign the gait and bearing of the turtle- 
 dove, contracting the shoulders, and hanging down the head, 
 fixing the eyes upon the earth, disfiguring their faces, breathing 
 with compressed lips, and speaking in I know not what 
 feminine way, they by such signs make manifest their inner 
 state. For with their gait they simulate peacocks, nay thieves ; 
 by the contraction of their shoulders they show that they bear 
 not in the least the easy yoke of Christ and His light burden ; 
 by the hanging down of the head and the direction of their 
 eyes they show that with the heart they cleave more to the 
 dust than to the heavens, that they mind earthly things, love 
 earthly things, and yearn with earthly desires ; but with their 
 
216 LIFE OF 
 
 disfigured faces they show that they turn their backs rather than 
 their faces to God ; and by their feminine mode of speaking, 
 they prove that they live dissolutely and not in a manly way. 
 To whom shall I say such are like save to jugglers, who ex- 
 hibit fire, water, men, beasts, etc., in an imaginary way, where 
 there is no reality? But though pretenders, and cunning 
 hypocrites, who provoke against themselves the wrath of God, 
 may escape the opinion of those who judge according to 
 appearance, they will in no wise deceive Him Who trieth the 
 heart and the reins, or escape His just judgment." " These 
 things," said the man of God, " I have said to you, beloved, 
 not that I may make known a snare to you, or that you should 
 not exhibit maturity of countenance, gesture, bearing, and 
 discipline, but this I admonish you, in every way to seek God 
 in simplicity of heart, to associate external with internal 
 purity, and everywhere fleeing hypocrisy, to do all things with 
 spiritual cheerfulness. Thus in all your works man shall be 
 edified, God glorified, for God loveth a cheerful teacher and 
 doer of good. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 How Kentigern converted the people over whom he was placed, and who 
 for the most part had apostatised, to the Faith of Christ, and 
 brought back those who had profaned the faith with unrighteous 
 works to a more correct life. 
 
 Therefore the blessed Kentigern, when he had assumed the 
 episcopacy, zealously endeavoured to discharge the duties laid 
 upon him. And seeing that the northern enemy, that is, the 
 prince of this world, had placed his seat in those parts and was 
 ruling there, he took up spiritual arms to fight against him. 
 Accordingly clad with the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, 
 the breastplate of righteousness, and girt with the sword of the 
 Spirit which is the word of God, he attacked the house of that 
 strong man armed and spoiled his goods, supported by the help 
 
KENTIGERN. 217 
 
 of the Lord of might, who is manifestly strong in battle. And 
 to be brief, neither his foot, nor his hand, nor his tongue ceased 
 from the completion of the journey he had undertaken, 
 from the working of miracles, nor from the preaching of sal- 
 vation, until all the ends of that land remembered and were 
 converted unto the Lord. Those who had not yet been 
 regenerated in the water of life, like thirsty harts, ran to the 
 living fountain of baptism with burning desire. By this herald 
 of salvation teaching the way of God in truth, those who had 
 fallen away or wandered from the true faith in some erroneous 
 doctrine of an heretical sect, when they came to themselves, 
 and returned from the snares of the devil in which they were 
 held captive, into the bosom of the Church, were incorporated 
 into Christ. 
 
 Wherefore this renowned warrior began to overthrow the 
 shrines of demons, to cast down their images, to build churches, 
 to dedicate those which were built, to mark out parishes by 
 fixed boundaries with the line of distribution, to ordain clergy, 
 to dissolve incestuous and unlawful marriages, to change con- 
 cubinage into lawful matrimony, to introduce as far as he could 
 ecclesiastical rites, and to endeavour to establish whatever was 
 consonant with the Faith, with Christian law and with 
 righteousness. Wherever he journeyed, he was not borne on 
 horseback, but even to an extreme old age he travelled after 
 the manner of the Apostles on foot. When he had set all 
 these things in order, he returned home, and betook himself to 
 his own, and there, after his accustomed way, led a life glorious 
 with virtues and miracles, in the perfection of the highest 
 religion. Concerning his miracles we shall now say something 
 which deserves to be recorded, because we do not doubt that 
 it will be profitable to very many. 
 
 iS 
 
218 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 How S. Kentigem placed under one yoke in tke plough a stag and a 
 wolf, and how, sowing sand, he reaped wheat. 
 
 Thus, as we have said, the man of God joined to him a great 
 number of disciples, whom he instructed in the sacred literature 
 of the Divine Law and trained by word and example to 
 holiness of life, and from whom he hoped to secure fellow- 
 labourers in the harvest of the Lord. They all emulated with 
 the emulation of God his life and doctrine, accustomed them- 
 selves to fastings and sacred vigils, were intent on psalms and 
 prayers, and on meditation in the Divine Law, were content 
 with sparing diet and clothing, and at certain times and seasons 
 engaged in manual labour. For after the manner of the 
 Primitive Church under the Apostles and their successors, they 
 possessed nothing of their own ; they lived soberly, righteously, 
 godly, and very continently, and dwelt, as did also S. Kentigern 
 himself, in separate huts from the time when they had become 
 mature in age and wisdom ; and hence these " singulares 
 clerici " were commonly called Calledei (Culdees). Thus the 
 servant of Jesus Christ went forth to his work in the morning 
 and sometimes to his labour till the evening, labouring chiefly 
 in husbandry that he might not eat the bread of idleness, but 
 rather in the sweat of his brow, both that he might set an 
 example of industry to his disciples and have to give to him 
 that was in need. 
 
 It happened on a certain occasion that he was altogether 
 without oxen and that from the want of these there was no 
 ploughing, and the land lay fallow. When the man of God 
 saw this, he lifted up his eyes, and saw on the edge of a wood, 
 situated close by, a herd of stags bounding along here and there 
 through the forest. Straightway offering up a prayer, by the 
 mighty power of his words, he summoned them to him, and in 
 the name of the Lord, whom all dumb and unreasoning beings, 
 animals and all the beasts of the field obey, ordered them to 
 be yoked instead of oxen to the plough, and to plow the land. 
 They immediately obeyed the command of the man of God, 
 
KENTIGERN. 219 
 
 and as oxen trained and accustomed to agriculture, to the 
 astonishment of many they ploughed the land. When unyoked 
 from their toil, they went to their usual pastures, and at the 
 fitting hour, like tame and domesticated, yea, like trained 
 animals, they returned to their accustomed work. When 
 therefore the stags had been going and returning for some 
 time, after the manner of domestic animals, a ferocious wolf 
 rushed upon one of them, which was wearied with labour and 
 was cropping some food as it lay on the grassy turf, strangled 
 it, and filled its voracious stomach with its carcass. When this 
 came to the knowledge of the Saint, he extended his hand 
 towards the wood, and said : " In the name of the Holy and 
 Undivided Trinity I command that the wolf which has wrought 
 this injury, which I have not deserved, upon me, come hither to 
 me to make reparation." Wonderful in word, but more 
 wonderful in deed ! At the voice of the man of God the wolf 
 forthwith came leaping from the wood, and with a howl fell 
 before his feet, and with such signs as it was able to make, 
 declared that it begged forgiveness and was willing to make 
 reparation. But the man of God upbraiding the wolf with 
 threatening voice and look, said : " Rise ; and I command thee, 
 by the authority of Almighty God, that thou set thyself to the 
 plough in the place of our labourer the stag which thou hast 
 devoured, and plough over all that remains unbroken of the 
 little field." The wolf obeyed the word from the lips of the 
 Saint ; and with the remaining stag yoked to the plough, 
 ploughed up nine acres. The Saint then freely gave it per- 
 mission to depart. 
 
 In this act, as it seems to me, the prophecy of Isaiah, " The 
 wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie 
 down with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the 
 fatling together, and a little child shall lead them," which he 
 spiritually uttered concerning the time of our Lord's advent, 
 was by a certain similitude fulfilled to the letter. For let the 
 reader consider whether it is more wonderful to see a wolf 
 lying down with a lamb or ploughing with a stag. Neverthe- 
 less, Kentigern, a most pure child, very mild in his own eyes 
 and lowly in heart, brought this about ; yet he wrought this 
 
220 L I F E O F 
 
 sign not by himself, but by the power of that Child who is born 
 unto us, and of that Son who is given unto us. It was right 
 that he should do this bodily who often subdued many 
 spiritually, recalling them from wolfish cruelty and bloody 
 slaughter, animal ferocity and a coarse life, to the yoke of 
 faith and the plough of holy conversation. 
 
 Very many gathered together at such a sight as this, and were 
 astonished at so unwonted a miracle. But the Saint opened 
 his mouth and taught them, saying : " Men, brethren, why 
 wonder ye at beholding this word ? Believe me, before man 
 became disobedient to his Maker, not only all the animals, but 
 also all the elements, were obedient to him. But now, because 
 of his transgression, all things are wont to be against him, 
 for the lion to tear, the wolf to devour, the serpent to wound, 
 water to drown, fire to burn, the air to taint, and the earth 
 often made like iron to overwhelm with famine. And in 
 rivalry of this wonted evil, man not only of his own accord 
 rages against man, but man himself, by sinning against him- 
 self, also rageth against himself. But since many saints were 
 found perfect in true innocence, in pure obedience, faith, and 
 love, in holiness and in righteousness before the Lord, they 
 obtained again from the Lord this power, as an ancient and 
 natural and primordial right, and with authority commanded 
 the beasts and elements the diseases and deaths of many." 
 
 While the holy man said many other things of this kind, 
 those who were present were not less edified by his discourse 
 than they were before astonished by the miracle they had seen. 
 When the field which had been ploughed required to be sown, 
 the Saint sought seed and found none, since all his grain had 
 been used as food for the poor. Whereupon he betook him- 
 self to his accustomed weapons of prayer, and in faith, nothing 
 doubting, took up sand instead of seed, and scattered it on the 
 ground. This being done, in due season the herb grew, the 
 seed sprouted, the blade produced the stock, and in the time 
 of harvest brought forth the best and richest wheat, at which 
 all who saw and heard were struck with the utmost astonish- 
 ment, and his fame already great became much greater. 
 Truly this Saint, in the power of that Grain of Wheat, which 
 
KENTIGERN. 221 
 
 falling into the earth and dying and by rising again, brought 
 forth much fruit, gathered corn from the sand which was sown. 
 Moreover, he hid in the bowels of Holy Mother Church, as in 
 the best ground, broken up by the ploughshare of the gospel, 
 many, yea, an innumerable multitude, who were before unstable 
 in mind and carried about by every wind of false doctrine, 
 whose folly was heavier than the sand of the sea, and caused 
 them, with the co-operation of God, to bring forth the corn of 
 salvation in faith and in charity and in the performance of good 
 works, and the Chief Householder himself deemed them worthy 
 to be translated to the heavenly barns and fit for His own table. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 How St. Kentigern, assisted by Divine aid, and causing the force of the 
 river Clyde to serve him, without any detriment transferred the 
 barns of the King, which were full of wheat, to his own dwelling- 
 place. 
 
 After the lapse of many days, a certain tyrant, by name 
 Morken, had ascended the throne of the Cambrian Kingdom, 
 whom power, honour, and riches had persuaded to walk in 
 matters which were great and strange and above him. But 
 his heart, as, on the one hand, it was lifted up with pride, so, 
 on the other, it was contracted and blinded by greed. The 
 life and doctrine of the man of God he scorned and despised, 
 slandering him in secret and sometimes withstanding him to 
 his face, ascribing his signs to magical illusions, and esteeming 
 all he did as nothing. But the man of God, when on a certain 
 occasion he was in need of corn for the food of the brethren of 
 the monastery, went to the King, and gently hinting at the 
 poverty of himself and his disciples, desired him to come to 
 their aid, and, according to the injunction of the Apostle, out 
 of his abundance to supply their need. But he, elated and 
 inflated, returned insults for prayers and threatened injuries to 
 him who begged assistance. Then with a blasphemous mouth 
 
222 LIFE OF 
 
 he ironically said to him : " Cast thy care upon the Lord and 
 He will sustain thee, as thou hast often advised others, for 
 there is no want to them that fear Him, but they that seek the 
 Lord shall not want any good thing. Thou, therefore, though 
 thou fearest God and keepest His commandments, art in need 
 of everything, even of thy necessary food. But I, who seek 
 not the kingdom of God nor His righteousness — to me are 
 added all good things, and plenty of every kind smiles upon 
 me." Finally he said : " Thy faith therefore is vain, and thy 
 preaching false." 
 
 But the holy man, arguing on the other side, proved from 
 the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures and from the instruc- 
 tive declarations of reason, and by examples, that many just 
 and holy men were in many ways in this life afflicted with 
 thirst and want, and that reprobates were exalted by opulence, 
 affluence of delights, and the highest honours. And when 
 with power and clearness he taught that the poor would be the 
 patrons of the rich by whose benefits they are sustained, and 
 that the rich need the support and protection of the poor as 
 the vine that of the elm, the barbarian was unable to resist his 
 wisdom and the Spirit who spoke through him, but angrily 
 responded : " What more dost thou desire ? If, trusting in thy 
 God, thou canst without human hand transfer to thy house all 
 my corn which is contained in my barns which thou seest, I 
 willingly yield and bestow it upon thee, and for the rest I will 
 be devoutly obedient to your demands." 
 
 As he said this he retired joyfully, as one who by such an 
 answer had mocked the holy man. But when the evening was 
 come, the Saint, with his eyes and hands raised to heaven and 
 weeping profusely, prayed very devoutly to the Lord. In the 
 very hour when from the inmost depths of the Saint's soul 
 tears rose up and flowed from his eyes, the river Clyde, which 
 flowed beneath him, by the will of Him who has power in 
 heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all deep places, suddenly 
 came down and became swollen, and overpassing its banks 
 flowed round the barns which stood there, and licking them up 
 drew them into its channel, and swiftly transported them to dry 
 land at a place called Mellingdenor, where the Saint was at 
 
KENTIGERN. 223 
 
 that time in the habit of residing. Then the river at once 
 ceased from its fury, and broke down within itself its swelling 
 waves, because the Lord placed gates and bars that they should 
 not advance further nor pass beyond their appointed bounds. 
 These barns were found there whole and uninjured, and not 
 only not a sheaf, but not even a blade appeared to have been 
 wetted. Lo ! in this, though in a different element, we see the 
 sign repeated which we read of as having already been wrought 
 in the Chaldaean furnace, into which the three children, free in 
 their religion, but otherwise bound, were cast. For as there the 
 fire had power to burn only their bonds, not their bodies or 
 their clothes, so here, water was able to transpose the barns 
 filled with corn, but not to wet them. When the multitude 
 had seen that in the name of the Lord His servant had wrought 
 so great a sign, they said : " Truly great is the Lord, and 
 greatly to be praised, who has thus caused His Saint to be 
 magnified." 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 How the aforesaid King Morken, at the instigation of his military 
 follower Cathen, struck S. Kentigern with his foot, and with what 
 punishment both of them were visited. 
 
 AFTER the current of the river had, by thus carrying across 
 the fruits of the earth, made glad the city of God, in which 
 those who had been enrolled as fellow citizens of the Saints 
 and of the household of God were assembled together to serve 
 the living God, that faithful and wise servant, made steward in 
 the house of the Great Householder, distributed the measure 
 of wheat to each of his fellow servants, dividing to every one 
 according to his need. What was over he dispersed abroad 
 and gave to the poor ; nor did he send any needy one who 
 begged empty away. But the aforesaid King Morken, though 
 very rich and great in the eyes of men, yet being a vile slave 
 of Mammon, bore ill the loss, as it seemed to him, of his stock 
 
224 L I F E O F 
 
 of corn, and from the sign which had happened to him by the 
 will of heaven, whence he ought to have had joy and gladness 
 to his own advantage, he took scandal to his soul. Just as the 
 solar ray is pleasant and delightful to healthy eyes and lends 
 its aid to their sight, yet ministers the material of darkness to 
 the diseased and to those under the influence of hemlock ; there- 
 fore his eye being consumed because of his fury, he belched 
 forth many reproaches against the holy bishop, calling him a 
 magician and a sorcerer. And he commanded that if ever he 
 appeared again in his presence, he should suffer the heaviest 
 penalties as one who had ridiculed him. For a certain very 
 wicked man who was the King's confidential friend, Cathen 
 by name, had urged him on to hatred and injury of the bishop, 
 because the life of the good is wont to be hateful and burden- 
 some to the wicked, and the mind inclined to evil readily yields 
 to one who persuades it to that which it embraces. For an 
 impious leader, according to Scripture, has all his servants 
 wicked, and very often chooses such for his counsellors, as 
 pour venomous whispers into ears which willingly listen to 
 unjust things, and diligently blow up the fire of malice with 
 the breath of accusations, adding fuel to make the flame burn 
 higher, so that it does not die away of itself, but rages the more 
 fiercely. But the man of God, wishing to extinguish malice by 
 wisdom, approached the presence of the Prince in the spirit of 
 meekness rather than with the rod of severity ; and, instruct- 
 ing and warning him after the manner of a most gentle father, 
 sought to correct the folly of a son. For he knew that by the 
 melodies of the sweetly sounding harp of David the madness 
 of Saul had been allayed, and that, according to the sentence 
 of Solomon, the King's wrath is appeased by patience. But 
 the man of Belial, like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ears 
 lest she should hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never 
 so wisely, yielded not to the warning word, the counsel of 
 safety. Nay, excited by fiercer madness, he rushed upon him, 
 struck him with his heel, and smote him to the ground upon 
 his back. But the Saint, that his doctrine might be known by 
 his patience among the bystanders, bore most patiently the 
 hurt and the ignominy, committed his cause to the vindication 
 
KENTIGERN. 225 
 
 of the Supreme Judge, and so departed from the presence of 
 this sacrilegious King, rejoicing that he was deemed worthy 
 to suffer reproach for the word of the Lord. Cathen, the 
 instigator of this sacrilege, mounted his horse, laughing loudly, 
 and departed full of joy, as one who seemed to himself to have 
 triumphed over the Saint. But behold judgment went forth 
 from the face of the Lord to do justice on behalf of his servant 
 who had suffered injury. He had not gone far from the 
 crowd assembled in the place when the prancing steed on 
 which he sat, struck its foot on I know not what stumbling- 
 block, fell down, and its rider, falling backwards before the 
 gate of his lord, broke the neck which he had raised so 
 proudly against the Lord's bishop, and expired. Also a swel- 
 ling attacked the feet of the King, pain followed the swelling, 
 and death the pain. He died in the royal town, which is 
 called after his name, Thorp-Morken, and was buried. Never- 
 theless, the disease was not cut off or buried in the succession 
 of his family. For, from the beginning of that time forward, 
 the weakness ceased not, gout became hereditary in his family, 
 and his descendants take after him, though not in look 
 or habit of body, yet in this kind of disease. For the fact that 
 this royal race has become extinct through this kind of 
 disease, proclaims by the witness of death how the Lord, who 
 is zealous for His own and the avenger of such, visits the sins 
 of the fathers upon the children for many generations, and how 
 great the retribution is which he inflicts upon the proud. 
 After this the Saint dwelt for many days in great quietude in 
 his city of Glasgow and in his own diocese, and had peace in 
 the circuit thereof, because the divine vengeance which had 
 been shown forth upon his persecutors, ministered to others 
 motives of fear, reverence, love, and obedience towards the 
 Saint of God, and afforded him the opportunity of doing 
 whatever he wished according to the will of God. 
 
226 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 How S. Kentigern, avoiding the snares of those who lay in wait for his 
 death, departed from the borders of his own country, and went to 
 S. David, who was dwelling in Wales. 
 
 After some time had elapsed, certain sons of Belial, a genera- 
 tion of vipers, of the kindred of the above-named King 
 Morken, incited by the sting of intense hatred, and infected 
 with the poison of the devil, took counsel together to take 
 Kentigern by craft, and to put him to death. But, fearing the 
 people, they did not dare to go about that evil deed openly, 
 because all held him as their teacher, and as the bishop and 
 shepherd of their souls, and loved him as an angel of light and 
 peace. Frequently they laid many snares for him in order 
 that they might suddenly shoot their arrows against him, but 
 the Lord became unto him a strong tower, that his enemies, 
 the children of iniquity, might not prevail against him. At 
 last they bound themselves by a strong oath not to cease until 
 they had accomplished the wicked compact in which they had 
 conspired against his life, nor through fear of any one to fail in 
 one unjust or treacherous word they had resolved upon against 
 him. When the man of God learned this, although he might 
 have repelled force with force, he thought it better for a time 
 to leave the place and give place to wrath, and to seek else- 
 where a richer harvest of souls, rather than to bear about with 
 him a conscience seared as with a hot iron, or even darkened 
 on account of the death of any man, however wicked. For the 
 blessed Paul, the chosen vessel, gave him an example of 
 acting in the same way, when at Damascus he saw a death 
 without fruit hanging over him, and sought the basket and 
 rope to escape and avoid it, and yet afterwards at Rome joy- 
 fully submitted to it with great gain. 
 
 At length, taught by divine revelation, he departed from 
 those regions, and journeyed towards Wales, where at that 
 time the holy bishop David was shining forth in his episcopal 
 work like the star of the morning, when, with its rosy face, it 
 brings in the day. Wheresoever the Saint went, virtue went 
 
KENTIGERN. 227 
 
 forth of him to the healing of very many. And when he had 
 come to Carlisle he heard that many in the mountains were 
 given to idolatry or were ignorant of the Divine Law. 
 Thither he turned, and God helping him and confirming the 
 word with signs following, he converted to the Christian reli- 
 gion many who were alien from the faith and others who had 
 erred in the faith. O, how beautiful upon these mountains 
 were the feet of him that brought good tidings, that published 
 peace, that brought good tidings of good, that published 
 salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. He 
 tarried some time in a certain thickly crowded place to con- 
 firm and strengthen in the faith the men who were dwelling 
 there, where he also erected a cross as the sign of their salva- 
 tion, from which the place received in English the name of 
 Crosfeld, that is, Crucis Novale. In this same locality a 
 basilica, which has recently been built, is dedicated to the 
 name of the Blessed Kentigern ; and in order that he might 
 show forth his sanctity, he is not doubted to have shone forth 
 in many miracles. 
 
 Departing from this place, the Saint next directed his steps 
 along the sea-shore, and scattering the seed of the Divine 
 Word wherever he journeyed, he gathered a great and fruitful 
 harvest in the Lord. At length he reached S. David, safe and 
 sound, and found in him greater works than fame reported. 
 But the holy bishop David rejoiced with exceeding joy at the 
 arrival of such and so great a guest. With eyes overflowing 
 with tears, and with many mutual embraces, he received 
 Kentigern as an angel of the Lord, dear to God, and retaining 
 him with him for some time, he always honoured him to a 
 wonderful extent. These two sons of light, therefore, dwelt 
 together, attending upon the Lord of the whole earth, as two 
 lamps shining before the Lord, whose tongues became the 
 keys of heaven, that by them a multitude of men might be 
 deemed meet to enter therein. These Saints were joined 
 opposite to each other as the two cherubims in the Holy of 
 Holies in the temple of the Lord, having their faces bent down 
 towards the mercy-seat. In frequent contemplation of 
 heavenly things they stretched out their wings on high ; in 
 
228 LIFE OF 
 
 the ordering and dispensing of earthly things they folded them 
 down. They touched each other mutually with their wings, 
 while, by the instruction of each other in the doctrine of salva- 
 tion, and in the alternate exercise of virtues, they excited 
 each other to the more earnest perfecting of holiness. Thus 
 these Saints, whether beside themselves unto God, or whether 
 sober for our cause, they have left to posterity an example of 
 laying hold on and attaining to eternal life. 
 
 When S. Kentigern had abode there for some time, the 
 fame of him spread through the mouths and ears of very many, 
 and led him to the acquaintance, familiarity, and friendship of 
 many, not only of the poor and middle class and nobility of 
 that land, but also of King Cathwallain, who governed the 
 country. And the King, knowing him to be a holy and 
 righteous man, heard him willingly, and after hearing him did 
 many things which pertained to the salvation of his soul. 
 And when the King on several occasions asked him the 
 reasons why he had left his own country, and he had made 
 them known to him, and said that he wished to have the 
 power of building a monastery in which he might unite a 
 people acceptable to God, and zealous of good works, the King 
 replied : " My land is before thee ; wherever it suits thee and 
 it seems good in thine eyes, construct the habitation of thy 
 dwelling-place and build a monastery. Yet, as it seems to me 
 that the place which is called Nautcharvan is more suitable 
 than all others, inasmuch as it abounds in everything necessary, 
 I assign it to thee." The man of God gave frequent thanks to 
 the King, and chose for his building and habitation that place 
 which had even already been marked out for him by a divine 
 intimation. Therefore, blessing the King, he departed, and 
 bidding farewell to S. David, each bestowing upon the other 
 his benediction, he betook himself to the aforesaid place with 
 a great multitude of disciples, who had flocked around him, 
 preferring to lead a life of poverty with him in a strange land 
 rather than to live luxuriously without him in their own. 
 
KENTIGERN. 229 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 How S. Kentigern, following a wild boar, found a suitable place. 
 
 Thus the most holy Kentigern, separated from S. David in 
 bodily presence but by no means absent from his love, and 
 from the vision and observation of the inward man, gave no 
 sound sleep to his eyes, nor quiet rest to his eyelids, until he 
 found a place fit for building a tabernacle to the Lord God of 
 Jacob. Therefore, with a great crowd of disciples with him, 
 he went round the land, and walked through it, exploring the 
 situations of the places, the quality of the air, the richness of 
 the soil, and the sufficiency of the meadows, and pastures, and 
 woods, and the other matters which pertain to suitability for 
 the erection of a monastery. And while they proceeded 
 together over steep mountains, hollow valleys, and caves of the 
 earth, through thickets of briers, dark woods, and open 
 glades in the forests, they talked together as they went of the 
 things which pertained to the matter they had in hand, when 
 lo ! a solitary wild boar from the wood, entirely white, met 
 them, and approaching the feet of the Saint, moving its head, 
 sometimes advancing a little, and then standing still and look- 
 ing back, motioned to the Saint and his companions with such 
 gesture as it could that they should follow it. On seeing this 
 they marvelled and glorified God, who works things marvellous 
 and past finding out in His creatures, and followed step by 
 step their leader, the boar, which went before them. 
 
 When they came to the place which the Lord had predesti- 
 nated for them, the boar stood still, and frequently striking the 
 ground with its foot, and making the gesture of tearing up 
 with its long tusk the soil of the little hill that was there, by 
 shaking its head again and again and grunting, it showed 
 clearly to all that that was the place designed and prepared for 
 them by God. The place is situated on the bank of the river 
 which is called Elgu, from which to this day, as it is said, the 
 district takes its name. Then the Saint, on bended knees, 
 giving thanks adored the Almighty Lord, and rising from 
 prayer, he blessed the place and its surroundings in the name 
 
230 L I F E O F 
 
 of the Lord ; and then, in testimony, and as the sign of salva- 
 tion and as an earnest of future religion, he there erected a 
 cross and pitched his tents. The boar, however, seeing what 
 was done, approached with frequent grunts as if about to 
 request something from the bishop. But the Saint, scratching 
 the head of the beast, and stroking his mouth and teeth, said : 
 " God Almighty, in whose power are all beasts of the forests 
 — the oxen, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea — grant 
 thee such reward for thy conduct as He knoweth is best for 
 thee." Then the boar, as if well remunerated, bowed its head 
 to the priest of the Lord, departed, and sought again its well- 
 known woods. 
 
 On the following night, when the man of God, yearning 
 after divine things, lifted up his hands in the sanctuary and 
 blessed the Lord, it was revealed to him from on high that he 
 should dwell in that place, and that he should there construct 
 a monastery in which the sons of God, who were scattered 
 abroad, might be gathered into one, so that coming from the 
 east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, 
 they might be deemed meet to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, and that God Himself 
 would provide for them, and be the protector of the place and 
 of them that dwelt therein. With what truth this revelation 
 was sustained, the issue of events by its manifest fulfilment 
 showed. For at the dawn of day he made known to others 
 the oracle which had been divinely shown to him, and cheered 
 on the souls of those who heard him to set about the building. 
 For, like bees making honey, they did not slumber in ease, but 
 all in the sweat of their brow laboured strenuously at the work. 
 Some cleared and levelled the ground; others, when the 
 ground was levelled, laid the foundations. Some felling trees, 
 others carrying them, others fitting them together, they began, 
 as the father had marked out for them by measurement, to 
 build a church and the other offices of planed wood, after the 
 manner of the Britons, for of stone they were not yet able to 
 build, nor was it then the custom. 
 
 While they were pressing on the work, and the building was 
 growing under their hands, there came a certain heathen prince, 
 
KENTIGERN. 231 
 
 Melconde Galganu by name, with his soldiers, and a great 
 multitude with them. A fierce man and ignorant of God, in 
 the indignation of his wrath he demanded who and whence 
 they were, and how they had dared to presume to do such 
 things upon his land. To his questions the Saint humbly 
 replied, that they were Christians from the northern parts of 
 Britain, and were come thither to serve the living and true 
 God. He asserted that he had begun to build the house there 
 by the permission, yea, rather through the kindness, of King 
 Cathwalain, his master, in whose possession he believed the 
 place lay. But he, furious and raging, ordered them all to be 
 driven away from the place, and whatever they had built to be 
 pulled down and scattered, and then began to return to his 
 own house. Thus the man departed, breathing out threaten- 
 ings against the servants of Christ, and lo ! the chastening 
 hand of the Lord touched him, and smote him with a sudden 
 blindness. Nevertheless, as was clear in the end, this 
 happened to him not for foolishness to himself ; for, while he 
 sat in the utter darkness, the true morning star shone into his 
 heart, and when the outward light was for a time taken away, 
 drew him out of the darkness and shadow of death and led 
 him with the light of truth. Wherefore inwardly enlightened 
 and induced by penitence, he caused himself to be conveyed 
 by his servants to the man of God, whom he began to entreat 
 devoutly to dispel the blindness by his prayers, and wash him 
 in the font of salvation. 
 
 Then the Saint who studied not to be overcome by evil, but 
 to overcome evil with good, desired to render to the man good 
 for evil. For having offered up prayer, he laid his healing 
 hand upon the blinded man in the name of the Lord, and 
 signing him with the cross of salvation, both turned his night 
 into day, and again, after darkness, poured into him the light 
 he hoped for and eagerly desired. Thus the Lord smote that 
 He might heal, and making the new Paul out of the old Saul, 
 He blinded that He might give light. Immediately, therefore, 
 on receiving his sight, he was washed by the holy bishop in 
 the saving water, and thenceforward he was an active and 
 devoted fellow-worker in all that he desired of him. Taking 
 
232 LIFE OF 
 
 an account of all things in his possession, he bestowed them 
 with royal munificence on S. Kentigern for the construction of 
 his monastery, and, aided by his assistance, he speedily 
 brought the work he had begun to completion. In the church 
 of the monastery he established the Cathedral Chair of his 
 bishopric, the diocese of which was the greater part of the 
 adjacent country, which by his preaching he won for the Lord. 
 In truth, he led back to the way of salvation a countless num- 
 ber who were either ignorant of the Christian faith or averse 
 from it, or had been depraved by profane teaching, or debased 
 by wicked works ; and, by his labours, made vessels of wrath 
 vessels of mercy, and vessels of dishonour vessels of glory. 
 For he went forth from his monastery to perform the episcopal 
 office, travelling through his diocese as time permitted. But, 
 as he never found where the foot of his desire might long rest, 
 as the dove to the ark from the face of the deluge of the world, 
 so he returned to the beloved quiet of his monastery. Yet he 
 bore with him the olive branch with its green leaves, because 
 he received the fruit of the peace and mercy he preached to 
 others. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 With what number of brethren the monastery flourished, and how the 
 holy boy Asaph carried fire without being burnt. 
 
 There flocked to the monastery of the man of God old and 
 young, rich and poor, to take upon them the easy yoke and the 
 light burden of the Lord. Nobles and men of the middle class 
 brought their children to the Saint to be brought up in the 
 nurture of the Lord. The multitude of those who renounced 
 the world increased from day to day both in number and 
 quality, so that the number of those who enlisted in the army 
 of God amounted to nine hundred and sixty-five, who professed 
 in act and manner the monastic rule according to the institu- 
 tion of the holy man. He divided this company, which had 
 
KENTIGERN. 233 
 
 been gathered and devoted to the divine service, into a 
 threefold division for the observances of religion. To three 
 hundred, who were illiterate, he assigned the duty of till- 
 ing the ground, herding the cattle, and other necessary labours 
 outside the monastery. Another three hundred he appointed 
 to duties within the walls of the monastery, such as preparing 
 food and building the offices. The remaining three hundred 
 and sixty, who were lettered, he appointed to celebrate the 
 divine services in the church day and night ; nor did he readily 
 allow any of them to cross the threshold from the holy places, 
 but directed them to remain together within as if in the sanc- 
 tuary of the Lord. Those whom he found to be more 
 advanced in holiness and wisdom, and apt for the teaching of 
 others, he was accustomed to take with him when, from 
 necessity demanding or reason requiring, it behoved him to go 
 forth for the discharge of his episcopal duties. But, dividing 
 into bands and choirs those whom he had set free for the 
 divine service, he ordained that when one choir finished the 
 service of God in the church, another immediately entering 
 should begin it, and when that had finished, another should 
 thereupon enter to celebrate. Thus the sacred choirs being 
 conveniently and discreetly arranged, and following each other 
 in turns, while he performed the work of God continually, 
 prayer was regularly made to God without ceasing by the 
 Church there, and by praising the Lord at every time, the 
 praise of God was continually resounding in their mouth. 
 Truly, glorious things were said in and of that City of God, 
 for in it was the habitation of all who were joyful, so might 
 fittingly be said of it that prophecy of Balaam : " How goodly 
 are thy tents, O Jacob ! and thy tabernacles, O Israel. As the 
 valleys are they spread forth as gardens by the river's side." 
 
 There flourished in that glorious monastery men holy and 
 perfect, shining wrestlers, like Jacob, against the world, the 
 flesh, and the devil. By faith, love, contemplation, yearning 
 intently after the vision of God, like true Israelites, fruitful in 
 good works, humble in their own eyes, and therefore as well- 
 wooded valleys fragrant with holy thought and bathed in 
 rivers of Scripture, and thus also, like the cedars beside the 
 
 16 
 
234 LIFE OF 
 
 waters, glorious in all those many virtues and signs. Among 
 them was one Asaph by name, distinguished by birth and 
 presence, shining in virtues and miracles from the flower of his 
 earliest youth. He sought to follow the life and teaching of 
 his master, as may be learnt more fully by reading a little 
 book of his Life, from which I have thought fit to insert in this 
 work one miracle, because the perfection of the disciple is the 
 glory of the master. For on one occasion, in the time of 
 winter, when the frost had contracted and congealed every- 
 thing, S. Kentigern, having according to his custom recited the 
 Psalter naked in the coldest water, and having after putting 
 on his clothes gone out in public, he began to be greatly 
 oppressed by the intensity of the cold, and in a manner to 
 become entirely rigid, so that it was clearly given to be under- 
 stood what was of himself and what was of the power of the 
 divine condescension. For, since when naked in the water, he 
 endured for so long a space the icy cold without being frozen, 
 it is clear that in the frail vessel of his human body divine 
 virtue operated, and in the fact that he became rigid, though 
 clad in skins and other garments, human fraility is recognised. 
 The holy father therefore ordered the boy Asaph to bring fire 
 to him, at which he might warm himself. The Lord's child 
 ran to the oven and begged that coals might be given to 
 him. And when he had nothing in which to carry the burn- 
 ing coals, the servant said to him either in joke or seriously : 
 " If thou wish to take the coals, spread out thy dress, for I 
 have nothing at hand in which thou mayest carry them." The 
 holy boy, fervent in faith, and trusting in the sanctity of the 
 master, without hesitating, having gathered up his dress, held 
 it out, and received into his lap the live coals, and carrying 
 them to the old man cast them forth in his sight from his 
 bosom, without any sign of burning or corruption being apparent 
 on his dress. The greatest astonishment, therefore, took hold 
 upon all who were present because the fire carried in the dress 
 had not in the least burnt combustible material. A friendly 
 dispute arose between the father and his holy disciple concern- 
 ing this sign, for the one seemed to maintain his ground by 
 assertions to which the other as justly objected. The bishop 
 
KENTIGERN. 235 
 
 ascribed the working of the sign to the innocence and obedi- 
 ence of the holy boy ; the boy asserted that it was done on 
 account of the merits and sanctity of the bishop, obeying whose 
 command and trusting in whose holiness he had ventured to 
 attempt it. And indeed, without prejudice, I think that this 
 miracle is more correctly to be attributed to the merits of 
 each wise one, inasmuch as each of them had always from 
 his earliest years preserved the members of his body, which are 
 the garment of the soul, white in virgin chastity, and because 
 the oil of divine charity was never wanting from the head of 
 either. The dress of the disciple suffered neither hurt nor 
 injury from the fire in order that the integrity of both might 
 be rightly made manifest. For if the fire of unchaste love 
 had been hid in their bosoms, their clothes, according to the 
 words of Solomon, would have been burnt. And if their gar- 
 ments had been rolled in blood, that is, if the members of their 
 bodies had been stained with the pollution of prurient lust from 
 the will of the flesh or of blood, doubtless, according to Isaiah, 
 it would have been the presage of burning and the fuel of fire. 
 S. Kentigern, therefore, who up to this time had held the 
 venerable boy Asaph dear and beloved, from that day hence- 
 forward regarded him as the dearest and best loved of all, and 
 as soon as he conveniently could, raised him to holy orders. 
 In due season, moreover, he delegated to him the care of the 
 monastery, and made him his successor in the episcopate, as 
 we shall hereafter relate. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 How he saw S. David crowned in heaven by the Lord, and what he 
 predicted concerning Britain. 
 
