[From Manx Soc vol 15, 1868]

VI.

ANCIENT CHURCHES OF THE ISLE OF MAN,
PRIOR TO THE MIDDLE AGES.

BY J. R. OLIVER, M.D.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

AMONG the group of islands known in former times as the Sudreyjar, stands prominently the Isle of Man. Anciently called by the various names of Mona, Menavia, Eubonia, etc., and at a later period Mannin, or the Island of Man, this small spot lying in the Irish Sea, and centrally situated as respects the neighbouring shores, presents very peculiar and remarkable characteristics. Though of insignificant geographical dimensions, being little more than thirty miles in length, and barely twelve in breadth, it is rich in historic and archaeological associations. Formerly a kingdom, and to this day almost an independent country, having its own parliament, making its own laws, and regulating its own domestic affairs, it presents the singular spectacle of an island in the nineteenth century, in the heart of the British dominions, retaining Scandinavian ceremonies¹ and usages, long after they have ceased to exist in the land of their birth.

From a very early epoch, the Isle of Man had been the seat of a monarchial government. Its first line of kings² were princes from North Wales, who ruled over it for the space of four centuries. The earliest and most celebrated of these was Maelgwyn, King of North Wales, and nephew of the famous King Arthur. He conquered the island A.D. 525, chiefly through the assistance of his uncle. From this circumstance he received the name of Draco Insularis, and became one of the Knights of the Round Table. The Welsh line of kings terminated with the demise of Anarawd ap Roderic in the year 913. During this long period, a close friendship existed between the Welsh, and the Manx people, cemented and strengthened by frequent intercourse with each other. Prior to the Cambrian dynasty, a mythological character called Mannanan Beg Mac Y Leir, is said to have governed the Isle of Man, and to have been its first legislator or ruler. Who this personage was, or from whence he came, is not very certain. According to the most approved tradition, he was of royal extraction, and descended from one of the kings of Ireland. Being of a restless roving disposition, he found his way to Man and settled there. Unfortunately, "little Mannanan", Mannanan beg, as he is called in the Manx language, has the ominous character of a paynim and necromancer, who by his occult arts enveloped the island in a perpetual mist, so that strangers were unable to visit it, whilst he sat at home in ease on the top of a high mountain called Barrule.³

The probability is, if such a person as Mannanan ever existed, he was simply some adventurous seaman or trader who, happening to visit the Isle of Man, settled in it, and made it the country of his adoption. He was there at the time of St. Patrick's visit, and whatever his skill in the occult arts may have been, it was not potent enough to prevent his banishment by the Irish Apostle. The religion of the Manx at this period is supposed to have been Druidism, and like Mclinus, they were said to be addicted to the practice of the black arts, a circumstance which sorely grieved St. Patrick, so, that instead of proceeding on his journey, he stayed in the island until he had converted them from the error of their ways.

Whatever may be the amount of truth mixed up with the legend of Mac Leir, there can be little doubt that after the Roman edict, the Druids of Anglesey fled to, and found refuge in, the Isle of Man.⁴ Here they erected their altars, disseminated their doctrines, and finally perished, exterminated it is said by the orders of St. Patrick. At one time they must have existed in considerable numbers, instanced by the numerous places still called after them. To the present day, the peasantry use the term Druid, or Druidical, when speaking of any old ruin of whose history they have no knowledge, legendary or otherwise, and apply it alike to the stone circle of the Norseman, and the debris of a ruined chapel.

Insular tradition, as we see from the above, in its ascription to St. Patrick of the conversion of the Manx people, hints, that he made short work of the business, inasmuch as he destroyed the Druids by fire and sword. For the sake of St. Patrick's Christianity, however, we hope the traditionary account is not true, and we may safely ignore it, as being wholly contrary to the well-known precepts and practices of the early missionaries. They in fact did no violence to the prejudices and feelings of our heathen ancestors; but, by judicious management, gentleness, and kindness, won over the sympathies of the inhabitants to the new faith. By this means only did they establish Christianity, and firmly plant it in the affections of the people.

Before entering upon the ecelesiological history of the Isle of Man as developed in its numerous ruined churches, it will be advisable to glance at its first evangelisation, and the persons who were instrumental in accomplishing it. According to the generally received tradition, it was Christianised by St. Patrick whilst on his journey from Rome to Ireland, about the year 444. This opinion is founded on the authority of Jocelinus of Furness, who in his chapter entitled, "De Mannia et aliis insulis ad Deum conversis, states, that St. Patrick returning⁵ to Ireland, touched at the islands of the sea, one of which, Eubonia,⁶ that is, Man, at that time subject to Britain, by his miracles and preaching converted to Christ". Whether St. Patrick ever visited the Isle of Man, as stated by Jocelinus, is open to doubt, as we find writers of equal authority with the Furness chronicler denying that such was the case, though they allow his influence may have had considerable weight in effecting the changes ascribed to him. Colgan, in his Acta Sanctorum, reiterates the statement of Jocelinus, that the Irish Apostle did visit and Christianise the island, adding, that anciently it was a dependency of Ireland, and called Inis Patrick, or Patrick's Island, in honour of the Saint. Probus,⁷ however, a writer of the tenth century, says, that Conindrius and Romulus, and not St. Patrick, were the first preachers of the Gospel in Evania or Man. His words are, "Qui primi docuerunt verbum Dei et baptismum in Evania, et per eos conversin sunt homines insulin ad Catholicam fidem". In the Trias Thaumaturga,⁸ they are called Conderius and Romailus, but it is silent as to the conversion by St. Patrick, though it hints at the island having become famous as a retreat for monks shortly after his arrival in Ireland, "venit autem (Macaldus in Manmam sive Euboniam, olim Druidum et gentilium vatum) postea ab ad ventu Sancti Patricii, christi mystarum et monachorum secessu et sede nobilem claramque insulam".⁹ According to the Tripartite Life, Conderius and Romailus visited the island prior to 455, and were the persons who disseminated and propagated the faith and doctrine of Christ in it.

