[*€.'m ?5sS K^ -W; i^ 35?3 ^W'*^***¦ - ^- ''•«if i? »-'"V:; •Asi^i nff i/S^ i**e^3'' ¦ r^i' <^ 'm' tAjo; /: RESEARCH into the ECCLESIASTICAL AND POLITI ANCIENT BRITAIN UNDER the ROMAN EMPERORS. WITH OBSERVATIONS UPON THE PBINCIPAL EVENTS AND CHARACTEES CONNECTED WITH THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION DURING THE FIRST FIVE CENTURIES. BY THE late REV. FRANCIS THACKERAY, A.M. FORMERLY 0"F PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. VOL. II. LONDON: THOMAS CADELL, STRAND. MDCCCXLIII. MKU7 V,?- LONDON : RICHARD WATTS, CROWN COURT, TEMPl.EBAR. Illustrations in ^etonir iTolume. FACING INSIGNIA OF THE VICAR OF BRITAIN x. 5 INSIGNIA OF THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SHORE . . 6 INSIGNIA OF THE COUNT OF BRITAIN 9 INSCRIPTION FROM THE LEADEN CROSS ON THE STONE OVER KING ARTHUR'S GRAVE . . . .208 CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER VII. FROM A.D. 325, TO A.D. .369. CHANGES EFFECTED BY CONSTANTINE IN THE CIVIL AND MILITARY ADMINISTRATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, ESPECIALLY IN BRITAIN THE VICAR OF BRITAIN, HIS AUTHORITY, INSIGNIA, AND COURT THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SHORE, HIS INSIGNIA, COURT, AND MILITARY FORCES THE COUNT OF BRITAIN, AND THE NATURE OF HIS COMMAND THE DUKE OF BRITAIN, HIS INSIGNIA, AND FORCES WHOLE MILITARY FORCE IN BRITAIN DURING THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE THE MANNER IN WHICH THE OFFICES OF RELIGION WERE PERFORMED IN THE ROMAN ARMIES RELIGIOUS STATE OF BRITAIN THE THREE SONS OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ; CONSTANTINE, CONSTAN TIUS, AND CONSTANS DEATH OF THE ELDEST, CONSTANTINE CONSTANS VISITS BRITAIN THE COUNCIL OF SARDICA THE USURPER MAGNENTIUS BATTLE OF MURSA, AND DEATH OF MAGNENTIUS ST. ATHANASIUS HILARY OF POICTIERS COUNCIL OF RIMINI — -STATE OF RELIGIOUS PARTIES JULIAN THE APOSTATE JOVIAN VALENTINIAN DISTRESS ING STATE OF BRITAIN COUNT THEODOSIUS : HIS GREAT ACTIONS : HE IS SHAMEFULLY PUT TO DEATH CHARACTER OF HIS SON, THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS P. 1 CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME. Page CHAPTER VIII. THE USURPATION OF MAXIMUS IN BRITAIN DEATH OF THE EMPEROR GRATIAN BY TREACHERY MAXIMUS SENDS AMBASSA DORS TO THEODOSIUS ; BECOMES A PERSECUTOR OF THE PRIS- CILLIANISTS ; INVADES ITALY FLIGHT OF VALENTINIAN II. THEODOSIUS TAKES UP ARMS IN FAVOUR OF VALENTINIAN DEFEAT AND DEATH OF MAXIMUS, AND OF HIS SON VICTOR DISASTROUS STATE OF THE BRITISH SOLDIERS IN GAUL : THEY SETTLE IN ARMORICA, TO WHICH THEY GIVE THE NAME OF BRITTANY ^DEATH OF VALENTINIAN II. DEFEAT OF EUGENIUS CHRYSANTHUS BECOMES VICAR OF BRITAIN DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF THE FIVE PROVINCES OF BRITAIN THE NUMBER AND NAMES OF THE EPISCOPAL SEES, FROM NENNIUS, AS CITED BY USHER ; WITH SOME CORRECTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE RESEARCHES OF HORSLEY, BAXTER, AND HENRY' PRO BABLE AMOUNT OP THE EPISCOPAL REVENUES ABOUT THE CLOSE OF THE FOURTH CENTURY: NUMBER OF THE CLERGY: ARCHPRESBYTERS, ARCHDEACONS, AND CHOREPISCOPl INFE RIOR ORDERS OF THE CLERGY MONASTICISM PILGRIMAGES TO SYRIA .59 CHAPTER IX. FROM A.D. 395, TO A.D. 409. CHARACTER OF STILICHO HE SENDS AN ARMAMENT TO THE RELIEF OF THE BRITONS REVOLT AMONG THE SOLDIERY AND PEOPLE OF BRITAIN MARCUS, GRATIAN, AND CONSTANTINE, SUCCESSIVELY CHOSEN SOVEREIGNS ENTERPRISES AND SUC CESS OF CONSTANTINE HIS OVERTHROW AND DEATH THE BRITONS SHAKE OFF THE ROMAN YOKE IMMEDIATE CONSE QUENCES OP THAT EMANCIPATION THE CHURCH, AND THE BLESSINGS EFFECTED BY IT THE PELAGIAN HERESY CONTENTS OF SECOND VOLUME. Page PELAGIUS C/ELESTIUS JULIANUS FASTIDIUS — FAUSTUS AGRICOLA GERMANUS LUPUS SEVERUS — BENEFITS CONFERRED BY GERMANUS ON THE BRITISH CHURCH AND NATION LITURGIES AND OFFICES OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES, THOSE PARTICULARLY OF GAUL ST. PATRICK 113 CHAPTER X. FROM A.D. 414, TO A.D. 585. THE MEANING OP THE TERMS " SCOT " AND " PICT " EXAMINED THE INHABITANTS OF IRELAND DENOMINATED SCOTS RAVAGES OF THE SCOTS AND PICTS IN BRITAIN THE BRITONS CRAVE ASSISTANCE FROM THE ROMANS — A LEGION IS TWICE SENT TO THEIR ASSISTANCE FINAL WITHDRAWAL OP THE ROMANS FROM BRITAIN DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIER COUNTRY BY THE PICTS AND SCOTS MISERY OF THE BRITONS THEY DETERMINE TO SOLICIT AID FROM THE SAXONS VORTIGERN THE SAXONS CONDUCT OF HENGIST — VORTIMER — AURELIANUS AMBROSIUS HENGIST's MASSACRE OF THE BRITISH CHIEF TAINS UTHYR PENDRAGON ARTHUR MAELGWN URIEN, &C. IDOLATRY SUPERSEDED CHRISTIANITY IN GREATER PART OP BRITAIN ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAXON OCTARCHY CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE KINGDOMS 171 CHAPTER XI. FROM A.D. 435, TO A.D. 582. REMARKS PREFATORY TO THE ACCOUNT OP THE BRITISH ECCLE SIASTICS DUBRICIUS PELAGIANISM RE-APPEARS IN BRITAIN SYNOD OF LLANDDEWI BREFI ISLE OF BARDSEY ST. DAVID TEILO OUDOCEUS — BERTHGWYN ILTUTUS PADARN ASAPH GILDAS NEO-DRUIDISM NYNIAS COLUMBA AIDAN SOME PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL OF THE EARLY CONTENTS OE SECOND VOLUME. Page BRITISH CHURCH — OEDD ANCIENT MANNER OF CONSECRA TION OF MONASTERIES IN BRITAIN NUNNERIES NOT YET ESTABLISHED^ THE CHARGE AGAINST THE BRITONS FOR NOT ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT THE SAXONS, CONSIDERED 217 APPENDIX I. TO VOL. II. MISSA S. GERMANI 275 APPENDIX 11. SYNODUS S. PATRICII, AUXILII ET ISSERNINI, EPISCOPORUM, IN HIBERNIA CELEBRATA, CIRCA ANNUM CHRISTI 450, VEL 456. . 281 GENERAL INDEX. ANCIENT BRITAIN. CHAPTER VIL FROM A.D. 325, TO A.D. 369. CHANGES EFFECTED BY CONSTANTINE IN THE CIVIL AND MILITARY ADMINISTRATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, ESPECIALLY IN BRITAIN THE VICAR OF BRITAIN, HIS AUTHORITY, INSIGNIA, AND COURT THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SHORE, HIS INSIGNIA, COURT, AND MILITARY FORCES THE COUNT OF BRITAIN, AND THE NATURE OF HIS COMMAND THE DUKE OF BRITAIN, HIS INSIGNIA, AND FORCES WHOLE MILITARY FORCE IN BRITAIN DURING THE REIGN OP CONSTANTINE THE MANNER IN WHICH THE OFFICES OF RELIGION WERE PERFORMED IN THE ROMAN ARMIES RELIGIOUS STATE OF BRITAIN THE THREE SONS OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ; CON STANTINE, CONSTANTIUS, AND CONSTANS DEATH OF THE ELDEST, CONSTANTINE CONSTANS VISITS BRITAIN — THE COUNCIt OF SAR DICA THE USURPER MAGNENTIUS BATTLE OF MURSA, AND DEATH OF MAGNENTIUS ST. ATHANASIUS HILARY OF POICTIEBS COUNCIL OF RIMINI STATE OF RELIGIOUS PASTIES JULIAN THE APOSTATE JOVIAN ^VALENTINIAN. DISTRESSING STATE OF BRITAIN COUNT THEODOSIUS: HIS GREAT ACTIONS: HE IS SHAME FULLY PUT TO DEATH CHARACTER OF HIS SON, THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS. During the long reign of Constantine, Britain enjoyed peace and prosperity. But the changes which that Emperor made in his Civil and Military VOL. II. B 2 CHANGES EFFECTED BY CONSTANTINE administration materially affected our island. With a view to lessen the danger which had frequently arisen from the great power of the Provincial Go vernors, Constantine determined to spread among several persons the authority which had before been concentrated in one individual. He accord ingly divided the whole Roman Empire into four Prefectures — those of the East, of lUyricum, of Italy, and of Gaul. The Prefecture of Gaul com prehended the three Civil Dioceses of Gaul, Spain, and Britain ; the two last countries being governed by oflBcers called Vicars, or Vicegerents, who were subordinate to the Prefect of Gaul. Constantine, moreover, separated^ the Military from the Civil (') It is the just remark of Gibbon, upon the Balance ofthe Civil and Military Powers which, by this separation, was intro duced into the Administration of the Roman Empire, that " the " emulation, and sometimes the discord, which reigned between " two professions of opposite interests and incompatible manners " was productive of beneficial and of pernicious consequences. " It was seldom to be expected that the General and the Civil " Governor of a province should either conspire for the distur- " banco, or should unite for the service, of their country. While " the one delayed to offer the assistance which the other disdained. " to solicit, the troops very frequently remained without orders or " without supplies ; the public safety was betrayed ; and the de- " fenceless subjects were left exposed to the fury of the Barbarians. "The IN THE CIVIL AND MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. S administration ; transferring the supreme jurisdic tion, before exercised by the Praetorian Prefects over the armies of the empire, to eight Prcesentales, or Masters-General; four of whom he appointed for the cavalry, and four for the infantry. Under the order of these Masters-General, thirty- five military commanders^ were sent into the dif ferent provinces ; of whom three were stationed in Britain, who were known by the following titles : the Duke of Britain, the Count of Britain, and the Count of the Saxon Shore. The Vicar of Britain, although his authority was " The divided Administration which had been formed by Con- " stantine relaxed the vigour of the State, while it secured the " tranquillity ofthe Monarch." — Decline and FaU ofthe Roman Empire, chap. xvii. (^) " The titles of Counts aud Dukes, by which they were pro- " perly distinguished, have obtained in modern languages so very " different a sense, that the use of them may occasion some sur- " prise. But it should be recollected, that the second of these " appellations is only a corruption of the Latin word, which was " indiscriminately applied to any Military Chief. All these Pro- " vincial Generals were therefore Dukes ; but no more than ten " among them were dignified with the rank of Counts or Compa- " nions, a title of honour, or rather of favour, which had been " recently invented in the Court of Constantine." — Ibid. chap. xvii. B 2 4 VICAR OF BRITAIN: restricted to the Civil department, was attended by a very numerous train of officers ; and held his Court, with great magnificence, principally in Lon don. To his care was committed the supreme administration of justice and of the finances ; al though, in extraordinary cases, an appeal might be brought from his tribunal to that of the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, whose decision was final. The Insignia of the Vicar of Britain were not so elaborate as those in many other countries ; in which were generally exhibited the image or por trait of the Emperor — a triumphal car — the Book of Mandates, placed on a table covered with a rich carpet, and illuminated by four tapers — together with allegorical representations of the provinces which they governed. In Britain, the ensigns of the office were simply a Book of Instructions^ (') " Insignia vero praefert librum clausum et viridi corio tec- " tum. Manuscripti aureum codicillis ejus tegumentum ostendunt : " notas dorso inscriptas habet, ut Comites et Duces, quibus in " exemplari impresso alii carent Vicarii, nuUos Principum vultus, " nee mulierum imagines, ut alii Vicarii, praefert ; sed quinque " oppidorum typis provincias sibi commissas indicat, his inscriptum " est : Maxima Caesariensis, Valentia, Britannia Prima, Britannia " Secunda, Flavia Caesariensis." — Pancirol. in Notitiam Imp. Occident. Commentariwn, cap. Ixix. INSI&NIA OF THE VICAR OF BRITAIlSr. Valencia . BRir.ANiA prima. ^ BRITANTA /^ SECVS^LA FLAVIA Cy^SARTEf^SlS. jj, &<-^ v.s.iajc WATTS, LITHOC^ LIVELRPOOL HIS AUTHORITY, INSIGNIA, AND COURT. 5 covered with green — the Commission in a gilt cover ; together with a triangular representation of the island, upon which were depicted as many cas tles as there were provinces under his jurisdiction. The annexed Sketch exhibits the Vicar of Bri tain's Insignia ; namely. The Book of Mandates'^, and Letters Missive; with a Representation ofthe British Provinces^ ; engraved from Pancirollus. The Court of the Vicar of Britain consisted of the following officers : — a principal Officer of the Agents ; a Chief Secretary ; two principal Auditors of Accounts ; a Master of the Prisons ; a Notary ; O" Notae dorso libri inscriptae sunt F. L. I. N. T. A LL. CO. M. " ORD. PR. quse ut sunt obscurae, me diu solicitum tenuerunt ; " tandem ita putavi posse interpretari : Felix liber injunctus No- " tariis Tribunis at laterculo continens mandata ordine Principis " vel Primicerii." — Pancirol. ibid, xciii. With all his care, Pancirollus seems to have mistaken the true meaning of these characters ; which other writers, with greater probability, have rendered thus : " Frons libri jussu nostro tran- " scripti a laterculis continentis mandata ordinaria principis." But a more satisfactory interpretation is still wanted. (*) Although five provinces are specified here, the reader must bear in mind that Valentia was not added to the others until the year 368. Q COUNT OF THE SAXON SHORE: a Secretary for Dispatches, with his Assistant and Under- Assistants ; Clerks for Appeals; Serjeants, and inferior officers ^ In this new order of things, Pacatianus was the first Vicar of Britain. Under him and his suc cessors. Governors over Britannia Secunda and Maxima C^sariensis — and latterly, over Flavia Caesariensis and Valentia, when the country was further divided — resided in their respective pro vinces, with a proportionate number of official per sons to transact the various branches of Civil admi nistration. The Countship of the Saxon Shore was instituted towards the close of the third century, when the south and the south-east coasts of Britain began to be infested by Saxon pirates. The insignia and retinue of this officer were much augmented in the time of Constantine''. In addition to a Purple or Yellow Book of Mandates, to the gilt codicils, and (^) Notitia Imperii, cap. Ixix. (') "Hie comes eadem, quae et alii Comites, gestabat insignia; " scilicet, librum purpureum, vel luteum, ut habent manuscripti, " cum notis saepe relatis aliorum Comitum inscriptum, et codi- " cillos insulamque cum novem oppidis, quse infra referentur." — Pancirol. Comment, cap. Ixxii. INSIGNIA OF THE COUNT OF THE SAXON SKORE. jiri^-.e^s.'^z.j/: WATTS , LITHOO" LIVERP' HIS INSIGNIA, COURT, AND MILITARY FORCE. 7 the pictorial representation of the castles he com manded, the Count of the Saxon Shore, as well as the Count and the Duke of Britain, were distin guished by a golden belt. They received an ample allowance, sufficient to maintain 190 servants and 158 horses. Their administration, which was en tirely of a military description, was independent of the Civil magistrate. The force under this officer was not always the same, but may in general be estimated at 2300 infantry and 300 horse. His Court was composed of the following functionaries ; — a principal Officer from the Court of the General of Foot ; two Audi tors from the same Court ; a Master of the Prisons ; a Secretary ; an Assistant, and Under- Assistant ; a Registrar ; Clerks of Appeals ; and other inferior officers. Although the nature of this nobleman's office required him often to change his quarters ac cording to the quiet or disturbed state of the districts he commanded, his general residence is supposed to have been at Branodunum, or Bran- caster, on the Norfolk coast. The troops under the Count of the Saxon Shore 8 COUNT OF BRITAIN. were garrisoned in the nine Castles represented in the accompanying sketch^; and consisted of the following companies, under their respective Com manders and Tribunes : — Fortensians ; Tungrians ; Tournay soldiers ; Dalmatian horse ; Stablesian, or Garionnonensian horse ; the 1st Cohort of Veta- sians ; a company of the 2d Legion ; Abulcians ; Scouts. The Count of Britain resided principally in the interior of the island ", and commanded the troops which were thus distributed in towns, forts, and castles. The forces under his command varied extremely at different times in point of number, depending entirely upon the state of the island. In troublous times, the complement of his force was about 3000 infantry and 500 horse ; whilst in seasons of profound tranquillity it was continually draughted away, and reduced to a very small number. The Court of this nobleman was constituted in a manner very similar to that already specified as attached to the Count of the Saxon Shore. His Insignia also C) See the Representation ofthe Book of Mandates, the Letters Missive, and other Insignia of the Count of the Saxon Shore, as engraved from Pancirollus ; facing p. 6 of this Volume. C) Pancirol. Comment, cap. Ixxiii. INSIGNIA OF THE COUNT OF BRITAIN. ^^c^ p,p i^7 JH. T9, LiTHOC. LIVERPOOL. THE GENERAL, OR DUKE, OF BRITAIN. 9 were nearly the same i". The principal places of his residence were, probably, Uriconium (Wrox- ceter or Wroxeter), and Ratae (Leicester). Besides the two Counts, there was another officer invested with very great military authority: this was the General or Duke of Britain, who had indeed, a wider district and more numerous forces entrusted to his charge. His Insignia" were similar to those borne by the other Dukes of the empire ; and consisted of a Book of Mandates covered with purple ; the Letters Missive ; and a Draught of the Island, upon which were depicted Fourteen Castles. These were not, however, the extent of his juris diction, for he commanded thirty-seven fortified places on the Northern frontier : twenty-three of these were situated on the line of Severus' forts, and the remaining fourteen at no great distance from it. Under his government were the following officers, and the forces they commanded : ('") " Eadem plane insignia habebat, quae et alii Comites, sci- " licet librum cum codicillis magistratus inscriptum, et insulam " unius tantum nrbis effigiem tenentem. Praesidia enim, quae " amiserat, omittuntur ; supra scriptum est Britannia." Ibid. See the accompanying Sketch, engraved from Pancirollus. (") "Eadem quae alii Duces, insignia gerebat, videlicet librum " purpureo tegumento inscriptum, cum xiv munitionibus." — Pancirol. ibid. cap. Ixxxix. 10 MILITARY FORCE IN BRITAIN PREFECTS '6th Legion. Dalmatian horse, at Broughton in Lin colnshire. Crispian horse, at Doncaster. Cuirassiers, at Templeburgh in York shire. PREFECTS of detachments OF The Barcarii Tigrisienses, at Iceby in Cumberland. The Nervii Dictenses, at Ambleside in Westmoreland. The Watchmen, at Kendal. The Scouts, at Bowes. The Guides, at Brugh. The Defensores, at Overborough. The Solenses, at Ravenglas. The Pacenses, at Piercebridge. The Longovicarii, at Lancaster. The Derventionenses, on the Derwent. Also, along the line of the wall : 'The 2d of the Lergi, at Stanwix. The 4th of the Lergi, at Cousinshouse. The Cornovii, at Newcastle. j The 1st of the Frixagi, at Rutehester. \ The 1st of the Batavi, at Carrowbrugh. The 1st of the Tungri, at Housesteeds. The 4th of Gauls, at Littlechesters. The 1st of the Asti, at Great Chesters. TRIBUNES OP COHORTS. The TRIBUNES OF COHORTS, continued. DURING THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. 1 1 The 2d of Dalmatians, at Carvoran. The 1st of Dacians, at Burdoswald. The 1st of Spaniards, at Brugh. The 2d of Thracians, at Drumbrugh. The 1st of the marine, styled JElia, at Boulness. The 1st of the Morini, at Lanchester. The 3d of the Nervii, at Whitley Castle. The 1st of the Asti, at Benwell Hill. The 2d of the Asti, at Walwick Chesters. The wing called Saviniana, at Halton Chesters. The wing called Petriana, at Cambeek Fort. Of Moors, called Aureliani, at Watch Cross. The 1st of Herculea, at Old Carlisle". PREFECTS OF WINGS AND DETACHMENTS. A Battalion of Men in armour, at Brampton. The above forces altogether formed an army of 14,000 foot and 900 cavalry, under the Duke of Britain : so that the whole number of soldiers under the three military noblemen amounted to about 21,000 men. ('^) Henry's History of Great Britain, Book I. Appendix, No. VI. — See also an Essay on the Notitia, so far as it relates to Britain, in Horsley's Britannia Romana, Book III. chap. 3. 12 CONSTANTINE'S MILITARY FORCE IN BRITAIN. In addition to these functionaries were the Comes Sacrarum Largitionum, i.e. the Count of the Impe rial Finances ; the Comes Rerum Privatarum, i.e. the Count of Private Revenues ; the Provost of the Augustinian Treasures ; the Procurator of the Gy- naeceum, or Drapery, in which the clothes of the Emperor and those of the soldiers were manu factured. The Vicar of Britain, as also the Counts and Duke, were distinguished by the title of Spectabiles ; analogous, probably, to the modern style of Your Excellency. If we estimate the Military force at 21,000, and all the branches of the Civil force at 4000, we shall find that about 25,000 persons in the Roman service were stationed in Britain in the time of Constantine the Great, The greater part of these were probably members of the Catholic Church ; for Constantine was in the habit of appointing Christians, as often as he possibly could, to the various official situations in Rome and in the provinces ^^: and although he did not compel any of his subjects to become (") Euseb. De Vita Constant, lib. ii. c. 44. OFFICES OF RELIGION IN THE ROMAN ARMIES. 13 Christians, he discouraged idolatry by all possible means ; everywhere holding up the heathen gods to contempt, and destroying their temples". Although I do not find that Chaplains are any where included in the Civil and Military lists, we must conclude that the offices of Religion were then discharged in the army in a manner somewhat cor responding to our modern naval and military prac tice : for Sozomen expressly tells us, that Con stantine, upon his military expeditions, was attended by Priests and Deacons ^^ ; that he caused a tent to be fitted up as a place of divine worship, where he performed his devotions according to the usage of the Catholic Church . The same author also states that Priests and Deacons now began to be attached to every legion ^^ ; and although we must suppose (") Euseb. ibid. lib. iii. c. 54. C) Kat (TKrjvrjv e'lq eKK\rj/xaiQ>v To.'yfiaTa, a vvv apidfxovi KaXovtTiv, eKacrrov iSiav (TKrjvrjv KaTeSKevcKyaTO, kou lepea^, Kai Sia- Kovovq a-n-ovevefirjixevovi eyeiv. — Ibid. Crevier, 14 RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE ARMY IN BRITAIN that the intentions of Constantine were not so fully carried into efiect in the remote provinces of Bri tain as in those nearer to Rome and Constanti nople, it is not likely that there were many Chris tians in the army of Britain who were altogether destitute of the advantages of religious instruction. Crevier, referring to the above-cited passages in Sozomen, and to Eusebius (De Vita Const, lib. ii. c. 4 & c. 12. and lib. iv. c. 56.), remarks : — " Even war did not interrupt Constantino's exercises of piety ; " a kind of portable chapel being always carried with him in his ¦' campaigns, into which he retired frequently, to pray with the " Bishops who accompanied him. He established the same " custom among the legions ; each of which he ordered to have its " oratory, with the necessary number of Priests and Deacons. " The Chapels were for the use of the Christian soldiers. But " even the Pagans in Constantine's armies bore the Cross upon " their arms (Euseb. de Vita Const, lib. i. cap. 31. lib. iv. cap. 21.), " and were subjected to the observance of the Sunday (Ibid. c. 18.) " They were assembled in a plain (ibid. c. 19.) ; and there recited " a prayer which the Emperor had drawn up for them, and made " them learn by heart ; and which contained an invocation of the " only True God, sole Arbiter of events, sole Author of success and " victory. The Unity of God, and His providence, are doctrines " so agreeable to reason, that it is not necessary to be a Christian " to profess them : and the first step was capable of conducting " those who took it to a fuller knowledge of the Truth." — History ofthe Roman Emperors frotn Augustus to Constantine, Book xxix. sect. 2. DURING THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. 15 The legions which were permanently stationed at York, Caerleon, and Chester, would have oppor tunities of profiting by the ministration of the Clergy in those cities ; and the troops who were detached elsewhere, if they could not secure the regular attendance of a Clergyman, were doubtless enabled to avail themselves of the churches in their neighbourhood. These were great advantages; although inferior to those enjoyed by the modern soldier, who has the Word of God read, explained, and preached, and the Ordinances of the Church ad ministered to him, as regularly as his fellow-subjects. Such I believe to have been the condition and amount of the Roman forces in Britain during the reign of Constantine the Great. With regard to the British nation in general, it must be admitted that the condition of the people had certainly im proved, both morally and physically, since the accession of this Emperor. Still, the Britons la boured under many heavy disadvantages ; and if they must be charged with fickleness and turbu lence, it is to be recollected that they never had the opportunity of benefitting by any system of religious instruction at all adequate to their necessities. At the time of which I write, the Clergy were congre gated in the cities and principal towns of the island ; 16 RELIGIOUS STATE OF BRITAIN UNDER CONSTANTINE. and were sent forth by the Bishops, to administer, as occasion required, to the spiritual wants of the people. Nothing like a division of the country into parishes had yet taken place ; so that the inha bitants of the smaller towns, and much more of the villages, were destitute of the advantage of a Cler gyman resident among them, by whose example and precepts they might be civilized and chris tianized. It was impossible that a body of Clergy, limited in their numbers, and crippled in their means, could succeed in bringing Christianity home to the hearts of the whole community. Idolatryf although discouraged in every way by the Govern ment, still lingered in the country. Druidism was indeed almost extinct ; but a mixed Polytheism still remained ; and thousands there still were who lived without God in the world ; or who, according to the Apostle's description, " changed the truth of " God into a lie, and worshipped and served the " creature more than the Creator^''." In the age of miracles, the Apostles, and some of their immediate followers, were able to convert whole nations to the Truth ; but when supernatural (") Romans i. 25. CONSTANTINE SUCCEEDED BY HIS THREE SONS. 17 means, as the instruments of conversion, were with drawn, the settlement of Christian Ministers in every district of a country was essential, in order to effectually leaven the mass of society, and to thoroughly instil a general love of industry, tempe rance, order, peace, and all those virtues which render men useful and contented here, and which prepare them for eternity. After the death of Constantine the Great, the government of his vast empire devolved upon his three sons, Constantine, Constantius, and Constans. The eldest of these, and his father's namesake, was now only twenty-one ; Constantius, the second, twenty ; and the youngest no more than seventeen years of age. Not one of them possessed any thing like their father's abilities. It was their misfortune, from early youth, to be surrounded by flatterers, and seldom, if ever, to hear the voice of truth. They were accordingly inexperienced, passionate, and self-willed ; incapable of bearing prosperity or misfortune with any degree of patience or mag nanimity. The portion assigned to Constantine'® (") One thing must be recorded, to the honour of Constantine. He sent back Athanasius (who had been banished into Gaul) to his Church ; and declared that his father had intended to do the same, but was prevented by death. — Theodorit. lib. ii. c. 2. VOL. II. C 18 STRIFE BETWEEN THE SONS OF CONSTANTINE. was Gaul, Britain, Spain, and part of Germany. Constans was acknowledged as the lawful sovereign of Italy, Africa, and the Western Illyricum ; while Thrace and the countries of the East were allotted to Constantius. Constantine, dissatisfied with his share of his father's dominions, soon endeavoured to enlarge it, by remonstrances, complaints, and ne- gociations : but finding, these methods ineffectual, he had recourse to arms. He invaded the territories of his brother Constans ; but, ' ' falling into an ambush near Aquileia, pe rished, with a great part of his army, in the spring of the year 340. Constans now hastened to add his brother's dominions to his own, and, refusing to admit Constantius to any share of them, became master of two-thirds of the Roman Empire. In the year 343, this young Emperor visited Britain ; and although he seems to have performed nothing worthy of record in the ^'^' island, flattery, never at a loss for materials, was not slow to address him upon this occasion. " You have," says Julius Firmicus, " during winter " — an undertaking never accomplished at that " season before — ^you have subdued by your oars the " raging billows of the British ocean. The waves CONSTANS VISITS BRITAIN. 19 " of this sea, until this time but little known to us, " have trembled ; and the Britons have been awed " by the unexpected presence of their Emperor. " What would you more ! The elements them- " selves have been vanquished, and have given " place to your virtues ^^." When the elements are specified by the panegyrist as the enemies who were overcome, we may justly infer that Constans obtained but few other triumphs ; and we must distrust the testimony of his medals as to his suc cesses over the Scots and Picts^". Although no serious political difference arose between Constans and Constantius, their opinions upon the great question of religious controversy differed extremely. Constans supported the doc- ~ trines confirmed by the Nicene Fathers ; while his brother Constantius, led away by the shameful arts of Eusebius of Nicomedia, Theognis, and other subtle and interested persons, favoured the Arian cause. Hence arose many discordant councils, and many heart-burnings, which disturbed the peace ('^) Julius Firmicus Maternus de Errore Profan. Relig. §. 29. C) Ammian. Marcel, lib. xx. cap. 1. Du Cange de Infer. jEvi Num. cap. Iviii. c 2 20 OF THE NICENISTS, EUSEBIANS, &c. of Christendom, and dishonoured the Christian name. There appear to have been at that time three principal parties in the Church — the Nicenists, the Eusebians, and an intermediate class. The first of these, well knowing the cunning of their adversaries, would allow of no relaxation in the determinations of the Council of Nice, because they saw that any such concessions would give an open ing to the Eusebians to introduce their favourite doctrines. There were other persons sincerely desirous of promoting peace in the Church, who were willing to give up the term ofMoovmo^, hoping that the doctrine itself might be secured by other expressions. The Eusebians saw and availed them selves of this facility. Watchful of the tempers and dispositions of men, and of every turn in the times, they gained the votes of the third party I have mentioned, upon several important occa sions, and rendered them subservient to their own insidious purposes^'. In the year 347, a Council was convened at ('') Stillingfleet's Origin. Brit. civ. Socr. lib. ii. c. 26. COUNCIL OF SARDICA. 21 Sardica, by the joint order of the two Empe rors, Constans and Constantius, in order to ^'^ 347. put an end, if possible, to these unhappy differences^. Sardica was situated in Illyria; which country, bordering as it did on the territories of the two Emperors, although it belonged to Constans, was considered as the most convenient place that could be selected for a General Assembly of the heads of the Church. Great difference of opinion has arisen upon the question. Whether this were an oecumenical Council or not? It certainly was convened with a view to its being so ; for eccle siastics were summoned from most parts of the Eastern and Western Empires, amongst whom were Bishops from Britain ^l But when the Eastern Clergy perceived that the Council was likely to be a free one, they refused to ioin it ; so that however much we must condemn the petulance and obstinacy of this party, their seces sion produced one object at which they aimed, and C^) Nothing is more surprising than the gross mistakes of authors who were nearly contemporaneous with the events re specting which they treat. Sulpicius Severus, who wrote his Ecclesiastical History in the fifth century, tells us that the Council of Sardica was summoned by Constantine the Great ; forgetting that that sovereign had died ten years previously. (^) We learn this from Athanasius (Apol. II. contra Arianos). 22 THE USURPER MAGNENTIUS. deprived the synod of its oecumenical character. The venerable Hosius of Corduba, who had taken so distinguished a part in the proceedings at Nice, presided at Sardica. The decision of the Council was every way condemnatory of the Arian doc trines and the Arian practices : and if half of the accusations, alleged, in the subsequent Synodical Letter to the Churches, against the Eusebian fac tion, are true, we must pronounce that party guilty, not only of perverting the most important doctrines, but as meriting the heavy punishment of the law for repeated acts of violence and cruelty^. As long as Constans lived, the doctrines con firmed at Nice and at Sardica found a powerful supporter, and the Arian heresy made no progress in the Western Church. Unhappily, this sove reign's love of pleasure caused him to neglect his public duties, and alienated from him the affection of his subjects. Magnentius, one of his principal officers, having formed a strong ' ' party against him, assumed the insignia of the empire at Autun ; and shortly afterwards, the unhappy Constans was surprised and put to death C*) Theodorit. Eccles. Hist. lib. ii. cap. 8. BATTLE OF MURSA, AND DEATH OF MAGNENTIUS. 23 by some adherents of the usurper^. Britain, and all the other Western provinces, immediately sub mitted to Magnentius. The prompt and decided part which Constantius took against the destroyer of his brother is perhaps the most honourable circumstance in his history. He suspended the prosecution of the Persian war in which he was engaged ; rejecting all terms of accommodation with the usurper, whose forces he defeated with terrible slaughter, in the battle of Mursa. Magnentius, having sustained seve ral other losses, killed himself at Lyons, and Constantius became sole master of the Roman Empire. Gratianus, surnamed Funarius, was now ap pointed Vicar of Britain. Although father of the Emperor Valentinian, he was a man of the lowest origin ; and acquired the name of Funarius in his youth, when, offering a rope for sale to some soldiers, he baffled, by his single strength, the efforts of five of them to snatch it from him. Gratianus did not long hold the appointment of (^') Eutrop. lib. x. cap. 6. Amm. Marcel, lib. xv. cap. 5. Zosim. lib. il. 24t EXACTIONS OF PAULUS IN BRITAIN. Vicar of Britain ; but was succeeded ia it by Mar- tinus, a man of humane and generous character ^l Unhappily for the new Vicegerent, Paulus, sur named Catena from some peculiarities in his mode of searching out and connecting political offences, was sent into Britain as Commissary, or Inquisitor, from the Emperor. Constantius, misled by fa vourites, who hoped to enrich themselves ' • ' ^ 354. by confiscations, was induced to institute a rigorous inquiry regarding all persons who had taken part in the usurpation of Magnentius ; and Paulus executed his odious commission with the most flagrant cruelty and injustice. Martinus, having by remonstrance and other methods vainly endeavoured to put an end to these enormities, was at length provoked, by the insolence of Paulus, to draw his sword against him ; but missing his aim, in a moment of desperation he plunged the weapon into his own bosom, and died immediately after wards^. The exactions and cruelty of Paulus were now multiplied greatly ; but the miscreant did not long O Eutrop. lib. x. cap. 6. Zosim. lib. ii. Amm. Marcel, lib. x. JuL Orat. 1. 3. (") Amm. Marcell. lib. xiv. c. 5. Liban. Orat. xii. ARIAN PERSECUTION, UNDER CONSTANTIUS. 25 enjoy his triumph, for, in the succeeding reign, his practices being exposed, he was burnt alive, by order of the Emperor Julian^. The tragic fate of Constans was extremely inju rious to the orthodox cause. His weak-minded brother was exasperated by a thousand calumnies, chiefly originating with women, eunuchs, and slaves, against Athanasius, whom he feared and detested ^^ That intrepid man, as well as the C^ ) Amm. Marcell. lib. xxii. cap. 3. (^) The policy of the Arian party, and their conduct towards Athanasius, have been thus described by Hooker : — " Till Constan- " tine's death, and somewhat after, they always professed love and " zeal to the Nicene faith ; yet ceased not, in the mean while, to " strengthen that part which in heart they favoured, and to infest " by all means, under colour of other quarrels, their greatest " adversaries in this cause : amongst them, Athanasius especially, " whom by the space of forty-six years, from the time of his con- " secration to succeed Alexander archbishop in the Church of " Alexandria, till the last hour of his life in this world, they never ." suflPered to enjoy the comfort of a peaceable day ; — the heart of " Constantine stolen from him ; — Constantius, Constantine's suc- " cessor, his scourge and torment, by all the ways that malice, " armed with sovereign authority, could devise and use ; — under " Julian, no rest given him ; — and in the days of Valentinian, as " little. Crimes there were laid to his charge, many ; the least " whereof, being just, had bereaved him of estimation and credit " with men while the world standeth ; his judges evermore the " self-same 26 OF ATHANASIUS, HOSIUS, AND OTHERS, venerable Hosius, the zealous Hilary, and many others, became the objects of a most severe persecu tion. "Some had trial of cruel mockings and " scourgings ; yea, moreover, of bonds and impri- " sonments : others were tempted, were slain with " the sword : they wandered about, being destitute, " afflicted, tormented ^°." Eusebius, bishop of Ver- cellae in Italy, a man of great piety and self-denial, was banished into Palestine ; Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, into Syria ; and Liberius, bishop of Rome, into Thrace. The firmness of some of these eccle siastics gave way beneath the pressure of the times. Hosius himself, when more than a hundred years old, consented to subscribe an Arian creed ^' : and " self-same men by whom his accusers were suborned. Yet the " issue always, on their part,"shame ; on his, triumph." — Ecc, Pol. Book V. chap. 42. sect. 2. C) Hebrews xi. 36, 37. C) "Yea (that which all men did wonder at), Hosius, the " ancientest Bishop that Christendom then had ; the most forward " in defence of the Catholic cause, and of the contrary part most " feared ; that very Hosius, with v/hose hand the Nicene Creed " itself was set down and framed for the whole Christian world to " subscribe unto, so far yielded in the end, as even with the same " hand to ratify the Arians' Confession ; a thing which they neither " hoped to see, nor the other part ever feared, till with amaze- " ment they saw it done." — Ecc. Pol, ibid. sect. 3. " Hosius DURING THE ARIAN PERSECUTION. 27 Liberius was not only prevailed upon to do this, but even to reject Athanasius. But that extra ordinary man was not to be overcome by the dis affection of his former friends, any more than he was by the intimidation, corruption, and other frauds of his enemies. Although History abounds with the examples of Christians who have stood unmoved in the hour of danger, I know of none (laying out of the question the case of the Apostles and of other inspired men), which is equal to that of Athanasius. Anselm, Becket, and Luther, seem to have valued life only as the means of advancing what they believed to be a righteous cause. None of these persons, however, were half so severely tried as was the Primate of Alexandria. His cou rage was moral as well as physical. It was not the effort of a moment, but sustained through life, amid every kind of peril and disaster. It shone as steadily in the deserts of Egypt as in the tumultuous scenes of Alexandria. When brought before Rulers and Kings, he spoke of God's tes- " Hosius lived about two years after this tragical event ; and, " on his death-bed, protested against the compulsion which had " been used towards him ; and, with his last breath, abjured the " heresy which dishonoured his Divine Lord and Saviour. "^ — Newman's Arians of the Fourth Century, chap. iv. sect. 3. p. 3 18. 28 PERSECUTION OF ATHANASIUS, timonies, and was not ashamed; and when the swords of the persecutors were gleaming before him, they reflected the dignified and unmoved countenance of the archbishop. When the shouts of those who were eager to apprehend him in his church at Alexandria were ringing in his ears, Athanasius proceeded calmly and solemnly with the public devotions. Relying upon God for protec tion, he directed his Deacon to sing the 136th Psalm ; the people answering, according to the custom of alternate singing, "For his mercy endureth for ever." He was indeed a burning and a shining light, which, in those dark days of heresy and per- secution, contributed to cheer and illumine the true believer in every part ofthe Christian world ^. ('^) " Only in Athanasius," says Hooker, " there was nothing " observed, throughout the course of that long tragedy, other than " such as very well became a wise man to do, and a righteous to " suffer. So that this was the plain condition of those times — the " whole world against Athanasius, and Athanasius against it ; " half a hundred of years spent in doubtful trial which of the two " in the end would prevail ; the side which had all, or else the " part which had no friend but God and death ; the one a de- " fender of his innocency, the other a finisher of all his troubles.'' —Ecc. Pol. Book V. ch. 42. sect. 5. It is the remark of Gibbon, that " the immortal name of Atha- " nasius will never be separated from the Catholic doctrine of the " Trinity, AND OF HILARY OF POICTIERS. 29 Hilary ^^, bishop of Poictiers, was another devoted servant of God, very much formed upon the model of Athanasius. Hilary was born in Aquitaine, about the end of the third century. His parents were heathens ; and he was not converted to the Christian faith until long after he reached man hood, when he was baptized, together with his wife and daughter. He subsequently became a most uncompromising defender of the Nicene faith ; and there can be no doubt that his energy in main taining the true doctrines of Scripture, and his fortitude in suffering for them, gave strength and firmness to his fellow-christians throughout Gaul and Britain. He was raised to the bishopric of Poictiers in the year 355. Here he had to contend with many difflculties, and with much opposition. His great ally in resisting error, and in propa gating the Truth, was Eusebius ^, bishop of Verceil^ " Trinity, to whose defence he consecrated every moment and " every faculty of his being." — Decline and Fall ofthe Roman Empire, chap. xxi. C) " De Hilario nunc agimus, qui tum ob vitae sanctimoniam, " tum ob eruditionem, tum ob eloquentiam admirabilem, aevi " sui lumen fuit." — Erasmus. ('^) " Ita duo isti viri, velut magnifica quaedam mundi lumina, " Illyricum, Italiam, Galliasque suo splendore radiarunt, ut omnes " etiam 30 CATHOLIC LETTER OF HILARY OF POICTIERS in Italy. His principal opponent was Saturninus^, bishop of Aries ; whose artifices and violence occa sioned the banishment of Hilary into Phrygia. Here he remained four years ; during which he addressed his work on Synods to the Bishops of Ger many, Gaul, and Britain ^^, whom he congratulates on their stedfast adherence to the Catholic faith ^''. The Tract seems to have been a Catholic Letter addressed to the Bishops of the West, by whom it was probably communicated to the members " etiam de abditis angulis et abstrusis, haereticorum tenebrae fuga- " rentur." — Hist, Eccles. lib. x. Ruffino aulore, cap. 31, ('*) "Vir sane pessimus, et ingenio malo pravoque." — Sulpic. Sev. lib. ii. §. 59. (''') " Dilectissimis et beatissimis fratribus, et co-episcopis Ger- " maniae primae et Germaniae secundae, et primae Belgicae, et Bel- " gicae secundae, et Lugdunensi primae, et Lugdunensi secundae, " et provincias Aquitanicse, et provinciae Novempopulanae, et ex " Narbonensi plebibus, et Clericis Tolosanis, et provinciarum " Britanniarum Episcopis, Hilarius servus Christi, in Deo, et " Domino nostro aeternam salutem." (" ) " Gratulatus sum in Domino incontaminatos vos et illaesos " ab omni contagio detestandae haereseos perstitisse . " O gloriosae conscientiae vestrae inconcussam stabilitatem ! O fir- " mam fidelis petrae fundamine domum ! O intemeratae volun- " tatis illaesam imperturbatamque constantiam ! " — Liber de Sy- nodis, seu de Fide Orientaliiim, §. 