 On a certain occasion, while the man of God continued longer 
 and more intently in prayer than was usual with him, his face 
 seemed as if glowing with fire, so that the bystanders were 
 filled with amazement and ecstasy. They beheld his counten- 
 
236 LIFE OF 
 
 ance as the countenance of an angel standing among them, and 
 as they saw his face shining as the face of another Moses ) 
 wonder and amazement took hold upon them all. When his 
 prayer was finished, he withdrew apart and sat down and gave 
 himself up to the most vehement grief. His disciples, know- 
 ing that his grief would not be without great cause, drew near 
 to him with fear and trembling, and humbly besought him, if 
 it were permissible and not displeasing to his paternity, to 
 reveal to them the cause of such great grief. The Saint was 
 silent for a little, but as they perseveringly knocked at the ears 
 of that most pious father, he at length gave way, and res- 
 ponded in these words : " Be it known to you, my dearest sons, 
 that the most holy David, the honour of Britain, the father of 
 his country, the most precious carbuncle of prelates, has just 
 left the prison of the flesh, and rich in merits has been intro- 
 duced among the splendours of the saints, and penetrated into 
 the Holy of Holies. I say unto you, believe me, that not only 
 has a multitude of holy angels, flooded with light, conducted 
 him as he entered with heavenly music into the joy of the 
 Lord, but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, meek and lowly in 
 heart, went forth, as I saw, to meet him at the gates of Para- 
 dise, and crowned him with glory and honour. Behold, like a 
 matchless light to his generation, and a most brilliant star 
 which shone by word and example, he has become present to 
 him who under his charge calls upon him that he may shine 
 with delight for Him who made him, and assist all who ask his 
 protection, seek his help, and celebrate his sacred memory. 
 And truly, dearest ones, it behoves me to rejoice in the glory 
 of such a father, who loved us beyond others, but the ardent 
 affection of devoted love permits me not to abstain from tears. 
 Know that the world of Britain, deprived of such a light, of a 
 patron so devoted, and of one so powerful before God and with 
 all the people, will feel the absence of him, who ever placed 
 himself between that region and the sword of the Lord, half- 
 drawn on account of the wickedness of those who dwell therein, 
 lest when entirely drawn it should smite even to destruction. 
 The Lord will surely deliver Britain up to strange nations who 
 know not God, pagans in religion, and the island will be 
 
KENTIGERN. 237 
 
 emptied of its original inhabitants, and the religion of the 
 Christian law there is in it will be scattered until the appointed 
 time ; but again, by the mercy of God, the Ruler of all things, 
 Christianity shall be restored to its former state, yea to a 
 better." These things the Saint said and was silent ; fear 
 seized upon all who heard him, and the shower of their tears 
 poured forth. But desiring to be further informed on this 
 matter, they quickly sent a messenger to the church over which 
 S. David presided as bishop, and they found that the Saint of 
 God had passed away from this world in that same hour in 
 which the man of the Lord, instructed by a divine oracle, had 
 announced it to them. In this matter it must be considered 
 how great was the merit of that man in the sight of God, who 
 beholding not with the eye of flesh but by the vision of the 
 heart, was deemed meet to see such glory, and delivered so true 
 a prophecy concerning the Britons and the Angles, which all 
 England was able, by a faith which sees, to verify. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 How S. Kentigern went seven times to Rome and consulted the blessed 
 Gregory concerning his orders. 
 
 The blessed Kentigern, knowing that Britain was smitten in 
 in many provinces by the Gentiles, and that the Church 
 of God established therein was in many ways perverted 
 from the faith of Christ by idolaters, and divided ; dis- 
 covering, moreover, that it was frequently assailed by 
 heretics, and that there were many things contrary to sound 
 doctrine and alien from the integrity of the faith of our Holy 
 Mother, the Catholic Church, deliberated within himself for a 
 long time what remedy he could apply for all these evils. He 
 resolved at last to visit the seat of S. Peter, which was 
 founded on a rock, and that the tares might not grow up 
 among the wheat, he endeavoured by means of the sound 
 teaching of the Holy Roman Church, and through the know- 
 
238 LIFE OF 
 
 ledge of the articles of the faith, to cast away from his mind 
 every scruple of doubt, so that he might arrive by careful 
 investigation at the light of the truth. For Britain, during the 
 reign of the most holy King Lucius, had received, under the 
 papacy of Eleutherius, the faith of Christ through the preach- 
 ing of the most excellent teachers, Faganus and Divianus, and 
 others, whom Gildas the Wise, the historian of the Britains, 
 commemorates ; and the Christianity thus received, it preserved 
 whole and undefiled down to the time of the Emperor Diocle- 
 tian. Then the moon was turned into blood, and the flame of 
 persecution against the Christians burnt brightly through the 
 whole world. Then that scourge inundated Britain and 
 vehemently oppressed it, and a pagan hand mowing the first- 
 fruits of that island, namely Alban, took him out of the midst 
 thereof to be recorded in the Book of the Eternal King ; and 
 shortly after innumerable others, voluntarily and in ignorance, 
 it also offered up to heaven. 
 
 From that time the worship of the idols began to spread in 
 the island, and brought in rejection and forgetfulness of the 
 Divine Law. Nevertheless, after this Christianity in some way 
 revived and flourished. But in process of time, first the 
 Pelagian heresy springing up, and then the Arian creeping in, 
 defiled the face of the Catholic Faith. Yet it renewed itself 
 and again grew when these heresies were cut down and cast out 
 by S. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, a man truly Apostolic, 
 and made illustrious by many signs ; but the invasion of the 
 neighbouring Picts and Scots, hostile to the recognition of the 
 name of Christ, entirely drove away the faith and the faithful 
 from the northern parts of Britain. 
 
 Afterwards, Britain was conquered by the Angles, who were 
 at that time pagans, after whom it was called Anglia. By 
 them the natives were driven out, and the land was made 
 subject to idols and idolatry. The natives of the island, how- 
 ever, fled beyond the sea into Little Britain or into Wales, and 
 though driven from their own country they did not all 
 altogether abandon their faith. But the Picts, first chiefly 
 through S. Ninian, and afterwards through S. Kentigern and 
 S. Columba, received the faith. Then relapsing into apostasy, 
 
KENTIGERN. 239 
 
 through the preaching of S. Kentigern not only the Picts but 
 also the Scots and innumerable people settled in divers parts of 
 Britain, were again, as we have already said, and as we shall 
 say more at length, either converted or confirmed in the faith. 
 
 S. Augustine, however, noted for his monastic life and habit, 
 and other religious servants of God, who were sent by the 
 Supreme Pontiff, the blessed Gregory, came to Anglia, and 
 being rich in showers of preaching and glittering with the 
 lightning of miracles, either by themselves or by means of their 
 disciples, converted the whole island to Christ, instructed them 
 fully in the rules of the faith and in the institutes of the Holy 
 Fathers, and filled the whole land of Anglia with the sweet 
 savour of Christ. 
 
 Because therefore Britain had been crushed by so many 
 misfortunes, and because Christianity had so often been 
 obscured or even destroyed in it, there had arisen in it at 
 divers times divers rules contrary to the form of the Holy 
 Roman Church and the decrees of the Holy Fathers. In 
 order, therefore, that he might learn and be able to meet and 
 remedy all these, the blessed Kentigern left the above- 
 mentioned monastery, visited Rome seven times, and brought 
 home what he there learned was needed for the correction of 
 Britain. But as he returned the seventh time to his fatherland, 
 a most grievous malady seized him, and he reached home with 
 the greatest difficulty. 
 
 On one occasion he visited Rome when the blessed Gregory 
 was presiding in the Apostolic seat, a man apostolic by office, 
 authority, doctrine, life, and the special Apostle of Anglia, for 
 the Angles are the signs of his Apostleship. As a vessel of 
 solid gold adorned with all manner of precious stones, he was 
 rightly called the Golden Mouth, for when expounding he 
 elucidated many parts of Scripture by his clear and highly 
 polished style. His memory is as the work of the apothecary 
 in making up an unguent, and as music at a banquet of wine. 
 For by his mellifluous writings and the hymns which he com- 
 posed according to the laws of music, he gladdened, and by 
 his canonical institutions he strengthened and adorned the 
 House of God, the Holy Church scattered throughout the 
 
240 LIFE OF 
 
 world. To this most holy Chief Pontiff he laid bare his whole 
 life, and set before him in order his election to the episcopacy 
 and consecration, and all things that had happened to him. 
 But the holy Pope, strong in the spirit of counsel and discre- 
 tion, as filled with the Holy Ghost, and knowing him to be a 
 man of God and full of the grace of the Holy Ghost con- 
 firmed his election and consecration, because he knew that 
 both had come from God. And on the bishop on many 
 occasions seeking it, and with difficulty obtaining it, he 
 supplied the things which were wanting to his consecra- 
 tion, and set him apart to the work of the ministry which 
 had been laid upon him by the Holy Ghost. The holy bishop 
 Kentigern having received the Apostolic absolution and bene- 
 diction, returned home, bringing with him precepts, codes of 
 the canons, and many other books of Holy Scripture, as well 
 as privileges and many relics of the saints, ornaments of the 
 Church, and other things which belong to the adornment of 
 the House of God. And he gladdened his own by his return, 
 both by religious gifts and blessings. He dwelt there for some 
 time in great peace and [holy] conversation, and ruled holily 
 and firmly both his see and his monastery with great care. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 What he knew, by revelation of the Spirit, of two clerics, and what 
 happened to them according to his prediction. 
 
 It came to pass that the holy president had to confer sacred 
 orders by ordaining clergy and promoting some to the priestly 
 office. Among others, there was brought to him for promo- 
 tion to the priesthood, a certain cleric of elegant appear- 
 ance, great eloquence, and much learning, a Briton by 
 birth, but educated among the Gauls. When the Saint 
 saw him, he summoned the archdeacon, and ordered him 
 to be immediately removed and separated from the clergy. 
 For to the eyes of the Saint, as it were, a sulphurous flame 
 
KENTIGERN. 241 
 
 seemed to proceed from the bosom of this cleric, and to assail 
 his nostrils with an unbearable stench. By this vision, revealed 
 to him by the Holy Spirit, he was made aware of the vice 
 which reigned in his body. For he was, as was then made 
 known to the man of God alone, but afterwards to all others, 
 addicted to that most foul crime for which the Divine ven- 
 geance overthrew and destroyed with fire and brimstone the 
 sons of unbelief in the Five Cities. And the Saint said to 
 those around him : " If the sacred canons forbid women on 
 account of the infirmity of their sex, which is no wise in blame, 
 to be promoted to the rank of the priesthood, much more are 
 we bound to banish from a rank and office so sacred men who 
 are perverters of their own sex, abusers of nature, who, in con- 
 tempt of the Creator, in degradation of themselves, in injury of 
 all creatures, cast off that in which they are created and born, 
 and become as women. Nowhere do we read of a heavier 
 penalty being decreed than against that monstrous race of men 
 among whom that execrable crime was first conceived. Not 
 only did it overthrow those cities with their inhabitants with 
 fire, on account of the burning of libidinous passion, and with 
 brimstone because of the stench of that abominable sin, but it 
 also turned them into a lake horrid to the sight, full of brim- 
 stone and bitumen, and intolerable stench, receiving nothing 
 living into itself, having indeed on its shores trees that produce 
 fruits outwardly sound, but inwardly full of smoke and ashes, 
 and presenting an image of the punishments of hell. And 
 this indeed shows distinctly enough how horrible so dreadful 
 a pleasure is, and how it ought to be avoided by all in this life, 
 and with what torments it will be visited in the future ; while 
 the fire expresses the heat of the passion, the brimstone the 
 stench of the crime, the bitumen the bondage of the vice, 
 the smoke the blindness of heart in this world, and in the 
 world to come the unquenchable fire, the intolerable stench, 
 the indissoluble chains, the horror of darkness, everlasting 
 death." After this the aforesaid cleric went his own way, and, 
 as fame has noised abroad, died, cut off by a sudden death. 
 
 But when the holy man had finished the office, and was 
 returning, there met him, among others, a cleric, a most 
 
242 L I F E O F 
 
 eloquent foreigner. Beholding him the man of God gazed at 
 him with burning eye and asked who he was, whence he came, 
 and for what purpose he had come into those parts. He 
 replied that he was a preacher of the truth, teaching the way 
 of God in truth, and asserted that he had come into those parts 
 for the salvation of souls. But when the Saint had conversed 
 with him, he convicted him of being intoxicated with the 
 poison of the Pelagian pestilence. Willing, therefore, that he 
 should return rather than perish, he earnestly warned and 
 reasoned with him to renounce the pernicious sect, but found 
 his heart stony as to conversion. Then the Saint ordered him 
 to be expelled from his diocese, and denounced him as a son 
 of death, and that the death of body and soul was in his gates. 
 He remembered also the saying of the Apostle : " A man that 
 is a heretic after the second admonition, reject ; knowing that 
 he that is such is subverted." The same son of hell departed, 
 expelled from those borders, and attempting to cross a certain 
 river, was choked in the water and descended into hell ; and 
 thus, by an evident proof, showed the exceeding trustworthiness 
 of the veracious prophecy of the most holy man. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 How the Divine vengeance smote the adversaries of S. Kentigern, and 
 bore down upon his countrymen who had apostatised. 
 
 Hitherto we have related, as carefully as we could, what S. 
 Kentigern did when he withdrew from his own country and 
 dwelt in a foreign land. Let us now turn back and show 
 point by point what his adversaries suffered, how he returned 
 to the Cambrian region, and what he did there. When the 
 man of God, yielding to malice, departed, his enemies were not 
 long suffered to rejoice over his departure. For the Lord 
 visited them with a heavy hand and a strong arm, and with fury 
 poured out, holding over them a rod that was vigilant for evil 
 and not for good, smiting them with the blow of an enemy 
 
KENTIGERN. 243 
 
 and with cruel chastisement, even to destruction. For some, 
 darkness obscured, the gloom of blindness following ; others 
 paralysis enervated, enfeebling all their strength, and rendering 
 them effete as to their bodily powers. Some an incurable 
 madness seized, and retained its hold upon them even to the 
 grave ; others a contagious leprosy devoured or struck down, 
 making them, as they breathed in their half-dead bodies, like 
 unto the putrescent dead. Many of them became epileptic, 
 and exhibited a dreadful spectacle to those who saw them. 
 Some in one way and some in another were consumed by 
 various kinds of incurable diseases, and died. So great was 
 the indignation of the wrath of God, and so suddenly did He 
 destroy them, that all who knew their power and numbers 
 before, hissed over at them, saying : " Wherefore hath the 
 Lord done thus to this people ? since lo ! they have suddenly 
 come to an end and perished on account of the iniquity which 
 they wrought against the holy one of the Lord, striving to take 
 away from the earth his life and memory." 
 
 Even his countrymen quickly abandoned the way of the 
 Lord, which the good shepherd and true teacher had shown 
 them ; and, as dogs returned to their vomit, had relapsed into 
 the rites of idolatry. But not with impunity. For the 
 heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is therein, withdrew 
 from them their obedience, use, and wonted aid, so that, 
 according to the Scripture, the whole world seemed to fight 
 against these foolish ones, and the elements were thought 
 unable to bear with equanimity the absence of so great a man 
 when banished from that land. For, according to that pro- 
 phecy, " All men departed, all the cattle died, the heaven 
 above was as brass, the earth as iron, devouring the inhabitants 
 thereof, and a consuming famine prevailed for a long time 
 over all the earth." 
 
 But when the time came for having mercy, that the Lord 
 might remove from them the rod of his indignation, and that 
 they might be converted to the Lord, and that He should heal 
 them, He raised up over the Cambrian kingdom a King- 
 Rederech by name, a most Christian King, who had been 
 baptized into the faith in Ireland by the disciples of S. Patrick, 
 
244 LIFE OF 
 
 and who sought the Lord with his whole heart, and endea- 
 voured to restore Christianity. And truly it is a great sign of 
 the Divine pity when the Lord ordains for the government of 
 the holy Church and for the dominion of the earth, rulers and 
 kings who judge righteously and live holily, who seek the good 
 of their people, who execute judgment and justice in the earth. 
 So, moreover, on the other hand, it is an evident proof of the 
 wrath of God when He causes a hypocrite to reign because of 
 the sins of a people, when He calls the King apostate and the 
 rulers unjust, as it is written in the book of Job, and when, 
 according to the prophet, He gives kings in his wrath and 
 princes in his anger. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 How holy Rederech invited S. Kentigern by messengers and letters to 
 return to his own see in Glasgow, and how the holy prelate, taught 
 by a divine oracle, acquiesced in the petition of the King. 
 
 King Rederech, therefore, seeing that the Christian religion 
 was almost entirely destroyed in his kingdom, anxiously con- 
 sidered how he might restore it. And after deliberating about 
 it for a long time in his own mind, and with other Christians 
 who were in his confidence, he found no plan by which it 
 would more surely be brought about than to send messengers 
 to S. Kentigern to recall him to his first see. The fame of the 
 Saint going forth smote on the ears and mind of the King, for 
 his light could not be hid, although it was shining in regions 
 more remote. The King, therefore, despatched his messengers 
 to the holy prelate with letters deprecating his refusal, warn- 
 ing, praying, exhorting, and adjuring him by the name of God 
 as a shepherd no longer to withdraw his care from the sheep 
 of his pasture, long desolate and destitute, by longer absence, 
 lest he should expose them to be carried off and torn to pieces 
 by the open mouth of the infernal wolf ; but rather to hasten 
 to them before they were altogether swallowed by the throat 
 
KENTIGERN. 245 
 
 of the roaring lion seeking whom he might devour, since none 
 but he can deliver them, and there is none more justly bound 
 to do so. He declared that it was wrong for the spouse to 
 desert his bride, the shepherd his flock, the prelate his church, 
 for the love of whom he ought to lay down his life, so that he 
 might not be a hireling. He intimated also that those who 
 had sought his life had died by the vengeance of God, and he 
 swore that in all things, as a son his father, he would obey his 
 will, his teaching, his commands. 
 
 When the holy father received this he was silent, nor did he 
 on that day return any definite answer. For he had proposed 
 to nourish his grey hairs to the evening of his life, and to end 
 his days in that glorious monastery which he had built with 
 long and great labour ; to lay himself down to sleep in peace, 
 and to take his rest in the sight of them, his sons, whom he 
 had begotten in the Gospel and brought forth in Christ. But 
 because he sought not his own, but the things which are of 
 Jesus Christ, and came not to do his own will but the will of 
 Him that sent him, and desiring it to be done concerning him- 
 self in himself and towards himself, as it would be in heaven, 
 he submitted himself entirely to the Divine disposition. And 
 when, on the following night, he prostrated himself in prayer 
 and consulted the Lord on the matter, the angel of the Lord 
 stood beside him, and a light shone in the part of the oratory 
 in which he was, and the angel smote him on the side and 
 commanded him to arise. And when he stood up the 
 heavenly messenger said to him : " Return to Glasgow to thy 
 church, and there thou shalt be for a great nation, and the 
 Lord will make thee to increase among his people. Thou 
 shalt acquire for the Lord thy God a holy nation, an innumer- 
 able people to be won unto the Lord thy God, and from Him 
 thou shalt receive an everlasting crown. For there thou shalt 
 end thy days in a good old age, and shalt pass from this world 
 to thy Father who is in heaven. Thy flesh shall rest there in 
 hope, buried with glory and honour, much honoured by the 
 frequent visits of the peoples, and by the exhibition of miracles, 
 until, in the last day, by receiving a double robe at the hand 
 of the Lord, thou possessest a double reward in the general 
 
246 LIFE OF 
 
 resurrection." These words being said, the angelic vision and 
 address ceased. But he, weeping copiously, gave thanks to 
 the Lord, frequently groaning : " My heart is ready, O God ; 
 my heart is ready for whatsoever may be pleasing to Thee.'' 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 How the Saint, addressing his disciples concerning his return, appointed 
 S. Asaph as his successor in the government. 
 
 WHEN the day dawned, he assembled his disciples together, 
 and said unto them : " I speak as a man to you, dearly beloved, 
 I wished, after long yearning and deliberation, according to 
 the infirmity of my flesh, these, mine aged eyes, to be closed by 
 you, and my bones to be hidden in the womb of the mother of 
 all in the sight of all of you. But since it is not in man to 
 direct his steps, it has been enjoined upon me by the Lord to 
 return to mine own church of Glasgow ; nor ought we, nor 
 dare we, nor will we contradict the words of the Holy One, as 
 Job saith, or in any wise go against it, but rather in all things 
 obey His will and command, even to the end of life. You, 
 therefore, dearly beloved, stand fast in the faith ; quit you like 
 men, be strong, and seek always to do all your things in 
 charity.' These and many similar things he said in their 
 presence, and lifting up his hand he blessed them all. Then, 
 with the unanimous consent of all, he appointed the aforesaid 
 S. Asaph to the government of the monastery, and by petition 
 of the people, and by canonical election of the clergy, successor 
 of his bishopric, and again delivered a profound and lengthy 
 sermon concerning faith and hope and charity, on mercy and 
 justice, humility and obedience, on holy peace and mutual 
 patience, on avoiding vice and acquiring virtue, on observing 
 the institutes of the Holy Roman Church, on the regular discip- 
 line and exercises which he had established to be observed with 
 all diligence, and on constancy and perseverance unto the end 
 in all good things. 
 
KENTIGERN. 247 
 
 When the sermon was ended he enthroned S. Asaph in the 
 cathedral seat, and again blessing and bidding them all fare- 
 well, he went forth by the North door of the Church, because 
 he was going forth to combat the Northern enemy. When he 
 had gone out that door was closed, and all who saw or heard 
 of his going out or departure bewailed his absence with great 
 lamentations. Hence the custom grew up in that church that 
 that door should not be opened except once a year, on the 
 festival of S. Asaph, that is, on the kalends of May, for two 
 reasons. First, in deference to the sanctity of him who had 
 gone forth ; secondly, because thereby was indicated the great 
 grief of those who had bewailed his departure. Therefore, on 
 the day of S. Asaph that door is opened, because when he 
 succeeded the blessed Kentigern in the government their 
 mourning was turned into joy. From that monastery a great 
 part of the brethren, to the number of 665, being in no wise 
 able or willing, so long as he lived, to live without him, went 
 with him. Only three hundred remained with S. Asaph. 
 With such troops, as if compassed about by the host of the 
 heavenly court, he returned to fight the old enemy, and from 
 the ends of the North, in which the apostate angel had placed 
 his seat, to drive him out. And truly those who accompanied 
 him were counted by such a number, who multiplying the 
 senary exercise of good works by fulfilling the decalogue of 
 the Law, arrived at the centenary perfection of virtues, and 
 maintained the quinary guard over the discipline of the senses 
 so far as they were able. 
 
 When King Rederech and his people heard that Kentigern 
 had come from Wallia into Cambria, from exile into his own 
 country, the King with great joy, and a great multitude of 
 people rejoicing and praising God, went out to meet him. On 
 account of his arrival there sounds in the mouth of all thanks- 
 giving and the voice of praise and gladness, while in the mouth 
 of the holy prelate there resounded glory to God in the highest, 
 peace on earth, and good will towards men. 
 
248 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Of the devils miraculously driven away, and of the place where he stood 
 to preach, and of the fertility of the land which ensued. 
 
 Blessed Kentigern, when he saw the concourse and approach 
 of a great multitude hastening towards him, rejoiced in spirit, 
 gave thanks to God, and knelt down in prayer. When he had 
 finished praying he rose up, and, in the name of the Holy 
 Trinity, blessed the assembled multitude. Then, as if fortify- 
 ing those who stood around him with the sign of the Holy 
 Cross, he addressed them as follows : " Whoever envy the 
 salvation of men and oppose the word of God, I command 
 them, by virtue of that same word of God, that they forthwith 
 depart and present no obstacle to them that would believe." 
 Whereupon, with exceeding speed, a vast multitude of phan- 
 toms, horrible in stature and appearance, issued out of that 
 crowd and fled away in the sight of all, and great fear fell 
 upon all who saw them. The holy champion, comforting and 
 strengthening them, laid bare the natures of those in whom 
 they had believed, and encouraged the hearts of all who stood 
 around him to believe in the living God. For by clear reason 
 he showed that idols are dumb, vain inventions of men, fitter 
 for the fire than for worship. He showed, likewise, that the 
 elements in which they believed as gods are creatures and 
 formations adapted by the disposition of their Maker to the 
 use, service, and help of men. But Woden, whom they, and 
 especially the Angles, had believed to be their principal God, 
 from whom they derived their origin, to whom they had con- 
 secrated the fourth day, he affirmed, with probability, had 
 been a mortal man and King of the Saxons, by faith a pagan, 
 from whom they and many nations had derived their descent. 
 His body, he said, many years having passed, was turned into 
 dust, and his soul, buried in hell, endures the eternal fire. 
 
 By these and similar arguments he cast out the worship of 
 idols from their hearts, and proved to them the Almighty God, 
 Three and One, to be the Creator of all things, from the very 
 beauty of the visible creation ; and afterwards preaching to 
 
KENTIGERN. 249 
 
 them the faith that is in Christ Jesus and the Sacraments of 
 the Faith, he showed by the most true and lucid demonstra- 
 tions that there is none other name under heaven whereby 
 believing men may be saved, save the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. And when, by the instruction and dictation of the 
 Spirit, he had taught many things in this way which pertain 
 to the Christian Faith, in the flat field which is called Hoddam, 
 the ground on which he sat grew, in the sight of all, into a 
 high hill, and remains there even to this day. Therefore those 
 who had come together, beholding so sudden and so great a 
 miracle, obeyed the word of faith in their inmost hearts, and 
 believed firmly and faithfully that Jesus Christ is God, who 
 had revealed Himself to them by His servant Kentigern. All 
 eagerly therefore, both men and women, old men and young, 
 rich and poor, as one man, flocked to the man of God and were 
 instructed in the rules of the faith. After being catechised, 
 they renounced Satan and all his pomps and works, and were 
 washed in the saving laver in the name of the Holy Trinity ; 
 and so, anointed with the sacred chrism and oil, were incor- 
 porated into the body of the Church and made members of 
 Christ. 
 
 The Bishop, therefore, rejoiced with great joy in that a great 
 salvation had been wrought^ and great happiness increased 
 among the people ; nor was there less joy in the presence of 
 the angels of God in heaven, because so great a multitude had 
 been converted unto God. Appropriately by such a sign as 
 the elevation of the mountain at the beginning of his preaching 
 did the Lord will to magnify His saint, who, by that same 
 preaching, did effectually bring all to believe as unto that same 
 mountain, compacted and fruitful, in which God was well 
 pleased to dwell. That Stone first cut from the mountain 
 without hands grew into a great mountain, and filled the face 
 of the whole earth, for the Omnipotent God, born of the 
 Virgin, without human passion, clearly shone forth throughout 
 the breadth of this world. Christ, I say, is that Mountain 
 exalted on the top of the mountains, even the Lord Himself, 
 who surpasses all the power and greatness of all the saints, in 
 whose ways, paths, and light, by the instruction of Kentigern, 
 
 17 
 
250 LIFE OF 
 
 these natives walked much more devoutly and consistently 
 than that carnal house of Jacob, who, loving darkness rather 
 than light, and going back from the ways of the truth, have 
 scorned to be enlightened by the Supreme Light. 
 
 But after the inhabitants of Cambria had turned to God and 
 were washed in the laver of salvation, all the elements which 
 seemed to have conspired together for their ruin, to avenge 
 the wrong done to God, now put on a new face towards 
 them for the salvation both of their bodies and their souls. 
 For as the Lord turned away from the apostates and opposed 
 them by forbidding even the dew to fall, and commanded the 
 clouds not to rain upon the earth, and summoned a devastating 
 famine upon them, so when He turned to those who had 
 returned to Him, He commanded the heaven to yield rain, and 
 the earth to bring forth green herb, and to produce its fruits 
 for those who dwelt thereon. Thus, by the Lord causing His 
 face to shine upon them, the sun was seen to be brighter than 
 usual, the vault of heaven clearer, the air more wholesome, the 
 earth more fruitful, the sea calmer, the abundance of all things 
 greater, peace surer, the aspect of all things more joyful, and 
 therefore the devotion of all in the observance of Divine 
 worship was more profuse. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 How King Rederech conceded to him power over himself and his 
 
 posterity. 
 
 King Rederech, therefore, seeing that the good hand of God 
 was with him, and was working according to his desires, was 
 filled with great joy, and made no delay in openly showing 
 with what great devotion he was animated. For, stripping 
 himself of his royal robes, he, on bended knees and joined 
 hands, with the consent and advice of his lords, did hom- 
 age to S. Kentigern, and handed over to him the dominion 
 and princedom over all his kingdom, and desired him to be 
 
KENTIGERN. 251 
 
 the King, and himself to be appointed the ruler of the country 
 under him, in like manner as he knew the great Emperor 
 Constantine had formerly done to S. Silvester. Hence the 
 custom arose that, during the course of many years, so long as 
 the Cambrian kingdom lasted in its own right, the Prince was 
 always subject to the Bishop. Frequently was this saying 
 inculcated by the King that not in vain, but rather of set 
 purpose, had he been called Kentigern by S. Servanus, because, 
 by the will of God, he ought to become the head lord of all, 
 for " Ken '' is " caput " in Latin, and the Albanic " tyern " is 
 interpreted " dominus " in Latin. 
 
 S. Kentigern made, as it were, a new Melchizedeck, did not 
 hesitate to receive what the King so devoutly offered to the 
 honour of God, because he foresaw that in the future even this 
 would be to the advantage of the Church of God. Moreover, 
 he had the privilege sent to him by the Supreme Pontiff that 
 he should be subject to no bishop, but should rather be styled 
 and should actually be the Vicar and Chaplain of the Pope. 
 But the King, who exalted the holy bishop with glory and 
 honour, received grace for grace, and greater honours and 
 riches from the Lord. Likewise his Queen, Languneth by 
 name, bowed down by the opprobium of long continued 
 barrenness, by the blessing and intercession of the holy bishop, 
 conceived and bare a son, to the consolation and joy of their 
 whole kindred. The Saint baptized him and named him Con- 
 stantine in commemoration of the act which his father had 
 done to him in resemblance of that which the Roman Emperor 
 had done, as we have already said, to S. Silvester. He grew 
 up a boy of good disposition, in stature and grace, beloved of 
 God and men, and by hereditary right, when his father yielded 
 to fate, he succeeded him in the kingdom, but was always sub- 
 ject to the Bishop, even as his father before him. And because 
 the Lord was with him he overcame all the neighbouring 
 barbaric nations without bloodshed. All the Kings who ruled 
 in the kingdom of Cambria before him he surpassed in riches, 
 glory, and dignity, and, what is better, in holiness. Whence 
 also famed for his merits, and finishing his course in peace, he 
 was deemed worthy to triumph over his age, and to be crowned 
 
252 LIFE OF 
 
 with glory and honour in heaven, and even to the present day 
 he is wont to be called by many S. Constantine. We have 
 said this as it were by anticipation, because we have made 
 mention of Constantine as begotten by the prayers of S. Kenti- 
 gern, and baptized and educated by him. The holy prelate 
 Kentigern built churches and ordained priests and clerics in 
 Hodelm, and fixed his see there, for a certain reason, for some 
 time. Afterwards, warned by a Divine revelation, justice de- 
 manding it, he transferred his seat to his own city of Glasgow. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 How many nations the Saint, now by himself, now by means of Ms 
 disciples, cleansed from the foulness of idolatry, and how he was 
 distinguished by many miracles. 
 
 BLESSED Kentigern, like a burning torch, in his days endea- 
 voured, by the radiant flames of his virtues and the burning 
 and shining word of God, to enlighten the hearts blinded by 
 the error of ignorance, to kindle in the cold the love of God, 
 to burn up the thorns of sins and the tares of vices which, 
 because of the ancient curse, had grown up upon the face of 
 the earth and covered it. Nor was there any one who could 
 easily hide himself from his heat. For he carefully visited his 
 diocese, removed all strange gods from the midst of them, and 
 cast forth all ceremonies of foreign worship. And so preparing 
 the way for the Lord, and making the paths of our God 
 straight, he restored the whole of Christianity there to a better 
 state than it had been in before. 
 
 Then the soldier of God, consumed with the fire of the 
 Holy Spirit, like a fire which burns the wood, and as a flame 
 setting on fire the mountains, after he had corrected that which 
 was nearest to himself, namely, his diocese, went forth to more 
 distant places, and cleansed from the foulness of idolatry and 
 the contagion of heretical doctrine the land of the Picts, which 
 is now called Galwiethia, with the adjacent parts ; and with 
 
KENTIGERN. 253 
 
 shining miracles, brought back to the rule of truth whatever 
 he found contrary to the Christian Faith and sound doctrine, 
 and amended it as far as lay in his power. In all these things 
 the fervour of his devotion was not turned aside, but his hand 
 was stretched out still to greater works and to the increase of 
 the glory and honour of the name of the Most High, his feet 
 having been shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. 
 
 For he went to Albania, and there with great and well-nigh 
 intolerable labour, often exposed to death by the snares of the 
 barbarians, but standing in the faith undeterred, the Lord 
 working with him and giving power to the voice of his preach- 
 ing, he converted that country from the worship of idols and 
 profane rites, which are almost equal to idolatry, to the ways 
 of faith, to the customs of the Church and to canonical institu- 
 tions. For there he built many churches, dedicated them 
 when built, ordained priests and clerics, and consecrated many 
 of his disciples bishops. Moreover, in those parts he founded 
 many monasteries, and placed fathers over them from the 
 disciples whom he had instructed. 
 
 In all these things his spirit, yearning for the salvation of 
 the many, did not rest unless as a glorious standard-bearer of 
 the Lord of Hosts, and a wrestler of unconquered mind, he 
 were fighting the battle of the Lord. Therefore he sent forth 
 those of his own whom he knew to be strong in faith, fervent in 
 charity, eminent for doctrine, and lofty in religion, to the isles 
 which are afar off, towards the Orkneys, Norway, and Iceland, 
 to proclaim among them the name of the Lord and the faith 
 of Jesus Christ, because in those places the harvest was indeed 
 great, but there were no labourers. And since he was now old 
 and unable to go to them himself, he desired that this work 
 should be accomplished by his disciples. 
 
 These things being duly performed, he returned to his own 
 Church in Glasgow, where, as also elsewhere, yea everywhere, 
 he is known to have shone with many and great miracles. For 
 wheresoever his lips disseminated the knowledge of salvation, 
 the virtue of God working in His servant manifested its 
 efficacy by manifold signs. For to the blind he gave sight, to 
 the deaf hearing, to the lame the power of walking, to the 
 
254 LIFE OF 
 
 dumb speech, to the insane reason. He drove away fevers, 
 cast out devils from the bodies possessed, gave strength to the 
 paralytic, healed lunatics, cleansed the lepers, cured all manner 
 of diseases. But in works of this kind was his daily employ- 
 ment, his accustomed play, his assiduous custom, which in a 
 manner became common from so frequent occurrence, and 
 which, lest their number should beget weariness, have not here 
 at least been written down. Frequently, also, many sick were 
 taken to the bishop to be healed by the touch of the hem of 
 his garments, often by mouthfuls of food or drink given or 
 received ; also men, borne on a bed, were healed by the shadow 
 of his body as he passed by, so that he might have been 
 thought another Peter. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 How the Lord presented the clothes of the Saint untouched by any 
 particle of rain, snow, and hail. 
 
 Although the hand of the Lord wrought by blessed Kenti- 
 gern many miracles not commonly vouchsaved to other saints, 
 He wrought one particular work in him at which all men 
 wondered. For as all bare witness who knew the man, as well 
 as those who conversed with him, never during his lifetime 
 were his clothes wetted with showers of rain, or with snow, or 
 with hail pouring down and falling upon the earth. For often 
 standing in the open air, while the inclemency of the weather 
 increased, the rain pouring down like bilge -water and flowing 
 in different directions, and the spirit of the storm raging 
 around him, he from time to time stood immovable, or went 
 where he would, and yet always remained uninjured and un- 
 touched by any drop of rain from any quarter. And not on 
 him alone did the Lord vouchsafe to work this prodigy, which 
 was the Lord's doing, and wonderful in the eyes of all, but 
 also the whole crowd of his disciples who were going along 
 with him, by his merits oftentimes, though not as in his own 
 
KENTIGERN. 255 
 
 case always, experienced the same grace on themselves and 
 for themselves. For the sanctity of the holy teacher Kenti- 
 gern, who was bedewed with Divine grace, was for his 
 followers a shadow in the daytime from the heat and a refuge 
 from the wind and rain. 
 
 Let no one, therefore, disbelieve that the Lord bestowed the 
 blessing of the miracle we have described upon his most 
 devoted servant, to the praise of his name and in commenda- 
 tion of his holiness, since in a manner similar to this, yea in a 
 manner greater than this, He vouchsaved in the desert to con- 
 fer a boon upon the whole of the Hebrew people to show the 
 favour which they had found in His sight. The garments of 
 that people, as we read, were not worn away, nor grew old ; 
 the garments of this man alone were never wetted with drops 
 of rain from heaven. Therefore, to none let this seem incredi- 
 ble, for, as the Lord says, all things are possible to him that 
 believeth, and with God nothing is impossible. Likewise, also, 
 the sign which in the smiting of Egypt, as in a certain place 
 we find written concerning the children of Israel, we know was 
 frequently repeated in the case of blessed Kentigern. For 
 when darkness covered the whole land of Egypt, and thick 
 darkness the people, as it is written, where the children of 
 Israel dwelt there was light ; so, often, when a cloud covered 
 the whole land, bringing a darkness that might be felt, where 
 the Saint was preaching, around himself and the place, and all 
 the inhabitants thereof, light shone. Rightly, therefore, as we 
 believe, never wet with rain were the garments of this Saint, 
 who endeavoured with all care to preserve the members of his 
 body clean and untouched by any defilement of flesh and 
 blood. With justice also did a light shine forth upon the 
 darkness around him in the place of his preaching while he 
 taught the people ; in his heart the Sun of Righteousness, the 
 True Light that knows no setting, ever shone, and he himself, 
 like a lamp in a dark place, gave light in the midst of a wicked 
 and perverse generation, according to the word of the Apostle 
 Peter. 
 
