Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum; Or, Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars

by John Healy

For many years he had been resolving in his mind to sail round Britain, and go to Germany to preach the Gospel to the pagan tribes who dwelt there, and who were kindred to his own nation of the Angles. But God had willed otherwise. There was in Egbert’s monastery an old monk who had many years before been minister to Boisil, Abbot of Melrose, an Irish foundation in Scotland. Now one morning after matins, Boisil appeared to this aged monk, who at once recognised his old master, and commanded him to tell Egbert that it was God’s will that he should give up his proposed journey to Germany, and go rather to instruct the Columbian monasteries in the right method of keeping Easter, and of tonsuring the head.

Egbert fearing that this vision might be a delusion, still continued his preparations for Germany, and did not obey the direction given by Boisil. Then that saint appeared a second time to his minister, and commanded him to make known to Egbert, in a more imperative way, what it was God willed him to do. “Let him go at once,” he said, “to Columba’s monastery of Hy, because their ploughs do not go straight, and he will bring them into the right way.” Moreover, the ship in which he was preparing to set out for Germany was wrecked in a storm, and thrown upon the shore, leaving, however, his effects intact. Egbert, taking this as a further manifestation of the Divine will, gave up his project of going to Germany, and set sail for Iona. Wictbert, however, one of his associates in religion in Ireland, went in his stead, and for two years preached the Gospel in Friesland, but reaped no harvest of success amongst the pagans. So he returned once again to Ireland, and gave himself up to serve God during the rest of his life, as he was wont to do before his departure, in great purity and austerity; “so that if he could not be profitable to others by teaching them the faith, he took care to be useful to his own beloved (Irish) people by the example of his virtues.”

Now when this holy father and priest, Egbert, beloved of God, and worthy to be named with all honour, came to the monastery of Iona, he was honourably and joyfully received by the community. He was also a diligent teacher, and carried out his precepts by his example, so that he was willingly listened to by all the members of the community. The effect of his frequent instructions and pious exhortations, was that at length the community of Hy consented to give up the inveterate tradition of their ancestors in religion, and adopt the new discipline, which by this time had been received everywhere else throughout the Irish Church. Now surely, this was, as Bede observes, a wonderful dispensation of Providence, that these very monks of Iona, who were the first to preach the Gospel in Northumbria, should afterwards be persuaded by this Northumbrian priest to accept the correct discipline and true rule of spiritual life. And stranger still, it was on Easter Day, the 24th of April, A.D. 729, that this man of God went to his eternal rest; whereas, but for his exertions, that Easter festival would not have been duly celebrated on that day, but, in accordance with the unreformed system, would have been celebrated in that year towards the end of March, whilst the rest of the Church was observing the fast of Lent.

With Egbert also dwelt in the same monastery the celebrated St. Chad, or Cedd, Bishop of Lichfield. Chad is justly regarded, on account of his learning and holiness, as one of the Fathers of the Anglo-Saxon Church. He was one of four brothers, like Egbert himself, of Northumbrian origin, two of whom became bishops, and two were holy priests. Chad was one of that crowd of Northumbrian nobles, who, in the days of Bishops Finan and Colman, flocked to Ireland for instruction in theology and religious discipline. Bede says expressly that he with the most reverend Father Egbert, when both were youths, led for a long time a monastic life together in Ireland—praying, observing continency, and meditating on the Holy Scriptures. Chad, however, returned after a time to his own country; but Egbert continued in Ireland until he set sail for Iona.

Chad was, as we have already seen, present at the Conference of Whitby in A.D. 664, and having been educated in Ireland, he naturally sympathised with Bishop Colman and the Irish party. He was subsequently appointed to the see of York, but still sympathising with the Irish party, he was deposed through the influence of Wilfrid. Yet he was sometime after appointed to the See of Lichfield. He was a man of great holiness of life; but his episcopacy at Lichfield only continued for two years and a half. He died probably in A.D. 671 or 672, and was buried in St. Mary’s Church; but his bones were afterwards translated to the present Cathedral of Lichfield.

A little later in the same seventh century, the celebrated St. Willibrord, afterwards Archbishop of Utrecht, was a student in our Irish schools, and most probably, we should say, at Mayo of the Saxons. His father Wilgils, was also of the English nobility, but after the birth of his son he retired from the world, and built himself a cell at the mouth of the Humber, where he led a life of the most austere virtue. Willibrord in his youth was trained in the great school of St. Wilfrid at York; but about the age of twenty, in order to finish his education, like most of his countrymen at the time, he passed over to Ireland. This much we know from Bede, who also adds that whilst yet only a priest in Ireland, he led therein the life of a pilgrim—forsaking his earthly country through love of his heavenly country. Willibrord also testified to Bishop Acca and Bishop Wilfrid, that once on a time, when he was in Ireland, the plague overtook a certain student of the Scottish, that is the Irish, race. This young man, though well skilled in literature, had been rather heedless about the welfare of his soul. When he fell sick he at once sent for Willibrord, and telling him how much he feared to die on account of his sins, he besought him, if he had any relics of the good King Oswald, to apply them for his benefit.

Then Willibrord said that he had a portion of the stake on which the pagans fixed the head of the martyred king; and “blessing some water he put into it a chip of the aforesaid oaken stake, and gave it to the sick man to drink. He presently found ease, and recovering from his sickness he lived a long time after; and being entirely converted to God in heart and actions, wherever he came, he spoke of the goodness of his merciful Creator, and the honour of his faithful servant.”[439]

It was the holy Egbert, who sent Willibrord with twelve companions to preach the gospel to the Frisians. And shortly after two other priests of the English nation, who had long lived as pilgrims in Ireland, following their example, went to preach in Saxony, where they gained the crown of martyrdom within a few years. This is not the place to narrate at length the apostolic labours of Willibrord and his associates—how he was consecrated by Pope Sergius in Rome, and was commissioned to preach to the Frisians; how completely he succeeded where others had failed; how he laboured there for fifty years in all—during thirty-six of which he was Archbishop of Utrecht. These things are told at length by Alcuin in his beautiful Life of St. Willibrord, which also describes the saintly end of the long and laborious career of this venerable servant of God.

It is surely a credit to our Irish schools to have trained up so many learned and apostolic men, like Egbert and Willibrord. It was in Ireland they were trained in divine studies, as Bede testifies; it was in Ireland they learned the continent and self-denying life of all true apostles; and it was from Ireland they went forth to preach the Gospel to the fierce pagan tribes of Germany, where so many of them were privileged to meet a martyr’s death.

Another Irish student at this period was Agilbert, afterwards Bishop of Paris. He was, says Bede, a Frank by birth, who came from that country to Ireland, “and lived a long time there for the purpose of studying the Scriptures.” Bede seems to imply that he was a bishop before he came to Ireland,[440] for he describes him as a ‘Pontifex natione Gallus.’ This shows in what high esteem our Irish schools must have been held at this period, when even bishops came from France to study divinity in their halls. Agilbert afterwards passed over to England, and for a time held the See of Dorchester or Winchester. He was present at the Conference of Whitby, and took the side of Wilfrid, but finally returning to his native country he was made Bishop of Paris. The year of his death is not known. It was probably about A.D. 680.