Der Regensburger Dom der Stadt Regensburg, Deutschland
Also
known as
Marianus of Ireland
Muirdach MacRobartaigh
Murdoch MacGroarty
Muiredach MacGroarty
formerly 17 April
formerly 4 July
Profile
Pilgrim to Rome, Italy in 1067,
but he never made it. As he passed through Michaelsberg, Germany,
he was asked to help copy some manuscripts for a convent.
With his travelling companions
working to make the vellum on which he wrote, he stayed for the work, and
became a Benedictine monk at Michelsberg
Abbey, and then at the Upper Minster, Ratisbon, Bavaria (in
modern Germany).
Founded Saint Peter’s abbey at Ratisbon in 1078,
and served as its first abbot.
This house began the congregation of twelve monasteries in
southern Germany staffed
by holy men from the British Isles. Marianus spent any free time copying
manuscripts, including the Bible, and was known as a exceptional calligrapher;
some of his manuscripts survive today.
Legend says that one evening
the woman who
prepared lamps for Marianus suddenly overslept. She woke some others to help
her and went to Marianus’s room. Marianus sat without lamp or candle,
writing with his right hand, holding his other in the air. A light shone from
left hand, illuminating his work, and the ladies left him in peace.
Born
early 11th
century in County Donegal, Ireland
10
February 1088 at
Ratisbon (Regensburg), Germany
Additional
Information
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of Saints, by the Monks of
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of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
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of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
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MLA
Citation
“Blessed Marianus
Scotus“. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 January 2026. Web. 3 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-marianus-scotus/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-marianus-scotus/
Book of Saints –
Marianus Scotus
Article
(Muredhae) (Blessed) Abbot (February
9) (11th
century) An Irishman by birth who, after embracing the religious life at
Dunkeld in Scotland, journeyed first to Rome, and finally founded (A.D. 1074) a
monastery at Ratisbon in Germany. He was eminent for his great learning and has
left many valuable writings.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Marianus Scotus”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
24 November 2014. Web. 3 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-marianus-scotus/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-marianus-scotus/
Saints
of the Day – Blessed Marianus Scotus, O.S.B., Hermit
Article
(also known as Muirdach
MacRobartaigh) Born in Donegal, Ireland; died in Ratisbon (Regensburg),
Germany, in 1086. Like so many Irishmen before him, Marianus set out with some
companions on a pilgrimage to Rome. On his way back, he was persuaded to become
a Benedictine monk at Michelsberg near Bamberg. From there he migrated to Upper
Minster at Ratisbon. In 1078, he founded and became the abbot of Saint Peter’s
Abbey there, thus originating the congregation of Scottish monasteries in
southern Germany. Throughout his life, Blessed Marianus occupied his free time
with copying manuscripts (Benedictines).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
26 January 2026. Web. 3 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-blessed-marianus-scotus-o-s-b-hermit/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-blessed-marianus-scotus-o-s-b-hermit/
Blessed Marianus Scotus,
OSB Abbot (AC)
(also known as Muirdach
MacRobartaigh or Muiredach MacGroarty)
Born in Donegal, Ireland;
died 1088. The noble MacRobartaigh family is related to the O'Donnels, who were
the hereditary keepers of the Cathach (Battle Book of Colmcille). In 1067,
Muirdach set out with some companions on a pilgrimage to Rome. En route he was
induced to become a Benedictine at Michelsberg Abbey (near Bamberg), Germany.
The pilgrims stopped to rest at a hostel maintained by the local convent. Its
abbess, Emma, learned that Muirdach was extraordinarily gifted at producing
manuscripts. Using the seemingly irresistible powers of persuasion that all
nuns seem to have, he took up her suggestion and migrated to Upper Minster at
Regensburg to create the literary treasures of Saint Peter's Church in
Regensburg. The most famous of these are the Pauline Epistles that now reside
in the Imperial Library at Vienna, Austria. The quality and quantity of his
artful productions, which appear inspired by the Holy Spirit gained for him a
reputation for sanctity.