These conflicting statements render it difficult to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to the men by whose exertions the Isle of Man really was Christianised, though there can be little doubt it was by the same missionaries, or their immediate successors, who carried the Gospel to the Irish. The account handed down to us by the foregoing chroniclers is by no means improbable. It shows at least, that incidental visits were made to the island by religious men, as early as the fifth century, through whose labours a Christian church was established in a heathen land, in the midst of an idolatrous and superstitious people. Another difficulty meets us, respecting the identity of the first bishop appointed to govern the new church. Jocelinus says - "he was a wise and holy man named Germanus, who placed his 'episcopal seat', episcopalem sedem, in a certain promontory which to this day is called St. Patrick's Isle, because he had remained there for some time.¹⁰ The site of this seat or place of worship was old Jurby Church, now beneath the waves. Here, says the same authority, St. Patrick landed on his return from visiting the islands of the sea, "ad insulae maris , and established a central station for missionary operations, which he placed under the pastoral charge of St. German¹¹, enjoining him to build chapels and churches to strengthen and confirm the people in the faith. Jocelinus is the only writer among the mediaeval historians, who asserts the Manx episcopacy of this prelate, an error clearly fallen into through the profundity of his legendary attainments. The Chronicon Manniae, a better authority, is silent as to Germanus having been Bishop of Man, an omission its authors would not have been guilty of, had such been the case. From this it is evident that the Furness chronicler has committed the mistake of confounding the missions of Palladius and St. German with the apostleship of St. Patrick, an error the more remarkable in this celebrated writer, as he must have been well acquainted with the object and extent of the Bishop of Auxerre's visit to England. Jocelinus, however, is borne out in his statement respecting the Manx episcopacy by insular tradition, which not only fully supports him, but ascribes to this bishop the foundation of the numerous small chapels scattered throughout the island, called Cabbals, Keeills, and Treen Churches. Nevertheless, for the reasons given above, we are compelled to reject both the Manx tradition and the narrative of Jocelinus as untenable, and seek in another quarter the founder of our ecclesiastical system.

Unfortunately, much confusion has arisen in consequence of the difficulty of identifying the traditionary Germanus of the Isle of Man, with any real person. We have seen he could not have been the famous Bishop of Antissiodorum (Auxerre), as this prelate's first visit to England was in 429, fifteen years before the supposed advent of St. Patrick in Man; and his last, A.D. 448, just four years afterwards.¹² There are, however, two others bearing the same name, who flourished towards the close of St. Patrick's life; but, as neither were bishops, they do not lessen the perplexity. One of these, mentioned by Canisius, and also by Messingham,¹³ in his life of Adamnan, was a Christian bard; and the other is described as a monk belonging to the monastery of St. Finnian, under whom St. Columba studied¹⁴. The only feasible explanation seems to be, that in course of time, the Bishop of Auxerre's substantiality became incorporated into a mythical personage, and so gave rise to the Manx tradition¹⁵.

The historic fact then amounts to this, that as it is wholly impossible that Germanus could at any time have been Bishop of Man, the only remaining person to whom we can have recourse with any degree of probability is St. Maughold, variously called Maccaldus, Macfail, Maguil, and Cyclops¹⁶. He was one of St. Patrick's earliest converts in Ireland, and was most likely sent to the island to assist in the work of its conversson. Ultimately, he attained to the episcopal degree,¹⁷ and built the church near Ramsey called after him. He must have been an active and zealous labourer in his new sphere, as he has an extraordinary reputation for sanctity and miraculous endowments - gifts very abundant in those days, but remarkably scarce now. It is to be regretted that so little is known of his career. He lived in an age when annalists were few, and monastic establishments yet in their infancy, so that if any biographies were written, they must have perished in the inroads of the Danes and Norwegians into this island. The few passing notices we find of him in the Chronicon Manniae, and other sources, add little to our knowledge beyond the increase of our legendary lore, and an accession to the treasury of ridiculous miracles which the biographers of the middle ages so delighted to record.

The following account of St. Maughold from the Book of Armagh, is the oldest in existence. It is said to have been written about the middle of the seventh century. The Latin text is given below for the benefit of those who may wish to possess the original.

LIBER ARDMACHAE.¹⁸ VITA S. PATRICII.

The following addition to the above is from the Triadis Thaumaturgae of Colgan. It is the same as given by Jocelinus, in his life of St. Patrick, and lends additional interest to the life of St. Maughold, as narrated in the Book of Armagh.

Such is the legendary account of the most celebrated of the bishops of the Manx church. The history given of him by Jocelinus, and reprinted by Colgan in the Fourth Life, is merely an embellished edition of the version given in the Book of Armagh. To it we can only add in the words of Prudentius, corruptela, dolus, comment a, insomnia, sordes. Like his celebrated predecessor, St. Patrick, he is said to have attained to a very advanced period of life, and to have died at the age of one hundred and ten years.

