Ardagh History

Legend says that St. Patrick arrived in Ardagh c.434 and created a Christian settlement over which he put his nephew, Mel of Ardagh, in charge as bishop. The village is beside Ardagh Mountain (Irish Árd Archadh means "high field"), a hill 650 feet high.

The mountain was originally known as Brí Leith. One of the High King's rights was bilberries from Brí Leith for his traditional harvest meal. (Bilberries look like blueberries of North America but are not the same species. In Ireland they are gathered on the last Sunday of July, and at Lughnasadh.) Brí Leith was the legendary home of Midir, a king and son of Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

After Patrick, it became an important part of Ireland's early Christian history, but there are no records of Mél's successors as bishop of Ardagh until the reign of Henry II and the arrival in Ireland of the English. Brigid of Kildare was said to have spent her earliest years as a nun in the Ardagh monastery, under the mentorship of Mél.

The English attempt to take over Ireland (one of many) caused the burning of the original church and town. In 1230, after being restored, there was further trouble over choosing a bishop. The disagreement turned to violence, and part of the cathedral was once again destroyed. Another dispute over episcopal control in 1496 again destroyed the entire church, leaving only an altar standing. The illustration above shows what little remains of the Church of Mél behind some gravestones.

There was more than one location in Ireland named Ardagh. We've been talking about Ardagh in County Longford, but there was another in County Limerick, in which a treasure hoard was discovered in 1868 in a potato field. Tomorrow we'll show off the Ardagh Hoard.

Mél of Ardagh

St. Patrick had sisters. One of them was discussed yesterday, Derarca, called the "mother of saints" because she had so many children who became saints and or bishops. Four of her sons were named Mél, Melchu, Munis, and Rioch. (Some historians think Mél and Melcghu ere the same person.) They went with their uncle Patrick to Ireland tp help with his mission.

Patrick established a church at Ardagh and made Mél its bishop. (The illustration is of Patrick consecrating Mél.) Mél was a "traveling bishop," supposedly never staying in one place long but always moving to spread his missionary message. He performed manual labor to earn his living as he went. He spent part of his time living on the farm of his aunt Lupait, during which rumors spread to discredit him that he and she were living an inappropriate and scandalous life together. Patrick himself went to investigate, but Lupait and Mél proved their innocence by performing miracles. Lupait survived a Trial by Ordeal by carrying hot coals without harm. Mél produced a live fish by ploughing it up in a field.

In contrast to this reported wandering life, he also is said to have built a monastery at Ardagh, and was its abbot as well as a bishop (difficult to do if you aren't around much). Brigid of Kildare visited Ardagh for a time, and Mél was her mentor there. He granted her the authority of an abbess, which was a benefit when she established her own monastery.

Mél is remembered these days in a cathedral at Longford dedicated to St. Mél, as well as a college. His feast day is 7 February, and has taken on an unusual observance. It is seen as a holiday for single people (perhaps as a rebellion against all the fuss of St. Valentine's Day a week later). On 7 February in Longford, single people celebrate the benefits of being single, and even send cards and host parties for singles.

Ardagh was important as an early Christian diocese in Ireland, but its history traces back longer than that. Let's talk about its folkloric traditions tomorrow.

St. Patrick's Family

Whether Brigid of Kildare was an early Irish saint or a pre-Christian goddess, her legend says that her mother was a slave baptized by St. Patrick, and that she was mentored by Patrick's nephew, Mél of Ardagh. As it turns out, Patrick had more than a few nephews who followed in his footsteps.

Patrick had a sister, Derarca, known as St. Derarca and the "mother of saints" because of her children's careers. Our first indication of her comes from the Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii (Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick), which is believed to have been written within a century of Patrick's death. It mentions that Patrick had two sisters, and when he came to County Derry for an ordination he found three deacons there who were his nephews. (To be honest, Patrick's own very brief account of his life mentions no sisters.)

