gentium propagandæ præficeretur.' This letter, which no doubt alludes to the erection of the See, must needs be referred to the same year, 1134, the Abbot of Furness certainly not being in Man more than once. On the same page of the work there is also a letter from Pope Calixtus II. to the Norwegian Kings Sigurd and Eystein, (the latter + A.D. 1121, and Calixtus ascended the Papal Throne A.D. 1119, so that the letter must date from A.D. 1119 or 1120,) requesting them to receive kindly the Bishop of Orkney, who was consecrated by the Archbishop of York; another letter from Honorius II. to King Sigurd, rating him for intruding into the See of Orkney another person than Radulph, who had been consecrated by Thomas, the late Archbishop of York (A.D. 1109-1114); and a letter from King Olaf of the Isles to Archbishop T. of York, 'pro electo suo Candido Caso,' whence it appears that Galloway formed a portion of his dominions. A.D. 1154, through the medium of Cardinal Nicolaus of Brekespear, an Englishman, coming directly from Norway, where he arranged these matters, and being therefore thoroughly acquainted with all local circumstances, the metropolitan See of Nidaros or Throndhjem was erected by Pope Anastasius iiij., and thereto the dioceses of the Orkneys and insula Suthraic (Sodorenses-Sudreyjar) laid as Suffragans; being of course detached from any former allegiance they might have owed to York, as Nidaros and the other Norwegian dioceses were detached from the Provincia Lundensis. In A. D. 1253, the above Bull of erection was entirely and verbotenus repeated by the confirmatory Bull of Innocentius iiij., the original of which still exists in the Danish Record Office. A.D. 1244, however, it seems, that the Archbishop of York must have tried to revive his former authority. For in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum,* p. 22, there is a letter from Innocentius iiij. to the Archbishop of York, A.D. 1244, saying, that, as the Abbot and convent of Furness had the right of electing the Bishop of Man, but as the persons so elected, who had hitherto been consecrated, sometimes by the Archbishop of York, sometimes by the Archbishop of Throndhjem, dreaded the long voyage to Norway, and therefore often declined accepting the dignity, His Holiness requested the said Archbishop of York, if it were so, to confirm and consecrate the Bishops elect of Man, with the assent, however, of the Archbishop of Throndhjem. The fact alluded to, that the consecration was sometimes made by the one, sometimes by the other,

* Christiania 1847, Ed. Ch. C. A. Lange and Carl R. Unger.

must doubtless be so understood, that these consecrations formerly, before A.D. 1154, were effected by the Archbishops of York, and, after 1154, by the Archbishops of Throndhjem. A.D. 1244, the See of the Isles was vacant. Bishop Simon, who, according to the Icelandic Annals, and the very accurate Saga of King Hákon Hákonason, was consecrated, together with other Norwegian Bishops elect, by the Norwegian Archbishop, A.D. 1226, died, according to the Chronicon Regum Mannic, after having been Bishop about 18 years. The passage is curious enough :-"Obiit Simon Sodorensis Episcopus prid. kal. Mart. apud ecclesiam S. Michaelis Archangeli, sepultusque est in insula S. Patricii in ecclesia S. Germani, quam ipse ædificare cœperat, mortuusque est anno pontificatus sui 18mo. in senectute bona. Quo mortuo, communi assensu et consilio totius Manniæ capituli Laurentius quidam, qui tunc Archidiaconus fuit in Mannia, in Episcopum electus est. Qui statim ad Norvegiam profectus est, ut se Haraldo regi," (of Man, being there in order to marry King Hákon's daughter) "et Nidarosiensi Archiepiscopo, a quo consecrari debuerat, præsentaret.” * Here is not a word of the pretended rights of the Convent of Furness, nor of the Archbishop of York. It is also singular, that Bishop Simon died 29th Feb. A.D. 1244, and the letter of Innocentius is of 15th Feb. 1244; the See not being then vacant. (Again, if the statement of the Chronicon should be adopted, Bishop Simon's death must be placed A.D. 1247, according to the Icelandic Annals, A.D. 1249; both dates being, however, erroneous; as is evident, if he was consecrated as stated `above, A.D. 1226, and lived afterwards 18 years only.) The letter, therefore, of Innocentius must needs have been procured under false pretences by the monks of Furness, who, no doubt, anticipated the old Bishop's death, and took advantage of the Pope's ignorance in geographical matters, as we have seen was the case some 200 years later, as manifested in the Bull erecting the metropolitan See of St Andrews. After the death of the Bishop, as I believe, the monks of Furness produced the letter, and thereby created much confusion. For it is further stated, that King Harald (of Man), when the said Laurentius, Bishop elect, presented himself before him in Norway, would not give his consent to his confirmation, "donec iterum cum ipso rediret ad Manniam, et ipso præsente ab omni populo et clero eligeretur :"+ the cause of this precaution being "propter quasdam * Chron. Reg. Man., in Usser. Antiq. Eccl. Brit., p. 339, ad. A.D. 1247. + Ibid.