Although the above account of the years of St. Maughold is not without exceptions, and must be received with caution, it is only another instance, amongst the many we possess, of the tendency of mediteval writers to deal in the marvellous, and bestow upon their heroes a patriarchal age. Maughold's early career, as we have just seen, is stated to have been one of rapine and profligacy, - a mode of life little conducive to longevity. So if we concede, that by reason of his strength, the number of his days may have been eighty, or even ninety years, we shall in all probability have reached the limit of his existence. Irish annalists, however, with singular unanimity, state the year of Maughold's death to be 554, - a date which makes his age at the time of dissolution, one hundred and ten and upwards, supposing St. Patrick to have arrived in Ireland between the years 440-444. At this epoch he could only have been an infant,²⁵ and not the leader of a band of kerns, or free booters, as stated by his biographers. If, however, we grant that Maughold was a predatory chieftain, as represented, and survived to the age of ninety, he must at all events have been eighteen years old at the time of St. Patrick's advent; in which case the remainder of his days would be seventy-two years, and the date of obit 534 instead of 554, the traditionary period ;²⁶ a portion of time sufficiently great to enable him to devise and carry out the ecclesiastical system I have ascribed to him.²⁷

The history of the ancient church of Man, then, may be divided into two distinct and well-defined periods; the first of which, comprising its:earliest condition, extends from the fifth to the commencement of the twelfth century; and the second, from the foundation of Rushen Abbey, in 1134, to its decline in the early part of the fourteenth. It is with the first of these periods we have to do, as embracing the epoch which gave rise to our cabbals, keeills, and treen churches, the remains of which still so largely exist. These edifices are chiefly interesting as being, in the absence of all historic record, the only indices in existence of the state of Christianity in the Isle of Man in the primitive ages. They carry us back to periods that have bequeathed no written explanation of their origin, though they show us how gradually, but completely, the influences of Christianity had spread over this island, in an age not altogether barbaric, but of a civilisation different to our own. Simple as these churches are, and devoid of architectural pre tensions, they are full of interest to the antiquary, and will be so to him as long as civilisation endures. The existence of a solitary tumulated ruin in a field, undisturbed for ages, merely because it is called a "keeill," is a striking instance of the veneration with which the Manx people regard their sacred edifices; and to this feeling we owe the preservation of so many of these interesting memorials of a bygone age.

TREEN LANDS.

The Isle of Man, as is well known, is divided into a number of sections designated "Treen lands"²⁸ : and these again. into subsections called "Quarterlands," - in Manx kerroo valla. Originally each treen contained a small place of worship styled "the treen church"; so that treen lands were, in fact, rudimentary parishes. This partition of the soil is of extremely ancient date, being coeval with the introduction of Christianity into the island. The meaning of the word "treen," as applied to these lands, has been the source of considerable discussion, though without throwing much light upon the subject. Some deduce it from the Manx word strooan (a stream), thought to indicate a portion of land between two streams, - a supposition not borne out by any fact. Another definition has been offered by the Rev. Wm. Mackenzie, who derives it from jeih (ten) and raane (a surety), arguing that each treen consisted of ten families, and each parish of ten treens. This explanation, which is merely a revival of the Saxon tything and hundred, makes the treens amount to one hundred and seventy, - a considerably greater number than exist. Nor was it the case that the quarterland owners, the union of whose estates constituted the treen lands, were in any way sureties or bondsmen either for themselves or for others. They were Odallers, whose right in the soil was absolute; and though they had certain duties to perform in connexion with the treen to which they belonged, they were voluntary, and for the general good.

The origin and meaning of the word, however, appears to be that pointed out by the Rev. J. G. Cumming,²⁹ as derived from the Manx word tree (three) and synonymous with trian in Irish and Gaelic, and tralan or traean in Welsh. In the Manx lan guage the word "treen" is defined to be "a township dividing tithe into three"; and in accordance with this definition is the fact that in Olave I's reign (A.D. 1134), the tithes³⁰ of the island were distributed in conformity with the above rendering of the word, - one portion going to the bishop, another to the Abbey of Rushen, and the remainder to the clergy.³¹ Several of our parishes still show that the principle of division by thirds was the ancient practice adopted in this island. Ballaugh, for instance, is divided into the sea, the middle, and the fell thirds, - an arrangement evidently designed for the convenience of the tithingman. In the application of thirds to treen lands, however, as they at present stand, this principle does not wholly apply; for though we find a great many to consist of three quarterlands, there are some which contain only two, others four, and some considerably higher³² ; an irregularity I believe to have been occasioned, in course of time, through alterations of boundaries, alienations, and sales of portions of quarterlands. In the oldest account³³ we have of the Isle of Man - a metrical history written in the commencement of the sixteenth century - a treen is stated to consist of three estates treen bailey) united for ecclesiastical purposes, and this probably was its ancient condition. Upon the treen bailey devolved the obligation of erecting and maintaining the treen church, the formation of burial-grounds, and other duties now merged in the parochial system. Each of these diminutive parishes contained its own church, the service of which was conducted either through the instrumentality of itinerant clerics, or else the ministrations of one of the heads of the treen bailey. At this period the Manx church was purely diocesan; there were no benefices, and the bishop was the sole incumbent, assisted by a few presbyters who lived with him, and were his assistants and council for the diocese at large. The system of treen lands and churches arose out of the exigencies of the times. Small chapels or churches of the rudest formation had sprung up everywhere, many isolated, and few, if any, canonically disciplined; so that like the Irish churches of the same period, they required re modeling. St. Maughold commenced the work; and in the formation of the treen bailey, we have probably one of the earliest attempts at a parochial system in Britain.

ECCLESIOLOGY.

