View source for Máedóc of Ferns

{{Short description|Irish bishop and saint}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne]]}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Irish English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox saint
|name=Saint Máedóc of Ferns
|birth_date={{circa|lk=no|558}}
|death_date={{death date|632|1|31|df=y}}
|feast_day=31 January
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]], [[Anglican Communion]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] 
|image=Enniscorthy St. Aidan's Cathedral East Aisle Fifth Window Saint Aidan Detail 2009 09 28.jpg
|imagesize= 
|caption=Stained glass window of young Saint Áedan at Saint Áedan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy
|birth_place=[[County Cavan]]
|death_place=Ferns
|titles= [[Bishop of Ferns]]
|canonized_date= [[Pre-Congregation]]
|attributes= [[Western honey bee|Honey bees]]
|patronage=[[Ferns Abbey]], [[Templeport|Templeport Abbey]], [[Drumlane|Drumlane Abbey]], [[Rossinver|Rosinver Abbey]], [[List of monastic houses in County Waterford|Disert Nairbre Abbey]], [[Llawhaden|Llawhaden Abbey]]
|major_shrine=[[Enniscorthy]]
|suppressed_date= 
|issues= 
|prayer= 
|prayer_attrib= 
}}
'''Saint Máedóc of Ferns''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈmaiðoːɡ|lang}}; <small>{{abbr|fl.|Active}}</small>&nbsp;6th & 7th century), also known as '''Saint Aidan''' ({{langx|ga|Áedan}}; {{langx|cy|Aeddan}}; {{langx|la|Aidanus}} and ''{{lang|la|Edanus}}''), '''Saint Madoc<ref name="auto">[https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-madoc-ferns-haroldston-west Saint Máedóc of Ferns]nationalchurchestrust.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318171100/https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/church/st-madoc-ferns-haroldston-west |date=18 March 2023 }}</ref>''' or '''Saint Mogue''' ({{langx|ga|Mo Aodh Óg}}), was an [[list of Irish saints|Irish saint]] who was the first [[Bishop of Ferns]] in [[County Wexford]] and the founder of thirty churches. His birth name was [[Aed (god)|Áed]], the name of the [[Irish mythology|Irish god of the underworld]], meaning "[[fire]]". The name [[Aidan (name)|Aidan]] is a [[diminutive]] form of [[Aed (god)|Aed]] or [[Aodh (given name)|Aodh]], and was also a form of the [[Latin]] name [[Dominus (title)|Dominus]]. [[Madog (disambiguation)|Máedóc]] and Mogue are other [[pet name|pet form]]s of Aed or Aodh, formed from the Irish affectionate prefix ''mo-'' and the diminutive suffix ''-óg'', meaning "young", making for something like "my dear little Aodh".<ref name=sabi>Baring-Gould, Sabine &&nbsp;al. [https://archive.org/stream/livesofbritishsa01bariuoft#page/122/mode/2up ''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol.&nbsp;I, pp.&nbsp;122&nbsp;ff]. Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 18 Nov 2014.</ref>

==Life==
Áed was born c. 558 at Inisbrefny (an island in Templeport Lake), in the area then known as [[Magh Slécht]], now the parish of [[Templeport]], [[County Cavan]].<ref name=toke>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09520a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Saint Maedoc|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> In the [[Bonedd y Seint|Welsh genealogies of the saints]], Aeddan is called the son of [[Saint Gildas|Gildas]] or [[Aneirin|Aneurin]], sons of [[Caw of Strathclyde|Caw]], king of [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]]; Irish sources make him a son of Sedna, a chieftain of [[Connaught]] and his wife Eithne and a first cousin of St. [[Dallán Forgaill]].<ref name=plummer/> These separate origins, his work in Wales, the extraordinary span of Aidan's activity, and the appearance of two dates of death has led some scholars&mdash;such as [[Sabine Baring-Gould]]&mdash;to propose that the existing stories of Maedoc are a conflation of two separate Aeds, one Welsh and one Irish, who served as Bishop of Ferns a generation apart.<ref name=sabi/>{{efn|Baring-Gould notes some difficulties in the chronology, however, and proposes Aeddan might have been a grandson rather than son of Gildas.}}{{efn|Leslie Toke, writing for the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', distinguishes this Aed from the son of Gildas.}} There is also confusion of these Aeds with [[Aed mac Bricc]], who preceded them and possibly participated in the cursing of [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] with [[Ruadhán of Lorrha|Saint Ruadhán]].

