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THE
HISTORIANS OF SCOTLAND.
VOL. V.
Edinburgh : Printed by Thomas and Archibald Constable,
FOE
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS.
LONDON HAMILTON, ADAMf3, AND CO.
CAMBRIDOK MACMILLAN AND CO.
GLASGOW JAMES MACLEHOSE.
THE
HISTORIANS OF SCOTLAND
VOL. V.
iLit>e0 of ^. iSuuan anD ^. ISentigetn.
EDINBURGH
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS
1874.
ILit)e0
of
, ^inian anb g>, B^entigem,
COMPILED IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
EDITED FROM THE BEST MSS.
BY
ALEXANDEE PENROSE FORBES, D.C.L.,
BISHOP OF BRECHIN.
EDINBURGH
EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS
1874.
PREFACE.
There is a propriety in the simultaneous publica-
tion of the Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern, for
not only was the scene of their apostolic labours the
same, but the authors to whom we are indebted for
their mention were so nearly contemporaneous, that
the three narratives forai a trilogy complete in itself
Indeed, between the works of S. Ailred and Joceline
there is a remarkable similarity of manner and of
sentiment. The tone of thought which runs through
these books is the same, and the most prejudiced
critic must allow that they display an interesting
picture of a very remarkable epoch in the history of
Scotland, when both the civil constitution was imder-
going a remarkable development, and the ecclesiastical
poHty exhibiting great vitaHty. The long reign of
William the Lion is fraught with political significance,
as bearing upon the future of the country over which
he reigned, especially in the foundation of the burghs
and municipahties ; and perhaps at no time did the
Church of Scotland so vigorously fulfil her divine
mission as at the period of the twelfth century, when
2oeeo3
PREFACE.
the recently imported religious orders were still in
their purity, and had as yet exhibited few signs of
that spiritual decay which afterwards overcame them.
Again, in the Lives there is the same reference to
previous Celtic documents, and it cannot be denied
that, while their chief importance consists in the faith-
ful record which they exhibit of the tone of thought
of the twelfth century, there is also much ancient
history preserved in them — preserved perhaps not in
a very critical way, but still such as we could ill afford
to lose. Of the obscure history of the kingdom of
Cambria or Strathclyde they supply the most copious
notices.
It has been the attempt of the Editor to illustrate
this as far as he was able, and to gather together
whatever could bear upon the subject. This he has
embodied both in the Introduction and in the Notes,
and it only remains for him to express his acknow-
ledgment for the generous aid which he has received
from various literary friends.
In addition to the efficient help received from Dr.
Travers and Mr. Skene, he must thank Dr. Stuart,
Mr. Dickson, the Rev. James Gamma ck, the Rev.
W. D. Macray, Professor Cosmo Innes, for their efibrts
in his behalf; Mr. P. E. Pusey and Mr. David Little-
john for the trouble which they have taken in verify-
ing references in the Bodleian Library ; the Earl of
Crawford and Balcarres, Patrick Chalmers, Esq. of
PKEFACE.
Aldbar, and Andrew Jervise, Esq., for the generosity
with which they have put costly books at his disposal ;
the Very Rev. Dean Nicolson for aid m collating the
Brussels manuscript of the Life of S. Nuiian. The
assistance of other friends is acknowledged in the
notes throughout the volume ; and he must close this
record of obligation by stating that his friend the
late Rev. Arthur West Haddan gave him the use
of the proof-sheets of the then unfinished volume
of the Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents of Great
Britain, of which, with Professor Stubbs, he was
editor, and which has been published since his
lamented death.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAOE
PREFACE, 7
GENERAL INTRODUCTION—
Part I. — The Life of S. Ninian by S. Ailred, . iii
Part II. — The Lives of S. Kentigern by Joceline,
AND BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR, .... Ixiii
THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN, by Ailred, Abbot of
Rievaux, 1
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN, by Jocelinus, a Monk
OF FURNESS, 27
FRAGMENT OF THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN, . 121
I. Vita Niniani, Pictorum Australium Apostoli,
AUCTORE AlLREDO ReVALLENSI, . . . .137
II. Vita Kentegerni, autore Jocelino Monacho
Furnesensi, 159
III. Vita Kentegerni imperfecta, auctore Ignoto, . 243
Notes to the Life of S. Ninian, 255
Notes to the Life of S. Kentigern, . . . .305
Index, 375
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
GENERAL INTRODUCTIOK
PART L— THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN
BY S. AILEED.
The life of S. Ninian given in this volume is the work of
S. Ailred of Eievaux. It was first printed by John Pinkerton^
from a beautiful manuscript in the Bodleian Library at Oxford
(Laud. F. XV. cent. xii. ; hodie, Laud. Misc. 668, ff. 78-89,
ssec. xii.) ; for the Bollandists, though using the life as given
by CapgTave, and commenting upon it, had not reproduced it.
They mention two other manuscripts of the life as being known
to them, one belonging to the Monasterium Ptubese Vallis, the
other to the Carthusian Convent at Cologne.^ Inquuy has been
made for these, but they have not been found. According to a
decree of Napoleon i., in 1809 or 1810, such of the MSS. of the
Carthusians of Cologne as were not sent to the National
Library at Paris were assigned, with those belonging to the
other convents, to the ficole Centrale at Cologne, and are now
in the Library of the Marzellen Gymnasium there, but the
Vita S. Niniani does not seem to be among them.
Having failed to discover these, the Editor was reduced
to the use of such materials as he had access to. First, he
made a careful collation of the Bodleian MS., which is the
actual text produced. It will be seen on comparison that
^ Vitte Antique Sanctorum, qui habitaverunt in ea parte Britannia^ nunc
vocata Scotia vel in ejus insulis. Quasdam edidit ex MSS., quasdam collegit
J. Pinkerton, qui et variantes lectiones et notas pauculas adjecit. Londini,
typis J. Nichols, 1789.
■'' Acta SS., Sept. 16, t. v. p. 322.
IV GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
many of Pinkerton's readings have been amended, and in more
than one instance a sentence has been supplied.
In addition to this, a MS. in the British Museum (Cott. Tib.
D. iii. fol. 186-192, saec. xiii.) has been collated. It is a cen-
tury posterior in date, but is undoubtedly a transcript of the
Bodleian exemplar. The variations are few, and have been
carefully noted at the bottom of the page..
Thirdly, in the Burgundian Library at Brussels there is a
volume of Lives of the Saints, in which the Life of S. Ninian
appears in an abridged form. It appears to be that from
which Capgrave has printed his life.^
S. Ailred at the beginning of his work describes the source
whence he drew the materials for the history of S. Ninian as
" liber de vita et miraculis ejus barbaric scriptus."
Archbishop Ussher in the addenda to his most learned
work, De Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Primordiis, says — " Extat
et apud Hibernos nostros ejusdem Mniani Vita; in qua ob
importuuam turn a matre tum a consanguineis freqnentatam
visionem, deserta Candida Casa, ut sibi et suae quieti cum dis-
cipulis vacaret, Hiberniam petiisse atque ibi impetrato a rege
loco apto et amceno Cluayn-coner dicto ccenobium magnum
constituisse, ibidemque post multos in Hibernia transactos
annos obiisse traditur."^
This Irish life, which contains matter hardly reconcileable
with tlmt by S. Ailred, and which is at variance with the
tradition of the neighbourhood, that S. Ninian died and was
buried in Whithern, cannot now be found.
The Bollandists state that they had a translation of this life
made by Father Fitzsimon,^ but they think very poorly of it.
According to them it was full of falsehoods. Not only is the
^ Nova Legenda Anglie, impressa Londonias in domo Winandi de Worde,
commorautis ad signiim solis, in vico nuncupate (the flete strete) a.d.
mcccccxvi. xxvii. die Febi'uarii. — fol. ccxli.-ccxliii.
2 Ussher's "Works, t. vi. pp. 209, 565, ed. Elringtou.
3 Acta SS., Sept. 16, t. v. p. 321.
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. V
saint made to die in Ireland, but his mother is described as a
Spanish princess; his father inconsistently wishes to bring him
back into the world after assenting to his being trained for the
ecclesiastical state ; a miracle so indecent that the BoUandists
only hint at it taking place as soon as he puts his foot on Ireland ;
a bell comes down from heaven to call together his disciples ; a
wooden church is raised by him, the beams of which very fierce
stags bring down to the place, and a harper who never before or
after had to do with architecture was the builder. On the
saint's flight into Galloway, he demands hospitality for a night
from a smith and his son, which is refused, whereupon S.
Ninian fixes his staff to a depth of three finger-lengths in the
anvil, so that it cannot be removed by human force. On the
smith and his son asking pardon, the staff is removed, and
the saint receives a grant of the lands, which are to be called
Wytterna, Terna and Wyt being respectively the names of the
smith and his son.
Some connexion of the saint with Ireland is certain, for not
only is his foundation at Whithern identified with the Magnum
Monasterium where so many youths from Ulster were trained,
but his name, with the affectionate prefix mo, is found on his
day in the Irish Kalendars. ^ngus the Culdee has " Moinend
nuall cech genai ;" that is, Moinend, the shout of every mouth,
and the gloss has " Moinend Cluana Conaire Tomain hi tuais-
cuirt .h. Faelain," i.e. Moinend of Cluain Conaire Tomain, in
north Hy-Faelain. The Martyrology of TaUaght has " Monenn
Cluana Conaire."^ That of Donegal has Maoineann, Bishop of
Cluain Conaire, in the north of Ui Faelain.^ The Drummond
Kalendar has at the day "Et in Hibernia natale Sanctorum
confessorum et sacerdotum Lasren Monein et Lasren."
We have already mentioned the Life in Capgrave (fol. ccxli.-
ccxliii.)
^ Dr. Kelly's ed., p. xxxiv. ; Dublin, u. d.
2 Mart. Don. p. 2'19 ; Dublin, 18G4.
VI GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
One more source of information is noticed by the learned
Alcnin in a letter addressed "fratribus Deo servientibus " at
Candida Casa; he mentions there Father Nynias, the bishop who
was distinguished by great miracles, " sicut mihi nuper delatum
est per carmina metricfe artis, quae nobis per fideles nostros
discipulos Eboracensis Ecclesite Scholasticos directa sunt."^
In later times the poet Barbour in his extreme old age com-
posed a metrical life of Ninian, which was discovered in the
library of the University of Cambridge by Henry Bradshaw, Esq.
Jocelin in his life of S. Kentigern states that that saint,
accompanied by many people, came to Cathures, which is now
called Glasghu, and there abode near a cemetery formerly con-
secrated by S. Ninian.^
A life of S. Mnian, Bishop of Candida Casa, occurs among
the Lives of the English Saints published by T. Toovey, in
1845. It has been attributed to the Eev. John Barrow, D.D.,
late Principal of S. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
S. Ailred, the biographer of S. Ninian, whose name is
softened from the Saxon Ethelred, and who also appears as
Ailredus, Alredus, -^Elredus, Elredus, Adelredus, Hetheldredus,
Altredus, Atheldredus, Ealredus, Hailredus, Eleredus, Baldre-
dus, Aluredus, Ealfredus, and Valredus, was the sou of ^iUavus,
or Eilef Lawreu, a priest, who had charge of the church of
Hexham,^ and who, in his sickness having sent for Eodbert
Biset, gave over with great devotion the revenues of the
chm-ch, which he had appropriated, "liberum et quietum de
se." He gave livery of his possessions with o. filaterium, a word
derived from the scriptural phylactery, and meaning a cross in
which relics were imbedded {vide Du Cange ad verb.), in the
presence of his sons Ailred, Samuel, Ethelwold, and others.
It will be seen that S. Ailred belonged to a hereditary family
1 MS. Cott. Vesp. A, xiv. f. 160 b., cit. Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy's
Descriptive Catalogue, vol. i. p. 45.
2 Vita Kentigerni, c. ix., Yitse Antiqq. SS., ed. Pinkerton, p. 219.
3 Prior Richard's History of the Church of Hexham, p. 50.
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. vii
of priests who owned the church of Hexham as they would a
leasehold or freeliold property.^ His grandfather Eilaf had
played off Archbishop Thomas of York against his own reform-
ing diocesan William de S. Carileph, and had got a grant of
the temporalities of Hexham, then so devastated by the Con-
queror's invasion in 1069 that he had to support himself by
hunting. Nevertheless he began the restoration of the church,
in which he was succeeded by his son the father of S, Ailred.
A gradual reform taking place under Thomas ii., Archbishop
of York, Eilaf, not uncompensated, gave up Hexham to Edric,
and in 1113 a college of canons was established, which under
Thurstan eventually grew into a house of Augustinians. Eilaf
himself, after making the grant to which we have just alluded,
assumed the habit of a Benedictine monk at Durham, and,
dying contrite and devout after a few days, is recorded in the
Liber Vitte of that house as " ^ilaf sacerdos et monachus."
S. Ailred began life at the court of David, King of Scotland,
whose subject he was by virtue of the Scottish possession of
Cumberland and Northumberland at that time, and with whose
son Henry he seems to have been educated. At the age of twenty-
four, in 1133, he became a Cistercian at Eievaux in Yorkshire,
under Abbot William, the friend and correspondent of S. Bernard,
whose letter to him, exhorting him to patience and calmness of
soul, is a wonderful combination of faith and practical wisdom.-
In 1142 he became Abbot of Kevesby, and next year of Eie-
vaux. Eievaux Abbey, of which Ailred was the distinguished
ornament, was founded by Walter Espec in 1 1 3 1 . Alexander in. ,
the Pope who divided the allegiance of Western Cliristendom
with the Antipope Victor iv., in 1160, the very year in which
his claim was disallowed by the Council of Pavia, took it under
Ms protection by a Bull, in which many privileges were con-
fen-ed upon it. The Abbots, whose names are recorded, are —
William -j- 1146; Maurice; Ailred, cir. 1160; Beruai-d +
1 Eaine's Priory of Hexham, i^. li. pref.
2 Op. S. Bernard., Ep. 360, t. i. p. 277; Paris. 1S3S.
Vm GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
1186; Sylvan (who, with Eolland, Bishop-elect of Dol, was
employed to treat with William the Lion for a compromise in
the case of the disputed election to the see of S. Andrews),
1189; Godfrey; Ernaldus + 1199, who resigned. In Pope
Xicholas's Taxatio of 1391 it is rated at £241, 10s. The Act
26 Henry viii. gives £351, 19s. 6d. gross rental, £278, 10s. 2d.
clear. It was granted at that time to Thomas Earl of Eutland,
a descendant of the founder. In Dugdale's time, as it is at this
day, it was occupied by the Duncombes.^
Eevesby, in Lincolnshire, the other Abbey with which
S. Ailred was connected, was founded in 1142 by William de
Eomara, Earl of Lincoln, and was dedicated to S. Mary and
S. Laurence. In Pope Nicholas's Taxatio it was rated at
£294, lis. 8d. ; at the dissolution at £394, 4s. lOd. gross,
£287, 2s. 4id. net. It was granted to Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.^
That S. Ailred should write the life of Xinian, which life,
however, is not in Capgrave's enumeration of his works, nor
again in Cave's, is natural, from the fact that we know he
visited Galloway : — " Descendens in Galwediam Alredus invenit
regulum terra illius contra filios suos iratum, filios in patrem
ScCvientes, et in se invicem fratres. Est autem terra ilia fera
silvestris et barbara, bestiales homines et barbarum omne quod
gignit. Veritas ibi non invenitur, sapientia locum non habet.
Nam neque fides neque charitas diu perdurat in ea. Castitas
totiens patitur naufragium quotiens libido voluerit, nee est
inter castam et scoii;um ulla distantia: muheres per menses
^dros alternant. Inter religiosos tamen quidam aliorum con-
silio et ductu satis religiosi existunt, sed propria industria raro
perfecti. Sunt enim naturaliter hebetes, et animalem habentes
spiritum voluptatibus carnis semper intendunt. Invenit itaque
Alredus principes provinciae ira et dissensione turbatos; quorum
odia et rancores nee rex Scotiee humihare nee episcopus miti-
gare suffecit; multoque sanguine terram polluerunt. Quos
^ Dugdale's Monasticou, vol. v. p. 274. ^ jjji^i^ yoL y. p. 453.
PART I. — TIIK LIFE OF S. NINIAN. ix
Alrecliis non solum pacificavit, sed patreni iilioruin liabitum
religiouis suscipere inflexit, et qui niulta millia houiiuuin vita
privaverat vitae participem eterniB fieri docuit."^
Eegiuald of Durham mentions that S. Aibed was present at
Kirkcudbright in 11C4 on the Feast of S. Cutlihert, when a
penitent was miraculously freed from an iron belt which he
wore. On the same day a bull, offered in. oblation to S. Cuth-
bert, was baited in the churchyard by the clerics, " qui Pictoruni
lingua Scollofthes connominantur." On being reproved, one
mocked the saint, and was gored by the buU.^
Ten years before this he had assisted at the great translation
of the relics of S. Acca, S. Alchemund, S. Fredenbert, S. Tilbert,
and S. Eata, at Hexham, and he became the chronicler of the
event.^ His other works are a description of the Battle of the
Standard, the genealogy of the Kings of England, including an
eulogium of S. David of Scotland, the History and Miracles of
S. Edward the Confessor, a homily on the occasion of the
translation of the relics of that saint in llG3,^a short letter
about a nun of Watton, and also a Life of Kino- Edward in
verse addressed to I-aurence, Abbot of Westminster, a treatise
on the virtues of Walter Espec, an account of the foundation
of the monasteries of S. Mary's at York and of Fountains,
some sermons De Tempore et de Sanctis, thirty-one sermons
on Isaiah the prophet, a Speculum Charitatis, a Tract on Jesus
the Child of twelve years old, three books on Spiritual Friend-
ship, a Rule for nuns, and a Tractatus on the Sunday within
the octave of the Epiphany, and on the burdens of the Church.'^
Henriquez^ adds considerably to this list, but says "Nota
^ Capgrave, Nova Legenda, fol. xii.
^ Reg. Dunelm., Surtees ed. pp. 178, 179.
3 Raine's Annals of Hexham, pref. Ixxiii.
* Biographia Britannica Literaria, by Thomas Wright, p. 1 94 ; London,
1846.
* See Cave, Hist. Lit. p. 673 ; Bibliotheca maxima Patrum, tom. xxiii.
^ Fasciculus Sanctorum Ordinis Cisterciensis, liber ii. p. 261, Col. Agripp.
1631.
X GENERAL INTllODUCTION.
quod hujus scripta quoedam cum scriptis Edilredi Abbatis
Wardensis confunduntur." His own account of the saint
is at second-hand from Bale and Pitseus. In the Menologium
Cisterciense of the same author at the 12 Jan. (Prid. Idus
Jauuarii) : — " In Auglia Sanctus Aelredus Eievallis Abbas,
sacrarum literarum scientia et morum integritate conspicuus :
qui postquam dignitates sibi oblatas humiliter contempsisset,
omnium virtutum genere decoratus, migravit a sfeculo, Sanc-
torum numero post mortem ascriptus."-^
S. Ailred long enjoyed the favour of Henry ii., and was in-
strumental in inducing him to submit to Pope Alexander lii.^
He died on the ides of January 1166, in the fifty-seventh
year of his age. So early as 1250 he was regarded as a saint.^
He suffered from calculus and arthritica passio for years before
his death.
With every wish to deal fairly with the work of S. Ailred,
we must pronounce it almost wortliless as a historical tract.
There is hardly one fact additional to those with which we
were already acquainted from the celebrated passage in Breda,
quoted by himself at the beginning of his biography. Indeed,
at the beginning the author admits that the barbarous work
which he professed to polish only elucidated the same facts.
Even the miracles lack much of the local colouring which
gives so much interest to some of the Irish legends. It is
entirely wanting in the mournfid interest which gives such a
charm to the invective of Gildas.
On the other hand, the style, for the eleventh century, is
exceedingly good. The diction is flowing, and the sentiments
gracefully expressed. The account of the early religious life of
S. Ninian is admirable, and even the declamation on the evil-
ness of the times, though slightly turgid, is not without
eloquence. A historical work like this is not the place to
^ Menologium Cisterciense notationibus illustratum; Antwerp. 1630, p. 14.
2 Chronic. Johan. Abbatis S. Petri de Burgho, p. 79 ; cit. Wright.
^ Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, ad diem.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XI
enlarge on its religious aspect, but the vein of real piety which
runs through it all, while it is evidence of the beautiful moral
nature of the author, gives the lie to those crude notions of the
world lying in spiritual darkness during the mediaeval times,
and of the absence of gospel light from epochs distinguished
by some of the strongest outcomes of the Christian sentiment,
such as the wars of the Crusades — wars for an idea — the idea
of the special sacredness of that holy land,
" Over whose acres walked those blessed feet,
Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed
For our advantage to the bitter cross."
The Bollandists,^ as has been already mentioned, do not give
the life of S. Ninian, but they comment upon it, and illustrate
it. First they allude to the question who the Picts, whom he
is stated to have converted, were, and quote the statements (1.)
of Dion,^ that the Britanni were divided into Caledonians and
Meatse, of whom the latter lived near the wall which divided
the island into two parts, the Caledonians being behind them ;
(2.) of Ammianus Marcellinus, who divided them into Dicale-
dones and Vecturiones, the former being those who occupied
the western parts of the island, as if at the right hand, while
the Vecturiones occupied the left ; and (3.) of Bseda, who again
divides the Picts into Northern and Southern. After citing
these authorities, they decline to enter on the question whether
the Picts were different from the Britons or a nation imported
from other quarters.
Then they discuss the name of Candida Casa, mentioning
that Camden identified it with the Leucophibia, quasi AevK
oiKiSia, of Ptolemy, and that Malmesbury^ mentioned that the
name was taken from the work, " quod ecclesiam ibi ex lapide
Britonibus miraculum fecerit." They decline to enter into
" the odious controversy " whether it belonged to the Scots or
Saxons, quoting only what Bseda says in the well-known
1 Acta SS. Sept. 16, torn. v. p. 318.
2 Lib. xvii. ^ Lib. iii. do Gestis Pont. Anglic.
XU GENERAL INTllODUCTION.
place, "Cujus sedem episcopalem S. Martini episcopi nomine
et ecclesia insignem, ubi ipse etiam corpore una cum pluribus
Sanctis requiescit jam nunc Anglorum gens obtinet;" but,
in presence of a confessed perplexity as to the epoch, con-
tent themselves with giving what the Scots writers assert
with respect to the conversion of their country. They first
quote Hector Boethius,^ Leslfeus,^ and George Thorn son,^
for the conversion of Scotland under Pope Victor in the time
of the Emperor Severus, though they take leave to question
them, chiefly from Scotch testimonies, such as the legend of the
arrival of the relics of S. Andrew. Admitting the expression
of Tertullian, "Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo
vero subdita sunt," they understand it to mean that there
may have been here and there a handful of Christians in Scot-
land : — " Non nego Donaldum quendam, sive is Scotorum rex,
sive vir inter suos princeps fuerit, Christianis sacris initiatum
fuisse, et exemplo suo nonnullos Christo lucrifecisse. Hoc
unum nego, utpotc nullo nixum fundamento, Scotorum nempe
vel Pictorum gentem universam, ab A.c. 203, veritates Evan-
gelicse recepisse ita ut ab ea numquam defecerit. Scotorum et
Pictorum a fide defectionem Corotico clarissime ostendunt
duriora S. Patricii verba."
Turning from these, they accept, on the authority of a paper
by Papebroch on the time of the conversion of the Picts, the
statement of Eordun regarding the death of S. Mnian * in the
time of Theodosius the younger, which was determined by his
having flourished in the time of S. Martin, who died in the
eighth year of Arcadius and Honorius. Then they mention that
Pitseus, Alford, the Magdeburg Centuriators, assign 432 as his
1 Scotorum Hist. lib. vi. fol. 86; Paris. 1575.
- Lib. iii. de Origine, etc., p. 114 ; Romse, 1678.
^ De Antiquitate Christianaj Religionis apud Scotos, authore Georgio
Thomsono Scoto. Eomse, ex Typograpliio Barth. Bonfadini mdxciiii. ;
Siii)erioram Permissu — has no pagination, but is a small quarto of nine pages
and a half. * Lib. iii. c. 9.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAX. Xui
date, while a MS. preserved in their hbrary, as well as another
made by Patrick Ninian Wemyss, S.J., which he sent to Sol-
lerius in 1720, gives 437 as the year. Wilson dates it so late
as 512, but this is incompatible with the saint's connexion
with S. Martin.^ Alford makes his mission commence from
394, in the papacy of Siricius. They conclude, "Pictorum
igitur Australium conversioneni late figo vel sub finem ssec. iv.
vel sub initium v., cum hoc solum ex Beda certum sit eos diu
ante annum 565 ad fidem adductos fuisse."-
S. Ninian's name occurs in the Roman Martyrology.^ It is
absent from those of Ado and Usuardus, but occurs in the
Auctaria of Grevenus and jMolanus.^ Wilson in his Mar-
tyrologium Anglicanum has " Sacrum ejus corpus in eadem
S. Martini Ecclesia sepultum, ibidem magna veneratione ser-
vatum fuit, usque ad tempora Henrici regis viii. (Editio altera
habet Jacobi regis vi., quas lectio omnino preferenda est.)
Multa etiam praeclara templa atque altaria in ejus honorem
pristinis Catholicorum temporibus erecta ac dedicata fuerunt
in regno Scotise." The following is an incomplete list of
these dedications : —
ABERDEENSHIEE.
1. And AT IN Methlick, Collections on the shires of Aber-
deen and Banff, p. 320.
2. PiTMEDDEN IN OyNE, ib. p. 579.
3. Fetterneir, Antiquities of Aberdeen and Banff, vol. iii.
p. 389.
^ Joannis Wilsoni Maartyrolog. Anglicanum, 1608.
2 Alford (Michael, alias Griffith, English Jesuit, b. 1587,) — Fides Regia
Britannica, Saxonica, Anglica, una ilia eademque Sancta Catholica Romana;
sive Annales Ecclesiastic! in quibus Britannorum, Saxonum, Anglorum ortho-
doxa fides a Cliristo nato ad annos 1189 historica demonstratione deducitur
atque probatur, 4 torn., Lond. 1663.
Britannia illustrata ; sive Lucii Hebrseae, Helena, Constantiui, priuiorum
Eegum et Augustorum Christiauorum Patria et Fides. 4to. Autverpije, 1641.
3 Baronii Mart. Rom. p. 574, ed. Mogunt. 1631.
* Sollerii Usuardus, p. 539, ed. Antwerp. 1714.
XIV GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
4. Chapel in Aberdeen, Chalmers's Caledonia, i. 315.
5. Altarage in S. Nicholas, Aberdeen, New Statistical
Account, Aberdeen, p. 329.
AEGYLE.
1. Island of Sand a, Origines Parocliiales, ii. 9.
2. Kilninian, in Mull, Chalmers's Caledonia, i, 315.
3. Lands of S. Ninian, Kintyre, Eetours, Argyle, 21, 93.
AYESHIEE.
1. Dundonald, Chalmers's Caledonia, iii. p. 411.
2. Colmonell, Ayr, ib. i. 315.
3. KiNCASE, N, S. A., Ayr, p. 173.
4. MONKTON, ib.
5. Kilsanctniniane in Ardmillan, Eetours, Ayr, 352.
6. KiLDONAN, Orig. Par., ii. 737.
BANFF.
1. Chapel of Enzie in Eathven, Jervise's Epitaphs, p. 277.
2. Bellie, Antiquities of Aberdeen and Banff, ii. p. 267.
BUTE.
1. S. Ninian's Bay and Point, N. S. A., Bute, 96.
CAITHNESS.
1. Head of Wick, N. S. A., Caithness, 160, Orig. Par., ii. 772.
DUMBAETON.
1. Kirkintilloch, Eegist. Ep. Glasg., p. 390.
DITMFEIES.
1. Altarage, in Parish Church, Act. Dom. Cone, et Sess.,
vol. V. f. 206 (MS. General Eegister House).
TART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XV
EDINBUEGH.
1. S. Ninian's Lands, Liberton, Retours, Edinburgh, 1097.
2. S. Ninian's Chapel, near the Leper Hospital, Liber
Cartarum S. Egidii, p. 134.
3. Altarage, in S. Giles, Lib. Cart. S. Crucis, pp. 64, 160.
4. Bridge-End, Leith, ib. p. 244.
FIFE.
1. Prebend of S. Ninian, Ceres, Eetours, Fife, 261.
2. Chapel in Constabulary of Kinghorn, ib. 315.
3. Altarage, in Parish Church of Falkland, Reg. Mag. Sig.,
Lib. xli. No. 44 (MS. General Register House).
FORFARSHIRE.
1. Well at Arbirlot, Proceedings of Antiquarian Society,
ii. 449.
2. Ferne, Jervise, Lands of the Lindsays, p. 179.
3. Benshie, ib. p. 279.
4. Chapel at Alyth, ib. p. 285.
5. S. Vigeans, N. S. a., Forfar, 495.
6. S. Ninian's Croft, Arbroath; Retours, Forfar, 154.
7. Altarage, in Brechin Cathedral, Jervise's Memorials of
Angus, p. 470.
8. Mains (?).
INVERNESS.
1. Keilsanctrinan in Urquhart, Retours, Inverness, 41.
KINCARDINE.
1. S. Ninian's Chapel and Den, Stonehaven, Retours, Kin-
cardine, 70.
2. Dunottar.
KINROSS.
1. Chapel at Sauchie, Retours, Kinross, 22.
XVI GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
LANARK.
1. Well at Lamington, Orig. Par. i. 173.
2. Stonehouse, ih. i. p. 108.
3. WiSTOUN, ih. 147.
4. Covington, Eetours, Lanark, 82.
5. Hospital, Glasgow, Act. Pari. v. 563.
LINLITHGOW.
1. Cilvpel at Linlithgow, N. S. A., Linlithgow, p. 175.
2. Blackness, Chalmers's Caledonia, iii. 411.
]V10EAY.
1. Chapel in Diser (Dyke), Ptetours, Elgin, 141.
2. Altarage in Elgin Cathedral, Chalmers's Caledonia, i. 315.
PERTH.
1. KiNNOULL, Retours, Perth, 152.
2. St. Ninian's Lands, Coupar, ih. p. 70.
3. Lany.
4. Altarage in Dunkeld Cathedral, Mylne, Vit?e Dunkel-
deu. Eccles. episcoporum.
RENFREW.
1. Altarage in Renfrew, Orig. Par., i. 74.
2. Gov AN, N. S. A., 688.
ROSS-SHIRE.
1. Balconie, in Kiltearn, O. S. A., i. 293.
2. Rosskeen, Orig. Par., ii. 469.
3. Fortrose, Chalmers's Caledonia, i. 315,
ROXBURGH.
1. Bowden, Orig. Par., i. 287.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. xvii
SHETLAND.
1. DuNROSSNESS, N. S. A., Shetlaud, 94.
STIKLING.
1. S. NiNiANS, K S. A., Stirling, 323.
2. Well at Stirling, ih. 426.
3. Chapel at Stirling, Eegist. de Dunferm. p. 344.
4. Campsie, Eegist. Episc. Glasg. p. 88.
SUTHEELAND.
1. Navidale, N. S. a., Sutherland, p. 201.
WIGTONSHIEE.
1. Penningiiam, K S. a., Wigton, 176.
2. Cruives of Cree, Chalmers's Caledonia, iii. 411.
Among the charters of Sir W, K. Murray of Oclitertyre
there is a paper of the Marischal family, iu which, about 1380,
the Earl Marischal of the day states that in building his
castle of Dunottar he had unconsciously infringed upon a piece
of ground where in former times there had been a chapel
dedicated to S. Mnian. The Court of Eome sanctioned the
matter on payment of certain moneys.^
Some of the relics of S. Ninian were saved at the Eeforma-
tion, and preserved in the Scots College at Douai. An arm
was recovered by Father Alexander Macquarry, and given in
charge to the Countess of Linlithgow. It was intrusted by
Alexander Seton to Father John Eobb to be brought to the
Seminary.2 In Father Augustin Hay's Scotia Sacra/ pp. 387-
395, we read — "I heard that there was only one bone, which
* Information by Dr. John Stuart. ^ Acta SS. Sept. t. v. p. 327.
^ MS. Advocates' Library.
B
Xviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
goeth from the elbow to the sheikle-bone, that was kept reli-
giously in the Chapell of St. Margaret by the Scots of Douay
College, enclosed in a figure of wood, representing a Bishop.
The relic is enclosed in the right arm."
Father John Kobb succeeded Father G. TurnbuU as Superior
of the Scots College at Douai, and died there of fever 13th
March 1639.^ There were two Alexander Setons, — one in
Germany in 1612, on being sent to the Scots mission, died on
the road ; the other, a natural son of the Earl of Dunfermline,
was sometimes called Eoss. He entered the Society of Jesus
in 1687, and lived to a great age.^ I cannot trace out Father
Macquarry. The Countess of Linlithgow was Helenor, daughter
of Andrew, seventh Earl of Errol, who married Alexander, first
Earl of Linlithgow.^ The charge of the Princess Elizabeth
was committed to her and her husband, and they discharged
their duty so well that they received the thanks of the King
and Council.^ That a Eoman Catholic should have charge of
the Princess is not wonderful, for Anne of Denmark had
secretly conformed, and had Father Eobert Abercromby for
her confessor.-''
The name of S. Ninian was restored to the Kalendar of the
Scottish Church in the Prayer-book of 1 637. Churches belong-
ing both to the Eoman and Anglican communions have been
dedicated to him in this century.
We may dismiss as resting on no real foundation the asser-
tion of Pitseus and Dempster, that S. Ninian was the author
of a book of meditations on the Psalms, and another, de Sanc-
torum Sententiis.^
^ Oliver's Collections, p. 36.
2 lb. p. 37, with MS. note by the late Rev. G. A. Griffin.
3 Douglas's Peerage, vol. v. p. 549, ed. Edinburgh, 1813.
■* lb. vol. ii. p. 127.
^ Conajus, de Duplici Statu Religionis, Romje, 1628, p. 270.
^ Pitseus, de Illustribus Britannia Scriptoribus, p. 87 ; Dempster's Hist.
Eccl., vol. ii. p. 502, ed. Edin. 1829.
TART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XIX
His Office in the Breviary of Aberdeen is as follows : —
" In festo sandi jpatris nostri Niniani episcapi ct confessoris
in primis vcsperis antipli.
" Ovans agat hec coucio Niniani solennia trine vocis tripudio
laiidum sonat obsequia ut mens lingua et actio pari concordent
gloria placebit sic laudacio Deo reddenti premia, ^Ps. Laudate
pueri. Antiph. Hie PictoiTim tenebras fugat dans vite monita
mundi contemj)nens blandicias dux plebis ad celestia. Fs. Lau-
date Dominum omnes gentes. An. Vita processit populum sic
sanctitate previa nunc liaurit in te poculum dux cum ductis in
patria. Ps. Laudaanima. Antiph. Tanto patrono plaudere jure
debes Albania secura salva sistere dum vitas vite devia. Ps.
Laudate Dominum quoniam bonus. Anti^jh. Ad celos migrans
liodie locandus in deliciis ad mores fac quotidie migrare nos a
viciis. Ps. Lauda Hierusalem. Capitulum vmuis confessoris.
B. Quod cambuca vir Dei circueat taurus custos armentum
vigilat qui latronis dum ventrem perforat infelicem ultor
exanimat. Mox cadaver sanctus vivificat Saulum sternens
Paulum resuscitat. V. Insigne geritur signum certaminis pes
saxo jungitur bovis et hominis. Mox. Gloria. Hyui.
Christe qui rex as glorie
Caput sanctorum omnium
Tu Niniano gracie
Tue dedisti premium
Ortus regalis semine
Clare puer est indolis
Vir veritatis lumine
Dat vitam pastor incolis.
Pictis junctis Britonibus
Turmis duarum genciura
Mercatus in celestibus
Eegionem vivencium
Regem percussit ulcio
Vir Belial qui fuerat
Sanatur et devocio
Pia mitem reddiderat
A mortis solvit vinculo
Quern taurus perforaverat
A mortis et periculo
XX GENERAL INTKODUCTIOX.
Vir undis raptuni liberat
Egris se recldit habilem
Multos curans miraculis
Deum sibi placabilem
Beatis videns oculis
Presta Christe victoriam
Nobis de victis liostibus
Niniani Memoriam
Vitam confer agentibus. Amen.
" V. Amavit emu. Antiph. Stirps regalis que vita floruit
prolem profert regem quern decuit patrum pater patronum geuuit
Ninianum quo muudus claruit hie ut sydus signis emicuit dum
Britannos fidem perdocuit. Ps. Magnificat.
''Orat. Deus qui hodiernam diem beati Niniani confessoris tui
atque pontificis festivitate honorabilem nobis dedicasti ; concede
propicius ut cujus erudicione veritatis tue luce perfundimur ejus
intercessione celestis vite gaudia consequamur per Dominum."
(Here follows the commemoration of S. Euphemia and her
companions.)
"Ad mat. Invit. Christus laudetur Niniano laus jubilatur. Ps.
Venite, Hymnus Christe qui Rex. In primo nodurn. Antiph.
Ninianus teneris annis constitutus inhiabat superis moribus
imbutus. Ps. Beatus vir. Antiph. Eomam petens dogmatis
causa visitavit sed vite pro meritis presul remeavit. Ps. Quare
fremuerunt. Antiph. Factus hie Britonibus fidei ligatus
perfidos sollicitus reprimit conatus. Ps. Domine quid. V.
Amavit. Led. i. Gloriosam . . . gentem magnam. B. Ninianus
nobilis clare puer indolis sacris inardescit. Ut sic prosit patriae
se presentat curiae qua presul recessit. V. Et conjectu spiri-
tus ejus mentis habitus Martino clarescit. Ut. Led. ii. Beatis-
simus Ninianus . . . ita de eo scribit. B. Pastor redit fit clausus
omnium plebs obedit fugit demonium reseratur fides creden-
cium. Cedit error crescit miraculum. V. Gens seducta suggestu
demonum per hunc sanctum credit in Dominum. Cedit. Led. Hi.
Anno ab incarnatione . . . regionibus sequestrate. B. Ptex
neque monita contempnens presulis luit obprobria dolore
CA
gfi
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXI
capitis sed quern obduxerat cecitas luminis tirmum reddiderat
in fide numinis. V. Fit iiiorbi duplicis duplex curacio cordis
et corporis illuminacio. Sed. In secunda noc. an. Tactu viri jus-
ticie visu privantur oculi regis fastu superbie molesti sancto
presuli. Ps. Cum invocarem. An. Presul placatus venia
lumen amissum reddidit rex ductus penitencia Christo renatus
credidit. Ps. Verba mea. An. Crimen matris panditur ex
infantis ore dum confusio solvitur insons corruptore. Ps.
Domine Deus noster. V. Justum. Led. iv. Namque ipsi australes
Picti , . . misterio veritatis edoctus. B. Per incastum gravi-
data mater tandem coartata partus patrem prodere senen cepit
accusare, sic se credens excusare de commisso scelere. Ees
stupenda contra morem pandit infans genitorem. V. Ex in-
fantis lactentis pectore vox virilis sonat cum robore patrem
prodit victum facinore. Ees stupenda. Lectio v. Cujus sed em
episcopatus , . . Britonibus more fecerit. B. Sedens Sanctus
in refectorio et confratres pascens miraculo ortolanum vocat
continuo olus ferri jubens ex ortulo. Herbam profert cum
seminario jam tunc satam dans grates Domino. V. Ad precep-
tum Niniani mens stupescit ortolani sciens tamen nicbil vani
voto sancti succedere ipso die seminatum profert terra fructum
gratum jubente pontifice. Herbam profert cum seminario jam
tunc satam. Lectio vi. Tanti itaque viri ... in lionore ejusdem
dedicatm\ B. Ducem furum taurus egreditur cornu bruti
brutalis ceditur rupto ventre vita discutitur. Eursum vivus ac
sanus reditur. V. Discursu devio volant latrunculi in muni-
cipio stringuntur baculi. Eursum, Gloria. Eursum. In Hi.
noctur. an. Patrem linquit parvulus verberum timore quem
reduxit baculus vorticis ab ore. Ps. Domine quis habitabit.
Antiph. Lignum florens aridum cunctis stat in signum : fons
erumpens famulum probat Deo dignum. Ps. Domine in vir-
tute. Antiph. Mniano singula parent elementa, ignis, aer, arida,
pontus, et iluenta. Ps. Domini est terra. V. Justus ut. Evan-
gelium. Homo quidem peregre et reliqua. Tunc omelia vene-
rabilis Bcdcv Presbyteri de vita et miraculis Sancti Niniani Icct.
Xxii GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
vij. Verbum quod ipse breviter . . . historico modo conscribit.
it. Virgam timens reus discipulus fugam subiit adolescentulus
Clam defertur magistri baculus, quo salvator nauclerus, tremulus.
V. Multi foraminum patescunt aditus incursus fluminum sistit
divinitus. Clam. Lectio viij. InsvJa igitur . . . sed quorundam
memoria comprobatur. B. Cum collega vir proficiscitur sic
psallendi locus eligitur : atra nube dumus obducitur : ymber de
qua fusus immittitur. Supra sanctum nuda restringitur : curva
nube cum circumcingitur. V. Ymbris stillam prohibet nubes
camerata ne vestis vel littera sancti sit rigata. Supra. Led.
ix. Pater ejus Eex . . . non cessavit. B. Infans invisus
nascitur, effigies horribilis, vultus dorso transumitur, monstrum
forme mirabilis : manus pedes et brachia cunctis privantur
usibus : Christi fulgent magnalia membris in transversalibus
sospes regreditur. V. Ad Niniani tumulum tetrum munus
adducitur in summi laudis titulum, sanatus restituitur. Manus.
Gloria. Ma. Frosa. Sospitati Niniani dat egris oratio. Tumor
cedit ydropicis et lepre contagio. Eeddatur vita functis et
mutis locucio. Cecis visus, claudis gressus, et surdis audicio.
Gaudent portum naufragati et sterilis filio. Liberantur carcerati
dementes demonio. Fugit thisis, gutta febris epilensis passio.
Aridorum membra suo redduntur officio. quam probat sanctum
Dei furum liberacio ; oculorumque membrorum nova restitucio.
Ergo laudes Niniano nostra psallet concio. ISTamque corde
poscunt ilium loto prius vicio. Sospes regreditur. V. Ora
pro nobis, beate Muiane. I71 Laudibus Aniiph. CoUaudemus
omnium summum creatorem suum qui mirificat signis confes-
sorera. Ps. Dominus regnavit. A71. Ad sancti reliquias
siciens virtutem monstrum Deo gratias recepit salutem. Ps.
Jubilate. A71. Hinc pro luce perdita pulsante puella leta
luce reddita redit jam novella. Ps. Deus, Deus. A^i. Morphea
mortifera que corpus obsessit non relinquens vestigia corpori
recessit. Ps. Benedicite. An. Niniani meritis morbidi curautur
ceci vident : audiunt surdi : muti fantur. Ps. Laudate. Hymnus.
Adest dies leticie i^iniani Pontificis quo stolam sumpsit glorie :
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXlll
choris sceptus augelicis. Plaude turba fidelium : patris colens
solempnia : ejus lauclans preconium : qui suis dat praesidia : in
Paradiso ecclesie : virtutum ex dulcediue : spiranien dat aro-
luatum : Ninianus celestium : liic Mnianus sumitur : calcata
luctu seculi : celum victor ingreditur : cum turmis multi
populi : Jesu rector luctancium : tua nos rege gratia : sup-
plantando demonium : mundum carnem justitia. An. Ora
Christe victoriam. quam pia pura patris aluii cura circa
simplices nulli nam in vanum poscunt Niuianum quamvis
complices culpe sint et rei dum in arce spei constant supplices
liic corde contritos solvit compeditos frangens compedes. Ps.
Benedictus. Or. ut supra. Mcmoria de tnartyribus ad vesp.
An. Collaudemus omnia. Ps. feri. Capitulum unius confessor is,
ut supra. R. Nos qui sumus involuti viciorum finibus dementes
et imbuti delictorum sordibus Niniane te rogamus fave suppli-
cantibus : ut celorum rex placatus a te fusis precibus nos
mundatos a peccatis jungat cell civibus. V. Nobis sis patronus
pius pastor bonus memor miseris qui te colunt corde purgatos a
sorde redde superis Niniane. Hymnus. Plaudat turba fidelium
novis productis canticis : promat laudis preconium Niniani pon-
tificis. Cujus doctrina et monitis gens graditur feliciter : error
ab illicitis conversa est salubriter : Virga vetus mosayca et
baculus antistitis : signa conformant celica Niniani pro meritis,
Virga mare dividitur, ducatum prebens populo : unda maris
refiectitur navem regente baculo. Aqua fluxit de lapide hebreum
potans populum : exivit fons a cuspide baculi mittens rivulum.
Virga legalis arida frondes fiores produxerat : tali virtute valida
baculus arens creverat. Ymber invasit codicem dum mens
vacaret ocio : inundans suspendit laticem labens mentis oracio.
In mundo laude egregia florebat mirabilibus : nunc est in ceK
curia vivens cum Sanctis omnibus. Laus trino et uni Domino
sit qui est sine termino : qui Niniani precibus jungat celi civi-
bus. Amen. V. Justus germina. An. Pastor pasce gregem
superum pete pro gregc regem gratus reddatur et ovili resti-
tuatur lumine perfunde famulos virtutis habunde lucifer eterne
lucis Niniane superne. Ps. INIagnificat."
XXIV GENEKAL INTKODUCTIOK.
In an interesting volume in the BoUandian Library at
Brussels, whose title is " Incipit ordo missalis Fratrum Mino-
runi secundum consuetudinem Eomanse Curiae," a Scottish
service-book of the thirteenth century, communicated to me
by the learned Father Victor de Buck, S. J., in an additional
service inscribed after 1264, we find the following : —
" De Beato Niniano. Oratio. Deus, qui populos Pictorum et
Britonum, per doctrinam S. Niniani episcopi [et confessoris tui]
ad fidei Tuse notitiam convertisti, concede propitius ut cujus
eruditione veritatis tuae luce perfusi sumus etiam [perfundimur
ejus] intercessione cselestis vitae gaudia consequamur. Per
Dominum. Secreta. Oblata servitutis nostrae munera Domine
quaesumus annue Sancti patris nostri Niniani episcopi com-
memoratio [solennitas] commendet accepta, ut ejus pia suppli-
catione muniti, cunctorum nostrorum delictorum veniam, et
beatitudinis sempiternae benedictione mereamur optinere con-
sortium, per Dominum.
" PosTCOMMUNio. Eefectos, Domine, vitalis alimoniae sacra-
mentis sancti confessoris tui Niniani episcopi gloriosa nos
intercessione protege et ad aeternum celestis mensae convivium
concede pervenire per Dominum."
The passages in brackets are the modifications of the service
as they appear in the Arbuthnott Missal, after nearly 250
years.^
In the office as exhibited in the Missal, the portion of Scrip-
ture for the Epistle is taken from the Book of Wisdom, " Ecce
Sacerdos." The Gospel is " Homo quidam peregre," and the
Sequence is as follows : —
" Ave, pater et patrone,
prsesul, pastor, pie, bone,
confessor eximie !
Roga Deum, Niniane,
pro salute ser6 mane
prasseutis familire.
^ Libel' Ecclesie Beate Terrenaiii de Arbuthnott; Burntisland, 18G4, p. 369.
PAKT I. — THE LIFE UF S. XIXIAX. XXV
Tu per terras et per mare
dire vinctos liberare
non cessas Cliristicolas ;
Esto nobis spiritalis
tutor, salvans nos a malis
loci liujus incolas.
Ope tufe sanctse precis
TTiembris surdis claudis crecis
crebra datur sanitas ;
Nobis reis et indignis
succurre, ne cum maligiiis
nos damnet iniquitas.
Rex, puer, fur, bortolanus,
infans cujus pedes mauus
privabantur usibus,
Probant sanctum apud Christum
te ; tu nos post mundum istum
jungas caeli civibus. Amen."
Of allusions to S. ISTinian in the pre-Reformatiou literature of
Scotland, we may note in "Ane dialog betwix experience and
ane courteour," by Sir David Lindsay (Works ed. Laing, vol. i.
p. 311), the question of the Courtier " of the imageis usit amang
Christian men : " —
" Sanct Roche, weill seisit, men may see
Ane byill new broken on his thye,
Sanct Eloye he doth staitly stand
Ane new horse shoe intyll his hand,
Sanct Riugan of ane rottin stoke,
Sanct Duthow boird out of ane bloke."
In William Stewart's Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland
(vol. ii. p. 22 ; London, 1858) we find —
" Sanct Martyn als he wes into tha dais ;
And Sanct Niniane, as my auther sais,
Biggit ane kirk than into Galdia
Quhilk Qidiitterne now is callit at this da."
In an English ballad on the unfortunate battle of Flodden
XXVI GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
composed soon after the event, the Scottish objects of popular
worship are alluded to : —
" Their patron so did not them leave,
Saint Andrew with his shored cross,
But sure St. Triman of Quhytehorn,
Or Duffin their demigod of Ross."^
The apostolate of S. Ninian is the first distinct fact in the
history of the Christianity of modern Scotland, although the
circumstances of his life, as well as other testimonies,^ make it
evident that before his time the light of the gospel had shone
upon these remote shores.
That in the Eoman province the religion which had been
gradually undermining the ancient Paganism and which had
been fully organized, as we know from the presence of three
British Bishops at the Council of Aries, should have extended
itself is only natural ; but the enfeeblement of the Empire, and
the constant invasion of the barbarians, make it probable that
great confusion and religious decay existed everywhere.
The Eoman province, the northern frontier of which had
been re-established by Tlieodosius at the wall between the
Forth and the Clyde in 369, was in about half a century after
that abandoned, and a reign of intestine anarchy and foreign
conquest succeeded. Maximus withdrew the Eoman troops in
388. Stilicho drove back the Picts and again restored the wall
in 397-402. In 407 Constantine withdrew the troops again,
and the southern wall became the boundary. While the
eastern coast of Southern Scotland was again and again in-
vaded by successive hordes of pagan Jutes, Saxons, Frisians,
and Angles, the western region remained in the possession of
the great British or Cambrian race, who on the withdrawal
of the Eoman legions became the victims of the incursions of
the Picts of the north, of the Irish Scots, and of the Saxons.
The Cambrian or Cumbrian kingdom extended beyond the
1 The Battle of FlocHen Field, by Henry Weber, ed. 1S08, p. 27.
- Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Eccl. Documents, vol. i. pp. 1-14.
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXVll
southern wall. It ran from Alcluyd or Dumbarton in the
nortli as far as the river Derwent in Cumberland.
It -would appear that war was carried on between the
Cumbrians and their enemies with varied success, although in
the main the latter prevailed. That the Picts at one time
occupied the land as far as the southern wall, we know on the
authority of Gildas,^ and the topography of Galloway to this
day has indications that the Saxons had effected an occupation
there. On the otlier hand (whatever historical value may be
attached to the fact), the Welsh bards celebrate the con-
quest of Urien or Owen Eeged, who, only for a time indeed,
actually recovered Bernicia. Of the internal condition of the
British kingdom at this time we have no certain information.
Naturally foreign war would cause domestic confusion, and the
arts of peace could not flourish in the presence of the terror
caused by constant invasion. One element of civilisation cer-
tainly remained to it. Tlie road was open both to Gaul and
Italy, even to Jerusalem.^
The date of S. Ninian is determined by the fact mentioned
in the Life, that the building of his church at Whithern
synchronized with the death of the great S. Martin of Tours.
That death, according to the best authorities, occurred in a.d.
397. The last decade of the fourth century was distinguished
by the vigorous administration of the Emperor Theodosius,
his cruel massacre at Thessalonica, his excommunication by
S. Ambrose, and his death at Llilan at the age of fifty. It wit-
nessed the partition of the Empire between Honorius and
Arcadius, the gradual increase of the power of Alaric, and the
increasing jealousies of the East and West. It was the epoch
of Claudian and Ausonius ; above all, it was a time of great
mental activity in the Church. S. Jerome was writing against
1 Gildas, Hist. sec. 21.
2 Hier. Ep. xliv. ad Paulam, Ixxxiv. ad Oceanmn ; Patricii Coufessio,
p. 309 ; Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents, vol. i.
p. 14.
XXVIU GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
Jovinian ; S. Pauliuus composing his Christian poetry at Nola;
Augustine and Ambrose offering their contributions to the
literature of the Church ; S. Gregory Nazianzen, and the two
heathen authors, Libanius the Sophist and^Ammianus Marcel-
linus, had just passed away ; S. John of the Golden Mouth had
been raised to the patriarchal chair of Constantinople.
There is no contemporary account of the civilisation of the
scenes where Ninian was reared. Britain was synonymous
with barbarism. In the mouth of S. Chrysostom it was to the
glory of Christianity that it had extended to Britain/ just as
we should speak of the Fiji Islands. That it supplied the
material for great armies is clear from the fact that the usurper
Maximus raised a large army of Britons, Gauls, Celts, and
other nations, and marched into Italy.^ That S. Cyprian's works
were known there we learn from Prudentius.^ That a regular
hierarchy, with churches, altars, the Bible, discipline, and the
creeds, existed, we know from many sources, but nothing more.
That a few years later the Britons were susceptible of the Pela-
gian heresy shows at least that religion was a subject of interest
to them, but as to the conditions of civil life we know nothing,
save what we may gather from the incidents of some of the
miracles recorded in the Life now published. A biography
written for edification is not likely to dwell on the details
which interest the student of secular history ; still if we
assume that the biographer of S. Ninian used ancient mate-
rials for the " liber de ejus vita et miraculis, barbario scrip-
tus," we may here and there gather up some facts, though we
must never forget that S. Ailred lived many centuries after the
death of the subject of his history, and that he wrote in the
sense of the ideas of his own time, — that is, of the epoch of the
revival connected with tlie substitution of the new chapters
and religious orders for the Culdees, and of the changes which
resulted in the aggregation of Scotland into the great family of
1 Cont. Judceos, O})!). i. 378, ed. Montfaucou.
2 Sozomen, H. E. vii. c. 13. -^ Ilfpi ^Tecjjavcov, xiii. 103.
PAlfT I.— THE LIFE OF S. NINIAX. XXIX
Continental nations through the predominance of the influence
of the English religious orders, and the at that time wholesome
operation of the increase of the power of the See of Eome.
The only historical works which supply any light on the
extremely obscure condition of Britain at this time are the
two treatises by S. Patrick, the Confession and the Letter to
Coroticus or Caradoc. Though S. Patrick is a few years
posterior to S. Ninian, yet he belongs to the same kingdom, and
therefore we may gather some of the conditions of British
life from what is related there; e.g. the mixture of races.
S. Patrick's father is Calpornus or Calpliurnius, a deacon, and
his grandfather Potitus, a priest, but his great-grandfather^ is
Odissi. His father lives in a Villula near Bonavem Tabernite,
at which place he was kidnapped. Though the son of a
deacon, and grandson of a priest, he was ignorant of the true
God, indicating one of those lapses into Paganism which
were so common at that time. He writes in fluent but in
very barbarous Latin, such as we may conceive provincials
at such a distance from the centre of civil unity would
employ. Slaves carried off from Britain were employed in
tending sheep in Ireland. Travelling was then not easy.
Provisions were scarce, and men were glad to gather the
wild honey which it was their custom to offer to the false
gods. As a form of the monastic life for men and women
was introduced by Patrick into Ireland, we must believe
that the system obtained in Valentia. Slavery was so recog-
nised that Patrick, speaking of sums that he had paid out for
the poor, describes it as the price of fifteen men. Prom the
Epistle to Coroticus we gather that Ireland at this time was
more barbarous than Britain, where the Eoman ofiices were
retained. S. Patrick was free-born, for his father was a
Decurio. But if we are thus ignorant of the state of Britain,
we have more than one trustworthy record of the other scenes
connected with S. Ninian. He is stated to have visited both
* According to the scribe's own note in the margin of the Book of Armagh.