It is to be regretted that the Isle of Man possesses no record of its ancient ecclesiastical edifices - not even a fragmentary notice that such a class of buildings as churches ever existed prior to the twelfth century; and were it not for a passing allusion to the subject by Jocelinus, and the monks of Rushen Abbey, we should be, as far as history goes, absolutely churchless. Consequently The archeologist has nothing to assist him in his investigations, except tradition and his own researches. The difficulties in his way also are greatly increased through the extremely early epoch in which the Manx cabbals and keeills originated; and from the circumstance, that few are now to be found in a tolerable state of preservation. Many present only the appearance of an old hedge, and others a shapeless mass of stones and earth, the combined results of decay, and the industry of the agriculturist, who utilises them as a convenient receptacle for the upturnings of the plough. A remarkable circumstance in connection with these cabbals and keeills, is the number that at one period must have existed, as some hundreds still remain.³⁴ Two orientations are also noticeable, one east and west, and the other towards the point of the horizon where the sun rose on the saint's day to whom the church was dedicated. In their materials and construction they correspond with the account given in the Book of Armagh of similar places of worship in Ireland of the age of St. Patrick. When the apostle visited Tirawley "he built there a quadrangular church of moist earth, because there was no wood near."³⁵ Here we have an exact description of the Manx cabbal, and there can be no doubt that the primitive churches of Ireland formed the model of the Manx. It is singular that amongst the numerous remains of these churches scattered throughout the island, there is not an instance to be found of any built in the crucial, semi-circular, or octagonal forms; nor is there an example of cyclopean architecture in the Isle of Man, although an approach to it may be occasionally noticed. The result is, the style is in every instance alike, one embracing the utmost simplicity and uniformity of design. Consequently the cabbal and keeill are invariably quadrangular; the lights oblong, or quadrilateral openings splaying inwards, and the stonework of the doors and windows unchiselled. This uniformity of design no doubt had its origin in the veneration felt for some ancient model given to the people by their first teachers, independent of any abstract considerations arising out of primitive causes. Hence we find their archaic form, slightly altered, still preserved in our parish churches, as may be seen in the rectangular shape, absence of chancel and couched semi-circular absis. In few of them moreover do we find any traces of an altar. If they contained any, they were simply altataria portatilia, or domestic altars, removable at pleasure.

It is singular, in connection with the history of the Manx church, that there is hardly a record of sacred relics having been introduced into the Isle of Man.³⁶ There are no examples of saints leading an eremitic life. It is difficult to account for this, unless on the supposition that such incentives to religious devotion were held to be valueless, and consequently rejected. At this epoch, the Manx church seems to have approximated more closely to the first churches of Asia, than at any subsequent date. The worship was simple and unadorned, and the bishops elected by the unanimous voices of the clergy and laity, and not, as in modern times, by a congé d'élire from the crown. Neither did the people pay tithes, but supported their pastors by voluntary oblations, which in these days were probably sufficient for the purpose, as we find no mention made of other sources of revenue, such as obventions, altarage, and mortuary dues. From this we learn that the church was deambulatory, and had neither cathedral, dean, nor chapter.

The foregoing are the chief features of Manx churches, prior to the middle ages. I shall now describe them in detail, according to the following classification

THE CABBAL.
THE KEEILL.
THE TREEN CHURCH.
THE MORTUARY CHAPEL, AND BURIAL GROUND.

THE CABBAL.

The Isle of Man, unlike England or Ireland, never possessed any churches built either of wattles or wood. The reason of this was the scarcity of timber; whilst, on the other hand, stones and sods were abundant, and offered an unlimited supply of a more durable material. I have mentioned that the churches of the fifth century were called "Cabbals," and I shall confine myself in this section to a description of these edifices, as the oldest places of worship in the island, and the original form of building in which the Gospel was first preached to the Manx people.

The cabbal is an earthen structure, quadrangular in form, of very small dimensions, and rarely exceeds twelve feet in length, by nine in breadth. It is invariably situated on a low truncated hillock of artificial formation, called the "chapel mound," and enclosed by a sod fence. There is no burial place attached to it, as the Manx did not in the fifth century inter in consecrated ground. Up to the ninth century, we find the same plan still adhered to in the elevation of the church and churchyard above the level of the adjacent land; the design is evidently the embodying of the scriptural principle, of a church set upon a hill being a visibly conspicuous object. In the early examples, the plateola within the vallum is of very small dimensions, scarcely allowing sufficient room for three persons abreast to pass between the chapel and the circumvallation. The walls of the cabbal are low, pyramidal in form, and of great width at base. They never exceed five feet in height, and are constructed to carry a low-pitched sod or heather roof. (See plate, "Manx Cabbal of the fifth century.") In the inside they measure from a foot to a foot and a half more than externally, in consequence of the floor being sunk to that extent to heighten the interior. The entrance to these chapels is through a small opening in the south-west angle of the gable. This doorway, in the greater part of the cabbals of the fifth centuly, had neither jambs nor lintels, and was also the only source of light to the in terior. To protect the inside from effects of the weather, the contrivance made use of was a bundle of gorse, or a screen of faggots laid across the doorway, and called in the Manx language, skeiy sy doarlish, "a bundle of faggots in a gap."

The mode of construction of the cabbal was as follows:-

A suitable spot having been selected, the builders threw up a small conical truncate mound from three to four feet high, and around the edge of the truncated portion built a low sod wall. Within the enclosed space the cabbal was erected, not in the centre of the plateola, but towards its eastern portion, and formed of the same materials as the circumvallation. In these churches there were no seats, the congregation standing during divine worship, so that the service would necessarily be of short duration, and most likely wholly consisted in the adorations of prayer and praise.

THE KEEILL.

