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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, by Anonymous
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth
+       Its Ruins and Associations, a Guide and Popular History
+
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2012  [eBook #38999]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
+Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 38999-h.htm or 38999-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38999/38999-h/38999-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38999/38999-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://www.archive.org/details/mellifontabbeyco00dubl
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      The original text includes intentional blank spaces. This is
+      represented by ____ in this text version.
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW. _From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+
+MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH:
+
+Its Ruins and Associations.
+A Guide and Popular History.
+
+
+  "A house of prayer, once consecrate
+  To God's high service--desolate!
+  A ruin where once stood a shrine!
+  Bright with the Presence all divine!"
+                          (_W. Chatterton Dix._)
+
+
+Permissu Superiorum.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Published by
+James Duffy & Co., Ltd., Dublin,
+for the Cistercians,
+Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea.
+1897.
+
+Printed by
+Edmund Burke & Co.,
+61 & 62 Great Strand Street, Dublin.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+In the following pages an attempt is made to describe the ruins of
+Mellifont as they now appear, and to explain the uses, or probable uses,
+that the buildings yet remaining must have served when the monks dwelt
+there. Obviously, some important structural alterations were made when
+changing the venerable Abbey into a fortified residence; nevertheless the
+ruins exhibit, on the whole, the characteristics of the primitive plan and
+style in which Mellifont, as well as all the Cistercian monasteries both
+in this country and on the Continent, were built. The explanation is
+founded on reliable authority, being gleaned from most authentic sources,
+such as, _Les Monuments Primitifs de La Règle Cistercienne_, which is a
+copy of the Rule drawn up by the Founders of the Order; the _Monasticon
+Cisterciense_; _Violet Le Duc_; _Jubainville, Etudes sur l'Etat intérieur
+des Abbayes Cisterciennes au XII. et au XIII. siècle_; _Meglinger, Iter
+Cisterciense_; _La Vie de Saint Bernard_, by Vacandard, etc.
+
+As no Records, or Chronicles of Mellifont now exist, the historical part
+of the compilation has been derived from different sources, chiefly from
+our old Annals--_The Annals of the Four Masters_; those of _Boyle_, of
+_St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin_; _Clyn and Dowling's_; and of _Clonmacnois_;
+Ware's _Bishops_, etc.; _the Miscellany of the Archæological Society_;
+Ussher's _Sylloge_; Morrin's _Calendars of Patent Rolls_, etc. The part
+relating to disciplinary subjects was drawn principally from Martène's
+_Thesaurus Anecdotorum_, Vol. IV., which contains the Decrees of the
+General Chapter of the Cistercian Order, also, from the _Constitutiones et
+Privilegia, Menologium_, and the _Fasiculus Sanctorum Ordinis
+Cisterciensis_, by Henriquez; _Originum Cisterciensium_, tom. I,
+Janauschek; _l'Histoire de La Trappe_, Gaillardin, etc. The vindication of
+monks in general, from the aspersions cast on them by their enemies, and
+the facts appertaining to the Rebellion of 1641, are borrowed exclusively
+from Protestant sources,--Dugdale's _Monasticon Anglicanum_, Tanner's
+_Notitia Monastica_, Maitland's _Dark Ages_, Leland's _History of
+Ireland_, Temple's _History of the Insurrection_, 1641, Tichborne's
+_History of the Siege of Drogheda_, Carte's _Ormond_, etc.
+
+These by no means exhaust the list of authors consulted and utilised, but
+they show how far apart the pieces lay which have been stitched together
+to form a consecutive narrative. The compiler has endeavoured to compress
+the matter into the smallest possible space in order to make the little
+book accessible to all at a moderate price; and he has preferred to allow
+others to speak rather than to thrust his own opinions on the reader.
+Finally, he has borne in mind throughout, the trite saying, _Magna est
+Veritas et prævalebit_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                            PAGE
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+    THE RUINS                                                  1
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+    ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT                              33
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+    AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS
+    FOUNDATION, AND FOR ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF
+    AFTERWARDS                                                41
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+    MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE
+    ORDER                                                     50
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+    MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE
+    EMINENT SUPERIORS                                         58
+
+
+  CHAPTER VI.
+
+    MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES                              67
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII.
+
+    THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT                              85
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY--IS
+    SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED UP TO RUIN AND DECAY              101
+
+
+  APPENDIX.
+
+    I.--LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT                          128
+
+   II.--CHARTER OF NEWRY                                     129
+
+  III.--INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT                    131
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations.
+
+
+  GENERAL VIEW OF MELLIFONT                       _Frontispiece_
+
+  PLAN OF CLAIRVAUX                                    _At_ p. 4
+
+  PLAN OF MELLIFONT ABBEY                                      5
+
+  GATEWAY (PORTER'S LODGE)                                    15
+
+  NORTH WINDOW OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                               19
+
+  DOORWAY OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                                    23
+
+  INTERIOR OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                                   35
+
+  INTERIOR OF LAVABO (OCTAGON)                                43
+
+  ARCH OF LAVABO (OCTAGON)                                    47
+
+  SOUTH WALL OF LECTORIUM                                     63
+
+
+
+
+MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH:
+
+Its Ruins and Associations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE RUINS.
+
+  "Look, stranger; where these stones in ruin lie.
+  Here in the old, grey times a holy thing
+  Rose up--a cloistered pile; but time swept by
+  And smote the sanctuary with his reckless wing."
+                    (_From the Swedish, by J. E. D. Bethune._)
+
+
+Of the many historic ruins which dot our country and attest its former
+greatness, few attract so much attention, and invite so close a study as
+our monastic remains, pre-eminent amongst which are those of the ancient
+historic Abbey of Mellifont. In countless pages of our Annals the name
+appears. In the records of sieges, battles and insurrections, from the day
+on which a colony of St. Bernard's monks from world-famed Clairvaux, came
+and settled in its tranquil valley, till having passed through many
+vicissitudes, as an abode of piety and wide-spread beneficence, it became
+a baronial residence, and finally lost its prestige as the site of a mill,
+whose remains contrast incongruously with those of such a precious
+memorial.
+
+And what was Mellifont? It was the first house of the Cistercian Order in
+Ireland; founded, endowed and enriched by native princes and saintly
+prelates; the mother of saints and scholars; and at one time, the
+admiration of our land, as a gem of rare architectural beauty.
+
+Before going back to the shadowy past, let us endeavour to trace amongst
+its ruins the outlines of the ancient buildings, and to explain the
+special use and meaning of each in the monastic economy, when white-robed
+monks trod its cloisters, and knelt and prayed before the altars in its
+church. Each of the Cistercian churches and monasteries was built upon a
+uniform plan, with some slight modifications, arising perhaps in all
+instances from peculiarities of site and local difficulties. Around the
+whole pile of monastic buildings, and girdling an area of some thirty
+acres or more, comprising gardens, orchards, meadows, ran a high wall,
+called the "Enclosure Wall," which served to isolate the denizens of the
+cloister, and prevent as far as possible all ingress of the world.
+Entrance within the precincts of the monastery was obtained through a
+spacious and lofty gate-house occupied by a trusty Lay-Brother, whose duty
+it was to receive visitors, and dispense hospitality to the poor and the
+way-farer; thus he formed a connecting link between his brethren within
+and the world without, from which they were cut off. Extending on either
+side of this gate-house, or "Porter's Lodge," as it was known in monastic
+language, was a range of buildings for the exclusive use of strangers of
+every grade. There were the Hospice proper, an infirmary for the sick
+poor, with stabling also, in the immediate vicinity, for the horses of
+travellers:--
+
+  "Whoever passed, be it baron or squire,
+  Was free to call at the abbey and stay;
+  No guerdon or gift for his lodging pay,
+  Though he tarried a week with its holy choir."
+
+The old tower which is passed as one approaches the ruins of Mellifont,
+was the "Porter's Lodge," and right under it ran the avenue which led to
+the abbey, but which was converted into a mill-race when Mellifont had
+reached its last stage of degradation. The present road-way was
+constructed in order to give access to the mill. The remains of old walls
+can still be traced stretching on both sides of the tower, and prove its
+ancient purpose in connection with Cistercian usage, as described above.
+Some gate-houses of Continental monasteries, which have till now subsisted
+intact from the eleventh or twelfth century, bear a striking resemblance
+to this one at Mellifont. That of Aiguebelle, in particular, near Grignan,
+in the Department of Drôme, France, most closely resembles it.
+
+There can be no doubt that a pile of buildings once occupied and enclosed
+the whole space from the old gateway to the church, forming a rectangle,
+of which the church was the fourth side. The precise purposes these
+buildings served at Mellifont can now be only conjectured; for, in
+different monasteries, local wants determined in a great measure the
+allocation of this site to uses which varied with the circumstances of
+each community. That is not, however, to be understood of what are called
+the "Regular Places;" for these were held to be indispensable, and
+occupied almost the same position in every monastery. The intervening
+space here between the gate-house and the church is now covered over with
+the debris of ancient buildings, which local tradition says once occupied
+the side of the hill on which, and about where, a few modern cottages now
+stand.
+
+Approaching nearer to the ruins, a modern mill obtrudes itself upon the
+scene, and one cannot help wishing it transported beyond the plane of his
+observation.[1]
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF CLAIRVAUX BY DOMMILLEY 1708
+
+   1. Entrance.
+   2. Abbot's House.
+   3. Guest House.
+   4. Stables.
+   5. Church.
+   6. Sacristy.
+   7. Cell for Books (Common Box).
+   8. Stairs leading to Dormitory.
+   9. The Chapter-House.
+  10. Parlour.
+  11. Former Novitiate.
+  12. Cloisters.
+  13. Stairs to Dormitory.
+  14. Calefactory.
+  15. Refectory.
+  16. Kitchen.
+  17. Lavabo (Octagon).
+  18. Cemetery.
+  19. St. Bernard's Cell.
+  20. The Prior's Chambers.
+  21. Chapel of the Counts of Flanders.
+  22. Scriptoria.
+  23. Lesser Cloister.
+  24. Hall for Theses.
+  25. Theological School.
+  26. Infirmary.
+  27. Common Room of the Infirm.
+  28. Novitiate.
+  29. Abbots' Council Chamber.
+  30. Garden.]
+
+[Illustration: MELLIFONT ABBEY GROUND PLAN]
+
+Arrived at what is now the entrance gate, the visitor beholds in front of
+him the four remaining sides of what was once an octagonal building, and
+somewhat nearer on his left, a small roofless edifice. These are commonly,
+but erroneously, called the "Baptistery" and "St. Bernard's Chapel." Their
+true purposes shall be explained further on. Immediately at his feet now,
+extend the sites of the church, and of the once magnificent cloisters. Of
+these latter not a trace remains, except a mere outline on the green
+sward, and a few squares of concrete to indicate the position once
+occupied by them. The plan of the church extends to right and left: the
+western portion of the nave running towards the river (see Plan), and the
+entire length is dotted at intervals with blocks which mark the sites of
+the piers. These concrete blocks were laid by order of Sir Thomas Deane,
+under whose direction the excavations were made here some few years ago.
+The length of the nave cannot now be ascertained with certainty, but
+judging from the position occupied by some very old walls at the
+south-western side, it may be roughly stated to have been 120 feet; while
+54 feet 6 inches was the width of the whole church, including the aisles.
+These latter were each 10 feet wide. The nave had seven bays, and like all
+Cistercian churches, it was divided into two parts by the Rood-loft and
+Choir-screen, which stood about midway. This Rood-loft served a twofold
+purpose; on it was a lectern, where the Lessons of the night-offices were
+read by the monks in rotation, and thereon the Abbot announced the Gospel
+proper to each festival, chanting or reading it, according as the office
+was sung or merely recited, after which, with crosier in hand, he gave his
+solemn benediction. It answered, too, as a partition between the choir of
+the monks and the stalls of the Lay Brethren; the former on the
+eastern, the latter on the western side of it. This Choir-screen formed a
+sort of reredos to the two altars, which were invariably found in this
+position in the churches of the Order. On these altars were offered up
+daily Masses for living and deceased benefactors--a practice which
+continues in the Order and which dates back to the foundation of the
+Cistercian Institute. Further west was a tribune or gallery, where guests
+and the dependants of the monastery assisted at Divine Service, Office and
+Mass. Inside the Rood-loft, was the Choir proper, which extended thence to
+the Chancel, or "Presbytery Step," as it is called in monastic parlance. A
+small space was provided between the Choir and the Chancel, in order to
+allow a passage to those who proceeded from the Sacristy to the High Altar
+within the Chancel. Two rows of stalls ran down on each side the length of
+the nave. These stalls were generally of carved oak, and were artistically
+finished. The outer rows were for the novices, and the backs of their
+stalls formed the desks used by the professed monks, whereon they rested
+the ponderous tomes containing the sacred psalmody. During the High Mass
+the stalls next the Chancel were used, and the place of honour, that is,
+the first stall on the Epistle, or south side, was given to the Abbot. The
+Prior, as second superior, occupied the first on the opposite, or Gospel
+side. The other monks according to seniority occupied the stalls on either
+side. On the other hand, at Matins and at all the offices, except that in
+connection with High Mass, the Abbot's and Prior's stalls were farthest
+from the Chancel, and next the Rood-loft, and the order of the monks was
+reversed. In token of his jurisdiction the Abbot's crosier was fixed at
+his stall. The Cistercian monks call this Rood-loft the "_Jubé_," from the
+first word spoken by the reader when he asks the blessing before
+commencing the Lessons. The whole nave here at Mellifont seems to have
+been paved with beautiful tiles; a few of which may yet be seen in their
+position near the great pier on the north side. At the intersection of the
+transept with the nave, is the space called the "Crossing," or "Lantern."
+Over this rose the bell-tower, which was supported on solid piers, from
+two of which sprang the Chancel arch, and from the two others, that of the
+nave. These piers were formed of clustered columns, but their remains
+(about five feet high), vary both in dimensions and in style, manifesting,
+thereby, the partial renovation that took place from time to time. The
+material of which the whole building was constructed is a buff-coloured
+sandstone not found in the vicinity of Mellifont, but brought, it is said,
+from Kells, some twenty miles away; a thing not very difficult, seeing
+that the river is so convenient. Some, again, are of opinion that the
+stone was brought from Normandy; which seems to be improbable.
+
+The total length of the transepts is 116 feet; the width 54 feet. The
+northern one is some four feet longer than the southern. They seem to have
+had aisles, an unusual arrangement in churches of the Order. In the
+northern transept were six chapels, the piscinas of which are still to be
+seen in the piers adjoining. The number of these piscinas cannot fail to
+strike one as something very singular. Their presence is accounted for in
+this way. At the date of the foundation of Mellifont and for centuries
+later, it was the custom for priests of the Order to wash their hands at
+the foot of the altar before commencing Mass, the server pouring water on
+his hands, which he dried with a towel that had been previously laid on
+the altar. The water used was then cast into the piscina. It was also the
+custom with them, at that time, to descend from the altar when they had
+consumed the Sacred Species out of the chalice and to wash their fingers
+over the piscina.
+
+This northern transept seems to have been a favourite spot for interments;
+for during the excavations numerous skulls were found there. At Clairvaux,
+the corresponding site was strewn with the graves of bishops, who selected
+it as the place wherein to rest after life's weary struggle. No record or
+memorial of these survives, or of any of the dead interred at Mellifont,
+to point out the occupant of a single grave. In the northern wall of this
+transept is a beautiful door-way with jambs of clustered columns. Hard by,
+the wall was pierced to make a loop-hole when Mellifont was transformed
+into a fortress. On one side of the door-way are the remains of what must
+once have been a superb chapel; on the opposite side are a few steps of a
+spiral stair-case, formed in the thickness of the wall, which led up to
+the tower, as is to be seen at Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, and other
+houses of the order in Ireland. The level of the floor here is some five
+or six feet lower than the adjacent road-way which was raised by the
+accumulated rubbish of former buildings that extended along the hill-side
+where the cottages now stand.
+
+The southern transept may have had its six altars also. The aisle seems to
+have been built up, and when the alterations which took place in the whole
+fabric in the fifteenth century were made, a large portion of this
+transept would appear to have been allocated to the uses of a sacristy. No
+trace of a sacristy remains elsewhere, and this would be a very convenient
+place to utilise as one. The remains of some walls lead us to suppose such
+an arrangement probable. In Cistercian monasteries, a stair-case in this
+transept near the cloister led thence to the dormitory, but no remains of
+such a stairs have been discovered at Mellifont. When Sir Thomas Deane
+had the earth and rubbish, or, as he calls it, the "grassy mound,"
+removed, he discovered the foundations of two semi-circular chapels in
+each transept, in a line with the site occupied by the High, or principal
+Altar. (See the dotted lines in the Ground Plan). Describing them, Sir
+Thomas writes: "Within the circuit of the external walls are the
+foundations of an earlier church which indicate four semicircular chapels,
+and two square ones between. Of this church we have no distinct record,
+but the bases of semi-detached pillars would indicate the date given for
+the erection of Mellifont." These four semi-circular chapels in line with
+the High Altar, formed an exact counterpart of the church of Clairvaux
+which was erected in 1135, and which by St. Bernard's express wish, served
+St. Malachy as the model for Mellifont.
+
+The chancel terminated in a square end, and was 42 feet deep by 26 feet
+wide. It was raised about six inches over the floor of the nave, and a
+slab of limestone extended the entire width with which the tiled pavement
+was flush. Almost in the centre of the chancel, that is to say, nearly
+midway between the two piers, are two sockets sunk in sandstone blocks.
+What uses they served cannot be affirmed with certainty. However, it may
+be conjectured that they served to receive the supports on which a violet
+curtain was suspended during Lent, screening the "Sanctuary." This curtain
+spanned the space from pier to pier. The custom is still preserved in the
+Order. Here on this central spot, a lectern was placed, at which the
+sub-deacon at Solemn Masses sang the Epistle. Here, too, the celebrant of
+the Community Mass on Sundays blessed the water with which he sprinkled
+the brethren, who presented themselves two by two before him. It was here,
+also, that the Abbot blessed the candles, ashes, and palms, on
+Candlemas-day, Ash Wednesday, and Palm Sunday respectively. This was
+called the "Presbytery Step," and the whole space within the chancel, the
+"Sanctuary."
+
+The basis on which the High Altar was built still remains. It is distant
+some few feet from the eastern wall, in order to allow a passage for the
+monks, who on Sundays and Festivals received Holy Communion at this altar,
+after which they walked around it in single file, and passing on by the
+Gospel, or northern corner, returned to their stalls in the nave. The
+basis is ten feet long by three and one half feet wide. On the Epistle, or
+southern side, are the piscina surrounded with a dog-tooth moulding, and
+the remains of the sedilia or stalls, which were occupied by the
+celebrant, deacon, and sub-deacon at High Mass. Under these sedilia a tomb
+was discovered during the excavations. A skull and some bones, together
+with a gold ring, were raised from their resting-place; the bones were
+replaced and covered with the slab of concrete now seen at this spot, but
+the ring was sold by a workman and could never be recovered. No
+inscription or tradition identifies the occupant of the hallowed grave.
+Could it have been that of the famous Dervorgilla? She was certainly
+buried at Mellifont, but unfortunately, we do not know the spot where her
+remains were laid when "life's fitful fever" was over; or it may have been
+the resting-place of Thomas O'Connor, or of Luke Netterville, both,
+successively, Archbishops of Armagh; for they, also, were buried at
+Mellifont.
+
+On the opposite, or Gospel side, is an arched recess having an ornamental
+moulding around it. This would seem to have been the Founder's tomb, or
+rather, the remains of it. In the Cistercian Constitutions no special
+place was allotted for the tombs of Founders, and only the indefinite
+permission was given, that they, kings and queens, bishops and such like
+exalted dignitaries, might be buried within the churches of the Order. A
+general custom, however, prevailed in Ireland of appropriating to the
+Founder's tomb a space in the northern wall of the chancel, and directly
+at right angles with the High Altar. Others, besides Founders, were buried
+on the north side in the chancel. Thus, in the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin, we are told that Felix O'Ruadan, who had been a great benefactor
+to that house, was buried in the chancel of the abbey church, on the north
+side. And Felix O'Dullany, the first Abbot of Jerpoint, and afterwards
+Bishop of Ossory, was interred on the north side of the High Altar, at
+Jerpoint.
+
+The door on this side of the chancel is a puzzle, as in no other church of
+the Order is one found in this position. There is no evidence of a
+building having adjoined with which this door communicated, so that its
+use is unknown. Quite close to this door there is a shallow recess in the
+wall, which may have been a provision for the Abbot's throne, when he
+officiated pontifically, as that is the site usually occupied by it. Some
+five or six feet high of the chancel walls is all that is left standing;
+and, though not up to the window level, what remains of the cut stone and
+water-tabling gives an idea of the beauty of the whole, and what a loss we
+have sustained by its destruction.
+
+In the original church, that is, the one erected in St. Malachy's time,
+there were ten altars we are told, but on the ground plan seven only are
+shown. Two more at least were in front of the Rood-loft or _Jubé_, and the
+remaining one very probably was in one of the aisles. The church of
+Mellifont was remarkable, not so much for its vast dimensions, as for its
+architectural beauty; yet, in this it was surpassed by St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin. Sir Thomas Deane writes: "From the fragments of the church which
+remain, it is easy to trace the vicissitudes the building underwent. I
+have great doubt that any portions of the structure above ground are those
+of the earliest church erected on the site, or date as far back as 1157,
+which is given as the year of its consecration.... The details of the
+piers (the older ones) are in my opinion a century or more later in date.
+They still indicate a foreign type, and the arrangements and obvious plan
+show that the transepts as well as the nave had aisles.... Portions of the
+piers discovered are of the fifteenth century, other parts of the church
+of the fourteenth.... A second portion dates probably from 1260, another
+from 1370, and another from 1460. I am not prepared to follow from the
+history of the Abbey the causes of such restorations; but it is certain
+that rebuildings of portions of the church occurred from time to time, and
+that violence or decay was the cause." Neither to violence nor to decay
+can the alterations be attributed, which the church underwent at the three
+periods mentioned by Sir Thomas, but rather to the practice then common to
+the whole Order, chiefly in the monasteries of Great Britain and Ireland,
+of adopting the advancing changes in the Gothic style, and to the laudable
+efforts of the monks to make the House of God worthy of Him as far as art
+and skill could be made subservient to that purpose. Thus in the Annals of
+Fountains and Furness, there are abundant proofs of this constant change
+going on in those monasteries even down to the date of their suppression.
+One Abbot considered the eastern window too low and narrow, and had it
+enlarged; another thought the tower rested on too slender a basis, and he
+built substantial piers and flanked them on the outside with buttresses,
+and so with others.
+
+To better understand the surroundings, it will be necessary to bear in
+mind the general plan on which all Cistercian monasteries were built. On
+this subject there is a good deal of misapprehension, even on the part of
+those who seem to have given close attention to the matter. The church and
+buildings necessary for large communities were so arranged as to form a
+square, thereby combining simplicity with economy. It is said that the
+monks borrowed this idea from the form of a Roman villa. The church formed
+the first or northern side (for in temperate and cold climates the other
+buildings, as they lay to the south, were sheltered by the church.) The
+sacristy, chapter-house, and other halls were on the east; the
+calefactory, refectory, and kitchen on the south; and the _Domus
+Conversorum_ completed the square on the west. Within this square were the
+cloisters, always contiguous to the main buildings, and forming a
+communication with all the parts of the monastery. They were a sort of
+covered ambulatory, whose roof rested on the one side against the main
+buildings, and on the other was supported by open ornamental arcades,
+which, however, in these climates were glazed. The cloisters were often
+vaulted in richly moulded stonework, and were fitted up with benches for
+reading, chiefly on the side adjoining the church. The space or
+quadrilateral area enclosed by them was called the Cloister-Garth, in the
+centre of which a statue or handsome fountain stood.
+
+The cloisters were generally entered from the church by the south aisle,
+at the point where it adjoins the transept; but here, at Mellifont, the
+entrance was direct from the south transept itself. This a glance at the
+ground-plan will show; though it may have been otherwise in the primitive
+church; for, when it underwent alterations, the transepts were widened by
+the addition of an aisle to each; and, the cloister being thus encroached
+on, a change was necessary in it also.
+
+Adjoining the transept, and at right angles with the cloister, on the
+left, was a narrow hall or cell which contained books, chiefly the Sacred
+Scriptures, and the writings of the Fathers. This cell, which had no
+window, was called the "Armarium Commune," or "Common Box;" for its
+contents were common to all the monks. Its situation was convenient to the
+reading-cloister, which lay along the south wall of the church. In this
+cell the monks were provided with an abundant supply of good books, but
+treatises on the Canon and Civil Laws were forbidden to be kept in it: the
+Prior was charged with the custody of these. Behind this cell, and
+communicating only with the church, the Sacristy was placed; but, as
+before observed, there is no trace of one here. Some writers on monastic
+ruins, confidently assure their readers that this cell was a prison, and
+that it was called the "Lantern;" casting upon the monks all
+responsibility for the name, and supposing them to have formed it on the
+_lucus a non lucendo_ principle, seeing the cell was dark. The error was
+all their own; for the Lantern, as has been already shown, was in the
+tower over the crossing of the church; and the true use of this cell has
+just been stated above.
+
+Here (at Mellifont), in close proximity to the transept, is the ruined
+two-storied building we saw as we approached, and which, from its present
+striking appearance, must have been one of the most beautiful within the
+ancient abbey's precincts. This is commonly, but erroneously, known as
+"St. Bernard's Chapel." Why it was reputed to have been a chapel, must be
+from the close resemblance it bears to one. It was, in reality, the
+Chapter-house. That it was, is quite evident to anyone who has studied the
+plans of Cistercian monasteries: (_a_), from the position it occupies, and
+(_b_), from the internal arrangement and decorations such as are found in
+other like edifices of the Order in Ireland. A stone bench ran around the
+inside of the building, and which, when covered with a rush mat, served as
+a seat for the monks. In Graignamanagh Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, the ancient
+Chapter-house still remains, closely resembling this one at Mellifont,
+both in style and ornamentation, as well as in dimensions. The historic
+Chapter-house of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, which was unearthed a few years
+ago, exhibited in every detail a striking resemblance to this also. That
+at Graignamanagh was remarkable for its beauty. At the entrance to it from
+the cloister, was a magnificent arched door-way, containing within it
+three smaller arches of blue marble, beautifully carved. A grand central
+column, called by the inhabitants of the district, the "Marble Tree,"
+supported the roof. It stood eight feet high from base to capital, whence
+the branches spread to meet the corresponding ribs on the groined roof.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY (PORTER'S LODGE.) See page 2. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Sir William Wilde describes the Chapter-house at Mellifont, as he saw it
+in 1850. He says: "It must have been one of the most elegant and highly
+embellished structures of the Norman or Early English pointed style in
+Ireland." He calls it a Crypt; for it was overlaid, and surrounded up to a
+high level by heaps of rubbish. He goes on to say: "It has a groined roof
+underneath another building evidently used for domestic purposes, and was
+probably part of the Abbot's apartments. The upper room, which contains a
+chimney, must have been a pleasant, cheerful abode, and its windows
+commanded a charming prospect down the valley, with a view of the distant
+hills peeping up from the south-west. The building is 30 feet long, by 19
+feet wide. There are no remains of mullions or tracery of the east window.
+At present, there are two lights on each side; but upon a careful
+examination of the masonry both within and without the building, it is, we
+think, apparent that in the original plan, the upper window on each side
+alone existed, the others being evidently subsequent innovations. The
+original windows[2] are still beautiful, deeply set, and, though their
+stone mullions are rather massive, each forms, with the tracery at the
+top, a very elegant figure. The internal pilasters, which form an
+architrave for the northern window, spring from grotesque heads,
+elaborately carved, and which appear as if pressed down by the
+superincumbent weight. A fillet of dog's-tooth moulding surrounds the
+internal sash. A projecting moulding courses round the wall, about two
+feet from the ground, which, while it dips down to admit the splayed sill
+of the upper or original windows, continues unbroken by the lower ones, an
+additional proof that the latter did not exist in the original plan of the
+building. Three sets of short clustered columns, four feet high, one in
+the centre, and one in each angle, spring from this course, and terminate
+in elaborately carved floral capitals, which differ slightly one from the
+other. The centre rod of this cluster descends as far as the floor. From
+these spring the ribs, which form the groining of the roof.... The grand
+architectural feature, and most elaborate piece of carving, was the
+door-way, formed of a cluster of columns, very deeply revealed on the
+inside, but apparently plain on the outside.... Nearly the whole of the
+western end has fallen, so that nothing but the foundations of this very
+splendid door-way now remain. A figure of it has, however, been preserved
+in Wright's _Louthiana_ (reproduced here),[3] published in 1755, where we
+read that it was 'all of blue marble, richly ornamented and gilt,' but
+'which,' the author adds, 'I was informed was sold and going to be taken
+to pieces when I was there.' All the pillars and carved stone work of this
+building were at one time painted in the most brilliant colours, the
+capitals light blue, the pillars themselves red; portions of this paint
+still remain in the curves and amongst the foliage."
+
+The Chapter-house[4] is little changed since Sir William Wilde penned the
+foregoing, and time seems to have dealt leniently with this magnificent
+ruin. One of the windows has had its mullions restored under the Board of
+Works; a number of curious objects--capitals, corbels, and portions of
+arches and cut stone, flooring tiles, etc., has been collected there, and
+a gate to guard them has been erected by Mr. Balfour, the owner of the
+ruins and surrounding property. It is very dubious that the upper story
+ever served as a part of the Abbot's lodgings, as these are generally
+found further east. This room may have been the muniment room. It has two
+port-holes remaining, relics of the days when Mellifont was turned into a
+fortified castle, and the cry of fierce, contending men was heard on this
+hallowed spot, over the graves of the sainted dead. In the first volume of
+_The Dublin Penny Journal_, there are very interesting articles from the
+pen of a Mr. Armstrong, a native of the locality. He tells us that this
+Chapter-house was converted into a banqueting-hall by the Moore family,
+and that in his time (1832), it was used as a pig-sty.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH WINDOW OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 17. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Another account of the fate of the beautiful arched door-way of blue
+marble is, that it was lost at a game of piquet, and the lucky winner,
+whose name, unfortunately, has not been handed down to us, had it removed
+to his mansion, and set up as a chimney-piece. The floor of the
+Chapter-house is now laid with some of the tiles which were found in the
+church during the excavations, in order to preserve them from destruction
+or appropriation by "relic-hunters." Abbots, generally, chose the
+Chapter-house of their abbeys for their burial place; but, as no grave was
+found here, when the rubbish was removed, during the excavations, we may
+conclude that the Abbots of Mellifont were buried either in the church, or
+in the cemetery with their monks.
+
+The glazed tiles and their manufacture were a specialty with the old
+Cistercians, in these countries. Similar tiles are seldom met with amongst
+the ruins of other churches. Here at Mellifont, those found are red and
+blue, and the vast majority have the legend _Ave Maria_ inscribed on them;
+others are impressed with a Fleur de lis, a cock, or some typical device.
+It is well known, that specimens of tiles found at Fountains, in
+Yorkshire, bear a close resemblance to these. There, the motto of that
+monastery was impressed on the tiles discovered--"_Benedicite fontes
+Domino_,"--"Ye fountains bless the Lord." No doubt, here, too, some bore
+the motto of Mellifont, if only they could be found.
+
+A very pertinent question arises now: how could this small building give
+sitting accommodation, not only to one hundred and fifty monks, which this
+monastery is said to have had, but even to a third of that number? It
+seems impossible. It may be that, on becoming numerous, they used as
+Chapter-house some other building no longer standing. At Graignamanagh,
+the monks, finding their Chapter-house too small, converted the eastern
+window of it into a door, and built a large and spacious hall, as a new
+Chapter-house, the old one serving as an ante-chamber to it. No such
+addition had been made here; for the window remains intact.
+
+What a change has come over this grand old Chapter-house since it saw its
+Abbot, who ranked as a peer of the realm, walk up its centre with solemn
+and stately tread, and mount the steps which led to his seat, on the east;
+and the grave assemblage of white-robed monks enter in silence, and take
+their places on either side, while one of them sang at the Lectern, the
+Martyrology, and a chapter of St. Benedict's Rule! From this custom of
+having a _chapter_ of the Rule sung there every morning, this apartment
+derives its name. In the interval, between the singing of the Martyrology
+and the chapter of St. Benedict's Rule, one of the priests gave out
+certain prayers, to which all responded. These prayers were chiefly
+petitions to the Lord, that He would deign to bless and guard them during
+the coming day; for the hour of chapter, or of the assembling of the
+Brethren, was generally about 6 A.M.. The Abbot then explained the chapter
+which had been sung, dwelt on the obligations incumbent on his hearers, by
+their profession, to observe the teaching which St. Benedict inculcated by
+his Rule; then called for the public self-accusations of breaches of
+monastic discipline (external faults only), and imposed penances
+commensurate with each transgression. The Chapter-house was the hall
+wherein were held the deliberations or councils relative to the
+administration of temporalities, and here novices were elected or rejected
+by secret ballot.
+
+On leaving the Chapter-house one finds himself again on the site of the
+eastern walk or alley of the Cloister, as it is called, and proceeding
+along it southward, one sees a wall some seven or eight feet high without
+door or window of any sort. It is doubtful that this was portion of the
+ancient building; for then Mellifont would not have followed the general
+plan of all the houses of the Order. That it was not one of the original
+buildings is probable, both because the masonry is more modern, and the
+remains of an old building running at right angles with it were found when
+the excavations were made a few years ago in the potato garden, at the
+rere of this wall. That old structure measured about fourteen feet wide.
+It is shown on the ground plan. In the plan of Clairvaux, of which
+Mellifont is said to have been a counterpart, a long narrow hall ran off
+the Cloister here, parallel with the Chapter-house. It was called the
+"Auditorium" or "Parlour." It was there that each choir monk's share in
+the manual labour was assigned him every day by the Prior. There, too,
+confessions were heard, and the monks might speak to the Prior or Abbot on
+necessary matters; for the adjoining Cloister was a place of strict
+silence. As at Clairvaux, the novitiate was placed further south where the
+novices were trained in their duties by a learned and experienced monk,
+who, according to St. Benedict, "would know how to gain souls to God."
+
+Over the buildings on the ground story, that is, over the Sacristy,
+Chapter-house, Parlour, and Novitiate, was the Dormitory, which was
+entered by a stair-case, in the south-eastern angle of the transept, on
+one side, and by another stairs at the junction of the east and south
+walks of the Cloister. When the monastery at Mellifont was changed and
+remodelled after Clairvaux (for this latter underwent a substantial change
+in 1175), the monks may have used the old Parlour as a passage leading to
+other buildings which covered that plot of ground beyond the
+Chapter-house, now a potato garden. In the plan of Clairvaux, all the
+space in that direction is covered with buildings. (See plan of
+Clairvaux.) In the general view of Mellifont, given in frontispiece, the
+plot whereon these buildings stood is that where the man is seen tilling
+the garden. But if one ascend the hill, keeping close to the ruins, it
+will be evident how suitable a place it was for building on, and the
+remains of walls peep up here and there over the surface. The level at
+that spot is, indeed, much higher than in the Cloister, or Chapter-house,
+but that is partially caused by the debris of ruined buildings which has
+accumulated there.
+
+[Illustration: DOORWAY OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 18. _A. Scott & Son,
+Architects, Drogheda._]
+
+At the extreme end of this eastern walk of the Cloister and at right
+angles with it, are the remains of what was once a spacious building. It
+had a fire-place at the eastern end, and a door which led out into another
+building that formerly adjoined it. It is 96 feet long by 36 feet wide. No
+idea can be formed now as to its original use. In some monasteries of the
+fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, chiefly the more considerable ones,
+there was a spacious room or hall located as this was, and furnished with
+benches and writing-desks, where the monks studied and wrote. It was
+called the "Lectorium" or Reading room. It must not, however, be
+confounded with the Scriptorium, which was the official quarters of the
+copyist. It is well to remark here that the plot of ground lying north of
+this building was not dug up during the excavations, but only skimmed over
+in order to trace the course of some walls which at intervals appeared
+above the surface; but, even this slight investigation was sufficient to
+reveal the outlines of numerous buildings that once extended in that
+direction and covered that whole area. Again comparing the site with
+Clairvaux, we find that the Infirmary and its surroundings would lie in
+that direction.
+
+At the extreme end of the eastern walk of the Cloister where it joins the
+southern one, are the remains of a stairs, which formerly led up to the
+Dormitory from this part of the monastery, as at Clairvaux. Near it is
+what is commonly called a vault, an arched chamber measuring sixteen feet
+by fourteen. It has a chimney, and it would seem to have had a narrow
+window also on the outer or southern end. Here is where the Calefactory
+stood in almost all the old Cistercian monasteries. This Calefactory was
+heated by a stove, at which the monks warmed themselves after their long
+vigils in winter; but their stay there was restricted to one quarter of an
+hour. Pope Eugenius III., when a monk at Clairvaux, under St. Bernard, had
+charge of the stove there, as was commemorated by an inscription over the
+door of the Calefactory. A son of the King of France discharged the same
+lowly office afterwards at Clairvaux, as the Annals of the Order testify.
+
+Adjoining this vault is a covered passage, having an entrance into the
+next building, which runs parallel with it. Its purpose cannot now be
+known. It may be that the vault or Calefactory had been converted in later
+times into a store-room for necessaries which were brought thence by this
+covered way into the Refectory, which is the next building. The Refectory
+measures 48 feet by 24. A few coarse flags remain in their original
+position, from which it may be inferred that the whole floor was once
+formed of them. In its western wall was the turnstile, through which the
+food was served from the kitchen that adjoined the Refectory on that side.
+
+Now, we come to the great puzzle, the remains of the octagon building,
+which was commonly called the Baptistery. Sir William Wilde, who saw it as
+it was in 1848, calls it the oldest and by far the most interesting
+architectural remains in the whole place; and he goes on to describe
+it:[5] "This octagonal structure, of which only four sides remain,
+consists of a colonnade or series of circular-headed arches, of the Roman
+or Saxon character, enclosing a space of 29 feet in the clear, and
+supporting a wall which must have been, when perfect, about 30 feet high.
+Each external face measures 12 feet in length, and was plastered or
+covered with composition to the height of 10 feet, where a projecting band
+separates it from the less elaborate masonry above. The arches[6] are
+carved in sandstone, and spring from foliage-ornamented capitals, to the
+short supporting pillars, the shaft of each of which measures 3 feet 5
+inches. The chord of each arch above the capitals is 4 feet 3 inches. Some
+slight difference is observable in the shape and arrangement of the
+foliage of the capitals, and upon one of the remaining half arches were
+beautifully carved two birds; but some Goth has lately succeeded in
+hammering away as much of the relieved part of each, as it was possible.
+The arches were evidently open, and some slight variety exists in their
+mouldings. Internally a stone finger-course encircled the wall, at about
+six inches higher than that on the outside. In the angles between the
+arches there are remains of fluted pilasters at the height of the
+string-course, from which spring groins of apparently the same curve as
+the external arches, and which, meeting in the centre, must have formed
+more or less of a pendant, which, no doubt, heightened the beauty and
+architectural effect. Like the pillars and stone carvings in the
+Chapter-house, this building was also painted red and blue, and the track
+of the paint is still visible in several places. The upper story, which
+was lighted by a window on each side of the octagon, bears no
+architectural embellishment which is now visible." He then adds, how
+Archdall, in his _Monasticon_, asserted that a cistern was placed on the
+upper story, whence water was conveyed by pipes to the different parts of
+the monastery; but shows how such an arrangement would have been
+impossible, on account of the weakness of the walls, and the position of
+the windows.
+
+This building was known, in monastic terminology, as the "Lavabo." A
+fountain of water issued in jets from a central column, and fell into a
+basin, in which the monks washed their hands, before entering the
+Refectory for their meals. It is quite easy, from the construction of the
+roof, to imagine a number of branches springing from the capital of the
+column, and meeting the ribs of the groined roof, in the same manner, as
+the "Marble Tree," in the Chapter-house of Graignamanagh. Drains in
+connection with this building were discovered when the excavations were
+made, and Sir Thomas Deane is of opinion, that it was surrounded on the
+outside by a wooden verandah, or shed. Certainly, in the plan of
+Clairvaux, a low building is shown, adjoining the Lavabo, at its east and
+west ends; but no use is assigned it. Very probably it was the Lavatory.
+Petrie thinks the Lavabo may have been built as far back as 1165, but that
+can hardly be held; for Clairvaux had not been remodelled till 1175, and
+it had no such ornamental structure in the time of St. Bernard. He
+remarks, too, that fragments of bricks were discovered in the building,
+and says they were never employed earlier in any other building in
+Ireland. It is now certain, that it was the monks of Mellifont who first
+manufactured bricks in this country. This Lavabo was not isolated or
+detached from the Cloister, but, as at Clairvaux, a door led from one into
+the other, opposite the entrance into the Refectory; and, since the
+excavations, portions of the door-way are visible. Some small shafts and
+their bases remain. Even at the present day, in one of the most recently
+constructed monasteries of the Order (near Tilburg, Holland), what might
+be termed a semi-octagonal Lavabo, having its fountain and basin, has been
+built. It answers the same purpose as those in ancient times.
+
+By keeping the Lavabo before one's mind, one can form an idea of the
+Cloister itself; which, consisting of arcades, closely resembled this in
+every detail, except that these were glazed, and in all probability its
+walks had a lean-to roof. The site of the east walk of the Cloister is
+easily traced, and the places occupied by the piers being now concreted,
+mark their positions. This eastern walk was 21 feet 6 inches wide. The
+opposite, or western one, was some 19 feet 6 inches; that on the south, 14
+feet; and the north one, adjoining the church, and which was usually the
+Reading-Cloister, may also have been 14 feet. Thus, we would have an
+enclosed space or Garth, 100 feet square.
+
+Beside the Refectory lay the Kitchen, which was a small building, and
+around it are the ruins of smaller structures, which may have been
+store-rooms in connection with it. Under the Kitchen ran a copious stream
+of water which carried off all the refuse. It is remarkable that at
+Clairvaux similar remains are found in exactly the same position
+relatively to the Kitchen there. With the Cistercians, the Kitchen was
+always square; with the Benedictines, it was round. To the rere of the
+Kitchen, and almost directly opposite the covered passage, is the old well
+which was covered over for a long time, but was discovered, and re-opened
+in 1832. Near it a portion of the old wall fell in, but the masonry, owing
+to the singularly cohesive character of the mortar, holds together despite
+the action of the elements.
+
+Of the western walk of the Cloister no trace remains, and only a tottering
+wall of the _Domus Conversorum_, which once adjoined it, is standing.
+There is no trace either of the northern walk, though this was the most
+important of all. There the monks read and copied, in cells called
+"carrols," which were placed near the windows. When not employed in
+chanting the Masses and Offices in the church, or busied with domestic
+concerns, or working in the fields, the monks passed all their intervals
+here occupied with study. The Abbot had a chair here also; and, from a
+raised pulpit opposite it, one of the monks read aloud every evening, the
+lecture before Compline, at which the whole community assisted.
+
+Turning westward and approaching the River Mattock, we enter, at the left,
+an enclosed space, bounded by the river on one side, and by the remains of
+the outer wall of the _Domus Conversorum_ on the other, we find ourselves
+in a potato garden, which, on close observation, appears strewn with
+pieces of bones. This was "God's Acre" at Mellifont, the cemetery of the
+monks. Some forty or fifty years ago, a Scotchman, who then rented the
+mill and a farm adjoining it, perceiving that the clay of this old
+cemetery was particularly rich and loamy, dug a spit off it a foot deep or
+more, and carted it out on his fields for top-dressing. Amongst the stuff
+so carted were human bones of all kinds, skulls, etc.!!! This was done in
+a Christian land, and no protesting voice was raised against the horrid
+profanation!! The cemetery is shown in the general view at the extreme
+left, where the plot of ground appears laid out in ridges and surrounded
+by a wall.
+
+The River Mattock flows peacefully still by the old abbey as it did over
+seven centuries ago, when its course being first arrested, it was
+harnessed and compelled to take its share in many useful and profitable
+industries. One old solitary yew tree casts its shadow on its water and
+bears it company amid the surrounding ruin and desolation--sad and
+sympathising witnesses of Mellifont's fallen greatness. No bridge now
+spans the river here, though formerly it was probably arched over, and the
+slopes upon the Meath side were laid out in terraces and gardens. The
+present mill was built over one hundred years ago, together with some
+out-offices; the latter, being situated almost midway in the nave of the
+church, were removed when the excavations were made. The mill has not been
+worked during the last thirty years. When Mr. Armstrong wrote his
+interesting papers on Mellifont, in the _Dublin Penny Journal_, 1832-33, a
+few cabins nestled under the shadow of the old ruins.
+
+The last building that deserves notice is the small ruined edifice on the
+hill, which, after the suppression of the monastery, was used as a
+Protestant place of worship. Sir William Wilde was of opinion that it
+dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The western gable which
+rises in the centre into a double belfry contains a pointed door-way, and
+above, but not immediately over this, is a double round-arched window. One
+small narrow light occupies the eastern gable. At a few paces in front of
+this building there stood, at the time Sir William examined it, two very
+plain and very ancient crosses, one having a heart engraven on it
+encircled by a crown of thorns, and the other having a fleur de lis on the
+arm. The latter cross has disappeared, but the former can still be seen
+prostrate on the ground, in that half of the old cemetery beyond the
+road-way, that is, on the side to the south. After the suppression, this
+was used as a Protestant burial-ground, though the presence of Catholic
+emblems would go to prove that it was once Catholic. Of late years the
+interments here have been but few. We are nowhere told, nor does any
+tradition still linger to indicate the former use of this ancient
+building, but it is most probable, that it was the church in which the
+tenants and dependants of the Abbey assisted at Mass and other religious
+functions--in a word, that it was the parish church of Mellifont, which
+was _served by the monks_. This seems to be the most likely explanation;
+for the law of "Enclosure," that law of the Church which debarred females
+from entering within the monastic enclosure, ("_Septa monasterii_" as it
+is called), was in full force at the Dissolution of monasteries, as
+appears from the Decrees of the General Chapters of the Order about that
+time, and also from the Episcopal Registers of some of the English
+dioceses which have lately been published. In these latter are found
+reports of the bishops, who, either officially or by delegation, visited
+some monasteries and adverted to the law of enclosure as an important
+point of monastic discipline. This old structure, then, would have been
+constructed purposely outside the wall for the use of the tenants. Such a
+chapel is still to be seen outside the enclosure at Bordesley Abbey, an
+old Cistercian monastery in Worcestershire, of which we are expressly
+told, that it was the place in which the monks, tenants, domestics, etc.,
+attended Mass. Another purpose may be assigned to this old chapel at
+Mellifont, as that attached to the College, or Seminary, which once
+flourished there. The surrounding hill is locally and traditionally known
+as College-Hill, and the old road which passes over it and leads to
+Townley Hall, is called the College Road.
+
+Little more remains to be said of the ruins or of the site itself.
+Standing on this hill and looking into the valley beneath, we are struck
+by its singular natural features. It would seem as if the waters of the
+Mattock had been suddenly dammed up, and that the pent-up waters,
+bursting their barriers, hollowed out this sheltered little valley, after
+the angry element had cleared away the rocks and other obstructions; and
+having swept it clear of the rubbish, made it a fit and proper place
+whereon to rear a temple to the true God, in which praise and sacrifice
+might for ever be offered to Him. No buildings seem to have been
+constructed on the Meath side, as no traces of them remain. In this,
+Mellifont differed from Clairvaux, whose buildings filled the valley and
+spread out wings high up the hills on either side of the River Aube.
+
+Just due south from where we have been standing, on the hill, and distant
+about a few hundred yards, the Guide will show a singular earth-work,
+shaped like a moat, and having an elevated mound in the centre. From the
+presence here of old conduits built with masonry, there can be no doubt
+that this was a reservoir to contain a copious supply of water which
+flowed from wells on the hill. Lower down than this moat, that is, at the
+rere of the Chapter-house, lies buried beneath some feet of soil the
+Abbot's house, where Mellifont's puissant rulers received their guests,
+and whose hospitable board was honoured by the presence of kings and
+bishops, as well as chiefs and warriors bold in all their pomp and
+panoply. It is doubtful that any vestige of the enclosure wall remains,
+nor can it be conjectured even, what, or how much, space it embraced. As
+we ponder over the scene, Keats' words find an echo in our hearts:--
+
+  "How changed, alas! from that revered abode
+  Graced by proud majesty in ancient days,
+  Where monks recluse those sacred pavements trod,
+  And taught the unlettered world its Maker's praise."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT.
+
+  "Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
+  Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice
+  Rise like a fountain for me night and day,
+  For what are men better than sheep and goats,
+  That nourish a blind life within the brain,
+  If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
+  Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
+  For so the whole round earth is every way
+  Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."
+                                  (_Lord Tennyson._)
+
+
+At the time that Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding were laying
+the foundation of the Cistercian Order, in the dense forest of Cistercium,
+or Citeaux, whence the Order derives its name, or to be more precise, in
+1098, a lovely little boy eight years old, with golden hair and dove-like
+eyes, and with nobility of birth stamped in every lineament of his
+features, was playing in his father's chateau at Fontaines, near Dijon, in
+France. This child of predilection was the great St. Bernard, who is
+justly styled the Propagator of that Order which was then in a struggling
+condition. It has become a proverb, "that the child is father of the man,"
+and a very clever writer exclaims--"Blessed is the man whose infancy has
+been watched over, kindled, and penetrated by the eyes of a tender and
+holy mother." It was St. Bernard's singular privilege to have such a
+mother, one who sedulously watched over his youthful days, and inspired
+him with a love of all virtues. Hence we are told, that even in early
+childhood, he evinced a love of piety that was remarkable, and that he
+constituted his mother the grand model which he was bound to copy. He
+considered it the summit of his ambition to do all things like his
+mother--to pray like her, to give alms and visit the sick poor like her;
+for this noble lady was wont to go along the roads unattended, carrying
+medicine and nourishment to the indigent. He distinguished himself at the
+public school where he received his education, and returned to the
+paternal mansion where he soon after experienced his first great sorrow in
+the death of his loving mother. He was now approaching manhood, and he
+must needs select a state of life befitting his high birth. At that time,
+only two professions were worthy of the consideration of young
+noblemen--the Church or the Army. With Bernard's distinguished talents, a
+bright and rosy future presented itself before his youthful imagination,
+and then the eloquent persuasions of his relatives, who promised him their
+powerful patronage, were not wanting to arouse his ambition; but, the
+image of his saintly mother dispelled all dreams of promotion, and her
+pious instructions, which sank deep into his young heart, acted as potent
+antidotes against the allurements of worldly pomp and short-lived honours.
+After much reflection he made up his mind to renounce all honours, and to
+become a monk. By his irresistible pleadings he gained over his four
+brothers, with other relatives and friends, to the number of thirty, and
+at their head, presented himself at the gate of the Abbey of Citeaux,
+where St. Stephen Harding joyfully admitted them. Two years later we find
+him leaving that monastery as the Abbot of a new colony, on his way to
+found Clairvaux, being then in his twenty-fifth year. Here, his light
+could no longer remain hidden, but burst forth into a luminous flame
+whose splendour aroused and powerfully influenced the whole Christian
+world. The Bishop of Chalons, in whose diocese Clairvaux was situated, was
+the first to discover the transcendent abilities and eloquence of the
+youthful Abbot. At his request, St. Bernard consented to deliver a course
+of sermons in the churches of his diocese, which were productive of
+incalculable good, and spread the fame of the zealous preacher. Priests as
+well as laymen, attached themselves to him and accompanied him to
+Clairvaux on his return from those missions. One of the Saint's
+biographers cries out--"How many learned men, how many nobles and great
+ones of this earth, how many philosophers have passed from the schools or
+academies of the world to Clairvaux to give themselves up to the
+meditation of heavenly things and the practice of a divine morality." His
+fame reached even to Ireland, and we are told that in this country the
+little children were wont to ask for the badge of the Crusaders which the
+Saint distributed. In a word, his voice was the most authoritative in
+Europe. Kings and princes dreaded him, and accepted him as arbitrator in
+their quarrels. Even Popes themselves sought his counsel. In his lifetime,
+his own disciple, Bernard of Pisa, occupied the Chair of Peter, as
+Eugenius III. It may be truthfully said, that St. Bernard reformed Europe
+and infused a new spirit into the monastic orders. Even Luther does not
+hesitate to place him in the forefront of all monks who lived in his time;
+of him he writes: "Melius nec vixit nec scripsit quis in universo coetu
+monachorum."
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 18. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Whilst the Church in France was reaping the benefit of the holy Abbot's
+preaching and example, a zealous Irish prelate was actively and
+successfully engaged in eradicating vice which sprang up in this country,
+as a consequence of the long-protracted wars with the Danes, and the
+demoralising effects of intercourse with that people. Nevertheless,
+Ireland had then its saints and scholars, and the ancient seats of
+learning, such as Armagh, Bangor, Lismore, Clonard, and Clonmacnoise were
+once more inhabited by numerous communities. This saintly prelate was St.
+Malachy, who, being on his way to Rome, heard of the sanctity of the great
+St. Bernard, and would fain pay him a visit. This visit would St. Malachy
+have gladly prolonged; for then and there sprang up a mutual affection,
+which, writes our own Tom Moore, "reflects credit on both." St. Malachy
+was so enamoured with what he witnessed at Clairvaux, and particularly
+with the wise discourses of the learned Abbot, that he determined to
+become one of his disciples. Innocent II., who then ruled the flock of
+Christ, on the Saint seeking his permission to retire to Clairvaux, would
+not hearken to his request, but giving him many marks of his esteem,
+appointed him his Legate in Ireland, and commanded him to return thither.
+If St. Malachy might not live at Clairvaux in the midst of the fervent men
+whom he there beheld earnestly intent in the great work of mortification
+and expiation, he resolved, at least, to have a colony of them near him in
+his own country, that by their prayers and example, they might promote
+God's glory, and in a measure, repeat the glorious traditions of the
+ancient monastic ages in Ireland. In furtherance of this happy project, he
+singled out four of his travelling companions, whom he gave in charge to
+St. Bernard, with these words: "I most earnestly conjure you to retain
+these disciples, and instruct them in all the duties and observances of
+the religious profession, that, hereafter they may be able to teach us."
+On receiving an assurance of a hearty compliance from St. Bernard, he
+took cordial leave of his friend and returned to Ireland. Not long after
+he sent more of his disciples to join those whom he had already left at
+Clairvaux, and on their arrival, St. Bernard wrote as follows: "The
+Brothers who have come from a distant land, your letter and the staff you
+sent me, have afforded me much consolation in the midst of the many
+anxieties and cares that harass me.... Meanwhile, according to the wisdom
+bestowed on you by the Almighty, select and prepare a place for their
+reception, which shall be secluded from the tumults of the world, and
+after the model of those localities which you have seen amongst us." The
+place selected by St. Malachy as the site of the future monastery, was the
+sequestered valley watered by the River Mattock, situated about three and
+one half miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, and much resembling Clairvaux,
+which, too, was located in a valley, shut in by little hills on all sides.
+Donogh O'Carroll, Prince of Oriel, the lord of the territory, freely
+granted the site to God and SS. Peter and Paul, munificently endowed the
+monastery with many broad acres, and supplied wood and stone for the
+erection of the buildings. This grant was made in either 1140 or 1141. The
+charter of endowment by O'Carroll has not been found.
+
+It would appear from another letter of St. Bernard to St. Malachy, that he
+had sent some monks from Clairvaux to make preparations for those who were
+to immediately follow, and that already their number was augmented at
+Mellifont by the accession of new members from the surrounding district,
+who had joined them on their appearance in that locality. In this same
+letter St. Bernard writes: "We send back to you your dearly-beloved son
+and ours, Christian, as fully instructed as was possible in those rules
+which regard our Order, hoping, moreover, that he will henceforth prove
+solicitous for their observance." This Christian is commonly supposed to
+have been archdeacon of the diocese of Down. He was certainly first Abbot
+of Mellifont, and his name shall turn up in connection with important
+national events later on. With Christian came a certain Brother Robert, a
+Frenchman, a skilful architect, who constructed the monastery after the
+model of Clairvaux.
+
+That these were the pioneers of the Cistercian Order in Ireland cannot for
+one moment be doubted, both from the very important fact, that the Abbot
+of Mellifont took precedence of all the Abbots of his Order in this
+country, and also, because it is an historical fact, that St. Mary's
+Abbey, Dublin, the other claimant for priority, did not exchange the
+Benedictine for the Cistercian Rule till, at earliest, 1148, when the
+Abbot of Savigni in France, with the thirty houses of his Order
+(Benedictine) subject to his jurisdiction, were admitted into the
+Cistercian family by Pope Eugenius III., who presided at the General
+Chapter of the Cistercians that year. St. Mary's was founded from
+Buildewas, in Shropshire, and this latter was subject to Savigni.
+
+Various reasons are assigned for the adoption by these ancient monks of
+the name Mellifont, which signifies "The Honey Fountain." Some are of
+opinion it had a spiritual signification, and had reference to the
+abundance of blessings which would flow, and be diffused over the whole
+country from this centre, through the unceasing and fervent intercessory
+prayer of its holy inmates; for next to their own sanctification, their
+neighbour's wants claimed and received their practical sympathy. Like
+divine charity it gushed forth from hearts totally devoted to God's
+service and interests, and this zeal would be halting and incomplete did
+it not embrace the spiritual and temporal concerns of their fellow
+mortals. Others derive the name from a limpid spring which supplied the
+monks with a copious, unfailing stream of sweet water, which had its
+source in Mellifont Park about one quarter of a mile distant, and which
+was conducted by pipes through the various parts of the monastery. This
+seems a very plausible account, and as the spring rose at a high level, it
+had sufficient pressure to obviate the necessity of a cistern as was
+erroneously supposed in connection with the Lavabo.
+
+It was customary with the old Irish Cistercians to give their monasteries
+symbolical names at their foundation, and these names often denoted some
+local feature or peculiarity. Thus, Newry was called of the "Green Wood,"
+from the abundance of yew trees around the monastery there; Corcomroe, Co.
+Clare, was known under the title of the "Fertile Rock;" Baltinglas, Co.
+Wicklow, as the "Valley of Salvation," etc.
+
+It is said that the "Honey Fountain" had its source in Mellifont Park, but
+it seems that few of the present generation living in the vicinity of
+Mellifont know or appreciate its virtues. In the Ordnance Survey, it is
+stated that it rose in Mellifont Park, which was formerly a wood, and that
+to the north of the well, a few trees still remained at the time of the
+Survey, when the farm belonged to a Mr. James Curran.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS FOUNDATION AND FOR
+ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTERWARDS.
+
+  "Here man more purely lives; less oft doth fall;
+  More promptly rises; walks with stricter heed;
+  More safely rests; dies happier; is freed
+  Earlier from cleansing fires; and gains withal
+  A brighter crown."
+                                (_Saint Bernard._)
+
+
+In the foregoing verses St. Bernard summarises the manifold advantages
+accruing from the profession and practice of the rule which he and his
+fellow abbots drew up for their followers. In that age of chivalry and
+wide extremes, men's minds were profoundly moved by the world-wide
+reputation and discourses of an outspoken, fearless monk, who confirmed
+his words by incontestable and stupendous miracles. Then, it was nothing
+unusual to see the impious sinner of yesterday become a meek repentant
+suppliant for admission into some monastery to-day, where he could expiate
+and atone for his former grievous excesses. The innocent, also, sought the
+shelter of the cloister from the contaminating influences of a corrupt and
+corrupting world; and in the spirit of sacrifice presented themselves as
+victims to God's outraged justice. At that same period, that is, about the
+middle of the twelfth century, there was witnessed an unwonted movement
+towards monasticism in its regenerated condition, as the Church Annals
+abundantly testify. This happy tendency was mainly due to St. Bernard's
+influence and popularity, and was well illustrated by the saying of the
+historian: "The whole world became Cistercian."
+
+In essaying to reform St. Benedict's Rule, the first Fathers of the
+Cistercian Order sought only to restore its primitive simplicity and
+austerity, but they, nevertheless, added some wise provisions which
+established their reform on a firm basis, and which the experience of ages
+proved to be indispensable. First of all, it was ordained, that all houses
+of the Order should be united under one central controlling power, and
+that all the Superiors should meet annually for deliberation on matters
+appertaining to the maintenance of discipline and the correction of
+abuses. This assembly was called the General Chapter, over which the Abbot
+of Citeaux presided as recognised head of the Order. Till then, no such
+institution existed, and an Abbot General, as we may call him, had it in
+his power, from incapacity or any other cause, to disorganise a whole
+Order. Under the General Chapter such a catastrophe was impossible.
+Besides this wise enactment, St. Stephen drew up what he called the "Chart
+of Charity," by which it was ordained that the abbot of a monastery who
+had filiations (that is, offshoots or houses founded directly from that
+monastery) subject to him, should visit them annually either in person or
+by proxy, and minutely inquire into their spiritual, disciplinary, and
+financial condition. The abbots of those filiations were bound to return
+the visit during the year; but they did so in quality of guest and not as
+"Visitor," the official title of the Abbot of the Parent House; or,
+"Immediate Father," as he is called. Thus the bands of discipline were
+kept tightly drawn, and harmony, with uniformity of observance, was
+maintained throughout the entire Order.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF LAVABO (OCTAGON.) See p. 26. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+The denizens of the Cloister at that time consisted of two great classes,
+who, indeed, enjoyed alike all the advantages of the state, but differed
+in their functions and employments. One was busied with the cares of
+Martha, the other was admitted to the privilege of Mary. The former were
+employed chiefly in domestic duties, and various trades, and were
+entrusted with the charge of the granges or outlying farms. These were the
+Lay Brothers. Frequently their ranks were augmented by the noble and the
+learned, who, unnoticed and unknown till their holy death, guided the
+plough, delved the soil, or tended the sheep and oxen in the glades of the
+forest. The other class resided in the monastery and devoted their time to
+the chanting of the Divine Office, alternating with study in the Cloister
+and manual labour in the fields and gardens. These were the choir monks.
+Their dress was white. By vigorous toil and strict economy, these good old
+monks wrested a competency from their farms, and freely shared their
+substance with the needy and the stranger. They exhibited to an astonished
+world a practical refutation of its corrupt maxims and habits. Thus by
+their very lives, they preached most efficaciously; for by their contempt
+of worldly honours and pleasures they gave proof abundant of the faith
+that enlightened them to recognise the sublimity of the Gospel truths; of
+the hope that sustained them to courageously endure temporal privations
+for the sake of future rewards; and of the charity that prompted them to
+liken themselves to Jesus Christ, their Master, who, being rich, became
+poor for their sakes. Some may be inclined to consider all this as the
+effect of monkish extravagance, weak-mindedness, and folly; but modern
+investigation, instituted and carried to a successful issue by honest
+Protestant writers, has brushed aside such calumnies as hackneyed
+catch-words, and has proved that beneath the monk's cowl, there were found
+hearts as warm and minds as broad as in any state or grade of society. It
+must also be remembered, that for centuries the monks were the teachers
+who moulded and fashioned the youth of the upper and middle classes.
+
+Two o'clock A.M. was the usual hour for rising, when the monks, obedient
+to the Sacristan's signal, rising from their straw pallets and slipping on
+their sandals (for they slept fully dressed, as the poorer classes of the
+time are said to have done,) they left the Dormitory by the stairs that
+led down to the southern transept, and proceeding noiselessly, they
+reached the Choir where they immediately renewed the oblation of
+themselves to God. Then the Office of Matins was commenced, and it with
+Lauds occupied about one hour. On solemn festivals the monks rose at
+midnight, and the Office lasted over three hours; for then the whole of it
+was sung. Matins and Lauds over, they proceeded to the Reading-cloister to
+study the Psalms, or Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers: some prolonged
+their devotions in the church, where with clean, uplifted hands, they
+became powerful mediators between God and His creatures; too many of whom,
+alas, ignore their personal obligations. At that time, too, the priests
+might celebrate their Masses, as the ancient Rule gave them liberty to
+select that hour if they felt so inclined. We do not know how many priests
+were amongst the Religious at Mellifont soon after its establishment, but
+they must have numbered about twenty, since there were ten altars in the
+church. And judging by the number of priests in other monasteries of the
+Order at that period, this figure is not too high. We know that in 1147,
+there were fifty priests at least at Pontigny, one of the four first
+houses of the Order. About five o'clock the monks assembled in Choir for
+Prime, after which they went to Chapter, where the Martyrology and portion
+of the Rule were sung, as has been already explained. Chapter over, they
+entered the Auditorium, where they took off and hung up their cowls, and
+each went thence to the manual labour assigned him by the Prior. In
+winter, nearly all went out to work in the fields, grubbing up brushwood
+and burning it, and so preparing the ground for cultivation. After some
+hours spent in labour, they returned to the monastery where they had time
+for reading; they then went to Choir for Tierce and High Mass. During
+winter the Mass was sung before going out to work. In summer they dined at
+11.30, after which an hour was allowed for repose, and None being sung
+they resumed their labour in the fields. In winter, dinner was at
+half-past two; the evening was spent in study and in chanting the Offices
+of Vespers and Compline, and at seven they retired to rest. In summer the
+hour for repose was eight o'clock. The Office of Completorium or Compline
+always closed the exercises of the day, and all passed before the Abbot,
+from whom they received holy water as they left the church. Each went
+straight to his simple couch where sweet repose awaited him after his day
+of toil and penitential works. His frugal vegetable fare, without
+seasoning or condiment, barely sufficed for the wants of nature, and even
+this was sparingly doled out to him; for during the winter exercises, that
+is, from the 14th of September to Easter, he got only one refection daily
+except on Sundays, when he always got two. Wine, though allowed in small
+quantities at meals in countries where it was the common drink, was not
+permitted here, but in its stead, the monks used beer of their own
+brewing. Their raiment consisted of a white woollen tunic of coarse
+material and a strip of black cloth over the shoulders, and reaching to
+below the knees, gathered in at the waist with a leathern girdle. Over
+these, when not employed in manual labour, was worn the long white garment
+with wide sleeves, called the cowl. The tunic was the ordinary dress of
+peasantry in the twelfth century, and was retained by the reformers of St.
+Benedict's Rule, partly because it was the prescribed dress of the monks,
+and partly as an incentive to humility; a mark of the perfect equality
+which reigned in monasteries, and which removed all distinction of class.
+
+[Illustration: ARCH OF LAVABO (OCTAGON.) See p. 26. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Such was the ordinary routine of life led at Mellifont, but then certain
+officials filled important offices which necessarily brought them in
+constant contact with the outer world. Such, for instance, was the
+Cellarer, who had charge under the Abbot of the temporalities of the
+monastery, and catered for all the wants of the community. Some were
+deputed to wait on the guests and strangers, while others cared the sick
+poor in the hospice with all charity and tenderness. For the maintenance
+of the sick poor large tracts of land or revenues arising from
+house-property were very often bequeathed by pious people, and the monks
+were then their almoners; but, with or without such a provision from
+outside, the monks did maintain these establishments from their own
+resources.
+
+The Abbot entertained the guests of the monastery at his own table,
+dispensing to them such frugal fare as was in keeping with the Rule; for
+meat was not allowed to be served, except to the sick. He had his kitchen
+and dining-hall apart, but in every other respect, he shared in all the
+exercises with his brethren. Though he occupied the place of honour and of
+pre-eminence in the monastery, yet he was constantly reminded in the
+Rule, that he must not lord it over his monks, but must cherish them as a
+tender parent. His object in all his ordinances should be to promote the
+welfare of the flock entrusted to him, for which he should render an
+account on the last day.
+
+From this relation of the manner of life at Mellifont, we see that it was
+in strict conformity with St. Bernard's definition of the Cistercian
+Institute, when he writes: "Our Order is humility, peace, and joy in the
+Holy Ghost. Our Order is silence, fasting, prayer, and labour, and above
+all, to hold the more excellent way, which is charity."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE ORDER.
+
+                                 "Even thus of old
+  Our ancestors, within the still domain
+  Of vast Cathedral or Conventual church,
+  Their vigils kept; where tapers day and night
+  On the dim altars burned continually,
+  In token that the House was evermore
+  Watching to God. Religious men were they:
+  Nor would their reason tutored to aspire
+  Above this transitory world, allow
+  That there should pass a moment of the year
+  When in their land the Almighty's service ceased."
+                                    (_Wordsworth._)
+
+
+The history of Mellifont may be justly said to reflect the concurrent
+history of Ireland. It is so intimately connected and interwoven with that
+of our country, that they touch at many points, and we can collect matter
+for both as we travel back along the stream of time and observe the
+footprints on the sands, where saint, and king, chieftain, bishop, and
+holy monk, have left their impress and disappeared, to be succeeded later
+on by the baron and his armed retainers. How different the Ireland of
+to-day from the Ireland that Christian, the first Abbot of Mellifont,
+beheld when he and his companions settled down in the little valley, in
+the land of the O'Carroll! How many changes have passed over it since,
+leaving it the poorest country in Europe, though one of the richest in
+natural resources! But these considerations appertain to the politician;
+they do not lie within the scope of the present writer. Next to building
+their church and monastery, the first care of the monks on their immediate
+arrival at Mellifont, was to prepare the soil for tillage; for, judging
+from the nature of the surroundings, it must have been overrun with dense
+brushwood, unbroken, save at distant intervals, by patches of green sward.
+Most houses of the Order in Ireland had to contend with similar conditions
+at their foundation; of Dunbrody, Co. Wexford, we are expressly told, that
+the monk sent by the Abbot of Buildewas to examine the site of the future
+monastery, found on it only _a solitary oak surrounded by a swamp_. But
+these old monks were adepts in the reclamation of waste lands, and soon
+the hills rang with the instruments of husbandry. Pleasant gardens and
+fertile meadows rewarded their toil, and their example gave a stimulus to
+agriculture, which, till then, was neglected by a pastoral people. At the
+same time, they manufactured bricks in the locality, and employed them in
+their buildings. Then rumour on her many wings flew far and near, and
+spread the fame of the new-comers to that remote valley, and soon the
+monastery was crowded with visitors intent on seeing the strangers and
+observing closely their manner of life. The sight pleased them. The ways
+of these monks accorded with the traditions handed down of the inhabitants
+of the ancient monasteries, before the depredations of the Danes, and the
+hearts of a highly imaginative race, with quick spiritual instincts, were
+attracted towards St. Bernard's children. Immediately began an influx of
+postulants for the Cistercian habit, and every day brought more, till the
+stalls in the Choir were filled, and Abbot Christian's heart overflowed
+with gladness. In consultation with St. Malachy, Abbot Christian decided
+on founding another monastery, as his own could no longer contain the now
+greatly-increased community. A new colony was sent forth from it, and thus
+in two years from the foundation of Mellifont, was established "Bective on
+the Boyne." Some say that Newry, which was endowed by Maurice M'Loughlin,
+King of Ireland, at St. Malachy's earnest entreaty, was the first
+filiation of Mellifont. The charter of its (Newry) foundation happily has
+come down to us, but it bears no date. However, O'Donovan, who translated
+it into English from the Latin original in MS. in the British Museum, says
+it was written in 1160. As it is the only extant charter granted to a
+monastery by a native king before the Invasion, a copy of the translation
+is given in the Appendix.
+
+Under the patronage, then, of St. Malachy and the native princes, and by
+the skill, industry, and piety of its inmates, Mellifont rose and
+prospered, and merited an exalted place in popular esteem. The monastery
+was in course of construction, and their new church nearing completion,
+when a heavy trial befell the monks in the death of their unfailing
+friend, wise counsellor, and loved father, St. Malachy, which took place
+at Clairvaux, in the arms of St. Bernard, A.D. 1148. St. Bernard delivered
+a most pathetic discourse over the remains of his friend, and wrote a
+consoling letter to the Irish Cistercians, condoling with them on the loss
+they and the whole Irish Church had sustained on the death of St. Malachy.
+He, later on, wrote his life, and willed, that as they tenderly loved each
+other in life, so in death they should not be separated. Their tombs were
+side by side in the church of Clairvaux, till their relics, enshrined in
+magnificent altars, with many costly lamps burning before them, were
+scattered at the French Revolution, and the rich shrines were smashed and
+plundered. Portions of their bodies were, however, preserved by the good,
+pious people of the locality, and their heads are now preserved with
+honour in the cathedral of Troyes, France. The writers of the Cistercian
+Order claim St. Malachy as having belonged to them; for, they say that
+being previously a Benedictine, he received the Cistercian habit from St.
+Bernard during one of his visits to Clairvaux. They add that St. Bernard
+exchanged cowls with him, and that he wore St. Malachy's ever after on
+solemn festivals. The Saint's life is so well known that it needs no
+further notice here. Before his death, he saw three houses founded from
+Mellifont, namely, Bective, Newry, and Boyle.
+
+Two years after St. Malachy's death, that is, in 1150, the monks of
+Mellifont experienced another serious loss when their venerated Abbot,
+Christian, was appointed Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Holy See in
+Ireland, by Pope Eugenius III., who had been his fellow-novice in
+Clairvaux. Christian's brother, Malchus, was elected to the abbatial
+office in his stead. Malchus proved himself a very worthy superior, and
+Mellifont continued on her prosperous course, so much so, that in 1151, or
+nine years from its own establishment, it could reckon as many as six
+important filiations, namely, Bective, Newry, Boyle, Athlone, Baltinglas,
+and Manister, or Manisternenay, Co. Limerick.
+
+In 1152, St. Bernard passed to his reward, after having founded 160 houses
+of his Order, having edified Christendom by the splendour of his virtues,
+and astonished it by his rare natural gifts, which elevated him far above
+all his contemporaries. From the moment that he accepted the pastoral
+staff as Abbot of Clairvaux, till his death, that is, during the space of
+forty years, he was the figurehead of his Order in whom its whole history
+was merged during that long period. In fact, he became so identified with
+the Order to which he belonged, that it was often called from him,
+Bernardine; or, of Claraval, from his famous monastery; and it was in a
+great measure owing to his influence, and in grateful acknowledgment of
+the splendid services which he rendered the Church in critical times, that
+Sovereign Pontiffs heaped so many favours on it. He was the fearless and
+successful champion of the oppressed in all grades of society, and all
+looked up to him as their guide and instructor. And yet this paragon of
+wisdom, this stern judge of the evil-doer, was remarkable for his
+naturalness and affectionate disposition. On the occasion of his brother
+Gerard's death, he attempted to preach a continuation of his discourses on
+the Canticle of Canticles, but his affection for his brother overcame him,
+and after giving vent to his grief, he delivered a most touching panegyric
+on his beloved Gerard. To the last moment of his life he entertained a
+most vivid recollection of his mother, and cherished the tenderest
+affection towards her memory. It may be doubted, that any child of the
+Church ever defended her cause with such loyalty and success. One stands
+amazed on reading what the Rev. Mr. King writes in his _Church History of
+Ireland_, where he taxes St. Bernard with superstition, because the Saint
+relates in his Life of St. Malachy, how that holy man wrought certain
+miracles. So evident were St. Bernard's own miracles, that Luden, a German
+Protestant historian, calls them "incontestable." 'Twere supreme folly to
+accuse a man of St. Bernard's endowments and culture, of the weakness that
+admits or harbours superstition, which generally flows from ignorance, or
+incapacity to sift matters, and to test them in their general or
+particular bearings. On the whole, Protestant writers speak and write
+approvingly of him.
+
+In that year (1152), a Synod was held at Mell, which, according to Ussher,
+is identical with Mellifont, though now a suburb of Drogheda is known by
+that name. Other Irish writers say that this Synod was held at Kells. At
+it Christian, then Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the Holy See, presided.
+In the _Annals of the Four Masters_ it is related, that a "Synod was
+convened at Drogheda, by the bishops of Ireland, with the successor of
+Patrick, and the Cardinal, John Paparo," etc. O'Donovan, quoting Colgan,
+tells us that Mellifont was known as the "Monastery at Drogheda."