In 1078, he founded and
became the abbot of the abbey of Saint Peter in Regensburg. Having successfully
taken charge of the church and abbey attached to it for the task of copying
manuscripts, other Irish monks were attracted to the mission. The abbey
expanded to the point that, within 10 years, plans were made for another such
monastery. In this way, Muirdach originated the congregation of 12
"Scottish," that is, Irish monasteries in southern Germany. (The
reason for the term "Scottish" is that it was used from the time of
the Romans for the Irish. Even 200 years after the establishment of the
Scottish monarchy, the term was commonly used for things Irish. Although
Scottish monks pressured Pope Leo XIII, who did permit them in 1515 to take possession
of Saint James in Regensburg and the abbeys at Constanz and Erfurt. In Germany,
the 12 are still known as the Schottenklöster. )
Saint James Abbey, like
the ones to follow, was established with funds sent from Ireland. They retained
the character and enjoyed privileges normally granted to Irish monasteries. In
the 12th century, the emperor granted to the abbot of Saint James, considered
the motherhouse, the privilege of using the half-eagle on his coat of arms, the
right to the title of prince, and the status of independent statehood for the
entire congregation of monasteries, which included the two at Regensburg, two
in Vienna, and foundations at Würzburg, Nuremberg, Constanz, Memmingen, Erfurt,
Kelheim, Oels, and Schottenburg (Silesia) (Benedictines, Montague).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0209.shtml
Marianus Scotus (the
Abbot)
Abbot of
St. Peter's at Ratisbon,
born in Ireland before
the middle of the eleventh century; died at Ratisbon towards
the end of the eleventh century, probably in 1088. In 1067 he left his native
country, intending to make a pilgrimage to Rome.
Like many of his countrymen, however, who visited the Continent, he decided to
settle in Germany,
and did not return to Ireland.
At Bamberg he became a Benedictine monk,
and thence he went with some companions to Ratisbon (or
Regensburg), where he founded the monastery of
St. Peter and became its first abbot.
After his death he was honoured as
a saint,
his feast being
observed on 17 April, 4 July, or, according to the Bollandists,
on 9 February. Marianus devoted himself to transcribing and glossing the text
of the Scriptures. His success as a scribe, and the exceptional beauty of his
calligraphy may be judged by a specimen of his work which has come down to us.
This is Codex 1247 of the Imperial Library of Vienna containing
the Epistles of St.
Paul with glosses, some of which are in Latin and others in Irish.
The latter were collected and published by Zeuss in
his "Grammatica Celtica" (p. xxiv). The manuscript ends
with the words "In honore individuæ trinitatis Marianus Scotus scripsit
hunc librum suis fratribus peregrinis . . ." (the date given is 16 May,
1078). Over the words 'Marianus Scotus" is the gloss: "Muirdach trog
macc robartaig, i.e. Marianus miser filius Robartaci." The Irish form
of his name was, therefore, Muirdach (from the root muir; hence,
instead of the Latin form Marianus, there sometimes occurs Pelagius), and his
family name was Robartaig, or Rafferty.
Sources
Acta SS., Feb., II, 361
sqq.; Revue celtique, I (1870), 262 sqq.; Proceed., Royal Irish Acad.,
VII, 290 sqq.; Verhandl. hist. Ver. Oberpfalz-Regensburg (1879),
XXVI.
Turner,
William. "Marianus Scotus." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1910. 26 Jan.
2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09662b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter. Dedicated to
the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09662b.htm
Calendar
of Scottish Saints – Saint Marianus Scotus, Abbot
Article
A.D. 1088. The monastery
of Saint James, Ratisbon, owes its first beginnings to this saint. Most
historians are now agreed in maintaining that Marianus was a native of Ireland,
which for many centuries bore the designation of Scotia. The holy man with several
companions entered a Benedictine monastery at Bamberg. Some time afterwards,
when on a pilgrimage to Rome, they passed through Ratisbon. A holy hermit who
was living there persuaded Marianus to forego his visit to Rome and take up his
abode in Ratisbon. He obeyed the injunction, and founded a monastery in
connection with the Church of Saint Peter, which the nuns to whom it belonged
made over to him.