In the preceding section I have described the cabbal as it existed in the fifth century, and now come to a better class of buildings denominated Keills, introduced about the middle of the sixth. These churches are of two kinds : one built wholly of stone, and the other of a mixture of sods and stones. They are larger than the cabbals, and measure from fifteen to twenty feet length by twelve in breadth, but rarely exceed these dimensions. Both have burial grounds within the circumvallation ; but through the absence of all external indications of the nature of the place, most observers would pass it by unnoticed. In a few instances the keeill carries a slate roof. It has also side lights, and a door of entrance in the south wall. (See plate.)

Rude stone vessels called "fonts" are sometimes found within them, and occasionally a quadrangular recess is observed in the east wall. Like the cabbal, the keeill also stands upon artificially raised ground, is rectangular in form, and altogether better built than the former. In the superior examples, the interstices of the masonry are filled up with mould, to steady the stone work and exclude the weather. The mode of construction of the keeill was similar to the cabbal. The following account given by Bede of the building of St. Cuthbert's Church, Lindisfarn, in 684, so exactly describes the method pursued in the Isle of Man, that I quote it in preference to giving another

"The church was round, and about four or five perches wide between the walls. On the outside the wall was the height of a man; in the inside higher, so made by sinking a huge rock, done to prevent the thoughts from rambling, by restraining the sight. The walls were neither of squared stone, nor brick, nor cemented with mortar, but of rough unpolished stone, with turf dug up in the middle of the place and banked on both sides all round. Some of the stones were so big that four men could scarcely lift one. The roof was constructed of unhewn timber and thatched."³⁷

The annexed view of the ruins of St. Lingan's Treen Keeill and enclosure, Marown, will give the reader a correct idea of one of these old places of worship. It is situated on the Ballingan estate adjoining Ballaguinney, about a mile and a quarter from the Peel Road, and is one of the best specimens existing of our insular keeills. The enclosure in which stands the keeill is one hundred and eight feet long by sixty-three feet broad, ovicular in form, and in an excellent state of preservation. This is the necropolis of the church. In the south east part lies St. Lingan's. The portion of the walls remaining measure four feet high by three feet thick, but the masonry is of a much superior description than is usual in keeills of the sod and stone formation. In the west end there has once been a window, but it is now entirely destroyed by visitors using it as a short cut into the church. The doom-way is in the south east angle, and formed by two inclining monolithic jambs supported by rubble stonework, so regular as to have the appearance of ashlar masonry. (See plate.)

In the north-east angle of the church, deeply embedded in ihe ground, lies the font. (See plate 8, p. 84.) It measures one foot eleven inches long, by ten and a half inches broad. The interior walling of the west end is concave, and gives it the appearance of a couched semi-circular absis. It is, however, nothing more than irregular masonry producing this effect. The gentleman^*[J. J. Carran, Esq.] who owns the property, with a laudable motive, has planted the enclosure with trees to protect it from injury. An example we should wish to see more followed.

Though I have stated that stone churches were not in use in the Isle of Man till the close of the sixth century, there was one exception to the contrary as early as the fifth. This was the church built by St. Maughold on the headland near Ramsey bearing his name. Although I have characterised it as a church, it was a conventual establishment, partaking of the Irish type of that period, and consisted of the church, the bishop's residence, and cells for ecclesiastical and other purposes, enclosed by a double embankment of unusual strength. The existing plateau contains three acres of ground, and originally must have been much larger, as only a segment of it now remains, having the shape of the letter R. It differed from its Irish archetypes in being surrounded by a double circumvallation, and in having the cemetery within the enclosure. From the strength and height of the embankments, they seem to have been intended for defensive purposes, and are probably a later addition to the churchyard, the work of the Pagan Norsemen when in possession of this Isle.³⁸ It is not impossible, however, that they may have been erected by St. Maughold himself or his immediate successors; for, at the period when he built his church, before heathenism was fully eradicated, and whilst the Manx people were still in a perturbed and instable state, it is probable that latent feelings of hostility to the new faith remaimied, which rendered the adoption of precautionary measures a matter of necessity. However this may be, it was from this spot, the school of learning and the centre of civilisation in the Isle of Man, that issued that noble band of eeclesiastics who finally established the Christiain faith, and left behind them in the crumbling walls of the cabbal and keeill. memorials of their pious labours that have long survived the memory of those who reared them.

THE TREEN CHURCH.

We now come to an entirely different class of buildings, intermediate between the kecills and the churches of the middle ages. These are the true treen churches, introduced towards the close of the eighth century. They differ from their predecessors in form and construction, and in presenting a more regular style of architecture. The masonry is still rude, but for the first time we find it put together with cement.³⁹ The entrances now carry doors suspended from inclining monolithic jambs. The side lights are more numerous, and a rudimentary bell turret surmounts the western gable. In dimensions these churches do not exceed the keeills, averaging from fifteen to twenty feet long, by ten in breadth. The roofs are high pitched, and the general appearance more imposing than their predecessors. A remarkable alteration is now noticeable. The chapel mound and raised graveyard have disappeared, and the whole partakes more of the characteristics of churches of modern times. They appear to be the originals from which those of the present day have been modelled.

