|OBoCR.B -'^ir^^ ' yj^yf-^^tf-d ¦ /s^r- G y / i///CCcCr^: /9/C^^f,yr: C /m'yY (p-na^,^ > r^ /y/tJ CCU.'9>>,, ff Ar-^» ^{^ ( } , y^ -n-aJ Ji. 't.a^t^tt/CaeL-j'V LIVES OF ILLUSTRIOUS AND DISTINGUISHED lEISHMEN, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT PERIOD, ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, AND EMBODYING A HISTORY OP IRELAND IN THE LIVES OP IRISHMEN. HDITED BY JAMES WILLS, A.M.T.C.D., M.E.LA., Author of Letters on the Philosophy of Unbelief, &c,, Ac, Ac. EMBELLISHED BY A SERIES OE HIGHLY-FINISHED PORTRAITS, SELECTED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. AND ENGRAVED BY EMINENT ARTISTS. VOL. I. DUBLIN, EDINBURGH, AND LONDON: A. PULLARTON AND CO, 1847. KDINBURGH : FULLARTON AND CO., PRINTEKS, LEITH WALK. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. FIRST PERIOD PiOlI . no PiGE 35. St Kiaran, Historical Introduction, . 3 36. St Conloeth, 111 37. St^d, . . 112 1 ^POLITICAL SERIES. 38. Fridolinus Viator, 112 1. Hugony, . . 36 39. St Molna, . H3 2. Eochaidh Feidlioch, 37 40. StDagan, . 113 3. Tuathal, . 37 41. .^ngus Macnissius, . . 113 4. OilioU Glum, 41 42. Dima, or Diman, 114 5. Corraac, Monarcli, . 43 43. St Eunan, . IU 6. Fion, . 51 44. Columbkille, 114 7. Criomthan, . 54 45. St Columbanus, . 125 8. Niall of the Nine Hostages, 56 46. Frigidian, 129 9. Dathy, . . 58 47. Brendan, . 130 10. Laogaire, 59 48. Cogitosus, 130 11. OilioU Molt, . . 60 49. St Brendan, . . 130 12. Lughaigh, 60 50. St Ruadan, Abbot, 131 13. Mortough, 62 51. St Coemgall, . . 131 52. Eocboid, tbe Blind, 131 ir. ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITE 53. St Canuice, . 131 RARY SERIES. 54. St Munnu, . 132 Introduction, . 62 55. Laserian, . 133 14. Mansuetus, . 76 56. St Evin, 133 15. St Catuldus, . 77 57. St Gal), . . 133 16. PaUadius, . 77 58. St Aidan, 135 17. Pelagins, . 77 59. Finan, . 135 18. CelestiuB, 63 60. St Camin, . 136 19. St Patrick, . 84 61. O'Burechans, . . 136 20. Ailbe, . 98 62. MaUdulpb, . 137 21. Declan, 99 63. St Finian, . 137 22. Ibar, . 101 64. Fiacre, 139 23. Bridget, . . 101 66. Fursey, . . 139 24. St Finbar, . 104 66. Arbogast, 140 25. St Kerin, . 105 67. Aileran, . 141 26. Sedulius, 105 68. St Cumin of Connor, 142 27. St Binen, or Benignus, . 107 69. Cumin, . . 142 28. Jarlath, 107 70. Cumian, 142 29. Cormac of Ernaidhe, . 107 71. St Wiro, . 143 30. Diibtach L, . 108 72. Disibod, 144 31. Ailildl., . 108 73. St Rumold, . 144 32. Ailildll 108 74. Molibba, or Libba 145 33. StEdan, . 109 75. Aidan, Bishop, . 145 34. St Moling, . 109 76. Aropadan, Bishop, 146 VI CONTENTS. PAGE 77. Dungall Mac-Baithen, . 145 78. Albin, ... 146 79. Claude Clement, . . 147 80. Colman, . . . 147 81. St Cuthbert, . . 149 82. St Kilian, ... 150 83. Adamnanus, . . . 150 84. Maccuthenus, . . 151 85. Sedulius the Younger, . 152 86. Mneas, or jEngus, . 152 87. Fothadius, . . .153 SECOND PERIOD. Historical Introduction, 159 i political semes. 88. Aidan, Monarch, . 172 89. Conchobar, Monarch . 174 90. Feidlim, King of Cashel, 174 91. Turgesius, . . .175 92. The Monarch O'Meloghlin, 179 03. Aodh Finliath, Monarch . 183 94. Flan Siona, . 184 95. Cormac, King of Cashel, . 185 96. Niell Glundubb, . . 189 97. Anlaf, King of Dublin, . 189 98. Donogh, Monarch, . 193 99. Murkertach, the son of Niell, 194 100. Callachan, King of Cashel, 195 101. Congelach, Monarch, . 196 102. Domnal, . . 197 103. Bryan Boru, . . .197 104. Malachy, . . . 214 105. Donchad O'Brian, . 218 106. Tirlogb, or Tirdelvac, . 221 107. Dermot, King of Leinster, 222 ii ecclesiastical and lite- bart series. Introduction, . . . 223 108. Patrick, Abbot, . . 224 109. .ffingus. Abbot, . . 225 110. Modwenna, . . . 225 111. Tigemach, Abbot, . 226 112. Marianus Scotus, . . 227 113. St Colman, ... 227 MacLeag, Antiquary, Poet, and Physician, . . 228 Gilla-Coeman, Metrical An nalist, . . . 228 116. Dubdaletha, 117. Scotus — Erigena, 1 18. Macarius, 119. Virgilius, 120. Donat, or Dunan, 121. Patrick, 122. Donat O'Haingly, . 123. Samuel O'Haingly, THIRD PERIOD. Historical Introduction, 114. 115. I ^POLITICAX SERIES. 124. Dermod Macmurrogh, 125. Earl Strongbow, . 126. O'Ruark, Prince of Brefni 127. Maurice Fitz-Gerald, 128. Robert Fitz-Stephen, 129. Raymond le Gros, 130. Hervey de Monte Mariscoe, 131. Hugh de Lacy, 132. Donald O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, 133. Roderic, 134. Fitz-Adelra, 135. William de Braosa, 136. De Courcy, 139. Sir Armoric de St Law rence, 138. Hugh O'Niall of Tir Owen, 139. Meiler Fitz-Henry, 140. Cathal O'Conor, 141. Richard, Eari Marshall, 142. Hugh de Lacy, . 143. Richard de Burgo, 144. Maurice Fitz-Gerald, 1 45. Theobald Walter, . 146. Fedlim O'Conor, Prince of Connaught, 147. Walter de Burgo, . 148. Eari of Kildare, 149. Second Feidlim O'Conor, Prince of Connaught, . 160. Edmond, Lord Carrick, 151. Second Earl of Kildare, . 152. Sir John Birmingham, 1 53 . Maurice, First Eari of Des mond, 154. Sir Robert Savage, . PAGE 229 229 233 233 235235235 236 239 253 271 283 284 286 287293294 295 296 305 307 308 321 323 326 327 332 336 339 342 343 345347 350 354 355 356 356 362 368 CONTENTS 155. Richard de Burgo, Earl of PAGB 183. Ulster, 372 156. Arnold de la Poer, 373 184. 157. Mortough O'Brien, 375 158. Edmund de Burgo, . 375 185. 159. William de Burgo, Earl of Ulster, . . 376 186. 160. James, Second Earl of Or monde, . * . 378 187. 161. Maurice, Fourth Earl of Kil dare, .... 382 188. 162. Gerald, Fourth Earl of Des mond, .... 386 189. 163. Thomas, Sixth Eari of Des mond, 386 164. James, Seventh Earl of Des 190. mond, .... 388 165. Art M'Murchard, . 389 191. 166. Walter, Ninth Lord Louth, 393 192. 167. James, Fourth Earl of Or 193. monde, 393 168. John Cade, . 401 194. 169. James, Fifth Earl of Ormonde ,403 170. O'Conor, Chief of Offaly, . 403 195. 171. Thomas, Eighth Eari of Des mond, 404 196. 172. John, Sixth Eari of Ormonde 406 197. 173. Sir Ulick de Burgh, . 406 174. Thomas, Seventh Earl of 198. Kildare, 406 199. 175. Sir Christopher Plunket, . 407 200. 176. Gerald, Eighth Eari of Kildare, 408 177. Sir James Ormonde, 422 201. 178. Maurice, Tenth Earl of Des mond, .... 424 202. 179. Donald O'Donell, Chief of Tirconnell, 425 203. ISO. Hugh Roe O'Donell, . 426 204. 181. Gerald, Ninth Eari of Kil dare, .... 426 205. 182. Lord Thomas Fitz-Gerald, 440 James, Eleventh Earl of Des mond, . . . 452 Edward, Fourth Lord Dun- sany, . . . .453 Cormac M'Carthy, Lord of Muskerry, . . .453 Ulick de Burgh, First Earl of Clauricarde, . . 455 Pierce, Eighth Earl of Or monde, . . . 455 Con O'Niall, First Eari of Tyrone, . . 459 Murrough O'Brien, First Eari of Thomond, ^nd Baron Inchiquin, . . . 465 Bernard Fitz-Patrick, Second Baron of Upper Ossory, 468 Sir WilUam Brabazon, 470 James, Ninth Earl of Ormonde, 47 1 Richard, Viscount Mount- Garret, . . . 473 James, Fifteenth Earl of Desmond, . . 474 Maurice Fitz-Gerald, or Black Maurice, . . 476 Sir Anthony St Leger, 475 Gerald, Tenth Eari of Kil dare, .... 480 Sir Edmond Butler, . 485 Captain Richard Browne, 486 Thomas, Sixteenth Earl of Kerry, . . . 486 Robert, Fifth Lord Trira- leston, . . . 488 Richard, Second Earl of Clanricarde, . . 489 Donald O'Brien, . . 490 Henry, Twelfth Eari of Kil dare, . .491 Thomas, Tenth Earl of Or monde, . . . 491 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION TO FIRST PERIOD EXT ENDI NO FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES, TO THE DANISH INVASIONS IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF iiis(t(nguf08eD( Eri^Smm WHO FLOURISHED DURING THAT PERIOD. VOL. I. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION FIRST PERIOD. General Reasons for the Credibility of ancient Irish History — Inferences from Languages — From ancient Authority — From Monuments — Ancient state of Civilization. Many causes, of various degrees of importance, have contributed to render the history of Ireland difficult to the historian, and unpopular amongst the generality of readers. The remoteness and indistinct ness of its beginnings — ^tke legendary character of its traditions — ^the meagre and broken state of its more authentic annals — ^have not, as in other modern countries, been remedied or counteracted by the industry of the historian. The disputes of antiquaries, the extrava gant theories of some, the equally absurd scepticism of others, and the differences of opinion amongst all, have only produced the natural effect — ^in causing a strong reluctance to seek information on a ground in which few seemed to agree. As the nature of our undertaking, which comprises the long and varied range of all that has any preten- sion to be regarded as authentic in Irish biography, imposes the neces sity of commencing our labours in a period over which the lapse of ages has thrown much doubt, and not a little indistinctness, we can not better preface the first division of this work, than by the endeavour to satisfy our readers of the probability of the general truth of the ancient history of Ireland. The history of Ireland is marked by peculiarities whieh do not affect that of any other country. It comprises the remotest extremes of the social state; and sets at nought the ordinary laws of social transition and progress, during the long intervals between them. Operated on by a succession of external shocks, the internal advances, which form some part of all other history, have been wanting; and her broken and interrupted career, presents a dream-like* succes sion of capricious and seemingly unconnected changes, without order or progress. But let scepticism make all reasonable deductions on the score of doubtful record or perplexed chronology, and refine away all that is not too ponderous for its partial and one-sided grasp — ^here a tradition, and there a broken monument — stiU the country 4 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION retains, indelibly stamped and widely abounding, characters which cannot be explained according to the simplest rules of right reason, but by referring them to the remotest ages of antiqmty. The ™i^^- morial monuments— the ancient superstitions— the traditions descencled from the common antiquity of the oldest races of mankind— the living customs, and names of things and places traceable to these alone— the ancient language— the very population— are actual remains ot a state of things, which they as clearly represent, as the broad ioundations, the massive piUars, and the gigantic arches of some wide-spread rum attest the size and ancient proportions of the stately city of old time. To what precise point, in the scale of chronology, such indications are to be referred, we must leave to professional antiquaries to settle : our object is but to combat the vulgar prejudice against our ancient his tory, and the common errors which have caused it. It is our wish to refer the intelligent reader, from the detached questions on which the subject has been inadequately brought before him, to the more just and comprehensive result of its collective evidence. The investigation of each separate class of ancient remains, may lead to a vast variety of specious inferences; but the true probability, for the interpretation of each part, must be derived from its relation to the whole. When every single relic of our antiquity shall have been explained into something of more modern growth — ^probable conjecture will stiU con tinue to restore it to the massive combination of antiquities from which it is forced only for the moment of some fashionable creed, which gains popidarity from the splendid caprices of talent. There is indeed no cause which has more contributed to the popularity of scepticism, than the real and imagined extravagance of antiquarian theories: when a large demand is made upon our faith, any attempt to lighten the exaction wiU be hailed with cordiality. Among the popular impressions, unfavourable to the claim of our ancient history, the most prominent is due to the marked and clinging barbarism, which is the most characteristic feature of our middle ages. It seems difficult for incredulity to admit, that a race which, from the earliest period of the modem world — from the Danish settle ments to the very date of our immediate ancestors in the beginning of the last century — seems to have preserved the characters of national infancy, can possibly have the claims to a matui'e antiquity, which antiquaries, however their creeds may differ, agree in affirming. The fact is worth inquiry. Many of the causes of this anomalous combination of extremes lie on the surface. The fate of Ireland has been peculiar in this : that the same cause which partly contributed to her early civilization, was, in after times, the means of retarding her progress. We mean the circumstance of geographical position: more within the track of the Tyrian sail, than of the Roman eao-le, the same position which exposed her shores to the approach of ancient commerce, must, to some extent, have isolated this country from the sweeping and onward mutations of the rest of the world. The chances which, in earliest time, may have wafted to our coast such civUization as then existed, as they are beyond inquiry so they are not worth it : they are but a very obvious part of the course of things, and cannot reasonably be the ground of objection or doubt • TO FIRST PERIOD. .5 SO far, it is enough that such things were. Assuming that this island was peopled at an early period, it wUl nearly follow, that the first rudiments of social civilization must have been imported by any people who were then likely to find her shores : for the barbarism of after ages sprung on or from the ruins of anterior civilization. The next step is far more easy. While the neighbouring islands, in common with the nations of Europe, were repeatedly swept over by various races and hordes of either invaders or settlers — ^who desolated or usurped every country in proportion as it lay nearer the main line of social change, and thus involving every other land in the perpetual surge and eddy of this great human tide, brought on the barbarism obviously consequent on continued change and confusions-Ireland, comparatively sequestered from the inroads of change, long continued to maintain and cultivate the primitive arts and knowledge (whatever these were) transmitted by the parent country. To her peaceful shore the laws and religion, manners and customs, of some nation of antiquity, were brought; and when the neighbouring shores became the scenes of revolution and disorder, the same peaceful refuge received the kindred remains of many an ancient creed and family. Such literature as then existed, would probably soon begin to find its quiet centre, in the sequestered island; and, as the tumult of change began to settle among the neighbouring people, again to send forth on every side the light (such as it was) thus preserved. In all this there is nothing that is not an easy consequence from the whole known history of the ancient world. A theoretical consequence, we grant; but it loses this ques tionable character the moment we look on the facts of history, the memorials of tradition, and the monuments of the land. The very same fundamental fact will, by the same simple reasoning, account for the other phenomena which we have stated as opposed to this view. The same sequestered position which preserved the form and structure of early ages from the desolating current of univer sal change, that for some ages continued to bear away the broken ruins of antiquity in every other land; had, in the course of time, by the same means, the effect of shutting out those succeeding changes which were the steps of a new order of things. And while the sur rounding nations brightened, by slow degrees, into the spring of a new civilization — which, in point of fact, was but a step of human pro gress — the civilization of elder times became itself but a barbaric monument of earlier ages. In Ireland, it is true, the history of succes sive invasions may, on a slight view, he referred to as opposed to this opinion. But it is not by such visitations that the modern civilization of nations has grown ; but from the combination of a variety of com mon causes, all of them implying the continued and diffused action of change. A few adventurers might, with the advantage of Inconsider able resources, effect a settlement; but they cannot, under such cir cumstances, be imagined to have imported or communicated a compre hensive change of manners, religion, and laws. They could not even be said to represent their country's manners and learning ; they could not be supposed to obtain the necessary influence, or even the neces sary intercourse, with the natives; and though It might be anticipated that, in the course of a long period, their manners and customs would HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION be found to modify the national habits ; yet, before this could happen, their descendants would have largely contracted the character of the native population. The changes of European society, which together have contributed to form its modern state, were the numerous and successive shocks of war, invasion, subjugation, and the mingling minds, manners, and opinions of a hundred races, whirled together in the wide-extended and long-continued eddies of European change ; and their quantum of effect on any nation must have, in a great measure, depended on the freedom and constancy of its intercourse with aU the rest. The inter course of Europe with Ireland was very peculiar, and is likely to be overrated by those who have viewed it only with reference to church antiquity. But it was not an intercourse commonly productive of ex tensive change. It was such an intercourse as may be held with a college or a church. The learned came to imbibe the scanty and erroneous knowledge; and the religious, the pagan superstitions of their age. The sacred repository of ancient opinion was venerated as the fountain-head of sacred knowledge, until it became its tomb. But then, it was long left behind in the progress of nations, and lapsed into an obscurity bordering on oblivion. Such are the conditions of the strange problem, about the opposite terms of which learned men have consumed much ink, and unlearned shrewdness much misplaced ridicule. The impressions, from many causes, unfavourable to the fair recep tion of Irish antiquity, have been much aggravated by the imwarranta- ble omissions of some of our ablest historians. The observations of Dr Johnson, in his letter to Charles O'Connor, are worth repeating: " Dr Leland begins his history too late : the ages which deserve an exact inquiry, are those times (for such there were) when Ireland was the school of the West, the quiet habitation of sanctity and literature. If you could give a history, though imperfect, of the Irish nation, from its conversion to Christianity to the invasion from England, you would amplify knowledge with new views and new objects. Set about it therefore if you can: do what you can easily do without anxious exact ness. Lay the foundation, and leave the superstructure to posterity."* The antiquity of Ireland offers the most singular and instructive study, not merely to the systematizing antiquary, but to the general philoso pher and historian, who takes it up for the strong light it reflects on the common antiquity of nations. The limited object of this work will not permit of our discussing, at large, the vast and curious field of authority on this important subject. Still less can we afford space for the volumes of ingenious conflicting speculations, which have found a fertUe field of excursion m the obscurity of ancient monuments. Our concern with the subject has a limited purpose. The first persons with whom we are obliged to make our readers acquainted, stand far back within the shadow of antiquity; nor can we speali of them without drawing much of our matter from the history of a state of the countrv which may carry with it something more of the air of fabulous anti' quity, than a large proportion of our readers may think consistent with * Boswell's Johnson. TO FIRST PERIOD, 7 the sober simplicity, which we should willingly infuse throughout our pages, as the appropriate expression of historic truth. Much of the very common tone of scepticism which is manifested on the subject of Irish antiquity, is founded on that confined scope of mind, which is the general cause of scepticism In whatever form it appears. Some are involved in the difficulties which attend on partial views, and some are only difficult to convince, because they apply to the subject of Irish antiquity, a method of estimation which must equally reject all ancient history. The best resource against either of these errors, is, perhaps, to look attentively on the sum of evidence aris ing from the combined view of all the monuments and records of the past, to the careful exclusion of every system. The question will then stand thus : Whether there are or are not evidences of different kinds, by which the history of Ireland and its inhabitants can be traced back to a remote period, antecedent to any which belongs to the history of modern European nations? Such a question must, of course, involve in its detail all the special inquiries into the authenticity, or the im port, of each special record or alleged monument ; but when the whole is_^rst laid together in one comprehensive view, much of the difficulty and complication attendant on such inquiries is likely to disappear. For the value and import of each allegation must undergo some mo dification from the connexion it may be found to have with a system of facts and evidences. The evidence arising from a single fact may be too vague and obscure to support any inference; or inferences contrary to those required by a probable theory may, with seemingly greater force, be drawn. But a main probability, arising from a sum of facts, may not only exclude this contrary inference, but even con nect the seemingly hostile fact, with the reasoning it seemed to oppose, as the essential link of a chain of settled facts. It then not only receives an authentic stamp from this concurrence ; but it gives much additional force to the whole chain of inference, and still more to the ultimate conclusion to which they legitimately conduct. I'o state such a question, the testimonies of ancient authors, the traditions of the country, the customs and superstitions, the structure of the language, the names of places, and the monuments of the land, are the plainer and more tangible materials. To estimate these, there is no need for refined reasoning or ininute and subtle investigation. Whatever separate weight may be attached to a few sentences of an ancient classic — or to the fractured piUar, or rusted weapon — or doubt- ftd analogy of speech or custom; it will appear on the very surface, that there is a combination of phenomena, which belongs to the history of no other modern European land, and which, whatever may be it? solution, excludes at least the analogies of modern history : and next, that these phenomena are such as to fall within the common analogy of another more ancient order of things. The value of this simplification of the subject will be evident to those who have explored the voluminous range of writers, who have taken opposite views, in a field so fertile of controversy. There are indeed few subjects of human inquiry which have afforded more ample scope to the opposite errors of reason: the enthusiastic imagination, that beholds towers and temples, and the whole gorgeous moving scene of 8 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION human existence. In the distant clouds of ages receding into oblivion; the superficial but vivacious acuteness, that sees nothing but t^e atom on which the microscope of a small mind Is directed, and exhibits its petty Ingenuity, in reconciling, on false assumptions, the small portion which It comprehends, and denying the rest. The real importance ot such a method extends, indeed, far beyond the limited subject ot this dissertation; as it might be usefully extended to the erroneous school ot history which disgraces the literature of the age. A little impartial attention, thus directed to the subject oi ancient Irish history, would dissolve many intricate knots, m which some of our very best guides have now and then entangled themselves : of this we shall presently offer some instances. But it is time to descend into the particulars. Of our view it perhaps may be now unnecessary to pre mise, that It is our object merely to exhibit an outline of the subject. To do this with less embarrassment, we shall exclude the consideration of the separate facts and opinions to be adduced, further than in their relation to the whole. So far as we shall be obliged to transgress this rule in a few important points, we shaU take occasion to bring forward the statement of some authoritative writer. This wiU be the more neces sary, as a great portion of our readers cannot be presumed to be suffi ciently acquainted with our neglected history, to attach the proper weight to a merely general statement. The records, of whatever class, which agree in referring the origin of the Irish population to a remote antiquity, are the only distinct traces to be found of the early history of the country. A different course of events must have left other traditions. Again; in every nation to which there is a history, the beginnings of that history are distinctly traced on the authority of some authentic records — unless in those cases in which all historians are agreed in attributing an immemorial antiquity: to this class may be referred India, Egypt, Persia, &c. So far, therefore, it is plain enough, that the early history of Ireland is, until the contrary shall be shown, referrible to the latter class, and not to the former. The traditions of the country affirm an extreme antiquity — ^the existing remains of ancient time correspond to this affirmation — the testimonies of ancient writers incidentally con firm the same pretension — the language of the people is itself not only a monument of a remote and aboriginal antiquity, but indicates the very race affirmed by tradition — the remains of ancient superstition — ^the variety of names of places and things, with the old customs, reconcile able with ancient rites and superstitions, aud ha^ ing no reference to any thing within the compass of modern history: all these, when taken in their full force, have separately a nearly conclusive weight; and together, set all rational scepticism at defiance. The reader must here recollect, that, so far, the inference is not one in favour of any particular system of Irish antiquity; it is simply the afBi-matlon, that such a remote antiquity, as our historians claim. Is to be admitted, whether it can be distinctly ascertained or not. But when this point Is gained, it wIU be quickly observed by the inteUigent reasoner, that nothing remains worth the sceptic's disputing. If we admit the general assertion of au origin which must at all events synchronize ivltli the ancient races of mankind, there can be nothinjr TO FIRST PERIOD. 9 incredible in the conclusion which fixes any ancient race as the primal colonists of the land ; though there may be something absurd in the effort to arrive at inferences totally inconsistent with this general admission. In the best evidence to be derived from tradition, or accidental notice of historians, or any other ancient record or monument not fall ing within the scope of full historical consent, there must be some degree of doubt. The origin of such memorials is questionable, or their imputed antiquity doubtful. But the case of Irish antiquity is something different from one of forced constructions and isolated testimonies. It is a case, having all the evidence that it admits of, to establish an inference of itself previously probable; and not encumbered by the adverse circumstances of any other construction to be set in opposition. If the Irish race Is not to be deduced, according to the claims of its annalists and poets, it cannot be deduced in any other way. And the deduction of its annalists and poets, though vitiated by all sorts of extravag-ance, has yet a fundamental agreement with probability, which demands a general consent. The highest degree of historical evidence, it must be recollected, has only existence in our example, in which a mass of parallel and correspondent narrations and documents, published by contemporaries, are, from the very period, confirmed by institutions, vast social changes, multiplied and lasting controversies, and authenticated by numerous copies, and the still more numerous citations of a series of writers, reachLug down the whole interval ages. From this high ap proach to certainty, there is a descent through innumerable degrees of evidence, till we reach the legendary mixtures of fact and fable, which hang, with a cloudy indistinctness, about the twilight of barbaric tradition. But in all these lessening degrees, there is, to historic reason, a pervading thread of evidence of another order, and con sisting in the analogy of our nature, and that analogy which is to be extracted from the traditions of all nations. These considerations would lead us far from our direct purpose, which is, with the utmost brevity and simplicity In our power, to con nect them with the questions which have been raised upon the early history of Ireland. To these we shall now proceed. That all nations, of which the origin does not fall within the periods of modern history, have shown the natural disposition to claim a remote ancestry In, or beyond the earliest traditions of the human race, is a fact easily proved by an extensive induction. But It is also true that such pretensions must be within certain limits, agreeable to the general truth, which must so infer the origin of aU. It is not about the fact, hut about the authority and the particular account, that the objection can lie. Were we therefore to take up the extreme positions of those enthusiastic writers who have chosen to begin before the flood, it Is not on the score of possibility, or even probability, that we are fairly entitled to impeach their assertions. It is simply a question as to the authority for affirmations which are in themselves not unlikely to come near the truth. In opposition to this truth, the objections of the sceptic have been too much aimed at the conclusion, and too little at the statements of evidence on which it rests. This fact may be illustrated by an observation of Plowden's : " Not one of 10 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION those," writes Plowden, "who deny, or even question, the general authenticity of the ancient history of Ireland, from Gerald Barry to the Rev. James Gordon, has offered an objection to any one of their philological observations and inferences. Most of them profess, and aU of them are beUeved, to be ignorant of the Irish language." Language When it exists to a sufficient extent, there is no evidence so authoritative as language. The exploits of visionary philologists have communicated to sober persons a not unwarranted distrust in a science confused by so much ingenuity. But setting this apart, the distrust It can reflect on the simplest and clearest inferences which such investigations can afford, must be described as the opposite extreme of prejudice- It is universally allowed, that the Irish language has an origin beyond the period of authentic modern history : and this, to go no farther, settles, beyond dispute, the remote antiquity of the race to which It is peculiar, and lays a firm founda tion for the successive steps of inference by which that race can be more closely identified with the known races of antiquity. The affinity of this language with that of other people who are derived from the Celtic stock, and its entire freedom from analogous relations with the Roman, Greek, and other fundamental languages of the modern nations, guide, with unerring certainty, to the next generally admitted step — ^namely, the Celtic descent of the Irish. On this point, we believe, there now exists little, if any, difference of opinion, — and it needs not here be argued further, than by the state ment of the opinions of some of our most recent writers, who — having been expressly engaged In the study of the subject — ^have given their opinions on a fuU review of the best authorities. " There appears to be no doubt," says Mr Moore, "that the fitrst inhabitants of Ireland were derived from the same Celtic stock which supplied Gaul, Britain, and Spain, with their original population. Her language, and the numerous monuments she stIU retains of that most ancient superstition, which the first tribes who poured from Asia into Europe are known to have carried with them wherever they went, must sufficiently attest the true origin of her people. Whatever obscurity may hang round the history of the tribes that followed this first Eastern swarm, and however opinions may still vary, as to whether they were of the same, or of a different race, it seems at least certain, that the Celts were the first inhabitants of the Western parts of Europe ; and that, of the language of this most ancient people, the purest dialect now existing is the Irish." — Cab. Cyc. H^ist. Ire. i. From the same writer, whose work abounds with proofs of industry in the coUection of authorities, we shall offer another attestation to the same purport, which bears yet more immediately on the point to be here illustrated. " Abundant and various as are the monuments to which Ireland can point, as mute evidences of her antiquity, she boasts a yet more striking proof in the living language of her people, ^in that most genuine, if not only existing dialect, of the oldest of all European tongues — the tongue which, whatever name it may be called by ac cording to the various theories respecting it, whether Japhetan Cim merian, Pelasgic, or Celtic, is accounted most generaUy to have been the earliest brought from the East, by the Noachidce, and accordingly TO FIRST PERIOD. 11 to have been the vehicle of the first knowledge that dawned upon Europe. In the still written and spoken dialect of this primeval language, we possess a monument of the high antiquity of the people to whom it belongs, which no cavil can reach, nor any doubts disturb." Some of the curious and instructive authorities, with which Mr Moore has iUustrated these remarks, should not in justice be omit ted. One of these may appropriately lead to the notice of a curious discovery, which, it appears to us, that Mr Moore is inclined to under value on rather insufficient grounds. Two confirmations of the antiquity and Eastern origin of the Irish language, mentioned by antiquaries, are the gutturals with which it is so strongly characterized, and the singular coincidence by which its alphabet seems identified with that brought by Cadmus from Phoe nicia into Greece. On the latter of these points we shall be content to borrow a single quotation from Huddlestone, on the authority of Mr Moore. " If the Irish had cuUed or selected their alphabet from that of the Romans [an assumption by which this coincidence has been explained], how, or by what miracle, could they have hit on the iden tical letters which Cadmus brought from Phoenicia, and rejected aU the rest? Had they thrown the dice sixteen times, and turned up the same number every time, it would not have been so marveUous aa this." This identity (if it exist) cannot be due to chance. It must arise from the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet, or from the same language having suggested the same letters. The latter inference is absurd; but either must lead to the same conclusion. But the next point, of which this is valuable as a confirmation, is the real or supposed discovery of VaUancey, on the coincidence of the Irish language with some passages of an ancient unknown tongue, supposed to be the ancient Phoenician, and given as such in an ancient drama, the Pcenulus of Plautus. A coincidence so startling, is likely to awaken suspicion, and draw forth opposition in proportion to its value, as confirmatory of any historic inference. It is fair to preface it here by stating, that it is questioned by authoritative linguists and antiquaries: but we may add, that the objections which we have heard or read, are not conclusive enough to warrant our rejection of so important an illustration of our antiquity. The chief of these we shaU notice, but first we may state the facts. The Pcenulus of Plau tus contains about twenty-five lines of a foreign language, put by the dramatist into the mouth of Phoenicians ; but which has ever since continued to defy the research of etymologists. By a fortunate thought, the sagacity of VaUancey, or of his authority (for his claim to originality is doubted), hit upon a key to the difficulty. By attending to the vocal formations of these lines, they were found, without any transposition of sound, to be resolvable into words, ex hibiting but slight differences from the Irish language ; and by the comparison thus suggested, they were, by several persons, translated into a sense, such as the suppositions of the drama required. As the experiment was repeated, with the same result, on persons having no correspondence with each other, and ignorant of the nature of the trial, two very strong confirmations were thus obtained: one from the coincidence of the interpretations with each other, and the other 12 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION from the coincidence of all with the sense of the drama, and_ the trans lation given by Plautus. If this statement be true, we submit, that the case so made out, must set aside all objections. These coincidences, of which we shaU presently offer some satisfactory examples, are materially confirmed, by a fact which seems at first to bear the op posite construction. A sImUar comparison with the Hebrew is pro ductive of a result of the same nature, but with a far inferior degree of coincidence, both in sense and sound. With a specimen ot this we shall not need to detain the reader: the object of our noticing, is to point out, and stiU more to meet the prejudice, which it seems to raise against the argument. The direct inference in our favour is but slight — ^being the general confirmation of the affinity between the Irish and the Hebrew, an affinity by which it is, in a similar manner, connected with most other ancient Asiatic tongues. This has been dis tinctly traced by many writers, as well as by VaUancey, but our cursory purpose does not admit of entering Into so expansive a field of etymo logical learning. The fact may, however, conduce to an object which we cannot thus pass by — the explanation of the seeming objection which seems to arise from the possibility of thus resolving the same lines into different languages. It seems, on the mere statement, to give an arbitrary character to aU the interpretations, not reconcOeable with any distinct or certain Inference. But the objection, if admissible in its full force (which it is not), Is met by the near affinity of all the languages which can be so applied ; an affinity which may be indeed measured by the approach to coincidence in the third or common medium thus supposed. A moment's recoUection of the nature of language, as addressed to the ear and not the eye, wUl enable the reader to understand the proposition: that all language is a succes sion of sounds, not distinguished by the divisions of writing, or by any divisions in the nature of separation; but by syllables, distingmshed by a vocal formation, which compels the organs of speech to utter them in distinct articulations. Hence, if this be rightly understood, the formation of a supposed language, by an arbitrary division of letters, is Impossible. To effect this object, the division must be strictly syllabic, and admits of but the few and simple variations which belong to languages which have the closest affinity : aU possible divisions offer but one succession of syllabic sounds. But the supposed objection can scarcely be admitted to exist. The verses in the Pcsnula may he decomposed into Hebrew sounds, and translated, by some force on words, into a sense not inconsistent with the design of Plautus. But the Irish approaches to the near coinci dence of a dialect, and gives the fuU and accordant interpretation of the lines in Plautus, as translated In Plautlne Latin. But this Is not all: the same Inference is supported as clearly through the dialogue of a scene In the same play. We shall now offer specimens of both, beginning with the scene, as least commonly to be met with in the writers who have noticed the subject. In the second Scene of the fifth Act of the Pcenula, the following dialogue occurs : — * * Vallancfy's Culled,;uu':i, -vol. ii, 306, ct seq. TO FIRST PERIOD. 13 MiLP. Adibo hosce atque, appellabo Punice j Si respondebunt, Punice pergam loqui : Si non : tum ad horum mores linguam vertero. Quid ais tu? ecquid adhuc commeministi Punice? Ag. Nihil adepol, nam qui scire potui, die mihi Qui illinc sexennis perierim Karthagine ? Han. Pro di immortales ! plurimi ad hunc modum Periene pueri liberi Kartliagine. Mil. Quid ais tu ? Ag. Quid vis? Mil. Vin' appellem hunc Punice ? Ag. Anscis? Mil. Nullus me est hodie Pcenus Puaior. Ag. Adi atque appella, quid velit, quid venerit. Qui sit quojatis, unde sit : ne parseris. Mil. Ave! quojatis estis? aut quo ex oppido ? Han. Hanno MuthuinbaJle hi Cheatireanech, Irish. Hanno Muthumbal bi Chathar dreannad. I am Hauno Muthumbal, dwelling at Carthage. Passing over some remarkable coincidences of the same kind, we come to some which exhibit the remarkable fact, that Plautus, who borrowed the scene from an earlier drama, did not understand the language thus quoted, or seem aware how it applied to the direct pur pose of his dialogue. The Phoenician, it should be stated, is one who has been bereaved of his children : — Hanno. Laech la chananim liminiehot. Irish, Luach le cheannaighim Horn miochi. At any price I would purchase my children. The interpreter, in the drama, gives the foUowing explanation : — Ligulas canalis ait se advexisse et nuces ; &c. Ag. Mercator credo est. Han. ' Is am ar uinam :' Irish, Is am ar uinneam. This is the time for resolution. Han. Palum erga dectha ! Irish. Ba liom earga deacta. I will submit to the dictates of Heaven. One extract more we must not omit, as containing a coincidence of a, different kind, but not less important to another portion of this argument : — Han. Gun ebel Balseraeni ar a san. Irish Guna bil Bal-samen ar a son. O that the good Balsamen may favour them ! It would be easy, from the same source, to pursue these quotations with others leading to the same curious Inference. We must, however, content ourselves for the present with a few taken a little further on, which we give as usuaUy found in the essays written onthe subject: — Punic. Bythim mothym moelothii ne leathanti dioesmachon. As arranged by VaUancey: — Byth lym ! Mo thym nocto thii nel ech anti daise machon. Irish. Beith liom. Mothime noctaithe niel acanti daisic mac coine. English. Be with me : I have no other intention but of recovering my daughter. 14 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION The last we shaU give is literaUy coincident with the Irish:— Handone silli hanum bene, silli in mustine. ., . English, " Whenever she grants a favour, she grants it linked with mistortunes. The question here stated, and so far explained for the reader's de cision, was put to a test of the most rigid kind, by different inquirers, amongst whom Dr Percy, the celebrated bishop of Dromore, may be mentioned particularly. He mentions in the preface to his great work, that he set different persons to translate the lines m Plautus, by then- knowledge of the Irish language: and, without any previous prepara tion, or any communication with each other, they aU gave the same sense. Recent writers have treated this argument with undeserved slight. If the inference is to be rejected, aU reference to the class of proof to which it belongs must be rejected: and we must confess, that notwithstanding the great learning and ability with which his argu ment is foUowed out, we are surprised at an elaborate parallel between Irish and Hebrew, in a recent writer, who rejects, by compendious silence, a parallel so much more obvious and complete. But a writer of higher note demands the few remarks which we dare to add to this discussion, already grown beyond the measure of a prefatory essay. The coincidences which Mr Moore calls casual, are not such as to ad mit of a term which annihilates all the pretensions of the closest affi nities of language, and which violates also the demonstrative laws of probability : insomuch, that if, as Mr Moore afiirms, the admission of the inference proves too much, we very much fear that so much as it proves must be admitted, though it should discomfit a little political theory. The reasoning adopted by Mr Moore (who does not, we suspect, attach much real weight to it) can be reduced to a very easy dilemma. The objection is this : that the " close conformity" attempted to be established between the Irish and Phoenician, does not allow sufficiently for the changes which language must be supposed to un dergo in the six centuries between Plautus and the foundation of Car thage ; and also, that Ireland should not only have been colonized di rectly from Carthage, but have also retained the language unaltered through so many centuries. The actual principle on which the real weight of this objection hangs, is the assumption of the necessity of the continual and uniform alteration of language in the course of time. Now, there is either a considerable difference between the languages compared by VaUancey, or there is not. If there is so much as reduce the comparison merely to a casual resemblance, this portion of the objection falls, on the ground that such a difference Is a sufficient alteration for 600 years to have accomplished. If, on the contrary, there is so little difference as to answer the pm-pose of such an objection, it becomes altogether nugatory: if in this case the lines in Plautus be admitted as genuine, the Irish and Phoenician languages aj-e fhe same: and the doubtful chronology must give way to the settled fact. But, in point of fact, the comparison in question, while it clearly establishes the close relation of dialects of a common language, exhibits full altera tion enough for 600 years. The alterations of language are by no means proved to be uniform, but depend on many circumstances both in the character and history of a people. To estimate the law of change — and the change of language depends on all others requires TO FIRST PF.RIOD. 15 much power of abstracting the mind from the notions acquired in the recent order of things. The laws of social progression have, since the end of the 1 8th century, undergone an alteration which continues to baffle calculation. The extraordinary disruptions and revolutions of ancient empires must, In numberless instances, have produced the most rapid alterations in habits, religion, language: but there was no rate of internal progress in the domestic history of any ancient nation which demands more aUowance in the change of dialect, than is appa rent in the case under consideration. This consideration derives some added weight from one frequently noticed by Mr Moore : namely, the natural tenacity of the Celtic disposition — a tenacity which Is most remarkable in the Irish branch, and therefore probably in their Phoe nician kindred : being, in fact, one of the great common characteris tics of Oriental origin. In a word, on this point, we cannot admit that the question of time can be reasonably adopted as a criterion on this question. Of all the difficulties in the investigation of antiquity, those attending chronology are by far the greatest ; and, when certain other tests not very abundant are wanting, the most dependent upon the previous decision of a variety of questions and the comparison of a multitude of slight probabUities. Such difficulties as the uncertain chronology of periods and people, of which our knowledge is but in ferential and traditionary, cannot be suffered to interfere with the con clusions from the plainest affinity of language — preserved traditions — authenticated historical notices — and existing monuments. And if we are to be scrupulous in receiving the theories and systems of antiqua rian fancy, we are, in like manner, bound to be cautious not to err on the other extreme, by lightly suffering theory equaUy unfounded to form the ground of our scepticism. The theory of human progress, were it to be reasoned out from a comprehensive view of the history of mankind, should itself depend on the comparison of facts of this nature. The rate of national change is, in any period, only to be ascertained from phenomena, of which the language of each period is by far the most available and certain test; as being an instrument most immediately affected by aU the changes and peculiarities of na tionality. We are reluctant to dweU on a subject which, to most of our readers, can have little interest ; but we have also to remark, that the actual amount of change which the Phoenician language may have undergone in the 600 years supposed, is not to be measured by the language of poetry, proverb, or general moral sayings. To affect these there must be a rapid change of the moral character of a nation, and even thus the effects are comparatively slight, from the more per manent nature of moral notions. The changes to which the Phoe nician people were most, but stIU comparatively little subject, must have arisen from the intercourse of commerce and the increase of luxury: and chiefly acted on the names of things and the operations of art. It is to be remembered, that the greatest changes language can be ascertained to have undergone, were from a cause not connected with time, but violent interference. But we are transgressing our limits and our humbler province : we shaU now, as briefly as we can, lay before our readers the traditionary authorities, which derive much added weight from the above consideration. 16 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION Ancient Authority We should next offer a sketch of the ancient historic remains of Phoenicia, as from such a view might be drawn some of the most Important corroborations of the common interenoe of our Irish antiquaries In favour of the Phoenician colonization ot the country. But, anxious to preserve the brevity which should charac terize a discussion merely Incidental to our main design, we must be con tent to append the simple outline which a few sentences may contain. Historians are agreed in attributing to the Phoenicians the origin ot commerce and navigation; but It is enough that their history presents the earliest elements and first records of these great steps of ^uman progress. For ages, they had no rivals on the sea ; and as neighbour ing states rose into that degree of prosperity which extends to com mercial wants, the Phoenicians were stIU the carriers of other people. Situated on a rocky and confined tract of territory between Libanus and the sea, there was probably added to the enterprise of conunerce, that overflow of people which causes migration; and In direct cause of these conditions there arises a very high probability, that they would be the first discoverers, and the earliest colonists, of distant islands only accessible by the accident of navigation. As this previous pro bability is itself of a very high order, so any circumstances tending to confirm it, being in themselves but probable consequences, both re ceive from, and impart considerable strength to, the same conclusion. Of such a nature Is the affinity of language so fuUy proved in the last section. To this we may add the consent of tradition, and the agreement, to a certain extent, of authorities. On the latter topic we shall say little. There is satisfactory reason, why much stress cannot be justly laid on express historical authority — in either way. This period of the early occupation of Ireland by her Celtic inhabitants, and of her probable colonization from Phoenicia, is not properly within the limits of authentic history. Before the earliest of the Greek historians, to whom we are indebted for the first distinct notices of the island, a period of civilization and, perhaps, of commercial importance, had passed away. The power and glory of Phoenicia itself was gone — ^the relations of the civilized world and the form of cIvU society had changed: Ireland had passed mto a phase of obscurity, and was mentioned but incidentaUy, or as a remote and unimportant portion of the known world. Such notices must needs have been slight, and for the same reason liable both to important oversights and misstatements. This consideration must, to the fair reasoner, suggest a special rule of historical construction, which, before noticing these authorities, we must endeavour to explain. The assumption of the kind of ignorance here explained, suggests the Inference that such accounts, while founded on some remains of an authoritative nature then extant — but remote, obscm-e, imperfect, and neither fully known or distinctly understood — must necessarily he affected by consequent misrepresentations : and that therefore, allow ing a foundation in truth, they must be understood subject to the corrections to be derived from other soui-ces of Inference, and to he considered stIU as authoritative, so far as they can be confirmed by such a comparison. Into this comparison it is needless to enter formally : It is, when stated, so nearly the obvious common sense of the TO FIRST PERIOD. 17 subject, that the plainest reader may be safely left to apply it. Its main application is to account for the scanty notice of the early histo rians, who appear to have given so disproportionate an Importance to the surrounding countries ; and also for the existence of the adverse testimonies of Pomponius and Solinus, Strabo and DIodorus. Of these writers it may be observed, that the times In which they wrote, fall within a period in which the Irish nation had sunk both into bar barism and obscurity. It was also a period when the general Ignor ance which existed as to the greater portion of the world, exposed not only the geographer but the historian to the evils of credulity : where so much must have been received on trust, and so many false notions corrupted the little that was known ; there was both a facility in the reception of vague report, and the adoption of hasty inference on Insuffi cient grounds. The temptations to fiU up a blank of slight seeming im portance, in an anxious work of extensive and laborious Inquiry, would, in the absence of that minutely searching and jealous observation which now guards the integrity of writers, make such temptations less likely to be resisted. But even with these allowances, there is, pro perly, nothing in the authorities called adverse, to impair the moder ate view which we are Inclined to adopt. Our best authorities substantially concur in the opinion, that this country was, at a remote period, the scene of the highest civilization in that period existing. From this state It appears to have slowly decayed into a state of barbarism, in which little of that earlier civUization but its monuments remained. Of this, we must say more in our next section: we mention it here, as explaining more distinctly to readers who are not professedly conversant with the subject, the confusion which Is to be found In all that numerous class of writers, of the last century. In their Incidental notices of the subject of Irish antiquities. Assuredly the laws of human nature are sometimes over looked in the eagerness of controversy. The inconsistencies discov ered in the traditions of our ancient race, are admitted facts in the history of others. The very characteristic marks of extreme antiquity are made objections to the claim. Ancient civilization, altogether different from that of any time within the limits of modern history. Is uniformly stamped with features to which may be applied the expres sive term barbaric — conveying a sense different from the rudeness of the savage state. Characters of profound knowledge, high mental development, and mechanic skill, are accompanied by wants and manners now confined to the savage state. And thus may the scepti cal inquirer always find materials ready for the manufacture of easy contradictions. With regard to Ireland, the vicissitudes of many centuries have brought with them sad reverse. And the downright barbarism into which she has been crushed by a succession of dreadful revolutions — the ceaseless vortex of Internal strife- — have been mistaken by shallow observers for national characters. This is among the large class who take no interest in the history of Ireland — the main source of mistake upon the subject: they see, but do not learn or think; and therefore see but half, and are presumptuously or ignorantly wrong. It is unquestionably to be admitted, that much of the common scep- VOL. I. B 18 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION ticism, which we have here noticed. Is due to the extravagance of writers on Irish history, who, combining enthusiasm with profound historical ignorance, have misinterpreted the proofs of Irish civilization, into a degree and kind of civilization which never had existence ; confusing the additions of poetry and the dreams of fancy, with the slender basis of fact on which they are built. Such are the gorgeous chimeras which ornament and discredit the narrations of Walker, Keating, O'HaUoran; A^¦lllle Ledwich and Pinkerton, with more seem ing reason, but less truth, adopt the safe and easy rule of comprehen sive incredulity. But there Is a juster and safer middle course which wiU be found to exact neither rash admissions or rejections. It sets out on two well- grounded conclusions, Into which the strongest oppositions of fact wIU faU, disarmed of their opposition. The first, thus already explained : the admission of a previous period of civilization, followed by one oi barbarism ; the other, a known fact common to the ancient history of nations, the co-existence of high degrees of civilization in some respects, with the lowest barbarism in others. With the help of these two plain assumptions, there is nothing in the aUeged antiquity of Ireland to be objected to on the score of improbabUIty. By duly weighing these reflections, we have some trust that the general reader will not be repelled from the subject, by the reputed discrepancies and confu sion of old historians. The effort to fill up a period of hopeless obscurity, by extending back the vague and traditionary accounts of the more recent period, immediately anterior to Christianity, has been, we believe, a main source of error and delusion, on which, at a future stage of our labour, we shall offer a few remarks. The earliest notice, which the industry of students of Irish antiquity seem to have ascertained, occurs in a Greek poem, of which the supposed date is five hundred years before the Christian era. " There seems," observes Mr Moore, " to be no good reason to doubt the antiquity of this poem." Archbishop Usher says, in adverting to the notice It contains of Ireland, " the Romans themselves could not pro duce such a tribute to their antiquity." In this poem, Ireland is mentioned under the Celtic appellation lernis ; and this, according to Bochart, on the authority of the Phoenicians — as the Greeks had not then acquired a knowledge of islands as yet Inaccessible to them. This assertion derives some added weight from the omission of any notice, in the same poem, of the neighbouring Island of Britain. He rodotus affords an additional gleam, by Informing us of the only fact he knew respecting the British isles— that tin was imjDorted from them ; while he was Ignorant of their names. From these two notices, it seems an easy inference, that they were places of high commercial importance to the great mistress of the seas ; while the Greeks, ignorant at that time of navigation, had no popular, or even distinct knowledo-e of them ; and the more so, from the well known secrecy observed by the Phoenicians, In aU things concerning their commercial places of resort. From Strabo we obtain a lively picture, which bears the marks of truth, of their jealous vigilance In preserving a naval supremacy, which must, in those early periods, have depended. In a great measure, on the ignorance of the surrounding states. If at any time, when at sea, TO FIRST PERIOD. 19 they fell in with the vessels of any other people, or discovered a sail upon their track, all the resources of art and daring were used to de ceive the stranger, and mislead conjecture. For this purpose, no danger or violence was too great, and the loss of ship or life was not considered too great a sacrifice to the security of their monopoly of the islands. From this it appears unlikely that much, or very distinct notice of the British isles should occur in the early writings of the Greeks ; and the value of the slightest is much increased, by the con sideration, that more could not reasonably be looked for. The first of these notices of the two islands, is met in a work which has been sometimes attributed to Aristotle, but which, being dedicated to Alexander, is of that period. In this they are mentioned by their Celtic names of Albion and leme. A notice far more express occurs in a writer of far later date ; yet, bearingthe authentic stamp of authority of a period comparatively early. At some time between the ninety-second and hundred and twenty- ninth Olympiad, the Carthaginians sent out two maritime expeditions to explore, more minutely, the eastern and western coasts of the world, as then known to them. Of these, that led by Himilco was directed to the Western Islands. Both of these voyagers left accounts of then- voyages and discoveries, of which those written by Himilco were in serted in the Punic Annals. From these Festus Avienus, who wrote his poem, De Oris Maritimis, some time in the fourth century, affirms himself to have derived his accounts of the western coasts ; and, in deed, asserts an acquaintance with the original Journal. In this account, HimUco is described as coasting the Spanish shores — ^the known Phoenician course to these islands; and stretching from the nearest point across to the jEestrumnides, or SeiUy Islands. These are described, in the sketch of the geographical poet, as two days' voyage from the larger Sacred Island of the Hiberni, near which the island of the Albiones lies. Ast hinc duobus in sacram sic Insulam Dixere prisci, solibus cursus rati est. Haec inter undas multum cespitem jacit Eamque late gens Hibenorum colit Propinqua rursus insula Albionum patet. — Tartesiisque in terminos jEstrumnidum Negociandi mos erat, Carthaginis Etiam colonis, et valgus inter Herculis Agitans columnas haec adibaut aequora. Avienus, De Or. Afar. In this ancient poem, which has all the authority which can be attributed to the ancient records of the annalists of any country, the description of the place, the colonists, and the ancient trade — the Sacred Island — its natives, with their manners, customs, and the peculiarities of soil and climate — are traced with a truth which vindi cates the genuineness of the authority. The intercourse of the Phoeni cian colonies of Spain is marked with equal distinctness. It has been, from considerations in no way recondite, proved by Heeren, that Ptolemy's geographical work, must have been derived from Phoenician or Tyrian authorities.* It proves a knowledge of Ireland ' The fact appears from Ptolemy, who refers to Maximus Tyrius. 20 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION more minute and early than that of the other British isles. For whUe his accounts are vitiated by numerous topographical errors in describing these, his description of Ireland, on the contrary, has the minuteness and accuracy of au elaborate personal survey. This, considering that Ireland was at this period unknown within the bounds of the Roman Empire, plainly shows the ancient as weU as the intimate character of his authority. This observation seems confirmed also by the peculiarity of giving the old Celtic names to the localities of Ireland, while Britain is described by the Roman names of places. Another .ancient geographer* states, that in the earlier periods of Phoenician commerce, the western promontories of Europe were distinguished by three sacred pillars, and known by ancient religious Celtic names. To these must be added the weU-known testimony of Tacitus. In his Life of Agricola, mentioning the conquest of Britain, he describes it by its position opposite the coast of Hibernia. Describing the latter, he mentions its position: " Medio inter Brltanniam atque Hispaniam sita, et Galileo quoque marl opportuna, valentissimam imperii partem magnis nobllem usibus miscuerit Solum cseclumque, et ingenia cultusque hominum, baud multum a Britannia differunt : Meli^us aditus portusque per commercia et negociatores cogniti." The force of the last sentence has been attempted to be removed, by referring the word melius to the former clause of the sentence. The correction has been justly rejected on consideration of style; it is stUl more ob jectionable, as it would destroy a sense confirmed by other authority, for one at variance with aU; and, also, in some measure inconsistent with the context of the historian, who begins his paragraph by the emphatic description of the new conquest : " Nave prima transgressus, ignotas ad id tempus gentes." It is indeed quite evident, that there is a distinct and designed opposition between the two descriptive sen tences, of which the latter has a reference to the former. The roads and ports, better known by commercial intercourse and to merchants, is altogether, and even strikingly at variance with the nations un known till then. And the correction supposes a vagueness of style inconsistent with the known character of the writer. We cannot. In this discourse, dweU at greater length on a topic capable of much extension, and have confined oui- notice to the more generaUy known writers. We think, however, that it Is quite suffi ciently conclusive, that there was an early intercourse between Phoe nician traders and Ireland; that there may also have been at some period, of which the time cannot be distinctly ascertained, a Phoenician colony settled In the island ; by whom, it is In a high degree probable, the Phoenician language, letters, and religious rites, were introduced. These we state as moderate inferences, from the authorities exempli fied in this section. Most of them, however, are more conclusively inferred from other considerations. Sanchoniathon, a reputed Phoenician historian, the supposed remains of whose history are preserved by Euseblus, furnishes an account of the early superstitions of the Phoenicians, which, by comparison, mani fest remarkable coincidences with those which can be traced to the • Strabo. TO FIRST PERIOD. 21 heathen antiquity of Ireland. This work rests, however, on doubtful grounds ; inasmuch as it is, by some learned writers, supposed to he the forgery of Philo BybUus, its alleged translator from the Phoenician original. This is therefore the point of importance. The nature and value of the testimony to be derived from it, scEircely warrant a minute and critical re-examination of the question: but we may state the reasons on which it has been thought proper to set aside even this quantum of our argument. The absence of aU previous notice of a work, affirmed to be written before the Trojan war, untU its transla tion by PhUo Byblius, seems to discredit the assertion of its previous existence ; and this the more, as it seems only to have been brought to light, by the only testimony we have for it, for the purpose of sup plying an argument against Christianity. These reasons are of no weight : the obscurity of a Phoenician mythological work, in the time of Philo, was too likely a circumstance to be made an objection of; and the supposed argument is obliged to be given up, as unsustained by his authority, by the acute Porphyry. The errors which have been detected in the chronology, amount to no vaUd objection to the genuineness of the work. StiUIngfleet, who exposes them with much learning and acuteness, does not think so. A copy of Sanchoniathon's work is said to have been recently discovered in Germany, and IS now in process of translation.* The worship and early religious opinions of the Phoenicians, as described by this author, so nearly resemble the ancient superstitions of the heathen Irish, that the attention of antiquaries was drawn to the subject, by the points of resemblance, before actual investigation confirmed the conjecture of their original causes of the resemblance. The worship of Baal may be considered as a sufficiently authentic character of both, not, indeed, resting on the authority of any doubtful writer. The Phoenicians worshipped the sun under this name, and celebrated the vigil of their annual festival by kindling a great fire : the same custom is famUIar to every one, who knows the country, as an Irish custom. Dr Par sons, who describes it with the accuracy of an antiquary, observes, " In Ireland, the 1st of May is observed with great rejoicings by aU those original people through the kingdom ; and they caU May-day Bealtine, Beltine, or Balteine, the meaning of which Is, " the fire of Baal." Mr Plowden observes, that the " analogies and coincidences" between the stUl existing customs of the Irish, and the history of Sanchoniathon, are very striking; and, we would here observe, in addition to our previous remarks on the genuineness of that ancient writer, that as it could not have been forged for the purpose of this comparison, such coincidences are, to a certain extent, confirmatory of its authority; and, at aU events, indicate a common fountain of authentic tradition from which the history of the ancient Phoenician worship must have been' drawn. The Old Testament may have supplied an accurate outline, but no more. It can scarcely be supposed to supply a clue to details which are so faithfuUy reflected in the existing customs of the Irish people. The sun and moon were, it appears, worshipped under the appellations of Bel and Samhin; and O'HaUoran has observed, ' Eeport of Proceedings in the Koyid Irish Academy. 