After the death of
Marianus a larger abbey was built in honour of Saint James and Saint Gertrude
which eventually became peopled by Scotsmen, and became, after the Reformation,
an important seminary for the education of clergy for mission work in Scotland.
This venerable abbey was appropriated by the Bavarian Government about the
middle of the nineteenth century, a compensation of L10,000 being paid to the
Scots College in Rome.
A valuable manuscript
consisting of selections from the homilies of the Fathers of the Church, in the
actual handwriting of Saint Marianus himself, was presented to the Benedictine Abbey,
Fort-Augustus, by the last survivor of the community of the Scots Monastery,
Ratisbon, and is one of the greatest treasures of the Fort-Augustus library.
MLA
Citation
Father Michael
Barrett, OSB.
“Saint Marianus Scotus, Abbot”. The Calendar of
Scottish Saints, 1919. CatholicSaints.Info.
9 June 2014. Web. 3 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-marianus-scotus-abbot/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-marianus-scotus-abbot/
Blessed Marianus Scotus
of Ratisbon, February 9
February 9 is the feast
of the blessed Marianus Scotus of Ratisbon. It may not be immediately apparent
but behind this Latin name is an 11th-century Donegal man, Muiredhach Mac
Robartaigh, a monastic scholar and scribe. Below is a paper which was read to
the Royal Irish Academy in 1862 by the learned Anglican bishop, William Reeves.
In his paper Dr Reeves describes the life and work of Marianus and explains the
rather arbitrary Latinizations of Irish names which has led to some confusion
between our saint and another 11th-century Marianus Scotus, the chronicler. I
have omitted some of the author's discussion of the manuscript of the Epistles
of Saint Paul as it was too difficult to accurately reproduce the Latin and
Irish texts.
Rev. Dr. Reeves read a
paper—
ON MARIANUS SCOTTUS, OF
RATISBON.
It is worthy of
observation, that our native annals, which are so full and minute in recording
the names of ecclesiastics who became distinguished at home, utterly ignore the
existence of those who went abroad. The memory of St. Gall, St. Columbanus, and
St. Cataldus are engraved on the map of Continental Europe; St. Fiacra is
stereotyped in the language of France; St. Fridolin is blazoned on the banners
and arms of Glarus; St. Coloman, an Irish monarch's son, is patron saint of
Lower Austria; Franconia glories in the Irish Kilian: yet not one of these
worthies finds a place in the Annals of Tighernach, of Ulster, or the Four
Masters. For this silence of the annalists there are two ways of accounting. In
the first place, the early tide of missionary emigration from Ireland was
entirely eastwards, and for centuries there was little or no reflux. The pilgrims
found in central Europe abundant occupation for the residue of their lives, and
there established a home for themselves, either in the martyr's grave or in the
hearts of the people. In this manner, having abandoned their native country in
early life, ere they had made a name, and all intercourse with it being at an
end, they were soon forgotten.
In the second place, the
nature of our annals demanded such silence, and thus what at first might be
judged a defect becomes an internal testimony of their truth. They
admitted nothing on hearsay. I do not, indeed, mean to assert that Tighernach,
Cathal Maguire, or the O'Clerys were not copyists, or that they witnessed all
which they record. But this I say, that each successive compiler transferred and
embodied the matter of various collateral and well-authenticated originals, in
which generations of scribes had in the great monasteries noted down, as in a
day-book, particular events as they occurred; which records were preserved on
the spot where they were written. We can easily draw the picture of an
enterprising and diligent scribe, starting from his monastery with his leathern
wallet on his back, to take a circuit of the kindred institutions of his
province, in order to make an authentic compilation from original entries, for
the benefit of his own institution, either with a view to increase its literary
stores, or repair the damage done by that minister of oblivion—fire. In such
compilations the names or acts of those who had abandoned their country were not
likely to find a place. And, even in the middle ages, when the diffusion of
Christianity, with its attendant civilization, brought round a closer connexion
and increased intercourse between the pilgrims and their brethren at home, the
old principle continued to operate, and the annals ran on, not as records of
the Irish, but of Ireland; so much so that, among all the Irish foundations on
the Continent, and all their exclusive congregations, I can discover but three
names that have found their way into our domestic records, and these, of
individuals who were high in office and celebrity before their departure.