XXX GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
Eome and Gaul. Of the state of Eome at that time we have
several descriptions. It was probably during the Pontificate of
the showy and haughty Pope Damasus, whose " western eye-
brow"^ was so eminently distasteful to S. Basil the Great. The
narrative of the violent schism which took place at the time of
his election is told by the heathen author Ammianus Mar-
cellinus, who, little as he in general interests himself in the
affairs of the Christians, relates and comments upon that
remarkable event : —
"Advenit successor ejus (Lampadii) ex quoesitore palatii
Juventius, integer et prudens, Pannonius : cujus administratio
quieta fuit et placida, copia rerum omnium fluens. Et hunc
quoque discordantis populi seditiones terruere cruentse, qnve
tale negotium excitavere. Damasus et Ursinus supra humanum
modum ad rapiendam episcopalem sedem ardentes, scissis
studiis asperrime conflictabantur adusque mortis vulnerumque
discrimiua adjumentis utriusque progressis : quae nee corri-
gere sufficiens Juventius nee mollire coactus vi magna secessit
in suburbanum. Et in concertatione superaverat Damasus,
parte, quae ei favebat, instante. Constatque in basilica Sicinini
ubi ritus Christiani est conventiculum, uno die centum triginta
septem reperta cadavera peremptorum: efferatamque diu plebem
£egre postea delenitam." -
Marcellinus's remarks on the history are very curious, and
are quoted : —
" Neque ego abnuo, ostentationem rerum considerans urbana-
rum, hujus rei cupidos ob impetraudum, quod adpetunt, omni
contentione laterum objurgari debere : cum id adepti, futuri
sint ita securi, ut ditentur oblationibus matronarum, proce-
dantque vehiculis insidentes, circumspecte vestiti, epulas
curantes profusas, adeo ut eorum convivia regales superent
mensas. Qui esse poterant beati re vera, si magnitudine urbis
^ rrjs SuriK^s 6(f)pvos — Bas. ad Euseb.
2 Ammianus Marcellimis, sub anno 367} lib. xxvii. c. 3, p. 374. Edition
Eyssenhardt. Berlin, 1871.
•b
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXXI
despecta, quain vitiis opponunt, ad imitationem antistitum
quorundam provincialium viverent : quos teniiitas edendi
potandique parcissime, vilitas etiam indvmientorum et super-
cilia humum spectaiitia, perpetuo numini verisque ejus cul-
toribus ut puros commendant et verecundos."
But a still more remarkable account of these discreditable
transactions is given in another contemporary document of no
small interest, wliich has been rescued from oblivion by the
learned Sirmond. It is termed " Libellus Precum," and its full
title is "Marcellmi et Faustini Presbyterorum, partis Ursini
adversus Damasum Libellus precum ad imperatores Valenti-
nianum, Theodosium et Arcadium." Faustinus, who from his
work appears to have been a Luciferian, was the person who
educated Placcilla or Galla Placidia, the excellent wife of
Theodosius. He took an active part on the orthodox side in
the Arian controversy, on which subject he wrote several books.^
In defence of the Luciferians, this remarkable work, which,
though breathing the fierce and narrow spirit of that sect, was
used by S. Jerome, gives us many details of what then took
place, supplying us with many circumstances in the lives and
deaths of the principal actors in the great controversies of the
period, and, as might be expected, the actions of Pope Damasus
are not passed over. It speaks of him as the " egregius archi-
episcopus," afflicting Aurelius, who was probably the Luciferian
Bishop of Eome, forbidding faithful priests to call together the
people to serve Christ, who is God, on holydays, and on one
occasion when one Macarius did this by night, bursting into
the place where they were met together, dispersing the
assembly, and dragging him over the flints before the civil
judge. He, by the imperial authority and by threats, sought
to bring him to terms, but he "repelled the communion of
perfidy, and was banished to Ostia, where he died of the ill-
treatment he had received."^ Damasus is further accused in
^ See Faustini Presbyteri Scriptoria sEeculi quarti fidei orthodoxae adversus
Arianos vindicis acerrimi opeia ; Oxon. 1(578. ^ Libellus, p. 35.
XXXU GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
that " accepta authoritate regali," that is, putting in force the
laws of the Empire against heretics, he persecuted the Catholic
clergy, sending them into exile, and especially Ephesius, who
had heen ordained by Taorgius, " illibatse plebi Eomanae," who,
however, was saved by the intervention of Bassus.
It is right to state that Merenda, who has published the
works of Pope Damasus, defends him, and describes the Libellus
as "mendaciis scatente,"^ but the authority of the document is
untouched, and it places before us a feature of the state of
matters in Eome which is well worth studying. It is unneces-
sary to touch upon the part which this remarkable Pontiff
took in the controversies of the East. The friend of S. Jerome,
he cultivated versification, and some of his remains both in
prose and poetry have come down to us. He is also recognised
in a series of somewhat pompous inscriptions in the Catacombs,
distinguished by rare beauty of execution.^ The Breviary of
Evora states that he wrote the lives of the Pontiffs who pre-
ceded him ; above all things he set himself to adorn the city of
Eome, building two basilicas, one near the theatre, the other in
the Via Ardeatina near the Catacombs. The first of these
seems to have been erected in honour of S. Laurence. It was
endowed with ornaments and property. Anastasius imputes
to this Pope certain improvements in the divine service, but
the authority of the Bibliothecarius for the events of those
earlier times is not' great, however valuable it may be for his
own epoch.
Pope Damasus died in 384, and was succeeded by Siricius,
the author of the first genuine decretal, addressed to Himerius,
Bishop of Tarragona, in which he ruled various doubtful points
of usage, the validity of heretical baptism, the treatment of
apostates, of religious persons guilty of incontinency, and the
celibacy of the clergy. The decretal is curious in reference to
^ Sancti Damasi Papas Opuscula et Gesta ; Romce, 1754, p. 122.
2 De Rossi, Roma Sotteranea Cristiana, t. i. p. 118, Rom. 1SG4 ; t. ii.
p. 195, Rom. 1SG7.
TART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXXIU
S. Ninian, as exhibiting the ecclesiastical discipline under
which he must have been trained during his residence in Eome.
But the condition of the clergy of the time receives further
illustration from the civil law of the period. In the Theodosian
Code the clergy are exempted from civil employment, and the
Bishops were already amenable only to their own order. Civil
officers (Decuriones) were forbidden to take orders, so that
valuable men should not be subtracted from the service of the
State.-^
Vivid descriptions of the condition of Eome at the time of
S. Ninian's visit may be found in the letters of S. Jerome. In
liis correspondence with the wealthy and pious ladies whose
spiritual guide he was, we get some life-like pictures of the
times ; — the Church slowly but surely vindicating itself as the
conqueror of the old Paganism ; Christian society itself becom-
ing worldly and luxurious, with a strong counteraction to this
in the development of the religious or monastic life, especially
among the women of the upper classes.
For instance, in his commentary on Ezechiel he gives us this
interesting account of his visits to the Catacombs : — " Cum essem
Iioma3 puer et liberalibus studiis erudirer, solebam cum cseteris
ejusdem jetatis et propositi diebus Dominicis sepulchra aposto-
lorum et martyrum circuire, crebroque cryptas ingredi, quae in
terrarum profunda defossae, ex utraque parte ingredientium per
parietes habent corpora sepultorum, et ita obscura sunt omnia
ut propemodum illud propheticum compleatur, Descendunt ad
infernum viventes."^ He testifies to the fact that the very
greatness and civilisation of the Ptome of his day was hostile to
religious quiet: — "Et hie puto locus (Bethlehem) sanctior est
Tarpeia rupe quee de cselo saepius fulminata ostendit quod
Domino displiceret. Lege apocalypsim Joannis et quod de
muliere purpurata et scripta in ejus fronte blasphemia, septem
^ Codex Theodosianus, cum perpetuis Commentariis Jacobi Gotbofredi ;
Lipsise, 1743, vol. vi. p. 22, 23 et seq.
2 Op. S. Hieron. t. v. p. 433; ed. Frankfort. 1684.
C
XXXIV GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
moiitibus, aquis miiltis, et Babylonis cantetvir exitu con-
tuere . . . Est qiiidem ibi Sancta Ecclesia, sunt trophsea
apostolorum et martyriim, est Cliristi vera confessio, est ab
apostolo prcedicata fides, et, gentilitate calcata, in sublime
se quotidie erigens vocabulum Christianum. Sed ipsa ambitio,
potentia, magnitudo urbis, videri et videre, salutari et salu-
tare, laudare et detrabere, vel audire vel proloqui, et tantam
frequeutiam hominem saltern invitum ^ddere, a proposito
monacliorum et quiete aliena sunt."^ In defending himself
against the charges brought against him bv the envious
men who took occasion from his familiarity with the great
Eoman ladies, he contrasts his own austere life with the
sumptuousness of the manners of the Christian society which
criticised Mm : — " Tibi placet lavare quotidie ; alius has mun-
ditias sordes putat. Tu attagenem ructas et de comeso acipen-
sere gioriaris, ego faba ventrem impleo. Te delectant cachi-
nantium greges, me Paula Melaniaque plangentes. Tu aliena
desideras, illse contemnunt sua. Te delibata melle vina delec-
tant ; illoe potant aquam frigidam suaviorem."^ He is not com-
plimentary to the city itself. He commences his translation of
Didymus's Treatise on the Holy Spirit : — " Cum in Babylone
versarer etpurpuratse meretricis essem colonus, et jure Quiritum
viverem."^ He condemns the laxity both of monks and
seculars in language too coarse for repetition ; he condemns
their heredipety ;^ he denounces their wealth : — " Nonnulli
snim sunt ditiores monachi, quam fuerant steculares ; et clerici
qui possideant opes sub Christo paupere, quas sub locuplete et
fallace Diabolo non habuerant, ut suspiret eos ecclesia divites,
quos mundus tenuit ante mendicos."^ He describes the
clerical fop of the period : — " Sunt alii (de mei ordinis homini-
bus loquor) qui ideo presbyteratum et diaconatum ambiunt, ut
mvdieres licentius videant. Omnis his cura de vestibus si
^ Ep. ad Marcellam, t. i. p. 82.
2 Epist. 99, ad Asellani, vol. i. p. 244.
3
Tom. ix. p. 322. * T. i. ad Nepot. Ep. p. 9, ^ /s_
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXXV
bene oleaiit, si pes laxa pelle non folleat. Crines calamistri
vestigio rotantur, digiti de annulis radiant, et ne plantas hvuni-
dior via spargat, vix imprimiint summa vestigia. Tales cum
videres sponsos magis existimato quam clericos."^
It requires no very strong effort of the imagination to picture
that which met the eye of the young stranger from Britain.
Tlie Eome in which S. Niuian dwelt for so many years was the
Eome of the Caesars. No Attila or Genseric had yet come
down to waste, to ravage, and to burn. The old heathen
temples still stood in their places, though in the main deserted
by worshippers. Sometimes an assault was made upon them,
as when Gracchus, the prefect of the city, cast down the cave
of Mithras. Now and then a spasmodic effort was made to
restore the old faith, as we find Damasus and the Christian
Senators successfully resisting an effort of the Pagans to restore
the altar of Victory.^ Not only had the edict of Valentinian
invested the Pope with a certain civil sanction of his religious
position, but the absence of the imperial court threw a great
deal of actual power into his hands. Many of the basilicas
had been converted into churches. The Christians, no longer
in fear of persecution, formed the dominant class of society,
and conformed themselves to all that was innocent, and much
that was luxurious, of the old heathen life. The curious toilet
equipage of a Eoman Christian lady, found between the Lateran
and Viminal hills, once the property of the Due de Blacas, and
now deposited in the British Museum, illustrates the manners
of the time. On it, supplied with all the provision for cos-
metics, we find heathen decorations, without indeed any of the
indecencies of the old worship, but along with this we find a
pious inscription, added apparently after purchase, in which
the owner is commended to Christ.^ Dissension had also
1 Ad Eustochium, t. i. p. 93. '■^ Damasi Opera et Gesta, Merenda., p. 105.
^ See Lettere di Ennio Quirino Visconti, intorno ad una antica siipellctile
d'argento scopertain Roma nelauuo 1793 ; Roma, 1827. See also Agincoiut,
Storia della Sciiltura, Plate 9.
XXXvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
shown itself among the different religions parties. Of conrse
there was mnch that was more satisfactory. Eome was the
centre of the religions life of the period, and S. Ninian might
have seen many distingnished men from the East, snch as
Dorotheus of Antioch, or Acacius of Beroe, whom the exigencies
of controversy had brought to the threshold of the Apostles.
Heretics such as Vitalis and Priscillian came to seek recogni-
tion from the Pope, Councils from time to time brought
together the Bishops of Italy; the monastic life was anticipated
by the stricter clergy living together in colleges. The churches
were decorated with the spoils of heathen art. While above
ground the basilicas became the tituli or parish churches of the
city, the catacombs, sanctified by the presence of the remains
of the martyrs, became the scenes of increased religious fervour.
At the arcosolia and altar-tombs the zeal of the people was
kindled. Strangers flocked to these subterranean oracles.
Prayer was made to those for whom it w^as felt that prayer
was needless. The communion of saints was most fully
realized at the Memorise where their sacred bodies rested.
Everywhere the rites of the Church were celebrated with
pomp and dignity, and as the dread of heathenism day by day
decreased, some would say, as the heathen spirit began to per-
vade the Church, art and the sense of beauty became the hand-
maid of religion, and the walls of the churches began to glow
with painting and mosaic.
But S. Mnian's life not merely touches the history of Piome,
it also is connected with Gaul. On his return from the thresh-
old of the Apostles, he visits S. Martin at Tours. The condi-
tion of Gaul and of the Western Empire must be considered in
order to appreciate the influences which affected him. Treves
was at this time the capital of the West ; it had long been the
seat of the Prefect of the Gauls. The interesting ruins still
existing, the Porta Nigra, palace, the amphitheatre, and even the
basilica now turned into the Protestant Church, date from this
epoch. It was the centre of Occidental civilisation. There
PAET I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXXVll
was a great library connected with the imperial palace.^
Education was carefully attended to. The chief cities of
Gaul possessed important schools, some of which, such as
Marseilles and Autun, dated from the first century, where
there were taught philosophy, medicine, jurisprudence, belles-
lettres, grammar, and astrology, in short, all the sciences of the
time ; but the old spirit was dying out, and the institutions
lasted, but their purpose was gone. The old heathen life, the
old heathen ideas, were perishing and disappearing before the
advancing Christianity. The same process was taking place
in the State and in the civil administration of the country.
The ancient Eoman forms continued, the senatorial curial
dignities were undisturbed, but the Nemesis of slavery had
destroyed the life of the community, and all classes now
armreoated themselves to the new and vigorous Christian
society which had been gradually growing up for centuries.
Christian ideas were now emerging in untold strength. Spui-
tual interests took precedence of temporal interests ; the citizen
became merged in the believer.
These things must be borne in mind in order to understand
the influence of such a man as S. Martin. He represents the
transition from the one system to the other. Born in 316, he
was the subject of a heathen Emperor. When he expired at
the mature age of eighty-five, the battle had been won. But
more than that — he was one of the most potent agents in the
change. Though the old institutions perished from their own
corruptions, while the new throve by tlieir inherent vitality and
truth, we must ever recollect that it is by human agency that
the work is carried on, and while events call forth men, the
men mould the events. The demands of the ascetic side of
Christianity, coupled with the decay of the old Pagan life,
evoked the spirit of monachism in the West, but it was
S. Jerome who was the instrument in latinizing the religious
1 Guizot, Histoire de la CivTlisatiou en France, t. i. p. 104 ; Paris, 1862.
XXXVm GENEKAL INTRODUCTION.
life, which had hitherto found its congenial home in the East
and in the Thebais, and it was not the least work of S. Martin
that he founded the first monastery in Gaul. The ancient
spirit of Eoman jurisprudence at a very early period affected
the Eoman Church, but the direction of that spirit was the
work of S. Leo the Great.
S. Martin of Tours stands out with great individuality in
Church history, and this not only on account of his character,
but from the fact of his good fortune in having such a biographer
as Sulpicius Severus. Even an Irish Kalendar of the eleventh
century varies the dry enumeration of the saints by dwelling
on his eloquence : — " Sanctus quoque Sulpicius confessor, qui
vitam S** Martini Toronensis Episcopi eloquentissimo sermone
dictavit, hodie migravit ad Christum."^ S. Sulpicius Severus,
who must not be confounded with a bishop of the same name,
wrote his Life of S. Martin three years before that saint's death,
and afterwards completed it by the addition of the Dialogues.
He wrote from personal knowledge, being intimately acquainted
with the subject of his biogTaphy, and therefore we have the
remarkable fact of a narrative teeming with portents and
miracles put forth at the very time of their alleged occurrence,
and therefore boldly challenging criticism or contradiction.
That these recorded miracles eminently increased the venera-
tion for S. Martin among his contemporaries we cannot doubt,
but the character and moral power of the man himself was
sufficient to enable him to leave the impress which he did
upon his times. He was no mere follower of current fashions.
While he bent all his powers to create monasticism in Gaul,
he protested against the crime of putting heretics to death
on the occasion of the condemnation and punishment of
Priscillian. If ever there was an excuse for violent measures
it was in the case of this strange and mysterious sect, which
seems ingeniously to have combined together all that was
1 Kalendars of Scottish Saints, p. 2 ; Edin. 1872.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. XXxix
loathsome and untrue in the preceding heresies ; yet S. Martin
was not led astray by his feelings of hatred for the false teaching.
He refused to communicate with the Spanish Ithacius, and the
bishops acting with him, who in their cruelty and orthodoxy
anticipated the temper of inquisitors, in spite of the support of
the Emperor Maximus, and along with the great S. Ambrose
has left his protest against that perversion of Christianity
which has stained the pages of Church history with blood.
Maximus, who was a Briton, and by Ausonius is called the
robber of Eichborough,^ had disputed the empire with Gratian
(382-388). He appears to have acted well in these difficult
matters while under S. Martin's influence, but in his absence
allowed himself to be overborne.
Born at Sabaria (now Szombatel or Sazwar) in Upper Pan-
nonia, near the confines of Austria and Styria, the son of a
military tribune, Martin received his education at Pavia, and,
though unbaptized, came early under religious impressions.
"Animus tamen aut cu-ca monasteria aut circa ecclesiam semper
intentus." At fifteen, against his will, he was enrolled in the
army, and it is to this time that the incident of dividing his
cloak with a beggar at Amieiis, so frequently depicted in Chris-
tian art, is referred. After serving for five years he betook
himself to S. Hilary of Poitiers, and on returning from a visit
to his native land, where he succeeded in converting his
mother, he distinguished himself by enduring banishment for
confuting the Arians in lUyricum. He now entered the
monastic life at Milan, but driven thence by the Arian
Bishop Auxentius, he retired to the island of Gallinaria, near
Albenga in Liguria. Finally, he forced his way to S. Hilary
at Poitiers, and built a monastery at Luguge, where, in con-
sequence of his fame in raising two dead men to life, he was
chosen Bishop of Tours in 371. Continuing to live a simple
life he established the celebrated Abbey of Marmoutier, which
^ Punisti Ausonio Eutupinuin morte latronem. Ausonii Opera, Ordo Nobi-
lium Urbium, Corpus Poetarum Latinorum, p. 1083; London, 1S28.
xl GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
became a scliool in which many eminent bishops were trained,
and maintained its reputation till tlie first French Eevolution
as one of the houses of the Congregation of S. Maur. Besides
abolishing superstition connected with the tomb of a pretended
martyr, he devoted himself to the extirpation of idolatry in
his diocese, marching at the head of his faithful monks to
destroy the idols, temples, and the consecrated trees. To the
last he relaxed nothing of his apostolic labours, and in the
end, after settling a scandalous difference among the clergy in
a remote part of this diocese, he died in perfect peace. He
died, having while introducing monasticism into Gaul pro-
foundly modified that institution. The life of simple retire-
ment and contemplation which distinguished the anchorites
in the East assumed an active social character in the West.
In the dissolution of the civil society, monasticism became the
hearth of a new national life, the seat of an intellectual de-
velopment. The monasteries in the south of Gaul became
the schools of Christian philosophy.^
It is impossible to measure the contrast of all this with the
native land of Mnian, although there still existed examples of
Eoman civilisation — good roads traversing the country, here a
castrum, there a station." We know for certain that the very
churches were built of wood, and the habitations of secular
life must have been similar to the raths of the neighbouring
Scotia, or to the erections of rough stone, wood, and earth,
which are indicated to us in the forts, or, as they are called,
moat hills, which are so plentiful in Galloway and Wigtonshire.^
Assuming the existence of this intellectual and religious life
^ Guizot, Hist, cle la Civilisation en France, t. i. p. 110; Paris, 1S62.
2 At Kirkmadrine sepulchral stones of classic character still attest the
Latin influence. See Stuart's Sculptured Stones, vol. ii. p. 35, and Plate Ixxi.
See also Chalmers's Caledonia, p. i. vol. iii. p. 354; Edin. 1824.
2 "I have also observed severall green hillocks, called by the country people
Moates, as particularly on the west side of Blaidnoch, in the baronrie of
Clugstone, pertciining to the Earl of Galloway; another at the kirk of Monny-
gaffe ; another at the kirk of Mochrum ; another at the place of Myrton,
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. xli
in (jaul, it is natural that Christiau France should profoundly
aftect the more barbarous inhabitants of Britain. Accordingly
we have evidence of considerable intercourse between the
churches. The Paschal Cycle drawn up by S. Sulpicius
Severus was that which the Britons followed. The Confession
of S. Patrick exhibits constant communication taking place
between Tours and Alcluyd, and the pilgrims to Rome and to
the Holy Land from Britain, for the existence of whom we have
the authority of Theodoret, must have begun their weary
journey by passing through Gaul.^ The guest book of the
recently secularized Monastery of Piheinau, now preserved at
Zurich, contains the names of many Irish Bishops inscribed
when on their way to Rome.
But the work of S. Ninian's life must be viewed under two
aspects — nay, rather may be divided into two distinct under-
takings. He founded the Church at Wliithern, while this part
of modern Scotland formed part of the Roman province, and
while its inhabitants were provincial Britons ; but he also suc-
cessfully undertook the evangelization of the Southern Picts,
whose territory is distinctly defined by Ba^da as separated from
their northern brethren " arduis et horrentibus montium jugis,"
and who are described as dwelling in "sedes intra eosdem
montes";^ that is, in north-eastern districts of Scotland, bounded
on the north-west by the Grampians. Of this field of labour
something more will be said in the notes of this volume.
Prom the close of the life of S. Ninian for nearly a hundred
years we know nothing certain of the fate of Candida Casa,
Valentia was soon abandoned by the Romans, and the natives
pertaining to Sir William Maxwell of Muirreith, the one end of the said
place of Myrton being built upon it ; another near the house of Balgreggen
in the parish of Stonieku'k, all of which have had trenches about them, and
have been all artificial ; but when and for what use they were made, I know
not."— A large description of Galloway by Andrew Symson, minister of Kirk-
inner, 1GS4, ed. 1823, p. 94.
^ See Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Eccl. Documents, vol. i. pj). 13, 14.
2 Baida, lib. iii. c. 4.
xlii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
do not seem long to have maintained the power to which they
succeeded. Though the mass of the lower population con-
tinued Celtic, as they do to this day, the incursions of the
Picts on the one hand and of tlie piratical Teutons a little
later destroyed their autonomy, and the country was the
scene of constant warfare.
But a circumstance here emerges, which is not without
many parallels in the history of Ireland. No external oppres-
sion, no confusion at home, prevented the beneficent action of
the church. In less than a century after the death of S. Ninian,
Whithern, in the Irish pronunciation called Futerna, bvit
better known as the "Magnum Monasterium" or Eosnat, is
discovered as a great seminary of secular and religious instruc-
tion. S. Modwena, or Monenna, who is probably our Scot-
tish S. Medana, the friend of S. Brigida, had founded a
Church in Galloway, Chil-ne-case by name, and the Christian-
izing influence of Ireland on the sister country was naturally
strongly felt in the district nearest to it. The curious and
touching hymn of S. Mugint, which is given in a note to this
volume, sheds a remarkable light on the life half monastic
half social at Eosnat. Mugint, Eioc, Finnian, Talmach, and
Drustice stand out in an individuality very noteworthy at that
early time, and a little picture of early manners enlivens the
scene.^
As the daughter of the king of the Picts received her secular
education here, so we learn that the king of the Britons
also sent his children to the school. Nor was the work simply
educational. The names of such great saints as S. Tighernach,
Monennus, Eugenius, Mancennus, and above all S. Finnian of
Maghbile, who must not be mistaken for the greater S. Pinnian,
who is S. Prigdian or Prigidian of Lucca, S. Wynnin of Ayrshire,
and who is mentioned with honour by Pope S. Gregory the
Great,^ are closely connected with the monastery of Whithern.
1 Todd's Book of Hymns, fasc. i. pp. 94-120.
2 Greg. Mag, Dialogorum, liber iii. c. ix.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. XINIAX. xliii
From the Lives of the Irish Saints we print the following
extracts in corroboration : — " Puer (Tighernacus). S. Monenni
disciplinis et monitis in Eosnatensi monasterio, quod alio
nomine Alba vocatur, diligenter instructus," etc.^
" Quos duos viros sanctos (Eugenium et Tighernachum)
sanctus et sapiens Nennio, qui ]Mancennus dicitur, de Eos-
natensi monasterio, a rege Britannise petens liberos accepit."^
" Dixit ei soror sua ei (Endeo) . . . vade ad Britanniam ad
Eosnatum monasterium et esto humilis discipulus Manseni."^
" Cum eodem (Nennio) repatriante na\dgavit (Finianus) et in
ejus sede, quae Magnum dicitur Monasterium, regulas et institu-
tiones monasticae vitse xx didicit."^
The next historical reference to these lands occurs in Joce-
line's Life of S. Kentigern, where we are told that that saint
" cleansed from the foulness of idolatry and the contagion of
heresy the land of the Picts, which is now called Galwethia,
with the adjacent parts " (c. xxxiv.) His work was regarded
as a continuation of S. Xinian's. The body of Fregus was by
the divine disposition dra-um to Cathures, afterwards Glasghu,
to a cemetery formerly consecrated by S. Mnian (c. ix.), as
already mentioned.
Time passed and the Angles began to pour in hostile colonies
along the whole of the north-eastern coast from the Firth of
Forth to the Humber. The Northumbrian kingdom was
established by Ida, and before long Bernicia and the Lothians
became occupied by the race whose descendants are there to-
day. They extended their conquests, not only against the
Picts, with whom by a singular combination of interests their
princes frequently intermarried, but against the Britons, who
still remained in Galloway. Gradually the ancient kingdom
of the Britons became weakened and broken up, and at last
1 Acta S. Tighernachi, Colgan A. SS. Hib. p. 438.
2 Acta S. Eugen., ap. Colgan loco citato. ^ Id. ib.
* Id. ib. See Usslier, vol. vi. p. 522, 523, 585 ; Haddaii and Stubbs,
Councils and Eccl. Documents, vol. i. p. 120.
xliv GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
the Angles got so great a hold upon Galloway that they estab-
lished a bishopric, of wliich we have minute and trustworthy
details from Bseda and Symeon of Durham : —
"Anno 731. Pecthelm in ea quse Candida Casa vocatur, quae
niiper multiplicatis fidelium plebibus in sedem pontificatus
addita, ipsum primum habet antistitem."^
"Anno 732. Acca Episcopus eodem anno de sua sede est
fugatus."^
"A. 741. EeverendiB memorise Acca Episcopus sublevatus
est a terra viventium."^ During this same year, it appears that
Alpin, King of the Picts, on being expelled from Dalriada,
"was slain in Galloway, after he had totally destroyed and
ravaged it."*
Eichard of Hexham mentions an opinion about Acca having
founded the see, which, however, is opposed to what we knew
from Beeda.
" Sunt tamen qui dicunt quod eodem tempore Episcopalem
sedem in Candida Casa inceperit et prseparaverit."^
"Anno 764. His quoque temporibus Frithwald Episcopus
Candidse Casse ex hoc saeculo migravit, pro quo Pectwine in
loco illius Episcopus subrogatur."*^
"Anno 777, Pechtwine, episcopus Candidas Casse xiij Kal.
Octobris migravit ex hoc sseculo ad seternse salutis gaudium,
qui eidem ecclesise xiiij annis prsefuit. Cui -^thelbyrht suc-
cessit."^
In 782 Alcuin presents an olosericum (velum) for S. Ninian's
body.*^
"Anno 790. Eodem anno Badwlf ad Candidam Casam ordi-
natus episcopus in loco qui dicitur Hearrahalch, quod inter-
pretari potest Locus Dominorum. Anno vero priore Ethel-
1 Bseda, v. 23. ^ Sym. Dun., p. 11.
3 Sym. Dun., p. 14. * Skene's Chron. clxxxvii, p. 288.
5 Rich, Hagulst., p. 35, ed. Surtees.
<5 Sym. Dunelm., Historia Regum, p. 22. ^ lb. p. 28.
8 Cott. Vesp. A. 14 fol. 160.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. xlv
berlit Episcopus, sede sua relicta, Sancto Tilberhto episcopo
jam obeunte, pr?edictus praesul episcopatuni Haugulstaldensis
ecclesiae accepit in propriam dominationem."^
When the Anglian line of bishops disappears, a population
of Gaelic origin, distinguished from the earlier masters of the
soil, whether of Cumbrian or Northumbrian race, is subse-
quently discovered in possession of the entire district;^ and
in the Annals of Ulster, at 856, we have "great war between
the Gentiles and Maelsechnall, with the Gallwegians along
with him." They appear not only "as a body of Celtic pirates," ^
but as the auxiliaries of the Irish. The country south of the
Solway remained in the hands of the Angles, although both
there and in Galloway the presence of crosses with Irish
ornamentation testifies to that immigration from the opposite
coast, which had the effect of making the population of the
country very mixed, and which earned for the latter the name
of the Gallgael or mixed Gael.
It is probable also that before this time the Norsemen began
to found settlements on the coast. In 857 Ivar and Olave
conquered Caithill the AVliite, with his Gallgael, in Munster.*
In 875-883, Eardulf, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and Eadred,
Abbot of Carlisle, wandering with S. Cuthbert's relics, resolve
to embark at the mouth of the Derwent and go to Ireland.
They are driven back by a storm to Whithern, where his book
of the Gospels, lost in the tempest, is found in safety.
In 970 Kenneth ii. is said to have visited S. Ninian's relics.
He certainly conquered the country.^ Malcolm Eex Cum-
brorum does homage to Edgar.
At this time Strathclyde, which had been under a line of
Scottish princes, owning, however, Saxon suzerainty or overlord-
* Sym. Dunelm., Hist. Regum, p. 30.
2 Scotland under her Early Kings, by E. William Robertson, vol. i. p. 21.
3 Skene's Chron., p. cxciii.
* Robertson, Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. ii. p. 437- Ann. Ult.
6 Skene's Chron., p. 10.
xlvi GENEEAL INTRODUCTION.
ship, became merged in the Scottish crown and kingdom in
1034, but Galloway seems to have existed as a separate lordship.
Suibhne, king of the GaUgaedhel, dying in that year, while
Donchad or Duncan rex Cumbrorum becomes king of Scot-
land, for Malcolm, the son of Duncan, king of Scotland, is
called by English authorities " filius regis Cumbrorum," Norse-
men occupied the coast at this time. Earl Thorfinn owned nine
earldoms in Scotland, the whole of the Sudreys, and a large
riki in Ireland, but apparently under the Scottish king.^ In
the Orkneyinga Saga he is said to have possessed Gaddgedli.
A seaboard such as Galloway afforded fitting scenes for the
ravages of the Northmen, and piracy prevailed, as we shall see
further down, for many centuries after; but not to mention
that probably along the coast there was a permanent Norse
occupation, it would seem that a state of chronic war led to
some of those chivalrous relations which exist among enemies
who respect each other. Accordingly we get a glimpse of the
life in the eleventh century in the Saga of Burnt Njal. After
the dreadful burning, in which Kari alone escapes, taking no
atonement, he pursues the burner Elosi till he has slam Kal
the son of Thorstin. Then he determines to set out to Home
for the absolution of his sin, but on his way " they sailed north
to Berwick, and laid up their ship, and fared up into Whit-
herne in Scotland, and were with Earl Malcolm that year.'"^
After nearly a hundred years of Norse occupation the Celtic
inhabitants recover their power.
In the early part of the twelfth century, Fergus, first ascer-
tained Lord of Galloway, a man of unknown descent, is con-
temporary of and co-operates with David in his ecclesiastical
reforms. Though there possibly were British Bishops, as the
Life of S. Magnus suggests, there is nothing recorded of
Candida Casa till the restoration of the see. Possibly it was
merged in that of Glasgow. As Galloway had always been
^ Collectanea de Rebus Albanic, p. 246.
2 Saga of Burnt Njal, vol. ii. j). 315.
PART I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. xlvii
regarded as part of Northumbria, it was made no doubt by the
consent of the founder David a suffragan see of York, for in
1126 Gilla Aldan was sent by Honorius ii. to Thurstan of York
for consecration, with the direction " obedientiam tanquam
proprio metropolitano deferres," while in 1133 CarHsle was
founded in the person of Aldulphus, where a provincial synod
of Scottish Bishops was held in 1138, when they^ accepted
Innocent ii. as Pope.
Fergus founded several monasteries, chiefly of the " Candidus
ordo," that of Premontre near Laon. Saulseat (Latinized
Sedes Animarum, otherwise called Monasterium Viridis Stagni,
from the green organic matter which still tints the lake on
which it w^as built), was the mother convent. From it came
Holywood (Dercongall, Monasterium Sacri nemoris, or Saint
Boyse), Tungland, and Whithern.
Anions the Scottish Prsemonstratensians Adam the Scot is
pre-eminent. His ascetic works, consisting of Sermons de
Tempore et de Sanctis, de Ordine et Habitis et Professione
Ordinis Prsemonstratensis, De Triplici genere Contemplationis,
were published along with those of Ghislebert of Furness at
Antwerp in 1659.
Fergus also erected the Augustinian House of S. Mary's
Isle, near Kirkcudbright.
The incursions of pirates, distance from any centre of civilisa-
tion, and the presence of a race who, till the twelfth century,
retained the ancient name of Picts, make GaUoway notorious for
barbarism. In 1138, at the battle of the Standard, so called
from the Carrochio on which the Blessed Sacrament, with the
banners of S. Peter, S. Wilfrid, and S. John of Beverley, was
carried into the combat, the Galwegian Picts, ever given to
mutiny, license, and plunder, claimed the right to the place of
honour. They charged with horrible yells in the forefront,
but their leaders, Ulgric and Dovenald, fell, and, at last,
deceived by the report that the Scottish king was slain, threw
away their arms. Savage as they were, they were so far amen-
xlviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
able to the spirit of Christianity, that at the instance of the
Papal Legate, Alberic, Bishop of Ostia, they restored the women
whom they had taken captive. In 1154 Bishop Christian was
consecrated at Bermondsey by the Archbishop of Eouen acting
for him of York.
In 1156 Donald, the son of the showy, able Wimund, scribe,
monk, bishop, pirate, impostor, rebel, vassal, recluse, whose
adventures read like a romance, was discovered at "VVhithern,
and conveyed to prison at Eoxburgh, where his father had long
been confined. Galloway seems always to have been the focus
of intestine trouble. The Celtic population never amalgamated
with the rest of Scotland. In 1160 the great insurrection
broke out ; Malcolm the Maiden twice invaded Galloway, and
was twice repulsed ; on the third occasion he conquered, and
Fergus the lord of the country became a Canon-regular at
Holyrood, bestowing Dunrod upon the Abbey.
In 1176 Cardinal Vivian Tomasi landed in England without
leave, and was not allowed to proceed on his legation from the
Pope to Scotland, Ireland, and the Norse Isles, till he had
sworn he would attempt nothing against the interest of
England. "He reached Scotland in winter, and passing into
GaUoway sailed from Wliithern to Man, where he prevailed on
King Godred to marry his Irish concubine, the mother of King
Olave the Black." After holding a council in Dublin, and
being present at the translation of the relics of S. Patrick,
S. Brigid, and S. Columba, he crossed to Chester, and after
visiting the English Court, he obtained letters of safe-conduct
from the King and proceeded to Scotland. There in the Castle
of Edinburgh he held a council, of which nothing is known
save that it reversed ancient canons and enacted new ones,
especially against the Cistercians. In this council he suspended
Christian, Bishop of Whithern (+ 1186), for absenting himself
from the council on the plea that he was a suffragan of York.^
1 Robertson's Statuta Ecclesiae Scoticanse, vol. i. pref. xxxvii.
TART I.— THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. xlix
His successor John was consecrated at Pipewell in 11 SO by
the Archbishops of Dublin and Treves and the Bishop of
Euachdune, the see of York then being vacant. He is there
termed " suffraganus et officialis " of York.
In 1186, in Galloway (which during the reign of William
the Lion had been in revolt, caused by the rebellion of the sons
of Fergus, Gilbert, and Uchtred, who was treacherously mur-
dered by his nephew Malcolm), Eotholand, his son, was at
length confirmed in the lordship, and in 1196 became Constable
of Scotland, for which he paid 700 merks to the king.^ His
son Alan, in 1209, married Margaret, daughter of David, Earl
of Huntingdon. liotholand is termed in the Ulster Annals Ei
Gallgaidhel in 1199, and Alan appears in 1234 as Ailin mac
Ilolant Ei Gallgaidhel.
Another rebellion occurred in 1235 in the reign of Alex-
ander II. Thomas the Bastard of Alan, and Gilrodh an Irish
chief, were eventually mastered, and the Irish invaders destroyed
to a man.^ In 1214 the Bishop of Candida Casa received pay
from the " custodes " of the see of York for taking charge of
the spiritualities during the vacancy of the see.
In 1216, in Galloway, there occurred a wonderful aurora
borealis, of which we have an interesting account in a letter
written by William, Abbot of Glenluce, to the prior and con-
vent of Melrose. He tells how one of the lay brothers, with
his serving-man on a journey, at a stated date " lunam ple-
nam vidit et rotundam, et statim in ipsa liora quasi funiculus
quidem niger et subpallidus lunam in duas partes divisit . . .
Statim in ictu oculi pars ipsa paUidior ab alia parte lune
scindi \isa. est et dirumpi et ad spacium unius stadii elongari
. . . iterum luna de sub nube erupit et statim ad magnitudinem
trium lunarum crevisse visa est. Et statim deformatio ilia per
crementa in firmamenta se diffundens, in castellum speciosuni
transformatur . . . Interim luna, deposita casteUi forma, in
1 Fordun, p. 274. 2 ji^i^i ^ OSG.
1 GRNET^AL INTRODUCTION.
navem pergrandem et elegantissima fabrioa factam formata est
. . . iterum in castellum magnum et spectantibns supra modum
liorrendum transformata est, et hac vice vexillum quoddani
regale apparuit. Et quod magis mirandiim lingule ille sive
caudule que in extremitatibus vexillorum dependent in predicto
vexillo quam ad flatum venti movere et agitare videbantur."
The moral the Abbot draws is good. It was neither the
approach of the judgment, nor the work of pythonesses or
enchantresses, as the serving-man suggested, but a portent to
warn them, " qui nee timore Dei nee pavore Gehenne sive alia
quacunque de causa a perditionis sue via revertuntur."^
Scanty as are the ecclesiastical records of the see, Candida
Casa supplies us with the earliest details which we possess of the
processes of an episcopal election in Scotland or England. The
register of Walter Gray, Archbishop of York, contains the
documents which preceded the consecration of Bishop Gilbert
in 1235. There was a disputed election. The clergy and
people chose Gilbert, Master of the Novices at Melrose ; tlie
Prior and Canons of Whithern's choice fell on Odo, one of
their number, once Abbot of the sister Abbey of Dercongal.
The first paper is by the Prior and Convent, " universis
Christi fidelibus ad quas presens scriptum pervenerit." It
states, that wishing to provide for the A^acancy in the see, with
the consent of the Scottish king, " qui modo Galwezzam tenet,"
the electors with the greatest deliberation, after invocating
the Holy Ghost, unanimously chose Odo, having summoned
all those who had a right to be called. And then they proceed
to specify the general form of the aforesaid election. When
the see became vacant they entered their chapter on the third
Sunday in Lent last past, for the purpose of treating of the
election, and in presence of all who had a right, who desired,
and who conveniently could be present, they elected three "qui
secreto et sigillatim vota cunctorum diligenter exquisierunt." All
1 Chron. Mail. p. 12S, ed. Stevenson.
PART I. —THE LIFE OF S. NINIAX. li
consented to choose Odo, and the votes being reduced to writing,
they entered the Church, and publicly announced the election.
The next is from the same to Archbishop Gray, stating that
as they could not appear before him in the greater Churcli of
York on the morrow of the translation of S. Martin for the
confirmation and consecration of the said Odo, on account of
great inconveniences in the Church, and chiefly on account of
the war of their lord, the King of Scotland, " versus Galwe-
ham," they constitute brother Gregory, one of their number,
tlieir proctor.
The third paper is the Archbishop's commission to G., the
Dean, and Laurence de Lincoln and Eobert Haget, canons of
York, to discuss fully, and if possible terminate, the affair in
the minster on the morrow of the feast of the Holy Trinity.
The fourth document gives the list of the electors. Brother
D., termed Prior, and the convent announce to all the sons of
Holy Mother Church, who shall see or hear these letters, that
they had unanimously and harmoniously elected Odo nearly in
the tenor of the first paper. Then follows the list. It is given
at length here, not only to show that deacons and acolytes by
virtue of their canonicates had votes, but to exhibit so far as
the names indicate the nationality of the individuals.
Ego frater Dunecanus, cathedralis prior Candidfe Casae.
Ego frater Bricius canonicus et sacerdos Candidas Casa:" et
gerens vices.
Ego frater Paulinus, quondam prior Cathedralis Candidfe
Casfe domus Prfemonstratensis.
Ego frater Helias canonicus, sacerdos et subprior Candidas
Caspe.
Ego frater Cristinus canonicus, sacerdos et thesaurarius
Candidfe Casa?.
Ego frater Johannes canonicus, sacerdos et provisor Candidfe
Casfe.
Ego frater Gerardns canonicus, sacerdos et cantor Candidfe
Casfe.
lii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
Eo'o frater Mauricius canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Efo frater Henriciis canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Eo-o frater Finoallus canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Ec^o frater Malichias canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Ecro frater Johannes canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Ef^o frater Gilbertus canonicus et diaconus Candidas Casse.
E<TO frater Concius canonicus et diaconus Candidse Casffi.
Ego frater Andreas canonicus et acolytus Candidse Casse.
Ec^o frater Melcalmus canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Eo'o frater Gregorius canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Eo-o frater Neemias canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
Ego frater Fergus canonicus et sacerdos Candidse Casse.
E-^o frater Gavcianus canonicus et sacerdos Candida? Casse.
Eo-o frater Nicholaus canonicus et diaconus Candidse Casse.
Ego frater Malach' canonicus et acolytus Candidse Casse.
To this both the seal of the chapter and of the prior are said
to be appended.
Document fifth is a letter to the Archbishop from King
Alexander, in which, wishing him health and the plenitude of
sincere love, he states, that as he has heard that Odo, who
asserts that he has been elected by the canons without license
from him or his assent, contends that he has obtained the
episcopate, " ne nos in eidem 0. in impedimen vestrse dignitatis,
munus confirmationis vel consecrationis impendatur apud Sedem
Apostolicam et ad innovandam appeUationem nostram coram
vobis," sends his well-beloved clerk, T. de Aleat', the bearer of
these presents, as his proctor.
The last of these interesting papers gives an account of the
end of the controversy. The king announces to the Arch-
deacon and clergy of Gallov/ay, that he assents to the election
of Gilbert, whom you unanimously elected as your pastor,
''quia constabat nobis dictam electionem canonice fuisse cele-
bratam." His witness is W. Olifard, Justiciary of the Lothians.
It is dated at Newbottle the 23d of April in the twenty-first
year of his reign. Alexander ii. reigned from December 4,
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. liU
1214 to July 8, 1249. Therefore the twenty-first year of his
reign was from December 4, 1234 to December 3, 1235.^
Bishop Gilbert in 1241 dedicated the Priory Church of
Yeddingham, granting an indulgence on the occasion, and in
1253 the Chapel of Helmsley Castle, the Prior of Kirkhara and
his convent protesting.^ He it was who counselled Thomas,
son of Alan of Galloway, to sue for peace from King Alex-
ander.^
In 1248, on tlie occasion of a vacancy in the See of Durham,
Archbishop Gray granted permission to the Prior and Convent
there to avail themselves of the services of any of his suffra-
gans, or of any Anglic or Irish Bishop, who may be passing
through Durham, to ordain monks and other religious, to
consecrate chrism, and to dedicate churches, provided that he
did not ordain secidar clerics. The Bishop of Whithern
excused himself for exceeding this privilege.* In a letter to
the Diocesan, Walter Kirkhani, he goes on to say that by virtue
of the many letters which he [B. of D.] had granted to the
prior and convent of Durham, allowing them to avail them-
selves of the services of any Bishop whom they could meet
with, to ordain their monks and other clergy of the diocese in
his absence, he had acted. But he had gone beyond his licence.
For at the pressing instance of the Archbishop of York he
had also ordained three monks of Fountains and three of
Jervaux. He believes that in thus acting he was not acting
contrary to what the Bishop himself would have wished, and
would have done had he been himself ordaining.
The year 1249, which is the date of the letter, was the year
of Walter Kirkham's appointment. He was consecrated by
Archbishop Gray on the nones of December in that year.
1 The Register or Rolls of Walter Gray, Lord Archbishop of York, with
appendices of illustrative documents ; Surtees Society, 1872.
2 Ihid. p. 119.
3 Fordun's Chron., ed. Skene, p. 2S6.
* Gray's Register, p. 209 n., Surtees Edition.
llV GENEKAL liSTivUDUGTluM.
In Theiner's Docuinenta (p. 75), we liud an interesting form
of Brief from Pope Alexander IV. (1254 + 12G1), remitting to tlie
Abbot of Kelso and Archdeacon of Teviotdale to in([uire and
report on a controversy between Symon de Claipol, Hector ot
Inch, and S., Dean of the Church of Wikecono. This is pro-
bably a misprint for AVhithern.
On the death of Gilbert the see continued vacant for two years.
Pleury, on being elected, was opposed by Henry Baliol of
Barnard Castle, who claimed to nominate in right of his wife,
the celebrated Devorguilla, heiress of the Lord of Galloway,
against Alexander iii., who claimed as king. It ended by his
being consecrated at Kichmond.
Bishop Henry reigned from 1255 to 1293. He was oppressed
with poverty all liis life, in spite of the grant of a church for
his maintenance. In 1287 Archbishop Ilomanus prays Mr.
Gifredus de Vezauo, the receiver of the debts due on the
Crusade, to grant him more time to pay a debt of eighty merks,^
in consequence of his poverty. He was chosen as one of
Baliol's friends in the dispute between him and Bruce about
the succession in 1292, and next year, being at the time
"cruce signatus," died. On the occasion of the nomination
of his successor Thomas, in 1294, Bruce and Baliol contended
over his consecration. On the same day as Maurice, Prior of
Whithern, and his convent, along with the Bishops of Glasgow
and Aberdeen, at Berwick, he swore allegiance to Edward i. in
1296. Yet he declared for Eobert Bruce at the council of
Dundee in 1309, though directed in the same year by Clement v.
to publish the Bull of excommunication against him.
In 1305 Edward I. prohibited the custom of the Scots and
Brets f that is, the peculiar usages not only of the wild Scots
of Galloway, but of the entire Celtic population of Scotland,
1 Theiuer, Documenta, No. 279, p. 126.
'^ Eylcy, Pleadings in Parliament in the reigns of Edward i. and ii.
fol. Lund. 1(>(31, p. 50(3.
I'AlvT I. — THE LIKl:; OF fci. NIIUAX. Iv
such US trial witliuut jury, aud the Brehun sytitcui uf coiu-
mutation of crimeo by a liue.^
Ill 1346 Edward Balliol resided in Galloway, Being joined
by Henry de Percy and Kalph Nevill, he led the wild men of
Galloway into the Lothians, penetrated to Glasgow, and re-
turned through Cunningham and Liddesdale wasting the
country; yet in 1348 we get an indication of the sense of the
sanctity of Whithern as connected with S. Ninian. Boece'^
makes King David himself the subject of a miraculous cure :
"Telum autem unuin regis tibite infixum extrahi non potuit
nisi priusquam S. Ninianum inviserit." It is difficult to
reconcile this date with the king's imprisonment in England,
which lasted from 1346 to 1357. Galloway at this time was
opposed to the Scottish kingdom, Dovenald MacDowall being
the hereditary enemy of the Bruces, and bound by fealty to
England, until induced in 1356 by William Lord Douglas to
change his politics.^
In 1359 died Michael, the last Bishop of Whithern whose
submission to the Church of York is on record. He is one
among the Scottish Bisho]3s appointed to enforce by spiritual
penalties the treaty for the redemption of King David Bruce.*
In 1359 Pope Innocent vi., on the demise of Bishop Michael,
" qui extra Eomanam Curiam diem elausit extremum," attending
to the provision of the Church of Whithern, " de qua nuUus
preter iios hac vice se intromittere potuit iieque potest,"
appoints Thomas rector of Kyrteum, " de predictoruni fratrum
consilio auctoritate apostolica providemus, teque illi prefecimus
in episcopum et pastorem, curam et administrationem ipsius
ecclesite tibi in spiritualibus et temporalibus plenarie commit-
tendo." Then he orders him to be consecrated by the Bishop of
1 See Burton's History of Scutland, vol. ii. p. 63 ; llobertson's Scotland
under her Early Kings, vol. i. p. '240, ii. 2G1 ; and above all a most learned
note in Skene's Fordun, vol. ii. pp. 442-400.
^ Hist. Boeth., 1. xv. p. 329. -^ Forduu's Cliron., lib. xiv. c. lo.
■* ilyni., iii. 375, o76.
Ivi , GENEKAL INTKODUCTION.
Ostia. He addresses him, tliougli unconsecrated, as Bishop.
The letter is addressed to the Chapter of the Church of Candida
Casa, to the clergy and people of the city and diocese of
Candida Casa, to the Archbishop of York, and to David the
illustrious King of Scotland.^
The disastrous schism in the Church (1378-1417), which did
more than anything else to bring on the Eeformation, and the
consequences of which are still in the womb of futurity, was
felt in the remote regions of which we are treating. England
adhered to Urban vii., Scotland, at this time eminently French
in her sympathies, to the Antipope Clement til Conse-
quently the Bishop of Candida Casa M^as in a difficult position.
He was a Scottish subject. He was Bishop of an English
province. Accordingly we find that the schism extended
itself to Whithern, and while Oswald ordains for the Arch-
bishop of York, Eliseus, and Thomas, who had by his procu-
rator assisted at a General Council of the Scottish Church
at Perth in 1420, maintain the Scottish succession.^
In the Episcopate of Bishop Thomas (who at Perth, now the
seat of Scottish royalty, in 141G, testified to an inspeximus of
the resignation of the Scottish Crown by Edward ii.),^.King
James i. in 1428 granted a general protection to all strangers
coming into Scotland on pilgrimage to visit the Church of
S. Ninian, confessor, at Whithern.*
A family still extant. Vans or Vans of Barnbarrough, now
emerges in the person of Alexander, Bishop of Candida Casa,
in 1426. He was appointed by James i. one of the conservators
of the peace on the borders in 1429,^ and was succeeded by a
man of great mark, Thomas Spens, a good specimen of the
ecclesiastical statesmen who obtained such power in the
1 Tlieiner, Documenta, No. 638, p. 314.
2 Regist. Episc. Brechin., i. 39.
3 Harldan and Stubbs, Councils and Eccl. Documents, vol. ii. p. 68,
Appendix B.
■* Reg. Mag. Sig., Lib. ii. p. 102, cit. Chalmers,
s Keith, p. 278, citing Rymer.
PAKT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN-. Ivii
fifteenth century in Scotland. He founded a hospital in Edin-
burgh, and dying there was buried in Trinity College Church,
recently destroyed for the convenience of a railway. His
effigy is said to be in Eoslin.^
In 14oG, we find an attempt on the part of Pope Calixtus ill.
to restore discipline in the diocese by revoking a commenda-
tion of the Parochial Church of Carinsinule, otherwise Kirk-
ynner, which had been bestowed on Thomas Lauder, Bishop of
Dunkeld, while taking part in the Council of Basil. The brief
states that very many of the parochial churches in the diocese,
formerly held by secular clerics, had got into the hands of the
regulars, and that few remained to be conferred on the former,
a state of things which probably prevailed extensively through
Scotland.^
The legends in S. Ailred's life show that even in his time
tliere was a constant stream of visitors to the saint's tomb.
Those who have witnessed the pilgrimages in the south of
Germany, where devout bands of peasants, of both sexes,
accompanied by their priests, sail down the Danube in open
boats, with hymns and litanies, or at great fatigue to them-
selves, climb with weary foot the steep ascents that lead to such
shrines as Maria Hilf or our Lady of Altotting, can vividly
bring before their minds the picturesque scenes which might
be witnessed in Scotland before the Reformation, as bands of
votaries of all classes, from the Court downwards, passed
through Peebles or Ayr on their way to S. Mnian's. We have
reason to know that the devotion was not unmixed, and that
secular thoughts and secular amusements were not lacking on
these occasions. Indeed, we have no reason to doubt that the
graphic scenes of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrimage were repro-
duced on the way to ^Miithern, for the private accounts of
King James record donations to various minstrels and others,
1 Keith's Scottish Bishops, ed. Russel, p. 115, etc.
^ Theiner, Documcuta, No. 77S, p- 401.
Iviii GE^'EllAL INTKODUGTIUX.
who by jest aud song lightened the journey. It is to be
regretted that the witty Dunbar, who adorned the reign of
James IV., and who in some of his touches almost equals his
English fellow-bard, has not exhibited "The twa maryit Wemen
aud the Wedo " on pilgrimage, or given us a picture of some
of the humours of the hostelries in S. Ninian's.^
In 1473, when Ninian was Bishop of GaUoway (just one
year after Sixtus iv. had erected S. Andrews into a metro-
political see, having all the Scottish Bishops as suftragans, in
spite of a final reclamation of the Church of York), Margaret,
the good Queen of James ill., went on pilgrimage to the slirine
of S. Mnian along with her attendants, six ladies of the Queen's
chamber, who were furnished with new livery gowns on the
occasion.^
Keith surmises that the surname of Ninian was Spot. He
was succeeded by another scion of the important family of
Yans, Bishop George.
In the next reign we get a picture of the condition of Whit-
hern from the King's own hand : —
" Beatissime Pater, felicia pedum oscula. Cum Prioratus Divi
Martini de Whithorn, vulgariter nuncupatus, ordinis Prsemon-
stratensis Ecclesiie Cathedralis Candidas Casse (quae inibi dignitas
Xjost Pontificalem fuisse existit) ubi multa miraculorum specie
Divus Ninianus, loci olim episcopus, et non minimus Britauniai
Apostolus, tumulatur, in extremo regni sinu situs, quotannis
ab Anglis, Irlandis, et Insulanis ac vicina gente plurima devo-
tione visitur, et propterea virum petit prsesentem, qui humaniter
penegre adventantes tractare, eosque et praefatum regni augu-
lum auctoritate sua a piratarum injuria et insultu malorum,
tutare et possit et velit." ^
In 1491, when Glasgow was constituted an Archbishopric,
1 See Stuart's Records of the Priory of the Isle of May, pref. p. xlix. ed.
ISG'J.
^ Chalmers's Caledonia, vol. i. p. 41 2.
3 Epistohu lle-iim Si;ofci;v, vol. i. p. 282. Ediii. 1722.
I'Alil' 1.— THE LIFE UK .S. NiMAN. lix
tlie sees of Galloway, Argyle, Duukeld, aud DuublauL', were
assigned to it, aud the Bishop of Galloway, as chief suffragan,
was appointed vicar-general of the archiepiscopal see during
the vacancy.^ The English claim upon the see being under
protest foregone, the King of Scotland remedied the exceeding
poverty in which the Bishops had hitherto lived, by annexing
to the see the deanery of the Chapel Eoyal at Stirling in 1504,
and a few years after the Abbey of Tungland, so that in 1562-3
the rental of the see amounted to money £1226, 14s. ; in bear
8 chald. 6 bolls; in meal 10 chald. 7 bolls; malt 8 bolls; 268
salmon, with geese, poultry, cheese, and peats.'^
In 1506, the Eegent Albany granted a safe-conduct to all
persons of England, Ireland, and the Isle of Man (in which
country be it mentioned the see of Galloway possessed two
churches), to come by land or water into Scotland, to the
Church of Candida Casa, in honour of S. JSTinian, confessor.^
In tliis year King James iv. at Whithern gave 18s. to a
pilgrim from England on whom a miracle had been wrought.*
The first Archbishop, James Beton, was elected to Whithern
but never consecrated. The remaining Bishops till the Kefor-
mation were David Arnot, Henry, supposed to be a natural
son of King James IV., which is not improbable, for Theiner
gives a curious document, in which the King prays the Pope
to bestow benefices on his illegitimate children,^ Andrew Durie,
of a good Eifeshire family; and lastly, Alexander Gordon,
Archbishop of Athens, who turned Protestant, and on his
deathbed in 1576 resigned the benefice of the see of Gallo-
way to his own son John, then pursuing his studies in
Erance.^
^ Theiner, Documenta, No. 889, p. 505.