256 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 How the Saint miraculously restored to the Queen a ring which she had 
 improperly given away, and which had been thrown by the King 
 himself into the river Clyde. 
 
 S. Kentigern, therefore, having returned home, as we have 
 said, intending to live alone in mental solitude, apart from the 
 throngs of men, willed not to be readily seen in public or to 
 go abroad except in case of great urgency, yet he ceased not, 
 though against his will, to shine forth in wondrous signs. 
 Queen Langueth, whom we mentioned above, rich in wealth 
 and pleasures, was not faithful, as she ought to have been or as 
 it became her, to the royal chamber or marital bed, for the 
 abundance of her treasures, the superfluity of her luxuries, and 
 the pride of power, were wont to minister incentives and fuel 
 to the will of the flesh. She cast her eyes upon a certain 
 youth, a soldier, who, after the perishable beauty of this 
 perishing flesh, seemed to her fair to look upon and of great 
 beauty beyond many who were with him at Court. And, as 
 one who of himself is ready for such service without incitement 
 from another, he was easily induced to sin with her. 
 
 And when the days passed, and the unlawful pleasure, 
 frequently repeated, had become more and more pleasing to 
 both, for bread eaten in secret and stolen waters, according to 
 Solomon, seemed to be sweeter to them, so from a rash act 
 they were overmastered by a blind love. And a royal ring, 
 set with a precious gem, which her lawful husband had in- 
 trusted to her as a special mark of his conjugal love, she 
 imprudently and impudently gave to her paramour. But he 
 more impudently accepted the ring and placed it on his finger, 
 and by such a sign opened the door of suspicion to all who 
 were acquainted with the matter. A faithful servant of the 
 King discovering the secret of the Queen and soldier, took 
 care to instil it into the King's ears. But the King did not 
 easily lend his ear or mind to him who told him of his disgrace 
 and the unworthiness of his wife. An old and true proverb is: 
 " It is difficult for a cuckold to put faith in one who reveals 
 
KENTIGERN. 257 
 
 the failings of a beloved wife ; and he is more apt to turn his 
 hatred back upon the accuser than against the accused." But 
 the informer of the adultery, in proof of the matter, showed 
 the ring on the finger of the soldier, and by this persuaded the 
 King to believe him, and kindled in him the spirit of jealousy 
 more fiercely. 
 
 The King, therefore, being assured of this secret, veiled 
 under a calm demeanour the wrath of his soul against the 
 Queen and the soldier, and bore himself towards them with 
 more than his wonted cheerfulness and familiarity. But when 
 a day more serene than usual occurred, he went to hunt, and 
 summoning the soldier to accompany him, he sought the woods 
 and the forests with a multitude of hunters and dogs. The 
 dogs being uncoupled, and the hunters being scattered in 
 divers places, the King came down alone with the soldier to 
 the banks of the river Clyde, where, in a shady place and on 
 the green turf, they each thought it would be pleasant to sleep 
 a little. The soldier, worn out with fatigue, and suspecting no 
 danger, reclining his head, stretching out his arms, and opening 
 his hand, straightway slept ; but the spirit of jealousy exciting 
 the King, who feigned to be sleeping, did not suffer him either 
 to sleep or rest. Accordingly, seeing the ring on the finger of 
 the sleeper, his eye was blinded with madness, and he could 
 scarcely keep his hand from his sword and refrain from shed- 
 ding his blood. Nevertheless he controlled his rage, and 
 drawing the ring from the sleeper's finger, threw it into the 
 neighbouring river, and then rousing him up, ordered him to 
 join his companions and return home. The soldier awoke 
 from sleep thinking nothing of the ring, and obeyed the King's 
 command, and never noticed what he had lost until he entered 
 his house. 
 
 But when, on the return of the King, the Queen went forth 
 from her chamber to salute him as usual, she received from 
 the mouth of him she saluted, invectives, threats, and continual 
 reproaches, and with flashing eyes and menacing countenance 
 he demanded where the ring was which he had entrusted to 
 her keeping. She replied that she had it deposited in a 
 casket. The King, in the presence of all his courtiers, com- 
 
258 LIFE OF 
 
 manded her to bring it to him with all haste. She, still full of 
 hope, entered into the inner chamber as if to seek the ring, but 
 straightway sent off a messenger to the soldier telling him of 
 the enraged King's demand, and bidding him send the ring 
 with all haste. The soldier sent back word to the Queen that 
 he had lost the ring, and could not tell where he had lost it ; 
 and, fearing the face of the King, he took refuge in conceal- 
 ment, and absented himself from the Court. Meanwhile, as 
 she sought further delay, and was slow in producing what she 
 was of course unable to find, vainly seeking an empty nothing, 
 the King, incensed with rage, and frequently calling her an 
 adulteress, broke into curses, saying : " God do so to me and 
 more also if I do not judge thee according to the law of 
 adulteresses, and if I do not condemn thee to a most disgrace- 
 ful death. Thou, clinging to a young adulterer, hast neglected 
 the King, thy husband, yet I had made thee the sharer of my 
 bed and the mistress of my kingdom. Thou hast acted in 
 secret ; I will act openly, and in the sight of the sun I will 
 make manifest thy ignominy, and reveal thy most shameful 
 deeds before thy face." 
 
 And when he had said many things of this kind, all his 
 courtiers prayed for some delay, and he with difficulty con- 
 ceded three days, but ordered her to be imprisoned. Cast into 
 a dungeon, she was already anticipating the death which, as it 
 were, was hanging over her, but none the less did her guilty 
 conscience torment her. O heavy and intolerable punishment, 
 the damning testimony of a guilty conscience ! Although one 
 condemned to punishment may have outward peace, yet is he 
 acknowledged to be wretched and disturbed whom a gnawing 
 conscience ceaselessly persecutes. The spirit, therefore, of the 
 guilty woman was vexed within her, and with a lowly and 
 contrite heart, and with tearful prayers, she implored God that 
 He would not enter into judgment with His handmaiden, but 
 that according to His great mercy, as He formerly had pity 
 on the woman taken in adultery and placed in the midst 
 before Him, He would design to pity her in the same case. 
 By the inspiration of the Lord, therefore, the woman in her 
 great strait found out a wise devise. Sending a trusty 
 
KENTIGERN. 259 
 
 messenger to S. Kentigern, she told him all her misfortune, 
 and from him, as her only deliverer, earnestly desired help. 
 She also begged that he would at least use his influence with 
 the King and beseech pardon for her, because there was 
 nothing so great that he would or could or ought to deny him. 
 
 The holy bishop, instructed by the Holy Spirit and with 
 virtue from on high, and acquainted with the whole story in 
 order before the messenger arrived, ordered him to go with a 
 hook to the banks of the aforesaid river Clyde, and to cast the 
 hook into the stream, and to bring back to him immediately 
 the first fish that was caught with it and taken out of the 
 water. The messenger did what the Saint told him, and 
 exhibited in the presence of the man of God a large fish which 
 he had caught, and which is commonly called a salmon. He 
 ordered the fish to be cut open and gutted, when there was 
 found in it the aforesaid ring, which he immediately sent by 
 the messenger to the Queen. When she saw and received it, 
 her heart was filled with joy, her mouth with exultation and 
 thanksgiving ; her mourning was turned into joy, the expecta- 
 tion of death into the dance of exultation and safety. The 
 Queen therefore rushed into the midst, and before the eyes of 
 all, restored to the King the ring he had demanded back. 
 
 The King, therefore, and all his Court with him, were sorry 
 for the injuries intended against the Queen, and humbly on 
 his knees he sought her forgiveness, and swore that he would 
 inflict a very heavy punishment, even death or exile, if she 
 willed it. upon those who had informed against her. But she, 
 wisely understanding that pity rather than the award of judg- 
 ment was what she had to do with, was desirous that he should 
 shew mercy, as it becomes a servant always to do to a fellow- 
 servant. " Far be it, my lord, O King," she said, " that any 
 one should suffer anything of the kind on account of me ; but 
 if thou desirest that from my heart I should forgive, what thou 
 hast done towards me, I desire that thou wouldst put away all 
 angry feeling from thy heart, as I do, against my accuser." 
 And all, when they heard this, wondered and were glad. And 
 so the King and Queen and the accuser were recalled into the 
 grace of peace and mutual love with each other. The Queen, 
 
260 LIFE OF 
 
 as soon as she could, went to the man of God and confessed 
 her guilt to him, and making satisfaction by his advice, care- 
 fully corrected her life for the future, and kept her feet from a 
 similar fall. Nevertheless the sign by which the Lord magni- 
 fied His mercy towards her she never made known to any one 
 during her husband's lifetime, but after his death she told it to 
 all who wished to know it. 
 
 Behold the Lord, sitting in heaven, repeated by His saint, 
 Kentigern, what He deigned to do while He was clothed in 
 the flesh and dwelt upon the earth. Peter, casting a hook into 
 the sea, at His command drew out the first fish which came, in 
 the mouth of which he found the piece of money, which he 
 gave in tribute for the Lord and for himself. So by the com- 
 mand of S. Kentigern, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the Queen's messenger casting a hook into the river, took a 
 fish, and bringing it to the Saint, found in it when brought 
 and opened a ring with which he saved the Queen from a 
 double death. In both cases, as it seems to me, there was 
 rendered unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to 
 God the things which are God's. For in the piece of money 
 there was returned to Caesar his image, and in the ring restored 
 to the flesh, the flesh was redeemed from destruction, and the 
 soul made in the image of God was washed from sin and 
 restored to God. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 How a fester, despising the King's gifts, demanded a dishful of fresh 
 mulberries after Christmas, and how he received them through the 
 instrumentality of S. Kentigern. 
 
 King Rederech was magnified by the Lord because he 
 clung to Him, by serving Him in faith and good works, and 
 by obeying the will of S. Kentigern. For glory and riches 
 were in his house, generosity was in his heart, urbanity in his 
 mouth, and munificence in his hand, because the Lord had 
 
KENTIGERN. 261 
 
 blessed the work of his hands. Hence not only within the 
 confines of his own country was the fame of his liberality 
 spread, but also beyond the sea in Ireland. Wherefore a jester 
 from one of the Kings of Ireland, who was skilled and clever 
 in his art, was sent to Cambria to the court of the aforesaid 
 King, that he might see whether the truth responded to his 
 fame so far and widely spread. Admitted to the court, the 
 jester played with his hand on the tympanum and cithera, and 
 rejoiced the King and his paladins all the days of the festivity 
 of Christmas. When the feast of the Lord's holy Epiphany 
 was ended, the King commanded gifts to be brought forth and 
 bestowed upon the jester as became his royal munificence. 
 The jester refused them all, asserting that he could have 
 enough of such things in his own country. Being asked by 
 the King what he would be willing to accept, he replied that 
 he had no need at all of gold or silver, vestments or horses, in 
 which Ireland abounded. "But if thou desirest," he said, 
 " that I should leave thee well remunerated, let there be given 
 to me a dish full of fresh mulberries." Those who heard this 
 speech proceed from the mouth of the man burst into laughter, 
 because they thought he was joking and speaking playfully. 
 For a servant of this kind is wont to be more highly esteemed 
 in proportion as excites to laughter and to words that move to 
 mirth. But he, with an oath, declared that he had demanded 
 the mulberries in all seriousness and not as a joke ; nor could 
 he in any way be moved from his purpose either by prayers, 
 promises, or the offer of the most ample gifts, and rising, he 
 intimated that he wished to retire from the midst and to carry 
 off, as the saying is, the King's honour. But the King took 
 this very ill, and inquired of his companions what could be 
 done in the matter that he might not be dishonoured. For it 
 was then winter, and not a mulberry could be found anywhere. 
 Therefore, acting on the advice of his courtiers, he went to S. 
 Kentigern, and humbly begged that by prayer he would obtain 
 from God what was demanded. The man of God, although 
 he thought that his prayer would not be fitly offered for such 
 trifles, yet because he knew that the King had a great 
 devotion to God and to Holy Church, and recognised his 
 
262 LIFE OF 
 
 imperfection in this matter, the holy prelate resolved to con- 
 descend to his petition, since he hoped that by such means 
 he might be able to advance him in virtue. Therefore, 
 deliberating with himself for a little, and praying briefly, 
 he said to the King : " Rememberest thou in what place 
 during the summer thou didst cast away the garment in 
 which thou wast girded because of the great heat, when thou 
 wast hunting, that thou mightest follow the hounds more 
 quickly, and then forgetting or slighting it, thou didst not 
 return to take up what thou hadst cast off? " The King 
 replied : " I know, O Lord, my King and bishop, the time and 
 the place." " Go," said the Saint, " quickly to the place, and 
 thou shalt find the garment still whole spread out over a bush 
 of thorns, and beneath it mulberries sufficiently ripened, still 
 fresh and fit for gathering. Take them and satisfy the 
 demand of the jester, and in all things concern thyself that 
 thou more and more honour God, who will not allow thy 
 honour to be harmed or diminished in so slight a thing." 
 The King did as the bishop directed him, and found all as he 
 predicted. Taking a dish, therefore, and filling it with the 
 mulberries, he gave it to the actor, saying : " See, take that 
 which thou askest for ; for by the hand of the Lord working 
 with us, thou canst not in any thing injure the fame of my 
 liberality. And that I may not appear more niggardly to thee 
 than to others, remain with us as long as it pleaseth thee." 
 The actor, seeing the charger full of mulberries, contrary to the 
 season of the year, grew pale with wonder, and when he knew 
 how it had happened, he cried out and said : " Truly there is 
 none like thee among the kings of the earth munificent in thy 
 liberality, and none like Kentigern, glorious in holiness, fear- 
 ful in praises, doing wonders, who doeth such things in my 
 sight beyond my expectation. Henceforth I will not leave thy 
 house or thy service ; but I will be unto thee a servant for ever 
 as long as I live." The actor therefore remained at the King's 
 court, and served him for many days as jester. Afterwards by 
 the instigation of the fear of God, he set himself against his 
 own face, gave up the profession of an actor, and, entering the 
 ways of the better life, gave himself up to the divine service. 
 
KENTIGERN. 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Of the two vessels filled with milk which were sent by S. Kentigern to a 
 certain workman ; how the milk, when poured out into the river, 
 was formed into cheese. 
 
 There was a certain man, skilled in the smith's craft, who 
 served by hammering and forging in the works of the man of 
 God, and in employments of the monastery, and received from 
 the Saint the necessary wages. Now, the Saint was wont to 
 use milk as food and drink, because, as we said above, he was 
 in the habit of abstaining from all liquor by which a man can 
 be intoxicated. He therefore ordered vessels full of new milk 
 to be carried to the smith, because he knew that workmen and 
 hired servants are gratified by partaking of the food prepared 
 for the lord and householder. But when the porter was cross- 
 ing the river Clyde, the covers of the vessels accidentally 
 became open and all the milk was poured out into the water. 
 But strangely and wonderfully, the milk poured out did not 
 mix with the water, and was not changed either as to taste 
 or colour, but all at once became curdled and turned into 
 cheese. Not less properly was this cheese consolidated by the 
 beating of the waves than any other is wont to be by the 
 pressure of the hands. The porter snatched the little shape of 
 cheese from the water and went to the smith, to whom the 
 Saint had sent him, and related the whole matter to him. 
 Many saw this remarkable sign, and were amazed when they 
 saw how the fluid element was not turned into fluid or liquified. 
 But the smith and many others tasted of that cheese, and also 
 distributed little particles of the same, piece by piece, to 
 many to be kept as relics. Relics of this sort have been 
 received and preserved in many places and at many times, 
 and have declared the dear and famous merits of S. Kenti- 
 gern, making them dearer and more famous still. But 
 although this sign bears much that is wonderful on the 
 face of it, yet to those who view it subtilly, and gather 
 spiritual things from corporeal, and invisible from visible, it 
 affords much instruction. In the milk, which fell into the water 
 
264 LIFE OF 
 
 Dut was not mixed with it or changed into water, or sunk in it, 
 it, we have an example of the preservation of innocence and 
 justice, which are relics to a peaceful man among those who 
 swell with pride, who sow to themselves many kinds of evil, 
 who seek to drown us with bad examples and persuasions, 
 who dissipate themselves in pleasure. That the milk in the 
 stream was hardened into cheese gives us an example of 
 maintaining constancy under the pressure of tribulation and 
 difficulties. For the just and the innocent hardens among the 
 waves as the milk did into cheese, when, in obedience to the 
 words proceeding out of the mouth of God, he perseveres in the 
 hard paths, and through many tribulations seeks to enter into 
 the kingdom of God. And if he endures threats, insults, 
 losses, injuries from wicked and froward men, as if he did not 
 feel them, but in patience possesses his soul, and endeavours 
 to persevere in good, knowing of a surety that he who perse- 
 veres unto the end here, he shall be saved. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 How S. Columba visited blessed Kentigern and saw a crown that came 
 down from heaven upon his head and a celestial light shining 
 around him. 
 
 At the time when Blessed Kentigern, placed in the Lord's 
 candlestick, like a lamp burning with heavenly desires, and 
 shining with life-giving words, in the examples of virtues and 
 with miracles of power, gave light to all who were in the 
 House of God, S. Columba, the Abbot, whom the Angles call 
 Columkillus, wonderful in doctrine and virtues, celebrated for 
 his presages of future events, yea rather, full of the spirit of 
 prophecy, and living in that glorious monastery which he had 
 built in the Island of Iona, desired earnestly not once but 
 continually to rejoice in the light of S. Kentigern. For, hear- 
 ing for a long time of the esteem in which he was held, he 
 desired to approach, visit, and behold him, and to come into 
 
KENTIGERN. 265 
 
 his closer intimacy, and to consult the sanctuary of his holy 
 breast concerning the things which lay near to his own heart. 
 And when the opportune moment came the holy Father Col- 
 umba went forth, and a great crowd of disciples and others 
 accompanied him, desiring to behold and look upon the face of 
 so great a man. And when he approached the place which is 
 called Mellindenor, where the Saint was then staying, he 
 divided all his people into three bands, and sent a messenger 
 before him to announce to the holy prelate his arrival and that 
 of those who were with him. 
 
 The holy bishop rejoiced at the things which were told him 
 concerning them, and calling to him his clergy and people, he, 
 in like manner, divided them into three bands, and went for- 
 ward with spiritual songs to meet them. In the forefront of the 
 procession were placed the juniors in order of time, next the 
 more advanced in years, then with himself there walked those 
 who had grown old in good days, white and hoary, venerable 
 in countenance, gesture, and bearing, yea, even in grey hairs. 
 And all sang : " In the ways of the Lord, how great is the 
 glory of the Lord." And again they answered : " The way of 
 the just is made straight, and the path of the saints is pre- 
 pared." On S. Columba's side they sang with tuneful voice : 
 " The saints shall go from strength to strength : unto the God 
 of gods every one of them shall appear in Sion," with Alleluia. 
 Meanwhile some who had come with S. Columba asked him, 
 saying, " Has S. Kentigern come in the first chorus of 
 singers ? " The Saint replied : " Not in the first, nor in the 
 second, but in the third comes the genial bishop." And when 
 they inquired how he knew this, he said : " I see a fiery pillar 
 in fashion as of a crown of gold, set with sparkling gems, 
 descending upon his head from heaven and a light of heavenly 
 brightness encircling and shining around him as a veil, and 
 covering him, and again returning to the skies. Wherefore it 
 is given to me to know by this manifest sign that as Aaron he 
 is the elect of God and sanctified ; who clothed with the light 
 as with a garment and with a gold crown represented on his 
 head appears to me with the sign of sanctity. When these 
 two godlike men met, they embraced and kissed each other, 
 
 18 
 
266 LIFE OF 
 
 and having first satiated themselves with the spiritual banquet 
 of Divine words, they refreshed themselves with bodily food. 
 But how great was the sweetness of Divine contemplation 
 within their holy breasts is not for me to say, nor is it given to 
 me or to such as me to reveal the manna which is hidden and 
 which, methinks, is entirely unknown except to those who 
 taste it. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Of the head of S. KentigerrCs ram that was cut off and how it was 
 turned into stone. 
 
 When the two men we have just mentioned were mutually 
 joined together as two pillars in the court of the temple of the 
 Lord, firmly founded in faith and love and confirmed therein, 
 by the imitation and instructions of whom many peoples, tribes 
 and tongues have entered, and are still entering, into the 
 heavenly temple, which is the joy of the Lord, some sons of 
 the stranger who had come with S. Columba were hardened in 
 their evil habits and halted away from the paths of the man of 
 God. For as the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, so he who 
 is accustomed to theft or rapine with difficulty changes his 
 malice. There came, therefore, with Blessed Columba some 
 with no dovelike innocence, but merely by the advances of 
 their feet, with no affection of devotion and no progress in 
 morals. While they journeyed they saw one of the flocks of 
 the holy bishop feeding in the distance, and leaving the path 
 and going by dark ways, as it is said in the Book of Proverbs 
 of such, they turned aside thither, and notwithstanding the 
 resistance and remonstrances of the shepherd, seized the 
 fattest wether. But the shepherd in the name of the Holy 
 Trinity and by the authority of S. Kentigern forbade them to 
 commit such robbery, nay sacrilege, in the flock of the holy 
 prelate, admonishing them that if they would but ask a ram 
 from the Saint, they would without doubt receive one. But one 
 
KENTIGERN. 267 
 
 of them drove away the shepherd, whom he insulted and even 
 threatened with death, and took away a ram ; while the other 
 taking out a knife cut off its head. They had debated how 
 they should carry off the carcass with them, and, at a time and 
 place suitable for their crime, skin and prepare it more 
 carefully, as they well knew how, for their uses. 
 
 But a thing wonderful to relate, and yet more wonderful to 
 behold, occurred. The ram with its head cut off ran back with 
 marvellous speed to its own flock, and there fell down ; while 
 its head, changed into stone, stuck firmly, as if fastened by some 
 indissoluble glue, to the hands of him who held it and had 
 struck it. Those who were able to pursue, catch, hold, and cut 
 off the head of the ram when living and whole, now when it 
 was beheaded were unable by following or pursuing to over- 
 take it ; nor could they cast away the head, already become a 
 stone, from their hands, though they tried with all their might. 
 The men became rigid and their heart died within them and 
 became as stone, as they were carrying a stone, and at length, 
 taking wholesome counsel, they went to the Saints, and lying 
 prostrate at the feet of S. Kentigern, penitent and suffused with 
 tears, they besought him to forgive them. But the holy prelate, 
 chiding them with gentle reproof, and warning them never 
 again to presume to perpetrate fraud, theft, robbery, and, what 
 is more detestable, sacrilege, unloosed them from the double 
 bond, of sin and the hold of the stone. He ordered the carcase 
 of the slain ram to be given to them and permitted them to 
 depart. But the head which was turned into stone, remains 
 there to this day as a witness to the miracle and, though mute, 
 declares the merit of S. Kentigern. 
 
 Assuredly this miracle, as it seems to me, is, in the main, 
 not inferior to that which the book of Genesis relates to have 
 been wrought in the case of Lot's wife. After the avenger of 
 the injury done to God, the fire from heaven was ordered to 
 destroy the wicked subverters of the natural use of human 
 generation and was already hanging over them, being instructed 
 by an angelic oracle and assisted by its help, Lot escaped the 
 fire of the overthrow and overwhelming of Sodom. But his wife, 
 on looking back, contrary to the command given from heaven, 
 
268 L I F E O F 
 
 was changed into a rock, into an image of salt, to be a relish to 
 the food of brute animals. Here the head of a ram is trans- 
 muted into stone to condemn the hardness and cruelty of them 
 who carry off the property of others. In the figure of Lot's 
 wife, by the Lord's own teaching, every faithful man is taught 
 and warned not foolishly to draw back from any holy purpose 
 once taken in hand. In the head turned into stone every Chris- 
 tian is taught not to commit theft or fraud, or robbery or any 
 violence on the property of the Church or on the substance of 
 the servants of God. In the place where this miracle wrought 
 by S. Kentigern, in the sight of S. Columba and many others, 
 became known, they exchanged staves in pledge and testimony 
 of mutual love in Christ. The staff which S. Columba gave to 
 the holy bishop Kentigern was for a long time preserved in 
 the church of S. Wilfrid, bishop and confessor, at Ripon, and 
 on account of the sanctity of both the giver and receiver was 
 held in great reverence. Wherefore for some days these Saints 
 passed the time together conversing on the things which are of 
 God and on those which belong to the salvation of souls : after 
 bidding each other farewell in mutual love, they departed to 
 their own homes never to meet again. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 How the man of God erected crosses in many places, by which even to 
 the prese?it day miracles are wrought. 
 
 The venerable father and bishop Kentigern was in the habit 
 of erecting the triumphant standard of the Holy Cross in the 
 places where he had won the people to the dominion of Christ 
 by preaching and imbued them with the faith of the Cross 
 of Christ, or where he had dwelt for any length of time, that 
 all might learn that he was not in the least ashamed of the 
 Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he carried on his fore- 
 head. But, as it seems to me, this very holy custom of the 
 holy man is in many ways supported by sound reason. Be- 
 cause the Saint was wont to erect this life-giving and holy and 
 
KENTIGERN. 269 
 
 terrible sign, in order that, as wax melts before the fire, so the 
 enemies of the human race, the powers of the darkness of this 
 world, melting away before this sign, might flow down, and 
 terrified and routed, might flee afar off. It is fitting, more- 
 over, that the soldiers of the Eternal King should recog- 
 nise at a glance the invincible standard of their Commander, 
 and flee to it, as to a tower of strength, from the face of 
 the enemy and from the face of the wicked who afflict 
 them, and that they may have that which they adore, and 
 in which they boast before their eyes. And because, 
 according to the Apostle, the wrestling against spiritual 
 wickedness in high places and against the fiery darts of the 
 evil one is continual, it is fit and healthful that they should 
 fortify and protect themselves by signing themselves with this 
 sign, and by imitating the passion of Christ, and with the 
 Apostle bearing about in their bodies the prints of the wounds 
 of Christ, crucify for the love of the Crucified One their own 
 flesh with its vices and lusts and the world to them and 
 themselves unto the world. 
 
 Among many crosses, therefore, which the man of God 
 erected in divers places, there are two which to the present 
 time work miracles. One in his own city of Glasgow he 
 caused to be cut by quarriers from a block of stone of extra- 
 ordinary size, which by the united exertions of many men and 
 by the use of machines, he ordered to be set up in the cemetery 
 of the Church of the Holy Trinity in which his episcopal chair 
 is placed. But all their labour was spent in vain, every 
 machine was powerless, human industry and strength were of 
 no avail to erect it, though they toiled much and long. But 
 when human ingenuity and help failed, the Saint had recourse 
 to Divine aid. For on the following eve, which chanced to 
 be Sunday, while the servant of Jesus Christ was pouring out 
 prayers on behalf of this matter to the Lord, the Angel of the 
 Lord descended from heaven and coming near, rolled back the 
 stone cross and erected it in the place where it is to this 
 day, and blessing it, signed it with the sign of the cross, 
 hallowed it, and departed. The people, when they came to 
 the church in the morning and discovered what had been 
 
270 L I F E F 
 
 done, were astonished and glorified God in his Saint. The 
 cross was very large and from that time has never been 
 wanting in great virtue. For many maniacs and those vexed 
 with unclean spirits are wont to be tied to that cross on the 
 night preceding the Lord's day and on the morrow they are 
 found of a sound mind, delivered and cleansed, or sometimes 
 dead or on the point of death. 
 
 Another cross, which it would be incredible to describe had 
 it not been tested by sight and touch, he constructed merely of 
 sea sand at Lothwerverd, while meditating justly and re- 
 ligiously on the Resurrection. In this place he remained for 
 the space of eight years. Who ought to doubt that the Lord 
 will not raise our mortal bodies, though they be resolved into 
 dust, since He has so promised with His own blessed mouth, 
 when in His name this Saint, of like passions with ourselves, 
 raised up a cross from the sand of the sea while praying to the 
 Lord ? Truly, it ought to be believed by all that, at the Lord's 
 will, the bones of the dead will be joined bone to his bone, 
 according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, and that the Lord will 
 give them sinews and make flesh to come upon them and skin 
 to cover them and put breath into them and they shall live for 
 ever, seeing that at the prayer of a man still mortal a mass of 
 sand was condensed into a solid and perfect substance from 
 the smallest particles, or as I may say atoms, and formed into 
 a cross, which neither the burning sun by day nor the frost by 
 night nor any inclemency of weather can dissolve. That cross 
 therefore stands as a proof of our faith, showing that this cor- 
 ruptible must put on incorruption, and that the multitude of 
 the children of Israel, though they be as the sand of the sea, 
 a remnant shall be saved by the faith of the cross of Christ, 
 and that the friends of God shall be multiplied beyond the 
 number of the sand by Him who numbereth the stars of 
 heaven, and the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the 
 days of the age. To this cross also many afflicted with divers 
 diseases, and especially madmen and those vexed by the devil 
 are bound in the evening and in the morning are often found 
 safe and sound, and being set free return to their friends. 
 
 There are many other places in which he lived and especially 
 
KENTIGERN. 271 
 
 during Lent, unknown to us, which the Saint sanctified by the 
 presence of his holy indwelling Spirit. Yet many persons re- 
 late numerous instances regarding these which by some tokens 
 diffuse his sanctity to this day, and by his merits afford to 
 the infirm many blessings and have the efficacy of working 
 miracles. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 How he tied up his chin with a certain bandage, and prepared for the 
 departure of his soul. 
 
 Blessed Kentigern, overcome by extreme old age, perceived 
 from many rents in it that the ruin of his earthly house was at 
 hand ; but the foundation of his faith, which was founded on a 
 Rock, comforted his soul. For he trusted that when his earthly 
 house of this tabernacle was dissolved, he had an house not 
 made with hands prepared for him in heaven. And because 
 both by reason of his extreme old age, and because he was 
 touched with infirmity, the fastenings of his nerves throughout 
 his whole body were almost entirely withered and loosened, 
 he bound up his cheeks and chin with a certain linen bandage 
 which went over the middle of his head and under his chin, 
 neither too tight nor too loose. This the most refined man 
 did, that by the falling of his chin nothing indecent might 
 appear from the opening of his mouth, and that such a support 
 might render him more ready in bringing forth what he could 
 or would. 
 
 At length, this man, beloved by God and men, knowing that 
 the hour approached when he should pass from this world to 
 the Father of Lights, fortified himself with the sacred unction 
 which is efficacious for the remission of sin and with the life- 
 giving sacraments of the Lord's Body and Blood, in order that 
 that ancient serpent seeking to bruise his heel should be unable 
 to fix therein his poisonous tooth and inflict a deadly wound, 
 but that with bruised head he might retreat in confusion. In 
 
272 LIFE OF 
 
 this way the Lord treading Satan under his feet, in order that 
 his holy soul might not be speedily confounded, when at his 
 going out from Egypt he spake with his enemies in the gate, 
 he waited patiently as hitherto, like an excellent under-pilot, 
 for the Lord who had saved him from the tempest of this age. 
 And now close to the shore, driven into the port of a certain 
 inward quiet by gentle navigation, after so many dangers of 
 the sea, he cast out the anchor of hope bound with the ropes of 
 his desires into the solid and sure ground, reaching of a truth even 
 within the veil, whither the Precursor, the Lord Jesus, entered 
 before him. Henceforth he awaited alone the departure from the 
 tents of Kedar and the entrance into the land of the living, so 
 that as a successful wrestler, he might in that City of The Vir- 
 tues, that is, in the Heavenly Jerusalem, receive from the hand of 
 the Heavenly King the crown of glory and the diadem of the 
 Kingdom which fadeth not away. His own disciples gathered 
 around him he warned, as far as his strength permitted, con- 
 cerning the observance of holy religion, the maintenance of 
 mutual charity and peace, the grace of hospitality, and of con- 
 tinuing instant in prayer and holy reading. But above all 
 things, he gave to them and left behind him short but peremp- 
 tory commands to avoid every evil appearance of simonia- 
 cal wickedness, to shun entirely the communion and society 
 of heretics and schismatics, and to observe strictly the decrees 
 of the holy Fathers, and especially the laws and customs of 
 Holy Church, the Mother of all. Then, as was meet, he gave 
 to each of them, as they humbly knelt before him, the kiss of 
 peace, and raising his hand, as best he could, he blessed them, 
 and bidding them a last farewell, he committed them all to the 
 care of the Holy Trinity and to the protection of the Holy 
 Mother of God, and gathered himself together, on that glorious 
 stony couch of his. Then one voice of mourners sounded every- 
 where ; then fell as a horror of confusion deep sadness on the 
 face of all. 
 
KENTIGERN. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 Of his disciples who sought a speedy journey to heaven, and of his ■warm- 
 bath. 
 
 But some of them, who loved the Saint of God more closely, 
 prostrated themselves in tears before him and said : "We know, 
 O Lord Bishop, that thou desirest to be dissolved and to be with 
 Christ. For thine old age, venerable, very protracted and mea- 
 sured by the number of many years as well as thy spotless life 
 demand it; but, we pray thee, have pity upon us whom thou hast 
 begotten in Christ. For in whatsoever we have erred through 
 human frailty we have always confessed it in thy presence, and 
 have made amends, giving satisfaction to the judgment of thy 
 discretion. Since then we have no power to retain thee any 
 longer with us, seek from the Lord that it may be given to us to 
 depart from this vale of tears to the joy of thy Lord with thee. 
 For as to this we believe, even as we assert, that whatever thou 
 askest the Divine Mercy will vouchsafe to thee, for the will of 
 God has been to us directed in thy hand from thy youth. It 
 seems to us improper that the bishop without his clergy, the pas- 
 tor without any of his flock, the father without his sons, should 
 enter into those festal and sublime places ; yea rather the more 
 festal and sublime they are, the greater the company of his 
 own that should attend him." And when they had urged 
 many things in this way with tears, the man of God, overflowing 
 with bowels of mercy, collecting his breath as well as he was 
 able, said : " The will of God concerning us all be done ; let 
 Him do with us as He knows best and as is well-pleasing to 
 Him." 
 
 After these things the Saint was silent, and sighing in his 
 soul for heaven awaited the passage of his spirit from the 
 body ; and his disciples watching by him took care of him as 
 of one nigh unto death. And behold, while the morning star, 
 the herald of the dawn, the messenger of the light of day, 
 tearing through the pall of the darkness of night, shone forth 
 with flaming rays, the Angel of the Lord appeared in unspeak- 
 able splendour and the glory of God shone around him. For 
 
274 L I F E O F 
 
 fear of him the guardians of the holy bishop were afraid and 
 greatly amazed, and being but earthly vessels and unable to 
 bear the weight of so great a glory they became as dead men. 
 But the holy old man, comforted by the vision and the angelic 
 visit, and forgetting as it were his age and infirmity and being 
 made strong, experienced some foretastes of the blessedness 
 now near at hand, and held close intercourse with the angel as 
 with a most dear and familiar friend. 
 
 Now the heavenly messenger said to him these words : " O 
 Kentigern, elect and beloved of God ! rejoice and be glad, and 
 let thy soul magnify the Lord, since He has magnified His 
 mercy toward thee. Thy prayer is heard, and the Divine ear 
 has heard the preparation of thy heart. For it shall be to 
 thee concerning the disciples who desire to accompany thee, 
 as thou wiliest. Therefore be steadfast, and you shall see the 
 help of the Lord toward you. On the morrow ye shall go 
 forth from the body of this death to the unfailing life, and the 
 Lord shall be with you and ye shall be with Him for ever. 
 And because thy whole life in this world has been a perpetual 
 martyrdom, it has pleased the Lord that thou shalt have an 
 easier passage from life than other men. Cause to be prepared 
 for thee therefore on the morrow a warm bath and going into 
 it, thou shalt fall asleep in the Lord without pain, and therein 
 rest in peace in Him. But after thou hast paid the debt 
 of nature in it, immediately before the water cools, while it is 
 yet warm about thee, let thy brethren enter after thee into this 
 bath, and straightway loosed from the bonds of death they shall 
 migrate with thee as the companions of thy journey, and being 
 introduced into the splendours of the Saints, they shall enter 
 with thee into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 With these words the angelic vision and voice ceased, but a 
 fragrance of marvellous and indescribable odour in some strange 
 way spread through all the place and over all who were there. 
 But the Saint calling his disciples to him, revealed to them in 
 order the angelic mystery, and ordered his bath to be prepared 
 as the Lord commanded by the angel. The brethren above 
 mentioned gave unmeasured thanks to God Almighty and to 
 their holy Father Kentigern, and assured of the oracle, in every 
 
KENTIGERN. 275 
 
 way they could, and fortified with the Divine Sacraments, they 
 prepared for what awaited them. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 How he passed out of this world and how he shone forth after his death 
 in many miracles. 
 
 When the octave of the Lord's Epiphany, on which the gentle 
 bishop himself had been wont every year to wash in sacred 
 baptism a multitude of people, was dawning — a day very ac- 
 ceptable to S. Kentigern and to the spirits of the sons of his 
 adoption, the Saint borne by their hands entered a vessel filled 
 with hot water which he had first hallowed with the sign of 
 salvation, and a circle of brethren standing round him waited 
 the issue of the event. And when the Saint had been some 
 little time in it, after raising his hands and eyes to heaven and 
 bowing his head, as if falling into a calm sleep, he yielded up 
 his spirit. For he seemed as free from the pain of death as he 
 stood forth spotless and pure from the corruptions of the flesh 
 and the snares of this world. 
 