At 784 the Four Masters
record the death of " Ferghil, the Geometer, Abbot of Achadhbo, in
Germany, in the 13th year of his episcopate." This was the celebrated
Virgilius, who became Bishop of Salzburg. The Annals of Ulster, at 788, simply
say: —Feirgil abb Acaidboo moritur.
At 1042 the Annals of
Ulster and Four Masters relate that "Ailell, of Mucnomh, Superior of the
Irish monks in Colonia, died."
Lastly, at 1085,
according to the Four Masters, " Gilla-na-naemh-Laighen, illustrious
Bishop of Glenndaloch, and afterwards Superior of the monks in Wurzburg, died
on the 7th of April."
High in honour abroad,
though forgotten at home, were the two Mariani, each of whom bore the
designation of Scotus, and who, on account of the identity of their assumed
names, have by many distinguished writers been treated of as but an individual.
Their real names, however, were different, and though nearly contemporary, and natives
of the same province, their labours lay in different fields, and their literary
remains vary in their character. Marianus Scotus the Chronicler was born in
1028, and educated under Tighernach Boirceach, of Moville. In 1056 he withdrew
to Cologne; in 1058 he removed to Fulda; in 1069 he retired to Mentz; and in
1082 he died. His Chronicle is his great monument, but it has long been well
known to the learned of Europe; and Florence of Worcester, one of England's
worthies, is glad to make the Irishman's work the basis of his compilation.
Marianus' autograph, with his assumed name, containing also a memorandum of his
native, name, Maelbrigde, has been edited in Pertz's Monnmenta by G. Waitz from
a Vatican MS. formerly belonging to St. Martin's of Mayence. With this Marianus
we have nothing further to do.
The other Marianus
Scotus, whose own name was Muiredhach Mac Robartaigh, was a native of Tir
Conaill, the modern county of Donegal. He left Ireland in 1067, that is, eleven
years after the Chronicler. A memoir of him and his successors, composed by an
Irish monk of Ratisbon, and carefully edited by John Bollandus, in the second
volume, for February, of the Acta Sanctorum, from a manuscript preserved in the
Carthusian monastery of Gaming, in Lower Austria, furnishes the following
particulars concerning the history of this good man:—
"Marianus was a
native of the north of Ireland, and remarkable as well for the beauty of his
countenance as the strength of his body. In his youth he was carefully
instructed by his parents in sacred and secular literature, with a view to his
entering the clerical office. In process of time he assumed the monastic habit,
but seemingly without entering any regular order; and, taking two companions,
called John and Candidus, he set out from home, having as his ultimate object a
pilgrimage to Rome. Arriving, on their way, at Bamberg, they were kindly
received, and, after a year's sojourn, were admitted to the order of St.