2. CONCERNING SYNODS. 31 of their Churches. It is expressed in a high tone of eloquence ; indignant against those who had de serted the faith, as defined by the Council of Nice ; and commendatory of those who had adhered to it. In it, he explains the different formularies of faith which had been made in the Synods of the East since the Council of Nice, in order to shew which of them were good, or at least tolerable ; and that they are not to look upon those as Arians who received them. He exhorts his brethren not to be surprised at these frequent expositions of faith, since the madness of the heretics had made them necessary ; and the Churches of the East were in so much danger, that it was very rare, even among the Bishops, to find that faith of which he is giving them an account. "I speak ^," he says, " of mine " own knowledge, of what I myself have heard and " seen. Except Eleusius the bishop, and some few " with him, the greatest part of the provinces of " Asia, where I live, know not God, or only know " him to blaspheme him. Every place is full of " scandal, schism, and infidelity. How happy are " ye, for having preserved the Apostolic faith in " its purity — for being hitherto ignorant of these C) De Syn. §. 63, 32 CATHOLIC LETTER OF HILARY OF POICTIERS. " written professions, and being contented with " professing with the mouth what you believe with " the heart ! " Afterwards he explains the terms, which, because of their uncertainty, made the faith of the Bishops of the West suspected by those of the East. He then addresses himself to those of the East who are well disposed, in order to remove the scruples which they had concerning the term Consubstantial ; and quoting the Nicene Creed, he shews that that term is only made use of to con demn those that are really Arians, who were for having the Son to be a mere creature, and to shew that He is produced of the same substance with the Father. He proves, in general, that a proper ex pression should not be rejected, because of the wrong interpretation that might be put upon it ; and this by the example of the Scriptures, which the heretics abuse. He presses those of the East not to make their term ojxoiova-to^ suspicious by rejecting the term oiioovcrio^ ; and not to stumble at words, since they agree as to the thing itself. Then he adds these remarkable words ^^ : " I take " the Lord of Heaven and Earth to witness, that " before I ever heard of either of these, I always O De Syn. §. 91. ECCLESIASTICAL BODY IN BRITAIN. 33 " believed them both ; — that by the onoiova-ios we " must necessarily believe the o^oovcnoi ; — that no " one thing could be lilce another, according to " nature, which was not of the same nature. Though " I have been long since baptized, and for some " time a bishop, I never heard the faith of Nice " spoken of until the instant of my being banished ; " but the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles " made me acquainted with these terms*"." Although History is silent respecting the indivi duals who at this time formed the Ecclesiastical Body in Britain, it is satisfactory to refiect that they were held in esteem by such men as Athanasius and Hilary. Unknown to fame, undistinguished by literary attainments, living probably in greater poverty and obscurity than their brethren in other parts of Europe, the majority of the British Clergy at this period seem to have been zealous and sound Christians. Some, no doubt, there were who preached Christ of contention ; some artful, worldly persons, who, like Saturninus of Aries, scrupled not to sacrifice principle to preferment, and who " loved the praise of men more than the praise of (^") Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, Book XIV. §.10. VOL. II. D 34) SUPERSTITIOUS NOTIONS IN BRITAIN. God." It is, however, pleasing to know, that the great proportion of the Clergy of Britain were untainted by heresy, and that they held " the faith " in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in " righteousness of life." I mean not to deny that many superstitious notions and practices then pre vailed in Britain. Among the most prominent of these were, an increasing admiration of the ascetic life ; the habit of ascribing to miraculous interven tion almost every prosperous occurrence ; and of attributing almost every adverse or evil event to the direct agency of demons. These feelings ex isted, not only in the minds of the ignorant, but in those of the most enlightened : and no one can read the works of Sulpicius Severus without being struck by the numerous passages in which miracles are said to be wrought by St. Martin aud others ; or in which the devil is represented as appearing under a human form, or under that of some of the heathen deities. That such intervention, and such appearances of the devil, were sometimes permitted by God, in the early ages of Christianity, cannot reasonably be doubted ; and hence arose the sup posed necessity of that order of Ministers called Exorcists. But cases of the description I have mentioned, although they were infinitely multiplied in after-times, were now believed to prevail to a COUNCIL OF RIMINI. 35 extent and in a manner altogether unwarranted by reason and the Scriptures. But I must return to the consideration of that heresy, which, cherished as it was by the Sovereign, now began to spread its baneful infection throughout every part of his empire. After numerous Councils had been held, in which the subtlety of the Arians and Semi-Arians enabled them to'obtain many ad vantages over the orthodox party, more than 400 Bishops, those chiefly of the Western Church, assembled, by summons from the Emperor, AD at Ariminum, or Rimini, on the coast of the ' ' 359. Adriatic. Of these Ecclesiastics, several came from Britain, as we learn from the following passage of Sulpicius Severus : — " Ita, missis per " Illyricum, Italiam, Africam, Hispanias, Galliasque, " magistris offlcialibus, acciti aut coacti*^ quadrin- " genti et aliquanto amplius Occidentales episcopi " Ariminum convenere ; quibus omnibus annonas " et cellaria dari Imperator praeceperat : sed id " nostris, id est, Aquitanis, Gallis, ac Britannis, " indecens visum : repudiatis fiscalibus, propriis " sumptibus vivere maluerunt. Tres tantum ex C') This is the reading of Sigonius : the former term, " acciti,'' applying to the Arians ; the latter to the Catholics. D 2 36 OF THE BISHOPS FROM BRITAIN " Britannia, inopia proprii, publico usi sunt, ciim " oblatam a caeteris collationem respuissent ; sanc- " tins putantes fiscum gravare, quam singulos*^" Of the Bishops who came from Britain, whose number could not be less than eight or ten, we here find that three accepted that which, upon former occasions, the Ecclesiastics who attended the synods had all availed themselves of — a public allowance. They were probably the Bishops of some of the more remote dioceses of Britain, who, possessing but scanty revenues, were not able to provide a private fund against the demands which their protracted stay at Rimini occasioned*^. A vast (^^) Sulpic. Sever. Sacrae Historiae, lib. ii. §. 56. " Hereupon, official messengers having been sent through Illy- " ricum, Italy, Africa, Spain, and Gaul, more than 400 Bishops of " the Western Church were summoned or compelled to assemble " at Ariminum ; to all of whom the Emperor had directed provi- " sions and lodging to be given. But that was considered im- " proper by those from Aquitaine, Gaul, and Britain, who, " declining to be supplied at the expense of the Emperor, pre- " ferred to live at their own cost. Three only from Britain, on " account of their poverty, had recourse to the public provision, " after they had refused the contributions offered by others ; " thinking it better to be burthensome to the Treasury than to " individuals." (*") Alluding to the hardships experienced by the Bishops, upon this ASSEMBLED AT THE COUNCIL OF RIMINI. 37 improvement in the temporal condition of all the Clergy had certainly taken place since the acces sion of Constantine the Great. That sovereign had removed or lightened most of the burthens which before pressed heavily upon them ; and had allowed houses, lands, and other property, to be presented and bequeathed to the Church. The Bishops of Rome, Constantinople, and of some of the other great cities, now lived in opulence, and were able to perform many splendid acts of charity. The Pro vincial Bishops were much poorer ; varying, how ever, considerably, in point of temporal prosperity ; those in the capitals and principal towns being much better provided for than those in remote places. The revenues of the British Bishops depended mate rially upon the situation of their dioceses. Those Bishops who resided in the interior of the island, undisturbed by invaders, were in tolerably affluent circumstances ; while those who lived on the frontier of Caledonia, or near the Saxon shores, which were this occasion, from the tyrannical conduct of the Emperor, Hilary says : " Sacerdotes custodiae mandas, exercitus tuos ad terrorem " ecclesiae disponis : synodos contrahis et Occidentalium fidem ad " impietatem compellis : conclusos urbe una minis terres, fame " debilitas, hyeme conficis, dissimulatione depravas." — Hilar. contra Constantium Augustum, §. 7. 38 COUNCIL OF RIMINI. constantly liable to depredation, were, in common with the other inhabitants of those parts, in com parative poverty. Supposing, then, that the Bishops of London, York, Caerleon, and Verulam, together with those of Luguvallium (Carlisle), Isurium (Aldborough), and Caturractonium (Cattarick), at tended the Council of Rimini, we may believe that while the four of these Bishops who are first men tioned were well able to support the expenses arising out of such an attendance, the three last- named Bishops would be unable to do so. By far the greater part of the Bishops who assembled at Rimini were Nicenists. Whoever con siders the resolutions and protests they made during the first period of their sitting, will be convinced of this**. But, by the cunning of their adversaries, and the tyrannical conduct of Constantius, the Council was protracted to such an inordinate length of time, that the patience of most of its members was worn out; and, like jurors who are starved into compliance with a verdict which they feel to be unjust, they at length consented to subscribe to CO Athanasius greatly commends the feeling which induced the Bishops to assemble at Rimini. — Epist. de Synodis Arimini et Seleuciae celebratis, n.l3. STATE OF RELIGIOUS PARTIES. 39 a Semi-Arian creed. In this creed, the term O/X00WO-/0J, or " Consubstantial," which was generally considered as the guarantee for faith in the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was omitted *^ Then it was, that, according to the celebrated remark of St. Jerome, " the world groaned, and wondered to find itself Arian." But surely no regard was due to the determination of a Council like this ? When a general assembly of Bishops and other Ecclesiastics deliver the free and unconstrained sentiments of the Catholic Church, as they did at Nice, their de cisions are entitled to general respect and attention ; (''^) " It does not appear, however, that they annulled the Ni- " cene Creed, further than by abrogating the use of the word " Consubstantial. Athanasius (lib. de Synodis, n. 41.) observes, " That those who merely objected to the use of this word, but " really believed the doctrine it was intended by the Church to " convey, were not to be regarded as enemies or heretics " The Bishops of the Synod of Ariminum were really orthodox in " their belief, and did not design to approve the Arian heresy. " They were, indeed, deceived ; for the Arians, who had anathe- " matized their own errors in order to induce the Bishops to sub- " scribe a creed which was orthodox in appearance, asserted pre- " sently that the creed was to be taken in the Arian sense, and " that Arianism had been approved by the Council." — Palmer's Treatise on the Church of Christ, Part IV. ch. 10. sect, 2. Vol. II. pp. 192, 193. 40 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH GENERALLY UNCORRUPTED, but where they act from fear or compulsion, it is plain that their decrees must be nugatory. This seems to have been the impression produced by the Council of Rimini upon the Western Church in general ; although, no doubt, Arian errors, sup ported by the example and authority of Constantius and sanctioned by some of the Bishops, found their way into Britain and other parts of the Roman Empire. But they neither spread widely, nor took deep root among the people : so that, notwith standing the whining lamentations of Gildas, we may safely affirm that the British Christians in general remained uncorrupted in the faith until nearly the close of this century. My statement is fully borne out by the testimony of Athanasius, con tained in an Epistle*^ which, in 363, he addressed in his own name, and in that of the other Bishops of Egypt, Thebais, and Libya, to Jovian, in answer to one which that Emperor, immediately after his elevation, had written, requesting a full account of the Articles of the true faith. They declare to him, that the Nicene Creed only ought to be adhered to ; and add : " Know Emperor, O Theodorit. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. cap. 2, 3. Athanas. Opera, tom. I. P. 2. ACCORDING TO ATHANASIUS AND OTHERS. 41 " Beloved of God, that this is the doctrine that " hath been preached in all ages, and wherein the " Churches in every particular province agree : " those of Spain, Britain, and Gaul, throughout " Italy and Campania ; in Dalmatia, Mysia, and " Macedonia, and all over Greece ; all the Churches " in Africa, Sardinia, Cyprus, Crete, Pamphylia, " Lycia, Isauria ; those throughout Egypt and " Libya ; in Pontus, Cappadocia, and the neigh- " bouring countries ; and the Churches in the East, " excepting some few who follow the opinions of " Arius*''. We have made actual inquiry, and we " have been informed by Letters from them. Now " the few who contradict this faith cannot be suffl- " cient to prepossess any one against the whole " world**." The Bishops, upon their return to Britain, must have found the Northern parts of the island in an alarming condition. Early in the year 360, the Scots and Picts made a destructive (*') Gibbon, in a Note, observes upon this, that " Athanasius " magnifies the number ofthe orthodox, who composed the whole " world — irape^ 6\i'yu>v tZv to 'Apeiov (ppovovvTcov." But he adds, " This assertion was verified in the space of thirty or forty years.'' Decline and Fall, chap. xxv. C) Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, Book XV. §. 52, 53. 42 INVASION OF THE SCOTS AND PICTS. inroad upon the provinces to the south of Se verus' Wall. Happily, however, they were soon effectually repulsed. Julian the Apostate, who had lately been declared C^sar by Constantius, and who had the principal direction of affairs in the Western Empire, at this time resided in Gaul. Upon being informed of the invasion of Britain, he despatched Lupicinus, an offlcer of reputation, with some cohorts of light-armed troops, to assist in repulsing the enemy, who were quickly compelled to abandon the country. During the four following years Britain remained free from the depredations of the Scots and Picts ; but the interior of the country was much disturbed by the violence of deserters from the army, and by other robbers*'. The Arian Constantius was succeeded by the Apostate Julian. The latter had been educated, principally, under the care of Eusebius bishop of Nicomedia ; and it is probable that the worldly spirit and cunning which were but ' " "361. too manifest in the whole course of that prelate's life, gave Julian an early disgust to the Christian Religion. Vanity, and a dislike to every C') Libanius, Orat. Parent, cap. xxxix. p. 264. CONSTANTINE SUCCEEDS THE APOSTATE JULIAN. 43 principle to which his cousins were attached, in creased this feeling, and induced him to renounce the sublime truths of the Gospel for the preposte rous and disgraceful fables of Heathenism. We wonder not that the savage inhabitant of a newly- discovered island should be eager to exchange gold and precious stones for worthless beads and glass ; but that a prince of great abilities, educated in all the learning of the times, and arrogating to himself the name of a Philosopher, should prefer falsehood to truth, and darkness to light, can only be ex plained by the account furnished by St. Paul, of similar apostates : " Because that, when they knew " God, they glorified him not as God, neither were " thankful ; but became vain in their imaginations, " and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing " themselves to be wise, they became fools ; and " changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into " an image made like to corruptible man, and " to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping " things."^" The accession of an infidel prince, or of one whose religious principles have been corrupted. C) Romans i. 21-23. 44 JULIAN THE APOSTATE. must be the cause of extensive evil. Although there is reason to believe that the great body of the British people remained firm in their attachment to the faith as defined at Nice, the heretical no tions of Constantius, and the apostacy of Julian, must have proved very detrimental to Religion. Arianism, during the reign of Constantius, and Pa ganism and Infidelity during that of Julian, must have raised their drooping heads in Britain. It is easy to imagine the votaries of Bellinus and An- draste, as well as the enemies to all Religion, hailing the day which gave them once more a Heathen Emperor ; which allowed impunity and encourage ment to every kind of superstition ; and removed the checks to vice which Christianity imposed. I readily admit that such expectations were not warranted by the example of Julian, which was adorned with many heathen virtues : but his sub jects in the distant provinces could not be well acquainted with his moral character : they only knew that their Emperor had abandoned Chris tianity, and become a worshipper of Gods impure, adulterous, and unjust ; Whose attributes were pride, revenge, and lust : and we may be sure that they would not be slow in imitating the vices which they believed to be JOVIAN.— VALENTINIAN. 45 sanctioned by the example of their deities. But the death of Julian, in the year 363, after a short reign of twenty months, terminated the 363. hopes and prospects of Paganism. His suc cessor, Jovian, was a Christian, and the friend of Athanasius ^\ Valentinian, the next Emperor, was also a supporter of the Nicene doctrines ; although his brother Valens, who ruled over the Eastern portion of the empire, was favourable to Arianism. But Britain had now become the scene, not of reli gious dissension, but of almost desolating war. The barbarians of the land and sea, the Scots, Picts, Attacots^^, and Saxons, attacked the country in different directions, spreading themselves from the Wall of Severus to that which surrounded London ^^. (*') Jovian 's Letter, in which he styles Athanasius "the most religious friend of God," is reprobated by Gibbon as impiously flattering ; but the expression is ably defended by Milner, in his Church History, chap. x. cent. iv. C'') Amm. Marcel, lib. xxvii. c. 9. — The Attacots are mentioned in the Notitia Imperii, and by St. Jerome. The latter gives them a terrible character, and accuses them of eating human flesh. — Hieronym. lib. ii. contra Jovianum. (^') " Every production of art and nature, every object of con- " venience or luxury, which they were incapable of creating by " labour or procuring by trade, was accumulated in the rich " and fruitful province of Britain. The Caledonians praised and " coveted 46 DISTRESSED STATE OF BRITAIN FROM INVASION. The Roman forces which were stationed in the island were overmatched by these marauders. Bul- chobardes, the Duke of Britain, was slain in one encounter with them ; and Nectaridius, ^-^ 364. the Count of the Saxon Shore, in another. When intelligence of these disasters was brought to Valentinian, Severus, Count of the Domestics, was immediately sent by him into Britain. This officer, being soon afterwards recalled, was succeeded by Jovinus, who had acquired a high military repu tation in Germany. But the reinforcements which accompanied these Generals were not sufficient to expel the enemy, who sorely afflicted Britain during the next three years. It was now found that some very decided step must be taken to recover the island from these barbarians; and, after long deliberation, this difficult task was en trusted to Theodosius. No man was fitter to accom plish it. He possessed valour, activity, and judg ment, to subdue an enemy ; and honour and gene rosity to endear himself to the people whom he was sent to succour. All these qualities were called " coveted the gold, the steeds, the lights, &c. of the stranger. See " Dr. Blair's Dissertation on Ossian, Vol. II. p. 343 ; and Mr. " Macpherson's Introduction, pp. 242—286." — Gibbon's Decline and Fall ofthe Roman Empire, ch. xxv. THEODOSIUS— HIS GREAT ACTIONS. 47 into immediate action. In his march from Sandwich to London, he encountered and defeated several parties of the barbarians, who were ^. ' 367. laden with spoil and encumbered with prisoners. After releasing the captives, and distri buting among his soldiers that part of the booty for which real owners could not be found, he restored the rest to the rightful proprietors, and then entered London with a triumph far superior to that of a mere conqueror. As soon as Theodosius had freed the neighbour hood of London from its enemies, he took a calm and comprehensive view of the general state of the country. His first care was to obtain from the Emperor the appointment of an experienced and prudent Civil Governor over Britain ; and of an able General, to assist in effecting the vigorous plans he had formed for re-establishing the secure dominion of the Romans in the island. Civilis, a person of great integrity and wisdom, although of somewhat hasty temper, was accordingly sent over, in quality of Vicar, or Deputy Governor ; while Dulcitius, a celebrated soldier, came as General of the Forces, under Theodosius. During the late period of war and confusion, many of the Roman soldiers, and even ofthe officers, had, either through fear or desire 48 THE NORTHERN INVADERS REPELLED. of plunder, gone over to the enemy. Despairing of mercy, they still continued in arms against their country. But Theodosius, by an act of amnesty, which included all who should return to their duty by a certain day, dispelled their fears, recovered their services, and attached them to the Govern ment. Such were the occupations of this great and excellent man during the winter of the year 367. Never, since the days of Agricola, had Britain seen so mild, so firm, and so wise a system of admi nistration. Early in the spring of the following year, Theo dosius took the field, with an army exhi- A D biting the discipline and attachment of soldiers of the ancient times. As the Northern frontier was the great inlet to invasion, thither was his march directed. The enemy fled before him ; their track, like that of some furious wild beast, being everywhere marked by blood and destruction. The Romans continued to advance steadily ; occupying and repairing those forts and castles which the foe had abandoned. At length they reached the Wall of Severus ; which Theodosius now saw must no longer continue to be the Northern barrier. Accordingly, he pursued the flying Scots and Picts still further, and compelled them to take CONSPIRACY AGAINST THEODOSIUS. 49 refuge in the country beyond the Wall of Antoninus. He then reduced the tract of land lying between the two walls into the form of a province ; per petuating, by the name of Valentia, which he now gave to it, the glories of Valentinian's reign. But neither goodness nor glory can secure their possessor against the designs of evil men. While Theodosius was pursuing his career of victory in the North, Valentin us, a delinquent who had been ba nished into Britain for various crimes, was the author of a conspiracy against his authority and his life. Several other exiles, and some Roman soldiers and officers, were involved in this plot; which, however, was happily discovered, as it was on the point of being carried into execution. Theodosius, with his accustomed wisdom and generosity, while he com manded that Valentinus, and a few of the most guilty conspirators, should be put to death, forbade that punishment or inquiry should be further ex tended. The treachery of some other Roman soldiers called for a more general exercise of severity. The Arcani were a body of light troops, who were stationed in the advanced posts on the frontier, in order that they might obtain every kind of intelli- VOL. II. E 50 REGRET ON THEODOSIUS LEAVING BRITAIN. gence which might be of importance to the General. It was found that the soldiers who had been em ployed on this service had betrayed their trust, and, instead of acting as spies upon the enemy, had communicated to them the movements and designs of their own army. Their guilt being proved, Theodosius cashiered them, with every mark of disgrace ; and established another corps, to effect the necessary purposes for which they had been intended'*. After a stay of about two years in Britain, marked by the correction of numberless abuses — by A D the abatement of taxation — by the restora- 369. tion of towns and cities which had fallen into decay — by the enactment of many most salu tary laws — and by general prosperity — Theodosius took his departure, amidst the regrets and blessings of the British people. He was received by Valen tinian with the distinction he merited; and he afterwards nobly sustained and augmented, in Ger many and Africa, the honours he had acquired in Britain. But " the paths of glory lead but to the grave." To the lasting disgrace of Valens, whose (") Ammianus Marcellinus gives a brief account of the whole course ofthe British war (lib. xx. 1. xxvi. 4. xxvii. 8. xxviii. 3.) THEODOSIUS PUT TO DEATH AT CARTHAGE. 51 brother was now no more, the Restorer of Britain and of Africa became the victim of an infamous conspiracy ; and was beheaded at Carthage, about the year 376. Happily, Theodosius left a son who inherited his virtues ^^. Within three years after the father's (^') The Poet Claudian, while he must be charged with gross flattery towards Honorius, scarcely exaggerates the exploits of his Grandfather : — " Hinc proccssit avus (cui, post Arctoa frementi " Classica, Massylas annexuit Africa lauros,) " Ille, Caledoniis posuit qui castra pruinis, " Qui medios Libyae sub casside pertulit aBstus, " Terribilis Mauro, debellatorque Britanni " Litoris, ac pariter Boreae vastator et Austri. " Quid rigor seternus coeli, quid sidera prosunt, " Ignotumque fretum ? maduerunt Saxone fuso " Orcades : incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule : " Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis lerne. " Quid calor obsistit fortl ? per vasta cucurrit " .ffithiopum, cinxitque novis Atlanta maniplis. " Virgineum Tritona bibit ; sparsosque venenis " Gorgoneis vidit thalamos ; et vile virentes " Hesperidum risit, quos ditat fabula, ramos. " Arx incensa Jubae : rabies Maurusia ferro " Cessit ; et antiqui penetralia diruta Bocchi." CI. Claud, de IV. Cons, Honorii. E 2 " 'Twas 52 CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS, death, the exigencies of the State pointed out that son to the Emperor Gratian as the fittest person in his dominions to sustain with him the weight of the Roman Government. The education, character. " 'Twas there your grandfather first saw the day, " Who, after triumphs near the Arctic ray, " To Africa extended his renown, " And at Massyla gain'd the laurel crown. " His camps in Caledonia's snows he placed ; " The burning Libya's heat his helmet faced ; " The Moor felt terror ; Britain he subdued ; " From North to South dread havoc he pursued. " Whate'er the rigor of th' ethereal throne, " The realms of ice, or narrow seas unknown, " The Orkneys he o'erspread with Saxon gore ; " The blood of Picts besprinkled Thule's shore ; " And o'er the num'rous heaps of Scottish dead " The tears of bitterness chill'd Ireland shed. " No scorching beams could e'er his force withstand : " His banners moved through Ethiopia's sand ; " With num'rous legions Atlas was beset ; " His lips the virgin wave of Triton met ; " The couch with Gorgon poisons, he beheld ; " Th' Hesperian gardens, which so much excell'd, " As fabled stories state, he laugh'd to view : — " On Juba's palace, flames his forces threw ; " Fierce Mauritania yielded to his sway ; " And ancient Bocchus' walls in ruins lay." A. Hawkins. FROM THE HISTORIAN GIBBON. 53 and elevation of the Emperor Theodosius cannot be better described than in the language of the Historian of the " Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." " The same province," says Gibbon, " and per- " haps the same city^^, which had given to the " throne the virtues of Trajan and the talents " of Hadrian, was the original seat of another fa- " mily of Spaniards, who, in a less fortunate age, " possessed near fourscore years the declining " empire of Rome'''. They emerged from the " obscurity of municipal honours by the active " spirit of the Elder Theodosius, a General whose " exploits in Britain and Africa have formed one of " the most splendid parts of the annals of Valen- (*^) Italica, founded by Scipio Africanus for his wounded veterans of Italy. The Ruins still appear, about a league above Seville, but on the opposite bank of the river. See the " Hispania IUustrata " of Nonius, a short though valuable treatise, chap. xvii. pp. 64-67. (") I agree with Tillemont (Hist, des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 726) in suspecting the royal pedigree, which remained a secret till the promotion of Theodosius. Even after that event, the silence of Pacatus outweighs the venal evidence of Themistius, Victor, and Claudian, who connect the family of Theodosius with the blood of Trajan and Hadrian. 54 CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS, " tinian. The son of that General, who likewise " bore the name of Theodosius, was educated, by " skilful preceptors, in the liberal studies of youth ; " but he was instructed in the art of war by the " tender care and severe discipline of his father. " Under the standard of such a leader, young " Theodosius sought glory and knowledge in the " most distant scenes of military action ; inured his " constitution to the difference of seasons and " climates ; distinguished his valour by sea and " land ; and observed the various warfare of the " Scots, the Saxons, and the Moors. His own " merit, and the recommendation of the Conqueror " of Africa, soon raised him to a separate com- " mand ; and, in the station of Duke of Moesia, he " vanquished an army of Sarmatians, saved the " province, deserved the love of the soldiers, and " provoked the envy of the Court. His rising " fortunes were soon blasted by the disgrace and " execution of his illustrious father ; and Theodo- " sius obtained, as a favour, the permission of re- " tiring to a private life, in his native province of " Spain. He displayed a firm and temperate cha- " racter, in the ease with which he adapted himself " to this new situation. His time was almost " equally divided between the town and country : " the spirit which had animated his public con- FROM THE HISTORUN GIBBON. 55 " duct was shewn in the active and affectionate " performance of every social duty ; and the dili- " gence of the soldier was profitably converted to " the improvement of his ample patrimony, which " lay between Valladolid and Segovia, in the midst " of a fruitful district, still famous for a most " exquisite breed of sheep '^. From the innocent, " but humble labours of his farm, Theodosius was " transported to the throne of the Eastern Empire ; " and the whole period of the history of the world " will not, perhaps, afford a similar example of " an elevation at the same time so pure and so " honourable. The Princes who peacefully inherit " the sceptre of their fathers, claim and enjoy a " legal right ; the more secure, as it is absolutely " distinct from the merits of their personal cha- " racters. The subjects who, in a monarchy, or a " popular State, acquire the possession of supreme " power, may have raised themselves by the supe- " riority either of genius or virtue above the heads " of their equals ; but their virtue is seldom exempt C) M. d'Anville (Geographic Ancienne, tom. i. p. 25.) has fixed the situation of Cancha, or Coca, in the old province of Gallicia ; where Zosimus and Idatius have placed the birth, or patrimony, of Theodosius. 56 CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS, " from ambition, and the cause of the successful " candidate is frequently stained by the guilt of " conspiracy or of civil war. Even in those govern- " ments which allow the reigning monarch to de- " clare a colleague or a successor, his partial " choice, which may be infiuenced by the blindest " passions, is often directed to an unworthy object. " But the most suspicious malignity cannot ascribe " to Theodosius, in his obscure solitude of Caucha, " the arts, the desires, or even the hopes of an " ambitious statesman ; and the name of the exile " would long since have been forgotten, if his " genuine and distinguished virtues had not left a " deep impression in the Imperial Court. During " the season of prosperity, he had been neglected ; " but in the public distress his superior merit was " universally felt and acknowledged. What confi- " dence must have been reposed in his integrity, " since Gratian could trust that a pious son would " forgive, for the sake of the Republic, the murder " of his father ! What expectations must have been " formed of his abilities, to encourage the hope that " a single man could save and restore the empire " of the East ! Theodosius was invested with the " purple in the thirty-third year of his age. The " vulgar gazed with admiration on the manly " beauty of his face and the graceful majesty of his FROM THE HISTORIAN GIBBON. 57 " person, which they were pleased to compare with " the pictures and medals of the Emperor Trajan ; " whilst intelligent observers discovered, in the " qualities of his heart and understanding, a more " important resemblance to the best and greatest of " the Roman Princes."^" {^) Decline and Fall, &c. chap. xxvi. This is one of the few passages in Gibbon, the beauty and truth of which are unmixed with a sneer upon the character he describes. ( 59 ) CHAPTER VIH. THE USURPATION OF MAXIMUS IN BRITAIN—DEATH OF THE EMPEROR GRATIAN BY TREACHERY MAXIMUS SENDS AMBASSADORS TO THEODOSIUS ; BECOMES A PERSECUTOR OF THE PRISCILLIANISTS ; INVADES ITALY — FLIGHT OF VALENTINIAN II. — THEODOSIUS TAKES UP ARMS IN FAVOUR OF VALENTINIAN — DEFEAT AND DEATH OF MAXIMUS, AND OF HIS SON VICTOR DISASTROUS STATE OF THE BRITISH SOLDIERS IN GAUL : THEY SETTLE IN ARMORICA, TO WHICH THEY GIVE THE NAME OF BRITTANY' DEATH OF VALENTINIAN II. DEFEAT OF EUGENIUS CHRYSANTHUS BECOMES VICAR OF BRITAIN ^DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT ^GEOGRA PHICAL ACCOUNT OF THE FIVE PROVINCES OF BRITAIN THE NUMBER AND NAMES OF THE EPISCOPAL SEES, FROM NENNIUS, AS CITED BY USHER; WITH SOME CORRECTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE RESEARCHES OF HORSLEY, BAXTER, AND HENBY PROBABLE AMOUNT OF THE EPISCOPAL REVENUES ABOUT THE CLOSE OF THE FOURTH CENTURY: NUMBER OF THE CLERGY: ARCHPRESBYTERS, ARCHDEACONS, AND CHOREPISCOPl INFERIOR ORDERS OF THE CLERGY MONASTICISM PILGRIMAGES TO SYRIA. The energy and wisdom of the Elder Theodosius had placed Britain in so sound a state of .AD defence, that for several years after his departure the country remained unmolested either by foreign or domestic enemies. The South coasts were protected, by a powerful fleet, from the 60 IMBECILITY OF THE EMPEROR GRATIAN. invasion of the Saxons ; and the Scots and Picts had been too severely chastised to allow them speedily to recover their spirits, and renew their depredations. While Gratian continued to superintend the management of the Western Provinces with any degree of attention, they remained attached to his government. Unhappily, this Emperor, who in early youth had given high promise of ability, in a very few years disappointed the hopes which had been formed of him. A passion for frivolous amusements interfered with the arduous duties of his station, and deprived him of the love and re spect of his subjects \ Under such circumstances, (') " Gratian neglected the duties, and even the dignity, of his " rank, to consume whole days in the vain display of his dexterity " and boldness in the chace. The pride and wish of the Roman " Emperor to excel in an art in which he might be surpassed by " the meanest of his slaves, reminded the numerous spectators of " the examples of Nero and Commodus : but the chaste and " temperate Gratian was a stranger to their monstrous vices, and " his hands were stained only with the blood of animals." — Gibbon's Decline and Fall, &c. chap, xxvii. " He was a slave neither to sleep nor wine, nor any other " excess, especially detesting impurity. He was mild and mode- " rate, and yet very active and vigorous in war. But resolving to " confine his love of pleasure, which is so natural at such an age, " to USURPATION OF MAXIMUS IN BRITAIN. 61 Maximus, an offlcer of reputation in Britain, was tempted to play the part which Magnentius had acted a few years before him. The early history of Maximus is unknown. The Welch claim him, as they do almost every eminent character of those days, as their countryman ; calling him Macsen Wledig ; assigning to him a royal extraction, and stating that he married Ellen Lyddog, the sister of Cynan, a Chief of Merriadog in North Wales ^. But as Zosimus, Bede, and other ancient writers, tell us that he was a Spaniard ; and as Gibbon, Henry, and other distinguished modern authors, assent to their statement ; we may safely afflrm that he was the countryman of Theodosius. Whatever might be the name and parentage of his wife, it appears certain that she was a British lady ; and we learn, from Sulpicius Severus, that she was " to innocent diversions, he used bodily exercises to excess, and " particularly hunting wild beasts in a park with a bow. He " was cheerful, and rather too timid in public, so that he was " governed by those who were about him : they sold every thing, " to satisfy their avarice ; and purposely increased his aversion to " business." — Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, Book xviii. §. 27. O Archbishop Usher has thought it worth while to state the opinions of Henry of Huntingdon, Fordun, and others, as to the birth-place and lineage of Maximus ; which is really paying too high a compliment to such fabulists. 02 CHARACTER OF MAXIMUS. remarkable for her piety and humility ^ Maximus himself not only professed himself a Christian, but affected to take a strong interest in the discourses of some of the most eminent among the Clergy. Whether these professions were hypocritical or not, it is difficult to determine ; for historians seem divided as to his real character. While the por trait which Zosimus draws of him is unfavourable, Sulpicius Severus, Orosius, and Bede, allow him to have possessed many great qualities*. Maximus was probably one of those mixed characters who, with a strong desire to arrive at distinction, wish to keep the path of integrity ; from which, however, they are frequently drawn by ambition. What he would highly. That would he holily ; would not play false, And yet would wrongly win.* (^ ) Dialog, ii. c. 7. de Virtutibus B. Martini. The instances of her humility, adduced by Sulpicius, shew, however, that she was deeply tinctured with superstition. C) Sulpicius says of him : " Omni merito praedicandus, si ei " vel diadema, non legitime, tumultuante milite, impositum repu- " diare, vel armis civilibus abstinere licuisset." — Dialog, ii. c. vii. Bede, copying Orosius, calls him " a man of valour and " probity, and worthy to be an Emperor, if he had not broken the " oath of allegiance which he had taken." — Hist. Eccles. lib. i.e. 9. C ) Macbeth, Act I. Scene 7. HE ASPIRES TO THE IMPERIAL DIGNITY. 63 In the struggle to do that which is right, and to gain a worldly object, where God's preventing and assisting grace is wanting, we may be sure that human virtue will give way. Having served with the Elder Theodosius and his son in Britain, Maxi mus felt extremely indignant that the latter should be raised by Gratian to the Imperial dignity, whilst himself was left in the island in a comparatively obscure military situation^. Such being his feel ings, Gratian's want of popularity enabled Maximus not only to give utterance to his own discontent, but to render it the instrument of his elevation. What he felt acutely, others felt generally ; A D and the result was, that the soldiers and the ' 381. multitude hailed Maximus as their Emperor. With affected reluctance he accepted the purple at York, in the year 381. His situation, however, was far from being a secure one. He well knew the (^) Sigonius calls him a Military Prefect. Camden, Rapin, and others state that he was Governor of Britain ; but Zosimus says, (lib. iv. c. 35.) OvTog Suo-ai/acrp^eTOv oti @eoS6(7ioi rj^iioro ^airiKeia^, avTog Se oiSe eU apy^riv evTifiov eTv^e TrpoeABoiv, avrj'^eipe irXeov eij TO KUTU TOV liaaiKea^ i!)(6og rov; orTpaTimTaq. " He took it " very ill that Theodosius should be thought worthy of being " made Emperor, whilst he himself had no honourable employ- " ment ; and therefore incensed the soldiers with greater animosity " against the Emperor." — Old Translation. 64 MAXIMUS PROCEEDS AGAINST GRATIAN. probability that the three Emperors, Theodosius, Gratian, and Valentinian, would unite their forces to overwhelm him ; and he resolved, by a sudden effort, to strengthen his power on the Continent, and make himself master of Gaul. With this view, he formed and disciplined an army, consisting of the finest young men in Britain, who eagerly flocked to his standard. With them he embarked for the Continent ; and, landing near the mouth of the Rhine, was soon joined by the Roman troops of Germany in general. As Maximus resembled Magnentius in his cha racter and fortunes, so Gratian, in his fate and many particulars of his life, was not unlike Con stans. He was, however, infinitely more amiable than his predecessor. He was at this time in Gaul. But the armies of that country, instead of opposing the march of Maximus, welcomed his approach, and deserted the standard of Gratian the first time that it was displayed, in the neighbourhood of Paris. Betrayed by his Generals, and abandoned by his soldiers, of whom there remained with him only three hundred horse, the unhappy young Emperor fied ; and took the road leading to the Alps, in order to pass into Italy. The cities which lay in his route shut their gates against him ; and, at last. GRATIAN TREACHEROUSLY PUT TO DEATH. 