The Religion Anciently Professed by the Irish and British, Chapter 8

The Religion Anciently Professed by the Irish and British · Chapter 8

p. 75CHAP. VIII.

Of the Popes spirituall Iurisdiction; and how little footing it had gotten at first within these parts.

MAster Campion telleth us; thataaEdm. Camp. History of Ireland. lib. 2. ca. 2. when Ireland first received Christendome, they gave themselves into the Iurisdiction both spirituall and temporall of the See of Rome. But herein he speaketh without booke; of the spirituall jurisdiction untruly, of the temporall absurdly. For from the first legation of Palladius and Patricius, who were sent to plant the faith in this p. 76country, it cannot bee shewed out of any monument of antiquity, that the Bishop of Rome did ever send any of his Legats to exercise spirituall jurisdiction here (much lesse any of his Deputies to exercise jurisdiction temporall) before Gillebertus, quem aiunt primâ functum legatione Apostolicae sedis per universam Hiberniam; saith one that lived in his own time, even Bernard himselfe in the life of Malachias. One or two instances peradventure may be alledged out of some obscure authors, whose names, and times, and authority no man can tell us newes of: but unlesse that which is delivered by Bernard, as the tradition that was current in his time, can bee controlled by some record that may appeare to have beene written before his dayes; we have small reason to detract any thing from the credit of so cleere a testimony.

This country was heretofore, for the number of holy men that lived in it, termed the Iland of Saints: of that innumerable company of Saints, whose memory was reverenced here; what one received any solemne canonization from the Pope, before Malachias Archbishop of Armagh, & Laurence of Dublin? who lived, as it were, but the other day. We reade of sundry Archbishops that have beene in this land: betwixt the dayes of Saint Patrick and of Malachias, what one of them can be named, that ever sought for a Pall from Rome? Ioceline indeed a late Monke of the Abbey of Furnesse, writeth of St. Patrick; that the Bishop of Rome bbPallio decoravit, illique vices suas committens at que legatum suum constituens, quaecunque in Hiberniâ gesserat, constituerat, disposuerat, auctoritatis suae munimine confirmavit. Iocelin. vit. Patric. cap. 166.conferred the Pall upon him, together with the execution of legatine power in his p. 77roome. But he is well knowne to be a most fabulous author: and for this particular, Bernard (who was his ancient) informeth us farre otherwise; thatccMetropoliticae sedi deerat adhuc, & defuerat ab initio pallii usus. Bernard. vit. Malach. from the very beginning untill his time, the metropoliticall See of Armagh wanted the use of the Pall. with whom the author of the Annales of Mailros doth fully accord; noting thatddAnno 1151. Papa Eugenius quatuor pallia per legatum suum Iohannem Papirum transmisit in Hiberniam, quò nunquam anteà pallium delatum fuerat. Annal. Coenobij Melros. MS. in Bibliothecâ Cottonianâ. in the yeere 1151. Pope Eugenius (the same to whom Bernard did write his bookes de Consideratione) did by his Legate Iohn Papiron transmit foure Pals into Ireland; whither a Pall before had never beene brought. And therefore Giraldus Cambrensis, howsoever he acknowledgeth that Saint Patrick did eeApud Ardmacham sibi sedem elegit; quam etiam quasi metropolim constituit & proprium totius Hiberniae primatiae locum. Girald. Cambr. Topograph. Hibern. distinct. 3. cap. 16.choose Armagh for his seate, and did appoint it to be as it were a metropoliticall See, and the proper place of the primacie of all Ireland; yet doth hee affirme withall, that in very deedffArchiepiscopi verò in Hiberniâ nulli fuerant; sed tantùm se Episcopi invicem consecrabant: donec Iohannes Papyrio Romanae sedis legatus, non multis retrò annis advenit. Hic quatuor pallia in Hiberniam portavit, &c. Ibid. cap. 17. there were no Archbishops in Ireland, but that Bishops only did consecrate one another, untill Iohannes Papirio (or Paparo) the Popes Legate brought foure Pals thither. whereupon some of our Chroniclers after him, give this note concerning Gelasius, who was at that time Archbishop of Armagh; that ggHic primus Archiepiscopus dicitur, quia primo pallio usus est. Alii verò ante ipsum solo nomine Archiepiscopi & Primates vocabantur; ob reverentiam & honorem Sancti Patricii, tanquam Apostoli illius gentis. Pembrigius, author. Annal. Hibern. à Guil. Camden… edit. Thomas Casaeus in Chronic. Hi…ern. MS. ad ann. 1174.hee is said to have beene the first Archbishop, because hee used the first Pall: and that others before him were called Archbishops and Primates in name only; for the reverence of Saint Patrick, as the Apostle of that Nation.