22 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION that the most cordial wish of blessing among the Irish peasantry is, " The blessing of Samen and Bel be with you." The Latin translator of Euseblus, remarks on the Phoenician word Bel Samen, that Baal Schamain among the Hebrews has the same signification ; and Plow den remarks also, that In the Punic lines, to which we have already referred, this famUiar Invocation of the great deity of the Phcenicians twice occurs. Plutarch mentions an island in the neighbourhood of Britain, in habited by a holy race of people. DIodorus Is more particular : he describes an island over against Gaul, which answers to the descrip tion of Ireland, both as to position and extent, as weU as the habits and peculiarities of its people. " This island," he says, " was dis covered by the Phoenicians, by an accidental circumstance ;" and adds, " the Phoenicians, from the very remotest times, made repeated voyages thither, for purposes of commerce."* He also mentions the rites of sun-worship, the round temples, the study of the heavens, and the harp. These particulars, Mr Moore thinks, he may possibly have learned from the occasional report of Phoenician merchants ; while he is at the same time lucliued to rank the hyperborean Island of the historian, along with his island of Panchea, and other such fabulous marvels. There is, we admit, ground for this. But even allowing for the fictitious colouring, which so largely qualifies the statements of this historian, we are on our part inclined to estimate them by a principle, which, from the extent of its application, cannot be lost sight without mistake: the value which separate testimonies derive from their concurrence with universal consent. The fanciful colouring of the writer is, in the class of cases here supposed. Invariably grounded on some origin in reaUty. To draw the line between the fancy and the fact, might be impossible ; but the object is here different : our immediate argument does not require the minute estimation of the writer's character, and the confir mation of every portion of his statement. Even the scenery and out line of a fable may be confirmatory or iUustrative of the localities and incidents of history; and, if the coincidence be sufficient, become historical. The account of DIodorus, offered as history, has the suffi cient value of accordance with various notices and testimonies ; and is to be regarded as an Indication of a received opinion, not in the slightest degree impaired by the author's known lubricity of statement. In the investigation of traditionary periods, no single statement can be received as historically authentic. The object is rather of the nature of that process which fixes a point, by the concurrence of the lines which pass through it. The concurrence is the principal ground of inference. It is, indeed, on the same principle, that to interpret justly the remains of Irish antiquity, it becomes necessary to enlarge the student's scope of investigation to the view of aU antiquity. The confident theory which stands upon a smaU basis of a few remote and isolated facts, may be destroyed by the discovery of a single new in cident ; and is depreciated by inferences, numerous in an inverse pro portion to the number of these data. It is not until the truth is recog- ' Quoted from Dalton's Essay. TO FIRST PERIOD. 23 nised, that the antiquity of Ireland is a fragment of universal anti quity, or utterly fallacious, that a cathoUc principle of historic inter pretation can be found to govern investigation, and put an end to the thousand errors of partial views and inadequate inductions. The reader, who appreciates the state of Irish ancient history, wiU easily excuse our dweUing minutely on this consideration — in our history so much more important than in that of any other modem state. Of the ancient idolatry of the sun in Ireland, we have already noticed some proofs. The festival of Samhin, one of the great divinities, whose worship is said to have been imported into Phoenicia from Samothrace, Is clearly ascertained to have existed in Ireland, until the very introduction of Christianity. Strabo, on the authority of some ancient geographers, mentions an island near Britain, in which worship is offered to Ceres and Proserpine, like to that in Samothrace. But the reader, who may chance to be aware of the vast ocean of antiquarian learning into which this branch of the argument must needs lead, will see the necessity of our being summary in our notice of authorities. Among the numerous indirect authorities which, by their descriptions of the ancient religions of Eastern nations, enable us to pursue the comparison of these with our own antiquity, the features of comparison too often demand extensive discussion, and the application of critical learning, to faU in with the popular discussion. Sanchoniathon, Hero dotus, and many other ancient names of the earUest geographers and historians, enable the industrious antiquary to coUect the real features of Oriental antiquity. In the application of their authorities, there are, it is true, some difficulties, arising from the fact of the common anti quity of so many early races. From this, some differences between the ablest writers', and not a Uttle uncertainty has arisen : the reader is at first not a Uttle confused by conjectures which appear to be dif ferent, whUe they are substantially the same; that is, so far as any question of the least importance is concerned. All agree in tracing to an early Oriental origin, names, customs, and superstitions, distinctly, and beyond all question. Identified with the names, language, and local remains of Irish antiquity. The evidence becomes more reaUy important, as less liable to various or opposing comment, when traced in the actual remains of the ancient native literature. Of this we do not feel it necessary to say much here : it must be sufficient for the purpose, to say that it is now ad mitted to exist to a large extent ; and the genuineness of the most considerable part is not questioned. From these, our ancient history has been compiled by Keating, in a work which has been much, though undeservedly, discredited, by the mistakes and interpolations of its translator. Of this VaUancey says, " Many of these MS. were coUected into one volume, written in the Irish language, by Father Jeoff Keat ing. A translation of this work into English appeared many years ago, under the title of Keating' s History of Ireland. The translator, entirely ignorant of ancient geography, has given this history an Eng lish dress, so ridiculous, as to become the laughing-stock of every reader !" To this, amongst other such causes, may be attributed the long unpopularity and the scepticism, now beginning to disappear. The whole of these ancient materials correspond distinctly with the 24 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION ancient annals of Phoenicia, "translated out of the books of king Hiempsal's library for Sallust;" they agree with the ancient Armenian history compUed by a writer of the fifth century; and with many other ancient traditions and histories of the several nations having a com mon affinity. But, what is more, they contain the most distinct de tails of the early migrations and history of many of these tribes now extant. Such is a slight sketch of a class of facts, which the reader, who looks for distinct detail, will find amply discussed in numerous writers. We only here desire to enforce the general probability in favour of those writers, who, abandoning partial views, and taking the general ground of historic principle, have adopted the more ancient view of the origin of our native Irish race. The most probable illustration of the text of ancient -wTiters, is then- coincidence with the whole current of our national traditions; the more valuable, because it is easy to perceive that such a coincidence is altogether undesigned. The whole of these, again, is confirmed by the remains of antiquity, which are thickly scattered through every district. These last mentioned indications are indeed curiously mingled, and present, at first view, a vast confusion of national monuments and characteristics. But this confusion is not greater than, or in any way different from, that of the varying traditions of our earlier ages. Both are consistently and satisfactorily explained in one way, and in no other. The accidental allusions of ancient foreign writers — ^the monuments of various and unlike races — the traditions bearing the stamp of customs and superstitions of different ancient type, — are all the evident and distinct confirmations of a traditionary history, which records the several invasions, settlements, changes, and incidents of national intercourse, from which these indications might be inferred as the necessary consequences. Now, if such an extended and various adaptation does not amount to a proof of the general correctness of the ancient history, which our soundest antiquarian vn-Iters have in ferred from it, the sceptical writer may lay aside any degree of rea soning, inference, or apparent facts, which he pretends to possess, as a worthless instrument and useless materials. Not to enter into any premature detaU, it is probable that the ffi-st race of the ancient Celtic stock, retaining the more recent customs, worship, and characters of Oriental antiquity, sooner or later (we are only speaking of antecedent probability) received a fresh infusion of Celtic blood, which had flowed farther from the primitive source; thus adding, to the more ancient form of paganism, the more recent characters of a more advanced and more corrupt Idolatry. Other colonies, at farther stages, brought the changes and left the monu ments of ages and climates far separated from the first. But these changes were, for the most part, melted down into the prevaUing tone of nationality, preserved by the primitive population, which stiU con stituted the main body of the inhabitants; and whose native peculi arities of character gave one national impress to the whole. Such is the view to be deduced from the compai-Ison of indications, previous to any consideration of national tradition. Before leaving this point, it should be observed, that it is an iraportant addition to the value of TO FIRST PERIOD. 25 the chains of coincidence thus explained, that they are all distinctive, being exclusively characteristic of Irish history, and cannot therefore be resolved by any general theories on the antiquity of modern Euro pean nations. Antiquities. — Let us now offer a few examples, taken from among the best known antiquities of the country, to give the reader a dis tinct idea of the materials for the latter part of this comparison. The reader whose curiosity Is sufficiently active, may find ample information in recent and authoritative works ; and every day Is now adding to the abundance and distinctness of this information, under the active and able investigations of the Ordnance Survey, and the anti quarian department of the Royal Irish Academy. The Rath, the Cromlech, the Cairn, the RocTcing-Stone, with various remains of ancient weapons, utensils, and Implements, offer abundant Indications of a far distant period in the antiquity of the human race. Of these, many can be traced to other ancient nations, and these for the most part the same to which tradition assigns the origin of some or other of the races by which Ireland was anciently colonized. At a sitting of the Royal Irish Academy, 9th April, 1838, a letter from Dr Hibbert Ware* was read, describing a Cromlech near Bombay, in India, dis covered by his son. As two very clever sketches accompany this letter, the slightest inspection is sufficient to Identify these Indian remains, in character and intent, 'vidth the numerous similar ones Id every district of this island. The same letter adverts to Maundrel's simUar discovery on the " Syrian coast, in the very region of the Phoeni cians themselves." At a previous meeting of the same learned body, February 26, a very curious and interesting account was given by Mr Petrie, of a remarkable collection of remains of this class, near the town of Sligo. Amongst many interesting facts and observations con cerning these, Mr Petrie, after having mentioned that they contain human bones, earthen urns, &o., and conjectured that they are the burial places of the slain in battle, goes on to mention the highly curious fact : — " Such monuments," he states, " are found on all the battle-fields recorded in Irish history as the scenes of contest between the Belgian or FIrbolg and the Tuath de Danaun colonies;" after which, Mr Petrie is stated to have observed, " as monuments of this class are found not only in most, countries of Europe, but also in the East, Mr Petrie thinks that their investigation will form an Important accessory to the history of the Indo-European race, and also that such an Investigation will probably destroy the popular theories of their having been temples and altars of fhe Drulds."f In June, 1838, a paper, read by Sir W. Betham, on the tumulus lately discovered in the Phoenix Park, contains some observations not less confirmatory of the same general view. From indications of an obvious nature, he refers this class of monuments to a more remote antiquity, " at least of 3000 years." Sir W. Betham affirms it to be his opinion, that the sepul chral monument here alluded to chiefly. Is similar to the ancient Crom lech, and affirms the opinion, that all Cromlechs are " denuded sepul- * To Sir "VV. Betham. t Eepoi t of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 26 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION chral chambers." We might, were such an object desirable, enumerate a- large consent of authorities, and bring forward many cases ; we shaU only further mention, that Sir WiUiam Ousley discovered structures ot the same description in Persia; and it is not without value, as a con firmation, that the remarkable Cromlech near Cloyne, retains a nanie significant of coeval ancient superstition, being caUed, m the Irish, Carig Cruath, or Rock of the Sun. The Cromlech, by its construction, seems to imply a command of mechanic resource, which must be re ferred to a very remote period. The management of the enormous masses of rock which form these ancient structures, is little consistent with any thing we know of the more recent antiquity, when wood and hurdle were the only materials of buUding : but not wanting in ana logous character with the period of the Pyramids and Theban remains. This observation applies with stUl more force to the rocking-stone, of which many remains are yet found, some of which stUl retain their balance. Of these, one stands not far from BaUina; another near Lough Salt, in the county of Donegal ; there is also one in the county Sligo, at Kilmorigan. The above inference, from structure, appUes 'with stUl more force to these, but their history offers a nearer approach to the same inference. The rocking-stone of the Egyptians is minutely described by Bryant, and Pliny supplies a description still more exact — " Juxta Haspasus oppldum Asiae, cautes stat horrenda, uno digito mobUis; eadem si toto corpore impellatur, resistens." The same, or nearly similar, stones are described by Sanchoniathon, as objects of Phoenician worship, and are still imagined by them (in the -ivriter's time) to have been con structed by the great god Onranos. These remains of ancient super stition, were, however, probably common to Phoenicia, with every Asiatic race, and therefore to be simply regarded as indications of Eastern descent. They are found in Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall, and have been described by traveUers as having been met in various parts of Asia. The sacredness of hiUs is not pecuUar to Irish, but known among the remains of early superstitions common to the primitive races of mankind. A more peculiar significance appears to belong to the known sacredness attached to certain hills which stood upon the boun daries of provinces or kingdoms. A French ^vrlter,* cited by Mr Moore, among the "holy mountains' of Greece," "has enumerated nearly a dozen, all bearing the name of Olympus, and all situated upon frontiers." The custom is proved to have pervaded the early nations of Asia; and connects them, in a common worship of the very remotest antiquity, with Ireland, in which the hiU of Usneach, standing on the common frontier of five provinces, has always been held sacred, from the earliest times within the reach of inquiry. The sacredness of hills is indeed attested by many ancient customs, of which authentic traditions remain. Their kings were crowned on hills, and their laws seem to have derived sanctity from having been enacted on sacred heights. The dedication of these artificial hills to the sun, is, however, * Dulnme, dos Ciiltcs anterieure a rido]atrie, t-. 8. TO FIRST PERIOD. 27 probably a distinct appropriation, confined to those Eastern countries in which the Cabini superstition prevailed. The more peculiar and (looking to the earliest periods stlU) recent connexion between Ireland and the East, will be observed to be indicated in the Irish names. The probabUity of a Phoenician origin, for this appropriation, is increased, by some traces of the same occurring in the mythological traditions of other nations, whose early history has an undoubted connexion with Phoenicia. The reverence shown towards stones by the ancient Irish, is a mark of their Eastern descent. Of this there Is one instance, of which the tradition has a very peculiar interest. It foUows the singular fortunes of the stone on which the ancient kings of Ireland were crowned, through its various removals, from Ireland to Scone, and from Scone to Westminster, where it yet preserves its ancient place of honour in the coronation of our monarchs. Of this curious history there is no doubt, authoritative enough for notice. " WHien the Tuatha de Danano came over, they brought with them" four curiosities or monuments of great antiquity. The first was a stone which was caUed Lla FaU, and was brought from the city of Fa- lias; from which stone that city received its name. This stone was possessed of a very wonderful virtue, for it wotdd make a strange noise, and be surprisingly disturbed whenever a monarch of Ireland was crowned upon it ; which emotion it continued to show till the birth of Christ, who contracted the power of the devil, and In a great measure put an end to his delusions. It was caUed the Fatal Stone, and gave a name to Inisfail, as the poet observes in these verses : — From this strange stone did Inisfail obtain Its name, a tract surrounded by the main. This stone, called Lia Fail, had likewise the name of the Fatal Stone, or the stone of destiny ; because a very ancient prophecy belonged to it, which foretold, that in whatever country this stone should be pre served, a prince of the Scythian race, that is, of the family of Mileslus, king of Spain, should undoubtedly govern ; as Hector Boetlus gives the account, in his History of Scotland: — ¦ Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem, regnare tenenter ibidem. In the Irish language it runs thus : — Cineadh suit saor an fine munab breag an fhaisdine. Mar abhfuigid an Lia fail dlighid flaithios do ghabhaih In EngUsh : — Unless the fixed decrees of fate give way. The Scots shall govern, and the sceptre sway. Where'er this stone they find, and its dread sound obey. " When the Scythians were informed of the solemn virtue of this stone, Fergus the great, the son of Earca, having subdued the king dom, resolved to be crowned upon it. For this purpose, he sent mes sengers to his brother Mortough, the son of Earca, a descendant from 28 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION Heremond, who was king of Ireland at that time, to desire that he would send him that stone to make his coronation the more solemn, and to perpetuate the succession in his family. His brother wiUingly complied with his request; the stone was sent, and Fergus received the crown of Scotland upon it. This prince was the first monarch of Scotland of the Scythian or Gadelian race; and, though some of the Picts had the title of kings of Scotland, yet they were no more than tributary princes to the kings of Ireland, from the reign of Heremond, who expeUed them the kingdom of Ireland, and forced them into Scot land, where they settled. Fergus therefore was the first absolute monarch of Scotland, who acknowledged no foreign yoke, nor paid any homage to any foreign prince. This stone of destiny was preserved with great veneration and esteem, in the abbey of Scone, tlU Edward the First of England carried it away by violence, and placed it under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, by which means the pro phecy that attended it seems to be accomplished; for the royal fanuly of the Stewarts succeeded to the throne of England soon after the re moval of this stone ; a family that descended lineaUy from the Scythian race, from Maine Leamhna, son of Core, king of Munster, son of Lulghdheaeh, son of OilioU Flanbeg, son of Flacha MuiUeathan, king of Munster, son of Eogan Mor, son of OilioU OUum, king of Munster, who descended lineally from Heberus Fionn, son of MUesius, king of Spain; every prince of which Ulustrious famUy successively received the crown upon this stone."* In fine. There is nothing more satisfactorUy confirming the general truth of the accounts contained in the ancient tradition of Irish antiquity, than its strict conformity with the general analogy of human history. And this is so clear, as to admit of being stated as an extensive system of social institutions, manners, opinions, incidents, and events, which no human ingenuity could have framed together in aU its parts, and so combined with existing remains, as to chaUenge not a single authoritative contradiction. If this vast and weU devised combination be attributed to the invention of the bards, it assumes for these so much moral, civil, and political knowledge, as would do much honour to the discipline and experience of the 19th century. If it be attributed to the imagination of antiquarian theorists, we must say, that the most fanciful, credulous, and superstitious legendaries, have, after all, displayed more skUl, method, and consummate wisdom, in devising a, political and moral system, than their sober opponents have shown in detecting their error and credulity. And we should strongly advise our modern constitution-menders, and constructors of history, to take a lesson at their school. That the language of the bards is largely combined with fiction, is no more than to say — that they were poets ; and the poetry of the age and country, as well as the state of the profession, led to a vast increase of this tendency ; that the legends of the monks were over flowing with romance and superstition; and that the sober-paced annalists, to a great extent, falsified their records, by omission • and partial statement. All this may be admitted. The manifest fictions * Keating. TO FIRST PERIOD. 29 and extravagancies, and anachronisms, may be allowed to prove so much. But the admission does not unsettle a single support, or shake down the slightest ornament, which belongs to the main structure of the ancient history of Ireland. The sceptic has to account rationaUy, not only for the history itself, but for the language, and the very letters, in which it is written; and must adopt a chain of denials, affirma tions, and reasonings, of the most abstruse, Inventive, and paradoxical kind, to establish the falsehood of traditions, which, had they no proof, are yet the most likely to be the truth, and are quite unobjectionable on the general ground of historic probability. On the fictions of the ancient legends. It Is, however, weU remarked by Sir Lawrence Parsons,* that they generally affect the opinions of the writers, and not their veracity, as they most commonly consist of extravagant explanations of common and probable Incidents. Such are the varied narrations, in which the various calamities of sickness, famine, fire, flood, or storm, are ascribed to the magicians. If indeed the portion of common probability in the most fictitious legends be acceded to, as the necessary foundations of popular Invention, there wUl be nothing worth contending for. To sum briefly the general inferences to be drawn from the state ments of our antiquaries, as to the origin of the Irish nation: As their letters and ancient language and traditions, are standing monu ments of immemorial antiquity; as these are confirmed by a great variety of lesser, but still decided, indications to the same effect; we must conclude, that the people to which they belong, are a race derived from very ancient stock. Secondly, as there is no distinct tradition, assigning the origin of this race to any probable period, within those limits of time which commence the records of modern nations. It is to be inferred, as most likely, that this ancient people have sprung up from some earlier origin within the prior limits of ancient history. If so, they must have derived those immemorial traditions, letters, language, and barbaric civilization, from that remote and primitive antiquity, and that ancient Eastern stock, of which they bear the decided characters. And the assumption may be taken, by antiquaries, as the solid basis of research, and probable conjecture. If these Intro ductory remarks were indeed written to meet the eye of learned antiquaries, it must be observed, that these reasons would now he needless. Among the learned, there can scarcely be said to be a second opinion, so far as regards the main line of our argument. But with the vast and enlightened body of the reading public. It is, as we have already stated, otherwise. The claim of Irish history Is regarded with a supercilious suspicion, very justifiable among those who know nothing of Irish antiquities. Ancient State. — The reader wUl easily collect the political consti tution of ancient Ireland, from our notices of the kings In whose reigns were effected the successive steps of its formation. We may here * The MS. of our half volume was unfortunately completed, when we received a copy of this Essay, by far the ablest on the subject. 'We have thus lost many con clusive arguments. 30 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION make this easier by a few general facts. To Eochaidh Eadgothach is referred the first step in the process of social institution on which ali civUization rests as a foundation: the regulation of ranks and orders, without which a crowd of men can become no more than a herd ot wild beasts, leveUed in the brutal disorder of promiscuous equality. Legislation began with OUamh Fodla, and subsequent kings effected various improvements and modifications, from which the historian can easily trace the prosperity and adversity of after ages. There were five orders — ^the royal, aristocratic^ priestly, poetical, mechanic and plebeian; of these, viewed as composing the body politic, they are more summarily distributed into kings, priests, and people: who assisted, or were represented, In the great assembly, or Fes. The monarchy was elective, but the election was, by the law at least, limited to the members of the royal fanuly. From this many evUs arose ; one consequence, however, may be enough to mention here : the tendency of the succession to assume an alternate order, such that, on the death of a monarch, he was succeeded by the son of his pre decessor. The disorders appurtenant to the elective principle, were in some degree limited, by the election of the successor of the monarch, or the chief (for the same rule of succession was general), at the time of their succession. This person was, in the case of the monarchy, called the Roydamna; in that of chiefs, the Tanist; and in both cases was en dowed with proportional honours and privileges. " As to the law of Tanistry, by an inquisition taken at Mallow on the 25th of October 1594, before Sir Thomas Norris, vice-president of Munster, WUUam Saxey, Esq., and James Gould, Esq., chief and second justices of the said province, by virtue of a commission from the Lord-Deputy and CouncU, dated the 26th of June before; it is found, among other things, " that Conogher O'Callaghan, the O'Callaghan, was and is seized of several large territories, in the inquisition recited, in his de mesne, as lord and chieftain of Poble-CaUaghan, by the Irish custom, time out of mind used ; that as O'Callaghan aforesaid is lord of the said country, who is Teig O'Callaghan, and that the said Telg is seized as Tanist by the said custom of several Plowlands in the inqui sition mentioned; which also finds, that the custom is further, that every kinsman of the O'CaUaghan had a parcel of land to live upon, and yet that no estate passed thereby, but that the lord (who was then Conogher O'CaUahan) and the O'Callahan for the time being, by custom time out of mind, may remove the said kinsman to other lands; and the inquisition further finds, that O'Callaghan Mac Dermod, Trrelagh O'CaUaghan, Telg Mac-Cahir O'CaUaghan, Donogho Mac Thomas O'Callaghan, Conogher Genkagh O'Callaghan, Dermod Bane O'Callaghan and Shane Mac-Teig O'Callaghan.'were seized of several Plowlands according to the said custom, subject, nevertheless to certain seigniories and duties payable to the O'CaUaghan, and that they were removeable by him to other lands at pleasure."t * We would not be understood to assert that lliis absolute equality ever existed It is manifestly inconsistent with any state of human nature, until we reach tl 1 1 level out of which no civilization can take its rise. f Ware's Antiquities. TO FIRST PERIOD. 31 The religion of the heathen Irish was, as the reader wiU have col lected, an idolatry of a mingled form, to which many successive addi tions had been made by different races of the same general type. Their chief god was the sun, or Bel the god of the sun. Of the manners, arts, and knowledge of the first periods of Irish antiquity, we shall here say little, as it has long been the popular portion of the subject, on which most general information abounds, and on which the scepticism of the public is little involved. The bards were divided into three orders: — the FUea, the Senea- chie, and the Brehon. They were historians, legislators, and antiqua ries. They enlightened and soothed the privacy of kings and chiefs, roused their valour, and celebrated their deeds in the field. Poetry was in the highest esteem : it comprised the learning, phUo sophy, and history, of the primitive forms of society. The poets were rewarded, caressed, and the exercise of their art regulated and re strained, as of the highest importance to the transmission of records, or the extension and perpetuation of fame. But the influence which they acquired over the passions of men was found to be excessive. The poet, and perhaps above aU, the Celtic bard, when allowed to become in any way the organ of political feeling, has a tendency to faction, not to be repressed by discretion. The bower " where " Pleasure sits carelessly smiling at fame" is his most innocuous sphere, untU his head and heart have been en lightened and enlarged by true Christian philosophy. The sword which may haply lurk within the flowery wreath, while its occasional sparkles are seen to glitter through the fragrant interstices, may give spirit, and an undefined charm, to the emanation of grace and sweetness which delights the sense. But to abandon a metaphor, with which an Irish bard of the highest order has supplied us, wo betide the land where the passions of party shaU have caught the fever of poetic in spiration ! The throne of poetic genius is, in our eyes, sovereign : but the hearts it can move to action, are never of the noblest order, and the passions it can awaken best, are not those which conduce most to the furtherance of sober truth, the peace of society, or the happiness of the human race. Music has, perhaps in every age, had its fountain in the Irish tem perament. It may perhaps be admitted as a fact by those who have an extensive knowledge of music, that the most perfect specimens of that part of musical expression which depends onthe fine melody of an air, belong to the national music of the Celtic races. The ancient music of the Irish is celebrated by all writers in Irish history ; but music and poetry appear to have been Inseparably united in the same class of professors. The introduction of Christianity changed the uses and, with these, the character of both these kindred arts. The Danes crushed them, together with the whole, nearly, of the graces and refinements of the primitive civilization of Ireland. Yet they lingered on stUl, and being deeply seated in the genius of their race, continued to shoot bright, but fugitive gleams, among the dust and ashes of national decay. 32 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION Cormac, the celebrated king and bishop of Munster ; was a poet, and the harp of Brian still exists, " Though the days of the hero are o'er." We shaU, hereafter, have occasion to offer a sketch of the history of the Irish bards. The ancient architecture of Ireland has been too much the sub ject of controversy, to be discussed in an essay not designed for the purpose of inquiry. There is sufficient reason to conclude, that dwell ings were constructed of wood. " The subject of my Inquiry, here. Is only of the dwelling-houses of the ancient Irish, which, as they were neither made of stone nor brick, so neither were they (unless in a few instances) subterraneous caves or dens, like the habitations of the ancient Germans, according to Tacitus, in his description of that people ; but they were made of rods or wattles, plaistered over with loam or clay, covered with straw or sedge, and seldom made of solid timber. These buildings were either large or small, according to the dignity or quality of the inhabitant, and for the most part were erected in woods, and on the banks of rivers."* Of the handicraft arts of the earlier age of antiquity, we are left to the inferences we can draw from the regulations of the mechanic class, which are such, as to indicate a superior attention to the various manufactures then employed. These chiefly consisted of articles of arms, dress, religious, and perhaps culinary uses. If we give any credit to the descriptions of regal state, and the enumerations of articles contained in the writings of the bards, these uses appear to have been various and splendid. From the same sources, gleams of manners are to be coUected. These are such as might be Inferred both from the state and natural genius of the people. But the subject is too merely inferential, to find a place here. Of their moral knowledge, a highly favom-able idea may be coUected from an ancient writing, of unquestionable authenticity, by Cormac, the son of Act. Of this too, we shall hereafter give a large specimen. The traditionary history of ancient lerne may be comprehended in a narrow compass : for, though bards have engrafted on it much poetic Invention, it is nothing more in itself than an old table of descents. It appears probable that the first inhabitants of Ireland were from Britain and Gaul. To this source may be referred the Wernethae, Firbolgs, Da,naans, and Fomorlans. Of these the settlements were probably various, and at various periods. The Belgians, who were a Gaulish stock, and having numerous settlements in England, were the principal among these. Their possession continued eighty years, in the form of a pentarchy, under the pai-amount government of one. At the end of the period here mentioned, the island was invaded by the Tuath de Danaans and Fomorlans, who overthrew the Belg-ians in a pitched battle, and made themselves masters of tlie whole country. • Ware's Antiquities. TO FIRST PERIOD. 33 The occupation of this race lasted one hundred and ninety-eight years. Their power was put an end to by the arrival of the Scythian, or Scottish race, a thousand years before the Christian era. The frequent invasions of Spain, at this period, by the neighbour Eastem nations, seems to account for the migration of this colony, which had been settled in the northern parts of Spain. A race, to which navigation was already known, and which had already been separated, by one migration, from the parent stock, was the more likely, under such circumstances as rendered their settlement insecure, to have recourse to the same means, for the attainment of a settle ment more secure, beyond the reach of their persecutors. According to the most ancient records, collected in the ninth cen tury, by the celebrated king of Munster, and corrected by a careful comparison of all the records and traditions then extant, it would appear, that the Spanish Celts, intent on discovering a new home, sent a chief to obtain inteUigence as to the expedience and possibility of a descent on this island. The purpose of this envoy was discovered, and he was put to death ; on which the sons of Milesius, roused by resentment to decision, made extensive preparations, and effected the conquest of the country. From these the Scots of Ireland claim their descent. They were a race possessing the letters and civUization of their parent stock — a fact authenticated beyond question, by the letters, monuments, and even the legends of Irish antiquity, which are the remains of a civilized and lettered race. Of the various methods which might be used in confirmation of this, the most suitable to the cursory design of this essay, is that afforded by the industry of O'Conor, which we shall here give, as it occurs in his work on Irish history. The earliest accounts of foreign nations (as iUustrated by Sir Isaac Newton), compared with those of Ireland: — FoKEiGN Testimonies. The Native Fileas. I. I. * An emigrant colony of Iberians, * The Iberian Scots, bordering from the borders of the Euxine and originally on the Euxine sea, were Caspian seas, settled anciently in expelled their country; and, after Spain. various adventures, settled ultimately in Spain. II. II. f A colony of Spaniards, by the * Kinea Scuit (the Scots), and the name of Scots or Scythians, settled posterity of Ebre Scot (Iberian Scy- in Ireland, in the fourth age of the thians), were a colony of Spaniards, world. who settled in Ireland about a thou sand years before Christ. III. IIL f The Phoenicians, who first in- * The ancient Iberian Scots learned troduced letters and arts into Europe, the use of letters firom a celebrated had an early commerce 'with the Ibe- Phenias, from whom they took the rian Spaniards. name of Phenii, or Phoenicians. ' Rudas ex Appian, in .ffineid., lib. ix., * All the statements on this side, are ad ver. 582. from a very ancient Irish manuscript, f Newton. Buchanan. J Strabo. called the Lenhar Gahala. VOL. I. C 34 POLITICAL SERIES. [FinST Passing over three other simUarly compared statements, m J^l^ich Newton's accounts are remarkably coincident with those of the old Irish historian, we come to the last, which has more especial reter- ence to the statement we have made: — In the days of the first Hercules, The conquest of Spain, together or Egyptian conqueror of Spain, a with a great drought, torcedthe Ibe- great drought parched up several rian Scuits, or Scots, to fly into Ire- countries.— iVetcton. land — Ogyg. Domest,, p. 182. If the genuineness of the old Irish MSS. be allowed, and they are not disputed, these paraUels require no comment ; but amount to proof, as certain as the records of history can afford, of the facts in which they agree. The only reply of which the argument admits, is, that Newton's accounts are dra-wn from the old Irish ; and this no one will presume to assert. In these old records of the FUeas, it is granted that there is a mix ture of fiction; but it is such as to be easUy sifted away from the main line of consistent history which runs tlirough the whole, with far more character of agreement with ancient writers, than the native records of any other existing nation. The fictions are connected by visible links, and traceable coincidences with the truth. L POLITICAL SERIES. The ancient Irish historians, upon authorities of which it is diffi cult to pronounce the true value, reckon a long line of kings, from Slainge, the son of Dela, to Criomthan Madhnac, in the twelfth year of whose reign the Christian era is supposed to have commenced. Of these accounts it is not improbable, that much that Is true forms the nucleus of much fiction, such as would be most likely to mingle itseK, from a variety of causes, in the course of traditions handed down fi-om generation to generation, and to be fixed in the form of records by the excusable credulity of their first compUers. But it would be an unpardonable waste of time and expense, to encumber our pages Vfith lives which, whether the persons ever Uved or not, are mamfestly overlaid with statements which cannot, in possibUity, be authentic. Some eminent names among these are, however, liable to recur fre quently in Irish history; and are supposed to stand at the fountain- head of those political Institutions and arrangements, which are among the most interesting facts of Irish antiquity. Of these a few may be considered as usefiil preliminaries to our first biographical period. In the year of the world 3082, OUamh Fodla Is represented as monarch of Ireland. He is said, with much reason, to have been the wisest and most virtuous of the Irish kings. The most useful laws and Institutions, which can be traced in the historical records of the ancient Irish, are attributed to his profound design, and to the wisdom of his celebrated council, held in the ancient kingly seat of Tara. ^ The account of this assembly is the following : OUam Fodla, with Pebiod.] POLITICAL SERIES. 35 the natural forecast of a sagacious legislator, and the zeal of a habi tual student of antiquity, observed, that the records of his kingdom were in a state not likely to be durable. The honour of his Ulustri ous ancestors — ^the events worthy of perpetual note, on which it was his pleasure to dweU — and the glorious name which it was his hope to transmit — aU forbade the neglect of any longer leaving the records of his kingdom to the growing obscurity of tradition. To deliver to posterity a faithful digest of the kno-ivn traditions of former time, and provide for its authentic continuation, he summoned the chiefs, priests, and poets of the nation, to meet in councU at Tara. This assembly he rendered permanent. It was called Pels Fea- mhrach, and was to meet every third year. Their first business was to coUect, clear from error, and digest into order, the mass of extant records and traditions of the kingdom. Next, they were to revise the laws; and, by suitable additions, omission, and alteration, accommo date them to the age. They carefully read over every ancient chron icle, and erased any falsehoods they could detect. A law was agreed on, that any falsifier of history should be degraded from that assem bly — be fined, imprisoned, and his works destroyed. With the assistance of this assembly, OUamh regulated the differ ent orders of rank amongst its members. He also made laws for the respect of their dignity, and protection of their persons. A stUl more important law was made for the protection of his female subjects, against the ungaUant ¦violence to which there appears to have been a national propensity in that remote age. For this, the offender was to suffer a merited death ; to ensure which the more effectuaUy, OUamh placed the crime beyond the reach of the royal prerogative to pardon. Keating, who has somewhat strangely fixed the meeting of this parliament before the comparatively modern festival of " AU Saints," describes, with great minuteness of detaU, the long but narrow apart ment in the palace of Tara, where this parliament used to meet. Be fore proceeding to business, they were entertained -svith a magnificent feast; in the description of which, the whole colouring and incidents are manifestly drawn from imaginations filled with the pomps and splendours of British and European customs in the middle ages. After the feast was removed, and the attendants withdrawn, the ancient records were introduced and discussed, as the annalist of the period would now describe it, " over their nuts and claret." From this assembly is deduced the ancient Psalter of Tara; which ancient record, says Keating, " is an invaluable treasure, and a most faithful coUection of the Irish antiquities ; and whatever accotmt is delivered in any other writings, repugnant to this, is to be deemed of no autho rity, and a direct imposition upon posterity." OUamh Fodhla reigned, according to O'Conor, six hundred years before the Christian era. The events of his time cannot be consid ered as within the compass of authentic history ; yet his reign itself is sufficiently authenticated by the sure evidence of institutions. He was to Ireland the first legislator ; and his name and character stand out from the surrounding obscurity, with the same clear and steady light which has preserved so many of the greater sages, heroes, and bards, of primitive times, to the veneration of all ages. 36 POLITICAL SERIES. [FiftST The political constitution of the country, as settled in this reign, may be generally included under three heads : the institution of the Fes, or legislative assembly ; the enactment of a code of laws ; and the precise and orderly distribution of the orders of society. The classes were three : the nobility, the druids and learned men, and the com mon people. In an age in which literature was stIU confined to a privUeged class, it is easy at once to perceive the impossibUity of long preserving the balance required for the stabUity of any form of government. The main disadvantage, however, of this ancient con stitution consisted in the crown being elective. Of this the conse quence is noticed by O'Conor. " It is evident that such elections could seldom be made with sufficient moderation. Factions were formed; the prevalent party carried it; the losing party coUected aU their strength to set aside the monarch duly elected ; and accordingly most of our princes died with swords in their hands." It is, perhaps, also not unimportant to observe, that the frame of government, thus described, is stamped with the authentic features of the common type of primitive institutions. The system of a bal anced combination of orders is itself, not to look further, a sufficient indication of a forward stage in the progress of civiUzatlon; and should the mere idea of such a system be found extant in reaUy ancient records, or should it, with sufficient distinctness, be trace able in old customs and traditions, it ceases to be worth the sceptic's while to contend. His proposition must be reduced to something very frivolous, before it can be argued with any clearness. Three hundred and fifty-two years elapsed from the reign of OUamh — and some dozen kings, of whom many, by their adventures, as related by the ancient poets, might be classed with the " Three Calendars, Princes' Sons," and other heroes of Eastern poesy, foUowed each other over the bloody stage of an elective monarchy, the prize of arms — when Hugony, or Ugaine, a descendant of the royal line of Heremon, obtained the crown, by klUIng the reigning monarch, Reachta Rigdhearg ; and if precedent might be pleaded in its favour, the claim was legitimate. Of these murders, most might be represented as bearing the character of retributive justice : but Reachta had ascended the throne by the murder of a female sovereign, who is described as the deUght of her subjects, and the terror of her enemies. Of this worthy lady it is recorded that she beat the horses of Connor, king of Ulster, in a race, and was delivered of twins at the winning-post. Irritated by her sufferings, and by the cruelty which had forced or persuaded her to incur this trying risk, she cursed the men of Ulster, who were, in con sequence, for many years afflicted with similar pains ! Ugony strengthened the monarchy, by the important measure of dividing the kingdom into provinces. The immediate disorders which led to this useful arrangement are not of any interest, further than the light their history might throw on its necessity. But the history of 80 remote a period, with whatever degree of probabUity we may trace PEttlon.] EOCHAIDH FEIDHOCH — TUATHAL. 37 its outline, is by no means as clear in the detaUs. The ancient poets re late a story of the oppressive exactions of his twenty-five sons, which at length drew forth a strong remonstrance from his subjects. Whether to remedy this evU, as is said (or sung), or to facilitate the levy of taxes, Hugony assembled his councU, and by their advice divided the king dom into twenty-five provinces, which he divided among the princes. By this distribution the revenue was ascertained, the inferior juris dictions controUed and limited, and the royal power entrenched against the undue preponderance of provincial princes. To measure truly the magnitude of such a change, it must be noticed, that it was a violent interference with the rights of the five powerful princes who had hitherto held the five provinces into which the island had been tiU then divided. But Hugony was a warlike monarch, and a conqueror by sea and land, and in his reign the powers of the monarchy seem to have been extended. Another feature curiously iUustrative of the character and position of this monarch, was his attempt to set aside all rival claims, and to have the succession fixed in his own family. The attempt had the usual success ; it was easy to exact compliance, and impossible to carry into effect a law, which was to fix the bounds of lawless usurpation. In this instance, as in most such, the provision failed; and on his death, the stream of succession soon regained its blood-stained and uncertain course. About a hundred years before the Christian era, this prince be comes entitled to notice, by the injudicious measure which altered the division mentioned in the previous article, and restored the provinces to their ancient dangerous strength and extent. CuatfiaU A. D. 79. This king is memorable for another remarkable alteration in the divisions of the monarchy. He is also distinguished from those we have as yet noticed, by having reigned -tvithin the Christian era; his claim is further recommended by measures for the improvement of the national records. He " made his way to the throne through a sea of blood, and esta blished a new constitution on the ruins of a monarchical oligarchy."* The historical importance of this monarch's reign is sufficient to de mand a little more expansion than we should have thought necessary in any of the previous reigns. But the reader's attention is the more speciaUy invited to the narration of incidents which explain many of those constantly recurring aUusions to ancient institutions, which per plex the recital of most of our historians of the ensuing periods, and * O'Conor, Dissertations. 38 POLITICAL SERIES. [FlEST encumber their historic style with a confusion and obscurity, which none but the most attentive reader can unriddle. The restoration of the pentarchy quickly produced disorders sImUar to those which a similar oligarchy wiU be seen to have produced in later periods. The violence of competition, ever attendant on elective monarchies, grew In the Immediately preceding reigns to an enormous height, and the sufferings of the people became intolerable. Cairbre Catean overturned the government, and for a time held the sceptre with a despotic grasp. His death only renewed the sanguinary con tention for power. The provincial kings set up the tyrant Elim, through whom they jointly oppressed the land. Sufferance had reached its limit:— the Inferior chiefs who shared in the oppressions of the people, excited and gave direction to their resentment. They sent an invitation to Tuathal, in Scotland, where he had grown to maturity, and received a careful education, his mother Elthne, having been daughter to the Scottish king. Tuathal consented, came over, and, after a sanguinary struggle, obtained the throne of his ancestors. His first act was the convention of the council of the nation, and obtaining a law to secure himself by the exclusion of other families. He remedied the grievances of an oppressive oligarchy, by an expedient which increased his own power, and weakened that of the formidable Five: taking from each a large district, he united the portions thus secured into a province for himself- — a measure which insured a considerable increase of wealth and power to the monarchy. He established in each of these an administrative centre for the transaction of the several departments of his government: — Religion at Tlachtga* near Dro gheda; internal commerce at Usneach in the county of Westmeath; at the palace of Tailtean, matrimonial alliances, from which, there is reason to think, he drew a considerable tax; Tara was the place for the great assembly of the Fes. Tuathal, by his marriage with a daughter of the king of Finland, commenced or continued the intercourse of this Island with the northern races who inhabited the Baltic coasts. This marriage led to an increased Intercourse, and to subsequent alliances which were, at a remote period, to terminate in a long and ruinous struggle, under which the power of the monarchy, and the civUization of the country, were to sink Into ruin, and nearly into oblivion. The imposition of the celebrated Boromean tribute gives Tuathal another claim on historic recoUection. It is said to have been exacted from the province of Leinster, as an atonement for the death of his two daughters, who lost their lives in consequence of the most brutal insult from the king of Leinster. As the story rims, this provincial king being married to Darine, one of Tuathal's daughters, pretended that she was dead, and thus obtained possession of the other, whose name was FIthir. When Fithir arrived at the palace of Eochaidh, she was struck with consternation by the appearance of her sister Darine : the sisters at once discovered the dishonour and injury they had each sustained, and their grief was sufficient to put an end to ' Tliis ivas the place where the sacred fire was kindled. Period.] TUATHAL. 39 their lives. Tuathal levied his forces, and representing the baseness of Eochaldh's conduct, to the other princes, a universal sense of indig nation was excited ; and so numerous was the army thus obtained, that the king of Leinster submitted, and entreated to be allowed to com promise the matter. Tuathal, either having the peace of his kingdom at heart, or as is far more likely, a prudent disposition to avail himself of every occasion for the furtherance of his scheme of political ag grandizement, consented to withdraw his army, on obtaining a pledge of consent from the king and people of Leinster, to pay a stlpidated tribute every second year, to him and his successors for ever. The proposal was agreed to, and the tribute appointed was as foUows, in the words of an old poet : — " To Tuathal and the monarch's after him : Threescore hundred of the fairest cows. And threescore hundred ounces of pure silver. And threescore hundred mantles, richly woven. And threescore hundred of the fattest hogs. And threescore hundred of the largest sheep, And threescore hundred cauldrons, strong and polished." This tax was known by the name of Boroimhe Laighean (the tribute of Leinster), and is said to have been paid to forty Irish monarchs, from Tuathal to Fianactha. Tuathal caused a general revision of the annals of the monarchy, with a view to amend the errors which had latterly been supposed to have been caused by the unconstitutional influence of the provincial oligarchy, who had so long kept the nation in disorder. Such a solemn act was also necessary for the purpose of fixing their authority, and might be considered as supplying, in a minor degree, the evidence imparted to religious documents, by the solemn publicity of a regular perusal, in the presence of the people, at stated times and places. Amongst other wise public measures, Tuathal is said to have con trived the important arrangement of classifying the mechanics of the country into companies, governed by their committees, and, as nearly as possible, resembling the corporate institutions of modern burghs. This great monarch was, with the common fate of his predecessors, slain by MaU, who succeeded. It is not our design to pursue the long line of princes who fol lowed, to the introduction of Christianity, but simply to note, as we glance down this long line, such traditions as may be useful for the understanding of Irish history, or interesting to reasonable curiosity. From Rosa, the eldest son of Cathaoir More, is said to be traced the famUy of O'Connor Paly, or Failghe. Many other well known Irish famUies are simUarly traced from the same stock. Concerning these old genealogies, we cannot pretend to have had either the means or the will to trace them: we see, however, no sound reason for throwing a doubt on them. We are yet inclined to think that, like all our ancient records, whUe they are in the main not false, they have yet been subject to the singvdarly fantastic freaks of Irish enthu siasm and fancy. Conn of the hundred battles, reigned, fought his hundred fights. 40 POLITICAL SERIES. [FlKST and was assassinated early In the second century ; his reign is, how ever, rendered memorable by a territorial arrangement, which long continues to be a subject of allusion in Irish history. A war arose between Modha Nuagat, and some other princes, for the throne of Munster. Of these latter, one named Aongus, applied for aid to the monarch Conn. Conn complied, and supplied the prince with 15,000 men ; but the laurels won in ninety battles, were tom from his brow in ten sanguinary defeats, and in the course of this dreadful war, the conqueror Modha obtained possession of half the kingdom. From this conquest, the southern portion of the country stUl retains a title from the conqueror's name. His acquisition became the basis of a regular partition, of the boundaries of which we are happUy enabled to transcribe an interesting account, from the most inteUigent mind, and graphic pen, that has ever attempted to sketch the localities of Ireland. " Proceeding onwards for a mile or two, from Clonard, the road reaches a long continuous line of gravel hiUs, along which it runs for a considerable distance, and which is, perhaps, one of the oldest lines of road in Europe. These long lines of gravel hiUs are, all through Ireland, caUed aisgirs, or properly eirscirs ; this one is that which formed, in ancient times, the grand di'vision of Ireland. I think I could trace this eiscir, from Dublin bay to the green hiUs of Crumlin, and so along by the Eskir of Lucan, then south of the Liffey near Celbridge, and so across the river near Clane, onwards by Donadea, untU it strikes the line of road we are now traveUing; then bending southwards of the hill of Croghan, untU near PhUUpstown, another line of road takes the advantage of its elevation, to run between two bogs; then passing through the barony of Garrycastle, in the King's county, in a very distinct line, it strikes the Shannon, in the exact centre of the island, at Clonmacnois. This very curious natural vallum, just as distinct as the great Roman waU dividing south Britain from Caledonia, was adopted as the dividing line between the two parts of Ireland, and was caUed Eiscir Riada, ex tending from Dublin to Galway, the northern portion being called Leath Con, and the southern Leath Mogha."* Modha went the natural way of Irish kings, being murdered in his bed by Conn of the hundred fights; and Conn himself soon after met the like fate. King Conary, who foUowed, may be mentioned as the ancestor of a Caledonian line of kings. He married the dauo-hter of king Conn, and had by her a son, Cairbre RIada, who, in the middle of the third century, led a colony into Scotland, and founded, in Argyle- shire, a settlement, which is reasonably concluded to have had from him its name of Dalriada. His descendant, in the ninth century, Kenneth Mac Alpine, was the first sovereign of Scotland. Through him, O'Conor, with seeming facUity, traces the descent of the pre sent line of British kings. The attempt is at least cm-ious. " KIneth Mac Alpine, the first king of Scotland (as known by its modern dimensions), was father-in-law to two of our monarchs of Ire land, AoDH Finliath and Flann-Sionna. From that conquering * DuUin P('nny Journal, 151. Peeiod.] oilioll olum. 41 prince, his present majesty is descended, in the thirty-first generation, as appears by the foUowing authentic table : — Eoneth 1 850 Constantine 862 Donald 895 Malcolm 1 946 Kineth 971 Malcolm II 1004 Beatrix Donchad, R. S 1034 Malcolm III. R. S 1058 David, R. S 1125 Henry, Earl of Huntmgdon and Prince of Scotland David, Earl of Huntingdon Isabel, Countess of Annandale.. Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and Lord of Annandale Robert 1 1306 Margery Robert Stuart II 1370 Robert Stuart III 1395 James 1406 James 1437 James 1460 James 1488 James 1514 Mary 1542 James 1565 Elizabeth Sophia George 1 1714 George II 1727 Frederick, Prince of Wales George III 1760" Note to O' Conor's Dissertations on Ireland. Cairbre also founded another principality, under the name of Dal riada, in the county of Antrim, and, for some descents, his posterity succeeded to both. For a time, the Scottish colony was broken, by the mUitary successes of the Pictish inhabitants of the neighbouring lowland districts; but, in the beginning of the 6th century, they regained their independence, with an increase of prosperity, and ob tained the sovereignty of North Britain. From this period tUl the eleventh century, the line of Dalriadic princes continued to fill the Scottish throne. miioll mnm. OuB plan of passing through this period, by a selection of those names which derive interest from frequent recurrence, or from their radical connexion with the important events of after ages, leads us next to the notice of OiUoU Olum, the king of Munster, and the founder of that singular law of alternate succession, which was preserved for so many centuries, the cause of much weal and wo to Ireland. Of the adventures of OUioU, in peace and war, many strange tales are told; but when all is deducted from these which must be referred to poetry, there is but Uttle to sweU the memoir of a monarch, the most eventful of whose actions is the last : the wiU, which bequeathed intrigue for power, contest, emulation, and expectancy, to his remote descendants. OUioU was a poet, and the author of some verses, which Keating calls pathetic, but which, in the version of his translator, might more truly be caUed burlesque. OiUoU had his name, according to some old writers, from certain deformities, of which the account is simply absurd, yet may be considered, in some degree, as gi'vdng a reflection of the manners and morals of the period : a species of infor mation to be gleaned from the characteristic spirit of aU these fictions. 42 political series. [First A lady, who had suffered from OUioU the deepest injury a modest female can suffer, obtained satisfaction for the outrage, by biting off the royal ear, while Oilioll slept. OilioU, roused by the pain, started up, and seizing on a spear, struck it through the unfortunate lady with such force, that he bent the point against a stone. Drawing forth the spear from the writhing victim of his worst passions, he very composedly at tempted to straighten its point between his teeth : the spear had been poisoned, and the effect was to blacken his teeth and corrupt his breath. The following is the history of the famous will. OUIoU's eldest son was slain In battle, on which he devised his throne of Munster to Cormac Cas, the second. Shortly after, the widow of the eldest (Eogan More) brought forth a son, who, in the direct course of de scent, was the next rightful heir. Oilioll, unwiUing, perhaps, to dis appoint altogether the expectations which he had, by his wUl, excited in Cormac, and equally reluctant to disinherit the posterity of his eldest son, altered his will to meet this embarrassment. By the new arrangement, he settled, that Cormac should, according to the pro vision of the former wiU, enjoy the Munster sovereignty for life; on his death, it was to pass to Fiachadh MuiUeathan, the son of Eogan More, or his next heir then living; and again, after the demise of Eogan or his heir. It was to revert to the lineal heir of Cormac, then living; after whose demise, it was to revert again to the living heir of Eogan's line ; and thus it was to pass from line to line in a per petual succession of alternate remainders. There seems also to have been, in this will, a solemn injunction to the descendants of OUioU, that the combination of royal families thus established, should preserve this alternate inheritance without quarrels or disputes. "The fear which might have suggested this desire was but reasonable, but the event was scarcely to be looked for. So great was the reverence of his descendants for OIlIoU, that for some ages they continued to transmit the sovereignty in this alternate descent, without any con test. The seeming ImprobabUIty of this wiU be much diminished, by considering the powerful sanction which such rights must have de rived, from the jealous guardianship and time-estabUshed feelino-s of two extensive and powerful families, thus held together from genera tion to generation by the same tie of honour and interest. The same customary sense which entrenches the right of primogenitm-e, would in the course of a few descents, equaUy guai-d the alternate right; and the indication of a desire to violate it, would be as shocking to the sense, as if a younger brother were to supplant the elder in his rights. The violator of such a right would have to outbrave the in famy of scattering discord between all the members of two strongly united houses, and defrauding a famUy of its honours. Such was the cause and nature of this circumstance, so influential on the after course of Irish history. Of the posterity of Oilioll Olum, some highly interesting particu lars are authenticated by the industry of antiquaries. From Eoo-an More, the eldest, is lineally derived the MacCai-thy's, of whom 'the earls of Clancarty are the Immediate representatives. " Out of the 'wrecks of time and fortune," writes the venerable O'Conor in his Dissertations, "Donogh, the late earl of Clancarthy, had reserved Peeiod.] cormac. 43 in his family an estate of ten or twelve thousand pounds a-year ; a fair possession of more than two thousand years' standing, the oldest perhaps in the world, but forfeited in the days of our fathers." From Cormac Cas, the second son, and first inheritor of OilioU, descend the Dalcassian famUy, of which Brian Boroimhe, the conqueror of the field of Clontarf, is the most illustrious Unk, and the earls of Thomond the existing representatives in modern times. Of this branch, also, there Is an affecting record belonging to the history of our own times. O'Conor mentions that Henry, "the late earl of Thomond, was head of this name, and descended, in twenty lineal generations, from Brian Boromy, king of Ireland in the year 1014. This nobleman left his estate, no inconsiderable one, but small in com." parison to the great possessions of his ancestors, to an English family ; aUenated the tenure of fifteen hundred years, leaving his bare title only to O'Brian, lord Clare, now Ueutenant-general in the service of his most Christian majesty." From Clan, the third son of OIUoU, have descended, amongst other famUies, the O'Haras, lords of Tyrawly, &c., and the O'Garas, lords of Coolavin, who forfeited their extensive possessions in the county of Sligo, in the troubles of 1641. ©orntac— JWonarcS* A. D. 213. Early in the third century, Cormac, the grandson of Conary the Second, ascended the throne. His character and acts are aUowed to hold a place of the highest order among kings ; and in his reign It Is not improbable that ancient Ireland had reached her maximum of national prosperity. The accounts, too, of his reign have aU the authenticity which the knowledge and Uterature of his age could Impart to its annals ; and it is a part of his glory to have provided for the preservation of history from the corruptions, which it was at that time pecuUarly in danger of contracting, from its dangerous alliance with poetry. The bards were also the chief historians of the age, and in the execution of their office, did not always sufficiently preserve the distinction between the recording and the celebration of an event. Hence, it has happened, that the most iUustrious of our kings and heroes have had a veU of exaggeration thrown over their lives, which makes them im press with a sense -of incredulity, minds unversed save in a present order of things. Actions natural and consistent with the order of things to which they belonged, require now no help from poetic invention to give them the semblance of fiction : a little exaggeration is enough to impart a grotesque air to maimers foreign to our habits, and render ridiculous, actions and opinions which a little more consideration, and a little more knowledge of antiquity, would have looked for as simply essential to the record. It is thus that the detaUs of the life of this illustrious prince, and of his general, Fionn, are tinged with a colour ing of which the sober-minded biographer would gladly divest them, were not the process fatal to all interest, and even to the moral and 44 political series. [Fiasx social character of the person and his times. The annalist may evade the difficulty, and give to the dry and spiritless caput mortuum of a name and date, aU the verlsimiUtude of an almanac; but we are com peUed to attempt at least the semblance of personality, and must not be false to our office because our heroes of reality have at times a strong resemblance to the heroes of romance. The ancient historians of his day relate the insult and injury sus tained by Cormac, when he was expeUed from Ulster, at the instiga tion of Fergus, the monarch of Ireland, in 212; his resentment, and the prompt activity with which he formed powerful alliances, and col lected an army to the field of Brugh macanoig. Having applied to a grandson of the famous OilioU Olum, he received from him an as surance of support, on the condition of a pledge to settle on him a tract of land, after he had gained his objects. Cormac agreed, and his aUy made Immediate preparations to assist him, with whatever force he could raise. He also advised Cormac to secure the assist ance of Lughaidh Laga, who was reputed to be the greatest warrior of his day. Lughaidh appears to have been at the time leading a life of solitary concealment : but his retreat was known to Thady, who was grandson to OilioU Olum, the brother of Lughaidh Laga. Lughaidh was a person of a gloomy, stern, and impracticable temper, of irre sistible personal strength, and subject to fits of capricious and ungo vernable fury. He had slain in battle. Art the father of our hero ; it was, therefore, a trial of seU'-command and courage, for a youth whose first appearance would seem to announce the presence of a foe, to face this moody man of violence in his savage retreat. By the directions of his new aUy, Cormac entered the 'vicinity of Atharla, and with an anxious but steady heart threaded the forests and gloomy defiles around the base of the rugged Slieve Grott. He arrived at length at the lowly hut, where Lughaidh dwelt, apart from the ways of man. On entering, the first object which met his eye, was the gigantic frame of the redoubted warrior stretched across the floor : his stem and massive features were turned to the light, but he was asleep. Cormac's ready intellect perceived that the incident was favourable to his purpose ; he gently touched the grim veteran with his lance. Lughaidh awaking, demanded who it was who presumed to disturb him with a freedom so insolent. Cormac told his name. As he must have anticipated, the impression was favourable. Lughaidh immediately observed, that Cormac might justly have slain him as he slept, in revenge for the death of his father. Cormac answered, that he thought something was due to him on that score, and that he came to seek his compensa tion in the friendly aUiance of Lughaidh, against his enemy, Fergus. " The compensation which is your due," answered the warrior, " shall be the head of Fergus." Having thus come to a friendly understand ing, they proceeded together to Ely, where the preparations of Thady were now considerably advanced. The ancient bards describe, as poets will, the memorable battle of Criona chin Comar ; and relate, with the circumstantial minuteness of accurate observation, the incidents, which it was impossible for them to have known with certainty But the main particulars are consistent with probabUity ; and Cormac's known veneration for historic truth, Period.] CORMAC. 