65 he was taken at Lyons ; where he suffered himself to be deceived by the perfidious Governor of the province : and, upon the arrival of ^'^' 383. Andragathius, the General of the cavalry of Maximus, he was treacherously put to death, and even burial was refused him'. He was about twenty-four years of age, being born in 359 ; and had reigned sixteen years, part with his father, and part with his brother and Theodosius. Maximus was now in possession of all those pro vinces of the empire which had been under the government of Gratian. His first step was, to send an embassy to Theodosius, to justify or excuse his own conduct ; and to protest that the murder of Gratian had been perpetrated by the impetuosity of the soldiers, without his concurrence or knowledge. His ambassador, an eloquent and venerable man, proceeded, mildly but firmly, to offer Theodosius the alternative of peace or war. He said, that although his master was very desirous of being on the best terms with Theodosius, and of employing his forces for the common good of the Republic, he (') By some curious mistake, Zosimus has confounded Lugdu- num (Lyons) in Gaul with Singidunum in Moesia ; at which last place he says Gratian was put to death Lib. iv. cap. 35. VOL. II. F 66 GRATIAN'S TERRITORIES CONFIRMED TO MAXIMUS. was prepared, should his friendship be rejected, to defend his own cause in a field of battle. It may appear extraordinary, that Theodosius, who pos sessed the feelings of gratitude and generosity in a high degree, should not have spurned all offers of accommodation with the destroyer of his benefactor, and have immediately resolved to apply the powers of his mind and the resources of the empire to punish and to crush the usurper. But it must be recollected, that a Sovereign is placed in a very different position from that of a private indivi dual ; and is bound to consult, not simply his own inclinations, but the welfare of the people over whom he reigns. When Theodosius considered the state of the empire, he saw enemies on every side. The losses sustained in the battle of Ha- drianople had by no means been repaired ; and he might well fear, that if he led away the forces of the East to contend with Maximus, whatever might be the issue of the war, it must inevitably diminish the resources of the State, and strengthen the hands of the Goths and other hostile barbarians. Such were the circumstances which seem to have induced Theodosius to forego what he must earnestly have desired — the punishment of Maximus ; and to consent that the latter should retain ^'^' 384 possession of the countries which he had so MAXIMUS PERSECUTES THE PRISCILLIANISTS. 67 unjustly won*. While, therefore, the territories which Gratian had lately held were confirmed to the usurper, it was stipulated that the young Valentinian should not be disturbed in his sove reignty over Italy, Africa, and the Western Illyricum. Elated by the result of this mission, as well as by his general successes, Maximus soon afterwards declared his son Victor his partner in the empire ; which circumstance tended to attach the Britons (who considered the young man, on his mother's account, as their countryman) more firmly to his cause. The seat of the usurper's government, as it had also been that of his predecessors, was esta blished at Treves ; where he took a violent part against the Priscillianists, whose heresy had now spread over parts of Spain, Italy, and Gaul. Under the evil influence of Ithacius bishop of Sossuba, and some other violent ecclesiastics, Maximus was induced to carry persecution to its utmost bounds. He seems, indeed, to have been the first among Christian Princes who shed the blood of his Chris tian subjects on account of their religious opinions. Although no ancient writer has given an accurate account of the doctrines of Priscillian, they seem to C) Zosim. lib. iv. cap. 37. F 2 68 DOCTRINES OF PRISCILLIAN. have differed but little from those of the Mani- chees^ In both, the reality of Christ's birth and incarnation was denied : in both, the visible uni verse was asserted to be the production, not of the Supreme Deity, but of some demon or malignant principle. Both adopted the notion of iEons, or emanations from the Divine Nature ; considered human bodies as prisons formed by the Author of evil to enclose celestial minds; condemned mar riage ; and disbelieved the resurrection of the body. With these tenets the Priscillianists combined many practices which, although shamefully exaggerated by their adversaries, were certainly of a very im moral and licentious character^". The efforts of Martin, the celebrated bishop of Tours, to prevent the execution of Priscillian and his adherents, do honour to his heart and to his religious principles. Indignant that questions of a (") Augustin. de Hseres. cap. Ixx. Leo. Epist, xciii. While Arianism engaged the East, the Manichees, who externally con formed to the Church, were silently spreading their doctrines in the West. C) Gibbon denies this ; but no one can read the account which Sulpicius Severus gives of the Priscillianists without being con vinced that they were defiled with many of the impurities of the ancient Gnostics. PRISCILLIAN PUT TO DEATH. 69 spiritual nature should be brought before a secular judge, Martin remonstrated vehemently against the trial of Priscillian and his supporters ; and he ob tained a promise from Maximus that the blood of none of the accused parties should be shed. This promise Maximus was afterwards induced to re voke, through the artful representations of the enemies of Priscillian. The heresiarch himself, and four of his followers, were put to death". The property of Instantius and Tiberianus, " ' 385. two other bishops, was confiscated; and themselves exiled to one of the dreary Isles of Scilly, near the western coast of Britain ^^ As Maximus had avowed himself the champion ofthe Nicene Faith ^^, the violent part taken by the young Emperor, Valentinian IL, and his mother (") This was the first instance of the judicial execution of a heretic, and was universally condemned. Martin bishop of Tours, and Ambrose bishop of Milan, were loud in their expres. sions of indignation, and the instigators of the deed were finally expelled from their bishoprics. Sulp. Sev. Dial. iii. §. 1 5. S. Am- brosii Ep. 24. & Ep. 26. It is true, that, at the time, public opi nion condemned the punishment, as unallowable. — Gieseler's Text Book of Ecclesiastical History, Period ii. Div. 1. chap. 2. §. 84. ('^) Sulpic. Sever. Sac. Hist. lib. ii. c. 64. ('^) Theodorit, Eccles. Hist. lib. v. cap. 14. 70 DEFEAT AND DEATH OF MAXIMUS AND HIS SON. Justina, in favour of Arianism, and against St. Ambrose, became a plea with the usurper for in vading Italy. Valentinian, having had notice of his intentions, fled, with his mother, to the Court of Theodosius. The reasons which induced the latter to take up arms in favour of these exiles are sin gular and romantic. But the relation of Zosimus must be taken with caution. That author states, that Valentinian owed the recovery of his throne principally to the impression which the beauty of his sister, Galla, made upon Theodosius ^^. Certain itjs, that the marriage of the latter with this young princess was the assurance and signal of the civil war which followed. The conduct of Maximus, in meeting his antagonist, must have detracted much from the opinion before entertained of his abilities. He seems to have been paralysed by the superior energies of Theodosius ; and, within a few months from the beginning of the contest, he was defeated in two battles in Pannonia, surprised in Aquileia by the sudden arrival of Theodosius, and put to death ^^, having reigned about five ' " 388. years since the death of Gratian. (" ) Zosim. lib. iv. cap. 44. (") Ibid. Ambrose (tom.ii. epist. 40.) informs us that the aged mother of Maximus was supported, and his orphan daughters educated, by Theodosius. BRITISH SOLDIERS SETTLE IN BRITTANY. 71 Britain had been drained of her treasure, and of almost all the most valiant of her sons, to support the usurper's plans of conquest on the Continent ^°. The British forces were not, however, present in the battles that were fatal to Maximus. They had been previously sent into Gaul, under the com mand of their young Emperor, Victor, to make head against the Franks. This unfortunate prince was defeated and slain by Arbogastes, one of the officers of Theodosius, who afterwards turned his arms against his master. The Britons, who com posed the principal part of the discomfited army, now found themselves surrounded by enemies — in a foreign land — without a leader to conduct, and without ships to convey them to their own country. In this emergency, they directed their course to the north-west point of Gaul (then called Armorica), under the hope of obtaining some passage across the Channel, to the opposite coast of Cornwall. Disappointed in this expectation, and meet ing with a friendly reception from the inha- 388. bitants of Armorica, they formed a settle- ('^) Mr. Whitaker attempts to prove that the losses sustained by the Britons in this expedition were by no means so great as they have been generally represented. I own myself unconvinced by his reasoning. — See Hist, of Manchester, Book II. chap. 1. 72 BRITISH SOLDIERS SETTLE IN BRITTANY. ment in that country, under Cynan Merriadog, brother-in-law of Maximus ; and never returned to Britain. The number of these settlers is said to have been so great, that they imparted the name of Brittany to their new country; maintaining the most friendly intercourse, which continued to sub sist in after-ages, with the inhabitants of their native island^'. After the defeat and death of Maximus, the Emperor Theodosius proceeded from Aquileia to Milan ; where he remained until the spring of the following year ; when he visited Rome, with his son Honorius, whom he had sent for ' ' ' 389. from Constantinople, and with the young Emperor, Valentinian. While there, he made a law against the Manichees, ordering them to be ex pelled from all places, particularly from Rome. After spending almost three years in Italy ^^, he left Valentinian there, and re- 391. turned to Constantinople. (") Henry's Hist, of Great Britain, Book I. chap. 1. ('") It was during his residence in Italy, in the year 390, that the massacre at Thessalonica took place ; for which Theodosius DEFEAT OF VALENTINIAN II. 7H On the departure of Theodosius, Valentinian, who was but twenty years of age, found himself too weak to withstand the power of the Pagans, of whom the Count Arbogastes was the most influential. He had been foremost in the defeat of Maximus, had slain his son Victor, and, having the command of the army, had now become so powerful, that no officer dared to execute the orders of Valentinian without the approval of Arbogastes. This bondage becoming intolerable to Valenti nian, he made a premature attempt to throw it off — a few days after which he was found "^ 392. strangled ; — and, in order to hide the guilt of Arbogastes, some pains were taken to make it appear that the young Emperor had been the author of his own death. Arbogastes, unable himself, in consequence of his birth, to assume the Imperial title, gave it to a man named Eugenius, though he was himself, in fact, the Emperor. The ambassadors of the new Emperor were immediately sent to Theodosius, was most severely reproved by St. Ambrose ; of which reproof, and of the open penance imposed, our Church speaks with approbation, in her Homily of the Right Use of the Church, Part 2. 74 BARBARIAN SOLDIERS EMPLOYED BY THEODOSIUS. proffering peace, if he would acknowledge Eugeiiius as his colleague. Theodosius, considering a second conquest of the West a task of difficulty and danger, dismissed them with presents, and an ambiguous answer ; and spent almost two years in prepara tions for war. " The industry," says Gibbon", "ofthe two master- " generals, Stilicho and Timasius, was directed to " recruit the numbers, and to revive the discipline, " of the Roman legions. The formidable troops of " Barbarians marched under the ensigns of their " national Chieftains. The Iberian, the Arab, and " the Goth, who gazed on each other with mutual " astonishment, were enlisted in the service of the " same prince ^ ; and the renowned Alaric ac- " quired in the school of Theodosius the know- " ledge of the art of war, which he afterwards so " fatally exerted for the destruction of Rome." (") Decline and Fall &c. chap, xxvii. (^°) " Nee tantis dissona Unguis " Turba, nee armorum cultu diversior unquam " Confluxit populus : totam pater undique secum " Moverat Auroram ; mixtis hie Colchus Iberis, " Hie mitra velatus Arabs, hie crine decoro " Armenius, hie picta Saces, fucataque Medus, " Hie gemmata niger tentoria fixerat Indus." Claud, rfe Laiid. Stil. i. 1 54, &c. DEFEAT OF EUGENIUS AND ARBOGASTES. 75 Theodosius left Constantinople in the spring of the year 394, crossed the Alps without oppo sition, and found the army of Eugenius ' " assembled in the plain before Aquileia. A battle took place, which lasted two days ; during the first of which the troops of Theodosius were worsted. But on the second day, in the heat of the engagement, a violent tempest, such as is fre quently felt among the Alps, suddenly arose from the east. The impetuosity of the wind blew a cloud of dust into the faces of the enemy, and disordered their ranks. Of this the army of Theo dosius, being sheltered by their position, were enabled to take advantage ; and obtained a deci sive victory, which was followed by the deaths of Eugenius and Arbogastes. The Scots and Picts, as well as the Franks and Saxons, ever watchful of the opportunities of inva sion, and aware that Britain had lost most of her ablest defenders in the continental expeditions of Maximus, now renewed their incursions in various parts of the island^^ Theodosius the Great, who, (^') " Exin Britannia, omni armato milite, militaribusque " copiis, rectoribus linquitur immanibus, ingenti juventute spo- " liata, quae comitata vestigiis supradicti tyranni (i.e. Maximi) " domum 76 CHRYSANTHUS APPOINTED VICAR OF BRITAIN : by the death of Valentinian IL, and by his victory over Eugenius and Arbogastes, had at length be come sole master of the Roman Empire, being informed of these hostile proceedings, appointed Chrysanthus Vicar of Britain. This officer soon restored the island to tranquillity, and continued to govern it for some time with great conduct and success. Upon quitting Britain, he was appointed Prefect of Constantinople. Altogether, his history is a singular one. He was the son of Marcianus, a Novatian bishop; and although brought up to military pursuits, was always so much attached to Religion, and so much distinguished by ability, that Sicinnius, a bishop of the same persuasion, upon his death-bed, strongly recommended him for his successor. Chrysanthus, aware that his previous " nunquam ultra rediit, et omnis belli usu ignara penitus, duabus " primum gentibus transmarinis vehementer ssevis, Scotorum a " circione, Pictorum ab aquilone, calcabilis, multos stupet ge- " metque per annos." — Hist. Gild.3S, cap. 14. " After this, Britain is left deprived of all her soldiery and " armed bands, of her cruel governors, and of the flower of her " youth, who went with Maximus but never again returned, and, " utterly ignorant as she was of the art of war, groaned in amaze- " ment for many years under the cruelty of two foreign nations ; " the Scots from the north-west, and the Picts from the north." — Giles's Translation. AFTERWARDS ADVANCED TO THE EPISCOPACY. 77 habits ill qualified him for the sacred profession, did all he could to prevent the appointment. At length, overcome by the importunity of the Novatian Clergy and people, he reluctantly yielded to their wishes, and entered upon his office with the greatest earnestness, devoting the remainder of his life to its duties^. But, whatever the virtues of Chrysanthus might be, such Ordinations, although they now and then occurred in the Catholic Church, were con trary to Ecclesiastical regulations and usage. The 10th Canon ^ of the Council of Sardica is express and full upon this subject. It states, that if any wealthy person, or any pleader at the Law, desire to be made a Bishop, he shall not be ordained until he has first discharged the offices of Reader, Deacon, and Presbyter, that, conducting himself worthily in each of these offices, he may gradually ascend to the height of the episcopal function ; and that he shall continue some considerable time in each of these degrees, in order that his faith and conversation, his constancy and moderation, might C) Socratis Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. cap. 12. The Novatians, not withstanding their bigotry and extreme severity upon several points, were the most respectable of all those who dissented from the Church. (^) Labbei Sacra Concilia, tom. ii. col. 635. 78 DEATH OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT. be fully known. The same rule is laid down by the Council of Bracara^ : " Per singulos gradus eruditus ad sacerdotium veniat." And that such was the ancient practice of the Church, we learn from what Cyprian says of Cornelius bishop of Rome : "Non iste ad episcopatum subito pervenit, " sed per omnia ecclesiastica officia promotus, et in " divinis administrationibus Dominum s«pe pro- " meritus, ad sacerdotii sublime fastigium cunctis " Religionis gradibus ascendit." ^ The great Theodosius had no sooner triumphed over Arbogastes, the last and most formidable of his adversaries, than he relapsed into a disorder which had before attacked him, and which termi nated his mortal existence on the 17th of A D January 395. His death, at the age of fifty, must be considered as the greatest national calamity that could have occurred ; as an event which hastened the destruction of the most i") Concil. Bracar. I. c. 39. (^) Cypr. Ep. Iii. al. Iv. ad Antonian. p. 103. " He was not advanced on the sudden to the episcopal dignity, " but went through all the previous offices of the Church ; and, " after having served Our Lord in all of them with His gracious " acceptance, he ascended at last, by regular and proper steps, to " the sublimest point of the Christian priesthood." — N. Marshall. CHARACTER OF THEODOSIUS. 79 wonderful fabric of empire ever erected in the world, Theodosius had well earned the title of " Great." He possessed eminent virtues and abilities. He was earnestly impressed with Religious feeling, and abounded in generous and humane sentiments ; but he was also choleric, and sometimes hurried away by passion to commit actions which in his calmer moments he bewailed with the deepest remorse. His attachment to Christianity was founded upon a conviction of its necessity to our right conduct in this world, and to our happiness hereafter; and throughout his reign he was earnestly desirous of adopting, in their fullest purity and effect, the Institutions ofthe Catholic Church, and of discou raging and extinguishing heresy and idolatry. His great adviser in spiritual things was Ambrose the celebrated archbishop of Milan, whose heroic spirit, ardent devotion, and disinterestedness, strongly re commended him to Theodosius. It was principally under the direction of Ambrose that the Emperor endeavoured to give as much efficacy as possible to the administrations of the Church in every province of his dominions. Let us now return to Britain, and carefully con sider the state of the Church, and of Religion in general, in this country, towards the close of the 80 STATE OF THE CHURCH IN BRITAIN. fourth century. From the time of Constantine the Great, all the Roman Emperors, with the exception of Julian the Apostate, had been Christian ; of whom the following — Constantine IL, Constans, Jovian, Valentinian I., Gratian, Maximus, and Theo dosius, were zealous to promote the true doctrines of Scripture, as defined by the Council of Nice. The Vicars and principal officers in Britain had, for the greater part, been Christians also ; so that there is reason to believe that a regular Church was established in most parts of the island before the end of the fourth century. It appears to have been the belief of our early writers, that at the period when the Roman power had attained its greatest height in Britain there existed twenty- eight Episcopal Sees, corresponding to the principal cities in the island^® : " Assignant urbes viginti octoque sacratis Prsesulibus totidem : sed submittunt tribus illos Archiprsesulibus, pars subjacet Eboracensi Cum sibi submissis populis, pars Londoniensi, Pars Legionensi^'." {^) " Fuisse enim eam viginti et octo civitatibus quondam no- " bilissimis insignitam." — 'Bed. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 1. " Bis denis bisque quaternis civitatibus decoratam." — ^Gild^ Epist. de Brit. Excidio. (^') Poeta qui Gild.e nomen usurpavit: — "To ROMANIZED BRITISH CITIES. ' 81 Much that is fabulous has certainly been mixed up with this subject ; and the erection of Sees is stated, by some authors, to have occurred in towns long before the towns themselves were in existence ; Bishops and Archbishops being supposed to have taken the place before occupied by Pagan Flamins and Archflamins. Still, the current of general opi nion, with regard to the number of Romanized British cities, is too strong to be resisted ; and therefore I think it will be worth while to endea vour to ascertain what those cities were. The whole country south of Antoninus' Wall was, at the close of the reign of Valentinian I., divided into the Five following Provinces ^ : — " To eight and twenty cities they assign " As many Sees, episcopal, divine ; " Subject all these to three of higher claim, " London, and York, and Caerleon, by name." (^) Rapin, Bingham, and most other writers, having entirely mistaken the relative position of these provinces, I have followed Horsley and Henry in my arrangement of them. It is unfortunate for the praise which Gibbon bestows upon this part of Bingham's work, that, in the Map which the latter gives of Britain, the pro vince of Flavia Caesariensis is placed between Britannia Prima and Maxima Caesariensis ; instead of being, as it ought to be, to the south of both those provinces. VOL. II. G 82 GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT 1. Flavins Caesariensis ; which extended from the Land's End in Cornwall to the South Foreland in Kent ; and was bounded on the south by the En glish Channel ; on the north, by the Bristol Channel, the Severn, and the Thames. It comprised the countries of the Danmonii^", Durotriges, Belgse, Atrebatii, Regni, and Cantii; now known as the counties of Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent. 2. Britannia Prima. — This province was bounded on the south by the Thames ; on the north, by the Humber ; on the east, by the British Ocean ; and on the west, by the Severn. It included the countries of the Dobuni, Cattivellauni, Trinobantes, Iceni, and Coritani ; now known as the counties of Gloucester shire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Northampton shire, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, Nottingham shire, and parts of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. 3. Britannia Secunda, bounded on the north by the Hibernian Sea ; on the south, by the Severn (^') "They were called, by Solinus, Dutimonii; by Ptolemy, Damno?iii ; or, as it is in some copies more correctly, Danmonii." — Camden's Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. I. p. 1. OF THE FIVE PROVINCES OF BRITAIN. 83 and the Bristol Channel ; on the east, by Britannia Prima ; and on the west, by St. George's Channel. This province consisted of the countries of the Cornavii, Silures, Demetse, and Ordovices ; now known as Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Stafford shire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Radnor shire, Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire, Glamorgan shire, Caermarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardigan shire, Montgomeryshire, Merionethshire, Caernar vonshire, Denbighshire, and Flintshire. 4. Maxima Caesariensis, bounded on the north by the Wall of Severus ; on the south, by the Humber ; on the east, by the German Ocean ; and on the west, by the Hibernian Sea. Within this province were the countries of the Parisi and of the Bri- gantes ; now known as the counties of York, Dur ham, Lancaster, Cumberland, Northumberland, and part of Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire. 5. Valentia; containing the countries of the Ota- deni, and other tribes known as the Maeatae, between the Walls of Severus and Antoninus Pius. Although it was usual, in most countries, to place a Metropolitan over each separate province, this does not seem to have been done in Britain ; where the Bishops of London, York, and Caerleon, G 2 84 ANCIENT EPISCOPAL SEES continued to exercise the same jurisdiction as when the country was divided into only three provinces. EPISCOPAL SEES^" IN THE PROVINCE OF FLAVIA CAESARI ENSIS, UNDER THE BISHOP OF LONDON, AS METROPOLITAN. I. Isca Danmoniorum. — Camden ^^ supposes that it might take the name of Isca, from Iscaw, which, he says, signified, in the British language, "Elder trees." It was called Caer Isc by the Britons ; and afterwards, by the Saxons, Exan-ceaster ; which has been contracted into Exeter, its present name. (^) With the exception of three or four places, respecting which there is great uncertainty and confusion, the Sees specified are those given by Usher from Nennius. I have availed myself of the light subsequently thrown upon British History by Horsley, Baxter, and Henry, to substitute Isurium, Caturactonium, and Isca Danmoniorum, for those called by Nennius Caer Cruorthegern, Caer Caratauc (or perhaps Catarauc), and Caer Pensavelcoit. Archbishop Usher prefaces his Catalogue with the fol lowing remark : " Earum catalogum contexuit Ninius : quem " (quia Britannicorum Episcopatuum notitiam aliunde nancisci " non possumus) ex duobus antiquissimis exemplaribus Cotto- " nianis descriptum, et cum novem aliis MSS. collatum, una cum " Britannicorum nominum interpretationibus, hie subjiciendum " curavimus."— Bn7. Eccles. Antiq. cap. v. C) Britannia, Gough's ed., vol. I. p. 27. IN THE PROVINCE OF FLAVIA C^SARIENSIS. 85 II. Caer Celemion, or Celemon, or Caer Camalet; probably so called from the British god Camulus. This city was situated not far from Ilchester. Camden^ says, that on a steep hill, called Camalet, in Somersetshire, were to be seen the remains of a castle with triple ramparts, enclosing many acres of ground. HI. Venta Belgarum, now Winchester; called by the Britons, Caer Seguent, or Gwent. It was famous for the Imperial weaving manufactory established there. IV. Regnum, the capital of the Regni ; called by the Britons, Caer Cei. Antiquaries are divided as to the situation of this place; but Mr. Horsley ^^ fixes it at Chichester. V. Portus Magnus, the Msyas Aifi^v of Ptolemy, the Caer Peris of Nennius, known subsequently as Portchester. The Isle of Wight (Vectis) was pro bably part of this diocese. VI. Durovernium, derived from the words Dur, " a river," and Vern, "a sanctuary": the Caer Ceint of Nennius ; and the modern Canterbury ^. ('^) Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. I. p. 56. p. 67. {") Britannia Romana, Book III. chap. 2. p. 441. (^^) The reader may at first be surprised that, in this List of ancient British cities, Camulodunum should be omitted. But it must 86 ANCIENT EPISCOPAL SEES EPISCOPAL SEES IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITANNIA PRIMA, UNDER THE BISHOP OF LONDON, AS METROPOLITAN. VII. Londinium, or London; which had now be come the capital of Britain^, and the residence of the Vicarius Britanniarum. VIII. Verulamium; called by the Britons, Caer Mincip, or Municip, because it was a Roman Muni- cipium. It was the capital of the Cattivellauni, and seated close to St. Albans. IX. Colonia, in the Itinerary of Antoninus ; Caer Colun, or Colon, according to Nennius ; now Col chester. must be remembered, that although in the time of Claudius it was a place of great renown, it never recovered from the destruc tion brought upon it by Boadicea. (35 J " Every province had its metropolis; and the superiority " of one metropolis above another depended on the residence of " the Roman Governor, the ' Vicarius Britanniarum.' I grant, " that in the time of the wars with the Northern Britons, York " was the chief seat ofthe Emperor, when he was here, as in the " times of Severus and Constantius ; but that was for the conve- " nience of attending the wars, and being near to give directions " and send supplies. But the pre-eminence of places in the " Roman account did depend more upon the Civil than the Mili- " tary officers, these being more uncertain than the other : and " where the Supreme Court of Judicature was, that was the chief " metropolis, and that was where the supreme Governor of those " provinces had his residence. Thus every province had a " President IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITANNIA PRIMA. 87 X. Venta Icenorum ; situated at Caister, or Caster, about three miles from Norwich. Traces of the ancient walls are still to be seen ^^ XI. Camboricum ; placed, by almost all our Anti quaries, at Grantchester, near Cambridge. It is mentioned in the Fifth Iter of Antoninus. Bede says that it was, in his time, "civitatulam desola- tam." lib. iv. c. 19. XII. Rates, called by Nennius Caer Lerion ; situated near to the modern Leicester. This was probably a Bishop's See in the time of Constantine the Great. It was restored to be one by the Saxon king Ethelred, in the year 680. " President in the Metropolis ; but where there was a superior officer " over these Presidents, as the ' Vicarius Britanniarum ' was over " the five provinces, the place of his residence was the highest " metropolis ; because the Presidents' Courts were in subordination " to his, whether they were Consular or Praesidial ; and therefore " the solemn ' Conventus ' out of the provinces were appointed " there . . The argument from York's being a colony signifies " nothing, after Antoninus gave the "jus civitatis' to the whole " empire : and London was a colony before York, and of a higher " nature when it was called ' Augusta ;' which shews that it was " then the Imperial, city of Britain, that name being given to no " other city in Britain besides." — Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. chap. iv. pp. 195, 196. C) Camden's Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. II. p. 94. Horsley 's Britannia Romana, Book III. chap. 2. pp. 443, 444. 88 ANCIENT EPISCOPAL SEES XIII. Corinium, according to Ptolemy ; Durocor- novium in the Itinerary of Antoninus. It was the capital of the Dobuni ; and called Caer Ceri by the Britons. It seems to have occupied the site of the modern Cirencester^''. XIV. Caer Brito, or, according to Camden ^, Caer Oder Nant Badon, i.e. "the City Oder, in the Vale of Badon," situated near the modern Bristol. EPISCOPAL SEES IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITANNIA SECUNDA, UNDER THE BISHOP OF CAERLEON, AS METROPOLITAN. XV. Isca Silurum; known as Caerleon, upon Usk in Monmouthshire. This was the station of the 2d Legion, and the metropolis ofthe Silures. The Ruins of Caerleon, even so late as in the time of Giraldus Cambrensis, attested its pristine magnifi cence. XVI. Venta Silurum; known by the Britons as Caer Guent, near Chepstow. Archbishop Usher, by some unaccountable mistake, has confounded it with Venta Belgarum, or Winchester. C) " Cirenceastre adiit, quse Britanniee Cair-Ceri nominatur, quae est in meridiana parte Huicciorum.'' Asserius Menevensis, in Oestis JElfridi, an. 879. C) Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. I. p. 63. IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITANNIA SECUNDA. 89 XVII. Branonium^^, in the Itinerary of Antoninus ; Branogenium, according to Ptolemy : called by the Britons, Caer Wrangon : in the Catalogue of Nen nius, Caer Guorangon : styled by Latin writers since the Conquest, Vigornia; and by the English, Wor cester. It is supposed that a Bishop's See was first erected here in the time of Constantine the Great ; that it was done away with by the Saxons ; but afterwards, upon their conversion, restored a.d. 680. XVIII. Manduessedum, mentioned in the 2d Iter of Antoninus. All our Antiquaries agree in placing it at Mancester, in Warwickshire, where many Roman coins have been found. In the Catalogue of Nennius it is called Caer Maunguid, or Mauchguid. XIX. Uriconium, the capital of the Cornavii ; now Wroxeter, or Wroxceter, in Shropshire. The neigh bouring mountain, called the WreJcin, preserves the ancient name. XX. Mediolanium; called by the Britons, Caer Megion, or Caer Meiguod ; the capital of the Ordo vices, and a place of note in Roman times ; but afterwards destroyed by Edwin, king of Northum berland. It was probably seated at Maywood in Montgomeryshire . C) Camden, ibid. vol. II. p. 352. 90 EPISCOPAL SEES, IN MAXIMA CAESARIENSIS, XXI. Segontium; called by the Britons, Caer Cus- teint, i. e. the city of Constantius or Constantine ; but of which of the Princes of those names is not certain. It was situated at or near Caernarvon. XXII. Diva, or Deva; now Chester. It was a city of great importance in the time of the Romans, a colony, and the stated quarters of the 20th Legion. EPISCOPAL SEES IN THE PROVINCE OF MAXIMA CAESARI ENSIS, UNDER THE BISHOP OF YORK, AS METROPOLITAN, XXIII. Eboracum; called by the Britons, Caer Ebrauc, or Caer Branc ; by the English, York. In early times, the first ; and latterly, the second city in Britain, in point of importance. It was the stated head-quarters of the 6th Legion, surnamed " the Victorious." XXIV. Lindum; in Nennius's Catalogue, Caer iwiY- coyt, or Caer Lind-coit ; now Lincoln. It was the capital of the Cor Iceni, a Roman colony, and one of the most flourishing cities possessed by the Romans in Britain. — Lindum is placed by many Antiquaries in the province of Britannia Prima. xxv. Danum ; called by the Britons, Caer Daun ; and afterwards, by the English, Doncaster. It was a place of great note, and a colony. AND IN THE PROVINCE OF VALENTIA. 91 XXVI. Isurium, now Aldborough ; the ancient ca pital of the Brigantes. The foundations of the old ramparts are said to be still visible. XXVII. Caturactonium, now Cattarick, near Rich mond in Yorkshire. It is frequently mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus. Military Ways, leading to and from it, are still visible. It was a place of great reputation in the time of Carausius, and where most of his coins were struck. XXVIII. Luguvallium ; called Caer Lualid by Nen nius, and Caer Leil by Henry of Huntingdon. It was situated near the modern Carlisle. THE PROVINCE OF VALENTIA, SUBJECT TO THE BISHOP OF YORK, AS METROPOLITAN. After this province was .conquered by Count Theodosius, the Bishop of York must have been anxious to convert the natives, and to place Chris tian Ministers among them ; but as he probably was unable to ordain Bishops for so poor a country, he perhaps placed a Chorepiscopus in one or two of the principal places. Such, for instance, as Habitancum, near Risingham in Northumberland; where many vestiges of antiquity are visible ; and where an in scription to Mogon, the tutelar deity of the Gadeni, was found**. C") Camden's Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. III. p. 233. 92 ANCIENT EPISCOPAL SEES IN BRITAIN. Bremenium, now Riechester, in Northumberland. This is the place from which the First Iter of Anto ninus in Britain begins. Camden*^ says, that the remains of ancient ramparts and castles were abun dant in this neighbourhood ; and he gives the In scription upon an Altar found there. At Candida Casa, or Whitern, in Valentia, a church of stone, then very rarely seen, was built by Nynias, in the fifth century^. This ecclesiastic converted many of the southern Picts ; and became Bishop of the diocese called Candida Casa, which extended, as Archbishop Usher supposes, from the modern Glasgow to Stanemore Cross, on the borders of Westmoreland*^ . Such, according to Nennius, were the number and the names of the ancient Episcopal Sees in Britain. It is however probable that some of the most obscure of the places specified were the resi dence only of a Chorepiscopus. A few changes also might be made in the Sees, as some towns fell into obscurity, and others rose into importance. The number of Sees specified in the foregoing Catalogue (^') Camden's Britannia, Gough's edit. vol. III. p. 233. (*') Bedae, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 4. (f) Brit. Eccles. Antiq. cap. xv. OF THE ANCIENT EPISCOPAL SEES IN BRITAIN. 93 will not, I think, appear too great, when we con sider that 200 years afterwards, notwithstanding the unsettled and impoverished state of the country occasioned by the Saxon wars, seven Bishops in one corner of the island remained subject to the Me tropolitan of Caerleon ; and that it was then the wish of Gregory the Great to establish twenty-six Bishops in England**. Poor as many parts of Bri tain may have been during the first four centuries ofthe Christian agra, there can be no doubt that the wealth, population, and prosperity of the coun try, when it made part of the Roman Empire, were infinitely greater than when it became subject to the Saxons ; so that if Gregory thought that Eng land could support twenty-six Bishops in the seventh century, we are warranted, I repeat, in supposing that it must have maintained as many or more Bishops in the previous times of compa rative plenty*^. Although we have nothing upon which to found an C^) Twelve were to have been under the jurisdiction ofthe Bishop of London, and twelve under that of the Bishop of York. Gregory, however, was not able to accomplish this great object. Vide Bedae Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 29. (^'') See also Bingham's Antiquities, Book IX. ch. 6. sect. 20. 94 EPISCOPAL REVENUES IN BRITAIN, exact notion as to the amount of revenue possessed at this time by the British Bishops, we may, I think, approximate to the truth by considering the position of the Clergy in other parts of the Roman Empire. We know that the Bishop of Rome, in the time of Valentinian I., was living in such splendour, that Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen writer, scruples not to say that that See had become a great object of ambition to men of a worldly character. The Bishops of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, were also placed in affluent circumstances. But as the blood is said to circulate more feebly towards the extremities than in parts nearer to the heart, so the temporal means of many of the public func tionaries varied in almost a direct ratio to their distance from the great capitals of the empire. It is therefore probable that the British Bishops were as poor as almost any in the Catholic Church. Moreover, the constant exposure of the country to the invasion of Franks, Saxons, Scots, and Picts, checked those rapid strides to prosperity which Britain ever made when opportunities were given her, and prevented her from becoming rich. Mr. Gibbon estimates the Roman pound of gold at 40^. sterling of our money ; and states, from the " Novelise " of Justinian, that the highest value of a AND NUMBER OF THE CLERGY. 95 Bishopric, during the fourth and fifth centuries, was thirty ; and of the lowest, two pounds of gold ; and that the medium might be taken at sixteen. But he adds, that such estimates were probably much below the true value*". We may therefore reasonably suppose that the Bishops of London, York, and Caerleon, each possessed a revenue of not less than sixteen pounds of gold, or about 640Z. sterling ; the Bishops of Verulam, Winchester, Chester, and Lin coln, about twelve pounds of gold, or 480Z. ; and the remainder of the Bishops no more than two pounds of gold, or 801. sterling. The whole number of Clergy resident during the fourth century within the five provinces of Britain could not have been less than Seven hundred ; between whom and the Bishops there existed pro bably, as in other countries, the gradations of Arch- presbyters, Archdeacons, and Choreplscopi. A short account of these dignitaries may therefore be accep table to the Reader. The Archpresbyter, although seldom mentioned by Ecclesiastical Writers, was a dignitary next in (^^) Justinian. Novell, cxxiii. 3. Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chap. XX. note 105. 96 OFFICES OF ARCHPRESBYTER, importance to the Bishop. He was, as his name indicates, the chief of the Presbyters in every diocese ; and upon him, in the absence of the Bishop, devolved the superintendence of the Church. His office was something similar to that of a Dean in our Cathedrals, but was neither of early origin nor of long continuance in the Church*'. It is difficult to determine at what time the name and office of Archdeacon were first known in the Church ; probably, however, not much before the close of the third century. For although Deacons, Subdeacons, Exorcists, Readers, Acolythists, and Doorkeepers, are mentioned in the Catalogue of the Roman Clergy given by Cornelius bishop of Rome, to Fabius, about the middle of that century, no men tion is made of Archdeacons. But, whatever might be the date of the appointment, it was, from its origin, one of great dignity and importance. The Archdeacon was the constant Minister and attendant upon the Bishop, whom he aided in the management (^') Jerome is perhaps the first writer who makes mention ofthe Archpresbyters. His words are : " Singuli Episcopi, singuli Archipresbyteri, singuli Archidiaconi." Epist. iv. ad Rustic. They are afterwards spoken of by Socrates, lib. vi. cap. 9. ; and by Sozo men, lib. viii. cap. 12. See Bingham's Antiquities, Book II. ch. 20. sect. 18. ARCHDEACON, AND CHOREPISCOPUS. 97 and disbursement of the ecclesiastical revenues, as well as of those provided for the poor. He also assisted the Bishop in preaching, and bore a part with him in the ordination of the inferior Clergy. Although the authority of this dignitary was pro bably at first confined to the city or mother-church, and did not extend over the Presbyters so long as the office of Archpresbyter continued ; when the latter ceased, its duties merged in those of the Archdeacon, who, since the seventh century, has had jurisdiction over the Parochial Clergy. As there were Archdeacons in the GaUican Church at the time of which I write, so we have reason to be lieve there were in the Church of Britain also *^. As the office of the Archpresbyter and of the Archdeacon were principally confined to the cities, so that of the Chorepiscopus was almost entirely exercised in the country ; and he was so named, (^*) Sulpicius Severus tells us, that Martin bishop of Tours, who affected a very austere mode of life, was attended by his Archdeacon : so that there can be little doubt that the Bishops of London, York, Caerleon, and others, (who, from their attendance at Councils, as well as from their correspondence with the GaUican Church, must have been perfectly acquainted with every eccle siastical appointment,) had Archdeacons in their dioceses. Sulpic. Sever. Dialog. II. de Virtut. B. Martini, cap. 1. See Bingham, B. II. chap. 21. VOL. II. H 98 CHOREPISCOPL not because he was ex choro sacerdotum, but be cause he was rrj^ xwioa? eTtla-KOTros, " a Country Bi shop," as the word properly signifies. It was the province of this dignitary to preside over the Clergy in the Rural districts ; to inquire and make report respecting their conduct to the Bishop ; and to ordain Readers, Subdeacons, and Exorcists. With the permission of the Bishop, the Chor episcopi were even empowered to ordain Priests and Deacons, and to confirm those persons who had recently been baptized. But their authority and privileges varied much in different times and places, depending upon the judgment of Coun cils, and upon the will of the Bishop by whom they were appointed. In a country like Britain, where many of the inhabitants were still heathen, and where the Clergy were necessarily spread over extensive provincial districts, the office of Chor episcopus must have been particularly useful*'. (^^) Concil. Antioch. cap. 10. Bingham's Antiquities, Book II. cap. 14. Some attempt was made in England, at the beginning of the Reformation, to restore the Chorepiscopi, under the name of Suffragan Bishops. They were to be consecrated by the Arch bishop and two other Bishops ; but none of them either to have or act any thing properly episcopal without the consent and per mission of the Bishop of the city in whose diocese he was placed and constituted. — See Bingham, ibid. sect. 13. INFERIOR ORDERS OF THE CLERGY. 