And indeed it might seeme, that the complaint p. 78made by Anselme in his letters to Muriar dach King of Ireland, thathhEpiscopi quo que (qui debent esse forma & exemplum aliis Canonicae religionis) inordinatè, sicut audivimus, aut à solis Episcopis, aut in locis ubi ordinari non debent, consecrantur. Anselm. lib. 3. epist. 142. Bishops here were consecrated by Bishops alone, might somewhat justifie the truth of Giraldus his relation; if we did not find a further complaint there also, that they were ofteniiDicitur, ab uno Episcopo Episcopum, sicut quemlibet presbyterum, ordinari. Id. ibid. epist. 147. ordained by one Bishop onelyonly. But as this latter argueth, not the want of a competent number of Bishops in the land (for, as we shall heare presently, they had more than a sufficient number of such) but a neglect of the observance of the Canon provided by the Nicence Fathers in that behalfe: so can it not rightly bee inferred out of the former, that wee had no Archbishops here at that time, but that the Bishops rather did faile much in the Canonicall respect which they ought to shew unto their Metropolitane. For that the Irish had their Archbishops (beside many other pregnant testimonies that might bee produced) Pope Hildebrands owne Briefe doth sufficiently manifest; which is directedkkTerdeluacho inelyto Regi Hiberniae, Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Abbatibus, Proceribus, omnibus que Christianis Hiberniam inhabitantibus. Gregor. VII. epist. ad Hibern. MS. in Bibitothecâ Cotton. to Terdeluachus (or Tirlagh) the illustrious King of Ireland, the ARCHBISHOPS, Bishops, Abbots, Nobles, and all Christians inhabiting Ireland. And for the Archbishops of Armagh in particular; it appeareth most evidently by Bernard in the life of Malachias, that they were so far from being Metropolitans and Primates in name onelyonly; that they exercised much greater authority before they were put to the charges of fetching Pals from Rome, then ever they did afterward: and that they did not onelyonly consecrate Bishops, but erected also new Bishopricks, and Archbishopricks too sometimes, according as they thought fitting.

We reade in Nennius, that at the beginning St. Patrick p. 79llEcclesias sundauit CCCLXV. Ordinavit Episcopos eodem numero CCCLXV. Presbyteros autem us que ad tria millia ordinavit. Nenn. histor. Brit. MS.founded here 365. Churches, and ordained 365. Bishops, beside 3000. Presbyters. In processe of time the number of Bishops was dailymmMutabantur & multiplicabantur Episcopi pro libitu metropolitani; ita ut unus Episcopatus uno non esset contentus, sed singulae penè Ecclesiae singulos haberent Episcopos. Bernard. vit. Malach. multiplyed according to the pleasure of the Metropolitan, (whereof Bernard doth much complaine) and that, not onelyonly so farre, that every Church almost had a severall Bishop: but also that in somennQuòd in villis, vel civitatibus plures ordinantur. Lanfranc. epist. ad Terdeluachum regem Hibern. apud Baron. ann. 1089. num. 16. Townes or Cities there were ordained more than one; yea and oftentimesooDicitur, Episcopos in terrâ vestrâ passim eligi, & sine certo Episcopatus loco constitui. Anselm. lib. 3. epist. 147. ad Muriardachum regem Hibern. Bishops were made without any certaine place at all assigned unto them. And as for the erecting of new Archbishoprickes: if we beleeve our Legends,ppRex Engus & S. Patricius, cum omni populo, ordinaverunt Archiepiscopassm Mumeniae in civitare & in sede sancti Albei, qui tunc ab eisdem Archiepiscopus ordinatus est, per seculum. Ex vitâ S. Declani. Rex Engus & Patricius ordinaverunt; ut in civitate & cathedrâ sancti Albei e…et Archiepiscopatus omnium Memonensium semper, Ex vitâ S. Albei. King Engus and S. Patrick, with all the people, did ordaine, that in the City and See of Albeus (which is Emelye, now annexed to Cashell) should be the Archbishoprick of the whole Province of Mounster. in like manner also,qqFactâ Synodo magnâ in terrâ Laginensium, decrevit rex Brandubh, & tam laici quàm clerici, ut Archiepiscopatus omnium Laginensium semper esset in sede & cathedrâ sancti Moedog. Et tunc sanctus Moedog à multis catholicis consecratus est Archiepiscopus. Ex vit. S. Edani. A rege jam Laginensium Brandubh filio Eathach constitutum est, ut Archiepiscopatus Laginensium in civitate sancti Moedog esset. Ipsa civitas vocatur Ferna, quae est in terrâ gentis Kenselach. Ex vit. S. Molyng. Brandubh King of the Lagenians, with the consent as well of the Laity as of the Clergie, did appoint that in the Citie of Fernes (which was the See of Moedog, otherwise called Edanus) should bee the Archbishopricke of all the Province of Leinster. But Bernards testimony, wee have no reason not to beleeve, relating what was knowne to be done in his owne very time: thatrrErat & altera Metropolitica sedes, quem de novo constituerat Celsus, primae tamen sedi & illius Archiepiscopo subdita tanquam primati. Bernard. in vitâ Malachiae. Celsus p. 80the Archbishop of Armagh, had of the new constituted another Metropoliticall See, but subiect to the first See, and to the Archbishop thereof. By which wee may see that in the erection of new Archbishopricks and Bishopricks, all things were here done at home, without consulting with the See of Rome for the matter.