Irish legend says that the "Bell of St. Mogue" was given to the infant on his birth by Saint [[Caillín]].<ref name=cavan>[http://www.cavanmuseum.ie/Default.aspx?StructureID_str=4&guid=6 "The Breac Maedoc on loan from the National Museum of Ireland", Cavan County Museum]</ref> When a boat could not be found to take the infant Aedan across the lake to where Caillín waited to baptize him, Aedan was floated to shore on a slab of stone. The [[holy water|font]] at St Mogue's in [[Bawnboy]] is said to be made from part of the stone. As a youth, Aedan was a [[hostage]] of [[Ainmuire mac Sétnai]] of the [[Cenél Conaill]], [[High King of Ireland]]. Ainmire was so impressed with Aedan that he told him he could stay or go. Aedan said he would go, but only if the other hostages were also released, whereupon Ainmire let them all return home.<ref name=plummer>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/bethada02plumuoft|title=Bethada Náem Nérenn = lives of Irish Saints|first=Charles|last=Plummer|date=22 May 1922|publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He studied at the great school of Saint [[Finnian of Clonard|Finnian]] at [[Clonard Abbey]]. While at Clonard, Aedan made friends with [[Laisrén mac Nad Froích|Molaise]], who would later found the monastery of [[Devenish Island]] on the [[River Erne]].<ref name=cib/>

By this point, many began to come to the young man desiring to become his disciples. Instead of indulging them, he fled from Ireland to [[Wales]] to study under [[St. David]]. Welsh legends place his upbringing with David and go into detail concerning attempts on his life by David's [[steward (office)|steward]].<ref name=sabi/> Along with [[Saint Cadoc]], he was said to have exterminated an army of [[Saxon invasion of Wales|Saxons]] or [[Irish invasions of Wales|Irishmen]] by rolling stones upon their camp in a narrow valley. He was listed in the [[Welsh triads]] as one of David's three most faithful disciples. He returned to Ireland in 570, landing on the coast of [[Wexford]] with hives of [[western honey bee|honey bee]]s, which he had been told were scarce on the island.<ref name=sabi/> He landed as some locals were plundering another group of strangers and his quick response impressed the local chieftain, who granted him lands for religious communities.<ref name=sabi/> He then settled at Brentrocht in Leinster. Aidan is said to have fasted for seven years, during this period he ate only [[barley bread]] with water.<ref>Somerville-Large, Peter. (1975). ''Irish Eccentrics: A Selection''. Hamish Hamilton. p. 20</ref>

Aidan seems to have played a role in the [[king of Leinster]]'s defeat over the [[Uí Néill]] [[High King of Ireland|High King]] [[Áed mac Ainmuirech]] of the [[Cenél Conaill]] at the Battle of Dún Bolg in 598, either (according to the [[hagiography|hagiographers]]) through the intercession of his prayers<ref name=sabi/> or (according to the poets of the ''Bóroma Laigen'') through a failed peace embassy followed by the successful idea to sneak Leinster's soldiers into the enemy camp inside food baskets.<ref>Wiley, Dan M. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080507075306/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/kings/Boroma.htm Boroma, The Cycles of the Kings]''.</ref> However the Aidan, Bishop of Glendalough, referred to in the tale is unlikely to have been St. Máedóc as they had different mothers. Maedóc's mother was Eithne while Aidan's mother was Bríg, daughter of Chobtaig m. [[Crimthann mac Énnai]] m. [[Énnae Cennsalach]] of the [[Uí Ceinnselaig]] dynasty from [[Leinster]].<ref>'Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae', Ó Riain, Pádraig, ed., Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985, §380.1</ref> 