Legend says that Derarca married twice. Her first husband was purported to be Conan Meriadoc; she bore him Gradlon Mawr, later King of Brittany. (Another legend says that her first husband was Restitutus the Lombard.) Her second husband was Conis the Briton. If you add up all the children attributed to her, you have 17 sons—all of whom became bishops and/or saints—and at least two daughters. (The illustration shows where her house is said to have stood, on Valentia Island in Kerry, of which she is the patron.)

Her daughters were Saint Eiche of Kilglass and Saint Lalloc of Senlis. Her other children included Saint Sechnall of Dunshaughlin; Saint Nectan of Killunche; Saint Auxilius of Killossey; Saint Diarmaid of Druim-corcortri; Dabonna, Mogornon, Drioc, Luguat, and Coemed Maccu Baird.

The three deacons Patrick encountered in Derry, however, were Saint Reat, Saint Nenn, and Saint Aedh. They are commemorated on 3 March, 25 April, and 31 August. Some records say Patrick had several sisters, and I am not certain of the mother of these three. 

There was one child in particular, son of Derarca and Conis, of whom we do hear more, and that is the Mél of Ardagh mentioned above. I'll tell you about him tomorrow.

St. Brigid Cross

It is not unusual for Christian symbols of the cross to have variation. We all recognize the two straight lines perpendicular to each other, with a horizontal one shorter than the vertical one, and spaced about one-quarter to one-third from the top of the vertical.

There is, however, an upside-down or inverted cross in Christian tradition, the Cross of St. Peter. In Catholic tradition, when Peter was to be crucified he requested that the cross be upside-down. This comes from the "Acts of Peter," a 2nd-century Greek apocryphal work. The author says that Peter's request was to make a point that the beliefs of his persecutors were opposite of what they should be.

But there is also St. Andrew's Cross, the shape called saltire. It most resembles the letter "X"; it is named for St. Andrew because of the tradition that he was martyred by being bound to an X-shaped crucifix.

With those examples in mind, let's look at St. Brigid's Cross, associated with Brigid of Kildare. (The image above is from a site that will show you how to make it.) traditionally, Brigid's Cross is made from freshly cut reeds on 1 or 2 February, the cross-quarter festival of Candlemas. The rushes or reeds were pulled on the eve of her day, then crosses were made the next day to protect the home during the coming year.

I think this cross is just one more piece of evidence that Brigid was a legend, not a living person. Despite the stories—and even physical relics that exist but only appeared centuries after she supposedly lived—it seems more likely, as some historians believe, that the stories of St. Brigid are a Christianization of the Celtic goddess Brigid, a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

There is no real evidence for her existence. The miracles attributed to her parallel some stories out of folklore. Kildare, where she established a monastery, comes from Gaelic Cill Dara, "Church of the Oak," an oddly pagan-sounding name for a Christian church. Her feast day is Imbolc, the pre-Christian calendar's start of spring. She was raised in the house of a druid (!), and a white cow magically appeared to provide milk for her—not a unique animal to show up in times of need in Celtic folklore. St. Brigid and the goddess Brigid have some of the same associations: healing, metalwork, dairy workers, farming.

Her cross is different from other Christian cross variations, not just by its shape, but because the shape seems secondary to its construction from natural materials, still green, and re-created annually to ensure protection. Certainly, crosses and crucifixes are worn for protection, as are other amulets and talismans, but the Brigid Cross is so connected to Nature that it allies more closely to the pre-Christian traditions in Ireland than the later introduction of Christianity.

There are historical figures tied to her legend though, like the King of Leinster and St. Patrick. That king and Brigid's mother Broicsech were both baptized by Patrick. The Book of Armagh, relied on for its early texts about Patrick, clearly states the important friendship between Patrick and Brigid. Patrick died c.461, however, and the best sources for St. Brigid claim she was born c.451.