As for the nomination and confirmation of the Archbishops and Bishops themselves: wee finde the manner of advancing Saint Livinus to his Archbishoprick thus laid downe by Boniface in the description of his life.ssIllo defuncto, Rex Calomagnus, & eius Palatinorum chorus cum suis subaulicis, totiusque regionis illius confluentiâ, pari cordis affectu conclamaverunt, sanctum Sacerdotem Livinum in honorem huius ordinis dignissimè sublimandum fore. His Rex omnibus devotior consentiens, ter quaterque bearum virum in cathedrâ Archiepiscopatus debito honore, Domino jubente, collocavit. Bonifat. Vit. Livin. When Menalchus the Archbishop was dead, Calomagnus the King of Scots, and the troope of his Officers with the under-courtiers, and the concourse of all that countrey, with the same affection of heart cryed out, that the holy Priest Livinus was most worthily to bee advanced unto the honour of this order. The King (more devout than all of them) consenting thereunto, three or foure times placed the blessed man in the chaire of the Archbishoprick with due honour, according to the will of the Lord. In like manner also did ttRex Ecgfridus Episcopum fecit ordinari Lindisfarnensium ecclesiae virum sanctum & venerabilem Cudbertum. Bed. lib. 4. hist. cap. 27. & Vit. Cuthbert. cap. 24.King Ecgfrid cause our Cuthbert to be ordained Bishop of the Church of Landisfarne; and King Pipin uuEpiscopatum Salzburgensem, pro debito regiae magnificentiae, sancto concessit Virgilio. Vit. Episc. Saluburgensaom. 2. Antiqu. lect. Henr. Canis. pag. 259. & tom. 6. pag. 1174.granted the Bishoprick of Salzburg to our Virgilius: and Duke Gunzo would havexxWalafrid. Strab. Vit. Gall. lib. 1. cap. 16, 17, 19, 20. conferred the Bishoprick of Constance upon our Gallus; but that he refused it, andyyTheodor. Compidonens. v…lquicunque author fuit vitae Magni. lib. 1. cap. 8. edit. Goldesti, 10. Canisii. caused another upon his recommendation to be preferred thereunto.