+
+In this same year occurred the elopement of Dervorgilla, wife of Tiernan
+O'Rourke, Prince of Brefny, with Dermod M'Murchad, King of Leinster. She
+is styled the Helen of Erin, as it is commonly supposed that her flight
+with Dermod occasioned the English Invasion. When O'Rourke heard of her
+departure, he was "marvellously troubled and in great choler, but more
+grieved for the shame of the fact than for sorrow or hurt, and, therefore,
+was fully determined to be avenged." It is mentioned in the _Annals of
+Clonmacnois_ that O'Rourke had treated her harshly some time previous, and
+that her brother M'Laughlin connived at her conduct. Dervorgilla (which
+means in Irish, The True Pledge), was forty-four years of age at the time,
+whilst O'Rourke (who was blind of one eye) and M'Murchad, were each of
+them sixty-two years old. O'Rourke was the most strenuous opponent of the
+English at the Invasion, and was treacherously slain by a nephew of
+Maurice Fitzgerald at the Hill of Ward, near Athboy, in 1172. He was
+decapitated, and his head hung over the gates of Dublin for some time. It
+was afterwards sent to King Henry, in England.
+
+From 1152 to 1157 the monks attracted no attention worth chronicling; for
+during these five years they passed by unnoticed in our Annals. It is,
+however, certain that they were busily engaged in the completion of their
+church and in making preparations for its solemn consecration. And what a
+day of rejoicing that memorable day of the consecration was, when
+Mellifont beheld the highest and holiest in Church and State assembled to
+do her honour! This ceremony far eclipsed any that had been witnessed
+before that in Ireland. What commotion and bustle filled the abbey, the
+valley, and the surrounding hills! A constantly increasing crowd came
+thronging to behold a sight which gladdened their hearts and aroused their
+piety and admiration. For, there stood the Ard Righ (High King) of Erin,
+surrounded by his princes and nobles in all the pride and pageantry of
+state, the Primate Gelasius, and Christian, the Papal Legate, with
+seventeen other bishops, and almost all the abbots and priests in Ireland.
+Then the solemn rite was performed, and many precious offerings were made
+to the monks and to their church--gold and lands, cattle, and sacred
+vessels, and ornaments for the altars, were bestowed with a generosity
+worthy of the princely donors. O'Melaghlin gave seven-score cows and
+three-score ounces of gold to God and the clergy, for the good of his
+soul. He granted them, also, a townland, called Finnabhair-na-ninghean, a
+piece of land, according to O'Donovan, which lies on the south side of the
+Boyne, opposite the mouth of the Mattock, in the parish of Donore, Co.
+Meath. O'Carroll gave sixty ounces of gold, and the faithless but now
+repentant Dervorgilla presented a gold chalice for the High Altar, and
+cloths for the other nine altars of the church.
+
+Mellifont looked charming on that propitious occasion, and presented a
+truly delightful picture, with its beautiful church and abbey buildings
+glistening in the sun in all the purity and freshness of the white, or
+nearly white, sandstone of which they were composed. Yet, beautiful as
+were the material buildings, far more so were those stones of the
+spiritual edifice, the meek and prayerful cenobites, who were gathered
+there to adore and serve their God in spirit and in truth. From that
+valley there arose a pleasing incense to the Lord--the prayers, and hymns,
+and canticles, which unceasingly resounded in that church from hearts
+truly devoted to God's worship, and dead to the world and themselves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE EMINENT SUPERIORS.
+
+  "This is no common spot of earth,
+  No place for idle words or mirth;
+  Here streamed the taper's mystic light;
+  Here flashed the waving censers bright;
+  Awhile the Church's ancient song
+  Lingered the stately aisles along,
+  And high mysterious words were said
+  Which brought to men the living Bread."
+                          (_W. Chatterton Dix._)
+
+
+After the consecration of their church the monks settled down to their
+ordinary quiet way. The erection of the monastic buildings had hitherto
+kept them occupied; now that these were completed, they devoted their
+attention to the improvement of their farms, which they tilled with their
+own hands, and to the embellishment of their immediate surroundings. Even
+at this early period of her history, Mellifont was a hive of industry
+where all the trades flourished and many important arts were encouraged.
+At that time hired labour was sparingly employed by the monks; for they
+themselves bore a share in the work of the artisans as well as in the
+ordinary drudgery of tillage. Labour placed all on a footing of equality
+whilst it gave vigour to the body by healthy exercise in the open air.
+Perhaps, this healthy exercise was one of the secrets of the longevity for
+which the monks were remarkable. Regularity of life continued for years
+contributes to a state of health which dispenses with physicians. Wherever
+monks settled down they immediately erected mills for grinding corn, for
+preparing and finishing the fabrics of which their garments were made,
+etc. St. Benedict enjoined on his monks the necessity of practising all
+the trades and arts within the walls of the monastery, so that they need
+never leave their enclosure for the purpose, or under the pretext, of
+having their work done by externs.
+
+Eleven years passed without Mellifont receiving any notice from our native
+chroniclers, and then at the year 1168, it is recorded, that Prince Donogh
+O'Carroll, the Founder, died and was buried in the church there. Ware
+tells us that his tomb and those of other remarkable personages had been
+in the church. As it was an almost general custom in Ireland, that the
+Founders of religious houses were interred on the north, or Gospel side of
+the High Altar, so it may be justly inferred that he was buried within the
+chancel, and that the recess on the north side is where his monument was
+erected. Thus, King Charles O'Connor's tomb occupies the same place in
+Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway, of which he was Founder. So, too, in Corcomroe
+Abbey, Co. Clare, the tomb of Conor O'Brien, King of Thomond, grandson of
+the Founder of that abbey, is still to be seen in a niche in the wall on
+the north side of the High Altar. No doubt they were buried under the
+pavement. The ancient Statutes of the Order permitted kings and bishops to
+be buried in the churches, but assigned no particular part as proper to
+them.
+
+In 1170, a monk named Auliv, who had been expelled[7] from Mellifont,
+instigated Manus, the King of Ulster, to commit an "unknown and attrocious
+crime," as the _Annals of the Four Masters_ call it; that is, to banish
+the monks whom St. Malachy brought to Saul, Co. Down, and to deprive them
+of everything they were possessed of. Instances of wicked men deceitfully
+entering monasteries, at that time and at other periods of monastic
+history, are given, but invariably the guilty party is severely censured,
+and it is related that his fellow-monks rid themselves of him. St. Bernard
+himself was deceived by his secretary, Nicholas, who afterwards left the
+Order. "He went out from us," said the Saint, "but he did not belong to
+us."
+
+The Order was spreading rapidly in Ireland, and the filiations from
+Mellifont in their turn sent out new filiations, till most of the
+picturesque valleys in this country sheltered and nurtured thriving
+establishments; so much so, that O'Daly tells us "there were twenty-five
+grand Cistercian abbeys in Ireland at the Invasion." But then a new era
+dawned on this unhappy nation, and might usurped the place of right, cruel
+unending strife and fierce jealousies were imported into the country, and
+it became one vast battle-field. Ireland would have assimilated the two
+contending races, but their amalgamation would have been detrimental to
+English interests in this kingdom, and hence by statute, by bribe, by all
+means available, the representatives of that Crown only too successfully
+kept the feuds alive. Fain would they have made the Church an instrument
+for the furtherance of these ulterior purposes, but, whilst she stood firm
+as an integral part of Peter's Rock, neither English bribes nor English
+wiles could subjugate her. True, Englishmen were appointed to the richest
+benefices within the Pale to which the English kings had the right of
+presentation, and these strove, with as much zeal as the knight or baron,
+to extend the boundaries of the shire-lands. But the Irish prelates, by
+their disinterestedness, and their personal and episcopal virtues, saved
+the Church from the degradation that imperilled her. We shall see the
+result of this policy as we proceed.
+
+Judging, by analogy, from the progress of society in other countries, and
+from the relative number of monasteries founded in them and in Ireland
+before the Invasion, it may be conjectured that the monastic system in all
+its branches would have produced in this country the same fruits in
+agriculture, in learning, and in the arts, as are attributed to it in the
+history of other nations; and, in a special manner, it would have helped,
+by the unity of government enforced in Religious Orders, to bind together
+the discordant elements of society. Quite different, however, was it in
+Ireland; for the sphere of action of each monastery was cramped, and
+confined within a certain radius, beyond which its influences were not
+felt, nor regarded otherwise than in a hostile spirit, or at best as an
+object of suspicion.
+
+In 1172, the Abbot of Mellifont was sent to Rome on an embassy by King
+Roderic O'Connor. We are not told its nature.
+
+In 1177, Charles O'Buacalla, then Abbot of this monastery, was elected
+Bishop of Emly, where he died within a month after his consecration. In
+1182, King Henry II. granted to the Abbot and community of Mellifont a
+confirmation of their possessions, and three years later, King John, at
+that time styled Lord of Ireland, renewed the confirmation while he was
+residing at Castleknock, during his brief visit to this country, in 1185,
+the thirty-second year of his father's reign. A copy of the Charter may be
+seen in the Miscellany of the Archæological Society, Vol. I., page 158.
+The original, which is one of the earliest of the Anglo-Irish documents
+that have come down to us, is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. By
+this Charter King John confirmed to the monks of Mellifont the "donation
+and concession" which his father made to them. By it he confirmed to the
+monks "the site and ambit of the abbey, with all its appurtenances,
+namely, the grange of Kulibudi (not on the Ordnance map), and Munigatinn
+(Monkenewtown), with its appurtenances, the granges of Mell and Drogheda
+(in Irish Droichet-atha, that is, bridge of the ford) and their
+appurtenances, and Rathmolan (Rathmullen) and Finnaur (Femor), with their
+appurtenances, the grange of Teachlenni (Stalleen), and the grange of
+Rossnarrigh (Rossnaree), with their appurtenances, the townland of Culen
+(Cullen) and its appurtenances, the grange of Cnogva (Knowth), the grange
+of Kelkalma (not known now), with their appurtenances, Tuelacnacornari
+(not known), and Callan (Collon), with their appurtenances, and the grange
+of Finna (____) with its appurtenances." He also confirms the grants of
+two carucates of land made to the monks by Hugh de Lacy, viz., of Croghan
+and Ballybregan (?), and also one carucate of land given by Robert of
+Flanders, called Crevoda, now Creewood, two miles west of Mellifont.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH WALL OF LECTORIUM. _From Photo by W. Lawrence,
+Dublin._]
+
+In 1186, St. Christian O'Connarchy, or Connery, who had been the first
+Abbot of Mellifont and afterwards Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the
+Holy See, died, and was buried at O'Dorney, Co. Kerry, a monastery of his
+Order, which was founded in 1154, from Manister-Nenay. He had resigned all
+his dignities six years before, in order the better to prepare himself for
+a happy death. He was enrolled in the Calendar of the Saints of the
+Cistercian Order, and his festival was kept in England in pre-Reformation
+times, on the 18th March. In the eulogy of him in the Cistercian Menology
+it is said, "that he was remarkable for his sanctity and wonderful
+miracles, and that next to St. Malachy, he was regarded by the Irish
+nation as one of its principal patrons," even down to the time that that
+was written, A.D. 1630. An Irish gentleman who visited Italy in 1858,
+wrote from Venice to a friend, that he had seen amongst the fresco
+paintings which covered the wall of the beautiful church of Chiaravalla,
+the first Cistercian monastery founded in Italy, a painting of St.
+Malachy; also one entitled, "_S. Christianus Archieps. in Hibernia
+Cisterciensis_"--"St. Christian, a Cistercian monk, and Archbishop in
+Ireland." The error in ranking him as Archbishop probably arose from his
+having succeeded St. Malachy as Legate. It was in his Legatine capacity
+that he presided at several Synods, chiefly the memorable one convened by
+King Henry at Cashel, in 1172.
+
+About the same time, there died at Mellifont, a holy monk named Malchus,
+who is said to have been St. Christian's brother and successor in the
+abbatial office, as has been related above. Ussher, quoting St. Bernard,
+positively asserts that he was St. Christian's brother. And Sequin, who,
+in 1580, compiled a Catalogue of the Saints of the Cistercian Order,
+mentions Malchus in that honoured roll, and styles him "a true contemner
+of the world, a great lover of God, and a pattern and model of all
+virtues to the whole Order." He says, "he was one of St. Malachy's
+disciples in whose footsteps he faithfully followed, and that he was
+renowned for his sanctity and learning, as well as for the many miracles
+he wrought." His feast was kept on the 28th of June.
+
+In 1189, Rudolph, or Ralph Feltham, Abbot of Furness, died and was buried
+here. And in the same year, died Murrogh O'Carroll, cousin of the Founder,
+near whom he was interred.
+
+In 1190, Pope Clement III. issued a Bull addressed to the General Chapter
+of the Cistercian Order, dated July 6th of that year, enrolling St.
+Malachy in the Calendar of Saints, and appointing the 3rd of November for
+his festival.
+
+At that same General Chapter, it was decreed that the Irish Abbots be
+dispensed from attending the General Chapter annually, and it was decided
+that they should be present every third year; and a few years later, the
+Abbot of Mellifont was charged to select three of their number who should
+repair thither every year.
+
+In 1193, Dervorgilla died at the monastery of Mellifont. The _Annals of
+the Four Masters_ and other Annals simply relate the fact of her having
+died there in the 85th year of her age, without alluding to the place of
+her sepulture.
+
+In that year, also, portions of the Relics of St. Malachy were brought to
+Mellifont and were distributed to the other houses of the Order in
+Ireland. Several of our Annals say that the Saint's body was brought over
+from Clairvaux, but that is obviously a mistake; for until the French
+Revolution, the bodies of St. Malachy and St. Bernard occupied two
+magnificent altar-tombs of red marble within the chancel, at Clairvaux. A
+charter, dated 1273, is still extant, whereby Robert Bruce, the rival of
+John Baliol for the Scottish Crown, conveys his land of Osticroft to the
+Abbot of Clairvaux for the maintenance of a lamp before St. Malachy's tomb
+in that church. And the General Chapter of the Order held in 1323, when
+raising the Saint's festival to a higher rank, expressly mentioned that
+his body "rested" at Clairvaux. Meglinger, a German Cistercian monk, who
+visited Clairvaux in 1667, and wrote a description of that famous abbey as
+he beheld it, says that he was shown the heads of Saints Malachy and
+Bernard, which were preserved in silver cases. He also mentions the superb
+altar-tombs of the two Saints. Later on, the two celebrated Benedictine
+monks, Dom Martène and Dom Durand, when in quest of MSS., called at
+Clairvaux, and were shown the tombs and heads of the Saints. It is
+scarcely necessary to remark that this respect and veneration were
+entertained for the tombs only because they contained the bodies of the
+holy men.
+
+In 1194, Abbot Moelisa, who then governed Mellifont, was made Bishop of
+Clogher.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES.
+
+                  "But I must needs confess
+  That 'tis a thing impossible to frame
+  Conceptions equal to the soul's desires;
+  And the most difficult of tasks to keep
+  Heights which the soul is competent to gain."
+                                  (_Wordsworth._)
+
+
+Sixty years of uninterrupted prosperity have passed over Mellifont, during
+which period it has been honoured by princes and people alike, and even
+the English Kings have marked their esteem for it by heaping fresh favours
+on it. It was still flourishing in 1201, when Thomas O'Connor, Archbishop
+of Armagh, whom the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, style "a noble and
+worthy man," chose it as his burial-place, and was buried there with great
+honour. He was brother to Roderick O'Connor, King of Connaught. It was at
+his instance that Joceline wrote his Life of St. Patrick.
+
+In 1203, King John "of his own fee" granted a new charter confirming that
+given by his father some years before, and also giving the monks free
+customs, together with the fishery on both sides of the Boyne.
+
+In 1206, Benedict and Gerald, monks of Mellifont, were deputed by Eugene,
+Archbishop of Armagh, to wait on the King and to tender him, on the
+Archbishop's behalf, three hundred marks of silver and three of gold for
+restitution of the lands and liberties belonging to that See. It was the
+King's custom to appropriate the revenues of the vacant bishoprics, and on
+the confirmation by the Pope of the bishop-elect, he issued a writ of
+restitution of the temporalities, or episcopal possessions and rights. The
+King, in order to keep the temporalities the longer, often refused his
+"_congé d'elire_," without which an election was invalid by the civil law.
+Soon after the Invasion, King Henry II. held in his possession, pending
+the appointment of new prelates, one archbishopric, five bishoprics, and
+three abbeys, here in Ireland.
+
+In 1211, Thomas was Abbot, and seven years later, Carus, or Cormac
+O'Tarpa, Abbot, and presumably immediate successor to Thomas, was made
+Bishop of Achonry, which See he resigned in 1226, and returned to
+Mellifont, where he died that same year, and was buried there. Some
+two-and-one-half miles north of Mellifont, and one-half mile east of
+Collon, between that village and Tinure, there is a crossing of the roads
+still popularly known as "Tarpa's Cross." Local tradition has it that this
+Cormac O'Tarpa, when Abbot, was wont to walk daily from the monastery to
+this spot.
+
+About that time, or in 1221, Mellifont, from some unrecorded cause, fell
+from its first fervour, but only for a very brief period; for the remedy
+applied effected a thorough reform. In the Statutes of the Order for that
+year, the General Chapter authorised the Abbot of Clairvaux to set things
+right by bringing in monks from other monasteries, and so, as it were,
+infuse new and healthier blood into the monastic life there. As no further
+mention is made of the matter, the trouble, whatever its nature was, must
+have been permanently removed.
+
+In 1227, Luke Netterville, Archbishop of Armagh, was buried here. It was
+he who, three years previous, founded the Dominican monastery in Drogheda,
+of which, now, only the Magdalen Tower remains. And in that year (1227),
+Gerald, a monk of Mellifont, was elected Bishop of Dromore.
+
+In 1229, the King granted to the Abbot and Community of Mellifont a
+Tuesday market in their town of Collon.
+
+In 1233, the General Chapter authorised all the Abbots of the Order to
+have the Word of God preached on Sundays and festivals, to their servants
+and retainers, in some suitable place. And in 1238, the King gave a new
+confirmation to the monks of Mellifont.
+
+In 1248, the General Chapter granted permission to the English and Irish
+Abbots of the Order, to hold deliberations on important local matters in
+their respective countries. The Abbots of Mellifont, of St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin, and of Duiske, Co. Kilkenny, were empowered to convoke all the
+other Irish Abbots of the Order for consultation; the assembly thus
+somewhat partaking of the nature of a Provincial Chapter.
+
+In 1250, no Englishman would be admitted to profession at Mellifont. In
+1269, David O'Brogan, who had been a monk of this house, and afterwards
+Bishop of Clogher, was buried here. In 1272, Hore Abbey, near Cashel, was
+founded from Mellifont. In 1275, the General Chapter decreed that in the
+admission of novices into the Order there should be no question of
+nationality.
+
+Hitherto, the Cistercians confined themselves, in discharging the offices
+of their sacred ministry, to their guests, servants, and the sick poor in
+the hospitals at their gates; but now, the altered circumstances of the
+times demand a change in their usages and impose fresh burdens on them,
+for which they get no credit. The new Orders of St. Francis and St.
+Dominic had settled down in this country, and were attracting a large
+percentage of the young men, who, till then, entered the ranks of the Lay
+Brethren, and managed the granges, or outlying farms, under the Cellarer.
+In consequence, therefore, of the insufficiency of their numbers to work
+the farms profitably, it was found necessary to lease these granges to
+tenants, and hence the origin of many villages and towns that, in several
+instances, arose on the site of the granges. The chapel attached to the
+grange (for every grange had its chapel for the use of the Brothers in
+charge) was converted into a parish church for the new population that
+clustered around it. Of this church the monks became the pastors, except
+when it lay at too great distance to be served from the monastery; in
+which case, the monks employed secular priests. They built schools also,
+where the children of the tenants and dependants received _gratuitously_
+from the monks themselves, an education similar to that at present
+imparted in our primary schools.
+
+Though the study of Sacred Scripture, Theology, and Canon Law was
+encouraged in the Order from its foundation; yet it was not until 1245
+that studies were fully organised by drawing up a curriculum that should
+be obligatory. In that year it was ordained by the General Chapter that in
+every Province there should be a central monastery to which the monks
+should repair to read the prescribed course of studies under members of
+the Order, who had graduated at some university. We are not told which of
+the Irish monasteries was selected as the House of Studies; but, in 1281,
+the General Chapter decided and decreed that in all the larger abbeys such
+Houses of Studies should be established.
+
+There is an entry in the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey, at the year 1281,
+giving the price of cattle at that time. As it is interesting it is given
+here: viz., twenty shillings each for a horse, a cow, or a bullock.
+
+In 1306, Mellifont first experienced the baleful effects of racial
+jealousies and bickerings; for the monks could not, or would not, agree to
+elect an Abbot; and during their dissensions, the King seized the
+possessions of the monastery. We are not informed how matters terminated
+on that occasion.
+
+In 1316, the General Chapter ordered that the English, Welsh, and Irish
+Abbots should send some of their monks, in proportion to the number in
+their respective monasteries, to the University of Oxford, to be educated
+there. A few years previous, the Earl of Cornwall endowed at Oxford the
+College of St. Bernard (now St. John's), for the Cistercians. How far the
+Irish monks availed of this college cannot be known; probably those within
+the Pale did largely benefit by it. One who obtained an unenviable
+notoriety by his intemperate invectives against the Mendicant Orders, was
+educated there--Henry Crump, an Englishman, and monk of the Abbey of
+Baltinglas. But it is very dubious that the "_mere_ Irish" ventured to
+cross its threshold. They would abstain from doing so from prudential
+motives.
+
+The fourteenth century was ushered in by the repetition of feuds between
+the Anglo-Irish and the Irish; and, as it grew older, the former fought
+amongst themselves, with Irish auxiliaries on both sides. It may be here
+remarked, as a curious historical fact, that it was the Irish who fought
+the battles for the English Crown in Ireland; it was they, too, who
+retained their country subject to that dominion, according to Sir John
+Davis (_Discoverie_, p. 639); for no army ever came out of England from
+the time of King John, except the expeditionary army of Richard II. The
+few forces subsequently sent over, until the twenty-ninth year of Queen
+Elizabeth, were to quell the rebellions of the English settlers.
+
+The most disastrous calamity in Ireland in this century, next to the great
+plague of 1348, or the "Black Death," as it was called, was Bruce's
+invasion in 1315. Friar Clyn tells us in his Annals, that Bruce and his
+followers "went through all the country, burning, slaying, depredating,
+spoiling towns and castles, and even churches, as they went and as they
+returned." As a result the country was visited by a dreadful famine, and,
+moreover, the Pope, writing to the Archbishops of Dublin and Cashel in
+1317, alludes to scandals, murders, conflagrations, sacrileges, and
+rapine, as following from that invasion. Though Bruce failed in his object
+to overthrow the English power in Ireland, yet he so far succeeded, that
+he weakened it considerably.
+
+In the year 1316 (according to Ussher), O'Neill addressed his famous
+Remonstrance to Pope John XXII., in which, amongst other complaints, he
+remarked, that the religious communities were prohibited by the law from
+admitting anyone not an Englishman into monasteries within the Pale. In
+response to this, the Pope sent two Cardinals to investigate the matter,
+and also wrote a letter to King Edward II., exhorting him to adopt
+merciful measures towards the Irish. The letter had not much effect, and
+the cruelties and injustice continued; but, about twenty years later,
+there was exhibited an unprecedented tendency on the part of the
+Anglo-Irish and the Irish towards incorporation. The Irish people clung to
+the great Geraldine family with a romantic affection which that chivalrous
+race fully reciprocated. So, too, did they lean towards the rivals of the
+Geraldines, the Ormondes, and to other Anglo-Irish barons, who, likewise,
+had adopted Irish customs and sirnames. English power in this country had
+grown to be regarded as merely nominal, and the administration of the law
+and the office of Lord Deputy could no longer be committed to one or other
+of the two principal families (the Geraldine or Ormonde), to whom the
+Deputyship had been usually entrusted. To preclude the danger of these
+haughty noblemen attempting to arrogate the state of the independent
+native chieftains, and to firmly establish the English power, a
+Parliament, which assembled at Nottingham, in the seventeenth of Edward
+III. (1343), enacted laws for the reformation of the Irish Government. A
+few months previous to the sitting of this Parliament, Sir Ralph Ufford
+had been sent over as Lord Deputy, to stamp out this incipient spirit of
+independence, and to impede the fusion of the two races. This nobleman, by
+rigid and cruel measures, executed the nefarious intentions of the English
+Parliament. He appropriated the goods of others, plundered, without
+discrimination, the clergy, the laity, the rich and the poor; assigning
+the public welfare as a pretext. He broke down the pride of the Earl of
+Desmond, and for a while seized his estates; but, on Ufford's recall to
+England and the appointment of Sir Walter Bermingham as his successor,
+Desmond was restored to royal favour. Gradually the old animus was
+revived, and old dormant jealousies between the two races were awakened,
+until, in the year 1376, the "Statute of Kilkenny" threw the whole nation
+into a state of commotion and chaos, and aroused a fierce hatred between
+the Anglo-Irish and the later arrivals from England, who were styled by
+that Act, "the English born in England." The latter despised the former
+and called them "Irish Dogg;" the Anglo-Irish retorted, giving them the
+name of "English Hobbe," or churl. These bickerings were reprobated by
+the said Statute, which, at the same time, banned the whole race of the
+native Irish. Sir John Davis writes of it: "It was manifest from these
+laws that those who had the government of Ireland under the Crown of
+England intended to make a perpetual separation between the English
+settled in Ireland and the native Irish, in the expectation that the
+English should in the end root out the Irish." And another Englishman
+writes of this Statute: "Imagination can scarcely devise an extremity of
+antipathy, hatred, and revenge, to which this code of aggravation was not
+calculated to provoke both nations" (Plowden, _Historical Review of the
+State of Ireland_.) The foregoing summary of the condition of affairs in
+Ireland in the fourteenth century has been given, in order to illustrate
+and explain the bald historical facts handed down to us having reference
+to Mellifont during the same period.
+
+It will be remembered that in the year 1316, O'Neil complained to the Pope
+that Irishmen were by law excluded from entering monasteries within the
+Pale; accordingly, we read that in 1322, the monks of Mellifont, amongst
+whom the English element then prevailed, would admit no man to profession
+there who had not previously sworn that he was not an Irishman. Cox, who
+derives his information from some old document in the Tower of London,
+tells us that in 1323, the General Chapter of the Order strongly denounced
+this pernicious practice, but there is no such decree, nor is there any
+allusion to it in Martène at that date. That spirit seems to have been
+gratifying to King Edward II.; for, in 1324, he complained to the Pope of
+the violation of the law of exclusion, and Nicholas of Lusk, who was then
+Abbot, was superseded; very likely, was summarily deposed, for the
+infraction of it.
+
+At that very time, some of the other Cistercian monasteries under the
+protection of the native chieftains, and totally composed of Irishmen,
+were in a most prosperous condition, and merited the genuine esteem of
+princes and people. Thus, the Abbey of Assaroe, or Ballyshannon, under the
+fostering care of the Princes of Tyrconel, attained celebrity by the
+regularity of its monks and the learning and sanctity of its Abbots, three
+of whom were made Bishops at no distant intervals. Of Boyle Abbey, Co.
+Roscommon, the same can also be said; for it throve and flourished without
+royal favour or charter. On the other hand, Mellifont had a plethora of
+charters, for which the monks there must have paid dearly. But, surrounded
+as it was by covetous and not over-scrupulous neighbours in lawless times,
+such safeguards were decidedly necessary. So, in 1329, Edward III. granted
+them a confirmation of all former privileges, together with the right of
+free warren in all their manors; and again in 1348, he gave them a fresh
+confirmation, with the right to erect a prison in any of their lands in
+the Co. Meath, and also the power to erect a pillory and gallows in their
+town of Collon. The Abbot then, as a temporal lord over his own manors,
+had power of life and death over his vassals therein; but he never
+exercised the authority so vested in him by condemning anyone to death,
+nay, even, he refrained from adjudicating on civil matters, as is seen by
+dispensations granted by Popes to Irish Cistercian Abbots freeing them
+from the obligation of acting as Justices.
+
+It is recorded that in 1329, in the battle in which the Louth men killed
+their new Earl, John Birmingham, "there fell Caech O'Carroll, that famous
+tympanist and harper, so pre-eminent that he was a phoenix in his art, and
+with him fell about twenty tympanists who were his scholars. He was
+called Caech O'Carroll because his eyes were not straight, but squinted;
+and if he was not the first inventor of chord music, yet of all his
+predecessors and contemporaries, he was the corrector, the teacher, and
+director."
+
+How it fared with Mellifont during the fearful pestilence that ravaged all
+Europe in 1348, is not related. Friar Clyn, the Franciscan Annalist, wrote
+of it:--"That pestilence deprived of human inhabitants, villages and
+cities, and castles and towns, so that there was scarcely found a man to
+dwell therein." The mortality in the religious houses was very great, and
+in some instances, only a few monks were left out of large and numerous
+communities. It is said that in these countries the religious Orders never
+recovered from the loss of the best and most learned of their members who
+were then swept away.
+
+In 1351, Abbot Reginald was charged, as if it were a crime, and found
+guilty, of having within two years collected of his own money, and from
+the Abbots of Boyle, Knockmoy, Bective, and Cashel, and of having remitted
+the sum of 664 florins to the Abbot of Clairvaux, while war was being
+waged between England and France. But there was no treason or treasonable
+intent in that; for the money was to defray the current expenses of the
+Order, and was levied off every monastery in proportion to the resources
+of each. Richard, Coeur de Lion, Alexander II. of Scotland, and Bela IV.
+of Hungary had, in their day, contributed largely to this fund.
+
+In 1358, the Abbot of Mellifont made good his claim to three weirs upon
+the Boyne, at Rosnaree, Knowth, and Staleen; but, in 1366, he was indicted
+at Trim, for erecting an unlawful weir at Oldbridge, when the Jury found
+against him, and he was ordered to reduce the weir to a certain breadth
+and space, and he, himself, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment; but,
+on his paying a fine of £10 to Roland de Shalesford, the sheriff of the
+Co. Meath, this sentence was commuted. Ten years later, John Terrour,
+successor to this Abbot, was sued for obstructing the King's passage of
+the Boyne.
+
+In the years 1373 and 1377, the Abbot was summoned to attend Parliaments
+held at Dublin and Castledermot respectively. In the former Parliament,
+one hundred shillings were ordered to be levied from him, as his portion
+of the subsidy granted to the Lord Justice, William de Windesore, by the
+same Parliament. In 1380, the King gave a special mandate that no _mere_
+Irishman should be admitted to profession in this abbey. In 1381 and 1382,
+the Abbot attended Parliaments held in Dublin, and in 1400, the King
+granted a royal confirmation of all the land, manors, and liberties,
+bestowed on the abbey by former charters; and in 1402, he pardoned the
+Abbot and monks for their having admitted Irishmen to profession. However,
+they were mulcted in the sum of £50. In 1415, Leynagh Bermingham, William
+Davison, and John D'Alton were committed to the custody of the Abbot to be
+kept by him as hostages for the allegiance of their respective fathers. In
+1424, the Abbot, with the Archbishop of Armagh and Nicholas Taaffe, was
+appointed Justice and Conservator of the Peace for the Co. Louth.
+
+The allusions to Mellifont during the remainder of this century are very
+few and uninteresting. Whether, or not, it shared the fate of many other
+Irish monasteries at that time and had no regular Abbot, but one who was
+called Abbot _in commendam_, is not known; but the presumption is that it
+had not a regular Abbot. These Abbots _in commendam_ were not monks, or
+members of any Religious Order; but secular clerics, not necessarily in
+Holy Orders. Sometimes, especially when the abuse had reached its greatest
+height in the fifteenth century, they were even laymen; nevertheless, they
+enjoyed the revenues of the abbeys committed to them, with the style and
+title of Abbots, but exercised no spiritual jurisdiction in their abbeys.
+This latter was confided to regular Priors who were selected by their own
+Religious superiors. When laymen held the abbeys _in commendam_ they
+commonly resided in them with their wives, families, retinues, servants,
+etc., to the distraction and interference with the monks in their regular
+observances, and finally, to the complete subversion of discipline. At
+that very time this pernicious practice had brought the whole Order to the
+brink of ruin; for we find the General Chapter on several occasions
+deploring the injuries inflicted on religion, and lamenting the havoc
+wrought by it, and they decided to send three of their number to Rome to
+implore the Pope's protection against the growing evil. Still, it
+survived, more or less, in these countries till the Reformation. Scotland
+suffered more from it, apparently, than Ireland did, as can be seen from
+the lists furnished by Brady in his _Episcopal Succession_.
+
+In 1476, the Abbot of Mellifont complained, that "owing to oppressions and
+extortions within the County of Louth and Uriell, his monastery was
+greatly indebted and impoverished." Certain it is, that for some time
+previous, it had fallen from its former regularity and fervour; but,
+through the zeal and tact of Abbot Roger who then governed it, it regained
+its wonted prominence amongst the most observant monasteries. In 1479,
+this same Roger having set forth to the King that he had "Jurisdiction
+Ecclesiastical of all persons within his lands, as well secular as
+ecclesiastical, the King, out of his love to the Cistercian Order,
+granted to the Abbot and his successors, the _Jus de excommunicatis
+capiendis_, and episcopal jurisdiction," (Stat. Roll. 19 Ed. IV., c. 5.)
+The former privilege refers to the concession made to the Church by the
+first clause of the Statute of Kilkenny, and which had been confirmed by
+subsequent Parliaments for centuries after its first enactment. Under the
+heading--"The Church to be free--Writ _De Excommunicato capiendo_," the
+clause proceeds to ordain, "that Holy Church shall have all her franchises
+without injury, ... and if any (which God forbid) do to the contrary, and
+be excommunicated by the Ordinary of the place for that cause, so that
+satisfaction be not made to God and Holy Church by the party so
+excommunicated within a month after such excommunication, that then, after
+certificate thereupon being made by the said Ordinary into the Chancery, a
+writ shall be directed to the Sheriff, Mayor, Seneschal of the franchise,
+or other officers of the King, to take his body, and to keep him in prison
+without bail, until due satisfaction be made to God and Holy Church, etc."
+By episcopal jurisdiction is here meant the civil rights and privileges
+appertaining to the episcopal office, and enjoyed at that time by bishops
+over their subjects, lay and clerical. And as to the spiritual,
+quasi-episcopal jurisdiction--the Abbots of the Order had that as well as
+exemption in relation to their own monks from the very foundation of the
+Order; but by a Decree dated 28th September 1487, Pope Innocent VIII.
+granted to all Cistercian Abbots quasi-episcopal jurisdiction over their
+tenants, vassals, subjects, and servants. By this Decree, the Pope "took
+all the Abbots, Abbesses, Monks and Nuns of the Order under his special
+protection, together with all their goods, vassals, subjects, and
+servants, and exempted and freed the same from _all jurisdiction,
+superiority, correction, visitation_, subjection and power of Archbishops,
+Bishops and their Vicars, etc., ... and subjected them immediately to
+himself and the Holy See." This Decree is given in full in the _Privilegia
+Ordinis Cisterciensis_, p. 179.
+
+That the Abbots of the Order exercised that privilege in this country
+cannot be doubted. We read an instance of it in the _Triumphalia_, so ably
+edited by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J., where, even after the
+Council of Trent and so recently as 1621, a certain secular priest, who
+had been appointed by the Abbot of Holy Cross to the pastoral charge of
+the parish attached to that abbey and of one or more outlying parishes
+subject to the same Abbot, denied after some time, that he had his
+faculties from the said Abbot, but rather from the Archbishop, or his
+Vicar. The controversy lasted long, but finally, it was decided in the
+Abbot's favour, and Dr. Kearney, then Archbishop of Cashel, acknowledged
+the Abbot's title. And again, in the _Spicelegium Ossoriense_ there is a
+letter from Dr. O'Reilly, Archbishop of Armagh, written to the Propaganda
+in 1633, in which he complained that the Cistercians claimed the privilege
+of "_Visitation, Correction, Summoning to Synods, Approbation to hear
+confessions, together with entire and absolute episcopal jurisdiction_."
+And a further proof in favour of the practice is found in the fact that
+laymen who acquired the suppressed monasteries of the Order claimed and
+exercised that same privilege. Thus, in 1622, Archbishop Ussher in a
+Report of Bective parish said it belonged to Bartholomew Dillon, Esq. of
+Riverstown, his Majesty's farmer of the impropriate property. "This church
+belongeth to the Abbey of Bectiffe, in the possession of the said Mr.
+Dillon, who pretendeth to have an exemption from the Lord Bishop's
+jurisdiction, and doth prove wills and grant administrations." And in
+1744, Harris writes of Newry, where once was a Cistercian Abbey also: "A
+mitred Abbot formerly possessed the lordships of Newry and Mourne, and
+exercised therein Episcopal Jurisdiction, which after the dissolution of
+the Abbey was done by the temporal proprietor, and at the present Robert
+Needham, Esq., to whom the town and manor belong, enjoys an exempt
+Jurisdiction within the said manors, and the seal of his court is a Mitred
+Abbot in his Albe sitting in a chair, and supported by two yew trees with
+this inscription: '_Sigillum exemptæ Jurisdictionis de Viride Ligno alias
+Newry et Mourne_.'" Which in English means, the seal of the Exempt
+Jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne. Verily! this savours of Popery; for, it
+was from the Pope the monks received their exemption. A modern example of
+this Papal concession, exercised in the Anglican Church, is to be found in
+the case of the Dean of Westminster who is immediately under the
+jurisdiction of her Gracious Majesty the Queen, and consequently exempt
+from that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is as successor to the Abbot
+of Westminster that he claims and is allowed that privilege of exemption;
+for the Abbot was immediately subject to the Pope in pre-Reformation
+times.
+
+The Abbot of Mellifont was implicated in the rebellion of Lambert Simnel;
+for in 1488, he received pardon from the King for his offences in that
+connection. The close of the fifteenth century found Mellifont recovering
+and maintaining its old prestige amongst the Religious Orders of this
+country, and with the dawning of a new century, it had regained its former
+level, from which a host of circumstances had conspired to drag it down
+and to degrade it. These circumstances have been already detailed and need
+not be here repeated.
+
+In civil matters, Ireland in the first quarter of the sixteenth century,
+presented the same, or nearly the same, condition as she did more than
+three centuries before, when the English first landed on her shores. The
+Pale was literally bounded by the Liffey and the Boyne, and the old feuds,
+the long-protracted wars between the Anglo-Irish and the natives still
+subsisted. The regular administration of the law was limited to the four
+counties adjoining the capital, called the "Four Obedient Counties." It
+seems incontestable that religion was in a flourishing condition in this
+country during the period; for an unwonted activity and fervour animated
+both clergy and people, as can be inferred from the number of religious
+houses established; the frequency of Synods held denoting zeal and
+regularity on the part of the prelates convening them; and the common
+practice, so much then in vogue, of visiting, through a spirit of penance
+and devotion, the Holy Places at home and in far-off countries. Our Annals
+prove this to demonstration. But, it must be borne in mind that the spirit
+of exclusion was still in full force amongst the Anglo-Irish clergy, and
+no Irishman was eligible for benefices within the Pale. Learning, which is
+ever the handmaid of true piety, found its home as in ancient times
+amongst the two classes of the clergy, the secular and regular. The number
+of learned works published at that time clearly proves it. Amongst the
+many eminent men who then adorned the Church in Ireland, Maurice O'Fihely,
+Archbishop of Tuam, ranks foremost. His biographers, for he had many,
+inform us, that he "was eminent for his extraordinary knowledge in
+Divinity, Logic, Philosophy, and Metaphysics," that he published a
+Dictionary of the Holy Scriptures, and was styled by his contemporaries at
+home and abroad, "The Flower of the World." He had been a Franciscan
+Friar before his promotion to the See of Tuam, but did not long survive
+his appointment.
+
+Now, capital has been made by some writers out of a description of the
+Church in Ireland taken from the State Papers, Part III., Vol. II., pp.
+15, 16. If it reflected a true picture, a Reformation would indeed have
+been needed, but not the kind introduced by Henry VIII., nurtured by
+Edward VI., and propagated with fire and sword by Elizabeth. The Report
+states: "Some sayeth, that the prelates of the Church and the clergy is
+much the cause of all the mysse order of the land, for there is no
+archbyshop, ne bysshop, abbot, ne prior, parson ne vicar, ne any other
+person of the church, high or lowe, greate or smalle, Englysh or Irishe,
+that usythe to preach the worde of Godde, saveing the poor fryers
+beggars."... "Some sayeth"--Who were these "Some," or what was their
+assertion worth? Were they parties who benefited by the disturbance of the
+old order of things at the Suppression, and so suspected of having been
+partial, and eager to seek any and every palliation for the State Church
+as by law established. Now every student of Irish history, as contained in
+our Annals, knows that that anonymous statement is unwarranted by fact. It
+will suffice to take two instances, as we find them recorded in Dowling's
+_Annals_ about this time, to show the fallacy of the accusation of
+wholesale neglect of preaching the Word of God. Of Nicholas Maguire,
+Bishop of Leighlin, 1490-1512, Dowling (Protestant Chancellor of Leighlin)
+writes: "When he was Prebendary of Ullard, he preached and delivered great
+learning with no less reverence, being in favour with the King and
+nobility of Leinster, who, together with the Dean and Chapter, elected him
+Bishop of Leighlin." And of Maurice Deoran, or Doran, who a few years
+later succeeded him in Leighlin, Dowling again writes: "He was a most
+eloquent preacher." It cannot be denied that at that time some Church
+dignitaries affected the airs and magnificence of worldly magnates, nor
+that they gave scandal to their flocks by their absenteeism. Other abuses,
+no doubt, existed, but the watchful providence of God had made provision
+for their removal through His authorised ministers. But, alas! a new
+condition of affairs shall soon arise. The most powerful political engine
+ever fabricated for the extension of the English power in Ireland shall be
+introduced, one which shall eventually break up the tribe lands,
+annihilate the sway of the ancient chieftains, and reduce their
+impoverished descendants to the condition of serfs and menials. And this
+shall be called reforming the Church! Even in this revolution, Mellifont
+shall play her part, and become revolutionized and misappropriated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT.
+
+  "No more shall Charity with sparkling eyes,
+  And smiles of welcome, wide unfold the door,
+  Where pity listening still to nature's cries,
+  Befriends the wretched and relieves the poor."
+                                      (_Keats._)
+
+
+The Religious Orders, which succeed each other in the Catholic Church, are
+subject to laws similar to those that govern the productions of nature.
+They grow from feeble and imperceptible seeds, increase, flourish, and
+bear fruit; then decrease, fade, and fall to the ground. But they have
+produced a fruit, which contains within it the germs of a new seed-time,
+and which bursts forth vigorously from the decaying sheath to reproduce
+its never-failing kind. This work of reproduction and subsequent expansion
+is aided, directed, and encouraged by him, to whom is divinely committed
+the government of the Church; and when pseudo, self-styled reformers essay
+the difficult task, their true character is unmasked in the inevitable
+ruin and desolation which follow, instead of the order and rehabilitation
+which were promised. Bluff King Hal, or the Merrie Monarch, as Henry VIII.
+was familiarly and affectionately called by his loving subjects in the
+beginning of his reign, was in need of money to squander on his passions
+and pleasures. In his newly assumed character, therefore, of Head of the
+Church in his dominions (which, by Act of Parliament, he made it high
+treason to deny), he suppressed the lesser monasteries whose annual income
+did not exceed £200. This was done, forsooth, in the interests of
+religion!!! The proceeds of the confiscation were soon dissipated, and the
+wily Cromwell, whom the King had appointed his _Vicar General_, suggested
+the suppression and appropriation to the King's uses, of all the
+monasteries within the realm. Again it is his zeal for the promotion of
+God's glory that is pleaded as his motive for the nefarious deed. Three
+years before, when addressing the Houses of Parliament in behalf of the
+measure for the suppression of the lesser monasteries, he publicly gave
+thanks to God, that in the large communities "religion is right well kept
+and observed." And yet, what a metamorphosis in such a short space! All
+had now fallen away, and had inexplicably sunk into all manner of
+iniquity! Spelman, in his _History of Sacrilege_, tells the mode adopted
+by this model Reformer to carry his motion for investing in the Crown the
+property of all the Religious Orders. "The King sent for the Commons," he
+tells us, "and informed them he would have the Bill pass, or take off some
+of their heads." This they knew to be no empty threat; and pass the Bill
+they did on that memorable day of May 13, 1539. The Lords, as a body,
+voted for it; partly through a feeling of jealousy towards the Churchmen,
+who enjoyed no inconsiderable share of the monarch's confidence and
+favour, and so they rejoiced at whatever promised to destroy this good
+understanding between them; and partly through cupidity, for they hoped
+for a share in the booty. The Bishops at that juncture are blamed for
+their weakness in complying with so unjust a proceeding; but they were
+divided in their councils; some considering it the less of two evils to
+sacrifice the Religious houses, in the hope that the misunderstanding
+between the King and the Pope would be soon adjusted and the monks
+restored, yielded to the King; others, unworthy of their office, as it
+must be admitted, worldly men, courtly prelates, who dreaded the King's
+displeasure, obsequiously obeyed his mandate.
+
+Besides his greed for gold, the King had another potent motive for
+suppressing the monasteries, one that gave a zest to this disgraceful act:
+he wanted the further to spite the Pope by inflicting such an unheard-of
+injury on religion. Other motives, too, were not wanting, such as state
+policy, so the King alleged, and the want of constant affection towards
+his person on the part of the Religious, particularly in his new capacity.
+This, Lord Herbert (who was no friend of the monks) admits in his Life of
+the King. His Lordship writes: "The monks were looked upon as a body of
+reserve for the Pope, and always ready to appear in his quarrels."
+Perhaps, their opposition to the King's assumption of spiritual power
+precipitated matters. At all events, one of them, zealous for God's law,
+had the courage to reproach him to his face in a sermon preached at
+Greenwich before the King's marriage with Anne Boleyn. This fearless
+champion of justice, this intrepid son of St. Francis, thus addressed the
+dissolute monarch:--"I am that Micheas, O King, whom you will hate because
+I must tell you truly that this marriage is unlawful; and I know that I
+shall eat the bread of affliction and drink the water of sorrow; yet,
+because our Lord has put it in my mouth, I must speak it." And when he and
+another faithful brother friar were brought before the King's council, who
+rebuked them, and declared them deserving of being shut up in a sack, and
+thrown into the Thames, for the boldness of their language in the matter
+of the King's marriage, his companion smiling said: "Threaten these things
+to the rich and dainty persons, who are clothed in purple, and fare
+deliciously, and have their chiefest hope in this world; for we esteem
+them not, but are joyful, that, for the discharge of our duty we are
+driven hence; and, with thanks to God, we know the way to heaven to be as
+ready by water as by land." (Stowe, _Church Chronicle_.)
+
+It was not, then, for dissoluteness of morals, nor for illiteracy, nor for
+backwardness in preaching the Word of God, nor yet for being drones in
+society, that the monks were turned from their peaceful homes. The true
+cause was, that the King knew, and his criminal advisers also knew, that
+the monasteries were as impregnable fortresses, which in defence of truth
+and justice, would hold out firm against seductive bribes, and the most
+appalling threats; hence they must be swept away under plea of general
+corruption of morals, etc., and their properties held up as a bait to draw
+over proselytes to the new order of things. The historian, Lingard,
+writing of the attitude of the monks towards the King's supremacy in
+spiritual matters, says: "Secluded from the world, the Religious felt
+fewer temptations to sacrifice their consciences to the commands of their
+Sovereign, and seemed more eager to court the crown than to flee the pains
+of martyrdom."
+
+Here, in Ireland, one of the King's advisers counselled him to suppress
+some of the monasteries, and to convert them into residences for young
+noblemen, who would promote and defend the King's interests. Patrick
+Finglas, created by Henry VIII. Chief Baron of the King's Exchequer, and
+afterwards Lord Chief Justice, wrote a book entitled: "A Breviate of the
+getting of Ireland and of the decay of the same," in which he recommends
+the suppression of the monasteries bordering on the Pale, "because they
+were giving more aid and supportacion to the Irish than to the King." "Let
+the Abbeys," he goes on to say, "be given to young lords, knights, and
+gentlemen out of England, which shall dwell upon the same." This advice
+seemed good to the King, and it was literally carried out, but to far
+greater extent than this astute lawyer had anticipated.
+
+Mellifont, in common with the other Religious establishments in Ireland
+within grasp of the King (for in Ulster, they were free from molestation
+under O'Neil and O'Donnell), must have heard with dismay the rumours
+afloat about a general suppression, and grief and consternation must have
+filled the hearts of the monks. Was it possible, they asked, that the
+King, whose person they respected, whose laws they obeyed, would drive
+them forth, wanderers over the world, which many of them had renounced in
+early youth; and now, without adequate provision, were they, in their
+declining years, to perish by the roadside? Were their beautiful church,
+their loved cloister, their shady groves, no more to shelter them, and
+were they to sever connection with a spot endeared to them by so many holy
+associations? Yes, it is true, alas! for the Abbot of St. Mary's, Dublin,
+being nearer authentic sources of information, has heard it and has sent
+word, that sentence is passed on all, and their doom has sounded; for the
+following Royal Commission was forwarded to the Deputy, with peremptory
+orders to have it executed forthwith:--
+
+Royal Commission directed to John Allen, Chancellor; George, Archbishop of
+Dublin; William Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; Robert Cowley, Master of the
+Rolls; and Thomas Cusacke, Esq.; reciting, "That from the information of
+trustworthy persons, it being manifestly apparent that the monasteries,
+abbeys, priories, and other places of Religious or Regulars, in Ireland,
+are at present in such a state, that in them, the praise of God and the
+welfare of man are next to nothing regarded; the Regulars and nuns
+dwelling there being so addicted, partly to their own superstitious
+ceremonies, partly to the pernicious worship of idols, and to the
+pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff, that unless an effectual
+remedy be promptly provided, not only the weak, low order, but the whole
+Irish people, may be speedily infected to their total destruction. To
+prevent, therefore, the longer continuance of such Religious men and nuns
+in so damnable a state, the King (having resolved to resume into his hands
+all the monasteries and Religious houses, for their better reformation, to
+remove from them the Religious men and women, and to cause them to return
+to some honest mode of living and to true religion,) directs the
+Commissioners to signify this his intention to the heads of Religious
+houses; to receive their resignations and surrenders willingly tendered;
+to grant to those tendering it liberty of exchanging their habit and of
+accepting benefices under the King's authority; to apprehend and punish
+such as adhere to the Roman Pontiff and contumaciously refuse to surrender
+their houses; to take charge for the King's use of the possession of those
+houses, and assign competent pensions to those who willingly surrender."
+(_Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland_, Morrin, 1539-40, April 30,
+Henry VIII., 30o, p. 55.)
+
+Most marvellous, indeed, and sudden, and quite unprecedented in history,
+was this utter decadence from godliness to "idolatry and the pestiferous
+doctrine of the Roman Pontiff" on the part of 100,000 persons within the
+space of three short years! But, behold! the godly monarch will reform
+them (supposing they needed reform) in the fashion recorded in the old
+English proverb: "The devil amended his dame's leg; when he should have
+set it right, he brake it quite in pieces." That the Deputy, Lord Gray,
+did not consider the monks and nuns an effete body, addicted to evil
+practices, will appear evident from the letter he addressed to Cromwell,
+and which was signed by his Council. It bears date 21st May 1539:--
+
+"May it please your honourable Lordship to be advertised, that by the
+report of Thomas Cusacke and others repaired lately out of the realm of
+England into this land, it hath been openly bruited the King's grace's
+pleasure to be, that all the monasteries within this land should be
+suppressed, none to stand. Amongst which, for the common weal of this
+land, if it might stand with King's most gracious pleasure by your good
+Lordship's advertisement, in our opinion it were right expedient that six
+houses should stand and continue, changing their habit and rule into such
+sort as the King's grace shall will them: which are namely, St. Mary's
+Abbey, adjoining Dublin, a house of white monks (Cistercians); Christ
+Church, a house of canons situated in the middle of the City of Dublin;
+Grace Dieu Nunnery, in the County Dublin; Connell, in the County Kildare;
+Kenlys or Kells, and Jerpoint (this latter Cistercian also), in the County
+Kilkenny. _For in these commonly, and in others such like_, in default of
+common inns, which are not in this island the King's Deputy and all others
+his Grace's Council and Officers, also Irishmen and others resorting to
+the King's Deputy in these quarters is and hath been most commonly lodged
+at the cost of the said houses. _Also, in them, young men and children,
+both gentlemen's children and others, both of man kind and woman kind be
+brought up in virtue and in the Englishe tongue and behaviour to the great
+charge of the said houses_; that is to say, the woman kind of the whole
+Englishie of this land, for the most part, in the said nunnery, and the
+man kind in the other houses."
+
+And the Abbot of St. Mary's, petitioning soon after for exemption from the
+general suppression, pleads in a letter to the same Cromwell: "Verily we
+be but stewards and purveyors to other men's uses for the King's honour,
+keeping hospitality, and many poor men, scholars and orphans."
+
+All petitions are unavailing; the King is inexorable; and St. Mary's and
+Mellifont, and the others included in the original list must go down
+before the despot's unholy will, untried, unheard, but with the nation's
+regret, those alone excepted, who thirsted for and shared the sacrilegious
+booty. Before the lamp of piety and learning be extinguished for ever in
+Mellifont, let us take a parting glance at it, so that the contrast may be
+the more marked as we note its vicissitudes later on.
+
+In that bright July morning (1539), when the bell summoned the monks of
+Mellifont to matins for the last time, the sun rose over as fair a picture
+as could well be conceived, when its brilliant rays shot floods of light
+through the woods and valley, and gilt the quivering tree-tops with
+lustrous gold. And the enormous piles of white masonry looked whiter for
+the glinting of the sun-beams, and many a fantastic shadow was cast on the
+tesselated pavement in the church by the "dim religious light" of the
+gorgeous stained glass windows. The statues of the Twelve Apostles looked
+down patronisingly from lofty pedestals, and bore the minds of the
+beholders aloft, to where the guerdon awaits the faithful soldier of
+Christ when his term of service here below shall have expired. Loud rose
+the rhythmic measure of the majestic Gregorian Chant rendered by over one
+hundred full-voiced singers on that beautiful morning, ere yet the skylark
+shook the dew-drops from his wings, or intoned his early carol o'er the
+meadows by the Boyne. The pealing of the organ sounded loud and louder as
+they chanted their solemn Mass, but to many who then took part in that
+sacred function, its plaintive notes presaged the speedy end of their
+time-honoured establishment, which at any moment may receive the fatal
+visit of the Commissioners. In its internal economy it was wisely and
+worthily governed, its community numbered 150 Choir monks, besides Lay
+Brothers and familiars, its schools were prosperous, and from their
+widespread reputation, merited the title of "famous" which was accorded
+them. The children of the monks' tenants received a free education here;
+moreover, the monks conducted a school, which we would now call a
+seminary, where gentlemen's children and others were taught the higher
+branches suited to prepare them for their career in after-life. Their
+peaceful valley was screened on every side from wintry blasts by tasteful
+plantations, useful and ornamental; for a thickly planted orchard, chiefly
+of apple and pear trees, which covered both sides of the River Mattock
+from the mill to where the bridge now spans the river, survived till
+within the memory of many still living who describe it as having been so
+dense that one could cross the valley on the tops of them. The grounds
+surrounding the monastery were laid out with commendable taste; the lands
+yielded plentiful crops, and supported numerous herds of cattle. The hill
+south-east of the abbey was covered over with oak of gigantic size--the
+growth of centuries--and on the Meath side were screens of valuable
+timber. Their tenants were contented and prosperous; for the monks were
+indulgent landlords. Their rents were paid in kind, and for the rest, they
+found a ready market always at the abbey, where a huge supply of
+provisions was constantly needed for the strangers and the poor who sought
+and found a ready welcome there.
+
+The spiritual wants of the tenants and dependants were attended to by one
+of the monks, John Byrrel, whose name occurs first in the list of those
+belonging to Mellifont to whom pensions were granted. He is styled Parson
+of Mellifont. It is probable, too, that others of the abbey priests
+ministered to Tullyallen parish (though it is scarcely probable that the
+present parish is conterminous with the old one), to Monknewtown and
+Donore; for in the English Episcopal Registers, twelve volumes of which
+have been recently published, it is noted that their brethren in England
+served the parishes in the immediate vicinity of the monasteries; and,
+moreover, we find in the list of pensioners of other Cistercian houses in
+Ireland, the names of three or more, in the same monastery, who are called
+parsons. Medical advice and medicine were dispensed gratis at the Abbey.
+The sick poor were visited and cared for in their homes by physicians
+employed by the monks; they were also admitted into the hospital at the
+gate. On fixed days weekly, the poor of the locality came for and received
+loaves of bread which were specially baked for them, and meat in
+abundance, with beer, was distributed to them. In those days there were no
+poor laws; for the monks provided for all the wants of the indigent. The
+monks were in constant touch with all classes of society, at least the
+principal officers were, and they were the advisers, as well as the
+instructors, of all. The History of the English Abbeys of the Order, or
+the fragments that have survived the vandalism of the Dissolution, and
+which have been published by impartial Protestants, clearly prove that
+this picture of far-reaching and ungrudging beneficence is by no means
+fanciful. (_See Ruined Abbeys of Britain, by Frederick Ross._) The Abbot
+of Mellifont took a prominent place in the councils of the nation. He
+ranked as a Peer, and had a seat in the House of Lords before all the
+other Religious superiors, twenty-three more of whom were privileged to
+sit there. He was bound to supply a certain number of horsemen for the
+King's musters, and to maintain them at his own charge. Tradition has it
+that he could ride on his own territory from the sea at Drogheda to the
+Shannon at Athlone, but this requires confirmation. He owned some 4,000
+acres at the suppression, extending on the south side of the Boyne from
+Drogheda to Rossnaree, and on the north, to Slane, including the fisheries
+and five salmon weirs on the river. He rented the fishing of sixteen
+corraghs at Oldbridge, for which he got £13 13s. 4d. annually. The _town_
+of Tullyallen belonged to him. It was then in a flourishing condition, but
+has fallen since from its rank as a town to that of a mere village,
+composed of a few scattered cottages. The district was then populous; for
+another village grew up near the Abbey occupied by tradesmen and
+dependants who were constantly employed by the monks. It was called Doagh.
+It is now level with the field. It stood a quarter of a mile north-west of
+Mellifont, beyond the Mattock. Its site is an elevated plateau, locally
+known as the Doagh Meadows. The entire annual revenue of the Abbey was
+estimated at £316, which, allowing for the difference in value of money
+since, would be equivalent to an income of close on £4,000 at the present
+day. On that the monks maintained themselves and a large staff of
+servants, "kept hospitality, and many poor men, scholars, and orphans."
+The Abbot entertained his guests daily at his own table in a spacious
+building apart from the monks' quarters, and was a man of light and
+leading, unlike the helpless imbecile portrayed by Scott in his novels.
+The Abbot was chosen, often from some distant monastery, for his aptitude
+"in governing souls," which was the paramount consideration with St.
+Benedict in the selection of a superior. He should be learned, and sound
+both in doctrine and morals, to be entrusted with such a charge. It is
+only too true that unworthy persons, contrary to the Canons, were
+sometimes intruded into the position by powerful relatives, and they,
+alas! generally brought disgrace on religion.
+
+As to the spiritual condition of Mellifont at the time of its suppression,
+it was certainly on a high level. No charge was brought against that
+community, on that score, even by its worst enemies; none but the general
+ones mentioned in the Commission. In truth and in fact, the observances
+then in force at Mellifont were identical with those introduced by Abbot
+Christian and practised at Clairvaux by St. Bernard and his saintly
+companions. If they were "idolatrous," and "superstitious," and savouring
+of the "pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff," so must have been the
+ancient practices of the Cistercians; and wonderful indeed was it, that
+till King Henry and his advisers discovered it, our ancestors, for four
+hundred years at least, approved of and took part in these same practices
+without a suspicion of the "pernicious" errors they were now found to
+contain! In the matter of discipline alone was there any decadence, and
+then the altered conditions of the times demanded some modifications. The
+use of flesh meat three days in the week was introduced, and instead of
+manual labour, other duties were substituted, such as teaching, copying,
+study, etc. In their daily lives, we are told by Rev. Dr. Gasquet, O.S.B.,
+perhaps the greatest living authority in such matters, that the
+Cistercians at that time differed little from the Benedictines.
+
+Such was the condition of Mellifont on that fatal day, the 23rd July
+1539, when the Commissioners, with an armed band, demanded admission and
+surrender, in the King's name. Remonstrance with them was vain, and the
+usual formality was gone through. They seized on the charters, registers,
+ledgers, etc., together with the keys of the treasury and store-rooms;
+took an inventory of all the possessions of the monastery, and sealed the
+Library and strong room. They, then, summoned the Abbot and all the monks
+to the Chapter-house, to sign the Act of Surrender. In the Calendar of
+Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland, Henry VIII. (edited by James
+Morrin), the synopsis of it is given as follows at p. 135:--"Surrender of
+the Abbey or House of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Mellyfount, in the County
+of Louth, by Richard Contoure, Abbot, with the consent of the Convent; and
+of the church, belfry, cemetery, manors, lands, and all its possessions in
+the counties of Dublin, Kildare, and Carlow, with all charters, evidences,
+muniments, goods, utensils, ornaments and jewels."--July 23, 31o. (1539).
+"Endorsed on the preceding surrender is a memorandum that the Abbot and
+Convent, assembled in the Chapter-house, voluntarily acknowledged the
+preceding surrender, delivered it into the hands of the Lord Chancellor,
+and prayed it might be enrolled in Chancery, _in perpetuam rei memoriam_.
+Witness, George, Archbishop of Dublin; Wm. Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer;
+Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls." July 23, 31o.
+
+How often have these "voluntary" surrenders been flaunted by writers
+hostile to the monks, as if the farce of signing the document which made
+them beggars were a free act! They were anxious, forsooth, to shake off
+the burden of their religious obligations, through the facile dispensation
+so liberally accorded by the new Head of the Church, in the flush of his
+accession to ecclesiastical supremacy! The late scholarly and
+liberal-minded Dean Butler, Protestant Rector of Trim, wrote thus on the
+subject:--"The form of surrender then executed omitted no property which
+could belong to the house.... There were added their charters, evidences,
+writings and manuscripts, their goods, chattels, utensils, ornaments,
+jewels, and debts, all these were granted to the King, to be disposed of
+at his good pleasure, without appeal or complaint, and the unhappy men
+_were forced to declare_, that they thus deprived themselves of house and
+home _of their own free will_, and that they put an end to a venerable
+institution, to which they were bound by so many solemn obligations,
+certain just and reasonable causes thereto moving their minds and their
+consciences." (_Register of the Priory of All Hallows._ Preface, p. xxix.)
+
+The next step was, there and then, to auction off all the moveables of the
+monastery, except the jewels of the rich reliquaries, chalices, and other
+sacred vessels, with the plate and bells, which formed the King's special
+perquisite. The whole artistic woodwork of the church (choir and
+wainscotting) was smashed in pieces, and even the very tombs of the
+founders and others interred there, were sold and carted off. For a
+description of the work of destruction, as related by an eye-witness of
+such vandalism at the suppression of an English Cistercian monastery, see
+_The Irish Cistercians_, p. 45. The sale realised £141 7s. 3d., but no
+detailed account is given of the sum that each article fetched. According
+to another Commission addressed to John Allen, Chancellor; William
+Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; and Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls; dated
+May 20, 1539, the proceeds of such sales were ordered to be allocated "to
+pay the officers and servants of the Crown." When the church and monastery
+were dismantled, and every article of value, no matter how trifling, had
+been removed, the order to clear out the monks was promptly given and
+executed; and the gates were shut behind them. Whither they went nobody
+cared, and whither to go was a problem to themselves difficult to be
+solved; for without money or provision, they were in a worse condition
+than the most destitute of beggars. The hoary old walls caught up their
+groans and lamentations on that day, as with breaking hearts they looked
+upon each familiar spot for the last time. This is one of the secrets the
+old stones of the few remaining buildings yet withhold from us. Mellifont
+beheld many moving spectacles during the four centuries of her existence,
+but none, perhaps, so deeply affecting as when her 150 children, amongst
+whom were the aged, tottering on the brink of the grave and leaning for
+support on some younger brethren, turned their back upon their happy home
+where they enjoyed an anticipated paradise. As the sad procession slowly
+gained the top of the hill, many a time they turned to take a last
+farewell look at their beloved monastery, till it faded from their view
+for ever. A few shillings each were allowed them for their immediate
+wants, but of that multitude only thirteen and the Abbot received
+pensions. This grant was fixed for them three days after their expulsion,
+after which they all disappear from the scene as effectually as if the
+Boyne had engulphed them.
+
+The following entries are found in the Patent and Close Rolls Calendar,
+Henry VIII., pp. 59, 60: "Pension of £40 Ir. to Richard Contour, late
+Abbot of Mellyfount, payable out of the parishes of Knockmohan, Donowre,
+and Monkenewton, with clause of distress."--Sept. 10, 1539. And at p. 60,
+_ibid._, "Pension to John Byrrell, late parson of Mellifount, £3 6s. 8d.;
+to Thomas Bagot, £4; to Peter Rewe, 40/-; to Thomas Alen, 53/4; to
+William Norreis, 40/-; to Robert Nangle, 40/-; to Patrick Contour, 53/4;
+to William Veldon, £3 6s. 8d.; to Patrick Lawles, 40/-; to John Ball,
+40/-; to Clement Bartholomewe, 20/-; to Phelim O'Neil, 20/-; payable out
+of the rents and lands of the parishes of Knockamowan, Donower, and
+Montnewton" (Monknewtown), 26 July, 1539.
+
+Thus, then, were these fourteen provided for, but, of the others, not one
+received a single shilling, except, as has been said, a mere pittance that
+sufficed to procure them a few nights' shelter. This is no picture drawn
+from fancy; it is a well-authenticated fact, that where a peaceful
+surrender was not given or signed, no provision whatsoever was made for
+those who so refused. They were given a trifle at their expulsion, and
+turned adrift to swell the army of beggars, or to perish, as they did in
+hundreds, of hardships to which they were unaccustomed. The imagination
+cannot now well conceive the heartless, wanton cruelty then practised on
+the expelled Religious; who, if they had betrayed their consciences and
+taken the oath of Supremacy, might have staved off, at least for a time,
+the calamities that befell them. But only for a time; for in some
+instances where the monks, through mistaken notions, obeyed the Royal
+mandate, they shared the fate of their more steadfast brethren, owing to
+the insatiable rapacity of the King and his advisers. To those of the
+expelled who were priests, the hope was held out to them, in case of "free
+surrender," that they should be promoted to the first vacant benefices. As
+not one of the Religious expelled from Mellifont is enrolled on the list
+of those promoted to vacancies during that or the subsequent reigns, it is
+obvious that they held fast to their principles, and denied the King's
+Supremacy, an acknowledgment of which was indispensable before
+promotion. All honour to them for their generous sacrifices, which made
+them worthy to be the last who saw the venerable institution reel and fall
+beneath the despot's blows. Their noble attitude was befitting the close
+of a work which was inaugurated with such splendour amid a nation's
+rejoicing. Like the setting sun, Mellifont disappeared in a halo of glory.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY--IS SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED UP
+TO RUIN AND DECAY.
+
+  "Mute is the matin bell, whose early call
+    Warn'd the grey fathers from their humble beds;
+  No midnight taper gleams along the wall,
+    Or, round the sculptur'd saint its radiance sheds."
+                                              (_Keats._)
+
+
+The long line of distinguished men being thus rudely and abruptly
+terminated at Mellifont, with the suppression of the monastery, all
+memorials of their history were lost, and no trace of them has been left.
+Not a book, nor cross, nor chalice, register, nor chartulary remains. It
+appears that Mellifont had its Annalist and its Annals like _all_ the
+other monasteries of the Order in Ireland; for Bishop Nicolson, who wrote
+his "Irish National Library" in 1724, says: "The Annals of Ireland from
+the foundation of this Abbey in 1142 to the year 1500, are, or were
+lately, in the hands of some of the learned men of this kingdom." He does
+not tell us the name of the compiler, but only the fact that they had
+been written at Mellifont. These are not cited by later writers, so they,
+also, must have perished long since. At the suppression of monasteries,
+the archives, chronicles, and registers were carefully sought by the
+Commissioners, because they contained correct information on the value and
+extent of the possessions of each house respectively; and the more
+extensive these were, the more sedulously were the records sought for.
+Hence it is that because the Cistercian Order had large possessions, the
+manuscripts were all seized and handed over with the monasteries to the
+grantees. The monks could not possibly take one away with them. So their
+history is now derivable from other sources, which, at best, are very
+meagre. Mellifont, which occupied so prominent and respected a position
+during its career, would not be found inferior to other houses of the
+Order in the number of its learned and remarkable men, were its ancient
+documents now available; and, judging from the long roll of distinguished
+men, who in every department of knowledge rendered the Order illustrious
+in other countries, we may safely allot a respectable quota of the same to
+Mellifont. De Visch compiled his _Writers of the Cistercian Order_ in
+1656, and Sartorius published a large tome in 1700, each containing
+notices of the illustrious men of the Order. No less than sixty-three
+large folio pages of this latter work are occupied with the names of the
+learned men, and the dates at which they flourished. He places all in
+distinct categories, and so we have St. Bernard heading the list, after
+whom come the Grammarians, next follow the Poets, Orators, Historians,
+Philosophers, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Musicians, then Doctors of
+Canon and Civil Law, and Doctors of Theology; finally, Professors in
+universities, and others, whose general attainments precluded
+classification. As these works were written after the suppression of the
+monasteries in these countries, the materials relating to the Irish and
+English monasteries having passed into hostile hands or been destroyed,
+were no longer accessible. Ireland was ever remarkable for the thirst for
+learning displayed by her children, and for the singular proficiency
+attained by them, when the opportunity for it was afforded; we may, then,
+justly conclude that learning and the polite arts found a home at
+Mellifont. For this latter branch, the beautiful buildings would, of
+themselves, suffice as an argument in favour of an advanced state of
+culture and refinement.
+
+It is worthy of note, that neither the Irish people, nor the
+representatives of the Government in this country, brought, much less
+substantiated, any direct charges against the Irish monks, prior to the
+suppression. Hence it is, that their maligners had to import, for use
+against them, the staple arguments commonly used in England, and there
+only by venal scribblers, and those who profited by the downfall of the
+monks. To such the learned and impartial Protestant historian, the Rev.
+Doctor Maitland, adverts, when after giving credit to the monks for their
+having been benefactors to mankind, he writes in his preface to the _Dark
+Ages_:--"In the meantime, let me thankfully believe that thousands of the
+persons at whom Robertson, and Jortin, and other such very miserable
+second-hand writers, have sneered, were men of enlarged minds, purified
+affections, and holy lives, that they were justly reverenced by men, and,
+above all, favourably accepted by God, and distinguished by the
+highest honours which He vouchsafes to those whom He has called into
+existence, that of being the channels of His love and mercy to their
+fellow-creatures." And in our own time, the _Guardian_, an English
+Protestant newspaper, when reviewing the Rev. Doctor Gasquet's, O.S.B.,
+learned work, _Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries_, approvingly
+cites, amongst others, the following paragraph:--"The voices raised
+against the monks were those of Cromwell's agents, of the cliques of the
+new men and of his hireling scribes, who formed a crew of as truculent and
+as filthy libellers as ever disgraced a revolutionary cause. The later
+centuries have taken their tale in good faith, but time is showing that
+the monasteries, up to the day of their fall, had not forfeited the
+goodwill, the veneration, the affection of the English people." Mr. Lecky,
+too, with his usual candour and liberality, writes:--"Monastic
+institutions were the only refuges of a pacific civilisation; the only
+libraries, the only schools, the only centres of art, the only refuges for
+gentle and intellectual natures; the chief barriers against violence and
+rapine; the chief promoters of agriculture and of industry." (_The
+Political Value of History_, p. 14. London, 1892.)
+
+The monks being now expelled, Mellifont was delivered up to desecration
+and ruin; the silence of the tomb reigned supreme, and the voice of prayer
+was heard no more; no longer did the bells from the tower send forth their
+cheering notes over the surrounding district to raise the hearts of the
+toiler to Heaven. These sweet toned bells, the gift of some princely
+benefactor, had been, with all the other moveable property, carried off by
+the spoiler. The Abbey, with all its spiritual and temporal possessions,
+was given, in 1541, to Laurence Townley, for 21 years. They passed by
+reversionary lease to ---- Brabazon, in 1546. In 1551, they were leased to
+the same for 21 years more, and in 1566, they came by reversionary lease
+to Edward Moore, the founder of the Drogheda family, who, at that time,
+came into Ireland, as a soldier of fortune. (_Appendix to the Report of
+the Deputy-Keeper of the Rolls and Grants of Elizabeth._)
+
+This Edward Moore, who was accompanied by his brother John, the founder of
+the Charleville family (now extinct), was descended from an ancient
+Kentish House. He fixed his residence at Mellifont, changing the church
+into a dwelling, which he strongly fortified against the attacks of the
+Ulster Irish. The statues of the Twelve Apostles, which once occupied
+places in the church, he caused to be removed to the hall, clad in red
+uniforms, with muskets on their shoulders, as a protest, no doubt, against
+"Popish idolatry." It is even said that he suffered the Founder's tomb,
+and those of others, or such portions of them as still were left, to
+remain as part of his domestic arrangements, without his being disturbed
+by such solemn surroundings. He was knighted by the Deputy, Sir Wm. Drury,
+and dying soon after, was succeeded by his son, Sir Garret, to whom
+Mellifont, with six other dissolved monasteries, and all their
+spiritualities (that is, the revenues of them, right of patronage, etc.)
+and temporalities, were granted in fee. By these means, was adhesion to
+the Crown purchased and services to it rewarded--services, which bore no
+equivocal meaning ever since the Invasion, as the Irish knew by long and
+bitter experience.
+
+At this time, the Church, as by Law Established, became part and parcel of
+the State, and its most obsequious servant. Its ministers looked to the
+civil power for patronage, and even hoped for promotion through the
+officials of the Court; but only in a few instances were the livings worth
+the asking, as the greater part of their temporalities were bestowed on
+laymen, favourites of the Queen. We have a picture of the state of that
+Church in Ireland, soon after the suppression of monasteries, drawn by the
+Lord Deputy himself, in a letter to Queen Elizabeth. They who would fain
+believe in the blessed advantages which flowed from the Dissolution of
+Monasteries, and the introduction of the new religion, may take to heart
+the lesson it teaches. Sir Henry Sydney wrote to the Queen in April, 1576,
+on the condition of the diocese of Meath:--"There are within this
+diocese," he writes, "224 parish churches, of which number, 105 are
+impropriated to sundry possessions; no parson or vicar resident on any of
+them, and a very simple or sorry curate for the most part appointed to
+serve them; among which number of curates, only eighteen were found to be
+able to speak English, the rest being Irish ministers, or rather, Irish
+rogues, having very little Latin and less learning and civility.... In
+many places the very walls of the churches are thrown down, very few
+chancels covered; windows and doors ruined and spoiled. There are 52
+parish churches in the same diocese which have vicars endowed upon them,
+better served and maintained than the others, yet badly. There are 52
+parish churches here, residue of the first number of 224, which pertain to
+divers particular lords; and these, though in better state than the others
+commonly, are yet far from well." He concludes by saying:--"But yet your
+Majesty may believe it, that upon the face of the earth where Christ is
+professed, there is not a church in so miserable a case." Lord Grenville,
+in his _Past and Present Policy of England towards Ireland_, when
+commenting on Sydney's letters, from one of which the above is an extract,
+writes:--"Such was the condition of a church which was half a century
+before rich and flourishing, an object of reverence and a source of
+consolation to the people. It was now despoiled of its revenues; the
+sacred edifices were in ruins, the clergy were either ignorant of the
+language of their flocks, or illiterate and uncivilised intruders; and the
+only ritual permitted by the laws was one of which the people neither
+comprehended the language nor believed the doctrines; and this is called
+establishing a reformation." That this condition of affairs was not
+confined to any particular diocese, but rather was the state in all, is
+evident from the sketch given by Spenser in his _View of the State of
+Ireland_. "They" (the ministers), he says, "neither read the Scriptures
+nor preach to the people, nor administer the Communion ... only they take
+the tithes and offerings, and gather what fruit else they may of their
+livings.... It is a great wonder to see the zeal between the Popish
+priests and the ministers of the Gospel; for they spare not to come out of
+Spain, from Rome, and from Rheims, by long toil and dangerous travelling
+thither, where they know peril of death awaiteth them, and no reward or
+riches are to be found, only to draw people to the Church of Rome." Such
+were the immediate fruits of the Reformation as admitted and described by
+Protestant contemporaries.
