Boulogne-Sur-Mer Part 3

St. Fiacc states that the Apostle of Ireland was born at Nemthur-- Nemthur, as all commentators agree, is not the name of a town, but of a tower. "Neam-thur Hebernica vox est quse coelestem, sive altam turrim denotat." "Neamthur is an Irish word which denotes a heavenly, or a high tower" (Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres, Tom i., p. 96-- O'Conor).

a.s.suming that St. Patrick was born in the suburbs, and close to the town of Bononia, or Banaven, as it has already been proved from his "Confession," St. Fiacc's declaration that his Patron was born at Nemthur admits of a very lucid explanation. Nemthur was situated in the suburbs and close to the town of Bonaven. St. Fiacc gives the name of the district, but St. Patrick gives the name of the town near which he was born.

Singularly enough Caligula's famous tower on the sea coast of Boulogne was called Turris Ordinis by the Romans, but Nemtor by the Gauls, as Hersart de la Villemarque clearly proves in his "Celtic Legend" (p.

213), and the tower itself has given its name to the locality where it once stood, which is called even at the present time Tour d'Ordre--the French translation of "Turris Ordinis."

The history of this tower, on account of its close connection with the history of St. Patrick, cannot fail to be interesting. Caligula, or Caius Caesar, who died A.D. 41, meditated a descent upon Britain, and with that object marshalled his troops at Bononia. Fearful, however, of the dangers and fatigues of a long campaign in that inhospitable island, and full of childish vanity, he determined at length, as Suetonius humorously observes, "to make war in earnest; he drew up his army on the sh.o.r.e of the ocean, with his ballistse and other engines of war, and, while no one could imagine what he intended to do, on a sudden commanded them to gather up sea sh.e.l.ls and fill their helmets and the folds of their dresses with them, calling them 'the spoils of the ocean due to the Capitol and the Palatium.' As a monument of his success, he raised a lofty tower, upon which, as at Pharos, he ordered lights to be burnt in the night time for the guidance of ships at sea"

("Lives of the Twelve Caesars," Caligula, p. 283).

"It seems generally agreed," writes Forester, the translator of Suetonius' Lives, "that the point of the coast which was signalised by this ridiculous bravado of Caligula, somewhat redeemed by the erection of a high house, was Itium, afterwards called Gessoriac.u.m and Bononia (Boulogne), a town belonging to the Gaulish tribe of the Morini" (note, p. 283).

For many centuries this tower called Turris Ordens, Turris Ardens, or Turris Ordinis by the Romans, and Neamthur by the Gauls, spread its light over land and sea on the north-eastern cliffs of Boulogne.

A description of the tower is given in the "Memoirs of the Academy of Inscription," quoted by Bertrand in his "History of Boulogne," as follows: "The form of this monument, one of the most striking erected by the Romans, was octagon. It was entirely abolished about a hundred years ago, but, fortunately, a drawing of it, made when the lighthouse was still perfect, is still in existence, and has been exhibited to the Academy by the learned Father Lequien, a Dominican monk, native of Boulogne. Each of its sides, according to Bucherius, measured 24 to 25 feet, so that its circ.u.mference was about 200, and its diameter 66 feet. It contained twelve entablatures, or species of galleries, on the outside, including that on the ground floor. Each gallery projected a foot and a half further than the one above it, and consequently their size diminished with each succeeding gallery. On the top fires were lighted to serve as a beacon to vessels at sea. A solid foundation was formed, not only under the lighthouse, but for some distance beyond the external walls. It was constructed of stones and bricks in the following manner: first were seen three layers of stones, found on the coast, of iron grey colour, then two layers of yellow stone of a softer nature, and upon these two rows of hard red bricks, two inches thick, and a foot and a half long, and a little more than a foot broad"

("Bertrand's History of Boulogne," pp. 13, 14).