Speaking of the two, however: the Brigid story also states that her mentor was Mél of Ardagh, who was Patrick's nephew. I have to confess that in none of the reading I have done about St. Patrick have I seen references to his extended family—and it turns out it was pretty extensive! Tomorrow we'll look at the relatives of St. Patrick.

St. Brigid

When the King of Leinster, Crimthann Mac Énnai (died 483) told his vassal Dubhthach to free a young girl from slavery, he knew she was special, but could not predict that Brigid of Kildare (c.451 - c.525) would grow up to be a saint.

Tradition says that Brigid founded a monastery at Kildare  (Cill Dara, "church of the oak"), with seven companions. She became a "consecrated virgin"; that is, she pledged to live a life of virginity as a bride of Christ. This was confirmed (according to the stories) by either a bishop who became St. Mac Caille or by Saint Mél of Ardagh (a nephew of St. Patrick by Patrick's sister Darerca).

Brigid invited a hermit, Conleth from Connell, to help her, and they founded two institutions: one for women and one for men. Conleth became the first bishop of Kildare. Kildare was ruled for hundreds of years by co-equal abbess-bishops and abbot-bishops, became an important center of religious learning, and developed into a cathedral city.

Conleth, who was a metalsmith and illuminator, oversaw a school of art at Kildare. A Gospel book made there was praised by Gerald of Wales in the 12th century. His description of it matches what we now know as the Book of Kells.

Miracles attributed to Brigid include turning water to beer, calming the wind and rain, and healing wounds. A more unusual miracle took place when she asked the King of Leinster for the land to build the monastery and was denied. After praying, she asked the king if he would grant her as much land as her cloak would cover. The king, of course, agreed. She handed her cloak to four women, asking them to each take a corner and run off in the four cardinal directions. The cloak expanded more and more, threatening to cover hundreds of acres.

The panicked king asked what she was doing, and Brigid told him she intended to cover his whole kingdom in response to his stinginess. He pleaded with her to call the women back and he would give her a suitable plot of land.

Brigid's Feast day is 1 February, the same date as the pre-Christian festival of Imbolc that heralds the start of spring, and involves weaving Brigid crosses. I want to talk about the Brigid cross tomorrow, and whether it is a clue to Brigid's existence as, not a saint, but a goddess. See you then.

The Quest to Spread Christianity

Christianity came to Britain early. Tertullian and Origen, writing in the early 3rd century, mention Christian figures there. What is now Christian doctrine was not fully formed, however, and so some practices differed from what was happening around the Mediterranean. Pelagius, for example, was born there, whose heretical ideas prompted St. Jerome to call him "stuffed with Scottish porridge." The Synod of Whitby pitted the practices of Irish/Celtic/British Christianity against Roman Christianity.

The Christianity developing in the British Isles may have developed differently, but the fervor with which missionaries felt it should be spread was the equal of any 1st century apostle. Missionaries such as Patrick and Finnian of Clonard christianized Ireland, the Irish then christianized the Picts, then St. Columba focused on Scotland. (In all this, the Anglo-Saxons seem to have been left alone. The counties stories of the spread of Christianity in the first several centuries don't include anyone going on missions to southern England, until Pope Gregory I sends Augustine of Canterbury in 597 to preach to them.)

With all the islands converted, Irish missionaries looked for farther goals...and there was a whole continent waiting. One of the most successful Irish missionaries was Columbanus (543 - 615). He first went to Burgundy, establishing schools until he was exiled from there by Theuderic II. He went to Austria and established an abbey there. When Theuderic took over that part of the continent, Columbanus fled to Italy and established a scholar Bobbio.

His schools raised hundreds of Christians with the same philosophy of mission work, establishing monasteries in Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. The legacies of St. Gall and the Scots Monastery can be traced back to Columbanus and his schools.

The Íslendingabók ("Book of the Icelanders") written between 1122 and 1133 mentions Irish priests already in Iceland when the Norse arrived.