In the booke of Landaffe, which is called Tilo p. 81(eyther from Teliau the second Bishop of that place, whose life is largely there described; or rather from the place it selfe, which of old was called**In the Lawes of Howel Dhae it is named Ecclesia Teilau: and so in Caradot of Lhancarvans Chronicle of Wales, pag. 94. Ioseph is called Bishop of Teilo, or Landaff. Telio) we reade that Germanus and Lupus zzSuper omnes Britannos dextralis partis Britanniae B. Dubticium summum Doctorem, à Rege & ab omni parochiâ electum Archiepiscopum, consecraverunt. Hâc dignitate ei à Germano & Lupo datâ; constituerunt ei Episcopalem sedem concessu Mourici Regis, Principum, Cleri & populi, apud Podium Lantavi. Lib. Ecclesiae Landavensis, MS.did consecrate chiefe Doctor over all the Britons inhabiting the right side of Britanie, S. Dubricius, being chosen Archbishop by the King and all the Diocesse: and that by the graunt of Mouric the King, the Nobilitie, Clergie, and people, they appointed his Episcopall See to bee at Landaff. thataaElectione Cleri & populi succedit in episcopatu Landavensis Ecclesiae. electione cleri Mercguini & Elgoreti & Gunnuini magistri; & trium Abbatum, Catgen abbatis …duti, Concenn abbatis Catmaili, Cetnig abbatis Docguinni; laicorum, Regis Mourici, & filiorum Athruis & Idnerth, Guidgen & Cetiau, Brogmail, Gendoc, Louhonerd, Catgualatyr, & omnium principum totius parochiae. Missus est S. Oudoceus cum clericis suis praedictis (Merchui & Elguoret & Gunubui) cum legatis trium Abbatum & Regis & Principum, ad Dorobornensem civitatem ad beatum Archiepiscopum; ubi sacratus est ecclesiae Landaviae in honore S. Petri fundatae. Ibid. Oudoceus, the third Bishop after him, being elected by King Mouric, and the chiefe of the Clergie and Laitie of the whole Diocesse, was by them sent to the Archibishop of Canterbury for his consecration. thatbbDCCCCLXXXII. (vel DCCCLXXII. potius) lucarnationis Domini anno, Gucaunus episcopus Landaviae confecratus à metropolitano Du…stano Dorobornensis ecclesiae archiepiscopo, datâ sibi virgâ pastorali in regali curià à summo Rege Anglorum AE…garo. Ibid. Gucaunus (the 26^th. Bishop of that Church) was consecrated by Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury; the pastorall staffe being given him in the Court by Edgar chiefe King of the English. that next after him,ccDCCCCLXXXIII. anno, electione factà regum Morcannuc, Ouein videlicèt & Idguallaun, Catell & Cinuin filiorum Morcantheu, Rotri & Crifud filiorum Elired, & totius Cleri & populi Morcannuc infra hortum Taratir in Gui & hortum Tivi positi: & dato sibi baculo in regali curiâ à summo Rege Anglorum Adelredo, & à metropolitano Dorobornensis Ecclesiae Albrico archiepiscopo, Bledri episcopus Landaviae consecratus est; & 1022. o…. anno Incarnationis Domini, ordinationis suae autem 39^o. anno, migravit ad Dominum. Ibid. in the year. p. 82983. election being made by the Kings and the whole Clergie and people of Glamorgan, and the pastorall staffe given in the Court by Ethelred chiefe King of the English; Bledri was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is there named Albricus. (though in truth, at the yeare here assigned, Dunstan did still hold the place.) and that after his decease in the yeare 1022.ddMXXII. anno Incarnationis Domini, consecratus est Ioseph episcopus Landaviae, Cantuariae à metropolitano Dorobornensis ecclesiae Aelnod archiepiscopo, in Kalendis Ostobris, & in primo (vel XVI…. potiùs) anno Cycli decennovennalis, verbo Regis Anglorum Cout, & dato sibi baculo in Curiâ illius: electione populi & cleri Landaviae, & Regum Britanniae, regis videlicèt Riderch regnantis per totam Gualiam tune tempore, & Hivel subreguli regis Moreannuc infra hortum Taratir in Gui & hortum Tivi regnantis. Ibid. by the election of the people and Clergie of Landaff and the Kings of the Britons (namely King Riderch that reigned at that time through all Wales, and Hivel the substitute of the King of Glamorgan) Ioseph was consecrated Bishop by Aelnod Archbishop of Canterbury, at the word of Cnut King of England, in whose Court the Pastorall staffe was given unto him.

Here in Ireland much after the same manner, M^r. Campion himselfe setteth down, thatffEdm. Campion. Histor. Hibern. lib. 1. cap. ult… ad annum 948. to the Monarch was granted a negative in the nomination of Bishops at every vocation: the Clergie and Laity of the Diocesse recommending him to their King, the King to the Monarch, the Monarch to the Archbishop of Canterbury. although this last clause bee wrongly extended by him to the Bishops of the whole land, which properly belonged to the Ostmann strangers, that possessed theggGirald. Cambrens. Topograph. Hiber…. distinct. 3. cap. 43. three cities of Dublin, Waterford, and Limrick. For these being a Colonie of the Norwegians and Livonians, and so country-men to the Normans, when they had seene England subdued by the Conquerour, and Normans advanced to the p. 83chief archbishoprick there; would needs now assume to themselves the name ofhhEodem tempore Norwagenses sive Ostmanni, qui civitates Hiberniae & maritima occupaverunt, Normanni vocati sunt. Annal. Dublin. ad ann. 1095. Normans also, and cause their Bishops to receive their consecration from no other metropolitan but the Archbishop of Canterbury. And forasmuch as they were confined within the walls of their own cities: the Bishops which they made had no other diocesse to exercise their jurisdiction in, but onelyonly the bare circuit of those cities. Whereupon we finde a Certificate made unto Pope Innocent the third in the yeare 1216. by the Archbishop of Tuam and his suffraganes; thatiiDominus Iohannes Papiron legatus Romanae Ecclesiae veniens in Hiberniam, invenit Dublin Episcopum habentem, qui tantum intra muros Episcoplae officium exercebat. Testimon. Tuamens. archiepisc. in Registro Dublin. archiepisc. & nigro libro Ecclesia S. Trinitatis. Iohn Papiron the Legate of the Church of Rome comming into Ireland, found that Dublin indeed had a Bishop, but such a one as did exercise his Episcopall office within the wals onelyonly.

