Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird
Encyclopedia
Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird (aka Aedh Buidh Mac an Bhaird or Hugh Ward; c.1593 – 8 November 1635) was an Irish
poet
, historian and hagiographer. He is considered the founder of Irish archaeology.
. His father may have been Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
(Geoffrey), who accompanied the Earl of Tyrconnell into exile in 1607, and was erenagh
of Lettermacward, and head of the Tirconnell branch of the ancient family of Mac an Bhaird
. The family cultivated literature and filled the office of ollamh or chief historian to the O'Donnells.
He studied for six years in Connacht
under a number of masters. Among those he named were Oliver Hussy, Henry Hart, Tadhg O hUiginn and Aonghhus Mac Con Midhe. In 1607 he left Ireland
for Spain
, and in January 1612 he entered the Irish Franciscan
college at Salamanca
, followed by his younger brother, Fearghal, in 1615. Here he made the acquaintance of Luke Wadding
, under whose guidance he joined the Franciscan
s in 1616. After taking his degrees and receiving ordination, he was sent by the general of the order to lecture on philosophy at Paris
, and in 1622 he was appointed lecturer
in philosophy
at the Irish college of St. Anthony, Louvain
. On 21 April 1626, he was elected rector
of the college.
and antiquities; and John Ponce
praises highly his lectures on Scholastic philosophy and theology
, affirming that in these sciences he was second to none of the great writers of his time. But Mac an Bhaird's chief interest was centred in the history and literature of Ireland. The plan of publishing the lives of the Irish saints and other ancient records of Ireland was his; he was pioneer and founder of the school for Irish archaeology
that arose in the seventeenth century, with its centre in the College of St. Anthony. At Salamanca he discussed his project with Wadding, who promised him all help from the libraries of Spain, and in Paris in 1623 he met Father Patrick Fleming
, a distinguished Irish scholar, with whom he shared his idea of collecting material on the lives of the Irish saints. To this end, Mac an Bhaird travelled around northern France
, investigating monastic libraries, while Fleming sent reports of his findings in French, German
and Italian
libraries. At the time Mac an Bhaird reached Louvain, St. Anthony's numbered among its inmates several accomplished Irish scholars: MacCaghwell, Antony Hickey
, Colgan, O'Docharty, and, shortly afterwards, Br. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
.
Mac an Bhaird laid before his associates his plan for a comprehensive history of Ireland—civil and ecclesiastical—a Thesaurus Antiquitatum Hibernicarum, and how the work was to be carried out. The first step was to procure original ancient Irish manuscript
s or to have transcript
s made of them. Father Fleming had already begun work in the libraries on the Continent, and, most significantly, it was decided to send Br. Ó Cléirigh (who belonged to a family of hereditary scholars) to Ireland in 1626 to collect Irish manuscripts. In the meantime Mac an Bhaird was employed in arranging and examining the documents which had been transmitted to St. Anthony's. He investigated the sources of the ancient martyrologies and chronicles. He was in constant correspondence with the early Bollandist
s - Henschenius, Rosweydus, Papebroch, etc. - on matters regarding the history and the saints of Ireland.
John Bap. Sollerius styles him "Vir doctissimus ac hagiographus eximius", and says that Mac an Bhaird's arguments in proof of the Irish birthplace of St. Rumold are unanswerable.
, William Reeves
, writing on Mac an Bhaird and his fellow-labourers, paid tribute to the Irish Franciscans for their services to Irish archaeology. Mac an Bhaird was buried in the college church. The following are the works he left ready for publication:
These works were accompanied by critical dissertations and notes on historical and topographical questions. The Acta S. Rumoldi was published at Louvain in 1662, by one of Mac an Bhaird's disciples, Thomas O'Sherin. Mac an Bhaird wrote Latin hymns and epigrams with elegance; also many poems in Irish of great beauty and feeling. Some of the former were printed in the Acta S. Rumoldi.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, historian and hagiographer. He is considered the founder of Irish archaeology.
Background and early life
He was born in Tirhugh, County DonegalCounty Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. His father may have been Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish Bardic poet, c. 1600 - c. 1610?Eoghan Ruadh was a member of the Mac an Bhaird clan of professional poets, originally from County Galway with a more notable branch settleing in County Donegal in the 14th or 15th century.His surviving compositions as A...
(Geoffrey), who accompanied the Earl of Tyrconnell into exile in 1607, and was erenagh
Erenagh
The medieval Irish office of Erenagh was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing the termon lands that generated parish income. Thus he had a prebendary role...
of Lettermacward, and head of the Tirconnell branch of the ancient family of Mac an Bhaird
Mac an Bhaird
The Mac an Bháird family was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicized forms coming down to us as MacAward, McWard, MacEward, MacEvard, Macanward, M'Ward, and its most commonly used variant today: Ward...
. The family cultivated literature and filled the office of ollamh or chief historian to the O'Donnells.