 The disciples seeing what was taking place, lifted the holy 
 body out of the bath and eagerly strove with each other to 
 immerse themselves in it. And so, one by one before the 
 water cooled, they slept in great peace in the Lord, and having 
 tasted death with their father, the holy Bishop, they passed 
 with him to the heavenly mansions. And when the water had 
 become cold not only the fear of death but also every spark of 
 discomfort wholly disappeared. 
 
 This bath is in my opinion to be compared with the sheep- 
 pool in which, after the descent of the angel and the troubling 
 of the water, one sick man was healed of whatsoever infirmity 
 he had ; but he was still liable to death. But in this ablution 
 a very great company of Saints were cured of every sickness, to 
 live for ever with Christ. The water of that laver was distri- 
 buted to divers persons in divers places ; and from its being 
 
276 LIFE OF 
 
 drunk or sprinkled health was conferred on many sick persons 
 in many ways. 
 
 The brethren stripped the Saint of his ordinary clothes, 
 which they partly preserved and partly distributed as precious 
 relics, and clothed him in the sacred vestments which became 
 so great a bishop. Then he was carried by the brethren into 
 the choir with hymns and psalms, and the Life-giving Victim 
 was offered to God for him by many. Diligently and most 
 devoutly, as the custom of the Church at that time required, 
 they celebrated his obsequies, and on the right side of the altar 
 they laid beneath a stone with as much becoming reverence as 
 they could, that home of virtues, that precious stone, by 
 whose merit, as it was a time for collecting stones for the 
 edifice of the heavenly temple, many elect and lively stones, 
 along with that pearl, were taken up and laid in the treasuries 
 of the Great King. The sacred remains of all the brethren 
 were decently and separately consigned to the cemetery for 
 sepulture in the order in which they followed the holy prelate 
 from this world. 
 
 Blessed Kentigern therefore full of years, for he was a 
 hundred and eighty-five years old, matured in merits, famous 
 for signs, wonders and prophecies, on such wise passed from- 
 this world to the Father — from faith to sight, from labour to 
 rest, from exile to the Fatherland, from the course to the crown 
 of victory, from the present misery to the eternal glory. 
 Blessed, I say, is the man to whom the heavens are open, 
 who penetrated the sanctuary, who entered into the powers of 
 the Lord, received by the angelic hosts, admitted into the 
 ranks of the patriarchs and prophets, joined to the choirs of 
 the Apostles, mingled in the ranks of the martyrs who are 
 crowned with the purple of their rosy blood, associated with 
 the sacred confessors of the Lord ; crowned with the snow- 
 white choirs of virgins. And no wonder. For he was in office 
 and merit an angel of the Lord who announced to those who 
 were afar off and to them that were near peace and salvation 
 in the blood of Jesus Christ ; his lips kept true wisdom, from 
 his mouth many sought and found the law of God. He was 
 also a prophet of the Highest, who knew many things which 
 
KENTIGERN. 277 
 
 were not, and foresaid and foretold many things to come. 
 Rightly moreover is he called and is the Apostle of the region 
 of Cambria, for its inhabitants and many other peoples are the 
 signs of his Apostleship. Deservedly also is he called a martyr 
 who in a constant and unceasing martyrdom mortifies himself 
 for Christ, and is proved to have had his heart prepared for 
 every kind of death if the occasion had offered. For, for the 
 name of Christ and for the defence of truth and righteousness 
 he frequently offered himself to persecution, proscription, the 
 snares and swords of the enemies of the cross of Christ, and 
 bravely, and happily triumphed over the world, the flesh, and 
 the devil and his satellites. He by change of name is called 
 the Confessor of Christ, who confessing the name of Christ 
 before peoples and Kings, confidently preached, and invited all 
 men to the profession of the name of Christ, and to the con- 
 fession of the Christian Faith, of the praise of God and of 
 their own sin. 
 
 Moreover by a certain special prerogative he obtained a 
 virginal honour and glory, who from the tamarisk extracted 
 balsam, from the nettle the lily, and while in the vessel of this 
 fragil and frail body never disturbed, as they say, even by a 
 look his angelic celibacy, and preserved in a vessel of clay the 
 heavenly treasure of chastity. Wherefore from a virgin body 
 he soared in white to the white-robed company, that without 
 spot he might stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, 
 and following Him whithersoever He goeth, sing the new 
 song, unknown to all save to those who have not defiled their 
 garments. Justly, therefore, that holy man lives as a com- 
 panion, fellow-citizen and partaker with all the Saints, who in 
 this life had communion with all Saints, and always sought to 
 please, obey and follow and to be united in spirit with the 
 Saint of all Saints, the Sanctifier of all, and being united to 
 them, lives and rejoices with Him now and for ever. 
 
 The spirit of S. Kentigern being translated to the starry 
 realms, that which the earth, the mother of all, had bestowed, 
 she gathered into her womb. Nevertheless the power of 
 miracles, which grew in him when living, could not be buried 
 beneath the turf or hid by the stony mound, but burst forth. 
 
278 LIFE OF 
 
 For from the day of his burial down to the present, his sacred 
 bones are known to have there germinated into very many 
 miracles, and they do not cease to announce, by benefits 
 bestowed in respect to many kinds of infirmities, that both in 
 heaven and on earth the just is had in everlasting remem- 
 brance. At his tomb sight is restored to the blind, hearing to 
 the deaf, the power of walking to the lame, speech to the 
 dumb, cleanness of skin to the leprous, strength of limb to the 
 paralytic, sense to the insane. The impious, the sacrilegious, 
 the perjured, violators of the peace of his Church and profaners 
 of the holy place are justly punished. 
 
 Moreover on one occasion a certain man by night stole away 
 from Glasgow a cow which in the morning was found living 
 and bound to the foot of the thief who was dead, which struck 
 him who sought it with both astonishment and joy. Likewise 
 many, who, though guilty of sins of the flesh, did not hesitate 
 to pollute the holy place with their impure steps, were some- 
 times punished with sudden death, often mutilated, and at 
 times visited with some incurable and protracted disease in 
 their limbs. Thus also the breakers of his peace often suffered. 
 Many, likewise, have often experienced in themselves the 
 punishment of their sin, who have presumed by any servile 
 work to dishonour the festival of the Saint, during which at 
 the Church in Glasgow, where his most sacred body rests, a 
 great multitude is wont to assemble from divers parts, to seek 
 his intercession and to behold the miracles which are here 
 wont to be wrought. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 Of the prophecy of a certain man, and of the burial of the Saints in 
 
 Glasgow, 
 
 In the same year that S. Kentigern was freed from earthly 
 things and migrated to the heavens, King Rederech, who has 
 been so often named, remained much longer than usual in the 
 
KENTIGERN. 279 
 
 royal town which is called Pertnech (Particle). In his court 
 there lived a certain fool called Laloecen, who received the 
 necessaries of food and clothing from the munificence of the 
 King. For the chiefs of the earth, the sons of the kingdom, 
 are given to vanity and are wont to retain men of this kind 
 about them, who by their foolish words and gestures may 
 excite to jokes and laughter the lords themselves and their 
 household. This man after the death of S. Kentigern gave 
 himself up to the heaviest grief and would not receive consola- 
 tion from any one. 
 
 When they asked him why he mourned so inconsolably, he 
 answered that his lord King Rederech and another of the 
 chiefs of the land, Morthec by name, would not continue long 
 in this life after the death of the holy Bishop, but would die 
 during the present year. That the saying of the fool was 
 uttered not foolishly but rather prophetically, the death of those 
 whom he mentioned within the same year clearly proved. Nor 
 is it much to be marvelled at, that the Creator of all things 
 allowed to be announced by the mouth of a fool what had been 
 determined of the Lord, since even Balaam, the soothsayer, by 
 His inspiration foresaw many and great things in his seer's 
 mind and foretold them, and Caiaphas prophesied that the 
 redemption of the people would come from the death of Christ, 
 and by the mouth of a she-ass the madness of a prophet was 
 rebuked, and the destruction of Jerusalem was foretold by the 
 mouth of a madman, as Josephus writes. So in the same year 
 that the holy Bishop Kentigern passed away, the King and 
 Prince aforesaid died, and were buried in Glasgow. 
 
 In the cemetery of the Church of this city as the inhabitants 
 and countrymen assert, 665 saints rest, and all the great men 
 of that region have long been wont to be buried there. O how 
 much is that place to be feared and to be had in reverence, 
 which so many pledges of the Saints adorn as their resting- 
 place ! which so precious a Confessor decorates with his sacred 
 spoils, and illustrates with so many miracles that if all were 
 committed to writing they would be seen to fill great volumes. 
 Not only in the place where he rests in the body, though 
 there more frequently, and especially on his anniversary, is he 
 
280 LIFE OF KENTIGERN. 
 
 used to shine forth in signs, but in almost all places in which 
 he is had in remembrance, in churches and chapels, and at 
 altars, he is present as a most powerful helper in necessities 
 to those placed in tribulations, to those who love him, trust in 
 him, cry to him. And where faith or some reason demands it, 
 he does not cease to shine in miracles to the praise and glory 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ ; whose is the glory, praise, honour 
 and power, for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 Thus endeth the Life of the Most Holy Kentigern, Bishop and 
 Confessor, who is also called Mungu. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. SERVANUS. 
 
 '9 
 
THE LIFE OF SERVANUS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 There was a certain noble king in the land of Canaan by 
 by name Obeth, the son of Eliud ; and the name of his wife 
 was Alfia, the daughter of the King of Arabia. They lived 
 together twenty years but had no offspring. Therefore they 
 very frequently besought God and offered unto Him oblations 
 and sacrifices that He would grant unto them a worthy child, in 
 order that their reproach might be taken away. For this cause 
 the King ordained through all His kingdom that all men from 
 the least unto the greatest should fast three days and three 
 nights and earnestly entreat the pity of God for the King and 
 Queen, that the shame of sterility might be turned away from 
 them. On the third night, at the last crowing of the cock, the 
 angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to the King in a dream 
 as he slept, saying: "Go to the city which is called Heliopolis 
 and in it thou shalt find a very beautiful fountain and in it 
 bathe three times. Afterwards you shall have what you de- 
 sire." And departing, they came to the aforesaid fountain 
 and did according to the saying of the angel. And the Queen 
 desiring an herb growing by the fountain, which is called man- 
 dragon, she ate of it. After she had eaten thereof her husband 
 went in unto her and she conceived. On the following night 
 the angel appeared unto the Queen comforting her, and saying : 
 " Be not sad nor sorrowful, O Queen ! for lo, thou bearest in thy 
 womb two sons who shall excel in faith and works. The name 
 of the one shall be Generatius ; that is, Shining Gem, and he 
 shall be a great king over all the land of the Canaanites. The 
 name of the other shall be Malachias or Servanus. And after 
 
284 L I F E O F 
 
 he has finished the course of this secular life, these names will 
 prove to have suited him well. For Malachias being inter- 
 preted is Angel of the Lord. This is a fit name for him, in 
 that he lived as the ambassador of the Apostolic see, pro- 
 claiming the Word of God to the four quarters of the world. 
 But he is called Servanus from serving God, in that he served 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, labouring in every good work night and 
 day." After saying these words the angel departed, and the 
 Queen awoke and told her husband the words of the angel. 
 Both therefore rejoiced and gave great thanks to God. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 After the boy was born he was taken to the Bishop of the 
 city of Alexandria, Mayonius by name, to be baptized by him. 
 The Bishop baptized him and gave him the name Servanus. 
 Blessed Servanus was accordingly nurtured seven years ; and 
 his father died. Now when his father was dead, they conferred 
 upon him the government of the whole of their kingdom. But 
 he, cleaving to God from his youth, opposed all their wishes ; 
 and his brother Generatius reigned in his stead. Now S. 
 Servanus went to the city of Alexandria to devote himself 
 there to divine study and to learn the arts. And there he re- 
 mained thirteen years and received the habit of a monk from 
 the bishop of that city. After thirty years, he was earnestly 
 advised by the aforenamed Bishop that he ought to be pro- 
 moted to sacred orders, inasmuch as he was deserving. Accord- 
 ingly he was advanced to the order of the priesthood, though 
 unwilling and gainsaying. Now after he was ordained he came 
 into his own land, and all the Canaanites elected him with 
 great joy to the bishopric. That bishopric he ruled in peace 
 for twenty years, building monasteries and churches in it, 
 and serving God day and night. Then the angel of the Lord 
 came to him, saying : " Thou art commanded by the Lord 
 God to go out and depart from thy country and from thy 
 kindred." Blessed Servanus answered : " Freely will I go, 
 
SERVANUS. 285 
 
 but I know not whither my Lord desires me to go." The 
 angel on this said to blessed Servanus : " I will be with thee 
 whithersoever thou goest, delivering thee from every temp- 
 tation of the devil ; and I will be thy companion, prospering 
 the way of thy journey on sea and on land, from this day until 
 the day of the dissolution of thy body." Then S. Servanus 
 took leave of all the clerics and laity of his see and of his 
 kindred and his friends, and blessed them. But they, lament- 
 ing his departure, earnestly besought him that he would not 
 send them away desolate. But he, heeding not their tears 
 and prayers, took his journey with a great multitude of com- 
 panions, the angel guiding him. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 S. SERVANUS, afterwards, with fifty and ten thousand, came to 
 the bank of the river Nile, and with all his company he safely 
 crossed the river. Next, he arrived with them at the shore of 
 the Red Sea, and they all crossed that sea with dry feet. Then 
 after two months he came to the city of Jerusalem, and was 
 there the honourable patriarch for seven years, in the place of 
 James the Bishop, patriarch of the people of Jerusalem. Now, 
 on a certain day the Angel said to S. Servanus ; " Ascend 
 Mount Sion, and go round about it." S. Servanus ascended 
 Mount Sion and went round about it. There was shown to 
 him the tree from which the health-bringing Cross of Christ 
 was hewn. Then the Angel said unto him : — ■" Cut from this 
 tree four staves and carry them away with thee, and they shall 
 be held in great virtue and reverence after you." At the voice 
 of the Angel S. Servanus cut three staves. But the wood for 
 a larger staff the Angel himself cut off and handed it to S. 
 Servanus, and entrusted it to him. Thereafter the Saint held 
 and preserved this staff in the greater honour and reverence. 
 After these things he returned to Jerusalem with joy. And 
 there the Angel said to him : — " It is time to leave this city 
 
286 LIFE OF 
 
 and to go to the city of Constantinople, for this place is near 
 to thy country and kindred." Blessed Servanus therefore arose 
 and blessed all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, taking leave of 
 them. After this he came to Constantinople with all the 
 multitude of his companions, and was there honourably enter- 
 tained for three years. Then being warned by the same 
 Angel, he came to the land and to the island of Salvatoris. 
 Now the island is called Salvatoris because in it our Saviour 
 graciously came to us. Afterwards he came to Rome with a 
 very great company. And the Romans learning his fame, 
 which was noised abroad through all the countries and regions 
 round about, received him with great honour. Now in these 
 days the Romans were without a Pope and without a teacher. 
 But the assembly of the clergy and people of Rome chose him 
 to the Apostolate. And he was thus in the chair of Peter, 
 ruling and teaching the Roman people, and doing signs and 
 wonders seven years. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Angel of the Lord speaks with S. Servanus, saying, " Thy 
 God commandeth thee to go out from this place, for it is too 
 pleasant for thee to be here." Then Blessed Servanus addressed 
 the Roman clergy and people, saying ; — " Men, brethren, I 
 take leave of you all and leave you all my benediction. For 
 it behoves me, being warned of the Lord, to go into distant 
 parts and to obey the Lord Jesus Christ in all things.'' On 
 hearing this all the Romans were greatly displeased, for all 
 the Roman people were of one mind to go with him, because 
 they greatly loved a man so glorious in doctrine, manner and 
 nobility. For they would rather endure hardness and privation 
 in wandering through the world with him than be deprived of 
 his presence and mellifluous doctrine. Nevertheless, he de- 
 parted from the city of Rome with a great multitude of clergy 
 and of the people, both men and women, sorrowing greatly 
 
S E R V A N U S . 287 
 
 over his departure, and came to the Hill of Tears. Blessed 
 Servanus stood in this place, and turning to the people, said : 
 " Men, brethren, and people beloved of God, grieve not over 
 my departure nor be sorrowful, but divide yourselves into two 
 companies ; let one remain here at Rome ; let the other lay 
 aside all worldly care and follow me in this pilgrimage ; for 
 those who remain and for those who come with us I will pray 
 God that He Himself may be with you, pardoning all your 
 sins, and that He may have mercy upon us." All responded, 
 " Amen." And the companies were separated and he blessed 
 them with tears, and kissing them, said,—" Farewell, and abide 
 in Christ." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Now after Blessed Servanus with all his company ascends the 
 Alps, he comes to the valley which is called Nigra, or the 
 Valley of Beasts. And because Servanus knew that during 
 that night he would be tempted of the devil, he passed the 
 night in that valley. Then the angel said to the blessed man : 
 " I make known to thee the pains which thou and all thine are 
 about to suffer this night." And he said to him : " Comfort 
 the crowds, and say to them that when the pains and torments 
 of this night are passed, they will no more suffer the pains of 
 hell." After this the angel departed, and S. Servanus came to 
 the crowd, and comforting them, said : " Strengthen yourselves, 
 and be ready to endure the pains which will this night come 
 upon you." He set a verse before them as an example of 
 prophecy, viz. : " Thou shalt tread on the asp, and the basilisk 
 and the lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot." 
 That is, You shall all, if you persevere in the faith of the 
 Holy Trinity, tread on the asp and the basilisk, that is, 
 on the devil and his pomps, and nothing shall harm you. 
 Then the Saint said : " Eat and prepare yourselves for 
 the coming wars." Now when they had finished eating 
 
288 LIFE OF 
 
 and had repeated the verse, immediately there came a most 
 black thick darkness over the valley in which they were. 
 Then there came great earthquakes, thunders and lightnings, 
 hail and sulphurous fires ; and divers kinds of beasts, two- 
 footed and four-footed, filled the valley round about them. 
 Then came gnats having horny beaks, dragons, winged serpents, 
 and every torment which the Prince of Darkness can show to 
 man. When they saw all these things, great part of the crowd 
 died. But S. Servanus, seeing that his companions were un- 
 able to endure these things, arose and blessed the valley, when 
 all vanished and returned to nothing, and did no more hurt to 
 any one. Then S. Servanus came with seven thousand thous- 
 ands to the Ictean Sea which separates England from France, 
 and they crossed it dry-shod. Thus God granted them a way 
 and support on the sea. And afterwards he went from place 
 to place until he came to the stream which is called the Forth. 
 Now S. Edhennanus (Adamnan) was abbot in Scotland at 
 that time, and he went to meet Servanus as far as the island of 
 Keth (Inchkeith), and received him with great veneration be- 
 cause he had heard much good concerning him. When the 
 space of one night was passed there, and after a time which it 
 pleased them to enjoy in sweet conversation, S. Servanus said : 
 " How shall I dispose of my household and companions ? " 
 S. Adamnan replied : " Let them dwell in the land of Fife and 
 from the sea of the Britains as far as the mountain which is 
 called Okhel." And so it was done. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Afterwards S. Servanus, with only a hundred companions 
 in his train, came to Kinel, and threw the branch which he 
 held across the sea, and from it there grew an apple tree, 
 which among the moderns is called Monglas. Then the 
 Angel said to the blessed man : " There where that very 
 beautiful tree has grown shall be the resting place of thy 
 
SERVANUS. 289 
 
 body." S. Servanus then came to the place which is called 
 Culenros (Culross), desiring to dwell there, and cleared away all 
 the thorns and thickets which abounded in the place. But the 
 King of Scotia, namely, Brude, son of Dagart, who then held 
 the kingdom of the Picts, was greatly enraged because without 
 his permission he was dwelling there. Now the King sent his 
 spearmen to slay S. Servanus with his whole household. Mean- 
 while a violent disease had attacked the King so that he had 
 well nigh given up the ghost. He therefore hastily sent to the 
 Saint of the Lord. The sick King spoke to the Saint as he 
 came, saying : " O Saint of God, for the sake of Christ in 
 whom thou believest, restore me to health and thou shalt have 
 the place in which you dwell as a perpetual gift." The Saint, 
 moved with the prayers and piety of the King, restored him to 
 health. S. Servanus after this founded and dedicated a ceme- 
 tery and his own Church in Culenros. The time there being 
 fulfilled, he went to the island of Leven that he might speak 
 with S. Adamnan in person. Now S. Adamnan joyfully re- 
 ceived the blessed man with honour, and thinking that he was 
 seeking a place suitable for his religion, yielded that island to 
 him as a gift with good will. Servanus therefore abode in it 
 seven years, founded a monastery, and won many souls. 
 Thence departing, he traversed and went round all the region 
 of Fife, raising divers divine edifices to the Most High Creator. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 On a certain occasion S. Servanus was in the cave at Dysart, 
 and a certain brother, a monk, who was with him and was sick, 
 desired a drink of wine and could not get one. Then Blessed 
 Servanus took water from the fountain which is there and 
 blessed it and changed the water into wine, and the sick man 
 was healed. Moreover in that cave when S. Servanus was 
 lying upon his couch after matins, the devil came to him, 
 tempting him and disputing with him. And he said to him, 
 
290 L I F E O F 
 
 "Art thou a wise cleric, Servanus ? " " What wishest thou O 
 most miserable of all creatures ? " The devil said : " I wish to 
 dispute with thee and to question thee a little ? " S. Servanus 
 said : " Begin thou miserable wretch, begin." Satan asked 
 him : " Where was God before He created the heavens and the 
 earth, and before all the creatures were made ? " Blessed Ser- 
 vanus said to him : " In Himself: for He is not local, and is 
 held by no place, neither is He divided, nor subject to the 
 motions of time, but is whole everywhere." And the devil 
 said : " Why did God create creatures ? " The Saint said : 
 " Because there cannot be a Creator without creatures." 
 " Wherefore did He make them very good ? " To this the 
 Saint replied : " Because God did not wish to do evil, or lest 
 He should seem envious by being unwilling that aught 
 should be good except Himself." The devil said : " Where 
 did God form Adam ? " The Saint said : " In Hebron." 
 Satan said : " Where was he afterwards cast out from 
 Paradise ? " The Saint said : " Where he was formed." 
 Satan said : " How long was he in Paradise after he had 
 sinned?" The Saint replied: "Only seven hours." Satan 
 said : " Why did God permit Adam and Eve to sin in 
 Paradise ? " To this the Saint replied : " Because God 
 foresaw what great thing would come thereof. For Christ 
 had not been born according to the flesh, had not Adam 
 and Eve sinned." Satan said : " Why could not Adam and 
 Eve be set free of themselves ? " Servanus to this replied : 
 "Because they did not fall of themselves, but through another, 
 that is through the Devil persuading them. Therefore by an- 
 other, that is Christ, born of their own stock they were set free." 
 " Why did not God make a new man and send him to deliver 
 the human race ? " The Saint said : " Because he would not 
 have pertained to us unless he had been of the race of Adam." 
 " Why are you men delivered by the Passion of Christ, and not 
 we demons ? " " Because we have not the origin of our fall in 
 ourselves, but from you demons ? But as for you demons, 
 because you are not of a fragile nature nor desire to repent 
 and have contracted the origin of sin in yourselves, the Passion 
 of Christ does not avail for you." The Devil therefore seeing 
 
SERVANUS. 291 
 
 that he could do nothing against the true Saint, and being 
 vanquished in the interrogation, said : " Thou art wise Ser- 
 vanus, and I can dispute no more with thee." Servanus re- 
 sponded : " Go thou wretched creature, go and quickly depart 
 hence, and never more venture to appear in this place to any 
 man." And that place in honour of the holy, holy, holy 
 Servanus, has been sacred up to this present day. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Moreover, on a certain occasion blessed Servanus was at 
 Tuligbotuan (Tillicoultry), and an evil spirit entered into a 
 certain miserable man so that he had such a desire to eat, that 
 he could in no wise be satisfied. S. Servanus placed his 
 thumb in his mouth, and the devil crying out terribly came out 
 of him and left him. On another occasion Blessed Servanus 
 was in the same place, and a certain poor little woman brought 
 forth two dead sons there, and bore them to blessed Servanus, 
 and with tears besought him to restore them to life for her. 
 But the Saint prostrated himself on the ground, and entreated 
 our Lord God to look upon this woman, and in love to restore 
 to her her offspring alive. Accordingly, God hearkened unto 
 the prayer of the holy man, and restored to the mother both 
 her children alive. On another night the same Saint was at 
 Alva, being entertained by a certain poor peasant who had no 
 substance, except one pig, which he killed that night for the 
 holy man, and when he rose on the morrow, he found it alive 
 in his yard. At another time there was a man in Aitheren 
 who had a sheep which he loved and nourished in his house. 
 But a thief coming stealthily stole it away from him. Now 
 the ram was sought through the whole parish, and was not 
 found, and lo ! when the thief was brought into the presence 
 of the blessed man and interrogated by the Saint whether he 
 was guilty of the crime laid to his charge, he affirmed on oath 
 that he was not. And beginning again to swear by the staff 
 
292 L I F E O F 
 
 of the holy man, the wether bleated in his bowels. And the 
 wretch confessed his sin, and asked and received pardon from 
 S. Servanus. 
 
 At the time when the Saint was in the cell at Dunning, it 
 was told him that a dragon great and terrible and very loathe- 
 some, whose look no mortal could endure, had come into his 
 city. The Saint went out to meet it, and taking his staff in 
 his right hand, fought with the dragon in a certain valley 
 and slew it. From that day that valley is called the Dragon's 
 Den. After these things there came to Blessed Servanus 
 from the Alps three blind men and three lame men and 
 three deaf men, who had been told that if they came to 
 Blessed Servanus in Scotland, they would be healed, There- 
 fore when they came they addressed the holy man, saluting 
 him, and revealed to him the reason of their great labour 
 and journey, and earnestly besought him to cure them of 
 their infirmities. But the holy man, fearing that they said 
 these things for the purpose of tempting him, spoke to them 
 saying : " Men, brethren, think you I am God, or do you 
 tempt me beyond what you see in me when you ask this great 
 thing from me that I should heal you ? " But they, prostrating 
 themselves at his feet and bursting into tears, said with an 
 oath : " No, lord father, no ; but we believe that thy prayers 
 and petitions avail much with God, and that we can obtain 
 health through thee from the great Creator." Blessed Ser- 
 vanus, therefore, hearing their faith, blessed a certain fountain, 
 and made them wash in it three times. And they, coming 
 out thence, were made sound through the merit of the holy 
 man. And thus the most holy Servanus gave sight to the 
 blind, the power of walking to the lame, and hearing to the 
 deaf. To these and to many others suffering divers kinds of 
 diseases, he, through the power of God, gave and furnished 
 health. Afterwards this Saint, beloved brethren, was assailed 
 by a grievous infirmity, and was held down by the virulence of 
 fever, and called all his brethren and announced to them that 
 the day of his dissolution was near. Then the brethren wept 
 much, and continuing instant in prayer to God for him, re- 
 sponded : " Why dost thou desert us, O Father ? or to whom 
 
SERVANUS. 293 
 
 wilt thou leave us desolate ones ? For we would rather die 
 with thee than live in the world without thee." But the holy 
 man, after many miracles, after divers works, after founding 
 many churches in Christ, when he had bestowed peace on the 
 brethren, in the cell at Dunning, on the first day of the 
 Kalends of July, gradually yielded up his spirit and com- 
 mended it to the Great Creator. After his death his disciples 
 and well nigh all the people of the whole province conveyed 
 his corpse to Culross. And there, with psalms and hymns and 
 chantings, they interred him honourably, where his merits and 
 the virtues of his merits flourish unto this day, to the praise 
 and honour of Almighty God, who in the perfect Trinity liveth 
 and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. MARGARET, 
 
 QUEEN OF SCOTLAND. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. MARGARET. 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 To the honourable and excellent Matilda, Queen of the English, 
 T\urgoi\, a servant of the servants of S. Cuthbert, sends the 
 blessing of peace and health in this present life, and in the life 
 which is to come the blessing of all good things. 
 
 FORASMUCH as you have requested, you have also commanded 
 me, to present to you in writing the story of the life of your 
 mother, whose memory is held in reverence, and of whose life, 
 which was well pleasing to God, you have often heard by the 
 concordant praise of many. You are wont to say that in this 
 matter my testimony is especially trustworthy, since you have 
 understood that by reason of her frequent and familiar inter- 
 course with me I am acquainted with the most part of her 
 secrets. These your commands and desires I willingly obey ; 
 obeying them I greatly venerate them, and venerating them I 
 congratulate you, that, having been appointed by the King of 
 the Angels, Queen of the English, you desire not only to hear 
 about the life of the Queen, your mother, who ever longed for 
 the Kingdom of the Angels, but also to look upon it in writing 
 continually, so that, although you were but slightly acquainted 
 with her face, you may at least obtain a more perfect know- 
 ledge of her virtues. My own wish, indeed, is to fulfil your 
 commands, but I am wanting, I must own, in the ability ; the 
 materials for this undertaking being, in sooth, much greater 
 than I am able either by speech or writing to set forth. 
 
 2. Thus I am in a strait between two, and am drawn hither 
 and thither. On account of the greatness of the undertaking 
 I fear to obey ; and on account of the authority of you who 
 
298 L I F E O F 
 
 command, and the memory of her of whom I am to speak, I 
 dare not refuse. But, though I am unable to treat so great a 
 subject in the manner it deserves to be treated, I am neverthe- 
 less bound, as far as in me lies, to make it known. I owe this 
 to the love I have for her and to the obedience which is due to 
 your command. The grace of the Holy Spirit, which gave 
 such efficacy to her virtues, will vouchsafe help to me, I trust, 
 to narrate them. " The Lord shall give the word to them that 
 preach good tidings with great power," and again, " Open thy 
 mouth wide and I will fill it." For no man can fail in the 
 Word who believes in the Word. " In the beginning was the 
 Word, and the Word was God." In the first place, therefore, 
 I desire that you, and that through you others, should know 
 that if I were to attempt to relate all that could be told respect- 
 ing her, I should be thought to be flattering you under cover of 
 your mother's praises on account of the greatness of your 
 queenly dignity. But far be it from my grey hairs to mingle 
 the crime of falsehood with the virtues of such a woman, in 
 setting forth which, I profess, God is my Witness and Judge, 
 that I add nothing to the truth ; but suppress many things 
 lest they should seem incredible, and that I may not be said, 
 as the orator has it, to be decking out a crow with the colours 
 of a swan. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Her noble descent and virtties as a Queen and as a Mother. 
 
 MANY, as we read, have derived the origin of their name from 
 a quality of the mind, so that there is shewn in respect to 
 them a correspondence between the word of their name and 
 the grace they have received. Thus Peter was so named from 
 " the Rock," that is Christ, on account of the firmness of his 
 faith ; so John, that is " the grace of God," because of his con- 
 templation of the Divinity and his prerogative of the Divine 
 love ; and the sons of Zebedee were called Boanerges, that is, 
 
MARGARET. 299 
 
 the Sons of Thunder, because they thundered forth the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel. The same was true of this virtuous woman, 
 in whom the fairness indicated by her name was surpassed by 
 the exceeding beauty of her soul. She was called Margaret, 
 i.e. a Pearl, and in the sight of God she was esteemed a goodly 
 pearl by reason of her faith and good works. She was a pearl 
 indeed to you, to me, to us all, yea even to Christ ; and be- 
 cause she was Christ's, she is all the more ours, now that she 
 has left us and is taken to the Lord. This pearl I say was 
 taken from the dunghill of this world and now shines in her 
 place among the jewels of the Eternal King. This I think no 
 one will doubt, when he has read the following account of her 
 life and death. When I recall the conversations I had with her, 
 seasoned as they were with the salt of wisdom, when I think 
 of the tears wrung from her by the compunction of her heart, 
 when I consider the sobriety and staidness of her manners and 
 remember her affability and prudence, I rejoice while I lament, 
 and while lamenting I rejoice. I rejoice, because she has 
 passed away to God after whom she longed ; I lament, be- 
 cause I am not rejoicing with her in the heavenly places. I 
 rejoice for her, I say, because she now sees in the land of the 
 living the goodness of the Lord in which she believed ; but for 
 myself I mourn, because as long as I suffer the miseries of this 
 mortal life in the land of the dead, I am daily compelled to 
 cry, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
 the body of this death ?" 
 
 4. Since, then, I am to speak of that nobility of mind which 
 she had in Christ, it is fitting that something should be first 
 said of that nobility by which she was also distinguished 
 according to this world. Her grandfather was King Edmund, 
 who, because he was strong in battle and invincible by his 
 enemies, derived his distinctive name from the excellence of 
 his valour, for he was called in English Ironsides. His brother 
 on his father's side, but not on his mother's, was the most 
 religious and meek Edward, who proved himself the Father of 
 his Country ; and as another Solomon, that is, a lover of peace, 
 protected his kingdom by peace rather than by arms. He had 
 a mind that subdued anger, despised avarice, and was entirely 
 
300 LIFE OF 
 
 free from pride. And no wonder ; for as he derived the glory 
 of his kingly rank from his ancestors, so also he derived from 
 them, as by hereditary right, the nobility of his life ; being 
 descended from Edgar, King of the English, and from Richard, 
 Count of the Normans, his grandfathers on either side, men 
 who were not only most illustrious, but also most religious. 
 Of Edgar, in order to describe how great he was in this world 
 and what he was in Christ, it may be briefly said that he was 
 marked out beforehand both as a King and as a lover of jus- 
 tice and peace. For at his birth S. Dunstan heard the holy 
 angels rejoicing in heaven and singing with great joy : " Let 
 there be peace, let there be joy in the Church of the English, 
 as long as this new-born boy shall hold the kingdom and 
 Dunstan runs the course of this mortal life.'' 
 
 5. Richard, also, the father of Emma, the mother of this 
 Edward, was an illustrious ancestor worthy of so noble a 
 grandchild. He was a man of the greatest energy, and 
 deserving of every praise. None of his forefathers ruled the 
 earldom of Normandy with greater prosperity and honour, or 
 were more fervent in their love of religion. Endowed with 
 great riches, like a second David, he was poor in spirit ; 
 exalted to be lord over his people, he was a lowly servant of 
 the servants of Christ. Among other things which he did as 
 memorials of his love of religion, this devout worshipper of 
 Christ built that noble monastery of Fecamp, in which he was 
 often wont to reside with the monks, and where, in the habit 
 of a secular but in heart a monk, he used to place the food of 
 the brethren on the table when they were eating their silent 
 meal, and serve them with drink ; so that, according to the 
 Scripture, " The greater he was the more he humbled himself 
 in all things." If any one wishes to know more fully his 
 works of magnificence and virtue, let him read the Acts of the 
 Normans, which contains his history. From ancestors so 
 renowned and illustrious, Edward, their grandchild, did in no 
 wise degenerate. On the father's side only, as was before said, 
 he was the brother of King Edmund, from whose son came 
 Margaret, who by the splendour of her merits completes the 
 glory of this illustrious family. 
 
MARGARET. 301 
 
 6. While therefore Margaret was still in the flower of her 
 youth, she began to lead a life of great strictness, to love God 
 above all things, to occupy herself with the study of the Holy 
 Scriptures, and to exercise her mind therein with joy. Keen 
 penetration of intellect was hers to understand any matter 
 whatever it might be, tenacity of memory to retain many 
 things, and a graceful facility of language to give expression 
 to her thoughts. While therefore she meditated in the law of 
 the Lord day and night, and, like another Mary, sitting at His 
 feet, she delighted to hear His word, by the desire of her 
 friends rather than by her own, yea, rather by the appointment 
 of God, she was married to Malcolm, son of Duncan, the most 
 powerful King of the Scots. But though compelled to do the 
 things which are of the world, she deemed it beneath her to set 
 her affections upon them ; for she delighted more in good 
 works than in abundance of riches. With things temporal she 
 procured for herself everlasting rewards ; for in heaven where 
 her treasure was, there she had placed her heart. And because 
 before all things she sought the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness, the abundant grace of the Almighty freely 
 added to her honours and riches. All things which became 
 the rule of a prudent Queen were done by her ; by her advice 
 the laws of the kingdom were administered ; by her zeal the 
 true religion was spread and the people rejoiced in the pros- 
 perity of their affairs. Nothing was more firm than her faith, 
 more constant than her favour, more enduring than her 
 patience, weightier than her counsel, more just than her deci- 
 sions, or more pleasant than her conversation. 
 
 7. After she had attained this high dignity, she at once, in 
 the place where her nuptials were celebrated, built an eternal 
 monument of her name and devotion. For she erected the 
 noble church there in honour of the Holy Trinity with a three- 
 fold purpose ; for the redemption of the King's soul, for the 
 good of her own, and to obtain prosperity in this life and in 
 the life that is to come for her children. This church she 
 adorned with divers kinds of precious gifts, among which, as is 
 well known, were vessels not a few of solid and pure gold for 
 the holy service of the altar, of which I can speak with the 
 
302 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 greater certainty, since by the Queen's commands, I myself 
 for a long time had them all under my charge there. A cross, 
 also, of incomparable value, having upon it an image of the 
 Saviour which she had caused to be covered with a vestment 
 of purest gold and silver studded with gems, she placed there, 
 which proves to those who behold it even now the earnestness 
 of her faith. To this the Church of St. Andrews bears witness, 
 where is preserved, as is seen to this day, a most beautiful 
 crucifix which she erected there. Without these things, those, 
 I mean, which belong to the celebration of the divine service, 
 her chamber was never found ; it seemed, so to say, to be the 
 workshop of a heavenly artificer. There were always to be 
 seen in it copes for the cantors, chasubles, stoles, altar-cloths, 
 also other priestly vestments and church ornaments. Some 
 were in course of preparation, others, already finished, were of 
 admirable beauty. 
 
