Olden — On the Consortia of the First Order of Irish Saints. 417 



Saints are said not to have "been afraid of, and so great was the diffi- 

 culty experienced by the authorities of the Church in suppressing 

 it on the Continent of Europe, as well as in Africa and the East. It 

 would he strange if the attitude of the rulers of the Irish Church 

 were different with regard to this dangerous practice. We have 

 many notices of a historical or quasi-historical character relative to 

 the Saints of the First and Second Orders, and a consideration of some 

 of them will throw light on the subject. 



I will refer first to the " Tripartite Life of St. Patrick " in which 

 we find mention of an incident in the life of Bishop Mel, He lived at 

 Ardagh, in the County of Longford, with a sister — his sister, as she 

 is termed; but unfavourable rumours with regard to the relations 

 subsisting between them having reached the ears of St. Patrick, he 

 came to Ardagh to inquire into the matter. The result of his visit 

 was the issue of a decree which is thus given — " Let men and women 

 be apart so that we may not be found to give opportunity to the 

 weak, and so that by us the Lord's name be not blasphemed, which 

 be far from us." This corresponds with the Mnth Canon of the 

 Synod, attributed to Patrick Auxilius and Isserninus, which is — " Let 

 not a monk and a virgin from different places (that is, I suppose not 

 relatives) dwell together in one house." iN'or is this the only case in 

 which St. Patrick is said to have acted with reference to this practice ; 

 he seems indeed to have had considerable trouble with it. Colgan 

 refers to the case of MacMsse, Bishop of Connor, who was baptized 

 and ordained by St. Patrick, and who afterwards fell into grievous sin 

 in this way, and had his hand cut off as a punishment. A more 

 sensational story is that of Lupait recorded in the " Tripartite." She 

 lived at the Fort of Macha, afterwards known as the Eerta, where 

 St. Patrick and his missionary party dwelt, and is fabled to have been 

 his sister, though, as Lanigan truly observes, he had no relatives in 

 Ireland. She was one of those sisters I am now treating of ; and the 

 saint was enraged with her, the narrative says, because he believed 

 her guilty. To disarm his wrath, she came to meet him, and cast her- 

 self down before his chariot. " Drive the chariot over her," he said. 

 The charioteer obeyed, and three times the order was carried out. 

 "Wherefore," adds the writer, "she went to heaven at the Eerta," 

 that is, her death took place in the presence of all the members of tiie 

 mission. "Whether this is to be taken literally as an execution of the 

 culprit, I do not know, but at any rate it conveys the impression that 

 St. Patrick would have no trifling with his commands. 



The period at which the decree referred to was issued is of some 



E.I.A. PEOC, SEE. III., VOL. Ill, 2 p 