45 in some degree vouches for the main fideUty of the traditions of his Ufe. By the advice of Thady, Cormac stood upon a hUl which overlooked the field, and saw the battle rage underneath, over the plain, without any advantage on either side for many hours. The desperate valour of Lughaidh at last turned the fortune of the day: he slew the monarch Fergus, and his two brothers, and bore their heads in fero cious exultation from the field. The victory was purchased with a heavy loss of men: the Ultonians, seven times compeUed to give ground — each time stUl rallied, and came on again with the fierce impetuosity of desperation : but the valour of Lughaidh was not to be resisted, and Thady, at length breaking through their centre, pre vented the possibiUty of repairing their scattered array. They soon gave way in the 'wUd disorder of flight; and were ptirsued with tremendous slaughter from Criona to Glaise an Eara. Cormac, upon this event, possessed himself of the kingdom. We have here omitted a strange story of the stratagem of Cormac to avoid the first effect of Lughaidh's reckless ferocity, which, when his blood was heated, made him dangerous to friend and foe alike — how he disguised a servant in his own clothes, to receive the warrior each time when he emerged from the tumult to exhibit, as he slew them in succession, the heads of his enemies. Having first slain, as the tale runs, the two younger brothers, he fiercely asked of the supposed Cormac if the head which he exhibited were the head of Fergus, king of Ireland ; receiving a reply in the negative, he rushed again into the fight; but when, on his third return, the same question met with an affirmative reply, his insolent exultation could no longer be controlled : giving way to the fury of his heart, he flung the gory head at the servant, who was kUled on the spot. StUl less to be admitted is the story of a base and perfidious attempt of Cormac on the life of his effi cient friend Thady. But true or false, the romance of his marriage ¦with Eithne, the foster daughter of Buiciodh Brughach cannot be omitted. Bulciodh was a wealthy Leinster grazier, renowned for carrying the ancient Irish virtue of munificent hospitality to a height unknown in the palaces of kings. But with the generous imprudence which so commonly qualifies this virtue, his expenditure approached too nearly the limits of his fortune. His guests too, either conceiving his riches to be exhaustless, or, as Is not unfrequently the feeUng of the spend thrift's guest, not thinking it necessary to spare one who never spared himself, gave him the most prompt assistance on the road to ruin: the Leinster gentry, not content with the free use and abuse of the most profuse hospitaUty, seldom left his habitation without carrying off whatever they could take. The departure of the guest was not unlike the plunderer's retreat: the horses and herds of the good host were carried off, without even the trouble of asking leave. Buiciodh's vast wealth was soon exhausted by this double outlet, to which no fortune could be equal. Finding himself at last reduced to a state bordering on poverty, he retired privately from the scene of his past prosperity and splendour, 'with his wife, his foster chUd Eithne, and the poor remains of a princely fortune. Leaving home by night, he traveUed untU he came to a forest in Meath, not far from Cormac's palace. Here, in the resolution to pass his remaining days in peace- 46 political series. [First ful retirement from an ungrateful world, he built a smaU forest cabin for his smaU famUy. It chanced one day that Cormac rode in the direction of the spot; and was attracted by the appearance of a cabin standing by itself in the solitude of forests. Approaching, he saw a young maiden of rare and consummate beauty milking the cows : as he stood concealed among the boughs, he observed, with admiration approaching to wonder, the grace of her action, and the neatness and skiU with which she discharged her duty. Retiring with the milk, Eithne, for it was she, came forth again, and showed the same care and nice judgment in the execution of the remaining offices of her household occupation. Cormac now came forward, and with the prompt and facUe adroitness which belonged to his character, calmed the fears of the startled maid, and entered into conversation on her rural employments. Pro fessing ignorance and curiosity, he questioned her with an air of simple seriousness on the separation of thin mUk and rich strippings, and was surprised at her preference of sound rushes to rotten, and clean water to brackish. In answer to his numerous questions, Eithne told him that her cares were given to one to whom she was bound by the ties of gratitude and duty : but when she mentioned the name of her foster father, Cormac at once remembered the princely herdsman of Leinster, and knew that Eithne, daughter of Dunluing, stood before him. The Incident led to the usual termination of romantic story. Cormac married Eithne, and endowed Bulciodh ¦with an ample territory near the palace of Tara, with plenty of cattle, and all other wealth of the age ; so that, as Keating, in the true spirit of a story teller, says, he was happy for the rest of his Ufe. The civil history of Cormac's reign is marked by no great or sin gular events, to distinguish it from the reigns of other ancient princes, whose names we have seen no sufficient reason to introduce : battles of policy and revenge occasion ¦violations of every moral law, and common Incidents, attributed to miraculous agency, chequer the record in a fair proportion; but this prince is distinguished in our most ancient annals for the magnificence of his establishment, the taste which he displayed in the cultivation of learning and the arts, the wisdom of his laws, and the exceUence of his ¦writings. For wisdom and splendour he was the Solomon of Ireland: the magnificent palace of Miodh-chuarta,* which he buUt for his residence, and the works of moral and political wisdom which he left, appear to give aptness to * The following curious notices will be read with some interest : — " Moidh-chuarta was the middle house of the palace of Tara. The splendour of this palace is described in an old Irish poem, beginning Temhair na righ Rath Chor- maie, Temor of kings, the seat of Cormac ; but lest this poem might be considered a bardic forgery, we shall give the following extract from Johnston's translation of an old Scandinavian MS., the historical testimony of which must be received as unquestionable. In hoc regno etiam locus est The-mor tiictus dim primaria urhs regiaque seties, Sj-c., Sfc. In Ediiiori guopiam Civitatis loco .tplendidum ef tatifum Don Dsedaleura Castellum Rex et intra Castelli septa. Palatium structurd et nitore superbum hahuit ubi solebat litibus incolarum componendis prceesse." — Ante CeU Sca?ido, last page. In this kingdom, also, there is a place called Themor, formerly the chief city, and the royal residence, &c., &r. In a more elevated part of this city, the king had a splendid and almost Dsedalean Period.] CORMAC. 47 the parallel. An eminent poet of the period, describes, with the authority of an eye-witness, a structure of 300 cubits in length, 50 in breadth, and 30 in height, entered by 14 gates, and containing a vast and splendid hall, illuminated by an immense lanthorn of costly material and curious art, with sleeping apartments furnished with 150 beds. His household was worthy of this building: 150 of the most distinguished champions of the kingdom, surrounded his person, and 1050 of his best soldiers formed the guard of his palace and its precincts. On state occasions, his table was loaded with a rich and gorgeous service of cups and goblets of massive gold and silver. The superior officers of his household, according to established custom, were a judge, a druid, a physician, a poet, an antiquary, a musician, and three stewards. In addition to these, there was always a person of high accomplishments and noble birth, to be a companion to the monarch in his vacant hours. Amongst these may be distinguished some offices characteristic of the period. The druid was engaged in the duties and rites of religion; he offered sacrifices, and foretold events. The poet committed the deeds of famous men to verse, of which abundant specimens are yet preserved. The antiquary had stIU more important duties to perform : his care was to preserve and continue those genealo gical tables of kings and their queens, which were then considered to be so important. It was also his office to correct and ascertain the pedigrees of the different orders, and register them in the pubUc records. Under this monarch, the annals of the kingdom were elaborately revised. Three academies which he founded (it is said) in Tara, were severally assigned to the cultivation of law, Uterature, and mUi tary science. He was himself a bard, a la^wyer, and philosopher; of each of which capacities imquestioned proofs remain, in fragments which have been preserved of his -writings. During the reign of Cormac, the mUitary power of the kingdom seems to have attained its highest point of perfection, under the care of Fionn, his celebrated son-in-law, and the commander of his armies. As we cannot pass this celebrated warrior, who is equaUy renowned in fiction and authentic record, we shall reserve the history of the famous Irish militia for his memoir. Cormac is stiU more honourably distinguished for the profound capacity which, in the midst of a gross superstition, obtained views of a pure system of Theism: he .would, probably, if not prevented by the course of events, have been the founder of a nobler system of theology, and more worthy of the Divine Being, than the idolatrous polytheism of his druids. But the opposition raised by his attempts at the reformation of a creed, the source of power and profit to these pagan priests, was dangerous in its result : they, by their too predo minant influence over minds by nature prone to superstition, raised a dangerous spirit of discontent among the chiefs, and involved his reign in war. His military operations were therefore numerous, but they were castle, within the precincts of which he had a splendid palace, superb in its struc ture, where he was accustomed to preside in settling the disputes of its inhabitants. — Dublin Penny Journal, pp. 213, and 231. 48 political series. [First successful. The Munster kings sustained many defeats from his forces. Connaught also, and Ulster, gave him trouble, and experienced his superiority. The reign of Cormac continued for forty years, and is said to have owed its termination to his meeting with the loss of an eye, in some attack which was made upon his palace. The fact is explained by an ancient Irish law, according to which the throne of Ireland could not be held by a person who should happen to be defective in any of his members. This seems to receive some confirmation from a paraUel regulation in the ancient customs of Persia. " In the law thus enforced," writes Mr Moore, " may be observed another instance, rather remarkable, of coincidence with the rules and customs of the East. In a like manner we read, in the Persian history, that the son of the monarch Kobad, having, by a simUar accident, lost the use of an eye, was, in consequence, precluded, by an old law of the country, from all right of succession to the throne."* In consequence of this accident, he resigned the crown to Cairbre his son, and retired to pass the remainder of his days in a retirement made cheerful by Uterature, and famous by the works which the leisure of his age produced. Some of the writers who notice his life, assert that he was one of the first converts to Christianity. The grounds of this affiurmation are not ¦very satisfactory; though we should be inclined to conclude, from the very slight information which exists on the subject, that Christianity had obtained a precarious and difficult footing in Ireland during the first century of the Christian era ; and we must admit that the tenets of Cormac's phUosophy, were such as might lead to his conversion, or even resulted from some pre-sdous and secret acquaintance -with the sacred books. These were in the highest degree Ukely to find their way into the library of a Uterary monarch, whose fame was spread abroad among the most civUized countries of his age. Cormac, in his last retirement, wrote a volume of advice to his son. This, or its substance, epitomized by a later hand, stUl exists. The cast of the phraseology proves it to be very ancient. The form of a dialogue between Cormac, son of Art, and his son Cairbre, is preserved ; and the precepts are remarkable for their point, sententious brevity, and the characteristic tone of a primitive age and manners. We subjoin a specimen of extreme interest, translated from the original Irish by Mr O'Donovan. Of Cormac's Legal Essay, an imperfect copy remains in the library of the Dublin University : — " O grandson of Con! O Cormac!" said Cairbre, "what is good for a king?" _ " That is plain,'' said Cormac. " It is good for him to have patience without debate; self-government without anger; affabiUty without haughtiness; dUigent attention to history; strict observance of cove nants and agreements ; strictness, mitigated by mercy, in the execution of the laws; peace ¦with his districts; lawful wages of vassalage; jus tice in decisions ; performance of promises ; hosting with justice ; pro tection of his frontiers ; honouring the nemeds (nobles) ; respect to the fileas: adoration of the great God. • History of Ireland. Period.] CORMAC. 49 " Boundless charity ; fruit upon trees ; fish in rivers ; fertUe land ; to invite ships; to import valuable jewels across the sea; to purchase and bestow raiment ; vigorous swordsmen for protecting his territories ; war outside of his own territories ;* to attend the sick ; to discipline his soldiers; lawful possessions; let him suppress falsehood; let him suppress bad men; let him pass just judgments; let him criminate lying; let him support each person; let him love truth; let him enforce fear; let him perfect peace; much of metheglin and wine; let him pronounce just judgments of light; let him speak aU truth, for Its through the truth of a king that God gives favourable seasons." " O grandson of Con! O Cormac!" said Cairbre, "what are the just laws of a king ?" " I shall relate to .thee my knowledge of the law by which the world is governed: suppression of great evUs; destroying robbers; exalta tion of goodness; prohibition of theft; reconcUiation of neighbours; establishing peace; keeping the laws; not to suffer unjust law; con demning bad men; giving liberty to good men; protecting the just; restricting the unjust," &c. &c. " O grandson of Con ! O Cormac !" said Cairbre, " what is good for the welfare of a country?" " That is plain," said Cormac : " frequent convocation of sapient and good men to investigate its affairs, to abolish each evil, and retain each wholesome institution; to attend to the precepts of the elders; let every senad (assembly of the elders) be convened according to law ; let the law be in the hands of the nobles ; let chieftains be upright, and unwilling to oppress the poor ; let peace and friendship reign — mercy and good morals — ^union and brotherly love; heroes without haughtiness — sternness to enemies, friendship to friends; generous compensations ; just sureties ; just decisions, just witnesses ; mild instruction; respect for soldiers; learning every art and language; pleading with knowledge of the Fenechas (the Brehon law) ; decision with evidence ; giving alms, charity to the poor ; sureties for covenants ; lawful covenants ; to hearken to the instruction of the wise, to be deaf to the mob ; to purge the laws of the country of all their evils, &c. &c. All these are necessary for the welfare of a country." " O grandson of Con ! O Cormac !" said Cairbre, " what are the duties of a prince at a banquetting house ?" " A prince on Saman's day (1st of November), should light his lamps, and welcome his guests with clapping of hands ; procure com fortable seats ; the cup-bearers should be respectable, and active in the distribution of meat and drink ; let there be moderation of music ; short stories ; a welcoming countenance ; failte for the learned ; pleasant con versations, &c. These are the duties of the prince, and the arrange ments of the banquetting house." " For what qualifications is a king elected over countries, tribes, and people ?" " From the goodness of his shape and family ; from his experience and wisdom; from his prudence and magnanimity ; from his eloquence ; bravery in battle ; and from the numbers of his friends." ' Tigernach informs us, that the large fleet of Cormac Mac Art cruised in the Tyrhenian seas for three years. VOL. I. D 50 POLITICAL SERIES. [FiRST " What are the qualifications of a prince ?" " Let him be vigorous, easy of access, and affable ; let him be humble, but majestic; let him be without personal blemish; let him be a (filea) a hero, a sage; let him be liberal, serene, and good-hearted; mild in peace, fierce in war ; beloved by his subjects ; discerning, faithful, and patient; righteous and abstemious ; let him attend the sick; let him pass just judgments; let him support each orphan; let him abomin ate falsehood; let him love truth; let him be forgetful of evil, mindful of good ; let him assemble numerous meetings ; let him communicate his secrets to few ; let him be cheerful with his intimates ; let him appear splendid as the sun, at the banquet in the house of Midchurta, (Mecoorta, i. e. the middle house of Tarah) ; let him convene assem blies of the nobles ; let him he affectionate and inteUigent ; let him depress evils ; let him esteem every person according to his close sureties ; let him be sharp but lenient In his judgments and decisions. These are the qualifications by which a chieftain should be esteemed."* One more of these sentences shoidd be given, as its sense is bio graphical. " O descendant of Con! what was thy deportment when a youth?" " I was cheerful at the banquet of Miodh-chuarta, fierce in battle, vigilant and circumspect; kind to friends; a physician to the sick; merciful to the weak; stern towards the headstrong. Although pos sessed of knowledge, I was inclined to taciturnity ; although strong, I was not haughty ; I mocked not the old, although I was young ; I was not vain, although I was valiant; when I spoke of a person in his absence, I praised, not defamed him; for it is by these customs that we are knovvn to be courteous and ci^viUzed."! The Psalter of Tara was compiled by order of this prince. His death is thus mentioned by Tigernach : " Cormac, grandson of Con of the hundred battles, died at Clothy, on Tuesday, the bone of a salmon sticking in his throat; or it was the siabra that killed him, at the instigation of MaelcUn the Druid, because Cormac did not beUeve in him." The evidence of a high, though peculiar, ci^vUizatlon in this mon arch's reign, admits of no reasonable doubt. And the history of the island assumes a character of the clearest authenticity ; that is to say, so far as actual records, pretending to so remote an origin, are attaina ble. In these, it is always easy, at a glance, to distinguish the truth from its ornament of fiction. Though the zeal of scepticism may find enough of chronological disagreement, and variation of statement, for the purpose of objection; yet objections, on such grounds, are but too apt to comndt the oversight of objecting to a partlculai- history, that which is common to aU. The difficulties, in reality, are those arlsmg from a neglected language, and from chasms which mistaken zeal, and a barbarous policy have caused, by the destruction of ancient manu scripts. Taking these facts into accoimt, it may be fearlessly affirmed, that the well-treasured, and skUlfuUy-coUated records of Saxon and Norman England have been far inferior, in historic value, to the neglect- " Dublin Penny Journal, 215, translated by John O'Donovan. t Ibid. 281. Period.] FIONN. 51 ed and destroyed manuscript records of Irish antiquity, of a far earlier date. Of that which has been lost, the indications are as certainly ascertainable in that which we possess, as the living forms and func tions of ancient zoology, are said, by comparative anatomists, to be discoverable from the broken structures of their fossil remains. dFionn, Tehs eminent warrior and statesman, was the son-in-law of Cormac. The flattery of ancient poetry had exaggerated him into a monster of the fancy ; and the accident of a singular piece of Uterary imposture has obliterated from his fame aU the circumstances of human reality. His wisdom and valour have had the singular misfortune of being con signed to oblivion by poetry, which has always been supposed to bestow on virtue the immortality of fame. Fionn's father was Cumhal, the son of Trien More, descended in the fourth remove from Raugadut, king of Leinster. In right of his mother, he inherited the territory of Almuin in that province. He also possessed a large tract in Leinster, by a grant from the provincial king. He succeeded his father to the rank and office of commander of the Irish mUItia, then the most select and highly-trained force of which there is any record in ancient annals. His station gave him the pri vUege of familiar friendship with the wise monarch of Ireland, by whom he was consulted, as a principal adviser, in the extensive im provements of the law and civU economy of the kingdom which he was labouring to effect. The standing force of this Irish mUitia has been stated at three thousand select men. On occasions of apparent danger from rebeUion, or any other cause, seven thousand were deemed fully adequate to all the demands of internal or external emergency. At this period, there was between Ireland and North Britain the close aUiance of parental affinity. The Dalrlads, whose origin we have already noticed, looked chiefly to Ireland in their emergencies ; and in the computation of the Irish force, there seems to have been an allowance for the protection of this colonial ally. Training, and care ful selection, rendered this smaU force equal to the indiscriminate muster of a kingdom: a fact easUy understood, from the description of the mode of selection, and plan of discipline ; which, though alloyed by a Uttle obvious exaggeration, may yet substantiaUy be received as the truth. The number, station, and duty of the officers, may be passed, as ha-ving no peculiar difference from the modern distribution of mUitary command. It is in the tests of selection, and the code of discipline, that the traces of Cormac and Fionn, and the spirit of the nation, are to be found. Among, these, for they are minute and many, we select a few: — One of the ordinances was a provision guarding against the vindictive principle of retaliation, which was then a main cause of much of the disorders of society. No soldier was allowed to enlist, unless his relations entered into an agreement, binding them not to attempt to revenge his death. By this, it is also evident, that he became more strictly within the penal power of mUitary discipline. 52 POLITICAL SERIES. [FlKST The second regulation provided for the respectability of the body, by making knowledge and literary taste essential to selection. The re maining conditions are, at least, amusing. They relate to bodily qualifications, and contain some curiously-impracticable tests. We extract them, however, as unquestionably containing the principle of selection, founded on the ancient state of warfare, as weU as on the physical characters, to this day observable among the Celtic race of Ireland. " The second qualifications for admittance into these standing forces was, that no one should be received unless he had a poetical genius, and could compose verses, and was weU acquainted with the twelve books of poetry. " The third condition was, that he should be a perfect master of his weapons, and able to defend himself against all attacks ; and to prove his dexterity In the management of his arms, he was placed in a plain field, encompassed with green sedge that reached above his knee ; he was to have a target by him, and a hazel stake in his hand, of the length of a man's arm. Then nine experienced soldiers of the militia were drawn out, and appointed to stand at the distance of nine ridges of land from him, and to throw all their javelins at him at once : if he had the skiU, with the target and stake, to defend himself, and come off unhurt, he was admitted into the service ; but if he had the misfortune to be wounded by one of these javelins, he was rejected as unqualified, and turned off with reproach. " A fourth qualification was, that he should run weU, and in his flight defend himself from his enemy; and to make a trial of his acti'vity, he had his hair plaited, and was obUged to run through a wood, -with all the militia pursuing him, and was allowed but the breadth of a tree before the rest at his setting out. If he was overtaken in the chase, or received a wound, before he had ran through the wood, he was re fused, as too sluggish and unskUful to fight with honour among those valiant troops. " It was required in the fifth place, that whoever was a candidate for admission into the militia, should have a strong arm, and hold his weapon steady; and if it was observed that his hand shook, he was rejected. " The sixth requisite was, that when he ran through a wood, his hair shoidd continue tied up during the chase ; if it feU loose, he could not be received. " The seventh qualification, to be so swift and light of foot, as not to break a rotten stick by standing upon it. " The eighth condition was, that none should have the honour of being enroUed among the Irish militia, that was not so active as to leap over a tree as high as his forehead ; or could not, by the agUity of his body, stoop easUy under a tree that was lower than his knees. " The ninth condition required was, that he could, without stopping, or lessening his speed, draw a thorn out of his foot. " The tenth, and last, qualification was, to take an oath of aUegiance, to be true and faithful to the commanding officer of the army. These were the terms required for admission among these brave troops; which, so long as they were exactly insisted upon, the mUitia of Ireland Period.] FIONN. 53 were an invincible defence to their country, and a terror to rebels at home and abroad."* From these accounts, with all their palpable inconsistencies, one inference may be safely drawn : that the mUitary force of the country were brought, by Fionn, to a high state of discipline and efficiency. The traditions of their exploits, and ascertained remains of their customs, alone are certain indications of so much. We hasten, however, to a subject of more importance in the history of Fionn. We shall touch but briefly upon the spurious translations of Macpherson; because the world has .been long since wearied with in conclusive reiterations on the subject; and the improved knowledge of our best modern antiquaries seems to have concluded, in a scornful sUence, on the dishonest character of his attempt to rob this island of her bards and warriors. As modern history began to emerge from the obscurity of the middle ages, much of those more ancient materials which should form the basis of aU true history — scattered, obscured, and mutilated, by the events of a long revolutionary period of confusion — ^had not yet been sought out, restored, brought together, and compared : and while these were wanting, bold inventions, rendered specious by their adaptation to the spirit of their date, occupied their place. These were felt, for the most part, to be of spurious or doubtful authority by the more sober writers, in whose pages they yet found a place, from the mere want of the means to disprove or replace them. The genius of theory, however, which StiU holds by no means a sinecure station in history, was a principal guide through the perplexity of a research, where so much must needs have belonged to conjecture. Slight facts ; faint analogies ; traditions variously corrupted by omission, accumulation of error, • fraud, and the natural prejudices of nationality ; took form, according to the imagination or prejudice of the coUector : and national periods, that never had existence, thus assumed a form and seeming consistency on the chronicler's scroU. One foUowed another, each adding some new confirmation, dra'wn from the same dark region of unreal fancies and dimly-seen shadows. Such is a brief abstract of the character and pretension of those •writers of the 15th and 16th centuries, who enabled Buchanan to compose a history, possessing all the recommenda tions which national feeling, and a strong, elegant, and vivacious style, could impart to accounts grounded on a mixture of fraud, mistake, and speculation. By this class of 'writers the first colony of Scots from Ireland was carried back many centuries, and placed before the Chris tian era, which, in point of fact, preceded this event by two centuries and a half; and the history of a line, far more shadowy than the vision of Banquo's royal race, makes its appearance on the tablet of the impos ing romance of the middle ages. These old writers, however, were stUl to some extent compeUed to adopt the main form of a tradition which, however obscure, corrupt, and dateless, was yet shaped from events and notions based on events. A writer belonging to a recent period, taking advantage of the sUent obscurity of the subject, has made a more daring attempt to shape anti- " Keating. 54 POLITICAL SERIES. [FiRST quIty into a theory, for the purpose of maintaining a literary project of his own. Taking advantage of the confusion by which the ancient name of Ireland has become the modern name of Scotland — availing himself of the near affinity of the Highland and Irish languages — of the traditions common to both — and of the specious prejudices of his time in favour of the more civilized, and against the less fortunate, of the two countries; he boldly seized on a theory which, in the absence of the facts, is highly accommodated to appearances ; and at once reversing the claims of Ireland and her Highland descendants, he peoples the former from the latter, and boldly transfers the poe try, history, and persons, of a most authentic period of Irish history to the Highlands of Scotland. The fictions of the Scottish history of Buchanan's age and compo sitions have long been exploded, by the skUful science and united judgment of the most reputed modem antiquaries of the kingdom. Nor, in these days of enlightened research, would even a Highland bard be hardy enough to trace the Highland tribes, or the Scottish monarchy, beyond the dates assigned by the thoroughly established annals of their parent island. Nor need the ancestral pride of the Highland Celt shrink from the decision, which (looking justly on the past) adds to his descent the indefinite glories of the farthest descend ed and most illustrious race in the annals of European antiquity. A just aUowance for this consideration, which may here be aUowed to repose on the view of Irish history already given, must dissolve the dreams of Mr M'Pherson, without the pains of any detaUed analysis of his work. The grounds of charge against him are briefly : mistakes as to chronology ; gross anachronisms in the use of names, and in the construction of his specimens of original language ; the assumption, on no authority, of names, persons, and events, as part of the history of one country, which have an authorized place solely in the history and traditions of another. As O'Conor remarks, he describes Ossian as the illiterate bard of an iUiterate age, having his poems handed down 1400 years by tradition, and yet unknown through all this period, till discovered at the end of it, and given to the world in the form of a voluminous well-arranged series of epic poems, deficient in no link, obscure in no allusion, and comprising a royal bard's history of the wars and changes of a most eventful period. Such is no unfair description of a most iU-comblned artifice ; gratui tous so far as Its authority, and, in its construction, a tissue of shallow contradictions. Of these the reader, who cares to satisfy himself by entering into details we cannot afford, wUl find a clear exposm-e in most recent histories of Ireland. ©riomtftan* A. D. 360. Passikg the royal occupants of the throne, from Cormac son of Art,* * Cormac was succeeded by Eochaidh Gunalt, in 253. He reigned for one year, and was Buc(;eeded by Cairbre, the son of Cormac. Cairbre was slain in the battle Period.] CRIOMTHAN. 55 we arrive at Criomthan, a lineal descendant of the great OUioU Olum. The intervening names supply little more than a series of those genealogies, which formed so important a part of the ancient Irish records; of aU these persons, there is not one whose history could afford new matter for observation, or indeed any event of interest, unless we except the curious history of the three CoUas, of which the outline might doubtless be offered, on the satisfactory authority of the Psalter of Cashel; but when we have sifted the facts from the embellishments which they have received from antique superstition, they present nothing more than the ordinary features of rebeUions, battles, and usurpations, on the same petty scale which applies to so much that we have related. Criomthan is entitled to the distinction of this notice, however slight, not only because his reign occurs within the limits of a period of great and peculiar interest in the annals and traditions of Ireland ; but is also distinguished by Incidents, which, though, like aU the real events of Irish antiquity sparingly recorded, yet cast a strik ing reflection on the increased communication which is presently to appear between Ireland and the continental nations. He carried his arms successfully into Britain, and exacted tribute both in England, and the neighbouring territories of the north. He had the like success in France ; and as this example appears to have been followed by some of the succeeding princes, we are at liberty to conjecture the influence of an enlarged civUization, in expanding the national sphere of action and intercourse. The reign of Criomthan is Ulustrated by the noble forbearance and justice of his friend Conall, a descendant of the Mimster kings. This prince had heen educated with Criomthan, who, in the amplitude of his power, thought fit to raise his young friend to the vacant Munster throne. Conall's first impulse was probably the natural triumph of gratified ambition. But he listened to the remonstrances of the members of the other branch of the family, whose representative Core, was the rightful claimant to the Munster throne. ConaU might have retained this dignity without opposition, under the powerful aUiance of the monarch. But a sense of justice prevailed, he referred the claims of both to an impartial arbitration, and by their just award yielded the throne of Munster to its rightful claimant. The sentence of the judges recognised at the same time his claim to the succession after Fiachadh, who soon made way for him to take rightful possession of the throne, of which he had the rare grace to abandon a wrongful claim. Criomthan was poisoned by his sister, who is said to have been actuated by so inveterate a determination, that to deceive him, she tasted the poison, and paid with her life the penalty of her foul crime. The monarch died at Sliabh Vidhe, near Limerick. He was succeeded by the celebrated NiaU. of Gabbra, occasioned by the revolt of the militia, and succeeded by Fathach Airgtheach, and his brother, of whom the first mentioned murdered the latter, and was dethroned and slain by the militia in the battle of Ollarbha. Then, in 182, the reign of Fiachadh is marked by his struggle with the three CoUas who, by his death, ended his reign of thirty years, and in like manner disturbed the suc ceeding reign of his sou Muircadhach. 56 POLITICAL SERIES. [FiRST KiaU of tfie K(ne ^o&mt&. A. D. 375. Niall was the son of Eochaidh Muigh Meedon, the predecessor of Criomthan. The settlement of the Caledonian Dalriads has already been de scribed. They were at this time exceedingly harassed by their Pict ish neighbours. In their distress, they looked to the usual resource of Irish protection, and NIaU crossed over with an army, of sufficient power to awe the Picts into submission without recourse to a trial of strength. His interference became, therefore, more of a political than military character. At the request of the Dalriads, he changed the name of the country to Scotia; and that it might be distinguished from the parent island, he imposed the less flattering addition of minor. So that Ireland was from thenceforth designed to retain the appella tion of Scotia Major, and Scotland of Scotia Minor. TUl this period Scotland had borne the name of Albyn. Niall also led a powerful army into France, where he committed considerable devastation; and making a second descent in concert with the Dalradlans of Scotland, they plundered the whole district of the Loire. It was in one of these expeditions that a large body of captives was brought into Ireland by this monarch, amongst whom, it is said, was the youth afterwards so weU known, in our ecclesiastical annals, under the title of St Patrick. The ambition of NiaU appears to have sweUed far beyond the nar row circle of provincial enterprise, which formed the boundary of his predecessors. His life seems to have been passed in successive ex peditions into Scotland, England, and France. In one of these he met his death, on the banks of the Loire, from the hand of Eochaidh, a Leinster prince, whom he had exasperated by various acts of hostiUty and oppression. The Incident was as foUows: — Eochaidh, burning with revenge, offered himself as a volunteer in the ranks of the Dal riadic force, which formed a part of the army of Niall. He had, while an exile in Scotland, formed an intimacy with Gabran, the leader of this force, by whom he was readUy received, and thus contrived to attach himself to the force of his powerful enemy. NiaU, who soon became apprised of the fact, seems to have taken the alarm, and refused to admit him to his presence. But his precaution was insufficient. Eochaidh watched ¦with the deadly vigUance of hate, and it was not long till the moment of vengeance arrived. One day, as NiaU had seated himself on the banks of the Loire, an arrow, shot from a thicket on the other side, pierced him through. Eochaidh immediately re turned to Ireland, and, taking possession of the province of Leinster, reigned for many years. Among the many cm-ious romances of old tradition, that of Eochaldh's children is among the best. It would indeed require but a little aid from the established story -telling phrase, to entitle it to a distinguished place in Eastern fiction, to which the Irish legend has a family re- Period.] NIALL of THE NINE hostages. 57 semblance too near to be unnoticed. As it may, however, happen to be but an imaginative version of the truth, we shall offer it in the unassuming dress of a simple outline. When Eochaidh was an exile in Scotland, and under the protection of the governor of the Scottish Dalradlans — it fell out that his lady and the princess of Scotland were, on the same night, and in the same apartment, taken iU ¦with the pains of child-birth. They were friends, and seemed resolved not to be separated in the pangs or the triumphs of that interesting trial of female fortitude. There was, perhaps, another reason. The princess of Scotland was deeply anxious to concUiate her husband's affections with the present of a son and heir, and had concerted the arrangement which was to ensure her an added chance. In order to effect the desirable object, no one but the midwife was aUowed to enter, until they should be called for. The event proved the wisdom and success of this arrangement. The princess of Lein ster had two sons, but the Scottish princess only a daughter. With sUent celerity the preconcerted change was made; the princess received from the hands of the discreet midwife, one of the boys of her friend, and the happy tidings of an infant prince of Scotland soon surrounded her bed with the king and his court in joyful con gratulation. Years roUed on — ^the infant grew to be a gallant prince, and at leng^th, on the death of his supposed father, ascended the Scottish throne. Being of a warUke genius, he resolved to lay claim to the supremacy of Ireland ; and making immense levies, he landed in Ireland, and struck terror and dismay wherever he turned his course. But of aU the princes who trembled at a power they had no means to withstand, the youthful king of Leinster had the most to fear ; the hostile purpose of Eogan seemed to be more especially directed against him. In this serious perplexity, when he had neither force to resist, nor wealth to comply with the exorbitant demands of his formidable enemy, he was, perhaps, little relieved by the sudden declaration of his mother, that she would herself seek the king of Scotland, and engaged that she would com pletely turn away his hostUe design. The good old queen's proposal must have seemed absurd to her son; but she had her own way, and went to seek the king of Scotland in his camp. The Scottish king was a little surprised at receiving a ¦visit from one so old, and was stUl more so when she ventured to expostulate with him on his meditated hostUities towards her son. Thinking, probably, that the Leinster prince had shown no great wisdom in his selection of an ambassador, he gave way to his impatience, and ex claiming that he had no notion of being turned from his purpose by the ravings of an old hag, he sternly bade her leave his presence without delay. The old lady replied with a solemn composure, that his own mother was a hag such as she, and that she had an important secret, of the utmost concern to him, which could only be com municated to his private ear. The king's curiosity was excited, and he ordered the hall to be cleared. When alone, she told him the secret history of his birth, and that he was her son, and the brother of the prince whom he was about to invade. To confirm his story, she appealed to the e^vidence of his reputed mother, the princess of 58 political series. [First Scotland. The king of Scotland was much astonished at so singular a story, and immediately despatched a messenger to desire the queen of Scotland's presence with aU possible speed. In a short time she arrived, and unreservedly confirmed the whole account of the Leinster princess. The king, satisfied that a disclosure, which must needs en danger his crown, required to be suppressed at any sacrifice, exacted from both ladies a pledge of the most inviolate secrecy; and not only agreed to withdraw his troops from Leinster, but from that moment entered into a treaty with the prince, of which the event was lasting peace and strict friendship between the brother kings. NiaU had eight sons, to whom many ancient Irish families can be traced. The reason of his peculiar title, which has, by all historians, been added to his name, is said to be his having kept nine hostages —four from Scotland, and five from Ireland, as pledges for the peace able conduct of each of these countries. iiatfiB* A. d. 398. Dathv succeeded NiaU. He was much distinguished for personal activity, and the sprightly vivacity of his manner, temper, and motions. His claim to historic notice. Is the enterprising spirit of his reign. Like his immediate predecessor, he carried his arms into France, where he met a fate not inappropriate to his sparkling temper, and bold career. At the foot of the Alps his ambitious course was put an end to, by a flash of lightning. The bold and enterprising spirit of this monarch, and his immediate predecessor, first broke through the line of isolation between this island and the continent of Europe. By their foreign wars and alliances, they extended the fame and intercourse of their country, and thus paved the way for Christianity, which in their time was diffusing its civilizing lustre over a barbarous world. " No two monarchs," says O'Conor in his Dissertations, " can be equaUed with them in this particular, as none ever carried the glory of the Scottish arms farther: both opposed the Romans in Britain — ^both pursued them into Gaul," &c. Dathy's body was brought over by his officers, and buried at Roilic na Riogh, near Cruachan, once a burial place of Irish kings. Of these ancient burial places there were two, in which most of the Irish kings were burled: Briigh na Boyne, and Roilic na Riogh. Of these the latter is the more eminent ; its remains are yet to be found near Cruachan (Croghan), in Connaught. O'Conor thus describes them; " The latter place is of a circular form, sur rounded with a stone ditch, greatly defaced. It measures a hundred and sixteen paces in diameter, and is remarkable, at present, for nothing but being once the dormitory of so many of our heathen kings, cele brated in a few sweet lines by Torna Egeas, a filea of the fourth century. Dathy, the last of our heathen monarchs, was therein interred." Keating gives at full length the history of this ancient cemetery, from the poetry of an Irish bard, who enumerates the Period.] laogaire. 59 kingly occupants of its ancient dust : among the names thus mentioned is that of Dathy — " Here Dathy lies (whose deeds are sung by fame) Near Cruachan's pensive walls." Haogafre* A.D. 421. Laogaike was the son of Niall. His reign of thirty years is ren dered especially remarkable, by the succession of events which made Ireland a Christian country. Of these our notice may be appropriated to the Uves of those eminent persons who were the instruments of so great a revolution. Among the strictly secular events of this reign, is to be noticed a solemn convention, for the special purpose of examining the ancient annals and genealogies of the kingdom. By this meeting the task was committed to nine persons, viz., Laogaire himself, with the kings of Ulster and Munster, the three bishops, Patrick, Benignus, and Calrneach, and the antiquaries Dubhthach, Fergus, and Rosa. The record of this transaction Is preserved in an ancient Irish poem; of which, as a specimen of this class of compositions, the reader may find some interest in the foUowing version from Keating, which, amid its uncouth versification, carries the peculiar tone of its antique originality : — " The learned authors of these choice records, "Which for their truth are called the great antiquity, "Were nine, selected by the Convocation, For wisdom and integrity renowned ; Three kings, three prelates, aud three antiquaries : The prelates were, the most devout St Patrick, The pious Binen, and the wise Caimeach ; The kings were Laogaire, the Irish monarch, A prince in heraldry exactly skilled ; Joined with him was the judicious Daire, The warlike king of Ulster ; the third A prince for letters and for martial acts Was famous, his name was Core, the potent king Of Munster : three antiquaries next surveyed These old records, and purged them by their skill ; Tbe faithful Dubhthach, and the sage Fergus, And Rosa, nicely versed in foreign tongues. These perused the annals of their ancestors. Erased the errors, the effects of fraud Or ignorance ; and by the test of truth Examined, they established the records And every pedigree of noble blood ; And thus corrected, they descend te us. Unworthy issue of our brave progenitors." * From this period, by a decree of this monarch, the annals of the kingdom were committed to the keeping of the bishops ; by these they • Keating. 60 political series. [First were caused to be transcribed and deposited in the principal churches. Many of these venerable manuscripts, thus preserved, have survived the ravage of time, and of the Danish heathens of our second period, and found their way Into public libraries and private collections, and form the most valuable portion of the material of our ancient history. Of these are enumerated, the Book of Armagh, the Psalter of Cashel, the Book of Glendalogh, the Book of Clonmacnoise, &c., &c. Laogaire's death is said by Keating to have been caused by a stroke of lightning ; and, with the superstitious feeling in which this simple and credulous, but sincere and zealous, old man seems always to par ticipate, is attributed to a special visitation of Divine anger, for breaking his faith with Criomthan, a Leinster chief, who ha-ving taken his monarch prisoner in battle, exacted as his ransom the remission of the Boromean tribute. That such are not the ways of providence, it is needless to tell the student either of profane history, or sacred revelation, or the observer of the events of life. Laogaire's son, Lughaidh, afterwards succeeded in the alternate course of Irish royalty. This was not, perhaps, the legal course of the monarchy : the estabUsh ment of the Munster throne, probably, afforded a general sanction to the ambition of princes; and as, in most cases, the kings of Ireland were carried off by some sudden and violent death, leaving their chUdren either too young or too inadequately supported to assert their rights, an opening to the throne was thus made for the prepared vigilance of the next in title, or the strongest. From whatever cause it is, this period is marked by a remarkable uniformity in this mode of succession. Laogaire was succeeded by OilioU Molt, the son of his predecessor Dathy. A. D. 453. Or this monarch nothing is recorded of sufficient interest to detain our notice. He summoned a convention at Tara. It is said that in a manuscript of great antiquity, he is mentioned as "king of the Scots." He was at war with Leinster; and fought a battle at Tuama Aithie, memorable for an unusual carnage on both sides. The son of Lao gaire at length was enabled to bring an army to the field, and a battle soon ensued, in which OUioU was slain. ILugSaigfi, A. D. 473. This reign has little memorable on record. Lughaidht was con temporary with Felix III., the bishop of Rome, who was excommuni cated by the rival bishop of Constantinople. In this time, also, the struggle between the ancient Britons and Saxons seems to have been at its height. And it may best put the reader in possession of the general Period.] LUGHAIGH. 61 position of the period to notice, that it was in 449 that the arrival of the Saxons in Britain, under Hengist and Horsa, is fixed hy most historians of reputed authority, from whence this struggle may be reckoned to have continued for one hundred and thirty years, to the complete establishment of the Saxons, at the end nearly of the sixth century — a period of extreme rudeness and ignorance. It was in this reign that a considerable force from Ireland was led into Scotland by Lorn, the eldest son of Ere, who conquered Argyle • from the Picts. We have already, as we advanced, noticed the various settlements of the Irish Scots in North Britain — ^the first, of which we have any certainty, occurred in the beginning of the third century. From this up to the period now before our notice, they had preserved their foot ing in the country, with various degrees of success; sometimes in alliance, and more frequently, perhaps, in hostUity with the Picts, who may be regarded as the natives. These were (according to the best authority) a Gothic race from the northern forests of Germany, then very generaUy caUed Scythia. They had, it is said, early sought a settlement in Hibernia, and had been referred by the natives to Britain, as the less occupied territory. They foUowed the suggestion, but sought ¦wives from the Irish Scots, which were allowed them, on the condition of settling that in doubtful cases the sceptre should descend in the female Une. From this a broken and intermitting alUance seems to have begun — as the Picts and Scots are commonly named together in the numerous invasions of Britain, which the English annalists trace to the north. But there was stiU throughout a succession of repeated struggles between the Dalriadic or Hibernian colony and their neighbours; the effect of which was to make their tenure doubtful, and to repress their prosperity. The event of this reign gave a decisive impulse in their favour. Although the Picts stiU continued to retain their independence, and to possess the best parts of the country; yet the foundation for con quest, was secured In the possession of a territory so well fortified by nature as the district now in possession of the Irish Scots. From this a Scottish kingdom may be said to have struck root, and begim to expand. The Picts, also, from many causes, began to decline: and were finally subdued In the 9th century, when the sovereignty of Scotland became vested in a line of Dalriadic kings, in the person of Kenneth M'Alpine. The period during which this early settlement was subject to the parent country, is computed by Giraldus at 315 years, to the time of WiUiam Rufus. It may here be added, that it was about the middle of the 9th century when the seat of govern ment was removed by the Scots to the Lowlands. The death of St Patrick took place in the fourteenth year of this reign, Gelasius was elected to the Roman see in the last. Lughaidht was a violent enemy to the Christian reUgion, and a per secutor of its first preachers. He reigned twenty-two years, and died in 493. 62 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First iMortougS* A.D. 493. Mortough's reign was one of great trouble. In one year he was obliged to fight five battles. He reigned tUl A. D. 515, when he died in his house at Chetteigh. As the lives of these kings are little marked by any civil history, of sufficient Interest to occupy the reader, and as the principal events of the period are entirely ecclesiastical in their character, we may refer them to the memoirs of our ecclesiastical series. To preserve the succession of order, we shall here, as in other similar cases, give lists containing the dates of the reigns which we do not think it expedient to offer at length. This course is rendered advisable, from the cir cumstance, that no reign occurs of sufficient importance or duration to comprise any integral portion of our ecclesiastical affairs. Mortough was succeeded by Tuathal 515 After whom, we have in order DIarmuId . 528 Feargus and Daniel 550 Eochaidh and Baodan 551 Ainmereach 554 Baodan 557 Aodh 558 Hugh Slanie and Colman RImidh 585 II. ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. INTRODUCTION. Literature confined to the Church — The Irish Church independent of the Roman See — Application of this inference to the evidence of ancient Traditions, and to those concerning St Patrick in particular — Statement of the Controversies of the Tonsure, the time for keeping Easter, and the Three Chapters. At the early period, in the history of which we are engaged, the whole of literature which then had any existence, was confined to the church ; and Iu this, as In some succeeding periods, our Uterary and ecclesiastical periods cannot be separated. The history of the primitive Irish church might be weU included in the lives of those eminent persons who were its first preachers and bishops. But the history of these is affected by some doubts, which, to our apprehension, may be in part removed, by a distinct view of one question concerning the Irish church, namely, whether it was de pendent on the church of Rome or not? A question of so much ex tent and so Uttle importance may be rather a circuitous method of Period.] INTRODUCTION. 63 arriving at the inference we shall ground upon it, but the discussion wiU be, at aU events, illustrative of the history of the time. Usher, and, after him. Ware, have taken much pains to state the doctrinal opinions of the early church of Ireland ; and they appear to have fuUy maintained that they were substantially the same doctrines since held in the church of England. In our proof of the independ ence of the Irish church, little assistance can be gained from such a view; because It is in a manner common to all the churches of that period, not excluding the church of Rome. Heresies no doubt existed from the very beginning, but these are yet to be regarded rather as affecting sects than as identified with churches. An Ulustration of this wUl be found in the life of Pelagius. The church of Ireland must have received the Christian religion as it then existed in all the churches, disturbed as they were by active and violent controversies, but not radicaUy tainted by heresies and corruptions, of which the successive beginnings can be traced through a long succession of after ages. We therefore hold ourselves exonerated from any necessity of mi nutely comparing doctrines, for estabUshing the entire independence of the Irish church. The Irish church was an independent church, having its authority and government within itself, and acknowledging neither submission or even deference to Rome, more than to Alexandria, Jerusalem, or any other church of the time. Of this we can offer proofs enough — more, indeed, than we shaU here insist upon, in an article which we are anxious to make as inoffensive as our purpose wiU admit. One proof may, at the outset, be considered decisive by those who have studied ecclesiastical history. The only argument of any real weight for the dependence of the Irish church on that of Rome, is that derived from the assumption of the general supremacy of the Romish church. To this the reply is short: the assumed supremacy had no existence at the period. The churches which then existed were related together by two prin ciples of connexion. They were aU understood to be members of a common church, of which the Head was the common Founder. They had also the less universal connexion which arose from the accident of their various political conditions. They were all subject to the secular jurisdiction of the countries to which they belonged; as, however, the power and extent of the Roman emperors combined the greater part of them under a common system, there arose, as a neces sary consequence, vast inequalities in the wealth, influence, and autho rity of churches, and a struggle for power soon began. StUl, notwith standing the preponderant influence which must have been the result of its, political position, many centuries elapsed before the great metro politan church of the Western empire had struggled free from the paramount supremacy of the emperors ; and at the time in question, its power had not been recognised, or even pretended to, in the form of ecclesiastical supremacy. The Irish church was independent when aU the churches were so ; but this independence was the greater, because it was removed from the scope of those agencies, which the more power ful European and Asiatic churches were then exerting for the exten sion of their power. The proof of all this, though one of tedious detail. 64 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First is very simple and cogent. It wiU be found in the history of the con troversies of the first five centuries. In this, the occasional elevations and depressions of the hierarchy, with the causes, are plam enough: as also their independence of each other; the constant effort to gam ascendancy; and the strong controlling hand of the emperors. These facts are so well established, in the fuU concurrence of aU authenti cated history, that unless for the purpose of an elaborate and contro versial statement, we need not prolong this section with sheets of his toric citation. But if the dependence assumed, or attempted to be enforced, by sonie writers, could not exist in the early period, it can be proved that it did tnot, in the later periods, for several centuries ; untU, as we shaU, at a future stage of this work, show, it was reluctantly admitted, ¦with some opposition. But before we enter on a topic which the nature of our undertaking does not admit of our discussing with fulness, it may be right to clear away a common misconception, which the manner of treating the sub ject, among the writers of the Roman church, has been calculated to produce. There has been, in aU these discussions, a confusion between two distinct questions, ¦viz., What claim the church of Rome may have to the first introduction of the gospel into Ireland? and the totaUy different question. Whether any subjection of the Irish to the Roman church was either claimed or acknowledged in the earUer periods of both ? Now, the first of these questions is utterly inconsequent, except by a most extreme corSusion of ideas. The other is that on which we mean to offer a few remarks. The effect of the confusion of which we complain is this, that every expression which in any way indicates respect for the grea,t and acknowledged eminence of the Roman see, or even admits any communion with it, has been wrested into the con struction of a dependence, of which no doubtful phrases, but the most unquestionable facts, disprove the mere possibUity. Whether the con version of the Irish was or was not the work of Rome, is a question, for the decision of which the materials are not very abundant or solid; but we shaU only say, that it strikes us that the obstacles to such a conclusion are insurmountable. We shall not enter upon it ; but, for the argument's sake, grant on this head whatever may be demanded. Let us then return to the statement of a view, which, should it become necessary, we are prepared to support in fuUer detaU. The main facts, indeed, on which our inference is supported, are not denied. It is not necessary to prove that there were differences strenu ously maintained on three main points — ^the Tonsure, the celebration of Easter, and the controversy of the Three Chapters. Some modern historians, of considerable respectabUity, have affected to speak of these as not amounting to what they are pleased to call schism, and as standing on the charitable connivance of the apostolical see ; but such a notion is altogether gratuitous. However lightly the controversial writers of the present day may speak of differences not now in agita tion, there was then no such indifference. These controversies were long and bitter, and conducted with a degree of animosity which, it must be observed, characterizes all the controversies of the same period. The see of Rome never can be proved to have looked with aUow- Period.] INTRODUCTION. 65 ance on any dissent from its authority, from the moment it had autho rity to support; and the opposition of the Irish bishops, although by no means inconsistent with the communion of two independent sees, is yet utterly inconsistent with the notion of dependence. Some speci mens of this independent spirit wIU appear among the foUowing notices. But their opposition and its pertinacity has evidence of a most unquestionable nature, in the letter of pope Honorius, in the 7th cen tury, when the supremacy of the papal see was established over most other churches. " JVe paucitatem suam in extremis terrts finihus, con- stitutam sapientiorem, antiquis sive modernis, quce per orhem erant Christi ecclesiis cestimarent: Neve contra Paschales computns et deer eta synodalium, totius orhis Pontficum aliud Pascha celebrarent."* That the Irish church should yield at last to the remonstrances of other churches, is to be regarded, not as a proof of submission, but as the re sult of a controversy, in which many of the Irish bishops concurred in opinion with the foreign church. The Roman see, in that instance, had reason on its side. But aU that remains of the correspondence of the Irish bishops, proves as plainly as it is possible for language to ex press, that the very idea of submission did not enter into their view of the question. For authority, the conscientious bishops of Ireland, look ed to the successors of their first apostles. " Successores nostrorum patrum priorum, AUbei Episcopi, Querani Coloniensis, Brendani, Nes- sani, Lugide [se consululssej ; [easquej, in campo Lene [congregates], ut Pascha cum universali ecclesia in future anno celebrarent, [edixisse, ait]." Such was the concession of the church of Ireland in the 7th century, when the system of spiritual diplomacy, which raised and supported the Roman see, had already begun to diffuse itself Into every councU and synod, and influence the whole structure of society. For argument, the Irish ecclesiastics examined the reason of the change; while, for authority, they consulted the successors of the founders of their church. And here, we should observe generally, that any one who desires to foUow out this subject in detaU, must guard against the Impression, occasionally Uable to be made by ex pressions, which indicate any reverence for the Roman see. The great power, influence, and authority, of that see commenced early in the church. The question must be, therefore, rigidly kept in view, that proofs of authority may not be strained into proofs of jurisdiction. Among the notices of the 8th century, proofs may be found that questions were discussed on first principles of argument, differing wide ly in their nature from those recognised in the controversies of the pre-vious ages, and that the authority of " the church," a term then beginning to be appropriated to the Roman see, was substituted for reason, scripture, and special custom, or authority. But there is abundant e^vidence, that stiU the Irish church held its independent ground. In this century, many of the Irish ecclesiastics, who were influenced abroad by habitual intercourse with Rome, on their return to Ireland, were scandalized by its independence of a church, which was then become the Catholic church. In this spirit, it is said that Patrick the abbot, ¦withdrew from a rebel community : " Quod cum populum * Usher, Primord. 934. VOL. I. E 66 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First rehellem reperit, de Hibernia recessit, et apud Glastingensi monaste- rium, ipso die S. Bartholomcei apostoli, extremum diem cloMsit" In the llth century, the complaints of the writers of the Roman communion, are loud against the schismatic church of Hibernia, GlUebert, bishop of Limerick, and said to be the first legate to Ireland from the Roman see, complains of the " diversi et schismatici ordines, quibus Hibernia pene tota delusa est." The delusion of aU Ireland, was something different from the superstitions and implicit submission then yielded by the surrounding churches. This was at a time when the Irish church had, to a great extent, received the various corrup tions of Christianity, which were maintained by the church of Rome; and when many of her bishops, oppressed and alarmed by the perse cution they underwent in an age of frightful disorder, were anxious to find a refuge under the shadow of the Roman see. In the same manner, about seventy-seven years before the landing of Strongbow, the Irish chiefs, in their humiliation, and despair of finding rest from oppression, and the internal dissentions which were then turning the country into a scene of anarchy, rapine, sacrilege, and slaughter, began to look to the firm and iron grasp of Rome for a protecting and overruling authority, such as Rome was then known to exert va, Christendom. And lastly, there is undoubted proof that, to the very last moment of the existence of what may be termed the Irish church, the authority of the papal see was never admitted in any pubUc proceeding, although strenuously supported by eminent Individuals. That there was a union of aU the churches, under a common head, was understood from the be ginning : it required much corruption to erase from the memory of Rome, that this common head was Christ. But it was not altogether forgotten in the middle of the 6th century, even by the Roman see, and still less by other churches. The Roman see was not called, in any Irish synod, the " head of the church :" a blasphemy so tremendous was reserved for a later period. But a reverence for the learning and power of the church of the metropolis of the Western world, pervaded every Christian church ; many of which derived their learning, their doc trines, and their bishops, from this great centre of European poUty and learning. Rome was the " head of cities," and its church took a high, but simply metropolitan, rank in the church universal. The deference which was shown towards it, was not couched in the legal terms of acknowledged dependence, but contains merely the force of an argument appealing to a high authority ; and a good one it was at the time. In like maimer, the remonstrances of the Roman bishop claim nothing on the score of jurisdiction, but simply enforce his opinion by an appeal to the usage of the universal church. The definition of the Irish church, in the period immediately before us, may be taken from an ancient catalogue of saints, cited by Usher. " Unum caput Christum, unum ducem Patriclum habebant," — Christ the head, and Patrick the leader — not one word of pope or coimcU. The answer which has been made to this impUcation, is constrained and hardly specious. The pope, it has been said, is not named, be cause the occasion did not require such mention. The writer of the Sylloge simply meant to say, that there was at the time but one re- Period.] INTRODUCTION. 