The first Bishop which they had in Dublin (as it appeareth by the Records of that Church) was one Donatus, or Dunanus, as others call him: upon whose death, in the yeare 1074.kkAd regimen Dublinensis Ecclesiae Lanfrancus archiepiscopus Cantuariae, petente Goderico rege, Dubliniensis Ecclesiae populo & clero consentientibus & eligentibus, in Ecclesiâ sancti Pauli Londin. Patricium sacravit Antistitem. Annul. Dublin. ad annum 1074. Gothric their King, with the consent of the Clergie and people of Dublin, chose one Patrick for their Bishop, and directed him into England to bee consecrated by Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury: who sent him backe with commendatoryllHabentur apud Baron. ann. 1089. num. 12. & 15. letters aswell to the said Gothric King of the Ostmans, as to Terdeluacus the chiefe King or Monarch of the Irish. Hereupon, after the decease of this Patrick, mmAnno Dom. 1085. Laufrancus Archiepiscopus Cantuar. ad regimen Dublinensis Ecclesiae sacravit Donatum monasterii sui monachum in sede metropoli Cantuar. petentibus atque eligentibus eum Terdeluaco Hiberniae rege, & episcopis Hiberniae regionis, atque clero & populo praefarae civitatis. Annal. Dublin.in the yeare 1085. the same p. 84Terdeluacus and the Bishops of Ireland joyned with the Clergie and people of Dublin, in the election of Donatus, one of Lanfrancs owne Monkes in Canterbury: who was by him there also consecrated. Then when he dyed, in the yeare 1095. his nephew Samuel, a monke of St. Albans but borne in Ireland, was nnA Rege Hiberniae, Murierdach nomine, …ecnon à clero & populo in Episcopatum psius civitatis electus est; at que ad Anselmum, iuxta morem antiquum, sacrandus cum communi decreto directus. Fadmer. Histor. Nevor. lib. 2. pag. 34.chosen Bishop in his place by Murierdach King of Ireland, and the Clergie and people of the Citie: by whose common decree he was also sent unto Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury for his consecration. Not long after, the Waterfordians, following the example of the Dublinians, erected a Bishoprick among themselves;ooIbid. pag. 36. and sent their new Bishop to Canterburie for his consecration. the manner of whose election the Clergie and people of Waterford in the letters which they wrote at that time unto Anselme, doe thus intimate.ppNos & Rex noster Murcherta…bus, & Episcopus Dofnaldus, & Dermeth Dux noster frater Regi…, elegimus hunc Presbyterum Malchum, Walkelini Wintoniensis Episcopi monachum, nobis sufficientissimè cognitum, &c. We and our King Murchertach, and Dofnald the Bishop, and Dermeth our Captain the Kings brother, have made choice of this Priest Malchus, a monke of Walkeline Bishop of Winchester, the same man, without doubt, who was afterward promoted to the Bishopricke of Lismore; so much commended by Bernard in the life of Malachias.

The last Bishop of Dublin in the yeare 1122. was sent unto Anselmes next successor for his consecration: touching which I have seene this writ of King Henry the first, directed unto him:

Henricus Rex Anglia, Radulpho Cantuariensi Archiepiscopo, salutem.**Vt apud Graecos foreign, non est semper foreign, qu…madmodum ad Iliad. foreign. notatum est ab Eustathi… (pag. 884 & 831. edit. Roman.) sed aliquando respondet foreign. ita & vox Mando, apud Latinos mediae aetatis scriptores. ut apud Vincentium, verbi gratiâ, lib. 30. Specul. Historical. cap. 130 (humiliter ei mandaverunt.) & hoc in loco. Mandavit mihi Rex Hiberniae per p. 85Breve suum, & Burgenses Dublinae, quòd elegerunt hunc Gregorium in Episcopum, & eum tibi mittunt consecrandum. Vndè tibi mando, ut petitioni eorum satisfaciens, ejus consecrationem sine dilatione expleas. Teste Ranulpho Cancellario apud Windelsor.

Henry King of England, to Ralphe Archbishop of Canterbury, greeting. The King of Ireland hath intimated unto mee by his writ, and the Burgesses of Dublin, that they have chosen this Gregory for their Bishop, and send him unto you to be consecrated. Wherfore I wish you, that satisfying their request, you performe his consecration without delay. Witnesse Ranuph our Chancellour at Windsor.