Benedict in the monastery of Michelsberg. But, being unacquainted with the
language of the country, they preferred retirement, and a small cell at the
foot of the hill was assigned them for their use. After a short stay, they
received the license of their Superior to proceed on their way; arriving at
Ratisbon, they met a friendly reception at the nunnery of the Upper Monastery
(Obermunster), where Marianus was employed by the Abbess Emma, in the
transcription of some books. From this he removed to the Lower Monastery
(Niedermunster), where a cell was assigned to himself and his companions, in
which he diligently continued his occupation of writing, his companions
preparing the membranes for his use. After some time he was minded to resume
his original journey; but a countryman called Muircertach, who was then living
as a recluse at the Obermunster, urged him to submit to the Divine guidance the
determining whether he should proceed on his way, or settle for life at
Ratisbon. He passed the night in Muircertach's cell; and in the hours of
darkness it was intimated to him that, where on the next day he should first
behold the rising sun, he should remain and fix his abode. Starting before day,
he entered St. Peter's Church, outside the walls, to implore the Divine
blessing on his journey. But scarcely had he come forth, when he beheld the sun
stealing above the horizon. "Here then, said he, "I shall rest, and
here shall be my resurrection." His determination was hailed with joy by
the whole population. The Abbess granted him this Church of St. Peter, commonly
known as "Weich-Sanct-Peter, with an adjacent plot, where, in 1076, a
citizen called Bethselinus (Bezelin) built for the Irish, at his own cost, a
little monastery, which the Emperor Henry IV. soon after took under his
protection, at the solicitation of the Abbess Hazecha. The fame of Marianus,
and the news of his prosperity, presently reached Ireland, and numbers of his
kindred were induced to come out, and enter his society. The early connexions
of the monastery were chiefly with Ulster, his own native province, and the six
Abbots who succeeded him were all from the north. The seventh was a southern.
From Weich-Sanct-Peter, another Irish monastery, called St. James's of
Ratisbon, took its rise in 1090. Marianus' original companions, however, did
not continue with him, for John went to Gottweich, in Lower Austria, where he
became a recluse under Bishop Altmann. Clemens proceeded on a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, where he ended his days. Of Marianus himself, nothing more is
recorded in this memoir, except his great skill and industry as a scribe.
" Such," says the memoir, " was the grace of writing which
Divine Providence bestowed on the blessed Marianus, that he wrote many and
lengthy volumes, with a rapid pen, both in the Upper and Lower Monasteries.
For, to speak the truth, without any colouring of language, among all the acts
which Divine Providence deigned to perform through this same man, I deem this
most worthy of praise and admiration, that the holy man wrote from beginning to
end, with his own hand, the Old and New Testament, with explanatory comments on
the same books, and that, not once or twice, but over and over again, with a
view to the eternal reward; all the while clad in sorry garb, living on slender
diet, attended and aided by his brethren, both in the Upper and Lower
Monasteries, who prepared the membranes for his use. Besides, he also wrote
many smaller books and Manual Psalters, for distressed widows, and poor clerics
of the same city, towards the health of his soul, without any prospect of
earthly gain. Furthermore, through the mercy of God, many congregations of the
Monastic Order, which, in faith and charity, and imitation of the blessed
Marianus, are derived from the aforesaid Ireland, and inhabit Bavaria and
Franconia, are sustained by the writings of the blessed Marianus."
He died on the 9th of
February, 1088.
Aventinus, the Bavarian
annalist, styles him, "Poeta et Theologus insignis, nullique suo seculo
secundus," and thus describes one of Marianus' compilations:—
"Extant Reginoburgii
in inferiori Monasterio, Divini Davidis Hymni, cum commentariis in membranis
scripti, opus Mariani. Ejus prafationem, ut fides fiat, subtexo de verbo ad
verbum: Anno dominicae incarnationis, Mlxxiv, Hainrico juvene Imp., Machtylda
Abbatissa S. Maria, et S. Herhardi Abbateam regente, decern novalis Cycli xi.
anno Indict, xii. Marianus Scotus, septimo peregrinationis suae anno collegit
modicas istas undas, de profundo sanctorum Patrum pelago, scilicet Hieronymi,
Augustini, Cassiodori, Arnobii, et de opusculis S. Gregorii: et pro suae animae
salute, in honorem salvatoris Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et ejus genitricis,
semperque Virginis Mariae, et S. Herhardi confessoris, scripsit, et in unum
librum perstrinxit. Prolixas enim et salubres Catholicorum Patrum expositiones
non omnes avido cordis amore petunt. Multi sunt etiam, qui etsi tales legere
vel habere vellent, tamen minori censu, vel intellectu, vel aliqua causa
existente occupati, illas invenire et legere non possunt. Nunquam tribuatur ad
transcribendum extra Monasterium, nisi pro eo congruum relinquatur vadimonium.