+
+One of the first proprietary acts of Sir Edward Moore, on his acquiring
+Mellifont, seems to have been to cut down and sell some of the magnificent
+timber planted by the monks. The old wooden house, so long an object of
+curiosity in Drogheda, and which was taken down in 1824, was chiefly
+composed of oak obtained from Mellifont Park. It was situated at the angle
+formed by the junction of Laurence Street and Shop Street, and was erected
+by Nicholas Bathe, as an inscription in raised characters, each six inches
+in length, testified. This inscription was on the Laurence Street side.
+"Made. Bi. Nicholas. Bathe. in. the. ieare. of. our. Lord. God. 1570. Bi.
+Hiu. Mor. Carpenter."
+
+In 1592, Red Hugh O'Donnell, fleeing from Dublin Castle, where he had been
+detained a close prisoner, was received and kindly treated by Sir Edward
+Moore, at Mellifont. His reception is thus related in the Life of Red
+Hugh, edited with notes by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J.:--"After
+crossing the Boyne near Drogheda, Red Hugh and his companion mounted their
+horses, and proceeded about two miles from the river, where they saw a
+dense bushy grove in front of them on the road they came, and a large
+rampart all around it, as if it was a kitchen-garden. There was a fine
+mansion (called the great monastery), belonging to an illustrious youth of
+the English, by the side of the wood. He was much attached to O'Neil....
+He (O'Donnell) went into the house and was entertained; for he was well
+known there especially more than in other places."
+
+In 1599, according to the family pedigree, Sir Garret Moore and Sir
+Francis Stafford were the only English house-keepers in the County Louth;
+all the lands being wasted by the Ulster rebels. The next important event
+at Mellifont was the great O'Neil's surrender there to the Deputy, Lord
+Mountjoy, on the 24th March, 1602. The Lord Deputy sent Sir Garret Moore,
+as an old acquaintance of O'Neil's, with Sir Wm. Godolphin to parley with
+him, and O'Neil returned with them to Mellifont, where (on his knees, it
+is said by English writers,) he made his submission to the Deputy. Here,
+again, we have further proof of what has been stated before, that it was
+Irishmen who retained this country for the English Crown; for when Sir
+George Carew sat down before Kinsale, where O'Neil was defeated, his army
+consisted of three thousand men, of whom two thousand were Irish.[8]
+
+Five years later, that is, in 1607, O'Neil was again at the "fair mansion
+of Mellifont to bid good-bye for ever to his good friend, Sir Garret, the
+fosterer of his son John." He tarried two days with him, and then said
+farewell. Having given his blessing, "according to the Irish fashion," to
+every member of his friend's household, he and his suite took horse, and
+rode rapidly by Dundalk on his way to Lough Swilly, where a ship awaited
+him to bear him from his native land for ever.
+
+By an Inquisition taken on the 14th June, 1612, the possessions of this
+Abbey were found as follow:--"The site, a water-mill, a garden, an
+orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing two acres;
+the silver meadow, nine acres; the wood meadow, ten acres; and the doves'
+park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber, containing
+twelve acres; Ardagh, twenty acres, being the demesne lands; and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen," etc.
+
+In 1615, July 20th, Sir Garret was created Baron Moore of Mellifont, by
+King James I. In 1619, Baron Moore obtained a royal grant of St. Mary's
+Abbey, Dublin, from the same King; and in 1621, he was created a Viscount,
+with the title of Viscount Moore of Drogheda. St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin,
+passed from the family some fifty years later.
+
+As has been said, no trace of the expelled religious remains after the
+suppression of Mellifont. It, however, may be assumed, that some few of
+them lingered around the hallowed spot to which their affections clung,
+and that they shared the labours and dangers incident to the Catholic
+missionaries of the period, as is well known their brethren in other parts
+of Ireland did after their expulsion. It cannot now be ascertained
+whether, or not, an unbroken line of titular Abbots of Mellifont was
+maintained after the dissolution of the Abbey; but, in 1623, an oratory
+in Drogheda, belonging to the Cistercians, was served by five or six
+Fathers of the Order under Patrick Barnewall, who had been appointed Abbot
+of Mellifont by the Pope; and in 1625, he received the abbatial
+benediction in the church of St. John, in Waterford, at the hands of the
+Most Rev. Thomas Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin. This Patrick Barnewall
+belonged to the Bremore branch (Co. Dublin) of the ancient and illustrious
+family of that name. After having studied the Humanities, Philosophy,
+Theology, and Canon Law in the Universities of Douay and Paris, he was
+ordained priest, and discharged missionary duties in Drogheda. In a sketch
+of his life given by a fellow-labourer, it is related, that one night as
+he lay awake, St. Bernard appeared to him and told him he would be a monk
+of his Order. Though he relished the idea, yet he did not immediately
+correspond with his inclinations till he was grievously afflicted with a
+severe sickness, when he remembered the vision, and being urged by his two
+sisters, who had consecrated themselves to God, he entered the Novitiate
+of the Order in Kilkenny, and was at once restored to health. Soon after
+his profession he was appointed Abbot of Mellifont by Apostolic authority;
+and he admitted novices into the Order at his "hiding-place" at Drogheda,
+whom he sent to be educated at the Cistercian College, Louvain, and to
+other Continental Colleges. He was a very learned man, particularly in
+Canon Law, and was consulted as an authority on this subject. During the
+siege of Drogheda, in 1641, his goods were seized and himself cast into
+prison, but through the influence of some powerful relatives he was
+liberated. He died in his father's house in September, 1644, and was
+buried in the church of Donore, which formerly belonged to Mellifont. John
+Devereux, a native of the Co. Wexford, who had been educated at Louvain,
+was appointed by the Pope, Abbot of Mellifont, in 1648. He, with Father
+Luke Bergin and Father Patrick Grace, both natives of Co. Kilkenny, Father
+Malachy O'Hartry, a native of Waterford, Father John Bryan, a native of
+Drogheda, and Father Plunket, constituted the new community of Cistercian
+monks under Abbot Patrick Barnewall, when he opened the oratory in
+Drogheda, in 1623. Whether all or any of them perished in the general
+massacre of Drogheda, under Cromwell, we cannot tell, but they disappeared
+thenceforth, and John Devereux seems to have been the last titular Abbot
+of Mellifont.
+
+In the Rebellion of 1641, Mellifont and its owner, Lord Charles Moore, son
+of Garret, the first Viscount, became involved. On the 21st November, just
+a short time after the outbreak, the rebels under Sir Phelim O'Neil, when
+on their way to besiege Drogheda, made a halt at Tullyallen, and "sent a
+party of 1,300 foot down to Mellifont, the Lord Moore's house, which their
+design was suddenly to surprise; but, contrary to their expectation, they
+found there twenty-four musketeers and fifteen horsemen, who very stoutly
+defended the house as long as their powder lasted. The horsemen, when they
+saw themselves beset so as they could no longer be serviceable to the
+place, opened the gates, issued out and made their passage through the
+midst of the rebels, and so, notwithstanding the opposition they made,
+escaped safe to Drogheda. The foot having refused to accept of the quarter
+at the first offered, resolved to make good the place to the last man;
+they endured several assaults, slew one hundred-and-forty of the rebels,
+before their powder failed them; and at last they gave up the place upon
+promise of quarter, which was not kept, for some of them were killed in
+cold blood, all were stripped, and two old decrepid men slain, the house
+ransacked and all the goods carried away."
+
+The above is from Sir John Temple's _History of the Irish Rebellion_, and
+it has been quoted by Catholics and Protestants alike when alluding to
+Mellifont; they each add, however, a little spice to suit the palates of
+their respective readers. Of this attack on Mellifont we have no less than
+four versions, two of which deserve but little credence, viz., that
+already given, and that of Dean Bernard. The account given by the latter
+is fuller, and enters more minutely into detail, so that some particulars
+tax the capacity of the most credulous; as, for instance, when he tells us
+that twenty-four musketeers killed one hundred-and-forty rebels though
+they had only "six shots" of powder, "some only four," and that they
+rammed in six bullets together, and how each shot killed several. Verily,
+every bullet had its billet there! That be sharp practice without doubt!
+He also tells, how the loss on the part of the garrison was thirteen
+killed, "whom a _Friar was so forward for deed of charity as to procure
+them burial in the church adjoining_." Thank goodness, he has the grace to
+credit even a Friar with some remnant of humanity! He does not say that
+the rebels stripped all. They could not have done so; for eleven escaped
+to Drogheda. These godless Papists capped their iniquity in this holy
+man's estimation when they "threw a fair church Bible into the mill-pond."
+The last charge on the sheet is--"Their best language to them all was
+'English dogs,' 'rogues,' etc."
+
+Before producing the other two versions, let us examine the characters of
+both these witnesses as drawn by Protestant writers. Sir John Temple wrote
+his History in 1656, from the "Depositions" preserved then in Dublin
+Castle, but which are now in Trinity College. These "Depositions"
+comprise the list of murders, burnings, etc., said to have been
+perpetrated by the Irish on the English Protestants during the war, and
+fill thirty-two volumes. He was some time Privy Councillor, but was
+removed by Ormonde, and Carte tells how "two traitorous and scandalous
+letters against his Majesty written by Temple were read in Committee." And
+Dr. Nalson, another Protestant writer, accuses him of having been in
+league with the Parliamentarians, whom Ormonde describes as those who
+became the "murderers of his (the King's) royal person, the usurpers of
+his rights, and destroyers of the Irish nation; by whom the nobility and
+gentry of it were massacred at home, and led into slavery, or driven into
+beggary abroad." In 1674, Temple protested that the work was published
+without his knowledge, as appears from _State Papers_, Dublin edition, p.
+2.
+
+Dean Bernard was Primate Ussher's chaplain, and like his master, was a
+Puritan. During the siege of Drogheda he watched over the Primate's
+library lest the rebels should attack the magnificent palace which _had
+been built with the fines from the recusants_. He was afterwards
+Cromwell's chaplain and almoner, in either of which capacities, it would
+be quite unreasonable to expect justice to the Irish from him.
+
+As to the "Depositions" themselves, they are summarily dealt with by the
+Rev. Dr. Warner, another English Protestant historian of that Rebellion.
+"There is no credit to be given to anything that was said by these
+Deponents which had not others' evidence to confirm it." And again, the
+same Dr. Warner, who went through the drudgery of perusing and examining
+these "Depositions," says: "As a great stress has been laid upon this
+collection in print and conversation, and as the whole evidence of the
+massacres turns upon it, I spent a great deal of my time examining the
+books; and I am sorry to say, that they have been made the foundation of
+much more clamour and resentment than can be warranted by truth and
+reason." It was in them that Temple found the story of the ghosts of the
+murdered Protestants, in the River Bann, at the Bridge of Portadown,
+shrieking for revenge, and one in particular, who was seen there from the
+29th December to the end of the following Lent!!! He sets down the number
+of English and Protestants who were "murdered in cold blood, destroyed
+some other way, or expelled out of their habitations in two years by the
+Irish, as exceeding 300,000," though, according to Petty, there were not
+at the outbreak of the Rebellion 20,000 English Protestants in Ulster,
+where nearly all the murders were said to have been committed. Dr. Warner
+also tells how he saw in the Council books at Dublin, the letter which the
+Commissioners of the Irish Parliament wrote to the English Parliament,
+urging them to show no mercy to the Irish, but rather, to revenge the
+murders and massacres committed by them. They tell them, "that besides
+eight hundred-and-forty-eight families, there were killed, hanged, burned,
+and drowned, six thousand and sixty-two." Dr. Warner considers 2,000 about
+the correct number. A prodigious number to be sure, but how far less than
+Temple's 300,000. Warner says, finally, at p. 296 of his work so often
+cited: "It is easy enough to demonstrate the falsehood of every Protestant
+historian of this Rebellion."
+
+The Rev. Mr. Carte, an English Protestant clergyman, who wrote the
+celebrated Life of the Duke of Ormonde, tears all Temple's assertions in
+pieces, and demonstrates from indubitable authority the falsehoods of his
+statements. Writing of these "Depositions" he says, at Vol. II., p. 263:
+"Anyone who has ever read the examinations and depositions which were
+generally given on hearsay, and contradicting one another, must think it
+very hard upon the Irish, to have all those without distinction to be
+admitted as evidence." And in the Preface to the collection of Letters
+affixed to the Life he alludes to the "uncertain, false, mistaken, and
+contradictory accounts, which have been given of the Irish Rebellion, by
+parties influenced by selfish views and party animosities, or unfurnished
+with proper and authentic materials and memoirs."
+
+It is obvious from the first pages of Temple's History what the scope of
+the work is. It is a gross libel on the whole Irish nation from the
+earliest times. In one page, he twice applies to them the epithet of a
+beastly race, and, no doubt, worthy to be rooted out, to make room for
+Royalists of his type, who worshipped the rising sun.
+
+Carte, in his Life of Ormond, Vol. II., p. 135, gives an account of the
+attack on Mellifont as follows:--"This detached body of the northern
+rebels appeared on November 21st in sight of the town of Drogheda, within
+four miles of it, presuming (as was imagined) upon some party within the
+place. Sir H. Tichburne, Governor of Drogheda, had the week before sent a
+party of fifteen horse and twenty-two foot to Mellifont (formerly an Abbey
+of Bernardine monks, founded by Donagh O'Carroll, prince of Ergall, about
+A.D. 1142, but then an house of the Lord Viscount Moore's, three miles
+from town), as well as to secure that place from the incursions of roving
+parties, as to keep abroad continual sentinels and scouts, that might
+inform him of the rebels' motions. His orders were not well observed, nor
+his party so vigilant as they ought to have been; for on the 21st, the
+rebels on a sudden encompassed the house, and (after the soldiers' powder
+was spent) took it with a loss of some one hundred and twenty of their
+own number (among which were Owen M'Mahon and another captain), and eleven
+of the soldiers, with most of the arms. As the Irish were breaking into
+the house on all sides, the troopers causing the great gate to be opened,
+sallied out, and opening themselves a way through the body of the rebels,
+got safe with the rest of the foot soldiers sore wounded to Drogheda."
+This may be accepted as a true, unvarnished account of this much magnified
+attack; especially as Tichburne himself, who cannot be accused of
+partiality towards the Irish, and who was Governor of Drogheda at the time
+of its occurrence, seems to have been Carte's authority for it, as appears
+from a reference to a letter written by Tichburne to Ormond, but not given
+in the collection of Letters mentioned above. There is no question here of
+quarter given, or of faith broken; no cold-blooded murders, no gruesome
+picture of gory corpses unburied, nor of fiendish glee on the part of
+rebels dancing round their watch-fires in presence of their stark and
+naked victims strewn around!!! Pity such absurdity should be believed or
+repeated in our time, when it should have been relegated to the same
+lumber-heap as the story of the ghosts of the Bann!
+
+We have yet another account from a paper or Report published in London by
+two parties who only give their initials, T. A. and P. G. It was "printed
+by Edward Blackmore, at the Angel, in Paul's Churchyard, in 1642," and is
+now to be found in the _Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland_, so
+ably edited by Sir John Gilbert, at Vol. I., Part II., p. 420. There is a
+discrepancy in the dates, but that is immaterial, as only one attack is
+said to have been made. It tells us, "That on the same day (April 30),
+three or four hundred rebels came before Mellifont, three or four miles
+from Drogheda, where Lord Moore had left on Tuesday before a garrison of
+four-score foot and about thirty horse; the rebels plaid hotly upon them
+until the horse were ready within; but as soon as the horse were ready,
+they, with the foot, sallied out, and killed about thirty of the rebels."
+This cannot be far from the truth, as it seems to be free from the
+exaggerations in which Tichburne dealt, when recounting the numerical
+strength of his and the enemy's forces, ascribing to the latter
+poltroonery and cowardice in action, and crediting them with excessively
+heavy losses.
+
+The predisposing cause, why the Ulster Irish were ready for rebellion was
+the misery the native inhabitants endured since the Plantation of the six
+forfeited counties, some thirty odd years before. Even the remnants of the
+estates allowed them by the Crown were filched from them by the greed and
+cunning of unscrupulous Commissioners, who enriched themselves on the ruin
+of the Irish. Prendergast (_Cromwellian Settlement_, pp. 49-50,) thus
+describes the condition of the old Irish nobility and gentry
+then:--"Little they (the Planters, who got the forfeited estates) thought
+or cared how the ancient owner, dispossessed of his lands, must grieve as
+he turned from the sight of the prosperous stranger to his pining family;
+daughters, without prospect of preferment in marriage; sons, without fit
+companions, walking up and down the country with their horses and
+greyhounds, coshering on the Irish, drinking and gaming and ready for any
+rebellion; most of his high-born friends wandering in poverty in France
+and Spain, or enlisted in their armies." The immediate cause of the
+Rebellion is thus stated:--"A letter was intercepted coming from Scotland
+to one Freeman of Antrim giving an account that a Covenanting army was
+ready to come to Ireland under General Lesly, to extirpate the Roman
+Catholics of Ulster, and leave the Scots in possession of that province;
+that resolutions to that effect had been taken at their private meetings,
+as well as to levy heavy fines on such as would not appear at their kirk
+for the first and second Sunday, and on failure the third, to hang at
+their own doors without mercy, such as remained obstinate" (Carte's
+_Ormond_, Vol. I., p. 160). This notion prevailed universally amongst the
+rebels, and was chiefly insisted on by them as one of the principal
+reasons of their taking up arms.
+
+The Rebellion broke out, then, on the 23rd October, 1641, and the actors
+in it were a "tumultuous rabble" as Ormond called them, intent chiefly on
+plundering and driving off the English settlers, yet before the end of the
+month the principal towns of the North were in their hands. Leland, a
+Protestant historian, writes:--"That in the beginning of the insurrection,
+it was determined by them that the enterprise should be conducted in every
+quarter, with as little bloodshed as possible" (_History of Ireland_, Vol.
+III., p. 101). At p. 131, the same historian writes:--"The Lords Justices
+might have stamped out the insurrection at once had Ormond's advice to
+levy a large number of troops been attended to; for the Irish were then
+formidable only in numbers, and not six hundred of them had proper arms.
+But their purpose was rather to fan it, in order to gratify their personal
+greed by extensive forfeitures." Warner, who has been so often quoted
+before, writes at p. 176 of his History:--"It is evident from the Lords
+Justices' letter to the Lord Lieutenant that they hoped for an
+extermination, not of the mere Irish only, but of all the old English
+families who were Roman Catholics." They issued a most truculent order to
+Ormond "to burn, kill, spoil, waste, destroy, the rebels, their relatives,
+houses and property." One of these Lords Justices is thus referred to by
+Carte: "He was a man of mean extract, scarcely able to read and write ...
+plodding, assiduous, and indefatigable, greedy of gain, and eager to raise
+a fortune; which it is not difficult for a man of indifferent parts to do,
+when he is not hampered with scruples about the ways of getting it"
+(_Ormond_, Vol. I., p. 190). This same Lord Justice, with three members of
+the Privy Council, was put under arrest for disobedience to his Majesty,
+King Charles, and for complicity with his enemies, the Parliamentarians of
+England. The Lord Justice was deposed and imprisoned, but he retained his
+ill-gotten property.
+
+As has been said, the rebels became masters of the principal towns in the
+North without meeting any check, when they attacked Mellifont. Lord Moore
+was then in Drogheda with Sir Henry Tichburne, the Governor, with whose
+policy and methods he, both before and afterwards, identified himself;
+and, as an active agent of the Lords Justices, he was specially odious to
+the Irish. During the siege of Drogheda, he more than once, by his
+alertness and personal bravery, saved the town from falling into the hands
+of the besiegers. With the exception of Lord Moore and a few of the older
+families, both the Lords Justices themselves (who governed the country in
+the absence of the Lord Lieutenant), and their ruthless instruments were
+men of no fortune; or, were such as became enriched by the plunder of the
+Irish. Tichburne, in a letter to his lady, alludes to one of the
+commissions entrusted to him for execution, in which fiendish work Lord
+Moore was associated with him. After his return from the burning of
+Dundalk,[9] which he left a smouldering heap of ruins, he describes the
+results:--"There was neither man nor beast to be found in sixteen miles,
+between the two towns of Drogheda and Dundalk; nor on the other side of
+Dundalk, in the County of Monaghan, nearer than Carrickmacross, a strong
+pile twelve miles distant" (Tichburne's _Siege of Drogheda_, p. 320). And
+in the same page he says, all this magnificent ruin and desolation were
+inflicted on the peasantry "without one penny of charge to the State, and
+that for the space of seven months, all under his command subsisted on the
+spoils" taken from the unfortunate people in that district. "The country
+and fields about Dundalk," he says, "were abounding in corn, which I
+allocated to the several companies, etc." The ghosts of the Bann must have
+been glutted with vengeance!!!
+
+And now Lord Moore's career is drawing to a close. After having been
+engaged in many successful skirmishes, raids, and minor actions, he burned
+with a desire for the honour of measuring swords with the great Owen Roe,
+who had defeated all the forces hitherto sent against him, and, according
+to O'Neil's Diary, he affected to despise O'Neil. He was therefore
+dispatched with a body of troops to dislodge that consummate strategist
+from a position occupied by him at Portlester Mill, within five miles of
+Trim. Borlase tells us that Lord Moore was killed in that engagement,
+August 7th, 1643, "through the grazing of a cannon bullet which he
+foresaw, yet took not warning enough to evade." The Author of the
+_Aphorismical Discovery_, who is commonly supposed to have been O'Neil's
+secretary, gives another account of his death. It is right to mention that
+this author was by no means a monk, nor was he a clergyman at all, as is
+evident from his apology in the Introduction, where he tells the reader
+that he was by profession a "sworde carrier," and that it was "alienat" to
+that profession to aspire to literary avocations. "The General" (O'Neil),
+he writes, "not well pleased with his gunner, for he perceaved he shooted
+too high, and did little hurte, the peace was charged, the Generall tooke
+a perspective glasse, and saw wheare my Lord Moore stoode. It being
+charged, the Generall did levell the same against Moore, gave fire, his
+aime was soe neare home, that he hitted him a little above his corpise,
+wherupon all dismembred, presently fell dead, the trunke of his bodie
+fallinge downe, and some of his members whisling in the aire to take
+possession by flight in some other field, or make such speede to accompany
+his soul to hell to be assured for winter quarter next springe."
+
+Lord Moore was succeeded by his son Henry, who, when Governor of Dundalk,
+in 1645, was more than suspected of plotting with the Parliamentarians to
+deliver up that town to Monroe. He was relieved of his charge by Ormond,
+who was then Lord Lieutenant, and being a minor, was sent by him to
+England (out of harm's way), to the Court, where he was kindly received by
+the King, who ordered livery to be granted him of his father's lands
+(_Carte_, Vol. IV., p. 154.) Lady Alice, his mother, was, it appears,
+inveigled into a plot at the same time to deliver up Drogheda to the
+Scots; for a wax impression of the keys of the gates having been given
+her, she caused the gunsmith of the troop, which Lord Henry commanded, to
+make false keys; but, being discovered, her ladyship, with others, was
+sent to Dublin. There, on examination before the Council, they confessed
+all. (_Ibid._) Her Ladyship's end was a tragic one, as we read in Lodge's
+_Peerage_. "Lady Alice, younger daughter of Sir Adam Loftus, Viscount
+Elye, who broke her leg near the fort (Drogheda) by a fall from her horse
+(occasioned by a sudden grief arising from the first sight of St. Peter's
+Church, Drogheda, where her dear lord lay buried), on Wednesday, 10th
+June, 1649, and dying the 13th of a gangrene, was that night buried by him
+in the family tomb."
+
+There is another entry at the same place in Lodge. "Lieutenant-Colonel
+Francis Moore, sixth son of the first Viscount Mellifont, and brother to
+Lord Charles who was killed at Portlester Mill, who was an officer in the
+army for the reduction of Ireland, and in 1654, had a pension from the
+then Government of 10/- a week, and five of his brother Charles' children
+had £3 17s. a week in 1665, out of the district of Trim" (Lodge's _Peerage
+of Ireland_, Vol. II., pp. 99-100). This Francis Moore had been an officer
+in the King's army, but soon after the arrival in Ireland of Jones, the
+Parliamentarian General, he went over to him and took the Dundalk troops
+with him. It was from Cromwell's government he had his pension, but the
+pensions granted to Lord Charles' children were continued to them after
+the Restoration, and Lord Henry mentioned above, was created Earl of
+Drogheda, in 1661,--thus confirming the historic truism, that the
+ungrateful Stuarts heaped favours on their enemies and treated their best
+and most devoted adherents with cold indifference. As an illustration of
+this we have the instance of one of the chief actors in those troublesome
+times, Sir John Clotworthy, changing sides three times:--first, fighting
+in the King's name and commission against the Ulster Irish; next, siding
+with the Parliamentarians, his Majesty's deadliest enemies, and going over
+to England as the spokesman of a deputation sent to the Parliament of
+England to protest against the return of King Charles II., on rumour of
+peace and terms being negotiated between them; again, on King Charles'
+arrival in England, hieing over to tender his homages and
+congratulations--and lo! the reward of his fidelity and loyalty (?)--he
+was created Viscount Massereene. It is only one instance of several
+hundreds that may be cited. The unfortunate rebels whose banner bore the
+legend, "_Vivat Carolus Rex_"--"Long live King Charles," and who remained
+faithful to him to the last, were, by an irony of fate, robbed and
+banished by the Cromwellians, who were put in possession of their estates
+and confirmed in them by Charles II.!!!
+
+In the foregoing pages, the authorities quoted are Protestants, and all,
+without exception, hostile to the Irish. Their testimony, nevertheless, is
+favourable to the rebels, save where the question of religion crops up,
+then their prejudice blinds their judgment, and hurries them into most
+glaring absurdities. One more fact about that saddest page of our history.
+Before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1641, there were 1,200,000 Irish
+Catholics in the country; at its close in 1652, the number had fallen to
+700,000, and these were ordered under pain of death to transplant to
+Connaught--the remnant of a broken and plundered race!!!
+
+Henry, the first Earl of Drogheda, did not long enjoy his honours; nor did
+his son and successor, Charles, who was succeeded by his brother Henry,
+the third Earl, who, on the eve of the ever-memorable Battle of the Boyne,
+entertained a party, amongst whom was one of King William's highest
+officers. On the morrow, July the 1st, the booming of King William's fifty
+pieces of "dread artillery" echoed along the hills and the valley of the
+Boyne, and shook the old abbey walls to their very foundations; and on
+that night, the oaken rafters of Mellifont rang to the cheers and toasts
+of the "glorious, pious, and immortal memory" of the Prince of Orange, on
+whose side Earl Henry commanded that day a regiment of foot. It may be
+interesting to mention here, that on the morning of the battle, the Irish
+Catholic soldiers wore scraps of white paper on their caps--emblematic of
+the livery of France; the followers of the Prince of Orange wore green
+boughs torn off the trees.
+
+Charles, Lord Moore, son of Henry, the third Earl, married Jane, heiress
+of Arthur, Viscount Ely, who received as her portion the suppressed Abbey
+of Monasterevan, a Cistercian monastery founded by O'Dempsey, in the 12th
+century. It was called Rosglas by the Irish, and the Valley of Roses, in
+the list of monasteries of the Order in Ireland. When it came into Earl
+Charles' possession, he changed the name to Moore Abbey, and made it his
+residence. The sons of this Lord Charles, Henry and Edward, became earls
+successively, and Edward, the fifth earl, having settled down permanently
+at Monasterevan, sold Mellifont and some of the property in its immediate
+vicinity to Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, in 1727.
+
+The condition of Ireland at that time was truly deplorable. The Penal Laws
+were in full force against the unfortunate Catholics, who were reduced to
+a state little better than slavery. Dr. Johnson wrote of them some fifty
+years later:--"The Irish are in a most unnatural state; for we see there
+the minority prevailing over the majority. There is no such instance, even
+in the ten persecutions, as that which the Protestants of Ireland have
+exercised against the Catholics. Did we tell them we conquered, it would
+be above board; to punish them by confiscations and other penalties was
+monstrous injustice" (Boswell, at 1773).
+
+With the Moore family departed also the very shadow of Mellifont's
+diminished greatness, and "time's effacing finger" almost completely
+obliterated what was once a gorgeous national monument, which stood out
+clearly as a finger-post on the ways of time. Gradually the fabric fell
+into decay, the owl hooted on the landing of the grand stair-case, and the
+daw and martin flitted unmolested through the deserted halls. The gardens
+and walks and bowers disappeared beneath a crop of tangled brushwood, the
+product of neglect. Soon the roof fell in, the walls became seamed with
+many rents and toppled over with a crash; then Mellifont, the "Honey
+Fountain," the Monasthir Mor, or Great Abbey, as it was called, the
+foundation of saints and kings, the abode of the pious and the learned,
+the house pre-eminently of prayer, the asylum of the poor and friendless,
+became a shapeless accumulation of rubbish. True, a mill was erected about
+100 years ago close to the site of the church, and, no doubt, it was told
+to strangers who then visited the ruins by people who professed to know
+all about monks, that it had more activity and exhibited more of the
+bustle of life than when the silent, slumbering monks dwelt there. But a
+mill in that hallowed spot was a huge incongruity and a wanton disregard
+for all its honoured associations. In 1884, the few remaining ruins became
+vested in the Board of Works, and the excavations which revealed the plan
+of the church, as described in Chapter I., were carried out. It only
+remains to be said that in Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, the estimable
+gentleman who now owns Mellifont and some of the property formerly
+belonging to it, his tenants have found a liberal and generous benefactor,
+who enjoys the merited esteem and respect of all who know him.
+
+As one ascends the hill over Mellifont, and, pausing on its summit, gazes
+on the lovely scenery around him, particularly along the valley of the
+Boyne, which Young called one of the completest pictures he had ever seen,
+then glances at the quiet valley beneath him, and remembers what prominent
+parts those who once trod that favoured spot played in our country's
+chequered history, his soul is filled with solemn thoughts too big for
+utterance. There, came the firm and gentle, yet dauntless, Malachy side
+by side with Oriel's proud Chief, and hand in hand, they knelt and prayed
+and consecrated it to the living God for ever. Thereon, rose up the
+magnificent temple on which neither cost nor labour was spared, that it
+might be worthy of Him Who deigns to dwell in tabernacles made by man; and
+generation succeeded generation of monks, who calmly dwelt in that
+peaceful valley, which, by their skill and enterprise, they converted into
+a garden of delights and a terrestrial paradise. The bishop and the king
+found there a resting-place when life's weary struggle was over, and their
+end was sweetened by the cheering hopes of a glorious immortality. The
+poor man and the homeless found there a welcome and a shelter, their wants
+being liberally attended to; and the blessings of a free education and of
+spiritual consolations were diffused on every side from that centre of
+learning and piety. The knight and baron came, the belted man of war made
+his home there, enjoyed his ephemeral honours, but he, too, is gone,
+severing all connection with it both by name and title, leaving no trace
+behind. The king and the knight have been brushed aside; and the old
+chess-board, Mellifont, alone remains. Impressed with these reflections,
+we take a glance beyond the grave, and there, we behold these actors pass
+before the great, most just, and supreme Judge, to receive the requital of
+their deeds, and to each is meted out reward or punishment according to
+his deserts. We, too, the spectators, are hastening towards that same
+goal; our future is indubitably in our own hands, according as we do or do
+not now live up to our convictions, and the dictates of our consciences.
+
+And, now, we cannot help asking ourselves, what shall Mellifont's future
+be? At present it is a blank; but, shall the lamp of piety and learning be
+rekindled, and the light burst forth anew there as in the days of its
+splendour? We know not; but we do know that, although God's ways are
+inscrutable, His wisdom and power are infinite. To Him be all glory for
+ever and ever. Amen.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX I.
+
+LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT.
+
+
+Saint Christian O'Connarchy, Founder and first Abbot, Bishop of Lismore
+and Legate of the Holy See, 1150.
+
+Blessed Malchus, brother of preceding.
+
+Charles O'Buacalla, 1177, made Bishop of Emly.
+
+Patrick, term of office not known.
+
+Maelisa, appointed Bishop of Clogher in 1194.
+
+Thomas, 1211.
+
+Carus, or Cormac O'Tarpa, elected Bishop of Achonry in 1219, resigned that
+See in 1226, returned to Mellifont where he died.
+
+Mathew, 1289.
+
+Michael, 1293.
+
+William M'Buain.
+
+Hugh O'Hessain, resigned 1300.
+
+Thomas O'Henghan.
+
+Radulph, or Ralph O'Hedian.
+
+Nicholas of Lusk, 1325.
+
+Michael, 1333.
+
+Roger, 1346.
+
+Reginald, 1349.
+
+Hugh, 1357.
+
+Reginald Leynagh, died 15th August, 1368.
+
+John Terrour, 1370.
+
+[There is no record of the names of Abbots in this interval.]
+
+Roger, 1472.
+
+John Logan.
+
+Henry.
+
+John Warren.
+
+Roger Boly.
+
+John Troy, 1486-1500.
+
+Thomas Harvey, died 20th March, 1525.
+
+Richard Conter, the last regular Abbot, pensioned in 1540.
+
+
+As will be observed, the line of succession is incomplete between the
+years 1370 and 1472; and it is impossible now to fill in the gaps. The
+List is taken from Ware's _Coenobia Cisterciensia in Hibernia_, and
+Dalton's _History of Drogheda_.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX II.
+
+THE CHARTER OF NEWRY.
+
+Copied and translated from the Original in the British Museum, from a copy
+given by John O'Donovan in _Dublin Penny Journal_, 1832-33, p. 102.
+
+
+Maurice M'Laughlin, King of all Ireland, to all his Kings, Princes,
+Nobles, Leaders, Clergy and Laity, and to all and each the Irish present
+and to come, GREETING.
+
+Know ye that I, by the unanimous will and common consent of the Nobles of
+Ultonia, Ergallia (Oriel), and O'Neach (Iveagh), to wit of Donchad
+O'Carroll, King of all Ergallia, and of Murchad his son, King of O'Meith,
+and of the territory of Erthur, of Conla, King of Ultonia, of Donald
+O'Heda, King of O'Neach (Iveagh), HAVE GRANTED AND CONFIRMED, in honour of
+the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Patrick, and St. Benedict, the Father and
+Founder of the Cistercian Order, to the monks serving God in
+Nyvorcintracta (Newry) as a perpetual and pure donation, the land of
+O'Cormac, whereon was founded the monastery of Athcrathin, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Enancratha, with its lands, woods, and waters,
+Crumglean, with its lands, woods, and waters, Caselanagan, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Lisinelle, with its lands, woods, and waters, Croa
+Druimfornac, with its lands, woods, and waters, Letri, Corcrach,
+Fidglassayn, Tirmorgannean, Connocol, etc. THESE LANDS with their MILLS, I
+have confirmed to the aforesaid monks of my own proper gift, for the
+health of my soul, that I may be partaker of all the benefits of masses,
+_hours_ (_i.e._ vespers and matins), and prayers that shall be offered in
+the Monastery itself, and to the end of time.
+
+And because I have founded the Monastery of Ybar cintracta (Newry), of my
+own free will, I have taken the monks so much under my protection, as sons
+and domestics of the faith, that they may be safe from the molestations
+and incursions of all men.
+
+I will also that, as the Kings and Nobles of O'Neach (Iveagh), or of
+Ergallia (Uriel), may wish to confer certain lands on this Monastery, for
+the health of their souls, they may do so in my lifetime, while they have
+my free will and licence, that I may know what and how much of my Earthly
+Kingdom, the King of Heaven may possess for the use of His poor Monks.
+
+
+_The Witnesses and Sureties are_:--
+
+Giolla MacLiag, Archbishop of Armagh, _holding the Staff of Jesus in his
+hand_.
+
+Hugh O'Killedy, Bishop of Uriel (Clogher.)
+
+Muriac O'Coffay, Bishop of Tirone (Derry.)
+
+Melissa Mac in Clerig-cuir, Bishop of Ultonia (Down.)
+
+Gilla Comida O'Caran, Bishop of Tirconnell (Raphoe.)
+
+Eachmarcach O'Kane, King of Fearnacrinn and Kennacta (now Barony of
+Keenaght, Co. Londonderry.)
+
+O'Carriedh, the Great; Chief of Clan Aengusa, and Clan Neil.
+
+Cumaige O'Flain, King of O'Turtray (Antrim.)
+
+Gilla Christ O'Dubhdara, King of Fermanagh.
+
+Eachmarcach O'Ffoifylain.
+
+Maelmocta MacO'Nelba.
+
+Aedh (Hugh) the Great Magennis, Chief of Clan-Aeda, in O'Neach Uladh
+(Iveagh.)
+
+Dermot MacCartan, Chief of Kenelfagartay (Kinelearty.)
+
+Acholy MacConlacha, Gill-na-naemh O'Lowry, Chief of Kinel Temnean.
+
+Gilla Odar Ocasey, Abbot of Dundalethglass (Downpatrick.)
+
+Hugh Maglanha, Abbot of Inniscumscray (Iniscourcy.)
+
+Angen, Abbot of Dromoge, and many other Clerics and Laics.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX III.
+
+INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT.
+
+
+Richard Conter, the last Abbot of Mellifont, was, on the 23rd July, 1539,
+seized of two messuages, 167 acres of arable land, 10 of pasture, 5 of
+meadow, and 5 of pasture in Clut------, with a salmon weir; £13 13s. 4d.
+annual rent, arising from 16 fishing corraghs at Oldbridge, together with
+the tithe-corn of the same, all of the annual value, besides reprises, of
+£27 18s. 8d.; also a messuage in Shephouse, with the tithe-corn thereof,
+of the annual value, besides all reprises, of £4 17s. 8d.; three
+messuages, 120 acres of arable land, 20 of meadow,--a fishery, and a boat
+for salmon-fishing in Komalane, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of
+the annual value, besides all reprises, of £15 3s.; 3 messuages, 2
+cottages, a water-mill,--a fishing-weir, 120 acres of arable land, 3
+closes, containing 6 acres of mountain in Schahinge, together with the
+tithe-corn, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of £12 6s. 8d.; 2
+messuages,--20 acres of meadow and pasture in Donnore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 115/4; 2
+messuages, 8 cottages, 46 acres of arable land, and 2 of meadow in
+Doo----, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of £5; 4 messuages, 18 cottages, 39 acres of arable
+land, and 3 of meadow in Glassehalyine, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all the reprises, of £5 18s. 8d.;
+---- 124 acres of arable land, and 10 of meadow in Graungethe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+£14 19s. 4d.; a messuage and cottage, 45 acres of arable land, and 15 of
+meadow and pasture, in ----, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the
+annual value, besides all reprises, of £3 8s. 4d.; 4 messuages, 9
+cottages, 64 acres of arable land, and 4 in meadow in Balranny, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value of ----, ---- messuages,
+with 19 acres of arable land in Kordoraghe, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 16/-; 7 messuages,
+10 cottages, 186 acres of arable land, 8 of meadow, and 40 of pasture and
+brushwood in ----, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of £12 3s.; a messuage, two cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, a fishing-weir, called Bromey's weir, and the fishery there,
+a water-mill in ----, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of £16 5s.; 7 messuages, one cottage, 227 acres of
+arable land, and 10 of meadow in Ballyfadocke, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 4
+messuages, 20 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in Kinoyshe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+£10 3s. 8d.; 4 messuages, 46 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in
+Kellystone, with the tithe-corn thereof, besides all reprises, of the
+annual value of £4 5s. 4d.; 2 messuages, 3 cottages, 60 acres of arable
+land, 6 of pasture, and 4 of meadow in Oracamathane, together with the
+tithe-crown thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 4
+messuages, 8 cottages, 124 acres of arable land, a salmon-weir, called
+Monktone, a water-mill in the town-land of Rosmore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 3
+messuages, 6 cottages, 126 acres of arable land, 6 of meadow, and 6 of
+meadow in Gyltone, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual
+value, besides all reprises, of £6 4s. 8d; 5 messuages, 8 cottages, 141
+acres of arable land, the fourth part of an acre of meadow, and 6 of
+common pasture in Dromenhatt, otherwise, Newton of Knockamothane, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+£8 9s.; 6 messuages, 140 acres of arable land, 4-1/2 of meadow ---- in
+Radrenage, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of £7 12s.; 3 messuages, 8 cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, 6 of meadow, 6 of pasture in Calm, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of £6
+17s.; 3 messuages, 60 acres of arable land, 60 of pasture, and 4 of meadow
+in Starenaghe, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides
+all reprises, of £5 5s. 8d.; the tithe-corn of the townland of
+----inserathe and Balregane, near Donnore and below the parish of
+Mellifont, of the annual value of £2; the tithe-corn of the town of
+Monamore, of the annual value of £2 13s. 4d.; the rectory of Balrestore,
+of the annual value of ----; and the chapels of Grangegeythe and
+Knockamothane, parcel of the rectory of Mellifont, of the annual value of
+---- all the said rectories being appropriated to the Abbot and his
+successors, and, together with the said lands, etc., are lying and
+situated in the Co. of Meath. The Abbot was also seized of a small house
+in the town of Drogheda, in the tenure of Thomas Tanner, annual value
+13/4, and also of another house in the tenure of Roger Samon, of the
+annual value of 8/-, with 2/- rent from the Mayor and commonalty of
+Drogheda.
+
+The above is from the _Monasticon Hibernicum_. It by no means contains a
+full inventory of the possessions of Mellifont at the time of its
+suppression, only the property belonging to it in the County Meath. In the
+same _Monasticon_ we read, "By an inquisition taken 14th June, 1612, the
+possessions of this Abbey were found as follow:--The site, a water-mill, a
+garden, an orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing
+two acres, the silver meadow 9 acres, the wood meadow 10 acres, and the
+doves' park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber,
+containing 12 acres; Ardagh, 20 acres, being the demesne lands, and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen, containing 27 messuages and 260 acres;
+Derveragh, 5 messuages and 213 acres; Mell, 2 messuages and 60 acres;
+Ballymear, alias Ballyremerry, 2 messuages and 60 acres; Sheepgrange, no
+tithe, 8 messuages and 245 acres; Little Grange, 4 messuages and 62 acres;
+Beckrath, 2 messuages and 63 acres; Cubbage, 4 messuages and 103 acres;
+Ballygatheran, no tithe, 6 messuages and 132 acres; Salthouse, 7 messuages
+and 238 acres; Staleban, 11 messuages and 160 acres; Vinspocke, 6
+messuages and 90 acres; Morragh, no tithes, 11 messuages and 120 acres;
+Ballypatrick, 8 messuages and 120 acres; in Collon, a water-mill and 23
+acres, £6 13s. 4d. annual rent out of the said town, and the tithes
+thereof; Ballymacskanlan, a castle, no tithe, and 120 acres; Cruerath,
+Ballyraganly and Donnore, in the parish of Mellifont, with the tithes and
+altarages, all in this county" (Louth). Here follow the possessions
+belonging to the Abbey in the County Meath, and which have been given.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] The "Tourist Company" have recently fitted up a compartment of the old
+mill, where a cheap and substantial lunch can be had by visitors who may
+desire it.
+
+[2] See Illustration, p. 19.
+
+[3] See Illustration, p. 23.
+
+[4] See Illustration, p. 35.
+
+[5] See Illustration, p. 43.
+
+[6] See Illustration, p. 47.
+
+[7] The _Annals of Ulster_ simply state "for the monks of Ireland did
+banish him (Auliv) out of their abbacy, through lawful causes." _The Four
+Masters_ tell us it was the monks of Drogheda who had expelled him from
+the abbacy for his own crime. A writer in the _Dublin Penny Journal_,
+1835-36, says this Auliv was Abbot of the monastery of St. Mary de Urso,
+near the West Gate, Drogheda. He quotes some old Annals without
+particularising them. And Dalton, in his History of Drogheda, tells us
+that Auliv had been Abbot of that same Abbey of St. Mary's, Drogheda, and
+was expelled. Dalton evidently confounds this monastery with Mellifont. No
+Cistercian Community had power to depose their abbot, such power being
+vested in the General Chapter of the Order.
+
+[8] It is not generally known that it was an Irishman who, on the fatal
+day of Aughrim, as St. Ruth rode to victory waving his cap, pointed him
+out to the gunner whose faithful shot deprived St. Ruth of his head and
+the Irish Army of a valiant General.
+
+[9] The Puritans admitted that Sir Phelim O'Neil did not commence his
+alleged massacres until after the sacking and burning of Dundalk.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***
+
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+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, by Anonymous</title>
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, by Anonymous</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth</p>
+<p>       Its Ruins and Associations, a Guide and Popular History</p>
+<p>Author: Anonymous</p>
+<p>Release Date: February 27, 2012  [eBook #38999]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+(<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+from page images generously made available by<br />
+Internet Archive<br />
+(<a href="http://www.archive.org">http://www.archive.org</a>)</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/mellifontabbeyco00dubl">
+      http://www.archive.org/details/mellifontabbeyco00dubl</a>
+	</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 600px; height: 411px;"><img src="images/img01.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">General View.</span><br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+<h1>MELLIFONT ABBEY,<br />CO. LOUTH:</h1>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">Its Ruins and Associations.</span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center"><span class="large">A GUIDE</span><br />
+<small>AND</small><br />
+<span class="large">POPULAR HISTORY.</span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;A house of prayer, once consecrate<br />
+To God&#8217;s high service&mdash;desolate!<br />
+A ruin where once stood a shrine!<br />
+Bright with the Presence all divine!&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 8em;">(<i>W. Chatterton Dix.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">Permissu Superiorum.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">Published by<br />
+JAMES DUFFY &amp; CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span>, DUBLIN,<br />
+FOR<br />
+THE CISTERCIANS,<br />
+MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ABBEY, ROSCREA.<br />
+1897.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">Printed by<br />
+<span class="smcap">Edmund Burke &amp; Co.</span>,<br />
+61 &amp; 62 GREAT STRAND STREET, DUBLIN.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the following pages an attempt is made to describe the ruins of
+Mellifont as they now appear, and to explain the uses, or probable uses,
+that the buildings yet remaining must have served when the monks dwelt
+there. Obviously, some important structural alterations were made when
+changing the venerable Abbey into a fortified residence; nevertheless the
+ruins exhibit, on the whole, the characteristics of the primitive plan and
+style in which Mellifont, as well as all the Cistercian monasteries both
+in this country and on the Continent, were built. The explanation is
+founded on reliable authority, being gleaned from most authentic sources,
+such as, <i>Les Monuments Primitifs de La R&egrave;gle Cistercienne</i>, which is a
+copy of the Rule drawn up by the Founders of the Order; the <i>Monasticon
+Cisterciense</i>; <i>Violet Le Duc</i>; <i>Jubainville, Etudes sur l&#8217;Etat int&eacute;rieur
+des Abbayes Cisterciennes au XII. et au XIII. si&egrave;cle</i>; <i>Meglinger, Iter
+Cisterciense</i>; <i>La Vie de Saint Bernard</i>, by Vacandard, etc.</p>
+
+<p>As no Records, or Chronicles of Mellifont now exist, the historical part
+of the compilation has been derived from different sources, chiefly from
+our old Annals&mdash;<i>The Annals of the Four Masters</i>; those of <i>Boyle</i>, of
+<i>St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey, Dublin</i>; <i>Clyn and Dowling&#8217;s</i>; and of <i>Clonmacnois</i>;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>Ware&#8217;s <i>Bishops</i>, etc.; <i>the Miscellany of the Arch&aelig;ological Society</i>;
+Ussher&#8217;s <i>Sylloge</i>; Morrin&#8217;s <i>Calendars of Patent Rolls</i>, etc. The part
+relating to disciplinary subjects was drawn principally from Mart&egrave;ne&#8217;s
+<i>Thesaurus Anecdotorum</i>, Vol. IV., which contains the Decrees of the
+General Chapter of the Cistercian Order, also, from the <i>Constitutiones et
+Privilegia, Menologium</i>, and the <i>Fasiculus Sanctorum Ordinis
+Cisterciensis</i>, by Henriquez; <i>Originum Cisterciensium</i>, tom. I,
+Janauschek; <i>l&#8217;Histoire de La Trappe</i>, Gaillardin, etc. The vindication of
+monks in general, from the aspersions cast on them by their enemies, and
+the facts appertaining to the Rebellion of 1641, are borrowed exclusively
+from Protestant sources,&mdash;Dugdale&#8217;s <i>Monasticon Anglicanum</i>, Tanner&#8217;s
+<i>Notitia Monastica</i>, Maitland&#8217;s <i>Dark Ages</i>, Leland&#8217;s <i>History of
+Ireland</i>, Temple&#8217;s <i>History of the Insurrection</i>, 1641, Tichborne&#8217;s
+<i>History of the Siege of Drogheda</i>, Carte&#8217;s <i>Ormond</i>, etc.</p>
+
+<p>These by no means exhaust the list of authors consulted and utilised, but
+they show how far apart the pieces lay which have been stitched together
+to form a consecutive narrative. The compiler has endeavoured to compress
+the matter into the smallest possible space in order to make the little
+book accessible to all at a moderate price; and he has preferred to allow
+others to speak rather than to thrust his own opinions on the reader.
+Finally, he has borne in mind throughout, the trite saying, <i>Magna est
+Veritas et pr&aelig;valebit</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title">CONTENTS.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">THE RUINS</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS FOUNDATION, AND FOR<br />ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTERWARDS</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE ORDER</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE EMINENT SUPERIORS</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2">MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY&mdash;IS SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED<br />UP TO RUIN AND DECAY</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">APPENDIX.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#APPENDIX_I">I.&mdash;</a></td><td>LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#APPENDIX_II">II.&mdash;</a></td><td>CHARTER OF NEWRY</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><a href="#APPENDIX_III">III.&mdash;</a></td><td>INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT</td>
+    <td valign="bottom" align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr></table>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title">List of Illustrations.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">General View of Mellifont</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#frontis"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Plan of Clairvaux</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><i>At</i> p. <a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Plan of Mellifont Abbey</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Gateway (Porter&#8217;s Lodge)</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_16">15</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">North Window of Chapter-House</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Doorway of Chapter-House</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_24">23</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Interior of Chapter-House</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_36">35</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Interior of Lavabo (Octagon)</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">Arch of Lavabo (Octagon)</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_48">47</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="smcap">South Wall of Lectorium</span></td>
+    <td align="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td></tr></table>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="giant">MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH:<br />
+Its Ruins and Associations.</span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+<p class="title">THE RUINS.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;Look, stranger; where these stones in ruin lie.<br />
+Here in the old, grey times a holy thing<br />
+Rose up&mdash;a cloistered pile; but time swept by<br />
+And smote the sanctuary with his reckless wing.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">(<i>From the Swedish, by J. E. D. Bethune.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_o.jpg" alt="O" /></span>f the many historic ruins which dot our country and attest its former
+greatness, few attract so much attention, and invite so close a study as
+our monastic remains, pre-eminent amongst which are those of the ancient
+historic Abbey of Mellifont. In countless pages of our Annals the name
+appears. In the records of sieges, battles and insurrections, from the day
+on which a colony of St. Bernard&#8217;s monks from world-famed Clairvaux, came
+and settled in its tranquil valley, till having passed through many
+vicissitudes, as an abode of piety and wide-spread beneficence, it became
+a baronial residence, and finally lost its prestige as the site of a mill,
+whose remains contrast incongruously with those of such a precious
+memorial.</p>
+
+<p>And what was Mellifont? It was the first house of the Cistercian Order in
+Ireland; founded, endowed and enriched by native princes and saintly
+prelates; the mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> of saints and scholars; and at one time, the
+admiration of our land, as a gem of rare architectural beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Before going back to the shadowy past, let us endeavour to trace amongst
+its ruins the outlines of the ancient buildings, and to explain the
+special use and meaning of each in the monastic economy, when white-robed
+monks trod its cloisters, and knelt and prayed before the altars in its
+church. Each of the Cistercian churches and monasteries was built upon a
+uniform plan, with some slight modifications, arising perhaps in all
+instances from peculiarities of site and local difficulties. Around the
+whole pile of monastic buildings, and girdling an area of some thirty
+acres or more, comprising gardens, orchards, meadows, ran a high wall,
+called the &#8220;Enclosure Wall,&#8221; which served to isolate the denizens of the
+cloister, and prevent as far as possible all ingress of the world.
+Entrance within the precincts of the monastery was obtained through a
+spacious and lofty gate-house occupied by a trusty Lay-Brother, whose duty
+it was to receive visitors, and dispense hospitality to the poor and the
+way-farer; thus he formed a connecting link between his brethren within
+and the world without, from which they were cut off. Extending on either
+side of this gate-house, or &#8220;Porter&#8217;s Lodge,&#8221; as it was known in monastic
+language, was a range of buildings for the exclusive use of strangers of
+every grade. There were the Hospice proper, an infirmary for the sick
+poor, with stabling also, in the immediate vicinity, for the horses of
+travellers:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">&#8220;Whoever passed, be it baron or squire,<br />
+Was free to call at the abbey and stay;<br />
+No guerdon or gift for his lodging pay,<br />
+Though he tarried a week with its holy choir.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The old tower which is passed as one approaches the ruins of Mellifont,
+was the &#8220;Porter&#8217;s Lodge,&#8221; and right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> under it ran the avenue which led to
+the abbey, but which was converted into a mill-race when Mellifont had
+reached its last stage of degradation. The present road-way was
+constructed in order to give access to the mill. The remains of old walls
+can still be traced stretching on both sides of the tower, and prove its
+ancient purpose in connection with Cistercian usage, as described above.
+Some gate-houses of Continental monasteries, which have till now subsisted
+intact from the eleventh or twelfth century, bear a striking resemblance
+to this one at Mellifont. That of Aiguebelle, in particular, near Grignan,
+in the Department of Dr&ocirc;me, France, most closely resembles it.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no doubt that a pile of buildings once occupied and enclosed
+the whole space from the old gateway to the church, forming a rectangle,
+of which the church was the fourth side. The precise purposes these
+buildings served at Mellifont can now be only conjectured; for, in
+different monasteries, local wants determined in a great measure the
+allocation of this site to uses which varied with the circumstances of
+each community. That is not, however, to be understood of what are called
+the &#8220;Regular Places;&#8221; for these were held to be indispensable, and
+occupied almost the same position in every monastery. The intervening
+space here between the gate-house and the church is now covered over with
+the debris of ancient buildings, which local tradition says once occupied
+the side of the hill on which, and about where, a few modern cottages now
+stand.</p>
+
+<p>Approaching nearer to the ruins, a modern mill obtrudes itself upon the
+scene, and one cannot help wishing it transported beyond the plane of his
+observation.<a name='fna_1' id='fna_1' href='#f_1'><small>[1]</small></a></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img02_tmb.jpg" alt="PLAN OF CLAIRVAUX BY DOMMILLEY 1708" /><br />
+<a href="images/img02.jpg"><small>Larger Image</small></a></div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 1. Entrance.</td>
+    <td>11. Former Novitiate.</td>
+    <td>21. Chapel of the Counts of Flanders.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 2. Abbot&#8217;s House.</td>
+    <td>12. Cloisters.</td>
+    <td>22. Scriptoria.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 3. Guest House.</td>
+    <td>13. Stairs to Dormitory.</td>
+    <td>23. Lesser Cloister.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 4. Stables.</td>
+    <td>14. Calefactory.</td>
+    <td>24. Hall for Theses.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 5. Church.</td>
+    <td>15. Refectory.</td>
+    <td>25. Theological School.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 6. Sacristy.</td>
+    <td>16. Kitchen.</td>
+    <td>26. Infirmary.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 7. Cell for Books (Common Box).</td>
+    <td>17. Lavabo (Octagon).</td>
+    <td>27. Common Room of the Infirm.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 8. Stairs leading to Dormitory.</td>
+    <td>18. Cemetery.</td>
+    <td>28. Novitiate.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp; 9. The Chapter-House.</td>
+    <td>19. St. Bernard&#8217;s Cell.</td>
+    <td>29. Abbots&#8217; Council Chamber.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>10. Parlour.</td>
+    <td>20. The Prior&#8217;s Chambers.</td>
+    <td>30. Garden.</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img03.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Mellifont Abbey Ground Plan</span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at what is now the entrance gate, the visitor beholds in front of
+him the four remaining sides of what was once an octagonal building, and
+somewhat nearer on his left, a small roofless edifice. These are commonly,
+but erroneously, called the &#8220;Baptistery&#8221; and &#8220;St. Bernard&#8217;s Chapel.&#8221; Their
+true purposes shall be explained further on. Immediately at his feet now,
+extend the sites of the church, and of the once magnificent cloisters. Of
+these latter not a trace remains, except a mere outline on the green
+sward, and a few squares of concrete to indicate the position once
+occupied by them. The plan of the church extends to right and left: the
+western portion of the nave running towards the river (see Plan), and the
+entire length is dotted at intervals with blocks which mark the sites of
+the piers. These concrete blocks were laid by order of Sir Thomas Deane,
+under whose direction the excavations were made here some few years ago.
+The length of the nave cannot now be ascertained with certainty, but
+judging from the position occupied by some very old walls at the
+south-western side, it may be roughly stated to have been 120 feet; while
+54 feet 6 inches was the width of the whole church, including the aisles.
+These latter were each 10 feet wide. The nave had seven bays, and like all
+Cistercian churches, it was divided into two parts by the Rood-loft and
+Choir-screen, which stood about midway. This Rood-loft served a twofold
+purpose; on it was a lectern, where the Lessons of the night-offices were
+read by the monks in rotation, and thereon the Abbot announced the Gospel
+proper to each festival, chanting or reading it, according as the office
+was sung or merely recited, after which, with crosier in hand, he gave his
+solemn benediction. It answered, too, as a partition between the choir of
+the monks and the stalls of the Lay Brethren; the former on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> the
+eastern, the latter on the western side of it. This Choir-screen formed a
+sort of reredos to the two altars, which were invariably found in this
+position in the churches of the Order. On these altars were offered up
+daily Masses for living and deceased benefactors&mdash;a practice which
+continues in the Order and which dates back to the foundation of the
+Cistercian Institute. Further west was a tribune or gallery, where guests
+and the dependants of the monastery assisted at Divine Service, Office and
+Mass. Inside the Rood-loft, was the Choir proper, which extended thence to
+the Chancel, or &#8220;Presbytery Step,&#8221; as it is called in monastic parlance. A
+small space was provided between the Choir and the Chancel, in order to
+allow a passage to those who proceeded from the Sacristy to the High Altar
+within the Chancel. Two rows of stalls ran down on each side the length of
+the nave. These stalls were generally of carved oak, and were artistically
+finished. The outer rows were for the novices, and the backs of their
+stalls formed the desks used by the professed monks, whereon they rested
+the ponderous tomes containing the sacred psalmody. During the High Mass
+the stalls next the Chancel were used, and the place of honour, that is,
+the first stall on the Epistle, or south side, was given to the Abbot. The
+Prior, as second superior, occupied the first on the opposite, or Gospel
+side. The other monks according to seniority occupied the stalls on either
+side. On the other hand, at Matins and at all the offices, except that in
+connection with High Mass, the Abbot&#8217;s and Prior&#8217;s stalls were farthest
+from the Chancel, and next the Rood-loft, and the order of the monks was
+reversed. In token of his jurisdiction the Abbot&#8217;s crosier was fixed at
+his stall. The Cistercian monks call this Rood-loft the &#8220;<i>Jub&eacute;</i>,&#8221; from the
+first word spoken by the reader when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> he asks the blessing before
+commencing the Lessons. The whole nave here at Mellifont seems to have
+been paved with beautiful tiles; a few of which may yet be seen in their
+position near the great pier on the north side. At the intersection of the
+transept with the nave, is the space called the &#8220;Crossing,&#8221; or &#8220;Lantern.&#8221;
+Over this rose the bell-tower, which was supported on solid piers, from
+two of which sprang the Chancel arch, and from the two others, that of the
+nave. These piers were formed of clustered columns, but their remains
+(about five feet high), vary both in dimensions and in style, manifesting,
+thereby, the partial renovation that took place from time to time. The
+material of which the whole building was constructed is a buff-coloured
+sandstone not found in the vicinity of Mellifont, but brought, it is said,
+from Kells, some twenty miles away; a thing not very difficult, seeing
+that the river is so convenient. Some, again, are of opinion that the
+stone was brought from Normandy; which seems to be improbable.</p>
+
+<p>The total length of the transepts is 116 feet; the width 54 feet. The
+northern one is some four feet longer than the southern. They seem to have
+had aisles, an unusual arrangement in churches of the Order. In the
+northern transept were six chapels, the piscinas of which are still to be
+seen in the piers adjoining. The number of these piscinas cannot fail to
+strike one as something very singular. Their presence is accounted for in
+this way. At the date of the foundation of Mellifont and for centuries
+later, it was the custom for priests of the Order to wash their hands at
+the foot of the altar before commencing Mass, the server pouring water on
+his hands, which he dried with a towel that had been previously laid on
+the altar. The water used was then cast into the piscina. It was also the
+custom with them, at that time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> to descend from the altar when they had
+consumed the Sacred Species out of the chalice and to wash their fingers
+over the piscina.</p>
+
+<p>This northern transept seems to have been a favourite spot for interments;
+for during the excavations numerous skulls were found there. At Clairvaux,
+the corresponding site was strewn with the graves of bishops, who selected
+it as the place wherein to rest after life&#8217;s weary struggle. No record or
+memorial of these survives, or of any of the dead interred at Mellifont,
+to point out the occupant of a single grave. In the northern wall of this
+transept is a beautiful door-way with jambs of clustered columns. Hard by,
+the wall was pierced to make a loop-hole when Mellifont was transformed
+into a fortress. On one side of the door-way are the remains of what must
+once have been a superb chapel; on the opposite side are a few steps of a
+spiral stair-case, formed in the thickness of the wall, which led up to
+the tower, as is to be seen at Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, and other
+houses of the order in Ireland. The level of the floor here is some five
+or six feet lower than the adjacent road-way which was raised by the
+accumulated rubbish of former buildings that extended along the hill-side
+where the cottages now stand.</p>
+
+<p>The southern transept may have had its six altars also. The aisle seems to
+have been built up, and when the alterations which took place in the whole
+fabric in the fifteenth century were made, a large portion of this
+transept would appear to have been allocated to the uses of a sacristy. No
+trace of a sacristy remains elsewhere, and this would be a very convenient
+place to utilise as one. The remains of some walls lead us to suppose such
+an arrangement probable. In Cistercian monasteries, a stair-case in this
+transept near the cloister led thence to the dormitory, but no remains of
+such a stairs have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> discovered at Mellifont. When Sir Thomas Deane
+had the earth and rubbish, or, as he calls it, the &#8220;grassy mound,&#8221;
+removed, he discovered the foundations of two semi-circular chapels in
+each transept, in a line with the site occupied by the High, or principal
+Altar. (See the dotted lines in the Ground Plan). Describing them, Sir
+Thomas writes: &#8220;Within the circuit of the external walls are the
+foundations of an earlier church which indicate four semicircular chapels,
+and two square ones between. Of this church we have no distinct record,
+but the bases of semi-detached pillars would indicate the date given for
+the erection of Mellifont.&#8221; These four semi-circular chapels in line with
+the High Altar, formed an exact counterpart of the church of Clairvaux
+which was erected in 1135, and which by St. Bernard&#8217;s express wish, served
+St. Malachy as the model for Mellifont.</p>
+
+<p>The chancel terminated in a square end, and was 42 feet deep by 26 feet
+wide. It was raised about six inches over the floor of the nave, and a
+slab of limestone extended the entire width with which the tiled pavement
+was flush. Almost in the centre of the chancel, that is to say, nearly
+midway between the two piers, are two sockets sunk in sandstone blocks.
+What uses they served cannot be affirmed with certainty. However, it may
+be conjectured that they served to receive the supports on which a violet
+curtain was suspended during Lent, screening the &#8220;Sanctuary.&#8221; This curtain
+spanned the space from pier to pier. The custom is still preserved in the
+Order. Here on this central spot, a lectern was placed, at which the
+sub-deacon at Solemn Masses sang the Epistle. Here, too, the celebrant of
+the Community Mass on Sundays blessed the water with which he sprinkled
+the brethren, who presented themselves two by two before him. It was here,
+also, that the Abbot blessed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> candles, ashes, and palms, on
+Candlemas-day, Ash Wednesday, and Palm Sunday respectively. This was
+called the &#8220;Presbytery Step,&#8221; and the whole space within the chancel, the
+&#8220;Sanctuary.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The basis on which the High Altar was built still remains. It is distant
+some few feet from the eastern wall, in order to allow a passage for the
+monks, who on Sundays and Festivals received Holy Communion at this altar,
+after which they walked around it in single file, and passing on by the
+Gospel, or northern corner, returned to their stalls in the nave. The
+basis is ten feet long by three and one half feet wide. On the Epistle, or
+southern side, are the piscina surrounded with a dog-tooth moulding, and
+the remains of the sedilia or stalls, which were occupied by the
+celebrant, deacon, and sub-deacon at High Mass. Under these sedilia a tomb
+was discovered during the excavations. A skull and some bones, together
+with a gold ring, were raised from their resting-place; the bones were
+replaced and covered with the slab of concrete now seen at this spot, but
+the ring was sold by a workman and could never be recovered. No
+inscription or tradition identifies the occupant of the hallowed grave.
+Could it have been that of the famous Dervorgilla? She was certainly
+buried at Mellifont, but unfortunately, we do not know the spot where her
+remains were laid when &#8220;life&#8217;s fitful fever&#8221; was over; or it may have been
+the resting-place of Thomas O&#8217;Connor, or of Luke Netterville, both,
+successively, Archbishops of Armagh; for they, also, were buried at
+Mellifont.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite, or Gospel side, is an arched recess having an ornamental
+moulding around it. This would seem to have been the Founder&#8217;s tomb, or
+rather, the remains of it. In the Cistercian Constitutions no special
+place was allotted for the tombs of Founders, and only the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> indefinite
+permission was given, that they, kings and queens, bishops and such like
+exalted dignitaries, might be buried within the churches of the Order. A
+general custom, however, prevailed in Ireland of appropriating to the
+Founder&#8217;s tomb a space in the northern wall of the chancel, and directly
+at right angles with the High Altar. Others, besides Founders, were buried
+on the north side in the chancel. Thus, in the Annals of St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey,
+Dublin, we are told that Felix O&#8217;Ruadan, who had been a great benefactor
+to that house, was buried in the chancel of the abbey church, on the north
+side. And Felix O&#8217;Dullany, the first Abbot of Jerpoint, and afterwards
+Bishop of Ossory, was interred on the north side of the High Altar, at
+Jerpoint.</p>
+
+<p>The door on this side of the chancel is a puzzle, as in no other church of
+the Order is one found in this position. There is no evidence of a
+building having adjoined with which this door communicated, so that its
+use is unknown. Quite close to this door there is a shallow recess in the
+wall, which may have been a provision for the Abbot&#8217;s throne, when he
+officiated pontifically, as that is the site usually occupied by it. Some
+five or six feet high of the chancel walls is all that is left standing;
+and, though not up to the window level, what remains of the cut stone and
+water-tabling gives an idea of the beauty of the whole, and what a loss we
+have sustained by its destruction.</p>
+
+<p>In the original church, that is, the one erected in St. Malachy&#8217;s time,
+there were ten altars we are told, but on the ground plan seven only are
+shown. Two more at least were in front of the Rood-loft or <i>Jub&eacute;</i>, and the
+remaining one very probably was in one of the aisles. The church of
+Mellifont was remarkable, not so much for its vast dimensions, as for its
+architectural beauty; yet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> in this it was surpassed by St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey,
+Dublin. Sir Thomas Deane writes: &#8220;From the fragments of the church which
+remain, it is easy to trace the vicissitudes the building underwent. I
+have great doubt that any portions of the structure above ground are those
+of the earliest church erected on the site, or date as far back as 1157,
+which is given as the year of its consecration.... The details of the
+piers (the older ones) are in my opinion a century or more later in date.
+They still indicate a foreign type, and the arrangements and obvious plan
+show that the transepts as well as the nave had aisles.... Portions of the
+piers discovered are of the fifteenth century, other parts of the church
+of the fourteenth.... A second portion dates probably from 1260, another
+from 1370, and another from 1460. I am not prepared to follow from the
+history of the Abbey the causes of such restorations; but it is certain
+that rebuildings of portions of the church occurred from time to time, and
+that violence or decay was the cause.&#8221; Neither to violence nor to decay
+can the alterations be attributed, which the church underwent at the three
+periods mentioned by Sir Thomas, but rather to the practice then common to
+the whole Order, chiefly in the monasteries of Great Britain and Ireland,
+of adopting the advancing changes in the Gothic style, and to the laudable
+efforts of the monks to make the House of God worthy of Him as far as art
+and skill could be made subservient to that purpose. Thus in the Annals of
+Fountains and Furness, there are abundant proofs of this constant change
+going on in those monasteries even down to the date of their suppression.
+One Abbot considered the eastern window too low and narrow, and had it
+enlarged; another thought the tower rested on too slender a basis, and he
+built substantial piers and flanked them on the outside with buttresses,
+and so with others.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>To better understand the surroundings, it will be necessary to bear in
+mind the general plan on which all Cistercian monasteries were built. On
+this subject there is a good deal of misapprehension, even on the part of
+those who seem to have given close attention to the matter. The church and
+buildings necessary for large communities were so arranged as to form a
+square, thereby combining simplicity with economy. It is said that the
+monks borrowed this idea from the form of a Roman villa. The church formed
+the first or northern side (for in temperate and cold climates the other
+buildings, as they lay to the south, were sheltered by the church.) The
+sacristy, chapter-house, and other halls were on the east; the
+calefactory, refectory, and kitchen on the south; and the <i>Domus
+Conversorum</i> completed the square on the west. Within this square were the
+cloisters, always contiguous to the main buildings, and forming a
+communication with all the parts of the monastery. They were a sort of
+covered ambulatory, whose roof rested on the one side against the main
+buildings, and on the other was supported by open ornamental arcades,
+which, however, in these climates were glazed. The cloisters were often
+vaulted in richly moulded stonework, and were fitted up with benches for
+reading, chiefly on the side adjoining the church. The space or
+quadrilateral area enclosed by them was called the Cloister-Garth, in the
+centre of which a statue or handsome fountain stood.</p>
+
+<p>The cloisters were generally entered from the church by the south aisle,
+at the point where it adjoins the transept; but here, at Mellifont, the
+entrance was direct from the south transept itself. This a glance at the
+ground-plan will show; though it may have been otherwise in the primitive
+church; for, when it underwent <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>alterations, the transepts were widened by
+the addition of an aisle to each; and, the cloister being thus encroached
+on, a change was necessary in it also.</p>
+
+<p>Adjoining the transept, and at right angles with the cloister, on the
+left, was a narrow hall or cell which contained books, chiefly the Sacred
+Scriptures, and the writings of the Fathers. This cell, which had no
+window, was called the &#8220;Armarium Commune,&#8221; or &#8220;Common Box;&#8221; for its
+contents were common to all the monks. Its situation was convenient to the
+reading-cloister, which lay along the south wall of the church. In this
+cell the monks were provided with an abundant supply of good books, but
+treatises on the Canon and Civil Laws were forbidden to be kept in it: the
+Prior was charged with the custody of these. Behind this cell, and
+communicating only with the church, the Sacristy was placed; but, as
+before observed, there is no trace of one here. Some writers on monastic
+ruins, confidently assure their readers that this cell was a prison, and
+that it was called the &#8220;Lantern;&#8221; casting upon the monks all
+responsibility for the name, and supposing them to have formed it on the
+<i>lucus a non lucendo</i> principle, seeing the cell was dark. The error was
+all their own; for the Lantern, as has been already shown, was in the
+tower over the crossing of the church; and the true use of this cell has
+just been stated above.</p>
+
+<p>Here (at Mellifont), in close proximity to the transept, is the ruined
+two-storied building we saw as we approached, and which, from its present
+striking appearance, must have been one of the most beautiful within the
+ancient abbey&#8217;s precincts. This is commonly, but erroneously, known as
+&#8220;St. Bernard&#8217;s Chapel.&#8221; Why it was reputed to have been a chapel, must be
+from the close resemblance it bears to one. It was, in reality, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+Chapter-house. That it was, is quite evident to anyone who has studied the
+plans of Cistercian monasteries: (<i>a</i>), from the position it occupies, and
+(<i>b</i>), from the internal arrangement and decorations such as are found in
+other like edifices of the Order in Ireland. A stone bench ran around the
+inside of the building, and which, when covered with a rush mat, served as
+a seat for the monks. In Graignamanagh Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, the ancient
+Chapter-house still remains, closely resembling this one at Mellifont,
+both in style and ornamentation, as well as in dimensions. The historic
+Chapter-house of St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey, Dublin, which was unearthed a few years
+ago, exhibited in every detail a striking resemblance to this also. That
+at Graignamanagh was remarkable for its beauty. At the entrance to it from
+the cloister, was a magnificent arched door-way, containing within it
+three smaller arches of blue marble, beautifully carved. A grand central
+column, called by the inhabitants of the district, the &#8220;Marble Tree,&#8221;
+supported the roof. It stood eight feet high from base to capital, whence
+the branches spread to meet the corresponding ribs on the groined roof.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 332px; height: 500px;"><img src="images/img04.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Gateway (Porter&#8217;s Lodge.)</span> See page <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.<br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>Sir William Wilde describes the Chapter-house at Mellifont, as he saw it
+in 1850. He says: &#8220;It must have been one of the most elegant and highly
+embellished structures of the Norman or Early English pointed style in
+Ireland.&#8221; He calls it a Crypt; for it was overlaid, and surrounded up to a
+high level by heaps of rubbish. He goes on to say: &#8220;It has a groined roof
+underneath another building evidently used for domestic purposes, and was
+probably part of the Abbot&#8217;s apartments. The upper room, which contains a
+chimney, must have been a pleasant, cheerful abode, and its windows
+commanded a charming prospect down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> valley, with a view of the distant
+hills peeping up from the south-west. The building is 30 feet long, by 19
+feet wide. There are no remains of mullions or tracery of the east window.