^ Rental Book MS., cit. Chalmers.
^ Privy Seal, Reg. v., 85, cit. Chalmers.
4 Treas. Ant., May 1, 150G.
5 Theiner, Documenta, No. 925, p. 524.
'' Keith's Scottish Bishops, ed. ilussel, p. 279.
Ix GENEllAL INTEODUCTIOX.
With the Eeformation the interest in Whithern, as connected
with S. Mnian and the ancient traditions attached to his
shrine, cease entirely. It is dreary work to trace the gradual
alienation of the Church lands, as also to note the decay
of the ancient sentiment. An evil custom that had begun
too early and less excusably in 1528, when Henry, Bishop
of Whithern, with the consent of the Archdeacon, confirmed
the alienation of some of the lands of Saulseat, was now syste-
matized through Scotland, and in this locality, we find, as an
example, in 1560, Malcolm tlie commendator granting away
the kirklands of ]\Iochrum, in 1564 the Bishop and Chapter
infefting John Stuart in Canencutoch and Polwhelly, and in
1565 Vans in Barvennane, while Gilbert Agnew has a tack of
Culmalzie, and Patrick A^aus of Barnborough obtains Balter-
sone. Till 1587, when the priory was vested in the king,
it was a history of continued spoliation, while pilgrimages
were made penal by the law of the land.^ In 1608 the
priory was granted to the see of Galloway. In 1622 Andrew,
Bishop of Galloway, disposed the precinct and closeage of
the priory to Mr. George Gledstanes. In 1641 it was gTanted
to the University of Glasgow. In 1661 it was restored to
the see, when old Bishop Sydserf, the only Bishop who Lived
through the troubles, and who in his wanderings ordained
the future Archbishop Tillotson priest, was translated to
Orkney.
In conclusion, no one can stand within the precincts of the
ruined priory of "Whithern, or look out to sea from the roofless
chapel at the Isle, without emotions which are difficult to
describe. He stands on a spot where the ancient civilisation
of Eome, and the more ancient barbarism of the Meatse, alike
gave place to the higher training of the gospel of Christ — where
the domination of the earth, transferred to the true faith, but
1 Act. Pari., t. iii. p. 212.
I'AIiT I. — THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN. Ixi
still proceeding from the Eternal City, laid hold upon the
strongest of all those Celtic races which constitute the popula-
tion of Scotland — where Irish learning established the great
monastery, and Irish piety received illustrations in Brignat and
Modwenna, Mancennus, Eugenius, Tighernachus, and Endeus
— where a Saxon Church, remarkable for the sanctity of
its bishops, repaired the breaches caused by conquest and
foreign oppression — where amid the ravages of the Norsemen,
and the feuds of the local princes, a rest was found for the
ashes of S. Cuthbert — where in the great restoration of the
twelfth century, the civilizing influence of the See of York and
spiritual grace of the Order of Premontr^ brought some allevia-
tion to the barbarism of the times — where an Italian Legate,
mediating between the conflicting claims of Scotland and
Enoiand, brought his Italian astuteness and his Italian tact to
bear upon the question — where Ailred acquired the knowledge
which gives local colouring to his narrative — where the Bishop
of the Diocese, so poor that he needed to act as suffragan and
coadjutor of the Archbishop of York, yet appeared in his true
place as intercessor for the rebel Thomas to his offended king —
where David, wounded in battle, found a cure for his festering
sore — where year by year the concourse of devout pilgrims to
S. Ninian's shrine was so great as to call for royal interference,
and in the presence of his sanctity the old feuds of Scots and
English were for the time to be forgotten — where the good
Queen Margaret, the wife of James iii., found food for a
piety which has almost entitled her to a place in the Kalendar
of the Saints — where the gallant and chivalrous James iv.,
in whom, in spite of the temptations of youth, the devotional
element prevailed, drew in that spiritual life, which, expressing
itself in deep penitence for his complicity in his father's death,
sent him with an iron girdle of penance round his waist to
the fatal field of Flodden.
And all this historic interest centres round one single figure,
sketched in faint outline by the Venerable Breda, filled in by the
]xii OENERAL IXTKODUCTIOX.
graceful hand of the amiable Ailred, commemorated in the
dedications of many churches through the lengtli and breadth
of Scotland — Ninian, the apostle of the Britons and of the
Southern Picts.
In Paradiso Ecclesi^,
virtutum ex dulcedine,
SpIRAMEN DAT AROMATUM
XiNTANUS C-^.LESTIUM.
PART II.— THE LIVES OF S. KEXTIGERX
BY JOCELINE AND BY AX UNKNOAYN AUTHOR.
AVe present, to our readers two Lives of S. Kentigern, tlie first
a fragment, the second a complete biography. In 1164 died
Herbert, Bishop of Glasgow, who had successively been Abbot
of the Tyronensian Abbey of Selkirk and Kelso, and who had
been consecrated by Pope Eugenius ni., to whom S. Bernard
addressed his striking treatise De Consideratione. In his time
a foreicm ecclesiastic, who had travelled much and become a
cleric of S. Kentigern, at his suggestion, " intimante venerando
Glasguensi episcopo Herberto," composed a historj' of that
saint ; but only a portion of it, reaching to the events imme-
diately succeeding his birth, remains to us. "Whether it was
ever finished or not we know not. It exists in one manuscript
only in the British Museum, and is numbered Cott. MSS. Titus
A. xix. f. 76-80. It has been already printed by Mr. Cosmo
Innes in the Piegistrum Episcopatus Glasguensis, vol. i. pp.
Ixxviii-lxxxvi, who states that "the original is a very careless
and ignorant transcript, in a hand of the beginning of the
fifteenth century, with red initial letters."^ This Life is the
foundation of the Legend of nine Lections in the Breviary of
Aberdeen for the Feast of S. Thenew.^ It is also evidently the
Life referred to by Fordun, and which he says was in " libro
de Dunfermlyn." Mr. Innes's transcript has been carefully
collated with the original, but it will be seen that some words
still remain unintelligible.
1 Pref. p. Ix.
2 Brev. Ab., Pars Estiv. f. xxxiv ; Fonlnn, Hb. iii. c. ix. p. 04, also p. 405,
Colophon xiii., ed. Skene.
Ixiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
The other Life, written probably twenty-five years later, by
Joceline, a monk of Furness, was in an abridged form substanti-
ally given to the public by Capgrave.-^ It exists in two manu-
scripts, one in the British Museum, from which Pinkerton
printed the Life in the Vitoe Antiqute Sanctorum Scotia?, num-
bered Bibl Cott. Vitellius, C. viii. ff. 148-195; the other is
preserved in Archbishop Marsh's library in Dublin, and is
designated V. 3. 4. 16.
By the courtesy of the learned Dr. Travers, Professor of
Medical Jurisprudence in the School of Physic in the Univer-
sity of Dublin, who at great cost of labour has made a careful
collation of the Dublin MS. with the Life as printed by Pinker-
ton, I am enabled to produce it for the benefit of my readers.
A collation also of the other manuscript has been made, wliicli
has not been altogether correctly exhibited by Pinkerton. It
is probably of the thirteenth, perhaps of the twelfth, century.
It was copied by a scribe who knew Latin imperfectly. It
has been corrected almost contemporaneously, but very clumsily.
Another Life of the saint ^ is the same text as that printed in
Capgrave, and thence in the Acta Sanctorum, Jan. p. 815.^
Dr. Travers gives this account of the Dublin MS. of S. Kenti-
b^
gern
X
In the public library, which Narcissus, Archbishop of
Dublin, founded near the Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick,
there is preserved a small 4to volume of parchment MSS. con-
taining the Lives of SS. Servan and Kentigern.
" The volume, which is in very good preservation, has an old
plain calf binding, of perhaps the time of James i., or Charles i.
at the latest.
" Size 7| inches X 6| inches.
1 Nova Legenda Anglie, fol. ccvii. r. ccxii.
2 MS. Cott. Tiber. E. 1, f. 17. G ; MS. Eodl., Tanner, 15 veil. fol. xv. Cent.
3 Sir T. DufFus Hardy's Descriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the
History of Great Britain and Ireland to the end of the Keign of Henry vii.
vol. i. i)a';t i. pp. 208, 220, 221.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixv
" It consists of sixty-two leaves, written on both sides, the
lines running the length of 4| inches, and being usually twenty-
six on each page. There are no ornaments, except the initial
letters, which are floriated and decorated with colours, but no
gilding. There is no running title, but the summaries of
chapters or sections in the Life of S. Kentigern are written in
red.
" The first twelve pages contain the Life of S. Servau^ — Vita
sti. Seruani — which though unknown to Pinkerton was known
by and is mentioned by Ussher, De Antiqq. Eccl. Britannic. ;
the remaining hundred and twelve that of S. Kentigern.
" There have been some leaves of paper prefixed and subjoined
to the volume in the usual manner of waste leaves, of which
one is yet remaining at the beginning, and the greater part of
one at the end. Three leaves of parchment have evidently
been cut away at the beginning, and as many at the end of the
volume.
" On the paper leaf at beginning is written —
' Kentigerni Manuscrip
De vita Sua
W Armar.
' Kentigerni Manuscripto
De Vita Sua.'
^ " And on the paper lining of cover at beginning is written —
' Josias Hollington me jure tenet
21 7^"^^ 1650 ex libris m" Sumneris.' " ^
At the end of the abridgment of the Life by Joceline in
Capgrave^ occurs this Narratio : — " Circa infantiam S. Kente-
^ It is printed in the Chronicles of the Picts and. Scots ; Edin. 1867,
pp. 412-420.
^ This is probably the volume mentioned as belonging to the Cathedral
of Glasgow: "49. Item, Vita S" Kentigerni et Sancti Servani, in parvo
voluraine, cathenata ad stallura Precentoris." — Archeologia Scotiae, vol. ii.
p. 331. ^ Nova Legenda Anglie, fol. ccxii. r.
E
Ixvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
grini, ad quendam solitarium venit bresbiter cujusdam basilice
ut consecraret ei oblationem ad communicandura. Veniens
autem quidam ad illiim solitarium, presbiterum graviter acciisa-
vit. Qui cum iterum venisset ad eum scandalizatus solitarius
non aperuit ei. Et ecce vox facta ad solitarium dicens, ' Tule-
runt sibi homines juditium meum.' Et velut in excessu mentis
factus vidit quasi puteum aureum, et situlam auream, et funem
auream et aquam bonam valde. Videbat autem et quendam
leprosum haurientem et refundentem in vase. Et cupiebat
bibere et non bibebat, quia leprosus erat ille qui liauriebat. Et
ecce iterum vox ad eum dicens, ' Cur non bibis ex aqua hac :
quam causam habet qui implet ? Implet enim solummodo et
effundit in vase.' In se autem reversus solitarius, et virtutem
visionis considerans, vocavit presbiterum et fecit eum sicut
prius sanctificare sibi oblationem."
The Bollandists, at the 13th of January,^ reproduce the work
of Capgrave with a few notes.
Grevenus, in the Auctaria of Usuardus has " In Scotia S.
Kenthegerni episcopi Glascoensis et confessoris." Altemps, " in
Scotia, civitate Glasguensi, Sancti Kintengerni sine Mungunti
episcopi et confessoris."^ He occurs in all the Scottish Kalen-
dars at the 1 3th day of January.
The Life of S. Kentigern by Joceline, although far inferior in
grace of style to S. Ailred's Life of S. Ninian, has a greater claim
upon our attention from the historic point of view. Although
in a sense at second-hand, and in date much posterior to the
acts recorded, it affords to us almost the only apparently authen-
tic record which we possess of certain events which took place
in the obscure history of the little kingdom of Cumbria, Cambria,
or Strathcluyd, and it supplies confirmation of others which
occurred among the kindred nation of the Wealas.
The kingdom of Strathcluyd extended from the impregnable
1 Acta Sanctorum, vol. i. pp. 815-821.
2 Sollerii Usuarrl., pp. .SO, 31, erl. 1714.
PAKT II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixvii
fastness of Alcluyd, yar excellence the Dun or Fort of the Britons,
to the river Derwent in Cumberland, a division which continued
a historical fact in the history of England till the year 1835,
inasmuch as till then that river formed the southern boundary
of the diocese of Carlisle, and divided it from that of Chester.
Under the Ecclesiastical Commission in the fifth and sixth
years of the reign of William iv., it was arranged that the
diocese of Carlisle should consist of the present diocese of
CarKsle, of those parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland
which are now in the diocese of Chester, of the deanery of
Furness and Cartmel, in the county of Lancaster, and of the
parish of Addiston.^ The actual change took place on the
death of Bishop Percy. Ecclesiastically the kingdom was
described in the eleventh century as consisting of the dioceses
of Glasgow, Whithern, and Carlisle, and it is to events that
occurred in the sixth century in that circumscribed district
that Joceline's work bears testimony. How this kingdom
was formed we have no certain knowledge. From the time of
the withdrawal of the Eomans till the events recorded in the
Life there is an almost impenetrable darkness. In the sixth
century we find it occupied by a Celtic race, having ecclesi-
astical relations both with the Caledonian Picts and with the
Scots of Ireland.
That some remains of Eoman civilisation still existed we have
no reason to doubt. A branch of the great Eoman Eoad from
York, passing through Brovonacse (Kirby Thore), and Broca-
vium (Brougham), reached the great city of Luguvallium or
Luguballium (quae a populo Anglorum corrupt^ Luel vocatur),
now Carlisle, where, according to Bseda's Life of S. Cuthbert, he
saw " Moenia civitatis fontemque in ea miro quondam Eoman-
orum opere exstructum."^ Thence the road advanced by Castra
Exploratorum (Netherby), Blatum Bulgium (Middleby), and
' Stephen's Practical Treatise on the Law relating to the Clergy, vol. i.
p. 49S. 2 C. xxvii.
lx\dii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
Uxelum (Castle Over) to Colania (Lanark), and Vanduaria
(Paisley); where it passed the western extremity of the great
barrier of Antoninus and ended at the remote town of Dun-
barton.^
S. Kentigern succeeded to the labours of S. Ninian. Accord-
ing to Joceline he found at Glasgow a cemetery which had
been consecrated by him. The mission-field of the elder saint
included the diocese of the latter. Both had to deal with the
ancient church of Cumbria.
Between the death of S. ISTinian in the fifth century and the
more certain date of that of S. Kentigern in the beginning of
the seventh, nearly 200 years elapsed ; and it is important to
collect such information as remains to us of the events that
had occurred in the meantime. For a century after the with-
drawal of the Eomans the records are scanty and untrust-
worthy.
Gildas gives us some curious details. He attributes the
weakness of the Britons to the flower of her youth being
drained by the wars of Maximus,^ and so succumbing to the
Scots in the north-west, and to the Picts from the north. He
describes in terms of glowing scorn the weakness of the people,
" like timorous chickens crowding under the protecting wings of
their parent, twice successfully seeking assistance from Eome."
Finally, in spite of the embassy to Aetius, they were abandoned
to their own resources, and began to make head against their
foes.^ They then abandoned themselves to the grossest licen-
tiousness,'* till the unhappy policy of Vortigern in calling in
the Saxons aggravated their calamities. Gildas supplies an
important date. The battle of Bathhill (Mons Badonicus) was
forty-four years and one month from the landing of the Saxons,
and also the time of his own nativity.^ He ends his history
by this picture, " Neither to this day are the cities of our
^ The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon, a History of the Early Inhabitants
of Britain, by Thomas "Wright, London, 1861, pp. 129, 130.
2 Sect. 14. 3 Sect. 20. * Sect. 20, 21. ^ gect. 26.
PART 11. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ixix
country inhabited as before, but, being forsaken and over-
thrown, lie desolate ; our foreign woes having ceased, but our
civil troubles still remaining."
Nennius dwells on the fact that the " Britons despised the
authority of the Eomans, equally refusing to pay them tribute,
and to receive their kings." ^ Thrice were the Eoman deputies
put to death by them, yet when harassed by the Picts and Scots
they thrice sought their aid.^ Then followed intestine commo-
tion, the rival reigns of Vortigern and Aurelius Ambrosius, and
the gradual subjugation of England by the Jutes, Angles,
and Saxons, which beginning in 449,''according'to the Saxon
Chronicle, lasted till 556, when Cynric and Ceawlin fought
against the Britons at Berinbyrig or Banbury. In 457 the
Britons were finally driven out of Kent. By 491 ^lla had
completed the conquest of modern Sussex by the massacre at
Andredscester, In 495 Cerdic and Cynric fought against the
Welsh at Cerdic's Ore. In 501 Port Beeda and Mtegla occupy
Hampshire. In 508 JSTatan-leod also fell. In 514 Stuf and
Whitgar defeat the Britons at Cerdic's Ore, and in 519 the
dynasty of Wessex was established. As 516 is the date which
the Annales Cambrise give for the battle of Badon Hill, we
must transfer it to the north. In 530 the Isle of Wight fell
before Cerdic and Cynric. Deyfyr or Deira, and Bryneich or
Bemicia, made a good fight, till Ida, landing at Flamborough
Head with chosen warriors, erected Bamborough about 547.
Deodric fought against Urien, and was called the "flame-
bearer." By the middle of the sixth century the Anglo-Saxons
were possessed of the most fertile provinces of England, leaving
the Britons in possession of the wilder provinces of Damnonia,
with its tributary Cernaw, Elmet, Loidis, and what is now
Lancashire; Cambria, composed of the provinces afterwards
termed Gwynedd, Deheubarth, Powys, and Gwent ; and finally,
Strathclyde, otherwise called Cumbria, while the rest of what
^ Sect. 28. 2 Sect. 30.
Ixx GENERAL IKTKODUCTION.
is now called Scotland, between 545 and 580, was portioned
off into the kingdoms of Pictavia, Dalriada, and Northumbria.
While the Saxon Chronicle gives the record of the gradual
advances of the conquerors, we find in what is now termed the
Annales Cambrise a few facts in the history of the Britons.
That interesting document becomes the chief authority for the
events of the epoch with which we have to do. It records,
according to one manuscript, the birth of S. Dewi in 458,
" anno tricesimo post discessum Patricii de Menevia."
At 516 the battle of Badon is mentioned, "in quo Arthur
portavit crucem D. N. J. C. tribus diebus et tribus noctibus
in humeros suos et Britones victores fuerunt." At 537 we
have the battle of Camelon, " in qua Arthur et Medraut
corruere."
At 547 we have " moi'talitas magna (fuit in Britannia) in qua
pausat Mailcun rex Genedotse (unde dicitur, Hir hun Wailgun
en llis Eos. Tunc fuit Lallwelen)." How this year came to
be given as that of Maelcun's death is difficult to say. It was
in reality the beginning of his reign, and he was alive in 560
when Gildas wrote.
In 565, Navigatio Gildse in Hybernia.
569. Synodus Victoriee apud Britones congregatur.
570. Gildas (Britonum sapientissimus) obiit,
573. Bellum Armterid (Erderit vel Arderit) (int-er filios
Elifer et Guendoleu filium Keidiau : in quo bello Guendoleu
cecidit : Merlinus insanus effectus est).
580. Guurci et Peretur (filii Elifer) moritur.
584. Bellum contra Euboniam et dispositio Danielis Ban-
corum.
589. Conversio Constantini ad Dominum.
595. Dunaut rex moritur.
601. Sinodus urbis Legion (ordinata a Davide ]\Ienevensi
Archiepiscopo). Dauid Episcopus Mone Judeorum).
606. Dispositio Cinnauc Episcopi.
612. Conthigirni (Chendeirn) obitus.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ixxi
Gwendoleu's pedigree is given in the Bonlied Gwyr y Gogled
yw hyn. " Gwendolen and Nud, and Cof, sons of Keidyaw,
sou of Artliwys, son of Mar, son of Keneu, son of Csel."
Of tlie battle of Badonhill we have the contemporary notice
of Gildas, and that of Taliessin.
Maelciin, mentioned as dying in 547, is severely handled by
Gildas for his bad life. The battle of Arderydd in 573 is
mentioned by Merddin, and Dunaut by Llj^warch Hen.
In 613, Xorthumbria, conquering at Carleon or Chester, aud
in 616 at Barwick in Elmet, interposed bet^veen Wales and
Cumbria. On the former occasion Ethelfred slaughtered the
monks of Bangor Iscoed.^
The picture given us in these brief notices is one of resist-
ance to the foreign invasion of the Saxon, and of perpetual
intestine wars among the petty princes of the British race.
Yet the period of the war between the Saxons and Britons
w^as a period of gi'eat development of the intellectual life of
the latter, especially in Wales.
It is the sixth century, the age of the heptarchy, of Theodoric
and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Clovis and his Frankish succes-
sors, of Justinian, Belisarius, Boethius, and S. Benedict of Nursia.
In Wales it was a century of national life, of religious and men-
tal acti^dty. It was the age of S. David, S. Iltutus, S. Sampson,
and S. Teilo, Bishop of Llandaff. The ecclesiastical connexion
of Wales with other lands was illustrated by S. Aidan, Bishop of
Ferns in Ireland, and S. Padarn of Vannes in Brittany, not the
friend of the celebrated poet of the day, Venantius Fortunatus,
though some have supposed him to be so. The intellectual
life of the times was represented by the discussions about
Pelagianism, a phase of thought which, originated by Pelagius
or Morgan, a Scot of Wales, seems to have found a congenial
soil among the Britons. How a system which magnifies the
force of the human will and minimizes the supernatural factors
1 Ba;da, H. E. ii. 2.
Ixxii GENERAL INTRODTJCTION.
in the operations of the soul, should have found favour among
a race so influenced by the imagination, and so affected by the
hyper-physical, is one of the most abnormal circumstances in the
history of human thought. It was at this epoch that the cele-
brated college of Bangor-Iscoed on the Dee was founded by
Dunawd Fawr, the " Dinoth Abbas " of Venerable Bfeda. In
temporal matters, of which more hereafter, the Irish were in
possession of Caermarthenshire. If we may trust the docu-
ments produced by Jolo Morganow, Urien Eeged held the
lands between the Towy and the Neath, and regained his
father's dominions in the north ; that is, the land between the
Humbpr and the Clyde, the capital of which was Alcluyd or
Dumbarton.
It is important to have a definite conception of what are
really the sources of the early history of Wales. Besides the
statements in contemporary authors of other countries, we have
three early documents which have come down to us: — (1.)
Gildas's Historia et Epistola, a.d. 560 ; (2.) Nennius's History
of the Britons {cir. 738), with the additions of a later chronicle
up to 977, and a collection of genealogies compiled a century
and a half before the Bruts ; (3.) The Ancient Laws and Insti-
tutions of Wales, the most important of which are those of
Howel the Good, in the tenth century.
These documents supply us with some curious information
about the state of Wales and the distribution of the Cymric
population between the Eoman occupation and the sixth cen-
tury, in strong contrast to what we should have expected from
the ordinary conception of the history of the period. Instead
of Wales being the stronghold of the Cymry, and exclusively
occupied by them, while the Saxons are in the centre of Eng-
land, and the country north of the wall between Tyne and
Solway surrendered to the Picts and Scots, " we find the sea-
board of Wales on the west possessed by the Gael or Gwyddyl,
and the Cymry confined to the eastern portion of the princi-
pality. A line drawn from Conway to Swansea would separate
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixxiii
the races; in North Wales the Cymry possessed Powisland,
while the Gael had Gwynnedd and Anglesey ; in the south the
Cymry had Gwent and Glamorgan, the Gael had Dyfed ;
Brecknock belonging to the mysterious Brychan and his
family." i
But, strange to say, from Dee and Humber to the Firths of
Forth and Clyde, we find a great Cymric population, only
broken by the mixed Gaels of Galloway, the Ettrick Forest,
and the Manau Gododin, the region of Carron and Stirling ;
while along the coasts the Saxons had settlements from Tyne
to Esk.
The name of " the Cumbraes " has stereotyped the remem-
brance of this state of things. It exhibits a great Cymric
race, beset on different sides, by Saxons on the east, Picts
on the north, and by Gael, Gwyddyl, Scots, or Irish on
the west. These formed permanent settlements. After the
final destruction of the Pioman power, and the vain appeal of
the Britons to Aetius in 446, as has been already stated, the
first event that emerges from the darkness is the appearance of
Cunedda, his retreat from the first to the second wall in 409 or
410, and the expulsion of the Gael from Wales by his descend-
ants in the fourth generation, especially by Caswallawn Law
Hir, the father of Maelgwn, who was rapidly rising into power
at the time when Gildas was writing. Cunedda was the
Gwledig, an office similar to the Imperator or Bretwalda of
the Saxons, a chief elected from the surrounding reguli as
summus dux. Ambrose, Conan, and the great Arthur held tlie
same office. Divested of its mythical accretions, there seems
no doubt that Arthur was a historical personage, but of the
charm thrown round him by those who followed Geoffrey of
Monmouth there is nothing. All that we know is that he
combated Octa the son, and Ebussa the nephew, of Hengist, who
1 Vide Rees's Welsh Saints, p. 136 ; Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales,
vol. i. p. 43.
Ixxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
tried to seize the country lying between the Forth and the
Clyde, in twelve battles, the localities of which indicate a
struggle for the possession of the south of Scotland. Mr.
Skene, in his learned Preface to the Four Ancient Books of
Wales, very boldly and ingeniously finds localities for the dif-
ferent fields of action : —
" According to the view I have taken of the site of these
battles, Arthur's course was first to advance through the Cym-
ric country, on the west, till he came to the Glen where he en-
countered his opponents. He then invades the regions about
the wall, occupied by the Saxons in the Lennox, where he
defeats them in four battles. He advances along the Strath of
the Carron as far as Dunipace, where, on the Bonny, liis fifth
battle is fought ; and from thence marches south tlirough
Tweeddale, or the Wood of Celyddon, fighting a battle by
the way, till he comes to the valley of the Gala, or
Wedale, where he defeats the Saxons of the east coast. He
then proceeds to master four great fortresses : first, Kaerlium,
or Dumbarton ; next, Stirling, by defeating the enemy in the
trathcu Tryweryd, or Carse of Stirling; then 3£ynycl Agned,
or Edinburgh, the great stronghold of the Picts, here called
Cathhregion ; and, lastly, Boudon Hill, in the centre of the
country, between these strongholds." ^
Local tradition connects the scene of Queen Guinevere's
death with Meigle in Perthshire, in the immediate neighbour-
hood of which is Arthurstone.
The hero's death took place at Camelon, now identified with
the interesting remains on the south bank of the Carron. It
took place in 537, probably caused by a Pagan insurrection, for
his murderer was the son of Loth, " vir semipaganus," and every
notice we have seems to point to Arthur as representing the
Christian element in the contest. That heathenism was
struggling again for the mastery is clear from the fact that three
1 Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol. i. p. 58.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ixxv
years after this S. Keutigern was expelled from Glasgow, and
settled in Wales till 573, while the consolidation of the Pagan
kingdom of Bernicia gave it temporary strength. The struggle
between the opposing elements resulted in the triumph of the
Faith, as well as in the amalgamation of various petty states
into larger kingdoms. Among the monarchs of the time,
Maelgwn, first opposing his uncle, then turning monk, then
relapsing and marrying his nephew's widow, shines out with
some individuality.
The critical field of battle took place at Ardderyd or Arthuret,
near Carlisle, a spot where the remains of an ancient earth-
work dominating the river Esk, in close vicinity to the Solway
moss, and within sight of the great " strength " of Birrenwork,
indicates a natural outpost of Carwinlow, the Caer of Gwendo-
len, which must have been the chief object of attraction to the
Cambrian reguli if they attacked him from the west; then
Christianity prevailed. Ehydderch Hael, probably already
established in Alcluyd, became king of Cambria, at once recal-
ling S. Kentigern to Scotland ; and Aidan, who was crowned
king of Dalriada by S. Columba, pushed his victorious arms
into Bernicia in 603,^
It is here that the history touches that of S. Kentigern.
First of all Loth or Llew, son of Llywarch, to whom the Bruts
declare Arthur to have given Lodoneis or Lothian, on the occa-
sion of the battle of Edinburgh or Mynyd Agned, when the
people of Cathbregion were overthrown, whose two brothers
Arawn and Urien also obtained lands wrested from the Saxons,
who, heading the Brython, allied himself with the Gael or
Gwyddel under Gwydyon, the result of which was the insur-
rection of his son Medraut against Arthur, according to
Taliessia,^ " These were in the battle of Godeu, with Lieu and
Gwydyon," is the "vir semipaganus" of the earlier life, the
1 Skene, ut supra, p. 66. See also paper by same author iu Proceedings
of the Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. vi. pp. 91-98.
^ Taliessiu, xii.; Skene, vol. i. p. 274.
Ixxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
man " paganissimus " or " paganus implicatis erroribus " who is
the grandfather of S. Kentigern.^
The next historical personage we encounter is the scornful
Morken, whose barns were miraculously swept into the Mellen-
donor.2 He appears in the Welsh books as Morcant Bulc, a
king of the race of Coel Hen, who is described in the Genealogia
annexed to ISTennius as combined with Urien Eydderch and
Gwallaug to oppose Hussa, son of Ida, the king of Bernicia,
who reigned from 567 to 574.^ "Contra illos quatuor reges
Urbgen et Eiderch Hen et Guallauc et Morcant dimicave-
runt."^ He is declared in the same document to have fought
Urien in Lindisfarne, " In illo autem tempore aliquando hostes,
nunc cives vincebantur et ipse conclusit eos tribus diebus et
tribus noctibus in insula Metcaud ; et dum erat in expeditione
jugulatus est a Morcanto destinante pro invidia, quia in ipso
pre omnibus regibus virtus maxima erat instauratione belH."^ i
King Cathwallanus of Joceline's biogi-aphy may surely be
identified also with CaswaUawn Law Hir, great-grandson of
Cunedda, who expelled the Scots from GAvj^nedd. His son
Maelgwn the Maglocunus, the " tutelaris draco " of Gildas, is
however declared in the Book of S. Asaph to be the king who
bestowed a site for S. Kentigern's monastery at Llanelwy.^
But the king who occupies the most prominent position with
regard to S. Kentigern is known to us from the pages of Adam-
nan as the "Koderchus filius Tothail, qui in Petra Cluaithe
1 Whatever value may attach to the testimony of Geoffrey of Monmouth,
it is negative in respect to the relationship between Loth and S. Kentigern.
Lot there is married to Anna, the king's sister or half-sister (viii. 21), has two
sons, Walgon and Modred, is re-established in the considship of Loudonesia
(ix. 9), and then recovers Norway for the king, to which he had claims as
the heir of Sichelin, the late monarch (ix. 10). There is no mention of S.
Thenew. The Scotch authorities, Fordun and Boethius, unite both streams
of legend. - C. xx.
3 Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol. i. pp. 168, 175.
* Saxon and Welsh additions to the Historia Britonum, Chron. Picts and
Scots, pp. 12, 13. ^ Ihid. "^ Vide infra, p. Ixxix.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEUN. Ixxvii
regnavit." ^ Concerning him Dr. Eeeves gives this information :
— "The Bhyddcrch Had of the British, son of Tudwal (here
called Tothal, from the Irish Tuathal), surnamed Tutglud (Tuait
Clud of the Clyde district), ap Cedig, ap Dyvnwal Hen, ap
Ednyved, ap Maxen Wledig (or Maximus, king of Britain, 383-
388). He was of Irish extraction by his mother's side, for his
sister, Melangell or Monacella, was daughter of Ethni, surnamed
Wyddcles, 'the Irish Woman.' ^ His surname Had (Hib. Hial)
denotes ' Liberal,' hence he is called by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Bodarchus Largus, and among the Welsh he was celebrated as
one of the ' Three Liberal Princes of the Isle of Britain.' — Triad
XXX.' ' Gloria enim et divitise in domo ejus, liberalitas in
corde, urbanitas in ore, munificentia in manu ejus, eo quod bene-
dixisset Dominus operibus manuum ejus. Unde non solum in
fines circumjacentes terrse ejus, sed etiam ultra mare in Hyber-
niam exivit fama largitatis ejus." — Joceline, Vit. S. Kentig. c. 37.*
But liis greatest honour was his patronage of religion : " Susci-
tavit super regnum Cambrinum in regem Eederch nomine : qui
a discipulis sandi Patricii in Hihemia haptisatus fide Christian-
issima; qui et in toto corde queereret Dominum, et reparare
studeret Christianismum." — Vit. S. Kentig. c. 29.^ He is
mentioned in the Saxon and Welsh addition to Nennius, as
has just been stated.^ With Maelgwn Gwynedd and Aedan
Eradawg he conquers Gwenddoleu at the great battle of
Ardderyd, whereby he established himself as the first monarch
of Cambria in Strathclyde, reigning in Dumbarton.
As might be expected, we find the deeds of the successful
monarch chronicled in the poetry of Wales. In the Kyvoesi
Myrddin,^ in the Hoianau, in the Black Book of Carmarthen,^
1 Reeves's Adamnan, p. 43.
2 Rees's Welsh Saints, p. 269 ; Archajol. Cambr. iii. pp. 137-224. It will
be seen below that the oldest pedigi-ee in Nennius gives a diflFerent line of
ancestors to Dyvnwal, thus making him grandson of Ceratic Gidedic.
2 Myvyr. Archaeol. ii. p. 63. * Pinkerton's Vit. Ant. p. 277.
^ Ibid. p. 261 ; Ussher, Works, vi. 226. " Skene's Chron., Pref. xci.
^ Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol. i. p. 462. ® Vol. i. p. 4S2.
Ixxviii GENEKAL INTRODUCTION.
in the poems relating to the battle of Ardderyd,i and in the
Verses of the Graves,^ which last shows us where he was buried:
The grave of Owain ab Urien in a secluded part of the world,
Under the sod of Llan Morvael,
In Abererch, that of Ehydderch Hael.
In a document in one of the Hengwrt MSS., transcribed in
1300, with the title of Bonhed Gwyr y Gogledd, we get his
pedigree as descended from Dyfnwal Hen, grandson of Macsen
Guledig the Eoman Emperor. Dyfnwal had four sons —
Cedig. Garwynwyn. Aedhan Gorwst
I Vradog. Briodawr.
Tudwal Tudclud.
I Caurdav.
I I I Elidr
Rybdderch Hael. Senyllt. Servan. Mwynvawr.
I I Gwyddno
Nudd Hael. Mordav. Garanhir.
In the genealogies annexed to Nennius in 977 his descent is
thus : —
Ceredig Guledig.
I
Cenuit.
I
Dyfnwal Hen.
I
Clinog.
I
Tudwal Tudclud.
I
Bhydderch.^
We have already alluded to the part he took against Hussa.
In the Black Book of Carmarthen^ he is called the Champion
of the Faith. He was the father of Myrddin.
Neither the Lives of S. Columba, S. Dewi, or S. Asaph have
allusion to S. Kentigern, and we are not able to assign any
certain place in history to Telleyr or Anguen, or to Cathen, the
servant of Morken; but a document of the twelfth century
^ Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol. i. p. 371.
2 Vol. i. p. 311. 3 Vol. i. pp. 167, 169.
< Vol. i. p. 482.
TART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixxix
testifies to the saint's existence, acknowledges his work in Wales,
and corrects an error with regard to the king with whom he was
concerned. It is given in the Archteologia Cambrensis, and is
as follows: — "Haec experientia inventa per quendam Enianum
Ep'm Asaphen' in quodam Libro Antiquo Londoniis de libertati-
bus, privilegiis, donationibus, traditis concessis et confirmatis
S*^ Kentigerno suisque successoribus eorumque tenentibus et
libere tenentibus Anno Dni MCCL°vi° Notum fiet quod in tem-
pore cujusdam regis dygan"\vy nomine Malgini et cujusdam
regis Powysie nomine Maye, quidam vir venit ex latere oriental!
nomine Kentigernus ad quandam civitatem nomine Llanelwy,
et cum eo turba multa clericorum, militum, et ministrorum, nu-
mero trecent' quern quidem Kentigernum Rex Maye constituit
et ordinavit (in episcopum) in toto suo dominio quia time suum
dominium episcopalis gubernationis officio esset destitutum
et plenarie exhaustum. Et tunc Malginus rex dedit illi S*°
Kentigerno s'c'am civitatem Llanelwy ad libamina et sacrificia
facienda, necnon ad cetera divina officia celebranda, sine aliquo
dominio vel redditu regaU in perpetuum. Et cum hac predictus
rex i\Ialginus dedit et concessit eidem S*° Kentigerno alias villas
annexas ad succurrendum (et) serviendum illi civitati Llanelwy
pro sustentatione predicti Kentigerni (et) suorum successorum
sine aliquo dominio vel redditu regali in perpetuum, ut predic-
tum est : quanim villarum nomina sunt h?ec, Altmeliden,
Llanhassaph, Bryngwyn, Disserth, Kilowain, Llansannan Bod-
eugan, Henllan, Lllanufydd . . gernyw . . man . . gynwch,
Uchaled, Meriadog, jMovoniog, Hendrenewydd, Pennant, Llan-
arthu, Havenwen juxta Llanufydd, Bodnod, Maledyr, Bodvalleg
ac Ardney-y-menllyn et alias villas et quamplures alias villulas
Dominus rex Malginus dedit prefato Kentigerno suisque suc-
cessoribus sine aliquo tributo vel redditu regali in perpetuum.
Et quicunque fuerit transgressor alienus predictarum libertatum,
donacionum, in predictis villis vel villulis, ab omnibus tribubus
anathema et maledictus fiat in infinita secula seculorum. Amen.
Ut originale c . . . Et quicunque predictorum auditor et de-
Ixxx GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
fensor contra rebelles verbo vel signo contra infringent' hujus-
modi libertates et donationes concessas eidem 8*^° Kentigerno
suisque successoribns qusestiones transgress, controvers. excitaud'
a tribus Personis, Patre, Pilio, et Spiritu Sancto et ab omni
choro ecclesiastico benedictionibus repleatur per infinita secula
seculorum.
" Et ad illud tempus qnsedam discordia orta et mota fiut inter
duos milites in curia Malgini et Kedicum Draws sen de Ludis :
et Kedicus percussit filium IMalgini regis ciim cornu bibali
super caput suum usque ad sanguinis effusionem : qua de causa
Kedicus fugit et venit ad civitatem munitam Llanelwy in qua
quidem civitate Kentigernus erat pro immunitate securitate et
defensione illi Kedico a dictis 8*° et civitate habendis. Et
tunc predictus Malginus misit Voragianum et alios plures
ministros cum eo ad querendum Kedicum predictum : et
postquam invenerant ilium Kedicum ad metas et limites illius
sanctffi civitatis Llanelwy omnes equi eorum cseci facti sunt.
Et tunc statim illi equites converterunt se ad Malginum regem
et narraverunt regi ilia ardua et improspera quae contigerant
illis, hac fabula declarata seu bis rumoribus declaratis, tunc ille
solus Malginus venit cum illis ad metam et limites illius civi-
tatis, et illico ille rex csecus factus est et descendit desuper
equum suum, et tunc sui milites adduxerunt ilium regem caecum
coram S*° Kentigerno. Et ille rex procumbens oravit eundem
Kentigernum pro venia sibi impetranda, deinde incessanter
postulavit dictum Sanctum ut oculos suos cecatos signo crucis
signaret, quibus signo crucis per eundem sanctum signatis,
statim rex oculos aperuit et vidit, laudes Deo et Sancto reddens,
intuens ilium Kedicum facie ad faciem secum sedentem, et
tunc ait illi, Es tu ibi? Et ille respondit. Sum hie in im-
munitate et defensione venerabilis Sancti. Et illo die rex
INIalginus pro restitutione anime et inventione luminis ocu-
lorum dedit illi S*" Episcopo illius civitatis Llanelwy spatium
immunitatis et defensionis septem annorum et septem mensium
et septem dierum et unius diei primum. Et cum illo spacio
PART 11. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ixxxi
postea immunicionem et defensiouem in perpetuum. Et propter
ilia mysteria a Deo et dicto Saiicto collata dictus rex Malginus
augmentavit diversas donationes, viz., plures villas ad servi-
eiidum Deo et S*° Kentigerno in dicto cultu sine aliquo
dominio vel reditu regali in perpetuum. QuaruDi villaruin
nomina sunt hsec, Berryng, Dolwynan, Bodlyman. Et dedit
plures alias villas cum illis et istse donaciones factte per Mal-
ginum Eegem extendunt metas et limites Episcopatus S**
Kentigerni ejusque successorum ab urbe Conway usque ad
rivum . . . latus (?) Glatiri juxta Dinas Basing. Et dominus
Malginus ista ultima sibi dedit ob restitucionem oculorum
suorum, et ad ista predicta fideliter observanda, ab omni-
bus fidelibus et custodienda predictus Malginus rex testes,
idoneos tarn clericos quam laicos ad ista vocavit : vocavit
clericos Sanctum Danielem quondam Ep'um Bangorens' et
Patronum, Sanctum Trillum et Sanctum Grwst, — laicos Malgi-
num regem, Ewyn fiKum ejus et Gwrgenan senescallum
ejus. Meta et limites terrse immunitatis sanctse civitatis Llan-
elwy existunt in longitudine ap Adwy Llweni usque locum
vocatum Pen isaf i Gell Esgob usque locum vocatum Pontyr-
wddar, vizt. spacium miliarii in longitudine et unius miliarii
in latitudine. Et si quis violaverit predictam immuuitatem
(quod absit) seu ad hoc concilium auxilium vel favorem dederit,
aut fecerit occulte vel expresse, excommunicatus est ab omni
choro ecclesiastico et etiam indignacionem omnipotentis Dei,
beatae Mariae virginis, Sanctorumque Assaph', et Kentigerni 373
Sanctorum et Sanctarum se noverit incursuros. Et quicunque
predictam immunitatem non servaverit, divinis officiis ibidem
celebratis destituitur, et Dei maledictione repleatur. Amen.
Per infinita secula seculorum."^
As might be expected, we find earlier than this the record
^ The document given above is appended to the end of the Llyfr. Coch.
Asai)h, the Liber Rubeus, an index to which, written on the 26tli Oct.
1602, is printed in the Archseologia Cambrensis, vol. xiv. 1868, pp. 151-106
and .329-310.
Ixxxii GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
of S. Kentigern himself in the Annals of Wales. In what are
termed Annales Cambrise, of which the oldest manuscript is of
the latter part of the tenth century, and the composition of
which is referred to the reign of Owain, the son of Howel the
Good, who died in 948, we find, as already stated, A.D. 612,
CLXViii Annus. " Conthigirni obitus et Dib ric episcopi." In
a later manuscript, written in a hand of the end of the thir-
teenth century, the name appears in its more Welsh form of
"Chendeirnobiit."!
In the manuscript termed Pedigrees of the Saints, formerly
in the possession of Edward Lhwyd, author of the Archseologia
Britannica, and now in the British Museum,^ he is thus re-
corded : " Cyndeyrn was the son of Garthwys, the son of Owain,
the son of Urien ; and Deny, the daughter of Llawddyn Llued-
dawg of the city of Edinburgh in the north, was his mother."^
In the Bonedd y Saint, there is a variation : " Cyndeyrn was
the son of Owain ab Urien Eheged, and Dwynwen the daughter
of Llewddyn Lueddag of Dinas Eiddyn in the north."*
In the Triads of Arthur and his warriors (ms. Hengwrt 536),
the third of the tribe thrones of the island of Prydain is given
thus : " Arthur the chief lord at Penrionyd in the north, and
Cyndeyrn Garthwys the chief bishop, and Gurthmwl Guledic
the chief ruler." ^
Another confirmation of the work of S. Kentigern on the
south of the Solway is found in the dedication of eight churches
in Cumberland to him. In Joceline's Life it is stated, that on
his way to S. Dewi at Menevia, at Carlisle, he heard that
many of the inhabitants of the neighbouring mountains were
^ Annales Cambrise, edited by John Williams ab Ithel, M.A. ; London,
1860, pp. X, xi, xxvii 6. 2 jj^rl. No. 4181.
3 Lives of the Cambro-British Saints of the fifth and immediately succeed-
ing centuries, by the Rev. W. J. Rees ; Landovery, 1853, p. 593.
* An Essay on the Welsh Saints, or the Primitive Christians usually con-
sidered to have been the Founders of Churches in Wales, by Rev. Rice Rees ;
London, 1836, p. 261.
'' Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales, vol. ii. p. 457.
TAUT II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ixxxiii
idolaters. He accordingly turned aside and converted tliem. He
remained some time there, and erected a cross as the sign of sal-
vation at Crosfell. He is said also to have collected a great har-
vest to the Lord, going out of his way " per loca maritana."
We give the details of these churches from " The History of
the County of Cumberland and some places adjacent, from
the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time, etc., by William
Hutchinson, r.A.S. ; Carlisle, 1794."
ASPATRIA
is supposed to derive its name from Gospatrick, Earl of Dun-
bar, father of Waldeof, first Lord of Allerdale. . . . The church
of Aspatria was rectorial, and is dedicated to S. Kentigern, now
worth about £100 a year. It was given by Waldeof, first Lord
of Allerdale, to the prior and convent of Carlisle, and having
become appropriate, the same was confirmed by King Henry ii.
and King Edward iii.^
Bromfield.
The chm'ch of Bromfield, like many others in the north, is
dedicated to S. Kentigern or Mungo, whose name, however, is
now heard of only as perpetuated by a spring of pure water
close by the church, which is called Mungo's Well. . . . The
vicarage is valued in the king's books at £22, but is now sup-
posed to be worth £140. It was first granted by Waldeve, son
of Gospatric, as aforesaid, to the abbey of S. Mary's, York.
The abbey had the patronage and advowson till 1302, when
they prevailed on the Bishop of Carlisle to appropriate it to
their monastery, which he did, stipulating for forty merks yearly
revenue to the vicar, and the right of collation was reserved to
the see of Carlisle.^
Caldbeck.
The parish was forest and waste and parcel of Allerdale ;
^ Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 2S5. '^ Vol. ii. p. 'MS.
Ixxxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
an highway having run from Westmoreland and the eastern
parts of Cumberland through these wastes, they lay long under
the imputation of being the resort of freebooters. It was on
this account that Eanulph Engain, the chief forester of Ingle-
wood, granted a boon to the Prior of Carlisle to build an
hospital there for relieving unfortunate travellers. On this
grant the prior enclosed some portion of the forest in the
environs of the hospital, which stood near the place where the
church now stands ; but though thus enclosed the right of the
soil remained in the Lord of Allerdale, whose authority was
necessary to keep the lawless multitudes in subjection.
Soon after the erection of this hospital, a church was founded
near it, and dedicated to the tutelar saint of the north,
S. Mungo or S. Kentigern.^
Crosthwaite.
The church of Crosthwaite (in which is Keswick) was
rectorial. It was dedicated to S. Kentigern, and was given to
the Abbey of Fountains in Yorkshire, by Alice de Eomely, and
soon after made appropriate ; the Bishop of Carlisle reserving
to the see the right pf collating a vicar. It is said to be worth
£140 a year.^
Geinsdale,
The church was rectorial, and dedicated to S. Mungo, or, as
some name this personage, Kentigern, It was part of the pos-
sessions of Lanercost Priory, being given thereto by Hugh de
Morvil, Lord of Burgh, and Eustachia his wife ; and was soon
after appropriate, the cure being served by a brother of that
house, without any vicarial endowment.^
Irthington.
The church being vicarial was given by Eobert de Vallibus
1 Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 376.
2 Vol. ii. p. 156. 2 Vol. ii. pp. 517, 518.
TAKT II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEllN. IXXXV
to the prior and convent of Lanercost, and was soon after
appropriated thereto.^
SOWERBY OR SOWERBY CASTLE.
The church stands at the extremity of the parish, and was
originally rectorial. It is dedicated to S. Mungo or Kentegern.^
MUNGRISEDALE.
To these must be added Mungrisedale, a chapel in the parish
of Greystock.^ In the parish of Greystock is Mungrisedale.
Grisedale or Mungrisedale is another chapelry within this
parish. The hamlet is holden, like many of the rest, of the
Lord of Greystock. The chapel is endowed with a dwelling-
house, and a small enclosure wherein it stood.^
That, with every abatement, both Lives of S. Kentigern con-
tain matters of history, cannot safely be denied. There is too
much individuality about them to make us believe that they
were written to order in the twelfth century, to promote a
cultus or advocate a system. S. Kentigern was an abiding
reality in the minds of the people when both Lives were written,
as indeed we learn from the valuable Inquisitio Davidis, of the
year 1120, which is the chief authority for the history of the
see of Glasgow before its restoration. There is in both the
Lives a comparative absence of that banale history that makes
one life of an Irish saint so like that of another. No doubt in
some of the miracles there is a similarity to those wrought else-
where at the same time, but with this exception, there is
everything to make us believe that the Lives were really
founded on earlier documents, and give the contents of these
documents in the main truly, though perhaps not always
without an importation of later ideas.
1 Hutchinson, op. ciL, vol. i. p. 119. ^ Vol. i. p. 517.
3 Regist. Ep. Glas., vol. i. pp. 3-7.
* The History and Antiquities of the counties of Westmoreland and Cum-
berland, by J. Nicolson, vol. ii. p. 374.
Ixxxvi GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
Now, what do we discover in the fragmentary Life ? We find
that by the time of Herbert, Strathclyde was so amalga-
mated into modern Scotland, that the author freely speaks of
having come " ad regnum Scottonim ;" and that at that time a
strong religious movement was prevailing ; as we know from
other sources, the country was " sanctorum reliquiis valde opti-
mum (opimum) clericis prefulgidum, principibus gloriosum."
He describes himself as a " clericus S^' Kentigerni," no doubt a
Culdee, a descendant of the " singulares clerici " of Joceline's
Life, who were being superseded by the new chapters.
So with the substance of the history: it is quite according to
what we know that Leudonus or Loth should be " vir semi-
paganus." The constant relapses into idolatr}'- wliich dis-
tinguish that dark period are noted by many historians, and
the ignorant devotion of the daughter might find its parallel
now in New Zealand, where in our own times the Pae-marire
have imported Christian ideas into a form of heathenism ; and
in China, where one of the most formidable rebellions against
the Government of that enormous nation has been raised by
men who have from their intercourse with Christian mis-
sionaries created for themselves a sort of travestie of the true
religion.
The crypto-Christianity of the swineherd also is quite in
accordance with what we should expect.
The law that a maiden dishonoured in her father's house
should be stoned seems rather to belong to the Saxons than to
the more licentious Celts, yet the fact that in these early
times succession went through the female, as in the case of
Talorgan, indicates the existence of great corruption, and sug-
gests the possibility of the ordinance of stringent and cruel
laws to stay it. The quantity of fish stranded at Abberlessic
finds its confirmation at this day in some of the rivers of North
America, and we get a curious indication of the trade in fish,
where it is said that Angles, Scottish men, and even Belgians
and Gauls, came to the Isle of May "gratia piscandi." In
PART 11. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixxxvii
lona there was also an ostium fsetoris, Port Loth, or rotten
port.^
If we seek for internal evidence of the value of the second
Life by Joceline, we shall find it in the historical events of the
Cambrian kingdom that are therein incidentally mentioned. In
the eleventh chapter we are told that the king and clergy of
the Cambrian region, with the other Christians, who were few
in number, elected S. Kentigern. This implies (L) that there
had been an apostasy, and that the traces of S. Ninian's mis-
sion had greatly disappeared; (2.) that there was a king in
Strathclyde. This is borne out by fact, for though Eederech
greatly increased his power by his success at Ardderyd, we
know that his father Tudeval reigned before him. The saint's
consecration by an Irish bishop is quite in accordance with
what we know of the constant influence of Ireland, not only on
the colony of the Dalriadic Scoti, but throughout the length and
breadth of what is now Scotland. Many of the Scottish saints,
Ternan, Yarchardus, Wynnin, Molocus, and the like, must have
lived at this time, while in Ireland it was a period of great
sanctity, S. Ailbhe dying in 541, S. Mobhi in 544, S. Ciaran
of Clonmacnoise in 548, with others in the great pestilence,
S. Molaise in 563, S. Ita in 569, S. Brendan of Birr in 571, and
S. Columba in 592.
In Chapter xix. we learn that not only did S. Kentigern
convert to Christianity the inhabitants of his district, but he
recovered many " who had wandered away from a sound belief
in the teaching of some heretical sect." The Synods of
Llanddewi-Brefi and of Lucus Victorias in or about a.d. 569 had
to deal with the Pelagian heresy, and the Canons of 570, which
are described as the " Prefatio Gildse de poenitentia," and those
of the Sinodus Aquilonaris Britannise, in meeting the vices of
the age, add too sad and too true confirmation to the state-
ments of Joceline, that in reforming the ways of the people
^ Reeves's Adamnan, p. 430.
Ixxxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
he had to dissolve incestuous aud unlawful marriages, to change
concubinage into lawful marriage, and generally to meet a case
of great moral degradation.^
In Chapter xx. we get the first mention of Morken or Mor-
cant, of whom we have already made mention. S. Kentigern
retired into Wales, where the cognate Wealas received him, and
Caswallawn LaAv Hir, great-grandson of Cunedda, is well known
to have existed, as we have already stated, though the twelfth
century documents more correctly assign the protection of the
saint to his son Maelgwyn Gwynedd.
Airain, the evangelization of modern Cumberland is attested
by the dedications of the churches in the northern districts of
that county, and by the name Crossfell applied to a remarkable
hiU not far from Penrith, which is mentioned in Joceline's Life.
The local colouring of the monastic and episcopal life of the
saint is in entire conformity with what we know of its condi-
tions in Wales at the time. That Rederech should have been
baptized by the disciples of S. Patrick in Ireland is likely from
what we know of his parentage : according to one of the pedi-
grees, his mother was Irish, and the whole of his successful
reign, commencing with the conquest of Guendoleu at Ard-
deryd, indicates a temporary triumph of Christianity, On the
saint's return to his diocese after he had set things in order
there, it is said that " petiit Albaniam," Scotland north of the
Forth, and here we find traces of him in Aberdeenshire — the
church of Glengarden, now joined to Glenmuick, bearing his
name. AUoa in Fortren is also dedicated to him. This indeed
hardly covers the author's expression, " illic nam multas eccle-
sias erexit, erectas dedicavit." A still more interesting point is
raised by the assertion that his disciples carried the cross to the
Orkneys, Norway, and Iceland. The touching interview between
the two saints, Columba and Kentigern, seems to confirm the
truth of the historical veracity of the books whence the author
1 Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Eccl. Doc. vol. i. pp. 113, 117.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. Ixxxix
drew his biography, for from other sources we know the exact
date of S. Coliimha's birth and death, as also the relations
between Aedan and Eederech, which would have made a visit
to Glasgow by the saint of Hy probable. That at the Mel-
lendonor, close to the cemetery of S. Ninian, these two great
heralds of Christianity should meet on a spot already sanctified
by the traditions of the people, is one of those little incidents
which we wish to be true, and which we have no certain reason
for believing not to be so.
It is remarkable, and it must be mentioned in abatement of
the value of Joceline's Life, how very little allusion there is to
the galaxy of saints who illustrated the epoch of S, Kentigern,
both in "Wales and in Ireland. Even the great S. Gildas, born
in his own kingdom of Strath cluyd, at Alcluyd, in 516, is not
mentioned as known to him. Except S. Asaph and S. Dewi,
we have no allusion to the many Welsh bishops and abbots
who illustrated that remarkable century in the Annals of
Wales, and it is equally strange that the allusions to the re-
ligious Life of Ireland are comparatively scanty, although the
recollection of the Magnum Monasterium at Whithern, in his
own diocese, must surely have been preserved.