literas quæ contra illum de Mannia transmissæ fuerant." These "quodam literæ," were, no doubt, protests from the Furness party. It is also characteristic, that this party not knowing, or pretending not to know the legal title of the Bishop of Man and the Isles, i. e. Episcopus Sodorensis, should procure a Papal Brief,* where the See is termed "Ecclesia de Mannia," for the purpose, perhaps, of thereby imposing on the Pope, so as the better to forward their claims. I think the controversy may have presented itself thus:— :-The Cathedral or Holm Peel (insula S. Patricii) having been built or commenced by Bishop Simon,† it would seem that this Prelate may have also, in all probability, founded a Chapter for the same, which formerly could not exist while the See was a sort of dependency of the Abbey of Furness. The said Laurentius himself is stated to have been Archdeacon, and from this period notices often appear of Archdeacons and Canons of the Ecclesiæ Sodorensis. These Canons, using therefore their privilege of electing their Bishop, a contest may be supposed to have arisen between the new capitular body and the Abbey of Furness, each of them, perhaps, appointing their own nominee. Laurentius did not return to Man; he followed the King from Norway, A.D. 1248, and perished with him and the young Queen when their ships went down in Sumburgh Roost. § The See was thus actually vacant till A.D. 1249, which accounts for the error in the Icelandic Annals in assigning that year for the death of Bishop Simon. The immediate successor of Simon is not known. But in the year 1275,|| a Bishop Marcus was consecrated by the Norwegian Archbishop in our city of Tunsberg (now Tonsberg), as is expressly stated in the Icelandic Annals; he was also present at the coronation of King Eric at Bergen, A.D. 1280. This fact is the more remarkable, as the civil connexion between Norway and the Isles (Sodorenses) had been already dissolved, A.D. 1266. In the Icelandic Annals, Bishop Marcus is stated to have died, A.D. 1301. (?) But as late as A.D. 1320, the Norwegian Archbishop Eilif ordered

* Bulla Innocent. iiij. Archiepiscopo Eboracensi xv. Kal. Mart. 1244. Chron. Reg. Man., in Usser. Antiq. Eccl. Brit., p. 339, ad A.D. 1247. The fact of there having been Archdeacons of Man would not, however, by itself, add to the probability of the existence, after this period, of a chapter of the Cathedral Church there, with the power of electing their Diocesan.

§ Chron. Reg. Man., ad A.D. 1247.

|| Annal. Island. Reg., ad A.D. 1275.

the Archdeacon of the Sudreyjar, Cormac, together with a Nidarosian Prebendary, Grim, to visit the Orkneys in his name, and to inquire into complaints that were raised against the Bishop, William. By which it appears that at that date at least, the Dioceses, both of the Isles (Sodorensis) and of the Orkneys, continued to be subject to the Norwegian Archbishop, and that the letter of Pope Innocentius iiij, therefore, must be considered as having been superseded, first, by the Bull of Confirmation of A.D. 1253, and later, by that erecting the See of St Andrews into an Archbishopric.