"Caligula's tower was built on the north-eastern cliffs, about half a mile from the sea, but within the suburbs of Boulogne. The constant encroachment of the tide had reduced that distance to 400 feet in 1544, when Boulogne was captured, and fortifications built around the tower by the English troops. Still, however, the merciless waves rushed onward to the coast, undermining the cliffs more and more, until at length, on July 29th, 1644, Caligula's tower fell headlong with a crash into the sea.

"Pa.s.sengers from Folkestone to Boulogne gaze with reverence or curiosity on the Calvary on the northeastern cliffs, which fishermen salute with uncovered heads when sailing out to reap the harvest of the sea. Close to the Calvary there is a ma.s.s of ruins overhanging the cliff, which is all that remains of the fortifications built round Caligula's tower by the English conquerors. The tower itself once stood over the site occupied by the Hotel du Pavillion et des Bains de Mer, opposite the place for sea bathing" ("Bertrand's History of Boulogne,"

pp. 15, 16).

"The Celtic Legend," published by Hersart de la Villemarque in 1864, clearly shows how the history of Bononia and of its celebrated tower is connected with his--St. Patrick's--life. One of the legends is ent.i.tled "St. Patrick," and commences as follows: "On the sh.o.r.e of the channel separating England from France, near the famous place from which Caesar embarked for the Isles of Britain, a fortified enclosure was erected overlooking and protecting the coast and territory which formed part of the possession of the Morini Gauls. This important strategic point was called in Latin, Tabernia, or the 'Field of Tents' (Le Champs du Pavilion), because the Roman army had pitched their tents there. About a mile distant, a group of buildings formed a fairly-sized village, which at first was called by the Gauls Gessoriac, _then Bonauen Armorik_, and afterwards named Bononia Oceasensis by the Roman Gauls, and finally Boulogne-sur-Mer by the French.

"A light-house, or Nemtor, as it was called in the Celtic language, kept watch during the night over the camp, village, and sea, preserving the Gaulish frontier from piratical incursions.

"At the foot of the light-house stood the residence of a Roman officer named Calphurnius, who had the supervision of the fire in the tower, amongst the more costly and ornamented houses than the others, where the free-and-easy life and customs of the Romans found a last refuge.

He lived there attended by domestic and military servants. He had fought under the Imperial flag and attained the rank of a Decurion (p.

354). . . .

"Forgetfulness of G.o.d, disobedience to His laws, which are also the best laws of human society, led to the ruin both of the colony of Bononia and of St. Patrick's family. One day a mutiny, from which the servants of Calphurnius could not have kept aloof, broke out amongst the soldiers in the camp, just at the time when pirates, who had come from different parts of the Irish coast and formed themselves into a fleet so as to plunder the towns on the sea coast of Gaul with greater security, took advantage of the dissensions amongst the inhabitants of Boulogne and besieged the town. Fine furniture, carpets, and valuable garments, vessels of gold and silver, arms and instruments of every kind, everything that they could seize in the houses, in the town, in the camp, in the rural dwellings close by, in the stables, in the ox stalls, in the sheep pens: horses, cows, pigs, cattle and sheep were carried off and placed on board the ships. Those who attempted any resistance were put to death, whilst others, undergoing the fate of domestic animals, were sold into slavery. Amongst the defenders of the colony who perished were Calphurnius, his wife, and many of his household. St. Patrick was numbered amongst the captives. The corsairs, having set sail, landed him in Ireland, where they sold him to a small chieftain in Ulster named Milcho" ("La Legende Celtique," par le Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarque, Membre de 1'Inst.i.tut Paris, 1864, Librarie Academique. Dedier et Cie., Librarie Editeurs, 35 Quai des Augustines).

There is a constant tradition that St. Patrick was a native of Boulogne, and that tradition is expressed in the Celtic Legend just quoted. Even the present "Guide Book" of that town (Merridew's, 1905) volunteers the following information, which, although erroneous as to dates, is interesting as referring to St. Patrick's connection with the city: "About the year 249 St. Patrick arrived in Morinia, and for some time resided at Boulogne" (p. 10). Feather Malbrancq, in his "History of the Morini," quotes the "Chronicon Morinense," "The Life of St.

