Finnian of Movilla
Finnian of Movilla | |
|---|---|
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| Born | c. 495 possibly Ulster |
| Died | c. 589 |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church Church of Ireland Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | Movilla Abbey |
| Feast | 10 September |
| Patronage | Ulster[1] |
Finnian[2] of Moville (c. 495–589) was an Irish Christian missionary. His feast day is September 10.
Origins and life
Finnian (sometimes called Finbarr "the white head", a reference to his fair hair),[3] was a Christian missionary in medieval Ireland. He should not be confused with his namesake Finnian of Clonard. Nor should Movilla (Maigh Bhile) in County Down be mistaken for Moville in County Donegal.
Traditional scholarship has it that he was a descendant of Fiatach the Fair and born in Ulster, but his lineage has been questioned lately by the American Celticist Thomas Owen Clancy. He apparently studied under Colman of Dromore and Mochae of Noendrum, and subsequently at Candida Casa (Whithorn), after which he proceeded to Rome, returning to Ireland in 540 with a copy of St. Jerome's Vulgate.[4] He returned to found a school of his own and, at a time when books were rare, this text brought honor and prestige to the establishment.[3]
Teacher
Finnian settled his new school at the head of Strangford Lough, at Maigh Bhile (Movilla)—the plain of the ancient tree, a sacred place, venerated in pagan times.[3] He founded a famous school of Druim Fionn at about this time. Legend has it that he tried to convert Tuan mac Cairill, a mythical figure who was the last survivor of the Partholonian race, and that while doing so had the famous Scéal Tuáin maic Cairell recounted to him. This is a text about takings of Ireland, a source for the famous Lebor Gabála Érenn.
Columba
Finnian's most distinguished pupil at Movilla was Columba. Tradition has it that Columba's surreptitious copying of a psalter led eventually to his exile on Iona. What remains of the copy is housed in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.[5] The casket that contained it is now in the National Museum of Ireland. It is known as the Cathach of St. Columba, Cathach, or Battler, and was customarily carried by the O'Donnells in battle. The inner case was made by Cathbar O'Donnell in 1084, but the outer is fourteenth century work.[4]
Adomnan of Iona claimed that Columba served as a deacon under Finnian, whom Adomnan claimed to be a bishop. Adomnan, in his biography of Columba, recorded a story that claimed Columba performed the miracle of turning water into wine. Finnian was performing mass on one occasion, but they had run out of wine. Columba then proceeded to a well and drew water. He called on Christ's name and blessed the water he drew from the well, whereupon the water transformed into wine and he brought the wine to the mass. This was the first miracle that Columba did in his life, according to Adomnan. [6]
Rule and code
Finnian wrote a rule for his monks, also a penitential code.[4]
Notes
- (1) In 2001 Thomas Owen Clancy, a Celticist at the University of Glasgow, argued that St Finnian and St Ninian were one and the same person, and that the confusion is due no less than to an 8th-century scribal spelling error.
References
- ^ Challoner, Richard. A Memorial of Ancient British Piety: or, a British Martyrology, p. 128. W. Needham, 1761. Accessed 14 Mar 2013.
- ^ Sometimes given as Uinniau in older sources.
- ^ a b c Hammond, David. "St. Finnian's Cregagh"
- ^ a b c Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Finnian of Moville." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Jul. 2013
- ^ https://www.ria.ie/library/special-collections/manuscripts/cathach.aspx
- ^ Adomnan of Iona, Life of St Columba. Penguin books, 1995
Sources
- Clancy, T. O. "The real St Ninian", in Innes Review, 52 (2001), pp. 1–28
- MacKillop, James. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford, 1998.
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