ENGLISH SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 15-21
August 16
St. Armagillus, 570 A.D. Welsh missionary, called Armel, Ermel, and Ervan, and a cousin of St. Samson. He studied under Abbot Carentmael, joining the abbot in missionary journeys to Brittany, France. The missionaries founded Saint-Armel-des-Boscheaux and Plou-Ermel or Plouharzel. Connor, a local chieftain, forced them to leave the mission until 555. Connor was slain in battle that year, allowing their return. Armagillus is honored by a Comish church, St. Erme.
August 17
St. Drithelm, 700 A.D. A wealthy man of Northumbria, England, who supposedly died, experienced a powerful vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory, and then was found to be alive. He divided his possessions among his wife and children and made benefices for the poor before becoming a monk at Melrose Abbey. He lived as a hermit there with great austerities. St. Bede gives an account of his life.
St. Hiero, 885 A.D. Irish martyr, also called Iero. He was an Irish missionary to Holland, where he was martyred
St. James the Deacon, 769 A.D. Italian monk and deacon. A companion of St. Paulinus in the missionary effort in Northumbria, England, he was so dedicated to the evangelizing cause that he remained in the region despite the constant dangers of the severe pagan reaction.
August 18
St. Daig Maccairaill, 586 A.D. Monastic founder and bishop, also called Dagaeus and Daganus. He was the son of Cayrill and a disciple of St. Finian. Daig Maccairaill founded a monastery at Iniskeen, Ireland. He is called “one of the Three Master Craftsman of Ireland.”
St. Hugh the Little, 1255 A.D. Martyred nine year old of Lincoln, England, reportedly a victim of ritual killing by English Jews. King Henry III conducted the investigation of the crime which resulted in eighteen or nineteen Jews being hanged. Hugh had been scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. Miracles supposedly accompanied the recovery of the lad’s body from a well, and the martyrdom became part of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The feast of the saint is no longer kept by the Church, and the entire account of the young saint is considered an example of the anti Semitism which was rampant throughout the Middle Ages. In art, he was depicted bound in cords, kneeling before the Blessed Mother.
St. Evan, 9th century. A Scottish hermit in Ayrshire, Scotland, also listed as man. Churches in the region bear his name.
August 19
St. Mochta, 535 A.D. Bishop of Ireland. He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. There he became a disciple of St. Patrick. During a visit to Rome, Mochta was made a bishop by Pope St. Leo I. He founded Louth Monastery with twelve companions and was probably consecrated by St. Patrick. He died at the age of ninety, the last known disciple of St. Patrick.
St. Sebald, 770 A.D. Patron Saint of Nuremberg. Hermit, missionary, and a patron saint of Nuremberg. Most likely an Anglo-Saxon from England, he arrived on the Continent and became a hermit near Vicenza, Italy, and then participated in the missionary enterprise of the times, assisting in the work. of St. Willibald in the Reichswald. Many miracles were attributed to him, including turning icicles into firewood.
St. Credan, 780 A.D. A Benedictine abbot of Evesham, England, in the reign of King Offa of Mercia.
August 20
St. Edbert, 960 A.D. King of Northumbria, England, the successor of St. Ceolwulph. He reigned for two decades and then became a Benedictine monk at York.
St. Herbert Hoscam, 1180 A.D. Archbishop and patron saint of Conze, Italy. He was English by birth but served as prelate of the Basilicata area.
St. Ronald, 1158 A.D. A warrior chieftain in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. According to tradition, he made a vow to build a church, fulfilling the pledge by erecting the cathedral of St. Magnus at Kirkwall. Ronald was later murdered by a group of rebelling warriors and was venerated as a martyr at Kirkwall.
August 21
St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.
St. Armagillus, 570 A.D. Welsh missionary, called Armel, Ermel, and Ervan, and a cousin of St. Samson. He studied under Abbot Carentmael, joining the abbot in missionary journeys to Brittany, France. The missionaries founded Saint-Armel-des-Boscheaux and Plou-Ermel or Plouharzel. Connor, a local chieftain, forced them to leave the mission until 555. Connor was slain in battle that year, allowing their return. Armagillus is honored by a Comish church, St. Erme.
August 17
St. Drithelm, 700 A.D. A wealthy man of Northumbria, England, who supposedly died, experienced a powerful vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory, and then was found to be alive. He divided his possessions among his wife and children and made benefices for the poor before becoming a monk at Melrose Abbey. He lived as a hermit there with great austerities. St. Bede gives an account of his life.
St. Hiero, 885 A.D. Irish martyr, also called Iero. He was an Irish missionary to Holland, where he was martyred
St. James the Deacon, 769 A.D. Italian monk and deacon. A companion of St. Paulinus in the missionary effort in Northumbria, England, he was so dedicated to the evangelizing cause that he remained in the region despite the constant dangers of the severe pagan reaction.
August 18
St. Daig Maccairaill, 586 A.D. Monastic founder and bishop, also called Dagaeus and Daganus. He was the son of Cayrill and a disciple of St. Finian. Daig Maccairaill founded a monastery at Iniskeen, Ireland. He is called “one of the Three Master Craftsman of Ireland.”
St. Hugh the Little, 1255 A.D. Martyred nine year old of Lincoln, England, reportedly a victim of ritual killing by English Jews. King Henry III conducted the investigation of the crime which resulted in eighteen or nineteen Jews being hanged. Hugh had been scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. Miracles supposedly accompanied the recovery of the lad’s body from a well, and the martyrdom became part of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The feast of the saint is no longer kept by the Church, and the entire account of the young saint is considered an example of the anti Semitism which was rampant throughout the Middle Ages. In art, he was depicted bound in cords, kneeling before the Blessed Mother.
St. Evan, 9th century. A Scottish hermit in Ayrshire, Scotland, also listed as man. Churches in the region bear his name.
August 19
St. Mochta, 535 A.D. Bishop of Ireland. He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. There he became a disciple of St. Patrick. During a visit to Rome, Mochta was made a bishop by Pope St. Leo I. He founded Louth Monastery with twelve companions and was probably consecrated by St. Patrick. He died at the age of ninety, the last known disciple of St. Patrick.
St. Sebald, 770 A.D. Patron Saint of Nuremberg. Hermit, missionary, and a patron saint of Nuremberg. Most likely an Anglo-Saxon from England, he arrived on the Continent and became a hermit near Vicenza, Italy, and then participated in the missionary enterprise of the times, assisting in the work. of St. Willibald in the Reichswald. Many miracles were attributed to him, including turning icicles into firewood.
St. Credan, 780 A.D. A Benedictine abbot of Evesham, England, in the reign of King Offa of Mercia.
August 20
St. Edbert, 960 A.D. King of Northumbria, England, the successor of St. Ceolwulph. He reigned for two decades and then became a Benedictine monk at York.
St. Herbert Hoscam, 1180 A.D. Archbishop and patron saint of Conze, Italy. He was English by birth but served as prelate of the Basilicata area.
St. Ronald, 1158 A.D. A warrior chieftain in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. According to tradition, he made a vow to build a church, fulfilling the pledge by erecting the cathedral of St. Magnus at Kirkwall. Ronald was later murdered by a group of rebelling warriors and was venerated as a martyr at Kirkwall.
August 21
St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.
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