Arnulphus," and "The Catalogue of the Bishops of that See" to prove St.

Patrick's connection with the town. Although it is certain that St.

Patrick never presided over that See, the fact of his being numbered amongst the Bishops admits of an easy explanation if he was a native of that town.

ST. FIACC DESCRIBES ST. PATRICK'S FLIGHT FROM IRELAND TO ARMORICA.

ST. FIACC poetically describes St. Patrick's flight to his-own native country in the fifth stanza of his hymn:

"Then far away beyond the seas, In happy flight o'er many a land, O'er many a mountain on he flees To fair Lethania's Southern strand, Nor rested long upon the road Until he gained Germain's abode."

It is evident from this that St. Patrick fled direct to Lethania after his escape from captivity in Ireland, having received the angel's promise that he should return to his native land. O'Conor testifies that the Irish called not only Armorica, Lethania, but all Western Gaul as far as the Diocese of Auxerre. ("Lethaniam appellabant Hiberni non modo Armoricam sed et occidentalem Galliam usque ad diocesim Antisiodorensem") ("Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres Tom," L, p.

91, note).

THE SCHOLIAST PRACTICALLY ADMITS ST. PATRICK'S BIRTH IN ARMORICA.

THE Scholiast, who annotated St. Fiacc's "Metrical Life of St.

Patrick," flourished in the eleventh century, according to Professor Bury. The scholia of the Scholiast, however, should be received with great caution, as Lanigan points out: "The scholia of the Scholiast,"

he remarks, "are not the composition of one person. For instance, in scholion 5, the Letha mentioned in the hymn is properly explained by Armorica, or the maritime tract on the North-West of Gaul; while in scholion n it is interpreted of Latium, in Italy. In scholion 9 we read that on a certain occasion St. Patrick said, 'Dar mo dhe broth,' which is explained, 'G.o.d is able to do this if He choose'; and yet immediately after it is added that 'Dar mo dhe broth' was a sort of a.s.severation familiar to St. Patrick, signifying 'By my G.o.d, Judge, or judgment.' On the whole, it is evident that the scholia, as we have them at present, are a compilation of observations, some more, some less ancient, extracted from various writers" ("Eccl. Hist, of Ireland," vol. L, c. iii., p. 81).

The scholion (i) on St. Fiacc's opening words: "Natus est Patritius Nemturri"--"St. Patrick was born at Nemthur"--is as follows: "Nemthur is a city in the Northern parts of Britain, viz. Alcluid (nempe Alcluida)." By comparing this scholion with the scholion given later on (c. iii.), it will be seen that the same pen has not written both scholia. The scholion referred to is this: "The cause of St. Patrick's captivity was this: His father, Calphurnius, and his mother, Conchessa, and his five sisters, Lupita, Tigris, Liemania, and Darerca, Cinnena was the name of the fifth, and his brother deacon, Sena.n.u.s, all together travelled from Britain Alcluid southwards over the Sea of Ictium to Armorican Lethania, or Britannia Lethania, both on business and because a certain relative of theirs dwelt there, and the mother of the above-named children, namely Conchessa, was of the Franks, and a near relative of St. Martin. At that time, however, seven sons of Fachmad, King of the Britons, broke loose from Britain and plundered Armorican Britain in the territory of Letha, where St. Patrick happened to be living with his family. They slew Calphurnius there, and carried off St. Patrick and his sister Lupita captives to Ireland. They sold Lupita 'in Connallia Murthemnensi' [a territory in Ulster], and Patrick in the northern parts of the territory of the Dal-aradia."