The 14th and 15th centuries saw a decline in the number of Irish monks traveling to Europe and joining the monasteries. Monasteries in Nuremberg and Vienna were given over to German groups. The Scots Monastery was handed to a Scottish congregation in 1577 by papal decree.

Enough about missions from Great Britain. What happened when a mission came to Great Britain? Did Augustine have an easy time of it, with the Christians nearby? We'll find out tomorrow.

Marie de France

Marie de France (c.1160 - 1215) is called that because of one line from her writing: "Marie ai num, si sui de France." It means "My name is Marie, and I am from France." If that is not a pseudonym, then it sums up all we know factually about her life.

The desire to pin down who she was (and the fact that Marie was a very common name) has led to numerous guesses regarding her identity, none of which would make a difference in the study of her writings. (If Shakespeare's plays were written by the Earl of Oxford, how would that change our enjoyment of them? Not a bit.)

Those who have heard of her know of The Lais of Marie de France, a collection 12 lais. A lai (English lay) was a lyric poem in octosyllabic couplets, popular in France and Germany in the 13th and 14th centuries, dealing with adventure and romance. The 12 are written in Anglo-Norman and often focus often on courtly love. A few of the stories exist separately in manuscripts, but there is one manuscript in the British Library that has all 12. That manuscript, Harley 978, presents them in what may be a deliberate order: the odd numbers show positive results for characters who love others; the even lais show the negative results of love that is imperfect. (Bisclavret is number four, an even number.)

Harley 978 also has a prologue in which we gain some insight into Marie. She writes that she wanted to create something that would be entertaining and morally instructive in the style of Greco-Roman literature. She therefore is recording Breton tales that she has learned. The prologue also dedicates the lais to a "noble king." From the time period in which they seem to be written, and her knowledge of Anglo-Norman and Middle English, the assumption is that she was known in the court of Henry II or possibly even his son.

A few other works are also attributed to her. She is credited with a retelling of the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick, a French translation of a latin poem. "Purgatory" in this case is not a cosmic status between Heaven and Hell; it is a pilgrimage site in Northern Ireland, a cave that Christ showed to St. Patrick and explained was an entrance to Purgatory.

She also produced a re-telling of Aesop's Fables called Ysopet ("Little Aesop"), which has some fables not seen in Aesop. Many of her fables are about humans, and in many of those she presents tales of female cunning over male ignorance or foolishness.

Her fables would make a good topic on their own, so that's what we will look at next.

The Annals of Ulster

History is written by the victors, or so it is said, and I was warned in graduate school always to question an author's intent. Everyone who write something down has an agenda, a point they intend to get across. That point might not be completely objective.

The Annals of Ulster might be in the same category, but their entries are usually simple lists of events without editorializing. This give the historian a separate check on other more detailed accounts, just in case the longer account is presenting a skewed version to get across the author's political point.

Another benefit of the Annals is that they cover more than ten centuries, from 431 CE until 1540, and so reach back further than many historical records. The first entry for 431 is:

Kalends of January
The year 431 from the Incarnation of the Lord.

Palladius, having been consecrated by Celestine, bishop of the city of Rome, is sent to Ireland in the consulship of Aetius and Valerius as first bishop to the Irish so that they might believe in Christ—in the eighth year of Theodosius.

The first several decades are compiled from other accounts, before the contemporary writers take over.  For the next year, for instance, we see:

432
Kalends of January sixth feria, fifth of the moon, [AM]4636. AD 432 according to Dyonisius.

Patrick arrived in Ireland in the ninth year of the reign of Theodosius the Less and in the first year of the episcopate of Xistus, 42nd bishop of the Roman Church. So Bede, Maxcellinus and Isidore compute in their chronicles.

The contributors to the Annals seemed to like following kings and their events and battles, as well as the activity of the viking invaders of Ireland. Another benefit to historians is that the Annals are written mostly in the Irish language, with only a few entries in Latin. Linguists have used the Annals to study the evolution of the Irish language.