'The Diocese of the Isles was founded under the impression or idea of the kingdom of Man and the Sudreyjar forming one state. Therefore the term Sodorensis, as indicating the whole, prevailed over the term " Mannensis,”—the more so, as during the first century of the existence of the Bishopric, there did not exist any fixed Cathedral See from which it might be named. For this reason also, the Bishops of Orkney were not entitled Kirkuvagenses, &c. The former Bishops were always entitled Sodorenses. Thus (in Wilkins's Conc. Magn. Britt.), "Hæc sunt statuta, synodalia et constitutiones Sodorensis Diocesis in insula de Man, per rev. patrem Simonem, Sodorensem Episcopum."... A.D. 1229. And in the Monasticon : "Incipiunt constitutiones synodales Sodorensis ecclesiæ, in synodo ordinato, celebrate and statuto in ecclesia S. Bradani in Mannia, 6 Id. Mart. A.D. 1291, cui præfuit venerabilis pater DominusMarcus Sodorensis Episcopus."

But since the more accurate distinction between Man and the Sudreyjar proper, especially since Man has become an English Diocese, and been thus entirely detached from the Sudreyjar, which is a Scottish See, it would appear both ridiculous and improper if the Bishop of Man should retain the title Sodorensis, after being made aware of its true meaning. It would be still more ridiculous to continue the use of the term "of Sodor," or so to translate the word Sodorensis as if there ever existed in the whole world (except, perhaps, in the United States, where there is a complete Babel of names) a place of this name!! The only proper mode of translating the adjective Sodorensis in English, would be, "Of the Hebrides," or by retaining the Norse name (wherefore not ?), "Of the Sudreyan (ad modum Orkneyan) or of the Sodorian Isles." But for the Bishop of Man this would be lucus a non lucendo. He cannot shelter himself under the pretext that Man in former times was one

of the Sudreyjar; because the Sudreyjar was a collective denomination, and existed as a name for the Hebrides, even if Man perished from the earth; whilst we could never call Man, a single island, by the collective name of Sudreyjar if all these were to perish. And the fact is, that in an Ecclesiastical sense, they have perished for Man; Man having become an English, and the Isles continuing to be a Scottish territory; and the Scottish Church, being superseded by the Presbyterian Kirk, which abolished the Bishoprics, till of late, as you say, to my extreme delight, the Isles and Argyle have emancipated themselves from the Presbyterian grasp, and gotten a Bishop of their own. Therefore the Bishop of Man had better drop this title, and cede it to the new Bishop of Argyle and the Isles.'

NOTICES OF MEMORABLE DAYS IN THE MONTH.

S. BARTHOLOMEW.

NOTHING more clearly points out the divine character and origin of Catholic truth, as opposed to Lutheran and Calvinistic traditions, than the stress laid on the actual holiness of Christians. A great portion of the wickedness in the world is to be laid at the door of those who first taught such pernicious heresies as election irrespective of works, and imputed righteousness. Certainly those, who claim for themselves the title of Bible Christians exclusively, are not ashamed of one who blasphemed the word of God,-who designated the Epistle of the inspired James, because he could not reconcile it with his perverted views of justification, an epistle of straw.'This is surely no better than those ignorant Romanists, who glory in committing to the flames what they call the heretical Bibles.'— Straw is fit matter for burning. But our Saint to-day tells a different tale,-He was chosen by Christ, not because he was wicked,— but because he was 'an Israelite indeed in whom was no guile.'— And in like manner, all they who had a great part to play at the Advent of Christ, were not chosen from the worst of mankind, but from the best: Zachariah and Elizabeth, both righteous before God, walking in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord blame