 8. With these works women of noble birth and approved 
 gravity of conduct who were deemed worthy to be engaged in 
 the Queen's service, were entrusted. No men were admitted 
 among them, save such as she allowed to accompany her when 
 she sometimes paid them a visit. There was no unseemly 
 familiarity among them with the men, nor any pert frivolity. 
 For the Queen united such strictness to her sweetness and 
 such sweetness to her strictness that all who were in her ser- 
 vice, men as well as women, while fearing loved her and while 
 loving feared her. Wherefore in her presence no one ventured 
 to do anything wrong, or even to utter an unseemly word. 
 For repressing all evil in herself, there was great gravity in her 
 joy and something noble in her anger. Her mirth was never 
 expressed in immoderate laughter ; when angry she never 
 gave way to fury. Always angry with her own faults, she 
 sometimes reproved those of others with that commendable 
 anger tempered with justice which the Psalmist enjoined, when 
 he says : " Be angry and sin not." Her whole life, regulated 
 with the utmost skill of discretion, was, as it were, a pattern of 
 the virtues. Her conversation was seasoned with the salt of 
 wisdom : her silence was filled with good thoughts. Her 
 bearing so corresponded with the gravity of her character that 
 
MARGARET. 303 
 
 she might be believed to have been bora simply to show what 
 comeliness of life is. But to speak briefly, in whatever she 
 was wont to say or do, she showed that her mind was dwelling 
 on things divine. 
 
 9. Nor did she spend less pains upon her children than upon 
 herself, that they might be brought up with the utmost care, 
 and especially that they might be trained in virtue. Hence 
 because she knew the Scripture : He that spareth the rod 
 hateth his child, she instructed the governor of the nursery as 
 often as the children fell into such faults as are common to 
 their age, to curb them with threats and the rod. By reason 
 of their mother's religious care they excelled many who were 
 of greater age in their good behaviour. Among themselves 
 they were always kindly and peaceable, and the younger 
 everywhere paid respect to the elder. Hence, also, during the 
 celebration of the Mass, when they went up after their parents 
 to make their offerings, the younger never in any way pre- 
 sumed to precede the older, but the older were wont to go 
 before the younger according to their age. She would often 
 call them to her, and, as far as their age would allow, instruct 
 them concerning Christ and the faith of Christ, and carefully 
 endeavour to admonish them to always fear Him. " O my 
 children," she would say, " fear the Lord ; for they that fear 
 Him shall not want anything that is good ; and if you love 
 Him, He will give you, my darlings, prosperity in this life and 
 eternal felicity with all the saints." This was the mother's 
 desire, her admonition, the prayer which she uttered day and 
 night with tears for her little ones, that they might acknow- 
 ledge their Maker in the faith that worketh by love, and 
 acknowledging worship Him, and worshipping Him, love 
 Him in all things and above all things, and loving Him attain 
 to the glory of the heavenly kingdom. 
 
304 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Her care for the honour of the Kingdom and. discipline of the Church. 
 Abuses corrected. 
 
 NOR need we wonder that the Queen ruled herself and her 
 household wisely, since she was always guided by the most 
 wise counsel of the Holy Scriptures. For what I used fre- 
 quently to admire in her was that amid the distraction of law- 
 suits, and the countless affairs of the Kingdom, she gave her- 
 self with wonderful diligence to the reading of the Word of 
 God, concerning which she used to ask profound questions of 
 the learned men who were sitting near her. But as among 
 them no one had a profounder intellect, so no one had the 
 power of clearer expression. Thus it often happened that 
 these teachers left her much more learned than when they came. 
 She had a religious and earnest desire for the sacred volumes, 
 and very often her affectionate familiarity with me urged me to 
 exert myself to obtain them for her. Nor in these things was 
 she anxious for her own salvation alone ; she sought also that 
 of others. And first of all, with the help of God, she made the 
 King himself most attentive to works of justice, mercy, alms- 
 giving, and other virtues. From her also he learned to keep 
 the vigils of the night in prayer : from her exhortation and 
 example he learned to pray with groanings from the heart and 
 abundance of tears. I confess I marvelled at this great miracle 
 of the mercy of God when I saw such earnestness of devotion 
 in the King, and such sorrow in the heart of a layman when 
 engaged in prayer. 
 
 II. A Queen whose life was so venerable, he as it were 
 feared to offend, since he clearly perceived that Christ was 
 truly dwelling in her heart ; he hastened rather the more 
 quickly to obey in all things her wishes and prudent counsels. 
 What she refused he refused, and what she loved, he loved for 
 the love of her love. Hence also the books which she used 
 either in her devotions or for reading, he, though unable to 
 read, used often to handle and examine, and when he heard 
 
MARGARET. 305 
 
 from her that one of them was dearer to her than the others, 
 this he also regarded with kindlier affection, and would kiss 
 and often fondle it. Sometimes also he would send for the 
 goldsmith, and instruct him to adorn the volume with gold and 
 precious stones, and when finished he would carry it to the 
 Queen as a proof of his devotion. The Queen, on the other 
 hand, herself the noblest gem of a royal race, made the 
 splendour of her husband's royal magnificence much more 
 splendid, and contributed much glory and honour to all the 
 nobility of the kingdom and their retainers. For she brought 
 it to pass that merchants who came by land and sea from 
 divers lands, brought with them for sale many and precious 
 kinds of merchandise which in Scotland were before unknown, 
 among which, at the instigation of the Queen, the people 
 bought garments of various colours, and different kinds of 
 personal ornaments ; so that from that time they went about 
 clothed in new costumes of different fashions, from the elegance 
 of which they might have been supposed to be a new race. 
 She also appointed a higher class of servants for the King, 
 that when he walked or rode abroad numerous bodies of them 
 might accompany him in state ; and this was carried out with 
 such discipline that wherever they came none of them was 
 permitted to take anything from anyone by force ; nor did any 
 of them dare to oppress or injure the country people or the 
 poor in any way. Moreover, she increased the splendour of the 
 royal palace, so that not only was it brightened by the different 
 coloured uniforms worn in it, but the whole house was made 
 resplendent with gold and silver ; for the vessels in which the 
 King and nobles of the kingdom were served with food and 
 drink, were either of gold or silver, or with gold or silver 
 plated. 
 
 12. And this the Queen did not because the honour of the 
 world delighted her, but because she felt compelled to do what 
 the royal dignity required of her. For when she walked in 
 state clad in splendid apparel, as became a Queen, like another 
 Esther, she in her heart trod all these trappings beneath her 
 feet, and bore in mind that under the gems and gold there was 
 nothing but dust and ashes. In a word, in the midst of her 
 
306 LIFE OF 
 
 exalted dignity she always took the greatest care to preserve 
 her lowliness of mind. It was easy for her to repress all swell- 
 ings of pride arising from worldly glory, inasmuch as the fleet- 
 ing nature of this frail life never escaped from her thoughts. 
 For she always remembered the text in which the miserable 
 condition of human life is described : " Man that is born of 
 woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth 
 like a flower, and is cut down, and fleeth also as a shadow 
 and continueth not." She meditated continually also on that 
 passage of the Blessed Apostle James, in which he says: "What 
 is your life ? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little 
 time, and then vanisheth away." And because as the Scripture 
 says, " Happy is the man that feareth alway," this venerable 
 Queen made it the easier for her to avoid sin, as in fear 
 and trembling she continually kept before her mind's eye the 
 dreadful day of Judgment. Hence she frequently entreated me 
 not to hesitate to point out and reprove in private anything 
 which I saw amiss in her words or actions. Because I did this 
 less frequently and sharply than she wished, she urged the 
 duty on me and accused me of being asleep and, as it were, 
 negligent towards her : "The just man," she said, " shall correct 
 me in mercy, and shall reprove me ; but let not the oil of the 
 sinner, that is the flattery, fatten my head ; " for " Better are 
 the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy." 
 She would say this because she sought censure as helping her 
 advancement in virtue, where another might have regarded it 
 as a disgrace. 
 
 13. This religious and devout Queen, while she thus in mind 
 and word and deed journeyed on to the heavenly country, also 
 invited others to accompany her on the undefiled way, in order 
 that they with her might attain true happiness. The wicked 
 whom she saw, she admonished to become good ; the good to 
 be better, and the better to strive to be best. The zeal of 
 God's house, which is the Church, consumed her so that, aglow 
 with Apostolic faith, she laboured to root out entirely those 
 unlawful things which had sprung up within it. For when she 
 saw that many things were done among the Scottish people 
 which were contrary to the rule of the right faith and the holy 
 
MARGARET. 307 
 
 custom of the universal Church, she appointed frequent coun- 
 cils to be held, in order that by some means or other she mieht 
 through the gift of Christ, bring back the wandering into the 
 way of truth. Of these councils, the most important is that 
 in which she alone, with a very few of her friends, for three 
 days combatted the defenders of a perverse custom with the 
 sword of the Spirit, that is, with the Word of God. You 
 would have thought that another Helena was present ; for just 
 as she formerly overcame the Jews with the authority of the 
 Scriptures, so now did this Queen those who were in error. At 
 their discussion the King himself was present as an assessor 
 and chief actor, fully prepared to say and do whatever she in 
 this matter might direct. And as he knew the English lan- 
 guage quite as well as his own, he was in this Council a most 
 expert watchful interpreter for either side. 
 
 14. The Queen opened the proceedings by remarking that 
 all who serve one God in one faith along with the Catholic 
 Church ought not to vary from that Church by new or strange 
 usages. She then pointed out in the first place that they were 
 observing the fast of Lent in a way which was not lawful, 
 inasmuch as they were in the habit of beginning it not with the 
 Holy Catholic Church on the fourth day of the week at the 
 beginning of Lent, but on the Monday of the week following. 
 To this they answered : " The fast which we observe, we keep 
 according to the authority of the Gospel, which states that 
 Christ fasted six weeks." She replied by saying : " In this 
 matter you differ widely from the Gospel, for we read there 
 that the Lord fasted forty days, which you clearly do not do. 
 For when during the six weeks, six Lord's days are deducted 
 from the fast, it is plain that only thirty and six days remain 
 for fasting. Plainly therefore the fast which you keep is not 
 the forty days enjoined by the Gospel, but one of thirty and 
 six days. It remains therefore for you, if you wish to observe 
 an abstinence of forty days, after our Lord's example, to begin 
 to fast with us four days before Quadragesima ; otherwise you 
 alone will be acting contrary to the authority of our Lord, and 
 in opposition to the tradition of the entire Holy Church." 
 Convinced by this clear demonstration of the truth, they 
 
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 henceforth began the solemnities of the sacred fasts at the same 
 time as Holy Church does everywhere. 
 
 15. The Queen also raised another point, and required them 
 to explain for what reason they neglected to receive the 
 Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ at Easter accord- 
 ing to the custom of the Holy and Apostolic Church. They 
 answered : " The Apostle speaking of those who celebrate the 
 Lord's Supper says : ' He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, 
 eateth and drinketh judgment to himself.' And hence because 
 we acknowledge that we are sinners, we fear to approach that 
 mystery lest we should eat and drink judgment to ourselves." 
 " What ! " said the Queen, " Shall all who are sinners not taste 
 that holy mystery ? No one therefore ought to receive it, for 
 there is not one who is not stained with sin ; not even the 
 infant whose life is but one day on the earth. And if no one 
 ought to receive it, why did the Lord when he proclaimed the 
 Gospel say, ' Except ye shall eat the flesh of the Son of Man, 
 and drink His blood, ye shall not have life in you.' But if you 
 would understand the passage you have adduced from the 
 Apostle in the same way as the Father, it is evident that you 
 must take quite another view of it. For the Apostle does not 
 say that all sinners are unworthy to receive the sacraments of 
 salvation, for after saying, ' he eateth and drinketh judgment 
 to himself' he adds, ' Not discerning the Body of our Lord,' 
 that is, not distinguishing it in faith from bodily foods, ' he 
 eateth and drinketh judgment to himself.' But he who without 
 confession and penance, and with the defilement of his sins 
 presumes to draw near to the sacred mysteries — he it is, I say, 
 who eats and drinks judgment to himself. But we who many 
 days previously have made confession of our faults, are 
 chastened with penance and fasts, and washed from the stains 
 of our sins by almsgiving and tears — we on the day of the 
 resurrection of the Lord, approaching His Table in the Catholic 
 Faith, receive the Body and Blood of the Immaculate Lamb, 
 Jesus Christ, not to judgment, but to the remission of sins and 
 to the salutary preparation of our souls for the reception of 
 eternal blessedness." To these arguments they could make no 
 
MARGARET. 309 
 
 reply, and understanding now the practices of the Church, 
 observed them in the reception of the mystery of salvation. 
 
 16. Moreover, there were some in certain parts of Scotland 
 who were wont to celebrate Masses according to I know not 
 what barbarous rite, contrary to the custom of the whole 
 Church. This the Queen, fired by zeal for God, sought to 
 destroy and abolish, so that henceforth throughout the whole 
 of Scotland there was no one who presumed to continue any 
 such practice. It was their custom also to neglect the rever- 
 ence due to the Lord's Day, and to follow their earthly occupa- 
 tion on that day as on others — a practice she showed them 
 which was forbidden both by reason and authority. " Let us 
 reverence the Lord's Day," she said, " because of the Lord's 
 Resurrection, which took place upon it ; let us no longer do 
 servile works on the day on which we know that we were 
 redeemed from the bondage of the devil. This also the 
 Blessed Pope Gregory affirms, saying : ' On the Lord's Day 
 we ought to abstain from earthly labour, and devote ourselves 
 wholly to prayer, in order that if during the six days we have 
 been negligent in anything, we may on the Lord's Day expiate 
 it by prayers.' The same Father, Gregory, after condemning 
 one with the greatest warmth for a certain piece of earthly work 
 which he had done on the Lord's Day, decreed that those on 
 whose advice he had done it should be excommunicated for two 
 months." Unable to contradict these arguments of the wise 
 Queen, they henceforward at her instance observed the Lord's 
 Days with such reverence that no one dared to carry a burden 
 on them, nor did any man venture to compel another to do so. 
 Next she showed how utterly abominable, and to be shunned 
 by the faithful as death itself, was the unlawful marriage of a 
 man with his step-mother, or with the widow of his deceased 
 brother ; both of which customs had hitherto prevailed in the 
 country. Many other abuses also which had grown up contrary 
 to the rule of faith and the institutions and observances of the 
 Church, she likewise in this Council succeeded in condemning 
 and expelling from the Kingdom. For whatever she proposed, 
 she so supported with the testimony of the Holy Scriptures 
 and with citations from the holy Fathers, that no one on the 
 
310 LIFE OF 
 
 opposite side could say anything at all against it ; nay, rather, 
 laying aside their obstinacy and yielding to reason, they 
 willingly undertook to adopt whatever she desired. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Her charity towards the poor. Her manner of passing Lent. Her 
 prayerfulness. 
 
 THUS the venerable Queen, who by the help of God had 
 endeavoured to cleanse His house from defilements and errors, 
 was found day by day as the Holy Spirit illuminated her 
 heart, more and more meet to become His temple. And such 
 I well know she truly was, for I both saw the works which she 
 did outwardly, and knew her conscience, for she revealed it 
 to me. She condescended to converse with me in the most 
 familiar way, and to disclose to me her secret thoughts ; not 
 because there was anything good in me, but because she 
 thought there was. When she conversed with me concerning 
 the salvation of the soul and the sweetness of the life which is 
 eternal, she uttered words so full of all grace that the Holy 
 Spirit, which truly dwelt in her heart, evidently spoke by her 
 lips. And so deeply was she moved while speaking, that it 
 might have been thought that she would be wholly dissolved 
 in tears, and at her compunction I also was moved to weeping. 
 Beyond all whom I have ever known she devoted herself to 
 prayer and fasting, and to works of mercy and almsgiving. 
 Let me speak first of her prayerfulness. In a church no one 
 was ever more silent or composed, and in prayer no one was 
 ever more earnest. For while in the house of God she would 
 never speak of worldly matters, nor do anything which savoured 
 of the earth. It was her custom there only to pray, in prayer 
 to pour forth her tears. In the body only was she here on 
 earth ; her soul was with God ; for besides God and the things 
 which are God's, in her pure supplications she sought nothing. 
 
MARGARET. 311 
 
 But what shall I say of her fasting? This only, that by her 
 too great abstinence she brought upon herself a very serious 
 infirmity. 
 
 18. To these two, that is, to prayer and fasting, she joined 
 the gifts of mercy. For what could be more compassionate 
 than her heart ? What more gentle to the needy ? Not only 
 would she give her goods to the poor, but if she could, she 
 would have freely given herself. She was poorer than any of 
 her paupers, for they, having nothing, desired to have, but she 
 was anxious to dispose what she had. When she walked or 
 rode out in public, crowds of poor people, orphans and widows, 
 flocked to her as they would to a most beloved mother, and 
 none of them ever left her without being comforted. And 
 when all she had brought with her for the use of the needy had 
 been distributed, she used to receive from her attendants and 
 the rich who accompanied her their garments and anything 
 else they had with them at the time, to bestow upon the poor, 
 so that no one might ever go away from her in distress. Nor 
 did those who were with her take this ill ; they rather strove 
 among themselves to offer her what they had, since they knew 
 for certain that she would pay them the double of what they 
 had given. Now and then she took something or other, what- 
 ever it might be, from the King's private property to give to a 
 poor person, and the King always took this pious plundering 
 in good part and pleasantly. On Maundy Thursday and at 
 High Mass he used to make an offering of gold coins, and 
 some of these she would often piously steal and give away to 
 the beggar who was importuning her for alms. Often indeed 
 the King, who was quite aware of what she was doing, though 
 he pretended not to know anything about it, was greatly 
 amused at this kind of theft, and sometimes, when he caught 
 her in the act with the coins in her hand, would jocularly 
 threaten to have her arrested, tried, and condemned. Nor was 
 it to the poor of her own people alone that she exhibited the 
 abundance of her cheerful and open-handed charity, those also 
 were sharers of her bounty whom the fame of her liberality 
 drew towards her from almost every other nation. Of a truth, 
 
312 LIFE OF 
 
 to her may be applied the Scripture : " He hath dispersed ; he 
 hath given to the poor ; his righteousness endureth for ever." 
 
 19. But who can tell the number of the English of all ranks 
 carried away captive from their own country by the violence 
 of war, and reduced to slavery, whom she restored to liberty 
 by paying their ransom ? She sent secret spies everywhere 
 throughout the provinces of Scotland to ascertain who among 
 the captives were oppressed with the more cruel bondage or were 
 the more inhumanely treated, and to report privately to her 
 where they were and by whom they were ill-treated ; and, com- 
 miserating them from the bottom of her heart, she hastened to 
 their assistance, paid their ransom, and restored them to freedom. 
 At that time there were very many in different parts of the 
 kingdom of Scotland who, shut up in separate cells, were lead- 
 ing lives of great strictness, in the flesh but not according to 
 the flesh, for though on this earth, they were living the life of 
 angels. In these the Queen venerated Christ and loved Him, 
 and frequently occupied herself in visiting and conversing with 
 them, and used to commend herself to their prayers. And 
 since she could not prevail upon them to accept from her any 
 earthly gift, she used to earnestly entreat them to honour her 
 by prescribing for her some work of almsgiving or mercy ; and 
 forthwith this devout woman did whatever they desired, either 
 by rescuing the poor out of their poverty or by relieving the 
 afflicted from the miseries by which they were oppressed. 
 
 20. Since the church of St. Andrews was much frequented 
 by the devout, who flocked to it from all sides, she erected 
 dwellings on either shore of the sea which divides Lothian 
 from Scotland, that, after the fatigues of their journey, pil- 
 grims and the poor might take shelter and rest, and there 
 find already prepared for them all they needed for the refresh- 
 ment of the body ; for she had appointed servants whose 
 exclusive duty was always to have in readiness everything that 
 these wayfarers might need, and to attend to them with the 
 greatest care. She also provided ships for the transport of 
 these pilgrims, both coming and going ; nor was any toll ever 
 levied from those who were ferried across. 
 
 21. As I have spoken of the daily manner of life of this 
 
MARGARET. 313 
 
 venerable Queen, and of her daily works of mercy, I will now 
 attempt to give a brief account of how she used to spend the 
 forty days before Christmas and the whole season of Lent. 
 After she had rested a little at the beginning of the night, she 
 went into the church, and there alone she completed first the 
 Matins of the Holy Trinity, next the Matins of the Holy 
 Cross, and then the Matins of Our Lady. When these were 
 ended she began the Offices of the Dead, and after these the 
 Psalter, nor did she cease until she had gone through it. 
 While the priests were saying the Matins and Lauds at the 
 fitting hour, she either finished the Psalter she had begun, or 
 if she had finished it, began it a second time. When she had 
 gone through the office of the Matins and Lauds, she returned 
 to her chamber, and along with the King himself washed the feet 
 of six poor persons, and used to give them something where- 
 with they might relieve their poverty. It was the Chamber- 
 lain's especial duty to bring these poor people in every night 
 before the Queen's arrival, so that she might find them ready 
 when she came to wait upon them. After she had waited 
 upon them, she betook herself to rest and sleep. 
 
 22. When the day dawned she rose from bed, and continued 
 for a long time in prayer and reading the Psalms, and whilst 
 reading them performed this work of mercy — nine orphan 
 little children, who were utterly destitute, she caused to be 
 brought in to her at the first hour of the day in order that she 
 might feed them. For she ordered soft food, such as little 
 children delight in, to be prepared for them daily ; and when 
 the little ones were brought to her, she did not think it beneath 
 her to take them on her knee and make little sups for them, 
 and to place them in their mouths with the spoons she herself 
 used. Thus the Queen, who was honoured by all the people, 
 performed for Christ's sake the office of a most devoted servant 
 and mother. To her the words of the Blessed Job might very 
 fittingly be applied : " From my infancy mercy grew up with 
 me, and it came out with me from my mother's womb." While 
 this was going on, it was the custom to bring three hundred 
 poor people into the royal hall, and when they had been seated 
 round it in order, the King and Queen came in, and the doors 
 
 21 
 
3 i4 LIFE OF 
 
 were shut by the servants, for with the exception of the chap- 
 lains, certain religious, and a few attendants, no one was 
 permitted to witness their alms-givings. The King on the 
 one side, and the Queen on the other, waited upon Christ in 
 the person of His poor, and with great devotion served them 
 with food and drink, which had been specially prepared for 
 this purpose. When this was finished, the Queen used to go 
 into the Church and there offer herself a sacrifice to God with 
 many prayers, sighs, and tears. For besides the Hours of the 
 Holy Trinity, the Holy Cross, and the Holy Mary, recited 
 within the space of a day and a night, she would on these holy 
 days repeat the Psalter twice or thrice, and before the celebra- 
 tion of the Public Mass cause five or six Masses to be sung 
 privately in her presence. 
 
 23. By the time these things were finished, the time for eat- 
 ing was at hand, but before taking her own food she fed 
 twenty-four poor people, whom she humbly waited upon 
 herself. For besides the many alms-deeds I have spoken of 
 already, she supported poor people to this number, that is, 
 twenty-four, throughout the whole course of the year as long 
 as she lived. These she desired to live near to wherever 
 she herself was living, and to accompany her wherever she 
 went. After she had devoutly waited upon Christ in these, 
 she used to refresh her own feeble body. In this meal, since 
 according to the Apostle we ought not to make provision 
 for the lust of the flesh, she hardly allowed herself the 
 necessaries of life, for she ate only to sustain life and not to 
 please her palate. Her light and frugal meal excited rather 
 than satisfied her hunger. She seemed to taste her food, not 
 to take it. From this let it be considered, I beseech you, how 
 great her abstinence was when she fasted, when such was her 
 abstinence when she feasted. And though her whole life was 
 one of great temperance, yet during these fasts, that is, during 
 the forty days preceding Easter and Christmas, the abstinence 
 with which she was in the habit of afflicting herself was 
 incredible. Hence, on account of her excessive fasting, she 
 suffered up to the end of her life from a very acute pain in the 
 stomach. Nevertheless, her bodily infirmity did not impair 
 
MARGARET. 315 
 
 her virtue in good works. Assiduous in reading the sacred 
 Scriptures, instant in prayer, and unceasing in alms-giving, she 
 exercised herself continually and watchfully in all things per- 
 taining to God. And because she knew the Scripture : 
 " Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
 son whom he receiveth," she accepted the pains of her body 
 willingly, and with patience and thanksgiving, as the stripes of 
 a most gracious Father. 
 
 24. Since therefore she was devoted to these and similar 
 works, and struggled with her continual infirmities, God's 
 strength, to use the words of the Apostle, was made perfect in 
 her weakness, and going on from strength to strength, she was 
 each day made better. Forsaking in her heart all earthly 
 things, she longed with her whole soul for the things of heaven, 
 yea, thirsted for them, crying out with her heart and voice 
 with the Psalmist : " My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
 living God ; when shall I come and appear before God." 
 Let others admire the tokens of miracles which they see 
 in others, I, for my part, admire much more the works of 
 mercy which I saw in Margaret. Miracles are common to 
 the evil and to the good, but the works of true piety and 
 charity belong to the good alone. The former sometimes 
 indicate holiness, but the latter are holiness itself. Let us, I 
 say, admire in Margaret the things which made her a saint, 
 rather than the miracles, if she did any, which might only have 
 indicated that she was one to men. Let us more worthily 
 admire her as one in whom, because of her devotion to justice, 
 piety, mercy, and love, we see rather the works of the ancient 
 Fathers than their miracles. Nevertheless, it will not be out 
 of place if I here narrate one incident which seems to me to 
 indicate the holiness of her life. 
 
 25. She had a book of the Gospels beautifully adorned with 
 jewels and gold, and ornamented with the figures of the four 
 Evangelists, painted and gilt. The capital letters throughout 
 the volume were also resplendent with gold. For this volume 
 she had always a greater affection than she had for any others 
 she was in the habit of reading. It happened that while the 
 person who was carrying it was crossing a ford, he let the vol- 
 
316 LIFE OF 
 
 ume, which had been carelessly folded in a wrapper, fall into 
 the middle of the stream, and, ignorant of what had occurred, 
 he quietly continued his journey. But when he afterwards 
 wished to produce the book, he, for the first time, became 
 aware that he had lost it. It was sought for for a long time, 
 but was not found. At length it was found at the bottom of 
 the river, lying open, so that its leaves were kept in constant 
 motion by the action of the water, and the little coverings of 
 silk which protected the letters of gold from being injured by 
 the contact of the leaves, were carried away by the force of the 
 current. Who would imagine that the book would be worth 
 anything after what had happened to it ? Who would believe 
 that even a single letter would have been visible in it? Yet of 
 a truth it was taken up out of the middle of the river so per- 
 fect, uninjured, and free from damage, that it looked as though 
 it had not even been touched by the water. For the whiteness 
 of the leaves, and the form of the letters throughout the whole 
 of the volume remained exactly as they were before it fell into 
 the river, except that on the margin of the leaves, towards the 
 edge, some trace of the water could with difficulty be detected. 
 The book was conveyed to the Queen, and the miracle reported 
 to her at the same time, and she having given thanks to Christ, 
 esteemed the volume much more highly than she did before. 
 Wherefore let others consider what they should think of this, 
 but as for me I am of opinion that this miracle was wrought 
 by our Lord because of His love for this venerable Queen. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Queen s preparations for her end. Her sickness and happy death. 
 
 Meantime, while Almighty God was preparing everlasting 
 rewards for her works of devotion, she was preparing herself, 
 with more than her usual carefulness, for entering another life. 
 For, as her own word a little after showed, it would appear that 
 her own departure from this life and certain other events were 
 
MARGARET. 317 
 
 known to her long before they occurred. Therefore summon- 
 ing me to come to her privately, she began to recount to me 
 in order the story of her life, and as she proceeded shed floods 
 of tears. In short, so great was her compunction while she 
 conversed with me, and out of her compunction there sprang 
 such an abundance of tears, that, as it seemed to me, there was, 
 beyond all doubt, nothing which she might not at that time 
 have obtained from Christ. As she wept I also wept ; thus 
 for a time we wept and at times were silent, since by reason 
 of our sobs we were unable to give utterance to our words. 
 The flame, as it were, of the compunction which consumed her 
 heart reached my own soul also, borne into it by the spiritual 
 fervour of her words. And when I heard the words of the Holy 
 Ghost speaking by her tongue and clearly perceived her con- 
 science revealed by her words, I judged myself unworthy of 
 the grace of so great a familiarity. 
 
 27. When she had ceased to speak of the things which it was 
 needful for her to speak, she began to address me again, saying : 
 " Farewell, I shall not remain long with you in this life ; but 
 you will survive me for a considerable time. Two things, there- 
 fore, I beg of you. One is, that as long as you live you will 
 remember me in your prayers and at the Mass; the other is, that 
 you will take some care of my sons and daughters, pour out 
 your affection upon them, above all things teach them to fear 
 and love God, and never cease from instructing them ; and 
 when you see any of them exalted to the height of earthly 
 dignity, then at once, as a father or a teacher in the highest 
 sense, go to him, warn, and when circumstances require it, 
 censure him, lest, on account of a passing honour, he be puffed 
 up with pride, or offend God with avarice, or through the pro- 
 sperity of the world neglect the blessedness of life eternal. These 
 are the things," she said, "which I ask you, as in the sight 
 of God who is now present along with us two, to promise me 
 that you will carefully do." At these words I again burst into 
 tears and promised her that I would carefully perform what 
 she had asked me ; for I did not dare to oppose one whom I 
 heard unhesitatingly predict what was to come to pass. The 
 truth of her prediction has now been verified by the things 
 
318 LIFE OF 
 
 which now are ; since I live and she is dead and I see her off- 
 spring raised to dignity and honour. Thus having finished 
 her conference with me and being about to return home I said 
 farewell to the Queen for the last time ; for I saw her face no 
 more. 
 
 28. Not long after this she was attacked by an illness more 
 severe than usual, and was purified by the fire of a tedious 
 sickness before the day on which she was called away. I will 
 describe her death as I heard it narrated by her priest, whom, 
 on account of his simplicity, innocence, and purity, she loved 
 more intimately than the others, and who after her death gave 
 himself to Christ in perpetual service for her soul, and having 
 put on the monk's habit, offered himself as a sacrifice for her 
 at the tomb of the incorrupt body of the most holy Father 
 Cuthbert. Towards the end of the Queen's life he was con- 
 tinually with her, and with his prayers commended her soul 
 to Christ as it was leaving the body. Of her decease as he 
 saw it he more than once gave me a connected account, for I 
 often asked him, and he was wont to do so with tears. 
 
 29. " For a little more than half a year," he said, "she was 
 never able to sit on horseback, and seldom to rise from her bed. 
 On the fourth day before her death, while the King was absent 
 on an expedition, and at so great a distance that it was im- 
 possible for any messenger, however swift he might be, to bring 
 her tidings of what was happening to him that day, she became 
 sadder than usual, and said to me as I sat beside her: 'Perhaps 
 so great a calamity is to-day befalling the realm of Scotland 
 as has not overtaken it for many ages.' When I heard the 
 words I did not pay much attention to them ; but a few days 
 after a messenger came who informed us that the King had 
 been slain on the very day the Queen had spoken about them. 
 As if foreseeing the future, she had been very urgent with him 
 not to go with the army, but it chanced, I know not from what 
 cause, that he did not follow her advice. 
 
 30. " When the fourth day after the King's death approached, 
 her weakness having abated a little, she went into her oratory 
 to hear Mass, and there she took care to fortify herself before- 
 hand for her departure, which was already at hand, with the holy 
 
MARGARET. 319 
 
 Viaticum of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Refreshed with 
 this health-giving food, she went back to bed, for her former 
 pains returned with greater severity. Towards the end her 
 trouble increases and she was very sorely pressed. What can I 
 do ? Why do I delay ? As if I were able to defer the death of 
 my Queen, or lengthen her life— thus I fear to come to the end. 
 But ' All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower 
 of the grass ; the grass withereth and the flower falleth.' Her 
 face had already grown pale with death when she directed that 
 I and other ministers of the sacred Altar with me should stand 
 beside her and commend her soul to Christ with our psalms. 
 Moreover, she requested that a cross should be brought to her, 
 called the Black Cross, which she had always held in the 
 greatest veneration. But as the chest in which it was kept 
 could not be quickly opened, the Queen said with a deep sigh: 
 ' O unhappy that we are ! O guilty that we are ! Shall we 
 not be permitted one last look of the Holy Cross ! ' When at 
 length it was taken out of the chest and brought to her, she 
 received it with reverence, and frequently tried to embrace it 
 and kiss it, and to sign her eyes and face with it. Every part 
 of her body was already growing cold, yet as long as the 
 warmth of life throbbed in her breast she continued in prayer. 
 She repeated the whole of the Fiftieth Psalm, and while so 
 doing, placed the Cross before her eyes and held it there with 
 both her hands. 
 
 31. 'It was whilst she was doing this that her son, who now 
 after his father holds in this kingdom the helm of the State, 
 arrived from the army and entered the Queen's chamber. 
 What must then have been his distress ? What his agony of 
 soul ? He stood there in a strait, with everything against him; 
 whither to turn he knew not. He had come to announce to 
 his mother that his father and brother had been slain, and he 
 found his mother, whom he loved most dearly, at the point of 
 death. Whom to lament first he knew not. Yet, the loss of 
 his dearest mother, whom he saw lying almost dead before his 
 eyes, pierced his heart with the sharpest pain. Besides all this, 
 the condition of the kingdom was filling him with the deepest 
 anxiety, for he well knew that disturbances would follow on 
 
320 LIFE OF 
 
 the death of his father. On every side he was met by sadness 
 and trouble. The Queen when lying, as it seemed to those 
 present, rapt in agony, suddenly collected her strength and 
 addressed her son. She asked him concerning his father and 
 his brother. He was unwilling to tell her the truth, lest if she 
 heard of their death she herself would immediately die, and 
 answered that they were well. But she, sighing deeply, said : 
 ' I know it, my son ; I know it. By this holy Cross, by the 
 bond of our blood, I adjure thee to tell me the truth.' When 
 he was thus pressed, he told her all as it had happened. What 
 could she do, think you ? Who would have believed that in 
 the midst of so many adversities she would not murmur against 
 God ? At the same moment she had lost her husband and her 
 son, and a disease had tormented her until she was on the 
 point of death. But in all these things she sinned not with 
 her lips, nor spoke foolishly against God, rather she raised her 
 eyes and hands to heaven and broke forth into praise and 
 thanksgiving, saying : ' Praise and thanks I give to Thee, 
 Almighty God, that Thou hast been pleased that I should 
 endure such great afflictions at my departing, and art pleased, 
 as I trust, that, through enduring these afflictions, I should be 
 cleansed from some stain of sin.' 
 
 32. " She now felt that death was close at hand, and at once 
 began the prayer which is wont to be said by the priest after 
 he receives the Body and Blood of our Lord, saying : ' Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who, according to the will of the Father, through 
 the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by Thy death given 
 life to the world, deliver me.' As she was saying the words 
 ' Deliver me,' her soul was delivered from the chains of the 
 body, and departed to Christ, the author of true liberty, whom 
 she had always loved, and by whom she was made a partaker 
 of the happiness of the saints, the example of whose virtues 
 she had followed. With such tranquillity and such quietude 
 was her departure, that there can be no doubt that her soul 
 passed to the land of eternal rest and peace. It was remark- 
 able that her face which, when she was dying, had exhibited 
 the usual pallor of death, was afterwards suffused with red and 
 white tints, so that it might have been believed that she was 
 
MARGARET. 321 
 
 not dead but sleeping. Her corpse was honourably shrouded 
 as became a Queen, and we bore it to the Church of the Holy 
 Trinity, which she herself had built ; and there, as she had 
 directed, we committed it to the grave opposite the Altar and 
 the venerable sign of the Holy Cross which she had erected. 
 And thus her body now rests in the place where she was wont 
 to humble herself with vigils, prayers, shedding of tears, and 
 prostrations." 
 
f THE LIFE OF S. MAGNUS. 
 
THE LIFE OF S. MAGNUS. 
 
 PRAISE, glory, and honour with reverence be unto Almighty- 
 God, our Redeemer and Creator, for His manifold goodness 
 and mercy which He has granted unto us, who dwell in the 
 uttermost parts of the earth, and seem to the learned, as they 
 have written in their books, as if we were utterly gone out from 
 the world. Albeit, it has pleased God to show unto us His 
 mercy ; especially in this, that he has suffered us to come 
 to the knowledge of His blessed name, and therewith given 
 us strong pillars, most saintly fore-runners of Holy Chris- 
 tianity by whose holiness all the Northern world shines and 
 beams near and far. These are : the King, S. Olaf, and the 
 illustrious Halward, his kinsman, who adorn Norway with their 
 sacred relics ; the worthy Magnus, Earl of the Isles, who 
 illumines the Orkneys with his holiness, and to whose honour 
 this history following has been composed. With these are the 
 blessed Bishops, John and Thorlak, who have shed, with holy 
 splendour, their illustrious merits upon Iceland. Wherefore it 
 may be seen that we are not far off from the mercy of God, 
 although our dwellings be placed far from those of other 
 nations ; and therefore ought we to give thanks, honour, and 
 reverence all the time of our life. 
 