As we have stated in a preceding paragraph, the dedications
to S. Kentigern under his honorific appellation of Mungo help
in a measure to indicate the ancient sphere of his labours. His
churches are met with not only in the region which represents
the ancient kingdom of Cumbria, but also in Laudonia, while
his name is also found in the districts evangelized by his
master, S. Servanus, as well as in Aberdeenshire. Thus we
have in —
I. DUMFKIESSHIRE.
1. S. Mungo or Abeemilk (N. S. A., Dumfries, 203).
2. KiRKMAHO in Xithsdale (Regist. Vetus de Aberbrothoc),
pp. 212-216.
XC GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
II. LANAEKSHIEE.
1. Lanark, where in the dedication he is joined with S.
Mary (Orig. Paroch., i. 227).
2. BoRTHWiCK or LocHWERWETH (Lib. de Scon, p. 33).
III. MID-LOTHIAK
1 . Penicuik, where is his Well.
2. CURRIE,
IV. BEEWICKSHIRE.
1. PoLWARTH, where is his Fair.
V. PEEBLESSHIRE.
1. Peebles, where is his Well (Orig. Paroch., i. 227).
VI. PEETHSHIRE.
1. Auchterarder (N. S. A., Perth, 290).
VIL INVEENESS-SHIEE.
1. Inverness, where is his Hill.
VIII. CLACKMANNAN.
L Alloa. See confirmation by King James iv. of a grant
made by Alexander Lord Erskine in favour of the church of
Alloa. (Cart. Penes Com. de KelHe.)
IX. ABEEDEENSHIEE.
1. Kynor, part of modern parish of Huntly.
2. Glengarden, now united to Tullich and Glenmuick. In
1726 there remained a proverb in Aberdeenshire in allusion to
S. Kentigern's finding no rest but in doing good, " It is like S.
Mungo's work, which was never done." There are no dedica-
tions to him among the Dalriadic Scots, the churches attributed
to him in Argyleshire being those of S. Fintan-Munnu.
X. SELKIEK.
1. Hassendean (Chronica de Melros, p. 100).
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGEKN. XCl
In the hagiology of Scotland we find two saints who are
referred to S. Kentigern.
" Conval wes a disciple of S. Mungo, and is buried in Inchin-
nane, nocht far fra Glasquew, qiihare he is halden in gret
venerationn of pepill." ^ He is described as the son of an Irish
prince, and is also honoured at Cumnock. His feast is on the
28th of September.^ The other saint who is connected with
him is S. Baldred, who, in the Breviary, which follows Bower,
is called the suffragan of S. Kentigern, and who is said to have
taken him as his model ; but, not to mention that suffragans did
not exist in Britain in his time, S. Baldred was obviously the
" Balthere anachorita " of Tyningham, whose death is re-
corded by Simeon of Durham in 756.^ East Lothian at that
time belonged to the Anglic diocese of Lindisfarne, and not to
the Welsh diocese of Cumbria.
Between the time of the death of S. Kentigern and the restora-
tion of the see, there appears to have been a time of anarchy
and barbarism. Dumbarton was lost to the Britons in 756,
and the country became successively a prey to Picts, Danes,
Scots, and Saxons, But as is generally the case, in spite of
what the Inquisitio says, that their enemies " totam regionem
vastantes ejus habitatores exilio tradiderunt," the old population
in a measure remained, and became the nucleus of the new
nationality. They were called Wealas, a name which, under
the form of Walenses, continued till the time of charter evi-
dence.* Asser and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relate in the
year 875, that Halfden the Dane frequently harried the Picts
and Stratcludenses or Stratclud-Wealas.
The Inquisition points first at an attack on the Church
" diverse seditiones circumque insurgentes . . . ecclesiam et
ejus possessiones destruxerunt." Then came the banishment,
^ Bellenden's Boece, lib. ix. 17, vol. ii. p. 99.
2 Brev. Aber. p. Estiv., fol. cxvii.
^ Symeon of Durham, Surtees Edition, pp. xvi., 20.
* Regist. Ep. Glas. p. 15.
XCll GENEKAL INTRODUCTION.
which in exaggerated language is described as " omnibus bonis
externiinatis." A great lapse of time occurs, " magnis temporum
intervallis transactis," and then succeeds an influx of different
races, " diverse tribus, diversarum nationum ex diversis partibus
influentes, sed dispari genere et dissimili lingua et vario more
viventes." ^ These would naturally be the different races men-
tioned in the early charters. David cedes the tithes of his
Can of Strathgryfe, Cunningham, Kyle, and Carrick, in a docu-
ment addressed to all the faithful of the realm " tam Gawensibus
quam Anglicis et Scotis;"^ Malcolm iv., "Francis, Anglicis,
Scotis et Galweiensibus,"^ and again, "Francis et Anglicis,
Scottis, Walensibus, Gavelensibus." *
Nothing is known of the see, or of S. Kentigern's successors,
until the episcopate of Magsuen and John, in the time of
Archbishop Kinsir of York, a.d. 1051-lOGO,^ except that the
" Sedulius episcopus Britannise de genere Scottorum," who
appears at the Council at Eome in 721, was probably one of
his successors, for the Strathclyde Britons submitted to the
Pope in 703, while North Wales conformed in 768, and South
Wales in 777.*^ The certain history of the see begins with
Bishop John, who was appointed to it by David of Scotland,
probably in a.d. 1115;^ but we also know from the Inquisitio
that S. Kentigern was then known to have had " plures suc-
cessores," although the see had been recently, and for some
time, vacant and plundered ; and that certain considerable
estates, then searched out and restored to it, were known to
have been " anciently possessed " by that see.^
1 Regiat. Ep. Glas. p. 6. ^ p 12. 3 P. 14.
* P. 15. 5 stubbs, ap Twysden, 1700.
6 See Haddan, vol. ii. p. 7 ; Mansi, Concilia, t. viii. p. 109, ed. Venet. 1729.
^ Inquisitio Davidis, Regist. Ep. Glas. p. 4.
* Haddan and Stubbs, vol, i. p. 151 ; Regist. Ep. Glasg., Preface xvii, note,
where an important letter of Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury, to Pope Calix-
tusii., written between 1118 and 1122, is quoted as showing that the ancient
Bishop of the district was held by him to have been " unus de illis antiquis
Brittaiiorum episcopis, quos sicut sepe dictum est singidatim beatus Gregorius
ecclesie Cant, subjugavit."
PAKT II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. XCUl
It was natural that the memory of so great a saint should
express itself in the devotional formularies of the Church of
Scotland. Accordingly, even to the period of the Eeformation,
the services for S. Kentigern's Day were special and ample. In
the diocese of S. Andrews, according to the Arbuthnott Missal,
it was kept as a duplex festum with nine lessons, and it is
mentioned that " extra diocesin ejus celebratur in crastino octa-
varum epiphanise." In the church of Aberdeen, as we find from
its Breviary,^ it was a majus duplex, and special provision is
made for its increased splendour when the church is dedicated
to him. Time and the Eeformers have left us no office as it
was sung in his own Cathedral church, but by the kindness of
two friends I am enabled to enrich this Preface with two ser-
vices anterior in date to those of the Arbuthnott Missal or of
the Breviary of Aberdeen.
From the learned Victor de Buck, the admirable continuator
of the Bollandist series of the Acta Sanctorum, I have received
the following communication : —
" Quffi me rogasti de S. Kentigerno, monumenta liturgica
haec in Bollandiano exsistunt codice, cui titulus : Incipit
orclo missalis Fratrum Minorum secundum consuetudinem Bo-
mance curicc; qui Fratres Minores sedem suam habebant in
Scotia, quippe qui sequerentur in S. Kentigerni officio usum
Glascuensem. Officium autem ad missam in festo S. Kentigerni,
quod venit ad finem propriorum officiorum et ante officium
commune in vigilia unius apostoli, scriptum est eadem manu
eodemque atramento quibus reliquus codex, id est, ante annum
1264 ; nam officium in festo SS°"' sacramenti, quod illo anno in
universa ecclesia latina celebrari coepit, non suo loco venit, sed
inter additamenta, adeoque recentiori manu recentiorique atra-
mento scriptum est : quae eadem manns et atramentimi in
orationede S. Niniano^ omnino observantur. Unde manifestum
^ Pars Hyem. fol. xxvii.
'^ The same MS. contains a service for S. Ninian, which is given at page xxiv.
of the present vohime.
XCIV GENEKAL INTRODUCTION.
est S. Keutigerni memoriam anno 1264 esse antiquiorem in
illo libro, S. Niniani recentiorem. Jam sequuntur ilia docu-
menta.
" Festum sancti Kentigerni, episcopi Glasguensis, in octava
epiphanice. Officium ad missam. Introiius, Statuit ei Dominus
pacis. Ps. Memento Domine David, secundum usum Glasguen-
sem et secundum Sarum, Domine, probasti me et cognovisti.
Oratio, Deus, qui beatum Kentegernum, confessorem tuum at-
que pontificem, ecclesise tuae doctorem pariter et rectorem,
mirifice praesignasti, praesta, quaesumus, ut eujus venerandam
eam memorationem agimus, ipsius semper suffragia senciamus.
Per. Epistola, Ecce sacerdos magnus. Graduale, Ecce sacerdos
magnus. V. Non inventus similis illi. Alleluia, V. Justus ger-
minabit. Evan, secundum Matthaeum. In illo tempore dixit
Jhesus d. s. parabolam banc. Homo quidam peregre profici-
scens. Offert. Veritas mea. Secreta. Majestati tuae Domine, in
honore sanctissimi Kentigerni confessoris tui atque pontificis,
hoc munus oblatum sanctifica, ut sit tam acceptabile nobis quam
salubre, per Dominum. Comni. Beatus servus. Postcomm. Divina
libantes misteria, quae in sanctissimi Kentigerni confessoris tui
atque pontificis commemoratione tuae optulisti {lege optulimus)
majestati, te, Domine, suppliciter exoramus ut per ipsum et
cum ipso caelestis gratiae douis perfruamur. Per Dominum.
In commemorationibus heati Kentigerni per annum possunt dici
cpistolce alicc de communi unius confessoris et pontificis, et
similiter cvangelium Vigilate et alia pro libitum
Mr. Dickson of the Eegister House, Edinburgh, has been so
good as to send me the following Office of S. Kentigern from a
MS. Breviary of the latter half of the thirteenth century, lately
acquired for the Advocates' Library : —
De Sancto Kentigerno. R.
In septentrionali Wallia non longe ab Albania
Sancta colit ecclesia Kentegerni sollempnia,
Cui uolatilia fere pisces flumina
Parent ut mancipia domino cliencia
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. XCV
Eius flatu facula sopita pro inuidia
Succenditur in Scocia sine ignis materia.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Alme presul Kentegerne laudum digne iubilo
Qui dum lumen tenebroso prebuisti populo
Lux cintillis splenduisti crebris in candelabro
Tibi laudes decantantesjepresenta Domino. P. Magn.
Inuit. Celestis Regem patrie adoremus cotidie
Qui Kyntegernum hodie coronauit glorifice. P. Venite.
/ny N. A. Stirps regalis Britannorum Kentegernum protulit
Quem Seruanus uir non uanus litteras edocuit. Evovjb.
P. Beat, uir A. Iste ab infancia iugum portans domui
Presulari stragula promeruit indui. Evovse.
P. Quarefre. A. Emulorum ausibus obuiat puerulus
P. Domine quid. Vitam dando uolucri quam necarant inuidi. Evovae.
[3Iargin: Or. Deus, qui beatum Kentegernum pontificem ecclesie
tue doctorem pariter et rectorem mirifice presignasti, presta quesumus
ut cuius uenerandam festiuitatem agimus, ipsius semper subfragia sen-
tiamus.]
Lectio j'' Preclarus Dei confessor Kentegernus, antistes nobilissima
inclitorum regum Britannic gentis prosapia illustris, set sanctitate vite
morum honestate omniumque uirtutum mirabili execucione longe
illustrior extitit. Quem natum in prouincia que ab auo suo Leudono
rege Leudonia denominatur Sanctus Seruanus, angelica ammonicione
edoctus, ad nutriendum suscepit denote et susceptum apud Colenros
honorifice nutriuit. Ipse uero Kentegernus sicut etate crescebat ita
sensu et gracia cotidie proficiebat. Sanctus uero Seruanus intelligens
eum diuina gracia celitus esse preuentum quanto priuacius educando
instruebat tanto instructum ceteris condiscipulis ardencius diligebat.
B. Christi miles Kentegernus plenus Dei gracia
Regi regum militauit ab adolescentia
Qui per eum ampliauit electorum agmina
Dum moneret legis hostes tuba euangelica.
V. Eructando flumina salutaris sciencie
Plebem lauit. tepidara de tabe apostasie.
Lectio ij" Nam a primeua sue puericie etate Sanctus Kentegernus
Spiritus Sancti gracia repletus diuinorum miraculorum stigmatibus
choruscabat, set quia in omnibus ecclesiis generalis est usus in Sanc-
torum natalicijs illorum gesta et uirtutes ad laudem Dei et gloriam
qui in suis Sanctis semper est ammirabilis declaranda recitare nos, ne ubi
XCVl GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
propalandorum copia miraculorum habundat, nichil dicere arguamur,
plura compendij gracia praetermittentes, pauca ex ipsis que per eum
Deus gessit miraculis, sicut a Sanctis et religiosis nostrorum antiquorum
doetoribus tarn dictis quam scriptis didiscimus, in eius sacra sollemp-
nitate recitanda strisimus.
B. Mirantes pauent emuli quod uita redit uolucri
Quam necarant improuidi auulso lento capita
Virtutum hec primordia sunt facta in Albania
Per Kentigerni merita
V. Qui illesum quondam rubum inflamauit cipite
Sine rogo accendebat corilum mirifice
Per Kentigerni merita.
Lectio ij'^ Erat igitur quedam auicula de specie auium que dicitur
rubisca in refectorio Sancti Seruani, que sibi multum familiaris erat et
cotidie de minutissimis reliquiarum micis super mensam relictis vesce-
batur. Quadam autem die, Sancto Seruano in ecclesia oracioni insistente,
contigit eandem auiculam a Sancto Kentegerno adhuc puerulo, cum
coetaneis suis in refectorio ludente, ex improuiso ictu interfici cuius
auicule corpusculum auulso capite ibidem ante ipsos jacebat. Sanctus
uero Seruanus mox ut a referentibus familiaris auicule interemcionem
didicit, aliquantulum ira commotus^ ab oratorio surrexit et ad refec-
torium concito gradu pergere cepit. Puer autem Sanctus uiso magistro
ualde perterritus [est] timens non tarn debitis uirgularum percussionibus
discipiinari quam qualibet saltern leui correctorie excommunicacionis
sentencia feriri, statim auicule corpusculum cum suo capite accepit et
ipsum capud suo corpori ut prius fuerat adiungens coaptare et dirigere
cepit. Quo facto, ipsa continuo reuisit, et reuiuiscens, sana atque
incolumis contra Sanctum Seruanum garulando alacriter euolauit.
K. Qui elixas condiebat dapes in lebetibus
Hunc defunctum lamentatur herus cum clientibus
Sed culine redit uiuus Kentegerni precibus
Albaniam fugientis citatis amfractibus.
V. Siste gradum prebe uadum fuga ponti reumata
Doctor clamat ad quem amat assequens uestigia.
In iij"' No. A . Sacro flatu pueri conscintillant spatule
Uiridantis corili ut faces ignicome. Evovae.
P. Cu Ivoc A. Pulsat aures Domini uox orantis pueri
Pro defuncto famulo qui reuixit concito. Evovoe.
P. Verbamea.i4. Stupet ledonis alueus mallene ructaus fluctibus
P. Dne de9 nr Quod salebre diuorcia in se grassant reciproca. Evovae.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. XCVil
Lectio iiij" Supradicti uero refectorij ignis qui de celo Sancto Seruano
missus fuerat, ne unquam extingueretur, solebat custodiri, discipuli
autem Sancti Seruani prout forte eis contingeret eundem ignem uua-
quaque nocte custodiebant, quadam uero nocte dum Sanctus Kente-
gernus eum custodiret, ipso dormiente ignis extinctus est. Ipse autem
cum euigilasset a sompno et nullus ignis comparuisset excitauit socios
et indicauit eis quod sibi contigit estimans illis de suo ut sibi uidebatur
infortunio secum condolere et quid sibi esset agendum commonere.
R. Olim fete archam Dei vacce Dagon obruto
De Acharon ad Bethsames plaustrant sine scrupulo
Sic de Ckernach functum tauri redant nuUo preuio
Qui in Glascu funeratur Kentegerni merito.
V. More Symeonico accepto oraculo
Eger uiso puero obiit in Domino
Qui in Glascu, etc.
Lectio v" Illi autem excitati quia miraculorum gracia clioruscabet
sibi semper inuidebant non tamen condolere uel ammonere quid agere
deberet uoluerunt. Set magis quod isti fuit causa tristicie et doloris,
illud idem prestitit illis materiam leticie et hylaritatis, set puer sanctus
quia externo sociorum fuerat destitutus consilio, Diuine inspiracionis
interno eruditur instinctu. Nam subito foras eerediens ad frutices
qui prope monasterium erant quamtocius perrexit, atque ipsorum fruti-
cum frondes hyemali rigore congelatas teneris carpens manibus collegit
et usque ad refectorium deportauit, et super toletum deponens nuUo
igne supposito in sociorum presencia sufBare cepit. At ipsa uiridium
et congelatorum ramusculorum congeries mox ut a beati pueri flatu
iittacta fuerat, sine mora exarsit.
R. Cultro lupi exaratus
Ager ac tellure satus
Germinauit triticum ;
Furibundus rex cecatus
Mitis est illuminatus
Per uirum antenti[c]um.
V. Siluestri apro preuio
Compaginatur predium
In quo sancto collegio
Fit Asaph monasterium.
Lectio ty" Nee mirum dilectissimi fratres si eius anhelitus quum ignis
diuinus fidei feruore intrinsecus inflammauerat, fomitem estrinsecus
appositum velud mordacissiraa flamma combureret. Equum enim
G
XCVill GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
erat ut ignis celestis, qui Dei nutu extinctus ad tempus dissipauerat,
per celestem diuini pueri flatum iterum restitutus compareret. Illius
autem nemoris uiridia uirgulta de quo ipse supradicta lignicula depor-
tauerat ad commendandum hoc miraculum per benedictionis ipsius
meritum velud quelibet arida sine mora inflammescunt. Quod eciam
illius loci incholarum testimonio usque in odiernum diem certissime
comprobatur.
R. Crudi moris rex infaustus et exosus clericis
Documentis obuiauit Sanctis siue magicis
Doctilogum calce pellens instigante uernula
Quern festina mors detrusit rexque languet podagra.
F. Qui submersit Pharaonem et Groliam obruit
Regem nequam ac tironem dira nece perculit
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
In iij No. A. Kentegernus nunquam nimbi passus et discrimina
Necdum taxat nix uel grando eius rigant pallia.
Evovse
P. Dne quis A. Lupino fissum uomere agellum seuit puluere
hab Mirante superficie albescit cespes segete. Evovae
P. Dne in A. Crimen suum palliauit regina per anulum
uirtute De profundo quemportauitpisciculuslaticum. Evovae
P. Domini est terra
Evangelium. Homo quidam.
Lectio vij" Cocum autem Sancti Seruani pridie defunctum iterum
diuina gracia per Sanctum Kentegernum hoc modo suseitauit. Qua-
dam autem die Sanctus Seruanus coUegit messores ad messem suam
congregandam. Sed quia cocus suus pridie mortuus fuerat hora
prandii precepit suis discipulis at aliquis illorum messoribus cibaria
prepararet. Illi autem inuidie facibus inflammati Sancto Kentegerno
quia in miraculis choruscabat semper insidiantes subdolose recusabant,
dicentes neminem eorum ad illud seruicium esse ydoneum nisi solum
Kentegernum. Et rogauerunt suum magistrum ut Sancto Kente-
gerno illud officium iniungeret, machinantes semper circa ipsum
magistri incitare indignacionem.
R. Aporia ingruente uir largus diriguit
Miro modo recreandus ope qua uiguit
Cum horisonum avafi flumen lambens horrea
Classicaret sine rate ad eius mapalia.
V. Qui mare scidit Moysi et Jordanem Josue
Annonam sancto presuli Cludum fecit uomere
Ad eius
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. xcix
Lectio viij'^ Sanctus igitur Seruanus, peticioni eorum adquiescens, pre-
cepit Sancto Kentegerno ut messoribus suam impenderet refectionem.
lUe autem penitus respuebat. At magister respuentem talibus aggre-
ditur uerbis " Tu ipse aut messoribus refectionem prepara, aut cecum
nostrum a mortuis, quia clarificaris in miraculis, resuscita." Tunc
Sancto Kentegerno ad sacrata et competencia oracionis loca defugienti,
et sulmixis precibus Deum qui prope est omnibus eum in ueritate
inuocantibus exoranti ut in hoc quod sibi a magistro iniunctum fuerat
succurreret et quid circa emulorum inuidiam deberet agere ostenderet
apparuit angelus Dei dicens, quia pius afflictorum consolator Deus
suas preces exaudiens merito sui fidei et innocencie cocum a mortuis
suscitauit et sibi a magistro discedere concessit.
R. Cudenti in ferugine glauca fabro mittitur
Quod per culpam incurie uado lac effunditur
Nee commiscetur gurgiti liquor nee defluitur
Virtutum in congerie sic Kentegerni cuditur.
V. Veruex gregem comitatur amputato capite
Quod in petram transmutatur ut uxor Loth Sodome.
Lectio ix" Rediuius autem cocus ut antea consueuerat ; cibaria mes-
soribus preparauit et distribuit. Et postea per septem annos uixit,
deinde super tumulum illius iterum morientis, scriptum est quomodo
a Sancto Kentegerno fuerat resuscitatus Et scriptio ilia usque in hunc
diem sed modo lapidibus superpositis tecta, apud Lokencheinoch per-
durat. Eadem autem hora qua defunctus fuit suscitatus, Sanctus
Kentegernus angelo ammonente a magistro discessit. Sed in sua
discessione aliud diuine potencie miraculum non minimum gestum est,
fluuium etenim Scociam a regno Britannorum diuidentem ut ab angelo
fuit ammonitus transire debebat. Transiens uero fluuium et ad
ultiorem ripam perueniens et suum magistrum post se uenientem
respiciens, rogauit Dominum ut fluuius qui recedente pelagi estu sibi
tunc transmeabilis extiterat, confestim equoreo reumate retrogradente
repletus transiri penitus non posset. Quod mox ipsius merito impe-
trante ita factum est. Nam fluuius marinis redundans aquis, ubertim
transgreditur ripas. Sanctus uero Servanus tanto Diuine potencie
miraculo perterritus nee ulterius transgredi ualens, finitis plurimarum
querelarum colloquiis Sancto benediceus discipulo ad suum monaste-
rium repedauit. Ad confirmandam uero huius miraculi ueritatem, in
omni equoree inundacionis accessu et recessu illud littus huiusmodi
naturam quasi priuilegium usque in hodiernum diem uerissime obseruat
quod in nullo alio littore contingere reperitur. Nam antea ceteris
litoribus consimilis nature existere comprobatur.
C GENEKAL INTRODUCTION.
R. Jubente Petrus Domino inescat piscem hamulo
In quo reperto statere didragmam jussit soluere,
Sic Kentegerni merito regine piscis baiulo
De stagno aurum attulit quo uelut insons claruit.
V. Reginam rex supplicio mortis pro adulterio
Torquebat sed redempcio miranda fit in anulo.
Glorie Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Psa. Gens Cambrina cum regina plaudite tripudio
V. Vibex fletus dolor metus et mortis condicio.
V. Jam cassantur et purgantur uitali remedio.
V. Limpba celat quod reuelat ixtis here clanculo.
V. Latet regem per quam legem ditetur cum anulo.
V. Ensem tortor condit horror sedatur pre gaudio.
V. Laudes ergo Kentegerno decantat hec conscio.
V. Metam auro quo reperto traxit de ergastulo.
V. Velud insons. In laud.
Eya laudes decantantes iubilemus Domino
Kentegernum uenerantes laudum cum preconio. Evov»
A. Per coronam auream in peplo angelico
Et columpnam flammeam notus est in cuneo. Evovse
A. Sospitati pristine mortuum mirifice
Kentegernus hominem reddidit et uolucrem. Evovae
A. Benedictus Kentegernus gregem suam uisitans
Laruas fugat egros curat plebs exultat obuians. Evovse
A. Laudes Deo decantare sueuit in frigidis
Uudis artusque siccare super frontem silicis. Evovas
A. Sacrosanctam Kentegernus seruans parsimoniam
Fame siti et algore eius pauit animam,
Dum in aquis decantaret frigidis psalterium
Ac quadriduano cibo foueret corpusculum
Ipsum omnes proclamemus cum precum instancia
Ut de mortis torre ducat nos ad celi gaudia. Evovae
P. Bened. Ad ij vs. R. Jubente Petrus,
A. paradoxe pontifex per orb is uasta climata,
Quem phalanges uraniag et siderum officia
Et elementa omnia alterna per prodigia
Clarum declarant Domino qui poli regit dindima
Ab illo nobis uendita perhennis uite premia. Evova3
P. Mag.
In addition to these memorials of S. Kentigern, we may-
mention the Hymn for the Canonical Hours, in imitation of
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. CI
the celebrated one commemorating the incidents of our Lord's
Passion, and commencing —
" Matutino tempore : virtute divina."
It is given from a MS. in the University of Edinburgh/ and
printed as Appendix iv., Eegist. Epis. Glas., Preface, p. xcix.
There is also the tract giving a metrical account of the death
of Somerled in 1166, by a contemporary writer, copied by
Henry Bradshaw, Esq., from MS. of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, 130, and printed for the first time in the new
edition of Fordun,^ where his fall, among other reasons, is
imputed to his contempt for the Scottish saints, especially
S. Kentigern : —
" Caput duels infelicis Sumerledi clericus
Amputavit, et donavit pontificis (in) manibus ;
Ut suevit, pie flevit, vise hostis capita,
Dicens Sancti Scotticani sunt laudandi utique.
Et beato Kentegerno tradidit victoriam,
Cujus semper, et decenter, habete memoriam."
As might be expected, we find in the poetry of Scotland
before the Eeformation several allusions to the saint.
In the account of the different saints depicted among the
Scots, in Sir David Lindsay's Dialog betwix Experiens and ane
Courteour,^ we have —
" Thay bryng mad men on fuit and horsse
And byndis thame at Sanct Mongose crosse."
And in the Testament and Complaynt of the Papingo—
" And we shall synge about your sepulture
Sanct Mongoes matynis and the mekle creed.
And syne devotely saye, I you assure,
The auld Placebo bakwart and the beid." *
Wyntoun, in the Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland,^ has
only—
" And in this tyme Saynct Mongowe,
Was byschop lyvand off Glasgowe."
1 A. C. 2. 26, 12mo. 2 Vol. i. p. 449.
3 Laing's ed. vol. i. p. 314. * Ih. p. 89. * Vol. ii. p. 49, ed. 1872.
Cll GENEKAL INTKODUCTION.
Stewart/ in his Cronikil, gives the account of S. Mungo's
meeting with S. Columba, and of their sojourning at Dun-
keld :—
" The holie bischop callit wes Mungo,
Remanand was that tyme into Glasgow ;
The son he wes of King Eugenius,
And dochter sone also to Iving Lothus."
The popular devotion is indicated in the strange prayer of
the Scottish borderers against the pestilence said by the English
to be sent in God's grace for their repentance : — " Gode and
Saint Mungo, Saint Eonayn and Saint Andrew, schield us this
day fro Goddes grace, and the foule death that Englishmen dien
on."^ Boece, or rather his translator Bellenden, exhibits to us
the popular belief concerning him just before the Reforma-
tion : —
" At this time was Sanct Mungo, the haly bischop of Glas-
quew, quhilk was gottin on Sanct Thanew, the doughter of
Loth, king of Pichtis, opprest, contrar hir will, be Eugenius, last
king of Scottis. This Mungo heirand Sanct Colme preiche afore
Brudeus, was ravist in spreit be his devine wourdes, and followit
him to Dunkeld, quhare Conwallus beildit ane riche abbay afore ;
bot now, be magnificence of princis, it is maid ane bischoppis
seit, craftely biggit with square and polist stanis. Quhen tliir
two holy men had remanit vi. monethis in Dunkeld, they de-
partit hame. Sant Mungo returnit to Glasquew, and Sanct
Colme to Ireland." ^
Of personal recollections of S. Kentigern,'* besides his bell,
which existed till after the Reformation, his well still exists in
the cathedral, and his body lies buried in the crypt. That
body, contained in a feretrum, was the object of the cultus of
1 Vol. ii. p. 269 ; London, 1858.
2 Pinkerton's History of Scotland (quoting Walsingham), vol. i. p. 20 ;
London, 1797. Chronica Thomse Walsingham quondam Monachi S. Albani.
Edit. Camden ; Franco!., 1602, p. 228.
3 BeUenden's Boece, lib. ix. c. 14 ; vol. ii. p. 91.
* Reg. Ep. Glas., vol. ii. p. 334.
PAKT II. — THE LIVES OF S, KENTIGEKN. CUl
King Edward I. The Compotus Garderobe of the twenty-ninth
year of his reign records seven shillings given on the 20th of
August " ad feretrum Sancti Kentegerni in Ecclesia Cathedral!
Glasguensi," the same sum on the 21st at the high altar and
at the ferter, and again on the 3d of September.^
In the fifteenth century, in the reign of King James i., an
inventory was made of the ornaments, relics, and jewels of the
Church of Glasgow, among which we find the following objects
which refer to S. Kentigern : " Item xviii lapides preciosi rubei
coloris pro feretro S. Kentigerni in una papiro . . . item xxvi
lapides preciosi diversi coloris pro dicto feretro in alio papiro.
Item xxvi alii lapides preciosi diversi coloris pro dicto
feretro in iii^ papiro. Item in pecunia pro feretro xxvi lib. xv.
f. computando dimidium pro viii f. et lumen pro v f," Among
the relics, " Item in una cofra argentea quadrata parte loricarum
Sanctorum Kentegerni et S. Thomae Cantuar et de parte cHicii
patroni nostri Kentigerni ut patet in cedula. Item in una
parvula fiola coloris croci oleum quod manavit de Tumba
S. Kentegerni, Item una bursa preciosa cum pectinibus Sanc-
torum Kentegerni et Thomae Cantuariensis. Item duo sacculi
linei cum ossibus Sancti Kentegerni, Sancte Tenaw, et aliorum
diversorum Sanctorum.'"^
At the Eeformation, Archbishop Betou, in carrying away to
Paris the charters and muniments of his church, carried away
also "much of the plate and jewels of his church,"^
It was well that he did so. Though the trades of Glasgow
saved their church from actual demolition by the Eeformers, no
mercy was shown to what were considered the relics of idolatry.
The Protestant Lords, Argyle, Euthven, and Stewart, issued an
order to Provost Lindsay and the Magistrates — "We pray you
fail not to pass incontinent to your kirks in Glasgow, and tak
down the hail images thereof, and bring forth into the Idrkz-
1 Regis. Ep. Glas., vol. ii. p. G21. ^ /jj-^, pp 329^ 330.
^ Regis. Ep. Glas., pref. i.
CIV GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
yard and burn them openly. And sicklyke cast down the
altaris, and purge the kirk of all kynd of monuments of
idolatrye . . . hot take guid heyd that neither the dasks, win-
docks, nor duries be onyways hurt or broken, either giassen
work or iron work."^ N'ay, eighty years after, we learn from
the Eecords of the Kirk-Session, under the date of 8th January
1641, when the violence that had pursued the unreformed
Church was turned upon the Episcopalians, the Session enacted
that the IMagistrates will cause all monuments of idolatry to
be taken down and destroyed, viz., all superstitious pictures,
crucifixes, etc., both in private houses and in the Hie Kii'k.
Next day it was reported that they had found only three that
could be called so, viz.. The Five Wounds of Christ, The Holy
Lamb, and Kentigerne ora pro nobis.^
There is a striking passage in Mabillon,^ where he shows
how towns and cities grew out of the monastic life. The
Benedictine monks in Germany were founders of burghs as well
as cultivators of the soil. Xot only did Fulda rise up in the
midst of pathless forests, but Corby and Bremen in Saxony,
Hersfeld and Friteslaria in Thuringia, Salzburg, Freisingen,
and Eisted in Bavaria, S. Gall in Helvetia, and many others
sprung from the villages that were built round the religious
house. " Primo loco occurrit Buchonia, solitudo quondam in-
gens, in Francise orientalis et Turingise confinio at postquam
eo in saltu Bonifacius Monasterium Fiildense construxit ex
horrore illo emersit urbs et regio non ingrata. . . . Inde nomen
a fago Buchonise relictum, auctore Candido in Vita Sancti
Eigilis. Idem praestitit Bonifacius variis in locis tam per se
quam per suos, aliique e nostris post eum. Quid enim quon-
dam Corbeia, quid Brema, modo urbes in Saxonia? quid Fritis-
laria, quid Hersfeldum, opida in Turingia ? quid Salzburgum,
Frisinga, Eistetum, urbes episcopales in Bajoaria ? quid opida
^ The History of Glasgow by -vrriters of Eminence ; Glasgow, 1872, vol. i.
p. 85. -' Ibid. p. 168.
2 Prffifat. in iii. Secul. Benedict., § 5.
PART II. — THE LIVES OF S. KENTIGERN. CV
Sancti Galli et Campidona apud Helvetios ? quid numerosa
alia opida in tota Germania ? horridse quondam solitudines et
latibula ferarum : nunc liominum amcenissima diversoria,
postquam ea nostri labore et industria sua excoluerunt. Facile
esset id etiam de aliis provinciis ac regnis demonstrare sed
ista in exemplum sufficiunt ut intelligant omnes ex Benedic-
tinse familiae propagatione quid emolumenti et ornamenti
regnis Christianis accesserit."^ One cannot help recurring to
this thought with reference to the subject of this memoir.
The great city of Glasgow, which, springing from the little
burgh founded by William the Lion in the twelfth century, as
a mart of barter with the rude inhabitants of the Highlands
and neighbourhood, has now become the third city of the
empire, numbering at midsummer 1872 a population of
578,705 inhabitants, possessing nearly a thousand ships,
exhibiting a tonnage of 444,581, returning with Greenock and
Port-Glasgow the enormous sum of £2,034,816, Os. Id. as
Customs duties, slaughtering 69,499 oxen, 285,549 sheep and
lambs, 13,448 pigs, burning 1,227,229,000 cubic feet of gas,
exhibiting a rental of £2,327,513, paying duty on 676,590 lbs.
of tea, and 2,692,456 lbs. of tobacco,^ owes its existence to the
earthen rath and wattled church which S. Kentigern erected
by the Mellendonor stream, beside the old cemetery of
S. Mnian.
^ Acta Sanctorum Beuedict., sec. v. p. xxxiii.
2 Report upon the Vital, Social, and Economic Statistics of Glasgow for
1872. By W. West Watson, F.S.S., City Chamberlain; Glasgow, 1873,
pp. 41, 59, 65, 74, 72, 47, 72.
THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN
BY AILKED.
HERE BEGINNETH THE LIFE OF S. NINIAN, BISHOP AND CON-
FESSOR, BY AILRED, ABBOT OF RIEVAUX, TRANSLATED
FROM THE ANGLIC LANGUAGE INTO LATIN.i
PROLOGUE.
It hath been the desii-e of many of the wise who
have hved before us to commit to writing the Hves,
the manners, and the words of the saints, especially
of those who have flourished in their own times, and
thus to redeem from obhvion, and perpetuate the
memory of, the example of the more perfect life to the
edification of posterity. But they who had distin-
guished genius, and fluency of speech, and the Hght-
ness of eloquence, did this the more usefully in so far
as they gratified the ears of those who Hstened to
them by pohshed language. Yet those, to whom on
account of the barbarism of their native land, the
faculty of speaking gracefully and elegantly was lack-
ing, did not defraud posterity of an account of those
who were to be imitated, although in a more simple
style. Hence it happened that a barbarous language^
obscured the life of the most holy Ninian,^ whom the
^ This is the superscription of the raanviscript in the British Museum.
'^ Note A. 3 Note B.
PEOLOGUE.
sanctity of his ways and his distraguished miracles
commend to us, and the less it gi^atified the reader
the less it edified him. Accordingly it pleased thy
holy affection^ to impose upon mine insignificance the
task of rescuing from a rustic style as from darkness,
and of bringing forth into the clear light of Latin
diction, the life of this most renowned man, a Hfe
which had been told by those who came before me,
truly indeed, but in too barbarous a style. I embrace
thy devotion, T approve thy desire, I praise thy zeal,
but I know mine own inexperience, and I fear to strip
it of the coarse garments in which it hath hitherto been
hidden, and not be able to deck it in those in which
it may appear more comely. But since I cannot
reftise what thou dost enjoin, T will attempt what
thou commandest, as I prefer to be judged by thee
incompetent rather than obstinate. Mayhap, what
my imperfection denieth, thy faith will supply, thy
prayer secure, thy sanctity obtain. He too for whose
honour and love thou desirest me to do this will assist
thy pious vows, thine aspirations, and my attempt
and my study. Moreover, by his merits, thou trustest
that to me may be given the learned tongue and the
copious speech. To this must be added that which thou
sayest, that the clergy and people of thy holy church,
who are moved by a rare affection for the saint of God
under whose protection they live, wiU receive with
the greatest devotion what I write, since, as thou
sayest, the desires of all have specially selected me for
1 Note C.
PROLOGUE.
this work. I undertake therefore the burden which
thou layest upon me, moved indeed by thy prayers,
but quickened by faith. I will labour, as He will
deign to aid me, who maketh eloquent the tongues
of infants, so to temper my style, that on the one
hand an offensive roughness obscure not so high a
matter, and on the other hand, that a freedom of
speech, not so eloquent as fatiguing, cheat not of the
desired fruit of this my labour the simplicity of those
who cannot appreciate a proper rhetoric. May the
grace of the Saviour bless this undertaking, and may
He who bestowed upon him the virtues whereby he
is deemed meet to be held in everlasting remembrance
make us who record them worthy, and bestow upon
us the reward of our toil, that his prayer may ever
attend us in the way whereby we hasten to our father-
land. And in the hour of our departure, when we
await the end of the way and the beginning of the
hfe, may his consolation be near us, and for his holy
merit's sake the eternal reward of the heavenly good
things.
[THE PREFACE.
The Testimony of Bmda concerning Ninian, loith observations
of Ailred.'j
Divine autliority, wliich from the beginning is acknowledged
to have constituted the holy patriarch Abraham a father of
many nations, and a prince of the faith predestinated from
ancient times, by such an oracle as this — " Get thee out of thy
coimtry, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,
unto a land that I shall show thee, and I will make of thee a
great nation," ^ recommendeth to us the glorious life of the most
holy Ninian, on this wise, that this most blessed one leaving
his country, and his father's house, learnt in a foreign land
that which afterwards he taught unto his ow^n, " being placed
by God over the nations and kingdoms, to root out, and to
pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and
to plant." ^ Of this most holy man. Venerable Bseda, calling
attention in a very few words to the sacred beginnings of his
life, the tokens of his sanctity, the dignity of his ofl&ce, the fruit
of his ministry, his most excellent end, and the reward of his
toil, thus writeth concerning him : —
" In the year after the incarnation of the Lord 565, at the
time when Justin the Less, after Justinian, had received the
government of the Eoman Empire, there came to Britain out of
Ireland a presbyter and abbot, remarkable for his monastic
habit and rule, by name Columba, with the intention of preach-
ing the word of God in the provinces of the Northern Picts ;
that is, to those who were separated from the southern regions
by lofty and rugged ranges of mountains. For the Southern
Picts themselves, who dwell on this side of the same moun-
tains, had long before abandoned idolatry, and embraced the
faith in the truth, by the preaching of the word by Bishop
Ninian, a most reverend and holy man, of the nation of the
Britons, who had at Eome been regularly instructed in the
faith and mysteries of the truth ; the seat of whose episcopate.
^ Gen. xii. 1. ^ Jer. i. 10.
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 7
dedicated to S. Martin, and a remarkable church, where he
resteth in the body along with many saints, the nation of the
Angles now possesseth. That place, appertaining to the pro-
vince of the Bernicii, is vulgarly called * At the White House,'
for that there he built a church of stone in a way unusual
among the Britons."^
On the trustworthy testimony of this great author, we have
been made acquainted with the origin of S. Ninian, in that he
stateth that he was of the race of the Britons, trained in the
rules of the faith in the Holy Eoman Church ; with his office,
in that he declareth him to have been a bishop and a preacher
of the word of God ; with the fruit of his labours, in that he
proveth that the Southern Picts were converted from idolatry
to the true religion by his toil; and, with his end, in that
he witnesseth that he resteth along with many saints in the
Church of S. Martin. But that which he briefly, in view of
the tenor of his history, seemeth barely to have touched upon,
a book of his Life and Miracles, written in a barbarous style
detaileth at greater length. This book, never varying from
the foundation of this witness, hath recorded in historical
fashion the way whereby he made this commencement, merited
such fruit, and attained unto so worthy an end.
[CHAPTEE I.
The Birth of Ninian, and his Training^
Therefoee in the island of Britannia, which Ions ago, as
they say, took its name from Brutus, among a race of the same
name, and of no ignoble family, did the blessed Ninian spring -.^
in that region, it is supposed, in the western part of the island
(where the ocean stretching as an arm, and making as it were
on either side two angles, divideth at this day the realms of
the Scots and the Angles), which till these last times belong-
ing to the Angles, is proved not only by historical record but
by actual memory of individuals to have had a king of its own.
His father was a king, by religion a Christian, of such faith in
God, and of such merit,^ as to be deemed worthy of a child by
whom what was lacking to the faith of his own nation was sup-
plied, and by whom another race that had not known the sacra-
ments of the faith became imbued with the mysteries of our
holy religion. He in very infancy, regenerated in the water of
1 Bseda, H. E. lib. iii. c. iv. 2 -^q^^ d. 3 Note E.
II
8 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
holy baptism, presendng immaculate the nuptial robe which
clad in white he had received, a conqueror of vice, presented it
in the sight of Christ ; and that Holy Spirit whom he first
received to cleanse him, he merited by his most holy ways to
maintain as the instructor of his pious heart. For by His
^y-^'V'*' f guidance, while yet a boy, though not in sense one, he shunned
' whatsoever was contrary to religion, adverse to chastity, opposed
to good morals, and discordant with the laws of the truth. But
whatsoever was of the law, of grace, of good report, whatsoever
was useful to man, or well-pleasing to God, that he ceased not to
I follow with a mind already mature. Happy was he whose delight
was in the law of the Lord day and night, who like a tree
planted by the water-side brought forth his fruit in due season,^
seeing that in the vigour of manhood he strenuously fulfilled
that which he had learnt with the greatest devotion. Wonder-
ful was his reverence about churches ; great his love for the
brethren. He was sparing in food, reticent in speech, assiduous
in study, agreeable in manners, averse from jesting, and in
everjihing subjecting the flesh to the spirit. "W^ierefore bending
his mind to the sacred Scriptures, when he had learnt according
to their way the rides of the faith from the more learned of his
race, the young man came by the exercise of his penetrating
genius to see, what by the divine inspiration he had gathered
from the Scriptures, that much was wanting to their perfection.
On this his mind began to be agitated, and not enduring anything
I short of perfection, he toiled and sighed. His heart was hot
i within him, and at last in meditation the fire kindled.^ " And
what," said he, " shall I do ? I have sought in mine own land
Him whom my soul loveth. I sought Him, but I have found
Him not. I will arise now, and I will compass sea and land.
I will seek the truth which my soul loveth.^ Surely needeth it
such toil as this. Was it not said to Peter, 'Thou art Peter, and
on this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell* shall
not prevail against it'?^ Therefore in the faith of Peter there is
naught inferior, naught obscure, naught imperfect, naught against
which false doctrine and perverse opinions, like the gates of hell,
can prevail. And where is the faith of Peter but in the See
of Peter ? Thither certainly, thither I must betake me, that,
going forth from my land, and from my kinsfolk, and from the
house of my father, I may be deemed meet in the land of
vision to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit His
temple.'' The false prosperit}^ of the age smileth on me, the
1 Ps. i. 3. - Ps. xxxix. 4. 3 Cant. iii. I.
* Note F. s S. .Matt. xvi. IS. « Ps. xxvii. 4.
LIFE OF S. NINIAN.
vanity of the world alliireth me, the love of earthly relation-
ship softeneth my soul, toil and the weariness of the flesh
deter me, but the Lord hath said, ' He that loveth father or
mother more than me is unworthy of me, and he that taketh
not up his cross and followeth me is unworthy of me.'^ I have
learnt moreover that they who despise the royal court shall
attain to the heavenly kingdom." AVherefore, animated by the
impulse of the Holy Spirit, spurning riches, and treading
down all earthly affections, the noble youth betook himself to
pilgrimage, and having crossed the Britannic sea, and entered
Italy by the Galilean Alps, he safely arrived at the city.^
He arrivctli at Bome-
His Intercourse
Native Lancl.^
[CHAPTEE 11.
-He is consecrated BisJiop hy the Pope —
vHth S. Martin — His Return unto his
The most blessed youth having arrived at Eome, when he
had shed tears, proofs of his devotion, before the sacred relics
of the apostles, and had with many prayers commended the
desire of his heart to their patronage, betook himself to the
Bishop of the Supreme See, and when he had explained to
him the cause of his journey, the Pope accepted his devotion,
and treated him with the greatest affection as his son. Pre-
sently he handed him over to the teachers of truth to be imbued
with the disciplines of faith and the sound meanings of Scrip-
ture.^ But the young man, full of God, took notice that he had
not laboured in vain or to no purpose ; he learnt moreover that
on him and his fellow-countrymen many things contrary to
sound doctrine had been inculcated by unskilled teachers.
Therefore with the greatest eagerness, with eidarged moutli,
receiving the word of God, like a bee he formed for himself
the honeycombs of wisdom by arguments from the different
opinions of doctors, as of various kinds of flowers. And
hiding them within his inmost heart, he preserved them to
be inwardly digested and brought forward for the refreshment
of his inward man and for the consolation of many others.*
Verily it was a worthy recompense that he who for the love
of truth had despised country, wealth, and delights — brought,
if I may so say, into the secret chambers of truth, and admitted
to the very treasures of wisdom and knowledge, — should re-
„■)»:
1 S. Luke ix. 22.
2 Note G.
3 Note H.
* Note I.
10 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
ceive for carnal things spiritual tilings, for earthly things
heavenly things, for temporal blessings eternal goods. Mean-
while, as chaste in body, prudent in mind, provident in
counsel, circumspect in every act and word, he was in the
mouths of all, it happened that he rose to the favour and
friendship of the Supreme Pontiff himself. Wherefore, after
living in a praiseworthy manner for many years in the city,
and having been sufficiently instructed in the sacred Scriptures,
he attained to the height of virtue, and, sustained on the wings
of love, he rose to the contemplation of spiritual things. Then
the Eoman Pontiff, hearing that some in the western parts of
Britain had not yet received the faith of our Saviour, and that
some had heard the word of the gospel either from heretics or
from men ill instructed in the law of God, moved by the Spirit
of God, consecrated the said man of God to the episcopate with
his own hands, and, after giving him his benediction, sent him
forth as an apostle to the people aforesaid. There flourished at
this time the most blessed Martin, Bishop of the city of Tours,
whose life, rendered glorious by miracles, already described by
the most learned and holy Sulpicius, had enlightened the whole
world.^ Therefore the man of God, returning from the City, full
of the Spirit of God, and touched with the desire of seeing him,
turned aside to the city of Tours. With what joy, devotion,
and affection he was received by him, who shall easily tell ?
By the grace of prophetic illumination the worth of the new
bishop was not hid from him, whom by revelation he recognised
as sanctified by the Holy Spirit and sure to be profitable to
the salvation of many. The pillars in the tabernacle of God
are joined one with the other, and two cherubim stretching
out their wings touch each other ; sometimes borne up on the
wings of virtue they soar to God, sometimes standing and fold-
ing their wings they become edifying to each other. Therefore
coming back from these exalted things to what is earthly,
blessed Ninian besought of the saint masons,^ stating that he
proposed to himself that, as in faith, so in the ways of building
churches and in constituting ecclesiastical offices, he desired
to imitate the holy Eoman Church. The most blessed man
assented to his wishes ; and so, satiated with mutual conversa-
tions as with heavenly feasts, after embraces, kisses, and tears,
shed by both, they parted, holy Martin remaining in his own
See, and Ninian hastening forth under the guidance of Christ
to the work whereunto the Holy Ghost had called him. Upon
his return to his own land a great multitude of the people
1 Note K. 2 Note L.
I
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 1 1
"went out to meet him; there was great joy among all, and
wonderful devotion, and the praise of Christ sounded out on
all sides, for they held him for a prophet. Straightway that
active husbandman of the Lord proceeded to root up what had
been ill planted, to scatter what had been ill gathered, to cast
down what had been ill built. Having purged the minds of
the faithful from all their errors, he began to lay in them the
foundations of faith unfeigned ; building thereon the gold of
wisdom, the silver of knowledge, and the stones of good works :
and all the things to be done by the faithful he both taught
by word and illustrated by example, confirming it by many
and great signs following.
[CHAPTER III
Tlie Fowidation of the Church of TVliithem.]
But he selected for himself a site in the place which is now
termed Witerna,^ which, situated on the shore of the ocean,
and extending far into the sea on the east, west, and south
sides, is closed in by the sea itseK, while only on the north is
a way open to those who would enter. There, therefore, by the
command of the man of God, the masons whom he had brought
with him built a church, and they say that before that none in
Britannia had been constructed of stone. And having first
learnt that the most holy Martin, whom he held always in
wondrous affection,^ had passed from earth to heaven, he was
careful to dedicate the church itself in his honour.
[CHAPTEE IV.
Jle healeth and converteth King TuduvallusI]
Thekefore this light set upon a candlestick began to those
who were in the house of the Lord to shine forth in heavenly
signs and radiant flames of virtue, and to enlighten darkened
minds with the clear and burning word of the Lord, and to
warm the cold. There was in that region a king (for the
whole island lay subjected to diverse kings), by name Tudu-
vallus, whom riches, power, and honour had excited to pride, in
whom the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the
wealth of the world had so ministered to his haughtiness, that
^ Note M. 2 ]s^ote N.
1 2 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
he presumed himself to be able to do as much as any one, and
he had the presumption to believe that wliat any one could
do was both possible and lawful to him also. He, despising
the admonitions of the man of God, alike secretly depreciated
his doctrine and manners, and openly opposed his sound teach-
ing, so that the earth seemed rejected and nigh to cursing, in
that, drinking in the rain that came oft upon it, it brought
forth thorns and thistles, and not wholesome herbs. But at a
certain time, when he had been more than usually hostile to
the man of God, the heavenly Judge suffered no longer that the
injury to his servant should go unavenged, but struck him on
the head with an unbearable disease, and broke the crown of
the head of him that walked in his sins. To such an extent
did his sickness prevail that a sudden blindness darkened
those haughty eyes, and he who had opposed the light of truth
lost the light of sense ; but not in vain, nor to the increase of
his folly. For the poor man lay oppressed by pain, deprived
of sight ; but, darkened externally, he became enlightened in
the inward parts.^ When returning iinto himself he confessed
his sin, seeking a remedy from him alone, to whom he had
hitherto exhibited himself as an enemy. At last, calling to-
gether his relations, taking advice from them, since he could not
go himself, being debarred by his infirmity, he sent messengers
to the man of God, beseeching him not to enter into judgment
with his servant, nor to reward him according to his deeds, but
as an imitator of the divine benignity, to return good for evil,
love for hatred. The most blessed man hearing this, not elated
with human pride, but abounding as ever in the bowels of com-
passion, having first offered up prayer to God, went straightway
to the. sick man with the greatest kindness and devotion. And
first he corrected him with tender reproof, and then touching
the head of the sick man with healing hand, he signed the blind
eyes with the sign of the saving life. What shall I more say?
The pain fled, the blindness was driven away by the coming
light, and so it came to pass that the disease of the body cured
the disease of the soul, and the power of the man of God
expelled the disease of the body. Healed therefore in both,
in body and mind, he began thenceforth with all affection to
cherish and venerate the saint of God, knowing by experi-
ence that the Lord was with him, and directed all his ways,
giving him power against everything that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of Christ, since He was ready to avenge every
disobedience and injury inflicted on the servants of Christ.
1 Note 0.
» LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 13
If, therefore, this contemptuous and proud man, by the grace
of humiliation and penance, was deemed meet to be healed
by the holy man, who shall doubt that he, who with sure faith
and sincere and humble heart, seeks the aid of so great a saint
for the curing the wounds of his inner man, shall obtain a
speedy remedy by his holy merits. But let us now go on to
other things, which seem so much the greater, in proportion as
they are proved to be contrary to nature itself.
[CHAPTER V.
He clcardh the Presbyter accused of Violation^]
There was a certain girl in the service of one of the noble-
men, as to the sinful flesh fair of face and graceful of aspect,
on whom, when an unchaste young man had cast his eyes,
he was seized with a bhnd love, and not able to subdue the
flame of the lust which he had conceived, began to urge the
girl to consent to sin. At length by solicitation or by money,
he caused that she should conceive sorrow to bring forth
iniquity. The unhappy woman yielded to the other's lust, little
recking of the judgment of God, while she hoped to evade the
eyes of man ; but by the swelling of her womb the crime was
betrayed, and soon laughter was turned into weeping, joy into
sorrow, pleasure into pain. But what could she do ? whither
turn ? The law, her parent, her master were feared. Where-
fore the unhappy woman made a covenant with death, and put
her trust in a lie, believing that she would seem less guilty if
she said that she had been deceived or forced by some one of
great name. Being urged therefore by the elders to denounce
the guilty man, she laid the charge of violence on the presbyter
to whom the bishop had delegated the care of the parish. All
were astonished who heard that word. They acquitted the girl
of the crime which they thought a man of such authority had
committed. The good were scandalized, the wicked elated, the
common people laughed, and the sacred order was scoffed at ;
the presbyter, whose fame was injured, was saddened. But the
innocence of the priest by the revelation of the Spirit was not
hidden from the bishop beloved by God. He bore, however,
with impatience the scandal to the Church and the injury to
holy religion. Meanwhile the days of the woman were accom-
plished that she should bring forth a child, and she bore a son,
not, as was supposed, to the disgrace of the priest, but to that
of the father and the unworthy mother. For the bishop sum-
14 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
moned to the Church all the clergy and people, and having
exhorted them in a sermon, laid his hands on those who had
been baptized. Meanwhile the bold woman, casting aside all
shame, bursting in among the people with those who belonged
to her, thrust the cliild in the face of the presbyter, and vocife-
rated in the ears of all the congregation that he was the father
of the child, a violator and deceiver. A clamour arose among
the people ; shame among the good, laughter among the wicked.
But the saint, commanding the people to keep quiet, ordered
the child to be brought to him, being then only one night old.
Wherefore, inflamed by the Spirit of God, when he had fixed his
eyes on him, he said, " Hearken, child, in the name of Jesus
Christ, say out before tliis people if this presbyter begat thee."
this marvel ! work worthy of all admiration ! the
strange clemency of God ! the ineffable power of the faith
of Christ ! Verily, aU things are possible to liim that believeth ;
but what shall I say ? [What could not the faith of Ninian
do? Certainly nature waiteth on faith, age on virtue ; shall not
nature wait upon the Lord of Nature ?] Age is not needed to
produce an instrument, nor teaching for the office, nor time for
practice, but at the instance of faith the divine power gave
eloquence to the tongue of the infant, and out of the mouth
of a babe and suckling,^ it confounded the guilty, convicted the
liar, absolved the innocent. Accordingly out of the infant
body a manly voice was heard; the untaught tongue formed
rational words. Stretching out his hand, and pointing out his
real father among the people, — "This," said he, "is my father.
He begat me. He committed the crime laid upon the priest.
Verily, bishop, thy priest is innocent of this guilt, and there
is naught between him and me but the community of the same
nature." This was enough.^ The child thereupon became
silent, to speak again by and bye according to the law of nature
and the changes of advancing years. Thanksgiving sounded
in the mouth of all, and the voice of praise, and aU the people
exulted with joy, understanding that a great prophet had risen
among them, and that God had visited His people.^
[CHAPTEK VI.
J7e undertaketh the Conversion of the Picts — He returneth home.]