+At present, there are two lights on each side; but upon a careful
+examination of the masonry both within and without the building, it is, we
+think, apparent that in the original plan, the upper window on each side
+alone existed, the others being evidently subsequent innovations. The
+original windows<a name='fna_2' id='fna_2' href='#f_2'><small>[2]</small></a> are still beautiful, deeply set, and, though their
+stone mullions are rather massive, each forms, with the tracery at the
+top, a very elegant figure. The internal pilasters, which form an
+architrave for the northern window, spring from grotesque heads,
+elaborately carved, and which appear as if pressed down by the
+superincumbent weight. A fillet of dog&#8217;s-tooth moulding surrounds the
+internal sash. A projecting moulding courses round the wall, about two
+feet from the ground, which, while it dips down to admit the splayed sill
+of the upper or original windows, continues unbroken by the lower ones, an
+additional proof that the latter did not exist in the original plan of the
+building. Three sets of short clustered columns, four feet high, one in
+the centre, and one in each angle, spring from this course, and terminate
+in elaborately carved floral capitals, which differ slightly one from the
+other. The centre rod of this cluster descends as far as the floor. From
+these spring the ribs, which form the groining of the roof.... The grand
+architectural feature, and most elaborate piece of carving, was the
+door-way, formed of a cluster of columns, very deeply revealed on the
+inside, but apparently plain on the outside.... Nearly the whole of the
+western end<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> has fallen, so that nothing but the foundations of this very
+splendid door-way now remain. A figure of it has, however, been preserved
+in Wright&#8217;s <i>Louthiana</i> (reproduced here),<a name='fna_3' id='fna_3' href='#f_3'><small>[3]</small></a> published in 1755, where we
+read that it was &#8216;all of blue marble, richly ornamented and gilt,&#8217; but
+&#8216;which,&#8217; the author adds, &#8216;I was informed was sold and going to be taken
+to pieces when I was there.&#8217; All the pillars and carved stone work of this
+building were at one time painted in the most brilliant colours, the
+capitals light blue, the pillars themselves red; portions of this paint
+still remain in the curves and amongst the foliage.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Chapter-house<a name='fna_4' id='fna_4' href='#f_4'><small>[4]</small></a> is little changed since Sir William Wilde penned the
+foregoing, and time seems to have dealt leniently with this magnificent
+ruin. One of the windows has had its mullions restored under the Board of
+Works; a number of curious objects&mdash;capitals, corbels, and portions of
+arches and cut stone, flooring tiles, etc., has been collected there, and
+a gate to guard them has been erected by Mr. Balfour, the owner of the
+ruins and surrounding property. It is very dubious that the upper story
+ever served as a part of the Abbot&#8217;s lodgings, as these are generally
+found further east. This room may have been the muniment room. It has two
+port-holes remaining, relics of the days when Mellifont was turned into a
+fortified castle, and the cry of fierce, contending men was heard on this
+hallowed spot, over the graves of the sainted dead. In the first volume of
+<i>The Dublin Penny Journal</i>, there are very interesting articles from the
+pen of a Mr. Armstrong, a native of the locality. He tells us that this
+Chapter-house was converted into a banqueting-hall by the Moore family,
+and that in his time (1832), it was used as a pig-sty.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 347px; height: 500px;"><img src="images/img05.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">North Window of Chapter-House.</span> See p. <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>Another account of the fate of the beautiful arched door-way of blue
+marble is, that it was lost at a game of piquet, and the lucky winner,
+whose name, unfortunately, has not been handed down to us, had it removed
+to his mansion, and set up as a chimney-piece. The floor of the
+Chapter-house is now laid with some of the tiles which were found in the
+church during the excavations, in order to preserve them from destruction
+or appropriation by &#8220;relic-hunters.&#8221; Abbots, generally, chose the
+Chapter-house of their abbeys for their burial place; but, as no grave was
+found here, when the rubbish was removed, during the excavations, we may
+conclude that the Abbots of Mellifont were buried either in the church, or
+in the cemetery with their monks.</p>
+
+<p>The glazed tiles and their manufacture were a specialty with the old
+Cistercians, in these countries. Similar tiles are seldom met with amongst
+the ruins of other churches. Here at Mellifont, those found are red and
+blue, and the vast majority have the legend <i>Ave Maria</i> inscribed on them;
+others are impressed with a Fleur de lis, a cock, or some typical device.
+It is well known, that specimens of tiles found at Fountains, in
+Yorkshire, bear a close resemblance to these. There, the motto of that
+monastery was impressed on the tiles discovered&mdash;&#8220;<i>Benedicite fontes
+Domino</i>,&#8221;&mdash;&#8220;Ye fountains bless the Lord.&#8221; No doubt, here, too, some bore
+the motto of Mellifont, if only they could be found.</p>
+
+<p>A very pertinent question arises now: how could this small building give
+sitting accommodation, not only to one hundred and fifty monks, which this
+monastery is said to have had, but even to a third of that number? It
+seems impossible. It may be that, on becoming numerous, they used as
+Chapter-house some other building no longer standing. At Graignamanagh,
+the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> monks, finding their Chapter-house too small, converted the eastern
+window of it into a door, and built a large and spacious hall, as a new
+Chapter-house, the old one serving as an ante-chamber to it. No such
+addition had been made here; for the window remains intact.</p>
+
+<p>What a change has come over this grand old Chapter-house since it saw its
+Abbot, who ranked as a peer of the realm, walk up its centre with solemn
+and stately tread, and mount the steps which led to his seat, on the east;
+and the grave assemblage of white-robed monks enter in silence, and take
+their places on either side, while one of them sang at the Lectern, the
+Martyrology, and a chapter of St. Benedict&#8217;s Rule! From this custom of
+having a <i>chapter</i> of the Rule sung there every morning, this apartment
+derives its name. In the interval, between the singing of the Martyrology
+and the chapter of St. Benedict&#8217;s Rule, one of the priests gave out
+certain prayers, to which all responded. These prayers were chiefly
+petitions to the Lord, that He would deign to bless and guard them during
+the coming day; for the hour of chapter, or of the assembling of the
+Brethren, was generally about 6 <span class="smcaplc">A.M.</span>. The Abbot then explained the chapter
+which had been sung, dwelt on the obligations incumbent on his hearers, by
+their profession, to observe the teaching which St. Benedict inculcated by
+his Rule; then called for the public self-accusations of breaches of
+monastic discipline (external faults only), and imposed penances
+commensurate with each transgression. The Chapter-house was the hall
+wherein were held the deliberations or councils relative to the
+administration of temporalities, and here novices were elected or rejected
+by secret ballot.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the Chapter-house one finds himself again on the site of the
+eastern walk or alley of the Cloister, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> it is called, and proceeding
+along it southward, one sees a wall some seven or eight feet high without
+door or window of any sort. It is doubtful that this was portion of the
+ancient building; for then Mellifont would not have followed the general
+plan of all the houses of the Order. That it was not one of the original
+buildings is probable, both because the masonry is more modern, and the
+remains of an old building running at right angles with it were found when
+the excavations were made a few years ago in the potato garden, at the
+rere of this wall. That old structure measured about fourteen feet wide.
+It is shown on the ground plan. In the plan of Clairvaux, of which
+Mellifont is said to have been a counterpart, a long narrow hall ran off
+the Cloister here, parallel with the Chapter-house. It was called the
+&#8220;Auditorium&#8221; or &#8220;Parlour.&#8221; It was there that each choir monk&#8217;s share in
+the manual labour was assigned him every day by the Prior. There, too,
+confessions were heard, and the monks might speak to the Prior or Abbot on
+necessary matters; for the adjoining Cloister was a place of strict
+silence. As at Clairvaux, the novitiate was placed further south where the
+novices were trained in their duties by a learned and experienced monk,
+who, according to St. Benedict, &#8220;would know how to gain souls to God.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Over the buildings on the ground story, that is, over the Sacristy,
+Chapter-house, Parlour, and Novitiate, was the Dormitory, which was
+entered by a stair-case, in the south-eastern angle of the transept, on
+one side, and by another stairs at the junction of the east and south
+walks of the Cloister. When the monastery at Mellifont was changed and
+remodelled after Clairvaux (for this latter underwent a substantial change
+in 1175), the monks may have used the old Parlour as a passage leading to
+other buildings which covered that plot of ground beyond the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+Chapter-house, now a potato garden. In the plan of Clairvaux, all the
+space in that direction is covered with buildings. (See plan of
+Clairvaux.) In the general view of Mellifont, given in frontispiece, the
+plot whereon these buildings stood is that where the man is seen tilling
+the garden. But if one ascend the hill, keeping close to the ruins, it
+will be evident how suitable a place it was for building on, and the
+remains of walls peep up here and there over the surface. The level at
+that spot is, indeed, much higher than in the Cloister, or Chapter-house,
+but that is partially caused by the debris of ruined buildings which has
+accumulated there.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img06.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Doorway of Chapter-House.</span> See p. <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br /><i>A. Scott &amp; Son, Architects, Drogheda.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>At the extreme end of this eastern walk of the Cloister and at right
+angles with it, are the remains of what was once a spacious building. It
+had a fire-place at the eastern end, and a door which led out into another
+building that formerly adjoined it. It is 96 feet long by 36 feet wide. No
+idea can be formed now as to its original use. In some monasteries of the
+fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, chiefly the more considerable ones,
+there was a spacious room or hall located as this was, and furnished with
+benches and writing-desks, where the monks studied and wrote. It was
+called the &#8220;Lectorium&#8221; or Reading room. It must not, however, be
+confounded with the Scriptorium, which was the official quarters of the
+copyist. It is well to remark here that the plot of ground lying north of
+this building was not dug up during the excavations, but only skimmed over
+in order to trace the course of some walls which at intervals appeared
+above the surface; but, even this slight investigation was sufficient to
+reveal the outlines of numerous buildings that once extended in that
+direction and covered that whole area. Again comparing the site with
+Clairvaux, we find that the Infirmary and its surroundings would lie in
+that direction.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>At the extreme end of the eastern walk of the Cloister where it joins the
+southern one, are the remains of a stairs, which formerly led up to the
+Dormitory from this part of the monastery, as at Clairvaux. Near it is
+what is commonly called a vault, an arched chamber measuring sixteen feet
+by fourteen. It has a chimney, and it would seem to have had a narrow
+window also on the outer or southern end. Here is where the Calefactory
+stood in almost all the old Cistercian monasteries. This Calefactory was
+heated by a stove, at which the monks warmed themselves after their long
+vigils in winter; but their stay there was restricted to one quarter of an
+hour. Pope Eugenius III., when a monk at Clairvaux, under St. Bernard, had
+charge of the stove there, as was commemorated by an inscription over the
+door of the Calefactory. A son of the King of France discharged the same
+lowly office afterwards at Clairvaux, as the Annals of the Order testify.</p>
+
+<p>Adjoining this vault is a covered passage, having an entrance into the
+next building, which runs parallel with it. Its purpose cannot now be
+known. It may be that the vault or Calefactory had been converted in later
+times into a store-room for necessaries which were brought thence by this
+covered way into the Refectory, which is the next building. The Refectory
+measures 48 feet by 24. A few coarse flags remain in their original
+position, from which it may be inferred that the whole floor was once
+formed of them. In its western wall was the turnstile, through which the
+food was served from the kitchen that adjoined the Refectory on that side.</p>
+
+<p>Now, we come to the great puzzle, the remains of the octagon building,
+which was commonly called the Baptistery. Sir William Wilde, who saw it as
+it was in 1848, calls it the oldest and by far the most interesting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+architectural remains in the whole place; and he goes on to describe
+it:<a name='fna_5' id='fna_5' href='#f_5'><small>[5]</small></a> &#8220;This octagonal structure, of which only four sides remain,
+consists of a colonnade or series of circular-headed arches, of the Roman
+or Saxon character, enclosing a space of 29 feet in the clear, and
+supporting a wall which must have been, when perfect, about 30 feet high.
+Each external face measures 12 feet in length, and was plastered or
+covered with composition to the height of 10 feet, where a projecting band
+separates it from the less elaborate masonry above. The arches<a name='fna_6' id='fna_6' href='#f_6'><small>[6]</small></a> are
+carved in sandstone, and spring from foliage-ornamented capitals, to the
+short supporting pillars, the shaft of each of which measures 3 feet 5
+inches. The chord of each arch above the capitals is 4 feet 3 inches. Some
+slight difference is observable in the shape and arrangement of the
+foliage of the capitals, and upon one of the remaining half arches were
+beautifully carved two birds; but some Goth has lately succeeded in
+hammering away as much of the relieved part of each, as it was possible.
+The arches were evidently open, and some slight variety exists in their
+mouldings. Internally a stone finger-course encircled the wall, at about
+six inches higher than that on the outside. In the angles between the
+arches there are remains of fluted pilasters at the height of the
+string-course, from which spring groins of apparently the same curve as
+the external arches, and which, meeting in the centre, must have formed
+more or less of a pendant, which, no doubt, heightened the beauty and
+architectural effect. Like the pillars and stone carvings in the
+Chapter-house, this building was also painted red and blue, and the track
+of the paint is still visible in several places. The upper story, which
+was lighted by a window on each side of the octagon, bears no
+architectural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> embellishment which is now visible.&#8221; He then adds, how
+Archdall, in his <i>Monasticon</i>, asserted that a cistern was placed on the
+upper story, whence water was conveyed by pipes to the different parts of
+the monastery; but shows how such an arrangement would have been
+impossible, on account of the weakness of the walls, and the position of
+the windows.</p>
+
+<p>This building was known, in monastic terminology, as the &#8220;Lavabo.&#8221; A
+fountain of water issued in jets from a central column, and fell into a
+basin, in which the monks washed their hands, before entering the
+Refectory for their meals. It is quite easy, from the construction of the
+roof, to imagine a number of branches springing from the capital of the
+column, and meeting the ribs of the groined roof, in the same manner, as
+the &#8220;Marble Tree,&#8221; in the Chapter-house of Graignamanagh. Drains in
+connection with this building were discovered when the excavations were
+made, and Sir Thomas Deane is of opinion, that it was surrounded on the
+outside by a wooden verandah, or shed. Certainly, in the plan of
+Clairvaux, a low building is shown, adjoining the Lavabo, at its east and
+west ends; but no use is assigned it. Very probably it was the Lavatory.
+Petrie thinks the Lavabo may have been built as far back as 1165, but that
+can hardly be held; for Clairvaux had not been remodelled till 1175, and
+it had no such ornamental structure in the time of St. Bernard. He
+remarks, too, that fragments of bricks were discovered in the building,
+and says they were never employed earlier in any other building in
+Ireland. It is now certain, that it was the monks of Mellifont who first
+manufactured bricks in this country. This Lavabo was not isolated or
+detached from the Cloister, but, as at Clairvaux, a door led from one into
+the other, opposite the entrance into the Refectory;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> and, since the
+excavations, portions of the door-way are visible. Some small shafts and
+their bases remain. Even at the present day, in one of the most recently
+constructed monasteries of the Order (near Tilburg, Holland), what might
+be termed a semi-octagonal Lavabo, having its fountain and basin, has been
+built. It answers the same purpose as those in ancient times.</p>
+
+<p>By keeping the Lavabo before one&#8217;s mind, one can form an idea of the
+Cloister itself; which, consisting of arcades, closely resembled this in
+every detail, except that these were glazed, and in all probability its
+walks had a lean-to roof. The site of the east walk of the Cloister is
+easily traced, and the places occupied by the piers being now concreted,
+mark their positions. This eastern walk was 21 feet 6 inches wide. The
+opposite, or western one, was some 19 feet 6 inches; that on the south, 14
+feet; and the north one, adjoining the church, and which was usually the
+Reading-Cloister, may also have been 14 feet. Thus, we would have an
+enclosed space or Garth, 100 feet square.</p>
+
+<p>Beside the Refectory lay the Kitchen, which was a small building, and
+around it are the ruins of smaller structures, which may have been
+store-rooms in connection with it. Under the Kitchen ran a copious stream
+of water which carried off all the refuse. It is remarkable that at
+Clairvaux similar remains are found in exactly the same position
+relatively to the Kitchen there. With the Cistercians, the Kitchen was
+always square; with the Benedictines, it was round. To the rere of the
+Kitchen, and almost directly opposite the covered passage, is the old well
+which was covered over for a long time, but was discovered, and re-opened
+in 1832. Near it a portion of the old wall fell in, but the masonry, owing
+to the singularly cohesive character of the mortar, holds together despite
+the action of the elements.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>Of the western walk of the Cloister no trace remains, and only a tottering
+wall of the <i>Domus Conversorum</i>, which once adjoined it, is standing.
+There is no trace either of the northern walk, though this was the most
+important of all. There the monks read and copied, in cells called
+&#8220;carrols,&#8221; which were placed near the windows. When not employed in
+chanting the Masses and Offices in the church, or busied with domestic
+concerns, or working in the fields, the monks passed all their intervals
+here occupied with study. The Abbot had a chair here also; and, from a
+raised pulpit opposite it, one of the monks read aloud every evening, the
+lecture before Compline, at which the whole community assisted.</p>
+
+<p>Turning westward and approaching the River Mattock, we enter, at the left,
+an enclosed space, bounded by the river on one side, and by the remains of
+the outer wall of the <i>Domus Conversorum</i> on the other, we find ourselves
+in a potato garden, which, on close observation, appears strewn with
+pieces of bones. This was &#8220;God&#8217;s Acre&#8221; at Mellifont, the cemetery of the
+monks. Some forty or fifty years ago, a Scotchman, who then rented the
+mill and a farm adjoining it, perceiving that the clay of this old
+cemetery was particularly rich and loamy, dug a spit off it a foot deep or
+more, and carted it out on his fields for top-dressing. Amongst the stuff
+so carted were human bones of all kinds, skulls, etc.!!! This was done in
+a Christian land, and no protesting voice was raised against the horrid
+profanation!! The cemetery is shown in the general view at the extreme
+left, where the plot of ground appears laid out in ridges and surrounded
+by a wall.</p>
+
+<p>The River Mattock flows peacefully still by the old abbey as it did over
+seven centuries ago, when its course being first arrested, it was
+harnessed and compelled to take its share in many useful and profitable
+industries.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> One old solitary yew tree casts its shadow on its water and
+bears it company amid the surrounding ruin and desolation&mdash;sad and
+sympathising witnesses of Mellifont&#8217;s fallen greatness. No bridge now
+spans the river here, though formerly it was probably arched over, and the
+slopes upon the Meath side were laid out in terraces and gardens. The
+present mill was built over one hundred years ago, together with some
+out-offices; the latter, being situated almost midway in the nave of the
+church, were removed when the excavations were made. The mill has not been
+worked during the last thirty years. When Mr. Armstrong wrote his
+interesting papers on Mellifont, in the <i>Dublin Penny Journal</i>, 1832-33, a
+few cabins nestled under the shadow of the old ruins.</p>
+
+<p>The last building that deserves notice is the small ruined edifice on the
+hill, which, after the suppression of the monastery, was used as a
+Protestant place of worship. Sir William Wilde was of opinion that it
+dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The western gable which
+rises in the centre into a double belfry contains a pointed door-way, and
+above, but not immediately over this, is a double round-arched window. One
+small narrow light occupies the eastern gable. At a few paces in front of
+this building there stood, at the time Sir William examined it, two very
+plain and very ancient crosses, one having a heart engraven on it
+encircled by a crown of thorns, and the other having a fleur de lis on the
+arm. The latter cross has disappeared, but the former can still be seen
+prostrate on the ground, in that half of the old cemetery beyond the
+road-way, that is, on the side to the south. After the suppression, this
+was used as a Protestant burial-ground, though the presence of Catholic
+emblems would go to prove that it was once Catholic. Of late years the
+interments here have been but few. We are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> nowhere told, nor does any
+tradition still linger to indicate the former use of this ancient
+building, but it is most probable, that it was the church in which the
+tenants and dependants of the Abbey assisted at Mass and other religious
+functions&mdash;in a word, that it was the parish church of Mellifont, which
+was <i>served by the monks</i>. This seems to be the most likely explanation;
+for the law of &#8220;Enclosure,&#8221; that law of the Church which debarred females
+from entering within the monastic enclosure, (&#8220;<i>Septa monasterii</i>&#8221; as it
+is called), was in full force at the Dissolution of monasteries, as
+appears from the Decrees of the General Chapters of the Order about that
+time, and also from the Episcopal Registers of some of the English
+dioceses which have lately been published. In these latter are found
+reports of the bishops, who, either officially or by delegation, visited
+some monasteries and adverted to the law of enclosure as an important
+point of monastic discipline. This old structure, then, would have been
+constructed purposely outside the wall for the use of the tenants. Such a
+chapel is still to be seen outside the enclosure at Bordesley Abbey, an
+old Cistercian monastery in Worcestershire, of which we are expressly
+told, that it was the place in which the monks, tenants, domestics, etc.,
+attended Mass. Another purpose may be assigned to this old chapel at
+Mellifont, as that attached to the College, or Seminary, which once
+flourished there. The surrounding hill is locally and traditionally known
+as College-Hill, and the old road which passes over it and leads to
+Townley Hall, is called the College Road.</p>
+
+<p>Little more remains to be said of the ruins or of the site itself.
+Standing on this hill and looking into the valley beneath, we are struck
+by its singular natural features. It would seem as if the waters of the
+Mattock had been suddenly dammed up, and that the pent-up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> waters,
+bursting their barriers, hollowed out this sheltered little valley, after
+the angry element had cleared away the rocks and other obstructions; and
+having swept it clear of the rubbish, made it a fit and proper place
+whereon to rear a temple to the true God, in which praise and sacrifice
+might for ever be offered to Him. No buildings seem to have been
+constructed on the Meath side, as no traces of them remain. In this,
+Mellifont differed from Clairvaux, whose buildings filled the valley and
+spread out wings high up the hills on either side of the River Aube.</p>
+
+<p>Just due south from where we have been standing, on the hill, and distant
+about a few hundred yards, the Guide will show a singular earth-work,
+shaped like a moat, and having an elevated mound in the centre. From the
+presence here of old conduits built with masonry, there can be no doubt
+that this was a reservoir to contain a copious supply of water which
+flowed from wells on the hill. Lower down than this moat, that is, at the
+rere of the Chapter-house, lies buried beneath some feet of soil the
+Abbot&#8217;s house, where Mellifont&#8217;s puissant rulers received their guests,
+and whose hospitable board was honoured by the presence of kings and
+bishops, as well as chiefs and warriors bold in all their pomp and
+panoply. It is doubtful that any vestige of the enclosure wall remains,
+nor can it be conjectured even, what, or how much, space it embraced. As
+we ponder over the scene, Keats&#8217; words find an echo in our hearts:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">&#8220;How changed, alas! from that revered abode<br />
+Graced by proud majesty in ancient days,<br />
+Where monks recluse those sacred pavements trod,<br />
+And taught the unlettered world its Maker&#8217;s praise.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+<p class="title">ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer<br />
+Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice<br />
+Rise like a fountain for me night and day,<br />
+For what are men better than sheep and goats,<br />
+That nourish a blind life within the brain,<br />
+If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer<br />
+Both for themselves and those who call them friend?<br />
+For so the whole round earth is every way<br />
+Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 14em;">(<i>Lord Tennyson.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_a.jpg" alt="A" /></span>t the time that Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding were laying
+the foundation of the Cistercian Order, in the dense forest of Cistercium,
+or Citeaux, whence the Order derives its name, or to be more precise, in
+1098, a lovely little boy eight years old, with golden hair and dove-like
+eyes, and with nobility of birth stamped in every lineament of his
+features, was playing in his father&#8217;s chateau at Fontaines, near Dijon, in
+France. This child of predilection was the great St. Bernard, who is
+justly styled the Propagator of that Order which was then in a struggling
+condition. It has become a proverb, &#8220;that the child is father of the man,&#8221;
+and a very clever writer exclaims&mdash;&#8220;Blessed is the man whose infancy has
+been watched over, kindled, and penetrated by the eyes of a tender and
+holy mother.&#8221; It was St. Bernard&#8217;s singular privilege to have such a
+mother, one who sedulously watched over his youthful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> days, and inspired
+him with a love of all virtues. Hence we are told, that even in early
+childhood, he evinced a love of piety that was remarkable, and that he
+constituted his mother the grand model which he was bound to copy. He
+considered it the summit of his ambition to do all things like his
+mother&mdash;to pray like her, to give alms and visit the sick poor like her;
+for this noble lady was wont to go along the roads unattended, carrying
+medicine and nourishment to the indigent. He distinguished himself at the
+public school where he received his education, and returned to the
+paternal mansion where he soon after experienced his first great sorrow in
+the death of his loving mother. He was now approaching manhood, and he
+must needs select a state of life befitting his high birth. At that time,
+only two professions were worthy of the consideration of young
+noblemen&mdash;the Church or the Army. With Bernard&#8217;s distinguished talents, a
+bright and rosy future presented itself before his youthful imagination,
+and then the eloquent persuasions of his relatives, who promised him their
+powerful patronage, were not wanting to arouse his ambition; but, the
+image of his saintly mother dispelled all dreams of promotion, and her
+pious instructions, which sank deep into his young heart, acted as potent
+antidotes against the allurements of worldly pomp and short-lived honours.
+After much reflection he made up his mind to renounce all honours, and to
+become a monk. By his irresistible pleadings he gained over his four
+brothers, with other relatives and friends, to the number of thirty, and
+at their head, presented himself at the gate of the Abbey of Citeaux,
+where St. Stephen Harding joyfully admitted them. Two years later we find
+him leaving that monastery as the Abbot of a new colony, on his way to
+found Clairvaux, being then in his twenty-fifth year. Here, his light
+could <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>no longer remain hidden, but burst forth into a luminous flame
+whose splendour aroused and powerfully influenced the whole Christian
+world. The Bishop of Chalons, in whose diocese Clairvaux was situated, was
+the first to discover the transcendent abilities and eloquence of the
+youthful Abbot. At his request, St. Bernard consented to deliver a course
+of sermons in the churches of his diocese, which were productive of
+incalculable good, and spread the fame of the zealous preacher. Priests as
+well as laymen, attached themselves to him and accompanied him to
+Clairvaux on his return from those missions. One of the Saint&#8217;s
+biographers cries out&mdash;&#8220;How many learned men, how many nobles and great
+ones of this earth, how many philosophers have passed from the schools or
+academies of the world to Clairvaux to give themselves up to the
+meditation of heavenly things and the practice of a divine morality.&#8221; His
+fame reached even to Ireland, and we are told that in this country the
+little children were wont to ask for the badge of the Crusaders which the
+Saint distributed. In a word, his voice was the most authoritative in
+Europe. Kings and princes dreaded him, and accepted him as arbitrator in
+their quarrels. Even Popes themselves sought his counsel. In his lifetime,
+his own disciple, Bernard of Pisa, occupied the Chair of Peter, as
+Eugenius III. It may be truthfully said, that St. Bernard reformed Europe
+and infused a new spirit into the monastic orders. Even Luther does not
+hesitate to place him in the forefront of all monks who lived in his time;
+of him he writes: &#8220;Melius nec vixit nec scripsit quis in universo c&oelig;tu
+monachorum.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 600px; height: 419px;"><img src="images/img07.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Interior of Chapter-House.</span> See p. <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the Church in France was reaping the benefit of the holy Abbot&#8217;s
+preaching and example, a zealous Irish prelate was actively and
+successfully engaged in eradicating vice which sprang up in this country,
+as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> consequence of the long-protracted wars with the Danes, and the
+demoralising effects of intercourse with that people. Nevertheless,
+Ireland had then its saints and scholars, and the ancient seats of
+learning, such as Armagh, Bangor, Lismore, Clonard, and Clonmacnoise were
+once more inhabited by numerous communities. This saintly prelate was St.
+Malachy, who, being on his way to Rome, heard of the sanctity of the great
+St. Bernard, and would fain pay him a visit. This visit would St. Malachy
+have gladly prolonged; for then and there sprang up a mutual affection,
+which, writes our own Tom Moore, &#8220;reflects credit on both.&#8221; St. Malachy
+was so enamoured with what he witnessed at Clairvaux, and particularly
+with the wise discourses of the learned Abbot, that he determined to
+become one of his disciples. Innocent II., who then ruled the flock of
+Christ, on the Saint seeking his permission to retire to Clairvaux, would
+not hearken to his request, but giving him many marks of his esteem,
+appointed him his Legate in Ireland, and commanded him to return thither.
+If St. Malachy might not live at Clairvaux in the midst of the fervent men
+whom he there beheld earnestly intent in the great work of mortification
+and expiation, he resolved, at least, to have a colony of them near him in
+his own country, that by their prayers and example, they might promote
+God&#8217;s glory, and in a measure, repeat the glorious traditions of the
+ancient monastic ages in Ireland. In furtherance of this happy project, he
+singled out four of his travelling companions, whom he gave in charge to
+St. Bernard, with these words: &#8220;I most earnestly conjure you to retain
+these disciples, and instruct them in all the duties and observances of
+the religious profession, that, hereafter they may be able to teach us.&#8221;
+On receiving an assurance of a hearty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> compliance from St. Bernard, he
+took cordial leave of his friend and returned to Ireland. Not long after
+he sent more of his disciples to join those whom he had already left at
+Clairvaux, and on their arrival, St. Bernard wrote as follows: &#8220;The
+Brothers who have come from a distant land, your letter and the staff you
+sent me, have afforded me much consolation in the midst of the many
+anxieties and cares that harass me.... Meanwhile, according to the wisdom
+bestowed on you by the Almighty, select and prepare a place for their
+reception, which shall be secluded from the tumults of the world, and
+after the model of those localities which you have seen amongst us.&#8221; The
+place selected by St. Malachy as the site of the future monastery, was the
+sequestered valley watered by the River Mattock, situated about three and
+one half miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, and much resembling Clairvaux,
+which, too, was located in a valley, shut in by little hills on all sides.
+Donogh O&#8217;Carroll, Prince of Oriel, the lord of the territory, freely
+granted the site to God and SS. Peter and Paul, munificently endowed the
+monastery with many broad acres, and supplied wood and stone for the
+erection of the buildings. This grant was made in either 1140 or 1141. The
+charter of endowment by O&#8217;Carroll has not been found.</p>
+
+<p>It would appear from another letter of St. Bernard to St. Malachy, that he
+had sent some monks from Clairvaux to make preparations for those who were
+to immediately follow, and that already their number was augmented at
+Mellifont by the accession of new members from the surrounding district,
+who had joined them on their appearance in that locality. In this same
+letter St. Bernard writes: &#8220;We send back to you your dearly-beloved son
+and ours, Christian, as fully instructed as was possible in those rules
+which regard our Order, hoping,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> moreover, that he will henceforth prove
+solicitous for their observance.&#8221; This Christian is commonly supposed to
+have been archdeacon of the diocese of Down. He was certainly first Abbot
+of Mellifont, and his name shall turn up in connection with important
+national events later on. With Christian came a certain Brother Robert, a
+Frenchman, a skilful architect, who constructed the monastery after the
+model of Clairvaux.</p>
+
+<p>That these were the pioneers of the Cistercian Order in Ireland cannot for
+one moment be doubted, both from the very important fact, that the Abbot
+of Mellifont took precedence of all the Abbots of his Order in this
+country, and also, because it is an historical fact, that St. Mary&#8217;s
+Abbey, Dublin, the other claimant for priority, did not exchange the
+Benedictine for the Cistercian Rule till, at earliest, 1148, when the
+Abbot of Savigni in France, with the thirty houses of his Order
+(Benedictine) subject to his jurisdiction, were admitted into the
+Cistercian family by Pope Eugenius III., who presided at the General
+Chapter of the Cistercians that year. St. Mary&#8217;s was founded from
+Buildewas, in Shropshire, and this latter was subject to Savigni.</p>
+
+<p>Various reasons are assigned for the adoption by these ancient monks of
+the name Mellifont, which signifies &#8220;The Honey Fountain.&#8221; Some are of
+opinion it had a spiritual signification, and had reference to the
+abundance of blessings which would flow, and be diffused over the whole
+country from this centre, through the unceasing and fervent intercessory
+prayer of its holy inmates; for next to their own sanctification, their
+neighbour&#8217;s wants claimed and received their practical sympathy. Like
+divine charity it gushed forth from hearts totally devoted to God&#8217;s
+service and interests, and this zeal would be halting and incomplete did
+it not embrace the spiritual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> and temporal concerns of their fellow
+mortals. Others derive the name from a limpid spring which supplied the
+monks with a copious, unfailing stream of sweet water, which had its
+source in Mellifont Park about one quarter of a mile distant, and which
+was conducted by pipes through the various parts of the monastery. This
+seems a very plausible account, and as the spring rose at a high level, it
+had sufficient pressure to obviate the necessity of a cistern as was
+erroneously supposed in connection with the Lavabo.</p>
+
+<p>It was customary with the old Irish Cistercians to give their monasteries
+symbolical names at their foundation, and these names often denoted some
+local feature or peculiarity. Thus, Newry was called of the &#8220;Green Wood,&#8221;
+from the abundance of yew trees around the monastery there; Corcomroe, Co.
+Clare, was known under the title of the &#8220;Fertile Rock;&#8221; Baltinglas, Co.
+Wicklow, as the &#8220;Valley of Salvation,&#8221; etc.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that the &#8220;Honey Fountain&#8221; had its source in Mellifont Park, but
+it seems that few of the present generation living in the vicinity of
+Mellifont know or appreciate its virtues. In the Ordnance Survey, it is
+stated that it rose in Mellifont Park, which was formerly a wood, and that
+to the north of the well, a few trees still remained at the time of the
+Survey, when the farm belonged to a Mr. James Curran.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+<p class="title">AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS FOUNDATION AND FOR
+ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTERWARDS.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;Here man more purely lives; less oft doth fall;<br />
+More promptly rises; walks with stricter heed;<br />
+More safely rests; dies happier; is freed<br />
+Earlier from cleansing fires; and gains withal<br />
+A brighter crown.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">(<i>Saint Bernard.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_i.jpg" alt="I" /></span>n the foregoing verses St. Bernard summarises the manifold advantages
+accruing from the profession and practice of the rule which he and his
+fellow abbots drew up for their followers. In that age of chivalry and
+wide extremes, men&#8217;s minds were profoundly moved by the world-wide
+reputation and discourses of an outspoken, fearless monk, who confirmed
+his words by incontestable and stupendous miracles. Then, it was nothing
+unusual to see the impious sinner of yesterday become a meek repentant
+suppliant for admission into some monastery to-day, where he could expiate
+and atone for his former grievous excesses. The innocent, also, sought the
+shelter of the cloister from the contaminating influences of a corrupt and
+corrupting world; and in the spirit of sacrifice presented themselves as
+victims to God&#8217;s outraged justice. At that same period, that is, about the
+middle of the twelfth century, there was witnessed an unwonted movement
+towards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> monasticism in its regenerated condition, as the Church Annals
+abundantly testify. This happy tendency was mainly due to St. Bernard&#8217;s
+influence and popularity, and was well illustrated by the saying of the
+historian: &#8220;The whole world became Cistercian.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In essaying to reform St. Benedict&#8217;s Rule, the first Fathers of the
+Cistercian Order sought only to restore its primitive simplicity and
+austerity, but they, nevertheless, added some wise provisions which
+established their reform on a firm basis, and which the experience of ages
+proved to be indispensable. First of all, it was ordained, that all houses
+of the Order should be united under one central controlling power, and
+that all the Superiors should meet annually for deliberation on matters
+appertaining to the maintenance of discipline and the correction of
+abuses. This assembly was called the General Chapter, over which the Abbot
+of Citeaux presided as recognised head of the Order. Till then, no such
+institution existed, and an Abbot General, as we may call him, had it in
+his power, from incapacity or any other cause, to disorganise a whole
+Order. Under the General Chapter such a catastrophe was impossible.
+Besides this wise enactment, St. Stephen drew up what he called the &#8220;Chart
+of Charity,&#8221; by which it was ordained that the abbot of a monastery who
+had filiations (that is, offshoots or houses founded directly from that
+monastery) subject to him, should visit them annually either in person or
+by proxy, and minutely inquire into their spiritual, disciplinary, and
+financial condition. The abbots of those filiations were bound to return
+the visit during the year; but they did so in quality of guest and not as
+&#8220;Visitor,&#8221; the official title of the Abbot of the Parent House; or,
+&#8220;Immediate Father,&#8221; as he is called. Thus the bands of discipline were
+kept tightly drawn, and harmony, with uniformity of observance, was
+maintained throughout the entire Order.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 600px; height: 414px;"><img src="images/img08.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Interior of Lavabo (Octagon.)</span> See p. <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>The denizens of the Cloister at that time consisted of two great classes,
+who, indeed, enjoyed alike all the advantages of the state, but differed
+in their functions and employments. One was busied with the cares of
+Martha, the other was admitted to the privilege of Mary. The former were
+employed chiefly in domestic duties, and various trades, and were
+entrusted with the charge of the granges or outlying farms. These were the
+Lay Brothers. Frequently their ranks were augmented by the noble and the
+learned, who, unnoticed and unknown till their holy death, guided the
+plough, delved the soil, or tended the sheep and oxen in the glades of the
+forest. The other class resided in the monastery and devoted their time to
+the chanting of the Divine Office, alternating with study in the Cloister
+and manual labour in the fields and gardens. These were the choir monks.
+Their dress was white. By vigorous toil and strict economy, these good old
+monks wrested a competency from their farms, and freely shared their
+substance with the needy and the stranger. They exhibited to an astonished
+world a practical refutation of its corrupt maxims and habits. Thus by
+their very lives, they preached most efficaciously; for by their contempt
+of worldly honours and pleasures they gave proof abundant of the faith
+that enlightened them to recognise the sublimity of the Gospel truths; of
+the hope that sustained them to courageously endure temporal privations
+for the sake of future rewards; and of the charity that prompted them to
+liken themselves to Jesus Christ, their Master, who, being rich, became
+poor for their sakes. Some may be inclined to consider all this as the
+effect of monkish extravagance, weak-mindedness, and folly; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> modern
+investigation, instituted and carried to a successful issue by honest
+Protestant writers, has brushed aside such calumnies as hackneyed
+catch-words, and has proved that beneath the monk&#8217;s cowl, there were found
+hearts as warm and minds as broad as in any state or grade of society. It
+must also be remembered, that for centuries the monks were the teachers
+who moulded and fashioned the youth of the upper and middle classes.</p>
+
+<p>Two o&#8217;clock <span class="smcaplc">A.M.</span> was the usual hour for rising, when the monks, obedient
+to the Sacristan&#8217;s signal, rising from their straw pallets and slipping on
+their sandals (for they slept fully dressed, as the poorer classes of the
+time are said to have done,) they left the Dormitory by the stairs that
+led down to the southern transept, and proceeding noiselessly, they
+reached the Choir where they immediately renewed the oblation of
+themselves to God. Then the Office of Matins was commenced, and it with
+Lauds occupied about one hour. On solemn festivals the monks rose at
+midnight, and the Office lasted over three hours; for then the whole of it
+was sung. Matins and Lauds over, they proceeded to the Reading-cloister to
+study the Psalms, or Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers: some prolonged
+their devotions in the church, where with clean, uplifted hands, they
+became powerful mediators between God and His creatures; too many of whom,
+alas, ignore their personal obligations. At that time, too, the priests
+might celebrate their Masses, as the ancient Rule gave them liberty to
+select that hour if they felt so inclined. We do not know how many priests
+were amongst the Religious at Mellifont soon after its establishment, but
+they must have numbered about twenty, since there were ten altars in the
+church. And judging by the number of priests in other monasteries of the
+Order at that period, this figure is not too high. We know that in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> 1147,
+there were fifty priests at least at Pontigny, one of the four first
+houses of the Order. About five o&#8217;clock the monks assembled in Choir for
+Prime, after which they went to Chapter, where the Martyrology and portion
+of the Rule were sung, as has been already explained. Chapter over, they
+entered the Auditorium, where they took off and hung up their cowls, and
+each went thence to the manual labour assigned him by the Prior. In
+winter, nearly all went out to work in the fields, grubbing up brushwood
+and burning it, and so preparing the ground for cultivation. After some
+hours spent in labour, they returned to the monastery where they had time
+for reading; they then went to Choir for Tierce and High Mass. During
+winter the Mass was sung before going out to work. In summer they dined at
+11.30, after which an hour was allowed for repose, and None being sung
+they resumed their labour in the fields. In winter, dinner was at
+half-past two; the evening was spent in study and in chanting the Offices
+of Vespers and Compline, and at seven they retired to rest. In summer the
+hour for repose was eight o&#8217;clock. The Office of Completorium or Compline
+always closed the exercises of the day, and all passed before the Abbot,
+from whom they received holy water as they left the church. Each went
+straight to his simple couch where sweet repose awaited him after his day
+of toil and penitential works. His frugal vegetable fare, without
+seasoning or condiment, barely sufficed for the wants of nature, and even
+this was sparingly doled out to him; for during the winter exercises, that
+is, from the 14th of September to Easter, he got only one refection daily
+except on Sundays, when he always got two. Wine, though allowed in small
+quantities at meals in countries where it was the common drink, was not
+permitted here, but in its stead, the monks used beer of their own
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>brewing. Their raiment consisted of a white woollen tunic of coarse
+material and a strip of black cloth over the shoulders, and reaching to
+below the knees, gathered in at the waist with a leathern girdle. Over
+these, when not employed in manual labour, was worn the long white garment
+with wide sleeves, called the cowl. The tunic was the ordinary dress of
+peasantry in the twelfth century, and was retained by the reformers of St.
+Benedict&#8217;s Rule, partly because it was the prescribed dress of the monks,
+and partly as an incentive to humility; a mark of the perfect equality
+which reigned in monasteries, and which removed all distinction of class.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 347px; height: 500px;"><img src="images/img09.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Arch of Lavabo (Octagon.)</span> See p. <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p>Such was the ordinary routine of life led at Mellifont, but then certain
+officials filled important offices which necessarily brought them in
+constant contact with the outer world. Such, for instance, was the
+Cellarer, who had charge under the Abbot of the temporalities of the
+monastery, and catered for all the wants of the community. Some were
+deputed to wait on the guests and strangers, while others cared the sick
+poor in the hospice with all charity and tenderness. For the maintenance
+of the sick poor large tracts of land or revenues arising from
+house-property were very often bequeathed by pious people, and the monks
+were then their almoners; but, with or without such a provision from
+outside, the monks did maintain these establishments from their own
+resources.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot entertained the guests of the monastery at his own table,
+dispensing to them such frugal fare as was in keeping with the Rule; for
+meat was not allowed to be served, except to the sick. He had his kitchen
+and dining-hall apart, but in every other respect, he shared in all the
+exercises with his brethren. Though he occupied the place of honour and of
+pre-eminence in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> monastery, yet he was constantly reminded in the
+Rule, that he must not lord it over his monks, but must cherish them as a
+tender parent. His object in all his ordinances should be to promote the
+welfare of the flock entrusted to him, for which he should render an
+account on the last day.</p>
+
+<p>From this relation of the manner of life at Mellifont, we see that it was
+in strict conformity with St. Bernard&#8217;s definition of the Cistercian
+Institute, when he writes: &#8220;Our Order is humility, peace, and joy in the
+Holy Ghost. Our Order is silence, fasting, prayer, and labour, and above
+all, to hold the more excellent way, which is charity.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+<p class="title">MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE ORDER.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td><span style="margin-left: 10em;">&#8220;Even thus of old</span><br />
+Our ancestors, within the still domain<br />
+Of vast Cathedral or Conventual church,<br />
+Their vigils kept; where tapers day and night<br />
+On the dim altars burned continually,<br />
+In token that the House was evermore<br />
+Watching to God. Religious men were they:<br />
+Nor would their reason tutored to aspire<br />
+Above this transitory world, allow<br />
+That there should pass a moment of the year<br />
+When in their land the Almighty&#8217;s service ceased.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 14em;">(<i>Wordsworth.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_t.jpg" alt="T" /></span>he history of Mellifont may be justly said to reflect the concurrent
+history of Ireland. It is so intimately connected and interwoven with that
+of our country, that they touch at many points, and we can collect matter
+for both as we travel back along the stream of time and observe the
+footprints on the sands, where saint, and king, chieftain, bishop, and
+holy monk, have left their impress and disappeared, to be succeeded later
+on by the baron and his armed retainers. How different the Ireland of
+to-day from the Ireland that Christian, the first Abbot of Mellifont,
+beheld when he and his companions settled down in the little valley, in
+the land of the O&#8217;Carroll! How many changes have passed over it since,
+leaving it the poorest country in Europe, though one of the richest in
+natural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> resources! But these considerations appertain to the politician;
+they do not lie within the scope of the present writer. Next to building
+their church and monastery, the first care of the monks on their immediate
+arrival at Mellifont, was to prepare the soil for tillage; for, judging
+from the nature of the surroundings, it must have been overrun with dense
+brushwood, unbroken, save at distant intervals, by patches of green sward.
+Most houses of the Order in Ireland had to contend with similar conditions
+at their foundation; of Dunbrody, Co. Wexford, we are expressly told, that
+the monk sent by the Abbot of Buildewas to examine the site of the future
+monastery, found on it only <i>a solitary oak surrounded by a swamp</i>. But
+these old monks were adepts in the reclamation of waste lands, and soon
+the hills rang with the instruments of husbandry. Pleasant gardens and
+fertile meadows rewarded their toil, and their example gave a stimulus to
+agriculture, which, till then, was neglected by a pastoral people. At the
+same time, they manufactured bricks in the locality, and employed them in
+their buildings. Then rumour on her many wings flew far and near, and
+spread the fame of the new-comers to that remote valley, and soon the
+monastery was crowded with visitors intent on seeing the strangers and
+observing closely their manner of life. The sight pleased them. The ways
+of these monks accorded with the traditions handed down of the inhabitants
+of the ancient monasteries, before the depredations of the Danes, and the
+hearts of a highly imaginative race, with quick spiritual instincts, were
+attracted towards St. Bernard&#8217;s children. Immediately began an influx of
+postulants for the Cistercian habit, and every day brought more, till the
+stalls in the Choir were filled, and Abbot Christian&#8217;s heart overflowed
+with gladness. In consultation with St. Malachy, Abbot Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> decided
+on founding another monastery, as his own could no longer contain the now
+greatly-increased community. A new colony was sent forth from it, and thus
+in two years from the foundation of Mellifont, was established &#8220;Bective on
+the Boyne.&#8221; Some say that Newry, which was endowed by Maurice M&#8217;Loughlin,
+King of Ireland, at St. Malachy&#8217;s earnest entreaty, was the first
+filiation of Mellifont. The charter of its (Newry) foundation happily has
+come down to us, but it bears no date. However, O&#8217;Donovan, who translated
+it into English from the Latin original in MS. in the British Museum, says
+it was written in 1160. As it is the only extant charter granted to a
+monastery by a native king before the Invasion, a copy of the translation
+is given in the Appendix.</p>
+
+<p>Under the patronage, then, of St. Malachy and the native princes, and by
+the skill, industry, and piety of its inmates, Mellifont rose and
+prospered, and merited an exalted place in popular esteem. The monastery
+was in course of construction, and their new church nearing completion,
+when a heavy trial befell the monks in the death of their unfailing
+friend, wise counsellor, and loved father, St. Malachy, which took place
+at Clairvaux, in the arms of St. Bernard, <span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 1148. St. Bernard delivered
+a most pathetic discourse over the remains of his friend, and wrote a
+consoling letter to the Irish Cistercians, condoling with them on the loss
+they and the whole Irish Church had sustained on the death of St. Malachy.
+He, later on, wrote his life, and willed, that as they tenderly loved each
+other in life, so in death they should not be separated. Their tombs were
+side by side in the church of Clairvaux, till their relics, enshrined in
+magnificent altars, with many costly lamps burning before them, were
+scattered at the French Revolution, and the rich shrines were smashed and
+plundered. Portions of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> their bodies were, however, preserved by the good,
+pious people of the locality, and their heads are now preserved with
+honour in the cathedral of Troyes, France. The writers of the Cistercian
+Order claim St. Malachy as having belonged to them; for, they say that
+being previously a Benedictine, he received the Cistercian habit from St.
+Bernard during one of his visits to Clairvaux. They add that St. Bernard
+exchanged cowls with him, and that he wore St. Malachy&#8217;s ever after on
+solemn festivals. The Saint&#8217;s life is so well known that it needs no
+further notice here. Before his death, he saw three houses founded from
+Mellifont, namely, Bective, Newry, and Boyle.</p>
+
+<p>Two years after St. Malachy&#8217;s death, that is, in 1150, the monks of
+Mellifont experienced another serious loss when their venerated Abbot,
+Christian, was appointed Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Holy See in
+Ireland, by Pope Eugenius III., who had been his fellow-novice in
+Clairvaux. Christian&#8217;s brother, Malchus, was elected to the abbatial
+office in his stead. Malchus proved himself a very worthy superior, and
+Mellifont continued on her prosperous course, so much so, that in 1151, or
+nine years from its own establishment, it could reckon as many as six
+important filiations, namely, Bective, Newry, Boyle, Athlone, Baltinglas,
+and Manister, or Manisternenay, Co. Limerick.</p>
+
+<p>In 1152, St. Bernard passed to his reward, after having founded 160 houses
+of his Order, having edified Christendom by the splendour of his virtues,
+and astonished it by his rare natural gifts, which elevated him far above
+all his contemporaries. From the moment that he accepted the pastoral
+staff as Abbot of Clairvaux, till his death, that is, during the space of
+forty years, he was the figurehead of his Order in whom its whole history
+was merged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> during that long period. In fact, he became so identified with
+the Order to which he belonged, that it was often called from him,
+Bernardine; or, of Claraval, from his famous monastery; and it was in a
+great measure owing to his influence, and in grateful acknowledgment of
+the splendid services which he rendered the Church in critical times, that
+Sovereign Pontiffs heaped so many favours on it. He was the fearless and
+successful champion of the oppressed in all grades of society, and all
+looked up to him as their guide and instructor. And yet this paragon of
+wisdom, this stern judge of the evil-doer, was remarkable for his
+naturalness and affectionate disposition. On the occasion of his brother
+Gerard&#8217;s death, he attempted to preach a continuation of his discourses on
+the Canticle of Canticles, but his affection for his brother overcame him,
+and after giving vent to his grief, he delivered a most touching panegyric
+on his beloved Gerard. To the last moment of his life he entertained a
+most vivid recollection of his mother, and cherished the tenderest
+affection towards her memory. It may be doubted, that any child of the
+Church ever defended her cause with such loyalty and success. One stands
+amazed on reading what the Rev. Mr. King writes in his <i>Church History of
+Ireland</i>, where he taxes St. Bernard with superstition, because the Saint
+relates in his Life of St. Malachy, how that holy man wrought certain
+miracles. So evident were St. Bernard&#8217;s own miracles, that Luden, a German
+Protestant historian, calls them &#8220;incontestable.&#8221; &#8217;Twere supreme folly to
+accuse a man of St. Bernard&#8217;s endowments and culture, of the weakness that
+admits or harbours superstition, which generally flows from ignorance, or
+incapacity to sift matters, and to test them in their general or
+particular bearings. On the whole, Protestant writers speak and write
+approvingly of him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>In that year (1152), a Synod was held at Mell, which, according to Ussher,
+is identical with Mellifont, though now a suburb of Drogheda is known by
+that name. Other Irish writers say that this Synod was held at Kells. At
+it Christian, then Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the Holy See, presided.
+In the <i>Annals of the Four Masters</i> it is related, that a &#8220;Synod was
+convened at Drogheda, by the bishops of Ireland, with the successor of
+Patrick, and the Cardinal, John Paparo,&#8221; etc. O&#8217;Donovan, quoting Colgan,
+tells us that Mellifont was known as the &#8220;Monastery at Drogheda.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In this same year occurred the elopement of Dervorgilla, wife of Tiernan
+O&#8217;Rourke, Prince of Brefny, with Dermod M&#8217;Murchad, King of Leinster. She
+is styled the Helen of Erin, as it is commonly supposed that her flight
+with Dermod occasioned the English Invasion. When O&#8217;Rourke heard of her
+departure, he was &#8220;marvellously troubled and in great choler, but more
+grieved for the shame of the fact than for sorrow or hurt, and, therefore,
+was fully determined to be avenged.&#8221; It is mentioned in the <i>Annals of
+Clonmacnois</i> that O&#8217;Rourke had treated her harshly some time previous, and
+that her brother M&#8217;Laughlin connived at her conduct. Dervorgilla (which
+means in Irish, The True Pledge), was forty-four years of age at the time,
+whilst O&#8217;Rourke (who was blind of one eye) and M&#8217;Murchad, were each of
+them sixty-two years old. O&#8217;Rourke was the most strenuous opponent of the
+English at the Invasion, and was treacherously slain by a nephew of
+Maurice Fitzgerald at the Hill of Ward, near Athboy, in 1172. He was
+decapitated, and his head hung over the gates of Dublin for some time. It
+was afterwards sent to King Henry, in England.</p>
+
+<p>From 1152 to 1157 the monks attracted no attention worth chronicling; for
+during these five years they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> passed by unnoticed in our Annals. It is,
+however, certain that they were busily engaged in the completion of their
+church and in making preparations for its solemn consecration. And what a
+day of rejoicing that memorable day of the consecration was, when
+Mellifont beheld the highest and holiest in Church and State assembled to
+do her honour! This ceremony far eclipsed any that had been witnessed
+before that in Ireland. What commotion and bustle filled the abbey, the
+valley, and the surrounding hills! A constantly increasing crowd came
+thronging to behold a sight which gladdened their hearts and aroused their
+piety and admiration. For, there stood the Ard Righ (High King) of Erin,
+surrounded by his princes and nobles in all the pride and pageantry of
+state, the Primate Gelasius, and Christian, the Papal Legate, with
+seventeen other bishops, and almost all the abbots and priests in Ireland.
+Then the solemn rite was performed, and many precious offerings were made
+to the monks and to their church&mdash;gold and lands, cattle, and sacred
+vessels, and ornaments for the altars, were bestowed with a generosity
+worthy of the princely donors. O&#8217;Melaghlin gave seven-score cows and
+three-score ounces of gold to God and the clergy, for the good of his
+soul. He granted them, also, a townland, called Finnabhair-na-ninghean, a
+piece of land, according to O&#8217;Donovan, which lies on the south side of the
+Boyne, opposite the mouth of the Mattock, in the parish of Donore, Co.
+Meath. O&#8217;Carroll gave sixty ounces of gold, and the faithless but now
+repentant Dervorgilla presented a gold chalice for the High Altar, and
+cloths for the other nine altars of the church.</p>
+
+<p>Mellifont looked charming on that propitious occasion, and presented a
+truly delightful picture, with its beautiful church and abbey buildings
+glistening in the sun in all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> purity and freshness of the white, or
+nearly white, sandstone of which they were composed. Yet, beautiful as
+were the material buildings, far more so were those stones of the
+spiritual edifice, the meek and prayerful cenobites, who were gathered
+there to adore and serve their God in spirit and in truth. From that
+valley there arose a pleasing incense to the Lord&mdash;the prayers, and hymns,
+and canticles, which unceasingly resounded in that church from hearts
+truly devoted to God&#8217;s worship, and dead to the world and themselves.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+<p class="title">MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE EMINENT SUPERIORS.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;This is no common spot of earth,<br />
+No place for idle words or mirth;<br />
+Here streamed the taper&#8217;s mystic light;<br />
+Here flashed the waving censers bright;<br />
+Awhile the Church&#8217;s ancient song<br />
+Lingered the stately aisles along,<br />
+And high mysterious words were said<br />
+Which brought to men the living Bread.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 10em;">(<i>W. Chatterton Dix.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_a.jpg" alt="A" /></span>fter the consecration of their church the monks settled down to their
+ordinary quiet way. The erection of the monastic buildings had hitherto
+kept them occupied; now that these were completed, they devoted their
+attention to the improvement of their farms, which they tilled with their
+own hands, and to the embellishment of their immediate surroundings. Even
+at this early period of her history, Mellifont was a hive of industry
+where all the trades flourished and many important arts were encouraged.
+At that time hired labour was sparingly employed by the monks; for they
+themselves bore a share in the work of the artisans as well as in the
+ordinary drudgery of tillage. Labour placed all on a footing of equality
+whilst it gave vigour to the body by healthy exercise in the open air.
+Perhaps, this healthy exercise was one of the secrets of the longevity for
+which the monks were remarkable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> Regularity of life continued for years
+contributes to a state of health which dispenses with physicians. Wherever
+monks settled down they immediately erected mills for grinding corn, for
+preparing and finishing the fabrics of which their garments were made,
+etc. St. Benedict enjoined on his monks the necessity of practising all
+the trades and arts within the walls of the monastery, so that they need
+never leave their enclosure for the purpose, or under the pretext, of
+having their work done by externs.</p>
+
+<p>Eleven years passed without Mellifont receiving any notice from our native
+chroniclers, and then at the year 1168, it is recorded, that Prince Donogh
+O&#8217;Carroll, the Founder, died and was buried in the church there. Ware
+tells us that his tomb and those of other remarkable personages had been
+in the church. As it was an almost general custom in Ireland, that the
+Founders of religious houses were interred on the north, or Gospel side of
+the High Altar, so it may be justly inferred that he was buried within the
+chancel, and that the recess on the north side is where his monument was
+erected. Thus, King Charles O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s tomb occupies the same place in
+Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway, of which he was Founder. So, too, in Corcomroe
+Abbey, Co. Clare, the tomb of Conor O&#8217;Brien, King of Thomond, grandson of
+the Founder of that abbey, is still to be seen in a niche in the wall on
+the north side of the High Altar. No doubt they were buried under the
+pavement. The ancient Statutes of the Order permitted kings and bishops to
+be buried in the churches, but assigned no particular part as proper to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>In 1170, a monk named Auliv, who had been expelled<a name='fna_7' id='fna_7' href='#f_7'><small>[7]</small></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> from Mellifont,
+instigated Manus, the King of Ulster, to commit an &#8220;unknown and attrocious
+crime,&#8221; as the <i>Annals of the Four Masters</i> call it; that is, to banish
+the monks whom St. Malachy brought to Saul, Co. Down, and to deprive them
+of everything they were possessed of. Instances of wicked men deceitfully
+entering monasteries, at that time and at other periods of monastic
+history, are given, but invariably the guilty party is severely censured,
+and it is related that his fellow-monks rid themselves of him. St. Bernard
+himself was deceived by his secretary, Nicholas, who afterwards left the
+Order. &#8220;He went out from us,&#8221; said the Saint, &#8220;but he did not belong to
+us.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Order was spreading rapidly in Ireland, and the filiations from
+Mellifont in their turn sent out new filiations, till most of the
+picturesque valleys in this country sheltered and nurtured thriving
+establishments; so much so, that O&#8217;Daly tells us &#8220;there were twenty-five
+grand Cistercian abbeys in Ireland at the Invasion.&#8221; But then a new era
+dawned on this unhappy nation, and might usurped the place of right, cruel
+unending strife and fierce jealousies were imported into the country, and
+it became one vast battle-field. Ireland would have assimilated the two
+contending races, but their amalgamation would have been detrimental to
+English interests in this kingdom, and hence by statute, by bribe, by all
+means available, the representatives of that Crown only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> too successfully
+kept the feuds alive. Fain would they have made the Church an instrument
+for the furtherance of these ulterior purposes, but, whilst she stood firm
+as an integral part of Peter&#8217;s Rock, neither English bribes nor English
+wiles could subjugate her. True, Englishmen were appointed to the richest
+benefices within the Pale to which the English kings had the right of
+presentation, and these strove, with as much zeal as the knight or baron,
+to extend the boundaries of the shire-lands. But the Irish prelates, by
+their disinterestedness, and their personal and episcopal virtues, saved
+the Church from the degradation that imperilled her. We shall see the
+result of this policy as we proceed.</p>
+
+<p>Judging, by analogy, from the progress of society in other countries, and
+from the relative number of monasteries founded in them and in Ireland
+before the Invasion, it may be conjectured that the monastic system in all
+its branches would have produced in this country the same fruits in
+agriculture, in learning, and in the arts, as are attributed to it in the
+history of other nations; and, in a special manner, it would have helped,
+by the unity of government enforced in Religious Orders, to bind together
+the discordant elements of society. Quite different, however, was it in
+Ireland; for the sphere of action of each monastery was cramped, and
+confined within a certain radius, beyond which its influences were not
+felt, nor regarded otherwise than in a hostile spirit, or at best as an
+object of suspicion.</p>
+
+<p>In 1172, the Abbot of Mellifont was sent to Rome on an embassy by King
+Roderic O&#8217;Connor. We are not told its nature.</p>
+
+<p>In 1177, Charles O&#8217;Buacalla, then Abbot of this monastery, was elected
+Bishop of Emly, where he died within a month after his consecration. In
+1182, King<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> Henry II. granted to the Abbot and community of Mellifont a
+confirmation of their possessions, and three years later, King John, at
+that time styled Lord of Ireland, renewed the confirmation while he was
+residing at Castleknock, during his brief visit to this country, in 1185,
+the thirty-second year of his father&#8217;s reign. A copy of the Charter may be
+seen in the Miscellany of the Arch&aelig;ological Society, Vol. I., page 158.
+The original, which is one of the earliest of the Anglo-Irish documents
+that have come down to us, is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. By
+this Charter King John confirmed to the monks of Mellifont the &#8220;donation
+and concession&#8221; which his father made to them. By it he confirmed to the
+monks &#8220;the site and ambit of the abbey, with all its appurtenances,
+namely, the grange of Kulibudi (not on the Ordnance map), and Munigatinn
+(Monkenewtown), with its appurtenances, the granges of Mell and Drogheda
+(in Irish Droichet-atha, that is, bridge of the ford) and their
+appurtenances, and Rathmolan (Rathmullen) and Finnaur (Femor), with their
+appurtenances, the grange of Teachlenni (Stalleen), and the grange of
+Rossnarrigh (Rossnaree), with their appurtenances, the townland of Culen
+(Cullen) and its appurtenances, the grange of Cnogva (Knowth), the grange
+of Kelkalma (not known now), with their appurtenances, Tuelacnacornari
+(not known), and Callan (Collon), with their appurtenances, and the grange
+of Finna (<span class="spacer">&nbsp;</span>) with its appurtenances.&#8221; He also confirms the grants of
+two carucates of land made to the monks by Hugh de Lacy, viz., of Croghan
+and Ballybregan (?), and also one carucate of land given by Robert of
+Flanders, called Crevoda, now Creewood, two miles west of Mellifont.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p>
+<div class="bbox" style="width: 600px; height: 416px;"><img src="images/img10.jpg" alt="" /></div>
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">South Wall of Lectorium.</span><br /><i>From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>In 1186, St. Christian O&#8217;Connarchy, or Connery, who had been the first
+Abbot of Mellifont and afterwards Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the
+Holy See, died, and was buried at O&#8217;Dorney, Co. Kerry, a monastery of his
+Order, which was founded in 1154, from Manister-Nenay. He had resigned all
+his dignities six years before, in order the better to prepare himself for
+a happy death. He was enrolled in the Calendar of the Saints of the
+Cistercian Order, and his festival was kept in England in pre-Reformation
+times, on the 18th March. In the eulogy of him in the Cistercian Menology
+it is said, &#8220;that he was remarkable for his sanctity and wonderful
+miracles, and that next to St. Malachy, he was regarded by the Irish
+nation as one of its principal patrons,&#8221; even down to the time that that
+was written, <span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 1630. An Irish gentleman who visited Italy in 1858,
+wrote from Venice to a friend, that he had seen amongst the fresco
+paintings which covered the wall of the beautiful church of Chiaravalla,
+the first Cistercian monastery founded in Italy, a painting of St.
+Malachy; also one entitled, &#8220;<i>S. Christianus Archieps. in Hibernia
+Cisterciensis</i>&#8221;&mdash;&#8220;St. Christian, a Cistercian monk, and Archbishop in
+Ireland.&#8221; The error in ranking him as Archbishop probably arose from his
+having succeeded St. Malachy as Legate. It was in his Legatine capacity
+that he presided at several Synods, chiefly the memorable one convened by
+King Henry at Cashel, in 1172.</p>
+
+<p>About the same time, there died at Mellifont, a holy monk named Malchus,
+who is said to have been St. Christian&#8217;s brother and successor in the
+abbatial office, as has been related above. Ussher, quoting St. Bernard,
+positively asserts that he was St. Christian&#8217;s brother. And Sequin, who,
+in 1580, compiled a Catalogue of the Saints of the Cistercian Order,
+mentions Malchus in that honoured roll, and styles him &#8220;a true contemner
+of the world, a great lover of God, and a pattern and model of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> all
+virtues to the whole Order.&#8221; He says, &#8220;he was one of St. Malachy&#8217;s
+disciples in whose footsteps he faithfully followed, and that he was
+renowned for his sanctity and learning, as well as for the many miracles
+he wrought.&#8221; His feast was kept on the 28th of June.</p>
+
+<p>In 1189, Rudolph, or Ralph Feltham, Abbot of Furness, died and was buried
+here. And in the same year, died Murrogh O&#8217;Carroll, cousin of the Founder,
+near whom he was interred.</p>
+
+<p>In 1190, Pope Clement III. issued a Bull addressed to the General Chapter
+of the Cistercian Order, dated July 6th of that year, enrolling St.
+Malachy in the Calendar of Saints, and appointing the 3rd of November for
+his festival.</p>
+
+<p>At that same General Chapter, it was decreed that the Irish Abbots be
+dispensed from attending the General Chapter annually, and it was decided
+that they should be present every third year; and a few years later, the
+Abbot of Mellifont was charged to select three of their number who should
+repair thither every year.</p>
+
+<p>In 1193, Dervorgilla died at the monastery of Mellifont. The <i>Annals of
+the Four Masters</i> and other Annals simply relate the fact of her having
+died there in the 85th year of her age, without alluding to the place of
+her sepulture.</p>
+
+<p>In that year, also, portions of the Relics of St. Malachy were brought to
+Mellifont and were distributed to the other houses of the Order in
+Ireland. Several of our Annals say that the Saint&#8217;s body was brought over
+from Clairvaux, but that is obviously a mistake; for until the French
+Revolution, the bodies of St. Malachy and St. Bernard occupied two
+magnificent altar-tombs of red marble within the chancel, at Clairvaux. A
+charter, dated 1273, is still extant, whereby Robert Bruce, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> rival of
+John Baliol for the Scottish Crown, conveys his land of Osticroft to the
+Abbot of Clairvaux for the maintenance of a lamp before St. Malachy&#8217;s tomb
+in that church. And the General Chapter of the Order held in 1323, when
+raising the Saint&#8217;s festival to a higher rank, expressly mentioned that
+his body &#8220;rested&#8221; at Clairvaux. Meglinger, a German Cistercian monk, who
+visited Clairvaux in 1667, and wrote a description of that famous abbey as
+he beheld it, says that he was shown the heads of Saints Malachy and
+Bernard, which were preserved in silver cases. He also mentions the superb
+altar-tombs of the two Saints. Later on, the two celebrated Benedictine
+monks, Dom Mart&egrave;ne and Dom Durand, when in quest of MSS., called at
+Clairvaux, and were shown the tombs and heads of the Saints. It is
+scarcely necessary to remark that this respect and veneration were
+entertained for the tombs only because they contained the bodies of the
+holy men.</p>
+
+<p>In 1194, Abbot Moelisa, who then governed Mellifont, was made Bishop of
+Clogher.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<p class="title">MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td><span style="margin-left: 5em;">&#8220;But I must needs confess</span><br />
+That &#8217;tis a thing impossible to frame<br />
+Conceptions equal to the soul&#8217;s desires;<br />
+And the most difficult of tasks to keep<br />
+Heights which the soul is competent to gain.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">(<i>Wordsworth.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_s.jpg" alt="S" /></span>ixty years of uninterrupted prosperity have passed over Mellifont, during
+which period it has been honoured by princes and people alike, and even
+the English Kings have marked their esteem for it by heaping fresh favours
+on it. It was still flourishing in 1201, when Thomas O&#8217;Connor, Archbishop
+of Armagh, whom the Annals of St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey, Dublin, style &#8220;a noble and
+worthy man,&#8221; chose it as his burial-place, and was buried there with great
+honour. He was brother to Roderick O&#8217;Connor, King of Connaught. It was at
+his instance that Joceline wrote his Life of St. Patrick.</p>
+
+<p>In 1203, King John &#8220;of his own fee&#8221; granted a new charter confirming that
+given by his father some years before, and also giving the monks free
+customs, together with the fishery on both sides of the Boyne.</p>
+
+<p>In 1206, Benedict and Gerald, monks of Mellifont, were deputed by Eugene,
+Archbishop of Armagh, to wait on the King and to tender him, on the
+Archbishop&#8217;s behalf, three hundred marks of silver and three of gold for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+restitution of the lands and liberties belonging to that See. It was the
+King&#8217;s custom to appropriate the revenues of the vacant bishoprics, and on
+the confirmation by the Pope of the bishop-elect, he issued a writ of
+restitution of the temporalities, or episcopal possessions and rights. The
+King, in order to keep the temporalities the longer, often refused his
+&#8220;<i>cong&eacute; d&#8217;elire</i>,&#8221; without which an election was invalid by the civil law.
+Soon after the Invasion, King Henry II. held in his possession, pending
+the appointment of new prelates, one archbishopric, five bishoprics, and
+three abbeys, here in Ireland.</p>
+
+<p>In 1211, Thomas was Abbot, and seven years later, Carus, or Cormac
+O&#8217;Tarpa, Abbot, and presumably immediate successor to Thomas, was made
+Bishop of Achonry, which See he resigned in 1226, and returned to
+Mellifont, where he died that same year, and was buried there. Some
+two-and-one-half miles north of Mellifont, and one-half mile east of
+Collon, between that village and Tinure, there is a crossing of the roads
+still popularly known as &#8220;Tarpa&#8217;s Cross.&#8221; Local tradition has it that this
+Cormac O&#8217;Tarpa, when Abbot, was wont to walk daily from the monastery to
+this spot.</p>
+
+<p>About that time, or in 1221, Mellifont, from some unrecorded cause, fell
+from its first fervour, but only for a very brief period; for the remedy
+applied effected a thorough reform. In the Statutes of the Order for that
+year, the General Chapter authorised the Abbot of Clairvaux to set things
+right by bringing in monks from other monasteries, and so, as it were,
+infuse new and healthier blood into the monastic life there. As no further
+mention is made of the matter, the trouble, whatever its nature was, must
+have been permanently removed.</p>
+
+<p>In 1227, Luke Netterville, Archbishop of Armagh, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> buried here. It was
+he who, three years previous, founded the Dominican monastery in Drogheda,
+of which, now, only the Magdalen Tower remains. And in that year (1227),
+Gerald, a monk of Mellifont, was elected Bishop of Dromore.</p>
+
+<p>In 1229, the King granted to the Abbot and Community of Mellifont a
+Tuesday market in their town of Collon.</p>
+
+<p>In 1233, the General Chapter authorised all the Abbots of the Order to
+have the Word of God preached on Sundays and festivals, to their servants
+and retainers, in some suitable place. And in 1238, the King gave a new
+confirmation to the monks of Mellifont.</p>
+
+<p>In 1248, the General Chapter granted permission to the English and Irish
+Abbots of the Order, to hold deliberations on important local matters in
+their respective countries. The Abbots of Mellifont, of St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey,
+Dublin, and of Duiske, Co. Kilkenny, were empowered to convoke all the
+other Irish Abbots of the Order for consultation; the assembly thus
+somewhat partaking of the nature of a Provincial Chapter.</p>
+
+<p>In 1250, no Englishman would be admitted to profession at Mellifont. In
+1269, David O&#8217;Brogan, who had been a monk of this house, and afterwards
+Bishop of Clogher, was buried here. In 1272, Hore Abbey, near Cashel, was
+founded from Mellifont. In 1275, the General Chapter decreed that in the
+admission of novices into the Order there should be no question of
+nationality.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto, the Cistercians confined themselves, in discharging the offices
+of their sacred ministry, to their guests, servants, and the sick poor in
+the hospitals at their gates; but now, the altered circumstances of the
+times demand a change in their usages and impose fresh burdens on them,
+for which they get no credit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> The new Orders of St. Francis and St.
+Dominic had settled down in this country, and were attracting a large
+percentage of the young men, who, till then, entered the ranks of the Lay
+Brethren, and managed the granges, or outlying farms, under the Cellarer.
+In consequence, therefore, of the insufficiency of their numbers to work
+the farms profitably, it was found necessary to lease these granges to
+tenants, and hence the origin of many villages and towns that, in several
+instances, arose on the site of the granges. The chapel attached to the
+grange (for every grange had its chapel for the use of the Brothers in
+charge) was converted into a parish church for the new population that
+clustered around it. Of this church the monks became the pastors, except
+when it lay at too great distance to be served from the monastery; in
+which case, the monks employed secular priests. They built schools also,
+where the children of the tenants and dependants received <i>gratuitously</i>
+from the monks themselves, an education similar to that at present
+imparted in our primary schools.</p>
+
+<p>Though the study of Sacred Scripture, Theology, and Canon Law was
+encouraged in the Order from its foundation; yet it was not until 1245
+that studies were fully organised by drawing up a curriculum that should
+be obligatory. In that year it was ordained by the General Chapter that in
+every Province there should be a central monastery to which the monks
+should repair to read the prescribed course of studies under members of
+the Order, who had graduated at some university. We are not told which of
+the Irish monasteries was selected as the House of Studies; but, in 1281,
+the General Chapter decided and decreed that in all the larger abbeys such
+Houses of Studies should be established.</p>
+
+<p>There is an entry in the Annals of St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey, at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> the year 1281,
+giving the price of cattle at that time. As it is interesting it is given
+here: viz., twenty shillings each for a horse, a cow, or a bullock.</p>
+
+<p>In 1306, Mellifont first experienced the baleful effects of racial
+jealousies and bickerings; for the monks could not, or would not, agree to
+elect an Abbot; and during their dissensions, the King seized the
+possessions of the monastery. We are not informed how matters terminated
+on that occasion.</p>
+
+<p>In 1316, the General Chapter ordered that the English, Welsh, and Irish
+Abbots should send some of their monks, in proportion to the number in
+their respective monasteries, to the University of Oxford, to be educated
+there. A few years previous, the Earl of Cornwall endowed at Oxford the
+College of St. Bernard (now St. John&#8217;s), for the Cistercians. How far the
+Irish monks availed of this college cannot be known; probably those within
+the Pale did largely benefit by it. One who obtained an unenviable
+notoriety by his intemperate invectives against the Mendicant Orders, was
+educated there&mdash;Henry Crump, an Englishman, and monk of the Abbey of
+Baltinglas. But it is very dubious that the &#8220;<i>mere</i> Irish&#8221; ventured to
+cross its threshold. They would abstain from doing so from prudential
+motives.</p>
+
+<p>The fourteenth century was ushered in by the repetition of feuds between
+the Anglo-Irish and the Irish; and, as it grew older, the former fought
+amongst themselves, with Irish auxiliaries on both sides. It may be here
+remarked, as a curious historical fact, that it was the Irish who fought
+the battles for the English Crown in Ireland; it was they, too, who
+retained their country subject to that dominion, according to Sir John
+Davis (<i>Discoverie</i>, p. 639); for no army ever came out of England from
+the time of King John, except the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>expeditionary army of Richard II. The
+few forces subsequently sent over, until the twenty-ninth year of Queen
+Elizabeth, were to quell the rebellions of the English settlers.</p>
+
+<p>The most disastrous calamity in Ireland in this century, next to the great
+plague of 1348, or the &#8220;Black Death,&#8221; as it was called, was Bruce&#8217;s
+invasion in 1315. Friar Clyn tells us in his Annals, that Bruce and his
+followers &#8220;went through all the country, burning, slaying, depredating,
+spoiling towns and castles, and even churches, as they went and as they
+returned.&#8221; As a result the country was visited by a dreadful famine, and,
+moreover, the Pope, writing to the Archbishops of Dublin and Cashel in
+1317, alludes to scandals, murders, conflagrations, sacrileges, and
+rapine, as following from that invasion. Though Bruce failed in his object
+to overthrow the English power in Ireland, yet he so far succeeded, that
+he weakened it considerably.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1316 (according to Ussher), O&#8217;Neill addressed his famous
+Remonstrance to Pope John XXII., in which, amongst other complaints, he
+remarked, that the religious communities were prohibited by the law from
+admitting anyone not an Englishman into monasteries within the Pale. In
+response to this, the Pope sent two Cardinals to investigate the matter,
+and also wrote a letter to King Edward II., exhorting him to adopt
+merciful measures towards the Irish. The letter had not much effect, and
+the cruelties and injustice continued; but, about twenty years later,
+there was exhibited an unprecedented tendency on the part of the
+Anglo-Irish and the Irish towards incorporation. The Irish people clung to
+the great Geraldine family with a romantic affection which that chivalrous
+race fully reciprocated. So, too, did they lean towards the rivals of the
+Geraldines, the Ormondes, and to other Anglo-Irish barons, who, likewise,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+had adopted Irish customs and sirnames. English power in this country had
+grown to be regarded as merely nominal, and the administration of the law
+and the office of Lord Deputy could no longer be committed to one or other
+of the two principal families (the Geraldine or Ormonde), to whom the
+Deputyship had been usually entrusted. To preclude the danger of these
+haughty noblemen attempting to arrogate the state of the independent
+native chieftains, and to firmly establish the English power, a
+Parliament, which assembled at Nottingham, in the seventeenth of Edward
+III. (1343), enacted laws for the reformation of the Irish Government. A
+few months previous to the sitting of this Parliament, Sir Ralph Ufford
+had been sent over as Lord Deputy, to stamp out this incipient spirit of
+independence, and to impede the fusion of the two races. This nobleman, by
+rigid and cruel measures, executed the nefarious intentions of the English
+Parliament. He appropriated the goods of others, plundered, without
+discrimination, the clergy, the laity, the rich and the poor; assigning
+the public welfare as a pretext. He broke down the pride of the Earl of
+Desmond, and for a while seized his estates; but, on Ufford&#8217;s recall to
+England and the appointment of Sir Walter Bermingham as his successor,
+Desmond was restored to royal favour. Gradually the old animus was
+revived, and old dormant jealousies between the two races were awakened,
+until, in the year 1376, the &#8220;Statute of Kilkenny&#8221; threw the whole nation
+into a state of commotion and chaos, and aroused a fierce hatred between
+the Anglo-Irish and the later arrivals from England, who were styled by
+that Act, &#8220;the English born in England.&#8221; The latter despised the former
+and called them &#8220;Irish Dogg;&#8221; the Anglo-Irish retorted, giving them the
+name of &#8220;English Hobbe,&#8221; or churl. These bickerings were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> reprobated by
+the said Statute, which, at the same time, banned the whole race of the
+native Irish. Sir John Davis writes of it: &#8220;It was manifest from these
+laws that those who had the government of Ireland under the Crown of
+England intended to make a perpetual separation between the English
+settled in Ireland and the native Irish, in the expectation that the
+English should in the end root out the Irish.&#8221; And another Englishman
+writes of this Statute: &#8220;Imagination can scarcely devise an extremity of
+antipathy, hatred, and revenge, to which this code of aggravation was not
+calculated to provoke both nations&#8221; (Plowden, <i>Historical Review of the
+State of Ireland</i>.) The foregoing summary of the condition of affairs in
+Ireland in the fourteenth century has been given, in order to illustrate
+and explain the bald historical facts handed down to us having reference
+to Mellifont during the same period.</p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that in the year 1316, O&#8217;Neil complained to the Pope
+that Irishmen were by law excluded from entering monasteries within the
+Pale; accordingly, we read that in 1322, the monks of Mellifont, amongst
+whom the English element then prevailed, would admit no man to profession
+there who had not previously sworn that he was not an Irishman. Cox, who
+derives his information from some old document in the Tower of London,
+tells us that in 1323, the General Chapter of the Order strongly denounced
+this pernicious practice, but there is no such decree, nor is there any
+allusion to it in Mart&egrave;ne at that date. That spirit seems to have been
+gratifying to King Edward II.; for, in 1324, he complained to the Pope of
+the violation of the law of exclusion, and Nicholas of Lusk, who was then
+Abbot, was superseded; very likely, was summarily deposed, for the
+infraction of it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>At that very time, some of the other Cistercian monasteries under the
+protection of the native chieftains, and totally composed of Irishmen,
+were in a most prosperous condition, and merited the genuine esteem of
+princes and people. Thus, the Abbey of Assaroe, or Ballyshannon, under the
+fostering care of the Princes of Tyrconel, attained celebrity by the
+regularity of its monks and the learning and sanctity of its Abbots, three
+of whom were made Bishops at no distant intervals. Of Boyle Abbey, Co.
