St. Magnus was the son of Erlin, Earl of Orkney. He was distinguished from childhood by an uprightness of life which indicated his future sanctity. Erlin was opposed by Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, who made him prisoner and seized his possessions, carrying off the young Magnus to act as his personal attendant. After ravaging the Western Isles the Norwegian king encountered, off the Island of Anglesey, the forces of the Norman Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury, and defeated them with much slaughter. The young Magnus {64} refused to take any part in the unjust warfare, and remained in his ship engaged in prayer throughout the battle. He was soon after able to escape to the court of Malcolm III, where he remained for some time in safety.
Magnus bitterly lamented for the rest of his days the excesses into which he had fallen in the life of constant warfare and strife which had been his lot with the Norwegians; whatever their guilt may have been, it was his constant endeavour to atone for them by penance and prayer.
The family possessions in the Orkneys were regained on the death of Barefoot, but fresh contests were stirred up when Haco, cousin of St. Magnus, laid claim to them for himself. To avoid bloodshed St. Magnus agreed to a meeting with Haco in the island of Egilshay that thus the dispute might be settled in a friendly manner. Haco, however, was a traitor; and caused his own forces to be drawn round the unarmed Magnus to compass his destruction. The latter, made aware of the treachery, and unable to make any defence, prepared for his conflict by a night of prayer in {65} the church, and the reception of the Sacraments. Then, when morning dawned, he advanced courageously to confront his murderers, and met a barbarous death with Christian fortitude. The only Catholic cathedral in Scotland which remains entire still shelters the body of a saint. It may be that God has spared it to restore it to Catholic worship through the merits of St. Magnus. The feast, known in the Middle Ages as "Magnusmas," was restored by Pope Leo XIII. His fair was formerly held at Watten-Wester in Caithness. A holy well at Birsay, in Orkney, bears his name.
17—St. Donnan and Companions, Martyrs, A.D. 617.
Like St. Columba, whose countryman he was, St. Donnan left his native Ireland and passed over to Scotland, where he established a monastery on the Island of Eigg, one of the Inner Hebrides. While celebrating the Holy Mysteries on Easter morning the abbot and his monks were surprised by a horde of pirates, possibly Danes, who had been instigated by a malicious woman to put them to death. At F {66} the prayer of the monks they granted them a respite till Mass was finished, and then put them all to the sword. The martyrs numbered fifty-three.
Many churches, especially in the west, bore St. Donnan's dedication.
Among them were Kildonan of Eigg, Arran, South Uist, Kintyre, and
Lochbroom. On the island of his martyrdom is the saint's well. St.
Donnan's abbatial staff existed up to the Reformation; it was
treasured at Auchterless, Aberdeenshire, where "Donan Fair" was held
as late as 1851. Another fair used to be held at Kildonan, in
Sutherlandshire. The feast of these martyrs was restored to the
Scottish Calendar by Leo XIII in 1898.
18—St. Laserian or Molios, Abbot, A.D. 639.
This saint was of princely race in Ireland. He seems to have been brought to Scotland at an early age, and to have been sent to Ireland for his education. Later on he returned to Scotland for a life of sanctity and solitude. A small island in the bay of Lamlash, off the coast of Arran, became his abode for many {67} years. His virtues gave it the name it still bears of Holy Island.
St. Laserian seems to have made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was raised to the priest hood. Returning to Ireland, he afterwards became abbot of the monastery of Leighlin. He is said to have espoused with much zeal the Roman usage with regard to Easter.
In Holy Island, which was so long his solitary abode, are still to be seen traces of his residence. A cave scooped out of the rock bears his name, and a rocky ledge is called "St. Molio's Bed." A spring of clear water near the cave is also pointed out as the saint's well, and miraculous properties have been attributed to it. The cave itself is marked with many pilgrims crosses.