99 There is reason to believe that the British Church was not overloaded with those who formed what were called the Inferior Orders of the Clergy ; such as. Sub-deacons, Acolythists, Exorcists, and Readers. No certain rule, indeed, seems to have prevailed in ancient times with regard to these Orders, each Church being allowed to institute them as necessity might require^". As the number of converts in creased in the larger Churches, the duties which devolved upon the Deacons became excessive ; to relieve them from which, it was found expedient to appoint certain Assistants. It is in this manner that we must account for the numbers among the Infe rior Orders of the Clergy in Rome, Carthage, and other populous cities, during the third and fourth centuries, when, in many of the provincial Churches, most of the duties continued to be performed by the Deacons. The institution of these Inferior Orders was certainly attended by some great advan tages. In addition to the relief afforded to the Dea cons, a sort of Seminary was thus provided, in which candidates were trained for the higher offices of the (50J Whoever wishes to be convinced of the difference of prac tice in different Churches which at this time prevailed, with regard to many important Ceremonies and Appointments, must refer to Sozomen, lib. vii. eap. 19. H 2 100 SUB-DEACONS. Christian Ministry. In those times, before regular Colleges were established, the Church seems to have wisely thought that she could not better select her Superior Ministers than from that body which had faithfully discharged the more humble and labo rious offices. The Bishops had thus constant op portunities of observing the morals, capacity, and attainments of a large number of probationers, and could make their choice of persons best qualified for any particular appointment. As the number of those persons who held infe rior orders in the Church of Britain, in common with the other Provincial Churches, was probably few, and confined to the principal cities, it will not be necessary to give a long account of them. It is supposed that the order of Sub-deacons had its rise about the beginning of the second cen tury. The principal part of their office consisted in preparing the sacred vessels and utensils of the altar, and delivering them to the Deacons during Divine Service ; without, however, being allowed themselves to come within the rails of the altar. They were to take care that order and re verence were maintained among the congregation, especially during the administration of the Sacra ment of the Lord's Supper ; to see thf t none went ACOLYTHISTS.— EXORCISTS. lOl forth, and that the doors were not opened when the oblation was offered. The Sub-deacons, moreover, acted as special messengers of the Bishop, and conveyed his Letters and Commissions to other Churches ^\ It is remarkable, that although the word Acolythist is of Greek derivation, this order of Clergy had found its way into the Latin long before it existed in the Greek Church ^^. The original word, 'AkoKvOo^, as Hesychius explains it, signifies a " young servant," or an attendant who waits con tinually upon another : and the name seems to have been given them from this. The duties of the Acolythists were of a similar nature with those of the Sub-deacons ; consisting, principally, in super intending the lighting of the churches, and in attending with the wine necessary for the admini stration of the Lord's Supper. The order of Exorcists^^ appears to have been (") Bingham, Antiq. Book III. ch. 2. C^) Ibid. chap. 3. (*^) Sulpicius Severus tells us that Hilary of Poictiers ordained St. Martin an Exorcist, at a time when the latter considered him- se'f unworthy to be made a Deacon. De Virtut. B. Martin, cap. 4. 102 EXORCISTS. instituted in the Church at the time when the working of miracles began to be withdrawn from it^*. The appointment and office of this class of Ministers are thus noticed by the Fourth Council of Carthage : — " When an Exorcist is ordained, he " shall receive from the hands of the Bishop a " book, in which the forms of exorcising are "written; the Bishop addressing him thus: — " ' Receive thou these, and commit them to me- " mory ; and have thou power to lay hands upon " the Energumens, whether they be baptized or " only catechumens.' ^^ " These forms consisted in certain prayers; together with adjurations in the name of Christ, commanding the unclean spirit to depart from the possessed person. This may be collected from the words of Paulinus ; where, speak ing of the promotion of S. Felix to this office, he says^": "From a Reader he arose to that degree, " whose office was to adjure evil spirits, and to " drive them out by certain holy words." Although it does not appear that the Exorcists were ordained CO Bona Rer. Liturg. lib. i. cap. 25. n. 17. (") Concil. Carth. iv. cap. 7. {^'^) " Primis lector servivit in annis, " Inde gradum cepit, cui munus voce fideli, " Adjurare malos et sacris pellere verbis." Paulinus, Nat. IV. Felicis. ENERGUMENS. 103 by imposition of hands to the office, no one might presume to exercise it without the appointment of the Bishop, or at least without the licence of the Chorepiscopus". The unhappy description of persons, upon whose account, principally, the office of Exorcists was appointed, were called Energumens, from the Greek word 'Evepyovixevoi, which, in its restricted sense, denoted those who were possessed with evil spirits ; and who gave evidence of such possession by va rious kinds of madness, and by violent and frantic distortions of the body. Supplications to God were offered up by the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in the public congregation, for these sad sufferers ; over whom the Exorcists prayed also in private^*. C ) Bingham, Antiq. Book III. chap. 4. sect. 5. Bingham says, " that the act of exorcising the Catechumens " before baptism does not appear always to have been the Exor- " cist's office, save only in one of these two cases ; either, first, " when a Catechumen was also an Energumen, which was a case " that very often happened — and then he was to be committed to " the care of the Exorcists : or it might happen that the Exorcist " was only made the Catechist ; and in that case his office was as " well to exorcise as to instruct the Catechumens." — Ibid. sect. 8. (=') Ibid. sect. 6. 104 INFERIOR ORDERS OF THE CLERGY. No order in the Catholic Church analogous to that of Reader existed in the first ages of Chris tianity^". It seems to have been instituted about the close of the second century, for the double purpose of forming a sort of introduction to the higher orders of the Clergy, and for assisting the Deacons. Young persons were usually appointed to this office ; and the Bishop, in ordaining each individual, put a Bible into his hands, and addressed him in the following words : — " Take this Book, " and be thou a Reader of the word of God ; " which office if thou faithfully and profitably fulfil, " thou shalt have part with those that minister " in the word of God." The place in the Church from which the Gospels as well as other parts of Scripture were read by these functionaries was called Pulpitum, or Tribunal Ecclesice, as distin guished from the Bema, or Tribunal of the Sanc tuary. It was placed in a central situation, and corresponded to the Reading-desk in our modern churches. The last of those Five Orders which the present Church of Rome pretends to be of Apostolic in stitution is that of the Ostiarii, or Door-keepers ; (") Bingham, Antiq. Book IU. chap. 5. sect. 1. READERS.— OSTIARII. 105 in whose office many of the duties now discharged by the Clerk, Sexton, and Verger, appear to have been combined. The Ostiarii were more parti cularly employed in taking care of the doors of the churches during the time of Divine Service. It was also their office, at least according to the discipline of some Churches"", to make a distinc tion betwixt the Faithful and Catechumens, and excommunicated persons, and such others as were to be excluded from the church. In seasons of persecution, it was their part to give the signal for the hours of Public Worship ; as great caution was then necessary in assembling the congrega tion. The appointment of these functionaries. was made by the Bishop, or, upon his deputa tion, by the Chorepiscopus, who, in delivering the C^") " In the African Church, a liberty was given, not only to " Catechumens and Penitents, but also to Heretics, Jews, and " Heathens, to come to the first part of the Church's Service, " called the Missa Catechumenorum ; that is, to hear the Scripture " read, and the Homily or Sermon that was made upon it ; " because these were instructive, and might be means of their con- " version : so that there was no need of making any distinction " here. And as to the other part of the Service, called Missa " Fidelium, or the Communion Service, the distinction that was " made in that was done by the Deacons or Sub-deacons, and " Deaconesses." — Bingham, Book III. chap. vi. sect. 3. '106 INFERIOR ORDERS OF THE CLERGY. keys of the church to the Ostiarius, said: "Be- " have thyself as one that must give an account " to God of the things that are kept locked under " these keys"." Such was the nature of what were denominated the Five Inferior Orders of the Clergy. To affirm, as the Church of Rome affirms, that they were of Apostolic institution, is decidedly contrary to truth. Some of them were useful, perhaps ne cessary, for the times in which they were ap pointed ; and one of them, that of Reader, might, I think, be revived with good effect by the Church of England at the present day. In populous districts, where the duties of the officiating Mi nister are laborious, the assistance afforded by the appointment of some good and intelligent young man to read the Lessons on the Sundays might be very serviceable ; whilst the office itself might be a useful preparation for the Candidates for Holy Orders. Although it is probable that many, if not all, of these gradations had taken place among the Clergy ("' ) Bingham, ibid. sect. 2. Cone. Carthag. iv, c. 9. Ordo Rom. Part II. p. 98. MONASTICISM. 107 of this country, they took place, not from any ne cessity on the part of our Church to follow the example and practice of Rome, but from a defe rence to the regulations generally adopted by the Catholic Church, and from a persuasion of their expediency. At this time, indeed, many eccle siastical customs were observed at Rome which were unknown elsewhere. Thus, at Rome, the number of Deacons, which in other places was indefinite, was restricted to seven : and while in almost all other Churches sermons were regularly delivered, it was not customary at Rome either for the Bishop or any of the Clergy to preach to the people"^. But, although there can be no doubt that the Church of Britain was at this time wholly independent of the Bishop of Rome, we must not suppose that it was uninfected by many of those superstitions which prevailed, not only in the capital, but in almost every part of the empire. It was towards the close of the fourth century that Monasticism began to appear in Britain. From the number of his followers, St. Anthony has been considered the father of this gloomy {''•) Sozomen. lib. vii. cap. 19. 108 MONASTICISM. system"^; which originated in Egypt, and thence found its way into Italy. St. Martin, bishop of Tours, erected the first monastery in ^^^ Gaul ; and recommended this kind of solitude with so much effect, that his funeral is said to have been attended by two thousand monks. The example and instructions of one so celebrated as St. Martin must have produced im portant consequences, not only in Gaul but in Bri tain; and were probably one great cause of the establishment of monasteries in the latter country"*. Weariness and disgust of the world operated with some persons — earnest but mistaken piety with others — to detach them from the scenes of ac tive life. The principal Monastery in Britain was esta- ^63^ There seem to have been ascetics of various kinds, from the earliest times ; but Anthony was the first who reduced Mona- chism to any thing like a system. Its origin is referred to the time of the Decian Persecution, A.D. 250; when some of the Egyptian Christians took refuge in the deserts, and adopted there a life of self-denial (Eremites, Monks). They continued almost unknown till during the persecution under Maximinus, A.D. 311, when St. Anthony appeared at Alexandria. — See Gieseler's Text- Book of Ecclesiastical History, Period I. Div. 3. ch. 4. §. 71. C*) "Some say Pelagius first brought Monachism out of the East into Britain." — Bingham, Book VII. ch. 2. sect. 13. MONASTICISM. 109 blished at Banachor, or Bangor "5, in Flintshire; but at what time it is difficult to determine. It is probable, however, that it was founded during the reign of Theodosius the Great ; the numbers of the monks being at first inconsiderable. For many years they consisted almost entirely of laymen ; and although some of their customs were super stitious, they were not disgraced by the absurdities and vices which succeeding ages introduced among them. Sloth and luxury had not then corrupted them ; and although they might think it a duty to be miserable, they did not suppose it incumbent upon them to be useless. At this time, and for centuries afterwards, the monks of Bangor supported themselves by the work of their own hands ; and while a certain number were performing the offices of Religion, the rest were employed in labour, by a (*) Hospinian and Bale have confounded the Monastery of Bangor in Flintshire with that of Bencher in Ireland ; although the latter was not founded until the year 520. We are told by Bede, that at the beginning of the seventh century the Monastery of Bangor was divided into seven parts, with a Ruler over each : that none of these parts consisted of fewer than 700 men, who were all accustomed to live by their labour. — Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. c. 2. Bede says (ibid.) that there were many learned men in the Monastery of Bangor. 1 10 MONASTICISM. regular rotation. Their monastery, also, became useful, as a School of instruction for the young, and as a sort of College for those who were intended for Holy Orders. The bodily constitution of the Western monks would not allow them to support the depri vations to which the ascetics of the East were accus tomed : so that whatever merit might be attributed to fasting, a more ample latitude as to diet pre vailed in the monasteries of Gaul and Britain than in those of Syria and Egypt. That discipline which reduced the monk to a stricter obedience than the soldier, as yet was not known in Europe. — But I must reserve my observations upon this subject until we come to consider the events of the following century. The practice of visiting Jerusalem, as a city sanctified by the miracles, sufferings, and death of Our Saviour, now began to be considered as highly meritorious ; and the Britons were not behind other nations in making pilgrimages to Palestine. We learn this from St. Jerome : " Divisus ab orbe nostro " Britannus, si in religione processerit, occiduo sole " dimisso, quaerit locum fama sibi tantum et Scrip- " turarum relatione cognitum""." Theodoret also (^) Hieronym. tom. i. epist. 17. alias 46. PILGRIMAGES TO SYRIA. 1 1 1 tells us, that the Britons were in the habit of visiting Syria in order that they might see the celebrated Simeon Stylites, whose miserable notions of Religion induced him to live thirty-seven years upon the tops of pillars of different heights "'' : 'A^Ikovto 5e •no70\,oi Tag t^s etnrepas oi/coCvre? eff')(a.Ttai, Siravoj re Kai 'Bperravo), Ka) TaXuTai, ot to fxecrov Tovrav Karexovres^. (^') Fleury's Ecclesiastical History, Book xxix. sect. 18. C^) ITieodorit. in Pliilotheo, seu Historia Religiosa, cap. 26. ( 113 ) CHAPTER IX. FROM A.D. 395, TO A.D. 409. CHABACTEE OF STILICHO HE SENDS AN AEMAMENT TO THE RELIEF OF THE BRITONS REVOLT AMONG THE SOLDIERY AND PEOPLE OF BRITAIN MARCUS, GRATIAN, AND CONSTANTINE, SUCCESSIVELY CHOSEN SOVEREIGNS ENTERPRISES AND SUCCESS OF CONSTANTINE ¦ ^HIS OVERTHROW AND DEATH — THE BRITONS SHAKE OFF THE - ROMAN YOKE IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT EMANCIPATION THE CHURCH, AND THE BLESSINGS EFFECTED BY IT THE PELAGIAN HERESY PELAGIUS CELESTIUS JULIANUS FASTI DIUS FAUSTUS AGRICOLA GERMANUS LUPUS SEVERUS BENEFITS CONFERRED BY GERMANUS ON THE BRITISH CHURCH AND NATION LITURGIES AND OFFICES OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES, THOSE PARTICULARLY OF GAUL ST. PATRICK. vv HEN the death of Theodosius became known, the war-cry of the Barbarian resounded on every side of the Roman Empire. Britain was A D once more subject to the ravages of the ' _ Scots and Picts, who for some time ha rassed the country with their usual violence. The sceptre of the Western Empire had fallen into the hands^ of Honorius, a child of ten years old ; so VOL. II. I 114 CHARACTER OF STILICHO. that the enemies of peace and order might well anticipate a long course of impunity. One great man, however, there was, who, although a subject, for some years supplied the place of the illustrious Theodosius; — I allude to Stilicho. Courage, vigour, and prudence, were all united in this remarkable person ; whose talents had raised him, although of Vandal extraction, to the first offices in the Roman army. He had been the companion in arms of Theodosius, who, at his death, made him the prin cipal guardian of his children. One of the first public acts of Stilicho was, to send an adequate force into Britain, to repel the invaders. The suc cess of this armament is thus alluded to by the Poet Claudian : — " Inde Caledonio velata Britannia monstro, " Ferro picta genas, cujus vestigia verrit " CcBrulus, Oceanique aestum mentitur amictus : " ' Me quoque vicinis pereuntem gentibus,' inquit, " ' Munivit Stilichon, totam cum Scotus lernen " Movit, et infesto spumavit remige Tethys. " Illius efFectum euris, ne tela timerem " Seotica, ne Pictum tremerem, ne litore toto " Prospieerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis.' " ' (') De Laudib. Stilich, lib. ii. v. 247, &c. " Britannia alaric defeated by STILICHO. 1 1 5 But the exigences of Italy compelling Stilicho to concentrate the forces of the empire, the Roman Legion which had been stationed to ° 403. guard the Caledonian Wall was withdrawn from Britain, and sent to join the mighty armament which soon afterwards encountered and overcame Alaric, in the battle of Pollentia^. " Britannia, then, with cheeks that wounds display'd, " In Caledonian monster's spoils array'd, " And azure dress, that o'er her footsteps waved " Like rolling billows, thus attention craved : " ' On me has Stilicho oft aid bestow'd, " When neighb'ring nations hostile movements show'd ; " The Scotch allured the Irish in their train, " And Tethys foam'd with foes that plough'd the main. " By him assisted, I their darts could dare ; " Devoid of fear, the Picts' incursions bear ; " And Saxons, who their dubious course pursue, " In spite of winds, upon my borders view.' Hawkins. (^) This fact, also, we learn from Claudian : " Venit et extremis legio praetenta Britannis, " Quae Scoto dat fi'ena truci, ferroque notatas " Perlegit exsangues Picto moriente figuras." De Bello Getico, v. 416,&c. " The legions came, on British confines placed, " Where they fierce Scots restrain'd by lofty bars, " And view'd the dying Pict with frightful scars." Hawkins. T 2 116 soldiery and people of BRITAIN REVOLT. The incursions ofthe Scots and Picts, which took place in consequence of the removal of the Roman force from Britain, were followed by other calami ties. A spirit of revolt had seized the soldiery and people of Britain. Laying aside all respect for the reigning Emperor, they invested one of their own officers, named Marcus, with the purple. The new sovereign soon became the victim of caprice, and perished by the same hands which had raised him to the throne. Gratian, a native of Britain, was the next unhappy object of their favour: after wearing the crown for four months, he underwent the fate of his predecessor. The third in dividual owed his dangerous elevation to ^ 407. the mere accident of his name. He was a private soldier, called Constantine, whom the army, in honour of the illustrious Emperor who bore that name, now hailed as their Ruler ^ This man, how ever, soon gave proof of higher abilities than could have been reasonably expected from one madly elevated from this low condition. Aware that the same caprice which had raised might as instantly lay him low, Constantine determined to give vent to the restless spirits of the soldiery, in some bold O Sozomen, lib. ix. cap. 11. Zosim. lib. vi. cap. 2. Bedse Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. 1 1. Oros. lib. vii. c. 40. SUCCESS OF CONSTANTINE, A PRIVATE SOLDIER. 117 foreign undertaking. This policy had been suc cessfully adopted by several of his predecessors. Accordingly, he resolved to attempt the reduction of the Western Provinces. Having enlisted great numbers of the British youth in his service, he trained them to the use of arms, and transported them to the Continent, together with his more experienced troops. Fortune shone upon his first enterprises; and within two years the adventurer found his authority acknowledged from the Wall of Antoninus to the Columns of Her- 409. cules. He had early extorted from the timid and indolent Honorius an acquiescence in his claims to sovereignty. Hoping to perpetuate these claims, he took his son Constans from the monastery in which he had been brought up, invested him with the purple, and sent him to command an army in Spain. But prosperity acquired in the manner I have stated is seldom lasting. It is like a building supported upon unseasoned timbers, and must soon give way. Disgusted by some real or imaginary affront, Gerontius, the ablest of Con stantine's Generals, took up arms against him, and placed the diadem upon the head of one of his own dependants. After intercepting and putting Constans to death, he besieged Constantine in Aries. 118 DEATH OF CONSTANTINE, AND OF STILICHO. Whilst these former friends were thus occupied, Constantius, an officer of great eminence, who had received a commission from Honorius to extirpate rebellion in the West, came forward against them both. He first defeated the forces of Gerontius, and then overthrew an army which had advanced to the relief of Constantine. The latter, from the walls of Aries, beheld the destruction of his last hopes. Perceiving that empire was lost, Constantine now sought only to preserve life. Like other hypocrites who assume the garb of Religion to promote their secular views, he determined to take Sacred Orders, hoping that his person would then be respected and spared. But his expectations were vain. When the gates of Aries were opened, Constantine, and his son Julian, were seized, and sent, under a strong guard, into Italy, where they were shortly afterwards put to death. The death of Stilicho, who fell a victim to the artifices of his enemies, in the year 408, proved most calamitous to Rome. He seems ' 408. to have been the only General whom Alaric respected or feared ; and his loss was evinced by the confusion and revolt which ensued in almost all the provinces subject to Honorius. In Britain the consequences were very striking. Sorely pressed A.D. 411. BRITAIN SHAKES OFF THE ROMAN YOKE. 119 by the Scots and Picts, and finding that they were to expect relief neither from the Romans nor from Constantine, the Britons now took upon themselves the management of their own affairs, expel- A D led the Roman Magistrates, and set up a ^ ' . . ^ 409. form of government suitable to their ideas of freedom*. Their efforts to render themselves in dependent appear to have been for some years successful. Honorius was too deeply engaged in the defence of his own immediate territories to concern himself with the affairs of so remote a province ; and the Scots and Picts were for some time awed by the desperate resistance which they encountered from the Britons. Britain was now ruled by the authority of her principal Nobles, by the Clergy, and by her Native Magistrates ; and although, during this period, she frequently suffered by the desolating hand of the Caledonian invader, and several times sought and obtained relief from the very people whose supre macy she had disclaimed, she must for the space of forty years be considered as an independent C) Zosim. lib. vi. c. 5, 6.— Gibbon is, I believe, the first of our Historians who notices this important revolution : Decline and Fall, chap. 31. 120 CONSEQUENCES OF THE EMANCIPATION country. It was, however, an independence neither natural nor likely to be lasting. The emancipated Britons might be compared to the steed, which, having been well fed, and tended under the domi nion of man, escapes from the stable to the barren wilderness. His previous habits disqualify him for liberty, for self-defence, and preservation. After enjoying the first wild sensations of freedom, he begins to feel the pains of cold and hunger, and at last becomes the prey of animals who have always been nurtured in savage hardihood. We have no means of ascertaining the course adopted by the British Leaders after the country had thrown off the yoke of Rome. They probably established some of the ancient and native regu lations of government and law which had lingered in parts of the island, or which had been preserved by tradition : but the ground- work of Legislation and Rule must have been similar to that which they had observed among the Romans. What they most wanted, was, a bold and comprehensive system, by which the inhabitants of the cities and towns might have been led to combine for the general good, and to resist the common enemy. Of this they were utterly devoid. Jealousy and enmity among the principal men prevented them from joining heartily OF BRITAIN FROM THE ROMAN YOKE. 121 in any uniform and patriotic plan ; while the nature of the municipal and other great towns, rendering each a community within itself, hindered them from adopting or desiring any more enlightened or en larged policy. Had the country been free from foreign enemies, she would, after her emancipation from the Roman dominion, have probably fallen back into that state in which she was originally found by Julius Caesar. The country might again have been divided into many separate tribes, conti nually making war upon each other. But Britain had many fierce and warlike neighbours. She had been enervated by a long course of luxury and de pendence. She was no longer protected by a Roman army, and she was unable to protect her self. She had been deprived of her ablest sons by the continental expeditions of Maximus and Con stantine ; and although, by a desperate effort, she had freed herself for a time from the Scots and Picts, she was no permanent match for those terrible invaders. In a state so enfeebled and degenerate, an Alfred could scarcely have secured repose and prosperity to the people. But the existence of such a character in Britain as Alfred, during the early part of the fifth century, was almost impossible. A national feeling, a love for Britain, could not be created in a day. Our Great Alfred was descended 122 INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH, from bold and independent ancestors ; and the love of liberty which burned within his own breast constantly instigated his efforts to render his people independent also. The Chiefs who bore sway among the Britons, at the period of which I speak, were men of a very different class and character. Although always turbulent, they had never been independent. They were narrow-minded and selfish. They possessed not the affections of their coun trymen, who knew that they were engrossed by their own private and paltry schemes of ambition. There was no one at that time living who had sufficient wisdom to comprehend what the general good of the country required, or sufficient virtue to sacrifice his own immediate interests to secure it. Supposing even that one so wise and virtuous could have been found, he would not have possessed sufficient weight with his countrymen to carry into effect any great design for their welfare. The principal barrier to the caprice and violence of the people, and to the vices of their leaders, was the Church. The Feudal System had not then originated ; and the authority of Magistrates and Rulers was feeble and ill defined : consequently, the influence exercised by the Church upon all classes of the community, tending to unite them together in AND THE BLESSINGS EFFECTED BY IT. 123 the bonds of Christian fellowship, was of infinite importance. The Christian Religion had taught men to regard God as the source of truth, justice, and purity ; and, consequently, had given a stronger sanction to morality than could ever have been before known. It had set before men, Jesus Christ, not only as their Saviour, but as the pattern of all moral excellence, and especially of humanity and brotherly love : and although the happy effects of such a dispensation had been alloyed by ignorance and superstition, and greatly impeded by the depra vity of individuals and by national sins and revo lutions, it had conferred infinite blessings upon the British community. Besides the secret comfort it had afforded to many a sufferer, and the ease it had imparted to many a wounded heart, it was marked by many visible tokens of national improvement. It had abolished the disgraceful and inhuman rites of Druidism ; it had tended much to civilize the mass of society ; and, above all, it had been the means of softening the hard condition of the slave, and of relieving the wants of the poor. Such were some of the good effects produced by Christianity during the fourth century. There can be no doubt, I think, that the condition of a resident in Britain during the reign of Theodosius was infinitely hap pier than in the Heathen ages which went before or 124 THE PELAGIAN HERESY. succeeded it. Unhappily, however, the corruption of morals which preceded and accompanied the dissolution of the Roman authority in Britain and in other countries infected the Church. Men of bad principles and conduct entered into Sacred Orders, and thus brought Religion into disesteem^. The Laity were too often able to allege the example of the Clergy in extenuation of their own misdeeds. In addition to these evils, one of the most dangerous heresies which had ever afflicted the Church had now arisen in Britain ; — I allude to Pelagianism. As this evil related to doctrines of unspeakable importance, and proved the parent of many other errors, it becomes necessary to describe its nature, rise, and progress, with as much precision as possible. Pelagius was a native of Britain °, and was pro bably brought up in one of our earliest monastic institutions. His original name is said to have been Morgan ; which word, signifying the " Sea " in the old Welch language, was afterwards changed by himself into Pelagius. St. Augustine says that he was called Pelagius Brito '', to distinguish him C) Bedae Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 14. Hist. Gildae, c. 21. C) Augustine, Jerome, Prosper, and Bede, all state that Pela gius was a Briton. (') Aug. ep. 106, ad Paulin. CHARACTER OF PELAGIUS. 125 from another Pelagius, of Tarentum. He appears to have been a man of great natural acuteness, im proved by considerable learning. His manners and address were insinuating, and his moral cha racter was without reproach. When first he enter- tained his heretical opinions we have no means of ascertaining ; but he did not begin to propagate them until about the year 405, when he was some what advanced in years. His first writings were an Epistle to Paulinus of Nola, and other little works, in which the tendency of his doctrines was expressed with so much subtlety as almost to deceive Augustine. He was in the habit of putting forth his opinions under the form of queries ; sug gested, as he insinuated, by others relative to certain doctrines of the Church. He was also ac customed to ingratiate himself with ladies of influ ence and fortune, whose judgment and knowledge bore no proportion to their zeal. I shall not pretend to enumerate all the opinions of this here siarch^, but merely state the most important of C) Prosper, in his Chronicle, thus judiciously sketches the he resy of Pelagius and his followers : — " Hac tempestate," (i.e. during the Consulate of Lucius, and in the year 413,) " Pelagius Brito " dogma nominis sui contra gratiam Christi, Caelestio et Juliano " adjutoribus, exeruit, multosque in suum traxit errorem, praedi- " cans unumquemque ad justitiam voluntate propria regi, tan- " tumque 126 THE MOST IMPORTANT ERRORS them. Pelagius maintained that the sin of Adam was personal ; and that as he would have died although he had been guilty of no act of disobe dience, that disobedience was neither the means of communicating a corrupt nature to his descendants, nor of subjecting them to death : consequently, that children at their birth are as pure and innocent as Adam was ,at the moment of his creation. He moreover affirmed, that the grace of God is not necessary to enable men to perform their duty or to overcome temptation, but that they are capable of arriving at true perfection by virtue of their own exertions. How any one, who narrowly examined the nature and state of his own heart — who consulted his experience as to the sentiments and conduct of the best individuals he ever knew, or the lives of the most eminently pious and good men recorded in History — could seriously affirm the possible per- '' tumque accipere gratiae, quantum meruit : quia Adae peccatum " ipsum soliim laeserit, nee posteros ejus obstrinxerit ; unde et " volentibus possibile sit omni carere peccato : omnesque parvulos " tam insontes nasci, qu^m primus homo ante praevaricationem " fuit, nee ideo baptizandos, ut peccato exuantur, sed ut sacra- " mento adoptionis honorentur." — Prosperi Opera. Chronicum integrum, col. 740. OF THE PELAGIAN HERESY. 127 fectibility of human-nature, independently of divine grace, I am utterly at a loss to imagine. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, some of the very persons instanced by Pelagius^ as attaining to great perfection by their own natural efforts, were subject to great in firmity of conduct : and even under the dispensa tion of the New Testament we shall find one only, even the Blessed Jesus, who was devoid of sin. The declarations of Scripture on this subject co incide with, and corroborate, the dictates of reason and experience : — " The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth ^''." — "The heart is deceit ful above all things, and desperately wicked "." — " The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit " against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one " to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that "ye would ^V — "As bythe offence of one, judg- " ment came upon all men to condemnation ; even " so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came " upon all men unto justification of life ^^." From these, and numerous other texts of Scrip- (^) In his Letter to the Virgin Demetrias ; which was one of the first of his writings in which his heresy began to shew itself. (">) Gen. viii. 21. (") Jer. xvii. 9. ('^) GaLv. 17. C) Rom. v. 18. 128 PELAGIAN HERESY. ture, we learn that Adam, who was at first made " upright, and in the image of God," fell by disobe dience from a state of innocence, purity, and hap piness, and subjected both himself and his posterity to sin, misery, and death. It is upon this universal depravity of mankind, and their consequent liability to punishment, that the necessity of a Redeemer is founded. Accordingly, St. Paul compares the blessings that we receive by the death of Christ with the guilt and misery which were brought upon us by the sin of Adam. In opposition to the sense in which the Church had always received the decla rations of Scripture upon this subject, Pelagius maintained that mankind had sinned in Adam not from any inherent depravity derived from our first parent, but merely from imitating his guilt : — ¦ "Jw Adamo peccasse omnes, non propter peccatum nascendi origine contractum, sed propter imitationem, dictum esf^^." In the propagation of these and other here tical opinions, Pelagius was assisted by Caelestius, a native of Ireland, and afterwards a monk. The latter seems to have been a man of more open character, delivering with freedom those doctrines C) Aug. de Nat. et Grat. cap. ix. CELESTIUS. which Pelagius thought it necessary, upon occasions, to qualify and to veil. These two mon repairing to Rome ^^, about the year 404, im parted their opinions, soon afterwards, to a certain number of their associates. Retiring from Rome upon the approach of the Goths, in the year 410, they went first to Sicily ; and afterwards to Africa, where their peculiar tenets began to excite considerable sensation. From Africa, Pela gius passed into Asia, leaving Cselestius at Carthage ; the latter being desirous of becoming a Presbyter in that city. His preferment, however, was ob structed by his heretical opinions, which A D were condemned by a Council held at Car- . 412. thage ; upon which Cselestius went into the East. Meanwhile, the subtlety of Pelagius obtained a more favourable reception for his doctrines in Palestine. Although Orosius, a Spanish Presbyter, who was commissioned by Augustine for the pur pose, accused Pelagius before an assembly of Bishops convened at Jerusalem, the liere- . 415. siarch was allowed to depart without the slightest censure. A Council, which was held (") According to Leland, Pelagius, after quitting his native land, first visited his countrymen in Brittany. — De Scriptoribus Britannicis, cap. 22. VOL. II. Iv 130 PELAGIAN HERESY. soon afterwards at Diospolis^^, also acquitted him of error. But the African Bishops, with Augustine at their head, never relaxed in their exertions against this heresy ; which was again condemned by them in the Council of Carthage, and by ' " the Bishops of Numidia in the Council of Milevum. Coelestius and Pelagius now referred the controversy to the decision of the Bishop of Rome. Zosimus, who had succeeded Inno- centius in the Pontificate, in the year 417, ' ' ' 417. does not appear to have possessed deep learning, or a very sound judgment. Ensnared by the specious declarations of Caelestius, who was now at Rome, and by the letters and protestations of Pelagius, this prelate declared himself favourable to the two monks, and wrote to the African Bishops a Letter explanatory of his sentiments. But, what ever respect Augustine and his associates might entertain for the exalted station of Zosimus, they were not to be biassed by him upon a question of such vast importance. Their reply to his Letter ('^) Known in Scripture as Lydda. — Eulogius, Bishop of Caesarea, and Metropolitan of Palestine, presided upon this JULIANUS. 131 evinces great firmness and discrimination. They alleged that it was not sufficient that Pelagius and Cselestius owned, in general terms, that they ap proved of all that Zosimus approved of ; it behoved them expressly to confess that we need the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, not only to know, but also to perform our duty. The Bishop of Rome, at this time, pretended not to the infallibility claimed by his successors. Convinced by the arguments of the African Bishops, Zosimus allowed that he had been mistaken ; and openly and ^ •' 418. severely condemned the Pelagians, who, by an edict of Honorius, were banished from Rome. Julianus, a native of Campania in Italy, a young ecclesiastic of great ardour and self-confidence, now came forward to defend the tenets of Pelagius, and to attack Augustine. The Bishop of Hippo answered him with great acuteness and learning. Prosper of Aquitaine, himself a warm adherent of Augustine's, thus bitterly notices the writings of Pelagius and Julianus : — " Contra Augustinum narratur serpere quidam " Scriptor, quem dudum liver adurit edax. " Qui caput obseuris contectum uteunque cavernis " ToUere humo miserum protulit anguiculum. K 2 [32 PELAGIAN HERESY. " Aut hunc fruge sua aequorei pavere Britanni, " Aut huic Campano gramine corda tument. " Qua; concepta fovet promat, quae parturit edat ; " Seu vetere armatur dogmate, sive novo. " In quoscumque sinus spirarum torqueat orbes, " Et fallax multa contegat arte caput ; " Currentem attritos super aspidas et basiliscos " Declinare senem" vipera non poterit"." (") More than once he calls Augustine senex. ('") Prosper. Epigram, col. 193, 194. 'Tis said some scribbler, by vile envy curst, 'Gainst holy Austin once his venom burst. Though deep in caverns, far from light conceal'd. The worming reptile stood at length reveal'd ; On their own fare by sea-girt Britons fed Or swollen ; midst Campania's pastures bred. Your cherish'd notions, dear conceits, to view Bring freely forth, your dogmas old or new. What though his length he wreathes in spiral folds. And still his guileful head in covert holds. Vile reptile ! what avails thy fruitless cunning 'Gainst the old Saint o'er asps and scorpions running. Prosper in several passages stigmatizes Pelagius and his asso ciates as serpents : " Dogma quod antiqui satlatum felle draconis " Pestifero vomult coluber sermone Britannus." De Ingratis Carm. vv. 11, 12. Dire gall-fraught dogma from the old serpent's head A British snake in poison'd accents shed. PELAGIAN HERESY. 133 It is an evil arising out of such controversies, that many persons, while they avoid one set of errors fall into others of an opposite description. This was the case with the monks of Adrumetum, and their followers". "Some of them," as St. Augus tine^" himself says, " did so preach up the grace of " God, as to deny Free-will ; and consequently to " say, that God in the Day of Judgment would not " render to men according to their works." Mistaking the notions of Augustine with regard to Predestination, they appear to have affirmed a doctrine which, in fact, amounted to this : " That " God predestinated the wicked, not only to eternal " punishment, but also to the guilt and transgres- " sion for which they were to be punished ; and (") Bishop Stillingfleet enters into the grounds of this mis understanding. Orig. Brit. cap. 4. See also Jac. Sirmondi Hist. Praedest. tom. iv. p. 271. Burnet on the XVIIth Article. Jansen. Hist. Pelag. lib. i. p. 27. lib. vii. c. 1. Basnage, Histoire de I'Eglise, tom. i. livr. xii. cap. 2. p. 698. C^") " Quidam sic gratiam praedicant, ut negent hominis esse " liberum arbitrium ; et, quod est gravius, dicant, quod in die " Judiciinon sit redditurus Deus unicuique secundum opera ejus." — Epist. ccxiv. And again, in his Retractations, he says that they assert, " Neminem corripiendum, si Dei praecepta non facit, sed pro illo, ut faciat, tantummodo orandum." — Retract, lib. ii. cap. 67. 134 PELAGIAN HERESY. " that thus both the good and bad actions of men " were determined from eternity by a divine decree, " and fixed by an invincible necessity." ^^ Alarmed by such a perversion of his sentiments, Augustine exerted himself to the utmost to prevent the exten sion of these errors. His efforts were seconded by Councils held at Aries and at Lyons, in which the doctrines in question were publicly rejected and condemned. Still, they have never been put an end to, but from that time to the present have been the occasion of much error and misery to persons of a gloomy and enthusiastic temperament. Another party existed, especially in the GaUican Church, which, condemning the main errors of Pelagius, did not yet accord with all the senti ments of Augustine upon the subject of the grace and assistance afforded to man by the Holy Spirit of God. Although they allowed the necessity of C) Mosheim, who states this to have been the belief of certain monks of Adrumetum and of some persons in Gaul, adds : " There are, however, very learned men who deny that such a " sect of Predestinarians ever had existence ; and who maintain " that the followers of Augustine, while inculcating his doctrines " truly and correctly, were undeservedly reproached by the Semi- " Pelagians with these so great errors." — Eccl. Hist. Book II. Cent. V. Part 2. chap. 5. §. 25. SEMI- PELAGIANS. 135 that grace to " perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord," they thought that man had some power of himself to turn to the Almighty. " Those who " were called Semi- pelagians," says Bishop Burnet^, " thought that an assisting inward grace was neces- " sary to enable a man to go through all the harder " steps of Religion ; but with that they thought that " the first turn or conversion of the will to God was " the effect of a man's own free choice." Vitalis of Carthage, and Cassian, an eminent monk who came from the East and erected a monastery near Marseilles, were the principal supporters of these opinions; while Prosper of Aquitaine, and Hilary ^^, strenuously opposed them. Two other eminent ecclesiastics, natives of Britain, have also been charged, although I think very unjustly, with fa vouring the Semi-pelagians : I allude to Fastidius and Faustus. The former was, probably. Bishop of London. Gennadius says, that " he was Britanno- " rum Episcopus, and wrote a book, addressed to a " person named Fatalis, the doctrine of which was (^^) Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles, Art. X. See also Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. Cent. V. Part 2. chap. 5. §. 26. C^) He has been confounded by most writers with Hilary bishop of Aries, although he was certainly a different person. — See Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. ch. 4. 136 FASTIDIUS.