Mean'AVHILE the most' blessed man, being pained that the
devil, driven forth from the earth within the ocean, should find
1 Ps. viii. 2. 2 xote P. 3 s. Liike i. 68.
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 15
rest for himself in a corner of this island in the hearts of the
Picts, girded liimself as a strong wrestler to cast out his tyranny ;
taking, moreover, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation,
the breastplate of charity, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God.-^ Fortified by such arms, and surrounded by
the society of his holy brethren as by a heavenly host, he
invaded the empire of the strong man armed, with the purpose
of rescuing from his power innumerable victims of his captivity :
wherefore, attacking the Southern Picts,^ whom still the Gentile
error wMch clung to them induced to reverence and worship
deaf and dumb idols, he taught them the truth of the gospel
and the purity of the Christian faith, God working with him,
and confirming the word with signs following.^ The blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, those oppressed of the devil are set free.* A door is
opened for the Word of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit ;
the faith is received, error renounced, temples cast down,
churches erected. To the font of the saving laver run rich
and poor, young and old, young men and maidens, mothers
with their children, and, renouncing Satan with all his works
and pomps, they are joined to the body of the believers by
faith, by confession, and by the sacraments. They give thanks
to the most merciful God, who had revealed His Name in the
islands that are afar off, sending to them a preacher of truth,
the lamp of their salvation, calling them His people which were
not His people, and them beloved which were not beloved, and
them as having found mercy who had not found mercy.^ Then
the holy bishop began to ordain presbyters, consecrate bishops,*"
distribute the other dignities of the ecclesiastical ranks, and
divide the whole land into certain parishes. Finally, having
confirmed the sons whom he had begotten in Christ in faith
and good works, and having set in order all things that re-
ferred to the honour of God and the welfare of souls, bidding
his brethren farewell, he returned to his own church,''' where, in
great tranquillity of soul, he spent a life perfect in all sanctity
and glorious for miracles.
1 Eph. vi. 17.
* S. Luke vii. 22.
6 Note K.
2 Note Q.
5 Hos. i. 10.
7 Note S.
3 S. Mark xvi. 20.
Cf. Eom. ix. 25.
1 G ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
[CHAPTEE VIL
The Miracle among the Leeks^
It happened on a day that the holy man with his brethren
entered the refectory to dine, and seeing no pot-herbs or vege-
tables on the table, he called the brother to whom the care of
the garden had been committed, and asked the reason why
upon that day no leeks or herbs had been placed before the
brethren. Then he said, " Verily, father, whatever remained
of the leeks and such like I this day committed to the ground,
and the garden has not yet produced anything lit for eating."
Then said the saint, " Go, and whatsoever thy hand findeth, gather
and bring to me." Wondering, he stood trembling, hesitating
what to do ; but knowing that Ninian could order nothing in
vain, he slowly entered the garden. Then followed a wonder,
incredible to all save those who knew that to him that be-
lieveth all things are possible. He beheld leeks and other
kinds of herbs not only grown, but bearing seed. He was
astonished, and, as if in a trance, thought that he saw a vision.
Finally, returning to himself, and calling to mind the power of
the holy man, he gave thanks unto God, and culKng as much
as seemed sufficient, placed it on the table before the bishop.
The guests looked at each other, and with heart and voice
magnified God working in His saints ; and so retired much
better refreshed in mind than in body.
[CHAPTER VIII.
Of the Animals and the TJiieves.]
It sometimes pleased the most holy Mnian to visit his flocks
and the huts of his shepherds, wishing that the flocks, which he
had gathered together for the use of the brethren, the poor and
the pilgrims, should be partakers of the episcopal blessing.
Therefore, all the animals being gathered into one place, when
the servant of the Lord had looked upon them, he lifted up his
hand and commended all that he had to the Divine protection.
Going, therefore, round them all, and drawing as it were a little
circle with the staff on which he leant, he enclosed the cattle,
commanding that all within that space should that night re-
main under the protection of God. Having done all this, the
man of God turned aside to rest for the night at the house of a
certain honourable matron. When, after refreshing their bodies
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 17
with food and their minds with the word of God, all had gone to
sleep, certain thieves appeared, and seeing that the cattle were
neither enclosed by walls, nor protected by hedges, nor kept in
by a ditch, they looked to see if any one was watching, or if
anything else resisted their attempt. And when they saw
that all was silent, and that nothing was present that by voice
or movement or barking might frighten them, they rushed in
and crossed the bounds which the saint had fixed for the cattle,
wishing to carry them all off. But the Divine power was
present resisting the ungodly, nay, casting them down, using
against those, %vho, as brute beasts, minded their bellies and
not their reason, the instrumentality of an irrational animal.
For the bull of the herd rushed upon the men in fury, and striking
at the leader of the thieves, threw him down, pierced liis belly
Avith his horns, seudino; forth his life and his entrails too-ether.
Then tearing up the earth with his hoofs, he smote with mighty
strength a stone which happened to be under his foot, and, in
a wonderful way, in testimony of the miracle, the foot sunlc
into it as if into soft wax, leaving a footmark in the rock, and
by the footmark giving a name to the place. For to this day
the place in the English tongue is named Farres Last,^ that is,
the Footprint of the Bull. Meanwhile, the most blessed father
having iinished the solemn service of prayer, went aside, and
finding the man disembowelled and lying dead among the feet
of the cattle, and seeing the others rushing about hither and
thither as if possessed by furies, moved with compassion, and
turning earnestly to God, besought Him to raise the dead.
Nor did he cease from tears and entreaties till the same power
which had slain him restored him not merely to life, but made
him safe and sound. For, verily, the power of Christ, for the
merit of the saint, smote him and healed him, killed and re-
stored him to life, cast him down to hell and raised him again.^
Meanwhile the others, whom, running about the whole night,
a certain madness had enclosed within the circle which the
saint had made, seeing the servant of God, cast themselves
with fear and trembling at his knees imploring pardon. And
he, benignantly chiding them and impressing upon them the
fear of God and the judgment prepared for the rapacious, giving
them his benediction, granted them permission to depart.
Note T. 2 1 Sam. ii. 6.
18 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
[CHAPTER IX.
Ailrecl complaindh of the Morals of his own Age — Ninian's
VMij of Life — The Miracle of the Shower.]
As I reflect on the devout conversation of this most holy man,
I am ashamed of our sloth, and of the laziness of this miser-
able generation. Which of us, I ask, even among servants, does
not more frequently utter jestings than things serious, icUe
things than things useful, carnal things rather than things spiri-
tual, in common conversation and intercourse ? The mouths
that Di\dne grace consecrated for the praise of God, and for the
celebration of the holy mysteries, are daily polluted by back-
biting and secular words, and they weary of the Psalms, the
Gospel, and the Prophets. They all the day busy themselves
with the vain and base works of man. How do they con-
duct themselves wlien journeying ? Is not the body like the
mind, all day in motion while the tongue is idle ? Eumours
and the doings of wdcked men are in men's mouths ; religious
gravity is relaxed by mirth and idle tales ; the affairs of kings,
the duties of bishops, the ministries of clerics, the quarrels of
princes, above all, the lives and morals of all are discussed.
We judge every one but ourselves, and, what is more to be
deplored, we bite and devour one another, that we may be
consumed one of another.^ Not go the most blessed Mnian,
not so, whose repose no crowd disturbed, whose meditation no
^ J' journey hindered, whose prayer never grew lukewarm through
fatigue. For whithersoever he went forth, he raised his soul
to heavenly things, either by prayer or by contemplation. But
so often as turning aside from his journey he indulged in rest,
either for himself or for the beast on which he rode, bringing'
out a book which he carried about with him for the very
purpose, he delighted in reading or singing something, for he
felt with the prophet, " how sweet are thy words unto my
throat ! yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth." - "\Mience
the Divine power bestowed such grace upon him, that even
when restingr in the open air, when reading ,in the hea\-iest
rain, no moisture ever touched the book on which he was
intent, ^^^len all around him was everywhere wet wdth water
running upon it, he alone sat with his little book under the
waters, as if he were protected by the roof of a house. Now it
happened that the most reverend man was making a journey
1 Gal. V. 15. Note U. 2 Pgalm cxix. 103.
LIFE OF S, NINIAN. 19
with one of his brethren then alive, also a most holy person, by-
name Plebia, and as his custom was he solaced the weariness
of his journey with the Psalms of David. And when, after a
certain portion of the journey, they turned aside from the
public road, that they might rest a little, having opened their
Psalters, they proceeded to refresh their souls with sacred read-
ing. Presently the pleasant serenity of the weather, becoming
obscured by black clouds, poured down from on high to earth
those waters which it had naturally drawn upwards. What
shall I more say ? The light air, like a chamber arching itself
around the servants of God, resisted as an impenetrable wall
the descending waters. But during the singing, the most
blessed Ninian turned off his eyes from the book, affected a
little by an unlawful thought, even with some desire he was
tickled by a suggestion of the devil.^ Whereupon at once the
shower, invading him and his book, betrayed what was hidden. i
Then the brother, who was sitting by him, knowing what had \
taken place, with gentle reproof reminded him of his order and \
age, and showed him how unbecoming such things were in
such as he. Straightway the man of God, coming to himself,
blushed that he had been overtaken by a vain thought, and in
the same moment of time drove away the thought and stayed
the shower.
[CHAPTER X.
The Miracles of the Staff of Ninian in the Sea and on Zand.]
Meanwhile many, both nobles and men of the middle rank,
intrusted their sons to the blessed Pontiff to be trained in
sacred learning. He indoctrinated these by his knowledge,
he formed them by his example, curbing by a salutary disci-
pline the vices to which their age was prone, and persuasively
inculcating the virtues whereby they might live soberly, right-
eously, and piously. Once upon a time one of these young
men committed a fault which could not escape the saint, and
because it was not right that discipline should be withheld from
the offender, the rods, the severest torments of boys, were made
ready. The lad in terror fled, but not being ignorant of the
power of the holy man, was careful to carry away with him the
staff on which he used to lean, thinking that he had procured
the best comfort for the journey, if he took with him anything
1 Note X.
20 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
that belonged to the saint. Flying therefore from the face of the
man, he sought diligently for a shijD which might transport him
to Scocia.^ It is the custom in that neighbourhood to frame
of twigs a certain vessel in the form of a cup, of such a size
that it can contain three men sitting close together. By
stretching an ox-hide over it, they render it not only buoyant,
but actually impenetrable by the water. Possibly at that time
vessels of immense size were built in the same way. The
young man stumbled on one of these lying at the shore, but
not covered with leather, into which, when he had incautiously
entered, by Divine providence, I know not whether by its
natural lightness (for on a slight touch these float far out into
the waves), straightway the ship was carried out to sea. As the
water poured in, the unhappy sailor stood in ignorance what
he should do, whither he should turn, what course he should
pursue. If he abandon the vessel, his life is in danger ; certain
death awaiteth him if he continue. Then at length the unhappy
boy, repenting his flight, beheld with pale countenance the
waves ready to avenge the injury done to the father. At
i length, coming to himself, and thinking that S. jSTinian was
I present in his staff, he confessed his fault, as if in his pre-
I sence, in a lamentable voice, besought pardon, and prayed that
I by his most holy merits the divine aid might be vouclisafed
' him. Then trusting in the known kindness as well as power
of the bishop, he stuck the staff in one of the holes, that pos-
I terity might not be ignorant of what Ninian could do even on
I the sea. At once, at the touch of the staff, the element trembled,
I and, as if kept back by a divine infaience, ventured not to
\ enter further by the open holes. These are Thy works,
I Christ, who speaking to Thy disciples, hast endowed Thy faith-
j, ful ones with this promise — "He that believeth in me, the
\ works that I do, he shall do also."^ Thou didst imprint Thy
L^ sacred Footsteps on the waves of the sea : the power of Ninian
-r controlled the natural power of the sea. Thy sacred Hand held
T up the doubting disciple on that account in danger among tlie
waves : the staff of Ninian protected the fugitive disciple from
being swallowed up by the billows. Thou didst command the
winds and the waves, that the fear of Thy disciples might be
dispelled: the power of Ninian subdued the winds and the
sea, that the young man might reach safely the shore where he
would be.
For a wind rising from the easterly quarter impelled the
vessel gently. The staff, acting for sail, caught the wind ; the
1 Note Y. 2 s_ joim xiv. 12.
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 21
staff as helm directed tlie vessel ; the staff as anchor stayed it.
The people stand on the western shore, and seeing a little
vessel like a bird resting on the waters, neither propelled by sail,
nor moved by oar, nor guided by helm, wondered what this
miracle might mean. Meanwhile the young man landed, and
that he might make the merits of the man of God more widely
known, animated by faith he planted his staff on the shore,
praying God, that in testimony of so great a miracle, sending
forth roots and receiving sap contrary to nature, it might pro-
duce branches and leaves, and bring forth flowers and fruit.
The divine propitiousness was not wanting to the prayer of the jp
suppliant, and straightway the dry wood, sending forth roots,
covering itself with new bark, put forth leaves and branches,
and, growing into a considerable tree, made known the power |
of Ninian to the beholders there. Miracle is added to miracle. |
At the root of the tree a most limpid fountain springing up, \
sent forth a crystal stream, winding along with gentle murmur, '^
with lengthened course, deliglitful to the eye, sweet to the taste,
and useful and health-giving to the sick, for the merits of the
saint.
[CHAPTEE XI.
Declamation on the Death of Ninian — His Burial at miithern.]
Wherefore the most blessed Mnian, wondrously shining \
with such miracles as these, and powerful in the highest virtues, »
advanced with prosperous course to the day of his summons.
That day was a day of exultation and joy to the blessed man,
but of tribulation and misery to the people. He rejoiced, to
whom heaven was opened ; the people mourned, who were
bereaved of such a father. He rejoiced, for whom an eternal
crown was laid up ; they were in sorrow, whose salvation was
endangered. But even his own joy was dashed with sorrow,
since both leaving them seemed heavy to bear, yet to be longer
separate from Christ intolerable. But Christ, thus consoling
the hesitating soul, said, " Arise, hasten, my friend, my dove, and
come. Arise," saith He, "my friend, arise, my dove, arise through
the mind, hasten by desire, come by love." Verily this word
suited the most holy man, as the friend of the Bridegroom, to
whom that heavenly Bridegroom had consigned His bride ; to
whom He had revealed His secrets ; to whom He had opened
His treasures. Eiglitly was that soul termed friend to wliom
22 ANCIENT LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
all was love, notliing fear. He saith, my friend, my dove.
dove, verily taught to mourn, who, ignorant of the gall of
bitterness, used to weep with those that wept, to be weak with
the weak, to burn with those that are offended. Arise, hasten,
my friend, my dove, and come ; for the winter is now past, the
rain is over and gone. Then verily, blessed man, the winter
was past to thee, when thou wert deemed meet with joyful
eye to contemplate that heavenly fatherland, which the Sun of
Eighteousness doth illumine with the light of His glory, which
love enkindleth, which a wondrous calm, as of a genial spring-
time, tempereth with an unspeakable uniformity of climate. Then
to thee that wintry storm which unsettleth all things here
below, which hardeneth the cold hearts of men by the inroads
of vice, in which neither doth the truth shine fully nor doth
charity burn, hath passed away, and the showers of temptation
and the hailstorms of persecution have ceased. That holy soul,
perfectly triumphant, hath departed into the glory of perpetual
freshness. The flowers, saith he, appear on the earth. The
^ celestial odour of the flowers of paradise breathed upon thee,
blessed Ninian, when the company of the martyrs clad in red,
and the confessors clothed in white, with placid countenance,
smiled on thee as their most familiar friend, and welcomed to
their society, thee, whom chastity had made white, and love had
made red as the rose. For although opportunity granted not
the sign of actual martyrdom in the body, it denied him not
that merit of martyrdom, without which martyrdom is nothing.
For how often did he for righteousness' sake expose himself to
the sword of the enemy, how often to the arms of tyrants, pre-
pared to lay down his life for truth, to die for righteousness ?
Kightly therefore to the flowers of the roses and the lilies of
the valleys is this empurpled and radiant one summoned,
ascending from Libanus, that he may be crowned among the
hosts of heaven. For the time of engrafting had come; for
the ripened cluster was to be cut off from the stem of the
body, or from the vineyard of the Church here below, to be
melted by love and laid up in the heavenly cellars.
Wherefore blessed Ninian, perfect in life and full of years,
passed from this world in happiness, and was carried into
heaven, accompanied by the angelic spirits, to receive an eternal
reward, where, associated with the company of the apostles,
joined to the ranks of the martyrs, enlisted in the hosts of
the holy confessors, adorned also with the flowers of the virgins,
he faileth not to succour those who hope in him, who cry to
him, who praise him. But he was buried in the Church of
Blessed Martin, which he had built from the foundations, and
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 23
he was placed in a stone sarcophagus near the altar,^ the clergy
and people present, with their voices and hearts sounding forth
celestial hymns, to the accompaniment of sighs and tears; where
the power which had shone in the living saint ceaseth not to
make itself manifest about the body of the departed one, that
all the faithful may acknowledge that he is dwelling in heaven,
who ceaseth not to work on earth. For at his most sacred
tomb the sick are cured, the lepers are cleansed, the wicked
are terrified, the blind receive their sight ; by all which tilings
the faith of believers is confirmed, to the praise and glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who livetli and reigneth with God the
Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Amen.
[CHAPTER XII.
Miracles of the Relics of Ninian.l
(1. In a deformed jpoor man.)
Wherefore when the most blessed Ninian had been trans-
lated into the heavens, the faithful people who had loved him
in life, frequented with the greatest devotion that which seemed
to them to be left of him, namely, his most sacred relics ; and the
Divine Power, approving this reverence and faith, gave evidence
by frequent miracles that he whom the common lot had removed
from earth was living in heaven. There was born to one of
the people by his own wife, a wretched son, the grief of both
his parents, the horror of those who beheld him, whom nature
had formed contrary to nature, aU his members being turned
the wrong way. For the joints of his feet being twisted, his
heels projected forward, his back adhered to his face, his breast
was near the hinder part of his head, with twisted arms his
hands rested on his elbows.^ What more shall I say ? There
lay that dusky figure, to whom had been given useless members,
a fruitless life, to whom, amid the wreck of his other members,
the tongue alone remained to bewail his misery, and to move
to tears and sorrow those who beheld and heard him. The
sorrow of his parents was incessant. Their grief increased day
by day. At length the power of the most blessed Ninian, so
often experienced, came into their minds, and, full of faith,
they take up that -wretched body, and approaching the relics of
the holy man, they offer the sacrifice of a contrite heart with
1 Note Z. 2 Note A A.
24 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
floods of tears, and continue instant in devout prayer till the
hour of vespers. Then laying that unshapely form before the
tomb of the saint, they said, "Eeceive, blessed Ninian, that
which we offer to thee, a gift hateful indeed, but well fitted to
prove thy power. We, of a truth, worn out, fatigued, borne
down with sorrow, overcome by weariness, expose it to thy
pity. Verily, if it be a gift, favour is due to those who offer
it ; if it be a burden, thou art fitter to bear it, who hast more
power to lighten it. Here therefore let him die or live, let him
be cured or let him perish." Having continued to say these and
such things with tears, they left the sick child before the sacred
relics and went their way. And behold in the silence of the
midnight hour, the poor wretch saw a man come to him,
shining with celestial light, and glittering in the ornaments of
the episcopate, who, touching his head, told him to arise and
be whole, and give thanks to God his Saviour. And when he had
departed, the wretched being, as if awaking from a deep sleep,
by an easy motion twisted each member into its natural place,
and having recovered the power of all of them, returned to his
home safe and sound. After this he gave himseK wholly up to
the church and to ecclesiastical discipline, and after being first
shorn for the clericate, and then ordained presbyter, he ended
his life in the service of his father.
(2. In a poor man afflicted with scat.)
On the fame of the miracle being made known, many ran
together, each one laying his own trouble before the sacred
relics. Among these, a simple man, poor in fortune, but rich
in faith and good-will, approached, whose whole body an ex-
traordinary scab had attacked, and so beset all his members that
the skin hardening in marvellous fashion closed the courses of
the veins, and on every side bound up the arteries, so that
nothing but death awaited the patient. The unhappy man,
therefore, approaching the body of the saint, offered up most
devout prayers to altar, faith, and Lord. His tears flow, sobs
burst forth, the breast is beaten, the very bowels tremble. To
such faith, to such contrition, neither the merit of the saint
nor the pity of Christ were lacking. Who therein glorified His
saint and mercifully saved the poor man. Why should I delay
longer ? The poor Adefridus, for that was his name, did not
cease from prayer, until in a few days he was restored to his
former health.
LIFE OF S. NINIAN. 25
(3. In a Hind girl.)
There was moreover among the people a certain girl, Deisuit
by name, who was so tormented with a pain in her eyes that
the violence of the disease took away all power of sight, and
darkness creeping around her, even the light of the sun was
hidden from her. It was painful to the patient and grievous to
her s}Tiipathizing relations. The skill of the physicians turned
to despair ; Ninian, the only hope that remained, is applied to.
She was led by the hand before that most sacred spot. She is
left weeping and wailing ; she asketh earnestly ; she seeketh
anxiously; she knocketh importunately. The compassionate
Jesus is faithful to His Gospel promise — " Ask, and ye shall
receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and the door shall be
opened unto you."^ Therefore to that girl before mentioned
the grace which she sought appeared ; the door of pity at
which she knocked was opened ; the health which she sought
was vouchsafed; for the darkness was taken away and light
was restored. All pain disappeared, and she who had come,
led by another to the sacred tomb, returned home guided by
her own sight, with great joy of her parents.^
(4. In two lepers.)
Moreover there were seen to come into the city two men that
were lepers, who deeming it presumptuous to touch with the
contact of leprosy the holy thing, from some distance implored
the help of the saint. But coming to the fountain and holding
that to be holy whatever Ninian had touched, they thought to
be washed in that laver. new miracle of the prophet
Eliseus ! new cleansing, not of one, but of two Naamans !
Naaman came in the spirit of presumption, they in that of
humility. He came in doubt, they in faith. The king of Syria
doubted, the king of Israel doubted, Naaman doubted. The king
of Syria doubted : he doubted and was proud, who sent his
leper to be cleansed, not to the prophet but to the king. The
king of Israel doubted, who, on hearing the letter read, rent his
clothes, and said. Am I God, that I can kill and make alive ?
Naaman doubted, who, when he heard the advice of the pro-
phet, went away in a rage. Naaman stood in the chariot of
pride at the door of Eliseus. These men in faith and humility
cry aloud to the mercy of Ninian. Eightly then is that foun-
tain turned into a Jordan, Ninian into a prophet. The lepers
1 S. Matt. vii. 7. ^ Note BB.
26 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
are cleansed alike by the touch of the laver, and by the merits
of Ninian ; and their flesh is restored like the flesh of a little
child, and they return to their own healed, to the glory of
Ninian, in praise of God, Who worketh thus marvellously in
His saints.
But now this is the end of this book, though not the end of
the miracles of S. Ninian, which do not cease to shine forth
even unto our own times to the laud and glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth
and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen.^
Here endeth the Life of S. Ninian, Bishop and Confessor.
Note CC.
I
I
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN
BY JOCELINUS, A MONK OF FUENESS.
HERE BEGINNETH A PROLOGUE, IN FORM OF AN EPISTLE, TO
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR.
PROLOGUE.
To his most reverend lord and dearest father Joce-
linus/ an anointed bishop of the Lord Jesus Christ/
Jocehnus, the least of the poor ones of Christ, with the
feehng and reality of fihal love and obedience, wisheth
the salvation of body and soul in our Savioui'.
Since the fame of thy name, the loftiness of thine
ofHce, the even balance of thy judgment, thy life
which is darkened by no shadow of evil report, thy
long-tried religion, give me sufficient reason for
believing, on diligent consideration, that thou art the
ornament of the House of the Lord, over which thou
dost preside, I have deemed it fitting to offer unto thee
the first-fruits of my gatherings, which are redolent
of the glory and beauty both of thyself and of thy
church. For I have wandered through the streets
and lanes of the city, according to thy command, seek-
ing the recorded life of S. Kentigern whom thy soul
loveth ; in whose chan the grace of Divine condescen-
1 Note A. 2 Note B.
30 PROLOGUE.
sion, by the adoption of sons, by ecclesiastical election,
by the succession of the ministry, hath caused thy
sanctity to preside. Wherefore I have sought dili-
gently for a life of him, if perchance such might be found,
which with greater authority, with more evident
truth, and with more cultivated style, might be com-
posed, than that which thy church useth ; because,
as seemeth to most men, it is stained throughout by
an uncultivated diction, discoloured and obscured by
an inelegant style ; and what beyond all these things
any wise man would still more abhor, in the very
commencement of the narrative something contrary to
sound doctrine and to the Catholic faith very evidently
appeareth.^ But I have found another little volume,
written in the Scotic dialect, filled from end to end
with solecisms, but containing at greater length the
life and acts of the holy bishop. I confess that I
mourned and took iU that the hfe of so precious a
bishop, glorious with signs and wonders, most dis-
tinguished by virtues and doctrine, should be tainted
by what was perverse or opposed to the faith in its
narrative, or again made exceedingly obscure by bar-
barous language ; wherefore I determined out of either
book to put together in the way of restoration the
matter collected, and, so far as I might, and by thy
command, season what had been composed in a bar-
barous way with Roman salt. I deem it absurd that
so precious a treasure should be swathed in vile wrap-
pings, and therefore I have endeavoured to clothe it,
1 Note c.
PROLOGUE. 31
if not in gold tissue and silk, at least in clean linen.
I have endeavoui'ed so to pour the life-giving wine
from the old vessel into the new, that drawing it out
in proportion to the scanty capacity of the vessel may
be desii'able to the simple, not useless to those who
are fiuther advanced, and no object of contempt to
those who are richly endowed with sense. The merits
and prayers therefore of the holy bishop aiding me, if
the favour of the Inspirer from on high smile upon me,
I shall so temper the style, that neither shall the work
undertaken by me be obscure by creeping in the dark
from too lowly language, nor, on the other hand, by
aiming on high shall it swell, with pompous words,
beyond what it ought, lest I should seem to have
planted a grove in the temple of the Lord, which He
hath forbidden. Therefore the whole study of this
work, the entire fruit of this my labour, I have deemed
meet to consecrate to thy name, to submit to thine
approbation. If, however, anything be put forth which
is inelegant or insipid, let it be seasoned with the salt
of thy discretion ; if anything sound therein scarcely
consonant with truth, which I do not think there is,
let it be shaped and squared by the rule of thy judg-
ment. If nothing be found failing in either of these
respects, let it be supported by thy testimony and con-
firmed by thy authority. And in all these things,
if anything proceeding from my pen come to hght
otherwise than becometh the subject, be it imputed to
the unskilfulness of my incapacity. If ought shall be
produced worthy of being read, be it ascribed to thine
eminency. But I have nowhere been able to find the
32 PKOLOGUE.
description of the Translation of this saint, nor the
mii-acles performed after his death, which, however,
were not noted, perhaps because they escaped the
memory of those who were present, or were multiphed
beyond enumeration, and which have thus been
omitted, that the mass of facts collected might not
engender fatigue in feeble readers. May thy sanctity
ever Hve and flourish in the Lord.
Here endeth the Prologue.
HERE BEGINNETH THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN,
BISHOP AND CONFESSOR.
CHAPTEE I.
The beginning of the record of the glorious life of the most
famous Kentigern, very dear to God and man, a Nazarite of
our Nazarene Jesus Christ, is consecrated by that Divine
oracle, where the Lord, anticipating by the blessings of His
graciousness the holy prophet Jeremiah, announces that he
shall be a chosen vessel sanctified to the office of the ministry,
by such praise as this — " Before I formed thee in the beUy I
knew thee : and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."^
Verily, blessed Kentigern, known to God before he was born
into the world, bedewed with the grace of election before he
came forth from his mother's womb, was in the beginning made
great by miracles before he became great, either in bodily
form or by his merits. For the Holy of holies began to make
him shine forth in the sunlight of virtue in his very origin
when sanctified in the womb, and when yet more fully to be
sanctified, while enclosed in his mother's breast, that he might
prove that the special gift of the Holy Spirit is not constrained
by the chain of original sin. I say, that this man, famous for
his race and beauty, distinguished in many ways by signs, pro-
digies, and portents, did the Eedeemer of the nations decree to
destine as a prophet, yea, as a doctor and head ruler to many
nations. Wliereiore this most holy one, although he drew his
original germ from a royal stem, yet came forth as a rose from
the thorn, as an aromatic tree from the filthy ground, for his
mother was the daughter of a certain king, most Pagan in his
^ Jer. i. 5.
34: LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
creed, who ruled in the northern parts of Britannia. But when
into the land of that region the sound of the announcement of
the Christian faith went forth, and the words of saintly preachers
advanced into those northern regions from which all evil used
to proceed,^ she heard with her ears those things that were to
he heard how the Brightness of the Eternal Light, the Sun of
Eighteousness, rising by the star of virginity, illuminated the
world with the rays of His knowledge and love, and declared
salvation to those who were near and to those that were afar
off, leading His own into the entire fulness of the truth, more
efficaciously, by the argument of evident signs ; straightway
her heart was hot within her, and in her meditation that fire
was kindled which the Lord sent on earth, and earnestly willed
that it should be kindled,^ and her soul thirsting to come to
the recognition of the truth, conceived the engrafted word which
could save her soul from eternal death. Though she was not
yet washed in the stream of the saving laver, she was running
in the way of God's commandments, with an active and open
heart. She was occupying herself continually in frequent
almsgivings, in devout prayers, in learning and exercising her-
self in the discipline of the faith of the church, so far as she
might for fear of her Pagan father. Yet with a special de-
votion among these things, she admired the fruitful purity
of the Virgin Mother, in admiring it she venerated it, in vene-
rating and loving it she sought to imitate it, and with a certain
presumptuous boldness of female audacity willed to be like her
in conception and birth, for which she sedulously laboured to
entreat the Lord.^
After the lapse of some time she was found with child,* and
her soul did magnify the Lord, simply believing, as she did, that
her desire had been accomplished. Now that which was born
in her was from the embrace of man, but, as she often, binding
herself by an oath, asserted, by whom, or when or in what
manner, she conceived, she had no consciousness. But although
she was ignorant of the fact of the secret, or it had escaped her
memory, by no means should the truth of the affair perish in
the mind of a discreet person, nor should scruple arise there-
from ; for, that for the present we may bury in silence what are
found in poetic songs, or what we find inserted in histories
which are not canonical, when we turn to the sacred volumes,
we read in the Book of Genesis that the daughters of Lot not
merely furtively secured for themselves the embraces of their
father, but actually both by him, when he was inebriated and
1 Xote D. 2 Luke xii. 49. 3 Note E. * Note F.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEEN, 35
entirely ignorant of what he was doing, conceived. It is certain
moreover that many having drunk the potion of oblivion,
which physicists call Letargion,^ have slept, and have never
felt when they suffered incision and sometimes burning of the
limbs and the abrasion even of the vitals, and after awaking
from the sleep have been ignorant of what was done to them.
We have known also that by the sleight of hand of sooth-
sayers, maiden chastity has been stormed, and the deflowered
one has never known who ruined her. It may be that some-
thing of this kind happened to the girl, by the secret judgment
of God, that she might not feel the mixture of the sexes, and
so, when impregnated, might think herself undefiled.
We by no means think that it was purposeless that this
should have been mentioned, since the stupid and foolish
people, who live in the diocese of S. Kentigern, go so far as to
assert that he was conceived and born of a virgin.^ But why
should we delay at these things ? Surely it is both absurd
and irrelevant longer to investigate who was the sower or how
the seed was ploughed in or sowed, when, the Lord giving the
increase, the earth brought forth good and rich fruit — the fruit,
I say, of this land, which hath received blessing from the Lord,
whereby many generations are blessed by Him, and receive
from Him the fruit of eternal salvation.
Meanwhile the woman went about, and her swelling womb
began to exhibit to all beholders the sign of her conception.
And now the pallor of her countenance, and the swelling of the
veins of her throat, and the milk bursting from her breasts,
announced that her delivery w^as at hand. And when this had
been instilled into the ears of the king her father, and he had
proved the truth of the matter in a more certain examination
by sight and touch, he began most earnestly to try to learn
from her, now urging her by her fears, now coaxing her by
blandishments, who had brought her to the condition in which
she was. But she with an oath declared, in the name of Christ,
that she was innocent of all intercourse with man. On hearing
this the king was moved with greater rage, both because of the
name of Christ which sounded in his ears, and because he could
not find out the violator of his daughter. Whereupon he
swore, and was steadily purposed to keep his righteous judg-
ment, and determined not to swerve from the law handed
down from his ancestors in such cases, for the love or the life
of his daughter.
1 Note G. 2 Note H.
36 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTEE II.
Of the Law that was established in those days among the Camhrian
people about Girls who committed Fornication.
There was a law among that barbarous people, promulgated
from a remote antiquity, that a girl committing fornication in
her father's house, and found with child, was to be cast down
from the summit of a high mountain, and he who sinned with
her was beheaded. So among the ancient Saxons, up nearly to
modern times, the law remained in force, that every virgin of
her own will deflowered in her father's house should be with-
out any remission buried alive, and her lover hanged over her
sepulchre.^ What shall we say to these things, or what can we
conjecture concerning them ? If such a zeal for chastity burns
in the heathen, who are ignorant of the Divine law, solely for
decency's sake and the observance of the traditions of their
fathers, what shall the Christian do, who is bound to the pre-
servation of chastity by that Divine law ? for if the joy of
heaven be promised as the reward of the observance, so, on the
other hand, for the infraction of that law eternal punishment is
now prepared. Behold in these days, both sexes, and every con-
dition, are plunged in every slough of carnal sin, almost with a
ready will, and without restraint, because they do it with
impunity. And not only is the vile commonalty polluted by
this contagion, but even those who are maintained by eccle-
siastical benefices, and who betake themselves to the Divine
offices, are so much the more impure as they deem themselves
more happy.^ For now the hammerer of the whole earth, even
the spirit of Fornication, hath passed over them. They who
exhibit in outward form the appearance of sanctity, but deny
the power thereof, by their works paying allegiance to the
present world, are known by their impure lives to lie to
God by their sacred habit and tonsure. Verily they must fear
what God threatens by His prophet, saying, "He who hath
done iniquity in the land of the saints shall not look upon the
glory of the Lord." For now, what is to be bewailed with
every flood of tears, that sin of sins, than which nothing more
detestable can be conceived, on account of which the sulphurous
flame in the five cities, a heavenly judgment, destroyed the
guilty, is committed with impunity. Nor can there easily be
found one who can chide the perpetrator. For if any one,
^ Note I. 2 Note K.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 37
however rarely, may be discovered, whom the zeal of the Lord's
house consumeth, who burneth with the love of righteoiisuess
aud decency, so that he should seem to censure such monstrous
crimes, straightway he is resisted to the face as a sycophant,
and condemned by all as guilty of detraction. His mouth is
stopped as of one speaking wickedly, his tongue is decreed to
be tied up.-^
Wherefore is this ? Plainly, because the body of leviathan,
as it is written, is shut up with scales. " One is so near to
another, that no air can come between them;"^ because the
criminous and guilty ones, who are the children of the devil,
are mutually protected by others who are implicated in the
same vice, that the arrow of correction cannot penetrate them.
Verily, as I think, this takes place as a proof of their irretriev-
able damnation, that such men, being given over to a reprobate
mind, neither receive, nor will accept, the rod of correction.
And the multitude, stained with the same vice, improves them
not by punishment, seeing that the many, as well as they
themselves, individually burn as if cast into a furnace.
But what shall we say of those on whom the duty is enjoined
of binding and loosing, of opening and shutting, who are placed
upon a candlestick, that in the House of God they may shine
by word and example ? Do not the greater part now-a-days
exhibit rather smoke than flame, rather stench than bright-
ness ? Are they not dumb dogs, that cannot, yea, that will not,
bark ? When they see manners worse than beastly, they dare
not check them, especially since they themselves are confirmed
in these habits, nay, in truth, are more wicked. For as with
the people so with the priest ; as is the subject so is the pre-
late ; nay, they who are first in dignity are first in iniquity; and
they who excel in office are deepest in vice. What the Scrip-
tures mystically saith of such is to be feared for them: "And if
so much as a beast touched the mountain, it was to be stoned."^
The beast toucheth the mountain when any one of beastly life
mounteth the chair of prelacy, and applieth an impure hand to
purifying sacrifices. Yet such is the one who is ordered to be
stoned, for that he should be subjected to a severe and gT.'ave
condemnation is evidently taught to us in the opinions of the
holy Fathers. That I should have said this by way of digres-
sion will, I pray, be burdensome to no one. The zeal of this
Pagan man, who spared not his own daughter, but who for the
fault of simple fornication handed her over to so terrible a
1 Note L. 2 Job xli. 16, Eng. version.
3 Exod. xix. 13 ; Heb. xii. 20.
38 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
punishment, should cause great shame to the worshippers of
Christ, in planting and propagating modesty.
CHAPTEE III.
In what way the Divine mercy saved the Mother of S. Kentigern
from the Precipice and from Shipwreck.
Accordingly the girl aforesaid, by the king's command, was
led to the top of a very high hill, called Dunpelder,^ that, cast
down from thence, she might be broken limb by limb, or dashed
to pieces. But she, groaning heavily, and looking up to heaven,
said in complaining words, " Justly do I suffer this, for that I
have done very foolishly, in wishing to be equalled to the most
holy, most serene source of salvation, the parent who brought
forth her Father. But I beseech thee," she said, " Mary,
blessed among women, pardon the iniquity of thine handmaid,
for I have done very foolishly.- mother of mercy, show the
light of thy loving-kindness towards me, and free me from the
plague which surroundeth me. I beseech thee, Lady, that
as He, the flower of the angelic mountains, without injury to
thy snow-white purity, vouchsafed to become in thee the
lowly and fertile valley of all vii'tues, the lily of our valleys,
and out of thee, the most firm mountain of the faith deigned
to become the stone hewn without hands, which became a
great mountain, and filled the whole earth ; so deliver me thine
handmaiden, though not yet washed in the sacred font, yet
firmly believing in thy Son, and resting under the shadow of
thy wings, from the imminent precipice, that the blessed name
of thy Son may be for ever magnified in the sight of these
people. Moreover, I promise the fruit which I bear in my
womb to thy Son and to thee, as a special property, to be thy
servant all the days of his life."^
When she had prayed in this manner, with devout heart and
mouth, the servants of the king hurled her from the top of the
mountain, as with frequent urgency she invoked Christ and
His mother. A wonderful thing occurred, unheard of from
ancient times. When she fell she was not bruised, because
the Lord supported her with His hand, and therefore she sus-
tained no injury ; since, as it seemed to her, like a bird bearing
feathers, she came down with easy descent to the ground lest
1 Note M. 2 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. 3 jjote N.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. SB'
she should dash her foot against a stone.-^ Thanksgiving and
the voice of praise sound forth from the mouths of many who
beheld these wonderful works of God. The holy and tenible
name of Christ is magnified. The innocent one is judged, and
not only is to be deemed free from all further punishment, but
in every way to be held in veneration. But, on the other hand,
the idolaters and adversaries of the Christian faith imputed
this not to Divine virtue but to magical arts, and with unani-
mous voice proclaimed her a ^\dtch and a sorceress. Therefore
there was a division among the people concerning her. Some
said, She is a good woman, and innocent. Others said, Nay,
but by her conjuring she deceiveth the people, changeth their
countenance, and deludeth their senses.
The crowd therefore in a whirl of words confused itself, but
the sacrilegious multitude prevailing, urged the king, who was
entirely devoted to idolatiy, to dictate a new sentence on his
daughter. At length, by the common verdict of the society of
the ungodly, and of the adversaries of the name of Christ, it
w^as decreed that that poor little pregnant woman, placed alone
in a boat, should be exposed to the sea.^ In order therefore
that the sentence thus determined should be carried into effect,
the king's servants, embarking, took her far out to sea, and
committing her to fortune alone in a very little boat of hides,
made after the fashion of the Scotti, without any oar, rowed
back to the shore. They related to the king and to the people,
who were waiting the issue of the event, what they had done.
But they mocking said, " She calleth herself the handmaid of
Christ, and professeth to have the protection of His power, let
us see whether her words are true. She trusteth in Christ, let
Him deliver her, if He be able, from the hand of death and
from the peril of the sea."
But the girl, destitute of all human help, committed herself
imto Him alone that created the sea and the dry land, devoutly
praying Him, who had before now saved her from the preci-
pice, to protect her from the shipwreck which threatened her.
Wonderful to relate, though nothing is impossible with the
Lord, that little vessel, in which the pregnant girl was de-
tained, ploughed the watery breakers and eddies of the waves
towards the opposite shore more quickly than if propelled by a
wind that filled the sail, or by the effort of many oarsmen.
For He who preserved unliurt amid the ocean-currents Jonah
the prophet, borne within the vast belly of the whale, who by
His right hand held up blessed Peter when he was walking
1 Ps. xci. 12. 2 Note 0.
40 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
■upon the waves that he should not be drowned, and who saved
from the depths of the sea his co-apostle Paul, who thrice
suffered shipwreck,^ brought the girl safe to the haven of
refuge, for the sake of the child which she bore in her womb,
whom He predestined to be an excellent captain of His ship ;
that is, a doctor and good ruler of His Church.
CHAPTEK IV.
Of the Birth of S. Kentigcrn, and his Education,
hy S. Servaiius.
The girl aforesaid landed on the sand at a place called Cul-
enros.^ In which place at that time S. Servanus^ dwelling,
taught sacred literature to many boys, who were to be trained to
the Divine service. When she had landed on the shore the
pains of approaching childbirth seized her. Eaismg her eyes,
she saw at a distance, although in the darkness, the signs of
the ashes of a fire near the shore, which perhaps some shepherds
or fishermen had left there. She crawled to the place, and
as best she might kindled for herself a fire. But when the
dawn, the herald of the Divine light, began to brighten, the
time was accomplished that she should bring forth. And she
brought forth a son,* the preacher and herald of the true Light.
Now, at the same hour, while S. Servanus, intent upon
prayer after mass in the morning, was drawing in his breath^ in
the delight of Divine contemplation, he heard the companies of
the angels chanting their mellifluous praises on high, joying
along with whose lauds, he with his disciples, exulting in spirit,
strove to sacrifice to the Lord the victims of jubilation by sing-
ing, We praise Thee, Lord. On the clerics being astonished
at the novelty of the affair, and demanding what had happened,
he told them all in order the whole matter, and tlie hymnings
of the angels, sedulously exhorting them to offer the calves of
their lips to the Lord. But there were in the neighbourhood
shepherds keeping watch over the flocks. And they going forth
in the early day-spring, beheld a fire lighted close at hand, and
coming with haste found the young woman with her childbirth
completed, and the cliild wrapped in rags, and lying in the open
air. They, moved by pity, took care of them by increasing the
fire and supplying food, and procuring other necessaries ; and
1 2 Cor. xi. 25. 2 jjote P. 3 Note Q.
4 Matt. i. 25. 5 Ps. cxix. 131.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEEN. 41
liringing them in as suitable way as they could, and presenting
them to S. Servanus, related the matter from the beginning.
On hearing this, and seeing the little boy, the mouth of the
blessed old man was filled with spiritual laughter, and his heart
with joy. Wherefore in the language of his country he exclaimed,
" Mochohe, Mochohe," which in Latin means " Care mi, Care
mi," adding, " Blessed art thou that hast come in the name of
the Lord." He therefore took them to himself, and nourished
and educated thera as if they were his own pledges. After
certain days had passed he dipped them in the laver of regene-
ration and restoration, and anointed them with the sacred
chrism, calling the mother Taneu, and the child Kyentyern,'^
which by interpretation is. The Capital Lord. That this new
name, which the mouth of S. Servanus bestowed on him, was
not received in vain, shall be clearly set forth in what fol-
loweth. Wherefore the man of God educated the child of God,
like another Samuel committed unto him and assigned by God.
But the child grew, and was comforted, and the grace of God
was in him. But when the age of intelligence, and the accept-
able time for learning arrived, he handed him over to be trained
in letters, and spent much labour and care that he might profit
in these things. Nor was he disappointed in his desire in this
respect, seeing that the boy, in learning and retaining, well and
richly responded to his training, " like a tree planted by the
water side, which bringeth forth its fruit in due season." The boy
advanced, under the unction of good hope and holy disposition,
in the discipline of learning as well as in the exercise of the
sacred virtues. For there were bestowed upon him by the
Father of Lights, from whom descendeth every good and perfect
gift, a docile heart, a genius sharp at understanding, a memory
tenacious in recollecting, and a tongue persuasive in bringing
forward what he willed; a high, sweet, harmonious, and in-
defatigable voice for singing the Divine praises. All these
gifts of grace were gilded by a worthy life, and therefore beyond
all his companions he was precious and amiable in the eyes of
the holy old man. Wherefore he was accustomed to call him
in the language of his country, "Munghu," which in Latin
means " Karissimus Amicus,"^ and by this name even until the
present time the common people are frequently used to call
him, and to invoke him in their necessities.
1 Note R. 2 Note S.
42 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTEE V.
Of the little bird that was hilled, and then restored to life hi/
Kentigern.
The fellow-pupils of S. Kentigern, seeing that he was loved
beyond the rest by their master and spiritual father, hated him,
and were unable either in public or private to say anything
peaceable to him. Hence in many ways they intrigued against,
abused, envied, and backbit him. But the Lord's boy ever had
the eye of his heart fixed upon the Lord ; and mourning niore
for them than for himself, cared little for all the unjust machina-
tions of men. Now a little bird, which, on account of the colour
of his body, is called the redbreast, by the will of the Heavenly
Father, without whose permission not even a sparrow faUeth to the
ground, was accustomed to receive its daily food from the hand
of the servant of God, Servanus, and by such a custom being
established it showed itself tame and domesticated unto him.
Sometimes even it perched upon his head, or face, or shoulder,
or bosom ; sometimes it was with him when he read or prayed,
and by the flapping of its wings, or by the sound of its inarticu-
late voice, or by some little gesture, it showed the love it had
for him. So that sometimes the face of the man of God,
shadowed forth in the motion of the bird, was clothed in joy,
as he wondered at the great power of God in the little creature,
to Whom the dumb speak, and the irrational things are known
to have reason. And because that bird often approached and
departed at the conmiand and will of the man of God, it
excited incredulity and hardness of heart in his disciples,
and convicted them of disobedience. And tliis will not seem
strange to any one, seeing that the Lord by the voice of a mute
animal under the yoke reproved the madness of the prophet,
and Solomon, the wisest of men, sent the sluggard to the ant,
that by considering her labour and industry, he might cast away
his torpor and sloth.^ INIoreover, a certain saint and sage in-
vited his religious to consider the work of bees, that in their
little bodies they might learn the beautiful discipline of service.
And perhaps it will seem wonderful to some that a man so
holy and perfect should take delight in the play and gesture of
a little bird. But such should know that perfect men ought
sometimes to have their rigours mitigated by something of this
kind, that they who mentally approach to God should some-
1 Note T.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 43
times descend to our level ; just as the bow ought occasionally
to be unbent, lest it be found, from too long tension, nerveless
and useless, at the needful time, in the discharge of the arrow.
Even birds, in passing through the air, sometimes are able to
rise with extended wings, and sometimes, closing them, to
descend towards earth.
Therefore on a certain day, when the saint entered his oratory
to offer up to God the frankincense of prayer, the boys, avail-
ing themselves of the absence of the master, began to indulge
in play with the aforesaid little bird, and while they handled
it among them, and sought to snatch it from each other, it got
destroyed in their hands, and its head was torn from the body.
On this play became sorrow, and they already in imagination
saw the blows of the rods, which are wont to be the greatest
torment of boys. Having taken counsel among themselves,
they laid the blame on the boy Kentigern, who had kept him-
self entirely apart from the affair, and they showed him the
dead bird, and threw it away from themselves before the old
man arrived. But he took very ill the death of the bird, and
threatened an extremely severe vengeance on its destroyer.
The boys therefore rejoiced, thinking that they had escaped,
and had turned on Kentigern the punishment due to them, and
diminished the grace of friendship which Servanus had hitherto
entertained for him.
When Kentigern, the most pure child, learnt tlris, taking
the bird in his hands, and putting the head upon the body, he
signed it with the sign of the cross, and lifting up holy hands
in prayer to the Lord, he said, " Lord Jesus Christ, in Whose
hands is the breath of every rational and irrational creature,
give back to this bird the breath of life, that Thy blessed name
may be glorified for ever." These words spake the saint in
prayer, and straightway the bird revived, and not only with
untrammelled flight rose in the air in safety, but also in its
usual way it flew forth with joy to meet the holy old man as
he returned from the church. On seeing this prodigy the heart
of the old man rejoiced in the Lord, and his soul did magnify
the Lord's boy in the Lord, and the Lord, Wlio alone doeth
marvellous things, and was working in the boy. By this
remarkable sign, therefore, did the Lord mark out, nay, in a
way, presignify, as his own, Kentigern, and announced him
beforehand, whom in after times, in manifold ways, He made
still more distinguished by wonders.
44 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Of the, Fire, extinguished through envy hy the Comimnions of
S. Kentigern, and hy his Breath brought down from Heaven
upon a little branch of hazel.
It was the rule of S. Servanus, tliat each of the boys whom
he trained and instructed should, during the lapse of a week,
carefully attend to arrange the lamps in the church, while the
Divine office was being celebrated there by day and by night ;
and for this purpose, when the others had gone to sleep, should
attend to the fire, lest any neglect from default of light should
happen to the Divine service. It happened that S. Kentigern,
in the order of his course, was appointed to this service, and,
while he was doing it diligently and in order, his rivals, (in-
flamed with the torches of envy, nay, blinded, as it is the pecu-
liarity of perverse men to envy the advance of their betters, to
persecute, to pervert, and to diminish the good which in them-
selves they have not, nor will to have, nor can have,) on a cer-
tain solemn night secretly extinguished all the fire within the
habitations of the monastery and the places in its neighbour-
hood. Then, as if ignorant and innocent, they sought their
beds, and when about cockcrow, as was his custom, at the
sacred vigils, S. Kentigern arose, as custom required that he
should attend to the lights, he sought for fire everywhere
round about and did not find it.
At length, having found out the wickedness of his rivals, he
determined in his mind to give place to envy, and began to
leave the monastery. But when he had come to the hedge
which surrounded that habitation, returning to himself, he
stood still, and armed his soul to endure perils from false
brethren, and to bear the persecution of the froward. Then
going back to the house, he laid hold of and drew out a bough
of a growing hazel which had come up beside the hedge, and,
enkindled by faith, he besought the Father of Lights to lighten
his darkness by the pouring in of new light, and in a new way
to prepare for himself a lantern by which he might clothe with
healthful confusion those his enemies who persecuted him.
Lifting therefore a pure hand, he signed the bough with the
sign of the cross, and blessing it in the name of the holy and
undivided Trinity breathed upon it. A wonderful and remark-
able thing followed ! Straightway fire coming forth from
heaven, seizing the bough, as if the boy had exhaled flame for
breath, sent forth fire, vomiting rays, and banished all the sur-
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 45
rounding darkness, and so in His light seeing light, he walked
into the House of God. God therefore sent forth His light,
and led him and brought him unto the monasteiy, even unto
His holy hill and unto His dwelling. And so he went unto
the altar of God, who gave joy to his youth by so clear a sign,
and kindled the lamps of the church, that the Divine oflice
might be celebrated and finished in due season. Therefore
was the Lord his light and his salvation, that he might no
longer fear any of his rivals, because He gave sentence for him,
and defended his cause against those unjust, envious, and
deceitful youths, so that their malice might no more prevail
against him.
All were astonished, beholding this great vision, when that
torch burnt without injury to itself, as when in olden time
the bush which appeared to Moses seemed to be burnt, and
yet was not consumed. For it was one and the same Lord
who wrought the self-same wonder in the bush and in the twig
of hazel; for the Same who destined Moses as a lawgiver for the
people of the Hebrews, that he might lead them out of the
bondage of Egypt, deigned to destine Kentigern as a preacher
of the Christian law, to many nations, that he might rescue
them from the power of the devil. In the end that torch
was extinguished from heaven, when the lamps of the church
had been lighted, and every one more and more wondered,
beholding these great things of God. For that hazel from
which the little branch was taken, received a blessing from
S. Kentigern, and afterwards began to gTow into a wood. If
from that grove of hazel, as the country folks say, even the
greenest branch is taken, even at the present day, it catches fire
like the driest material at the touch of fire, which in a manner
laps it up, and, influenced by a little breath by the merit of
the saint, sheds abroad from itself a fiery haze. And verily it
was right that a miracle of this nature should continue, yea,
perpetuate itself in his case, who, although in the verdure of the
spring-time of life, the delight of the flesh was vigorous, yet
inwardly was strong, and all the glory of the world, like the
grass of the field, entirely withered because the Spirit of the
Lord blew upon it, and the AVord of God for ever abiding,
by His enlightening consecrated to Himself that hallowed
soul and undefiled body, and the fire of the Holy Spirit burnt
Mm up as a whole burnt-offering, accepted as an odour of a
sweet savour.
46 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS,
CHAPTEE VII.
Of the Cook raised from the Dead hj the Prayers of S. Kentigcrn.
S. Servanus had a certain man deputed to the office of the
kitchen, who was very necessary for him and for those who
dwelt with him, in that he was well qualified and active in
that duty, and carefully attended to this frequent ministry. It
happened that, seized with a sharp illness, he lay upon his bed,
and the disease increasing and running its course, he yielded
up the vital spirit. Sorrow filled the heart of the aged man
for his death, and all the crowd of his disciples, and all his
family, lamented for him, because it was not easy to find
another like him for such a service. Fulfilling a natural duty,
they consigned his native dust in the womb of the mother of
all, and sustained no small loss on account of his decease. On
the day after the burial, all the disciples and servants, both
those friendly and those jealous, came to S. Servanus, earnestly
beseeching him that he should by his prayer summon his
Munhu, and compel him by his virtue of obedience, so far as to
endeavour to raise his cook from the dead. For the envious
ones asserted that the Egyptian magicians, by their enchant-
ments, had shown forth signs from heaven, and, on the testi-
mony of John in the Apocalypse, that the disciples of Anti-
christ would send down fire from heaven, and that many
wizards had in the eyes of all done what seemed wondrous by
their occult arts, but that none of the human race could bring
back to the breath of life one who was really dead, unless he
was a man perfect in holiness.
They persisted, in season and out of season, urging him by
persuasive words, to test his sanctity by such a work as this ;
and that his merit would be proclaimed for ever if he recalled
to life one dead and buried. The holy old man at first hesitat-
ing to presume to enjoin so unusual a work on the young man,
at length, overcome and constrained by their wicked impor-
tunity, reasoned with the Lord's young man on the matter with
bland words and entreaties, but found him reluctant, asserting
that he had not the merit for this. Then S. Servanus adjured
him by the holy and terrible name of God, that at least he
should try what he could do in such a matter, and this he com-
manded in the force of holy obedience. The young man then
fearing that adjuration, and thinking that obedience was better
and more pleasing to God than all sacrifices, went to the tomb
where the cook had been buried the day before, and caused the
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 47
earth wherewith he was covered to be dug up and cast out.
Falling down therefore alone on the ground, with his face
plentifully bedewed with tears, he said, " Lord Jesu Christ,
Who art the life and the resurrection of Thine own who faith-
fully believe in Thee, Who killest and makest alive, Who
bringest down to the grave and bringest up, to Whom life and
death are servants, Who raised Lazarus when he had been four
days dead, raise again this dead man, that Thy holy name may
be blessed and glorified above all things for ever."
An exceedingly astonishing thing followed ! While S. Kenti-
gern poured forth copious prayers, the dead man lying in the
dust straightway rose again from the tomb, and came forth,
though bound in grave-clothes, from the sepulchral home. He
verily arose from the dead as the other arose from prayer, and
along with him, and a large company following him, he pro-
ceeded safe and active first of all to the church, to return
thanks to God, then, by the command of Kentigern, he betook
himself to his accustomed duty of cooking, all wondering at
the miracle and praising the Lord. He, in truth, who was raised
from the dead declared in after times what he had seen of the
punishment of the wicked and the joys of the righteous ; and
he converted many from evil to good, while he strengthened in
their holy purpose many who were endeavouring to advance
from good to better. On being urged by many, he likewise
unfolded the manner of his resuscitation.^ He asserted that he
had been reft from things human with unspeakable pain, carried
before the tribunal of the terrible Judge, and that there he
had seen very many on receiving their sentence plunged into
hell, others destined to purgatorial places, some elevated to
celestial joys above the heavens. And when, trembling, he was
awaiting his own sentence, he heard that he was the man for
whom Kentigern, beloved of the Lord, was praying, and he was
ordered by a being streaming with light that he should be
restored to the body, and brought back to his former life and
health ; and he was sedulously warned by him who conducted
him, that for the future he should lead a stricter life ; and in
truth, the self-same cook, assuming holy religion in act and
habit, and profiting and advancing from strength to strength,
lived seven years longer, and then yielding to fate, he was
buried in a noble sarcophagus ; and there was also engraven on
the lid of the tomb how he had been raised from the dead by
S. Kentigern, that by all who saw it or were to see it in time to
come, the Lord, wonderful in His saint, might be magnified.
