Imar Ua h-Aedacháin

Imar Ua h-Aedacháin [ i.sub.var uə heːðaxɑːnʲ ] ( neuirisch Íomhar Ó hAodhagháin , anglicised Ivor O'Hegan ; * the end of the 11th century in Ireland , † 1134 in Rome ) founded the Apostles Peter and Paul dedicated the monastery and later Augustinian Monastery in Armagh .

Life

We owe our knowledge of Imar primarily to the hagiography of Bernhard von Clairvaux about Malachias . Around 1114 or 1115, according to Bernhard's description, Malachias noticed Imar's strict ascetic lifestyle in a cell near the Church of Armagh. Imar found a docile student in Malachias, to whom he could pass on the ancient traditions of Irish monastic life. Since Malachias came from a respected family, his interest in Imar and his way of life set an example that was quickly followed by others, so that a monastic community developed, dedicated to the two apostles Peter and Paul.

Imar and the Archbishop of Armagh Cellach Mac Aodh must have had a good relationship of trust. Imar recommended his pupil to Cellach, who ordained him as a deacon in 1117 or 1118 and later promoted him so sustainably that he could become his successor. Conversely, the monastery of Imar also found the blessing of the archbishop when the stone church built for the monastery was consecrated by Cellach on November 12, 1126.

The time after Cellach's death must have been all the more difficult for Imar during the subsequent schism in the succession of Patrick in Armagh from 1129 to 1134, when Muirchertach Mac Domnall and Niall Mac Aodh , who were established in traditional succession, became Archbishop of Armagh in 1132 opposed Malachias.

It can be assumed that when Malachias returned to Armagh in 1134, he made contact with Imar again and at this time convinced Imar and his monastic community to accept the rule of St. Augustine . There are only indications of this, however, as it is not known exactly when the order of the Augustinian Canons found its way to Ireland. From Bernhard's hagiography there is an indication that a monastery was founded in the vicinity of Malachias before 1137. This is very plausible, as there is evidence that over thirty Augustinian canons existed in England and Wales as early as 1125 .

In 1134 Imar undertook a pilgrimage to Rome , which Peter and Paul had as patrons, and died there.

swell

• Annals of the four masters with the entries M1126.7 and M1134.5.
• Annals of Ulster with the entry U1126.11.
• Bernhard von Clairvaux , Vita Sancti Malachiae episcopi 1149. A German translation was published as part of the collected works of Bernhard von Clairvaux in Tyrolia Verlag, Volume 1, 1990. ISBN 3-7022-1732-0

Secondary literature

• Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses. Ireland. Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X .
• Aubrey Gwynn: The Irish Church in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. Four Courts Press, Dublin 1992, ISBN 1-85182-095-7 .