+Roscommon, the same can also be said; for it throve and flourished without
+royal favour or charter. On the other hand, Mellifont had a plethora of
+charters, for which the monks there must have paid dearly. But, surrounded
+as it was by covetous and not over-scrupulous neighbours in lawless times,
+such safeguards were decidedly necessary. So, in 1329, Edward III. granted
+them a confirmation of all former privileges, together with the right of
+free warren in all their manors; and again in 1348, he gave them a fresh
+confirmation, with the right to erect a prison in any of their lands in
+the Co. Meath, and also the power to erect a pillory and gallows in their
+town of Collon. The Abbot then, as a temporal lord over his own manors,
+had power of life and death over his vassals therein; but he never
+exercised the authority so vested in him by condemning anyone to death,
+nay, even, he refrained from adjudicating on civil matters, as is seen by
+dispensations granted by Popes to Irish Cistercian Abbots freeing them
+from the obligation of acting as Justices.</p>
+
+<p>It is recorded that in 1329, in the battle in which the Louth men killed
+their new Earl, John Birmingham, &#8220;there fell Caech O&#8217;Carroll, that famous
+tympanist and harper, so pre-eminent that he was a ph&oelig;nix in his art,
+and with him fell about twenty tympanists who were his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> scholars. He was
+called Caech O&#8217;Carroll because his eyes were not straight, but squinted;
+and if he was not the first inventor of chord music, yet of all his
+predecessors and contemporaries, he was the corrector, the teacher, and
+director.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>How it fared with Mellifont during the fearful pestilence that ravaged all
+Europe in 1348, is not related. Friar Clyn, the Franciscan Annalist, wrote
+of it:&mdash;&#8220;That pestilence deprived of human inhabitants, villages and
+cities, and castles and towns, so that there was scarcely found a man to
+dwell therein.&#8221; The mortality in the religious houses was very great, and
+in some instances, only a few monks were left out of large and numerous
+communities. It is said that in these countries the religious Orders never
+recovered from the loss of the best and most learned of their members who
+were then swept away.</p>
+
+<p>In 1351, Abbot Reginald was charged, as if it were a crime, and found
+guilty, of having within two years collected of his own money, and from
+the Abbots of Boyle, Knockmoy, Bective, and Cashel, and of having remitted
+the sum of 664 florins to the Abbot of Clairvaux, while war was being
+waged between England and France. But there was no treason or treasonable
+intent in that; for the money was to defray the current expenses of the
+Order, and was levied off every monastery in proportion to the resources
+of each. Richard, C&oelig;ur de Lion, Alexander II. of Scotland, and Bela IV.
+of Hungary had, in their day, contributed largely to this fund.</p>
+
+<p>In 1358, the Abbot of Mellifont made good his claim to three weirs upon
+the Boyne, at Rosnaree, Knowth, and Staleen; but, in 1366, he was indicted
+at Trim, for erecting an unlawful weir at Oldbridge, when the Jury found
+against him, and he was ordered to reduce the weir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> to a certain breadth
+and space, and he, himself, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment; but,
+on his paying a fine of &pound;10 to Roland de Shalesford, the sheriff of the
+Co. Meath, this sentence was commuted. Ten years later, John Terrour,
+successor to this Abbot, was sued for obstructing the King&#8217;s passage of
+the Boyne.</p>
+
+<p>In the years 1373 and 1377, the Abbot was summoned to attend Parliaments
+held at Dublin and Castledermot respectively. In the former Parliament,
+one hundred shillings were ordered to be levied from him, as his portion
+of the subsidy granted to the Lord Justice, William de Windesore, by the
+same Parliament. In 1380, the King gave a special mandate that no <i>mere</i>
+Irishman should be admitted to profession in this abbey. In 1381 and 1382,
+the Abbot attended Parliaments held in Dublin, and in 1400, the King
+granted a royal confirmation of all the land, manors, and liberties,
+bestowed on the abbey by former charters; and in 1402, he pardoned the
+Abbot and monks for their having admitted Irishmen to profession. However,
+they were mulcted in the sum of &pound;50. In 1415, Leynagh Bermingham, William
+Davison, and John D&#8217;Alton were committed to the custody of the Abbot to be
+kept by him as hostages for the allegiance of their respective fathers. In
+1424, the Abbot, with the Archbishop of Armagh and Nicholas Taaffe, was
+appointed Justice and Conservator of the Peace for the Co. Louth.</p>
+
+<p>The allusions to Mellifont during the remainder of this century are very
+few and uninteresting. Whether, or not, it shared the fate of many other
+Irish monasteries at that time and had no regular Abbot, but one who was
+called Abbot <i>in commendam</i>, is not known; but the presumption is that it
+had not a regular Abbot. These Abbots <i>in commendam</i> were not monks, or
+members of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> any Religious Order; but secular clerics, not necessarily in
+Holy Orders. Sometimes, especially when the abuse had reached its greatest
+height in the fifteenth century, they were even laymen; nevertheless, they
+enjoyed the revenues of the abbeys committed to them, with the style and
+title of Abbots, but exercised no spiritual jurisdiction in their abbeys.
+This latter was confided to regular Priors who were selected by their own
+Religious superiors. When laymen held the abbeys <i>in commendam</i> they
+commonly resided in them with their wives, families, retinues, servants,
+etc., to the distraction and interference with the monks in their regular
+observances, and finally, to the complete subversion of discipline. At
+that very time this pernicious practice had brought the whole Order to the
+brink of ruin; for we find the General Chapter on several occasions
+deploring the injuries inflicted on religion, and lamenting the havoc
+wrought by it, and they decided to send three of their number to Rome to
+implore the Pope&#8217;s protection against the growing evil. Still, it
+survived, more or less, in these countries till the Reformation. Scotland
+suffered more from it, apparently, than Ireland did, as can be seen from
+the lists furnished by Brady in his <i>Episcopal Succession</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In 1476, the Abbot of Mellifont complained, that &#8220;owing to oppressions and
+extortions within the County of Louth and Uriell, his monastery was
+greatly indebted and impoverished.&#8221; Certain it is, that for some time
+previous, it had fallen from its former regularity and fervour; but,
+through the zeal and tact of Abbot Roger who then governed it, it regained
+its wonted prominence amongst the most observant monasteries. In 1479,
+this same Roger having set forth to the King that he had &#8220;Jurisdiction
+Ecclesiastical of all persons within his lands, as well secular as
+ecclesiastical, the King, out of his love<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> to the Cistercian Order,
+granted to the Abbot and his successors, the <i>Jus de excommunicatis
+capiendis</i>, and episcopal jurisdiction,&#8221; (Stat. Roll. 19 Ed. IV., c. 5.)
+The former privilege refers to the concession made to the Church by the
+first clause of the Statute of Kilkenny, and which had been confirmed by
+subsequent Parliaments for centuries after its first enactment. Under the
+heading&mdash;&#8220;The Church to be free&mdash;Writ <i>De Excommunicato capiendo</i>,&#8221; the
+clause proceeds to ordain, &#8220;that Holy Church shall have all her franchises
+without injury, ... and if any (which God forbid) do to the contrary, and
+be excommunicated by the Ordinary of the place for that cause, so that
+satisfaction be not made to God and Holy Church by the party so
+excommunicated within a month after such excommunication, that then, after
+certificate thereupon being made by the said Ordinary into the Chancery, a
+writ shall be directed to the Sheriff, Mayor, Seneschal of the franchise,
+or other officers of the King, to take his body, and to keep him in prison
+without bail, until due satisfaction be made to God and Holy Church, etc.&#8221;
+By episcopal jurisdiction is here meant the civil rights and privileges
+appertaining to the episcopal office, and enjoyed at that time by bishops
+over their subjects, lay and clerical. And as to the spiritual,
+quasi-episcopal jurisdiction&mdash;the Abbots of the Order had that as well as
+exemption in relation to their own monks from the very foundation of the
+Order; but by a Decree dated 28th September 1487, Pope Innocent VIII.
+granted to all Cistercian Abbots quasi-episcopal jurisdiction over their
+tenants, vassals, subjects, and servants. By this Decree, the Pope &#8220;took
+all the Abbots, Abbesses, Monks and Nuns of the Order under his special
+protection, together with all their goods, vassals, subjects, and
+servants, and exempted and freed the same from <i>all jurisdiction,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+superiority, correction, visitation</i>, subjection and power of Archbishops,
+Bishops and their Vicars, etc., ... and subjected them immediately to
+himself and the Holy See.&#8221; This Decree is given in full in the <i>Privilegia
+Ordinis Cisterciensis</i>, p. 179.</p>
+
+<p>That the Abbots of the Order exercised that privilege in this country
+cannot be doubted. We read an instance of it in the <i>Triumphalia</i>, so ably
+edited by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J., where, even after the
+Council of Trent and so recently as 1621, a certain secular priest, who
+had been appointed by the Abbot of Holy Cross to the pastoral charge of
+the parish attached to that abbey and of one or more outlying parishes
+subject to the same Abbot, denied after some time, that he had his
+faculties from the said Abbot, but rather from the Archbishop, or his
+Vicar. The controversy lasted long, but finally, it was decided in the
+Abbot&#8217;s favour, and Dr. Kearney, then Archbishop of Cashel, acknowledged
+the Abbot&#8217;s title. And again, in the <i>Spicelegium Ossoriense</i> there is a
+letter from Dr. O&#8217;Reilly, Archbishop of Armagh, written to the Propaganda
+in 1633, in which he complained that the Cistercians claimed the privilege
+of &#8220;<i>Visitation, Correction, Summoning to Synods, Approbation to
+hear confessions, together with entire and absolute episcopal
+jurisdiction</i>.&#8221; And a further proof in favour of the practice is found in
+the fact that laymen who acquired the suppressed monasteries of the Order
+claimed and exercised that same privilege. Thus, in 1622, Archbishop
+Ussher in a Report of Bective parish said it belonged to Bartholomew
+Dillon, Esq. of Riverstown, his Majesty&#8217;s farmer of the impropriate
+property. &#8220;This church belongeth to the Abbey of Bectiffe, in the
+possession of the said Mr. Dillon, who pretendeth to have an exemption
+from the Lord Bishop&#8217;s jurisdiction, and doth prove wills<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> and grant
+administrations.&#8221; And in 1744, Harris writes of Newry, where once was a
+Cistercian Abbey also: &#8220;A mitred Abbot formerly possessed the lordships of
+Newry and Mourne, and exercised therein Episcopal Jurisdiction, which
+after the dissolution of the Abbey was done by the temporal proprietor,
+and at the present Robert Needham, Esq., to whom the town and manor
+belong, enjoys an exempt Jurisdiction within the said manors, and the seal
+of his court is a Mitred Abbot in his Albe sitting in a chair, and
+supported by two yew trees with this inscription: &#8216;<i>Sigillum exempt&aelig;
+Jurisdictionis de Viride Ligno alias Newry et Mourne</i>.&#8217;&#8221; Which in English
+means, the seal of the Exempt Jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne. Verily!
+this savours of Popery; for, it was from the Pope the monks received their
+exemption. A modern example of this Papal concession, exercised in the
+Anglican Church, is to be found in the case of the Dean of Westminster who
+is immediately under the jurisdiction of her Gracious Majesty the Queen,
+and consequently exempt from that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is
+as successor to the Abbot of Westminster that he claims and is allowed
+that privilege of exemption; for the Abbot was immediately subject to the
+Pope in pre-Reformation times.</p>
+
+<p>The Abbot of Mellifont was implicated in the rebellion of Lambert Simnel;
+for in 1488, he received pardon from the King for his offences in that
+connection. The close of the fifteenth century found Mellifont recovering
+and maintaining its old prestige amongst the Religious Orders of this
+country, and with the dawning of a new century, it had regained its former
+level, from which a host of circumstances had conspired to drag it down
+and to degrade it. These circumstances have been already detailed and need
+not be here repeated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>In civil matters, Ireland in the first quarter of the sixteenth century,
+presented the same, or nearly the same, condition as she did more than
+three centuries before, when the English first landed on her shores. The
+Pale was literally bounded by the Liffey and the Boyne, and the old feuds,
+the long-protracted wars between the Anglo-Irish and the natives still
+subsisted. The regular administration of the law was limited to the four
+counties adjoining the capital, called the &#8220;Four Obedient Counties.&#8221; It
+seems incontestable that religion was in a flourishing condition in this
+country during the period; for an unwonted activity and fervour animated
+both clergy and people, as can be inferred from the number of religious
+houses established; the frequency of Synods held denoting zeal and
+regularity on the part of the prelates convening them; and the common
+practice, so much then in vogue, of visiting, through a spirit of penance
+and devotion, the Holy Places at home and in far-off countries. Our Annals
+prove this to demonstration. But, it must be borne in mind that the spirit
+of exclusion was still in full force amongst the Anglo-Irish clergy, and
+no Irishman was eligible for benefices within the Pale. Learning, which is
+ever the handmaid of true piety, found its home as in ancient times
+amongst the two classes of the clergy, the secular and regular. The number
+of learned works published at that time clearly proves it. Amongst the
+many eminent men who then adorned the Church in Ireland, Maurice O&#8217;Fihely,
+Archbishop of Tuam, ranks foremost. His biographers, for he had many,
+inform us, that he &#8220;was eminent for his extraordinary knowledge in
+Divinity, Logic, Philosophy, and Metaphysics,&#8221; that he published a
+Dictionary of the Holy Scriptures, and was styled by his contemporaries at
+home and abroad, &#8220;The Flower of the World.&#8221; He had been a Franciscan
+Friar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> before his promotion to the See of Tuam, but did not long survive
+his appointment.</p>
+
+<p>Now, capital has been made by some writers out of a description of the
+Church in Ireland taken from the State Papers, Part III., Vol. II., pp.
+15, 16. If it reflected a true picture, a Reformation would indeed have
+been needed, but not the kind introduced by Henry VIII., nurtured by
+Edward VI., and propagated with fire and sword by Elizabeth. The Report
+states: &#8220;Some sayeth, that the prelates of the Church and the clergy is
+much the cause of all the mysse order of the land, for there is no
+archbyshop, ne bysshop, abbot, ne prior, parson ne vicar, ne any other
+person of the church, high or lowe, greate or smalle, Englysh or Irishe,
+that usythe to preach the worde of Godde, saveing the poor fryers
+beggars.&#8221;... &#8220;Some sayeth&#8221;&mdash;Who were these &#8220;Some,&#8221; or what was their
+assertion worth? Were they parties who benefited by the disturbance of the
+old order of things at the Suppression, and so suspected of having been
+partial, and eager to seek any and every palliation for the State Church
+as by law established. Now every student of Irish history, as contained in
+our Annals, knows that that anonymous statement is unwarranted by fact. It
+will suffice to take two instances, as we find them recorded in Dowling&#8217;s
+<i>Annals</i> about this time, to show the fallacy of the accusation of
+wholesale neglect of preaching the Word of God. Of Nicholas Maguire,
+Bishop of Leighlin, 1490-1512, Dowling (Protestant Chancellor of Leighlin)
+writes: &#8220;When he was Prebendary of Ullard, he preached and delivered great
+learning with no less reverence, being in favour with the King and
+nobility of Leinster, who, together with the Dean and Chapter, elected him
+Bishop of Leighlin.&#8221; And of Maurice Deoran, or Doran, who a few years
+later succeeded him in Leighlin, Dowling again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> writes: &#8220;He was a most
+eloquent preacher.&#8221; It cannot be denied that at that time some Church
+dignitaries affected the airs and magnificence of worldly magnates, nor
+that they gave scandal to their flocks by their absenteeism. Other abuses,
+no doubt, existed, but the watchful providence of God had made provision
+for their removal through His authorised ministers. But, alas! a new
+condition of affairs shall soon arise. The most powerful political engine
+ever fabricated for the extension of the English power in Ireland shall be
+introduced, one which shall eventually break up the tribe lands,
+annihilate the sway of the ancient chieftains, and reduce their
+impoverished descendants to the condition of serfs and menials. And this
+shall be called reforming the Church! Even in this revolution, Mellifont
+shall play her part, and become revolutionized and misappropriated.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<p class="title">THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;No more shall Charity with sparkling eyes,<br />
+And smiles of welcome, wide unfold the door,<br />
+Where pity listening still to nature&#8217;s cries,<br />
+Befriends the wretched and relieves the poor.&#8221;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 14em;">(<i>Keats.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_t.jpg" alt="T" /></span>he Religious Orders, which succeed each other in the Catholic Church, are
+subject to laws similar to those that govern the productions of nature.
+They grow from feeble and imperceptible seeds, increase, flourish, and
+bear fruit; then decrease, fade, and fall to the ground. But they have
+produced a fruit, which contains within it the germs of a new seed-time,
+and which bursts forth vigorously from the decaying sheath to reproduce
+its never-failing kind. This work of reproduction and subsequent expansion
+is aided, directed, and encouraged by him, to whom is divinely committed
+the government of the Church; and when pseudo, self-styled reformers essay
+the difficult task, their true character is unmasked in the inevitable
+ruin and desolation which follow, instead of the order and rehabilitation
+which were promised. Bluff King Hal, or the Merrie Monarch, as Henry VIII.
+was familiarly and affectionately called by his loving subjects in the
+beginning of his reign, was in need of money to squander on his passions
+and pleasures. In his newly assumed character, therefore, of Head of the
+Church in his dominions (which, by Act of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> Parliament, he made it high
+treason to deny), he suppressed the lesser monasteries whose annual income
+did not exceed &pound;200. This was done, forsooth, in the interests of
+religion!!! The proceeds of the confiscation were soon dissipated, and the
+wily Cromwell, whom the King had appointed his <i>Vicar General</i>, suggested
+the suppression and appropriation to the King&#8217;s uses, of all the
+monasteries within the realm. Again it is his zeal for the promotion of
+God&#8217;s glory that is pleaded as his motive for the nefarious deed. Three
+years before, when addressing the Houses of Parliament in behalf of the
+measure for the suppression of the lesser monasteries, he publicly gave
+thanks to God, that in the large communities &#8220;religion is right well kept
+and observed.&#8221; And yet, what a metamorphosis in such a short space! All
+had now fallen away, and had inexplicably sunk into all manner of
+iniquity! Spelman, in his <i>History of Sacrilege</i>, tells the mode adopted
+by this model Reformer to carry his motion for investing in the Crown the
+property of all the Religious Orders. &#8220;The King sent for the Commons,&#8221; he
+tells us, &#8220;and informed them he would have the Bill pass, or take off some
+of their heads.&#8221; This they knew to be no empty threat; and pass the Bill
+they did on that memorable day of May 13, 1539. The Lords, as a body,
+voted for it; partly through a feeling of jealousy towards the Churchmen,
+who enjoyed no inconsiderable share of the monarch&#8217;s confidence and
+favour, and so they rejoiced at whatever promised to destroy this good
+understanding between them; and partly through cupidity, for they hoped
+for a share in the booty. The Bishops at that juncture are blamed for
+their weakness in complying with so unjust a proceeding; but they were
+divided in their councils; some considering it the less of two evils to
+sacrifice the Religious houses, in the hope that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> misunderstanding
+between the King and the Pope would be soon adjusted and the monks
+restored, yielded to the King; others, unworthy of their office, as it
+must be admitted, worldly men, courtly prelates, who dreaded the King&#8217;s
+displeasure, obsequiously obeyed his mandate.</p>
+
+<p>Besides his greed for gold, the King had another potent motive for
+suppressing the monasteries, one that gave a zest to this disgraceful act:
+he wanted the further to spite the Pope by inflicting such an unheard-of
+injury on religion. Other motives, too, were not wanting, such as state
+policy, so the King alleged, and the want of constant affection towards
+his person on the part of the Religious, particularly in his new capacity.
+This, Lord Herbert (who was no friend of the monks) admits in his Life of
+the King. His Lordship writes: &#8220;The monks were looked upon as a body of
+reserve for the Pope, and always ready to appear in his quarrels.&#8221;
+Perhaps, their opposition to the King&#8217;s assumption of spiritual power
+precipitated matters. At all events, one of them, zealous for God&#8217;s law,
+had the courage to reproach him to his face in a sermon preached at
+Greenwich before the King&#8217;s marriage with Anne Boleyn. This fearless
+champion of justice, this intrepid son of St. Francis, thus addressed the
+dissolute monarch:&mdash;&#8220;I am that Micheas, O King, whom you will hate because
+I must tell you truly that this marriage is unlawful; and I know that I
+shall eat the bread of affliction and drink the water of sorrow; yet,
+because our Lord has put it in my mouth, I must speak it.&#8221; And when he and
+another faithful brother friar were brought before the King&#8217;s council, who
+rebuked them, and declared them deserving of being shut up in a sack, and
+thrown into the Thames, for the boldness of their language in the matter
+of the King&#8217;s marriage, his companion smiling said: &#8220;Threaten these things
+to the rich and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> dainty persons, who are clothed in purple, and fare
+deliciously, and have their chiefest hope in this world; for we esteem
+them not, but are joyful, that, for the discharge of our duty we are
+driven hence; and, with thanks to God, we know the way to heaven to be as
+ready by water as by land.&#8221; (Stowe, <i>Church Chronicle</i>.)</p>
+
+<p>It was not, then, for dissoluteness of morals, nor for illiteracy, nor for
+backwardness in preaching the Word of God, nor yet for being drones in
+society, that the monks were turned from their peaceful homes. The true
+cause was, that the King knew, and his criminal advisers also knew, that
+the monasteries were as impregnable fortresses, which in defence of truth
+and justice, would hold out firm against seductive bribes, and the most
+appalling threats; hence they must be swept away under plea of general
+corruption of morals, etc., and their properties held up as a bait to draw
+over proselytes to the new order of things. The historian, Lingard,
+writing of the attitude of the monks towards the King&#8217;s supremacy in
+spiritual matters, says: &#8220;Secluded from the world, the Religious felt
+fewer temptations to sacrifice their consciences to the commands of their
+Sovereign, and seemed more eager to court the crown than to flee the pains
+of martyrdom.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Here, in Ireland, one of the King&#8217;s advisers counselled him to suppress
+some of the monasteries, and to convert them into residences for young
+noblemen, who would promote and defend the King&#8217;s interests. Patrick
+Finglas, created by Henry VIII. Chief Baron of the King&#8217;s Exchequer, and
+afterwards Lord Chief Justice, wrote a book entitled: &#8220;A Breviate of the
+getting of Ireland and of the decay of the same,&#8221; in which he recommends
+the suppression of the monasteries bordering on the Pale, &#8220;because they
+were giving more aid and supportacion to the Irish than to the King.&#8221; &#8220;Let
+the Abbeys,&#8221; he goes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> on to say, &#8220;be given to young lords, knights, and
+gentlemen out of England, which shall dwell upon the same.&#8221; This advice
+seemed good to the King, and it was literally carried out, but to far
+greater extent than this astute lawyer had anticipated.</p>
+
+<p>Mellifont, in common with the other Religious establishments in Ireland
+within grasp of the King (for in Ulster, they were free from molestation
+under O&#8217;Neil and O&#8217;Donnell), must have heard with dismay the rumours
+afloat about a general suppression, and grief and consternation must have
+filled the hearts of the monks. Was it possible, they asked, that the
+King, whose person they respected, whose laws they obeyed, would drive
+them forth, wanderers over the world, which many of them had renounced in
+early youth; and now, without adequate provision, were they, in their
+declining years, to perish by the roadside? Were their beautiful church,
+their loved cloister, their shady groves, no more to shelter them, and
+were they to sever connection with a spot endeared to them by so many holy
+associations? Yes, it is true, alas! for the Abbot of St. Mary&#8217;s, Dublin,
+being nearer authentic sources of information, has heard it and has sent
+word, that sentence is passed on all, and their doom has sounded; for the
+following Royal Commission was forwarded to the Deputy, with peremptory
+orders to have it executed forthwith:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Royal Commission directed to John Allen, Chancellor; George, Archbishop of
+Dublin; William Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; Robert Cowley, Master of the
+Rolls; and Thomas Cusacke, Esq.; reciting, &#8220;That from the information of
+trustworthy persons, it being manifestly apparent that the monasteries,
+abbeys, priories, and other places of Religious or Regulars, in Ireland,
+are at present in such a state, that in them, the praise of God and the
+welfare of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> man are next to nothing regarded; the Regulars and nuns
+dwelling there being so addicted, partly to their own superstitious
+ceremonies, partly to the pernicious worship of idols, and to the
+pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff, that unless an effectual
+remedy be promptly provided, not only the weak, low order, but the whole
+Irish people, may be speedily infected to their total destruction. To
+prevent, therefore, the longer continuance of such Religious men and nuns
+in so damnable a state, the King (having resolved to resume into his hands
+all the monasteries and Religious houses, for their better reformation, to
+remove from them the Religious men and women, and to cause them to return
+to some honest mode of living and to true religion,) directs the
+Commissioners to signify this his intention to the heads of Religious
+houses; to receive their resignations and surrenders willingly tendered;
+to grant to those tendering it liberty of exchanging their habit and of
+accepting benefices under the King&#8217;s authority; to apprehend and punish
+such as adhere to the Roman Pontiff and contumaciously refuse to surrender
+their houses; to take charge for the King&#8217;s use of the possession of those
+houses, and assign competent pensions to those who willingly surrender.&#8221;
+(<i>Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland</i>, Morrin, 1539-40, April 30,
+Henry VIII., 30<sup>o</sup>, p. 55.)</p>
+
+<p>Most marvellous, indeed, and sudden, and quite unprecedented in history,
+was this utter decadence from godliness to &#8220;idolatry and the pestiferous
+doctrine of the Roman Pontiff&#8221; on the part of 100,000 persons within the
+space of three short years! But, behold! the godly monarch will reform
+them (supposing they needed reform) in the fashion recorded in the old
+English proverb: &#8220;The devil amended his dame&#8217;s leg; when he should have
+set it right, he brake it quite in pieces.&#8221;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> That the Deputy, Lord Gray,
+did not consider the monks and nuns an effete body, addicted to evil
+practices, will appear evident from the letter he addressed to Cromwell,
+and which was signed by his Council. It bears date 21st May 1539:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;May it please your honourable Lordship to be advertised, that by the
+report of Thomas Cusacke and others repaired lately out of the realm of
+England into this land, it hath been openly bruited the King&#8217;s grace&#8217;s
+pleasure to be, that all the monasteries within this land should be
+suppressed, none to stand. Amongst which, for the common weal of this
+land, if it might stand with King&#8217;s most gracious pleasure by your good
+Lordship&#8217;s advertisement, in our opinion it were right expedient that six
+houses should stand and continue, changing their habit and rule into such
+sort as the King&#8217;s grace shall will them: which are namely, St. Mary&#8217;s
+Abbey, adjoining Dublin, a house of white monks (Cistercians); Christ
+Church, a house of canons situated in the middle of the City of Dublin;
+Grace Dieu Nunnery, in the County Dublin; Connell, in the County Kildare;
+Kenlys or Kells, and Jerpoint (this latter Cistercian also), in the County
+Kilkenny. <i>For in these commonly, and in others such like</i>, in default of
+common inns, which are not in this island the King&#8217;s Deputy and all others
+his Grace&#8217;s Council and Officers, also Irishmen and others resorting to
+the King&#8217;s Deputy in these quarters is and hath been most commonly lodged
+at the cost of the said houses. <i>Also, in them, young men and children,
+both gentlemen&#8217;s children and others, both of man kind and woman kind be
+brought up in virtue and in the Englishe tongue and behaviour to the great
+charge of the said houses</i>; that is to say, the woman kind of the whole
+Englishie of this land, for the most part, in the said nunnery, and the
+man kind in the other houses.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>And the Abbot of St. Mary&#8217;s, petitioning soon after for exemption from the
+general suppression, pleads in a letter to the same Cromwell: &#8220;Verily we
+be but stewards and purveyors to other men&#8217;s uses for the King&#8217;s honour,
+keeping hospitality, and many poor men, scholars and orphans.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>All petitions are unavailing; the King is inexorable; and St. Mary&#8217;s and
+Mellifont, and the others included in the original list must go down
+before the despot&#8217;s unholy will, untried, unheard, but with the nation&#8217;s
+regret, those alone excepted, who thirsted for and shared the sacrilegious
+booty. Before the lamp of piety and learning be extinguished for ever in
+Mellifont, let us take a parting glance at it, so that the contrast may be
+the more marked as we note its vicissitudes later on.</p>
+
+<p>In that bright July morning (1539), when the bell summoned the monks of
+Mellifont to matins for the last time, the sun rose over as fair a picture
+as could well be conceived, when its brilliant rays shot floods of light
+through the woods and valley, and gilt the quivering tree-tops with
+lustrous gold. And the enormous piles of white masonry looked whiter for
+the glinting of the sun-beams, and many a fantastic shadow was cast on the
+tesselated pavement in the church by the &#8220;dim religious light&#8221; of the
+gorgeous stained glass windows. The statues of the Twelve Apostles looked
+down patronisingly from lofty pedestals, and bore the minds of the
+beholders aloft, to where the guerdon awaits the faithful soldier of
+Christ when his term of service here below shall have expired. Loud rose
+the rhythmic measure of the majestic Gregorian Chant rendered by over one
+hundred full-voiced singers on that beautiful morning, ere yet the skylark
+shook the dew-drops from his wings, or intoned his early carol o&#8217;er the
+meadows by the Boyne. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> pealing of the organ sounded loud and louder as
+they chanted their solemn Mass, but to many who then took part in that
+sacred function, its plaintive notes presaged the speedy end of their
+time-honoured establishment, which at any moment may receive the fatal
+visit of the Commissioners. In its internal economy it was wisely and
+worthily governed, its community numbered 150 Choir monks, besides Lay
+Brothers and familiars, its schools were prosperous, and from their
+widespread reputation, merited the title of &#8220;famous&#8221; which was accorded
+them. The children of the monks&#8217; tenants received a free education here;
+moreover, the monks conducted a school, which we would now call a
+seminary, where gentlemen&#8217;s children and others were taught the higher
+branches suited to prepare them for their career in after-life. Their
+peaceful valley was screened on every side from wintry blasts by tasteful
+plantations, useful and ornamental; for a thickly planted orchard, chiefly
+of apple and pear trees, which covered both sides of the River Mattock
+from the mill to where the bridge now spans the river, survived till
+within the memory of many still living who describe it as having been so
+dense that one could cross the valley on the tops of them. The grounds
+surrounding the monastery were laid out with commendable taste; the lands
+yielded plentiful crops, and supported numerous herds of cattle. The hill
+south-east of the abbey was covered over with oak of gigantic size&mdash;the
+growth of centuries&mdash;and on the Meath side were screens of valuable
+timber. Their tenants were contented and prosperous; for the monks were
+indulgent landlords. Their rents were paid in kind, and for the rest, they
+found a ready market always at the abbey, where a huge supply of
+provisions was constantly needed for the strangers and the poor who sought
+and found a ready welcome there.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>The spiritual wants of the tenants and dependants were attended to by one
+of the monks, John Byrrel, whose name occurs first in the list of those
+belonging to Mellifont to whom pensions were granted. He is styled Parson
+of Mellifont. It is probable, too, that others of the abbey priests
+ministered to Tullyallen parish (though it is scarcely probable that the
+present parish is conterminous with the old one), to Monknewtown and
+Donore; for in the English Episcopal Registers, twelve volumes of which
+have been recently published, it is noted that their brethren in England
+served the parishes in the immediate vicinity of the monasteries; and,
+moreover, we find in the list of pensioners of other Cistercian houses in
+Ireland, the names of three or more, in the same monastery, who are called
+parsons. Medical advice and medicine were dispensed gratis at the Abbey.
+The sick poor were visited and cared for in their homes by physicians
+employed by the monks; they were also admitted into the hospital at the
+gate. On fixed days weekly, the poor of the locality came for and received
+loaves of bread which were specially baked for them, and meat in
+abundance, with beer, was distributed to them. In those days there were no
+poor laws; for the monks provided for all the wants of the indigent. The
+monks were in constant touch with all classes of society, at least the
+principal officers were, and they were the advisers, as well as the
+instructors, of all. The History of the English Abbeys of the Order, or
+the fragments that have survived the vandalism of the Dissolution, and
+which have been published by impartial Protestants, clearly prove that
+this picture of far-reaching and ungrudging beneficence is by no means
+fanciful. (<i>See Ruined Abbeys of Britain, by Frederick Ross.</i>) The Abbot
+of Mellifont took a prominent place in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> councils of the nation. He
+ranked as a Peer, and had a seat in the House of Lords before all the
+other Religious superiors, twenty-three more of whom were privileged to
+sit there. He was bound to supply a certain number of horsemen for the
+King&#8217;s musters, and to maintain them at his own charge. Tradition has it
+that he could ride on his own territory from the sea at Drogheda to the
+Shannon at Athlone, but this requires confirmation. He owned some 4,000
+acres at the suppression, extending on the south side of the Boyne from
+Drogheda to Rossnaree, and on the north, to Slane, including the fisheries
+and five salmon weirs on the river. He rented the fishing of sixteen
+corraghs at Oldbridge, for which he got &pound;13 13s. 4d. annually. The <i>town</i>
+of Tullyallen belonged to him. It was then in a flourishing condition, but
+has fallen since from its rank as a town to that of a mere village,
+composed of a few scattered cottages. The district was then populous; for
+another village grew up near the Abbey occupied by tradesmen and
+dependants who were constantly employed by the monks. It was called Doagh.
+It is now level with the field. It stood a quarter of a mile north-west of
+Mellifont, beyond the Mattock. Its site is an elevated plateau, locally
+known as the Doagh Meadows. The entire annual revenue of the Abbey was
+estimated at &pound;316, which, allowing for the difference in value of money
+since, would be equivalent to an income of close on &pound;4,000 at the present
+day. On that the monks maintained themselves and a large staff of
+servants, &#8220;kept hospitality, and many poor men, scholars, and orphans.&#8221;
+The Abbot entertained his guests daily at his own table in a spacious
+building apart from the monks&#8217; quarters, and was a man of light and
+leading, unlike the helpless imbecile portrayed by Scott in his novels.
+The Abbot was chosen, often from some distant monastery, for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> aptitude
+&#8220;in governing souls,&#8221; which was the paramount consideration with St.
+Benedict in the selection of a superior. He should be learned, and sound
+both in doctrine and morals, to be entrusted with such a charge. It is
+only too true that unworthy persons, contrary to the Canons, were
+sometimes intruded into the position by powerful relatives, and they,
+alas! generally brought disgrace on religion.</p>
+
+<p>As to the spiritual condition of Mellifont at the time of its suppression,
+it was certainly on a high level. No charge was brought against that
+community, on that score, even by its worst enemies; none but the general
+ones mentioned in the Commission. In truth and in fact, the observances
+then in force at Mellifont were identical with those introduced by Abbot
+Christian and practised at Clairvaux by St. Bernard and his saintly
+companions. If they were &#8220;idolatrous,&#8221; and &#8220;superstitious,&#8221; and savouring
+of the &#8220;pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff,&#8221; so must have been the
+ancient practices of the Cistercians; and wonderful indeed was it, that
+till King Henry and his advisers discovered it, our ancestors, for four
+hundred years at least, approved of and took part in these same practices
+without a suspicion of the &#8220;pernicious&#8221; errors they were now found to
+contain! In the matter of discipline alone was there any decadence, and
+then the altered conditions of the times demanded some modifications. The
+use of flesh meat three days in the week was introduced, and instead of
+manual labour, other duties were substituted, such as teaching, copying,
+study, etc. In their daily lives, we are told by Rev. Dr. Gasquet, O.S.B.,
+perhaps the greatest living authority in such matters, that the
+Cistercians at that time differed little from the Benedictines.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the condition of Mellifont on that fatal day,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> the 23rd July
+1539, when the Commissioners, with an armed band, demanded admission and
+surrender, in the King&#8217;s name. Remonstrance with them was vain, and the
+usual formality was gone through. They seized on the charters, registers,
+ledgers, etc., together with the keys of the treasury and store-rooms;
+took an inventory of all the possessions of the monastery, and sealed the
+Library and strong room. They, then, summoned the Abbot and all the monks
+to the Chapter-house, to sign the Act of Surrender. In the Calendar of
+Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland, Henry VIII. (edited by James
+Morrin), the synopsis of it is given as follows at p. 135:&mdash;&#8220;Surrender of
+the Abbey or House of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Mellyfount, in the County
+of Louth, by Richard Contoure, Abbot, with the consent of the Convent; and
+of the church, belfry, cemetery, manors, lands, and all its possessions in
+the counties of Dublin, Kildare, and Carlow, with all charters, evidences,
+muniments, goods, utensils, ornaments and jewels.&#8221;&mdash;July 23, 31<sup>o</sup>.
+(1539). &#8220;Endorsed on the preceding surrender is a memorandum that the
+Abbot and Convent, assembled in the Chapter-house, voluntarily
+acknowledged the preceding surrender, delivered it into the hands of the
+Lord Chancellor, and prayed it might be enrolled in Chancery, <i>in
+perpetuam rei memoriam</i>. Witness, George, Archbishop of Dublin; Wm.
+Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls.&#8221; July 23,
+31<sup>o</sup>.</p>
+
+<p>How often have these &#8220;voluntary&#8221; surrenders been flaunted by writers
+hostile to the monks, as if the farce of signing the document which made
+them beggars were a free act! They were anxious, forsooth, to shake off
+the burden of their religious obligations, through the facile dispensation
+so liberally accorded by the new Head of the Church, in the flush of his
+accession to ecclesiastical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> supremacy! The late scholarly and
+liberal-minded Dean Butler, Protestant Rector of Trim, wrote thus on the
+subject:&mdash;&#8220;The form of surrender then executed omitted no property which
+could belong to the house.... There were added their charters, evidences,
+writings and manuscripts, their goods, chattels, utensils, ornaments,
+jewels, and debts, all these were granted to the King, to be disposed of
+at his good pleasure, without appeal or complaint, and the unhappy men
+<i>were forced to declare</i>, that they thus deprived themselves of house and
+home <i>of their own free will</i>, and that they put an end to a venerable
+institution, to which they were bound by so many solemn obligations,
+certain just and reasonable causes thereto moving their minds and their
+consciences.&#8221; (<i>Register of the Priory of All Hallows.</i> Preface, p. xxix.)</p>
+
+<p>The next step was, there and then, to auction off all the moveables of the
+monastery, except the jewels of the rich reliquaries, chalices, and other
+sacred vessels, with the plate and bells, which formed the King&#8217;s special
+perquisite. The whole artistic woodwork of the church (choir and
+wainscotting) was smashed in pieces, and even the very tombs of the
+founders and others interred there, were sold and carted off. For a
+description of the work of destruction, as related by an eye-witness of
+such vandalism at the suppression of an English Cistercian monastery, see
+<i>The Irish Cistercians</i>, p. 45. The sale realised &pound;141 7s. 3d., but no
+detailed account is given of the sum that each article fetched. According
+to another Commission addressed to John Allen, Chancellor; William
+Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; and Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls; dated
+May 20, 1539, the proceeds of such sales were ordered to be allocated &#8220;to
+pay the officers and servants of the Crown.&#8221; When the church and monastery
+were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> dismantled, and every article of value, no matter how trifling, had
+been removed, the order to clear out the monks was promptly given and
+executed; and the gates were shut behind them. Whither they went nobody
+cared, and whither to go was a problem to themselves difficult to be
+solved; for without money or provision, they were in a worse condition
+than the most destitute of beggars. The hoary old walls caught up their
+groans and lamentations on that day, as with breaking hearts they looked
+upon each familiar spot for the last time. This is one of the secrets the
+old stones of the few remaining buildings yet withhold from us. Mellifont
+beheld many moving spectacles during the four centuries of her existence,
+but none, perhaps, so deeply affecting as when her 150 children, amongst
+whom were the aged, tottering on the brink of the grave and leaning for
+support on some younger brethren, turned their back upon their happy home
+where they enjoyed an anticipated paradise. As the sad procession slowly
+gained the top of the hill, many a time they turned to take a last
+farewell look at their beloved monastery, till it faded from their view
+for ever. A few shillings each were allowed them for their immediate
+wants, but of that multitude only thirteen and the Abbot received
+pensions. This grant was fixed for them three days after their expulsion,
+after which they all disappear from the scene as effectually as if the
+Boyne had engulphed them.</p>
+
+<p>The following entries are found in the Patent and Close Rolls Calendar,
+Henry VIII., pp. 59, 60: &#8220;Pension of &pound;40 Ir. to Richard Contour, late
+Abbot of Mellyfount, payable out of the parishes of Knockmohan, Donowre,
+and Monkenewton, with clause of distress.&#8221;&mdash;Sept. 10, 1539. And at p. 60,
+<i>ibid.</i>, &#8220;Pension to John Byrrell, late parson of Mellifount, &pound;3 6s. 8d.;
+to Thomas Bagot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> &pound;4; to Peter Rewe, 40/-; to Thomas Alen, 53/4; to
+William Norreis, 40/-; to Robert Nangle, 40/-; to Patrick Contour, 53/4;
+to William Veldon, &pound;3 6s. 8d.; to Patrick Lawles, 40/-; to John Ball,
+40/-; to Clement Bartholomewe, 20/-; to Phelim O&#8217;Neil, 20/-; payable out
+of the rents and lands of the parishes of Knockamowan, Donower, and
+Montnewton&#8221; (Monknewtown), 26 July, 1539.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, then, were these fourteen provided for, but, of the others, not one
+received a single shilling, except, as has been said, a mere pittance that
+sufficed to procure them a few nights&#8217; shelter. This is no picture drawn
+from fancy; it is a well-authenticated fact, that where a peaceful
+surrender was not given or signed, no provision whatsoever was made for
+those who so refused. They were given a trifle at their expulsion, and
+turned adrift to swell the army of beggars, or to perish, as they did in
+hundreds, of hardships to which they were unaccustomed. The imagination
+cannot now well conceive the heartless, wanton cruelty then practised on
+the expelled Religious; who, if they had betrayed their consciences and
+taken the oath of Supremacy, might have staved off, at least for a time,
+the calamities that befell them. But only for a time; for in some
+instances where the monks, through mistaken notions, obeyed the Royal
+mandate, they shared the fate of their more steadfast brethren, owing to
+the insatiable rapacity of the King and his advisers. To those of the
+expelled who were priests, the hope was held out to them, in case of &#8220;free
+surrender,&#8221; that they should be promoted to the first vacant benefices. As
+not one of the Religious expelled from Mellifont is enrolled on the list
+of those promoted to vacancies during that or the subsequent reigns, it is
+obvious that they held fast to their principles, and denied the King&#8217;s
+Supremacy, an acknowledgment of which was indispensable before
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>promotion. All honour to them for their generous sacrifices, which made
+them worthy to be the last who saw the venerable institution reel and fall
+beneath the despot&#8217;s blows. Their noble attitude was befitting the close
+of a work which was inaugurated with such splendour amid a nation&#8217;s
+rejoicing. Like the setting sun, Mellifont disappeared in a halo of glory.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+<p class="title">MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY&mdash;IS SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED UP
+TO RUIN AND DECAY.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td>&#8220;Mute is the matin bell, whose early call<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Warn&#8217;d the grey fathers from their humble beds;</span><br />
+No midnight taper gleams along the wall,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or, round the sculptur&#8217;d saint its radiance sheds.&#8221;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">(<i>Keats.</i>)</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="dropfig"><img src="images/drop_t.jpg" alt="T" /></span>he long line of distinguished men being thus rudely and abruptly
+terminated at Mellifont, with the suppression of the monastery, all
+memorials of their history were lost, and no trace of them has been left.
+Not a book, nor cross, nor chalice, register, nor chartulary remains. It
+appears that Mellifont had its Annalist and its Annals like <i>all</i> the
+other monasteries of the Order in Ireland; for Bishop Nicolson, who wrote
+his &#8220;Irish National Library&#8221; in 1724, says: &#8220;The Annals of Ireland from
+the foundation of this Abbey in 1142 to the year 1500, are, or were
+lately, in the hands of some of the learned men of this kingdom.&#8221; He does
+not tell us the name of the compiler, but only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> the fact that they had
+been written at Mellifont. These are not cited by later writers, so they,
+also, must have perished long since. At the suppression of monasteries,
+the archives, chronicles, and registers were carefully sought by the
+Commissioners, because they contained correct information on the value and
+extent of the possessions of each house respectively; and the more
+extensive these were, the more sedulously were the records sought for.
+Hence it is that because the Cistercian Order had large possessions, the
+manuscripts were all seized and handed over with the monasteries to the
+grantees. The monks could not possibly take one away with them. So their
+history is now derivable from other sources, which, at best, are very
+meagre. Mellifont, which occupied so prominent and respected a position
+during its career, would not be found inferior to other houses of the
+Order in the number of its learned and remarkable men, were its ancient
+documents now available; and, judging from the long roll of distinguished
+men, who in every department of knowledge rendered the Order illustrious
+in other countries, we may safely allot a respectable quota of the same to
+Mellifont. De Visch compiled his <i>Writers of the Cistercian Order</i> in
+1656, and Sartorius published a large tome in 1700, each containing
+notices of the illustrious men of the Order. No less than sixty-three
+large folio pages of this latter work are occupied with the names of the
+learned men, and the dates at which they flourished. He places all in
+distinct categories, and so we have St. Bernard heading the list, after
+whom come the Grammarians, next follow the Poets, Orators, Historians,
+Philosophers, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Musicians, then Doctors of
+Canon and Civil Law, and Doctors of Theology; finally, Professors in
+universities, and others, whose general attainments precluded
+classification. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> these works were written after the suppression of the
+monasteries in these countries, the materials relating to the Irish and
+English monasteries having passed into hostile hands or been destroyed,
+were no longer accessible. Ireland was ever remarkable for the thirst for
+learning displayed by her children, and for the singular proficiency
+attained by them, when the opportunity for it was afforded; we may, then,
+justly conclude that learning and the polite arts found a home at
+Mellifont. For this latter branch, the beautiful buildings would, of
+themselves, suffice as an argument in favour of an advanced state of
+culture and refinement.</p>
+
+<p>It is worthy of note, that neither the Irish people, nor the
+representatives of the Government in this country, brought, much less
+substantiated, any direct charges against the Irish monks, prior to the
+suppression. Hence it is, that their maligners had to import, for use
+against them, the staple arguments commonly used in England, and there
+only by venal scribblers, and those who profited by the downfall of the
+monks. To such the learned and impartial Protestant historian, the Rev.
+Doctor Maitland, adverts, when after giving credit to the monks for their
+having been benefactors to mankind, he writes in his preface to the <i>Dark
+Ages</i>:&mdash;&#8220;In the meantime, let me thankfully believe that thousands of the
+persons at whom Robertson, and Jortin, and other such very miserable
+second-hand writers, have sneered, were men of enlarged minds, purified
+affections, and holy lives, that they were justly reverenced by men, and,
+above all, favourably accepted by God, and distinguished by the highest
+honours which He vouchsafes to those whom He has called into existence,
+that of being the channels of His love and mercy to their
+fellow-creatures.&#8221; And in our own time, the <i>Guardian</i>, an English
+Protestant newspaper, when <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>reviewing the Rev. Doctor Gasquet&#8217;s, O.S.B.,
+learned work, <i>Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries</i>, approvingly
+cites, amongst others, the following paragraph:&mdash;&#8220;The voices raised
+against the monks were those of Cromwell&#8217;s agents, of the cliques of the
+new men and of his hireling scribes, who formed a crew of as truculent and
+as filthy libellers as ever disgraced a revolutionary cause. The later
+centuries have taken their tale in good faith, but time is showing that
+the monasteries, up to the day of their fall, had not forfeited the
+goodwill, the veneration, the affection of the English people.&#8221; Mr. Lecky,
+too, with his usual candour and liberality, writes:&mdash;&#8220;Monastic
+institutions were the only refuges of a pacific civilisation; the only
+libraries, the only schools, the only centres of art, the only refuges for
+gentle and intellectual natures; the chief barriers against violence and
+rapine; the chief promoters of agriculture and of industry.&#8221; (<i>The
+Political Value of History</i>, p. 14. London, 1892.)</p>
+
+<p>The monks being now expelled, Mellifont was delivered up to desecration
+and ruin; the silence of the tomb reigned supreme, and the voice of prayer
+was heard no more; no longer did the bells from the tower send forth their
+cheering notes over the surrounding district to raise the hearts of the
+toiler to Heaven. These sweet toned bells, the gift of some princely
+benefactor, had been, with all the other moveable property, carried off by
+the spoiler. The Abbey, with all its spiritual and temporal possessions,
+was given, in 1541, to Laurence Townley, for 21 years. They passed by
+reversionary lease to &mdash;&mdash; Brabazon, in 1546. In 1551, they were leased to
+the same for 21 years more, and in 1566, they came by reversionary lease
+to Edward Moore, the founder of the Drogheda family, who, at that time,
+came into Ireland, as a soldier of fortune. (<i>Appendix to the Report of
+the Deputy-Keeper of the Rolls and Grants of Elizabeth.</i>)</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>This Edward Moore, who was accompanied by his brother John, the founder of
+the Charleville family (now extinct), was descended from an ancient
+Kentish House. He fixed his residence at Mellifont, changing the church
+into a dwelling, which he strongly fortified against the attacks of the
+Ulster Irish. The statues of the Twelve Apostles, which once occupied
+places in the church, he caused to be removed to the hall, clad in red
+uniforms, with muskets on their shoulders, as a protest, no doubt, against
+&#8220;Popish idolatry.&#8221; It is even said that he suffered the Founder&#8217;s tomb,
+and those of others, or such portions of them as still were left, to
+remain as part of his domestic arrangements, without his being disturbed
+by such solemn surroundings. He was knighted by the Deputy, Sir Wm. Drury,
+and dying soon after, was succeeded by his son, Sir Garret, to whom
+Mellifont, with six other dissolved monasteries, and all their
+spiritualities (that is, the revenues of them, right of patronage, etc.)
+and temporalities, were granted in fee. By these means, was adhesion to
+the Crown purchased and services to it rewarded&mdash;services, which bore no
+equivocal meaning ever since the Invasion, as the Irish knew by long and
+bitter experience.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, the Church, as by Law Established, became part and parcel of
+the State, and its most obsequious servant. Its ministers looked to the
+civil power for patronage, and even hoped for promotion through the
+officials of the Court; but only in a few instances were the livings worth
+the asking, as the greater part of their temporalities were bestowed on
+laymen, favourites of the Queen. We have a picture of the state of that
+Church in Ireland, soon after the suppression of monasteries, drawn by the
+Lord Deputy himself, in a letter to Queen Elizabeth. They who would fain
+believe in the blessed advantages which flowed from the Dissolution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> of
+Monasteries, and the introduction of the new religion, may take to heart
+the lesson it teaches. Sir Henry Sydney wrote to the Queen in April, 1576,
+on the condition of the diocese of Meath:&mdash;&#8220;There are within this
+diocese,&#8221; he writes, &#8220;224 parish churches, of which number, 105 are
+impropriated to sundry possessions; no parson or vicar resident on any of
+them, and a very simple or sorry curate for the most part appointed to
+serve them; among which number of curates, only eighteen were found to be
+able to speak English, the rest being Irish ministers, or rather, Irish
+rogues, having very little Latin and less learning and civility.... In
+many places the very walls of the churches are thrown down, very few
+chancels covered; windows and doors ruined and spoiled. There are 52
+parish churches in the same diocese which have vicars endowed upon them,
+better served and maintained than the others, yet badly. There are 52
+parish churches here, residue of the first number of 224, which pertain to
+divers particular lords; and these, though in better state than the others
+commonly, are yet far from well.&#8221; He concludes by saying:&mdash;&#8220;But yet your
+Majesty may believe it, that upon the face of the earth where Christ is
+professed, there is not a church in so miserable a case.&#8221; Lord Grenville,
+in his <i>Past and Present Policy of England towards Ireland</i>, when
+commenting on Sydney&#8217;s letters, from one of which the above is an extract,
+writes:&mdash;&#8220;Such was the condition of a church which was half a century
+before rich and flourishing, an object of reverence and a source of
+consolation to the people. It was now despoiled of its revenues; the
+sacred edifices were in ruins, the clergy were either ignorant of the
+language of their flocks, or illiterate and uncivilised intruders; and the
+only ritual permitted by the laws was one of which the people neither
+comprehended the language nor believed the doctrines;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> and this is called
+establishing a reformation.&#8221; That this condition of affairs was not
+confined to any particular diocese, but rather was the state in all, is
+evident from the sketch given by Spenser in his <i>View of the State of
+Ireland</i>. &#8220;They&#8221; (the ministers), he says, &#8220;neither read the Scriptures
+nor preach to the people, nor administer the Communion ... only they take
+the tithes and offerings, and gather what fruit else they may of their
+livings.... It is a great wonder to see the zeal between the Popish
+priests and the ministers of the Gospel; for they spare not to come out of
+Spain, from Rome, and from Rheims, by long toil and dangerous travelling
+thither, where they know peril of death awaiteth them, and no reward or
+riches are to be found, only to draw people to the Church of Rome.&#8221; Such
+were the immediate fruits of the Reformation as admitted and described by
+Protestant contemporaries.</p>
+
+<p>One of the first proprietary acts of Sir Edward Moore, on his acquiring
+Mellifont, seems to have been to cut down and sell some of the magnificent
+timber planted by the monks. The old wooden house, so long an object of
+curiosity in Drogheda, and which was taken down in 1824, was chiefly
+composed of oak obtained from Mellifont Park. It was situated at the angle
+formed by the junction of Laurence Street and Shop Street, and was erected
+by Nicholas Bathe, as an inscription in raised characters, each six inches
+in length, testified. This inscription was on the Laurence Street side.
+&#8220;Made. Bi. Nicholas. Bathe. in. the. ieare. of. our. Lord. God. 1570. Bi.
+Hiu. Mor. Carpenter.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In 1592, Red Hugh O&#8217;Donnell, fleeing from Dublin Castle, where he had been
+detained a close prisoner, was received and kindly treated by Sir Edward
+Moore, at Mellifont. His reception is thus related in the Life of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> Red
+Hugh, edited with notes by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J.:&mdash;&#8220;After
+crossing the Boyne near Drogheda, Red Hugh and his companion mounted their
+horses, and proceeded about two miles from the river, where they saw a
+dense bushy grove in front of them on the road they came, and a large
+rampart all around it, as if it was a kitchen-garden. There was a fine
+mansion (called the great monastery), belonging to an illustrious youth of
+the English, by the side of the wood. He was much attached to O&#8217;Neil....
+He (O&#8217;Donnell) went into the house and was entertained; for he was well
+known there especially more than in other places.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In 1599, according to the family pedigree, Sir Garret Moore and Sir
+Francis Stafford were the only English house-keepers in the County Louth;
+all the lands being wasted by the Ulster rebels. The next important event
+at Mellifont was the great O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s surrender there to the Deputy, Lord
+Mountjoy, on the 24th March, 1602. The Lord Deputy sent Sir Garret Moore,
+as an old acquaintance of O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s, with Sir Wm. Godolphin to parley with
+him, and O&#8217;Neil returned with them to Mellifont, where (on his knees, it
+is said by English writers,) he made his submission to the Deputy. Here,
+again, we have further proof of what has been stated before, that it was
+Irishmen who retained this country for the English Crown; for when Sir
+George Carew sat down before Kinsale, where O&#8217;Neil was defeated, his army
+consisted of three thousand men, of whom two thousand were Irish.<a name='fna_8' id='fna_8' href='#f_8'><small>[8]</small></a></p>
+
+<p>Five years later, that is, in 1607, O&#8217;Neil was again at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> the &#8220;fair mansion
+of Mellifont to bid good-bye for ever to his good friend, Sir Garret, the
+fosterer of his son John.&#8221; He tarried two days with him, and then said
+farewell. Having given his blessing, &#8220;according to the Irish fashion,&#8221; to
+every member of his friend&#8217;s household, he and his suite took horse, and
+rode rapidly by Dundalk on his way to Lough Swilly, where a ship awaited
+him to bear him from his native land for ever.</p>
+
+<p>By an Inquisition taken on the 14th June, 1612, the possessions of this
+Abbey were found as follow:&mdash;&#8220;The site, a water-mill, a garden, an
+orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing two acres;
+the silver meadow, nine acres; the wood meadow, ten acres; and the doves&#8217;
+park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber, containing
+twelve acres; Ardagh, twenty acres, being the demesne lands; and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen,&#8221; etc.</p>
+
+<p>In 1615, July 20th, Sir Garret was created Baron Moore of Mellifont, by
+King James I. In 1619, Baron Moore obtained a royal grant of St. Mary&#8217;s
+Abbey, Dublin, from the same King; and in 1621, he was created a Viscount,
+with the title of Viscount Moore of Drogheda. St. Mary&#8217;s Abbey, Dublin,
+passed from the family some fifty years later.</p>
+
+<p>As has been said, no trace of the expelled religious remains after the
+suppression of Mellifont. It, however, may be assumed, that some few of
+them lingered around the hallowed spot to which their affections clung,
+and that they shared the labours and dangers incident to the Catholic
+missionaries of the period, as is well known their brethren in other parts
+of Ireland did after their expulsion. It cannot now be ascertained
+whether, or not, an unbroken line of titular Abbots of Mellifont was
+maintained after the dissolution of the Abbey; but, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> 1623, an oratory
+in Drogheda, belonging to the Cistercians, was served by five or six
+Fathers of the Order under Patrick Barnewall, who had been appointed Abbot
+of Mellifont by the Pope; and in 1625, he received the abbatial
+benediction in the church of St. John, in Waterford, at the hands of the
+Most Rev. Thomas Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin. This Patrick Barnewall
+belonged to the Bremore branch (Co. Dublin) of the ancient and illustrious
+family of that name. After having studied the Humanities, Philosophy,
+Theology, and Canon Law in the Universities of Douay and Paris, he was
+ordained priest, and discharged missionary duties in Drogheda. In a sketch
+of his life given by a fellow-labourer, it is related, that one night as
+he lay awake, St. Bernard appeared to him and told him he would be a monk
+of his Order. Though he relished the idea, yet he did not immediately
+correspond with his inclinations till he was grievously afflicted with a
+severe sickness, when he remembered the vision, and being urged by his two
+sisters, who had consecrated themselves to God, he entered the Novitiate
+of the Order in Kilkenny, and was at once restored to health. Soon after
+his profession he was appointed Abbot of Mellifont by Apostolic authority;
+and he admitted novices into the Order at his &#8220;hiding-place&#8221; at Drogheda,
+whom he sent to be educated at the Cistercian College, Louvain, and to
+other Continental Colleges. He was a very learned man, particularly in
+Canon Law, and was consulted as an authority on this subject. During the
+siege of Drogheda, in 1641, his goods were seized and himself cast into
+prison, but through the influence of some powerful relatives he was
+liberated. He died in his father&#8217;s house in September, 1644, and was
+buried in the church of Donore, which formerly belonged to Mellifont. John
+Devereux, a native<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> of the Co. Wexford, who had been educated at Louvain,
+was appointed by the Pope, Abbot of Mellifont, in 1648. He, with Father
+Luke Bergin and Father Patrick Grace, both natives of Co. Kilkenny, Father
+Malachy O&#8217;Hartry, a native of Waterford, Father John Bryan, a native of
+Drogheda, and Father Plunket, constituted the new community of Cistercian
+monks under Abbot Patrick Barnewall, when he opened the oratory in
+Drogheda, in 1623. Whether all or any of them perished in the general
+massacre of Drogheda, under Cromwell, we cannot tell, but they disappeared
+thenceforth, and John Devereux seems to have been the last titular Abbot
+of Mellifont.</p>
+
+<p>In the Rebellion of 1641, Mellifont and its owner, Lord Charles Moore, son
+of Garret, the first Viscount, became involved. On the 21st November, just
+a short time after the outbreak, the rebels under Sir Phelim O&#8217;Neil, when
+on their way to besiege Drogheda, made a halt at Tullyallen, and &#8220;sent a
+party of 1,300 foot down to Mellifont, the Lord Moore&#8217;s house, which their
+design was suddenly to surprise; but, contrary to their expectation, they
+found there twenty-four musketeers and fifteen horsemen, who very stoutly
+defended the house as long as their powder lasted. The horsemen, when they
+saw themselves beset so as they could no longer be serviceable to the
+place, opened the gates, issued out and made their passage through the
+midst of the rebels, and so, notwithstanding the opposition they made,
+escaped safe to Drogheda. The foot having refused to accept of the quarter
+at the first offered, resolved to make good the place to the last man;
+they endured several assaults, slew one hundred-and-forty of the rebels,
+before their powder failed them; and at last they gave up the place upon
+promise of quarter, which was not kept, for some of them were killed in
+cold blood, all were stripped, and two old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> decrepid men slain, the house
+ransacked and all the goods carried away.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The above is from Sir John Temple&#8217;s <i>History of the Irish Rebellion</i>, and
+it has been quoted by Catholics and Protestants alike when alluding to
+Mellifont; they each add, however, a little spice to suit the palates of
+their respective readers. Of this attack on Mellifont we have no less than
+four versions, two of which deserve but little credence, viz., that
+already given, and that of Dean Bernard. The account given by the latter
+is fuller, and enters more minutely into detail, so that some particulars
+tax the capacity of the most credulous; as, for instance, when he tells us
+that twenty-four musketeers killed one hundred-and-forty rebels though
+they had only &#8220;six shots&#8221; of powder, &#8220;some only four,&#8221; and that they
+rammed in six bullets together, and how each shot killed several. Verily,
+every bullet had its billet there! That be sharp practice without doubt!
+He also tells, how the loss on the part of the garrison was thirteen
+killed, &#8220;whom a <i>Friar was so forward for deed of charity as to procure
+them burial in the church adjoining</i>.&#8221; Thank goodness, he has the grace to
+credit even a Friar with some remnant of humanity! He does not say that
+the rebels stripped all. They could not have done so; for eleven escaped
+to Drogheda. These godless Papists capped their iniquity in this holy
+man&#8217;s estimation when they &#8220;threw a fair church Bible into the mill-pond.&#8221;
+The last charge on the sheet is&mdash;&#8220;Their best language to them all was
+&#8216;English dogs,&#8217; &#8216;rogues,&#8217; etc.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Before producing the other two versions, let us examine the characters of
+both these witnesses as drawn by Protestant writers. Sir John Temple wrote
+his History in 1656, from the &#8220;Depositions&#8221; preserved then in Dublin
+Castle, but which are now in Trinity College. These <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>&#8220;Depositions&#8221;
+comprise the list of murders, burnings, etc., said to have been
+perpetrated by the Irish on the English Protestants during the war, and
+fill thirty-two volumes. He was some time Privy Councillor, but was
+removed by Ormonde, and Carte tells how &#8220;two traitorous and scandalous
+letters against his Majesty written by Temple were read in Committee.&#8221; And
+Dr. Nalson, another Protestant writer, accuses him of having been in
+league with the Parliamentarians, whom Ormonde describes as those who
+became the &#8220;murderers of his (the King&#8217;s) royal person, the usurpers of
+his rights, and destroyers of the Irish nation; by whom the nobility and
+gentry of it were massacred at home, and led into slavery, or driven into
+beggary abroad.&#8221; In 1674, Temple protested that the work was published
+without his knowledge, as appears from <i>State Papers</i>, Dublin edition, p.
+2.</p>
+
+<p>Dean Bernard was Primate Ussher&#8217;s chaplain, and like his master, was a
+Puritan. During the siege of Drogheda he watched over the Primate&#8217;s
+library lest the rebels should attack the magnificent palace which <i>had
+been built with the fines from the recusants</i>. He was afterwards
+Cromwell&#8217;s chaplain and almoner, in either of which capacities, it would
+be quite unreasonable to expect justice to the Irish from him.</p>
+
+<p>As to the &#8220;Depositions&#8221; themselves, they are summarily dealt with by the
+Rev. Dr. Warner, another English Protestant historian of that Rebellion.
+&#8220;There is no credit to be given to anything that was said by these
+Deponents which had not others&#8217; evidence to confirm it.&#8221; And again, the
+same Dr. Warner, who went through the drudgery of perusing and examining
+these &#8220;Depositions,&#8221; says: &#8220;As a great stress has been laid upon this
+collection in print and conversation, and as the whole evidence of the
+massacres turns upon it, I spent a great deal of my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> time examining the
+books; and I am sorry to say, that they have been made the foundation of
+much more clamour and resentment than can be warranted by truth and
+reason.&#8221; It was in them that Temple found the story of the ghosts of the
+murdered Protestants, in the River Bann, at the Bridge of Portadown,
+shrieking for revenge, and one in particular, who was seen there from the
+29th December to the end of the following Lent!!! He sets down the number
+of English and Protestants who were &#8220;murdered in cold blood, destroyed
+some other way, or expelled out of their habitations in two years by the
+Irish, as exceeding 300,000,&#8221; though, according to Petty, there were not
+at the outbreak of the Rebellion 20,000 English Protestants in Ulster,
+where nearly all the murders were said to have been committed. Dr. Warner
+also tells how he saw in the Council books at Dublin, the letter which the
+Commissioners of the Irish Parliament wrote to the English Parliament,
+urging them to show no mercy to the Irish, but rather, to revenge the
+murders and massacres committed by them. They tell them, &#8220;that besides
+eight hundred-and-forty-eight families, there were killed, hanged, burned,
+and drowned, six thousand and sixty-two.&#8221; Dr. Warner considers 2,000 about
+the correct number. A prodigious number to be sure, but how far less than
+Temple&#8217;s 300,000. Warner says, finally, at p. 296 of his work so often
+cited: &#8220;It is easy enough to demonstrate the falsehood of every Protestant
+historian of this Rebellion.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Mr. Carte, an English Protestant clergyman, who wrote the
+celebrated Life of the Duke of Ormonde, tears all Temple&#8217;s assertions in
+pieces, and demonstrates from indubitable authority the falsehoods of his
+statements. Writing of these &#8220;Depositions&#8221; he says, at Vol. II., p. 263:
+&#8220;Anyone who has ever read the examinations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> and depositions which were
+generally given on hearsay, and contradicting one another, must think it
+very hard upon the Irish, to have all those without distinction to be
+admitted as evidence.&#8221; And in the Preface to the collection of Letters
+affixed to the Life he alludes to the &#8220;uncertain, false, mistaken, and
+contradictory accounts, which have been given of the Irish Rebellion, by
+parties influenced by selfish views and party animosities, or unfurnished
+with proper and authentic materials and memoirs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It is obvious from the first pages of Temple&#8217;s History what the scope of
+the work is. It is a gross libel on the whole Irish nation from the
+earliest times. In one page, he twice applies to them the epithet of a
+beastly race, and, no doubt, worthy to be rooted out, to make room for
+Royalists of his type, who worshipped the rising sun.</p>
+
+<p>Carte, in his Life of Ormond, Vol. II., p. 135, gives an account of the
+attack on Mellifont as follows:&mdash;&#8220;This detached body of the northern
+rebels appeared on November 21st in sight of the town of Drogheda, within
+four miles of it, presuming (as was imagined) upon some party within the
+place. Sir H. Tichburne, Governor of Drogheda, had the week before sent a
+party of fifteen horse and twenty-two foot to Mellifont (formerly an Abbey
+of Bernardine monks, founded by Donagh O&#8217;Carroll, prince of Ergall, about
+<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 1142, but then an house of the Lord Viscount Moore&#8217;s, three miles
+from town), as well as to secure that place from the incursions of roving
+parties, as to keep abroad continual sentinels and scouts, that might
+inform him of the rebels&#8217; motions. His orders were not well observed, nor
+his party so vigilant as they ought to have been; for on the 21st, the
+rebels on a sudden encompassed the house, and (after the soldiers&#8217; powder
+was spent) took it with a loss of some one hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> and twenty of their
+own number (among which were Owen M&#8217;Mahon and another captain), and eleven
+of the soldiers, with most of the arms. As the Irish were breaking into
+the house on all sides, the troopers causing the great gate to be opened,
+sallied out, and opening themselves a way through the body of the rebels,
+got safe with the rest of the foot soldiers sore wounded to Drogheda.&#8221;
+This may be accepted as a true, unvarnished account of this much magnified
+attack; especially as Tichburne himself, who cannot be accused of
+partiality towards the Irish, and who was Governor of Drogheda at the time
+of its occurrence, seems to have been Carte&#8217;s authority for it, as appears
+from a reference to a letter written by Tichburne to Ormond, but not given
+in the collection of Letters mentioned above. There is no question here of
+quarter given, or of faith broken; no cold-blooded murders, no gruesome
+picture of gory corpses unburied, nor of fiendish glee on the part of
+rebels dancing round their watch-fires in presence of their stark and
+naked victims strewn around!!! Pity such absurdity should be believed or
+repeated in our time, when it should have been relegated to the same
+lumber-heap as the story of the ghosts of the Bann!</p>
+
+<p>We have yet another account from a paper or Report published in London by
+two parties who only give their initials, T. A. and P. G. It was &#8220;printed
+by Edward Blackmore, at the Angel, in Paul&#8217;s Churchyard, in 1642,&#8221; and is
+now to be found in the <i>Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland</i>, so
+ably edited by Sir John Gilbert, at Vol. I., Part II., p. 420. There is a
+discrepancy in the dates, but that is immaterial, as only one attack is
+said to have been made. It tells us, &#8220;That on the same day (April 30),
+three or four hundred rebels came before Mellifont, three or four miles
+from Drogheda, where Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> Moore had left on Tuesday before a garrison of
+four-score foot and about thirty horse; the rebels plaid hotly upon them
+until the horse were ready within; but as soon as the horse were ready,
+they, with the foot, sallied out, and killed about thirty of the rebels.&#8221;
+This cannot be far from the truth, as it seems to be free from the
+exaggerations in which Tichburne dealt, when recounting the numerical
+strength of his and the enemy&#8217;s forces, ascribing to the latter
+poltroonery and cowardice in action, and crediting them with excessively
+heavy losses.</p>
+
+<p>The predisposing cause, why the Ulster Irish were ready for rebellion was
+the misery the native inhabitants endured since the Plantation of the six
+forfeited counties, some thirty odd years before. Even the remnants of the
+estates allowed them by the Crown were filched from them by the greed and
+cunning of unscrupulous Commissioners, who enriched themselves on the ruin
+of the Irish. Prendergast (<i>Cromwellian Settlement</i>, pp. 49-50,) thus
+describes the condition of the old Irish nobility and gentry
+then:&mdash;&#8220;Little they (the Planters, who got the forfeited estates) thought
+or cared how the ancient owner, dispossessed of his lands, must grieve as
+he turned from the sight of the prosperous stranger to his pining family;
+daughters, without prospect of preferment in marriage; sons, without fit
+companions, walking up and down the country with their horses and
+greyhounds, coshering on the Irish, drinking and gaming and ready for any
+rebellion; most of his high-born friends wandering in poverty in France
+and Spain, or enlisted in their armies.&#8221; The immediate cause of the
+Rebellion is thus stated:&mdash;&#8220;A letter was intercepted coming from Scotland
+to one Freeman of Antrim giving an account that a Covenanting army was
+ready to come to Ireland under General Lesly, to extirpate the Roman
+Catholics of Ulster, and leave the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> Scots in possession of that province;
+that resolutions to that effect had been taken at their private meetings,
+as well as to levy heavy fines on such as would not appear at their kirk
+for the first and second Sunday, and on failure the third, to hang at
+their own doors without mercy, such as remained obstinate&#8221; (Carte&#8217;s
+<i>Ormond</i>, Vol. I., p. 160). This notion prevailed universally amongst the
+rebels, and was chiefly insisted on by them as one of the principal
+reasons of their taking up arms.</p>
+
+<p>The Rebellion broke out, then, on the 23rd October, 1641, and the actors
+in it were a &#8220;tumultuous rabble&#8221; as Ormond called them, intent chiefly on
+plundering and driving off the English settlers, yet before the end of the
+month the principal towns of the North were in their hands. Leland, a
+Protestant historian, writes:&mdash;&#8220;That in the beginning of the insurrection,
+it was determined by them that the enterprise should be conducted in every
+quarter, with as little bloodshed as possible&#8221; (<i>History of Ireland</i>, Vol.
+III., p. 101). At p. 131, the same historian writes:&mdash;&#8220;The Lords Justices
+might have stamped out the insurrection at once had Ormond&#8217;s advice to
+levy a large number of troops been attended to; for the Irish were then
+formidable only in numbers, and not six hundred of them had proper arms.