1 Note U.
48 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTEE YIII.
How S. Kentigern departed secretly from S. Servanus, and what
sort of a Miracle was ivrought at his departing.
When the sanctity of S. Kentigern shone forth, ilhistrated
by such remarkable signs, and the sweet savour of his virtues
shed forth far and wide an odour of life, his rivals drew in an
odour of death from these life-giving scents, and that very holy
opinion of him, which afforded matter of edification to many,
was in their case an incentive towards sowing the seed of
greater hatred against the saint of God. The boy, prudent in
the Lord, knew that the measure of their malice against him-
self was filled up, and that the inveterate envy that had entered
into their bowels and marrow could not be appeased in their
unquiet hearts. Nor did he deem it safe to continue longer
beside the crowd of venomous serpents, lest perchance he
might suffer the loss of inward sweetness. He also weighed
the air of popular favour, serenely breathing upon him, and
from every side crying "Well done! Well done!" He forth-
with proposed to himself to leave the place, that he might in
humility forsake the company of those who hated and envied
him, and also prudently avoid vainglory. Upon this, after
applying himself to the most earnest prayer, he betook him-
self to the Angel of good counsel, entreating Him that His good
Spirit might lead him in the right way, that he might not
chance to run or have run in vain. The Lord therefore inclined
His ear to the prayers of His servant, revealing to him by the
Spirit that the holy intention which had rested in his mind
would be well-pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.
He therefore retreated secretly from the place, having the
Lord of truth as liis guide and protector, in every place.
Journeying, he arrived at the Frisicum Litus, where the river,
by name Mallena, overpassing its banks when the tide flows
in, took away all hope of crossing.^ Bvit the kind and mighty
Lord, who divided the Eed Sea into heaps, and led the people
of Israel through the same dryshod, under the guidance of
Moses, and again turned back to its source the perpetual flow-
ing of Jordan, that the children of Israel might enter with dry
footsteps the land of promise under Joshua ; and who, at the
prayer of Elias, and Eliseus his disciple, divided the same
river of Jordan that they might pass dryshod ; He Himself now
1 Note X.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. id
with the same mighty hand and stretched-out arm divided the
river Mallena, that Kentigern, beloved of God and of man,
might cross on dry ground. Then the tide flowing back in a
very wonderful way, and, if I may so say, being as it were
afraid, the waters both of the sea and of the river stood as walls
on his right hand and on his left. After that, crossing a little
arm of the sea, near a bridge which by the inhabitants is called
the Pons Servani, on looking back to the bank he saw that
the waters which had stood as in a heap before, now flowed
back and filled the channel of the ]\Iallena ; yea, were over-
flowing the bridge aforesaid and denying a passage to any one.-^
And behold S. Servanus, supporting his aged limbs vdth a
staff, having followed in pursuit of the fugitive, stood above
the bank, and beckoning with his hand, he cried out lamenting,
" Alas, my dearest son ! light of mine eyes ! staff of mine old
age ! wherefore dost thou desert me ? wherefore dost thou leave
me ? Call to mind the days that are past, and remember the
years that are gone by ; how I took thee up when thou camest
forth from thy mother's womb, nourished thee, taught thee,
trained thee even unto this hour. Do not despise me, nor
neglect my grey hairs, but return, that in no long time thou
mayest close mine eyes." Kentigern, moved with these words
of the aged man, meltiug into tears rejjlied, " Thou seest, my
father, that what is done is according to the Divine will. We
neither ought nor can we alter the counsel of the Most High,
or fail to obey His will. Besides there is this sea, which
between us as a great gulf is fixed, so that they who would
pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that
would come from thence.^ I pray thee, therefore, have me
excused." Then said the old man, " I pray thee, that by thy
intercession, as thou hast just done, thou wouldest make solid
again the liquid, divide the ground and make it bare, so that at
least I, crossing, might reach thee dryshod. With willing mind
will I become son instead of father to thee, disciple instead of
teacher, pupil instead of guide, so that to the evening of my
days I may be thine own companion." Then again Kentigern,
weeping copiously, replied, " Eeturn, I pray thee, my father, to
thine own people,^ that in thy holy presence they may be
trained in sacred doctrine, guided by thine example, and re-
strained by thy discipline. The Eewarder of all reward thee,
for all the benefits which thou hast done unto me, and since
thou hast fought the good fight, even now hast finished thy
course, and hast maintained the faith, living and fruitful, hence-
1 Note Y, 2 Luke xvi. 26. ^ R„th i. 15.
50 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
forth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will render to thee in the next
world. But I, destined to the work of the ministry, will go
forth to that which He sent me, who separated me from my
mother's womb, and called me by His grace."
Having said this, and having mutually blessed each other,
they were divided the one from the other, and never looked in
each other's face again in this world. Tor Servanus, returning
home, awaited in a good old age the day of his call, and thus
growing old in good days, and being gathered to the holy
fathers, he rested in the Lord, and, like a good labourer in the
vineyard, at even-tide, received tlie penny of eternal reward from
his Lord. And what sort of a man, and how great he was, and
in what virtues he shone, a little book written of his Life will
exhibit more clearly to those who read it. Now the place by
which S. Kentigern crossed became after that entirely impass-
able. For that bridge, always after that covered by the waves
of the sea, afforded to no ^one any longer means of transit.
Even the MaUena altered the force of its current from the pro-
per place, and from that day to this turned back the channel
into the river Ledon. So that forthwith, the rivers which till
then had been separate from each other now became mingled
and united.
CHAPTEE IX.
Of the, Sick Man who desired, and sought in prayer, and obtained
from the Lord, that before his death he should see S. Kenti-
gern; and tasted death in his presence, and obtained
sepulture by his forethought.
There was a man of venerable life, Fregus by name, tormented
by much and long sickness.^ He lived in a town called Ker-
nach, detained upon the bed of pain, sound in holy conversa-
tion, strong in faith, intent upon heaven.^ This man, just and
full of holy fear, when the south wind was blowing over his
garden, so that the odours of its breeze might reach him, felt in
his breast a sweetness which proceeded forth from the opinion
he had of the sanctity of S. Kentigern. Whence also as there
burnt in him the desire, and both heart and eye thirsted, one
would have thought the wish of the holy old man Symeou was
renewed, which he had to see the Lord. For Symeon, with
Note Z. ^ Note AA.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 51
panting heart, desired with the eye of the flesh to hehold the
salvation of God, Christ the Lord, and Fregus, with firm faith,
unmeasured desires, and frequent prayers, besought of the Lord
that he might see Kentigern, the servant of the Lord Christ.
Christ heard the desire of both, and the ear of God, hearing the
desire of their hearts, fulfilled it. The desire and joy of
Symeon was fulfilled on the day that Christ was presented in
the Temple for his salvation. Fregus, for his consolation, saw
and rejoiced in seeing Kentigern on the day that he parted
from S. Servanus. For Fregus had received a promise from
the Holy Ghost that he should not see death till he had seen
Kentigern, the Nazarite of the Lord.
And when Kentigern had come to the habitation of the holy
sick man, and knocked at the door, the sick man from within,
warned by a Divine oracle, exclaimed, saying, " Open ye the
gates, for the Lord is with us. The herald of my salvation, pro-
mised me by God, and long expected by me, to-day is manifested."
And when he had seen him he rejoiced in spirit, and having
given thanks, he blessed the Lord, and said, " Lord, now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for
mine eyes have seen Thy consolation, which Thou hast prepared
before the face of many people, a light to reveal the true Light
that lighteth every man that cometh into this world, and to
declare the glory of eternal life to the people of these and
many nations." And tm-ning to him he said again, " Dispose of
my house and my life to-day, and to-morrow attend to my
burial, as it pleaseth Thy providence, the Lord inspiring thee."
Then, by the advice of holy Kentigern, he dispersed abroad
and gave to the poor aU the worldly substance he possessed,
and, after making a pure confession, he was anointed with the
oil of remission, and purified with the sacrament of the life-giving
Body and Blood of the Lord, and then he commended his spirit
into the hands of the Lord, and with eyes and hands lifted up
to heaven, he expired during the words of prayer. Next day
S. Kentigern yoked two untamed bulls to a new wain, in which
he placed the body, whence the spirit had departed, and having
prayed in the name of the Lord, he enjoined upon the brute
beasts to carry the burden placed upon them to the place which
the Lord had provided for it. And in truth, the bulls, in no ways
being restive, or in anything disobeying the voice of Kentigern,
without any tripping or fall, came by a straight road, along
where there was no path, as far as Cathures, which is now
called Glasgu, along with Kentigern and many others accom-
panying ; and then, with all gentleness, with the burden of the
sacred earth laid on them, a beauteous sight, they halted near
52 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
a certain cemetery, which had been long before consecrated by
S. Ninian.
Verily, with no less miracle, in no diverse way, with no
unequal power, was this chariot, by ruling and threatening,
directed to the appointed place by Him who in old time brought
from Ekron to Bethshemesh, when Dagon was cast down and
broken, the ark of the covenant, which had been taken by the
Philistines, placed on a new waggon, and drawn by milch-cows
that had never borne the yoke. Therefore the saint in the same
place took the holy body down from the wain, and after celebrat-
ing his obsequies buried him in that cemeteryin whichnone other
man had yet lain. This was the first burial in that place,
where afterwards very many bodies were buried in peace. The
greatest reverence was paid to the tomb of the man of God ; nor
did any rash fool dare to trample or pass over it without
vengeance, for within the revolution of a year many who trod
on it or neglected to pay it honour were smitten down with
grievous misfortune, some were even mulcted by death. That
tomb is to the present time encircled by a delicious density of
overshadowing trees, in witness of the sanctity and the reve-
rence due to him who is buried there.
CHAPTEE X.
Of the Two Brothers, one of ichom perished hy the judgment of
God, the other, ivith all his family, uris deemed meet to he
blessed hy the Lord for many generations.
When the man of God, Fregus, had been buried, S. Kenti-
gern, as was enjoined on him of God by revelation, dwelt in
the same place with two brothers, who inhabited the place
before his arrival, and framing his life in much sanctity, went
on with great virtues unto perfection. One of those with
whom he lived was called Telleyr, the other Anguen. But
Anguen received God's saint as an angel of the Lord, and loved
him with his whole heart, and obeyed his commands with all
reverence and veneration, and sulDmitted himself to all his
requirements. And not in vain. For the servant of the Lord
blessed him in the name of the Lord, and, succoured by that'
blessing of graciousness, not only he, but all his posterity, re-
ceived a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from the God of
his salvation, seeming to procure it by a sort of hereditary
right. For the Lord magnified them in the sight of kings, and
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 53
made their name great, like unto the names of those who were
great upon the earth, so that not only by abundance of sub-
stance, but by the culture of the Christian religion, they in-
creased and extended themselves in such wise that it was
justly said of them, This is the seed which the Lord hath
blessed, by the merit and prayers of His servant Kentigern.
But the other, by name Telleyr, was very hostile to him,
secretly detracting from his religion, misinterpreting all his
actions, often openly withstanding him, insulting, and injuring
him. Either by minishing from the good he did, or perverting
it, he obscured everything by a sinister interpretation. But
the servant of God had by continual use, accustoming himself,
with blessed Job,^ to be the brother of dragons and the com-
panion of ostriches, and like Ezekiel to dwell with scorpions,
in patience possessed his soul, and was peaceful with him who
hated peace. But when he spoke of the things that concerned
peace, Telleyr, perverse and ungrateful that he was, only made
himself ready for battle.^ But God, the Lord of vengeance, the
patient Eewarder,^ suffered not the injury done to His servant to
go long unrequited. For on a certain day, after many re-
proaches, by which he had made sad the soul of that righteous
one, he went forth to his work. And because he was very
strong, he placed upon his shoulders a weighty beam, exceeding
the measure of his strength, rejoicing and thinking that he had
acquired the reputation that in bearing burdens he was stronger
than the asses. But when he had gone a little way he tripped
upon a stone and fell, so that, crushed by his burden, he gave
up the ghost, expressing what Solomon says, " Woe unto him
that goeth alone : for he shall have no one to raise him when
he falleth ;* and again, " He hath fallen once for all, who is
always doing evil."
Kentigern, hearing that his adversary had fallen, lamented
him deeply, and procured for him a place of interment ; in this
imitating holy David, the king of the Hebrews, who bewailed
the death of his persecutor Saul,^ and mourned for him with a
great mourning. But because, according to Solomon, when
the fool perisheth the wise man will be wiser, we have in the
fall of this man a sufficient proof, that we ought not to offend
the servants and friends of God, or dare to inflict on them
molestation, grievances, or injury. For the Elect are the
Temple of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit dwelleth in them.
They are therefore the more to be deferred to, and men should
1 Job XXX. 29 ; Ezek. ii. 6. ^ Ps. cxx. 6.
3 Heb. xi. 6. " Eccles. iv. 10. ^2 Sam. i. 12, 17.
54 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
abstain from injuring them, inasmucli as He who dwelleth in
them is most powerful in vindicating their wrongs, and just in
rendering justice to those who suffer injuries.
CHAPTEE XL
Of tilt Election of S. Kcnticjern, and his Consecration as
Bishop.
And when S. Kentigern, living in the place aforesaid, became
fertile in the abundance of many miraculous gifts, it pleased
Him who had separated him from his mother's womb, not to
leave him under a bushel, but rather to place him on a candle-
stick, that, by making his righteousness clear as the light, and
his just dealing as the noon-day, he might give light to all
that were in the house of the Lord.^ Therefore, by Divine
prompting, the king and clergy of the Cambrian region, with
other Christians, albeit they were few in number, came to-
gether, and after taking into consideration what was to be
done to restore the good estate of the Church, which was well-
nigh destroyed, they with one consent approached S. Kenti-
gern, and elected him, in spite of his many remonstrances and
strong resistance, to be the shepherd and bishop of their souls.
He objected to their election of him, that he was not fit on
account of his youth ; they alleged the gravity of his manners
and the affluence of his knowledge and wisdom. He declared
that he could not with easy mind endure the diminution of his
inward peace and holy contemplation; they alleged, on the
other hand, that it was healthful to break in on the sabbath of
the life of speculation, for the salvation of many souls. In the
end, he judged himseK insufficient for the honour which was
in truth a burden, but the unanimous voice of all proclaimed
that his sufficiency had been proclaimed by God Himself, by
many indications of signs and wonders. Invoking therefore a
prosperous rule, blessing him in the name of the Holy Trinity,
and committing him to the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier and
Distributor of all the orders, offices, and dignities in the Church,
they enthroned him; and having called one bishop from Ireland,
after the manner of the Britons and Scots of that period, they
caused him to be consecrated bishop.
A custom had grown up in Britannia, in the consecration of
bishops, only to anoint their heads by pouring on them the
I
1 Note BB.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 55
sacred chrism, with invocation of the Holy Spirit,^ and benedic-
tion and laying on of hands, which rite these ignorant persons
alleged they had received as an institution of the Divine law
and an apostolic tradition ; whereas the sacred canons ordain
that no bishop shall be consecrated without three bishops at
least ; to wit, one to act as consecrator, who shall say over him
who is to be consecrated the sacramental benedictions and
prayers for each of the episcopal ornaments, and two others
who shall lav on hands alonc^ with him, shall be as w^itnesses,
and shall hold the text of the Gospels supported on liis neck.
Yet although the consecration to which the Britons were
accustomed is scantly consonant with the sacred canons, still it
is agreed that it does not destroy the power and efficiency of the
Divine mystery, or of the episcopal ministration. But because
those islanders, as placed beyond the civilized world, on account
of the attacks of the Pagans made upon them, were ignorant of
the canoiis, the judgment of the Church, condescending to them,
admits excuse for that reason, but in such times as these would
never permit such a rite as this to be used by any one without
grave censure.
But S. Kentigern, although he was consecrated after this
fashion, took pains to correct it in every way possible, as we
shall state hereafter. He established his cathedral seat in a
town called Glesgu, which is, interpreted, The Dear Family, and
is now called Glasgii,^ where he united to himself a famous
and God-beloved family of servants of God, who practised con-
tinence, and who lived after the fashion of the primitive church
under the apostles, without private property, in holy discipline
and Divine service.
]Moreover, the diocese of that episcopate was extended accord-
ing to the Hmits of the Cambrian kingdom, which kingdom reached
from sea to sea, like the rampart once built by the Emperor
Severus. This rampart afterwards, by the assistance and counsel
of the Roman Legion, in order to keep off the incursions of the
Picts, gave way to a wall built in the same place, eight feet in
breadth and twelve feet in height ; it reaches as far as the Flumen
Fordense, and by division separates Scotia from Angiia.^ Now
this Cambrian region, over which S. Kentigern presided as
bishop, had once on a time, wdth all Britannia, accepted the
Christian faith in the time of Pope Eleutherius,* when Lucius
was king; but in consequence of the Pagans from time to
time infesting the island, and asserting dominion therein, the
islanders, lapsing into apostasy, had cast away the faith which
1 Note CC. 2 Note DD. 3 Note EE. * Note FF.
L ^
56 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
they had received. Many were not yet baptized. Many were
stained by the contagion of manifold heresy. Many, in name
only Christians, were plunged in the slough of vice of all sorts ;
the greatest part of them had been taught by the ministry of
men who were unskilled and ignorant of the law of God. Thus
all the Provincials required the counsel of a good pastor, and
the healing of a good governor. Therefore God, the disposer
and dispenser of all good things, provided, promoted, and pro-
posed S. Kentigern as the remedy for all their diseases, the
support of their lives, and their example.
CHAPTER XII.
How S. Kentigern conducted himself in the Episcopate ; hoiv he
lived and hoiv he taught ; and how he deported himself hoth
openly and in private.
Blessed Kentigern having taken possession of his govern-
ment, as he excelled others in dignity, so he sought to exceed
them in sanctity. And as he was higher in rank, so he studied
to appear more excellent than others in the ordinance of holy
virtues and manners. For he deemed it unworthy for himself
to crawl upon the ground, or to lie in the depths, who was
bound by a Divine command to go up upon the mountain to
bring good tidings to Zion. And verily it is unbecoming in
him to live in an abject manner, who from his office must
announce high things ; wherefore the saiut of God, after
accepting the episcopal dignity, sought to exercise greater humi-
lity and austerity than heretofore in his food, his dress, in watch-
ings, in his hard couches, and in the mortification of his body.
And that I may in brief describe his whole life, from the time
of his ordination, which took place in the twenty-fifth year of his
age, until the extreme term of his life, which lasted the space of
one hundred and sixty years, — when he broke his fast after three
days, or oftener after four days, he revived rather than recruited
his body by tasting the cheapest and lightest foods, such as
bread and milk, and cheese and butter and condiments ; and
even that, lest the animal frame should entirely fail by the way
of this mortality ; yea, rather, to speak more to the purpose, that
by mortifying his members which are upon the earth, by the
crucifixion of a continual cross, he might by slaying offer him-
self a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing unto God. He abstained
entirely from flesh and from blood, and from wine, and from
all that could inebriate, like one, nay, like a chief, among the
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 57
Nazarites. If, however, at any time it happened that he was
on a journey, or dining with the king, he tempered the accus-
tomed rigour of his abstinence. Afterwards, when he re-
turned home, punishing in himself that which he regarded as
a gross crime, he increased his abstinence.
CHAPTEE XIII.
Of the Mode of Dress of S. Kentigern.
He used the roughest hair-cloth next the skin, then a gar-
ment of leather made of the skin of the goats, then a cowl like
a fisherman's bound on him, above which, clothed in a Avhite
alb, he always wore a stole over his shoulders. He bore a
pastoral staff, not rounded and gilded and gemmed, as may be
seen now-a-days, but of simple wood, and merely bent. He
had in his hand the Manual-book, always ready to exercise
his ministry, whenever necessity or reason demanded. And so
by the whiteness of his dress he expressed the purity of his
inner life, and avoided vainglory.^
CHAPTER XIV.
Of the Couch of S. Kentigern^ and his Vigils, and his Bath in
Cold Water.
What shall I say of his bed ? I hesitate whether to call it
a bed or a tomb. He lay in stone hollowed like a monument,
having for his head a stone in place of a pillow, like another
Jacob. Verily he was a staunch combatant against the flesh,
the world, and the devil. Throwing in a few ashes, and taking'
'off his sackcloth, he shook off his drowsiness rather by
tasting than taking sleep. And to express myself more clearly,
in a certain similitude of a snatch of sleep, he buried himself
along with Christ. When he had taken a moderate portion of
sleep, he arose in the night, at the beginning of his vigils, and
poured forth his soul like water in the sight of the Lord his
God. And so with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,
celebrating the Lord's night-watches, he exulted in God his
Saviour, and was joyful in Him until the second cock-crowing ;
then, entering upon a fiercer conflict with that great and malig-
1 Note GG.
58 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
nant dragon that, according to the prophet, lieth in the midst
of his rivers,^ he used to strip himself of his clothes, and naked,
following a naked Christ, making himself naked and bare, he
plunged into the rapid and cold water. Then, verily, as the
hart desireth the water brooks, so his soul desired and thirsted
for God, the living water ; and there, in cold and nakedness,
with his eyes and hands lifted up to heaven, he chanted on
end the whole Psalter. Thereby made like one of the flock that
are ever shorn, which came out from the washing unto Mount
Gilead,^ emerging from the water like a dove bathed in milk,
nay, rather as a Nazarite, whiter than snow, brighter than milk,
ruddier than ancient ivory, fairer than sapphire, he sat himself
to dry his limbs, on the brow of a hill called Gulath, by the
water side, near his own home.^ So having dried his body, and
resumed his clothes, as if preparing his going forth in the
dawn, he exhibited himself as an ensample to his followers.
And this custom of bathing, neither the fire of the glittering
lightning, nor hail, nor snow, nor the spirit of storms, ever
interrupted, unless a journey necessarily undertaken, or the
severest sickness, prevented it; yet even then did he redeem the
work by some other divine and spiritual exercise. Wherefore
by the continued use of this saving laver, as of a new Jordan,
his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child ; because
the law of sin, which warreth in the less honourable members,
was so weakened, and the fire of concupiscence so mortified and
extinguished, that no corruption of the rebellious flesh, either
waking or even sleeping, ever polluted or defiled the lily of his
snow-white modesty. Nor even did he ever feel its simple
motions rage or move within him, for by the grace of Christ
co-operating with him, his flesh, with its passions stilled, con-
tinued in an almost childlike pure innocence, and verily that
holy one grew up before the Lord like an unfading lily, so
that once on a time he simply declared to his disciples, that
the sight or touch of a most beautiful girl had no more effect
upon him than the hardest flint.
CHAPTEK XV. .
Of the way of Speaking which the Man of God used.
In speaking, however, he was able to control his spirit, and
he learned to set a watch before his mouth and to keep the door
1 Ezek. xxix. 3. ^ Cant. iv. 2. 3 Note HH.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 59
of liis lips, that he might guide his words with discretion. Nor
did any one of his words fall lightly to the ground, nor was the
word he spoke given to the winds, nor did it return to him in
vain. Wherefore he spoke in'weight, number, and measure, as the
necessary occasion demanded, for his speech was flavoured with
salt, suited to every age and sex, for honey and milk were
under his tongue, and his cellars were filled with spiritual
wine, whence the babe in Christ drank milk from his lips, the
more advanced honey, and the perfect man wine, each to his
soid's health. In judging and condemning, or in chiding, he
had not by him divers measures, nor did he respect the person
of man, but he studied the cause, and wdth the greatest dis-
cretion measured forth the degree of ecclesiastical discij)line,
according to the name of the fault, in due time and place.
Yet the saint preached more by his silence than many doctors
and rulers do by loud speaking, for his appearance, counte-
nance, gait, and the gesture of his whole body, openly taught
discipline, and by certain signs, bursting forth like water, indi-
cated openly the purity of the inner man which lurked there.
It is unnecessary to commit to writing his munificence, which
spent itself wholly on alms-deeds and works of mercy, for all the
substance which the Divine largess had bestowed upon him
was the common treasury of the poor.
CHAPTEE XVI.
With what a grace lie was deemed meet to he adonied, while he
was celebrating the Sacred Mysteries of the Mass.
But although in the preceding and in similar holy exercises
he showed himself as man, and sometimes as above man, it
was in celebrating the holy mysteries of the Mass that, in a
manner putting off the man and withdrawing himself from
earthly things, he put on something like a Divine character,
wholly above the human. For while with his hands lifted in
the form of a cross he said, " Sursum Corda," he lifted his own
unto the Lord as he exhorted others; so from that golden
censer of his most pure heart, filled with coals, burning with
virtue, and kindled with delight in God, like the brightest and
sweetest- savoured incense, his prayer rising to the clouds,
penetrating the heavens, and plunging into the light unto which
no man can approach, was set forth in the presence of God ;
so that the Most High Himself vouchsafed by evident signs to
manifest to the eyes of mortals that He had accepted it as an
60 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
oblation, an. odour of a sweet savour, well-pleasing to Himself :
for very often, as he handled the Divine Sacraments, a snow-
white dove, having as it were a golden beak, was seen to light
upon his head, and with the transparent fluttering of his wings,
like a ray of the sun, to overshadow him and What was laid
upon the altar. Frequently also, when he stood sacrificing at
holy altars, a luminous cloud overshadowed his head, and occa-
sionally at the time when the Son was being immolated to the
Father, he seemed not to stand there, but a fiery pillar by
whose brightness the sight of onlookers was bhnded. But it
was not given to all to know and to behold this ministry, but
those only to whom it was granted by the Father of Lights.
Once upon a time, while the Lord's priest was celebrating
the mysteries, a sweet-smelUng cloud filled the whole house,
where many were hearing the sacred mysteries of the Lord, for
the odour, exceeding all perfumes, overwhelmed all wdio were
there with exceeding delight, and gave fuU health to many
who were afflicted with various diseases. Verily while I
record these things, sorrow fiUeth my heart, as I see the priest-
hood defiled in so many ways to-day. While in the meantime
I am silent about those who simoniacally come to sacrifice, or
with Judas sell the Lord's Body, since forsooth some offer it for
a price, I speak of those who, bound by crimes and dissolved
in vices, and polluted in body and soul, dare to touch and to
contaminate with their impure hands the Sacrifice of Purifica-
tion. Alas, in how many priests to-day is the stench of foul-
ness rather than the odour of spiritual sweetness observed ! O
how many more doth the dark whirlwind lay hold of and blind,
than doth the shining cloud overshadow ! Woe, woe, say I to
many to-day for whom the sulphurous flame rather than the
surrounding column of fire awaiteth !^ But now I return unto
myself, and to others hke unto me, who in any way are dis-
charging the office of their priesthood, and for whom, instead of
a snow-white dove at the time of the sacrifice, flies sufiiciently
tormenting come up out of the river of Egypt^ — that is the
unclean, vain, useless thoughts wdiich rush into the memory,
from the imagination of this perishing world. Therefore fear-
fulness and trembling come upon me, for by the witness of
Solomon dead flies cause the ointment to give forth an evil
scent, since minds occupied with thoughts of this kind have
little experience of what nature is the joy of that inward sweet-
ness, which proceedeth from the visitation of the Holy Ghost.
1 Note II. -^ Note KK.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. Gl
CHAPTEE XVII.
Of tlic way in which Holy Kcntigern toithdrew himself during
the whole of Lent into more secret jplaecs in the Desert, and
returned to his own Church hefore Maiinday- Thursday, and
sometimes hefore Palm-Sunday.
The man of God maintained this manner of life here de-
scribed till an extreme old age, almost all the year round, except
during Lent, for in those days he was accustomed beyond his
ordinary way to walk in a certain newness of life. Emulating
the fervour of certain of the holy fathers, nay, rather following
the footsteps of Elias and John the Baptist, and of the Saviour
Himself, he retired to desert places every Lent, and so by
withdrawing himself in flight from the sight of the sons of
men, and remaining in a solitude of body and soul, he dwelt
with himself. There, more freely giving himself up to the
contemplation of God, he rested under the shadow of the Face
of the Almighty, safe from the disturbance of man, from the
strife of tongues and worldly converse. Therefore sitting
solitary, he lifted himself above himself, and often abiding in
the caverns of the earth,^ and standing in the entering in of his
cave, and praying, after the great and strong wind and the
earthquake, he heard the still small whisper of thin air breath-
ing upon him, and bathing him in and filling him with unspeak-
able sweetness. Wherefore he went about the streets of the
heavenly Jerusalem seeking for himself Him whom his soul
loved, and offering for himself, in his heart, a sacrifice of jubila-
tion, he mortified his most holy members which were upon the
earth. Offering himself a living victim, holy, well-pleasing
unto the Lord, he afflicted his most innocent body by a continual
martyrdom as a sweet savour. With what and what sort of
food he sustained his life on those days he revealed to none, or
at least to few, and to these by his episcopal authority he for-
bade that they should ever reveal the mystery to mortal man.
Yet once he spake, and two of his disciples heard a word not
to be recalled, once only, and simply uttered from his lips.
" I knew," said he, " a certain man, who during Lent sustained
life on the roots of herbs only, and sometimes, the Lord giving
him strength, he passed the whole of that time without the
support of earthly food." Neither of them doubted that he
spake this of himself; but the man of God suppressed his
1 Note LL.
62 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
name, to avoid vainglory, which he everywhere sought to shun.
At length, for a long time before Mauuday- Thursday, and after
that, on the Saturday before Palm-Sunday, he returned to his
home and to his people to fulfil his episcopal office, and he
was received by them all as an angel of peace and light.
Wherefore he was used to pass that week with his disciples,
and on Maunday-Thursday, after the composition of the holy
chrism and oil, he washed with his own hands the feet of a
multitude of poor men first, and then of lepers, bathing them
with his tears, wiping them with his hair, comforting them
with many kisses, and afterwards he waited upon the people
diligently at table. Then sitting for their consolation with
the reconciled penitents at a banquet, he consoled himself
and them with spiritual and bodily refreshment. Thereafter
from that hour till after the celebration of Mass on Easter
Day he always remained fasting. Verily, on Good Friday he
crucified himself with the Crucified One with incredible
torture, and with scourging, nakedness, and frequent genuflec-
tion, scarcely ever sitting down, he passed the day and the
night, bearing about in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus,
with great affliction of body and soul.
But on the Holy Saturday, as if dead to the world, burying
in a double tomb, the true Abraham, the Ancient of Days along
with himself, and entering the sepulchre in the abundance of
inward contemplation, he rested from all the tumult of this
stormy world, except that he appeared to celebrate the Office of
the day. Then, renewed in the spirit of his mind, he awaited
with the sweet spices of holy virtues so diligently prepared, the
most sacred day of the Lord's resurrection. In a way rising again
with Christ, he feasted on the Flesh of the Immaculate Lamb,
in tlie unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And on the
day which the Lord had made a day of joy in earth and heaven,
he rejoiced witli all spiritual joy, and feasted with the brethren
and a great multitude of poor. This he also was said to do at
the other great festivals. If, however, from urgent necessity, it
happened — which seldom, however, actually occurred — that he
had to dine with seculars, tasting a little of the food placed
before him, he filled the guests with spiritual dainties, and
repressing the vain conversation which is apt to prevail at
feasts, he concealed his own abstinence under the veil of sacred
exhortation.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. G3
CHAPTER XVIII.
What a Bright Countenance, he had, and what he thought and
said ahout Hypocrites.
Holy Kentigern in the form of his body is said to have been
of middle stature, rather inclining to tallness, and it is asserted
that he was of robust strength, capable to a considerable extent
of enduring great fatigue in the labours both of body and soul.
He was beautiful to look upon, and graceful in form. Having
a countenance full of grace and reverence, dove-like eyes,
cheeks like the turtle-dove, he attracted the hearts of all who
beheld him. His outward cheerfulness was the sign and most
faithful interpreter of that inward peace, which flooded all
things with a certain contentment of holy joy and exultation,
which the Lord bestowed upon him
For himself fleeing from hypocrisy in this or that habit and
gesture, he carefully taught his followers to avoid it, and show-
ing by example that hypocrites were the most loathsome class
of men, he instructed them in such words as these : —
" Beware, dearest ones," said he to his disciples, " of the vice
of h}q30crisy, which in a way is the renunciation of faith, the
abandonment of hope, the emptying of charity, the suppurating
ulcer of chastity, the blinding of truth ; it is the poison of
sobriety, the fetter of righteousness, the little fox of obedience,
the short cloak of patience, and, to speak briefly, it is the moth
of religion, the extermination of virtues, the lurking-place of
vices, the asylum of all iniquity, the habitation of crimes.
That hypocrisy is the source of all evils, the Lord teacheth where
he says that the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is leaven. For as
the leaven placed in the food maketh it light, inflated, and acid,
so hypocrisy maketh the heart where it reigns empty of religion,
inflated and elated with the false praises of men, and sharp,
bitter, and sour against the truth of conscience, against the
holy, the righteous, and those who seek purity and holiness.
And verily, dearest ones, if all sin in itself and by itself be
single, hypocrisy alone in itself is double, nay, manifold. For
the hypocrite, in his natural colours, seeketh to blind Him who
seeth all things, and while turning away his eyes from himself
he overshadoweth his vices in the sight of men under the image
of a false sanctity. And although other impious, sinful, and
criminal men are the members of Antichrist, hypocrites are
singularly and specially his followers and forerunners, as the
single-hearted, the lovers and followers of truth and purity,
64 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
are the members and disciples of Jesus Clirist. For Antichrist
himself, as it is written, shall sit in the temple of God, as if he
were God, and by lying wonders show himself that he is God.^
For the very angel of Satan also transformeth himself into an
angel of light, and therefore it is not to be wondered at, that his
special servant and member should transform himself into a mini-
ster of righteousness, seeing that he is himself a very synagogue
of Satan. Believe me what I say unto you in the truth, that
the anger of God never rageth more fiercely in the Church
than when He makes an hypocrite reign therein on account of
the sins of tlie people. Moreover, in the Apocalypse the per-
secution is described as more destructive in the pale horse than
in the preceding ones, because in truth the Church is much
more injured by hypocrisy, which is figured by the pale horse,
than in the time of open persecution, whereby the faithful and
unfaithful, the just and the unjust, are made manifest, and a
multitude of the martyrs receive their crown. Yet, evidently
hypocrites, by their gestures and by the ways of the outer man,
indicate to those who watch closely and judge all things by the
light of the Spirit, of what kind they are. For while they
walk after the manner of the turtle-dove, contracting the
shoulders, hanging down the head, fixing the eyes on the
ground, making long faces, breathing through pinched lips,
speaking in a feminine voice, by these very signs they mani-
fest the state of the inner man. For by their steps they make
themselves like peacocks, nay, like robbers ; by the contraction
of their shoulders they show that they shrink from bearing the
sweet yoke of Christ and His light burden ; by the hanging of
their heads and the casting down of their eyes, they demon-
strate that their hearts cleave nearer to the dust than to heaven,
that they think of the earth, love the earth, and sigh for earthly
desires ; by turning away their faces, they show that they turn
their backs rather than their faces to the Lord, and by their
feminine mode of speech prove that they live dissolutely and
not like men. I would say that they were like none but
jugglers, who exhibit fire, water, men, beasts, etc., in an imaginary
way, where there is no reality. But although pretenders and
cunning hypocrites, drawing down upon themselves the anger
of God, may escape the opinion of those who judge according
to appearance, they shall in no ways deceive or escape the
even-handed justice of Him who searcheth the heart and the
reins. These things, most dear ones," said the man of God,
" have I said to you, not to announce what shall be a snare to
1 2 Tbess. ii. 5.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. G5
you, or that yon should not exhibit staid demeanour in coun-
tenance, gesture, dress, or discipline, but this in every way I
admonish you to seek the Lord in simplicity of heart, and to
associate internal with external purity everywhere, and in
reality to avoid hypocrisy, and do what you have to do with
spiritual joy. Thus in all your works man shall be edified,
and God glorified, for God loveth a cheerful teacher and doer
of good."
a^
CHAPTEE XIX.
How S. Kentigcrn converted to the Faith of Christ the "people over
whom he presided, and who for the most part hadj apo-
statized ; and how he brought back to a more correct way of
living those luho had profaned the faith by unrighteous
works.
Therefore blessed Kentigern, having undertaken the epi-
scopate, set himself diligently to administer the of&ce laid upon
him, and seeing that the northern enemy, that is, the prince of
this world, had placed his seat in these parts and reigned there,
he took up spiritual arms to fight against him. Accordingly, clad
with the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breastplate of
righteousness, girded with the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God, he attacked the house of that strong man armed,
and spoiled his goods, supported by the aid of the Lord
of Hosts, who is very strong in battle. And to speak
shortly, neither his foot, hand, nor tongue ceased from the
execution of the work which he had undertaken, from the
working of miracles, from preaching of salvation, till all the
ends of that earth remembered themselves, and turned unto
the Lord. They who were not yet regenerated in the life-
giving waters, like thirsty harts ran to the living fountain of
baptism with burning desire, and they who had fallen away
from the faith, and wandered aside from a sound belief in the
teaching of some heretical sect, on their repenting and return-
ing from the snares of the devil, by whom they were held
captive, and returning unto the bosom of the Church, were
incorporated into Christ, by means of this herald of safety,
teaching them the way of the Lord in power.
Wherefore that renowned warrior began to overthrow the
shrines of demons, to cast down their images, to build churches,
to dedicate them when built, to divide parishes by certain
limits by the cord of distribution, to ordain clergy, to dissolve
incestuous and unlawful marriages, to change concubinage into
66 LIVES OF SCOTTISH S.UNTS.
lawful matrimony, to bring in as far as he could ecclesiastical
rites, and strove to establish whatsoever was consonant with
the faith, the Christian law, and righteousness. Wheresoever he
journeyed he did it not on horseback, but even to extreme old age,
after the fashion of the apostles, on foot. Having arranged aU
these things in order, he returned home to his own, and there,
after his accustomed way, he led a life in the perfection of the
highest virtue, remarkable for virtue and miracles, some of
which we now venture to write down, because we doubt not
that they will be profitable to very many.
CHAPTEE XX.
How holy KcntigcTn, placed in the Plough, under one yoke, a
Stag and a Wolf, and how, sowing Sand, he reajped a harvest
of Wheat.
Thus, as we have stated, the man of God joined to him-
self a great many disciples, whom he trained in the sacred
literature of the Divine law, and educated to sanctity of life
by his word and example. They all with a godly jealousy
imitated his life and doctrine, accustomed to fastings and sacred
vigils at certain seasons, intent on psalms and prayers, and
meditation on the Divine word, content with sparing diet and
dress, occupied every day and hour in manual labour. For,
after the fashion of the Primitive Church, under the apostles
and their successors, possessing nothing of their own, and living
soberly, righteously, godly, and continently, they dwelt, as did
S. Kentigern himself, in single cottages, from the time when
they had become mature in age and doctrine. Therefore these
" singulares clerici" were called in the common language Cal-
ledei.^ Thus the servant of Jesus Christ w^ent forth to his
work in the morning, and to his labour till the evening, labour-
ing mainly at agriculture, that he might not eat the bread of
idleness, but rather in the sweat of his brow afford an example
of labour to his own, and have to give to him who was suffer-
ing necessity.
It happened once upon a time that he had no oxen whatever,
and from the deficiency of these, there being no plougbing, the
land lay fallow. When the man of God saw this, lifting up his
eyes, he saw on the edge of a neighbouring wood a herd of deer
bounding along here and there through the forest. Straight-
1 Note MM.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 67
way offering up a prayer, by the mighty power of his word he
called them to him, and in the name of the Lord, whom all
dumb unreasoning beasts and all the cattle of the plain obey,
commanded them to be yoked in the place of the oxen to the
plough, and to turn up the earth. They at once obeyed the
command of the man of God, and like tame oxen used to the
yoke ploughed the land, to the astonishment of many. Ee-
leased from their work, they went to their usual pastures, and
at the proper hour, like tame and domestic, nay, like trained
animals, they returned to their accustomed toil. Once upon a
time, as the stags were going and returning like domestic
animals, a hungry wolf rushing upon one of the stags, which
was wearied with its labour, and was cropping some food as it
lay upon the green turf, throttled him, and filled his voracious
stomach with his carcase. When the saint learnt this, extending
his hand towards the wood, he said, " In the name of the Holy
and Undivided Trinity, I command that the wolf, who hath
wrought this injury on me who deserved it not, appear before me
to make satisfaction." Wondrous words! more wondrous deeds !
Straightway at the voice of the man of God, the wolf, leaping
forth from the wood, fell howling at his feet, and with such
signs as he could, declared that he begged pardon, and was
willing to make reparation. Whereupon the man of God, up-
braiding the wolf with threatening countenance and word, said,
" Arise, and I command thee, by the authority of God Almighty,
that thou place thyself in the plough in the place of our
labourer the stag, whom thou hast devoured, and applying thy-
self to the yoke, plough over all that remaineth of the little
field." Verily the wolf obeyed the word spoken by the saint,
and, yoked with the other stag, ploughed up nine acres, where-
upon the saint freely allowed him to depart. In this act, it
seemeth to me, that that prophecy of Isaiah, which he spiritu-
ally uttered of the time of our Lord's advent, was in a way liter-
ally fulfilled, where he says, " The wolf also shall dwell with
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the
calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together ; and a little
child shall lead them."^ Let the reader consider whether it is
more wonderful to see a wolf lying down with a lamb, or
ploughing with a stag. But Kentigern brought this about, being
a most pure little child, meek and lowly of heart in his own
eyes ; yet wrought he not this sign in his own power, but he
did it by the might of that Little One who was born for us, of
the Son who was given for us. Yet it was just that he should
^ Isaiah xi. 6.
68 LTTES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
do tbis "bodily, vlio so often spirituallT "vron back to t3ie yoke
of faith and plongli of holy conrersation many from wolfish
cruelty and bloody slaughter, animal fierceness and a coarse life.
Terr manr irathered together to behold snch a sight as this,
and marvelled at the nnwonted miracle. "Wherenpon the
saint opened his month and taught them, saying, "Men and
bretliren, "wherefore "vronder re, beholding this word ? Believe
me, that before man became disobedient to his Maker, not only
all the animals, bnt even the elements, obeyed him, but now
bv his transsression all things are turned ai^ainst him, and the
lion teareth, the wolf devonretli, the serpent woundeth, the
water drowneth, the fire bumeth, the air tainteth, and the earth
often, become like iron, consumeth with famine. And in rivalry
of this nsnal evil, not only is man wont to rage against man by
sin, but he actually voluntarily rageth against himself. But
seeing that many saints are found perfect before the Lord in
true innocency, pure obedience, faith, and love, in holiness and
righteonsness, they receive from the Lord this power, as an
ancient, natural, and primordial right, so that they authorita-
tively command the beasts, the elements, and sundrs" kinds of
diseases and deaths."
WMle the holy man said this, and more to the same effect,
they who heard his words were not less edified by his teaching
than astonished by the miracle which they had just beheld.
"VMien the field that had been ploughed came to be sown, the
saint songht seed and found it not, having given away all his
store of grain to feed the poor. Wherefore he betook himseK
to his accustomed weapons of prayer, and, nothing doubting in
faith, taking sand in place of seed, he scattered it on the ground.
This being done, in due season the herb grew, the seed ger-
minated, tibe blade produced the head, and at the proper time
bronght forth the best and the richest wheat, at which all who
heard and saw were struck with the utmost astonishment, and
his fame, great before, was mightily increased. Yerily this saint,
in the power of that Grain of "Wheat, "WMch falling into the
earth and dving, and bv rising again hath brought to Himself
mnch fruit, gathered com from the sand which he had sown.
Moreover he so wrought with the ploughshare of the gospel in
the bowels of holy Mother Church, as in good ground, that he
reclaimed many, yea, an innumerable company, of persons, who
hitherto had been unstable in mind, blown about by every wind
of vain doctrine, whose folly was heavier than the sand of the
sea ; and in faith and love, and the performance of good works,
cansed them, by the co-operation of God, to bring forth the
fruit of salvation. And these the Supreme Householder deemed
LIFE OF 3. KENTIGERy. 69
meet to be transferred to the heayenly gamers, and to be fit for
bis table.^
CHAPTER XXI.
Hmi' Tioly Kfiniigern, helpul hy the Divine, aid, and caiLvmg the
force of the river Cliul to sein:e him, without any detnment
transferred the Bams of the King, which v:ere full of v:heat,
to his own dwelling-flace.
A CONSIDEEAELE time having elapsed, a certain tyrant, by
name Morken,^ had ascended the throne of the Cambrian king-
dom, whom power, honour, and riches had persuaded to exer-
cise himself in great matters, which were too high for him.
But his heart, as it was on the one hand elevated bv pride, so
on the other hand it was blinded and contracted by greed-
He scorned and despised the life and doctrine of the man of
God, in secret slandering, in public resisting him from time to
time, putting down his miraculous power to magical illusion, and
esteeming as nothincr all that he did. But the man of Grod,
once on a time, when he wanted supplies to feed the brethren
of his monastery, betook himself to the king, gently hinting at
his poverty, and at that of his people, desiring that out of his
abundance, according to the injunction of the apostle, he should
come to their aid, and supply their wants. But he, elated and
haughty, continually reviled him who made his petition, and
only inflicted injuries on him who besought support. Then
with blasphemous words he said to him ironically, " Cast thy
care upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee ; as thou hast
often taught others, that they that fear God shall lack nothing,
but they who seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that
is good.^ Thou, therefore, though thou fearest God, and keep-
est His commandments, art in want of everything, even of thy
necessary food, while to me, who neither seek the kingdom
of God nor the righteousness thereof, all prosperous things
are added, and plenty of all sorts smileth upon me." Lastly,
he pressed upon him, " Thy faith therefore is vain, thy preach-
ing false."
But the holy man, arguing on the other side, proved from
the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, and from keen assertions
of reason, and by examples, that many just and holy men, in
various ways, were afflicted by hunger and want in this life ;
and that wicked men were exalted by plenty of wealth, the
1 Note >~N'. - Xote 00. ^ Pa. xiiiv. 10.
'V,
70 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
affluence of delights, and the high places of honour. And
when with power and clearness he taught that the poor were
the patrons of the rich, by whose benefits they are sustained,
and that the rich need the support of the poor, as the vines are
supported by the elm, the barbarian was unable to resist his
wisdom and the Spirit who spake through him, but in a rage
answered, " What more desirest thou ? If, trusting in thy God,
without human hand, thou canst transfer to thy mansion all
the corn that is kept in my barns and heaps, I yield with a
glad mind and gift, and for the future will be devoutly obedient
to thy requests."
Saying this he retired joyful, as if by such an answer as
this he had made game of the saint. But when even was
come, the holy man, lifting his hands and his eyes to heaven,
with many tears, prayed most devoutly unto the Lord. In
the very hour in which from the depth of the saint's heart
these tears rose up and flowed forth from his eyes, by the will
of Him who hath power in heaven and earth, in the sea and
in all deep places, the river Clud, coming down, rose and be-
came swollen in flood ; then extending beyond its banks, and
surrounding the barns of the king which stood there, it licked
them up and drew them back into its own channel, and with
great power transported them to dry land at a place called by
name Mellingdenor,^ where the saint was at that time accus-
tomed to dweU. Straightway the river ceased from its fury,
and controlled within itself the surging waves, for the Lord had
placed bounds and bars that they should not pass nor overstep
the limits appointed to them. There the barns were found
whole and uninjured, and not a sheaf, nay, not a single blade,
appeared to be wetted. Lo, in this, though in a different
element, we recognise the sign repeated, which we read of as
having taken place in the Chaldean furnace, into which the
three children, firm in their religion, were cast in bound.
For as there the fire had the power of burning only their bonds,
and not their bodies or their clothes, so here this water was
able to transport the barns filled with corn, but not to wet
them. And when the people saw that in the name of the Lord
His servant could perform this wonder, they said. Truly great
is the Lord, and worthy to be praised, for thus hath He caused
His saint to be magnified.
1 Note PP.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEim. 71
CHAPTER XXII.
IIoio the aforesaid King Mcyrken, at the instigation of his mili-
tary follower Cathcn, struck S, Kentigcrn with his foot, and
with what j^unishment both the one and the other locre visited.
After that by the ferrying across of these fruits of the earth,
the rivers of the flood thereof had made glad the city of God,^
iu which those enrolled as fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the
household of God, were assembled together, to serve the living
God, that faithful and wise servant, made steward over the
mansion of the Great Householder,^ distributed the measure of
wheat to each of his fellow-servants according to their neces-
sities, and what was over he dispersed abroad and gave to the
poor, nor did he send empty away any one in want who begged
of him. But the aforesaid King Morken, though very rich and
great in the eyes of men, yet being the vile slave of Mammon,
bore ill the loss, as it seemed to him, of his stock of corn, and
took scandal to his soul from that Divine sign whence he
ought to have derived joy and gladness for his own advantage.
Just as the solar ray is pleasant and agreeable to healthy eyes,
and lends its aid to their sight, yet ministers the material of
darkness to the unhealthy, and to those under the influence of
hemlock : therefore, his eye being consumed because of fury,^
he belched forth many reproaches against the holy bishop,
calling him magician and sorcerer, and he commanded that if
ever again he appeared in his presence he should suffer severely
as one that had made game of him. The reason for this was
that a very wicked man, who was the king's confidential friend,
Cathen by name, had urged him on to hatred and injury of the
bishop, because the life of the good is usually hateful and
burdensome to the wicked ; and the mind that inclineth to evil
easily listeneth to one who persuadeth it to that which pleaseth it.
For every wick(3d leader, according to the Scripture, hath all
his servants wicked, and very often chooseth as counsellors the
men who into the ears of those who willingly listen to unjust
things will pour the poisonous whisper, and diligently blow
up with inflated accusations the fire of malice, adding fuel to
make the flame burn the higher, lest it should be extinguished
to their detriment.
But the man of God, wishing by wisdom to extinguish
malice, approached the presence of the king rather in the spirit
1 Ps. xlv. 4. "^ S. Matt. xxiv. 25. ^ Ps. vi. 4.
M
72 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
of meekness than with the rod of severity, and instructing
and warning him after the manner of a most gentle father,
sought to correct the folly of a son; for he knew that by
the sweetly sounding tones of the harp of David the madness
of Saul had been mitigated, and that, according to the sen-
tence of Solomon, the king's WTath is appeased by patience.^
Bnt the man of Belial, like the deaf adder that slmtteth liis ear
and listeneth not to the charmer, charm he never so wisely,
acquiesced not in the warning words, which were the words of
safety. Nay, excited by fiercer madness, he rushed upon him,
struck him with his heel, and smote him to the ground upon
his back. But the saint of God, being raised by the bystanders,
that his doctrine might be known by his patience, loore most
patiently both the hurt and the dishonour, committing his
cause to the vindication of the Supreme Judge, and then he
departed from the presence of this sacrilegious king, rejoicing
that he was deemed meet to suffer contumely for the word of
the Lord.
The instigator of this sacrilege, Cathen, laughing loudly,
mounted his horse, and seemingly triumphing over the saint, de-
parted full of joy. And behold judgment went forth from the
face of the Lord, to do justice on behalf of His servant who had
been injured. He had not gone far from the crowd that was assem-
bled in that place, when the prancing steed on which he was
seated, striking his foot on some sort of stumbling-block, fell
down, and his rider, falling backward, broke the neck whicli he
had erected loftily against the servant of the Lord, and expired
before the gate of t]^ king his master. But a swelling attacked
the feet of the king, pain followed the swelling, and then suc-
ceeded death; so expiring in the royal to"UTi which from him was
termed Thorp-morken, he was buried. But the disease was not
destroyed or buried in the succession of that family. From the
beginning of that time, for the future, the weakness ceased not,
and a gout was handed down hereditarily, and this family takes
after the father, not in face or in habit of the body, but in
disease. For the fiict that the race of that king was destroyed
by this sort of disease, by the witness of death, indicateth how
God, Who is jealous for His own and the avenger of such, visiteth
the sins of the fathers upon the children for many generations,
and how great is the retribution which He inflicteth upon the
proud.
After this, for many days he enjoyed great peace and quiet,
living in his own city of Glasgu, and going through his diocese ;
1 Prov. XXV. 15 ; Eccl. x. 4.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN,
because the Divine vengeance, shown forth upon his persecu-
tors, supplied to others a motive of fear, reverence, love, and
obedience towards the saint of God, and gave him the oppor-
tunity of doing whatsoever he desired for the service and glory
of God.
CHAPTER XXIII.
How holy Kcntigern, avoiding the snares of those who laid wait
for his death, departed from the confines of his country,
and hetook himself to Saint David, ivho was dwelling in
Menevia.
When some time had passed, certain sons of Belial, a gene-
ration of vipers, of the kin of the aforenamed King Morken,
excited by the sting of intense hatred, and infected with
the poison of the devil, took counsel together how they might
lay hold of Kentigern by craft, and put him to death; but
fearing the people, they did not dare to do that evil deed
openly, because all held him for a teacher, bishop, and shep-
herd of their souls, and loved him as an angel of light and
peace. In many ways they laid great wait for him, that they
might suddenly shoot him with arrows ; but the Lord became
unto him a tower of strength, that his enemies, the sons of
wickedness, should not triumph over him. At last, binding
themselves together by a solemn oath, they determined among
themselves that in no way would they fail in carrying out the
resolve by which they had conspired to compass his death ; and
that for the fear of no man would they pass over one unjust and
treacherous word to which they had agreed against him. And
when the man of God had learnt this, although he could meet
force by force, he thought it better for the time to quit the place
and to give place unto wrath, and to seek elsewhere a richer
harvest of souls, rather than to bear about with him a con-
science seared as with a hot iron, or even darkened by the death
of any man, however wicked. For the blessed Paul, the chosen
vessel, gave him the ensample of acting similarly, seeing that
when at Damascus he saw a death witliout fruit impending over
him, he sought the basket and the rope to escape and to avoid
it, and yet afterwards at Rome willingly submitted to it with
great gain.
At last, instructed by Divine revelation, he journeyed from
those regions towards Menevia, where at that time the holy
Bishop Dewi, like the morning star when it with its rosy
74 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
couuteuauce heraldeth the day, was shining forth in his episcopal
work.^ Wheresoever the saint went, virtue went forth from
him to heal many. And when he had come to Karleolum, he
heard that many among the mountains were given to idolatry,
or ignorant of the Divine law,^ Thither he turned aside, and,
God helping him, and confirming the word by signs follow-
ing, converted to the Christian religion many from a strange
belief, and others who were erroneous in the faith. how beau-
tiful on these mountains were the feet of him who brought glad
tidings, that published peace, that brought good tidings of good,
that published salvation, that said unto Ziou, Thy God reigneth.^
He remained some time in a certain thickly planted place, to
confirm and comfort in the faith the men that dwelt there, where
he erected a cross as the sign of the faith ; whence it took the
name, in English, of Crosfeld, that is, Crucis Novale.^ In which
very locality a basilica, recently erected, is dedicated to the
name of blessed Kentigern ; and to exhibit his sanctity, he is
not doubted to have been distinguished by many miracles.
Turning aside from thence, the saint directed his steps by the
sea-shore, and through all his journey scattering the seed of the
Divine word, gathered in a plentiful and fertile harvest unto the
Lord. At length, safe and sound, he reached Saint Dewi, and
found in him greater works than had been reported by fame.
But the holy Bishop Dewi rejoiced with great joy at the arrival
of such and so great a stranger. With eyes overflowing with
tears, and mutually embracing, he received Kentigern as an
angel of the Lord, dear to God, and retaining him for a
certain time in his immediate vicinity, always honoured him
to a wonderful extent. Therefore these two sons of light dwelt
together, attending upon the Lord of the whole earth, like two
lamps burning before the Lord, whose tongues became the keys
of heaven, that by tliem a multitude of men might be deemed
meet to enter therein. Those two saints were united together
opposite each other, like the two cherubim in the holy of holies
in the temple of the Lord, having their faces bent down towards
the mercy-seat. They lifted their wings on high in the
frequent meditation upon heavenly things ; they folded them
down in the ordination and arrangement of earthly things.