Georgii feriis coepit, Mathaei et Hemerami finivit."
2. Liber Mariani genere
Scoti, excerptus de Evangelistarum voluminibus sive doctoribus.
3. The third manuscript
of our countryman, Marianus, is the most interesting, not only on account of
the beauty of its execution, but also as supplying the Irish name of the
writer; for I may here observe that the use of Latin forms to represent Irish
names is very arbitrary; thus, Malachias stands for Maelmaedhog, as in the case
of Malachy O'Morgair; for Maeliosa, as in the case of Maeliosa, bishop of Down
(1152): Gelasius represents several compounds of Gilla, as Gillamacliag,
Gilladomhnaill; so also Marianus represents Maelbrigde, as in the case of
Marianus, the Chronist; Muiredhach, as in the case of the present Marianus ;
and Maelmuire, as in the case of Marian Gorman, the Martyrologist.
The existence of this
manuscript has been known to the literary public since 1679, when Lambecius'
catalogue of the Imperial Library of Vienna was finished. Prom it Cave, Harris,
Oudin, Lanigan, and Zcuas have drawn information. And, in later times, Denis,
in his catalogue of the MSS. in that collection, has given fuller and more
interesting details. But it requires an Irish eye to discern, and Irish wit to
unfold, the essential points and beauties of our exquisite MSS.; and both of
these qualifications are possessed in an eminent degree by our former
associate, Mr. Charles P. Mac Donnell, who, during a residence in Vienna, spent
some time in the examination of Marianus' principal manuscript, and kindly
intrusted me with the carriage of the following communication:—
" Among the literary
treasures stored in the Imperial Library at Vienna, there is an autograph
(unedited) manuscript of our illustrious and venerable fellow-countryman,
Marianus Scotus, the Chronographer, being a copy of the Epistles of St. Paul,
with an interlinear gloss, apparently an original production of Marianus
himself, and a copious marginal commentary, consisting of extracts from the
Fathers and theological writers popular in his day—a commentary which attests
the patristic learning and research of that truly eminent man. Harris, in his
edition of 'Ware's Writers of Ireland,' notices this Codex; as does also
Lanigan in his 'Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,' both referring to the
authority of Lambecius. Lanigan says that those notes of Marianus, ' although
well worthy of the light, have not, as far as I know, been as yet published'—a
statement in which he merely follows Lambecius, whose words, in reference to
this MS. are, that it contains: ' Omnes Epistolae Sancti Pauli Apostoli,
celeberrimi Chronographi Mariani Scoti, monachi Fuldensis, propria manu, anno
1079, exaratae, et ab eodem annotationibus marginalibus et interlinearibus,
hactenus quidem nondum editis, editu tamen dignissimis, illustratae: in quarum
fine haec ipsius legitur subscriptio: Explicit Epistola ad Hebroeos, habens
versus Dccc. In honore Individuae Trinitatis, Marianus Scottus scripsit hunc
librum suis fratribus peregrinis. Anima ejus requiescat in pace, propter Deum
devote dicite Amen. xvi. Kal. Junii hodie feria vi. anno Domini MLXXVIII.'
"
The learned and laborious
Denis, one of those highly cultivated and gifted men whom the dispersion of the
old society of the Jesuits threw upon the world, and who, in these
circumstances, was made chief librarian in Vienna in the latter part of the
last century, has given a more detailed analysis of this valuable manuscript.
In this notice I shall mainly follow his guidance, taking care, however, to
give the extracts exactly as they stand in the manuscript itself. The MS. is a
large quarto, consisting of 160 folia of vellum; the text in a fine clear hand
of the eleventh century, in letters of moderate size; the gloss, both lineal
and marginal, being written in small, delicate characters, but evidently by the
same pen. Fol. 136 is written only on one side; ff. 146 and 154 were cut away
to one-half their original size, after having been written, as is manifest from
some of the letters on the remaining halves being partly cut away.
