EERSSENBROCH
628
EERSSENBROCH
preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. It
begins with a general history of the great empires of
the world down to A. D. 430. The remainder, and
the more valuable portion of the Annals, contains a
brief chronicle of Ireland to 1319. This monastery,
owing to its situation, escaped the ravages of the Danes,
who had worked such ruin on other churches in Kerry.
Unfortunately, there are few records of the early
bishops either of Ardfert or .^ghadoe previous to the
Norman invasion in the twelfth century. All we know
is, each had its distinct succession of bishops, and each
cathedral had its separate chapter. But these, in
the days of persecution, were allowed to lapse. The
chapter of Kerry was re-established by Brief of His
Holmess, Pius IX, in 1858. Owing to persecution,
and the disturbed state of the country, this diocese
had no bishops from 1610 to 1641, and again from
1653 to 1703, being governed during both these
periods by vicars .4postolic. From this latter date
there has been no interruption in the episcopal suc-
cession. Many of its bishops have been men of dis-
tinction. We may mention Dr. Richard O'Connell
(1641-1653), who at a very trying time successfully
resisted the determined attacks of heresy on the faith
of the people. In modern times Kerry had Dr.
David Moriarty (1856-1877), a most accomplished
pulpit orator, and Dr. Daniel McCarthy (1878-1881),
for many years professor in the College of Maynooth,
and author of valuable works on Sacred Scripture.
The religious orders were introduced into the diocese
chiefly through the piety and zeal of some of the
ancient lords of the county. The Franciscans came
to Ardfert in 1253, to Muckross in 1440, and to Lis-
laughtin in 1464. The Dominican convent in Tralee
was founded in 1213. The Cistercians built the Abbey
of Kyrie Eleison in Odorney in 1154, while at a much
earlier period religious communities existed at Kil-
lagha in the parish of Kilcoleman, at Derrinane, at
Rattoo, etc. During the reigns of Henry VIII and
Elizabeth all those religious establishments were de-
stroyed, the priests were expelled, while their property
was confiscated. The successful career of Cromwell
and his lieutenants had a still more disastrous effect on
the religious condition of this remote see in south-
west Munster. In modern times there has been a
satisfactory revival. Though these ancient monas-
teries, and the parochial churches throughout the
diocese, were utterly ruined in days of persecution,
there has been a complete restoration from the wreck
and disaster of those sad times. The Dominicans are
again established in Tralee, while the Franciscans
flourish — if not in lovely Muckross, still in Killarney
not far away. The parish churches, which were
mostly thatched cabins not so long ago, are now
magnificent stone structures raised through the zeal
and energy of a faithful priesthood, aided by the
generosity and religious spirit of the laity of the
county. The ancient cathedrals at Ardfert and
Aghadoe are now in ruins, but the modern cathedral
of Kerry, canonically erected in the ancient parish of
Aghadoe by special Brief dated 18 May, 1858, sur-
passes even old Ardfert — still magnificent, though
in ruins. It was designed by Pugin and was begun
under Bishop Egan in 1840. For over fifty years it
remained in an unfinished state, but the present occu-
pant of the See of Kerry and Aghadoe, Most Rev. Dr.
John Mangan, has with characteristic energy under-
taken the completion of this magnificent structure
according to the original designs of its celebrated
architect. Dr. Mangan was born in the parish of
Listowel in 1843, and was educated at Killarney
and Maynooth, where he won the highest academical
distinctions. His missionary life in Kerry was mainly
spent in the parishes of Glengariff and Kenmare,
which, owing to their extent, always demand great
labour on the part of their pastor. As a reward for
his energy and zeal, he was appointed archdeacon of
Aghadoe, parish priest of Kenmare, and vicar-general
of the diocese in 1901. He was raised to the episco-
pate, 21 July, 1904. This diocese consists of 51 par-
ishes, has 49 parish priests, two administrators, and
69 curates. It has 99 churches, 2 friaries, 5 monas-
teries, and 17 convents.
Healy, Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars; O'Donoghde, St. Brendan The Voyager; Archdale, Monasticon Hibernicum; Brady, Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, ed. Mohan, II, 52-63; Smith, History of Kerry (Dublin, 1756); CusACK, History of the Kingdom of Kerry (Dublin, 1.S71); references in Ware-Habris, Works (Dublin, 1739); O'Han- LON, Lives of the Irish Saints, passim.
Denis O'Connor.
Eerssenbroch (Kerssenbroick), Hermann von, teacher and historian, b. at Monchshof, near Barn- trup (Lippc), about 1520; d. at Osnabriiek, 5 July, 1585. He attended school first at Paderborn, and after 1533 at Munster until his parents were banished from that city by the Anabaptists. He completed his studies at Cologne, where, in 1541, he received his degree of Bachelor of Philosophy and the Liberal Arts. In 1545 he left Cologne to teach in a superior school, probably at Diisseldorf, after which he was rector at Hamm (1548-50), and head of the Pauline Gymna- siiun at Munster, which had formerly held a high reputation. After twenty-five years of fruitful ac- tivity there, he was obliged to leave Munster, and he was placed in charge of the Schola Salentina at Diissel- dorf, founded by the Electoral Prince Salentin of Cologne, where he remained, however, only three years. In 1578 he took charge of a superior school at Werl, which he soon gave up to return to Osnabriiek, where he remained as rector of the cathedral school for the rest of his unsettled life. He was a remarkab.e teacher, and it is chiefly owing to his farsightedness that the school system of Westphalia, which was on the decline, began in a short time to show signs of new life. His first care was to place on a better financial footing the wretchedly paid teachers of the time who were chiefly dependent on the meagre contributions from the parents of their pupils. A still extant pro- gramme of studies of the Pauline Gymnasium for the year 1551, entitled "Ratio studiorum schols Monas- teriensis saeculi XVI" (in Driver, " Bibliotheca Monas- teriensis", Munster, 1799, 165-72), shows that as teacher he laid greatest stress on a thorough grounding in Latin and Greek, advocating also the study of Hebrew, but utterly disregarding the exact and historical sciences (Realien). He required a high de- gree of skill in the preparation of WTitten work, and careful and constant practice in oral recitation. Pupils flocked to him as to a revered master, while as a practi- cal organizer of the school system he was received everywhere with open arms.
But while in his capacity of teacher he was held in high repute, as historian he suffered much unpleas- antness and even persecution ; his literary work had a strong influence on his career, being the cause, as it was, of his frequent change of habitation. His first known work, written while he was at Cologne, was a poem in dactylic hexameters, "Brevis descriptio belli Monasteriensis contra anabaptistica monstra gesti", skilful in workmanship, but of .slight importance. His principal work deals with the same subject, " His- toria Anabaptistarum Monasteriensiuni ". As might be expected from a humanist it is emlicllished with rhe- torical flourishes which produce at times an unpleasant effect. It was written on a broad scale, forming a his- tory of the whole city from 1524 to 1554. The author had at his disposal ample sources of information, in addition to the accounts of many eyewitnesses and his own experiences, which placed him in a position to give a complete picture of the bloody disturbances of tliese times. He lacked, however, tlu'cssciiti.-ij qualiflcations of an historian, the critical faiulty and an impartial judgment, so that the work, written at the instance and with the assistance of the cathedral chapter, was in