— FAUSTUS. " very sound and good^*." Trithemius commends him " as a man of great wit and eloquence, an ex cellent preacher, and a very pious man^^" Bale says, that " being made Bishop, he preached over all " Britain, and was, as is reported. Metropolitan of " London ^^" Bishop Stillingfleet^ brings forward almost every thing that has been said by different writers respecting Fastidius ; who seems to have been free from the taint of heresy, and to have possessed sound and primitive Christian principles. He lived during the first half of the fifth century. Faustus, although a native of Britain, spent the greater part of his life in Gaul. He became Abbot of Lirins about the year 430, and was afterwards made Bishop of Riez. Sidonius Apollinaris says, " that he had learned to speak better than he was " taught, and to live better than he spake ^." Bishop Stillingfleet tells us, that Faustus was held in such esteem by the GaUican Bishops, that, in a Council of Aries, they selected him to draw up the sense they entertained of Predestination and Grace C) Gen. Catalog. (") Trithem. de Script. (=«) Bale, Cent. 1. n. 41. (") Orig. Brit. c. iv. (^) Sidon. ApoU. ep. 3-9. lib. ix. et in Euchar. AGRICOLA. 137 — questions then so much agitated in the Church ^l Cardinal Noris says that he was regarded as a Saint by the Church at Riez^°. He died about the year 468. It is the opinion of Stillingfleet and others, that neither Pelagius nor Cselestius ever came back to Britain : but as Prosper tells us that their heresy " had taken possession here, by the enemies of " God's grace, solum sucb originis occupantes^^ , re- " turning to the soil from which they sprung," it is more than probable that one or both of them did return ; but in what part of the island they resided, or when they died, we have no means of ascertain ing. There was, however, another person, who was extremely active in disseminating heresy in Britain : I allude to Agricola, the son of a Pelagian bishop, named Severianus^^. It is supposed that the severe Rescript of Valentinian III. against the Pelagians of Gaul was the means of driving Agricola (M) Orig. Brit. cap. 4. ('") Hist. Pelag. lib. ii. p. 297. For a fuller account of the charges brought against the doctrines delivered by Faustus, I must refer the reader to Stillingfleet; whose statement, however, is somewhat contradictory. (^') Prosper contra Collator. (=^) Bed. lib. i. cap. 17. Prosp. in Chr. Florent, et Dion. Cons. 138 MISSION OF GERMANUS AND LUPUS from that country to Britain; where, unhappily, his exertions were but too successful. The orthodox Clergy of Britain beheld this extension of error with serious alarm. They did all within their power to resist it : but finding their efforts ineffectual, and that they were not so expert as their adversaries in the arts of controversy, they determined to send to Gaul for assistance in this spiritual warfare. The GaUican Church evinced the greatest readiness to befriend them ; and it was resolved, in a full synod, that Germanus bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus bishop of Troyes, should be sent into Britain in order to confute the heretics ^^. The date assigned to this event by Prosper is the year 429 ; but Sigebert, as Sirmondus observes^, states that it took place in the year 446 ; a period which certainly accords better with Bede's statement; and which, accordingly, has been adopted by the best of our Latin writers ^^. Prosper, who is silent as to Lupus, C^ ) Bed. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 17. (") Sirmond. Not. in Concil. GalL tom. i. p. 86. ('^) Bede says : " Some few years before the arrival of the " Saxons, the Pelagian heresy, brought over by Agricola the son " of Severianus, a Pelagian bishop, had sadly corrupted the faith " ofthe Britons." — Lib. i. cap. 17. Sir Henry Spelman and Arch deacon Wilkins, after comparing Bede, Huntingdon, Matthew Paris, TO OPPOSE THE PELAGIAN HERESY. 139 would ascribe to Pope Celestine the merit of sending Germanus into Britain. But this, if that Mission took place in the year 446, is impossible, as Celestine died in 432. Other considerations must induce us to reject the statement of Prosper; for soon after the death of Augustine, in the year 430, Prosper himself brought a charge of Pelagianism, before Celestine, against the GaUican Church, which was accordingly reproved by the pontiff. It is not at all probable, therefore, that Celestine would have selected those who were themselves accused of Pelagianism as proper persons to suppress that heresy. Constantius of Lyons, the biographer of Germanus, who is allowed by Baronius to have been a writer of great fidelity^", thus relates the circumstances connected with the deputation of Germanus and Lupus : — " Eodem " tempore ex Britanniis directa legatio Gallicanis " Episcopis nunciavit, Pelagianam perversitatem " late populos occupasse, et quamprimum fidei ca- " tholicse debere succurri. Ob quam causam syno- " dus numerosa collecta est : omniumque judicio Paris, Baronius, and other writers, assign the Council of Verulam to the year 446; which date I have adopted. — Concilia Mag. Brit. &c. p. 1. (=«) Baron. A.D. 429. n. 9. tom. vii. p. 300. 140 MISSION OF GERMANUS AND LUPUS " duo prseclara religionis lumina universorum pre- " cibus ambiuntur, Germanus et Lupus, apostolici " sacerdotes, terram corporibus, coelum meritis " (seu mentibus), possidentes. Et quanto neces- " sitas laborosior apparebat, tanto eam promptius " heroes devotissirai susceperunt, celeritatem negotii " fidei stimulis maturantes^'^." This narrative is implicitly followed by Bede ^, who was himself a (") Constant, de Vita Germani, lib. i. cap. 19. See Usher, Brit. Eccles. Antiq. cap. xi. " At that time, a Deputation direct from Britain announced to " the GaUican Bishops that the Pelagian Heresy was gaining an " extensive hold upon the people in that country, and that assis- " tance ought to be given as soon as possible to the Catholic Faith. " For which reason a large Synod was convened ; and with one " consent the prayers of the whole assembly were directed to those " bright luminaries of Religion, Germanus and Lupus, apostolic " priests, who, while their bodies were on earth, had their minds " fixed on heaven. And inasmuch as the necessity appeared the " more urgent, so much the more readily did those devoted heroes " undertake the task, hastening the despatch of the business, to " which they were stimulated by their faith." C) "Whereas the Britons absolutely refused to embrace that " perverse doctrine (the Pelagian heresy), so blasphemous against " the grace of Christ, and were not able of themselves to confute " its subtlety by force of argument, they thought of an excellent " plan ; which was, to crave aid of the GaUican prelates in that " spiritual war. Hereupon, having gathered a great Synod, they " consulted together what persons should be sent thither; and, by " unanimous TO OPPOSE THE PELAGIAN HERESY. 141 zealous adherent of the Church of Rome, and who, had there been any grounds for doing so, would have gladly ascribed to that Church the merit of suppressing Pelagianism in Britain. Germanus and Lupus had no sooner landed upon our island than they commenced the good work which they had undertaken. By preaching, some times in the churches, and sometimes even in the highways and open fields, they attracted universal attention, confirmed the orthodox in their faith, and reclaimed many of the Pelagians from their errors. The champions of heresy were at first dismayed, and for some time avoided coming in competition with such formidable adversaries. Fearing, however, that they might be dishonoured and deserted by their followers should they longer keep silence, they came forward and challenged the GaUican envoys to a public disputation. This challenge was joyfully accepted bv Ger- A D manus and Lupus ; and both parties came to ' ' the scene of action, which, as is generally " unanimous consent, choice was made of the apostolical priests, " Germanus bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus of Troyes, to go into " Britain to confirm it in the Faith. They, readily complying with " the request and commands of the holy Church, put to sea." — Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 17. 142 MISSION OF GERMANUS AND LUPUS supposed, was at Verulamium ^l The Pelagian champions, and their principal followers, were con spicuous for their splendid apparel, full of confi dence and pride. The two bishops, and their atten dants, were very plainly dressed, diffident of them selves, and devoutly relying upon Divine assistance. I shall let Bede tell the sequel : — " An immense " multitude was assembled, with their wives and " children. The people stood round, as spectators " and judges ; but the parties present differed " much in appearance. On the one side was divine " faith ; on the other, human presumption. On " the one side, piety ; on the other, pride. On the " one side, Pelagius ; on the other, Christ. The " most holy priests, Germanus and Lupus, per- " mitted their adversaries to speak first ; who occu- " pied a long time, and filled the ear with empty " sounds. Then the venerable prelates poured " forth the torrent of their apostolical and evange- " lical eloquence. Their discourse was interspersed " with Scriptural sentences ; and they supported " their gravest assertions by the written testimony " of the most celebrated writers. Vanity was con- " vinced, and perfidiousness confuted ; so that, at (*¦*) Bedae Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 17. TO OPPOSE THE PELAGIAN HERESY. 143 " every objection made against them, the Pelagian " party, not being able to answer, confessed their " errors. The people, who were judges, could " scarcely be restrained from acts of violence, but " signified their judgment by their acclamations*"." The mission of Germanus and Lupus probably lasted about a year. During this time, several miracles are attributed to them ; one of the most remarkable of which is the victory obtained over the Scots and Picts *^ by the Britons under the conduct of Germanus, who, by shouting "Alleluia " three times, in which he was joined by the priests and by the army, is said to have thrown the enemy into the greatest consternation, and to have put them to flight. The occurrence of the name of Maes-Garmon'^, in the parish of Mold, in Flintshire, induced Archbishop Usher to fix upon that spot as (^°) Bed. ibid. I have followed Stevens's Translation, revised by Giles. C') Constantius (lib. i. cap. 28) says the Saxons and Picts : he is followed by Bede, lib. i. cap. 2D. This may perhaps be the cor rect reading ; as it appears, from other authorities, that the Britons had been disturbed by Saxon parties before the time of Hengist, and a " Comes Saxonici littoris " had been appointed by the Ro mans to guard the British coasts against them. (¦*^) The field of Garnion, or Germanus. 144 benefits conferred by germanus the scene of the victory. That a battle was fought there, under circumstances which were afterwards spoken of as miraculous, is sufficiently probable. The names of places in that neighbourhood, at all events, shew that the district was much identified with the memory of Germanus*^. This celebrated ecclesiastic was an Armorican by birth. His father's name was Rusticus ; and his sister is said to have been the mother of Emyr Llydaw, an Armorican Chieftain. He succeeded St. Amator in the See of Auxerre, in the year 418. As he spoke a cognate language with the Britons, he was, perhaps, on that account selected, as better qualified than other Galilean Bishops to undertake a mission to Britain. The Welch call him Garmon. Several churches in Wales bear his name ; although only one of them can be distinctly referred to the period of his first mission, namely, Llanarmon in lal, Denbigh shire. Mr.Rees observes, that it is singular that the parish attached to this sacred edifice adjoins that of Mold, in which the "Alleluiatic Victory " is said to have been gained : and he thinks it possible that the church in question may be situated on the C') See Rees's " Essay on the Welch Saints," a work of consi derable ingenuity and research, p. 121. Stillingfleet, Orig. Brit. cap. iv. ON THE BRITISH CHURCH AND NATION. 145 spot where Germanus is described to have raised a church, formed ofthe branches of trees interwoven together, in which he and his followers celebrated the Services of Easter, and baptized the greater part of the British army before they encountered their Lupus appears to have taken a less conspicuous part in the work of the Mission than his colleague. He was brother to Vincentius Lirinensis, author of the Commonitorium, and belonged to the same so ciety of Lirins. His name is rendered in Welch by Bleiddian, a word of the same signification as Lupus. The churches ascribed to him are, Llanfleiddian Fawr, in Glamorganshire ; and Llanfleiddian Fach, or St. Lythian's, in the same county*^. According to the Martyrology of Bede, the Commemoration or Festival of St. Lupus was held on the 29th of July. The two Bishops having thus triumphed over both the carnal and spiritual enemies of the Britons, set sail for Gaul. " Their own merits," says Bede, (^'') Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. vii. p. 125. The twentieth chapter of Bede's First Book is occupied witli an account of this victory. (^=) Essay on the Welch Saints, ibid. p. 126. Stillingfleet, Orig. Brit. cap. 4. VOL. II. L 146 BENEFITS CONFERRED BY GERMANUS " and the intercession of the holy martyr Alban, " obtained for them a safe passage ; and the happy " vessel restored them in peace to their rejoicing " people."*" Although the Pelagians had been unable to con tend in argument with Germanus and Lupus, they had not abandoned their opinions; " " which they began to propagate with great zeal, as soon as those prelates had left the island. The British Clergy again had recourse to Germanus ; who hastened to their aid, accompanied by Severus, bishop of Treves, a disciple of his former associate. Lupus. The two Bishops now thought it expedient to add to their exertions in reasoning and preaching the assistance of the Secular Authorities. Accord ingly, they procured the banishment of the Pela gian Leaders out of the island. By these means, some of which were certainly of too arbitrary a nature, the orthodox faith was re-established, and remained, for a long course of years, untainted. The suppression of heresy was not the only benefit conferred by Germanus and his companions upon (*") Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 20. Lupus survived Germanus nearly thirty years. ON THE BRITISH CHURCH AND NATION. 147 the British Church and Nation. They appear to have exerted themselves greatly in establishing schools, in promoting the erection of churches, and in effecting other important ecclesiastical changes. Some of the churches, the foundations of which are ascribed to Germanus, are, Llanarmon in lal, Den bighshire ; Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, in the same county ; St. Harmon's, Radnorshire ; and Llanfe- chain, Montgomeryshire. The chapels dedicated to him, are, Llanarmon under Llangybi, Caernar vonshire ; Bettws Garmon under Llanfair Isgaer, in the same county; Capel Garmon under Llan- rwst ; and Llanarmon Fach under Llandegfan, both in Denbighshire*'. It has been said that Germanus was the principal means of dividing the country into separate pa rishes, and of settling a Presbyter in each ; but this is altogether unfounded. It is not in the least degree probable that during the wars and confusion which prevailed in the fifth century any such im provements could have been introduced ; and we shall find, by consulting the records of Saxon History, that parishes were not established until (¦") Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. viii. p. 131. L 2 148 BENEFITS CONFERRED BY GERMANUS. two or three centuries later *^. There can be no doubt, however, that Germanus endeavoured to procure the erection of churches in as many places as possible ; and that what he did in this respect may have suggested grounds for that general exten sion of churches throughout the country which took place in succeeding generations. The education of the Clergy was certainly very much promoted by this zealous ecclesiastic. Find ing that the decay of knowledge which had attended the declension of the Roman power in Britain had given great advantages to the Pelagians, Germanus exerted himself to revive a spirit of learning amongst those who were intended for Holy Orders. St. Patrick is said to have been one of his disciples, and to have gone by his advice and direction to convert the natives of Ireland. Bishop Stillingfleet is, however, mistaken in supposing that Iltutus was also instructed by Germanus. That celebrated man belonged to the next generation. (*^) " The records we have remaining of the ancient British " Church make no mention of Parishes : and after the Saxon con- " versions were begun, it was some time before our Dioceses were " divided into Parishes, and longer before they had appropriated " revenues settled upon them." — Bingham's Antiquities, Book IX. chap. 8. sect. 4. LITURGIES & OFFICES OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 149 Both Usher *» and Stillingfleet ^^ are of opinion that Germanus introduced much of the GaUican Liturgy into the Public Service of the British Church ; and this is extremely probable. The Morning Service of the ancient GaUican Church consisted chiefly in Lessons, Hymns, and Psalms ; in the silent and individual prayers of the congre gation ; in a Sermon ; and in a concluding Collect. The Psalms, as read and sung, formed a very im portant part of devotion in all churches, from the first ages of Christianity. Thus we find St. Paul exhorting his converts among the Colossians to be constant in " teaching and admonishing one another " in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing " with grace in their hearts to the Lord^\" — " Christians," says Chrysostom, " exercise them- " selves in David's Psalms oftener than in any part " of the Old or New Testament s^." That the (*) Brit. Eccles. Antiq. cap. 11. (™) Orig. Britann. c. 4.p. 216. See also Bingham, Book XIII. chap. 1. sect. 7. Mr. Palmer, however, in his Orig. Liturg. vol. I. sect. xi. p. 177. dififers from Usher and Stillingfleet as to the inter pretation of the ancient MS. upon which they have founded this opinion. But though he doubts whether the MS. in question will justify the assertion that the GaUican Liturgy was introduced by Germanus, he shews that it is most probable that the British Clergy used that Liturgy. C) Colos. iii. 16. C^) Hom. VL de Poen. 150 LITURGIES AND OFFICES Psalms were read in order in the GaUican Church seems to be generally admitted. A well-known anecdote related by Sulpicius Severus, in his Life of St. Martin, may serve to exemplify this. Upon the day appointed for the election of a Bishop of Tours, the assembly having waited a considerable time for the Reader, who, being enclosed by the crowd, was unable to attend in his place at the proper time, another read the first Psalm that he lighted upon when he opened the book, which happened to be the Eighth Psalm ; in which were those words : " Out of the mouths of babes and " sucklings Thou hast perfected praise, because of " Thine enemies, that Thou mightest destroy the " enemy and Defensor," as the GaUican Version then read it : " Ut destruas inimicum et Defensorem." Psalm viii. 2. Now it happened that one of the principal ecclesiastics, who was known to be strongly opposed to the appointment of Martin to the bishopric, was named Defensor ; and the verse, thus accidentally read, was deemed to apply propheti cally to the overthrow of his opposition ^^ It is almost unnecessary to add, that Martin was unani mously elected to fill the vacant See^*. The Gloria (=") Bingham, Book XIV. chap. 1. sect. 6. (") De Vita B. Mart. cap. 7. OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 151 Patri, which in the GaUican Church was said by the people at the end of every Psalm, was rarely so used at Rome, where it was generally adopted only after the Responsoria^^. With respect to the Lessons, we may remark, that at least as early as the time of Ezra, that is, 500 years before the birth of Our Saviour, portions of the Scriptures of the Old Testament were always read in the Synagogues on the Sabbath-day. There is no reason to doubt that the same practice pre vailed among the first Christians ; and that as soon as the different parts of the New Testament were published, they also were read in their religious assemblies. Justin Martyr says, " On the day called " Sunday, all the people meet in one place, whether (**) " The Psalms sung between each Lesson were styled by a " peculiar name, Responsoria, and Psalmi Responsorii, ' the Re- " sponsories ;' which was not" a name affixed to any particular " Psalms, but was given to all such as happened to fall in here " in the common course of reading .... The ancient Ritualists " are not agreed about the reason why they were called Respon- " soria ; some saying they were so called, because one singing, " the whole choir did answer them ; whilst others say they had " their name because they answered to the Lessons, being sung " immediately after them; which seems to be the more likely reason." — Bingham, Book XIV. chap. 1. sect. 3. 152 LITURGIES AND OFFICES " they dwell in towns or in the country ; and the " writings of the Apostles and Prophets are read, " as far as time and opportunity permit. Then, " after the Reader has finished, he that presides " delivers a discourse to the people; in which he " instructs them, and exhorts them to imitate the " righteous things that have been read to them ^'." In the age of Augustine, which is that which we are now considering, certain fixed Lessons were read on ordinary days, and others on the festivals. — " You may recollect," says this father, in addressing his audience, " that I have lately been discoursing " upon the Gospel according to John, as appointed " to be read in the Order of Lessons. But at the " present time, inasmuch as solemn holidays inter- " vene, for which Proper Lessons are appointed, " and on which no others must be used, it is neces- " sary that I interrupt the course which I had " begun. But although I postpone, for a short " time, my Exposition of that Gospel, it is not my " intention to abandon it altogether." In some countries, two Lessons only were read. (=") Apolog.2. OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 153 which immediately followed the Psalms. Cassian tells us, that this order was so very ancient in Egypt, that none could accurately determine whether it were of human, apostolic, or divine appointment ; but that he, as well as others, was disposed to attri bute it to the ministry of angels. It is said that Cassian established this practice in parts of Gaul ; so that, as he was a contemporary and friend of Germanus, it probably was introduced by the latter into the Services of the British Church. Bishop Stillingfleet maintains, that at the period of which I am now speaking, and considerably later, no part of Scripture was read in the Roman Church, with the exception of St. Paul's Epistles and the Four Gospels. I own I do not think that he establishes his position^'. After the Gospel had been read, the Sermon was delivered in the GaUican and other Churches, with the exception of the Church of Rome. In the latter, according to Sozomen^®, neither the Bishop (") Orig. Brit. cap. 4. (*°) Sozom. lib. vii. cap. 19. Bingham's Antiquities, Book XIV. chap. 4. sect. 3. Valesius, who expresses his surprise at such an omission, does not dispute Sozomen's statement. 154 LITURGIES AND OFFICES nor any of the Presbyters were in the habit of preaching; although, upon some very extraordi nary occasions, they might address a discourse to the people. St. Augustine says, that " in the Church of Milan he heard St. Ambrose every Lord's Day^°;" and that " he accounted it the proper office of a Bishop to preach""." Christianus Lupus observes, that in the GaUican Churches " the Bishops called their office Prcedicationis offidum " ;" and there can be no doubt that it was so considered in the Church of Britain. The GaUican Church appears to have had several peculiar Offices after the Sermon ; so that the re mark of Fulbertus Carnotensis applies here, as well as in other respects : — " In ecclesiasticis officiis " plura sunt in quibus Orientales Ecclesise et " nostras communi observatione sibi respondent : " sunt vero alise, in quibus alias ab aliis cultu dis- " pari, et varia observatione audivimus dissonare. " Sed nee pauca aut rara sunt, quse ab aliis neces- " sario servanda, ab aliis non adeo curanda sesti- ('^) Confess, lib. vi. cap. 3. C) De Officiis, lib.i. cap. 1. ('¦') In Can. TruU. OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 155 " mantur. Nee tamen nos offeiidit observantise " diversitas, ubi fidei non scinditur unitas.""^ The Sursum Corda, " Lift up your hearts," and Habemus ad Dominum, " We lift them up unto the Lord," were used in the Eastern as well as the Western Churches. The Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro, " Let us give thanks unto our Lord God," and Ver^ dignum etjustum est, cequum et salu- tare, nos Tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, " It is meet and right &c. &c.," are mentioned by Cyril, Chrysostom, Augustine, and other ancient writers "^" That Trisagios, called by the Greeks 'EttivZ/c/os-, " Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory ;" the Gloria in Exeelsis, " Glory be to God on high," which, from those words with which it commences, was called Hymnus Angelicus ; and Hymnus Matutinus, from the early hour at which it was originally sung ; were common to the Greek and GaUican Churches. As to the Prayers for the Church Militant"*; for Kings and Princes"^; for all ranks and orders of men""; the C^") Ep. 2. ad Finardum. (^') Bingham, Book XIII. chap. 5. sect. 7. chap. 6. sect. 5. (^) Ibid. Book XV. chap. 3. sect. 12. chap. 1. sect. 2. CO Ibid. Book XIII. chap. 10. sect. 5. Book XV. ch. 3. sect. 14. ('") Ibid. Book XV. chap. 3. sect. 18-21. 156 LITURGEES AND OFFICES Commemoration of Departed Saints"'; and the Lord's Prayer"^; they may truly be said to have formed parts of all the ancient Liturgies, and have been wisely and devoutly retained in the admirable Offices of the Church of England "». That the Roman and British Liturgies differed greatly, appears from the language of Augustine, first archbishop of Canterbury, to the British Bishops, as related by Bede™: — " You act," he said to them, " in many particulars contrary to our " custom, or rather to the custom of the Universal " Church : and yet, if you will comply with me in " these three points — viz. to keep Easter at the due " time; to administer baptism, by which we are " again born to God, according to the custom of the " holy Roman Apostolic Church ; and jointly with " us to preach the word of God to the English " Nation — we will readily tolerate all the other " things you do, though contrary to our customs." — " In these last words it seems to me," observes C^') Bingham, Book XV. ch. 3. sect. 15, 16. Book XXIII. ch. 3. sect. 13. ("») Ibid. Book XIII. chap. 7. sect. 3. Book XV. ch. 3. sect. 27. ("") StiUingfleet, Orig. Brit. cap. iv. p. 232. C") Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. cap. 2. OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 157 Mr. Palmer''^, " that there is enough to warrant our " holding the opinion, that the Roman and British " Liturgies were contrary or different." Another argument in support of this view is derived by the same writer from the very ancient Catalogue of the Saints of Ireland, probably written in the seventh century, and published by Arch bishop Usher ''^ ; which informs us, that for some time after Patrick the Irish had only one Liturgy ; but that then a second was introduced by the Bishop David, and Gildas and Cadoc, Britons ; and from that time different Liturgies were used by the Saints of Ireland. David, Gildas, and Cadoc, lived in the sixth century : and if M'^e give credit to this ancient writer, it appears that the British and Irish Liturgies were different up to that period. Now, if we may suppose, as there are good grounds for doing''*, that the Irish Liturgy, from the time of Patrick, was nearly the same as the Roman, we are thus also led to the conclusion that the British (") Orig. Liturg. voL I. sect. xi. p. 178. ( '^) Britan. Eccles. Antiq. cap. 17. (") The probability that the Irish Liturgy, from the time of Patrick, A.D. 432, did not differ very much from the Roman, is shewn by Mr. Palmer, in his Orig. Liturg. vol. I. sect.xi. pp.1 81-18f). 158 LITURGIES AND OFFICES differed from the Roman ; which is, in fact, almost expressly affirmed by Augustine, in his address to the British Bishops. There is no trace or record of more than two pri mitive Liturgies in the West — the Roman and the GaUican. The latter was used in Gaul and Spain, from a period of remote antiquity : and if the Bri tish Clergy originally derived their Orders from the nearest Christian province, namely, from Gaul, they would also probably use this Liturgy ; and in this case, the British Liturgy in subsequent ages would have been different from the Roman and Irish. There being no sort of authentic history or tra dition that the first British Bishops were consecrated at Rome, we are at once led to the conclusion that the simple natural course was adopted, and that the Bishops of Gaul ordained the first Bishops of the British Church. Nor is there any thing in the ecclesiastical history of the two countries to oppose such an idea. We do not read of Bishops in Bri tain before there were any in Gaul : on the con trary, while we know that the Church of Lyons was ruled by Bishops in the second century, we hear of no British Bishops until early in the fourth. Regular churches may indeed have existed in this country OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES. 159 from a much more remote period ; but the simple fact is, that there are much more ancient accounts of the Apostolical succession of Orders in Gaul than in Britain. There does not therefore appear to be any thing to oppose the idea that the British Bishops were first ordained in Gaul : and if so, they probably received the GaUican Liturgy; which, being different from the Roman and the Irish after the time of Patrick, would exactly meet the few notices which antiquity supplies, as to the nature of the Liturgy used in Britain. As the British Churches did not for a long time submit to the authority of the Saxon Archbishops, it is by no means impossible that some MS. con taining British Rites may yet be discovered. In the absence, however, of the positive evidence which such a discovery would supply, it seems probable, for the reasons above stated, that no incorrect idea of the primitive British Liturgy may be obtained from the GaUican : and hence the following account of the order and substance of that Liturgy, as gathered, from the Monuments that still remain, by the Author from whom the foregoing remarks have been taken, may be regarded as an important and valuable illustration of this part of the early history of the British Church : — 160 GALLIC AN LITURGY. "As to the very words of the GaUican Li turgy during the primitive ages, or indeed at any time, we need not attempt to seek for them. The GaUican Missals admitted of more variety in the method of performing Divine Service than any other. The number and order of the Lessons and Prayers, the main substance and tendency of some of them, the words commemorating our Redeemer's deeds and words at this institution, the Hymn Tersanctus, the Lord's Prayer, and a few minor particulars, seem to have been all that was fixed. " Germanus''* informs us, that the Liturgy began with an Anthem, followed by Gloria Patri; after which the Deacon proclaimed silence ; and a mutual salutation having passed between the Priest and people, the Hymn Trisagios, in imitation of the Greek rite, was sung ; and was followed by Kyrie Eleeson, and the Song of Zacharias the Prophet, beginning Benedictus : after which, the Priest read a Collect, entitled Post Prophetiam in the GaUican Missals. The office so far, though ancient, cannot be traced to the most primitive ages of the GaUican ('¦*) Germanus de Missa, published by Martene, in his Thesaurus Anecdotorum, tom. V. pp. 91-96. This Germanus was Bishop of Paris in the sixth century. GALLICAN LITURGY. 161 Church, as doubtless the Liturgy originally began with the Lessons from Holy Scripture. " A Lesson from the Prophets or Old Testament was first read ; then one from the Epistles ; which was succeeded by the Hymn of the Three Children, Benedicite, and the Holy Gospel. In later times, the Book of the Gospels was carried in procession to the pulpit by the Deacon, who was accompanied by seven men bearing lighted tapers ; and the choir sung Anthems ^before and after the Gospel. After the Gospel was ended, the Priest or Bishop preached ; and the Deacon made prayers for the people — ^probably in imitation of the Greek Litur gies, where a Litany of the kind occurs after the Gospel; and the Priest recited a Collect, 'Post Precem.' Then the Deacon proclaimed to the cate chumens to depart ; but whether any previous prayers were made for them seems doubtful. Ger manus speaks of its being an ancient custom of the Church to pray for catechumens in this place ; but his words do not absolutely prove that there were particular prayers for them in the GaUican Church. The catechumens, and those under penitential dis cipline, having been dismissed, silence was again enjoined ; and an Address to the people on the sub ject of the day, and entitled ' Prcefatio,' was recited by the Priest, who then repeated another prayer. VOL. II. M 162 GALLICAN LITURGY. The oblations of the people were next received ; while the choir sung an Offertory Anthem, termed ' Sonum ' by Germanus. The elements were placed on the holy table, and covered with a large and close veil or pall; and in later times, the Priest here invoked the blessing of God on the gifts. Then the tablets called Diptychs"^^, containing the names of the living and departed Saints, were re cited, and the Priest made a Collect 'Post nomina.' Then followed the Salutation, and Kiss of Peace; after which the Priest read the Collect, 'Ad Pacem! The Mystical Liturgy now commenced, corre sponding to the Eastern ' Prosphora,' or 'Anaphora,' and the Roman Preface and Canon. It began with the form ' Sursum cm'da,' &c. ; and then followed the Preface or Thanksgiving, called ' Contestation or ' Immolatio,' in which God's benefits to the human race were variously commemorated ; and, at the proper place, the people all joined in singing the Hymn Tersanctus. The Thanksgiving then conti nued, in the form called ' Post Sanctus' ; which ter minated with the commemoration of our Saviour's deeds and words at the institution of this sacrament. Afterwards the Priest recited a Collect, entitled ('*) They were so called from their being folded together.- See Bingham, Book XV. chap. 3. sect. 17. GALLICAN LITURGY. 163 ' Post Mysterium,' or ' Post Sea-eta,' probably be cause the above commemoration was not committed to writing, on account of its being esteemed to have great efficacy in the consecration. The Collect ' Post Mysterium ' often contained a verbal oblation of the bread and wine, and an invocation of God to send His Holy Spirit to sanctify them into the sacraments of Christ's body and blood. After this, the bread was broken ; and the Lord's Prayer re peated by the Priest and people, being introduced and concluded with appropriate prayers made by the Priest alone. The Priest or Bishop then blessed the people ; to which they answered, 'Amen.' Communion afterwards took place ; during which a Psalm or Anthem was sung. The Priest repeated a Collect of Thanksgiving, and the Service termi nated." « Cardinal Bona'''' has given several very curious (™) Palmer's Orig. Liturg. vol.1, sect. ix. pp. 158-163. That the GaUican Liturgy was an independent rite, which cannot be said to have been derived from the Oriental, the Alexandrian, or the Roman Forms, will appear from referring to this author's Disser tation on those Liturgies. His examination of the origin and history of the GaUican Liturgy should also be consulted.— Ibid. sect. ix. pp. 143-158. (") Rer. Lit. Ub. i. cap. 12. M 2 164 SECOND MISSION OF GERMANUS TO BRITAIN. specimens of GaUican Misst^, some of which are upwards of 1100 years old. Of these, as most ap propriate to the subject we are considering, I shall lay before the reader the one appointed for the Festival of Germanus''*. This Form was composed before the doctrine of Transubstantiation was known ; although the Intercession of the Saints, one ofthe corruptions which had latterly insinuated itself into the GaUican Church, must be recognised in several ofthe Prayers. The second visit of Germanus to Britain appears to have been of shorter duration than the first. He returned to Auxerre in 448 ; and 448. then proceeded to Italy, to intercede with the Emperor in behalf of the Armoricans. He was very honourably received by Valentinian IIL and his mother Placidia ; but falling ill, he died at Ravenna at the close of the same year''^ I now come to the consideration of the life and character of an Ecclesiastic who seems to have done (") See Appendix No. I. of this Volume. ('*) I must refer the reader who wishes to become acquainted with the miracles imputed to Germanus, to Constantius, Bede, Nennius, &c. ST, PATRICK. 165 even more for Ireland than Germanus effected for Britain ; — I allude to St. Patrick, or St. Patricius. The actions of this individual were so great and various, that, like those of the fabulous Hercules, they have been attributed to several persons of the same name. But I see no reason for multiplying Saints any more than Heroes ; and I think that every thing told, with any degree of probability, of the first, second, and third Patrick may more justly be ascribed to one. Patrick was the son of a Deacon named Calpur- nius, who lived at Bonavem Tabernise, near the village of Enon, places which have baffled the inge nuity of antiquaries : for while some writers assert that Patrick was a native of Gwyr, or Gower, in Glamorganshire, others maintain that he was born in Clydesdale, in North Britain ; and others, that Armorica must be considered as the land of his birth. I own that I incline to the latter opinion, as the intimacy which was early formed between himself and Germanus may thus be the more easily accounted for. The original name of Patrick was Manuin, or Magontius. He was born about A D the vear 384, and, as he tells us in his •' ' ' 384. " Confession," was only sixteen years of age when he was made a captive. He was carried into 166 ST. PATRICK Ireland; and became the slave of MUchu^", king of Dalraida. Escaping thence, after some years of captivity, he repaired to Rome ; and long remained in that city, devoting himself to '^^^¦ literature and to the study of Theology**. It was probably at the suggestion of Patrick that Cselestine, bishop of Rome, was induced to AD send a Mission to Ireland, in order to con- ' 425. vert the Natives of that island. Palladius, the bishop selected upon this occasion, does not appear to have succeeded in his great undertaking ; for we are told by Nennius and other writers that this ecclesiastic, leaving Ireland, came to Britain, and died in the land of the Picts. Upon the death of Palladius, Cselestine, at the instigation of Germanus*^, appointed Patrick as the person best qualified, under Providence, to overcome the difficulties of such an enter- 431. prise, and to convert the Irish. Germanus, who, according to Nennius, took a more prominent part in the arrangement of this Mission than the Pope himself, sent Patrick, together with a Presbyter ('») Nennii Hist. Brit. cap. 50. (") Ibid. C^) " Monente et suadente sancto Germano episcopo," are the words of Nennius. — Hist, Brit. cap. 51. APPOINTED TO CONVERT THE IRISH. 167 named Segerus, to receive consecration at the hands of an eminent GaUican prelate named Ama- thea*^ or Amatorex, bishop of Autun. Germanus himself probably assisted in the ceremony. Auxilius and Isserninus** were consecrated 432. Bishops at the same time with Patrick, and, with other Clergymen, were appointed to assist him. From Gaul, Patrick and his companions first came to Britain ; where he is said to have preached the Gospel in Cornwall, and to have penetrated into Wales. Ricemarchus, Giraldus, and John of Teignmouth, relate many wonderful circumstances concerning his abode in a small valley at Menevia, called Vallis Rosina ; which, in Romish times, were mentioned in one of the Collects of the Breviary of Salisbury. The only religious edifice in Wales known to have been dedicated to St. Patrick was a chapel which once existed in the parish of St. David's, Pembrokeshire. It is probable that the object of Patrick's visit to Wales was to obtain such information as he thought («=) Ibid. (^) Probus, in his Life of Patrick, does not mention these indi viduals, but refers to them as " alii nonnulli Clerici." 168 MISSION OF ST. PATRICK might be of service to his plans in Ireland. He arrived in the latter country about the year 433, landing upon a district then governed by a petty tyrant named Loygarus, or Leo- garius, who long resisted the pious labours of the Missionary. But the zeal of Patrick was accom panied by other rare qualities ; and being blessed with the Divine favour, he was enabled to encounter and overcome difficulties under which men of ordi nary character must have sunk. He had come into a land of pagans and of pirates ; but his perse vering energy, his kindness, and sound sense, at length enabled him to conquer their prejudices, to conciliate, and to convert them. His literary, moral, and religious labours were extended over a long course of years ; and although much fable is mixed up with his history, there is enough of unequivocal truth to shew that Patrick is entitled to the first place among the benefactors of Ireland. The first synod convened by Patrick and his fellow-bishops appears to have been held in the year 456. *' The Canons promulgated ' ' by this synod are thirty-four in number. C^) Spelman has given good reasons for assigning to this Council the date of A. D. 456. — Concil, Mag, Brit, et Hib. TO CONVERT THE IRISH. 169 Although some marks of superstition may be traced in them, and some leaning to the Church of Rome,. we cannot help being struck by the simplicity, force, and sense which pervade them*". It is evident that such regulations — as, for instance, those contained in the 14th, 20th, 24th, and 33d Canons — must have had a very beneficial influence, not only with regard to the discipline of the Church, but upon public morals. After presiding for many years over the infant Church of Ireland, founding Monasteries and Schools, and doing much, in every respect, for the moral improvement and civilization . . 464. of the people, St. Patrick departed this life in the year 464. *'' C^) See Appendix, No. II. of this Volume. (") Besides the mention made of this eminent ecclesiastic by Nennius and other ancient authors, his Life has been written by Probus, and Josceline of Fumes. Archbishop Usher has also col lected many curious particulars respecting him : but great caution and discrimination must be observed by the reader with regard to all the facts and dates connected with the history of St. Patrick. According to the chronology of the Acta SS. (Mart. tom. ii. p. 525) he died A.D. 460 : but Usher extends his Ufe to the year 493. After long consideration, and comparison of different authors, I venture to assign the year 464 as the time of Patrick's death. ( 171 ) CHAPTER X. FROM A.D. 414, TO A.D. 586. THE MEANING OF THE TEEMS "SCOT" AND "PICT" EXAMINED THE INHABITANTS OF IRELAND DENOMINATED SCOTS RAVAGES OF THE SCOTS AND PICTS IN BRITAIN THE BRITONS CRAVE ASSISTANCE FROM THE ROMANS A LEGION IS TWICE SENT TO THEIR ASSIS TANCE FINAL WITHDRAWAL OF THE ROMANS FROM BRITAIN DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIER COUNTRY BY THE PICTS AND SCOTS MISERY OF THE BRITONS THEY DETERMINE TO SOLICIT AID FROM THE SAXONS VORTIGERN THE SAXONS CONDUCT OF HENGIST VORTIMER AURELIANUS AMBROSIUS HENGIST'S MASSACRE OF THE BRITISH CHIEFTAINS UTHYR PENDRAGON ARTHUR MAELGWN URIEN, &c. IDOLATRY SUPERSEDED CHRISTIANITY IN GREATER PART OF BRITAIN ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAXON OCTARCHY CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE KINGDOMS. The main disturbances which the Romans had experienced in their government of Britain, during the last 200 years of their residence in the island, arose from those tribes which had never been con quered, and which inhabited the country to the north of the Walls of Severus and Antoninus. 