Patrick's "Confession" may
well be one and the same place. Indeed, there are arguments which seem
to place their identity beyond reasonable doubt.
St. Fiacc declares that the Apostle of Ireland was born at Nemthur.
Now, Nemtor was the name given by the Gaulish Celts to Caligula's tower
in the suburbs, and close to the City of Bononia, or Boulogne. St.
Fiacc, therefore, gives the name of the district--for the district
about Nemthur was named after the prominent landmark in its midst, and
St. Patrick the name of the town in the suburbs of which he was born.
According to the Celtic legend, Calphurnius was a Roman officer in
charge of the tower, and was slain on the occasion when his son Patrick
was made prisoner by the Irish Scots.
A close examination, however, of the "Confession" and of the old Latin
lives of the Saint, will, it seems to us, securely determine which of
the four theories--the Scotch, the Welsh, the English, or the French--
concerning St. Patrick's native country, carried with it the greatest
amount of probability.
BONAVEN TABERNIAE WAS WELL KNOWN TO THE IRISH SCOTS.
THIS will appear evident from a close study of the "Confession": "Ego
Patritius, peccator, rustissimus et minimus omnium fidelium, et
contemptabilissimus apud plurimos, patrem habui Calphurnium diaconum,
filium quondam Potiti, presbyteri, qui fuit vico Bonaven Taberniae,
villulam enim prope habuit ubi ego in capturam dedi.
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