67 ligious order, of which Patrick was the leader, in opposition to the numerous monkish orders which had at a later period sprung up in the church. But the person who may insist on this interpretation, must observe, that it may be admitted without impeachment of our present inference. For at a period in which there were no various communities, having different superiors, aU of whom must by the as sumption, be supposed under the papal jurisdiction as head; there could in such case, be named no subordinate superior in the same enumeration with Christ. It would be as opposed to the logical rule of division or classification, as it would be strangely disrespectful to the one ecclesiastical superior. If, therefore, there was but one religious order, having Christ alone for its head, and Patrick alone for its superior, the intervention of the superiority of the bishop of Rome cannot be supposed, without a singular absurdity. But on looking at the context throughout, we apprehend that the writer means no more or less than the simple intent of his words. In the first period, there was one church agreeing in aU things, as a church should agree, which had one head and one giude. But in the third period different mon astic orders sprung up, which are censured (so far as censure is im plied), not because they have many heads, but because having one head, they were not uniform in spirit and discipline. The writer of the Sylloge used (perhaps intentionaUy) the argument used for the same purpose by St Paul. The " unum caput Christum," &c., is the principle : what foUows is inferential. We think it right to give the whole passage in which the expression occurs. " Primus ordo catholicorum Sanctorum erat in tempore Patricii. Et tunc erant Episcopi omnes clari et sancti, et Spiritu Sancto pleni CCCL numero, ecclesiarum fundatores. Unum caput Christum, et unum du cem Patricium habebant. Unam missam, unam celebrationem, unam tonsuram (ab aure usque ad aurem) sufferebant. Unum Pascha XIV. Lund post sequlnoctium vernale celebrabant : et quod excommunicatum esset ab una ecclesia omnes excommunicabant. Mulierum administra- tionem et consortia non respuebant: quia super petram Christum fundati, ventum tentationis non timebant. Hie ordo Sanctorum per quaterna duravit regna hoc est, pro tempore Laogarij et Aila Muilt et Lugada, filio Laogarij et Thuathail. Hi omnes Episcopi de Romanis, et Francis, et Britonibus et Scotis exorti sunt."* Should any reader object to the brief and narrow outline which we have here presented of this argument, we must say, that we have little choice between a brief summary and a volume exclusively on a sub ject, on which it would not cost us more than the toU and time to fiU many volumes with reasons and authorities. We have been chiefiy led to the argument by considerations which we must now explain. Doubts have been entertained by some learned antiquaries, on the existence of St Patrick. And it has struck us forcibly, that the state ments here made wUl supply a strong answer to these, and the numer ous class of doubts from the same cause. This we shall endeavour to explain, with the brevity we have hitherto preserved in this outline. * Ancient Sylloge; written in the 7th century, and published by Usher. Primord. 913. G8 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First The argument is simply this: that every mention of the name of Patrick, connected with opinions inconsistent with the spirit of those doctrines and pretensions maintained by the church of Rome in the middle ages, must have been produced in much earlier times, and can' be referred to no fraudulent design, — If, indeed, it wUl not be at once admitted that such writings as were not forged in those ages of eccle siastical usurpation founded on fraud, were not likely to have been forged at all. Now the fact in which we propose that this inference should find its main support and application, is one to which we must be compel led to refer the antiquarian student, as it cannot be fairly ¦viewed unless at great length. The general reader will comprehend the force of the argument from one example. The controversies we have noticed, cannot have been maintained by writers of forgeries for the purposes of the Roman see. If, therefore, among these the authority of Patrick is admitted, his history adverted to, or his sayings repeated, it must be conceded, that the imputation of forgery or imposture must rest on grounds not yet pointed out. The pertinacious adherence to its ancient traditions, so e-sddently characteristic of the Irish church, renders it unlikely in the extreme, that it should aUow a spurious saint of such magnitude, to grow up without question among its own traditions — stUl less, to be dilated into such formidable dimensions by the legendary blow-pipe of Probus and Josceline, without uttering one denial. But it is by no means difficult, from the same premises, to account for the silence, or the meagre entry, of Bede's martyrology. The Irish and British churches were, iu Bede's time, widely dlSierent in spirit. Christianity had been re-introduced into England by Gregory, after It had sustained many changes, not kno^wn in the Irish church; and there was no union, but, on the contrary, a feeling of some acrimony among the English writers of that age, against the heretical antiquity of the Irish church. We are thus led to one reason why Bede may not have seen cause to expatiate on the iUustrious lights of a church, which he is likely to have regarded as schismatic. There is indeed a stUl stronger reason for silence. St Patrick's fame has come down to us through the medium of vast exaggerations. The true inference to be drawn from those omissions, which the ingenuity of modern reasoners has con verted into arguments that he never existed, should sUnply be, that he was_not quite so remarkable a person as legends have described, and fond nationality believed. Instead of the wonder-worker crowned with shamrock, and marching to the national air to subdue legions of vipers; the earlier documents describe a missionary teacher, simple, severe, and zealous, exhibiting the clearest evidence of one instructed m the word, and supported by the grace of his Master. Such a char acter is not the subject of imposture, which deals in different repre sentations, and for different purposes. To Bede and the writei-s of the 8th century, he was seen divested of the rays of wonder, with which atter ages adorned his name, and probably looked on as the author of an imperfect and erroneous creed, magnified beyond measure by the veneration of a schismatic church. Period.] INTRODUCTION. 69 But the Sylloge quoted from Usher in our last page, is inconsistent with any reasonable theory of fraud or credulity. The whole of the ancient writing, known by the title of Confessio Patricii, wiU bear the same inference. It contains passages too irre concUable with the spirit of the Roman see, to have emanated from its servants, or within the period of its domination. One of these passages, which describes his early life — of constant prayer and sacred study — of his growth in the knowledge and law of God, and his gradual increase in the strength, arising from that faith which ad vances from grace to grace In the scale of Christian progress — is more worthy of a memoir of some first-rate evangelical professor of the church of England, or from among its nearest sectarian offsets, than resembling any thing to be looked for among the reveries of the monkish middle ages. The description we allude to, must be reserv ed for our sketch of his life. But the reader may here compare the loose paraphrase we have just given of it, with the foUowing de scription of a good Christian, according to the perfect exemplar of the monkish ages : " Bonus Christianus est, qui ad ecclesiam frequenter venit, et oblationem, quae in altari Deo offeratur, exhibet: qui de fruc- tibus suis non gustat, nisi prius Deo aliquid offerat ; qui quoties sancta solemnitates advenlunt, anti dies plures castitatem etiam cum propria uxore custodit, ut secura conscientia Domine altare accedere possit ; qui postremo symbolum vel orationem Dominicam memorlter tenet. Redimite animas vestras de poena, dum habetis In potestate remedia — oblationes et decimas ecclesiis offerte, luminarla Sanctis locis juxta quod habetis, exhibite — ad ecclesiam quoque frequentius con- venite, sanctorum patrocinia humUiter expetite — quod si observaveri- tas securi in Dei judicii ante tribunal seternl judicils venientes dicetis: da Domine quia dedimus."* We see here a large and ample character of a good Christian, in which there is not one Christian grace, or a single testimony, such as might be answerable to any doctrinal or preceptive injunction of any part of the New Testament. Neither love to God, the ".first and great commandment," nor to man, without which all is " as a sounding brass ;" but a catalogue of formal services and contributions to the altar and its ministers, ending with the awful mockery which sets at naught the great atonement, '' Da Domine quia dedimus." In truth, if antiquarian writers who have expressed their doubts on the existence of this father of the Irish church, had, instead of placing the subject in the impracticable aspects they have selected, looked to the general history of the successive changes of Christian doc trine, from the comparative simplicity of the first ages, to the total substitution of human inventions in the middle ages : this doubt could scarcely have arisen. The writings of no theologian, of the days of pope Celestius, could be confused by any well-versed theological critic, ¦with the forgeries of the middle ages, or vice versa. The line is so distinct and clear, that there could not exist any object for either for gery or interpolation, which would, at the same time, not find much greater changes necessary in the account to be given, or adopted for use. It must be always recollected, that, in the 7th century, the * St Eligius, cited by Mosheim. 70 ecclesiastical and LITERARY SERIES. [FiBST many lesser changes which had by time and abuse been suffered to grow up among the churches, received concentration and the force of system from a great political change, which was the foundation of that mighty engine of usurpation, the papal see. 'The transfer of the pic turesque pomps and circumstances of Paganism — the abuses of the eucharist — the invocation of saints — the employment of images to give an object to devotion — the superstitious veneration for relics, tombs, &c the miraculous legends connected with these superstitions — had grown up, and were in their infancy, yet struggUng amidst the fast receding lights of the ancient world: when, in the 7th century, the empire of the middle ages, formally commenced in the recognition of the universal and sovereign supremacy of the bishop of Rome. From this the Inevitable consequence followed — the absolute empire over the conscience and superstition of an ignorant and barbarian world, was an object too seductive for the infirmity of human ambition; and a spiritual tyranny, utterly inconsistent with Christianity, was but naturally foUowed by the revolutionary process which entirely sup pressed it, and, at the same time, imperceptibly substituted a different religion in its place. In the century of Bede, the actual adoration of the pope had begun — the appeal to Scripture was declared a heresy — and the worship of images and relics was expressly authorized by the second council of Nice.* Then began a gainful trade in the church. The Decretals began the work of forgery, by widening and deepening the iron pedestal of the triple crown, and a pervading system of eccle siastical administration extended the papal power into the remotest re cesses of court, castle, and cottage: an army of saints stormed the ramparts of the spiritual world ; and the sovereign of this world, like the Indian Rajah, in Mr Southey's poem, began to claim also the supre macy of the world to come, and to wear the titles of the most high God. Such is an imperfect sketch of the progress of a power which depended altogether on the subjugation of human reason, the suppression of knowledge, and the extent to which the most baseless deceptions could be diffused and maintained in a period of ignorance. A regular manu factory of relics-^a systematic institution of saints — and a most remorse less fabrication of lives and legends, found their sanction and efficient operation in the universal ignorance of the science, history, and reU gion, of the earlier ages of the church. For this unhallowed com merce, Ireland presented an appropriate mart; and, in the middle ages, became the seat of a Birmingham trade in legends. For this it was sufficiently removed from the great centre to baffle suspicion, and celebrated enough to give a sanction to impostui-e. It thus became the scene meet for legends which lay beyond the scope of scrutinizing investigation, and which invested the primitive Irish Christians with powers they never heard of, and gave them doctrines which they would have indignantly denied. The character of this superstitious literatm-e Is, however, distinctly stamped by its origin and design ; nor can it, consistently witli any principle of fair criticism, be confused ¦with the literatm-e of Ireland in the 4th century. The genuineness of the eai-liest remains is to be * A.D. 787. Period.] INTRODUCTION. 71 weighed by the same common test of character. They wUl be always Hkely to contain something inconsistent with the s-pirlt and ¦views of the middle ages. Under the jealous and watchful inspection of spirit ual despotism, a line at variance with its system could hardly avoid destruction, much less be reasonably referred to its fabrication. The curious reader, who may chance to be unversed in ecclesiastical controversy, may have felt a natural curiosity on the subject of those great controversies, to which we have adverted in the course of this preface, as exhibiting the main differences between the Irish and the Roman sees in the period we are about to enter. We must endeavour to satisfy this reasonable demand; but we must first observe, that these differences are now little important" in themselves. Archbishop Usher, as we commenced by saying, has taken some pains to identify the early Christianity of the Irish church with the doctrines of our re formed English church: and we think with sufficient success. But we much doubt that, looking back so far as the age of St Patrick, it would be worth our whUe to foUow his steps. By going far enough back, it is obvious that the same may be proved of every early church, not excluding that of Rome. But these controversies of the Irish church, wUl, in her instance, establish the same inferences. The same facts which ascertain and mark the stern pertinacity of our Irish ecclesiastics in adhering to their o^wn traditions, may lead to a general inference, that they must have been proportionally slow to receive doctrines far more at variance with the primitive faith than the differ ences of cycle, or ecclesiastical tonsure, &c. The fact of a controversy, on a point so intrinsicaUy absurd as the clerical cut of the hair, may not appear of light significance to those who have justly appreciated the foregoing observations. The m.ore trifiing the ground of controversy, the more decided is its value as an indication of the extent of the difference. The tonsure was a harmless superstition. The Roman ecclesiastics shaved the crown of the head. The Irish, allo^wing the hair to grow on the crown, shaved, or shore away the front. Each church appealed to antiquity, and the precedent of their respective founders, real or supposed. But it is quite evident, that the part taken by the Irish monks in so trifling a difference is quite inconsistent with any authority whatever being supposed to have existed in the Roman see. It affords an absolute and incontestible proof that, during the long period of this sUly controversy, nothing could have been conceded, whatever may have been assented to, on the undisputed common ground of Christian communion. The subject of the Paschal controversy, which, for nearly two hun dred years, divided the'British church, was a difference as to the time for celebrating Easter, of which the main grounds are as foUows: — One party foUowing the general corrected method of the Western church for fixing the time of Easter, computed their calendar by a cycle of 19 years for the moon, and 28 years for the sun. The other still used the rejected and exceedingly erroneous cycle, of 84 years for the same pur pose. And secondly, the first, or Western-church party, avoiding the adoption of the Jewish passover, never began Easter on the 14th day of the moon : but should it chance to fall on Sunday, referred it to the following Sunday. The other party, adopting no such scruple, began 72 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [Fibst; on the 14th, and so on in the foUowing years. This opposition was not at an end tiU the year 800 ; when the excess of the lunar time grew so very apparent, as to make the error generaUy noticed, when the method was abandoned by its last adherents. Most writers on this subject seem to have thought proper to offer some brief explanation on the nature of this ancient controversy, which occupied the churches for so many ages ; but the subject has enough of difficulty, to admit of no explanation consistent with the brevity thus attempted. The principle on which the whole depends is, that the lunar and solar revolutions are not commensurable; and therefore, when it became important to fix a point of time ¦with reference to both these periods by some general ride of computation — ^that is to say, a certain date of the moon's age to a certain day — ^the object to be ascer tained would first be, to find some number of revolutions of the one, which should approach nearest to some number of the other. These numbers thus described are caUed cycles. Various cycles have been found, and of these various combinations have been made. The occasion for this mode of computation arose on the dispersion of the Jews, who, stIU desirous to celebrate their passover at the same time, found it necessary to seek some other method than mere observa tion, to ascertain the precise time of the new moon. To fix the new moons, therefore, an astronomical cycle became necessary. Of these it appears that two had been in use; one of which consisted of 8, and the other of 76 Julian years (a Julian year was 365 days, 6 hours). These the Jews added together, thus forming one for themselves of 84 Julian years. The Christian church, taking its rise in the Jewish, carried with it their method for computation of Easter. Omitting such changes and disagreements as our object does not require, in the beginning of the 3d century, the appUcation of this cycle was found to have led to a considerable err.or; as this cycle left still, between the solar and lunar periods, a difference of nearly 31 hours. To remedy this several efforts were made. The difficulty was, however, in no degree diminished, tUl the Nicene council, 325, decreed the following particulars: 1st, That Easter should every where begin on Sunday. 2d, That It should on the Sunday immediately following the 14th day of the moon, first after the vernal equinox, then 21st March. 3d, That it should be referred to the bishop of Alexandria, to calculate the time for each year In accordance with these rules. For this purpose the Alexandrians assumed the cycle of 19 years, the most precise that has yet been ascertained; as, at this period of years, the lunar phases return within an hour and a half of the same solar time as on the previous 1 9 years. The Roman see, unwUling to follow the guidance of the Alexan drian, before long, abandoning the new method, retiu-ned to the adop tion of the Jewish cycle ; which they retained, untU the amomit of the error caused a perceptible confusion. It was then that Hilarius, bishop of Rome, employed the presbyter, Victorius, to ascertain a more accurate cycle. Victorius assumed the lunar cycle of nineteen years ; and as the more precise period of solar time was found to be t-wenty-eight years, in which the days of the month woidd a.gain return Period.] INTRODUCTION. 73 to the same days of the week, it seemed obvious that twenty-eight times nineteen years would give the most near combination of solar and lunar times into a third cycle ; consequently 28 X 19 = 532 years was now adopted. Founding his computation on this cycle, and mak ing the necessary aUowances, Victorius assumed the beginning of his period at A. d. 28, and calculated the days for Easter for every suc ceeding year for that and all succeeding periods. This laborious computation he pubUshed a.d. 457- It is here unnecessary to explain the further amendments, at remoter periods, owing to the errors arising from the accumulation of the smaU differences mentioned above in the lunar cycle, and those arising from the precession of the equinoxes. We have now arrived at the controversy of the age. The patriarchs of the British church brought ¦with them the cycle of eighty-four years; and their communication with the Roman see ha^vIng ceased during the long interval between 449 and 600 nearly, they were found, at the end of that interval, celebrating a different Easter, according to a different rule. Hence arose the long and fierce controversy aUuded to in so many of these lives. The last point to be here explained, is the celebrated controversy of the Three Chapters. It is the more important, as an eminent autho rity has referred to it as the occasion of the separation between the churches of Rome and Ireland. We must, of course, according to our own view, look on it rather as an evidence of undoubted inde pendence. The language of cardinal Baronius is as foUows : — " AU the Irish bishops zealously joined in defence of the Three Chapters. On being condemned by the church of Rome, and finding the sentence confirmed by the fifth councU, they added the crime of schism; and separating themselves from it, they joined the schismatics of Italy and Africa and other regions — exalting themselves in the vain presumption that they were standing up for the catholic faith."* The history of this controversy is the foUowing: — Nestorius was a Syrian bishop, the disciple of Theodore of Mopsuestia, one of the most celebrated expositors of the 5th century. Before his time, though there was a general agreement as to the union of the Divine and human natures in the person of our Saviour, yet, concerning the manner and effects of this union, no question had been yet openly raised. That this should yet occur, must sooner or later have become a consequence of the subtle and metaphysical spirit which had, for a long time, heen usurping the schools of theology. In the rashness and perplexity of ' Baronius, Annales. The ground in this controversy taken by the Irish church, whether orthodox or the contrary, is not the question which this article is designed to discuss. The simple point in question, is the independence manifested in the maintenance of an opposite view ; and the opposition amounting to an extent sufficient to bear the construction of Baronius. 'Without doubt, it must be admitted that the church of Ireland was tainted with en-ors and corruptions ; and we raust also admit that, in point of knowledge and intellectual cultivation, so important in the decision of controversial difficulties, it cannot be fairly compared with the main churches of the East and West at this period. Its main preservation cf the primitive faith, was owing to its separation from the main grounds of error— speculation and political intrigue. 74 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First speculative disquisition, doubtful positions and ambiguous expressions would escape from the subtilizing pen ; and opinions not contemplated by the teacher, thus become noticed by the acumen, and fixed by the respect, of the student. On the subject of the nature of Christ, ex pressions were, in this manner so loosely used, as to favour the most opposite notions ; and thus, it Is probable, first arose the opposite tenets which confused the natures or divided the personality of the incarnate being of the Christ. The various shades of heresy which emanated from the fruitful obscurity of this mysterious topic, do not faU within our pro^vince to observe upon. Anastatius, a friend of Nestorius, had the merit of first giving a tangible form to the controverted notions. In a sermon, deUvered a. d. 428, he eagerly condemned the title, " Mother of God," as applied to the Virgin Mary, and contended that it shotUd be " Mother of Christ :" God, he observed, could not be born, and that the earthly nature alone could have birth from the earthly womb of a human mother. The position thus pubUcly and distinctly expressed, stirred up much opposition. Nestorius took up the cause of his friend, and maintained the orthodoxy of his opinions, with grow ing earnestness, and an eloquence which gave them additional noto riety. The opposition of some monks at Constantinople was of stiU more effect, and the fury of the people was excited against the here- siarchs. StiU their opinions received currency, and the controversy widened in its progress, until it soon occupied and di-dded the theo logians of the 5th century. The council of Chalcedon, a. d. 451, whUe it distinctly affirmed the doctrine — now most universaUy received and most clearly in accord ance with holy writ — of the subsistence of the two distinct natures of God and man, in one person ; yet, with an inconsistency characteristic of the phUosophizing theology of the time, affirmed the orthodoxy of certain ¦writers whose opinions were strongly tinctured with the oppo site opinions of Nestorius. These were, the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, from which, it is not improbable, that the opinions of Nestorius were first imbibed ; the works of Theodoret, defending the Nestorians against Cyril, bishop of Alexandria ; and third, a letter from the bishop of Edessa, on the condemnation of Nestorius. These were the writings which afterwards became the subject of contention, under the famous title of the Three Chapters. A controversy on the doctrines of Orlgen, in which the foUowers of these doctrines were condemned by an edict from the emperor Jus tinian, was the proximate cause of the revival of this discussion in the foUowing century. Theodore, bishop of Cesarea, who belonged to the sect of the Monophysites,* and at the same time had adopted the opinions of Orlgen, stood high in the favour of Justinian. "This emperor was anxiously bent on extirpating a particular branch of the Monophysites, who were called Acephali, and consulted Theodore on the occasion. Theodore, anxious to divert the attention of this active # The Monophysites held, that in Christ the Divine and human nature were so entirely united, that they together constituted a single nature ; yet this without any confusion or mixture, or change, sustained by cither. The Acephali were a sect of these, who took this title in consequence of having rejected their chief, Mongus, of whose conduct they disapproved. Period.] introduction. 75 and interfering, but not very sagacious emperor, from the persecution of the Origenists, suggested that the Acephali would return to the church, on the condition that the acts of the councU of Chalcedon, which affirmed the orthodoxy of the ¦writings above described as the Three Chapters, should be cancelled; and that other writings of the same authors, which tended to Nestorianism, should be condemned. The emperor consented, and the result was an edict to this effect, in the councU of Constantinople, a. d. 553. From these statements, which involve differences of every kind, both formal and doctrinal, the reader may judge for himself. Any species of connexion inconsistent ¦with the free and pertinacious maintenance of opposite opinions on questions of every kind, or any union involving dependence, cannot, at all events, be the union contended for; and in proportion as the occasion is slight, this inference gains in strength : a dependence which yields no submission on the slightest point. Is something more than paradoxical. That Ireland had heard the preaching of the Christian faith before the commencement of Patrick's ministry, seems to be a settled point among the writers on the ecclesiastical antiquities of the country. The assertion of Tertullian, that Christian preaching had made its way in the British isles where the Rdman arms had never reached, would seem an assertion descriptive of Ireland. The mission of PaUadius, " ad Scotos in Christo credentes," directly implies a Christian church in Ireland. Ancient writers, admitting this fact, have attempted to trace the first introduction of Christianity, and to ascertain its author. Such attempts have, however, faUed to attain any satisfactory result. Various conjectures have been proposed by a host of writers, but Usher, whose learning and abUity might weU out-weIgh them aU, has sifted their authorities and arguments, without better success than discovering the fallacy of their suppositions. Of these conjectures, the multitude is such, as, without further objection, of itself to cast doubt upon all. St James the son of Zebedee, Simon Zelotes, Simon Peter, St Paul, Aristobulus, mentioned Rom. xvi. 10, with others, have all been proposed, and none ascertained by any e-vidences which are beyond the scope of bare possibUity. It would here be inconsistent with our object to enter into the ocean of antiquarian citation and comment, which occupies many pages of Usher's most learned and ela borate work on the first beginnings of the British churches. One of these conjectures has, however, met very general favour, as a topic of denial or affirmation among recent inquirers. The assertion quoted from Marian, that St James preached the gospel in Spain, and to the nations of Western regions, &c., is reflected ¦with more precise affirmation by Vincentius, who says, that " James, by the will of God directed to the Irish coast, fearlessly preached the divine word."* On this Usher observes, that before the separate mission of the apostles, James was proved to have been put to death by order of Herod ; and that other authors, whom Vincentius had followed, refer the same event, ex pressed in the same language, not to Hibernia but to " Galaecia ;'' so that the high probability of a mistake, arising from a literal error, • Usher, Primordia, p. 5. 76 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First must have betrayed Vincentius to set down Ibemia for Iberia. We omit the further consideration of these obscure and vague conjectures ; but we may observe, that the history of St Paul Is too distinctly marked. In a work which is virtually a history of his life and actions, authenticated by whatever authority is conceded to the inspired writers, to allow of an episode so considerable and so obscure. It is enough to rest on the high probabUity, that, in the general mission which spread the gospel far and wide among aU the nations of the kno^wn world, Ireland was not passed over ; and for this the autho rities, though for the most part indirect or merely inferential, are satis factory enough. The state of the Hibernian church was yet evidently at the lowest ; and probably on the point of yielding to the enmity which the gospel alone, of all the creeds entertained by man, seems to have elicited, from human nature, in every age and cUmate. At the coming of St Patrick, four Christian preachers are mentioned by old Irish testi monies to have been before him, and still living in his time. These were, Ailbe, afterwards first bishop of Emly ; Declan of Ar dmore ; Kieran of Saigre (by successive translation removed to Kilkenny) ; and Ibar of Beg Eri, a smaU island off the Wexford coast. We think it but fair to apprize th-e reader, that considerable doubt exists as to the early date assigned to these ancient fathers of the Irish church. It chiefly rests on the dates of their deaths, which do not agree with the notion of their ha^ving preceded St Patrick. AUbe died in 527; Declan later stiU; and Kieran cannot be supposed to have lived in the same period, but is referred to a much later time. If we allow Ailbe to have been 100 years of age at the time of his death, he would, on this supposition, be no more than five in 432, when St Patrick arrived in Ireland as a preacher of Christ. These doubts, however, by no means affect the statement, founded on probabUities independent of personal history, that there was a Christian church of a prior date in our island. DIED .1. D. 105. Mansuetus is mentioned as a convert of St Peter the apostle, who, it is said, sent him to preach the gospel in Lorraine. He bmlt a church there, and died after a ministry which lasted forty years, on the 3d of September, 105. He was canonized by Leo IX., in the llth century, and is proved by Usher to have been a native of Ireland. This inference seems sufficiently supported by the following couplet, from a life ¦written of him in the 10th century: " Insula Christicolas gestabat Hibei-nia gentis Unde genus traxit, et satus inde fuis." Period.] ST CATULDUS — PELAGIUS. 77 He was born in Munster, educated at Lismore, and was made bishop of Rachuen. After some years spent here, he went on a pUgrimage to Jerusalem, and, on his return through Italy, was made bishop of Tarento. He is also mentioned as having held a professor's chair at Geneva, with much reputation. He is celebrated by many ancient writers, both in prose and verse ; and is chiefly famed for the prophe cies of which he was supposed to be the author. He also has obtained no small celebrity for the dreams he dreamed, as weU as for his occa sional appearance in other people's dreams. He is commemorated by Moronus, Juvenis, Petrus de NataUbus, Ferarius, Usher, Colgan. He Uved in the latter part of the 5th century. Hummus, A. D. 431. AccoKDiNG to Prosper, PaUadius was sent to the " Scots belie^ving in Christ." He was a deacon in the see of Rome, and sent on this mission by its bishop, Celestine. There is some ground for the sup position that he was a native of Britain, where he first became kno^vm as the adversary of the Pelagian heresy. In the year 431 he is sup posed to have arrived in Ireland, accompanied by several missionaries, amongst whom were Augustin and Benedict. His first efforts were in the county of Wexford. He is next traced as the founder of three churches in Wicklow. He met, however, with ¦violent opposition from the heathen priests — as yet by far the strongest party in this island. They succeeded in influencing the prince, Nathi, against him, and he was compelled to flee. He is said to have died on his way to Rome in the same year, but the place is doubtful. ^flagtttsf. A. D. 394—415. The birth-place of Pelagius cannot strictly be ascertained, and his country has been the subject of much controversy; on the perusal of much of which, as stated by different writers, but chiefly by Usher, we think the balance very doubtful. Some ancient ¦writers have called him a Briton, and referred his birth to Wales. Catelupus and Caius assert that he had been a Cantabrigian. Ranulphus says, — " Some relate that Pelagius was an abbot In that famous monastery of Bangor," &c. ; on which Usher notes, that there was another of the same name in Hibernia, founded by St Comgall; and the ambiguity thus arising has appeared to some recent critics to solve a part of the difficulty. But, on looking on the date of ComgaU's foundation, 555, 78 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First and that of the council of Carthage, 412, in which the errors of Pela gius were condemned, this explanation must manifestly be abandoned. But the fact of Pelagius having been a monk of the Welsh monastery which, according to Bede, flourished in the 6th century, and may have existed earUer by a couple of centuries, decides nothing as to his native country. There was much room for error in a point so likely to be indistinctly known, at the time when it may have been an object to ascertain it; and, as very slight indications are aU that can he mostly had on such questions, we incline to take the direct affirmation or strong implication of those who were the most likely to know aU that could be known of him. England and Ireland were frequently confused by the ¦writers of the early ages, under the coUective appel lation of the " British Isles ;" and the appeUation of " Briton," hastUy adopted, would receive a stricter construction from stricter minds, or in more informed periods ; for this is an abundant source of historic error, and this may sufficiently account for the frequent appUcation of the term " Brito" to his name. Garnier and Vosslus are cited as admitting or asserting that he was an Irishman; and the affirmation of Vosslus is remarkable as bearing the indication of a conviction, founded on such proofs as could satisfy a judgment so critical as his. " Pelagius professione monachus, natlone non GaUus Brito, ut Danaeus putavit, nee anglo-Britannus, ut scrlpsit Balseus, sed Scotus." Lib. i. cap. 3.* St Jerome, in the contumelious tone of controversy adopted in his age, speaks of him thus : — " Neither let him be set down as most stolid and unwieldy with Hibernian porridge." To whatever district of the British islands he may have owed his birth, the doubt alone is a sufficient reason why he should not be omitted here. Amongst our many ancient names which fiU this period, no other has the same title to commemoration, for the ¦wide-spread fame and the mighty influence of his talents and errors. The earliest date to which we can distinctly trace him, is the year 394; at which time Major, in his Treatise on the Acts of the Hiber nians, says, " The pest-bearing Pelagius, the Briton, sprung up in the church, denying the grace of God."| This, however, unquestionably ante-dates considerably the first notices we can discover of "Pelagian- ism. Leaving, however, these considerations, the acts of the life of this eminent champion of an evU cause, are too clearly recorded in the whole history of his age, to require that we should detain our readers with the citation of authors. Early in the 5th century, Pelagius dwelt in Rome, where the purity and amiabUIty of his life and manners were rendered Ulustrious by the spirit, eloquence, and acuteness which brought them into exten sive notice. But his mind, unclouded by passions, was (as indeed often occurs) inclined to form too low an estimate of their frightful power over the human race, and to exaggerate vastly the power and influence of ¦virtue. Extending, probably, the insufficient experience of a cold temperament or of an untried world, into a theory, his reason revolted * Pelagius, by profession a monk, by country not a "Welsh Briton, as Danseus has supposed, nor an Anglo-Briton, as Bale has written, hut a Hibernian. t " Anno 394, post partum virgineum, virus pestiferum Pelagius Brito in ecclesiff seminavit, gratium Dei negans." — Usher, Primord. 212. Period.] PELAGIUS. 79 against the doctrine of human depravity, as inferred from Scripture ; and, assigning far too much to the strength of man, he, with the com mon error of sectarians, assigned too Uttle force to the texts which declare his corruption, curse, and the method of his justification ; and magnified, by this removal of their Umiting doctrines, those texts which inculcate virtue and insist on good works. TotaUy losing sight of those very distinct and inteUigible conditions, on which the very definition of good works depends ("faith working by love," the "fruits of the Spirit'), and identifying them with the notions of heathen moraUty, he involved himself and his hearers in quibbles founded on verbal assumption. An act, to be sinful, must be voluntary; and to be voluntary, there must be a power to resist it : and from this and other such sophistical flippancies, it was easy to deduce the tenets which, by his opponents as weU as by the disciples of his school, were construed into a direct opposition to Divine grace. Pelagius himself, however, seems to have been anxious, by specious provisions, to guard against these consequences. He carefully distinguishes between the fact, or actual conduct of men, and the abstract possibUity of resisting sinful inclinations. " De posse aut non posse, non de esse aut non esse, contendimus," is one of the many forms in which he states his own conception of the question ; after which he admits that no man is free from actual sin. Supposing his antagonist to charge him with the denial of Divine grace, he repUes, " I do not deny it ; who makes the admission that the effect must be produced, admits that there is a cause by which it must be produced ; but you, who deny the possibiUty of the effect, necessarUy imply the denial of any cause by which it can be produced."'* Such is a specimen of the sophistry to which Pela gius and, after him, many resorted to defend tenets so founded on misapprehension, that it is difficiUt for the reader to beUeve that they were ever sincerely maintained. The truth appears to be — and it seems to be a truth applicable to the sectarians of every age, who have departed from the full recognition of every portion of the scheme of redemption, as comprised in the broadly comprehensive enunciations of Scripture — ^that there has been a constant necessity felt to state their opinions, so as to avoid the charge of the objectionable conse quences of these opinions. But this precaution has never prevented either their disciples or their opponents from setting aside this artifi cial entrenchment of equivocal words, and adopting the consequences to the fullest extent of their zeal. It may be fit, before leaving this topic, to notice that the whole reasoning of Pelagius, through aU his writings, seems to be founded on the equivocal sense of the word " sin," by which it is used to signify the commission of an act, or a certain state of heart unacceptable to God, and productive of sins of omission and commission. A thousand motives, Uttle worthy of even human approbation, may deter a human being from guUt: one motive alone can be acceptable to God; and the true question to be answered must concern this motive. Hence, indeed, the reason and fitness of the 1 3th article of the church of England.f * Usher, p. 236. f It is only after a full acquaintance with the opposite errors and perplexing subtleties of sectarian disputants on either side of truth, that the full merit of these 80 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First Whatever may have been the fear or caution of Pelagius, his opin ions were quickly reverberated, in their full and undisguised form, by his foUowers; and he was himself led to follow them up into various consequences which set aU disguise or reserve at nought. As we scarcely think it aUowable to convert a simple memoir into a theolo gical dissertation, we shall here present a brief abstract of those here sies which, we must observe, are the substantial events in the life of Pelagius. He maintained that the sin of Adam was attended with no conse quences to his posterity; that every man was free to obey or disobey the commands of God, as Adam was before his faU ; that good works were meritorious in the sight of God; and that ma,n, by the use of his natural faculties, could act conformably with Divine law, without any assistance from Divine grace. The opposite doctrines he taught were pernicious, as being adapted to oppose the cultivation of active ¦virtue. Other tenets, respectuig baptism, are mentioned; but this leading error may suffice. So great was the respect for the talent and private character of Pelagius, that the first impression caused by the publication of his opinions seems to have been mixed with tenderness; and it is a strong indication of the impression he had made, that many ap plied to him the text of Revelation, " and there fell a great star from heaven." He was opposed by the eloquence and reasoning of Augustin, and loudly assailed by his opponents with aU the varied resources of con troversy, whether employed in the support of truth or defence of error. Reasonings were mingled with invectives, and these enforced by sterner means. These collisions of human bitterness were, for a moment, sUenced by terrors which shook the city to its foundation, and stiUed aU other passions in the hearts of an empire. The effect of the capture by the Goths of the ancient metropolis of the West, is described in an epistle from Pelagius himself, written to the Christian lady Demetrias : " It has occurred, as you have heard, when Rome, the mistress of the world, struck with gloomy apprehensions, trembled at the harsh clamour and shrUl reverberation of the Gothic trumpets. Where, then, was the order of nobUity? where the jealous distinctions of rank? All was confusedly mingled by a leveUing terror. There was waUing in every house, and one consternation seized on every soul. The slave and noble were as one : the Image of death was equally ter rible to aU; unless, indeed, that they felt more painful fears to whom life had been the sweetest. If we are thus terror-struck by mortal foes, and by a human hand, what shaU be our feeling when the trum pet shaU begin to thunder forth its fearful call from the heavens ; and the universe shall reheUow to the voice of the archangel — ^more loud than any trumpet; and when we shall behold, not the arms of human thoroughly judicious expositions of Christian doctrine can be knovra. To appre ciate the skill with which they preserve the whole of seemingly-opposed truths, and avoid the opposite errors which partial views of Scripture have occasioned, seems to have demanded a degree of caution, moderation, and a comprehensiveness of intel lect not very often to be found in the same degree. Period.] PELAGIUS. 81 fabric waved above our heads, but the hosts of the heavenly powers assembled together?" From these terrors which he has thus described, Pelagius, with his disciple and feUow-countryman Celestius, seems to have ¦withdrawn into Africa, as he was present at a conference held with the Donatists, ten months after, in Carthage. This appears from the testimony of Augustin, who, first having mentioned the previous arrival of Pela gius in his see (of Hippo), and his speedy retreat, proceeds to say, that he recoUected having once or twice remarked his face in Car thage, " when I was pressingly occupied about the conference which we were about to have with the Donatists ; but he hastened away to the countries beyond sea." Bale asserts, that he at this period visited Egypt, Syria, and other Eastern countries ; and Usher cites a rather ironical epistle, from a Greek writer to Pelagius himself, which seems to cast a gleam upon his character, while it demands the usual aUow ance due to aU satirical representation. " ' Grey hairs are shed over Ephraim, and he knoweth it not,' — ^without doubt acting the youth in visions of fictions. In the same way a crowd of years have brought hoariness upon you; and nevertheless you retain a stubborn and un bending spirit — ^traveUing from one monastery to another, and making trial of the tables of all. Wherefore, if the nicety of meats and the luxury of sauces is so much your object, go rather and assaU with your flatteries those who bear the magisterial office, and walk the streets of cities ; for hermits cannot entertain you according to your desire."* From this, in some measure, appears the general nature of the efforts made by Pelagius, to obtain proselytes among the vast multi tude of the monastic communities which swarmed from the bosom of the church, falling fast into heresy and proUfie superstition. It is, indeed, wdB worth noticing, and applicable to the heresies of all times, the mixture of dishonest artifice which takes a place even in the most daring efforts which obtain popular success. Pelagius united, in a singular degree, consummate craft and audacious boldness. Involving the most extreme errors In doubtful assertions, which, to the populace, might seem to bear the most orthodox interpretation, he reserved the comment for private exposition ; and, whUe he dexterously avoided committing himself in pubUc beyond what the pubUc sense might receive, he sounded his way in every private channel, took advantage of ignorance, pUabiUty, and inteUectual unsoundness, to gain prose lytes to opinions which he avoided pushing to their consequences. This he left for the rasher zeal of disciples, and the under-working of opinions of which the seed is scattered. In aUusion to this part of his character, the foUowing extract wiU be understood: — " Speak out what you believe : declare in pubUc that which you secretly teach to your disciples ; the privacy of ceUs hear one view of your doctrines, the pulpits another." " For that alone is heresy which shrinks from a public explanation, which it doth fear to offer in pubUc. The sUence of the masters advances the zeal of the disciples ; what they hear in the secret chamber they proclaim on the house-top. If their * Usher, Primord. 216. VOL. I. F 82 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First teaching shall please, it goes to the honour of the master ; if not, to the shame of the disciple. And so your heresy has increased, and you have deceived many."* This Is from a controversial correspondence into which he had entered with Jerome, during his residence in Jeru salem, where, after leaving Africa, he took up his abode. This posi tion was, then, the most favourable for his purpose that could be chosen. Free from the disadvantages to be encountered in any of the great metropolitan centres of ecclesiastical power, it was the universal centre of pUgrimage from every Christian shore into which the devotion, zeal, and superstition of the Christian world was pouring and return ing, and from whence he njight hope to spread his opinions widest and with least opposition; whUe, in the meantime, Rhodes in the east, and SicUy in the west, were the district schools for the furtherance of this heresy in their respective churches. The prudent reserve which thus served as the purpose of a covered way for the designs of Pelagius, and also to ward off from his person, the more direct, and therefore popular, attacks of his adversaries, were quite free from fear, or any natural infirmity of nerve or purpose. With the frontless confidence, so familiar to aU who understand the arts of popular deception, Pelagius gave himself Uttle trouble, as to the interpretations of Augustin or Jerome. He cared not for the opinion of the learned, the wise, and the powerful in reason or authority; if he might, by any means, turn aside such exposures as might defeat his purpose. Careless of opinion — indifferent to abuse — holding no communion of feeling with other minds of the same order — specious — insinuating — ^watchful : he was also firm and confident, within the limits of prudence. In the power of his Intellectual strength, he was confi dent ; and this confidence was preserved by the difficulty of overthrow ing one, whose force it was to select the field of combat for his oppon ent, and to dweU in perpetual evasion. This character is partly shadowed out by one of his antagonists : " Goliah stands most enormous in pride, and tumid with carnal strength, imagining himself singly equal to all undertakings — clothed head, hands, and whole body, in the folds of manifold array ; having his armour-bearer behind him, who, though he does not fight, yet suppUes the whole expenditure of arms."| The armour-bearer was Celestius, a feUow-countryman, and a disciple, who soon began to be considered more formidable than his master. In Jerusalem, Pelagius was supported by the patronage of the bishop of that church, whose own opinions tinged with the views of Origen, leaned to the same way of thinking. In consequence of this protection, Pelagius expressed his opinions more freely. A synod was held about this period (415, A. d.). In Jerusalem, for the pm-pose of examining into his opinions ; it was conducted by Orosius, a Spanish monk deputed by Augustin, in whose writings there is an account of the proceed ings. But so dexterously did Pelagius play the game of verbal equivocation, and so deficient was the controversy of the 6th century, in that soundness of reason, which scatters aside the thin artifice of verbal equivocation and nugatory distinction, that Pelagius was acquitted from imputation here, and soon after in the councU of Dios- polis. But in 416 he was condemned in Carthage. ' St Jerome j Usher, Primord. 228. f Orosius j Usher, Primord. 2S4. Period.] CELESTIUS. 83 This controversy was carried on by epistles, preachings, theses, and synods, ¦with various success, and with far more of subtlety and elo quence, than clearness of comprehension, or justness of discrimination, on either side ; and more by the opposition of extreme opinions, than by the sound and full exposition of the truth. It was thus one of those great stages of opinion, from which have emanated the manifold divi sions of the cloud of heresies which fiU the atmosphere of theology, and carry on a restless contention in error, on every side of the truth, from the beginning even to the end. From the councU of Carthage, Pelagius appealed to the see of Rome. It was hoped that the decision of the MetropoUtan would carry with it the weight of court influence, and draw the authority of the emperor with that of the bishop — and, in this hope, the more orthodox bishops must have cheerfully acquiesced in a step so promising in its seeming circumstances. Zosimus, who had recently been raised to the metropoUtan see, was, however, imposed upon by a confession, artfuUy worded by Celestius, so as to carry the sense of heresy under the sound and surface of orthodoxy. His simpU city was also assaUed by the letters of Pelagius ; and he declared in their favour. The declaration, however, quickly drew upon his head, a storm of indignation, invective, and reproach, from the sounder bishops of Africa, with Augustin at their head, to which he quickly felt the necessity, or the justice, of giving way. From approbation, Zosimus changed his tone to the utmost severity of censure and condemnation; and in consequence, in this fatal year for the Pelagian heresy, an im perial decree, in the names of the emperors Theodosius and Honorius was issued, condemning Pelagius and Celestius, with aU who should thenceforth maintain their opinions, to exUe. The heresy thus supprest, nevertheless propagated a vivacious im pulse throughout the church. The opinions remained under other names, and in other combinations ; and Pelagius and Augustin has never since wanted their representatives in the Usts of controversy. Pelagius, after this, was little engaged in any public ecclesiastical controversy, as he ceases to be personaUy noticed in the writings of the age. He probably had beg^un to feel, for some time, the tranquiUiz ing symptoms of old age, and given place to the increasing ascendancy of the vigor and abilities of his pupU Celestius ; who, from this, is found in the foremost place, and maintaining the opinions of his inaster, with more boldness and equal dexterity. Op Celestius there is Uttle to be said that is strictly in the nature of personal history ; and his theological career would be but a repeti tion, with distinctions of time and place, Uttle interesting, of our account of Pelagius. That he was a native of Ireland is undisputed. So great was the general impression produced by his writings and eloquence, that the fame of his more cautious master, was, to some extent, trans ferred to him, and he was, by many, reputed to be the real author of most of the writings which bore the name of Pelagius. 84 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiRST In concert with Julian, another disciple of the same master, Celestius StUl endeavoured to continue the propagation of the same tenets, with others equaUy objectionable, untU, at the instance of Celestine, bishop of Rome, they were expelled from Gaul. The heresy was carried, during the time of Celestine, into Britain, and has been supposed to be the cause of the mission of PaUadius into Hibernia. St patrfcft, BORN A. D. 387. — DIED A. D. 465.' If we are obliged to admit the uncertainty of the traditions and records of a time so remote as the 5th century, in a nation so Uttle noted in history as Ireland is supposed to have been ; if we must also confess that superstition and imposture have also additionaUy obscured these accounts, so as to render it, at first sight, doubtful what is to be aUowed or rejected; it must, at the same time, be affirmed, that scepticism has been equaUy licentious in its doubts and rejections. The sceptical antiquary has but too much resembled the story-teUer of the middle ages, in the easiness, indolence, and absurd confidence of his inferences from the slightest grounds, and oversights as to the most important probabilities. The various Uves of St Patrick which were written from the 10th century, have so overlaid the accounts of his contemporaries ¦with monstrous legends, that the air of absurdity thus imparted to the whole of these narrations, has had but the natural effect of such a con taminating infusion of extravagance, in exciting the scorn and incred ulity of an age so sceptical as the present. To enter seriously on the task of delivering the plain narrative of the life, thus beset between fiction and unwarrantable doubt, seems to be a task of some deUcacy — and demanding some indifference to the preconceptions of opinion. But the main line to be observed in discriminating the true from the fictitious, is, on inspection of the historians, their periods, and the scope of their opinions and designs : no very hard task. The writers of the middle ages may, in reference to our subject, be di^vided into two main classes : those who recorded the most extravagant fables, because they believed in them ; and those who invented legends for then- purposes. Between these, all ancient history and biography has been defiled ¦with simUar errors and impostures ; and the argument in favour of incred ulity only derives weight from the consideration, where the questioned fact stands solely on such testimony. But omitting the consideration, that even these writers must be supposed to have some real foundation in fact, to succeed as impos ture, or to be received by the credulous ; in the ease of St Patrick, it is to be observed that there is another very distinct class of testi monies. The alleged writers of his own period, are sufficiently proved ' After a careful consideration of the opinions of various writers, we have fol lowed Dr Lanigan in selecting the above dates. Period.] ST PATRICK. 85 genuine, by the omission of aU those fictions, which the credulity, or the craft, of a far later period could not have omitted, and dare not have rejected. This test of discrimination is confirmed by the obvious and unifonn facts of an extensive analogy. The comparison of any record* of the same individual, in the early or middle ages of our era, will uniformly exhibit similar indications of the same respective classes of authority. " It is observable," says Ware, " that (as the purest streams flow always nearest to the fountain), so, ainong the many ¦writers of the life of this prelate, those who Uved nearest to his time have had the greatest regard to truth, and have been most sparing in recounting his miracles. Thus Fiech, bishop of Sletty, and contem porary with our saint, comprehended the most material events of his life, in an Irish hymn of 34 stanzas." " But in process of time," observes the same judicious ¦writer, " as the writers of his Ufe increased, so the miracles were multipUed (especiaUy in the dark ages), untU at last they extended aU bounds of credibiUty. Thus Probus, a writer of the 10th age, outdid all who went before him ; but he himseK was outdone by Jocelyne, a monk of Fumes, who wrote in the 1 2th century." " " At length came PhUip O'SuUivan, who made Jocelyne his ground work, yet far exceeds even Jocelyne." These absurdities, when justly referred to their origin, have no weight in reference to the question of St Patrick's ha-rang existed or not; whatever they may have on the creduUty or increduUty of the numerous classes who are ever more ready to beUeve too Uttle or too much, than to hit the fine drawn line between truth and error. The authenticity of ancient accounts, or the genuineness of ancient -writings, when questioned, are hard to prove ; the fuU proof of standing institu tions — immediate pubUcation — contemporary citation and controversy, &c., exists in reference to the Bible only among ¦writings of so early a period. But the objections must be themselves of cogent weight, which can overthrow a single ancient statement, not in itself in any way inconsistent with probabiUty. But however such questions may be decided, when aU the doctors shall cease to disagree, it is not for us, " tantas componere Utes," to settle these high and grave doubts of the inner conclave of antiquarian learning. As long as there is an Irishman who swears by St Patrick, he has a claim to find his name and life in the biography of the age of saints. In our sketch of this we must, from the necessity of the thing, abide by the best election we can make amongst conflicting statements on many points. Among the different opinions as to his birth-place, the most received is that which makes him a native of Scotland. In a writing attributed to himself, he describes the place as " in vico Banaven, Tahernice" which is further explained by Joceline, as the site of a Roman en campment, near the to^wn of Empthor and the shore of the Irish • This volume has been made, iu some degree, more famihar, by the very singular inadvertence of its having been published as one of a series of Irish histories, so useful in its plan that its interruption is to be regretted. It comprised Spencer, Campion, Hanmer, and the Pacata Hibernia : but a volume more widely extravagant than Gulliver, without the attractions of that witty satire, seems to have arrested the sale of the work, for it was at once discontinued by the publishers. 86 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First sea. Usher fixes the modern geography of the spot at a place called KUpatrick, between Glasgow and Dunbritton, at the extremity of the Roman wall. Fiech, one of the earliest of our writers, also names the place by a name (Alcluith) which the consent of many ancient autho rities fixes as an old name for Dunbritton. The reasons, however, upon which this statement is opposed are too strong to be omitted, although we cannot here enter upon their merits consistently with any regard to our limits. All the circumstances of the early narrative of St Patrick's Ufe are highly inconsistent -with this statement ; and all precisely agree with the supposition that he was a native of Gaul. His family were residing In Gaul — ^he was there taken prisoner in his youth — ^there the earlier events of his life took place — his education and his consecration ; and considering the distances of the places, with the obstacles attendant upon aU travel ling in these early times, it must be allowed that the former notion involves nearly Insurmountable difficulties. There was in Armoric Gaul a district called Britain at the period, and of this very district his mother was a native and his famUy inhabitants. The name Nemthor cannot, on any authority, be ascertained to have been ap plied to any locality in North Britain, but actuaUy signifies "holy Tours," and of Tours his uncle was the bishop, according to the state ments on every side. We must leave the decision to the reader. The whole question is stated and discussed at great length by Dr Lanigan. His father was a deacon, named Calphurnius, the son of Potitus a priest. And the fact is worthy of notice, as pro^ving the antiquity of the ancient documents from which it is dra^wn. In the times when Probus, Joceline, and O'SuUivan wrote, such a story was unlikely to be forged ; and the simple Joceline thinks it necessary to assume, that these ancient ecclesiastics took their orders after their children were born: there cannot be a better proof of Joceline's having had stubborn facts to deal with, or of the extent of monastic ignorance in his day. But there cannot be a much clearer confirmation of the antiquity, at least, of the Confession of St Patrick. The data on which we have fixed his birth are briefly these. His consecration is placed by all the best authorities in 432. Upon this occasion, he tells us himself that a friend of his reproached him ¦with a sin committed thirty years before, when he was yet scarcely fifteen years old. Adding, therefore, thirty to fifteen, and we make him forty- five in the year 432, which gives for his birth 387. This is confirmed by other particulars, among which it may be enough to observe the precision with which it synchronizes with the period of NiaU's expe dition into Gaul, at which time he was made captive at the age of sixteen: this must have occurred, therefore, about 403, and 387 + 16 = 403. WhUe yet a youth of sixteen, he was carried away by Niall of the Nine Hostages, and sold into captivity in Ireland. Different versions of the same incident are given by various writers, but they all agree in the event; Patrick was captured by pirates, and sold to a chief named Milcho, who dwelt in the county Antrim, near the mountain of Slieve Mis. Period.] ST PATRICK. 87 This mountain was the scene of the next six years of his youth. Employed by his inaster to tend his flocks, his life was here spent in the lone and sequestered meditation for which the place and occupation were favourable, and to which he was by nature inclined. Of this period his Confession speaks in these terms : " My constant business was to feed the flocks ; I was frequent in prayer ; the love and fear of God, more and more inflamed my heart; my faith was enlarged, and my spirit augmented ; so that I said a hundred prayers by day, and almost as many by night.* I arose before day to my prayers, in the snow, in the frost, in the rain, and yet I received no damage ; nor was I affect ed with slothfulness ; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me" ! To the Christian reader, or to the informed reader who is in the least acquainted with the human heart, this simple and beautifully just and harmonious view of the growth and expansion of Christian piety,accord- jng to its scriptural description in the language of its Founder and His first apostles, wiU at once convey an evidence of genuineness, far beyond any elaborate reasoning from ancient records. It neither indicates the mind of a superstitious era of the church, or of the legendary fabrications in which it dealt. In this period of captivity, he acquired a perfect mastery of the Irish language. At the end of six years he obtained his freedom. The monkish ¦writers refer this incident of his Ufe to a miraculous interposition — told with various circumstances, by different writers, according to the liveliness of their fancy, and the several degrees of daring or credulity with which they wrote. But the saint's o-wn account is simply natural : " he was warned in a dream to retum home, and arose and betook him self to flight, and left the man with whom he had been six years."f " There seems to have been a law in Ireland," says Ware, " agreeable to the institution of Moses, that a servant should be released the seventh year." AU that is kno^wn of the ancient traditions of Ireland, make this very likely ; and if we assume such a law, it is most probable that the youth, as the time of his return drew nigh, entertained thoughts which would naturaUy have suggested such a dream; which an en thusiastic mind would impute to providence. Such, whether just or not, was the inference of St Patrick ; who accordingly made his way to the sea side, and with some difficulty obtained a passage. As he mentions that the difficulty arose from his want of money, it may be right to mention, that such a representation was totaUy inconsistent with imposture ; as it would have been too egregious an error, to ¦write an account directly contradicting the marvellous inventions of his monkish historians. His escape was not immediately conducive to the anxious object he had at heart, which was to revisit his parents and brethren. After a month's laborious traveUing, he was again seized, and again escaped after two month's captivity. Three months of hope deferred, and protracted toU, elapsed before he reached the home of his fainily, by whom he was joyfuUy welcomed, as one who had been lost and was restored. His parents wished to detain him. But a dream, which the candid * This statement is simply the idiomatic expression for numerous prayers. t Confession, quoted by "Ware. 88 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiRST sceptic wiU attribute to the wonted course of his thoughts, and the Christian may, -without superstition, admit to be not beyond the possible scope of providential intimation, had the effect of inspiring a different course. " He thought he saw a man coming to him, as if from Ire land, whose name was Victoriclus, with a great number of letters. That he gave him one to read, in the beginning of which were con tained these words, ' Vox Hiberionacum.' WhUe he was reading this letter, he thought, the same moment, that he heard the voice of the inhabitants who Uved hard-by the wood of Foclut, near the Western sea, crying to him with one voice, ' we entreat thee, holy youth, to come and walk among us.' " To invent a dream weU, does not require a knowledge of metaphysical theory ; but the acute reader, who has studied the subject, wUl perceive in this, how happUy the law of sug gestion, commonly observable in dreams, is preserved. From this dream. Ware conjectures, that legendary stories of his intercourse with the angel Victor have been constructed. The saint, from this moment, resolved to attempt the instruction of the Irish. To prepare himself for this arduous labour, he determined to travel in foreign countries, for the acquisition of the requisite ex perience and knowledge. It was at the mature age of thirty, that he is said to have placed himself under the spiritual tutelage of Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, in Burgoyne — an ecclesiastic, eminent both as a theologian and civUian, a character which comprises the learning of the age. From this period his course Is for many years indistinct — another probable character of authenticity: the interval is supposed, ¦with good reason, to have been passed in the studious shades of cloistered study and meditation. He is said to have been ordained by the bishop, who gave him the name of Magonius, after which he dwelt, for some years, in a community of monks inhabiting a smaU island in the Mediterranean sea, near the French coast. The accounts of the events of his life, during the interval which elapsed before his retum to Ireland, are unsatisfactory, and not im portant enough for an effort to clear away the perplexities of Colgan, or the contradictions of his biographers. We shall therefore pass to the period of his mission ¦without unnecessary delay. According to the best authorities, the state of Christianity in Ireland was unprosperous ; it had not fuUy taken root among the population, or the chiefs and kings ; and there is some reason to beUeve that it was also tainted with heresy. The holy men, whose names are beyond rational conjecture, had spent their honourable and pious life in a frmtless struggle against the ferocious hostility of the Pagan priests — ^which encompassed them with obstacles and dangers, against which then- best efforts had little weight. PaUadius, the Immediate precursor of St Patrick, had retired, in terror and despair, from the strife. Whatever had been the success of the early preaching of Christianity in its apostoUc purity, it was little to be hoped that a religion, tainted perhaps by the gross and unspiritual errors of Pelagianism, could long continue to sustain the increasing hostility of a people, by nature fierce, in the defence of their faith or superstition. PaUadius had, in the year 431, been sent by Celestin, bishop of Rome, on a mission to the Irish churches, " to the Period.] ST PATRICK. 