The following description of the Treen of Ballakilley, Malew (see plate), lying three miles north-east of the parish church, will enable the reader to form some idea of the architectural arrangements of these edifices. The treen is situated about fifty yards from the farm house. Its dimensions inside are twenty-one feet long, by nine in breadth. The western gable, crowned with ivy, is still standing, but the east end is in ruins, and blocked to the height of the remaining portion by quantities of fallen masonry. This church has a very peculiar appearance from the walls being built of rounded boulders of granite and quartz, giving to the whole the resemblance of a pile of cannon balls. Their height is six feet three inches from the ground to the spring of the roof; and the western gable sixteen feet nine inches to the peak. In the south wall near the eastern angle is the door of entrance, five feet two inches in height, by two feet six inches at base, and diminishing upwards to two feet. Opposite it, in the north side, is a square headed window, and another in the south wall near the west end. This window externally is two feet six inches high, by one foot six inches broad splaying inwards. Internally it measures two feet six inches high, by three feet broad. In the north-west angle of the gable is a similar window, measuring one foot five inches long, by nine inches broad, and splaying internally to one foot five inches in length, by one foot eight inches in breadth, so that the external and internal measurements are reversed. The cemetery has long been under cultivation, and cannot now be distinguished, but it yearly discloses before the plough of the husbandman numerous remnants of mortality.

THE MORTUARY CHAPEL.

The chief of the mortuary chapels now remaining in the Isle of Man is St. Luke's, [mis-attribution] a small edifice in ruins, lying on the western slope of the Cronk-na-Irey Lhaa, in the parish of Kirk Christ Rushen. It is traditionally known as the church and cemetery of the Danish kings. The neighbouring village of Dalby, two miles west of the chapel, was ancientlyy a Scandinavian settlement, supposed to have been founded by an offset from the Danish conquerors of England, who gave to the place a celebrity and a name. Be this as it may, the present insignificant village shows no indications now of ever having been a place of importance, much less an abode of royalty. From it the funeral processions embarked for St. Luke's (? St. Leoc's), and landed at the foot of the ravine, between the Cronk-na-Irey Lhaa and the Carnanes. This is the most feasible way of reaching the mountain from Dalby, as the approach to it by land is both difficult and dangerous.⁴⁰ Beneath the chapel on the beach is the Fern cave, abounding in almost every variety of this admired plant. Nothing can exceed its beauty. From the roof and walls hang, in graceful festoons, thousands of ferns of the most brilliant emerald hue; and when the setting sun illumines the cavern, it lights up the place with rays of gold with magic effect.

St. Luke's, styled in a bull of Pope Eugenius III the monastery of St. Leoc, is simply a mortuary chapel, erected for the offices of the dead. It is built upon a spur of the mountain, about one hundred and fifty yards from the edge of a steep precipice. A portion of its walls only remain, and these in summer are so overgrown with fern as to be entirely hidden from view. The cemetery lies on the north side, and is a very picturesque object. It is bisected in its longitudinal diameter by a pathway fringed with boulder quartz of dazzling whiteness. From the end of this walk, a branch diverges to the south in a zig-zag manner, but originally it was prolonged northwards as well, and so formed the western boundary of the cemetery. This pathway terminates in the outer enclosure of the chapel. (See plate.)

St. Luke's, like the keeills, is a stone erection built without cement of any kind, but the masonry is more regular, and much better constructed than in the case of the latter. The floor, paved with pebbly stones, can with difficulty be seen, from the mass of debris encumbering the place. The chapel in its perfect state must have been of very diminutive size, and could scarcely have exceeded eight feet in height to the peak of the roof, as its interior only measures eleven feet by nine. St. Luke's differs from all similar places in the island, in having a double circumvallation encompassing it for two-thirds of the plateau. In the lower or western portion of the outer circle, are indications of its having been used as a place of sepulture, but the mode of inhumation has not yet been investigated. In the inner circle stands the chapel, from which a pathway leads between two stone pillars to the ravine. This glen, studded with masses of white quartz, has a very beautiful effect, and will amply repay the tourist for the trouble of visiting it. Such are the chief features of the chapel and burial ground of the Danish kings. With a brief notice of the mode of inhumation practised in these cemeteries, I shall conclude this account of Manx churches prior to the middle ages.

The burial of the dead in the Isle of Man was essentially a religious belief, involving a lively faith in the resurrection, consequently the selection of a burial place, the ubi restogere, where the dead might rest in peace to rise again in glory, was an object of the utmost importance. Hence these cemeteries usually occupy picturesque and retired localities, with little to awake the sympathy of the casual visitor, except the sanctity of the place. They contain no monumental stones, or other memorials of the dead, to indicate who rests below, but great and small lie mingled together without distinction in the one common hope of a joyful resurrection.

The mode of inhumation practised was as follows :- A grave three feet deep and two feet wide was dug east and west, and lined with flag-stones to the height of fifteen inches. In it the corpse was laid wrapt in a mort-cloth, and closed in by a coverlid of stones. (See Keeill of sixth century, opposite page 83.) A few shovelsful of earth and a layer of sods completed the remainder. No implements or relics of any kind were entombed along with it, but the whole betokens the simple burial of the early Christian church.

It sometimes happens that two, and even three bodies, rest in the same grave. When this is the case, they will be found to lie on their sides with the lower extremities semi-flexed. In consequence of this, the stone coffin is much smaller in size than is usually the case, and has more the appearance of a child's than an adult's burial. Very seldom the remains contained in these graves will bear handling, unless the surrounding soil happen to be of a dry and sandy nature. Their colour is generally of a rusty iron, or tan hue, caused by the quantity of ferruginous matter contained in the schistose formations of this island. The crania belong to the dohichocephahic type.

Burials in stone-lined graves continued in use in the Isle of Man down to a comparatively recent date, and did not finally cease until the commencement of the seventeenth century.

Footnotes

1 In proof of this, I may adduce the existence of the "House of Keys", anciently called the Taxiari, and the ceremonies of the Thingavöllr, or Tynwald Hill. During the Danish occupancy of the island under the Orrys, the "House of Keys" is said to have consisted of twenty-four members eight of which were elected by the Sudreyjar, or "out isles", and sixteen by the Isle of Man. The "out isles" were, Icolmkill, Colonsoy, Jura, Isla, Lewis, Arran, Bute, and the Cumbrays. At this period, and also up to the close of the Norwegian dynasty in 1265, the Manx parliament was a representative body elected by the people; a distinctive feature, probably lost in the troublesome times succeeding the Scottish occupancy of the island under Alex. III.