172 MEANING OF THE TERMS "SCOT" AND "PICT," These fierce nations, despising agriculture, sub sisted on their flocks and herds, on the spoUs of the chase, or on the plunder they acquired by attacking the territories of their less warlike neighbours. Until the beginning of the fourth century they were known to the Romans and the provincial Britons under the general name of Caledonii: after that period, the terms Scots and Picts began to be applied to them. These designations certainly im plied reproach and detestation; for, as Dr. Henry and other writers inform us. Senile (or Scoti, when latinized), in the British tongue, signified " the wandering nation"; and Pictich (making Picti, when latinized), signified "thief" or "plunderer"; although the latter term had reference also to the habits of this people, in painting their bodies \ The term Scots was also applied, in a manner which has created great confusion, to the inha bitants of Ireland. Gildas, Nennius, and Bede, among our own ; Claudian, and others, among classical writers ; constantly employ it in this sense. (') Henry's Hist, of Brit. Book I. chap. 3. sect. 1. Dissertation before Ossian's Poems, v. 2. p. 5. Dr. Macpherson's Dissertations, pp. 110, 111. THE IRISH DENOMINATED SCOTS. 173 Thus Claudian says : " Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis lerne ^ :" and, in another passage ; " Totam quum Scotus lernem, Movit'." Orosius says : " Hibernia, a Scotorum gentibus colitur*." Gildas's expressions are : " Britannia " duabus primum gentibus transmarinis vehementer " ssevis, Scotorum a circione, Pictorum ab aquilone, " calcabilis, multos stupet gemetque per annos ^." Nennius, who assigns a Spanish extraction to the Irish, says : " Novissime autem Scotti venerunt a partibus Hispanias ad Hiberniam^:" and, in another place : " Brittones venerunt in tertia «tate " Mundi ad Britanniam ; Scotti autem in quarta " obtinuerunt Hiberniam. Scotti autem, qui sunt " in occidente, et Picti de aquilone, pugnabant " unanimiter et uno impetu contra Brittones indesi- C) De IV. Consul. Honorii. v. 33. C) Lib. ii.in Prim. Consul. Stilichonis, v. 251. C) Lib.i. cap. 2. C*) Hist. Gildae, cap. xiv. " [Britain] groaned in amazement for many years under the " cruelty of two foreign nations — the Scots from the north-west, " and the Picts from the north." — Dr. J. A. Giles. (") Hist. Brit. cap. xiii. " Long after this, the Scots arrived in Ireland from Spain." 174 RAVAGES OF THE SCOTS AND PICTS. " nenter''." Bede tells us that " Ireland is pro- " perly the land of the Scots, who, migrating thence, " added a third nation in Britain to the Britons " and the Picts. There is a very large gulf of " the sea," continues this writer, " which formerly " divided the nation of the Picts from the Britons. " This gulf runs from the west very far into the " land, where to this day stands the strong city of " the Britons, called Alcluith *." From these, and numerous other passages, it appears that our ancient writers considered Ireland as the native country of the Scots ; a portion of whom, migrating thence to Caledonia, kept up a constant intercourse with the kindred tribes of the parent country, and frequently joined them in their piratical attacks upon South Britain. These fierce nations, who had so long infested the frontier lands, no sooner understood that the Britons ' 414. had revolted from the Romans, and that (') Ibid. cap. XV. " The Britons came to Britain in the third age of the world ; " and in the fourth, the Scots took possession of Ireland. The " Britons were unanimously and incessantly attacked, both by the " Scots from the West, and by the Picts from the North,"— Dr. J. A. Giles. (') Eccles. Hist. lib. i. cap. 2. Alcluith was probably situated at or near Dunbarton. BRITAIN CRAVES ASSISTANCE FROM THE ROMANS. 175 the forces of the latter had abandoned the island, than they determined to effect an invasion upon a wider scale than any they had before undertaken. On this occasion, however, they encountered a much bolder opposition than they had expected : for although the regular forces of the Romans had left Britain, many of the soldiers, and others who had intermarried with the natives, were domesticated in the island ; and the Britons, animated and assisted by these veterans, resolutely attacked and repulsed the invaders. But these efforts were not sustained. Again and again Britain was subjected to the violent depredations of the Scots and Picts, who rendered the country miserably uncomfortable and insecure. The Britons now resolved to crave assistance from the very people whose authority they had rejected. Accordingly, they sent ambassadors to Honorius, representing their forlorn condition in very piteous terms ; protesting, that they deeply repented of their rashness, in renouncing the supre macy of their former masters ; and solemnly pro mising, that if the latter would succour them in their present emergency, they would ever continue steadfast in their allegiance to Rome. Moved by these entreaties, and hoping, probably, to restore the Britons to that subject state in which they 176 A LEGION SENT TO ASSIST BRITAIN. had continued for centuries under his predeces sors, Honorius now sent over a legion to their assistance ^. Valour and discipline obtained their usual triumph over the fierce but ' ' ^ . 416. desultory mode of warfare practised by the invaders ; who were defeated with great slaughter, and compelled to retreat, in very diminished num bers, to their mountains and forests in Caledonia and Ireland. Whatever might be the ulterior intentions of the Roman Government in sending this assistance, the troubles and wars with which the Empire was assailed in Italy and other parts would not allow the continuance of this legion in Britain. After exhorting the Britons to repair the Wall of Anto ninus, and giving them instructions as to the best mode of repelling the incursions of their enemies, the Roman forces took their departure, bearing with them many tokens of their successes ^''. (^) I differ from Stillingfleet in thinking that the first arma ment sent by the Romans to the assistance of the Britons arrived between the time of Maximus .and the elevation of Gratianus Municeps. Nennius and Bede speak of it as a posterior event ; and I therefore agree with Henry in assigning it to the year 416. ('") Hist. Gildae, cap. 16. Hist. Brit, auctor. Nen. cap. 30. Bed. lib.i. cap. 12. DEATH OF HONORIUS. 177 The next ten years, although not marked by any very striking events, proved a period of trouble to the Britons. Petty kings, or chieftains, generally at war with each other, ruled over various districts of the country ; consenting, however, upon some great and national emergencies, to suspend their mutual quarrels, and to submit to the direction of a Pendragon, or General Dictator. The Scots and Picts frequently renewed their ravages ; which at length became so intolerable, that the Britons were induced again to send messengers imploring assis tance from the Roman Government. Honorius had finished his inglorious reign and life in the AD year 423, and was succeeded by Valentinian ^^^ IIL, a child of no more than six years old. But Aetius, a few years afterwards, restored the credit of the Roman Government in Gaul": and a legion, which was not then wanted for any other very urgent service, was accordingly sent over to Britain, under the command of ^^^ Gallic Ravennas. This General seems to have possessed the true spirit of the ancient Roman. (") Prosper, in his Chronicle, under the events ofthe year 425, says: "Arelas, nobile oppidum Galliarum, a Gothis multa vi " oppugnatum est, donee imminente Aetio non impuniti disce- " derent." — S. Prosperi Opera, col. 742, 743. VOL. II. N 178 THE ROMANS, UNDER GALLIC RAVENNAS, His valour and judgment, directing a well-disci plined army, soon routed the bands of the Scots and Picts. But not content with victory, he endea voured to secure the Britons against the future attacks of their enemies. Convinced that it was impossible to render the Wall of Antoninus an effectual barrier, inasmuch as the marauders passed the friths in their boats and landed within it, he recommended that the whole province of Valentia should be abandoned, with a view to the more effectual security of the rest of the country. He then urged the Britons to repair the Wall of Severus, which had received very serious injury both from time and from the attacks of the enemy. The advice of the Roman General was followed. The Wall of Severus, by the united labours of the legion and of the provincial Britons, was thoroughly repaired with solid stone and lime^^. Suspending their mutual jealousies and animosities, most of the British States, and many private indivi duals, readily came forward to defray the expenses of a work so essential to the protection of all". ("0 Bed. Eccles. Hist. Ub. i. cap. 12. ('^) Hist. Gild. cap. xviii. The authority of Gildas must always be valuable, as being that of a writer living nearest to the events which GIVE TEMPORARY PROTECTION TO BRITAIN. 179 But vain are ramparts like these, unless they are guarded by stout hearts and active hands. The Roman General well knew this ; and he did all within his power to inspire the Britons with courage, and to render them efficient soldiers. He exhorted them to remember, that life, and all that can render life desirable — their liberty, their wives, and their children — depended upon their strenuous exertions. He then furnished them with patterns of all the various kinds of arms which were necessary for their defence. Having done all that he could for the protection of the northern boundary, he marched towards the southern coasts, where his fleet lay at anchor. Here, also, his exertions were equally vigorous and judicious. He was well aware that the Scots and Picts were not the only enemies against whom the Britons ought to be on their guard. He knew how much they had suffered from the Franks and Saxons. He therefore built, at proper intervals, many towers for observation and defence ; and adopted every other prudent measure of security^*. which he describes. It is, however, proper to observe, that Mr. Whitaker has detected many gross inaccuracies in this old histo rian. See Hist, of Manchester, Book II. chap. 1. (") Hist. Gildae, cap. 17. Gildas expresses himself here with a force and spirit very much above his usual querulous tone. N 2 180 THE ROMANS FINALLY LEAVE BRITAIN. Before his departure, the Roman commander plainly declared that the Britons were to expect no further aid from the Emperor, whose armies were fully occupied in resisting the various nations which assailed his dominions on every side. The legion then set sail ; and bade a final adieu to Britain, about 482 years after their country- ' ' men had first landed on the island, under Julius Caesar. Let us here pause for a moment, and imagine a Briton, infiuenced by feelings of patriotism and sound sense, to have been standing on the beach, and to have regarded the white sails of the Roman fleet as they receded from his view. Of what a blended character would his reflections have been ! "There go," he might have said, "the last of a people whose energy and wisdom have been stamped on this country for centuries — a people, who, although our lords and conquerors, have been distinguished by much kindness and gene rosity towards us — a people from whom we might have learned many ingenious and useful arts, and advanced ourselves highly in the scale of civiliza tion. In what state do they now leave us ? Why, truly we possess a country blessed with many signal advantages — a productive soil, a temperate REFLECTIONS ON THE ABJECT STATE OF BRITAIN. 181 climate ; commodious harbours, navigable and fer tilizing rivers; strong and populous towns and cities, communicating with each other by substan tial roads, and all protected from our enemies by stupendous ramparts : our natives, moreover, are strong and active in body. Surely, then, with all these means of power and prosperity, Britain must soon take its place among the independent nations of the earth ! Surely we must prove a great and mighty people ! " But if, for a moment, such a person, as I have described, might indulge in these triumphant feel ings, his thoughts would speedily change, to fix on other and on sad convictions. " The hearts of my countrymen," he would then exclaim, "have been enervated and corrupted by centuries of de pendence and slavery. They are disunited among themselves : they do that which the Roman Law giver declared to be treason against the State — they despair of the public welfare. They are surrounded by fierce and warlike enemies. And, as the beast which roams at liberty in the forest would quickly overpower the animal whose spirit and whose limbs have been cramped in the cage from its birth, so will the savage tribes of Caledonia and lerne destroy 182 DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIER COUNTRY. my unhappy countrymen, and overrun my distracted country ^^." Although it required no prophet to foretell that such would be the fate of Britain, strong hopes were generally entertained that the Wall of Severus, which had been so recently and so completely repaired and fortified, would prove an effectual barrier against the Caledonians. A short time served to dissipate this delusion. The Scots and Picts, who had taken possession of the province of Valentia, determined to surmount the great obstacle to their further incursions. The Britons, who were placed to guard the wall, beheld their advance with the utmost dismay. But their ^ 428. fears paralysed their energies, and exhausted their strength ; for, instead of relieving each other at regular periods, their whole number remained on the walls for many days and nights together. Faint for want of proper rest and food, and be numbed with cold, these guardians of Britain were unable to oppose any vigorous resistance to their ('*) If the reader will carefully attend to the 18th and 19th sections of Gildas's History, I do not think he will consider these reflections, from the mouth of a Briton of the fifth century, as at all unnatural. MISERY OF THE BRITONS. 183 assailants, who dragged them from the walls with long instruments of a hooked description ^l The survivors, at length, deserted their posts, and fled : the enemy, then breaking in, like wolves into a sheepfold, pursued them with great slaughter, and plundered the country in every direction. A great part of the province of Maxima Csesariensis, and even of Britannia Prima, became subject to these desolating inroads for many years after the depar ture of the Romans. What a different aspect had Britain presented a century before this period ! Notwithstanding many occasional disturbances, the face of the country, the towns, the harbours, the seas, and rivers, then everywhere exhibited the signs of commerce and agriculture. But now, the plough was very generally neglected, trade languished, and almost the only vessels which were seen on the British waters were the curroughs, or boats. ('^) "Interea non cessant uncinata nudorum tela, quibus miser- " rimi cives de muris tracti solo allidebantur." — Hist. Gild. cap. 19. " Meanwhile the hooked weapons of their enemies were not " idle ; and our wretched countrymen were dragged from the wall, " and dashed against the ground." — Dr. J. A. Giles. 184 MISERY OF THE BRITONS of the savage Hibernian, who was proceeding to or returning from the scene of plunder. Instead of the Roman gentleman or soldier with erect mien and stately stride, the Briton was to be seen emerging from his habitation with anxious look and stealthy pace, as if dreading to hear that the Scot and Pict were in his immediate neighbour hood. This state of alarm and insecurity produced its natural consequences. Agriculture being neglected, the earth ceased to produce its harvests: want ensued ; disease followed in the train ; and thus, at the same period, the Britons had to contend against three of the direst evils that can affiict mankind — • war, pestilence, and famine. However melancholy, it is not uninstructive, to contemplate the condition of a people reduced to this misery. We thus learn that the greatest blessings may be converted into misfortunes by those who know not how to make a proper use of them ; and that the possession of liberty itself may, with a fickle, ignorant, and corrupt people, become the very cause of their destruction. We are also taught that a remedy for certain cala mities sometimes arises from the very occurrence FROM THE INCURSIONS OF SCOTS AND PICTS. 185 of other evils. That which the Britons were unable to effect by their own efforts was now, under Providence, brought about by the agency of pestilence and famine — the retreat of the barbarous invader. The Scot and Pict, finding that Britain no longer supplied them with the means of plunder, and dreading infection from the pestilence, ceased for some years to harass the country. The Britons then came forth from their hiding-places ; the earth was again tilled ; and such plenty ensued as scarcely ever had been experienced before. But the people knew not how to make a good use of prosperity, any more than they did of misfortune. Instead of profiting by the past, instead of humbly and fer vently giving thanks to the Almighty for this happy change in their condition, and endeavouring to render themselves more worthy of His favour and protection, they gave themselves up to intempe rance and every other kind of vice. Their reck lessness met with its natural and merited reward. Their former enemies, apprised of the plenty that prevailed in Britain, again made their appearance in the very heart of the country, and all was again misery and desolation. It was under such circumstances that the Britons once more resolved to implore assistance from their 186 ROMAN ASSISTANCE REFUSED THE BRITONS. former masters. They accordingly sent" to the great Roman General, Aetius, a Deputation, whose language and appearance were stamped with every character of wretchedness. Their Letters were couched in the following strain : "To Aetius, thrice Consul ^^, the groans of the '¦ Britons. — The Barbarians drive us to the " sea, the sea forces us back to the Barba- 446. " nans ; so that we have nothing but the " dreadful alternative of being swallowed up by the " waves, or butchered by the sword." But much as Aetius might pity, it was not in his power to succour these suppliants. Every soldier that he could raise at this time, and for several years afterwards, was required to oppose the armies of the terrible Attila. The refusal of the Roman General to assist them (") Gild. Hist. cap. 20. ('*) This expression proves an important fact — that the above Letter could not have been written anterior to the year 446 ; for it was not until then that Aetius was Consul for the third time. Light is thus thrown upon the statements of Gildas and Bede ; and the errors of Rapin, Hume, and other writers, with regard to this period, stand corrected. VORTIGERN. 187 must have proved a cruel disappointment to the Britons. Two years passed on, but no relief to their miseries arrived. The dire report was brought that the Scots and Picts, instead of those visitations — which, however dreadful, had hitherto been only periodical — were projecting a regular invasion, with a view to extirpate the natives, and to take permanent possession of the country ^^ Astounded by this intelligence, an assembly of the Princes and other chief men was convened by the Britons, to consider, and, if possible, to remedy their condition. The President of this assembly was Vortigern, a name inseparably interwoven with the disgrace and ruin of his country. There is good reason to believe that this Prince was descended from some of the ancient Kings of Britain. His Genealogy, for several generations, is thus given by Nennius^", and in the Achau y Saint (Genealogy of the Saints) : — ('^) Gild. Hist. cap. 22. C) Nenn. Hist. cap. 49. (Stevenson's ed. 1838.) Several of the names in the following pedigree are spelt differently in other editions of Nennius. 188 GENEALOGY OF VORTIGERN. Gloui, who built the city of Gloui or Gloucester 'K Bonus Paul Mauron Guito'in Guitataul Guorthigirn, Guortheu, or Vortigern, Pendragon I of Britain. Ill I I Gwrthefyr Categirn, or Pascent, or A daughter Gotta, son Fendigaid, Cyndeym, Pasgen and of Rhonwen other sons. or Rowena. or killed in the Vortimer. battle of Ayles- ford, A.D. 455. Briacat, or Rhiacad Mepurit I Paul I Edoc I Eldat I Moriud Gaidcant I Pascent, or, according to some writers, Elised. Teudubir, who, according to Nennius, ruled over Buelt or Brecon. Fernmail, king of Brecon and Radnor. C' ) He might have adorned and added to this city ; but, according to Richard of Cirencester and other old writers, the Seventh Legion, so early as the reign of Claudius, was settled at Gloucester. — Richard, pp. 24,36, and 51 ; and Higden, p. 198. VORTIGERN BECOMES CHIEF RULER OF BRITAIN. 189 This would bring the posterity of Vortigern down to about the middle of the eighth century. Nennius states, that the paternal territories of Vortigern included the northern part of the present counties of Radnor and Brecon. According to some of the Welch genealogists, he was also the Regulus of Erging^, or Erchenfield, in Hereford shire : and, more probably, as his great-grandfather is said to have built the city of Gloucester, he had possessions in the last-mentioned country. About the year 446 he appears, by intrigue and treachery, to have become the Pendragon or Chief Ruler of Britain. Gildas's words ^^ are, " Superbo tyranno Gurthrigerno Britannorum duce." Nennius^ says, " Guorthigirnus regnavit in Britannia." Bede^ speaks of the Britons, and " their king Vortigern." This person, invested as he was with very great influence, instead of urging his countrymen to exert C) This is not at aU consistent with " The Book of LlandaflF," and other authorities ; which state that Pebiau was king of Erching about the middle of the fifth century ; and that his father Erb was also king of the same territory before him : unless we suppose that Erb and Pepiau were a sort of Viceroys under Vortigern. (2') Hist. cap..23. (") Hist. Brit. cap. 31. (^) Hist. Ecc. lib.i. cap. 14. 190 THE BRITONS SEEK AID FROM THE SAXONS. themselves to the utmost and to resist the Scots and Picts by every effort of courage and patriotism, now proposed that they should solicit assistance from the Saxons. The degenerate Britons, im pelled by cowardice and sloth, eagerly adopted the advice of Vortigern. They appointed a Deputation, to proceed to Germany, and invite an army of Saxons into the island, to assist in repelling their northern neighbours. Before I speak of the destruction which this measure brought upon Britain, it will be necessary to say something of the Saxons. The first writer who mentions this people by name is the geo grapher Ptolemy. From him we learn, that about A. D. 150, a race of men, called Saxons, inhabited a territory comprising Jutland and three small islands on the north side of the Elbe. The quarter from which this people first came has given rise to much wild conjecture ; but the most probable supposition is that of the same eminent writer, that they were originally Scythians. In the time of the historian Eutropius, they had increased much, in point of number, power, and territory ; and had become for midable to the Romans on account of their piratical enterprises. In the beginning of the fourth century, although their power was checked by Constantine ORIGIN OF THE SAXONS. 191 the Great, it was plain, that whenever the sceptre of Rome should fall into weaker hands, the greatest danger was to be apprehended from these fierce invaders. These disastrous consequences ensued; although they were afterwards, in a great degree, remedied by the vigorous efforts of the Elder Theodosius and his son, and subsequently by those of Stilicho. After the death of the latter, the Saxons made themselves masters of the whole country along the coast of the German Ocean ; and before the middle of the fifth century were in possession of Westphalia, Saxony, East and West Friezeland, Holland, and Zealand. Having been engaged in the prosecution of con quests in other quarters, the Saxons had not latterly infested Britain : but as they were a people almost constantly occupied in war, they were always ready for any undertaking that promised success to their arms. The proposals of the British ambas sadors were accordingly accepted ; and a band^" of (^) Nennius says that Hengist and Horsa arrived in the Isle of Thanet as exiles from their own country. Gibbon, Whitaker, and Sharon Turner, seem to credit this account. But I think the earlier statement of Gildas, corroborated as it is by Bede, war rants us in beUeving that the Saxons were invited. The speeches that Witikind, a Saxon writer of the tenth century, puts into the mouths 192 SUCCESSES OF THE SAXONS. pretended deliverers, under the command of Hen gist and Horsa, arrived in the Isle of Thanet in the year 449. I shall not dwell long upon the well-known circumstances that followed. 449. The first proceedings of the Saxons were every way satisfactory to those who had invited them into the country. After defeating the Scots and Picts in several desperate engagements, they compelled them wholly to abandon the country. But soon did the wretched Britons perceive that their former sufferings were as nothing to those which their own folly had occasioned : — " Cervus equum pugna melior communibus herbis " Pellebat ; donee minor in certamine longo " Imploravit opes hominis frenumque recepit : " Sed, postquam victor violens discessit ab hoste, " Non equitem dorso, non frenum depulit ore"." mouths of the British Deputies, and the answer of the Saxons, must be whoUy imaginary; as Witikind shews himself very igno rant of the antiquities of his country. (") Horat. Epist. lib. I. x. vv. 34—38. " A lordly stag, arm'd with superior force, " Drove from their common field the vanquish'd horse, " Who for revenge to man his strength enslav'd, " Took up his rider, and the bit receiv'd : " But when he saw his foe with triumph slain, " In vain he strove his freedom to regain, •' He felt the weight, and yielded to the rein." Francis. The HENGIST AND HORSA. 193 The princely Roman, who invaded the country as an enemy, became a friend and protector: the brutal Saxon, who came in the quality of an ally, soon evinced himself the most deadly of her adver saries. It is not known whether Hengist and Horsa en tertained a settled project for reducing any part of Britain to their dominion, before they arrived in the island. Their subsequent conduct was probably determined by the circumstances which attended their early military operations. Their demands from the people, whom they at first succoured, were exorbitant ; and these not being granted to negociation, they resolved to obtain much more by the sword. The Isle of Thanet, where they origi nally landed, had been assigned by Vortigern to his new allies. This territory they sought to enlarge ; The Saxons have found a very able defender, in the author of " Britannia after the Romans." Although I wholly dissent from many of the conclusions of this writer, I willingly admit his inge nuity and research. To suppose that the Britons were in all things faithful to their engagements with the Saxons, would be giving the nation credit for conduct to which their history does not entitle them : so would it, also, to suppose that the Saxons, in their proceedings in Britain, were not mainly influenced by the desire of conquest. VOL. II. O 194 CONDUCT OF HENGIST AND HORSA. but, in the attempt to effect their purpose, expe rienced a much more obstinate resistance from the natives than they had expected. They now resorted to two expedients. The one was, to summon fresh bands of auxiliaries to their aid from Germany : the other was, to coalesce with the very people to oppose whom had been the express object of their coming^- These trea cherous measures were attended with success. The Scots and Picts were allowed to distract the atten tion of the Britons, by renewing their ravages in various parts of the kingdom : force after force arrived from Germany : and the Saxons, after re peated and most bloody engagements with the C^) " Bede says (lib. i. cap. 15.) that they entered into a secret " league with the Picts and the Scots after they had beaten them, " and then took occasion to quarrel with the Britons : only they " still endeavoured to keep Vortigern firm to them. To this pur- " pose, Nennius (cap. 37) tells the story of Hengist's fair daughter " Rowena, and how Vortigern was ensnared by her, to the great •¦ dissatisfaction of the Britons. Hector Boethius (Scotor. Histor. " Ub. 8. Usser. Brit. Eccles. Antiq. cap. 5.) saith, ' that Vodinus, " bishop of London, was killed by Hengist, for reproving Vorti- " gem for that marriage.' But we must not be too strict upon ¦' Hector, to put him to produce his vouchers." — Stillingfleet's On^. BnY. ch. 5.p. 321. DEPOSITION OF VORTIGERN. 195 natives, were enabled to establish themselves in the greater part of Kent. It is very difficult to determine the motives and conduct of Vortigern during these transactions. He was no doubt afraid of many of the British Leaders, against whose enmity he imagined that an alliance with the Saxons would protect him. His object was not, however, like that of the Spanish Julian^ in summoning the Saracens to destroy his country; but, blinded by passion for Rowena the daughter or niece of Hengist, and entangled by other snares which the wily Saxon threw around him, he was led on from error to error, until he found himself an object of contempt and abhorrence to his coun trymen, by whom he was at length deposed. The sons of Vortigern were happily free from their father's vices. Vortimer the eldest, and Categirn the second son, distinguished themselves as the champions of their country. The former, in parti cular, possessed qualities befitting the exigency of the times. He is described by Nennius as a warrior of remarkable strength and prowess. After the C^) I allude to the Legend upon which Mr. Southey has grounded his fine Poem of " Roderick the Last of the Goths." O 2 196 VORTIMER, AND CATEGIRN. deposition of his father, he headed the British forces, defeated the Saxons in several engagements, and is said to have personally encountered and overcome Horsa in the battle of Ayles- ford, where Categirn was slain^". The career of Vortimer was a short one ; but it is not ascertained whether he fell in battle, or died, as some have reported, the victim of poison. He ' ' was succeeded in the command of the Britons by another and a greater hero ; — I allude to Aurelianus Ambrosius. No authentic accounts of this leader's birth and ancestry have been preserved. He is called Emrys Wledig, by the Welch ; who also state that there was a relationship between him and Vortigern. Much Roman blood is said to have flowed in his veins ; — a fact, indeed, indicated (^'') Gildas intimates that at one period the invaders returned home : " Tempore, igitur, interveniente aliquanto ciim recessissent domum crudelissimi praedones." — Hist, capi 25. " In the mean- " while, an opportunity happening, when these most cruel robbers " were returned home."' — Dr. J, A. Giles. This seems probable, as there was certainly a pause of some years in the victories of the Saxons. Mr. Sharon Turner considers that the above expression of Gildas adds force to the account of Nennius ; who states, according to the reading of some MSS., that for five years the Saxons kept out of Britain. — History of the Anglo-Saxons, Book II. chap. 1. AURELIANUS AMBROSIUS. 197 by his name. Aurelianus possessed courage and capacity in an eminent degree, associated with modesty -and other virtues ^^ At the time the Saxons were invited into Britain, he was young ; and then, and for several years afterwards, resided in Armorica. It is probable that his known great qualities recommended him to the Britons upon the death of Vortimer. He might also possess some hereditary claims to sovereignty, as Nennius tells us ^^ that Vortigern was afraid of him. Aurelianus (^') Gildas's words are remarkable : " Ambrosio Aureliano, " viro modesto, qui solus fuit comis, fideUs, fortls, veraxque, forte " Romanae gentis, qui tantae tempestatis colUsione, occisis in " eadem parentibus, purpura nimirum indutis, superfuerat ; cujus " nunc temporibus nostris soboles magnopere avita bonitate dege- " neravit, vires capescunt, victores provocantes ad prffilium, quibus " victoria, Deo annuente, ex voto cessit." — Gild. Hist. cap. 25. " Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man, who of all the Roman " nation was then alone, in the confusion of this troubled period, " by chance left alive. His parents, who for their merit were " adorned with the purple, had been slain in these same broils ; " and now his progeny in these our days, although shamefully " degenerated from the worthiness of their ancestors, provoke to " battle their cruel conquerors, and by the goodness of Our Lord " obtain the victory." — Dr. J. A. Giles. According to Whitaker, Ambrosius was the hereditary Sovereign of the Danmonii. C^) Hist. Brit. cap. 31. 198 HENGIST'S MASSACRE made head against the Saxons for a period of nearly fifty years ; sometimes overcoming, and often being defeated by them. But the stand which he enabled the Britons to make against their ferocious enemies, and the patriotism he evinced, obtained for Ambro sius the illustrious name of " Preserver." Necessity had now made the Britons brave as well as skilful soldiers. They knew that they fought not only for liberty, but for life. They accordingly encountered their enemies with despe rate valour. They contested every foot of ground with them, and cut off great numbers by frequent skirmishes and ambuscades. It would appear that Hengist, discouraged by this fierce opposition, and finding himself, after many years of warfare, unable to prevail by arms, had recourse to an atrocious stratagem, which, in more than one instance, has been practised upon similar occasions. He pro posed terms of accommodation to the Britons ; to ratify which he invited a very numerous body of their bravest warriors and leaders to a A.D very learned writers ^^, this feast was cele- solemn and sacred feast. According to two (^') Mr. Maurice, the author of " Indian Antiquities," &c. ; and Mr. Edward Davies, the author of " Celtic Researches," &c. OF THE BRITISH CHIEFTAINS. 199 brated in a suite of temporary buildings upon the Ystre, or Cursus, in which one of the avenues led to the great temple of Stonehenge. This place, originally assigned to Druidical worship, was pro bably selected by Hengist to cover more effectually the atrocious cruelty which he meditated : for although Druidism had been generally superseded by Christianity, a degree of veneration adhered to the minds of many Britons who had not been thoroughly converted, in favour of the spot devoted by their fathers to the rites of their ancient super stition. Such ideas would, at all events, suggest themselves to the heathen Hengist, and influence him in choosing the spot in question, as best calcu lated to deceive his victims. The feast was pro tracted to a late hour : , and the Britons, amid the cups of wine and mead which circulated rapidly among them, forgot care and enmity and war ; when, upon a signal given by the faithless Hengist, the Saxons attacked their unsuspecting and unarmed guests, and put almost every one of them to the sword. Much fable has been mixed up with this infamous transaction; with which Vortigern has, I think, unjustly been implicated. The following is one of the many Songs ^* which the ancient Welch C"*) It is taken from the " Gododin,"a poem written, according to 200 HENGIST'S MASSACRE \ Bards composed relative to the massacre. The Translation is that of Mr. Davies ^^ : — The Bard, pursuing the subject of the disastrous Feast, charges Vortigern with being an accomplice in Hengist's Plot. " The Heroes who went to Cattraeth were re- " nowned. Wine and mead, from golden cups, was " their liquor, in the year when we accepted the " dignified man who had been set aside ^^ Three, " and threescore, and three hundred^'' were they, " wearing gold chains. Of those who hastened to " the excess of liquor, three only escaped from the " confident stabbing ; namely, the two war dogs of to Mr. Sharon Turner, by Aneurin, in the sixth century. That historian, however, assigns it to a different occasion ; but I think Mr. Davies's arguments sufficiently conclusive that it was written to commemorate the heroes who perished by Hengist's plot. The author of the " Britannia after the Romans " agrees with Mr. Davies, although he condemns the translation of the latter as unfaithful. (35) Mythology and Rites of the British Druids, sect. iv. The Gododin, Song ix. pp. 341, 342. ('") Vortigern, who had been deposed from, is said to have been re-elected to the sovereignty after the death of Vortimer. (" ) More than 300 of the British Chiefs are reported to have been massacred at this feast. OF THE BRITISH CHIEFTAINS. 201 " Aeron, and our destined Governor^, and myself, " through my streams of blood — the reward of my " candid song. " O my friend ! O thou who truly condolest with " me ! We should not have been beaten, but for " the instigation of the sovereign who was twice " elevated : we should not have been singled out " in the court of the mead-feast. It was he who " made the proscription in behalf of his convenient " friend. Base is he in the field, who is base to his " own relations ^^ The man of Gododin reports, " that after the gashing assault there was none more " ardent than Llywy." The loss of so many of their bravest warriors must, indeed, have been a dreadful one to the Britons. Yet they gave not themselves up to (^^) Eidiol, or Ambrosius. It is supposed that this leader had returned from Armorica, either during the reign of Vortimer, or upon the faith of this professedly friendly meeting. As Ambrosius was a peculiar object of Vortigern's jealousy, he is thought to have been appointed to the distinguished office of Governor of the Feast, in order to secure his attendance among the destined victims. ('") According to the Welch authorities, Vortigern is said to have made his way to the throne by the murder of his cousin Constans — a prevalent but very idle story. 202 UTHYR PENDRAGON. despair. All who had escaped the massacre, all who prized liberty and life, ranged themselves under the banner of Aurelianus. They attacked their detested enemies with impetuosity, and often with success. The ability and exertions of the Chieftain's relation, Uthyr Pendragon *", were also extremely serviceable to the general cause ; so that, notwithstanding the fresh supplies of men which Hengist obtained from Germany, the Saxon domi nion extended itself very slowly in Britain. The petty kings of Wales and different parts of the island suspended for a time those quarrels by which they were so often accustomed to harass each other, and placed themselves under the con duct of Aurelianus. Numerous are the places which witnessed the deadly encounters that ensued. The Britons, when vanquished in other parts of the kingdom, had always a safe refuge among the mountains of Wales. There they preserved their laws, their liberty, and their religion. The death of Vortigern appears to have been a dreadful one ; (^°) The appellation of Uthyr, or " Wonder," was one adopted to excite enthusiasm in favour of the character so distinguished. Mythology, Romance, and Poetry, have been busy in mystifying the exploits of this Leader ; so that his existence has been as much questioned as that of Arthur himself KING ARTHUR. 203 for, if we may believe Nennius*^, he perished by the fall of a castle which had been struck with lightning *^. His two eldest sons having been killed, his third son, Pascentius, was, by the generosity of Aurelianus, allowed to inherit his hereditary dominions, which his posterity retained for a great number of generations. A.D. 508. Ambrosius closed his glorious career in the year 508. Uthyr Pendragon, who I think may be identified with Meurig king of Glamorgan, succeeded to the command of the British forces, but died a few years afterwards. Uthyr's son, the celebrated Arthur, then be- A D came the Leader of his countrymen. So much of the marvellous has been mixed up with the accounts of this personage, that many writers have been induced to suppose that he was merely a fictitious character. But Bede, Nennius, (^') There are some very ingenious conjectures respecting the time and cause of Vortigern's death, in " Britannia after the Ro mans," p. 151, &c. {^) " Arx tota, mediae circa noctis horam, per ignem missum " de coelo ex improvise cecidit, ardente igne ccelesti ; et Guorthi- " girnus, cum omnibus qui cum eo erant, et cum uxoribus suis, " defecit. Hie est finis Guorthigirni, ut in libro Beati Germani " repperi ; alii autem aliter dixerunt." — Hist. Brit. cap. 47. 204- KING ARTHUR. and others, speak of Arthur in a manner which places the fact of his having existed as King in Britain beyond all reasonable doubt *^. According to the best information that I have been able to collect from the Welch Genealogies, I would thus trace his descent for several generations** : — C") The conduct of Gildas respecting Arthur is thus stated by Giraldus Cambrensis : " De Gilda vero, qui adeo in gentem suam " acriter invehitur, dicunt Britones, quod propter fratrem suum " Albanise Principem, quem Rex Arthurus occiderat, offensus haec " scripsit. Unde et libros egreglos, quos de Gestis Arthuri et " gentis suae laudibus multos scripserat, audita fratris sui nece, " omnes, ut asserunt, in mare projecit. Cujus rei causa, nihil de " tanto Principe in scriptis authenticis expressum invenies." — Girald. Cambren. de Illaudab. Wallix,\\b,\i, cap. 2. ap.Angl. Sacr. Pars II. p. 448. Mr. Whitaker, in his History of Manchester, (Book II. chap. 2.) has made some good remarks regarding Gildas's omission of King Arthur's exploits. C''^) The Welch Pedigrees have always proved a Gordian knot to the Historian. What has puzzled George Owen Harry, and a host of other Genealogists, I can scarcely hope to unravel. A failure, where so many eminent adventurers have been unsuccessful, would not be disgraceful. With respect, however, to Arthur's Genealogy I can say. Nee meus hie sermo est. The Table I have given seems to be the one adopted by most of the Authorities. GENEALOGY GENEALOGY OF ARTHUR. 205 Teithfallt, king of Glamorgan. Tewdrig, king of Glamorgan, is said to have given up his king dom to his son, and to have spent the last part of his Ufe, as a Hermit, among the rocks of Tintern. In order to repel the Saxons who had invaded Glamorgan, he is reported to have once more re-assumed the command of his army, and to have died after gaining the victory. The dates of his reign and death are very contradictory. Most writers state that he died nearly a century later than I think he did. Meurig, king of Glamorgan, and Pendragon of the Britons, sup posed by me to be the same with Uthyr. He is repeatedly men tioned in the Liber Landavensis ; from which, however, it is impos sible to gain any certain information as to the time of his death. Anna Athrwys, king of Glamorgan & part of Monmouth, Pendragon of the Britons ; the same, I think, with the celebrated Arthur. Noe, spoken of as living in Caermarthen shire. I Morgan, king of Glamorgan, surnamed Mwynfawr. In an ancient MS. inserted in Williams's History of Mon mouth, he is said to have had his palace at Margam*. Llechau, cele brated as an accomplished warrior ''t Ithael, king of Glamorgan. Meurig, king of Glamorgran. Ffernwael. Ffernwael. He seems to have reigned in Glamorgan, conjointly with his brother. Brockwael. C^) Whatever might be the character of this place prior to the Monastery instituted there, the present proprietor, Mr. C. Mansel Talbot, may be said to have now erected a palace upon it. (*) MSS. Vesp. A. 14. p. 57. Trioedd 10. p. 3. 206 EXPLOITS OF ARTHUR. The exploits of Arthur, as related by those who lived nearest to his age, certainly do not bear out the marvels that have subsequently been told of him*''. That he was a brave, active, and often suc cessful General, appears to be certain : but, unhap pily, his arms were very frequently turned against his own countrymen ; and the victories which he gained over Huel, and other kings of Britain, must have greatly strengthened the hands of the invaders. His great antagonist among the Saxons was Cerdic, with whom he fought several battles with various success*^. Of these, the most important were con tested at Llongborth, at Llawen, and at Badon Hill. The last has been more especially celebrated. It certainly checked for years the victorious progress (¦") It is certainly singular, that in "The Book of Llandaff," in which so very much is related of Teudrig, Meurig, and Morgan, kings of Glamorgan, so little should be said of Athryws, or Arthur. Perhaps the numerous and deadly wars in which Arthur was engaged, prevented him from paying that attention to the affairs of the Church which his ancestors and some of his posterity evinced ; and that on this account the ecclesiastical writers of his age have passed him over in comparative silence. (*^) Mr. Whitaker details the various battles in which he sup poses Arthur to have been engaged, with as much minuteness as if he had received the account of them from an eye-witness. CERDIC THE SAXON. 