89 Scots belie'ving in Christ."* Ignorant of the Irish language, and devoid of the requisite courage, he left the island in the same year, and died in Scotland. It is generally supposed that Patrick was, in consequence of these last incidents, ordained a bishop by Celestin. The difficulty seems to be in the short time which elapsed between the 15th December, 431, on which PaUadius died, and the 6th of AprU, 432, the period of Celes- tin's death. This difficulty may be summarUy disposed of, by at once abandoning the iU-supported statement that St Patrick ever ¦visited Rome. It stands upon a heap of contradictions, interpolations, and false assumptions. The history of the notion is easUy conjectured. A period of the Ufe of St Patrick happens to be untraced by contem porary record: biographers in far later times fabricating history, as we know it to have been fabricated in the middle ages and by monkish writers, regularly filled up the chasms of their slender authority, ac cording to their purpose, or their notions of probabiUty. One or two writers in that inaccurate period, halving made this unauthorized state ment, either because they thought such must have been the fact, or that it should be so stated, were foUowed implicitly by a long train of ecclesiastical writers, each of whom shaped the fact according to the difficulties which obstructed his narration. These fabrications accumu lating into authority, it became necessary for men like Usher and Dr Lanigan to discuss this vast array of conflicting testimonies, on the assumption that the main fact was In some way true. In the course, however, of their investigations, together with those of other learned men who disagree with each other, the whole detaUs of aU the statements are cut to pieces among them, and the fact which has been transmitted from schoUast to scholiast, and from doctor to doctor, has perceptibly not an atom of ground left to stand on. The critics and the commentators have devoured each other, and realized, after a manner of their o-wn, the renowned legend of the Kilkenny cats. It only remains to point out the fact, that the statement has no ground to support it, and no documentary evidence to rest on. The fact that there existed and exists a motive for maintaining such a statement is obvious, and that various misstatements have been made for the pur pose, plainly proved. Of these a curious one occurs in Probus, whose text has manifestly been tampered with for the very purpose. The interpolator, with the improvidence often accompanying craft like its evil genius, in his anxiety to effect the purpose, so confused the order of the narration, as to make it seem as if the chapters of the hook had been by mistake inverted. After being placed at Rome, St Patrick is immediately after made to saU towards Gaul, across the British sea. The fact most consistent with the best authorized outline of this saint's life, is this, that having, in 429, accompanied Germanus and I^upus on their mission into Britain, he saw reason to think it time to carry into effect his wish to preach to the Irish ; and having, with this view, first crossed the British channel to Gaul, he was there qualified by episcopal orders. This was probably in his forty-fifth year. He was, it is said, accompanied by other pious men; among f Prosper, Chron. 90 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. ' [First these the names of AuxiUus and Isernlnus are mentioned, and t-wenty more are said to have accompanied them. This little band of Christian soldiers he increased on the way. He is said to have landed in a place caUed Jubber-Dea, now the port of Wicklow. His first efforts were blessed with an important success m the con version of SineU, the grandson of Finchad, and eighth in lineal descent from Cormac, king of Leinster. He met with considerable opposition from Nathi the chief, whose opposition had terrified PaUadius. He next visited a place caUed Rath Jubber, near the mouth of the river Bray. Betaking himself to his ship, he reached an island on the coast of the county Dublin, since called Inis Phadruig, where he and his companions rested, after the fatigues and perUs they had sustained. From Inis Phadruig, he saUed northward, until he reached the bay of Dundrum, in the county Down, where he landed. Here he met with an adventure, which had some influence on his after-course of life. As he was proceeding with his party from the shore, he was met by a herdsman, who imagining them to be pirates, took to flight, and alarmed his master Dicho. This chief, caUing together his men, sallied forth for the protection of his property ; his more inteUigent eye, however, drew a more correct inference from the venerable ap pearance of Patrick. The sanctity of aspect, and the dignified de portment which are said to have suggested to the bishop by whom he was ordained, the new name of Patricius, had their fuU effect in the first Impression which his appearance had on Dicho. The saint and his company were invited, and hospitably entertained by the chief. Following up so favourable an occasion, he easUy made converts of his host and his entire household. The barn in which he celebrated divine service obtained, from the gratitude of his convert, the name of Sabhul Phadruig, or Patrick's barn. The next adventure of St Patrick, was far more momentous in its effects. It might be briefly stated as the conversion of the monarch Laogaire, his court and people ; a statement which would include, at least, aU that can with certainty be told of the event. But some of the legendary accounts of the adventures of St Patrick, have at least the merit of romance ; nor can we lose the occasion to offer a few speci mens of the legends of the twelfth century. The foUowing is extracted from Joceline : — After relating a variety of marveUous adventures, chiefly remark able for the curious contrast they offer to the miracles of the New Tes tament, both in style and design, Joceline, who teUs each of these wonders with the gravest, and, we beUeve, sincerest simpUcity, in a separate chapter, proceeds — " And the saint, on tliat most holy sabbath preceding the ¦vigU of the Passover, turned aside to a fit and pleasant place called Feartfethin, and there, according to the custom of the holy church, lighted the lamps at the blessed fire. And it happened on that night, that the idolaters solemnized a certain high festival called Rach, which they, walking in darkness, were wont to consecrate to the Prince of Darkness. And it was their custom that every fire should be extinguished, nor, throughout the province, should be re lighted, until it was first beheld in the royal palace. But when the monarch Lcogaire, being then with his attendants at Temoria, then Period.] ST PATRICK. 91 the chief court of the kingdom of all Ireland, beheld the fire that was Ughted by St Patrick, he marveUed, and was enraged, and inquired who had thus presumed? And a certain magician, when he looked on the fire, as if prophesying, said unto the king, ' Unless yonder fire be this night extinguished, he who lighted it will, together with his followers, reign over the whole island.' Which being heard, the ¦monarch, gathering together a multitude with him, hastened, in the ¦violence of his ¦wrath, to extinguish the fire. And he brought with biTn thrice nine chariots, for the delusion of his fooUshness had seduced his heart, and persuaded him, that, with that number, he would obtain to himself a complete triumph ; and he turned the face of his men and his cattle toward the left hand of saint Patrick, even as the magicians had direct ed, trusting that his purpose could not be prevented. But the saint, beholding the multitude of chariots, began this verse : ' Some in chariots, and some on horses, but we will invoke the name of the Lord.' And when the king approached the place, the magicians advised him not to go near saint Patrick, lest he should seem to honour him by his pre sence, and as if to reverence or adore him. Therefore the king stayed, and, as these evU-doers advised, sent messengers unto saint Patrick, commanding that he should appear before him ; and he forbade all his people, that when he came, any one should stand up before him. So the prelate, having finished his holy duties, appeared, and no one stood up before him, for so had the king commanded." One only dis obeyed this order : Ere, the son of Dego, struck with the impressively dignified and venerable aspect of Patrick, stood up, and offered him his seat. He was converted by the good saint's address, and became a person of reputed sanctity. His eloquence — the sanctity of his demeanour, together with that presiding spirit of dl-nne power, of which we are authorized to assume the adequate co-operation in aU the cases of the first preaching of the gospel to the heathen — ^had the same powerful effects, of which so many instances are to be read in the early history of the church. Laogaire and his court, became converts in the course of a little time.* From Tara, he proceeded to Taltean, where, as the reader of the preceding sections is aware, the people met at a great annual fair with their famiUes. There could not be a more fit place for his object, as there was no other occasion could bring the same multitudes to gether, in a temper so suited to the purpose of conversion. One of the pecuUar advantages it offered, was the order and perfect sobriety of deportment, which was one of the regulations chiefly enforced at this meeting. The two brothers of king Laogaire were here before him; of these Cairbre received him with insult, but Conal, who was the grandfather of ColumbkiUe, listened courteously, was convinced, and became a convert. So deeply was this prince impressed, that he offered his own dweUing to the saint ; and a monastery was founded, with a city caUed Domnach Phadruig (now Down Patrick), from the saint. Near this, the prince built a dweUing for himself, which was called Rath Keltair. * Amongst these was the poet Fiech, who wrote the saint's life in verse, and was afterward bishop of Sletty. 92 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlEST Patrick next bent his way towards Connaught ; he met in this joumey the two daughters of Laogaire, the ruddy Ethne and the fair FideUa, accompanied by two Druids, their instmctors. This scene is de scribed by Joceline: — "And of Laogaire were born two daughters, like roses growing in a rose-bed ; and the one was of a ruddy com plexion, and she was caUed Ethne, and the other was fair, and she was caUed FedeUa; and they were educated by these magicians. And early on a certain moming, the sun ha-ving just arisen, they went to bathe in a clear fountain, on the margin whereof, they fotmd the saint sitting with other holy men. And regarding his countena,nce and garb, they were struck with wonder, and inquired of his birth and residence, taking him for an apparition." The young ladies, considering this impression, must have had reasonably firm nerves. The saint, however, gravely told them, that he had more importa,nt information to offer; and that it would be fitter for them to ask him questions concerning God, than about his earthly dweUing. On this they desired that he would explain on the subject thus proposed. And he preached a sermon, in which he explained the articles of Christian beUef ; and explained to them, in answer to their further questions, the nature of the eucharist, which he persuaded them to receive. The princesses, on receiving the holy elements, according to the story, immediately died. Their Druid teachers, not unreasonably, angry at this incident, assaUed the saint with loud and bitter reproach. But Patrick opposed their raUing with divine truth, and succeeded in con verting them also. We cannot here omit another of the many fables to be found among the biographers of St Patrick; the more especiaUy as it relates to a popular tradition. At the approach of Lent, he withdrew to a lofty mountain in Mayo, now known by the name of Croagh Patrick, to meditate among its tranquU elevations, above the " smoke and stir" of heathen Ireland. " To this place," says Joceline, " he gathered together the several tribes of serpents and venomous creatures, and drove them headlong into the Western ocean; and that from thence proceeds that exemption, which Ireland enjoys, from all poisonous reptUes." Ware mentions on this, that Solinus " who "wrote some hundred years before St Patrick's arrival in Ireland, takes notice of this exemption." The same learned and authoritative writer cites Isidore of Seville, and Bede, also, to the same purpose ; with Cambrensis, who " treats it as a fable, and even the credulous Colgan gives it up." For any reader of the present age, such an exposition must be merely curious. After his descent from Croagh Patrick, he founded a monastery in UmaUe, an ancient district of West Mayo, the country of the Omalys. The name of this monastery was Achad Fobhair ; afterwards an epis copal see, but since, the site of a parish church in the diocese of Tuam. He next proceeded northward, untU he reached the district of the modern barony of Tirawly, preaching and converting multitudes by the way. Here stood the ancient wood, towards which his thoughts had long ranged ; it was the scene from which tlie voice of his dream had called him into Ireland ; and here, opportunely, a mighty multitude was gathered together, for the sons of Amalgord were contending for the election to tlieir father's crown, and had convened the nobles and Period.] ST PATRICK. 93 people to councU. Many wonderful accounts are given, by different writers, of the success of his preaching here ; but in his Confession, he mentions ha"ving converted many thousands. He next traveUed on through Sligo, and along the northern coast of Connaught, every where preaching and converting multitudes to the faith. And then passing on through Tircoimel, he staid for the con version of prince Owen, the son of the king NeUl. Having crossed Lough Foyle, from the peninsula of Inishowen, he remained for a few weeks, making converts, and forming ecclesiastical institutions in the neighbourhood; in this, pursuing the prudent course of a skUful con queror, who places sufficient garrisons for the preservation of his con quests. It is needless, in a sketch which we are endeavouring to render brief, to dweU on the simUa? events which foUowed his course through Dalradia, or to name aU the foundations, of which there is now no memory, but the dry record of the chronicle. He passed through many places, and in aU effected the same invaluable results, in the course of a circuit, which cost him more than three or four years of toil and travel. In this course he founded the bishopricks of Louth and Clogher. It was on this tour that he is said to have been joyfuUy received by the king of Munster, or as some with more probabUity state, by his son jEngus. A statement has been added to this account, which In volves more serious interest, because it is the subject of much contro versy. Some of the writers upon the period say, that St Patrick was at this time visited by his predecessors AUbe, Declan, Ibar, and Kieran ; but that a point of form was near occasioning the separation of these holy men. His predecessors were unwiUing to submit to his ecclesias tical supremacy, as head of the Irish church. After some anxious contention upon this point, protracted by the obstinacy of Ibar, the difference was settled on the consideration of St Patrick's extraordinary labours and eminent success, and the jurisdiction of the other eccle siastics was satisfactorUy settled and limited. It is, however, to be observed, that this account is not warranted by any of the lives of St Patrick. Usher, who quotes Uves of De clan and AUbe, evidently lays no stress upon their authority. The extract which he makes to this effect, is prefaced with these words, " If it be aUowable to credit a doubtful life of Declan."* Our main objection is, however, on the score of chronology, as according to the dates which we (on fuU consideration) adopt for the lives of these persons, they were none of them likely to have attained the age or authority which the above statement impUes. We do not yet concur with the opposite opinion, which excludes St Patrick and defers the synod, for the purpose of admitting the others. This solution, which unfortun ately resembles the story of " Hamlet omitted," in the stroUer's play- bUl, involves a "violation of the principles of historical criticism. We may safely presume that other synods were held by AUbe, &c., but we are not at Uberty to set aside the whole particulars of a statement, and then allege that it has reference to another place and time with other particulars. The error involved is only to be Ulustrated by the farci- * Primord. 801. 94 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First cal blunder in a well known comic song, which expresses, ¦with singular aptness, the same confusion of identities.* When the leading and essential parts of a statement are overthrown, the whole becomes a fiction.-f But if we admit that St Patrick held the synod at the time, it involves no difficulty to suppose very gross errors to have been made as to the subordinate actors and unessential particulars. The synod, if a reality, was one at which St Patrick experienced opposition, and terminated it by certain means. That he experienced such opposition about the time is certain, being mentioned by himself in his Confessio. An, incident referred to the same occasion, if not truly told, has at least the merit of being weU invented. The king's son jEngus, being a convert, was baptized by the saint. During the performance of the sacred rite, it so happened that the staff on which St Patrick was lean ing his weight was inadvertently placed on the prince's foot ; he think ing this painful incident to be part of the ceremony, or repressed by the reverence of his feelings, patiently sustained the agonizing pressure, untU relieved by the change of position which must have occurred during the service. St Patrick in his Confessio, states the opposition he had frequently to encounter from kings and chiefs, and the pains he took to conciliate them by presents ; one of the effects of which appears to have been, that whUe the fathers stood aloof, they permitted their . sons to foUow him. From this, St Patrick pursued his way through Munster, making numerous converts, and fortifying the church in faith and discipline. And having extended his course through South Munster, he proceeded onward into the south of the county of Waterford, and was for the most part received with joy by the people and their princes. Seven years elapsed in the proceedings of this part of his episcopal tour, when, solenmly blessing the country and its Inhabitants, he turned on his way toward Leinster. About this time, 452, it was, that one of his bishops, Secundinus, died in Dunshauglin, the seat of his see. He is remarked as the first bishop who died in Ireland, and as the author of a poem in honour of St Patrick, stiU extant. It has been published by Ware and many others, and speaks of the saint as stUl living at the time. To this period, also, is referred the saint's weU-kno-wn letter to the tyrant Coroticus, a ¦writing generally concluded to be genuine. Coro- ticus was a piratical chief, who probably dwelt on the northern coast of Britain. He made a descent on the Irish coast, and though sup posed to have been a professed Christian, carried off captive a number of converts, recently baptized or confirmed by St Patrick, who men tions them thus in his epistle : "... innocentium Christianorum, quos ego innumeros Deo genui, atque in Christo confirmari, postera die qua chrisma neophyti in veste Candida flagrabat in fronti ipsorum."^ These Coroticus carried away, having slaughtered many in taking them, and sold them into captivity. St Patrick upon hearing of the outrage, first addressed a private epistle to the tyrant, by whom it • " Arrah, Paddy," said he, " is it you or your brother?" t The object of the biographers of Declan, &c., is justly presumed to have been a desire to magnify the pretensions of their sees. X Quoted by Lanigan, i. 299. Period.] ST PATRICK. 95 was disregarded. He then wrote a public letter, of which the foUowing appears to be a summary : " Announcing himself a bishop and estab Ushed in Ireland, he proclaims to aU those who fear God, that said murderers and robbers are excommunicated and estranged from Christ, and that it is not la^wful to show them civiUty, nor to eat and drink with them, nor to receive their offerings untU, sincerely repenting, they make atonement to God, and liberate his servants, and the hand maids of Christ. He begs of the faithful, into whose hands the epistle may come, to get it read before the people every where, and before Coroticus himself, and to communicate it to his soldiers, in the hope that they and their master may return to God, &c. Among other very affecting expostulations, he observes, that the Roman and GaUic Christians are wont to send proper persons with great sums of money to the Franks and other Pagans, for the purpose of redeeming Christian captives, whUe, on the contrary, that monster Coroticus made a trade of seUing the members of Christ to nations ignorant of God."* In the course of his episcopal journeyings, it may be presumed that^ the saint did not travel without meeting difficulties of every kind in cidental to the state of the country and time. Accordingly, in all the lives we meet narrations of perU by the way, which only require to be divested of the absurd additions with which all the monkish historians and biographers have ornamented them, to have the resemblance of truth. The story of Failge, who, by treachery, attempted to murder the saint in his chariot, and slew his driver in the attempt; the robber Mac- caldus and his associates, of whom one feigned sickness, to make the saint's charity the occasion for his assassination, want but a little change of name and weapon to present no untrue picture of atrocities of re cent times, attempted in the self-same spirit, though alas with different success 1 Of these stories, the latter is at least happUy conceived. The robber and his heathen accomplices, doubtless scandalized by the faUing away of their country from its ancient superstitions, and fired with In dignant feelings to which it would not be quite fair to refuse the praise of patriotism and national spirit, resolved to redress their country's wrongs by waylaying the saint upon his road. The plot was laid, and at the appointed hour (the biographers unjustly rob the patriots of the merit of preconcerted design) they were at the place of appointment, when Patrick, ignorant of their laudable purpose, came walking on the road. The assassins had contrived an expedient of singular feli city : knowing that the saint never denied the claim of sickness on his humanity and charity, one of them named Gorran or O'Gorraghane, feigning illness, lay down under a cloak. By this happy contriv ance it is e"vident, that the most favourable opportunity would be secured, of knocking out his brains while he was bending over the " clever boy" who thus deceived his charitable credulity. All this having worked well, according to the plot, the other patriots stood around. " Sir," said one of the company as he came up, " one of our party has been taken Ul on the road ; wUl you sing some of your incantations over him, that so he may be restored to health?" " It would not," repUed Patrick, " be in the least surprising if he ¦ Lanigan, Eccles. Hist. i. 297. 96 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First were sick." As he uttered these words very coldly, and without stooping as they expected, the crafty rogues thought to excite his sympathy by assuming the appearance of increased anxiety ; and bend ing their looks upon their prostrate comrade, they were startled by the change which had passed over his features: he was dead! The remainder of the story is such as every reader ¦wiU correctly ima gine — Maccaldus became a convert — was baptized — ^became a bishop in the Isle of Man.* Probus, speaking of the same person, says, " Hie est MacfaU episcopus clarus et sanctus postmodum effectus in Evoni- casium civitate, cujus nos adjubant sancta suffragia." Dr Lanigan, who quotes this sentence, as omitted by primate Usher, remarks, as the cause of the omission, " he did not reUsh the invocation of saints ;" we think Dr Lanigan ¦wrong in supposing that Usher could feel the slightest care about any statement by a monk of the 10th century. We notice this here, not for the purpose of quarrelling about such trifles with our trustworthy guide, but to suggest to the reader of the same class of old legends, one of the useful rules of distinction between probable and improbable. The -writer of a legend, if he beUeves his tale to be untrue, would be likely to mould it to his purpose ; if true his own creed would necessarUy suggest constructions, which, believing to be matters of course, he would add as essential parts of the narra tion. The above expression of Probus belongs to neither of these cases, as it is simply the expression of a pious though superstitious sentiment of his own. As we have ourselves adopted the rule of omit ting the more marveUous parts of such incidents as we have seen occa sion to notice, it may also be fit to assure such readers as may not approve of such omissions, as amounting to a denial of these miracu lous incidents, that it is far from our design to imply such an opinion. We think that the relation of a miracle performed by the primitive missionaries of the gospel of Christ, is neither to be Ughtly admitted or rashly denied. There cannot be a rational doubt that, if the purpose required such deeds, they would not be wanting. But the sources of imposture are too obvious, not to suggest to every sane mind the ne cessity of a severe law of admission. Mere presumptive probabiUty, whatever may be its value as confirmation, is useless as e^vidence — tradition more worthless stiU — and the legendary ¦writings of so remote a period, require many corroborations of existing monuments, concur ring testimonies, adverse notices, numerous and authenticated copies from documents of genuine character, to give them the least claim upon the historian's assent. St Patrick is still, by his more circumstantial biographers, traced on his way, erecting churches and establishing bishops. Usher men tions a tradition, stiU remaining in his o-svn time, heard by himself among the inhabitants of Louth, that the saint had been some time among them. The same writer adds, that ha-ying erected a church here, when he afterwards determined to found his cathedral of Armagh, he appointed to the place a British ecclesiastic of great piety, named Maccheus.")- In the course of this tour he also visited Dublin, where he converted * Jiceline, &c. f Usher, Prim. 855. Period.] ST P.\TRICK. 97 and baptized Alphin, the king, with aU his people, in a fountain called, after him, Patrick's weU. He also buUt a church, on the foundation of which the cathedral of St Patrick was afterwards raised. The fountain Usher mentions as ha-ving seen it, " not far from the steeple, but lately obstructed and inclosed amongst private houses." It is also mentioned by Usher, from the Black Book oi Christ's church, that the vaults of this cathedral had existence previous to the coming of St Patrick, having been buUt "by the Danes ;" but that he celebrated the eucharist in one of those vaults, afterwards called the vault of St Patrick. It is with most likelihood computed, that it was after these long and laborious wanderings, after he had established his church on the best foundations which circumstances permitted, that he bent his steps towards the north, -with the intention of establishing a primatlal see, and confirming his labours by a body of canons. With this in ¦view he reached the place then called Denein Sailrach, and since Ar magh. From the chief of this district he obtained possession of a large tract, and founded a city upon it : " large in compass, and beautiful in situation, with monastery, cathedral, schools, &c., and resolved to estab lish it as the primatlal see of the Irish church." This foundation, ac cording to Usher and Harris, took place in 445. According to the chronology here adopted, this foundation may rather be placed in 454. Here, and at his favourite retreat at Sabhul, he probably spent the remainder of his life. To the same period must also be referred the canons universally ascribed to him, and supposed to have been ordained in a synod held in Armagh. They are yet ex tant, and many of their provisions are such as to indicate their anti quity. By the 6th, " The wife of a priest was obliged, when abroad, to appear veUed." " The 14th lays a penalty on those who should have recourse to soothsaying, or the inspection of the entraUs of beasts, for searching into future events."* Omitting the absurdity of a visit to Rome in his old age, we may now close our perhaps too rapid sketch of his eventful life. Amongst the last of his acts, was the sketch he has left us of his life, under the title of Confession. This simple, characteristic, often affecting, and always unpretending document, is precisely what the occasion and the character of the writer required, and is quite free from the diffi culties which affect his more recent lives. He speaks of approaching death, and returns thanks for the mercies of God to himself, and to the Irish, &c. He was seized with his last illness at Saul, or Sabhid, near Downpatrick. Wishing to die In Armagh, he attempted the journey, but was compeUed by his complaint to return, and breathed his last on the 17th of March. If we view his character as represented by the facts of his life, combined with his own accounts of himself, and take into account the magnitude of the difficulties with which he must have contended, and the result of his labours, we are struck by the consistency of the facts with the character; and feel irresistibly the conviction, that it is no * Cited by Ware. These canons are published by Ware, among tho works ascribed to St Patrick. VOL. I. G 98 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES [FlHST creation of legendary writers, whose statements plainly prove theni to have wanted both the knowledge and good taste requisite for such a conception. His gravity, simpUcity, wisdom, moderation, piety, and just views of scriptural Christianity, gleam through the most legendary of these fantastic inventions, and confirm their pretension to a founda tion in the mam fact ; while these ennobling traits are as inconsistent with the superstitious fancies of his biographers, as they are -with the drunken orgies and unchristian observances which help to cast a disrespect on his memory in our own times. mm. DIED A. D. 527. Tms ancient bishop is said to have been born in Munster, and hav ing been the fruit of an unlawful union, was left by his father to perish under a rock; being found, he was, by the discoverer, entrusted to the care of some Britons, who gave him a name significant of the in cident — " AU" signifying a rock both in the Irish and the ancient British. By his protectors, he may perhaps have been fiirst instructed in the Christian faith. The history of his life is, however, involved in much uncertainty. A wish to honour the see of Emly, to carry back the antiquity of the Irish church, and magnify the authority of the Roman see, has been the cause of much misrepresentation. AUbe is thus said to have been consecrated a bishop at Rome, at the in stance of HUary, and, in 412, returned to Ireland, where he con verted and baptized many. It was in the year 448 when his first meeting with St Patrick is thus mentioned by a writer of his life: — " When St AUbe had heard that St Patrick had converted MngviS Mac Nefricn, king of Munster, to the faith in Christ, and that he was with him in the city of Cashel, he went to salute them ; and the king and St Patrick rejoiced at the arrival of St AUbe; and he rejoiced to see them. And there St AUbe took St Patrick for his inaster, for he was full of humility. Then king ^Engus and St Patrick ordained, that the archbishopric of all Munster should for ever continue in the city and chair of St AUbe."* Much of this may be true, but the arch bishopric is a glaring anachronism. Tirechau, an ancient writer, mentions that he was priested by Patrick himself; and. In an ancient Ufe preserved by Colgan, he is called his disciple. This is probably the true account. If we were to give credit to some accounts of his life, he should indeed be also mentioned as one of the smaU number of instances of longevity, far beyond the usuaUy known periods of protracted Ufe in the latter ages of the world; having been born in 360, and died in 527, according to the computation of Usher.f He must, if so, have died at the age of 167. The foUowing interesting particulars we extract from Ware's • Hanis's Ware. Usher, Primord. f Ibid. Period.] DECLAN. 99 works, by Harris : — " Here also, in ancient times, stood a celebrated city, which, however, by degrees hath dwindled into an inconsiderable "vUlage. It was placed on the edge of a lake, which was formerly considerably large, and covered at least 200 acres or more of excel lent pasture. This lake was, from time to time, graduaUy lessened by the improvements of the neighbouring proprietors ; but, in the year 1717 or 171 8, it was laid almost dty by the industry of Robert Ryves, Esq., who held the rich bottoms bordering on it from arch bishop PalUser. There was formerly a ferry kept here, to waft people over the lake to the church ; and, to this day, a crown rent of 6s. 8d. is charged in the coUector's books, payable yearly out of the ferry of Emly, which is constantly returned in arrear, the cause having ceased. There is a lane leading from Emly to the low lands, which were for merly overspread by the water, called Bothar-y-coit, i. e. the Lane of the Cot or Boat. About the year 1703, some people, digging turf in the neighbouring bog, discovered a large post standing in the ground, and an iron ring fixed in it, which was supposed to be placed there for fastening the ferry-boat to. "In the church-yard of Emly is erected a large cross of rough unhewn stone, about eight feet high from the surface of the ground, and there is a weU near it, called St AUbe's weU ; both which are held in great veneration by the superstitious Irish, who flock hither in vast multi tudes to celebrate the festival of the patron, on the 12th of September yearly. In the time of archbishop PaUisser, two neighbouring magis trates obtained a license from him to demolish the cross, and stop up the weU, as being encouragements to idolatry, and the causes of some disorders in the "vicinity ; yet they never put their design in execution, and the cross and weU continue there to this day. " The annals of Ulster say, that Emly was plundered by robbers, and the mitre of St AUbe, which had been preserved there for many ages with great care, was burned a. d. II 23. Malmorda, who was at that time bishop of Emly, made his escape by flight. It was afterwards destroyed by fire, in 1192. Bishop Christian, who died in 1249, is said to have been a great benefactor to this church, and was very in tent on repairing and adorning it. Thomas Hurly, bishop of Emly, erected in this place a coUege for secular priests, in the reign of king Wtclm, At the time of Ailbe's death, it is agreed that Declan was stiU alive ; whUe the state of Christianity in Ireland, as described in the accounts of his birth, indicate a period before the general conversion of the people. " Tum jam Hibernia gentUitatI dedita erat, et eo tem pore raro singuli Christiani Inveniri solebant ;" Ireland was then aban doned to paganism, &c — a fact perhaps indicated by the statement of the circumstances attending the baptism of Declan, when his parents are described as becoming converts. On the consideration of these general facts, "with others stated by Dr Lanigan — who endeavours to ascertain his time, by fixing the period of his best known contempo- 100 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlKST raries — we are inclined to consider him as contemporary with St Pa trick, but considerably later in the periods of his birth and death. We therefore conclude, that it is erroneous to make him a bishop be fore the mission of St Patrick; although, from the great uncertainty of any thing that has been stated about him, we should think it pre sumptuous to affirm that he did not precede him as a preacher. Declan was the descendant from a royal stock; his father was Ere, a prince of Waterford. At the birth of Declan, he was, -with his wife, Dethys, and others of his suite, on a visit at the house of a friend named Dobran. Colman, a priest, who afterwards became a bishop, came to the house — according to the old writer whom Usher quotes — with great joy, and fiUed with the spirit of prophecy. His preaching converted Ere and his wife, and they suffered him to baptize the chUd, whose glory, as the servant of God, he prophesied. Dobran, struck with these circumstances, and others related at large by the biogra pher, requested that the child should be committed to his care. The dwelling of Dobran, which was called Dobran's Hall, afterwards ob tained the name of Declan's HaU; and, having been presented by Dobran to his ward, became the site of a ceU which he erected to God. Declan, having completed his seventh year, was, according to Colman's directions, delivered to the tuition of Dymma, a Christian teacher, from whom he learned whatever was then to be taught, and, before long, became himself famous for knowledge and wisdom. After some time it is asserted, by his biographers, that he traveUed to Rome, and received episcopal consecration from the pope. We see no reason to dispute the fact ; but think it right to observe, that in the accounts of those who assert it, we think it would, if worth whUe, be easy to point out some gross anachronisms. But we notice it here for the purpose of observing, that when Usher quoted the following sentence — " Then it occurred to St Declan to go to Rome, that he might there acquire the knowledge of ecclesiastical customs, and re ceive a faculty or degree in rank, and obtain from the Apostolical See a license to preach," &c it is quite plain that he could have no con troversial object, worth contending .for, in view. We cannot help ob serving, that Dr Lanigan is scarcely warranted in the assertion that Usher, whose merits no one can appreciate more fairly than himself, has either made or omitted any statement with a view to any system. It is to be admitted that. In the prosecution of inquiries so vague and perplexed as those, it Is difficult. If not Impossible, for the fau-est mind to avoid seeing occasionally through the light of system; a primary tendency of reason, and the source of error as weU as of invention. From the illusory effect of this tendency, few indeed have the soundness to escape; and Dr Lanigan — ^to whose honesty of pur pose, great learning, and judicious criticism, we offer our wilUng testimony — presents his full share of examples. On this occasion, he is stated to have met St Patrick in Italy, about A. D. 402 — a date much too early for the statement which makes him yet alive in the 6th century. We are inclined, for many such reasons, to consider the whole of these lesser details of his life, to be a spuri ous accommodation to imagined probabUities, and to adopt the suppo sition that he was contemporary with the latter period of St Patrick, Period.] IBar — BRIDGET. 101 and a bishop of his appointment ; and, on this supposition, we do not think it necessary to admit, upon any authority we have seen quoted by our authors — -Usher, Lanigan, Ware — ^that he ¦visited Rome, or received any authority from its bishop. It is stated probably that he took up his residence in his own pro- ¦vince, where he preached, and baptized, and made a mtdtitude of con verts. His eminence was very great in his lifetime. There is stated to have been a very great friendship between him, Ibar, and AUbe, especially the latter, to such a degree, that they wished to be always together; and made a vow of friendship, which was to be kept by themselves and their posterity to the end of the world — " on earth and in heaven." Mm. A. D. 500. Ibar is, by some writers, affirmed to have been a bishop before the coming of St Patrick; and by others, on the other hand, to have been one of his disciples. According fo the statements we have adopted, the latter is the more probable. Some lives of St Patrick confirm it also. He lived in his monastery, on Begery, a smaU island near the harbour of Wexford. He died A. d. 500. 439—510. This eminent person is said to have been born in 439. Her father's name was Dubtacus. The antiquarian writers differ as to his rank. Bale calls him a nobleman, the Book qf Howth a captain of Leinster : both may possibly be correct, and the point is of no importance. Her mother appears to have been a person of less respectabiUty : she held some servUe office in the house of Dubtach, and having an attractive person, as the story runs, the ¦wife of Dub soon found reasonable occasion for jealousy, and caused her to be sent away. Dubtach, anxious to save the unfortunate -rictim of his crime, deUvered her in charge to a bard. The bard fulfiUed his trust with due fideUty, and, when the infant Bridget was born, continued his zealous service by watching over her growth and instructing her early years ¦with parental care. She was thus instructed, as she grew, in aU the knowledge of the age; her talent exceUed her acquisitions, and she soon obtained a far extending reputation. This was yet increased by the sanctity of her life, and the singular weight and -wisdom of her opinions. Her sayings, in an age when the learned were but few, obtained extensive circulation, and from being repeated and admired, soon became in high request. Her advice on weighty occasions began to be sought by the ecclesiastics of her day, and on one occasion is said to have been aUeged as authoritative in a synod held in Dublin. 102 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First The various acts of her life, as coUected by numerous biographers, are not, in general, such as we can consistently with our plan, offer here, though we do not doubt the foundation of most of them in fact, yet they are too inseparably interwoven with monstrous inventions, to be reduced to reality. She became a nun, and buUt herself a ceUe under a goodly oak. This was after increased into a monastery for virgins, and from the original ceU, called Cyldara, " the ceU of the oak." As her memory obtains its chief interest from this institution, the reader wUl be gratified by the following extract from Harris's Ware : — " The church of KUdare is for the most part in ruins, yet the waUs are stUl standing, together ¦with the south side of the steeple, and the walls of the nave, which is adorned to the south with six gothic arches, and as many buttresses. The north side of the steeple is level with the ground, and is said to have been beaten do^wn by a battery planted against it during the rebeUion in 1641. The choir, where di^vIne service is used, had nothing worth notice in it, except a large gothic window, much decayed, which the chapter have lately taken do-wn, and in the room have erected a modem Venetian "window. The south wing, which was formerly a chappel, is in ruins, and in it Ue two large stones, in alto-relievo, curiously carved. One represents a bishop in his robes, a pastoral staff in his right hand, and a mitre on his head, supported by two monkeys, with several other decorations, but being without inscription, it leaves only room for conjecture, that it was erected for Edmund Lane, bishop of KUdare, who was buried here in 1522. The other is the monument of Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, of Lackah, curiously cut in armour, -with an inscription round the stone, and upon the right side of it are five escutcheons, differently emblaz oned. Ralph of Bristol, bishop of Kildare, was at no smaU charge in repairing and adorning the cathedral, and was the first Englishman who sat in this see. He died in 1232. It again feU into decay in the reign of king Henry the VII., and was repaired by the above mentioned Edmund Lane. At thirty yards' distance from the west end of the church, stands an handsome round tower, adorned ¦with a battlement; it is full forty-four yards high, and at the same distance from the tower, an ancient pedestal of rough unhe^wn stone remains, on which formerly stood a cross, the top of which now Ueth in the church-yard, but the shaft is converted into a step leading to the communion table. Not far from the round tower is to be seen an old buUding called the Fire-House, where the inextinguishable fire was formerly kept by the nuns of St Bridget, of which an account may be seen in the Antiquities of Ireland. Among the sufi&-agan bishops of Ireland, as the bishop of Meath in councUs and elsewhere had the precedence, so the bishop of Kildare claimed the second place, the rest taking their seats according to the dates of their ordinations. This practice obtained in several parUaments, viz., in those of the 27th of queen EUzabeth, and llth of James the First. It was controverted before the privy council, March 15tli, 1639. But the lords, justices, and councU did not think proper to adjudge the right, in regard the parliament was to assemble the day foUowing, and that they had not time to enter into the merits on either side. Yet to avoid the scandal and disturb- Period.] BRIDGET. 103 ance which might arise from a contention in the house, they made an interim order, ' that the bishop of KUdare, -without prejudice to the rights of the other bishops, should be continued in the possession of precedence, next after the bishop of Meath, and before aU other bishops, although consecrated before him; and that he should take place accordingly, untU the same be evicted from him, upon the discussion of the right.' The bishops of Kildare, since the Reformation, have been for the most part of the privy coimcU, and for some successions past have held the deanery of Christ-church, ¦with this see in com- mendam. In a retum made to a regal commission, a. d. 1622, by bishop PUsworth, it is said, that by the ancient roUs of the bishoprick, it appeared, that there were seventy-three parishes in the diocese of KUdare. The constitution of the chapter is singular. It consists of four dignitaries, and four canons, viz., dean, chanter, chanceUor, and treasurer. The four canons have no titles from any place, but are named, 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th canon. There are also in this diocese an archdeacon, and eight prebendaries, who are called prebendaries ad extra. The archdeacon is no member of the chapter, but hath a stall in the choir, and a voice in the election of a dean only, and so have the eight prebendaries ad extra. Each of the dignitaries or canons are capable of holding any of the prebends ad extra, but as such have only one voice in the election of a dean. The prebendaries ad extra take their designations from these places, ¦viz., 1. Geashil; 2. Rathan- gan; 3. Harristo^wn; 4. Nurney; 5. BaUysonan; 6. Donadea; 7. Lul- liamore; 8. Castropeter." * "In this place," says Stanihurst, " Ibique maxima civitas, postea in honore heatissimcB Brigidce erexit quce est hodie metropolis Lageni- ensium." The succession of bishops in the see of Kildare, is thus given by the last writer, " Conlianus, Long, Ivar, Colnic, Donatus, David," &c. Bridget was extensively known and revered in her lifetime, through the different nations which then composed the population of the British isles. A Harmony qf the Gospels, ¦written by St Jerome, was copied at her desire in letters of gold. This Boetius mentions as having seen it; and Stanihurst says, it was preserved, "as a monument," at KUdare. Bridget died about 510. She is said to have been buried in Iona, but afterwards, ¦with ColumbkiUe, taken up and transferred to the tomb of Patrick. Of this the foUowing legend is preserved: — " Hi tres in Duno tumulo tumulantur in ttno Brigida, Patricius, atque Columba pins." Among the early notices of her life, Colgan has collected and pub lished, together, the foUo"wing: — A hymn by St Brogan, on her virtues and miracles, " Tempore vero Lugaidu Leogairo, Rege nati, &c., compositus." Much, however, of this poem seems to be the production of a later state of theology. The second is a life by Cogitosus, and supposed to have been ¦written before the year 594. One sentence of this seems to imply an early date, in which this island is named,' " Scotorum terra." A third ' Harris's Ware. 104 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First by St Ultan, was obtained from an old MS. in the monastery of St. Magnus, at Ratisbon. It is fuUer than either of the former. A fourth, written in the 10th century, by Animosus or Animchod, a bishop of Kildare, Is pubUshed from a defective MS., but, as might be expected from the more recent date, Is more fuU on the marveUous particulars of Bridget's life than any of his predecessors. Two more, one in prose by " Laurentio Dunelmensi ; " and another in verse by St Coelun, of the monastery of Inlskeltein, complete the coUection. St i?tn6ar* A. D. 570—630. Like St Bridget, St Finbar was the fmit of an unla^wful union. His birth is rendered iUustrious by its circumstances, which were rather of the order of the miraculous. By order of the zealous Tege- matus [Tigecnatus?] his father and mother were cast together into a hot furnace, where his mother was soon safely delivered of a fine chUd. He was baptized by the name of Lochan, and delivered to the charge of three holy men, who, struck by the beauty of his countenance and flowing hair, called him Fuenbarrak. He was brought up by one Torpereus, and received some lands from the munificence of king Fattinus. Ha-ring been ordained by Torpereus, he went to preach in Scotland, then a principal field of missionaries from the Irish church. On his return to Ireland, he received, from a chief of the name of Edo, a grant of land near the river Lee ; and here he founded the city of Cork, with a cathedral, to which he annexed " a faire church-yard." Here the first person buried was his old master, the good bishop Torpereus. St Finbar was consecrated first bishop of Cork. He entered into a solemn compact with CongeUus, abbot of Cloane, that they should be buried in the same place. He was pro bably induced to this, by a natural and laudable zeal to advance the reputation and interests of his own church-yard — a touch of natural feeling, which gives, if this were wanting, strong corroboration to the legend of his life. Here, in conformity with this agreement, he was buried; and, shortly after, the abbot of Cloane fulfiUed his part, by following his venerable friend to the appointed place of rest. Hanmer, in his Chronicle, preserves a portion of the legend in which these par ticulars have been handed down. Besides the fame due to St Finbar, as the founder of Cork, his name is rendered interesting both to the antiquary and the tasteful explorer of Irish scenery, by his connexion ¦with a scene of unparal leled beauty and interest, which lies among the mountain solitudes in the immediate vicinity of that realm of wonder and admiration, Glen- garlffe. The ancient hermitage of St Finbar occupies a small island in a lake about a mUe long and half as broad. This lake lies in a Uttle circular valley, shut in on every side by the rude arid enormous pre cipices of the wild mountains of Kerry — Dereen, Maolagh, Nada- nuiUar,andFaoltenaGouganne. The effect of this scene is singularly and wildly impressive ; it has lately been made known to the public Period.] ST KEVIN — SEDULIUS. 105 by a coloured engraring, from a painting by Mr Petrie, in which he has, vrith his usual feUcity, embodied its character and conveyed its wUd expression. A.D. 618. This ancient person, though less important in the history of the country, and far more identified with venerable fable than the last, is, nevertheless, made eminent by the association of his name vrith one of the most ancient remains of Irish antiquity — ^the celebrated scene of the seven churches in Glendalough. The ricinity of this curious and striking scene to Dublin, has in some degree anticipated our legendary office, by not only diffusing the knowledge of the saint, but by also producing, for the edification of touring antiquaries, a yearly growth of marvels, which, for the most part, do more honour to the humour of the teUers, than to the sanctity of the saint. These, how ever entertaining they might be to those who have not Ustened to Joe Irwin and his fraternity, must, we regret to say, be excluded from thia sober page; not so much that they want the truth, as because they are deficient in the meUow age, which constitutes so much of the essence of history. Of St Kevin's (or Coragenus's) actual history, there are some authentic remains. He was bom in the year 498; was baptized by St Cronan ; received the fijst rudiments of his education from Petrocus ; was priested by bishop Lugid. He was the contemporary of Columb kiUe, and held constant intercourse with bim and the other holy men of his day. He led a hermit life, in an old place caUed Cluagn Duach, since called Gleandalogh (the valley of two loughs). He died on the 3d day of June, 618, at the age of 120. The day of his death is yet commemorated in the place by a, patron. After his death, Dymnach, one of the lords of the surrounding territory, founded a cathedral church, with other buildings, which graduaUy sprung up Into a city, the history of which is not extant, but the ruins exist and tell its whereabouts, and attest the ancient legend. Kevin was the author of two works, De Brittaniorum Origine, and De Hehero et Hermone. A.D. 450. Sedulius lived in the 5th century, and was remarkable for his genius, learning, and piety. He is said to have been a bishop, but this assertion is denied on good authority. It appears that there were many of the same name, aU Irish. The subject of our present notice was a poet, an orator, and a deeply learned theologian. Trithemius, in speaking of him, says, " Sedulius, a Scottish (Irish) priest, was, from his youth upwards, a disciple to Hildebert, archbishop of the 106 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiRST Scots. He was a man weU versed in the knowledge of the Scriptures, of great accomplishments in human learning, and had an exceUent taste both for prose and verse. For the love of learmng te left Scotia, traveUed into France, and from thence into Italy and Asia. At length, departing from the borders of Achaia, he came to be in high esteem in the city of Rome, on account of his wonderful learning. He writ many works, both in prose and verse, of which I have only met with the titles. He dedicated a notable treatise to the abbot Macedonius, composed according to the series of the whole gospel, which he entitled — " Carmen Paschale metrice. Lib. 4. In omnes epistolas PauU prosaice. Lib. 14. De Miraculis Christi. Lib. 1. Ad Theodosium Imperatorem. Lib. 1. In majus volumen Prisciani. Lib. 1. ? Some think these are by In secundum editionem Donati. Lib. 1. J Sedulius the younger. Exhortatorium ad Fideles. Lib. 1. Epistolas Plures ad Diversos. Lib. I. De Miraculis Christi prosaice. Lib. 2." Bale has added many to the above Ust ; we shall therefore transcribe his as it stands: — " Carmen Paschale. Lib. 5. Paschales quicunque Dapes. De Signis et Virtutibus. Lib. I. Domino Charissimo. Gesta et Miracula Christi. Lib. 4. Expulerat quendam, &c. Super utroque Testamento. Lib. 2. In Psalmos Davidicos. Lib. I. Collectanea in Paulum. Lib. 14. Antequam Apostolica verba. In Paulum Romanes. Lib. 1. Sciendum est quod in hoc. In Corinthios. Lib. 2. Quod Nomen suum praeponit. Ad Galatas. Lib. I. Hoc est non ab humana. Ad Ephesios. Lib. 1. Refert Scriptura, testante Hieronymo. Ad Philipenses. Lib. I. Metropoli Macedoniae. Ad CoUossenses. Lib. 1. Hae -vice Apostolatus. Ad Thessalonicenses. Lib. 2. Quod non dicit Apostolus. Ad Timotheum. Lib. 2. Non secundum Praesumptionem. Ad Titum Discipulum. Lib. Hanc Epistolam scribit. Ad Philemonen. Lib. I. In Carcere vel in Cathenis. Ad Hebrseos. Lib. 1. Quoniam apud Hebrseorum. De factis Christi prosaice. Lib. 2. Ad Caesarem Theodosium. Lib. 1. Romuhdum Ductor Clari. Exhortatorium ad Fideles. Lib. 1 . Cantemus Socii Domino. Epistolas ad Diversos. Lib. 1. Sedulius Scotigena. In editionem Donati. Lib. 1. In Prisciani volumen. Lib. 1. Carmina Diversi Generis. Lib. 1." It is of course obvious that the Epistles are included in the fourteen books of Collectanea in Paulum. Bale adds, that he wrote hymns, which the church uses, as, Hostis Her odes impie ; A Solis ort'us Car dine; and that he flourished A. D. 450. Hanmer mentions three more hymns, beginning as foUows: — Ad usque terras limitem. Christum Canamus Principem. Christum venisso quid times ? Period.] ST BINEN — cormac. 107 Usher makes it clear, that the grammatical works ascribed to Sedu lius were written, at a later period, by another of his name. John Sichard, who first pubHshed his valuable treatise, from an ancient copy which he had from the abbot of Fuld, calls him Sedulius Hiberniensis. Sbt 35(nm, or IStnignug* SUCCEEDED A. D. 465. — DIED A. D. 468. Benignus, was a disciple of St Patrick, and his successor in the see of Armagh. He was baptized by ^S** Patrick a. d. 433, and was in structed by him in the rudiments of learning and reUgion. Accord ing to the most probable computation, he succeeded to the see in 465, and resigned it in 485. He was a man eminent for piety and virtue, and died about three years after his resignation. There are various opinions respecting the place at which he died, some asserting it to be Rome, others England, and others Armagh. Usher thinks it was at the latter place, where, the tripartite writer of St Patrick's life says, " his remains were deposited vrith great honour." S)arlat8» SUCCEEDED A. D. 468. — DIED A. D. 482. Jarlath, the attached friend of Benignus, was appointed by St Patrick to succeed him in the see of Armagh. He was of the famUy of the Dalfiatacians,* and was born in Ulster, in the barony of Mourne, in the south of the county of Do^wn. His father obstinately adhered to paganism, but he and his brother Sedna were educated by St Patrick, and were zealous imitators of his -rirtues. He died on the 1 1th of February, 482, in the 14th of his pontificate. The annals point out the time of his death under the year 481. " Quies Jwrlatha filii Trena, episcopi Ardmachani. The rest of Jarlath, son of Trena, bishop of Armagh." ©onnac o' IS^tnaitttt. SUCCEEDED A. D. 482. — DIED A. D. 497. CoBMAc was appointed to the see of Armagh, on the death of Jar lath, by St Patrick who was then very old. He had been baptized by him, and became an eminent example of learning and piety. He was weU versed in the holy Scriptures. He is confounded, by some histo rians, ¦with another who was bishop of Trim in the 7th century. * Dal-Fiatacia, the family and countiy of Fiatach or Fiachad, king of Ireland. 108 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First SUCCEEDED a. D. 497. — DIED A. D. 51-3. Dubtach succeeded to the see of St Patrick in 497, but it has not been ascertained by whom he was nominated. Some think by Cor mac; for it is certain that the pope did not interfere in those nomina tions until the reign of king John. By some writers he is caUed Duach, and the Annals of the Four Masters place his death in 512. mim K, SUCCEEDED A. D. 513 DIED A. D. 526. AiLiLD, or AilU, or Hellas, was of royal blood, being the son of Trichen, prince of East Ulster. Both he and his successor, AUild IL, were descended from the royal fainily of the Dalfiatacians, as we learn from the annals both of Munster and Ulster. He was converted to Christianity by St Patrick, and died on the 13th of January, 526. The Martyrologies of Marian Gorman, jEng^ius Auctus, and others. place his death a year earlier. SUCCEEDED A. D. 526. — DIED a. D. 536. AiLlLD IL, according to the Annals of tlie Four Masters, succeeded to the see of Armagh, immediately on the death of his relative Ailild 1., and continued in the archbishopric for ten years, though the martyr- ologists place his death a year earlier.* * The purpose of tliis volume does not require the continuation to the utmost, of lives so barren of record. Some of our readers may be gratified by seeing tlie list which exhibits the continued succession from St Patrick in the see of Armagh. We transcribe it to the end of the period. Dubtach II succeeded 536 died 548 David Mac-Guaire Hoa-Faranan,... succeeded 548 died 551 Feidlimid succeeded 551 died 578 Cairlan, called Hy-niellan, succeeded 678 died 588 EocHAiD (Mac-Dermod), succeeded 688 died 598 Senach, succeeded 698 died 610 Mac-Laisir succeeded 610 died 623 Thomain (Mac-Eonan), succeeded 623 died 661 Segene succeeded 661 died 688 Flan-Febla succeeded 688 died 715 SuiBHNEY succeeded 715 died 730 CoNGUSA succeeded 730 died 750 Cele-Peter succeeded 750 died 758 Fkudachry succeeded 758 died 768 FoENDELACH, succeeded 768. ..resigned in 771 He is said to have died iu 794. There are great and irreconcilable differences about ihe succession at this period, Period.] ST EDAN — ST MOLING. 109 St iSUait* PROMOTED A. D. 598. DIED A.D. 632. St Eda-n, commonly caUed St Moedoc and St Moeg, was the son of Sedna, and the eighth in descent from CoUa-vais, king of Ireland. His mother, Ethne, was also of royal blood, being descended from Amalgaid, who was king of Connaught at the time of St Patrick's arrival in Ireland. He formed a strong friendship in early youth with St Laserian, abbot of Devenish, and also spent a long time in Wales with St Darid, by whom he was much loved and diUgently instructed both in learning and religion. Some years after his return to Ireland, he was consecrated bishop, or as some say archbishop, by the command of Brandub, king of Leinster, who gave him the city of Ferns, of which an ancient writer of the life of St Edan says, " A large city called Ferns, grew up there in honour of Moedog. Afterwards, at a great synod convened in Leinster, king Brandub, and both the clergy and laity decreed, that the archbishopric of all Leinster should for ever continue in the chair and see of St Moedog, and then St Moedog was consecrated by many catholics." According to Colgan and Dempster, he died on the 31st of January, 632, after having governed the see for about fifty years, and founded many churches ; but the Annals of the Four Masters place his death in 624. 5t #toltn5* SUCCEEDED A. D. 691. — DIED a. D. 697. St Moling, the son of OUan, was born in the county of Wexford, and founded a monastery on the banks of the Barrow, of which he was himself the abbot. He spent some time at Glendalough, and is reported to have ¦written prophecies in Irish, foretelling many things respecting Ireland, its kings, and the ricissitudes of its history; in consequence of which Cambrensis classes Moling with Braccan, Patrick, and Columb, and calls them the four prophets of Ireland; and afiirms that their books, written in the Irish language, were ex tant in his time. MoUng stood high in the estimation of the bishops and clergy of his day, and at their request was appointed, in 691, by the king of Leinster, to the vacant see and chair of Moedog. In 693 he was, according to Ware, "a signal benefactor to his country, by owing to the controversy which arose between this prelate and his successor Dub- dalethy, concerning the right to the primatlal see. DuBDALETHY I succeeded 778 .....died 793 ArriAT, succeeded 793 .....died 794 CuDliMscus succeeded 794 died 798 CoNMACH succeeded 798 died 807 ToBBACH (Mac-Gorman) succeeded 807 died 808 110 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiBST persuading Finacta, king of Ireland, to release to the kingdom of Lein ster the Boarlan tribute, or tribute of oxen, which had been an insup portable burthen on that prorince ever since the fourth year of Tua- thai Techmar, A.D. 134, and had been the cause of many wars and much bloodshed; of which the reader will find an account m the Annals, under the reign of Tuathal Techmar." Moling resigned his see some years before his death, and retired to his own inonastery, where he at length died at a very advanced age, and was buried at Tegh-Moling. St maxm. DIED A. D. 549. This ancient bishop has a peculiar claim, from the interesting re mains of ecclesiastical antiquity which stUl commemorate his munifi cent piety. B^y a comparison of differing authorities, it appears that Kiaran was bom about 516, being the second year of the reign of the monarch Tuathal. He was descended from the sept of the Arads, but his father was a carpenter of the name of Boetius, " from whence he was commonly nicknamed Mac-Steir (son of the artificer)." He is said to have been baptized by St Patrick. By many he has been confused ¦with Kiaran of Saigir, who lived at a later period. In the year 548, the monarch Dermod granted him a tract near the eastern bank of the river Shannon, in the county of Meath. Here he built the abbey of Drum Tipraid, the ruins of which, under the weU- known name of Clonmacnois, are the most interesting remains in the island. This foundation was afterwards enlarged by several additions in different periods. The piety or pride of kings and princes added nine churches for the sepulture of their remains, all ¦vrithin the same inclosure, and within the smaU space of two acres. Of these churches, one called Temple Ri was buUt by O'Melaghlin, king of Meath ; " and to this day is the burial-place of his family ;" Temple Connor, by O'Con nor Dun ; another by O'Kelly and Macarthy More ; another by Mae- Dermot. Of these churches one has been repaired, and is now the parish church. These ruins are generally described in antiquarian and statistical works : they are remarkable to the observation for the venerable appearance of a wide-spread scene of the ruins, stamped with the remembrances of the ancient church and monarchy of Ireland. A curious examination of the detail offers a host of interesting associa tions, rendered more so by the undoubted indications they afibrd of the princely munificence, refined taste, and artificial skUl, employed in their erection. We give the foUowing particulars from Harris, in his edition of Ware : — " Before the west and north door of Mac-Dermot's church stood a large old-fashioned cross or monument, much injured by time, on which was an inscription in antique characters, which no body that I could hear of could read. The west and north doors of this church, although but mean and low, aa-e guarded about with fine Period.] ST CONLCETH. Ill •wrought small marble pUlars, curiously hewn. Another of the churches hath an arch of greenish marble, flat wrought and neatly he^wn and poUshed, and the joints so close and even set, that the whole arch seems but one entire stone as smooth as either glass or crystal. The memory of St Kiaran is yet fresh and precious in the minds of the neighbouring inhabitants ; insomuch that they make no scruple in joining his name ¦vrith God's, both in blessing and cursing. ' God and St Kiaran after you,' is a common imprecation when they think them selves injured. In the great church was heretofore preserved a piece of the bone of one of St Kiaran's hands, as a sacred relic. The 9th of September is annually observed as the patron day of this saint, and great numbers from all parts flock to Clonmacnois in devotion and pUgrimage." The title of Clonmacnois signifies the " retreat of the sons of the noble," and is supposed to originate in the place having been a semi nary for the education of the sons of the chiefs and princes of the land. It continued long the see of the ancient bishopric, tUl about the middle of the 16th century, when the bishopric was united to Meath, and the place reduced to the rank of a parish. During this long interval, it passed through various changes of fate, haring, in common ¦with the other ecclesiastical foundations of this country, sufiiered more or less from all the various and disastrous revolutions of which it has been the subject almost from the begiiming of its history. In 1201, the work of dUapidation may be said to have commenced, by a sack which it underwent from the English leader MeUer Fitz-Henry ; after which there was little intermission from riolence, while there was any thing to be preserved from the riolence incidental to war in its most destruc tive form. The interval which succeeded was one in which the an cient foundations of the island, deprived of their use and indweUers, were abandoned to the slower working but not less efiicient ravage of time. This place has many pecuUarities in common -with Glendalogh. It is, like it, called the Seven Churches, and is the place of an annual patron, to which the peasantry flock from a wide circle of country. St Kiaran only survived this foundation one year, having died in 548. ^t &on\(stf). died a. d. 519. There is a disagreement amongst ¦writers as to who was the first bishop of Kildare. The Red Book of the earl of KUdare states, that Sonino was the first, Svorious the second, and Conloeth the third; and Richard Stanihurst, on the authority of this book, makes the same statement. But in a L-ife of St Bridget, ascribed to Animosus and pubUshed by Colgan, it is asserted that Conloeth, or Conlian, as he is otherwise caUed, was first bishop of KUdare. We incline to the latter opinion, especially as he was the founder of that cathedral, aided by St Brigid, to ¦whom it is dedicated. Cogitosus calls Conloeth " arch- 112 ecclesiastical AND LITERARY SERIES. [First bishop and high-priest ;'' and another ancient writer of the life of St Brigid says, that " the holy Brigid elected him bishop in her city of KUdare." He died on the 3d of May, 519, and was buried in his own church in that city. St ^tn. died a d. 638. St Aed was, according to Colgan, king of Leinster, and " abdicated his government to become a monk." We have no record of the suc cession to this see from the time of Conloeth to Aed, though Cogito- . sus, who flourished before the year 590, says that it continued unin terrupted tUl his time. The Annals of the Four Masters confirm the statement " that he was abbot and bishop of Kildare, and had been formerly king of Leinster," and state that his death took place in 638. There Is a long period in which the order of succession seems to have been lost between Aed and Maeldoborcon, who is next named as bishop of Kildare, and who died, according to the Annals, in 704. In the list of abbots of Kildare there are, however, some who inter vene; and Ware suggests that, as amongst the Irish ¦writers the term " abbot" and " bishop" are often synonymous, they may possibly have held the ofiice, and if so, will in part fill the chasm. LocHEN Meann (or the Silent), abbot of Kildare, died 694 Faranan, abbot of Kildare, died 697 Maeldoborcon, bishop of Kildare, died 704 Tola, bishop of Kildare, died 732 Diman, abbot of Kildare, died 743 Cathald O'Faeanan, abbot of Kildare, died 747 SoMTUiL, bishop of Kildare, died 785 Snedbran, bishop of Kildare died (same year) 785 Mueedach O'Cathald, abbot of Kildare, ...died (same year) 785 EuDOCius O'DiocHOLLA, abbot of Kildare, .".died 793 Feolan O'Kellach, abbot of Kildare, died 799 dFrfKolfnusi Utator* A. D. 495. Amongst the many Irish ecclesiastics who carried learning and piety into France at this period, FrIdoUnus Viator was distinguished as being the son of a king, and as having early resisted the attractions of a court that he might devote himself to religion and phUosophical studies. He traveUed through France and Germany preaching Chris tianity and founding monasteries, in the latter of which he was assisted by king Clodovarus. He obtained the name of Viator from his un ceasing toil in travelling from one country to another for the propa gation of religion ; and at length ended his labours at the monastery of Seeklnge, In Germany, where his remains are interred. He wrote many sermons and learned interpretations, and A Book of E.rhor- tations to the Sacred Virgins, Period.] ST MOLNA — JENGUS MACNISSIUS. 