The grateful [[Brandub mac Echach|King Brandubh]] then granted him [[Ferns, County Wexford|Ferns]] in [[County Wexford]],<ref name=cavan/> where he established a monastery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iafs.ie/ferns/|title=Ferns}}</ref> The influence of Brandubh also convened a [[synod]] whereat Ferns was not merely constituted a see but its bishop Aedan was also given nominal supremacy over the other Leinster bishops as their Chief Bishop ({{langx|ga|Ard-Escop}}). He was noted for his benevolence and hospitality:<ref name=cib>{{Cite web|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintAedanMaedocorMogue.php|title=Saint Aedan, Maedoc or Mogue - Irish Biography|website=www.libraryireland.com}}</ref> on one occasion, seeing them exhausted by their journey, he permitted beef to be given to a visiting delegation of British bishops during [[Lent]] and permitted them to excuse themselves with the claim that the slaughtered cow was merely "milk and vegetables in condensed form" whereas the [[whey]] and [[biscuit]]s the other monks consumed had so many [[weevil]]s as to occasion "conscientious scruples".<ref name=sabi/> On another, he was pushed into a lake to see whether he would lose his temper; upon his meekly restoring himself, his tormenter confessed himself and apologized.<ref name=cib/>

Aeddan himself died on 31 January 632 on [[Lough Melvin]]'s shore in [[County Leitrim]]. His [[relic]]s are claimed by [[Ferns Cathedral|St. Edan's]] in Ferns. His stone tomb is inside the cathedral, although his remains are in the original cathedral crypt below. The [[Breac Maodhóg]] (his [[shrine]]) dates from the 9th century and is an example of an early medieval [[reliquary]]. It was often used as a sacred object upon which to swear binding oaths. It was acquired by the [[National Museum of Ireland]] in the 1890s.<ref name=cavan/>

==Miracles==
Many miracles are recorded of St. Maedoc during his sojourn in Wales.<ref name=toke/> He was said to have broken a jug while fetching [[ale]] for his fellow monks; making the [[sign of the cross]] over the shards, however, it was repaired and he continued on his errand.<ref name=plummer/> A yoke given to him by David's steward purposefully too small to fit the necks of his oxen miraculously accommodated them and permitted him to bring the necessary materials for [[Llanddewi Velfrey]].<ref name=sabi/> Following his return to Ireland, a local begged him for some meal as he was grinding flour and, after receiving some, disguised himself as a blind man to come back and beg for more. Annoyed, the saint cursed him that the generations of his descendants would never lack a blind member.<ref name=sabi/> Another time, wolves devoured a calf at one of his monasteries; its mother being inconsolable, Aedan blessed the head of his cook and told him to offer it to the heifer, which licked him and thenceforth "loved him like a calf".<ref name=sabi/> When asked by [[Saint Fintan Munnu]] to heal monks suffering under an epidemic, Aedan was said to have indulged him: first by curing the monks and then by permitting the sickness to resume when Saint Fintan changed his mind, considering the sickness to be good for their souls.<ref name=sabi/> His hagiographers credited Aidan's curses with Brandubh's defeat of the Uí Néill; they further state that, when Sarán slew his father-in-law, he attempted to accommodate the saint only for Aidan to curse him that his right hand would wither to the stump. When Sarán begged for a [[penance]], Aidan directed him to pray for forgiveness at Brandubh's tomb in Ferns; when Sarán did so, a voice from the crypt forgave him. He lost his hand regardless.<ref name=sabi/> Miraculous blessings from Aidan were credited with [[Brandub mac Echach|King Brandubh]]'s victory at [[Dún Bolg]] in 598; with the selection of his successor [[Dachua]] (Mochua Luachra); and with the success of the Irish architect [[Gobán Saor]]. His heirs to [[Rossinver|Rosinver Abbey]] in [[County Leitrim]] and [[Drumlane|Drumlane Abbey]] in [[County Cavan]] were the [[Connachta]] noblemen [[Ó Fearghail|Fearghus Mac Ailill]] and [[Farrelly|Faircheallaigh Mac Ailill]].<ref name=sabi/>

==Legacy==
[[File:Wexford Church of the Assumption South Aisle Window Harry Clarke The Madonna with Sts Aidan and Adrian Detail Saint Aidan 2010 09 29.jpg|thumb|left|Stained glass window of elderly Saint Áedan in profile at the Church of the Assumption, Wexford]]
He is the [[patron saint]] of Hy Kinsellagh or Wexford;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintAedanMaedocorMogue.php|title = Saint Aedan, Maedoc or Mogue - Irish Biography}}</ref> [[Ferns, County Wexford|Ferns]]; and [[Templeport]] in [[County Cavan]]. His feast is commemorated in [[Bawnboy]] with prayerful visits to his church and to the island where he was born. The names Mogue and Aidan are popular for people in the West Cavan area. 
 