+But their purpose was rather to fan it, in order to gratify their personal
+greed by extensive forfeitures.&#8221; Warner, who has been so often quoted
+before, writes at p. 176 of his History:&mdash;&#8220;It is evident from the Lords
+Justices&#8217; letter to the Lord Lieutenant that they hoped for an
+extermination, not of the mere Irish only, but of all the old English
+families who were Roman Catholics.&#8221; They issued a most truculent order to
+Ormond &#8220;to burn, kill, spoil, waste, destroy, the rebels, their relatives,
+houses and property.&#8221; One of these Lords Justices is thus referred to by
+Carte:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> &#8220;He was a man of mean extract, scarcely able to read and write ...
+plodding, assiduous, and indefatigable, greedy of gain, and eager to raise
+a fortune; which it is not difficult for a man of indifferent parts to do,
+when he is not hampered with scruples about the ways of getting it&#8221;
+(<i>Ormond</i>, Vol. I., p. 190). This same Lord Justice, with three members of
+the Privy Council, was put under arrest for disobedience to his Majesty,
+King Charles, and for complicity with his enemies, the Parliamentarians of
+England. The Lord Justice was deposed and imprisoned, but he retained his
+ill-gotten property.</p>
+
+<p>As has been said, the rebels became masters of the principal towns in the
+North without meeting any check, when they attacked Mellifont. Lord Moore
+was then in Drogheda with Sir Henry Tichburne, the Governor, with whose
+policy and methods he, both before and afterwards, identified himself;
+and, as an active agent of the Lords Justices, he was specially odious to
+the Irish. During the siege of Drogheda, he more than once, by his
+alertness and personal bravery, saved the town from falling into the hands
+of the besiegers. With the exception of Lord Moore and a few of the older
+families, both the Lords Justices themselves (who governed the country in
+the absence of the Lord Lieutenant), and their ruthless instruments were
+men of no fortune; or, were such as became enriched by the plunder of the
+Irish. Tichburne, in a letter to his lady, alludes to one of the
+commissions entrusted to him for execution, in which fiendish work Lord
+Moore was associated with him. After his return from the burning of
+Dundalk,<a name='fna_9' id='fna_9' href='#f_9'><small>[9]</small></a> which he left a smouldering heap of ruins, he describes the
+results:&mdash;&#8220;There was neither man nor beast to be found in sixteen miles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+between the two towns of Drogheda and Dundalk; nor on the other side of
+Dundalk, in the County of Monaghan, nearer than Carrickmacross, a strong
+pile twelve miles distant&#8221; (Tichburne&#8217;s <i>Siege of Drogheda</i>, p. 320). And
+in the same page he says, all this magnificent ruin and desolation were
+inflicted on the peasantry &#8220;without one penny of charge to the State, and
+that for the space of seven months, all under his command subsisted on the
+spoils&#8221; taken from the unfortunate people in that district. &#8220;The country
+and fields about Dundalk,&#8221; he says, &#8220;were abounding in corn, which I
+allocated to the several companies, etc.&#8221; The ghosts of the Bann must have
+been glutted with vengeance!!!</p>
+
+<p>And now Lord Moore&#8217;s career is drawing to a close. After having been
+engaged in many successful skirmishes, raids, and minor actions, he burned
+with a desire for the honour of measuring swords with the great Owen Roe,
+who had defeated all the forces hitherto sent against him, and, according
+to O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s Diary, he affected to despise O&#8217;Neil. He was therefore
+dispatched with a body of troops to dislodge that consummate strategist
+from a position occupied by him at Portlester Mill, within five miles of
+Trim. Borlase tells us that Lord Moore was killed in that engagement,
+August 7th, 1643, &#8220;through the grazing of a cannon bullet which he
+foresaw, yet took not warning enough to evade.&#8221; The Author of the
+<i>Aphorismical Discovery</i>, who is commonly supposed to have been O&#8217;Neil&#8217;s
+secretary, gives another account of his death. It is right to mention that
+this author was by no means a monk, nor was he a clergyman at all, as is
+evident from his apology in the Introduction, where he tells the reader
+that he was by profession a &#8220;sworde carrier,&#8221; and that it was &#8220;alienat&#8221; to
+that profession to aspire to literary avocations. &#8220;The General&#8221; (O&#8217;Neil),
+he writes, &#8220;not well pleased with his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> gunner, for he perceaved he shooted
+too high, and did little hurte, the peace was charged, the Generall tooke
+a perspective glasse, and saw wheare my Lord Moore stoode. It being
+charged, the Generall did levell the same against Moore, gave fire, his
+aime was soe neare home, that he hitted him a little above his corpise,
+wherupon all dismembred, presently fell dead, the trunke of his bodie
+fallinge downe, and some of his members whisling in the aire to take
+possession by flight in some other field, or make such speede to accompany
+his soul to hell to be assured for winter quarter next springe.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Lord Moore was succeeded by his son Henry, who, when Governor of Dundalk,
+in 1645, was more than suspected of plotting with the Parliamentarians to
+deliver up that town to Monroe. He was relieved of his charge by Ormond,
+who was then Lord Lieutenant, and being a minor, was sent by him to
+England (out of harm&#8217;s way), to the Court, where he was kindly received by
+the King, who ordered livery to be granted him of his father&#8217;s lands
+(<i>Carte</i>, Vol. IV., p. 154.) Lady Alice, his mother, was, it appears,
+inveigled into a plot at the same time to deliver up Drogheda to the
+Scots; for a wax impression of the keys of the gates having been given
+her, she caused the gunsmith of the troop, which Lord Henry commanded, to
+make false keys; but, being discovered, her ladyship, with others, was
+sent to Dublin. There, on examination before the Council, they confessed
+all. (<i>Ibid.</i>) Her Ladyship&#8217;s end was a tragic one, as we read in Lodge&#8217;s
+<i>Peerage</i>. &#8220;Lady Alice, younger daughter of Sir Adam Loftus, Viscount
+Elye, who broke her leg near the fort (Drogheda) by a fall from her horse
+(occasioned by a sudden grief arising from the first sight of St. Peter&#8217;s
+Church, Drogheda, where her dear lord lay buried), on Wednesday, 10th
+June, 1649, and dying the 13th of a gangrene, was that night buried by him
+in the family tomb.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>There is another entry at the same place in Lodge. &#8220;Lieutenant-Colonel
+Francis Moore, sixth son of the first Viscount Mellifont, and brother to
+Lord Charles who was killed at Portlester Mill, who was an officer in the
+army for the reduction of Ireland, and in 1654, had a pension from the
+then Government of 10/- a week, and five of his brother Charles&#8217; children
+had &pound;3 17s. a week in 1665, out of the district of Trim&#8221; (Lodge&#8217;s <i>Peerage
+of Ireland</i>, Vol. II., pp. 99-100). This Francis Moore had been an officer
+in the King&#8217;s army, but soon after the arrival in Ireland of Jones, the
+Parliamentarian General, he went over to him and took the Dundalk troops
+with him. It was from Cromwell&#8217;s government he had his pension, but the
+pensions granted to Lord Charles&#8217; children were continued to them after
+the Restoration, and Lord Henry mentioned above, was created Earl of
+Drogheda, in 1661,&mdash;thus confirming the historic truism, that the
+ungrateful Stuarts heaped favours on their enemies and treated their best
+and most devoted adherents with cold indifference. As an illustration of
+this we have the instance of one of the chief actors in those troublesome
+times, Sir John Clotworthy, changing sides three times:&mdash;first, fighting
+in the King&#8217;s name and commission against the Ulster Irish; next, siding
+with the Parliamentarians, his Majesty&#8217;s deadliest enemies, and going over
+to England as the spokesman of a deputation sent to the Parliament of
+England to protest against the return of King Charles II., on rumour of
+peace and terms being negotiated between them; again, on King Charles&#8217;
+arrival in England, hieing over to tender his homages and
+congratulations&mdash;and lo! the reward of his fidelity and loyalty (?)&mdash;he
+was created Viscount Massereene. It is only one instance of several
+hundreds that may be cited. The unfortunate rebels whose banner bore the
+legend, &#8220;<i>Vivat Carolus Rex</i>&#8221;&mdash;&#8220;Long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
+live King Charles,&#8221; and who remained faithful to him to the last, were, by an irony of fate, robbed and
+banished by the Cromwellians, who were put in possession of their estates
+and confirmed in them by Charles II.!!!</p>
+
+<p>In the foregoing pages, the authorities quoted are Protestants, and all,
+without exception, hostile to the Irish. Their testimony, nevertheless, is
+favourable to the rebels, save where the question of religion crops up,
+then their prejudice blinds their judgment, and hurries them into most
+glaring absurdities. One more fact about that saddest page of our history.
+Before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1641, there were 1,200,000 Irish
+Catholics in the country; at its close in 1652, the number had fallen to
+700,000, and these were ordered under pain of death to transplant to
+Connaught&mdash;the remnant of a broken and plundered race!!!</p>
+
+<p>Henry, the first Earl of Drogheda, did not long enjoy his honours; nor did
+his son and successor, Charles, who was succeeded by his brother Henry,
+the third Earl, who, on the eve of the ever-memorable Battle of the Boyne,
+entertained a party, amongst whom was one of King William&#8217;s highest
+officers. On the morrow, July the 1st, the booming of King William&#8217;s fifty
+pieces of &#8220;dread artillery&#8221; echoed along the hills and the valley of the
+Boyne, and shook the old abbey walls to their very foundations; and on
+that night, the oaken rafters of Mellifont rang to the cheers and toasts
+of the &#8220;glorious, pious, and immortal memory&#8221; of the Prince of Orange, on
+whose side Earl Henry commanded that day a regiment of foot. It may be
+interesting to mention here, that on the morning of the battle, the Irish
+Catholic soldiers wore scraps of white paper on their caps&mdash;emblematic of
+the livery of France; the followers of the Prince of Orange wore green
+boughs torn off the trees.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>Charles, Lord Moore, son of Henry, the third Earl, married Jane, heiress
+of Arthur, Viscount Ely, who received as her portion the suppressed Abbey
+of Monasterevan, a Cistercian monastery founded by O&#8217;Dempsey, in the 12th
+century. It was called Rosglas by the Irish, and the Valley of Roses, in
+the list of monasteries of the Order in Ireland. When it came into Earl
+Charles&#8217; possession, he changed the name to Moore Abbey, and made it his
+residence. The sons of this Lord Charles, Henry and Edward, became earls
+successively, and Edward, the fifth earl, having settled down permanently
+at Monasterevan, sold Mellifont and some of the property in its immediate
+vicinity to Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, in 1727.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of Ireland at that time was truly deplorable. The Penal Laws
+were in full force against the unfortunate Catholics, who were reduced to
+a state little better than slavery. Dr. Johnson wrote of them some fifty
+years later:&mdash;&#8220;The Irish are in a most unnatural state; for we see there
+the minority prevailing over the majority. There is no such instance, even
+in the ten persecutions, as that which the Protestants of Ireland have
+exercised against the Catholics. Did we tell them we conquered, it would
+be above board; to punish them by confiscations and other penalties was
+monstrous injustice&#8221; (Boswell, at 1773).</p>
+
+<p>With the Moore family departed also the very shadow of Mellifont&#8217;s
+diminished greatness, and &#8220;time&#8217;s effacing finger&#8221; almost completely
+obliterated what was once a gorgeous national monument, which stood out
+clearly as a finger-post on the ways of time. Gradually the fabric fell
+into decay, the owl hooted on the landing of the grand stair-case, and the
+daw and martin flitted unmolested through the deserted halls. The gardens
+and walks and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> bowers disappeared beneath a crop of tangled brushwood, the
+product of neglect. Soon the roof fell in, the walls became seamed with
+many rents and toppled over with a crash; then Mellifont, the &#8220;Honey
+Fountain,&#8221; the Monasthir Mor, or Great Abbey, as it was called, the
+foundation of saints and kings, the abode of the pious and the learned,
+the house pre-eminently of prayer, the asylum of the poor and friendless,
+became a shapeless accumulation of rubbish. True, a mill was erected about
+100 years ago close to the site of the church, and, no doubt, it was told
+to strangers who then visited the ruins by people who professed to know
+all about monks, that it had more activity and exhibited more of the
+bustle of life than when the silent, slumbering monks dwelt there. But a
+mill in that hallowed spot was a huge incongruity and a wanton disregard
+for all its honoured associations. In 1884, the few remaining ruins became
+vested in the Board of Works, and the excavations which revealed the plan
+of the church, as described in Chapter I., were carried out. It only
+remains to be said that in Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, the estimable
+gentleman who now owns Mellifont and some of the property formerly
+belonging to it, his tenants have found a liberal and generous benefactor,
+who enjoys the merited esteem and respect of all who know him.</p>
+
+<p>As one ascends the hill over Mellifont, and, pausing on its summit, gazes
+on the lovely scenery around him, particularly along the valley of the
+Boyne, which Young called one of the completest pictures he had ever seen,
+then glances at the quiet valley beneath him, and remembers what prominent
+parts those who once trod that favoured spot played in our country&#8217;s
+chequered history, his soul is filled with solemn thoughts too big for
+utterance. There, came the firm and gentle, yet <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>dauntless, Malachy side
+by side with Oriel&#8217;s proud Chief, and hand in hand, they knelt and prayed
+and consecrated it to the living God for ever. Thereon, rose up the
+magnificent temple on which neither cost nor labour was spared, that it
+might be worthy of Him Who deigns to dwell in tabernacles made by man; and
+generation succeeded generation of monks, who calmly dwelt in that
+peaceful valley, which, by their skill and enterprise, they converted into
+a garden of delights and a terrestrial paradise. The bishop and the king
+found there a resting-place when life&#8217;s weary struggle was over, and their
+end was sweetened by the cheering hopes of a glorious immortality. The
+poor man and the homeless found there a welcome and a shelter, their wants
+being liberally attended to; and the blessings of a free education and of
+spiritual consolations were diffused on every side from that centre of
+learning and piety. The knight and baron came, the belted man of war made
+his home there, enjoyed his ephemeral honours, but he, too, is gone,
+severing all connection with it both by name and title, leaving no trace
+behind. The king and the knight have been brushed aside; and the old
+chess-board, Mellifont, alone remains. Impressed with these reflections,
+we take a glance beyond the grave, and there, we behold these actors pass
+before the great, most just, and supreme Judge, to receive the requital of
+their deeds, and to each is meted out reward or punishment according to
+his deserts. We, too, the spectators, are hastening towards that same
+goal; our future is indubitably in our own hands, according as we do or do
+not now live up to our convictions, and the dictates of our consciences.</p>
+
+<p>And, now, we cannot help asking ourselves, what shall Mellifont&#8217;s future
+be? At present it is a blank; but, shall the lamp of piety and learning be
+rekindled, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> the light burst forth anew there as in the days of its
+splendour? We know not; but we do know that, although God&#8217;s ways are
+inscrutable, His wisdom and power are infinite. To Him be all glory for
+ever and ever. Amen.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_I" id="APPENDIX_I"></a>APPENDIX I.</h2>
+<p class="title">LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT.</p>
+
+
+<p>Saint Christian O&#8217;Connarchy, Founder and first Abbot, Bishop of Lismore
+and Legate of the Holy See, 1150.</p>
+
+<p>Blessed Malchus, brother of preceding.</p>
+
+<p>Charles O&#8217;Buacalla, 1177, made Bishop of Emly.</p>
+
+<p>Patrick, term of office not known.</p>
+
+<p>Maelisa, appointed Bishop of Clogher in 1194.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas, 1211.</p>
+
+<p>Carus, or Cormac O&#8217;Tarpa, elected Bishop of Achonry in 1219, resigned that
+See in 1226, returned to Mellifont where he died.</p>
+
+<p>Mathew, 1289.</p>
+
+<p>Michael, 1293.</p>
+
+<p>William M&#8217;Buain.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh O&#8217;Hessain, resigned 1300.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas O&#8217;Henghan.</p>
+
+<p>Radulph, or Ralph O&#8217;Hedian.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas of Lusk, 1325.</p>
+
+<p>Michael, 1333.</p>
+
+<p>Roger, 1346.</p>
+
+<p>Reginald, 1349.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh, 1357.</p>
+
+<p>Reginald Leynagh, died 15th August, 1368.</p>
+
+<p>John Terrour, 1370.</p>
+
+<p>[There is no record of the names of Abbots in this interval.]</p>
+
+<p>Roger, 1472.</p>
+
+<p>John Logan.</p>
+
+<p>Henry.</p>
+
+<p>John Warren.</p>
+
+<p>Roger Boly.</p>
+
+<p>John Troy, 1486-1500.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas Harvey, died 20th March, 1525.</p>
+
+<p>Richard Conter, the last regular Abbot, pensioned in 1540.</p>
+
+<p>As will be observed, the line of succession is incomplete between the
+years 1370 and 1472; and it is impossible now to fill in the gaps. The
+List is taken from Ware&#8217;s <i>C&oelig;nobia Cisterciensia in Hibernia</i>, and
+Dalton&#8217;s <i>History of Drogheda</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_II" id="APPENDIX_II"></a>APPENDIX II.</h2>
+<p class="title">THE CHARTER OF NEWRY.</p>
+
+
+<p class="note">Copied and translated from the Original in the British Museum, from a
+copy given by John O&#8217;Donovan in <i>Dublin Penny Journal</i>, 1832-33, p. 102.</p>
+
+
+<p>Maurice M&#8217;Laughlin, King of all Ireland, to all his Kings, Princes,
+Nobles, Leaders, Clergy and Laity, and to all and each the Irish present
+and to come, GREETING.</p>
+
+<p>Know ye that I, by the unanimous will and common consent of the Nobles of
+Ultonia, Ergallia (Oriel), and O&#8217;Neach (Iveagh), to wit of Donchad
+O&#8217;Carroll, King of all Ergallia, and of Murchad his son, King of O&#8217;Meith,
+and of the territory of Erthur, of Conla, King of Ultonia, of Donald
+O&#8217;Heda, King of O&#8217;Neach (Iveagh), <span class="smcaplc">HAVE GRANTED AND CONFIRMED</span>, in honour of
+the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Patrick, and St. Benedict, the Father and
+Founder of the Cistercian Order, to the monks serving God in
+Nyvorcintracta (Newry) as a perpetual and pure donation, the land of
+O&#8217;Cormac, whereon was founded the monastery of Athcrathin, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Enancratha, with its lands, woods, and waters,
+Crumglean, with its lands, woods, and waters, Caselanagan, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Lisinelle, with its lands, woods, and waters, Croa
+Druimfornac, with its lands, woods, and waters, Letri, Corcrach,
+Fidglassayn, Tirmorgannean, Connocol, etc. <span class="smcap">These Lands</span> with their <span class="smcap">Mills</span>, I
+have confirmed to the aforesaid monks of my own proper gift, for the
+health of my soul, that I may be partaker of all the benefits of masses,
+<i>hours</i> (<i>i.e.</i> vespers and matins), and prayers that shall be offered in
+the Monastery itself, and to the end of time.</p>
+
+<p>And because I have founded the Monastery of Ybar cintracta (Newry), of my
+own free will, I have taken the monks so much under my protection, as sons
+and domestics of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> faith, that they may be safe from the molestations
+and incursions of all men.</p>
+
+<p>I will also that, as the Kings and Nobles of O&#8217;Neach (Iveagh), or of
+Ergallia (Uriel), may wish to confer certain lands on this Monastery, for
+the health of their souls, they may do so in my lifetime, while they have
+my free will and licence, that I may know what and how much of my Earthly
+Kingdom, the King of Heaven may possess for the use of His poor Monks.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center"><i>The Witnesses and Sureties are</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Giolla MacLiag, Archbishop of Armagh, <i>holding the Staff of Jesus in his
+hand</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Hugh O&#8217;Killedy, Bishop of Uriel (Clogher.)</p>
+
+<p>Muriac O&#8217;Coffay, Bishop of Tirone (Derry.)</p>
+
+<p>Melissa Mac in Clerig-cuir, Bishop of Ultonia (Down.)</p>
+
+<p>Gilla Comida O&#8217;Caran, Bishop of Tirconnell (Raphoe.)</p>
+
+<p>Eachmarcach O&#8217;Kane, King of Fearnacrinn and Kennacta (now Barony of
+Keenaght, Co. Londonderry.)</p>
+
+<p>O&#8217;Carriedh, the Great; Chief of Clan Aengusa, and Clan Neil.</p>
+
+<p>Cumaige O&#8217;Flain, King of O&#8217;Turtray (Antrim.)</p>
+
+<p>Gilla Christ O&#8217;Dubhdara, King of Fermanagh.</p>
+
+<p>Eachmarcach O&#8217;Ffoifylain.</p>
+
+<p>Maelmocta MacO&#8217;Nelba.</p>
+
+<p>Aedh (Hugh) the Great Magennis, Chief of Clan-Aeda, in O&#8217;Neach Uladh
+(Iveagh.)</p>
+
+<p>Dermot MacCartan, Chief of Kenelfagartay (Kinelearty.)</p>
+
+<p>Acholy MacConlacha, Gill-na-naemh O&#8217;Lowry, Chief of Kinel Temnean.</p>
+
+<p>Gilla Odar Ocasey, Abbot of Dundalethglass (Downpatrick.)</p>
+
+<p>Hugh Maglanha, Abbot of Inniscumscray (Iniscourcy.)</p>
+
+<p>Angen, Abbot of Dromoge, and many other Clerics and Laics.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="APPENDIX_III" id="APPENDIX_III"></a>APPENDIX III.</h2>
+<p class="title">INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT.</p>
+
+
+<p>Richard Conter, the last Abbot of Mellifont, was, on the 23rd July, 1539,
+seized of two messuages, 167 acres of arable land, 10 of pasture, 5 of
+meadow, and 5 of pasture in Clut&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, with a salmon weir; &pound;13 13s. 4d.
+annual rent, arising from 16 fishing corraghs at Oldbridge, together with
+the tithe-corn of the same, all of the annual value, besides reprises, of
+&pound;27 18s. 8d.; also a messuage in Shephouse, with the tithe-corn thereof,
+of the annual value, besides all reprises, of &pound;4 17s. 8d.; three
+messuages, 120 acres of arable land, 20 of meadow,&mdash;a fishery, and a boat
+for salmon-fishing in Komalane, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of
+the annual value, besides all reprises, of &pound;15 3s.; 3 messuages, 2
+cottages, a water-mill,&mdash;a fishing-weir, 120 acres of arable land, 3
+closes, containing 6 acres of mountain in Schahinge, together with the
+tithe-corn, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of &pound;12 6s. 8d.; 2
+messuages,&mdash;20 acres of meadow and pasture in Donnore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 115/4; 2
+messuages, 8 cottages, 46 acres of arable land, and 2 of meadow in
+Doo&mdash;&mdash;, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of &pound;5; 4 messuages, 18 cottages, 39 acres of arable
+land, and 3 of meadow in Glassehalyine, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all the reprises, of &pound;5 18s. 8d.;
+&mdash;&mdash; 124 acres of arable land, and 10 of meadow in Graungethe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+&pound;14 19s. 4d.; a messuage and cottage, 45 acres of arable land, and 15 of
+meadow and pasture, in &mdash;&mdash;, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the
+annual value, besides all reprises, of &pound;3 8s. 4d.; 4 messuages, 9
+cottages, 64 acres of arable land, and 4 in meadow in Balranny, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value of &mdash;&mdash;, &mdash;&mdash; messuages,
+with 19 acres<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> of arable land in Kordoraghe, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 16/-; 7 messuages,
+10 cottages, 186 acres of arable land, 8 of meadow, and 40 of pasture and
+brushwood in &mdash;&mdash;, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of &pound;12 3s.; a messuage, two cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, a fishing-weir, called Bromey&#8217;s weir, and the fishery there,
+a water-mill in &mdash;&mdash;, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of &pound;16 5s.; 7 messuages, one cottage, 227 acres of
+arable land, and 10 of meadow in Ballyfadocke, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of &mdash;&mdash;; 4
+messuages, 20 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in Kinoyshe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+&pound;10 3s. 8d.; 4 messuages, 46 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in
+Kellystone, with the tithe-corn thereof, besides all reprises, of the
+annual value of &pound;4 5s. 4d.; 2 messuages, 3 cottages, 60 acres of arable
+land, 6 of pasture, and 4 of meadow in Oracamathane, together with the
+tithe-crown thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of &mdash;&mdash;; 4
+messuages, 8 cottages, 124 acres of arable land, a salmon-weir, called
+Monktone, a water-mill in the town-land of Rosmore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of &mdash;&mdash;; 3
+messuages, 6 cottages, 126 acres of arable land, 6 of meadow, and 6 of
+meadow in Gyltone, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual
+value, besides all reprises, of &pound;6 4s. 8d; 5 messuages, 8 cottages, 141
+acres of arable land, the fourth part of an acre of meadow, and 6 of
+common pasture in Dromenhatt, otherwise, Newton of Knockamothane, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+&pound;8 9s.; 6 messuages, 140 acres of arable land, 4&#189; of meadow &mdash;&mdash; in
+Radrenage, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of &pound;7 12s.; 3 messuages, 8 cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, 6 of meadow, 6 of pasture in Calm, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> value, besides all reprises, of &pound;6
+17s.; 3 messuages, 60 acres of arable land, 60 of pasture, and 4 of meadow
+in Starenaghe, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides
+all reprises, of &pound;5 5s. 8d.; the tithe-corn of the townland of
+&mdash;&mdash;inserathe and Balregane, near Donnore and below the parish of
+Mellifont, of the annual value of &pound;2; the tithe-corn of the town of
+Monamore, of the annual value of &pound;2 13s. 4d.; the rectory of Balrestore,
+of the annual value of &mdash;&mdash;; and the chapels of Grangegeythe and
+Knockamothane, parcel of the rectory of Mellifont, of the annual value of
+&mdash;&mdash; all the said rectories being appropriated to the Abbot and his
+successors, and, together with the said lands, etc., are lying and
+situated in the Co. of Meath. The Abbot was also seized of a small house
+in the town of Drogheda, in the tenure of Thomas Tanner, annual value
+13/4, and also of another house in the tenure of Roger Samon, of the
+annual value of 8/-, with 2/- rent from the Mayor and commonalty of
+Drogheda.</p>
+
+<p>The above is from the <i>Monasticon Hibernicum</i>. It by no means contains a
+full inventory of the possessions of Mellifont at the time of its
+suppression, only the property belonging to it in the County Meath. In the
+same <i>Monasticon</i> we read, &#8220;By an inquisition taken 14th June, 1612, the
+possessions of this Abbey were found as follow:&mdash;The site, a water-mill, a
+garden, an orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing
+two acres, the silver meadow 9 acres, the wood meadow 10 acres, and the
+doves&#8217; park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber,
+containing 12 acres; Ardagh, 20 acres, being the demesne lands, and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen, containing 27 messuages and 260 acres;
+Derveragh, 5 messuages and 213 acres; Mell, 2 messuages and 60 acres;
+Ballymear, alias Ballyremerry, 2 messuages and 60 acres; Sheepgrange, no
+tithe, 8 messuages and 245 acres; Little Grange, 4 messuages and 62 acres;
+Beckrath, 2 messuages and 63 acres; Cubbage, 4 messuages and 103 acres;
+Ballygatheran, no tithe, 6 messuages and 132 acres; Salthouse, 7 messuages
+and 238 acres; Staleban, 11 messuages and 160<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> acres; Vinspocke, 6
+messuages and 90 acres; Morragh, no tithes, 11 messuages and 120 acres;
+Ballypatrick, 8 messuages and 120 acres; in Collon, a water-mill and 23
+acres, &pound;6 13s. 4d. annual rent out of the said town, and the tithes
+thereof; Ballymacskanlan, a castle, no tithe, and 120 acres; Cruerath,
+Ballyraganly and Donnore, in the parish of Mellifont, with the tithes and
+altarages, all in this county&#8221; (Louth). Here follow the possessions
+belonging to the Abbey in the County Meath, and which have been given.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">THE END.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><strong>Footnotes:</strong></p>
+
+<p><a name='f_1' id='f_1' href='#fna_1'>[1]</a> The &#8220;Tourist Company&#8221; have recently fitted up a compartment of the old
+mill, where a cheap and substantial lunch can be had by visitors who may desire it.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_2' id='f_2' href='#fna_2'>[2]</a> See Illustration, p. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_3' id='f_3' href='#fna_3'>[3]</a> See Illustration, p. <a href="#Page_24">23</a>.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_4' id='f_4' href='#fna_4'>[4]</a> See Illustration, p. <a href="#Page_36">35</a>.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_5' id='f_5' href='#fna_5'>[5]</a> See Illustration, p. <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_6' id='f_6' href='#fna_6'>[6]</a> See Illustration, p. <a href="#Page_48">47</a>.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_7' id='f_7' href='#fna_7'>[7]</a> The <i>Annals of Ulster</i> simply state &#8220;for the monks of Ireland did
+banish him (Auliv) out of their abbacy, through lawful causes.&#8221; <i>The Four
+Masters</i> tell us it was the monks of Drogheda who had expelled him from
+the abbacy for his own crime. A writer in the <i>Dublin Penny Journal</i>,
+1835-36, says this Auliv was Abbot of the monastery of St. Mary de Urso,
+near the West Gate, Drogheda. He quotes some old Annals without
+particularising them. And Dalton, in his History of Drogheda, tells us
+that Auliv had been Abbot of that same Abbey of St. Mary&#8217;s, Drogheda, and
+was expelled. Dalton evidently confounds this monastery with Mellifont. No
+Cistercian Community had power to depose their abbot, such power being
+vested in the General Chapter of the Order.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_8' id='f_8' href='#fna_8'>[8]</a> It is not generally known that it was an Irishman who, on the fatal
+day of Aughrim, as St. Ruth rode to victory waving his cap, pointed him
+out to the gunner whose faithful shot deprived St. Ruth of his head and
+the Irish Army of a valiant General.</p>
+
+<p><a name='f_9' id='f_9' href='#fna_9'>[9]</a> The Puritans admitted that Sir Phelim O&#8217;Neil did not commence his
+alleged massacres until after the sacking and burning of Dundalk.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, by Anonymous
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth
+       Its Ruins and Associations, a Guide and Popular History
+
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+
+
+Release Date: February 27, 2012  [eBook #38999]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
+Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 38999-h.htm or 38999-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38999/38999-h/38999-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38999/38999-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      http://www.archive.org/details/mellifontabbeyco00dubl
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+      The original text includes intentional blank spaces. This is
+      represented by ____ in this text version.
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW. _From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+
+MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH:
+
+Its Ruins and Associations.
+A Guide and Popular History.
+
+
+  "A house of prayer, once consecrate
+  To God's high service--desolate!
+  A ruin where once stood a shrine!
+  Bright with the Presence all divine!"
+                          (_W. Chatterton Dix._)
+
+
+Permissu Superiorum.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Published by
+James Duffy & Co., Ltd., Dublin,
+for the Cistercians,
+Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea.
+1897.
+
+Printed by
+Edmund Burke & Co.,
+61 & 62 Great Strand Street, Dublin.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+In the following pages an attempt is made to describe the ruins of
+Mellifont as they now appear, and to explain the uses, or probable uses,
+that the buildings yet remaining must have served when the monks dwelt
+there. Obviously, some important structural alterations were made when
+changing the venerable Abbey into a fortified residence; nevertheless the
+ruins exhibit, on the whole, the characteristics of the primitive plan and
+style in which Mellifont, as well as all the Cistercian monasteries both
+in this country and on the Continent, were built. The explanation is
+founded on reliable authority, being gleaned from most authentic sources,
+such as, _Les Monuments Primitifs de La Regle Cistercienne_, which is a
+copy of the Rule drawn up by the Founders of the Order; the _Monasticon
+Cisterciense_; _Violet Le Duc_; _Jubainville, Etudes sur l'Etat interieur
+des Abbayes Cisterciennes au XII. et au XIII. siecle_; _Meglinger, Iter
+Cisterciense_; _La Vie de Saint Bernard_, by Vacandard, etc.
+
+As no Records, or Chronicles of Mellifont now exist, the historical part
+of the compilation has been derived from different sources, chiefly from
+our old Annals--_The Annals of the Four Masters_; those of _Boyle_, of
+_St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin_; _Clyn and Dowling's_; and of _Clonmacnois_;
+Ware's _Bishops_, etc.; _the Miscellany of the Archaeological Society_;
+Ussher's _Sylloge_; Morrin's _Calendars of Patent Rolls_, etc. The part
+relating to disciplinary subjects was drawn principally from Martene's
+_Thesaurus Anecdotorum_, Vol. IV., which contains the Decrees of the
+General Chapter of the Cistercian Order, also, from the _Constitutiones et
+Privilegia, Menologium_, and the _Fasiculus Sanctorum Ordinis
+Cisterciensis_, by Henriquez; _Originum Cisterciensium_, tom. I,
+Janauschek; _l'Histoire de La Trappe_, Gaillardin, etc. The vindication of
+monks in general, from the aspersions cast on them by their enemies, and
+the facts appertaining to the Rebellion of 1641, are borrowed exclusively
+from Protestant sources,--Dugdale's _Monasticon Anglicanum_, Tanner's
+_Notitia Monastica_, Maitland's _Dark Ages_, Leland's _History of
+Ireland_, Temple's _History of the Insurrection_, 1641, Tichborne's
+_History of the Siege of Drogheda_, Carte's _Ormond_, etc.
+
+These by no means exhaust the list of authors consulted and utilised, but
+they show how far apart the pieces lay which have been stitched together
+to form a consecutive narrative. The compiler has endeavoured to compress
+the matter into the smallest possible space in order to make the little
+book accessible to all at a moderate price; and he has preferred to allow
+others to speak rather than to thrust his own opinions on the reader.
+Finally, he has borne in mind throughout, the trite saying, _Magna est
+Veritas et praevalebit_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                            PAGE
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+    THE RUINS                                                  1
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+    ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT                              33
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+    AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS
+    FOUNDATION, AND FOR ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF
+    AFTERWARDS                                                41
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+    MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE
+    ORDER                                                     50
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+    MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE
+    EMINENT SUPERIORS                                         58
+
+
+  CHAPTER VI.
+
+    MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES                              67
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII.
+
+    THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT                              85
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.
+
+    MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY--IS
+    SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED UP TO RUIN AND DECAY              101
+
+
+  APPENDIX.
+
+    I.--LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT                          128
+
+   II.--CHARTER OF NEWRY                                     129
+
+  III.--INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT                    131
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations.
+
+
+  GENERAL VIEW OF MELLIFONT                       _Frontispiece_
+
+  PLAN OF CLAIRVAUX                                    _At_ p. 4
+
+  PLAN OF MELLIFONT ABBEY                                      5
+
+  GATEWAY (PORTER'S LODGE)                                    15
+
+  NORTH WINDOW OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                               19
+
+  DOORWAY OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                                    23
+
+  INTERIOR OF CHAPTER-HOUSE                                   35
+
+  INTERIOR OF LAVABO (OCTAGON)                                43
+
+  ARCH OF LAVABO (OCTAGON)                                    47
+
+  SOUTH WALL OF LECTORIUM                                     63
+
+
+
+
+MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH:
+
+Its Ruins and Associations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE RUINS.
+
+  "Look, stranger; where these stones in ruin lie.
+  Here in the old, grey times a holy thing
+  Rose up--a cloistered pile; but time swept by
+  And smote the sanctuary with his reckless wing."
+                    (_From the Swedish, by J. E. D. Bethune._)
+
+
+Of the many historic ruins which dot our country and attest its former
+greatness, few attract so much attention, and invite so close a study as
+our monastic remains, pre-eminent amongst which are those of the ancient
+historic Abbey of Mellifont. In countless pages of our Annals the name
+appears. In the records of sieges, battles and insurrections, from the day
+on which a colony of St. Bernard's monks from world-famed Clairvaux, came
+and settled in its tranquil valley, till having passed through many
+vicissitudes, as an abode of piety and wide-spread beneficence, it became
+a baronial residence, and finally lost its prestige as the site of a mill,
+whose remains contrast incongruously with those of such a precious
+memorial.
+
+And what was Mellifont? It was the first house of the Cistercian Order in
+Ireland; founded, endowed and enriched by native princes and saintly
+prelates; the mother of saints and scholars; and at one time, the
+admiration of our land, as a gem of rare architectural beauty.
+
+Before going back to the shadowy past, let us endeavour to trace amongst
+its ruins the outlines of the ancient buildings, and to explain the
+special use and meaning of each in the monastic economy, when white-robed
+monks trod its cloisters, and knelt and prayed before the altars in its
+church. Each of the Cistercian churches and monasteries was built upon a
+uniform plan, with some slight modifications, arising perhaps in all
+instances from peculiarities of site and local difficulties. Around the
+whole pile of monastic buildings, and girdling an area of some thirty
+acres or more, comprising gardens, orchards, meadows, ran a high wall,
+called the "Enclosure Wall," which served to isolate the denizens of the
+cloister, and prevent as far as possible all ingress of the world.
+Entrance within the precincts of the monastery was obtained through a
+spacious and lofty gate-house occupied by a trusty Lay-Brother, whose duty
+it was to receive visitors, and dispense hospitality to the poor and the
+way-farer; thus he formed a connecting link between his brethren within
+and the world without, from which they were cut off. Extending on either
+side of this gate-house, or "Porter's Lodge," as it was known in monastic
+language, was a range of buildings for the exclusive use of strangers of
+every grade. There were the Hospice proper, an infirmary for the sick
+poor, with stabling also, in the immediate vicinity, for the horses of
+travellers:--
+
+  "Whoever passed, be it baron or squire,
+  Was free to call at the abbey and stay;
+  No guerdon or gift for his lodging pay,
+  Though he tarried a week with its holy choir."
+
+The old tower which is passed as one approaches the ruins of Mellifont,
+was the "Porter's Lodge," and right under it ran the avenue which led to
+the abbey, but which was converted into a mill-race when Mellifont had
+reached its last stage of degradation. The present road-way was
+constructed in order to give access to the mill. The remains of old walls
+can still be traced stretching on both sides of the tower, and prove its
+ancient purpose in connection with Cistercian usage, as described above.
+Some gate-houses of Continental monasteries, which have till now subsisted
+intact from the eleventh or twelfth century, bear a striking resemblance
+to this one at Mellifont. That of Aiguebelle, in particular, near Grignan,
+in the Department of Drome, France, most closely resembles it.
+
+There can be no doubt that a pile of buildings once occupied and enclosed
+the whole space from the old gateway to the church, forming a rectangle,
+of which the church was the fourth side. The precise purposes these
+buildings served at Mellifont can now be only conjectured; for, in
+different monasteries, local wants determined in a great measure the
+allocation of this site to uses which varied with the circumstances of
+each community. That is not, however, to be understood of what are called
+the "Regular Places;" for these were held to be indispensable, and
+occupied almost the same position in every monastery. The intervening
+space here between the gate-house and the church is now covered over with
+the debris of ancient buildings, which local tradition says once occupied
+the side of the hill on which, and about where, a few modern cottages now
+stand.
+
+Approaching nearer to the ruins, a modern mill obtrudes itself upon the
+scene, and one cannot help wishing it transported beyond the plane of his
+observation.[1]
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF CLAIRVAUX BY DOMMILLEY 1708
+
+   1. Entrance.
+   2. Abbot's House.
+   3. Guest House.
+   4. Stables.
+   5. Church.
+   6. Sacristy.
+   7. Cell for Books (Common Box).
+   8. Stairs leading to Dormitory.
+   9. The Chapter-House.
+  10. Parlour.
+  11. Former Novitiate.
+  12. Cloisters.
+  13. Stairs to Dormitory.
+  14. Calefactory.
+  15. Refectory.
+  16. Kitchen.
+  17. Lavabo (Octagon).
+  18. Cemetery.
+  19. St. Bernard's Cell.
+  20. The Prior's Chambers.
+  21. Chapel of the Counts of Flanders.
+  22. Scriptoria.
+  23. Lesser Cloister.
+  24. Hall for Theses.
+  25. Theological School.
+  26. Infirmary.
+  27. Common Room of the Infirm.
+  28. Novitiate.
+  29. Abbots' Council Chamber.
+  30. Garden.]
+
+[Illustration: MELLIFONT ABBEY GROUND PLAN]
+
+Arrived at what is now the entrance gate, the visitor beholds in front of
+him the four remaining sides of what was once an octagonal building, and
+somewhat nearer on his left, a small roofless edifice. These are commonly,
+but erroneously, called the "Baptistery" and "St. Bernard's Chapel." Their
+true purposes shall be explained further on. Immediately at his feet now,
+extend the sites of the church, and of the once magnificent cloisters. Of
+these latter not a trace remains, except a mere outline on the green
+sward, and a few squares of concrete to indicate the position once
+occupied by them. The plan of the church extends to right and left: the
+western portion of the nave running towards the river (see Plan), and the
+entire length is dotted at intervals with blocks which mark the sites of
+the piers. These concrete blocks were laid by order of Sir Thomas Deane,
+under whose direction the excavations were made here some few years ago.
+The length of the nave cannot now be ascertained with certainty, but
+judging from the position occupied by some very old walls at the
+south-western side, it may be roughly stated to have been 120 feet; while
+54 feet 6 inches was the width of the whole church, including the aisles.
+These latter were each 10 feet wide. The nave had seven bays, and like all
+Cistercian churches, it was divided into two parts by the Rood-loft and
+Choir-screen, which stood about midway. This Rood-loft served a twofold
+purpose; on it was a lectern, where the Lessons of the night-offices were
+read by the monks in rotation, and thereon the Abbot announced the Gospel
+proper to each festival, chanting or reading it, according as the office
+was sung or merely recited, after which, with crosier in hand, he gave his
+solemn benediction. It answered, too, as a partition between the choir of
+the monks and the stalls of the Lay Brethren; the former on the
+eastern, the latter on the western side of it. This Choir-screen formed a
+sort of reredos to the two altars, which were invariably found in this
+position in the churches of the Order. On these altars were offered up
+daily Masses for living and deceased benefactors--a practice which
+continues in the Order and which dates back to the foundation of the
+Cistercian Institute. Further west was a tribune or gallery, where guests
+and the dependants of the monastery assisted at Divine Service, Office and
+Mass. Inside the Rood-loft, was the Choir proper, which extended thence to
+the Chancel, or "Presbytery Step," as it is called in monastic parlance. A
+small space was provided between the Choir and the Chancel, in order to
+allow a passage to those who proceeded from the Sacristy to the High Altar
+within the Chancel. Two rows of stalls ran down on each side the length of
+the nave. These stalls were generally of carved oak, and were artistically
+finished. The outer rows were for the novices, and the backs of their
+stalls formed the desks used by the professed monks, whereon they rested
+the ponderous tomes containing the sacred psalmody. During the High Mass
+the stalls next the Chancel were used, and the place of honour, that is,
+the first stall on the Epistle, or south side, was given to the Abbot. The
+Prior, as second superior, occupied the first on the opposite, or Gospel
+side. The other monks according to seniority occupied the stalls on either
+side. On the other hand, at Matins and at all the offices, except that in
+connection with High Mass, the Abbot's and Prior's stalls were farthest
+from the Chancel, and next the Rood-loft, and the order of the monks was
+reversed. In token of his jurisdiction the Abbot's crosier was fixed at
+his stall. The Cistercian monks call this Rood-loft the "_Jube_," from the
+first word spoken by the reader when he asks the blessing before
+commencing the Lessons. The whole nave here at Mellifont seems to have
+been paved with beautiful tiles; a few of which may yet be seen in their
+position near the great pier on the north side. At the intersection of the
+transept with the nave, is the space called the "Crossing," or "Lantern."
+Over this rose the bell-tower, which was supported on solid piers, from
+two of which sprang the Chancel arch, and from the two others, that of the
+nave. These piers were formed of clustered columns, but their remains
+(about five feet high), vary both in dimensions and in style, manifesting,
+thereby, the partial renovation that took place from time to time. The
+material of which the whole building was constructed is a buff-coloured
+sandstone not found in the vicinity of Mellifont, but brought, it is said,
+from Kells, some twenty miles away; a thing not very difficult, seeing
+that the river is so convenient. Some, again, are of opinion that the
+stone was brought from Normandy; which seems to be improbable.
+
+The total length of the transepts is 116 feet; the width 54 feet. The
+northern one is some four feet longer than the southern. They seem to have
+had aisles, an unusual arrangement in churches of the Order. In the
+northern transept were six chapels, the piscinas of which are still to be
+seen in the piers adjoining. The number of these piscinas cannot fail to
+strike one as something very singular. Their presence is accounted for in
+this way. At the date of the foundation of Mellifont and for centuries
+later, it was the custom for priests of the Order to wash their hands at
+the foot of the altar before commencing Mass, the server pouring water on
+his hands, which he dried with a towel that had been previously laid on
+the altar. The water used was then cast into the piscina. It was also the
+custom with them, at that time, to descend from the altar when they had
+consumed the Sacred Species out of the chalice and to wash their fingers
+over the piscina.
+
+This northern transept seems to have been a favourite spot for interments;
+for during the excavations numerous skulls were found there. At Clairvaux,
+the corresponding site was strewn with the graves of bishops, who selected
+it as the place wherein to rest after life's weary struggle. No record or
+memorial of these survives, or of any of the dead interred at Mellifont,
+to point out the occupant of a single grave. In the northern wall of this
+transept is a beautiful door-way with jambs of clustered columns. Hard by,
+the wall was pierced to make a loop-hole when Mellifont was transformed
+into a fortress. On one side of the door-way are the remains of what must
+once have been a superb chapel; on the opposite side are a few steps of a
+spiral stair-case, formed in the thickness of the wall, which led up to
+the tower, as is to be seen at Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, and other
+houses of the order in Ireland. The level of the floor here is some five
+or six feet lower than the adjacent road-way which was raised by the
+accumulated rubbish of former buildings that extended along the hill-side
+where the cottages now stand.
+
+The southern transept may have had its six altars also. The aisle seems to
+have been built up, and when the alterations which took place in the whole
+fabric in the fifteenth century were made, a large portion of this
+transept would appear to have been allocated to the uses of a sacristy. No
+trace of a sacristy remains elsewhere, and this would be a very convenient
+place to utilise as one. The remains of some walls lead us to suppose such
+an arrangement probable. In Cistercian monasteries, a stair-case in this
+transept near the cloister led thence to the dormitory, but no remains of
+such a stairs have been discovered at Mellifont. When Sir Thomas Deane
+had the earth and rubbish, or, as he calls it, the "grassy mound,"
+removed, he discovered the foundations of two semi-circular chapels in
+each transept, in a line with the site occupied by the High, or principal
+Altar. (See the dotted lines in the Ground Plan). Describing them, Sir
+Thomas writes: "Within the circuit of the external walls are the
+foundations of an earlier church which indicate four semicircular chapels,
+and two square ones between. Of this church we have no distinct record,
+but the bases of semi-detached pillars would indicate the date given for
+the erection of Mellifont." These four semi-circular chapels in line with
+the High Altar, formed an exact counterpart of the church of Clairvaux
+which was erected in 1135, and which by St. Bernard's express wish, served
+St. Malachy as the model for Mellifont.
+
+The chancel terminated in a square end, and was 42 feet deep by 26 feet
+wide. It was raised about six inches over the floor of the nave, and a
+slab of limestone extended the entire width with which the tiled pavement
+was flush. Almost in the centre of the chancel, that is to say, nearly
+midway between the two piers, are two sockets sunk in sandstone blocks.
+What uses they served cannot be affirmed with certainty. However, it may
+be conjectured that they served to receive the supports on which a violet
+curtain was suspended during Lent, screening the "Sanctuary." This curtain
+spanned the space from pier to pier. The custom is still preserved in the
+Order. Here on this central spot, a lectern was placed, at which the
+sub-deacon at Solemn Masses sang the Epistle. Here, too, the celebrant of
+the Community Mass on Sundays blessed the water with which he sprinkled
+the brethren, who presented themselves two by two before him. It was here,
+also, that the Abbot blessed the candles, ashes, and palms, on
+Candlemas-day, Ash Wednesday, and Palm Sunday respectively. This was
+called the "Presbytery Step," and the whole space within the chancel, the
+"Sanctuary."
+
+The basis on which the High Altar was built still remains. It is distant
+some few feet from the eastern wall, in order to allow a passage for the
+monks, who on Sundays and Festivals received Holy Communion at this altar,
+after which they walked around it in single file, and passing on by the
+Gospel, or northern corner, returned to their stalls in the nave. The
+basis is ten feet long by three and one half feet wide. On the Epistle, or
+southern side, are the piscina surrounded with a dog-tooth moulding, and
+the remains of the sedilia or stalls, which were occupied by the
+celebrant, deacon, and sub-deacon at High Mass. Under these sedilia a tomb
+was discovered during the excavations. A skull and some bones, together
+with a gold ring, were raised from their resting-place; the bones were
+replaced and covered with the slab of concrete now seen at this spot, but
+the ring was sold by a workman and could never be recovered. No
+inscription or tradition identifies the occupant of the hallowed grave.
+Could it have been that of the famous Dervorgilla? She was certainly
+buried at Mellifont, but unfortunately, we do not know the spot where her
+remains were laid when "life's fitful fever" was over; or it may have been
+the resting-place of Thomas O'Connor, or of Luke Netterville, both,
+successively, Archbishops of Armagh; for they, also, were buried at
+Mellifont.
+
+On the opposite, or Gospel side, is an arched recess having an ornamental
+moulding around it. This would seem to have been the Founder's tomb, or
+rather, the remains of it. In the Cistercian Constitutions no special
+place was allotted for the tombs of Founders, and only the indefinite
+permission was given, that they, kings and queens, bishops and such like
+exalted dignitaries, might be buried within the churches of the Order. A
+general custom, however, prevailed in Ireland of appropriating to the
+Founder's tomb a space in the northern wall of the chancel, and directly
+at right angles with the High Altar. Others, besides Founders, were buried
+on the north side in the chancel. Thus, in the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin, we are told that Felix O'Ruadan, who had been a great benefactor
+to that house, was buried in the chancel of the abbey church, on the north
+side. And Felix O'Dullany, the first Abbot of Jerpoint, and afterwards
+Bishop of Ossory, was interred on the north side of the High Altar, at
+Jerpoint.
+
+The door on this side of the chancel is a puzzle, as in no other church of
+the Order is one found in this position. There is no evidence of a
+building having adjoined with which this door communicated, so that its
+use is unknown. Quite close to this door there is a shallow recess in the
+wall, which may have been a provision for the Abbot's throne, when he
+officiated pontifically, as that is the site usually occupied by it. Some
+five or six feet high of the chancel walls is all that is left standing;
+and, though not up to the window level, what remains of the cut stone and
+water-tabling gives an idea of the beauty of the whole, and what a loss we
+have sustained by its destruction.
+
+In the original church, that is, the one erected in St. Malachy's time,
+there were ten altars we are told, but on the ground plan seven only are
+shown. Two more at least were in front of the Rood-loft or _Jube_, and the
+remaining one very probably was in one of the aisles. The church of
+Mellifont was remarkable, not so much for its vast dimensions, as for its
+architectural beauty; yet, in this it was surpassed by St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin. Sir Thomas Deane writes: "From the fragments of the church which
+remain, it is easy to trace the vicissitudes the building underwent. I
+have great doubt that any portions of the structure above ground are those
+of the earliest church erected on the site, or date as far back as 1157,
+which is given as the year of its consecration.... The details of the
+piers (the older ones) are in my opinion a century or more later in date.
+They still indicate a foreign type, and the arrangements and obvious plan
+show that the transepts as well as the nave had aisles.... Portions of the
+piers discovered are of the fifteenth century, other parts of the church
+of the fourteenth.... A second portion dates probably from 1260, another
+from 1370, and another from 1460. I am not prepared to follow from the
+history of the Abbey the causes of such restorations; but it is certain
+that rebuildings of portions of the church occurred from time to time, and
+that violence or decay was the cause." Neither to violence nor to decay
+can the alterations be attributed, which the church underwent at the three
+periods mentioned by Sir Thomas, but rather to the practice then common to
+the whole Order, chiefly in the monasteries of Great Britain and Ireland,
+of adopting the advancing changes in the Gothic style, and to the laudable
+efforts of the monks to make the House of God worthy of Him as far as art
+and skill could be made subservient to that purpose. Thus in the Annals of
+Fountains and Furness, there are abundant proofs of this constant change
+going on in those monasteries even down to the date of their suppression.
+One Abbot considered the eastern window too low and narrow, and had it
+enlarged; another thought the tower rested on too slender a basis, and he
+built substantial piers and flanked them on the outside with buttresses,
+and so with others.
+
+To better understand the surroundings, it will be necessary to bear in
+mind the general plan on which all Cistercian monasteries were built. On
+this subject there is a good deal of misapprehension, even on the part of
+those who seem to have given close attention to the matter. The church and
+buildings necessary for large communities were so arranged as to form a
+square, thereby combining simplicity with economy. It is said that the
+monks borrowed this idea from the form of a Roman villa. The church formed
+the first or northern side (for in temperate and cold climates the other
+buildings, as they lay to the south, were sheltered by the church.) The
+sacristy, chapter-house, and other halls were on the east; the
+calefactory, refectory, and kitchen on the south; and the _Domus
+Conversorum_ completed the square on the west. Within this square were the
+cloisters, always contiguous to the main buildings, and forming a
+communication with all the parts of the monastery. They were a sort of
+covered ambulatory, whose roof rested on the one side against the main
+buildings, and on the other was supported by open ornamental arcades,
+which, however, in these climates were glazed. The cloisters were often
+vaulted in richly moulded stonework, and were fitted up with benches for
+reading, chiefly on the side adjoining the church. The space or
+quadrilateral area enclosed by them was called the Cloister-Garth, in the
+centre of which a statue or handsome fountain stood.
+
+The cloisters were generally entered from the church by the south aisle,
+at the point where it adjoins the transept; but here, at Mellifont, the
+entrance was direct from the south transept itself. This a glance at the
+ground-plan will show; though it may have been otherwise in the primitive
+church; for, when it underwent alterations, the transepts were widened by
+the addition of an aisle to each; and, the cloister being thus encroached
+on, a change was necessary in it also.
+
+Adjoining the transept, and at right angles with the cloister, on the
+left, was a narrow hall or cell which contained books, chiefly the Sacred
+Scriptures, and the writings of the Fathers. This cell, which had no
+window, was called the "Armarium Commune," or "Common Box;" for its
+contents were common to all the monks. Its situation was convenient to the
+reading-cloister, which lay along the south wall of the church. In this
+cell the monks were provided with an abundant supply of good books, but
+treatises on the Canon and Civil Laws were forbidden to be kept in it: the
+Prior was charged with the custody of these. Behind this cell, and
+communicating only with the church, the Sacristy was placed; but, as
+before observed, there is no trace of one here. Some writers on monastic
+ruins, confidently assure their readers that this cell was a prison, and
+that it was called the "Lantern;" casting upon the monks all
+responsibility for the name, and supposing them to have formed it on the
+_lucus a non lucendo_ principle, seeing the cell was dark. The error was
+all their own; for the Lantern, as has been already shown, was in the
+tower over the crossing of the church; and the true use of this cell has
+just been stated above.
+
+Here (at Mellifont), in close proximity to the transept, is the ruined
+two-storied building we saw as we approached, and which, from its present
+striking appearance, must have been one of the most beautiful within the
+ancient abbey's precincts. This is commonly, but erroneously, known as
+"St. Bernard's Chapel." Why it was reputed to have been a chapel, must be
+from the close resemblance it bears to one. It was, in reality, the
+Chapter-house. That it was, is quite evident to anyone who has studied the
+plans of Cistercian monasteries: (_a_), from the position it occupies, and
+(_b_), from the internal arrangement and decorations such as are found in
+other like edifices of the Order in Ireland. A stone bench ran around the
+inside of the building, and which, when covered with a rush mat, served as
+a seat for the monks. In Graignamanagh Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, the ancient
+Chapter-house still remains, closely resembling this one at Mellifont,
+both in style and ornamentation, as well as in dimensions. The historic
+Chapter-house of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, which was unearthed a few years
+ago, exhibited in every detail a striking resemblance to this also. That
+at Graignamanagh was remarkable for its beauty. At the entrance to it from
+the cloister, was a magnificent arched door-way, containing within it
+three smaller arches of blue marble, beautifully carved. A grand central
+column, called by the inhabitants of the district, the "Marble Tree,"
+supported the roof. It stood eight feet high from base to capital, whence
+the branches spread to meet the corresponding ribs on the groined roof.
+
+[Illustration: GATEWAY (PORTER'S LODGE.) See page 2. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Sir William Wilde describes the Chapter-house at Mellifont, as he saw it
+in 1850. He says: "It must have been one of the most elegant and highly
+embellished structures of the Norman or Early English pointed style in
+Ireland." He calls it a Crypt; for it was overlaid, and surrounded up to a
+high level by heaps of rubbish. He goes on to say: "It has a groined roof
+underneath another building evidently used for domestic purposes, and was
+probably part of the Abbot's apartments. The upper room, which contains a
+chimney, must have been a pleasant, cheerful abode, and its windows
+commanded a charming prospect down the valley, with a view of the distant
+hills peeping up from the south-west. The building is 30 feet long, by 19
+feet wide. There are no remains of mullions or tracery of the east window.
+At present, there are two lights on each side; but upon a careful
+examination of the masonry both within and without the building, it is, we
+think, apparent that in the original plan, the upper window on each side
+alone existed, the others being evidently subsequent innovations. The
+original windows[2] are still beautiful, deeply set, and, though their
+stone mullions are rather massive, each forms, with the tracery at the
+top, a very elegant figure. The internal pilasters, which form an
+architrave for the northern window, spring from grotesque heads,
+elaborately carved, and which appear as if pressed down by the
+superincumbent weight. A fillet of dog's-tooth moulding surrounds the
+internal sash. A projecting moulding courses round the wall, about two
+feet from the ground, which, while it dips down to admit the splayed sill
+of the upper or original windows, continues unbroken by the lower ones, an
+additional proof that the latter did not exist in the original plan of the
+building. Three sets of short clustered columns, four feet high, one in
+the centre, and one in each angle, spring from this course, and terminate
+in elaborately carved floral capitals, which differ slightly one from the
+other. The centre rod of this cluster descends as far as the floor. From
+these spring the ribs, which form the groining of the roof.... The grand
+architectural feature, and most elaborate piece of carving, was the
+door-way, formed of a cluster of columns, very deeply revealed on the
+inside, but apparently plain on the outside.... Nearly the whole of the
+western end has fallen, so that nothing but the foundations of this very
+splendid door-way now remain. A figure of it has, however, been preserved
+in Wright's _Louthiana_ (reproduced here),[3] published in 1755, where we
+read that it was 'all of blue marble, richly ornamented and gilt,' but
+'which,' the author adds, 'I was informed was sold and going to be taken
+to pieces when I was there.' All the pillars and carved stone work of this
+building were at one time painted in the most brilliant colours, the
+capitals light blue, the pillars themselves red; portions of this paint
+still remain in the curves and amongst the foliage."
+
+The Chapter-house[4] is little changed since Sir William Wilde penned the
+foregoing, and time seems to have dealt leniently with this magnificent
+ruin. One of the windows has had its mullions restored under the Board of
+Works; a number of curious objects--capitals, corbels, and portions of
+arches and cut stone, flooring tiles, etc., has been collected there, and
+a gate to guard them has been erected by Mr. Balfour, the owner of the
+ruins and surrounding property. It is very dubious that the upper story
+ever served as a part of the Abbot's lodgings, as these are generally
+found further east. This room may have been the muniment room. It has two
+port-holes remaining, relics of the days when Mellifont was turned into a
+fortified castle, and the cry of fierce, contending men was heard on this
+hallowed spot, over the graves of the sainted dead. In the first volume of
+_The Dublin Penny Journal_, there are very interesting articles from the
+pen of a Mr. Armstrong, a native of the locality. He tells us that this
+Chapter-house was converted into a banqueting-hall by the Moore family,
+and that in his time (1832), it was used as a pig-sty.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH WINDOW OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 17. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Another account of the fate of the beautiful arched door-way of blue
+marble is, that it was lost at a game of piquet, and the lucky winner,
+whose name, unfortunately, has not been handed down to us, had it removed
+to his mansion, and set up as a chimney-piece. The floor of the
+Chapter-house is now laid with some of the tiles which were found in the
+church during the excavations, in order to preserve them from destruction
+or appropriation by "relic-hunters." Abbots, generally, chose the
+Chapter-house of their abbeys for their burial place; but, as no grave was
+found here, when the rubbish was removed, during the excavations, we may
+conclude that the Abbots of Mellifont were buried either in the church, or
+in the cemetery with their monks.
+
+The glazed tiles and their manufacture were a specialty with the old
+Cistercians, in these countries. Similar tiles are seldom met with amongst
+the ruins of other churches. Here at Mellifont, those found are red and
+blue, and the vast majority have the legend _Ave Maria_ inscribed on them;
+others are impressed with a Fleur de lis, a cock, or some typical device.
+It is well known, that specimens of tiles found at Fountains, in
+Yorkshire, bear a close resemblance to these. There, the motto of that
+monastery was impressed on the tiles discovered--"_Benedicite fontes
+Domino_,"--"Ye fountains bless the Lord." No doubt, here, too, some bore
+the motto of Mellifont, if only they could be found.
+
+A very pertinent question arises now: how could this small building give
+sitting accommodation, not only to one hundred and fifty monks, which this
+monastery is said to have had, but even to a third of that number? It
+seems impossible. It may be that, on becoming numerous, they used as
+Chapter-house some other building no longer standing. At Graignamanagh,
+the monks, finding their Chapter-house too small, converted the eastern
+window of it into a door, and built a large and spacious hall, as a new
+Chapter-house, the old one serving as an ante-chamber to it. No such
+addition had been made here; for the window remains intact.
+
+What a change has come over this grand old Chapter-house since it saw its
+Abbot, who ranked as a peer of the realm, walk up its centre with solemn
+and stately tread, and mount the steps which led to his seat, on the east;
+and the grave assemblage of white-robed monks enter in silence, and take
+their places on either side, while one of them sang at the Lectern, the
+Martyrology, and a chapter of St. Benedict's Rule! From this custom of
+having a _chapter_ of the Rule sung there every morning, this apartment
+derives its name. In the interval, between the singing of the Martyrology
+and the chapter of St. Benedict's Rule, one of the priests gave out
+certain prayers, to which all responded. These prayers were chiefly
+petitions to the Lord, that He would deign to bless and guard them during
+the coming day; for the hour of chapter, or of the assembling of the
+Brethren, was generally about 6 A.M.. The Abbot then explained the chapter
+which had been sung, dwelt on the obligations incumbent on his hearers, by
+their profession, to observe the teaching which St. Benedict inculcated by
+his Rule; then called for the public self-accusations of breaches of
+monastic discipline (external faults only), and imposed penances
+commensurate with each transgression. The Chapter-house was the hall
+wherein were held the deliberations or councils relative to the
+administration of temporalities, and here novices were elected or rejected
+by secret ballot.
+
+On leaving the Chapter-house one finds himself again on the site of the
+eastern walk or alley of the Cloister, as it is called, and proceeding
+along it southward, one sees a wall some seven or eight feet high without
+door or window of any sort. It is doubtful that this was portion of the
+ancient building; for then Mellifont would not have followed the general
+plan of all the houses of the Order. That it was not one of the original
+buildings is probable, both because the masonry is more modern, and the
+remains of an old building running at right angles with it were found when
+the excavations were made a few years ago in the potato garden, at the
+rere of this wall. That old structure measured about fourteen feet wide.
+It is shown on the ground plan. In the plan of Clairvaux, of which
+Mellifont is said to have been a counterpart, a long narrow hall ran off
+the Cloister here, parallel with the Chapter-house. It was called the
+"Auditorium" or "Parlour." It was there that each choir monk's share in
+the manual labour was assigned him every day by the Prior. There, too,
+confessions were heard, and the monks might speak to the Prior or Abbot on
+necessary matters; for the adjoining Cloister was a place of strict
+silence. As at Clairvaux, the novitiate was placed further south where the
+novices were trained in their duties by a learned and experienced monk,
+who, according to St. Benedict, "would know how to gain souls to God."
+
+Over the buildings on the ground story, that is, over the Sacristy,
+Chapter-house, Parlour, and Novitiate, was the Dormitory, which was
+entered by a stair-case, in the south-eastern angle of the transept, on
+one side, and by another stairs at the junction of the east and south
+walks of the Cloister. When the monastery at Mellifont was changed and
+remodelled after Clairvaux (for this latter underwent a substantial change
+in 1175), the monks may have used the old Parlour as a passage leading to
+other buildings which covered that plot of ground beyond the
+Chapter-house, now a potato garden. In the plan of Clairvaux, all the
+space in that direction is covered with buildings. (See plan of
+Clairvaux.) In the general view of Mellifont, given in frontispiece, the
+plot whereon these buildings stood is that where the man is seen tilling
+the garden. But if one ascend the hill, keeping close to the ruins, it
+will be evident how suitable a place it was for building on, and the
+remains of walls peep up here and there over the surface. The level at
+that spot is, indeed, much higher than in the Cloister, or Chapter-house,
+but that is partially caused by the debris of ruined buildings which has
+accumulated there.
+
+[Illustration: DOORWAY OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 18. _A. Scott & Son,
+Architects, Drogheda._]
+
+At the extreme end of this eastern walk of the Cloister and at right
+angles with it, are the remains of what was once a spacious building. It
+had a fire-place at the eastern end, and a door which led out into another
+building that formerly adjoined it. It is 96 feet long by 36 feet wide. No
+idea can be formed now as to its original use. In some monasteries of the
+fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, chiefly the more considerable ones,
+there was a spacious room or hall located as this was, and furnished with
+benches and writing-desks, where the monks studied and wrote. It was
+called the "Lectorium" or Reading room. It must not, however, be
+confounded with the Scriptorium, which was the official quarters of the
+copyist. It is well to remark here that the plot of ground lying north of
+this building was not dug up during the excavations, but only skimmed over
+in order to trace the course of some walls which at intervals appeared
+above the surface; but, even this slight investigation was sufficient to
+reveal the outlines of numerous buildings that once extended in that
+direction and covered that whole area. Again comparing the site with
+Clairvaux, we find that the Infirmary and its surroundings would lie in
+that direction.
+
+At the extreme end of the eastern walk of the Cloister where it joins the
+southern one, are the remains of a stairs, which formerly led up to the
+Dormitory from this part of the monastery, as at Clairvaux. Near it is
+what is commonly called a vault, an arched chamber measuring sixteen feet
+by fourteen. It has a chimney, and it would seem to have had a narrow
+window also on the outer or southern end. Here is where the Calefactory
+stood in almost all the old Cistercian monasteries. This Calefactory was
+heated by a stove, at which the monks warmed themselves after their long
+vigils in winter; but their stay there was restricted to one quarter of an
+hour. Pope Eugenius III., when a monk at Clairvaux, under St. Bernard, had
+charge of the stove there, as was commemorated by an inscription over the
+door of the Calefactory. A son of the King of France discharged the same
+lowly office afterwards at Clairvaux, as the Annals of the Order testify.
+
+Adjoining this vault is a covered passage, having an entrance into the
+next building, which runs parallel with it. Its purpose cannot now be
+known. It may be that the vault or Calefactory had been converted in later
+times into a store-room for necessaries which were brought thence by this
+covered way into the Refectory, which is the next building. The Refectory
+measures 48 feet by 24. A few coarse flags remain in their original
+position, from which it may be inferred that the whole floor was once
+formed of them. In its western wall was the turnstile, through which the
+food was served from the kitchen that adjoined the Refectory on that side.
+
+Now, we come to the great puzzle, the remains of the octagon building,
+which was commonly called the Baptistery. Sir William Wilde, who saw it as
+it was in 1848, calls it the oldest and by far the most interesting
+architectural remains in the whole place; and he goes on to describe
+it:[5] "This octagonal structure, of which only four sides remain,
+consists of a colonnade or series of circular-headed arches, of the Roman
+or Saxon character, enclosing a space of 29 feet in the clear, and
+supporting a wall which must have been, when perfect, about 30 feet high.
+Each external face measures 12 feet in length, and was plastered or
+covered with composition to the height of 10 feet, where a projecting band
+separates it from the less elaborate masonry above. The arches[6] are
+carved in sandstone, and spring from foliage-ornamented capitals, to the
+short supporting pillars, the shaft of each of which measures 3 feet 5
+inches. The chord of each arch above the capitals is 4 feet 3 inches. Some
+slight difference is observable in the shape and arrangement of the
+foliage of the capitals, and upon one of the remaining half arches were
+beautifully carved two birds; but some Goth has lately succeeded in
+hammering away as much of the relieved part of each, as it was possible.
+The arches were evidently open, and some slight variety exists in their
+mouldings. Internally a stone finger-course encircled the wall, at about
+six inches higher than that on the outside. In the angles between the
+arches there are remains of fluted pilasters at the height of the
+string-course, from which spring groins of apparently the same curve as
+the external arches, and which, meeting in the centre, must have formed
+more or less of a pendant, which, no doubt, heightened the beauty and
+architectural effect. Like the pillars and stone carvings in the
+Chapter-house, this building was also painted red and blue, and the track
+of the paint is still visible in several places. The upper story, which
+was lighted by a window on each side of the octagon, bears no
+architectural embellishment which is now visible." He then adds, how
+Archdall, in his _Monasticon_, asserted that a cistern was placed on the
+upper story, whence water was conveyed by pipes to the different parts of
+the monastery; but shows how such an arrangement would have been
+impossible, on account of the weakness of the walls, and the position of
+the windows.
+
+This building was known, in monastic terminology, as the "Lavabo." A
+fountain of water issued in jets from a central column, and fell into a
+basin, in which the monks washed their hands, before entering the
+Refectory for their meals. It is quite easy, from the construction of the
+roof, to imagine a number of branches springing from the capital of the
+column, and meeting the ribs of the groined roof, in the same manner, as
+the "Marble Tree," in the Chapter-house of Graignamanagh. Drains in
+connection with this building were discovered when the excavations were
+made, and Sir Thomas Deane is of opinion, that it was surrounded on the
+outside by a wooden verandah, or shed. Certainly, in the plan of
+Clairvaux, a low building is shown, adjoining the Lavabo, at its east and
+west ends; but no use is assigned it. Very probably it was the Lavatory.
+Petrie thinks the Lavabo may have been built as far back as 1165, but that
+can hardly be held; for Clairvaux had not been remodelled till 1175, and
+it had no such ornamental structure in the time of St. Bernard. He
+remarks, too, that fragments of bricks were discovered in the building,
+and says they were never employed earlier in any other building in
+Ireland. It is now certain, that it was the monks of Mellifont who first
+manufactured bricks in this country. This Lavabo was not isolated or
+detached from the Cloister, but, as at Clairvaux, a door led from one into
+the other, opposite the entrance into the Refectory; and, since the
+excavations, portions of the door-way are visible. Some small shafts and
+their bases remain. Even at the present day, in one of the most recently
+constructed monasteries of the Order (near Tilburg, Holland), what might
+be termed a semi-octagonal Lavabo, having its fountain and basin, has been
+built. It answers the same purpose as those in ancient times.
+
+By keeping the Lavabo before one's mind, one can form an idea of the
+Cloister itself; which, consisting of arcades, closely resembled this in
+every detail, except that these were glazed, and in all probability its
+walks had a lean-to roof. The site of the east walk of the Cloister is
+easily traced, and the places occupied by the piers being now concreted,
+mark their positions. This eastern walk was 21 feet 6 inches wide. The
+opposite, or western one, was some 19 feet 6 inches; that on the south, 14
+feet; and the north one, adjoining the church, and which was usually the
+Reading-Cloister, may also have been 14 feet. Thus, we would have an
+enclosed space or Garth, 100 feet square.
+
+Beside the Refectory lay the Kitchen, which was a small building, and
+around it are the ruins of smaller structures, which may have been
+store-rooms in connection with it. Under the Kitchen ran a copious stream
+of water which carried off all the refuse. It is remarkable that at
+Clairvaux similar remains are found in exactly the same position
+relatively to the Kitchen there. With the Cistercians, the Kitchen was
+always square; with the Benedictines, it was round. To the rere of the
+Kitchen, and almost directly opposite the covered passage, is the old well
+which was covered over for a long time, but was discovered, and re-opened
+in 1832. Near it a portion of the old wall fell in, but the masonry, owing
+to the singularly cohesive character of the mortar, holds together despite
+the action of the elements.
+
+Of the western walk of the Cloister no trace remains, and only a tottering
+wall of the _Domus Conversorum_, which once adjoined it, is standing.
+There is no trace either of the northern walk, though this was the most
+important of all. There the monks read and copied, in cells called
+"carrols," which were placed near the windows. When not employed in
+chanting the Masses and Offices in the church, or busied with domestic
+concerns, or working in the fields, the monks passed all their intervals
+here occupied with study. The Abbot had a chair here also; and, from a
+raised pulpit opposite it, one of the monks read aloud every evening, the
+lecture before Compline, at which the whole community assisted.
+
+Turning westward and approaching the River Mattock, we enter, at the left,
+an enclosed space, bounded by the river on one side, and by the remains of
+the outer wall of the _Domus Conversorum_ on the other, we find ourselves
+in a potato garden, which, on close observation, appears strewn with
+pieces of bones. This was "God's Acre" at Mellifont, the cemetery of the
+monks. Some forty or fifty years ago, a Scotchman, who then rented the
+mill and a farm adjoining it, perceiving that the clay of this old
+cemetery was particularly rich and loamy, dug a spit off it a foot deep or
+more, and carted it out on his fields for top-dressing. Amongst the stuff
+so carted were human bones of all kinds, skulls, etc.!!! This was done in
+a Christian land, and no protesting voice was raised against the horrid
+profanation!! The cemetery is shown in the general view at the extreme
+left, where the plot of ground appears laid out in ridges and surrounded
+by a wall.
+
+The River Mattock flows peacefully still by the old abbey as it did over
+seven centuries ago, when its course being first arrested, it was
+harnessed and compelled to take its share in many useful and profitable
+industries. One old solitary yew tree casts its shadow on its water and
+bears it company amid the surrounding ruin and desolation--sad and
+sympathising witnesses of Mellifont's fallen greatness. No bridge now
+spans the river here, though formerly it was probably arched over, and the
+slopes upon the Meath side were laid out in terraces and gardens. The
+present mill was built over one hundred years ago, together with some
+out-offices; the latter, being situated almost midway in the nave of the
+church, were removed when the excavations were made. The mill has not been
+worked during the last thirty years. When Mr. Armstrong wrote his
+interesting papers on Mellifont, in the _Dublin Penny Journal_, 1832-33, a
+few cabins nestled under the shadow of the old ruins.
+
+The last building that deserves notice is the small ruined edifice on the
+hill, which, after the suppression of the monastery, was used as a
+Protestant place of worship. Sir William Wilde was of opinion that it
+dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The western gable which
+rises in the centre into a double belfry contains a pointed door-way, and
+above, but not immediately over this, is a double round-arched window. One
+small narrow light occupies the eastern gable. At a few paces in front of
+this building there stood, at the time Sir William examined it, two very
+plain and very ancient crosses, one having a heart engraven on it
+encircled by a crown of thorns, and the other having a fleur de lis on the
+arm. The latter cross has disappeared, but the former can still be seen
+prostrate on the ground, in that half of the old cemetery beyond the
+road-way, that is, on the side to the south. After the suppression, this
+was used as a Protestant burial-ground, though the presence of Catholic
+emblems would go to prove that it was once Catholic. Of late years the
+interments here have been but few. We are nowhere told, nor does any
+tradition still linger to indicate the former use of this ancient
+building, but it is most probable, that it was the church in which the
+tenants and dependants of the Abbey assisted at Mass and other religious
+functions--in a word, that it was the parish church of Mellifont, which
+was _served by the monks_. This seems to be the most likely explanation;
+for the law of "Enclosure," that law of the Church which debarred females
+from entering within the monastic enclosure, ("_Septa monasterii_" as it
+is called), was in full force at the Dissolution of monasteries, as
+appears from the Decrees of the General Chapters of the Order about that
+time, and also from the Episcopal Registers of some of the English
+dioceses which have lately been published. In these latter are found
+reports of the bishops, who, either officially or by delegation, visited
+some monasteries and adverted to the law of enclosure as an important
+point of monastic discipline. This old structure, then, would have been
+constructed purposely outside the wall for the use of the tenants. Such a
+chapel is still to be seen outside the enclosure at Bordesley Abbey, an
+old Cistercian monastery in Worcestershire, of which we are expressly
+told, that it was the place in which the monks, tenants, domestics, etc.,
+attended Mass. Another purpose may be assigned to this old chapel at
+Mellifont, as that attached to the College, or Seminary, which once
+flourished there. The surrounding hill is locally and traditionally known
+as College-Hill, and the old road which passes over it and leads to
+Townley Hall, is called the College Road.