He studied for six years in Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
under a number of masters. Among those he named were Oliver Hussy, Henry Hart, Tadhg O hUiginn and Aonghhus Mac Con Midhe. In 1607 he left 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...
for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and in January 1612 he entered the Irish Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
college at Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, followed by his younger brother, Fearghal, in 1615. Here he made the acquaintance of Luke Wadding
Luke Wadding
Luke Wadding was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian.-Life:Wadding was born in 16 October 1588 at Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombard . Educated at the school of Mrs...
, under whose guidance he joined the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s in 1616. After taking his degrees and receiving ordination, he was sent by the general of the order to lecture on philosophy at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and in 1622 he was appointed lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the Irish college of St. Anthony, Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
. On 21 April 1626, he was elected rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the college.
Scholarship
Luke Wadding states that Mac an Bhaird possessed great intellectual powers and a profound knowledge of the Irish languageIrish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and antiquities; and John Ponce
John Ponce
John Ponce was an Irish Franciscan scholastic philosopher and theologian.He originated the classic formulation of Ockham's Razor, in the shape of the Latin phrase entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, "entities are not to be multiplied unnecessarily".-Life:His family name was John Punch...
praises highly his lectures on Scholastic philosophy and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, affirming that in these sciences he was second to none of the great writers of his time. But Mac an Bhaird's chief interest was centred in the history and literature of Ireland. The plan of publishing the lives of the Irish saints and other ancient records of Ireland was his; he was pioneer and founder of the school for Irish archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
that arose in the seventeenth century, with its centre in the College of St. Anthony. At Salamanca he discussed his project with Wadding, who promised him all help from the libraries of Spain, and in Paris in 1623 he met Father Patrick Fleming
Patrick Fleming
Patrick Fleming was an Irish Franciscan scholar.-Life:His father was great-grandson of Lord Slane; his mother was daughter of Robert Cusack, a baron of the exchequer and a near relative of Lord Delvin...
, a distinguished Irish scholar, with whom he shared his idea of collecting material on the lives of the Irish saints. To this end, Mac an Bhaird travelled around northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, investigating monastic libraries, while Fleming sent reports of his findings in French, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
libraries. At the time Mac an Bhaird reached Louvain, St. Anthony's numbered among its inmates several accomplished Irish scholars: MacCaghwell, Antony Hickey
Antony Hickey
Antony Hickey was an Irish Franciscan theologian.-Life:...
, Colgan, O'Docharty, and, shortly afterwards, Br. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
.
Mac an Bhaird laid before his associates his plan for a comprehensive history of Ireland—civil and ecclesiastical—a Thesaurus Antiquitatum Hibernicarum, and how the work was to be carried out. The first step was to procure original ancient Irish manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s or to have transcript
Transcript
Transcript may refer to:* Transcript , a copy of a student's permanent academic record* Transcription , the process of creating an equivalent RNA copy of a sequence of DNA* Transcript , a record of all court proceedings...
s made of them. Father Fleming had already begun work in the libraries on the Continent, and, most significantly, it was decided to send Br. Ó Cléirigh (who belonged to a family of hereditary scholars) to Ireland in 1626 to collect Irish manuscripts. In the meantime Mac an Bhaird was employed in arranging and examining the documents which had been transmitted to St. Anthony's. He investigated the sources of the ancient martyrologies and chronicles. He was in constant correspondence with the early Bollandist
Bollandist
The Bollandists are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta Sanctorum...
s - Henschenius, Rosweydus, Papebroch, etc. - on matters regarding the history and the saints of Ireland.
John Bap. Sollerius styles him "Vir doctissimus ac hagiographus eximius", and says that Mac an Bhaird's arguments in proof of the Irish birthplace of St. Rumold are unanswerable.
Later life and death
At the time of his death Mac an Bhaird had ready for publication several treatises which he intended as Prolegomena to his great work. The Bishop of Down, Connor and DromoreBishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
The Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore; comprising all County Down and County Antrim, including the city of Belfast.-History:...
, William Reeves
William Reeves (bishop)
William Reeves was an Irish antiquarian and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death...
, writing on Mac an Bhaird and his fellow-labourers, paid tribute to the Irish Franciscans for their services to Irish archaeology. Mac an Bhaird was buried in the college church. The following are the works he left ready for publication:
- De nomenclatura hiberniae;
- De statu et processu veteris in Hibernia reipublicae;
- Martyrologium ex multis vetustis Latino-Hibernicum;
- Anagraphen magnalium S. Patricii;
- Investigatio Ursulanae expeditionis;
- Acta S. Rumoldi.
These works were accompanied by critical dissertations and notes on historical and topographical questions. The Acta S. Rumoldi was published at Louvain in 1662, by one of Mac an Bhaird's disciples, Thomas O'Sherin. Mac an Bhaird wrote Latin hymns and epigrams with elegance; also many poems in Irish of great beauty and feeling. Some of the former were printed in the Acta S. Rumoldi.