The Catholic episcopal seat formerly located at [[Ferns, County Wexford|Ferns]] (prior to its destruction) is now at [[St. Aidan's Cathedral]] in [[Enniscorthy]], although the bishop resides at [[Wexford]]. The Anglican diocese is administered from [[Kilkenny]], although [[Ferns Cathedral|St. Edan's Cathedral]] in Ferns remains the seat of [[Church of Ireland]] diocese (itself part of the [[Diocese of Cashel and Ossory|United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory]]). Saint Áedan's is located on the site (and partially includes the ruins) of the earlier Catholic cathedral, which was burnt down in 1575 by the O'Byrnes of Wicklow. It was ordered to be rebuilt by Queen Elizabeth I during her reign, but was only half rebuilt.<ref>{{cite book |last= Galloway |first= Peter |title= The Cathedrals of Ireland |publisher=The Institute of Irish Studies |year=1992 |isbn=0-85389-452-3|pages=108–109}}</ref>

Aedan is credited as the founder of thirty churches and a number of monasteries. The first of these monasteries was on the island of his birth, now the site of 18th-century ruins and burial ground. The clay or mortar from the ruins of the church is said to provide protection against fire or drowning and is kept by many local people in their homes. Other monasteries include [[Drumlane]] (near [[Milltown, County Cavan|Milltown]] in [[County Cavan]]); at [[Ferns, County Wexford|Ferns]] in [[County Wexford]]; at Dissert-Nairbre in [[County Waterford]]; and at [[Rossinver|Rosinver]] near the site of his death. In Wales he founded Saint Madoc of Ferns church in Haroldston West, Pembrokeshire.<ref name="auto"/> The church of [[Llawhaden]], also in [[Pembrokeshire]], [[Wales]], commemorates him near the site of a ford he supposedly discovered [[#Miracles|while leading his oxen]].<ref name=sabi/>

==See also==
*[[Marmaduke (given name)]]

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category|Saint Aidán}}
* Donald Attwater & Catherine Rachel John: ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints'', third edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-14-051312-4}}.
* Charles Doherty: "The Transmission of the Cult of St Máedhog", in P. Ní Chatháin and M. Richter (ed.), ''Ireland and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: Texts and Transmission'' (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2002).
* Charles Doherty: "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51009 Leinster, saints of (act. ''c''.550–''c''.800)]", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed 9 February 2009.
* Daniel Gallogly: ''Templeport. Souvenir of the Solemn Dedication of St. Mogue's Church'' (Templeport, County Cavan: James McCabe, 1979).
* Raymond Gillespie: "A Sixteenth-Century Saint's Life. The Second Life of St Maedoc", in ''Breifne Journal'', vol. X, no. 40 (2004), pp.&nbsp;147–155.
* Raymond Gillespie: "Saints and Manuscripts in Sixteenth-Century Breifne'", in ''Breifne Journal'', vol. XI, no. 44 (2008), pp.&nbsp;533–557.
* Chris Maguire: ''Bawnboy and Templeport'' (Bawnboy, County Cavan: the author, 1999).
* T. H. C. McFall: "An Account of the History of Ferns Cathedral Church" (Dublin: APCK, 1954; reprinted 1999, 2000).
* {{cite IrishBio|wstitle=Aedan, Saint}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.org/stream/livesofthecambro00reesuoft#page/n587/mode/2up ''Lives of the Cambro British Saints''] 11th century Latin Life
*[https://archive.org/stream/bethada02plumuoft#page/176/mode/2up ''Bethada Náem nErenn = Lives of Irish Saints''] 12th century Irish Life

{{Saints of Ireland}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maedoc Ferns}}
[[Category:550 births]]
[[Category:632 deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:7th-century Irish bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Ferns]]
[[Category:Canonizations by Pope Leo XIII]]
[[Category:Medieval saints of Leinster]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from County Cavan]]