207 of Cerdic. The time and place of this battle are still subjects of dispute. I think it most probable that it was fought in the year 530, on the hill that overhangs the little village of Bath ' ' ^ ^ 530. Eastone, near Bath. Meanwhile, notwith standing the exertions of Arthur and some other British heroes, the Saxons continued to extend their dominions in other parts of the country. Ella had arrived in Sussex, with a chosen band of followers, in the year 477 ; Cerdic, at Yarmouth, in the year 495 ; and Porta, at Portsmouth, in the year 501. These Leaders, and their sons, profiting by the dis sensions among the natives, were at length enabled to establish kingdoms in different parts of Britain. The fall of Arthur was the opposite of that which a patriot would desire ; for he perished in a civil feud with Medrawd his nephew, who had estranged from him the affections of his wife, Gwenhyfar. The conflict in which these relations are said to have fallen by each other's hands took AD place at Camlan*^, in Cornwall, in the year 546. Arthur, mortally wounded, was borne from the field of battle ; and privately conveyed C^) At or near Camelford. It is to be regretted that the inge nious author of " Britannia after the Romans " allowed his fancy to 208 FALL AND DEATH OF ARTHUR. into Somersetshire ; where he died, very soon after wards, in the Abbey of Glastonbury, in the cemetery of which his body was interred. His death was carefully concealed from his countrymen ; who for centuries believed that their warlike king had been withdrawn into some magical region, whence he would return to lead them to certain victory, and to triumph over all their enemies. Legend upon legend has been raised upon this marvellous foun dation ; so that the name of Arthur, and the belief of his continued existence upon earth, have found their way, not only into the Poems and Romances of many countries of Europe, but into those of Africa and Asia. But such strange delusions have not been to decoy his judgment into allegorizing what I cannot but con sider /ac^s with regard to the existence of Arthur. Nennius, and a host of other writers, speak of this king as actually living in the sixth century ; so that I think his life can no more be resolved into Myth because the Welch Poets have confounded the histo rical and mythological Arthurs, than the Ufe of Charlemagne, or of any other Heroes with whose exploits the Poets and Romancers have mixed up so much extravagance and fable. The author to whom I allude has so well exposed the inconsistency and absur dities of the Welch Poems in general, that it is singular he should attempt to build upon them any regular mythological system. INSCRIPTION TROM THE LEADEN CROSS O.N THE STONE OVER KING ARTHURS GRAVE. Hie jacet septdlus mclitus rex Arturius insula Avaloina . J^rtrrn. ^uAiA£r:F j^rZc^ry 'yjit^t^^XT.sle^ ^/a^../' 3^.t: f..i JC , MAELGWN ELECTED PENDRAGON. 209 confined to those dark periods. We know that, in a comparatively recent age, the Portuguese believed that their king Sebastian, who had been slain by the Moors in Africa, would re-appear, in all the glories of a conqueror. However earnest might be the expectation enter tained by the Britons that Arthur would be restored to them, a great part of his power seems, after his death, to have been alienated from his family. Maelgwn, although his character was stained with cruelty and other vices, was then elected Pendragon of Britain. This prince had succeeded his father, Caswallon, in the sovereignty of North Wales, in the year 517. He was descended from Cunedda Wledig, the real or pretended ancestor of so many Welch heroes and saints. Although not so distin guished a General as his predecessor, Arthur, many of Maelgwn's undertakings indicate his activity. He built the town of Bangor Fawr, and repaired Shrewsbury and the castle of Harlech. Maelgwn was a considerable benefactor to the Church, and is said to have endowed the See of Bangor with lands and privileges. He died of a terrible A D disorder which then devastated the country, and which was called the Yellow Plague. VOL. II. p 210 URIEN, OWEN, &c. Another hero of this period, but in a different part of Britain, has been highly celebrated in the songs of his countrymen^". This was Urien, king of Reged, one of those northern districts on the borders of England and Scotland. For many years he resisted Ida, the powerful leader of the Angles ; but at length fell, like Arthur, in a domestic and disgraceful quarrel. Owen, the son of Urien, was also a most distinguished warrior ; and, if we may believe the Bard Taliesin, it was by his sword that Ida perished^\ But the efforts of these, and nume rous other Chieftains, were rendered abortive by the frequent dissensions of their countrymen. Fresh bodies of troops continued to arrive from Germany ; and before the end of the sixth century, the Saxon Heptarchy, or Octarchy, was established ^^. A great proportion of the British population were put to the sword ; numbers drained the bitter cup of (*") Particularly in those of Taliesin and Llywarch Hen, se veral specimens of which may be seen in Mr. Sharon Turner's History ofthe Anglo-Saxons. (*') Marwnad Owain ap Urien Reged, Tal. 1. W. A. p. 59. Owain is the hero of the first tale in the Mabinogion, so ably translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. C) Mr. S. Turner has, I think, proved that eight Saxon kino-- doms at one time existed in Britain. — History ofthe Anglo-Saxons, Book II. chap. 6. IDOLATRY AWHILE SUPERSEDES CHRISTIANITY. 211 slavery; many fled to Armorica; and others re treated to the fastnesses of Wales ; where they, and their posterity, continued for centuries, ungalled by the chain which successive conquerors imposed upon their countrymen in Britain. Idolatry, of the most absurd and cruel descrip tion, superseded Christianity throughout the greater part of the island ; until the light of the Gospel, although dimmed by superstition, again arose upon it, through the instrumentality of Augustine and his associates. The following passage from Gildas forcibly describes the miseries which the Saxon domination entailed upon the vanquished ^^ : — " Ita ut cunctae columnse crebris arietibus, om- " nesque coloni cum prsepositis ecclesiae, cum sacer- " dotibus ac populo, mucronibus undique micantibus, " ac flammis crepitantibus, simul solo sternerentur ; (") Hist. GUd. cap. 24 & 25 :— " So that all the columns were levelled with the ground by the " frequent strokes of the battering-ram ; all the husbandmen " routed, together with their bishops, priests, and people ; whilst " the sword gleamed, and the flames crackled around them on " every side. Lamentable to behold, in the midst of the streets* "lay * " These are the words of the old translation : the original is obscure, and perhaps corrupt." — Note by Dr,J. A. Giles. p 2 212 MISERIES OF SAXON DOMINATION. " et miserabili visu, in medio platearum, ima turrium " edito cardine evulsarum, murorumque celsorum " saxa, sacra altaria, cadaverum frusta, crustis ac " semigelantibus purpurei cruoris tecta, velut in " quodam horrendo torculari mixta viderentur ; et " nulla esset omnimodis, prater horribiles domorum " ruinas, bestiarum volucrumque ventres in medio '' sepultura; salva sanctarum animarum reverentia, " si tamen multse inventae sint, quae arduis coeli per " id temporis a Sanctis angelis vehebantur. Ita " enim degeneraverat tunc vinea ilia olim bona in " amaritudinem versa ; uti raro, secundum Prophe- " tam, videretur quasi post tergum vindemiatorum " aut messorum racemus aut spica. " lay the tops of lofty towers tumbled to the ground, stones of " high walls, holy altars, fragments of human bodies, covered with " livid clots of coagulated blood, looking as if they had been " squeezed together in a press ; and with no chance of being " buried, save in the ruins ofthe houses, or in the ravening bellies " of wild beasts and birds ; with reverence be it spoken for their " blessed souls, if, indeed, there were many found who were " carried at that time into the high heaven by the holy angels. " So entirely had the vintage, once so fine, degenerated and " become bitter, that, in the words of the Prophet, there was " hardly a grape or ear of corn to be seen where the husbandman " had turned his back. " §¦ 25. THE SAXON OCTARCHY. 213 " Itaque nonnulli miserarum reliquiarum in mon- " tibus deprehensi acervatim jugulabantur ; alii " fame confecti accedentes, manus hostibus dabant " in aevum servituri, si tamen non continue trucida- " rentur, quod altissimae gratiae stabat in loco : alii " transmarinas petebant regiones, cum ululatu magno " ceu celeusmatis vice, hoc modo sub velorum " sinibus cantantes : ' Dedisti nos tanquam oves " escarum, et in gentibus dispersisti nos, Deus.' " Alii a montanis coUibus, minacibus praeruptis " vallati, et densissimis saltibus, marinisque rupibus " vitam, suspecta semper mente, credentes, in patria " licet trepidi perstabant." " §.25. Some therefore ofthe miserable remnant, being taken in " the mountains, were murdered in great numbers ; others, con- " strained by famine, came and yielded themselves to be slaves for " ever to their foes, running the risk of being instantly slain, '¦ which truly was the greatest favour that could be offered them : " some others passed beyond the seas, with loud lamentations, in- " stead of the voice of exhortation : ' Thou hast given us as sheep " to be slaughtered, and among the gentiles hast thou dispersed " us.' Others, committing the safeguard of their lives, which " were in continual jeopardy, to the mountains, precipices, thickly- " wooded forests, and to the rocks ofthe seas (albeit with trembling " hearts), remained still in their country." — Dr, J. A. Giles. 475. 214 THE SAXON OCTARCHY. The Saxon Kingdoms in Britain appear to have arisen in the following order of time^* : — ©fironologital ©tJJer of tfif ^axon ©ctartfiB. 1. Kent. n Hengist, with the Jutes, after many years' warfare, succeeded in establishing themselves in \ A.D. Kent, the Isle of Wight, and that part of the coast of Hampshire which is opposite to it; thus forming the kingdom of Kent. 2. Sussex. Ella, with the South Saxons, erected the smallest kingdom of the Octarchy, denominated that of Sussex. 3. Wessex. Cerdic, with the West Saxons, established^ themselves in Surrey, Hampshire (with the ex ception of that part of the coast occupied by the Jutes), Berks, Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, / 519- and that part of Cornwall of which the Britons were not able to keep possession; thus forming the kingdom of Wessex. A.D. {^) I must refer the reader, who wishes to be more minutely informed as to the progress and establishment of the Saxons in Britain, to Bede's "Ecclesiastical History," William of Malms bury, Camden, Usher, Whitaker's "Manchester," and Sharon Turner's " Anglo-Saxons." THE SAXON OCTARCHY. 215 4. East Anglia. Ufia, with the East Angles, settled themselves] in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, the Isle of Ely, \ ^aq and part of Bedfordshire ; constituting the king- A.D. 548. dom of East Anglia. 5. Essex. . Erkenwin, and the East Saxons, fixed theni- . jq selves in Essex, Middlesex, and the south part of t 542 Hertfordshire ; forming the kingdom of Essex. 6. Bernicia. Ida, and a portion of the Angles, possessed^ themselves of Northumberland, the northern parts of Westmoreland and Cumberland, Durham, and the south of Scotland between the Tweed and the Frith of Forth; making up the kingdom of Bernicia. 7. Deiri. A northern Ella, with another portion of Angles, conquered Lancashire, Yorkshire, and the southern parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland; consti- [' ^^^ tuting the kingdom of the Deiri. 8. Mercia. Crida, and the Middle Angles, established them selves in all the central counties of England ; thus forming the most considerable of the kingdoms / ggg of the Octarchy ; and which was denominated that of Mercia. From the above sketch, it will be seen that, at the close of the sixth century, all the south and A.D. A.D. 216 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAXON OCTARCHY. east coasts of Britain, from Cornwall to the Frith of Forth, were possessed by various tribes of Saxons, Jutes, and Angles. The east coasts of Caledonia, from the Frith of Forth to Caithness, were occupied by the Picts, who now constituted one kingdom. The north and west coasts of Caledonia, from Caithness to the Frith of Clyde, together with the adjacent islands, were in possession of Scots, who now also formed a single monarchy. The western coasts of Britain, from the Frith of Clyde to the Land's End, were still held by the native inhabitants. This last tract of country was divided into many small Principalities ; the names and boundaries of which were con tinually shifting, in consequence of conquest, acci dent, or testamentary arrangements. ( 217 ) ; CHAPTER XI. FROM A.D. 435 TO A.D. 582. REMARKS PREFATORY TO THE ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH ECCLE SIASTICS — -DUBRICIUS -PELAGIANISM RE-APPEARS IN BRITAIN SYNOD OF LLANDDEWI BREFI -ISLE OF BARDSEY ST. DAVID — ¦ TEILO OUDOCEUS. BERTHGWYN — ILTUTUS PADARN — ASAPH ¦ GILDAS NEO-DRUIDISM NYNIAS COLUMBA — AIDAN SOME PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH OEDD ANCIENT MANNER OF CONSECRATION OF MONASTERIES IN BRI TAIN NUNNERIES NOT YET ESTABLISHED— THE CHARGE AGAINST THE BRITONS FOR NOT ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT THE SAXONS, CONSIDERED. The documents from which the following sketches of eminent British Ecclesiastics are derived, are extremely ancient ; many of them having been probably written in the time of the individuals whose lives they profess to related Numerous monkish legends, Romish notions, absurd and mon strous stories have, however, been incorporated with the original short and simple narratives, exhibiting (') Many ofthe grants to the Church of Llandaff, specified in the Liber Landavensis, purport to be records as early as the fifth century. 218 EARLY BRITISH ECCLESIASTICS. a strange mixture of religious faith and supersti tious credulity. Many gross anachronisms, and other errors, may also be detected in them. Under such circumstances, it has been my endeavour, by a careful investigation, and comparison of various statements, to select and to describe as correctly as possible the characters of a few early British Churchmen who were most distinguished for learn ing, piety, and usefulness. These men lived in rough and disastrous times: and however much their conduct and opinions may be open to the charge of superstition, we shall find them frequently opposing an effectual barrier against the violence of Rulers and the fickleness of the people, and, by their rebukes and anathemas, restraining and pu nishing blasphemy, oppression, cruelty, and other vices. At a time when Britain in general was afflicted by her deadly enemies, and her Church and Mini sters driven into banishment or put to the sword, it may well be supposed that the ecclesiastical revenues, in that comparatively sterile part of the island which remained unconquered, were not suffi cient to maintain the Clergy with the same regard to that dignity and subordination of offices which prevailed in less-disturbed countries. Still, we DUBRICIUS. 219 shall find a numerous hierarchy of Bishops and Chorepiscopi existing in Wales during the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. Abbates, Presbyteri, Sacerdotes, Doctores, Seniores, Magistri, Lectores, are all spoken of. Numerous and very conside rable grants of land to the Church, from kings and other great men, are specified. Schools of divinity and general learning were established, and very numerously attended. Above all, we shall find a Church existing, which was altogether independent of any foreign jurisdiction. I shall begin with the life of one who occupied a very prominent station in the British Church during the latter part of the fifth and the be ginning of the sixth century — Dubricius, arch bishop of Caerleon. Dubricius was the natural son of Eurddill, daughter of Pebiau, king of the district of Erchyng in Herefordshire. He was born, according to some, on the banks of the Gwain, near Fishguard, Pembrokeshire ; and ac cording to John of Teignmouth, and Benedict of Gloucester, at Miserbdil on the Wye, who also affirm that the name was afterwards changed by Dubricius to Mochros^. The arrival of Germanus (^) Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. ix. p.l71. 220 EARLY BRITISH ECCLESIASTICS. in Britain, twelve years after this period, must have caused a very great sensation throughout the coun try, and probably gave a bias to the early studies of Dubricius. Although the latter was too young when Germanus was in Britain to hold any eccle siastical appointment, he is said to have derived much important instruction from the French bishop. Applying himself with great diligence and zeal to the study of literature and divinity, his fame soon extended throughout Britain, so that persons came to him from all quarters to receive instruction. Amongst the most eminent of his disciples were Teilo, Samson, Ufelwy, Merchwyn, &c. For these, and for a great many other young men, Dubricius is said to have established a school of learning, at Henlland, on the banks of the Wye, in Hereford shire ^. Here he taught for seven years ; and then removed to Mochros, which was situated close to the same river. He was appointed Bishop of LlandaflT* about the year 470. Anterior to that (') " In support ofthe assertion, it may be said that Hentland " in Erchenfield, where, on a farm called Lanfrother, traces of " former importance were lately remaining, is dedicated to St. " Dubricius." — Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, p. 172. C) No one can visit Llandaff for the first time without being struck with sorrow and surprise at its desolate condition. Situated in a healthy and very pleasing part of the country, within a very few DUBRICIUS. 221 time, although Chorepiscopi were scattered through out the country, the Principality of Wales does not seem to have been divided into regular dioceses. The zeal of Dubricius, and the liberality of Teudrig and Meurig, kings of Glamorgan, were the means of making the See of Llandaff permanent ; on which account Dubricius is said to have been the first bishop. The extent of this diocese appears to have been much the same in the days of Dubricius as it is at present ; excepting that the district of Erching, or Archenfield, in Herefordshire, to the south-west of the Wye, was anciently attached to it. The royal connections and exemplary character of Dubricius enabled him to extend the temporal in terests of Religion. Many grants were made to the Church of Llandaff by the kings of Erchyng, Gwent, and Glamorgan ; so that that See soon became possessed of very considerable endowments. About the year 490, Dubricius was raised to the arch bishopric of Caerleon, which he appears to have held together with the bishopric of Llandaff. Although there can be no doubt that he was faithful and few miles of the thriving town of Cardiff, a few straggling houses and cottages, a Cathedral which is disgraceful to modern archi tecture and zeal, and a castle-gate in ruins, are almost all that now remain of this once-important city. 222 PELAGIANISM RE-APPEARS IN BRITAIN. laborious in the discharge of his sacred duties ; and although he must have derived considerable assistance from the co-operation of those who had been instructed by himself, by Iltutus, and other eminent men ; we find Pelagianism again breaking out among the Britons during the beginning of the sixth century. With a view, therefore, to suppress this insidious heresy, Dubricius thought it necessary to convene a synod of his bishops and clergy, and of as many of the nobility and others of the laity as chose to attend. This solemn assembly, accord ingly, met in the year 519, at a place called Lland- dewi Brefi, or Brevi, near the banks ofthe river Tivy or Towy, in Cardiganshire*. As Arthur had C) " The following is the account given of this Synod, by " Giraldus Cambrensis, in his ' Life of St. David ' : — " ' The detestable heresy of the Pelagians, although formerly " extinguished through the labours of Germanus of Auxerre and " Lupus of Troyes, when they came over to this island ; this pesti- '' lence, although once suppressed, sprung up anew, and gave " occasion for convening a General Synod of all the Churches of " Wales. All the bishops, and abbots, and religious of different " Orders, together with the Princes and laymen, were assembled at " Brefi, in the county of Cardigan. When many discourses had " been delivered in public, and were ineffectual to reclaim the " Pelagians from their error, at length Paulinus, a bishop, with '' v/hom David had studied in his youth, very earnestly entreated " that that holy, discreet, and eloquent man might be sent for. " Messengers SYNOD OF LLANDDEWI BREFI. 223 been appointed Sovereign over all those parts of Britain which were not yet possessed by the Saxons, and which comprised Cornwall and all the western districts of the island as far as Scotland, there can be no doubt that the Council of Llanddewi Brefi was very numerously attended. Before the disso lution of the synod, Dubricius, finding himself, from age and infirmity, unequal to the cares and duties of his high office, resigned the archbishopric of Caerleon ; to which David, by the unanimous voice of the assembly, was then appointed. Seven years before this period, Dubricius had resigned the bishopric of Llandaff ; and he now retired to spend " Messengers were therefore despatched, to desire his attendance : " but their importunity was unavailing with the holy man, he " being so fully and intently given up to contemplation, that urgent " necessity alone could induce him to pay any regard to temporal " or secular concerns. At last, two holy men, named Daniel and " Dubricius, went over to him. By them he was persuaded to " come to the synod ; and after his arrival, such was the grace and " eloquence with which he spoke, that he silenced the opponents, " and they were utterly vanquished*. But Father David, by the " common consent of all, whether Clergy or laity (Dubricius " having resigned in his favour), was elected Primate of the Cam- " brian Church.' " — Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. x. pp. 191,192. * " Tradition points to the site of the church of Llanddewi Brefi as the spot where this memorable sermon was preached." 224 THE ISLE OF BARDSEY. the remainder of his days in the Isle of Bardsey. This island, so interesting to the Christian anti quary, is situated at the end of the promontory of Lleyn, Caernarvonshire ; from which it is separated by a strait, called Bardsey Race, three miles wide. Bardsey is two miles and a half in length, and a mile and a half in breadth ; fertile, and well culti vated. In very ancient times it became a favourite spot with those who sought to spend the last part of their lives in retirement and devotion. Early in the seventh century it afforded a refuge for those monks who escaped the massacre of their brethren by the Saxons at Bangor Iscoed. An Abbey was then founded; which flourished until the general dissolution of such institutions, at the Reformation. Bardsey was called Ynys Enlli, or " the Island of the Current," by the British, on account of the rush of waters prevailing between it and the main land. It probably received its English name from the Saxons, in consequence of its affording an asylum to the Bards. From this sequestered isle Dubricius appears to have once emerged, at the call of his sovereign. He then came forth as a Chris tian patriot; and the words which Benedict^ of (^) Benedict was a monk of Gloucester who lived in the early part ST. DAVID. 225 Gloucester puts into his mouth, just before the battle of Badon, were well calculated to rouse the spirit of the British soldier against his Saxon oppressor. Dubricius died in Bardsey, in the year 522. None of the Welch Saints has received so large a meed of honour from his countrymen as St. David. Numerous songs have been written in his praise : many miracles have been attributed to him : his shrine was visited for centuries by kings and every other description of pilgrims ; and his name has been identified with a prodigious number of pa rishes and churches in Pembrokeshire, Cardigan shire, and other Welch counties ^ David, or, as he is called by his countrymen, Dewi, was born about the year 475, at the place since called St. David's, in Pembrokeshire. He was the son of Xanthus, or Sandde, the Regulus of Caredigion. He is said by some writers to have been uncle to Arthur : by others, to have been a great nephew of that celebrated King, according to the following Table :— part of the twelfth century. His Life of Dubricius is pub lished in Wharton's Anglia Sacra, Pars II. pp. 654—661. (^) He was canonized by Pope Calistus, about A.D. 1120. VOL, II, Q 226 GENEALOGY OF ST. DAVID : Caredig, a lineal Gynyr, of Caergawch=Anne, sister descendant -from Cunedda in Pembrokeshire. to King Wledig. Arthur. Xanthus, or Sandde, —_ Prince of the district now called Cardiganshire. Nonn.' David. It is probable, however, that the above Table, with regard to the relationship of David's mother to Arthur, is erroneous ; because we know that the king and the bishop were contemporaries. I should rather suppose that they were first or second cousins. David is said to have received his early religious education in the School of Iltyd ; and afterwards in that of Paulinus, or Pawl Hen, who founded a mo nastery at Ty-gwyn ar Daf,^ in Caermarthenshire, of which he was himself the first Abbot. Here, it is said, David spent ten years, with Teilo and other distinguished associates, in the study of the Scrip- (') Nonn is a very celebrated Welch Saint. Many churches have been dedicated to her memory. C) Alba Domus, or " the White House," on the river Tav. — Ty-gwyn is used in the sense of a Chapter House. The White- House College, or Bangor y Ty gwyn, was founded about the year 486. This was the origin of Whitland Abbey. His EPISCOPAL PREFERMENT. 227 tures. Early in the sixth century he made a pil grimage to Jerusalem, accompanied by Padarn and Teilo. Upon his return to Britain, his character was held in the highest estimation for piety and general attainments ; so that he was particularly invited by Dubricius to attend the Council at Lland dewi Brefi, where the learning and eloquence he displayed against Pelagianism became the theme of universal praise, and were doubtless the immediate cause of his being raised to the Archbishopric of Caerleon, in the year 519.* A few years after this period, David, with the consent of King Arthur, removed the Episcopal See to Menevia, or St. David's; whence, however, it was transferred to Llandaff, and again from the latter place to Caer leon. Finally, the Bishop of Llandaff appears to have been considered as the Metropolitan of all the Welch churches. But this was not during the life of David, who died about the year 544. (^) In the Cambrian Biography, under the article " Dewi," David is said to have been Bishop of Caerleon in the middle of the fifth century : but under the article " Gynyr," we are told that David removed the MetropoUtan See from Caerleon to St. David's, A. D. 542. Which of these statements are we to believe ? It is to be regretted that the value of a work which might be made so useftd should be lessened by these and many other instances of inattention to chronology and consistency. Q 2 228 DIOCESE OF ST. DAVID'S, OR MENEVIA. His diocese of Menevia seems to have extended over the counties of Pembroke and Carmarthen. Its northern boundary in Cardiganshire included the parishes of Llanddewi Aberath and Llanddewi Brefi, whence it followed the course of the river Irvon through Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, it com prised the parishes of Cregina and Glascomb : then passing southwards to the Severn, it included that part of Monmouthshire which lies between the Usk and the Wye. Its southern boundary commenced, as at present, between the rivers Neath and Taff ; and afterwards, passing along the hills which divide Brecknockshire from Glamorganshire, traversed Monmouthshire as far as the Usk. I stated that Dubricius had resigned the Bishop ric of Llandaff in the year 512. He was suc ceeded in this See by Teilo ; who had formerly been his disciple, but who had derived the principal part of his religious and literary acquirements from Paulinus, or Pawl Hen, at Ty-gwyn ar Daf. We have seen that Teilo made a pilgrimage to Jeru salem, in company with his celebrated contempo raries, David and Padarn. It was probably soon after his return from the Holy Land that he was appointed Bishop of Llandaff. When the yellow pestilence broke out in Britain, he went over to TEILO.— OUDOCEUS.— BERTHGWYN. 229 Armorica, where he remained a considerable time, with Samson, the celebrated archbishop of Dol '". Returning from Armorica, Teilo was made Arch bishop of Menevia, upon the death of David, He soon afterwards removed the Archieplscopal See to Llandaff; appointing Ismael to be his suffragan in the former place"; and at the same time conse crating Lunapeius, Arwystyl, and many other suf fragan bishops, in different parts of South Wales. Teilo died about the year 566 ; and was succeeded in the archbishopric of Llandaff by Oudoceus, his sister's son. Oudoceus, like several of his ecclesiastical con temporaries, is said to have been born of royal parents, being no less than the son of Budic, king of Armorica. In his time, the diocese of Llandaff appears to have extended from Mochros, in Here fordshire, to Cardigan Isle, at the mouth of the river Tivy. Oudoceus died about the year 580 ; and was succeeded in the See of Llandaff by Berthgwyn, who held the bishopric for about twenty-five years. Berthgwyn, like his predecessors in the See, ('") Lib. Landaven. (") Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. xi. p. 244. 230 RELIGIOUS ZEAL OF BERTHGWYN. appears to have possessed great zeal and resolution, rebuking and condemning even kings, when they transgressed the commandments of God. A striking instance of his uncompromising character is mani fested in the following anecdote : " The kings " Clydri and Idwallon ^^ swore, before Bishop Berth- " gwyn and the Clergy, the holy Gospels and relics " being placed on the altar of the church of Garth- " benni, that they would keep firm peace towards " each other, without deceit and injury in all " things ; and with this condition, that if either of " them should break it, he should resign his whole " kingdom, and go into banishment abroad, to the " end of his life. After an interval, King Clydri, " breaking the peace, killed Idwallon, effecting by " deceit both murder and perjury. The bishop, " hearing of so great a crime, and of the peace " being broken, arose, and caused to be assembled " together, at a holy synod, all the clergy of his " whole diocese, from the mouth of Taratyr-on-Wye, " to the banks of the Towy ; and, in full synod, " excommunicated the king, with all his progeny, " and also his kingdom, by making bare the altars " of God, placing the crosses on the ground, and (") Two petty kings in Ergyng. EXCOMMUNICATION OF KING CLYDRI. 231 " dismissing the country without baptism and com- " munion. After these things, the king, not being " able to endure so great an excommunication, " sought pardon, with great devotion ; and requested " Bishop Berthgwyn, with his three abbots, SuUen " abbot of Carvan Valley, Sadwrn abbot of Do- " cunni^*, Gwrhafal abbot of Iltyd, to come and " meet him at the church of Garthbenni, that, as he " had violated it and its refuge by committing " murder and perjury, he should, on the other part, " beneflt it by suffering divine judgment, with " amendment both of body and soul, by fasting, " prayer, and almsgiving. Who, after they came " to the church of Garthbenni, adjudged him to be " a transgressor of the commandments of God ; and " that he should do, without any deduction, what " he had promised in swearing, and had vowed " with an oath : and, obeying the commands of " God and the bishop, he left his country, and " went abroad. And, after a long time, he returned " to his country, and sought pardon from the " bishop, through his intercessor. King Morgan ; " and his prayer being heard, the bishop dismissed (") The situation of this monastery is not accurately known. It was, however, somewhere in Glamorganshire. 232 ILTYD, OR ILTUTUS : " him into the country, to amend himself in all " things, and render due justice^*." Let us now turn our attention from the primitive Bishops of Llandaff to some other Ecclesiastics. Of these, the most eminent was Iltyd, or Iltutus. He was by birth an Armorican, being the son of Bicanys, by Rieniguilida, the sister of Emyr Llydaw, and was thus great nephew to Germanus ^^. There are conflicting statements as to the time of his birth, which probably took place about the year 450. Having built a church, and afterwards a monastery, at Caerworgorn, or Lantwit Major^^, under the patronage of Meirchion, a chieftain of Glamorgan, he opened a School, which was soon filled with disciples. Some literary Institution seems to have been established in this place during the reign of Theodosius. Germanus probably revived and remodelled it ; and Dubricius, who appointed ( '^) Lib. Landaven. sect. v. cap. 6. ('^) Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, sect.ix. p. 179. ( '") This place is called, in Welch, Llaniltyd Fawr. It is five miles, S. by W., from the town of Cowbridge, and agreeably situated in the midst of the Vale of Glamorgan. Even in its present dilapidated state, traces of its ancient importance and extent are visible. The name of Iltyd is, however, connected \vith many churches in Wales beside that of Llaniltyd Fawr. HIS SCHOOL AT LANTWIT MAJOR. 233 Iltutus to the abbacy", took much pains in its management. It is said, that under the super intendence of Iltyd there were no fewer than 400 lodging-apartments, and seven large halls or col leges, to accommodate the numbers who resorted to Lantwit Major for instruction^^. The system pur sued by Iltyd was not confined to profane and sacred learning, but comprised husbandry and other useful arts : so much so, that Iltyd is re garded as a kind of Triptolemus by the Welch. He h%,s, indeed, been associated with the allegorical personages Hu and Coll, to form one of the nume rous and favourite Triads of those who have con ferred blessings on the nation of the Cymry. The Institution at Lantwit was, for many generations, considered as the great University of Britain, and was resorted to by the votaries of science from other parts of Europe. Gildas the Historian, the Bishops David and Samson, Talhairn the famous Bard, and the still more famous Taliesin, are said to have received their education here. It does not appear how long Iltutus presided over this Institu tion. He died, probably, about the year 512. (") Lib. Landaven. sect.i. cap. 1 1. (") This will not be thought an exaggeration, when we con sider the numbers which, as Bede tells us, were collected in the Monastery at Bangor Iscoed, in Flintshire. 234 PATERNUS, OR PADARN. Paternus, or Padarn, was an Armorican. He was nearly related to Iltutus, under whom he stu died at Lantwit Major. Padarn was the intimate friend and companion of David and Teilo, with whom he was associated as one of " The three blessed visitors " who went about preaching the Faith to all classes of people, and alleviating, to the utmost of their power, the wants and miseries of the poor. It is said that Padarn founded a religious establish ment at Llanbadarn Vawr^^, near Aberystwith, of which he became the first bishop, and a suffragan to the See of Menevia. Here he remained twenty- one years; when he was recalled to his native country, and made Bishop of Vannes ^, Paternus was the founder of churches at Llan badarn Trefeglwys, Llanbadarn Fach, and Llan badarn Odin, in Cardiganshire ; and of churches or chapels at Llanbadarn Fawr, Llanbadarn Fynydd, and Llanbadarn y Garreg, in Radnorshire. The (") He is also the reputed founder of many churches in Wales, which still bear his name. ('") According to authorities adduced by Usher, three days were held sacred to the memory of Paternus: April 15, the anni versary of his death ; June 20, that of his consecration as a bishop ; and Nov. 1, the day on which he is said to have been reconciled to the bishops of Armorica. ASAV, OR ASAPH. 235 situation of these places seems to indicate the course of his diocese towards the south. Its extent to wards the north is uncertain, although it is supposed that a considerable part of Montgomeryshire was within its limits. The See of Llanbadarn, or Paternensis, as it was called from its founder, flourished for some years, in much reputation. Its Bishop is mentioned in the Minutes of a Council held in the year 601. The same ecclesiastic formed one of the Deputa tion who was appointed to confer with Augustine soon after his arrival in England, with a view to resist any attempts which might be made by the latter to establish the supremacy of the Pope over the British Church. In consequence of the violent conduct of the inhabitants who killed their bishop, Llanbadarn lost its episcopal privileges: the See was then dissolved, and merged in that of Menevia or St. David's. Asav, Hassaph, or Asaph, appears to have been a native of North Wales, and to have been born about the -year 525. Cyndeyrn, having founded a College at Llan Elwy, in Flintshire, appointed Asaph to superintend it. This College was soon afterwards raised to a Bishopric, over which Asaph 236 GILDAS. presided, until his death in the year 596. According to Spelman, the Bishop of St. Asaph was one of the suffragans to St. David's, who, in the year 601, was present at the meeting with Augustine and his associates. I shall now speak of an ecclesiastic, who, as the earliest British Historian, notwithstanding the tur- gescence and obscurity of his works, claims a share of our interest ; — I allude to Gildas. Much doubt and confusion hang over his birth and parentage. He is generally supposed to have been one of the many sons of Caw^^, a chieftain of a northern district bordering on Stratclyde. His grandfather, Geraint^, is said to have been a veteran warrior, who held both a naval and military command in the service of King Arthur ; and who, according to an elegy written upon him by the Bard Lywarch Hen, lost his life in the battle of Longborth. It is said that Caw, in consequence of an irruption of the Gwyddelian Picts, left his own territory in the north, and came into Wales; settling in Twrcelyn C' ) Can, Capgrave ; Caunus, Floriacensis ; Nau, Caradocus Lancarbanensis, (^^) Cambrian Biography ; but Mr. Rees, in his Essay on the Welch Saints, makes Geraint to be of a different family. GILDAS.— THE BARD ANEURIN. 237 in Anglesea, where he had lands assigned to him by Maelgwn Gwynedd. Some of the children of Caw went into South Wales, where they were kindly received by King Arthur. Among these was Gildas, surnamed " the Wise " from his reputed learning, and " Badonicus " to distinguish him from a supposititious person of the same name called "Albanius." I am however persuaded, with Bol- landus, Vossius, and Mabillon, that there were not two eminent persons of the name of Gildas, but that all the difficulties and discrepancies, as to time and situation, between Gildas Albanius and Gildas Badonicus, have arisen from the blunders of the writer called Caradoc of Llancarvan^^, and others who have followed his narration. Some well known antiquaries have endeavoured to identify Gildas with the Bard Aneurin^: but there is internal evidence, from the writings of both, to overthrow this supposition. The Gododin of Aneurin, and the History and Epistle of Gildas, could never have proceeded from the same author. (^') He was a contemporary of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and died A. D. 1156. (^) Particularly Mr. Edward Williams (lolo Morganwg), and Dr. Owen Pughe. 238 GILDAS. In the former, the Britons are spoken of in the highest terms of good- will, their courage is extolled, their intemperance extenuated, and their misfor tunes deeply lamented. In the latter, on the con trary, the bitterest invectives are poured out against the natives of Britain. They are described as deficient in valour, and in almost every other good quality ; and the miseries they endured from the Saxons are pronounced to be a judgment from Heaven upon their misdeeds. It is probable, how ever, as Aneurin is generally believed to have been, like Gildas, one of the sons of Caw, that the Bard and the Historian were brothers. Gildas appears to have been born in the year 520. He received his early education in the seminary of Lantwit Major. His attainments were considerable for the age in which he lived ; for although his style is turgid and obscure, no one can read his works without being struck with his intimate know ledge of the Scriptures. He shews also an ac quaintance with the writings of Porphyry, Jerome, Eusebius, and other authors. The virulence which Gildas evinces in his writings against the Britons has caused many persons to hesitate in believing that they could have been NEO-DRUIDISM. 239 written by a countryman^. Our most ancient authors, however, received them as such ; and the fact, until of late years, has never been disputed. Whence the source of his bitterness against his countrymen, it is now almost impossible to deter mine. A writer, who has given much attention to the subject, supposes that Gildas, in the former part of his life, had been, as a Bard, deeply impli cated in all the unhallowed rites of Neo-druidism ; which afterwards he renounced and nauseated, despising and disliking his countrymen who re mained enthralled by such abominations. But this opinion, even supposing that Gildas had ever been one of the regular Bards, is, I think, wholly un founded. The Bards of that period were not ad dicted to deep study ; they were not men likely to (^*) Some modem authors have assigned a much later date to the works of Gildas ; denying, at the same time, that they were written by a native of our island. It may be sufficient to state, in answer, that Bede and Alcuin, two of our earliest authorities, believed the writings in question to be genuine. " Legitur in " Libro Gildi Brittonum sapientissimi, quod iidem Brittones, " propter rapinas et avaritiam Principum, propter iniquitatem et " injustitiam Judicum, propter desidiam et pigritiam praedica- " tionis Episcoporum, propter luxuriam et malos mores populi, " patriam perdiderunt." — Epist. Alcuini ix. 1. 15. edit. 1777. WUUamof Newburgh, and numberless others of our most credible authors, bear the same testimony. 240 NEO-DRUIDISM. comprehend, or to embody in their poems, any system of philosophy or religion. Their character is well drawn by the author to whom I have fre quently alluded :¦ — " Much homage is paid by them " to greatness, and much encouragement to the " violent exercise of power ; while little, if any " thing, is hinted of political and civil liberty. " Much admiration is expressed for wealth and " large possessions ; with the desire to partake of " them, by flattering the munificent. The common " vulgar feelings upon this subject seem to prevail " throughout, rendered more than usually intense " by the turbulent licentiousness and unbridled " 7r\eove^la of their minds ^^" It is not likely that men of this description should have been the depo sitories of the dark, complicated, and mysterious doctrines with which, as the same author affirms, Neo-druidism was fraught ; or that the vague words which they sung to their harps should have been considered as oracular by the smallest portion of their hearers. The meaning^ of those words, if (^) Essay on the Neo-druidic Heresy, p. 52, by the author of Britannia after the Romans. (") Whatever might be the case at the time when it was com posed, the Gododin of Aneurin, as translated by the Rev. E. Davies and Mr. Propert, is now unintelligible as a whole, although some passages of force and beauty may be found in it. NEO-DRUIDISM. 