The Codex contains all
the Epistles of Saint Paul, strictly according to the text of the Vulgate, and
in the same order in which they now stand in our Bibles, except that, between
those to the Colossians and to the Thessalonians, the apocryphal Epistle to the
Laodiceans is introduced, with this marginal observation, however: "
Laodicensium epistola ab alio sub nomine pauli putatur edita." With the
exception of the last-mentioned, which is left uncommented, the Epistles are
all accompanied with an interlinear gloss, and are elucidated by ample marginal
quotations from the following Fathers and theological writers: St Gregory, St.
Jerome, St. Augustine, Fulgentius, Origen, Cassian, Haimon, Leo, and Alcuin;
and also from the Liber Pastoralis, Petrus Diaconus, Ambrosiaster (now rejected
in tom.ii., ed. Maur. Paris, Append, p. 21), and Pelagius (whose Commentarii in
Paulinas may be seen, tom. xi., Opp. S. Hieronymi, edit. Vallars. col. 835). As
far as the Epistle to the Colossians, the prevailing extracts are from St.
Gregory; and from that to the end the most frequent are from the false
Ambrosius. Denis suggests that improved readings of the text of the Fathers
might be, perhaps, obtained by a collation of their works as printed, with the
passages quoted from their writings in this MS., which exhibit in many
instances considerable variations from the usually accepted readings.... [please
refer to the original volume for further details of this MS]…The last folio
concludes with in the gloss, the Christian and family name of the illustrious
chronographer, written with his own hand in his mother tongue—Muiredach mac
Robartaig.
The family of Mac
Robhartaigh were the hereditary guardians of the venerable Cathach of St.
Columbkill, and, as such, herenachs in Tyrconnell, and vassals of the
O'Donells, the ancient princely rulers of that region. As guardians of that
reliquary, they are mentioned in the "Annals of the Four Masters." In
1497 one of the events of a battle at the pass of Ballaghboy, between the
O'Donells and the Mac Dermots, which proved disastrous to the former, is thus
recorded: —
Translated by our learned
fellow-countryman, O'Donovan: —
The Cathach of
Columbkille was also taken from them, and Magroarty, the keeper of it, was
slain.
Two years after this
battle the Cathach was restored to the O'Donells (ad an. 1499); and in 1567 the
same annalists chronicle a battle between the O'Neills and O'Donells at
Farsetmore, a low-water ford near Letterkenny, in which, amongst those that
fell, was—Rendered in O'Donovan's translation—
" Magroarty, who had
the custody of the Cathach of St. Columbkille."
Almost contemporary with
this Marianus was Donnall Mac Robartaigh, St. Columba's successor at Kells,
whose name is engraved on the silver case of the Cathach, and whose death is
recorded by the Four Masters at 1098. By them he is called O'Robhartaigh; but
this interchange of Mac and O' is common in early records. Dermot
O'Robhartaigh, Abbot of Durrow, died in 1190. Ballymagroarty, in the parish of
Drumhome, county of Donegal, is so called from Baile-mecc-Robhartaich, being
originally the possession of Mac Robhartach, keeper of the Cathach; and Ballymagrorty,
in the parish of Templemore or Deny, has the same origin. In 1609, the
Inquisition of Donegal finds the "Island of Torro [Tory], whereof
O'Rohertye is both herenagh and corbe." Among the general pardons in the
same year, various members of the clan are mentioned under the forms McRuertie,
Magroertie, Mcgroertie, Magrertee, and Roertie. At the present time the name
has been moulded into O'Rafferty, Rafferty, and Mc Grotty.
Proceedings of the Royal
Irish Academy, Volume 7 (1862), 290-301.
Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.
SOURCE : http://omniumsanctorumhiberniae.blogspot.com/2013/02/blessed-marianus-scotus-of-ratisbon.html
Marianus (ook Muiredach) Scotus;
Regensburg, Duitsland; kluizenaar; † 1088.
