Finnian from Clonard
Finnian von Clonard ( Cluain Eraird ), born as Finnio moccu Telduib (* 470 in Myshall , today County Carlow , Province of Leinster , Ireland; † December 12, 549 ), saint , was an Irish missionary, founder of Clonard Monastery and local bishop . He is referred to as the Teacher of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland .
Other names
Finnian von Clonard is or was also called Finian , Fionán , Findén and Fionnán in Ireland ; Latinized Findianus , Finnianus , Finninus , Finanus , Vennianus , Vinniaus , Uinnianus and Vinnianus ; English also Finian , Vinnian and Winnian .
Early life
Finnian was born in Myshall to Rudraigh, who came from an Irish noble family. His mother Telach came from the province of Leinster. As a young man he came under the influence of the Foirtchernn (Foirtgirn) of Trim , on whose advice he went to Wales to be instructed in the teachings of Saint Patrick by the teachers of Celtic Christianity there. He studied with St. Gildas and St. Cadoc in Llancarfan , Glamorgan .
After his long stay in Wales - according to the Codex Salmanticensis , a chronicle of Irish saints, this should have granted 30 years - he returned to Ireland and went preaching and teaching from place to place. Finnian founded monasteries and schools: his first foundation was in Aghowle, now County Wicklow . Noteworthy is the founding of the monastery on the island of Skellig Michael (Irish Sceilg Mhichíl , also known as Great Skellig ) off the Irish coast , now a UNESCO World Heritage Site after a later expansion of the monastery .
Founding of the Clonard Monastery
Around 520 he went to Cluain Eraird (Clonard, now County Meath ) on the River Boyne . Finnian first built a small church and accommodation out of wood and clay, which was later replaced by a stone building. He was devoted to prayer and study; his ascetic way of life, his piety and his knowledge created a reputation far beyond the region. Lay people and clergy, including bishops, now moved to Finnian in Clonard. According to records, up to three thousand students were taught by Finnian at the same time. Finnian's unsurpassed interpretation of Scripture is credited with the extraordinary popularity of his lectures. He was ordained a bishop in Clonard.
Finnian of Clonard, along with Saint Enda of Aran, is considered to be one of the fathers of Irish monasticism in the Celtic period. Finnian's disciples included the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, including Saint Columban of Iona . The Clonard Monastery gained its importance for the Irish Scottish Church through the large number of students who later founded new monasteries in other places.
Finnian died as a result of a plague . His grave is in his church in Clonard. The Finnian's relics were kept in Clonard until the shrine was destroyed in 887.
Aftermath
For centuries after Finnian's death, Clonard retained its importance as a place of study for scribes. The importance of the monastery only began to decline with raids by the Vikings in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Internal Irish conflicts in the twelfth century, at the time of the petty king Dermod von Leinster , led to the further decline of the monastery. With the relocation of the diocese of Meath by the Norman Bishop Rochfort from Clonard to Trim in 1206, the centuries-old importance of the Clonard monastery disappeared.
Remembrance day
- Roman Catholic: December 12th
The feast day of St. Finnian of Clonard appears for the first time in a Spanish calendar of saints from the 9th century.
Individual evidence
- ↑ St. Finnian. In: Monastic Ireland.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013 .
- ↑ Finianus, p. (6) . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (Eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 2 (E – H), B. Schmid'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (A. Manz), Augsburg 1861, p. 212 .
- ↑ Manuscript from the Middle Ages, Royal Library Brussels
- ^ A b David Hugh Farmer: The Oxford dictionary of Saints . 4th edition. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-19-280058-2 , pp. 184-185 (English).
- ^ Wallace, Martin: A Little Book of Celtic Saints . Appletree Press, Belfast 1995. ISBN 0-86281-456-1 , p. 19 (English)
literature
- Bodleian, Rawlinson MS B 485 (folio 54-8), and Rawlinson B 505 (folio 156v-160v). Unpublished.
- Codex Salmanticensis (folio 83r-86v), Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae ex codice Salmanticensi . J. De Smedt and C. De Backer, Edinburgh, 1888. Columns 189-210.
- Grattan-Flood, William: The Twelve Apostles of Erin . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 1, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1907.
- Healy, John: School of Clonard . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 4, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1908.
- Herbermann, Charles George: St. Canice . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 3, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1908.
- Kathleen Hughes : The Cult of St Finnian of Clonard from the Eighth to the Eleventh Century (= Irish Historical Studies . Volume 9 , no. 33 ). Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd, Oxford 1954, p. 13-27 , JSTOR : 30006385 .
- Lives of the Saints from the Book of Lismore . Volume 2. Whitley Stokes, Oxford, 1890.
- MacKillop, Charles James: A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology . Oxford 1998.
- Elizabeth Hickey: The Irish life of Saint Finnian of Clonard: master of the saints of Ireland . With a commentary for the general reader. Ed .: Meath Archaeological and Historical Society. 1996, ISBN 978-0-9500332-7-3 .
- Ekkart Sauser : FINNIAN (Vennianus, Vinniaus) by Clonard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 21, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-110-3 , Sp. 401.
Web links
- Bibliography on Irish Church History from the 5th Century onwards , Monasticon Hibernicum Project (English)
- Literature by and about Finnian von Clonard in the catalog of the German National Library
- [1] . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (Eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 2 (E – H), B. Schmid'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (A. Manz), Augsburg 1861, p. 212 .
- St. Finnian at heiligenlexikon.de
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Finnian from Clonard |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Vennianus; Vinniaus; Finnio moccu Telduib; Finian; Fionan; Find; Fionnán; Findianus; Finnianus; Finninus; Finanus; Uinnianus; Vinnianus; Vinnian; Winnian |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish saint |
DATE OF BIRTH | 470 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Myshall , County Carlow |
DATE OF DEATH | 549 |