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Notes on the True Date of the October Festival of St E FESTIVANOTE TH T KEGULU S N T ANDREWSO F SS O L F O S7 24 . I. E TRUNOTETH E OCTOBEN O STH DAT F O ER FESTIVAT S F O L REGULUS OF ST ANDREWS, AS BEARING ON THE SUGGESTED IDENTIFICATION OF ST REGULUS AND THE IRISH ST RIAGHAIL. BY THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP DOWDEN, D.D., F.S.A. SCOT. papea n I r read before this Societ Junn yo e 10, 1861 (Proceedings e Societyth of of Antiquaries, . 300-321)pp vol . iv . e latr Wth . ,e M F . Skene, when treating of the suggested identification of the Scottish St Eegulus wite Iris t th EiaghailhS h , lay se fac stresth t n thao se th t festivals of these two Saints came within a day of one another in the Scottish and Irish calendars. r ReevesD , s againwell-knowhi n i , ) ne Culdees 34 th essa . n yO (p whic publishes hwa 1864n di , remarks that Eegulus "appear Scotcn i s h calendar e 17t f th Octobero h t conjectures a si same th d s ea e ,an b o t d one [i.e. the Irish] Eiaghail of Muicinis, who is commemorated with us [i.e.Irelandn i precedine th n ]o g day." Mr Skene, in his last important work, Celtic Scotland (ii. 267—8, Ind edition, 1887) repeat e samth s e statement. BAaghail "appeare th n i s old Irish martyrologies on the 16th day of October. Eegulus of St Andrews, however s commemoratei , Scottise th n i dh calendar (sic)n o e same th 17t th f ethee o h h month. nd goe , witAn "son h much con- fidence explaio t , n this differenc datesf o e . "We find, writes,e "h " that there is usually a confusion in the celebrations on these two days, when the 16th day of the month is also the 17th day before the kalends of the next month." And he illustrates his statement as to this usual confusion by a single example, upon which I shall afterwards have a word to say. Now I woul, d first observe tha confusioa t n betweee th 16te d nth han 17th of a month, arising from the mediaeval calendars ordinarily exhibiting dates according to the old Eoman method,1 is much more likely to occur to a writer in the nineteenth century, who was not 1 The double method, It may be observed, will be found in the standard copies (the ' Sealed Books ") of the present book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. 248 • PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 10, 1893. accustomed to the daily use of the Roman method, than to the mediaeval ecclesiastics wero wh e, thoroughly familia rused wit an t everdi , hit y yda of their lives. But my object in making this communication to the Society is to point out that there is no need of any conjectural explanations, ingenious or e confusiootherwiseth w ho nf o originated, , since a matte s a ,f facto r , no confusion exists, except what has been imported into the question. Mr Skene was probably misled by simply looking at the Calendar of e Aberdeeth n Breviary, yearwhicw fe sh a befor s communicatiohi e o nt the Society had been made known to scholars generally in the beautiful reprint issued (1854e memberth e Bannatyner th fo ) f so d Maittandan Clubs}- In that calendar we find, under the month of October, for the 15th, 16th, and 17th days,2 A. Idibus. b. xvii. JSTovembris Michaelis de mote tuba ix. 1. Colmani. c. xvi. kl . nis.1 qdrBeguln . ii facix e a. fu t(epi1 ab i . ix . But when we turn from the Calendar to the place in the Breviary wher shoule ew Octobee de officth r th loo r fo e kfo r festiva . EegulusS f o l , all is at once made plain. The rubric at that place declares that, the day of St Eegulus is the same day as that of St Colman and of St Michael in Monte Tumba, but that the office was in Aberdeen to be " deferred " to the " morrow" of the 16th. This was according to a well known practice of the Mediaeval Church. When two or more festivals happened to fall upon the same day, it was the practice to celebrate onl "deferyo t oned othere an , "th r otherso , differena o t , y da t or days. The more important festival holds its proper place; the less important is celebrated on another occasion. Now, at Aberdeen, (at e tim th leasf Bisho eo n i t p Elphinstone s responsiblwa e o th r wh , fo e issue of the Aberdeen Breviary printed by Chepman, which is now in our hands) e festiva t th ,Michae S f o l Archangee th l Montn i l e Tumba, commemorating a supposed appearance of the Archangel to Bishop referenca y . Dempster'b T r 1o O t e s Menologium Scoticum (1622) Adar o , m King's Ane Kallevdar Perpetuate (1588). 