All the Burgesses of Dublin likewise, and the whole assembly of the Clergie, directed their joint letters to the Archbishop of Canterburie the same time: where in among other things they write thus.qqSciatls vos reverâ, quòd Episcopi Hiberniae maximum zelum erga nos habent, & maximè ille Episcopus qui habitat Ardimachae: quia nos nolumus obedire eorum ordinationi, sed semper sub vestro dominio esse volumus. MS. ad calcem collectionis Is… dori Mercatoris, in Bibliothecâ Cottonianâ. Know you for verity, that the Bishops of Ireland have great indignation toward us, and that Bishop most of all that dwelleth at Armagh: because we will not obey their ordination, but will alwaies bee under your governement. Whereby we may see, that as the Ostmans were desirous to sever themselves from the Irish, and to bee esteemed Normans rather: so the Irish Bishops on the other side, howsoever they digested in some sort the recourse which they had to Lanfranc and Anselme (who were two of the most famous men in their times, and with whom they themselves were desirous to hold all good correspondence) yet could they not well brooke this continuation of their dependance p. 86upon a Metropolitan of another kingdome; which they conceived to be somewhat derogatorie to the dignitie of their owne Primate. But this jealousie continued not long. for this same Gregorie being afterwards made Archbishop of Dublin, and the Bishopricks here settled by Iohannes Paparo: aswell they of Dublin, as the others of Waterford and Limrick (for they also had one Patricke consecrated Bishop unto them by Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury) did ever after that time cease to have any relation unto the See of Canterbury.

And now to goe forward: as the Kings and people of this land in those elder times kept the nomination of their Archbishops and Bishops in their own hands, and depended not upon the Popes provisions that way: so doe wee not finde by any approved record of antiquitie, that any Visitations of the clergie were held here in the Popes name; much lesse that any Indulgences were sought for by our people at his hands. For, as for therrCharta S. Patricii, in Gulielmi Mal…esburiensis libello, de Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae. MS. Charter of S. Patrick, (by some intituled, De antiquitate Avalonicâ) wherein ssIn scriptis recentioribus inveni, quòd sancti Phaganus & Deruvianus perquifierant ab Eleutherio Papâ, qui eos miserat, X. (al. XXX.) annos indulgentiae. Et ego frater Patricius à piae memoriae Celestino Papâ XII. annos tempore meo acquisivi. Ibid.Phaganus and Deruvianus are said to have purchased ten or thirtie yeares of Indulgences from Pope Eleutherius; and St. Patrick himselfe to have procured twelve yeares in his time from Pope Celestinus: it might easily bee demonstrated (if this were a place for it) that it is a meere figment, devised by the Monkes of Glastenbury. Neyther doe I well know, what credit is to bee given unto that stragling sentence, p. 87which I finde ascribed unto the same authour. ttPatricius ai… Siquae quest… ones in h…c insulâ oriantur, ad sedem Apostolicam referantur. Vet. Collect. Canonum, Bibliothecae Cottoniane. cujus initium: Synodicorum exemplariorum innumerositatē conspiciens.If any questions doe arise in this Iland, let them bee referred to the See Apostolick. or that other decree, attributed to Auxilius, Patricius, Secundinus and Benignus. uuQuaecunque causa valdè difficilis exorta suerit, atque ignota cunctis Scotorum gentium judiciis; ad Cathedram Archiepiscopi Hibernensium (id est, Patricii) atque huius antistitis examinationem rectè referenda. Si verò in illâ, cum suis sapientibus, facile sana…i non poterit tali. causa … negotiationis: ad se…m Apostolicam decrevimus esse mittendam; id est, ad petri Apostoli Cathedram, auctoritatem Romae Vrbis habentem. Hi sunt qui de hoc decreverunt: id est, Auxilius, Patricius, Secundinus, Benignus, Vet. Codex Ecclesiae Armacha…e.Whensoever any cause that is very difficult, and unknown unto all the Iudges of the Scottish nations, shall arise; it is rightly to bee referred to the See of the Archbishop of the Irish (to wit, Patrick) and to the examination of the Prelate thereof. But if there, by him and his wisemen, a cause of this nature cannot easily be made up: wee have decreed, it shall bee sent to the See Apostolick; that is to say, to the chaire of the Apostle Peter, which hath the authoritie of the City of Rome. OnelyOnly this I will say, that as it is most likely, that St. Patrick had a speciall regard unto the Church of Rome, from whence he was sent for the conversion of this Iland: so if I my selfe had lived in his daies, for the resolution of a doubtful question I should as willingly have listened to the judgement of the Church of Rome, as to the determination of any Church in the whole world; so reverend an estimation have I of the integritie of that Church, as it stood in those good daies. But that St. Patrick was of opinion, that the Church of Rome was sure ever afterward to continue in that good estate, and that there was a perpetuall priviledge annexed unto that See, that it should never erre in judgment, or that the Popes sentences were alway to bee held as infallible Oracles; that will I never beleeve: p. 88sure I am, that my countrey-men after him were of a farre other beleefe; who were so farre from submitting themselves in this sort to whatsoever should proceed from the See of Rome, that they oftentimes stood out against it, when they had little cause so to doe. For proofe whereof I need to seeke no further, than to those very allegations which have been lately urged for maintenance of the supremacie of the Pope and Church of Rome in this Countrey.