 Master Robert, who has put together this history of the holy 
 Earl Magnus and endited it in Latin, begins his prologue thus, 
 as who will may hear : — 
 
 2. Such things as he is able each one brings to the taber- 
 nacle of God for help and mercy to himself: one gold, others 
 silver, some precious stones, some goats' hair and red skins of 
 he-goats ; and such offerings are not despised ; for of such is 
 made the covering for the tabernacle of God, to shelter it and 
 
326 LIFE OF 
 
 protect it against moisture and the heat of the sun. These 
 words may thus be glossed with a few words : Let every 
 Christian man offer to God of the gifts and loans which he has 
 granted him, the best he has : so that God's Christianity, which 
 is the tabernacle, which Moses built for the service of God, sig- 
 nifies, that it may serve to defend and strengthen him against the 
 assaults of his enemies. Gold signifies wisdom and knowledge; 
 silver, chastity ; precious stones, the miracles of the saints ; 
 goats' hair, the repentance of sin ; the red skin of the he-goats, 
 martyrdom. Now may the reader observe that all these offer- 
 ings has S. Magnus offered to his Lord, as the story of his life 
 bears witness. Now, although the praise of God may not be 
 seemly in the mouth of sinful man, still it may be meet and 
 helpful to others ; for so we read that the whole house was 
 filled with the sweetest perfume from the ointment and spices 
 of the woman which was a sinner, who in penitence stooped 
 down to wash and anoint the feet of the Lord. But after the 
 wont of the men who till the fields of others but their own 
 neglect and let lie dry, we begin this story of the life of the 
 holy Earl Magnus with the greater confidence and love, and 
 our labour spend upon so holy and noble a narrative, because 
 we trust and fully expect his help to support and strengthen us 
 to his own honour and glory. Now since he is a sharer in the 
 kingdom of heaven and has entered into the kingdom of the 
 Lord, he is able to obtain whatsoever he desires. But since 
 we are sinful and may not, because of our wretched life, set of 
 ourselves good examples to others, we show you the holy 
 Magnus with his glorious life, whom all ought to follow, and 
 take holy example from. Now that we may not be wearisome 
 to the reader with this sermon (for the Lord made short ser- 
 mons), we shall set forth this story in simple words and in pure 
 speech as God gave us to perceive. 
 
 3. In the days of Harold Sigurd's son, King of Norway, 
 there ruled over the Orkneys as Earls, two brothers, Paul and 
 Erlend, the sons of Thorfinn, the most powerful of all the 
 Earls of Orkney. He was son of Earl Sigurd whom King 
 Olaf Tryggvi's son converted, along with all the people of the 
 Orkneys, to the Christian Faith. This Sigurd fell at the 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 32; 
 
 battle of Clontarf in Ireland. The mother of Erlend and 
 Paul was Ingibiorg, who was called Earlsmother, the daughter 
 of Earl Finn Ami's son. Harold Sigurd's son married Thora, 
 daughter of Thorberg Ami's son, and mother of Olaf the Quiet, 
 and therefore third cousins were King Olaf and the aforesaid 
 Earls. Earl Erlend married a woman called Thora, daughter 
 to Summarlid Ospak's son. Ospak's mother was Thordis, 
 daughter of Hall of Sida. Egill was the name of a son of the 
 aforenamed Hall ; his daughter was Thorgerd, the mother of 
 S. John, bishop of Holar. The sons of Earl Erlend and Thora 
 were S. Magnus and Erling, and daughters, Gunnhild and 
 Cecilia. Gunnhild was married afterwards to Kol Kali's son, 
 a franklin in Norway. Their son was Rognvald Kali, who 
 afterwards was Earl in the Orkneys ; he was a very holy man, 
 and sister's son to Earl Magnus the Saint. Earl Paul, Erlend's 
 brother, married a daughter of Earl Hakon, son of Ivar and 
 Ragnhild, daughter of King Magnus the Good, son of King 
 Olaf the Holy. Paul's son was called Hakon, who afterwards 
 comes into the story. 
 
 4. Earl S. Magnus was born in the Orkneys, the most noble 
 of race and illustrious of kindred. His father Erlend was 
 Earl of Orkney, a worthy lord and ruler, honoured for his 
 power and greatness, as is the wont of those who live mag- 
 nificently in this world. His mother Thora was descended 
 from the most noble chiefs of this land. And though with 
 many greatness of birth is turned to pride and spoiling of 
 temper, yet was this blessed child already from the earliest 
 days of his childhood illuminated and instructed by the teach- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit ; for he held to and loved, honoured 
 and preserved the highest virtue of the mind, a kindly nature, 
 and becoming manners, and steadfastness in honourable 
 ways. This boy showed himself old in good manners, share- 
 less in childish life in his deeds, glad spoken aud blithe, gentle 
 in his loving words, yielding and reasonable in his ways and in 
 all his behaviour ; well matured and staid, so that nothing was 
 found in his conduct to anger or offend men who beheld him. 
 At an early age he was sent to school, to learn the sacred 
 Scriptures and the other knowledge men then most studied to 
 
328 LIFE OF 
 
 know. Magnus was gentle and tractable, docile and obedient 
 to his father and mother and teachers ; kind and dear to all 
 the people. He attached himself little to wickedness and 
 pastimes as other young men, but conducted himself in a 
 seemly way, though he was young in the number of his years ; 
 for there at once shone in him the manifest gift of the Holy 
 Spirit, which guided him to all good things. 
 
 5. While the brothers, Erlend and Paul, held rule in the 
 Orkneys, there came west from Norway King Harald Sigurd's 
 son with a mighty army to the Orkneys, and left there 
 Queen Elizabeth, and Mary and Ingigerd, his daughters. The 
 earls resolved to accompany the King with a great army, and 
 held them south to England : and in the battle they fought 
 with King Harald Godwin's son, fell Harald Sigurd's son, the 
 fifth night after S. Matthew's day, in the autumn. After this 
 battle Olaf the Quiet, Harald's son, sailed with the earls that 
 autumn back to the Orkneys. The same day and the same hour 
 King Harald fell in England, died suddenly Mary, his daughter, 
 in the Orkneys ; and the saying is that they had but one life 
 between them. Olaf the Quiet passed the winter in the 
 Orkneys, and was the best of friends with the Earls, his kins- 
 men, for brother's daughters were Thora, Olaf's mother, and 
 Ingibiorg, the mother of the Earls. Olaf went in the Spring 
 east to Norway, and was there made King with Magnus, his 
 brother. 
 
 6. These brothers, Paul and Erlend, ruled the Orkneys a long 
 time, and long was their agreement good. But when their sons 
 began to grow up, Hakon and Erling became very overbear- 
 ing, but Magnus was the quietest and best mannered in every 
 thing. All the kinsmen were men of large stature, strong, and 
 highly accomplished in all things. Hakon, Paul's son, wished 
 to be overman to Erlend's sons, because he thought he was of 
 better birth than they ; for he was daughter's son to Earl 
 Hakon, Ivar's son, and Ragnhild, daughter of King Magnus 
 the Good, as was before told, and he wished to have a greater 
 share out of all their dealings. So it came about that they be- 
 gan not to agree; for many men inclined to Erlend's sons, and 
 would not have them to be inferior to any in the islands, for they 
 
MAGNUS. 329 
 
 were of all the people better liked and beloved of men. This 
 was a cause of great offence to Hakon all his life. The sons of 
 the Earls were never safe with each other. Their fathers tried 
 to arrange matters for them, that they might be at peace 
 among themselves. A meeting was called, and it was soon 
 found that each Earl favoured his own sons, and they began not 
 to agree. Then great quarrels arose between these brothers, 
 and so they parted. Next went men between them to make 
 peace, and a meeting was called between them in Hrossey. 
 At this meeting they were reconciled on this condition, that 
 the Islands should be divided into two equal parts ; and so 
 things stood for a while. Hakon, Paul's son, greatly molested 
 the men who served Erlend and his sons, so much so that it 
 seemed to them that they could not endure it ; and so they 
 began to quarrel, and marched against each other with many 
 men. Havard, Gunni's son, and other chiefs and friends of the 
 Earls then tried to make peace between them, but Erlend and 
 his sons would come to no agreement if Hakon was to remain 
 in the Islands. But as it seemed to their friends that there 
 would be great danger if they were not reconciled to each 
 other, Hakon left the islands at once ; and then an agreement 
 was come to between those brothers on the advice of good men. 
 Hakon first went east to Norway to see King Olaf the Quiet ; 
 it was towards the end of his days ; he dwelt there a short 
 time. Thence went he east to Sweden to see King Ingi, 
 Steinkel's son, and was with him for some time well received. 
 Christianity was then young in Sweden : many men were 
 there who practised the old magic, and thought to become 
 acquainted by it with many things which were not yet come to 
 pass. King Ingi was a good Christian, and took great pains 
 to root out the evils which had long attended heathenism. 
 
 7. When Hakon, Paul's son, was in Sweden, he heard tell that 
 there was in the land a man who dealt in divination and spae- 
 craft, whether it was by witchcraft or other means. Hakon 
 was very anxious to meet this man, and to see what he could 
 learn about his fate. He went in search of him and found 
 him in a certain forest country, where he used to go about 
 from feast to feast, and tell the franklins of the seasons and 
 
330 LIFE OF 
 
 other matters about which they were curious. When Hakon 
 found this man he inquired of him how it would go with him 
 for power or other fortune. The soothsayer asked him 
 who he was. He tells him his name and family, that he 
 was daughter's son to Earl Hakon, son of Ivar. Then 
 answers the soothsayer: "Why wilt thou have knowledge or 
 soothsaying of me ? Knowest thou not that thy former kins- 
 men have had little faith in the kind of men that I am ? 
 And it may serve thy turn to try and learn thy fate from 
 Olaf the Stout, thy kinsman in Norway, in whom all your faith 
 is placed. But I suspect he will not stoop to tell thee that 
 about which thou art curious, or else he is not so powerful as 
 you call him." Hakon replied : " I will not speak ill of him : 
 I think rather I am not worthy to get knowledge from him 
 than that he should not be able to make me wise, if he would. 
 But I have come to thee because it has come into my mind 
 that neither of us will have need to look down upon the other 
 because of virtue or religion." The man answers : " It likes 
 me well to find that thou thinkest not to have all thy trust in 
 that in which thy former friends had faith. It is strange also 
 that the men who seek such things should keep fast and vigil, 
 and think that thereby it will be given them to know the things 
 about which they are curious. But though you apply your- 
 selves to such, it turns out that you know less about them as 
 your curiosity is greater and it is of the greater importance for 
 you to know them ; but we put ourselves to no pains, and yet 
 we are able to ascertain the things which it is important for our 
 friends to know. Now it shall be thus between us two, thou 
 shalt have this service from me as I see that thou thinkest thy- 
 self better able to get the truth from me than from King 
 Ingi's priests, in whom it seems to him all his trust ought to be 
 placed. Thou shalt come to me on the third night, we two 
 shall then see whether I am able to tell thee some of the 
 things thou art anxious to learn." After this they parted, and 
 Hakon remained there in the district. And after three nights 
 he came again to the soothsayer. He was then in a certain 
 house alone, and breathed heavily when Hakon went in, and 
 wiped his forehead, and said that he had had to struggle hard 
 
MAGNUS. 331 
 
 before he became wise in the things he wanted to foreknow. 
 Hakon replied he would like to know what he had to tell. 
 He said then : " If thou wouldst know thy fate and about thy 
 life, it is long to tell : for from thy faring west to Orkney very 
 great events will come to pass when all the things to which 
 they lead are fulfilled. And I have a presentiment that thou 
 wilt become sole ruler of the Orkneys at last, though it 
 may be that to thee it will seem long to wait. I also think 
 that thy descendants will remain there. Thou wilt also in thy 
 days cause a crime to be done for which thou mayest, or mayest 
 not, get forgiveness from the God in whom thou trustest. But 
 thy steps lie further out into the world than I can see, yet I 
 think that thou wilt bring back thy bones to these northern parts. 
 Now have I told thee the things which at this time I am per- 
 mitted, but thou wilt decide how thou wilt be content with thy 
 lot or errand." Hakon answered : " Great things thou tellest 
 me, if they be true ; but I think it will go better with me, as 
 it may well be that thou hast not seen these things in their 
 verity." The spaeman bade him believe what he liked of it. 
 And on this they parted. 
 
 And when Hakon had been a little while with King Ingi, 
 he fared thence to Norway to see King Magnus Bareleg, his 
 kinsman ; there he heard tidings from the Orkneys that Earl 
 Erlend and his sons ruled there most, and were in favour with 
 all the people, and that Earl Paul, his father, was caring little 
 about the government. It seemed to him also on inquiry, that 
 the Orkneymen were longing very little for his own return 
 home ; they had then good peace, and thought, if Hakon re- 
 turned, discord and strife would arise. Also it seemed to 
 Hakon not unlikely that his own kinsmen would keep him out 
 of the government. He took counsel, therefore, to seek help 
 from his kinsman, King Magnus, to place him in the govern- 
 ment of the Orkneys. Hakon egged on King Magnus greatly 
 to go a hosting to Scotland and Ireland and then to England 
 to avenge there King Harald, Sigurd's son. The King answers : 
 " Thou must bethink, thee, Hakon, if I did this at thy word, 
 and fared west with an army across the sea, whether it would 
 not take thee by surprise, if I put forward a strong claim to 
 
332 LIFE OF 
 
 those kingdoms beyond the sea, and did it without regarding 
 the claim of any man/' And when Hakon heard this, he grew 
 cold and was little pleased, but King Magnus ordered a levy 
 of men and ships over all Norway. 
 
 8. Now shall we next turn to the man about whom this his- 
 tory was written, the holy Magnus ; for a little before you have 
 heard how he was well-behaved in all his conduct and unlike 
 to other young men in his growing up. But as it is the way with 
 many to shape their conduct after that of those with whom they 
 live, and he who touches pitch is defiled by it, so when Magnus 
 had almost reached the fulness of his growth, placed in the midst 
 of fierce and wicked men, who were ill-disposed towards good 
 morals, infirm in faith, opposed to just laws, stiff-necked in 
 learning, complaisant in evil ways, quarrelsome and dis- 
 obedient towards the commandments of God, he seemed, for 
 some winters, to be like wicked men, and as a viking with 
 robbers or soldiers, he lived by rapine and spoil, and stood by 
 with others at murders ; and it is credible that he did this more 
 from the wickedness and egging on of evil men than from his 
 own badness. It seems likest to men that Magnus did this at 
 the time when his kinsmen, Hakon and Erling, were all to- 
 gether in the Orkneys, for later no time can be found for it. 
 Of this conduct, thus speaks Master Robert, who endited this 
 history : — 
 
 " Ah ! I marvel," he says, " how unspeakable is the depth of 
 the riches of the divine wisdom and of the knowledge of God ; 
 how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding 
 out by human kind. Why permitted Almighty God this His 
 servant to lust after robbery and murder, and to be defiled with 
 such manifold sins and misdeeds ? Why tholed the divine clem- 
 ency His knight and martyr to let himself fall so fearfully, who, 
 from his birth, chose gloriously to crown him in heaven ? With 
 gladness and joy God enriched him, and turned his dust into 
 heavenly glory, and gave him eternal joy after this world's 
 sorrow, a garment of beauty and praise after the smitings of 
 the heart. What is this? unless it be what we daily as openly 
 as gloriously see, that God raises up and makes sons to 
 Abraham from stones, just from unjust, honourable from 
 
MAGNUS. 333 
 
 sinners, glorious from mortal, smooth and polished, and four- 
 cornered, with four main virtues, that they may be made to fit 
 into the heavenly structure, strong and steadfast corner-stones 
 in our chief corner-stone, Jesus Christ, they being of one heart 
 and one mind with Him in the eternal charity and in the bond of 
 infinite love. For the Lord Jesus is the son of the great Builder, 
 who made the earth and all things which are therein, and creates 
 and rules by His own power, and fashions vessels of His wrath 
 into vessels of mercy, polishing them with the file of the Holy 
 Spirit, and He receives sinful men into the widest bosom of His 
 clemency and mercy, all who leave off their foolishness and turn 
 to Him with their whole heart. For it belongs to the great 
 glory and mercy of the Lord to let the abundance of His mercy 
 appear there, where before the burden of our wretchedness was 
 in the way, and he cures and heals the more mightily when the 
 sickness already more fiercely assails the sick man, and makes 
 whole all, and helps those who look to Him for help. See 
 at last how the holy Magnus, though he was entangled in such 
 sins, came to leave off these works and followed his father and 
 brother and the landed men in Orkney." 
 
 9. At the time to which we have now come in the story, 
 came west from Norway King Magnus Bareleg with countless 
 ships and many troops. Him followed many of his vassals, 
 Vidkunn Jonsson, Serk of Sogn, Kali of Agde, Saebjorn's son, 
 and Kol, his son, and many other chiefs. The king intended, 
 in this hosting, to subdue and harry the Western lands, England 
 and Ireland, as was before said. When King Magnus came to 
 Orkney, he took the Earls, Erlend and Paul, and drave them out 
 of the islands and sent them East to Norway, and set Sigurd 
 his son over Orkney, and gave him councillors, as he was not 
 older than nine winters. Magnus and Erling, Erlend's sons, and 
 Hakon, Paul's son, he ordered to go with him on the hosting. 
 Magnus, Erlend's son, was tall in stature, bold and fleet and 
 of great strength, of a goodly countenance, fair of complexion, 
 and well shapen in limb, noble in bearing, and most courteous 
 in all his demeanour. Him King Magnus made his table-swain, 
 and he served continually at the King's table. King Magnus 
 fared out of the Orkneys to the Hebrides and subdued in this 
 
334 LIFE OF 
 
 expedition all the Hebrides to his rule, and took prisoner 
 Lawman, Gudrod's son, the king of the Hebrides. Thence 
 fared he South to Wales and had there a great fight in the 
 Menai Straits with two Welsh Earls, Hugh the Stout, and 
 Hugh the Brave. But when men picked up their weapons, 
 and got them ready for the fight, Magnus, Erlend's son, sat 
 down in the forepart of the ship, where he was used to sit, 
 and did not arm himself. The king inquired why he did so. 
 S. Magnus answers : " Here I have nothing against any 
 man, and therefore will I not fight." " Go, then," says the 
 king, " below, and lie not here under men's feet, if thou dare 
 not fight, for I do not think thou doest this because of thy 
 religion." Magnus, the Earl's son, sat in the same place, and 
 took a psalter and sang during the battle, but did not shelter 
 himself. The battle was both hard and long. At last fell 
 Hugh the Brave and the Welsh fled ; and King Magnus got 
 the victory, and had lost many good men, and many others 
 were wounded. Kali, Saebjorn's son, received many and great 
 wounds. Magnus, Erlend's son, was not wounded in the fight, 
 though he did not shelter himself. And it might be seen of all, 
 that it was the clearest miracle, that in so thick a flight of arrows, 
 and so heavy a meeting of weapons, he should not be wounded, 
 while on all sides around him fell armed men. And this need 
 not now be wondered at, since God was preserving him for a 
 greater crown and victory than to fall there. King Magnus 
 was not pleased with this, and laid on Magnus, the Earl's son, 
 great feud and dislike on account of it. And when the holy 
 Magnus saw that it would not be for his honour or salvation to 
 remain longer with King Magnus, he took another counsel 
 with himself to do what God taught him. 
 
 10. It was one night, when King Magnus lay off Scotland, 
 that Magnus, Erlend's son, stole away from the King's ship, and 
 so arranged his bed, that it seemed as though a man lay there. 
 In the morning, when the King was dressed, he inquired if 
 Magnus, Erlend's son, were sick. He was then inquired for and 
 was missed. The King then let search be made for him, but 
 he was not found. Then the King caused the spoor-hounds to 
 be let loose on the land. Magnus, the Earl's son, had hurt his 
 
MAGNUS. 33S 
 
 foot when he leapt ashore, and the spoor-hounds at once found 
 the scent. Magnus had made fur the woods and climbed up into 
 a tree. The hounds came to the oak and climbed up into it. 
 Magnus then struck one of them with a staff he held, and they 
 immediately took to flight, laid their tails between their legs, 
 and ran for the ships. Magnus, Erlend's son, hid himself in the 
 wood while the King's men searched for him. He then fared 
 up the country and came to the court of Malcolm, King of the 
 Scots, and dwelt there for a while ; but for some time he was 
 in Wales with a certain bishop. The same autumn King 
 Magnus fared back to the Hebrides, and was there through the 
 winter. That winter died Kali, Saebjorn's son, of his wounds. 
 Early in spring King Magnus fared to the Orkneys. There 
 he heard from Norway of the death of the Earls ; Erlend had 
 died at Nidross and was buried there ; and Paul at Bergen. 
 Then King Magnus gave Gunnhilda, Earl Erlend's daughter, 
 the sister of S. Magnus, in marriage to Kol, Kali's son, as an 
 atonement for the life of his father, with many farms in Ork- 
 ney. Kol was then made one of the King's vassals. Their son 
 was Rognvald Kali. Some say that Erling, Erlend's son, and 
 brother to S. Magnus, fell in the Menai Straits ; but Snorri 
 Sturlason says he fell in Ulster with King Magnus. For when 
 King Magnus had ruled nine winters in Norway, he fared west 
 to Ireland with a great army, and during the following summer 
 fell in Ulster on Bartholomew's day. And Sigurd, his son 
 fared at once out of the Orkneys east to Norway, and was 
 there made king along with his brothers Eystein and Olaf. 
 
 II. You have already heard in a former chapter how 
 Almighty God is ready to show mercy, whose singular 
 goodness is always to spare, and to turn hindrances into 
 helps, and how He preserved this His chosen champion from 
 the turmoils and dangers of the world, that he might reveal to 
 him and show how great things it behoved him to suffer 
 for His name's sake; and he who had often stood among 
 great manslayers should at length become an offering of the 
 Holy Spirit, and give to God his own blood with his life and 
 body. Therefore came he out from the power of the greedy 
 king, as was before read. 
 
336 LIFE OF 
 
 When the holy Magnus was in Scotland, he heard of the 
 death of Earl Erlend, his father, and the other tidings which 
 were before written. And when he had tarried as long in the 
 Scots King's court as pleased him, honoured with the King's 
 gifts and a noble retinue, he fared to Caithness, and there was 
 well received, honoured and esteemed of all, and at once 
 chosen and ennobled with the title of " Earl," beloved and 
 honoured of all the friends of God. 
 
 12. Thereafter, without delay, the holy Earl Magnus was 
 made Paul out of Saul, a preacher from a manslayer, and he 
 avenged on himself that which he had lived ill. He began to 
 bewail himself dead in sin with daily moanings and steadfast 
 repentance ; and he now took fitting revenge in manifold in- 
 flictions on the sinful lusts of the wretched flesh. He then 
 showed himself a new man, as one who is inclined to that in 
 which God is honoured and whom He has changed into another 
 man, into good from evil, into seemly from sinful, into holy from 
 defiled, into blessed and pure from polluted. This is the con- 
 version of Thy right hand, O Almighty God ! Thou art strong 
 to strengthen, gracious to help, ready to restore, mighty to 
 preserve ! In this way was Magnus changed into a holy 
 man. He began to ear the soil of his heart with the strong 
 ploughshare of confession. Then slew he his man of misfor- 
 tune and hid him under the sand. Then buried he the graven 
 images of Laban under the roots of the trees. He tore out 
 his sins and pollutions and adorned himself with illustrious 
 virtues in good deeds after a godly manner with manlike stead- 
 fastness. He began then to flourish as an olive tree, and to be 
 exalted in all good things and gracious works. Even as a 
 Cyprus excels other trees, so S. Magnus grew that he might 
 be truly magnus ; i.e., " great " in divine things as he was in 
 name, increasing in prosperity and holiness. 
 
 13. A winter or two after King Magnus Bareleg fell, fared 
 from the west over the sea to Norway, Hakon Paul's son, and 
 the kings gave him the title of Earl, and such possessions as 
 stood to him by birth. Fared he then west over the sea and 
 took to himself all the government of the Orkneys, and with 
 such great and aggressive greed that he slew without cause the 
 
MAGNUS. 337 
 
 steward of the King of Norway, who held and governed that 
 part of the Islands which the holy Magnus inherited, and in 
 that way took possession of all the Orkneys by sheer force ; 
 for half of the Islands belonged to S. Magnus as his patrimony. 
 Now when the holy Magnus heard with what violence Hakon, 
 his cousin, had, with manifest injustice, seized his hereditary 
 lands, he took counsel with his men as to what he should do. 
 It was agreed among them that he should wait a while, in order 
 that the anger and greed of Hakon, his kinsman, might abate, 
 and that it might not appear that he sought his inheritance by 
 arms, but as a friend and dear lover of law and justice. 
 
 14. Now when the time was come that the holy Magnus wished 
 to visit his patrimony,he fares with a noble companyfrom Caith- 
 ness to Orkney, and his kinsmen and friends were fain of him. 
 He asked to take possession of his patrimony. This was well 
 pleasing to the franklins ; for he was well loved ; and he had 
 many kinsmen and connections who were anxious to help him 
 to hold his dominions. Thora, his mother, was then married 
 to a man named Sigurd ; they owned a large farm in Paplay. 
 When Earl Hakon heard that Magnus was come into the 
 Islands, he gathered troops around him, and wished not to give 
 up the government, but to defend it. Fared then the friends 
 of both between them, and tried to make peace. So it came 
 to pass, through the counsel of good men, that they were recon- 
 ciled on the condition that Earl Hakon should give up half the 
 kingdom if it were so decided by the King of Norway. Mag- 
 nus, Erlend's son, fared at once east to Norway to seek King 
 Eystein ; for King Sigurd had then fared out to Jerusalem. 
 King Eystein received the young lord Magnus exceeding well, 
 and gave up to him his patrimony, the half of Orkney, and 
 therewith he received the title of Earl in the Orkneys from 
 the Kings, along with very handsome presents. And after 
 this fared the lord Earl Magnus west over the sea to his 
 dominions, and his friends and kinsmen were glad and with 
 them all the people. Then there was much good fellowship 
 between him and Earl Hakon for many winters, which their 
 friends brought about. There was then plenty and peace 
 in the Orkneys while their friendship held. The kinsmen, 
 
338 LIFE OF 
 
 lord Earl Magnus and Hakon, had both the land defence 
 together for a while, so that they were well agreed. So it 
 was said in the songs, which were made on them, that they 
 fought with the viking called Dufnial, who attacked their 
 kingdom. He was a man one degree further off than first 
 cousin to the Earls, and he fell before them. A man named 
 Thorbjorn, rich and powerful by descent, but poor in good 
 works, they, for sufficient reasons, put to death at Borgarfiord 
 in Shetland. Many other things are also told in songs which 
 they did together, though we cannot here minutely narrate 
 them. The holy Magnus had these things done, not as a viking 
 or robber, but as a just ruler of a province and a guardian of 
 the laws, and a lover of peace, to chastise ill doing and to punish 
 wrong, to make peace and quietness for his subjects and his 
 kingdom against the violence and agression of wicked men, 
 who were always on the watch to break the peace. 
 
 15. Lord Magnus was a man the most renowned in his rule 
 and authority, dignified and upright, a steadfast friend and 
 brave, skilled in feats of arms and blessed with victory in 
 battle, gentle in peace, yet a strong ruler, condescending in 
 speech, and clement, prudent in counsel, and had every man's 
 praise. He was open-handed with his money, and generous 
 among chieftains. Every day he gave great help to poor 
 men for the love of God. He punished much harrying and 
 theft, and caused vikings and ill doers, rich as well as poor, to 
 be slain. No respecter of persons was he in his judgments ; he 
 respected God's law more than differences of estate among them. 
 In all things he observed strictly the commandments of God, 
 and was unsparing towards himself. Many were the excellent 
 virtues which he manifested before God, but hid from men. 
 
 But since the holy Earl Magnus had rule and government 
 over worldly folk, he desired to be like the great ones of the 
 earth in the customs of life ; he took and betrothed him- 
 self to a high-born princess, and the fairest maiden of the 
 most noble house of the chiefs of Scotland, and brought her 
 home with him and married her. This did the blessed 
 Magnus, as experience proved, with the deep laid counsel of 
 the divine mercy, to impose upon the enticing temptations 
 
MAGNUS. 339 
 
 of this world, rather than to fulfil the lusts of the flesh, for he 
 was helped by divine protection and heavenly power. He 
 dwelt ten years with this virgin, pure and unstained of all the 
 pollutions of sin. And when he felt within himself the tempta- 
 tion to fleshly lust, he plunged into cold water and sought help 
 from God. 
 
 1 6. Behold this strong athlete of God in his daily wrestlings, 
 how wonderfully he lived with this maiden so long a time. For 
 although he lawfully might have enjoyed her, he preferred, 
 sustained by the mercy of the Holy Ghost, to chose the better 
 part, to live inviolate, than to do what is permitted in wedlock, 
 for they suffer the burning of the flesh who do such things. 
 Because better and safer is it to preserve the flowers whole 
 than to restore them after they are bruised ; for no wound ever 
 becomes so well as the flesh which has remained whole. But 
 to live in the body without carnal lusts comes not of the power 
 of man, but of the Divine gift. But what temptation and 
 chastening he endured from the lust of the flesh, what heavy 
 blows of forbidden motives, and how hard a struggle he 
 conquered, and calmed the strong lusts of the burning flesh, 
 those know who have experienced them, but the inexperienced 
 believe not. Behold my dearest ! This is the great sight which 
 Moses beheld when he saw the bush burning and not consumed ; 
 that is to say, this young man was tempted but not overcome. 
 But, as says the Apostle Paul, no one is crowned except he who 
 strives lawfully and works manfully for it, so this prince and 
 wrestling knight preferred Thy courts, to endure the daily con- 
 flict and constant battle of the burning flesh. And he fought 
 valiantly and triumphed happily, for it seemed to him that he 
 would be much too easy a knight, who would have glory before 
 he had done works of virtue ; for virtue is the way to glory, 
 and glory comes from virtue. Treacherous is the glory, and 
 vain is the beauty which is not begotten by holy virtue. And 
 I marvel, says the Scripture, how fair and winsome is the im- 
 maculate conception with its purity and love. This the glorious 
 knight of God, girt with his girdle of chastity, was careful with 
 all mindfulness to do and fulfil all manner of charity to the 
 glory of his Lord. But what of the things of this world would 
 
340 L I F E F 
 
 he deny his God, who expended his very life and body, and 
 poured out his own blood for the sake of God ? 
 
 17. Now since no one can be an Abel unless he suffer and 
 experience the ill-will and malice of Cain, and the holy 
 Ezekiel dwelt among men full of the poison of adders, and 
 just Lot was oppressed by unjust men, the enemy of all 
 mankind stirred up temptations and hot persecutions on every 
 side against this knight of God, sowing discord and hatred 
 among brethren and kinsmen and dear friends, all to hinder 
 him, and to bring to naught his good deeds, which then began 
 to increase with him ; but the branch of the good vine might 
 be moved, but not cut off. For as wood swims in water and is 
 turned over by the winds and waves, but not sunk, and as the 
 Wain turns round in the heavens, and sinks not, as gold is 
 purified in the furnace and is not consumed, and as a strong 
 house is beaten upon by the storms and falls not; so in the 
 same way was the mind and heart of this noble martyr strong 
 and steadfast, undaunted and undismayed amid the fierce 
 trials and onsets of manifold temptations, in the midst of 
 storms and great breakers both of secret envy and treachery, 
 as well as of open ill-will and spite, against the shafts of the 
 tempting foe. It must next be set down how this discord was 
 made between the Earls. 
 
 18. When the kinsmen, S. Magnus and Earl Hakon, had for 
 some winters ruled their lands in peace and good agreement, it 
 came to pass, as it often does, that evil disposed men began to 
 destroy their brotherly concord. Earl Hakon then drew 
 towards those evil men, for the kinsmen were very unlike in 
 temper. Lord Earl Magnus was benevolent and faithful in 
 his promises ; he wished to retain the kingdom which God had 
 given to him, and desired nothing more. For in what way 
 could he be proved to desire other men's kingdoms or posses- 
 sions, who was so free with his own flesh, that he did not spare 
 his life for the love of God ? He reformed his subjects and 
 accustomed them to right living, so that after he had delivered 
 and given peace to his kingdom from the aggressions of wicked 
 vikings, he did not allow any of his men to go a hosting, and 
 punished severely all lawlessness and wickedness. But Earl 
 
MAGNUS. 341 
 
 Hakon was hard-hearted and cruel, greedy both of wealth 
 and power, and more prone to egg on his men to go a hosting 
 than to prevent them, and punished little wickedness and 
 ill-doing. He was very jealous of the liberality and popular 
 favour of the holy Magnus, and would willingly with the 
 greed of his evil counsellors overcome the honour of Earl 
 Magnus, and subdue his kingdom to himself with pillage and 
 injustice, and began to plot with his men against his life with 
 treacherous cunning. 
 
 19. Now when the blessed Magnus has become thoroughly 
 aware of this through much experience, which he thinks cannot 
 be passed over in silence, that Hakon was attempting to deprive 
 him of his life and kingdom, he took counsel with his coun- 
 sellors, and it seemed to them that he ought to give way for a 
 little to the malice and fury of Hakon. Chose he then out of 
 his people those who were the most suitable and best of his 
 followers to accompany him, and sailed to England and sought 
 a meeting with King Henry, son of William the Bastard, who 
 was then sole king over England. When the holy Magnus 
 was come to this King, he made known to him the occasion 
 and object of his coming. And the King received him with 
 great honour ; and into so great a friendship did he rise with 
 the King, that he maintained him and all his people at his own 
 cost for twelve months magnificently, as it was fitting for a 
 King to treat a famous leader. But this holy martyr held 
 himself and his retinue so wisely, that he shunned and was 
 wary of all fellowship with wicked men. And when the lord 
 King learned from his prudence, how Earl Magnus was a doer 
 of good works and of seemly manners, and that the Holy Spirit 
 dwelt in him, he earnestly gave heed to his counsel, and 
 followed his advice in his conduct, for he was sound and 
 wholesome in counsel and in making of plans, of 
 gentle disposition and patient as Chusa, gladsome and loving 
 as Jonathan, just and zealous for the law as Phinehas. Hence 
 he was dear to all and beloved, pleasant, and acceptable, so that 
 there were many who said : " Blessed are they that saw thee, 
 and that won thy friendship." Fie was pleasant and kind 
 to the rich, open-handed and gentle with the poor, good 
 
342 LIFE OF 
 
 natured, benevolent, and condescending to all the people. 
 And although he dwelt at the Court with the princes of this 
 world, he took care and avoided all kinds of vice which corrupt 
 the manners of courtiers. And that he might not for the 
 future stain his chastity by consenting to other men's sins, he 
 made ready his home-going as soon as the twelve months 
 were passed, which he had spent with King Henry. It may be 
 that God had made known to him that he should finish his 
 labours within a short time, and offer to God as well the bright 
 flowers of his purity as the victorious death of his martyrdom ; 
 for to be loosed from the body, and to live with Christ, is much 
 more glorious than to abide here in this polluted world. 
 
 20. After that S. Magnus had taken leave of King Henry, 
 honoured with rich and manifold gifts, and esteemed and 
 glorified by the Lord King, they parted with the greatest 
 love and friendship. He visited first all the holy places which 
 were near, and then fared home to his own land. But while 
 the holy Magnus was abroad, Earl Hakon with great greed and 
 harrying had subdued not only all the Orkneys, but all Caith- 
 ness as well, with great robbery and violence ; and so it 
 came to pass, that Hakon sat at that time, in Caithness, when 
 the holy Earl Magnus landed in the Orkneys with five ships 
 well manned with valiant and well armed men, ettling to 
 get back his kingdom, though with no false passion of this 
 world's ambition, nor greed of unlawful possession, especially 
 when he had already so long desired God, and was with the joy 
 of his whole heart wholly taken up out of the lusts of mortal 
 things into the desire for eternal joy, for he came now to end 
 his long life into a brief space all the more gloriously the 
 more quickly he departed. The tidings of his return home 
 were at once told on all sides. Earl Hakon, immediately 
 awaking as a fierce she-bear robbed of her whelps, sum- 
 moned and gathered together to him the sons of Belial, cruel ill- 
 doers, and sons of the wretched Dohet, who always and every- 
 where wrought evil from their birth from their mother's womb. 
 Hakon meant then to come unawares upon the holy Magnus, 
 and to work and complete in that way the malice and treachery 
 which he had long before had in mind and prepared for. But 
 
MAGNUS. 343 
 
 the Supreme Heavenly King, who from eternity had ordained 
 that He would keep His glorious chosen vessel in His treasuries, 
 saw in this man of His own election some rust still of worldly 
 behaviour which required to be purified. Therefore God 
 would that he should be made most pure and fair in a few days 
 with the fire of suffering and insult, and with the files of 
 temptation and of many adversities, though there was no 
 deadly sin in him to wash away. God wished to increase his 
 merit, if in anything it was lacking, that according as his 
 temptation and wrestling were greater and harder, the higher and 
 more splendid should be the glory and joy of the victor. Thus it 
 came to pass that the Earls sent between themselves with mes- 
 sages for peace and reconciliation their most prudent coun- 
 sellors, who truly bear the marks of Chusa and Ahitophel, 
 who brought about the reconciliation between King David 
 and his son Absolom, when they were at variance. It came 
 then at last in this matter, through the intervention of good 
 men, that a reconciliation was made between the kinsmen in 
 this way, that the earldom of Orkney, Caithness, and Shet- 
 land should be divided into halves between the Earls Magnus 
 and Hakon, and that neither should assail the other's kingdom 
 with any greed. When this agreement had been made and con- 
 firmed with oaths and handsellings, the Earls met with the kiss 
 of peace. But that which the holy Earl Magnus intended for 
 peace, Hakon turned to deceit and cunning. And the longer 
 he retained the poison of evil, the more wickedly did he spew 
 it up, for his wickedness and villainy increased so much as 
 time went on, that he could no longer hide it. In the same 
 way as a cancer on the face of a man works the more harm the 
 longer it remains, so fares every kind of evil ; thus, the longer 
 it is hid in the mind and heart, the fiercer it becomes for 
 working mischief. 
 