The contradictory nature of the accounts given by the Scholiast as to St. Patrick's supposed birth in Alcluid, or Dumbarton, and his capture in Armorica will be seen by comparing them with the statement made by the Saint himself in his "Confession": "I, Patrick, a sinner and the most uncultured and humblest of all the faithful, had a father named Calphurnius, a deacon, the son of Pot.i.tus, a priest, who hailed from the suburban district of Bonaven Taberniae, for he possessed a little country seat close by from whence I was led captive." This statement of the Saint disproves the a.s.sertion of the Scholiast that Calphurnius and his family were on a friendly visit to Armorica when all the calamities befell them, for the Saint distinctly states that his father hailed from Bonaven Taberniae, and that he himself was actually residing at his father's little country seat in the suburbs of that town at the time when he was forced into captivity.

It is evident, therefore, from the Scholiast that Bonaven Tabernise was situated in Armorican Britain; and from St. Patrick's "Confession,"

that the town from which he was led captive was his own native town.

The Apostle of Ireland could not, therefore, as the Scholiast suggests, have been born at Alcluid, or Dumbarton. It is curious to observe how unconsciously the Scholiast connects Calphurnius and his family with Boulogne. Calphurnius and his family are made to sail from Dumbarton, over the Sea of Itius or Ictius, to Armorica. Hersart de la Villemarque has already identified Bonaven under its various names as Bononia or Boulogne. It was called Itius or Ictius by Caesar, Bononia by the Romans, and Bonauen Armorik by the Gaulish Celts. The Scholiast, therefore, when he directs the course of Calphurnius and his family across the Sea of Ictius, seems to be steering their ship directly to Boulogne.

Nemthur cannot possibly be the name of the town near which St. Patrick was born, simply because the Saint gives the name of Bonaven, or Bononia, as the city of his birth. St. Fiacc does not name Nemthur as a town; he simply tells us that St. Patrick was born at Nemthur, which, as has been proved, was both the name of the Caligula's tower and of the district in which that tower stood in the suburbs of Bonaven. The Scholiast is the first to call Nemthur a town, and evidently puts it down as the ancient name of Alcluid, or Dumbarton. This is the obvious meaning of the scholion: "Nemthur est civitas in septentrional!

Britanni nempe Alcluida." Nemthur is a city in northern Britain, namely Alcluid. The "nempe Alcluida" looks very much like an interpolation, and if an interpolation, the statement of the Scholiast that Nemthur is a city in northern Britain, without the addition "nempe Alcluida,"

might easily refer to Northern Britain in Gaul where, however, Nemthur was not the name of a city, but the name both of a tower and of the district of the city where St. Patrick was born.

Neither the Scholiast, nor those who have adopted his views as to the Saint's birth at Dumbarton, have ever answered Lanigan's challenge, who boldly states that the name Nemthur is not to be found in Nennius's "List of British Towns," which Usher himself had ill.u.s.trated, nor in any of the old "Itineraries," or in Ricardus Corinensis, or in Camden, or Horsley &c. (vol. i, b. 3, p. 91).

The learned Cardinal Moran, in the March of the _Dublin Review_, 1880, endeavoured to take up the gauntlet and answer Lanigan's challenge by quoting one of Taliessin's poems from the "Black Book of Carmarthen,"

which represents a Welsh hero sailing away with an army to Scotland and recovering his lost inheritance in a battle fought and won at Nevthur in Clydesdale.

Besides the fact that no small stretch of imagination is required to believe that Nevthur and Nemthur are one and the same, nearly all the poems attributed to Taliessin are regarded as spurious by learned critics, as Chamber's "Encyclopaedia," under the heading Welsh Literature, evidently points out.

"Mr. Nash, the author of 'Taliessin and the Bards and Druids of Wales,'

enables us to form an independent judgment on this point, for he translates some fifty of the poems, and we find that, instead of their exhibiting an antique Welsh character, they abound in allusions to mediaeval theology, and frequently employ mediaeval Latin terms. It is certainly unfortunate for the reputation of the 'Chief of Bards' that the specimens of his poems, which are considered genuine, possess exceedingly small merit. The life of this famous but over-rated genius is, of course, enveloped in legend." Lanigan's challenge, therefore, still remains unanswered, and a town mamed Nemthur is not to be found in any ancient history, geography, or map. The error, therefore, of the Scholiast consisted in stating that Alcluid and Nemthur were identical, but his statement that St. Patrick was captured in Armorica is historically true.