First, M^r. Coppinger commeth upon us, with this wise question.xxCopping. … to the Catholicks of Ireland, lib. 2. cap. 3. Was not Ireland among other Countries absolved from the Pelagian heresie by the Church of Rome, as Cesar Baronius writeth? then hee setteth downe the copie of S. Gregories yyGregor. lib. 2. epist. 36. Indict. 30.epistle, in answer unto the Irish Bishops that submitted themselves unto him. and concludeth in the end, that the Bishops of Ireland being infected with the Pelagian errour, sought absolution first of Pelagius the Pope: but the same was not effectually done, untill S. Gregory did it. But in all this, hee doth nothing else but bewray his owne ignorance. For neyther can hee shew it in Cesar Baronius or in any other author whatsoever, that the Irish Bishops did ever seeke absolution from Pope Pelagius; or that the one had to deale in any businesse at all with the other. Neyther yet can hee shew that ever they had to doe with Saint Gregory in any matter that did concerne the Pelagian heresie. for these bee dreames of Coppingers owne idle head. The epistle of S. Gregory dealeth onelyonly with the controversie of the three chapters, which were condemned by the fifth generall Councell; whereof Baronius writeth p. 89thus.zzArdentissimo studio protrium capi ulorum defensione, junctis animis omnes qui in Hiberniâ erant Episcopi, insurrexere. Addiderunt & illud nefas, ut cùm percepissent Romanam Ecclesiam aequè suscepisse Trium damnationum capitulorum, atque suo consensu Quintam Synodum roborâsse: ab eâdem pariter resilierint, atque reliquis qui vel in Italiâ, vel in Africâ, aliisve regionibus erant schismaticis inhaeserint; fiduciâ illâ vanâ erecti, quòd pro fide Catholicâ starent, cùm quae essent in Concilio Chalcedonensi statuta defenderent. Baron. Annal. tom. 7. an. 566. num. 21. All the Bishops that were in Ireland, with most earnest study, rose up jointly for the defence of the Three Chapters. And when they perceived that the Church of Rome did both receive the condemnation of the Three Chapters, and strengthen the fifth Synod with her consent: they departed from her, and clave to the rest of the schismatickes, that were eyther in Italy, or in Africke, or in other countries, animated with that vaine confidence, that they did stand for the Catholicke faith, while they defended those things that were concluded in the Councell of Chalcedon. aaSed eo fixiùs inhaerent errori, cùm quaecun que Italia passa sit bellorum motibus, fame, vel pestilentiâ, eâ ex caussâ illi cuncta infausta accidisse putarent, quòd pro Quintâ Synodo adversus Chalcedonense Concilium praelium suscepisset. Ibid.And so much the more fixedly (saith he) did they cleave to their error, because whatsoever Italy did suffer by commotions of warre, by famine or pestilence, all these unhappy things they thought did therefore befall unto it, because it had undertaken to fight for the fifth Synod against the Councell of Chalcedon.

Thus farre Baronius: out of whose narration this may bee collected, that the Bishops of Ireland did not take all the resolutions of the Church of Rome for undoubted oracles; but when they thought that they had better reason on their sides, they preferred the judgement of other Churches before it. Wherein how peremptory they were, when they wrote unto St. Gregory of the matter; may easily be perceived by these parcels of the answer, which hee returned unto their letters.bbPrima ita que epistolae vestrae frons, gravem vos pati persecutionem innotuit. Quae quidem persecutio dum non rationabiliter sustinetur, nequaquam proficit ad salutem. Gregor. Regest. lib. 2. epist. 36. The first entry of your epistle p. 80hath notified, that you suffer a grievous perfecution… which persecution indeed, when it is not sustained for a reasonable cause, doth profit nothing unto salvation. and ccDum igit… ita sit, incongruum nimis est de eâ vos, quam dicitis, persecutione gloriari, per quam vos constat ad aeterna praemia minimè provehi. Ibid.therefore it is very unfit, that you should glory of that persecution, as you call it, by which it is certaine you cannot be promoted to everlasting rewards. ddQuod autem scribitis, quia ex illo tempore inter alias provincias maximè flagelletur Italia; non hoc ad ejus debetis intorquere opprobrium: quoniam scriptum est; Quem diligit Dominus, castigat, flagellat autem omnem filium quem recipit. Ibid.And whereas you write, that since that time among other provinces Italy hath beene most afflicted; you ought not to object that unto it as a reproach: because it is written: Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every sonne that he receiveth. Then having spoken of the booke that Pope Pelagius did write of this controversie (which indeed was penned by Gregory himselfe) hee addeth.eePorrò autem si post hujus libri lectionem in eâ, quâ estis, volueritis deliberatione persistere; sine dubio non rationi operam, sed obstinationi vos dare monstratis. Ibid. If after the reading of this booke, you will persist in that deliberation, wherein now you are; without doubt you shew, that you give your selves to bee ruled not by reason, but by obstinacie. By all which you may see, what credit is to be given unto the man, who would beare us in hand, that this epistle of St. Gregory was sent as an answer unto the Bishops of Ireland, that did submit themselves unto him: whereas (to say nothing of theffVid. Roman Correct. in Gratian. De comsecrat. distinct. 4. cap. 144. Ab antiqua. copies, wherein this epistle is noted to have beene written to the Bishops of Iberiâ, and not, in Hiberniâ) the least argument of any submission doth not appeare in any part of that epistle; but the whole course of it doth cleerly manifest the flat contrary.