113 St iWolua* DIED A. D. 609. St Molua, otherwise caUed Lugid, was born in Munster, and was abbot of a monastery caUed Clonfert-Molua, in Leinster. He was educated by St CoemgaU in Ulster, and was remarkable for his sanc tity. He was afilicted with leprosy for twenty years before his death, but was not prevented by it from attending to the duties of his situa tion. He -wrote A Rule for Monks, which was carried by St Dagan to Rome, and read and confirmed by pope Gregory I., who publicly declared,* " that the holy abbot who composed that rule, had built a hedge about his famUy as high as the heavens ; and he sent his blessing and prayers to St Molua, at which St Molua was highly rejoiced." St Hasan. DIED A. D. 640. St Dagan, who was contemporary both with St Munnu and St Molua, lived in a place called after his name Achad- Dagan, of which he was at first abbot and afterwards bishop. According to Colgan, he was born in Leinster, was brother to Molibba, bishop of Glenda lough, and was descended from the noble and ancient sept of the Mes- singoorbs. From his earliest youth he devoted himself to the church, and was educated first by Pulcherlus, abbot of Leithmore, in the Queen's county, and afterwards by Petrocus, a Briton, who had also been tutor to his uncle St Coemgene, abbot of Glendalough. He tra velled to Rome, and obtained from Gregory, as we before mentioned, a confirmation of the rule of St Molua. He was a zealous supporter of the opinions of St Munnu, respecting the time for celebrating Easter, and was so vehement in the support of the rites and traditions of his country,! ^^^^ Lawrence, archbishop of Canterbury, In his Epistle to the Irish Bishops, states " that, when bishop Dagan was with him, he refused not only to eat in his company, but even under the same roof." According to Bale, he wrote Ad Britainorum Ecclesias, lib. i. He established a monastery at a place called Inverdaoile, in the county of Wexford, where he died in 640. ^cngujet JWacnisigiufl!* DIED A. D. 507. jEngtjs Macnisse, first bishop of Connor, and founder of that church, was, according to the Annals of Tigernach, the son of Fobrec, * Usher. f Ware. 114 ecclesiastical AND LITERARY SERIES. [First but adopted the sirname of his mother, and was commonly called St Macnisse. He died at an advanced age: according to Ware, in 507, though the Annals of Inisfail -plsice his death a year earlier, and Col gan states him to have been a disciple of St Olcan (who was a disciple to St Patrick), and says he died on the 3d of November, 513. Hima, or Utman. DIED A. D. 656. DiMA, caUed Dubh, or the Black, was the son of .^Engus (Mac-Car- then-FIon), of the noble family of the Dalcassians, and was appointed to the see of Connor and continued to govern it to a very advanced period of life. Ware says " he was one of those bishops of Ireland to whom the Roman clergy, in the vacancy of the papal chair, anno 636, wrote that epistle concerning the due observation of the festival of Easter, which the venerable Bede mentions. Some have caUed him Diman the scribe, from his skill and dexterity in writing." Accord ing to Ware, he died on the I6th of January, 656, while an ancient calendar in Irish states his death to have taken place on the 5th of January, 658. St lEunan* St Eunan is said to have been the fijst bishop of Raphoe ; but it Is difiicult to discover either when this see was founded, or the date of St Eunan's appointment. St Columbkille founded a monastery here, and this building was afterwards repaired by Adamnanus the cele brated abbot of Hy. St Eunan erected the church at Raphoe, or, as it was anciently called, Rath-both, into a cathedral. Few of the names of his successors can be traced untU after the arrival of Henry- II.; but Melbrigid, or Brigidian Mac-Dornan, who was afterwards archbishop of Armagh, and who died in 927, is one of the fia-st men tioned. Malduin Mac-Kinfalaid, bishop of Raphoe, died about 930 iENGUs, or ^Eneas O'Lapain, diedin 957 ©olumlifeiUe. A. D. 521—577. At an early period, the precise origin of which is not ascertained on any sufiicient data, Christianity was introduced into England. Butin the StiU barbarous state of its inhabitants, devoid of even the first rudiments of art and literature, there was no soil into which a national faith. Inculcating the principles of a high civUization, and claiming a moral and intellectual assent and conformity, could well strike root. A constant strife of petty kings, and a succession of desolating revolu- Period.] COLUMBKILLE. 115 tions, suspended the progress of every civUizing influence, and repress ed the human mind; and the newly-implanted faith, after a precarious struggle, in which it never gained its true position, was swept away by the Anglo-Saxon conquest. From this a long period of heathen dark ness foUowed, during wliich there is nothing to call for the observa tion of the ecclesiastical historian; unless the contemplation of that low and degraded state of human nature, which manifests in stronger contrast the powers of revealed truth to civUize and enUghten, as well as to redeem. From the Anglo-Saxon wars in the 5th and the begin ning of the 6th centuries, there was, through the whole of the latter century, an interval of extreme ignorance and darkness, untU the me morable arrival of Augustin and his missionary train, in 596. It was during this night of the British churches, that a bright and steady light of reUgion and civUization was kindled in the northern island of Hy, from untraceable antiquity the seat of heathen idolatries. There, amid the waves of the northern sea, the word of power and the arts of civil life obtained a permanent habitation ; and, through the darkness of the unsettled age, sent out the message of peace and truth ; and in better times spread far and wide its saring Ught among the reriving churches of the British isle. In noticing these facts it would be a grievous omission to pass unnoticed the strong reflex eridence they cast upon the antiquities of the Irish church. The ages of revolution which have overswept our Island so repeatedly, have carried away much of that evidence of ancient things which impresses the eye of common observation with a sense of conviction. The visible remains teU too little, and history does us -wrong. But the history and the remains of Iona have derived, from its isolated station, a permanency, and from its connexion vrith British antiquity, a celebrity, which carries back inquiry to a further date, and unfolds a steady and graphic gleam of the ancient church, from the bosom of which it first threw the glori ous light of redemption over the waves of the north. Whatever fatal destruction may have, by repeated spoliations and burnings, obUterated the better part of our annals; whatever lying legends render truth itself suspicious, in those which a later time has produced ; or whatever barbarism of recent times may seem to contradict aU our pretensions: it must yet be felt, that the ancient church, from which the whole of north Britain, and, we may add, so many churches of Europe, drew their most iUustrious minds and their efficient beginnings, could not have been less eminent for the gifts they communicated than is afiirm- ed by the most high-coloured tradition. And it must be felt, that what ever we are to subtract for legendary invention, and misrepresentations arising from the doctrinal errors of after time, the facts, after aU, are likely to be as much incorrect from omission as from addition ; .and that, however the historians of later times may err in details, yet there is no reason for rejecting the high claim of the antiquity of the Irish church. According to a biographer of the I6th century: " Towards the middle of the 6th century of redemption, in which Hibernia, the island of saints, shone -with saints as numerous as the stars of heaven, there arose In the same island a new star, which exceUed all others, as the sun outshines the lesser stars of heaven." This star was Columbkille, whose birth probably happened about 521. He was of a 116 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First royal race, being a lineal descendant, in the fourth generation, from NiaU of the Nine Hostages. His father's name was Feidlim; his mother's, Ethnea, eminent for piety, and, like her husband, of royal descent. During her pregnancy this lady had a dream, that a person of majestic stature and presence stood before her, and presented her with a splendid veU, which she had scarcely touched, when, escaping from her hand, it rose upon the air, floated away, and expanded before her astonished eyes, as it receded into distance, until its vast folds \vere spread abroad far over hUl, vaUey, forest, and lake. Turning to her solemn visitant, he told her that it was too precious to be left in her possession. This dream did not faU to receive its interpretation as It was accomplished in the events of Columba's after life. At his baptism, he is said to have received the name of Criomthan. The foUowing translation of the legend of this circumstance may be received sCS a specimen of the style and manner of those early poetic legends, in which so much of the history of this period has been preserved: — " The pious Christian hero CoUumcille, When he was baptized, received the name Of Criomthan Oluin ; his guardian angel Was the most watchful Axall ; but the demon Who, with infernal malice stung, attended Upon the saint, to torture and torment him. Was called Demal.' The change of name is referred, by one of his biographers, to acci dent, and may well have occurred as related, though rendered doubtful by the superstitious tone which seemed to refer every sUght occurrence to special design. His exceeding meekness attracted the attention of the chUdren of the neighbourhood, who were accustomed to see him coming forth to meet them at the gate of the monastery in which he received his education, and by a fanciful adaptation, common enough to lively children, they caUed him the " pigeon of the church," which, in Irish, is " CoUum na clUe." The chUdish soubriquet adhered to him, and had perhaps taken the place of a name, when it caught the atten tion, and excited the superstitious fancy of his guai-dian, Florence, who set it do-wn as the special indication of the intention of Proridence, and from thenceforth called him CoUum cUle. He is stated to have studied in Down, imder the eminent St Finian, and other pious persons ; and began early to acquire reputation for sanctity and knowledge of Scripture. The first forty-three years of his life were passed in Ireland, where he founded several monasteries ; of which one is thus noticed by Bede: " Before St Columb came into Britain, he founded a noble monastery in Ireland, in a place which, from a great plenty of oaks, is, in the language of the Scots, called Dearmach, i. e. ' the field of oaks.' " This Ware describes as the " same house with the Augustinlan monasteries, now called Durrogh or Darmagh, in the King's county." Another of his foundations was near the city of Derry. The history of this monastery and city from the annalists, may be cited for the miniature outline which it may be said to reflect of Irish history. • Keating. Period.] COLUMBKILLE. 117 Founded about 546, on a large tract of land, said to have been granted to ColumbkiUe by prince Aidan, a descendant from the same royal house, it grew into a large and prosperous city and monastery. In the Annals of the Four Masters, are the foUowing entries of its cala mities from the 8th century. In 783, Derry Calgach was burned; 989, it was plundered by foreigners ; the same entry occurs for 997 ; in 1095, the abbey was burned. In 1124, a prince of Aileach was slain, in an assault of the church of ColumbkUle ; 1 1 35, Derry- Columb kiUe, with it churches, was burned; 1149, it was burned; 1166, it underwent another burning; 1195, the church was plundered. In 1203, Derry was burned from the burial ground of St Martin, to the weU of Adanman. In 1211, the town was plundered and destroyed. In 1213, it was again plundered. In 1214, it was, ¦with the whole district (O'NeUl's country), granted, by king John, to Thomas Mac- Uchtred, earl of Athol. In 1222, Derry was plundered by O'NeiU.* This appears to have been the favourite residence of the holy man ; - it was rendered sacred by the recoUection of his pious deeds, and the traditions of his miraculous works. Among the most interesting of the ancient memorials of his affection for the place, is a passage in his life by O'Donnel, in which it is mentioned as his desire, that the delight ful grove, near the monastery of Derry, should for ever remain uncut. And that If any of the trees should happen to faU, or be torn up by a storm, it should not be removed for nine days. The tenth of Its price was then to be given to the poor, a third reserved for the hospitable hearth, and the remainder, something more than half, distributed among the citizens. So great was his regard for this grove, that, being about to found the church called Dubh-reigleas, when it was found to stand in the way, so as to confine the intended site — sooner than destroy any of his favourite trees, he ordered the building to be erected in a direction transverse to the common position, from east to west. But that this might not occasion a departure from the usual practice, he ordered the table, at which he commonly ofilclated, to be erected in the eastern end, " which the remains of the aforesaid church, exist ing at the present day, confirms."! ColumbkiUe is said to have found ed many other monasteries; O'Donnel states the number at 300; the more probable number of 100 is adopted by Usher, from JoceUne. It, however, is the more difiicult to be precise, as there is much con fusion on account of the numerous persons bearing the name of Co lumba: the extensive jurisdiction of his monastery in Iona, seems to attest at least that many others were founded by the same person. Having established his monastery of Derry, we are told by O'Donnel, he was seized by a riolent desire to travel through the whole country, and awaken aU Its inhabitants to the study of piety. In the course of this circuit, he risited Lagenia, Connaught, the county of Meath, &c. ; wherever he came, founding and restoring churches, and exciting every sex and rank to piety. Not the least space, in the relation of these adventures, is commonly bestowed on the miracles of the saint. ' For these facts we are indebted to an extract given by Mr Petrie, in his mas terly article upon the antiquities of Derry, in that valuable work now proceeding from the Ordnance Survey. t Colgan, Thaum. p. 398. 118 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlKST It was probably after this foundation that he received the order of priesthood from Etchen, bishop of Clonfadin. The story is curious enough. By the consent of the ecclesiastics of his neighbourhood, he was sent to Etchen, bishop of a neighbouring diocese, to be made a bishop of. When he arrived, the bishop was,_ according to the usage of this early period, engaged In ploughing his field. Columb kUle was kindly received, and stated that he came for ordination. But it did not occur to him to specify the orders he came for. The bishop, knowing that he had oiUy received deacon's orders, very naturaUy pursued the common course and gave him priest's orders. When this oversight became known, he offered to consecrate him a bishop, but ColumbkUle, who looked on the circumstance as a mani festation of the wiU of God, declined this further step. The story derives some confirmation from the circumstance that he never be came a bishop, though occupying the station and authority in an eminent degree. But it is as the apostle of the Picts, that ColumbkiUe is entitled to the distinction of being here thus diffusely noticed. Until his time, but slight inroads had been made on the paganism of the northerji parts of the district, as yet unknown by the name of Scotland. In the 4th century, the preaching of St NInlan had been attended with small success among the Southern Picts: St Kentigem, from the districts of Northumbria, had foUowed without obtaining any more efiicient result. Of these persons and their preaching the accounts are per plexed and unsatisfactory, nor Is the broken and tangled thread of their history worth our attempting to unravel here : suffice It, that there seems to have been a widespread predominance of heathenism, both in Scotland and the northern realms of England, in 534, when Columbkille, owing to circumstances imperfectly related, and of sUght interest, went over to attempt the conversion of the Northern Picts. O'Donnel mentions his haring levied war against king Dermod, for a decision oppressive and tyrannical to the church of Ireland; and de scribes a battle in which the troops of Columbkille gained the rictory with much slaughter.* The story is inconsistent with the character of ColumbkiUe. There is another which, though liable to the same objection, is yet worth telling, because it is likely to involve a certain portion of truth, and as characteristic of the time. According to O'Donnel, ColumbkiUe was the guest of Finian, of Clanblle, who lent him a copy of some part of the holy Scripture to read : ColumbkiUe, who was celebrated for his penmanship, soon began to transcribe the manuscript. Finian, on being told of the circumstance, highly resented it, and insisted on his right to the copy which ColumbkiUe had taken. ColumbkUle referred the case to the arbitration of king Dermod, who decided in favour of Finian. This injustice was, according to the story, retaliated by a threat of vengeance, quite as inconsistent with the whole character of Columbkille, as Finlan's resentment and its motive were unworthy of a Christian of any age. A more probable story mentions an outrage committed by Dermod, which is assigned as leading to the war which * Colgan, Thaum. 406. Period.] COLUMBKILLE. 119 followed : A son of the king of Connaught, pursued by Dermod, took refuge vrith ColumbkiUe, from the infiuence of whose rank and sanctity he hoped for protection; the licentious fury of king Dermod, however, was stopped by no consideration of reverence or regard, and the youth was dragged from the arms of his protector, and murdered before his face. An outrage so aggravated, bearing the atrocious character of sacrilege joined with cruelty, appealed loudly to the compassion and piety of the royal relations of Columbkille, and those of the murdered prince. The forces of Tyrone and Connaught were raised, and the battle of Culedreibhne (near SUgo) took place. To this statement it is added, that during the battle, while Finian prayed for Dermod's party, their antagonists were backed by the more effective devotions of ColumbkUle. Dermod was defeated with a loss of three thousand men; whUe the aUies, as the tale runs, lost but one. This otherwise Incredible disproportion is, however, made quite natural by the addi tional circumstance — that during the battle a gigantic angel made its appearance among the ranks of Tyrone and Connaught, and struck their enemies vrith panic and dismay. These passages — of which we may say with Usher " quod poetica magis quam historica fide habetur hie descriptum" — ^though they cannot be received as the truth, are yet valuable as exhibiting the mode of thinking of an age, and as indicating what may be caUed the actual poetry of the age of saints ; they are also, it must be said, likely to contain as much of the truth as can be, by any possibility, extracted among the chasms and legendary con cretions, the frauds and conflicting statements, of traditionary history. The only fixed point in the narrative is the fact, that the battle was fought about the year 561. We shall not unnecessarily lengthen our narrative, with the equally doubtful tales of the excommunication or the penance of ColumbkiUe, in consequence of his share in these transactions. It was probably in 563, about two years after the battle of Cule dreibhne, that ColumbkUle, leaving a scene In which he was incessantly harassed by the feuds, animosities, and tyrannies, of his royal enemies and friends, migrated to try his success among the Picts. The foUow ing is part of the account given by Bede : — " Columba arrived in Britain in the ninth year of Brude, the son of MeUochon, king of the Picts, who was a potent king, and whose subjects were, by his preaching and example, converted to the Christian faith. On this account he obtained from them the above-mentioned island as a demesne for his monastery." In accordance with this account, it Is said, he landed at the island, " Inish Drulnish," or island of Druids, and haring successfully laboured for the conversion of the Picts, and converted their king, he received from him the possession of the island of Hy, or Iona, still caUed I by the natives. Another account which, with Lanigan, we are inclined to think far more probable, represents ColumbkUle as haring obtained possession of the island from his relative, Conall, king of the Irish Scots, then settled in North Britain. This opinion is supported by Dr Lanigan, from the Annals qf Tighernach arid Ulster, and enforced by the opinion of Usher, who observes that Hy was too distant from the British territories to have been part of them : while the position of 120 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First ConaU was such as to make it highly improbable that he should not have been its possessor. In either case, it seems that it was at the time occupied by the Druids, whose remains are affirmed to be yet traceable there. These he expeUed, and began his operations by the erection of huts, and a temporary church of slight materials. Having thus effected his settlement, he began his operations in those wild regions north of the Grampian hUls, where no Christian preacher had ever before made his way ; and ere long succeeded in converting king Brude, with his court and people, who soon foUowed the example of their king. There Is something in the history of these rapid and total conversions, which seems to lend a doubtful air to this period of church history. It is, however, in conformity with the entire history of the Christian church. The same AU-disposIng Power, which enabled the primitive teachers to triumph over the wide-spread and deep-seated obstacles presented by the gorgeous and sensual heathenism of Greece and Rome guarded as it was, with imposing philosophy, and ornamented by poetry and the arts, was also present to guide and give efficacy to the apostles of the British churches, who had obstacles of a less formid able nature to contend with. The paganism of the barbarian Pict had little in its constitution to hold captive either the taste, passions, or reason. The very first lessons of the gospel carried, In the apt simpli city of their adaptation to the wants and defects of humanity, an eri dence which must have been more impressive, as those wants were the less supplied from aU other sources. Without hastUy adopting the miraculous narrations of monkish historians, the Christian reader wiU also readily acknowledge, that the powers of the Spirit, which never deserted the missionaries who founded and extended the church of Christ, cannot be supposed to have been less bountiful of its gifts than the occasion required. And if we feel obliged to reject narrations which want all the characters either of eridence or adaptation, on a just view of the general analogy of God's dealing, as eridenced in the authentic records of the sacred history : even here, too. It must be kept in mind, that the circumstances were different, and that a different kind of opposition was to be encountered. This, however, we offer rather as a reason ag-alnst sweeping incredulity, than as warranting the affirmation of any special instance we have met with. The cause of sacred truth imposes strict severity in the reception of the miracu lous ; and while we insist on even the necessity of such (the only un questionable) attestations of Divine authority, we cannot admit the simplest case on the authority of an unsupported legend. Hence "we offer the few of these which we have admitted, rather as curious illus trations, than as authorized facts. Among such we may relate the first adventure of our saint among his Highland neighbours. Arriving at the residence of king Brude, his entrance was denied by the inhos pitable g'irtes of the pagan king. After suing for admission to no purpose ; and, we must suppose, allowing a fair time for the use of gentler means, Columbkille advanced, and signing the cross upon the stubborn doors, they flew open at a gentle push, and admitted the saint with his company. The king was in council when he was disturbed with the account of the startling prodigy; yielding at once to the influence of astonishment and superstitious fear, he went forth with Period.] COLUMBKILLE. 121 his council to meet the formidable visitor. Finding his errand to be one of benevolence and peace, and affected by the eloquence of his language, and the venerable sanctity of his manner, presence, and com pany, he received him with respect and kindness, and submitted to receive his instructions. The result rests on less doubtful grounds. Then began the conversion of the northern Picts. In the mean time we may assume the growth of the Island church. His fame was soon widely diffused, disciples flocked from aU quarters, and the means probably increasing with the increase of his flock, he soon considerably enlarged his foundation to more proportionable dimensions ; the buUdings increased in number and size ; and the wide spread remains of an ancient monastery and nunnery offer the most authentic record of the saint's power and successful labours. At first, it is said, St Columbkille refused to permit the foundation of a nunnery : he, probably, like his more legendary countrymen. Saints Senanus and Kerin, found natural reason in the infirmity of the human passions. He soon, however, learnt to regret the error of overhasty zeal : constant observation taught him to revere the sanctity of a colony of Augustinlan nuns, who dwelt in another smaU island in the vicinity, and they were in a little time permitted to dispel the gloom of his monastic domain, by settling in the same island, to the mutual improvement, it may be easUy judged, of both. There seems, from the stUl perceptible ruins of these ancient edifices, to have been a broad paved way, leading from the nunnery to the cathedral, where the two communities met In the festivals, and solemn hours of devotion, without the levity of an earthly aspiration, and parted with their piety exalted by a communion which never faUs to expand and warm every affection of the breast. There is nothing in these ruins from which their precise date can be fixed. On the island are the remains of edifices buUt at different periods, during the interval between the 6th and 12th centuries, when the importance of the place decUned. The foUowing Is a recent descrip tion : — " The remains of these edifices, almost aU constructed of fine sienite, together with crosses and sepulchral monuments, are the anti quities now extant. The exact date of some of the former is known, but the church is said to have been built by queen Margaret, towards the latter end of the llth century. This, though Inferior to many other structures, was a magnificent edifice for that period. No polished work is employed, but the stone, which is compared to the finest used by the ancients, has been brought to a plain surface. Many blocks five or six feet long are seen in the waUs, and also in the rubbish. The church is built in the form of a cross, 164 feet long without, and 34 broad. The body of the church is 60 feet in length, and the two aisles of the transept or cross, are each 30 feet long, and 18 broad, within the walls. The choir is 60 feet in length; within it are several fine pillars, carved in the gothic way, with great variety of fanciful and ludicrous, representing parts of Scripture history. Amongst the rest is an angel, with a pair of scales, weighing souls, and the de^vU keeping down that in which is the weight with his paw. On his face is portrayed a sly and malicious grin. The east window is a beautiful specimen of gothic workmanship. In the middle of the cathedral rises a tower 22 feet square, and between 70 and 80 high. 122 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First supported by four arches, and ornamented with bas reliefs. At the upper end of the chancel stood a large table or altar of pure white marble, 6 feet long and 4 broad. Curiously veined and polished. Of this beautiful fragment of antiquity there are now scarcely any remains, as it has been all carried off piece-meal by visitants, as relics, and by the natives, from a superstitious belief that a piece of it was a pre servative from shipwreck. Near where this altar stood, on the north side, is a tombstone of black marble, on which is a fine recumbent figure of the abbot Macfingone, exceedingly weU executed, as large as life, with an inscription in Latin as foUows : — " Here lies John Mackinnon, abbot of Iona, who died A.D. 1500, to whose soul may the Most High be merciful." Opposite to this tomb, on the other side, executed in the same manner. Is the tombstone of abbot Kenneth. On the floor Is the figure of an armed knight, with an animal sprawl ing at his feet. On the right side of the church, but contiguous to it, are the remains of the coUege, some of the cloisters of which are still visible. The common hall is entire, with stone seats for the disputants. A little to the north of the cathedral are the remains of the bishop's house, and on the south is a chapel dedicated to St Oran, pretty entire, 60 feet long, and 22 broad, within the walls, but nearly filled up with rubbish and monumental stones. In this are many tombstones of marble, particularly of the great Lords of the Isles. South of the chapel is an enclosure called Reillg Ouran, " the burying ground of Oran, containing a great number of tombs, but so over-grown -irith weeds as to render few of the inscriptions legible. In this enclosure lie the remains of forty-eight Scottish kings, four kings of Ireland, eight Norwegian monarchs, and one king of France, who were ambitious of reposing on this consecrated ground, where their ashes would not mix with the dust of the vulgar. South from the cathedral and St Oran's chapel, are the ruins of the nunnery, the church of which is StUl pretty entire, being 58 feet by 20 on the floor, which Is thickly covered with cow-dung, except at the . east end, which ]\Ir Pennant caused to be cleaned, and where the tomb of the last prioress is discernible, though considerably defaced." From this retreat ColumbkUle occasionally visited Ireland. One occasion may be selected, as showing In a strong Ught the influence of the saint, and the political state of the time. It was about the year 573-4, that king Aidan, the successor of Conal on the Pictish throne, put in his claim to the sovereignty of a large part of the county Antrun, as a descendant from Its first proprietor, Cairbre Riada, and asserted the freedom of this territory from the paramount sovereignty of the Irish monarch. ColumbkiUe resolved to accompany his patron. After a tempestuous passage they landed in Ireland, and at once proceeded to Drumceat, where the National Assembly were sitting; engaged, it would seem, on a question respecting the order of bards, who were at this early period beginning to wax numerous, insolent, and troublesome, so much so, that it was thought necessary to devise some remedy, either by reduction of their numbers and privileges, or by a total suppression of the order. The question was decided, by the timely arrival and interposition of the Saint, so far in favour of these licensed liars that they were still permitted to exist, and spin out the Period.] COLUMBKILLE. 123 fabulous additions which give an apocryphal tone to our tradition. On the introduction of the more important suit between the kings, the question was, by general consent, referred to the wisdom and impar tiality of the venerable bishop — a reference made singular by the fact of his peculiar connexion with the Scottish claimant. ColumbkiUe, no doubt sensible of this impropriety, and conscious of a natural de sire for the success of his own friend, declined the office, ahd it was transferred to St Colman, who decided against king Aidan, on the obrious and just ground, that the territory was an Irish province. After visiting his foundations in Ireland, the bishop returned to his Island church, where, shortly after, he felt the approach of his last Ulness. Sensible of the advance of death, he retired to a smaU emi nence, from which he was enabled to overlook the holy settlement which was the work of his piety, and the last earthly object of his affections. Here, lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, he invoked emphatic blessings on his monastery. After this prayer, descending from the hUl, and returning to the monastery, he sat down in his shed or hut, "tugurio," to transcribe the Psalter; and coming to that verse of the 3d Psalm, where it is written, that good shaU not be wanting to those who trust in God, he said " Here I must stop at the end of this page, let Baithen write what is to follow." Notwithstanding this he so far raUIed as to attend evening service, after which he retired to his cell, and lay down on his stone bed. Again at midnight, he made another effort to attend the church, but finding his strength to fail, he sunk before the altar. Here the monks immediately following, saw their revered head extended in the last faint torpor of approach ing death. . Gathering round with their torches, they were giving way to their sorrow, when, as the writer of his life says, " as I heard from some who were present, the saint — whose life had not yet departed — opened his eyes, and looked round with wonderful joy and cheerfulness : then Diermitlus raised the saint's right hand to bless the train of monks; but the venerable father himself, at the same time, moved it by a voluntary effort for this purpose, and in the effort he expired, being then 76 yfers of age."* " The name of this eminent man," writes Mr Moore, "though not so weU known throughout the Latin church, as that of another Irish saint with whom he is frequently confounded, holds a distinguished place among the Roman and other martyrologies, and in the British isles wUl long be remembered with traditional veneration. In Ireland, rich as have been her annals in names of saintly renown, for none has she continued to cherish so fond a reverence through all ages as for her great ColumbkUle ; whUe that isle of the waves with which his name is now inseparably connected, and which through his ministry became the luminary of the Caledonian regions, has far less reason to boast of her numerous tombs of kings, than of those heaps of votive pebbles left by pilgrims on her shore, marking the path that once led to the honoured shrine of her saint. So great was the reverence paid to his remains in North Britain, that at the time when the island of Hy began to be infested by the Danes, Kenneth the Third had his * Extract from Keating, ii. 107. 124 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First bones removed to Dunkeld, on the river Tay, and there founding a church, dedicated it to his memory, while the saint's crosier, and a few other reUcs, were all that feU to the share of the land of his birth." In the Annals of the Four Masters, for the year 1006, we find raention made of a splendid copy of the Four Gospels, said to have been written by ColumbkiUe's own hand, and preserved at Kells in a cover richly ornamented with gold.* In the time of Usher, this pre cious manuscript was stiU numbered among the treasures of KeUs,t and if not written by ColumbkUle himself, is little doubted to have been the work of one of his disciples. Of the prophecies of ColumbkiUe there are some curious accounts. The first Is of the arrival of the EngUsh, and their subduing Ireland. Giraldus Cambrensis takes notice of the fulfilUng of this prophecy. " Then," says he, " was fulfiUed the prophecy of Columb of Ireland, as it is said to be, who long since foretold, that in this war there should be so great a slaughter of the inhabitants, that their enemies should swim in their blood. And the same prophet ¦writes (as it is reported), that a certain poor man and a beggar, and one as it were banished from other countries, should with a small force come to Do^wn, and should take possession of the city, without authority from his superior. He also foretold many wars, and various events. AU which are manifestly completed in John Courcy, who is said to have held this prophetic book, written in Irish, in his hand, as the mirror of his works. One reads likewise in the same book, that a certain young man, with an armed force, should violently break thi-ough the walls of Waterford, and, having made a great slaughter among the citizens, should possess himself of the city. That the same young man should march through Wexford, and at last ¦without difficulty enter Dublin. AU which It is plain were fulfiUed by earl Richard. Further, that the city of Limerick should be twice deserted by the English, but the third time should be held. Now already it seems it hath been twice deserted, first by Raymond, secondly by PhUip de Braosa, &c., wherefore (according to the said prophecy), the city being a third time assaulted, shall be retained, or r^her, it was long after fraudulently overthrown under the government of Hamo de Valolnges, Lord Justice, and by MeUer recovered and repaired." Thus far Cambrensis, who afterwards mentions this prophecy, as well as that of other saints on the same subject, in these words: — " The Irish are said to have four prophets — Moling, Brecan, Patrick, and ColumbkiUe, whose books in their native language are yet extant * Usher mentions also another copy of the Gospels, said to have been written by ColumbkiUe's own hand, which had been preserved at the monastery, founded by that saint at Durrogh. " Inter cujus xtifctiXiit Evangeliorum codex vetustissimus tsservabatur, quem ipsius Columbse fuisse monachi dictitabant. Ex quo, et non minoris antiquitatis altero, eidem Colurabse assignato (quem in urbe ISelltS sive iScnltS dicta Midenses sacrum habent) diligente cum editione vulgata Latina coUa- tione facta, in nostros usus vai^iantium lectionum binos libellos concinn.ivimus." — Eccles. Primord., 691. t Tliis Kells manuscript is supposed to have heen the sarae uow preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, on the margin of which, are the following wards, written by O'Fbiherty, in the year 1577: — " Liber autem hie scriptus est nianu ipsius B. Columbne." — Moore, Period.] ST COLUMBANUS. . 125 among them. Speaking of this conquest, they all bear witness that, in after tiines, Ireland should be poUuted ¦with many conflicts, long strifes, and much bloodshed. But they all say, that the EnglLsh shall not have a complete rictory, tUl a Uttle before the day of judgment. That the island of Ireland should be totaUy subdued from sea to sea, and curbed in by castles, and though the people of England, by trying the fate of war, should often happen to be disordered and weakened (as Brecan testifies, that a certain king should march from the desert mountains of Patrick, and on Sunday should break into a certain camp in the woody parts of Ophelan, and almost all the English be drove out of Ireland), yet by the assertions of the same prophets, they should continuaUy keep possession of the eastern maritilne parts of the island." This is the account of Cambrensis, written upwards of 500 years ago. St ©olumianug. A. D. 559—615. This Ulustrious saint and writer was the descendant of a noble family in the province of Leinster. Of his youth we have no accounts distinct enough to be relied upon. He is, however, credibly reported to have been conspicuous for the singular beauty of his person; and it is more than hinted by some of his biographers, that he was in consequence exposed to temptations, which for a time must have rendered it a doubt ful matter whether posterity was to be edified by the sanctity, or warned by the frailties of his subsequent career. Such is the history often of the most holy men ; as the saint must, in all cases, be more or less the result of a conquest over human frailty. Fortunately for himself and the world, the saint prevaUed, and the young Columbanus had the firmness to achieve the greatest triumph which human strength can ¦win over temptation, by fiying from the dangerous field. He tore himself, doubtless with pain and after many serious conflicts of the heart, from his father's house, and the temptations by which he was beset; his youthful pride and passions, "Nihil tam sanctum religione (says an ancient author of his life) tamque custodid clausum, quod penetrare libido nequeat'' From his native prorince he retired to the monastery of Banchor, in Ulster, where, under the tuition of Saint Coemgall, he spent a con siderable portion of his life in holy meditation and study. Here he continued to attain experience, patience, firmness, and self-command, with the knowledge of men and books, which were necessary for the career for which he was designed, tUl the mature age of fifty, when feeling, doubtless, that the time was at length arrived for the useful application of his attainments, he selected twelve of his companions — we may safely infer, men of piety and learning — and crossed over to Gaul, where there was at this period an ample field for the exertions of holy men. At this time, the state of Christianity in France had fallen into the most melancholy depravation. The prelates had nearly forgotten 126 ECCLESI.'i.STICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiasT the common decencies of Christian society, and altogether lost sight of the dignity and duties of their sacred caUing. They had, in com mon vrith their flocks, relapsed into the barbarism of savage life, and the rudeness of paganism, and were virtuaUy to be reconverted to the faith which they had solemnly professed. The consequence was, an abundant growth of superstition, and the decay of the yet imperfectly established religion of the gospel. Such a state of things held out an ample field for the work of conversion, and afforded highly beneficent occupation to the numerous tribes of the monastic orders, who, whatever may have been their demerits in later times, may, we think, be recognised as instrumental to the preservation and further ance of Christianity, in these perplexed and semi-barbarous periods. St Columbanus found a spot adapted to the retirement of his taste, and the sanctity of his purpose, in the gloomy and sequestered forests of Upper Burgundy, in the neighbourhood of the Alps. Here, in this savage region, as yet perhaps unpenetrated by the noise and deprarity of life, he had twelve cabins buUt for himself and his companions, of whom most, perhaps aU, were afterwards to be the missionaries to other realms. The fame of his eloquence and learning, and of the sanctity of the company, soon drew the inhabitants in vast crowds from every quarter, settlements arose in the ricinity, and the saint was soon enabled to erect the monastery of Luxeuil. Here he remained about twenty years, during which he acquired great influence and renown. Some of his historians report, and probably believed, that he worked divers wonderful works, of which the ^eater part seem to have been at the expense of the wUd beasts of the surrounding wilderness, which were subdued by his sanctity, and fled or feU before his power. Among the concourse of his foUowers and disciples, many were of noble birth, and many possessing ample means and influence. Not a few of these devoted themselves to the pious pursuits of the monastic life; and, while they created the necessity, at the same time supphed the means of extending the institutions of the saint. Another monas tery was built in a more select situation, and, from the springs with which it abounded, received the name of Fontaines. In the course of a ministration, the immediate duties of which were such as to imply a continued struggle between the principles of Chris tianity, and the moral as well as political disorder and misrule of the age and nation, resistance to wrong armed with power must have been a consequence in no way to be avoided, unless by an unholy compro mise with expediency or fear, and such were little to be found In the rigid' sanctity and firm character of the saint. These virtues found there fitting exercise from the rice and tyranny of the Bm-gundlan prince and his vindictive mother, queen Brunehaut. The detail of the petty collisions between the low and ^¦indIctIve pride of barbaric royalty and the stern sanctity of this prlmltiie reformer, abound with touches of moral truth which confer the seeming, at least, of authen ticity upon the legendary historians of the saint and his times. " They will be found worthy, however, of a brief passing notice, less as his tory than as pictures for the imagination, in which the figure of the stern but simple and accomplished missionary stands out to the eye Period.] ST COLUMBANUS. 127 with the more force and dignity, from the barbaric glare and pomp of the scenes and personages round him." " Thus, on one occasion when the queen dowager, seeing him enter the royal courts, brought forth the four Ulegitimate chUdren of king Thierry to meet him, the saint emphatically demanded what they wanted. ' They are the king's chUdren,' answered Brunehaut, ' and are come to ask your blessing.' ' These chUdren,' repUed Colum banus, ' wiU never reign, they are the offspring of debauchery.' Such insulting opposition to her designs for her grand-children roused aU the rage of this Jezebel, and orders were issued for withdrawing some privUeges which the saint's monasteries had hitherto enjoyed. For the purpose of remonstrating against this wrong he sought the palace of the king ; and, whUe waiting the royal audience, rich viands and wines were served up for his refreshment. But the saint sternly re fused to partake of them, saying, ' It is written, the Most High rejects the gifts of the impious ; nor is it fitting that the mouths of the ser vants of God should be defiled with the viands of one who inflicts on them such indignities.' "* Another scene, described by the picturesque pen of the same agree able writer, we must abridge for our purpose. One of the regulations which met vrith the censure and resistance of the court, was that which restricted the access to the interior of the monastery. The in vidious feeling thus excited was seized on by the watchful malice of queen Brunehaut, as an instrument of persecution. For this purpose she instigated an attempt to put to the proof the monastery's right. King Thierry, foUowed by a numerous and gorgeous train of his courtiers and nobles, approached its gates. As they rudely forced their way, the saint, surprised by the noise of unhaUowed and disre spectful violence, came forth and, as they had gained the door of the refectory, stood before them in the way. The king, stUl forcing in, addressed him, " If you desire to derive any benefit from our bounty, these places must be thrown open to every comer." The singular gra- rity and dignity of Columbanus's form and aspect are authentic facts of history; and when these are recollected, it may enable the reader to conceive the full effect which Mr Moore ascribes to the following em phatic answer of the saint to the intruding king: — " If you endeavour to violate the discipline here established, know that I dispense with your presents, and with every aid that it is in your power to lend; and if you now come hither to disturb the monasteries of the servants of God, I tell you that your kingdom shall be destroyed, and with it aU your royal race." The king was terrified, and tvithdrew with his astonished train. The consequence was, however, such as to fulfil the immediate de sign of the vindictive Brunehaut. It was intimated to the saint, that as his system was unsuited to the place, it was fit he should leave it. Mr Moore, on this occasion, cites a speech attributed to king Thierry which, as he justly observes, " betrays no want either of tolerance, or of the good sense from which that virtue springs." " I perceive you hope," said Thierry, " that I shall give you the crown of martyrdom ; but I * Moore's Ireland, i. 261. 128 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First' am not so unwise as to commit so heinous a crime. As your system, however, differs from that of aU other times, it is but right that you should return to the place from whence you came." The saint refused to submit to any compulsion short of armed force, and accordingly a party of soldiers were detached to his retreat. None but his country men and a few British monks were allowed to foUow him: they were conducted by an armed party on their way to Ireland. It was on then: arrival at Auxerre that Columbanus gave utterance to a prediction, which was shortly accomplished, — " Remember what I now teU you; that very Clothaire whom ye now despise wIU, in three years' time, be your master." Accident prevented the destination which would have interrupted the allotted labour of the missionary saint, and converted the^ malice of his enemies, into the means of extending the scope of his piety and exertion. He was left at liberty to choose his course, and visited the courts of Clothaire and Theodebert. Both of these kings received him kindly, but he soon had won the confidence of Clothaire ; nor Is It improbable, that the judicious adrice of the counsellor, contributed to fulfil the prediction of the saint. He now engaged In an active course of missionary exertion, in which he visited many places in France and Germany, after which his course was determined, by the reports which he was continually hearing of the growing power of his enemies In Franche Compte. To remove himself more completely from their malice, he resolved to pass into Italy. In Italy, his uncompromising vigour . of character, had fresh occasion for display. The controversies of the last century were stUl in their fuU vigour. After the decrees of councUs, and the angry or interested interferences of popes and emperors, the dispute upon the Three Chapters, decided by the condemnation of the ¦writings so caUed in the council of Constantinople, a.d. 553, stUl had in its embers heat enough to warm the zeal of another generation in the next century. The pious Theudellnda, queen of the Lombards, ¦with the zeal and perhaps the indiscretion of a recent proselyte, had given offence to the see of Rome, by her protection of the bishops who obstinately held out in schism against this decision of a councU. It is supposed that the Lombard court were drawn from their error by the judicious and moderate persuasion of Gregory; but however this may have been, it more certainly appears, that on the arrival of St Columbanus, the Lombards had again fallen back into the same heretical opinions. King Agilulph was the first of the Lombard kings who had embraced Christianity, and his queen had become eminent for her active exer tions in its cause. By her advice he had hitherto been led to the expenditure of large sums, in the building and endowment of monas teries ; and It is therefore easily understood, how attractive must a court, thus illustrated by pious and charitable zeal, have been to the wandering steps of the saint. The sentiments of St Columbanus were, fortunately for this new alliance, in conformity vrith those of the royal schismatics. By the desire of Agilulph, he addressed a letter of considerable vigour, and spirit to Boniface IV., who was at this time bishop of Rome, and the Period.] FRIGIDIAN. 129 first who held that dignity, which is now comprised in the papacy. In this letter he maintains the riews of the schismatics, or opponents to the decision of the 5th General CquncU, and treats Boniface with very little ceremony. "This eminent Christian is said tp be the author of many writings yet extant; but of the greater part of these, the genuineness is very uncertain. Among these, a poem, which on the competent testimony of Mr Moore may be described as " of no inconsiderable merit," seems to intimate the great age to which he lived. " Hsec tibi dictaram morhis oppresgus acerbis Corpora quos fragih patior, tristique senecta." But the date of his death leads to another inference. Worn vrith the labours, controversies, persecutions, and wanderings of a long life, spent in the service of Christ and the enlightening of a barbarous age, he received permission from king Agilulph to select a retirement in his dominions. Retiring to a secluded spot among the Appennines, he founded the monastery of Bobio, in which he passed the remaining interval of his old age, and died on the 21st November, 615, in the 56th year of his age. d^rfgiiJian* DIED A.D. 595. Frigidian, or Phridian, son of a king of Ulster, went at an early period of his life to Rome, and from thence to Lucca, where he was consecrated a bishop. The office of St Pridian relates, " that Ije was honourably received at Ppme by pope Pelagius I., by whom he was ordained a priest, and placed among the canons of the Lateran chijpch. That he afterwards returned to Ireland, where his heatheij p^ents used aU their enjdeavours to bring him back to the worship of idols, and to induce him to enter into the state of matrimony ; instead of which he converted them to the Christian r,eligipn. That having founded a monastery, and estabUshed canons jn it, according tp the rule he had received at Rome ; he rejturpied to Italy, a^d went to Lucca, where he was held in such veneration by the citizens, that, at their request, he was pro moted to the bishopric of that city. During the space of twenty-eight years, which he spent in the government of the said see, he founded twenty-eight baptismal churches, the principal of which, dedicated to the honour of the Three Levites, is now calleql St Frigidian's church, in which he was at length buried, having died in a good old age. The festival of the discovery of his body is celebrated at Lucca, on the 28th of Novenjijber," He js said to haye been the author of a book of canons ; but, according to Ware, this is a mistake, as the canons which bear Jtil? najgae, were a present to him from pope Pelagius. H^e is s^i,d, by Colgan, tp haye died in tli,e year 595. This date is ques tioned by Dr Lanigan, who, pn an Italian authority, states his death to have taken place in 588. VOL. I. 130 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SEKIES. [First Uxtnttm. DIED 571. Brendan, abbot of Birr, was contemporary vrith his namesake of Kerry, and was son of Luaigne. His abbey was in the territory of Ely O'CarroU, now a part of the King's county, where he died Nov ember 29, 571. He is said to have written a poem on the virtues of St Columbkille, who was then living. ©ogftogug, Cogitosus is, on sufficiently probable grounds, supposed to have been a monk of the monastery of Kildare. His own words seem to establish the fact, that he lived in the time of St Brigid, of whom he ¦wrote a life. In this, mentioning her miracles, he writes, "which miracles I have not only heard, but have seen vrith my own eyes." St 25«niran» DIED A. D. 577. St Brendan, a native of Kerry, founded a monastery at Clonfert, and another at Enachdune. In these establishments he presided over 3000 monks, who maintained themselves by labour. His life abounds ¦with stories, which suggest the idea, that its author, or the good saint, may have studied Arabian fiction tlirough some channel, as his mys terious voyages and enchanted islands, remind the reader of these diverting liars, the tale-teUers of the East. This eminent saint appears to have had a dream or glimpse of purgatory, before it was yet discovered by the spiritual adventurers of the middle ages. Camden cites the foUowing description from one of his biographers : — " Asserit esse locum, solennis fama diatatum Brendano, quo lux lucida semper micat. Purgandas animas datur hie transire per igne Ut dignse facie indicis esse queant." He wrote, among other works, A Monastic Rule, which, an anony mous biographer informs us, was dictated by an angel. He also wrote a work, De Fortunatis Insulibus: Revelationes de Futuris Temporibus, as also an essay on the Life and Miracles qf St Brigid. St Brendan is said to have died on Sunday, 16th of May, 577) Id the 94th year of his age. Period.] kuadan — COEMGAL — eochoid. 131 St ^atiaUan, ^66ot» DIED 584. St Ruadan was the contemporary of St Brendan. He was or dained by St Finian, and buUt an abbey at Lothra. He wrote a work (a political pamphlet we presume) against King Dermot ; and two other works, of a very different character, entitled De mirabili Fontium in Hibernia Natura De miraculosa arbore. He died at Lothra 584. His festival is 15th April. St ©oemgalL DIED ABOUT 601. St Coemgall, bom 5 16, in Ulster, educated in the Queen's county, — first under St Fintan, and then at Clonmacnoise, under bishop Lugid. In 555, he founded at Banchor a celebrated abbey, thus described by an ancient writer, as " a great monastery caUed Beanchor, in a territory called the Ards, or heights of Ulster, near the Eastern Sea ; and a vast number of monks flocked thither to St Congall, so that one place could not contain them ; from whence he took occasion to buUd many ceUs and monasteries, not only in Ulster, but in other provinces of Ireland, and there were 3000 monks, under the care of the holy father CongaU, dispersed among these monasteries." St Coemgall died about 601. moctoilf, tf)t mintf. EocHOlD lived about 580, and is celebrated for his learning. He ¦wrote a book, of which the idiom was become so obsolete that no one could guess what it was about : it may probably have been antediluvian researches, or an inquiry about round towers, as Eochoid was called master of the antiquities of Ireland. As invariably occurs, these ob scure works had the merit of caUing forth a rich suprefetation of commentaries. Among other works this iUustrious scholar wrote an essay on ColumbkUle. St (Emnitt. DIED 600. St Cannice was born in the north of Ireland ; and was the son of an eminent poet named Laldee. At 1 3 years of age he was sent over into 132 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlRBT Britain, and placed under the tuition of Docus; under whose care he is said to have acquired great learning m the canons and rules of ecclesiasti cal discipline. He is then said to have traveUed into Italy, where he met with attention, and was remembered ¦with respect. We do not think it necessary to foUow him through his many peregrinations. He seems to have had an active spirit, and made his piety and eloquence useful and conspicuous in many parts of England and Ireland. His prmci- pal labours were in Upper Ossory, where he founded several monas teries. At one of these caUed Achad-boe (i. e. field of oxen), he died in 599 or 600. The cathedral pf KUkenny is named after him. He wrote the Life pf St CplumbkUle, &c. St #luttttu.*DIED 635. St Munnu was the fpunder of an abbey near Wexford. He is chiefly entitled to a place here, for the sake of a curious and most characteristic account of a dispute between him and some other ecclesiastics. The following is the account extracted from his life, by Ware : •(¦ — " On a certain time there was a great councU of the people pf Ireland held In the White Field ; between whpm there arose a controversy concerning the order of celebrating Easter. For Laserian, abbot pf Leighlin, whp presided over 1500 monks, defended the new order, which was then lately sent from Rome; while others adhered to the old form. But St Munnu did not immediately appear at this councU, though every one waited for him. He stood by the old order and came to the councU the same day before evening. Then St Munnu said to the abbot Laserian, in the presence of all the people, thus: — 'It is now time to break up this councU, that every man may depart to his own place. In our contention concerning the time for cele brating Easter, let us dispute briefly, but let us give judgment in the name of the Lord. You have three options given you, O Laserian: Let two books, one of the old order, and another of the new, be cast into the fire, and let us see which of them shall escape the flames. Or let two monks, one of yours, and another of mine be shut up in the same house, and let the house be set on fire, and we shall see which of them shall escape unhurt. Or let us both go to the sepulchre of a dead monk, and raise him up to life ; and he vriU shew us which order we ought to observe in the celebration of Easter.' To which St ' In our anxiety to give the fullest space we can afford to these old saints, we have noticed many whose actions are scarcely distinct enough for biography. Yet considering that the names alone which are euumei-ated by Ware and Harris, Usher and Lanigan, would iill a larger volume than this, we must adopt a strict limit. Little can in general be said of literary men of ancient date ; but where the man is forgotten aud the book not extant — the nominis umbra of antiquarian celebrity will hardly supply a sufficient apology for a life which coraes very near an old wag's "Memoir of Nobody at all." We have here omitted, St Baithen, Colchus, the anonymous author of a work called the Life of St Ita, and a host besides. t See also Usher, Prim. 937. Period.] LASERIAN^ — ST EVIN — ST GALL. 133 Laserian answered, 'We wUl not proceed to judgment with you ; because ' we know that if you commanded Mount Marge to be changed into the White Field, and the White Field to be removed to the place where Mount Marge stands — that on account of your infinite labours and great sanctity, God would immediately do this for your sake.' For they were then in the White Field, over which Mount Marge hangs. Afterwards the people returned every one to their o-wn homes." This councU was held A. D. 630. %mtxim. PROMOTED 632. DIED 638. Laserian, or Molaisne, was the son of Cairel and Elitha, daughter to a king of the Picts, who seems to have carefuUy attended to his re ligious instruction, and early placed him under the abbot St Murin. He afterwards spent fourteen years at Rome, where he heard St Gregory explain the Scriptures ; and having received priest's orders from him, he returned to his own country. Being there held in high estimation, the abbot Goben voluntarily resigned the abbey of Leighlin to him, and retired vrith a few monks to a ceU that he built for himself. La serian was opposed to Munnu respecting the time for celebrating Easter, and combated his opinions stoutly at the great synod, held in the White Field; which Usher places onthe banks of the river Banow, near Mount Marge. On his second risit to Rome, pope Honorius con secrated him a bishop, and appointed him legate of Ireland. This gave Laserian increased influence, and we find that, after his return, the south of Ireland conformed to the views of Rome, in the observance of Easter. Laserian died on the 18th of AprU, 638 or 639, and was buried in his own church, which he had himself founded. St min. 7th century. There is little distinctly related of St Evin ; but he is entitled to notice as the author of an ancient life of St Patrick — which the monk Joceline mentions as one of his chief authorities. He also wrote a life of St Colgan. A church near Ross was dedicated to his memory. He lived about the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th centuries. ^t ©all. DIED A.D. 645. St Gall, eminent for his writings and sanctity, is stUl more so for the strange adventures and vicissitudes pf a life dirided between the 134 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlRST wanderings of a missionary and the stern seclusion of a hermit's cell. He was first the pupil and afterwards the companion of the Ulustrious Columbanus, accompanying him in his journeys and sharing in his dangers and sufferings. As we have given already an account of these, we shall not here go over the same ground, but pass briefly to the notice of his separate adventures. He seems to have been to St Columbanus what Is now sometimes expressed by the famUiar phrase, " his right hand," having been endowed with a fervent zeal, of which the impulses were always ready when heathen idolatries were to be assaUed ¦with fire and active violence, the effects of which some times were such as the reader wUl imagine : the saints were in their turn exposed to the rage or mistaken zeal of pagan superstition. These eminent missionaries had been, by the intrigues of queen BrunehUde, banished from their monastery at Luxeuil. They had arrived in the country of the Grisons, where, after much opposition from the people — met on their part with firmness and patient endur ance, and gradually appeased to an apparent acquiescence by their virtues and the power of their preaching — ^they succeeded in convert ing many to Christianity; and, collecting their converts into a small settlement, they led a useful, quiet, and happy life, in the peaceful occu pations of agriculture, and the forest sports of hunting and fishing ; in which latter sport St Gall is mentioned as a distinguished proficient. In this happy episode of their tragic and stormy Uves, they were disturbed by the jealousy of the heathens, who, perhaps reconcUed to their religious demeanour, did not so easily acquiesce in the encroach ment on their hunting grounds. They complained to Gunza, the prince of the surrounding territory, and in the meantime assaUed the pious community with many petty insults and depredations. At last they slew two friars ; and, at nearly the same time, an order from the prince decided the saints to change their quarters. They resplved to pass over into Italy. Immediately before the departure of Columbanus, St Gall fell dangerously ill. The languor of convalescence, operating on a mind of enthusiastic piety, naturally suggested the attractions of soUtary piety. Having consulted his friends, they endeavoured to deter him from his purpose, by stories of wUd beasts and other terrors of the savage wUderness of Swiss mountains and lonely forests, to which his fancy seemed to lead. But the saint was not to be daunted by earthly perils ; and, entering the woody wild, he pitched on a sequestered site on the bank of the little river Stinace, running into the neighbouring lake of Constance. The bishopric of Constance falling vacant, St Gall was inrited to assist at the election. He consented ; and, coming to the councU of bishops, abbots, and holy men, assembled for that purpose, he had some difficulty in resisting their unanimous disposition to elect him self, " on account of the good testimony he bore with all men, for his knowledge of the Scriptures, his wisdom, justice, chastity, meekness, humUity, patience, and charity."