, or Ængus, an Irish abbot, or bishop, and historian, of the eighth century,
, or Ængus, an Irish abbot, or bishop, and
historian, of the eighth century, called Hagiographus,
from his having written the lives of the saints, descended
from the kings of Ulster; and was reputed one of the Colidei, or Culdees, worshippers of God, on account of his
great piety. The accounts we have of him are rather confused; but it appears that he took extraordinary pains in
compiling ecclesiastical history and biography, under the
names of martyrology, fastology, &c. Sir James Ware
says, that his martyrology was extant in his time. Moreri
gives an account of it, or of a different book under the
title “De Sanctis Hiberniae,
” which shews the vast labour?
bestowed on it, or the fertility of his invention in bringing
together such a mass of biographical legends. It consists
of five books: The first comprehends three hundred and
forty-five bishops, two hundred and ninety-nine priests or
abbots, and seventy-eight deacons, all men of eminence
for their piety. The second book, entitled the Book of
homonomies, is a wonderful piece of labour, and comprehends all the saints who have borne the same name. The
third and fourth gives an account of their families, particularly the maternal pedigree of two hundred and ten Irish
saints. The fifth book contains litanies and invocations of
saints, &c. He is said also to have written the history of
the Old Testament in very elegant verse, and a psalter
called Na-rann, which is a collection, in prose and verse,
Latin and Irish, concerning the affairs of Ireland. He is
thought to have died either in the year 819, 824, or 830.