In the next place steppeth forth Osullevan Beare; who in his Catholick history of Ireland, would have us p. 77take knowledge of this, that ggQuando verò Doctores Ibernici de gravibus fidei quaestionibus minimè consentiebant, vel aliquid novi dogmatis peregrè allati audiebant; soliti erant Romanum Pontificem veritatis Oraculum consulere. Philip Osullevan. Bearr. hist. Catholic. Ibern. tom. 1. lib. 4. cap. 6.when the Irish Doctors did not agree together upon great questions of Faith, or did heare of any new doctrine brought from abroad, they were wont to consult with the Bishop of Rome the Oracle of truth. That they consulted with the Bishop of Rome, when difficult questions did arise, wee easily grant: but that they thought they were bound in conscience to stand to his judgement, whatsoever it should bee, and to entertaine all his resolutions as certaine Oracles of truth; is the point that wee would faine see proved. For this hee telleth us, that hhNamque de tempore agendi Paschatis solennia (de que aliae queque Catholicae gentes saepè ambegerunt) & de Pelagianâ haeresi ubi fuit in quaestionem disputationemque deducta; Doctores Iberni ad Sedem Apostolicam retulerunt. Ac ita miseri Pelagli error nullum in Iberniâ patronum vel assertorem invenisse fertur; vel insulae aditu interclusus, vel ab eâ protinùs explosus, ubi contagiosam faciem aperuit, seseque cognoscendum praebuit: & ratio communis & ab Ecclesiâ usitata celebrandi redivivi Domini festum ab Australibus Ibernis fuit semper observata; & à Septentrionalibus quoque & Pictis & Britonibus, qui Doctoribus Ibernis fidem acceperunt, amplexa, ubi Ecclesiae Romanae ritum cognoverunt. Quod ex Apostolicarum literarum duplici capite à Bedâ relato non obscurè constat. Ibid.when questions and disputations did arise here concerning the time of Easter and the Pelagian heresie; the Doctors of Ireland referred the matter unto the See Apostolicke. Whereupon, the errour of Pelagius is reported to have found no patron or maintainer in Ireland: and the common course of celebrating Easter was embraced both by the Northren Irish, and by the Picts and Britons, as soon as they understood the rite of the Romane Church. Which (saith hee) doth not obscurely appeare by the two heads of the Apostolicke letters, related by Bede, lib. 2. cap. 19.

But that those Apostolick letters (as he calleth them) had that successe which hee talketh of, appeareth neither plainly nor obscurely by Bede, or any other authority whatsoever. The errour of Pelagius, saith p. 92he, is reported to have found no patron or maintainer in Ireland. But who is he that reporteth so, beside Philip Osullevan? a worthy author to ground a report of antiquity upon: who in relating the matters that fell out in his owne time, discovereth himselfe to bee as egregious a lyar, as any (I verily thinke) that this day breatheth in Christendome. The Apostolicke letters he speaketh of, were written (as before hath bin touched) in the yeere of our Lord DCXXXIX. during the vacancie of the Romane See, upon the death of Severinus. Our Countryman Kilianus repayred to Rome 47. yeeres after that, and was ordained Bishop there by Pope Conon in the yeere DCLXXXVI. The reason of his comming thither, is thus laid downe by Egilwardus or who ever else was the author of his life.iiHibernia siquidem olim Pelagianâ foedata fuerat haeresi, Apostolicaque censurâ damnata, quae nisi Romano judicio solvi non poterat. Author antiqu. Vit. Kilian. For Ireland had beene of old defiled with the Pelagian heresie, and condemned by the Apostolicall censure, which could not bee loosed but by the Romane judgement. If this be true: then that is false which Osullevan reporteth of the effect of his Apostolicall Epistle, that it did so presently quash the Pelagian heresie, as it durst not once peepe up within this Iland.