2 The words Michaelis de monte tumba are in red letter, indicating their importance NOTES ON THE FESTIVAL OF ST KEGTJLUS OF ST ANDEEWS. 249 Autber n Normand i t ti woul s a d, at yseem e remarkablth , e rocky eminence now known as Mont St Micliel, was reckoned a day of such importance that it is marked in red letter in the Calendar, and causes the deferrin e festivalth f go f Colmao s Eegulus.d nan 1 This is only one illustration out of hundreds of the influence of the English Service-books, and more particularly those of Sarum (all naturally affecte Normay b d n though d feeling)an t , upo e devotionanth l syste Mediaevae th f mo l Scottish Church. From what has been said, it will be seen that Mr Skene would have been both saved from attributing an extraordinary piece of stupidity to the Scottish mediaeval ecclesiastics, and from propounding his own very unsatisfactory attempt to account for it, and also would have been able to have greatly strengthened his case for the identity of St Eegulus and St Biaghail, had he thought of referring from the Calendar to the Breviary e OctobeOfficeth r fo s r Festiva t EegulusS f o l . 2. It seems as if Mr Skene, in preparing his Celtic Scotland, had relied merely upon his earlier inquiries, as detailed in his communication to this Society. He still speaks of "the Scottish Calendar," as if there were onle calendaron y , e mediaevawhilth n i e l perio t onlno d y every diocese t evebu , n man importann ya t church would, under certain restric- tions, possess its own list of commemorations and festal observances. Bishop A. P. Forbes' Kalendars of Scottish Saints was published in 1872, and contained, beside the Calendar of the Aberdeen Breviary, several other important calendars, drawn mainly from manuscript sources. Among these is an interesting calendar said to belong to Feme in Eoss (Nova Farina). e manuscriptTh , which Bishoe th pt Forbeno d ha s advantage of himself examining, was (1872) in the possession of the Duke of Sutherland at Dunrobin Castle. It certainly deserves a more careful study than has yet been afforded it. But the point of interest presenour in t inquir thayis t "Eegulus Confessor" appear 16tthe h son of October. The Feast of St Michael in Monte Tumba not being entere t thida s dat thin ei s calendar, neeo n ther defeo s d t daye ewa th r , as in the case of the Aberdeen Breviary. 1 Mabillon (An. Ord. S. Senedieti, ii.) gives the date of this appearance at A.D. 710. 250 PKOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, APRIL 10, 1893. Proceedingse th Onc f o e6 f againthi25 o . sp voln i ,Societ. ii . y will e founb r Laing'M d s extracts froe Aberdeeth m n Martyrologe th f yo 16th century. There we read :—" xvij Kl. Nouembris. In Scocia Sancti Eeguli abbatis apud ecclesiam de Kylrewni." Perhaps it may not be wholly unnecessary to remark that this Martyrology abounds throughout in examples of Scotia being unquestionably used for Scotland —Ybernia being used for Ireland—as indeed we might have inferred from the date of the work, which appeared to have been written in the earl ysixteente parth f o t h suffic y century citma o t e illustration t ei I . n " xiij Kl. Julij Natalia Sancte Margarite regine Scocie," &c. " Kl. Aprilis in Scocia Sancti G-ilberti episcopi apud cathedralem civitatem sua Dornoch,e md tuni . " cu . e . regu" m obsequia spernenti nunc non solum reges sed et universale vulgus Britannie et Ybernie peregrinando gracia eiusdem precibu t clarissimise s miraculis illuminantur."1 Such testimonies as have been adduce n leav ca ddoubo en t thain i ; Scotlan e Octobeth r e propefo dth ry Festivada r t EegulusS f o l , though s actuait t f everywhero no l y celebrationda e th e s xviwa ,i Kal. Nov., i.e., 16t the Octoberhof whateveAnd . r attributeweighbe may t dto identite t Eeguluth daye S t Riaghail th S f so f d argumenyo n a san s a , t for the identity of the persons themselves, may now with confidence be accepted.2 Mr Skene, in support of his very bold statement (Celtic Scotland, ii. 268) that ther s usuallyi e confusioa f thes no days,o etw [i.e., e 16tth h and 17tmontha f ho e mont]th whe f alss o hi e e 17t16t oy nth th hda day befor e Kalend th e nex th tf smontho e example, on cite t sbu , upon 1 The only clear exception to the prevailing use of "Scotia" in the Aberdeen Martyrolog t "xva .
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