Feest 9 februari &
24 april.
Van huis uit heette hij
Muiredach MacRobartaigh (ook gespeld als MacGroarty). Hij stamde af van een
aanzienlijke Oud-Ierse familie. Zo rond het jaar 1067 trok hij er met een
aantal gezellen op uit met als eindbestemming de heilige plaatsen van Petrus en
Paulus te Rome, geheel volgens spiritualiteit van het vreemdelingschap die
onder Ierse monniken toentertijd gewoonte was. Zijn medepelgrims heetten:
Johannes en Candidus; daarnaast had je nog Clemens, Donatus, Magnoaldus, Ishac,
en Mauris.
Onderweg vestigde
Marianus zich met Johannes en Candidus voor enige tijd te Bamberg, in een
kloostertje - d.w.z. een drietal hutjes - aan de voet van de berg. Daar leefden
ze volgens de strenge regel van de "Ierse pelgrims naar het hemels
koninkrijk": ze hadden alleen maar een pelgrimsstaf bij zich, een leren
waterzak en een reliekkistje. Bisschop Otto van Bamberg († 1139; feest 30 juni)
wist hen te bewegen om hun intrek te nemen in het benedictijner klooster op de
Michaëlsberg, zodat ze door hun goede voorbeeld de daar aanwezige monniken
zouden kunnen inspireren.
Na de dood van Otto
trokken ze verder en werden in Regensburg hartelijk onthaald door abdis Emma,
die er aan het hoofd stond van het pelgrimsgasthuis. Muiredach betaalde haar
dat terug door boeken af te schrijven, waar hij heel bedreven in scheen te
zijn. Emma liet voor de monniken drie hutjes bouwen, zodat zij zich geheel
konden wijden aan hun monnikenarbeid: Johannes en Candidus fabriceerden
perkament uit dierenhuid en Muiredach schreef kopieën af van het Oude en Nieuwe
Testament, voegde er zelf commentaren aan toe en schreef daarnaast een aantal
kleinere werkjes. Zo verwierf de kloostergemeenschap rond Emma een schat aan
boeken.
In haar tijd stond Marianus'
commentaar op de psalmen al in hoog aanzien. Nog fameuzer was zijn werk over de
brieven van Paulus. Dat was zo kostbaar dat het nooit werd uitgeleend zonder
een waterdichte garantie dat het weer veilig en wel in het klooster zou
terugkeren. Tot op de dag van vandaag is het te bewonderen in de Keizerlijke
Bibliotheek van Wenen onder 'Codex 1247'. Het bevat kostbare gegevens over de
persoon van de schrijver: zijn naam staat erin 'Muiredach MacRobartaigh',
evenals de datum van voltooiing: 1078, alsmede de data van de Ierse heiligen
die werden gevierd toen hij aan het schrijven was.
In de loop van de tijd
had Muiredach zich gevestigd bij zijn landgenoot Muircetach, die in een kluisje
woonde bij de kerk Weih-St-Peter, even buiten Regensburg. Met goedvinden van
keizer Heinrich IV († 1106) schonk Emma aan Muirdeach de Petruskerk. Een burger
uit de stad, Bezelin, bood aan om er ter ere Gods een klooster bij te bouwen.
Het Petrusklooster kwam tot grote bloei, omdat vanuit Ulster, Muiredachs
geboorteland, talrijke monniken zich in zijn klooster kwamen vestigen.
Hij werd begraven in zijn
Petruskerk. Thans zijn alle herinneringen aan hem volkomen verdwenen, sinds ze
in de perikelen van de Reformatie ten onder zijn gegaan.
Marianus' opvolger
Dionysius zou in Regensburg de St-Jakobus 'Schottenkirche' stichten. Een latere
versie van deze kerk is tot op de dag van vandaag in Regensburg te bezoeken en
bezichtigen.
[011; 103; 112; 118; Dries van den Akker s.j./2007.12.11]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/02/09/02-09-1088-marianus.php