* He declined the office, and John the deacon was elected on his recommendation. * Ware. Period.] ST AID AN— FINAN. 135 On the death of the successor of Columbanus, the friars of Luxeuil, to whom his character had been long known as a brother of their com munity, sent a deputation of six to invite him to be their abbot. He was shortly after invited by WiUmar, a priest and one of his most intimate friends, to pass some time with him at his castle of Ajbon. He had not arrived two days at this place when he was seized with his last iUness, and died on the I6th of October, 645, in the 95th year of his age. The hermitage, once sanctified by the latter years of his pious Ufe, became soon an object of veneration, and, by the magnificent piety of kings and nobles, was erected into an abbacy of wide domain and princely jurisdiction. The abbot became the prince of a canton of 1100 square miles which composed his estates, the population of which is now 134,000 souls. The remains of the ancient Benedictine abbey are, we believe, stUl risited as the principal curiosity of the ancient town of St Gall. The chief writings of St Gall are " A Sermon preached in St Ste phen's Church, on the Ordination of John, bishop of Constance," and " some epistles published by Canisius."* Many other writings are added on less certain authority. St m^m. died a. d. 651. St Aidan was a monk of Iona, born in Ireland. He was appointed a bishop in Northumbria. By grant of king Oswald, he fixed his episco pal see in Lindisfame. Not being sufficiently master of the Saxon tongue, he received assistance from the king, who interpreted his preaching to the people. The pains he took to make converts, were such as only occur in the primitive ages of the church. Bede expresses the com parative inferiority of his own times in the foUowing sentence : — " His life was so widely different from the sloth and negligence of our own times, that aU who travelled with him, whether shorn or laymen, were obliged to exercise themselves either in reading the Scriptures or in learning of psalms." He governed the see of Lindisfarne for seven teen years, during which time he converted Northumbria, and died Slst August, 651. None of his writings remain, except some fragments preserved by Bede. d^inan* DIED A.D. 661. FiNAN, a native of Ireland, flourished in the year 651. He was appointed by king Oswin to govern the church of Lindisfarne He * Ware's Writers. 136 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES, [First was consecrated a bishop, and, as Bede tells us, "erected a church in the island of Lindisfarne, fit for an Episcopal see ; which, nevertheless, he built after the manner of the Scots, not of stone, but of sawn oak, and covered vrith thatch. Archbishop Theodore, in after times, dedicated this church to the honour of St Peter the apostle, and Eadbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, stripped off the thatch and covered both the roof and waUs of it with leaden plates." Finan was, accord ing to Bede, " a man of a fierce and rough nature," but was very suc cessful in his ministerial labours, and not only converted and baptized Peada, king of the Middle Angles, along with aU his court, but sent four priests to instruct his subjects in Christianity. SIgbert, king of the East Angles, was also baptized by him, as weU as his people ; " and he sent," says Bede, " for two other bishops to assist him in the ministry of ordination, and consecrated Cedda bishop of the East Angles." The only writing ascertained to be his, is that mentioned by Bale, Pro Veteri Paschatis Ritu, though others have been attributed to him. He died in the year 661, having governed the church of Lindisfame for ten years, and was succeeded by Colman. St ©amitt. DIED A. D. 65-3. St Camin was brother to Guair, king of Connaught. He retired to the island of Iniskeltra in Loch-Derg, " where," says Usher, " a sacred edifice is seen, which yet retains the name of Camin's church." A commentary on the Psalms Is said to have been composed by him, of which fragments were seen by many, among whom are Colgan and Usher, who mentions it thus : — " Habebatur Psalterium cujus unicum tantum quaternionem mihi videre contigit, obelis et astericis dUigen- tisslme distinctum, coUatlone cum veritate Hebraica in superiore parte cujusque paglnse posita et breribus scholiis, ad exteriorem marginem adjectis." ©?3$u«c6attis. About the middle of the 7th century, three brothers of the above famUy are said to have united their efforts in compiling and dio-esting a body of Irish laws out of a great variety of scattered legaf docu ments which they had coUected. They combined in their work eccle siastical with ciril law, and entitled it Brathaneimhadh, i. e. sacred judgments. They must have been weU qualified by their professions for the undertaking; for Boethgal was a judge, Boigalach a bishop, and Moeltule a poet and antiquary. Mr Lynch has given us the fol io-wing distich, as describing the chief heads of the work : "* Eagluis, flatba agus filidh, Britheamh'd dhios gachdiigh, Na bruigh fo aibh dar linn, na saor agus na gabhan." Period.] MAILDULPH — ST FINIAN. 137 which he thus translates : — " Quid fit jus Cleri, Satrapa, vatisque fabrlque. Nee non agricola, liber iste docebit abunde." " The priest, the prince, the bard, the man of art. And peasant, from that book may learn their part. #taiWulp5» wed A.D. 675. Maildulph, a learned Irish monk, founded a small monastery at Ingleborne In Wiltshire ; and, from his residing there, it was anciently called Maildulfesburg, which has since been corrupted into Malmesbury, where there was afterwards a richly endowed monastery, to which king Athelstane and others made large presents. Maildulph instructed at Ingleborne a great many persons afterwards eminent for learning and sanctity, and, amongst others, Aldelm who, according to Camden, " was the first Saxon that ever -wrote in Latin, and the first that taught the Saxons the way of composing Latin verse, and so performed what he promised in these verses : — " Primus ego in patriam mecum, modo vita superfit Aonio rediens deducam vertice musas." He wrote, according to Bale,— De Paschae Observatione, lib. 1. Pro Tonsura ac Coelibatu, lib. i. Regulas Artium Diversarum, lib. i. De Disciplinis Naturalibus, lib. i. Besides, Hymnos, Dialogos, Epistolas, and other works which are not now extant. He lived to a very advanced age, and died at Malmesbury, where he was buried in his own inonastery, in the year 675. St Mnim. DIED A.D. 552. Finian is one of those whom Usher ranks high among the second order of ancient saints, and lived in the 6th century. He is entitled to our special notice as the founder of the celebrated abbey and city of Clonard, and as the most learned Irishman of his time. To his school flocked the students and holy men of his day, to draw wisdom fi-om his teaching; and, among the three thousand students who sat at his feet, the various ¦writers of his life enumerate most of the iUus trious names which grace the annals of the 6th and 7th centuries. The foUowing hymn was sung in his office : — " Nativus de Lagenia Qui sprevit nomen regium Hie sumpsit inira moenia Legendi privilegium 138 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FiRST Trium virorum millium Sorte sit doctor humilis : Verhi his fudit fluvium Ut fons emanans rivulis. En hie rexit in literis Vise vicinus regise Hie se jungebat superis Hie transfertur egregii.' which gives the better part of his history. We are saved the neces sity of any more detaUed account, by a writer whose pen never faUs to touch with life-like expression whatever it describes. " Beyond the moat, and farther to the right on a sweUing bank over the Boyne, is the spot where once stood the abbey and cathedral of Clonard-cluain-craind, the Field of the Western Height; but not a vestige now remains but a stone baptismal font, of what was once a bishop's see, and the most famous seat of sacred literature and pious study in Ireland. Here St FInnian, the most learned of aU the suc cessors of St Patrick, established, in the 6th century, his coUege, to which three thousand students, resorted not only from all Ireland, but also from Britain, Armorica, and Germany. The venerable Bede describes the EngUsh, both of the better and middle ranks, as coming here not merely for the sake of study, but in the hope of leading a quieter and more contemplative life, (for it would appear that the Irish, in all their feuds, respected learning and the clergy,) and, under the direction of holy Finnlan, receiving from Irish hospitaUty, instruc tion, food, lodging, and books, without charge — eead mile failte. So great was the fame of FInnian as a commentator on holy Scripture, that all the holy men of Ireland came to hear wisdoin from his ani mated discourses. Hither came the twelve saints whom St Patrick constituted apostles of Ireland ; the venerable Kieran of Saiger, who, with his hair whitened with the snows of an hundred winters, did not disdain to hear Finnlan expound to him the sacred book. Here also came Kieran of Clonmacnoise, the carpenter's son, who wore himself out in deeds of penance and sanctity, and died in his thirty-third year ; the two Columbs, ColumkUle and Columb of Tirdaglass; the two Brendans, Brendan of Birr and Brendan of Kerry ; Ruadan of Lorra, Molua of Clonfert, and others, as reported by Usher and Colgan, re sorted hither. It would appear that these holy men, whUe residing at Clonard, did not allow their studies to interfere with their bodUy exercises, but that they cultivated the rich and fertUe soU around their abode ; and thus, by invigorating their bodies, enUvened their minds, and rendered them more capable of enduring the mental toU attendant on the accumulation of great learning. There yet remains a legend which says, that St Columba, the son of Crimthan, one night when his lamp failed, being exceedingly anxious to master some important passage he had taken in hand, was seen with the fingers of his right hand tipped with light, running along the leaves of his book, and so, from the effulgence which they cast on the pages, he was enabled to study on, while all around him was dark."* * From the Dublin Penny Journal. Period.] FIACRE — FURSEY. 139 dFiacre* 7th century, FlACKE was born early in the 7th century, of a noble fanuly in Ireland. He early devoted himself to reUgious exercises, and having sought seclusion in France, obtained from Pharo, bishop of Meaux, a wood, where he buUt a monastery, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and in which he lived the life of a hermit. He wrote, accord ing to Dempster, Ad Syram Sororem de Monasticce Vitce Lude, which is said to be extant in manuscript at Meaux; and Meditationes, Lib. 1. Some Scotch writers assert that Scotland was his birthplace ; but this would seem to be refuted by the legend pubUshed by Capgrave, in which the bishop of Meaux is described as inquiring from Fiacre respecting his country, to which the hermit answers, Hibernia, Scotorum Insula, mihi meisque genitoribus originem dedit. Ireland, an island of the Scots, gave birth to me and to my parents. There is also a tablet hanging up in the church of St Maturin, in Paris, on which is inscribed a hymn to the honour of St Fiacre, and one of the verses is as foUows, which shows that he is there understood to have been an Irishman: — Lucernse nova specula Illustratur Hibernia Coruscat Meldis insula Tantae Lucis Praraentia. Ilia misit Fiacrium Haec missam habet radium, Habent commune gaudium Haec Patrem, ilia Filium. He died the 1 8th of August, but the year is not known. Monsieur Bireal, one of the French king's preachers, pronounced the eulogium of St Fiacre, which is printed amongst the compositions of that orator. d?ursfefi* DIED A. D. 650. FuRSEY was of royal blood by both parents, Fintan, his father, being the son of Finloge, king of South Munster; and his mother, the daughter of Adh-fin, or Hugh the White, prince of Hy-Bryun, in Con naught. He was baptized and educated by his uncle, St Brendan, abbot of Clonfert, and early embraced a religious life. By the licence of his uncle, he founded a monastery in an island called Rathmat, near Lough-orbsen, in the county of Galway, vrith all the necessary ceUs and appendages belonging to it. There are now no remains of this buUding, but there is a parish church near this lake called, in honour of him, KUl-Fursa. He continued to preach the gospel for about twelve years in Ireland ; and about the year 637 he went to England. There, by the assistance of Sigibert, king of the East Saxons, he 140 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [FlKST founded a monastery in Suffolk, to which he ultimately induced Sige- bert to retire, and to exchange the regal for the monastic life. Sige- bert afterwards being compeUed to witness a battle, fought against Pendo, king of the Mercians, and holding (says Florence of Worcester) only a wand in his hand, was slain, together with his kinsman Egric, to whom he had resigned his kingdom. This monastery was after wards adorned with magnificent buUdings and valuable presents, but Fursey, to avoid the horrors and dangers of war, committed the care of Ills abbey to his brother, Foilan, and two other priests, and, accom panied by his other brother, Ultan, went over to France, where he founded a new abbey, in the diocese of Paris. A life of Fursey has been published in French, by a learned doctor of Sorbonne, which has since been translated into Latin, in which he is described as having gone to Rome before the foundation of the abbey of Lalgny ; and the conversations which took place between him and the pope are detaUed. It is also stated, that the pope consecrated both him and his brother, FoUan, bishops, though without appointing them to any sees. Their journey back is then described through Austrasia, Flanders, Brabant. Liege, and Namure; their meeting with St Gertrude, who fonned so strong a friendship for Fursey, that she accompanied them in their subsequent journeys, and at length founded a monastery for her feUow- traveUers at Fossis, and made Ultan abbot of it. FoUan continued to travel through Flanders, boldly preaching Christianity wherever he went, and overturning the pagan altars. At length he, with three of his fellow-labourers, gained the crown of martyrdom, ha^ving perished by the swords of the Infuriated pagans. Fursey fearlessly continued his labours, and induced large numbers of the courtiers of the king of Austrasia to embrace Christianity. He then proceeded to the court of Clovls, where he was received with great honour, and was highly esteemed for his uncompromising boldness in rebuking the rices of the king and his courtiers. Fursey died at Peronne, in Picardy, on the 16th of January (which day has been consecrated to his memory), in the year 650, or as others say, in the year 653. Under this year the author of the Annals of the Abbey of Boyle places his death according to the foUowing passage : " Anno 653, Fursu Paruna quierit." In the year 653, Fursey went to rest at Peronne. Miris^us states that on his death-bed " he bequeathed the care of his abbey of Laigny to St Eloqulus, an Irishman, who afterwards perceiring faction to have arisen among his disciples, retired, with a few friars, to Grimac, on the river Isarake." Fursey wrote, according to Dempster, De Vita Monastica, Lib. 1. There is also a prophecy, written in the Irish language, stUl extant, which is ascribed to him. arfiogast* DIED A.D. 679. Arbogast, a native of Ireland, was consecrated bishop of Stras- burgh, in Germany, A. d. 674. " He cnme," says Gaspar Brusehius, Period.] aileean, 141 " a stranger and a hermit into Alsace, and there buUt an oratory in a sacred grove, almost on the spot where Hagenau now stands, and in that place served God dUigently, in fasting and prayer. Yet he was not altogether idle, for he appeared abroad, and dUigently instructed the inhabitants in the knowledge and fear of God, and in the true in vocation of that Omnipotent power, by his son Christ ; reprehending their idolatrous worship, and confuting their fanatical opinions. From this practice he feU under the notice of Dagobert II., by whose ap pointment, he succeeded St Amand, in the see of Strasburgh, a.d. 674, which he governed five years. He died in 679, and was buried near the common place of execution, called St Michael's Mount : for that was his request, in imitation of what happened to Christ, who suf fered vrithout the walls of Jerusalem, in the place of the vricked." Many years after, a monastery, dedicated to his name, was built over his tomb, and in the neighbourhood of it, the high church of Stras burgh was erected. Bale says he -wrote Homilius Aliquot, Lib. 1.; and William Eysen- greinius ascribes to him In Epistolas Pauli Doctissimos Commen- tarios. mUxm* died A.D. 665. Aileean, Aireran, or Ercran, for he is designated by these various names both by Latin and Irish writers, was regent of the celebrated school of Clonard, in Meath, and was caUed Aireran an teagnaidh, i. e. Aireran the wise, in a long poem written by St jEngus. He died in 666, and his death is recorded in the Annals of Ulster, under the name of Aileran the wise. He was a contemporary of St Fechin, of Foure, whose Ufe he is said to have written ; but he surrived him only about one year, so that, in this case, he must have coUected the docu ments for it during the lifetime of the saint. He is also said to have written the lives of St Patrick and St Brigid ; but his most celebrated work Is An Allegorical Exposition of the Genealogy of Christ, which was copied by Patrick Fleming out of a manuscript in the abbey of St Gall, In Switzerland, and first pubUshed by Thomas SIrIn, 1667, under the title Ailerani Scoto- Hibernia, Cognomento Sapientis, Interpretatio Mystica Progenitorum, D. Jesu Christi, (to which is annexed, Moralis explanatio eorundem Nominum, compiled by the same author). Sedulius inserts the Exposition amongst his Collections on St Matthew's Gospel, and speaking of it, says, " Here begins the typical and figurative signification of the genealogy of Christ, which St Aileran, the wisest of the Scottish nation, explained." Archbishop Usher mentions, " that the said smaU piece was the only monument of AUeran's wit remaining" in his time ; so the lives above aUuded to must have been lost. 142 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First St &umin of ©onnor. St Cumin lived and wrote about the year 656. He appears to have been a poet, and composed in verse, A Treatise on the singular Vir tues of the principal Saints in Ireland, in which he panegyrizes some heroic action, or special virtue belonging to each. The year of his death is unkno-wn. &vimin. BORN A. D. 592, DIED A. D. 662. Cumin Fada, i. e. the Long, was the son of Fiachna, king of Jarm- nan, or West Munster, was educated first by the ¦virgin St Ida, and afterwards by Colman O'Clua-saigh, who is said, to have written the acts of Cumin Fada, and to have died the same year with his pupU. Cumin was appointed to the bishopric of Clonfert, by the king of Connaught. He wrote an hymn which begins Celehra, Juda, Festa Christi gaudia, and died in the year 662, at the age of 70. (Stumizxi. DIED A.D. 669. Cumian, or Cumene, abbot of Hy, was a descendant from the royal line of TyrconneU, and was born in their territory, which is now the county of Donegal. He retired in extreme youth to the abbey of Hy, for the purpose of education, as it was at that time greatly renowned for learning and for learned men, as weU as for the strictness of its monastic discipline. After his return to his own country, he either founded, or governed an abbey in the west part of Leinster. At this period, the controversy respecting the time for the celebration of Easter was carried on with great acrimony on both sides, by the opposite factions ; part of the kingdom adhering to the regulations and traditions of their ancestors, and the remainder adopt-. ing the opinions of Rome. About the year 630, pope Honorius the First, had exhorted the Irish by letter, " to reflect how few they were in number, compared to the rest of the world, and that they, who were placed in the extreme bounds of the earth, should not consider them selves wiser than aU the ancient and modern churches of Christ; and that they should not presume to celebrate a different Easter from the rest of the churches, contrary to the Paschal calculations and synodal decrees of the whole world." Bede tells us, that " the nations of the Scots, who inhabited the south parts of the kingdom of Ireland, had lately been taught, by the admonitions of the prelate of the apostolic see, to observe Easter according to canonical rite. But the northern province of the Soots, and all the nation of the Picts, notwithstanding Period.] ST WIRO. 143 the pope's admonition, did not forbear to observe Easter from the 14th moon to the 20th, according to their usual customs." Cumian, who at first took no part in the cpntroversy, seeing that there was so great a schism, and not having made up his own mind upon the subject, de termined to seclude himself for an entire year, that he might, accord ing to the adrice of the apostle, " Prove aU things, and hold fast that which is good." He says himself, that he turned over the holy Scrip tures, studied histories, and all the cycles which he could find, and adds, " I inquired dUigently what were the sentiments of the Hebrews, Grecians, Latins, and Egyptians, concerning this solemnity ;" and the result he came to was, that the riew taken by the church of Rome, on this subject, was the most consonant ¦with Scripture, and he ac cordingly adopted it. By doing so, he gave great offence to his old friends, the monks of Hy, who went so far as to caU him a heretic, which induced him to write A Treatise on the Paschall Controversy, after the manner of an apologetic Epistle, directed to Segiene, abbot of Hy; to Beccan, the Solitary, his dear brother, both according to the flesh and spirit, and to the rest of the wise men with them. This trea tise was published by archbishop Usher, and is considered to have shown much learning and research. Notwithstanding the anger of the monks of Hy for his adoption of these riews, they ultimately elected him as their abbot ; and during the twelve years in which he held that situation, he took the most indefatigable pains to convince them of their error respecting the celebration of Easter, and to induce them to conform their practice to that of Rome. He stated, that when the synod of Leighlin had sent deputies to Rome, to investigate the subject, "they abode together at one inn, with Grecian and Hebrew, Scythian and Egyptian; there they celebrated Easter, all together in the church of St Peter, in the observation of which solem nity," he adds, " we are separated from them a whole month, and they solemnly testified to us, saying, we know that Easter is thus celebrat ed through the whole world." His death took place in the year 669, though some assert that it was earUer. He was much venerated for his learning and sanctity, and wrote, according to Adamnanus, a Treatise on the Virtues of St Cohrnih, and is also supposed to be the author of a penitential, entitled De Mensv/rd Pcenitentiarum. Sbt MLixo. DIED A.D. 650. St Wnto was of a noble family, and was weU instructed, not only in learning, but in morality and reUgion. He was elected bishop, but of what see is uncertain, and most reluctantly accepted of the office. It is also affirmed by him, that he went to Rome to receive consecration, and on his retum to Ireland was received with the most enthusiastic joy. He did not, however, long retain his bishopric, preferring seclu sion and prayer to the pomp of his office, and the public testimonies that his sanctity obtained for him. He ultimately retired to France, where he buUt an oratory, which he dedicated to the blessed Virgin. 144 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First He lived to a very advanced age, and died May 8th, 650. He was buried in the oratory. M&iaoH. RESIGNED A. D. 675. DisiBOD, said to be bishop of Dublin (to which see, however, no bishops had been as yet nominated), was born in Ireland, and was elected to some bishopric in that country at an early age. He was of a noble family, and besides possessing great learning, was remark able for genius and piety. These qualities, however, vyere not appre ciated by the people he had to govern, and after holding his see for ten years, their insolence compeUed him to resign it, a.d. 675, or according to Marianus Scotus, 674. He then left Ireland for ever, and went to Germany, where he traveUed about for ten years, preach ing the gospel, assisted and accompanied by Gisualdus, Clement, and Salust, three men remarkable for religion and piety. He at length selected a high and wooded mountain, which was given him by its possessor, and he there founded a inonastery of the order of St Benedict, which, Arnold Wion says, was first called Mount Disibod, after his own name, but has since been changed into Disenberg. He lived here for thirty years, practising great severities, and died of extreme old age, the 8th of July, but in what year has not been ascer tained- Surius published a life written of him by a nun; and Dempster attributes a composition, entitled De Monachorum profectii in Solitudine Agentium, to Disibod, which he affirms to have seen himself. St iSlumoW. DIED A.D. 775. St Rumold was the son of an Irish prince, and was heir to his father. He was baptized by Gallagher, who also instructed him in learning and religion. Rumold's mind was so impressed by the truths of religion, that he sacrificed all bis worldly prospects, and traveUed through England and France, preaching the gospel of Christ. He afterwards crossed the Alps, and went to Rome, where he was weU re ceived by the pope, and subsequently returned to Gaul and came to Mechlin, at which place he was most kindly treated by Odo and his wife, who gave him a tract of ground for a monastery, and induced him to settle there. He had been early consecrated bishop of some see in Ireland, but the time of his consecration, or the cause of his leaving it, are not known. It is, however, certain, that both occm-red previous to his missionary labours. On Mechlin being erected into an episcopal see, he was nominated its first bishop; but was at length crueUy murdered by two ruffians, one of whom he had reproved for his vicious courses, and his body was thro-mn into the river, from Period.] MOLIBBA — DUNGALL MAC-BAITHEN. 145 whence count Odo had it removed, and buried In St Stephen's church. It was afterwards removed to the metropolitan church in Mechlin. His festival is celebrated on the 1st of July, in all the province of Mechlin, though the murder took place on the 24th of June, but pope Alexander transferred the day, that it might not interfere with the festival of St John the Baptist. Before the reformation this festival was observed in Ireland. iWoUfilia or !l(ti6a, SUCCEEDED A. D. 612. Molibba flourished, according to Colgan, in the beginning of the 7th century, and succeeded his uncle St Keirin, in the see of Glendalough, a.d, 612. His mother was sister to the saint, and his father, Colman, was descended from a most ancient and powerful family in Leinster, caUed the Messingcorbs. His uncle lived six years after MoUbba's appointment to the see ; but how long he con tinued to hold it, after the death of St Kelvin, is not known, for al though the 8th of January is mentioned as the day of his death, no year is specified. Aldan was of the samerfamUy, by his father's side, as Molibba ; his mother, Briga, the daughter of Cobthalg, was also of the same tribe. He was of high rank, for his half-brother, QLd, or Hugh, was the son of Amirach, king of Ireland, and ultimately became king himself. The time of Aldan's birth and death is unknown ; but he was certainly bishop of Glendalough, being styled so by Boroimhe Laigen, and pro bably succeeded Molibba. Little is known of Ampadan, beyond his having been bishop of Glendalough, it is supposed, about the year 656, but there is a chasm here in the successions to this see, which has not been filled up. The next of whom we read is DungaU Mac-Baithen, who died 899. HuttpU #lac=35a(tfim. DIED A. D. DuNGALL was both abbot and bishop of Glendalough, being given both titles in the Annals of the Four Masters, but little more is known respecting him, excepting the year of his death. VOL. I. 146 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES, [FIRST LIVED A. D. 792. Albin, whom some confuse with Alcuin an Englishman, and whom Hector Boetius, Lesley, and George Mackenzie, claim as a Scotch man, was born in Ireland, and was conspicuous for his learning, wis dom, and piety. His o^wn country, constantly the theatre of war, being unfavourable for the advance or difiiislon of knowledge, he saUed to France, accompanied by his friend Clement. Charles the Great being then on the throne, and a zealous promoter of learning, they pro ceeded to Paris, and took the strange course of making their preten sions known, by crying aloud in the streets that they had wisdom to dispose of. Polydore Virgil states that Charles had, by the adrice of Alcuin an Englishman, a teacher of the sciences in Paris, founded two establishments for learning, one in that city, and another in Ticlnum, now caUed Pavla. He adds, " in the year 792, when (as it is said) two monks saUed out of Ireland, or out of Scotland (as some will have it), into France, where they with a loud voice proclaimed that they had wisdom to seU, and demanded for a reward only food and raiment ; and one of them, called Clement, was detained by Charles at Paris, and aU the young men of the city of every rank were put under his tuition, but the other was commanded to pass forward into Italy, and to teach at Ticlnum." Ware says, " The doubt as to the country of Clement and Albin is (at least in my opinion) removed by Notker Balbulus, an ancient monk of the abbey of St Gall, contem porary with Albin, who, in a book written by bim of the actions of Charles the Great, published out of a Bavarian manuscript, by Henry Canisius, A.D. 1601 — says, 'After the Omnipotent Creator of all things, and Disposer of kingdoms and seasons, had broken to pieces the feet of iron and clay of that wonderful statue (Dan. ch. 2d), in the destruc tion of the Romans, he erected another golden head of a no less won derful statue among the Franks, In the person of the iUustrious Charles, in the beginning of whose empire in the West, when learning was almost every where lost. It happened that two Scots from Ireland, landed with some British merchants on the coasts of France, who were men incomparably skilled both in humane and divine literatm-e. These men, having nothing to expose to sale, cried out to the crowds of buyers, and said. If any body wants wisdom, let him come to lis and receive it; for we have it to sell. They made this declaration, because they observed that people were fond of buying wares for their money, and not what they might have for nothing ; that so they might either provoke all people to buy wisdom, together with other things, or, as the event proved, that they might by such an outcry raise their admiration and astonishment. Finally, they continued to cry thus so long, tlU the people, who stood amazed at them, or thought them out pf their senses, carried an account of their proceedings to king Charles, who was always an ardent lover of wisdom. That prince, without de lay, sent for them ; and when they were conducted into his presence, Period.] CLAUDE CLEMENT— COLMAN. 147 he demanded whether what fame reported of them was true — that they carried about wisdom with them? They made answ:er, that they had it, and were ready to impart it to as many as were worthy to search after it. Then, when he inquired of them what they demanded for their knowledge? they made answer, that aU they expected was, convenient apartments, ingenuous sotUs, with food and raiment, without which It was impossible to perform a pUgrimage. When the king understood thus much, he was fiUed vrith great joy, and at first entertained them with himself for a short time, but afterwards, being taken up with war like expeditions, he commanded one of them, whose name was Clement, to reside in France, to whose tuition he committed a vast number of youths of all degrees and qualities, and furnished them vrith convenient habitations, and suitable prorisions, such as they thought necessary. The other, whose name was Albin, he sent into Italy, and assigned him the monastery of St Augustine, near the city of Ticlnum, that as many as pleased might resort thither to him for instruction.'" Nicholas Crusenius states, that St Albin died in the monastery of St Augustine at Paria, but in what year is unknown. There are some Epistles of Albln's stUl extant, and Rhetorical Precepts, which have been falsely ascribed to Albinus Flaccus. Clement wrote Grammatica qucedam Collectanea, and a Life of Charles the Great; also De Evangelistarum Concordia, Lib. 1. Lupoldus Bebenburgius, says, " The French may be compared to the Romans and Athenians, by the works of Clement an Irishman." dSXm^t ©Itmtnt, LIVED IN THE 9tH CENTURY. Claude Clement was a man of eminent piety and learning. He wrote, according to Ware, Commentarium in St Mattheam, in the preface to which is mentioned the expedition of Lewis the godly, against the Normans. In omnes Epistolas St Pauli Commentaries. In Pentateuchum. In Lihros Josuce, Judicum, Ruthce, et in Psalmos. Memoriale Historiarum. Summam quandum. Ho-milias, and De Evangelistarum Concordia. Claude also wrote a Treatise against the use of images. In which he maintains these three points ; "l«f,That we ought to have no images ; Idly, That we ought not to worship the cross ; and Zdly, That it is of no use to visit churches where the bodies of saints are laid, or to visit their relicks." Dr Lanigan attributes this book to another Clement. ©oinian* DIED A. D. 676. The name of Colman is remarkable, from there having been, accord ing to Colgan, 1 20 of that name, " all men of sanctity, and of Irish birth," and Angus Celllde, a writer of the 8th century, states the number to have been above 200. 148 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First Colman, bishop of Lindisfarne, the subject of our present notice, was the opponent of Wilfrid, bishop of York, in the convent of Whit by, in the memorable controversies on the observation of Easter, and tonsure of the crown; in which, according to the judgment of Oswin, he was overcome : and he took this disgrace so much to heart, that he resolved on giving up his bishopric and retiring to a small island be longing to his native country, caUed Inis-bo-fin, which is the Irish for the Island of the White Cow. He was accompanied by some Englishmen, as well as the Irish who had gone with him to York. He was, says Harpsfield, a man of great virtue, abstinence, and piety. He founded a monastery in Inis-bo-fin, and afterwards another in Ire land, the cause of his buUding which Is detailed by Bede. It was caUed at that time Maglo, but now Mayo. " Colman (says Bede), coming into the said island, founded a monastery there, and placed monks in It out of both nations; but they could not agree together: because the Scots in the summer season, when the fruits of the earth were to be gathered, forsook the monastery and dispersed themselves up and down, in such places where they were weU acquainted: but upon the approach of winter they would return, and expect to enjoy in common those things which the EngUsh monks had provided for themselves. Colman made it his business to find out a remedy for these disorders; and traveUing about the country far and near, he at last pitched upon a place in the island of Ireland, proper for a monastery, which in the Scottish language was called Maglo ; of which he pur chased a small part for the said purpose from the earl, whose property it was, on condition, nevertheless, that the resident monks should be obliged to offer up their prayers to the Lord for him who accom modated them with the place. Immediately, by the assistance of this earl, and all the neighbours, he erected a monastery, and placed aU the English monks in it (among whom was St Gerald), and left the aforesaid island (of Inis-bo-fin) in the possession of the Scots." He adds afterwards, "that these English monks, foUowing the example of their venerable fathers, Uved under a canonical rule, and abbot, in great continence and integrity, by the sole labour of their hands." With regard to the death of Colman, there are opposing statements, John Stablus, historiographer to the emperor MaximiUIan I., has written the Life of Colman in verse, in which he makes him patron of Austria, says that he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and that on his return he was murdered by Pagans in Rhsetia. We give an extract from this poem, selected by Dempster, with his quaint transla tion: — " Austria Sanctus canitur Patronis Fulgidum sidus radians ab arcto, Scotica gentis Colomanus acer, Regia Proles. lUe dum sanctum Solymorum ad urbem Transiit, dulcem patriam reliquens, Regies Fastus, Trabeam Coronam, Sceptraque tempfit. Propter et Christum Peregrinus Exul Factus in Terris alienus ultro, Calicam pura meditatus aulam, Mente Fideque. Period.] st cuthbert. 149 Dumque diversos Populos pererrat, Khseticas tandem veniens ad oras," &c " Undaunted Colman, greatly sprung From royal ancestors, is sung. Fair Austria's saint, a star From Scotia's Western Isle afar. While he, intent on pious calls, Pass'd to the Solymean walls. Abandoning his native soil And rest, to combat foreign toil ; He scorned the regal pomp, the gem. The sceptre, crown, and diadem ; In other climes to serve the Lord, An exile of his own accord. Within his pure and faithful breast. He gained the mansions of the blest. Through various nations as he past. At Rhsetia's bounds arrived at last. The goodly memorable sage A victim fell to Pagan rage." Some writers assert that he was the son of Malcolm the First of Scotland, which seems to be aUuded to in the above lines; and they would also seem to confirm the account of his martyrdom. Other writers state that he died on the 8th of August (on which day his fes tival is kept), 676, and that he was buried in his own church of Inis- bo-fin. St &vitf)'btxt. DIED A. D. 687. St Cuthbert, son to one of the lesser princes of Ireland, was bom (according to the annals of St Mary's Abbey) about four mUes from Dublin. He was prior of MaUcross, and afterwards removed to Lin disfame, at the desire of the bishop of that see ; but subsequently re moved to Fame, an island about nine miles distant, where he lived the life of a hermit. At the earnest solicitation of king Egfrid, he was induced to accept of the bishopric of Lindisfarne, and was consecrated in York, In the presence of the king, by Theodore, archbishop of that see, on Easter Sunday, 684. Bede gives this account of his election: " Cuthbert was first elected bishop of the church of Hagustald (Hex ham), in the room of Trumbert, who had been deposed from that bishopric; but, because he was better pleased to preside over the church of Lindisfarne, where he was more conversant, it was thought proper that Eata should return to the see of Hagustald, over which he was first ordained, and that Cuthbert should assume the govern ment of the church of Lindisfarne ;" and a little after he adds, " he spent only two years in the bishopric, and then returned to the island of Fame, and to his monastery," where he at length died on the 20th of March, 687- The venerable Bede thought so highly of him, that he has written his life both in prose and verse. The lives published of him, both by John of Tinmouth, and Capgrave, particularly notice 150 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First his Monastic Institutions, delivered hy him to his Friars, which Demp ster calls " Exhortatlones ad Fratres." His other writings are, Or- dinationes suce Ecclesice, Lib 1. Prima Regula est de Domino. Prce- cepta ViteB Regularis, Lib. 1. St miim. DIED A. u, 689. St Kilian early left Ireland, where he was bom and educated, and travelled into Germany. He was there consecrated bishop of Wurtz- burgh or Herbipolls, about the year 686, and is said to have converted duke Gosbert and almost the entire of Franconia from paganism. He has been called the apostle of Franconia, and there he may be said to have obtained the crown of martyrdom; for, in consequence of his urgent recommendation to Gosbert to break an unlawful union he had formed with Geilana, his brother's wife, she planned his destruction, and had him and his companions cruelly murdered on the 8th of July, 689. His bones were afterwards taken up and buried, by one of his successors in that see. He is said to have written Contra Arian- ismum, and Contra Peregrines Cultus. And Dempster says that he also wrote another work, entitled, Monita ad Gosbertum Ducem super Divortio cum, Fratris Uxore. Some writers have asserted that he was a Scot ; but besides the tes timony of Marianus Scotus to the contrary, we have that of Egilward, a monk of the abbey of St Burchard near Wurtzburgh, who wrote the life of St Kilian. This has been published by Canisius, and also by Surius. " St Kilian," says this writer, " was of a Scottish race and bom of noble parents, but was most iUustrious on the score of his divine graces. Scotia, which Is also called Ireland, is an Island in the main ocean, of a fruitful soil, but more eminent for the sanctity of her inhabitants ; of whom Italy was blessed by Columban, AUemane was enriched by St Gall, and Teutonic France was ennobled by KUIan." ^aamnaitus, DIED A.D. 704. Adamnanus, abbot of Hy, was sent on an embassy into Britain to Alfred, king of Northumberland, and, while he continued there, be came a convert to the views of Rome respecting the true time for celebrating Easter. " After his return home," says Bede, " he used his utmost endeavours to guide the monks of Hy, and aU those who were subject to the said monastery, into that beaten road of truth which he himself walked In, and of which he made a sincere profession, but was not able to prevail." He then sailed into Ireland, where he had better success. He composed, according to Ware, Vitam St Bathildis Clodovcei Francoruum Regis Uxoris. He also wrote De Via Co- lumh(E, Lib. III., Poemata Varia, and a description of the Holy Land, Period.] MACCUTHENUS. 151 which was afterwards, pubUshed at Ingolstad under the following title, in 1619 ; Adamnanni Scoto-Hiberni Abbatis celeberrimi de situ Feme Sanctce, et Quorundam aliorum Locorum ut Alexandrlse et Constan- tinopoleos. Lib. iii. ; Ante Annas Nonagentos et amplius conscripti, et nunc primum in lucem prolati, studio Jacobi Gretseri Soc. Jesu Theo- logi Ingolstadii, 1619. Bede states the circumstances which gave rise to this work as follows : — " Arculph, a French bishop, who had travelled to Jerusalem merely to visit those holy places, and having taken a view of the whole Land of Promise, travelled to Damascus, Constantinople, Alexandria, and to many islands in the sea. Thence returning to his native country on shipboard, he was drove by a vio lent tempest on the western coasts of Britain, and at length came to the before-mentioned servant of Christ, Adamnanus ; who, finding him well versed in the Scriptures, and of great knowledge In the Holy Land, joyfully entertained him, and with great pleasure hearkened to what he said, insomuch that every thing he had affirmed to have seen in those holy places, worthy to be preserved in memory, Adamnanus committed to writing and composed a book profitable for many, and especially for such who, being at a great distance from the places where the patriarchs and apostles resided, have only a knowledge of them from books. Adamnanus also presented this book to king Al fred, by whose bounty it feU into the hands of more inferior people to be read. The writer also himself, being rewarded with many pre sents, was sent back into his own country." Bede gives a short ab stract of the book in two chapters. Our abbot is said to have written, besides, some Epistles, A Rule for Monks, De Paschate Legitime, and the Canons of Adamnanus. He died on the 23d of September, 704, in the 74th, or, as others say, the 80th year of his age. His remains were removed to Ireland in 727, but were conveyed back again, three years after, to the monastery of Hy. 0ldiccntfimvi&. Maccuthenus was a contemporary of Adamnanus and of Longsech, king of Ireland, who began his relg^ in 694 or 695. He Is mentioned by Usher as having written the life of St Patrick, and addressed it to Aed, bishop of Sletty, who died 698. Colgan thinks the name ought to be Cuchumneus, or Mochumneus (Mo being a familiar addition of the Irish to names) ; which Cuchumneus Uved In the time of Aed, and is said to have composed a hymn in praise of the Virgin, beginning thus : — " Cantemus in omni die concinnantes varie, Conclamantes Deo dignum Hymnum St Marias.'' If Maccuthenus and Cuchumne be the same person, he died in 746, according to the Annals of Ulster, which state, that in that year " Cuchumne the Wise went to rest." 152 ECCLESIASTICAL AND LITERARY SERIES. [First StOuKug fbt Youmtx. 8th CENTURY. From the great reputation Sedulius had acquired by his Commen taries on St Matthew, he was selected by pope Gregory II. to go into Spain to reconcUe some differences that had taken place amongst the clergy of Oreto ; and, to give him additional authority over them, he was nominated bishop of that see. The Spaniards, at first, showed some hesitation in receiving him, on the plea of his not belonging to their country ; upon which he wrote a treatise to prove, that as he was of Irish birth, he was consequently of Spanish descent, and therefore entitled to their regard. The Invasion of the Moors, however, shortly after drove him from his bishopric and broke up the establishment ; but the pope continued to him his rank, by proriding him with a titu lar bishopric in England. In consequence of this appointment, he assisted at a council held by pope Gregory II., on the 5th of April, 721, on the subject of unlawful marriages, along with Fergust, a Pict ish bishop of Scotland, and subscribed to the decree of that councU m the following form: — ¦" Sedulius, bishop of Britain, of Scottish descent, hath subscribed to this constitution promulged by us." His writings are as follows: — Collectanea in St Matthcei Evangelium, which is extant at Paris in manuscript ; and a treatise said to be discovered In a monastery in Gallicia by Sir John Higgins, written on parchment in the Gothic character, and entitled, Concordantio Hispanic atque Hi- bernicB a Sedulio genere Hiberniensi et Episcopo Oretensi. Some writers attribute also to him the Commentaries on the large Volume of Priscian, on the Second Edition of Donatus, and on Eutichius's Art; and there Is a doubt whether the commentaries on St Paul's epistles were written by him or by the elder Sedulius. Aeneas or ^mgu^, 8th CENTURY. jEneas lived about the close of the 7th century, and was descended from the royal blood of the Dal-Aradians of Ulster. He was remark able for his piety and learning, and obtained the honourable title of jEngusius Ceil-de, or Colideus, a worshipper of God, from his great zeal In the cause of religion. He early became a monk in the monas tery of Cluainenach In Leinster, where he made great progress in learning. It is supposed that he became the abbot of that house after the death of Melathgene, who was his friend and instructor, and who died in 767- All the country about Cluainenach was thickly wooded, and ^ngus retired to a desert spot, where he remained for several years, and which was afterwards called Desert jEngus. " The fame of his austerities," according to Ware, " spreading fai- and near, to avoid the appearances of vain-glory, he forsook these places (the Period.] fothadius. 153 desert and his own abbey), and betook himself to the abbey of Tau- laught, three mUes from Dublin, where, concealing his name and habit, he was received into that house by the abbot Moelruan as a lay- brother, and employed in aU the servUe offices of the monastery. He continued seven years in this laborious station, but at length was accidentally discovered by Moelruan, and from that time received by him into the highest degree of trust and friendship." We meet with but few other particulars of the life of jEngus. He is said to have been father and abbot of many monks, and to have been promoted to the episcopal dignity, but no writer that I know of mentions the see of which he was bishop; and therefore Colgan thinks he exercised that office in the same place where he was abbot, i. e. of Cluainenach or Desert- Angus, bishop and abbot being often used as synonymous terms in those early times. He died, according to the martyrologlsts, on Friday the llth of March, but the year is not mentioned; yet, as the 1 1th of March feU on a Friday, or the feria sexta, in the years 819, 824, and 830, it may be conjectured that he died in one of these years. He wrote a Martyrology in verse, much esteemed, with notes, also supposed to be written by himself, recording added particulars of the saints there eulogized. He also compiled a Martyrology in prose, in which work he was assisted by the abbot Moelruan, and the names of both authors are affixed to the work. His other works are, De Sanctis Hibernice, Lib. v., and A History af the Old Testament, in very exceUent metre; a Miscellany, in prose and verse, Latin and Irish, caUed Psalter Narana, is also attributed to him. d^otfiaUius* Fothadius, called Fothadius de Canonibus, from his extensive knowledge of law, was contemporary vrith .^ngus. About the year 799, when Aid-Omidhe had summoned the prorinces of Ulster, Mun ster, and Connaught, with their respective clergy, to join with him in fighting against Leinster, the clergy petitioned the king to be in future exempted from serving In such expeditions ; when he ordered that Fothadius should be consulted upon the subject, and promised to concur with his decision, whatever it might be. He gave sentence for the clergy; and they accordingly obtained the document Opuscu lum pro Cleri Defensione Immunitate, by which they were for ever after freed from such compulsory warfare. The saints of this period might easily occupy the whole space assigned to this work. We may weU omit the history of the vener able St Sith, or O'Sith, who, when the Danes cut off her head, had the presence of mind to pick it up, put it under her arm, and, with a heroism truly marvellous on such a trying emergency, carry It to the church door, where, her strength naturally faUing her, she fell down and is supposed to have died ! For similar reasons we pass the detail of the removal of the ponderous antiquities of Stonehenge from a mountain of Kildare, by the sage advice of " one Merlin of Worcester, a prophet, a searcher of antiquities, and a man of rare gifts;" nor shall we note the wars which made this solid acquisition costly to king 154 ecclesiastical and literary series. [First Arthur, and deluged Ireland with blood in the reign of her heroic king, GUlomer, who was afterwards one of the knights of the famous Round Table, instituted by his Ulustrious enemy. Here, too, we must resist the temptation to relate the story of the fanious knight, Mur rough, brother to the queen of Leinster, who fought a fierce combat with Sir Tristrem, from whom he received his death wound. _ From this, had our plan admitted, with equal aptness and probability might we follow the romantic history of the adventures of Sir Tristrem, and the Irish princess, famiUar to aU our readers by the title of La beUe Isod, rather famed for her beauty than her sanctity. It may be here men tioned, that her husband, or her father, king Anguish, buJt in her honour a chapel, with a viUage, which Is yet caUed Chapel Izod, near Dublin. In these omissions there is Uttle to regret: and withm the limits of a work which is designed to include more than fifteen centu ries, we cannot avoid being from page to page painfully reminded of the necessity of more important omissions. We have indeed had too much occasion to regret the scantiness and indistinctness of our mate rials, for the notice of those truly iUustrious persons, the fathers of our early church, who were the light and ornament of the remote period in which they lived, and whose deeds are remembered in heaven, though nearly lost in the perishable records of this world's honour. We shall close the biography of this period with the ancient Itine rary of king Alfred in Ireland. " I found in the fair Inisfail In Ireland while in exile. Many women, no silly crowd. Many laics, many clerics. " I found iu each province Of the five provinces of Ireland, Both in church and state. Much of food, much of raiment. " I found gold and silver, I found honey and wheat, I found affection with the people of God, I found banquets and cities. " I found in Armagh the splendid. Meekness, wisdom, circumspection. Fasting, in obedience to the Son of God, Noble prosperous sages. " I found in each great church. Whether internal, on shore or island. Learning, wisdom, devotion to God, Holy welcorae and protection. " I found tbe lay monies Of alms the active advocates. And, in proper order with them. The Scriptures without corruption. " I found in Munster without (geis) prohibition, Kings, queens, and royal bards. In every species of poetry well skilled Happiness, comfort, ple.isure. Period.] fothadius. 155 " I found in Conact, famed for justice, Affluence, milk in abundance. Hospitality, lasting vigour, fame — In this territory of Croghan* of heroes. " I found in the country of Connall (Tirconnell) Brave victorious heroes. Fierce men of fair complexion. The high stars of Ireland. " I found in the province Ulster Long blooming beauty, hereditary vigour. Young scions of energy, Though fair, yet fit for war, and brave. " I found in the territory of Boyle * * * (manuscript effaced,) Brehons, Erenachs, palaces. Good military weapons, active horsemen. ' ' I found in the fair-surfaced Leinster, From Dublin to Slewmargy, Long-living men, health, prosperity. Bravery, hardihood, traific. " I found from Ara to Gle, In the rich country of Ossory, Sweet fruit, strict jurisdiction. Men of truth, chess playing. " I found in the great fortressf of Meath Valour, hospitality, and truth. Bravery, purity, and mirth — The protection of all Ireland. " I found the aged of strict morals, The historians recording truth : Each good, each benefit that I have sung, In Ireland have I seen." * Croghan was the royal palace of Connaught ; hence the province was fre quently called by the poets, " the country of Croghan." f Alluding to Tara, in which the monarch of Ireland lived. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION TO SECOND PERIOD, EXTF.iMHNU FROM THE DANISH INVASIONS TO THE BATTLE OF CLONTARF. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 33(!5t(nsu(g8£D( Irt^fimen WHO FLOURISHED DURING THAT PERIOD. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION SECOND PERIOD. state of the Country at the arrival of the Norwegians — Traditions concerning their ancient Origin — Authentic History — Their Religion — Earlier Connexions with England — With Ireland — Their Invasions during this Period — General Re flections. From the general substance of the preceding pages, it will have been observed that, from the introduction of Christianity to the period on which we are about to enter, our history is chiefly to be characterized as ecclesiastical. During this long interval, the literature and cl^vUi- zation of the country derived their form and chief source from the numerous ecclesiastical communities which covered the island, and exerted the predominating influences over manners and events. The Irish church, till the 12th century, independent In its government and discipline, and for a long period unrislted by the deteriorating influ ences which were from age to age encrusting vrith corruptions the body of the Christian churches, continued long to be a centre of light to this island, and a pilgrimage of talent and Christian zeal to the better spirits of the surrounding countries. Paganism had, in this interval, altogether disappeared before the laborious and successfiU efforts of that Ulustrious multitude of holy men, of a few of whom we have given imperfect sketches, and who are not inappropriately honoured with the high title of " saints." Numerous monasteries and churches, though of a rude structure and mean materials covered the land ; and from these the whole of Europe received a light of Divine knowledge, which was not exceeded by the ministry of any other church. There was yet a wide and dark interval between the knowledge of the church and that of the secular classes ; which gives to the latter, as compared with the former, the character of extreme barbarism : and, from this cause there is, in all that remains of the history and monuments of the time, a singular mixture of barbar ism and refinement, which has had the effect of casting doubt, difii- culty, and varying interpretation upon the whole. But the records, the literature, and the architectural remains, speak unequivocally as to the antiquities of the church, and, in a vast variety of instances, the an cient record is confirmed by the monument. The ancient fields of Glendaloch and Clonmacnoise, the venerable remains of KUdare, and hundreds of other venerable ruins, confirm the legends and traditions 160 historical introduction of ancient time ; although the dwellings of ciril strength, the homes of princes, the palaces of monarchs, and the halls of ancient national power, have melted away, as the fiesh is mouldered from the bones of other generations. The institutions of the country, partly the remains of a still more ancient state of things, partly of the self propagating and continuing property of all institutions, and perhaps in a greater measure of the diffusive counsel and infiuence of a national church, were not desti tute of ¦wisdom and civil efficacy to control and regulate the move ments of a barbaric race ; for, such were the chiefs and stUl more the population of a country In which the chief pursuits were war and the chase, the homely and simple elements of the savage state. The re mains of the ancient codes, the existence of which was long disputed, but which have now been placed out of doubt by the translations of VaUancey, O'Conor, and others, manifest beyond all question much legislative wisdom; and indicate, by their skill and by their pecuUar structure, the exercise of much knowledge engaged in adapting legis lation to a state of society seemingly more primitive and rude than such knowledge seems to imply. The ports of Ireland were as dis tinguished by commercial resort, as her church by superior endow ments in hoUness and wisdom. The arts were cultivated; and, though imperfect and barbaric, yet in a state of advance which undeniably attests a considerable degree of progress in clviUzation. This state of things was, however, to be interrupted by a new suc cession of changes from without, which were thenceforward to follow each other with an increasing force and extent, vrithout any inter mission, until they reduced this island to a sad but singular example of the combined effect of all the disastrous causes which contribute to the decay of nations. We have already observed* the peculiarity arising from geogra phical position, by which, whUe this island was protected from the vast and sweeping wave of universal movement by whieh the ancient structure of society was overthrown ; it was, at the same time, exposed to those minor eddies of the same wave, which found their way through the channel of navigation and commerce. Instead of the invading horde, of which the columns extended through pro^vinces, and which have been described as drinking up the rivers on their desolatmg march, the ports of Ireland, from time to time, through a long period, continued to be risited by the seafaring Phoenician, and next by the Northern adventurer; and was thus successively, as long as tradi tion can trace back, the resort of trade or invasion, each, in its turn, limited by the scanty resources of the nautical science of those periods. Of such communications the effects must have needs been slow in progress, and partial in extent. The changes of manner and opinion introduced, must have blended themselves slowly with the ancient fabric of custom; and conqueror or colonist must be supposed to have acquired at least as much as they can have communicated. From such a course, little effect of any kind might seem to be deriva ble ; but the inference is different when we refer to the operation of * First Introduction. to second period. 161 the continued state of strife, terror, and insecurity now to be described. This unhappy result is mainly to be traced to the invasions of the Scandinavian pirates, who, for so many centuries, continued to make our shores a principal resort. Some account of these wUl, therefore, form an appropriate preface to a period chiefly memorable for their actions. Among the different races who are known, or supposed, to have at any period found their way to this island, none have a more decided claim on our notice, than the people now known by the common appeUation of Danes. For ages the chief occupants of the surrounding seas, and traders to our ports — ^they became at last a large integral portion of our population, and continued to maintain a doubtful struggle, of various success, for the possession of the supremacy of the land, untU they were ultimately subdued and blended with the native population, under the ascendancy of more powerful invaders. During the whole of this period, their history takes the lead of that of the native races, with whose maimers and monuments their remains are stUl inextricably blended. Danish Antiquity. — Of the northern nations which exercised so large an influence on the destinies of the Roman empire, the know ledge of the most accurate of the Roman historians was confused and conjectural. Of the mingled races which composed the population of their British, German, and Gaulish territories, their knowledge was more inadequate stUl. In these, the various tribes of Goth and Celt, became variously mixed up, and successive migrations, which, as they poured on through a long period of ages, found kindred still and the remembrances of common custom. The elements of language, the ancient traditions, the mythological system: the only materials (such as they are) of a more accurate knowledge were beyond their reach. They only knew them as the tempest is known by the point of the compass, from which it carries menace and devastation ; they were barbarians from the unexplored climates of the north. Thus the Celt, Goth, and Tartar are confused ; and Zosimus, a writer of the third century, calls aU by the common name of Scythian. The ancestors of this race soon extended their conquests, and branched into -widely spreading affinities, and into nations confused under many names ; and to find the clue of probable tradition, we must look chiefly to the natives themselves. The northern historians go no farther back than the descent of Odin, who, about 70 years before the Christian era,* led from Asia a power ful tribe of the Indo-Scythian race, and expeUed the ancient inhabi tants of the shores of the Baltic. From this period the history of the Scandinavians assumes a form such as belongs to the earliest periods of the records of nations — that is to say, imperfect, conjectural, and legendary: overlaid with superstitions and visionary genealogies. The earliest historian who is entitled to be named in our summary notice, is Saxo Grainmaticus,"|- whose name is famUiar to the reader, as occurring in every English history: Saxo carries back the history of the Danish kings to a period far beyond the range of probabUity. * Toriaeus. Mallet. ¦f Saxo was called Grammaticus from his learning; he lived in the 12th century. VOL. I. L 162 historical introduction His materials were the hymns of the bards, in which they sung the praises, and narrated the exploits, of their leaders and heroes ; secondly, from ancient inscriptions on the rocks, which are stUl discovered in the north, as, indeed, they are in every ancient country ; and last, from the Icelandic chronicles, and the accounts he received from native scholars. It wiU be needless here to dweU on the objections to these sources. The Icelandic chronicles, which are by far the least affected by defect and corruption, are, to a comparatively recent period, little worthy of trust : largely alloyed with poetic allegory, and mythological marvel, they cannot be said to commence tUl after the establishment of Christianity in those northern regions. According to this statement, a long and dark chasm separates the time of Odin from the period of trustworthy history (about eleven centuries). This long interval is fiUed up by tradition, and the songs of the Scalds. We should not pass on without a few words to gratify the curiosity of our reader, as to the importance here assigned to an island apparently so obscure and isolated as Iceland. This island, made additionally interesting to the Irish antiquary by the traditions and ancient remains which indicate, unquestionably, an early communica tion with Ireland, was early famous for the cultivation of History and Poetry: the former perhaps consequent on the latter, and both prac tised by a class known by the name of Scalds. The islanders are said to have been a colony from Norway, who, late In the 9th century, fled from the tyranny of Harold Harfagre ; and who stUl continued to hold intercourse with their parent land. Among these, in the quiet seclu sion of their island, it seems probable that the arts then existing should flourish, and that records coUected from tradition should assume some thing of a permanent form. Their History On the first period of the history of these nations, there does not appear much difference. The main incidents of Odin's life are tolerably certain, and derive some confirmation from their con nexion with the authentic history of Rome in the time of JuUus Caesar. A few years before the birth of Christ, Mithridates, the king of Pontus (now Georgia), pursued by the rictorious legions of Pompey, had contrived to rouse to arms against his invader, the numerous and formidable races who inhabited the surrounding districts of Armenia, Cappadocia, Iberia, and other Persian prorinces, forming the frontier between it and Scythia. The alliance was, however, unequal to resist the ascendance of the Roman arms; MIthridates was slain, and the tribes which had espoused his fortune were subjected to the law of conquest. From this calamity, however, multitudes withdrew towards the more impenetrable regions of Scythia. Of these fugitives, we are told by Snorro the earliest historian of Norway, Odin, whose name was originally SIgge, was a leader. Desirous to place himself and his fol lowers, beyond the far extending grasp of Roman conquest, he led his army away into the northern regions of Europe, subduing on his march the earlier inhabitants, and settling on his sons the different kingdoms thus acquired. Having thus effected settlements in Saxony, West phalia, Franconia, and part of Russia, he went on into the realms of Scandinavia, and conquering wherever he went, obtained and settled in like manner the sovereignty of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. to second period. 