+
+Little more remains to be said of the ruins or of the site itself.
+Standing on this hill and looking into the valley beneath, we are struck
+by its singular natural features. It would seem as if the waters of the
+Mattock had been suddenly dammed up, and that the pent-up waters,
+bursting their barriers, hollowed out this sheltered little valley, after
+the angry element had cleared away the rocks and other obstructions; and
+having swept it clear of the rubbish, made it a fit and proper place
+whereon to rear a temple to the true God, in which praise and sacrifice
+might for ever be offered to Him. No buildings seem to have been
+constructed on the Meath side, as no traces of them remain. In this,
+Mellifont differed from Clairvaux, whose buildings filled the valley and
+spread out wings high up the hills on either side of the River Aube.
+
+Just due south from where we have been standing, on the hill, and distant
+about a few hundred yards, the Guide will show a singular earth-work,
+shaped like a moat, and having an elevated mound in the centre. From the
+presence here of old conduits built with masonry, there can be no doubt
+that this was a reservoir to contain a copious supply of water which
+flowed from wells on the hill. Lower down than this moat, that is, at the
+rere of the Chapter-house, lies buried beneath some feet of soil the
+Abbot's house, where Mellifont's puissant rulers received their guests,
+and whose hospitable board was honoured by the presence of kings and
+bishops, as well as chiefs and warriors bold in all their pomp and
+panoply. It is doubtful that any vestige of the enclosure wall remains,
+nor can it be conjectured even, what, or how much, space it embraced. As
+we ponder over the scene, Keats' words find an echo in our hearts:--
+
+  "How changed, alas! from that revered abode
+  Graced by proud majesty in ancient days,
+  Where monks recluse those sacred pavements trod,
+  And taught the unlettered world its Maker's praise."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT.
+
+  "Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
+  Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice
+  Rise like a fountain for me night and day,
+  For what are men better than sheep and goats,
+  That nourish a blind life within the brain,
+  If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
+  Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
+  For so the whole round earth is every way
+  Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."
+                                  (_Lord Tennyson._)
+
+
+At the time that Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding were laying
+the foundation of the Cistercian Order, in the dense forest of Cistercium,
+or Citeaux, whence the Order derives its name, or to be more precise, in
+1098, a lovely little boy eight years old, with golden hair and dove-like
+eyes, and with nobility of birth stamped in every lineament of his
+features, was playing in his father's chateau at Fontaines, near Dijon, in
+France. This child of predilection was the great St. Bernard, who is
+justly styled the Propagator of that Order which was then in a struggling
+condition. It has become a proverb, "that the child is father of the man,"
+and a very clever writer exclaims--"Blessed is the man whose infancy has
+been watched over, kindled, and penetrated by the eyes of a tender and
+holy mother." It was St. Bernard's singular privilege to have such a
+mother, one who sedulously watched over his youthful days, and inspired
+him with a love of all virtues. Hence we are told, that even in early
+childhood, he evinced a love of piety that was remarkable, and that he
+constituted his mother the grand model which he was bound to copy. He
+considered it the summit of his ambition to do all things like his
+mother--to pray like her, to give alms and visit the sick poor like her;
+for this noble lady was wont to go along the roads unattended, carrying
+medicine and nourishment to the indigent. He distinguished himself at the
+public school where he received his education, and returned to the
+paternal mansion where he soon after experienced his first great sorrow in
+the death of his loving mother. He was now approaching manhood, and he
+must needs select a state of life befitting his high birth. At that time,
+only two professions were worthy of the consideration of young
+noblemen--the Church or the Army. With Bernard's distinguished talents, a
+bright and rosy future presented itself before his youthful imagination,
+and then the eloquent persuasions of his relatives, who promised him their
+powerful patronage, were not wanting to arouse his ambition; but, the
+image of his saintly mother dispelled all dreams of promotion, and her
+pious instructions, which sank deep into his young heart, acted as potent
+antidotes against the allurements of worldly pomp and short-lived honours.
+After much reflection he made up his mind to renounce all honours, and to
+become a monk. By his irresistible pleadings he gained over his four
+brothers, with other relatives and friends, to the number of thirty, and
+at their head, presented himself at the gate of the Abbey of Citeaux,
+where St. Stephen Harding joyfully admitted them. Two years later we find
+him leaving that monastery as the Abbot of a new colony, on his way to
+found Clairvaux, being then in his twenty-fifth year. Here, his light
+could no longer remain hidden, but burst forth into a luminous flame
+whose splendour aroused and powerfully influenced the whole Christian
+world. The Bishop of Chalons, in whose diocese Clairvaux was situated, was
+the first to discover the transcendent abilities and eloquence of the
+youthful Abbot. At his request, St. Bernard consented to deliver a course
+of sermons in the churches of his diocese, which were productive of
+incalculable good, and spread the fame of the zealous preacher. Priests as
+well as laymen, attached themselves to him and accompanied him to
+Clairvaux on his return from those missions. One of the Saint's
+biographers cries out--"How many learned men, how many nobles and great
+ones of this earth, how many philosophers have passed from the schools or
+academies of the world to Clairvaux to give themselves up to the
+meditation of heavenly things and the practice of a divine morality." His
+fame reached even to Ireland, and we are told that in this country the
+little children were wont to ask for the badge of the Crusaders which the
+Saint distributed. In a word, his voice was the most authoritative in
+Europe. Kings and princes dreaded him, and accepted him as arbitrator in
+their quarrels. Even Popes themselves sought his counsel. In his lifetime,
+his own disciple, Bernard of Pisa, occupied the Chair of Peter, as
+Eugenius III. It may be truthfully said, that St. Bernard reformed Europe
+and infused a new spirit into the monastic orders. Even Luther does not
+hesitate to place him in the forefront of all monks who lived in his time;
+of him he writes: "Melius nec vixit nec scripsit quis in universo coetu
+monachorum."
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF CHAPTER-HOUSE. See p. 18. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Whilst the Church in France was reaping the benefit of the holy Abbot's
+preaching and example, a zealous Irish prelate was actively and
+successfully engaged in eradicating vice which sprang up in this country,
+as a consequence of the long-protracted wars with the Danes, and the
+demoralising effects of intercourse with that people. Nevertheless,
+Ireland had then its saints and scholars, and the ancient seats of
+learning, such as Armagh, Bangor, Lismore, Clonard, and Clonmacnoise were
+once more inhabited by numerous communities. This saintly prelate was St.
+Malachy, who, being on his way to Rome, heard of the sanctity of the great
+St. Bernard, and would fain pay him a visit. This visit would St. Malachy
+have gladly prolonged; for then and there sprang up a mutual affection,
+which, writes our own Tom Moore, "reflects credit on both." St. Malachy
+was so enamoured with what he witnessed at Clairvaux, and particularly
+with the wise discourses of the learned Abbot, that he determined to
+become one of his disciples. Innocent II., who then ruled the flock of
+Christ, on the Saint seeking his permission to retire to Clairvaux, would
+not hearken to his request, but giving him many marks of his esteem,
+appointed him his Legate in Ireland, and commanded him to return thither.
+If St. Malachy might not live at Clairvaux in the midst of the fervent men
+whom he there beheld earnestly intent in the great work of mortification
+and expiation, he resolved, at least, to have a colony of them near him in
+his own country, that by their prayers and example, they might promote
+God's glory, and in a measure, repeat the glorious traditions of the
+ancient monastic ages in Ireland. In furtherance of this happy project, he
+singled out four of his travelling companions, whom he gave in charge to
+St. Bernard, with these words: "I most earnestly conjure you to retain
+these disciples, and instruct them in all the duties and observances of
+the religious profession, that, hereafter they may be able to teach us."
+On receiving an assurance of a hearty compliance from St. Bernard, he
+took cordial leave of his friend and returned to Ireland. Not long after
+he sent more of his disciples to join those whom he had already left at
+Clairvaux, and on their arrival, St. Bernard wrote as follows: "The
+Brothers who have come from a distant land, your letter and the staff you
+sent me, have afforded me much consolation in the midst of the many
+anxieties and cares that harass me.... Meanwhile, according to the wisdom
+bestowed on you by the Almighty, select and prepare a place for their
+reception, which shall be secluded from the tumults of the world, and
+after the model of those localities which you have seen amongst us." The
+place selected by St. Malachy as the site of the future monastery, was the
+sequestered valley watered by the River Mattock, situated about three and
+one half miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, and much resembling Clairvaux,
+which, too, was located in a valley, shut in by little hills on all sides.
+Donogh O'Carroll, Prince of Oriel, the lord of the territory, freely
+granted the site to God and SS. Peter and Paul, munificently endowed the
+monastery with many broad acres, and supplied wood and stone for the
+erection of the buildings. This grant was made in either 1140 or 1141. The
+charter of endowment by O'Carroll has not been found.
+
+It would appear from another letter of St. Bernard to St. Malachy, that he
+had sent some monks from Clairvaux to make preparations for those who were
+to immediately follow, and that already their number was augmented at
+Mellifont by the accession of new members from the surrounding district,
+who had joined them on their appearance in that locality. In this same
+letter St. Bernard writes: "We send back to you your dearly-beloved son
+and ours, Christian, as fully instructed as was possible in those rules
+which regard our Order, hoping, moreover, that he will henceforth prove
+solicitous for their observance." This Christian is commonly supposed to
+have been archdeacon of the diocese of Down. He was certainly first Abbot
+of Mellifont, and his name shall turn up in connection with important
+national events later on. With Christian came a certain Brother Robert, a
+Frenchman, a skilful architect, who constructed the monastery after the
+model of Clairvaux.
+
+That these were the pioneers of the Cistercian Order in Ireland cannot for
+one moment be doubted, both from the very important fact, that the Abbot
+of Mellifont took precedence of all the Abbots of his Order in this
+country, and also, because it is an historical fact, that St. Mary's
+Abbey, Dublin, the other claimant for priority, did not exchange the
+Benedictine for the Cistercian Rule till, at earliest, 1148, when the
+Abbot of Savigni in France, with the thirty houses of his Order
+(Benedictine) subject to his jurisdiction, were admitted into the
+Cistercian family by Pope Eugenius III., who presided at the General
+Chapter of the Cistercians that year. St. Mary's was founded from
+Buildewas, in Shropshire, and this latter was subject to Savigni.
+
+Various reasons are assigned for the adoption by these ancient monks of
+the name Mellifont, which signifies "The Honey Fountain." Some are of
+opinion it had a spiritual signification, and had reference to the
+abundance of blessings which would flow, and be diffused over the whole
+country from this centre, through the unceasing and fervent intercessory
+prayer of its holy inmates; for next to their own sanctification, their
+neighbour's wants claimed and received their practical sympathy. Like
+divine charity it gushed forth from hearts totally devoted to God's
+service and interests, and this zeal would be halting and incomplete did
+it not embrace the spiritual and temporal concerns of their fellow
+mortals. Others derive the name from a limpid spring which supplied the
+monks with a copious, unfailing stream of sweet water, which had its
+source in Mellifont Park about one quarter of a mile distant, and which
+was conducted by pipes through the various parts of the monastery. This
+seems a very plausible account, and as the spring rose at a high level, it
+had sufficient pressure to obviate the necessity of a cistern as was
+erroneously supposed in connection with the Lavabo.
+
+It was customary with the old Irish Cistercians to give their monasteries
+symbolical names at their foundation, and these names often denoted some
+local feature or peculiarity. Thus, Newry was called of the "Green Wood,"
+from the abundance of yew trees around the monastery there; Corcomroe, Co.
+Clare, was known under the title of the "Fertile Rock;" Baltinglas, Co.
+Wicklow, as the "Valley of Salvation," etc.
+
+It is said that the "Honey Fountain" had its source in Mellifont Park, but
+it seems that few of the present generation living in the vicinity of
+Mellifont know or appreciate its virtues. In the Ordnance Survey, it is
+stated that it rose in Mellifont Park, which was formerly a wood, and that
+to the north of the well, a few trees still remained at the time of the
+Survey, when the farm belonged to a Mr. James Curran.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS FOUNDATION AND FOR
+ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTERWARDS.
+
+  "Here man more purely lives; less oft doth fall;
+  More promptly rises; walks with stricter heed;
+  More safely rests; dies happier; is freed
+  Earlier from cleansing fires; and gains withal
+  A brighter crown."
+                                (_Saint Bernard._)
+
+
+In the foregoing verses St. Bernard summarises the manifold advantages
+accruing from the profession and practice of the rule which he and his
+fellow abbots drew up for their followers. In that age of chivalry and
+wide extremes, men's minds were profoundly moved by the world-wide
+reputation and discourses of an outspoken, fearless monk, who confirmed
+his words by incontestable and stupendous miracles. Then, it was nothing
+unusual to see the impious sinner of yesterday become a meek repentant
+suppliant for admission into some monastery to-day, where he could expiate
+and atone for his former grievous excesses. The innocent, also, sought the
+shelter of the cloister from the contaminating influences of a corrupt and
+corrupting world; and in the spirit of sacrifice presented themselves as
+victims to God's outraged justice. At that same period, that is, about the
+middle of the twelfth century, there was witnessed an unwonted movement
+towards monasticism in its regenerated condition, as the Church Annals
+abundantly testify. This happy tendency was mainly due to St. Bernard's
+influence and popularity, and was well illustrated by the saying of the
+historian: "The whole world became Cistercian."
+
+In essaying to reform St. Benedict's Rule, the first Fathers of the
+Cistercian Order sought only to restore its primitive simplicity and
+austerity, but they, nevertheless, added some wise provisions which
+established their reform on a firm basis, and which the experience of ages
+proved to be indispensable. First of all, it was ordained, that all houses
+of the Order should be united under one central controlling power, and
+that all the Superiors should meet annually for deliberation on matters
+appertaining to the maintenance of discipline and the correction of
+abuses. This assembly was called the General Chapter, over which the Abbot
+of Citeaux presided as recognised head of the Order. Till then, no such
+institution existed, and an Abbot General, as we may call him, had it in
+his power, from incapacity or any other cause, to disorganise a whole
+Order. Under the General Chapter such a catastrophe was impossible.
+Besides this wise enactment, St. Stephen drew up what he called the "Chart
+of Charity," by which it was ordained that the abbot of a monastery who
+had filiations (that is, offshoots or houses founded directly from that
+monastery) subject to him, should visit them annually either in person or
+by proxy, and minutely inquire into their spiritual, disciplinary, and
+financial condition. The abbots of those filiations were bound to return
+the visit during the year; but they did so in quality of guest and not as
+"Visitor," the official title of the Abbot of the Parent House; or,
+"Immediate Father," as he is called. Thus the bands of discipline were
+kept tightly drawn, and harmony, with uniformity of observance, was
+maintained throughout the entire Order.
+
+[Illustration: INTERIOR OF LAVABO (OCTAGON.) See p. 26. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+The denizens of the Cloister at that time consisted of two great classes,
+who, indeed, enjoyed alike all the advantages of the state, but differed
+in their functions and employments. One was busied with the cares of
+Martha, the other was admitted to the privilege of Mary. The former were
+employed chiefly in domestic duties, and various trades, and were
+entrusted with the charge of the granges or outlying farms. These were the
+Lay Brothers. Frequently their ranks were augmented by the noble and the
+learned, who, unnoticed and unknown till their holy death, guided the
+plough, delved the soil, or tended the sheep and oxen in the glades of the
+forest. The other class resided in the monastery and devoted their time to
+the chanting of the Divine Office, alternating with study in the Cloister
+and manual labour in the fields and gardens. These were the choir monks.
+Their dress was white. By vigorous toil and strict economy, these good old
+monks wrested a competency from their farms, and freely shared their
+substance with the needy and the stranger. They exhibited to an astonished
+world a practical refutation of its corrupt maxims and habits. Thus by
+their very lives, they preached most efficaciously; for by their contempt
+of worldly honours and pleasures they gave proof abundant of the faith
+that enlightened them to recognise the sublimity of the Gospel truths; of
+the hope that sustained them to courageously endure temporal privations
+for the sake of future rewards; and of the charity that prompted them to
+liken themselves to Jesus Christ, their Master, who, being rich, became
+poor for their sakes. Some may be inclined to consider all this as the
+effect of monkish extravagance, weak-mindedness, and folly; but modern
+investigation, instituted and carried to a successful issue by honest
+Protestant writers, has brushed aside such calumnies as hackneyed
+catch-words, and has proved that beneath the monk's cowl, there were found
+hearts as warm and minds as broad as in any state or grade of society. It
+must also be remembered, that for centuries the monks were the teachers
+who moulded and fashioned the youth of the upper and middle classes.
+
+Two o'clock A.M. was the usual hour for rising, when the monks, obedient
+to the Sacristan's signal, rising from their straw pallets and slipping on
+their sandals (for they slept fully dressed, as the poorer classes of the
+time are said to have done,) they left the Dormitory by the stairs that
+led down to the southern transept, and proceeding noiselessly, they
+reached the Choir where they immediately renewed the oblation of
+themselves to God. Then the Office of Matins was commenced, and it with
+Lauds occupied about one hour. On solemn festivals the monks rose at
+midnight, and the Office lasted over three hours; for then the whole of it
+was sung. Matins and Lauds over, they proceeded to the Reading-cloister to
+study the Psalms, or Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers: some prolonged
+their devotions in the church, where with clean, uplifted hands, they
+became powerful mediators between God and His creatures; too many of whom,
+alas, ignore their personal obligations. At that time, too, the priests
+might celebrate their Masses, as the ancient Rule gave them liberty to
+select that hour if they felt so inclined. We do not know how many priests
+were amongst the Religious at Mellifont soon after its establishment, but
+they must have numbered about twenty, since there were ten altars in the
+church. And judging by the number of priests in other monasteries of the
+Order at that period, this figure is not too high. We know that in 1147,
+there were fifty priests at least at Pontigny, one of the four first
+houses of the Order. About five o'clock the monks assembled in Choir for
+Prime, after which they went to Chapter, where the Martyrology and portion
+of the Rule were sung, as has been already explained. Chapter over, they
+entered the Auditorium, where they took off and hung up their cowls, and
+each went thence to the manual labour assigned him by the Prior. In
+winter, nearly all went out to work in the fields, grubbing up brushwood
+and burning it, and so preparing the ground for cultivation. After some
+hours spent in labour, they returned to the monastery where they had time
+for reading; they then went to Choir for Tierce and High Mass. During
+winter the Mass was sung before going out to work. In summer they dined at
+11.30, after which an hour was allowed for repose, and None being sung
+they resumed their labour in the fields. In winter, dinner was at
+half-past two; the evening was spent in study and in chanting the Offices
+of Vespers and Compline, and at seven they retired to rest. In summer the
+hour for repose was eight o'clock. The Office of Completorium or Compline
+always closed the exercises of the day, and all passed before the Abbot,
+from whom they received holy water as they left the church. Each went
+straight to his simple couch where sweet repose awaited him after his day
+of toil and penitential works. His frugal vegetable fare, without
+seasoning or condiment, barely sufficed for the wants of nature, and even
+this was sparingly doled out to him; for during the winter exercises, that
+is, from the 14th of September to Easter, he got only one refection daily
+except on Sundays, when he always got two. Wine, though allowed in small
+quantities at meals in countries where it was the common drink, was not
+permitted here, but in its stead, the monks used beer of their own
+brewing. Their raiment consisted of a white woollen tunic of coarse
+material and a strip of black cloth over the shoulders, and reaching to
+below the knees, gathered in at the waist with a leathern girdle. Over
+these, when not employed in manual labour, was worn the long white garment
+with wide sleeves, called the cowl. The tunic was the ordinary dress of
+peasantry in the twelfth century, and was retained by the reformers of St.
+Benedict's Rule, partly because it was the prescribed dress of the monks,
+and partly as an incentive to humility; a mark of the perfect equality
+which reigned in monasteries, and which removed all distinction of class.
+
+[Illustration: ARCH OF LAVABO (OCTAGON.) See p. 26. _From Photo by W.
+Lawrence, Dublin._]
+
+Such was the ordinary routine of life led at Mellifont, but then certain
+officials filled important offices which necessarily brought them in
+constant contact with the outer world. Such, for instance, was the
+Cellarer, who had charge under the Abbot of the temporalities of the
+monastery, and catered for all the wants of the community. Some were
+deputed to wait on the guests and strangers, while others cared the sick
+poor in the hospice with all charity and tenderness. For the maintenance
+of the sick poor large tracts of land or revenues arising from
+house-property were very often bequeathed by pious people, and the monks
+were then their almoners; but, with or without such a provision from
+outside, the monks did maintain these establishments from their own
+resources.
+
+The Abbot entertained the guests of the monastery at his own table,
+dispensing to them such frugal fare as was in keeping with the Rule; for
+meat was not allowed to be served, except to the sick. He had his kitchen
+and dining-hall apart, but in every other respect, he shared in all the
+exercises with his brethren. Though he occupied the place of honour and of
+pre-eminence in the monastery, yet he was constantly reminded in the
+Rule, that he must not lord it over his monks, but must cherish them as a
+tender parent. His object in all his ordinances should be to promote the
+welfare of the flock entrusted to him, for which he should render an
+account on the last day.
+
+From this relation of the manner of life at Mellifont, we see that it was
+in strict conformity with St. Bernard's definition of the Cistercian
+Institute, when he writes: "Our Order is humility, peace, and joy in the
+Holy Ghost. Our Order is silence, fasting, prayer, and labour, and above
+all, to hold the more excellent way, which is charity."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE ORDER.
+
+                                 "Even thus of old
+  Our ancestors, within the still domain
+  Of vast Cathedral or Conventual church,
+  Their vigils kept; where tapers day and night
+  On the dim altars burned continually,
+  In token that the House was evermore
+  Watching to God. Religious men were they:
+  Nor would their reason tutored to aspire
+  Above this transitory world, allow
+  That there should pass a moment of the year
+  When in their land the Almighty's service ceased."
+                                    (_Wordsworth._)
+
+
+The history of Mellifont may be justly said to reflect the concurrent
+history of Ireland. It is so intimately connected and interwoven with that
+of our country, that they touch at many points, and we can collect matter
+for both as we travel back along the stream of time and observe the
+footprints on the sands, where saint, and king, chieftain, bishop, and
+holy monk, have left their impress and disappeared, to be succeeded later
+on by the baron and his armed retainers. How different the Ireland of
+to-day from the Ireland that Christian, the first Abbot of Mellifont,
+beheld when he and his companions settled down in the little valley, in
+the land of the O'Carroll! How many changes have passed over it since,
+leaving it the poorest country in Europe, though one of the richest in
+natural resources! But these considerations appertain to the politician;
+they do not lie within the scope of the present writer. Next to building
+their church and monastery, the first care of the monks on their immediate
+arrival at Mellifont, was to prepare the soil for tillage; for, judging
+from the nature of the surroundings, it must have been overrun with dense
+brushwood, unbroken, save at distant intervals, by patches of green sward.
+Most houses of the Order in Ireland had to contend with similar conditions
+at their foundation; of Dunbrody, Co. Wexford, we are expressly told, that
+the monk sent by the Abbot of Buildewas to examine the site of the future
+monastery, found on it only _a solitary oak surrounded by a swamp_. But
+these old monks were adepts in the reclamation of waste lands, and soon
+the hills rang with the instruments of husbandry. Pleasant gardens and
+fertile meadows rewarded their toil, and their example gave a stimulus to
+agriculture, which, till then, was neglected by a pastoral people. At the
+same time, they manufactured bricks in the locality, and employed them in
+their buildings. Then rumour on her many wings flew far and near, and
+spread the fame of the new-comers to that remote valley, and soon the
+monastery was crowded with visitors intent on seeing the strangers and
+observing closely their manner of life. The sight pleased them. The ways
+of these monks accorded with the traditions handed down of the inhabitants
+of the ancient monasteries, before the depredations of the Danes, and the
+hearts of a highly imaginative race, with quick spiritual instincts, were
+attracted towards St. Bernard's children. Immediately began an influx of
+postulants for the Cistercian habit, and every day brought more, till the
+stalls in the Choir were filled, and Abbot Christian's heart overflowed
+with gladness. In consultation with St. Malachy, Abbot Christian decided
+on founding another monastery, as his own could no longer contain the now
+greatly-increased community. A new colony was sent forth from it, and thus
+in two years from the foundation of Mellifont, was established "Bective on
+the Boyne." Some say that Newry, which was endowed by Maurice M'Loughlin,
+King of Ireland, at St. Malachy's earnest entreaty, was the first
+filiation of Mellifont. The charter of its (Newry) foundation happily has
+come down to us, but it bears no date. However, O'Donovan, who translated
+it into English from the Latin original in MS. in the British Museum, says
+it was written in 1160. As it is the only extant charter granted to a
+monastery by a native king before the Invasion, a copy of the translation
+is given in the Appendix.
+
+Under the patronage, then, of St. Malachy and the native princes, and by
+the skill, industry, and piety of its inmates, Mellifont rose and
+prospered, and merited an exalted place in popular esteem. The monastery
+was in course of construction, and their new church nearing completion,
+when a heavy trial befell the monks in the death of their unfailing
+friend, wise counsellor, and loved father, St. Malachy, which took place
+at Clairvaux, in the arms of St. Bernard, A.D. 1148. St. Bernard delivered
+a most pathetic discourse over the remains of his friend, and wrote a
+consoling letter to the Irish Cistercians, condoling with them on the loss
+they and the whole Irish Church had sustained on the death of St. Malachy.
+He, later on, wrote his life, and willed, that as they tenderly loved each
+other in life, so in death they should not be separated. Their tombs were
+side by side in the church of Clairvaux, till their relics, enshrined in
+magnificent altars, with many costly lamps burning before them, were
+scattered at the French Revolution, and the rich shrines were smashed and
+plundered. Portions of their bodies were, however, preserved by the good,
+pious people of the locality, and their heads are now preserved with
+honour in the cathedral of Troyes, France. The writers of the Cistercian
+Order claim St. Malachy as having belonged to them; for, they say that
+being previously a Benedictine, he received the Cistercian habit from St.
+Bernard during one of his visits to Clairvaux. They add that St. Bernard
+exchanged cowls with him, and that he wore St. Malachy's ever after on
+solemn festivals. The Saint's life is so well known that it needs no
+further notice here. Before his death, he saw three houses founded from
+Mellifont, namely, Bective, Newry, and Boyle.
+
+Two years after St. Malachy's death, that is, in 1150, the monks of
+Mellifont experienced another serious loss when their venerated Abbot,
+Christian, was appointed Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Holy See in
+Ireland, by Pope Eugenius III., who had been his fellow-novice in
+Clairvaux. Christian's brother, Malchus, was elected to the abbatial
+office in his stead. Malchus proved himself a very worthy superior, and
+Mellifont continued on her prosperous course, so much so, that in 1151, or
+nine years from its own establishment, it could reckon as many as six
+important filiations, namely, Bective, Newry, Boyle, Athlone, Baltinglas,
+and Manister, or Manisternenay, Co. Limerick.
+
+In 1152, St. Bernard passed to his reward, after having founded 160 houses
+of his Order, having edified Christendom by the splendour of his virtues,
+and astonished it by his rare natural gifts, which elevated him far above
+all his contemporaries. From the moment that he accepted the pastoral
+staff as Abbot of Clairvaux, till his death, that is, during the space of
+forty years, he was the figurehead of his Order in whom its whole history
+was merged during that long period. In fact, he became so identified with
+the Order to which he belonged, that it was often called from him,
+Bernardine; or, of Claraval, from his famous monastery; and it was in a
+great measure owing to his influence, and in grateful acknowledgment of
+the splendid services which he rendered the Church in critical times, that
+Sovereign Pontiffs heaped so many favours on it. He was the fearless and
+successful champion of the oppressed in all grades of society, and all
+looked up to him as their guide and instructor. And yet this paragon of
+wisdom, this stern judge of the evil-doer, was remarkable for his
+naturalness and affectionate disposition. On the occasion of his brother
+Gerard's death, he attempted to preach a continuation of his discourses on
+the Canticle of Canticles, but his affection for his brother overcame him,
+and after giving vent to his grief, he delivered a most touching panegyric
+on his beloved Gerard. To the last moment of his life he entertained a
+most vivid recollection of his mother, and cherished the tenderest
+affection towards her memory. It may be doubted, that any child of the
+Church ever defended her cause with such loyalty and success. One stands
+amazed on reading what the Rev. Mr. King writes in his _Church History of
+Ireland_, where he taxes St. Bernard with superstition, because the Saint
+relates in his Life of St. Malachy, how that holy man wrought certain
+miracles. So evident were St. Bernard's own miracles, that Luden, a German
+Protestant historian, calls them "incontestable." 'Twere supreme folly to
+accuse a man of St. Bernard's endowments and culture, of the weakness that
+admits or harbours superstition, which generally flows from ignorance, or
+incapacity to sift matters, and to test them in their general or
+particular bearings. On the whole, Protestant writers speak and write
+approvingly of him.
+
+In that year (1152), a Synod was held at Mell, which, according to Ussher,
+is identical with Mellifont, though now a suburb of Drogheda is known by
+that name. Other Irish writers say that this Synod was held at Kells. At
+it Christian, then Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the Holy See, presided.
+In the _Annals of the Four Masters_ it is related, that a "Synod was
+convened at Drogheda, by the bishops of Ireland, with the successor of
+Patrick, and the Cardinal, John Paparo," etc. O'Donovan, quoting Colgan,
+tells us that Mellifont was known as the "Monastery at Drogheda."
+
+In this same year occurred the elopement of Dervorgilla, wife of Tiernan
+O'Rourke, Prince of Brefny, with Dermod M'Murchad, King of Leinster. She
+is styled the Helen of Erin, as it is commonly supposed that her flight
+with Dermod occasioned the English Invasion. When O'Rourke heard of her
+departure, he was "marvellously troubled and in great choler, but more
+grieved for the shame of the fact than for sorrow or hurt, and, therefore,
+was fully determined to be avenged." It is mentioned in the _Annals of
+Clonmacnois_ that O'Rourke had treated her harshly some time previous, and
+that her brother M'Laughlin connived at her conduct. Dervorgilla (which
+means in Irish, The True Pledge), was forty-four years of age at the time,
+whilst O'Rourke (who was blind of one eye) and M'Murchad, were each of
+them sixty-two years old. O'Rourke was the most strenuous opponent of the
+English at the Invasion, and was treacherously slain by a nephew of
+Maurice Fitzgerald at the Hill of Ward, near Athboy, in 1172. He was
+decapitated, and his head hung over the gates of Dublin for some time. It
+was afterwards sent to King Henry, in England.
+
+From 1152 to 1157 the monks attracted no attention worth chronicling; for
+during these five years they passed by unnoticed in our Annals. It is,
+however, certain that they were busily engaged in the completion of their
+church and in making preparations for its solemn consecration. And what a
+day of rejoicing that memorable day of the consecration was, when
+Mellifont beheld the highest and holiest in Church and State assembled to
+do her honour! This ceremony far eclipsed any that had been witnessed
+before that in Ireland. What commotion and bustle filled the abbey, the
+valley, and the surrounding hills! A constantly increasing crowd came
+thronging to behold a sight which gladdened their hearts and aroused their
+piety and admiration. For, there stood the Ard Righ (High King) of Erin,
+surrounded by his princes and nobles in all the pride and pageantry of
+state, the Primate Gelasius, and Christian, the Papal Legate, with
+seventeen other bishops, and almost all the abbots and priests in Ireland.
+Then the solemn rite was performed, and many precious offerings were made
+to the monks and to their church--gold and lands, cattle, and sacred
+vessels, and ornaments for the altars, were bestowed with a generosity
+worthy of the princely donors. O'Melaghlin gave seven-score cows and
+three-score ounces of gold to God and the clergy, for the good of his
+soul. He granted them, also, a townland, called Finnabhair-na-ninghean, a
+piece of land, according to O'Donovan, which lies on the south side of the
+Boyne, opposite the mouth of the Mattock, in the parish of Donore, Co.
+Meath. O'Carroll gave sixty ounces of gold, and the faithless but now
+repentant Dervorgilla presented a gold chalice for the High Altar, and
+cloths for the other nine altars of the church.
+
+Mellifont looked charming on that propitious occasion, and presented a
+truly delightful picture, with its beautiful church and abbey buildings
+glistening in the sun in all the purity and freshness of the white, or
+nearly white, sandstone of which they were composed. Yet, beautiful as
+were the material buildings, far more so were those stones of the
+spiritual edifice, the meek and prayerful cenobites, who were gathered
+there to adore and serve their God in spirit and in truth. From that
+valley there arose a pleasing incense to the Lord--the prayers, and hymns,
+and canticles, which unceasingly resounded in that church from hearts
+truly devoted to God's worship, and dead to the world and themselves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE EMINENT SUPERIORS.
+
+  "This is no common spot of earth,
+  No place for idle words or mirth;
+  Here streamed the taper's mystic light;
+  Here flashed the waving censers bright;
+  Awhile the Church's ancient song
+  Lingered the stately aisles along,
+  And high mysterious words were said
+  Which brought to men the living Bread."
+                          (_W. Chatterton Dix._)
+
+
+After the consecration of their church the monks settled down to their
+ordinary quiet way. The erection of the monastic buildings had hitherto
+kept them occupied; now that these were completed, they devoted their
+attention to the improvement of their farms, which they tilled with their
+own hands, and to the embellishment of their immediate surroundings. Even
+at this early period of her history, Mellifont was a hive of industry
+where all the trades flourished and many important arts were encouraged.
+At that time hired labour was sparingly employed by the monks; for they
+themselves bore a share in the work of the artisans as well as in the
+ordinary drudgery of tillage. Labour placed all on a footing of equality
+whilst it gave vigour to the body by healthy exercise in the open air.
+Perhaps, this healthy exercise was one of the secrets of the longevity for
+which the monks were remarkable. Regularity of life continued for years
+contributes to a state of health which dispenses with physicians. Wherever
+monks settled down they immediately erected mills for grinding corn, for
+preparing and finishing the fabrics of which their garments were made,
+etc. St. Benedict enjoined on his monks the necessity of practising all
+the trades and arts within the walls of the monastery, so that they need
+never leave their enclosure for the purpose, or under the pretext, of
+having their work done by externs.
+
+Eleven years passed without Mellifont receiving any notice from our native
+chroniclers, and then at the year 1168, it is recorded, that Prince Donogh
+O'Carroll, the Founder, died and was buried in the church there. Ware
+tells us that his tomb and those of other remarkable personages had been
+in the church. As it was an almost general custom in Ireland, that the
+Founders of religious houses were interred on the north, or Gospel side of
+the High Altar, so it may be justly inferred that he was buried within the
+chancel, and that the recess on the north side is where his monument was
+erected. Thus, King Charles O'Connor's tomb occupies the same place in
+Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway, of which he was Founder. So, too, in Corcomroe
+Abbey, Co. Clare, the tomb of Conor O'Brien, King of Thomond, grandson of
+the Founder of that abbey, is still to be seen in a niche in the wall on
+the north side of the High Altar. No doubt they were buried under the
+pavement. The ancient Statutes of the Order permitted kings and bishops to
+be buried in the churches, but assigned no particular part as proper to
+them.
+
+In 1170, a monk named Auliv, who had been expelled[7] from Mellifont,
+instigated Manus, the King of Ulster, to commit an "unknown and attrocious
+crime," as the _Annals of the Four Masters_ call it; that is, to banish
+the monks whom St. Malachy brought to Saul, Co. Down, and to deprive them
+of everything they were possessed of. Instances of wicked men deceitfully
+entering monasteries, at that time and at other periods of monastic
+history, are given, but invariably the guilty party is severely censured,
+and it is related that his fellow-monks rid themselves of him. St. Bernard
+himself was deceived by his secretary, Nicholas, who afterwards left the
+Order. "He went out from us," said the Saint, "but he did not belong to
+us."
+
+The Order was spreading rapidly in Ireland, and the filiations from
+Mellifont in their turn sent out new filiations, till most of the
+picturesque valleys in this country sheltered and nurtured thriving
+establishments; so much so, that O'Daly tells us "there were twenty-five
+grand Cistercian abbeys in Ireland at the Invasion." But then a new era
+dawned on this unhappy nation, and might usurped the place of right, cruel
+unending strife and fierce jealousies were imported into the country, and
+it became one vast battle-field. Ireland would have assimilated the two
+contending races, but their amalgamation would have been detrimental to
+English interests in this kingdom, and hence by statute, by bribe, by all
+means available, the representatives of that Crown only too successfully
+kept the feuds alive. Fain would they have made the Church an instrument
+for the furtherance of these ulterior purposes, but, whilst she stood firm
+as an integral part of Peter's Rock, neither English bribes nor English
+wiles could subjugate her. True, Englishmen were appointed to the richest
+benefices within the Pale to which the English kings had the right of
+presentation, and these strove, with as much zeal as the knight or baron,
+to extend the boundaries of the shire-lands. But the Irish prelates, by
+their disinterestedness, and their personal and episcopal virtues, saved
+the Church from the degradation that imperilled her. We shall see the
+result of this policy as we proceed.
+
+Judging, by analogy, from the progress of society in other countries, and
+from the relative number of monasteries founded in them and in Ireland
+before the Invasion, it may be conjectured that the monastic system in all
+its branches would have produced in this country the same fruits in
+agriculture, in learning, and in the arts, as are attributed to it in the
+history of other nations; and, in a special manner, it would have helped,
+by the unity of government enforced in Religious Orders, to bind together
+the discordant elements of society. Quite different, however, was it in
+Ireland; for the sphere of action of each monastery was cramped, and
+confined within a certain radius, beyond which its influences were not
+felt, nor regarded otherwise than in a hostile spirit, or at best as an
+object of suspicion.
+
+In 1172, the Abbot of Mellifont was sent to Rome on an embassy by King
+Roderic O'Connor. We are not told its nature.
+
+In 1177, Charles O'Buacalla, then Abbot of this monastery, was elected
+Bishop of Emly, where he died within a month after his consecration. In
+1182, King Henry II. granted to the Abbot and community of Mellifont a
+confirmation of their possessions, and three years later, King John, at
+that time styled Lord of Ireland, renewed the confirmation while he was
+residing at Castleknock, during his brief visit to this country, in 1185,
+the thirty-second year of his father's reign. A copy of the Charter may be
+seen in the Miscellany of the Archaeological Society, Vol. I., page 158.
+The original, which is one of the earliest of the Anglo-Irish documents
+that have come down to us, is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin. By
+this Charter King John confirmed to the monks of Mellifont the "donation
+and concession" which his father made to them. By it he confirmed to the
+monks "the site and ambit of the abbey, with all its appurtenances,
+namely, the grange of Kulibudi (not on the Ordnance map), and Munigatinn
+(Monkenewtown), with its appurtenances, the granges of Mell and Drogheda
+(in Irish Droichet-atha, that is, bridge of the ford) and their
+appurtenances, and Rathmolan (Rathmullen) and Finnaur (Femor), with their
+appurtenances, the grange of Teachlenni (Stalleen), and the grange of
+Rossnarrigh (Rossnaree), with their appurtenances, the townland of Culen
+(Cullen) and its appurtenances, the grange of Cnogva (Knowth), the grange
+of Kelkalma (not known now), with their appurtenances, Tuelacnacornari
+(not known), and Callan (Collon), with their appurtenances, and the grange
+of Finna (____) with its appurtenances." He also confirms the grants of
+two carucates of land made to the monks by Hugh de Lacy, viz., of Croghan
+and Ballybregan (?), and also one carucate of land given by Robert of
+Flanders, called Crevoda, now Creewood, two miles west of Mellifont.
+
+[Illustration: SOUTH WALL OF LECTORIUM. _From Photo by W. Lawrence,
+Dublin._]
+
+In 1186, St. Christian O'Connarchy, or Connery, who had been the first
+Abbot of Mellifont and afterwards Bishop of Lismore and Legate of the
+Holy See, died, and was buried at O'Dorney, Co. Kerry, a monastery of his
+Order, which was founded in 1154, from Manister-Nenay. He had resigned all
+his dignities six years before, in order the better to prepare himself for
+a happy death. He was enrolled in the Calendar of the Saints of the
+Cistercian Order, and his festival was kept in England in pre-Reformation
+times, on the 18th March. In the eulogy of him in the Cistercian Menology
+it is said, "that he was remarkable for his sanctity and wonderful
+miracles, and that next to St. Malachy, he was regarded by the Irish
+nation as one of its principal patrons," even down to the time that that
+was written, A.D. 1630. An Irish gentleman who visited Italy in 1858,
+wrote from Venice to a friend, that he had seen amongst the fresco
+paintings which covered the wall of the beautiful church of Chiaravalla,
+the first Cistercian monastery founded in Italy, a painting of St.
+Malachy; also one entitled, "_S. Christianus Archieps. in Hibernia
+Cisterciensis_"--"St. Christian, a Cistercian monk, and Archbishop in
+Ireland." The error in ranking him as Archbishop probably arose from his
+having succeeded St. Malachy as Legate. It was in his Legatine capacity
+that he presided at several Synods, chiefly the memorable one convened by
+King Henry at Cashel, in 1172.
+
+About the same time, there died at Mellifont, a holy monk named Malchus,
+who is said to have been St. Christian's brother and successor in the
+abbatial office, as has been related above. Ussher, quoting St. Bernard,
+positively asserts that he was St. Christian's brother. And Sequin, who,
+in 1580, compiled a Catalogue of the Saints of the Cistercian Order,
+mentions Malchus in that honoured roll, and styles him "a true contemner
+of the world, a great lover of God, and a pattern and model of all
+virtues to the whole Order." He says, "he was one of St. Malachy's
+disciples in whose footsteps he faithfully followed, and that he was
+renowned for his sanctity and learning, as well as for the many miracles
+he wrought." His feast was kept on the 28th of June.
+
+In 1189, Rudolph, or Ralph Feltham, Abbot of Furness, died and was buried
+here. And in the same year, died Murrogh O'Carroll, cousin of the Founder,
+near whom he was interred.
+
+In 1190, Pope Clement III. issued a Bull addressed to the General Chapter
+of the Cistercian Order, dated July 6th of that year, enrolling St.
+Malachy in the Calendar of Saints, and appointing the 3rd of November for
+his festival.
+
+At that same General Chapter, it was decreed that the Irish Abbots be
+dispensed from attending the General Chapter annually, and it was decided
+that they should be present every third year; and a few years later, the
+Abbot of Mellifont was charged to select three of their number who should
+repair thither every year.
+
+In 1193, Dervorgilla died at the monastery of Mellifont. The _Annals of
+the Four Masters_ and other Annals simply relate the fact of her having
+died there in the 85th year of her age, without alluding to the place of
+her sepulture.
+
+In that year, also, portions of the Relics of St. Malachy were brought to
+Mellifont and were distributed to the other houses of the Order in
+Ireland. Several of our Annals say that the Saint's body was brought over
+from Clairvaux, but that is obviously a mistake; for until the French
+Revolution, the bodies of St. Malachy and St. Bernard occupied two
+magnificent altar-tombs of red marble within the chancel, at Clairvaux. A
+charter, dated 1273, is still extant, whereby Robert Bruce, the rival of
+John Baliol for the Scottish Crown, conveys his land of Osticroft to the
+Abbot of Clairvaux for the maintenance of a lamp before St. Malachy's tomb
+in that church. And the General Chapter of the Order held in 1323, when
+raising the Saint's festival to a higher rank, expressly mentioned that
+his body "rested" at Clairvaux. Meglinger, a German Cistercian monk, who
+visited Clairvaux in 1667, and wrote a description of that famous abbey as
+he beheld it, says that he was shown the heads of Saints Malachy and
+Bernard, which were preserved in silver cases. He also mentions the superb
+altar-tombs of the two Saints. Later on, the two celebrated Benedictine
+monks, Dom Martene and Dom Durand, when in quest of MSS., called at
+Clairvaux, and were shown the tombs and heads of the Saints. It is
+scarcely necessary to remark that this respect and veneration were
+entertained for the tombs only because they contained the bodies of the
+holy men.
+
+In 1194, Abbot Moelisa, who then governed Mellifont, was made Bishop of
+Clogher.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+MELLIFONT IN TROUBLOUS TIMES.
+
+                  "But I must needs confess
+  That 'tis a thing impossible to frame
+  Conceptions equal to the soul's desires;
+  And the most difficult of tasks to keep
+  Heights which the soul is competent to gain."
+                                  (_Wordsworth._)
+
+
+Sixty years of uninterrupted prosperity have passed over Mellifont, during
+which period it has been honoured by princes and people alike, and even
+the English Kings have marked their esteem for it by heaping fresh favours
+on it. It was still flourishing in 1201, when Thomas O'Connor, Archbishop
+of Armagh, whom the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, style "a noble and
+worthy man," chose it as his burial-place, and was buried there with great
+honour. He was brother to Roderick O'Connor, King of Connaught. It was at
+his instance that Joceline wrote his Life of St. Patrick.
+
+In 1203, King John "of his own fee" granted a new charter confirming that
+given by his father some years before, and also giving the monks free
+customs, together with the fishery on both sides of the Boyne.
+
+In 1206, Benedict and Gerald, monks of Mellifont, were deputed by Eugene,
+Archbishop of Armagh, to wait on the King and to tender him, on the
+Archbishop's behalf, three hundred marks of silver and three of gold for
+restitution of the lands and liberties belonging to that See. It was the
+King's custom to appropriate the revenues of the vacant bishoprics, and on
+the confirmation by the Pope of the bishop-elect, he issued a writ of
+restitution of the temporalities, or episcopal possessions and rights. The
+King, in order to keep the temporalities the longer, often refused his
+"_conge d'elire_," without which an election was invalid by the civil law.
+Soon after the Invasion, King Henry II. held in his possession, pending
+the appointment of new prelates, one archbishopric, five bishoprics, and
+three abbeys, here in Ireland.
+
+In 1211, Thomas was Abbot, and seven years later, Carus, or Cormac
+O'Tarpa, Abbot, and presumably immediate successor to Thomas, was made
+Bishop of Achonry, which See he resigned in 1226, and returned to
+Mellifont, where he died that same year, and was buried there. Some
+two-and-one-half miles north of Mellifont, and one-half mile east of
+Collon, between that village and Tinure, there is a crossing of the roads
+still popularly known as "Tarpa's Cross." Local tradition has it that this
+Cormac O'Tarpa, when Abbot, was wont to walk daily from the monastery to
+this spot.
+
+About that time, or in 1221, Mellifont, from some unrecorded cause, fell
+from its first fervour, but only for a very brief period; for the remedy
+applied effected a thorough reform. In the Statutes of the Order for that
+year, the General Chapter authorised the Abbot of Clairvaux to set things
+right by bringing in monks from other monasteries, and so, as it were,
+infuse new and healthier blood into the monastic life there. As no further
+mention is made of the matter, the trouble, whatever its nature was, must
+have been permanently removed.
+
+In 1227, Luke Netterville, Archbishop of Armagh, was buried here. It was
+he who, three years previous, founded the Dominican monastery in Drogheda,
+of which, now, only the Magdalen Tower remains. And in that year (1227),
+Gerald, a monk of Mellifont, was elected Bishop of Dromore.
+
+In 1229, the King granted to the Abbot and Community of Mellifont a
+Tuesday market in their town of Collon.
+
+In 1233, the General Chapter authorised all the Abbots of the Order to
+have the Word of God preached on Sundays and festivals, to their servants
+and retainers, in some suitable place. And in 1238, the King gave a new
+confirmation to the monks of Mellifont.
+
+In 1248, the General Chapter granted permission to the English and Irish
+Abbots of the Order, to hold deliberations on important local matters in
+their respective countries. The Abbots of Mellifont, of St. Mary's Abbey,
+Dublin, and of Duiske, Co. Kilkenny, were empowered to convoke all the
+other Irish Abbots of the Order for consultation; the assembly thus
+somewhat partaking of the nature of a Provincial Chapter.
+
+In 1250, no Englishman would be admitted to profession at Mellifont. In
+1269, David O'Brogan, who had been a monk of this house, and afterwards
+Bishop of Clogher, was buried here. In 1272, Hore Abbey, near Cashel, was
+founded from Mellifont. In 1275, the General Chapter decreed that in the
+admission of novices into the Order there should be no question of
+nationality.
+
+Hitherto, the Cistercians confined themselves, in discharging the offices
+of their sacred ministry, to their guests, servants, and the sick poor in
+the hospitals at their gates; but now, the altered circumstances of the
+times demand a change in their usages and impose fresh burdens on them,
+for which they get no credit. The new Orders of St. Francis and St.
+Dominic had settled down in this country, and were attracting a large
+percentage of the young men, who, till then, entered the ranks of the Lay
+Brethren, and managed the granges, or outlying farms, under the Cellarer.
+In consequence, therefore, of the insufficiency of their numbers to work
+the farms profitably, it was found necessary to lease these granges to
+tenants, and hence the origin of many villages and towns that, in several
+instances, arose on the site of the granges. The chapel attached to the
+grange (for every grange had its chapel for the use of the Brothers in
+charge) was converted into a parish church for the new population that
+clustered around it. Of this church the monks became the pastors, except
+when it lay at too great distance to be served from the monastery; in
+which case, the monks employed secular priests. They built schools also,
+where the children of the tenants and dependants received _gratuitously_
+from the monks themselves, an education similar to that at present
+imparted in our primary schools.
+
+Though the study of Sacred Scripture, Theology, and Canon Law was
+encouraged in the Order from its foundation; yet it was not until 1245
+that studies were fully organised by drawing up a curriculum that should
+be obligatory. In that year it was ordained by the General Chapter that in
+every Province there should be a central monastery to which the monks
+should repair to read the prescribed course of studies under members of
+the Order, who had graduated at some university. We are not told which of
+the Irish monasteries was selected as the House of Studies; but, in 1281,
+the General Chapter decided and decreed that in all the larger abbeys such
+Houses of Studies should be established.
+
+There is an entry in the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey, at the year 1281,
+giving the price of cattle at that time. As it is interesting it is given
+here: viz., twenty shillings each for a horse, a cow, or a bullock.
+
+In 1306, Mellifont first experienced the baleful effects of racial
+jealousies and bickerings; for the monks could not, or would not, agree to
+elect an Abbot; and during their dissensions, the King seized the
+possessions of the monastery. We are not informed how matters terminated
+on that occasion.
+
+In 1316, the General Chapter ordered that the English, Welsh, and Irish
+Abbots should send some of their monks, in proportion to the number in
+their respective monasteries, to the University of Oxford, to be educated
+there. A few years previous, the Earl of Cornwall endowed at Oxford the
+College of St. Bernard (now St. John's), for the Cistercians. How far the
+Irish monks availed of this college cannot be known; probably those within
+the Pale did largely benefit by it. One who obtained an unenviable
+notoriety by his intemperate invectives against the Mendicant Orders, was
+educated there--Henry Crump, an Englishman, and monk of the Abbey of
+Baltinglas. But it is very dubious that the "_mere_ Irish" ventured to
+cross its threshold. They would abstain from doing so from prudential
+motives.
+
+The fourteenth century was ushered in by the repetition of feuds between
+the Anglo-Irish and the Irish; and, as it grew older, the former fought
+amongst themselves, with Irish auxiliaries on both sides. It may be here
+remarked, as a curious historical fact, that it was the Irish who fought
+the battles for the English Crown in Ireland; it was they, too, who
+retained their country subject to that dominion, according to Sir John
+Davis (_Discoverie_, p. 639); for no army ever came out of England from
+the time of King John, except the expeditionary army of Richard II. The
+few forces subsequently sent over, until the twenty-ninth year of Queen
+Elizabeth, were to quell the rebellions of the English settlers.
+
+The most disastrous calamity in Ireland in this century, next to the great
+plague of 1348, or the "Black Death," as it was called, was Bruce's
+invasion in 1315. Friar Clyn tells us in his Annals, that Bruce and his
+followers "went through all the country, burning, slaying, depredating,
+spoiling towns and castles, and even churches, as they went and as they
+returned." As a result the country was visited by a dreadful famine, and,
+moreover, the Pope, writing to the Archbishops of Dublin and Cashel in
+1317, alludes to scandals, murders, conflagrations, sacrileges, and
+rapine, as following from that invasion. Though Bruce failed in his object
+to overthrow the English power in Ireland, yet he so far succeeded, that
+he weakened it considerably.
+
+In the year 1316 (according to Ussher), O'Neill addressed his famous
+Remonstrance to Pope John XXII., in which, amongst other complaints, he
+remarked, that the religious communities were prohibited by the law from
+admitting anyone not an Englishman into monasteries within the Pale. In
+response to this, the Pope sent two Cardinals to investigate the matter,
+and also wrote a letter to King Edward II., exhorting him to adopt
+merciful measures towards the Irish. The letter had not much effect, and
+the cruelties and injustice continued; but, about twenty years later,
+there was exhibited an unprecedented tendency on the part of the
+Anglo-Irish and the Irish towards incorporation. The Irish people clung to
+the great Geraldine family with a romantic affection which that chivalrous
+race fully reciprocated. So, too, did they lean towards the rivals of the
+Geraldines, the Ormondes, and to other Anglo-Irish barons, who, likewise,
+had adopted Irish customs and sirnames. English power in this country had
+grown to be regarded as merely nominal, and the administration of the law
+and the office of Lord Deputy could no longer be committed to one or other
+of the two principal families (the Geraldine or Ormonde), to whom the
+Deputyship had been usually entrusted. To preclude the danger of these
+haughty noblemen attempting to arrogate the state of the independent
+native chieftains, and to firmly establish the English power, a
+Parliament, which assembled at Nottingham, in the seventeenth of Edward
+III. (1343), enacted laws for the reformation of the Irish Government. A
+few months previous to the sitting of this Parliament, Sir Ralph Ufford
+had been sent over as Lord Deputy, to stamp out this incipient spirit of
+independence, and to impede the fusion of the two races. This nobleman, by
+rigid and cruel measures, executed the nefarious intentions of the English
+Parliament. He appropriated the goods of others, plundered, without
+discrimination, the clergy, the laity, the rich and the poor; assigning
+the public welfare as a pretext. He broke down the pride of the Earl of
+Desmond, and for a while seized his estates; but, on Ufford's recall to
+England and the appointment of Sir Walter Bermingham as his successor,
+Desmond was restored to royal favour. Gradually the old animus was
+revived, and old dormant jealousies between the two races were awakened,
+until, in the year 1376, the "Statute of Kilkenny" threw the whole nation
+into a state of commotion and chaos, and aroused a fierce hatred between
+the Anglo-Irish and the later arrivals from England, who were styled by
+that Act, "the English born in England." The latter despised the former
+and called them "Irish Dogg;" the Anglo-Irish retorted, giving them the
+name of "English Hobbe," or churl. These bickerings were reprobated by
+the said Statute, which, at the same time, banned the whole race of the
+native Irish. Sir John Davis writes of it: "It was manifest from these
+laws that those who had the government of Ireland under the Crown of
+England intended to make a perpetual separation between the English
+settled in Ireland and the native Irish, in the expectation that the
+English should in the end root out the Irish." And another Englishman
+writes of this Statute: "Imagination can scarcely devise an extremity of
+antipathy, hatred, and revenge, to which this code of aggravation was not
+calculated to provoke both nations" (Plowden, _Historical Review of the
+State of Ireland_.) The foregoing summary of the condition of affairs in
+Ireland in the fourteenth century has been given, in order to illustrate
+and explain the bald historical facts handed down to us having reference
+to Mellifont during the same period.
+
+It will be remembered that in the year 1316, O'Neil complained to the Pope
+that Irishmen were by law excluded from entering monasteries within the
+Pale; accordingly, we read that in 1322, the monks of Mellifont, amongst
+whom the English element then prevailed, would admit no man to profession
+there who had not previously sworn that he was not an Irishman. Cox, who
+derives his information from some old document in the Tower of London,
+tells us that in 1323, the General Chapter of the Order strongly denounced
+this pernicious practice, but there is no such decree, nor is there any
+allusion to it in Martene at that date. That spirit seems to have been
+gratifying to King Edward II.; for, in 1324, he complained to the Pope of
+the violation of the law of exclusion, and Nicholas of Lusk, who was then
+Abbot, was superseded; very likely, was summarily deposed, for the
+infraction of it.
+
+At that very time, some of the other Cistercian monasteries under the
+protection of the native chieftains, and totally composed of Irishmen,
+were in a most prosperous condition, and merited the genuine esteem of
+princes and people. Thus, the Abbey of Assaroe, or Ballyshannon, under the
+fostering care of the Princes of Tyrconel, attained celebrity by the
+regularity of its monks and the learning and sanctity of its Abbots, three
+of whom were made Bishops at no distant intervals. Of Boyle Abbey, Co.
+Roscommon, the same can also be said; for it throve and flourished without
+royal favour or charter. On the other hand, Mellifont had a plethora of
+charters, for which the monks there must have paid dearly. But, surrounded
+as it was by covetous and not over-scrupulous neighbours in lawless times,
+such safeguards were decidedly necessary. So, in 1329, Edward III. granted
+them a confirmation of all former privileges, together with the right of
+free warren in all their manors; and again in 1348, he gave them a fresh
+confirmation, with the right to erect a prison in any of their lands in
+the Co. Meath, and also the power to erect a pillory and gallows in their
+town of Collon. The Abbot then, as a temporal lord over his own manors,
+had power of life and death over his vassals therein; but he never
+exercised the authority so vested in him by condemning anyone to death,
+nay, even, he refrained from adjudicating on civil matters, as is seen by
+dispensations granted by Popes to Irish Cistercian Abbots freeing them
+from the obligation of acting as Justices.
+
+It is recorded that in 1329, in the battle in which the Louth men killed
+their new Earl, John Birmingham, "there fell Caech O'Carroll, that famous
+tympanist and harper, so pre-eminent that he was a phoenix in his art, and
+with him fell about twenty tympanists who were his scholars. He was
+called Caech O'Carroll because his eyes were not straight, but squinted;
+and if he was not the first inventor of chord music, yet of all his
+predecessors and contemporaries, he was the corrector, the teacher, and
+director."
+
+How it fared with Mellifont during the fearful pestilence that ravaged all
+Europe in 1348, is not related. Friar Clyn, the Franciscan Annalist, wrote
+of it:--"That pestilence deprived of human inhabitants, villages and
+cities, and castles and towns, so that there was scarcely found a man to
+dwell therein." The mortality in the religious houses was very great, and
+in some instances, only a few monks were left out of large and numerous
+communities. It is said that in these countries the religious Orders never
+recovered from the loss of the best and most learned of their members who
+were then swept away.
+
+In 1351, Abbot Reginald was charged, as if it were a crime, and found
+guilty, of having within two years collected of his own money, and from
+the Abbots of Boyle, Knockmoy, Bective, and Cashel, and of having remitted
+the sum of 664 florins to the Abbot of Clairvaux, while war was being
+waged between England and France. But there was no treason or treasonable
+intent in that; for the money was to defray the current expenses of the
+Order, and was levied off every monastery in proportion to the resources
+of each. Richard, Coeur de Lion, Alexander II. of Scotland, and Bela IV.
+of Hungary had, in their day, contributed largely to this fund.
+
+In 1358, the Abbot of Mellifont made good his claim to three weirs upon
+the Boyne, at Rosnaree, Knowth, and Staleen; but, in 1366, he was indicted
+at Trim, for erecting an unlawful weir at Oldbridge, when the Jury found
+against him, and he was ordered to reduce the weir to a certain breadth
+and space, and he, himself, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment; but,
+on his paying a fine of L10 to Roland de Shalesford, the sheriff of the
+Co. Meath, this sentence was commuted. Ten years later, John Terrour,
+successor to this Abbot, was sued for obstructing the King's passage of
+the Boyne.
+
+In the years 1373 and 1377, the Abbot was summoned to attend Parliaments
+held at Dublin and Castledermot respectively. In the former Parliament,
+one hundred shillings were ordered to be levied from him, as his portion
+of the subsidy granted to the Lord Justice, William de Windesore, by the
+same Parliament. In 1380, the King gave a special mandate that no _mere_
+Irishman should be admitted to profession in this abbey. In 1381 and 1382,
+the Abbot attended Parliaments held in Dublin, and in 1400, the King
+granted a royal confirmation of all the land, manors, and liberties,
+bestowed on the abbey by former charters; and in 1402, he pardoned the
+Abbot and monks for their having admitted Irishmen to profession. However,
+they were mulcted in the sum of L50. In 1415, Leynagh Bermingham, William
+Davison, and John D'Alton were committed to the custody of the Abbot to be
+kept by him as hostages for the allegiance of their respective fathers. In
+1424, the Abbot, with the Archbishop of Armagh and Nicholas Taaffe, was
+appointed Justice and Conservator of the Peace for the Co. Louth.
+
+The allusions to Mellifont during the remainder of this century are very
+few and uninteresting. Whether, or not, it shared the fate of many other
+Irish monasteries at that time and had no regular Abbot, but one who was
+called Abbot _in commendam_, is not known; but the presumption is that it
+had not a regular Abbot. These Abbots _in commendam_ were not monks, or
+members of any Religious Order; but secular clerics, not necessarily in
+Holy Orders. Sometimes, especially when the abuse had reached its greatest
+height in the fifteenth century, they were even laymen; nevertheless, they
+enjoyed the revenues of the abbeys committed to them, with the style and
+title of Abbots, but exercised no spiritual jurisdiction in their abbeys.
+This latter was confided to regular Priors who were selected by their own
+Religious superiors. When laymen held the abbeys _in commendam_ they
+commonly resided in them with their wives, families, retinues, servants,
+etc., to the distraction and interference with the monks in their regular
+observances, and finally, to the complete subversion of discipline. At
+that very time this pernicious practice had brought the whole Order to the
+brink of ruin; for we find the General Chapter on several occasions
+deploring the injuries inflicted on religion, and lamenting the havoc
+wrought by it, and they decided to send three of their number to Rome to
+implore the Pope's protection against the growing evil. Still, it
+survived, more or less, in these countries till the Reformation. Scotland
+suffered more from it, apparently, than Ireland did, as can be seen from
+the lists furnished by Brady in his _Episcopal Succession_.
+
+In 1476, the Abbot of Mellifont complained, that "owing to oppressions and
+extortions within the County of Louth and Uriell, his monastery was
+greatly indebted and impoverished." Certain it is, that for some time
+previous, it had fallen from its former regularity and fervour; but,
+through the zeal and tact of Abbot Roger who then governed it, it regained
+its wonted prominence amongst the most observant monasteries. In 1479,
+this same Roger having set forth to the King that he had "Jurisdiction
+Ecclesiastical of all persons within his lands, as well secular as
+ecclesiastical, the King, out of his love to the Cistercian Order,
+granted to the Abbot and his successors, the _Jus de excommunicatis
+capiendis_, and episcopal jurisdiction," (Stat. Roll. 19 Ed. IV., c. 5.)
+The former privilege refers to the concession made to the Church by the
+first clause of the Statute of Kilkenny, and which had been confirmed by
+subsequent Parliaments for centuries after its first enactment. Under the
+heading--"The Church to be free--Writ _De Excommunicato capiendo_," the
+clause proceeds to ordain, "that Holy Church shall have all her franchises
+without injury, ... and if any (which God forbid) do to the contrary, and
+be excommunicated by the Ordinary of the place for that cause, so that
+satisfaction be not made to God and Holy Church by the party so
+excommunicated within a month after such excommunication, that then, after
+certificate thereupon being made by the said Ordinary into the Chancery, a
+writ shall be directed to the Sheriff, Mayor, Seneschal of the franchise,
+or other officers of the King, to take his body, and to keep him in prison
+without bail, until due satisfaction be made to God and Holy Church, etc."
+By episcopal jurisdiction is here meant the civil rights and privileges
+appertaining to the episcopal office, and enjoyed at that time by bishops
+over their subjects, lay and clerical. And as to the spiritual,
+quasi-episcopal jurisdiction--the Abbots of the Order had that as well as
+exemption in relation to their own monks from the very foundation of the
+Order; but by a Decree dated 28th September 1487, Pope Innocent VIII.
+granted to all Cistercian Abbots quasi-episcopal jurisdiction over their
+tenants, vassals, subjects, and servants. By this Decree, the Pope "took
+all the Abbots, Abbesses, Monks and Nuns of the Order under his special
+protection, together with all their goods, vassals, subjects, and
+servants, and exempted and freed the same from _all jurisdiction,
+superiority, correction, visitation_, subjection and power of Archbishops,
+Bishops and their Vicars, etc., ... and subjected them immediately to
+himself and the Holy See." This Decree is given in full in the _Privilegia
+Ordinis Cisterciensis_, p. 179.
+
+That the Abbots of the Order exercised that privilege in this country
+cannot be doubted. We read an instance of it in the _Triumphalia_, so ably
+edited by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J., where, even after the
+Council of Trent and so recently as 1621, a certain secular priest, who
+had been appointed by the Abbot of Holy Cross to the pastoral charge of
+the parish attached to that abbey and of one or more outlying parishes
+subject to the same Abbot, denied after some time, that he had his
+faculties from the said Abbot, but rather from the Archbishop, or his
+Vicar. The controversy lasted long, but finally, it was decided in the
+Abbot's favour, and Dr. Kearney, then Archbishop of Cashel, acknowledged
+the Abbot's title. And again, in the _Spicelegium Ossoriense_ there is a
+letter from Dr. O'Reilly, Archbishop of Armagh, written to the Propaganda
+in 1633, in which he complained that the Cistercians claimed the privilege
+of "_Visitation, Correction, Summoning to Synods, Approbation to hear
+confessions, together with entire and absolute episcopal jurisdiction_."
+And a further proof in favour of the practice is found in the fact that
+laymen who acquired the suppressed monasteries of the Order claimed and
+exercised that same privilege. Thus, in 1622, Archbishop Ussher in a
+Report of Bective parish said it belonged to Bartholomew Dillon, Esq. of
+Riverstown, his Majesty's farmer of the impropriate property. "This church
+belongeth to the Abbey of Bectiffe, in the possession of the said Mr.
+Dillon, who pretendeth to have an exemption from the Lord Bishop's
+jurisdiction, and doth prove wills and grant administrations." And in
+1744, Harris writes of Newry, where once was a Cistercian Abbey also: "A
+mitred Abbot formerly possessed the lordships of Newry and Mourne, and
+exercised therein Episcopal Jurisdiction, which after the dissolution of
+the Abbey was done by the temporal proprietor, and at the present Robert
+Needham, Esq., to whom the town and manor belong, enjoys an exempt
+Jurisdiction within the said manors, and the seal of his court is a Mitred
+Abbot in his Albe sitting in a chair, and supported by two yew trees with
+this inscription: '_Sigillum exemptae Jurisdictionis de Viride Ligno alias
+Newry et Mourne_.'" Which in English means, the seal of the Exempt
+Jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne. Verily! this savours of Popery; for, it
+was from the Pope the monks received their exemption. A modern example of
+this Papal concession, exercised in the Anglican Church, is to be found in
+the case of the Dean of Westminster who is immediately under the
+jurisdiction of her Gracious Majesty the Queen, and consequently exempt
+from that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is as successor to the Abbot
+of Westminster that he claims and is allowed that privilege of exemption;
+for the Abbot was immediately subject to the Pope in pre-Reformation
+times.
+
+The Abbot of Mellifont was implicated in the rebellion of Lambert Simnel;
+for in 1488, he received pardon from the King for his offences in that
+connection. The close of the fifteenth century found Mellifont recovering
+and maintaining its old prestige amongst the Religious Orders of this
+country, and with the dawning of a new century, it had regained its former
+level, from which a host of circumstances had conspired to drag it down
+and to degrade it. These circumstances have been already detailed and need
+not be here repeated.
+
+In civil matters, Ireland in the first quarter of the sixteenth century,
+presented the same, or nearly the same, condition as she did more than
+three centuries before, when the English first landed on her shores. The
+Pale was literally bounded by the Liffey and the Boyne, and the old feuds,
+the long-protracted wars between the Anglo-Irish and the natives still
+subsisted. The regular administration of the law was limited to the four
+counties adjoining the capital, called the "Four Obedient Counties." It
+seems incontestable that religion was in a flourishing condition in this
+country during the period; for an unwonted activity and fervour animated
+both clergy and people, as can be inferred from the number of religious
+houses established; the frequency of Synods held denoting zeal and
+regularity on the part of the prelates convening them; and the common
+practice, so much then in vogue, of visiting, through a spirit of penance
+and devotion, the Holy Places at home and in far-off countries. Our Annals
+prove this to demonstration. But, it must be borne in mind that the spirit
+of exclusion was still in full force amongst the Anglo-Irish clergy, and
+no Irishman was eligible for benefices within the Pale. Learning, which is
+ever the handmaid of true piety, found its home as in ancient times
+amongst the two classes of the clergy, the secular and regular. The number
+of learned works published at that time clearly proves it. Amongst the
+many eminent men who then adorned the Church in Ireland, Maurice O'Fihely,
+Archbishop of Tuam, ranks foremost. His biographers, for he had many,
+inform us, that he "was eminent for his extraordinary knowledge in
+Divinity, Logic, Philosophy, and Metaphysics," that he published a
+Dictionary of the Holy Scriptures, and was styled by his contemporaries at
+home and abroad, "The Flower of the World." He had been a Franciscan
+Friar before his promotion to the See of Tuam, but did not long survive
+his appointment.
+
+Now, capital has been made by some writers out of a description of the
+Church in Ireland taken from the State Papers, Part III., Vol. II., pp.
+15, 16. If it reflected a true picture, a Reformation would indeed have
+been needed, but not the kind introduced by Henry VIII., nurtured by
+Edward VI., and propagated with fire and sword by Elizabeth. The Report
+states: "Some sayeth, that the prelates of the Church and the clergy is
+much the cause of all the mysse order of the land, for there is no
+archbyshop, ne bysshop, abbot, ne prior, parson ne vicar, ne any other
+person of the church, high or lowe, greate or smalle, Englysh or Irishe,
+that usythe to preach the worde of Godde, saveing the poor fryers
+beggars."... "Some sayeth"--Who were these "Some," or what was their
+assertion worth? Were they parties who benefited by the disturbance of the
+old order of things at the Suppression, and so suspected of having been
+partial, and eager to seek any and every palliation for the State Church
+as by law established. Now every student of Irish history, as contained in
+our Annals, knows that that anonymous statement is unwarranted by fact. It
+will suffice to take two instances, as we find them recorded in Dowling's
+_Annals_ about this time, to show the fallacy of the accusation of
+wholesale neglect of preaching the Word of God. Of Nicholas Maguire,
+Bishop of Leighlin, 1490-1512, Dowling (Protestant Chancellor of Leighlin)
+writes: "When he was Prebendary of Ullard, he preached and delivered great
+learning with no less reverence, being in favour with the King and
+nobility of Leinster, who, together with the Dean and Chapter, elected him
+Bishop of Leighlin." And of Maurice Deoran, or Doran, who a few years
+later succeeded him in Leighlin, Dowling again writes: "He was a most
+eloquent preacher." It cannot be denied that at that time some Church
+dignitaries affected the airs and magnificence of worldly magnates, nor
+that they gave scandal to their flocks by their absenteeism. Other abuses,
+no doubt, existed, but the watchful providence of God had made provision
+for their removal through His authorised ministers. But, alas! a new
+condition of affairs shall soon arise. The most powerful political engine
+ever fabricated for the extension of the English power in Ireland shall be
+introduced, one which shall eventually break up the tribe lands,
+annihilate the sway of the ancient chieftains, and reduce their
+impoverished descendants to the condition of serfs and menials. And this
+shall be called reforming the Church! Even in this revolution, Mellifont
+shall play her part, and become revolutionized and misappropriated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE SUPPRESSION OF MELLIFONT.
+
+  "No more shall Charity with sparkling eyes,
+  And smiles of welcome, wide unfold the door,
+  Where pity listening still to nature's cries,
+  Befriends the wretched and relieves the poor."
+                                      (_Keats._)
+
+
+The Religious Orders, which succeed each other in the Catholic Church, are
+subject to laws similar to those that govern the productions of nature.
+They grow from feeble and imperceptible seeds, increase, flourish, and
+bear fruit; then decrease, fade, and fall to the ground. But they have
+produced a fruit, which contains within it the germs of a new seed-time,
+and which bursts forth vigorously from the decaying sheath to reproduce
+its never-failing kind. This work of reproduction and subsequent expansion
+is aided, directed, and encouraged by him, to whom is divinely committed
+the government of the Church; and when pseudo, self-styled reformers essay
+the difficult task, their true character is unmasked in the inevitable
+ruin and desolation which follow, instead of the order and rehabilitation
+which were promised. Bluff King Hal, or the Merrie Monarch, as Henry VIII.
+was familiarly and affectionately called by his loving subjects in the
+beginning of his reign, was in need of money to squander on his passions
+and pleasures. In his newly assumed character, therefore, of Head of the
+Church in his dominions (which, by Act of Parliament, he made it high
+treason to deny), he suppressed the lesser monasteries whose annual income
+did not exceed L200. This was done, forsooth, in the interests of
+religion!!! The proceeds of the confiscation were soon dissipated, and the
+wily Cromwell, whom the King had appointed his _Vicar General_, suggested
+the suppression and appropriation to the King's uses, of all the
+monasteries within the realm. Again it is his zeal for the promotion of
+God's glory that is pleaded as his motive for the nefarious deed. Three
+years before, when addressing the Houses of Parliament in behalf of the
+measure for the suppression of the lesser monasteries, he publicly gave
+thanks to God, that in the large communities "religion is right well kept
+and observed." And yet, what a metamorphosis in such a short space! All
+had now fallen away, and had inexplicably sunk into all manner of
+iniquity! Spelman, in his _History of Sacrilege_, tells the mode adopted
+by this model Reformer to carry his motion for investing in the Crown the
+property of all the Religious Orders. "The King sent for the Commons," he
+tells us, "and informed them he would have the Bill pass, or take off some
+of their heads." This they knew to be no empty threat; and pass the Bill
+they did on that memorable day of May 13, 1539. The Lords, as a body,
+voted for it; partly through a feeling of jealousy towards the Churchmen,
+who enjoyed no inconsiderable share of the monarch's confidence and
+favour, and so they rejoiced at whatever promised to destroy this good
+understanding between them; and partly through cupidity, for they hoped
+for a share in the booty. The Bishops at that juncture are blamed for
+their weakness in complying with so unjust a proceeding; but they were
+divided in their councils; some considering it the less of two evils to
+sacrifice the Religious houses, in the hope that the misunderstanding
+between the King and the Pope would be soon adjusted and the monks
+restored, yielded to the King; others, unworthy of their office, as it
+must be admitted, worldly men, courtly prelates, who dreaded the King's
+displeasure, obsequiously obeyed his mandate.
+
+Besides his greed for gold, the King had another potent motive for
+suppressing the monasteries, one that gave a zest to this disgraceful act:
+he wanted the further to spite the Pope by inflicting such an unheard-of
+injury on religion. Other motives, too, were not wanting, such as state
+policy, so the King alleged, and the want of constant affection towards
+his person on the part of the Religious, particularly in his new capacity.
+This, Lord Herbert (who was no friend of the monks) admits in his Life of
+the King. His Lordship writes: "The monks were looked upon as a body of
+reserve for the Pope, and always ready to appear in his quarrels."