 2 1 . The holy Earl Magnus then began again to rule his kingdom 
 with peace and joy for a time. And it is known best in the sight 
 of God how holily he lived in this biding of his death; how he 
 adorned himself with holy virtues and the exercise of every 
 kind of grace, in prayer, and in shedding of tears, and search- 
 ings of heart, in purity and nobleness, in alms-giving, and in 
 
344 LIFE OF 
 
 all gentleness towards his people, in afflictions and manifold 
 sufferings, which he endured in his body, and in many other 
 virtues more than sinful man can call to mind. As every holy 
 man of God does, in the same way prepared Earl Magnus for 
 his martyrdom ; the story of which we shall now with God's 
 help begin. 
 
 22. When the above mentioned reconciliation and peace had 
 lasted between the Earls some winters, Hakon showed himself 
 traitorous by pouring out from his breast the great wickedness, 
 which he had for a time held back. Hear how true is that say- 
 ing of the ancient skald, which says : 
 
 " Nulla fides regni sociis, omnisque potestas, 
 Inpatiens consortis erit, totum sitit ilia." 
 
 That is to say : Never can fellowship in this world's power 
 be true, for no ruler can endure a rival, and would have all to 
 himself alone. From this thou mayest learn what fruit treason 
 begets and what springs up from greed. All sins are done of 
 lust, and every unhallowed desire starts from greed. This is 
 proved by Ahab, that most iniquitous king, who persecuted 
 Elijah the prophet. It is shown by the most wicked Judas, 
 who sold our Lord for money. This same, the traitor, Earl 
 Hakon, showed, both by examples and proofs in the treachery 
 with which he betrayed his kinsman, Earl Magnus, under the 
 show of friendship, though in various ways happened the 
 things which led to their dealings and quarrel. 
 
 23. Two men were with Earl Hakon who are mentioned as 
 by far the worst in going between the kinsmen ; the one was 
 called Sigurd ; the other Sigvat Sokki. Sigurd had a brother, 
 called Thorstein, who was the most faithful follower of Earl 
 Magnus. Many others there were who had an evil hand in 
 this matter, and these were all with Hakon, for S. Magnus would 
 keep no slanderer among his followers. These slanderings went 
 so far that the Earls gathered their troops together, and each 
 fared against the other with a great following. They both 
 held their way to the island of Hrossey, for there was the 
 Thingstead of the Orkneys. And when they were come there, 
 each of them drew up his troops in battle array and prepared 
 
MAGNUS. 345 
 
 to fight. There had come all the men of rank with the Earls, 
 and many were friends of both, who did everything to recon- 
 cile them, and went between them with courage and good-will. 
 This meeting was in Lent. And because many well disposed 
 men were anxious to prevent strife between them, and wished 
 to help neither to do harm to the other, they bound themselves 
 to keep the peace by oaths and handsellings at the witness of 
 the best men. It was settled they should meet in the spring in 
 Egilsey after Easter. At this meeting each Earl was to have two 
 ships and an equal number of men. Both Earls took oaths to 
 have and hold the agreement which the best men should settle 
 at that meeting to declare between them. And after this was 
 done each fared to his own home. With this conditional 
 reconciliation and agreement the holy Magnus was well 
 pleased, as he was thoroughly whole hearted and of good con- 
 science, without all distrust. But Earl Hakon had at this 
 meeting glosed over his treachery and hid it with a cloud of 
 hypocrisy ; for this agreement he had made with deceit and 
 treachery and complete fraud, as was afterwards proved ; for at 
 the time Hakon, who is rightly called a treasury of hidden evil, 
 and his wicked servants conspired together in the counsel of 
 their wickedness for the slaughter and death of the holy Magnus. 
 For strong and very dear is all evil amid the fellowship of the 
 scornful ; therefore settled they among themselves that this 
 crime should no longer be delayed, and that now will they fully 
 slake their cruel thirst with the shedding of sackless blood. 
 But the Highest Lord of all power watched over his beloved 
 friend and chosen martyr, that being at this time ready for 
 the kingdom of heaven, he might be taken out of this life under 
 the heavy storm of a violent death ; as grapes under the wine- 
 press, trodden upon and crushed, give off the clearest wine in 
 their time with much fragrance and sweet taste, so gave this 
 the glorious martyr of God, by his death, to all the friends of 
 God and his own, the heavenly sweetness of divine mercy, from 
 that glory and joy which he has inherited in the unending glad- 
 ness of eternal life with God and his saints. 
 
 24. As soon as the holy Easter time was passed, each of the 
 two made ready for this meeting in different ways. The holy 
 
 23 
 
346 LIFE OF 
 
 Magnus called to him all the men whom he knew had the most 
 good-will to make things better between the kinsmen. He had 
 two longships manned with the bravest men, as many as were 
 agreed upon. And when he was ready he held to the island of 
 Egilsey. But as they were rowing on a calm sea and in still weather, 
 there rose a wave of the sea beside the ship in which Earl Magnus 
 was, and broke over the place where the Earl was sitting. The 
 chief men in Earl Magnus's ship were called : Thorstein, who 
 was mentioned before, Arnkell, Grim, and Gilli, and many other 
 doughty men. They marvelled greatly at this circumstance, that 
 the wave fell on them in a calm sea, where no man knew that a 
 wave had fallen before, and where the water under was deep. 
 Then the holy Earl Magnus said : " It is not strange though 
 you wonder at this. But my thought is, that this is a foreboding 
 of the end of my life. Maybe that will happen here, which was 
 before spaed, that Earl Paul's son will perpetrate the greatest 
 crime : maybe Flakon is plotting treachery against us at this 
 meeting." Earl Magnus's men were much distressed at this 
 speech when he spoke of so speedy expectation of his death, 
 and prayed him to take care of himself and guard his life, and 
 risk nothing to the faith of Earl Hakon. Earl S. Magnus 
 replies : *' I shall certainly go to this meeting, as was agreed 
 upon, and make no breach of my promise for the sake of a 
 mere foreboding. And let all be as God wills about our voyage. 
 But if there be any choice, then would I much rather suffer 
 wrong than do it to another. So may God let Hakon, my 
 kinsman, get forgiveness, though he do me wrong." 
 
 Now it is to be told of Earl Hakon, that he called to 
 him a great army. He had seven or eight warships, all of 
 great size, manned with troops; all the men were well armed as 
 if they were going to battle. But when the force came together, 
 then did Earl Hakon make it clear before his men, that at 
 this meeting it should be so settled with Magnus, that they 
 should not both rule from that time forth. Many of the Earl's 
 men, who might verily be called children of the devil, expressed 
 delight at this purpose, and added many abominable words; 
 but Sigurd and Sigvat Sokki were still giving the worst 
 advice ; they were ever egging on to wickedness. The men 
 
MAGNUS. 347 
 
 then began to row fast, and went furiously and with great 
 speed. Havard Gunni's son, who was spoken of before, was 
 with Earl Hakon ; he was a close friend of both Earls. Hakon 
 had hid from him this bad counsel. But as soon as he was 
 aware of it, he leapt overboard from the Earl's ship and swam 
 to an uninhabited island ; for he would be in no treachery 
 with Hakon against the holy Magnus. That man was with 
 Earl Magnus, who was called Holdbodi, a trustworthy franklin 
 from the Hebrides ; he was Earl Magnus's most dear follower. 
 He was near by all that happened, and has since most clearly 
 related the dealings and all the discourse of Earls Hakon and 
 Magnus, which may here be heard next after this. 
 
 25. The holy Earl Magnus came sooner to Egilsey with his 
 men than Hakon. And when they saw Hakon's eight war- 
 ships, Earl Magnus thought he knew that treachery was being 
 prepared, and all the men, who had any insight saw well 
 that such a multitude of armed men was not wanted for a 
 peaceful purpose. When the holy Earl Magnus saw that the 
 treachery of Hakon was about to show itself, he went with his 
 men up into the island to a church to pray, and was there 
 through the night, not because of fear or dread, but rather to 
 commit all his care to God. His men offered to defend 
 him, and fight against Hakon. But he answered : " I will 
 not place your lives in danger for me. And if peace can- 
 not be made between us two kinsmen, then let it be as God 
 wills ; for rather will I suffer evil and treachery than do it to 
 others." For this noble martyr, when saying this, knew that 
 all guile and deceit is returned to him who does it. Now 
 thought his men most true that which he had before said to 
 them about the treachery of Hakon. But as Earl Magnus 
 knew before of his death, whether it were of his foresight or 
 of divine revelation, he wished neither to fly nor to go far from 
 the meeting of his enemies, and he went for no other reason to 
 the holy church than for religion. Earl Magnus watched long 
 in prayer during the night and meditated on his salvation, and 
 prayed earnestly ; he committed all his cause and himself into 
 the hands of God. In the morning he let Mass be sung, and 
 received in that Mass the Corpus Domini. And this his deed 
 
348 LIFE OF 
 
 was necessary for the highest reason, that in that place he 
 should become an offering to God, as was offered the redeem- 
 ing sacrifice of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 for the salvation of the whole world. But Earl Hakon, who at 
 that time was void of all piety and affection, violating the 
 privileges of the Church, feared not to go into the holy 
 sanctuary, so breaking its peace and immunity, that he might 
 show his wickedness the more fiercely, the more sacred the place 
 he perpetrated it in. For sin is ever increased by ill-doing, 
 and evil by outrage ; and sinful man, when he falls into the 
 depths of sin, abandons all fear of God ; and the more he 
 is acquainted with sin the more he dares, and the less he cares 
 what ill he does ; for he thinks it is nothing worth, however 
 great his misdeeds be. The same morning that Earl Hakon 
 had come up on to the island with his ill-doers, he sent four 
 of his men, the worst of his servants, who were the 
 fiercest and most eager to work ill, to seize Earl Magnus 
 wherever he was. These four, who, from their ferocity, may 
 rather be called the wildest wolves than rational men, 
 always thirsting for bloodshed, leapt into the church just as 
 Mass was ending. Snatched they at once the holy Earl Mag- 
 nus with great violence, uproar, and clamour, out of the peace 
 and bosom of Holy Church, as the gentlest sheep of the fold.* 
 The Saint was holden of the thralls of sin, the righteous was 
 bound, dragged unjustly by the unjust, and then led away be- 
 fore the greedy judge, Earl Hakon. But this strong champion 
 had such great steadfastness in all these wrestlings, that 
 neither his body shook from fear, nor his mind from dread or 
 grief, for he forsook this thorny world with all its fruitless 
 flowers. He hoped that God would recompense his patience 
 
 * The Shorter Saga gives a different account. "Next morning he went out of 
 the Church with two men out on the island down to the shore to a certain hiding- 
 place, and prayed there before God. Some men say that Earl Magnus caused 
 mass to be said for him before he went out from the Church and that he took the 
 Corpus Domini. Earl Hakon and his men ran up on the island in the morning, 
 and first to the church, and sought for Earl Magnus, and did not find him there. 
 Then they searched for him about the island. But when Earl Magnus saw where 
 they were, he called to them and said " Here I am." And when Hakon saw that, 
 they ran thither. Cc. n, 12. 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 34?" 
 
 with an ineffable crown ; but their cruelty and fury with ever- 
 lasting torture in the hot fire of hell, because of their inhuman 
 wickedness and monstrous greed. He was as glad and cheer- 
 ful when they took him, as if he had been bidden to a banquet, 
 and had so settled a heart and mind that he spoke to his 
 enemies with no bitterness, anger, or tremor in his voice. 
 
 26. When the holy Earl Magnus was come before Earl 
 Hakon, he said to Hakon with great calmness : " Not well doest 
 thou, kinsman, when thou kept not thy oath, and it is much 
 to be looked for that thou didst this more from the malice and 
 egging on of others than from thine own ill-will. Now I will 
 make to thee three offers, that thou mayest take one of them 
 rather than that thou shouldst break thy oath, and let me thy 
 kinsman be slain, sackless as some will say." Earl Hakon said: 
 " I will first hear what thou offerest.'' S. Magnus said : " This 
 is the first offer, that I shall fare abroad to Rome or all out 
 to Jerusalem, to seek the holy places, and so make atonement 
 for both of us ; I will take two ships out of the land furnished 
 with good men and the equipment needful to have. I will 
 swear never to come to Orkney again." This offer was 
 quickly refused by Hakon and his men. Then said Earl 
 Magnus : " Now since our life is in your power, and I know 
 that in many things I have offended against Almighty God, 
 and have need thereof to make amends, send me up to Scotland 
 to the friends of us both, and let me there be in ward with two 
 men with me for amusement ; and see thou so to it that I may 
 never come forth of that wardship without thy leave." This 
 they at once rejected and found many reasons why it could not 
 be. Then spake this doughty knight : " Now is my choice very 
 limited, says he. Now is there but one choice left, which I will 
 offer thee, and God knows that I am more concerned for thy 
 salvation here, than for the life of my body ; for, after all, it 
 beseems thee little to take my life. Let me be maimed in my 
 limbs, or let my eyes be put out, and set me so in a dark 
 dungeon, whence I may never come out." Then said Earl 
 Hakon : " This offer take I, and no more do I ask." Then 
 leapt up Earl Hakon's men and said : " In this finding we 
 do not agree, to torture Earl Magnus : but one or the other of 
 
350 LIFE OF 
 
 you two we will slay ; and from this day you shall not both of 
 you reign over these lands." Then says Earl Hakon : " Rather 
 will I rule the lands than die at once, if ye are so strict in this 
 matter." So tells Holdbodi of their parley.— After this S. 
 Magnus fell to prayers and bowed his face into his hands and 
 shed many tears before God, giving his cause, his life, and him- 
 self, into the power of the Lord. 
 
 27. Next to this, when the holy friend of God, Earl Magnus, 
 was condemned and doomed to death, Earl Hakon bade Ofeig, 
 his standard-bearer, slay Earl Magnus ; but he refused with 
 greatest anger. Then compelled Earl Hakon his cook, who 
 was called Lifolf, to smite Earl Magnus, but he began to weep 
 aloud. Then said Earl S. Magnus to him : " Weep not ; for 
 there is fame to thee in doing the like. Be thou of steadfast 
 mind, for thou shalt have my clothes as is the wont and law 
 of the men of old. Thou shalt not be afraid, for thou doest 
 this by force, and he that forces thee to it has more sin 
 than thou." And when he had said this, he took off his 
 kirtle and gave it to Lifolf. Then begged the blessed Earl 
 Magnus leave to pray first, and it was granted him. He fell 
 then to the ground and gave himself into the power of God, 
 offering himself to Him in sacrifice. Not alone for himself prayed 
 he, but rather for his enemies and murderers as well ; and 
 forgave he them all with his whole heart that which they were 
 misdoing against him ; and confessed he all his sins to God, 
 and prayed that they might all be washed away by the shed- 
 ding of his blood ; and he commended his spirit into the hands 
 of God, praying God's angels to come to meet it, and bear 
 it to the rest of Paradise. Then when this noble martyr 
 of God had ended his prayer, he said to Lifolf : " Stand before 
 me and hew me on the head a great wound ; for it beseems 
 not to behead chiefs like thieves. Be strong, man, and weep not, 
 for I have prayed God to pardon thee." After this Earl Magnus 
 crossed himself, and bowed him to the stroke. Lifolf struck 
 him on the head a great blow with an axe. Then said Earl 
 Hakon : " Strike again." Then struck Lifolf into the same 
 wound. Then fell the holy Earl Magnus on his knees, and 
 fared with this martyrdom from the miseries of this world to the 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 3Si 
 
 everlasting joys of the kingdom of heaven. And him whom the 
 murderer took out of the earth, Almighty God let reign with 
 Him in heaven. His body fell to the earth, but his spirit was 
 gloriously taken up into the heavenly glory of the angels. 
 The spot where the holy Earl Magnus was slain was stony and 
 mossy. But a little after his merits before God were made 
 manifest, so that since then there is there a green field, fair and 
 smooth, and God showed by this token, that Earl Magnus was 
 slain forrighteousness sake, and gained the fairness and greenness 
 of Paradise in the land of the living. — The death-day of the holy 
 Earl Magnus is two nights after the feast of Tiburtius and Vale- 
 rianus ; it was on the second day of the week, that the worthy 
 Earl Magnus was slain, the third week after Lady Day in Lent. 
 He had then been twelve winters Earl with Hakon. Then 
 were Kings in Norway Sigurd the Crusader, and his brothers 
 Eystein and Olaf. Then had passed from the death of the holy 
 Olaf, Harald's son, seventy-four years [eighty-six]. It was in 
 the days of Pope Paschal, the second of that name, and of S. 
 John Bishop of Holar in Iceland. — In honour of the holy Earl 
 Magnus thus speaks Master Robert who in Latin this history 
 endited : 
 
 28. "To-day shines upon us, dearest brethren, the day of the 
 death of the blessed Earl Magnus the Martyr, the day of his 
 rest and of his eternal joy. Let us be glad and rejoice on this 
 glorious day ; for he requires of us solemn devotion and 
 especial thanksgiving, who live beside his holy relics and under 
 his protection and keeping, and have hope in his merits. For it 
 was on account of his noble example and holy life that first 
 flourished in the coasts of the kingdom of the Orkneys the 
 seemly ordinances of pure devotion, and the most holy 
 laws of this most glorious martyr brought forth manifold 
 fruit in good living. He drave abroad the lordly throne of 
 Satan out from the northern regions of the world and set in 
 its place the tabernacle of Almighty God. He laid waste and 
 uprooted all the tares by his preaching, and let spring up the 
 fairest flowers and the sweetest harvest of most life-giving 
 fruit. He turned all the bitterness of the Orkneys into praise 
 and sweetness of holy living. On this day he overcame the 
 
352 LIFE OF 
 
 world and the princes of the world, and he went up, a radiant 
 conqueror over the world, receiving from his holy Master, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, a crown of glory. On this day he was 
 set free from all bondage of fleshly corruption, entering into 
 heaven ; and he went into joy, made like the saints in all 
 glory. On this day he laid aside the earthly garments of this 
 changeful life, and went up higher than human weakness may 
 reckon ; and on him therefore is bestowed greatness in heaven, 
 honour and blessedness in the presence of all the saints. He 
 ascended radiant according to his merits, rich in the ful- 
 ness of blessing, glorious in noble victories. This glorious 
 martyr of God, the blessed Earl Magnus, adorned with the 
 crown of his own blood, suffered after the incarnation of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, one thousand one hundred and four [six- 
 teen] years, on Monday the sixteenth of the kalends of May. 
 Now it remains, my dearest brethren, that we lay aside fleshly 
 lusts and beware of loving unlawful things, vanquishing and 
 overcoming the assaults of sin, and follow the footsteps and 
 life of this glorious martyr with all the strength of our mind as 
 far as our weakness will allow. Let us follow the way of his 
 life ; let us hold to the example of his works. Let us strive to 
 make our lives like his, though it daily appeareth and is 
 shown forth — by those wonderful tokens and glorious works 
 which Almighty God doth grant unto the North both by sea 
 and land for the sake of his excellent prayers and famous 
 merits — that his life and holy righteousness are things more 
 meet for us to honour and wonder at than to be imitated 
 by our weakness. He appeared on earth, that he might become 
 our protector and ask help and grace for us from Almighty 
 God. Therefore it behoves us, who are pressed down under the 
 great load of our sins, honour always to do to him with the 
 especial goodness of bounden obedience and honour, that this 
 glorious martyr, Earl Magnus, may vouchsafe to obtain for us, 
 by means of his merits and prayers, that we may win to be- 
 come sharers of his victorious crown and eternal glory, which 
 he won on the day of his passion. This grant us the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who is the honour and blessing, the help and salva- 
 tion, the gladness and glory of all His holy and righteous men ; 
 
MAGNUS. 353 
 
 who with the Father and Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, One 
 God in Three Persons, world without end. Amen." 
 
 Master Robert wrote this history in Latin to the worship 
 and honour of the holy Magnus, Earl of the Isles, when twenty 
 years were gone from his passion. 
 
 29. Now must we take up the story again, and tell of the 
 things which were done after the death of the holy Earl 
 Magnus. So great was the fierceness and cruelty of Earl 
 Hakon, and so great his anger and fury at the blessed Mag- 
 nus, that he bore not less malice to Earl Magnus dead than 
 living. And though the anger and fury of most men can be 
 abated after the doing of their ill deed, the ill will and malice 
 in the heart of Hakon took no rest and abated not ; for he for- 
 bade Earl Magnus to be buried at the Church as Christian men, 
 but ordered that he should be hidden there in the ground where 
 he was slain. 
 
 30. It had been agreed at the first meeting of the Earls in 
 Hrossey, that when their reconciliation had been fully made 
 and confirmed as the best men determined, as they had bound 
 themselves by oaths, that both Earls, when they fared from 
 the meeting, which was fixed to be held in Egilsey, should go to 
 a feast in Paplay at Thora's, the mother of Earl Magnus. But 
 now, after the slaying and death of the Earl, went Earl Hakon 
 to the banquet with his men. The feast was of the best. Now 
 when drink took hold on Earl Hakon, then went Thora to him 
 and spake thus : " Now art thou come here alone, lord ; but I ex- 
 pected both of you, thee and Earl Magnus my son. Now be 
 thou so to my prayer as thou wilt that Almighty God shall be 
 to thee at doomsday ; that thou grant to me that my son may 
 be buried at church." Earl Hakon looked on her, and shed 
 tears, and said : " Bury thy son, woman, where it likes thee." 
 Earl S. Magnus was then borne to the church, and buried in 
 Birsay, at Christ's Kirk, which Earl Thorfinn, his grandfather, 
 let be built. Immediately a heavenly light was often seen to 
 shine over his grave. Then men began to call upon the holy 
 Earl Magnus, when they were placed in danger, and he met 
 their need as they prayed. Always was a heavenly odour 
 perceived at his grave, and there sick men obtained health. 
 
354 LIFE OF 
 
 Next, sick men made journeys from Orkney and Shetland, who 
 were hopeless of cure, and watched before his tomb, and were 
 cured of all their diseases, but still men did not dare to make 
 known the miracles of Earl Magnus while Earl Hakon lived. 
 So it is told, that the men who had been worst between the 
 Earls and most in treachery towards Earl Magnus, came most 
 of them to speedy ends and short life, and died a shameful 
 death. 
 
 After the death of Magnus, Hakon, Paul's son, took pos- 
 session of all the Earldom of the Orkneys. He compelled 
 all men to swear oath and fealty to himself, as well those who 
 before had served Earl Magnus. He became great, and laid 
 heavy burdens on the friends of Earl Magnus, whom he thought 
 had been most against himself in their negotiations. Some 
 winters after, Hakon made ready to go abroad. He went 
 south to Rome, and on that journey went all the way to 
 Jerusalem, as was then the custom for palmers. He sought 
 the holy places, and bathed in the river Jordan. After that he 
 returned to his own land and took up the government in the 
 Orkneys. He became then a good ruler, and established good 
 peace in his kingdom. He made new laws, which the franklins 
 liked much better than those which had been before. By such 
 things he began to increase his popularity. So it came to 
 pass that the people of the Orkneys would have no other than 
 Earl Hakon and his offspring to hold rule among them. And 
 here is the end of what is to be said about Hakon in this 
 book. 
 
 31. The most merciful God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who in- 
 vites and leads His friends to everlasting joy, from all the bon- 
 dage of this world, . . . the same who redeems all who humble 
 themselves to His mercy, with their whole heart, from all the 
 sins and pollutions of this sorrowful world, and makes of the 
 ignorant the wisest, of the lowly and despised the most famous, 
 of the poor the richest, of the ignoble the noblest rulers, not 
 only of the kingdoms of this world, but also of the kingdom of 
 heaven, and of eternal glory, as He did aforetime with the 
 patriarch Joseph, who was led out of a dark dungeon and at 
 once made prince and ruler over all the land of Egypt : the 
 
MAGNUS. 355 
 
 same who made of the shepherd boy, David, the greatest king 
 over all the tribes of Israel, and led Judas Maccabseus out of 
 the famine of the desert, that he might obtain honour and the 
 renown of victory, and so great a fame that in many things he 
 is thought to far excel others, and Alexander, the son of Philip, 
 who was called the Macedonian, because of the hard master- 
 ship of Aristotle *...... 
 
 15. At this time William was bishop in the Orkneys. 
 Then was the bishop's seat at Christ's Kirk in Birsay where 
 the holy Earl Magnus was buried ; he doubted long about 
 his holiness and kept down this new thing [i.e., the miraculous 
 virtue experienced at the grave of S. Magnus, c. 30.] 
 
 16. Bergfinn, Starri's son was the name of a franklin 
 north in Shetland. He was sightless, and fared south to 
 the Orkneys and watched at the tomb of the Earl S. Magnus. 
 With him watched two men, one was named Sigurd and the 
 other Thorbjorn ; they were both cripples. Earl S. Magnus 
 appeared to them all and made them quite cured. Again 
 twenty-four men watched at the tomb of Earl Magnus and all 
 got healing for their hurts. 
 
 Many men told this before Bishop William and urged him 
 to speak about it with Paul, Hakon's son, who then ruled over 
 the Isles after his father, and ask him to give leave that the 
 sacred relics of Earl Magnus might be taken up out of the 
 ground, but the bishop took that heavily. Often was he 
 reminded in dreams that he should make up his mind about 
 the Earl's holiness, and yet he would not believe in it. After- 
 wards it so came about that he was beaten with divine 
 scourges that he might honour the tokens and holiness of Earl 
 Magnus. 
 
 17. One summer Bishop William sailed East to Norway 
 on some pressing business, and immediately turned homewards 
 in the autumn, and came in the beginning of winter to Shet- 
 land. There he was laid up by contrary winds and storms. 
 But when for a long time during the winter there was no fair 
 
 * The following paragraphs are taken from the Lesser Saga in order to fill up 
 the gap which occurs here in the Greater Saga. 
 
356 LIFE OF 
 
 wind for the isles, the Bishop despaired of being able to reach 
 his see before spring. The captain asked him if he would 
 agree to the holiness of Earl Magnus if he should sing mass 
 the next Lord's Day at home. The bishop, so to say, gave 
 his consent to this, but more from necessity than of free 
 promise. But when this was agreed, there was calm weather 
 and soon a fair wind. And afterwards they sailed for Orkney ; 
 and he came home also before the next Lord's Day; and all 
 praised God and also his holy martyr Earl Magnus. Some 
 men say this, that Bishop William did not agree to take out 
 of the ground the sacred relics of Earl Magnus before it hap- 
 pened there at home one day at a time that he could not get 
 out of the church. For he had become blind and could not 
 find the door, till he repented of his unbelief, and wept bitterly, 
 and besought God that he might light upon the tomb of Earl 
 Magnus. And when he came there, he fell all his length on 
 the ground, and promised to at once take out of the earth his 
 sacred relics, when he received his sight. And when he had 
 ended his prayer, he received his sight there at the tomb. 
 
 1 8. Afterwards he summoned the wisest and the best men 
 in Orkney, and there came a great multitude to Christ's Kirk 
 at Birsay. Then were taken out of the ground the sacred 
 relics of Earl Magnus, and then the bones were almost come 
 up out of the ground. He then let wash the bones, and the 
 joint of the finger to be taken and tested in the consecrated 
 fire thrice. But it burnt not, rather it became like burned 
 silver. Some men said it ran into the form of a cross. Then 
 there were many miracles done by the holy relics. After that 
 took learned men the holy relics and laid them in a shrine, and 
 set them over the altar. That was on Lucy's day [December 
 13] before Yule; and then there had passed twenty years since 
 the slaying of Earl Magnus. The day of his death is holden in 
 spring, the sixteenth of the kalends of May [April 16]. Bishop 
 William directed the festival to be held on either of the two days 
 over all his bishopric ; and he was afterwards in great love with 
 the holy Earl Magnus. William was the first bishop in Ork- 
 ney, and ruled sixty-six years. 
 
MAGNUS. 357 
 
 * . . and prepared in every respect as becomingly as possible. 
 Then enshrined the lord Bishop the holy relics of the blessed 
 Earl Magnus with honour and reverence and the hymns of all the 
 people, and there were healed all who were lacking health, and 
 in need of pity, who at that time had thither sought his sacred 
 relics. Earl S. Magnus was enshrined on the Feast of the 
 Virgin Lucy, before Yule in the winter. And that day is 
 widely held in veneration both for the holy Magnus and God's 
 blessed Virgin Lucy, but in Spring is his home-faring day to 
 the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 32. Now was before told, though less fitly than briefly, about 
 the uptaking, probation, and enshrinement of the sacred relics 
 of the blessed Earl Magnus, and not less of the fixing of his 
 festival. And it is to be remembered and recorded that with 
 sundry privileges does the Lord God honour his beloved friends 
 because of their righteousness, some here immediately in this 
 life, but others after life. Yet seem those dignities among the 
 saints, somewhat special and surpassing, which belong to 
 God's martyr Magnus. That is to say, that when his bone was 
 proved at home in the Orkneys, it turned into the most 
 beautiful cross in the eyes of the men who were present. Of 
 this same is another example, that this same bone-cross was 
 afterwards turned into the most brilliant gold colour even 
 before the Lord Pope himself at Rome. Wherefore he receives 
 this purple martyr into the Catalogue of Saints ; but that has 
 been granted to few others in these Northern lands, that he him- 
 self [the Pope] has done this. Therefore may we behold and 
 wonder, though none may conceive it as it is, how abundant is 
 God Almighty in His riches and in the depths of His mercy: for 
 He grants these gifts of love to some of His friends, which He 
 grants not to others, and divides them among them as He 
 wills ; and He fails none, though He gives the gifts of the 
 Holy Spirit to each of them. Therefore be His name ever 
 praised and blessed throughout the ages. Amen. 
 
 33. From that time were spread abroad and celebrated the 
 miracles of the holy Earl Magnus over all the western and 
 
 The narrative of the Greater Saga is here resumed. 
 
358 LIFE OF 
 
 northern parts of the world, and men fared from neighbouring 
 lands, burghs and towns, castles and districts, with great hearts 
 and offering hands, to seek his holy relics, and some sent 
 presents to his sacred shrine, to his honour but for their own 
 healing and salvation, both in this world and in the next. 
 Therefore shall here be told some miracles, though but a few, 
 from the countless number which God granted because of his 
 merits : — 
 
 34. When Bergfinn, the franklin north in Shetland, who 
 was named before in this history, heard the joyful tidings of 
 the translation of the holy Earl Magnus, he fared a second 
 time south from Shetland with his leprous son, named 
 Halfdan, to Kirkwall ; and watched, both father and son, at 
 the sacred relics of Earl Magnus. And the holy man of God 
 appeared to Halfdan and passed his hands over his body and 
 at once fell from him all his leprosy. Then he rose up healed. 
 Earl S. Magnus also appeared to the franklin Bergfinn in a 
 dream and said to him : " Now shalt thou receive clear sight, 
 for hither hast thou now come with a true faith and didst not 
 distrust my sanctity, and didst offer to me fair vows, both in 
 prayers and offerings." Then he made the sign of the Cross 
 over Bergfinn's eyes ; and he awaked seeing as well as when 
 he had been sharpest sighted. And father and son both fared 
 home healed, praising God and the holy Earl Magnus. 
 
 A man, hight Thorkell, who dwelt in the Orkneys, fell off 
 his barley-rick and was maimed all over one side when he 
 came to the ground. He was borne to the holy Earl Magnus 
 and received there the speedy healing of his hurt, so that his 
 broken bones grew together again and his body was made 
 strong. He thanked God and the holy Earl Magnus for his 
 healing gift. 
 
 A man, called Amundi, son of Illugi, a franklin north in 
 Shetland, was a leper and very sick. He fared to the holy 
 Earl Magnus and watched at his shrine and prayed for mercy 
 and healing. As he slept Magnus Earl of the Isles appeared 
 to him and passed his hands over his body and gave him so 
 speedy a cure that he awoke quite whole ; and gave he to 
 God thanks for his healing and to the gracious Magnus. 
 
MAGNUS. 359 
 
 A man, hight Sigurd, Tandri's son, dwelt in Shetland at 
 the farm called Dale. He became mad, so that he was sewn 
 up in hide. This man was carried to the holy Earl Magnus 
 and got there his senses and complete health, and fared thence 
 sound and whole, praising God and the holy Earl Magnus. 
 
 Another man, also hight Sigurd, north in Shetland, had his 
 hands so twisted that all the fingers lay in the palm. He 
 sought the sacred relics of the holy Earl Magnus and received 
 there healing, with straightness and suppleness of his fingers 
 for all his needs. Thanked he God for the mercy which He 
 had granted him for the merits of Earl Magnus. 
 
 A man called Thorbiorn Olafs son, north in Shetland, 
 was witless and possessed of a devil. He was taken to the 
 place of the holy Earl Magnus, and was there at once made 
 whole, and fared back to his house rejoicing and praising God 
 and this blessed martyr. 
 
 Thord, who was surnamed Dreka-Skolptr (Dragon-Snout), 
 was hireling to the aforenamed franklin Bergfinn. He was 
 threshing corn in the barley barn on the day before the mass- 
 day of the holy Earl Magnus. But about 3 o'clock in the 
 afternoon Bergfinn bade him leave off work. " It is very 
 seldom," said Thord, " that it seems to thee that too much has 
 been done." Bergfinn said : " The festival which falls to- 
 morrow ought to be kept with all the honour we may and 
 can." Bergfinn then went away, but Thord worked on as be- 
 fore. When a little while was passed, Bergfinn went out again 
 and said to Thord in great anger : " It is the greatest offence 
 to me that thou workest at holy times. Leave off at once on 
 the spot." The franklin went away very wroth, but Thord went 
 on working as before. But when men had nearly done eating, 
 in came Thord in his working clothes and began at once to 
 drink greedily. When he had drunk one horn of ale, he became 
 mad, so that the men had at once to bind him with bonds and 
 that continued for six days. Then the franklin Bergfinn promised 
 for him to give half a mark of silver at the shrine of the holy 
 Earl Magnus, and to let Thord watch there three nights if he 
 might be made whole. Thord was at once healed the next 
 night after the promise had been made for him. And all praised 
 
360 LIFE OF 
 
 the Highest King of Heaven and his beloved friend the holy 
 Earl Magnus. 
 
 It is also said that two men broke gold off from the shrine 
 of the holy Earl Magnus ; one was a Caithness man, the other 
 an Orkneyman. He of Caithness was lost and drowned in 
 the Pentland Firth, and was hight Gilli. The Orkneyman 
 went mad and told in his ravings what they had done. Then 
 was a promise made for him of a pilgrimage to Rome if he were 
 made whole. Afterwards he was taken to the holy Earl 
 Magnus, and a vow was made to him for his recovery, and he 
 became whole at once, and praised God and the holy Earl 
 Magnus. 
 
 There was a man called Asmund. On his head fell a great 
 tree and broke all his skull, but the oft-named franklin 
 Bergfinn made a vow for him ; and lots were cast whether 
 there should be promised for him a pilgrimage to Rome or an 
 offering to the Church of Magnus. And the lot came up that 
 he should visit the sacred relics of the holy Earl Magnus. He 
 obtained at once the use of his tongue which he had before 
 lost. He fared then after that to the holy Earl Magnus and 
 watched there and obtained a complete cure of all his hurts. 
 And the franklin Bergfinn gave to Earl Magnus half a mark 
 of silver weighed as he had promised. 
 
 There was a woman called Sigrid ; she was the daughter of 
 Sigurd of Sand north in Shetland. She was blind from 
 tender babyhood until she was twenty. Her father took her 
 south to Orkney and let her watch at the shrine of Earl S. 
 Magnus. He offered there a great present. Sigrid received 
 then clear sight in both eyes, and they fared thence, father and 
 daughter, rejoicing and praising God and the holy Earl 
 Magnus. 
 
 There was another woman also called Sigrid, daughter of 
 Arnfrid, from the farmstead called Unst north in Shetland. 
 Her leg was broken in twain, and she was taken to the holy 
 Earl Magnus ; and was quickly cured, and thanked God and 
 the holy Earl Magnus. 
 
 A third woman also called Sigrid from Unst north in 
 Shetland, was working with the franklin hight Thorlak who 
 
MAGNUS. 361 
 
 lived at Bollastede (Batlasta). Sigrid was sewing in the 
 evening before the mass-day of the holy Earl Magnus after 
 others were keeping the festival. Thorlak enquired why she 
 worked so long, and she answered she would stop. The 
 franklin went out, but she sewed as before. Then came 
 Thorlak again to her and said : " Why doest thou so wrongly 
 at so holy a time ? Now go away and work no longer in 
 my house." She made light of the offence, and then went 
 on sewing as before till it was dark night. But when the 
 men were getting ready to eat, Sigrid became mad so that she 
 had at once to be put in bonds and was grievously possessed, 
 till Thorlak made a promise for her and lots were cast, 
 whether she should fare to Rome or give goods to Earl 
 Magnus. And the lot was thrown that she should go to 
 Kirkwall to the sacred relics of the holy Earl Magnus. After- 
 wards she was taken thither and got there a wonderful gift of 
 healing of her madness ; and she praised God and his exalted 
 knight Earl Magnus, nevertheless she afterwards fared to Rome 
 for her salvation. 
 
 A woman called Groa, from Hrossey, was possessed by an 
 evil spirit and fared to Kirkwall to the holy Earl Magnus, and 
 got there a good cure, and praised God and the holy Earl 
 Magnus. 
 
 There was a woman named Ragnhild ; she became a cripple 
 when she was four winters old and all up till she was twenty, 
 then watched she three nights at the holy relics of the Earl S. 
 Magnus. On the third night there appeared to her in her sleep 
 a man bright and glorious, and splendidly clad, and said to 
 her : " Long and often hast thou lain here, great is thy need, 
 rise up now and be made whole and take this staff in thine 
 hand." After that he vanished from her. But she wakened ; 
 she was then holding on to the lock that was on the aumbry on 
 the other side of the Magnus choir. Rose she then up at once 
 completely healed, as if she had never been crippled, with sound 
 bones and sinews, praising God and the holy Earl Magnus. 
 She was with the bishop many winters. 
 