163 Having acquired absolute dominion over these countries, he Intro duced the laws and religion of his own country; and having himself assumed the name of its chief god, Woden or Odin, he received divine honours from aU the surrounding princes. These arrangements being fully completed, he perceived symptoms of the approach of death, but resolving not to die by a lingering disease, and desirous to crown his achievements by a heroic example, he assembled his sons and followers, and in their presence inflicted on himself nine wounds in the form of a circle. While dying he told them that he was returning into Scythia, to assume his place at the eternal banquet of the gods, where he would receive with honour the brave who should fall in the ranks of war. This statement could be confirmed from many indirect authorities and coincidences, with which the Icelandic annalists could not have been acquainted. Travellers of modern times have frequently re marked and described the close resemblances long preserved between the manners and customs of Norway and Sweden, and those of the Georgians. Such agreements are in their nature transient, but the antiquities of both countries present abundant and distinct confirma tions. If, however, this link of descent be admitted, on the ground of the general consent of historians : the next, when we state the dogmas of their religion, wUl present itself unlocked for to the reader of EngUsh history in its most accessible forms: the coincidence between the ancient Danish and Anglo-Saxon creeds is unquestioned: the romance of Ivanhoe must have made it universaUy known to aU readers. In the simplicity of the primitive structures of society, the maimers and institutions of nations were either largely modified by their religious notions, or entirely formed from them; and to this latter class may be referred the manners and institutions of the Danes and Saxons. The history of their gods, and the description of their notions of worship, wiU afford the clearest ideas of the people them selves. Religion — Their mythology, derised by the policy of their warlike leader, had for its main object to create a nation of warriors, bound by a religious veneration to their founder's race, enthusiastic in their love of war, and prodigal of their blood. It was necessarily built on their primitive Persian creed, and naturaUy ornamented by Eastern imagination. Of such a system, the gods were Odin and his sons, Thor, &c., with other inferior dirinltles. The most pleasing sacrifice to these was the death of an enemy, and their altar was the field of battle. To die in peace, by a natural death, was considered by them as the worst of evil and disgrace, and they who fell in battle, accord ing to the institution of Odin, were conducted by the Dysae to their heaven Valhalla, where the fortunate spirits of the brave passed their mornings in the stormy delights of a fierce and bloody fight, in which they enjoyed, in superhuman perfection, the luxury of being cut to pieces. The body thus dismembered, came together again in a state of perfect health, and with an excellent appetite for supper — the next great reward and pleasure of the brave. At this meal they passed the aftemoon and night, feasting on the boar Serlmner, who haring thus been, like his eaters, cut piecemeal, and passed through the added 164 historical introduction delights of mastication and digestion, was like them also whole, and fresh as ever for the chase and revel of the foUowing day. The im mortal diet was washed down by endless draughts of mead, miUced from a she-goat, in sufficient quantity to make them aU dead drunk. This they drank out of the skulls of their enemies. This state was to continue until, at some period in remote futurity, the powers of evil, led on by the dreadful giant Lok, were to prevail over the gods of ValhaUa: a notion which wUl remind the reader of the similar feature of Indian mythology, brought out into such rivid and startling effect by Mr Southey, in his Curse of Kehama. In strict keeping with the same impressive mythology, in which the innate superstition of the mind is touched on its deepest chord, by the mysterious impression of fate brooding with terrific indistinctness in the dark distance of futurity, the gods of ValhaUa knew their doom from oracles ; and not being able to avert it, they exerted their power over its instrumental agents, the chUdren of Lok, by consigning them to places of imprison ment, ifrom which they should not escape for ages. Of these places, the most graphic description we have met, is from Mr Southey's account of the religion of the Danes ; these we shall present to our reader in his language : — " This Loke had three dreadful offspring hy a giantess. The wolf Fenris was one, the Great Serpent was the second, and Hela, or Death, the third." " Hela he placed in Rifleheim, and appointed her to govern the nine dolorous worlds, to which aU who die of sickness or old age are fated. Grief is her hall and Famine her table. Hunger her knife. Delay and Slackness her servants, Faintness her porch, and Precipice her gate ; Cursing and Howling are her tent, and her bed Is Sickness and Pain. The Great Serpent he threw into the middle of the ocean ; but there the monster grew tUl, with his lengfth, he encom-passed the whole globe of the earth. The wolf Fenris they bred up for a while among them, and then by treachery bound him in an enchanted chain, fastened it to a rock, and sunk him deep in the earth. The gods also imprisoned Loke in a cavern, and suspended a snake over his head, whose venom feU drop by drop upon his face. The deceit and cruelty which the gods used against this race could not, however, change that order of events which the oracles had foretold; that dreadful time, which is called the twUight of the gods, must at length arise. Loke and the wolf Fenris wUl then break loose, and, with the Great Serpent, and the Giants of the frost, and Sm-tur with his fiery sword, and all the powers of Muspelheim, pass over the bridge of heaven, which wUl break beneath them. The gods and all the heroes of Valhalla vrill give them battle. Thor, the strongest of the race of Odin, wiU slay the great serpent, but be himself suffocated hy the floods of poison which the monster vomits forth. Loke and Hiem- dale will kill each other. The wolf Fenris, after devom-ing the sun, wiU devour Odin also, and himself be rent in pieces by Vidac, the son of Odin; and Surtur vrith his fires wUl consume the whole world — gods, heroes, and men, perishing in the conflagration. Another and a bet ter earth will afterwards arise — another sun, other gods, and a hap pier race of men." Such is a summary but correct outline of the Danish mythology. Among its practical tenets, the reader wUl have been struck by 6ne which appears the same in principle with that to second period. 165 peculiar tenet of the Koran, which once gave its fearful edge of power to the desolating fanaticism of the Turkish hordes. The creed which held forth a state of perfect enjoyment according to the tastes and passions of its believers, as the exclusive reward of those who died in battle, and appended the penalty of its heU to a peaceful death, was the ef&cient principle of a barbarian valour, scarcely to be resisted by those who regarded life as a certain good and death as an evU. The Dane looked on a peaceful death as the greatest evil, and sought to obviate its dreadful consequences by a voluntary and violent death. " A bay in Sweden," writes Mr Southey, " surrounded by high rocks, which was one of the places frequented for this purpose, is still caUed the hall of Odin." Such was the mythology which may be traced, with some sUght modiflcations, in the early history of the Saxon and Scandinavian races. If we compare the incidents of their history, with those of the antiquity of the Irish race, we are met by remarkable coincidences and contrasts. On this point, before proceeding further, we think it right to remark, that whUe we agree with those writers who have found, in the differences between the ancient Celtic and these northern superstitions, the most intelligible marks of a different origin, we are yet inclined to receive the inference with much quali fication. In both we apprehend that the characters of an earlier com mon origin are sufficiently plain. The Celts appear to have retained in a purer form the elementary superstitions of the East, which tbe Goths overlaid with the structure of a political system, of which the beg^innings can be discerned in the institutions of a warlike settleinent, and of which the legendary additions of Scaldic poetry, was the suc cessive gro-svth from the genius and superstitions of after ages. While ¦the creed of the Celt, retaining the characters of primeval idolatry, can point by point be compared with the mythology and ritual of ancient Persia, that of the Scandinarian is with still greater ease traceable to the deification of its founder and his sons, with the laws and customs which their inventors chose to clothe in the more per manent garb of a religion. While the Celts adored the celestial luminaries, and either worshipped or regarded as sacred the element of fire, attached a solemn and impervious mystery to their sacred rites, and adopted the refined Eastern creed of absorption or transmigration ; the Scandinarian, more physical in his mythology, and more strictly adapting his notions of human destination to the grosser purpose and poUcy of this life, derised a religion more practical and cbnformable to human pursuits and duties, hopes, fears, and desires. Their chief gods were thus, in the first place, the sun and moon, remains of a more primitive belief; to these were added the later elements of this more peculiar superstition, less elemental and refined, and yet not present- mg less a-Hrful and magnificent images to the imagination. The remains and traditions from which the earliest conjectures can be formed of the inhabitants of Ireland antecedent to the First Period of our work — seem to indicate a combination of the Scythian mingled vrith some former race. And it is not improbable that a colony of the ancestors of the Danes were, in some simpler stage of their national state, blended with the primitive Irish: leaving thus the 166 historical introduction customs and remains which actually seem to indicate such a combina tion. " The fertUe Erin," says a northern writer, " was long the great resort of the Scandinavians."* Lochlin, the Celtic name of Scandinavia, by which it is so often named in the remains of Scottish and Irish poetry — seems to affirm such an intimacy to have existed. The poems of Ossian or Macpherson (to the point here in question it is indifferent, as the ground is unquestionably Irish), and Highland tradition and poetry, strongly corroborate the supposition; to this is to be added the general consent of the earliest traditions : and lastly, the opinion of the most industrious and informed writers, who have given their time and thoughts to this class of investigations. The Scandinavian legends contain as distinct affirmations of the fact of this early intercourse, as the legends and ancient annals of Ireland ; and whUe In a former chapter we were engaged in the view of remains which seemed to confirm the traditions of an Eastern origin and a Phoenician intercourse, we were lost in every direction among monuments of nearly equal antiquity, which seem, with not Inferior evidence, to indicate the intermixture of a northern race. The mysteries of the Edda seem to have left their traces among the tracks of the Oriental worshippers of the Sabean creed, and — having perhaps clashed among the sects of times antecedent to distinct tradition — to have left remains equaUy to perplex the faith and embroil the creeds of antiquarian scholars and theorists. This, indeed, is one of the main difficulties of Irish antiquity : the heterogeneous cha racter of its indications not only suggest and support the spirit of con troversy, but, what is far worse, supply, in a very unusual degree, ma terial for the most contradictory theories. Whether or not the Loch- landers were the same Danish race who, in the 8th century, became so formidable to the British isles, may be a difficult, and is perhaps a trifling question; but there is no doubt that it designated some northern race in the earliest traditions of Ireland. To prove that these were the Danes many ancient authorities have been advanced; but these are justly affirmed to be simply the copyists of a single writer, himself not to be respected as an authority .f In a previous part of this volume, we have already intimated our belief, formed on the perusal of various and opposing writers, that the peculiarities of disagreement, on the evidence of which they have inferred generic distinctions, in reality but indicate the degree of separation in the pedigree of nations; whUe the analogies and agreements, many of which can neither be referred to accident nor resolved in any gene ral law of nature, must (unless by the abandonment of aU grounds of investigation) be admitted as derived from the same original som-ce. And before leaving the subject, we cannot refrain from observing, that amongst the writers who have expressly engaged in inquiries upon this difficult and obscure subject, by far the greater number, if not all, seem to be embarrassed by a false assumption, either expressed or understood, which has had the effect of imparting a fallacy to theii- speculations, and embarrassed them in needless difficulties. To state this distinctly might require a wider digression tban we can here afford. The learned antiquary too often appears to labour under an * Cited by Mr Mooro. f Sa.vo Grammaticus. to second period. 167 Impression, that he must attain the objects of his inquiry, only by such reasons and. authorities as may not be irreconcilable with the specu lations and theories of phUosophers, whose reasonings are grounded in denials of authority, and lead to no conclusion. There appears to be established a tacit consent that nothing Is to be admitted but re condite and unsettled authorities : and nothing concluded inconsistent with unascertained theories. The very Christian divine, who in his pulpit stands upon the authority of the inspired writings as the im movable basis of Divine truth, fixed as the foundations of the universe, but too often labours under the gross inconsistency of imagining, that in questions of ancient history, this one only.unexceptionably authentic basis of such questions is to be thrown overboard in deference to in quirers, to whom least of all Is due on the score of soundness or know ledge ; and appears to have taken for granted, that the accounts which are true in subjects of religion, might be questionable In history. In consequence of this most rash and unjustifiable faUacy, it has become customary amongst modern inquirers to pursue their speculations either in direct or indirect opposition to two ftindamental facts, which are the only certain and tangible first principles of ancient history. These are, first, that all races of mankind are from one race, whose descent and first dirisions are recorded with a certainty as unerring as the reigns of the lines of Tudor, Stewart, and Hanover; and secondly, that all creeds and old mythologies have their foundations in one original religion, and are but variously modified branches of the same errors. From the neglect of these principles has arisen the confusion of opinions, and the contradictory language and reasoning of writers, upon the various questions which we have been obliged to touch upon in this volume far too glancingly for the difficult and per plexed nature of this subject of national antiquity. We shall therefore, we trust, be excused if we endeavour briefly to explain the application of these two fundamental data. If we set out with the assumption of the truth of the Pentateuch, a rule of reason presents itself, which is verified by aU that is authentic fact in the history of nations : and by this rule the most perplexing confusion of indications becomes simply ex plicable, and the learned gentlemen who pelt each other with misplaced monuments, and confute each other in very good Gothic, Celtic, or Phoenician, may shake hands, and be reconciled in the confidence of a common ancestry. Descended from a common origin in the East, the different races of mankind, as earlier periods of their history are ap proached, present common characters to the inquirer. Descending along the stream of ages, as new customs and varied elements of ciri- lization are acquired from the accidents of locality and the varying circumstances and combinations which time brings forth, wide diver sities of national character become developed, so far different as to justify the cursory inquirer in a notion of a total difference of origin and descent; while, at the same time, the remains of aboriginal cus tom, tradition, mythology, and language, can be traced ; and transfor mations, wide in proportion as time and circumstances tend to vary them, remain to present the materials of discussion and theory. From these remains, on a partial view. It Is evident how false inferences may be drawn, as to the immediate connexion between any two races 168 historical introduction of a common stock, which may chance to become subjects of inquiry. Hence one vast source of uncertainty. Hence the remoter affinities of language, from which so much specious inference has been drawn, to the great discredit of etymology. SimUarly the eridence to be de rived from the early forms of human mythology, are rendered un certain by a consideration not resting on any doubtful inquiry: the certainty of the fundamental elements of aU religion being derived from one, and the high probabUity of much being retained in common by many. The separations of creed need not be supposed to have been all sudden ramifications from this primal form; for such is not the true descent of human opinion. A few great leading branches were, by many degrees and in the course of many vicissitudes, ramified into further forms, distinguished by slight shades of beUef. In the long lapse of ages, causes simUar to those from which differing national states have been formed, under the varied control of cUmate, produce, position, and accident, transformed creeds founded on the same basis into widely differing religious beliefs. To pursue the subject further would be digressive, but the train is obvious which connects it -vrith the whole of our remarks. Danish Invasions in the 8th Century. — The race of invaders who occupy the most prominent position in our present period, though little subject to any difficult or doubtful inquiry, are left in considerable ob scurity by the Irish annalists, who, until a later period, only mention them under the appeUation of strangers, GaUs, GentUes, dweUers on the lakes, or pirates. Their first communication with our shores, to whatever period it may be referred, was early. In the middle, and towards the end of the 8th century, however, their naval power had usurped the northern seas and harbours ; and their flag, unrivalled on the deep, was the terror of every coast. Commerce had not then established its equitable conventions, nor had Christianity yet diffused its humanizing moral sense : the chief object of narigation was piracy, and piracy was not lield dishonourable. The least formidable end of the naval expedition was colonization — seldom to be effected -without bloodshed. Accordingly, both the English and Irish history of this period derive their chief features from the struggles of the inhabitants of either country, against the continued successive aggressions and territorial usurpations of these strangers. Often appearing in smaU parties, they surprised the coasts ; and, before resistance could be col lected, the villages and churches were blazing, and the spoU and cap tives on the sea with their captors. At times availing themselves of the dissensions of the native chiefs or the wars of petty kings, they espoused the party that hatd most to offer or least to lose, and obtained advantages from both. But the broader features of the history of that period, are the results of the large settlements thev effected in the British isles. Hardly had the possession of Britain been left un occupied by the Roman empire, then in its decline, when the Saxons, a branch of the same Scandinavian race, obtained the mastery of the island ; nor were they weU settled In their possession, when they were followed by their Danish and Norwegian kindred. In 789 and 832 they had made destructive attacks upon the coast. In 835 they effected a still more formidable landing. Early in the course of this to second period. 169 century, they were masters of the northern provinces; and, in the 10th and llth centuries, their kings sat upon the throne of England. In Ireland the incidents in their history are contemporary with these. In the reign of Aidan Ornidhe their approaches began to take a more formidable character than they had previously assumed. In 807 they landed in considerable force ; and, entering Connaught, ravaged the country as far as Roscommon, which they burnt; and in 818 they had, after different struggles of varying fortune, obtained settlements and a tyrannical ascendancy in the island. The tyrant Turgesius then commenced a reign of thirty years ; and that unhappy series of calamitous burnings and spoliations, which form so much of our his tory for the two following centuries, had set in. During the course of these disastrous risitations, it should be ob served, that they were rendered additionally destructive and difficult to be guarded against, by the nature of the Danish armaments. Un- combined by the connecting principle of any single or supreme com mand, they consisted of distinct piratical associations, under the separate conduct of the chiefs who were, by wealth or influence, enabled to coUect under their flag a sufficient band of these ferocious adventurers. From this it constantly occurred, that one strong body of spoilers was followed by another, and that their enterprises were too uncertain and desultory to be guarded against, or, were there the force and the wUl, to be met by any uniform and systematic resist ance ; while they were stUl fully strong enough for the insurance of general success. General Remarks on this Period. — The few and uncertain lights to be derived from the annalists of this period, and the stiU less distinct gleams of Irish tradition to be extracted from ancient foreign writers, combine to indicate a state of intemal disorder, not more the result of foreign invasions and the usurpations of the Ostmen or Danes, than of the tyranny and unchecked ambition of the native rulers. If the Danish pagan obeyed the love of plunder, or the -vindic tive impulses of continued aggression and resistance, which prompted him to carry fire and slaughter into the sacred institutions of a rehgion which he despised: the profane contempt of sacred things, so much at aU times the ruling impulse of the secular spirit, was careless to pro tect them. But it was more particularly reserved for the early part of the 9th century, to exhibit a native race of kings contending with the sacrilegious Dane in the riolation of church property, and in dis regard of the sanctity of religious communities. What the Dane left behind in the fulness of spoliation, the native leader gleaned with cupidity as relentless. It would be difficult to select a fact more ex planatory of the calamities of this disastrous era. A contempt for religion deprives the land of its protecting influences. The spoUers of the church can have no reverence for God, and are, in any time, little likely to be restrained by any consideration. It is religion only, protecting and equalizing in proportion to its purity and freedom from error, which presents stiU, in every form of which Christian truth is the basis, a protecting shelter to the rights and personal immunities of that crowd, which never can have any other permanent protection. In the laws of man there is neither stability against popular encroach- 170 historical introduction ment, nor the usurpations of power, nor the corruptions of abuse; and, while the very authorities by which alone laws can be preserved are also the shelter of their privUeged abuses, the resistance of popular combination, however overwhelming in Its ebullitions, has in it neither the wisdom which regards right nor the permanence which can secure it. Opinion Itself, and the respect for public feeling, had it existed in those less civilized periods as a principle, is still dependent on the know ledge and certainty of the facts which must be the basis of that feel ing or opinion ; nor is there in the vride range of human notions one so capable of exerting an equalizing, protecting, and restraining influ ence as religion. In its nature susceptible of every modification which the varied stages of human progress may require, its entire power is derived from its immediate operation on the first principle of human action — affecting the motive before it condemns or approves the act. Its seat of power is the conscience ; and it is not more effective In resisting evil than, with a power unknown to human enactments, in enforcing duty. These considerations become the more apparently applicable, on the stricter inspection of the state of Ireland through the lOth century. It was a period replete with aU the elements of social transition; and, considering the state of the national institutions, no change that could well have happened can be now regarded with reasonable regret. A religion, degenerated into superstition, had lost its vital principle and conservative Influences ; it could neither protect itself nor give shelter to the people. The kings were tyrants, the people slaves, and the land torn asunder in a contest between the tyrant and the invader. Sometimes a more warlike chieftain succeeded for a time in repeUing an aggressor who was not to be whoUy arrested in a progress founded on superior arms and civUization: but the progress of the Danes was strictly progressive in its character ; and, if the EngUsh had not some centuries after obtained possession of the land, the irresistible course of causes must have given it to them. The civUization which tradition and the erideqce of national remains claim for this country at early periods, has in some degree stood in the way of the historian who has endeavoured to reconcUe it with the more authentic barbarism of later times. But however the facts may be settled, there is no difficulty in the commentary. Allow ing aU that the most Imaginative antiquary wUl presume to claim for the brightest age of Irish civilization — and it is stiU but something comparative between a mUder barbarism and the dark state of the surrounding nations, had it even continued unimpaired In positive lustre — ^yet the progress of nations had attained a stage in which the comparison changed sides, and the poetry and poUty of our anti quity stood anildst another order of things, like a petrifaction of the past amidst the living forms of the present, until swept away by surround ing movements, and the waters of change from without. The law of national being, by which no nation can stand stIU amid the universal progress of surrounding nations, operated even at this eai-ly period as it must sooner or later operate ; but the civUization of the invader was, m some respects, on the same level with, and in others below, the nation they aimed to obtain possession of. Advanced in arms, ^m* TO SECOND period. 171 merce, and the arts of life, they were still, like the natives, rude and incapable of comprehending or acting on the more enlarged and toler ant principles of humanity and justice. Hence their occupation of such portions of the country as they obtained, was held by riolence and the pressure of continued encroachment and outrage. The occupation of Ireland by the Danes may be regarded as a step of transition in the same progress, by which it afterwards became sub ject to the power of England. But while the unprogressive character of the native Irish exposed their country, at aU times, more peculiarly to the usurpation of other nations, it also, in some degree, stood in the way of that amelioration which, under favourable circumstances, is to be derived from the mixture with a more civilized population. The native Irish character, separated by strong peculiarities, refused the tinge of other habits and foreign affinities of feeUng ; and, with their native talents and natural fine qualities, continued still but barbarians of a subtler kind. Were it worth while, it would be easy to show, that in such a state of things the advance of the social system must have been slow, and that vast changes nearly revolutionary in their nature must have occurred, to enable freland to take a place in the ranks of those nations which, with lesser seeming advantages, were at the same time passing onward, through many changes, into the form which they have at present. But it wiU be enough for our purpose, to mark the actual course of events. In England the national changes, from which the stages of her history are reckoned, were in their general character diffusive and total. However vast and violent may have been the havoc with which they seem to have overwhelmed the nation, It was yet pro longed by no dirided elements of internal action. The result was, a long interval of quiet ; and the natural tendency of even the most im perfect institutions to progress, was suffered to work on for ages, and to produce their effects in the growth of the social frame. But in Ireland it was far otherwise. All the interruptions which disturbed her social advance were partial and indecisive. Too strong to be repressed and too weak to become total, the result was a national struggle prolonged through ages — a slow and lingering revolution : destructive not only by the social wreck, but by the interruption to progress It caused, it not only impaired the health, but dwarfed the growth. By their native bravery repressing the advances, and often nearly arresting the progress, of their Danish neighbours — but still neither acquiring their commercial industry or their military discipline — they continued, through the whole of the Danish period, to retrograde in power and knowledge ; untU the English found them without the power, means, or knowledge of resistance; and, in point of fact, owing the most effectual defences, which in some measure retarded the success of a small handful of adventurers, to the vigour and skill of their Danish countrymen. Of these the history is in every way interesting. It must ever be felt to hold an important place In the history of a country which, of aU others, is best worthy of the historian's attention — for its obscure connexion with antiquity, for the curious anomalies it offers to inquiry, and for the singular record it contains of a romantic and unfortunate people. 172 POLITICAL series. [SeCOND Unhappily, the history of a people who, for many centuries, held so large a place in this country, is far less distinct than should reasonably be expected. Neither the Irish annals— which on aU sub jects are meagre and, on such subjects as involved national feeling, prejudiced— give any distinct information; nor are the native records of these Danish adventurers more satisfactory. Distinct and fuU in formation was not indeed the produce of the era. History---the literature of modern times— was in its infancy. The records of the most advanced people of the time is meagre, corrupt, and defective. In Scandinavia, as In Ireland, if it embodied any thing more than the mere dry calendar of principal events, it was but the excrescence of superstition and poetic invention. But it must be observed, that the Danes, while in Ireland they were tyrants and intmders looked on with national hate ; at home they were viewed but as adventurers, whose fortunes led them to a remote soU. I. POLITICAL SERIES. A. D. 795. The monarchs of Ireland, unlike those of England, faU to present to the historian or the biographer the tangible g^asp of personal detaU, but pass, as confused and doubtful shadows, through the dense obscurity of our annalists; occasionaUy, and but occasionally, made risible by the reflection of some decisive event, and then as suddenly lost in the surrounding gloom of this dark period. FoUovring, of ne cessity, the nature of our material, we can but endeavour to mould the broken history of an ancient revolutionary war, into the consistent form of biography which belongs to our plan. The monarch Aidan was the son of NaU Freaseach (of the showers). In the year 797, he succeeded king Donchad in the monarchy. The events of his reign were of serious and fatal importance; though little can be recorded of his personal history, The capricious record of a byname informs the antiquary, that, " when weaned ft-om the breast of his nurse, he used himself to that unbecoming practice of sucking his fingers ;" — from this he obtained the name of Dorndighe, or Ornidhe: a name signifying "finger, or fist sucker." It was in the reign of Aidan that the order of events already de scribed in the Introduction had their beginning: though we have been obliged to dwell upon them already, yet, as the entire substance of the history of this reign, they must stUl detain om- attention. Among the earliest distinct statements of the Danish invasions in this monarch's reign, the first describes a numerous army landed from fifty vessels on the Munster coast. They were attacked by the king of that province, who repeUed them with slaughter to lieir ships. The discouragement of this defeat, kept them from any renewed at- Period.] A1D.\N. 173 tempts for six years. At the end of that time they again returned, and received another severe check, from the yet unbroken force of the Irish kings. Defeat had however but little power to deter these reckless adventurers, whose trade and pleasure it was to stake life freely upon the chance of gain. A rapid and destructive succession of descents and devastations, soon began to pursue each other, with increasing quickness and more fatal effect. Ainong their ravages are enumerated Inis Eibhin, the famous monastery of Banchor, Ross MaoUadh. The abbot of Banchor they slew; and the pious venera tion of holy men was outraged by the sacrUegious plunder of St Com gaU's shrine. Fleet foUowed fleet upon the first intimations of success — and the enumeration of their successes becomes a crowded list of the names of the churches they despoUed and burned. The people fled before them, hopeless alike of mercy or succour; and the few occasional checks they received served more to irritate than deter them. Their antipathy to Christianity seems, indeed, to form the aggravating character of these invasions and usurpations in Ireland, from this time, until their own conversion to Christianity gives a totaUy altered character to their history. Mr Moore cites the autho rity of DicuiU, an Irish geographer, who, writing in the beginning of the 9th century, describes the ruin they committed; and mentions, that in many of the smaller islands of the surrounding waters they did not " even leave a hermit alive." The geographer perhaps chiefly alludes to their attacks on Iona ; the sacred retirement of which they flooded with the blood of its pious inhabitants, of whom they massa cred sixty-three. The fact is singularly descriptive of mingled bar barism and fanaticism: — " For who would rob a hermit of his weeds. His few books, or his beads or maple dish, Or do his grey hairs any violence ?" These horrors were sadly aggravated by ciril discord. The wreck of churches and the devastation of districts had little power to arrest the purposes of ambition ahd enmity. The kings pursued their pri vate aims and resentments, and rivalled the invader in devastation; whUe destruction and debasement were rushing in upon them with overwhelming fury, they played their petty game, like chUdren fight ing for their toy in the midst of a conflagration. The monarch Aidan claims no honourable exception from our justice. The most marked action of his reign was an inroad into Leinster; in which he desolated the province with robbery and unsparing carnage of the people, whom he caused to be slaughtered wherever they chanced to be met with. The steps and example of Aidan were closely foUowed by the Danes, who plundered and burned whatever he spared. Aidan, after a troubled reign of twenty-two years, was slain in the battle of Da Fearta by Muolcanaigh. In this reign there is recorded a storm, in which 1010 persons were slain by lightning. 174 POLITICAL SERIES. [Second ®ottcSo68ar— JWionarcj^ , A.D. 819—832. On the death of the monarch Aidan, Conchobhar, or Conor, the son of Donchad, ascended the throne. The first year of his reign is sig nalized by an incident, which the annalists appear to attribute to " a miracle of God." An army of the northern O'Niells was led by Murtogh against the new monarch, Conor. On a plain near the HiU of the Horse, the two armies met; but, when they stood in front of each other, some strange and perhaps unaccountable impression seized on both bodies of warriors, and wholly arrested their Intended purpose. After gazing on each other for a short interval, both hosts at the same moment turned away, and thus separated without a blow. If this relation appears too marvellous, we can only meet the justifiable doubts of our reader, by reminding him of our canon of historical faith — ^that, after rejecting the im23robable part of such stories, there Is Uttle reasonable doubt of the truth of the main incident, which is, in common with many such, made unaccountable only by the suppression of detail. On the reign of this monarch there is little to be said, which wiU not fall more appropriately within the life of Turgesius. Conchobhar died In 832, and was succeeded in the monarchy by NIeU Calne, the son of Aidan Orduidhe or Aodh. The character and conduct of Niell has nothing in it worthy of special notice; and the principal events in which he is chiefiy concerned, may be related under the head of one of the inferior princes of Cashel. He was drowned in the river Calluin, and was succeeded by O'Melachlin, or Malachy, a ne phew of Conchobhar. d^eiUUm, Ittttg of ©ajjficl. A. D. 839.— DIED A.D. 846. At the time that the devastations of the Norwegians had arisen to their fiercest pitch of riolence, Fiedlim M'Crimhan, king of Cashel, obtains the revolting eminence of rivaUing then- worst deeds in sacri lege and devastation. His great success In the field, and the consequent increase of his power, has led some of our historians erroneously to place him among the monarchs of Ireland. And yet, as it will appear, the error Is not altogether vrithout excuse. For some preceding reigns the princes of his line had been increasing in power, and encroaching, by successive usurpations, upon the monarchy of Ireland. Feidlim took the occasion of those calamities, which disarmed or represt the actirity of other chiefs, to extend his power. Distinguished by his courage, mUitary talent, and freedom from all restraints of patriotism or piety, he pursued the example and followed the steps of the northern spo'Uers ; visiting, in Peiuod.] TURGESIUS. 175 his relentless course, the sacred communities which, by their wealth, invited the spoUer's cupidity, he carried fire and sword into the retreats of holy men. The monastery of Clonmacnoise, first ravaged by the Danes, had scarcely time to recover from the horrors of such an inflic tion, when it was attacked by king Feidlim, who laid waste its lands and slaughtered a considerable number of the community. Of Kil dare he secured the first spoUs, and carried off many of its friars as slaves : the Danes repeated the blow, and seized on the relics of the spoil. It was in the year 832 that Niell Calne succeeded to the monarchy ; Feidlim's repeated aggressions roused him to resistance. Reviving a contention of ancient standing between Connaught and Munster for the possession of Clare, Feidlim gained a bloody victory over the forces of Niell. This victory was rendered decisive by an overwhelming demonstration of military power in Meath, where he carried off Gormflatha, Niell's daughter, with her maiden train. The monarch NieU was, in consequence, obliged to submit and give hostages; so that the Munster annalists might, with some reason, say that he was then king of all Ireland. A few years ended his career. According to the poetical justice so often preserved by our ancient historians, his unhallowed course met with a strict retribution. While engaged in a sacrUegious incursion on the lands of the abbey of St Ciaran, his steps were arrested by the stern appearance of the holy abbot, who came forth and confronted on his path the spoUer of the church ; a curse from the holy man's lips was rendered doubly effective by a blow from the consecrated pastoral staff which he held, from the effect of which Feidlim never recovered. Between the two causes the effect is not improbable ; but it is added, that the sacrUegious spoUer, during the remaining year of his life, was thus metamorphosed into " the most religious and learned anchoret that Ireland ever saw." a. D. 815. — DIED A.D. 844. Of Turgesius, before his landing on the Irish coast, nothing can be told on any probable authority ; and even as to the date of this, there are some differences.* According to the most sanctioned authorities, we may place the event some time in the year 815, when he came from Norway with a large fleet and a formidable army. This crafty chief had further riews than his adventurous fellow-countrymen had hithert6, entertained, and he did not enter on his plans without having, like a prudent and wary leader, taken all due precautions to ensure success. It was now become an enterprise of much increased risk, to attack a nation which, from frequent experience of the calamitous nature of * The frivolous questions as to his being the same with Gurmundus, or different, we omit, as having no interest, unless for those who are likely to he conversant with our authorities. It is to be regretted that the old writers, who are prohx on such questions, are at the same time so defective in raore essential respects. 176 POLITICAL SERIES. [Second such attacks, had at length been taught the necessity of a more concen trated resistance. A successful effort of this nature was undoubtedly, at the period, beyond their state of mUitary knowledge, and stUI more, beyond their capabUity of concerted movements. Division was the main source of their weakness, and -irith this was combined that beset ting infirmity of the Celtic nature, the fatal proneness to betray. Turgesius, aware of the weak points of the nation, readily contrived to secure the co-operation of some of the most powerful of the native chiefs ; and it was probably by their aid and guidance that, -(rithout being compeUed to betray his purpose by any decisive encounter, he contrived to secure possession of many strong positions, in which he was unhappily suffered to establish settlements, ¦with such fortifications as the science of the time afforded. Some mention occurs of a battle which he gained against Edmundlius, or Fellm M'Edmond, and others of a defeat sustained from Feidlim, king of Cashel. The fact is, how ever, unimportant, as it is uncertain. It is probable that he gained advantages and suffered reverses in action; but it is known that he obtained eventual success. Having dirided his fleet and army, for the purpose of striking sudden terror by constant surprises and simultan eous attacks in different quarters, it is probable that the collisions were slight and partial, which the native annalist might have magni fied into battles won or lost. But it is probable that his progress had in it the uniformity of progress which must have attended the systematic direction of a powerful force, against an unregulated and tumultuary resistance. His foUowers were indulged in aU the Ucense which, in these rude times, and by that piratical nation, were held as the soldier's right; and the evils they inflicted can only be conceived by those who h^ve atten tively read the history of the buccaneers in America; or realized, by meditation, that horrible interval of human woe, when the Roman world was swept by tbe locust march of the Goths. The Danes, who had already obtained settlements by the incidents of ^ a long-continued communication, now flocked in, and powerfuUy . reinforced the army of Turgesius, and he was quickly enabled to seize on Armagh, where he established his seat of power, and occupied the lands of the clergy, whom he ejected from the pro^rince. His views now expanded with his power, and he saw that the mon archy lay within an easy grasp. The northern adventurers who, lured by his success, thought to foUow his example, he was enabled to repel. The native chiefs, although unable to look beyond the narrow scope of their private feuds and ammosities, had no actual perception of the real dangers which menaced them, tUl it was too late. The struggle was, however, protracted through a long and fearful interval of horror and desolation. Although incapable of steadfast purpose and concerted action, the chiefs of the country were as little capable of unreserved submission: ready to assume the tone of humble sub mission when resistance became impracticable, they cherished indi viduaUy the wUl to resist the claUn of tyranny when it approached them in their respective seats of authority. In addition to the calls ot selt-interest, and the impulses of barbgxic pride, they were subject also to the more regulated influence of their clergy. In the church Period.] TURGESIUS. 177 lay the chief cause of this protracted struggle. The Irish people would probably have early submitted to a tyranny which they could not shake off, but it was a part of the usurper's plan to root Christi anity from the land. The persecution of the clergy thus produced a protracted but desultory resistance, which ended in that species of compromise which is the result of time and experience, rather than of formal compact; and at length, after a fierce persecution of thirty years, Turgesius was proclaimed monarch of Ireland. In the course of this long struggle for power, the prominent inci dents were the sufferings of ecclesiastical persons and places. The monastery of Banchor, before attacked and plundered by these barba rians, was again the scene of their mingled rapacity and cruelty. The Annals of Munster and of the Four Masters, state, that on this latter occasion, the abbot and 900 monks were all murdered in one day. Mr Moore's history supplies us with an expressive enumeration of these and similar horrors — " Wherever pilgrims in great numbers resorted, thither the love at once of slaughter and plunder led these barbarians to pur sue them. The monastery of the English at Mayo ; the holy isle of Iniscathy in the mouth of the Shannon; the cells of St Kevin in the valley of Glendalogh ; the church of Slane, the memorable spot where St Patrick first lighted the Paschal fire ; the monastery of the Helig isles, on the coast of Kerry, a site of the ancient well-worship; aU these, and a number of other such seats of holiness, are mentioned as constantly being made the scenes of the most ruthless devastation." These atrocities were^ as the reader may have already seen, swelled in their amount and aggravated by the continued force of ill example on the native chiefs, who, whUe they followed the track of the destroyer, with a purpose as destructive and less excusable than his own, are probably to be looked on as indications of the diminished hostility which his character and crimes must have, for a long time, opposed to his recognition as king. But in the absence of distinct details, we need not further labour to give distinctness to our portrait, and to fix the shado^wy horror of the tyrant's features. His government, as king, was but another frightful phase of his character as an enemy. Oppressions and extor tions assumed a rougher and sterner form from the license of autho rity; and the insolent exactions of Norwegian'officials were added to the relentless demands of authorized extortion. The religious houses found no longer even that shadow of a hope which resistance Imparts ; schools and monasteries went, by one compendious mandate, unresist ingly to the ground ; and their inhabitants were turned out to seek a refuge in foreign countries, or in a poverty which had nothing to attract the spoUer. The effect of this was such as might have been anticipated from human nature. They who would have submitted to the foreign usurper, found no rest or safety in their abasement ; and a strong sense of ani mosity against the tyrant gradually began to difiiise itself from mind to mind. The attempt at open resistance was not to be thought of, but an occasion arose by which O'Meloghlin, prince of Meath, con trived to seize his person. VOL I. M 178 POLITICAL SERIES. [SecOND Giraldus, and after him Hanmer and other historians, relate a story of the manner of the death of this tyrant, which is not noticed by any of the ancient annalists, and yet, from Its circumstantial detail, is hardly to be attributed to mere invention. It has at least the merit of being in strict keeping with the age and the character of the agents; and may have been omitted by the annalists, from a sense that, how ever just may have been the tyrant's fate, the manner of it does not, in the highest degree, reflect honour on the iUustrious O'MeloghUn; and, it may be added, that there Is an eridently studied reserve in the early writers on all transactions in which the Danes were in any way parties. Gordon, Mr Moore, Leland, and Dr O'Conor, concur in treating it as fable ; but, true or false, we may not omit it here. In the thirtieth year of his residence In Ireland, Turgesius con ceived a dishonourable passion for the daughter of O'Meloghlin, king of Meath, and, being deterred by no consideration either of decency or respect, offered the most insulting and offensive proposals to the royal father of the princess. Such was the abject state of subjection to which the native kings were reduced, that the outraged father could not, without the utmost peril, refuse ; and resistance was hope less. In this hapless condition, the humiUation of which may weU account for the silence of the annals, the heroic O'Meloghlin had re course to a stratagem, " resembling," as Mr Moore observes, " in some of its particulars, a stratagem recorded by Plutarch in his life of Pelopldas." He replied to the insulting proposal, " Appoint the day, the hour, and the place, and sequester yourself from your court and retinue, and I wUl send my daughter unto you, with twelve or sixteen gentlewomen, of the choice and beautifullest maidens of my country, and take your choice of them; if my daughter please you best, she Is at your command." The appointed hour drew on, and the tyrant, fired with guilty expectations, betook himself to the place of assignation. O'Meloghlin caused the princess to be splendidly attired, and sent her with sixteen young men, disguised as maidens, and haring each a long knife under his mantle. The bloody tragedy was not long in acting. Turgesius had scarcely time to Insult the princess ¦vrith the first expression of his revolting love, when the fatal circle of avengers was drawn close around him, and, ere his astonishment and terror could find vent, the knives of the sixteen were contending in his breast. In this story there is nothing improbable ; the scheme is simple, and, in some measure, such as the circumstances may have suggested. There is, also, in addition to the reason already mentioned, this consideration: enough is mentioned by the annalists to wai-rant the inference of more. The tyrant who had for thirty years held the minds of the Irish nation in the bonds of hate and terror, could not have been surprised by craft, and slain, without some more espe cial note of the manner of his death, than that he fell into the hands of O'Meloghlin, and was by him drowned in Lochvar. The truth may probably be a combination of the particulars of both accounts. He may have been seized by the youths and drowned by the monarch; but as there was, at the moment, no war, or no ordinary circumstances which might have led to his capture in the field, some stratagem must have Period.] THE MONARCH O'MELOGHLIN. 179 been employed to obtain possession of him, and such must either have been most diligently concealed, or, as in all such incidents, have made the chief part of the story. Whatever be the true account of the death of Turgesius, the results were important. The ascendancy of the Danes was thenceforward lightened; and from that period, as an ancient annalist observes, "the Irish began to conquer." 'Ef)t iJlonarrS ©'iitMogfiltn* died A.D. 863. The best authority places the event of the death of Turgesius in 844,* but it was not for about four years later that O'Meloghlin was raised to the monarchy. A circumstance which seems to add some credit to the romance re lated above, is the circumstance (if truly affirmed) that he had pre viously lived on terms of great favour with Turgesius. It is men tioned, as an incident of his previous life, that once, in conversation, he familiarly asked of the tyrant, " by what means certain ravenous and pestiferous birds, which greatly infested the country, might be destroyed ?" Turgesius replied, " If they breed, destroy their eggs, birds, and nests," — a policy which, it Is said, O'Meloghlin thencefor ward designed to observe towards the Norwegians. On the death of Turgesius, it is said, O'Meloghlin Immediately sent out his messengers in every direction, to give notice of the event, and to rouse the chiefs to take arms. The Norwegians, sustained chiefly by the energy and political talent of their ruler, had neither union, council, firmness, nor foresight, to meet the exigency of the moment. They stood undecided, and were taken by surprise. The Irish had been some time prepared, and on the inteUigence, Meath and Leinster were at once In arms; the chiefs from every quarter repaired to O'MeloghUn, who soon found himself at the head of a numerous army. The results appear to have been decisive ; but the brevity of the an nalists does not afford us the means of describing the battles by which the strangers were now reduced to the lowest state of depression, and either driven from the land, or subjected to the authority of Its native chiefs. There cannot be any reasonable doubt of the decided advan tages which were thus obtained, but there can be as little that they are vastly over-stated by the annalists, whose accounts are uniformly at variance with the course of events as Inferred even from themselves. The account of Giraldus, from whatever sources it is drawn, has in it some touches peculiarly characteristic of the actors : " Fama igitur pernicibus alis, totam statim insulam pervolante, et rei eventum, ut assolet, divulgante ; Norwagienses ubique truncantur ; et in brevi omni omnino, seu vi, seu dole, vel morti traduntur, vel iterum Norwagium et insulas unde venerant, narigio adire compelluntur." A series of mas sacres and well-concerted surprises, were probably rendered decisive by * The time of these events is involved in doubt, &c. Moore, ii. 33, 180 - POLITICAL SERIES. [FiRST victories won by the conduct of O'Meloghlin. He soon after obtained the monarchical crown, and sent messengers to the French court to announce his triumph and his accession. He also announced his pur pose of a visit to Rome as an act of thanksgiving, and desired a free passage through the French territory. The ambassadors were charged with costly gifts to the king of France ; and, as Mr Moore has judiciously observed, the high reputation of Irish learning and piety sustained at this period by the constant resort of Irish missionaries, as weU as by the reputation of John Erigena, in the French court, must have concUIated for Irishmen the good-wUl of both the king and people. The design of O'Meloghlin, common at the period, was little in his power. The Norwegians were scattered and disorganized, but not in reality subdued. They wanted but concentration and a head, to regain their wonted place in the field as harassing and formidable foes. Three days' saU intervened between them and the Baltic shores, which stUl teemed with unexhausted swarms of fierce adventurers. In 849, a fleet of one hundred and sixty saU* landed a strong rein forcement from the northern coasts ; and the Danes, who had for some time been struggling, under the appccirance of commercial riews, to regain a difficult footing, were enabled to assume a sterner front. A tedious and destructive, but indecisive warfare set in, and during Its course, some important changes took place in the mutual feelings and relative positions of the parties ; the result of which was to enable the Danes, who generally acted on wider views, to attain considerable advantages. The native chiefs, acting ever under the impulse of the most recent impressions, and ever ready to start aside from the more remote objects of common interest at the slightest caU of private passion, soon feU away from the public cause, into their wonted tenor of petty dissen sion. The Danes, always on the alert for every advantage, soon found means to insinuate themselves into the game of strife, and thus obtain, unobserved, the secure footing of aUiance with the strongest. The conventions of party, which, even in this advanced age, and in minds elevated by knowledge and talenti hold an ascendancy exclusive of higher and more general principle, may then be supposed to have bound, with an iron force, the uncivilized breasts of the barbarian chiefs of the day. Occupied with the engrossing concerns and small expedien cies which affected the narrow circle of their immediate relations, the chiefs saw nothing further, but felt that, while they were indlridually at liberty to wield their small privileges of oppression and mutual strife, the nation was free : it was aU the prosperity they could com prehend ! This evil practice was sanctioned by O'Meloghlin, who availed him self of the ready arms of these northern settlers to retain his station against the encroachments of rival chiefs. The character of the foreigners had, In the course of time, assumed a more cirilized form. From pirates, they were now fast settling into traders ; by craft, as by the neglect of the natives — quite Ignorant of the importance of these positions of advantage for commerce and strength — they had secured * Ware, Ant. c. 24. Period.] THE MONARCH o'meloghlin. 181 possession of the cities and principal harbours of the island; and it became no longer a doubtful question, as to the pre-eminence they might thereafter hold in the nation, if their progress was aUo.tved to advance toward a secure possession of their present advantages. .'= But this advantage was rendered precarious by interferences far different from the brawling hostUity of the native chiefs. The kindred tribes of the Baltic— which, in their common character of pirates and foes, are, to a great extent, confounded by historians under a common name, were yet distinct, in tribe and country ; and though ready to unite their arms for mutual advantage, yet little disposed to concede, without a struggle, the possession of a country which was progressively becom ing more important as they advanced in commercial prosperity. The Norwegians, or White Strangers, were at strife vrith the Danes, or Black Strangers, or as they were, in the native Irish, called Fingalls and DubhgaUs. In the year 850, a considerable fleet of the Dark Strangers, a race tUl about this period not much known in the island, landing on the Irish coast, made an attack on the White Strangers, who were in possession of Dublin. This event is, with the uncertainty of our annalists, placed by each at a different period. The Four Masters are said by Mr Moore to make it 849, Ware 851 ; but the foUowing extract from the Four Masters — carefully translated, and compared with the Annals of Tigher nach, by an Irish scholar of high reputation, for a most authoritative antiquarian publication of the present day* — seems to involve the matter in some additional difficulty. Under the year 845, it is mentioned: " The DubhgaUs arrived this year in Dublin, slaughtered the Fingalls, demolished their fortress, and carried off prisoners and property. The DubhgaUs attacked the Fingalls at LindunachalU, and made great havoc of them." The date matters little — of the event there is no doubt. And it is pretty evident that, under the liability to such contingencies, there could be little steady prosperity. The Danes were, besides, be ginning to be divided among themselves : the habit of entering in^o the feuds of the native chiefs had, as Mr Moore observes, this weakening effect. In the foUovring year from the event last mentioned, the Fin galls having recruited their numbers from abroad, made a fierce and successful effort to regain their city. The battle was one of violence unprecedented in Irish history; it continued three days and three nights, and ended in the entire discomfiture of the Dubhs, with dread ful slaughter. We have already offered the reader some important notices of ancient Ireland, in which express mention is made of the city of Dublin : its growing importance at the period in which we are now engaged, make this the fittest occasion to offer some further notices from the same authority. These, for the convenience of our narrative, we extract in the form of a note.f The next occurrence, of which * Dublin Penny Journal, p. 175. f " Dublin, therefore, has ajust claim to an antiquity of seventeen centuries, and it is manifest that it must have existed several centuries before Ptolemy's time, else he would not have called it a city, or even have heard of it. The first raention we find made of Dublin, in the remnant of^ ancient Irish history that has reached our times, is in the Annals of Tighernach, under the year 166, where he tells us that 182 POLITICAL SERIES. [Second there Is distinct notice worthy of mention, is one alike important in the history of both the British isles. The protracted tyra,nny of Turgesius, and the growing power and union of the Danes in both Islands, gave a prospect of advantage sufficient to awaken the ambition of the Norwegian princes, Anlaf, SItric, and Ivar. CoUecting a powerful body of troops from the coasts and islands of the Northern sea, they landed on the Irish coast, and took unresisted possession of the ports of Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford, — ^the latter of which now for the first time became the site of a city, of which Sitrio is al lowed to have been the founder. A tale is told by Giraldus, of the stratagem by which the three brothers obtained possession of the country. Coming in the disguise of mer chants, he represents them as gaining a friendly footing in different parts of the country. The story has not, however, even the ordinary probability of a fairy tale, or requires at least, in the reader, the most childlike Ignorance of the common workings of any state of society. Superior sagacity, knowledge, resources, and the command of an extensive line of well-manned positions, in a vvord, a force which ren dered hopeless such efforts as could at the time be brought to bear upon them, gave them that commanding and admitted influence, which nothing less could have given; and O'Meloghlin soon saw him self occupying a place rirtually subordinate in his dominions. A tribute to the Norwegian princes, was the unequivocal test of national the Con of the hundred battles, and Mogha Nuadhat, divided Ireland into two parts, hy a line drawn from the eastern to the western Athcliath, i. e. fi-om Athcliath Duiblinne to Athcliath Meadhraidhe, or from Dublin to Clarin's-bridge, near Gal way. It is added in other accounts (not in Tighernach), that Slogha Nuadhat, who was otlierwise called Eogan the Splendid, thought himself over-reached in this partition, because the half of the harbour of Dublin, which he observed to be com modious for traffic, and visited by ships, did not fall within his allotment ; and that to gain which he commenced hostilities, and lost his life in the attempt. ¦'* I cannot at all believe that the settlement of Dublin as a place of commerce, and as a fortified town, can be attributed to the Scandinavian pirates, in the ninth century. The Annals of the Four Masters record the death of St Beraidh, abbot of Dublin, under the year 650, and that of Siadhal, abbot of DubUn, under the year 785. " The author of the Life of St Kevin, who wrote more than a thousand years ago. thus speaks of our city : — " ' Civitas Athcliath est in aquilonali Lageniensium plaga super fretum maris posita, et Scotice dicitur Dubhlinn quod sonat Latine Nigi'a Therma, et ipsa, civitas potens et Belligera est, in qua semper habitant viri asperimi in proehis et peritissimi in classibus.' " The city o( Ath-cliath is situate iu the northern region of Leinster, upon a strait of the sea ; it is styled in the Scotic language Dubh-linn, which signifies Dark Bath. This city is powerful and warlike, and al\rays inhabited by men most hardy in battles, and most expert in fleets. " The Irish name of Dublin is Baile Atha Cliath, or The Town at the ford of the Hurdles ; and the name of that part of the Lilfey on which it is built, Duiblinn, or the Black Water, " The Book of Dinnseanchus informs us that this ford across the river was called Ath-cliath, or the ford of Hurdles, from hurdles of small twigs which the Lagenians, in the reign of their king Mesgeira, placed across the river for the purpose of con veying the sheep of Athirny Ailgeascah to Dun Edair, a fortress of the hill of Howth, where many of the young warriors of Ulster were then stationed." — Annals of Dublin, translated hy Mr John O'Donovan, Dublin Fenny Journal, i. 174. Period.] aodh FINLIATH, MONARCH. 183 submission; and Imar, or Ivar, is mentioned by the Four Masters as king of the Danes in England and Ireland. The last effort of Malachy to shake off the iron weight that pressed his monarchy to the ground, was a battle fought at Drummoy, of which the Masters rather equi vocally state, " where many of them fell." O'Meloghlin died some time in 863, and was succeeded in the mon archy by Aodh Finliath. ^ottD d?(ttl(at8, iWtonarcfi. A. D. 863—879. Era; this, the reader of these pages will have it forced on his ob servation, that the monarchs of this confused period are, without any stretch of rhetorical licence, described as shadows of royalty. Under the names of these kingly phantoms, we are compelled to proceed on ward with a broken and uncertain record of events, in which they ap pear to have had but little part ; and under the name of biography to present a scanty and doubtful history. But In this there is little choice . — as the only alternative would consist In the detail of those incidents without character or probability, with which a few writers of heated ima gination have filled up the broken cloud-work which conceals the unre corded past. The interest arising from continuity and connexion, In a well-ordered narration, is here of necessity broken at every step, not alone by the chasms of the narration, but by the controverted points which start up at every period, and the conjectural notions, the claim of which is chiefly derived from the undue importance which has been attributed to them, by writers unaccustomed to weigh the actual pro gress and true connexions of historical events — a fault not more to be imputed to the most zealous fanatic of a theory, than to the little phil osopher who Is found demolishing the fantastic edifice with weapons not more substantial. In making this statement, we feel a natural wish to support ourselves by the sanction of a name, and none perhaps can be found less exceptionable on every account than Mr Moore, whose learned, intelligent, and industrious history, strongly exemplifies these inevitable disadvantages of the subject, when encountered by the fairest mind. We have, with this view, lit on the following passage, which fiUly states the difficulty with which the biographer has to con tend: — "Among the deficiencies most to be complained of by a reader of our early history, is the want of interest and instruction arising from the contemplation of indiridual character,- — the rare occurrence not merely of marked historical personages, but of any actors In the tu multuous scene sufficiently elevated above their cotemporaries to at tract the, eye in passing, or form a resting-place for the mind." Under the name of Aodh, the only point of historical importance to be mentioned, is his marriage vrith Malmaria, daughter of Kenneth MacAlpine, king of the Irish colony of Scotland. The history of this colony may be briefly summed. It is, after some controversy now superfluous to detail, admitted by all recent historical writers, that Scotland has derived its name. 184 POLITICAL SERIES. [SECOND with no inconsiderable portion of Its inhabitants, from the neighbour ing shores of Ireland, of which the inhabitants are commonly mentioned in old historians under the name of Scots, or Scots of Hibernia ; while Scotland was known under the name of Albyn, or Albania, to the 1 1th century.* Of the origin of the Irish colony in Scotland, we have already mentioned some particulars in our previous sketches, in the former division of this work. In the time of this eminent Christian, this colony ceased to be dependent on an Irish chief. Its position, and the extent of the district which it occupied, is described by Dr O'Conor — it comprised " Kentiream, Knapdaliam, Loarnam, Ardga^ thellam, and Braid Alban, cum viclnis insulis Hebrldum." " On the small stage of this miniature realm," writes Mr Moore, " we find acted over again, most of the dark and troubled scenes of the Irish pen tarchy ; the same lawlessness and turbulence, redeemed sometimes by the same romantic heroism ; a sImUar reverence for aU that was sanc tioned by the past, combined with as light and daring a recklessness of the future. That rooted attachment to old laws and usages, which marked the natives of the mother country, was here transmitted in full force to their descendants ; the ancient language and aU the nu merous traditions of which it was the vehicle ; the system of clanship and laws of succession ; even the old party-coloured dress worn by the ancient Scots, all continued to be retained in North Britain to a much later period than among the original Irish themselves." The succession of internal feuds and dissensions which occupy the interval, we must refer to the history of Scotland. But, not long be fore the period in which we are engaged, a series of desperate conflicts, between the Irish Scots and their Lowland neighbours the Picts, ended in the union of the two races in one monarchy, under a king of the Irish race — ^the celebrated hero Kenneth MacAlpine. To the daugh ter of this monarch Aodh was married. He died 879, after a reign of 16 years, and was succeeded by dJ^lan Siona. Of this monarch, the only particulars worth record may be dis missed in a brief space. He was the son of Malachy, and married Malmaria, the widow of king Aodh, his predecessor. By this aUiance, with each of the main alternate branches of the Hy NieU famUy, the Tyronian, Clancolman and Slanian branches were reunited, to the ex clusion of the Tyrconnel branch. Under the year 885, the Four Masters mention that Flan, the son of Malachy, king of Ireland, was defeated in a battle by the Danes of Dublin, when Hugh, son of Connor, king of Comiaught, Lergus, bishop of Kildare, and Donogh, son of Maildun, abbot of Kidelga and other churches, and many others were killed." * This fact, does not now adrait of elaborate disquisition. But the reader, who desires to obtain full and minute information upon it, may find it discussed with the most copious learning and authority by primate Usher, in his work, De Primordiis, c. xvi. p. 725. Period.] CORMAC, KING OF CASHEL. 185 Among the few notices we find of the events of this reign, the most interesting are those which relate to the iUustrious Cormac, king and bishop of Cashel, with whom Flan was engaged in a destructive war, of which the success was chiefiy on Cormac's side. « As we do not think it would be just to the most iUustrious per son of his time to include his life in our account of a monarch whose monarchy is his chief claim to this notice ; we may conclude it by saying, that Flan died in 916, after a reign of thirty-six years, spent in wars which have little record, and little worthy of record. The principal events mentioned by the annalists of this period, are obscure notices concerning the Danes, which, although not devoid of foundation in fact, are at best unintentional misrepresentations. To take these cursory chronicles for fact, they require explanations, which would depress their value into something far below any claim to notice — in the absence of such a commentary they sound like cross pur poses and contradictions: in the successive sentences, the Danes of Dublin appear and disappear from the scene, after a fashion which must remind the gravest antiquary of the tragedy of Tom Thumb. But as Mr Moore has observed, with his usual good sense, " those boasts of the entire expulsion of the Danes, which occur more than once in the records of this and the preceding century, imply nothing more than the total dispersion of some of those later swarms of free booters, from whose visitation, arriring fresh as they did to the work of spoil and murder, it might weU be considered a triumph and signal blessing to be delivered." (B^ormac, Iting of ©asfiel*