They touched each other mutually with their wings, as by the
instruction of each other in the Doctrine of Salvation, and in
the alternate energizing of virtues they excited each other to
1 Note QQ. 2 Note RR.
^ Isa. lii. 7, Vulg. : "perducentis ad aeterase salutis Aiitorem."
1 Note SS.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 75
a more earnest advance in sanctity. Thus these saints,
either mentally rising up nnto God, or being made useful to us,
have left to posterity an example of laying hold of and labouring
so as to attain to eternal life.
And when Saint Kentigern had abode there some time, the
fame concerning him shining forth, ran through the ears and
mouths of the many, and led him to much familiarity and
friendship, not only with the poor, the middle class, and the
nobility of that land, but even with King Cathwallain, who
reigned in that country.^ For the king, knowing him to be a
holy and righteous man, heard him willingly, and after hearing
him, did much which concerned the good of his own soul.
And when, on the occasion of the king from time to time
inquiring, he expounded the causes why he left his native land,
and said he would wish to live near, and have the means of
building a monastery where he might unite together a people
acceptable of God, and devoted to good works, the king
replied, " My land is in thy sight : wheresoever it suiteth thee,
and seemeth good in thy sight, there construct the habitation
of thy dwelling-place, there build thy monastery. Yet, as it
seemeth to me that it is more suitable for thee than any other,
I assign to thee a place, Nautcharvan, because it aboundeth in
everything suited to thy purpose." The man of God rendered
profuse thanks to the king, and chose for his building and
habitation that place which had been before marked out for
him by Divine intimation. Then, giving his blessing to the
king, he departed : and bidding farewell to S. Dewi, after
mutual benediction, he betook himself to the place aforesaid,
with a great multitude of disciples who had flocked to him, pre-
ferring to lead with him a lowly life in a foreign land to living
without him luxuriously in their own.
CHAPTEE XXIV.
Hofw S. Kentigern, foUotving a Boar which led the Way,
found a fitting place.
Thus the most holy Kentigern, separated from Saint Dewi
as to bodily presence, but by no means withdrawn from his
love and from the vision and observation of the inner man, gave
no sound sleep to his eyes, nor quiet rest to his eyelids, until he
found a place fit for building a tabernacle to the Lord, the God
1 Note TT.
76 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
of Jacob. With a great crowd of his disciples along with him,
he went round the land and walked throughout it, exploring the
situations of the localities, the quality of the air, the richness
of the soil, the sufficiency of the meadows, pastures, and woods,
and the other things that look to the convenience of a monas-
tery to be erected. And while they went together over abrupt
mountains, hollow valleys, caves of the earth, thickset briers,
dark woods, and open glades in the forest, as they went along,
they discoursed as to what seemed necessary for the occasion,
when lo and behold a single wild boar from the wood, entirely
white, met them, and approaching the feet of the saint, moving
his head, sometimes advancing a little, and then returning and
looking backwards, motioned to the saint and to his companions,
with such gesture as he could, to follow him. On seeing this
they wondered and glorified God, who worketh marvellous
things, and things past finding out in His creatures. Then
step by step they followed their leader, the boar, wMch pre-
ceded them.
When they came to the place which the Lord had predes-
tinated for them, the boar halted, and frequently striking the
ground with his foot, and making the gesture of tearing up the
soil of the little hill that was there with his long tusk, shaking
his head repeatedly and grunting, he clearly showed to all that
that was the place designed and prepared by God.^ Now the
place is situated on the bank of a river which is called Elgu,
from which to this day,, as it is said, the town takes its name.
Then the saint, returning thanks, adored the Almighty Lord on
bended knees ; and rising from prayer he blessed that place and
its surroundings in the name of the Lord. After that, in testi-
mony and sign of salvation, and in earnest of the future religion
erecting a cross, he there pitched his tents. The boar, however,
seeing what was done, came near, and by his frequent grunts
seemed to ask somewhat of the bishop : then the saint, scratching
the head of the brute, and stroking his mouth and teeth, said,
" God Almighty, in Whose power are all the beasts of the forest,
the oxen, the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, grant
thee for thy conduct such reward as He knoweth is best for
thee." Then the boar, as if well remunerated, bowing his head
to the priest of the Lord, departed, and betook himself to his
well-known groves.
On the following night, as the man of God, intent on heavenly
things, lifted up his hands in the sanctuary, and blessed the
Lord, it was revealed to him from on high that he was to inhabit
1 NotcUU.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN, 77
that place, and there construct a monastery, in which the sons
who were scattered abroad might be gathered into one, so that
coming from the east and from the west, from the north and
from the south, they might be deemed meet to sit down with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, and
that God Himself would be the protector and guardian of tlie
place, and of them that dwelt therein. And on what truth that
revelation rested the successful event effectually showed ; for
in the morning he revealed to others the Divine oracle that
had been shown to him, and cheered on the souls of those who
heard him to set about building. For like bees making honey,
they yielded not to sloth, but all in the sweat of their brows
toiled diligently at the work. Some cleared and levelled the
situation ; others began to lay the foundation of the ground
thus levelled ; some cutting down trees, others carrying them,
and others fitting them together, commenced, as the father had
measured and marked out for them, to build a church and its
offices of polished wood, after the fashion of the Britons, seeing
that they could not yet build of stone, nor were so wont to do.
While they were hard at work, and the building was increas-
ing on their hands, there came a heathen prince, Melconde
Galganu by name,^ with his soldiers, and along with them a
great multitude of people. The man, fierce and ignorant of God,
in the indignation of his wrath demanded who they were, and
whence they came, and how they had dared to do all this
upon his land. The saint, humbly replying to the interroga-
tion, answered that they were Christians from the northern
parts of Britannia, that they had come thither to serve the
living and true God. He asserted that he had begun the man-
sion there by the permission, nay, through the kindness of King
Cathwalain, his master, in whose possession he believed the
place to be. But he, furious and raging, ordered them all to
be expelled from the place, and that whatever had been built
should be pulled down and scattered; and so he began to
return to his own home. Therefore the man departed, breath-
ing threatenings against the servants of Christ, and behold the
hand of the Lord in chastisement touched him, and he was
smitten with a sudden blindness. And yet, as was clear in
the end, this did not happen to no good purpose, for on him
that sat in outer darkness the true morning star shone,
and the external light being for a time taken from him, drew
him forth from the darkness and shadow of death into the light
of truth. Wherefore inwardly enlightened and induced hy
1 Note XX.
78 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
penitence, he caused himself to be carried by his people to the
man of God, and began most devoutly to entreat, that by his
prayers he would dispel the darkness, and wash him in the
font of salvation.
Verily the saint, who endeavoured not to be overcome by
evil, but to overcome evil by good, willed to return to the man
good for evil ; so after beginning with prayer, he laid his heal-
ing hand on the blinded man in the name of the Lord, and sign-
ing him with the cross of salvation, turned his night into day,
and again after the darkness poured into him the hoped-for and
eagerly-desired light. Thus the Lord smote that He might
heal, and making the new Paul out of the old Saul, He blinded
him that He might give him light. No sooner therefore was he
restored to sight than he was dipped by the holy bishop in the
saving water, and henceforward he became an active and de-
voted fellow-worker in all that he desired at his hand. Taking
an account of all his possessions, he bestowed them on S. Ken-
tigern, with royal munificence, for the construction of his
monastery, and, aided by this assistance, he rapidly brought
what he had commenced to perfection. He established the
Cathedral Chair of his bishopric in the church of that monas-
tery, of which diocese the greater part of the country was that
which by his preaching himself had won to the Lord. In
truth he led back to the way of salvation a countless number
of men who were either ignorant of the Christian faith, or
averse from it, or degraded by profane doctrine, or deteriorated
by wicked works. And by his labours he turned vessels of
wrath into vessels of mercy, vessels of dishonour into vessels
of the glory of God. For he w^ent forth from his monastery to
exercise his episcopal office, travelling through his diocese as
time permitted. But as he never found where the foot of his
desire could long find rest, he returned to the much-loved
quiet of his monastery, like the dove to the ark, from the face
of the deluge of tlie world ; yet he bore with him the olive-
branch with its green leaves, for he received the fruit of that
peace and mercy which he preached to others.
CHAPTEE XXV.
With lohat iinmher of brethren his Monastenj Jiourished, and
how the holy hoy Asaph carried fire vnthaiit injuring him-
self.
There flocked to the monastery of the man, old and
young, rich and poor, to take upon themselves the easy yoke
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. I 'J
and the light burden of the Lord. Nobles and men of the
middle class brought to the saint their children to be trained
unto the Lord. The tale of those who renounced the world in-
creased day by day both in number and importance, so that the
total number of those who enlisted in God's army amounted
to 965, professing in act and habit the life of monastic rule
according to the institution of the holy man. He divided this
troop that had been collected together, and devoted to the
Divine service, into a threefold division of religious observance.
For he appointed 300, who were unlettered, to the duty of
agriculture, the care of cattle, and the other necessary duties
outside the monastery. He assigned another 300 to duties
within the cloister of the monastery, such as doing the ordi-
nsiTy work and preparing food, and building workshops. The
remaining 365, who were lettered, he appointed to the cele-
bration of Divine service in church by day and by night;
and he seldom allowed any of these to go forth out of the
sanctuary, but ever to abide within, as if in the holy place
of the Lord. But those who were more advanced in wisdom
and holiness, and who were fitted to teach others, he was
accustomed to take along with him, when, at the urgent de-
mand either of necessity or reason, he thought fit to go forth
to perform his episcopal office. But dividing into troops and
choirs those whom he had appointed for the service of God,
he ordained that as soon as one choir had terminated its ser-
vice in the church, immediately another entering should com-
mence it, and that again being concluded, a third should enter
to celebrate. Thus the sacred choirs being conveniently and
discreetly arranged so as to succeed in turn, while the work
of God was celebrated perpetually, prayer was regularly
made to God without ceasing of the church there ;^ and by
praising God at every time. His praise ever resounded in
their mouths. Very excellent things were said in that and
of that city of God, for as it became the habitation of all who
were joyful therein, so one might well apply the prophecy of
Balaam : " How goodly are thy tents, Jacob ! and thy taber-
nacles, Israel ! As the valleys are they spread forth, as
gardens by the river's side."^
There flourished in that glorious monastery holy and perfect
men, like Jacob, strong wrestlers against the world, the flesh,
and the devil ; by faith, love, and contemplation incessantly
bent upon the vision of God, like true Israelites, fruitful in
good works, humble in their own eyes, and therefore like the
1 Acts xii. 5. -' Xumb. xxiv. 5.
L
80 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
well-wooded valleys fragrant with sacred thought, and be-
dewed with the showers of the Scripture, and thus, also, like
the cedars by the waters, glorious in all these many virtues and
wonders.
Among them was one Asaph^ by name, distinguished by
birth and by looks, shining forth in virtue and miracles from
the flower of his first youth. He sought to follow the life and
teaching of his master, as the reader of a little book of his
Life may learn at greater length, from which IJiave thought
fit to insert into this work one miracle, because the perfection
of the disciple is the glory of the master. Once upon a time,
in winter, when the frost had contracted and congealed every--
thing, S. Kentigern, according to his custom, had recited the
Psalter in the coldest water, naked, and having resumed his clothes
had gone out in public, he began to be vehemently oppressed
by the power of the cold, and so in a way to become entirely
rigid, so that people might clearly see what was of himself and
what was of the power of the Divine condescension. For in
that, naked in the waters without being frozen, he was able for so
long a time to endure the icy rigour, men might learn how that
in the frail vessel of the human body the Divine virtue worked ;
and that when clothed in skins and other clothes he became
rigid from the cold, human frailty is recognised. Where-
fore the holy father ordered the boy Asaph to bring fire to him
whereat he might warm himself. The Lord's little boy ran to
the oven and requested that coals might be given to him.
And when he had not wherewith to carry the burning thorns,
the servant, either in joke or seriously, said to him, " If thou
wishest to take the thorns, hold out thy dress, for I have not
at hand that in which thou mayest carry them." The holy
boy, strong in faith, and trusting in the sanctity of his master,
without hesitation, gathering together and holding up his dress,
received the living coals in his bosom, and carrying them to
the old man, cast them down in his presence out of his bosom,
but no sign of burning or corruption appeared in the dress.
The greatest astonishment therefore seized all those who beheld
it, on seeing that fire carried in a dress had not in the least
burnt combustible fabric. A friendly dispute concerning this
sign took place between the holy father and his disciple, for
the one side seemed to be maintaining his ground by assertions
to which the other could not assent; the bishop ascribed to
the innocence and obedience of the boy, the performance of the
miracle ; the boy asserted that it had taken place for the merit
1 Note YY.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 81
and sanctity of the prelate, obeying whose command, and trust-
ing in whose holiness, he had dared to attempt it. And indeed
without prejudice I think that the miracle is to be attributed
to the merits both of the one and of the other, of each wise one,
inasmuch as each of them had all along from the earliest years
preserved pure the members of his body, which is the clothing
of the soul, in virgin chastity, and that from their heads the
oil of Divine charity never was lacking : rightly, to express the
innocency of either, did the dress of the disciple fail to exhibit
injury or damage. For if the flame of impure love had been
hidden in their bosoms, according to Solomon's opinion their
clothes would have been burnt. And if their garments had
been mingled with blood ; that is, if the members of their
bodies had been stained with the pollution of itching lust from
the will of the flesh and the blood, doubtless, according to
Isaiah, it would have been the presage of burning and the food
for fire. But holy Kentigern, who had always held dear and
beloved the venerable boy Asaph, henceforward ever from that
very day regarded him as the dearest and most loved of all,
and raised him as soon as he could to holy orders. At the due
season he delegated to him the care of the monastery, and
made him his successor in the episcopate, as we shall relate
further on.
CHAPTEE XXVT.
How he saio S. David croioncd hy the Lord in Heaven, and what
he 'predicted about Britannia.
Once upon a time, as the man of God continued longer and
more intently occupied in prayer than usual, his face became
as it were fire, so as to fill the bystanders with wonder and
ecstasy. They beheld his countenance as the countenance
of an angel standing among them, and as they saw his face
shining like that of another Moses, astonishment and ad-
miration seized them all. Wlien his prayer was over, he
withdrew himself apart and gave himself up to the most
vehement grief. His disciples, understanding that his sorrow
could not be without a great reason, approached him with fear
and trembling, and humbly besought him, if it were permis-
sible, and not displeasing to his paternity, to reveal to them the
cause of such copious tears. The saint was silent for a time,
but on their persevering and knocking at the ears of that most
pious father, he at length gave way, and answered to this effect :
" Be it known unto you, dearest sous, that the most holy
82 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
Dewi, the honour of Britain, the father of his country, the most
precious carbuncle of prelates, hath just left the prison of the
flesh rich in merits, hath been introduced among the splen-
dours of the saints, and hath penetrated into the Holy of
Holies. I say unto you, believe me, that not only hath a
multitude of angels flooded in light received him with heavenly
music into the joy of the Lord his God, but the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself, meek and lowly of heart, hath in my sight
gone out to meet him at the gates of paradise, and crowned
him with glory and honour. Behold like a matchless light to
his generation, and a most brilliant star which shone forth in
word and in example, he hath become present to every one
under his charge that calleth upon him, so as with delight to
shine for Him Who made him, and assist all who ask his pro-
tection, who apply to him for help, and who celebrate his sacred
memory. And truly, dearest ones, it is right for me to rejoice in
the glory of such a father, who loved me full well ; but that ardent
affection of devoted love for him permitteth me not to abstain
from tears. For know that the world of Britain, deprived of
such a light, of so tender a patron, and of one so powerful before
God and the people, will feel the absence of him, who ever placed
himself between that region and the sword of the Lord, half
drawn on account of the wickedness of those that dwell therein,
lest when entirely drawn from its sheath, it should smite them
even to utter destruction. The Lord will surely hand over
Britannia unto strange nations, who know not God, who in
religion are pagans; and the island shall be emptied of its
indigenous inhabitants, and the religion of the Christian Law
shall be scattered until the appointed time ; but again, by the
mercy of God the Mediator, who overruleth all things, Chris-
tianity shall be restored as in the beginning, yea, in a way better
than before." These things spake the saint, and was silent,
and fear came upon all who heard him, and a shower of tears
bedewed them. But they, wishing over and above to be assured
as to the fact, having called a messenger, they sent him to the
Church over which S. Dewi presided as bishop, and they found
that the saint had left this world in the same hour in which
the man of God, instructed by the Divine oracle, had announced
it to them. And in this matter, it must be considered how
great was the merit of that man in the sight of God, who,
either with the eyes of the body or those of the soul, was
deemed meet to behold such glory, and to deliver a prophecy
concerning the Britons and Angles so true, which all England
was able by a faith that was sight to verify.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. i-^;. 83
CHAPTER XXVII.
How S. Kc7itigerii went seven times to Rmiic, and consulted the
blessed Gn^eyory about his condition.
The blessed Kentigern, knowing that Britain in many pro-
vinces was smitten with many stripes by the Gentiles, and that
the Chm-ch of God established therein was by idolaters in
many ways reft and torn from the faith of Christ ; discovering
moreover that it was frequently assaulted by heretics, and that
there were therein many things contrary to sound doctrine, and
alien from the integrity of the faith of our holy mother the
Catholic Church, set himself for a long time to deliberate
within himself what cure he ought to apply to all these evils. In "^
the end, he determined in his mind to visit the seat of Peter n.
founded on a rock ; and to prevent the tares growing up in the
good wheat, he resolved by the wholesome teaching of the Holy
Eoman Church, and by acknowledging the oracles of the faith,
to cast out every scruple of doubt from his mind, so as to be
able to anive by certain guidings at the light of the tnith.
For Britain, during the reign of the most holy king Lucius,^ in
the papacy of Eleutherius, by the preaching of the most excellent
teachers Faganus and Divianus and others, whom Gildas the
wise, the historian of the Britons, commemorateth, received the
faith of Christ. It preserved that Christianity thus received
whole and undefiled till the time of the Emperor Diocletian.
Then the moon was turned into blood, and the flame of perse-
cution against the Christians burnt brightly through the whole
world. Then that scourge, inundating Britain, vehemently
oppressed it, and pagan hands, mowing the first-fruits of the
island, namely, Alban, took him out of the midst to be recorded
in the Book of the Eternal King; and an innumerable company
of others shortly after, voluntarily, and in ignorance, it offered
to heaven.
From that time the worship of idols began to spring up and
increase in that island, bringing in rejection and forgetfulness of
the Divine law. But Christianity after this somehow revived and
flourished; however, time went on, and first the Pelagian heresy
prevailing, and then the Arian creeping in, defiled the face of the
Catholic faith. This, however, sprang up again and flourished
when these heresies were cast down and conquered by Saint Ger-
manus, Bishop of Auxerre, a man truly apostolic, and made
1 Note ZZ.
84 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
glorious hj many miracles. Yet forthwith the invasion of the
neighbouring Picts and Scots, hostile to the recognition of the
name of Christ, drove away entirely both the faith and the faith-
ful from the northern part of Britannia. Finally, Britannia was
conquered by the Angles, still pagans, from whom it was called
Anglia. The natives being driven out, it was given over to idols
and idolaters. The indigenous inhabitants of the island, how-
ever, fled either across the sea into Little Britain, or into Wales,
and though banished from their own land, all of them did not
entirely abandon their faith. But the Picts, first mainly by
S. Ninian, and then latterly by SS. Kentigern and Columba, re-
ceived the faith. Then lapsing into apostasy a second time, by
the preaching of S. Kentigern, not only the Picts, but also the
Scots, and innumerable people gathered from the different parts
of Britain, were, as we have said already, and shall say more
at length hereafter, either turned to the faith or were confirmed
therein.
However, holy Augustine, noted for his monastic life and
habit, and other servants of God, religious, were sent commis-
sioned to England by the most holy Pope Gregory, who, rich
in the showers of sacred preaching, and glittering in the light-
ning power of miracles, either by themselves or by their disciples
converting the whole island to Christ, and fully instructing
them in the rules of faith and the institutes of the holy fathers,
filled the whole land of Anglia with the sweet savour of Christ.
On account therefore of Britain being crushed by so many
misfortunes, Christianity so often obscured, and even cast down,
at different times diverse rites were found in her contrary to
the form of the holy Roman Church and to the decrees of the
holy fathers. In order, therefore, that he might learn and be
able to meet and to remedy all these evils, blessed Kentigern,
going forth from the monastery of which we have made men-
tion, betook himself seven times to Rome, and brought home
wdiat he learnt there, in so far as the correction of Britain re-
quired it ; but as he was returning for the seventh time he was
attacked by a most grievous malady, and got home with the
greatest difficulty.^
One of his visits was made to Rome during the time that
blessed Gregory presided on the apostolic seat, a man truly
apostolic in office, authority, life, and doctrine, and the sjDecial
apostle of England, for the English are the sign of his apostle-
ship. He was as a vessel of solid gold adorned with every
manner of precious stone, and was called Golden Mouth, be-
1 Note AAA.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 85
cause in expounding great parts of the Scripture he made it
clear by the most lucid and polished style. His memory is
as the work of the apothecary in making up the unguent, and
as music in a banquet of wine, because by his honeyed writ-
ings, by his hymns composed according to the laws of music,
he gladdened, and by his canonical institutions he strengthened
and adorned, the house of God, the holy Catholic Church,
diffused throughout the world. To this most holy Eoman
Pontiff he laid bare and declared in order his whole life, his
election to the episcopate, his consecration, and all the events
that had happened to him. But the saintly Pope, inasmuch
as he was strong in the spirit of counsel and discretion, filled
with the Holy Ghost, and knowing him for a man of God, and
full of the grace of the blessed Spirit, confirmed his elec-
tion and consecration, because he knew that both had corne
from God. And on the bishop on many occasions seeking it,
and with difficulty obtaining it, he supplied what was wanting
to his consecration, and destined him to the work of the
ministry enjoined on him by the Spirit of God. Holy Bishop .
Kentigern, having received the apostolic absolution and benedic-
tion, returned home, bearing with him the codes of canons,
many other books of Holy Scriptures, as well as privileges, and
many relics of the saints, and ornaments of the Church, and
whatever lends grace to the house of the Lord. And he gladdened
his own by his return, as well as by many presents and religious
gifts.^ He dwelt there for some time in great peace and (godly)
conversation, and ruled holily and firmly both his see and his
monastery with great care.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
What by the revelation of the Spirit he knew of tvm Clerics, and
what happened to them according to his prediction.
It happened that the holy bishop felt it his duty, by ordain-
ing clergy, to confer sacred orders, and to promote some to the
priestly office. Among others there was brought to him a
certain cleric, of elegant form, of great eloquence, of much
learning, by birth a Briton, but educated in the Gauls. When
the saint saw him, he summoned the archdeacon, and ordered
him to be straightway removed and separated from the clergy.
For there seemed to the eyes of the saint a sulphurous flame
» Note BBB.
86 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
*
to proceed from the bosom of that clerk, and an intolerable
smell to offend liis nostrils. By this vision, through the revela-
tion of the Holy Spirit, he was made aware of the vice which
reigned in his body. For he was, as was then made known
to the man of God alone, and afterwards to all, habitually guilty
of that most disgusting crime for which the Divine vengeance
overthrew in fire and sulphur, and utterly destroyed, the sons
of unbelief in the Five Cities. Then said the saint to those
who stood around him, " If the sacred canons forbid women,
on account of the infirmity of their sex, to which in noways
is blame attached, to be promoted to the rank of the priest-
hood, much more is it our duty to banish from a rank and
office so sacred, men who pervert their sex, who abuse nature,
who in contempt of their Master, in degradation of themselves, in
injury of all creatures, cast off that in which they are created and
born, and become as women. Nowhere read we of punishment
exercising a graver vengeance than against that monstrous race
of men among whom that execrable crime first began. Not
only did it overthrow those cities, with the inhabitants thereof,
with fire, on account of the burning of evil passion, and with
sulphur, on account of the stench of that abominable sin, but
it also turned them into a place horrid to the sight, full of sul-
phur and bitumen and horrible smells, receiving nothing living
into itself, having indeed on its banks trees that produce
fruits externally sound, but inwardly full of smoke and ashes,
shadowing forth an image of the torture of hell. And this in-
deed sufficiently distinctly exhibiteth how so execrable a pleasure
is to be held in abhorrence, and how horrible and how much it is
to be avoided of all men in this life, and in the future with what
torment it will be visited ; while the fire expresseth the heat of
passion, the sulphur the ill savour of the crime, the bitumen
the adhering effect of the vice, the smoke the bhndness of
heart in tliis world, and in the world to come the unquench-
able flame, the intolerable stench, the indissoluble chains, the
horror of darkness and eternal death." After this the cleric
aforesaid departed by the way that he came, and, as the report
goeth, he died, cut off" by a sudden destruction.
When the holy man had finished his office and was returning
home, there met him among the rest a cleric, a most eloquent
foreigner. The man of God, beholding him, glanced at him
with burning eye, and asked who he was, and whence he was,
and wherefore he had come into these parts. He asserted that
he was a preacher of the truth, teaching the way of God in
truth, and tliat he had come into these parts for the salvation
of souls. But when the saint had conversed with him he con-
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 87
victed him of being intoxicated with the poison of the Pelagian
pestilence. Willing therefore that he should rather return
than perish, he warned and reasoned with him to renounce the
pernicious sect, but found his heart stony as to conversion.
Then the saint ordered him to be expelled from his diocese,
and denounced him as the son of death, and that the death of
body and soul was in his gates. He remembered also the
saying of the apostle, " A man that is an heretic, after the
second admonition, avoid ; knowing that he that is such is sub-
verted."^ The same son of hell, expelled from these borders,
departed, and trying to cross a certain river, choked in the
waters, he descended into hell, and thus by an evident proof
illustrated the exceeding trustworthiness of the veracious pro-
phecy of the most saintly man.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Hmo the Divine vengeance smote the adversaries of S. Kentigern,
and hoio it bore dotvn upon his countrymen who had fallen
aivay from the faith.
Hitherto we have related as carefully as we could what
S. Kentigern did when he withdrew from his own country, and
when he dwelt in a foreign land. Let us point by point hence-
forth turn back and show what his adversaries suffered, how
he returned to the Cambrian region, and what he did there.
After that the man of God yielding to malice departed, his
enemies were not long permitted to triumph over his absence.
For the Lord visited them with heavy hand and hard arm,
and with fury poured out, holding over them a rod that watched
for evil and not for good, smiting them with the blow of an
enemy, and with cruel chastisement, even to destruction. For
the night obscured some of them, and a gloom of blindness
followed ; others were attacked by paralysis, which enfeebled
all their strength, and rendered them actually effete so far as
concerned their bodily strength ; others an incurable madness,
proceeding as far as death, seized ; others a contagious leprosy
devoured or struck down, tainting them, and making them, as
they breathed in their half-alive bodies, like unto the dead in
a state of putrefaction. Very many of them became epileptic, and
exhibited a dreadful spectacle to those who beheld them. Some
one way, some another, were consumed by every kind of in-
1 Titus iii. 10.
N
88 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
curable disease, and gave up the ghost. So great and so sudden
was the indignation of the wrath of God, that all those who
had known their power and great numbers hissed over them,
saying, " Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this people ?
since, beliold, suddenly they have come to an end, and perished
on account of the iniquity which they wrought against the
holy one of the Lord, striving to take away from the earth his
life and memory."
Even his countrymen had quickly abandoned the way of the
Lord, which the good shepherd and true teacher had shown
unto them, and, like dogs returned to their vomit, had fallen
into the rites of idolatry. But not with impunity ; for from
them the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that are therein,
withdrew their obedience, use, and wonted aid, so that, accord-
ing to the Scripture, the very world itself seemed to fight against
these foolish ones ; and the elements seemed not able to bear
with equanimity the absence of so great a man exiled from
that land ; for according to the words of the prophecy, " All
men have' departed, all the cattle died, the heaven above was
as brass, and the earth as iron, devouring the inhabitants
thereof ; and a consuming famine prevailed for a long time over
all the earth."!
But when the time of having mercy had arrived, that the
Lord might remove the rod of His fierce anger, and that they
should turn unto Him, and He should heal them. He raised
up over the Cambrian kingdom a king, Eederech by name, who
having been baptized in Ireland in the most Christian manner by
the disciples of S. Patrick, sought the Lord with all his heart,
and strove to restore Christianity.^ And truly it is a great sign
of the Divine pity, when the Lord constituteth for the govern-
ment of the holy Church, and for the dominion of the earth,
rulers and kings who judge righteously, live holily, seek the
good of their people, and execute judgment and justice on the
earth. So, moreover, on the other hand, it is an evident proof
of the wrath of God when, for the sins of a people, he causeth
a hypocrite to reign, when he calleth the king apostate, and the
leaders unjust, as it is written in Job,^ and when, according to
the prophet, he giveth kings in His indignation, and princes in
His fury.
1 Deut. xxviii. 22, 23. ^ Note CCC. 3 Job xxxiv. 18.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 89
CHAPTEE XXX.
Hmo holy JRcderech, 1)7/ messengers and letter's, invited S. Kenti-
(jern to return to his oivn see in Glasgu ; and how the holy
jjrelate, tavght by the Divine oracle, assented to the king's
petition.
Wheeefoee Kirg Eederech, seeing that the Christian religion
was almost entirely destroyed in his kingdom, set himself zeal-
ously to restore it. And after long considering the matter in
his own mind, and taking advice with other Christians who
were in his confidence, he discovered no more healthful plan
by which he could bring it to a successful result, than to send
messengers to S. Kentigern to recall him to his first see.
The fame of the saint going forth smote on the ears and
mind of the king, for his light could not be hid, although it
shone in the more remote regions. The king, therefore, sent
forth messengers to the holy prelate with letters deprecating
refusal, and warning, praying, exhorting, and adjuring him
by the name of God, as a shepherd, not any longer to with-
draw his care from the sheep of his pasture, long desolate and
destitute, by any further absence, lest he should expose them to
be carried off and torn by the open mouth of the infernal wolf ;
but rather to hasten forth and meet them before they were swal-
lowed by the throat of the roaring lion seeking whom he might de-
vour, since there is none but he who could deliver, or ought more
justly to do so. He declared that it was wrong that the spouse
should desert his bride, the shepherd his flock, the prelate his
church, for the love of whom he ought to lay down his life, so
as not to become a hireling. He showed also that they who
had sought his life had perished by the just anger of God, and
he swore that in all things, as a son to his father, he would
obey his will, his teaching, and his commands.
On receiving this, the holy father was silent, nor did he on
that day return any definite answer, for he had prepared to
nourish his grey hairs to the evening of his life, and to end his
days, in that glorious monastery which he had raised with long
and great labour, and to lay him down to sleep, and to take
his quiet rest in the sight of those, his sons, whom he had be-
gotten in the gospel, and brought forth in Christ. But because
he sought not his own, but the things that are of Jesus Christ,
and came not to do his own will, but the will of Him who sent
him, as it could be done in heaven, respecting himself, in him-
self, and towards himself, he submitted himself entirely to the
90 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS. '
disposition of God. And wliile on the following night he was
engaged in prayer, and was consulting the Lord on this matter,
the angel of the Lord stood beside him, and a light shone m
the place of the oratory where he then was, and he smote him
on the side and commanded him to rise. And on his standing
up, the heavenly messenger said unto him, "Go back to Glasgu,
to thy church, and there thou shalt be a great nation, and the
Lord will make thee to increase among thy people. Thou shalt
truly acquire unto the Lord thy God a holy nation, an innu-
merable people to be won unto the Lord thy God, and thou
shalt receive an everlasting crown from Him. There thou shalt
end thy days in a good old age, and shall go out of this world
unto thy Father which is in heaven. Thy flesh shall rest in
hope, buried with glory and honour, much dignified by the
frequent visit of the peoples, and by the exhibition of miracles,
till in the last day, by receiving from the hand of the Lord a
double robe, thou shalt possess a twofold reward at the general
resurrection." Having said this, the angel that appeared to
hun and who addressed him, departed ; but he, weeping copi-
ously, gave thanks unto the Lord, frequently saying, " My heart
is ready, God ! my heart is ready for whatsoever may please
Thee."i
CHAPTER XXXL
How the Saint addressing his disciples about his return, appointed
S. Asaph as his successor in the government.
And when the day dawned, having called liis disciples to-
gether, he said unto them, " I speak as a man unto you, dearly
beloved ; I desired, after long thought and deliberation, accord-
ing to the infirmity of my flesh, that these mine aged eyes
should be closed by you, and that my bones should be hidden
in the womb of the mother of all, in the sight of all of you.
But since the life of man is not in his own power, it is laid
upon me by the Lord that I should return unto mine own
church of Glasgu ; nor ought we, nor dare we, nor will we,
contradict the words of the Holy One, as Job saith, nor in any
wise go against it f but rather in all things obey His will and
command, even to our life's end. Do you, therefore, most
beloved ones, stand firm in the faith. Quit you like men ^ and
be comforted, and seek always that everything be done in
1 Note DDD. ^ job vi. 10. ^ i Cor. xvi. 13.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 91
charity." These, and many things like these, he said in their
presence, and lifting his hand he blessed them. Then, with
the unanimous consent of all, he appointed the afore-men-
tioned S. Asaph to the government of the monastery, and by
the petition of the people, and by canonical election, the suc-
cessor of his bishopric ; and after that he delivered a profound
sermon at great length, of faith, hope, and charity, of mercy
and justice, of humility and obedience, of holy peace and of
mutual forbearance, of avoiding vice and of acquiring virtue,
of observing the institutes of the holy Eoman Church, of the
regular discipline and exercises which he had established, to
be observed by them all, and, in fact, of constancy and per-
severance to the end in all good things.
Wlien the sermon was over he enthroned S. Asaph in the
cathedral see, and again blessing and taking leave of them all,
he went forth by the north door of the church, because he was
going forth to combat the northern enemy. After he had gone
out, that door was closed, and all who witnessed and heard of
his egress and departure bewailed his absence with great
lamentations. Hence a custom grew up in that church that
that door should never be opened, save once a year, on the day
of S. Asaph, that is, on the Kalends of May, for two reasons, —
first, in deference to the sanctity of him who had gone forth,
and next, that thereby was indicated the great grief of those
who had bewailed his departure. Therefore, on the day of S.
Asaph, that door is opened, because when he succeeded to S.
Kentigern in the government, their mourning was turned into
joy. Of that monastery, a great part of the brethren, to the
number of 665, in no ways being able or willing to live with-
out him so long as he survived, went away with him. Tliree
hundred only abode with S. Asaph. Surrounded by such a
troop as this, as if compassed by the host of the court on
high, he returned to fight the old enemy, and to drive him
out from the region of the earth where the apostate angel
had placed his seat. And truly those who accompanied him
were counted by such a number, and by multiplying the
senary exercise of good \vorks, by fulfilling the decalogue of
the law, arrived at the centenary perfection of virtues, and
maintained the quinary guard over the discipline of the senses,
so far as they could.
When King Eederech and his people had heard tliat Kenti-
gern had arrived from Wallia into Cambria, from exile into his
own country, with great joy and peace both king and people
went out to meet him. On account of his arrival there sound
in the mouths of all thanksgiving and the voice of praise and
92 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
joy; while from the lips of the holy bishop there issued
" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of
good-will."
CHAPTER XXXII.
Of the Devils miraculously driven away, and of the i^ilace lohere
he stood to preach, and of the fertility of the land which
ensued.
Blessed Kentigern, on seeing the gathering together and
approach of a great multitude hastening towards him, rejoiced
in spirit, and therefore offering up thanks, he knelt down in
prayer. When he had finished it, he arose and, in the Name
of the Holy Trinity, blessed the assembled multitude. Then, as
if fortifying the bystanders with the sign of the holy cross, he
spake as follows : — " I command that all those who envy the
salvation of men, and oppose the Word of God, in the power of
the same, depart instantly from hence, and oppose no obstacle to
them who shall believe." Whereupon, with exceeding speed, an
immense multitude of phantoms, horrible in stature and appear-
ance, coming out of that crowd, fled away in the sight of all ;
and a great terror fell on those who beheld them. The holy
bishop, comforting them and strengthening them, laid bare the
natures of those in whom they had believed, and encouraged
the hearts of all who stood around to believe in the living God ;
for by clear reason he showed that idols were dumb, the vain
inventions of men, fitter for the fire rather than for worship. He
showed that the elements in which they believed as deities,
were creatures and formations adapted by the disposition of
their Maker to the use, help, and assistance of men. But
Woden, whom they, and especially the Angles,^ believed to be
the chief deity, from whom they derived their origin, and to
whom the fourth day of the week is dedicated, he asserted with
probability to have been a mortal man, Idng of the Saxons,
by faith a pagan, from whom they and many nations have their
descent. His body, he continued, after many years had
passed, was turned into dust, and his soul, buried in hell, en-
dureth the eternal fire.
By these and similar arguments casting forth the worship of
idols from their hearts, he proved to them the Almighty God,
Three and One, to be the Creator of all things from the very
beauty of the visible creation ; and after that, preaching to them
1 Note EEE.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 93
tlie faith that is in Jesus Christ and the Sacraments of faith, he
shewed by the most true and lucid demonstrations that there is
none other name under heaven, believing in which men may be
saved, but only the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when
he had, by the instruction and dictation of the Spirit, taught much
that referred to the Christian faith, in the place which is called
Holdelm,^ the ground on which he sat, in the sight of all, grew
into a little liill, and remaineth there unto this day. There-
fore, they who had come together, beholding so great and
sudden a miracle, obeying the word of faith in their inmost
soul, firmly and faithfully believed that Jesus Christ is God,
Who had revealed himself to them by His servant Kentigern.
Eagerly, therefore, men and women, old men and young men,
rich and poor, flock to the man of God to be instructed in the
rules of faith ; after being catechised, they renounced Satan and
all his pomps and works, were washed in the saving laver in
the Name of the Holy Trinity ; and so anointed with the sacred
chrism and oil, and incorporated into the body of the Church,
they became members of Christ.
Wherefore the bishop rejoiced with great joy, for that a
great salvation had been made, and mighty happiness increased
among that people ; nor was there less joy in the presence of
the angels of God in heaven, for that so great a multitude had
turned unto the Lord. Appropriately by such a sign as the
elevation of the mountain in the commencement of his preach-
ing, did the Lord deem right to magnify His saint, who by that
very preaching effectually brought all to believe, as unto the very
mountain, compact and fruitful, in which the Lord was well
pleased to dwell. That very Stone, first cut without hands from
the mountain, grew up into a high mountain and filled the face
of the earth, — for the omnipotent God, born of the Virgin, with-
out human passion, was manifestly shown forth in the breadth
of this world. Verily, Christ is that Hill exalted on the top of
the mountains, even the Lord Himself, that surpasseth all the
power and greatness of the saints ; in whose ways, paths, and
light, by the instruction of Kentigern, these nations walked
much more devoutly and consistently than that carnal house of
Jacob, who, loving darkness rather than light, and wandering
away from the ways of truth, refused to be enlightened by the
illumination of the Supreme Light.
After that the inhabitants of Cambria had turned to the
Lord and were baptized, all the elements, which in vindication
of the Divine justice had seemed leagued for its ruin, put on a
1 Note FFF.
94 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
new face towards them for the salvation of body and soul.
For as the Lord turning away from the apostates, and opposing
theni by forbidding the dew to fall, commanded his clouds not
to rain upon the earth, and summoned a famine which deso-
lated them, so turning to them that had returned to Him, He
conmianded the heaven to yield its rain, and the earth to give
forth the green herb, and to produce its fruit for those who dwelt
thereon. Thus by the Lord causing His face to shine upon
them, the sun was felt warmer than usual, the vault of heaven
clearer, the air more healthy, the earth more fruitful, the sea
more calm, the abundance of all things greater, peace more con-
firmed, the face of all things more joyous, and therefore the
devotion of all in the maintenance of Divine worship was
more profuse. .
CHAPTER XXXIIL
How King Bcdcrech conceded to him power over himself and
his posterity.
Now King Rederech, seeing that the hand of God was good
to him, and was operating according to his desires, was filled
with great joy. And he made no delay in exhibiting openly
the inward fervour wliich animated his souJ, For, stripping
himself of his royal robes, on bended knees and hands joined,
with the consent and advice of his lords, he gave his homage
to S. Kentigern, and handed over to him the dominion and
princedom over all his kingdom, and willed that he should be
king, and himself the ruler of his country under him as his
father, as he knew that formerly the great Emperor Constantine
had done to S. Silvester. Hence the custom grew up for a
long course of years, so long as the Cambrian kingdom lasted
in its own proper rank, that the prince was always subject to
the bishop.^ Frequently was the word again and again asserted
by the king, that not in vain, but of set purpose had he been
called Kentigern by S. Servanus, because by the will of the Lord
he ought to become the head lord of all ; for " Ken " is " caput "
in Latin, and the Albanic "tyern" is intei^reted "dominus" in
Latin.
S. Kentigern, thus made a new Melchizedech, hesitated not
to accept what the king had so devoutly offered for the glory of
God, because he foresaw that in the future even this would be
Note GGG.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 95
for the advantage of the Church. He had also a privilege sent
liini from the Supreme Pontiff, that he should be subject to no
bishop, but rather should be styled and actually be, the vicar
and chaplain of the Pope. But the king, in return for the
honour and glory he bestowed upon the holy bishop, received
grace for grace, and greater honours and wealth from the Lord.
Moreover, his Queen Languoreth, long bowed down by the
disgrace of continued barrenness, by the blessing and interces-
sion of the saintly bishop, conceived and brought forth a son, to
the consolation and joy of his whole kindred ; and the saint
baptizing him, called him Constantine, in remembrance of the
act of his father which he had done to him in resemblance of that
which the Pioman Emperor Constantine had done to S. Silvester,
as has been already stated. He grew up a boy of good disposi-
tion, in stature and grace, beloved of God and man, and by
hereditary right, when his father yielded to fate, succeeded
him in the kingdom, but always subject to the bishop like his
father before him. And because the Lord was with him, he
overcame all the barbarous nations in his vicinity without
bloodshed, surpassing all the kings that had reigned before him
in Cambria, in riches, glory, and dignity, and, what is better still,
in holiness. So that, famed for merit, and finishing his course in
peace, he was deemed meet to triumph over the age, and to be
crowned with glory and honour in heaven ; so that to the pre-
sent day he is called S. Constantine by many.^ We have said
this by anticipation, because we have mentioned Constantine as
being born by the prayers of S. Kentigern, and baptized and
educated by him. TJie holy bishop Kentigern, building churches
in Holdelm, ordaining priests and clerics, placed his see there
for a certain reason for a time ; afterwards, warned by Divine
revelation, justice demanding it, he transferred it to his own
city Glasgu.
CHAPTEE XXXIV.
How many nations the Saint, at one time hy liimsclf, at another
by his Disciples, cleansed from the foulness of Idolatry, and
how he ivas distiiiguished for many miracles.
The blessed Kentigern, like a burning torch in those days,
was diligent, by the radiant flames of his virtues, and the burn-
ing and shining word of God, to illuminate the souls that were
blinded by the darkness of ignorance, to kindle in the cold the
1 Note HHH.
96 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
love of God, and to burn up and so clear away the thorns of
sins and the tares of vices, which according to the ancient
curse had spread over the earth and covered it. There was
none that could easily liide himself from his heat. For he
carefully visited his diocese, and taking away all strange gods
from the midst of them, cast forth all the ceremonies of foreign
worship, and so preparing the way for the Lord, and making
the paths of our God straight, he brought the whole of Chris-
tianity there into a better state than it had been before.
Then the warrior of God, consumed with the fire of the
Holy Spirit, like a fire that burnetii the wood, and like the
flame setting on fire the mountains, after he had converted what
was nearest to himself, that is to say, his diocese, going forth
to more distant places, cleansed from the foulness of idolatry
and the contagion of heresy the land of the Picts, which is
now called Galwiethia, with the adjacent parts ; and amid
shining miracles, bringing it back to the rule of truth, he
amended, as far as lay in his power, whatsoever he found con-
trary to Christian faith or sound doctrine. In all these things
the fervour of his devotion was not turned away, but his hand
was stretched out still to greater actions, and to the increase of
the honour and glory of the Most High, his feet having been
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Yov he went to Albania, and there with great and almost
unbearable toil, often exposed to death by the snares of the
barbarians, but ever standing undeterred, strong in the faith
(the Lord working with him, and giving power to the voice of
his preaching), he reclaimed that land from the worship of idols
and from profane rites that were almost equal to idolatry, to
the landmarks of faith, and the customs of the Church, and the
laws of the canons. For there he erected many churches, and
dedicated them when erected, ordaining priests and clerics ; and
he consecrated many of his disciples bishops. He also founded
many monasteries in these parts, and placed over them as
fathers the disciples whom he had instructed.
In ail these matters, his spirit, always panting for the salva-
tion of the many, never rested till, as a glorious standard-
bearer of the Lord's host, and as a wrestler of unconquered
mind, he fought the battles of the Lord. Therefore he sent
forth those of his own, whom he knew to be strong in faith,
fervent in love, known for doctrine, lofty in religion, towards
the Orchades, Noruuagia, and Ysalanda, to announce to the
dwellers therein the Name of the Lord and the Faith of Christ,^
1 Note III.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 97
for that in those places the harvest indeed was great, but there
were no labourers ; and seeing that he was now old and unable
to go himself, he willed that this work should be accomplished
by his disciples.
All this being duly done, he returned to his own church of
Glasgu, where, as elsewhere, yea, where, as everywhere, he was
known to shine in many and great miracles. For wheresoever
his lips disseminated the knowledge of salvation, the virtue of
God, working in His servant, exhibited the manifold power of
marvels. For he restored sight to the blind, hearing to the
deaf, the power of walking to the lame, speech to the dumb,
reason to the insane. He drove away fevers ; he cast out devils
from the bodies of those possessed by them ; he gave strength
to the paralytic; healing to the lunatics; cleansing to the lepers,
and cure to all sorts of sicknesses. But in such works as these
was his daily wont, his accustomed play, his assiduous custom,
which in a way became common from so constant occurrence,
and which have not been written down, lest the quantity of
them brought together should engender weariness. In many
other ways also were many sick men taken to the bishop to
be healed by the touch of the hem of his garment, frequently
by mouthfuls of food and drink given and received ; and some-
times men borne in a bed were healed by the shadow of his
body as he passed along, like another Peter.
CHAPTEE XXXV.
How the Lord kept his Clothes untouched hy any drops of rain,
or snow, or liail.
Although the hand of the Lord worked by blessed Kenti-
gern many miracles not commonly vouchsafed to other saints.
He wrought one work in him in particular at which all men
did wonder. For as all bear witness who knew the man, as well
as those that conversed with him, that never in his life were
his clothes wetted with drops of rain, or with snow or hail
pouring upon Mm and falling to the ground. For often, stand-
ing in the open air, while the inclemency of the weather in-
creased, and the pouring rain flowed in different directions like
bilge- water, and the spirit of the storm raged around him, he
from time to time stood still, or went whither he would, and
yet he always continued uninjured and untouched by a drop of
rain from any quarter. And not on him alone did the Lord
vouchsafe to exhibit this prodigy, which was the Lord's doing,
98 LIV^ES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
and wonderful in the eyes of all, but the whole company of his
disciples going along with him, by his merits, oftentimes, though
not as in his own case always, experienced the same grace in
themselves and for themselves. For the sanctity of the holy
doctor Kentigern, who was bedewed with Divine grace, was to
his followers for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and
a refuge, and for a covert from the storm and tempest.
So let no one disbelieve that the Lord bestowed the blessing of
the miracle which we have described on His most devout servant,
to the praise of His own most holy Name, and to commend his
sanctity, since, in a manner like to this — nay, in a manner
greater than this— He vouchsafed in the desert a boon to the
whole Hebrew people to show that they had found favour in
His eyes. For, as we read, the garments of that people were
not worn or destroyed by time ; the garments of this man alone
were never wetted with the drops of rain from heaven. There-
fore to none let this seem incredible ; for, as the Lord says, all
things are possible to him that believeth, and with the Lord
there is nothing impossible. In like manner, the sign which in
the smiting of Egypt, as we find written in a certain place con-
cerning the children of Israel, we know to have been frequently
repeated in the case of blessed Kentigern. For when darkness
overwhelmed the whole land of Egypt, and thick darkness the
people, as it is written, where the children of Israel dwelt, there
there was light ; so, often, when a cloud covered the whole earth,
bringing on a darkness that might be felt, a light shone around
himself, the place, and the inhabitants thereof, where the saint
was preaching. Eightly, therefore, as we believe, never were
wet with any drops the garments of tliis saint, whose members
he strove with the utmost care to preserve clean and pure from
all defilement of flesh and blood. With justice also did a light
shine forth from the darkness in the place of his preaching
where he taught the people, as in his heart the Sun of
Eighteousness, the Light that knoweth no setting, ever shone ;
and he himself, like a lamp in a dark place, gave forth light
in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation, as the apostle
Peter beareth witness.^
1 2 Teter i. 19.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 99
CHAPTEE XXXVI.
Hoiu the Saint miraculously restored to the Queen the Ring ivhich
she had improperly given away, and which was thrown hy
the King himself into the Bivcr Clud.
So S. Iventigern having, as we have told, returned home, and
disposing himself to dwell by himself in mental solitude far
from the throngs of men, willed not to be freely seen in public
or to go abroad except in cases of great urgency. Nevertheless
he ceased not, though against his will, to shine forth abroad in
wondrous signs. Queen Languoreth, who has been mentioned
above, living in plenty and delights, was not faithful to the
royal chamber or the marital bed, as she ought to have been :
for the heap of her treasures, the exuberance of her means of
sensuality, and the elevation of power, were wont to minister
incentives and fuel to the will of the ilesh. She cast her eyes
on a certain youth, a soldier, who, according to the perishing
beauty of this perishing flesh, seemed to her to be beautiful
and fair of aspect beyond many that were with him at court.
And he, who without external temptation was himself ready
enough for such a service as this, was easily induced to sin
with her.
So as time passed, and tlie forbidden pleasures, frequently
repeated, became more and more delightful to both of them — for
bread eaten in secret, and stolen waters, according to Solomon,^
seemed to them to be sweeter ; so from a rash act they pro-
ceeded to a blind love, and a royal ring of gold, set with a
precious gem, which her lawful husband had intrusted to her
as a special mark of his conjugal love, she very impudently and
imprudently bestowed upon her lover, and he, more impudently
and more imprudently placing it upon his finger, opened the
door of suspicion to all who were conversant in the matter. A
faithful servant of the king, finding this out, took care to
instil the secret of the queen and the soldier into the ears of
the husband, who did not willingly lend his ear or his mind to
her disgrace, as the unworthiness of his wife was brought to
him. It is an old and true proverb, It is difficult for a cuck-
old to put faith in one that reveals the failings of a beloved
wife; and the odium is apt to fall rather upon the informer
than upon the accused. But the detector of the adultery, in
proof of the matter, showed the ring on the finger of the soldier ;
^ Prov. ix. 17.
100 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
and by this proof persuading the king to believe him, he suc-
ceeded in kindling the spirit of jealousy within him.
So the king, being secretly assured of this, veiled under a
calm demeanour the wrath of his soul against the queen and
the soldier, and appeared more than usually cheerful and kind.
But when a bright day occurred, he went out hunting, and
summoning the soldier to accompany him, sought the woods
and forests with a great company of beaters and dogs. Having
uncoupled the dogs and stationed his friends at difierent places,
the king with the soldier came down to the banks of the river
Clud, and they, in a shady place on the green turf, thought it
would be pleasant for both to sleep for a little. The soldier,
worn out, and suspecting no danger, resting his head, stretching
out his arm, and extending his hand, straightway slumbered ;
but the spirit of jealousy exciting the king, who simulated sleep,
suffered him neither to slumber nor to take any rest. Seeing the
ring on the finger of the sleeper, his wrath was kindled, and he
with difficulty restrained his hand from his sword and from
shedding of blood ; but he controlled his rage, at least in part,
and after drawing the ring off the finger threw it into the neigh-
bouring river, and then, waking him up, ordered him to return
to his companions and go home. The soldier waking up from
sleep, and thinking nothing about the ring, obeyed the king's
order, and never discovered what he had lost till he entered his
house.
But when, on the return of the king, the queen in the usual
manner came forth from her chamber and saluted him, from the
mouth of him who was thus saluted there proceeded continu-
ously threats, contempt, and reproach, while with flashing eyes
and menacing countenance he demanded where the ring was
which he had intrusted to her keeping. When she declared that
she had it laid up in a casket, the king, in the presence of all his
courtiers, commanded her to bring it to him with all haste;
but she, still full of hope, entered the inner chamber as if to
seek the ring, but straightway sent a messenger to the soldier,
telling him of the anger of the king in demanding the ring, and
ordering him to send it quickly. The soldier sent back to the
queen to say that he had lost the ring and could not tell where.
Then, fearing the face of the king, for the sake of concealment,
he absented himself from court. In the meantime, as she
sought further delays, and was slow in producing what, of
course, she could not find, uselessly seeking here and there, the
king in fury frequently calling her an adulteress, broke forth in
curses saying, " God do to me, and more also, if I judge thee
not according to the law of adulterers, and condemn thee to a
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 1(»1
most disgraceful death. Thou, clinging to a young adulterer,
hast neglected the king thy spouse ; yet I would have made
thee the sharer of my bed and the mistress of my kingdom :
thou hast done it in secret ; I will do it in public, and the sun
shall manifest thine ignominy and reveal thy more shameful
things before thy face."
And when he had said much after this sort, all the courtiers
praying for some delay, he with difficulty conceded three days,
and ordered her to be imprisoned. Cast into a dungeon, she
now contemplated death as imminent ; but not the less did her
guilty conscience torment her. weighty and intolerable
punishment, the damning testimony of a guilty conscience !
Although one condemned to punishment may have external
peace, yet he is acknowledged to be wretched and disturbed
whom a gnawing conscience ceaselessly persecuteth. The spirit,
therefore, of the guilty woman was vexed within her, and with
contrite and lowly heart, with tearful prayer, she besought God
not to enter into judgment with His handmaiden, but according
to His great mercy, as formerly He had pity on the woman
taken in adulter}^ and placed in the midst before Him, so in a
like case He would have mercy upon her. By the inspiration
of the Lord, the woman in her great strait found out a wise
device, and, sending a most faithful messenger to S. Kentigern,
told him her whole misfortune, and from him, as her only
deliverer, she urgently requested help. She also begged that
at least he would use his influence with the king and beseech
pardon for her, for there was nothing so great which he would,
or could, or ought to deny him.
The saintly bishop, instructed by the Holy Ghost and by
virtue from on high, knowing the whole story in order before
the arrival of the messenger, ordered him to go with a hook to
the bank of the river Clud aforesaid, to cast the hook into the
stream, and to bring back to him straightway the first fish that
was caught upon it and taken out of the water. The man did
what the saint commanded, and exhibited in the presence of
the man of God a large fish which is commonly called a
salmon ; and on his ordering it to be cut open and gutted in
his presence, he found in it the ring in question, which he
straightway sent by the same messenger to the queen. And
when she saw it and received it, her heart was filled with joy,
her mouth with praise and thanksgiving ; her grief was turned
into joy ; the expectation of death into the dance of exultation
and safety. Therefore the queen rushed into the midst and
returned to the king the ring he had required, in the sight of
all. Wherefore the king and all his court were sorry for the
102 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
injuries done to the queen ; and humbly on his knees he sought
her pardon, and swore that he would inflict a very severe
punishment, even death or exile if she willed, upon her slan-
derers. But she, wisely judging that mercy rather than the
award of judgment was what she had to do with, was desirous
that he should shew mercy, as a servant ought to'have on his
fellow-servant. She said, " Far be it, my lord, King, that
any one should suffer on my account ; but if thou wiliest that
from my heart I should forgive thee for what injury thou hast
done me, I will that thou put away all angry feeling from thy
heart and mind, as I do against mine accuser." And all, when
they heard this, wondered and were glad. And so the king,
and the queen, and the accuser are recalled to the grace of
peace and mutual love. The queen, as soon as she could, betook
herself to the man of God, and confessing her guilt, and making
satisfaction by his advice, carefully corrected her life for the
future and kept her feet from a similar fall. Durmg her hus-
band's lifetime she never revealed to any one the sign whereby
the Lord had shown forth His mercy toward her, but after his
death she told it to all who wished to know it.