241 they always had a meaning, and the wild mention of Heroes and Druidical deities, seem to have been just sufficient to please the fancy, and give a kind of connection to the rhapsody. The chief object of the Bards was, to soothe their auditors ; who, unlike the Ancient Greeks, were any thing but critical judges of the compositions recited before them, and who desired to be pleased, and not instructed, by vocal and instrumental music. A great deal has been said regarding the Neo- druidism^ of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. I am, however, convinced that no such thing ex isted as a system. Druidism had received so great a shock by the destruction of its priests in Mona, by Suetonius Paulinus ; and subsequently, by the extension of Christianity ; that it was never effective afterwards. The Rulers of the country gradually became Christians : the Bards themselves were so ; and, however they might collect and arrange into (^) Especially by the author of " Britannia after the Romans," in his Essay on the Neo-druidic History. Differing as I do from most of this writer's conclusions, I cannot but admire his inge nuity and research. It is only singular that so acute a writer should attempt to build up a system upon such slight foundations, and that he should in any thing ally himself to a tribe against which he has vented so much caustic humour — the Quodlibetarians. VOL. II. R 242 NEO-DRUIDISM. tales and songs the scattered traditions and mytho logy of the old superstition, none of them had learned or pretended to deliver any thing like a system of ancient or modern Druidical philosophy or religion. It might as well be said, that because the Poet Ariosto has so frequently introduced ¦ the heathen deities into his Orlando Furioso, that he was a heathen ; as, that because Taliesin, Aneurin, and others of the Welch Bards, have engrafted much of Druidical legend upon their poems, that themselves were no other than Druids. The dislike of Gildas towards his countrymen must, I think, be traced to other causes, than to any previous attachment to, and subsequent aversion from, Neo-druidism. It might possibly originate in his morose and unsocial disposition. Gildas seems to have been one who regarded the charac ters and actions of men in the severest and most gloomy aspect. His habits and feelings must have estranged him from his family and his countrymen : probably he received some injuries at their hands, which made him the more keenly alive to all their vices and imperfections. As to his Epistle, it ap pears to be one of those violent addresses, by no means uncommon in that age, never perhaps in tended to meet the eye of those against whom it inveighed, but written principally with a view to DEATH OF GILDAS. 243 exhibit the Scriptural knowledge of the author^". It was composed about the year 564,^" in Armorica, where Gildas resided for upwards of ten years ; previously to which he is said to have visited Ire land, and founded monasteries there. He afterwards returned to Britain ; when he visited the Monastery of Llancarvan, the superintendence of which he undertook for a year, at the request of St. Cadoc. At the expiration of that period, both St. Cadoc and himself withdrew to two small islands in the river Severn ^\ there intending to spend the remainder of their days. Gildas was, however, disturbed by pirates : upon which he withdrew to Glastonbury, where he composed his " History of the Britons," and where he remained until his death, which took place about the year 582. The limits of my work not allowing me to adduce particulars of other Ecclesiastics who resided (^) Hilary of Poictiers, in the fourth century, addressed a Philippic of this kind to Constantius ; although, probably, it was never seen by that Emperor. C) See Usher's Primordia ad ann., and the references there made. Britan. Eccles. Antiq. cap. xiii. ("•) Ronech and Echin, now called Platholm and Steepholm. — It seems difficult to imagine how any human beings could subsist upon these rocks. According to Caradoc, the two hermits lived upon small fish which they caught, and upon the eggs of sea-birds. R 2 244 ECCLESIASTICS OF CALEDONIA AND IRELAND. in Wales during the fifth and sixth centuries, I must refer the reader who is desirous of being acquainted with many founders of churches and monasteries in that country to the pages of Usher, the Cambrian Biography, and the Essay on the Welch Saints. I shall now turn for a moment to Caledonia and Ireland ; where we shall find several characters dis tinguished by their zeal in extending the blessings of Christianity, and by the strictness and holiness of their lives. Of these, Nynias was one of the most remarkable. He is described by Bede^^ as " a most " reverend Bishop and holy man of the British " nation, who had been regularly instructed, at " Rome, in the faith and mysteries of Truth." He came into the country bordering on Caledonia about the close of the fifth century, and, exerting himself in the great work of his calling, converted the greater part of the Southern Picts to the Faith of Christ. He afterwards established an Episcopal See ^^, denominated St. Martin's, at Candida Casa^*, ('^) Hist. Eccles. Ub. iii. cap. 4. C^) For the extent of this Diocese, see Chap. VIII.,Vol. II. p. 92. C^) This Candida Casa, or the White House, appears to have been erected about the same time that Ty-gwyn (a word of pre cisely the same meaning) was founded by Pawl-Hen, in Caermar thenshire. The author of the Saxon Chronicle calls it Whit- heme. NYNIAS.— COLUMBA. 245 in the kingdom of Bernicia ; where he built a church of stone, then very uncommon among the Britons. He died about the middle of the fifth century. Above one hundred years after the death of Nynias, Columba, who appears to have been educated in Ireland, and who is described bv ' ' ' •' 565. Bede ^ as " a famous Priest and Abbot, a monk by habit and life," went to preach the Word of God to the Northern Picts. He also had the happiness to succeed in his sacred mission ; and gained so great an ascendancy over Princes and people, that, for upwards of thirty years, he was considered as a guide and director, both in Civil and Religious affairs. Having obtained a grant of the small island of Hii, or Hy, or lona, he there established the Monastery of Icolmkill, which soon became one of the most celebrated in Europe. Bede^^ tells us, that, in this Insti- ' ' tution, Columba "left successors renowned " for their continency, their love of God, and ob- " servance of monastic rules. It is true, they " followed uncertain rules in their observance of " the great festival, as having none to bring them " the Synodal decrees for the observance of Easter, ('') Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. cap. 4. C) Ibid. 246 MONASTERY OF ICOLMKILL. <:' in consequence of their being so remote from the " rest of the world : on which account they prac- " tised only such works of piety and chastity as they " could learn from the Prophetical, Evangelical, " and Apostolical writings." The privileges at tached to this monastery were so great, that its Abbot, though only a Presbyter, was regarded, in matters not affecting the superiority of the Episcopal order, as the chief ecclesiastical person among the Scots. Here many devout and excellent men received their education ; and were sent forth, not only to instruct the Scots and Picts, but even to convert the Saxons^'. C) The kingdom of Mercia, containing the counties of Chester, Nottingham, Derby, Stafford, Salop, Northampton, Leicester, Lin coln, Huntingdon, Rutland, Warwick, Worcester, Oxford, Glou cester, Buckingham, Bedford, Hereford, and part of Hertford, was converted to Christianity by Finanus, Diuma, CeoUa, and Trum- here. (Bedae Hist. Eccles. lib. iii, cap. 17, & 21.) The kingdom of Northumberland, which contained York, Lancaster, and the north ern parts of England, and extended a considerable way into Scot land, was chiefly converted by Aidan. (Ibid. Ub. iii. cap. 3, 5, & 6.) Paulinus had been sent on this mission, by Justus of Canterbury, successor of Augustine ; but was soon obliged to retire : and Paganism resumed its sway, until Aidan arrived under happier auspices, and converted the nation. (Ibid. lib. ii. cap. 9, & 20.) — Essex, Middlesex, and Hertford were converted by Cedd, after they had relapsed into Paganism. (Ibid. lib. iii. cap. 22.) — The Picts BEDE'S CHARACTER OF AIDAN. 247 Among these ecclesiastics, Aidan, although he belongs more properly to the next generation, claims pecuUar attention. The account of him, as given by Bede, exhibits one of the best portraits of a British Christian, before the strong and simple lines of character were weakened and enervated by the refinements of Rome. " Among other instruc- " tions for life, he left the Clergy," says Bede^^ "a most salutary example of abstinence and con- " tinence. It was the highest commendation of " his doctrine, that it was in strict accordance " with what himself and his followers practised; for " he neither sought nor loved any thing of this " world, but deUghted in distributing immediately " among the poor whatever was given to him by " the kings or rich men of the world. He was " wont to travel, both town and country, on foot ; " never on horseback, unless compelled by some " urgent necessity : and wheresoever, in his way, he " saw any, either rich or poor, he invited them, if " infidels, to embrace the mystery of the Faith ; or, " if they were believers, endeavoured to strengthen Picts and Scots of Scotland were converted by Columba, the first Abbot, in the sixth century. (Ibid. lib. iii. cap. 4.) See Palmer's Orig. Liturg. chap. xii. sect. 1. vol. II. p. 250. C°) Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. cap. 5. 248 PIOUS CHARACTER. OF AIDAN, " them in their belief, and to stir them up, by words " and actions, to alms and good works. His course '' of life was so different from the slothfulness of " our times, that all those who bore him company, " whether they were shorn monks or laymen, were " employed in meditation ; that is, either in reading " the Scriptures or learning Psalms. This was " the daily employment of himself and all that " were with him, wheresoever they went : and if it " happened, which was but seldom, that he was " invited to eat with the King, he went with one or " two Clerks ; and, having taken a small repast, " made haste to begone with them, either to read " or write. At that time many religious men and " women, excited by his example, adopted the cus- " tom of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, until " the ninth hour, throughout the year; except " during the fifty days after Easter. He never " gave money to the powerful men of the world ; " but only meat, if he happened to entertain them : " and conversely, whatever gifts of money he re- •' ceived from the rich, he either distributed them, " as has been said, to the use of the poor, or be- " stowed them in ransoming such as had been " wrongfully sold for slaves. Moreover, he after- " wards made many of those he had ransomed his " disciples ; and, after teaching and instructing BY THE VENERABLE BEDE. 249 " them, advanced them to the order of the Priest- '' hood. " It is reported, that when King Oswald had " asked a Bishop of the Scots to administer the " word of Faith to himself and his nation, there was " first sent to him a person of more austere dispo- " sition ; who, meeting with no success, and being " unregarded by the English people, returned " home, and, in an assembly of the Elders, averred " that he had not been able to benefit the nation " to whom he had been sent to preach, because " they were uncivilized men, of a stubborn and " barbarous disposition. The Elders, as is testified, " in a great Council, seriously debated what was " to be done ; for they were anxious that the nation " should receive the salvation they demanded ; and " they grieved that they had not received the " preacher who had been sent unto them. Then " said Aidan, who was present in the Council, to " the Priest alluded to : 'I am of opinion. Brother, " that you were more severe to your unlearned " hearers than you ought to have been ; and did not " at first, conformably to the Apostolic rule, give " them the milk of more easy doctrine ; until, being " nourished by degrees with the word of God, they " should be capable of greater perfection, and be " able to practise God's sublimer precepts.' Having 250 AIDAN PREACHES TO KING OSWALD. " heard these words, all present began to weigh " them diligently ; and soon came to this conclusion, " that he who uttered them deserved to be made " a Bishop, and was a proper person to be sent to " instruct the incredulous and unlearned, inasmuch " as he evidently possessed that singular discretion " which is the parent of other virtues. Accord- " ingly, Aidan, being ordained, was sent by them to " their friend King Oswald, to preach ; and, as time " proved, manifested all other virtues beside the " prudence for which he was before remarkable." Such testimony to the virtues and piety of a Bri tish Ecclesiastic, who had no connection with the Church of Rome, does honour to the impartiality of Bede ; who plainly contrasts the zeal and energy of Aidan with the slothfulness that subsequently pre vailed among the Saxon Clergy. We have no means of deciding with minute accu racy upon the discipline generally adopted by the British Church with regard to Divine Worship. But as Iltutus, and several other of the most emi nent Ecclesiastics in Wales, were allied by blood to Germanus, we may reasonably suppose that they followed in his footsteps, from affection as well as from duty, and adhered to most of the practices of RITUAL OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 251 the GaUican Church ^^ That these practices dif fered considerably from those of the Church of Rome, we learn from Augustine's second question to Pope Gregory : " Whereas the Faith is one and " the same, why are there different customs in " different Churches ? and why is one custom of " Masses observed in the Holy Roman Church, and " another in the GaUican Church ?"*" Some portions of the Ritual of the Early British Church may be gleaned from Gildas and Bede. The former concludes a long address to the Clergy, composed chiefly of extracts from the Old and New Testament*^, with the following allusions to the Ordination Services : — " But why, in using these testimonies, here and there dispersed, are we any longer (as it were) tossed up and down in the silly boat of our simple understanding, on the waves of sundry interpreta tions ? We have now, therefore, at length thought C^) I have endeavoured to explain, in Chap. IX. Vol. II. pp. 149-163. the principal parts of which Divine Worship consisted in the GaUican Church. C) Bed. Hist. Eccles. Ub. i. cap. 27. (") Epist. Gild. §. 65.— §. 105. 252 PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL it necessary to have recourse to those Lessons which are gathered out of Holy Scriptures, to the end that they should not only be rehearsed, but also be assenting and assisting unto the benediction*^ wherewith the hands of Priests, and others of infe rior sacred orders, are first consecrated ; and that thereby they may continually be warned, never, by degenerating from their priestly dignity, to digress from the commandments which are faithfully con tained in the same ; so as it may be plain and apparent unto all, that everlasting torments are reserved for them, and that they are not priests or the servants of God, who do not with their utmost power follow and fulfil these instructions and pre cepts. Wherefore let us hear what the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter, hath signified about this so C') From this, and a passage which will presently occur, we gain a few hints upon the Ritual of the Early British Church, in regard to the consecration of its Priests. Concerning the usage of anointing the hands of the Priest with consecrated oil, see Martene, De Antiquis Eccl. Ritlbus, tom. ii. pp. 22, 23, 32, 36, 40,44, 46, &c. edit. Bassan. The two Lessons used upon the occasion by the British Church (namely, those taken from the First and Second Chapters of the First Epistle of St. Peter) are not the same as those prescribed by the Church of Rome. — Note in Stevenson's edition of Gildas, 1838. OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 253 weighty a matter, saying*^: 'Blessed be God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through His mercy hath regenerated us into the hope of eternal life by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance which can never corrupt, never wither, never be defiled, preserved in heaven for you, who are kept in the virtue of God.' Why, then, do ye fondly violate such an inheritance, which is not an earthly one, trans itory, but immortal and eternal ? And somewhat afterwards : ' For which cause be ye girded in the loins of your mind, sober, perfectly hoping in that grace which is offered to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ.' Examine ye now the depths of your hearts, whether ye be sober, and do perfectly pre serve the grace of priesthood, which shall be duly discussed and decided in the revelation of Our Lord. And again he saith : ' As children of the benediction, not configuring yourselves to those former desires of your ignorance, but according to him who hath called you holy, be ye also holy in all conversation. For which cause it is written. Be ye holy, because I am holy.' Which one of you (I pray) hath with his whole mind so pursued (^') 1 Pet.i.3, 13, 14, 22; ii. 1,9. 254 PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL sanctity, that he hath earnestly hastened, as much as in him lay, to fulfil the same ? But let us behold what in the Second Lesson of the same Apostle is contained : — ' My dearest,' saith he, ' sanctify your souls, for the obedience of the Faith, through the Spirit, in charity, in brotherhood, loving one another out of a true heart perpetually; as born, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, living and remaining for ever.' " These are truly the commandments of the Apo stle, and read, in the day of your ordination, to the end ye should invariably observe the same : but they are not fulfilled by you in discretion and judg ment ; nay, not so much as duly considered and understood. And afterwards : — ' Laying, therefore aside all malice, and all deceits and dissemblings, envy and detractions, as infants newly born, rea sonable and without guile, covet ye milk, that ye may thereby grow to salvation ; because our Lord is sweet.' Consider ye also in your minds, if these sayings which have sounded in your deaf ears have not often likewise been trodden by you under foot. And again : ' Ye truly are the chosen lineage, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the people for adoption, that ye may declare His virtues who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.' But truly by you are not only the virtues OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 255 of God not declared and made more glorious, but also through your wicked examples are they (by such as have not perfect belief) despised. You have perchance at the same time likewise heard what is read in the Lesson ofthe Acts** on this wise : ' Peter, arising in the midst of the Disciples, said : — Men and brethren, it is expedient that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost hath by the mouth of David foretold of Judas.' And a little after : ' This man therefore purchased a field, of the reward of iniquity.' This have ye heard with a careless or rather blockish heart, as though the reading thereof nothing at all appertained unto yourselves. What one of you (I pray you) doth not seek the field ofthe reward of iniquity? For Judas robbed and pillaged the purse ; and ye spoil and waste the sacred gifts and treasures of the Church, together with the souls of her children. He went to the Jews, to make a market of God ; — ye pass to the tyrants, and their father the Devil, that ye may despise Christ. He set to sale the Saviour of the world for thirty pence, and you do so even for one poor halfpenny. "What need many words? The example of Matthias** is apparently laid before you, for your O Acts i. 15, 18. 256 PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL confusion ; who was chosen into his place, not by his own proper will, but by the election of the holy Apostles, or rather the judgment of Christ : whereas ye, being blinded, do not perceive how far ye run astray from his merits, while ye fall wilfully and headlong into the manners and affection of Judas the traitor. It is therefore manifest, that he who wittingly from his heart termeth you Priests is not himself a true and worthy Christian. And now I will assuredly speak what I think. This repre hension might have been framed after a milder fashion : but what availeth it, to touch only with the hand, or dress with gentle ointment, that wound which with impostumation or stinking corruption is now grown so horrible, that it requireth the searing-iron, or the ordinary help of the fire, if happily by any means it may be cured ; the diseased in the mean while not seeking a medicine, and the physician much erring from a rightful remedy ? O ye enemies of God, and not Priests ! O ye traders of wickedness, and not Bishops ! O ye betrayers, and not successors of the holy Apostles ! O ye adversaries, and not servants of Christ ! Ye have certainly heard, at the least, the sound of the words which are in the Second Lesson*^ taken out (^0 1 Tim. iii. l,&c. The same passage formed the Lesson employed OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 257 ofthe Apostle St. Paul, although ye have no way observed the admonitions and virtue of them, but even as statues (that neither see nor hear) stood that day at the altar ; while both then, and continually since, he hath thundered in your ears, saying, ' Brethren, it is a faithful speech, and worthy of all acceptance.' He called it faithful and worthy ; but ye have despised it, as unfaithful and unworthy. ' If any man coveteth a bishopric, he desireth a good work.' Ye do mightily covet a bishopric, in respect of avarice ; but not for spiritual convenience, and for the good work which is suitable to the place, ye want it. ' It behoveth, therefore, such an one to be free from all cause of reprehension.' At this saying we have more need to shed tears than utter words ; for it is as much as if the Apostle had said, He ought to be of all others most free from occasion of rebuke. ' The husband of one wife,' which is likewise so condemned among us, as if that word had never proceeded from him ; — ' sober, wise :' yea, which of ye hath once desired to have these virtues engrafted in him, 'using hospitality.' For this, if perchance it hath been found among employed in the ordination of a Bishop " secundum Gallos." See Martene, tom.ii. p. 53 ; and also according to the " Mos Romanae Ecclesiae," ibid. p. 72. VOL. II. S 258 PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL you, yet being nevertheless rather done to purchase the favour of the people than to accomplish the commandment, it is of no avail Our Lord and Saviour saying thus, ' Verily, I say unto you, they have received their reward.' Moreover, 'A man adorned, not given to wine ; no fighter, but modest ; not contentious, not covetous.' O lamentable change ! O horrible contempt of the heavenly command ments ! And do ye not continually use the force of your words and actions for the overthrowing, or rather overwhelming of these, for whose defence and confirmation (if need had required) ye ought to have suffered pains, yea, and to have lost your very lives ? " But let us see what followeth : — ' Well govern ing (saith he) his house, having his children sub jected with all chastity.' Imperfect, therefore, is the chastity of the parents, if the children be not also endued with the same. But how shall it be, where neither the father, nor the son, depraved by the example of his evil parent, is found to be chaste ? ' But if any one knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he employ his care over the Church of God?' These are the words that, with apparent effects, should be made good and approved. ' Deacons** in like manner, that they C") The same passage was prescribed by the Ordo Romanus, as given by Martene, tom. ii. p. 30. OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 259 should be chaste, not double-tongued, not overgiven to much wine, not followers of filthy gain, having the mystery of Faith in a pre-conscience ; and let these also be first approved, and so let them admi nister, having no offence.' " And now, trembling truly to make any longer stay on these matters, I can, for a conclusion, affirm one thing certainly ; which is, that all these are changed into contrary actions ; insomuch, that Clerks (which not without grief of heart I here confess) are shameless and deceitful in their speeches, given to drinking, covetous of filthy lucre, having faith, or, to say more truly, unfaith fulness in an impure conscience, ministering not upon probation of their good works, but upon fore-knowledge of their evil actions ; and being thus defiled with innumerable offences, they are, notwithstanding, admitted unto the holy office. Ye have likewise heard on the same day (wherein ye should with far more right and reason have been drawn to prison or punishment, than preferred unto priesthood), when Our Lord demanded whom His Disciples supposed Him to be, how Peter answered*'', ' Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living («) Matt. xvi. 16, 17, 18. s2 260 PORTIONS OF THE RITUAL God ; ' and Our Lord, in respect of such his confes sion, said unto him, ' Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonas ; because flesh and blood have not re vealed it unto thee, but my Father, who is in heaven.' Peter therefore, instructed by God the Father, did rightly confess Christ ; but ye, being taught by the Devil, your father, do with your lewd actions wickedly deny our Saviour. It is said to the true Priest, ' Thou art Peter *\ and upon this rock will I build my Church :' but ye resembled ' the foolish man, who hath builded his house upon the sand :' and verily it is to be noted, that God joineth not in the workmanship with the unwise, when they build their house upon the deceitful un certainty of the sands, according unto that saying, ' They have made kings unto themselves, and not by me.' " Similarly, that which followeth soundeth in like sort, speaking thus: 'And the gates *^ of hell (whereby infernal sins are to be understood) shall not prevail.' But of your frail and deadly frame, mark what is pronounced : ' The floods came^", and the winds blew, and dashed upon that house ; and it fell, and great was the ruin thereof. («) Matt, xvi. 18. vu. 25, 26. (^5) Matt. xvi. 17. (™) Matt. vii. 25. OF THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH. 26 1 To Peter and his successors, Our Lord doth say, ' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.' But unto you : ' I knovr you not ; depart from me, all ye, workers of iniquity ;' that, being separated with the goats on the left hand, ye may together with them go into eternal fire. It is also promised unto every good Priest : ' Whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, shall be likewise loosed in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be, in like sort, bound in heaven.' But how shall ye loose any thing, that it may be loosed ^Iso in heaven ; since yourselves, for your sins, are severed from heaven, and hampered in the bands of your own heinous offences ; as Solomon saith, ' With the cords of his sins every one is tied ' ? And with what reason shall ye bind any thing on this earth, that above this world may be likewise bound, unless it be your only selves, who, entangled in your iniquities, are so detained on this earth, that ye cannot ascend into heaven, but, without your conversion unto Our Lord in this life, will fall down into the miserable prison of hell ^^ ? ' " (*') Epist. Gild. §.106— §. 109. In reading the severe reproofs here addressed to the British Clergy, it is requisite to bear in mind the character of the author of the epistle, as described in the former part of this chapter. 262 ANCIENT MANNER OF CONSECRATING The customs observed by the Northern, and pro bably by the Southern Britons, with regard to the consecration of monasteries and churches, appear to have been very different from those which were practised at Rome. Bede relates the following circumstances of Cedd ^^, a celebrated British bishop, who, although brought up in the Monastery of Lindisfarne, had come, at the request of the Saxons, to preach the Gospel among them : — " The same " man of God, whilst Bishop among the East " Saxons, was wont occasionally to visit his own " country, Northumberland, in order to make ex- " hortations to the people. Ethelwald, the son of " King Oswald, who reigned among the Deiri, " finding him a holy, wise, and good man, desired " him to accept a spot of ground upon which to " build a monastery, to which the king himself " might frequently resort, to offer his prayers and " hear the word ; and in which he might, after " death, be buried : for he believed that he should " receive much benefit from the prayers of those " who were to serve God in that place. The king (") Although Cedd lived in the seventh century, yet, as he was brought up entirely according to the institutions of the British Church, his life and conduct may serve to exemplify what the best Ministers ofthat Church were, anterior to the coming of Augustine. MONASTERIES AND CHURCHES IN BRITAIN. 263 " had before with him a brother ofthe same bishop, " Celin by name, a man equally devoted to God, " who, being a Presbyter, was accustomed to admi- " nister to him the words and the sacraments of " the Faith. It was by his means principally that " the king learnt to know and to love the bishop. " That prelate, therefore, by complying with the " king's desire, selected a place upon which to " build a monastery, among craggy and distant " mountains (which looked more like lurking-places " for robbers and wild beasts than fit habitations " for men), in order that, according to the prophecy " of Isaiah, ' In the habitation where dragons lay " might be grass with reeds and rushes ;' that is, " that the fruits of good works should spring up " where beasts before were wont to dwell, or men " to live after the manner of beasts. The man of " God, desiring first by prayer and fasting to purge " the place of its former pollution of wickedness, " and so to lay the foundations of the monastery, " requested the king that he might be allowed to " reside there all the approaching time of Lent, for " the purposes of prayer. During all the days of " this season, excepting on the Sundays, he fasted, " according to custom, until the evening ; and even " then took no sustenance, beside a little bread, an " egg, and some milk mixed with water. Such, he 264 MANNER OF CONSECRATING MONASTERIES. " said, was the custom of those from whom he had " learned the rules of discipline — they first conse- " crated to God, by prayer and fasting, the places " which they had newly obtained for founding a " monastery or church. There were ten days of " Lent still remaining, when Cedd was summoned " by a messenger to the king ; but that the sacred " work might not be discontinued on account ofthe " king's aflPairs, he desired his Presbyter, CynebiP^, " who was also his own brother, to complete that " which had so piously been begun. With this " request Cynebil readily complied ; and when the " exercise of fasting and prayer was completed, " Cedd built there a monastery, which is now called " Lestinghae^*, and established in it the religious " customs of Lindisfarne, where he had been edu- " cated. After he had held his bishopric for many " years in the aforesaid province, and, by appointing " superintendants, had conducted also the manage- " ment of this monastery, it happened that he " arrived at the monastery about the time of his " mortality, and, being taken with infirmity of (") Bede states the curious fact, that the four brothers, Cedd, Cynebil, Celin, and Ceadda, were all celebrated Presbyters ; two of whom, Cedd and Ceadda, became Bishops. C^) Supposed to be near Whitby in Yorkshire. NUNNERIES NOT YET ESTABLISHED. 265 " body, he died. He was at first buried without ; " but in process of time, when a church was built " of stone in the monastery in honour of the blessed " Mother of God, his body was laid within, at the " right side of the altar." ^^ While Monasteries thus began to multiply in various parts of Britain, no regular establishments as yet existed for female devotees. Many ladies, and others, were indeed consecrated to the ser vice of God by the highest ecclesiastical authority ; but they lived not away from their families ; and no Nunneries were erected in Wales until many (") Bed. Hist. Eccles. Ub. iu. cap. 23. " This mode of consecration was so different from that practised " in the Roman Church, that Bede thought proper to describe it " at length ; and, from the analogy of their situation, it may be " presumed that the practice of the Southern Britons was similar. " No Patron Saint is mentioned ; and the church of stone, in '' honour ofthe Virgin, was not built until after the death ofthe " original founder of the monastery. If the consecration of a " place depended upon the residence of a person of presumed " sanctity, who for a given time should perform certain religious " exercises upon the spot, it will at once appear how the Primitive " Christians of Wales were at first the founders, and afterwards, in " default of the usual mode of dedication, were considered to be " the Saints of the churches which bear their names." — Rees's Essay on the Welch Saittts, sect. iii. p. 61. 266 MANNER OF PERFORMING DIVINE SERVICE. generations after the period respecting which I am now writing. Within the monasteries. Divine Service was pro bably performed in Latin, as that language was learned and understood by the monks and students. But it must have been otherwise in the churches. Although there is reason to believe that no entire Welch version of the Scriptures at this period existed, the portions selected as Lessons must have been either read to the people in their native tongue, or so expounded as to be rendered per fectly intelligible to all. Choral Service probably constituted a material part of the devotion of the Britons. This appears from the circumstance, that the terms " College," " Congregation," and " Monastery," are rendered, in Welch, by Cor, "choir," and Bangor, "high choir." ^'^ That primitive plainness and simplicity of wor ship were still retained, at the arrival of Augustine, by the Britons and the Scots, may be inferred from the circumstance, that they were so shocked at what C^) Rees's Essay on the Welch Saints, sect. ix. p. 181. PRIMITIVE SIMPLICITY OF WORSHIP. 267 was introduced by that monk into the Saxon wor ship, that they looked upon it as no better than paganism ; and avoided, as Bede informs us% the communion of those who came from Rome to esta blish it, as they avoided the communion of pagans : nay, so great was the aversion that the Scots in particular bore to all the Roman Missionaries, that Daganus, a bishop of that nation, not only declined sitting with them at the same table, but would not lodge with them under the same roof •'^. (" ) The words of Bede are : " Quippe cum usque hodie moris " sit Brittonum, fidem religionemque Anglorum pro nihilo habere, " neque in aliquo eis magis communicare quam paganis." (Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. cap. 20.) " Scottos vero per Daganum Episcopum " in hanc, quam superius nominavimus, insulam, et Columbanum " Abbatem in Gallos venientem, nihil discrepare a Brittonibus, in " eorum conversatione didicimus. Nam Daganus Episcopus ad " nos veniens, non solum cibum nobiscum, sed nee in eodem " hospitio, quo vescebamur, sumere voluit." (Ibid. lib. ii. cap. 4.) C) Such conduct may in some measure be accounted for, by a reference to the instructions sent from Pope Gregory to Augus tine, in a Letter, of which a copy has been preserved by Bede ; in which, for instance, he directs him not to abolish, but sanctify, a particular ceremony of the Saxons, by changing the end for which it was instituted, and introducing it, thus sanctified, into the Chris tian Worship. " And whereas," he says, " they [the Saxons] have " been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, " some solemnity must be exchanged for them on this account ; as, " that 268 THE BRITONS CHARGED WITH NEGLECTING One of the heaviest charges brought by Bede^" against the British Christians consists in their not " that on the day of the dedication or the nativities of the holy " Martyrs, whose relics are there deposited, they may build them- " selves huts of the boughs of trees, about those churches which " have been turned to thai use from temples, and celebrate the " solemnity with religious feasting ; and no more offer beasts to " the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating, " and return thanks to the Giver of all things for their sustenance ; " to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly per- " mitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward " consolations of the grace of God." — Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. 30. See Bower's History of the Popes, vol. II. pp. 522-527. " The following passage from a Letter of Bishop Davies to " Archbishop Parker contains a very interesting record of the " sentiments of the British Church : — ' One notable story was in " the Chronicle ; howe, after the Saxons conquered, contynewall " warre remayned betwixt the Britayns (then inhabitauntes of the " realme) and the Saxons, the Brittayns beyng Christians, and the " Saxons pagans. As occasion served, they sometymes treated of " peace, and then mette together, and communed together, and " dyd eate and drynk together ; but after that, by the meanes of " Austen, the Saxons became Christianes in such sort, as Austen " had taught them, the Bryttayns wold not after that nether eate nor " drynke wyth them, nor yet salute them, bycause they corrupted " wyth superstition, ymages, and ydolatrie, the true religion of " Christe.' (19 Martu 1565. Richard Menevens. MS. cxiv. Art. " 175. Benet. Coll. Camb.)" — Bp. Burgess's Tracts on t/ie Origin and Independence of the Ancient British Church, &c. p. 57. C) " Among other most wicked actions, not to be expressed, " which THE CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 269 having exerted themselves to convert the Saxons. But this is not altogether reasonable. Ever since the period that Hengist took up arms against the people whom he professedly came to succour, the Britons and the Saxons had carried on against each other a war almost of extermination. Any over tures from the Britons, whether of a civil or reli gious nature, would have been received with great suspicion by their adversaries. The rage of con quest on the one side, and the desperate struggle for liberty and life on the other, had produced in both nations the feelings of the most deadly hatred. It would have been very difficult for the Britons to have made any serious religious impression upon the Saxons, even had they earnestly desired to do so. Their Missionaries, instead of being received with toleration or encouragement, would probably have instantly been put to death, as spies or dis guised assassins. It is true, however, that many Saxons must have been made prisoners and slaves by the Britons. The question of blame, therefore, appears to me to resolve itself into this — Not whether the Britons made any serious efforts to " which their own Historian, Gildas, mournfully takes notice of, " they added this, that they never preached the Faith to the Saxons " or English who dwelt amongst them." — Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. 22. 270 THE BRITONS CHARGED WITH NEGLECTING convert the Saxon people generally, but whether they availed themselves of the opportunity which conquest sometimes afforded them of inculcating the truths of Christianity into the prisoners who fell into their hands ? To this question I fear it must be answered, that they neglected such opportunities ; and thus failed to fulfil in the highest, that is in a religious sense, the precept of our Blessed Saviour, " I say unto you. Love your enemies." The success which, for the most part, attended the arms of the Saxons, would naturally, so long as it lasted, have a strong tendency to indispose them to exchange their pagan worship for the religion of the enemies whom they were continually van quishing. As has been justly observed, " a people " unpractised in sound argumentation, and unac- " quainted with true Religion, would hence infer " that its own deities were more kind, and probably " more powerful, also, than those of its opponents. " Vainly would Christianity solicit favourable notice " from such minds thus prepossessed. A consi- " derable change must be wrought in the whole " frame of a society like this, before it could be " gained over to calm reflection upon the reli- " gion of a people prostrate under its assaults. "No sooner had Providence effected such a THE CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 271 " change, than England, happily, could take full "advantage ofit^"." To trace the gradual and, at length, general re ception of Christianity by the Anglo-Saxons con sequent upon that change, falls not within the limits of the present work. The details of the Ecclesiastical History of that period have recently been collected from Anglo-Saxon sources in the volume above referred to"^; the author of which has also, in the Bampton Lectures of 1830,^^ investi gated the doctrines of the Anglo-Saxon Church, as they appear in the Homilies of .i^lfric and other monuments of Anglo-Saxon divinity. C") Soames's " Anglo-Saxon Church : its History, Revenues and General Character :" chap. i. pp. 38, 39. C ) See also Southey's " Book of the Church," chapters ii. iii. iv. (^^) " An Inquiry into the Doctrines of the Anglo-Saxon Church," in Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford. By Henry Soames, M.A. APPENDIX TO THE SECOND VOLUME. VOL. II. 275 APPENDIX, N° L (See p. 164.) MISSA S. GERMANI.' PRiEFATIO. Venerabilem diem atque sublimem, Fratres caris- simi, prompta devotione celebremus, misericordiam Domini nostri suppliciter exora,ntes, ut Beatissimi Germani Antistitis et Confessoris sui, cujus exempla miramur, etsi sequari factis ejus non possumus, saltern vestigia sequi, et fidem nobis contingat imitari . (') Bona apologises for the barbarous latinity and frequent blunders which, owing to the ignorance of the transcriber, are to be found in the above form. It was probably composed about the eighth century. " Scriptus fuit codex ab homine linguaB latinse " prorsus imperito, adeo enim misere depravatus est, ut vix ulla " Unea legatur sine mendis. Verborum errores, ut dilixi pro " dilexi, Antesles tuos pro Antistes tuus, et alios ejusdem generis " passim occurrentes, facile eraendavi: ubi autem sensus nutat, " nee verba cohaerent, nihil mutare volui, ne forte perperam divi- " nando longius a scopo aberrarem. Lectoris peritioris erit foedis " vulneribus a rudi scriptore inflictis medicam manum adhi- " here."— J?er. Lit. lib. i. cap. 12. T 2 276 APPENDIX, NO. I. COLLECTlO. Gratias tibi agimus Omnipotens Deus pro virtu tibus Beatissimi Germani Antistitis tui, quas ei Pater Omnipotens non immerito tribuisti, quia te Apostolica confessione rebus omnibus plus amavit ; discussit a se divitias, ut paupertate spiritus coelo- rum regna conscenderet ; mansuetudinem tenuit, ut terram sui corporis spiritualiter possideret: lugere delectatus est in sseculo, ut coelestem conso lationem ex muneris tui largitate perciperet : justi tiam esurivit atque sitivit, ut tuis saturaretur elo- quiis : eleemosynam jugiter fecit, ut indesinenter non tantiim sibi, sed et cseteris pietatis tuse miseri cordiam obtineret : puritatem cordis habuit, ut te videret : fidem servavit, ut filiis tuis fraterna se participatione conjungeret. Per cujus interventum precamur. fDesunt hie duce linem abrasce.^ POST NOMINA. Auditis nominibus offerentium indeficientem di- vinam clementiam deprecemur, ut has oblationes plebis, quas in honorem Beatissimi Germani Anti stitis et Confessoris offerimus [dee« '-• €^'J*'*^.''^>>I '^'r v.« Pil * X