THE "TREPARt.i.tE LIFE" FALLS INTO THE SAME ERROR.

THE following account is given in the "Trepart.i.te Life" concerning St.

Patrick's native town, and the country from which he was taken captive:--

"Patrick, then, was of the Britons of Alcluid by origin. Calphurn was his father's name. He was a n.o.ble priest. Pot.i.t was his grandfather's name, whose t.i.tle was a deacon. Conceis was his mother's name. She was of the Franks, and a sister to St. Martin. In Nemthur, moreover, was the man Patrick born. . . .

"The cause of Patrick's coming to Erin was as follows: 'The seven sons of Fachmad, namely--the seven sons of the King of Britain--were on a naval expedition, and they went to plunder Armoric Letha; and a number of Britons of Strath-Cluaidh were on a visit with their kinsmen--the Britons of Armoric Letha--and Calphurn, son of Pot.i.t, Patrick's father, and her mother Conceis, daughter of Ocbas of the Gauls, that is of the Franks, were killed in the slaughter in Armorica. Patrick and his two sisters, viz. Lupait and Tigris, were taken prisoners, moreover, in that slaughter. The seven sons of Fachmad went afterwards to sea, having with them Patrick and his two sisters in captivity. The way they went was around Erin, northwards, until they landed in the north, and they sold Patrick to Miluic, son of Baun, that is, the King of Dal-Araidhe.

"They sold his two sisters in Conaille Muirthemne. And they did not know this. Four persons, truly, that purchased him. One of them was Miluic. It was from this that he received the name Cothriage, for the reasons that he served four masters. He had, indeed, four names" (W. M.

Hennessey's Translation of the "Trepart.i.te Life").

The author of the "Trepart.i.te Life" repeats the contradictory statements of the Scholiast, namely, that St. Patrick was born at Dumbarton and captured in Armorica, and it stands refuted by St.

Patrick himsel in his "Confession," who declares that his father hailed from Bonaven, where the Roman encampment stood, and that he himself was captured whilst residing at his father's villula, or country seat, close by the town. Just as we are bound to credit St. Patrick's "Confession;" the statements of the Scholiast, and of the author of the "Trepart.i.te Life," that he was simply on a visit to his relatives in Armorica when captured, must be discredited.

Ignoring the fact that the author of the "Tripart.i.te Life" and Probus tell the same tale, the Archbishop of Tuam, in his excellent "Life of St. Patrick," states "that the Scholiast on St. Fiacc whilst expressly declaring that Nemthur, St. Patrick's birthplace, was in North Britain, namely, Ail Cluade, adds that young Patrick, with his parents, brother and sisters, went from the Britons of Ail Cluade over the Ictian Sea, southwards, to visit his relatives in Armorica, and that it was from Latevian Armorica that Patrick was carried off captive to Ireland. The Scholiast here confounds the Armoric Britons of the Clyde with the Armoric Britons of Gaul, or Letavia, who had no existence then at so early a date. No doubt they were kindred Britons, but the name Britannia and Britons were not at that time given to Armorica of Gaul"

(Appendix i., p. 585).

Nothing is here said by His Grace about Probus or the "Tripart.i.te Life," who agree with the Scholiast that the Saint was captured in Armorica. When treating of Britannia in Gaul, it will be proved from the "Sacred Histories of Sulpicius Severus" that Armorica was called Britannia when the Council of Ariminium was held in the year 359. It is evident, however, that the author of the "Tripart.i.te Life" was firmly convinced that St. Patrick was captured in Armorica, from the description he gives of the flight of his captors: "The seven sons of Fachmad went afterwards on the sea, having with them Patrick and his two sisters in captivity. The way they went was northward around Erin, until they landed in the north, and they sold Patrick to Miluic."