Saint Molaise
Encyclopedia
- For other saints of the same personal name, see LaisrénLaisrénLaisrén may refer to:*Saint Laisrén mac Nad Froích , patron saint of Devenish Island*Saint Lasrén mac Feradaig , second abbot of Iona*Saint Molaise of Leighlin , abbot of Leighlin and hermit of Holy Isle...
(disambiguation)
Saint Molaise of Leighlin, also Laisrén or Laserian (died ca. 639), was an early Irish saint and abbot of Lethglenn or Leithglenn, now Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin is a small town in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence...
in Co. Carlow, who is supposed to have lived in the 6th and 7th centuries.
Life
Born in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and raised in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
as a young man, he lived the life of a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
on Holy Isle
Holy Isle, Firth of Clyde
The Holy Isle, Firth of Clyde is one of a number of islands in the United Kingdom which go under the name "Holy Island". It is located in the Firth of Clyde off the west coast of central Scotland, inside Lamlash Bay on the larger island of Arran.- Details :The island is around long and around ...
(off the Isle of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
). He later visited Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
as a pilgrim and was subsequently said to have been ordained a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
there. He later entered the monastery at Old Leighlin in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
where he became abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
and possibly bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. He adapted Church discipline in accordance with the practices of Rome
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He is credited with introducing or advocating the Roman method of dating the celebration of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
.
According to Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
, he is the Laisrén who is depicted in the Old Irish prose narrative The Vision of Laisrén, one of the earliest vernacular pieces of vision literature in Christian tradition. The extant fragment shows him leaving the monastery of Clúain (possibly Clonmacnois or Cloyne) to 'purify' the church of Clúain Cháin (unidentified) in Connaught. After a three nights' fast, his soul is taken up by two angels, who escort him to Hell to show him the horrors that await unredeemed sinners. The angels explain to one devil eager to take Laisrén from them that their guest is granted the vision in order that "he will give warning before us to his friends."
Molaise probably died circa 639. His feast day is celebrated on 18 April. In a note added to the Félire Óengusso, Molaise is said to have pulled out a hair from St Sillán's eyebrow which had the special property that anyone who saw it in the morning died instantly. Having thereby saved others, Molaise died. Because of the fiery connection between sunrise and Molaise's name, from lasair "flame", the anecdote has been interpreted as relating to solar mythology. His monastery thrived and gave its name to the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
established in 1111 at the Synod of Ráith Bressail.
See also
- St GobanSt GobanSaint Goban , also known as Gobhnena and as Goibhenn of Tigh Scuithin, was an Irish Benedictine monk who served in Tascaffin, County Limerick, Ireland. Little else is known of Goban. He is believed to be the St...
— brother of Molaise of Leighlin and his predecessor as abbot of Leighlin.
Early Irish texts on St. Molaise
- Short Old Irish text in the Book of LeinsterBook of LeinsterThe Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
and Book of LismoreBook of LismoreThe Book of Lismore is a Medieval Irish manuscript.-Overview:The Book of Lismore is an Irish vellum manuscript, compiled in early 15th century, Lismore, Ireland. Its original name was Leabhar Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh...
about Molaise and his sister, tentatively dated to the early 10th century, ed. Julius Pokorny, "[Altirische texte:] Molaisse und seine Schwester." Zeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische Philologie ' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was founded in 1896 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern and first appeared in 1897. It is the first journal devoted exclusively to Celtic languages and literature and the oldest...
9 (1913): pp. 239–41. Available from CELT. - The Vision of St Laisrén (visionary text in Rawlinson B 512Rawlinson B 512Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B. 512 is an Irish vellum manuscript in quarto, numbering 154 folios and written in double columns by multiple scribes in the course of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The compilation presents a diverse range of medieval texts in verse and in prose, some...
), ed. and tr. Kuno Meyer, Stories and Songs from Irish Manuscripts. London, 1899. Reprint from Otia Merseiana 1 (1899), pp. 113–28. Available from CELT. See also: Grosjean, Paul. "Un fragment des Coutumes de Tallaght et la Vision de Laisrén." Analecta Bollandiana 81 (1963): pp. 251–9.
Further reading
- Feeley, Joseph M. and J. Sheehan. "Old Leighlin monastery and cathedral, 5th to 15th century", Carloviana 52 (2003): pp. 9–15.
- Hayden, Margaret. "The district of Leighlin Lasarian's country", Carloviana 2:29 (1981): pp. 4–6.
- Kenny, Colum. "Molaise's water of truth." Carloviana 47 (1999). pp. 31, 36.
- Kenny, C. "Old Leighlin after Laserian: division and reconciliation." Carloviana 47 (1999): pp. 22–30.
- Kenny, C. "Molaise. Abbot of Leighlin and hermit of Holy Isle. The life and legacy of Saint Laisren in Ireland and Scotland". Morrigan Books, Killala, County Mayo. (1998)