Behold the Lord sitting in heaven willed to do by His
servant Kentigeru that which, clothed in our flesh. He conde-
scended to do when conversing with men on earth. At His
order Peter, casting a hook into the sea, drew out the great fish
in whose mouth he found tlie piece of money, which he gave in
tribute for the Lord and for himself. So by the command of
S. Kentigern, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the queen's
messenger, casting a hook into the river, took a fish, and bring-
ing it thus to the saint found in it, when taken and opened, a
ring which saved the queen from a double death. In both
these cases, as it seemeth to me, there was rendered to Ctesar
that which belongeth unto Ctesar, and unto God that wliich is
God's. For in the piece of money the image of Caesar was
restored to him, and in the ring restored the flesh was redeemed
from destruction, and the soul made in the image of God was
cleansed from sin and restored to Him.
CHAPTEE XXXVIL
Hoiv a Jester despising the gifts of the Kiiig demanded a dishful
of fresh mulberries after Christmas; and how he received
them through the instrumentality of S. Kentigern.
King PtEDEKECH was magnified by the Lord because he clung
to Him, by serving Him in faith and good works, and because
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 103
he obeyed the will of S. Kentigern. For glory and riches were
in liis house, generosity in his heart, politeness in his mouth,
munificence in his hand, for that the Lord had blessed the works
of his hands, so that not only to the regions in his own neigh-
bourhood, but even across the sea to Ireland, the fame of his
liberality extended. Wherefore a jester from one of the kings
of Ireland, skilled and clever in his art, was sent to Cambria to
the court of the king aforesaid, that he might see whether the
truth responded to the fame of him, which was far and wide
extended. The jester, admitted into the court, played with his
hand on the timbrel and harp, and gave joy to the king and his
paladins all the days of the Christmas holidays. When the
feast of the Lord's holy epiphany was past, the king ordered
gifts to be brought forth and bestowed upon the jester, in
accordance with the royal generosity, all of which the actor
refused, stating that he had sufficiency of such things in his
own country. Being asked by the king what he would be
willing to receive, he answered that he had no need whatsoever
of silver, and gold, and garments, and horses, in which Ireland
abounded;^ but "if thou desirest," said he, "that I should
depart from thee well rewarded, let there be given to me a dish
full of fresh mulberries." When they heard this speech uttered
from the mouth of the man, all burst out laughing, because
they thought that he was joking and speaking in sport ; for a
person of this kind is esteemed the more highly the better he
is able, by words that produce mirth, to excite laughter. But
he with an oath declared that he had demanded the mul-
berries not in jest but in all seriousness; nor could he be
moved from this by prayers, promises, or the offer of the
handsomest gifts; and rising, he declared that he wished to
retu'e from the midst of the crowd, and, as the saying is, to
carry off the king's honour. The king took this very ill,
and asked his companions what could be done that he should
not be dishonoured in tliis matter; for it was the season of
winter and not a mulberry could be found anywhere. Acting
on the advice of his courtiers, he betook himself to S, Kenti-
gern, and humbly begged that by prayer he would obtain what
he wanted from God. The man of God, although he thought
that his prayer would not be fitly offered for such trifles as
these, knew that the king had a great devotion to God and
Holy Church, yet though his eyes beheld his substance, which
was imperfect, in this case the holy bishop made up his mind
to condescend to his petition, hoping that thereby in the future
1 Note KKK.
104 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
he might advance in virtue. Therefore pondering for a time in
his heart, and praying shortly, he said to the king, "Dost thou
remember in what place during summer, thou didst throw
away the garment with which thou wast girded, in the great
heat when thou wast hunting, that thou mightest follow tlie
dogs more expeditiously, and then forgetting or underrating it
thou didst never return to recover what thou hadst cast off?"
The king answered, saying, " I know, my king and bishop, both
the time and the place." " Go," said the saint, " straightway
to the place, and thou shalt find the garment still perfect, hang-
ing over a bush of thorns, and below that thou shalt find
mulberries sufficient still fresh and fit for gathering. Take
them and satisfy the demand of the jester, and in all things
concern thyself that thou more and more reverence God,
who will not allow thine honour to be marred or minished
even in so light a thing as this." The king did as the bishop
ordered, and found all as he had predicted. Therefore taking
the dish and filling it with the mulberries, he gave it to the
actor, saying, "There, take that which thou hast asked for;
for by the help of the Lord who worketh with me, thou canst
not in anything injure the fame of my generosity. And that I
may not seem to thee more niggardly than others, thou art
welcome to stay here as long as it pleaseth thee." The actor,
seeing the charger full of mulberries contrary to the time of
the year, wondered and feared, and when he knew how it
had happened, he cried out and said, "Verily, there is none
like unto thee among the kings of the earth, munificent in thy
generosity, and there is none like unto Kentigern, glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing such wonders in my sight
beyond expectation. Henceforth I will not leave thy house
or thy service, and I will be unto thee a servant for ever, so
long as I live." The actor therefore abode in the king's court,
and served him for many days as jester. Afterwards, by the
instigation of the fear of God, he set himself against his former
profession, renounced the trade of actor, and entering the ways
of a better life, gave himself up to the service of God.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Of the two vessels filled with Milk vMch S. Kentigern sent to a
certain workman ; how, when the Milk was poured into the
river, it became Cheese.
There was a certain man, skilled in the trade of an artisan,
who served by hammering and forging, took charge of the
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKX. . 105
works of the man of God, and of the monastery, and received
from the saint the necessary wages. Now the saint was wont
to use milk as food and drink, for, as we have said above, he
usually abstained from all liquor that could intoxicate. He
therefore ordered vessels of new milk to be carried to the
artisan, because he knew that workmen and hired servants are
gratified by partaking of the food prepared for the lord and
householder. But when he who bore it was crossing the Clud,
the covers of the vessels, by the merest accident, became open,
and the whole milk was poured into the water. But, strangely
and wonderfully, the milk poured out did not mix with the
water, and was not altered as to colour and taste, but all at
once it became curded, and was turned into cheese. In fact,
tliat cheese was no less properly made solid by the beating
of the waves, than in other cases it is compacted by the pres-
sure of the hands. The bearer snatched the little shape of
cheese out of the water, and went and detailed from the begin-
ning the whole story to the workman to whom the saint had
sent him. Many beheld this remarkable sign, and on seeing
that the fluid had not been turned into fluid, or liquefied, stood
astonished. But the workman and many others tasted of that
cheese, and also distributed minute particles piece by piece of
the same to many to be kept as relics. These relics are preserved
in many places and during many times, and making the beloved
and famous miracles of Kentigern more beloved and more
famous by the testimony of this very fact. But although this
sign, even externally, is the cause of great wonder, yet to those
who view it subtilly, and who infer spiritual from corporeal - -^^^
things, the invisible things from the visible, it afi'ords much i
instruction. In the milk which fell into the waters, yet was /
not mixed with them, nor turned into them, or immersed in ^■
them, we have the example of preserving innocency and justice,
which are relics to a peaceable man, among those who swell
with pride, who would invade us with all evil, who dissipate
themselves in pleasures, and who seek to drown us in destruc-
tion by bad examples and persuasions. That the milk in the
stream was hardened into cheese, gives us an ensample of
maintaining constancy in the presence of trials and straits.
For the just and innocent man hardeneth among the waves, as
the milk did into cheese, when, in obedience to words pro-
ceeding from the mouth of God, he keepeth the hard paths, and
by many tribulations seeketh to enter into His kingdom. More-
over, if he endure threats, insults, losses, and injuries, from
wicked and froward men, then he feeleth them as though he did
not feel, but in peace possessing his soul, he endeavoureth to
106 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
persevere in good, knowing certainly that whosoever perse vereth
unto the end the same shall be saved.
CHAPTEE XXXIX.
HoiD S. Columha visited Messed Kentifjern, and heheld a crown
that came down from, Heaven u2Jon Jiis head, and a celestial
light shilling around him.
At the time when blessed Kentigern, placed in the Lord's
candlestick, like a burning lamp, in ardent desires, and shining
forth in lifegiving words, in the examples of virtues and
miracles, gave light to all that were in the house of God,
S. Columba, the abbot, whom the Angles call Columkillus, a
man wonderful for doctrine and virtues, celebrated for his pre-
sage of future events, full of the spirit of prophecy, and living
in that glorious monastery which he had erected in the Island
of Yi, desired earnestly, not once and away, but continually to
rejoice in the light of S. Kentigern. For hearing for a long
time of the fame in which he was estimated, he desired to
approach him, to visit him, to behold him, to come into his
close intimacy, and to consult the sanctuary of his holy breast
regarding the things which lay near his own heart. And when
the proper time came the holy father S. Columba went forth,
and a great company of his disciples, and of others who desired
to behold and look upon the face of so great a man, accom-
panied him. When he approached the place called Mellin-
denor, where the saint abode at that time, he divided all his
people into three bands, and sent forward a message to announce
to the holy prelate his own arrival, and that of those who
accompanied him.
The holy pontiff was glad when they said unto him these
things concerning them, and calling together his clergy and people
similarly in three bands, he went forth with spiritual songs to
meet them. In the forefront of the procession were placed the
juniors in order of time ; in the second those more advanced in
years ; in the third, with himself, walked the aged in length
of days, white and hoar})", venerable in countenance, gesture,
and bearing, yea, even in grey hairs. And all sang, " In the
ways of the Lord how great is the glory of the Lord;"^ and
again they answered, " The way of the just is made straight,
and the path of the saints prepared."^ On S, Columba's side
* Ps. cxxxviii. 5, 2 jg^^, xxvi. 7, vetus Ital.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 107
they sang with tuueful voices, "Tlie saints shall go from
strength to strength, until unto the God of gods appeareth
every one in Sion," with the Alleluia.^ Meanwhile, some who
had come with S. Columba asked him, saying, " Hath S. Ken-
tigern come in the first chorus of singers?" The saint answered,
" Neither in the first nor in the second cometh the gentle saint."
And when they loudly asked how he knew this, he said, " I see
a fiery pillar in fashion as of a golden crown, set with sparkling
gems, descending from heaven upon his head, and a light of
heavenly brightness encircling him like a certain veil, and cover-
ing him, and again returning to the skies. Wherefore it is
given to me to know by this sign that, like Aaron, he is the
elect of God, and sanctified ; who, clothed with light as with a
garment, and with a golden crown represented on his head,
appeareth to me with the sign of sanctity." When these two
godlike men met, they mutually embraced and kissed each
other, and having first satiated themselves with the spiritual
banquet of Divine words, they after that refreshed themselves
with bodily food. But how great was the sweetness of Divine
contemplation within these holy hearts is not for me to say, nor
is it given to me, or to such as I am, to reveal the manna
which is hidden, and, as I think, entirely unknown save imto
them that taste it.
CHAPTER XL.
Of the head of S. Kentigern's ram, that was cut off, and Iww it
was turned into stone.
While these two men whom we have mentioned were mutu-
ally associated as two columns in the courts of the Lord's house,
firmly founded in faith and love, and strengthened in the same, by
the imitation and instruction of whom many peoples and tribes
and tongues entered, and are still entering, into the heavenly
temple, wliich is the joy of the Lord their God, some sons of
the stranger, who had come with S. Colmnba, were confirmed in
bad habits, and halted in the paths of the man of God. For as
the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, so the man that is bred
to theft and robbery findeth it difficult to change his malice.
There came, therefore, some with the blessed Columba, who
had no dovelike innocence, merely by the advances of their
feet, and not by the affection of devotion, or by progress in
morals. While they journeyed, they beheld from a distance
^ Ps. Ixxxiv. 7.
108 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
one of the flocks of the holy bishop feeding, and leaving the
path and going through dark ways, as it is said of such in the
Proverbs, they turned aside thither, and, in spite of the struggles
and remonstrances of the shepherds, seized the fattest wether.
But the herdsman, in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and by the
authority of S. Kentigern, forbade them to commit such robbery,
nay, such sacrilege, on the flock of the holy bishop, informing
them, that if they would but ask a ram of the saint, they would
be sure to obtain it. But one of them insulted and drove away
the shepherd, threatening him with some injury, or even with
death, and carried away a ram, while the other, taking a knife,
cut off its head. Then they took counsel how to carry off the
carcase, and at a time and place that suited their crime, to skin
it, so as they well knew how, to fit it more carefully for their
use.
But a thing wonderful to relate, more wonderful to behold,
took place. The ram with his head cut off rushed back with
unaccountable speed to his flock, and there fell down ; while
the head, turned into stone, stuck firmly, as by some most co-
hesive glue, in the hands of him who held it and had struck it.
They who were able to pursue, catch, hold, behead the ram
living and strong, were unable to overtake it by following or
pursuing when it was mutilated ; nor could they cast away
from their hands the head which had become stone, in spite of
all their efforts. The men became rigid, and their hearts died
within them, and became as stone, as they were carrying a stone,
and at length they took the wise determination of betaking
themselves to the saints, and, prostrate before the feet of S.
Kentigern, penitent and confounded, they prayed with tears
that he would pardon them. But the holy prelate, chiding them
with kindly reproof, and warning them never again to commit
fraud, theft, robbery, or, what was more detestable, sacrilege,
unloosed them from the double bond, that of sin, and of the
grasp of the stone. He ordered the carcase of the slain ram to
be given them, and allowed them to depart. But the head
turned into stone remaineth there unto this day, as a witness to
the miracle, and, being mute, yet preacheth the merit of holy
Kentigern,
Assuredly this miracle, as it seemeth to me, in the main, is not
inferior to that which the book of Genesis records to have
been wrought in the case of Lot's wife. When the heavenly
fire, the avenger of the injury done to God, being ordered to
destroy the wicked ones who would upset the natural laws of
the generation of man, was about to descend. Lot, warned by
the angelic counsel, and aided by its help, escaped the fire of
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 109
the overthrown and overwhelmed city of Sodom. JJut his
wife, looking back in opposition to a command sent from
heaven, was turned into a rock, into an image of salt, to be a
relish to the food of brute animals. Here the head of the ram
is turned into stone to condemn the hardness and cruelty of
those who carry off their neighbour's goods. In the figure of
Lot's wife, by the Lord's own teaching, every faithful man is
taught and warned, not foolishly to turn back from any sacred
duty once undertaken. In the head turned into stone, every
Christian is warned not to commit theft or fraud or rapine, or
any violence on the property of the Church or on the substance
of the servants of God. In the very place, where the miracle
wrought by S. Kentigern came to the knowledge of S. Columba
and many others, there they interchanged their pastoral staves,
in pledge and testimony of their mutual love in Christ. But
the staff which S. Columba gave to the holy bishop Kentigern
was preserved for a long time in the Church of S. Wilfred,
bishop and confessor at Pdpun ; and held in great reverence on
account of the sanctity both of him who gave it and of him
who received it. Wherefore, during several days, these saints,
passing the time together, mutually conversed on the things of
God and what concerned the salvation of souls ; then saying
farewell, with mutual love, they returned to their homes, never
to meet again.
CHAPTEE XLL
How that the man of God erected Crosses in many places, hy
which, even to the present day, miracles are wrought.
The venerable father and bishop Kentigern had a custom, in
the places in which at any time by preaching he had won tlie
people to the dominion of Christ, or had imbued them with the
faith of the cross of Christ, or had dwelt for any length of time,
there to erect the triumphant standard of the cross, that all
men might learn that he was in no ways ashamed of the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which he carried on his forehead. But, as
it seemeth unto me, this holy custom of the good man is in many
ways supported by sound reason. For for this cause the saint
was accustomed to erect this lifegiving, holy, and terrible sign,
that, like as wax melteth at the fire, so the enemies of the
human race, the powers of the darkness of this world, melt-
ing away in terror before this sign, might disappear and in
terror and confusion might be banished far away. Moreover,
it is fitting that the soldiers of the Eternal King, recognising
110 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
by a glance the unconquerable standard of their Chief, should
fly to it, as to a tower of strength, from the face of the enemy,
and from the face of those wicked ones who afflict them ; and
that they should have before their eyes that which they adore
and in which they glory. And inasmuch as, according to the
apostle, the wrestling against spiritual wickednesses in high
places, and against the fiery darts of the evil one, is continual,
it is meet and healthful that they should fortify and protect
themselves by signing themselves with this sign; and by imitat-
ing the Passion of Christ, and with the apostle bearing about
in their bodies the stigmata of the wounds of Christ, they
should, for the love of the Crucified One, crucify the flesh with
its vices and lusts, and the world to them, and themselves unto
the world.
Therefore, among many crosses which he erected in several
places where the word of the Lord was preached, he erected
two which to the present time work miracles. One in his own
city of Glasgu he caused to be cut by quarriers from a block
of stone of wondrous size, which, by the united exertions of
many men, and by the application of machinery, he ordered to
be erected in the cemetery of the church of the Holy Trinity,
in which his episcopal chair was placed. But all their labour
was expended in vain ; every machine was powerless, human
strength and might availed not to raise it up, though much and
long they toiled. But when human genius and help failed,
the saint had recourse to the Divine aid. For on the succeed-
ing night, which happened to be Sunday, and while the servant
of the Lord was pouring forth his prayers for this end, an angel
of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming near, rolled
back the stone cross and raised it to the place where it standeth
to-day, and blessing it with the sign of the cross, he signed it,
sanctified it, and disappeared. The people, when they came to
the church in the morning and saw what was done, were as-
tonished and gave glory to God in His saint. For the cross
was very large, and never from that time lacked great virtue,
seeing that many maniacs and those vexed with unclean spirits
are used to be tied of a Sunday night to that cross, and in the
morning they are found restored, freed, and cleansed, though
ofttimes they are found dead or at the point of death.
He constructed another cross, wonderful to be described,
unless it could be tested by sight and touch, of simple sea-sand,
in Lothwerverd,^ while he meditated righteously and religiously
of the Kesurrection. In this place he abode eight years. Who
1 Note LLL.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. Ill
ouglit to dispute on this truth, aud say that tho Lord will not
raise our mortal bodies though turned into dust, since He hath
so promised with His blessed mouth, when in His name, this
saint, of like passions with ourselves, by praying to God
raised up a cross formed of sea-sand ? Verily it must be be-
lieved that at the Lord's will all the bones of the dead shall
be joined to their bones, according to the prophecy of Ezechiel,
and that the Lord will give them sinews and make flesh to
come on them, and skin to cover them, and shall put breath
into them, and they shall live for ever; seeing that at the
prayer of a man still alive, a collection of the minutest sand, I
had almost said of atoms, was extended into a solid and perfect
matter, a mass of sand was condensed and formed into a cross,
which neither the burning sun by day, nor the frost by night,
nor any inclemency of the atmosphere can dissolve. That
cross then was formed as proof to our faith that this our cor-
ruptible must put on incorruption ; and that of the multitude of
the children of Israel, if they were as the sand of the sea, a
remnant shall be saved by the faith of the cross of Christ ;
and that the friends of God shall be multiplied beyond the
number of the sand by Him who numbereth the stars of
heaven, and the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the
days of the age. To this cross also many afflicted with divers
diseases, and specially madmen and those vexed by the devil,
are bound in the evening ; and ofttimes in the morning they are
found safe and sound, and return to their friends.^
There are many other places in which he lived, specially
during Lent, unknown to us, which the saint sanctified by the
presence of His holy indwelling. Yet very many persons relate
numerous instances regarding those which, by sure tokens to
this day, diffuse the odour of his sanctity, and by his merits
afford many blessings to the feeble, and possess the efficacy of
miracles.
OHAPTEE XLIL
How he tied wp his Chin with a certain bandage, and hoio he
'prepared for his SouVs Departure.
Blessed Kentigern, overcome by excessive old age, per-
ceived from many cracks in it that the ruin of his earthly
house was imminent; but the foundation of his faith, which
was founded on the Eock, comforted his soul ; for he trusted
1 Note MMM.
~^
112 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
that when the earthly house of this tabernacle was dissolved,
he had prepared for him a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. And because by reason of the extremity of
old age, and the infirmity consequent thereon, the fastenings of
his nerves were almost entirely withered throughout his body
and loosened, therefore he bound up his cheeks and his chin,
by a cei-tain linen bandage, w^hich w^ent over his head and
under his chin, neither too tight nor too loose. This the most
refined man did, that by the fall of his chin nothing indecent
should appear in the gaping of his mouth, and that such a
support should render him more ready in bringing forth what
he could or would.
In the end, this man, beloved by God and man, knowing that
the hour was drawing near when he should pass out of this
world to the Father of lights, fortified himself with the sacred
unction which wi'ought remission of sin, and with the life-
giving sacraments of the Lord's Body and Blood, in order that
the ancient serpent, seeking to bruise his heel, should be
unable to fix thereon his poisonous tooth or to inflict on him
a deadly wound : yea rather, that with bruised head he should
retreat in confusion. In this very way, the Lord treading
Satan under his feet, in order that his holy soul should not
be speedily put to confusion, when in his coming out of
Egypt he spake with his enemies in the gate, he patiently,
like an excellent under-pilot, awaited the Lord, who had saved
him from the storms of this world. And now, close to the
shore, driven into the harbour of a certain inward quietude,
after so many dangers of the sea, he cast out the anchor of
hope, with the ropes of his desire well bound, in the solid and
soft ground, reaching of a truth even to the inside of the veil,
whither Jesus Christ had gone before him. Henceforward he
alone awaited the departure from the tents of Kedar and the
entrance into the land of the living, so that in the City of
Powers, that is the heavenly Jerusalem, like a successful wrestler
he might receive from the hand of the heavenly King the
crown of glory and the diadem of the kingdom which shall not
be destroyed. He warned his disciples, gathered around him,
so far as his strength would allow him, concerning the observ-
ance of the holy rule, the maintenance of love and peace, of
the grace of hospitality, and of the continuing instant in
prayer and holy study. But above all things he gave them
short but peremptory commands, warning them to avoid every
evil appearance of simoniacal wickedness, and to shun en-
tirely the communion and society of heretics and schismatics,
and observe strictly the decrees of the holy fathers, and espe-
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEEN. 113
cially the laws and customs of Holy Church, the mother of all.
After that, as was right, he gave to each of them, as they
humbly knelt before him, the kiss of peace ; and lifting his
hand as best he could, he blessed them, and bidding them
his last farewell, he committed them all to the guardianship of
the Holy Trinity, and to the protection of the holy Mother
of God, and gathered himself up into his stone bed. Then
one voice of mourners sounded full everywhere, and a horror
of confusion fell on the faces of all of them.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Of his Disciples, wJw sought a speedy journey to heaven, and of
his warm hath.
Some of them, who very dearly loved the saint of God, pros-
trating themselves in tears before him, besought him thus :
" We find, Lord Bishop, that thou desirest to depart and to
be with Christ. For thine old age, venerable, long protracted,
and measured by many years, as well as thy spotless life, de-
mand this ; but, we pray thee, have mercy upon us whom thou
hast begotten in Clirist. For wheresoever we have erred
through human frailty we have always confessed in thy pre-
sence, and by satisfaction have made amends by the judgment of
thy discretion. Since then we have no power of retaining thee
longer among us, pray to the Lord that it may be vouchsafed to
us to depart with thee from this vale of tears to the glory of
thy Lord. So far 'as concerns this we believe in truth and
assert that the Divine mercy will grant thee what thou askest,
for the will of God hath been to us directed in thy hand from
thy youth upwards. It seemeth to us improper that the bishop
without his clergy, the shepherd without any of his flock, the
father without his children, should enter into these joyous and
festive abodes ; yea rather, the more festive and the more
sublime, by how much a greater company of his own should
attend him." And when they had urged him more with tears,
the man of God, full of compassion, collecting his breath,
as b&st he might, said, " The will of the Lord be done in us
all : and do with us as He best knoweth, and as is well-pleasing
unto Him."
After these things the saint was silent, and sighing in his
soul for heaven, he awaited the passage of his spirit from the
body ; and his disciples watching by him, took care of him as
Hi LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
if close to death. And behold, while the morning day-star,
the messenger of the dawn, the herald of the light of day,
tearing in sunder the pall of the darkness of night, shone forth
with flaming rays, an angel of the Lord appeared with un-
speakable splendour, and the glory of God shone around him.
And for fear of him the guardians of the holy bishop were
exceedingly astonished and amazed, being but earthly vessels,
and, unable to bear the weight of so great glory, became as dead
men. But the holy old man, comforted by the vision and visit
of the angel, and, as it were, forgetting his age and infirmity,
being made strong, exj)erienced some foretastes of the blessed-
ness now near at hand, and held close converse with the angel
as with his closest and dearest friend.
Now the heavenly messenger said these words to him : —
" Kentigern, chosen and beloved of God, rejoice and be glad,
let thy soul magnify the Lord, for He hath greatly increased
His mercy towards thee. Thy prayer is heard, and the Divine
ear hath listened to the preparation of thy heart. It shall be
to thy disciples who desire to accompany thee as thou wiliest.
Therefore be ye steadfast, and ye shall see the help of the Lord
toward you. To-morrow ye shall go forth from the body of this
death into the unfailing Hfe ; and the Lord shall be with you,
and ye shall be with Him for ever. And because thy whole
life in this world hath been a continual martyrdom, it hath
pleased the Lord that thy mode of leaving it shall be easier
than that of other men. Cause, therefore, on the morrow that
a warm bath be prepared for thee, and entering therein, thou
shalt fall asleep in the Lord without pain, and take thy quiet
rest in Him. And after that thou hast paid the debt to nature,
and even before the water hath begun to cool but is yet warm
about thee, let thy brethren follow thee into the bath, and
straightway, loosed from the bonds of death, they shall migrate
with thee as companions of thy journey, and being introduced
into the splendours of the saints, they shall with thee enter
into the joy of the Lord."
With these words the angelic vision and voice departed; but
a fragrance of wondrous and unspeakable odour in a strange
way filled the place and all that were therein. And the holy
man, calling together his disciples, revealed to them in due
order the secret of the angel, and ordered that his bath should
be prepared as the Lord commanded by his messenger ; and his
brethren above mentioned rendered unmeasured thanks to God
Almighty and to their holy father Kentigern, and thus assured
by the oracle in every way they could, fortified by the Divine
Sacraments, prepared themselves for what was awaiting them.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 115
CHAPTER XLIV.
Hcno h-e passed out of this loorld, and hoio Jie shone forth after
his death in many Miracles.
When the octave of the Lord's Epiphany, on which the
gentle bishop himself had been wont every year to wash a
multitude of people in sacred baptism, was dawning, — a day
very acceptable to S. Kentigern and to the spirits of the sons of
his adoption, — the holy man, borne by their hands, entered a
vessel filled with hot water, which he had first blessed with the
sign of salvation; and a circle of the brethren standing round him,
awaited the issue of the event. And when the saint had been
some little time in it, after lifting his hands and his eyes to
heaven, and bowing his head as if sinking into a calm sleep, he
yielded up his spirit. For he seemed as free from the pain of
death as he stood forth spotless and pure from the corruption
of the flesh and the snares of this world.
The disciples, seeing what was taking place, lifted the holy
body out of the bath, and eagerly strove with each other to
enter the water; and so, one by one, before the water cooled,
they slept in the Lord in great peace, and having tasted death
along with their holy bishop, they entered with him into the
mansions of heaven. And when the water cooled, not only the
fear of death, but every spark of discomfort, wholly disappeared.
My judgment is that this bath is to be compared with the
sheep-pool of Bethesda, in which, after the descent of the
angel and the troubling of the water, one sick man was healed
of whatsoever infirmity he had, but he was still liable to death.
But in this ablution a very great company of saints is set free
from all sickness, to live for ever with Christ. The water of
that laver was distributed to divers persons in divers places ;
and from its being drunk or sprinkled health was conferred
upon many sick persons in various ways.
The brethren stripped the saint of his ordinary clothes, which
they partly reserved and partly distributed as precious relics,
and clothed him in the consecrated garments which became so
great a bishop. Then he was carried by the brethren into the
choir with chants and psalms, and the life-giving Victim was
offered to God for him by many. Diligently and most devoutly,
as the custom of the Church in those days demanded, celebrated
they his funeral ; and on the right side of the altar laid they
beneath a stone, with as much becoming reverence as they
could, that abode of virtues, that precious stone, by whose
116 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
merit, as it was a time for collecting stones for the building of
the heavenly edifice of the temple, many elect and living
stones, along with that pearl, were taken up and laid in the
treasures of the Great King. The sacred remains of all these
brethren were devoutly and disposedly consigned to the cemetery
for sepulture, in the order in which they had followed the holy
bishop out of this life.-^
Thus blessed Kentigern, full of years, when he was one hun-
dred and eighty-five years old, matured in merit, famous for signs,
wonders and prophecies, left this world and went to the Father on
this wise : — from faith to sight ; from labour to rest ; from exile
to fatherland ; from the course to the crown ; from the present
misery to eternal glory. Blessed, I say, is that man to whom
the heavens were opened, who penetrated the sanctuary and
entered into the powers of the Lord, received by the angel
hosts ; marshalled among the hosts of patriarchs and prophets ;
joined to the choirs of the apostles ; mixed up in the ranks of
those martyrs who are crowned by the purple of their rosy
blood; associated with the sacred confessors of the Lord;
crowned with the snow-white choirs of virgins. And no
wonder ; for he was indeed, in office and desert, an angel of the
Lord, who announced to those who were far away, and those
who were near, peace and safety in the Blood of Christ ; whose
lips kept true wisdom; at whose mouth very many people
sought and found the law of God. He, moreover, was a pro-
phet of the Most High, who knew many things in absence,
foresaw and predicted many things that were to come to pass.
For he rightly is called, and is, the Apostle of the region of
Cambria, since its inhabitants and many other people are the
signs of his apostleship. He deservedly is called martyr, who
by constant and uninterrupted martyrdom mortified himself
for Christ, and was proved to have had his heart prepared to
sustain any kind of death, should the occasion reqiiire it. For,
for the name of Christ, and for the defence of truth and right-
eousness, he frequently offered himself to persecution, pro-
scription, the wiles and swords of the enemies of the cross of
Christ; and truly and happily triumphed over the flesh, the
world, the devil and his satellites. He, by change of terms, is
called the Confessor of Christ, who, confessing the Name of
Christ before Gentiles and kings, preached with courage, and
instigated all men to the profession of the Name of Christ, and
to the confession of their own sins, and of the Christian Faith
and praise of God. Nevertheless he by special prerogative
1 Note NNN.
LIFE OF S, KENTIGERN. 117
obtained the glory and honour of virgins, because from the
tamarisk he extracted the balsam, from the nettle the lily, and
while in the vessel of this frail and perishing body, he never
disturbed, as they say, even by a look, his angelic celibacy, and
preserved in a vessel of clay the heavenly treasure of chastity.
Wherefore from a virgin body he soared in white to the white-
robed company of the virgins, that without stain he might stand
by the Throne of God and of the Lamb, and following Him
whithersoever He goeth, might sing the new song which was
only known to those who had not defiled their garments.
Justly, therefore, the holy man liveth as the companion, fellow-
citizen, and partaker with all the saints, seeing that in this life
he had communion with them, and always sought to please,
obey, cling to, and be united in spirit to the Saint of Saints, the
Sanctifier of all ; and now and ever, being united to them with
Him, he liveth and rejoiceth.
The spirit of S. Kentigern being taken up to the starry
realms, that which the Earth, the mother of all, had bestowed
she gathered into her womb. But the power of miracles which
had existed in him when alive could not be hid behind the
turf or stone, but burst forth. From the very day of his burial
to the present time his sacred bones are known to put forth
power from their own place, and do not cease to announce, by
benefits bestowed on many kinds of witnesses, that both in
heaven and earth the righteous is had in everlasting remem-
brance. At his tomb sight is restored to the blind, hearing to
the deaf, the power of walking to the lame, strength of limb to
the paralytic, a sound mind to the insane, speech to the dumb,
cleanness of skin to the lepers. Impious, sacrilegious, perjured
men, the violators of the peace of the Church and the pro-
faners of holy places, are justly punished.
For once upon a time a certain man by night stole away
from Glasgu a cow, which in the morning was found living and
bound to the foot of the thief, who had been deprived of life ;
which excited both astonishment and joy. Many who, having
committed sins of the flesh, had not hesitated to profane the
sanctuary by their impure footsteps, were sometimes either cut
off by sudden death, or mutilated in their limbs, or afflicted by
some incurable and protracted disease. The breakers of his
peace often suffered thus. Those who presumed, by any servile
work, to dishonour the anniversary of the saint, on which at
Glasgu, where his most sacred body resteth, a great multitude is
used to assemble from all quarters to seek his intercession, and
to behold the miracles which are wont to take place there,
have often experienced in themselves a speedy vengeance.
1 1 8 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTER XLV.
Of the Prcyphccy of a certain man, and of the Burial of tJie
Saints in Glasgo^v.
In the same year that S. Kentigern, set free from earthly
tilings, migrated to the heavens, King Rederech, who has been
often mentioned before, remained much longer than usual in
the royal town, which was called Pertnech.^ In his court there
lived a fool called Laloecen,^ who was in the habit of receiving
the necessaries of food and clothing from the munificence of
the king ; for the chiefs of the earth, the sons of the kingdom,
given to vanit)^ are used to have such persons about them,
that by their foolish words and gestures they may excite to
jokes and loud laughter the lords themselves and their ser-
vants. This man, after the death of S. Kentigern, gave himself
up to the most extreme grief, and would receive no consolation
from any one.
When they asked him why he mourned so inconsolably, he
answered that his lord, King Eederech, and another of the
chiefs of the land, by name Morthec, would not hve long after
the death of the holy bishop, but would die within the year.
That the saying of the fool was uttered not fooHslily but pro-
phetically, was clearly proved by the fact of the death of both
in the same year. Nor is it much to be marvelled at that the
Creator of all things should allow to be annoimced through the
mouth of a fool what was determined, when even Balaam the
soothsayer, by his inspiration seeing beforehand many important
events, ^vith foreboding mind declared them ; and when Caiaphas
prophesied that the redemption of the people was to come from
the death of Christ ; when by the mouth of a she-ass the mad-
ness of a prophet was rebuked ; when the destruction of Jeru-
salem was foretold by a madman, as Josephus ^vTites. Therefore
in the same year in which the holy Bishop Kentigern died, the
king and prince aforesaid died and were buried in Glasgu.
In the cemetery of the church of that city, as the inhabitants
and countr}Tiien assert, 665 saints rest; and all the great men
of that region for a long time have been in the custom of being
buried there. how much is that place to be feared and had
in reverence which so many pledges of the saints adorn as their
resting-place ! and which so precious a confessor decorateth with
the sacred spoils of his mortality and adorneth with such frequent
1 Note 000. 2 ]s^te PPP.
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN. 119
miracles, that if everything were written they would be found
to fill many volumes. Not only in the place where he resteth in
the body, though there most frequently, and on his anniversary,
is he used to shine forth in signs, but in almost all places, in
the churches, and chapels, and altars where his memory is
held in honour, he is present as a powerful helper in necessities
to those who are placed in tribulations, to those who love him,
and trust him, and call upon him. And where faith or certain
reason demandeth it, he doth not cease to shine forth in
miracles, to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ ; to
whom is glory, praise, honour, and power, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Here cndcth the Life of the most holy Kentigcrn, Bishop and
Confessor, v:ho is also called Mungu.
FEAGMENT OF
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGERN.
FRAGMENT OF
THE LIFE OF S. KENTIGEllK
PROLOGUE.
Many regions indeed have I traversed, carefully
investigating the manners of the same, and the devo-
tions of their clergy and laity. I have found every
land venerating its own provincial saints with appro-
priate and repeated heraldings of praise. But when
at length I came to the kingdom of the Scotti, I
found it very rich in the relics of saints, illustrious in
its clergy, glorious in its princes. Nevertheless, in
comparison with other kingdoms, it was still behind-
hand, slumbering in negligent sloth as regards the
reverence for its saints. For verily when I noted in
the wide domains of the saints the scantiness of the
honour paid to their own, I took uj) my pen for the
honour of the most holy confessor and bishop, Kenti-
gemus, who, in comparison with others, glittereth
like Lucifer among the stars ; and just as Symeon,
once a monk of Durham, wove together a history of
his own Saint Cuthbert, so I, a cleric of S. Kentigern,
at the instance of Herbei-t, the venerable Bishop of
124 PKOLUGUE.
Glasgow, have, as best I might, devoutly composed a
sort of a work from the material found in the little
book of his virtues, and from the oral communication
of the faithful made to myself
Before proceeding, by the help of Christ, to describe
the life and miracles of the most holy confessor and
bishop Kentigern, it is fitting that I warn my readers
at the outset to give credence to what is said, and to
weigh rather the matter than the diction, and if by
chance any of it should seem to them to be composed
rudely, let them remember that proverb of the blessed
Jerome where he saith, " Much better is it to say true
things rudely, than to utter false things gracefully."
Let them remember also that the kingdom of God
standeth not in the richness of eloquence, but in the
blossoming of faith. Nor let them despise the setting
forth of things, in themselves useful and wrought not
without the Divine help, on account of any uncouth
names or words difficult to be understood by those who
hear, or local designations, where barbarism, as I think,
hath rendered rude the tongues of foreign tribes. But
let all in common know this, that passing by for the sake
of brevity many other things abo'ut the man of blessed
memory which were worthy of being recollected, I shall
commit to writing a few out of the very many, to avoid
fatiguing my readers. And every one will faithfully be
able to observe this who will give his attention to
his miracles, which still appear throughout Cambria.
To the arrangement of these instances, few as they
are, which I now briefly attempt to weave together, I
now by the help of God address myself
LIFE OF S. KENTIGERX. 125
CHAPTER I.
Of tlu Cause of the Conception of S. Kentigern.
Of his Mother's Constancy in Tribulation.
Since God, who is ever wonderful in His saints, worketh in
marvellous wise, either by Himself or by them, whatsoever he
disposeth, we shall faithfully to the faithful declare certain of
the things wrought by the blessed Bishop Kentigern, as we
have heard and know and understand. So a certain King
Leudonus, a man half Pagan, from whom the province over
which he ruled obtained the name of Leudonia in Northern
Britannia, had a daughter under a stepmother, and the
daughter's name was Thaney. Now this girl, so far as her faith
was concerned, being a Christian, after that the sound of the
doctrine of the apostles was breathed into her ears, set herself
most devoutly to learn what she could of the Christian rites.
She constantly meditated upon the virginal honour and maternal
blessedness of the most holy Virgin Mary, the mother of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and, revolving it in her mind, in her sim-
plicity said, " how glorious is the name of this honourable
Virgin, and how gloriously is it praised by all people through
the four quarters of the world ; woidd that both in her virginity
and in her bringing forth I could be made like unto her, for the
honour and salvation of my nation in these northern parts."
Verily by daily giving utterance to these things she weaned
her mind and intellect from all evil desire, and for her honest
devotion was deemed meet to conceive, but in another way
than she willed; for what she willed could not be. But on
account of the presumption of her vanity, and the forwardness
of her vain-glory, she endured many and great sufferings. For
she had for a suitor a most graceful young man, namely, Ewen,
the son of Erwegende, sprung from a most noble stock of the
Britons ; yet neither by words, nor by gifts that expressed his
love, could he in any wise incline the mind of the young virgin
to marry him (in the Gestes of the Histories he is called Ewen,
son of King UHen), and the more she resisted the more ardently
did his love burn. Now, when the king, the girl's father, after
many kind words and gentle speeches, which he thought might
incline her mind to the love of the young man, began to see that
he was labouring to no purpose, he spoke to her harshly :
"Either thou shalt be handed over to the care of a swineherd,
or thou shalt please to be married to this young man. Choose
now of these two which thou wishest." The king indeed said
126 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAIIsTS.
this, imagining that the inind of the girl might in this way be
led to the love of the young man. Now, when she had the
choice given her, she preferred to be a lowly servant in the
house of the poor man, as a chaste virgin, than to live a great
lady in the royal tents as one who was not. She, therefore, by
choosing the service of the swineherd incurred the king's
indignation and exceeding wrath. Now the swineherd showed
all possible respect to the young woman, the charge of whom he
had undertaken; for he was a chaste man, and secretly a Chris-
tian ; and in truth, day by day, in the fields and at home, he
taught her what he had learned from Christian teachers ; for he
had learned in Scocia from blessed Servanus, a sacred teacher
of the faith, the doctrine of the law of Christ. This Servanus,
in the primitive church of the Scotti, was the disciple of the
venerable Palladius, the first bishop of the Scotti, who was sent
in the year of the Incarnation 430, by Pope Celestine, as the
first bishop to the Scots who believed. He found blessed Ser-
vanus in Albania before him, a Christian man, and after that he
had sufficiently trained him in ecclesiastical learning, he made
him his suffragan for the instruction of those whom he could
not himself reach. Now Ewen, the suitor of the maiden, see-
ing that the venerated lady was despised by her father on
account of his love for her, was exceedingly sad at heart, for he
loved her much. Therefore, adopting a stealthy counsel, he
secretly sent a woman to her to try if perhaps by flattering
words and persevering suggestion he could lure to himself that
love from her, now in miserable plight, which while she was in
comfort he had found impossible. So coming very often to the
girl, the woman would say, " Alas, that so illustrious a royal
child should choose to undergo so vile a service." Now, when
she found she could in no wise, by these words and others
like unto them, excite love in response to his in the heart of
the maid, she said to the young man, " It were easier to turn
stones into wood, and wood into stones, than to recall the mind
of this virgin from the folly she has adopted."
CHAPTER 11.
How S. Kentigern ivas conceived.
On hearing this, the young man, being inflamed with the fire
of a natural love in his heart, said, with many anxious sighs,
" If perchance I could touch the knot of the virginity of this
girl, perhaps after that she would consent to me." The youth
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEUN. 127
was beardless, and, dressed in female attire, as though he were
the female servant of some master engaged in country work,
he came frequently to the girl as she fed the herds of swine in
the fields. One day starting up from a lurking-place, he found
her sitting alone without any companion, beside the stream of
a little fountain which flowed by the edge of a certain wood,
whither she was wont to come frequently to drink and to wash
her hands. The young man tenderly addressed her, and coaxed
her with his words, saying, " Hail, virgin, royal child, fairest of
girls, come with me, I pray thee, dearest sister, for I have made
a bundle of dry wood, and I have no man to place it upon my
shoulders. Arise then, and help me, that God, the rewarder of
all goodness, may make thee happier in all thine undertakings.
Moreover, I believe that if thou delay not to come with me
thou wilt be for ever the more fortunate." This the young
man said, thinking that by a chaste embrace he might raise
her from the care of swine to a royal palace, and make her, in-
stead of the keeper of hogs, a lady over knights. The gentle
girl, moved by the speech which came from the lips of the
young man, who desired much to possess her, — for in her inno-
cence she believed every word, — straightway in her simplicity
followed the youth, successful in his craftiness, whithersoever
he willed to go. And when they had arrived at a place which ,
suited his purpose, straightway the young man suddenly laid
hold of the girl as if in play, and in a moment impregnated
her, while she resisted the violence with all her might. The
young man, straightway rising, esteemed her whom he had
thought a virgin to be the concubine of the swineherd. And
as his love accordingly cooled, he said to the girl, who was
unable to speak for sobs and tears, " Weep not, my sister, for
I have not known thee as a man is used to know a virgin.
Am I not a woman like thyself ? It is folly to cry for what is
done in sport. Go in peace. It is in thy discretion to weep or
to be silent."
CHAPTER III.
Of the Simplicity of his Mother.
When therefore the young man retired, the virgin remained
wretched and sorrowful, in doubt whether she was defiled or
no ; since she had heard from the youth, whom she thought to
be a woman, that she had not been touched as a virgin is
touched by a man, and chiefly because the tokens of her sex
were then beginning to appear in her as in every woman at the
128 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
conceptiou of a child, so that she could not discern the certain
sign of corruption, although she had suffered from pain in the
flesh. For at such times the membranous structures are
naturally relaxed, as well in virgins as in those bearing chil-
dren, and thus the means of defilement always lie more nearly
within reach. And because this was unknown to the young
man, he went away deceived, when in return for the scorn
which he had received at her hands he left her with the
scorn turned back upon herself. Of this action therefore he
took no account, until it was recalled to his memory a long
time afterwards by S. Kentigern his son, as is written in the
following pages. But the virgin, persevering in her first inten-
tion, was unwilling to reveal to any one what had taken place,
so as the child grew in her womb, and yet the mother remained
silent on the subject, it became in the end known to all that
she was pregnant. And as she was in this condition, and
moreover was ever calling on the name of Christ, her father
ordered her to be stoned, according to the laws of her country,
as a daughter who had played the whore, and broken the law
of her fathers. For the law commanded at that time, that any
noble woman caught in fornication was to be overwhelmed by
stones ; a slave-girl, with the sign of her wickedness branded
on her face, was to be held in scorn by all.
CHAPTEE IV.
How she ivas freed from Death on the top of the Mountain.
The pregnant girl having therefore been handed over to the
executioners, there arose a dispute among them who should
throw the first stone at her ; but because none of the officers
presumed to cast one at one of the royal family, and yet dared
not in any way neglect the jvidicial sentence, if such it might
be called, they brought her to the top of a hill, which is
called Kepduf, that, placed in a chariot and precipitated from the
top of the hill, she might be consigned to a terrible death, and yet
the agents therein should seem as if blameless of it, Now, when
she stood in the presence of instant death, and recognised by
Divine inspiration the cause of her misfortune, raising her eyes
and her hands to heaven she exclaimed and said, " most holy
Virgin Mary, because in my folly I desired what is impossible,
n-amely, to be compared unto thee, ' the like of whom never hath
been and never will be,' I acknowledge that this punishment,
which has been predestinated for me, is justly due. Now,
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEKN. 129
therefore, with sighs and tears I implore thee, pray to thy Son,
my Lord, that at least for the sake of the infant whom with
undefiled mind, but overcome by the frailty of the flesh, I have
conceived, He may in His mercy save me in the impending fall
from the pains of death. For I believe, .0 most holy of the
holy ones, my lady, queen not only mine, but most excelling
queen over all, that whatsoever thou demandest from my Lord,
thy Son, the king of all, is straightway granted without delay."
Then in full faith, and signed with tlie sign of the life-giving
cross, as she gave way in no wise to lust, although being over
come by a man she conceived, so when violently cast down in
the chariot from the top of the high mountain, she came down
to its foot unhurt.
CHAPTEE V.
Of the Miracles that a/ppcarcd in the Bock.
Now the pregnant young woman, chaste and simple, finding
herself saved from this terrible danger, and esteeming that she
had been made fruitful as she previously desired by an angel
of the Lord, gave thanks unto God, saying, " From the ends of
the earth have I called unto Thee, Lord ; when my spirit was
in heaviness from peril, and Thou heardest me from Thy holy
hill. Therefore I will not fear the thousands of the people
who compass me about, for thou hast holpen me and comforted
me." So fully then, as is thus shown, was her heart fixed in
the constancy of faith, and so entirely was she proved by
virtuous action, that to her might be referred what is said in
the scripture, " "Who shall find a brave woman," etc. In the
forementioned wonderful fall, other miracles came to be wrought
to the praise of God. For when the waggon with the pregnant
woman was cast down backwards by the hands of the execu-
tioners from the mountain, straightway turning round in run-
ning down the mountain the pole became fixed in the earth,
and when this was drawn out a most limpid fountain straight-
way began to gush forth, which has not ceased to flow till the
present day. Moreover the ruts of the two wheels in the hard
flint still present a great miracle to the beholders. wonder
greatly to be admired, because the very soft wood was able
to indent the hard stone like melted wax! Now they that
stood by when they saw these miracles said that the girl with
child deserved rather life and reverence than the sentence of
death.
130 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
CHAPTEE VI.
Haw she was left aloiu in the Sea.
Now the king was again greatly excited against her by
those who administered his law, who imputed this miracle to
the sleight of the magic art, and, in order that he might not
appear to prefer his love for his daughter before the justice of
his kingdom, said, " If she be worthy of life, let her be given
over to the sea, and then her God will free her from peril of death
if He so will." They brought her therefore to the firth, which is
about three miles from Kepduf, to the mouth of a river which
is called Aberlessic, that is the Mouth of Stench, for at that time
there was such a quantity of fish caught there that it was a
fatigue to men to carry off the multitude of fish cast from the
boats upon the sand, and so great putrefaction arose from the
fish which were left on the shore, where the sand was bound
together with blood, that a smell of detestable nature used to
drive away quickly those who approached the place. She then
was accompanied to the sea-shore by many men and women
weeping bitterly. Some said, " what a dreadful judgment is
this awarded by a father to his child ! What hath the king's
daughter done that she should undergo such deadly iUs as
these ! It is cruelty to exact punishment twice for the same
crime. Let the judge who maketh no distinction perish ; he is
entirely crueL" And as she was consigned to the waters, the
voice of all who bewailed her was heard saying, " May the
Lord Who delivered thee from death upon land also free thee
from peril in the waters ! " And as the innocent woman con-
signed to death heard the voices of those who bemoaned her,
she began to cry unto the Lord, saying, " Judge them, Lord,
that hurt me ; fight thou against them that fight against me.
Take the arms and the shield and come unto my help."
CHAPTEE VIL
Hovj her Father perished, cut offhy Divine vengeance.
Meaxt\"HILE the king regarded the death of his daughter as
nothing, unless the swineherd perished in a similar manner.
He therefore pursued him, who fled with hasty steps. When
he saw he could in no wise escape the king, he turned aside a
little out of the way into a marshy place in hopes of saving his
life. And when even there he found he could ^et no safe
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEPvN. 131
retreat, snatcliiug up a javelin lie transfixed the king, throwing
it upon him from behind by means of a thong. But the friends
of the king, in the place where he fell, erected in his memory a
great royal stone, placing on the top of it a smaller one carved,
w^hich remaineth to this day at a distance of about a mile to
the south of Mount Dumpelder. how earnestly should the
award of the just judge be announced to all men, in that what
the king, without investigating the truth, had hastily inflicted
on the innocent, himself received in his own person !
Meanwhile, the mother of the blessed child, who even now
within her womb was guiding her by divine inspiration, was
put into a coracle, that is, a boat made of hides, and carried out
into deep water beyond the Isle of May. And as that pregnant
girl departed from the shore all the fish of that self- same coast
attended her in procession as their mistress, and after the day
of her departure the take of fish there ceased. And the river-
mouth, so prolific in fish as mentioned above, because it re-
ceived the child unjustly condemned, remaineth unproductive
unto the present day ; but the fish who followed her remain
where she was abandoned. From that time until now the fish
are found there in such great abundance, that from every shore
of the sea, from England, Scotland, and even from Belgium
and France, very many fishermen come for the sake of fishing,
all of whom the Isle of May conveniently accommodateth in
her ports. But the mother of the blessed child was left alone
in the midst of the sea. She most devoutly committed the
pure conscience, which she maintained, to God who made the
heaven and the earth and all that is therein, Who keepeth truth
and executeth judgment for those who suffer injuries. And
when the morning dawned she was in safety cast on the sand
at CoUenros, which, according to sailors' computation, is thirty
miles distant from the Isle of May in Scotland ; but she suf-
fered grievously from the pangs of travail.
CHAPTEE VIII.
The Birth of S. Kenticjern.
But she, tortured with continual pain and with her cheeks
suffused with tears, prayed, saying, "Lord Jesu, Almighty
Father, Whose hands have made the sea and the dry land, and
at Whose nod all the elements exist, Who hast caused me,
though adjudged to death both on land and on sea, to land here
in safety, suffer me not now to perish. For I know, I know
132 LIVES OF SCOTTISH SAINTS.
assuredly, that for a short time impunity fostereth vice and pro-
moteth boldness in sinning, while the correction of faults
nourisheth virtue and showeth the ways of righteousness.
Wherefore I implore Thee, kind Father, that the punishment
which I have twice already suffered may avail to the remission
of all my sins ; and if aught remain in me of which Thou art
disposed to take vengeance, at least spare the innocent offspring
which Thou hast willed should be formed within my womb,
that in the ends of the earth Thy salvation may, through it, be
greatly increased, as I desired before it was conceived. For it
is I who have sinned ; it in truth hath done nothing amiss."
As she lay on the ground earnestly praying, suddenly a heap
of ashes, which the day before had been gathered together by
some shepherds close to the shore, was struck by a gust of the
north wind, which scattered around her the sparks which lay
hid within them. When therefore she had found the fire, the
pregnant young woman, as best she could, dragged herself at
once to the place indicated by God, and, in her extreme neces-
sity, with anxious groans, she made a little heap with the
wood which had been collected the day before by the aforesaid
shepherds to prepare the fire. Having lighted the fire, she
brought forth a son, the chamber of whose nativity was as rude
as that of his conception, " For there was no room for him in
the inn." O poverty, praiseworthy in the King, which re-
peated in his follower enriched him also. After she had
brought forth her son, and a long sorrow seemed impending, it
happened that some herds came to the spot, and when thej^
found the girl having the boy, and bursting forth in sighs and
tears and sobs, moved with compassion, some of them made up
the fire, others gave her of the food they had brought with them;
but others went straight to blessed Servanus, who at that time
was teaching the Christian law to his clerks, with one accord,
saying, " My Lord, thus and thus have we found." To whom'
the saint said, "A dia cur fir sin," which in Latin means "0
utinam si sic esset ! " And the youths replied, " Yea, father, it is
a true tale, and no fable which we tell ; wherefore we pray thee,
my Lord, come and see, that thy desire may without delay be
satisfied. And he also, when he had learnt the order of the
events, rejoiced with great joy, and said, " Thanks be to God,
for he shall be my dear one." For as the child was being
born, when he was in his oratory after morning lauds, he had
heard on high the Gloria in Excelsis solemnly sung. He re-
membered, therefore, the joy of the angels and the visit of the
shepherds to Bethlehem, even to the child Christ and His
mother Mary, seeing that in some respect the birth of the ser-
LIFE OF S. KENTIGEEN. 133
vant had a similarity to that of the Lord, in the chant of the
angels, and the visit of the shepherds, in the solitude of the
place. Triumphantly, with his clerics, with a loud voice he
sang the hymns of praise, Te Deum Laudamus and Gloria in
Excelsis. " Come, therefore, dearest brethren, since thoughts
cannot be subject to human condition, as they often affect the
things which distress us as well as those which please us, I
think, in the opinion of all the faithful, men should be ex-
horted not to presume to think that the conception of this
blessed child hath contracted the taint of fornication. For it
seemeth to me that the meeting of his father and mother excels
in sanctity lawful marriage : seeing that it was the intention of
the father to allure the mind of the virgin towards marriage
with himself, while the devotion of the mother prompted her
by preserving her virginity to avoid the society of men. From
the agreement of both there proceedeth, in the case of others, an
espousal, in their meeting lawful love abounded, and the virgin
devotion was not destroyed, although the mother in conceiving
suffered injury in the flesh, while she lost not her virginal
devotion. Verily virginity is not lacking when the integrity
of holy devotion abideth. Even in law she is not esteemed as
defiled who yieldeth not assent to the defiler, but is regarded
as a virgin. For when any handmaid of Christ suffereth
injury in the flesh, she loseth not the reward of virginity, but
it is reckoned to her as reward, as Lucy said to Paschatius : If
thou makest me to be violated against my will, my chastity is
doubled so far as gain is concerned. And as the petition of the
virgin could not be fulfilled without the male sex, on this wise
did the conception of the blessed Kentigern take place. There-
fore is this conception to be considered as holy, which was the
means granted by God to her prayer. That union which the
Lord predestined to happen is not to be imputed to sin ; for
was it not meet that the Lord should manifest in the course of
events which attended the birth, how much He loved the vow
of the virgin in adopting the son ? Be praise, therefore, to
Him alone who governeth the world, who hath, among others,
blessed our country Britain with such a patron."
viT j;
SANCTORUM SCOTIiE
SOIL. S. NINIANI ET S. KENTEGERNI.
Q
I.
[YITA NINIANI
PICTORUM AUSTRALIUM APOSTOLI,
AUCTORE AILREDO REVALLENSI.
PEOLOGUS.]
MuLTis virorum sapientium qui fuerunt ante nos
studio fuit sanctorum vitam mores verba, eorum dum-
taxat qui suis claruere temporibus, literis dare, et ad
posteritatis edificacionem vite perfectioris exemplum
oblivioni subducere et perpetuare memoria. Verum hi,
quibus erant preclara ingenia et copia dicendi splen-
dorque eloquentie, tanto id utilius executi sunt quanto
venustiori sermone aures avidientium 