2 For some of these see the Annales Cambriae, and the Brut y Tywysogion.

3 At this period also dwelt in Man another celebrated character called Melinus, possessed of the art of aeromancy, and likewise the secret of flying. By the latter means he could transport himself to any place he pleased in an incredible short space of time. Whether Melinus inhabited the island anterior to Mac Leir, or accompanied him to it, is uncertain; but tradition points to priority of residence on the part of Melinus. If so, the likelihood is, he was the working Vulcan who mystified the island, whilst Mac Leir ruled it. All Melinus's accomplishments, however, were of no avail against the great St. Patrick; for in one of his volitatorial excursions the saint winged him with a long prayer, which tumbled the magician to earth, and killed him. So says Jocelinus.

4 Anderson says it was Finan, King of Scotland, who introduced Druidism into the Isle of Man, about 134 years before the Christian era (Roy. Geneal.)
Upon what authority he makes this statement does not appear.

5 "Regnavignans Hiberniam, ad insulas maris convertendas devertit e quibus Euboniam, id est, Manniam, tunc quidem Britanniae subjectam salutaxi praedicatione, ac Signorum exhibitione ad Christum convertit."-Jocel., Vita Patricii, c. xcii, f. 43.

6 Eubonia. Aliquando Eubonia, etc. Ita Gildae Jocelino, allisque passim Britannicis, et Hibernicis scriptoribus vocatur. Mannia enim prisco sermone Hibernico Eumhoin vel Eubhoim appellata reperitur, ut constat ex veteri, et eleganti carmine panegyrico, quod in laudem magni filiii Godredi Mannin regis ante annos quingentos composuit Arthulius, sive saeculi praestantissimus Poeta; quodque penes me extat. Ibi enim Manniam saepius vocat Eumhoin abblach, id est, pomo arbore abundans, ad distinctionem alterius Eubonhe sea Eumonin, quae calebris olim erat sedes regum Ultoniae, et Eamhain seu Eabhoin mhacha Hiberni appellatur. [Actt. Sano. Colgani.]

7 Vita Patricil, 1. ii. c. 11.

8 Trias. Thau., 1. iii, c. 61.

9 Ibid.

10 "St Patricius vixum sanctum et sapientem. Germanum nominatum, in episcopum promotum, illius gentis ecclesiae novellae regentem proposuit, et in quodam promontoro, quod adhuc insula Patricii dicitur, eo quod ipse ibidem aliquantulum demorabatur, et episcopalem sedem posuit."-Vita Patri cii, c. xcii, f. 43.

11 Germanus. Vide de ipso Martyrol. Tamlacten. Marianum Gorm. et Cathaldum Maguir ad 30 Julii. [Act. Sanc.]
Butler, in his lives of the Saints, mentions three bishops of this name. St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, C.; born A.D. 380; died July 26, A.D. 448. St. Germanus, Bishop of Capua; legate 519; died October 30, A.D. 510. St. Germanus, Bishop of Paris; died May 28, A.D. 576.

12 Baron. Ann., A.D. 429.

13 Lib. 3, c. 4.

14 Vit. S. Kieran., c. 32.

15 There is a see of St. German in Cornwall.

16 So nicknamed in the Fourth Life from having only one eye, p.45, Sec. lxxxi.

17 "Hic enim Maccaldus est episcopus et antistes clarus Ardebnanensis"
Hill of Evania, or Man) "cujus nos suifragia adjuvent sancta."-Tr. Than., Septima Vita, p. 161, Sec. lxi.

18 "Cyclops nominaretur." Hic est Demana episcopus. Qui ab anthore vitro praecedentis Maguil a Probo Lib. 2, c. 9, Macfil, a Jocelino, c. 151 et 152, auth. op. Trip., p. 3, c. 60. Machaldus; hic nunc Cyclops, nunc Demana, sed duplici ut videtur, cognomento appellatur. Cyclops enim ad similitudinem Polyphemi, Cyclopis, ob magna latrocinia et scelera, famosi, vocatur. Item, Demana, nisi de Mona potius, sive de Mannia sit legendum, quia daemon Hibernis etiam Denham appellatur.

19 The text, which was very corrupt, is here emended.

20 Coindrius et Romulus. Fuit utexque Patricii discipulus, et Mannin successive episcopus, ut de eis scribunt Joc., c. 152. Prob., Lib. 2, c. 10, et auth. oper. Prip. et Ussero in indice chron. ad an. 474, Ut hic Romulus vocatur ejus condiscipuli, et collegro Conindrii, sive rectius Condirii, ordinatio nem refert. Usserus in predictum an. 474. Condiril natalis celebratur die 17 Nov., juxta Mart. Tamlact. et Mariani; Romuli verb 18 Nov., juxta Ferrar in Catal. generali dicentem; in Hibernia S. Romuli episcopi; et in notis, Romuli alias Romani ex Martyroiogio Subensi, de eo Joc., c. 152. Martyrologium Subensi, quod citat ita loquitur 14 J{al. Decemb. in Hibernia S. Romani episcopi et confessoris, Romani etiam, uti et Romani ad eundem diem meminit Marian Gorm. (Trias Thaum.)
A.D.-SS. Conindrio et Romulo, St. Patricil discipulis, et Manniro insulro episcopis vita functis, St. Maguil sive Machaldus, St. Patricli etiam discipulus, successit. (Vita S. Gildro Badonici, p. 190; Colgan's Actta Sanctorum.)