But here's a question: if you're writing a history of Ireland, and obviously St. Patrick is an important part of that, it might make sense to use that as your starting point. They started, however, with Palladius. So ... who was he?

Glastonbury

One of the oldest roadways in Northern Europe is the Sweet Track, of crossed wooden poles driven into waterlogged ground to support oak planks. Discovered in 1970, it was dated by dendrochronology to determine its age. The planks were cut in 3807-8BCE, and provide evidence that the Glastonbury area was inhabited in Neolithic times by an organized community that wanted to ensure safe and easy passes of an extremely marshy area (for thousands of years earlier it was systematically shifting from dryish land to shallow lakes.

So far as we know, however, it didn't have a name until the Saxons in the 7th and 8th centuries called it in Anglo-Saxon Glæstyngabyrig. The "byrig" element is fairly straightforward, referring to a burh or fortified place. The first part is unclear, and might have been a personal name. It might be linked to a legend from the Life of St. Patrick: Patrick resurrected a swineherd named Glas mac Caise (Gaelic glas means "green/grey-green"), who then went to (what is now) Glastonbury. There are other theories as well, none definitive.

Glastonbury is overlooked by a hill, Glastonbury Tor, on the summit of which is the remains of the church St. Michael. (Seen above, and one of the few places I have blogged about that I have actually visited.) The Tor was considered a gathering place for fairies; St. Michael was the Christian main defense against evil entities, so the chapel (later the church) was built to guard against the supernatural.

I have previously mentioned William of Malmesbury's reference to Glastonbury, and the remains of an early glass factory there. Robert de Boron added significance to the area when he had the Holy Grail brought there.

Mystical legends, such as the Glastonbury Thorn tree which sprang from Jospeh of Arimathea's staff (even though the origin of that story is de Boron who does not have Joseph actually making it to Glastonbury), and the purported zodiac built into the landscape around the town (for which there is no convincing evidence) have made Glastonbury seem very mystical. The New Age movement of the 20th century embraced Glastonbury—as seen by the number of esoteric book and gift shops—and each summer sees an enormous Glastonbury Festival of the Performing Arts. Its identification as Avalon in the Arthurian legends was also a big inspiration for its current reputation.

The existence of the Sweet Track (it was named after the discoverer, Ray Sweet) got me thinking: what about the history of roads? Stay tuned.

Imbolc

The first of February is the date of the Irish quarter-year festival called Imbolc. Imbolc is Old Irish for "in the belly"; it refers to the time of lactation in ewes and lambing, and was the official start of spring.

Imbolc may well be a neolithic tradition [neolithic is from Greek νέος (néos, "new") and λίθος (líthos, "stone") "new stone age"; c.10,200 BCE to c.4500-2000 BCE]. In Leinster, Ireland there is a stone tomb constructed between 3000 and 2500 BCE; the rising sun illuminates the passage into it twice a year, on Imbolc and Samhain.

In the Middle Ages, references to Imbolc are found in Irish literature salting in the 10th century. It became a time to think about the lengthening days and therefore time to think about the plantings ahead. (Conceptually, it was probably a precursor to Groundhog Day.)

The day became connected with St. Brigid, one of the three patron saints of Ireland.* The conflation of the saint with a fertility goddess leant itself to adding a lot of rituals and traditions to the day. Brigid's Crosses were woven from rushes for the occasion by young females, who would carry them while singing a hymn to Brigid.  Brigid would be invited into the home on the eve of Imbolc so that she would bless the house and family members. The ashes of the fire were carefully raked and smoothed that night; in the morning, they would be searched for any disturbance that suggested that Brigid had passed through. Brigid would be called upon to bless livestock for the coming year.

*St. Patrick and St. Columba were the other two.

Lutefisk!

