Cathróe Of Metz
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Saint Cathróe (
circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...
900–971) was a
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
and
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
. His life is recorded in a
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
written soon after his death by a monk at the at
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
, where Cathróe was abbot.
Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
s of healing were attributed to Cathróe during his life, and he was considered a saint after his death. As well as the information it contains on events in
Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and on attitudes of the time, Cathróe's life is of particular interest to historians for the light it sheds on southern
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in the 10th century.


Origins

One clue to Cathróe's background, his name, has also proved to be a stumbling block. In his ''Life'', it is commonly spelt as ''Cathroe'', but other forms are given such as ''Cadroe'' (heading) and ''Kaddroe'' (3x), which come closer to those used later at Metz (''Cadroe'', ''Kadroe''). His biographer explains it as meaning "a soldier in the Lord's camp(s)" (''bellator in castris Dominis''). Some scholars have proposed that what the continental monks heard and transcribed was a Brythonic, more specifically Old Cumbric name, the first element of which represents Cumbric ''Cat'' "battle". However, following John Colgan's lead, David Dumville favours a
Goidelic The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle o ...
etymology. He points out that the personal name Cathróe is attested in Old and Middle Irish and can be explained as a compound meaning "battle-field" (''Cath'', cognate with Welsh ''cat'', + ''róe''). Cathróe was born
circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...
900. Neil McGuigan suggests that he grew up in or near
Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...
in Scotland. His father's name is given as Fochereach, a nobleman, his mother was Bania, who came from a similar background. After the birth of a brother with the Goidelic name Mattadán, Cathróe was fostered with his paternal uncle Beanus (Saint Bean; there were several Gaelic saints of this name).


Pilgrimage

Bean sent his nephew to study in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, at
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland â€“ the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
, where he seems to have learned both
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
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. He returned to Scotland, to teach in his uncle's monastery. Visions persuaded Cathróe to leave Scotland as a pilgrim. The hagiographer tells us that "the king that ruled the land, Constantine by name, hastened to hold back athróe. Cathróe entered the "house of the blessed Brigit", presumed to be the monastery dedicated to Saint
Brigid of Kildare Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland (; Classical Irish: ''Brighid''; ; ) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish ...
at Abernethy. "A certain abbot, called Maelodair áel Odran persuaded King Constantine to allow Catroe to leave, and to help him on his journey. "Then all emulously rendered assistance with gold and silver, with raiment and horses' and they sped athróewith God's blessing; and conducted by the king himself he came to the Cumbrians' land." The writer tells us that King Dovenaldus ruled the Cumbrians, and that he was Cathróe's kinsman. The king escorted Catroe to ''Loidam Civitatem'' (read as
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
or
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
), "which is the boundary between the Cumbrians and the Northmen". In
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, Cathróe was welcomed, the writer claims, by King
Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...
, whose wife was a relative of Cathróe's. This is problematic as Eric Bloodaxe is not thought to have ruled York at the time of the journey, and Eric's wife Gunnhild was said to be Norwegian.


Later career

Cathróe was abbot of Waulsort for several years, until Adelbero, Bishop of Metz, gave him the administration of St Felix's Abbey in
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
.''Adomnán's Vite Columbae and the cult of Colum Cille in continental Europe.'' Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, Volume 98, 1998


Hagiography

One Ousmann (or Reimann or Erimann) wrote a
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
.


Notes


References

*Reimann or Ousmann, ''De S. Cadroe abbate'', ed. John Colgan, '' Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae'', Vol. 1. pp. 494 ff; in part reprinted by W.F. Skene, ''Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots''. pp. 106–116; ed. the
Bollandists The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
, ''
Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...
''. 1865. March 1, 473-80 (incomplete); ed. and tr. A.O. Anderson, ''Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286''. (from Colgan's edition, pp. 495–7). No full translation has appeared to this date. * Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. *Busse, Peter E. "Catroe/Cadroe." In ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia'', ed. John Koch. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, 2006. 356. *Downham, Clare, "Erik Bloodaxe - axed? The Mystery of the Last Viking King of York", ''Medieval Scandinavia'' 14 (2004) 51–77. *Dumville, D.N. "St Cathróe of Metz and the hagiography of exoticism." In ''Studies in Irish Hagiography. Saints and scholars'', ed. John Carey, Máire Herbert and Pádraig Ó Riain. Dublin, 2001. 172–88. * MacQuarrie, Alan, ''The Saints of Scotland: Essays in Scottish Church History AD 450–1093.'' Edinburgh: John Donald, 1997. * MacQuarrie, Alan. "Catroe (900/01–971)." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 2004
Accessed 27 Jan 2009
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathroe Of Metz 10th-century births 970s deaths 10th-century Christian saints Medieval Scottish saints Scottish Roman Catholic saints