Saints -- Scotland; Scotland -- Church history -- Biography
Most modern historians identify St. Rule with an Irish abbot of
similar name who is honoured on this day. He was a contemporary of
St. Kenneth, and probably ended his days at St. Andrews, after
labouring there as a missionary. St. Rule is the patron of Monifieth,
Forfarshire; of Meikle Folia, near Fyvie, Aberdeenshire; and of
Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, where an ancient fair, held on the second
Tuesday in October as late as the beginning of last century, was
known as "Trewell Fair." There was a chapel of St. Rule at St. Cyrus
(formerly called Ecclesgreig) in Kincardineshire. {151}
21 St. Mund or Fintan-Munnu, Abbot, A.D. 635,
He was born in Ireland, and was a contemporary of St. Columba. He
bears the character of being the most austere of all the Irish
saints, and suffered grievously from bodily infirmities with the
greatest resignation. Crossing over to Scotland, he dwelt for a time
upon an island of Loch Leven, still called after him by the title of
Eileanmunde.
A more important foundation was afterwards made by this saint at
Kilmun, north of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyllshire. An old burial
ground still marks the site of the monastery founded by St. Mund; the
hills and wooded glens which surround the spot make up a scene of
striking beauty. A small bay in the vicinity is called "Holy Loch."
It is a matter of dispute whether the title came from its proximity
to St. Mund's foundation or from a shipload of earth from the Holy
Land, destined to form part of the foundation of a church in Glasgow,
and reputed to have been sunk in a storm near that spot.
It is said that St. Mund made application to Baithen, St. Columba's
successor at Iona, to be {152} received as a monk of that monastery,
but that Baithen advised the saint to return to Ireland and found a
monastery there. The holy abbot gave this advice on account of a
prophecy of St. Columba, who had foreseen St. Mund's desire, and had
declared that God willed that saint to become abbot over others and
not the disciple of Baithen.
It was owing to this advice that St. Mund returned to his native land
and founded Teach-Mun (Tagmon) in Wexford, which became famous under
his rule.
Mediaeval documents mention the saint's pastoral staff as preserved
in Argyllshire; its hereditary custodian held a small croft at
Kilmun; it may have been in honour of this saint that a fair was held
at that place for eight days during April as alluded to in records of
1490. No trace of the above relic now remains. In Ireland this saint
is known as St. Fintan-Munnu; but Mundus or Mund is the title which
appears in Scottish records.
26--St. Bean, Bishop, llth century.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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