 Asa was the name of a woman who had all her days been a 
 cripple. She obtained so excellent a cure from the blessed 
 
 24 
 
362 LIFE OF 
 
 Earl Magnus, that she went to Rome that same summer she 
 was healed. 
 
 Gudrun was the name of a woman ; she was a cripple for a 
 long time. She obtained a speedy cure of her maimness and a 
 complete cure through the merit and intercession of the holy 
 Earl Magnus, and praised God and his beloved Earl Magnus. 
 
 There was a man called Sigurd. He was alms-man at Knot- 
 Sand. He was so very decrepit that he crept on his knees and 
 could not stand upright. He was cured at the shrine of Earl 
 Magnus. He praised God and the holy Magnus. 
 
 Two Southerners cast dice for money — one lost a hundred 
 marks. Then was lost all his wealth, except one cog he had 
 left. He then staked the cog against every thing he had lost. 
 Then he who won before, threw two sixes. But for his help 
 the other made a vow to the holy Earl Magnus, that he might 
 get back the rest of his property. After that he threw, and 
 turned up six on one dice, but the other sprang asunder in two 
 parts, and there were seven spots on the two together and thir- 
 teen on the three ; and so he won back all his wealth. 
 
 35. It happened in Norway, in the days of Harold Gilli, that 
 some rich men and distinguished gave out that two brothers in- 
 tended to beguile their kinswomen. But the accusation was not 
 true. All the same, the two rich men attacked them, and took 
 them captive, carrying them away from others into a wood, 
 and slew the one of whom they had the greater suspicion. 
 Afterwards they took the other and gave him many and hard 
 tortures with much cruelty, insomuch that they brake in 
 sunder both his legs and as well his arms. After this these 
 cruel men put out both his eyes, therewith cutting his tongue 
 away out of his head, and in such inhuman wise leaving him, 
 they went away ; but he lay there half dead. As soon as they 
 were away, leapt out from the woods many wolves, riving and 
 tearing the flesh from the bones of him who was slain, 
 faring after back into the wood. But of him who was wounded 
 it is to be told that though he could not pray with his tongue 
 for pity, he continually bethought him that Almighty God 
 would grant him some help. Especially did his mind turn 
 there where the holy Earl Magnus was, for at that time 
 
MAGNUS. 363 
 
 was flourishing most of all his miracle-working. And when 
 he had made a vow, he became aware that a man was come 
 to him who was stroking his broken arms and legs. There- 
 with he takes the short part of his tongue and brings it to 
 its place at last ; he then lays his hand on the sockets of his 
 eyes. And with this handling came a wonderful change ; the 
 eyes took their places with clear vision, the tongue imme- 
 diately becomes framed for all kinds of speech, the broken 
 limbs were healed, and all his former health restored. He 
 sees standing by him a man of fair countenance, with whom 
 he spake, saying: "What is thy name, noble lord?" The 
 resplendent man answers : " Here is Earl Magnus, but take 
 good heed to perform that which thou hast promised to the 
 Lord." At this he became joyful, and spake thus to him again : 
 " Since, exalted friend of God, thou hast granted to me a great 
 gift of healing, I beseech also of thy clemency to intercede with 
 God for my brother's life." After he had thus spoken, the holy 
 Magnus vanished away from his sight without answering to 
 his prayer. But he fell down and thanked God for the mercy 
 vouchsafed to himself, intending to bide in that place two 
 nights in steadfast prayer for the help of his brother. And as 
 the time wore on he looks round, and sees a great pack of 
 wolves run from the wood to where the corpse lay, and spew 
 up there all they had eaten of his flesh and bones, and turn 
 again to the wood. And when a little time was passed, he 
 sees S. Magnus come, and bless with his right hand all the 
 wolves' vomit and the bones ; then next to this the body be- 
 comes all sound. S. Magnus blesses again his lifeless body, 
 wherefore he rises up whole and living who before was slain, 
 and goes to his brother. Greeted then each of them the 
 other, giving thanks to God and the holy Magnus for so mar- 
 vellous a mercy as had been granted them. So also let all 
 hearing such miracles, give manifold praise to the true God, 
 who grants such wonderful things to sinful men because of 
 the prayers and merits of his own best beloved friends. 
 
 19.* There was a trusty franklin in Westray, called Gunni. 
 He dreamt that the holy Earl Magnus came to him and said : 
 
 * This and the following chapters are from the Lesser Saga. 
 
364 L I F E O F 
 
 "This shalt thou say to Bishop William, that I would fare 
 out of Birsay east to Kirkwall, and I trust that God will there 
 grant me of His mercy that those who seek me there with a true 
 faith may be healed of their pains. Thou shalt tell thy dream 
 boldly." But when he awoke, he did not dare to tell the 
 dream, because he feared the wrath of Earl Paul. The 
 following night Earl Magnus appeared to him and bade him 
 tell the dream when many were by : " But if thou dost not do 
 so, thou shalt suffer punishment in this world and more in the 
 next." And when he awoke he was filled with fear and fared 
 to Hrossey to see the bishop, and tells the dream at the bishop's 
 mass in a great crowd of men. Earl Paul was there, and all 
 the people prayed the bishop to bear the sacred relics to 
 Kirkwall as Earl Magnus had shown. But Earl Paul stood by 
 silent, and turned blood red. After that fared Bishop William 
 east to Kirkwall with a noble retinue and bore thither the sacred 
 relics of Earl Magnus. The shrine was set over the altar in 
 the Church which is there. There was then at Kirkwall but a 
 trading village with few houses, but it has since greatly in- 
 creased. Many men have since fared thither and watched 
 there in the Church at the holy relics and have been healed if 
 they vowed to Earl Magnus with true faith. 
 
 20. When Earl Rognvald Kali, sister's son to Earl S. 
 Magnus, had come to rule in the Orkneys, and was quietly 
 seated, he caused the ground-plan of the Magnus Church in 
 Kirkwall to be marked out, and got workmen for it, and the 
 work went on well and swiftly ; and it is a noble work and 
 well finished. Afterwards were the sacred relics of Earl 
 Magnus flitted thither, and many signs were wrought there at 
 his holy relics. There is now also a bishop's see which was 
 before at Christ's Kirk in Birsay. 
 
 A man, called Eldjarn, the son of Vardi, had a wife and 
 many children, and lived north in Kelduhverf. But during a 
 bad season he became poor and sick, so that he could not help 
 himself, and so little strength had he that he was unable to 
 walk and was driven about among the homesteads. It fell after 
 Easter in spring that he had been driven about on Thursday, 
 Friday, and Saturday, and had had no food. He came at nones 
 
MAGNUS. 365 
 
 on Saturday to where the priest lived and was there through 
 the night. In the morning when men fared to matins, he 
 prayed that he might be taken to the Church ; and it was 
 done. After the matins men fared indoors between the services. 
 But he lay out of doors there where his bed was made : he was 
 so feeble that he thought he was about to die. It came also 
 into his mind how he had been before his poverty when he had 
 his property all together, and his prayer which he prayed, 
 touched him so much that he was greatly moved. Then he 
 took and promised a six days' fast, if God would give him some 
 relief : this fast he vowed both before S. Olaf's and S. Magnus' 
 day. When he had uttered his vow, men came to the service 
 and the priest sang mass. When the Epistle was read he fell 
 asleep, but those who were beside him thought he was about 
 to die. In his sleep a vision passed before him, in which he 
 thought he saw a great light within the choir, and that it came 
 out to him. He saw with the light a beautiful man, and he 
 said to him : " Eldjarn ! hast thou little strength now? " He 
 thought he answered : " So methinks, though perhaps it may 
 not be so. But who art thou ? " He answers : " I am Earl S. 
 Magnus, Erlend's son. Wilt thou be made whole ? " He 
 answers : " I will." He replied : " King S. Olaf also has heard 
 thy prayer and the vow which thou hast made to us two for 
 thy healing. But he sent me hither to give thee healing : for 
 a woman made a vow to him west in the Firths, and he has 
 fared thither to make her whole." Then began Earl Magnus 
 to pass his hands over him, but he woke up when the Gospel 
 was begun. He asked the men who stood nearest him to lift 
 him up. But they answered : " Why should we lift thee up, 
 when thou hast no strength ? " He replies : " I think I am 
 now cured." They took him and raised him on to his feet, and 
 he stood all through the Gospel and so on to the end of the 
 mass. After mass he went in to the priest and tells the miracle, 
 how God had given him healing. And all praised God for the 
 mercy which He had granted to him for the merit of Earl S. 
 Magnus. May he obtain for us mercy and pardon for our 
 sins from our Lord Jesus Christ, who, with the Father and the 
 Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth God for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
INDEX 
 
1 NDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ached-bou 108 
 
 Aethne, mother of S. Columba, 53 
 
 Aid the Black, 83 
 
 Aid, son of Ainmurech 94 
 
 Aid, King 66, 67 
 
 Aidan, King, 33, 65, 149 
 
 Aid Slane, 68 
 
 Aidan, son of Fergno, 76 
 
 Ailbine, Delvine, 100 
 
 Ainmire, son of Setna, King, 64 
 
 Airtheara, Kings of, 89 
 
 Airthrago, island of, 143 
 
 Ait-Chambas Art-Muirchol, 115 
 
 Alva, 291 
 
 Aporic Lake, the, 128 
 
 Artbranan, 81 
 
 Ard Ceannachte, 101 
 
 Ardnamurchan, ,. 67 
 
 Artur, son of Aidan, 65, 66 
 
 Baitan, of Lathreginden, 72 
 
 Bede, the Venerable, his state- 
 ments as to SS. Ninian and 
 
 Columba, 5 
 
 Berach, 71 
 
 Berchan, surnamed Mesloen, 162 
 
 Boend, river, 104 
 
 Bos, river, 88 
 
 Brecan, whirlpool of, 107 
 
 Breg, plain of, 86 
 
 Brenden Mocualti, 76 
 
 Brito, a monk, 150 
 
 Broichan, the Druid, 124,125 
 
 Brude, King, 55, 124, 126 
 
 Brude, King, son of Dagart, 289 
 
 Cailtan, 79 
 
 Campulus Bovis, 108 
 
 Candida Casa, , n 
 
 Cation, King, defeated and slain 
 
 by Oswald, 57 
 
 Cellrois, monastery of, 89 
 
 Cethirn, fortress and well of,.... 94 
 Christ's Kirk, Birsay, burial of 
 S. Magnus, 353 ; enshrine- 
 
 ment of his relics, 35^,357 
 
 Clochur, 102 
 
 Clonifinchoil, monastery of, 169 
 
 Cnoc Angel 158 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cogreth, lake, 92 
 
 Coire Salchain 92 
 
 Colga, son of Aid Draigniche, ... 70 
 
 Colga, son of Cellach, 82, 103, 157 
 
 Colonsay, island of, 87, 115 
 
 Colman, the Hound, 89 
 
 Columb, a blacksmith, 153 
 
 Cooldrevny, battle of, 53, 64 
 
 Congal, abbot, " 94 
 
 Conall, bishop of Coleraine, 95 
 
 Connal, King, 64 
 
 Cronan, bishop, 90 
 
 Cronan, the poet 88 
 
 Culross, 187,289 
 
 Cuuleilne, in Iona, 84 
 
 Daire Calgaich, 134 
 
 Dairmaig (Durrow), 61, 95, 99 
 
 Deathrib, great cell of, 96 
 
 Deisuit, her sight restored by S. 
 
 Ninian, 27 
 
 Delvin, the river 101 
 
 Dermit, King (Aid Slane), 68 
 
 Diormit, King, 82 
 
 Diormit, S. Columba's servant, 
 
 42, 44, 65, 67, 74, 76, 78, 
 
 81, 96, 121, 122, 166 
 
 Diuni, a monk 79 
 
 Domingart, son of Aidan, 65, 66 
 
 Domnall, son of Aid, 66 
 
 Domnall, son of Mac Erca, 65 
 
 Druids, 55, 106, 124 
 
 Druim Ceatt, 66, 103 
 
 Drumalban, 81 
 
 Drumpelder, hill of, 184 
 
 Dunning, 292 
 
 Dysart, 289 
 
 Echoid, Bude, 66 
 
 Echoid Find, son of Aidan, 65, 66 
 
 Echoid Laib, 65 
 
 Edgar, King, 300 
 
 Edmund, King, 298 
 
 Eigg, island of, 160 
 
 Eilean-na-naiomh, 33, 37, 91, 
 
 »7, 149. '59, 160 
 
 Elgu, the river, 229 
 
 Elne plain of, 95 
 
 Emchath, 156 
 
368 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Erco Mocudruidi, a thief, 
 
 Erland, Earl in the Orkneys, 
 326 ; his sons quarrel with 
 Hakon, Earl Paul's son, 
 328 ; driven from the Ork- 
 neys to Norway by Magnus 
 Bareleg, 333 ; dies at Nidross, 
 
 Ernan, 
 
 Ernan, uncle of S. Columba, 
 
 Ernene, son of Crasen, 
 
 Failbhe, Abbot of Iona, 
 
 Farres Last, 
 
 Fechna, a penitent, 
 
 Fedilmith, father of S. Columba, 
 
 Feradach, 
 
 Field of the Two Streams, monas- 
 tery of, 
 
 Finten, son of Aid, 
 
 Forcus, son of Mac Erea, 
 
 Ford Clied, Dublin, 
 
 Gallan, son of Fachtna, 
 
 Gemman, 
 
 Germanus, Bishop, 
 
 Glasderc, 
 
 Gore, son of Aidan, 
 
 Hakon, Earl, son of Earl Paul, 
 327 ; his pride, 328 ; molests 
 the sons of Earl Erlend, 
 329 ; goes to Norway, ibid.; 
 consults a spaeman, ibid.; 
 visits Magnus Bareleg, 331 ; 
 receives his patrimony from 
 the Kings of Norway and 
 the title of Earl, 336 ; seizes 
 the whole Earldom of the 
 Orkneys and slays the King's 
 steward, ibid. ; on the ar- 
 rival of Magnus comes to an 
 agreement with him, 337 ; 
 a quarrel fomented between 
 him and Magnus, 340 ; seizes 
 the whole Earldom and 
 Caithness, 342 ; agreement 
 with Magnus, 343 ; another 
 quarrel fomented between 
 him and Magnus, 344 ; they 
 meet at Hrossey, ibid., and 
 agree to meet at Egilsey 
 after Easter, 345 ; their 
 meeting there, 349 ; the 
 slaying of Magnus, 350 ; goes 
 to the house of Thora, who 
 begs of him the body of 
 Magnus, her son, 353 ; rules 
 the Earldom, 354 ; makes a 
 pilgrimage to the Rome, 
 Jerusalem and the Jordan, 
 in which he bathes, ibid. ; 
 
 his rule, 
 
 Harald, Sigurd's son, 
 
 S7 
 
 335 
 69 
 91 
 61 
 
 57 
 
 iS 
 
 78 
 
 53 
 
 116 
 
 12S 
 122 
 
 65 
 
 101 
 
 82 
 
 11S 
 
 126 
 
 69 
 
 92 
 
 ibid. 
 328 
 
 Holdbodi, 
 
 Hynba (Eilean-na-Naoimh), 33, 
 37. 73. 91, 112, 117, 159. 
 
 347 
 
 Ictean Sea, 
 
 Inchkeith, island of, 
 
 Indairthir, Anterii, 
 
 Iogenan, 
 
 Iona, island of, 69, 71, 72, 87, 
 120, 131, 155, 157, 163, 
 
 160, 
 
 170 
 288 
 288 
 
 151 
 105 
 
 171 
 
 Islay, isle of, 
 
 Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow, 
 
 John, son of Conall, 
 
 Kinel, 
 
 Kernach (Carnoch), 
 
 Laisran Mocumoie, the gardener, 
 Laisran, son of Feradach, 67, 78 
 
 264 
 116 
 
 177 
 
 "5 
 2S8 
 199 
 
 71 
 
 Laloecen, 279 
 
 Lam-dess, 117 
 
 Langueth, Queen, 256 
 
 Lea, district of 74 
 
 Ledon, the river, 199 
 
 Libranofthe Rush-ground, 131 
 
 Lifolf, 350 
 
 Lothwerverd, 270 
 
 Lough Key, 88, 112 
 
 Lugaid, surnamed Laitir, 130 
 
 Lugbe Mocumiu, messenger of 
 
 S. Columba,... 69, 75, 77, 87, 119 
 
 137 
 157 
 119 
 106 
 86 
 88, 109 
 
 Lugne, a pilot, .. 
 Lugne Mocublai, 
 Lugne Mocumin, 
 Lugucencalad, .. 
 Lugud Clodus, ... 
 Lunge, plain of,., 
 Magnus Bareleg, is visited by 
 Hakon, 331 ; visits the Ork- 
 neys with a fleet, compels 
 Earls Paul and Erlend to go 
 to Norway and their sons to 
 accompany him on his expe- 
 dition south, 333 ; subdues 
 the Hebrides and overcomes 
 Hugh the Stout and Hugh 
 the Brave, 334 ; returns to 
 the Orkneys and Norway, 
 
 33S ; his death, ibid. 
 
 Malcolm, son of Duncan, King, 
 
 Mallena, the river, 
 
 Manus Dextera , 
 
 Maugina, daughter of Daimen, 
 
 Maugdorn, district of, 
 
 Mayonius, Bishop of Alexandria, 
 
 Melconde Galganu, 23 
 
 Meldan, 69 
 
 Mellindenor, Molindenar, 265 
 
 Miathi, battle of, 65 
 
 Monglas, 288 
 
 Morken, King of Cambria, 221, 223, 225 
 
 301 
 
 197 
 
 117 
 
 102 
 
 89 
 
 2S4 
 
INDEX. 
 
 369 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Morthec, 279 
 
 Muirbolc Paradisi, 67 
 
 Mull, island of, 87 
 
 Munhu (S. Kentigern), 194 
 
 Munitio Magna, 100 
 
 Neman, son of Gruthrich, 86 
 
 Ness, the river iig 
 
 Nigra Dea, river of, 129 
 
 Oingus, son of Aid Comman,.... 68 
 
 Oissene, son of Ernan, 61 
 
 Ommon, island of, 83 
 
 Ondemone, battle of, 64 
 
 Oswald, King, his vision, 46, 
 
 56 ; made Bretwalda, 57 
 
 Paul, Earl, in the Orkneys, 326 ; 
 his sons quarrel with those 
 of Earl Erlend, 328 ; is com- 
 pelled to leave the Orkneys 
 for Norway by Magnus Bare- 
 leg, 333 ; dies at Bergen,... 335 
 
 Pertnech, Patrick, 279 
 
 Picts, Northern, 55 
 
 Picts, Southern, converted by 
 
 S. Ninian, 15 
 
 Pilu, a Saxon, 163 
 
 Pons Servani, 197 
 
 Plague, the, 144 
 
 Rechrea, island of, 137 
 
 Rederech, 244, 247, 250, 256, 260, 278 
 Roderc, son of Tothal, King of 
 Alcluith, 69. See Rederech. 
 
 Robert, Master, 325, 351, 353 
 
 Rognvald Kali, 335 ; founds the 
 
 Magnus Church at Kirkwall, 304 
 
 Ronan, son of Aid, 89 
 
 S. Adamnan, his reasons for 
 writing the life of S. Col- 
 umba, 51 ; meets Servanus, 
 
 288 ; is visited by him, 289 
 
 S. Ailred complains of the man- 
 ners of his age, 19 
 
 S. Asaph, 232,246 
 
 S. Baithene, Abbot of Iona, 59, 
 
 72, 74, 84, 109, 152, 160 
 S. Brendan, of Birr, his death 
 revealed to S. Columba, 34, 
 154; sees an angel accom- 
 panying him, 147 
 
 S. Cainnech, Abbot of Ached- 
 
 bou ' 63, 108 
 
 S. Ceran of Clonmacnoise, 61 
 
 S. Colman, in danger in the 
 
 whirlpool of Brecan, 63 
 
 S. Columba, his Life by Cui- 
 mene the Fair, 31-47 ; his 
 nativity, 31, 147*; a globe 
 of fire appears over his face, 
 32, 147 ; he has an angel 
 
 for his companion, ibid., 
 148 ; turns water into wine, 
 ibid. ; is shown the glass book 
 of the ordination of Kings, 
 consecrates Aidan king, and 
 foretells future things con- 
 cerning his son, 33, 149; sees 
 a monk received up into 
 heaven, 34, 150; has the 
 death of S. Brendan revealed 
 to him, also the death of S. 
 Columban, 35, 155; he fights 
 with demons, ibid., 152 ; by 
 means of an angel renders 
 help to a monk in Ireland 
 though himself in Iona, 36, 
 157 ; he converses with an- 
 gels, 37, 157; a ball of fire 
 is seen to rise from his head, 
 ibid., 159; enjoys celestial 
 visions during three days, 38, 
 160 ; relieves a poor man, 
 ibid.; is suffused with hea- 
 venly light, 39, 161, 162 ; 
 his life is prolonged, 40, 164; 
 he predicts his own death, 
 41, 164; sees an angel, ibid., 
 165 ; indicates the hour of 
 his death, 42, 166; his occu- 
 pation just before his death, 
 ibid., 168 ; his last words, 
 43, 168 ; dies in the Church, 
 ibid., 169 ; burial, 44 ; the 
 storm during his obsequies, 
 45, 171 ; various miracles, 
 ibid. ; a miracle wrought by 
 his tunic, 47, 147 ; a pre- 
 diction concerning Ernene, 
 
 son of Crasen ibid. 
 
 Life by S. Adamnan, 51-174 ; 
 meaning of his name, 52 ; 
 his birth predicted by Mauc- 
 ta, ibid.; his parentage and 
 childhood, 53 ; his miracles, 
 55 ; a prophecy he uttered 
 concerning S. Fintan, son of 
 Tailchan, 60 ; Ernene, son 
 of Crasen, 61 ; the speedy 
 arrival of S. Cainnech, 63 ; 
 prays for the safety of bishop 
 Colman, ibid. ; prophesies 
 concerning Cormac, 64 ; 
 foretells the issue of the 
 battle between King Ainmire 
 and the two sons of Mac 
 Erca, Domnel and Forcus, 
 ibid.; also of the battle of 
 the Miathi, 65 ; prophecies 
 
 * The second numbers refer to the same incidents in S. Adamnan's Life. 
 
370 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 concerning the sons of Aidan, 
 ibid,; Domnal, son of Aid, 
 66 ; Scandlan, son of Col- 
 man, ibid.; Baitan and Ech- 
 oid, 67 ; Oingus, 68 ; Aid 
 Slane, ibid. ; King Roderc, 
 69 ; two boys, ibid.; Colga, 
 son of Aid Draigniche, 70 ; 
 Laisran, the gardener, ibid.; 
 a great whale, 71 ; a certain 
 Baitan, 72 ; one Neman, 73 ; 
 one guilty of incest, ibid.; 
 the vowel I, 75 > a book, 
 ibid.; his inkhorn, ibid. ; the 
 arrival of a guest, 76 ; a man 
 calling out from the other 
 side of the Straits, ibid.; a 
 Roman city, 77 ; a vision 
 concerning Laisran, son of 
 Feradach, 78 ; prophecies 
 concerning a penitent, ibid.; 
 his monk Cailtan, 79 ; two 
 brothers, 80; Artbranan, 81 ; 
 a fire, ibid.; Gallan, son of 
 Fachtna, 82 ; Findchan, 82 ; 
 the consolation he sent to 
 his weaned monks, 83 ; his 
 voice, 85 ; he chants even- 
 song before the gates of 
 King Brude, ibid.; prophe- 
 cies concerning Lugud Clo- 
 dus, 86 ; Neman, son of 
 Gruthrich, ibid.; a priest in 
 Trioit, 87 ; the thief Erco 
 Mocudruidi, ibid.; the poet 
 Cronan, 88 ; two noblemen, 
 89 ; he recognises in a visi- 
 tor a bishop, 90 ; prophecies 
 concerning Ernan, the priest, 
 91 ; a peasant, 92 ; Gore, 
 son of Aidan, ibid. ; a crane, 
 93 ; the fortress of the Ceth- 
 irn and its well, 94 ; certain 
 presents, 96 ; he turns water 
 into wine, 98 ; makes the 
 bitter fruit of a tree sweet, 
 99 ; causes corn sown after 
 midsummer to be reaped in 
 August, ibid.; by blessing 
 water cures many, 100 ; 
 water into which a box he 
 had blessed was dipped heals 
 Maugina, 102 ; the cure of 
 divers diseases at the Ridge 
 of Ceatt, 103 ; salt blessed 
 by the Saint cannot be con- 
 sumed by fire, ibid.; a book 
 written by him is not de- 
 stroyed by water, 104 ; a 
 similar miracle, ibid. ; water 
 
 caused to flow from a hard 
 rock, 105 ; a prophecy con- 
 cerning Lugucencalad, 106 ; 
 the water of another foun- 
 tain sweetened, ibid. ; he 
 stills a tempest, 107 ; his 
 prayers rescue Cainnech, 
 ibid.; the miracle of Cain- 
 nech's staff, 108 ; he gives 
 prosperous winds to Baithene 
 and Columban though sail- 
 ing in different directions, 
 109 ; drives a demon out of 
 a milk-pail, 1 10 ; he discovers 
 and brings to naught the 
 works of a sorcerer, in ; 
 heals Lugne Mocumin, 112 ; 
 miracle of the salmon, ibid.; 
 he indicates where two fish 
 will be found, ibid.; increases 
 the herd of Nesan, and pro- 
 phesies the minishing of 
 Uigene's, 113; multiplies the 
 number of Columban's cows, 
 114 ; prophesies the death of 
 John, son of Conall, who 
 had despised him, 115 ; also 
 of Feradach, 116 ; of Manus 
 Dextra, 117 ; of another op- 
 pressor of the innocent, 118; 
 slays a wild boar with his 
 word, 119; drives back an 
 aquatic monster in the 
 river Ness, ibid. ; drives 
 poisonous reptiles out of 
 Iona, 120 ; blesses a knife so 
 that it will hurt neither man 
 nor beast, 121 ; cures Dior- 
 mit, 122 ; Finten, son of 
 Aid, ibid.; raises a dead boy 
 to life, 123 ; causes the Druid 
 Broichan to be seized with 
 sickness, and a captive 
 maiden to be set free, 124 ; 
 he overcomes Broichan, 126 ; 
 causes the gates of King 
 Brude's fortress to open, 127; 
 also the doors of a church, 
 ibid.; provides for a poor 
 peasant by blessing a stake, 
 128 ; predicts that the flow- 
 ing tide will bring back a 
 milk-skin which the ebb had 
 taken away, 1 30 ; his pro- 
 phecy concerning Libran, 
 131 ; his prayer brings help 
 to a woman in child-birth, 
 139 ; he reconciles Tutida 
 and his wife, 137 ; his pro- 
 phecy respecting Cormac, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 37i 
 
 PAGE 
 
 grandson of Lethan, 139 ; his 
 prayers change the directions 
 of the winds, 142 ; and pro- 
 tect against the plague, 144 ; 
 the apparition of angels 
 which S. Brendan saw about 
 him, 147 ; he sees angels 
 carrying the soul of the 
 blacksmith Columb to hea- 
 ven, 153; the soul of a 
 woman, ibid.; sees angels 
 meet the soul of S. Brenden 
 of Birr, 154; also the soul 
 of S. Comgell, ibid.; and 
 the soul of Emchath, 156 ; 
 he sees angels coming to 
 meet his own soul, 163 ; a 
 white pack horse places its 
 head in his bosom and seems 
 to bemoan the Saint's ap- 
 proaching end, 167 ; his 
 death revealed to Lugud, son 
 ofTailchan, 169; toErnene, 
 170 ; his twelve companions, 
 173 ; his parents and rela- 
 tives, ibid. 
 
 S. Columba visits Kentigern,.. 264 
 S. Columban, death revealed, ... 35 
 
 S. Comgel, 95 
 
 S. Cormac, grandson of Lethan, 64, 138 
 
 S. David, 226, 229, 235 
 
 S. Fernaus sees S. Columba sur- 
 rounded with heavenly light, 39 
 S. Findchan, founder of Art- 
 chain, Tiree, 82 
 
 S. Findbarr (Vinnian), bishop, & 
 
 teacher of S. Columba, 98 
 
 S. Finnian sees an angel accom- 
 panying S. Columba, 32 ; 
 celebrates Mass when water 
 drawn by S. Columba is 
 
 turned into wine, ibid. 
 
 S. Finnio, a teacher of S. Col- 
 umba, sees an angel accom- 
 panying him, 14S 
 
 S. Fintan, Abbot, son of Tail- 
 chan, S. Columba's prophecy 
 
 concerning him, 58 
 
 S. Kentigern, conception, 179; 
 birth, 184 ; education, 187 ; 
 is falsely accused and restores 
 a bird to life, 1S9 ; kindles 
 fire by breathing upon a 
 hazel bough, 191 ; raises the 
 dead cook to. life, 194; leaves 
 S. Serf, 196; visits Fregus 
 at Carnoch, 199 ; blesses 
 Anguen, 201 ; the punish- 
 ment of Telleyr, 202 ; elec- 
 tion and consecration as bis- 
 
 hop at Glasgow, 203 ; his 
 example and doctrine, 206 ; 
 his dress, 207 ; couch, vigils 
 and bath, ibid.; his mode of 
 speaking, 209 ; is adorned 
 whilecelebrating Mass, ibid.; 
 how he spent Lent, 211 ; 
 the brightness of his coun- 
 tenance, and his opinion of 
 hypocrites, 214 ; he converts 
 and edifies the people, 216 ; 
 yokes a stag and a wolf to- 
 gether in a plough, and, sow- 
 ing sand, reaps wheat, 218 ; 
 uses the force of the Clyde 
 to confute Morken, 221 ; is 
 struck by Morken, 223 ; with- 
 draws to Wales, 226 ; meets 
 S. David, 227, and Cath- 
 wallain, 228 ; led by a white 
 boar to the spot he builds a 
 monastery on the banks of 
 the Elgu, 229 ; is opposed 
 by Melconde Galganu, 231 ; 
 number of brethren in the 
 monastery, 233 ; sees S. 
 David crowned in heaven, 
 235 ; his prediction concern- 
 ing Britain, 236 ; visits to 
 Rome, 237 ; Pope Gregory 
 confirms his election, 240 ; 
 the character of two clerics 
 revealed to him, ibid.; divine 
 vengeance overtakes his ad- 
 versaries, 242 ; is invited 
 back to Strathclyde by King 
 Rederech, 244 ; leaves S. 
 Asaph to govern the monas- 
 tery and sets out for Cam- 
 bria, 246 ; his reception and 
 and works, 248 ; is honoured 
 by King Rederech, 250 ; his 
 zeal, success and miracles, 
 252 ; the miraculous protec- 
 tion of his clothes, 254 ; he 
 restores to the Queen her 
 ring, which had been thrown 
 into the Clyde, 256 ; he 
 provides fresh mulberries 
 after Christmas, 260 ; milk 
 turned into cheese when 
 spilled into the river, 263 ; 
 is visited by S. Columba, 
 264 ; he relieves and converts 
 certain thieves who had 
 killed one of his sheep, the 
 head of which stuck to the 
 hands of him who had seized 
 it, and had been turned to 
 stone, 267 ; he erects crosses 
 
372 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 in various places, 268 ; he 
 prepares for death, 271 ; his 
 disciples desire to die with 
 him, 273 ; the manner of his 
 death, 275; his burial, 279 
 
 S. Margaret, her descent and 
 virtues, 298 ; marriage, 301 ; 
 builds the Church of the 
 Holy Trinity at Dumferm- 
 line, ibid.; presents a mag- 
 nificent cross to the Church 
 at St. Andrews, 302 ; her 
 chamber like the workshop 
 of a heavenly artificer, ibid.; 
 the women she employed, 
 Ibid.; her care for her chil- 
 dren, 303 ; for the honour 
 of the kingdom, 304 ; the 
 King's devotion to her, and 
 her influence over him, ibid.; 
 encourages trade, 305 ; her 
 influence over the Court, 
 ibid.; reforms the Church, 
 306 ; her charity, manner of 
 passing Lent, and prayer- 
 fulness, 310 ; redeems cap- 
 tives, 312 ; places vessels 
 for the conveyance of pil- 
 grims across the Forth, ibid.; 
 her copy of the Gospels is 
 miraculously preserved, 315 ; 
 her preparations for death, 
 316 ; her last illness and 
 death, 318 ; her burial 321 
 
 S. Martin of Tours visited by 
 
 S. Ninian, 10 
 
 S. Maucta, prediction concerning 
 
 S. Columba, 51 
 
 3. Ninian, his birth, 6 ; paren- 
 tage, baptism and education, 
 • 7 ; his arrival at Rome, 8 ; 
 his studies there, 9 ; is sent 
 by the Pope to Britain, 
 ibid. ; visits S. Martin of 
 Tours, 10 ; desires masons 
 of him, ibid. ; builds the 
 Church of S. Martin at 
 Whithorn, II ; heals and 
 converts King Tudvallus, 
 ibid.; vindicates an innocent 
 presbyter, 13 ; undertakes 
 the conversion of the South- 
 ern Picts, 15 ; his miracle 
 among the leeks, 16 ; he 
 protects certain cattle, 17 • 
 restores a thief to life, 18 ; 
 is protected when reading 
 against the rain, 20 ; why 
 on one occasion he was not, 
 20 ; a miracle wrought by 
 
 PAGE 
 
 his staff, ibid.; the miracles 
 
 wrought by his relics, 25-28 
 
 S. Servanus (Serf), 178, 191 
 
 S. Servanus, his conception, 283 ; 
 baptism and education, 284; 
 ordination, ibid. ; elected 
 bishop of the Canaanites, 
 ibid.; patriarch of Jerusalem, 
 285 ; resides at Constanti- 
 nople, 286 ; visits the island 
 of Salvatoris, ibid. ; elected 
 to the Chair of S. Peter at 
 Rome, ibid.; leaves Rome, 
 ibid.; ascends the Alps, 287 ; 
 he and his company are as- 
 sailed in the Valley of Beasts, 
 ibid.; crosses the Ictean Sea, 
 288 ; meets S. Adamnan, 
 ibid.; arrives at Kinel, ibid. ; 
 takes up his abode at Cul- 
 ross, 289 ; is opposed by 
 Brude, son of Dagart, ibid. ; 
 builds a church, ibid.; visits 
 Adamnan in the island of 
 Leven, ibid.; restores a bro- 
 ther in the cave at Dysart, 
 ibid.; his controversy with 
 the Devil in the same cave, 
 290 ; cures a man of an evil 
 spirit at Tillicoultry, 291 ; a 
 miracle performed at Alva, 
 ibid.; slays the dragon in the 
 Dragon's Den at Dunning, 
 292 ; is visited by three men 
 from the Alps whom he 
 heals, ibid.; his death and 
 
 burial at Culross, 293 
 
 Salvatoris, island of, 286 
 
 Saxonia, 66 
 
 Scandlan, son of Colman, 66 
 
 Seghine, Abbot of Iona, 57, 62 
 
 Sigurd, one of Hakon's retainers, 344 
 Sigvat Sokki, one of Hakon's 
 
 retainers, 344 
 
 Silnan, a monk, 87, 100 
 
 Skye, isle of, 81, 119 
 
 Snam-luthir, monastery of, r4i 
 
 Snorri Sturlason, 335 
 
 Suibne, son of Columban 68 
 
 S. Magnus, his parentage, 326 ; 
 early virtues, 327 ; youth and 
 conduct, 332 ; is compelled 
 to accompany Magnus Bare- 
 leg, and is made his table 
 swain, 333 ; his conduct dur- 
 ing the battle in the Menai 
 Straits, 334 ; he escapes from 
 Magnus Bareleg, ibid.; visits 
 the Court of Malcolm Can- 
 more, 335, and a certain bis- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 373 
 
 hop in Wales, ibid.; goes to 
 Caithness and receives the 
 title of Earl, 336 ; his auster- 
 ities, ibid.; goes to the Ork- 
 neys and comes to an agree- 
 ment with Hakon, 337 ; the 
 agreement confirmed by the 
 King of Norway, ibid.; his 
 character as a ruler, 338 ; « 
 quarrel fomented between 
 him and Hakon, 340 ; he 
 visits the English Court, 341 ; 
 his return to the North, 342 ; 
 reconciliation of Hakon, 343 ; 
 another quarrel fomented be- 
 tween him and Hakon, 344 ; 
 they meet at Hrossey, ibid., 
 and agree to meet at Egilsey 
 after Easter, 345 ; their meet- 
 ing there, 346 ; his death, 
 350 ; his burial in Christ's 
 Kirk, Birsay, 353 ; sick men 
 healed at his grave, ibid.; 
 
 PAGE 
 
 enshrinement of his relics, 
 356, 357 ; canonisation, 357 ; 
 his miracles, 355, 358, et 
 seq.; translation of his relics 
 
 to Kirkwall 364 
 
 Taneu, mother of S. Kentigern, 179, 188 
 
 Tarain 116 
 
 Tauri Vestigium, 18 
 
 Tillicoultry 291 
 
 Tiree, island of, 71, 72, 109 
 
 Tomma, Ridge of, 170 
 
 Trena, a monk, 70 
 
 Triot, monastery of, 87 
 
 Tudvallus, his conversion by S. 
 
 Ninian, 11 
 
 Valley of Beasts, 287 
 
 Virgnous, Abbot, 161 
 
 William, Bishop of the Orkneys, 
 refuses to believe in the 
 miracles wrought at the 
 grave of S. Magnus, and 
 how he is brought to honour 
 him. 355.356