Today is an important day in Sweden: Anna's Day, celebrating all people named Anna. It is also the traditional day to start preparation of lutefisk in Sweden and Finland, so that it is ready for the traditional meal on Christmas Eve.

It is made from cod, soaked in cold water, changed daily, for five or six days, then left in cold water with lye for two days. The fish swells and takes on a gelatinous consistency. This stage also raises its pH value to 11-12, making it very caustic and downright dangerous to eat. In order to make it edible, it must be soaked in cold water for another week, changing the water daily to flush out the lye.

Why do this? The origin of the process is uncertain (see below), but the lye would make the fish unappetizing to wild animals; perhaps it was done to allow large amounts of fish to be left hanging on drying racks out in the cold air. It certainly helps preserve the fish. Treating food to make it more alkaline is also used in the preservation/preparation of corn into hominy.

Lutefisk has a history that stretches back centuries. Scholarly research claims it is first mentioned in the late 18th century; a cookbook from 1845 describes the preparation of the lye used to make lutefisk by combining limestone and birch ash in water. Historians, however, have found a reference to lutefisk by a Swedish archbishop in 1555, and that a letter from King Gustav I (1496 - 1560) mentions it in 1540.

Folklorists suggest an even earlier reference: when Vikings raided Ireland, St. Patrick had his followers make them an offering of fish—spoiled fish. The Vikings seemed not to mind, so Patrick had his people pour lye on the fish, hoping to poison the Vikings. The Vikings, against all expectation, found the fish tasty and demanded the recipe.

But let honesty prevail: the major Viking raids in Ireland happened a few hundred years after Patrick.  Still, lutefisk was probably around prior to King Gustav. The "Vikings enjoy something we think is vile" was probably an old joke at the expense of Vikings. I suppose the tale could be partially true, but Patrick was not likely to be the instigator.

So go buy some whitefish (cod or ling), start soaking it in cold water, and get some birch ash ready!

A Note on Ireland

Anti-Irish sentiment has a long heritage. In the Middle Ages, Ireland was a target of Western Europe disdain for at least two reasons.

16th century map of Ireland.

Gerald of Wales (c.1146-c.1223), a royal clerk under King Henry II, accompanied Henry's son John to travel to Ireland in 1185. Gerald praised the land, but condemned the people:

They use their fields mostly for pasture. Little is cultivated and even less is sown. The problem here is not the quality of the soil but rather the lack of industry on the part of those who should cultivate it. This laziness means that the different types of minerals with which hidden veins of the earth are full are neither mined nor exploited in any way. They do not devote themselves to the manufacture of flax or wool, nor to the practice of any mechanical or mercantile act. Dedicated only to leisure and laziness, this is a truly barbarous people. They depend on their livelihood for animals and they live like animals.

This could have been an accurate account of what he saw, but could just as easily have been intended to provide justification for Henry's conquest of Ireland in order to gain for himself and his sons more lands and resources. Pope Adrian IV (the first Englishman to sit the Throne of Peter) had written a papal bull in 1155 called Laudabiliter;* it gave Henry permission to assume control over Ireland and apply Gregorian reforms.

...and that was the second reason for anti-Irish sentiment: Ireland needed to be brought into line doctrinally with the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic missions to Ireland (notably that of the Scotsman, St. Patrick) had introduced Christianity centuries before this. Christianity had survived in Ireland while it suffered in Britain due to invasion from Northern European pagan groups. But the Christianity restored in Britain afterward was closely tied to Rome, while Christianity in Ireland had developed its own practices and rituals.

Old habits are hard to break; "No Irish Need Apply" was not uncommon even in the second half of the 20th century, and Irish stereotypes and persecutions today are no new thing.

*The names of papal bulls don't always signify their topic; in this case, it is named for the opening word, which says (in English) "Laudably and profitably doth your Majesty consider how..." N.B.: scholars have argued for the last few centuries over the authenticity and authority of Laudabiliter, but for the present purpose, we can accept that it was very real for the 12th century.