21 Isle of Man. Intended for De Mannia.

22 The Irish Latinised form of Eubonia; i.e., Arddae Eunhonia, Hill of Eubonia, or Man.

23 This part of the legend is evidently borrowed from the Talmudists' fable of Astf and Sakhar, which runs as follows

"King Solomon one day whilst bathing, entrusted his signet ring for safe keeping to his concubine Amina. She, whilst in charge of the jewel, was visited by a demon of the name of Sakhar, in the likeness and form of Solomon, who thus obtained the ring. The consequence was, that Sakhcer be came possessed of the kingdom for the space of forty days; whilst Solomon, changed in appearance and reduced to beggary, was obliged to wander about and solicit alms for subsistence. When the forty days had expired, the demon threw the king's signet into the sea, when it was swallowed by a fish. The fish was caught a short time afterwards and given to Solomon, who, on opening it, found his ring in the belly. He thus recovered his kingdom, and having seized Sakhar, caused a great stone to be fastened to his neck and cast into the Lake of Tiberias." (Taim. En. Jacob, part 2.)

24 "Ibidem requievit", acta ejus breviter perstiningit Jocelinus, cap. 15, et 152 vitro S. Patricii, et agunt de eo ad 25 Apnilis, S. ~ngussius, Marian. Gorm. et Martyrologio Tamlactensi ad quem diem nos ejus vitam dabimus.
(Colgan's Actt. Sauc.)

25 His festival day is the 25th of April. (Colgan's Actt. 55.)

26 The date of his florreit, then, would be between the years 444 and 534. The Annals of Ulster place his obit A.D. 488.

27 According to the above view, Maughold was the first bishop, defacto, of the Manx church, over which he presided for the long period of fifty-eight years. With Stillingfieet and Lloyd, I have discarded Hector Boece's ridiculous bishop called Amphibalus, and consigned this absurdity to oblivion.Maughold was consecrated by Conindrius and Romailus A.D. 455, eleven years after his arrival in Man. Before him there could have been no bishop, for there was no church, as Conindrius and his coadjutor, Romailus, were not diocesan, but missionary bishops, episcopi vagantes, who after they had planted Christianity in the Isle of Man, returned to their own country.

28 A treen is a manorial division of land. Each parish is divided into a varying number of treens distinguished by different names. In 1505 the treen rents, or Reddita Tertiana, meant division into thirds, and were conse quently rents of the three Sheadings attached to each of the castles of Peel and Rushen. The land contained in a treen is now wholly quarterland, but formerly Intacks were included up to 1526. In 1706 they were taken from the treens.

29 See the valuable notes to Sacheverell's account of the Isle of Man, edited for the Manx Society by the Rev. J. G. Cumming, M.A. P. 186.

30 "Huic" (Bishop Reginald) "primo tertiro ecclesiarum Manniae a personis concessrae fuerunt ut deinceps liberi ab omni episcopali exactione fore potuis sent." (Chronicon Manniae.)

31 It is remarkable in connection with the above distribution of the tithes, that no provision seems to have been made for the maintenance of the poor. (They were relieved by the monastic foundations, which had a third of the tithes.)

32 Though the number of treens now existing amount to one hundred and fifty, or thereabouts, there is reason to believe that originally they may not have exceeded half this number; as we find some treens, as Howstrake, for instance, contain six quarterlands; others ten; and some, as the treen of Commessary, Malew, twelve quarterlands to the treen. This great dissimilarity in size is explicable on the supposition, that anciently the treen was larger than we find it at present; or else that in process of time, two or more became incorporated into one, and produced the present irregularity.

33 A MS. ballad in the Rolls Office, styled Mannanan Beg Mac y Leirr.

34 The Ordnance Survey, at the present engaged in this island, seems to show, that anciently there was a chapel to every quarterland.

35 "Fecit ibi ecclesiam terrenam de humo quadratam quia non prope erat silva." (Terecham, Lib. Armac., fol., 1466.)

36 There were the "three relics of Man" ordered to be borne before the Lord in the great Tynwald days. See vol. iii Manx Society, page 72; and in a roll of 32 Henry VIII (1541) mention is made of "one hand and one Bysshope hede," which were probably reliquaries.

37 Beda Vit. Cudberti, p. 243.

38 Since the above was written this view has to some extent been confirmed by recent discoveries in the churchyard. Within the last few weeks a portion of the southern extremity of the inner embankment has been removed, in consequence of alterations making in the cemetery. Beneath it a substantial stone wall has been exhumed, and close to it a heap of ashes. These consist of charcoal, bone ashes, and minute globules of lead. The Rev. Wm. Stainton Moses, to whom I am indebted fox the above information, suggests, that the wall may be a portion of the ancient boundary of the churchyard, and probably runs the entire length of the vallum. As this can only be determined by an examination of the whole structure, it must remain for future investigation. The ashes, however, show, that at one period, heathen rites have been celebrated here; and these muust have been either anterior to the introduction of Christianity, or else subsequent to that event. In the latter case, they can only be ascribed to the Pagan Norsemen, during their occupancy of this island.

39 The cement made use of is a tenacious plastic clay, which in time hardens almost to stone. Lime mortar was not known in the Isle of Man till the middle of the tenth century, and was first employed in the building of Castle Rushen.

40 The best way of reaching the chapel is by means of a boat from Fleswick Bay, and sailing thence round the headland of Banya Mooar. A little further on is a small rocky point running into the sea from the Carnanes. This is the entrance to the ravine leading to the church and cemetery.