+Perhaps, their opposition to the King's assumption of spiritual power
+precipitated matters. At all events, one of them, zealous for God's law,
+had the courage to reproach him to his face in a sermon preached at
+Greenwich before the King's marriage with Anne Boleyn. This fearless
+champion of justice, this intrepid son of St. Francis, thus addressed the
+dissolute monarch:--"I am that Micheas, O King, whom you will hate because
+I must tell you truly that this marriage is unlawful; and I know that I
+shall eat the bread of affliction and drink the water of sorrow; yet,
+because our Lord has put it in my mouth, I must speak it." And when he and
+another faithful brother friar were brought before the King's council, who
+rebuked them, and declared them deserving of being shut up in a sack, and
+thrown into the Thames, for the boldness of their language in the matter
+of the King's marriage, his companion smiling said: "Threaten these things
+to the rich and dainty persons, who are clothed in purple, and fare
+deliciously, and have their chiefest hope in this world; for we esteem
+them not, but are joyful, that, for the discharge of our duty we are
+driven hence; and, with thanks to God, we know the way to heaven to be as
+ready by water as by land." (Stowe, _Church Chronicle_.)
+
+It was not, then, for dissoluteness of morals, nor for illiteracy, nor for
+backwardness in preaching the Word of God, nor yet for being drones in
+society, that the monks were turned from their peaceful homes. The true
+cause was, that the King knew, and his criminal advisers also knew, that
+the monasteries were as impregnable fortresses, which in defence of truth
+and justice, would hold out firm against seductive bribes, and the most
+appalling threats; hence they must be swept away under plea of general
+corruption of morals, etc., and their properties held up as a bait to draw
+over proselytes to the new order of things. The historian, Lingard,
+writing of the attitude of the monks towards the King's supremacy in
+spiritual matters, says: "Secluded from the world, the Religious felt
+fewer temptations to sacrifice their consciences to the commands of their
+Sovereign, and seemed more eager to court the crown than to flee the pains
+of martyrdom."
+
+Here, in Ireland, one of the King's advisers counselled him to suppress
+some of the monasteries, and to convert them into residences for young
+noblemen, who would promote and defend the King's interests. Patrick
+Finglas, created by Henry VIII. Chief Baron of the King's Exchequer, and
+afterwards Lord Chief Justice, wrote a book entitled: "A Breviate of the
+getting of Ireland and of the decay of the same," in which he recommends
+the suppression of the monasteries bordering on the Pale, "because they
+were giving more aid and supportacion to the Irish than to the King." "Let
+the Abbeys," he goes on to say, "be given to young lords, knights, and
+gentlemen out of England, which shall dwell upon the same." This advice
+seemed good to the King, and it was literally carried out, but to far
+greater extent than this astute lawyer had anticipated.
+
+Mellifont, in common with the other Religious establishments in Ireland
+within grasp of the King (for in Ulster, they were free from molestation
+under O'Neil and O'Donnell), must have heard with dismay the rumours
+afloat about a general suppression, and grief and consternation must have
+filled the hearts of the monks. Was it possible, they asked, that the
+King, whose person they respected, whose laws they obeyed, would drive
+them forth, wanderers over the world, which many of them had renounced in
+early youth; and now, without adequate provision, were they, in their
+declining years, to perish by the roadside? Were their beautiful church,
+their loved cloister, their shady groves, no more to shelter them, and
+were they to sever connection with a spot endeared to them by so many holy
+associations? Yes, it is true, alas! for the Abbot of St. Mary's, Dublin,
+being nearer authentic sources of information, has heard it and has sent
+word, that sentence is passed on all, and their doom has sounded; for the
+following Royal Commission was forwarded to the Deputy, with peremptory
+orders to have it executed forthwith:--
+
+Royal Commission directed to John Allen, Chancellor; George, Archbishop of
+Dublin; William Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; Robert Cowley, Master of the
+Rolls; and Thomas Cusacke, Esq.; reciting, "That from the information of
+trustworthy persons, it being manifestly apparent that the monasteries,
+abbeys, priories, and other places of Religious or Regulars, in Ireland,
+are at present in such a state, that in them, the praise of God and the
+welfare of man are next to nothing regarded; the Regulars and nuns
+dwelling there being so addicted, partly to their own superstitious
+ceremonies, partly to the pernicious worship of idols, and to the
+pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff, that unless an effectual
+remedy be promptly provided, not only the weak, low order, but the whole
+Irish people, may be speedily infected to their total destruction. To
+prevent, therefore, the longer continuance of such Religious men and nuns
+in so damnable a state, the King (having resolved to resume into his hands
+all the monasteries and Religious houses, for their better reformation, to
+remove from them the Religious men and women, and to cause them to return
+to some honest mode of living and to true religion,) directs the
+Commissioners to signify this his intention to the heads of Religious
+houses; to receive their resignations and surrenders willingly tendered;
+to grant to those tendering it liberty of exchanging their habit and of
+accepting benefices under the King's authority; to apprehend and punish
+such as adhere to the Roman Pontiff and contumaciously refuse to surrender
+their houses; to take charge for the King's use of the possession of those
+houses, and assign competent pensions to those who willingly surrender."
+(_Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland_, Morrin, 1539-40, April 30,
+Henry VIII., 30o, p. 55.)
+
+Most marvellous, indeed, and sudden, and quite unprecedented in history,
+was this utter decadence from godliness to "idolatry and the pestiferous
+doctrine of the Roman Pontiff" on the part of 100,000 persons within the
+space of three short years! But, behold! the godly monarch will reform
+them (supposing they needed reform) in the fashion recorded in the old
+English proverb: "The devil amended his dame's leg; when he should have
+set it right, he brake it quite in pieces." That the Deputy, Lord Gray,
+did not consider the monks and nuns an effete body, addicted to evil
+practices, will appear evident from the letter he addressed to Cromwell,
+and which was signed by his Council. It bears date 21st May 1539:--
+
+"May it please your honourable Lordship to be advertised, that by the
+report of Thomas Cusacke and others repaired lately out of the realm of
+England into this land, it hath been openly bruited the King's grace's
+pleasure to be, that all the monasteries within this land should be
+suppressed, none to stand. Amongst which, for the common weal of this
+land, if it might stand with King's most gracious pleasure by your good
+Lordship's advertisement, in our opinion it were right expedient that six
+houses should stand and continue, changing their habit and rule into such
+sort as the King's grace shall will them: which are namely, St. Mary's
+Abbey, adjoining Dublin, a house of white monks (Cistercians); Christ
+Church, a house of canons situated in the middle of the City of Dublin;
+Grace Dieu Nunnery, in the County Dublin; Connell, in the County Kildare;
+Kenlys or Kells, and Jerpoint (this latter Cistercian also), in the County
+Kilkenny. _For in these commonly, and in others such like_, in default of
+common inns, which are not in this island the King's Deputy and all others
+his Grace's Council and Officers, also Irishmen and others resorting to
+the King's Deputy in these quarters is and hath been most commonly lodged
+at the cost of the said houses. _Also, in them, young men and children,
+both gentlemen's children and others, both of man kind and woman kind be
+brought up in virtue and in the Englishe tongue and behaviour to the great
+charge of the said houses_; that is to say, the woman kind of the whole
+Englishie of this land, for the most part, in the said nunnery, and the
+man kind in the other houses."
+
+And the Abbot of St. Mary's, petitioning soon after for exemption from the
+general suppression, pleads in a letter to the same Cromwell: "Verily we
+be but stewards and purveyors to other men's uses for the King's honour,
+keeping hospitality, and many poor men, scholars and orphans."
+
+All petitions are unavailing; the King is inexorable; and St. Mary's and
+Mellifont, and the others included in the original list must go down
+before the despot's unholy will, untried, unheard, but with the nation's
+regret, those alone excepted, who thirsted for and shared the sacrilegious
+booty. Before the lamp of piety and learning be extinguished for ever in
+Mellifont, let us take a parting glance at it, so that the contrast may be
+the more marked as we note its vicissitudes later on.
+
+In that bright July morning (1539), when the bell summoned the monks of
+Mellifont to matins for the last time, the sun rose over as fair a picture
+as could well be conceived, when its brilliant rays shot floods of light
+through the woods and valley, and gilt the quivering tree-tops with
+lustrous gold. And the enormous piles of white masonry looked whiter for
+the glinting of the sun-beams, and many a fantastic shadow was cast on the
+tesselated pavement in the church by the "dim religious light" of the
+gorgeous stained glass windows. The statues of the Twelve Apostles looked
+down patronisingly from lofty pedestals, and bore the minds of the
+beholders aloft, to where the guerdon awaits the faithful soldier of
+Christ when his term of service here below shall have expired. Loud rose
+the rhythmic measure of the majestic Gregorian Chant rendered by over one
+hundred full-voiced singers on that beautiful morning, ere yet the skylark
+shook the dew-drops from his wings, or intoned his early carol o'er the
+meadows by the Boyne. The pealing of the organ sounded loud and louder as
+they chanted their solemn Mass, but to many who then took part in that
+sacred function, its plaintive notes presaged the speedy end of their
+time-honoured establishment, which at any moment may receive the fatal
+visit of the Commissioners. In its internal economy it was wisely and
+worthily governed, its community numbered 150 Choir monks, besides Lay
+Brothers and familiars, its schools were prosperous, and from their
+widespread reputation, merited the title of "famous" which was accorded
+them. The children of the monks' tenants received a free education here;
+moreover, the monks conducted a school, which we would now call a
+seminary, where gentlemen's children and others were taught the higher
+branches suited to prepare them for their career in after-life. Their
+peaceful valley was screened on every side from wintry blasts by tasteful
+plantations, useful and ornamental; for a thickly planted orchard, chiefly
+of apple and pear trees, which covered both sides of the River Mattock
+from the mill to where the bridge now spans the river, survived till
+within the memory of many still living who describe it as having been so
+dense that one could cross the valley on the tops of them. The grounds
+surrounding the monastery were laid out with commendable taste; the lands
+yielded plentiful crops, and supported numerous herds of cattle. The hill
+south-east of the abbey was covered over with oak of gigantic size--the
+growth of centuries--and on the Meath side were screens of valuable
+timber. Their tenants were contented and prosperous; for the monks were
+indulgent landlords. Their rents were paid in kind, and for the rest, they
+found a ready market always at the abbey, where a huge supply of
+provisions was constantly needed for the strangers and the poor who sought
+and found a ready welcome there.
+
+The spiritual wants of the tenants and dependants were attended to by one
+of the monks, John Byrrel, whose name occurs first in the list of those
+belonging to Mellifont to whom pensions were granted. He is styled Parson
+of Mellifont. It is probable, too, that others of the abbey priests
+ministered to Tullyallen parish (though it is scarcely probable that the
+present parish is conterminous with the old one), to Monknewtown and
+Donore; for in the English Episcopal Registers, twelve volumes of which
+have been recently published, it is noted that their brethren in England
+served the parishes in the immediate vicinity of the monasteries; and,
+moreover, we find in the list of pensioners of other Cistercian houses in
+Ireland, the names of three or more, in the same monastery, who are called
+parsons. Medical advice and medicine were dispensed gratis at the Abbey.
+The sick poor were visited and cared for in their homes by physicians
+employed by the monks; they were also admitted into the hospital at the
+gate. On fixed days weekly, the poor of the locality came for and received
+loaves of bread which were specially baked for them, and meat in
+abundance, with beer, was distributed to them. In those days there were no
+poor laws; for the monks provided for all the wants of the indigent. The
+monks were in constant touch with all classes of society, at least the
+principal officers were, and they were the advisers, as well as the
+instructors, of all. The History of the English Abbeys of the Order, or
+the fragments that have survived the vandalism of the Dissolution, and
+which have been published by impartial Protestants, clearly prove that
+this picture of far-reaching and ungrudging beneficence is by no means
+fanciful. (_See Ruined Abbeys of Britain, by Frederick Ross._) The Abbot
+of Mellifont took a prominent place in the councils of the nation. He
+ranked as a Peer, and had a seat in the House of Lords before all the
+other Religious superiors, twenty-three more of whom were privileged to
+sit there. He was bound to supply a certain number of horsemen for the
+King's musters, and to maintain them at his own charge. Tradition has it
+that he could ride on his own territory from the sea at Drogheda to the
+Shannon at Athlone, but this requires confirmation. He owned some 4,000
+acres at the suppression, extending on the south side of the Boyne from
+Drogheda to Rossnaree, and on the north, to Slane, including the fisheries
+and five salmon weirs on the river. He rented the fishing of sixteen
+corraghs at Oldbridge, for which he got L13 13s. 4d. annually. The _town_
+of Tullyallen belonged to him. It was then in a flourishing condition, but
+has fallen since from its rank as a town to that of a mere village,
+composed of a few scattered cottages. The district was then populous; for
+another village grew up near the Abbey occupied by tradesmen and
+dependants who were constantly employed by the monks. It was called Doagh.
+It is now level with the field. It stood a quarter of a mile north-west of
+Mellifont, beyond the Mattock. Its site is an elevated plateau, locally
+known as the Doagh Meadows. The entire annual revenue of the Abbey was
+estimated at L316, which, allowing for the difference in value of money
+since, would be equivalent to an income of close on L4,000 at the present
+day. On that the monks maintained themselves and a large staff of
+servants, "kept hospitality, and many poor men, scholars, and orphans."
+The Abbot entertained his guests daily at his own table in a spacious
+building apart from the monks' quarters, and was a man of light and
+leading, unlike the helpless imbecile portrayed by Scott in his novels.
+The Abbot was chosen, often from some distant monastery, for his aptitude
+"in governing souls," which was the paramount consideration with St.
+Benedict in the selection of a superior. He should be learned, and sound
+both in doctrine and morals, to be entrusted with such a charge. It is
+only too true that unworthy persons, contrary to the Canons, were
+sometimes intruded into the position by powerful relatives, and they,
+alas! generally brought disgrace on religion.
+
+As to the spiritual condition of Mellifont at the time of its suppression,
+it was certainly on a high level. No charge was brought against that
+community, on that score, even by its worst enemies; none but the general
+ones mentioned in the Commission. In truth and in fact, the observances
+then in force at Mellifont were identical with those introduced by Abbot
+Christian and practised at Clairvaux by St. Bernard and his saintly
+companions. If they were "idolatrous," and "superstitious," and savouring
+of the "pestiferous doctrines of the Roman Pontiff," so must have been the
+ancient practices of the Cistercians; and wonderful indeed was it, that
+till King Henry and his advisers discovered it, our ancestors, for four
+hundred years at least, approved of and took part in these same practices
+without a suspicion of the "pernicious" errors they were now found to
+contain! In the matter of discipline alone was there any decadence, and
+then the altered conditions of the times demanded some modifications. The
+use of flesh meat three days in the week was introduced, and instead of
+manual labour, other duties were substituted, such as teaching, copying,
+study, etc. In their daily lives, we are told by Rev. Dr. Gasquet, O.S.B.,
+perhaps the greatest living authority in such matters, that the
+Cistercians at that time differed little from the Benedictines.
+
+Such was the condition of Mellifont on that fatal day, the 23rd July
+1539, when the Commissioners, with an armed band, demanded admission and
+surrender, in the King's name. Remonstrance with them was vain, and the
+usual formality was gone through. They seized on the charters, registers,
+ledgers, etc., together with the keys of the treasury and store-rooms;
+took an inventory of all the possessions of the monastery, and sealed the
+Library and strong room. They, then, summoned the Abbot and all the monks
+to the Chapter-house, to sign the Act of Surrender. In the Calendar of
+Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland, Henry VIII. (edited by James
+Morrin), the synopsis of it is given as follows at p. 135:--"Surrender of
+the Abbey or House of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Mellyfount, in the County
+of Louth, by Richard Contoure, Abbot, with the consent of the Convent; and
+of the church, belfry, cemetery, manors, lands, and all its possessions in
+the counties of Dublin, Kildare, and Carlow, with all charters, evidences,
+muniments, goods, utensils, ornaments and jewels."--July 23, 31o. (1539).
+"Endorsed on the preceding surrender is a memorandum that the Abbot and
+Convent, assembled in the Chapter-house, voluntarily acknowledged the
+preceding surrender, delivered it into the hands of the Lord Chancellor,
+and prayed it might be enrolled in Chancery, _in perpetuam rei memoriam_.
+Witness, George, Archbishop of Dublin; Wm. Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer;
+Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls." July 23, 31o.
+
+How often have these "voluntary" surrenders been flaunted by writers
+hostile to the monks, as if the farce of signing the document which made
+them beggars were a free act! They were anxious, forsooth, to shake off
+the burden of their religious obligations, through the facile dispensation
+so liberally accorded by the new Head of the Church, in the flush of his
+accession to ecclesiastical supremacy! The late scholarly and
+liberal-minded Dean Butler, Protestant Rector of Trim, wrote thus on the
+subject:--"The form of surrender then executed omitted no property which
+could belong to the house.... There were added their charters, evidences,
+writings and manuscripts, their goods, chattels, utensils, ornaments,
+jewels, and debts, all these were granted to the King, to be disposed of
+at his good pleasure, without appeal or complaint, and the unhappy men
+_were forced to declare_, that they thus deprived themselves of house and
+home _of their own free will_, and that they put an end to a venerable
+institution, to which they were bound by so many solemn obligations,
+certain just and reasonable causes thereto moving their minds and their
+consciences." (_Register of the Priory of All Hallows._ Preface, p. xxix.)
+
+The next step was, there and then, to auction off all the moveables of the
+monastery, except the jewels of the rich reliquaries, chalices, and other
+sacred vessels, with the plate and bells, which formed the King's special
+perquisite. The whole artistic woodwork of the church (choir and
+wainscotting) was smashed in pieces, and even the very tombs of the
+founders and others interred there, were sold and carted off. For a
+description of the work of destruction, as related by an eye-witness of
+such vandalism at the suppression of an English Cistercian monastery, see
+_The Irish Cistercians_, p. 45. The sale realised L141 7s. 3d., but no
+detailed account is given of the sum that each article fetched. According
+to another Commission addressed to John Allen, Chancellor; William
+Brabazon, Vice-Treasurer; and Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls; dated
+May 20, 1539, the proceeds of such sales were ordered to be allocated "to
+pay the officers and servants of the Crown." When the church and monastery
+were dismantled, and every article of value, no matter how trifling, had
+been removed, the order to clear out the monks was promptly given and
+executed; and the gates were shut behind them. Whither they went nobody
+cared, and whither to go was a problem to themselves difficult to be
+solved; for without money or provision, they were in a worse condition
+than the most destitute of beggars. The hoary old walls caught up their
+groans and lamentations on that day, as with breaking hearts they looked
+upon each familiar spot for the last time. This is one of the secrets the
+old stones of the few remaining buildings yet withhold from us. Mellifont
+beheld many moving spectacles during the four centuries of her existence,
+but none, perhaps, so deeply affecting as when her 150 children, amongst
+whom were the aged, tottering on the brink of the grave and leaning for
+support on some younger brethren, turned their back upon their happy home
+where they enjoyed an anticipated paradise. As the sad procession slowly
+gained the top of the hill, many a time they turned to take a last
+farewell look at their beloved monastery, till it faded from their view
+for ever. A few shillings each were allowed them for their immediate
+wants, but of that multitude only thirteen and the Abbot received
+pensions. This grant was fixed for them three days after their expulsion,
+after which they all disappear from the scene as effectually as if the
+Boyne had engulphed them.
+
+The following entries are found in the Patent and Close Rolls Calendar,
+Henry VIII., pp. 59, 60: "Pension of L40 Ir. to Richard Contour, late
+Abbot of Mellyfount, payable out of the parishes of Knockmohan, Donowre,
+and Monkenewton, with clause of distress."--Sept. 10, 1539. And at p. 60,
+_ibid._, "Pension to John Byrrell, late parson of Mellifount, L3 6s. 8d.;
+to Thomas Bagot, L4; to Peter Rewe, 40/-; to Thomas Alen, 53/4; to
+William Norreis, 40/-; to Robert Nangle, 40/-; to Patrick Contour, 53/4;
+to William Veldon, L3 6s. 8d.; to Patrick Lawles, 40/-; to John Ball,
+40/-; to Clement Bartholomewe, 20/-; to Phelim O'Neil, 20/-; payable out
+of the rents and lands of the parishes of Knockamowan, Donower, and
+Montnewton" (Monknewtown), 26 July, 1539.
+
+Thus, then, were these fourteen provided for, but, of the others, not one
+received a single shilling, except, as has been said, a mere pittance that
+sufficed to procure them a few nights' shelter. This is no picture drawn
+from fancy; it is a well-authenticated fact, that where a peaceful
+surrender was not given or signed, no provision whatsoever was made for
+those who so refused. They were given a trifle at their expulsion, and
+turned adrift to swell the army of beggars, or to perish, as they did in
+hundreds, of hardships to which they were unaccustomed. The imagination
+cannot now well conceive the heartless, wanton cruelty then practised on
+the expelled Religious; who, if they had betrayed their consciences and
+taken the oath of Supremacy, might have staved off, at least for a time,
+the calamities that befell them. But only for a time; for in some
+instances where the monks, through mistaken notions, obeyed the Royal
+mandate, they shared the fate of their more steadfast brethren, owing to
+the insatiable rapacity of the King and his advisers. To those of the
+expelled who were priests, the hope was held out to them, in case of "free
+surrender," that they should be promoted to the first vacant benefices. As
+not one of the Religious expelled from Mellifont is enrolled on the list
+of those promoted to vacancies during that or the subsequent reigns, it is
+obvious that they held fast to their principles, and denied the King's
+Supremacy, an acknowledgment of which was indispensable before
+promotion. All honour to them for their generous sacrifices, which made
+them worthy to be the last who saw the venerable institution reel and fall
+beneath the despot's blows. Their noble attitude was befitting the close
+of a work which was inaugurated with such splendour amid a nation's
+rejoicing. Like the setting sun, Mellifont disappeared in a halo of glory.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+MELLIFONT BECOMES THE HOME OF A NOBLE FAMILY--IS SOLD, AND IS DELIVERED UP
+TO RUIN AND DECAY.
+
+  "Mute is the matin bell, whose early call
+    Warn'd the grey fathers from their humble beds;
+  No midnight taper gleams along the wall,
+    Or, round the sculptur'd saint its radiance sheds."
+                                              (_Keats._)
+
+
+The long line of distinguished men being thus rudely and abruptly
+terminated at Mellifont, with the suppression of the monastery, all
+memorials of their history were lost, and no trace of them has been left.
+Not a book, nor cross, nor chalice, register, nor chartulary remains. It
+appears that Mellifont had its Annalist and its Annals like _all_ the
+other monasteries of the Order in Ireland; for Bishop Nicolson, who wrote
+his "Irish National Library" in 1724, says: "The Annals of Ireland from
+the foundation of this Abbey in 1142 to the year 1500, are, or were
+lately, in the hands of some of the learned men of this kingdom." He does
+not tell us the name of the compiler, but only the fact that they had
+been written at Mellifont. These are not cited by later writers, so they,
+also, must have perished long since. At the suppression of monasteries,
+the archives, chronicles, and registers were carefully sought by the
+Commissioners, because they contained correct information on the value and
+extent of the possessions of each house respectively; and the more
+extensive these were, the more sedulously were the records sought for.
+Hence it is that because the Cistercian Order had large possessions, the
+manuscripts were all seized and handed over with the monasteries to the
+grantees. The monks could not possibly take one away with them. So their
+history is now derivable from other sources, which, at best, are very
+meagre. Mellifont, which occupied so prominent and respected a position
+during its career, would not be found inferior to other houses of the
+Order in the number of its learned and remarkable men, were its ancient
+documents now available; and, judging from the long roll of distinguished
+men, who in every department of knowledge rendered the Order illustrious
+in other countries, we may safely allot a respectable quota of the same to
+Mellifont. De Visch compiled his _Writers of the Cistercian Order_ in
+1656, and Sartorius published a large tome in 1700, each containing
+notices of the illustrious men of the Order. No less than sixty-three
+large folio pages of this latter work are occupied with the names of the
+learned men, and the dates at which they flourished. He places all in
+distinct categories, and so we have St. Bernard heading the list, after
+whom come the Grammarians, next follow the Poets, Orators, Historians,
+Philosophers, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Musicians, then Doctors of
+Canon and Civil Law, and Doctors of Theology; finally, Professors in
+universities, and others, whose general attainments precluded
+classification. As these works were written after the suppression of the
+monasteries in these countries, the materials relating to the Irish and
+English monasteries having passed into hostile hands or been destroyed,
+were no longer accessible. Ireland was ever remarkable for the thirst for
+learning displayed by her children, and for the singular proficiency
+attained by them, when the opportunity for it was afforded; we may, then,
+justly conclude that learning and the polite arts found a home at
+Mellifont. For this latter branch, the beautiful buildings would, of
+themselves, suffice as an argument in favour of an advanced state of
+culture and refinement.
+
+It is worthy of note, that neither the Irish people, nor the
+representatives of the Government in this country, brought, much less
+substantiated, any direct charges against the Irish monks, prior to the
+suppression. Hence it is, that their maligners had to import, for use
+against them, the staple arguments commonly used in England, and there
+only by venal scribblers, and those who profited by the downfall of the
+monks. To such the learned and impartial Protestant historian, the Rev.
+Doctor Maitland, adverts, when after giving credit to the monks for their
+having been benefactors to mankind, he writes in his preface to the _Dark
+Ages_:--"In the meantime, let me thankfully believe that thousands of the
+persons at whom Robertson, and Jortin, and other such very miserable
+second-hand writers, have sneered, were men of enlarged minds, purified
+affections, and holy lives, that they were justly reverenced by men, and,
+above all, favourably accepted by God, and distinguished by the
+highest honours which He vouchsafes to those whom He has called into
+existence, that of being the channels of His love and mercy to their
+fellow-creatures." And in our own time, the _Guardian_, an English
+Protestant newspaper, when reviewing the Rev. Doctor Gasquet's, O.S.B.,
+learned work, _Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries_, approvingly
+cites, amongst others, the following paragraph:--"The voices raised
+against the monks were those of Cromwell's agents, of the cliques of the
+new men and of his hireling scribes, who formed a crew of as truculent and
+as filthy libellers as ever disgraced a revolutionary cause. The later
+centuries have taken their tale in good faith, but time is showing that
+the monasteries, up to the day of their fall, had not forfeited the
+goodwill, the veneration, the affection of the English people." Mr. Lecky,
+too, with his usual candour and liberality, writes:--"Monastic
+institutions were the only refuges of a pacific civilisation; the only
+libraries, the only schools, the only centres of art, the only refuges for
+gentle and intellectual natures; the chief barriers against violence and
+rapine; the chief promoters of agriculture and of industry." (_The
+Political Value of History_, p. 14. London, 1892.)
+
+The monks being now expelled, Mellifont was delivered up to desecration
+and ruin; the silence of the tomb reigned supreme, and the voice of prayer
+was heard no more; no longer did the bells from the tower send forth their
+cheering notes over the surrounding district to raise the hearts of the
+toiler to Heaven. These sweet toned bells, the gift of some princely
+benefactor, had been, with all the other moveable property, carried off by
+the spoiler. The Abbey, with all its spiritual and temporal possessions,
+was given, in 1541, to Laurence Townley, for 21 years. They passed by
+reversionary lease to ---- Brabazon, in 1546. In 1551, they were leased to
+the same for 21 years more, and in 1566, they came by reversionary lease
+to Edward Moore, the founder of the Drogheda family, who, at that time,
+came into Ireland, as a soldier of fortune. (_Appendix to the Report of
+the Deputy-Keeper of the Rolls and Grants of Elizabeth._)
+
+This Edward Moore, who was accompanied by his brother John, the founder of
+the Charleville family (now extinct), was descended from an ancient
+Kentish House. He fixed his residence at Mellifont, changing the church
+into a dwelling, which he strongly fortified against the attacks of the
+Ulster Irish. The statues of the Twelve Apostles, which once occupied
+places in the church, he caused to be removed to the hall, clad in red
+uniforms, with muskets on their shoulders, as a protest, no doubt, against
+"Popish idolatry." It is even said that he suffered the Founder's tomb,
+and those of others, or such portions of them as still were left, to
+remain as part of his domestic arrangements, without his being disturbed
+by such solemn surroundings. He was knighted by the Deputy, Sir Wm. Drury,
+and dying soon after, was succeeded by his son, Sir Garret, to whom
+Mellifont, with six other dissolved monasteries, and all their
+spiritualities (that is, the revenues of them, right of patronage, etc.)
+and temporalities, were granted in fee. By these means, was adhesion to
+the Crown purchased and services to it rewarded--services, which bore no
+equivocal meaning ever since the Invasion, as the Irish knew by long and
+bitter experience.
+
+At this time, the Church, as by Law Established, became part and parcel of
+the State, and its most obsequious servant. Its ministers looked to the
+civil power for patronage, and even hoped for promotion through the
+officials of the Court; but only in a few instances were the livings worth
+the asking, as the greater part of their temporalities were bestowed on
+laymen, favourites of the Queen. We have a picture of the state of that
+Church in Ireland, soon after the suppression of monasteries, drawn by the
+Lord Deputy himself, in a letter to Queen Elizabeth. They who would fain
+believe in the blessed advantages which flowed from the Dissolution of
+Monasteries, and the introduction of the new religion, may take to heart
+the lesson it teaches. Sir Henry Sydney wrote to the Queen in April, 1576,
+on the condition of the diocese of Meath:--"There are within this
+diocese," he writes, "224 parish churches, of which number, 105 are
+impropriated to sundry possessions; no parson or vicar resident on any of
+them, and a very simple or sorry curate for the most part appointed to
+serve them; among which number of curates, only eighteen were found to be
+able to speak English, the rest being Irish ministers, or rather, Irish
+rogues, having very little Latin and less learning and civility.... In
+many places the very walls of the churches are thrown down, very few
+chancels covered; windows and doors ruined and spoiled. There are 52
+parish churches in the same diocese which have vicars endowed upon them,
+better served and maintained than the others, yet badly. There are 52
+parish churches here, residue of the first number of 224, which pertain to
+divers particular lords; and these, though in better state than the others
+commonly, are yet far from well." He concludes by saying:--"But yet your
+Majesty may believe it, that upon the face of the earth where Christ is
+professed, there is not a church in so miserable a case." Lord Grenville,
+in his _Past and Present Policy of England towards Ireland_, when
+commenting on Sydney's letters, from one of which the above is an extract,
+writes:--"Such was the condition of a church which was half a century
+before rich and flourishing, an object of reverence and a source of
+consolation to the people. It was now despoiled of its revenues; the
+sacred edifices were in ruins, the clergy were either ignorant of the
+language of their flocks, or illiterate and uncivilised intruders; and the
+only ritual permitted by the laws was one of which the people neither
+comprehended the language nor believed the doctrines; and this is called
+establishing a reformation." That this condition of affairs was not
+confined to any particular diocese, but rather was the state in all, is
+evident from the sketch given by Spenser in his _View of the State of
+Ireland_. "They" (the ministers), he says, "neither read the Scriptures
+nor preach to the people, nor administer the Communion ... only they take
+the tithes and offerings, and gather what fruit else they may of their
+livings.... It is a great wonder to see the zeal between the Popish
+priests and the ministers of the Gospel; for they spare not to come out of
+Spain, from Rome, and from Rheims, by long toil and dangerous travelling
+thither, where they know peril of death awaiteth them, and no reward or
+riches are to be found, only to draw people to the Church of Rome." Such
+were the immediate fruits of the Reformation as admitted and described by
+Protestant contemporaries.
+
+One of the first proprietary acts of Sir Edward Moore, on his acquiring
+Mellifont, seems to have been to cut down and sell some of the magnificent
+timber planted by the monks. The old wooden house, so long an object of
+curiosity in Drogheda, and which was taken down in 1824, was chiefly
+composed of oak obtained from Mellifont Park. It was situated at the angle
+formed by the junction of Laurence Street and Shop Street, and was erected
+by Nicholas Bathe, as an inscription in raised characters, each six inches
+in length, testified. This inscription was on the Laurence Street side.
+"Made. Bi. Nicholas. Bathe. in. the. ieare. of. our. Lord. God. 1570. Bi.
+Hiu. Mor. Carpenter."
+
+In 1592, Red Hugh O'Donnell, fleeing from Dublin Castle, where he had been
+detained a close prisoner, was received and kindly treated by Sir Edward
+Moore, at Mellifont. His reception is thus related in the Life of Red
+Hugh, edited with notes by the late Father Denis Murphy, S.J.:--"After
+crossing the Boyne near Drogheda, Red Hugh and his companion mounted their
+horses, and proceeded about two miles from the river, where they saw a
+dense bushy grove in front of them on the road they came, and a large
+rampart all around it, as if it was a kitchen-garden. There was a fine
+mansion (called the great monastery), belonging to an illustrious youth of
+the English, by the side of the wood. He was much attached to O'Neil....
+He (O'Donnell) went into the house and was entertained; for he was well
+known there especially more than in other places."
+
+In 1599, according to the family pedigree, Sir Garret Moore and Sir
+Francis Stafford were the only English house-keepers in the County Louth;
+all the lands being wasted by the Ulster rebels. The next important event
+at Mellifont was the great O'Neil's surrender there to the Deputy, Lord
+Mountjoy, on the 24th March, 1602. The Lord Deputy sent Sir Garret Moore,
+as an old acquaintance of O'Neil's, with Sir Wm. Godolphin to parley with
+him, and O'Neil returned with them to Mellifont, where (on his knees, it
+is said by English writers,) he made his submission to the Deputy. Here,
+again, we have further proof of what has been stated before, that it was
+Irishmen who retained this country for the English Crown; for when Sir
+George Carew sat down before Kinsale, where O'Neil was defeated, his army
+consisted of three thousand men, of whom two thousand were Irish.[8]
+
+Five years later, that is, in 1607, O'Neil was again at the "fair mansion
+of Mellifont to bid good-bye for ever to his good friend, Sir Garret, the
+fosterer of his son John." He tarried two days with him, and then said
+farewell. Having given his blessing, "according to the Irish fashion," to
+every member of his friend's household, he and his suite took horse, and
+rode rapidly by Dundalk on his way to Lough Swilly, where a ship awaited
+him to bear him from his native land for ever.
+
+By an Inquisition taken on the 14th June, 1612, the possessions of this
+Abbey were found as follow:--"The site, a water-mill, a garden, an
+orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing two acres;
+the silver meadow, nine acres; the wood meadow, ten acres; and the doves'
+park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber, containing
+twelve acres; Ardagh, twenty acres, being the demesne lands; and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen," etc.
+
+In 1615, July 20th, Sir Garret was created Baron Moore of Mellifont, by
+King James I. In 1619, Baron Moore obtained a royal grant of St. Mary's
+Abbey, Dublin, from the same King; and in 1621, he was created a Viscount,
+with the title of Viscount Moore of Drogheda. St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin,
+passed from the family some fifty years later.
+
+As has been said, no trace of the expelled religious remains after the
+suppression of Mellifont. It, however, may be assumed, that some few of
+them lingered around the hallowed spot to which their affections clung,
+and that they shared the labours and dangers incident to the Catholic
+missionaries of the period, as is well known their brethren in other parts
+of Ireland did after their expulsion. It cannot now be ascertained
+whether, or not, an unbroken line of titular Abbots of Mellifont was
+maintained after the dissolution of the Abbey; but, in 1623, an oratory
+in Drogheda, belonging to the Cistercians, was served by five or six
+Fathers of the Order under Patrick Barnewall, who had been appointed Abbot
+of Mellifont by the Pope; and in 1625, he received the abbatial
+benediction in the church of St. John, in Waterford, at the hands of the
+Most Rev. Thomas Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin. This Patrick Barnewall
+belonged to the Bremore branch (Co. Dublin) of the ancient and illustrious
+family of that name. After having studied the Humanities, Philosophy,
+Theology, and Canon Law in the Universities of Douay and Paris, he was
+ordained priest, and discharged missionary duties in Drogheda. In a sketch
+of his life given by a fellow-labourer, it is related, that one night as
+he lay awake, St. Bernard appeared to him and told him he would be a monk
+of his Order. Though he relished the idea, yet he did not immediately
+correspond with his inclinations till he was grievously afflicted with a
+severe sickness, when he remembered the vision, and being urged by his two
+sisters, who had consecrated themselves to God, he entered the Novitiate
+of the Order in Kilkenny, and was at once restored to health. Soon after
+his profession he was appointed Abbot of Mellifont by Apostolic authority;
+and he admitted novices into the Order at his "hiding-place" at Drogheda,
+whom he sent to be educated at the Cistercian College, Louvain, and to
+other Continental Colleges. He was a very learned man, particularly in
+Canon Law, and was consulted as an authority on this subject. During the
+siege of Drogheda, in 1641, his goods were seized and himself cast into
+prison, but through the influence of some powerful relatives he was
+liberated. He died in his father's house in September, 1644, and was
+buried in the church of Donore, which formerly belonged to Mellifont. John
+Devereux, a native of the Co. Wexford, who had been educated at Louvain,
+was appointed by the Pope, Abbot of Mellifont, in 1648. He, with Father
+Luke Bergin and Father Patrick Grace, both natives of Co. Kilkenny, Father
+Malachy O'Hartry, a native of Waterford, Father John Bryan, a native of
+Drogheda, and Father Plunket, constituted the new community of Cistercian
+monks under Abbot Patrick Barnewall, when he opened the oratory in
+Drogheda, in 1623. Whether all or any of them perished in the general
+massacre of Drogheda, under Cromwell, we cannot tell, but they disappeared
+thenceforth, and John Devereux seems to have been the last titular Abbot
+of Mellifont.
+
+In the Rebellion of 1641, Mellifont and its owner, Lord Charles Moore, son
+of Garret, the first Viscount, became involved. On the 21st November, just
+a short time after the outbreak, the rebels under Sir Phelim O'Neil, when
+on their way to besiege Drogheda, made a halt at Tullyallen, and "sent a
+party of 1,300 foot down to Mellifont, the Lord Moore's house, which their
+design was suddenly to surprise; but, contrary to their expectation, they
+found there twenty-four musketeers and fifteen horsemen, who very stoutly
+defended the house as long as their powder lasted. The horsemen, when they
+saw themselves beset so as they could no longer be serviceable to the
+place, opened the gates, issued out and made their passage through the
+midst of the rebels, and so, notwithstanding the opposition they made,
+escaped safe to Drogheda. The foot having refused to accept of the quarter
+at the first offered, resolved to make good the place to the last man;
+they endured several assaults, slew one hundred-and-forty of the rebels,
+before their powder failed them; and at last they gave up the place upon
+promise of quarter, which was not kept, for some of them were killed in
+cold blood, all were stripped, and two old decrepid men slain, the house
+ransacked and all the goods carried away."
+
+The above is from Sir John Temple's _History of the Irish Rebellion_, and
+it has been quoted by Catholics and Protestants alike when alluding to
+Mellifont; they each add, however, a little spice to suit the palates of
+their respective readers. Of this attack on Mellifont we have no less than
+four versions, two of which deserve but little credence, viz., that
+already given, and that of Dean Bernard. The account given by the latter
+is fuller, and enters more minutely into detail, so that some particulars
+tax the capacity of the most credulous; as, for instance, when he tells us
+that twenty-four musketeers killed one hundred-and-forty rebels though
+they had only "six shots" of powder, "some only four," and that they
+rammed in six bullets together, and how each shot killed several. Verily,
+every bullet had its billet there! That be sharp practice without doubt!
+He also tells, how the loss on the part of the garrison was thirteen
+killed, "whom a _Friar was so forward for deed of charity as to procure
+them burial in the church adjoining_." Thank goodness, he has the grace to
+credit even a Friar with some remnant of humanity! He does not say that
+the rebels stripped all. They could not have done so; for eleven escaped
+to Drogheda. These godless Papists capped their iniquity in this holy
+man's estimation when they "threw a fair church Bible into the mill-pond."
+The last charge on the sheet is--"Their best language to them all was
+'English dogs,' 'rogues,' etc."
+
+Before producing the other two versions, let us examine the characters of
+both these witnesses as drawn by Protestant writers. Sir John Temple wrote
+his History in 1656, from the "Depositions" preserved then in Dublin
+Castle, but which are now in Trinity College. These "Depositions"
+comprise the list of murders, burnings, etc., said to have been
+perpetrated by the Irish on the English Protestants during the war, and
+fill thirty-two volumes. He was some time Privy Councillor, but was
+removed by Ormonde, and Carte tells how "two traitorous and scandalous
+letters against his Majesty written by Temple were read in Committee." And
+Dr. Nalson, another Protestant writer, accuses him of having been in
+league with the Parliamentarians, whom Ormonde describes as those who
+became the "murderers of his (the King's) royal person, the usurpers of
+his rights, and destroyers of the Irish nation; by whom the nobility and
+gentry of it were massacred at home, and led into slavery, or driven into
+beggary abroad." In 1674, Temple protested that the work was published
+without his knowledge, as appears from _State Papers_, Dublin edition, p.
+2.
+
+Dean Bernard was Primate Ussher's chaplain, and like his master, was a
+Puritan. During the siege of Drogheda he watched over the Primate's
+library lest the rebels should attack the magnificent palace which _had
+been built with the fines from the recusants_. He was afterwards
+Cromwell's chaplain and almoner, in either of which capacities, it would
+be quite unreasonable to expect justice to the Irish from him.
+
+As to the "Depositions" themselves, they are summarily dealt with by the
+Rev. Dr. Warner, another English Protestant historian of that Rebellion.
+"There is no credit to be given to anything that was said by these
+Deponents which had not others' evidence to confirm it." And again, the
+same Dr. Warner, who went through the drudgery of perusing and examining
+these "Depositions," says: "As a great stress has been laid upon this
+collection in print and conversation, and as the whole evidence of the
+massacres turns upon it, I spent a great deal of my time examining the
+books; and I am sorry to say, that they have been made the foundation of
+much more clamour and resentment than can be warranted by truth and
+reason." It was in them that Temple found the story of the ghosts of the
+murdered Protestants, in the River Bann, at the Bridge of Portadown,
+shrieking for revenge, and one in particular, who was seen there from the
+29th December to the end of the following Lent!!! He sets down the number
+of English and Protestants who were "murdered in cold blood, destroyed
+some other way, or expelled out of their habitations in two years by the
+Irish, as exceeding 300,000," though, according to Petty, there were not
+at the outbreak of the Rebellion 20,000 English Protestants in Ulster,
+where nearly all the murders were said to have been committed. Dr. Warner
+also tells how he saw in the Council books at Dublin, the letter which the
+Commissioners of the Irish Parliament wrote to the English Parliament,
+urging them to show no mercy to the Irish, but rather, to revenge the
+murders and massacres committed by them. They tell them, "that besides
+eight hundred-and-forty-eight families, there were killed, hanged, burned,
+and drowned, six thousand and sixty-two." Dr. Warner considers 2,000 about
+the correct number. A prodigious number to be sure, but how far less than
+Temple's 300,000. Warner says, finally, at p. 296 of his work so often
+cited: "It is easy enough to demonstrate the falsehood of every Protestant
+historian of this Rebellion."
+
+The Rev. Mr. Carte, an English Protestant clergyman, who wrote the
+celebrated Life of the Duke of Ormonde, tears all Temple's assertions in
+pieces, and demonstrates from indubitable authority the falsehoods of his
+statements. Writing of these "Depositions" he says, at Vol. II., p. 263:
+"Anyone who has ever read the examinations and depositions which were
+generally given on hearsay, and contradicting one another, must think it
+very hard upon the Irish, to have all those without distinction to be
+admitted as evidence." And in the Preface to the collection of Letters
+affixed to the Life he alludes to the "uncertain, false, mistaken, and
+contradictory accounts, which have been given of the Irish Rebellion, by
+parties influenced by selfish views and party animosities, or unfurnished
+with proper and authentic materials and memoirs."
+
+It is obvious from the first pages of Temple's History what the scope of
+the work is. It is a gross libel on the whole Irish nation from the
+earliest times. In one page, he twice applies to them the epithet of a
+beastly race, and, no doubt, worthy to be rooted out, to make room for
+Royalists of his type, who worshipped the rising sun.
+
+Carte, in his Life of Ormond, Vol. II., p. 135, gives an account of the
+attack on Mellifont as follows:--"This detached body of the northern
+rebels appeared on November 21st in sight of the town of Drogheda, within
+four miles of it, presuming (as was imagined) upon some party within the
+place. Sir H. Tichburne, Governor of Drogheda, had the week before sent a
+party of fifteen horse and twenty-two foot to Mellifont (formerly an Abbey
+of Bernardine monks, founded by Donagh O'Carroll, prince of Ergall, about
+A.D. 1142, but then an house of the Lord Viscount Moore's, three miles
+from town), as well as to secure that place from the incursions of roving
+parties, as to keep abroad continual sentinels and scouts, that might
+inform him of the rebels' motions. His orders were not well observed, nor
+his party so vigilant as they ought to have been; for on the 21st, the
+rebels on a sudden encompassed the house, and (after the soldiers' powder
+was spent) took it with a loss of some one hundred and twenty of their
+own number (among which were Owen M'Mahon and another captain), and eleven
+of the soldiers, with most of the arms. As the Irish were breaking into
+the house on all sides, the troopers causing the great gate to be opened,
+sallied out, and opening themselves a way through the body of the rebels,
+got safe with the rest of the foot soldiers sore wounded to Drogheda."
+This may be accepted as a true, unvarnished account of this much magnified
+attack; especially as Tichburne himself, who cannot be accused of
+partiality towards the Irish, and who was Governor of Drogheda at the time
+of its occurrence, seems to have been Carte's authority for it, as appears
+from a reference to a letter written by Tichburne to Ormond, but not given
+in the collection of Letters mentioned above. There is no question here of
+quarter given, or of faith broken; no cold-blooded murders, no gruesome
+picture of gory corpses unburied, nor of fiendish glee on the part of
+rebels dancing round their watch-fires in presence of their stark and
+naked victims strewn around!!! Pity such absurdity should be believed or
+repeated in our time, when it should have been relegated to the same
+lumber-heap as the story of the ghosts of the Bann!
+
+We have yet another account from a paper or Report published in London by
+two parties who only give their initials, T. A. and P. G. It was "printed
+by Edward Blackmore, at the Angel, in Paul's Churchyard, in 1642," and is
+now to be found in the _Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland_, so
+ably edited by Sir John Gilbert, at Vol. I., Part II., p. 420. There is a
+discrepancy in the dates, but that is immaterial, as only one attack is
+said to have been made. It tells us, "That on the same day (April 30),
+three or four hundred rebels came before Mellifont, three or four miles
+from Drogheda, where Lord Moore had left on Tuesday before a garrison of
+four-score foot and about thirty horse; the rebels plaid hotly upon them
+until the horse were ready within; but as soon as the horse were ready,
+they, with the foot, sallied out, and killed about thirty of the rebels."
+This cannot be far from the truth, as it seems to be free from the
+exaggerations in which Tichburne dealt, when recounting the numerical
+strength of his and the enemy's forces, ascribing to the latter
+poltroonery and cowardice in action, and crediting them with excessively
+heavy losses.
+
+The predisposing cause, why the Ulster Irish were ready for rebellion was
+the misery the native inhabitants endured since the Plantation of the six
+forfeited counties, some thirty odd years before. Even the remnants of the
+estates allowed them by the Crown were filched from them by the greed and
+cunning of unscrupulous Commissioners, who enriched themselves on the ruin
+of the Irish. Prendergast (_Cromwellian Settlement_, pp. 49-50,) thus
+describes the condition of the old Irish nobility and gentry
+then:--"Little they (the Planters, who got the forfeited estates) thought
+or cared how the ancient owner, dispossessed of his lands, must grieve as
+he turned from the sight of the prosperous stranger to his pining family;
+daughters, without prospect of preferment in marriage; sons, without fit
+companions, walking up and down the country with their horses and
+greyhounds, coshering on the Irish, drinking and gaming and ready for any
+rebellion; most of his high-born friends wandering in poverty in France
+and Spain, or enlisted in their armies." The immediate cause of the
+Rebellion is thus stated:--"A letter was intercepted coming from Scotland
+to one Freeman of Antrim giving an account that a Covenanting army was
+ready to come to Ireland under General Lesly, to extirpate the Roman
+Catholics of Ulster, and leave the Scots in possession of that province;
+that resolutions to that effect had been taken at their private meetings,
+as well as to levy heavy fines on such as would not appear at their kirk
+for the first and second Sunday, and on failure the third, to hang at
+their own doors without mercy, such as remained obstinate" (Carte's
+_Ormond_, Vol. I., p. 160). This notion prevailed universally amongst the
+rebels, and was chiefly insisted on by them as one of the principal
+reasons of their taking up arms.
+
+The Rebellion broke out, then, on the 23rd October, 1641, and the actors
+in it were a "tumultuous rabble" as Ormond called them, intent chiefly on
+plundering and driving off the English settlers, yet before the end of the
+month the principal towns of the North were in their hands. Leland, a
+Protestant historian, writes:--"That in the beginning of the insurrection,
+it was determined by them that the enterprise should be conducted in every
+quarter, with as little bloodshed as possible" (_History of Ireland_, Vol.
+III., p. 101). At p. 131, the same historian writes:--"The Lords Justices
+might have stamped out the insurrection at once had Ormond's advice to
+levy a large number of troops been attended to; for the Irish were then
+formidable only in numbers, and not six hundred of them had proper arms.
+But their purpose was rather to fan it, in order to gratify their personal
+greed by extensive forfeitures." Warner, who has been so often quoted
+before, writes at p. 176 of his History:--"It is evident from the Lords
+Justices' letter to the Lord Lieutenant that they hoped for an
+extermination, not of the mere Irish only, but of all the old English
+families who were Roman Catholics." They issued a most truculent order to
+Ormond "to burn, kill, spoil, waste, destroy, the rebels, their relatives,
+houses and property." One of these Lords Justices is thus referred to by
+Carte: "He was a man of mean extract, scarcely able to read and write ...
+plodding, assiduous, and indefatigable, greedy of gain, and eager to raise
+a fortune; which it is not difficult for a man of indifferent parts to do,
+when he is not hampered with scruples about the ways of getting it"
+(_Ormond_, Vol. I., p. 190). This same Lord Justice, with three members of
+the Privy Council, was put under arrest for disobedience to his Majesty,
+King Charles, and for complicity with his enemies, the Parliamentarians of
+England. The Lord Justice was deposed and imprisoned, but he retained his
+ill-gotten property.
+
+As has been said, the rebels became masters of the principal towns in the
+North without meeting any check, when they attacked Mellifont. Lord Moore
+was then in Drogheda with Sir Henry Tichburne, the Governor, with whose
+policy and methods he, both before and afterwards, identified himself;
+and, as an active agent of the Lords Justices, he was specially odious to
+the Irish. During the siege of Drogheda, he more than once, by his
+alertness and personal bravery, saved the town from falling into the hands
+of the besiegers. With the exception of Lord Moore and a few of the older
+families, both the Lords Justices themselves (who governed the country in
+the absence of the Lord Lieutenant), and their ruthless instruments were
+men of no fortune; or, were such as became enriched by the plunder of the
+Irish. Tichburne, in a letter to his lady, alludes to one of the
+commissions entrusted to him for execution, in which fiendish work Lord
+Moore was associated with him. After his return from the burning of
+Dundalk,[9] which he left a smouldering heap of ruins, he describes the
+results:--"There was neither man nor beast to be found in sixteen miles,
+between the two towns of Drogheda and Dundalk; nor on the other side of
+Dundalk, in the County of Monaghan, nearer than Carrickmacross, a strong
+pile twelve miles distant" (Tichburne's _Siege of Drogheda_, p. 320). And
+in the same page he says, all this magnificent ruin and desolation were
+inflicted on the peasantry "without one penny of charge to the State, and
+that for the space of seven months, all under his command subsisted on the
+spoils" taken from the unfortunate people in that district. "The country
+and fields about Dundalk," he says, "were abounding in corn, which I
+allocated to the several companies, etc." The ghosts of the Bann must have
+been glutted with vengeance!!!
+
+And now Lord Moore's career is drawing to a close. After having been
+engaged in many successful skirmishes, raids, and minor actions, he burned
+with a desire for the honour of measuring swords with the great Owen Roe,
+who had defeated all the forces hitherto sent against him, and, according
+to O'Neil's Diary, he affected to despise O'Neil. He was therefore
+dispatched with a body of troops to dislodge that consummate strategist
+from a position occupied by him at Portlester Mill, within five miles of
+Trim. Borlase tells us that Lord Moore was killed in that engagement,
+August 7th, 1643, "through the grazing of a cannon bullet which he
+foresaw, yet took not warning enough to evade." The Author of the
+_Aphorismical Discovery_, who is commonly supposed to have been O'Neil's
+secretary, gives another account of his death. It is right to mention that
+this author was by no means a monk, nor was he a clergyman at all, as is
+evident from his apology in the Introduction, where he tells the reader
+that he was by profession a "sworde carrier," and that it was "alienat" to
+that profession to aspire to literary avocations. "The General" (O'Neil),
+he writes, "not well pleased with his gunner, for he perceaved he shooted
+too high, and did little hurte, the peace was charged, the Generall tooke
+a perspective glasse, and saw wheare my Lord Moore stoode. It being
+charged, the Generall did levell the same against Moore, gave fire, his
+aime was soe neare home, that he hitted him a little above his corpise,
+wherupon all dismembred, presently fell dead, the trunke of his bodie
+fallinge downe, and some of his members whisling in the aire to take
+possession by flight in some other field, or make such speede to accompany
+his soul to hell to be assured for winter quarter next springe."
+
+Lord Moore was succeeded by his son Henry, who, when Governor of Dundalk,
+in 1645, was more than suspected of plotting with the Parliamentarians to
+deliver up that town to Monroe. He was relieved of his charge by Ormond,
+who was then Lord Lieutenant, and being a minor, was sent by him to
+England (out of harm's way), to the Court, where he was kindly received by
+the King, who ordered livery to be granted him of his father's lands
+(_Carte_, Vol. IV., p. 154.) Lady Alice, his mother, was, it appears,
+inveigled into a plot at the same time to deliver up Drogheda to the
+Scots; for a wax impression of the keys of the gates having been given
+her, she caused the gunsmith of the troop, which Lord Henry commanded, to
+make false keys; but, being discovered, her ladyship, with others, was
+sent to Dublin. There, on examination before the Council, they confessed
+all. (_Ibid._) Her Ladyship's end was a tragic one, as we read in Lodge's
+_Peerage_. "Lady Alice, younger daughter of Sir Adam Loftus, Viscount
+Elye, who broke her leg near the fort (Drogheda) by a fall from her horse
+(occasioned by a sudden grief arising from the first sight of St. Peter's
+Church, Drogheda, where her dear lord lay buried), on Wednesday, 10th
+June, 1649, and dying the 13th of a gangrene, was that night buried by him
+in the family tomb."
+
+There is another entry at the same place in Lodge. "Lieutenant-Colonel
+Francis Moore, sixth son of the first Viscount Mellifont, and brother to
+Lord Charles who was killed at Portlester Mill, who was an officer in the
+army for the reduction of Ireland, and in 1654, had a pension from the
+then Government of 10/- a week, and five of his brother Charles' children
+had L3 17s. a week in 1665, out of the district of Trim" (Lodge's _Peerage
+of Ireland_, Vol. II., pp. 99-100). This Francis Moore had been an officer
+in the King's army, but soon after the arrival in Ireland of Jones, the
+Parliamentarian General, he went over to him and took the Dundalk troops
+with him. It was from Cromwell's government he had his pension, but the
+pensions granted to Lord Charles' children were continued to them after
+the Restoration, and Lord Henry mentioned above, was created Earl of
+Drogheda, in 1661,--thus confirming the historic truism, that the
+ungrateful Stuarts heaped favours on their enemies and treated their best
+and most devoted adherents with cold indifference. As an illustration of
+this we have the instance of one of the chief actors in those troublesome
+times, Sir John Clotworthy, changing sides three times:--first, fighting
+in the King's name and commission against the Ulster Irish; next, siding
+with the Parliamentarians, his Majesty's deadliest enemies, and going over
+to England as the spokesman of a deputation sent to the Parliament of
+England to protest against the return of King Charles II., on rumour of
+peace and terms being negotiated between them; again, on King Charles'
+arrival in England, hieing over to tender his homages and
+congratulations--and lo! the reward of his fidelity and loyalty (?)--he
+was created Viscount Massereene. It is only one instance of several
+hundreds that may be cited. The unfortunate rebels whose banner bore the
+legend, "_Vivat Carolus Rex_"--"Long live King Charles," and who remained
+faithful to him to the last, were, by an irony of fate, robbed and
+banished by the Cromwellians, who were put in possession of their estates
+and confirmed in them by Charles II.!!!
+
+In the foregoing pages, the authorities quoted are Protestants, and all,
+without exception, hostile to the Irish. Their testimony, nevertheless, is
+favourable to the rebels, save where the question of religion crops up,
+then their prejudice blinds their judgment, and hurries them into most
+glaring absurdities. One more fact about that saddest page of our history.
+Before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1641, there were 1,200,000 Irish
+Catholics in the country; at its close in 1652, the number had fallen to
+700,000, and these were ordered under pain of death to transplant to
+Connaught--the remnant of a broken and plundered race!!!
+
+Henry, the first Earl of Drogheda, did not long enjoy his honours; nor did
+his son and successor, Charles, who was succeeded by his brother Henry,
+the third Earl, who, on the eve of the ever-memorable Battle of the Boyne,
+entertained a party, amongst whom was one of King William's highest
+officers. On the morrow, July the 1st, the booming of King William's fifty
+pieces of "dread artillery" echoed along the hills and the valley of the
+Boyne, and shook the old abbey walls to their very foundations; and on
+that night, the oaken rafters of Mellifont rang to the cheers and toasts
+of the "glorious, pious, and immortal memory" of the Prince of Orange, on
+whose side Earl Henry commanded that day a regiment of foot. It may be
+interesting to mention here, that on the morning of the battle, the Irish
+Catholic soldiers wore scraps of white paper on their caps--emblematic of
+the livery of France; the followers of the Prince of Orange wore green
+boughs torn off the trees.
+
+Charles, Lord Moore, son of Henry, the third Earl, married Jane, heiress
+of Arthur, Viscount Ely, who received as her portion the suppressed Abbey
+of Monasterevan, a Cistercian monastery founded by O'Dempsey, in the 12th
+century. It was called Rosglas by the Irish, and the Valley of Roses, in
+the list of monasteries of the Order in Ireland. When it came into Earl
+Charles' possession, he changed the name to Moore Abbey, and made it his
+residence. The sons of this Lord Charles, Henry and Edward, became earls
+successively, and Edward, the fifth earl, having settled down permanently
+at Monasterevan, sold Mellifont and some of the property in its immediate
+vicinity to Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, in 1727.
+
+The condition of Ireland at that time was truly deplorable. The Penal Laws
+were in full force against the unfortunate Catholics, who were reduced to
+a state little better than slavery. Dr. Johnson wrote of them some fifty
+years later:--"The Irish are in a most unnatural state; for we see there
+the minority prevailing over the majority. There is no such instance, even
+in the ten persecutions, as that which the Protestants of Ireland have
+exercised against the Catholics. Did we tell them we conquered, it would
+be above board; to punish them by confiscations and other penalties was
+monstrous injustice" (Boswell, at 1773).
+
+With the Moore family departed also the very shadow of Mellifont's
+diminished greatness, and "time's effacing finger" almost completely
+obliterated what was once a gorgeous national monument, which stood out
+clearly as a finger-post on the ways of time. Gradually the fabric fell
+into decay, the owl hooted on the landing of the grand stair-case, and the
+daw and martin flitted unmolested through the deserted halls. The gardens
+and walks and bowers disappeared beneath a crop of tangled brushwood, the
+product of neglect. Soon the roof fell in, the walls became seamed with
+many rents and toppled over with a crash; then Mellifont, the "Honey
+Fountain," the Monasthir Mor, or Great Abbey, as it was called, the
+foundation of saints and kings, the abode of the pious and the learned,
+the house pre-eminently of prayer, the asylum of the poor and friendless,
+became a shapeless accumulation of rubbish. True, a mill was erected about
+100 years ago close to the site of the church, and, no doubt, it was told
+to strangers who then visited the ruins by people who professed to know
+all about monks, that it had more activity and exhibited more of the
+bustle of life than when the silent, slumbering monks dwelt there. But a
+mill in that hallowed spot was a huge incongruity and a wanton disregard
+for all its honoured associations. In 1884, the few remaining ruins became
+vested in the Board of Works, and the excavations which revealed the plan
+of the church, as described in Chapter I., were carried out. It only
+remains to be said that in Mr. Balfour of Townley Hall, the estimable
+gentleman who now owns Mellifont and some of the property formerly
+belonging to it, his tenants have found a liberal and generous benefactor,
+who enjoys the merited esteem and respect of all who know him.
+
+As one ascends the hill over Mellifont, and, pausing on its summit, gazes
+on the lovely scenery around him, particularly along the valley of the
+Boyne, which Young called one of the completest pictures he had ever seen,
+then glances at the quiet valley beneath him, and remembers what prominent
+parts those who once trod that favoured spot played in our country's
+chequered history, his soul is filled with solemn thoughts too big for
+utterance. There, came the firm and gentle, yet dauntless, Malachy side
+by side with Oriel's proud Chief, and hand in hand, they knelt and prayed
+and consecrated it to the living God for ever. Thereon, rose up the
+magnificent temple on which neither cost nor labour was spared, that it
+might be worthy of Him Who deigns to dwell in tabernacles made by man; and
+generation succeeded generation of monks, who calmly dwelt in that
+peaceful valley, which, by their skill and enterprise, they converted into
+a garden of delights and a terrestrial paradise. The bishop and the king
+found there a resting-place when life's weary struggle was over, and their
+end was sweetened by the cheering hopes of a glorious immortality. The
+poor man and the homeless found there a welcome and a shelter, their wants
+being liberally attended to; and the blessings of a free education and of
+spiritual consolations were diffused on every side from that centre of
+learning and piety. The knight and baron came, the belted man of war made
+his home there, enjoyed his ephemeral honours, but he, too, is gone,
+severing all connection with it both by name and title, leaving no trace
+behind. The king and the knight have been brushed aside; and the old
+chess-board, Mellifont, alone remains. Impressed with these reflections,
+we take a glance beyond the grave, and there, we behold these actors pass
+before the great, most just, and supreme Judge, to receive the requital of
+their deeds, and to each is meted out reward or punishment according to
+his deserts. We, too, the spectators, are hastening towards that same
+goal; our future is indubitably in our own hands, according as we do or do
+not now live up to our convictions, and the dictates of our consciences.
+
+And, now, we cannot help asking ourselves, what shall Mellifont's future
+be? At present it is a blank; but, shall the lamp of piety and learning be
+rekindled, and the light burst forth anew there as in the days of its
+splendour? We know not; but we do know that, although God's ways are
+inscrutable, His wisdom and power are infinite. To Him be all glory for
+ever and ever. Amen.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX I.
+
+LIST OF ABBOTS OF MELLIFONT.
+
+
+Saint Christian O'Connarchy, Founder and first Abbot, Bishop of Lismore
+and Legate of the Holy See, 1150.
+
+Blessed Malchus, brother of preceding.
+
+Charles O'Buacalla, 1177, made Bishop of Emly.
+
+Patrick, term of office not known.
+
+Maelisa, appointed Bishop of Clogher in 1194.
+
+Thomas, 1211.
+
+Carus, or Cormac O'Tarpa, elected Bishop of Achonry in 1219, resigned that
+See in 1226, returned to Mellifont where he died.
+
+Mathew, 1289.
+
+Michael, 1293.
+
+William M'Buain.
+
+Hugh O'Hessain, resigned 1300.
+
+Thomas O'Henghan.
+
+Radulph, or Ralph O'Hedian.
+
+Nicholas of Lusk, 1325.
+
+Michael, 1333.
+
+Roger, 1346.
+
+Reginald, 1349.
+
+Hugh, 1357.
+
+Reginald Leynagh, died 15th August, 1368.
+
+John Terrour, 1370.
+
+[There is no record of the names of Abbots in this interval.]
+
+Roger, 1472.
+
+John Logan.
+
+Henry.
+
+John Warren.
+
+Roger Boly.
+
+John Troy, 1486-1500.
+
+Thomas Harvey, died 20th March, 1525.
+
+Richard Conter, the last regular Abbot, pensioned in 1540.
+
+
+As will be observed, the line of succession is incomplete between the
+years 1370 and 1472; and it is impossible now to fill in the gaps. The
+List is taken from Ware's _Coenobia Cisterciensia in Hibernia_, and
+Dalton's _History of Drogheda_.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX II.
+
+THE CHARTER OF NEWRY.
+
+Copied and translated from the Original in the British Museum, from a copy
+given by John O'Donovan in _Dublin Penny Journal_, 1832-33, p. 102.
+
+
+Maurice M'Laughlin, King of all Ireland, to all his Kings, Princes,
+Nobles, Leaders, Clergy and Laity, and to all and each the Irish present
+and to come, GREETING.
+
+Know ye that I, by the unanimous will and common consent of the Nobles of
+Ultonia, Ergallia (Oriel), and O'Neach (Iveagh), to wit of Donchad
+O'Carroll, King of all Ergallia, and of Murchad his son, King of O'Meith,
+and of the territory of Erthur, of Conla, King of Ultonia, of Donald
+O'Heda, King of O'Neach (Iveagh), HAVE GRANTED AND CONFIRMED, in honour of
+the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Patrick, and St. Benedict, the Father and
+Founder of the Cistercian Order, to the monks serving God in
+Nyvorcintracta (Newry) as a perpetual and pure donation, the land of
+O'Cormac, whereon was founded the monastery of Athcrathin, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Enancratha, with its lands, woods, and waters,
+Crumglean, with its lands, woods, and waters, Caselanagan, with its lands,
+woods, and waters, Lisinelle, with its lands, woods, and waters, Croa
+Druimfornac, with its lands, woods, and waters, Letri, Corcrach,
+Fidglassayn, Tirmorgannean, Connocol, etc. THESE LANDS with their MILLS, I
+have confirmed to the aforesaid monks of my own proper gift, for the
+health of my soul, that I may be partaker of all the benefits of masses,
+_hours_ (_i.e._ vespers and matins), and prayers that shall be offered in
+the Monastery itself, and to the end of time.
+
+And because I have founded the Monastery of Ybar cintracta (Newry), of my
+own free will, I have taken the monks so much under my protection, as sons
+and domestics of the faith, that they may be safe from the molestations
+and incursions of all men.
+
+I will also that, as the Kings and Nobles of O'Neach (Iveagh), or of
+Ergallia (Uriel), may wish to confer certain lands on this Monastery, for
+the health of their souls, they may do so in my lifetime, while they have
+my free will and licence, that I may know what and how much of my Earthly
+Kingdom, the King of Heaven may possess for the use of His poor Monks.
+
+
+_The Witnesses and Sureties are_:--
+
+Giolla MacLiag, Archbishop of Armagh, _holding the Staff of Jesus in his
+hand_.
+
+Hugh O'Killedy, Bishop of Uriel (Clogher.)
+
+Muriac O'Coffay, Bishop of Tirone (Derry.)
+
+Melissa Mac in Clerig-cuir, Bishop of Ultonia (Down.)
+
+Gilla Comida O'Caran, Bishop of Tirconnell (Raphoe.)
+
+Eachmarcach O'Kane, King of Fearnacrinn and Kennacta (now Barony of
+Keenaght, Co. Londonderry.)
+
+O'Carriedh, the Great; Chief of Clan Aengusa, and Clan Neil.
+
+Cumaige O'Flain, King of O'Turtray (Antrim.)
+
+Gilla Christ O'Dubhdara, King of Fermanagh.
+
+Eachmarcach O'Ffoifylain.
+
+Maelmocta MacO'Nelba.
+
+Aedh (Hugh) the Great Magennis, Chief of Clan-Aeda, in O'Neach Uladh
+(Iveagh.)
+
+Dermot MacCartan, Chief of Kenelfagartay (Kinelearty.)
+
+Acholy MacConlacha, Gill-na-naemh O'Lowry, Chief of Kinel Temnean.
+
+Gilla Odar Ocasey, Abbot of Dundalethglass (Downpatrick.)
+
+Hugh Maglanha, Abbot of Inniscumscray (Iniscourcy.)
+
+Angen, Abbot of Dromoge, and many other Clerics and Laics.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX III.
+
+INVENTORY OF ESTATES OF MELLIFONT.
+
+
+Richard Conter, the last Abbot of Mellifont, was, on the 23rd July, 1539,
+seized of two messuages, 167 acres of arable land, 10 of pasture, 5 of
+meadow, and 5 of pasture in Clut------, with a salmon weir; L13 13s. 4d.
+annual rent, arising from 16 fishing corraghs at Oldbridge, together with
+the tithe-corn of the same, all of the annual value, besides reprises, of
+L27 18s. 8d.; also a messuage in Shephouse, with the tithe-corn thereof,
+of the annual value, besides all reprises, of L4 17s. 8d.; three
+messuages, 120 acres of arable land, 20 of meadow,--a fishery, and a boat
+for salmon-fishing in Komalane, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of
+the annual value, besides all reprises, of L15 3s.; 3 messuages, 2
+cottages, a water-mill,--a fishing-weir, 120 acres of arable land, 3
+closes, containing 6 acres of mountain in Schahinge, together with the
+tithe-corn, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of L12 6s. 8d.; 2
+messuages,--20 acres of meadow and pasture in Donnore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 115/4; 2
+messuages, 8 cottages, 46 acres of arable land, and 2 of meadow in
+Doo----, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of L5; 4 messuages, 18 cottages, 39 acres of arable
+land, and 3 of meadow in Glassehalyine, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all the reprises, of L5 18s. 8d.;
+---- 124 acres of arable land, and 10 of meadow in Graungethe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+L14 19s. 4d.; a messuage and cottage, 45 acres of arable land, and 15 of
+meadow and pasture, in ----, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the
+annual value, besides all reprises, of L3 8s. 4d.; 4 messuages, 9
+cottages, 64 acres of arable land, and 4 in meadow in Balranny, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value of ----, ---- messuages,
+with 19 acres of arable land in Kordoraghe, together with the tithe-corn
+thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of 16/-; 7 messuages,
+10 cottages, 186 acres of arable land, 8 of meadow, and 40 of pasture and
+brushwood in ----, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of L12 3s.; a messuage, two cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, a fishing-weir, called Bromey's weir, and the fishery there,
+a water-mill in ----, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of L16 5s.; 7 messuages, one cottage, 227 acres of
+arable land, and 10 of meadow in Ballyfadocke, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 4
+messuages, 20 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in Kinoyshe, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+L10 3s. 8d.; 4 messuages, 46 acres of arable land, and 4 of meadow in
+Kellystone, with the tithe-corn thereof, besides all reprises, of the
+annual value of L4 5s. 4d.; 2 messuages, 3 cottages, 60 acres of arable
+land, 6 of pasture, and 4 of meadow in Oracamathane, together with the
+tithe-crown thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 4
+messuages, 8 cottages, 124 acres of arable land, a salmon-weir, called
+Monktone, a water-mill in the town-land of Rosmore, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of ----; 3
+messuages, 6 cottages, 126 acres of arable land, 6 of meadow, and 6 of
+meadow in Gyltone, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual
+value, besides all reprises, of L6 4s. 8d; 5 messuages, 8 cottages, 141
+acres of arable land, the fourth part of an acre of meadow, and 6 of
+common pasture in Dromenhatt, otherwise, Newton of Knockamothane, together
+with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of
+L8 9s.; 6 messuages, 140 acres of arable land, 4-1/2 of meadow ---- in
+Radrenage, together with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value,
+besides all reprises, of L7 12s.; 3 messuages, 8 cottages, 120 acres of
+arable land, 6 of meadow, 6 of pasture in Calm, together with the
+tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides all reprises, of L6
+17s.; 3 messuages, 60 acres of arable land, 60 of pasture, and 4 of meadow
+in Starenaghe, with the tithe-corn thereof, of the annual value, besides
+all reprises, of L5 5s. 8d.; the tithe-corn of the townland of
+----inserathe and Balregane, near Donnore and below the parish of
+Mellifont, of the annual value of L2; the tithe-corn of the town of
+Monamore, of the annual value of L2 13s. 4d.; the rectory of Balrestore,
+of the annual value of ----; and the chapels of Grangegeythe and
+Knockamothane, parcel of the rectory of Mellifont, of the annual value of
+---- all the said rectories being appropriated to the Abbot and his
+successors, and, together with the said lands, etc., are lying and
+situated in the Co. of Meath. The Abbot was also seized of a small house
+in the town of Drogheda, in the tenure of Thomas Tanner, annual value
+13/4, and also of another house in the tenure of Roger Samon, of the
+annual value of 8/-, with 2/- rent from the Mayor and commonalty of
+Drogheda.
+
+The above is from the _Monasticon Hibernicum_. It by no means contains a
+full inventory of the possessions of Mellifont at the time of its
+suppression, only the property belonging to it in the County Meath. In the
+same _Monasticon_ we read, "By an inquisition taken 14th June, 1612, the
+possessions of this Abbey were found as follow:--The site, a water-mill, a
+garden, an orchard, a park called Legan Park, the old orchard containing
+two acres, the silver meadow 9 acres, the wood meadow 10 acres, and the
+doves' park; 80 acres of underwood; Killingwood, being great timber,
+containing 12 acres; Ardagh, 20 acres, being the demesne lands, and the
+grange and town of Tullyallen, containing 27 messuages and 260 acres;
+Derveragh, 5 messuages and 213 acres; Mell, 2 messuages and 60 acres;
+Ballymear, alias Ballyremerry, 2 messuages and 60 acres; Sheepgrange, no
+tithe, 8 messuages and 245 acres; Little Grange, 4 messuages and 62 acres;
+Beckrath, 2 messuages and 63 acres; Cubbage, 4 messuages and 103 acres;
+Ballygatheran, no tithe, 6 messuages and 132 acres; Salthouse, 7 messuages
+and 238 acres; Staleban, 11 messuages and 160 acres; Vinspocke, 6
+messuages and 90 acres; Morragh, no tithes, 11 messuages and 120 acres;
+Ballypatrick, 8 messuages and 120 acres; in Collon, a water-mill and 23
+acres, L6 13s. 4d. annual rent out of the said town, and the tithes
+thereof; Ballymacskanlan, a castle, no tithe, and 120 acres; Cruerath,
+Ballyraganly and Donnore, in the parish of Mellifont, with the tithes and
+altarages, all in this county" (Louth). Here follow the possessions
+belonging to the Abbey in the County Meath, and which have been given.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] The "Tourist Company" have recently fitted up a compartment of the old
+mill, where a cheap and substantial lunch can be had by visitors who may
+desire it.
+
+[2] See Illustration, p. 19.
+
+[3] See Illustration, p. 23.
+
+[4] See Illustration, p. 35.
+
+[5] See Illustration, p. 43.
+
+[6] See Illustration, p. 47.
+
+[7] The _Annals of Ulster_ simply state "for the monks of Ireland did
+banish him (Auliv) out of their abbacy, through lawful causes." _The Four
+Masters_ tell us it was the monks of Drogheda who had expelled him from
+the abbacy for his own crime. A writer in the _Dublin Penny Journal_,
+1835-36, says this Auliv was Abbot of the monastery of St. Mary de Urso,
+near the West Gate, Drogheda. He quotes some old Annals without
+particularising them. And Dalton, in his History of Drogheda, tells us
+that Auliv had been Abbot of that same Abbey of St. Mary's, Drogheda, and
+was expelled. Dalton evidently confounds this monastery with Mellifont. No
+Cistercian Community had power to depose their abbot, such power being
+vested in the General Chapter of the Order.
+
+[8] It is not generally known that it was an Irishman who, on the fatal
+day of Aughrim, as St. Ruth rode to victory waving his cap, pointed him
+out to the gunner whose faithful shot deprived St. Ruth of his head and
+the Irish Army of a valiant General.
+
+[9] The Puritans admitted that Sir Phelim O'Neil did not commence his
+alleged massacres until after the sacking and burning of Dundalk.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MELLIFONT ABBEY, CO. LOUTH***
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