The Bachal Isu (from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''baculus Iesu'', "Staff of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
") was a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
. According to legend,
St. Patrick
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
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brought his celebrated golden Crozier, which was consistently identified with the Staff Of Jesus, along with his Book of Gospels, known as the ''
Book of Armagh
The ''Book of Armagh'' or Codex Ardmachanus (ar or 61) ( ga, Leabhar Ard Mhacha), also known as the ''Canon of Patrick'' and the ''Liber Ar(d)machanus'', is a 9th-century Irish illuminated manuscript written mainly in Latin. It is held by the L ...
'', to
Armagh Cathedral in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
which he had recently founded.
According to tradition, the staff was given to St. Patrick by a hermit on an island located in the
Etruscan Sea, who had received it from
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Jesus informed the hermit to give it to St. Patrick when he inevitably arrived.
From Armagh to Dublin via Ballyboughal
In 1106, when the head or
coarb
A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish ''comharba'', Latin: ''hērēs''), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears intercha ...
of the see of
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
had been handed from layman to layman of the Ui Sinaich family, Celsus (Ceallach or Ceallach) became the eighth in line. He wanted to end that tradition of lay control of the episcopal see, and so he became first a priest and then was consecrated a bishop, becoming
Archbishop of Armagh
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
. He assumed his right to this position as a bishop, but renounced his right to it as a layman. Fearing that his relatives would try to displace him and take away the attributes of his power, he brought the Bachal Isu to
Ballyboughal
Ballyboughal (), also sometimes Ballyboghil, is a village and district in central Fingal within the historic County Dublin, near the Naul. The name means ''the town of the staff'', and a major relic, the Bachal Isu, was protected in this area ...
around 1113. When Celsus died in 1129, he named an
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
not related to him. His choice:
Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair
Malachy (}; Modern ga, Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair; ) (1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal ...
, the eventual
St. Malachy
Malachy (}; Modern ga, Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair; ) ( 1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal ...
. He also send Malachy the Bachal Isu, but it was seized by Morrough, a cousin of Celsus, who turned the staff over to Flann Ui Sinaich for safe-keeping, preventing Malachy from assuming his position. Morrough died in 1134 and was succeeded as lay lord of Armagh by Celsus's brother Niall, but his own family now saw "the degradation and disgrace brought upon the diocese by this lay claim" and drove out Niall. In 1135 Flann Ui Sinaich died, and St. Malachy was able to purchase the Bachal Isu from his successor and to retrieve it on 7 July of that year from a cave where it had been hidden away, becoming finally archbishop. In 1137, Malachy resigned his archbishopric to Gelasius, who apparently returned the Bachal Isu to Ballyboughal, where in 1113 Bishop Samuel U h-Aingli had set aside land for the preservation and protection of the staff. In 1173,
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (113020 April 1176), also known as Richard FitzGilbert, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leading role in the Anglo-Norman invasion ...
removed the staff from Ballyboughal and sent it to
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...
.
The staff remained in Christ Church until the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
.
Destruction of the Staff
In 1538, shortly after the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
reconquest, the staff’s golden ornaments and gems were all removed, and the staff was burnt by order of Anglican Archbishop
George Browne in
Skinners Row
Christchurch Place is a street in central Dublin, Ireland, formerly known as Skinners Row or Skinner's Row, it formed one of the main thoroughfares in medieval Dublin.
History
The street runs along the southern edge of Christ Church Cathedra ...
outside
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...
.
[Ronan, Myles V., "St. Patrick's Staff and Christ Church," Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Jun.-Aug., 1943), p. 129. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30080047] The reason was that it was considered a "superstitious relic".
Beliefs related to the Staff
The staff was believed by some to have special powers including:
*A person who possessed both St. Patrick's Book Of The Gospels and the Staff Of Jesus was to be considered the legitimate Archbishop.
*During legal disputes and solemn controversies, the common people would swear on the “staff of St. Patrick, the Bachall Esir,” which meant more to them than swearing on the “
Holy Evangelist
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ...
.” Such people believed lying while swearing upon it would cause great
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
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s to occur.
References
External links
''Saint Malachy'' on the Saint Malachy Church website{{CE1913 poster
Relics associated with Jesus